SONY PLAYSTATION Resistance 2 for PS3

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $69.99
Sale Price: $17.99
Today's Bonus: 74% Off

Only downside is it seemed to short .. I beat it in a few days and I'm not a gamer but loved fall of man and black ops .. I would totally buy again ..

Click Here to Read More Reviews >>

Graphics are not exactly great, control is a bit clumsy and enemies aren't really enjoyable. At least its a bit better than Resistance 1 :)

Buy SONY PLAYSTATION Resistance 2 for PS3 Now

I did not play this a few years ago when it came out, so I'm playing catch-up now. Great game and lots of fun. Graphics are good and the default set-up for controls are easy to manipulate. Great weapons, interesting Chimera enemy and story line is good as well. 3 different difficulty levels allows you to complete the story as quickly or as slowly as you wish. My girlfriend's son is 10 years old and REALLY enjoyed Resistance 1 and 2 as well. I already bought Resistance 3 and can't wait to get to it!

Read Best Reviews of SONY PLAYSTATION Resistance 2 for PS3 Here

I first bought this game when it launched, I then trade it in so I could raise a little money for a trip with some friends and now I have bought it again because I missed it and wanted to try it out on the hardest level in anticipation of the 3rd installment coming out in a few months.

Want SONY PLAYSTATION Resistance 2 for PS3 Discount?

the Resistance 2 campaign lasts about 8-15 hours, dependent on difficulty and death frequency. The story is ok, but portions of it don't seem to make much sense. There aren't many unique weapons, but an alternate fire has been included in all weapons. The game plays like most modern FPS console games w/ taking cover to regenerate health, checkpoint saves, and non-random encounters, giving very little replay value.

multiplayeri only played the co-op, but it seemed difficult to join competitive games. When playing split screen co-op graphical detail decreases noticeably. there is a serious bug in 2 of the maps that result in uncompleteable objectives, that occurs sometimes. It is fun enough to play. Upgrades are unlocked through gameplay, and there are multiple objectives semi-randomly selected per level.

Read More >>

Eforcity 10 FEET HDMI M-M + HDMI to DVI Cable for SONY PS3 HDTV

Customer Ratings:
List Price: Price Unavailable
Sale Price: $6.28
Today's Bonus:

my t.v. dvi port does not see the ps3 hdmi port with this cable but my rasberry pi and my laptop all work great using this cable with my t.v. dvi port

Click Here to Read More Reviews >>

I got this for my Husband to put on his playstation 3 and what a different it makes. The picture is much clearer and sharp.

Buy Eforcity 10 FEET HDMI M-M + HDMI to DVI Cable for SONY PS3 HDTV Now

This cable is by far the cheapest and most effective way to upgrade your output from a recent graphics card to a brand new HDTV. Worked first try, the length is adequate, and the picture is flawless. Definitely worth the money.

Read Best Reviews of Eforcity 10 FEET HDMI M-M + HDMI to DVI Cable for SONY PS3 HDTV Here

If you think, it is 2 cable bundle, you're wrong. It is 10ft DVI to HDMI cable only. No HDMI M-M stated in description and picture. Other than that DVI to HDMI cable works. 1080i, full screen. No issues so far, at least with NVidia 7600 AGP and Samsung LN46A750.

Want Eforcity 10 FEET HDMI M-M + HDMI to DVI Cable for SONY PS3 HDTV Discount?

It's 10 feet long, and its a cable with an HDMI port, but not on both sides. I tried using it for my ps3 and it wouldn't hook up right, the other end was bigger and had nothing to do with HDMI, it was like a PC connector. the picture shows two HDMI ports, but the picture lies. Fast shipping, wrong product.

Read More >>

Vanquish

Customer Ratings:
List Price: Price Unavailable
Sale Price: $42.90
Today's Bonus:

Well there are plenty of reviews here already so not to rehash what everyone else has said, I will keep my review short and to the point. Overall, I personally love this game as there is nothing else on the market that covers the action genre so much as this game does. The graphics are excellent, no slow-down, detail is amazing etc. The cons are as everyone else has said regarding forgetful story, bad voice-acting, short, etc. I will say if you're looking for a deep adventure, look elsewhere. This game is all action. With that said, most of time the reason I read reviews is if it is worth spending the hard-earned funds to purchase the product. The game is short. I completed the game in a week on normal (about 7 hours). Now here is where the meat is, re-playability. If you are the type of person that likes to complete games over on higher difficulties than you are in the right place. I am attempting "godly hard" mode and am not able to pass the first section of the first level. There is some real difficulty here and it is something I have not experienced since the days of 2-D gaming. Beating this mode will give anyone serious bragging rights. Also, after beating the game the first time, there are 6 challenge modes to complete that are fun and difficult at the same time (challenge 6....yikes!!). This game should be played by everyone, no doubt about that. Should this game be purchased at full price by everyone? That's for you to decide. Just know what you are getting is a great action game that bets on replaying. No more, no less. If you need an idea of what you are getting into action wise, think Bayonetta and Mad World (same great developer). Now, how do I increase my gaming skill for this game on "godly-hard"....

Click Here to Read More Reviews >>

Attitude. This game screams ATIITUDE. I'm a college student, so I obviously don't have a lot of money to blow, but I decided to take a plunge and buy this game Day 1. I was not dissapointed. If you're looking for an engaging storyline with deep characters, look elsewhere. All you'll find here is a big ol' can of whoop ass. This is by no means a bad thing, in fact this is a good thing because this game knows it's an action game and it doesn't pretend to be anything else. Imagine, if you will, the best action movie you've ever seen. Now, multiply that by 10. Add a cigarette smoking badass in a battle suit that enhances his every ability. On top of that, add huge mechs who want your blood. Now add Russians to the mix. That's what Vanquish is in a nut shell. I'm positive that many people will give this game a bad review because it isn't an arty game. This game is unashamed to be ridiculous and over the top. In fact, it revels in it. And to be quite honest, once you start the game you can't help but feel like a badass who's shooting everything in sight. Is this game worth 60 bucks? Hell yes. If you have some extra cash in your bank account, buy this game. You will not regret it.

Buy Vanquish Now

First of if you're a fan of third person sci-fi action games then you should for sure pick Vanquish up you won't be disappointed, if you're new to the genre than this would be an excellent start too. The story is your typical good versus evil, mine's bigger than yours scenario so nothing major there. However the action is fast paced, the graphics are top notch and the controls are very intuitive and easy to pick up right from the start. As I said prior you don't play this game for the story you play it for the guns blazing, butt kicking nonstop action, which this game is packed with. However be warned, if you're looking for a deep plot or even a hide and snipe good time this may not be for you. Personally I have not been disappointed by the last few games Platinum Games released (MadWorld, Bayonetta), I do believe they are becoming a force to be reckoned with in the gaming world.

Read Best Reviews of Vanquish Here

A lot of people have been bashing this game saying it is a Gears of War clone. To set things straight, it was Shinji Mikami, director of Vanquish and Resident Evil 4, established third person shooter genre. While Gears of War are great games, but Vanquish is a different type of game in league of its own. After finishing the story on HARD difficulty and attempting couple of challenge rooms (you unlock by finishing campaign chapters), here is what I thought.

****************PROS*****************

REVOLUTIONARY ACTION-PACKED GAMEPLAY: While majority of people will confuse this game with Gears clone, this game promotes you to do exactly the opposite of what is required in Gears. Gears of War promotes and rewards you cover and shoot type of gameplay. Now if you try really hard, you can probably get through this game using cover and shoot strategy, but chances are by staying in cover long enough, you will probably gate killed by either melee attacks of agile enemies, by mega lazer that bosses fire or simply by homing missiles. To get an edge over the enemies in this game, you have to be daring. You have to do crazy actions such as use your boosters, kick them on the face while jumping in the air, while in air slow down time and shoot the enemies around you. COOL, RIGHT? Honestly, the gameplay, rocket boosters, crazy melees, freeze time and shoot are BEST PART OF THIS GAME.

UPGRADE REWARD SYSTEM: Just like fasted pace gameplay, this is also something new and unique in this game. All of the weapons you get are upgradable. But to upgrade them you have to be strategic. There are two ways you will find upgrades for the weapons. One is simply by destroying enemies (or rather destroying multiple enemies in stylish manner). Other is by not using that weapon and them picking up one more of that weapon from destroyed enemies or from crate supplies which are found like every 7-10 minutes. This prevents you from overusing one weapon and exploring different weapons found in the game. Also, reckless shooting or staying in cover for too long will get you killed. If you get killed enough times (by playing recklessly), your weapons will be downgraded.

JOYS OF EXPERIMENTATION: So on one hand you have your abilities and on other hand you have at least 8 different types of weapons (maximally 4 at a time). The gameplay truly encourages you to experiment with them. I.e. use assult rifle and take out legs of big robot while you are in cover, jump out of the cover and slow down time, quickly take out the hands of the robot, boost your thrusters get close to the robot and finally melee its head off. LOVE IT JUST FREAKING LOVE IT.

YOUR SUIT, WEAPONS, ENVIRONMENTS AND ART: To me this is the coolest thing in this game. Your suit and weapons are created from "nucleus". So you will see each time the character relaxes, the helmet will be half gone and when you change weapons, one weapon will turn into another. Words simply can't describe it. Furthermore, depiction of near robotic future of America and designs of Marines and their commander Burns (with all the armor and heavy guns) is also pretty technical and to the details. I like it a lot.

GREAT ENEMY A.I.: I loved the A.I. in this game. YOU CAN'T HIDE. The enemies and bosses will come and get you. Even the weakest enemies have deadliest melee attacks. While I played it on hard mode, even on normal mode, enemies can kill you with ONE HIT KILL. Don't worry though. This is no Demons Soul. There are frequent checkpoints in the game. And the opposite is also true. You can kill many of the enemies with one hit kill assuming you do things the right way. Even the bosses you may find difficult at first have weaknesses. You just have to experiment enough and find out how. Love how this game push you to try new things.

CHALLENGING BOSSES: There 6-8 different types of bosses (not including few main bosses) in the game that you may encounter more than one time. Some of these bosses are very unique. While you can shoot them over and over again and kill them, it will take long and chances are some of these bosses will kill you with one hit kill. To beat these bosses you will truly have to master your skills (dodging, thrusting, slowing time etc.) Again love how this game pushes you to experiment and be tactical.

DECENT STORY: While it is not one of the best, the story still makes sense and has certain degree of suspense and mystery to it. English voice acting, dialogues and character facial expressions are pretty good. I won't spoil the story, but if you follow politics (more importantly IF YOU ARE REPUBLICAN), you will enjoy the depiction of Hilary Clinton look a like depiction of US president.

CHALLENGE ROOMS: After finishing each chapter of the game, you will unlock Challenge rooms (equivalent to Horde Mode in other games). As stated above, you have lots of abilities and weapons and campaign is rather fast. So challenge rooms are one place you can experiment as much as you want with your weapons and abilities, create new moves and punish enemies. Now don't get me wrong that is not the only purpose of Challenge rooms. As their name states, it will be a true "challenge" to finish these challenge room levels as you will have one after another hordes of enemies attacking you from all the direction. These challenge room truly adds to the replayability of the game.

VARIETY IN MELEE: Equipping different weapons will have your character do different melee attacks. All of them are unique and look pretty cool looking. Some of them are quite devastating. However, there is also downside to the melees. See Cons. section.

***************CONS.******************

RELATIVELY SHORT CAMPAIGN AND NO MULTIPLAYER: I know these days most games are 8-10hrs long, but I wish the campaign was longer. While multiplayer and co-op is not a requirement for this type of games, I truly wish it had it. It feels like one of the games that is designed for co-op. Never the less, it has challenge rooms, so it does add longetivity of the game. Plus, if you get hold of the action, I know you will play it more than once.

UNIQUE MELEE: Melee attacks in this game are SUPER AWESOME. Only drawback is they are quite tactical. Using them will deal great damage to enemies, but also leave you vulnerable to enemy attack if you don't kill them off with melee or melee weapon combo. I truly wish you don't have to be so tactical when using melee and could use it as much as you want.

*********CONCLUSION******************

This is a very unique game and certainly not a clone of Gears of War (which is also a great game). If you like crazy fast-paced action mixed with futuristic weapons this is a game for you. Any body who is a fan of action adventure and shooter games such as Resident Evil 4, Gears of War and even Devil May Cry should definitely this a try. THIS GAME IS UNLIKE ANYTHING OTHER YOU HAVE PLAYED. Trust me on that.

Want Vanquish Discount?

This review is on the Single Player Campaign. VANQUISH is a game that wasn't talk about a lot, but should have been. I consider VANQUISH to be an instant classic hit. This game is so much fun to play. This game takes a little bit from the movies Star Wars, Aliens, War of the Worlds, The Day the Earth Stood Still, and Predator and mixes them all together to make one great game. This game is directed by Shinji Mikami, who in the gaming world is considered a gaming god and a genius for making great games. I think the AI in this game is very, very good.

Anybody who has played the VANQUISH demo will tell you that that the demo is very fun to play. There is a lot of action going on all the time. But the demo is just a small part of this game. The demo just covers the very first part of this game. You think the demo was great. Wait until you play the rest of the game.

I will give you some good examples of what to expect. You play the role of someone named Sam who wears a special armor suit who fights along side with other armed soldiers against a Russian Nationalist who has taken over a space station high up in space above earth. The Russian leader sends robotic like creatures to fight against you. I noticed right away the space station you are fighting in is huge. I thought the armored space ship I was in to approach the space station was huge until I saw how small it was compared to the actual size of the space station. You'll notice how big the space station really is when the heavily armed space ship you're in crashed lands on the space station. I think the graphics in this game are pretty good. The colors in this game are real vibrant and bright.

Anyway, on game play, I was fighting along with some other American soldiers in a fire fight with some robots and I caught some robots out in the open. Well another robot came along and actually formed what looked like a cement wall in front of the other robots so they could hide behind it. I thought that was so cool. In another area, I notice spider like robots that when you blew them up they actually turn into groups of smaller spider like robots. I thought that was cool too. I noticed the robots you fight against will constantly try to outflank you and try to get behind you. That is where your armor suit you are wearing comes into play. You have this special armor suit on that has booster rockets attached to it so you constantly slide really fast across the ground to your target. Well you can slide real fast to any targets that are trying to outflank you and take them out before they know what hits them. I like how you have all kind of different weapons to use throughout the game and you are constantly upgrading your weapons all the time. The sound effects in the game are really good.

If you are looking for really good shooting game that is fast paced, then I recommend trying out this game. This game seems to have a lot of replay value. This is one of my favorite games to play right now. I hope they make an expansion pack or a sequel to this game. Give this game a try. I don't think you will regret it.

Read More >>

Confederate Flag WraptorSkinz Skin fits Rock Band Stratocaster Guitar

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $19.95
Sale Price: $17.95
Today's Bonus: 10% Off

The skin is a flawless fit for the standard Rock Band 2 Stratocaster Guitar and it looks sharp.

My only complaint is that eliminating air bubbles is near impossible, but we were able to get rid of most of them through a combination of careful placement, pushing bubbles out to the edge, and the use of a hair dryer (be careful not too hot, not too close!) to smooth out the surface.

Apart from that, this is a relatively inexpensive way to personalize your guitar.

Click Here to Read More Reviews >>

Although instructions for this were lacking, it was mostly self explanatory and went on very easily. It can be lifted to correct mistakes and air bubbles were removed with a pin. I was able to apply it w/out any disassembly of the guitar. The finish is great and makes my Rock Band guitar stand out amongst all my friends.

Buy Confederate Flag WraptorSkinz Skin fits Rock Band Stratocaster Guitar Now

Read More >>

TRON: Evolution Collector's Edition

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $129.99
Sale Price: $43.90
Today's Bonus: 66% Off

Just go buy the standard game instead of this. The lightcycle model is made out of a very cheap-looking plastic. There's a hidden button on the lower back of the rider that makes the bike light up when you press it but it's still not that impressive looking. It's painted like a Hallmark ornament. Seriously, the $15 toy Spinmaster lightcycles are superior to it. Even the box it was packaged in is far more impressive to look at. Sideshow Collectibles used to make some really good high-end collectibles but this isn't "high-end" at all except in price only and the quality is definitely not worth paying the extra $70 for even though the $10 movie coupon kind of softens the blow. I regret buying this and will try to sell it on ebay to recoup some of the loss.

Click Here to Read More Reviews >>

Lightcycle Review: I've uploaded some images of the actual Lightcycle collectible, as it was really hard for me to gauge whether or not this was a worthwhile item or not. Hopefully, these images will help others decide. The collectible is not nearly as bad as many have made it out to be. It's a mixture of black rubber-like components & black plastic. Obviously, since it's representing something that doesn't have any real texture (in the movie), it's not going to be loaded with detail.

Having waited to get this until the price dropped, I'd say that $80 is a good price point for this. I would understand how some might have felt burned for paying $130. But, even then, I would have to say that it's far more 'adult' a collectible than the toy Lightcycle, which didn't seem that great to me. Besides, you can turn on the light on the Tron Evolution Lightcycle and leave it on for display, whereas it seemed to me that the toy is a press-and-it-lights (temporarily) event.

Yes, you heard that right: it DOES light-up. There is a soft-switch well-hidden button in the lower-back of the back of the rider. When lit, it spotlights the front wheel, the engine, and the rider's disc. Now, it would have been ideal if the entire length of blue lines lit like in the movie, ..and maybe really tops if the blue in the display lit-up (neither is true). But, for what it is, it's decent. Certainly, being a big Tron Legacy fan, I'm glad I got it ...and a bit perturbed at all the negative reviews that really slammed this product.

Game Review: Having bought the non-collector copy of the game (as well) months back when it released, I've played through a good amount of it to give a fair assessment. It's not the best game ever; it's certainly not the worst movie tie-in ever, either. When it's good, it's great. When it's bad, it can been insanely frustrating. The biggest problem are the wall-jumping sections that require you to make a jump/back-jump precisely correct ... and if not you fall & de-rezz. And fall & de-rezz. And fall & de-rezz. Over and over until you get it right.

But, when it's on-point, it's a load of fun. The disc-throwing action is fluid and fast, and you feel "like Tron" (even though you play a different character). The cut-scenes are a little rough; not quite up to the par of the rest of the game's graphics, but they're generally short and/or mostly skippable.

Online multiplayer is definitely the high-point of this game, although (bummer) multiplayer can't be engaged in 3D mode. On that note: 3D really adds nicely to feel of this game, bringing it close to the that of Tron Legacy (for those fortunate to have seen the movie in 3D). This is also an element I was worried about. Having just recently got a 3D TV, and having read a review somewhere online that 3D causes severe slowdown. --Not true. I've found that the game runs just as smooth in 3D as not, and it's a very cool additional feature for this game.

Buy TRON: Evolution Collector's Edition Now

Good game, the base is very cool, has a tray compartment, I just found out the light bike illuminates LOL! Decent collector item.

Read Best Reviews of TRON: Evolution Collector's Edition Here

the game itself is not to bad to play , like most games are at first , after a bit of time it became easier but i felt it lacked that ' play me now ' factor . i soon put it away to collect dust.

as for the collectors edition , it is a must have , even though the model is poor quality but it looks kinda ok , i wouldn't pay a huge amount for it , if you like futuristic ( might be wrong spelling ) looking models it would suit that type of collection , but don't expect a highly detailed model , this hasn't got it

Want TRON: Evolution Collector's Edition Discount?

im go straight this not worth more than $60 I buy it on cut price and im really proud of have it!! now this collector is on a good price don't think about and buy it soon is going to disappear capitalist re going to sell it for more than $150 Is really awesome and the game too!!! I buy it at gamestop on a cut price! and im really really happy with the buy!! I highly recommend it !! so buy it soon! before capitalist!!

Read More >>

Real Arcade Pro V3 SA

Customer Ratings:
List Price: Price Unavailable
Sale Price: Price Unavailable
Today's Bonus:

Sporting a full Sanwa set-up (stick + buttons), the RAP V3 SA is one of the best arcade sticks that money can buy, and is extremely affordable as well (off Amazon, at least). For those not in the know, Sanwa is the company that manufactures the joysticks and buttons commonly found on Japanese arcade gaming cabinets. They're very reputable for being durable, responsive, and long lasting, and with the V3 SA, Hori brings that set-up right to your gaming room.

As someone with some experiences with other arcade sticks, I can safely say that the V3 SA is LIGHT. Really light. This can be taken either way. Some people prefer a heavier stick so that it doesn't move around much. Personally, I've never had a problem with lighter sticks. I prefer them that way to ease the weight of my lap while playing. For those who prefer playing on a tabletop or the floor, rest assured, the V3 SA comes with rubber grips below to ensure that it won't slide around even if you're rough with movement.

The stick and buttons are, needless to say, very responsive and top-notch. The stick is loose enough for easy execution, yet not too loose. The square gate makes it easer to tell when you're hitting those diagonals, and the shaft below the balltop (and I love balltops, by the way, it's the Japanese standard) is covered with a thin tube of plastic, protecting the metal shaft within from moisture and sweat, ensuring that it won't get rusty, and that YOU won't be touching dangerous rusty bits. The buttons are lighter in touch than I'm used to, but this makes them no less responsive, and requires less effort when pulling out a major combo.

The V3 SA also comes with turbo settings for all the buttons, as well as a switch that allows you to swap the stick's input from D-Pad, to either analog stick. Frankly, I use my stick for fighting games exclusively and thus never use any of these features, but if they matter to you, it's there.

The finishing of the product is done very well. As the pictures show, it's a simplistic, minimal design with some markings around the stick/buttons, and nothing more. I like this choice of design, because it means the surface panel won't show signs of aging/use so easily. In comparison, my BlazBlue HRAP 3 shows discoloration and a myriad of scratch marks on the surface. My custom stick is protected by an acrylic panel, but that's not an option for Hori's sticks, I guess. Also, the screws are located on the base, as opposed to the top panel. This helps them avoid sweating hands from longer periods of playing, and once again, slows down the settling in of rust.

At the end of the day, if you're looking for a full Sanwa stick, there aren't many choices on the market if you don't get a custom made piece. The V3 SA is way more affordable than Hori's VLX (which, whilst a pure work of art, is way beyond my budget at $299 USD), more reputable than Madcatz's Tournament Edition (if you care about brand name, plus I've heard some negative reviews about particular pieces of the TE, although I stress that I've never owned one before), and looks better than the standard HRAP 3 (which also uses Hori parts instead of Sanwa parts). For me, it's the perfect combination of looks, quality, and price. And it's slightly over $50 cheaper on Amazon than where I live, so why not?

Click Here to Read More Reviews >>

I purchased the import version earlier this year & loved it (although I sold it & broke even because I knew it was going to be released here in the states for a lower price)! I love my other arcade sticks but there's a reason why I purchased another V3-SA. I use this stick as my primary/daily one since it's reliable, comfy & durable.

Not much to say if you know about Sanwa products besides what has already been said (responsive, accurate & precision). If they're too sensitive for you then I suggest swapping them out for Seimitsu products. It's very easy to get to the internals (6-screws on the bottom). Compared to my Madcatz Tournament Edition (TE; multiple versions) sticks, while it doesn't have a big surface area to rest your palms, I actually prefer the much more angled wrist rest area on this stick compared to a TE stick. It just feels that much more comfy after an extended duration (30+ mins). Only thing negative is that it's lighter (4.8-pounds) compared to a TE stick (~6.25-pounds) & it's previous model the Real Arcade Pro SA (5.7-pounds). Since I prefer to play on a flat surface (versus on my lap), it's not that big of a deal. The artwork looks pretty nice but then again, I could care less about that. For those that want to replace the artwork and/or want to have a plastic panel, it's easy to replace & there are quite a few vendors that make these parts. Also, the overhangs (aka side handles) are great when lifting & storing it away. In terms of mass production sticks, here are my favs in this order:

1) Hori VLX: Real deal hefty weight (12.1-pounds) to it.

2) Hori V3-SA series: Same qualities as the VLX minus the longer metal panel & weight.

3) Madcatz TE series: Love the big surface area to lay my big hands on & good looking transparent cases on some models (TE-S Chun-Li & SC5 sticks).

4) Qanba Q4 series: PS3/360/PC compatiblity right out of the box with a good looking design especially the translucent cases.

Honestly, you can't go wrong w/any of these 4 sticks since they're all great especially since they all use the same Sanwa buttons & joystick lever. It's just really about personal preference.

Buy Real Arcade Pro V3 SA Now

Now where I grew up in America we have a lot of asian influence and we even have an Asian celebration once a year so as you can expect the arcade machines I played with where lolly pop square gates.

I can tell you its not 100% like the arcade ones but its damn well close enough, but there is one thing I should mention. This thing is HYPER SENSITIVE, which is a good thing. I had to actually get used to it as I was inputting commands way faster than the game could read resulting in me not able to do forward, down, angle turns. Now I pull'em off a 'okay without a sweat.

Pros

+ Good weight to it, a bit light, but good.

+ Very solid stick and responsive to movement, so take it slow. Tip to hold for those new to lolly pop sticks. I hold it with my left hand inverted (back of my hand to the floor) with the stick between my middle and ring finger with my thumb on top for added stability. Hold it how you like, but that for me is how I've done it since I was a kid and is the most comfortable.

+ Buttons look like what I had in the arcade all nice and convex shaped. Very sensitive too, which I'm still getting used to as a simple light accidental tap is enough to set them off. Like I said I like sensitivity because it makes you a faster player. Keep your right hand angled so you don't get carpal tunnel syndrome.

+ Made of metal with solid construction that feels like you could drop it off your roof (don't do this) and would still operate well. As another reviewer stated all the metal parts are hidden and screws are on the bottom so no worry of rust.

+ Has good rubber feet so it won't slide on the table, but I like it in my lap better, but if I could...you know know already right? I'd get a podium stand put it up their and stand while I play SF and MVC to really live the old days. It really does feel that authentic (96%).

+ Good long cord to hook up to the PS3 so don't worry about length. I like cords to cause I don't have to worry about batteries dying on me or interference from other wireless devices. As I said I'm old school.

Cons

You cannot turn on the PS3 remotely with it. Yes I'm that lazy.

The R1, L1, R2, and L2 buttons are switched so the R buttons are on the "Left side" while the L buttons are on the "Right side." A minor annoyance as you can customize your button layout to your personal taste and preference in game.

I haven't tried using it on my PC but I expect I could with the USB cord as others seem to have done it.

-------------------------------------------------------------

edit January 8th 2012

I've just tried it recently with my PC and it does work. No lights show up so you'd think it isn't on but low and behold it started punching and kicking and moving when I played with it so yeah it works :3. Hmmm, I wonder if it works with Wii U fighting games. It has the same symptoms as the PC (lack of lights and desktop control) but maybe when there's a game in it like with the PC...

-------------------------------------------------------------

Its a great stick at a great price. The only thing better is that 300 dollar Real Arcade Pro: 3 Premium VLX made by the same company (go figure) but I'm not forking that much cash over for something that will be slightly better due to a "few" tweaks.

Read Best Reviews of Real Arcade Pro V3 SA Here

After using this stick for a little while... Daily... xD I would have to say that I love this stick. It's got great parts and works well with both my PC and PS3. I do play SSFIV AE competatively so a good stick is what I needed, and I much preferred this one over the madcatz TE one.

Want Real Arcade Pro V3 SA Discount?

I, along with many others although not all feel that the pads that come with each system (PS3's DualShock 3, for example) are not the most ideal controller when it comes to fighting games. Xbox 360's pad doubly so.

For those of us who feel this way, there is the HRAP to satisfy your cravings for arcade authenticity, reliability, and performance. Now, I didn't intend on bringing the MadCatz TE into this, but the fact of the matter is that the HRAP V3 SA and the MadCatz TE (herein referred to as the MCTE) are very similar at least when it comes to the buttons and the stick.

The stick on the HRAP and the MCTE is the very responsive and accurate Sanwa JLF(which has a square gate), and the buttons on both are Sanwa OSBF-30's, so if you're looking for quality parts, you get them in either controller. These components should last you a long time.

The button layout on the HRAP is the same as the Vewlix SSFIV cabinets you see in arcades, so if you play on an HRAP, you're pretty close to the real thing, layout wise. The start button is on the front(unlike the MCTE, which has a slightly different button layout, and the start button on the back of the unit, out of the way) although only the most frantic button mashers would even come close to pressing it during play.

The rests for your wrists are also perfectly placed. A marathon gaming session of 7 hours saw no hand fatigue or discomfort.

There's a little door to hold the cable in (the stick is wired). The cable is about 10 feet and allows for lag-free inputs. There are also two handle-like wings on the side to allow for hassle free carrying, and although they might seem silly, it actually works pretty well carrying it around.

The HRAP is also lighter than the MCTE, although that's not necessarily a bad thing. If you're planning on lugging it to and from tournaments, it's perfect, really; Light enough to not be a bother to carry, but heavy enough to be stationary in your lap as well as on a table, even under the most strenuous play.

Keep in mind that the switches in the buttons and stick are audible. Every Hadoken you do (for example) will make a noise as the switches in the buttons and stick are actuated. This is a good thing it isn't terribly loud, and you'll have some feedback on what buttons you're pressing and what motions you're making on the stick.

Build quality is also top notch. The case is solid, and the stick, all buttons, turbo switches(of which there are 8, one for each button) and the PS button work flawlessly. Some say build quality is what makes the HRAP better than the MCTE, but longevity of either will likely be determined by your play style.

All in all, the HRAP V3 SA is a great stick for anyone looking to bust into the fighting game scene, or for seasoned veterans looking to replace their old stick. If you're torn about whether you should get this stick or the MCTE, I would say go to your nearest tournament and see if someone will let you try theirs. If that's impossible, then go for whichever one you find more appealing, price and looks-wise. I went with the HRAP, and I couldn't be happier.

Read More >>

DC Universe Online

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $49.99
Sale Price: $9.99
Today's Bonus: 80% Off

I have to admit, I had a lot of fun. Playing in a group is fun, but so is playing solo. That, in and of itself, makes this game rather unique. It does become progressively harder to solo, but I would have gotten bored if it hadn't. The controls were fun as well, in that attacks were combos like triangle+square+triangle which lent an arcade feel, but there was lots of collecting and a progressive mission/storyline that was undeniably RPG.

If you want to play solo, buy the game and play away. If you want to group, get yourself a headset (the trick I learned is to have your bluetooth on before you log into the game). I also purchased a wireless keypad, but the game can sometimes be so quick, it shouldn't be your first choice for battles. It is almost required to have some kind of keyboard though, if you want to interact outside of the group/solo play.

Do I think this is the greatest game ever? No. But is it a great game? I feel it is.

I am a huge DC fan. I also really enjoy action RPGs as well as MMOs, but, very importantly, I also like to occasionally solo and not feel dependent on grouping. Finally, I like trying games that bring something new. While some may argue that each component of what DCUO brings isn't new, I would say back that its unique in the way its delivered.

Specifically, when I played the Beta I took one character to 20. I also sat with my son while he played to level 7. His mother used my account to play 2 characters: one good, one evil.

Just my two cents. Hope this helps a few.

Click Here to Read More Reviews >>

After hearing so many people cry about launch day issues and having to "pay to play" the game I decided to write my first game review. I wont pretend that the process leading up to actually playing the game is not tedious and boring. I too rushed home in the middle of the day to install my copy during my lunch break from work. I knew that it would probably take a while to install (more a limitation of the PS3 than a problem with the game), so I decided to have some lunch and mess around on my Xbox 360. I after lunch I was pleasantly surprised to see that the installation of the game was nearly complete. Yay me! I would be able to at least create a character before returning to work! It was at this point that the patch began to download and would take at least 4o minutes to complete. I guess there were issues that needed to be addressed after the blurays had been pressed and i'd rather install a patch than have them push back the release date to repress blurays.

Saddened I left to return to work, I'd have to wait to crack heads in Gotham until after work.

When I returned from work I was greeted by the create a toon screen. Character creation is easy enough. The first choice is where to create your toon. I was torn between the PVP vs PVE worlds. I created toons for both PVP and PVE worlds. The PVP world seemed to be more populated however it was glitchy and I had problems seeing who was attacking me. Also I had chosen a villian and there were far more heroes. Figuring that I'd wait til they iron the kins out I then moved on to the PVE server.

Back to character creation. There are several options to choose from and some seem to have some effect on gameplay. After choosing your gender and morality you choose mentor. The mentor u choose determines the soucre of your power. Then you choose your powers. While there a limited number of powers, the ability to mix and match them with your weapon or combat focus gives a decent amount of creative choices. Next comes the fun part choosing your initial costume. The numbers of colors you get to use in your costume is limited to 3 however you can mix those 3 colors between the various pieces of your outfit and this isn't as limiting as it would seem. However, as you play the game u will find upgrades to your costume that will increase your character's power. These upgrades will change your charcters outfit, what I did not figure out until later is that you can lock your costume so that even though your power increases your costume looks the same. I found the tutorial to be pleasant and informative although it might have been shorter. I think that around my 15th character I will be tired of escaping that ship. Also it would have been helpful if I didn't have to figure out things (like how to zoom the camera in and out or how to lock my costume on my own).

The powers are all pretty cool and the combinations available make for some interesting combat.The movement powers are by far the best I've seen in any video game. Flying feels like flying, superspeed is very cool and the acrobat is a blast.All of them are upgradeable so i will have to experiment with them to see what else they can do.

Depending on whom you choose as a mentor, your starting zone after the tutorial and premise setup varies. The begining missions are simple enough, go to X place and do X I like the fact that X is not always as simple as "defeat 'y' numbers of ???". I haven't grouped with anyone yet due to not having my bluetooth ready but i will be trying that tonight. I have a lot left to see in the game but so far I am really enjoying it.

I normally don't review games but i saw that this was was getting a raw deal from people that have played even less than me.

Buy DC Universe Online Now

I played in the beta which was fun except or the game crashing your PS3 for seemingly no reason. I bought the game on launch day and while I have had a lot of fun the game has a lot of problems. So if you are a MMO and Comic Book fan this game will be enjoyable but be advised:

a) voice chat rarely works

b) in game chat has an awful interface making it a pain to communicate

c) quest sharing is not present

d) game will crash your system once in a while

e) a lot of daily maintance by SOE do servers are down each morning

f) large 3gb download after u install 10+ gb from the disk (take me an hour others reported 2-5 hours)

g) game menus laggy, hard to use and sometime lock up

the good news is #e... SOE is trying to fix as much as they can as soon as they can. So in reality until March 2011 you are playing a paid beta.

Read Best Reviews of DC Universe Online Here

Great Game!!! But, "DO NOT BUY"!!!!!!!!!!! It is NOW FREE to Download on PSN or PC Online.... Playing in a group is fun, but so is playing solo. That, in and of itself, makes this game rather unique. It does become progressively harder to solo, but I would have gotten bored if it wasn't.

Want DC Universe Online Discount?

I purchased DC Universe Online during the time period when the Playstation Network had just been hacked and was down. Needless to say, I was initially unable to play the game.

However, after redeeming my code online and after a lot of downloading and patching and updating, I was able to get into DC Universe Online.

DC Universe Online is a MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Game), which is a bit of an outdated term because most multiplayer is "massive" and online now, but refers specifically in this case to a game like World of Warcraft.

You log on, you complete missions to earn exp and currency, you spend said currency on making your in-game characters more powerful. Most importantly, you join the rest of the world in doing this, thereby creating your only little digital niche. An MMO is unlike other video games in that its more of a location than an activity. Meeting my friends in Gotham, Metropolis, the Hall of Doom, or the Watchtower seems as natural as meeting them in McDonald's.

Inevitably, DC Universe must be compared to World of Warcraft. WoW is the most popular MMO that has ever existed and for good reason. Blizzard is an amazing video game publisher and their games are unique, engaging, and fun. I played World of Warcraft during it's first year or so and then stopped. I picked it up later, right before Cataclysm came out, to try it out again. Unfortunately, I had the same problem with WoW that I'd had before: no superhero class. (Really, I just got bored eventually with stale game play.)

In DC Universe Online you play as a superhero in the DC Universe, imbued with powers by a time-traveling Lex Luthor. You will play as your own customizable character, but can play as Batman, Robin, etc. for 20 minutes at a time matches in a mode called Legends PVP.

So how do they compare? DC Universe is obviously a game made in the wake of THE WORLD OF WARCRAFT. It was made in response to WoW and probably by people who have spent many hours playing Warcraft. As a result, they have addressed many issues that World of Warcraft has had since its release in 2004. For seven years, World of Warcraft has been a fun game and they've added all kinds of things to it. They made it much easier to level and you can fly around on mounts. All types of neat stuff. But at the core, the game is still the same as it always has been, little more than a point-and-click. DCUO seeks to rectify this:

COMBAT: DC Universe Online has a dynamic combat system. Almost any object can be picked up and hurled around. Bad guys will throw you across the room. If you dodge a big fireball coming your way, it doesn't hit you anyways. All of the combat in WoW is just: click a button, wait, click it again. It doesn't matter where your character stands or how you move. There isn't really any physics. Just clicking and stats. The combat in the game stays fresh and is exciting. Strategy can actually play a difference. Gear and level matters, but not as much as just being good at the game and playing wisely.

STYLE: Once you reach the level cap in any MMO, you generally switch to buying better pieces of armor and weapons instead of getting experience. This is a great way to continue high-level play, however due to the superiority of the best armors, generally upper-level players in games like Warcraft end up looking exactly the same. All the Warriors will be the same, all the Healers will be the same, etc. Not so in the DC Universe. Superheroes, however, are all about style. Any armor/clothes/hats you pick up, you can save the LOOK of, to wear on your character any time, even if you don't need the actual item. Say you want to wear Batman's cape because it looks cool, but the one you found isn't as good as the cape you already have, you can have the Batman cape look, but still retain the stats of the better equipment. My guy looks a beast. I just want you to know.

Intellectual Property: Yeah, DC Universe superheroes are better than Warcraft or any other IP really. Even Star Wars. Think about it. Everyone knows Superman. Could your friend name a single character from Warcraft? Does your mom know who Admiral Ackbar is? I don't think so. Not enough can be said about the thrill of flying around Gotham and Metropolis, free to roam, and enjoying the scenery. The programmers have hidden all sorts of little secrets and characters to meet randomly and rewards for exploring all through the game. I can spend hours just wandering around aimlessly completing collection quests like the Springtime event with Poison Ivy vs. the Swamp Thing.

DCUO is scrupulous about being authentic to the source material. None of the players can wear official costumes, like say, Superman's S crest, or the Green Lantern symbol, but they are available in the form of Iconic Armor. These are specials sets of armor that are inspired by DC heroes or villains and are available to them depending on faction.

Story: And IP leads to Story. Which is done by Geoff Johns with Jim Lee's art. If you don't know, then find out. Wikipedia. These guys are DC comics. The stories are entertaining, correctly themed, and have a lot of variety. There are cool 3d render cut scenes for the big stuff, but the DUOs (2-man dungeons), Alerts (4-man) and Raids (8-man) all have a cool little cartoon/animation that tells the story of your mission and of the boss you just defeated usually. They harken back to their comic book origins and are delightful.

Voice Work: Speaking of delightful. Mark Hamill is the Joker. 'Nuff Said. Even Stan Lee would be excited. The voice work is, in general, all excellent. A lot of the people from the Bruce Timm cartoons have come to reprise their rolls and really bring their characters to life. The game is filled with funny quotes.

And again I can't stress enough the combat system. 99% of my time in this game will be spent in combat and this game makes it fun and interesting. It is interactive and dynamic in ways I didn't think possible for an MMO, much less a console-based MMO.

A quick glance at any other review here will tell you that DC Universe has had some stability issues since launch. I think I got the worst of it. I bought the game and was IMMEDIATELY unable to play it and have been sitting through a month of patches and updates and down times and crash after crash after crash.

But you know what? It's getting better. Each time a patch or update comes out, there is a bunch of things fix. The developers regularly communicate with the fans via their official forums over at Sony Online Entertainment and have addressed SPECIFIC concerns with players.

I am blown away that the developers would actually communicate and listen to their fan base, creating a game environment that is continuously redefined as much by the player as by the developer. If something is really bothering folks, then the developers read the forums and see what they can do ASAP.

Too many times have I bought a product, games or movies or whatever, and felt cut off from its source. Our transaction finished, I am left to judge whether I've just wasted my money or whatever by myself. The product will be good or bad and exactly the same 5 years from now.

DC Universe has only been out a few months and its already much different than it was. This game updates regularly and they add news things all the time.

Some people are upset, and rightfully so, that the game has some issues to contend with. No one likes their game crashing right before the boss. However, this is a very technologically advanced game, with a ton of stuff going on, and only so many people available to work on it. I myself, have crashed several times during missions and had to redo them...

But I did. And I enjoyed it. Because it's a fun game. That's why everyone is mad when they can't play it.

The game is becoming more and more stable and they are fixing issues left and right (some of which were caused by the introduction of a bunch of new, awesome content). If you're reading this post more than a week after I wrote it, then it's already outdated. The game has become even better than it is right now.

In summary, DC Universe is a game with a lot of fun and a lot of potential for more fun. It is an evolution of the whole genre of MMORPGs. In the future, World of Warcraft 2 and any successor will play more like DC Universe Online.

My main complaint, my only one, what I want, is MORE. Just more of everything.

I want more open-world encounters with heroes/villains or Ambush Bug.

I want more power and weapons and Iconic Armors.

Green Lantern trinket! You know you have one already, SOE.

More raids! More costumes! More Exobyte data! More More More!

And SOE has promised more. They've teased new armor and powers. There is a big Fortress of Solitude Raid coming out soon with new armors and featuring Krypto the Superdog... I'm hyped.

So as a new player, having experienced what is sure to be the worst circumstances during which to play this game, I've been having a ton of fun. I convinced my friends to buy PS3s and the game. They're having fun. You could have fun too. This game is already far more engaging than WoW ever was for me.

Alright. I had to unhook internet from my PS3 to my PC to do this. I need to get on some duos. I'll be taking the fight to Brainiac. Enjoy the game.

Read More >>

Sengoku Musou 3 Empires

Customer Ratings:
List Price: Price Unavailable
Sale Price: $99.49
Today's Bonus:

I really like the Samurai Warriors series and this must be by far the best game Koei has ever made. Even though it is in Japanese and it is hard to understand, it is still a great game. :D

Click Here to Read More Reviews >>

Sengoku Musou 3 Empires one of the great games ever too bad it is Japanese & there wont be any English ver. Still I love & enjoy playing it.

Buy Sengoku Musou 3 Empires Now

Read More >>

Ar tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $59.99
Sale Price: $27.10
Today's Bonus: 55% Off

Though the name doesn't explicitly mention it, this is actually the third game in the Ar Tonelico series, with installments 1 and 2 on the PS2. A good deal of effort seems to have been taken to make this game accessible to all players, however, regardless of any experience with the first two. This is extremely welcomed in a genre usually loaded long-running jokes, recycled battle systems and the like. There are a handful of references and loose NPC associations to the past games, but I want to be clear up-front in saying that most anyone could walk in here fresh and not feel at all disadvantaged. If some topics, terms and story elements do still end up confusing, data in the game 'Encyclopedia' can get people up to speed.

Standing out most to a lot of RPG players (and particularly those of Gust titles) will be the graphic and audio presentations. Exploration areas are in a tastefully rendered 3D, as well as all character movements in live scenes and battles. Textures and backgrounds are very obviously reused, but for a low-budget game I was impressed to see that at no point did an area feel truly dead or dull from past exposure. The soundtrack, as the series was already renowned for, is again top-notch and outdoes itself. An outstanding balance between familiar melodies and dynamic battle music has been found, which greatly enhances the music-based nature of the game universe and "song magic" driving combat. All this is above any beyond what one would typically expect within the genre.

In the review title I say "well-polished" in that, though by the sort of standard you might expect to see a top-rate action game, gameplay and combat are innovative and there's obvious attention to detail everywhere you might look. Combat is different this time-a real-time 3D adventure-style battle system similar to Final Fantasy XIII-instead of the typical JRPG turn-based affair. You're offered an interesting battle arrangement, with one song magic caster (one of the game heroines) and a vanguard of up to 3 to charge ahead. Players must match their attacks with certain beat rhythms in the battle music (far easier than it might sound, with a polite learning curve) and attack power varies on different notes. No two battles are every quite the same as a result, and that alone is an accomplishment.

The story concerned me for some time as being extremely shallow with excruciatingly boring characters, but after 20 or so hours in a very impressive depth comes to life, with honest-to-god unexpected plot twists, and a much higher level of development. A lot of this progression involves a series standard, the "Dive" system, which are essentially a series of short interactive narratives the protagonist goes through in the mind of each heroine. Though powers are enhanced by going deeper, there's an honest motivation just a simple desire to see what happens next. As it adds up to several hours of development with each characters, it's more than most games will hand you toward getting to know your comrades. Though not totally 100% required, even those finding it tedious should dig in a little, if only to gain some abilities like enhanced healing in combat.

Of course, not all is well and good in Ar Ciel. However much I dislike offering what looks like a rate-down on just one hinging point, that it is awkward aspects of combat makes it unavoidable. As mentioned, the "diving" above is not forced upon you, but neglecting will mean immense battle challenges later on. Each of the Ar Tonelico games have dealt with magic strength differently, but the process here is founded on an extremely convoluted and 'hardcore fan-friendly' game universe concept that female characters' magic exponentially becomes more powerful as they expose more skin... noting how they can "absorb more energy", but it's pretty obvious what the actual motivation is. To really power through, it does become progressively more necessary to 'strip' the heroines in battle.

Up to 4 tiers of magic can be summoned, but for better or worse each and every battle the players is forced to watch one of 4 personae of the heroines undress herself slowly and trigger it via a very awkward system of a button press + a shake of the controller (triggering its motion sensor). Getting the trigger can be extremely frustrating, painful, and sometimes battle-ending. It's a novel concept, but really something that needs a menu option to turn off. The end result is that, despite the catchy music and pattern variety to help, there's no truly "easy" way to get through combat, and for a bit of a asinine boon it becomes very easy to defeat all foes via casting with the built-up energy from undressing, making the other benefits to the party it gives such as healing or attack enhancements completely moot. A long gaming session may well give you a sore wrist, or at very least won't let you settle in and relax entirely.

Again, I hate basing so much negativity on that point, but if even I as a well-versed player of games in this series and genre overall find it a bit too far outside-the-box and as adding unnecessary levels of difficulty and pain, I'd venture to say that the majority of other players might get even more annoyed than I was. Usually a big problem like this would feel less tedious over time, but as battle becomes longer this becomes necessary multiple times each fight, it made the problem worse. By no means should this be taken as a huge flag against a purchase, but something of a warning at the very least.

In the end, you'll get 40+ hours of continuous plot evolution without any real need for 'EXP grinding' or backtracking. A limit on the number of random encounters in any one particular dungeon offers a proverbial light at the end of the tunnel for players just trying to get on with it. Normal difficulty set should suffice for most, though 'Easy' and 'Hard' are available to swap to at absolutely any time. Plot twists, plot branching, and multiple endings may well have you coming back for more, giving the game great replay value. With 8 different endings (5 of which take different directions), the game is even kind enough to allow players to begin with cleared "New Game+" data at specific points in the story where the more important decisions are made. At last, no more repeated 20-40 hour runs of replay for one measly scene!

Click Here to Read More Reviews >>

With Ar tonelico Qoga, Gust delivers the exciting conclusion to the Ar tonelico saga that began with Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia and continued in Ar tonelico II: Melody of Metafalica. While this series may not be as familiar to gamers as popular franchises like Final Fantasy or Kingdom Hearts, Ar tonelico Qoga is a wonderful gem that should not be missed by JRPG fans.

The first question that is probably on everyone's mind is whether or not it is required to play first two games before Diving (yes, pun intended...more on that later) into Qoga. In general, you shouldn't be too lost if you haven't played the other games, though certain events may have less of an effect on you -in particular, several of the characters from previous games return in this title and there are occasionally references to previous events. It might be fair to compare this to watching the Lord of the Rings films without having read "The Hobbit" -a few things here and there may feel less significant, but in general you should still find it to be enjoyable. Even so, the game includes an Encyclopedia that will allow players to brush up on the history and lore of the world if they so choose to.

The story is quite well crafted, though it may take a little while to get going. At first, the story simply feels like a classic setup: boy meets girl, boy protects girl, boy fights against evil empire. However, as the story goes along, the lines between good and evil become somewhat blurry -villains and heroes both may not be what they always seem. Add to that an amazing cast of playable characters and some great character development and you get a story that is well worth your time.

One of the key things that has always set the series apart from other RPGs is the Cosmosphere system -a system that allows the protagonist to "Dive" into the subconsciousness of the the main heroines -in this case, Saki and Finnel. This part of the game behaves more like a visual novel, where our hero Aoto must help Saki and Finnel struggle through their inner struggles and fears. This helps to add a great deal of depth to the characters. Furthermore, helping them through their problems aids the game in fleshing out the characters, making them feel more like real people with real problems.

In the past, the series has used 2D sprites and turn-based gameplay, but with the jump to PS3 comes 3D graphics and real time combat. I found the 3D graphics to be pleasant, though nowhere near the quality of titles like Final Fantasy XIII or Eternal Sonata. Fortunately, during most dialogues, you'll actually be looking at character portraits rather than their 3D models, and these are quite exceptional -this is comparable to the excellent Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4. The combat system has switched to be more like Star Ocean or the Tales series in that you now control a single character and move around in real time while the AI controls party members. However, instead of simply hacking away at enemies, the main focus is typically to protect your party's current Reyvateil (read: spell-caster) while she charges up her magic. As such, the most important thing is protect, rather than concentrate solely on attacking.

Which brings me to how the Reyvateil charges up her attacks. See, to charge up her magic, she purges (read: strips her clothes) during combat to increase the damage output. This may or may not matter a great deal to you -I admittedly felt a little awkward at first, but after a while simply got used to it. Ar tonelico as a series has always had some innuendo in it, so if this sort of thing offends you, then perhaps Qoga might not be the thing for you. I would like to mention however that while this game has gotten a lot of attention for this single feature, there are games on the market that are far more explicit than this -ATQ may show a bit more skin than most JRPGs, but there's no full nudity in the game, despite what some may have you believe. Compared to a lot of M rated games and R rated movies, it's actually pretty tame. (Also, please forgive me for this rant, you wouldn't believe how many reviews I've read that focus ONLY on this single aspect and ignore the rest of the game, which I consider to be an incredibly unprofessional way to review).

Another feature I'd like to draw attention to is the music and voice acting. I personally enjoyed the English voice acting, but I tend to be pretty accepting; fortunately, the original Japanese voices are available for those who prefer that. The quality of music for the game is absolutely fantastic, the vocals in particular are breath-taking and incredibly good -although anyone who knows the series probably guessed that. For those who aren't so familiar, let me describe it in this sense -the music is worthy of standing against Nobuo Uematsu and Shoji Meguro's best works. As you delve into the game, it will become apparent that music and songs are an integral part of the story, and the quality of the music reflects this. I HIGHLY recommend this music.

Which in turn directly ties into the bonuses you get if you order early enough. The first printing of the game comes in a large box with one disc of the game's music and a hardcover art book AT NO ADDITIONAL COST. Sadly it is only a subset of the game's full music, so if you get as addicted as me, prepare to start importing music from Japan. Still, as a free bonus, I can't complain.

Overall, I'd rank this as one of my favorite games on the PS3, a niche title that may sadly go unnoticed in a year where it competes with giants like Dragon Age, Portal, and Uncharted. If you're a JRPG fan, this is well worth picking up. Just don't wait too long -niche games like this end up becoming rare within a year or two and you may end up paying more than its current price if you're not careful.

Final Score: 10/10

Summary: Hidden gem in PS3 library; strengths are story, characters and music.

Buy Ar tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel Now

I'm a RPGer, and there has been a serious drought in good quality RPGs lately. Ar Tonelico Qoga has been a welcome game. The Music is awesome, the intro is well done, the gameplay is fun and story is cool. I personally like the voice acting for both audio selections. I highly recommend if your a lover of both anime and RPGs to pick up this awesome game

Read Best Reviews of Ar tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel Here

If you enjoyed the Ar Tonelico series, you're sure to enjoy this one. Granted that there are a few bugs, luckily no game breaking bug this time around, but this is still a solid game.

Gameplay:4/5

The fighting mechanism used this time around is a semi free action hack and slash, very similar to the Tales series, though less responsive. Fighting can be frustrating because of the overall clunky-ness of the controls, and extremely time consuming unless you choose to skip all battle scene CG, which I recommend against since it's absolutely ridiculous. Everything else is the exact same as all the other Ar tonelico games out there. Cosmospheres still work like they do, but now instead of costumes, it's alternate personae. Overall, the game is not hard, even with the weird controls.

Story:4/5

Expect the same old story from the previous games, which can be a good or a bad thing. If you liked the storyline in the previous games, this does not sell short, in fact I enjoyed it just as much, if not more than the previous two. But if it's a new innovative story you're looking for, then you're not exactly going to find it here. Another thing people may not like about this game, is that the story does sort of depend on you playing the previous two games to fully understand. In fact one of the usable characters is a usable character from Ar tonelico 2 (No spoilers), and they do not explain a lot of terms they use at all. Although it doesn't detract from the story overall, it's still like being on the outside looking in on inside joke.

Music:5/5

Same great music, with awesome new hymns. "EXEC_EP=NOVA/." will be stuck in your head before the day is through (most ridiculous song there is).

Replayability: 5/5

Like all Gust games, there are a bunch of different endings, and I do recommend you see them all. Of course that's completely up to you. But you can easily log 100 hours into this game without really feeling bored from it. Note that 2 of the characters you get cannot be had at the same time (Getting one, means you can't have the other), so it's fun to at least play it twice to see both characters.

Overall, this is a very solid game, and I do recommend it to all people who enjoy JRPGs, even if you haven't played the first two. You might not get some of the terms, but you'll understand the story just fine (to enough of an extent), and maybe it'll prompt you to play the first two games.

Want Ar tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel Discount?

Holy cow.

I have actually been avoiding my PS3, playing PC games since I had given up on a real RPG (not the FF Franchise) appearing for this console. I saw this on PSN Japan last year and liked the music so much I picked up the Limited Edition soundtrack when I was in Japan last year because the tracks are all of my favorite fantasy/ethnic singers. But then, I saw they changed the name from Ar Tonelico III to Ar Toneligo Quoga (? to quote one word a character says?) bought the english and my life was forever changed.

I could not put the game down. I am on vacation right now and literally, I could not stop playing I was having so much fun. The excessive amounts of Loli suggestive themes are offset by game's acknowledgement of the mature content. You can also turn off the "purge" sequences so you don't have to be visually blasted by people stripping as part of the power up ritual as you blaze through the game.

Lots of content. You can play the game straight through and just do the mini stories of the singing girls (Reyvateils) to get your base requirements, or you can go all out and delve completely into their minds and unlock even more characters and endings. You can even switch the language back to Japanese (the English acting actually is pretty spot on but I find the original Japanese just as enchanting) You can get so many endings (Bad ending, Normal for several, True for several) that you will not be able to play the game just one time and feel that your life is absolutely complete.

If you've been looking for the next big RPG game that has character development, don't mind pot jokes about mature subjects, detailed storyline and not just a grinding time sink, Quoga is definitely your game

Read More >>

The Sims 3: Pets

Customer Ratings:
List Price: Price Unavailable
Sale Price: $21.80
Today's Bonus:

I am a big Sims fan and have always played the PC versions before this. The reviews I read said that Sims 3 Pets was fairly robust for PS3 so I opted to get that and play on the couch rather than drop a ton of money on the PC game and all the expansion packs. (I already did that on Sims 2 and it still plays fine!) In general this game is entertaining but there are a few limitations that were not mentioned in any of the reviews I read, which are actually pretty upsetting when you consider that for many of us, The Sims is all about creating a family, building relationships, etc.

1) Your household can only have 6 Sims (pets included). Not knowing this, and still getting the hang of the controls, I thought I'd start out by breeding my dog before I moved onto having kids, giving my couple time to save up some money and build up careers. Y'know, what responsible parents are supposed to do. So the dog had three puppies a lot to handle, but I was up for the challenge. Once I got the hang of it I decided to move onto kids only to learn that my household was maxed out three puppies, one dog, and two adults equals six Sims. Okay, the responsible thing to do is send some puppies to the shelter, right? I agonized over which one to keep and which two to give up, then went to the phone to adopt them out. Except...

2) You can't adopt out your pets! There is NO WAY to get rid of an unwanted pet. Well, there is one way... you can gift your pets to PlayStation friends who also have Sims 3 Pets for PS3. I don't have anyone to gift them to. Oops. (For people who can use this option, you have to be online and logged into your PlayStation account for the "Gift to a friend" option to show up. The online manual doesn't bother to mention that.)

3) After reading up on this a bit online I learned that attempting to kill off pets by closing them off in a room without doors etc. doesn't work (which I personally think is a good thing, and I don't think I would have wanted to do it anyway), but there are some karma rewards that can help. One turns your pet into a ghost (which I guess you can then "zap" if you have the right skills?) and another one turns your pet into a human, who can then leave the household (and take other unwanted pets with him). Not wanting to "kill" anything, I set my sights on the second option. Building up enough challenge points to get this karma reward took me at least six hours. Once I finally got it, I was able to turn one puppy into a child, and then give him a couple of birthday cakes to make him an adult. Finally, he and the other puppy could move out so my poor Sims (who have had babies on their want lists for weeks now) could have a child. I thought I'd move them into another house in town, and they could still keep in touch with the family. Except...

4) YOU CAN'T MOVE SIMS OUT OF THE HOUSEHOLD WITHOUT DELETING THEM COMPLETELY! Unlike on PC, you only get to play one household in this game. Worse than that, the members of the household who move out are just gone, poof, as if they never existed. Your Sims' relationships with them disappear. (I had a hard enough time "killing off" my pets in this way, can't imagine how much more unpleasant it'll be once I've raised some kids and it's time for them to leave the nest.) And to add insult to injury, you can't just kick them out, you also have to MOVE the Sims you're keeping into a new house. There's no option to kick people (or pets) out of your household but keep the rest of the family where they are. As far as I can tell, in order to split up the household, everyone has to leave the house altogether.

For me, a big part of the fun of playing Sims is building a huge family that continues for generations. The family I've been playing in The Sims 2, going on five years now, has turned into a huge dynasty. I know the PS3 has memory limitations, and I didn't necessarily expect to be able to do that with this console version of Sims 3. But I certainly didn't expect the game to be so nonchalant about killing off or deleting Sims you've worked hard to nurture, or to make it so difficult to enjoy some of the basic joys of Sim life (like having a family). If I'd known ANY of this up front, the many hours I've now wasted trying to humanely deal with my puppies could have been avoided... I just wouldn't have bred the dog in the first place. I really want to like this game, for bringing a decent Sims experience to consoles (which I don't think has been done before), and I don't doubt that they had to make hard decisions about what to keep and what to cut when bringing this game to PS3, but anyone who's attached to the Sims should realize that this is just bogus. Come on, EA Sims players get ridiculously attached to their characters. After more than 10 years developing this franchise, you must know that by now. So why screw with us like this?

Oh, and the game freezes every so often, too. Not a ton, but I've had more freezes with this game than any other PS3 game I own.

I don't usually write Amazon reviews and actually feel a bit silly for getting so passionate about this. But hopefully someone else who plays The Sims for the same reasons I do will read this and it'll help you make a purchase decision. Don't get me wrong, $20 is not a bad price for this game and I don't regret buying it, but I would have played it differently if I'd understood all this from the beginning.

Click Here to Read More Reviews >>

This game is almost exactly identical to the Sims 3 base game for PC (except, now there are pets!). You can marry, have twins or triplets, have a home birth or go to the hospital, work interactive jobs, hire a maid, buy a car, adopt a child, take advantage of Karma Powers and earn Lifetime Rewards, customize everything (including voice, favorite food, appearance, etc.) and so much more! There are also options to turn off story progression, to lengthen your Sim's lifespan, to alter your Sim's freewill, and to even take screenshots! The pets are a wonderful addition, but not everyone wants a dog or a cat. (I'm still wishing they'd left in the horses)

I originally purchased this game for my fiancee', hoping a guy like him could get into The Sims so we could share it. He is normally a fighting game/shooter game player the most boyish games you can imagine. Now, he is ADDICTED to The Sims. I've never seen anything like it! (Haha) He's married, had a child, bought a pet, and has advanced very high in his career. If he can like this game, anyone can!

We haven't encountered any glitches and the gameplay is completely smooth. With The Sims 3 and The Sims 3: Pets for PS3/Xbox360, this is the very first time console gamers have gotten a Sims experience so close to home. None of the other previous Sims for console were this identical to the PC version. The only thing I wish EA would include is the possibility to have direct control. Since it's on console, I don't see why we can't have the option to play directly as our Sim. Regardless, I'm looking forward to more Sims for console in the future. (Psst! Bring The Sims 3: Late Night + Generations to console...Haha! I wish.) If you have the PC version, there's really no reason to purchase the console version unless you're curious. Truthfully, it's still not as good as the PC, but it's so close that it will definitely impress you and give first-time Simmers a perfect impression on what Sims is all about. Being a seasoned Sims player, I would still recommend this console version to anyone looking for something addictive and captivating. BUT, if your PC can handle it at highest performance, spring for the PC versions.

*Please remember that this review is in reference to the PS3/Xbox360 versions. The Wii and DS versions of any Sims 3 game are completely different and cannot compare in quality.

Buy The Sims 3: Pets Now

All i can pretty mch say is that its fun. If you have ever played the original sims 3 for console then this is pretty much an expansion pack. however the loading does take longer. but other that that its fun.

Read Best Reviews of The Sims 3: Pets Here

I read all the reviews for this game before I bought it, so I was expecting it to be super glitchy and not too fun. I have only experienced one tiny glitch so far and I have been playing for a few weeks. I also own Sims 3 for PS3, and I would say that this game may be a tiny bit more entertaining. The town map is different, because it's a different town, and you get to play as the animals, who are also able to gain skills (hunting, digging). You can sell everything your animals find. For example, in one of my games, I have a cat who hunts all the time and I earn more money from selling bugs and spirits than my sims do from their jobs. There are also a few more clothing options and hairstyles available than the Sims 3.

The only setback is how much slower the game feels than Sims 3. The loading screens stay on longer, and you can't make time go by as quickly as you can in Sims 3. Also, and this may just be user error, I had a more difficult time than I thought I should making my pets, mainly when changing their coat color patterns.

Want The Sims 3: Pets Discount?

I love this game!!! It is soooo fun and addicting. If only there were not so many glitches!!! It's driving me nuts!!! I bought the game, played it for a day, then it started freezing up on me randomly. I kept having to exit the game and redo everything only to have it freeze on me AGAIN!!! Then, yesturday, my playstation stopped reading the disc AT ALL. It read all my other games, so I figured something was wrong with THIS game. There were no scratches on the game, so I figured it might be warped or something and went and bought a new game. This one plays, but the freezing is still there and, even with the new game, it says that there was an error reading the disc, so it takes a about two to five times trying to load the thing before it will load only to have it freeze up while it's loading. When I finally get it to successfully load I still have to save it every five seconds in case it freezes, which it always does!!! So, is the game fun, YES YES YES!!! But, does that really matter if you can't even play it? The fact that it is so fun just makes me that much more upset. I wondered why the game was only twenty dollars, now I know. DO NOT BUY THIS GAME FOR PS3!!! My brother has the game for his XBOX 360 and he doesn't have any of the problems I'm having. And, it's not just me this is happening to. There are posts all over the internet about the PS3 glitches. EA, FIX THIS!!!

Read More >>

National Geographic Challenge (Move)

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $29.99
Sale Price: $17.03
Today's Bonus: 43% Off

I bought this game for our six year old but the entire family has ended up playing. This game is educational and fun. We have had the game for a while now and my son chalanged me to play this weekend.

Click Here to Read More Reviews >>

I thought this game would be so cool, and it is not, I have only played it once since I got it and I don't have any desire to play it again.

Buy National Geographic Challenge (Move) Now

Read More >>

Heroes Over Europe

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $19.99
Sale Price: $17.77
Today's Bonus: 11% Off

Overall this game has been a good time. It's not too difficult to learn the controls, and trying to chain Ace combos can be fun. Some missions are timed which makes it a bit more exciting. Some nifty cut scenes in the game with footage and bios of your pilots makes it have an interesting back story for the characters. Some things aren't too realistic, like how you never have to worry about how much ammo you have left, but it's nice to just be able to pick it up, play a mission, and be done.

Click Here to Read More Reviews >>

If you ever played a flight game before or if this is going to be your first, you will absolutely enjoy Heroes over Europe. A few new features have been added but it still feels like a stripped down sequel to Heroes of the Pacific, which was a great game on PS2 and this game is somewhere between good enough and great when factoring in the new controls. To those that haven't played the older game this one will not seem lacking at all. The environments are large and many filled with lots of planes and intense action. The historically accurate locals, missions and planes set a realistic tone and scope. More damage modeling has been added to planes and they still catch on fire and leave increasing smoke trails. The localized damage planes take is very good leaving larger and larger holes. They removed the replay camera and the cockpit view. The new features added to this sequel are nice and include the ace kill, which is very cool, allowing for something like sniper shots to occur as you can shoot engines, pilots, or rear gunners. Hands down a good feature but the replay camera would of made this game and yet it is still good though I expected more.

You can fly with sim controls or arcade controls with roll on or roll off. The best way is with arcade and roll on cause control wise the plane is all over the screen, it will be in the left corner of your tv banked up on its side and in the right corner and everywhere in between up and down upside down. It has a picturesque effect at times like you are in a chase plane looking at the plane you are flying, in combat situations the various planes maneuver differently and the main guns have a varied feel as well from machines guns to cannons with nice tracer fire. The target camera, while selective this time around is one of the best things about this game in that you can target planes and objectives and have a 360 degree locked view to it from your plane. This means you can dog fight and not lose track of where your target is. On a why'd they do that note, cause in the previous game it was hold or just press to cycle enemy and objective, in certain missions you can't target other planes, you can only lock-on to objectives, which makes things difficult at certain times cause a plane without a triangle will shoot at you, unexpectedly, makes you keep your eyes open at all times. Over all a great target system including the updated triangle system that has a triangle over 90% of enemy. You never get lost or don't know what to do next in this game. Very user friendly, fun audio from other pilots and such.

HOE is a good game with HD graphics, great sound, cool game screens that are artistically reminiscent of the era and lots of highly detailed planes to unlock and upgrade. There are 14 individual missions with various objectives to complete and easy check point restarting, that comes in handy on Ace difficulty which increases the amount of enemy and the damage it takes to eliminate them. Online supports 16 players and has 4 maps with 4 modes. Death match or survivor both with team variations. Respawning allows for plane changing with the new map packs feature. I highly recommend using cheat codes to unlock everything and the default arcade controls.

Buy Heroes Over Europe Now

This is not really a typical flight action game. If you're looking for destroying all with super speed, bullets and rockets you should see something else (Ace Combat 5 in PS2 for instance). With this, you will follow a story line situated later 1940.

o Shooting is real and accurate

o If you suffer damage, will see some flame coming up from your engine, this is not true in all war plane games

o this is what I like the most: ACE KILL. You can point and shoot in a slow motion fashion to kill the pilot's enemy plane.

p.s: Also, I don't know if I'm really used to 1080 but I think this game lacks of superior graphics (720p).

Read Best Reviews of Heroes Over Europe Here

I got this because I have some other games of this type. But this game is a waste of money due not by it By it its like flying a bus.

Want Heroes Over Europe Discount?

This game is exactly what I expected it is a great second part to heroes of the pacific the only thing that would have made it better if it had playable b-17 b29 and b24

Read More >>