Rock Band Track Pack: Classic Rock

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Unless you really like most of these songs, the better deal is just to purchase your favorites online. Most are $.99-1.99 each.

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Not bad is about all I can say. We enjoyed it but it was not holding up to the quality of songs we were hoping for.

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Great Track Pack. Plugged it in to load into my Rock Band 3, and it works great. Fun selection, with no bugs. Definite plus.

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delivery was great. i appreciate it when i get products quickly. the game was in good shape as promised and i love the songs on this game.

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Not a great add on but cheap. Track listing is odd at best, but not a lot of songs and some are remakes.

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Sleeping Dogs

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This game by Square Enix, will be the sleeper game that nobody has heard about and may slip under your radar. It's the spiritual successor to the True Crime series and is a Far East take on the GTA series.

The game, unlike the GTA series starts off with a big bang and also attempt to streamline some of the GTA elements by keeping you focused mostly on the missions at hand. So far from what I have experienced, the game itself has great writing as well as great voice talent as it tells a not so common story of an undercover cop trying to infiltrate the Triads in Hong Kong.

One of the big aspects that I like in this game is the ability to incorporate some RPG elements in the game a'la SWKOTOR style. You get XP in 3 areas: Face XP (general public opinion), Triad XP (Triad devotion) and Cop (Cop devotion). You earn these in varying degrees based on how much or how little damage you do as you rampage through the streets of HK on your missions as well as your side missions.

Another aspect that some may enjoy is the combat style which was lifted from the Batman: Arkham series. You earn points by the number of combos and counters you pull off and while its nice on paper, occasionally it doesn't always work in game as sometimes you almost have to wait for enemies to attack to pull your moves. Another aspect to these attacks are enviromental bonuses you get for things like throwing enemies into dumpsters, electrocution and other sick moves and these moves can be leveled as you rpogress in the game.

One of the best ways that Sleeping Dogs has taken at trimming the fat from the game is that within a few hours of playing you can earn a lot of cash for things like wardrobe, cars and other items to get your gangsta on as opposed to the GTA series where earning certain perks takes a lot longer to get.

As far as the environement itself, it's very lifelike and you will hear English mixed with Cantonese and the city feels alive and spawling. Even the passersby have a somewhat more lifelike feel than what I have seen in GTA.

Graphically, in some areas, the game does feel a bit dated as if this was done a few years ago, this would have been a great answer to GTA and Saint's Row but for what it is with tight story telling and action, this game really is what Stranglehold (another great Far East crime game) from 2007 should have been.

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I remember, when True Crime: Streets of Hong Kong was gonna come out, but the devs decided to gut it, last year. Then, I heard nothing else about the game. Several months ago, I saw some vids on this game called "Sleeping Dogs". Found out that Square Enix took over publishing rights to original True Crime game, renamed it and tweaked it. I must say, I am glad that Square Enix decided to take what was supposed to be the next True Crime game, and make it similar, but better. This game is probably the most fun and underrated games of 2012.

In the game, you play as undercover police officer, Wei Shen. He is a Chinese-American detective from San Francisco, who has been called to his native Hong Kong to help infiltrate a Triad gang, called "Sun On Yee". The game takes place in the streets of Hong Kong.

GAMEPLAY: The game is an open-world game ala Grand Theft Auto IV and Saint's Row: The Third, but it seems a little more immersive because of the fighting, interactions, and the cinematic essence in the game. The player can roam free and outside of car-jacking, the player can bet on cockfights and street races, join fight clubs, and do karaoke. Of course, the player can buy various things, such as vehicles, apartments, clothes, and upgrades.

By playing the role as an undercover cop, primary missions will be done on the police side and the Triad side. Also, there are side missions on both, such as drug bust for the police side and "helping" or doing "favors" for residences on the Triad side. "Helping" or doing "favors" can be interesting, but I'm not going to spoil many of the task you are asked to do.

Fighting is a LARGE part of the game. In fact, the fighting would be similar to what is in the Batman Arkham series. It is very addictive and immersive. Sometimes, I don't even feel like I am playing an open-world game. The hits are very hard and brutal. In addition, blocking and making counter attacks will make the player feel like a real kung-fu master. I never felt like such a bad-a** on a fighting game. I must say, it is no easy task, when fighting, especially when fighting seven or more opponents at the same time.

While fighting, a finishing move can be performed. When this happens, the game goes into slo-mo. At that time, seeing the character landing finishing punches or kicks in the opponent's face shows a nice amount of blood coming. It's quite satisfying. What's even better is many other attacks can be learned by finding statues around the city and going to the Do-jo to practice newly acquired attacks on the students.

The coolest part about fighting is using environmental attacks to take out opponents. The player can grapple opponents and throw them at walls, through boxes, phone booths, and electric panels. There are some other parts of the environment that can be used to take out opponents, but won't spoil those.

Driving has similarities to GTAIV, but is a little different. I would say that the driving is not as responsive and the camera angles takes getting used to, especially when going into reverse. Still, it is not much to complain about. It is cool to hear the Hong Kong-based radio stations. I get the feel that I'm actually there.

Shooting on this game is similar to that of Stranglehold, which means it is very animated. Not to mention, the game goes in slo-mo, when the player vaults, while shooting.

GRAPHICS: The graphics in this game are vivid, but not outstanding. I would say that the graphics are sort of dated, but the gameplay outshines that shortcoming, if you want to call it that.

VERDICT: Many people might not want to give this game a chance because they believe it is a knock-off of GTAIV. However, it is its own kind of game. Not to mention, what it lacks in graphics, it is a lot more fun, in my opinion. This game is definitely worth buying, especially since it has gone down in price.

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I recently finished playing sleeping dogs, and to be honest...I didn't want it to end! This doesn't happen a lot with me, but this one was actually a great game to just have fun with. The story was Awesome and i can't wait for a second or some DLC (hopefully)! If your on the fence about this game, take it from me. Ive got 15 or 20 games preordered, so i play a bunch, and when i say that "I don't want this game to end"! Its probably worth a try! Great Job Square Enix on this one!

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I've never reviewed anything on Amazon before, but when I saw that Sleeping Dogs sales figures were trailing other recent games, I thought I'd give it some love. I haven't had this much fun with a game since InFamous 2. It's kind of in that vein: open-world yet story driven with lots of side-quests sprinkled in. The story is great, the characters are memorable and actually have personalities. The voice cast is top-shelf (especially the guy who plays Wei). I've seen a lot of game mags and sites knocking the graphics, but these 33 year old eyes think it looks great! The controls are tight for both hand-to-hand and gun fights. And I LOVE the driving/racing in this game; it's all on the wrong side of the road, being in Hong Kong, but that's part of the fun! You can feel the culture of Hong Kong bleed through, but you won't feel like you don't belong there when you're playing it. This is the kind of game that makes me want to do nothing else, but find every last collectable and complete every side quest, yet I don't feel overwhelmed by the amount of them (*ahem* Batman Arkham City). A perfectly balanced game in every sense and if you enjoyed games like the InFamous series and/or GTA, this is for you. Thank you Square Enix for saving this from development limbo and putting out a great game well worth the steep opening price-tag.

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If your a fan of the previous true crime games/series, you'll love this game. The hand to hand combat is fluid and almost reminiscent of batman arkham city. Though it's a sandbox game like GTA; it plays in its own style and isn't second to that at all.

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PlayStation 3 Intercooler

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1. It does not steal power from the PS3. It plugs into the PS3's power receptacle and the Power Cord plugs into it. The AC power "passes thru" to the PS3.

2. It moves the PS3's power switch to the front of the unit for easy access. Which you'll need, see below.

3. It is loud.

4. It can be difficult to attach to the PS3. You must be careful not to break it or the air slots on the PS3. It snaps into place and you are warned to be careful when doing so as it is very easy to break things.

5. It doesn't turn off when you put the PS3 in standby mode pretty lame. So, when you put your PS3 to sleep for the night (standby mode) the fans on this thing continue to run. That is why they moved the power switch up front. You have to power it, and the PS3, off to turn the fans off.

6. I couldn't live with the extra noise and the inconvenience of having to get up and manually turn the PS3 off in order to turn the fans off. So, I took mine off and it is now sitting in the closet, unused.

Good design for the fans, but bad implementation (having to manually turn it off). If you use this system, you can say goodbye to using your controller or your Blue Ray controller to turn the system on/off.

There have been no official reports of the PS3 overheating so until that happens, why waste money, as I did, on fans which may or may not be needed.

Save your money and buy a game instead.

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In theory this should be a good product, right? Here's the setup: One big fan on the back, two tiny fans on the top, and two really really tiny fans also on the top, and finally variable speed control. But wait, why does it have its own power switch? This switch acts like a "master" switch so every time you want to switch the PS3 on or off, you have to walk over to the console and flip this new switch (oops, make sure your PS3 is properly shutdown first and the hard drive is done writing because it is essentially like ripping out the electric cord). Yes, the switch is a dumb design when they should have just made that switch only control the fans and pass-through the power to the PS3 so it can use its own power control software. But that doesn't matter, its not like you could forget to turn it off. This device makes some noise and a lot of it. Remember the general rule: the smaller the fan the more noisy it seems to be. Fine, I'll compromise a little noise for saving the PS3 from all that evil heat... no, this thing doesn't pull heat out fast enough (oh yeah, that's because these loud small fans are too small!) In summary, save your money and avoid this seriously stylish piece of junk. Great idea, it's too bad someone didn't test a prototype first.

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The idea behind this product, and the implication that doubtless drives many people to purchase it, is that you need an external means of cooling your PS3. You buy something like this because you want to protect your very expensive investment, but that's assuming there's a problem with the console overheating in the first place. I don't believe that's the case--I've seen these things played for hours at a time without a cooler, and most of the consoles on display at local retailers, which are on for many hours, are not cooled externally.

Besides being (probably) unneccessary, however, the Intercooler is poorly designed. The thing is bulky, though maybe that can't be avoided. It's terribly loud as well--loud enough that you may not be able to use it on a PS3 if you're playing it late at night with the sound muted so you don't wake up the family. There is a dial to adjust the fan speeds, but even on the minimum this thing sounds like some kind of mutated hairdryer.

It has it's own on/off switch, which also acts as a master switch for the PS3. If you switch off the intercooler the console goes off as well, which could be a major issue if a game is saving or something. Sleep mode for the PS3 works only if the Intercooler is still on (and roaring), and you can forget about turning the PS3's power off from your controller.

Bottom line--this is a pretty poor product. Don't let the fear of a PS3 meltdown drive you to get ripped off by one of these things--just leave the console in a well-ventilated area and let the system cool itself off the way it was designed to do.

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After reading the previous bad reviews, I had to say something. As an Electrical Engineer and someone who does electrical circuit and mechanical design, this is not a bad product. I knew before I even hooked it up that it would add an additional level of noise! It's something that I've learned to tune out and doesn't really bother me. What many don't realize is that heat is a semiconductors worse enemy. Just because the PS3 doesn't warn you, it doesn't mean that an accelerated degradation of the internal components is not taking place. The nice thing about the unit is that I can allow it to run a few minutes after shutting the system down. This prevents the internal temperature from rising due to residue heat once the PS3 is powered down.

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I bought this thing and the first two things I noticed were:

-Its WAY too loud.

-I can't leave the PS3 in standby mode.

Then after 3 weeks I hear this HORRENDOUS noise coming from the PS3. The large fan on the cooler was making noise like a bearing was going out.

Suffice to say, don't waste your money.

EDIT Talked to Sony Repair about these things based on what I had heard at my local Gamestop. DO NOT USE THIS DEVICE.. The use of it will void your warranty on your PS3. They apparently draw too much current and cause the power connectors in the PS3 to burn up.

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Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

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With the recent announcement of the PS4, you might think that the era of the PS3 is over. But it isn't yet. I hadn't owned a gaming console for several years when I found out about Ni no Kuni. Now, I played my fair share of games back in the day, but the video game market in recent years has just seemed... dull. In large part that's because I don't care for first-person shooters or fantasy sports games. I don't begrudge anyone who does, but I play games for the same reason I read books: to escape into a story. Online shootouts with trigger-happy 14-year olds just doesn't do it for me.

Of course, the gaming studios mainly make games for those 14-year olds, not me. So instead of original content and new stories, we get Call of Duty sequels. So when I found out Studio Ghibli was involved in production of a video game, I was only cautiously optimistic. It seemed too good to be true, and it was hard to imagine that their first video game collaboration would be a resounding success. Then I saw the screenshots... and that was when I started poking around eBay for a second-hand PS3.

Because, you see, the game art is astounding. It's really a step above any video game world you've ever seen. Ni no Kuni is simply a Studio Ghibli anime rendered as an entire walk-through world. As you play, you'll come across a scene and think it's the best-looking shot in the game. And then, a few minutes later, you'll come across something better. One of my favorite visuals comes late in the game: a character's backstory told with haunting, comic book-style sketches. It should go without saying that this isn't a game you want to play on an old CRT TV: an HD screen is the way to go, the larger the better (mine is a 100-inch projection system I was worried about quality, but the game looks great.) Also, turn up the volume: I'd be denying the skill of Joe Hisaishi if I didn't mention the music. In my opinion, it's the best score he's done since Spirited Away.

Now, if the game just looked and sounded great, it would still be worth playing. But the other half of the game's development was done by Level 5. Level 5 has been building critically-acclaimed JRPG's for over a decade. And they've been getting better at it. The story builds throughout the game, is clever and amusing, and seems to make an effort to avoid cliches while also making fun of them (your first major objective in the game is to find the king's red herring). As a resident of southeast Michigan, I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that this is certainly the first time Detroit (or a throwback to a 50's era Detroit suburb, rather) has been featured in a JRPG! There's even a "To I-75 North" sign on one of the streets in the neighborhood.

The battle system in Ni no Kuni is the best and most fun I've ever used a clever hybrid of live-action and turn-based attacks. Basically, most actions have a time-out period after you use them, but you're still free to move around the arena, or cancel an in-progress attack if you suddenly need to cast a spell instead. But that's not all like most games involving physical battle, there are defensive moves (usually overlooked in favor of repeatedly pressing the attack button!) In Ni no Kuni, you must learn when to defend, when to attack, and when to use provisions/spells if you're going to beat the game.

I played the game all the way through and completed all the side-quests. In the end, it took me just over 100 hours spread across January to April, but you could certainly do it in less, and I could have easily spent more. A big factor in this game is how many familiars you want to collect and battle with I only had about 30 total. There's also an entire in-game book (the Wizard's Companion), of which I've read only bits-and-pieces. If you think the game is expensive, think of it this way: if you buy the game at full price and a used PS3 for, say, $200 total, you're paying $2/hour for entertainment for a few months. My only real complaints are the click-through dialog text, which gets to be repetitive, and that most of the side-quests weren't very hard. But really, these are small complaints in a masterpiece game. Quite frankly, if you're on the edge about playing the game, you should go do it. You won't regret it.

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I am a fan of Studio Ghibli. More of a fan of Hayao Miyazaki (Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Howl's Moving Castle) but he has had a hand in selecting animators for Studio Ghibli over the years and is himself an exceptional animator. So for that reason alone I have been anxiously awaiting to see the great animation cut scenes for this game. Not to mention music by Joe Hisaishi, composer for Howl's Moving Castle and Ponyo.

I am by no means a fan of RPG's or JRPG's. I am just a fan of art and video games are one medium I really enjoy. Mainly because a big team of people make an entire world for us to explore and play in. LEVEL 5 is a master at this. This is the closest I have seen a game come to looking like an animated film. Although I do have to note that the Namco's game Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm blew my mind with its cell shading and anime look, as well as Rayman Origins with it's wonderful 2D side scrolling animations. This LEVEL 5 production takes playing in the world of animation to a whole other level. Side note, like Naruto you can choose to have the English dubbed track or the Japanese audio with English subtitles which I think is great.

I am not very far into this game and will update as I venture further into it. As of now, I have had no glitches or problems, load times are as expected. The controls are tight and responsive, the visuals are stunning of course.

The inner kid in me wishes that they had released a game this massive and epic and cartoony when I was a kid. The main character Oliver and his guide Mr. Drippy are very classic Studio Ghibli styled characters and the animation cut scenes have been most impressive so far. The learning curve is pretty nice for this style of RPG. As my only familiarity with RPG's are Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VII, and Eternal Sonata, and in that order, I can't really compare this to many other RPG's. I have read some things online comparing this game to Pokemon for the Gameboy (mainly because you capture creatures or "familiars" who help you in your battles), I can't speak to that. What I really like about the battle system is that it is not just button mashing or the regular RPG style pick and choose how to attack and then watch it happen, but being in real time and an open battleground, it is to your advantage to stay moving when attacking the enemy. So far I haven't found the errands (side quests) to be repetitive. Compared to the aforementioned games however, this will undoubtedly go down as a classic among them. I have heard this game can be beaten in about 40 hours if you don't do any errands and just stick to the story. Something tells me you can squeeze a good 65 hours out of this at least.

Any fan of Studio Ghibli films, classic RPG's like Chrono Trigger and any fan of solid game design need to get this. Highly Recommended. If you are a huge nerd like me, you should try and get your hands on the Wizard Edition, it comes with a physical copy of the Wizard's companion that you use in the game.

*UPDATE*

I am a big fan of what they have done with the familiars in this game. There are a lot, 14 different genuses and each genuses (Arcana, Dracones, and Vermes to name a few) has countless different familiars within their respective class. Each with their own unique abilites which makes gameplay very deep when doing battle with enemies who's weakness may be exploited with a particular familiar.

Like other reviewers have said, the world map is stellar and detailed and harkens back to old school RPG's. This game does take a while to get going, but if you played Assassins Creed III, then this game in comparison seems like it gets going immediately. So far I have not had to use the Prima Guide I ordered for this game. The in game Wizard companion book is very helpful. I can't wait to get my Wizard Edition to have the physical copy that will make it much easier to reference. The more I play the more I love this game. Unfortunately I am stuck at work, otherwise I probably would have played all night and would still be playing now.

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Ever since I saw My Neighbor Totoro as a kid back in the early 1990's, I had wanted to see what would happen when Studio Ghibli combines their efforts with another developer to create a video game. Now that we have the end result, I couldn't be more satisfied. P.S., this is going to be one heck of a bias review.

Ni No Kuni is one of the best JRPG'S I have ever played. Combining Studio Ghibli's incredible imagination with Level 5's polished and fun gameplay mechanics, Ni No Kuni feels like the JRPG'S of old while revitalizing a dying genre. It feels like Dragon Quest VIII (a personal favorite), mixing elements of Tales, Star Ocean, and Pokemon into one pot of pure bliss. And man, how I've missed an overworld!

The story and world sucks you in right quick, creating a sense of charm and wonder right from the get go. The opening is a tear-jerker, creating a sense of desperation and sympathy for our hero, Oliver. More than anything, Studio Ghibli's incredible ability to create such unique and real emotion in such with their animation is one of their strengths, and combining that with Level 5's sincere approach to the story, it works like magic. Right away, you meet Drippy, one of the most incredibly charismatic and lovable characters to ever grace a video game. The writing and script is top notch, filled with hilarious dialogue and wonderful characters (that feature some of the best English Dubs of any JRPG translation that I've played).

Battles play out like a synthesis of Tales meets Pokemon. You gain control of familiars, small creates that have attributes (sword and shield, tank, fire, etc.) that do your fighting in battles. You can also take control of Oliver to command him to use various tools such as the ability to use items, heal, and run. Battles begin fairly simple with you fighting one to two monsters, but the progression exponentially increases and by no time battles become chaotic affairs that will test your wit and reflexes. The combat is incredibly addicting, rewarding constant interaction and movement on the battlefield. One of the best features is the real time aspect of the battle system. If you command your familiars to attack, defend, and use tricks (or special abilities) at the right time HP and MP orbs fall from your enemies, offering a quick heal. It sounds like a simple mechanic, but it keeps you constantly engaged while in combat, offering a fun, fast paced and exciting tug of war against your enemies.

Story telling is, to put it simply, reminiscent of Studio Ghibli. A hero going on an epic adventure to save his kingdom, healing the people of the land of their broken-heartedness, all while trying to save your mother sounds, walks, and talks just a Ghibli presentation shoud. NNK can be enjoyed by a younger audience, but the elements here are consistently dark and mature, which comes as a major relief. Keeping it spoiler free, the game engages you quite well. It's a simple yet emotionally effective story that grabs you right away.

Also of note is Joe Hisaishi's majestic, sweeping, and beautiful original score. Frequent collaborator with Studio Ghibli, Joe was (gladly) offered to compose the score, and man is it incredible. The overworld theme is still reverberating in my head as I write this. It captures the moods with gorgeous melodies and memorable themes. It allows you to explore and enjoy an already tremendous achievement all the more. They seriously need to release the PS3 soundtrack, because this is as good as JRPG and video game scores get.

And speaking of outside influence, Studio Ghibli made a significant contribution in the art department. There are original animated cut scenes produced by Ghibli themselves (namely Momose)which are wonderful (especially in HD!), the monsters are original and cute, and the gorgeous colors used in the backdrops provoke the imagination. Everything is here, and it feels like Ghibli production combined with Level 5's JRPG mastery in full force.

If there are any complaints (and these are minor grievances) it's that the draw distance is nothing to write home about. On the world map you'll see mountains "peel" in in the distance, and foliage in more graphically intensive areas obviously pops in as you walk through the areas. This is such a minor complaint though, honestly, as it comes from years of playing games and eventually noticing technical "tricks" that developers use to cut corners.

Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is sincere, wholesome, and most importantly FUN entertainment that might just be the last push the JRPG genre needs to get its legs again in a predominantly "bald-space-dude-marine-bro" controlled market. Some may ask "why is the title stupid?" or say "it looks like a game for ten year olds!," which at that point I would say that Ni No Kuni game isn't appropriate for them. If you aren't willing to give the game a shot, you'll be missing out. Ni No Kuni takes skill, dedication, and maturity to play and enjoy this long and challenging adventure; it dares to be different from just about every JRPG out there, straying from the spiky-hair-big-sword cliches that have plagued the genre for years, and succeeds so incredibly well at doing so.

And in case you just looked to the end to see the score or closing comments, here they are: Ni No Kuni Wrath of the White Witch is one of the best JRPG's ever made, and it rightfully deserves the praise it is receiving. Part homage to JRPG's and part fan service for Studio Ghibli lovers, it's hard not to like Ni No Kuni. If you love RPG's/JRPG's, this is a no brainer. If you love Studio Ghibli, this is a no brainer. If you've been looking to jump into the genre, you won't get a better chance. Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is a steroid shot to the imagination, giving players freedom to explore one of the best adventures this console generation. It's a masterpiece that won't soon be forgotten.

It's not every day we are given such an incredible gem. Just leaving here with one comment: Thank you Level-5 for the incredible adventure and Studio Ghibli for continuing to create entertainment that is both wholesome and enjoyable.

So what are you waiting for? Go play Ni No Kuni for flippen sake!

Afterthoughts: Just completed the game! My opinions from the beginning couple hours have not changed. I love Ni No Kuni even more now. The ending tied up and explained all of the mysteries and loose ends (without being stupid, farfetched, or cliche), the characters came full circle and were developed so well, and Oliver really grows up into a hero, and a quite likable one at that. There seems to be plenty of post game challenges left, so consider me excited to continue exploring this world.

Total play time for story run: 51:14:06.

Final score: 10/10

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I have not had this much fun playing a game since I first bought the original Playstation and Final Fantasy VII and hooked it up.The game looks like it was made for kids when you first see the animation but don't let that fool you. This game is deep. The story line is inviting and the battle system is challenging and down right fun!! I have to drag myself away from it to do important life things like work! I am a fifty something old man who has been playing video games since Pong. And this game may just very well be the best I have ever played. To me it is that good !!

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I am not an RPG fan like most reviewers here. I was drawn in by my love for Studio Gibli, and the breathless universal enthusiasm for the game. Indeed the game looks like a Studio Gibli epic, and everything about it is top-notch in terms or quality. The art is stunning. The story tugs at heart strings (even if having mom keel over and die is a little un-subtle way to tug them).

However several hours in and I am struggling to maintain interest. The battle system may be great for this type of game, but I find it tedious and repetitive. Walk walk walk, fight, walk walk walk, fight, walk, fight, die, back up and repeat. The enemies are cute, but repetitive and flat. Fighting involves a ton of selecting this character and that spell that takes a while to deal with, pulling me out if the action. I'm sure this gets more intuitive after a while, but often I wish I could just slash away and be done with it.

It is like playing a movie, except for the fact that most of the dialog is just subtitles, and there are boring stretches of Pokemon style battles every 30 seconds as you go on some errand to find some thing to enable some other thing. I do love the fact that the gameplay is indistinguishable (almost) from the cut scenes. But the fact is the characters are 2D cartoons, so that shouldn't be such a feat. Having just played Skyrim for a million hours, I am no stranger to walking and fighting and running errands, but this feels more like a chore. I felt much more immersed in Skyrim. In Ni No Kuni I feel much more bogged down by menus and stuck on the tracks of the story.

That said, the more interactive story engagement sections of the game are wonderful, if a little corny and childlike.

I have a feeling if I were 14 this would have me riveted for weeks. But as a an adult non RPG gamer, I'm struggling to get into this. I realize I may not be the target audience, but for others who were attracted by the Studio Gibli association, I think an outsider perspective may be useful to temper the hype surrounding this game.

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Super Street Fighter IV Arcade FightStick Tournament Edition S - Black

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This is my first fight stick purchase. I have been playing fighting games for years and I finally decided to shell out the money and get one. I have visited many message boards figuring out which fighting sticks were the best and most affordable. I discovered that this one( Mad Catz) and the Hori fighting sticks were the best for affordability and performance. I picked the Mad Catz one because it has a storage device for the 12ft wire right in the back of the base, and also the nice art work on it.

The performance is spectacular. I have always used the d-pad on a controller for fighting games so i was skeptical switching to a analog stick and 2 rows of 8 buttons, plus the fact that I would have to spend $130 to find out if i liked it or not. It did take time getting used to. I spent a good 2 days getting used to the button layout.Other than adapting to the button layout I am not disappointed at all. This stick is worth all $130.

The cable length is perfect and more than enough. The fight stick itself is light and I usually just place it on my lap. The buttons are really responsive. I mean I barely touch the buttons and I can perform a move. The analog stick is great. The stick is really responsive as well. All I can say is that the fight stick screams precision. Every move, combo, can be pulled off with precision with little to no error. I play Street Fighter for ours and my hands dont get tired or start hurting. When using the PS3 controller my hands would get cramped. No cramping has occurred when using the fight stick, and I have had it since March 12.Arcade sticks can be fully customized and Mad Catz Fight sticks are one of the most fully customizable when it comes to replacing parts and the artwork.

I fully recommend this Fight Stick for first time buyers like me who are looking into buying one. Put all worries aside. This stick is great for upping your game. This Fight stick will make you play better period. Its so much more responsive than a normal controller and now I can see this is how fighting games were meant to be played. Worth every penny.

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This new Super Street Fighter IV Fight Stick TE is really nice. Same as the previous TE sticks with some tweaks to the exterior and interior as well. Supposedly there is an update to the PCB board, but I'm not sure if it actually improves over the last stick, since there were no complaints.

You get full Sanwa (Joystick & Buttons) and the cover art is slick! The actual footprint isn't as large as I thought it would be, but it is just right. It also has a good weight and doesn't move around, even when on your lap. I can pull off moves that I was not able to do with the SE stick. These TE sticks, new and old, are the best sticks available in my opinion.

Cons:

The bezel from the previous generation sticks is absent in this one, leaving a hard edge corner that gets irritating after a while. It looks a little cheap since the corners are exposed and you can lift it up just with a finger. My hands rest right on this corner, which makes me wonder if the 1st gen stick would have been a better choice. Other wise, I would have gave it 5 stars.

Overall:

The current price for this is a little more than the 1st gen TE sticks. If that is still the case when you buy, I'd suggest going with the 1st gen.

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All Sanwa parts (lever & buttons) so it's insanely sensitive (a good thing for fighting games). Heavy enough so it won't move around (I prefer to use it on a flat surface rather then in my lap). Cable compartment's a bit tight (just like the previous TE's) but no issues. This is hands the best mass produced joystick (as well as the previous TE's) on the market & yes, I've tried/owned quite a few of them including the HRAP 3 SA (surface area's too small for my big hands) & also less hollow.

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If you've never played on a stick before, this stick is as good an intro to one as you'll get. Its very responsive, and the moves come out easily. Offline, the pad can't beat it for sensitivity and response in my opinion.Overall it does what its suppose to, plus to boot the artwork is great.

However, since you've probably been playing on a pad for most of your life, and special moves on the pad are second nature, you're probably going to get a little frustrated playing with the stick against live opponents due to the fact that you will likely find yourself consciously thinking about how to execute moves on the stick during the game. This leaves less brain power for strategy, which means more losses.

In fact, you will almost definitely lose games that you would otherwise have won hands down with the pad, but due to a missed move, or a missed combo while using the stick, you lose an opportunity and then things go wrong. So again, definitely expect to lose a little bit more than usual, especially against a similar level of competition as yourself. Much lesser competition you'll probably still win against with the stick

However, when you do get good with it, you'll realize that some moves are easier and more reliably executed, especially ultras and DP motions. Having all 6 buttons laid out is also very nice. It makes it much easier to press two buttons at a time for EX moves, throws etc.

My only problem with the stick is its ease of modding. I switched the ball top out for a bat top, because my fingers are long and the ball top made the stick too short. The bat top is much nicer for people with larger hands. Anyways, opening the top panel in order to do the mod requires much more effort that it should be necessary. After undoing the 6 hex screws on the top, you will find that the panel is glued extremely tightly to the base. I literally cut myself on the edge of the faceplate trying to lift it up. It really is stuck down tightly. On the other hand, the original TE had a faceplate surrounded by a bezel. Unscrew faceplate and lift. No glue. For this reason only, the previous TE's are the better sticks because the internal parts and overall quality of those sticks are identical to this new one.

I also tried the octagonal restrictor plate, but honestly, the square gate, at least for me is better. I main Ryu and have no problems with fireballs whatsoever. Overall, an excellent stick, and if you don't have to mod it, will suit a beginner or professional quite fine.

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EDIT

Recently got my hands on the discontinued Hori Real Arcade Pro 3-SA. The Hori is the better stick.

1)More finger friendly button placement

2)Face is slanted towards you (arcade style) instead of flat.

3)Shaft of these particular Sanwa joysticks is longer. Not by much but noticeable for people with longer fingers

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I recently had an issue with a Hori Fighting Stick 3 I had purchased almost 2 months ago and I was initially looking to order a Hori Real Arcade Pro 3 Premium VLX at the $300 price tag. On shopping around, I found this stick for $130 and for a nice stick with full Sanwa parts, it was quite a good deal for me as I had a fighting game party the day after ordering it. This and a savings of $170 from skipping the Hori Real Arcade Pro Premium VLX was quite a bargain.

The stick is great for my needs for a few reasons:

1) The use of the Taito Vewlix button layout has helped me play a little more consistently. This is due to the fact that with my former Hori stick, the former stock Hori layout would cramp up my fingers pretty badly. The transition to this new layout has allowed me to play for longer without pain. The Vewlix position for the buttons is much more natural to the angle of the hands.

2) The Sanwa parts are really nice and just have so much precision versus how the Hori stick was. For purist of the arcade experience, it's perfect as it's almost exactly like having pieces of the Japanese Taito Vewlix cabinet in your home.

3) For a little less than the new "mid-range" Hori Vewlix stick (Real Arcade Pro v3 SA) or less than half (Real Arcade Pro 3 Premium VLX), it's a great "upgrade") if you like arcade games from fighting games to scrolling shooters.

Either during the processing at Amazon or the shipping though Fed Ex that disconnected a wire on one of the buttons. I hope that in the future Amazon could flag arcade sticks as fragile as a casual consumer would have thought the stick was defective. It was easy to fix the problem, so I am still very happy with my purchase.

For those who have concerns over the sharp edge of the plastic art sheet on the arcade stick... Art Hong of the Shoryuken community has found out that under the plastic overlay, the stick is just like a standard Mad Catz tournament edition stick just without the rounded bezel. This gives you all 3 choices: You could take take the plastic sheet, paint the metal plate, and call it done. You can buy a Mad Catz colored bezel for $15 and either paint the metal plate or get a custom cut plexiglass sheet (from Art for example) to put on top of the metal plate. The other choice is a full plexiglass replacement from Art's website () that looks like it will fit flush with the arcade stick and replace the metal plate. This gives you plenty of options for making the stick comfortable for your uses.

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Brunswick Pro Bowling

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $29.99
Sale Price: $24.88
Today's Bonus: 17% Off

I have always been a fan of Sony and had Playstation consoles exclusively. I have never tried a Wii, though I know several people who have them and they all told me how much fun they are. I have been eagerly awaiting the Sony Move for months, and picked it up the first day of it's release. I was amazed at how accurate the controls were! Anyway, when I decided I was getting the Move, the first thing I did was search out a bowling game. I found Brunswick Pro Bowling being previewed everywhere. The graphics looked awesome, and the way the folks demonstrated the game in the videos, it gave me the impression that this would be a pretty realistic experience.

I picked up a copy of the game yesterday. I have to say, I searched everywhere for a review of the game before buying to see what people where saying about it. Of the few reviews I found, almost all were negative. I was surprised. I heard everything from "The controls are bad" to "The graphics aren't great" to "The game is unresponsive" etc. I actually hesitated buying it after reading this stuff.

Well, I have to say that I'm a GLAD that I did NOT listen to the negative reviews. I spent about 3 hours last night playing, and I had a lot of fun doing so. Even the guy in the store told me that most negative reviews come from people who just can't play the game. They stink at it, so automatically the game gets a negative review.

The game is really this simple...You load it up, select the game you want to play (so far I just did the quick game and chose the first character), choose your ally, and you're off. Anytime you need to calibrate the game, you push [select]. Use the "T" button to position your bowler, press the "set" button. Use "T" again to aim, press the "set" button. Hold in T and your bowler starts to walk to the foul line. Here comes the part where people say it sucks. You have to time your throw, just like you would in real bowling. Again, I have never tried a Wii, so I don't know first hand...but I'm told that with Wii bowling, you can really chuck that ball down the lane. This game is designed to be a simulation, that won't fly here. At first, I could throw the ball down at about 9MPH. But with practice I realized that you need to time your release, and now I'm able to consistantly throw the ball at 16-20MPH. Also keep in mind that each character you play has a different level of strength. A "weaker" character might not be able to throw a ball 20MPH.

At any rate, after I played the first game, I just thought to myself "there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with this game." I personally don't feel that it deserves the negative reviews it's getting. I wouldn't tout it as the Game of the Year or anything, but for $30, it's a good bowling simulation that has so far provided a few hours of fun. And as far as realism, I'm bowling exactly the same score on Brunswick Pro Bowling that I would in real bowling...115 baby!!! It just takes practice. The controls DO work, you CAN throw the ball at a good speed, and you ABSOLUTELY CAN hook the ball...there are three different balls to choose from, each one "bites" the ally differently. A "10" barely hooks, a "30" a little more, and the "green monster" (as I call it due to it's neon green color) "50" really bites when you put spin on it. There's a lot more to the game than just "swinging your arm as hard as you can and hoping for the best."

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First off, let me say that I agree with the reviewers who have said that patience and practice is important with this game. If you expect this game to be like Wii bowling where you can stand there, whip your arm and expect a strike, you will not like this game. If you would appreciate a bowling game with accurate controls where you will most likely bowl horrible at first and have to figure out what you need to do to fix your motion (you know...like you would have to do to improve your score at a real bowling alley?), you will probably enjoy this game.

One of the pros is the accurate controls. (This might be considered a con for small children who just want to knock the pins down, but I suppose you could always turn on the bumpers for them so they don't throw a gutter ball every time.) Swinging your arm with different speed, timing, twisting motion, releasing the trigger button at different times, etc. will have an effect where the ball goes and how fast. Swinging your arm out wide away from your body will have a different effect on the ball than keeping your arm in tight, close to your body. I found that I had to release the trigger much sooner in the down-to-forward motion of my swing than what I first expected. This, combined with learning how to time the swing with the approach of the character on the screen, helped me go from throwing the ball 5 mph when I first played the game to throwing consistently at 18-20 mph. You can even investigate the oil pattern on the lane if you want. I am too dumb to know what this means, but if you know about bowling, you could probably use the oil pattern to plan your shots somehow.

One point to emphasize about the controls is that it really matters where you have the camera set up. We started with the camera on top of our TV, but our controllers were constantly going below the view of the camera during our swing, which would lead to a disastrous shot. We moved the camera down below the TV screen and haven't had a problem since (besides occasionally throwing the ball directly into the gutter on an over-exuberant attempt).

Another plus is the graphics are better than other bowling games out there. Granted, it's not cutting edge technology, so don't expect to be blown away. But having varied bowling allies that actually have a different look and feel to them when they show up on your TV screen is a plus. My wife is always in charge of picking the alley when we bowl together.

When you get a spare or a strike, the game plays these canned animations in an onscreen window to celebrate your triumph. Most don't have anything to do with bowling, but some are a little humorous. Luckily, once you get tired of watching these short video clips, you can skip them by pressing a button. Also, there is a short replay after EVERY shot you take. I can understand showing replays of important moments or impressive spare pick-ups, but a replay of every shot is a bit much. You can skip the replays by pressing a button too.

In career mode, you can choose your bowling avatar from a very limited selection of bowlers. You can change the clothing, bowling ball, fashion accessories, etc. for your player, but so far I have found the options for personalizing your bowler rather limited. I like there to be really zany personalization options for my game characters, and the choices here seem to be pretty straight forward, although I will admit I haven't played nearly enough to claim I've seen everything that the game has to offer. And you can't edit the character models themselves at all. As you win games in career mode, you unlock clothing, accessories, and bowling balls.

There are three career modes you can play. In one you play on a team in a league. You can choose to control all the players on your team, only control your game character, or any combination in between. I haven't spent much time in this mode yet. The mode I normally play is the tournament mode where you enter...tournaments...and play solo. There is also a challenge mode where random bowlers challenge you to a game. In addition, there is a non-career mode where you are presented with varied arrangements of pins with the challenge to pick up the spares. You get a better score depending on how many throws it takes you for each pin arrangement.

While I do enjoy this game, there are a few things about it that I do not like:

Only the score of the player currently bowling is displayed on the screen at any one time. As far as I can tell, there is no way to look at all the bowlers' scores at once during a game. You have to remember where you are in relation to everyone else as you bowl. This is a serious flaw one that I hope they fix with a software patch in the future. I think there should be a running score of all the bowlers in your game onscreen at all times with an option to pull up a window and view the entire scorecard.

In tournament mode, if you're playing a tournament with eight rounds and you lose in the seventh, you must start the tournament over. You cannot simply replay the game you lost and pick up in that round of the tournament again. I know this is more realistic, but I would prefer if it gave the option of restarting the round rather than booting you out of the tournament to have to begin it again.

Sometimes music plays in the background during your game. There are not many songs, and they get old fast. You can turn the music down or off in the options menu.

Navigating the menu screens with the motion controller (without the extra navigation controller) is a pain because it takes a lot more movement of the controller to move the selection than it does in the PS3 XMB home menu. You might want to keep a regular controller or the navigation controller handy to help navigate the menus more quickly.

There is no screen that automatically pops up before your game to help you to calibrate your controller. Instead, there is a little message on the bottom of the screen telling you to press a certain button to calibrate. The ball on the controller flashes white until you have calibrated it and you can't bowl without calibrating, so why doesn't the calibration screen just pop up automatically at the start of the first game? Ugh.

On the first shot of the first frame, you set your bowler's start position and angle. This establishes the starting position for your bowler for the first shot of every subsequent frame. You would think this position would remain unchanged, but I have found that occasionally in the later frames of the game the position will creep a little to one side or the other (without you having done anything to change it). This can be annoying because you can bowl a frame or two without noticing that the computer changed your position unbeknownst to you.

Another quirky glitch to note is that there is an arbitrary time limit the game programmers imposed for how long it can take the ball to get to the pins. When we first started, sometimes we would only throw the ball 3 mph, which would cause the ball to disappear just before reaching the pins and our player to reset for the next attempt assuming the last attempt was a gutter ball. It was frustrating, but once we figured out the controls a little better, it has been fine.

In summary, this game is probably not as good as it could have been, but it is fun. If you have the Move controllers, are looking for a game to play and don't mind a little bit of a learning curve, you'll probably like it.

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I disagree with the reviews below. I just purchase the game and it's blast. I agree the move control is definitely tricky but once you learn it it's a lot of fun. In my opinion wii bowling it's good but not as accurate as ps3 bowling. Not really sure what is the person below talking about "you have to whip your arm super fast to get any speed on the ball" again once you learn it all you have to do is swing your arm in moderate speed, release the trigger button in the right time (timing is very important in this game) and the player will throw the ball 20mph every time. To curve the ball it's also super easy and way more accurate than wii. I would definitely recommend this game.

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you all know the saying..... Practice makes perfect.... Well thats what you need with this game.... when you first play this game your only gonna bowl a 50-100..... Dont give up on the game quite yet.... its all about timing, speed, just like your at a bowling alley bowling..... I know the first time i played this game i was only getting 50-75.... Now im bowling 170-220.... Its alot of fun when you get the hang of it.....

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I bought this game before there were any reviews. Once I started playing I was like other reviewers and was like WTF it won't go any faster then 6-7mph. But like another reviewer mentioned timing is everything. Now when I bowl I've been scoring anywhere between 140-170. Here is what I have been doing. First make sure the PS3 eye is waist high so not on top of your tv put it below it. Next when I'm ready to bowl I hold the move controller straight up and down so the the glowing ball is on top. Next I hit the trigger button then the bowler starts moving forward. Once the player just about reaches the lane I swing back and forward letting go and adding a carve as needed and I consistently through 17-20.5mph. Once you get the timing right this game is a lot of fun. I went from throwing a game of 50 to now throwing a 170. So give it a chance and practice.

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Turtle Beach Ear Force XP400 Dolby Surround Sound Gaming Headset

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $219.95
Sale Price: $169.99
Today's Bonus: 23% Off

Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program About 2 years ago my fiance was complaining about the noise from my surround receiver and my gaming habit. I took the plunge and bought the Ear Force X41 and couldn't have been happier... except for the near constant popping and clicking I heard. Moving the receiver away from my wireless router fixed some of this, but still, I would get the pops at random intervals and it could be quite annoying. Don't even try to use the microwave if you have the X41s turned on and on your head!

I then received a Steel Series Spectrum 7xB via Vine and did a comparison to the X41s. The 7xBs were only marginally better at keeping down the interference and the extra features over the X41s really didn't make me want to move into using them day to day, so I went back to the X41s not long after my review for the 7xB.

Now I'm comparing the XP400s to the X41s and I think I'm going to be sticking to the XP400s this time around.

First, there is NO interference to be heard on the XP400s. You read that correctly, NONE. I put the receiver almost on top of the wireless router that caused all my issues with the X41s and the 7xBs and not once in 4 hours of playing like this did I hear even a faint pop or click! I even tried to use the microwave and... still, no pops or clicks! For many people this alone will be the single best reason to upgrade from previous Turtle Beach models.

Pairing to the wireless controller communicator was done at the factory, so it really was a matter of: charge the headphones, plug in the receiver to the 360 (I used optical and replaced the X41 receiver), plug the headphone puck into the controller and power up the headphones. Powering up the headphones also turned on the wireless puck.

You can control the volume of game chat with buttons on the right headphone, mute is also on this headphone as is the Bluetooth pairing for cell phones. Being able to pair via Bluetooth is also how this headset also works with the PS3. PS3 chat isn't bad, but not as nice for me as the 360 chat, for which these headphones seem to have been designed. I paired this to my phone and made a few calls everyone thought I sounded OK, just a little tinny.

Another nice feature is the mic gain control. This is what changes the mic sensitivity. With it turned all the way up, I hear a near constant hiss and those in my party commented that they could hear a lot of background noise, such as the heater running and family members talking in the background. I dialed this down, which eliminated most of the hiss, if not all, and my chat partners all commented that I was then quite clearly heard, however, I was still described as sounding "tinny."

One feature I really liked about the X41s was how no matter what volume I had the game volume set to, I could always clearly hear my party's conversations because they had some algorithm to figure out and volume match in game audio and raise chat volume when explosions and other loud audio is heard in game. The XP400 do as good a job as the X41s, which means it's quite a solid experience to hear conversation clearly as well as in game audio. The 7xBs had a similar feature, but it would actually audibly turn the volume down of game volume, which was kind of distracting, which was another reason I went back to the X41s.

The detachable microphone is nice, and seems to be about the same as the X41, though the XP400 is a bit thicker and beefier. The connection seems to be the same, though I haven't yet tried swapping mics between the two. I preferred the 7xB due to the retractable mic, but that feature alone wasn't a big enough reason for me to use them all the time.

In terms of sound quality, since the XP400s can use digital audio output from the 360 (and it can also take analog, that red and white connection), you get very clear audio and darn good surround sound as well. In terms of the X41 vs the XP400, I think the XP400 has a little bit of an edge in terms of sound quality. In game surround just sounds better with the XP400s to me. The XP400 also has the ability to change the surround configuration to 4 different presets, all changing how it mixes each "channel" of audio in headphone. I've tried all 4 presets and each does change surround configuration subtly. I find the original surround mode works best for my ears.

Another nice feature is the preset "equalizer" modes. You can enhance nothing (what comes from the 360 is what you hear), you can enhance just bass for bigger explosions, you can enhance just treble for some dialog enhancements and other higher pitched sounds and then you can enhance both. I find I prefer the "both" option as it makes the audio sound a bit richer. All of these settings sound better, to me, than the 7xBs.

There is one feature, however, that I am completely not happy with on the XP400s. The battery is rechargeable, which is good, however it is built into the headset. It is NOT user replaceable! This means that in 2 years or so, after many recharge cycles, I'll either be forced to buy another pair of headphones or send these to Turtle Beach to pay a fee to have the battery replaced. I absolutely hate this about modern day electronics. Absolutely detest it built in obsolescence so that people have to spend more money with the company releasing the product. iPad, iPhone, many Android phones, other MP3 players, etc. It's a huge load of horse patoot in my opinion. I like the X41s because I can field replace the AAA batteries on my own. 7xBs, same thing, replaceable batteries. Not so with the XP400. Thankfully you can still use the headphones while they are charging, however this means they aren't always wireless. Nothing is more annoying than having the headphones die mid game and then have to plug in. Of course, this isn't a completely different experience over having to replace the batteries mid play either, just different. I understand the need for a more powerful battery given the added features Bluetooth eats battery, being completely wireless eats battery and so on. Just because I understand the need for more power than a few AAAs, doesn't mean I like having to have planned obsolescence and not being able to purchase and replace the battery on my own.

One thing that is an improvement is the XP400 actually gives you beeps to tell you the headset needs to be recharged. There was nothing more annoying with the XP41s to have them just die mid game, especially during multiplayer fighting as you stop hearing game audio AND chat when this happens. At least now I have about a 10 minute warning before the battery completely dies.

Turtle Beach claims 10 hours of battery life on a single charge for "normal" use and 15 for "optimal" use. What I've found is I can actually pull off about 12 13 hours if I turn off the Bluetooth function and just use it for game audio when I'm playing on my own. Adding BT and chat all the time and I'm down to around 11 hours.

Over all, the XP400s are a great improvement in every way to the XP41s in everything except for the battery being non-replaceable by the end user. Of course, the MSRP on the XP400 is about $20 higher than the X41s so there is that to remember.

Pros:

Great surround sound

True surround sound, not simulated when using optical audio

Chat and game audio equalization (chat isn't covered up by in game sounds)

Completely wireless

No interference

360/PS3 compatibility

Can be paired to your cell phone and used while gaming no fumbling to put headphones down to answer a call

10+ hour play time

Can be used w/ third party controllers (see Con below)

A step above the X41s

Adjustable microphone gain if you want to hear yourself louder in the headphones, turn this up. If others in your chat can't hear you clearly, turn this up

BT pairing to cell phone

Cons:

Tinny chat sound during party chat on 360 according to those in my parties

Battery isn't user replaceable

Third party (or 1st party wheels) require a cable for chat, which is NOT included (THOUGH THOSE w/ THE X41s, the cable that came with those headphones DOES work)

Pricey

Why 4 stars? That battery thing does really annoy me. IF you don't mind not having the ability to replace the battery and don't mind the price, these are a solid 5 stars.

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Coming from the X41s, I had high expectations of the XP400s.

-Pros-

Surround processing is very accurate and detailed.

Bluetooth wireless chat.

New Dual-band radio eliminates nearly all interference for my setup.

-Cons-

Chat. Others complain it sounds like I'm talking through a coffee can.

Non-replaceable battery.

EQ modes very limited.

Blast limiter seems like it is always enabled, even when turned off.

Product Features

"Dolby Surround Sound Immersive 360 degree audio lets you pinpoint the direction of every sound"

This it does, and does very well. No complaints here. It even seems improved over the X41's surround processing.

"2.4/5GHZ Dual-Band Wi-Fi Selects the optimum frequency in the 2.4GHz/5GHz spectrums, virtually eliminating interference"

BIG upgrade over the X41. I used to get tons of interference from the microwave, video baby monitor, wireless... pretty much anything that plugged into the wall. Now I just get an occasional drop out... about once every hour or two.

"Dual-Pairing Bluetooth Answer mobile phone calls while gaming"

Great feature, albeit unnecessary. Good if you miss calls because your headphones are too loud.

*update 4/27/12 this feature has come in handy and works very well. It is slick being able to answer the phone mid-game and not have to wrestle around with the phone and headset.

"Wireless Xbox LIVE and PSN Chat Enjoy complete wireless freedom without the need for chat cables"

GREAT idea, but something isn't right. I've seen others mention the thin sound, like in a tunnel. I can hear them fine, they sound great... but they have a hard time understanding me. I've had quite a few friends complain about how I sound. "what's wrong with your mic?" "are you in a tunnel?" "are you chatting through a soup can?" "What did you say???" For this price, this shouldn't happen. I am currently working with turtlebeach to see if it is an isolated case, or just some shortcut they took on the mic itself.

*update 4/27/12 Worked with turtle beach. Did everything they suggested with no improvement. They kindly offered to RMA the boom itself, and I may decide to try it but I don't have much confidence it will change much. I say that based on the many other comments about the chat.

"Rechargeable Battery Provides up to 15 hours of uninterrupted gameplay and can be recharged while gaming"

This SOUNDS like a great idea, but it has 2 major flaws. If you need to charge while playing, it defeats the purpose of a wireless headset. The charging cable they give you is quite long, so you aren't strapped 4 feet from your 360. Also, at some point, that battery is going to wear out. LiPo (Lithium Polymer) batteries have limited charge cycles. Time will tell the quality of the cells, and what options we will have in the future.

"50 mm speakers; 2.4/5GHz Dual-Band Wi-Fi"

Speakers sound great, read on for my sound complaints.

*update 4/27/12 The sound really is good. It sounds better than the x41s did, as well as better than my sony and sennheiser headphones.

"Digital and Analog inputs as well as a digital optical connection"

Connectivity is simple if you already have an optical audio cable coming from the 360.

"Dolby Surround Sound with adjustable surround sound angles"

This is where I nit-pick. I don't fully understand the point of adjustable sound angles. Dolby surround is VERY specific about ideal speaker placement, and the surround sound processor should stick strictly to that in order to maintain 360 degree, positional sound. See The first surround sound angle option out of the 6 is the one that seems to be set for the correct speaker angles. The other ones all made the sounds to the side and behind seem like they were coming from incorrect angles.

"Dual-pairing Bluetooth Chat wirelessly on Xbox 360 and PS3 and answer mobile phone calls while gaming"

Already been covered. Cool, possibly useful, but a creature comfort.

"Separate equalizer and stereo expander presets can be combined for different gaming situations"

Once again, This headset loses some points for me. Yes, there are 4 EQ presets. Normal, Treble boost, Bass Boost, and Treble + Bass boost. Here's the problem. The normal mode is very flat. Very little bass. Treble boost is way too bright. almost ear piercing. Bass boost alone is just rumbling. Then the bass and treble boost is the least of 4 evils I guess. Still too much bright and too much bass. There really needs to be a happy medium. Right between normal and bass and treble boost would be ideal.

"Dynamic Chat Boost. Chat volume automatically increases as the game volume gets louder."

This function isn't noticeable, so in my opinion that means it is working. It took a day to really tweak the chat volume level but now that I got a good comfortable setting, it is fine.

"Ear Guard(tm) with Blast Limiter. Limit the intensity of deafening game sounds like gunfire and explosions."

Another great idea, but it seems flawed. I understand they don't want you to blow your eardrums, but it seems like it is always on, even when in the "Off" setting.

All in all, I guess I am happy with them. I don't plan on returning the headset, but I do think you should get a little better bang for your buck. Especially the chat mic sounding horrible. I understand that from a $5 generic chat headset, not a $220 set of high tech headphones.

Buy Turtle Beach Ear Force XP400 Dolby Surround Sound Gaming Headset Now

I was able to snag these on Amazon a few days ago for $180, which was a STEAL! I mainly play MW3 (XBOX) so here is my review for now, I will update my review in a week or two with updates on the Surround Sound Angles.

WHAT'S IN THE BOX?

XP400 Wireless Headset

XP400 Transmitter

Digital Optical Cable (approx 4 feet)

Headset Charging Cable (12 feet)

Bluetooth Chat Adapter (PS3 & XBOX Compatible)

User Guide

Turtle Beach Sticker

WHAT'S NOT IN THE BOX?

XBOX Live TalkBack Cable

CONSOLE COMPATIBILITY:

XBOX

PS3

PC

FEATURES:

Bluetooth (BT) XBOX Live Chat or optional Wired Chat. I've tried both and the Wired Chat sounds better and breaks up less obviously, but I wanted to be completely wireless so I went with the Wireless BT. BT for cellphones so you can receive, deny or end calls via the headset which is awesome. *Note, the TurtleBeach XBOX Live TalkBack Cable is NOT included.*

Mic, the mic is removable and it has a "mic monitor" dial which is awesome. I turn it all the way up so I can hear myself so I don't scream.

Battery, it has a built in rechargeable lithium-ion battery. I'm not too sure how I feel about this yet, as being able to replace batteries can be nice it can also be very inconvenient. You can also charge the headset while playing with no popping, hissing, humming, etc which was great.

Surround Sound Angles, it comes with 6 surround sound angles, I have yet to find one I like best but they all work surprisingly well. Better than the older X41s and XP500.

Surround Sound ON/OFF Button is also nice to hear the difference.

Blast Limiter, I thought this was awesome. It allows you to "limit" the sound of background blast and gun fire to focus on the soft sounds such as footsteps, which I rely on heavily since I use Dead Silence in MW3.

Tone Presets, it comes with 4 tones presets, flat, bass boost, treble boost, and bass & treble boost. I prefer Flat myself.

SOUND:

Bass/Treble/Mids Amazingly clear and loud, they sound better than the X32's I returned for these.

BUILD: Awesome build, not as cheap as the X32, overall a much better build quality.

COMFORT:

The headset is very comfortable. The ear cups also are comfortable around my ears and they don't put pressure on my head so they don't give me headaches which is nice. They are slightly too big for my smaller head however, but they fit good enough.

HAVE A WIRELESS ROUTER:

I have a Netgear Dual-Band router with a total of 10 devices connected wirelessly, 7 on the 2.4GHz spectrum and 3 on the 5GHz spectrum and I have NO issues of any popping, hissing, humming, buzzing, etc.

HAVE LOTS OF WIRELESS DEVICES:

I have had 2 iPhones, an iPad, Roku, Roku2, iMac and PC laptop connected wirelessly at the same time while I game with NO issues. Keep in mind my Xbox is the only thing I have hard wired. I also have turned the microwave on two rooms away and still have NO, I repeat NO issues.

WIRELESS ROUTER IN CLOSE PROXIMITY:

I also have my headset no less 8 feet away from my router and STILL DO NOT have any issues. This is an amazing headset.

Read Best Reviews of Turtle Beach Ear Force XP400 Dolby Surround Sound Gaming Headset Here

I've had the head set for a couple of weeks now and I have mixed feelings, though overall a positive reaction. I was upgrading from a Turtle Beach X1, which was wired. One of the reasons I decided to get the XP400 instead of the X41 or X42 was because many people complained that the X41 and X42 had interference if they were near a wireless router. I live in a one bedroom apartment and my turtle beach would be within 2 feet of my router so that would be a big problem. I am happy to report that the XP400 has had no problems being next to my router so the claim that it has no interference is true.

Instead of providing your own batteries, this head set has internal rechargeable batteries. I actually like it because you can recharge while playing. The charging cord is as long as the wired headset cords and one cool thing about the charger is that it is a USB cable, so you can charge it in any USB port. I have been charging it from my computer USB port and sometimes from my XBOX's USB port. Not to mention you can use this headset for both PS3 and XBOX 360, which I have both so its a great thing to have.

One feature that I really like that I didn't think I would use is the Bluetooth feature that can connect to a phone. I don't have the greatest phone reception in my apartment so using my turtle beach to talk on the phone has completely fixed that, not to mention that I can now talk hands free! You can also talk while playing, which I've only done once but its nice.

One thing it doesn't do is sync music from your phone, which other headsets do so if thats a big deal you should look at other turtle beach headsets. Also, because chat uses bluetooth, you can not talk on the phone and game chat at the same time. Once the phone call is over, it goes right back to game chat though.

Some people have complained about problems pairing the head set to the turtle beach, an easy way around that is to take the charging cable and plug the headset into the XBOX and then press the pairing button, and just like that they are synced. For the bluetooth chat just make sure you press the bluetooth button on the headset and the chat button on the controller piece at the SAME time and it will automatically sync. It doesn't really explain that, but it is really easy to set up if you know you need to press the buttons at the same time. It took me about 10-15min to set everything up.

The sound in the headsets are great! They have a blast limiter setting which muffles the sounds of gunfire and explosions so you can hear footsteps and small noises better. I have already seen an increase in my scores for shooting games. Another great thing is the surround sound, which allows you to hear the direction of noises. The cheaper model XP 300 is only stereo sound, which is the main difference between the XP300 and XP400 and that is a huge difference to me.

The biggest con is comfort. My X1 headset was really comfortable so I thought this one would be comfortable too, it's not. The problem is that the ear pieces press against your head to try and make a good seal, but the pressure ends up hurting after awhile. Another thing is that its a bit big for my head. I'm a 115 pound girl so my head is pretty small, so if you feel like you have a small head the head set will probably be a bit big for you, still works, just a bit bulky.

Overall Prosgreat sound, great bluetooth feature, works near wifi, PS3 and XBOX compatible, wireless gaming, surround sound, charges while playing, and long charge cable.

Consnot very comfortable, a bit too big for my head, doesn't sync music through bluetooth, if you do not have an XBOX slim you need to buy a headset adapter cable (if you were using HDMI for your headset before, you would have already bought this), and if the internal battery dies you can't replace them.

I personally like the headset and am happy with the purchase, I just wish it was more comfortable considering how much I paid for it.

Want Turtle Beach Ear Force XP400 Dolby Surround Sound Gaming Headset Discount?

I have the equivalent xp500 model and like many others who have at worst a moderately modern level of tech within the house, the set was useless with constant drops, cracks, whistles, the nine. The base unit on their 2.4 ghz line just stunk up the place, I spent hours adjusting positions and everything to get a clear, non-interrupted signal to no luck.

I constantly upgrade my router to the latest tech but have been going the dual band route for the better part of the last few years so I was sort of skeptical on the addition of the 5ghz band on the xp400 but after trying it, I was pleasantly surprised, it worked like a absolute charm. My current router is the top of the line asus rt66u that just came out and I have mutliple devices residing on both bands so I am asking quite a lot of the the xp400 but so far, I haven't gotten one interruption, it's been flawless. For people in my boat, it's worth a try, the new base seems considerably better in tech so far.

As far as flaws, I would say just like the other models, the bass is extremely underwhelming as compared to other companies. That hasn't changed, it's still the same speakers. The xp500 had a lot of buttons on it, I can imagine people complained about that. The xp400 has a more streamlined approach but a few of the buttons have been moved to the base which was silly in my opinion. The surround angles button being on the base just didn't make sense to me. The xp500 had RCA jacks which was nice as you could hook up a system thru the optical wire then go RCA jack from the tv to listen to tv thru them. While possible on the xp400, it involves getting a RCA to 3.5mm adapter. Conversely, the xp400 has the xbox360 transmitter included where the the xp500 required an additional purchase. Only other difference is the xp500/px5 had preset and configurable sound modes that aren't on the xp400, but those sound modes where so pointless and horrible sounding, it just not a flaw to not have them.

I also have a Logitech 2.4ghz headset that has always worked flawlessly regardless of router being used. They are more sound isolating so the sound is much more immersive and bass heavy but as others have stated, the turtle beach line really does do the high frequencies to a level of quality you just don't get in other sets. End of the day, it's a pick your poison. From a technical sound standpoint, the speakers in the xp line can't be matched on the wireless sound front. On a 'I need a punch' standpoint, there are a few out there that really do it much better. End of the day, it's a preference. I love sound isolation for music, but for tv and games, I think prefer not to have sound isolation so for me,the xp400's are the best wireless gaming headsets on the market.

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Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $39.99
Sale Price: $16.04
Today's Bonus: 60% Off

[Update: July 30th, 2011it's just been announced that a balance patch is coming out later this year. I put the link in the customer discussions section toward the bottom of this page. Provided that changes go in the right direction with all characters, not just Yun and Yang, I'll gladly come back and change my score for this game.]

[Update: July 14th, 2013I know I promised that I'd edit my review to match the changes made when they happened, and didn't do it. I'm sorry for that, but this game is getting updates out the wahzoo. And right now I just found out that this version of SF4 is getting replaced in early 2014 with Ultra Street Fighter IV. It was announced at EVO, earning a lot of groans from practical people. So...you can get this version now and get in some good practice...then go and buy another version in a couple of months, just like most of us did. :p]

Here we are againversion number 3 of Street Fighter 4. Granted, we all saw this coming, and by this point, the only people interested in the game are either going to be the hardcore players or people new to the game. If you follow the likes of Mike Ross, Justin Wong, Mago and Momochi, you probably already have this game and have been reading about the chances made from Super months ago. For those not in the loop, Super Street Fighter 4 brings a couple of new features to the original SSF4 game:

-Yun, Yang, Oni and Evil Ryu are playable characters (and yet there are 2 more open slots on the character select screen!)

-many different online features were added to make things easier to follow and watch

-an ungodly amount of balance changes

Do a quick search for 'ssf4 ae balance changes' and click on the first thing that shows up, and you'll see a huge list of changes made to character moves, damage, hit boxes and more. Sadly, the balance changes were poorly done, and some characters that were already very good (Fei Long) were made even better. Some characters that barely had a chance (El Fuerte and Gouken) were pretty much made worse or the changes they desperately needed weren't given to them. But even worse, Yun and Yang really are as bad as everyone's saying. Yun was a god in Street Fighter 3: Third Strike, and he looks to be the same here. I'd never played him before tonight, but as soon as I activated his Super move, I pulled off a quick 9 hit combo just by randomly pressing a few buttons. Sad. And that palm attack of his? Good god is the hitbox on that thing insanegoing through Ultras even after they connect and even working as an anti-air. Yang's really good too, but Oni and Evil Ryu are characters nearly every SF fan could've done without. Not Elena, Hugo or Oro? Not R. Mika or Rolento? We really needed these alternate version characters here? And get thisthese 4 new characters don't even have Trials for you to get the hang of their basic combos, so you'll be needing to hit Training Mode a lot if you want to get them down. What gets me is how more characters is supposed to be a good thing in some people's minds. The last installments of SF2 and SF3 didn't have anywhere near as many characters as SSF4:AE, but they're still played by many today, and with many eagerly awaiting Third Strike Online's release in August. The new online features are very nice, and I don't get why it took them so long to get it right, but hey, better late than never I guess.

There's not a lot I can say about AEyou were either looking forward to this or you weren't. If you're the kind of person that's serious about fighting games, you'll pick it up no matter what. If you're new, I recommend going with the regular Super Street Fighter 4, and if you really get into it, just buy the DLC of AE. It's great that this isn't a full price new release game, but it's hard to justify buying it when the balance is so bad and that they didn't add many features. How about a decent story mode?

Edit: I can't believe I forgot to mention this. Arcade Edition might NOT be the last iteration of SF4. Seth Killian, the Community Manager at Capcom, has mentioned in a recent interview that the team behind SF4 is still interested in keeping things going if AE goes well. While it's lame of them to say that so soon, heymaybe Yun and Yang will be toned down by then.

Click Here to Read More Reviews >>

This could have been a patch but Capcom would rather bleed its customers dry.

If you only bought this game.....you got lucky and saved a lot of money.

The good:

Game play is good. Definitely the type of game to get friends over and play with them. The game is open to various game play styles.

A fair amount of characters to choose from..... but really ONLY 4 new characters even though the demand is HIGH for new characters?

The bad:

Still no major penalties for rage quitters on on-line battles.

Could have been a patch.

Buy Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition Now

Super Street Fighter IV AE is nothing more than Super street fighter 4 (which is already a great game!) with the 4 new characters, some updated online stuff and some 'balancing' at 34 bucks for it.

Its unreasonable to sell it as a different game. For some of us who already own SSFIV there is of course the 15 dollar upgrade but this game feels more like a 5-9 dollar upgrade to me. Ohh btw this does not come with the new characters costume pack or anything like that, you will still need to purchase that apart.

In conclusion it's a great game but again it's not justifiable to sell it as a different one.

Unless let's say that we never had a super street fighter 4. Let's say that we had something like a super street fighter 4 demo or something like that, in that case this would've been a great release of super street fighter 4, with the option to unlock the new characters.

It's definitively not good to have both SSF4 and SSF4AE selling at the same time (it creates confusion).

Read Best Reviews of Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition Here

Typically, updated versions of a game are supposed to have imbalances addressed and/or significant content added to justify shelling out more money. When Super Street Fighter IV was released it was absolutely worth it. The game was more balanced (not completely but got closer) and there was a ton of new content and characters added. Arcade Edition went the exact opposite direction. The characters are completely imbalanced and apparently this was done on purpose even though this was not what the fans were asking for. Also there are only 4 characters added to the mix.

If you like keeping up with the Street Fighter scene then I suppose you need to get this update. I personally think we should skip it all together just to let Capcom know this is unacceptable. If you didn't pick up Super Street Fighter IV last time I'd still recommend to go for that instead and buy the Arcade Edition DLC once they decide to fix the balance issues (if ever).

Capcom has done two things recently that make me want to reconsider before buying any of their products in the future. The first one being Resident Evil 3D Mercenaries where we could only have one save and now we have an update, to Street Fighter, not many were looking forward to.

Want Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition Discount?

Both of the prior games, Street Fighter IV and Super Street Fighter IV, were great fighting games that helped to modernize the series and bring it back into the limelight. Arcade Edition serves a very different purpose. Instead of being a huge expansion, it's simply a large refinement of an already polished game, bringing balance changes galore and some new fighters. The balance changes are subject to interpretation, and honestly I feel like they did a fantastic job at making higher-level play more balanced. If you're just starting out and want to be great at Street Fighter, this is the perfect version to start with. If you're only a casual player, don't even bother with this version unless you're planning to compete in tournaments or to practice heavily. The finer details in both the original release and the 2012 patch are mostly too small to be noticed by the average, casual player, and only players serious about Street Fighter should get this. That said, it's worth every penny if you're interested in it for that reason.

The new characters are few but welcome additions nonetheless. Yun and Yang are back with their somewhat similar movesets and high offensive potential, but they lack trials to complete so you have to learn their combos on your own. Likewise, Evil Ryu and Oni are also geared towards players who practice frequently. Being good with any of these new characters requires lots of dedication, but they're still fun to use casually.

The most notable thing about this addition, however, is the ability to switch between Super and Arcade Edition rules. This way you can play people online who don't have Arcade Edition yet, while also switching between the two to compare combos and techniques. This, again, will only be noticed by the super-hardcore players, but it's still very significant.

In closing, this game is just as fun as Street Fighter has always been. If you have the original Street Fighter IV and want to upgrade, get this instead of Super. If you already have Super and aren't too into the competitive side of the series, then you don't have to bother with this. The package itself isn't worth it for the characters, but when you consider everything as a whole, it makes it perfect for people who are just getting interested in Street Fighter IV as well as tournaments that don't want to have to download DLC just to play as these characters.

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