Sony PS3 Street Fighter IV FightPad - Ken

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This is an outstanding controller. Very comfortable to hold and all buttons are in easy reach. It is already perfectly set up for use with the Street Fight IV & the default button configuration. Moves requiring quarter, half & full circle movements are incredibly easy do, thanks to the floating digital pad. And they can be done consistently. It comes a with handy Turbo button which makes characters like Chun-Li & E. Honda especially dangerous.

My only problem with the controller & its floating digital pad is that it may be too sensitive sometimes. For characters that require charge attacks or precise up and down movements of the digital pad for combos, the Dualshock 3/Six-axis controller is actually easier to use & more consistent.

If you have PS3 then you already have the standard controller & I highly suggest you try out the Fight Pads to get the most out of this game. It will probably come in handy for other fighting games as well. I fully intend to use this pad on Tekken.

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Yes, this makes SF4 much more playable. A throwback Sega six button pad. The d-pad is not quite Sega style but its pretty good for fireballing motions. However, charge characters who need precise angles to execute like Balrog, you'll find your self doing dash lows, when you want to do a dash strait. You'll also find yourself doing dragon punches when you wanted to do the double motion for an ultra. A little sensitive it is.

On the shoulder buttons, they have a nice click and feel to them. Though, I wish the left shoulder was more like a trigger. The positioning kinda stinks. This button gives me all hell with ultras needing PPP. Your lf index finger needs to "curl" to press this button considering your thumb is on the d-pad.

ON the build quality, its a lot better than people have been complaining about. In the beginning the D-pad was a little "clicky" and would stick in some positions, but you need to break in in a bit.

Look, if you are serious about SF, you need a stick. This pad is 3 times as good as the PS3 pad, but 10 times worse than a stick. I opted not to go with a stick because, though I'm becoming a SF nerd, I want to be able to play with a controller for when the guys come over, not an expensive nerdy arcade stick. But I'm temped every time I cant pull off a complex link combo. The thumb is just not as dexterous as your middle fingers. But the stick is cost restrictive, so this is the next best option.

Overall good, but only if you are slightly more than a casual SF4 gamer but less than an aspiring expert.

*******UPDATE 4/13/2010************

*sigh* I really wanted this to work. But 3 months later of 20 hrs per week play time and the controller started sticking in some buttons, randomly cutting off in the middle of heated matches and lastly, button presses registering incorrectly. (PPP started coming out as MP. wth?)

Horrible quality but alas there are no real options other than getting a nerdy stick at this point..

*******UPDATE 6/22/2010************

Ok, I broke down and got a joystick. This pad really isn't worth it if your putting more than 10-20 hours a week into this game I think. It still is an upgrade from the stock pad but the quality is so shabby with extended use. You'll end up buying at least 2 in your SF lifetime and at that point you should have just gotten a stick. (It will take you a month to get used to the stick)

As a final note here...The Pad warrior tourney players DO NOT use this pad. Many of them use the stock ps3 pad. I think that says a lot overall about this product.

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After struggling to do all the old special moves I know and love on the usual "split" D-pad of the PS3 controller and getting my rear handed to me, I decided it was time to go "old school" and return to my Sega roots. I'm so glad I did. This controller is not only slightly faster and more comfortable to play with, but the disc D-pad is far easier to use. Well worth the purchase if you're tired of the idiotic arrow buttons or over-sensitive sticks of your normal controller.

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On a whim I preordered this controller from Amazon earlier this week. Mostly because I felt that anything would be better than the standard button layout of the Dual Shock 3 controller. I have been using the Fightpad ever since I got it in the mail and it is fantastic.

Every design of this controller is focused for fighting games, the directional pad has a smooth motion to it but with positive feedback. Quarter circle and hold moves are extremely fluid and can be performed reliably, which can't be said about the Dual Shock's dpad. The buttons are in an ergonomic position so none of them are difficult to reach. The system buttons are all recessed so they won't be pushed during a battle, and there are turbo functions to ease pulling off some of the more difficult combos.

I have always been skeptical of Madcatz products but these controllers are wonderfully designed and serve their purposes well. Sadly these controllers are not backwards compatible so they won't work with your PS2 or PS1 games. At least I couldn't get it to work.

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This controller feels great in your hands. Love the click of the buttons, but the D-pad does take some getting used to. It's so large playing as charge characters...can be more of a challenge than usual. All in all though...if you put in the time...you'll be rewarded.

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Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist Of Arland

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I'm not in the habit of writing reviews. But I also don't like petty cheap shots at all. And one "review" of this game on this website does indeed qualify as a petty cheap shot (the one star one obviously). So here I go to act on behalf of a game I genuinely like and also for balancing purposes.

Atelier Rorona is a game that is different from most other games. One of the most obvious ways in which this is true is the story. The story of the game is very sweet and simple. There is no long globe-trotting journey and no grand world-saving scenario. Instead we have a simple slice-of-life story. Obviously whether or not that is a good thing depends on what you're looking for.

Personally I see it as a good thing. The video game market is already filled with long journeys, world-saving scenarios, and big wars and the like so one game that's different is certainly not going to hurt. Now I like to take long journeys, save the world, and discover the mysteries of the universe as much as anyone. But I also find that it's good to take a break from all that stuff every now and then, relax, and delve into something nice and simple.

But while the story is simple one of the things that sets Rorona apart from many other games and really makes it shine is story flexibility. While the story itself is simple the game puts a great deal of emphasis on character interaction and character development. In other words I think it's safe to say that this game is all about the characters. The game gives you the freedom to choose which characters you want to cultivate relationships with and which ones you want to ignore. If you want to you can even build strong relationships with no one or everyone. You do this by gaining friendship points. And this in turn is done by either taking the characters adventuring (you can only do this with the playable characters) or doing jobs for them. Gaining friendship points with different characters and sometimes fulfilling certain requirements unlocks numerous special character events and ultimately character specific endings if you wish it. So there are lots of different ways the story can unfold.

Yes the game has multiple endings. There are four generic or "main" endings: the bad ending, the normal ending, the good ending, and the true ending. But there are also a number of character specific endings with each one requiring the fulfillment of the conditions of one of the generic endings. In addition there are numerous special endings that you can unlock by fulfilling certain conditions. If you would like to know more about the various endings and what you have to do to get them I highly recommend you check out the gamefaqs website.

The gameplay essentially revolves around the concept of time management. Doing some things causes time to pass while doing other things doesn't. The key to doing well is making good use of the time you have before each assignment deadline.

As you might have guessed from the title of the game the story and gameplay are about alchemy (or in gameplay terms item synthesis). Rorona needs to use alchemy to pass tests and save her workshop. It's worth noting that while item requests are a key part of the game (requests from friends, the townspeople, or assignments) you don't necessarily have to synthesize an item to fulfill a job requirement. You can also use items you buy in the shops or find while adventuring. Although sometimes the quality of the item is going to count for something in which case it may be better to synthesize it. Also some items can only be obtained through synthesis. Adventuring and combat are also a core part of the game. Adventuring is generally necessary to fulfill certain requirements and get the best ingredients. The game gives you the freedom to choose whether you want to spend more time adventuring or synthesizing items. And you have two separate level types. Your alchemy level and your adventurer level.

The combat is nicely done in the game. It's classic turn-based combat with some nice touches. There's no ATB (active time battle) system so the game gives you all the time you need before making a move, which of course makes the game more user-friendly. There are no turn meters so the game will simply jump to whoever's turn it is next, which is nice and efficient. There are no MP (magic point) meters and no MP restoring items. Instead the special moves cost a minor amount of HP (Health points). This makes the gameplay simpler and comes in very handy with regard to characters with healing abilities.

This game also has the popular new game plus feature. And all of the money you have at the end of one play through can be transferred to a new one. Only your money gets transferred. This may not seem like much but it's actually more advantageous than it sounds. For example having large amounts of money at the start of a new play-through enables you to buy a large amount of healing items early on which helps you beat stronger monsters which in turn allows you to level up faster. And of course buying ingredients is not a problem either.

The game is nicely balanced. It's not too hard but not too easy either. There are many different gameplay mechanics to work with. And while this may appear a bit overwhelming at first the learning curve of the game is surprisingly minor. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to get the hang of the game and there are numerous helpful tutorials provided for you. And the game can indeed be addicting.

But I strongly feel that I must also warn anyone reading this to be wary of the professional reviews in this case. Professional reviews are often (although not always) unfriendly or even hostile toward niches games (or games that only certain kinds of players can get into). And Atelier Rorona is certainly a niche game. IGN's review in this case for example was especially disgusting. That so called review was (and is) petty, ignorant, immature, unfair, and unhelpful. Not very professional at all. So as I said with my Heavy Rain review: Be careful who's opinion you buy.

And of course for me the most important part of the game was the story and characters. The story is pleasant and simple, which I found refreshing. It's also full of characters who are distinctive and interesting. I also found several of them to be likable such as Cordelia and Lionela. One notable exception was Astrid. Although I never really liked her we learn some interesting and important things about her at the end of the game. So even though I didn't like her I did come to understand her at least somewhat, which made it easier for me to accept her for who she was (and is I guess).

There is certainly a lot here for female players to enjoy. For example the main protagonist is female (something relatively uncommon in the world of video games) and so are several significant characters. I also think this game is something any dedicated JRPG fan should try.

So yes, this game is not for everyone. But nevertheless it will likely satisfy those who take to it. In the right hands, this game can provide a wonderful experience.

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As a huge fan of Gust and of the previous entries in the Atelier series, I had high expectations for this game. I am happy to say that the game has completely met them. I've been having so much fun playing this game, getting to know the other people in Arland, and working on harvesting new items to synthesize new things. I have to watch the clock a lot when I play this, because it's easy to just keep saying "oh, one more job" and realize I've been playing for hours. The story scenes are sweet and fun to watch, and I'm especially enjoying Sterk and Lionela.

The combat in this is very basic, and in most gathering areas, the fights are extremely easy. The assist system adds a little more to battles, but it's still simple, traditional turn based play. However, the fighting takes a backseat in this title to item gathering, synthesis, and character interactions. Some of the animations for character's special moves are very cute and fun to watch, which adds a little something to the basic battles.

The backgrounds in Atelier Rorona are stunning, and the cel shaded characters look very nice. I especially like the little touches like the character sprites reacting to the dialogue in the game and the way Rorona's cape flounces out when you have her jump. This title has beautiful music that helps add to the game's warm, inviting atmosphere. I wasn't a huge fan of the English voice-acting, but the Japanese language track is intact, so users are free to choose whatever they prefer.

I'd highly recommend this game to fans of any of the Atelier games, especially Atelier Annie, fans of Harvest Moon and Rune Factory, and fans of visual novels. I'd also suggest this title to those who enjoy some of Gust's other games. Those of you who enjoy JRPGs and are open to something different might also find yourself pleasantly surprised by this title.

I'd like to end this with a tipyou can get water for free at any point in the game selecting "Artisan's Way" on the town map and then walking down around the corner from your workshop to a well. Finding this out made the early stages of the game a lot easier on me.

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As a huge JRPG fan, I've played a large amount of the JRPGs of this current gaming generation. However, they all seemed to revolve around the premise of saving the world/universe, and eventually I grew bored in the genre. However, Atelier Rorona single-handedly revived my interest in the JRPG genre and has made me very excited for Gust's upcoming game to hit the States, Ar Tonelico Qoga, and has made me hopeful that Rorona sells well enough so that the sequel, Atelier Totori, makes it to the States.

Atelier Rorona is not your typical cliché-filled save the world RPG. Instead, it's a simple game that revolves around an incredibly deep item creation/alchemy system, interaction with the game's colorful characters, and exploring the world while doing quests for the people and your friends. The game's time mechanic makes for very fast-paced and fun, frenetic gameplay, which I've gotten very addicted to. However, if you are looking for a JRPG with a deep combat system, then I would not recommend Atelier Rorona. The game is focused on alchemy, like I said earlier, so the combat system is pretty much your standard turn-based system found in every JRPG. Don't let this deter you from a fantastic game though.

Atelier Rorona also marks the first 3D Atelier game that Gust has made. The cel-shading is very well-done in Rorona, especially the character models. Environments, however, look a little bit bland and blurry sometimes, but you won't notice it too much as you'll be spending a lot of time in your alchemy shop whipping up new items or in the wild gathering materials for that super-awesome item you'll be creating, whether it's a plain pie or even a cannon. Another thing that I really love in Atelier Rorona is the music. Composer Ken Nakamura did a fantastic job in using unusual instruments that gives Rorona's tunes a very "homey" feel to it. You can't help but feel a bit of nostalgia for the good old days of RPGs from the past when you hear the BGM.

If you're looking for something different or a break from the typical save-the-world RPG, or just want to try something new, look no further than Atelier Rorona. With the massive amounts of quests to do and items to create, along with 4 specific game endings and over 30 extra endings based on your friendship with the game's characters, this is one game I'll have in my PS3 disc drive for a long time.

Shameless plug: Buy this so NIS America brings Atelier Totori to the States too! ;-)

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I loved Atelier Iris 1, 2 & 3 on the ps2. (I played Eternal Mana twice to the end.) I enjoyed Mana Khemia 1, and Mana Khemia 2 just a little less. I even managed to get halfway through Ar Tonelico, where the alchemy was a total let down. (the story wasn't all that great either)

Atelier Rorona isn't bad. It's just not challenging. It feels like it was made for children in their early teens, who might enjoy a very linear game, much like you would give a color by numbers to a young child just learning colors and numbers. There isn't much freedom in Atelier Rorona. You get assignments which must be completed in a 90 day time period, plus jobs to do for money, items, and friendship points.

Gameplay: Every thing costs 1-2 days. It wouldn't have been so bad if either the exploration or the alchemy didn't use up days. But you have no freedom to tweak recipes, as most items cost a day at the least, and figuring out which item gives you which effect will have you reloading over and over, since you will run out of time before the assignment/job is due before you get the recipe where you want it. Also, going to a gathering place costs days to get there, then every sub screen costs a certain amount of days to "explore." This can get very frustrating when you have to either go all the way back to town to make an item to advance on the screen (like when you find out you need a bomb to demo a rock in your way), which uses days there and back, or reload and start over, which is a waste of real time.

It's not a bad game, but I'm glad I borrowed it instead of buying it, since I doubt I will be finishing it, and I am certain I will never replay it.

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A game made with the only purpose of entertain those who scream for the old days of the ps2, atelier doesnt have the graphics of ffxiii but we get a game that prefer a great experience better than only nice visuals

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PS3 Slim Stand with Dual Shock Controller Charging Stand and PS3 Move Controller

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This was an excellent purchase. It looks very stylish and neat and is compact so that I could fit it under the TV. The colors and low profile all help to make it look like a piece of art in the room.

Charging is great and ability to charge two sets at the same time means hours of play for both of us. Excellent product.

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Guardians of Middle-earth

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List Price: $29.99
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Finally the MOBA's arrive on consoles and for those wondering what a

MOBA is it's a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena. this style of

play has been popular on pc for a number of years now with games like

League of Legends dominating the market, so making one for console

was a great idea. another great idea they implemented is

no microtransactions like the pc counterparts have.most pc MOBA's

usually charge real cash for characters, items etc. here Guardians Shines

by not charging a cent for anything. you unlock characters by earning coin

(Gold) by doing battle with up to 5 human enemies (10 players total)

this may sound fantastic but as of this writing, I have not

been able to play and finish a true ten person game (no A.I. Bots)

so here's the rub, while it's a really fun game especally with friends

you will usually have 1-3 human opponents on a team and the rest

will be filled with A.I. Bots that perform pretty well considering

they're A.I. Controlled.

the gameplay consists mainly of killing enemy guardians (players)

destroying enemy Towers (defencivefires on enemies)Upgrading your towers

and upgrading your Barracks (barracks when upgraded can produce mounted units, Siege units like Ents and elite fighters good for taking on players)

and finally destroying the enemy base. destruction of an enemies base immediately

ends the game. if the timer runs out the game ends as well.

there are a number of game modes to choose from including an all

A.I. vs Player Match setup called Skirmish Mode. it's a good place to start

for the new player.

the 2nd mode Battlegrounds is the meat of the game and has the choice of

three lane (more strategic) or One lane (full on head to head battle)

then there's Elite Battlegrounds for pure player vs player matches no Bots

However again another flaw shows up with wait times for a single match

taking up to 15 minutes to start, then later one might start in ten.

other times there's not enough players for a match and you have

to wait until the queue is filled.

Once you've chosen your battle type and get into a game it

is fantastic with glorious spell effects and all sorts of team buffs

like shields, healing, shrouded in darkness etc. and there's

Commands in addition to abilities that have a longer cooldown but allows the player

to have a quick heal at level one but maxed out at level 12 you can

summon a Balrog or an Ent. there's about five Command Power choices

per level and four levels each unlocking at lvl four, eight, and twelve.

finally, there are Relics that you can equip up to three of and fill with gems

these apply various effects from regeneration to the more expensive

relics shrouding the player in a shield each time an ability is used.

others increase damage and others still speed up cooldowns.

the animations are excellent but nothing new with an isometric style of view

of the lanes or lane.

Characters to begin with you have on each side (good and evil)

three unlocked characters and 5000 gold is required to unlock another

though they have a great "Featured" group of characters each week that are free to use for that week only. as of this writing I do not know if they will cycle.

a really fun game that could have been more fun with all ten friends.

Gameplay: 5 stars a blast to play and a deep amount of strategy

Graphics: clean and nicely animated 4 stars

Sound: nothing beyond the expected 4 stars

Controls: 5 stars simple and easy to pick up and play.

Overall: if it weren't for the wait times for matches

with human players this would easily be a Five Star title

but the wait times are annoying. I have read on the official

forums that several patches are coming to address the issues I stated

about the long wait times and games with ten live players failing

to remain stable long enough to complete a match. so let's

hope they bring out a patch for these soon since it truly

is a Gem on the Psn and XBL marketplaces.

the game only falls short of greatness due to those two flaws.

don't overlook it try the demo First!

NOTE: the PS3 version as well as Xbox, are Marketplace

Downloads off your service (I Used PSN)

so in this retail box you get a cardboard disc that has a voucher code on it

good for BOTH the full game and the Season Pass. this pass get's you eight more guardians as they are released. so if you're wondering if there's a disc

in the retail ps3 version, the answer is No.

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As an active player of MOBA-style games(multiplayer online battle arena), I was very excited to hear news about one based on the Lord of the Rings. After playing it for some time, however, my expectations fell as I discovered that while it does retain some good qualities of other MOBAs, it fails to truly shine in its own right. Guardians of Middle Earth plays much like one would expect from a MOBA: you choose your hero, you fight through lanes alongside spawning minions(or soldiers, in this case), you take down towers, and you attempt to overtake and destroy the enemy base. Combat is fluid, leveling feels scaled correctly, and each hero character is very unique. In addition to the normal mechanics, you can also capture shrines located across the battlefield for passive bonuses, keeping the balance of power always shifting. What is disappointing to find, however, is that you do not earn any in-battle gold, and there is no equipment to speak of, like in games such as League of Legends. You do earn experience and gold overall through from every battle, and outside of games you can customize your loadouts with new skills, bonuses, and consumable potions. This adds for a nice incentive to keep playing and completing challenges, which are plentiful and diverse. What really detracts from the overall experience of Guardians of Middle Earth is the over feel of the combat. Enemy AI is idiotic, and the game almost forces you to play with others because of so. Also, because of the lack of many heroes, it is very easy to use overpowered characters and abuse their abilities. Perhaps in the future when more characters arrive, it will be more balanced, but until then, you are better off avoiding anyone will low survivability. Overall, while it is not a terrible game, it probably wont appeal to many outside of MOBA or Lord of the Rings fans, until some issues have been fixed.

Buy Guardians of Middle-earth Now

Would be fun if you like online gaming but the graphics stink. And not up tot he quality of other Lord of the Rings Games.

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I bought this for $15, and it came with a downloadable voucher, I download it, then played one game online. Even with a wired 30 megabit connection, I got lag. For a League of Legends play who is used to instantaneous response, that was unacceptable. The $15 price tag about fits it for how bad the servers can be. I'd suggest waiting for the PC version to come out to see if the servers are any better. But I don't suggest buying this unless they step up their servers.

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other then the servers sometimes this game is so fun. i was no fan of mobas but now i cant stop playing, great game.

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Sniper Elite V2

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I for one love to snipe in games and have all the patience in the world to stratigically plan out my moves. For me, it's more gratifying than the whole "run and gun." With that being said, this game will fulfill your craving if that's what you enjoy doing. You need to learn to plant tripwires, mines and throw rocks to get your enemies to look in another direction so you can sneak past. I've killed Hitler a couple times (only a perk for those that pre-ordered) and I've played the demo about 4 times and liked it enough to buy it. It still holds up. I've played maybe halfway through the campaign thus far and my only gripe at this point is when you're reloading your weapon and in the line of fire, if you're prone, you're stuck in your position til you're done reloading. If you're being fired upon, there's a good chance you'll die before you're done reloading. I suppose that's realistic, though. Also, I'm kinda bummed that I can't switch out my main rifle until a new mission starts. You can't switch it out like you can your machine gun or sidearm. At least that's what I've encountered. The graphics are pretty good and you can somewhat control the AI. If you custom pick the harder settings, the AI will work against you. Your enemies will make more of an effort to hide and they'll be more likely to seek you out. I don't know why you wouldn't pick the most realistic setting for the shots fired. You want the elevation and windage to be affected. I mean, that is why you would want a quality sniper game, right? You can disable that and make it so the bullet hits whatever your crosshairs are on, but there's no challenge or realism to that. Everyone knows about the kill-cam. That hasn't gotten old yet. I'm super picky about shooter games. I only buy a couple games a year and most often when I try something from a difference franchise, I'm disappointed. I'll say that this is the most enjoyable "new" game I've tried in quite awhile. I'm 31 and don't spend much time on games anymore. I'm an avid target shooter in real life and setting the realism of your sights to "realistic" will put forth a challenge that is somewhat similar to how it really is. Luckily, shooting a Mosin in this game won't leave a softball size bruise on your shoulder like it does in real life! ;-)

On an added note, you can't pause and save the game. It saves when it wants to. Sometimes I may be in a mission, but I don't have time to finish it. Although I've reached checkpoints, if I don't finish the mission, but I shut down the system, I've got the restart the entire mission when I resume later. C'mon now. That's just not cool. Checkpoints are pretty much only good for if you die. Don't start a mission you don't intend on finishing. I learned this the hard way during some of the lengthier missions.

UPDATE: Some people complain that the AI is too aware of your presence. I can say that I make a mission stretch anywhere between 60-90 minutes. That may seem long, but this is a sniper game and it's about strategy and patience. If it's taking you half that time to finish the mission, then guess what... You're probably rushing it, hence the reason they're aware of you so easily. You have to learn to tip-toe around, shoot when bombs in the distance are going off or bells are chiming. You have to wait for these moments so your shots aren't detected by others. If you do it right, you can get through an entire map without anyone ever being alerted of you and making you run for your life. Take that into consideration. You can't treat this game like you would CoD or BF. That's what makes it fun, though. It's different! Yes, the saving aspect sucks, but that too makes it more challenging. Just be aware of it is all. It's not worth turning your back on the game because of it.

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If you like playing the role of sniper, this is an excellent game! It's crazy hard even at the "normal" level (for me at least) so I had to switch to the easy level. The enemies at the normal level seem to get alerted to you VERY easily no matter how long you take, how sneaky you are, or how quiet. Im sure as you ratchet the difficulty up, it's even worse (or better for those who like a challenge). The sniper animations when you place a great shot are wicked. The difficulty of making the shot depends on the difficulty level you are on from no calibrations to super-fine tuning and taking into account all variables (wind, distance, etc). I typically play just for fun so a super challenging experience isn't what Im looking for. I want recreation, not frustration. That being said, it seems as if this game caters to all types of players in the sense of how challenging you want the game. I'm glad I purchased it and after I complete the game on easy, I like it so much I may ratchet the difficulty up a notch and replay it. It's that cool.

Buy Sniper Elite V2 Now

Forget the average reviews this game is getting from gaming media outlets. If you like to play stealthy 'slow pace' Sniping type gameplay there's nothing close to this game on the market. Run and gun/mindless shooter fans need not apply.

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Game reminds me of sniper ghost warrior, except placed back in WW2. So far this seems like a legit shooter with a strategy aspect to it. First thing I noticed is the delay in interaction choices between item pickups and obstacle hopping. Sometimes having to mash the buttons to even pick up a body or hop over a wall. Sound could be a little bit better do to the fact of everytime you run it sounds like your trotting through a hallway made of echoes. Other than those few things I've seen the combat part to the game is nicely done. And the slow mo kill shots are epic. From end of barrel to end of their skulls. The detail that went into this mechanic of the game was superb. Seems like a copy of mortal combats xray when you break bones. And not to mention the enemy ai is decent I've died several times due to sneaky lil Nazi's. Note: trip wires are your bff. Overall, if you like WW2 genre games with sniper play added in and nice exploding craniums. Then I suggest this game.

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Big explosions, whizzing bullets, screaming comrades, and frantic shootouts are your typical ingredients to most military shooters. It's a rare treat when we take the battlefield backdoor and examine stealthier means to combat. War torn Germany proves to be the perfect playground for sneaking around and lining up headshots. It's not to say that being a sniper is short of spectacles. The newly introduced X-Ray cam shows the sniper's .50 caliber bullet shred the targets' insides in glorious slow motion. The sniper's approach might be subtle, but his executions are gruesome.

The Sniper Elite franchise returns with a reboot, rather than a sequel, and brings surprisingly addictive gameplay, unique enough to hold its ground when facing veterans of the genre.

The Good

X-Ray Cam never gets old

Addictive gameplay

Be stealthy or shoot everything in sight

The Bad

AI has superhuman vision

Outside the sniping, controls can be clunky

Enemy AI can be frustratingly dumb

You play as OSS officer Karl Fairburne who's sent to Berlin in 1945 to track key figures involved in the V-2 ballistic missile development. The campaign references USA's plan (Operation Paperclip) to recruit Nazi-German Scientists for employment in the aftermath of World War II. Trite story elements bring nothing new to the table, but varied mission objectives provide plenty of sneaking and sniping opportunities: infiltrating heavily guarded facilities, assassinating Nazi targets, and disabling military weaponry. You can take the silent route or pick a hiding spot and let hell break loose.

The levels follow your typical point A to point B format, but they provide several paths to flanking your opponents. You're equipped with a silenced pistol, a machine gun, trip wires, grenades, land mines, rocks (for distracting guards), and of course your deadly sniper rifle. Your varied arsenal is a catalyst for creative bloodshed, but it's a shame that stealth feels unrefined and clumsy. Before making your first move, you can examine the environment with your binoculars and tag enemies for easier kills. Unfortunately, regardless of your position, every soldier seems to know your exact location once the first shot is fired. This oftentimes takes away from your careful planning and you're left with a game of whack-a-mole.

The enemy AI is aggravatingly inconsistent. You'll see enemies welcome your bullets with open arms while others have super human vision, spotting you from a mile away. Sneaking though buildings is where stealth suffers the most. Take a room with three guards for example, where one is looking out the window. You can easily shoot two krauts without the third guy ever reacting. Other times, you'll hear enemies storming at you from the distance, even though you're quietly prone on the floor. This isn't to say that stealth is entirely broken or useless. You can certainly crawl your way thought the majority of levels undetected, but it's a shame that random AI spasms break the gameplay tempo.

Sniper Elite V2 is a blast to play. Critical shots are highlighted with a slow motion X-Ray Cam that showcases what happens when a bullet tears though an enemy's body. Teeth shatter, organs explode, limbs fly it's a blood bath. The shooting feels precise and the realism of bullet ballistics is determined by the game's difficulty setting. Playing on casual removes environmental effects on the bullet. Your bullet will land exactly where your reticle points, so this is a welcome setting for newcomers to sniper simulations. Raising the difficulty brings a whole new level of authenticity to the gameplay. Taking gravity, velocity, bullet penetration, wind, and aim stability into account is quite challenging when you have a gang of Nazis breathing down your neck. Furthermore, several levels have tanks and enemy vehicles patrolling the area. They can be taken out by shooting their gas tanks, killing everyone in the blast radius.

As fun as the sniping is, using your machine gun for close-range combat feels gawky and buggy. I know the sniper is all about, well, sniping, but you think he'd grasp the basics of using other firearms sometimes it feels like he's shooting with his feet. Luckily, these encounters are seldom and you mainly rely on your sharpshooter skills.

Visually, the game has nicely rendered, authentic environments. The streets of Berlin are filled with rubble and you get a detailed area overview when the camera shifts to slow motion as it follows the bullet to its target. Character models look decent enough, but it's the death animations that steal the show. Depending on where you hit the target, the enemy reacts distinctively. It's reminiscent of the recent Max Payne game bravo!

The audio is superb! The high-pitched sound of your bullet catching speed and the grotesque shattering of Nazi skulls is thrilling. Sound also plays a substantial role in how you navigate the levels. Unless you are crouching, the echoing of your footsteps attracts nearby soldiers and can blow your cover. When sneaking through a building, enemy chatter can reveal their location and give you the upper hand. These are great little touches that complement the gameplay.

Sniper Elite V2 is a rare gem in the military shooter genre. The single player mode is solid, clocking in at about 7+ hours, and you even have a multiplayer component that allows for co-op play. Replay value depends on how much you enjoy the first playthrough, but considering that every mission gives you numerous ways to make your enemies' brains explode, I'd say you have plenty of reasons to revisit the campaign.

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SBK X

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $39.99
Sale Price: $19.20
Today's Bonus: 52% Off

See my recent review for the new Capcom MotoGP 10/11 game. The SBK game franchise is suffering from the same syndrome. Apparently, these game developers don't understand that new versions of their games should be better than the old versions.

The arcade portion of this new SBK X game is ludicrous and unplayable compared to previous versions. The movement of the bikes is totally wrong. Simulation mode is a bit better but not as good as the original SBK Superbike Championship game for PS3.

It is nice to have bikes, riders, and classes beyond just the Superbikes. But the graphic quality of the game is pretty disappointing compared to previous versions. The human body rider details are especially primitive and blocky. And the landscape details of the race tracks are not as well handled as previous.

The bike sounds are pretty accurate. But the music is annoying.

I hope that the Grand Turismo people will develop a new version of Tourist Trophy soon. The rest of the current motorcycle games are unimpressive.

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I love how the bikes sound in this game, specially the Ducati.

Love it. I recommend it to every one

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This game is really lame. I hope the new versions get a lot better. It's impossible to control the riders!

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it could use a rookie mode or my controller is too touchy-but still a lot of fun--maybe practice will help

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PS3 250GB Amazon Exclusive Family Entertainment Bundle

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

I will not get into the details of how great the PS3 is. It is a good product.

My original PS3 60 GB just died after 6 years of light use and I had to replace it with this bundle.

Overall it is a great bundle but the Amazon picture shows the PS3 installed vertically on a stand. I honestly believed that I will get everything that is shown in the picture. Unfortunatelly, the vertical stand is not included and the cheapest I could find one was $20.

Also, as another reviewer noted, the games are in sleeves, not in cases.

I recommend the bundle but know what you are getting.

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Hello Amazon review board. I have been a player and buyer of games for many years and I have never done a single review but I see the need to help everyone who got this ps3 bundle. I purchased this one only a month ago when it was for 280. I had the same long ringing problem that a lot of other people are getting on this system and this is how I simply fixed it. THERE WAS A PIECE OF CLEAR TAPE OF THE TRAY THAT SLIDES OPEN AND WHEN I FIRST PLAYED A DISC IT MADE A HUGE LOUD SOUND AND SCREECH, BUT AFTER YOU COMPLETELY REMOVE THE LITTLE PIECE OF CLEAR TAPE ON THE SLIDER TRAY IT SHOULD SOUND PERFECT AND PLAY SMOOTH. After I removed it the disc and system played quiet and smooth and I was so relieved. I hope it helps people out who are having the same problem. I would hate for people to have to fight through that. Hopefully this helps. First and last review for anything. Thanks

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The games that come included aren't really the best, but for what they give you, it's still a really good price! Two games, the new PS3 and a media remote for BluRay movies! I personally loved this. I own an Xbox 360 and got a PS3 just for the awesome single player games! Definitely worth it!

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I've been gaming since the original NES, and I've owned a PSX and PS2, but I held off on buying a PS3 due to the originally high price. I adopted the Xbox 360 and played that as my main console for years. After Gran Turismo 5 came out, I started looking at the PS3 more seriously but never ended up pulling the trigger. I recently bought a HDTV, and wanted a BluRay player and thought this would be the perfect opportunity to finally get a PS3.

This bundle comes with a comically large BluRay remote, which doesn't really fit in my hand very well. It's also difficult to see the buttons, especially in a dimly lit room. Comes with 2 AAA batteries and works fine, though. It also doubles as a controller as it has the traditional buttons on it (X, O, square, triangle, etc.).

The Super Slim PS3 is much smaller than I anticipated. My large Xbox 360 looks downright huge next to it. I'm on the fence about the sliding disc drive cover, but it does its job. The drive sounds quiet, and I can't hear it unless there is no sound on the TV. Sometimes I wish the drive had a button that you pushed to open the cover (like on the original PSX) but that's probably just being nit-picky.

The controller is wireless and rechargeable. I would've liked a removeable battery pack a la the Xbox 360 just in case the internal battery stops holding a charge. You charge this controller using a USB cable that is included. The cable is pretty short, so I would recommend just charging the controller using a PC's USB port rather than trying to play with it connected to the console. It also only charges when the console is on, another plus for PC charging. The controller is almost identical to the Dual Shock 2, but there is now a motion-detector (SIXAXIS) and the L2/R2 buttons are now triggers rather than traditional buttons. There's also a center button that allows you to access the menus and turn on/off the controller and console.

I'm pleasantly surprised with All-Stars Battle Royale, but I have yet to open the Ratchet & Clank collection. It also comes with a 1 month trial of Playstation+, but you have to enter your credit card information to use the trial. If you don't cancel before the end of the month, they will continue to charge you for the subscription. The Playstation+ subscription allows you to get discounts on the Playstation Store and you can also download a limited selection of free games (LittleBigPlanet 2, inFamous 2, Super Street Fighter IV Arcade, etc.). There are also free 1 hour trials of a large selection of retail games for you to try on Playstation+. The included games do not come in a traditional plastic case, just a cardboard sleeve. Not a huge deal, but something that probably deserves mentioning.

Comparing the PSN service to Xbox Live, I prefer Xbox Live. It's easier to communicate with friends using Xbox Live and it's easier to play cooperatively and compare stats. Xbox Live just seems to have more effort put into it than Sony put into PSN. The trophy system also seems a little bit more shallow than the point-based achievement system on the Xbox 360. However, I am pleased with the fact that you can level-up based on the number of trophies you have. That adds an extra element of competition amongst your friends.

I did encounter one major issue with my PS3 out of the box. I completed the initial setup using the default (automatic) options, and I noticed that every so often my screen would go completely black, then come back on. The sound during this time would also be lost. I removed the option to use 1080p, and left 720p checked and that seemed to help, but it still does it every once in a great while... just not as often as before. If it continues to do this, I may consider lowering the score. At the rate it's doing it now (maybe once every couple of days) it's not a huge deal to me. If it goes back to doing it multiple times per session, though, I'll be thoroughly disappointed. I'm connected to my TV using the HDMI cable at the moment.

[UPDATE 6-24-13] I haven't experienced the black screen issue in a few months, so I believe it's fixed. My guess is that it was trying to output 1080p to my TV, which is 720p. I'll keep it in my review, though, in case anyone else runs into the same problem. I updated my score, however.

All-in-all, I'm very pleased with this purchase. I've been enjoying Gran Turismo 5, Twisted Metal, and Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale the most out of the games I've played. There's a huge library of games out there that I didn't even know existed. Lots of great JRPGs and exclusive titles to check out. I highly recommend the PS3.

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I actually took one apart that i got for free so here is everything i know that i can tell you :)

1. The PS3 Super Slim is 20 percent smaller and 25 percent lighter than the previous model. It measures 11.4″ (W) x 2.36″ (T) x 9.05″ (D).

2. Like its predecessor, this PS3 has two USB ports and a hard drive activity light along the front. Around back, you'll find the same Ethernet, HDMI, optical audio, and PS3 AV ports found on the previous model.

3. Redesigned Blu-ray drive: The new machine's optical drive has a manual sliding disc cover instead of a motorized slot-loading mechanism. This design likely helped Sony cut both costs and save space, but it just feels cheap and as Bakalar wrote, it's "ultimately a step back."

4. Repositioned HDD: The original PS3's hard drive was accessed through a panel on the side. Sony moved that access point to the front on the PS3 Slim. And now, they've gone right back to the side. But on the Super Slim you remove the whole side panel and not just a small cover.

5. Smaller power supply: Like the optical drive, the new machine's power supply is smaller than the PS3 Slim's. It's also rated for fewer Amps, so the new console appears to be drawing less current than its predecessors.

6. Smaller fan that's more difficult to remove: Unlike the PS3 Slim you can't remove the fan without removing the whole motherboard assembly and then separating the shield from the motherboard. Given the Super Slim's more compact design, it's not surprising that the cooling fan is smaller than the one in the larger Slim.

7. More compact motherboard, new components, same overall specs: Compared to the PS3 Slim's board, the Super Slim's board is smaller and the chips are placed closer to each other. Sony also removed the heat spreader from the Reality Synthesizer package, swapped Marvell's discreet wireless board for a newer Marvell WLAN/Bluetooth SoC, and went with two 1Gb XDR DRAM chips for the machine's main memory instead of older machine's four 512Mb chips.

Now for the internal hardware!:

1. Sony Cell Broadband Engine CXD2996BGB

2. Sony RSX CXD5302DGB 220B25NA "Reality Synthesizer"

3. Hynix 64MB (536,870,912 bits) H5RS5223DFR-14C GDDR3 SDRAM (x4)

4. Sony CXM4027R MultiAV Driver (CXM4027R 221N26E)

5. Panasonic MN8647091 HDMI transmitter

6. Marvell 88EC060 Fast Ethernet PHY transceiver

7. Samsung 1Gb K4Y12324TE-KCB3 DRAM (x2 for 256MB)

8.Sony CXD9963GB Southbridge

9. Sony CXD5132R-1 Blu-ray drive SATA controller

10. Spansion S29GL128P90TFIR2 NOR Flash

11. Marvell Avastar 88W8782 WLAN system-on-chip (SoC)

12. Panasonic CR 2032 3V system battery

13.Sony IDT 9277BNLG 1133L

14. Winbond 25Q16CVY05 1221

15. Fairchild FDMF6823C Extra-Small, High-Performance, High-Frequency DrMOS Module (FDC25AV FDMF6823C)

16. Sony SW3-302 system controller

17. BD7761EFV 224 T76

18. 217 3536A

19. Texas Instruments PS53123

20. Intersil ISL6332 2 Phase VR11.1 Buck PWM Controller with Integrated

21. MOSFET Drivers with Light Load Efficiency

22. Sony IDT 4227ANLG

23. Texas Instruments PS53123

24. Sony Model APS-330 12V, 18A power supply

25. Delta Electronics KSB0812HE DC12V 1.65A fan

Pros:

1. Lighter and smaller.

2. Shinny finish will attract some fans.

3. higher GB for the price.

4. less energy to power it.

Cons:

1. [Super Con] They removed the cool disc insertion mechanism for a slider disk drive.

2. The new finish will glitter with fingerprints.

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