Reviews Written By: A9R6Z1PMRJ0BVprovided by Amazon.com |
 | ||
 | Lucky Number Slevin (Widescreen Edition) | |
 | "Without a Doubt, The WORST Movie I've Seen Since Joining NetFlix!!" | 2009-09-16 |
| MAN #1: "Is this a GOOD movie?"
MAN #2: "By a GOOD movie, do you mean a NOT BAD movie?" MAN #1: "If I would've meant a NOT BAD movie, then I wouldn't have asked if this is a GOOD movie." MAN #2: "Don't you agree that a GOOD movie has to be a NOT BAD movie?" MAN #1: "So this is both a GOOD movie and a NOT BAD movie?" MAN #2: "With "witty" dialogue like this pasted throughout it, this is neither a GOOD nor a NOT BAD movie." MAN #1: "So is this a movie that SUCKS?" MAN #2: "By SUCKS, do you mean is this a movie that is NOT GOOD?" MAN #1: "If I would've meant a movie that is NOT GOOD, then I wouldn't have asked if this is a movie that SUCKS." I'll spare you the rest: "YES...This IS a movie that SUCKS!" The above "witty banter" wouldn't normally be annoying if only two characters periodically engaged in it. The problem in Lucky Number Slevin is EVERY CHARACTER TALKS LIKE THIS THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE MOVIE. Can you say, "Movie written by ONE person who doesn't understand that individual characters are supposed to at least SOUND like they're different people in movie dialogue?!?" Josh Hartnett talks like this...Morgan Freeman talks like this...Lucy Liu talks like this...Bruce Willis talks like this. In fact, you'll want to STUFF COTTON IN YOUR EARS after about the first 10 minutes of this agonizing dialogue. Uggghhh...Just BRUTAL!! Accompanying the abysmal dialogue are more SMIRKS than should be humanly possible by a cast this small. The actors must've had incentive clauses in their contracts that paid them BONUSES for each smirk. It's amazing that someone didn't sneak up behind one of these A-list actors and slap them on the back, causing a permanent smirk on their face. After all, there's an opportunity at least once every half-minute! STILL, the movie could've been somewhat salvaged with a decent plot. Instead, we get this: "Guy makes a bad bet at the track and 20 years later a stink-storm is unleashed." Now who among us even gives a crap about a story like that, please raise your hand. The plot also turns on itself in the last 20 minutes effectively nullifying almost everything you've been led to believe for the previous 1-1/2 hours! Is THAT all that's required to write a "mystery" or "thriller" screenplay nowadays?!? If so, then movie audiences have been dumbed-down beyond the point of redemption... The music score would be hilariously stupid if it didn't exceed that level straight into the realm of PAINFULLY stupid. Imagine listening to an endless loop of music from "The Inspector" in the old Pink Panther cartoons...That's what you get here. It's designed to make you think "you'd better not blink an eye or you're going to miss something!" Instead, I fell asleep at least 3 times trying to watch this 1 hr and 50 min excuse for a movie. I didn't even bother reversing the DVD after the first time when I realized I didn't miss anything except more painful dialogue, plot and The Inspector music...Oh, and at least a couple of dozen SMIRKS! It's simply AMAZING that a cast like this could be so wasted on an effort like Lucky Number Slevin...Of course Josh Hartnett's talent wasn't wasted since he frequently appeared to have tied one on the night before a shoot. And while some will undoubtedly be DUPED into swearing that this is a Thrilling Masterpiece, those are most likely the kind of people you don't want to make eye contact with when you pass them on the street. JUST AN ABSOLUTE WASTE OF FILM NEGATIVE AND TALENT... | ||
 | Lost Planet: Extreme Condition | |
 | "Fun Parts & Lame Parts...Worth a Play if Your're Bored" | 2009-07-28 |
| Other than Bioshock, this is the "strangest" game I've played on our PS3. It just has a WEIRD feel to it. Maybe it's the non-stop frigid planet...Or the obvious Japanese flavor to it...Or the cuss-inducing Boss battles that alternate with simple pushover Boss battles...Or the chief Japanese villain most oddly named "Dennis Isenberg"...Or the near coma-inducing cutscenes...Or the whole Mechs vs bugs thing. Perhaps it's ALL of those together. It's just STRANGE. However, that doesn't mean it wasn't FUN. Lost Planet has some really enjoyable aspects. The rocket-fired grappling hook allows you to move vertically in addition to the normal horizontal play of most shooters. The mechs (V-S suits) add another dimension to the battles. You also have to continually locate T-ENG to avoid freezing to death in the elements. And any game with gattling guns, rocket launchers, shotties, laser and sniper rifles, homing missles and plasma guns can't be all bad...There are even BIG versions of these weapons too that can be shot from mechs or by hand. If you like Boss battles, then there are 3 or 4 of them in this game that will give you a pretty good challenge. They're practically impossible to win on the first try on just normal difficulty. In fact, it will take a dozen or more tries for some players. There's one you CAN'T WIN no matter what you do...You just end up throwing your PS3 out the window or giving up the game or running away (the correct option here). As a rule, I don't like games that put invincible Bosses in them. It can take a great deal of time and effort just to finally find out there was nothing you could do to win... One of the more annoying parts of this game were the cutscenes. There are some that truly sound like the voice talent were all in the same room taking turns READING their lines with a complete absence of emotion. This makes it really hard to get into a game. In addition, your character just fought through a large portion of bug and pirate-infested frozen tundra to reach another area, then he magically appears back at the command post in an involved discussion during the next cutscene...WTH?!?! I found myself DREADING the next cutscene, repeatedly. Talk about phoned-in performances... The controls were mostly GOOD. But I kept running into a frustrating exchange problem when trying to replace weapons on the mechs. For example, you're in the heat of battle and jump the mech over to a rocket launcher you want to place on the right side of it. If you're SLIGHTLY out of position, it shows up on the left side ready for pickup, then you get hit by Boss fire and have to maneuver back to do the same thing again, all the while taking damage. Another example is just walking up to an empty mech in a Boss battle. If you are slightly off to the side, the screen may briefly show press "O to enter", then you press O and end up removing the weapon off the side mount. So then you have to press "O to attach" it again before entering or enter first then pick up the weapon, and some of these annoying delays can make the difference in a heated Boss battle. Having another button other than just "O" to enter, remove and attach weapons to mechs would make more sense to me. The end cutscene was really pretty weak. Maybe I should say EXCEPTIONALLY weak. In fact, if it's late at night, you might just fall asleep to it. And that kind of sums up my experience with Lost Planet EC. I mean, your hero character loses his memory at the exact moment he shoots the bad guy. Apparently his friends who were watching the exchange just left him there when he went face down in the snow instead of taking him inside for medical care. Then he wanders around in a roughly 1/2 mile radius outside of the main base (where his friends are inside and warm & toasty) so he can bump into them when they finally come outside several months later. Just a HORRIBLE ending that was obviously tacked on in the final moments of development. You end up saying, "THAT WAS IT?!?!" The whole game has the feel of a newbie director who was going for a summer blockbuster in his first directing gig, but ends up with a late night cult classic "B" movie instead. Some parts were enjoyable...Some parts deplorable. That's what you get with Lost Planet EC... | ||
 | Timeshift | |
 | "AWESOME! AWESOME! AWESOME!" | 2009-07-15 |
| This is just an AWESOME game...Sorry, did I say that already? I'm usually pretty TOUGH on game reviews, but TimeShift is just a shining example of what a GREAT PS3 GAME can truly achieve when ALL of the parts come together like they were meant to...BRAVO SIERRA (BS, no pun intended) for sticking to the plan and coming up with a VERY ENJOYABLE GAMING EXPERIENCE that I rate right up there with the likes of BIOSHOCK, RESISTANCE 1&2 and CALL OF DUTY 4. TimeShift is just as good as those games and perhaps even exceeds them in some respects... It takes a little getting used to initially and until you get your time-warping super powers, it's purely a shoot-em up show. In a way I think this was probably BY DESIGN. First you get to go through the "normal" experience usually associated with a shooter...Then the developers take you to a "hole nother level" by giving you the power to pause, slow down or reverse time (your choice) to battle your way through the rest of the game. The result is clearly SUPERIOR GAMEPLAY when compared to the run of the mill shooter game...Just absolutely BRILLIANT!! One of the things that still sticks out in my mind is TimeShift is the gift that keeps on giving. No less than 3 times I actually thought I was at the end of the game only to find there was MORE & MORE & MORE...How great is that? Usually games give up the ghost right when I'm getting good at them and wanting more...Not TimeShift. Finish this game and you'll really get your money's worth! Want some specific reasons why this game is so much FUN? 1) You can carry more than one primary weapon (actually 3) and choose what you want to use when you need it. I still don't understand why some SHOOTER game developers stick to only ONE primary weapon...I mean, it IS a shooter game so give the player some things to shoot with why don't you? 2) The graphics are just plain out wicked GOOD! For example, there's a scene in the Munitions Factory when you're searching for the core and there are enemy soldiers being "manufactured", complete with LASERS being used in the process...It's just DAZZLING to stand there and watch. It's like being on a factory tour inside a video game! I appreciate such attention to detail when something like this could've just been glossed over. Again, BRAVO SIERRA! 3) The controls are just so natural and once you get used to the time shifting controls and how to use them in conjunction with your primary weapons, you are a force to be reckoned with! Unlike Kill Zone 2, these controls were well thought out and TESTED before this game went to market. 4) Not much else matters if gameplay sucks...But TimeShift just has EXTRAORDINARY GAMEPLAY overflowing! There are puzzles to break the monotony of just always shooting. The AI is pretty good ON BOTH SIDES...The enemies will take you out if you're sloppy and your buddies are pretty good at taking them out. This is really HOW IT SHOULD BE! There are BOSS battles that are pretty challenging. But like most games, if you choose the wrong weapon or wrong course of action, then you're DEAD MEAT. There's a variety of scenery, for example, going from New York City to Alaska. The voices are good and the storyline falls a couple of steps shy of "compelling"...But it's UNIQUE and easy enough to follow with help from the cut scenes. The music is really good and there's one song that sounds like it's straight off the Orange Box soundtrack. Ammo is PLENTIFUL and all of these things just come together so well in the finished product that you simply have to PLAY IT to BELIEVE IT! Like I said before, I'm pretty tough on game reviews so I'll throw out a few slight flaws in TimeShift. First, once you acquire the Thunderbolt, you basically become UNTOUCHABLE for the rest of the game. Defeating enemies becomes almost mundane with this exploding crossbow weapon. You can't pin them to the wall like in Half-Life 2...But if you have Blood & Gore turned ON, then you can zoom in and watch your helpless victims literally EXPLODE right before your eyes...Including decapitations and limbs flying everywhere. Just a DEVASTATING WEAPON when used with your time shifting powers. Perhaps TOO devastating. But this is really a minor "flaw", since you'll actually need this weapon's full power in some battles. Obviously I'm having trouble finding true flaws with this game. But there were 2 glitches that did occur. Twice the sound went out approx 25% through the game. Easy enough to save and reboot the PS3, but a glitch nonetheless. Near the end I also received a couple of messages indicating my hard drive was FULL and there was a problem "saving user data"...Well, my hard drive wasn't full and the data was saved anyway. But those inconveniences are in no way "deal breakers" and they went away as quickly as they appeared. Near the end some weird stuff happened that I guess was by design. The cut scenes were like "flashbacks" that were quick and odd. Also, you'd sometimes "wake up" and be doing something like manning a gun in the middle of a high speed pursuit...But there's not much time to question why since you'd soon get your head blown off. I'm just AMAZED that TimeShift has sort of slipped under the radar when it is such a COMPLETE GAME! So, if you love shooters, then do yourself a solid one and get TimeShift...You'll thank yourself later, or maybe earlier if you reverse time! | ||
 | Dark Sector | |
| "WOW...Can't Judge A Game By It's Cover!!" | 2009-07-07 |
| THIS IS A GREAT GAME! I got this in a PS3 lot on eBay several months ago and played through all the others before this one. Never saw a trailer...Never read a review. I just thought, "This is the most FUGLY cover art I've ever seen for a video game so the game itself must suck." Well, I was wrong on this one... If you like shooters, then you HAVE to rate this one a 5 on FUN. In fact, I rated this one a 5 OVERALL too. Some people say, "there are no 5 star (or 10.0) games." I believe there are and those are the games YOU ENJOY MOST! Not everyone is going to enjoy the same games in the same way, but I'll give some reasons WHY this game made quite an impression on me. UNIQUENESS - There's no doubt Dark Sector is a flat out 10 here. Any game where your primary weapon is a BLADE (glaive) that is thrown like a boomerang, and when correctly applied, leaves your enemies writhing in pain from severed limbs or simply sliced in two or perhaps decapitated is unlike anything else on the market...This game could've had the std assault rifle as primary weapon (in fact, it is offered as a secondary weapon), but it just wouldn't be the same...The GLAIVE is a KILLING MACHINE! ENEMIES - This game doesn't just have your average soldier-types charging you with AKs and shotties...That can get boring. This game has those guys and SO MUCH MORE. There's pretty much a BOSS battle in each of the 10 chapters, sometimes more than one. These can be VERY challenging and too many games today make you wait around to the end of the game to really throw something at you...Dark Sector doesn't wait. I won't spoil it, but there are some creatures that will flat out have the hair on the back of your neck standing up. This is at least a 9.5, maybe 10. SPECIAL ABILITIES - Another area Dark Sector has in Spades! Again, it's hard to describe everything you can eventually do without spoiling things...But I like the fact that you EARN special abilities and don't just root around and find them lying on the ground. These abilities really help you defeat bosses and anyone else who gets in your way. I give it a 10 here especially because you can control the flight of the glaive in slow motion...COOL! WEAPONRY - I'm SO TIRED of playing shooters where you only get to handle the good stuff once you pry it from the enemy's cold dead fingers...Then there's nobody left to shoot! If you like to keep your finger on the trigger and fill the bad guys with lead, even pushing their lifeless bodies 100 yds along the ground before letting up, you'll like this game. You'll also like it for blowing stuff up until it's FUBAR. There's enough of that fun stuff without overdoing it. Be sure to buy the Korbov TK6 when it's available in Ch 7 for 40,000 Rubles...It's worth every Ruble. The FINISHER: What a way to end an enemy. Another 10... CONTROLS - No complaints here...But you'll really need to MASTER the Glaive in certain parts, particularly the final BOSS battle. I got R1 and R2 mixed up a few times in the heat of battle, but I can't think of a better way to place the fire controls for this game. GRAPHICS - This is a D-A-R-K game, not just in name. If you've never been to Russia you'll think it's always night time and raining. However, it does create an appropriate atmosphere for this type of game that you wouldn't get with bright sunny days. I'm not as picky about "textures" and "polygonal resolution" as some people. If it doesn't hurt my eyes and I can tell what's going on around me, then I'm happy. Only during the final BOSS battle did I notice some framerate slow down...But there really is a huge amount of stuff going on. There were some instances where enemies would "slide" out to attack or their body parts would flutter about on the ground...But I don't get too hung up on those things if the gameplay has me moving on. It's not the best graphics I've seen, but it also wasn't dreadful...A 9.0 here. SOUND - Another excellent point in this game. There is repetition, particularly in death sounds...But I honestly haven't played a game that didn't have the same sounds looped throughout the game...The sound was really pretty good all the way through. Nothing weird and some were downright bone chilling. Voice talent was also right on and there was nothing that seemed cheeky or out of place. I was never left wondering what someone said. That's worth a 10 to me. GAMEPLAY - This is where Dark Sector earns its keep. I went into this game with LOW expectations. I think that helped me get pulled into the action, and there is PLENTY of action! I wasn't too crazy about the Prologue in black & white...But the rest of the game is hardly bright & shiny colors so I guess it's within the overall theme. There are puzzles, one of them timed. There's uncontrolled, splattering gunfire with vibration feedback. You have to think on your feet and play smart. There are upgrades, some you pick and others you acquire. Just when you think you've hit a dead spot, it comes right back in your face. It's a challenging game, decent storyline and when you complete the game you feel like you've accomplished something. It might not be saving the world, but these things do make for a very worthwhile diversion. This one's got it where it counts...10. This is not a long game, maybe 8-10 hrs for some or 20 hrs for others...But it's an INTENSE game. That's what I like! Once you beat it on "Normal" difficulty, it opens up the BRUTAL level...So there is some replay value if you're up for it. That last BOSS battle had me freakin out for a good 30 min...I can only imagine what it must be on brutal difficulty! So, the unbelievably HORRID cover art aside, Dark Sector is really worth a play. I'll give a game a 1-star rating if I feel it's deserved and I don't just hand out 5-star ratings without a game really proving itself to me. Check out other games I've given 5-stars and you'll see what kind of company I believe Dark Sector keeps. And ONLY $6 now?!? It would probably be 3 times that if the cover art was anything like that of Kill Zone 2 or Resistance 2. If only I could get a SOLID game like this for just $6 every week (that's not a rental)...I'd be a VERY HAPPY PS3er! | ||
 | Call of Duty 3 | |
 | "It's No COD4, But It's Still Pretty Good!" | 2009-07-04 |
| If you're just getting into the COD series on your PS3, then I recommend you play COD3 BEFORE playing COD4...If you play 4 before 3 like I did, then you'll probably feel some degree of a letdown with COD3...It's just not as good of a game as COD4. With that said, COD3 still has a great deal going for it. There are a variety of missions & weaponry and you just can't go wrong when you're shooting up Nazis in WWII. However, if you're a ONE CLEAN HEADSHOT kind of shooter, then you're going to be sorely disappointed with this one! While there are spots when you put your sniping skills to use, the majority of combat is either in trenches, partially destroyed French homes or across fields when you're storming a German position. And you can literally shoot 20 shots sometimes before a guy falls, depending on the weapon and firing distance. One thing that really irked me was how you take ferocious blasts from fixed machine gun positions, but then once you take one out and assume control of the gun, THERE'S NOBODY LEFT TO SHOOT!! So you take down an MG42 Gunner and just get to shoot up the French Countryside and maybe a couple of random vehicles before moving on. While this seems to make sense on the surface (you take the defensive position AFTER you've taken the ground, hence no bad guys left to shoot), wouldn't it be more accurate to think that these positions would have MG42s placed around a perimeter or in more than one side of a house? After all, the French learned what a tragic mistake a single fortifed line of defense can be with their Maginot Line. Since this game doesn't give you advanced weaponry that obviously didn't exist in 1944, it would've been much sweeter to mow down retreating Nazis with their own MG42s...I can only remember 2 times you get to use one of the fixed MGs and once when you can pick one up and briefly use it. Just know that when you're using the fixed gun you can and will take heavy fire and frequently have to back off and relinquish the gun unless you want to start the checkpoint over. Which is another thing...Sometimes the checkpoint saves are quite LONG. So you can move through a good chunk of territory, make a single mistake and end up going back to the start of that area. This isn't really unusual in a video game, just somewhat annoying. This game is very unforgiving if you decide to sit back and get into a stationary shootout with your enemies...They will respawn and respawn until you get up and lead your squad forward. And you DO have to lead them forward most of the time since the AI can be downright stupid, even hilarious. It's stupid when they block you from getting around in tight quarters or when they jump right in front of your firing weapon...But it's even funny when you're taking a trench and you're behind cover trying to shoot the trench free and your guys just come charging into it right past you and get filled with lead, one by one, a half-dozen by a half-dozen...The bodies literally start piling up right in front of you. There are 2 other "control type" issues I had with this game. First, you have to ROTATE -- Repeat -- ROTATE the L and R joysticks to direct mortar fire...It's not as simple as just pushing the sticks in the desired direction like in 99.9% of other instances when you use the sticks. This failure of mine to read ROTATE in the correct way led to a 2 month delay in me completing this game. I kept getting into the trench where you first use the mortar to CLEAR THE ROAD and I kept shooting rounds into the trees and on the hill wondering WHY it was so hard to direct the fire. Pretty soon a Nazi would jump into the trench and I'd have to start the level again...And again...And again, until I just quit this one and played through some other games before returning to it. I also had trouble getting the jeep to drive in reverse. There are a couple of spots where you take over the jeep and have very little room to turn around just driving forward. Drive it into blockage and you're STUCK! Oddly enough I changed the view to overhead and was able to back up...But in first person view I just couldn't get it to back up. It really sucked being stuck up next to a fence or house while trying to turn around... I also MISSED THE FINAL CUT SCENE after fighting through the entire game! I had no idea I was at the end of the game after blowing up the advancing tanks and was going to pause the game to take a break...I pushed the start button when the scene started playing and BAM!, the credits started rolling. It would've been nice to see the final scene and maybe I can restart the checkpoint if the game lets me...But if not, I'll get over it. That's just one more thing that kept adding up to a gaming experience the ended up being inferior to COD4. | ||
 | Haze | |
| "MUCH BETTER Than Published Reviews That Trash It" | 2009-07-03 |
| After reading some published reviews of HAZE, I almost didn't play it...That would've been a mistake. THIS IS A GREAT GAME! In the tradition of Star Trek (the original TV series), there's a heavy political undertone throughout the story questioning the propaganda machines that create and support WARS. Just who REALLY are the "Good Guys" and who REALLY are the "Bad Guys"? Once you get into HAZE, you just may be surprised! This plot twist occurs approximately 20% into the game and it's something that's sadly missing from most of the highly predictable video game storylines of today...I found it to be "refreshing". And while some of the cut scenes were little bit long for my taste, they are an excuse for a bathroom break. As for sub-par graphics, I don't get it. I saw nothing horribly wrong with the graphics of HAZE, unlike Rainbow Six Vegas where the graphics look like they'd be more at home on a green or orange phosphorus CRT terminal. Some of the environments got a little repetitive on some levels, but when you're going through a hotel floor by floor or a village hut by hut, it's sort of expected. Controls were right on...You'll be able to target enemies without tweaking a thing. Weapons selection was very good and you should never run out of ammo anywhere in this game. There are areas I would improve, but they aren't deal-breakers and they're easy enough to overcome. First, the Marine Buggy and Rebel 4x4 could've been so much better/easier and the AI isn't very I at times. To DRIVE one of these vehicles, you must stand in front of it and press "square". If you don't know this, then you can spend a few minutes trying to figure out HOW to get the thing moving. For a "shooter game player", the obvious first choice is to man the gun while someone else drives. Well, get on the vehicle at the fixed gun position and you'll be waiting A LONG, LONG TIME for someone to hop in and drive. This makes no sense to me. Another thing about the vehicles is they are awkward to drive. This isn't particularly unusual in a video game, but don't be surprised when your vehicle lands somewhere or some way weird, especially when boosting through a jump area. You also have a limited firing range and scope when operating one of the manned guns while the vehicle is stationary...In other words, you walk to the front of the vehicle, press "square" to enter and drive it into enemy fire, then press "square" again to exit the driver's seat, then walk to the rear of the vehicle and press "square" again to take over the mounted gun and fire for a few seconds until the enemies move out of your firing range, then rinse and repeat. Obviously this is poor design and not fun at all...It could've been MUCH BETTER. Now for a couple of areas where the game SHINES. The Nectar Grenades are PURE GENIUS! In fact, they became my weapon of choice. Lob one into a group of enemies and they freak out and start blasting away at each other until only one remains...Then he frequently raises his hands to the sky, utters a gutteral and triumphant "HA! HA! HA!", then he EXPLODES in a most satisfying way...I LOVE IT! The final assault on the Land Carrier is also VISUALLY STUNNING! Just the concept of a Land-Based Carrier traversing the landscape and mowing down trees and anything else in its path is another stroke of genius. The way it actually comes to fruition in the high-speed pursuit portion and then post-boarding of the carrier is just amazing... The game is not very long timewise, but it is long on FUN FACTOR...And that's what a video game should supply plenty of and often. DON'T BELIEVE the horrible reviews of HAZE because they simply aren't justified. While it's not perfect, I would rate it a solid 4.5/5.0 or 9.0/10.0, particularly for FUN. In fact, I'll probably play through the campaign again, which is something I rarely do after beating a game. I'm also ready to put my money where my review is if there's ever a HAZE 2! | ||
 | Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas | |
| "Unplayable - Unless You Like Headaches" | 2009-07-03 |
| There is no need for a long review of this game...It is simply UNPLAYABLE. The graphics are so unbelievably BAD that it gave me headaches every time I tried to play it. Looking down a street you can't even tell a bad guy from a trash can and it's not because they are using the trash can for cover! It's because of inexcusably HORRIBLE GRAPHICS for a PS3 game.
I've read where you have to go into the PS3 menu and modify video output settings to clean up the screen...But why bother? This is a PS THREE system, not a circa 90s PS ONE, so I don't expect to deal with "PC Load Letter" type problems when I install a game. I also didn't invest in a 1080 flat screen so I can manually dumb down the video output on the PS3 to 720...HOWEVER, I went the extra mile and DID change the output to 720 expecting the screen to "clear up"...Mine DIDN'T. This game was a COMPLETE WASTE OF MONEY and for that reason I can not give it anything more than 1 star (since Amazon doesn't allow ZERO star reviews). The only reason I can think of to play this game is if you've already played EVERY OTHER shooter on the PS3...Then you'd better have a bottle of Tylenol next to you. | ||
![Grand Theft Auto IV [PS3]](product_images/4921000/4921046_thumb.jpg) | Grand Theft Auto IV [PS3] | |
| "An INCREDIBLE Game...When Played WITH CHEAT CODES!!" | 2009-06-29 |
| I started playing GTA4 after playing Burnout Paradise. For this reason, I quickly tossed it aside because of the horrible vehicle physics early in the game (like Roman's Taxi). It was so frustrating just to drive a vehicle from point A to B without hitting everything in sight...Fortunately, the driving gets better as you progress through the game. Then after completing a couple of other games I'm glad I came back to GTA4 because the programmers really did put a huge amount of thought and effort into creating one of the BEST OPEN SANDBOX type games I've ever played! I like to try things in games that are, say "unconventional". Most of the time the hard code prevents you from doing these type things unless they are actually part of the storyline. In GTA4, the interactive environment is so completely OPEN, you can do just about anything you please and get results...And sometimes it's not what you expected! This kind of gameplay not only improves the gaming experience, but it also extends the life of the purchase -- A DOUBLE SHOT of getting the best Bang for your video game Buck! The first thing you notice after Niko starts doing "jobs" is how quickly the LCPD cops are all over you and they either take you in or do you in, depending on your level of cooperation. Unfortunately, the only way to lose your "Wanted Level" is to outrun the cops...Like I said before, the vehicle physics make this a pretty frustrating exercise, especially after about the 20th time. MY SOLUTION: USE CHEAT CODES. This is one game where I believe gameplay is actually enhanced by liberal use of basic cheat codes. That way you can focus on following the storyline and completing chapters or just creating general mayhem wherever Liberty City takes you without being outgunned or driving a beaten up vehicle or spending half your time outrunning the LCPD. Cheat codes RULE in GTA4 and once you start using them, you'll never go back... The storyline is well integrated with excellent voice talent and very good cut scenes...You'll always feel like you're right in the middle of the action in this game and will never be left clueless about what's going on around you. Just key in the cheat codes and learn your way around the cellphone and Liberty City will be your oyster. Weapons are GREAT...Sound effects and explosions are GREAT...Reactions of pedestrians, other drivers and "victims" are frequently priceless. Niko has more one-liners than James Bond. This is a relatively long game which I imagine is dozens of hours longer without taking advantage of the cheat codes. FAVORITE CHEAT CODES: 482-555-0100 Restore health, armor & ammo; 486-555-0100 Get a selection of weapons; 486-555-0150 Different selection of weapons; 267-555-0100 Remove wanted level; 468-555-0100 Change weather; 359-555-0100 Spawn an Annihilator; 938-555-0100 Spawn a Jetmax; 625-555-0100 Spawn an NRG-900; 227-555-0100 Spawn an FIB Buffalo; 227-555-0147 Spawn a Turismo. Enter these into your cellphone then use them when needed and you'll absolutely OWN Liberty City and everyone in it! Now near the end of the game, there are 2 different paths you can take...You'll know you're there when confronted with the "Revenge" or "The Deal" decision. I recommend going to a safehouse and saving the game at this point so you can play it through to the end one way, then come back, reload and play it the other way. (I turned off autosave at this point to prevent an unwanted overwrite.) You can always go to a safehouse and save progress in an open save slot. The 2 endings are similar, but still vary enough to warrant playing both ways. My favorite "off the beaten path" things to do in GTA4: 1) Drive up to Jimmy Pegorino's house and go past the pool in the back to the covered deck area with the wooden benches. Use your cheats to load up on health and ammo for the RPG/Rocket Launcher. Then look over the wall to the street below and unload an RPG on an unsuspecting vehicle. The cops/FIB/SWAT start arriving and you just blow their vehicles up with RPGs. Then the LCPD choppers move in and you crouch down and do a little target practice on them. If you get tired of RPGing the choppers, take out the M16 and shoot the gunners out instead. Reload on health & ammo as needed and keep an eye out for FIB and SWAT as they try to flank you by the swimming pool. Stay alive long enough and you'll actually shoot down ALL of the LCPD choppers...They won't have any more to send after you! A pretty cool diversion... 2) Pick a park or some other spot with lots of pedestrians and walk around spawning Jetmax after Jetmax right on top of people, then collect their cash...Listen to their reactions when the boats just appear out of nowhere and start dropping on their friends! I did this one night outside of Bernie's apt on both sides of the street. Then I just ran up one side of the street, crossed over to the other side and some of their money respawned. Then I crossed the street and ran to the other victims and some of their money respawned. I did this repeatedly and money randomly respawned each time! But simply spawning a Jetmax on a helpless pedestrian, a cop car or some guy on a chopper is just good times... 3) Go inside a Cluckin Bell and blow away the order-taker (it's a BONUS if the employee wearing the chicken head is there...Torch the chicken with a Molitov Cocktail.) Then put your back to the wall facing the front doors. As the cops come in, mow them down with the M16. Refill on health and ammo as needed. Soon, the SWAT team arrives. Once they start coming in, take them down with the M16. When it gets quiet for a moment, use your cheat to Remove Wanted Level...Then stroll outside, go to the SWAT truck and get in. Drive off and Remove Wanted Level. Congratulations! You're now the proud owner of a SWAT truck! Park it in the YELLOW parking area outside of one of your safehouses and it will stay there unless a cop arrests someone and uses it to take them in, which I actually caught one doing one time! 4) Go to a pedestrian overpass at one of the highways. Climb the fence and jump into the speeding cars below. This will create a HUGE traffic jam (sometimes on both sides of the highway). Reload your health and go back up to the overpass. Shoot RPGs into the vehicles below for some gigantic explosions! 5) Steal a chopper from the heli tours pad. Fly to Liberty Island and just when you're hovering near her feet, jump out. If done right, you'll land on a square area just below the statue's feet. Run around until you find the door that says, "NO HIDDEN CONTENT HERE". Walk THROUGH the door and climb the ladder. You'll see a huge beating heart inside that's held in place by chains...Snap a couple of souvenir photos with the cellphone to show your friends back home! 6) Go to the airport and drive into the cargo loading area. Steal one of the large "push-back" trams (not the smaller luggage train tram) and start cruising around the runway, maybe even driving under a jumbo jet as it taxis on the runway. This is a surprisingly durable vehicle and you can restore it to new condition every time you restore your health with the cheat. The cops, FIB and SWAT will swarm you and they are extremely persistent in the airport's restricted area. Will they get you or not? 7) Drive up to the Penitentiary. Either steal a vehicle right in front of the guards or just start driving around on the grass where the guards are watching the inmates. Then keep your eyes open...You may see a couple of inmates escaping while the guards start jerking people out of their vehicles and stealing parked vehicles just to PURSUE YOU! This is a laugh riot the first time you experience it...Those guards really, really want you BAD! 8) While cruising the streets of LC, keep an eye out for Money Trucks. They seem to appear in bunches mostly at night. Either run one down and block its path or just block it from leaving a red light. Back off and hit it with an RPG. Immediately Remove Wanted Level then run around the truck picking up all of the $$$ until you get it all or it begins to disappear. Be careful about catching fire or adjacent vehicles catching fire and exploding on you. Also try stealing the Money Truck and driving to an obscure location to RPG it and collect your booty. I've blown up as many as 7 consecutive Money Trucks when they appear in large numbers. Good fun! These are just some of the examples of what I meant by the open sandbox design of this game...Feel like boxing? Walk up to someone on the street and box their ears. Feel like racing? Brucie will hook you up with plenty of racing opps. Feel like flying around Liberty City? Spawn an Annihilator and see the view from above, maybe dropping in behind the walls of the Penitentiary to visit the inmates. And things like this are IN ADDITION TO the primary storyline of the game, which is quite satisfying all by itself! That's PRECISELY the edge that sets GTA4 apart from the rest of the pack. It's also why it DESERVES a 5-star rating. Rockstar Games should be congratulated on the depth and magnitude of this game! It really does stand alone at the top of the heap...WELL DONE!! | ||
 | Half Life: Orange Box | |
| "Quite Possibly STILL the Best $-for-$ VALUE for the PS3!" | 2009-02-28 |
| Gordon who? I'm one of the handful of people who missed out on Half-Life One. So my main complaint is the intro to Half-Life 2. You basically wake up on a train and find yourself in a train station...OK, so not much was put into an opening movie or storyline, but thankfully it gets much better from there. There are subsequent areas where things are somewhat explained incrementally, but you'll probably be so into the quality of the gameplay by then that it just starts filling things in a little better. There was obviously a great deal of planning that went into HL2 and BRAVO to Valve for following that up with great execution of the plan. There were a couple of places I did notice a frame rate drop, but they were quickly played through. In fact, there is so much going on in this game at times that it's a pure wonder that there aren't a couple of dozen places with frame rate problems. Thankfully this game was produced in a epic-type format. You go on a true journey from that original train station through some pretty creative scenes that require a combination of quick reflexes, puzzle-solving and resourcefulness to get you safely through plenty of good old fashioned shoot-them-before-they-shoot-you adrenaline pumping confrontations. Quick Save often and at any time you please. Then there's the almost guilt-inducing selection of weapons you collect when progressing through levels and plenty of times where you'll nearly jump out of your seat or nearly paralyzed with fear (I can still hear that attack gunship's gun batteries charging up before firing lethal rounds...Ouch!) HL2 is just a GREAT game...Even if you never really liked FPS games. There are times that will be frustratingly difficult, but when you finally pull it off and clear the level it produces a sublime sense of satisfaction rarely found anywhere else on Earth. The graphics are really top-notch along with the sound effects. The other 2 HL2 "Episodes" extend the story, although the game titles are unnecessarily confusing: Half-Life 2; Half-Life 2: Episode One; Half-Life 2: Episode Two. Those are 3 separate games, so why not HL2, HL3: Episode One and HL3: Episode Two?!?! Or even HL2, HL2: Episode Two and HL2: Episode Three? Portal is a great diversion, although it's over just about the time you start really excelling at the game. Can't comment on Team Fortress 2, haven't played it. All told, we got a great deal of fun out of 4 of the games in The Orange Box and I've bought more expensive games that have only one game (like most) and regretted the purchase because of poor gameplay and zero fun factor. In other words, you can't go wrong with The Orange Box! Get it and prepare yourself for a truly enveloping gaming experience... | ||
 | nTren 1690-522 MP3 Data Storage Watch, Black Leather Band and Silver Watch Face | |
| "A GREAT Alternative for the iPood-Intolerant..." | 2006-03-09 |
| I got this watch during a Friday Sale for $79.99 and used a $50 Amazon promotional certificate for a net cost of $29.99 with 2-day FREE Amazon Prime shipping...And I couldn't be happier with it after just one day! This is a very practical product for me. Now I don't have to listen to Wiggles or SpongeBob anymore while the boys are watching it on our Pontiac MontanaVision DVD system...They get to watch what they want and I get to listen to what I want while driving. I even loaded a couple of CDs from John Cummuta's "Transforming Debt Into Wealth" program and listened to them this morning while at the PC, driving the kids to school, working out in the yard, etc. It would've taken me days to find the time to sit down at a CD player -- uninterrupted -- and get through them before this mp3 watch! It sounds really, really good, will hold mp3s recorded at a 320kbps bit rate, is as simple to use as drag and drop new files and highlight and delete old files and comes with an AC adapter/charger and USB interface/charger...It also has a CD-ROM driver, but it isn't necessary with Windows XP. If you're new to ripping CDs into mp3s, well here's where you start...Get the April 2006 MaximumPC magazine (or go to their website) and check out the article on copying movies and music to any media you desire. Download EAC and LAME then follow the directions and you'll be an expert in no time at all! At a 320kbps bit rate, I get about 40 seconds per 1MB of memory which translates into nearly 3 hours of recording time per 256MB watch (even more time at lower bit rates). That's not bad for something that's attached to your arm just like a "normal" watch...No dropping it and having the earbuds rip out of your ears...No fiddling around with click-wheels to control the music...And thank goodness no carrying it around in your hand or stuffing into a pocket or purse or some other way of carrying it around with you. Just strap it on and go!! If you've been reluctant to join the iPood craze like me, now you can leapfrog to the front of the curve with one of these COOL mp3 watches...If I could listen to 2 things at once, I wouldn't hesitate to get another of these for the other arm!! Now if my mp3 sunglasses will just get here I can be mp3'd by both watch and shades... | ||
 | School of Fish - School of Fish | |
| "Strong From First To Last..." | 2006-01-10 |
| I always like a CD I can put in, throw the headphones on and not worry about having to skip this song or that song...This is one of those RARE compilations. This band/CD reminds me of another early 90's debut by a band called The Poorboys (Pardon Me). Just spilling over with catchy guitar riffs and understandable lyrics. If you like no-nonsense Rock n Roll the way it's meant to be played, do yourself a favor and get this CD...Especially since it's available "like new" for less than $1 + shipping. And if you can find The Poorboys, give them a listen too...You'll be playing it around the clock before long. | ||
 | Samsung HL-R5067W 50 DLP HD-Ready Projection TV with Digital Cable Ready Tuner | |
| "BEST HD Technology For The Price -- Get Extended Warranty!" | 2005-12-21 |
| We've been enjoying our 50" HLN-5065 Sammy DLP for more than 2 years now, with no regrets! I got the 4-year on-site Extended Warranty at Best Buy for $300 when we bought it and I'm glad we did. Since this is a relatively new technology, there are bound to be problems that slowly get worked out with each new series that's released. Last March (at the start of March Madness no less), our screen started randomly freezing with a black and white image on the screen that looked like a photo negative. One call to Best Buy and within a couple of days, a service guy came out and said he had to replace the digital board...We could still watch TV, but just had to shut it down and boot it back up whenever the screen froze...Sometimes 2-3 times a day, sometimes no times a day. Once the new board arrived and was installed ($292.95 parts + $150 labor), it worked like new for about another month when it did the SAME thing again! This time a different service guy came out and installed a brand new light engine AND digital board ($1,303.72 parts + $150 labor)...Basically ALL NEW GUTS in the TV! They're the latest version too because he actually had difficulty getting the ports/jacks to line up properly between the new guts and old back cover. That's when he said they don't make the older parts anymore, since they've made improvements in the technology and use those when repairs are needed...Sounded good to me, so I bought into it! One thing's for sure...The picture has never been better on this screen with both Std Definition and our DirecTV HD feed and OTA Zenith Silver Sensor HD local channels. So why would I give a product 5 stars when we experienced such problems with it? It's easy...This set delivers a stunning large picture that never degrades (mechanically) over time, and it was $3,200 new when 42" plasmas were $7,000 to $8,000. In another 3-4 years, those plasmas will be worthless and we'll just put a new bulb in our DLP and it'll look good-as-new! Technical difficulties with new technologies should not be unexpected, but rather anticipated...Thus, the reason for purchasing an extended warranty. After more than 1-1/2 years of viewing enjoyment, our $300 warranty paid for $1,900 of brand new parts, including improved technology! It's like insurance...You don't want to use it, but if you do NEED it, you don't want to find yourself without it. Since this 50" DLP is now only $1,800, you should seriously consider it the front-runner in any large screen HDTV purchase comparison. Don't just consider what you get in picture quality NOW, but what will you still be enjoying several years from now after your neighbor's plasma with multiple screen burn-ins finally gives up the gas and goes screen up in the landfill! | ||
 | Black & Decker CCC3000 18-Volt Cordless Lawncare Center with Charging & Storage Station | |
| "Great Idea With The WORST Batteries Known To Man..." | 2005-12-17 |
| We have a fairly low maintenance yard, so I bought this package with a specific purpose in mind. Between our backyard and the fairway, there's a no-man's land that grows seemingly endless amounts of weeds and tall grass, and technically it's our property. I planted dozens of juniper plants 5 years ago, and while they make it look a little bit better, they don't seem to cut down on the knee-high grass and weed problem as I hoped. The fact that it's all on about a 45-50 degree incline makes it even tougher to maintain. It takes about 1 to 1-1/2 hours with a gas trimmer, being careful enough to limit collateral damage to the juniper. I hoped the cordless trimmer would do the trick, considering it comes with THREE batteries. The cordless does cut down on the amount of plant matter covering me when trimming the same size area as with the gas, and it's also worth it just to avoid breathing the small cc engine fumes...But B&D seriously dropped the ball when they equipped this set with NiCAD batteries. Why 70's technology and not at least NiMH? You'll have to ask B&D... I haven't had to use the hedge trimmer yet, but each battery lasts about 10-15 minutes in the trimmer...Which means I can get about 1/2 of the weeds/grass area done before having to go back out in another day or 2 to finish it. And that's using ALL 3 fully-charged batteries each time! Fall cleanup of leaves is even more ridiculous. I get about 5 -- yes 5 -- minutes per battery in the hard surface cleaner (blower). Just about the time you start rounding up the leaves and get well into the job, all 3 batteries are D-E-A-D... So, I give the product 3 stars for the convenience of storing all 3 items together, having interchangeable batteries and the reasonable price when purchasing the set of all 3 together...But I also take away 2 stars for the inconvenience of not being able to finish a job -- either trimming or blowing -- without taking a break of overnight, or at least several hours, for the almost useless batteries to recharge. I still can't believe such inferior batteries were used to power such a promising product...But that's what B&D did. So if you have a higher maintenance-type yard, I would either look elsewhere or buy at least 2 or 3 more of these batteries if you want to finish what you start with these tools. The sad part is that the performance of the trimmer and blower are actually pretty good...Better in fact than I would've expected from cordless products. But the NiCAD batteries just can't keep up with the power drain and they leave you high and dry in the middle of a job...Even with 3 batteries. Not a good situation no matter how you spin it. | ||
 | Friendly Robotics RL800 Robomower | |
| "One of the BEST Investments I Ever Made!" | 2005-08-15 |
| First of all, you need to understand the limitations of the Robomower and determine if your yard is right for it or not. I've had my RL800 for 3 seasons now and while I still fuss at it every time it cuts the grass, I don't know what I'd do without it...Except get another smelly gas mower and grind it out like before Robomower. It doesn't do hills well. Think about how you divide up your yard into zones before installation. Keep the battery continuously charging. And "supervise" it while it's cutting the grass. If you're yard is relatively flat and you send Robomower out every week during the summer, you should be pleased with the results, mechanical/warranty problems aside. Our entire front, sides and back yards are all 1 zone. As such, after completing the perimeter cut, Robomower usually leaves the front yard before it's completely cut and sneaks into the back yard. While this can be frustrating, it's how it's supposed to work if everything is 1 zone...I simply walk it back up into the front yard and let it start zig-zagging back and forth again. If it looks like rain or I'm in a hurry, I'll manually touch up any missed patches before walking it to another part of the yard...Otherwise I just let it run and run and run and it usually gets just about every spot (eventually). I got an extra new battery that I switch out mid-week so both stay charged. I have it set to take off about 1/3 of the grass with each weekly cut and our Bermuda has never looked better. It truly is a "sea of green" once Robomower is finished and the blades have been clipped from every direction. It looks as good or better than the $150/visit professional landscaping crew does across the street. We have four 20" x 20" recessed drainage holes throughout the yard that can be a problem. Most of the time Robomower goes down and comes back out OK...Sometimes it just sits and spins the wheels trying to climb out. Hence, the supervision part of the job. Keeping an eye on Robomower and intervening when needed is still much better than the old blood and sweat that I see falling off the neighbors when they go out and cut their grass the old-fashioned way. Next to the PC and HDTV, Robomower gets my vote for best "life made easier" invention of the past 20 years. It's not perfect, but neither are you when you cut the grass. It's just much more convenient watching the grass be cut by Robomower. Understand it's limitations, plan your yard zones like you want it to operate and you should be equally pleased with the results, provided you don't get the inevitable lemon. I have extra tires and extra blades, but haven't needed to replace them after 3 seasons of weekly mowings. Great product!! | ||
| © 2009 GoSale.com (S2) |