Features

• Caried and extremely colorful characters and backgrounds
• Music ragnes from house to disco and just about everything in between
• For 1 or 2 players
• Control one of several dancers in an all-out dance-off
• Pull off moves in time to the beat via a series of onscreen controller commands

Reviews (25)

The Grooviest Game EVER!
My cousin came to live with us, and she brought this game with her. I came home one day and she was playing it, so i said i would play with her. It was really easy to learn, and i loved it! I think the most awesome character is Shorty, and her level is my fav! I love this game so much, it is fun and easier than those dumb footpad ones, cuz you use the controller! I LOVE THIS GAME!

omg! Amazing!!
This game is so much fun! I have been playing it for years, and I still love it!

Great!!
The game is set up like a 2-d fighting game. But instead of throwing punches, you dance. Sounds silly, I know. You can attack (only twice per stage), and the dance commands get harder as you play. The music is great though. There's J-Pop, Hip Hop, Techno, Disco, all sorts of genres. But all of it is great, I don't really like techno or pop, but I was singing along within minutes of listening.
The characters are also pretty interesting. Each has their own style of dance, and all are fun to watch. There's 10 characters (i think) and 4 more to unlock. They all have their own personality, attack, styles, etc, so it makes for a replayable and interesting game.
This is easily my favorite Playstation game I have ever played. I bought it 5 years ago and still play it to this very day. The game may be hard to pick up at first, but one you get the hang of it its a blast! ...

FANTASTIC
I BOUGHT THIS GAME FOR MY SON WHEN HE WAS ABOUT 13 YEARS OLD HE IS KNOW 18! AND GUESS WHAT I BOUGHT IT FOR MYSELF A WEEK AGO..I LOVED IT THEN WHEN I PLAYED WITH MY SON, LOVE IT KNOW THAT I HAVE MY OWN...I JUST ORDERED BAG2 FOR MYSELF AND CAN'T WHAT FOR IT TO COME.. MY FAVORITE IS GASO, KELLY, SHORTY, HEAT, STRIKE,TWO ALIENS.. I RECOMMEND THIS GAME TO ALL AGES AND ALWAYS REMEMBER TO BUST A GROOOOOOVE

BEST GAME EVER!
I was first introduced to Bust A Groove at a friend's house. I was immediately hooked. It's great fun w/ the best music you can ask for. I know all the songs and have them all on my computer! This is my all time favorite game and everyone should try it out. It's a little hard at first (especially if you don't play video games all that much) but you catch on pretty quick and it's a very addictive game. But that's ok cause it's awesome. The characters are cool too. I recommend it to anyone! ... Read more

Features

• Fantasy turn-based strategy game where players battle creatures and armies across 40 maps
• Six new Heroes campaigns with new music track
• New adventure objects, including six creature generators and three original creatures
• Additional Campaign Editor features, including a customizable object painter
• For 1 to 8 (multiplayer requires Internet connection)

Reviews (3)

Terible
The campains are chessy and nothing new is added. This title detracts from the rest of the series and i hope that gathering of storms has what this does not, somthing new!

Milking a dead cow?
By itself, the expansion offers fewer features than the previous expansion, but the length of gameplay still makes the purchase worth it.That is, if you are a hardcore fan...

Features:
* 6 new campaigns in a similar format than in the previous expansion - 5 campaigns must be finished in order for the 6th to unlock.
* 3 new creatures.This fixes some balancing issues introduced by the previous expansion, where only three out of the six factions got a new creature.
* All six creatures now have dwellings where you can purchase them.
* Improved editor allows for a more streamlined map creation.
* New maps, both 3Do- and fan-made.Fan-made maps are the result of a contest; one of the rules was that those maps should't be available on the Internet, so they do present original content.
* New music track in the main menu.(Ever since installation, though, I haven't heard the new track introduces by the previous expansion.)

What I liked:
* The campaigns are much tougher with more focus on strategy, as opposed to role-playing in the previous expansion.This will please everybody who considered The Gathering Storm too easy.
* The final campaign has a very original twist - you will need to pick a single hero out of the five you created, and fight against the other four.Those heroes tend to be the most powerful you may find in the whole game.

What I disliked.
* Price.That is my main complaint.At [$], it offers enough gameplay to look [inexpensive].However, you will need both expansions for a balanced experience (each expansion inproves only half of the factions), and you'll need the original game to play it.At a total of [$], no game is worth it. Wait for the inevitable Heroes 4 Gold instead.
* Graphics.While they didn't change, some map designs are more confusing than before.The fan-created maps are the biggest culprits, but even some campaign maps suffer from this problem.
* Missing features.There are no new spells or at least artifacts.In contrast, the previous expansion featured some very nifty artifacts.In addition, the much-promised random map generator (promised ever since the original game came out) is still missing.

Overall, I can recommend this game only to people who purchased the previous expansion.Others should wait for a compilation.

Worthwhile expansion, fan-made maps outstanding.
I hadn't played Heroes IV in some time, so I picked up this expansion in an effort to rekindle a little interest.It worked well.The changes are subtle, what stands out most are the new campaigns.But this expansion, like the first, adds additional depth and dimension to an already enjoyable title.

Only downside really is the price, but I suppose that stands true across the entire industry these days.For those who can hold out a little longer, you can reasonably expect 3DO to release a 'Complete' version before Summer.Which would likely include both expansion packs and the base game for less than the two upgrades combined.Do a search here on Amazon for 'Heroes III Complete' for an example from the previous version of the title.

All in all, I personally found this to be a worthwhile purchase.I am enjoying the new campaigns and the new additions, the new creatures (like Dark Paladins) are terrific and powerful, and the fan-made single scenario maps are for the most part absolutely fantastic.I hope to see 3DO include these in the future.

I'm giving this 4 stars, with the only ding being on price.

What you get:
- New single-scenario maps created by New World Computing as well as contest-winning single-scenario maps created by fans
- Six new Heroes® campaigns
- Three original fantastic creatures
- New adventure objects, including six creature generators
- Additional Campaign Editor features, including a customizable object painter
- New storylines for the campaigns
- All new music track ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

The force is truly with Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter. Thisfirst-person space shooter will appeal to fans of the genre, and will especiallyexcite any Star Wars buffs: there's a lot of material in this game thatcovers the period between Episode I and Episode II.

The time prior to the events of Star Wars: Episode II is a chaotic one.Pressure between the Republic and Count Dooku is building, and the Count has aplan that will give him the upper hand. He's made a deal with Captain Toth ofthe Trade Federation, who intends to take over the resource-abundant Karthakksystem. He has met almost no resistance, except for the alien smuggler Nym.

Aware that the Karthakk system must not fall into Dooku's hands, Mace Windudispatches his former student Adi Gallia (now a Jedi Master) to the system in anexperimental force-powered starfighter. She joins forces with Nym, and togetherthey just might have a chance at stopping Captain Toth.

Jedi Starfighter has 15 story-driven levels and an in-depth tutorial. Inall, the game provides over 20 missions, mostly protecting or escorting targetsand blowing up droids and other minions of the future Empire. The action takesplace in space, as well as in the sky over various planets. You can play aseither Adi or Nym, and you can also play the entire game in two-player split-screen cooperative mode. The Xbox version has an exclusive head-to-head scenariocalled Coruscant Territory Capture--think Star Wars meets Capture theFlag.

The two main ships you fly are Adi's Jedi starfighter (the same ship piloted byObi Wan in Star Wars: Episode II, Attack of the Clones) and Nym's strikebomber. Adi's ship is fast and light with four force powers (force field, forcelightening, force reflex, and force shock wave). Nym's ship has heavier armor inaddition to energy bombs, cruise missiles, proximity mines, and clustermissiles. The cockpit is set up similarly in both ships, so it's easy to switchbetween them.

This game is good, but there are a few weak points. The voice dialogue, whilewell-scripted, never shuts up and may drive you batty. The AI is downright dumbearly in the game: for example, you can blast away at an enemy troop carrier,and it keeps going on its merry way until it's destroyed (the drones aresomewhat trickier, but soon become predictable). The AI does improve later on,but some may not feel challenged even then. Lastly, the button placement on thealready cumbersome Xbox controller is difficult--the zoom button is right nextto the shoot button, making it pretty much impossible to do both at the sametime.

Bottom line: Star Wars Jedi Starfighter is a fun spaceshooter--especially for two-player gaming--that shows off your Xbox. --BryanKarsh

Pros:

• Good training missions
• Two-player cooperative and combative modes
• Sharper, smoother graphics than PS2 version

• Too much dialogue
• Difficult button placement
• Dumb AI

Reviews (18)

worth bying
Its a great game. It really is. And the nice thing if you beat the game and get tired of the missions you can play them again with bonus craft or with a friend. You could also play bonus missions or chalenge somebody in a game or duel. If you like this game you should also try "starwars starfighter."

P.S. When you play two player the person playing with you will side with you and also have a different craft. On some levels you can even get crafts that you couldn't get even as a bonus craft. So here's my suggestoin to you. Get your little sister or cousin to play with you and take the cool car.

Innovative and Fun At First, Tiresome After a Couple Hours
It's always been extremely "hit-or-miss" with LucasArts Entertainment's long running series of games based off of the Star Wars universe. On one hand, they've brought to life several extremely successful arcade-style flight simulators, but on the other they've stumbled and bumbled their way through countless platformers and shoot-em-ups. In more recent years, even their greatest strength, the flight sims, have taken a nosedive with poor showings on the PSX, N64, PS2, GameCube and Xbox. So when I finally sat down to have a go at this one, it was with a fleeting hope to see more of what once was and less of what's most recently been. I remember when things were good, and it's very hard to forget when they were bad.

The basic premise of this one is quite simple; you alternate playing the roles of Adi Gallia, a young Jedi Master and Nym, a typical gung-ho, brightly colored alien pirate, as they battle to save the republic from the looming threat of the Trade Federation. Both fly easily recognizable ships, and each come fully equipped with their own set of unique special weapons and secondary firepower. While Adi can use the force to aid her in the battle by slowing down time, reinforcing shields or striking enemy ships with force lightning, Nym's vehicle carries a heavy load of blunt firepower. Adi's ship is faster and more maneuverable, but Nym's packs a much stronger punch.

The entirety of the controls themselves are very easy to learn and deceptively simple to master. It's nowhere near as complex and customizable as the keyboard-based system introduced by X-Wing and Tie Fighter, but it still accomplishes many of the same tasks without the necessity of another sixty buttons. The left analog stick controls the direction of your ship, and the right analog handles the roll, which is more of a luxury feature than anything else. In space you won't need to put this to use at all, except perhaps to dodge enemy fire, but when you're battling near the surface of a planet it's easy to get disoriented by your surroundings if everything isn't level. The left and right triggers handle the speed of your craft, with the left your brake and the right your speed boost. I miss the ability to set my thrust to 40% or 60%, or to match the speed of my target and ride his tail until he's dead, but the lack of so many confusing buttons here is a trade-off I can live with.

The story, unfortunately, isn't nearly as inventive nor as easy to follow as the weapons or control systems. What story there is shoots by at such a blazing pace, it's nearly impossible to comprehend what's just happened before you're right in the thick of another fight. At one point, I didn't understand that I was dogfighting with Jango Fett himself until the second or third time he killed me. Efforts were made to tie this title in with the events going on during Episode II, but you could blink and miss the connections. Samuel L. Jackson's character, Mace Windu, is directly involved with everything you do, but it's hard to tell when that's his voice you're hearing over the comm-link, because the voice actor they cast for his role sounds NOTHING like his movie counterpart.

Another thing that bothered me about the way this game played was its straightforward series of goals. While one of the coolest things about Tie Fighter was its variety, Jedi Starfighter puts you in a new location, shakes up your odds a little bit, and tells you to do one of two things; protect something or kill something. Gone are the reconnaissance missions that made the pace of the PC flight sims so strong. You'll never be asked to retreat from a battle after holding off enemy fighters long enough for backup to arrive. It's kill or be killed, every single time.

While the gameplay itself is quite realistic in appearance, with tightly-rendered ships, daunting scale and believable obstacles such as asteroids and hidden enemy bases on small moons, the characters in the important scenes are flamboyantly cartoony and unrealistic. The regal, pompous air exuded by the tall, green members of the Trade Federation in Episode I is rendered null and void when they flail their arms around, swivel their hips or throw their heads around in strange ways during casual dialog. It seems like the animators grew bored with what they were being asked to render and overcompensated on the body language.

The audio, to its credit, is very well done from start to finish. Though the voice acting is pretty much universally terrible, the sound effects and music more than make up for it and then some. Laser fire is easy to trace, each different ship sounds crisp and distinct, and the original John Williams score works every bit as well here as it does on screen.

This is a title that had all the elements of a great game, in the same vein as its vaunted predecessors. It was overflowing with ingenuity, featuring unique new elements that made even the harshest battles exciting and entertaining, an enormous stage upon which to play, a steadily rising level of difficulty and several well-developed unlockable features. The gameplay is most certainly spot-on but the story, mood and motivations have got it all wrong. It's hard to get into a game like this, no matter how original the weaponry, if the story feels like an afterthought and each stage is just a new skin wrapped around the same old set of goals. Extra features help add a little spice to it, but on the large it's a perfect example of what could have been. I wish they'd taken another couple months on this, finished it properly and concentrated more on adding some peaks and valleys to the missions themselves.

one of the worst games I have ever played
This game was terrible my dog can make a more fun game than this. It's not worth looking at. I look wide eyed when people buy it.

Not my idea of a spacebattle game
Being an avid fan of Star Fox from Nintendo 64, I was hoping to find something similar on xbox. The only similarity Jedi Starfighter offers is the incessant whining and stupid chatter you get on the radio from your annoying allies. They make you want to desert and join the enemy.
Besides that, this game is nothing but aim and shoot. That's it. In Star Fox you had to learn trick flying so you could fly between buildings and under bridges, maneuver around obstacles and outfox your attackers. You were looping and dodging the whole time while you shot at bogies, like an old-fashioned fighter plane dogfight.
In Jedi Starfighter you don't even get the feeling your ship is in motion. It's like you're almost stationary, turning around in circles looking for stuff to shoot at, which to me gets really boring in a short amount of time. Reminds me of 1980's technology.
Lame, lame, lame.

Boring.
Average graphics, slow gameplay, insanely shallow dialogue, and cheesy music. Need I say more? ... Read more

Features

• Expansion to Sims 4 allows god-like control over city infrastructure
• Players take complete individual control of roads, rail, air, waterways, and even vehicles
• Choose from modern European or three historical architectural eras
• Introduce new disasters into your city
• For 1 player

Reviews (25)

They will gladly take your money...again.
Since the makers of the original SimCity 4 never actually fully patched that version, they tell you to buy Rush Hour to solve the issues existing with that main version. Throwing in a few additions that could have been made available for download, you must buy this expansion in order for the game to even work with ANY future elements they may provide. Newer building tools or the rare new structure will simply not work with the stand alone version.
But the "situation" even goes much deeper than that-
Problems were not only not fixed, but were actually HIDDEN by the game designers. Observant players of the original SC4 would notice cars driving in circles or driving a highway,leaving and re-entering it at each exit! With Rush Hour, they merely lowered the amount of time automobiles would be displayed so players would think there are no problems. Very sneaky Maxis! Many gamers are none the wiser. It is truly amazing the game developers could get away with such practices... and laugh all the way to the bank.

god like powers
This is the best game since GTA. The best thing to do is name streets and roads and neighborhoods and districts. I wish you could make a ethnic neighborhood then it would be really fun. You can make suburbs like the big city can be very blue collar and crime ridden and bad schools and one suburb can be white collar with mansions and excellent schools depending on what neighborhood you pay most attention to, just one of the best games ever made.

A Must Buy... if your conscious is flexible..
This expansion is a must purchase.It's more than the features they describe, they've refined and improved just about everything is seems from the regular Sim City 4.

My issue however is that there are so many aspects that you get in the expansion that were missing without it (such as say, the ability to click a button to make a certain building historical, which you could do in previous Sim Cities), it really kind of left a bitter taste in my mouth buying this.The ORIGINAL Sim City 4 should have had many of the polished aspects of the expansion.This isn't just a ton of cool new features, this expansion makes the game complete.

Kinda clever.. sell an incomplete game, then make you buy the expansion to get the full product.So it's a must purchase, but I blow my nose at you so called "computer coders", you and all you're silly kinnigits... pbhhhhhtthhh....

Sincerely,

A Frustrated Gamer Who Knows He's Not Going To Be Sleeping Tonight Because of the Darn Game

(or just Graham will do)

A tremendous improvement
I have been waiting for Maxis to improve the transportation features, and finally they've done it!!!I can now control traffic more efficiently in my city by knowing what paths citizens take to and from work.This allows me to determine where I should place new roads, mass transit lines, stations, etc.The monorails allow you to have a much more futuristic city, only you can't build monorail lines over elevated freeways.The surface freeways and elevated trains also make city transportation systems much more realistic.If you have SC4 and don't have Rush Hour, I highly recommend that you buy it now.It is worth every cent.

All the bells, whistles, and sirens a city should have!
After purchasing SimCity 4 and hearing of the Rush Hour expansion, I didn't know what to expect--after all, I just payed $40 for the stand alone version.Yet, to my surprise, RH added a tremendous ammount of gameplay and realism that wasn't available with SimCity 4.While the U-Drive it features are alright, I am extremely impressed with the tremendous addition of ground level highways, (I wanted these for a while now) Chicago-style "el" lines, monorails, and a new slew of roadway tools.Mayors should also take note of the new building sets, greatly improved gameplay performace, and more realistic play.Rush Hour is more than a simple add-on, it's a sequel to a great game. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Twisted Metal 2 is a game fueled by pure testosterone. Thebasic idea is to use your car and its onboard weapons to destroy all of the othercars in the race, cruising around such backdrops as Los Angeles, Paris, andAntarctica. Think of Spy Hunter meets demolition derby. You can raceor choose to fight in tournament mode, where you don't advance until everyoneelse is destroyed. There are many cars and drivers to choose from, includingsome favorites like Mr. Grimm, Warthog, and malevolent ice cream clownSweet Tooth from Twisted Metal 1. All have an outrageous arsenal ofweapons. This is a must-play for anyone who has experienced road rage andwants to get even--virtually. --Allen Stewart

Pros:

• Wild cars, such as an ice cream truck, motorcycle, bulldozer, Indy car--even atank
• Diverse weapons such as missiles, napalm, and ricochet bombs
• 2-player game adds the joy of trash-talking

• No real storyline beyond driving around and blowing things up
• Complex controls

Features

• Drive to destroy, before your opponents destroy you
• Tournament and race modes
• New driving techniques
• Use a combination of Advance Attacks, special, and standard weapon pick-ups
• For 1 or 2 players

Reviews (67)

The best PS1 ever
This game is the first game I have ever played. It got me into video games into the first place. I don't care what people say but the graphics in this game rule! Next to Black, they are the best! TM3 and 4 had nice graphics but they were all dirty. The only flaw in TM2's graphics are simplicity and pop-up but give the game a break, it is 9 years old and it still doesn't look that bad! Plus, the game is really interactive with tons of landmarks. Also, there is a huge complex storyline only uncovered by beating TM1, 2 and Black.
Pros:
So fun!
Two player never gets old!
14 cars and 11 levels
inexpensive
complex story
huge levels
destruction!
Cons:
Outdated but still stands up to most PS1 games.

Best PS one ever!
This game really lived up to the sequal, with more modes, weapons, combos and so much more. It has very interesting battle grounds spreading all over the world, from L.A. to antarticia. A new boss is also here.

graphics-very nice looking. the cars have detail and aremore interesting. there are F1 cars and junk cars. it moves fast, and the levels are detailed and large. You can drive in subways, windmills, the Eilfel tower which can be blown up, a museum, office buildings, and even a swimming pool.

sound-the music is very cool,. it fits the place. people scream, and there are realistic sound effects like machine gun firing and missles. There is no sounds when choosing your carlike the first one though.

gameplay-fun, crazy, and phsyco. More weapons, and more. it has other stuff like a deathmatch, and more interesting specials, like a shockwave and a claw that slams your opponents. It's like the first one, but with more options.

replay-great game that will keep you playing. The multiplayer mode will keep you and your friends busy at parties and sleepovers

Overall, this game is worth getting the Playstation alone.

Cool stuff for all
Twisted Metal 2 is one of the best Twisted Metal games, I still like Black better. I liked the movie where Axel goes back to his father and rips his arms out of his machine. I hate the T rating. Buy this game NOW!

THE BEST GAME EVER!!!!!!!!!!
this is by far the best game ever made. although the graphics are a little slopy, the colours are bright and rich, the physics are perfect, and the wepons are creative.

also, no matter what you taste in cars is, there is a car that you will like. the variety is huge!

The Great Game I Can Win Easy!?!?!?
Hello,out of the other Twisted Metals,they are all the same(5 stars).The graphics did'nt matter but as long as I had fun it was great.That's all I have to say. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

With this playset, kids can actually drive Thomas the Tank Engine, toothis horn, switch tracks, link him to other trains, and engage in all manner ofUsefulness, the chief currency of the Island of Sodor. The Thomas-shaped plasticplayset straps easily over standard keyboards (not ergonomic ones or laptops). Ared throttle moves Thomas forward or backward along the track. A green leverswitches tracks to change direction. A yellow whistle noisily announces Thomas'sarrival and also helps him link and uncouple with other trains. Finally,Thomas's smiling face is a button that can be pushed to get hints and friendlypatter. These four simple controls make this an inspired CD-ROM that will suit awide range of ages. Toddlers will love simply throttling Thomas around thetracks, while older kids will enjoy games that encourage spatial skills,decision making, and problem solving.

The four main games are wonderful,involved exercises. They all involve Thomas being helpful: finding "ImportantSupplies"; locating the "Missing Mail Truck," then helping to sort its mail;rescuing stranded passengers in "All Aboard," then making sure they are properlyticketed and delivering them safely to their destinations; and rebuilding anavalanche-damaged track in "It's a Landslide!"

These games are somewhatcomplex: in the landslide game, kids must switch tracks, couple Thomas with theTroublesome Trucks, haul rocks up mountains, signal Harold the Helicopter tounload the rocks, then deliver the empty trucks to James for hauling away.Thomas's water supply must be watched and replenished during this strenuouswork. And after the rocks are in place, there's still work to do! Only afterkids go to another screen to collect flatbeds and track pieces from Cranky theCrane, then deliver those parts to the mountaintop, is the job done.Phew!

Also, if players abandon a game without completing it, they can't accessany of the four mini games (which are mazes and races), and Sir Topham Hatt willchide in his chipper manner: "There's still a lot of work to be done!" This isnot a CD-ROM for the lazy, and fortunately, the folks who made it didn't use anyshortcuts either. Older systems without a lot of storage space may have troubledigesting this graphics-heavy program, but for us the program chugged along likeThomas himself, and the action on the screen corresponded smoothly with whatevercontrol was being used on the playset. "Builds a work ethic" isn't one of thefeatures mentioned on the box, but this diligent program and playset could putyoungsters on the right track. (Ages 3 and older) --Anne Erickson ... Read more

Reviews (35)

Great fun for Thomas fans!!
My son just received this for his 5th birthday.At first when he opened this up, I thought..."Oh no, not another disapointing computer game."I was afraid it was going to be either too difficult for him to understand, confusing, or just too stupid for it to be worth his time.Well, was I wrong.He has played this game almost every day for two weeks and it continues to challenge and excite him.

The game challenges my son to complete several tasks as the engineer of Thomas.My son is learning to listen carefully to the directions and makes sure to follow them exactly to complete the tasks.Some of the directions are a little confusing, but with a little help from Mom or Dad we can get him back on track.The best part of the game is the boost in confidence and independence in him that we can see.I would highly recommend this game for any Thomas fan of age 4 or older.

Great fun for our 4 y.o. boy (and his dad)!
Our son loves this game so much (he received it for his birthday two days ago), we can hardly get him to do anything else!Even adults will enjoy assisting the child "drive" Thomas and complete the chores given to Thomas by Sir Topham Hat.Your child will see the stations, the other engines, listen to Thomas speak to him (or her), and even see Thomas from above at certain points (e.g., entering a station). Most views are from "inside" Thomas, and I think it's a particularly nice touch to see Thomas' firebox burning.Warning:The gamepiece only fits on regular keyboards, not ergonomic ones (i.e., those split-looking keyboards). I recommend this product highly if your child is a Thomas fan.PS - it will install on Windows XP, which I understand has been a problem for some other Thomas games.

Extremely disappointing
We bought this for my five year old last year, and it was just a miserable experience from the beginning.The playset that straps onto the keyboard is not always cooperative, and once that issue is addressed, the software itself is difficult to follow for my son or for me!He became extremely frustrated after a few tries and it wound up being a very costly mistake.Avoid this one!

Every Thomas the Tank Engine Fan's Dream!
My sons are in love with Thomas. We have the wooden trains, the table, everything! But when we found this Railway Adventures Playset in bookstore for just ..., you can imagine how we felt when we got home and installed it on the pc!

I felt as though we'd hit the lottery or gotten over on the bookstore.This toy/pc game is so awesome. Your child will actually get to engineer Thomas all around the island of Sodor.

Even my husband and I have found each other dring Thomas.The picture/vdo quality is absolutely stunning, and having a real console to drive makes this game absolutely incredible.You also get to interact with many of the other Thomas characters.

This is a must by for Thomas fans or simply train lovers.

Latorial Faison, Poet & Author
...

Must have for thomas "FANATIC" kid
My 4 and half year old lives for Thomas and has for two years now.Nothing interest him more then Thomas and evey conversation leads back to Thomas or trains eventually.If you have a kid anything like mine then this is a must have!

There is nothing I can say negative about this toy.It introduces computer skills while allowing him to play with his favorate pal.I have been able to seg-way into other computer pre-school games with a more learning emphasis, by use of this fun toy.I like to play it myself.

The graphics are great. The instructions simple but the tasks are not.Your child will need help if he has no computer skills or isn't a good listner.But once he has done the task once, he be able to do it by himself again soon and with the log on screen, his adventure will be just a bit different each time.

Every time a child masters a tasks he is able to print out a certificate with his name on it.

Just great. Love it.The only problem I've had with my son is getting him off the game at bed time. There are tears and he says, "I miss Thomas." ... Read more

Product Description

Ryo Hazuki's continuing quest to bring his father's murderer to justice brings him to Hong Kong on the trail of the elusive Lan Di. Hazuki will have to rely on his wits if he is to understand his new surroundings, gain the trust of the locals and piece together the clues needed to track his father's murderer and uncover the meaning of the mysterious Phoenix Mirror. ... Read more

Features

• Platform: Xbox
• ESRB Rating: Teen
• Genre: Action/Adventure

Reviews (68)

Shenmue II is an instant CLASSIC..
One of the Greatest Dreamcast games ever made is finally making it's second appearance...ON THE MICROSOFT XBOX.Shenmue II not only out does the first one in every way but surprasses it even more, this game is unbelievable.It is handsdown, my favorite Xbox game ever...EVER.The story continues with Ryu Hazuki on the journey to find his fathers murderer and to meet a man who may know alot of things about his father then he'd imagine.Now the game takes place in Hong Kong, and Ryu is still on the hunt....get ready because not only are playing one of the best sequals to a game ever..but you'll be having one of the greatest video game experiences....ever..

Shenmues Graphics are just amazing, As you've already notice I'm not going to give it a negative on visuals since it's not fair because this is a DIRECT PORT from Dreamcast....Those idiots like IGN and gamemagazines should of known this is a direct port and that the visuals were going to be bumped up, hell it would take poor suzukie EVEN MORE YEARS to make the visuals amazing....but who cares cause this game is still AMAZING.The sound/music is just as beautiful as the original Shenmue, sometimes I'd just stand at one area and listen to the music..it's just so brilliant..The level desighn for Hong Kong/Kowloo is just incredible, especially one the final chapter of the game, which I won't spoil.Something I like Shenmue II more then Shenmue I is that Shenmue II is just one of those flat out "Sequals that didn't fail one bit" as I can see alot of people love this game but are dissapointed compared to the original...I'm not one bit, Something that Shenmue I had that made me fall in love with the game was the FREE BATTLES and QTE'S....Theres even WAY MORE of those in Shenmue II, and they've never looked so good on the Xbox.Other then the sequal having more action then it's predecessor, something that I loved about Shenmue is that it got you all pumped up all the way to the grand finale...THIS DOESN'T FAIL AT ALL.Especially the Yellow Head Building part, which is by far one of the greatest moments in Video game history..Everything about Shenmue II on Xbox is amazing....It's just so Brilliant!!!!!

Now for anyone who hated Shenmues Slow paced gameplay DO NOT GET THIS GAME, Shenmue II is just the same(but a lil better) as it's predecessor.It will take awhile to get to the action....More like when you're at the end of the first chapter which by the far longest in this game..Did I mention this has a very good Length..If you skip all the sidequests and just beat the story for the first thenmue, it would take about maybe...10 to 14 hours...It took me about 13 hours and 45 minutes.. Shenmue II takes about 20 to 30 hours of just playing the story mode of it and skipping some side quests....It's just bigger, better and longer...

The Good
-Superb Visuals and got a bit bumped up on the Xbox
-longer then the original
-the voice acting got a tad bit better but not by much
-Theres more character development and we finally know what SHENMUE means!!
-An amazing scenarion that has to do with the Yellow Head Building and LAN DI!!
-More FREE BATTLES and QTE'S
-More clues to find and people to ask, for me it was fun
-The Music is beautiful
-IT'S Just better then the original...that's all I can say about that....

The Bad
-The controls are TERRIBLE, I had to adjust em' before playing the game
-It got a lot of bad review on lots of sites about it's visuals...they should have known it's a straight port from the Dreamcast
-Just like the Dreamcast...Poor Sales for Shenmue II means NO Shenmue III in the future
-Some like myself were left wanting more after Shenmue II's Ending...amazing though..

Shenmue II on the Xbox is one of the best games ever made, and one of the most overlooked xbox title ever..period..Just like every other Sega Game on Xbox...Please if you liked the original you will LOVE Shenmue II, it's just better, longer, better looking, more action, MORE EVERYTHING!!Why the perfect score?..Because on like most of the idiots who gave it abad score cause of Visuals, I'm being mature about it, so what if it's a direct port from DC, The visuals are still amazing even if it's no Doom 3 or Ninja Gaiden....Other then that, Shenmue II is just a beautiful game and that is why I give it a.......

5 out of 5 stars...

Brilliant game....

I can't wait any more I going crazy
For you guys who haven't played Shenmue 2 yet it is a great game there are few games that will take you for a ride like this one. I'm sure everyone who has beaten this game knows the feeling I'm taking about. I could tell at the end that the game it was about to end and I hoped and prayed that this game would go on forever. I read on the internet that there are 16 chapters to Shenmue. The 1st one for DC was the first chapter, part two is chapters 3-5. chapter 2 took place on the boat ride to hong kong.

Grat game, overall.
Never played the first Shenmue. Bought this game because i finally beat Morrowind. This game is great. Many things to do, many interations, and a lot of freedom. The only negatives I found in this game were the vastly inferior graphics, and the lack of any sort of actual ending. Otherwise it's fun game.

Shenmue 3 soon?
Hey guys. It's been over a year now since Shenmue 2 was released and I'm sick of waiting for another sequel. I can't wait any longer. We need some sort of an update on when the game will be comeing out so we have something to look forward to, I don't care if I have to wait I just want to know when the game comes out. Also if you haven't tried Shenmue than I would highly recommend this video game. It is one of my favorite video games that I have ever played and it just gives off so much real life freedom. Theres more frequent fight scenes and QTE scenes than the first that makes this game the total package! Ryo Hazuki explores 3 new places Hong Kong, Kowloon, and Guilen. Anyways if you haven't boughten this game yet, than you should right now! Believe me you wont be sorry!

best game alltime
i agree like others shenmue 1 and 2 are among the greatest games alltime great story amazing graphics and mix of movie like cinemas with a deep easy fighting engine in shenmue youre looking for the man who killed your father youll travel around asking questions fighting buying grocerys even working all to help you on your ultimate goal in shenmue 2 u arrive in hongkong to keep on the trail of the man who killed your father theres so many cool things you can do in this game buy diffrent cassetes to play even play old 80s games in an arcade inside the game that has all segas arcade games they had in 1987 the year this games based in this game time matters and it goes from day to night seasons change and youll interact with hundreds of people and do hundreds of mini tasks as u look for your fathers killer when u fight its like an action movie only it controls perfect and its deep fighting u have over 50 moves buy this game while they still make new copies its got a cult following for a reason the game teaches u to exhaust all options before fighting respect the ederly feed the hungry and animals its a really cool smart game the ending is amazing and cost 5 million just to make the final scene theres no other game like it youll become addicted to the minigames and shed a few tears over the games artistic beauty i kid u not we are all waiting on yu suzuki to announce a third and final shenmue ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Featuring a new adventure that's filled with numerous enhancements andinnovations, this long-awaited sequel to Pokémon Red, Blue,and Yellow greatly improves upon the series' winning formula, and makesfor an even more insanely addictive and wholly absorbing gaming experience.

Like Pokémon Silver--which essentially is the same story, withminor gameplay variations--Pokémon Gold casts players in thefamiliar role of a young Pokémon Trainer who's out to collect as manydifferent kinds of Pokémon as possible. As in previous games, gameplayconsists mostly of exploration (completing various quests in the process) andPokémon battles, which employ a unique battle system that's like acomplex twist on rock-paper-scissors.

But, despite the similarities, it's quite apparent that PokémonGold is a whole new ball game from the start. The game is played out in realtime, with the current time and day of the week (recorded by an internal clock)having a direct impact on gameplay elements, such as what Pokémon you'llfind in the wild, and when certain events occur and characters appear.

While there are too many new and improved features in Pokémon Goldto list here, among the highlights are 100 new Pokémon (including two newtypes), new evolution processes (including breeding), and a more streamlinedgame interface that has better-organized menus and button shortcuts.

Although it's easier to progress in Pokémon Gold than in theprevious games, the sheer amount of fun and game time that's involved isdaunting. You'd be hard-pressed to find a better value than this one. --JoeHon

Pros:

• Insanely addictive and wholly absorbing gaming experience
• Time and day of week impact gameplay directly
• Bevy of new features and hidden secrets
• Improved graphics and more streamlined game interface

• Minor compatibility issues when using Game Link with previous versions

Reviews (142)

The best Pokemon game ever.
I have played every Pokemon game from Red and Blue to Emerald. (Japan Version) This one simply kicks butt. I say start with Totodile.

They should have kept the original 151 Pokémon!
Overall this game is fun and a nice sequel to the original Pokémon adventures, the graphics have improved a lot and the sound has better quality. This game, just like Pokémon Silver has a lot more than Red, Blue and Yellow and is also more challenging, one of the greatest things this game can do is actually get you emotional, how? Well, if you were a fan of the original adventures, then returning to Kanto as a whole new person where everything has changed might get you pretty emotional.

The bad thing, is however the addition of new Pokémon species, I trully believe the original 151 were enough, now there's simply too many. The designs of many of these new creatures look "robotish" and "allienish", they don't have the charm of the original. Also, I began to lose track when these came out, I can't remember the names of all and it is next to impossible to complete your collection here, even with both packs, I believe you are required to get Mew to have full collection and Mew is nowhere to be seen, I hope the developers weren't specting each one of us to get Mew from a special event or by using a Game Shark. Anyways, overall this game was fun, lasted a pretty long time, enough to give you something to do for a while, but my point is there are way too many Pokémon.

The best game in the series
Pokemon 2 (Gold and Silver versions.) The second installment in the Game Boy Pokemon RPG series.

Nintendo's Pokemon franchise became a massive success in its native Japan relatively quickly. Although it took the franchise a little longer to catch on in America, it finally did catch on, and when it did, it took the nation by storm. Pokemon games and products sold like crazy, despite the fact that the franchise was virtually unrecognized in America at its time of release. Finally in the late summer/early fall of 2000, the second games in the series got an American release. How does Pokemon 2 measure up? Read on for my review.

PROS:
-THIS GAME GIVES YOU MORE OF THE SAME MONSTER CATCHING AND BATTLING ACTION THAT YOU HAVE GROWN TO LOVE IN THE FIRST GAME. To put it simply, if you liked the first game, it's quite unlikely that you won't like this one.
-THE GAME GRAPHICS ARE DRASTICALLY IMPROVED OVER THOSE OF THE PREDECESSOR TITLES. In this game, the graphics are not only improved, but the game is also optimized to make usage of Game Boy Color and Super Game Boy enhancements.
-IT'S NOT JUST A REHASH OF THE FIRST GAMES. Although the game uses the same general formulas, the game is entirely new, and the world is much larger this time around. Beat the game, and you can even go to the continent where the original game took place!
-NINTENDO DESIGNED THIS GAME WITH PLAYER CONVENIENCE IN MIND. Remember how in the first game you had to go through all those menus just to use an item (like your bike or fishing pole?) Well, in this game, you can set the select button to use an item! This really comes in handy and speeds up the general flow of the game.
-TONS OF NEW CREATURES AND ABILITIES. The original games had roughly a hundred and fifty-one creatures, and these games give you roughly a hundred new ones! This is too cool.
-THE GAME HAS AN INTERNAL CLOCK THAT KEEPS TRACK OF THE TIME OF DAY AND THE DAY OF THE WEEK. Different events happen at different times of the day and on different days. This makes the game all the more appealing.
-YOU CAN TRADE WITH ALL OTHER POKEMON RPG GAMES THAT PREDATED THE GAME BOY ADVANCE ONES. This will make it easy to get your hands on certain creatures from the old games. In fact, some the old creatures DO NOT appear in these games, so you're gonna have to do some trading to complete your Pokedex.
-THE GAME INTRODUCES THE CONCEPT OF BREEDING POKEMON. If you get a male and a female Pokemon together at the Daycare center, they just might lay an egg! This concept is necessary to get many of the new "baby" Pokemon in the game.
-THE GAME INTRODUCES TWO NEW POKEMON TYPES - DARK AND STEEL. Adding in the new types means you're going to have to rethink your gaming strategies - or create new ones entirely! The new types only add to the overall fun of the game.

CONS:
-MINOR COMPATIBILITY ISSUES WHEN TRADING WITH OLDER GAMES. For example, you can't send the new Pokemon species into your older game, nor can you send old species that have new moves. This is bound to get on your nerves, believe me.
-THE MYSTERY GIFT CONCEPT IS FLAWED. If you and a friend own a Game Boy Color, you can use Mystery Gift with your infrared ports to each get a random item, once a day. The only problem is that this requires a Game Boy COLOR - The Game Boy Advance doesn't have an infrared port!

OVERALL:
Pokemon 2 is, to date (as of July 4, 2004), the best game in the Pokemon series. In my mind, these games are even better than the new Game Boy Advance games, Ruby and Sapphire. If you can find one of these Pokemon 2 games in your local used games store, they are well worth picking up. Pokemon games aren't likely to get a whole lot better than these ones.

Fun Game
I love this game! Here's a tip: START WITH CYNDAQUIL! Cyndaquil is strong against most of the Gym Leaders and it's final form Typhlosion is a kick-butt Pokemon against the Elite 4.

THE BEST PKMN GAME EVER!!
ok, ive played tons of pkmn games and i own very many and i believe this is the best. its a whole lot easier to beat than yellow, but its still really good and a good challenge. this was my very first role-play game and i still love it best even when i have the newest PKMN ruby game for GBA.
the graphics arent as good as GBA, BUT its best for GB
the music is cool
the whole plot and all the places and everything is awesome
i've beaten the game a million times and i'm still playing it over and over and i've had it for 5yrs now. ... Read more

Amazon.com

This entirely unique and thoroughly entertaining game, co-developed in Japan and the U.S.,features a hip-hop puppy animated in a whimsical, paper-thin style. PaRappa hopes to win the heart ofSunny, the object of his affection, by holding his own with an increasingly adept group of rap masters.

Players control PaRappa by rhythmically pressing the controller's buttons to repeat bits of rap songs in theproper order. The tunes and lyrics are catchy and clever, and the gameplay is completely original. Suitablefor children and appealing to adults, this is a must-have disc for PlayStation owners who want to smile.Woven into the storyline are positive messages about self-confidence and respect. Highly skilled playerscan try their hand at free-form rapping to gain extra points. While this game has inspired sequels andcopycats, it still holds up against the test of time. --Jeff Young

Pros:

• Lighthearted, zany graphics
• Clever songs and positive messages for children

• Can be frustrating for those without rhythm

Features

• Press the controller buttons to match the onscreen cues and rhythm of the song
• Kick it in reggae, house, pop, and old school rap
• For 1 player
• You are the love-sick puppy, PaRappa determined to win over the beautiful Sunny
• Rap your way into her heart with your distinctive musical talent

Reviews (20)

CLASSIC!!
I was about 20 when I first played this game and thought it was the weirdest thing I'd ever seen but the music was too catchy to resist. If you don't fall in love with this game then you don't have a pulse.

AWSOME
I would definitely say that parappa the rapper is the greatest game of all time|!!!

Unwhitting fun
This game was one that I thought would be another kids game. It's not, it's actually tons of fun. The game play thou basic can get very tricky. Hand eye cordination is tested to the max with this on. And the songs aren't bad either.

What's with the low average rating?
(I read over the reviews and there were only like 2 bad reviews...yet the average rating is very low. It must be a problem with the site.)

Man oh man is Parappa a cool game. I remember seeing commercials of this and being hooked on the spot. This could very well be the first music-type game released, and what a first game of its genre it is. There's nothing to hate here. The character designs are plain but original. Especially Joe Chin.

Parappa's gameplay is simple enough- you hit the buttons corresponding to the top of the screen: the buttons appear and you have to get the timing as to when to hit them to match lyrics. That's all there is to it really. But it gets much harder as you play along. Heck, the second level gives some people trouble even. The only real strategy for getting through the game is to tap your foot along with the music. That should make it easier on you.

Some people here have complained about "dumb graphics and story"...like either one of those matters. What matters is if a game is fun, and Parappa is definately fun. I don't know anyone that got sick of this even after playing through 5 times in one day. Actually, if you play the game via PS2 and set the graphics to "smooth", it looks a lot better, and there aren't any "jaggies" on the character designs.

Parappa also has one of the coolest soundtracks I've heard in a game. The songs'll get stuck in your head for days after playing through. Even the music between levels during the plot bits is catchy.

So give Parappa a chance to get a break from your silly rpgs where you just "care about the story". And pick up the game when you see it- as I think it's out of print. Just look at those insane used & new prices.

Cool but the levels should be longer than 6
Cool but the levels should be longer than 6 like Um Jammer Lammy ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2, Yuri's Revenge sets a new standard for expansion packs in both what it adds to the game and how it changes the way you play it. The world is once again on the brink of apocalypse. Yuri, the brilliant and powerful psychic warrior, has rebelled against his former Soviet masters and launched his own scheme to control the world. He's armed with cruel technologies, exotic weapons, and mind-controlling devices that have enslaved entire cities.

In single play, gamers can choose to command the Allies and crush this new threat to freedom, or choose to lead the Soviets and punish this would-be usurper of the Soviet global vision. In multiplayer mode, you'll command Yuri's devastating army using devious weapons based on forbidden technologies: psychic thought, genetics, and cloning. See your brutes flip over tanks with their bare hands, unleash your dominator and control scores of enemy troops, or use a virus to infect opposing forces foolish enough to resist you. With 10 new cooperative missions, gamers have more interesting options than just fighting head-to-head. An improved multiplayer and tournament interface will make it easier than ever to find opponents and allies.

Both the Allied and Soviet armies get new, powerful weapons. The Allies boast aRobot Control Center and Chrono Prison. Amongst the new Soviet weaponry is the Siege Chopper and Boris, a machine-gun-toting commando that can call down laser-guided bombing strikes. The high-quality in-game movies tell the story of Yuri and his insidious plot. The popular characters of Red Alert 2, such as Tanya and Romanov, are back to wage war in cities around the world, including London, Cairo, and San Francisco. ... Read more

Reviews (258)

great
this game has kept me busy on my free time for 4 years and trust me this is a great game. here's how the storyline goes- Premier Romanov remembers a war from his childhood, Allied tanks rolling across the streets and soldiers marching through the city. because of this he has forever hated America, leader of the Allies. now he's an aristocrat and has become the king or something of russia under the image of a peaceful man. but he's really building bases across the world in a crazy plan to crush the Americans. he and his comrade Yuri, a person with the ability to control people's minds waged war against america with tactics such as using yuri's students to mind control cows loaded with explosives to american forts and using the navy to transport tanks as they overrun New York. in the end the allies won but yuri has escaped. during the War between the Allies and Soviets and created his own army and now's trying to dominate the earth with his new weapon the psychic dominator- attempting mind controlling everyone in the world. the allies' goal is to destroy yuri to save the world and the soviets' goal is to get revenge on yuri for betraying them. the campaign is extremely difficult compared to the original one's. there's a whole new army avaliable on skirmish and new units and fixes to glitches have been created.

50% Good
All I have to say is when you order the "pack" make sure they send ALL the serial codes to load the game!Spent the money got the games but received only one serial code for the pack (Red Alert 2).Yuri's revenge required a separate code which was not included, so now I can enjoy half the game and use the Yuri's Revenge disk as a coaster or maybe a colorful mini-frisbee!

Thoroughly enjoyable
This game was not exactly what I was expecting, but for only $20, I was NOT disappointed.When it was released, I really thought about buying it, I'm glad I waited for the $40 - $50 price tag to come down... normally, I like to be the first one on the block to play one of the ones I have played in the past.

Generals is a variation on the original Command & Conquer series and is not another updated version with a new name and additional units and plays, for the most part, without any sort of a similar "storyline".The RTS aspect is solid, the ai is pretty good, and the player interface is adequate (but took a little getting used to) - it's available at a fair price and worth purchasing.If I had bought this game at the original price I doubt I would have had any further interest in buying any of the the future versions of C&C, but for another $20 I will probably pick up the Zero Hour expansion pack.... something that should probably have been a free update to those that paid the initial price.

The only complaint I would make is the "view" ... it's the type of view that drops to more of a "ground level" perspective like in Empire Earth or Total War:Rome rather than a true zoom/unzoom available in a Age of Empires/ Rise of Nations or even SimCity...Generals was quite enjoyable even though that feature is not my preference.

Other than that, I thought it was fun and challenging and well worth the $20 price tag.

Awsome!!
This game rocks!! I love Red Alert and Red Alert II, but this game is 20 times better! It's real time strategy about wars that are similar to the wars we are facing across seas. I highly recomend this game, and if u have spare money, get the expansion pack zero:hour, which expands your battle options. But overall, this game is the best game C&C has come up with!!

A big dissapointment
Buying this game when it came out was a mistake i think to this day.C and C previous titles were ones to marvel at, this one is one to chuck in a garbage can.The missions are somewhat amusing and the terran is ok, but the subject of the game that really mad me, dare i say, cry, was the game's shortness and terrible unit graphics.In Generals, you play in 3 campaigns, terroist, chinesse, and AMERICAN, however, with only ten missions, +or-, you can get through the game, quite quickly.Also, being in 3D, i expected some quality of the game sprites, or on ground units, however, they dissapointed me greatly.With its extreme shortness, lack of modes, and basically, i came to conclude that this game, fell far short of reaching the shrine of C and C games ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Originally released for the Sega Dreamcast and Nintendo 64, StarWars: Episode I, Racer was a decent title with its share of flaws--mostnotably its control and graphics. The game's PlayStation2 sequel, Star Wars:Racer Revenge, addresses many of the original's shortcomings and is a vastlysuperior product. Rainbow Studios--known for its strong racers such as ATVOffroad Fury and Motocross Madness--developed this game, unlike theoriginal. The developer's prowess at creating racing games is evident, as thistitle features much better controls and more compelling races. Furthermore, itreceives a nice graphics upgrade that showcases the capabilities of the PS2.This game is superior in every respect to its predecessor.

Game modes include practice, single play, tournament, time trials, and versus.Tournament mode is the bulk of the game. Players can beat it in fewer than threehours and it isn't particularly difficult. Replay value is added by requiringyou to beat the tournament mode several times so you can unlock all the game'ssecrets. Oddly enough, the game's sound--usually LucasArts's forte--is hamperedby an unusual effect: at times you'll hear the full Star Wars treatment,as John Williams's score and cool sound effects totally capture the feel of themovies, but other times you'll hear only the sound of your engine. Theenvironmental audio is an interesting choice that wasn't executed very well.Audio and brevity issues aside, this game is one of the strongest StarWars titles released for a console. --Raymond M. Padilla

Pros:

• Much better gameplay than the original
• Excellent graphics
• Tight controls

• Extremely short
• Not very challenging
• Music fade-ins and -outs are weird

Reviews (34)

HARD!!!(...)
WHY IS EVERYONE SAYING THIS GAME IS EASY???!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
THIS IS THE MOST FRUSTRATING HARDEST GAME I HAVE EVER PLAYED! (...)IT MIGHT BE ALITTLE FUN AND EASY IN THE BEGINNING BUT THEN IT GETS IMPOSSIBLE!!!(...)DO NOT BUY THIS GAME!! IT IS SO(...)FRUSTRATING!!(...) AAAAAAAHHH(...)

star wars racer revenge
I would like to know when this game will come out.

Best Sci-Fi Racing Game Ever!!!
I've had this racing game since it was released and I still think it is the best racing game I have ever played.Lucasarts should make a sequal for the next set of consoles.

Easy to win straight, but....
This is an incredible game. I just bought it the other day and I love it. But I'm still not finished. Sure, I've beaten a few tourniments, but there is more.

See, the reason I'm writing this is because I've been reading a lot of reviews saying that it's just too easy. What they fail to mention is that even though Tournament mode is very very short, you have to play it with all your racers in order to make everything equal. In addition, there are secret characters that are unbelieveably hard to get. These are:

Episode 1 Sebulba: Win first place in all races on regular Sebulba's career.

Episode 1 Anakin: Beat the best lap time for each race (it seems easy at first, but those last two races make it almost impossible).

Watto: Beat the best 3-lap race time for each track (see above parentathis).

Darth Maul: Beat the best KO number in each race (oddly enough, it's the first race of the game that gives me the most trouble)

Darth Vader: Unlock EP1 Anakin, Watto, and Maul, then (and only then) win the tourniment with one of those three.

How difficult are these characters to get? Well, let me put it this way: I've been playing almost nonstop for a week and the only onje of the above characters I have is EP1 Sebulba (though I'm close to getting Maul).

So if you want praise for this incredible game, read some of the other reviews. However, read this one after to dispell the "too easy" myth. Sure, winning the tourniment mode with one character is wicked easy (I did it in a matter of hours). But try winning it with 18 and unlocking 5 more.

Dos neek ta tunk bantha poodoo.

Fun racing game
First off, I love racing games.They are fun, you need to think quickly at times, you can play with more than one player (usually), and those "winner by a nose" finishes make it all worth it.

I get this all from this game.I've really enjoyed playing this game and building up my character while trying to unlock other characters to play with.Each course is imaginative and has its own sets of challenges.

My only problem is that it can get easy really quickly.I wish there were a way to download courses off the Internet or an ability to create your own.

But in the end, if you like racing games I would highly recommend this one!! ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

To say that Shenmue is an anticipated title is an understatement;the game made huge waves in Japan upon its release, and American gamers havebeen waiting since then to see what the fuss is all about. It's a game in whichthe concept itself is the selling point. What if you could portray a young heroin a fully realized Japanese city? Would you like to participate in andinfluence an over-the-top kung fu-style action-mystery flick in your livingroom? What if lots of combat, cinematic flourish, detail, and a dash of romancewere thrown in?

The game itself is awash in small details, crammed into a confined space. Thecity of Yokusuka circa 1986 is rendered beautifully in a short series ofneighborhoods that are long on detail even if short on variety. The story itselfis ripped straight from a chopsocky flick: you portray the young hero RyoHazuki, whose father (a kung fu sensei, naturally) is killed before hisvery eyes by a mysterious and frightening villain. Ryo must uncover the identityof the killer and fight his way through the city in an effort to avenge thiswrongful death.

Shenmue's Yokusuka might be short on space--in total, it represents maybea square mile--but the detail is overwhelming. You can interact with nearlyevery person or object that you see; 300 citizens go about their daily routines,and whom you encounter is as much determined by where you are as when you arethere.

Much of this interaction involves combat that ranges fromDragon's Lair-style reaction tests (such as timing a button press tododge an oncoming car) to freeform kung fu fighting. Further, each second ofreal time equals about a minute of game time, and Ryo has to be home by 11 p.m.each evening. The game moves at a brisk pace, and each challenge or battle feelslike a race against time. Some might say that gaming doesn't get shallower thanthis (you are essentially performing tasks and exploring, instead of gaming),but the game feels like no other and is ultimately satisfying by the time thatit all ends. In this way, Shenmue is more than a game--it's an eventthat's worth experiencing. --Andrew S. Bub

Pros:

• Compelling, well-told story
• Good action and combat
• Fantastic sound and graphics

• Plot is familiar to fans of kung fu action films
• Task-and-exploration gameplay might seem slow to action gamers

Reviews (300)

The realistic sphere of emotion and time
Shenmue is a graphic adventure game from 2000 exclusive to the Sega Dreamcast.The setting is Japan in 1986.You're placed in the role of Ryo Hazuki, an 18-year-old student and martial arts disciple on a winding, multi-faceted quest to uncover the mystery behind his father's murder.Along the way you'll traverse myriad locations and interact with countless non-player characters, as well as engage in side interests and attend to personal issues.

The progression of gameplay is quite open and arbitrary.There is no particular pace you have to keep in playing; you can sprint through the entirety of it, or you can devour days and days roaming around, engaging in the oddities, practicing martial arts, chatting with passersby, playing mini-games or whatever else.The hands on the clock tick away in real time in Ryo's world.The date and time of day--morning, afternoon and evening--is presented in convincing fashion by the game, and is reflected in the towns and villages and industrial areas you'll be visiting.The streets may be thronged with pedestrian traffic during mid-day, shoppers and businessmen, families and children.But after nightfall things change.After the streetlights flicker into life, the locales take on an aura of eerie stillness as the crowds thin and--in the urban and industrial areas--are replaced by members of the seedy nightlife, while in the residential districts they begin to bob their collective heads towards sleep.Many, although not all, businesses, shops and residences are open and interactive for you to explore. Time of day comes into effect here, for certain businesses and shops are only open during particular hours of the day or night.In addition to the realistic sphere of passing time, there are varying weather effects in place as well: sun, rain, and even snow as the calendar edges into the winter months.

Your home is the Hazuki Dojo in Yokosuka.Ryo's mother and father, his last living relatives, are now both gone.You live there with a former student of Ryo's father, Fuku-san, and the elderly housekeeper, Ine-san.Ine-san is a grandmotherly figure who'll fret and worry about Ryo's safety, imploring him to be careful and to let the past go.Yet she's soft spoken and demure, almost resolved to the situation.Each evening Ryo must be home by 11PM, and when he's late Ine-san seems almost hurt by it.It creates a true sense of obligation, of emotion, of connection to the characters and situation.Shenmue excels at creating a sense of strong emotional ties between the player and the characters, as evidenced by the potent flashbacks of Ryo with his father and the difficult parting with Nazomi at the end.You begin to feel the things Ryo feels, to truly take on the role of a lost, yet fiercely indomitable 18-year-old boy up against overwhelming odds to avenge the death of his father.

Every NPC is interactive and will converse with you.Many characters you meet near his hometown know Ryo by name, and some are his close friends--such as Nozomi Harasaki or the American Tom Johnson.There are actual curves of character development as the game progresses, relationships that alter in scope and nature, and a seemingly new, wary awareness of a wider, more iniquitous world by Ryo.Indeed, the villains Lan Di and unstable, tittering Chai impose heavy, bleak footprints on the narrative.Most people Ryo speaks to will have a few lines of dialogue about this or that--sometimes relevant and sometimes not, or now and then sending you off on splinter pursuits apart from your more crucial objectives--and a few will offer up clues to where you need to go next, what items you might need to acquire and to whom you need to talk.Every interaction can be important as you struggle to uncover clues.And with a continuous, moving timeline, it's all-too-possible to miss certain events as they occur when you're someplace else.While most of the gameplay involves the patient, explorative extrication of mystery upon mystery, there are also occasional action segments of martial arts brawling and QTE (quick time encounter) events calling for some speedy button pushes.

About midway through the proceedings Ryo is obligated to find employment to further fund his undertaking, and in this the game's principal setting and structure is somewhat altered.Ryo secures a job operating a forklift on the harbor docks.Here the game delves even further into the realms of realism, for every morning you must get up and report to work first thing--and then do the actual work for eight hours before recommencing with the more important tasks.And while this sometimes leads to a certain degree of monotony and tedium from the player's perspective, it does seem to work well overall within the scope of the game.

Outside the core body of gameplay are multiple minigames and collectible items that Ryo can pursue.The mingames are found mostly in the You Arcade in Dobuita, where full, authentic versions of the Sega arcade classics Hang On and Space Harrier are playable.There are also darts, billiards, slots and QTE games available.And a jukebox that plays real music.And cassette tapes of music you can buy in stores.Every sunrise before work at the harbor, Ryo can participate in a forklift race.And over 600 collectible items are available--everything from photographs to ancient Japanese mirrors to light bulbs to a package of squid legs--and they're located just about everywhere.

Visually, Shenmue is a tour de force, a world you just fall into like a pool of water and then don't want to get back out of. Stylistically and thematically, in both architecture and culture, it's a purely Japanese world.And the Japanese vibe really gets under your skin after a while.In a strange way, by the end of the game, you almost feel as if you've actually been in Japan, not just playing a game set there.It's a striking ambiance and environment they've created; time's suffocating grip has no hold here on the Dreamcast.The environments spring to life around you: trees and grass sway in the breeze, fish dart around a pond, a kitten meows by the roadside, ships dock at the harbor, pigeons startle into flight by your footsteps, people go blithely about their daily lives, the structures appear so lifelike you can almost reach out and touch them.Character animations are carved with a fine chisel; every line etched in the face a graphic relief, hair strands that divide and drift on the winds, eyes that bore holes of meaning and emotion into you.Even the detail present in Ryo's brown leather jacket is stunning.And all this on the Dreamcast, easily looking as good here as later, more advanced gaming consoles.

Shenmue breaches generations and cultures, a game people of vastly different ages and backgrounds can concurrently enjoy and become absorbed with.In the act of investigating, something is revealed, and that points you to the next stage--and from there to the next.You want to see what happens next; you care about Ryo's journey and the people around him you've come to know.The settings are pragmatic and the basic storyline is simple enough that a child can follow it, yet there is depth enough to draw anyone in.It's a universal theme, and a game that has remained wedged in the memory over the years.Regrettably, the ultimate resolution isn't found here; Ryo's tale winds on in Shenmue II on the Xbox.

Yu Suzukies Masterpiece...
Shenmue for the Sega Dreamcast may possibly be the greatest video game experience I've ever had in my gaming days(including Shenmue II for xbox).Shenmue is about a young man out for revenge to find his fathers murderer but theres WAY more too it, I won't spoil anything other then this game is flat out beautiful and should be played by gamers that won't wyn about the slow paced action..

Like the title above, this is Yu Suzukies Masterpiece, the man worked EXTREAMLY hard on this amazing game(Shenmue is also known as one of the most expensive video games ever created).Sadly Yu Suzukies hard worked game never made any good sales because of the PS2's launch, I like many others got it at the time it was first released, This game is just pure brilliance.The visuals are some of the best seen in games...This may be the longest game review I've ever done so lets get to it..

Visuals
This is one of the if not THEEEE best looking DC game ever made, everything is so detailed and the character models are great.The building, the Atmoshpere, thank you so much Suzukie.

Gameplay
ok this is probably the reason this game is the most hated/loved game ever created.IT'S EXTREAMLY SLOW PACED, and may turn off some casual gamers but if you can hold on long enough the action will start to come up.The game play is simple and easy to get use to very quickly.The game plays like a mystery novel, ask people question and clues about something and when you find some clues you go ask other people that may know BUT THIS GAME PULLS IT OFF SO WELL IT'S NOT EVEN FUNNY!This game(plus Shenmue II) has THE best fighting engine ever!!!It's taken straight out of the virtura Fighter games.And the Free Battle sequences are extreamly rare yet very fun in the game.Did I mention you can do almost everything in this game?Well not everything but alot of things like getting a job, gambling and alot of the other things that can be done in real life...

Sound/music
When I say this games music is beautiful IT IS, Ten times better then MGS 1.Especially the main theme which you'll notice alot, it's amazing if theres one thing Yu Suzki did well(other then everything els) it's the music in this game, pure brilliance

Controlls
I'm really lazy to get into this but there pretty good
Lemmi just some it up right now

The Good
-Superb Visuals
-Great Controls
-Superb sound
-Amazing Inviorments
-Loads of things to do
-AWESOME FIGHTING ENGINE
-One of the most expensive games ever made
-A beautiful story about vengence but with alot to it

The bad
-action gamers will be turned off by how slow paced this game go's
-For some long, for some a SHORT game, took me about 13 hours my first time but that's because I just did all the story parts and not the side quests
-The sales for this and Shenmue II did so bad that we probably won't see a Shenmue III anytime soon
-For anyone looking for a good challenge for this and Shenmue II, look elswere, it's pretty simple an pretty straight forward..

Other then that Shenmue is an instant classic with everything on the spot, Yu Suzukie created something more then a game....This game is not just good because it feels like you're acctually in that world and living Ryu'S life.....This is good because Yu Suzukie braught us something that just feels so real, and like as if there really is a world like that....acctually there is, JAPAN, duuhh, but still no other game has hit me or motivated to the point were I HAVE TO PLAY THIS GAME more then shenmue....This game is hands down...One of the greatest video game experiences you'll ever have...... When it all comes down to this, I give Shenmue for the sega Dreamcast a

5 out of 5 stars...

Brilliant....Just...Brilliant

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