Editorial Review

Mario Kart 64, one of the first games released for the Nintendo 64platform, is an updated translation of the very popular Super Mario Kart for theSuper NES (SNES). And while the game clearly takes full advantage of the graphicspower and speed of the N64, a few components that made the original so compellinghave been left out of this release.

Still, Nintendo's expertise at sucking players into the game world is strongly evident, andMario Kart 64 offers enough challenges to keep players (especially casualgamers) entertained. Placing a familiar Nintendo personality behind the wheel of asputtering kart powered by a 50, 100, or 150-cc engine, the game lets players racecomputerized opponents or up to four other players on a variety of well-designed tracks.Because karts lack the power and speed of race cars, drivers must focus on collectingpower-ups and nonlethal weapons rather than negotiating hairpin turns on two wheels.Grabbing and using on-track items is the heart of the game's fun: a strategically-placedbanana peel sends the unlucky victim into a spin, nailing an opponent with a turtle shelllaunches their vehicle skyward, and a rocket provides a quick boost to near-breakneckspeeds, if only for a moment.

The multiplayer mode provides enormously chaotic fun for up to four players--flip it onat a party and watch the guests congregate around the screen. --Eric Twelker

Pros:

• Well-designed tracks
• Simple controls
• Strong multiplayer appeal

• Computerized opponents sometimes pull off questionable feats

Features

• New set of courses and racers
• Slick 3-D graphics
• For 1 to 4 players
• Kart racing with the Mario Brothers
• Collect power-ups and nonlethal weapons to get ahead

Reviews (168)

Amazing
This was the first 'Kart' game quite like this.. there isn't any 'Kart' game like this either outside of the Mario franchise. If you think you can find a better Karting game out there, I'd like to see you find it and show me, because from my finds and plays, this is the only game that is worth playing. From DK to Bowser, Peach to Toad, this game has most of the characters that have been involved with Mario in some way. The graphics are great for its time, the sound is fun, the worlds are colorful, the idea is great. Who wouldn't like this game- at ANY age? I'm not sure, but if you don't, you amy need to see a doctor. This is the best Kart game ever, and the best Mario Kart game ever.

Awsome!
This game is so fun. I gave it 4 stars because there is'nt much 2 do. I think this is #1 graphics. Buy this game.

One of funnest games on the N64
Mario Kart 64 Launched with the N64 and it sure did good with the sales but Ultimatley this is disapointing.Mario Kart Succeds in graphics departure but Fails at the boring over and over gameplay that you indure in the game.Don't get me wrong this is a great game but it just pretty much fail to fun factor.Back when I got this game when It first came out I simply loved it but after the next day it kind of got boring for me.The game is great but fails with the overuse of boring driving and nothing exciting happens.If it were up to me I would have addes some really cool Driving maze level(yeah it does sound lame but what ever)

In Graphics the game is simply superb.It really does make the N64 a really good lookin' system.The level desighning and great setups make it one of the better looking N64 back in the days when it was still popular..It truly does make some Ps games look like crap.

The sound is pretty average...ehh I rather not go into that..

NOW.......The gameplay..
It just get's boring after awhile and nothing special happens and the single player is pretty short.But cool......
And that's pretty much it.

The Multiplayer is pretty fun.I had a blast playing it with my friends.It really is fun but like I said before...Nothing special.

When it all comes down to this.The boring yet kind of fun gameplay, Great Graphics but doesn't help gameplay, Really fun MP but still fails to succeed in fun factor(well atleast to me)

I give Mario Kart 64 a 3.4 stars out of 5

Lates..

terrible
This is a mario rip off of REAL racing games.Also the stupid cartoonish karts go 14 mph.

good for N64
I'd recommend buying it used to save some money.The tracks are nice and the game play is all right.It's just not the same as playstation racing games though. ... Read more

Product Description

Leading this movement are the worlds top professional players, showing off their skills and individual style in 4-on-4 match-ups against the backdrop of global venues that represent the true culture of street soccer. In the game's dynamic 1-on-1 encounters, beating your opponent will require skill, technique, and the careful selection of specific moves. Take on the best and earn their respect, gradually building your reputation and team into an unstoppable force that leads the tide of street soc ... Read more

Reviews (9)

COOOOOOOOL GOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!!
This game is the best. It gives you the feeling of playing soccer outside of stadiums or fields. Instead, you will play in parks on blacktops, and in the alleys. It gives you the authentic feeling of how peolpe in countries like Brazil, France, Spain, England, and many other countries play when they do not have alot of space. GO GET IT TODAY ANDSCORE A GOAL WITH FIFA STREET.

The Best Game EAbig has to offer!
This game is GREAT. I believe it is better than NFL Street and NBA Street. If you do not like soccer still try this game out and see how cool it is. I went to Vest Buy with my family and expected to buy some music and DVDs. But after trying this game out on the test systems, I could not get away it was so fun. So instead of buying DVDs and music I bought FIFA Street. It may seem confusing at first but I believe the fun of the game is trying things out, and learning how to win. SO GO BUY IT NOW!

better and tougher and rougher! bestfootball game ever
this is the best football (soccer) game ever ! its a 4 vs.4 game .you can make youre own team out of the pros like beckham and ronaldo and you can make youre own and make him the best heck you can even make him fat its true its so cool!!!!!!!!and you can put him a hat and glasseswhat i really like well everything but i like the jamacian dude talking or the anouncer hes so cool and i love this game cause theres no rules and you can humiliate the other team once i made an air goal and knocked thee golie out it was so cool best soccer game evergraphics are great so is everything else !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!oh and you can learn so moves in it once i was playing with 6 friend 3vs.3 street stile and beat him with 6 of those strreeet moves.

Football Game of the Year !!!!!!!!!!
I may not have it but i proabably won't buy another Game till Christmas. The Game of the year is finally being recognised.

GOAL!!!
This game is excellent. Very cool to play, challenging and different in the new player aquisition format. The locations are cool, and the friendly game challenge lets you use any player in the game, including the player you create. The soundtrack is cool, and the trick moves look so amazing, it's awesome. All of the STREET games rule!!! ... Read more

Features

• Personalized Training Programs: Maya, the Yourself!Fitness personal trainer, will create a customized health and fitness program focused on your unique needs and individual goals.
• Dynamic fitness routines: To assure that no two workouts will ever be the same, each day Maya will build your personalized routine based on your progress and commitment level.
• Over 500 unique exercises: Maya will coach you through training sessions featuring Yoga, Pilates, Cardio Fitness, Strength Training, Flexibility Exercises and Targeted Weight Loss routines.
• Equipment Integration: Maya will integrate the fitness equipment you already own into your workout experience.
• Customized meal planning: As part of the Yourself!Fitness program, Maya offers nutritional advice with over 4,500 recipes, preparation instructions and shopping lists to make eating right an easy part of any lifestyle

Reviews (30)

A workout you will stick to!
Since there are already lengthy reviews detailing what this program does, I won't repeat those.So here's the bottom line:

Greatest thing about this product: if you have trouble (as I do) sticking to a workout routine for more than two weeks, the variety in Yourself! Fitness may fix that.I have been working out with Maya for eight months now and I am not bored!My interest began to flag a little a couple of months ago, so I purchased a step bench, which Maya added in to the workout, giving me twice as much variety as before.

Other things I like:
- ability to increase the difficulty over time.Unlike a workout video, once the workout is no longer challenging you can tell Maya to make it a little harder.
- ability to track my progress and improvement within the software.I couldn't do 10 pushups when I started and now I can do 50!
- 8 months of this has made me look and feel stronger.I have much more energy at the end of the day.I stand up straighter.I even have the beginnings of a six-pack.
- To my surprise, I like the ability to change the workout environment that Maya stands in.

Needs improvement:
- I don't like the way that yoga is included in this software.I don't think the positions are very well explained, so it's not suitable for people who have never done yoga before, and the positions are often put in a strange order, where standing positions alternate with supine positions (gives you a terrible head rush).Several of the positions are also just not suitable for people who aren't very flexible -- a yoga instructor in a class would recommend alternative positions, but Maya just stands there with her hands flat on the floor and her leg straight in the air and expects you to duplicate it.Maya ordinarily recommends workouts in a rotation of 1 day each of arms, core, legs, flexibility (yoga); I have taken to replacing the yoga with another "core" day, and feel like I get better results from that.
- the music is pretty repetitive, but you can't turn it off or use your own because Maya uses it to set the rhythm of your exercises.

Pretty Good Game
I purchased Yourself Fitness this January after my son got an x-box for Christmas.Overall a good fitness video game, but I do have a few problems with it.The trainer asks you what home equipment you have - and I don't have a step - but her cardio routines seem to be suited for the step.I do find most of her cardio warmups somewhat repetative and boring.She should work in some kickboxing type moves to get your heart rate up, but instead it is a lot of marching and side stepping.

The second issue is the whole rewards thing.I use this video to supplement my routine- it is not my regular thing.I have done many, many workouts, but because I don't schedule them I have never gotten a new workout space or new music.It would have been nice if you could have chosen a way to earn your rewards.So a good game if you use the whole package, not so great if you are looking for a supplemental video.

Meet Maya your personal Trainer!!
I've been using this game for almost four months now and have completed 60 workouts.(...)

As I'm always looking for something to inspire me to exercise it didn't take me long to come across this little gem. Yourself!Fitness is an Xbox "game" geared towards physical fitness. You are introduced to Maya who will be your personal trainer.

Maya starts you off by having you do a physical assessment where you are taken through a series of exercises and your resting and elevated heart rates are measured. You put in your height, weight and sex and from there Maya will customize a workout plan for you. Based on what your results are Maya will recommend a goal for you such as Weight Loss, cardio and other selections.

If you own hand weights, a balance ball or stepper, Maya can also incorporate those into your workout as well but you don't need to have those things to do it.

Y!F lets you set up a calendar to record when you want to exercise and for how long each session. For your initial fitness evaluation, Maya will recommend to you a weekly schedule but you can customize that for yourself. For instance, Maya recommended weight loss for me and had me scheduled every other day for 15 minutes to start. I am very overweight and I think "she" didn't want me to overdo it in the beginning. But I thought I could handle more and I adjusted the calendar to add in some 30 minute workouts. I'm entering my third week of workouts and have been doing five to six workouts a week at 30 minutes each.

Each time you go to workout, you are greeted by Maya. Maya will ask you how you are feeling. You are giving three options for an answer. Paraphrasing here but here is an example: A. Nothing can stop me, B. Feeling okay today and C. You're lucky I'm here!

Now, based on your answer, Maya will set the intensity of the workout before you even start. As you are working out, Maya will again ask you how you are doing. You can than chose if you think the workout has been too hard or too easy and Maya will then adjust accordingly.

This is so much better than a dvd or video just for the above mentioned customization but there is also some more neat things. Like you can zoom the camera in and out and pan all around Maya to get a better look at how she is doing the exercises. There is also a tutorial that you can exit out of the workout and you get more detailed instructions on how to do the workout. When you are ready you can rejoin Maya! There are different work out settings and music to chose from so less chance of getting bored.

Each day, when you start your program, Maya will suggest a daily focus - Weight loss, Cardio, Upper body, Lower Body and Flexibility. She varies these so you aren't doing the same thing over and over again. Weight loss is my main goal but I do the other workouts too and they are geared more to help me lose weight. You have a warming up period in the beginning and then you do the targeted workout for the day and a few minutes of stretching near the end.

Y!F also has a "Meditation Garden". This is a "place" to go and do yoga exercises. I haven't tried this part out yet but others have really enjoyed it.

There is also a reward system. After you've completed three scheduled workouts, Maya will reward you with some bronze dumbbells, a new location and a new music choice. There are two more sets of dumbbells to earn after this and more locations and music to unlock.

The workouts use Yoga, Pilates, Cardio, Strength training, and flexibility exercises.

After a set amount of workouts, Maya will have you do another Physical Assessment to see how far you've progressed.

There is also a great support system at the Yourself!Fitness website where you can keep an open journal where other members can encourage you and you encourage them.

There isn't much negative I can say about this except maybe a better selection of music or music you can download into it would be nice.

The graphics for Maya are excellent! She looks almost like a real person and moves pretty realistically too. Sometimes her arms look a little funny or she seems to be floating a bit but other than that, she looks great. The background graphics could be a little better but maybe the next version will address that.

I own a ton of exercise videos, dvds and very expensive exercise equipment that I just don't use. I'm starting my third week with this and I feel almost addicted to the program. There's something about being greeted and asked how you are doing or being told you're doing a great job meeting your commitments. It also keeps you on your toes not knowing exactly what to expect because each workout is different. There are over 500 exercises and Maya usually adds one to two each workout.

There is also a meal plan for those who are looking for that sort of help. I haven't done the meal plan but folks on the Y!F website who have really like it. You can download recipes from the website that you will find on the game.

This also comes in a PC version and a Playstation 2 version as well.

I highly recommend this for anyone looking for a home fitness routine.


Recommended
Yes

No More Excuses!Lose Weight, Get Fit, in Your Own Home
For those who'd rather not join or gym, or simply cannot, Yourself!Fitness is the perfect solution. It's not perfect--a software personal trainer will never be all things to all people--but most people will absolutely love training with Maya.

Best of all they have an active online community for posting questions and getting ideas.

If you already have a computer, PlayStation or XBox, you have all you need except the game. Equipment isn't necessary although as you progress, you'll likely want a bench or ball, etc.

Between Yourself!Fitness and Dance, Dance, Revolution, we have all the makings of a new industry: Fitness Software.

Great product!!!
I am VERY pleased with Yourself Fitness! My strength has definitely increased since I began using it. I don't use it for cardio, just leg/arm/core strength training.

What I like:
- Personalized sessions
- Ability to make workouts harder/easier (they get super hard!)
- Easy, comfortable, able to use it ANYWHERE & ANYTIME

What I don't like:
- With the amount of rest allowed in between each set, a workout isn't actually 45 minutes.. but I'm still pleased.
- Since it's a computer, she can't adapt/remember everything.
- Not enough stretching at the end of sessions (easily fixed though) ... Read more

Product Description

Competition means so much more when you can dance circles aroundlive opponents! Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix 2 connects playersvia Xbox. Live to deliver the ultimate in interactive dancing. Go online and setup tournaments compete in dance competitions and download new songs and characters. * Online tournaments download songs upload content and more!* Bigger music library including exclusive songs for the Xbox!* Exclusive game modes including Team Battles and Attack Mode! * Special Work Out mode allows you to track the calories you burn. -- SPECIFICATIONs --------------------------------- ESRB Rating: E for EveryoneGenre/Category : ACTION ADVENTURESystem : Microsoft Xbox Number of Players : On-Line Compatible: Xbox video game system; Xbox compatible controller Xbox compatible memory card for saves; Xbox Live forOnline play www.konami.com ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Greater than any Dance Dance Revolution PS 2 version!
This is one of the greatest games that you could give somebody, or purchase for your own personal use!The consumers of this product will enjoy a HUGE music library, consisting of many popular dance/club songs, and even some oldies!But what is even greater is the fact that you can take this game to a whole new level, and go online and compete against the entire DDR gaming crowd!The benefit of this is simple, more fun!You can show off your gained skills by competing against others in real time dance offs!This is the most fun I have personally had in a long time!
One of the greatest things that I have found out about Dance Dance Revolution Max 2 was that you can lose A LOT of weight...I personally lost 28 pounds with DDR Max 2 for the Playstation 2, and I will continue loosing weight with the Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix 2 for the Xbox!But wait...You know, exercising has never been this fun!And what is even better about DDR Ultramix 2 is... You can take it online, and download tons of new songs for the low price of $5.00 per song pack!There are currently 7 additions to this wonderful game.
If you are ready to have the time of your life, and lose weight and get in shape, then purchase this product.I guarantee an awesome time!

My first attempt at dance dancing!
Just got this for xmas! Its incredible, I stayed up well into the night playing it.

Works perfect right out of the box, although I suggest you read the manual and possibly google up some soft pad mods to keep your pad in top shape for as long as you can.

Tons of play modes, all very fun including a Challenge mode, beat the songs with a certain objective, theres Game mode for freeplay, Battle and Party modes for multiple players (I believe you can play multiple players with 1 pad in Party mode). You can change the skill level and speed level of songs and even download content, like song packs, on XBox Live!

Anyone who wants to do some cardio should try out the built in Workout mode that lets you input your weight, dance dance and then calculate the amount of calories you've burned (weight can be input by lbs or kg, changable in the options menu). Very hard at first but a fun game, will take you a long time to master.

The game also looks great, graphics are excellent and even include some music videos while you dance. Fun factor is a definite 10, especially when playing with friends! Theres just so much to do in it that it'll never collect dust.

The only downside is that everyone in your family is going to want to try this crazy game. Don't pass this one up, even as a first timer its a great toy for anyone with an XBox! ... Read more

Product Description

In the multiplayer game, Four Swords, between two to four players take on the roles of young adventurers who answer a challenge from the Triforce. They must brave the dangers of multiple dungeons in a quest to find the Master Sword. Their strength will be tested by fierce monsters, their wisdom tested by complex puzzles, and their courage tested by having to cooperate with each other to overcome obstacles. ... Read more

Features

• Talk to all sorts of people and creatures to gain information about how to move forward in his quest.
• Fight enemies and battle through dangerous and complicated dungeons to recover key objects that open new areas.
• Wield swords throw bombs, perform dash attacks, lift and throw, and push and pull objects; acquire items that give additional abilities.
• In Four Swords, face puzzles that require the cooperation of two or more players to solve. They can exchange items, but they also will be competing to pick up as many Rupees as they can to increase their individual scores. It's a unique blend of cooperation and backstabbing.

Reviews (124)

A Great Game
I've always loved A Link To The Past.It's not too easy but not too hard.The graphics are good and it has a nice storyline to it.It's just fun!I only have one complaint about this game for the GBA (and it's a big one):
This version of the game comes with a new game, The Four Swords.The only problem is that it's a MULTIPLAYER GAME!I know multiplayer games are enjoyable for some people, but not everybody knows someone else who also has this game, so many of us are not even able to play the game, which sucks, because from pictures I've seen, it looks like a lot of fun.There should ALWAYS be a single player option!
Okay, I'm done whining now.

Jake Klingelhofer Gives this game two thumbs up!
This is a GREAT game. It takes a while to beat but is very fun and not very hard. it isn't really easy like Zelda: the Minish Cap, but not insanely hard like Zelda: the Wind Waker. A fun continous game with good music, good characters, and it's GREAT
all around. ON a scale from 1 to 10, i would give this game a 11!

Bugger Zelda, revive "Battle Of Olympus"
Zelda was a copy of Battle Of Olympus IMO. Both games very simmaler, and if you like Zelda you'd love B.O.O.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
The Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past on Game Boy Advance is an identical port of the classic SNES game of the same name. What separates these brilliant Zelda adventures other than the Game Boy Advance's version being portable is that the GBA version also includes a Capcom-developed multiplayer game entitled Four Swords.

In Four Swords, up to four players can play together for a mix of cooperation and competition, solving puzzles, gathering Rupees and trading items. Fans of the Zelda series receive two great games for the price of one in this must-own GBA title.

On the surface, it looks like Nintendo went the cheap way out by simply converting the admittedly outstanding Super NES adventure The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past to the Game Boy Advance as the system's first official Zelda product, pretty much pixel-for-pixel in graphics and note-for-note in sound. It's a fantastic game in its own right, but the GBA has proven time and again that it has significantly more potential in capabilities than the Super NES ever did, and a conversion of an early generation 16-bit title hardly impresses on a technical scale. But put that thinking aside, because the developers didn't just put out a simple port for Zelda fans; the secondary selling point of the game cartridge, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords is a deep, thoroughly designed, and absolutely fun multiplayer experience that's based around the established Zelda gameplay mechanics. It's here that the cartridge really shines, and makes the purchase of the game an absolute necessity for Zelda fanatics and GBA owners alike.

All Zelda fans should know exactly what they're getting into with the Game Boy Advance conversion of A Link to the Past. The original game released back in 1993 for the Super NES is still revered as one of the best games released in the series, even among the more recent 3D releases on the Nintendo 64 system. The game takes place way early in the admittedly wonky Legend of Zelda chronology. As the elfish adventurer Link, players head off into the huge overworld to rescue the princess Zelda from the castle dungeon; as players save her from the lock-down, they learn that an evil wizard Agahnim has put the land under a cursed spell, and it's up to Link to grab the Master Sword and break it. But anyone who is familiar with the story, or Legend of Zelda games in general know that this is only the beginning of the adventure...
The Game Boy Advance game is a 100% accurate port of the Super NES game, right down to the pixel. The GBA game uses all of the original art assets from the game released in 1993 for its graphics, which admittedly look a bit dated to today's standards and what the GBA can actually pull off. But it remains extremely faithful to the original, which will definitely please videogame purists; any slight alteration of the original game and you could definitely hear all the fanboy comparisons to the original SNES version. The only real changes in gameplay are alterations on where certain non-essential objects are located; a tree that always dropped a rupee gem when rammed now unleashes a fairy, which eliminates the exploitation of unlimited funds from the original game. And, of course, the screen resolution means that the GBA has to scroll a bit more than the Super NES version did, but the original SNES game didn't require any real long-distance action, so this "cropping" does not hinder gameplay at all.

And while the music isn't quite as "crisp" on the GBA system, the handheld hardware does a wonderful job pulling off all the audio from the classic. But, just as Nintendo couldn't leave the past Super Mario games alone, the company insisted on adding to the sound effects by giving Link grunts, shouts, and yells, lifted from the samples used in the previous N64 adventures. It would have been a decent inclusion had it been used sparingly, but man, it gets annoying when every slash of the sword results in an audible grunt from Link. Every single one. It's cool that Link now lets out a yelp when he falls off a ledge or bites the big one, but a shout every single time he uses his sword? Yes, after about five hours into the quest your mind may grow used to this sound effect, but as it stands, the developers should have gone easy on the Link yelps.

But it's the gameplay that matters, and even today Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past holds its own as one of the best-designed action-adventure games ever created. For those not quite familiar with the way the Zelda design works, A Link to the Past features a huge overworld with several dungeons in which players will have to shove boxes, trigger switches, and destroy enemies in order to progress to the end where a very large boss creature sits and waits to crush Link into a pulp. These dungeons are pretty much the core of the Zelda gameplay, and it's these areas that give the game most its challenge. Each dungeon (there are at least a dozen of them in A Link to the Past are both extremely fun and, in many cases, extremely frustrating...but in an amusing sort of way. This game was the first Zelda game to utilize alternate-world travel; players will have to hop back and forth between the light and dark world to solve puzzles and get through certain challenges. There are times that, yes, you'll get stuck, so taking a step back to figure out the best (and usually only) course of action in the specific area is definitely encouraged. When all is said and done, A Link to the Past is a lengthy 20 to 30 hour adventure for folks who don't remember every little element from the SNES version. Those with the upper hand with prior knowledge of the classic adventure can probably breeze through it in a dozen. But whether you're a newbie or veteran, you haven't seen anything yet.

The secondary game option, Four Swords is an absolute must-play. Anyone who puts this cartridge away after completing A Link to the Past will be missing out on one of the best system link games ever created, and it's this mode that will set the watermark for what the GBA's game link support can pull off. Four Swords isn't a simple rehash of A Link to the Past's graphic engine in a multiplayer deathmatch, no sir. This is a completely separate game development that shares only the cartridge in which A Link to the Past sits. Four Swords occurs during the same time structure as the upcoming Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker for the GameCube, which explains the completely changed character sprite structure of Four Swords. In the game, players must rescue Zelda from the clutches of the evil wind sorceror Vaati. But the challenges ahead are impossible for a single adventurer; to assist Link in his quest to rescue the princess, fairies use the power of the Four Swords to duplicate the hero...four times the Link. Silly premise, I know, but all you have to know is that each player controls a different colored Link.


The Four Swords is essentially broken up into four different areas, each with its own network of dungeons. The first dungeon is an expansive tutorial area that explains the varying items and how they work in the other three different areas. The level design Four Swords varies between standard Zelda fare to absolutely brilliant use of cooperative gameplay mechanics; this isn't a simple Gauntlet clone. Game designers have worked in many of the ideas from past Zelda games, from triggering pressure switches to shoving statues and lifting boulders. But many elements must be done in unison with one, two, or three other Links. Massive boulders blocking the way, for example, require all Links to work together to lift and move off to the side. Some creatures can only be destroyed if two players work together -- one cool creature in particular must be pulled apart to eliminate, with a Link on either side yanking in opposite directions. There are several items in the game that must be utilized to get through, and players can only hold and utilize one item at a time; whatever item they were holding at the time they picked up a different item is dropped in place of the new item. Magnet Gloves can get players across chasms if they aim at a magnetic block...and they can even grab onto distant Links by latching onto their magnetic Shields, pulling them across the hole as well. And the Gnat Hat is an interesting addition, as players who wear the hat will shrink to the size of a bug (basically a couple of pixels tall on-screen) in order to pass through tiny tunnels or across bridges and platforms that a normal Link couldn't fit. The game's full of all sorts of objects that require solo as well as cooperative techniques to get through the extensive challenges. What's more, the game design is intelligent enough to only offer dungeon designs with the amount of players in the network in mind. So, even though the game allows for up to four players to cooperate and compete in the dungeons, the designers realized that this wouldn't always be the case; if only two or three players are in the current network, it will only put forth challenges that only two players need to cooperate...which means, no four-player puzzle elements will enter into play.
This mode is where most of the development time obviously went, because everything about it, from the graphics, sound, gameplay, and interface, are done superbly. This multiplayer mode even incorporates extras that are earned in A Link to the Past; if a special sword technique is earned in the main single-player adventure, it can be used by that player in Four Swords. And those that complete the entire Four Swords adventure can unlock original dungeons and mini-quests in A Link to the Past, unique to the GBA game. So, if the fantastic multiplayer gameplay isn't enough encouragement, the extra quests in the single player adventure should seal the deal.

The link support is near flawless; it keeps track of all four players in the chain no matter how far back or ahead of the pack they go, and it also allows for a decent number of enemies to appear on-screen at once. The action will slow down on occasion when rupees spill onto the screen in a large amount, but from a technical standpoint occasional slowdown in a four player chain during not-so-intense moments is perfectly acceptable. It's an amazingly fun multiplayer experience, even if it tries the patience of everyone in the network chain. Everyone will be yelling at each other from not working together, or accidentally knocking someone off the ledge, or stealing each other's rupees. Even though players will be working together to complete the dungeons, ultimately, they're working against each other to earn the most rupees to collect the level's medallions. And as chaotic as that sounds, this element is one of the many reasons that makes Four Swords such an awesome mode that should not be missed by anyone.

Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is definitely one of, if not the finest games released on the GBA. While some Zelda fans might be a bit bummed that Nintendo didn't offer Game Boy Advance owners something new to sink their teeth into, they have to realize that the company did do exactly that. Yes, the main package is simply the same Super NES game repackaged for play on the Game Boy Advance, but in all honesty that's only half the package. And offering one of the greatest action adventures in portable form isn't exactly a downside, either.

Four Swords is Nintendo's way of giving gamers something completely new and different in the Zelda environment, and it's one hell of a good time in each play through. This mode is an adventure in itself; it just requires the effort of grabbing one, two, or three other friends to join in the quest. And that's the only real downside to this mode: trying to get a party together to take advantage of this thoroughly-designed experience. It is a slight shame that Nintendo didn't offer just a sliver of Four Swords as a single-cartridge multiplayer mode, even if it was just to offer a scaled-back demo version of the entire Four Swords adventure...but considering how good this entire package is, it won't be hard to find players with a copy of their own.

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I don't own this game and i have never played it (though i might buy it) i just wanted to point out that in one reviw someone did not know anyone with the gam it doesn't solve your cable problem but you only need one game pack to play multi player on GBA (note this only applys when your using other GBAs no other GBs will work) ... Read more

Product Description

SimCity™ 4, features new simulation and graphics engines, new regional game play and thenew ability to track the lives of individual Sims as they go about their daily routine, SimCity 4 isthe most realistic, powerful and personal SimCity experience ever. Lay the groundwork for theircities by molding mountains, carving valleys, seeding forests and laying rivers. Build a worldclasscity with stadiums, airports, universities, and real-world landmarks. Feel the rhythm of thecity: peaceful protests and rowdy riots, noontime crowds and nighttime calm. Control everyaspect of your city and see the results for better or worse.

• Sculpt mountains, gouge valleys, seed forests, and bring forth animals to create a world allyour own.
• Summon volcanoes, release tornados, and call down meteors and lightning.
• Build a world class city with stadiums, airports, universities, and real-world landmarks.
• Deploy emergency vehicles and join in the action as they battle blazes, mobs, and more.
• Place your Sims in your city to get the inside scoop on what's going on around town.
• Connect a massive region of SimCities, each sharing and competing for resources.

Features

• Create and control the most life-like metropolis you can imagine
• Take your Sims from "The Sims" into your SimCity
• Dispatch police cruisers to fight crime, send out the Mayor's limo to quell a rioting mob, or cap an erupting volcano threatening your citizens
• Form mountains, carve valleys, plant forests, raise oceans, and more
• From mellow traffic flow to commuter hell, noontime crowds to nighttime calm, partygoers to troublemakers, the movement in your city is ever-changing and unpredictable

Reviews (28)

Should be Crash City not Sim City
I bought this game for my son and I am now spending many minutes a day rebooting his MAC computer. The game locks up the entire system and requires a hard reboot each time. If this was an automobile from GM of Ford the roads would be littered with wrecked cars. Don't waste you money.

Great game, but you need a patch to fix a performance issue
I played all the previous versions of Sim City back in my bad oldWindows days and really enjoy the game.But for some reason this version will paralyze even a fast Mac.I'm running this on an iMac 1.8GHz G5 with 1GB of memory, and after about 10 minutes of play I have to quit and restart the game because the response becomes impossibly slow.Very frustrating.Haven't tried the updater yet, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

UPDATE (Apr 05): Installed the updater and it appears to have fixed the slow response problem.

Very Good...if it has update!
I have noticed many people have said just how bad Sim City 4 is. The thing to solve these problems is to get the updater It will make Sim City much better!

Graphics not a problem...if you fix them!
Lots of these reviews complain about the graphics on this Mac version.I had the same problems too - unexpected crashes and VERY slow game performance, on a pretty new G5 tower.

Doing two things will fix these issues.In the game's video/display options panel, switch off the page scrolling, and reduce the graphic detail.That's all it took to have this game running great.The manual should cover these quirks but it doesn't.

One final tip - learn the keyboard commands (found on the back of the manual) as it will speed up gameplay hugely, and totally compensates for no scrolling.

Not worth it!
Ok so i was a fan of Sim City 2000 which I found a demo of on a CD I didnt know i had. So I put it in and played Sim City 2000...and played and played and so on so I soon got the full thing. I became addicted to it. When Sim City 4 came out, i wanted it so much but I only had a mac. When it came out I bought like the first day! When I played I was sooooo dissapointed. nothing seemed to work right, the airplanes shadows became square and the streams on the airplanes was stretched all the way across, it kept crashing, and the industrial zone turned white, edge scrolling messed up sooooo slooooow. When I played it on a PC at my friends house, it was beutiful! Not a single bug! I ditched the game and played 2000 again finding it much better. Now I only play for like 10 minutes before getting bored. Seiously on this, NOT worth spending $40-$50 on this pathetic game. Maxis should be ashamed of themselves to take so much care in the PC games then throw it on a mac bugs and all. NOT worth it! Keep your money while you can! In other words, it doesn't take good graphics to make a good game. So get with it Maxis!! ... Read more

Features

• Trade or battle Pokemon among Ruby, Sapphire, and Colluseum editions of the series
• Breed Pokemon to take advantage of evolved characteristics
• For 1 to 4 players
• Card-style role-playing game
• Includes wireless adapter so you can join up to 39 other trainers for battle

Reviews (91)

Fans of pokemon red and blue will love this old skool fun!
WOW! Fans of Pokemon rejoice! For you people out there who think that ruby and shaphire are just too flashy and their repective pokemon weird this is for you.Catupalting you into the old days without have to cope with tinkly music and tinted graphics (red screens for red version? ha ha.)this is great. With all your old freinds(Hi Charizard!)this game will have you throwing away your ruby and saphire in no time. Even if you had the original this is worth it. Anyone who thinks you should pick up the old verison is wrong. Why I gave it four stars: Until you get the RUNNING SHOES (after Brock near the aide)it moves slowly. Safari zone pokemon like Syther and kangashkan are hard to carch. In the beginng its just dumb. Are you a boy or a girl? Is your name red? erm... Whats my grandsons name? Professor oak is soooooooo dumb...
HINTS FOR BEGINNERS
to get your first pokemon try to walk in the grass in palet town. THE LONG GRASS.
get the parcel from the mart in Viridian city. YOU MUST DO THIS!
Anyone who says BULBASAUR is the best starter for beginners is wrong. You can just pick your fav! Train all your pokemon. This will help you move on. Especialy if you cant beat a gym leader. thats all!

ooh
this is gonna be short.
good
fun
like old ones
new sevii islands.
my rival is named a jerk.so the diolong reads:Hey, its a jerk!
thats all ill tell. buy and play!

I can't believe i'm going to write this...
OK, I'm 18 years old and i'm obsessed with pokemon, have been ever since I was 11. but after a long wait I finally got my hands on firered and i'm afraid to say I was disappointed, not because it was poor quality, because it was excellent, but because it lacked a challenge, everything was the same as the original but it had just been revamped, don't get me wrong I love it and everything but I want something new. if you haven't played the original then definitely buy this game but otherwise don't expect something new

freakin fun!
i have so much fun with these games, it's like the #1 thing to play during travel, or just when you have a boring time at the airport. the funniest thing i did was name my pokemon and rival funny names. my rival's name is mud. while my pokemon have names like dumpface. this game will blow you away with the new islands
and hidden pokemon from new pokemon games.

great game!
you know, it's strange. when two pokemon games come out, one eventually outsells the other one! this may be a remake, but has added features, like the six islands you can venture to and find new pokemon from silver, gold, ruby, and sapphire! yipee! ... Read more

Product Description

Family-friendly Ape Escape for the PSP will feature multiplayer functionality and a wide variety of mini-games for all ages.When a trouble-making monkey named Specter gets hold of the Professor's Peak Point Helmet, chaos ensues.The powerful device, which can increase a human's intelligence, has a disastrous effect on Spector, transforming him from a sweet, mischievous monkey to a power-hungry monster who has his heart set on ruling the world.The adventure begins when the player takes the r ... Read more

Features

• Ability to capture over 200 monkeys
• 8 vibrant worlds spanning more than 20 levels
• Choose from more than eight gadgets and vehicles
• Capture all the monkeys throughout the levels, and you'll unlock monkey character skins

Reviews (9)

very sucky
this game sucked so did the grapghics if I was you I woudnt buy it just kidding its a very very good game

5 star review
I just boght it today and its a very good game its a good thing I bohgt it

Ape Escape is Back!!!
I absolutely loved this game soooo much. I played the original version on the Playstation, and never really beat it. My ps broke down and i was bummed. But then Ape Escape Came! A fun game where you catch clever monkies and fun puzzles. You must get this game if you have a DS!!! All though it can be beaten easily in about 20 hours, you will love this!

3 1/2 stars for an alright game
I recently purchesed Ape Escape On the Loose, at first from reading the reviews I was unsure if I should get it or not. But being a huge fan of the first and second for the ps1 and ps2, I had to try it.
The game itself is infact a copy of the first game, but i have no problem with it really because now I can take it on the go.

Someone before me stated that the graphics are alittle dated, and yes, I will say I've seen some better stuff on the demo CD. But the graphics themselves are now along the lines of AE2, and now the characters look more anime like (a plus to me) and the expressions are more clear.

The voices are now much more clear, not the best acting, but it sounds like they are putting more effort into the voices. Though, the voice for Spike has been changed but for the better IMO. He sounds more younger and the voice fits him better. As for the others, I think they have the actors from the first game doing the characters.

The controls, are what I had the most difficutly with.
Those who played the ps1 and 2 versons of AE know the controls;
triangle, square, circle, and X are used to select weapons.
Left hand joy stick to move Spike. Right hand stick to operate weapons. Right shift buttons to jump (took me awhile to get used to). Left shift buttons to shift view or go into close range.
The PSP control as we know has a different control layout which in the process messes with the controls that we used to know.
Now;
Only triangle, square, and circle are the only buttons you can use weapons with, while the X button is now the jump button.
Because of the absence of the right joy stick, you have to use your weapons by tapping the button the weapon is set to (square, circle, triangle). The left shift has the same use as before, but the right shift is now used to crawl.

Mini Games are still in here (along with Spector Coins) but one thing I like is how the games are a little touched up

*spoilers*
Like in the first game you had Skikids 2, now you got Snowboard kids 2, feels like playing SSX with the AE characters.
And Monkey Boxing is a little more addictive. So far, thats all the games I've unlocked.
And to make things more interesting, theres and extra mini game for 40 coins.
*end spoilers*

So, to rap this up, Ape Escape On the Loose is just like the first with no changes to the levels, aside from improved graphics. If you don't mind alot of loading times ( yes there is alot of loading) and the new controls this is a good buy, but I will agree, not worth $40 dollars. If you don't want to blow your money, or you can't wait for the price to drop than stick with the PS1 verson.

Disappointing
I found the graphics for this game to be poor, the gameplay to be lousy, and the entire experience disappointing.It was a mistake to buy it. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Originally released in 1981 by Konami, the Frogger arcade game isconsidered an all-time classic. Since then the property has been transferred toseveral owners, many of which tarnished the Frogger tradition. Now, backin Konami's hands, the little green fellow brings back everything people lovedabout the original arcade game, but with a modern twist.

Frogger's Adventures: Temple of the Frog pits Frogger against the evilMr. D, who has stolen the mystical elements that nourish the hero's marsh.Frogger must make his way through 15 levels spanning six environments in orderto find the elements. After every few levels, he must engage in a boss fight.Like in the arcade original, Frogger spends most of his time hopping left,right, up, and forward, but in this version he must deal with more than movingcars and snapping crocodiles. The game's levels feature all sorts of perils,such as mazelike conveyer belts, spiked floors, and crumbling platforms. Thereare also 32 different types of enemies standing in his way. Among the fewdownsides of the game are its short length, the lack of variety-adding options,and the fact that the coin system that allows you to reach the last level iseasy to fool.

This is a great example of how to properly update a classic. The simple gameplayof the original Frogger is intact, but the developers have added cleverlevels, bright graphics, and modern game mechanics to the mix. This game is sureto please longtime Frogger fans, as well as create some new ones.--Raymond M. Padilla

Pros:

• Easy-to-learn gameplay
• Levels add a new twist to classic Frogger moves
• Four in-game save slots

• Lack of options
• A bit short
• Coin system is easy to cheat

Features

• Jump, glide and tongue-flick through 15+ levels in 5 different environments.
• A cartoonish action/platform game with an element of puzzle solving, Frogger expands on simple, yet addictive gameplay to catch players of all ages.

Reviews (36)

I HATE THIS GAME
This game is so stupid! I would leave it in the trash! Luigi's mansion is better.

LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I LOVED THIS GAME SOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH! It is origianol, interesting and really really fun! It has 5 cute little worlds, and 15 levels. It gets really hard over time, but as soon as you get familiar with all of the controls and enimies, it isn't as hard as it seems. A little hint: On parts of the 2nd earth element level, move fast! Don't think, move fast! It helps! I finished the game in about a week, and my favorite places were the sea world and temple levels. Buy this game now, it totally rocks!

PLEASE....
it sux. never get it. u just hop around getting smashed by things. i played it once and hated it. im srry for the ppl who have it!!!

too easy and not original
this game is too easy and im a twelve year old, its not original and doesnt have the kind of thrill and excitement its just k nothing special,if i were u i wouldnt waste my money and would by super mario advance games instead, theyre much better

The Most Fun Frogger Yet
I thought this game was very fun.The first level is easy ,but once people try the second level they think it is hard.(Most of the levels have the same type of moves so once you get the hang of it its not so hard.)the temple is the best part in my opinion.The graphics are also pretty good,and the music is great.Some people say that the game is impossible to beat, but that's not true.I've beaten the game the whole way through until the end credits.Overall I thought this game was challenging,addictive,and very fun! ... Read more

Features

• Over two billion random, but re-creatable deals
• Get hints on bidding and play at any time, take back bids and plays, view records on what has been bid and played in the game so far
• 40 playing difficulty levels
• Bidding Aggressiveness controls for overcalling, preempting and the opening bid
• Select your signals and leading agreements

Reviews (1)

Consistently good performance
This is an excellent way to practice and/or review your game.Bidding is realistic, and the play is consistently good.No perfect, mind you, because the human element is removed from your opponent, but nevertheless enjoyable.Best of the bridge simulations I have tried. ... Read more

Product Description

MODEL - DOLPGOMEVENDOR- Nintendo FEATURES- Mario Tennis GamecubeThe wild multiplayer action of the smash Nintendo 64 hit, MarioTennis, returns with even more powerful shots and new, characterspecific power ups guaranteed to make for the craziest matches ever.Everyone's favorite Mushroom Kingdom characters are here! DonkeyKong and Bowser can hit insanely powerful Megaton Balls, finesseplayers like Shy Guy can use instant Tornado Returns and defensive masters like Luigi have all kinds of tricks in their bags. * Players of all ages can pick up the game and instantly start whackingtennis balls around and yet a deep level of skill awaits those willingto master it. Build up more and more skill points as you play to usestronger and stronger shots with all kinds of spin. -- SPECIFICATIONs ------------------------------------ ESRB Rating : E for EveryoneGenre/Category: sportsSystem: Nintendo Game Boy Advance Number of Players :On- Line Compatible : Nintendo GameCube; GameCube compatible controller,GameCube compatible memory card for saves Nice electronics is your source for everyday low prices on theNintendo DOLPGOME - Mario Tennis Gamecube and all other Nintendo Video Game Handheld Soft ... Read more

Reviews (44)

mario power tennis
This game is one of my favorite games.I learned about it when my best friend Tanner (I've known him all my life)taught me about it. I learned all the controls and rules on the first day! Playing the game was very fun.

Analysis of Mario Power Tennis
Positives-many interesting courts to choose from. These range from a "gimmic" Luigi's Castel to a more "serious" grass, clay or hard court
- the characters all have their own special power moves. These serve to add some sort of random twist to the tennis action.
- there are a multitude of everyone's favorite Mario characters to choose from. Furthermore there are many characters to unlock. Each chacater is given the helpful label such as "all-around" for Mario or "power for Wario
- the instruction manual is very informative. It provides the gamer with information on how to perfome the more technical shots such as the drop shot and the lob.
- there are many mini games to keep a gamer interested.
- great multi player mode.
- like all nintendo designed and published games, it is very easy to pick up and play.
- lastly, the game is very fun to play if only for a short time.
Negatives-at times the game play may seem rather slow. It can be adjusted in multi-player mode but in single player mode i am yet to find any such option.
- the tounament mode, which is the heart of the single player game, is not at all deep. It consists of three rounds each round does not get more difficult then the last. In other words, the player the gamer faces in the first round is just as challenging as the play he will face in the final.
- the character's power moves, especially when playing doubles, can get very annoying. Each time a "power shot" occurs, there is a 4 second cut scene which disturbes the game action.
- lastly, besides the "advanced" difficulty game setting, the game is very easy to play.This game will not be challanging to anyone who can return a cross court shot (which mean everyone).

Great Tennis Game
A Great Tennis Game. I loved it on the N64, and now I love it even more. Especially all the mini games you play to unlock other courts or characters. The mini games is a blessing to the game espacially if you are playing alone. But get a few friends and make it a night. The power ups are a great addition on the court. Kinda like Mario Kart meets Mario Tennis. No go buy the game!

Pretty fun and interesting game.
When I order it, I purchased it half and half with my nephew.. and I though that it will be a very bad purchase, however I do no repent.. when playing with several people you get pretty excited, that's the benefit of multiplayer games, that you can have fun with friends.. the graphics are good, and it's a fun game.

you can never get tired of this
this is one of the best games for the gamecube. like once you start playing you cant stop playing. this game has 3 modes, tourney, 1-4 players, and special modes where you play fun games. there are like 20 characters to choose from. my favorites are the koopa troopas. there are new things called a power shot that you can turn on and off. the power shots help you hit the balls harder and so you can hit the tennis balls. if you could rate it over 5 stars i would rate it 10000000000000000 stars. this game is up to 4 players and is really fun. ... Read more

Product Description

Try 8 classic brain challenges on with cartridge with Ultimate Brain Games from telegames.This cartridge has some great games including 4-In-A-Row, Backgammon, Checkers, Chess, Domino, Mahiong, Reversi and Sink Ship. ... Read more

Features

• Game Boy Advance
• ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
• Puzzle/Board

Reviews (30)

Ulimite Brain Games IS Ulimite!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This game is the best it has some of my favorite games. You can pick your oppents level of dificulity!The cool thing about Sink the Ships (Battle Ship) is you shoot more than once at a time so the game goes quicker.The chess gets a little boring because you have to move fromm square to square.Dominoes I love on their it has a level of oppent that I am! Resveri is to hard the only level that I can do is very easy and i am very good at it. Four in a Row is my favorite it has the same rules Connect Four and they make the easiest and hardest levels wihich is good for me because I share it with my brother and he is not very good but I am thats what I like about it.I don't know how to play Backgammon and Mah Jog and the game doesn't give a good discreaption of how to play.Finally, the person desinger rocks I made it to look just like me you can put on just about every little detail you need. It is my favorit e game I ever got!!!

An Ideal Collection of Games!
The best thing about this title is the variety of stuff you can play here, and the level of game play. Most of the games offered here have several levels of difficulty and the challenge is good for both kids and adults. The games are fun and varied enough to keep players busy for quite a while.

One cute feature is the face creator, that allows you to make an avatar of yourself, making the game personalized!

The Chess game is challenging, and really would be enough to recommend this title on its own. But add in backgammon, dominoes (which isn't that difficult to figure out once you play it a time or two), mah jong, 4 in a row, which is the board game "Connect 4" and sink ships, a cute version of "Battleship," and you have an excellent title, great for long excursions.

Highly recommended!

brain games
this is like the best game ever because i love chess, and checkers!!So I gave it 5 stars!Plus my dad love dominioes!

One of the mind loving titles for the GBA
This is a great collection of games. They all play equally well.The graphics here are not mind blowing but they do convey the felling of each game.However Mahjong Solitare lacks detail making a few of the tiles hard to say.Also, the lightness of the tile indictates how many tiles are under it, this can be annoying because by the time you get the last time it is dark indeed.

The game also has a mini playlist that lets you pick your music and this does work well, and is a fun addition.

The difficulty for most games is a relative fair.however as you increase the difficult it the computer takes increasing longer to make a move.

Wrong game
Disregarde the review I just did. It was the incorrect game.
I meant to review the ultimate card game.
sorry ... Read more

Product Description

Luigi has a lot of work to do in his very first starring role. He needs to find his missing brother Mario in a creepy and mysterious haunted mansion. Armed only with a flashlight and a customized vacuum cleaner, he must rid the mansion of ghosts and save the day. Made in USA. ... Read more

Features

• Platform: GameCube
• ESRB Rating: E for Everyone
• Ages 6 and up

Reviews (422)

IT'S VACUUMIN TIME!!!!!!!
I love this game. Last summer I played it all the time!!!! This game rocks!!!

what the?
did luidi do something wrong like get bad grades or something and drop out of school and ended up being a plummer? well yea i guess he's been grounded for like a billion years from being a star of any game and if he IS a star in one the word "MARIO" is in the title and this game "luigi's mansion" oh yeaaaa he has a mansion and since he's grounded from bad grades people he has to clean the whole house with a vacum

Luigi's Mansion... Not Much of an Adventure to Get Into
I've always grown up liking Mario and so when I got this game I was rather excited to see what it was all about. However, when I did get it, I was rather disappointed with what I got.

There's nothing much too special about this game: You will beat this game in a matter of hours. The bosses are terribly easy, and even the puzzles that surround the mansion aren't that challenging.

There are lots of things that annoy me about this game. First of all, Luigi moves so slowly. It's not like other Mario games where you can run extremely quickly or even fly in the air. Instead you just shuffle around on the ground. Boring.

The second thing I didn't like was you don't see a lot of the other characters you're used to seeing. I didn't see Yoshi in there, or Princess Toadstool. Instead you say a wacky Professor that just gives you a vaccume and annoys you with his chatter. Then of course you see the Boos, Mario, Toad, and Bowser but other than those characters that's about it. Quite sad.

Finally the last thing that I really didn't enjoy was the whole brightness of this game- it's too dark. I like to have parts in the game where there are some brightness, but you won't find that with this game. The only good positive about the game were the general graffics, but it's ruined with the darkness.

The music is not what it could have been, you'll get annoyed very quickly with it, and after you play through it the first time, it just gives you an option of repeating the same adventure you went through for some 'bonuses' in the game... but for me, when I went through it once, why would I go through the same mansion and the same exact puzzles again?

Go rent another video game (I'd suggest Zelda). This one isn't worth renting, and especially not buying, unless if you are a huge fan of Mario.

Very fun, very cute little game
While Mario gets zillions of games to himself every year, it's not often that Luigi gets his own lead, unless you count 1993's MARIO IS MISSING on the SNES.

In this cool little game, Luigi goes Ghostbusting in a haunted mansion (one of those Scooby-Doo types) that he has mysteriously won in a competition he didn't even enter. The mansion is crawling with spooks of all kinds but Luigi get's help from a crackpot inventor living nearby. Now armed with a special vacuum cleaner, Luigi must clear every room in the mansion and find his missing brother, who has apparently vanished inside.

The gameplay is simple and very easy to get the hang of. Some of the rooms you clean up require some extra investigation and puzzle solving so be sure to check everything (I though the piano room was a cool puzzle to solve) and use your Gameboy Horror to have a good look round.

The graphics in Luigi's Mansion may not be up to the standard of Super Mario Sunshine but they're still very, very smooth and look amazing. Some of the SFX look highly realistic and there's no loading times at all between scenes. The music sounds like it's been done on a Commodore 64 and doesn't sound all that great but it's a cute little theme and I thought it was very funny when Luigi would whistle it whenever it wasn't playing.

The mansion itself isn't that big and you'll finish the game in about a week, but when you have this much fun playing it is still worthwhile.

Finally! A true Luigi game for GCN!
Luigi's mansion is quite fun and fairly difficult game that has puzzles, ghost catching and entertaining boss fights. And it has two difficulty settings so once you go and beat the game you can play again only with a more powerful vacumn so that you will be able to handle the tougher ghosts of the higher difficulty.
As for the graphics on this game they are great especially the lighting and dust effects that go on while your playing.
For instance when you use the vacumn or knock on a wall you will notice realistic looking dust that acts like you would expect in
real life. And when you shine your flashlight around a dark room
you will see shadows from chairs, candle sticks and best of all they really move and grow larger or smaller as you move around the room! As for replay value I would say it's fairly high as once you beat it you can start from the beggining with more difficult ghosts and at the end the more money you have from collecting the better your prize. However once you have beat both difficulty levels and received the best surprise you will start to grow tired of it. All in all I would highly reccomend this game to Gamecube owners looking for a fun adventure that will keep you entertained for a long time to come. ... Read more

Product Description

You may have seen it on the World Poker Tour, you may have seen it on Celebrity Poker, and you may have seen it on ESPN, now experience it for yourself! Play tournaments true to actual poker tournaments with a modern interface. It comes with nine predefined tournaments including Poker Night, Card Room and the 2003 and 2004 World Championships, or create your own tournaments. ... Read more

Features

• Whether you are playing in poker tournaments during your local poker night, at a nearby card room, in Las Vegas or preparing for the grand-daddy of them all, the World Series of Poker, Donohoe Digital Poker is for you!
• No other poker software lets you practice your tournament skills and experience what the pro's do as well as manage your local poker night no-limit holdem tournaments. Donohoe Digital Poker is easy to use, has beautiful graphics and features an advanced learning AI.
• Unlike online casinos where you have to risk real money or use "play money" tables where the opponents don't necessarily act rationally, Donohoe Digital Poker lets you hone your skills against computer opponents who behave as if there is something at stake. This doesn't mean they are completely predictable or incapable of bluffing. However, they will give you better practice than the play money tables.

Reviews (35)

Save your money
I was so excited when I bought this and so totally disappointed!!! There are many on-line sites where you can practice playing poker for free against real people. Anyone of them is more entertaining and a better learning experience than wasting time with this. The graphics are on a par with playing "pong" on your TV in the seventies.

Totally realistic poker software
This is an excellent holdem game - it is really the only one that simulates what real tournaments are like - from the blinds, to the chip races, to allowing you to customize tournaments to your liking. Unlike hoyle or pokerstars, it has a strong AI. Other people have commented on how hard it is to hit a straight or flush, but that is real poker. The odds are that 9 other players you play against will get better cards more often than just you. Plus, version 2 is coming out soon and that promises to have online play and more! A truly great game.

Reviewed by y'all way to high!
This game is marginally better than that Hoyle Casino joke, but it has no resemblance to a real game. The AI is OK, but there are WAY too many great hands, that seem to ALWAYS beat you on the river card. I've played hundreds of hands, and when I cheat to see what all the community cards are I end up missing my straight, only if I fold first. I NEVER hit it when I'm digging for it!!! EVER!!! Can't tell you how many times I've been sunk by a boat when I do hit my flush. Hole cards are awful for my hand, but every one around me is getting AA, KK, OO, JJ, AK. I think this game is poor, and only gave it 2 stars because Hoyle's was my only comparison, and it's palin awful!

Helps a lot for beginners but AI makes big mistakes too..
Overall, it isnt a bad game. The AI opponents do often call allins with nothing.Also odd is how occasionally a whole table will call ur allin's during a tourney!
The odds regarding starting hands-ie Ak beats A6 normally, is fairly good. If you want to learn holdem (only NL in this game) this really helps but it wont help good players much.
It's surely worth 20 bucks simply b/c of the fun factor.

A disappointment
I bought this and played in several of the 40-player tournaments, winning one of them and finishing second in another.The program does a good job of making the experience fun and easy, and there are some nice features that you can turn on or off as you see fit, including what they call the "cheat mode," which lets you look at the cards of uncalled hands and see community cards not dealt when nobody calls.When there is a showdown after somebody has gone all-in the probability of winning the pot for each hand is given as it is on TV.You can speed up play or slow it down, and you have the option of jumping to the end of the hand after you fold--an option that one soon chooses and stays with!

There are three levels of difficulty, although I didn't play long enough to get a real feel for the differences.I did notice a rather annoying and ultimately totally off-putting bug (or perhaps, in the spirit of some programming traditions, maybe this is a "feature" that helps the neophyte player win).Quite simply some of the computer players called with hands that could not beat the board!

Now it is true that there are times when it is correct to call with a hand that cannot beat the board.These are very rare however and typically occur when there is a straight on board.Everybody has that straight (at least), and if it is the best hand, the players left at the showdown split the pot.Clearly if the board is AKQJT, with no more than two cards of any suit, it is the nut hand and no matter what the bet is you have to call and split the pot.However, in this program some computer players were calling with hands that made no pairs, no flushes, no straights and were undercards to the board.For example, one board was something like A89TQ of three different suits.One of the computer players called with something like 64.As any hold'em player knows that call makes no sense.It is just throwing money away.

This discovery really turned me off the program because even at the most elementary level of play, real players do not make such suicidal calls.

The package also claims that "Computer opponents learn and adapt to your style of play."What this statement should mean is that the program does things like fold a lot when it notices that you don't bluff much or call a lot or raise if it records a lot of bluffs from you.This "learn mode" is what makes poker-playing 'bots very difficult to beat, and would be an essential part of any program that presumed to be able to beat sophisticated human players.My problem with their learn mode is that I didn't see any evidence of it!

I would like to note in passing that some years ago Mike Caro, the self-styled "Mad Genius of Poker," developed a poker engine that was able to beat some very good human players.However, I am not aware of a program that can play at the highest levels of the game, a program that could beat a table of world champions, for example, a program comparable to chess-playing programs that can beat grand masters.Maybe such a program exists and I am not aware of it.My guess is that such a program is possible, but very difficult to write.

Anyway, I would not recommend this program and I am sorry that I bought it. ... Read more

Product Description

Deep new performance tuning allows gamers to fine-tune every aspect of their rides handling and performance, while hundreds of new visual customizations guarantee players can create their own personalized, totally unique car. With the most comprehensive tuning options, all-new game modes, and the industrys most sought-after cars, Need for Speed Underground 2 delivers the most authentic tuner experience ever. All-new game modes join Circuit, Drift, and Drag events to add depth and varie ... Read more

Features

• Tune every aspect of your car's performance with hundreds of licensed aftermarket performance upgrades
• Car models from such makers as Mitsubishi Motors, Nissan, Toyota, Ford and Volkswagen
• Single player, multiplayer, and online multiplayer modes
• Street-racing game
• Explore a massive city divided into five distinct

Reviews (41)

Same fast paced fun, same silly flaws
I loved the first NFS Underground because it was both more accessible than Gran Turismo (a fine game, but too frustrating and bland) and also that it conveyed the sense of speed better.Well, if you liked the first one, chances are you'll like the second.They improved on the first by streamlining the pre-race part of the game.Long gone are the endless menus that you had to wade through to get to a race, now you are in a free-roaming city with a PDA and GPS to guide you to your next race or the various performance or body shops around the city.The graphics are well done, there are tons of licensed upgrades for you to play with, and you can even customize the color of your brake calipers!Another welcome change is that you can now have more than one car.That's right, you don't have to be stuck with one car, pimp it out, only to have to get rid of it as you move up in class.You only have 5 spots in your garage, and they open up depending on your endorsement deals, so it's still a bit restricted.

On to the flaws of this game, which are basically carry-overs from the first Need for Speed Underground:
1.Locked Upgrades.Yep, they're back!For some mysterious reason, you can only install certain performance/visual upgrades at the start, and must progressively unlock them as you play the game.While I understand this as a gameplay decision, it is super-frustrating to have to wait to be able to buy better tires when you're flush with cash.The upgrades also feel... like they don't do much, which leads me to my next point:
2.Adaptive A.I.The other racers in this game never get too far ahead or let you get too far back.This is great at first because it is forgiving, but gets very frustrating because ultimately it doesn't reward good driving.You can drive flawlessly for 95% of the race, yet in the last half-mile or so, the guy behind you WILL come roaring back and more likely than not, take the lead from you.The rate of speed is absolutely ludicrous, the AI will make up a half mile of lost ground in mere seconds, which is really cheesy.
3.Unrealistic to a flaw.I LOVE the lack of realism in this game, because it is more fun than Gran Turismo or other "sim" racers.However, NFSU2 takes it a bit too far.You can drive a car into the wall, spin them out, only to have them pass you 10 seconds later.The AI drivers seem to have limitless nitrous boost, and can generally out-accelerate you regardless of your ride.
4.Upgrades have no impact.That is because the upgrades aren't a strategic choice on your part, but a requirement to go on.That's right, they are locked, then they are available and you can't really progress until you equip them.There is some noticeable difference (especially from stock to level 1 engine tweaks), but your opponents adapt as well, so it's not like you can bring a souped-up racer to a stock Honda Civic race.It makes for even competition, but again, doesn't reward shrewd racing or upgradeability.
5.It ALWAYS starts to rain at the end of the race.The rain effects are gorgeous, but it is so incredibly cheesy and predictable that it drives me nuts.About a half-mile before the finish, you'll hear thunder, the road will get slick, and lo and behold!You will spin out of control just in time for the CPU driver to pass you!

Overall this is still a fun game.I just wish that it were more rewarding and less arcadey in the aspects listed above.That said, it's a blast to create your ride from stock to pimpin', and the option to design the magazine and DVD covers yourself is fun as well.Recommended.

Lots of detail!
this games is a great game if you like to customize you car and every detail of it. I found no cons in the games.

A Travesty of a Title
This game is quite a travesty. Thank goodness I purchased it used from a third party dealer on Amazon. I will be selling it at my local Gamestop tomorrow for hopefully an small loss.
I can't comprehend the hype over this game. Perhaps, the positive evaluations are emanating from folks who haven't played other quality race titles or any good game before for that matter.
There is no improvement in this title over the first one. In fact, I popped in the old one just to ensure I wasn't delusional. It turns out I wasn't. NFS 1's graphics are almost identical and I believe the gameplay may be better in the first game. It certainly had more redeeming qualities, easier functionality, and was actually fun (but nothing serious like PGR2).
Driving all over town to find "the next race" may be one of the most annoying tasks I ever had the displeasure to endure in any video game. I had enough of those kinds of non-sensical chores in "Grand Theft Auto"; It justs takes away from a game that already doesn't have much to offer as a baseline.
Even the cut-scenes are total crap. They are are actually non-animated comic book like graphics. This is completely unacceptable in 2004-2005 on the XBOX when animations from Halo 1 & 2 and Ninja Gaiden are far superior.
From a racing perspective Project Gotham 2 totally steps all over this game in every single aspect (See my review of that).
EA racing games pretty much blow.In the past, I rented Burnout 3, another EA game, and whoa, what another incredibly overrated waste of time and energy. I will never again invest time nor money in an EA title. They have proven recently that they are incapable of putting out a quality game for XBOX.

No replayability no fun when u complete boooring
Need for Speed+Underground+2=????
i'm sorry EA this is going to be a bad review for ur game :(
Wow... the visuals, the performance upgrades, the cars.
It sounds great.
It sounded great when I bought it for ( oh i cant say what i bought it for)
It now sounds like a form of torture.
Now ive finished the game ive realized that the only good part of it is the soundtrack...and the idea
At first ithought that this game was soooo coool!!
Then I got to the last two levels...
It gets repetative!!! Really repetative!!! So repeatative its like chinese water torture. In career mode you win about 20 races then you sign a new sponsor.In career mode you win about 20 races then you sign a new sponsor.In career mode you win about 20 races then you sign a new sponsor.In career mode you win about 20 races then you sign a new sponsor.In career mode you win about 20 races then you sign a new sponsor.In career mode you win about 20 races then you sign a new sponsor.In career mode you win about 20 races then you sign a new sponsor.In career mode you win about 20 races then you sign a new sponsor.In career mode you win about 20 races then you sign a new sponsor.In career mode you win about 20 races then you sign a new sponsor.In career mode you win about 20 races then you sign a new sponsor.
AND YOU DO THAT FOR ABOUT EVER
Then they seem to make you stop unlocking parts cars and visuals and the races become pointless...
all there is to do now is play free mode.
On the back of the case it says race or roam on 125 miles of open road.... HA
this is so UNtrue
yes the city is huuuge.. but it has about 5 other streetracing cars driving around and 30normal people cars...that come in 5diffrent varieties(hatchback, van, pickup, suv, and taxi)this may sound good.. but if you think about it , on 125 miles of road you encounter 3 cars every 5 minuites
the motorways(or for USA rreaderes highway or freeway)are absolutley emptty!!!(apart from one or two cars)
races are good. but you repeat the same one over and over again

the cars are amazing and the modding(or to the not knows CUSTOMIZING or CHANGING YOUR CARS STYLE AND APPEARANCE)is fantasatic with endlesss... etc...BUT no damage detail...
you see me going down the motaorway at 200 mph suddnley i crash into one of the few cars. it goes into slow motion for a second and then well...you emerge with no damage at all ( no wonder they had to put a saftey warning at the beggining...no wonder i always see people flying past my bedroom window at 200 mph and then killing themselves by crasing into so guys ride...expecting to emerge absolutley fine lol lol )



i reccomend not buying this but buying the first midtown madness.at least in that there is more traffic...which means more fun and crashes!"!!(with damage detail)
(just kifdding [lol] buy the game butdont expect much of it i also reccomend buying the first midtown madness.)

Need for Speed Underground 2
Need for Speed Underground 2 will challenge gamers to immerse themselves in the tuner culture, exploring an expansive, free-roaming city divided into five distinct neighborhoods. Gamers will encounter rival racers who will initiate events, tip players off to the hottest racing spots, and show them where to buy the most sought-after licensed aftermarket upgrades. The game will feature new game modes, deep new performance customization and tuning, and more than 30 licensed cars. The game also delivers twice the visual customization upgrades as the original game, providing a staggering 70 billion possible car combinations for total automotive self-expression.

While NFSU2 contains some aspects of its predecessor, several major changes make a significantly different game. The world is massive and open, filled with many more courses that before. The progression scheme is complex and you'll find yourself winning to earn money so you can spend it on modding the heck out of your car over and over again. The cars are more weighty and a little more realistic too, requiring a little more skill from the driver.

The sad part is that the huge city is actually perhaps too huge for its own good. You'll grow bored driving around the mostly empty streets, and once you collect the small quantity of Info letters, find the few shortcuts, and open up the garages, there's not much left. The Outrun races ARE fun, but some of them can last up to 15 minutes, and if you want to progress, you're simply going to have to wait.

In all, NFSU2 is an impressive, and more importantly, fun game that overcomes its faults with depth, breadth, and variety.


... Read more

Editorial Review

All of your favorite Nintendo characters have come together to answer the question: who is king of the Nintendo hill? The format can aptly be described as Super Mario Kart meets Mortal Kombat, which makes for an odd, yet addictive game. The object is to throw, punch, smash, or blast your opponents off the edge of the beautifully rendered, themed arenas. Numerous power-ups, weapons, and surprises help or hinder the melee. Your eventual goal is to fight your way through to a bizarre final boss character. Victory in this battle rewards you with another character to play, such as the scene-stealing Pokémon, Jigglypuff.

From Star Fox's laser pistol to Link's hook shot, each character's trademark special abilities are utilized to knock one another off the screen. The game does a great job balancing the characters' widely differing powers so that no one character has an insurmountable advantage. The sound and animations are also dead-on: Donkey Kong is a huge, cartoonish ape, while Link is much more detailed and realistic. And Pikachu's famous thunder shock attack is accompanied by a fearsome yell of "PIKA!"

Unlike most fighting games, Super Smash Bros. allows you to team up with a computer partner and take on other teams in both single and multiplayer modes. But the most fun is had when four human players play in a battle royale. The game quickly becomes a scene of incredibly fun chaos: picture Mario beating up on Luigi, while Donkey Kong is chased by a scampering, sledgehammer-wielding Pikachu. It's the perfect party game. --Hugh Arnold

Pros:

• Great characters: Mario, Luigi, Pikachu, Kirby, Donkey Kong, Link, Star Fox, Yoshi, and more
• Simple gameplay
• Computer partner option
• Colorful arenas

• Limited number of arenas

Features

• Four-player simultaneous mode
• Variety of power-ups and weapons
• Twelve original Nintendo characters
• Dozens of levels

Reviews (327)

Okey for a while
If you love Meele, you will not enjoy this. If you have this you would say it was fun for about.... 3 weeks. 4 maybye. I think the game is excellent but it was'nt addicting at all. But Meele is still my favourite game and is fun to play. So buy it if you hate being addicted.

The best fighting game ever
If you're into pretty colors and flashy graphics, and care much less about actually having controller inputs match character actions, go ahead and get SSB:Melee instead. It's got a general "random" feel to it and skill isn't as important as luck and drooling mindlessly over the images on the screen.

However, if you prefer to buy a fighting game because...it's a fighting game, and not pathetic eye-candy, the original SSB is godly. The controls are extremely precise, and it's possible to execute combos to near perfection. Indeed, combos are key to this game, something most players seem not to understand. Melee seems to have been created to eliminate combos and reduce fighting to random hacking and button-mashing; this is perfectly suited to mentally deficient monkeys, but humans with brains might prefer something that takes a little bit of skill. The only problem with SSB is that the combos can become degenerate, and certain characters are simply not viable, but most players don't seem good enough to take advantage of this (almost no one thinks Jigglypuff is anything more than a pathetic waste of a spot, for instance) so enjoy!

The memories...
Oh my gosh, this was the greatest game ever made (besides Zelda). Anyway, you get to be alot of Nintendo charicters and...BEAT UP EACH OTHER!!!!!!!!!!! Well, not beat up, more like, nock them off of the edge. OVERALL:This game is the best.

A VERY GOOD GAME BY ANDREW MASSY
THIS IS A VERY GOOD GAME BUT I WOULD BUY IT WHEN IT HAS A LOW PRICEBECAUSEWOULD WHAT TO WASTE VERY LITTLE MONEY FOR SOMETHING THAT YOU GET TO KEEP FOREVER. THIS GAME WILL HAVE YOU PLAYING FOR HOURS OF FUN. IT WOULD BE FUN TO PLAY WHEN YOU ARE BORED. I KNOW ALL THIS BECAUSE I HAVE PLAYED THIS GAME JUST TRUST ME THIS GAME IS FUN.

ANDREW MASSY AGE 10

A VERY GOOD GAME BY ANDREW MASSY
THIS IS A VERY GOOD GAME BUT I WOULD BUY IT WHEN IT HAS A LOW PRICEBECAUSEWOULD WHAT TO WASTE VERY LITTLE MONEY FOR SOMETHING THAT YOU GET TO KEEP FOREVER. THIS GAME WILL HAVE YOU PLAYING FOR HOURS OF FUN. IT WOULD BE FUN TO PLAY WHEN YOU ARE BORED. I KNOW ALL THIS BECAUSE I HAVE PLAYED THIS GAME JUST TRUST ME THIS GAME IS FUN. HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS!

ANDREW MASSY AGE 10 ... Read more

Product Description

Includes Donkey Kong Bongos!

Grab some friends and jam along with a fresh set of new, chart-topping songs in Donkey Konga 2!

Features:

• Play more than 25 new hits, from pop and hip-hop to R&B and rock, all straight from the charts.
• With three difficulty levels and five modes of play, Donkey Konga 2 will have gamers everywhere drumming and clapping again to new songs.
• Rock out with new game modes. Drum to your own beat in Freestyle Plaza or see how well you and your friends synch up as you share a DK Bongos controller in Concert mode.
• Multiplayer musical mayhem! Connect up to four sets of DK Bongos controllers for jam sessions, or match your rhythmic prowess against a rival in the two-player Battle mode

Reviews (3)

Great Game, Not Perfect
I disagree that the 1st game was better. The 2nd game is more developed and has a wider range of songs to choose from. There is music for everyone and even if you don't like a certain song, you will still have fun playing to it on the kongas since it will be a challenge. The songs are great to take your anger and energy out on and the beats really reflect the mood, stlye, melody, and rhythm of the song. The parts also help you develop an ear for the other instruments and what is going on with the other parts, not just the rhythm.
There are more extra features on this game. The only one I don't like is the freestyle. I don't find it fun just to play whatever I want because what you're playing isn't recorded or saved and there's no way to know what you did. The mini games are really fun and great for multiplayer. The feature where 2 players can play on 1 set of kongas is great because it builds team work and trust. It's a lot of fun for one person to get red, another yellow, and you both clap.
I havn't played multi-player (except the 2 player feature I just mentioned) because extra kongas are expensive and I don't want to make that purchase yet since no one else I know owns kongas or the game.
This game is also rated teen for mild lyrics. I havn't noticed any swearing but there are certain references including suffocation. Most songs are suitable for young children however. The whole family will enjoy Donkey Konga. I also recommend the 1st game in the series.
Although the real artists who perform the songs are not the people on the songs, the fake versions are still great and are performed by very talented musicians. They do a great job of covering the song to sound just like the real artist.
The only complaints I have are they could replace all the r and b and rap songs with some songs that are more rhythm heavy and upbeat. I also believe the game is a bit too short but the extra features and multi player make up for that.

Good...could have been Great!
Look.I like the donkey kongas. The first one was great. The second one has been a bit of a letdown. Oh sure it's fun and delivers that but, for instance, in the first game I knew 85% of the songs.I can only recognize 30% of the songs in the new game because the others are just horrible drek I wouldn't listen to to begin with!There were a few surprise songs on there that I was glad to see, but the song that "sampled" the music from the "Young and the Restless" is, well, just HORRIBLE!It should have been better; at leastbetter songs to choose from and Nintendo failed to pick those.I still have fun with it irregardless of some of the C"rap"py music.If you know a lot of newer songs, you'll love it.It's just good for me. Not great.No Motown? No Beatles? No Elvis? No 70's classic rock? What happened?

Amazingly fun for all ages
I admit that the bongos seem like a silly gimmick when you first look at them. But when you start playing with them, these are REALLY good rhythm and drum trainers!

The game comes with a good selection of songs to play along with - from Allstar to La Bamba, from the Nutcracker Suite to Shiny Happy People. There should be songs in here to suit all musical tastes. There are a bunch of different ways to play the songs. There are freestyles where you just drum and clap along any way you wish. There are a series of built in rhythms where you have to match up as well as you can with the song. There are two player modes where one person drums and the other person claps. There are a number of challenge modes where people play head to head or try to get better scores on the same song.

There are even rhythm trainers where you learn about different rhythms and learn how to hold them over a number of bars. It really is quite amazing how much the game teaches you about syncopation and unusual rhythms. If you feel you're rhythmically challenged, this game can get you to learn how rhythms work. If you think you're a pretty good drummer, give a try on some of the more challenging songs and see if you can keep up!

The game is great for solo play and even more fun in party situations, especially because the songs are so much fun. As you earn coins, you can use them to buy more difficult song versions, new sounds for your bongos and even new bongo visuals. You get a lot of incentive to keep getting better and better.

Where many games teach you skills that might seem meaningless (arcane combinations of button mashing), this game is actually teaching you a real life skill that is great. You could become a better real life drummer, or at least be able to hold your own better at any dances you might go to.

What's even better, this game is great for all ages. Young kids can have fun randomly hammering - while adults can do serious work in perfecting their skills.

Highly recommended! ... Read more

Product Description

While planning the perfect vacation on Dinosaur Island, things go awry for Mario and Luigi when they learn that Princess Peach has been kidnapped again by the ever-diabolical Bowser. Being chivalrous plumbers, Mario and Luigi set out on a massive adventure to rescue their long-time friend. To reach their goal, they'll have to crush Bowser's evil Koopalings and solve some of the most challenging puzzles they've ever faced. ... Read more

Features

• Platform: Game Boy Advance
• ESRB Rating: Everyone
• Genre: Action/Adventure

Reviews (251)

Polishing a classic
There's pretty much a debate on the best Super Mario game: Super Mario 3, Super Mario World or Yoshi's Island(but you control Yoshi instead). Some might say Mario 64 but the lack of gameplay moves doesn't hold a candle to the many gameplay mechanics each one of the 3 provide. So we delve into one of them: Super Mario World.

Story: What little story there is. As usual, Princess Peach gets kidnapped(I swear that b**** needs bodyguards or take up karate or something). So it's up to Mario to save the day as he traverses worlds in caves, the chocolate level, underwater and in the air.

Graphics: This is Super Nintendo graphics so granted these aren't stunning anymore. But it does have a nice vibrancy to it and the variety of the levels adds some nice changes to the scenery without being too repetitive.

Sound/Music: I often call Nintendo good support music. Besides the Mario theme, nothing is really hummable yet it doesn't feel out of place. They added some voices for Mario and Luigi which as usual get annoying.

Gameplay: I remember playing this on the SNES and I was so happy I cleared all 96 stages, got the Star Road finished, the secret areas and everything. Now I have to do it again, ugh. All the levels are here with some minor tweaks.

It was this one I believe they introduced one of Mario's famous sidekicks: Yoshi, the green dinosaur who likes to eat anything and s**t it out and makes eggs that he can fling at people(only in Yoshi's Island and maybe some others). He also turned into a different colored Yoshi depending on what he ate. So red turtles gave him abilities to shoot fireballs while one enabled him to fly and another gave a slight earthquake quality when he bounced.

Mario 3 wins in turns of transforming Mario. In 3, he had the tanooki suit(that raccoon), the frog suit, that shoe, not to mention the fire flower and the leaf, capable of making him fly. With this one he gets the fire flower and the feather, giving him a yellow Superman cape where he can fly. It's different than the leaf cause that just made him soar straight up while here you can fly across. He can glide down by just holding the button while in 3 you had to repeatedly hit it.

The Mario Advance ports are great for us old school gamers who remembers playing Chrono Trigger, Uniracers and Final Fantasy III(officially VI but that's another story). Don't forget about Mario 3 and Yoshi's Island too.

This is an old classic, but it cannot overshadow Mario Bro 3
The game is good and then some. There is so much to do, you may never do it all.
The story is that Peach is not in the witness protection program and gets kidnapped once again. You and Luigi must save her.
On the map you can alternate between Luigi and Mario just by a press of a button. All in all, it does not matter. The game is no harder or easier. Luigi has a better jump but is slower than Mario.
In the levels your goal is to get to the end without dying. The twist in this game is that any red dot on the map means there is more than one exit. And many of them are hard to find. Upon finding them, you are able to gain access to a different path on the map.
This is a must. You will see dotted lines everywhere in a certain color. What you must do is find a certain special exit and you get to go to a block palace. They will fill in the lines with blocks that match the colors. Now these blocks give you access to new places and sometimes save your life.
Running around in the levels, you get four different powerups and they vary from mushroom to stars. If you had Mario before, you know what they do. The new addition is Yoshi. He can add an extra hit to your life and eat enemies and more! Plus, by special exits, you can go to star world. Beating a level there the right way will give you access to a new yoshi. Some will turn enemies eaten into fire while others can fly when they have any enemy in their mouth. They appear at random
The bosses can be brutal. Each boss either has three or four hits. You must find the special way to beat them. This will be easy, but causes you to keep readjusting throughout the game.
You may never do everything.
You need help to do everything. So buy a strategy guide.

Best Game EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!
For a gamer like me, that is, someone who likes basic yet chalenging games, this is a must.Its fun never wears away, because there's always something new to do.Play either as Mario, who is fast but a bad jumper, or Luigi who jumps far and high.I love this game!!!!!!!!

My all time favorite Mario game.
This game is the greatest Mario game I have ever played. All the Mario's seem to have gone down hill to me since this 4th installment. But now that this classic SNES game has been revived and upgraded to the GBA, its back, and even better then ever!

There is a few differences between this and the SNES version, but they just make this version better!!! Theres a few new halfway markers, theres 5 Yoshi coins to collect on each stage, and when your found them all you get princess coins... but everything is still there and just as much fun as ever. I only wish I could program some add ons into it somehow.

Super Mario, Super Good
Super Mario world is the best gameboy game I have ever played!
The levels are hard, but no so hard that you stay on one level for a month. Some of the levels, are a bit frustrating though. Some examples would be the "big green goop balls",The boos, and the big boo who are in some ghost houses. They are impossible to defeat and you cannot touch them without losing your special ability or life! Also,there are some enemys not mentioned on the "Denizens of Dinosoar Land" paper, like the "skeleton birds". I think the music for this game is good, but others might say it's cheesy. It's fun to ride "Mr. Dinosoar"a.k.a Yoshi, but the controls are hard to learn for him, and regular Mario/Luigi. It might be easier for some people, because I am a person who likes to not read instruction booklets. Some of the graphics are funny, like when you do a run jump your belly comes forward, and if you collect a certain item you inflate like a balloon, and when Luigi jumps, h wiggles his feet! You can "cheat" on certain levels by using a cape to fly across the sky of the level, avoiding most enemies. ... Read more

Product Description

Need for Speed: Underground 2 is the sequel to the best-selling racing game of 2003. You'll discover the most authentic tuner experience and encounter rival racers who school you in the ways of the underground and show you the hottest racing spots within the massive, free-roaming city that features 5 distinct interconnected neighborhoods. The game also lets you tune individual parts for higher performance and optimize your settings for specific events. You'll also get 4 brand-new game modes as well as the favorites Drift, Drag and Circuit. Made in USA. ... Read more

Features

• More than 30 car models from such makers as Mitsubishi, Nissan, Toyota to Ford and Volkswagen
• Three new gameplay modes are added to the previous installment's circuit, drift and drag competitions
• Single-player, multiplayer, and online multiplayer modes
• Racing action game
• Tune every aspect of your car's performance with hundreds of licensed aftermarket performance upgrades

Reviews (36)

Speed On Again
Electronic Arts have really made a remakrable franchise based upon the well-received Need For Speed series. Since the mid 90's, this racing game series has been one of the most dominant and reality racing game series games of all time. They have honestly made it a huge stride in the world of cars. Yet, the while has been quite a braking effect awhile ago with the Need For Speed Underground series. It had a lackluster reaction than other versions like Hot Pursuit had undergone in the earlier years. Here is pretty much the same as before for racers alike from the earlier speed.

Need For Speed Underground 2, is the sequel to the adequate 2003 Underground. The game and its features are just similar as they were before. The game is set in one entire major city, similar to games like Midtwon Madness and the highly successful Midnight Club collection for the Playstation & Xbox. Yet, there are so many well driven and highly delightful cars that really go all out in their speed. The graphics are very well recognized, and the music reallly is full of hard core splice, just like the other Need For Speed games. The control also fares well, with each challenge including the Underground gameplay, and the free roaming race scene.

Still, there are a few disadvantages. One of them is that the game is mainly in one city throughout the numerous courses, other than different landscapes and locations like other Need For Speed games. The second disadvantage is that other than the newest array of automobiles to choose from and unlock, there really isn't much of a challenge for anybody who has mastered the earlier Underground game. Some may consider passing this one up.

All in all, Need For Speed Underground 2 fairs quite well as a racer, but not for all who want to really be fast & madly furious. I suggest you rent this racer, and see if the buzz is in the right court for you. Otherwise, stick with the original.

Graphics: B-

Sound: B-

Control: B

Fun & Enjoyment: C 1/2+

Overall: C

Greatest Game Ever
This game is designed so you can change the most uncool car to an extreme car. It is almost like the show Pimp My Ride but extreme to make it race.

Great game!!!
nfsu2 was a really fun not complicated game.it has a really good storymode and the cars look better than ever!!!but it was a 4star becouse the game is short and when you beat the game it gets kinda boring.i recomend you do not play on easy mode!!!=) not the best game for a eaisly brused eigo too.

NFS Rocks!
I love NFS! More cool music and eye-popping great graphics! And for sandra, music is optional, and none of this suggestive themes either. Fine for 6+. NFS is easy to get used to.

its definatly a fun game
but theres just no sense of speed in this game thats pretty much its only con so what am i complaining about this game is a really good street roaming game you search for a shop or a race. you can choose races like street X drag drift sprint normal and the underground racing league.tricking out your car is the funnest your cars look so sweet, and theres so many different ways to customize your ride. overall it doesnt have the best graphics but the music and sounds are great.a great racing game. ... Read more

Product Description

His company's debt is a whopping 10,000 Pokos. Luckily, his trusty assistant has joined him, so if the two of them can delegate their work well, they should be able to repay the company's debts in no time. Of course, they'll need the help of the Pikmin to do that, since these two can't accomplish anything by themselves! ... Read more

Features

• Command your Pikmin to defeat enemies, propagate more Pikmin, collect precious doodads, and solve puzzles
• Take advantage of new colors of Pikmin and use new items strategically
• For 1 or 2 players
• Captain Olimar has returned to the planet of the Pikmin in this sequel to the popular action/strategy game
• Delegate work to the Pikmin using Captain Olimar and his new assistant

Reviews (77)

who in the world hates this game come on!!!
the people who hate this stink!

Suffers from sequelitis
How often do you see a sequel to a movie that tries to outdo the original?That's what happened here.The original Pikmin was a masterpiece.A unique game with peaceful play interrupted with violent outbursts.Pikmin 2 is just violent outbursts.Oh yeah they ruined my favorite part of the original game, challenge mode.

Why, Nintendo, why....
...why did you have to ruin such a good thing? My hours spent with the original Pikmin, chilling to the ambient music and exploring the gorgeous environments, were some of the best hours of my life. But this...all I can say is, it COULD have been amazing.

The only "pro" here is all the little treasures you get to collect. Each one is completely unique, and although they're all stuff that us normal people would consider trash (like bottle caps and empty cans), they have new names that make them sound glorious and awe-inspiring. It's hilarious to see.

But are these funny items scattered throughout a new set of picture-book-pretty worlds to explore? NO! Instead, you get to experience the beautiful outdoor environments for a period of about four seconds before being forced into a long series of underground tunnels. Seriously, the entire game takes place in the tunnels! Each tunnel is nearly identical to the last, and it gets extremely boring. And if things could possibly get worse than that, there are no more logic-puzzles to solve. No, the only thing you do in these underground labyrinths is fight monsters! I didn't mind the fighting in the first game, since it not the whole focus, but here, it gets extremely repetitive, extremely fast. After a few hours' worth of tunnel-crawling, I felt ready to cry from boredom and sheer disappointment.

Words cannot describe the sadness this game caused me. When the first Pikmin released, I felt like I had been given a VIP pass to my own private wonderland. With this second entry, my trip to paradise got tied up in tunnels.

I will say it again
Just another sequel to the GAYcube IT FREAKIN SUCKS understand those 3 words and youll great or a Gay fruit

Not as Good
I loved the first Pikmin game so much that I was extremely excited when I found out they would be making a sequel.After reading great reviews, I was even more excited.When I finally got the game I played for two days then stopped.The game was fun but very repetitive.The only thing that brought down this game was the caves.Level after level of the same basic thing - and that's pretty much all there is to the game.The main thing I loved about the first one was the large, open areas.Being inside the caves is restricting and at times difficult to see - mostly because of the camera angle restriction.It is a fun game, but it could have been much better. ... Read more