Product Description

As players progress through Transylvania and the strongholds of Castle Frankenstein and Castle Dracula, they'll encounter untold fiends and evil minions including the legendary dark prince Dracula, the Wolf Man, the Frankenstein Monster and Igor as well as a host of original creatures created for the game including stone gargoyles, fell sprits and banshees. To help turn the tide of darkness, players can dish out double-fisted damage with a devastating arsenal of melee and ranged weapons includ ... Read more

Features

• Call on a powerful arsenal including tojo blades, dual pistols, unlockable elephant gun, and more
• Play through one of three difficulty modes and unlock hidden content
• For 1 player
• Play as Van Helsing to take on 13 thrilling missions in Transylvania
• Battle 22 legendary creatures including Dracula, the Frankenstein Monster, and the Wolf Man

Reviews (8)

This game ROCKS!
Van Helsing the game is so cool! The movie sucked, but the game is 9,000,000 times better. You fight such classic villians as the Wolfman, Dracula , Mr. Hyde, and more.
Only one problem. The camera angles are difficult to work with. You can't chage them.
All in All, it's a great game!

Wow...
...that's my reaction to the Van Helsing game.Many people have criticized it as having a bad camera, not enough acting out of the story (too many cutscenes and such), as well as being repetitive, but they're all nitpicking.
The first time I saw this game I was really looking forward to it.Well, I rented it and after a day or two, I hated it.I'd been playing games like Hitman, which require more strategy and "brain power", so I thought this was stupid, mindless game.However, I didn't realize one thing.This is NOT a "shooter", though most of the weapons are guns.This is an ACTION game, entailing tons of exciting movement, such as jumping and fighting while watching the really cool villains do likewise.In short, you have to be in the right mood to play this, or not expect too much.You may be dissapointed if you think this is another Red Dead Revolver or something.I bought it and had a blast because I knew what kind of game I was playing.
The gameplay has been called repetitive, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.It's really fun to just lay into your opponents', though some of the weapon' shooting (dual pistols) can become tiresome, despite its propensity for success.You basically have to use your tojos and/or twin scimitars to liven it up with some variety (I recommend tojos against most non-flying creatures and bosses, as it's really fun to tear through your adversaries).There are a fair amount of other weapons, such as the crossbow, shotgun, electric gun, and a few other great weapons I don't want to spoil for you, which all have strength and weaknesses of their own, making each of them a value and a hindrace (realism, folks) to getting through the game.The jumping/grappling onto things is a good bit of variety in the game, and when you have to use them, it adds a bit of reality (ifyou consider some of Van Helsing's jump "realistic") and makes sense with the mission.Last of all, there's a load of great monsters, such as possessed skeletons, giant owls, gargoyles, the main bosses you saw in the movie (including bonus fights with Frankenstein's Monster), and well, the list covers just about every major mythological/horror creature, way past the dinky litte list in the manual that comes with the game.It's great, trust me.

And now, some Game Tips:

Try beating the five challenges in "order" (that they presented in the game) and twice in order if need be (whatever works; I played the game 15 or so times through before I beat all the challenges so I'm not completely sure what unlocks the Rifle, though I suspect it's just order), starting with Challenge #4 (the maze is the easiest challenge and can be done the first time through the game), next Challenge #5 (time attack, should be attempted the second or third time through the game so that you have the gatling gun), then Challenge #1 (break the statues is easily the hardest, but can be done the first time through the game.You need to break the statues up high before breaking the ones on ground level; jump up and down to enrage the gargoyles, and if they don't come, immediately grapple the gargoyles and pull them into close quarters; you may want to try this when you have a lot of glyphs and the Armory Anytime cheat found in the second through the game so that you can keep buying Life Replenishers), then Challenge #2 (stay on the ring and don't let the owls knock you off; probably the second hardest and you probably want to wait till the third time through the game, having beaten the hard difficulty, so that you have the Unlimited Alternate Ammo cheat to use), and finally Challenge #3 (rising blood challenge; go to the right of the screen and jump onto the gargoyle head and follow the logical progression of heads until you get to about the six or seventh, where'll you be safe to grapple away and beat the challenge).If you need any other game tips, like where to find all the Life Increasers or whatever, I HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend buying Prima Games' Official Strategy Guide to Van Helsing.This is an AWESOME tip book and helped me get almost everything on the game (I'm still missing some Increasers, though).It comes cheap, and will become your best friend when playing Van Helsing.
Now onto the graphics.The graphics are superb, though many criticize them for being simple for a such a graphically capable system such as the X-Box.The backgrounds are very well-lit, and the environments you're in are very time appropiate and detailed, rivaling and maybe even surpassing the movie's scope.While Anna looks a little piggish with her slightly upturned nose, the bosses are impressive (I really like Mr. Hyde), and the more common creatures are uniquely good.
Some other things, such as the sound and voice-acting are worth going over.The music is good, though sometimes backgroundish, and not entirely noticeable unless you listen for it.Not to say its bad, but seems rather distant sometimes. The voice acting is well-done, at least for the time the actors had to do them (they were on a tight schedule).Some of the Transylvanian accents, such as Anna's (sorry, Mandy), sound a bit stilted at times, but at worst it provides a chuckle.
Sure, I've sung the game's praises, but here are some admonitions, primarily for parents.Other than a minimal amount of blood spilled (not much but the dwergi and vampire bats "spew" it sometimes), Dracula's brides appear in a cutscene where they aren't, well, entirely clothed.However, this cutscene can be skipped by pressing "Start", so it's probably not much of a problem.The same thing goes for the green banshee women who remind me of mermaids; they hold green pieces of cloth against their chests, concealing, well, MOST of their bosoms, but not all.Nothing detailed here, but not very appropriate.
As a warning for gamers, don't expect to be able to play as a werewolf at the end of the game (probably the biggest letdown of the century), which would have skyrocketed this game right past probably my favorite, Red Dead Revolver.In my opinion, the game's greatest downfall, which put in some good stuff not included in the movie (Frankenstein fights, the exclusive game creatures and more weapons) but left out one of the movie's strongest points (the Van Hesling werewolf) in gameplay, which would have been so much fun (just use the Wolf Man's moves or something).Van Helsing does change into a werewolf in the cutscene but it's not the same.A good idea, in my humble opinion, would have been to have Van Helsing in human form fight Dracula in human form with his weapons, then have a cutscene where Dracula basically says the kid gloves are off and they both transform, then the gamer could fight with the Van Helsing werewolf against the Demon Dracula (that way the gamers AND the producers could have what they want).
Overall, the game was quite enjoyable, and had the potential to be even better.I would recommend at least a rental of this game, because its one of kind (or maybe it's that just because I haven't played Devil May Cry).Remember, you most likely have to be in the right mood and like this genre before you can appreciate and have fun playing Van Helsing.That's my two cents.

At last, a decent movie tie in!!!!
After seeing the AWESOME film Van Helsing, I was more than desperate to get my hands on the game based on the film for my xbox. I must admit that I was very worried, as I have played many movie-based videogames, few with satisfying results (the last movie-based game I had played was Terminator 3 - Rise of the machines! You can see why I was worried!!!).However, my worries amounted to nothing.
Van Helsing is a solid game on its own, but it is more fun to be taking up the role of Van Helsing. All his awesome weapons are there, and some new ones! The fact that you can lose your hat in a fight is a nice touch, and the original voices of Igor, Dracula and Van Helsing himself add much class.
Visually, Van Helsing is nothing new. Its no Ninja Gaiden, but it does have some truly gothic locations, excellent weapon designs, and Van Helsing himself looks the part.
I was a little disappointed in terms of sound (for me, this was the games weakest area). Sure, the voices are cool, but bar that, it was a let down. The film had some truly fantastic themes, while the game's score was very dry and basic (I rarely paid attention to it). There were some nice sound effects, but small things like Mr Hyde lacking his hilarious accent, and the Tojo blades making no buzzing noise were disappointing.
Gameplay wise, the controls are quite nice, with a good balance between guns and melee weapons. The grapple rope proved very useful and easily accessable. No faults in this area.
Overall, Van Helsing makes for a rather satisfying (if short)play. Its no Ninja Gaiden or Prince of Persia, but is one of the better movie tie-in games out there. For fans of the film, I'd advise it. For fans of the action-adventure genre, its worth a look at

how could you give this 5 stars?
worst game ever! I played a demo for it and got killed a bajillion times because of the awful camera. The enemies are very frustrating and Van Helsing moves are awful. I got lost in a very small room because of the camera. Stay far away!

Van Helsing is awesome!
Van Helsing is a fun and action filled game with strong graphics, deep action, and spectacular cut scenes. As Van Helsing, you travel through the dark land of Transylvania hunting the world's most legendary evils. Armed with an arsenal of weaponry, ranging from the crossbow to the gatling gun, you fight monsters such as the Wolf Man, Frankenstein, Igor, Dracula, and dracula's vile wives. During your dark journey, you attain new weapons and acquire new abilities and items. The cutscenes are well integrated into the game and are portrayed with excellent, detailed graphics. The story is much more deep thn other games. The weapons include dual pistols, razor tojo blades, a shotgun, scimitars, and a gas-powerd crossbow. Also, the grappler gun is very cool, and you are able to get to new areas and even attack enemies with it.The camera is slightly annoying at times, but does not take away from the fun, nonstop action. The game is extremely fun and is a worthy purchase for any action/adventure fan.AWESOME!! ... Read more

Product Description

Take command of Allied troops during the hellish battles of WWII as you struggle to wrest victory from the hands of the Fascists. ... Read more

Features

• ESRB Rating: Teen
• Genre: Strategy
• Mission: Be all you can be: the future of the free world is in your hands
• Platform: Windows 98/Me/2000/XP

Reviews (68)

World War II in a box!!
** Get the most complete Battlefield 1942 Game with add-ons by choosing Battlefield 1942: World War II Anthology. If it is not available then you need to get the three games in this pack - Battlefield: 1942, Battlefield 1942 Expansion: The Road to Rome and Battlefield 1942: Secret Weapons of WWII Expansion Pack that work out a little more expensive. Battlefield 1942: Deluxe Edition has 1942 original and Road to Rome. So all you need with the Deluxe Edition is to get Secret Weapons. To be honest the steepest it works out at is. The Anthology is $30.00 and is the same price as the Deluxe Edition plus Secret Weapons. Getting all three separately will cost you nearly $40.00 so get the best deal in bundle packs.**

Want to play the best war simulation? Go play the old Operation Flashpoint and pray that the spring 2006 Operation Flashpoint 2 deadline will be met with the best war multiplayer simulator ever conceived. Want to play a single player war game that matched the experience of Medal of Honour: Allied Assault? Then go play Call of Duty and get the expansion pack Call of Duty: United Offensive. Want to the play the best SWAT type tactical one on one? Then go get Half-Life 2 and play Counter-Strike. Fancy a futuristic sci-fi multiplayer with huge maps? Then get the latest Unreal Tournament. So what else is there? Well to be honest Battlefield 1942 is straight up probably one of the best multiplayer games I have played, but be warned, the simulation experience does call for infinite amounts of patients and the game is extremely buggy to install. There is very little good technical support except for what the community offers, updates can be patchy, people end up can't playing it, and it suffers from fatal spawn point easy target syndrome that has rendered many of the maps unplayable... however new maps are updated, but just don't expect the BF1942 community to be as responsive as let's say STEAM. The bottom line here is that even single player mode is not supported. The game comes pretty much as it is served so expect to spend more than a day, maybe a week, to get it to work on your machine with lots of google searches for your problem. The solutions should be found in forums troubleshooting guides. Be prepared for discs that don't appear to like firewalls, anti-virus checkers and other background processes. This is the game of games in terms of installation bugs and crashes. In short - Requires broadband INTERNET.

Single player like we said is not supported. Multiplayer is one big CAPTURE THE FLAG, but what a game of CTF! Problem right away is the lack of classes that looks restrictive but it is actually okay, with five types of soldiers to choose from - sniper, machine gun, rockets, medic, engineer... so it is closer to Team Fortress than Operation Flashpoint that allows full configuration of up to twenty classes. Having said that it does not reduce the impact of the game, but does leave the realm of simulation, deviating into more Unreal Tournament territory where there is very real possibility of just leaving your team behind and going on a frag-a-thon across the map. If you are into that sort of thing then maybe the more recent, but certainly not as good, Battlefield Vietnam, can offer you that type of solo bush mission multiplayer experience like Far Cry with lesser graphics, but if it is Pearl Harbor, Petersburg, German Forests, French Country, Operation Overlord, multiplayer style, where you can pilot lots of vehicles, and use a little team commands, then sir, Battlefield 1942 is really what you should be playing across that 1MB connection you got jacked into that modem.

So limiting by its nature of being a multiplayer only game, with a difficult install, that is quite old'ish by today's standards, still manages to provide the best World War II multiplayer entertainment you have ever seen with Operation Flashpoint beating it for realism and detail as a simulation, but this is the war game that people play online, and it still has quite a large community, meaning plenty of 60 (30/30) servers are still up and running with Battlefield 2 coming out sometime in 2005 (hopefully early) you can still live with getting this just because it offers world war II as you want to play it, on-line. I must say that even though I am an avid CS:S player, this one has stolen it for a bit. Battlefield 1942 really is worth it, after you get it running, and after you have the patients to actually play it like a solider ---- crawl for 2 minutes before sniping 3 enemy over the space of 10 minutes with guys above you on a score of 44... patients is the virtue while playing this if you want to win.... Or if you have the skill, grab a bomber and go drop some bouncers on a spawn building for mass kill. Personally I prefer to play to the sneaking sniper. You know I 0wned u. 

Pros:
- Multiplayer must-have.
- Fairly realistic simulation experience that you will play again and again.
- The only World War II simulation worth playing on-line right now.
- Good game engine. Solid playing.
- Replaces Operation Flashpoint as best on-line war simulation game.
- Really big player numbers of servers.


Cons:
- Harsh reality of enduring install problems and updates.
- Expensive.
- Needs broadband.
- Spawn points have exploit bugs.
- No voice-com.
- Not much of a team communication interface either.
- 2002 graphics... but still nice. Models need work.
- There is a bit of a learning curve.
- Not as vast as Operation Flashpoint.

TOTALLY WORTH YOUR MONEY!
Blast away at elite german troops or snipe with the new semi-automatic sniper rifle. Either way, this game rocks! Best game in the world. Awesome multiplayer usage. Worth ten dollars completely so get it and play multiplayer at gamespyarcade! I will be there to play you Weston. Yes. This is your friend Bryce.

Lag and Bugs too much a hindrance to keep it immersive
Too much choppy gameplay prone to lag and control issues. Icky first person gameplay compared to most any FPS. Great ideas controlling the vehicles ships and planes. Lopsided gameplay that heavily favors pilots.Communication a hindrance without real time mic chat built in and a terribly late typed messages. Sometimes almost impossible with skipping key inputs and garbled messages. Therefore any real strategy on a grand scale against the enemy is laughable. Most kids online just 'rambo' and grab a vehicle or plane and take off on their own agenda.

cracking game, open play
I'll spare you all the usual blurb about this game and will simply sumarise by saying this:
- it's terrific fun.I mean it - it completely immerses you and makes you feel like you're there
- you can do whatever you want in each of the missions, including sitting back and watching your friends go in and try the attack themselves (and sometimes succeed!)
- the graphics, sound and gameplay are rivetting: you feel scared - as you should in this kind of game

I loved it, finished it and am playing it again.Thoroughly recommended...

Happy shopping
JB

Battlefiled 1942 Deluxe Review
I've owned this game now for the past few weeks and feel I am now able to offer a review.I hope some of you find it useful.

Firstly, my comp specs:

Atlon 1.2Ghz
1 Gig Ram
Geforce 4ti 4600 Graphics Board
Win XP
512K Cable Connection

I run the game in 1024 x 728 resolution with all settings set to maximum and it runs smoothly and looks great.It only 'jerked' slightly when I was downloading a 250 mb file at the same time as playing!

The gameplay itself is fantastic.You can fly planes, drive jeeps, tanks even have access to battleships.At first these are hard to master but once you've practiced, and plenty of it, you should quickly become a force to reckoned with.

Most missions are objectively based so you will have to carry these out if you want to continue.Generally you and the enemy have a pool of lives each, which are depleted as you and your team mates get killed.You have to carry out the objectives prior to all your teams lives being used.The missions are historically based and quite accurate from what I hear too.The Road to Rome expansion pack adds to the longevity of the game offering addtional maps and missions and what also adds is the fact that you can play as either the Allies or Axis.

Where this game comes into its' own is in multiplayer mode over the internet.It is fair to say you do really need a hefty connection to get the best form this as there is so much going on.Theres nothing better than sitting in an anti aircraft placement shooting at fellow interneters in their planes as they fly overhead.You can also climb into a vehicle with one of your friends so that one drives and you've got an intelligent mate doing the shooting.On line you could just play it and play it and play it.Couple this with the desert combat mod, which gives you access to jets and helicopters and puts you in the gulf war it really is just superb.

So thats it really, a thoroughly enjoyable game, well executed in my opinion, and just great fun.Buy it and enjoy it! ... Read more

Product Description

Konami (20123) King Arthur PS2 ... Read more

Features

• Deep Story Driven adventure that mirrors the plot of the film.
• Likeness of all the movie characters, including facial scans and voiceovers.
• Photo-realistic 3D environments beautifully recreated from the film.
• Dynamic fighting system featuring unprecedented horse combat components.
• Motion-captured fighting sequences and moves captured with film stunt teams.

Reviews (3)

BUY THIS GAME, its the best.
King arthur is one of the best movies of the year. i wished there would be a video game and so it happened a king arthur video game appeared for ps2. it has a reallynice coveron it, and also ill tell what you cand do in the game: you can have a sword, bow and arrow, horse, and even you can play on multiplayer 1-2 players!!!!!.i really like the scenes the they cut and put in the movies. it has really nice graphics too.Thats why you should get king arthur!! I can't wait because im getting it today.

WOW!!!!!!!
this game is the best. you can have a sword a bow and arrow and also you can ride a horse! what i really liked about this game is that it is multiplayer so that i can play with my friends. this game is the best of action games. TWO THUMBS UP!!!!!!!!!!!

Up there with the lord of the rings games
This game looks Friggin' awesome. I can't wait to play as Lancelot.You get to go to war with a bow,sword,and horse. the movie was amazing so I'm hoping the game is the same.I can't wait till it comes out.(4 swords up!?) ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Protect America from enemy forces over sea, air, and land in SOCOM:U.S. Navy SEALs. The game places you in the role of an elite SEAL commanderwhose team is asked to fight terrorists in 17 deadly missions within fourreal-world environments. With more than 30 weapons and unparalleled skills andtactical maneuvers at your disposal, you must annihilate those who darechallenge the U.S. Navy SEALs while completing your missions. SOCOM: U.S.Navy SEALs will ship with a USB microphone/headset, and will beonline-enabled with a PS2 network adapter. The game offers 12 uniquesingle-player missions and support for up to 16 players via the network adapterand a broadband connection. ... Read more

Reviews (268)

the best shooter of all time
this game is one of my favorite games, i cant stop playing it. Even though i dont have online play the single player is still fun, i deffinately recomend this, and socom 2, even if you dont have online

not my favorite genre but hey, i finished this one
..maybe its because i ahd more time to finsh socom one..but i never finished the second one and dont plan to...but this one i did

a very realistic and good game
SOCOM us navy seals is a very realistic game. For exsample: When you shoot,the guards nodice you and when you getbehind a wall the guards don't nodice you. I think you should buy it.

the shiznit
socom is one of the most intelligant games of the century. This franchise is going to go very far in life. This game is great but needs to be a two player game. And more blood geez for the type of game it is its perfect but needs blood.

worst "squad commanding" game ever...
i'm a big fan of military and FPS (well this one is 3rd person, anyway) games. this is the worst squad game i've ever played. your teammates do not react as a real human would: they stand and try to shoot ennemies in plain sight, a group of ennemies appear and your teammates do not even go to find a spot to hide, way too many bugs, your teammates shoot but they do not dudge ennemies bullets (what is that wall next to u for?!). an enemy throws a grenade and your teammate do not even jump out from the area or throw back the grenade to the enemy, etc.

they might walk like commandos/spec ops, shoot precisely like commandos/spec ops, but they do not respond at all like commandos/spec ops: i approach an entrance and these guys do not even get to hide on both side before the entrance nor a guy is watching my back. i go inside a building, these guys do not even follow me in line. u call that teamwork?

this game is only good in multiplayer.

not even worth a star. not even worth to buy.

go for Star Wars Republic commando. now that's what i call a squad that respond according to the situation with real military procedures. ... Read more

Features

• XBOX
• T (teen)
• Action

Reviews (5)

Proof that 2D fighting is alive and kicking
Ah, the 2D fighter. I prefer them over 3D fighters, myself. But most don't. And if you looked at sale figures, you can see that for yourself. It's a fact. That's why you don't see many 2D fighters being made nowadays. But thankfully, Sammy made Guilty Gear anyways. And it is good. Hurrah.

I'll start off with game modes. There are quite a few, but I only find a couple to be worth playing. Arcade mode is your standard "Fight a bunch of people, fight a boss, ending, yay" affair. M.O.M. and Survival modes are basically "Use your best move repeatedly so you don't take any damage. Repeat." They're basically asking you to cheap out the computer as much as possible for extended periods of time. Sure, playing in every other mode, you could very easily do the same thing, but at least then your health doesn't carry over, so it allows for more messing around, which is always a fun part of fighters for me. Mission mode is fun, to an extent. The first 35 or so missions are fun, but then the missions start to get kind of dumb. A lot require you to beat a tough computer oppontant with 1/4th health with the computer slowly healing during the fight. After completing 50 of the 100 missions and unlocking the 2 hidden characters, I had no real desire to go back and complete anymore, because I found them much more aggrivating than enjoyable. VS CPU mode...ummm, shouldn't you just play Arcade? Story mode is OK. It require a lot of playthroughs to get all 3 story endings for every character, but it's well worth it. By completing all 3 story paths, you unlock a "L: SP" version for that particular character, which I'll talk about later. Unfortunatly, the story mode included in the game goes into very little of the actual story of the Guilty Gear series, which is actually rather good.

Now I know I just pretty much ripped most all of the game modes in the game, but I never said anything about actual gameplay. The gameplay itself is excellent. Just the different "modes" are kind of...eh. Anyways, the gameplay is excellent, like I already said. One of the best things about the game is the balance. I've never played a more balanced fighter. Every character in the game is good. While some require you to be a bit more knowledgable of their movelists, you can beat any normal character with any other normal character. Even the big slow lumbering guy is good, a first for a 2D fighter (Unless you count Sentinal from MvC2, who was just broken beyond belief) That's the normal characters, though. Every character (Except the 2 hidden characters) also have "White: EX" and "L: SP" versions. Each character has slightly altered abilities and movelists in EX, SP and EX+SP. Most characters are just horrendously good in SP and EX+SP modes (That's not even mentioning Gold versions) but even then, they're pretty much all equally horrendously good, and it's still fun playing against them. Good luck using normal characters on EX+SP, or God forbid, Gold characters...and if you're worried about Instant Kills unbalancing the game, don't. It's not like you can just BAM out of nowhere preform an Instant Kill. You have to press the 4 main face buttons simultaniously, then your character does a little stance, the background goes dark for a second, and then they yell out "OK, I'm now in Instant Kill mode. Watch out for it." (Not really, but that's basically what that whole set-up is) Then you put in your IK motion and you do your IK move, which can be blocked. And if it's blocked, or you miss, you can't use it again for the round. So don't go into the game thinking that everything is just "OMG instant kill everybody" (Though some people do play that way =P)

Graphically...it's unbelievable how good the game looks. I haven't seen sprites this good since...ever. If I was working at Capcom, I'd be pissed. Because after seeing this game, I don't see how'd there'd be ANY WAY to keep recycling sprites, this is so far ahead. There's also only one "Pallette swap" charcter (Robo-Ky) and he's hardly even a pallette swap anyways. The basic look is the same as Ky, but he has completly different animations and moves. I don't even consider him a palette swap, but *TECHNICALLY* he is a pallette swap. The backgrounds also look as good as the characters. The quality of all the art is outstanding.

As far as the online mode...it's OK. I've found it to vary a lot as far as lag. Sometimes, you'll play with virtually no lag, other times, you'll get 3-4 second delays between when you pressed a button and your character actually doing it. So it can either be very fun or beyond unplayable.

Music-wise, it's pretty good. Unfortunatly, I hear a lot of the same songs playing during the game. I shouldn't have to go to the sound test to hear half of the songs. But that's about the only problem I have with the soundtrack.

All in all, the game looks great, the game plays great, and even though the online is hit-or-miss, the game is worth the purchase even without online support. If you're jonesin' for a 2D fighter for your X-Box, look no further. It's well worth a purchase at $20 and much easier to find than MvC2.

"Ride the Lightning"
Guilty Gear X2 isn't like you're typical 2D fighter (if you wanted to call it that). The characters here aren't simply fighters aiming to be the strongest in the world,take vengence(ok one or two are), or merely test there skills. These fighters although weird have a background which suit them beyond compare and are characters with actual emotion. If you were to view the relationship between Sol and Ky as compared too Ken and Ryu you'd probably go like, "but Ken and Ryu are like best friends and share an awesome bond," yet though Sol and Ky try to kill one another every chance they get they still share quite a tight knit bond between one another which is more dynamic then the average buddy buddy or trained since youth scenario. Of course the whole, "were enemies, but we can still work together," concept has been done but rarely used. The most memorable case of this idea is DBZ's Goku and Vegeta, for anime fans to say the least. It's obvious that it's hard to comeup with some new ways of portraying characters in fighters and the reason why they fight; but here though it's done masterfully. All the characters of this game are so easy to relate to and love for their individuality and eccentricities that seem just so human in nature. To say the least each one presents their own attitude, which for all carry a cocky under tone to it. Such as Sol's classic bad ass attitude, Baiken's cold stare, and Slayer's nonchalance.

Obviously though you all want to hear about the gameplay. It's simple, it's awesome. To start just know that the animation here is the best you'll see for the XBOX without a doubt. Also this game, as I'm sure you've heard, has some of the most unique fighting techniques to ever grace the 2D Brawling World. There's Axel with his chained sickles, the juggernaut Potemkin, the amorphous Zato 1 (Eddie), the fan wielding Anji Mito, the powerful May, the dexterious Faust,and the lovely Milla Rage for starters. If this isn't a fantastic line up then I don'tknow what is. I mean you have a little girl that uses a freakin' anchor, a chick that has killer hair, and a deranged doctor with a whacked out love for poking you "where the sun don't shine." You'll just have fun learning all of their special abilities and enjoy seeing who well crafted they were. I must admit I've never loved getting beat by the same move 100 times in a row and say, "that move is too sweet," every time until this game.

One of the most intriguing qualities of this game that, which I believe sets it apart form all other fighter in general, is the Instant Kill. That is what it is and there's no need for me to explain it. For those who are a little curious let me put it this way; if your about to get you're butt beat and you have like no life while the other is at full health a well placed IK doesn't simply turn the tide, it obliterates it.

Also another great point about this game is the various game modes. There's MOM ( Master of Millionares ), the classic survival and story mode ( which both are quite nice ),and mission mode( probably the most challenging part of the game and at the same time the most fun. That is if you have the courage to lose a lot of hours of your life). Ok so it's like only four, but they're all really good modes and reflect the time and effort put into the production of this game and it's assured A ranking quality. In the old days survival was a great way to showoff how awesome you were, but after losing the 20th round again and again to the same [...], it gets kind of boring and sets the bar for you not to bother trying anymore, unless you're just that good (DOA 2 Ultimate online scores especially). Though with this game you simply want to come back to it again and again. The reason is because after defeating the boss that shows up every 10 matches you unlock a new version of the characters such as EX, Black, and even Gold versions. I'll admit I was only able to unlock the EX versions for most characters,but it leaves you too wonder. Even more so the moves for the alternates are different as compared to the originals which can play a big part in your strategy that will either make or break you. Along with this is the great story mode set up which provides you with alternate endings which proved to be funny and emotional all at the same time. It's a little tricky at sometimes though for you have to play through the story with a character once or twice before you can unlock another route to an ending for a different person. To sum this part up the unlockables from these modes are purely awesome, with the extra characters, alternate fighting versions,and a really cool art gallery which comes to being as good as Dark Stalkers 3 ( for those who've played the game should know what I mean ).

I'm sure you're tired of reading this by now if not simply quit and gave it a bad rating,or just didn't bother with it at all. So I'll just some it up; this game is "Spellbinding" and a must have for any person who loves fighters.

Hope this review was helpful.

Nevermind.
A while back I said that Capcom vs SNK 2 EO was the best 2D fighter on the Xbox. Oh how wrong I was once I played this lil' number. Guilty Gear X2 #Reload is easily the most impressive 2D fighter, if not any type of fighter, I've ever played in my life. It takes out Soul Calibur 2, mops the floor with Dead or Alive 3, and slaps Marvel vs Capcom 2 like a wife on COPS. It has everything: fantastic character designs, easy-to-learn controls, depth, -flawless- music, tons of modes, online mode, and challenge. You really couldn't ask for more unless they somehow improve the GG series in the next installment. And aside from the 4 player action in Guilty Gear Isuka, I doubt that's going to happen anytime soon.

To compare GG to say a Street Fighter game wouldn't be fair. They're completely different game with different fighting systems. Here, you have different kinds of attacks. X is punch, A is kick, Y is slash, B is heavy slash and the right trigger is the Dust attack. Why it's called "Dust", I have no idea. But if you think you're going to get through this game, especially when dealing with I-No in Arcade mode, by mashing buttons, you're screwed. You'll have to learn all the attacks for characters to have any real success. Oh go ahead and set the game to "Easy" like I did in order to try and make the fight with her easier. It won't help. She'll still take you out. Most of the characters have the same combination for a few attacks here and there, but it's the more powerful moves that you'll want to learn. The ones that literally take out half of the opponent's health with just one attack. Oh and should I mention that Guilty Gear has Instant Kills? Yep, by pressing all the attack buttons except Dust at once and then doing the required movements, you can take out your opponent before they can even do anything. Instant Kill means instant kill. It doesn't just do a lot of damage. Once you pull it off, they're out. And most of them are pretty cool. Faust throws the enemy on a gurney, then pumps the TNT detonation box (just like in Road Runner cartoons) in their direction. Then it cuts to a film reel of a nuclear explosion, leading to him poking his head out of a bomb shelter from the ground and looking around to see where they went. Well Faust-buddy, they're gone. All that's left is dust. Ok that one was kinda cartoony to start out the talk of IK attacks with. But most of the others are pretty brutal. Baiken's cuts to an exterior shot of a traditional Japanese hut where you see her and her opponent's shadows behind a paper door. Her on one side and the enemy facing the other side. She's in a stance with her sword behind her, showing that she just dashed and slashed through them. A few seconds of silence pass, then they fall to the ground as blood sprays on the paper door. Yeah, getting an Instant Kill feels great, and it's nice to show off to people who've never seen the game in action before.

Where to start with the different modes? You have the usual arcade mode where you take on a few of the characters (not all of them though) and get your usual fighting game ending. There's the M.O.M. mode which is mostly for getting a high score and making you better and doing combos. You earn more points to fill up your Medal gague which leads to a higher score. During this mode, you can also get healing items if you're good enough to do cool moves. Survival mode is just what you expect it to be- you take on opponent after opponent until you finally lose a round and it's all over. Boss fights happen at fixed intervals, providing more challgenge (you don't recover that much between fights). Then there's the Story mode where most of the fun is. Select a character and go through the game, learning a little more about the Gear project. Or at least attempting to. While it's not the most challenging, you get a cool picture at the end which goes to the gallery. I'll warn you about Johnny's though. The final match is pretty tough. In fact, a few of them are for different characters, and your best bet of taking out the opponent is with an instant kill attack, nothing else. Mission mode is weird. You have to take out the opponent under certain conditions like having the jump command locked. Sometimes the opponent just stands there, letting you pratically mug them in seconds. Others throw seemingly impossible guys at you (Gold Sol-Badguy. Sheesh I thought I'd never finish that one. He regenerates health, deals damage harder and quicker, and never gives you a chance to fight back). And sometimes the condition is like only combos over x number do damage. So if the setting is at 3, a combo of 4 or more is required to do any damage at all. Since I don't have Xbox Live, I can't say much for the online mode other than I hear that it has the least amount of lag problems of all the online fighters out there. And the training mode isn't anything special. It would've helped a lot of people understand the game better if it helped your skills instead of just being the usual training mode all the other fighters have. They really should've implemented something like what Soul Calibur had in the Mission modes where you have to learn new techinques in order to complete it.

The graphics here are beautiful. You know when you go to a site and look at the animated sprites from games, and they look all crisp? Yeah, they look just like that here. No pixelated characters like in CvsS2EO or MvsC2. No shakey-ness. No lack of frames during attack animations. The animators put a lot into this. You can't say anything bad about them. Everything runs smoothly, there's never any slowdown. Action is fast-paced. And the character designs...oh lordy lordy lordy. Each character has their own unique style (aside from Baiken who was modeled after Kenshin from Rurouni Kenshin. Get this- they even got his voice actor to play her in this game. Talk about dedication) and cool move set. From Ky's holy officer look and calm exterior to Faust's creepy fighting stance and memorable entrance lines. I tell ya, Faust alone makes the game cool. He's 9'3" but stays in a crouched position for his fighting stance. Some of his moves include opening a door on the opponent, knocking them up into the air with a baseball bat, jumping on his giant scalpel like a pogostick and then having his derranged flowers attack from below, throwing bombs from his first aid kit and more. Faust, is friggin' awesome. And look at the size of god damn Potemkin. And Slayer, oh man is he just plain smooth. His animation for when he walks toward the enemy is so arrogant that you can't help but love it. He's what you'd get if you combined Iori and Rugal from King of Fighters and made him more laid back. And (again), you can't help but love how they did Roby-Ky.They went to town giving this guy moves. Every single attack of his is different. He fires a bazooka, shoots eye lasers, lays mines, flies around with his helicopter bike, lets out steam, and more. Forget those other fighting games where the "robot" character is just like everyone else and generic. Robo-Ky sets the standard for fighting robots. Oh, and check out the fire effects during some of Sol-Badguy's moves. Especially the ones that require his Tension meter. Believe me, after you see the characters in this game, you'll be begging for animated sprites of every single one of them. I've never seen so much detail put into a 2D game like this since the SNES/Genesis days.

Up until the review below mine, I never heard any negative things about the game's soundtrack. Well guess what. YOU FAIL AT REVIEWING. Not a single piece of music in this baby is bad. Just listen to the guitar tapping when fighting Dizzy. Or how about the epic score that accompanies Sol-Badguy and Ky's fight? And even the ambience of a junkyard when Robo-Ky's up to bat is eerie and not annoying in any sense. If you have a problem with any of the game's music, then you just must hate music in general. It's mostly upbeat rock with some cool extra tracks if you set your Xbox's language to Japanese on the system menu before starting the game up. Then there's the voice acting, which would almost be perfect. Actually, the acting itself is. But the quality holds it back. Some of them come out sounding very fuzzy, like the actors were too close to the microphones. This is very noticable during the story mode when there's tons of dialogue before the fights. And why does Robo-Ky have 2 voice actors? He has this sweet voice during matches, but in Story mode, it's completely different. Oh well, you don't fight him that often with the characters in that mode anyway, so it's not much of a big deal. Finally, all the sound effects are great. Sword slashes sound like sword slashes. Chains clanking against other weapons sound like they should. Most punches don't make that squishing sound like other fighting games*looks at SC2*. Just like the graphics, there's nothing bad here.

I'm not disappointed with GGX2#R at all. I've already placed it at the top of my game shelf with the likes of Panzer Dragoon Orta. This series is shaping up to be the next Street Fighter as far as overall fun and quality goes. With all the different modes to complete, you're going to be playing this baby for a long time. Don't expect to do everything in just one sitting. Heck, play through it a few times just to look at all the great animations in the characters. Sit back on the sound menu and listen to all the tracks and voices. Appreciate this game for what it is- a masterpiece. If you don't like fighting games, then don't get this. GGX2#R is meant to be played and appreciated by experienced fighting game players. The only people that could give this bad reviews are the ones that haven't played a fighting game since the first Street Fighters of the early 90's. Get this sucker and start boosting your skills to take on the experts online.

Great Anime Arcade Style Fighter
If you're looking for a fighting game that is more stylistic than realistic, Guilty Gear X2 might be the one for you. Anime characters use magic and swords to become victorious.

The anime is lovely, with bursts of smoke and blasts of light highlighting the combat. The background on this side-scroller is stationary, with the exceptions of an occasional walking cat or twitching plant. There isn't as much blood here as in other games, but of course the aim of beating another character into submission is rather violent :) The game has a teen rating.

Rock music blasts in the background as you fight in one of several gameplay options. There are arcade-style sequences of battles, or the MOM instant-battle to earn points. There's a mission mode to go through a series of assigned tasks, and story mode to learn more about a particular character and his/her background.

The game has a great selection of girls, guys and robots to choose from, which is nice to see in a fighting game.Anime fans will also love the artwork you can see throughout the game, to give inspiration for your own drawing projects.

Perhaps the only real complaint I have with this arcade-style anime fighting fest is the music. The loud, repetitive blasting gets very wearying after a while. If they'd used a great band, it could really have added to the experience. Still, I know some people who don't mind the music at all, so depending on your personal tastes you might like or dislike it. Luckily, the game lets you set the volume for backgrond music, voice and special effects separately. Just change the settings to suit your taset.

Highly recommended for anime fans who enjoy fighting games!

Arcade perfect port, but lags in online live play a tad
Xbox owners are finally able to experience the hype behind the GG series with an extended version the PS2 GGX2.The xbox version features three characters that are selectable right off the bat (from a bale of selectable characters) that weren't in the PS2 version, one of which is an entirely never-before-seen new character as well.

Like Capcom Vs. SNK 2 EO, GGX2R is an arcade port with every single frame kept intact.GGX2R also harneses some of the most beautifully-detailed 2d backgrounds and character animations ever seen in a 2d fighting game (only game that rivals in this aspect is the SF3 series).

Controls are fairly decent, though at times they can feel a tad unresponsive and rigid.This mainly depends on the players preference on controller setting.Overall, the controls are virtuos.

Unfortunatley, also like CVS.SNK2 EO, GGX2R lags in the online department (but not nearly as faulty as CVS.SNK2 EO).Despite the developers working on hard to prevent this problem, there is STILL slowdown when heading off against opponents online.There are times when the connection status will show "Excellent" and still have slight delay in play (slowdown).Also, if the connect shows "bad" or "poor" you can forget it. The controls will be so slow to respond that it's nearlly impossible to pull off moves correctly.However, this isn't an all time aspect, it just appears from time to time, so have no fear.

That said, GGX2R is a perfect port to an excellent 2d fighter, and with a price tag for under twenty bucks, you simply cannot go wrong.A must have title, for any sincere 2d gamer. ... Read more

Product Description

Say Goodbye to Gridlock with Microsoft’s Midtown Madness

Ever want to get behind the wheel and race like a madman through the streets of a teeming metropolis? Here’s your chance to careen your way through Chicago traffic that’s thicker than a deep dish pizza. Forget everything you learned in Driver’s Ed. Run every stop sign, drive the wrong way, or gun-it to jump a drawbridge. No-rules racing means doing whatever it takes to win. With five unique racing modes, ten unique cars, and wide-open, unbridled, pedal-to-the-metal racing, Midtown Madness is the only antidote for rush-hour blues. Now that’s racin’ Chicago style!

Features

• Smash through a mall; play chicken at the airfield; outrun police
• Tour the streets of Chicago as a high-speed racer
• Run stop signs, drive the wrong way, and do whatever it takes to win
• 10 true-to-life vehicles from roadsters to trucks
• 5 ways to race; customizable conditions (including weather and cops)

Product Description

MODEL- 97409VENDOR- SONY PLAYSTATIONFEATURES- GretzkyNHL 2005Simulating the intense action of professional hockey, the new franchise Gretzky NHL 2005 features fast-paced skating, precision passing and bone jarring checks. Combining true NHL intensity with all new graphics and a deep Online Mode, Gretzky NHL 2005 willfeature EyeToy capabilities that allow gamers to put their face into the game and become an actual player, further increasing the authentic power and emotion of the NHL. -- SPECIFICATIONs -------------------------------- ESRB Rating : E for Everyone Genre/Category: SPORTS System: Sony PlayStation 2 On-Line Compatible: YesNice electronics is your source for everyday low prices on theSony 97409 - GretzkyNHL 2005 PS2 and all other Sony Video Game Acc ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Finally 989 sports comes out with awsome game!!
This game rules! This game is a combanation of NHL Hitz Pro, and ESPN NHL 2k5. The intense hitting is like NHL Hitz Pro, and the gamplay is like ESPN NHL 2k5. They didn't copy of them but combained their features into one awsome game! See i have both Gretzky NHL 2005, and ESPN NHL 2k5, they are both good, but i think that i like Gretzky NHL 2005. It might be more money then the ESPN games, but still, for $35, it is worth it! Once you get this game you will love it instantly!

Choose another hockey game instead
As much as I wanted to really like this game, I just can't.Although we own NHL Hitz and NHL 2004, the primary reason we bought this game is because it allows you to create a player and, with the Eye Toy camera for PlayStation 2, put your very own face on it.That's the idea, anyway.In reality the player looked no more like my son or me than did any of the actual HNL players built into the game.So, in the end it is a feature with no actual benefit.Maybe that's because of poor product design or maybe it's the result of the limitations of the camera, but either way the game is not worth buying because the hockey action is so far behind the competing games.The graphics pale in comparison to either of the other games I mentioned, and the gameplay itself just isn't as fun or as realistic.Gretzky 2005 sounds great, but unfortunately isn't.

Starting to grow on me.
I'll admit that when I first picked up this game I wasn't really impressed. I'm accustomed to the ESPN and EA Sports games. To be honest with you I wanted to kill Gretzky at first for making me feel I've wasted forty bucks.

I didn't wanna come on here and trash Gretzky 2005 right away though. I decided to give the game a bit of time. Now alot of you (like me) might be used to the really fast paced hockey games. Though fast paced is fun it's also not very realistic. Don't get me wrong it's cool to body check a guy and send him flying 15 feet across the ice. It's also cool to press a speed burst button and have the speed of Guy LaFleur X 10. The only thing is that isn't real hockey.

Though Gretzky 2005 may be lacking in some of the behind the game details and options, compared to it's competitors it's gameplay is a hell of alot more realistic. One of the downfalls of this is that Gretzky 2005 may not appeal much to non-hockey fans who aren't really concearned with realism. For those of you who don't care that's cool too. For those of you who can appreciate something like that I suggest giving Gretzky 2005 a try. **RENT BEFORE YOU BUY**

There are a couple of things I don't like about Gretzky 2005 though. The controls cannot be modified to your own liking. You have no choice but to get used to it, but it won't take that long anyway. Also there aren't as many camera angle choices as compared to it's competitors. For me that wasn't really a huge issue cause it does have the traditional camera angle I am used to. I will warn that there is no "brodcast" angle as in the other hockey games. I personally don't really like the "brodcast" angle but I know some people are accustomed to it.

I give this game 4 stars. My advice ***RENT BEFORE YOU BUY***. Gretzky 2005 is not for everybody. It will be interesting to see what future versions will be like.

Best Game Ever!
989 Sports have been making some really good video gaes lately and from what I have heard and seen it seems like this one is going to be the best. The online mode is going to rock the house with some awesome tournament play and headset chat. Hope to see you guys online!

Get a clue
For the other two reviews prior to mine.... There was NO 2004!! This used to be NHL Faceoff put out by 989 sports... they didnt make an edition last year, because says were horrible in previous years. If you want a high priced game thats not worth the money...buy this one. If you want to get your money's worth stick with EA or ESPN NHL. But good luck 989, but it has been how many years since Wayne took the ice? Look for OJ Simpson football next fall.... ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

In Total Annihilation, you are a commander who can build an entire complex war. You can manipulate matter at an atomic level--but so can your enemy. Find a way to conquer the enemy and end the threat to universal existence. Battle with realistic firing cannons and nukes on diverse terrain, including canyons and molten riverbeds. Total Annihilation challenges you to set a new standard for combat strategy. ... Read more

Reviews (25)

7 years later and I just realized why I still play it...
Sad, when you think about it, that it took me that long. Anyways, there are a few things that make this game really unique. The first one is the number of units on the two sides. a bit over 60 for each side. the second one is that it is easy enough to program that there are a lot of mods on the internet for it. when i say mods, i don't mean those weak excuses that starcraft and warcraft have for mods, i mean real mods. the whole game is replaced, sparing only the engine in some. third, smaller than the other two but still important, is the diversity and usefulness of aircraft. in most other games, they exist with the sole purpose of taking out defenses so that your ground forces can destroy their base with little resistance. in Total Annihilation the aircraft can be used, unsupported, to destroy bases. Oh, i almost forgot. the base defenses are effective, unlike in command and conquer and the blizzard RTS's.
Very old, but at 5-6 bucks, a good bargain.

Awsome
This game is the best computer game ever I playgames that last a long time but i save them and come back later.You can download many patces for it for free.Anyways this game rocks.

P.S. RRROCK on Dudes!:}

MUST HAVE!!!!!!!!!!!!
ok first of all this game is really really awesome... bored of the same old starcraft graphics? where the marines and zerg die the same way EVERY SINGLE TIME?? TA (total annihilation) is awesome. got it a year after it came out. started playing it when my older brother was done with it (about a month) then i joined the communty, where i am currently part of chaos realm, our little corner builds AI's, maps and units (plus ulity's too) we are but a small fragment of what TA still is. www.planetannihilation.com lists most of the unit/AI/map clans that make them. over all the graphics, awesome exploisons, new units, cool new AI's (if u download them) i give a 9-10 to everything in TA. over all get it anyway. join the excitment!

Truly Amazing
For how old it is, this game is truly amazing. After you go far in the game, it grows so chaotic, with liquid explosions, plasma attacks, and such, that it truly amazes me. The campaign editor, however, isn't exactly the best, and the story isn't great either. But I never really cared about the story, and I always prefer Skirmishes to the one-player game in RTS games. Plus, you can download over 2000 UNITS ONLINE! Plus more than 500 MORE SKIRMISH MAPS! And all the units are amazing, you can have huge armies of units!!! There are NO OTHER FLAWS i have seen, I have played it for 3 years and never ceased playing! Buy it NOW!

War Game
This game excels in the ability to simulate a massive war.When I play with my friend, it gives me that same feel of crashing cars together when I was young.The lighting and smoke effects are amazing, especially for a game so old.Seeing the volleys of plasma blasts and rockets makes me smile with glee.Hitting a unit hard enough to make it fragment is amazing.Pieces of the unit go flying off.Units leave wreckage which impede movement and block shots.Wreckage is 3D rendered too, and has height.Ships will sink to the bottom of the water, waiting to be reused, by reclaiming it with a construction robot.With patches, you can build a ship yard in lava, which slowly damages your ships.
Terrain is 3D.Beware of hills.That BFC that you just built can't always lob a shot over the hills.Makes me want to pull out my trig book so I can calculate where to put it to fire over the hills and walls.Also, those trees are pretty, but they have several uses.They can absorb one plasma blast, or catch fire by lasers, missiles, flamethrowers, or rockets, damaging units that are too close.The forest fire moves with the wind on the map.They can also be used as a cheap source of energy, by reclaiming them.
Units tilt when going up hills, and wobble when hit by enemy fire, and rock when returning fire.My favourite is watching the battleship fire its long range cannons in a salvo fire, and then rocking a bit in the water.The turrets are amazing.The battleship has two independant turrets that can fire at two enemies at once!The Dooms Day can fire at three units at once.Several units have multiple weapons to deal with different foes.
I'd write more, but all this ranting and raving makes me want to go play it now. ... ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

"It's about nothing." --George Costanza, Seinfeld

Rarely has a game had so much hype: the cover of a national newsweekly, articles in every newspaper from L.A. to New York, comments that The Sims Online--or TSO for short--will save PC games from console-game encroachment. The Sims earned such attention because the concept was brilliant. The Sims was less a game and more a fun software toy, with no way to win. The Sims Online follows the same formula. Unlike other online games, TSO was specifically designed to not have traditional rewards such as gold, power, or magic items. There are no levels to attain, or princesses to rescue. Instead, players take joy in little victories--maybe your Sim cooperates with others, and all four of you manage to bake a pizza without burning it and then sell it. Or maybe you throw a party, and all the cool kids show up and have a good time. The core reward for playing the game is nothing... nothing more or less than the joy of playing.

Unlike the original Sims, where you created a number of Sims and controlled them all as a god, in TSO you create and control only one Sim at a time. This is a significant change, as you can't direct one Sim to perform a time-consuming task and then switch to another Sim until the task is complete. Instead, if you want your Sim to do anything in the game, you have to watch him do it in tedious real time (the fast-forward button, so vital in the original Sims, is gone). For example: when your Sim is sleeping, you have to sit and watch him sleep for the five minutes it takes him to refresh. This real-time aspect is excruciating. The game designers probably thought that a group of ten people, while watching their Sims work out in an exercise room together, would alleviate the boredom of watching Sims pump virtual iron by striking up a conversation (the chat aspect gets a lot of comment from TSO designer Will Wright). The problem is that unlike a chat room, where a topic or passion is already shared by everyone in the room, the only thing a player has in common with other folks in TSO is that everyone is watching their Sims power up. Such basic commonality doesn't spark quality conversation. The best you can hope for is some idiot inevitably commenting "nice grunt" or making some other silly sexual innuendo (often with *%$^@*# fake words generated by the much-needed obscenity filter).

If you're willing to put in the time, there's still the issue of paying month-by-month to access your Sim. For this reason, word of mouth, which caused The Sims to rocket from obscurity to the Best-Selling PC Game of All Time, is working against TSO. Casual game players loudly criticize the idea of paying for both a game and a game service, despite the fact that many of these same players are comfortable shelling out hundreds of dollars for cable, magazines, TiVo, and other monthly subscription-based entertainment services. The overall trend toward pay-per-month-of-play service is generally accepted by the hardcore gamers who play dynamic online adventure games like EverQuest, where gamers can see their monthly tribute at work in the form of fancy new spells and labyrinths. But TSO is a quietly suburban diversion for mostly casual gamers, filled with objects that are mundane by design. In TSO, you putter, you work out, you chat with others in the real world via your avatars. To put it another way: you live a slightly zanier version of everyday life, and frankly, that costs a lot already.

TSO still has the core elements that made the first game a classic: obsession with the minutiae of daily life, amusing content from the game designers, and the mind-bending thing that happens when you've been playing too long--that the real world starts to look exactly like The Sims. (Couch shopping caused that surreal "Is it Sims, or is it real?" experience for a friend.) TSO may still prove to be the Goliath the media predicted it would be thanks to the nature of ever-changing online games. Ironically, the monthly fees that bother so many new TSO players will pay for the improvements those same players crave. For example, EA plans to release new functionality that will allow players to design clothes and objects (a big hit with players of the original Sims).

TSO is fluid, and the game reviewed as it is at launch may be very different from TSO in a year, when the designers are able to respond to player requests. Even until that time, there are good things about this game. When your character is "greened up," dressed in disco finery and looking to hit it lucky with the dice, TSO can be a blast. But the tidal wave of hype may have done more harm than good for a game that has a simple, Seinfeldish heart. --Jennifer Buckendorff

Pros:

• Gameplay similar to The Sims
• Wide variety of social interactions, including a deep menu of dance moves
• Persistent online world lets you share the Sims experience with others

Cons:

• Lack of fast-forward feature is a drag
• At launch, too few in-game money-making opportunities
• At launch, game world seems empty--there's not enough to do
• Players of The Sims, used to easy money through cheat codes, may balk at having to actually work for in-game cash

Reviews (212)

3/10- Still Not Good
Ok I played it during the summer and might I say its the worse expiernence ever.I do have to say this game "HAS POTENTAL"The game designers can make it work.They just need to get off their lazy ass and create something desent. Short and simple well wait another year to probally go back

Sims Online is really fun...
I was pleasantly suprised when I played this game, normally I am more of a RPG guy, but this ame is crazy.A lot more creative than I was expecting.I loved it...getting it for the kids as an x-mas gift...

Making Magic vanising items
Has anyone have the same problem as me?After installing Making Magic, my iguanas and love birds dissapeared. I have also lost the ability to go to the comunity lots. Please e-mail me if there is a solution

It's much improved now
Many many changes have been made since the inital release.This should've been the version that was initially rolled out.More changes to come!

Mindless Chatroom with a few game elements thrown in!
TSO was and still is HUGE disappointment. Its merely achatroom with a Sims theme and ITS NOT WORTH the cost. I recently cancelled after foolishly paying for months of what is essentially a giant Sim Chatroom with some game elements thrown
to give the casual player the false assumption that they are playing an actual game when in fact they're only participating in an interactive chatroom.

Why can't Electronic Arts spend more time on making a really good game or two, rather than making a below average to horrible animatedchatroomthat has little to offer? ... Read more

Product Description

As the military leader of our species, the player must gather the resources to train and expand the military and lead them to victory in a battle for land and power, as human exiles in the far-future struggle to survive on the rim of the galaxy. Engage in three different campaigns and 30 different missions in the battle for control over the fate of the galaxy. ... Read more

Features

• 30 unique missions will challenge you across 3 different campaigns as you control the fate of the galaxy
• Control any of 3 different species, each with unique units, technologies, attributes, and abilities
• Included Campaign Editor allows players to edit units and create their own campaigns
• StarCraft boasts award-winning advanced control features, such as waypoints and training queues, to provide enhanced gameplay
• Multiplayer games for up to 8 players over IPX Networks and Battle.net, 4 players with Direct Cable Connection, and 2 players with modem Connection

Reviews (270)

One of the best
... titles in real-time strategy games.
Starcraft didn't really set a new standard when it was release for graphics, engine and gameplay. However, as people played it they realized how perfect this rts title really was. Easy to learn, difficult to master. It retains its flavor and fun even after all these years and so many other titles that came out after it.
A great sci-fi rts game that should be in the collection of any fan of the genre. Don't miss out and make sure you also pick up the expansion back: Brood War.

A Game I Highly Recommend For Your Santa List
Space....the final frontier. In this final frontier, you embark on a journey to the outer reaches of the galaxy, where you encounter three races involved in a war for the future of the universe; the Zerg, the Protoss, and the Terran. At this time, the Zerg are invading everywhere and on every planet. Unfortunately, they have hit a couple of stops in the road of divide and conquer. On the planet of Earth; the Terran, future earthlings, are fighting to defend against the Zerg as they have been launching attacks without stop. However, the zerg are no match for the Terran unless the Zerg pull out the Mutalisks, flying beasts that can't be stopped without having great losses. In the meantime, the Protoss have also become a big pain in the BLEEP. The protoss seem bent on destroying their equals as the mission goes, but after the Terran put them in their place, the Protoss seem to want to leave them alone. Then, the Zerg have decided to launch one last offensive on the Terran people............
On the Protoss homeworld, the Zerg are also taking over. The Protoss are on the brink of destruction when one of their kind, disobeying the directorate, have called on the Terran to come to their aid. With the aid of the Terran, the protoss have new hope and more time to rebuild their armies. Most of the time, the Protoss go on their own, asking for help on the way. Then, in their final hour, the Protoss have to call on the Terran one last time. With their final attempt at a counteroffensive........
Now the Zerg, though they may be the "bad guys" in this game, are actually at war with the Protoss and Terran over a big misunderstanding. The Zerg only live to serve the cerebrate, to carry out the will of the Overlords, and just plain are slaves. The Zergs cannot exist without the cerebrate and the Overlords are the only reason the Zerg underlings can be created, to keep them in line. So, the Zerg are going to be on the brink of destruction as well until the Zerg capture Lt. Kerrigan, a Terran commander that now is infested with the Zerg parasite in their mind. She knows many of the Terran secrets and now the Zerg are planning to launch a MAJOR counteroffensive......

The Game of a lifetime of STINKAGE AND FUN!
Starcraft.....
the game of building a lot of stuff...researching as much crap as possible...and BEATING THE CRAP OUT OF THE OTHER PLAYER.

The game...it is partly strategic....but...the game is basically about building as many units as possible and hoping that the other guy doesn't have as much as you do.

if you are having trouble on the game...cheat...thats all there is to it...if the game gets so boring at times....Cheat.....thats all there is to it.

The game of Starcraft is complicated as you advance in the game....but..if you have friends in high places(wink wink)...you should be able to do just fine. But....the game is so easy at the start that you wouldnt even need to have friends in high places when you are going solo on it.

Now multiplayer........thats very complicated...you are basically battling against other players who have more experience than you do and you are HELPLESS to an attack by the people you are against. My advice....dont go into any rooms that say noobs only. the people in there are basically setting you up for the BIGGEST BEATING OF YOUR LIFE......i know.....it happened to me too. This is the area in which you NEED friends in high places. My advice..again...join clans...you will be surprised in what help you get there.

THE BAD POINTS OF THE GAME

Now my review basically looks like its all about bad points in the game....but it just goes to show that what i am about to tell you may be helpful....or u cant do anything about it...you decide that for yourself.

1. The game has LAG.....it has it in multiplayer and single..nothing you can do about it accept that you have to wait for it to stop.
2. You can get confused very easily as the game progresses further into the mystifying depths of starcraft.
3. You also can get very frustrated...easily...jist keep a cool head throughout the whole game or else get off and walk away for a while.

hope this helps you understand starcraft better...
W.G.J.T.

Easy to learn
i do not have this but am planning on getting it. I played it at a friends place and i learned to play it in 15 minutes. At the begginning i didnt even know how to move or build but after a while i got the hang of it. I got slaughtered because i only had 7 of those red dinosaurs (zergs i think) and the opponent sent a army of 25 marines to ake me out.

This game is really fun to play

VERY good game, especially if you do everything
I am a huge fan of stradegy games. However a lot of stradegy games loose there fun after a while because you have mastered it and nothing changes. This game is different. In addition to regular gameplay and missions you can play online for against other people play. There is also games called map settings games. this is why it never gets boring. People are always making map settings games that have nothing to do with the accual starcraft game. Anything from SCV football to snipers, these can all be made and played online againsed other players, and since new and different maps are being made all the time, it never gets boring. Definetly a good game for any gaming fan. ... Read more

Features

• Xbox Exclusive Features:
• Mechagodzilla is rebuilt and back for more! Mechagodzilla 3 Attacks!
• New Melee Mode allows battle it out against 3 AI at once!
• Take the fight to the alien home world of Vortaak
• Go toe to toe in the largest boxing ring in the world. Game Features:

Reviews (19)

Great Game!
But if Destoroyah really starts beatin' you up, go to a wide open space, and if he's far enough away, charge your special attack to THE MAXIMUM (press & hold black button when gauge is completely full). But if you have Anguirus, since his roar special attack is short range, let him try your spiked back. Anyways, controls aren't that bad, though because of using every button but Back(maybe so), recommended for Ages 10+. Several people talk about certain games as in stupid comments like "Oh! The graphics are bad! So don't buy this!" If it effects the game's fun, yeah, but some don't even tell how fun it actually is! My fun rating for this game: 7 of 5 stars! I just sat upstairs constantly on the Xbox and Sonic Adventure 2: Battle(GameCube) a break! I thought it was unbeatable! Melee Mode(Xbox only-mode) was my favorite mode. Team Battle was similar. You could be on the red or blue team and you did the same thing you do in Melee Mode: get points! Knock down a monster: 100 points. KO an opponent: 500 points. Style points: 50 points. Health Bonus(if tied with other monster(s)): (depends on health). Plus, unlike other games, the monsters don't all have the same attacks.(except ones like Godzilla 90's and Godzilla 2000, King Ghidorah and Mecha King Ghidorah) This is Xbox Live compatible for new content. Fighting fan or not, fun for everyone!

Com+Rage Mode=Run!
It's a game which uses every button on the Xbox controller, except Back. Y for defense, A for punch, B for attack, X for kick, the black button for special attack, the white button for picking up/throwing certain things, right trigger for jump, left trigger for run when walking, and Start for pause. But for small hands, the white and black could be tough to reach. And story mode, it doesn't save inbetween. If you quit, you start ALL OVER AGAIN. But luckily, it does save stuff you unlocked. Melee mode you won't find on the GameCube but one of my favorite modes! Graphics are great!

ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAR!
I've always been a Godzilla fan but never knew just how much until I met Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters (GDAM).I almost bought the Nintendo Gamecube just to play it.I'm glad I waited.

I've been playing giant monster games since the 80s.I loved Crush, Crumble & Chomp! and immediately took to Rampage.What can I say, I like the idea of stepping on people.Wait, that didn't come out right.

Taking its name from the insane movie title of the same name, GDAM stays true to its roots: this is a flat-out battle for the title of toughest, baddest giant monster.And you can play all of them:

· Godzilla: In both 90s and 2000 incarnations.Godzilla's breath weapon causes his spines to glow and he rears back, just like in the movies.Godzilla can also puff out small fireballs.
· Anguirus: An ankylosaurus with a horn.Probably the most challenging opponent in the game.CURSE YOU ANGUIRUS AND YOUR SPIKED HIDE!
· King Ghidorah: A three-headed dragon that can blast electric rays from his eyes.He also has a very distinctive cry that sounds like a bird chirping through a Wurlitzer organ.
· MechaGodzilla: A mechanical version of Godzilla, complete with finger missiles, chest ray, electronic breath weapon, and those annoying heat-seeking missiles that pop out of his sides.
· Rodan: A pterodactyl with eye rays.Sure, he had his own serious movie.But in GDAM, everything's fair game, so every single special power any monster has ever displayed is here in force.Thus Rodan shoots eye beams, `cause he did it in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II.
· Destoroyah: It's hard to describe this thing.Put big wing-like ears on Godzilla, a pair of stubby wings on his back, lots of spikes on his joints, a weird forked tail, a big honkin' horn and you've got Destoroyah.This monster's most irritating ability is its horn, which it transforms into a sort of laser lance that can dice up opponents.I quickly learned to keep my distance and throw buildings at it.Come to think of it, that's also how I beat MechaGodzilla.
· Megalon: What amounts to a humanoid beetle with drills for hands, Megalon is certainly funky looking enough to make for an interesting opponent.Megalon can burrow, which makes him difficult to attack from a distance.
· Mecha-King Ghidorah: What happens when King Ghidorah loses his wings and middle head?Why, he gets a cybernetic replacement of course!He's pretty much the same as King Ghidorah only he has a force field that occasionally pops up to inconvenience you.
· Gigan: Another cyborg bird-type thingy, Gigan has one eye, blades for hands and a fin on his back.And he makes weird shrieky metallic sounds.He can also teleport and has a blade in his chest.He's up there with Megalon for the freakiest monster award.
· Orga: