Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams Review

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(More customer reviews)Most video games, especially those of the action/adventure genre, have you playing as some larger than life character.Some sort of secret-agent-ninja-commando-death-squad-special-forces-assassin type thing.Not Silent Hill 2.In this one, you are James Sunderland, an average person without special skills or training.
And you know what?It's a really welcome change from the norm, and it really helps the atmosphere of the game to not have that kind of action-movie nonsense infiltrating what it supposed to be a horror experience.
It begins with our protaganist inside a rest-stop on the outskirts of Silent Hill.He's contemplating the letter that he just received from Mary, his wife who he'd thought was dead for the past three years.He must venture into Silent Hill to get the answers behind that letter.
Not a bad opening storyline, and games like this rely most heavily upon story.Actually, calling this one a "game" is perhaps a bit of a misnomer--it feels more like an interactive experience.You *experience* Silent Hill 2 more than play it.
But, the gameplay aspect is there as well, in the form of monster battles and puzzles.One of the greatest things about this title is that it allows you to vary the difficulty of either of these aspects.You can set the puzzles from ultra-easy to ultra hard, and you can set the monster battles in the same way, or even set it so that you won't get attacked at all--just enjoy the atmosphere and storyline.You can really customize the game to your tastes this way.
The atmosphere is great.I like to play it at night, or on a gloomy winter day, with all of the lights off.Just make sure that nobody can sneak up on you, or you'll likely have a heart attack!Games like this are actually perhaps scarier than a horror movie or novel; the interactive aspect making immersion more of a factor.
This game actually isn't perfect.The interface is a bit clunky and, on normal setting, at least, the puzzles can be rather obscure.This can lead to puzzle-frustration, the Achille's heel of adventure games.You'll likely find yourself wandering around the same places over and over again, saying "what the hell?" when you have no idea what you're looking for or are supposed to do.But, when you finally do figure it out, it's a satisfying experience.Also, combat is pretty awkward, but, like I said, James Sunderland is just an average guy, so this makes some sense.
With these minor flaws, my real score is about a 4.5, so it gets five stars by default.
This game is available for both PS2 and Xbox.Either version is worth playing, but the Xbox version has slightly enhanced graphics and a side quest, which adds some game time and makes it the better version.
Silent Hill 2 is highly recommended to anyone age seventeen or older.

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Product Description:
With its Poe-like atmosphere, dense fog, pitch-black hallways, and a cryptic letter from a dead wife, Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams promises to surpass the paranoia created by its predecessor, Silent Hill. The sequel opens with James Sunderland, the series' average joe protagonist, reading a mysterious message that says, "Silent Hill, our sanctuary of memories. I'll be waiting for you there." More puzzling is that the note is signed by Mary, his deceased wife.
James sets out for Silent Hill hopeful that he'll find a trace of Mary. After an aborted attempt by car, James plunges into the dank fog and embarks on his quest by foot. Enter Angela, a woman who bears a striking resemblance to Mary, and who also beckons him with another curious message. It seems James can't go back; strange things are happening in Silent Hill.
Silent Hill 2 offers 10 new formidable foes, plenty of puzzles, and bone-chilling gameplay. The sequel's new story and characters promise to thrill and terrify. The visual and sound effects are amazingly detailed and macabre, and, if you're playing on a system with surround sound, you may find yourself keeping the lights on.
Note: This product description refers to the PlayStation2 version.

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Astro A40 Audio System - White Review

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(More customer reviews)I have had my A40 system for about 6 months now, and it's the best purchase I've made in a while. I've tested all the major headsets available, and this one is by far the best. It sounds amazing, it's extremely comfortable to wear, and Astro Gaming is a great manufacturer. It's obvious to me that Astro takes great pride in all of their products, and I highly recommend buying directly from them, rather than amazon.

The Headset:

The headset is very easy to adjust, and fits all headsizes. On both sides of the headset are speaker tags. These tags are detachable, and comes in packs of three. Two solid ones, and one with a hole (for the mic). If you don't need the mic, you can remove the tag with the hole and replace it with a solid one, giving the headset a more symetric look. Astro allows you to upload images and design your own speaker tags, which is great for customizing your headset. The mic is a single boom with no wires. The mic is very high quality, and will attach to both sides of the headset. As far as sound goes, I give the Astros a 9/10. I think the bass could be a little deeper, but I'm not complaining at all.

The Mixamp:

The mixamp is pure genius. There is only one wire going from the headset to the mixamp. If you're playing Xbox, you will also have a wire going from the controller to the mixamp. I strongly suggest that when you buy this system, you get the TOSlink cable for the best possible sound. The mixamp has two knobs on it. The main one is the master volume control. The smaller controls the game sound to voice sound ratio. The mixamp runs of USB power, which is great because the Xbox has two USB ports on it. You can also get 4 AA batteries which will give you 12-14 hours. Astro just released a new version of the mixamp, which now supports use with the PS3 right out of the box.

The cables:

The system comes with tons of cables, allowing you to connect it with just about anything. It includes a cable to plug your headset into a headphone jack and a mic jack, a cable to plug your headset into a headphone jack, and a few other cables that I have never used. Astro makes sure that you have all of the tools necessary to maximize your headset.

Customer Support:

My headset got a short in the wiring a couple months after purchase. Astro responded quickly to my emails, fixed the headset in about 3 days, and got it back to me just over a week after it broke. They clearly care about customer satisfaction.

Astro Gaming:

Astro offers many accessories and replacement parts for the A40 system. If you have any gaming needs, Astro probably has something just for it. You can also download product manual on their site before making any purchases.

I love my A40 system, and as soon as Astro comes out with a new model, I'll be grabing that one as well. Hopefully it will be wireless.

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Product Description:
The Astro A40 Audio System combines crystal-clear voice communication with pinpoint-accurate 5.1 Dolby Digital and Dolby Headphone surround utilizing the most user-configurable headset on the planet.In addition to the A40 Headset's removable speaker tags (which are high-quality collectibles in their own right), you'll find a completely user-configurable microphone boom. It attaches to either side -- or removes completely for solo gaming and music sessions.The A40 Audio System includes the external A40 MixAmp, providing Xbox and and Xbox 360 users with combined voice and game sound -- ideal for tournament play and discrete "midnight gaming" sessions. A discrete game/voice balance control enables you to find the ideal in-game setting.PC Gamers benefit as well, by offloading surround decoding and voice communication duties to the A40 system. Combine multiple A40 MixAmps and you'll be provided a private, hands-free, full-duplex voice communication channel -- much higher-quality than VoIP systems, with zero network and system lag.Every A40 MixAmp is daisy-chainable, and each comes complete with everything you need to connect the built-in voice communication feature of multiple MixAmps.The A40 Audio System gives in-person teams the competitive edge by selectable/mutable Xbox Live communication while maintaining a dedicated, private chat channel when daisy-chained.The A40 Headset comes with a quick-disconnect cable and multiple ends: an A40 MixAmp cable (also compatible with portable audio players), and a standard dual-jack PC connector with in-line volume and mute control. Inject your games with your own soundtrack. Connect your mp3 player through the mixer itself with the included cable. Free up valuable system resources, and put your music within arm's reach.*Please Note: This version of the MixAmp is compatible without an adapter for use on the PS3

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PSP F1 06 (English version) Review

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(More customer reviews)when it comes to f1 gamesthis is the best you can find out side of ps3. i haven't been able to put this down in days. it have every car from the 06 season, works great on american psp's and even has the 3 stage quialifing. the brake assit is kind of over powering but its fair and does not start earily than you would with it off. load times suck but there few and far between since it loads the whole race weekend. if you like f1 this is a game to get!

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Product Description:
Formula One 06 on is all about speed, competition and fast-paced action. If you're a novice, switch on the improved driver and racing aids to race for fun, or turn them off for a full length Grand Prix experience if you're a Formula One professional.Formula One 06 features the ability to Network Play between PlayStation 2 and PSP. This means players can now compete online across platforms to see who the fastest Formula One 06 racer is. In other words, if you own the PlayStation 2 version of the game and your friend owns the PSP version, you can still compete on the same circuit!For the first time, the experienced Studio Liverpool development team has been hard at work on both titles, to ensure the 2006 games remain innovative and fresh.Brand new features include:Accessibility: Thanks to new racing aids, any gamer can pick-up and play Formula One 06 and enjoy the exhilaration of driving a Formula One car. Equally, if you're a confirmed F1 driver, you can scale the gameplay to make it more simulation oriented. Either way, you will have access to a Tips and Learning Centre to constantly improve your racing skillsOnline Play: You can now race online in a complete 18-race season! Relive the excitement and the competition of a full championship season. Winning it will make it even more satisfying!Cross Platform: Race online between all PlayStation platforms!Realism: Race in this year's championship with all the 2006 drivers, cars, teams, circuits and rules!The PSP version takes advantage of Infrastructure Mode allowing you to race online, a first for Formula One on PSP.So... take a seat, put on your racing gloves and get ready to experience the action-packed racing fun that is Formula One 06 on PSP.

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PS2 Guitar Hero World Tour - Stand Alone Drums Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought the GHWT full band set and those first generation drums were not of the best quality. Although they worked okay at first, they eventually stopped working properly. The bass pedal was plastic, felt flimsy and I damaged the sensor pad inside of it within 2 days.I recently bought the stand alone drums and they seem to be a little bit better. The cymbals seem to be much sturdier. All drum pads and cymbal pads are covered with a nice smooth skin that feels good and sounds a little bit quieter than the original rubber drum pad material. This drum kit is really accurate so far. Its sensitive enough and I haven't had any crosstalk issues yet (crosstalk = when you only hit the orange cymbal, the red pad also registers a hit).

My only complaint is that the same plastic crappy pedal is used in this kit. It doesn't feel too sturdy, but it has withstood a pounding by my fat and heavy size 11's.Red Octane did improve the bass pedal sensor a bit by adding the same skin material as the pads and cymbals. It looks like it is some kind of protective layer for the sensor pad underneath it. I think I am going to buy an upgraded electronic bass pedal so I can feel more comfortable bangin that thing with my fat feet. That will also give me the option to have some double bass action.

The kit comes with some cheap balsa wood drumsticks. I suggest sticking with these sticks, because heavier sticks will probably destroy this set with moderate pounding. I can bang on the set as hard as want with these sticks and because they are so light, I don't feel like I am going to break the set.

Overall, I am satisfied with this new drumset. I have had it for about a week now and it's still working well. I just hope it holds up for a while this time around.

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Product Description:
Guitar Hero World Tour delivers the most realistic drum experience ever in a video game with this wireless authentic drum kit.Featuring three drum pads, two raised cymbals and a bass kick pedal, the drum controller combines larger and quieter, velocity-sensitive drum heads with soft rubber construction to deliver authentic bounce back and is easy to set up, move, break down and store.

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Playstation 3 Lava Glow Wired Controller without Rumble - Blue Review

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(More customer reviews)Bright..... the lights are much brighter then i thought they would be. The lava is pretty neat. Not as well made as the sony controller but well worth the money.... great alternative to the sony for [...] bucks. i am very happy with this controller much better then i thought it would be... i highly recommend this product. The buttons also feel pretty good and responsive.

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Product Description:
This liquid filled, glowing, wired controller is custom designed to be the most comfortable controller ever created. The Lava Glow utilizes the latest technology to provide you with the most comfortable and enjoyable gaming.

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PlayStation 3 USB Cable (x2) Review

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(More customer reviews)This picture does not do the product justice.This package contains two SONY-made-and-packaged usb cables specifically for PS3 controllers and/or PSP-to-PS3 connectivity.The cable length is 10 ft, waaay longer than the usb cable included with the PS3.The price is really good too.I checked around and the best deal I found elswhere was $20 for a single usb cable.I absolutely recommend this to any PS3/PSP owner.

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Product Description:
USB 2.0 Cable Pack 2x PS3

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Robotech: Battlecry Review

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(More customer reviews)As a long-time Macross/Robotech/anime-in-general fan I've been waiting for a game like this for a long time and it's finally here. After the disappointing cancellations of the US releases of Macross VFX 1 and 2 I thought I'd never get my chance to fly a Veritech. So after seeing the limited edition release of this
game I decided to give it a try and it has not dissapointed.
Fans of the series will relish the fact that TDK has created a storyline that is original but at the same time allows you to experience some of the events seen in the TV episodes. Another welcome feature is the return of the voice actors for Roy, Rick, Lisa, and Mynmei to reprise their roles (as well as Max's actor, although he's playing the lead role Jack Archer). Hearing Lisa's voice telling me to go rip it up with the Zentraedi made me feel like a kid again.
But it's not just fanboy appeal that makes this a great game. The cel-shaded graphics look awesome and really enhance the anime atmosphere. Dogfights and ground combat are amazing, with dozens of friendlies and Zentraedi (and scads of missiles) making for a lot of furious and jaw-dropping furballs. The controls are also great and make the transformations into the three modes easy and seamless.
The game is not without faults however. The missions are very creative in design, variety, and execution but can sometimes be frustratingly confusing when it comes to knowing where to go or what to do to complete them successfully. The escort/defense and occasional rescue missions can be maddening as well. And as I said the controls are great but the Guardian and especially the Battloid mode don't really give you the sense of moving in 3-D especially with the camera angle generally staying behind your Veritech and therefore not allowing you to see targets almost directly below or above you (even though you have the gun aimed and firing at them).
Both of these problems - and a few more niggling ones which I'll omit for brevity - are more than outweighed by the overall quality of this game. Admittedly it will most likely appeal to fans, but license aside it's still a great action game that will appeal even to gamers with no knowledge of the anime.
On a side note: True fanboys might be interested in the limited edition version which is exactly the same game but has a bunch of nice swag (such as a soundtrack CD and t-shirt) packaged with it.

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