I've been playing it the last few days. It is well worth the money.

Sent using tapa

Wife an I finished tonight. Overall 

Good:
It does have a little of everything.
It is Halo. Quite frankly, I forgot most of the time I was not Master Chief.

Bad:
Free roam city. Just wasting time.
Lame story. I don't usually get into the story anyway, but this one just felt lame. I can't even imagine looking for the audio logs and listening to more of that crap.
Short.
Dark. 90% of the time had the visor on.
Character design was horrible. Talk about fugly.


Quoting my wife here...
"Every Halo after the first is even worse than the on before it. What a letdown. That wasn't worth the $60."

See and I would say quite the opposite. I think every Halo game has actually improved. ODST is short, but the game style is completely different than the other three and I really think it adds a cool element to the game. The mp is awesome I think. Of course the extra disc is just Halo 3 mp, but the firefight mode is a blast. A real change from the typical Halo game types. I only wish it were longer, but it has a lot of replay value in my opinion and firefight gives it quite a bit of life. Plus if you got it at toys r us you got a $20 gift card with it, totally worth it .

My only gripe about the UMD movies is that they are too quiet. I have to travel a lot for work, and in the car with headphones on, the volume cranked all the way up and even the +2 in the menu for umd movies on I cannot hear lots of the parts of the movies. Just way too quiet, and then insanley loud in action parts. For a handheld sony should even out the sound a bit more, even if it is different from the real version. Im telling you, if there is any outside noise at all you wont be able to hear a large amount of the dialouge even with eveerything maxed out.

Not worth the money. Speaking as an owner and having around 10 games, not worth it. I wish it were, but the games just arnt good enough to warrent one yet.

This sentance is why nintendo is having trouble catching up with the other two

No, one of the main reasons that Nintendo is having trouble catchin gup with the other two is the "This is the shiznit, yo!" mentality surrounding those other two consoles. Sony started playing that card with the PS1 (despite similarly kid friendly representation as Crash Bandicoot and the like) and really ramped it up for PS2. Micro$oft followed on those coat tails and the media gobbled it up. The teen masses followed.

While Nintendo hasn't help shed it's light hearted image over the years by continuing to feature Mario, Link, Samus, and such, they've continued to produce fantastic gameplay throughout each of it's generations. That is almost always overlooked by the bright-shiny centric crowds of today. I expect this trend to continue next generation as well... and to be honest I'm counting on it.

Even now, into my 30s, Nintendo has never failed to provide me with entertaining and innovative gameplay. Gameplay and magic that just cannot be captured on the PC. If that means I have to resort to using my PC for my shoot 'em simulators and other such mature games, so be it. It's my choice. Just as it's anyone's choice NOT to support Nintendo (or whomever). We should be celebrating these choices rather than bashing them.

Im sorry, did you think I was bashing nintendo? Nintendo is disconnected from the gaming community. If they wernt, they would stay more mainstream. If you took what I said as some overriding attack on nintendo, then you need to really think about it. Nintendo may produce great gameplay, but they are getting farther and farther away from the gaming community. They have brand spanking new handheld out with some great possibilities, and actually have some serious competition in the handheld market and what are they pimping? A game where you can pat a dog. Please. Get your head on nintendo. They are so self absorbed in japan. It is really hurting them. Im sorry I dont "celebrate their choices" and I think I can bash it all I want. It isnt smart bussiness. How long can nintendo hold on while continuing to lose market share in both the console market and the handheld market? They are still making money now but how long can that last? I would hope for a long time, but common sense says otherwise.

You want to know the truth? I love nintendo. I own a gamecube and a gba. Somehow you took my saying nintendo is getting disconnected from the gaming community (which I truly believe it is) to mean that people shouldnt like nintendo and that I should celebrate their choices. To be honest, I dont know where the hell you are coming from. I believe I should be able to criticize nintendo, and that line really summarized well the way nintendo seems to think about gamers. I want nintendo to do well and I too have enjoyed all three of their games over this generation, but I think the most storied video game company can do a little better then a company knwon for making electronics and a company making operating systems.

This sentance is why nintendo is having trouble catching up with the other two:

Patting a dog and telling it to stay [in Nintendogs] is something that anyone can enjoy.

Wow, how disconnected is nintendo?

And dimmona was pretty right on with his summary. Nintendo doesnt seem to get involved  in the bashing between the other two. Probably because they dont really have a chance right now.

This line from sony is great:

When we released the original PlayStation at 39,800 yen ($368), Nintendo's Super Famicom was in the 10,000 yen range ($100 range). Still, everyone went for the PlayStation.

And believe it or not, ms is one upping sony by pointing out that the xbox sold more units in the last 4 years then classic nes systems were sold in the same 4 year period. Thats why price doesnt matter!  :wink:  :roll:

And this part too:

We'll try to be calm and avoid the violent hyperbole that spoils so many gaming websites, but are you telling me that Congress can hold hearings about steroids in baseball, but they can't do anything about jumping puzzles in first-person games? YOU CAN'T SEE YOUR MOTHERFUCKING FEET. IT DOESN'T WORK.

I understand this occurring in games like Turok 3. That's why they're called bad games.

Haha, I found it really funn actually. This part cracked me up, and was so true:

The crate has long been held up as a symbol of lazy game art design, a crutch that game level decorators have been falling back on for fifteen damned years. Come to think of it, have you ever actually seen one of those wooden crates in real life? And did you smash it to see if there were bullets and medicine inside?

If and when the X-Box 360 is either steeply delayed or released and shown to be profoundly flawed, I could see myself coming back here and praising T-Dub's foresight.

As it is, Microsoft delivered a excellent gaming console into a market nobody really thought they could successfully penetrate, secured some fantastic exclusive franchises like Halo, KOTOR, and Ninja Gaiden to bolster their library, and successfully implemented a unified online console gaming service that has proven to be years ahead of the competition.  Microsoft's track record in the console market is pretty solid so far, and it's going to take more than just conjecture to convince me that they're off to a bad start with the X-Box 360.

-Autistic Angel

I completley agree! MS has very much so impressed me with consoles so far. I thnk they will continue to do with and am not at all worried about the launch. They will be ready. MS knows the stakes are high. They are going to be ready.

Well, here is something nobody ahs brought up about backwards compatability that will make me hold on to my xbox 1 anyways, all of my saves are on the hd and are too large to put on a memory card. Why would I want to play those games again and start from the beginning? That alone makes backwards compatability completely pointless for me. Unless the figure out a way to transfer saves.

In the long run, all the differing reports may end up givin ms more steam. By dragging it out they have gotten much more press out of it then sony or nintendo, and the xbox 360 has a lot of momentum right now. Its not necessarily bad for them to not let it be known as of yet.

Editors edit reviews all the time. It's their job, especially if they feel the reviewer isn't giving the game a fair shake. As a freelancer this guy should be professional enough not to run to the Internet just because an editor changed a line of his precious text.

Gamespy probably could've handled it better. Contacted the guy, let him know they were altering the review and give him the chance to remove his name from the byline if he disagreed with the changes. Still doesn't excuse this guy's behavior, though.

I can see them editing his text to a point, but flat out changing the score? Come on, dont you see some kind of problem here? Doesnt that irk you even just a little, or do you really feel gamespy was in the right? They should never have done that and kept his name on it. What choice does he have to say what happened besides going to the internet? Oh no, a whistle blower, what a loser  :roll: . At least the review doesnt have his name on it anymore.

Most folks on GAF and IGN boards feel it was done by a fairly infamous guy, same one who made the fake super mario gba game trailer, he's top notch at what he does and this looks like his work.

Your absolute dead giveaways, are the Nintendo logo, Nintendo doesn't screw around with this stuff and that one was off a little bit, and then the Mario and Samus models, they were definately Amateur and Nintendo would never use a video that has such horrible modelling of their own characters.

It definately looks cool, and maybe it's a leaked concept idea that they had, but it's about 99% confirmed fake.

And the reason it's considered a Revolution fake is because the video explicitly uses the word Revolution and Revolution Day.

Well even if it is a fake, if the revolution is going to be birtual reality with the ability to play regular games as well, I would be damn impressed, and I could see some serious troubles for ms and sony. Im more interested about the revolution latley then the xbox 360. Mostly because as sweet as the xbox 360 is, it wont bring anything new to the table.

sources are saying this is fake, but I wouldn't be surprised if this is real....

http://onefed.com/media/NintendoON.wmv

mind you, I'm not saying this is Revolution, but what exactly are those two devices that it's showing connecting to 4.5 minutes in?  one of them is a gamecube...

Wow, if the revolution is suppossed to be virtual reality, adn it really pulled it off, as that video made it look like, nintendo really could blow away ms and sony. Of course it would need to be done exceptionally well. But if it could dot aht and normal games the other systems play, you would be looking at a huge success. But only if it were done extremely well. I would be very interested in it if that video is real.

The touch screen is perfect for it! The PSP would work, but not as well. The touch screen would be just perfect. I hope the DS gets more games, as I want nintendo to have something till their next system comes out.

Edit: And just as a nitpick (and in all seriousness not aimed as a personal attack):

Quote:
most successful company  
^-- Micorsoft is not this. That honor would go to walmart.

Yeah, I wasn't 100% sure on that one and should have put "one of."

  Your point was still well made   .

In all honesty, I own all three systems, a DS, and a PSP- and PS2 is my favorite.   I have very specific reasons why I like each console and I know everyone else does too.  However, when other people's opinions differ with mine I don't chalk it up to ignorance.

Just to add a few things on what each console offers and getting that message out- this is no David and Goliath and really not any underdogs either.  You've got a market leader, a former market leader, and the most successful company in the world all with incredible financial resources to make sure the public knows exactly what they offer.  Sony has no unique advantages over the other two.  The Playstation may currently be synominous with "video game" but then again so was Nintendo once upon a time and it may be Xbox in the future.  

On the software side of the house there will always be smaller titles that unjustly go unnoticed due to lack of advertising, etc (Psychonauts being perhaps the most recent example).  This is not the case on the hardware side though.  Each console manufacturer has only themself to blame for their success or failure.

I never said which console I liked more did I? I like my PS2 and I certainly didnt purchase it out of ignorance. I never said everyone does. Its just as someone else said, the PS2 is more of a household name, and this helps sell it. many people dont even look into the systems and decide which one they want. They dont make actual informed decisions, they simply purchase things. Its the society we live in more then anything else. They know the Xbox as the system with Halo, and the cube as the "kiddy" system, and the ps2 as the video game system. Does that mean you purchased it out of ignorance? No. Does it mean everyone who has one would have bought a different system had they looked into it? Of course not. Dont get your panties in a bunch here, nobody is starting a flame war about consoles (because really who cares), its just that sometimes the name playstation sells the system more then the actual merits of the system. While the merits are most definatly good for many people, it doesnt fit everyone. If you buy something simply for the name it holds, as would be the case many times for playstation (and many other products people purchase) I think it would be safe to say you made an ignorant purchase. Now you may have accidentally bought the best product for you, but you might not have made an informed decision. Dont take it personally when the society we live in buys things more for the name it carries then for the product itself. It happens in all areas not just video games, and everyone is guilty of it to some degree.

Please note as a disclaimer, not once in that post did I inuslt the ps2, xbox or gcn. They are all good little systems in this world and I hope I didnt personally insult someone  by implying that one particular system may not be a fit for some consumers. Also note that I never made note of which system is my favorite, and most of all never tried to force my belief in which system is best for me upon another. I really hope this can move on without being a flame war and people can simply acknowledge that yes, sometimes we as consumers do not make the most informed decision when purchasing an item. End of disclaimer.

Edit: And just as a nitpick (and in all seriousness not aimed as a personal attack):

most successful company

^-- Micorsoft is not this. That honor would go to walmart.

[filled with fanboys and ignorant people]

sony really only has one way to go. they were at the very top this go around so i think they will come down "a little". i still think they will win the war this generation since they have such a huge fan base that is filled with fanboys and ignorant people that don't realize what the other two have to offer. they will just buy because they know sony and the playstation.

WTF?  There is no place for this kind of crap here.

In all honesty, it is true to a point, and I own all three systems, a PSP and a GBA. People just think playstation is the best because they hear it the most. A lot of it really is ignorance. Go listen to people at a gaming store, you will pick it up. Xbox has gained popularoity and is cool now too, at least to a point, but the cube has seen nothing. Most people really dont realize what the cube and xbox have to offer. Except Halo.

Also, will xbox 1 controllers be usable in Xbox 360?

Not if there arnt any ports

Well, I like the design. It isnt exaclty what I thought, but it does look nice, and that remote is much better.

Tee-Hee!!

Yeah but you can control the car by rubbing your ear on the screen!!

 

I have a PSP, and I say wait. It just isnt worth it right now. I could complain about it as much as the DS. Wait. It may be worth it soon though, it has so much potential .

Last month, the online casino paid $15,100 to a Connecticut woman to name her newborn GoldenPalace.com.

So wrong... so very wrong.

I know, wouldnt you go for more money? $15,000 to name your child a ridiculous name? I mean I would hold out for at least $20,000.

Not to sound gay or anything, but jesus man, give the woman some appropriate body dimensions.  That looks somewhat rediculous to me.  Put a little more meat on her, tone down those breasts - make her look more realistic and she may be more appealing.

Completely agree, and I dont want to sound gay either . Its just so teenagerish it bugs me.

I think it would be worth it. Too bad you didnt get it a couple of months ago, gamestop had it for free (after a rebate). Well, pretty much at least. I have enjoyed it so far, but I have been playing it off and on and not in a consistant manner.

I think you're talking about the other Phantom game-Phantom Dust- about that free with rebate thing.

You are right, got confused here . I like phantum dust, never played the other one which this thread is about .

I think it would be worth it. Too bad you didnt get it a couple of months ago, gamestop had it for free (after a rebate). Well, pretty much at least. I have enjoyed it so far, but I have been playing it off and on and not in a consistant manner.

Welcome to the club. I dont play mine anymore, but im sure I will at some point again. Usually when im on the road I play it.

European games wont work, but im pretty sure the xbox will work on a tv there. The PAL and NTSC are coding if I remember right, but the tvs use standard input still (like rca, or rf). At least all the tvs I have seen in europe do. You will need a power converter thingie though to use it, and they are easier to find in the US then in europe. I learned that the hard way.

- I never read the manual. I used to when I played pc games, but I think that was mostly just because I would sit there watching it load and just have nothing to do. The console games are a lot different and I usually like to just jump in and figure it out as I go. Kind of sucks in the long run because sometimes after I finish the game I will look at my manual and realize I missed some awsome feature. Oh well.

- I have to have my gaming area clean as well.

- I dont play a game much the first couple times I have it. Maybe 5 or ten minutes.

- I play around 6 to 10 games all at the same time. For example, right ow I am playing Resident Evil 4 (been playing it since it came back), Vice City, Katamari Damacy, Sims 2, Animal Crossing, Phantum Dust, Wipeout, Twisted Metal (PSP), Untold Legends, World Tour Soccer (PSP), Tony hawk (PSP). Unlike others here, I will probably only finish one of these. Maybe 2. I havnt played some of those games for 2 weeks or so, but still consider myself to be playing them. Every now and then I will get the urge to just push through and finish a game.

- I dont play games very much. I read about them a ton. Of those games Ive been playing the last 3 weeks or so, im only half way on one of them. most of them I am still in "training" on. Pretty much dont play much. I always think about playing, but just never get around to it. Seems to take too much energy.

- I have to have all of my controllers put away for all of my systems, and all of the games for each of them put away besides the ones im using at all times. Even if I know I will be getting it out later, it must be put away in its little drawer. And the area has to be dusted and the tv creen or pc screen has to be cleaned before I will play. Just cant stand dust on the screen.

- I have this wierd thing where I feel I need to balance my time out on all of my systems. Even if there is nothing I want for it, I will try and find something to play on it just so it gets used, even if just for a couple of minutes.

I'm contempiating going vertical on my PStwo as well.  The stand is only $10, so, might be nice to save some space.

I did it because it gives me so much more room. I squeeze it in between the dreamcast and the gcn. Fits nicely right there. On the same size shelf the xbox takes up a whole shelf.

Wow, somehow those guys with the top ten finished several of them within 1 second. Crazy, too much time on their hands. I finished one finally with 333 being my score. Not too shabby.

247, i missed the colour one. And I couldnt spell quidditch quick enough.

I just picked up a PS2, I guess its time I try ICO and some of the others. Time to get started.

Despite what people say about the cube, I really love it. I love my cube to death. Of course, I also have an xbox, a PSP (taken a lot of playing time) and a PS2 (as of yesterday ). I pretty much get enough games no matter what, so I dont need lots of games, and the games that do come out for the cube are great.

pretty much anytime a developer takes out the ability to save at any point, they should know it was a bad move. A bad bad move. That should be a red flag to them that at that point in the game, it will no longer be fun.

I dont like playing games other then RTS on my pc. Sitting at a desk. Blah. Also, the newest gta isnt on the pc yet is it? Ive played GTA3 and vic city.

Hmm, I might go pick a ps2 up for this, god of war, and for gta.

God of War is worth it to me.  As was Resident Evil 4 for the Cube.  My favorite two games in the past year bar none.

I bought a cube just ofr RE4 as well! Worth the money all around. Ive found lots of other games I want for it since, but RE4 is what did it for me. I bought a PSP just because I wanted a PSP. Not even for any game, I didnt even really like the games, I just thought it was cool. Of course there have been lots of games I have liked on it that surprised me.

The zone races are difficult but a blast. If you get gold on all 4 you unlock a new  ship, which I think is the best one. Allthough I dont have the other ship you can unlock yet. Sometimes in the higher difficulty levels you get racing and you just cant believe how fast you are going and how crazy everything gets. Its pretty fun.

look at the menu and think about the rumored Xbox 2 design.

http://www.xbox.com/en-us/cultureSelectLanding.htm

Looks interesting. Doesn't it. Now that design has been on there for what, two years?

Good point, and good find. I think it would look good then. Interesting.

Hmm, that soccer game sounds like great fun. I'm still waiting for my Fifa. As for Wipeout, apparently there will new tracks, cars (or whatever those things are) and music to download, so it might last a bit longer then you expect. I agree with Harpau 3, there is a lot to it, and each race is different. Anyone got any tips on Wipeout or RR? I'm pretty new to racing games with the exception of Burnout.

For wipeout Ive got a tip, it may be obvious, but I didnt figure it out for quite a while. The circle button will absorb the weapon you have to increase your hp. I didnt know that ofr a long time and was frustrated when I would lose a race by being blown up. Anyways, long story short, this will help you out. Most people have already fiured it out, but I didnt. Also, dont forget to flip over when in the air so you get the boost at the bottom. Also, you can change the configuration of the controls so you can air brake with only the right trigger, and then use the left trigger to strafe from side to side. It takes a little while to get used to but helps out eventually. Enjoy the game!