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May 17th, 2008, 23:28 Posted By: bandit
Extreme-Mods Disc Repair Service
Manufacturer: N/A
Site: Buy from Extreme-Mods
Price: $5.99 per disc + shipping costs (ships internationally)
Overview : Send us your scratched or damaged Xbox, Xbox 360, Wii, Playstation 2 (PS2), Playstation 3 (PS3), Gamecube, CD, DVD, HD-DVD, BluRay, PC discs and have them professionally resurfaced and promptly returned to you. Using specialized machine(s) we are able to get great results that remove all scratches and restores the disc to "like new" condition.
Notice: We do not guarantee ALL discs will be repairable but we will do our best to repair it to its original playing condition. We are not responsible for discs lost in the mail or in transit.
Attention Xbox 360 Users: If you accidentally scratched a game disc in your console like the disc pictured above, we are here to help! This is scratch ring is easily removed with our special machine(s) and techniques. We will restore your disc to like new condition so you can enjoy playing it again.
Quality/Usability : So I know we all had a bunch of scratched disc whether it be from poor handling of the disc, letting a sibling, child, pet damage it or from your player. Upon trying to play the disc, it was badly scratched that we had to either try and repair it ourselves with a disc repairer, have a store try and repair it or throw it away.
Well, I had Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 for the Xbox 360. Unfortunately, someone sent this to me from a trade. Upon looking at it, I was greatly disappointed at the condition. I thought it would still work despite the condition and the game would not read or load. I tried taking the disc to many stores such as GameCrazy, EB/GameStop, Blockbuster, FYE and many other retail stores that deals with videogame, movies and music. None would repair my disc. They would only repair lightly scratched discs but as you can see by the image above.
I noticed that Extreme-Mods provided a service on repairing discs. Although they state that do not guarantee that all discs are repairable, I was willing to give it a shot. I have nothing else to lose. No other stores would take it and the disc is already useless. I have nothing to lose.
Cost of repair is $5.99 per disc. Shipping starts at $3.38 for First Class. Depending on how many discs you send and how heavy the package is, price of shipping will vary. I sent the disc with a blank DVD case and it costs around $2.00 via First Class, give or take a couple of cents (depending on location). If you add any extra services such as tracking or insurance and what shipping method, it will cost more. So in total, it will cost almost $12 just to ship, have it done and shipped back to you.
Having shipped the package on a Monday via First Class, it arrived within a couple of days. Extreme-Mods had the item shipped back 2-3 days after receiving it. I received the package a couple days later. So in total, from shipping to receiving, it took almost 2 weeks. Again, depending on shipping method you choose, it could be sooner.
As you can see from the picture, the ring scratch is no longer visible. But upon looking at it very very and I mean, very closely, I can still see a little bit of a ring that was left. This is only visible held in a certain way with the right lighting. Other than that, its impossible to see. Also, the machine used to repair the disc left some very very small hairline buff marks. Again, this is impossible to see unless held in a certain position and lighting.
Conclusion : Overall, the Extreme-Mods Disc Repair Service exceeded my expectations. I was expecting maybe a Disc Doctor type of repair where it would leave huge buff marks or Extreme-Mods emailing me and informing me that it was unrepairable. The disc is useless already...so I have nothing to lose. Extreme-Mods repaired a disc that no other store would perform. Even if the stores said that they can try to repair but couldnt guarantee that it can, I would of given it a shot. But they turned me down.
After being denied of repair from stores, I was so close to snapping the disc in half and tossing the disc in the garbage until I found the repair service. Extreme-Mods says they usually ship the disc back in 24-48 hours but it took about 48-72 hours due to them being a little swamped. Now, I am able to trade this game rather than have a coaster on my hand. So is it like new condition? Yes, definitely. However, the cost of repair including shipping costs is a bit too high and may put a dent in the wallet. $6 to resurface a disc? $3 would of been more reasonable. If sending disc(s) to be repaired, use a bubble padded envelope and place discs in a blank DVD case or something sturdy to prevent it from being snapped during transit.
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May 17th, 2008, 22:34 Posted By: Shadowblind
I haven't been reviewing lately, but you can thank exams for that. Afterward, look forward to a review for Condemned 2: Bloodshot, Ninja Gaiden II, DBZ: Burst Limit and The Bourne Conspiracy.
Samurai Warriors 2
Publisher: KOEI
Developer: Omega Force
Players: 1-2
Genre: Action Adventure
I really hope feudal Japan wasn't this boring. Onimusha would have a fit.
I remember the glorious days of Dynasty Warriors 4 and 5, their best years ever. Back then they had new ideas, but old executions, which were fine for that time (they weren't overused....yet.) Even the Original Samurai Warriors was half bad. And then KOEI went and vomited out Dynasty Warriors 5: Extreme Legends. Then they excreted DW5: Empires. But they weren't even close to satisfied with rubbing their game's name in mud. They then threw out SW2:E.
These Samurai should commit an "honorable" suicide.
Lets face it: Whenever a game relies on a single gimmick (not console, I said when a GAME does this) it 90% of the time falls straight on its face. Samurai Warriors 2: Empires is no different. However, unlike DW, this SW game doesn't even do that gimmick right; that is, throwing hordes of mindless soldiers that all seem to look like Mexican Matt Damons at you. While its fun for the first 10 minutes, those Mr. Damongonzales's start to get very annoying. Very, Very annoying. Combos hardly even start until late in the "game". And even when they do, all you do is press the X button about 5 times, do it again, do it again...Oh! Musou attack. Ok now then. X5...X5....O....X5... which gets beyond tedious, and extremely unfulfilling. Another part of the game that DW did that SW's crashes (and burns) on is officer fights. While DW manages to make these even slightly challenging (possibly even...fun....) the officers (aka mini bosses) are just as mindless as the pissants you run through the whole game. They simply have more health, and don't look like Senior Damon. Absolutely all parts of the "strategy that the game is thinly based on a complete rubbish. When you issue an order, you comrades follow it, but do about nothing else afterwards. You tell them to guard a base, so they go to the base, but don't defend it. Just kinda stand around looking all Japanese-like. Finally, the idea of governing your territories is boring and unnecessary. And with only 26 characters, all who are absolutely boring to play as (with the exception to Nene and Hanzo), you will most likely lock this game in a crate and throw it to the bottom of a river. To which i say: Please don't. Should in the future some alien race finds this game in that crate and plays it, it will almost surely make them attack and destroy the earth for creating such awful "games".
Hello Mr. Samurai, nice pop-in we're having today!
Onto graphics. The only semi-decent graphical thing in this game is the character models (Excluding Mr.Damon-Gonzales.) While they do their thing (with glitchy animations) on screen, it becomes increasingly obvious that the devs for this game just don't want you looking at backgrounds, and for good reason. This game has less stairs and level elevation changes then Wolfenstein 3D (for those of you who don't know, it didn't HAVE level changes.), so you'll be spending some to all of your time on a level surface. Occasionally there will be some pots of boxes which you can break with an attack, usually resulting in nothing whatsoever. Even when you do, the boxes just kinda fade away and don't even break. Almost every type of 3D building or whatever in the game is simply a texture slapped on the side of a box. Really, theres not even that much to even CRITICIZE in this game. Graphics are below poor.
Japanese style-soundtrack? Honestly, I hope not, for Japan's sake.
SW2: E sports a self-proclaimed Japanese style soundtrack to pummel countless Mexican warriors to. While its not really so bad, its easily forgettable and doesn't really fit the mood at all. That, combines with the ridiculously incoherent dialogue issuing from the NPC's mouths all game long really makes you want to mute the TV. Terrible sound effects. However, once in a blue moon a character or two will have a good voice over for crappy dialogue. Does that compensate? Heres another one: Does ice cream make aliens come to earth and dance the disco every Thursday night at every burger king across the US? If so, then yes, it does compensate.
Even samurai won't play this through again.
If you like this fecies, then you have the ride of your life; tons of story modes that all have the same characters doing the EXACT same thing over and over. If you don't, this game has no replay value.
Lets get to it then! (Thanks for standing still!)
Presentation: 1/5
You wonder why theres no paragraph on this? Because there is no story.
Graphics: 2.5/5
Decent character models offset by terrible everything else. Lame.
Gameplay: 2/5
Mashing the button over and over is fun for a good 10 minutes. Then it just gets repetitive and tedious.
Sound: 2.5/5
Decent songs don't fit with the mood. Voice overs are sometimes less then crap, but dialogue and sound is.
Replay Value: 1/5
What?
Overall: 1.5/5
Bad. Avoid. Shoot with a rifle type of avoid. Yeah, its that bad. If you don't know why you haven't read this review.
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May 16th, 2008, 22:17 Posted By: AnimalCrossingX
Platform: Wii (WiiWare)
Publisher: _No Company
Developer: Nnooo
Genre: Puzzle/Strategy
Players: 1 - 4
Overview:
Pop is a very simple game...You pop bubbles to earn points to try to get a highscore while avoiding obstacles and getting power-ups.
Gameplay:
The main point of Pop is to pop bubbles of different shapes, sizes, and colors. You get points and time, added to your time limit, with every bubble you pop. There are different power-ups, such as Nuke, which creates a small explosion ring around the bubble it was in, and Time Warp, which slows down the bubbles' flow, making it easier to pop more bubbles in less time. There are combos/chains, and multipliers to help you get more points for your pops. Multipliers can be found in bubbles, but can also be obtained from chaining bubbles. There is also an advanced mode, where you try to get 9,999,999 points before Wave 16, and multiplayer mode, in which up to four people can play, each trying to get the highest score.
Graphics:
The graphics in Pop are very simplistic, yet stylish and relaxing. Each level brings along a new color of something, whether it be the background color, or a new colored bubble. There are also different shapes and sizes of bubbles. Personally, the graphics are better than some I've seen in other current generation games. Up next is the music section of this review.
Sound:
The soothing, yet sometimes hyped up music in this game adds to the good aspects of Pop. Throughout the Waves, different music plays. This music can be either relaxing and calm, or fast and motivating. Whatever style of music is playing, you will enjoy most of the music in this game. Second to last is the control section of Pop's review.
Replay Value:
Some may think pointing the screen for the length of the game may get agrivating or boring, whether it be from stiffness or pain of the arm or something else. Personally, I think Pop is the opposite. You are so busy busting bubbles that move at high speeds while trying to keep your time limit up, that you forget about the pain. The cursor may jump around a little bit, but it is usually steady and smooth. Last but not, the replay value...
Conclusion:
Pop may seem boring from screenshots or videos, but it isn't. Even though each Wave has the same designs (Background, bubbles, etc.), Pop's addictiveness will block out the slight repetitiveness. Now that I've covered every judging point that most people look at in games, I'll add up the scores and give my final opinion.
Overall Rating:
If you want my recommendation, I say get it...It's a great game, and for $7, it's a steal. I was excited for this game, and that swayed my thought of this game from thinking it's cool, to really awesome. All of my opinions in this review are truthful (Not affected by swaying), and I really do recommend this game to casual gamers (Even though the majority of users here are hardcore gamers) and hardcore gamers alike.
Thank you for reading this review. Go Pop!
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May 16th, 2008, 15:46 Posted By: Romaap
Players's Kit 11 in 1 Bundle Pack
Includes:
dual charging dock
2 rechargeable battery packs
universal HD, S-Video and AV cable
2 remote jeli grips
2 nunchuk jeli grips
2 wrist straps
1 micro racing wheel
Installation:
It's an pain in the ass to put the jeli grips on the remote because they are so tight (it took me 2 minutes to get them on for the first time)
Just put the wiimote in the back of the grip and gently pull it in.
the universal HD, S-Video and AV cable is installed exact like you did with the one that came with the wii, except for the ones who use a HD-TV.
If you have a HD-TV just turn the swich to the left and use the HD cables instead of the s-video and av cables.
The dual charging dock is easy to instal, just stick the power suply of the wii in [1], the put [3] in the charging dock like this:
then put [2] in your wii
So, you have you charging dock ready, now you want to charge you wiimote.
Now comes the crappy part of this bundle, because the wiimote doesn't fit in charging dock with the grip on.  
So to charge you have to pull back the grip, charge then pull the grip back on.
  
That's why I prefer the original Nintendo wiimote protector because it's really easy to pull the bottom back so you can charge your wiimote.(see images above)
Conclusion:
This bundle has only a few good things like the steering wheel and the charging dock, but the dreamgear team didn't thought about people who want to use the chargingdock with their wiimote grip and wiimote strap. >_>
Pro's and Con's:
Pro's- Charging dock!!!
- cool loocking grip
- don't have to buy a official wiiwheel
- extra strap if your old one breaks
- wii on HD quality
Con's- need to put of the grip and strap to charge
- the universal HD, S-Video and AV cable is a overkill of wires
- the official wiimote protectors are better
- the grip tears VERY vast (see pictures)
 
Overal Score:
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May 16th, 2008, 02:38 Posted By: bandit
Wii-Clip Easy Install Modchip Kit
Manufacturer: Wii-Clip
Site: Buy from Shop.01Media / other distributors
Price: $25.00-$30.00
Overview : The Next Generation Universal WII CHIP Install Tooling!
Features :- Support for full series WII CHIP, included WIIKEY , D2CKEY , D2CPRO , ARGON , D2PRO, WASABI chips, very high install efficiency, you can finish most jobs in 2 minutes.
- Very easy to install. You just need to solder the chip to the 1:1 points. Then push it cover over the D2C chipset on the drive, plug and play, even don't need the extra wires for VCC and GND , 100% ZERO wires need!
- Very easy to disable the WII chip, just remove (pull out) the WII-CLIP from the WII motherboard, no need to unsolder anymore. This process will allow you return your WII to its stock configuration, can give back you one 100% original WII immediately.
- Next generation HIGH precision design, 100% working perfect and stable.
- Use the special IC encapsulation material, whole wii-clip working like a small radiator, without any overheating issue. We have keep it run over 720 hours to confirm this point.
Quality/Usability : Let me start off by saying that I wont be reviewing any specific chips in this review. This is solely based on Wii-Clip and what it can do.
So not everyone is a modder or even handy with their hands or just plain scared to do it themselves. I fall under all three departments. I'm not ashamed to admit it. What Wii-Clip aims to do is not only help those who are scared or inexperienced, but to make installation a lot easier even for the pros.
When modding a Nintendo Wii, the most scariest party is damaging to motherboard. One mistake and it can fry your Nintendo Wii dead! With the Wii-Clip, you dont have to worry about causing damage to your Nintendo Wii. All you do is snap the Wii-Clip over the Nintendo Wii's chipset and you're done! No more soldering wires onto the Nintendo Wii. You dont even have to use wires for the modchips.
There are different Wii-Clips available for each modchip. You have WiiKey, D2Ckey, D2Pro, Argon, Wasabi, even open source such as OpenWii, Wiinja, WiiFree and many more. As new modchips become available or even upgraded ones, Wii-Clip will have one.
As I mentioned above, I'm not handy when it comes to soldering or modifying electronics. But I was able to do it. Of course, I borrowed a friends soldering iron and had an old PC motherboard laying around. Once I felt comfortable and confident enough, I dove right in. Simply line up your modchip to the Wii-Clip and solder the points together. No more need for wires or soldering to your Nintendo Wii. However, to ensure that the modchip will line up with the Wii-Clip, I first soldered on one corner. Once that was soldered, I soldered a corner opposite from my first spot. My method was similar to that of tightening lug nuts on a car tire. With this method, if I so happen to move the Wii-Clip or modchip accidently, it wont be misaligned.
Once all the points are soldered on the modchip and Wii-Clip, it was now time to install it onto the chipset on the Nintendo Wii. But before doing so, you must take the "PROTECT LABEL" sticker and place it under the modchip. This prevents any points on the modchip from touching the Nintendo Wii motherboard. Now take the Wii-Clip, place it over the chipset and push down. Some down force will be needed to make sure that the Wii-Clip is tightly in place and will not fall off. At first, I felt scared because the Wii board was bending but it held up and is sturdy. Once in place, take the decorative Mario looking background paper. Not only is it used for packaging but its also used to protect the modchip from touching the Nintendo Wii. Just rip off the flap in the middle and fit the Wii-Clip through the opening.
As stated above, the Nintendo Wii was only disassembled and none of the components were soldered or tampered with. This keeps the Nintendo Wii's warranty still intact if a problem ever arises. Even if you no longer wanted the modchip, there is no damage to the Nintendo Wii.
Before closing up the Nintendo Wii and to ensure that the Wii-Clip worked, I turned on the Nintendo Wii and it worked. Inserted both an original Wii game and a backup and both worked flawlessly. Once I knew it was working, I closed everything back up and tested the games again and experienced no problems.
When removing the Wii-Clip, it was a bit tough to remove. Wii-Clip suggested using a sharp object but I used a small flat-head screwdriver. They also mentioned to pry from the corners only and from all 4 sides.
Conclusion : Overall, the Wii-Clip Easy Install Modchip Kit is probably the most easiest and safest method of installing a modchip. No damage is done to the Nintendo Wii. Even if you messed up the soldering, its on the modchip and Wii-Clip. If for whatever reason you totally screwed it up and no longer works, you only have to pay for the chip and Wii-Clip. Its a lot better than having to hunt down for a Nintendo Wii and spending $250USD for a new one.
The Wii-Clip comes in an assortment and is available for WiiKey, D2Ckey, D2Pro, Argon, Wasabi, even open source such as OpenWii, Wiinja, WiiFree and many more. So no one is left out! Whats great is that if you have multiple modchips and for whatever reason a game does not work, you can simply open up your Wii and swap the Wii-Clip with modchip.
Please note that none of the "upgrade" products listed in this site are endorsed by Nintendo, Sony and/or Microsoft. DCEmu Reviews and DCEmu Network does not condone piracy. The primary functions of a "modchip" and/or "flashcart" are to allow you to play imported games and homebrew software that you legally own or simply just for experimenting with hardware. We in no way endorse piracy, and encourage all users to do the right thing and support the developers/manufacturers that support them. We do not take any responsibilities for any use outside of these parameters or where the use of such a device is illegal.
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May 15th, 2008, 01:52 Posted By: fg-54
Published by: XGen Studios
Developed by: XGen Studios
Genre: Action
Number of Players: 1-4
price: $5.00
the explanations are simple, but pretty to look at
OVERVIEW:
In this game, your goal is to defend your castle by killing the enemies that will be coming at you from the left, to do so, you need to upgrade you castle's strength, number of healers, mages, archers, and off course, you must have a steady and quick hand to launch up those little demons with their shenanigans.
Gameplay: 4/5
This game has a surprisingly deep game play.
you start out with JUST your square shaped hand (that is what i can make of it, it may be something else ) and you grab enemies and throw them up, or down, fast enough to kill them, so far so good huh? but there is more, as you progress through the game, you will get new powers such as a bucket of paint in which you can drop enemies in, and they will shortly after become your allies, etc.
Tho it is too bad that on the later levels you NEED others to come and join you, otherwise you will be stuck on the same level for hours until you level up one or more of your powers to a certain point.
Graphics: 4/5
This game has horrible graphic, fortunately, they were meant to be bad, so that makes them good 
and it DOES fall pretty easy on your eyes, and you will also appreciate the fact that as the sun sets, you get a nice twilight looking effect, the clouds are held by string and they move quite fast, and the characters have pretty good animation.
Sound: 3/5
I enjoyed the song from the title screen, and even tough some sound effects fit perfectly with the games unique art style, when you get farther into the game, a constant screaming sound begins to crawl on your ear, and it wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't the same two screams EVERY TIME over, and over, and over. again!
Multiplayer: 4/5
Even tough the first 12 levels would not be hard to a three year old, when you go into the thirties, you WILL need a friend to tag along with you, and if one friend isn't enough, how about two more? that's right! this game can be played with up to four players!
Price: 5/5
This amazing game is only $5! making it one of the cheapest games on the wii right now, yet, has a higher quality then most full priced games on the wii.
Replay value: 5/5
Although not much changes on the second play through, that is not necessarily a bad thing, the game is complex enough to be played in a slightly different way, but simple enough to remind you that if you have ten minutes in the morning before you go to school or work, this game will be your best choice.
Control: 5/5
Not much to say here, unlike the flash version of this game where you can constantly miss the enemie's head or don't throw them hard enough to kill them, this issue has been fixed on the wii version, the only times you might miss your oponent is when you have 25 guys on-screen at once, and you are just wildly swinging your wii-mote up and down while quickly tapping the "A" button hoping to throw some of those little guys around.
CONCLUSION:
This game is worth getting if you are looking to buy a wiiware title, but don't want to spend a whole lot, it has great replay value, and i asure you, it will not grow boring if you have friends to play it with.
final score: 
PLEASE TAKE ONE: my review survey!
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May 15th, 2008, 00:05 Posted By: bandit
We've got the first official pictures of Pelican's Metal Gear Solid 4 Bluetooth Headset for the PlayStation 3, which show off more of the product than the leaked sales sheets that hit the net a few weeks ago. As a matter of fact, our pictures are of the real product that just arrived in the office. While we work on the full review, take a look at what Snake would use for his calls if he didn't have slightly more advanced technology available.
We must note that this is a pre-production sample. Any finish imperfections will be addressed when the retail products ship in a month.
The MGS4 Headset is a standard Bluetooth 2.0 hands-free device, which means it can be paired with both the PlayStation 3 and any Bluetooth-enabled cell phone so you can rock it both at home and on the street. We're certainly down to roll with it in public, as it offers a good deal of contrast to the stand-issue Bluetooth headsets on the street. Spec-wise its battery life is rated at 8-hours of talk time and 160-hours of standby.
Pelican will launch the Metal Gear Solid 4 Bluetooth Headset day and date with the game's release, June 12. Retail price will be set at $59.99..
Source: Pelican
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May 14th, 2008, 06:00 Posted By: Shadowblind
Bioshock
Publisher: 2K Games
Developer: Irrational games (2K Boston)
genre: First-Person Shooter
Players: 1
I've been wanting to do this review for a while, but its a little outdated. Still, I have alot of friends out there who really aren't sure about the title, so here goes to clear some things up.
The first person shooter genre has just been made.
Where to begin...wow. Eh-herm, Bioshock is a FPS that takes place in an underwater Utopia named Rapture. Built in the late 1940's to escape the threat of another world war and possibly nuclear war, Rapture was once a thriving utopia of brilliant scientist, athletes, artists, and the best mankind had to offer. However, all good things must come to an end, and Rapture proves that statement to be more then simply a saying. With the invention of Adam and plasmids, the world of Rapture grew greedy and lustful, ultimately bringing itself down to the depths it was created in.
Welcome to Rapture
The story behind the game (without revealing spoilers) is that your plane crashes in the mid-atlantic ocean. Upon crashing, you find a building which transports you to the devastated and war-torn land of Rapture. There you embark on a journey of discovery, betrayal, revenge, and get caught in the middle of a feud between two of the most influential powers in Rapture.
The storyline in Bioshock is simply one of the greatest ever achieved in a video game. This epic tale of a once-utopia underwater city is original in itself. However, the true brilliance of the plot comes into focus by the way its told. Its subtle yet obvious mode of story telling creeps to the player through every subliminal way you can imagine-- posters, audio tapes, statues, even the water on the ground to the psychotic quotes from the splicers. Everything about the atmosphere is perfect. The slow leaking of the ocean water into Rapture makes you almost feel as though the city could be under taken any minute. The blood on the wall and corpses propped in horrid positions show that the inhabitants aren't only vicious, but utterly insane-- a side effect due to the bio-engineering that is plasmids and splicing. The entire world of Rapture springs to life in a way of dead silent corners and gives you the feeling that this must have been a truly great place before its fall. The subtitles, on the other hand, are a total mess. They work fine, but appear either too late or too early. Despite this, the world of Rapture is one, if not the, most stunning world ever created in a video game.
Bioshock, the Beautiful
When it comes to visuals, Bioshock is still one of the best out there, bar none. Still lagging behind Gears of War, the visuals for Bioshock are great; everything from the amazing flame effects to the epic water effects. textures are perfectly presented, however, some textures seem to repeat more then others, but only in the most minute of ways. Character models truly show the player just what happened to the citizens of Rapture (heck, if I looked like them I'd be crazy too) It shows the splicing effects it has on regular human beings, and gives you even more clues to Raptures past and present. Character animations are near perfect, no need harping on that. Big Daddies are some of the greatest looking characters in any video game, anywhere. Still, some of the splicers look maybe a bit stranger then they should, and you can find the same splicer on more then one occasion. All gun effects, including plasmids are as best as they could be. The best the FPS genre has ever seen.
The lighting here is simply amazing
Symphony in the Water
The ambiance is Raptures single greatest feature. The drops of water, the psychotic rantings of splicers, or the busted whirring of the sentry bots add perfectly to the tense yet wondrous mood of the game. The sound of pistols firing, tommy guns blazing and rockets exploding into Big Daddie's helmets are spot on. Voice acting for everyone is only second to Mass Effect and GTA IV.(Well, maybe not GTA IV.) The 1940's style music is quite possibly the greatest part of the ambiance of Rapture. While not so subtle, it delivers the message constantly to the gamer that this is based in the early '60s, and that Rapture isn't your space-age utopia, like so many games before it. Even the Little Sisters and Big Daddies talk (and groan) in such ways that you might mistake those jumble of words for an actual conversation between the two. The symphony of Rapture plays without a single instrument (I'm gonna patent that quote)
Expanding the genre
The FPS genre has had a lot of AAA titles before it: Halo, Doom 3, System Shock 2 to name a few. But very few of those titles actually both perfected AND expanded on the genre the way Bioshock has. Bioshock fine tunes perfect gunplay with the strategic elements of plasmids to make one of the best strategy-shooters ever made. You can manipulate everything in Rapture using plasmids; from setting people on fire using the oil on the ground, using telekinesis to catch and throw rockets back at the sender, to even getting a Big Daddy to think your a Little Sister and guard you. The strategic possibilities are uncountable, and the best part, is that no enemies (with the exception to storyline events) are scripted. Not even the Big Daddies, who are essentially walking boss battles. the splicers travel, searching for Adam to buy more plasmids. Some even stalk you in particular, knowing that you are rich in Adam. The A.I. in the splicers ranges from stupid to strategically smart. I've had a splicer electrocute a sentry I sicked on him with his wrench and use it against me! And at other times, I've had splicer run directly into my rockets like a total moron. the explanation for these things is that while some splicers are hopelessly insane, others still can think and process. Onto weaponry. For every weapon, you have 3 types of ammo that all have special uses in the field of battle. Sometimes, choosing the right type of ammo may very well choose the outcome of the battle. other times, its just fun to lay out a trip wire from the crossbow, sick some bees on a splicer, and watch him stumble across the wire electrocuting himself while trying to get rid of the bees. Point is, all the ammo types not only have uses, but are fun to use. Hacking in itself is a mini-game. And if you don't feel like doing the mini-game, you can use an auto-hack if you have one to get an instant hack. The gameplay for Bioshock expanded not only the idea of shooters, but the idea that strategy in a FPS is a glorious thing.
See, not only are you genetically enhanced, you also have the force!
Welcome to Bioshock, again?
While every minute of it is absolutely golden, Bioshock doesn't last forever. The Campaign mode is 15-20 hours long, and it doesn't have multiplayer. However, expect to find yourself going through it at least one more time to get the second ending. Tonic and plasmid collecting is addictive, and achieving all 1000 gamerscore on Bioshock I something you can REALLY brag about. However, the short campaign with no multiplayer and only a bit of downloadable content doesn't add more then 40 hours to the entire game life. Still, for a shooter 40 is a very impressive amount.
Lets get to it then!
Presentation: 5/5
Absolutely top-notch. Amazing. The world of Rapture comes to life with every drop of water and splicer you kill.
Graphics: 4.5/5
While it may not be Gears of War it is certainly the best the FPS genre has ever had. The water effects are unrivaled.
Sound: 5/5
Bioshock has a Symphony with no orchestra(patent pending) and it shows. Sound effects are great and voice acting is over the top.
Gameplay: 5/5
The golden game of FPS arrives, bringing with it the most amazing shooter experience you'll ever have.
Replay Value: 4/10
While 40 hours is a long time, thats only if you play through it twice and die a few times. Multiplayer exclusion was absolutely criminal for a game this stunning.
Overall: 5/5
Bioshock is like one of those amazing things that only happens once in a blue moon. Such as finding a 100 dollar bill in a sewer or something like that. The single most defining game of the FPS genre, no bars held.
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May 14th, 2008, 05:58 Posted By: Joe88
M3 DS Real Perfect Bundle Review
This is a review for the M3 DS Real Perfect Bundle which I have tested for over a month now.
The Manufacturer of this cart as you guessed from the name is M3 Adapter: http://www.m3adapter.com/
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Test Equipment:- Nintendo DS Lite (USA)
- M3 DS Real Perfect Bundle (English) ver.CPE
- Kingston 4GB MicroSDHC (Japan) class[4]
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Intro:
So here we have the M3 DS Real which is meant to replace the aging M3 Simply as their main cart The M3 Real is based on many of the features of the G6 DS Real but has expandable memory and a few other neat things like built in GBA support with expansion pack
The M3 DS which I ordered the perfect bundle edition from www.RealHotStuff.com for $60 USD. The Perfect Bundle version comes with the M3 DS Real as well as 2 expansion paks for the GBA slot designed to fit slim with the DS Lite:
The first pak is the rumble pak which can be used in games that support it such as Meteroid Pinball and Elite Beat Agents. The Second expansion pak is the GBA Expansion Pak which supports the running of GBA game roms and homebrew and also double as a ram pak for the DS Browser and some homebrew that supports it. Both of these carts are very good to have and bring out the full potential the M3 Real. It is recommended that you buy this bundle to be fully satisfied with this product.
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Packaging:
Upon receiving my product I was quit surprised at the packaging. It was very small compared to pictures I saw online. However this little box was full of goodies packed tightly togther:
Now newer versions of the bundle wont contain the CD anymore due to it being useless because of outdated firmware and they also changed the MicroSDHC reader to a glossy one. Everything came as expected and seems to be okay, nothing damaged.
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Flast Cart:
The cart is sturdy and doesnt squeak and creek and when bend it. It supports MicroSDHC cards and and slot for the spring loaded ejection for the card is very well built also. Only thing is you can see a bump on the front under the sticker where there is an exposed chip. Many flashcarts these days seem to do this, it does not however effect inserting and taking it out of the DS. Overall very good cart quality, nothing seems to be out of place and everything fits flush.
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Installation:
The M3 Real requires a MicroSD/HC card with the firmware installed on the card in order for it to work. Flash carts work by reading the MicroSD card and loading the firmware from the card now, these cards do not need to flashed in order to work and are very easy to update when new firmwares come out.
Setup was very easy only requiring a drag and drop onto the MicroSD card for the firmware and NDS and GBA roms which have their own folders.
(note: it is recomended to get a better MicroSDHC card then the one included which is garbage, the same for every flash cart to be exact, mine broke after 35 uses or so, I replaced it with a Sandisk Mobile Mate MicroSDHC + M2 reader from amazon.com for $2.50)
I then removed the card from the reader and inserted it into the M3 DS Real
Everything fits real nice and flush once inserted into the DS.
I also inserted the GBA expansion pak, which also went flush with the DS and was glossy, unlike other expansion paks like the EZ 3-in-1 that stick out and arnt glossy.
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Operation:
I turned on the DS and was very happy to see that it skips "touch the screen to continue" upon boot the M3 DS Real then loaded and was presented with a menu:
the explanation for each icon going from left to right are as follows:- the first option will take you too the current ds games on the cart (play your NDS games)
- the second to gba games on the cart (play your GBA games)
- third is a file explorer (think of it as windows explorer)
- fourth is for cart booting for just playing a gba game with a an actual game cart (gba cart or other 3rd party slot-2 card can also be booted)
- fifth is a media player (modded version of moonshell)
- sixth is a built in PDA (I felt DSOrganize was a lot better)
- and seventh is cart options (just some basic options like boot method, select different skins and such)
Rom Browser
Fairly easy to navigate, no problems, little laggy though
Rom Options
some of the basic ROM options such as soft reset (you hold down a combo of buttons and you will return to the M3 Real menu wihout having to shut off your DS)
Cheat Switch (to activate cheats, can be set to always on and to a button combo) and slow motion (useful and your stuck in a game that requires precision but goes to fast, music wont slow down but game play will, can be set on a button combo and can return back to normal) and also take a look at the cheat tab on the top...
Cheat Menu
Just like owning a gameshark\action replay\code breaker , a cheat system is built into this cart and features many codes for almost all games, simple off and on buttons.
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ROM COMPATIBILITY:
NDS
- TetrisDS = Works
- Pokemon D/P = Works
- Contra 4 = Works
- New Super Mario Bros. = Works
- Cooking Mama 2 = Works (soft reset must be tuned off for the this rom other wise it will freeze when making a pizza)
- Lost in Blue = Works
- Trauma Center = Works
- Fell the Magic = Works
- Elite Beat Agents = Works
- Final Fantasy III = Works
- The World Ends With You = Works
- Wario Ware Touched = Works
- DS Opera Browser = Works (must be patched with the official M3 browser patch tool)
all roms run at full speed and wifi works as well, I have not yet encountered any rom errors
GBA
- Super Mario Advance 1/2/3/4 = All Work
- Zelda III A Link to the Past / Four Swords= Works
- Zelda Minish Cap = Works (must use RTS to save game, game will not save without it)
- Zelda I Classic NES Series = Works (requires a IPF patch to work which I applied)
- Zelda II Classic NES Series = Works (requires a IPF patch to work which I applied)
- Wario Land 4 = Works (RTS must be turned off or game will crash)
- Kirby Nightmare in Dream Land = Works
- Pokemon Fire Red = Works
- Pokemon Emerald = Works
- Kirby and the Amazing Mirror = Works
- Super Mario Bros. Classic NES Series = Works (requires a IPF patch to work which I applied)
- Wario Ware Inc. = Works
- Bubble Bobble Old and New = Works
(*note* all classic NES series must be patched with special IPS patches or else they will return a GAME PAK ERROR message upon boot of them)
all GBA games work at full speed and the M3 Expansion has superb compatibility when it comes to GBA roms
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CONCLUSION:
The M3 DS Real is a very sturdy cart with excellent rom compatibility. As far as homwbrew, the only one I got to test is DSorganize which auto DLID patched its self and ran fine. I do recommended this cart for a person that wants both DS and GBA excellent rom compatibility at a low price.
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PROS/CONS
Pros:- Good Cart Quality
- Auto Homebrew DLID patch
- 100% Rom Compatibility
- 95% GBA Rom Compatibility
- MicroSDHC cart supported
- Cheat Support
- GBA RTS+RTC Support
- NDS RTS Support
- NDS Slow Motion availability
- Comes with both a Rumble Pak and GBA Expansion Pak made to fit flush with the DSL and comes glossy
Cons- Scroll list for game menu and somewhat laggy
- Random 10sec lag when selecting games from NDS and GBA games (fixed with M3 Sakura)
- Touch screen for M3 Menu us somewhat dodogy at best and sometimes doesn't respond (fixed with M3 Sakura)
- NDS+GBA game list doesnt auto alphabetic sort (fixed with M3 Sakura)
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SCORE:
review quoting pending with new release of M3sakura (new firmware for M3 DS Real which will fix all problems with menu)
================================================== ===================
Any questions you have I will be happy to answer below. 
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May 14th, 2008, 05:38 Posted By: ICE
Lets face it. Mario Kart Double Dash sucked. It was
just too slow and two riders was simply retarded. It added nothing of interest but I guess slower
karts.. Thats why when Mario Kart Wii was announced I was met with mixed feelings. If we
got anything like Mario Kart DS all would be well but if they threw another Double Dash at us
then its a whole different story!
As more details began to emerge and my fears of a slow kart went away by the seeing videos I
found myself with brand new fears of a "family friendly" kart game. A soft-core Mario Kart? No
thanks! The DS didnt get that so why the Wii?
Well now that I've spent some personal time with the game I have determined that while the game
is considerably more "family friendly" than the previous versions it is still very enjoyable. The
single player modes are very fast and locked at 60 frames, as I like it, and as much fun as it
should be. However, the multiplayer is, and will always be where its at with Kart and that is no
different here. Local multiplayer is fun and fast-ish.. The thing is it seems to be locked at 30
frames! Ick! Oh well.. Everything else is as it should be.
Here is where Kart shines. Online. Thats right. A Ninty game that is not only good online its
nearly FLAWLESS. There is literally zero lag and everything is amazingly fast. Connecting takes
seconds and its locked once more at 60 frames. Fan-freaking-tastic! My only complaint is that
Battle Mode forces you to be on a team so that no one loses alone.. LAME. Oh and friend codes
still suck. You can at least make rooms for your friends and even see if they're playing online
without even starting the game via the Mario Kart Channel which is pretty sweet.
Ninty once more has shown the world how to do a few major things on Wii with Mario Kart. Online
here is an enormous step forward and devs should take notice. THIS IS HOW ITS DONE. Thats not all
they did very right here though. Oh no, they also have pulled off waggle steering! While the Wii
Wheel is little more than an extension of the "B" trigger the steering is great. I have had no
interest in using any other control method and am even able to be just as competitive online as
anyone using a joystick.
My biggest complaint with this game is a little something called rubber banding. Basically if
you're in first place get ready to be snapped back to dead last. Don't worry though because soon
you'll snap back to first! Yeah its the family friendly crap again. No matter how good you are
you simply wont win every race anymore like in the karts of old. Tragic.
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