Almost perfect.

Over the years I have had a Megadrive, Amiga CD32, PS1, Gamecube and now the Xbox 360. I am not a fanboy nor am i loyal to one brand. I make my purchasing decisions on the games I like playing and what friends have, so that I can swap games later down the line. I have had the 360 for 16 months now and still play on it nearly every day.

To make the most out of it, just like the PS3, you will need a HDTV, such as an LCD and Plasma TV to display the higher resolution. Trying to watch the game on a standard TV is useless as you cannot see the text on screen and you will be missing out big time. My machine does not have the HDMI socket, so the picture comes through component cables. My TV can only display upto 1080i via HDMI and component, so am not missing out on resolution, it just means instead of 1 small lead, I have a larger lead splitting into 5 smaller leads, no problem because they are hidden at the back.

The positive points:
The graphics are superb when compared to my previous consoles. Oblivion is amazing with the wide open space where you do whatever you want, no linear gameplay. Gears of War, Halo and Call of Duty 4 are stunning.
The controller is easy to hold and use, with the numerous buttons. Sometimes you can forget what buttons do what if you keep changing games, but you soon remember. The rumble feature on the pad is essential. It was there on the PS1 and GameCube, so have been used to it. The games make full use if this feature, and it does make a huge difference in playing. Sony take note, please start shipping the PS3 with the rumble joypad!
The online experience is great. You can download demos, trailers, games with ease. You can also talk to friends and invite them to games you are playing. It is far more fun playing against another human rather than computer AI.

The negatives are:
Boy is it noisy. It is not so much the fans, but the DVD drive. When there is no disc is the drive, you can hear the fans, but they are not that loud. However, insert a game disc and it sounds like its ready to take off. A cheap DVD drive probably is to blame.
Online play. Although a plus, the minus is it costs and extra £40 per year. This however is a small price to play for a good fast service. The other drawback is the trash talk from little brats. The verbal abuse you can get when you beat them is unbelievable, and sometimes there is swearing as well.
Reliability is an issue. I have sent mine for repair for the dreaded RROD. It was all back repaired within 8 days and there is a 3 year warranty, but it is still an issue wandering whether it will break down again.

I made the right decision in buying one and would recommend the system if you can see through the faults, because the gaming experience you get will out way the negatives.

Could be adjusted slightly for the UK market

The food choices in this game are really based on American culture more than British, for instance there is no"English Breakfast" in the breakfast options (or elsewhere) but there is pancakes for breakfast. This is not the only example. In general the food choices are rather more limited than desirable.

Apart from that its rather fun and I think it (so far) does motivate one.

If you like shooters this is one you have to own

Bad company is a brilliant game. The single player aspect isn't spectacular, but the multiplayer is something else. So to start off, the battlefied franchise has never been well known for it's single player campaigns. This is the first one to incorporate a real story and it's not done too badly. I think it introduces you to the controls, damage systems and the gadgets of the game quite well, but to be honest, I wouldn't buy it for the single player alone.

One thing I will quickly go into is the new frostbite engine, allowing you to blow up pretty much anything. This system is great.. the 'novelty' of it all wears off pretty quickly, but once you sink your teeth into the online mode it becomes second nature and seems hard and annoying to imagine a game where you can't just blow up the wall to get the guy who just ran in. It's not 'groundbreaking' but it's a lot of fun and very very useful online.

So the main part of this review then is the multiplayer. I'm a big fan of Call of Duty 4 but I truly think this is, dispite it's niggles, a lot more fun. There's not a lot of modern online shooters that are good for the new generation of consoles, so I'd say the current competition is between this and call of duty. But Call of Duty is simply nothing like this, whilst it concentrates on fast and furious gunplay, bad company is a bigger package. Although at time of release there is only one game mode and 8 maps, the mode simply doesn't get boring and the maps are massive, all lots of fun and contain a lot of variety within each one.

You will be able to drive jeeps, tanks, boats and helicopters. These vehicles all behave nicely enough and when used correctly can be devestating. But the great thing about this game is the balance between all of the classes, vehicles and weapons. Tanks can be deadly, but the specialist Class can run up beside it and plant C4, only to run a few feet away, click the remote control and experience a great explosion (one of my favourite and most satisfying moments of the game). Obviously there are many other ways to take out vehicles too, such as mines, tracking guns which can be used with or without rocket launchers, airstrikes, artillery and even stationary rocket emplacements.

The game online just feels right. When you get to grips with the classes and weapons, you can swiftly deal with any situation thrown at you which is immensely satisfying. All of the vehicles, levels, destruction and such just combines to make every match unique and provides all sorts of experiences that no two people will have. It's a game where you rush to tell your friends about the ridiculous sniper shot you took where you hit the helicopter pilot in the head.. there are just so many priceless moments. If you've never played a PC version of Battlefield, this is something you NEED to experience.

Now on with the various online rankings and unlocklables, something that makes these sorts of games very addictive and rewarding. Unfortunatley I don't have 100% positive things to say about it all, but keep in mind it is by no means bad and I only have niggles of comsplaint. Firstly, there are only 25 ranks and I am already the top one, which only requires 37000 points (I average 400-500 points per round). As you progress through the ranks you will be given credits you can use to unlock extra weapons and equipment. I personally had a problem where my ranks were displayed incorrectly, but I have not found anyone else with the same problem. Some of the unlockable stuff is essential and a lot of fun. There is an extra 'thing' you get when you reach the top rank which gives extra longevity but I will leave that for you to find out.

On top of rank, there are 120 awards consisiting of trophies, patches and wildcards. You will be awarded these for all sorts of things and they vary tremendously in difficulty. About half of them are really easy to get, whilst the other half consist of some near impossible to achieve. It's dissapointing there is not a wider variety but they do give incentives to try different classes and such. One of the final great things about this game is the dog tag collection system, something I don't think I've seen in an online console game but deffinately something that's been long awaited. When you knife somebody, you collect their dogtags which depending on who you get will award you with a different number of bonus points. You can then look in a menu to see all the dog tags you've collected which shows the persons gamertag, timestamp, rank and quantity of tags. If you're anything like me, you will be frantically trying to sneak up on people and knife them.. it becomes very addictive.

Bad Company is great. I really really like the online and I think it's as good or better than call of duty. Well, if not 'better' then a lot more fun with more variety. It's not perfect and currently there's a lot of niggles that are dampening my fun.. but if you like online games and especially if you're getting bored with COD4 and GTA4.. this is game to deffinately check out.

Disappointing

I found this game didn't live up to the hype and would reccomend another game such as Assasins Creed or GTA4

lot of fun for what it is

2 friends brought thier copies of the game round to a recent house party. Was good fun, and was instantly hooked. Had the game for a week & played it quite a lot. Very quick to pick up and seems to be a fair bit of life, at least judging by how hard"expert" mod is. You get to unlock about 60 songs in the main game, and another few in 2 player mode. Havent found any Quo or Jovi numbers yet tho :(

Is ok for adults and the bigger kids, youngsters struggled with the coordination a bit. 2 player mode is reasonable, but you need 2 guitars (durr!) so is only really for parties / internet play.

Rating would be higher, but there really isnt a lot to it compared to something like GTA. Is lots of fun, but not a great deal of variety. But you can figure that out from the box.

Small tip: the box is huge, so if you have to pick it up from the post office, dont take the sports bike you've just had serviced, take at least a volvo and 2 stevedores. Or that Goldwing you've been pretending not to be interested in.

My new best friend

Okay, not exactly 'new'. I've had my DS for almost a year now.
I've loved it for almost a year, too.
I chose pink because it was quite girly and I just liked the color of it. I use an R4 Card and let me just tell you it is the bomb. I can carry almost 30 games around with me all the time.
The battery lasts for ages and I this is just wonderful to play and to own. The games are so much more fun than the dreaded PSP

amazing - you must buy this

Forget Ramsey, Delia, Oliver or any other chef you have heard of - this is the only guide you will need. This puts them to shame and you will wonder how you survived on the glop you used to make and consume. This is more than a cooking guide, it will change your life.

This is the reason the Nintendo DS was made - cutting edge culinary gameplay coupled with your hunger means you will never need any other recipe book or game.

There is no way to truly comprehend the true joy and happiness that this game brings. I have never ever eaten better food - and I've been to a restaurant which served food on warm plates! This game will never be matched. It is like being filled up with food beyond your imagination and turning into a balloon and floating to the heavens.

I now continually stuff my face thanks to this game, it is that brilliant. It is, without a doubt, the best game ever and it overshadowers the top titles like Zelda. Do you think Link or Ganon could cook up a decent meal? I don't think so - if this doesn't go to the number one spot in the charts, it will be a great injustice.

When I told my neighbours about this and cooked them a meal using this, they shouted and yelled at me to get out of their house. They threw out all their cookbooks and they have replaced them with this. A fusion of game and food come together brilliantly.

But I must tell you a personal story, I was lost in the desert while I was shooting a documentary with Ray Mears. I asked him if he could whip up some food, he didn't know what to do and after endless hours in the sun, he fainted. I whipped out my DS and loaded this game and I was able to make some sushi (the camera crew had the ingredients). Ray was revived and it all worked out. We would have starved were it not for this game - and I mean the type of starving where you are hungry and need food to live.

You must buy it now!

Really easy to use

This game is great for the DS because it is so easy to pick up and play for a few minutes without getting frustrated or bored, even if you play for longer periods. The games are all fairly simple but there really is 42 of them, and they really are all proper games (admittedly a few felt a little samey, but msot of the time on these games you find only a few decent ones.) The controls are so easy to use and totally designed for the DS, and unlike a lot of games where I feel that it could have been made much simpler and less difficult to use. This is a great game at a great price and I would recommend you buy it!

Buzz - Now without the tangled wires =D

Buzz is back to its best. The only real problem i have is the online only has a small amount of questions.

First off the best thing about it is the wireless controllers. Now i don't have to spend 5minutes before hand untangling the wires before i start.

I've also been on the PS store and theres already a few packs to download for cheap prices, so the amount of questions will only increase.

Its also been confirmed that a patch will hit this month giving it trophy support.

Totall shambles!

What a load of crap this deal is!

its bad enough that EA & Harmonix epect us to fork out 130 quid for a bunch of controllers! let along go out & spend another 50 quid on the saoftware! if you want this game get it imported from the states it will work out alot cheaper & i think im goign to stick to guitar hero from know on atleast activision have fair prices for their"bundles" but i can still see Guitar Hero World Tour costing around the same price (130)

Fun and Entertaining

I just love these type of games and this one does not disappoint. My son just bought a DS Lite and now has the added benefit of me buying games for it. They are so addictive.

However, I know my mental maths skills are coming on. This game has various 'brain' games from simple maths to making words up from a selection of letters circulating. Harder games open up once you reach a certain level and your progress is always recorded and monitored.

The game can save up to 4 profiles which means the whole family can join in. The first page where you select your profile shows everyone's brain age. The games show both your overall best 3 scores and the top 3 scores from everyone playing the game. Both me and my son are getting quite competitive trying to be no 1.

You know it is giving your brain a work out because you actually feel tired after it. You can test yourself which then gives you your brain age the ultimate age being 20.

The game also comes with sudoku which is really easy to play. A lot better than paper, pencil and the essential rubber.

Definitely a must buy if you like this type of game.

Does what it's meant to do!

Great - and pretty much essential kit if you use your PS3 for watching lots of DVD/Blu-Ray discs.

I like the solid, tactile feel to it - matches the PS3's quality nicely.

OK, so it hasn't got a light, and it needs pairing with your PS3 - so what? It's less than 20 quid and does exactly what it's supposed to do!

Fun but buggy

This game is faster to play, less complex, but just as much fun as the PS2 version. Nice use of the touchscreen makes interacting with whip, levers etc easier for younger players.

Could be completed in a day story mode only, but the additional games/ rewards available mean it has a longer shelf life.

However my copy is very 'buggy' and sometimes freezes right at the end of a level, preventing saves - very frustrating.

Mario Kart DS a true classic!!!!!!

Now I've been playing Mario Kart since it started way back on the SNES!
I have all versions of this Mario Kart over numerous Nintendo Consoles!
This game is definitely be the top my favourite Mario Kart games in the series! I have also purchased Mario Kart Wii which is also a brilliant game. The DS version was really the beta for on-line racing on Nintendo console. However compared to the Wii offering of on-line options Mario Kart DS is very limited, however this is to be expected as this was the first on-line DS game! The DS version has excellent controls and memorable tracks (I love Rainbow Road!).

My opinion of Mario Kart Game Series

1. Mario Kart DS (NDS)
2. Super Mario Kart (SNES)
3. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
4. Mario Kart 64 (N64)
5. Mario Kart Super Circuit (GBA)
6. Mario Kart Double Dash (NGC)
7. Mario Kart Arcade GP (Arcade)
8 Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 (Arcade)

Go on buy this game you wont be disappointed!

not bad but not what its cranked up to be

from the second i first heard about this game a few months back i was interested, my inner childexited about recreating that indy magic.its not abad game,as such, it looks pretty and is sort of fun to play, and i am a hude fan on how the second player can dip in and out at any point in the campain, a feature sadly lacking in many games. also as i am in fairly early stages of the game it is great playing thorough the indy movies that weve all senn countless times. some how this game just aint that great i just cant seem to enjoy playing a game in which when you die you re-spawn exactly where you died, this seems to take away the feeling of risk and suspence which i must admit is quite an achivment. this game is yes, aimed at children, soom adults may enjoy it but to me it just dosnt offer enogh challange to intrest me or most adult gamers. my advice is for chikldren this game may be fun with the simple approach to the game but for adult gamers this is the wrong game.

Awesome game shame about the price

This is available much cheaper at play.com and other locations. Come on amazon, lets get competitive in this market!

Discover the Hidden Treasure that is Lego Indiana Jones!!

Carrying on from the best selling Lego Star Wars games, comes Indiana Jones!
In this game you play the throught the storylines of the three original films - sorry, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is not included. Each of the three films has been expanded to try and get more out of each storyline. As an example, in Raiders of the Lost Ark the bar brawl where Indy meets Marion moves beyond the bar into a mountain top level with more puzzles and action. In Temple of Doom there is a really nice level travelling to Pankot Palace where you ride elephants through more puzzles. And in The Last Crusade there is more made from the escape of Indy and his father when they use the motorbikes. But most importantly, they have kept in all your favourite parts of the film - the classic boulder dash in Raiders, the vehicle chase in Raiders, the mine cart escape in Temple of Doom, the fight on the bridge in Temple of Doom, the discovery of Sir Richard's tomb in the library in Venice from Last Crusade, and also the selection of the 'real grail' at the end of the Last Crusade.
As with Lego Star Wars you can play story mode where you are limited to which characters you can use, and free play mode where you can play with any character you have purchased or earned in an attempt to collect all the extras - such as the status of True Adventurer, the 10 artefacts (replacing the mini kit from Lego Star Wars) and posting all the parcels ( a very nice way of earning extras such as stud mulitpliers, invincibility, silly disguises and more!).
All your favourite characters from the films are here too. Indy is there of course but so is Marion, Sala, Belloc, Short Round, Dr Henry Jones, Marcus Brody and a whole host of minor characters and baddies you meet along the one. As a nod to the Lego Star Wars game there is one special hidden character you can earn too............
So, on to the game itself. How does it play? Well, it is very similar to Lego Star Wars in a lot of ways. You have certain characters who can perform certain actions. So you have a mechanic/engineer who permanently carries a spanner around to fix broken lifts, vehicles, machinery etc.... There are characters who carry spades who can dig up hidden artefacts, chests etc.. and these are a useful weapon too! They make a satisfying ring when you hit someone with it! You also get characters with major weaponry such as a rocket launcher or grenade carrier. These are all really enjoyable to play with, and replace the type of characters used in Lego Star Wars, such as Force characters, Droids who can speak to terminals and Bounty Hunters. All very nice.
Graphically it is much more lush than Lego Star Wars. The backgrounds are really well done, and are a vast improvement on any of the Lego games before it. Though i have one issue with it - the perspective. The backgrounds are 3d but it is very hard to judge where your character is in relation to the edge of a cliff, whether you are near to a rope, and most awkwardly of all, getting onto a ladder can be a real irritant! It is a minor gripe, but a fault with the game that you wish had been ironed out before release.
The music is perfect too - directly lifted from the films.
It plays really well too, and like Lego Star Wars is enjoyed most when playing in co-op mode with a friend.
As for the difficulty, anyone can pick this up from children to adults. The puzzles are generally straightforward (and better than Lego Star Wars in my opinion), but the fighting is not quite as exciting - the lightsabers were so enjoyable in Lego Star Wars, whereas this game has to rely on whips,guns, spades and rocket launchers. What is nice though are the character specific ways of brawling - Short Round has some kung fu moves, Indy has a rough and tumble style of fighting, and Willy has a Super Scream which is funny to use!
Onto the extras on this game - there are loads to discover and unlock. The game hub is set in the University where Indy works and this is where you set off on each of his adventures, buy characters, buy extras, view artefacts and earn some cool hidden stuff. I won't spoil my favourite hidden feature, but i will say that you want to earn all the artefacts........... It unlocks something really cool that will have you grinning from ear to ear!!
So let's go through the good things about Lego Indiana Jones. The puzzles are much better than Lego Star Wars, the music is brilliant, the free play mode is great fun, the gentle humour is as good as ever, the extras are better (there is a trailer for Lego Batman that you can access from the main menu and this is a must to watch), the levels are well thought out and that they have crammed in all the good bits from the films.
However, there are some weaknesses in this game that stop me from giving it five stars.
Firstly, it is not as immediately fun and exciting as Star Wars was. Once i had played through all the stories and gone into free play, i was hooked but the story mode just didn't grip me for some reason. Secondly, the extra characters you can buy/earn just aren't different enough from each other. You always end up playing Indy because he is the most fun to play with, whereas Star Wars had more recognisable 'bit players' that you could enjoy from Bounty Hunters, to Droids and to those using the Dark Side of the Force. Thirdly, it is way too easy. Lego Star Wars was huge and challenging in finding all the hidden extras, and I'm afraid Lego Indiana Jones wasn't for me. I found everything and unlocked everything very quickly, and that was in only in a short span of gaming time. Having said that, the extras that ARE in this game are brilliant.
My final criticism is that the developers haven't really done anything new with Lego Indiana Jones. There is nothing that makes you go 'wow!' like Lego Star Wars did. There is no real innovation in this game - so it is really more of the same, and let's face it, that is not really a bad thing when Lego Star Wars was so good!

Who would like this ?Well, that is pretty simple. Anyone over the age of 5 and upwards who either likes, Lego, Indiana Jones or a fun platforming/collecting game!


I really enjoyed it from beginning to end, short though it was, and would recommend this as a great family game, or a fun game for hard core gamers want a break from serious games. For me it provided a nice break from intense, involving games - this was a pick up and play game with lots of fun for all included.

Roll on Lego Batman later in the year!!

Not much stuff really

I dont think much of this sims 2 add on. I own every single sims 2 expansion pack and stuff packs. There does not seem to be that much more fun to the game with this pack. My daughter is a sims 2 addict she lasted one evening with this pack. When i added the sims 2 freetime for example she was glued for weeks the same with the sims 2 teen style stuff. I guess it may be down to taste for some people. I must add the word dissapointing but not a one star score.

Great Fun

I know there has been a lot of criticism about the price of this game. Yes it does cost a lot to buy but then new games usually do. But I weigh the price against how good the game is and what you actually get for your money. I bought this game together with rock band in a box and together they weren't too bad in price. I only saw the game advertised in a magazine a day before I bought it as had not heard of it before. I thought I would get it for my other half as a pseudo father day present from our pets. For anyone who hasn't played guitar hero, which it is exactly like, here is an over view of the game.

Basically with the guitar part you can use either set of fret buttons ( I like the fact it has two sets, one for smaller hands and one regular set. I have small hands and have found it difficult in guitar hero to play very well in the medium and higher levels) I would recommend going through the tutorials if you are new to it. If you are not I wouldn't bother as you don't get an achievement for completeing them. To play you watch the screen and you see a kneck of a guitar appear and gradually coloured notes will travel along this kneck. When it reaches the bar you play the corresponding fret key on the guitar controller. For the easy level you just use 3 keys and for the higher levels you have to use more. I am still getting used to the extra notes. For playing the drums it is pretty much the same. The only difference being is that you just have four drums to play and the drums each have a colour which corresponds to the note on the screen. Plus you do get a long thin orange note which represents the kick drum. You get a peddle which attachs to the rest of the drum kit. With the vocals you use the mic and a regular xbox controller. If you want to sing and play an instrument you can use a normal xbox headset. The words to the song move across the screen and you have to sing at the proper pitch when the words hit the bar at the side of the screen. Also when the guitarist goes off on one in a solo you have the option of a tamborine which you can play by just banging your hand against the mic when the little black notes move across the screen. You don't have to do this and it won't affect your score. As neither of us can sing to save our lives this is the only part of the game we have had problems with.

All in all I would give this the thumbs up and would especially recommend this to people who have played the guitar hero games. It expands on those games and in my opinion is more fun, especially as you can play with more friends and get a band going. It has great tunes to play and sing along to. A good mixture of the classics and some new stuff.

Personally I would ignore the stuff about the price and buy it, it will bring out the guitarist and drummer in you.