XBOX Reviews

Bullet Witch

Bullet Witch is set on a bleak Earth, in the year 2013. The human race is almost extinct as hideous demons and monsters dominate the planet. It’s been decided that only a combination of ancient and modern combat can beat the se creatures. Alicia is a highly-trained soldier who also know ancient magic. The fate of the human race is in her hands, as she ventures into the world of monsters and fights them with her mix of magical arts and military equipment. Manage Alicia’s health & magic meters to avoid running out of ammo or power — be strategic & play it safe, or the world dies with her.

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars A world of destruction.
I’ll do this one level by level.

Lvl. 1: Starts out dull and boring. Enemies look dumb and their AI isn’t any better. To progress through the level, you have to shoot brain-monsters, which allows you access deeper into the area. My first impression was, ‘This is incredibly outdated gameplay.’ Still, it was nice blowing things up. After a bit, you reach the enemy tank, and you’re given a powerful lightning spell. From here on, I was all smiles. The major spells in Bullet Witch are ridiculously overpowered and it’s great fun pushing flaming cars into enemies, or blowing up entire buildings.

Lvl. 2: City level. It’s a bit too spacious- too many wide stretches with nothing going on. What makes it worse is that the main chacracter, Alicia, cannot run very fast. You can’t hit ‘A’ for example and sprint. It’s just click, click, click of her high heels, over and over again. I did have fun taking out the enemy soldiers as they collected in a big group underneath their helicopter, and for the first time, you face snipers. These guys can do one hit kills, so there’s a lot of dodging going on. In actuality, I kind of appreciated the one hit kills. I like playing as a sniper in most games. Snipers don’t get enough credit.

Lvl. 3: Down through the manditory sewer level. Every game has a sewer level. After the sewers, it’s on to the airport terminal. More enemies, more snipers, you can shoot out the overhead glass, and you face these weird creatures that look like the exploding enemies in Halo, but with Asian Ghost Girl faces. From the terminal, you head on to the plane. There is a boss fight on the plane, and you’re literally ON the plane. Not IN the plane. I thought this was incredibly inspired game design. Of course, the boss kicks your butt over and over again until you figure out how to cast your third Lightning spell. Hint: Jump to the tail to shoot it in the mouth, and go from there . . .

Lvl. 4: Now walking along train tracks, heading towards some mining-type facility. Big explosion here. Good fun. Just be careful where you are standing when it all gets blown to hell.

Lvl. 5. Arriving at the militia HQ. Lots of gunplay. Plus, you get the tornado spell. Cast it as much as you can. It’s awesome. AWESOME.

Final Lvl. It’s back to the city again, to finish off the boss. The boss fight is kind of tedious, especially because the boss’ shields recharge over and over again. Why couldn’t it be a one and done? You’ll do a lot of dodging, healing of soldiers and tons of shooting. Personally, I enjoyed the boss fight. It was long and drawn out, but thankfully straightforward. I never got thrown a curve, like, NOW THE BOSS CAN DO THIS, DIDN’T WE WARN YOU? That kind of stuff feels cheap to me.

Once you beat this monster, it’s game over. Still, you can replay the game and keep levelling up your spells / weapons.

Of course, there are some bad things-

-Alicia cannot sprint, and worse, she cannot dodge and shoot at the same time. The game SCREAMS for this simple ability. Also, the crouch feature is useless.

-Enemy AI is all over the place. Some enemies stand still, letting you blast them away, while others dance around like they’re at a rave. There’s very little middle ground.

-The game is incredibly short. A playthough, even with the endless final boss fight, takes all of 6 hours. If I had bought this game new and at full price, I’d probably feel cheated.

-Bonus content (new costumes / different playable scenarios) is LIVE download only.

But the destruction . . . that makes it all worthwile.

2 Stars Sort of, Kind of Awful
The premise of this game is that the world has basically ended due to a string of tragedies like earthquakes, wars, etc. Oh. And then all of the sudden zombies demons pop up. Enter a gothic looking babe toting a Bigger-than-she-is broomstick shaped machine gun, who is (for some reason) going to shoot her way through the hordes of zombie soldiers to save us all. Sweet, right?

As far as I am concerned, for a video game – that’s actually a fine premise. On top of that the design on the main character is pretty nifty. In fact, it was nifty enough for me to pick this up out of the bargain bin and take it home.

Thats when I played the game, and instantly regretted the $10 I had just lost. Truth is there is no way the developers looked at the final product and went, “Yes. This is exactly what we envisioned. It’s Perfect And Without Flaw.”

Now, the game is technically playable. But realistically it is so broken that it’s just not worth your time and/or money.

The biggest issue is not the halfway-there stage layouts which are chock full o’ pointless and distant dead ends, the terrible dialogue, and the “Well, We Tried” PS2 worthy graphics. It’s the fact that the enemy AI is literally retarded. Enemies walk into walls, run around in circles, fire sporadically, sometimes notice you while you’re a mile a way and can’t see them and sometimes are blissfully unaware that you are right in front of them. If you get a car thrown at you, you have a 50/50 chance that it will kill you instantly or not hurt you at all regardless of whether it actually hits you or not. Most of your time spent playing this game will have you wondering “What The Hell Is Going On?” Not to worry. The game doesn’t know either.

Sure there’s nfity gun upgrades, and some “somewhat useful” magic (that is a huge pain to use), which helps the game be fun for like 5 minutes… or until you realize that it’s not going to get any better.

It’s sort of a shame because you can definitely see a really cool game that just needed a little bit of extra attention to live up to it’s potential. Sadly, it’s just not there, dooming this game to a life in the “Bargain Bin.” Which is where it should stay…

5 Stars Fun, good story and Lots of Achievements!!!!
Here’s the lowdown on Bullet Witch. I went in not expecting much, and I had a ton of fun with it. I liked Bullet Witch enough to go back and earn almost ALL of the achievements, most of which were fairly easy to acquire. I was shocked by how good the story was, even if it was not a long one.

All in all, Bullet Witch has become one of my favorite 360 games. I feel that my gaming experience has been enhanced by playing a great game like this. It has a lot of niche moments and niche gaming facets, which as you know are some of the best things in gaming…. you know, the intangibles.

anyway, my final score is 2 thumbs up. I liked the upgrading system for the weapons, and the implementation was very cool. I also liked the characters in the story, very well done!

Find a copy today! My highest recommendation!

4 Stars Bullet Witch – Platinum Hit worthy
Bullet Witch could be described as an `undone’ Devil May Cry with Resident Evil thrown in… but still a good effort for graphics and sound (and ugly demons). Bonus downloads of costumes and blowing up tanks and a gas station… fun.

4 Stars Don’t compare it to major titles, just have fun
This game is not at all bad. As far as ‘B’ title games would go, this one was very fun. Of course there are better games out there; I get tired of people comparing a game like this to Gears of War, etc. Not all games are going to be 100/100.

I picked this up in the store on the sale rack, having never heard of it. I came into the game with no expectations, but by the end of it, it was a great game. It had its little hiccups from time to time but overall, it was a very fun game to pick up, play, beat, and put down.

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Silent Hill Homecoming

Follow the story of Alex Shepherd, who is returning to his hometown of Shepherd’s Glen to investigate the sudden disappearance of his brother. From Shepherd’s Glen to the foggy streets of Silent Hill, Alex must face the darkest of horrors in order to find his brother. Struggling with his own grip on reality, Alex must unravel the mystery behind his nightmares, discover the truth behind his brother’s and father’s disappearances, and confront the evil that has taken hold of his own flesh and blood.

User Ratings and Reviews

3 Stars Great story, lousy combat
This game has a very promising story, however I have no clue what happens, since I keep dying. It does not blow in the sense that it is a bad game. On the contrary, I thought that the story line was compelling. However the enemies may be a tad too much. I am an avid video game player, and I have a great deal of trouble with these enemies. There is very little ammo provided and the enemies can drain half your health in one shot. This is a story centered game, not a hack and slash, it shouldn’t take this much effort to kill these enemies. Frankly, I gave up on it. I would have liked to find out what happens in the story, but I could not contend with the enemies.

1 Star The most boring game ever made in the history of the planet.
At first it was okay, then, about thirty minutes into the game I had no idea what to do next. I literally spent hours running around trying to figure out what the heck I was supposed to do but I decided to stop wasting my time. This game is so boooooooring, even the music is boring. Its unrealistic like why does every single door in the world have a broken lock? makes no sense, ripoff.

4 Stars Could have been better…
Silent Hill Homecomings was hands down great in the graphics department. The bosses were fairly easy to beat once you figured out the timing of their attacks. Several times I found myself laughing at the game’s attempt to scare you with fake shrills and sound effects. This game dragged a bit in the pacing of the plot. While this game is not as great as the 1st Silent Hill and Silent Hill Origins for the PSP, it’s worth playing. The story is short and the soundtrack is hot.

1 Star I Hate This Game
I have never thought I would actually hate a video game. Oh, there are games that I find boring, there are games that I’ve struggled with, games that I’ve just given up on (such as Fear 2), but actually hate a video game? Well, now I have met that game. I hate Silent Hill: Homecoming. I loved the first three games and I’ve also liked the Origin game for PSP, the forth game was a bit boring…but now I hate this game. There is no way to beat the boss, Scarlet, for example. I’ve tried again and again. I’ve done my best to conserve all my health drinks and other healing products, but even when I was well stock, there was still no way to beat this boss. Now mind you, I dont care for butten mashing games, like God of War, and that’s the only way you must beat Scarlet. There is no other solution. So, since I’m not skilled in those kind of games, this game is worthless. Again, I’ve loved the video games before this one, heck, I even enjoyed the movie, but this particular chapter has shown me that I will never pick up a future Silent Hill product ever again. This video game has ruined the entire Silent Hill series for me forevermore. I spent 60 dollars when it first came out for my XBox 360. I wish I had gotten it, oh, from some five dollar bucket.

5 Stars Very Exciting Game
I used to play all the versions of Silent Hill , starting from PS1 through xbox360 . However , this game is the best one of these versions.

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BioShock

BioShock is the “genetically enhanced” first person shooter that lets you do things never before possible in the genre: turn everything into a weapon, biologically mod your body with plasmids, hack devices and systems, upgrade your weapons and craft new ammo variants, and experiment with different battle techniques in an incredible and unique underwater city. You are a cast-away in Rapture, an underwater Utopia torn apart by civil war. Caught between powerful forces, and hunted down by genetically modified splicers” and deadly security systems, you have to come to grips with a deadly, mysterious world filled with powerful technology and fascinating characters. No encounter ever plays out the same, and no two gamers will play the game the same way. BioShock is loaded with some of greatest, most modifiable weapons to ever blast their way into a shooter. But guns alone won’t be enough to defeat the devious AIs of Rapture. There are literally hundreds of other strategies players can use to take out his enemies. Here’s just a few things you can do a foe: Brainwash Him to Become Your Personal BodyGuard Invent your own Ammo Types to Prey on his Vulnerabilities Turn his own Security System Against Him Light Him on Fire and Launch Heat Seeking Missiles At him Torment Him with Plagues of Insects Take Research Photos of Him to Learn his Weaknesses Send Him Flying into the Ceiling to Knock him Senseless

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Amazing Game (and I HATE 1st person shooters)
I’ve never been a fan of 1st person shooters, always found the linear nature of them quite boring. I’d been looking for a new game to play and had seen Bioshock reviewed quite well so I decided to download the demo off of Xbox Live. I literally played the demo for 10 minutes and jumped online to buy the game.

The environment created for this game is probably the best i’ve ever played. The water effects are amazing, but beyond that, Rapture (the undersea city the game takes place in) is simply a sight to be seen. The voice acting is top notch and the story solid.

Everyone should play this game at some point, and at $20 it really is a steal of a value.

5 Stars Bioshock
Game play wise, this game is fantastic if you like First person shooters/Role playing games. Graphics wise, it is fair, but the slightly animated sense helps push along the overall mood of the game. The story is terrific. It is one of the most creative games plot wise I have played in a long time. This game has the potential to scare even the experienced FPS (First Person Shooter) player. A very original and twisted game.

5 Stars This was a good one
I really enjoyed this game. I wasn’t excited about playing this game at first and I received it as a gift. When I finally got around to playing it, I was very impressed. I enjoyed the scenery/feeling of the game and found the characters to be humorous yet deadly. I had to play through twice just to see the alternate endings. Hours of play for minutes of satisfaction Little sisters and their protector “MR. B” , what an unusual but pleasing gaming experience.

4 Stars Just a good ole game!!!!!
The game is really fun the only reason i gave it a 4 and not a 5 is bc it gets a little repetitive. I was looking for a game that is cheap and a lot of fun and i got it. I really like all the things you can upgrade your weapons, plasmids and abilities. Its hacks are fun to do bc bc it reminds me of that old pipe game i used to play on the PC. If you looking for something to do while you wait for a game(batman) or whatever this is the one. Its cheap and a lot of fun. If you dont try it you will be sad.

5 Stars Perfect
I can’t stress enough how amazing this game was. This is not your average shooter. It has a story that will pull you in, great graphics, and incorporates many different types of gameplay. The story was fantastic, and based off of Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged”. They did a fantasic job adapting this novel. One thing you can do, is find audio diaries (they are optional) that will give you a backstory that changes the game everytime. The story is carried all the way through the game, and leads up to a twist ending no one would expect. Even though it doesn’t have multi-player, its one of those games where you want to play it again. I’ve played it almost 5 times. Each level has a new type of gameplay. For example, one level you might have to collect certain objects, and the next you have to find people and kill them. The graphic are irresistable; they are very different from anything else you’ve seen. Since it’s based in the early 50’s, a lot of things are older, but that doesn’t mean the weapons. Remember, this is a futuristic game (kind of) and the weapons are cool, not to mention the plasmids, which you are going to have to figure out what that is yourself. All in all, this is a game I would have paid $70 for, and I highly recommend it.

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Fallout 3 Game Add On Pack Operation Anchorage and The Pitt

Anchorage And The Pit Expansions For Fallout 3 in one package

User Ratings and Reviews

1 Star Not worth $20
I suppose this review contains spoilers, as if this could be spoiled.

First let me say that Fallout 3 is the best game I’ve ever played. This add-on pack really adds nothing to the game.

I played the “Pitt” portion first and was disappointed. I wasn’t able to take my followers with me, and all the gear was taken from me upon entering. The added enemies here didn’t seem that great, and all the guys talked like Jehrico. There were stupid little “quests” to be completed that weren’t as good as the nuka-cola challenge in the original. The arena part was just like a watered down version of the arena in Oblivion.

Now the Anchorage Simulation part was the worst. First, the idea of playing a video game within a video game leaves a lot to be desired. All of the enemies are super easy to defeat, so you probably need to up the difficulty setting to “very hard” if you really want this annoying experience to go on a little longer. If you’ve feel like you’ve been longing for a “boss” fight(oh yea, just what every video game needs, yuk), well you get a little one here.

You can’t loot fallen enemies, you replenish your ammo and health at the many convenient locations throughout the simulation. At the end of it, I still don’t know what was the point of it all, except that you get some weapons to keep that aren’t any better than the ones you currently have, and that you’ll not be able to repair yourself because they are the only ones in the game.

I’m not online with the Xbox so this was the only way for me to get the extra content. I’m not sure how the online stuff works, but if it’s free, it might be worth just checking it out, but if you pay for it, it’s not worth it. It was all that I could stomach trying to finish the Anchorage Simulation. It’s nothing like playing Fallout 3 except that you can use your VATS, but short of that, it seems like a totally different game, and not a good one at that.

Save your money and just play Fallout again, trying different stuff. I’ve played the game through 5 times and enjoyed it every time, doing various things differently.

If you got this, played it, and liked it, that’s great. It obviously appeals to you on some level that I cannot understand, so there’s no need to post a comment, although I’m sure someone will. This is just my opinion, that’s all.

3 Stars milking consumers
Yes, this is probably great for those that don’t have access to DLC and couldn’t wait, but still seems like a milk job by bethsoft. I’ll still be waiting for the single pack that has all the dlc for the game, not just a couple of them. My copy of fallout3 has been collecting dust since release, what’s another half year when there’s so many other great games to play.

5 Stars Great addition to the game!
I don’t have xbox live myself, so the Game Add-On Pack is great (allowing me to get dlc that I’m not able to anyways). The Pitt and Operation: Anchorage are both great expansion packs (although they’re fairly short). I really appreciate Bethesda putting this out there for those of us who can’t get the dlc anyways. I’m really looking forward to August to get the Broken Steel and Point Lookout Add-On pack.

5 Stars Worthy addition to already great game even if a little short.
YOU MUST OWN A COPY OF FALLOUT 3 TO PLAY THIS EXPANSION. This disc contains Operation Anchorage and The Pitt two expansion’s previously available from X-box Live through a download. Operation Anchorage puts the player in a simulator to experience the Chinese Red Army siege of Alaska (which Fallout 3 fans should already know about through the game anyway). It introduces new weapon’s and armor that your character can use if they win the simulation which you can then use in the “real world”. The Pitt takes you to Post Apocalyptic Pittsburgh to save a town over run by Raider’s(again Fallout 3 fans should already know what a raider is). You get new weapon’s here as well. The expansion is a little on the short side but it is still really fun. If you are a Fallout 3 fan this is a must own if you haven’t already got it from Live. Oh and when you put in the disc it will automatically give you the new X-box experience which is pretty much a new dashboard and you make an avatar for when and if you go online. Hope this has helped.

5 Stars Great addition to the best game of 08
Great add-ons, a little on the short side but they are def. worth it, more weapons, people to fight, land to explore, and its just great. a must have if you don’t have it, and more useful to those taht can’t download them from xbox live marketplace.

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Tom Clancys Rainbow Six Vegas 2

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars Over Too Quickly
Pretty much everyone who picks up Vegas 2 has completed the original and knows that the ending is just the beginning. Except that it isn’t. Instead you step back five years and complete a mission that doesn’t really seem to make a lot of sense unless you look very closely at your team. Of course, they don’t wear name tags so they have to get wounded for you to confirm their identities. So, you play through the memory scene and pick up the action in Vegas before Vegas 1 actually begins.

The interwoven storyline is one of the best features of the non-technical side of the game. It still seems ridiculous that Rainbow has randomly stashed crates of weapons and ammo throughout Las Vegas and that you seem to carry some sort of universal sound suppressor for every conceivable weapon (except sniper rifles). But realism has never been Rainbow’s strong suit.

While the game is harder than the first I did not find it too difficult to complete as a single player. The ‘realistic’ setting will ensure that you’re zapped by a tango sniper any time one is around. Situational awareness is key in Vegas 2. The new scenery is fantastic – especially battling through the backyards of the cookie-cutter houses (reminded me of Phoenix really) and the sign graveyard.

Technically, I had no issues with the game and believe that Ubisoft continues to put out polished work. The controls and layout are easy to work with and customization is pretty easy to figure out.

Overall, the game was a blast to play – although the final scenes took some frustrating replays (have to take my own situational awareness comment to heart). But I have to say that the game seemed quick and was over sooner than I would have liked.

5 Stars FIVE STARS NO MATTER WHAT.
Alright….. yes….. it feels more like an expansion than a real sequel..

But i still give it five stars.

The enemy respawning thing is awfull…… they give you things like sniper rifles to ….. kill your enemy from far away, as you can do in the ghost recon series, because they populate the map from the beginning of the match, but here, you just have to wait until you arrive to a checkpoint to see eight or ten tangoes popping out of the air in front of you…. no surprise factor at all…… you are the only surprised one.

BUT………… FIVE STARS.

Not so many new weapons, but………. five stars.

WHERE IS THE M14???????……… but …….. five stars.

No VINTOREZ either….. but…. five stars.

This game, like its predecesors, is the best CQB FPS there is.

If they manage to populate the maps from the begining of the matches with enemies, they will score seriously and gameplay will improve drastically.

FIVE STARS to this game.

4 Stars Co-op comments
My neighbor and I enjoy playing co-op split screen first person shooters. We played R6V1 and felt it was very entertaining in its tactical gameplay. R6V2 gave us more of the same. There are few split screen co-op games out there for the XBox 360 but this is one that I would recommend. Not as much fun as Gears of War or Halo 3 but better than some of the others (Army of Two, Kane & Lynch). If you are looking for this type of gameplay (two player, split screen), then I would recommend GoW first, then Halo 3, then the Rainbox Six series. You may want to put R6V1 between GoW and Halo 3, not because it’s a better game, but to mix it up a bit and not have two military FPS games in a row.

There are several others coming in Nov 2008 (GoW 2, Saints Row 2), which should add to the fun.

3 Stars Decent shooter but very hard
Basically the same as the the first , but very hard. Some missions I must have played 10 times or more to get past.

3 Stars What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas for a reason.
Ubisoft has managed a rare treat with Rainbow Six Vegas 2; they managed to accurately portray what it’s like to go to Las Vegas. Vegas is an interesting city, even if you don’t gamble or party it’s a fun city to go to just to visit and sightsee. You’ll go and have a great time and when you get back, you’ll start talking to other people trying to plan a trip back. The thing is if you go back too soon, you realize Vegas isn’t all that fantastic. The city hasn’t changed, but it’s not as good as you remember.

This is Vegas 2. The first Rainbow Six Vegas was a fantastic game with an interesting backdrop of being in Vegas. While the sequel doesn’t add anything, the game plays the same and it feels like an expansion of the first game. While not necessarily a bad thing, somehow Vegas 2 just isn’t as fun as the first game. If you’ve played Rainbow Six Vegas, you’ve played Vegas 2, but now there’s new levels. Let me make this simple – graphics, audio, gameplay all the same as R6V.

The biggest addition is the A.C.E.S. (Advanced Combat Enhancement and Specialization) system. In which you are awarded points for the various ways you can kill enemies. What’s nice is the A.C.E.S. and rank aren’t restricted to multi-player; you can now earn XP and A.C.E.S. in the single player game as well. Now, you can go into multi-player after playing the story and have better weapons and armor unlocked. It also means, you don’t have access to the full arsenal of weapons throughout the game, but luckily enough you keep enemy weapons you pick up. It can easily make you change the way you would normally play the game. If a certain weapon you want is opened up at a certain level in the assault A.C.E., you might try to earn those points and change up your own style. It’s nice because it can add some variety and almost forces you to experiment with the game play.

The enemy AI is pretty good, they’ll try and flank you and take cover when available. The problem is that it’s very easy to get stuck at a part and have to re-do it multiple times and if you do you can know exactly where the enemies will be because it doesn’t change. For the most part, I have had some encounters that played out differently, but it generally is “cover here, shoot here, that alerts this other guy here, now shoot here”, etc., etc.

I really liked Rainbow Six Vegas it was one of my favorite games of 2006 and I thought it was better than a lot of the stuff in ‘07. Unfortunately, like real Vegas, Vegas 2 is exactly the same, but just not as fun. It did feel more like an expansion than a full-fledged sequel, and I’m glad I didn’t pay full price for it.

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