Music Reviews

It surprises me how some people think they know what they are talking about... This is a great product first of all. It comes with component cables, but if you want you can use "better" cables. You will need an optical digital cable to get 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound out of your games. DTS is only available for movies that support it. Games can't use DTS so don't expect it. The component cables that come with this work just great and you don't need to spend alot more money on Monster cables. Do you really think that Microsoft would release somthing that could make their system look bad? Unless you have some insane electrical and/or radio interference then you might want to get cables that are even better than Monster's. Another misconception is that just by using these cables with an HDTV you will get HD resolutions of 1800i with all games. That is just not true! Most games such as Halo only use 480p. There is about 1 maybe 2 games (right now) that go as high as 1080i and I that at least one if not both are football games. That's not to say that 480p is bad because it's not. It's a great resolution and seeing as how most launch games didn't have anti-aliasing, but still looked great proves it. Bottom line great product at a great price.

I saw this in the store the other day and decided to try it out since I have a 53inch HDTV. I wasnt expecting much but I was really suprised at the difference in pictures vs. the standed AV cable that came with the XBOX. After hooking it up, I went to my XBOX control panel to enable 1080i. While I didn't see much difference in Rainbow Six 3, when I popped Madden in, I immediately noticed a difference. The picture seems a lot crisper and sharp, I must say I am plesantly suprised. I then decided to try NCAA football. With the standard AV cable I always found NCAA to be rather grainy and sort of blurry, but after playing the game with the HDAV Pack, the game looked much much better. No more graininess, the picture is as clear as can be. I will have to play Halo for the 100000th time to see if I notice a difference in that as well.

This product is worth all 1,999 pennies that it costs. For those that say you can't tell the difference I don't know what to say. Remember to enable it in your XBOX control panel or it won't work. I'm not sure how this works with regular TVs if at all, so that may be your problem too.

This is a must have for HDTV owners.

i just got the hd-av pack today and hooked it up to my hd tv,and the results are awesome.i tried the matrix since it comes in 1080i and it looks unbelievable.i don't see why some people say that its not worth it.great investment for 20 bucks.

This is the best American game ever. it makes sence other than any other stupid American Game. the Japan people who made this game did the best. I rate This The best 1# Japan/American game ever. Other games are stupid and don't make sence like this one you know what's going on and follows the story. ALL METAL GEAR GAMES MAKE SENCE AND ITS LIKE IT REALLY DID HAPPEN. SOME AMERICAN GAMES DON'T MAKE SENCE THATS JUST STUPID THEY SHOPULD CHANGE IT. JAPAN GAMES RULE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Metal Gear Solid is probably the one series, other than Grand Theft Auto, that has brought more people into the modern gaming era since 1998. The idea that stealth and not shooting takes precedence was and still is a revolutionary concept in the video game industry. Now over a year and a half since Metal Gear Solid 2's release on the Playstation 2, Knonami has served up a healthy dosage of supplemental material for this disc.

One of the things that makes this title stand out is the enormous variety in gameplay. There are various modes of play you can engage in. Hold up modes, VR missions, bomb difusals, elimination, alternate missions, over 500 in all. There's enough here to help you stave off bordom for quite a while. One of the standout features of this game are the Snake Tales. A side story feature that details Snake's mission during the main body of the game ( the full version of Metal Gear Solid 2 Sons of Liberty is also included in this game). As you complete each set of challenges you unlock more playable characters, each with a varying degree of difficulty of use. Hideo Kojima has put alot on the table for you do that it doesn't feel like an "addon".

The graphics are essentially the same as the original game for PS2. But for those who feared some of the graphical problems that were associated with the XBox version, do not fear. There is no noticiable slowdown or drop offs in the framerate ( this has given PS2 owners the nuclear sized bomb to drop on XBox owners of "Gee, it runs fine on MY console). One thing that is different is the thermal goggle mode. The red background and bright red images has been replaced by a more "thermographic" scope showing degrees of heat emitted by objects.

The controls are very intuitive. It takes mere minutes to become familiar with them. And if you've played any of the previous Metal Gear games for the PS2 or PS1, you'll be able to jump right in and play with no problems.

The fact that this game didn't sell well on the XBox is an absolute travesty. Fortunately for PS2 owners, Metal Gear is back where it belongs, on the Sony Playstation 2.

If you are an older video game player lucky enough never to have played Metal Gear Solid 2, this game is your dream come true. MGS2: Substance contains not only the awesome, but not perfect, MGS2: Sons of Liberty in its full glory, but also a massive number of VR Missions, the cool and challenging Snake Tales, the not-so-good Skateboarding demo, and a bunch of other little bonuses. Whether this game is worth owning if you already own MGS2: Sons of Liberty depends on how hardcore a fan you are. *SPOILERS*

Metal Gear Solid 2 is truly state of the art, and I'll tell you why. The graphics are so incredible that even after playing it for dozens of hours you will still be floored when you stop to look around in the game. The animation is so fluid, and the character models so detailed, that MGS2 is one of the few games for any platform that could be considered as the most graphically impressive game of all time. The music is extremely well done, except for the insanely [bad] piano music during intimate conversations between Raiden and Rose. The sound effects are simply awesome; the voice acting, like the first game, is so much better than any other video game that it isn't even worth making comparisons. I hope David Hayter remains the voice of Solid Snake for every Metal Gear game from now on; his voice is just perfect for this character! The gameplay is excellent, with responsive controls and a great variety of moves, weapons, and dramatic situations. The boss battles are insanely cool and will really challenge the player. Those are the great aspects of this game, and far outweigh the not so good. But...

...This game does have some unfortunate flaws, which hold it back from being perfect. The story, to put it mildly, doesn't even come close to the first Metal Gear Solid. The story starts off interesting, gets weirder and weirder, until it becomes a confused, preachy mess. The new characters, with the exceptions of Vamp, Emma, and Solidus aren't really very interesting. Fortune, in particular, is a horrible character with idiotic speeches every time she comes on screen. The now-infamous decision to make Raiden the main character, instead of the infinitely cooler Snake, still boggles my mind today! What was (director) Hideo Kojima thinking!? Almost as bad, Meryl from MGS1 is nowhere to be found in Sons of Liberty! Her memorable and flirtatious conversations, and excellent voice acting, with Snake were one of the best things about MGS1, and to leave Meryl out of MGS2 was a huge mistake in my opinion. Meryl is in one of the Snake Tales, which is a nice treat, but it really doesn't make up for her absence in the main game. The one little romance in MGS2 in truly awful. Raiden and his girlfriend Rose argue and bicker about such meaningless garbage that you will actually cringe, I promise you. That is the bad stuff.

Overall, though, this games negative aspects can't even come close to matching all the brilliant and revolutionary features this game possesses. Personally, I've lost interest in the vast majority of games in the last few years. Games like Metal Gear Solid 2 (and MGS1, of course) are the type of game that brings me back. Staggering production values, ingenuity, and a mature, adult-aimed storyline are exactly what I want and MGS2 has it in spades. You would be foolish not to pick up this game. It's a souped-up version of an already outstanding game! And Konami would be foolish not to release both Metal Gear Solid 3 and a remake of Metal Gear Solid for PS2 using this brilliant game engine. I would most certainly buy them, and begin the addiction again.

P.S. If you have the choice of which console to buy it for, get the PlayStation 2 version. The graphics are slightly better than the XBox version, with no slowdown! I'm not joking here either; the XBox version has slowdown! Of course, this game is NOT available for the GameCube. Somebody at Amazon didn't do his homework...

Another reviewer has already said something similar to this, but I felt like reinforcing it. There ARE two models, and this one does happen to be the much worse one. Really, it's ok, but it has bad ghosting problems, brightness, the volume control is imprecise, and there is only one headphone jack. Also, it's not TFT either, which doesn't really matter much unless two people are playing on it at once. Now keep in mind this is the 5" model, or mobile monitor, which is sold almost nowhere. There is, however, a 5.6" model which is MUCH better, because it has simply a better LCD that has no ghosting problems, is TFT (meaning you can view it easily from wide angels), has two headphone jacks, a brightness and a color control, and a more precise volume knob. My only gripe about the 5.6" model is a slight buzzing sound in the background, but it shouldn't present any problems. Overall though, the 5.6" model is very good, and even comes with a car adapter. Just make sure that the box says 5.6" on it, otherwise, do not buy it. I got mine at Toys R Us, if that makes it any easier.

For the price of this Intec Screen, the picture quality is hard to beat! The playing field is quite clear and the game screen doesn't strain your eyes! It is far better than any GBA or a Game Gear screen. Because the item is so light, transporting is not a problem at all. I love the versatilty of the screen, even though the screen is designed for the Gamecube. with a few adapters and a power supply for the screen, you can use it as a portable screen for a DVD, VCR, or any Video Game or electronic components with AV outputs!

I question the craftsmansship of the product, I did notice that the screen that I bought online was defective--even though the item was brand new. That why it would be smart to buy this item at a local retailer so you can exchange it if the item is defective. I ordered this item from an online auction and the product did not last more than 4 hours, after 2 attempts! After going through that deal, that is why I can only say this item is suspect and the very best.

All in All, it is a great device that can be taken anywhere--from the job, the office, or on business. The downside is the quality and craftsmanship of this item. The question "will it work?" may linger if you buy this item.

This thing is gonna be sweet yo! I am gonna love this.....I am actually looking forward to a 12 hour car ride this will be sweet! YOOOOOOOOOOOO

The Mark of Kri is not a game for kids. Its lush animation, and soft, almost painterly graphics may at first appear to be geared towards a younger audience, but the first time the main character, a barbarian named Rau, cuts an enemy's arm off, then turns around and cleaves a foe in two, it becomes obvious that the style is no indication of the target age.

That said, The Mark of Kri is a beautiful game, whose presentation is second to none. The innovative combat system allows for both interesting one-on-one battles, and more chaotic multi-person battles. Essentially, using the right analog stick to target an enemy will cause an icon corresponding to one of the PS2 controller's buttons to appear over an enemy's head. Until you either "stop focus", or kill the enemy, hitting that button will target that enemy. If fewer than three enemies are targetted (the triangle button serves a different purpose, as do the shoulder buttons), the unused buttons become attack modifiers, allowing you to do different combo attacks, providing some much-needed variety.

The game isn't strictly about combat, however. Rau is able to sneak about, and kill his enemies stealthily, and he is able to snipe enemies using a bow he is given. The variety in combat techniques gives the player a number of ways to approach problems in the game, giving it a bit of nonlinearity that's not standard in an action game of this sort.

Rau's "sprit guide", a bird named Kuzo, provides yet another gameplay element. Rau can see through Kuzo's eyes, and as such, can send the bird ahead of him, so he can plan how to best attack the enemies that lie in wait.

The Mark of Kri is an interesting, varied action game. It's not tremendously long, but doesn't lose your interest, with lots of options to unlock, and a good amount of replay value. The graphics and animation are reminiscent of a Disney film, the feel of the movie, and the narrator, are very Conan-esque, and the abundance of gore, as a result of the excellent and innovative combat engine provide a game that, at first blush, may look like an overly violent kid's game, but in execution, is a wonderfully differently stylized game, made for adults.

Great stuff.

The Mark of Kri is one of deepest, most innovative and fun action/adventure games i've ever played. It's gameplay has elements of brutal (REALLY BRUTAL) stealth, and an equally fun good'ol hack'n'slash with an innovative new combat system good for pick up and play.
The combat system in this game is what really makes it shine (followed up by the stealth). Moving the right analog stick around will focus Rau (the huge barbarian you control) on a certain bandit. He will be labeled as X, O, or triangle; depending on what he's labeled, that will be the button you press to attack. Don't get me wrong though, button mashers will be hard pressed to beat this game, it does take skill to master the combos.
It's graphics are ironically funny. Even though The Mark of Kri has a cartoonish look to it, it still is an extremely gruesome game. The in-game graphics are gorgeus, moving at a steady 60 frames per second, The Mark of Kri is a beautiful title.
Even the voice acting is done fairly well, it may sound a little hoaky at times but for the most part it's very well done. And even though the story is nothing to write home about, it's an adequate reason to go beat the living [stuffing] out of some unsuspecting bandits.
Overal, The Mark of Kri is a deep, innovative experience, but at the same time it is a great pick up and play game. At the very LEAST rent this game a couple times, 8/10 people will find it more than satisfying.

When i first got my PS2, my dad got me the Mark of Kri with it. I only got half-way through the 1st level when i knew that this was definately the best game in the world.

The graphics are like nothing that i have ever seen before. The entire game plan is magnificent. The characters are unique. The weapons are the BOMB! I mean, a sword, bow, spear and axe... How many games do you know that have these kind of things. The whole game makes you feel that, you're not actually playing Rau but you are Rau, that sort of emblem of a savior, a warrior, a messiah sort of guy.

You do not know what you're missing. This game is an opportunity of a lifetime. You just have to get it.

To start out, Rayman is this unique character, who has cool powers which he gains along his adventure to save his frog friend Globbox who is being held captive by pirates. It is a Mario type game with tougher bad guys and Rayman can throw balls of light at everyone. This game takes you to a whole new 3D world with a few dozens of levels, each huge and challenging. The challenges are full of puzzles, traps and monsters. It is a good game to improve problem-solving abilities. Despite the challenge they are all fun challenges that differ from level to level. Such as one level, you must fly through a tremendous lava tube, another you must ride a rocket through a twisting and turning pirate ship. Fun for younger ages and it will take about six months to beat. You may want to rent it before you buy it, but when you rent it you will be hooked.

it wuz my b-day, and i wuz waiting to go to the mall wit my friends and my dad,then i went on over to electronic boutique.saw rayman 2,and bought it along wit the strategy guide. i didn't play it for a week cuz i needed a memory card and then i started to play. I have played this game 9 times and gotten all 1001 lums in each world....it's that fun...without getting old,that's the good thing,replay value is hard to make for video games today..but wit the help of games like rayman 2 and tony hawk pro skater...we'll be able to make better games.also..for the 64, this has some nice clean enviroments and the characters have been drawen with originality....instead of simple goofy characters that are really corny looking. the game has enuff gameplay into it u can play it ne time u want without gettin bored..all i can say is dish out sum money for a game that will be worth the purchase

I love this game this game is the best game in the world!!!!!!

Okay. This is BY FAR one of the best Zelda games Nintendo has come out with. You play as one of four color-coded Links (Green, red, blue, or purple), and rescue the Princess & Co. from Ganon, and a new evil, Vaati. I admit, the plot does begin to get a little stale, but the multiplayer makes up for it. There are whole new elements, like one item at a time (this can be frustrating), and Level 2 items, and (SPOLIER!) things hidden underground, that you can't dig up (END SPOILER). Instead of Rupees, this time around you want Force Gems. They are not currency, and there are no shops, though. Sometimes you want to cooperate with your fellow Links, sometimes you want to compete (Thank God they put in a system specifically for this purpose). This will get you through. Occasionally, there will be tough bosses and tough puzzles, but teamwork will get you through these obstacles. And one more thing: you can only save at the end of three areas, instead of whenever you want (I say areas because there is a Mario world system, three areas to a level, and the traditional eight levels).

I'm a 35 year old female gamer. This is a great game that satisfies my Zelda craving for the time being! I'm hooked - playing it every chance I get. I'm only playing the 1-person game and am totally enjoying every minute. This IS a different Zelda than you're used to....it's more focused on puzzle solving in smaller levels within different worlds rather than exploration of a huge over and under world. The game play moves along quickly. I like the unique concept of working together as a team more than I thought I would. The puzzles do sometimes make you sit back and think how your team is going to solve them, but aren't so challenging that you're constantly stuck. I like that! The controls are fluid and responsive.

Everything so far has been a nice reminder of Zelda games past. The majority of the game reminds me of Link to the Past, but there's elements, items, and characters from all the games. You'll feel comfortable in no time at all.

I have one complaint, but as you can see I still gave it 5 stars! You CANNOT save any time you want. You only get the option to save after completing a level. Since the levels aren't terribly long, and health as well as life fairies are abundant, it's not too bad.

Definitely worth a look for any Zelda fan!

As an huge Zelda fan, I can say this is one of the best in the series, but thats my opinion. A Link to the Past and Wind Waker are my favorite and this pretty much combines the two. Its a bit differnt from any of the other Zelda games though in that this time, there are four Links and you need to use all of them to solve puzzles and fight together agaisnt lots of enemies. Its not a very deep story like some of the others they've been coming out with recently but it is still excellent none the less for what it is. 6 maidens are kidnapped along with Zelda by Dark Link and some Wind God and you have to go rescue em (duh). Upon accepting the quest and drawing the sword, Link is split into 4 Links, thus the quest begins.

This game is pretty fun played alone, but it is MUCH better played with 4 players (or at least 2). The only thing that bites about that is you can only play multi-player if you have enough GBAdvances for everyone and a link cable for each. But if you have all the equipment, its well worth it. I personaly like this system better than the internet games because the internet games cost so much and are a big hassel, and I dont play much anyway. GBA are a one time fee and just about everyone has one anyway so its not that hard to find someone play with. Anyway, the TV screen plays kind of like the over world. You walk around with your friends attacking enemies and collecting Force Points. The GBA is like your personal screen for whenever you break off and go into a cave, fall down a hole, or enter a house etc. Then when you come back out, you are back on the TV screen in the overworld.

Now I gave this 5 stars but dont expect this to be the next big Zelda game. Its not. Dont expect Wind Waker, Ocarina of Time, etc. Think LttP with four Links. Also, it doesnt exactly follow the traditional Zelda formula. You can only pick up one item at a time (ie boomerang, fire rod, arrows etc.) and your heart containers start over at the beginning of each level section. Yes, this one has levels. Each level has a number of sections and Im guessing each full level takes about an hour or two to complete. The game is also pretty short by most game standards but for me its just perfect cause I really dont play that much anyway.

The graphics look cheap but they're not. Its pretty much WindWaker and LttP graphics together and there are alot of cool effects here and there that happen.

The other cool thing about the game is, say you play with your friends one day and then decide to play by youreself the next. When you load your game, it always asks how many are gonna play so youre not tied down to keeping the same amount of players everytime you play.

Don't buy Thunder. It's not a bad game, just that you can better spend your money on NASCAR HEAT: Dirt to Daytona. Thunder only offers stock car racing whereas Heat offers *4* games in 1: Dirt/Go-Kart(modifieds)/Truck/and Stock Car and therefore Heat offers a lot more variety and fun! Buy NASCAR HEAT: Dirt to Daytona instead.

I picked this one up as a rental, but it will surely be added to my collection soon. EA should be proud, as 2003 easily outdoes last years version of Thunder.

While I didn't notice big difference in the graphics department, I have to applaud their reworked controls. The cars are now easier to handle (so much even the Mrs. can now compete with me... aka hard-core gamer), and the overall game experience is even better than before.

I love the addition of the fantasy tracks, and I'm sure that Die-hard Nascar fans will go crazy over the Daytona track of old (theres sand on this one!)that makes an appearance.

Gamers can unlock hidden cars as usual (does the #3 ring a bell with anyone out there?), or choose to unlock favorite paint schemes of their drivers of choice. This of course means you need to win some races on the hard mode.

The difficulty level is varied, as I found the Rookie setting to offer a decent challenge. The veteran mode;however, was quite difficult. I still haven't made it to victory lane yet with this setting.

The crashes were intense, and EA finally learned a rule of Nascar (and reality) that totaled cars can't possibly pass you (the leader) two laps later.

In all I was stunned and greatly pleased with this years version of Thunder. Add it to your collection immediately! I will.

Nascar Thunder 2003 manages to strike the perfect balance. Plenty of features and modes to meet anyones tastes and preferences. However the highlight is the 20 year career mode. Start as a rookie and work toward the championship. Not only do you race and setup the car, but you also have to manage the money (and its easy to run out if you have too many DNFs). You have to hire the crew members, repair your car(s), keep the sponsers happy, etc. Crew members have stats of there own (skill, speed, etc.) Sometimes they might make a mistake at a crucial pit stop. You really feel like you're part of a team. The tracks themselves simply are beautiful. This is the Nascar game we've all been waiting for. I've been playing it for 2 weeks now and I can't seem to get enough. Plus there are cool mini challenges (Lightning Challenges and Thunder Plates) through which you can unlock special paint schemes, drivers, tracks, etc. I've played just about ever Nascar game available and this one is far and away my favorite. Just enough sim and just enough of an arcade feel. Its perfect.

My brother bought this game a little while after it first came out. We played around with it a while, mainly on multiplayer since there's two of us, and it was really fun. Great gameplay, graphics, etc. But when we started playing 1 player, whether it be quick play or tournament, neither of us, nor any of our friends, could beat the CPUs. They almost ALWAYS made three point shots, from half court, sometimes even behind that. But our team couldn't make shots more than 50% of the time even being just a short distance from the hoop! We got really frustrated and decided to get NBA Street, so now we use that for 1 player, and Street Hoops when we want some good multiplayer action. All in all, it's an o.k game if you're gonna play with friends, but if you're looking to play and win by yourself, forget it!

Now, Im not saying I hate Streetball, but this game makes Streetball look like Sesame-Ball. I bought this game last year for fun, but this game is bull. I wish I bought NBA LIVE 2003! Street hoops doesn't let you create teams and is too easy. I was the Knights and I crushed Baltimore and they had Lil Romeo, all my players were at 50 just to give a challenge and I won 51-0! Its impossible to block but so easy to steal. The movies are pretty good. After a while though, the music in the back gets dumb. I used to be addicted to "Roll-out" but now im not. Seriously, you can bet on games on how many points you can win, but its dumb. Some features I like for example: buying your clothes and bling bling. Haircuts look so fake, doesn't even sway one bit. It's stuck to their heads. I RECOMMEND, SAVE YOUR MONEY

This game is really awesome! The graphics are great, gamestyles are awespme.
The game styles include 3 on 3, World Tournament and many others.
Also you can unlock different parks and players as you go along(Rucker Park and Hot Sauce)
Another good part about this game is that you can buy your team new haircuts, jewlery, clothes, tatoos with the money you win if you bet on your game.
All in All this game rocks!

this game rocks! levels are filled with enememies continously comin and trust me beating them up is funny and fun. you can ground pound the seemingly idiotic baddies and laugh along side with ur friends. u can pile drive them yes its a wrestling move. u can throw them off the stage or spin them to kill other enemies or activate stuff. a tottally wacky game with enviroment that is cool. tons of collecting and smashing. also great for wario hes in 3D. although at the end of the day its just another collecting. and is very short it can be beat in about 3 hours. because of that i cannot reccomend you should buy it just rent. but if its for a child or your a serious fan get it. still its short.

When I first started playing this game I was disappointed because I expected it to be kind of like Super Mario Sunshine, it's not, although the game is 3-D it moves along mostly from side to side, and the camera is in a fixed position with very little adjustment options available. Having said all that, I can now say I enjoyed it a great deal. As Wario you punch your enemies to knock them out then pick 'em up to either throw, spin or piledrive them into the ground. There are 8 pretty nicely detailed worlds to explore, and in each world there is a varying number of trap doors which if pounded on drop you into sort of a little world where you have to collect an item or items by flipping switches, moving blocks, and jumping from moving platforms, these areas remind me of the areas in Super Mario Sunshine where your waterpack is stolen and you have to get the sunsprite without it. There are a good number of bosses in the game. Each boss is very unique and I found them to range in difficulty from easy to medium hard. Even if you do die you can continue right from where you left off by paying a certain amount of coins, the number of coins you pay goes up as you progress through the game. The game is a little short, I'd say it took me 15 hours or so to beat it. All in all I feel this game has some flaws, but was worth the money.

I love this game! and it's not that easy, it's quite challenging. The music is great! graphics are beautiful. Not boring at all!! who ever said it was boring is crazy! I bought it at walmart when it came out for $50 bucks It is also a quite long game too! I hope they come out with wario world 2

The concept of Gunvalkyrie is solid, and the game is fun IF you are willing to learn the controls. However, it takes a lot of effort to become proficient with the controls, and a lot of players will give up in frustration before they reach that point.

The graphics in Gunvalkyrie are fantastic, and have the perfect sci-fi look. There are additional nice touches like heat distortion when you fire your jet pack. However, the game slows down heavily in some areas, making the game even more difficult.

And this game is already difficult enough to begin with. On boss levels, expect to die a lot the first time through. The plot is thin, the sound is just average, and the game is (paradoxically, considering its difficulty) very short. What's more, the same levels are repeated several times. There is no two-player mode and not much to unlock, so replay value is minimal.

If you can look past all that, you'll recognize that GV has a lot of promise. But a lot of people won't be willing or able to look past its troubles, and I can't really blame them. If Smilebit would make the the sequel longer and a bit easier to play, it could be a hit. Meantime, you may want to rent this before you buy.

It can be honestly said that GunValkyrie is visually stunning. It's anime style graphics will please all. It is definately an XBOX only game (too graphically intense for PS2 and the controls were obviously designed with the XBOX controller in mind only).

The game centers around an alternate reality, where the British Empire controls much of Earth, thanks to a British scientist discovering how to harness the energy residue from Haley's Comet in the 1900s. After the scientist (his name escapes me at the moment) and the inhabitants of a colonized planet disappear, two GunValkyrie are sent to investigate.

The game itself plays out like Halo meets Starship Troopers, where you battle it out with a variety of giant insect swarms in 20 or so missions.

And now for the "BUT"

This game is NOT for everyone. It has a very high learning curve in respect to player movement - and I mean a HIGH LEARNING CURVE. All 6 buttons, both thumb sticks, and both triggers are used heavily. Once you get the hang of it, a lot of the game will remind you of classic NES games, where you have to make a long series of timed jumps (actually, they're jet-pack boosts). This wouldn't be so bad, if you did not have to start the mission over again - from the beginning - if you die (try jumping from small platform to small platform in a 3D environment while giant mosquitos are dropping bombs on you in one life!). Another way it will remind you of old NES games is that after every mission, you can "buy" power-ups.

Another intersting aspect of the game is how unforgiving it is if you don't walk, fly, and fight in the manner the game expects you to do. You will find yourself boosting all over the place to avoid swarms of giant insects to survive - mess up, and it's back to the beginning.

As I stated, this game is not for everyone. If you thought moving your character in other games was finicky, you ain't seen nothin' yet. Once you learn how to navigate, the game is incredibly fun and fluid. I think it is one of the best games ever made, but there will be a lot of people who will disagree because of the difficulty in learning how to play.

I had never heard of GUNVALKYRIE (which I'll refer to as GV) before seeing it as a reccomendation here on Amazon when I got my Xbox. I read all the reviews, most of which complained like sissies over how the controls were confusing, or how the game got harder in the later parts. Well, don't listen to them. There's nothing hard or frustrating about GV, it's just a different game, and definately not for everyone. If the left trigger acting as 'jump' bugs you, then tough luck. I guess I can see how they annoy people since there isn't any other game that controls like GV, but it didn't bother me.

The plot doesn't really matter- most of your missions consist of clearing out all the enemies in a given area, or reaching an item at the end of the stage. But what's going on is a comet has passed the atmosphere, and causing havock. 'not that original, but this is an action game, so story isn't a priority. If you've seen Starship Troopers, or played Jet Force Gemini on the Nintendo 64, that's what GV is kind of like. But I use that comparison loosely. It's up to you to go through wave after wave of bugs. While shooting up your enemies, you'll be flying through the air doing flips and rolls to raise technique points which boost your score at the end. It's not necessary, but it adds to replay in getting an 'S' rank in every level.

You can also pick between two characters: Kelly and Saburouta. Kelly of course, is the faster of the two and more agile. She can fire her gun faster, but it's not as powerful as Sab's. Not at first anyway. She has access to more upgrades, and is the one that most first time players are going to use going through the game. Sab is the working horse, carrying a missile launcher which disposes of enemies with just one shot most of the time. Though it says that he's a "steel-nerved samurai" on the back of the box, he doesn't use his sword except during the animation of his special attack. If he did use his sword though, that would make for a cool challenge since he'd have to engage in very close combat. The game says he's better for experts, but that's not really true. He's just more clunky to use. Pick whoever you want though, since you can pick either one in just about every mission unless noted otherwise.

GV has a strange little customization deal going on. At the end of each level, you'll get a given number of points to buy upgrades for you weapons, armor, special attack gague, etc. But the thing is, they don't really matter. You can go through the game easily without upgrading once. One upgrade is to lock-on to more enemies, yet a lot of people who've played the game still don't get how to lock-on. You're better off spending your points on reserve energy, so if your health gets depleted, it'll refill completely so you can get back to capping everything.

The graphics are pretty sweet. The colors and textures are beautiful, and sometimes you'll stop just to see how well designed the levels are. Even simple things like small rooms in a shaft are full of detail. Leave it to Smilebit to put so much work into the graphics. I'm not disappointed one bit here. And loading times can't be more than 2 seconds. You go from the menu to game type select, to the mission, to your character, to the mission outline and *poof* there you are.

The music and sound effects are equally as great as the graphics. I got the soundtrack because the music was that good. Some levels have techno tracks, one has an ambient-jazz track, others have rock, and the final fight has one of the best last boss tracks I've ever heard. It was worth getting the soundtrack for that alone. The voice acting, for what little bits there were, was average. Not good, not bad. It's not laughable like the first Resident Evil on PSone, but sometimes lines are delivered blandly. But that doesn't matter, you only hear them in the beginning cutscene and the end for the most part.

There isn't a whole lot of replay value. You can easily go through the game in one sitting if you don't look for all the Halley Cores in the levels. But getting all the Halley Cores is fun, and unlocks Kelly's third costume. Hoo boy is that third costume something. It pretty much renders Saburouta useless. She can practically fly, lock on to tons of enemies, gets a stronger gun, and more. Plus the costume's kinda cool looking too. After beating the game once, a challenge mode is unlocked. This is where most of the replay is- you can go through any level with Sab or any form of Kelly. So the bosses that you had to use Kelly during the story mode can now be taken out with Sab. It's kinda sick how fast he can take some of them out with just a few lock-on missiles.

GV's faults? Looking around with the right thumbstick is sort of pointless because of how sensitive it is. You're better off just turning around completely most of the time. And like I already said, the game can be completed in one sitting. But the biggest thing is that if you're a casual gamer, you're more than likely going to hate GV. I'm not trying to sound biased toward the company, but this is probably best played by Sega fans, who know the company and what they've done in the past. That shouldn't stop you though, it'd be good to try a game as creative as this. Plus you just have to hear some of the music. I can't stress it enough.

You're better off getting GV elsewhere. I haven't seen it for more than $20 at any game store, and the Used & New prices here are pretty fair. Don't get this for your son or daughter if they're 14 or younger. They're likely to throw a fit over the controls not being familiar. Is GV for the "hardcore" gamer? Not really. It's just not for the casual gamer that spends most of their gaming time with Grand Theft Autos or Final Fantasy games. It's an action/shooter, plain and simple.