Stranglehold (Xbox 360)
Companies are always going on about the synergy between movies and video games, but all this really ever seems to mean is lots of dreadful movie tie-ins where all the money has been spent on celebrity voiceovers. Stranglehold is different though, in that it’s essentially a sequel to 1992’s classic movie Hard Boiled, made purely for video games. This time Inspector “Tequila” Yuen is unleashing his unorthodox policing methods on Russian crime bosses in both Hong Kong and Chicago. It stars the likeness of original lead Chow Yun Fat and has been developed with hands-on help from director John Woo - who it turns out does seem to know a thing or two about video games.

Of course video games have been ripping off John Woo for years, particularly his trademark slow motion shots of two-handed pistol action. As a result this initially seems dangerously similar to Max Payne et al., but the graphical power of the next generation consoles and PC ensures that this is a far more dynamic and interactive affair. Not only can you make use of a bullet time effect (call “Tequila time” here) to slow down time around you but almost all of the scenery can be used too, from sliding down banisters guns firing to scooting across the room on top of a waiter’s trolley. The damage done as you go is truly impressive, with tiles shattering off the walls, chandeliers impaling bad guys as they fall and electric wires and water mains unhinging themselves everywhere. Making a mess has never been so much fun.
HARRISON DENT

Customer Review: Great game, poisoned by the storyline.
This Game is fantastic for first time players. Great visuals, a Max Payne like presence all around when you utilize some of the fantastic mouth watering special attacks.

You play as well renowned actor Chow Yun Fat, and the game is intended to be a sequel to the hit movie: “Hard Boiled”. The game achieves this to some extent, as i can see the definate similarities from film to game, however the joy ends when one focuses on the storyline.

The storyline suffers with its lack of depth, and its somewhat incoherent and frustrating jumps between places. The game on a whole is a joy to play, but the average gamer may feel asif the fun has ended a little too early.

Another thing which brings the game off its pedestal is the Frustrating difficulty level, you could find yourself dead within seconds in some areas, or you might not die at all, it all depends on how you play the game, i decided to use the special attacks less throughout the game.

The “barrage” attack can dispense bosses on even the hardest difficulty level which can be frustrating for the die hard shoot-em-up fan, because in my opinion the bosses fall short of the challenge intended. One of the special attacks i enjoyed to utilize frequently was the “Precision Aim”, where the character fires a bullet with pinpoint accuracy from a helpful zoom screen, the enemy which is struck with the bullet then reacts accordingly with where they were struck.

Overall i would recommend this game to people who are looking for action over depth, Stranglehold in its entirety is a diamond in the rough, which has been let down by badly structured storylines and a disappointing ending.

Customer Review: True Woo Style gameplay - challenging but not too difficult - shame about multiplayer though
For those of you who love John Woo films and his artistic style, this game is for you. The game character Tequila is the character from the movie Hard Boiled (played by Chow Yun Fat) - a badass cop who doesn’t mind bending the rules to put bad guys away. As in the movie Hard Boiled, the action scenes are wonderfully played out with a mix of slow motion and manic gun fights or exposions. In this game Stranglehold, this is no exception.

The feature of the game is that you can slow time down for a limited period of time allowing you to aim more precisely and kill more bad guys. You’ll find that you want to dive often where time is automatically slowed down (just like in Hard Boiled!!).

You can also run along banisers, chairs, walls etc which is great fun and I really like being able to jump off a wall, kick it and fire my guns falling backwards and also jumping onto a trolley and killing peole as your coast along (also in Hard Boiled in the Hospital). John Woo’s trademark is the used throughout the game like the use of two pistols, Woo time (slow motion) and close encouter gunfights, and sliding across tables etc. In the extra’s, you can go to a shop with John Woo as the salesman and buy extras after earning them during gameplay.

Similar to Devil May Cry for the PS2, you have Style points and combo points, so the more you kill people with style (e.g. sliding down a banister and killing guys) the more points you gain. Your points are contributed to ‘Tequila Bomb gauge’ that fills up. As you progress along the game you unlock 4 specials. When the first quarter fills, you have the option of a health boost; the second precision aim (allows a zoom in to bad guys for distance shots); the third quarter allows Tequila to fill up with bullets on whatever weapon he is holding and then blast away very, very quickly without diminishing your ammo count; the final quarter filled up allows Tequila to do a special move, spinning on the spot to kill bad guys (which is really cool to watch).

As in Hard Boiled paper cranes make an appearance. You can collect these throughout the game to increase the ‘Tequila Bomb gauge’ immediately to help you get to those special moves quickly.

There is a multiplayer option but so far I don’t think I’ve come across anyone on it yet. Maybe I’ll take a look on the XBOX forums to see who’s interested in some gaming.

All in all a very enjoyable game. The movement for gameplay is easy to get used to and intuitive. The game is not too difficult to play but in places, hard enough to be a challenge. In addition, at any checkpoint, you can play on easy, casual and hard, so if you get stuck, just start the game again and continue the gameplay on an easier level.

If you always wanted to play Tequila and kick some butt, then get this game as you’ll have a blast doing the slow motion, jumping over chairs, kicking tables etc. in true Woo style.

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Review: Viva Pinata (PC)
Stuff - Viva Pinata was a sleeper hit with gamers - both hardcore and casual - when it came out on the Xbox 360 last year. It was Microsoft’s first real attempt to attract children after years of wooing the hardcore gamer with shoot ‘em ups, racing games and

Microsoft Declines Comment on Motion Controller
PC World - Please Wait Will Microsoft release a first-party motion controller for Xbox 360 ? The company isn’t talking. “Microsoft does not comment on rumors or speculation. And I have nothing further to share,” a Microsoft official told Next-Gen on Friday

Crackdown (Xbox 360)
List Price: ?19.99
Used Price: ?9.95
Customer Review: Crapdown? Hell no!
What can i say for this game? That it constantly surprises me at every turn? the graphics and sound are second to none? Whatever you think, these statements are true. Though Crackdown has no paticular story, it makes up for that with intense action and non-stop thrills. The array of guns were unparalled by none. One minute you are eating a Subway sandwich in the park, and the next you are waging terrible war with bloodthirsty criminals! To put it simply, Crackdown is simply astonishing. The freeform jumping and chasing sequences are bound to exhilerate even the most boring of people. If you are hesitating to buy this game, i order you not to, or you will never find the apparent “perfect game”
Customer Review: I like it, but it’s not quite as good as I thought it would be
As my title says, I did enjoy this game but am kinda disappointed by it. After hearing about the great reviews it got & a ex gf of mine saying it was really good I decided to buy it. So let’s move onto reviweing the different elements of the game. Graphically, it’s a nice game with graphic novel (aka cell shaded) graphics & I like the designs for the agency pistol & assault rifle & it makes a nice change since I’m more use to Bioshock, Lost Planet, Gears Of War etc in those terms. Gameplay wise, it is a lot like other sandbox genre games in terms of shooting but there is the ability of being able to leap great distances like The Incredible Hulk which is quite easy to get to grips with, only negative point is that being able to leap 30 feet across the city in a single bound makes simple jumps quite tricky sometimes & sometimes guns would lock onto vehicles or dead bodies which doesn’t help much. The presentation is nice, the boxart is quite ok to look at & the manual is as another review mentions done like a hand manual which I always quite like as it makes you feel more part of the game, but this game has a big problem with involvement which I’ll get onto shortly. Storyline, is well, about 0.01% existent. It is as simple as kill bad guys to make city safe, your agent has no story or past except that he’s there to crush gang members with guns, his foot & the odd car or so if you feel like it. So unfortunately having an instruction manual that reads like you are the agent rather than a gamer is a bit pointless in a game that doesn’t really involve you in a story. Lifespan is short, shorter than I expected it to be. I recieved it yesterday & completed it today & I wasn’t even that good at it sometimes & spent a lot of time messing about. It didn’t help that I managed to take down one of the last generals in a space of a few minutes & killed very few guards & just knocked him over with a kick & stomped on him till he was dead like most the other ones. I would have also liked to have seen more than 3 agency weapons, I would have liked an agency sniper rifle & rocket launcher at least. Having completed it, I’ve realised how much I’ve missed games like The Darkness, Bioshock, Gears Of War & even Halo 3. Sure, I’ll play this again from time to time but it won’t be something I’ll be really playing like I would other games. So in a nutshell, not a bad game it just is a bit disappointing & not quite as good as a filler I thought it would be, it’s gonna be a while before I fire it up again.

Sonic the Hedgehog (Xbox 360)
List Price: ?19.99
Used Price: ?18.99
Customer Review: Annoying and lacking in the fun factor
Oh well, I really hoped this would be the 3d sonic game that recaptured the fun of the 2d originals. The graphics are no better than sonic adventure on the sega dreamcast, the camera is frustrating and the gameplay is very linear.
Customer Review: Very good game, but a few annoying things
I bought this game and was expecting awesome flowing gameplay, improved graphics and an easier way of playing from sonic adventure 2. The graphics i feel are superb for a game like this, i mean you cant make a game like this look too real otherwise it would get rid of the cartoon element of it. The gameplay overall is good, but the characters can become difficult to control at times due to the cameras movement, yes they can be rectified by the trigger buttons but they dont always help. Loading screens will annoy a lot of people on this game but you can get used to them, and the game does flow when they are not around. The levels on this game are cool, and remind me a lot of the 1st title on the dreamcast, sonic adventure, which was a great sonic game, probably the best 3d game. Sonic the hedgehog does live up to a lot of expectations for me, and i hate it when people slate a game for a few poor reasons, i would definitely recommend this title to anybody.

Need for Speed: Carbon (Xbox 360)
List Price: ?24.99
Amazon Price: ?17.96
Used Price: ?11.75
Customer Review: Possibly the worse racing game i’ve ever played
Good points -Cars look good -Sound track alright Bad points -Worst handling in a racing game i’ve ever seen, you can’t drive slowly, its either all or nothing, very unrealistic. I know its not meant to be the most realistic game in the world, but its still terrible. You can’t turn a slight bend at 30 mph without the car going ‘SSSSSCCCCCREEEEEEEEECCCCCHHHHH!’, just horrible. -Rest of the game looks terrible, if a game has to hide the fact that its graphically insignificant by setting the entire game at night time, you know its gonna be awful -Terrible AI -Choppy frame rates which you would have thought they’d have fixed by now -Car customization incredibly awkward and time consuming -Single player career mode way too short - approx 6-7 hours Do NOT waste your money on this game unless you’re a real NFS freak. Even then i’d just stick with underground 2. If you’ve got a PS2/PS3, guy by Gran Turismo.
Customer Review: GOOD FUN BUT NOT ENOUGH
I bought this game second hand and glad I did so. Although it was really fun and at times challenging, the overall game was really short. I defeated Darius, the last boss eventually with my SLR Maclaren. After this, the credits came up and blah blah blah but it says that I have only completed 87% which is rather odd. Does anyone know what I have to do after defeating Darius

TeckNet XBOX 360 NiMH 3600 mAH battery pack chargeable cable For XBOX 360
It is a 3600 mAH high capacity Battery

Allow you to realise the full potential your Xbox 360 with hours of uninterrupted Play

Rechargeable Battery Pack for Xbox 360 wireless Game Controller

Recharge your Battery through USB

Indication light for charging

Capacity: 3600 mAH

Rechargeable cable: USB to DC 2.35* 0.7 DC cable with direct plug

Battery pack: output voltage = DC 2.4V

Length of rechargeable cable: 159cm

Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (Xbox 360) In a nutshell:
The surprise hit of 2005 is back and this time it’s moved on from the prequels and onto “proper” Star Wars. It may sound like one of the worst excesses of marketing hell but this is good enough to rejuvenate your love for both video games and Star Wars (and Lego)!

The lowdown:
As ridiculous as the idea sounds this is one of the few games that really can be played by all ages, from tots to grandparents - the game even adjusts its difficultly level on the fly depending how well you’re doing. The graphics are absolutely hilarious as the game pokes gentle fun at all the films and characters and uses the Lego motif so you can build new structures and objects as you go. With more playable characters than ever each now has their own special move, such as Chewbacca’s ability to pull the arms off Stormtroopers, and you can get in and out of vehicles whenever you want in some levels.

Most exciting moment:
The game features a large number of vehicles to drive, including landspeeders and AT-STs. You can also ride a Dewback which excretes an ominous looking brown Lego stud if you press a button…

Since you ask:
The all important two player co-op mode from the first game is still in the sequel, plus you can now design your own characters out of component Lego pieces. Darth Greedo, anyone?

The bottom line:
The Force is strong with this one.
Harrison Dent
Customer Review: Superb fun
As a boy growing up in the 80’s star wars was a huge part of my life and this was the decade when the toys associated with the film really took off. Sadly, star wars toys made of Lego were 20 years away and now, as a 30 year old, trying to persuade my wife that buying Lego is a good idea is just not happening. Thankfully the genius’s at Lego and Lucas arts have come up with this cracker of a game which I can just about get away with buying. The premise is simple in that it follows the last three films (or first 3 depending on your age!!) and you are taken through virtually every major set piece, in each film, playing as various Lego/star wars characters. The learning curve is perfect for both kids and adults alike. The cut scenes in between each level are hilarious. My first play of the game was with the “help” of an 8 and a 6 year old and we all spent most of the time in hysterics. The animation is superb and the controls are very cleverly done. Just push gently on the left stick and watching the characters “creeping” is very funny. This is a game which provides excellent family entertainment and really fits the category of “suitable for all ages”. If you are a fan of the first Lego star wars game then this comes highly recommended.
Customer Review: Fun to play…Incredibly Frustrating To Save!
I like this game a lot. It’s a laugh to play as you go through the various famous Star Wars scenes and stuff as a Lego character (the Lego Boombox that blasts out a heavy metal version of the Imperial March, making Gamorrean guards rock out is one of the best things I’ve seen!) However, I find trying to save your progress in this game EXTREMELY frustrating! For some reason when you clear a chapter and your autosave kicks in, it doesn’t save your progress properly and you end up right back at the Mos Eisley cantina when you reload your game. Not cool.

I plan to keep playing this game and figure out what’s going wrong, but that in itself is something no gamer should have to do. In short, great game, LOUSY saving system!

GameFAQs - Xbox 360 - FAQs, Cheats, Codes, Reviews, Message Boards
Xbox 360 - GameFAQs Game Guides, Cheat Codes and Walkthroughs for the Xbox 360 game system. All the Xbox 360 game help and information you will ever need to …