Scrabble Complete

More Ways to Play and More Fun Than Ever!Product InformationIncrease your winning word power with the best SCRABBLE computer game ever!In addition to the traditionalisti SCRABBLE game you may play any one of over adozen mini games for a quick fun dose of SCRABBLE gameplay.Challenge yourself with Anagrams 2- and 3-Letter Word Games Word Placement andthe new SCRABBLE Blitz. SCRABBLE Complete is sufficient to keep casual players engaged for hours and turnserious players into SCRABBLE masters!Product Features Play versus the clock in SCRABBLE Blitz Includes Merriam-Webster’s Official SCRABBLE Player’s Dictionary 3rd Edition Compete alone or with up to four humane players over the Internet or LAN Multiple skill levels to grant players to progression from beginners to experts New game music and graphics Windows XP compatibleWindows Requirements Windows 98/Me/XP Pentium II 333 MHz 32 MB RAM (64 MB for XP) 100 MB Free Hard Disk Space 4X Speed or more quickly CD-ROM Drive 8 MB Windows 98/Me/XP-compatible video card* Windows 98/Me/XP-compatible sound card* DirectX version 8.1 (included) or higher Multiplayer: Ethernet card and LAN with TCP/IP protocols for LAN Play Internet access for GameSpy play Modem: 28.8K baud or higher (for online play)* Indicates device ought to be compatible with DirectX version 8.1 or higher.

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16820 in Video Games
• Brand: Atari
• Released on: 2002-09-24
• ESRB Rating: Everyone
• Platforms: Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows XP
• Format: CD-ROM
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 1.25″ h x 5.25″ w x 7.50″ l, .30 pounds

• More Ways to Play and More Fun Than Ever! Product Information Increase your winning word power with the best SCRABBLE computer game ever! In addition to the traditionalisti SCRABBLE game, you may play any one of over adozen mini games for a quick, fun dose of SCRABBLE gameplay. Challenge yourself with Anagrams, 2- and 3-Letter Word Games, Word Placement andthe new SCRABBLE Blitz. SCRAB

Scrabble Complete Photo

Scrabble Complete Image

Scrabble Complete Photo

Scrabble Complete Image

Scrabble Complete Pic

Scrabble Complete Picture

144 of 147 people found the following review helpful.
Great game that could be improved
By Dennis Littrell
This is essentially the crystal box game (Scrabble 2) made compatible with Windows XP. It will not freeze up and works smoothly on my machine. (Some of the people below who have experienced freeze up under Windows XP are probably using Scrabble 2, not this version. They need to double-check.) There are no improvements, however, that I can see, and the claim on the package that it “Includes Merriam-Webster’s Official SCRABBLE Player’s Dictionary, 3rd Edition” is not quite correct since the program continues to disallow many words that are actually in that dictionary, including the frequently used “da.” Use “da” in a play and Maven will dissolve it, spin your letters back into your rack, and take her turn!

Of course this is a disappointment. Also disappointing is the new music, which is as bad as the old music. Fortunately it can be turned off. Maven’s annoying chortles after scoring are gone, so I suppose there is some improvement! But basically infogames or Hasbro or whoever is responsible for the software missed an opportunity to make this into an outstanding program.

Still it is a very good program and a lot of fun to play. It automatically saves all your games and under the Mini Games menu allows you to retrieve each one and have Professor Maven critique your play (and her play as well, actually). The four basic comments she makes are, “xxx is probably best,” “xxxx is one of the best moves,” “xxxx is a good move,” and “xxxx was played.” She follows the latter three comments with the question “Can you find a play at (e.g.) 8H”? or something similar.

Well, I could find the better play now that you mention it, Maven, if the board displayed the coordinates! (Squares on the 15 x15 Scrabble board are identified by “A” through “O” across the top and 1 through 15 vertically. Thus 8H is the center square while 1A is the square in the upper left corner.) Plays that go across are identified as starting at the square beginning with the number, e.g., 8H while the beginning square of plays going down begin with the letter, e.g., H8.

Anyway, you can click on “Next” and Maven will reveal what is probably a better play. And then she gives an analysis of that play, your play, and other plays comparing the points scored and the value of the letters left in your rack. This “value” is NOT how many points the letter is worth when played, but how valuable it is to have in your rack on an average basis. Thus playing “orang” is not as good as playing “along” as an opening word because, although they both score the same, if you play “along” you keep the “r” which is considered more valuable than the “l.”

It would help if the program displayed these average values, but it doesn’t. Incidentally, when Maven gives a play in her analysis she gives a complete identity to the play. For example, “LIMITED (5E,20,O).” The characters in the parens stand for where the word started and which direction it went (5E: across), how many points were scored (20), and which letters were left in the rack after the play (an O).

Another nice feature is that Maven gives you a National Association Scrabble rating for your play in the last ten games. Go to Mini Games menu and click on Professor Maven, and there it is. This is not the same as your rating against Maven, which is displayed on what the program calls your “Player Card” as you set up a game along with your best single play, your highest scoring game, and the number of games you have won. Maven will keep these stats for your spouse and kids as well. Of course these stats can be fudged by quitting games you are losing before they are completed, which will keep your rating higher than it would otherwise be.

A couple more points: You have to have the CD inserted in order to the play the game. Bad! Also the game works only as a full-screen game. This is also bad, but you can actually get to some other computer task while keeping the game by hitting the flying Windows key on your keyboard. Scrabble Complete will then be a minimized icon at the bottom of your screen which you can click to resume play.

One more point: you can make Maven go first by passing. Sometimes however she will just exchange some letters and you might have to pass again, which would be VERY dangerous, since after Maven exchanges letters she is increasingly likely to score a BINGO! which is very annoying. Best strategy in my opinion is to play what you can on the first play, being careful to arrange your play so that Maven cannot get a double-word score by adding an “s” (or “r” or “d,” etc.) to your play. If you have an “s” you don’t use it of course (unless you are going BINGO! yourself or otherwise scoring a monster). Instead you save it and align your opening play so that you can use your “s” to advantage–that is, if Maven doesn’t get there first! Your having an “s” cuts down on her chances somewhat.

By the way, Scrabble Complete includes a Boggle CD-ROM game that I haven’t had a chance to look at.

79 of 84 people found the following review helpful.
Engaging, educating, fun
By Chris
I wasn’t sure what an electronic version of Scrabble could offer me that I couldn’t get sitting around a table with friends. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that not only is the Scrabble game itself very fun and well presented, but the game “extras” are comprehensive instructional tools!

The many “mini games” offer opportunities to expand your word knowledge, practice making good plays on the board, improve your anagramming skills, and much more. Each mini-game breaks down a facet of Scrabble into an enjoyable practice session. There’s even a very impressive “professor” tool that provides a move-by-move analysis of your past games. It can analyze your moves over successive games and offer specific suggestions for improvement, then guide you through a series of mini-games structured around your growth areas.

These features offer more than just playing the game and enjoying it, and if you would like to improve your Scrabble game, or just increase your word knowledge, this is an incredible program!

I had no technical problems with the software, and I find that I am playing two Scrabble games a day followed by several mini-game sessions. As a result, my Scabble scores have risen from an average of 200 points a game to 350 points a game in a very short time, and I’m encouraged to keep getting better.

The only major complaint I have about the game is the astoundingly shmaltzy background music, but once I turned that off, all was fine!

If you’re a casual Scrabble player who wants to be a better player, or someone who loves word games, I highly recommend this software! It’s thoroughly enjoyable and surprisingly instructional.

40 of 43 people found the following review helpful.
Scrabble Comp. Only Works With Administrator Accounts in XP
By Bruce R. McKenney
I have read many reviews stating the program gives a black screen and you need to do a hard-boot. I have found this to happen if the user has a limited account in XP. I installed and played the game as administrator and it worked fine. My wife tried the game under her “limited” account profile, it froze up after trying to write a registry key. This indicated to me that it may have to do with her user rights. So, I changed her account to administrator and voila, it runs Scrabble no problem. I went back and forth a couple of times to see if any thing changed. Sure enough, everytime I tried to run the game on a limited account, it didn’t work. There was another review about the game playing itself using the human’s name. This happened right after installation of the program, but went away after I restarted the computer. It appears that you must restart after installing the software, but the instructions don’t tell you to do so.

See all 83 customer reviews…

Wolfenstein

Classic Wolfenstein multiplayer with an occult twist remindful of the heart-pounding and award winning class and goal to be attained based multiplayer of Return to Castle Wolfenstein. Amazing oppositions the Nazis throw at you next as they fetch their dark fantasies to life. Epic combat moments that unfold in movie-like action sequences as you fight to prevent the Nazis from unleashing the power of the Black Sun, a war-ending weapon of supernatural mass destruction. Unique environments overlapping this world and the Veil, a world amidst our reality and the occult underworld that offers you combat vantages but likewise new supernatural threats. The capacity to battle with a diverse collection supernatural ‘Veil Powers,’ as well as Allied and Axis conventional weapons, all up-gradable thru an in-game black market.

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3616 in Video Games
• Brand: Activision
• Model: 29913
• Released on: 2009-08-18
• ESRB Rating: Mature
• Platforms: Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 7
• Format: DVD-ROM
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 7.50″ h x .50″ w x 5.35″ l, .21 pounds

• Classic Wolfenstein multiplayer with an occult twist remindful of the heart-pounding and award winning class and goal to be attained based multiplayer of Return to Castle Wolfenstein.
• Amazing oppositions the Nazis throw at you next as they fetch their dark fantasies to life.
• Epic combat moments that unfold in movie-like action sequences as you fight to prevent the Nazis from unleashing the power of the Black Sun, a war-ending weapon of supernatural mass destruction.
• Unique environments overlapping this world and the Veil, a world amid our reality and the occult underworld that offers you combat vantages but likewise new supernatural threats.
• The capacity to battle with a diverse collection supernatural ‘Veil Powers,’ as well as Allied and Axis established weapons, all upgradable thru an in-game black market.

Wolfenstein is a supernatural/science fiction first-person shooter, based on the video game series developed by Id Software that has been a bestloved of 2D and 3D gamers all over multiple game iterations and platforms since the early 1980s. In this new take, players battle the Nazi’s dark obsession with the occult through epic action and harrowing shooter combat. Filled with ferocious enemies, movie-quality action scenes, distinguishable gameplay environments, an impressive array of weapons and compelling multiplayer gameplay options, it is genuinely a fitting new chapter in the history of this classic gaming franchise. .caption { font-family: Verdana, Helvetica neue, Arial, serif; font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; } ul.indent { list-style: inside disc; text-indent: -15px; } table.callout { font-family: verdana; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1. 3em; } td.vgoverview { height: 125px; background: #9DC4D8 url(http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/electronics/detail-page/callout-bg.png) repeat-x; border-left: 1px solid #999999; border-right: 1px solid #999999; padding-left: 20px; padding-right: 20px; padding-bottom: 10px; width: 250px; font-family: verdana; font-size: 12px; } Battle conventional enemies. View larger. And the supernatural. View larger. Collect and wield ‘Veil Powers.’ View larger. Explore multiplayer modes. View larger. Story The storyline of Wolfenstein picks up where the events of Return to Castle Wolfenstein left off. You play B.J. Blazkowicz, a highly prettified fellow member of the Office of Secret Actions (OSA). You are sent on a special mission into the heart of the Third Reich to investigate proof of the Nazi’s possession of a new and mysterious power. But while behind enemy lines, you discover they have done much more than give rise to a new weapon. The Nazis are attempting to harness the supernatural power of an enormous energy source called ‘Black Sun’ which resides in a parallel dimension called ‘The Veil.’ Their goal is to use what they find to create supernatural weapons and soldiers of war-ending magnitude. Yours is to stop that from happening by any mean necessary. Gameplay Even altho the game evidently features loads of Nazi enemies, Wolfenstein is not so much a World War II game, as a game centered around “dark science” and “Supernatural Science fiction.” In it players move among the the parallel dimension of the Veil and that of our own as they command an enormous arsenal of conventional weapons or unleash the Nazi’s own dark powers and perverted science versus them with supernatural weapons and Veil-enhanced firepower. One of the major amount of energy of Wolfenstein is that it allows you to choose the way you want to play. Although as in former games in the series B.J. Is a one man wrecking crew, he likewise works with a local resistance group. This means that players have the choice to follow the popular missions as they are revealed, take on requests from the resistance to explore the gameplay area and investigate the Nazi experiments, or to tackle the whole endeavor in multiplayer mode. Veil Power A big portion of Wolfenstein’s sci-fi identification comes by way of gameplay that relies on the accumulation and use of a number of ‘Veil Powers’. These powers even though supernatural in origin, are used in huge percentage by B.J. To magnify the effectiveness of his traditionalisti weaponry and tactics. A sampling of these powers include: ‘Mire,’ which allows you to slow down time around B.J. So that he may take out foes and impediments such as machine gun nests, without the risk of taking severe damage; ‘Veil Sight,’ a sort of supernatural night vision that helps you see foes in the dark; and ‘Veil Shield,’ which absorbs bullet fire and may be employed as a battering ram in a good deal of circumstances. As with all the weapons in the game, all Veil Powers may be upgraded and in truth will have to be in galore cases to carry on through the game. A remarkable caveat that comes along with the mastery of Veil Powers is that they do not inevitably guarantee overall success. As the game proceeds, the Nazis become conscious of B.J. And his understanding and use of these powers and in response disseminate ‘Veil Inhibitors,’ gimmicks that negate the use of these Veil-powered abilities within range of them. This opens up a puzzle-solving aspect within Wolfenstein that require players to explore the environments around them to find the inhibitors and ruin them in order to proceed. Key Features Amazing Enemies – You never recognise what ferocious oppositions the Nazis will throw at you next as they fetch their dark fantasies to life. Epic Combat Moments – Experience movie-like epic action sequences as you fight to prevent the Nazis from unleashing the power of the Black Sun, a war-ending weapon of supernatural mass destruction. Unique Environments – Explore the mysteries of The Veil, a world amid our reality and the occult underworld that offers you combat vantages but likewise new supernatural threats. Impressive Firepower – Go to battle with a diverse collection of Allied, Axis and experimental Nazi weapons. Earn gold by working with the resistance fighters, buy upgrades in the black market, and custommake your personal arsenal. Classic Wolfenstein Multiplayer with an Occult Twist – Revisit the heart-pounding and award winning class and goal to be attained based multiplayer of Return to Castle Wolfenstein; now with occult-enhanced firepower. Weapons Wolfenstein features a wide array of Allied, Axis and supernatural Nazi weapons. All of these may be upgraded using treasure in the form of gold, military intelligence and mystical tomes found all around the game by way of the in-game black market. This escalation of firepower is important in order to match the growing power of mini-bosses and bosses faced with each successive game level. System Requirements: Video Card: 256MB NVIDIA(R) Geforce(R) 6800 GT or ATI Radeon(TM) X800 DirectX: 9.0c (included & required for Windows XP & Vista) Hard Drive Space: 8GB (Plus an further and added 800MB for Windows swap file) Sound Card: 100% DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card Other: Broadband connection and service required for multiplayer

Wolfenstein Picture

Wolfenstein Photo

Wolfenstein Image

Wolfenstein Pic

Wolfenstein Image

Wolfenstein Photo

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful.
Great Single Player Experience!
By GeeBee
My review is for the single player aspect of the game and in this regard this is the most fun I’ve had with a PC FPS in a while. I’m not a big fan of the military shooters i.e., Call of Duty, etc., just to give you an idea of my taste in games. So don’t buy this game expecting a realistic military style shooter. However if the mixture of tackling evil Nazi’s, the occult and using special powers combined with standard weapons sounds good to you then you will probably like this game.

Many fans of Return to Castle Wolfenstein have slammed this game and it’s usually in regard to the multiplayer which I’m not writing about here. But if I were to compare the single player aspect of the two games this new installment wins hands down in my opinion. The hub style of design (which developer Raven excels in) makes the game feel less linear than just going from level 1 to level 2 and so on. Finding treasure and gold are still there (as it has been since the beginning of the franchise) but now it has a purpose in that it’s used for buying weapon upgrades. The missions are varied and fun and the shooting mechanics of the game are spot on. The weapon sounds are very satisfying as well. The Veil (occult) Powers add a whole new aspect of gameplay to the franchise and I enjoyed playing with them in combination with the standard weapons, makes a nice one, two punch so to speak. I also enjoyed the occult style enemies that are mixed in with the standard Nazi fare. It kept things interesting. And the locales of the missions were nice and varied as well.

As for the graphics I’m using a 9800GT with everything turned up all the way and I think it looks fantastic contrary to what some have said. Who cares if this is an older engine, it’s what you do with it and Raven has done a bang up job. I love the artwork and the textures are beautiful. This game has a very clean, vivid look to it as opposed to a lot of games that use tons of bloom effects and have a very saturated, blurry look to them. I’ve had zero technical issues with the game and I’m on my second play through.

Nothing is perfect and if I had to say anything derogatory about the game it would be that this game was clearly developed for consoles first and PC’s second. Not being able to save whenever you want is standard issue for PC games and this game retains the checkpoint system of it’s console counterpart. Also there aren’t near enough ways to tweak the video settings as there should be. I really would have liked a contrast and gamma setting. In the gameplay department I always found it funny that NPC’s would have conversations about you like you weren’t there even though you’re standing right next to them. But don’t get me wrong, none of these issues spoil the game. They just bear mentioning.

Amazon is currently selling this game so cheap I think it’s a no-brainer. For fans of single player FPS’s I say buy it!

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful.
More fun the more you play
By Cheezr
I have to add this review as my original review was not as flattering and i have changed my mind (or lost it?)
But seriously the more i play Wolfy, the more i like it. The initial 10% of the game
is awkward until you are able to purchase some weapon upgrades which relieves
their clumsiness. The plot is fun and the gameplay is fun. there is no platforming or
puzzle solving but searching for gold and intel is pretty much as good.

Not having played any of the previous Wolfs I had no expecatations and found
the game a fun single player first person shooter, if you are looking for more than that
well YMMV!

I dinged one star off because 1) the save files can not be backed up or moved and
2) the game has crashed on me several times (but i never lost any progress or goodies).

66 of 84 people found the following review helpful.
Short, Lacks Polish, Multiplayer is Bad
By J. V. Spirig
I have loved the Wolfenstein series since I first played the original back in 1992. The new game, Wolfenstein, is a standout amongst other great titles in that it lacks polish, has below-average graphics, and a multiplayer mode that feels more like Goldeneye than Enemy Territory.

Graphics:
The graphics seems like an enchancement to the 2001 Return to Castle Wolfenstein release as opposed to a generational improvement one might expect from the seven plus years since the last episode was released. Uniforms and clothing move awkwardly on the models and faces appear to have 2-3 expressions per model. Anti-aliasing seems to be unavailable from the options menu and the graphical presentation suffers for it. Finally, the cutscenes are presented in a surprisingly low quality mode. In RTCW cutscenes were rendered in the resolution setting of the game mode. Mysteriously, Wolfenstein seems to step down your quality settings by a large degree to present the cutscenes.

Having recently played through Doom 3 again, I would give that title the edge on graphical presentation. One positive note is the quality of the effect as you slip in and out of “the veil.”

Overall: 4/10 – Below Average for bad cutscenes, lack of AA, lack of improvement

Audio:
The 5.1 and 7.1 modes are great. Sound effect quality is lacking. Guns have a “far away” and a “next to your head” sound, with not much in between. There are not many sound effects for ricochets, stuff hitting different surfaces, etc. While not wholly terrible, it lacks the polish of titles with great sound like Far Cry 2 or Fallout 3.

Overall: 7/10 – Slightly above average for quality of 5.1/7.1

Gameplay:
This is a major sticking point with me. In RTCW and Enemy Territory, the character seemed to move fluidly around the environment. Wolfenstein has the same FPS feel as the previous titles, but the character transitions between weapons, jumps, crouches, etc in a more awkward manner. If you wish to test this, try running and then shooting. It feels as if your character runs into a wall and a bullet suddently flies out.

Overall: 6/10 – Serviceable gameplay, but nothing exceptional

Multiplayer:
Wow, this was the worst disappointment. If you played Enemy Territory from RTCW you know what good multiplayer is. Multiplayer mode in Wolfenstein is BAD. If you played Goldeneye in 1995 then you have played Wolfenstein multiplayer. You pick a gun, pick a class (that barely seems to matter), then you go to a tiny map where people with life bars over their head are shooting you while permastrafing. There is very little strategy, the graphical presentation is laggy (even with 100fps and 40ms ping), and the maps are basically big squares with objectives in the middle. A big step backwards with absolutely no improvements since WolfET came out 7 years ago.

Overall: 1/10 – I gave it one point because it worked. Other than that I wont even load the multplayer mode again

Fun:
The single player mode is somewhat entertaining because they continue along the lines of Return to Castle Wolfenstein (RTCW). Story elements are presented much in the same manner to RTCW, cutscenes interspersed during and in between core missions. The voice acting is good, but the story is nearly identical to RTCW. After 4 hours of gameplay you are likely to have completed nearly half the game. (there is a convenient slider bar to notify you of this every time you check your inventory). The multiplayer mode is so awful that there is limited replayability. The entire thing feels like a bad console port.

Overall: 5/10 for good story, good voice acting, but the rest is humdrum.

FINAL SCORE: 4.6/10

I do not recommend this game and actually feel somewhat cheated given that I pre-paid $50 for this three months ago. Is a 8-10 hour single player campaign and 12 poorly designed multiplayer maps worth 50$?

See all 109 customer reviews…

Guild Wars Factions

Guild Wars Factions takes place in Cantha, an Asian-inspired three-nation continent far to the south of the lands of Tyria, the setting for Guild Wars (the original Prophecies campaign). Players who own both Factions and the basi Prophecies effort may travel amid the two continents by boat.

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15272 in Video Games
• Brand: NCsoft
• Released on: 2006-04-28
• ESRB Rating: Teen
• Platform: Windows XP
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds

• Hundreds of new creatures, guild halls, accomplishments and more
• Two new professions: the deadly Assassin and the necromantic Ritualist
• A whole new continent, Cantha, either connects to the lands of Tyria or stands on it is own
• Guilds band together into confederations to gain control of towns and access exclusive Alliance Missions
• New game types include missions with rated scoring and large-scale Alliance vs. Alliance battles

Guild Wars Factions Image

Guild Wars Factions Photo

Guild Wars Factions Picture

Guild Wars Factions Image

Guild Wars Factions Pic

Guild Wars Factions Photo

111 of 124 people found the following review helpful.
Wow…Why All The Whining?
By Crystal Lily
Well I was surprised to see so many complaining reviews. I have been playing this game since the original came out…and I’ve played Factions since its debut.

So…let’s see what all this fuss is about.

1. Bugs…

I have yet to be unable to complete any mission because of bugs. I did on one occasion become ‘stuck’ in the scenery. My team simply ported to a new location and all was well. However, I was not at all concerned…the game hasn’t been out for a week yet. Did you expect perfection in 3 days? I find that unreasonable at best. Now if the problem were to persist say a month from now…well maybe then you’d have cause.

2. Oh Poor Me They Keep Beating Me Up.

Well yeah. probably because, like many players I’ve seen, you didn’t bother to do any of the multitude of very high experience giving quests before you left the starter island. (Doing them all takes approximately 2 hours- I timed it) You just skipped em all and went straight for the primary ‘get off the island’ quests. I’ve seen many a level 10 on the mainland trying to get in a group. Then they complain they keep dying. Well of course you are. When I left the island I was level 17…from quests only, I didn’t do any ‘farming’ and after about two quests outside the first ‘mainland city’ I was level 20 with both sets of bonus 15 attribute quests (available on the starter island). And so you know, I did all of this with one partner and the rest henchies.

3. They All Look Alike…

Yeah, but they did in the first Guild Wars too. What’s your point? They added all new armors…new appearances for the new classes as well as the old ones. For a game that has thousands of players did you expect every one to look different?

4. PvP Is Cookie Cutter.

Yup. It is. But hey they all started somewhere. Each month finds a new PvP trend. Gale Warriors one month… Massive Minion bombing the next. So, if you wish to try a new tactic I suggest you gather a few friends and do it. There’s nothing stopping you. I’m sure you’ve also had occasion to put down someone elses strategy so maybe the problem is inherent in the system. But nothing really prevents you from doing anything you want, provided you have good people willing to try.

In conclusion, considering the fact that this game basically has a yearly fee of about $45 (the price to buy the game)I think it’s a worthy addition to any MMO fans collection.

27 of 31 people found the following review helpful.
Do You Have A Choice?
By Brian Seiler
Let’s face facts–when you sign up with an online game, you’re pretty much buying in for the long haul. As far as that investment goes, if I’m reviewing the Guild Wars franchise as a whole, I still think you’re probably playing the best game of its kind that’s available on the market.

That said, Factions could have been better. For instance, when you, as a developer, know that you have problem with changes in the z-axis (which this game doesn’t really recognize), it doesn’t make a lot of sense to put a lot of stairs in the game. If you know you’re introducing two new professions, it makes sense to include lots of things that they would be good at doing in the cooperative content.

Don’t get me wrong–I like my ritualist. I’m kind of enjoying playing through the campaign a second time with my old character from Tyria. Sort of. But if I had picked this game up as my introduction to the series, I think I would have a MUCH more negative opinion of it than I already do.

The problem, of course, is that this is NOT a stand-alone game, no matter what their marketing department says. If you don’t know how the professions are supposed to work and you just roll up a character with no extra money in storage, you better hope that you’re lucky enough to figure out an effective way to do things the first time through, because the skill acquisition system has a HUGE built-in penalty for experimentation (skills, which are the lifeblood of the game, are only acquired in this expansion by purchase from skill trainers, but the ramp-up in cost is pretty dramatic, and before you even leave the training area you can find yourself spending 1000 gold – the maximum – for each new skill you open up for the character). The game has never done a particularly good job of explaining effective cooperative play either, and this is only emphasized in this expansion by the inclusion of two somewhat subtly nuanced classes, at least one of which (the Assassin) is not ideally suited to the cooperative game in the first place.

In terms of additions to the competitive arenas, there’s not much to find fault with. The two new professions are effectively balanced against the existing ones to a certain extent. Their utilization, however, is not now and never will be on the scope of the six core professions. There are some interesting tricks and gimmicks you can use, but ultimately, if you’re buying this game as a competitive player, you’re getting it for completeness. The new skills added for the existing professions are, in some instances, critical new additions to the competitive game environment and are a lot of fun to play around with.

On the whole, for new players, I’d have to recommend starting at the beginning and buying the original Guild Wars (Prophecies). The slower ramp-up, quest-based skill acquisition, and graduated complexity present a much better learning environment for somebody new to the game. For players who already have the game, you probably know what you’re getting–a new set of maps and a couple of new professions. The maps are adequate, though the composition of enemy groups in this edition is just as homogenous as in the previous release (though different) and haunted with more of the frustration that plagued some of the late-game areas of Prophecies. On the whole, I’m not sorry I bought it, as an established user, but I had certainly hoped for more.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful.
Factions pales in comparison to the original
By Got2Game
The graphics are stunning, even better than they were in Prophecies, and that is really the best aspect of this game. Factions was marketed as a stand alone game but it lacks content and most experienced Guild Wars players view it as an expansion. People who play the new assassin class have had a tough time getting groups and alot of players won’t party with them and some players even spew spiteful comments toward them. The class dies too quickly and easily if you don’t know how to play it, and unfortunately the tutorial portion is rushed so that you level too quickly without enough experience to really get to know your skills. Factions is really meant for level 20 characters and once you are done with the starter island all of the enemies are level 20 and higher. If you are new to Guild Wars I suggest starting with the first chapter, Prophecies, before wasting your money here. Factions is too short, in my opinion, and the developers resorted to adding a level of grind to it to extend it’s life. Rather than grinding levels you grind faction. Also, if you begin with Prophecies you will be more familiar with the skills that the high level monsters in Factions use against you.

See all 82 customer reviews…

Backyard Football 08

Combines AuthenticNFL plays and schemes with the wild and whacky jokes of the Backyard gang. Players have control of the style, location, pace, and system of the game. And, with multiple levels, the game is easy sufficient for rookie players yet mega challenging for more seasoned veterans.

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17665 in Video Games
• Brand: Humongous
• Released on: 2007-09-25
• ESRB Rating: Everyone
• Platforms: Windows XP, Windows
• Format: CD-ROM
• Dimensions: .25 pounds

• All current 32 NFL Teams, Uniforms and Logos
• Updated Roster of NFL athletes as kids- Brady, Manning, Tomlinson, Urlacher, Alexander, McNabb, Rothlisberger, Young, Bush and more
• New NFL plays and strategies, new graphics and environments
• Season play with finish stats and standings, new unlockables, power ups and mini games
• multiple level of difficulty, multiplayer options.

Backyard Football 08 Image

Backyard Football 08 Pic

Backyard Football 08 Photo

Backyard Football 08 Photo

Backyard Football 08 Picture

Backyard Football 08 Pic

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
Gave as gift
By B. Gomez
I gave as a gift to a 4 year old and he caught on the basics of the game right away. He absolutely loves this game and it helps develop his computer skills while playing.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
NFL Backyard Football
By Nancy Clark
We really like this game at the start. However, we do not like that the options make for such an easy game. There needs to be a difficulty level which challenges more; there also needs to be a better clock. My son can play for two hours and not complete a game because there is no game time clock. Overall, we are content, though.

4 of 20 people found the following review helpful.
bad customer service ruins this game
By Mary Beth Appel
I am very unhappy with backyard football. My children have a question about how to play with 2 players and I have emailed humongous entertainment on the 2 different emails given on the website. I have not gotten any response in 2 weeks. There is no street address or phone # to contact them, only the ignored email address. I have previously been impressed with other backyard sports games I have bought, but now am very dissatisfied.

See all 3 customer reviews…

Maximum Strategy Stronghold Tropico

Maximum Strategy — this outstanding one-two punch of system action will challenge your wits AND your guts. Conquer a medieval European land in Stronghold, or take over a modern-day banana republic in Tropico: Mucho Macho.

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13491 in Video Games
• Brand: 2K Games
• Model: 2133578
• Released on: 2004-03-03
• ESRB Rating: Rating Pending
• Platforms: Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows XP
• Format: CD-ROM

• Tropico – Mucho Macho challenges you to build up the economy of your own little tropical island — as either a benevolent leader or a dangerous dictator
• Build up tourism by building resorts, drawing in tourists and keeping them safe
• In Stronghold you’ll become a medieval lord fighting to defend and exaggerate his keep. Fight and win to forge a safe & happy settlement for your people
• Use medieval combat weapons and tactics to protect your castle from sieges by archenemies like The Rat, The Pig, The Snake and The Wolf

Maximum Strategy Stronghold Tropico Picture

Maximum Strategy Stronghold Tropico Photo

Maximum Strategy Stronghold Tropico Picture

Maximum Strategy Stronghold Tropico Image

Maximum Strategy Stronghold Tropico Picture

Maximum Strategy Stronghold Tropico Photo

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
addictive
By K Back
I bought this upgraded version for my husband after the first one was stolen and he spends hours playing it. Strong critical thinking and planning game for those who enjoy an intellectual challenge. Our 9 yr old son is starting to get the hang of it but doesn’t have the patience for the long haul yet.

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
tropico mucho macho + free game
By G. Evans
been looking for tropico mucho macho for long time, this cd gave me 2 games for the price of 1, cant beat that!

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
Stronghold/Tropico
By glamoroustree
When I purchased this game it was to replace the game of Tropico that someone stole from my home during a robbery. I received Stronghold as an addition and I am impressed. This is a perfect game is you enjoy Age of the Empires and Age of Mythology. Thanks for the freebie.

See all 3 customer reviews…