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Star Wars The Force Unleashed

The Star Wars saga will continue in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, a videogame developed by LucasArts, which casts players as Darth Vader’s “Secret Apprentice” and promises to unveil new revelations about the Star Wars galaxy. The expansive story, created under direction from George Lucas, is set during the largely unexplored era between Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. In it, players will assist the iconic villain in his quest to rid the universe of Jedi - and face decisions that could change the course of their destiny.

Join the Dark Side

You are Darth Vader’s Secret Apprentice View larger.

Use the Force to disable your enemies View larger.

Artwork of the Jedi “Maris” View larger.

As its name implies, The Force Unleashed completely re-imagines the scope and scale of the Force. The Wii version will not only give you a solid story-line developed by LucasArts involving the Darth Vader’s secret apprentice, but you’ll experience a new style of gameplay only the Wii can offer. With the Wiimote and Nunchuck you’ll be able to battle your way through your enemies utilizing your Lightsaber attacks and Force powers. Not only can you experience this new control system in story mode, but you can also try your Jedi skills against a friend in the Wii, “Battle Mode.” Joining the Dark Side doesn’t seem like such a bad idea after all.

Game Features:

• During the period between Episodes III and IV, players hunt Jedi in the role of Darth Vader’s Secret Apprentice.
• Unleash and upgrade the Secret Apprentice’s four core Force powers - Force push, grip, repulse and lightning - throughout the course of the game, and combine them for ultra-destructive, never-before-seen combos.
• Examples of unleashing the Force in ways never thought possible:
  • The Secret Apprentice won’t just Force push enemies into walls - he’ll Force push enemies through walls.
  • The Secret Apprentice won’t just Force grip foes to throw them aside - he’ll Force grip them in midair, zap them with lightning, then drop them to the ground to explode like a bomb.
• In addition to new adversaries created just for the game, such as fugitive Jedi and Force-sensitive Felucians, players will also confront and associate with familiar faces from the Star Wars films, including Darth Vader.
• Visit locations such as Episode III’s Wookiee homeworld Kashyyyk and the floral Felucia, the junk planet Raxus Prime, plus an Imperial TIE fighter construction facility.
• The Wii system’s “Battle Mode,” a one on one fighting arena simliar to the classic game, Star Wars: Masters of Ter?s K?si.
• Use the Wiimote to slash and pierce your enemies with your Jedi Lightsaber while you use the Wii Nunchuk to disable other opponents with your Force Powers.
• LucasArts is preparing an unprecedented promotional effort around the launch of The Force Unleashed, encompassing a full line of toys and game-based action figures from Hasbro, as well as a full publishing program from Dark Horse, Del Rey and Palace Press.

Meet the Cast
The Star Wars Saga will continue in 2008 with LucasArts’ biggest-ever video game event. Set during the “dark times” between Episodes III and IV, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed portrays the previously untold story of Darth Vader’s Secret Apprentice — and now you can put a face to that mysterious character as well as the major supporting cast members as LucasArts unveils the actors set to star in The Force Unleashed.

The Technology of The Force Unleashed
With The Force Unleashed, LucasArts not only introduces a new chapter in the Star Wars saga, but also pushes the Wii’s game engine to deliver amazing detail and realism only found in a Star Wars title. You will experience gameplay and the Force like you never had before.

User Ratings and Reviews

3 Stars Another mediocre game with the Star Wars name
George Lucas created Lucas Arts, and from the moment of inception has produced some really lack-luster games. Of course, they have also produced some real gems - The Knights of the Old Republic and Tie Fighter come to mind, but The Force Unleashed is just another shovel ware produced by the studio - and this is truly a disappointment. In fact, knowing that most Star Wars games are bad, The Force Unleashed is really disappointing. After several delays we finally get to play as Darth Vader’s secret apprentice. The story is classic Star Wars - Darth Vader discovers a young boy that has Force sensibility that mirror his own as a lad and trains him as an apprentice to over throw the Emperor. It takes place after Revenge of the Sith and before A New Hope and fills in all the details between the two films.

The game isn’t entirely bad. The effort put into the surroundings will place you squarely into the Star Wars universe with a genuine feel. But the gameplay sinks the game fast. The controls are sluggish and you’ll find yourself falling into the dark abyss more often than not. The camera is jittery and makes it almost impossible to accurately use your force powers. You’ll also notice that no matter how you build your character you’ll never be able to simply overpower the enemy - and this is bad, since being a Sith you should be able to crush at least minor opponents. Speaking of which, the AI almost acts like no one is home … I mean, you can literally stand in front of them and they’ll do nothing.

The game is also loaded with glitches that will hinder your advancement. The boss battles don’t fit in with the story and more often than not, they’re just pumped up enemies. The game has some ridiculously tedious aspects in it as well and you’ll end up getting bored with them rather quickly. With so much hype surrounding this game, a gamer expects a game that utilizes the Star Wars franchise, not just bits and pieces from other areas pulled together and shoveled out.

5 Stars good
The game is great I like the hands on aproach and

I love star wars it’s almost like you are really there.

3 Stars Action game with a sloooow camera, and didn’t I hit him???
Just got this game last week and was hoping for something even a little close to KOTOR in fun and play time. So I started playing this on my recently lucked into Wii and this games only so so. To start with, the camera really kills me, it’s so slow when you turn around trying to fight bosses that they are in front of me but the camera is very slowly turning away from being focussed on just me. The bosses are jumping around here and there and some bit of scenery is in the way so I can’t see anything and the camera sloooooowly moves till you can see, after you get hit a few dozen times or so. I just hate it when I turn around and the camera takes forever to turn around so I can see in the new direction, really really not good in an action game. It also seems that the damage to the bosses is really odd most hits seem to do nothing with him not noticably blocking at all, then other hits block or no do nice damage. I so far only have about two or so hours playing and the story looks like it can turn out nicely. Wanting to keep playing with the odd damage and horrible boss fighting might not keep me going to the end though, no need to force my self to play when there are other much better games out.

5 Stars THE GREATEST GAME EVER!!!
This is without a doubt the greatist game i have ever played!!! every thing is awsome. i dont know what people are talking about the camra angles being bad??? i have played several hours, and have not had a problem. the coolest move is griping your appount in mid-air and throwing your lightsaber from across the room into his chest. i have to admit, the one thing i think would make this better would be online play some how. but the gameplay as it is, is over the top!!!

2 Stars overhyped for wii
I was very excited when i got the game for wii. i had fun killing the wookies in the prolugue part of the game, but once i got up to the rouge jedi i couldnt beat the game. here we are playing as darth vader and we cant defeat this guy on wii it aint fair. the controls are so out of wack there just is no way of defeating the person without cheat codes and you cant start using any till after you get past the jedi. so i am stuck in the prologue and ill prolly bnever play the game again till someone gives me better hints at beating it than what is online now.

Buy/More Info

PS3 Games Adventure Battle Mode, Darth Vader, Episode Iii Revenge Of The Sith, Episode Iv A New Hope, Expansive Story, Face Decisions, Game Features, Jedi Skills, New Revelations, Repulse, Revenge Of The Sith, Star Wars Episode, Star Wars Episode Iii, Star Wars Episode Iii Revenge Of The Sith, Star Wars Episode Iv, Star Wars Episode Iv A New Hope, Star Wars Galaxy, Star Wars Saga, Story Mode, Wii

Fear 2 Project Origin

Confront terrors both known and unknown in a explosive battle for survival with F.E.A.R 2: Project Origin for Xbox 360. This action-packed follow-up to Monolith Productions’s award-winning supernatural shooter F.E.A.R. begins where the previous game left off. This time, you’ll come up against Alma’s powers from the perspective of special forces operator Michael Becket. After an enormous explosion has devastated the city of Auburn, you’ll quickly discover that what seemed like an ordinary mission to retrieve and interrogate Genevieve Aristide is anything but.

Ghoulish supernatural enemies give F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin a horrific, cinematic feel. View larger.

You’ll explore and do battle in the dark corners of the ruined city of Auburn. View larger.

An enhanced graphics engine offers more dramatic effects. View larger.

Improved enemy AI means you’ll need better tactics. View larger.

Project Origin Run Amok: Alma’s Background
Fans of the first game will be familiar with the suspenseful story surrounding the psychic Alma, a peculiar and disturbing odyssey that adds depth to her devastating quest for revenge and immediacy to gameplay. Origin began as a secret military project run by the Aramacham Technology Corporation (ATC) . In an experiment run by Alma’s own father, her DNA was used to create two clones that possessed her impressive psychic powers in an attempt to engineer a telepathic military commander. In the end, the research team became worried about the dangers of Alma’s powers, and they tried to kill her.

While her heart stopped beating and her physical body died, her psychic energy continued to exist, and she manifested herself in many forms, including both a child and a deformed adult figure that betrays the gruesomeness of her ordeal. Due to a string of events tied to both her clones, Alma has escaped the disastrous explosion of the last game and the facility where she was held, and the haunting manifestations of her power are at work all around you, adding an unpredictable, nightmarish quality to the world.

Strange Events in a Supernatural Setting
In order to get anywhere in the rubble of the city of Auburn, you’ll need to survive firefights, stay calm in the face of surprisingly graphic events, and uncover the terrifying and mysterious nature of your real enemies. Your character’s phenomenal reflexes allow the much-talked-about slow motion effect from the original title to persist here, giving you an edge in combat and adding to the unique nature of your perspective.

Improved Details and Enemy AI
An enhanced graphics engine means more detailed environments to explore and better effects. The vast destruction in the city opens up a huge variety of spaces and enhances the other-worldly feel of your mission, and you better be ready to stay on guard because all-new enemies powered by improved AI don’t just act more realistically than their predecessors, they employ advanced combat tactics and know how to use the environment against you. But they aren’t the only ones with more resources at their disposal–additional world interaction enhancements allow you to create cover and protect yourself or remove obstacles from your path.

While it may be the horrific action and the details that first catch your eye, the tactical demands and the way story elements are slowly unveiled promise to help keep you interested as gameplay wears on. And for those times when you’re not in the mood for a prolonged single-player campaign, this title also offers the ability to battle with or against friends in multiplayer mode.

User Ratings and Reviews

1 Star Watch out!
I was charged and never received my game! I will dispute the charges since the seller never responded to my email asking for traking info. Don’t buy from this seller ever! No response!!!!!!

1 Star A Tragedy Really
I loved the first game. It was complicated enough without being so complicated that I wasn’t able to complete it. I also enjoyed the first game’s storyline as well. This game though, I really wanted to like it. I was hoping for the best, that’s not what I got. Maybe I’m just not a first person shooter kind of gamer. That could be it. I got to a point that I tried to get myself through for two days. This was in chapter 7 of the game, right after finishing off the snipers, when your trying to get down to the street. There was no way to get through this situation, at least no way that I could think of. I tried various weapon uses. Didn’t really help. I tried using a walkthrough. Did not help. I tried an easier mode, all the way to Easy mode, and I still could not get through this section of the game. For me though if I can’t get through a section for two days, then I realize the game isn’t for me. That’s a true disappointment. I was hoping for a lot, but I got a huge let down. If you are a first person shooter, then maybe you can get through this, but for the average gamer, the weekend gamer I guess you might say, then this game is nothing but frustration.

5 Stars I bought this for my Grandson, & he really liked it!!!!!!!!
I did not play this, I bought it for my Grandson (18). I asked him about the game and he said he really liked it.

4 Stars Ready, Aim FIRE
If you liked the first FEAR game, you will love this one. Better graphics all around and pretty much non-stop action. Not much of a story line but who cares, just shoot em up. Even for an old goat like me, the fun factor is high. I was disappointed when it was over. Little short but fun while it lasted.

PS: Hope they bring out a FEAR2 files for this one like they did the first.

3 Stars Pretty Good! Stop poppin up in the middle of the ROOM!
I thought this game was really fun, although not an avid multiplayer of this game, i can’t say much about that. If you like the idea of strange things popping out in front of your face and scaring the life out of you, you’ll love this game. It seemed repetitious after a while, but it did keep me occupied. It is a lot of fun, but for the 60 or 50 bucks i spent on it, overall not a buy I’m particularly proud of. I didn’t play the first FEAR, but i imagine its about the same.

Bottom line, if you haven’t bought, either don’t, or wait until the price drops.

Buy/More Info

PS3 Games Adventure 999999, Amazon, City Of Auburn, Dramatic Effects, Enhanced Graphics, Enormous Explosion, Explosive Battle, Graphics Engine, Helvetica Neue, Interrogate, Michael Becket, Military Project, Monolith Productions, Project Origin, Psychic Powers, Ruined City, Serif Font, Supernatural Enemies, Suspenseful Story, Xbox 360

Wario Land Shake It

The Wario Land series is where Wario, Nintendo’s greedy, uncouth and rude anti-hero first appeared, and now he’s back in singleplayer action in Wario Land: Shake It. With the Wii Remote controller turned sideways like an old-school controller, veterans and newcomers alike can run, jump and smash their way through hectic side-scrolling stages. Players shake the Wii Remote to help Wario take down his enemies, empty bags of treasure or cause earthquakes. Best of all, there are numerous stages each offering multiple missions to keep players coming back again and again to unlock everything, collect more coins or just improve their best times.

Get ready to shake things up

Classic side-scrolling for coin. View larger.

Wobble enemies with the Wii Remote. View larger.

Take careful aim against bosses. View larger.

Storyline and Gameplay
Wario receives an antique globe and telescope that allow him to travel to the once-idyllic Shake Dimension, now conquered by the tyrannical pirate, the Shake King. With the assistance of his longtime rival, Captain Syrup, he must rescue the Merfles, denizens of the Shake Dimension imprisoned by the Shake King. Only by defeating the bosses of all five continents of this strange world can Wario find and confront the Shake King, rescue Queen Merelda, queen of the Merfles, and, most importantly, claim the Bottomless Coin Sack, a never-ending supply of gold.

Each stage has Wario navigating an obstacle course of dangers and traps to find an imprisoned Merfle. Once he frees the little fellow, the countdown begins and he must find his way back to the starting gate before time runs out. Wario must also defeat a boss in each continent, and then buy a map of the next continent from Captain Syrup. Once all five continents’ bosses have been defeated, Wario takes on the Shake King himself.

Characters
Wario Land: Shake It features a wide cast of off-the-wall characters including: Wario, our “hero.” Captain Syrup, a female pirate (and rival from previous games) who aids Wario on his quest. The Merfles, helpless natives of the Shake Dimension, and their queen, Queen Merelda. The Shake King, leader of a ruthless pirate band who has conquered the Shake Dimension.

Key Game Features:

• Shake Things Up With the Wii Remote - With the Wii Remote controller turned sideways, veterans and newcomers alike can run, jump and smash their way through hectic side-scrolling stages. By shaking the Wii Remote, you can shake down your enemies, free coins from treasure bags and even cause earthquakes.
• Side-Scrolling Fun - Each stage is a masterfully crafted side-scrolling obstacle course of puzzles, enemies and assorted hazards. Every stage holds numerous secrets and treasures to discover (and steal). And each stage has multiple “missions” to keep you coming back again and again to unlock everything, collect more coins or just improve your best time.
• Classic Wario Action and Attitude - Wario returns to form, with all the jumping, power-dashing and butt-stomping we’ve come to expect. This is surly Wario at his finest.

The Wii Remote: Powers, Weapons, Moves & Vehicles
Wario can jump and dash, as per previous Wario Land games. New to this game is the ability to shake the Wii Remote for various effects. By default, a shake of the Wii Remote makes Wario punch the ground, causing a small earthquake and dazing enemies. Wario can then pick up dazed enemies and, with another shake of the Wii Remote, shake them for rejuvenating garlic and occasionally gold. Enemies can also be thrown, and you aim by tilting the Wii Remote.

Wario also takes control of three different vehicles during the course of the game, all of which are piloted in part by tilting the Wii Remote. The controls are standard for a Wii Remote held sideways (D-pad, buttons), but with an important twist: most of Wario’s special moves are accomplished by shaking or tilting the Wii Remote. This allows great versatility but without forcing the player to remember complicated button combinations.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Simple & FUN!
I bought this game after reading all the reviews. A purchase worth the money. The game is fun and has the older “side scroll” feel to it, yet with new graphics and game play.

Don’t hesitate to add this game to your collection.

5 Stars Great game!
If you like Super-Mario World, you’ll love Wario Land! I only wish I had more time to play it!

5 Stars An excellent platformer that reminds us all that the genre can still be done on consoles
Positive:

+ 2-D cartoon graphics look very sharp

+ solid gameplay with some great elements new to the series

+ smooth controls that also don’t over use motion capabilities

+ tons of treasures and missions add a lot of replay value

+ full of that funny, weird Wario personality and style

Negative:

- main adventure is pretty easy

Wario Land was my favorite game from the original GameBoy, and I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed a 2-D platformer as much as I enjoyed it. When I heard the series was going to Wii as a full retail game, though, I had my doubts about how worthwhile it would be at full price. 2-D games have been very overshadowed by 3-D in this generation, and now gamers (myself included) are starting to feel that 2-D games are inferior to those in the third dimension. Does Wario Land: Shake It only further push those assumptions or does it prove us wrong?

Wario Land has a funny story, but it doesn’t show up very often. Basically the Shake King has taken over the Shake Dimension, imprisoning all the cute little residents, kidnapping the princess, and taking the great treasure: a coin bag that always gives you coins when you shake it. The only one to escape this horrible occurrence (named Merfle) somehow finds Wario in his own dimension, going on with his normal daily life. Captain Syrup and Merfle enlist Wario’s help in getting back the land, the princess, and most importantly the coin bag, and that’s the last you hear about the story until you defeat the Shake King. Both the beginning and end cutscenes have the sheer comedy you would expect from a Wario game, and the greedy hero takes nothing seriously and always loses out in the end.

The game progresses over the course of five areas, each with four levels and one boss. You have to beat one level to reach the next, but you can purchase the next area if you want to and have enough coins, so you can go through the game how you like. There may be only 20 main levels, but there are also lots of challenging bonus stages and each level (bonuses included) has three to seven missions and three treasure chests to find. I can guarantee you will feel inclined to go back and try to do more in the game than just beat all the levels, and to get everything you will have to play through each level a minimum of two times. So while there aren’t a ton of levels, the ones available are worth replaying.

Each level is very well designed in terms of playability. Getting through to the end is usually pretty easy, and after you reach the end of a level you have to get back to the beginning before time runs out, which almost turns into a fun minigame, actually. If you find the booster near the end of the level, you can take the fast way in which you are constantly running at high speed. Getting back to the start fast enough to clear the level’s mission based on time involves many well-timed jumps, slides, and turns and can be quite challenging. So the levels are very well designed in terms of playability, because you have to be able to get through the normally and then there is a whole course set up for high speed.

The level design complements the gameplay very nicely. Shake It plays like other 2-D platformers, you move left and right, jump, and all that, but Wario has always had the ability to charge as well, and now he also has an earthquake punch that can be used to stun enemies, solve puzzles, and other things. This is done with a shake of the Wii remote, a function that works quite well and isn’t over used. The Wii remote can also be shaken to get coins out of coin bags, which is a nice feature in the gameplay. Motion control is also used for a few submarine levels as well as in a boss fight, and tilting the controller to aim for throwing enemies and for shooting Wario out of a cannon works quite nicely too. Overall the concepts, level design, and controls come together very nicely for a great gameplay experience.

Shake It may be fully 2-D, but that’s not to say the graphics don’t look really sharp. They may not be stunning visuals like you see in Mario Galaxy, but it’s about as good as you can possibly make a 2-D game look. The objects and characters aren’t extremely detailed, but they look very smooth and sharp. The animations for all the actions look very nice too and add much to the humorous Wario feel. The level backgrounds look great too, and if you take a look, things such as large rocks will actually pop out in front of the level in some areas, but they don’t obstruct your vision at all. Shake It displays some of the finest 2-D graphics I’ve ever seen, and they really add a lot to the overall experience of the game.

Shake It sounds almost as good as it looks. The music tracks may not be the most memorable you’ve ever heard, but they sound really good and fit their respective environments very well. The sound effects are 100% Wario too, with funny sounds that have good quality.

In a world where 3-D is most often hailed as king, Wario Land: Shake It stands tall and proud. It manages to be just as fun as most of the 3-D games out there and delivers an experience any fan of the series or platformer aficionado will love. 2-D CAN be worth full price, you just have to be willing to pay up.

Gameplay: 9.0

Graphics: 9.0

Sound: 8.5

Camera & Control: 9.0

Value: 8.5

FINAL SCORE: 9.0/10

2 Stars If you like 2d and are a nintendo fanboy
Found this game to be a little lackluster, honestly if you want a cartoon like game that is really fun, then ratchet and clank: tools of destruction is way better, or even metal arms: glitch in the system. Both had fun interactive environments as well, granted they are both shooter type games, just found this one to be pretty repetitive to say the least, but if you like 2d games, this is your game. Just hard for me to rate this good even with pretty graphics when there is a glut of other good titles on various consoles out there. Granted the wii has had some innovative games with its control scheme, this is just boring.

4 Stars Fun cartoony game
This game is a great 2D platformer in the tradition of Super Mario Bros. Great controls and fun gameplay. A definite plus.

Pros- Great traditional 2D nintendo platformer with enough wii innovative controls to make it fresh. Really makes you long for more of these from nintendo.

Cons - very cartoony and really easy to beat. Not a challenging game by any stretch.

Buy/More Info

PS3 Games Adventure Antique Globe, Careful Aim, Cause Earthquakes, Continent, Countdown, Denizens, Empty Bags, Enemies, Female Pirate, Five Continents, Little Fellow, Newcomers, Obstacle Course, Old School, Strange World, Uncouth, Wii, Wii Remote, Wii Remote Controller, Wobble

Pokemon Emerald Version

Pokemon Emerald is an extension of Pokemon Ruby and Pokemon Sapphire — you’ll travel to an all-new region and explore as you face off against Team Aqua and Team Magma. An aspiring Pokemon trainer moves to tiny Littleroot Town and discovers all-new Pokemon to train and compete with — now he’s on the road to being a great trainer!

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Pokemon Emerald Version
This game is addictive, and it has great replay value. Hours of fun can be expected. Once it is beaten, there is still more to do.

3 Stars Not worth $94.98
This game is OK, but I just looked at the new price tag: $94.98? DON’T BUY THIS GAME AT THAT HIGH A PRICE. It’s not worth almost a hundred dollars. Christ…

4 Stars Pokemon Emerald
I love pokemon. Great game. Alot of fun and very addicting. I just wish they would make a game like this for the bigger systems. One that you can actually go and catch pokemon like on the TV show. Until they get smart enough to do that, I will continue to have fun with what they have out.

5 Stars Great game!!
I did get far with in the span of three days but I really love this game! It has a lot of action. I would buy it again( oh wait I did) sorry, muggers got the first one!! But I still love this game!

4 Stars One of the Best Pokemon Games
Now, I have to admit that I never played Ruby and Sapphire. I got on the “Gameboy Advance” bandwagon a bit late, and had to buy my gaming system used from the local gaming store, and bought Emerald at the same time. The last games I had played were Gold and Silver, and i was completely blown away.

I will say right now that my biggest gripe with pokemon Emerald was that I missed the original 150 pokemon, plus no in-game Eevee acquisition, which did ruffle my feathers a bit. However, the addition of Fire Red and Leaf Green to the Advance lineup mostly clears that up for me, even if I do lack a friend to trade with. Unfortunately, most pokemon gamers have moved on from the Game Boy Advance, which leaves me in a bit of a rut, but this, obviously, is not the point of the review.

Aside from the lack of a great number of kanto and johto pokemon, another gripe I had with this game was the lack of perception of time. The addition of weather was nice, but what’s the point in having an ingame clock when neither day or night is recognized? While not a huge deal, it does make evolving an eevee into Umbreon on Emerald impossible, and negates the nocturnal habits of some wild pokemon as well. Again, not anything big.

While the storyline itself is fun, “beating” the game itself is not all that hard, especially is one chooses to take Rayquazza to the Pokemon League with them. But for me, the work before the Elite Four is not really the *fun* part about the game.

The best part about this game, IMO, is the Battle Frontier. I find myself spending most of my hours logged on this game breeding and raising pokemon specifically to be on my Battle Frontier teams. While your Blaziken might have served you well before in the game, you might find that he simple doesn’t cut it in the Battle Dome, when he needs to have a wide range of moves to be able to match any opponent, or in the Temple, where you must rely on his nature in order to get through battles.

After the Elite Four, new johto pokemon appear in the Safari Zone, which also increases your pool of available pokemon for Frontier play.

All in all, I believe that this is a wonderful game, and well worth the money for any gamer, despite the small drawbacks.

Buy/More Info

PS3 Games Adventure 150 Pokemon, Bandwagon, Blown Away, Eevee, Face Off, Game Boy Advance, Gaming Store, Gaming System, Get Smart, Great Game, Last Games, Leaf Green, Local Gaming, Muggers, New Pokemon, Pokemon Gamers, Pokemon Games, Pokemon Ruby, Pokemon Trainer, Ruby And Sapphire

Ghosts of Onyx Halo

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars My Favorite
This is my favorite of the Halo novels. It is about a Spartan II training the next generation of Spartans and their new armor known as SPARTAN III (that’s EVA to you gamers). But on the planet Onyx, they find a Forerunner artifact that the Covenant is also after. Not to mention Onyx has an army of Sentinels all its own.

This definitely my favorite of the novels (and it is so much more than what I had just described). Five star read. Kudos, Nylund

5 Stars Another great Nylund Halo novel
I just finished this book last night… The quick summary: It follows Spartan II Kurt and the creation of the (his) Spartan III program.

I’ll be honest, I’m a fan of the Halo video games, but I actually think that Nylund’s books step up the story more than the video games ever did, especially ‘Onyx’. The Spartan IIs were always going to be limited because of the genetic requirements outlined in the first book. Humanity just doesn’t have the ability to make and support many. The Spartan IIIs however, bridge the gap between normal humans and the seeming superhuman Spartan II, laying out what could be, in my opinion, an even more compelling story and/or video game than what we saw with Halos 1-3.

I really hope that Microsoft realizes what a great story Nylund has created here and considers turning it into a game. Just imagine creating your own Spartan III, with the ability to specialize or generalize the character and then play through a post Halo 3 campaign centralizing around fighting the remainders of the Covenant and supressing human colony rebellion, all the while dealing with the side effects of the treatments you willingly subjected yourself to so that you could help humanity. That’d be awesome!

5 Stars Outstanding book
Let me preface by saying that I usually do not read books. I never played Halo 1 or 2, but have played Halo 3 and was caught up by the excitement. That being said, I never truely appreciated the story and the need to ‘finish the fight’. I decided to buy the 3-pack here at amazon (Fall of reach/flood/First Strike) kind of like a filler to get to $25 to get free shipping. A best buy I have made in a long time. I liked First Strike the best, followed closely by Fall of reach and then The Flood. My suspicion is that since the Flood was a narrative of the 1st game, it followed the flow of the game (lots of fighting) thus perhaps why it was ‘not as good’.

I soon got excited to see what happened in Halo 2 (still have not played it), but got Ghosts of the Onyx 1st. This book (again in my opinion) is the best so far. It hardly has Master Chief or Cortana, but fills in a lot of the story (and of course leaves a ‘cliff hanger’ at the end unrelated to the main Halo story arc, thus having me ‘wanting more’).

I remember when watching Star Trek, Battlestar galactica, etc. I always wondered what the stories some of the other star ships might of had, or wanting to know what the exploits the ‘other’ Jedi had in star Wars, as all of them likely had excitig stories. This book is similar in that it follows the ‘life’ of Kurt as he is the main star. It gives more details on the Spartan program, and particular the Spartan III’s. It also re-unites the remaining surviving spartans II’s (except for Master Chief and ‘Grey team –> Cole Protocol). It also sheds more light on the fore-runners, and the civil war that the covenenant are having.

I know many are ‘unhappy’ that it is not centered around master chief, but we all know what he is doing in halo 2 and 3. I want to know what else is going on in the Halo Universe and with the rest of the Spartans and this book does a great job in that. I think Cole protocol will be a ’similar’ and outstanding book as well giving us stories of the other spartans. I just got Contact harvest in the mail today. can’t wait to read it.

5 Stars My son says, “Awesome!!!”
Great audio book! Better than my son was expecting. It held his interest and didn’t bore him. A must for any Halo fan!!!

2 Stars “Here’s goes everything.”
Wow, I love Halo and all, but this book is boring and full of typos. What the hell? Mr. Nylund should slap his editor. There’s a grammatical error in almost every chapter.

Buy/More Info

PS3 Games Adventure Artifact, Crusade, Factions, Five Star, Forerunner, Game Microsoft, Game Studios, Ghosts, Halo Novels, Halo Xbox, Human Covenant, Kudos, Master Chief, Microsoft Corporation, Microsoft Game, Office Of Naval Intelligence, Sentinels, Spartan, Spartans, Vital Time