Phintias

I suppose I should have expected a let down, given the last few releases from GT, so part of this is on me. But I was lead to believe it had a good single player career mode, which really is nothing more than scenarios and many of them you don't even have the option of using any cars you actually own. On top of that, I haven't found the ability to change cars on the fly when racing with my brother online. Maybe it's there but it isn't obvious. Speaking of online, other games allow you to fill empty spots with AI, but still that's not available here. This is just a disappointment for those of us who aren't big into racing against random people. I'm sure it's fun, but not to me. Right now, for the first time, I have regret for buying Gran Turismo. Thank goodness there are some quality racing sim games that can compete, but I have always been a GT fan. I'm disappointed but not really surprised. Here's hoping they will make the needed changes to appeal to a bigger audience, as they have done with previous iterations. Not going to hold my breath though. Bummer

I could blithe on about my history with Baldur's Gate 1&2, Icewind Dale, etc... but this isn't about them and really comparing a game today to a classic game, which was a part of my youth isn't really fair anyway; good memories are hard to beat. And that is how I am judging Pillars. Do I get that, "this will leave a good memory" vibe. If i'm honest, I knew this answer pretty fast and it's no. But it does have most of the components for it. Pillars is a fun game; I'm enjoying myself and having fun playing. But what holds the score down for me is the writing. The story line is pretty good, and the quest lines are ok, but it feels more often than not, they used writers who went out of their way to create a civilization and it's cultures with very little knowledge how these things work. The history, the various dialects, the ways of life, all seem so forced. All the user created mods can't fix this fundamental flaw. And then there is the user created "back stories" and epitaphs. Most of them needed an editors hand to help clean up their story, and it doesn't seem this happened. The idea is great, in my opinion. But the application should have been vetted more thoroughly. And the books, with history and lore in them, are bad. I want to read them, and do, but it hurts every-time. Additionally, I don't think it's worth the 45 on up, US dollars. But money is a fluid thing, and if you have means to spend that kind of money without worry, then your thoughts will be different. So this is more personal opinion. Still... Ok, that out of the way, Pillars is still a lot of fun. The game play is quite fun, and I like the combat system a lot. It requires you play your game based on your party. It also gives you enough choices when leveling up to make a character feel somewhat unique. You also get some unique options how to respond depending on your class, build, and choices you've previously made in the game. To me, that's awesome. Overall, this is really fun for me. The writing hurts, but it's not horrible. Probably not nearly as-bad-as I make it seem. That said, it does affect immersion in my opinion and lasting appeal. Still, the game play, battles, interactions, ambiance, etc... all more than make up for it. If you like a good D&D style turn-based game, I would be surprised if you didn't enjoy this. There is so much that is fun and enjoyable. If you're a reader, or lover **** back-story, you may have issues but reading so many other reviews, I think the majority found the writing just fine. So take my criticism with a grain a salt, I suppose. Either way, if you do get it, I hope you find it worth the time and money spent. I know I am. Happy gaming.

I'm a little torn how to rate this. I play with my family and cousins online and we were all very excited about this game. Each of us had differing opinions on games, but we all enjoy playing together when we can. First, why call this Most Wanted? It clearly isn't and the idea they posted it under the NFS franchise suggests they were looking for sales based off the Title alone. NFS:MW was/is one of the better racing games made. It catered to both Sim fans and Arcade fans. This is back when it mattered to EA if they released a good game or not. I personally thought with Criterion involved even EA couldn't mess it up. So when my cousin won a copy, we were all pretty excited. We went over expecting to find a great game the rest of us would want to buy and play together. We found some really fun aspects, which could equate to a lot of fun racing online. But after a few days playing, I think we all kind of decided it just wasn't worth the money. It's certainly not a racing Sim, which is fine since a few of us don't really care for racing sims. But the lack of camera views was annoying. I don't care about manual/automatic but my brother did. I do care about fun, and every car had it's unique qualities, which is ok, but they also all were pretty much the same. You could win with a little 4 cyl compact as easily as a super sports car. This is fun, at first, but after awhile it gets annoying. Especially if you get a car you think looks cool, because you're only allowed so many races per car. Really, you can read most reviews, aside from the "This is the best game ever, get it now!!!' and the "WTF, no manual transmission? This game **** don't buy" reviews. There are plenty of people who actually spent time to write what's good and bad about this game. Most of the better reviews gave it lower scores, but they explained it. Many of the 9 and 10 reviews seem to write how everyone else is wrong and the game is really good but they don't really go into details why. Just from what I've seen anyway. I strongly recommend you read more than a few reviews to get a better idea of the good and bad points. Because this game definitely has some great features and some not-so-great features. From a racing sim fans point of view, this game just isn't worth the money for me. It feels like they went for an over-the-top attempt and glitz and decided that a high production quality makes a good game. And for those who like that kind of racing, it will be a very fun game. Because, even though I won't buy it, it would be fun to play from time-to-time in smaller doses. For me, I don't think this really fits what I would call a racing game. I don't need full out realism, but I do need a challenge when I race and this game isn't challenging. It's a smash-up game, and they could substitute the cars with tractors, bicycles, old people pushing carts, just about anything that moves could be swapped out. My brother said it best "It's Mario kart but with kick butt graphics and very cool cars." And Mario Kart is a very fun arcade game, so maybe EA does have a hit on their hands. Just not with us. I think we all wanted to like this game, but it just is lacking in too many areas. Too bad.

Taken by itself, out of the Diablo "universe" this game would still not be a "blockbuster." But it has/had big shoes to fill and it isn't filling them very well. From a very poorly constructed story-line to it's basic and simplistic character management, this game just isn't really all that fan after a few hours and has very little replay value to me. The loot drops generally aren't upgrades, and the fighting mechanics are pretty weak. Add to that Blizz's new business model to make a single player capable game still REQUIRE an internet connection, along with their not-so-quiet desire for the player to use the Real Money Auction House (an auction house where you buy equipment with real money, which Blizz gets a percentage every-time you buy or sell something off their. This game just feels like it's another money grab whose only success can be measured by how much they can make on a weekly or monthly basis. 1 million players at 60 bucks a game, is 60 million. Blizz says they sold over 5 million copies. That's over 300 million dollars. Yes that isn't enough; they want to nickel and dime the players too. Just a poor idea from a very very rich company. That said, it does have some redeeming qualities. It can be fun at times, for short periods of time. But the lasting appeal is really only going to be for those who sell things for real money, and those who are huge fans of Blizzard. If you played any of the previous versions of Diablo, however, buy at your own risk. Most of the "veteran" Diablo players are very unhappy - and understandably so.

The game looks fun, but, at the time of this writing, there is no Logitech controller support nor is there manual transmission support. This makes, what could be a fun game, frustrating. I find the hand held controller too sensitive or not enough. When I turn, it doesn't turn right away or, more often, it turns too much. Mind you, i'm used to using a wheel, not controller, for racing games so your mileage may vary (excuse the poor pun). That said, there are irksome things I've found, but having spent about 4 hours, I've had enough. I'd take it back if I could. If you use Logitech steering wheels and have a PS/3, I'd stay away. GT5 comes out tomorrow (yay!!!) and it may not be the best, but it should be a far sight better than this game. EA is trending toward mediocrity, and this game is no exception. This is why there is no NCAA basketball, or baseball, etc... People won't buy poorly created games. At least I'd like to think so.