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Comment on Kinect Disneyland Adventures by L. Simons "L"

L. Simons "L" — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 21:41:43 +0000

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

Great game for 10 year old typical child amazing for autistic son first video game he ever played in 13 years of life!!!, November 28, 2011

L. Simons "L" -

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This review is from: Kinect Disneyland Adventures (Video Game)

Ditto on the positivies thus far, as far as the most helpful negative review have you tried saying XBOX fast travel. Then a menu with things you can say comes up. You can get very far, very fast with this.
My ten year old typical was definitely a huge boon to sortig out this game, but my autisitic son loves the peter pan flying game. We own a wii, and an xbox,I've bought so many games from walle to toy story on wii, to sesame for kinect(I still have hope, he's been under the weather since we got that one). But this disney game always brings a smile to his face.

Fast travel is very nice, even my daughter still uses it sometimes but she has also figured out you can just point straight ahead. She loves to play this game for her "older" brother. A lot of her friends come over and they sometimes don't know how to play with her brother, but they totally get into it with this.

The girls do seem bothered when there avatar's change somewhat randomly, but they quickly got over it in favor of all the fun to be had.

One last note the voice commands are so good they even respond to my special needs sons commands, and he is considered nonverbal! He loves to order the game around.:)

Ofcourse it helps that he loves Disney and Mickey!

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Comment on Kinect Disneyland Adventures by B. Molen

B. Molen — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 21:15:11 +0000

79 of 82 people found the following review helpful:

Bring Some Magic from Disneyland Home., November 15, 2011

B. Molen (San Jose, CA United States) -

= Fun:

This review is from: Kinect Disneyland Adventures (Video Game)

Wow! I've only played a couple hours, but wanted to share some impressions.
I've been to Disneyland a handful of times and the park is faithfully recreated in the game. Playing it brought back memories from my actual visits.

Presentation: The graphics are very nice and colourful as you'd expect, its amazing how much detail they put into the park and all the tourists, you hear bits of conversation while walking from tourists. The Disney Characters are wonderful as are their voices. The Music is perfect and properly placed, such as the teacup song in the wonderland area of Fantasy Land. I did notice very minor pop up and a couple snags when rotating quickly or riding the dumbo type rotating rides, but its nearly perfect.

The Gameplay: There is so much to do, I was happily suprised with the variety. Certain Characters will give you items(a wand, Buzz Lightyear Gun so far) to interact with in Disneyland while traveling to your next ride/adventure, or completing a quest for Mickey or Alice.
Character Quests: So far Alice has asked me to find an item for her she lost, which led me to the Mad Hatter who asked me to take some photos for his album. Cinderella has asked me to find 3 items for her etc. I think there are over 100 quests.
Fast Pass is activated by raising both arms, if you don't feel like walking the whole park to get to your favorite Land or Ride.

The Kinect controls: Are well done with a bit of practice, pointing to walk works well, you don't have to point with your arm straight out to walk it can be low minimizing fatique, you can move your arm to turn/rotate or move your shoulders. It all comes naturally after a little while, once you remember to lower your arm to stop. I'm impressed with the controls, navigating Disneyland for real can be a challenge ;)
Most selections can also be made with Voice Recognition (Return to Park, Yes, No, Clothes, Map Navigation etc.), something I'm enjoying more with Kinect, now that I'm ued to talking to my Xbox!

I've only really explored Fantasyland and a bit of Tomorrowland. In these 2 areas I've discovered you can ride the rotating rides with a first person view, nothing too special but a nice touch.

The Main Rides/Adventures: So far are really fun and longer than I expected. And each have multiple parts, such as falling down the rabbit hole, croquet with Alice and the Queen, and The Tea Party.

Here's a list of the main attractions:
Fireworks (conduct a show over the castle)
Mickey's Parade
Space Mountain
Buzz Astro Blasters
Finding Nemo Submarine
Pixie Hollow
Peter Pan
Wonderland
Matterhorn
Princess Fantasy Faire
Its a Small World
Big Thunder Mountain
Winnie the Pooh Adventures
Splash Mountain
Haunted Mansion
Pirates of the Caribbean
Jungle Cruise
Enchanted Tiki Room
Lots to play and remember most have multiple parts/games.

There is a shop in each Land where you can buys clothes, hats, costumes, for your character.

My son is a little young to play (nearly 2) but he loved watching and even tried to fly with Peter Pan (his favorite movie). When I exited to the title screen he applauded, and when I turned it off he got sad for a bit, so yeah your kids will love this, unless they hate disney for some odd reason?! Its fun for the kid in all of us and a great family game, with the easy drop in drop out feature.

I highly recommend it!
O O
(^.^)

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Comment on Kinect Disneyland Adventures by Nutwiisystem.Com

Nutwiisystem.Com — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 20:37:24 +0000

289 of 292 people found the following review helpful:

Great graphics and amazing attention to detail, although game play can be a little repetitive, November 15, 2011

Nutwiisystem.Com (New York, NY USA) -

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This review is from: Kinect Disneyland Adventures (Video Game)

In many ways, Kinect Disneyland reminds me of the game Epic Mickey that came out for the Wii last year. It's a fantastic concept and the attention to detail will absolutely delight die-hard Disney fans, but gameplay itself can be a little shaky at times. But overall, it's a winner, especially if you have younger kids in the house who are always begging you to go to Disneyland or Disney World.

The concept and the graphics of this game are amazing. You start the game out at the Train Station and the scene swoops onto Main Street USA, which should be familiar to anyone who's been to the parks. You define your character by choosing a boy or a girl, and give him or her a face (you basically can choose one by race), and then a hair style, hair color, shirt, and pants. There's only limited customization you can do (I'm guessing you can't use the Xbox avatar because it's just too cartoony for this world).

You meet a "magic ticket" that tells you how to move around. You point your arm straight ahead to walk, and you can point your arm to the left or right to pivot. I've heard complaints about this, but you do get used to it eventually. Still, I probably would have liked to see the option to use the old Xbox controller for walking around, as walking by pointing isn't all that intuitive.

The ticket will lead you around to meet different characters. Of course, the first character you meet is Mickey, who gives you an autograph book. You're basically given different tasks to do around Disneyland. You need to find Donald to sign to book, and then return it to Mickey. Then you need to get Goofy's autograph. And so on. It's not really challenging, as the golden ticket will lead you straight to the right character and there's also a map you can use to see where any character is at any given time. Once you encounter a character there's a fair amount of interaction you can do with it--you can shout "Hey there!", get their autograph, dance a jig with them, high five them, hug them, and take their picture with a magical camera that Mickey gives you.

And so this is basically the first way to play Disneyland Adventures: walk around the park, interact with the characters, and solve different quests that they give you. You can collect coins throughout the park which you can eventually use to purchase virtual souvenirs in the stores. There are also "magic items" you can collect which will unlock secrets throughout the park.

You can just walk around and explore the park if you like. In some cases you'll bump across different rides you can take just for fun, for example, riding the roller coaster in Mickey's Toontown or the Dumbo Ride in Fantasyland. The attention to detail is spectacular, right down to the first-person view you see while sitting on the rides, to the storefronts along Main Street, to the views you get walking from land to land, right down to the location of the Fastpass ticket machines and the crowds (whom you can eavesdrop on).

Of course, as you walk from land to land, you'll come across the "attractions" (if you don't feel like walking around, you can "fly" from land to land by pulling up a park map). These are basically mini-games, and there are a staggering number of them. Each attraction is broken into different parts. The best way to describe each mini-game is that they're idealized version of the Disneyland rides; for example, on Space Mountain, you're really flying through space and on Thunder Mountain Railroad you're really in a mine shaft. You can collect coins in all the rides are well.

Here are the attractions:

FRONTIERLAND:

- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: there are two parts to this one; in the first one, you're pumping a mine cart to try to get in front of a runaway train, and in the process you can reach out and grab coins (which will be a recurring theme through all the games). In the second one, you're running on the top of the train trying to get to the front to stop it. There's actually no running involved; your character runs on his own and you basically need to lean left and right and duck to avoid obstacles.

ADVENTURELAND:

- Jungle Cruise: there are three parts to this one. The first part was very much like the ride, complete with smart-alecky boat captain and rhino-infested waters. Here, you man a water cannon as your jungle cruise floats down the river, shooting barrels (which release coins) and the occasional rhino or elephant. The second part of this game is a blast--you need to mimic a guard ape's motions to disarm the ape, and then get into a fruit fight trying to hit a bunch of apes by throwing bananas. In the third part of this game, you're kayaking down some rapids, trying to steer out of danger by leaning left and right.

CRITTER COUNTRY:

- Splash Mountain: There are two parts to this one. In the first, you run after Br'er Rabbit... Read more

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Comment on Roku 2 XS 1080p Streaming Player Reviews by Mahesh

Mahesh — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 22:08:44 +0000

886 of 948 people found the following review helpful:

Great device, user experience could be better, August 3, 2011

Mahesh -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Roku 2 XS 1080p Streaming Player (Electronics)

I've been using Roku 2 XS for a few days now and I must say I like the device, but there are quite a few hiccups. So first the good stuff.

* The Box is tiny and the setup is a breeze. I was up and streaming in under 5 mins.
* Netflix, Huluplus, Amazon and Pandora worked fine
* Streaming in 1080p worked fine without buffering (I use Xfinity) and the quality is superb
* The Ethernet option (available only in XS) is very helpful and the Quality of streaming is far better than wireless

and the not so good stuff:
* The Box does not have adequate memory and needs an external micro-SD card for more capacity
* The device re-booted a few times for me when switching between channels. I was initially very upset with this as the reboot process takes about 3-4 mins. I called support and they asked me to uninstall Angry Birds as it takes up huge amount of space. Did that and then on no re-boots. This sucks as Roku 2 advertises Angry Birds big time and the remote is designed for that, but the device is not capable without additional memory
* It is non-sense that I buy the high end XS version for Ethernet and HD support and I still have to buy HDMI cable and Ethernet cable separately!
* I mainly bought Roku for streaming International Channels and to my horror I found that most of the channels do not work in Roku 2!! Apparently Roku 2's video format is different to that of Roku 1. Roku support says that the Channel provider needs to fix it and the Channel provider's support say that Roku needs to fix it!!! So why advertise them and make me sign up for them then??
* Finally, many channels have sub-channels within them. Switching from One channel is only possible through menus and there are no short-cuts. It takes up to 5 to 6 button press to switch Channels and it obviously sucks.

Verdict:
If Roku is serious of competing with Apple TV and Content is the differentiator, then Roku needs to pay more attention to the content and ensure it works and make the user experience better.

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Comment on Roku 2 XS 1080p Streaming Player Reviews by Jim Utkin

Jim Utkin — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 21:47:59 +0000

324 of 332 people found the following review helpful:

The best streamer on the market!, September 12, 2011

Jim Utkin (Normal, IL United States) -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Roku 2 XS 1080p Streaming Player (Electronics)

First I have to say the negative reviews are puzzling to me, because I dont think those buyers understand what they are buying.

As you know there is 3 versions, I absolutely recommend you spend the money on the XS (99.95) model, the main reason is because it's the only model with a USB port. Which in short term will allow you connect USB HD and play any movies you may of ripped from your DVD's. I have a 4TB array connected with most of my DVD collection, which is close to 1000 movies.

Roku has three type of channels:

Public
Apps
Private

The public channels are the once visible in what is called "Channel Store". Currently there about 300, but channels are added weekly. Looking at fan blogs, there has yet to be a weeks in about 4 months, that at least several channels weren't added.

Now channels can fall into three categories, Pay, Free, and Subscription.

Pay means you pay onetime fee and you get access to the channel, subscriptions are channels like Netflix, Hulu Plus, etc... if you already have those subscriptions, you just add them at no additional cost. If you are an amazon prime customer then you will get access to amazon prime streaming collection, about 9000 movies and shows. You can also rent movies from .99 cents to 3.99. Or you can digitally buy movies, which will then be permanently accessible to you through any device that supports the Amazon channel.

I will admit that half the pay channels are bad, so do your homework before laying out money for any channel that requires either a onetime fee or subscription. You have to understand the Roku is a streaming device, they are not a content provider, so they don't have anything to do with setting prices. That said there are 100's of free channels, especially if you are fan of Video Podcasts from companies live Revision 3 or TWiT. They are all there in HD, and free.

I imagine as time goes on more pay services will become available as well as free once. To give this device a bad rating because you have to pay for some channels, is just typical spoiled attitude. Remember folks who provide these channels have to pay for servers that store the content, bandwidth that delivers the content, and sometimes licensing of the content.

Roku 2 operates on a modified Linux OS. This gives this device a lot of flexibility. Roku has also given out an API so others are writing applications for the device. There are already some games available, again some free, some pay. If you buy the XS model you get a motion controller, similar to the WII one. It's obviously that it's very early in the devices API development. Even though Roku 1 has been around for years, the API flexibility really didn't open up until Roku 2. There is also SD slot so you can upgrade internal memory so you can store games and apps, which you will likely have use for in the coming months, as more apps come out. For example there is one very useful app for Netflix users, called Instant Watcher, it's a onetime fee of $2.99, and give you a lot more flexibility and power to browse the Netflix Streaming Library, you link you Netflix account through this application, and then it allows you to do everything from managing your queue to browse various lists. I discovered a few movies and shows, I would of probably never found on my own.
Second category is Application, which also includes games. That's where the motion controller that comes with the XS model comes in. XS comes with a full version of angry birds, which actually looks and plays quite well. I don't see using Roku to replace my PS3, PC, or WII as gaming platform. But I can see a few possibilities like network wide scrabble; poker, etc... type games and tournaments. There also application, some free some are pay. For example if you got the XS model you have a USB channel, to enable its use for a HD connection you have download a free application. But there is also a pay application, which will allow you to stream audio and video from your server or PC's in the house. There are few other apps, but nothing of any real value at this time. Since the API relatively new, I would expect we will see a lot more apps coming in the next few months.

The last type of channel and probably one most people will not know unless they are told or stumble on it on the forums are "Private Channels". These channels are not advertised or visible through any Roku channel. There are dozen plus sites that track them. Simply google Roku private channels and you will see quite a few. Again some are free, some require a subscription. Channels range from Adult content to one person operations. Some are quite unique like a live stream of ABC in Australia. Like Public channels, private channels go up all the time, and because many of them are one person operation they also go down just as quick sometimes. Adding private channels is... Read more

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Comment on Roku 2 XS 1080p Streaming Player Reviews by Jon Folkers

Jon Folkers — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 21:03:40 +0000

832 of 849 people found the following review helpful:

Smart little puck, as good as (but different from) Apple TV, July 29, 2011

Jon Folkers (Silver Spring, MD United States) -

This review is from: Roku 2 XS 1080p Streaming Player (Electronics)

This little player, about the size of a hockey puck, is exactly what I was looking for. It's cheap, easy, and fun. I got it to play Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Vimeo, and everything else it does is a pleasant add-on, especially motion-controlled Angry Birds. If you're in the market for a Roku 2, I think you might as well get this high-end model (there are stripped-down versions for less money) since it has a few more capabilities, including a game controller, an ethernet jack, and a USB port for playing external files. The software interface is not slick but everything fast and responsive.

UPDATE: I added a star because this unit has proven itself much more stable than it was at launch, due to frequent software updates. Also, the machine now has the HBO Go app, which allows you to stream from HBO on demand from a huge catalog of movies and TV shows.

How is the Roku 2 different from the Apple TV (which it resembles, and I also considered)? It's physically similar and has some overlapping features, but here are the main differences as I see them:

BOTH have Netflix Streaming and sports channels such as NBA and MLB (subscription required for this stuff). Both have wired and wireless network capabilities. Both are tiny, power-sipping, unobtrusive little devices that could probably be embedded in TV hardware.

AppleTV (not the Roku 2!) has tight iTunes integration, including iTunes movie rentals, streaming from a local PC/Mac with iTunes installed, and YouTube. AirPlay (stream to the box from your iOS device) is supported and works well and adds to the usability of this device if you have an iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch. At this time, you can only use the "apps" that are included with the box. The AppleTV remote is made of attractive aluminum but relies on line-of-sight infrared signals. AppleTV requires an HDTV to work and displays up to 720p resolutions.

Roku 2 (the product being reviewed! not AppleTV!) has a "channel" installer which you can easily manage via a web app on your computer. This system is a bit less polished, but a lot more open than the AppleTV system. Roku Channel choices include Amazon Prime videos, Amazon rentals, Vimeo, Hulu Plus, Pandora Radio, and bunch of streaming news and movie services. The Wii-like game remote comes with Angry Birds and more 2D casual games are promised. The game controller has built-in accelerometers and game-friendly buttons, and it works well for this game. This layout would be ideal for Super Nintendo style games, too. I like how it doesn't require an IR receiver like the Wii remote does. The tiny Roku 2 box has an IR receiver so you can use a universal remote with it, but the included remote uses RF signals and doesn't need line-of-sight to the box. Roku 2 XS can run on pretty much any TV (it includes composite cables) and can display up to 1080p resolutions.

As you can see, these two machines are similar, but not the same. I chose this machine because it worked with an old SDTV, could play Amazon Prime videos (lots of kids programming on there, thanks Amazon), and offers a nice, standalone alternative to the Apple ecosystem.

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Comment on OtterBox Universal Defender Case for iPhone 4 (Zircon Blue Silicone & Black Plastic) by Harry Brill Jr.

Harry Brill Jr. — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 20:57:55 +0000

70 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

the Best case out there, February 26, 2011

Harry Brill Jr. -

This review is from: OtterBox Universal Defender Case for iPhone 4 (Black Silicone & Black Plastic) (Wireless Phone Accessory)

I am ROUGH with phones. This is the best case around for the iPhone 4. I gave it 4 out of 5 only because the 3GS case was a little better. I know they could do better but chose to compromise a few ways to satisfy more buyers. I personally would have liked it to be water proof and have no ned for the silly apple logo to show through. TO me that sort of decor is a waste, but this IS the best iPhone 4 case. It will work with AT&T or Verizon. If it's not the UNIVERSAL model it will NOT work with Verizon.

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Comment on OtterBox Universal Defender Case for iPhone 4 (Zircon Blue Silicone & Black Plastic) by Stacey

Stacey — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 20:40:13 +0000

103 of 105 people found the following review helpful:

Universal Design Fits Verizon iPhone 4 Perfectly, March 4, 2011

Stacey -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: OtterBox Universal Defender Case for iPhone 4 (Black Silicone & Black Plastic) (Wireless Phone Accessory)

I have been searching for the Otterbox Defender specifically for the Verizon iPhone 4 and have yet to find it locally at any retail store. Since it is $50 at Otterbox directly (plus shipping) I waited until Amazon offered the universal design. I was hesitant as another reviewer said it did not fit the Verizon model. I believe that reviewer ordered it before the universal one was offered as this DOES FIT the Verizon iPhone. I tried the AT&T one in Best Buy and you are not able to mute the phone with that model unless you have microscopic fingers. This universal design fits the verizon phone perfectly and I have no trouble at all muting the phone.

I can't attest to it's durability yet as I only got it yesterday but it is a solid case and has screen protection as well.

Hope this helps if you are looking for a case for the Verizon iPhone.

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Comment on OtterBox Universal Defender Case for iPhone 4 (Zircon Blue Silicone & Black Plastic) by J. Batte "Batteman87"

J. Batte "Batteman87" — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 20:27:52 +0000

371 of 375 people found the following review helpful:

Paid for itself :UPDATED, February 19, 2011

J. Batte "Batteman87" (Aiken, SC) -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: OtterBox Universal Defender Case for iPhone 4 (Black Silicone & Black Plastic) (Wireless Phone Accessory)

I have a Verizon iPhone 4 and ordered this from OtterBox before they were out at other retail stores. Fits great with no wiggle room inside. Great feeling case, doesn't feel like it's a fish and wants to jump right out of your hand. Easy access to all ports. The front pieces that protects the screen DOES NOT hinder any finger gestures what-so-ever. My OtterBox has paid for itself already when I had my hands full as I was getting out of the car and simply I forgot it was in my lap... after the solid hit to the cement and heart started beating again, I brought myself to assess the damage. There was NONE! Still works like a charm like it did right out of the box. No cracked screen/glass. The OtterBox is without a mark as well. OtterBox saved the day. I researched my purchase first and was sold when it protected an iPhone from a 23 store drop into concret. (Search YouTube). It's better t protect your investment now or pay more later if it's damaged.

EDIT: This OtterBox Defender still works like a Champ! I did want to update that it works for the Verizon iPhone 4.... NOT the new iPhone 4S. While the iPhone 4S fits in the case, Apple has moved the sensor and the phone will have screen brightness issues. For the iPhone 4S the OtterBox company has released a new Defender series that has a larger opening for the front and rear sensor/camera. It's universal and will work with BOTH iPhone 4 & iPhone 4S on ALL CARRIERS.

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Comment on Scosche Dual USB Car Charger for iPhone 4/4S, iPod, MP3 Players and More by mynameisleo "mynameisleo"

mynameisleo "mynameisleo" — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 21:17:37 +0000

72 of 77 people found the following review helpful:

Works with my 3G IPHONE, July 17, 2008

mynameisleo "mynameisleo" (San Diego) -

This review is from: Scosche Dual USB Car Charger for iPhone 4/4S, iPod, MP3 Players and More (Wireless Phone Accessory)

Just picked up this item from Best Buy today. Had to get a charger for my car because my IPOD interface for my stereo does not charge the 3G IPHONE. :( I was initially going to get the DLO car charger for my 3G IPHONE until the cashier told me of the Scosche USB12V2 Dual USB Car Charger. It sounded ideal since my fiance and I both have a 3G IPHONE and won't have to fight for power when riding together. Ensured that I didn't get that uncompatibility error before leaving Best Buy. Left Best Buy with 80% charge and was fully charged by the time I got home in 20 minutes.

Note: Have to use your own supplied Iphone/Ipod USB cable with adapter.

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