Bugout archive worthy
923699
We have a 2TB also.  Fast transfer.  We use these for our Bug-Out backup of photo and video archive.
2687831
I was getting a message about a failed b-tree node and disk utilities from the OS couldn't rebuild it.  My hard drive was crashing.  Disk Warrior was able to save my data.  As another person wrote, every mac user should keep this around.
1380556
There isn't much to be said about this. It is a compilation of the first three R&Cs on one disk with updated graphics and trophies. It's exactly what you'd expect for an updated re-release.

Now because I don't want to leave this review at that...

I've noticed that when A LOT is happening on screen at once, the game starts to go in slow motion, which is obviously a flaw, but I actually find it kind of cool; I even deliberately make it happen sometimes. Regardless, it goes away as soon as things clear up, like as soon as all the explosions your making go away and you've absorbed all the bolts when there is a mass in your vicinity.

Trophies are a good incentive to finish each game one hundred percent; not that they aren't fun enough on their own to do so anyway. A tad bit disappointing, though, that some are just skill points. Not a big deal, but it's something.

One thing that this collection has done for me is made me appreciate the advancements of the series. The addition of strafing was insanely useful and it is VERY annoying having to Pause the game and go into the gadgets section to reach a gadget you need for this ONE part of the level. You could put them all on your wheel, but then you'd have to do the same for weapons. Don't appreciate what you have till it's gone indeed.

Very fun games and an insanely good deal. These collections are great bang for your buck. If your a fan and just want to play the old games again or if you just need something that'll eat up some time, don't hesitate to nab this!
892276
I have a thing for the Steampunk genre, so when I needed a new drive to store sensitive files for work, there was no other option. It's a little bit of a bummer that you can't program the code yourself, but not a big issue when you actually get to use it and dazzle your coworkers. No matter what finish you get it in, it will be a treasure even after it's outlived its use.
643301
I bought my copy back when it was in the local stores.
I had a specific reason.  I am a wargamer, and I wanted information on the Wyoming Massacre.  In this, it excels.  There is plenty more infoemation than on just the Massacre.  Wargamers will find plenty of scenario ideas for large or small games.

I had read a Sunday newspaper article about Glickman unearthimg the flag for Butler's Rangers, and was curious enough to track down the book.

Sadly, Glickman's heirs do not wish to keep it in print.  It serves to fill a needed and valuable niche in Pennsylvania, and American Revolution history.
Had I known it would be so valuable, I would have bought two.  Mine is pretty beat up now.
942643
The eSync  Floppy Drive provided the opportunity for me to access a number of old archives that would otherwise been unusable.  Thanks.
2425695
Close Combat remains in my mind the gold standard for real time tactical squad-based combat. COH is very entertaining (especially in multiplayer mode), but resource management does distract from tactical execution and planning.
1378863
A good example of a archive of new photos showing the time of the action or battle, includes a cronology that explains the evolution of the material and the morale of the soldiers. A good souce of images for modellers and teachers.
The presentation is good but I think that the editor can do a hardcover version, I always consult the book and they started to wrippoff.
3776552
Bought out of curiosity.  There are lots of threads and tentacles from the WW II atrocities still in the world.  Keeping track is necessary overall.
4496231
There's already a very good review of the game that describes what the gameplay is like, so I won't get into all of that.  This review will concentrate on the bugs involved.  I initially started playing the game after the 1.01 patch came out, and have now upgraded to 1.02.  Though many people had CTDs on the 1.00 version, I have not had a single CTD on the newest patch.  And my computer seems especially prone to CTDs.  Purely anecdotal evidence, but I think any CTD problems have been fixed.
Most of the remaining bugs relate to gameplay issues.  For instance, how the game determines which noble controls the pope does not work as its supposed to.  Some character traits of the noblemen/women and their courtiers never show up: hare-lip, hunchback, stutter, and more.  The AI never seems to go on crusade and leaves all the Muslim-bashing to the player.  Regional titles do not exist as they should. (for instance, the game calls the lowest level of playable noble a Count in England instead of an Earl) Your courtiers will not get married on their own, but with the 1.02 patch you can no longer arrange marriages for them.  Many other issues also need fixing.
With all of that said, however, my score of four stars relfects the game as it currently stands, version 1.02.  This is the first game I've played that attempts to simulate the feudalistic relations of medieval Europe with any success.  A lot of the game involves challenges such as rebelling vassals, finding suitable marriage partners, and knocking off your nasty younger brother so that he doesn't interfere with your son's inheritance.  When all the bugs are fixed, the game will deserve a 5 stars in my mind.  And Paradox, the developer, certainly will continue tweaking the game.  They just came out with a new patch for their flagship game, Europa Universalis II.  Since the game is three or four years old, this at least shows their commitment to getting things right.
One final note: Crusader Kings will be released in North America sometime in June, but the game can be purchased now at Paradox's website: [...]  You'll pay about $45 including shipping because of the crappy Dollar-to-Euro exchange rate, but will get the game at least two weeks sooner.  I ordered directly from them and received the game four days later.  From Sweden to Colorado, that's pretty good time!  Certainly better than Super-Saver Shipping! ;)
868771
Bethesda needs to re-name this game; it should be called "Elder Scrolls IV: Crash to Desktop."

Despite running the latest version, and exceeding the recommended system requirements, I still cannot play more than 1/2 hour at a time before the game bombs out and throws me to the desktop.  Occasionally, I encounter a bug that locks up the whole system requiring a power down and re-boot.  These crashes generally occur during some transition in the game--from one world area to the next mostly, but also when bringing up the inventory/map or when interacting with an NPC.  Because the auto save feature is initiated during location transitions the crashes have a tendency to corrupt the auto save file; this has caused me to save manually much more than normal.  Needless to say, the constant crashes and need to save disrupt the sense of immersion in the game, which is a shame.

The bugginess of Oblivion is the only thing that keeps it from being 5 stars.  Everything else about it is almost perfect.

Despite my rant, Oblivion is otherwise a great RPG, which is why I continue to play through the irritating bugs.  The gameplay is superb.  This becomes clear as early as character creation, which has more customizable features than any other game I have played.  Of course you may choose from a wide range of races and classes (or create one of your own), but you may also customize the width of your character's nose; the amount of space between the eyes; the jut and prominence of the chin--in short, you are able to create the avatar that suits you to the smallest detail.

The game world is also immense and stunningly detailed.  Cities and castles each have their own architectural characteristics, and the forests and countrysides are laden with diverse flaura and fauna, mountains, rivers, waterfalls, bridges; snow crunches under your boots; grass swishes around you; other inhabitants go about their daily routines; day turns to dusk turns to night...

And the sheer number of ways you may interact with this wonderfully realized world is a role player's dream.  You are rarely, if ever, forced to do anything in a pre-defined fashion.

I wholeheartedy recommend this game with the unfortunate caveat that it has major stability issues.
4035228
Cold Winter is indeed a sleeper, as other reviewers have stated here.

It will remind players of both GoldenEye (N64) and Half Life.  It deserves to be kept in a first-person-shooter collection.

I'm glad I found it!  Like a lot of casual console gamers, I am sticking to my PS2 until there is a must-own game for the PS3 (which will probably be GTA4).  So I searched the back catalog for quality shooters to add to my game collection.  I found Project Snowblind, the Socom series, Killzone, Freedom Fighters, and this gem.  It could have been published in 2000, given that its traits and engine are strongly influenced by Half Life (my favorite FPS ever).

Cold Winter has 8 medium-sized environments, split into 15 levels total.  An experienced gamer could breeze through the game in under 14 hours.  There is nothing groundbreaking in its puzzles, interactive environment, or graphics.  But Cold Winter does everything very well.  Smooth frame rates, great voice acting and sound effects, fair cut scenes, descent story, good AI, excellent real-world weapon inventory, and most important, excellent gameplay and intuitive controls.  You will be engaging in firefights within minutes of saving your profile.

As is the case with older, less sophisticated first person shooters, being stealthy only delays the inevitable - you are going to have to engage the enemy and get into serious firefights.  But at least with being stealthy you can take-out the bad guys more swiftly (usually with a grenade or a shotgun).  The bonus objectives are hit-and-miss.  One early bonus objective is to pick your way into an armory to obtain an AK-47.  But you'll end-up with an AK-47 in the next level (possibly minutes later) when you encounter enemies using them.  The tools and weapons you can build from found objects adds a simple puzzle feature to the game (not annoying but not essential to building a winning strategy).  During the game you will gather intelligence, which adds nice details to the story.  Sound design and mixing are top-notch, if a little dated.  So is art and character design.  And the ability to search bodies for tools and armor is a welcome addition to the genre.

Like Half Life, you will feel like the action is unfolding on a giant Hollywood set.  For example, there's a battle in a town square that is a highlight of the game.  How you get through that battle depends on how well you use the environment and seek higher ground.  It's simple by today's standards, but the execution is awesome.  The comparisons to GoldenEye were right on the money.  It is a very fun game you will want to replay (assuming it hooks you early).

This is the kind of game where finding enough ammo will get you through most levels.  Or you can build tools and time bombs and find alternate ways to win.  But either method will take you through the same storyline.

Voice talent as mentioned before is very good.  Actors include Nathaniel Parker, Colin McFarlane, Enn Reitel, Kristy Wu (from Buffy), and Tom Baker (from Doctor Who), who adds his famous velvet baritone as the villain.  Great work.

If you liked the gun battles against the Marines in Half Life, you will certainly enjoy this game.  And I found the action to be far better and more replayable than Red Faction (Red Faction II is a big improvement over the original).  I sold Red Faction.  I am keeping this one.  It is a great find.

Cold Winter does something that has been done before and does it extremely well.  It is fun, engaging, and cinematic at times.  Go get it!
2076108
I played over 50 hours of Fallout 3, and have played both Fallout 1 and 2. I've been a fan of the series for years, and this is yet another brilliant chapter in the epic saga that is Fallout. It is true that the game is buggy, but most of the bugs are easy to deal with. The game has only crashed once in the 15 hours that I have played so far.

Performance
The performance is very impressive; I can even play this at medium settings on my very-non-gaming laptop. I have absolutely no complaints here.

Gameplay
The gameplay is better than ever, with real time combat improved and iron sights added. VATS pretty much the same as it was in Fallout 3, and it still works very well. I don't really like how the speech skill changed; how, instead of a percent, the game simply says "you need a speech skill of X to succeed. Of course, this fixes how you could simply quicksave before a speech and then keep loading until you succeed. Money is also slightly less valuable, since it is very easy to acquire (through what I like to call "quicksave gambling." Still, it was good to always have enough money for all the ammo I needed. There are lots of new and interesting weapons, though I haven't found anything as good as Harkness's Plasma Rifle or the Chinese assault rifle from Fallout 3. There are a few more interesting perks, although I don't like how you can only choose 1 for every 2 levels. Still, the level cap is 30 instead of 20, so you still get 15 perks.

Story
When the game begins, the story is much less interesting than it is in Fallout 3, but it quickly becomes as interesting as any other game story. The game's story seems a lot more open-ended than Fallout 3, and there are a few big choices that will strongly influence how the the game progresses.

Overall
This game is very fun and addictive, the bugs are apparent, but easy to deal with. Definitely worth the full retail price if you enjoyed Fallout 3, or the humorous setting of Fallout 1 and 2.

Score: 9.1/10 (.5 removed for the bugs, Game Score: 9.6/10)
858636
Currently my favorite shooter, I am addicted a blast to play. just be sure to have ample space on your hard drive.
4718852
Excellent way to polish up combined arms tactics in a controlled simulated environment with comparable enemies and modern day weaponry.  My favorite is the Combined Armed Teams that I can create, coordinate with scouts in the field and give them stealth support via F-117s and stealth Comanche upgrades.
2350955
I've been playing this game since its release, and I'm still nowhere near finished.

That's not to say it has to take long. If you focus on the core missions, you can probably finish it in under 20 hours.

But who would want to? This game is so much fun as a chaos simulator, it makes you want to avoid finishing the story. If you have a half-hour to kill, load it up and figure out new ways to conquer a base. Use the head from a destroyed statue as a wrecking ball, hanging below a helicopter. Sneak around and plant charges on all the explodable structures and then set them off all at once. Storm in Rambo-style and shoot everything in sight. Shoot out the tires of a police jeep and watch it careen into a gun emplacement. The variety is amazing, and it encourages creative exploration.

I've played almost every major 360 release this year, but Just Cause 2 is the one I keep coming back to. I'm nearing 50 hours in the game, and still having fun.
375188
What a great collection of old 2600 games. Some of these are pretty lame, but it's worth the price for River Raid, River Raid II, Keystone Kapers, Pitfall and Pitfall II.
The challenge of unlocking all the extra features and the like is a nice touch.
The display options I've unlocked so far make me sick though and don't seem to be a whole lot of fun. (Rotating cube especially)