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Sid Meier's Civilization IV

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Software
from: 2K Games

October 24, 2005
There's a trend rooted in graphic technology these days. It seems that people are willing to let their imaginations run wild and turn that into a visual. Sounds good but I've found this method usually distracts from the essense of what a good product is. The biggest examples of this I can immediately cite are the newer Star Wars movies and the Indiana Jones Crystal Skull episode. In both cases the essense is drowned beneath interesting visuals. I feel that way about Civ IV.

I began my interest in the Civ series back at Civ II. Like most I was drawn into many hours of play often of the expense of my mental alertness the next morning. But which is more important: studying to pass some measly English exam or preparing a decent strategy ... Read More:

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Rollercoaster Tycoon 3

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Software
from: Atari

October 26, 2004
If you are a fan of RCT2 or 1, don't bother with number 3.
To somebody new to the series, maybe RCT3 will feel great. But if you've played 1 or 2, you'll notice that with all the new features, that the game lacks a few things. Things like cuteness. In the originals, "Guests" were guests, and they were small and round and cute. They cheered and laughed like little kids- they were even cute when they threw up. This time around, not so much. Your cute soft little "Guests" have turned into angular, jagged, and obnoxious "Peeps". If having 3D graphics means elminiating
every last piece of cute roundness on the characters and turning them into something that looks like it came out of "Yu-Gi-Oh", then keep them 2D. I didn't have any problem with the ... Read More:

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Baldur's Gate - 4 in 1 Box Set Compilation

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Software
from: Interplay


One of the greatest of the older RPG games. Hours of play. Truly a great game.

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Chessmaster: The Art of Learning

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from: Ubisoft

October 30, 2007
ChessMaster Challenge is easy to use, easy to learn, and entertaining. It allows you to set up your settings to your taste and style. It allows you to choose any level you want (novice to grandmaster) to challenge it. It is highly recommended for anybody in the Chess world.

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The Sims 2: Teen Style Stuff

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Software
from: Electronic Arts

November 06, 2007
Ah, teenagers. There's nothing quite like them. Just ask Germaine Greer, after all (Germaine Greer : The Beautiful Boy). With "Sims 2", teenagers have been added to the Sims world, and with this expansion pack they finally get to live their little lives in style!

Yes, wheather your teen is a goth, a skater or a prom queen, they'll find something they love in this pack. Actually, they'll find that basically ONLY if they're a goth, a skater or a prom queeen, but that's ok. You'll find themes covering all three lifestyles.

There's also some stuff that can be used in a more general capacity. Mostly clothing and furniture. There's a few new electronic gizmos, which is nice. Nothing special, though, beyond the teen stuff.

Overall I'd say ... Read More:

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Bitdefender Internet Security 2009 2Yr/3Pc

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Software
from: Bitdefender, LLC

August 15, 2008
I bought this after reading the review of these products in Consumer Reports Magazine. Installation was easy and it runs well. There are no annoying reminders in my opinion. I have used two other products and was bothered by the annoying reminders all the time. It's nice that there is a basic version and advanced version of the monitoring screen. I am running this on a Vista machine and I have had no issues. As a bonus I won't have to renew for 2 years.

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The Lord of the Rings Battle for Middle Earth Anthology

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Software
from: Electronic Arts

March 01, 2007
This set is really a collection of two games (the first and second LOTR games, along with the expansion for the second game) with some bonus features, which mainly consist of interviews with various game developers. For the price (I got it when it was 30 dollars, and it's even cheaper now), this is a pretty good deal if you are an LOTR and/or RTS fan.

As far as RTSes go, this is an average game. It's not as polished as Blizzard's RTSes, for example, but the gameplay is reasonably interesting, being roughly based on a rock-paper-scissors model. There is little micromanagement to speak of, with the game mostly being concerned with strategic management. This is a double-edged sword, since micromanagement can be frustrating to more casual players, but makes ... Read More:

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Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 [OLD VERSION]

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Software
from: Adobe

October 05, 2007
Somehow missed the fact that we were buying the "Old Version". Did not realize that fact until the product arrived. Looks like Adobe is using the internet to unload unsold outdated inventory. Note that Garmin is doing the same thing with some of its GPS products. So far have been unable to upload the Photoshop program into my wifes new laptop with Vista. So, at this point unable to rate.

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Diablo Battle Chest

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Software
from: Blizzard Entertainment

December 14, 2003
I love the Diablo series because of its easy playability. It's just your basic dungeon crawler. It doesn't require you to sit in front of it for hours or to play straight through. I mean, it is hours & hours of play time, but you can walk away for a week and not have a problem picking up where you left off. Also, you can create different characters of each class and enjoy the game all over again because of the different play style each has and because the map changes.

Downsides:

You can't just log off in the middle of the dungeon as next time, you will be logged on in town and have to fight your way back through to the dungeon and to the place you left off. Monsters respawn when you log out.

I think the interface could be done a ... Read More:

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Zoo Tycoon 2: Marine Mania Expansion

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Software
from: Microsoft

October 17, 2006
We have a Windows Vista 2007 program, when my daughter downloaded and started playing the screen "vibrated" and she said it wasn't like the game she played at her friends house. We bought Zoo Tycoon just for the Marine expansion pack-now she just plays with Zoo Tycoon only.