Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II - Chaos Rising Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)One caveat first. This is a Windows Live/Steam game, so if you have objections to either of those things then stear clear. That said, I'm going to provide a brief review of the game with scoring not weighted by those factors.
I have a fairly uncommon perspective on this game, I imagine, which is that I played it before I played the original (which I just completed last night), so I can rate it both as a stand alone experience untainted by preconceptions, and as a continuation of the original.
As a stand alone experience I found the game to be quite addictive and fun. The first level is designed as something of a tutorial to the game's basic mechanics. You're introduced to various ideas like explosives, the cover system, bunkers, the strengths and weaknesses of the different squad types, etc. Not having read the manual I found myself scratching my head at a few things but if you click the little quick tip icons on the left side of the screen and pay attention you can figure out most of the game's major mechanics fairly quickly. I was able to beat the first level of the game at the medium difficulty setting on my first try. Don't forget to use the "x" button frequently to retreat your squads that have lost members. This way you can replenish them to full strength and bring them back into the fray without any of your squad leaders requiring revival. This works especially well during boss battles. Since the bosses don't heal you can chip away at them and win by sheer persistence. Once you learn the mechanics you are fairly quickly thrust into the thick of things and the game ceases to coddle you.
Your squads carry through from one mission to the next, gaining levels and experience much like an RPG. You can and will upgrade their equipment multiple times. Though individual members of each squad can die (and easily be replaced at any control point), the squad leaders persist and stay with you for the whole game. You'll have to play through a few missions before you find Captain Thule, or unlock your Terminator armor, though.
You lose stars on your mission rating for each squad leader that becomes incapacitated during the mission (whether you revive them during that mission or not). I find this mechanic works well. You can plow through most missions by attrition, even if you have to revive your squad leaders multiple times, but to earn the highest rating (and the most experience), you'll need to be smarter and more methodical. It can be quite a challenge to get a 5 star rating in all three categories (number of enemies killed, squads that didn't become incapacitated, and speed with which you complete the mission).
There are a few changes to the game as compared to its predecessor, but nothing major (with the exception of the corruption system). Mostly, you just don't have to worry about defending your foundries and such any more. You'll probably also appreciate the new abilities you can unlock. Some of them are truly amazing such as converting signum use to energy. Talk about blasting the enemy to smithereens! Good stuff. I particularly enjoyed the section of the game where you get to explore an ancient space hulk. I had flashbacks to the board game. Also, at a certain point you unlock a new unit type, the Terminator Librarian. This guy is extremely versatile and effective if specced out right. Controllable mini "black holes"? Yes, please. The game includes an additional enemy type, chaos marines, which are pretty evil and fun to blow up. I'm sure there's some change to the tactics required to defeat them, but I found that they died pretty "hand"ily to Davian Thule's massive Dreadnought claws. Long live Captain Thule! Additionally, there's a corruption system whereby you can let your team become more and more evil, thus unlocking the ability to use special "corrupted" weapons and armor, which are fairly univerally better than the uncorrupted stuff. I didn't try it this way yet, so I don't know exactly how it would change the story, but intend to do this on my 2nd play through.In summary, if you liked the original, you'll like this. I can't imagine why you wouldn't. If you haven't played any DoW II but you like tactical style RTS games with no base building (much like World in Conflict) then you should definitely give this one a try.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II - Chaos Rising

Story Your Blood Raven Space Marines have saved the sector, but can they save themselves? In Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War II: Chaos Rising, the sequel to the acclaimed Dawn of War II RTS franchise, you return to sub sector Aurelia where a long lost frozen ice planet has reappeared from the Warp, bringing with it new secrets to uncover and foes to face. Here you must take command of the Blood Ravens and defend the sector against the forces of the Black Legion. Purge the chaos filth and hold the chapter together as traitorous forces work from within to try bring down the Blood Ravens. New Missions, Units, Multiplayer Race and Corruption Mechanic Dawn of War II struck a new chord in the RTS genre with its focuson specific unit based strategy with limited reinforcement options andlimited RPG elements, as opposed to the generally repetitive RTS tacticof resource gathering-base building-and swarming maneuvers. The ChaosRising expansion to the franchise follows suit with 15 new singleplayer missions centered on the players' strategic choice of units; uppingthe ante further by including new units for each of the returning in-gameraces and even introducing a new race, the traitorous Chaos Space Marines,who are a playable faction in online multiplayer action. In addition,players must navigate a new corruption mechanic built into in single playercampaign, which consists of access to new and dangerous destructive powers.Designed to allow for variation in completing mission objectives, thesepowers also carry the possibility of drawing units closer to the influenceof Chaos, which affects both the mission possibilities as the game progressesand the overall outcome of the game. Key Game Features
New Single Player Missions – Continue your fight against the enemies of the Emperor and use your squads' wargear, abilities, and experience to battle Chaos in 15 new missions.
New Environment and Multiplayer Maps – New ice planet graphics set increases visual diversity and adds 7 new multiplayer maps. Six-player multiplayer support available online.
Aspire to Glory – Build your existing squads up to level 30 and unlock even more devastating abilities.
Chaos Corruption Mechanic – New single player mechanic allows you to equip incredibly powerful equipment that corrupts your squad and will guide the story towards or away from the corrupting influence of Chaos.
New Multiplayer Faction – Swear loyalty to the Chaos Gods and play as the bloodthirsty Chaos Space Marines in multiplayer battles against both Chaos Rising and Dawn of War II owners.
New Units – New units for the Space Marines, Ork, Eldar, and Tyranid armies.
2 New Last Stand Heroes – Face off against the relentless hordeas either the Chaos Sorcerer or Tyranid Hive Tyrant.

System Requirements

Click here for more information about Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II - Chaos Rising

Read More...

Rise of Flight Iron Cross Edition Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This is not a full review, just my impression of this simulator. I don't have the ICE edition, but the previous one. ICE is actually a repackage of the previous version, with more planes available by default (when planes appear, you buy them - if you want to fly them, otherwise they are in the game, but only for AI). So if you don't have the previous version, this one is the better deal. This model (pay/buy what planes you want) helps with making the new patches free.
It has the best flight models, graphics, plane models and a very detailed mission editor. A lot of work was put into it. You do need a good computer (try an i7 or a Phenom x6, this one is pretty cheap for the performance you get) and you have to be prepared to spend time configuring it - because it is a simulator, not a game. Nevertheless, it has a lot of options to help the new user (including guided shooting). It does run on 64 bit all right, unlike what a previous poster implied (i have it running on a win7 x64 with phenom II x6 at 3500GHz). While not 'theoretically' required, you really need at least a good joystick (pitch, roll) with twist option to also control the rudder, or in addition - pedals (much better). Multiplayer offers 'cooperative mode' missions (everybody starts at the same time, dead is dead), dogfight mode (everyone enters when he/she can, you can respawn when dead) and also a 'conquer the flag' mode. The mission editor is very powerful, with lot of triggers and 'logic' stuff. The sim also offers a quick mission builder for single player, a (dynamic) campaign mode and a 'career mode' (scripted campaigns). So you can fill the skies with planes, or fly under bridges, or get medals and promotions flying campaigns or multiplayer.
It is very addictive, if you are a serious simmer and/or aviation fan. Some people only play this sim.
Check the Rise of Flight sections of these sites for best info: [...]
Salute!
Gabi/Laser


Click Here to see more reviews about: Rise of Flight Iron Cross Edition

Click here for more information about Rise of Flight Iron Cross Edition

Read More...

Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 with Business Contact Manager Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I'm a longtime user of Office 2003 with Outlook and was eager to try out this upgrade for Outlook as it's the application I use the most (other than Access which I use for my software development projects routinely). I really didn't have any need to upgrade the other applications, so this stand-alone was perfect for me. I actually don't use Outlook for email generally, preferring to use the standalone email open source product Thunderbird which gives me a lot more ability to customize and add other features to (and since I don't have to connect to an Exchange server or anything else that specifically forces me to use Outlook.) So I personally was not put off by the fact that things like spell check will not work if you use Outlook 2007 with the rest of the Office 2003 suite. That's been well documented here by other reviewers, so I won't go into it.
Putting those issues aside, this is a really nice upgrade. A lot of upgrades are sort of "so what", but this one really impressed me. First, the look and feel of it is much more polished. It's more than just a pretty face, I find the items on my calendar for instance much more striking and easier to see what I have coming up at a glance. While the install itself seemed endless, the final product does seem to run plenty fast enough on my machine (it's fairly high end, 8 GHz, 3 gig of RAM) older machines may have more problems. Outlook 2007 uses a different style of toolbar than older versions, I really like the new toolbar, with the tabbed panels and fancier icons, it's just a matter of getting used to it. Here are some highlights from the different sections of Outlook, things that I specifically like or don't like. Please note that in some cases, I may be mentioning things that are possible to do with customization...however, they are not things that are easy for the average user to figure out, particularly since the product comes with basically no documentation at all, other than typical Microsoft Help.
1. Email - as mentioned, I don't really use this much, but it *does* include a really nice RSS reader with a large list of feeds you can add immediately. Ironically, the one for Outlook 2007 is wrong, it adds the Outlook 2003 feed, I went to the Microsoft site to find the link for the correct one. One thing I also noticed is that when you are in Email, or any other area of Outlook other than the Calendar, there is a new "To Do" bar that displays all your upcoming appointments and tasks, and a field to create new tasks. Really great new feature.
2. Calendar - I really like the way appointments look as mentioned. Also there are now very clear Day - Week - Month buttons at the top, these were not as easily found in the previous version. I do find it funny that there is still no Year view. I can do this with calendar apps on my tiny Pocket PC, it seems ridiculous that I can't see a yearly overview, or at least a 3 month overview on my desktop. Also, there doesn't seem to be a way to customize the number of lines for appointments on the monthly calendar. If you don't have large numbers of appointments, it'd be nice to show 2 lines so you can read the whole appointment, as you can on the weekly view. In particular, this would be nice when printing calendars, rather than holidays and birthdays that are all chopped off. I did notice that I have spell check available when creating appointments, so clearly it's available for at least some functions. I also though ran into issues with Outlook not wanting to save my appointment when I was editing it and trying different options...but it didn't give me any really detail as to why, just kind of a random thing.
3. Contacts - In additional to the new interface, you've got all kinds of new stuff you can add and link with contacts. There's some neat new options, such as a link to go to the address on MSN maps, open their webpage in your browser, total customization of the business card for the contact, etc. You can add images to their contact notes, as well as a variety of other things like charts and graphs if you have the rest of Office 2007. I did notice as well that I can now sort my contacts by category. This drove me nuts in the 2003 version, that it would not sort by category, so very glad to have it now!
4. Tasks - Fairly similar to the changes with contacts, lots of additional things you can link to the task, I like being able to paste in the business card of the contact for the task, for instance. You can also link the task over to an account in the Business Contact Manager
5. Notes are still a bit more basic than I care for, but I use OneNote so only use these rarely now. It's definitely easier now to group them into categories, color code them, sort them, etc. but very basic functionality. OneNote is so superior in every way, but unfortunately is still sold as a separate product. Kind of a side note here...but I really wish that with many of these parts of Outlook you could add drawings as you can in OneNote, for those of us that have a tablet.
6. Business Contact Manager - So here's the real jewel in this product. I really didn't use the one that came with Office 2003 and only now see how much I was missing! First, to use this it will install SQL Server Express on your machine. I run standard SQL Server from a separate box, so it would have been nice to be given the option to specify a SQL location to use instead of forcing a new install of the server on me. But at least it only starts up when you try to access this section of Outlook, so that reduces the load at least somewhat on your machine. Overall, I'm pretty impressed with how much this does, the name really doesn't do it justice. I'm really putting some time into getting my current accounts, contacts and projects loaded into this, as it basically does the same sort of things that I was using a different project management program to do. Now, this is hardly going to replace a full-fledged, multi-user project management software application. But for a sole proprietor like myself, it does the basics well enough to be useful. I can create projects, enter tasks for the project, add notes and hours worked, view custom reports on my projects, etc. I don't do much sales and marketing at the moment, but that's all in there as well. I really just wish it did even more. I'd like to be able to link files and documents to my tasks, for instance, or at least, include better integration with OneNote, which is ideal for project documents and notes. I found it particularly strange for instance, that in my regular Contacts, I had a link to OneNote to create custom notes for that contact...but I did not have the same button in the Business Contacts (which is where it is *really* needed.) Better integration with OneNote would really be a huge boon to those of us that are using both of these products.
Just as an additional side note, I was glad to see the upgrade did not break my ActiveSync with my SmartPhone, everything still works fine and syncs properly. I did notice that the contacts in the Business Contact Manager do not sync with the PPC, but that's to be expected (just something to be aware of). There's also still a big problem with Outlook and that is the issue of alarms not going off if the program isn't up and running. I always like to have them synced to my phone so I am less likely to miss them just because the program isn't open.
Overall, this is an excellent upgrade, as long as you have a machine that can handle it and are not effected or bothered by the various issues with using it along with the Office 2003 suite. Some improvements to some functions would make it even better, but it is certainly still worth a look.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 with Business Contact Manager

MicrosoftOutlook w Business Contact Mgr 2007 Win32 English CD

Click here for more information about Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 with Business Contact Manager

Read More...

Paperport 14.0 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I have been using Paperport 14 for about a week and it does everything I need it to do. I have been using OneNote for quite some time for my filing, but is is Soooo limiting, even with all the pretty buttons. It's pretty awkward that with Windows 7 you have you use an interim step to get anything into OneNote. Microsoft is terrible about coming up with something that is pretty good and then basically dropping it in future OS revisions. I researched a lot of document filing programs and there just aren't that many for a home user. Paperport fills the bill perfectly.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Paperport 14.0


PaperPort: The World's Favorite PC Document Management Software
PaperPort 14 is the fastest and easiest way to scan, share, search, and organize documents, files, and photos. PaperPort 14 on your PC now delivers anytime-anywhere access to your most important files however it's convenient for you--using a PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, or Android device.

The visual document desktop along with one-button scanning creates large clear thumbnails of all your documents that you can move and stack like paper, making Microsoft Windows more productive. It's no wonder millions of people worldwide rely on PaperPort to eliminate paper, get more organized, and achieve new levels of personal efficiency.

Scan, Share, Search, and Organize
Overwhelmed with paper? PaperPort 14 can help to simplifythe chaos by organizing your paper documents--documents, receipts, photos, and more--into digital files on your files on your desktop.

PaperPort 14 is Nuance's most popular scanning and document management solution, carefully designed specifically for home office use. Part traditional file cabinet, part digital-document desktop, PaperPort 14 is the fastest and easiest way to scan, share, search, and organize your documents.

Additionally, PaperPort 14 now delivers anytime-anywhere access to your most important files however it's convenient for you--using a PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, or Android device.

Works with any Scanner
Say goodbye to all the challenges related to paper. PaperPort 14 works with all-in-one printers, mobile scanners, desktop scanners and more--making document management faster, easier, and more effective.
Get automatic access to your most important folders, files, documents, and photos via any device, including Mac or PC.

Click here for more information about Paperport 14.0

Read More...

Adobe Creative Suite 5 Production Premium Upgrade from CS4 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)With the CS5 release, Adobe hits one out of the park with this upgrade! Many new features and performance upgrades have been included which make this release probably the most valuable one provided by Adobe in recent years. If you are a Premiere Pro user, and I assume that you are as this and After Effects are the major components above and beyond PhotoShop, you will be very pleased with the striking performance enhancements provided by the new Mercury Playback Engine. This component leverages the NVidia GPU processing cores in your GTX2xx or higher level video card to greatly reduce rendering times for your projects, and to provide a greatly enhanced real-time experience while working on your projects. If you use an AVCHD camcorder, this release will blow your socks off as it is now very easy to edit without resorting to transcoding your clips to another easier to edit format.
This version will allow you to upgrade your existing CS4 release of Production Premium to CS5, including academic licensed versions if that is a concern to you. I wasn't particularly impressed with the features added in CS4, but I can wholeheartedly recommend the CS5 upgrade.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Adobe Creative Suite 5 Production Premium Upgrade from CS4

Meet today's deadlines and tomorrow's challenges with breakthrough performance: Adobe Creative Suite 5 Production Premium software accelerates workflows from scriptwriting through post-production, delivers the industry's best tapeless workflows, and introduces new CS Live online services.

Upgrade from CS4 to Adobe Creative Suite 5 Production Premium Customers who have a license for Creative Suite 4 Design Premium, Design Standard, Web Premium, Web Standard, Production Premium, or Master Collection are eligible for upgrade pricing.
Top reasons to upgrade to Adobe Creative Suite 5 Production Premium
Breakthrough native 64-bit performance Work fluidly at HD and higher resolutions using all the available RAM in your system with native 64-bit support in Adobe Premiere Pro CS5, After Effects CS5, and Photoshop CS5 Extended. Run multiple suite components efficiently thanks to new shared memory settings. Eliminate intermediate rendering when moving assets between After Effects, Adobe Premiere Pro, and Encore, and experience faster performance between these components.
Mercury Playback Engine in Adobe Premiere Pro Work dramatically faster thanks to the revolutionary native 64-bit, GPU-accelerated Mercury Playback Engine, which provides rock-solid performance and stability, even at 4K resolution and beyond. Open projects rapidly, and create multilayer, effects-rich sequences without rendering.
Supported NVIDIA graphics cards for GPU acceleration include Quadro CX (Windows), Quadro FX 3800 (Windows), Quadro FX 4800 (Windows and Mac OS), Quadro FX 5800 (Windows), and GeForce GTX 285 (Windows and Mac OS). For an up-to-date list of supported cards, visit www.adobe.com/go/64bitsupport.
Script-to-screen workflow through integration with Adobe Story Speed up production and post-production through integration with Adobe Story, a new Adobe CS Live online service that allows you to collaborate on scriptwriting, create shot lists from your scripts in Adobe OnLocation, and then develop a preliminary rough cut in Adobe Premiere Pro. CS Live online services are complimentary for a limited time visit www.adobe.com/go/cslive for details.
Roto Brush in Adobe After Effects Isolate moving foreground elements from their--backgrounds in a fraction of the time using the Roto Brush. Efficiently find the edges of complex foreground elements and fine-tune selection edges, with extremely precise results.
Eye-popping 3D and naturalistic painting in Adobe Photoshop Extended Create eye-popping 3D logos and artwork by extruding any text layer, Smart Object, selection, or layer mask. Paint more naturally with expressive new painting tools, and cleanly remove unwanted objects with Content-Aware Fill.
Roundtrip editing with other NLEs Integrate CS5 Production Premium with your workflow, no matter which NLE you prefer. Move projects easily back and forth between Adobe Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro or Avid editing software.
Intuitive perspective drawing in Adobe Illustrator Represent depth and distance accurately on the flat surface of your Illustrator canvas. Generate perspective grids for 1-, 2- or 3-point linear perspectives automatically, with controls for horizon lines and vanishing points.
Use high-performance production tools to create engaging content for virtually any screen
Comprehensive, best-of-breed video production environmentWork faster as you tackle a broad spectrum of planning, production, and post-production tasks. Each component of Production Premium works smoothly with other components thanks to timesaving integration, roundtrip editing with other NLEs, and faster Adobe Dynamic Link performance.
Native 64-bit performance and the new Adobe Mercury Playback EngineWork fluidly at HD and higher resolutions with native 64-bit support in Adobe After Effects CS5, Photoshop CS5 Extended, and Adobe Premiere Pro CS5. The new Mercury Playback Engine is native 64 bit and GPU accelerated* and provides rock-solid performance and stability, even at 4K resolution and beyond. Open projects rapidly, and create multilayer, effects-rich sequences without rendering.
* Supported NVIDIA graphics cards for GPU acceleration include Quadro CX (Windows), Quadro FX 3800 (Windows), Quadro FX 4800 (Windows and Mac OS), Quadro FX 5800 (Windows), and GeForce GTX 285 (Windows and Mac OS). For an up-to-date list of supported cards, visit www.adobe.com/go/64bitsupport.
Broad format support in Adobe Premiere ProExperience the industry's best tapeless workflow while working with virtually any format including DV, HDV, RED, DPX, Sony XDCAM, XDCAM 50, XDCAM EX and XDCAM HD, Panasonic P2, DVCPRO HD, AVCHD, and AVC-Intra. Edit video from DSLR cameras such as the Canon 5D Mark II and 7D; Nikon D90, D300s, and D3000; and others.
Richer, more compelling 2D and 3D images with Adobe Photoshop ExtendedExport video sequences from Photoshop Extended and import them into After Effects, Adobe Premiere Pro, and Adobe Encore. Work with new painting tools; make complex selections more easily; and create 3D logos from text, masks, or vectors.
Compositing and animation tools in Adobe After EffectsDesign groundbreaking motion graphics and blockbuster visual effects with industry-standard After Effects. Get everything you need to create opening titles, animated graphics, and visual effects or to create and move images in 3D space.
Roundtrip editing and streamlined collaborationMove projects back and forth between Adobe Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro or Avid editing software. Accelerate workflows by taking advantage of integration with new Adobe CS Live online services, such as Adobe Story for developing scripts. CS Live online services are complimentary for a limited time--visit www.adobe.com/go/cslive for details.
Script-to-screen workflow through integration with Adobe StorySpeed up production and post-production through integration with Adobe Story, a collaborative scriptwriting tool that's part of CS Live online services. Integrated metadata support makes it easy to create shot lists in Adobe OnLocation and rough cuts in Adobe Premiere Pro. CS Live online services are complimentary for a limited time--visit www.adobe.com/go/cslive for details.
Editing efficiency through metadataAdd intelligence to your assets using innovative metadata features that make editing and compositing easier, and raise the value of your content when it is distributed online.
Encoding and delivery for screens everywhereBatch encode source files to a broad selection of formats that meet a variety of standards with Adobe Media Encoder. Author once in Encore CS5 for DVDs, Blu-ray discs, and searchable web DVDs. Preview and test content for mobile phones and other devices in Adobe Device Central.
Pristine audio creation in Adobe SoundboothUse Soundbooth to accomplish everyday audio tasks quickly while maintaining high-quality results and creative control. Remove noise from a recording, polish voiceovers, customize music to fit a production, and much more.
Interactive design with Adobe Flash Catalyst or Flash ProfessionalDesign interactive online video portfolios without writing code using Flash Catalyst, a new interaction design tool. Easily add video to sophisticated interactive experiences with a flexible, industry-standard workflow in Flash Professional.
Adobe Premiere Pro CS5--Accelerate production with the new Adobe Mercury Playback EngineCraft your story efficiently with Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 software, the high-performance video production solution that enables you to work dramatically faster thanks to the native 64-bit, GPU-accelerated Adobe Mercury Playback Engine. Edit natively with the video formats you want. Save time by batch encoding source content to a wide variety of video formats for web, disc, broadcast, film, device, and mobile delivery. Easily exchange projects with Final Cut Pro and Avid software, and enjoy efficient, collaborative workflows that accelerate production from scriptwriting to editing, encoding, and final delivery.

Improve your production workflowFocus on telling your story with powerful, flexible editing tools. With the native 64-bit Adobe Mercury Playback Engine, the industry's best native tapeless workflow, and unparalleled Adobe integration, Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 sets a new standard in editing efficiency.
Collaborate openly and effectivelyWork in an open, extensible post-production environment. Write scripts collaboratively. Efficiently gather feedback from clients and teammates. Easily exchange projects with other Adobe software, Final Cut Pro, and Avid software.
Deliver engaging video practically anywhereCreate video optimized for online viewing as well as for broadcast, disc, film, device, and mobile distribution. From capture to final delivery, use metadata to make assets easier to find in production, create engaging interactive experiences, and help audiences discover your videos online.
Adobe After Effects CS5--Create motion graphics and visual effects with the industry standardAdobe After Effects CS5 delivers the visual richness required to get noticed in today's media culture. Use open-ended creative tools. Work efficiently on high-resolution projects thanks to native 64-bit support. And benefit from tight integration with Adobe's other leading software. Whether you're working in film, broadcast, online, or mobile media, Adobe After Effects enables you to create groundbreaking motion graphics and blockbuster visual effects.

Get 64-bit performanceWork more quickly with groundbreaking 64-bit performance that dramatically improves the experience of creating HD and higher resolution content. Streamlined tools and tight Adobe integration also accelerate your workflow.
Innovate visuallyExpress your visual ideas with freedom. Adobe After Effects CS5 revolutionizes motion design with an open-ended environment that fosters creative experimentation.
Composite efficientlyRealize your vision quickly and efficiently by drawing on a broad and deep set of tools designed to help you solve any creative challenge.
Deliver everywhereMaster modern media: Deliver your completed projects to the widest range of formats, from large format feature films and high-definition television to websites and mobile devices.
Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended--Create powerful images with the professional standardAdobe Photoshop CS5 Extended software helps you create the ultimate images for print, the web, and video. Enjoy all the state-of-the-art editing, compositing, and painting capabilities in industry-standard Photoshop CS5, and experience fast performance thanks to cross-platform 64-bit support. Also create 3D extrusions for logos, artwork, and motion graphics; edit 3D objects with advanced tools; and create and enhance motion-based content.

Innovate in 3DGo beyond traditional image editing by bringing 3D elements to your 2D artwork directly within your favorite digital imaging application, which now offers an easy on-ramp to 3D image creation.
Maximize creative impactExplore new creative possibilities with breakthrough tools that enable you to select, adjust, paint, and recompose images with tremendous precision and freedom.
Boost productivityAccelerate your workflow with fast performance on 64-bit hardware systems, smoother interactions thanks to GPU acceleration, and dozens of time-savers throughout the application.
Adobe Illustrator CS5--Explore new paths with the essential vector toolCreate distinctive designs for any project. Used by creative professionals worldwide, Adobe Illustrator CS5 software provides precision and power. Paint expressively with vectors, draw in perspective, and explore designing for interactivity. Move easily between Illustrator, other Adobe products, and Adobe CS Live online services. Get the job done efficiently but beautifully, moving quickly from multiple ideas to multiple outputs with complete control and delivering exactly what you had in mind.

Design with powerful creative toolsTake advantage of exceptional precision and power to create distinctive vector artwork. Combine highly controllable drawing tools with expressive natural brushes and dramatic effects to make unique, striking designs.
Work smoothly and efficientlySpeed up your workflow with innovations that encourage efficiency. Get the job done with purpose and agility using shortcuts and time-savers to take multiple ideas to multiple outputs.
Deliver virtually anywhereIncorporate vector artwork into essentially any project and deliver resolution-independent graphics across media. Enjoy tighter-than-ever integration with other Adobe products and go anywhere your creativity takes you.
Adobe Flash Catalyst CS5--Create expressive interfaces and interactive content without writing codeAdobe Flash Catalyst CS5 software is an approachable new interaction design tool. Use it to transform Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Fireworks artwork into expressive interfaces and fully interactive content without writing code, and publish as SWF or Adobe AIR files. Collaborate with developers who can open your project files with Adobe Flash Builder software to extend functionality, and leverage the reach and consistency of the Adobe Flash Platform.

Leverage the power of the Adobe Flash Platform to create interactive projectsRapidly create expressive interfaces and interactive content to your exacting design standards. Deliver your creative vision with the reach and consistency of the Adobe Flash Platform.
Approach interaction design without writing codeTransform static designs from Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, or Fireworks software into fully interactive projects without requiring development or coding skills. Define behaviors and control sophisticated interactions with simple yet powerful menu-based commands.
Speed the design and development processUse familiar design applications to easily create and edit artwork. Developers can open Flash Catalyst projects directly in Adobe Flash Builder software, preserving design fidelity and interactions defined by the designer.
Adobe Flash Professional CS5--Create and deliver rich interactive contentAdobe Flash Professional CS5 software is the industry-leading environment for interactive authoring and delivery of immersive experiences that are presented consistently across personal computers, mobile devices, and screens of virtually any size and resolution. Design expressive content with professional typography and pixel-precise drawing tools, write code precisely and efficiently with code completion and customizable code snippets, and deliver superior-quality video to audiences practically everywhere.

Design with expressionCommunicate your creative vision without sacrifice and set the bar for interactive design with typographic precision, layout fidelity, and expressive motion-editing capabilities.
Write code quickly and easilyQuickly and efficiently write code with powerful authoring tools and integration with Adobe Flash Builder software. Easily add interactivity directly in the ActionScript language by injecting extensible code snippets.
Deliver in fewer steps and in more placesSave time and reduce the number of required steps when moving content from design, to development, and ultimately to delivery. Distribute consistently across personal computers, mobile devices, and screens of virtually any size and resolution.
Adobe Soundbooth CS5--Create and edit audio with easeAdobe Soundbooth CS5 software is a professional audio editor that makes it easy to create, edit, and clean up audio for all your productions. Intuitive, task-based features and tight integration with other Adobe applications save time and help you achieve professional results. Mix royalty-free, customizable soundtracks and sound effects with dialogue in the improved multitrack environment for complete creative control.

Simplify audio workflowsMake short work of everyday audio with a smooth, intuitive workflow that features task-based tools and tight integration with other Adobe Creative Suite Production Premium components.
Fix audio problems fastAutomatically detect and fix common flaws in audio such as hisses, hums, phase problems, crackling, and pops. Add reverb to match on-location room ambience. Match the volume of different dialogue clips.
Create soundtracks easilyDrag and drop Soundbooth Scores to create soundtracks. Make the music fit your visuals with easy adjustments to timing, and suit your project's mood with easy adjustments to intensity, atmosphere, and instrumentation.
Get professional-sounding mixesCombine music, dialogue, and sound effects on multiple tracks. Easily control EQ, volume, pan, and effects on each track using automation. Add mastering effects for final polish.
Locate dialogue quicklyConvert spoken dialogue into searchable text, and use custom dictionaries to increase the accuracy of asset search. Export transcripts to create searchable video.
Searchable web DVDs and other enhancements in Adobe Encore CS5Adobe Encore CS5 software is a versatile, interactive authoring tool for video distribution that allows you to deliver your projects beyond DVD and Blu-ray Disc. In a single operation, you can easily turn your DVD and Blu-ray Disc projects into web DVDs that now include a search interface. The new interface gives viewers a more engaging experience by enabling them to search within a web DVD using keywords. During authoring, Encore automatically creates a search database using metadata from speech-analysis text, subtitles in timelines and slideshows, and menu and button names.
Also new in Encore CS5 is the ability to:
Further enhance the viewing experience by creating web DVDs with a sleek, customizable playback interface that features easy-to-use playback controls and the option to watch HD video in full-screen mode.
Create a smoother experience for viewers when they choose from options across multiple menus on Blu-ray Discs. Browsable multipage menus show options across multiple menu pages without interrupting the playback of audio and video background elements. Multipage menus can be easily created in Adobe Photoshop or directly in Encore.
Working in the Adobe Premiere Pro timeline, you can take 4K projects directly to high-definition Blu-ray Discs using a workflow that maintains the original 4K content all the way to output, when it is finally encoded and scaled. This capability is especially meaningful to video editors and motion graphics and visual effects artists who work on projects at film resolutions.
Experienced Encore users will appreciate the ability to share Encore CS5 projects without worrying about platform compatibility. Encore projects can be moved between Windows and Mac platforms freely, without conversion. Editors and motion graphics and effects artists can benefit from native 24p project support for Blu-ray Disc, DVD, and web DVD titles, complete with 24p timecode in the timeline. (Previously, Encore placed all assets in timelines with a defaultframe rate of 29.97, irrespective of the properties of the assets.)
Continue authoring while you transcode your media assets. Adobe Media Encoder, a separate, 64-bit software application, encodes your files in the background, freeing Encore to process your authoring tasks. This separation of authoring and encoding is particularly important with 4K workflows, which can be taxing on your computer.

Efficient production and tapeless camera support in Adobe OnLocation CS5Adobe OnLocation CS5 provides an impressive array of production tools to help you shoot better and faster while saving time and money, both on set and off. New support for tapeless cameras extend the ways you can use OnLocation in your production workflows.
Spot problems in imported tapeless footage. Thanks to new tapeless camera support, you can use the comprehensive software waveform monitor and vectorscope as well as the audio spectrum analyzer in OnLocation to identify image and audio problems in imported files by quickly scanning your footage for audio pops, clipping, and video overbrights.
Logging with tapeless cameras. Get all the benefits of real-time, on-set logging when working with tapeless cameras. Simply tell OnLocation which shot is currently recording and then enter notes, comments, and additional metadata into placeholder clips. Using timecode as a reference, OnLocation automatically matches the information to the recorded clips when they are imported from the tapeless media, regardless of whether the camera is tethered to OnLocation on-set or whether the clips are imported during post-production.
Faster logging with Turbo Comments. While recording, the new Turbo Comments feature lets you add frequently used words--cast names, sports highlights, and so on--with a single keystroke to log live action accurately, consistently, and efficiently. OnLocation lets you store up to nine comments with unique shortcuts, for immediate, timecode-accurate logging.
Adobe Creative Suite 5 With powerful new creative tools, enhanced performance and workflows, and the ability to integrate with timesaving new Adobe CS Live online services, Adobe Creative Suite 5 software provides the edge you need to create rich content for virtually any media--print, web, interactive, video, audio, and mobile. Whether you need to produce printed pages efficiently or design and distribute engaging content online, on film, on air, and on device, you'll find the right combination of Adobe tools to increase your productivity and keep pace with your creative vision.

Click here for more information about Adobe Creative Suite 5 Production Premium Upgrade from CS4

Read More...

Propellerhead Reason Pianos Refill 1.0 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)While there may be other great piano samples out there and there definitely are - possibly more interesting than these - what is amazing about the way Propellerhead implemented this is the flexibility and tone shaping possibilities. They including several mic positions for each sample - ALL of which can be raised or lowered which dramatically effects the tone in a very real world studio way. If you have experience recording, you will know what I am talking about. Mic position has a huge effect on sound. I don't know of any other sample library that does that as effectively and intuitively as this one. The pianos overall are nice though most are too shiny and bright for my taste. Pulling back on the close mics helps that. It also obviously is meant for use with Reason and Record which makes it the "go to" piano library if you use those programs.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Propellerhead Reason Pianos Refill 1.0

Click here for more information about Propellerhead Reason Pianos Refill 1.0

Read More...

Combat Flight Simulator 3 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I bought this for the sole purpose of playing Over Flanders Fields: Between Heaven and Hell, a World War I add-on for CFS3 available at www.overflandersfields.com
Despite some known glitches like incompatibility with virus software and jittering with dual core processors (fixed with an AMD dual processor patch) CFS3 was easy to install.
CFS3 is good looking and fun to fly, but due to the limitations of the flight modeling it won't completely satisfy hard core sim pilots looking for the ultimate in WWII realism. For those wanting to add-on WWII planes, scenery, airfields, etc, there are numerous mods for CFS3 available at fan sites like www.combatfs.com (you might try Mediterranean Air War or European Theatre of Operations).
The Over Flanders Field: Between Heaven and Hell add-on is a fantastic addition to the game, and one of the few ways to engage in WWI era flight. The last great WWI flight sim was RedBaron3D, which never reached it's potential while Sierra/Dynamix was behind it. But over the years, a number of mods (Full Canvas Jacket, Western Front, Hell's Angels) made RB3D playable and more historically accurate. The authors of those mods have now taken CFS3 to unbelievable heights through OFF:BHAH, with high resolution scenery, 39 flyable aircraft, 3200+ historically accurate aircraft skins, the best campaign manager I've ever seen, etc., etc. The experience of flying a campaign in the OFF:BHAH world is simply incredible. As realistic as it gets.
I have played dozens of flight sims and FPS games over the years, and have to say OFF:BHAH IS THE BEST MONEY I HAVE EVER SPENT ON A GAME!!!


Click Here to see more reviews about: Combat Flight Simulator 3

As a U.S. Army Air Force, Royal Air Force, or Luftwaffe pilot in Microsoft's Combat Flight Simulator 3 you fly in the historical framework of the tactical air war in northwest Europe starting in mid-1943, but there's a significant difference. The skill and perseverance you and your squadron bring to each battle can alter the tactical situation and the timeline of the campaign. This open-ended and flexible campaign means you can influence events, alter history, and extend the timeline to add new technology to your arsenal. How you handle these tactical and technological advantages will determine the outcome?

Click here for more information about Combat Flight Simulator 3

Read More...