Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on November 18th, 2009
Some of you may remember that the last two Grand Theft Auto games I reviewed were the Playstation 2 ports of Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories. Most people probably thought that when GTA IV came out, I would have ran to my local game shop and picked up a copy. Truth is, I didn’t. The desire was there but I never really got around to it. So then Rockstar announced they would put their two DLC episodes on disc. Strangely, I was compelled to go buy it. First, I fully support retail releases of stand-alone content that was previously only downloadable and second I had missed Liberty City. I mostly missed the violence and wanton destruction.
Grand Theft Auto has never had amazing graphics. It usually sticks around average. It’s the same in this game. Liberty City will never be confused with the prettiest city in the US, but many times I wondered if it did have to see that many shades of grey. Besides the color drabness, graphic detail was not one of the game’s strong suits. There are a few things one can do to make the video a little more tolerable which involve playing with Brightness/Contrast and turning off the Radio effect (especially if you have an HD tv).
Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on November 18th, 2009
Wii Third Party Game Madness, Left For Dead 2 Released & Night Elf Mohawks in Warcraft? - Welcome to the column that pities the fool who actually tries to wear 10 pounds of gold chain and isn’t named Mr. T known as Dare to Play the Game.
This week I started the review for Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City for the Xbox 360. Actually by the time you read this column, you will probably notice the review right above it. As I start to write this column I’m about 60-70% done and just need to get all of the mini-modes in the game down on paper. So what exactly have I figured out from this writing assignment?
Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on November 11th, 2009
Mature Content in Games, Bad Band Hero Track Edits & Rock Band 3 will teach you to play the Guitar? - Welcome to the column that won’t teach you how to be a video game columnist and instead just act like one known as Dare to Play the Game.
Well, I finally finished the review for WWE Smackdown vs Raw on the Xbox 360. I put a good 2 ½ weeks into playing it and wrote up a very lengthy & detailed column if you want to go read it. Overall, I do love the game and think it’s the best WWE game in years. Of course, as we all know even before reading; the game isn’t perfect. But it shows that if designers lead with their creativity hat firmly on their head, they can produce a really special product.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on November 9th, 2009
The last time I had played a WWE wrestling game was way back in 2007. Triple H was on the cover looking more menacing than usual and I had played the game for a few solid months. But to be honest, I was burnt out and frustrated with the grappling system and spent the last few years messing with older wrestling titles and Fire Pro Wrestling Returns for the Playstation 2. Fast forward to late 2009 and I suddenly find myself excited for a WWE wrestling game once again. Hopefully clever marketing wasn’t the only reason.
It’s true. No matter how many times I play a WWE game, the first thing I always notice is the graphics. All of the characters here look great for the most part including John Cena, Randy Orton and even lesser talents like Chavo Guerrero who are realistic to their real life counterparts. Rey Mysterio gets particular praise for the designer’s attention to the detail in his mask.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Michael Durr on November 8th, 2009
As explained by many authors in this site, remakes are becoming far too common. In fact, they are so many of these that we aren’t sure of the source material. An obscure movie comes out and apparently in 1953, there was a similar movie made. This movie also probably made the equivalent of $100 American Dollars at the box office. Well, perhaps not that bad. I received one of these movies to review recently and it was titled Angel and the Badman. Let’s see how this one fares.
Quirt Evans (played by Lou Diamond Phillips) is riding along on his horse. He stops when he sees that there is a dead body near a secluded cabin. He inspects the body and all of the sudden three men appear out of the shadows. It’s a trap. Thanks to his quickdraw skills, Quirt is able to put down the three men. He is also able to put down the dead body in its rightful place as he was just acting to set up the ambush.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Michael Durr on November 4th, 2009
Some would say that what I do is a “wannabe” writer. I write reviews of dvds & games and also write a weekly column. However, I’m sure there are many novelists and newspaper writers who consider me nothing more than an Internet geek with a keyboard. But the truth is we are something more. Many of us are just as good as the novelists out there and better than the liberal media. Criminal Ways was originally called the “Wannabes” because it was about a group of men who wanted to be a children’s entertainment group. But like myself, there is so much more to the story than meets the eye.
As a kid, Danny (played by Nice Giannopoulos) was a childhood performer in dancing and singing. He got a spot on a television talent show and is being coached by his mother, Sally (played by Chantal Contouri). However, the show is the equivalent of the Gong Show and Danny’s act is gonged by guest star Jimmy King (played by Michael Carman). According to Jimmy, Danny simply lacks commitment.
Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on November 4th, 2009
Nintendo ponders the Kindle for DS, Japanese Gamers lack of Curiosity, & Industry Confessions? - Welcome to the column that contacted Montel Williams for an appearance but was pushed off because we were less exciting than an agoraphobic cat lady who isn’t sure who the Siamese’s baby daddy is (and doing the segment from her house) known as Dare to Play the Game.
So, it’s just another week in paradise eh? Except I live in Texas and most people seem to have the disposition of angry red fire ants. And they can’t drive. Most of my week was spent playing WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2010. It’s the first wrestling game I’ve played since SvsR 2007. 2008 & 09 seemed like steps backward for the franchise, but I finally got back on board with all of the improvements.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Michael Durr on November 2nd, 2009
There are lots of people out there who watch cheesy horror films. Some blame it on boredom, some actually admit to liking a few of them. My personal feelings are about the same as any cheesefest, if there is something redeeming in the film; I can usually find a few nice things to say about it. However when it comes to films like the Beast Within, my momma always told me to just keep my mouth shut. Good for you, I never listened much.
Professor Bergen (played by Joost Siedhoff) is a world renowned scientist. His specialty is his work around bird flu or the H5N1 virus. He studies how it affects human kind and conducts various tests. However, his tests are not exactly fitting of normal research and his mental health isn’t the brightest. One day as he is reading and scribing notes, he is suddenly attacked by a large group of birds and dies in a pool of his own blood.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on October 30th, 2009
It is true, I’m not a big fan of lawyer shows. A long time ago when I was about twelve years old, my future vocation wish was to become a lawyer. I visited lawyers, I talked to them for what seemed like hours. Except it wasn’t hours at all, it was more like thirty minutes. My realization then was that I wasn’t cut out for the business and went into what I do now. However, after watching Ally McBeal for a season of episodes, I come to the realization that I’m so very glad that I didn’t stick around.
Ally McBeal (played by Calista Flockhart) has just lost her job at her law firm. It seems that a co-worker decided to touch her rear in an unprofessional manner. The co-worker decided to say it was OCD and unfortunately Ally found herself on the streets. She is immediately picked up by an old colleague of hers named Richard Fish (played by Greg Germann) and invited to work at his firm.
Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on October 28th, 2009
Atlus stops Undersupplying, Japanese PS3 Sales Up, & Should Game Developers be on Facebook? - Welcome to the column that doesn’t understand why 29 different Wii games need to be released in a week when the only one you need is Press Your Luck known as Dare to Play the Game.
Remember that pain in my side that was something between a strain or possibly worse stemming from my bronchitis? Well it seems to be healing up nice. I had a lot of good rest and it has taken its sweet time but I’m pretty close to being back to 100%. It’s amazing how much a sickness can take out of you. Like I mentioned before, I have not had something like this since I was in college. I don’t ever want to experience that ever again. We won’t be visiting that person’s house again as a result.
