Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on March 4th, 2009
Nintendo does not compete with cell phones, EA did not make Hits in ‘08 & Midway wants to sell off Mortal Kombat - Welcome to the column that does intend to play something besides Lego Star Wars in the near future known as Dare to Play the Game.
So, I did say I was going to be done with Lego Star Wars last week. Well I was right and I was wrong. I did finally put it away this week. However, I accumulated some of the more difficult achievements first. All the red bricks, check; max out stud counter, check; all the mini-kits, check; all the gold bricks (yes all 160 of them), check!! After a mass onslaught from the last column until Sunday I was getting every nook and cranny of the game. 820 achievement points. 4 miscellaneous achievements and in-famous 100% is all that is left.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on March 2nd, 2009
Autism is commonly defined as a brain development disorder characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. Sometimes, due to that lack of social interaction and repetitive behavior, the people affected develop a special skill or heightened senses. The results can be amazing. However, in film, autism is rarely shown as what it truly is, a disorder. To find a film that not only embraces the special skill as well as show the difficulty it takes to exist and function normally is pretty rare.
Zin (played by Ammara Siripong) is involved with Yakuza Boss Masashi (played by Hiroshi Abe). There is just one problem with that. She was previously the girlfriend of a gangster simply known as No. 8 (played by Pongpat Wachirabunjong). No. 8 in his own jealous rage decided to shoot his own toe and forbid Zin from ever seeing Masashi again. She decides to flee and tells Masashi to not follow.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on February 26th, 2009
Most of you know that video games are very near and dear to my heart. When it comes to video games on my TV, I’m usually restricted to G4’s X-Play or perhaps somebody got a hold of a license and turned it into a bad movie. Sure, there are times when they try to turn video game comedy into a sitcom of some sort. Game Over even though it was awesome, only lasted six episodes. In fact, Code Monkeys is the only current sitcom I know of that is using video games as a primary source of material. Needless to say, I was very interested when I saw Videogame Theater on my review list. I found my expectations to be too high.
Ever wonder what would happen if various video game legends were made into puppets and given a more real world approach to their character? There is Pac-Man who must be addicted to “Power Pills” and have a broken family. There is Donkey Kong and Mario who work at a construction site and fight over the foreman’s daughter. Lara Croft, well she’s part of a college sorority and in danger of expulsion if she can’t pass the archeology final.
Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on February 25th, 2009
Overpaid Severance, Everquest 2 Server Logs & Xbox Live Hackers on the Rise - Welcome to the column that promises to not knock anybody off-line unless they are on a 14.4k baud modem known as Dare to Play the Game.
This past weekend I finally beat Lego Star Wars Complete Saga for the Xbox 360. The game came to a satisfying conclusion and many achievements were gained. I found my way to 620 achievement points out of 1000. The most unexpected achievements were riding all the mounts and vehicles in the game as well as gaining access to all playable characters. It’s nice to get an achievement you weren’t even expecting. I really think I can get a few more achievements before I am said and done with the game.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on February 23rd, 2009
There are many shows out there that never make it past the original pilot episode. Most of them fail because there isn’t anything original about the plot or perhaps the cast chosen isn’t strong enough to bring out a good character. Heck, it could even be as trivial as the locale chosen to whether or not the network executives give it a nod. So the question remains, what exactly happens to these pilots that either fail or haven’t been picked up yet for next season? They get released on dvd. A little publicity never hurts.
Joseph Armstrong (played by Keith David) is the head of the SIS, the Special Investigation Section. The SIS is a secret department of the Los Angeles Police Department that seeks out the worst of the worst habitual offenders and brings them to justice. One way or another. After one of the squad dies in a violent gunfight, Assistant Chief Armstrong needs to find a replacement, one that won’t cause anymore problems and won’t make mistakes.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on February 19th, 2009
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch is a character that actually originated in 1962. She debuted in Archie Comics for the publication Archie’s Mad House issue #22. She was intended to be one of those one-shot characters, but the audience liked her so much that she found a home in Archie Comics for a while, even getting her own book starting in 1971. In 1996, a television show was launched. It would last seven seasons and one-hundred and sixty three episodes. This was a great run for a show that was only created to bring a little bit of magic into everybody’s lives.
Sabrina Spellman (played by Melissa Joan Hart) has enrolled into Adams College. She decides to leave behind her aunts, Hilda and Zelda (played by Caroline Rhea & Beth Broderick) and move into the dorms. Salem (voiced by Nick Bakay), her talking cat (he’s really a trapped warlock) also can’t come as she must try to adjust to college life alone.
Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on February 18th, 2009
Gamestop Shafting Employees, Guild Wars delay & the Final Roster for Legends of Wrestlemania - Welcome to the column that is the Santino Marella of the gaming community known as Dare to Play the Game.
My first full week back with my Xbox 360 has been an exercise in finishing up some old games. I now have every achievement in Fable II Pub Games with the exception of the locksmith achievement which is gained by unlocking all games. This will take sometime as Keystone is an exercise in torture. I am also halfway through the fifth episode in Lego Star Wars CS. I should finish the normal game portion by Sunday. The sad part of the debacle is I will probably only have half of the achievement points at this point. I could make a rant about why some games only give you such a small amount for beating the actual game but we don’t have that kinda time.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on February 16th, 2009
In my life, I have been married and divorced once. Quite simply, I made my share of mistakes and in my opinion, my ex-wife made some mistakes as well. It just never worked like one thinks a marriage should work. Instead, it left me broken but more importantly it left me a lot smarter and a better person. So naturally, I felt some connection to the broken marriage plot of the movie Fireproof. However, would my experience or failure in the art of marriage provide a bias to this film? We will just have to find out.
Caleb Holt (played by Kirk Cameron) works as a fire captain and manages a fire station. He’s a hero among the community and has saved many lives. However, at home he has a troubled marriage with Catherine (played by Erin Bethea) for a number of reasons including internet pornography and simply lack of love. During a particularly heated argument, Caleb gets in Catherine’s face and she declares she wants out of the marriage.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on February 11th, 2009
My initial reaction to most kid shows that have references to the bible are a mixture of sarcasm and skepticism. There is one exception to that rule: Veggie Tales. Veggie Tales was started in 1993 when VHS was still strong and kids were still highly impressionable under the influence of a weathered old videotape. They bring together a wonderful blend of a fun children’s show (under the guise of a bunch of talking vegetables) and have very good values to live one’s life by. So in my first title to review from the people at Big Idea, I receive a DVD about Abe and his Amazing Promise. Hopefully this Abe character has a promise about some cookies, I’m hungry.
Bob the Tomato receives a fan’s letter and decides to read it. He is joined by Junior filling in for Larry (the Cucumber). The fan’s letter is about “waiting” for something special. Bob relates his answers to the ancient biblical tale of Abraham and Sarah. This tale tells the story of how Abraham asked for a child and how it took fifteen years for them to receive that child. However, despite the hard pressures and substantial turmoil for Abe and his wife, God kept his promise and delivered them a child as a reward for their faith.
Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on February 11th, 2009
Red Dead Revolver Sequel, Splatterhouse yanked & People try harder against other people - Welcome to the column that now has a value menu, twice the terrible jokes and only half the content known as Dare to Play the Game.
On Monday, I received back my beloved Xbox 360. WOOHOO! *jump for joy* I unpacked it as quickly as I could and then proceeded to play Fable II Pub Games for about 15 minutes before I turned it off. Then I went off to my computer to play my turns on BRE. A freaking text war simulator. I need help. Seriously, I do plan to get back into my 360 but with several weeks of not having it at all, I got used to it not being there.
