Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on June 18th, 2008
Postal wins an award, 360 Avatars all gassed up and ready to go, and a brand new TV Gaming Competition Show? - Welcome to the column that got dressed an hour early but realized it has no place to go known as Dare to Play the Game.
Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. I feel like crap. Actually I'm getting better, because a day or so ago I felt like absolute crap. It's kinda different and usually doesn't involve vodka. I stayed home from work on Monday and spent a good portion of that time either getting rest or playing World of Warcraft with my trolly troll and working on a blacksmithing quest. Cause I soooo love blacksmithing quests *insert sarcasm flag here*. But it helps your skill, it really does. I also did the unthinkable. I pvp'ed.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on June 12th, 2008
World Heroes. When I was a teenager, one of my favorite games was World Heroes 2 for the Super Nintendo. I remember it distinctly because it was one of the last games I bought brand new for the SNES. I played the game for hours, then days and even into many assorted weeks trying to exploit all the characters from my favorites like Rasputin, Muscle Power, & Kim Dragon to even lesser characters like Johnny Maximum or Erick the Viking. With the exception of Mudman, (I never played Mudman and I'm still annoyed when fighting him to this very day) I beat the game with each and every character. This is one of my prouder achievements when it comes to fighting games, and with the exception of the Tekken series or compilations, the last fighting game I've really played for such a long stretch.
Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on June 11th, 2008
LucasArts putting on the halter, Wii wanting to go steady with HDD, and Blu-Ray & Xbox 360 tying the knot? - Welcome to the column that got married once but forgot to read the fine print about descending into the pits of hell known as Dare to Play the Game.
Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. So at some point last week, you were probably wondering where the heck is your favorite video game columnist. The truth is I don't know where Adam Sessler is and he won't return my messages (something about me and Morgan sitting in a tree). As for me, I was in Las Vegas, Nevada. Internet for tourists in Las Vegas, NV sucks. Why is that? Because they charge, $13.99 a freaking day. My conference did have it for free, but it moved like a 300 baud modem. (For the kids at home, that is like your dad asking you to walk to the liquor store on the other side of the county line and back with a bottle of JD stopping for every hobo that asks for a sip)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on May 30th, 2008
TNA Wrestling has evolved from being nothing more than a small third party wrestling organization to something much more. While they aren't the WWE in ratings, they have arguably better storylines and on average more enthusiastic wrestlers. There are established stars such as Kurt Angle, Booker T, & Team 3d(used to be known as the Dudleys) that have built up their reputation thru WWE, ECW and WCW. There are also equally exciting homebred stars including AJ Styles, Samoa Joe and Jay Lethal (now known as "Black Machismo") that play a prominent role in the league as well. Furthermore (without including the Japanese market), TNA also has the best wrestling females you will find anywhere from Gail Kim to the unstoppable monster Amazing Kong. So it is little wonder that from time to time, I pick up their ppv dvds including this one named Destination X 2008 highlighted by the main event: Kurt Angle,Tomko & AJ Styles vs the tandem of Samoa Joe, Kevin Nash, and Christian Cage.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on May 28th, 2008
The Neo-Geo console was one of my favorite consoles growing up. My parents never had the money for the home machine or the outrageously priced carts. However, that did not keep me from spending many quarters on the standups day in and day out. Most of my Neo Geo quarters were thrown into games such as Ninja Combat, Sengoku and Magician Lord. The rich graphics, the ahead of its time gameplay were all amazing beyond belief. Almost twenty years later, SNK decides to make a happy man. Sixteen classics on a single dvd for my Playstation 2 console. Furthermore, they went and released it in the $20 price range. Very very happy.
Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on May 28th, 2008
Bright Colors, Glam Rockers Sell Big on Rock Band & I'm going to Vegas babie! - Welcome to the column that is so proud it made a hundred postings that it just might consider blowing the paycheck on Morgan Webb and blow known as Dare to Play the Game.
Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. Believe it or not, I'm not starting with World of Warcraft in this column (that's the second paragraph). No sir, the column has reached a milestone, 100 posts. Almost two years, I have worked my nails to the bone to provide refreshing points of view and talented humor. Or perhaps a whole mess of sarcasm.
Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on May 21st, 2008
Plagiarism in Video Games, Penny Arcade, & The Never Ending EA Offer - Welcome to the column that copies itself weekly with jokes that were relevant twenty years ago known as Dare to Play the Game.
Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. 43&22. Well, as some of you might remember, I had a goal for World Of Warcraft and my level 43 Troll Rogue last week. Actually two of them, one was with lockpicking and one involved cooking. My lockpicking skill was in the 160's and needed to be raised to 175 to compensate for the level 40 junkboxes I was starting to get.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on May 20th, 2008
Extreme sports, whether it be skateboarding, surfing or skiing have only come into popularity within the last decade or so. However, their roots often go back many more years. Take the case of extreme skiing. That kind of skiing is not usually found in the United States and forces patrons to go off to slopes like Chamonix in France. Origins of the sport suggest that we can go back almost 40 years to find a true source. The documentary Steep tells the tale of extreme skiing from the fathers of the sport and listens to the pioneers creating new and exciting challenges going forward.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on May 19th, 2008
Romantic comedies make most men put their body in the fetal position and pray that the bad people will make it stop until they are shown the newest incantation of a Vin Diesel action flic. This just in, Vin Diesel doesn't really make action films anymore. Crap, how about Mel Gibson, no? Hey, Sly Stallone still does action movies. Yeah, but we are also pretending he's still relevant. Anyhow, most people have negative connotations about romantic comedies. That way too much syrupy dialog mixed in with corny humor about two people on the opposite side of the tracks establishing that common ground and coming together. Dedication, at the core is a story of a children's writer finding love with his new illustrator. However, getting there is one strange animal indeed.
Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on May 14th, 2008
Adult Gaming, WiiWare, & The Death Knight class unveiled - Welcome to the column that discovered it was an adult one day back in 1996 and has not been heard from since known as Dare to Play the Game.
Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. 42&22. I unfortunately did not get to play my dwarf priest, except past a couple of quick quests and leveling some of my cooking & fishing. I honestly expected a slowdown with my Troll Rogue in WoW once I hit 40. Quite the opposite I guess. The game seems to get more interesting once you pass the magic mount level.
