Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on April 9th, 2008
Finish GTA IV in 25 hours, Give Uwe Boll a million, and Unreal on 360? - Welcome to the column that realizes a number is just a number unless those numbers are 4 8 15 16 23 and 42 known as Dare to Play the Game.
Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. More and more levels we go, where it stops? Nobod...err probably in the 50's to low 60's. The dwarf priest has moved up to 18 with some nifty gear while the troll rogue in World of Warcraft has hit level 35. My dwarf priest played through dead mines and received a very nice blue staff in the process. Tailoring and Enchanting are also maxed out until I hit level 20. The troll rogue is currently in the third leg of the Barbaric (Horde only) blacksmithing quest chain. A whole lot of iron is being mined wherever I can find it. However, I am up to mithril which is nice for all of those nodes that I had to pass up prior. Now, what exactly to do with the mithfril ore once I get it is in question for the time being (yes, I know I will eventually use it); but it is nice to see my professions expanding on my rogue again. Hopefully I hit 200 in mining and blacksmithing soon. I got to make a decent sword for myself one of these days.
Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on April 2nd, 2008
The Failure of Wii Online, Blizzards starts up the Sue wagon, and the British offering cash for lies? - Welcome to the column that promises to stick to the truth except when it comes to whether or not Silent Hill still makes us wet the bed at night known as Dare to Play the Game.
Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. After bludgeoning people with my Bloody Brass Knuckles all week in WoW, this fist weapon is here to stay for now in my 34th level Troll Rogue's arsenal. I find this to be the case because simply there aren't a lot of appealing blues at my level to begin with. My mining skill is just 4 away from mithril & my blacksmithing skill is progressing too. I finished part 2 of the Barbaric BS quest chain which basically forced me to mine a beep load of copper and tin to make bronze. Burnt me out a little bit to be honest, but since it is a horde only quest chain; I feel it is important to complete. My dwarf priest is cruising along at 16th level and apparently is developing into one powerful holy guy. I grouped with an 18th level rogue and a 19th level hunter over the weekend and found myself serving double duty as healer and dealing the most damage. I'm going the discipline route as well and not shadow which would make me a much more severe damage dealer (but still not a tank). That just shouldn't be, at least they were holding aggro for the most part. Of course I broke off from the group once we completed a few quests and got owned 15 minutes later by a mob of Gnolls. *sigh* Gnoll paws.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on April 1st, 2008
Aqua Teen Hunger Force has hit mainstream, well for the most part. The Tv Show has been on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim for a few seasons now and they even released a theatrical film. The film entitled Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film wasn't exactly a run away success. The film only made 5.5 million dollars nationwide. However, this was also about 7 times the budget which made the film a profitable success. So with the movie behind them, would the fame of past efforts fill their minds and make the creators' (Dave Willis & Matt Maiellaro) heads swell with pride? Let's turn into Volume 5 (Season 4) and find out.
For those new to the game (then why are you starting out with the fifth dvd set?), Aqua Teen Hunger Force is the story of three characters who look like they came from a Happy Meal; well a Happy Meal from a place that serves meatballs. Master Shake, Frylock & Meatwad return for 13 episodes (one is a 2-parter) to fight crime, bad advertising & just make sure that nobody gets Carl's favorite appendage if you know what I mean. Who's Carl? Ahh, that would be their next door neighbor who spends a lot of his time listening to classic rock, eating hot wings and getting raped by artificially created dogs. It's in episode 4, you'll have to see it for yourself.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on March 26th, 2008
A cold day in Vegas no more. Hopefully over the short vacation, you have had time to hit the slots, schmooze the local women and even rubbing your barrel a little more than you should. Why you ask? Because Rainbow Six, Vegas style is back. That's right; more taking cover and sneaking around killing terrorists in the land that never sleeps. Apparently the rent on the automatic terrorist prevention machines was a little high and so they have asked for your MTar firing, Flashbang throwing behind to lead the charge once again. Rainbow Six Vegas 2 takes back your 360 and hopefully sends us more than new maps and some spit and polish.
Graphics
I would probably be called a liar if I claimed that the graphics in RSV2 have been upgraded significantly in any fashion. It's still really good and very little difference can be deciphered. There is some improvement in shading and terrorists look more distinct. Guns do look fancier and I did notice an upgrade in blast patterns from various explosive devices. Advertisements also appear of better quality, but as you can tell I'm grasping at straws. One detrimental thing I noticed was that you find yourself shooting at your AI teammates a lot (or nearly) especially if you are taking on the role as Knight, Bishop's teammate in story mode. Human players are usually distinct but the two AI's look like any other terrorist.
Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on March 26th, 2008
Rainbow Six Vegas 2 bugs, No Waggle in the Rock Band Wii and Powerball action - Welcome to the column that keeps scratching even when it should have stopped a long time ago known as Dare to Play the Game.
Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. Yes it's World of Warcraft corner with your host, IAMMurloc. Or rather Kedrix (I know Sarah would appreciate that). Up to 33 on my Troll Rogue, 14 on my Dwarf Priest. I'm not sure what I did for most of the week with my characters to be honest. (Because I was going back and forth between WoW and Rainbow Six Vegas 2) But my highlight actually happened when the patch 2.4 hit. More importantly it hit the status of an item I had been holding in my bank for merely cosmetic purposes. Bloody Brass Knuckles which is actually a white item and to be honest, nothing more than "Oooooo, cool". It drops off Vishas in Scarlet Monastery. It's been changed to a superior item or more importantly, a blue with stats. The DPS has increased significantly (making it better than my sword I have currently equipped) and adding a whopping +8 strength. Let the bludgeoning commence!
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on March 25th, 2008
Do you ever look at some covers in disbelief and wonder why this ever got made? Okay, some directors are trying to break into the business or perhaps an actor is taking on an indie release that one can show their acting range with. But if a movie looks, smells and feels like a B movie; then most likely you are in for a rough ride. At the end, you might come out okay. A lot of times however, you might not. I witnessed such an example in Killer Pad. A movie directed by Robert Englund. Yes, the "Freddy" guy. The box sports some clueless guys and a hot devil lady. Oh and a spooky house behind it all. I'm scared, mainly cause I have to watch it.
Three friends; Doug, Craig & Brody (played by Daniel Franzese, Eric Jungmann, & Shane McRae) decide to leave their small midwest lives and head for the Hollywood Hills. After some searching, they meet up with a landlord named Winnie (played by Bobby Lee)who gets them to a sign a deed to 666 Perdition Lane (gee I wonder if it could be evil). Once they get there, they realize it is the house of their dreams and decide to host a party at their "killer pad." Little do they know that the house is haunted and foul things are a foot. The rest of the adventure is spent finding out the answer to various supernatural occurrences and trying to still host the most awesome party ever.
Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on March 19th, 2008
Multiple Games in MMO's, No More Pro Gaming and Games are Pron - Welcome to the column that thinks Wussy and Nambi Pambi should be submitted as new ratings for the ESRB known as Dare to Play the Game.
Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. World of Warcraft, oh how I find thee to confound me. Up to 32 on the Troll Rogue, 12 on the Dwarf Priest. Lantanador, the Rogue is up to a pretty nice 125 gold and I still have purple pants. I make mention of this because my girlfriend Sarah torments me that I still have purple pants (which are a high teen level blue item). I do have new pants at 33, but until I hit that level, she will continue to poke fun at me for having noobie gear. As for my response besides "Ah, blow me" (We won't get into the response to the response), it's about stats I guess. I'm having a hard time finding something better. I don't run a lot of instances (though I did go through a couple this past weekend), so I don't get a lot of blues, especially ones appropriate to my level. Not much of an excuse, I know. The priest is excelling in tailoring and enchanting despite the questing being kept to a minimum. At a level 12, I'm making items that are in the neighborhood of level 15-16 items. At this pace, I'll be well-prepared for later levels.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on March 14th, 2008
I'm not sure what we will consider the fall of man. Perhaps it will be dangerous emissions into the air; perhaps it will be what happens when we don't recycle enough. It could just be when I don't win a freaking Nobel Peace Prize for my work in the field of gaming and dvd collecting. But perhaps the true fall of man will actually be rested upon the shoulders of one man and that man is Jerry Springer. For years, his brash trailer trash tv show has done more to destroy mankind than the rubber chicken (trust me, you just don't know). Within the last few years, Jerry has had to take his shtick elsewhere. In college campuses, in shopping malls, on PPV. Yes Pay Per View. This first volume of Jerry explores the first three Pay Per View specials and wow. That is simply all I can say.
If you never seen Jerry Springer, let me sum it up in a couple of sentences. There are people that belong (or are in) a trailer park who sleep with their spouse's best friend, mother, daughter, dog, cow, it really doesn't matter. Then they get on Jerry, talk about it, and have fights that are broken up by security over it. This theme will continue for most of the show until Jerry has his little moment at the end where he will speak about what we have learned today (Yeah, don't live in a trailer park and don't date strippers, we got it!). In other episodes, he'll have some hot women get on and do things that our momma never told us about nor will our girlfriend ever think about doing to us or with us. So it continues.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on March 13th, 2008
Most people like a good heavy dose of action. Guns a blazing, explosions bursting and people's dead bodies flying in each and every direction. But most people also want something a little more. Perhaps a little suspense or a little who dun it. Or perhaps they are looking for their favorite actor to make a dramatic on-screen performance that will leave them breathless at the door. This lonely review writer loves action but a good dose of story and a well done gotcha at the end means more than the next building that gets blown up. Chaos would prove to have everything I wanted from an action drama and make me believe that there is at least one semi-original story left in Hollywood today.
After an incident on the Pearl Street Bridge, Detective Quentin Conners (played by Jason Statham) is suspended and his partner is sent home. When a bank heist takes center stage, a criminal mastermind known only as Lorenz (played by Wesley Snipes)forces the police's hand in reinstating Conners so that they can work out a negotiation. The police however assign Conners a new partner, Shane Dekker (played by Ryan Phillippe). Shane is a young detective that is expected to keep the brash Quentin Conners in line with policy. However, the bank heist goes awry and Lorenz gets away with the crime. This leads into a deep investigation where things are not as they seem and as the story unravels we find out what is meant by the term "Chaos Theory".
Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on March 12th, 2008
Sex, Nudity and more things that we wish involved Morgan Webb but doesn't - Welcome to the column that polled five hundred people about their bedroom gaming habits and realized that A)They have to change their sheets often and B)They have to install a bicycle pump by the bed known as Dare to Play the Game.
Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. World of Warcraft, I am up to 30 with my Troll Rogue. As mentioned, I also started a Dwarf Priest named Talloween on the Shadow Council server. He is currently level 10 and is a tough but fun character to play. I'm not used to the spell caster types and I have to adjust my playing style to compensate. I am exploring his professions of enchanting and tailoring which are quite the experience. I even took up fishing just to make it a totally different character for me. Of course on the 2nd fish pull, I got a mana potion. I'm surprised it wasn't a boot or an old tire. My girlfriend is helping me a lot with this character which is good. I've done all the leveling myself but she's helped by sending me low level items to disenchant and linen cloth to help my tailoring skills. Plus it is something we can do together which is why I took up WoW in the first place. I like playing with her and sharing the time together. Sometimes it's simply just asking how much to put something in the auction house for. Sometimes it's a difficult quest. But we work well off each other and it's very fortunate and nice to have.
