Posted in: News and Opinions by Archive Authors on January 8th, 2008
According to the Financial times, Paramount/Dreamworks has an out clause in their exclusivity contract with HD DVD. FT states that Paramount is looking to use that clause to move over the better looking pastures of Blu-ray.
Earlier this week Newline confirmed to Variety magazine that they would go Blu-ray exclusive as well. If this all comes to fruition, it would leave Universal as the lone soldier on the HD DVD side of the format war... most certainly leading to the formats demise. We here at UpcomingDiscs.com will continue covering both formats as long as they are supported. More news on this as it comes out.
Posted in: News and Opinions by Archive Authors on January 4th, 2008
"Warner Bros.' move to exclusively release in the Blu-ray disc format is a
strategic decision focused on the long term and the most direct way to give
consumers what they want," said Meyer. "The window of opportunity for high-
definition DVD could be missed if format confusion continues to linger. We
believe that exclusively distributing in Blu-ray will further the potential for
mass market success and ultimately benefit retailers, producers, and most
importantly, consumers." - Barry Meyer(WB CEO)
Posted in: News and Opinions by Archive Authors on January 3rd, 2008
from engadget:
Slated to launch sometime in Q2, the networked player would purportedly allow owners to stream in movies for viewing on their television, and it's being reported that the feature would be "included in all of its various price plans... at no extra charge." Pricing deets on the LG device have yet to be disclosed, but we're told that the firm could "embed the receiver into its $799 dual-DVD player [likely the BH200]." According to Netflix Chief Executive Reed Hastings, the LG partnership will hopefully be "the first of many such deals" for the company, and he added that he'd love to "see a hundred Netflix-capable boxes," suggesting that there could be deals struck with internet-connected gaming consoles as well as cable / satellite providers.
Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on January 2nd, 2008
Smack the Wii, Scalp Half-Life, and XBox Live Broken Down - Welcome to the column that realizes that the gaming newsworld is a vacant wasteland during the holidays but trudges on anyway known as Dare to Play the Game.
Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. The girlfriend and I are trudging on through Marvel Ultimate Alliance, we finished the Atlantis stage. Saved Prince Namor, beat Kraken and thankful I don't have to touch another water stage. I really don't like them. Perhaps it's all of the "authentic" water-like sounds. Like gurgling. I also received my copy of the Xbox 360 Arcade Compilation disc that was packaged inside the 360 Arcade machine. Ebay is a wonderful thing. I quickly became addicted to Pac-Man Championship Edition. I usually suck at Pac-Man, well actually I still do. But for some reason, I'm just a little better or feel like I am when it comes to this version. I completed the Championship Mode fairly easily and almost beat Extra Mode #2 (3 seconds left, I'm not kidding) but the rest of the modes I'm usually a couple of minutes off from beating them (10 minute timer). I've gotten half of the achievements and it's listed as an easy game on Achievement sites. I think the reason behind that though is so many people in their younger days threw bucket after bucket of tokens into the game or Ms. Pac-Man. However, I did not. I spent my time playing Dig Dug, Pole Position, Mappy & Galaga. So as to my meh Pac-Man scores, I hope to improve. If not, I'll still own you all in Mappy!
Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on December 26th, 2007
The Penalty of Death, MegaMan turns twenty, and Microsoft gives the gift of giving - Welcome to the column that will have a Ho Ho Ho for Christmas but most likely sleep on the couch known as Dare to Play the Game.
Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. The girlfriend and I decided to start a game together in Marvel Ultimate Alliance (Special Edition) for 360. We played through the first two levels and had a blast. I rotated between controlling Spiderman and Wolverine (and sometimes Iron Man) while she primarily stuck with Venom once he was available. It's a cool multiplayer where somebody can switch off and on in the game at any time. So if she doesn't want to keep playing, she can just switch off and I can keep playing if I desire. Then she can resume an hour later if she so desires. Makes for a game we will come back to a lot. Especially since she is cycling off of WoW. Speaking of MMO's, I finally reached level 20 on a character on GuildWars (equivalent to a level 60 in WoW). Nice feeling until you realize there is so much to do even when you reach the level cap. Oh well, that game benefits from playing here and there for a few hours at a time and not really miss anything.
Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on December 19th, 2007
Raincheck for the Wii, Sex and Violence don't mix, and Christmas Nights in Japan? - Welcome to the column that promises to have a very merry christmas but still undecided on the new year known as Dare to Play the Game.
Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. I can safely say this past week, I did zero gaming. Yep, zilch, zero, nada. That's what going up to Ohio and spending seven days in some remote frozen tundra will do for you. I did stop at one Gamestop though. Bought 2 games and 4 dvds (buy 2 get 2 free) for $40 and some change. Final Fantasy XII (Collectors Edition) for PS2, Dead or Alive Ultimate for Xbox were the pickups for games. The girlfriend will be playing FF XII shortly. I will be playing DOA when I get to it I suppose, I just like the double disc package as it was in near-mint condition and complete. The dvds I procured was Hellboy: Blood & Iron, The Prestige, Producers (2-disc SE), and Dead or Alive: The Movie. Yes I bought it, how could I not? Bad movie making at it's finest. I'll let you know how awful it is sometime soon. More than likely, the games will be much more entertaining than the movie. Me< ---sucker for video game-related movies (but for some strange reason I don't own Super Mario Bros or The Wizard).
Posted in: News and Opinions by Archive Authors on December 18th, 2007
Today New Line released a press release declaring their feud with Peter Jackson settled. Not only are these two parties settled they are now working on an adaptation of the classic novel, The Hobbit. Work will also start for a follow up sequel to the hobbit which will fill-in the spaces between the Hobbit and the already made Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Peter Jackson and his wife Fran Walsh are set to produce. No word yet on directors or writers but it's obvious that the mind blowing talent at WETA digital will be behind the SFX. The first movie should be expected around 2010. in the meantime Jackson has started shooting his latest production "The Lovely Bones", a horror feature. He is also set to direct a film called Tintin which is being produced by Steven Speilberg. Click below for the full press release.
ACADEMY AWARD-WINNER PETER JACKSON AND NEW LINE CINEMA JOIN WITH MGM TO PRODUCE “THE HOBBIT,” EAGERLY-ANTICIPATED FANTASY ADVENTURE EPICNEW LINE AND MGM TO CO-PRODUCE AND SHARE WORLDWIDE DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS
Posted in: Random Fun by Archive Authors on December 14th, 2007
I've seen thousands of movies in my time and today I'm sharing the ten most important things to learn from action flicks. Jump to check it out.
Always make sure your old buddy actually died back on that dangerous mission in the 50’s-70’s(especially if they had fancy accents). If he did somehow manage to survive he’s going to be pissed and a bit knife happy. So be sure to go back a couple days later and either give him a nice bottle of wine or just put two in his head to be sure. Also, if you have some long lost sibling you think may have died in a mysterious way, ALWAYS watch your back. Those little turds have a knack for ambushing you.
Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on December 12th, 2007
Arkadian Warriors rocking to XBLA, No Rockband for Christmas in Canada, and Games of the Year? - Welcome to the column that promises to rock as much as possible but we have to be in bed by 9:00pm known as Dare to Play the Game.
Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. As promised, a lot of FirePro Wrestling was played. I actually got down the timing system. Once I did that, I was able to figure out the little things and it made for an enjoyable experience. Be sure to read the review at your leisure. It was good to review a Playstation 2 game and I would expect there will be a couple more before we say goodbye to the system. Neo Geo Battle Coliseum released this week and the World Heroes compilation released sometime next year would be likely candidates. I purchased a couple of gaming items this week as I got the expansion pack to Guild Wars (Eye of the North) and Indigo Prophecy for the original Xbox (backwards compatible) for a mere $9.99 new. Indigo Prophecy got released as part of the first wave of Xbox originals (for 1200 points) I talked about last week. It might make for an interesting review since it was overlooked by many when it first came out and some might be curious about it this time around. We'll see.
Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on December 5th, 2007
Reviewer fired for bad review, Xbox 360 Dashboard Update, & the Wii being put up on Ebay for grand larceny? - Welcome to the column that is always honest and promises that Kane & Lynch is indeed a steaming pile known as Dare to Play the Game.
Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. Well as mentioned in the previous week, I finished Puzzle Quest and inadvertently started Carcassonne since it was offered free. To date, only Galaga has been easier for achievements. I finished the achievements on my own over the weekend. Easy 200 points, seriously. If anybody needs help, let me know. I also nabbed a couple of random achievements, one in Dig Dug (yes, yes I know but I only need the dig achievement now which seems to be impossible) and one in Outpost Kaloki which off and on is a fun as heck game. Off and on, I will also be playing Orange Box through since there is so much to work on. Fun stuff, fun stuff.
