Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on June 15th, 2009
It was the summer of 1993, this little review writer was on his way to college for the first time. Among the many things I took to college with me, one of them was a computer. The computer was top of the line at the time; a 486-33mhz processor chip and an 170 meg hard drive. I said meg. Windows 3.1/Dos 6.22 was the OS combination and it had one game on it besides Solitaire. A shareware copy of Wolfenstein 3d. The game had actually been already out for a year but it was a popular game and on my pc as included software. Upon entering college, I played that game for hours and the hours turned into days. I would eventually buy the full copy of the game along with level editors and various mods. Thru the years, I have revisited the game on consoles and again on PC. Xbox Live Arcade out of the blue decided to release a port of the PC game and encourage me to play the adventures of BJ Blazkowicz once again. I’m glad they did.
It’s hard to believe that these graphics are over 15 years old for the most part. Sure, they redid parts of the title menu to make it Xbox Live friendly and added a few minor details, but it’s the same PC port brought over for the Xbox 360. Colors do seem a bit dated and there is that familiar clipping every so often, but it’s fairly easy to tell what is going on and they actually seem to move a lot cleaner and precise than on my 486. One could hope for an HD remake (or a port over of the 3do version), but this is one of the times I’m glad they didn’t.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on June 13th, 2009
The original Cellfactor was actually a technical demo published back in 2006 by Immersion Games. It was made for the Ageia Physx series of cards which later became a part of NVidia. This demo showed off things we in the first person shooter community took for granted, barrels and boxes. Barrels and boxes have long been staples in games for doing absolutely nothing but existing (occasionally a barrel might explode but that’s it). Thru this demo, your character could use his psychic powers to throw the items and watch as they interact with the environment. Then with help from Timeline Interactive, a PC game was produced in May 2007, available free to people who would visit their website. A couple of years later, they decided to make a Live Arcade game for the Xbox 360 using similar technology. Thus we have Cellfactor: Psychokinetic Wars. Eight hundred points later, it was worth the wait & the Live currency.
As mentioned in the above paragraph, the actual engine for this game has been around for a long time. This was a technical demo that was made to show off the graphics power for a series of PC cards. Then they went and got published with UBISoft (very well known for Unreal Tournament) and turned it into a heck of a graphical experience. Your character will fly around and the scenery compensates very well. There are minor graphical issues but nothing I felt that could be described as distracting. The seven maps included are fairly diverse and each show a wide array of color choices and palettes.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on April 20th, 2009
Puberty for me was an odd thing like many teenage boys. My dad threw a medical book into my lap when I turned thirteen and said if I had any questions to let him know. This was followed by more literature being thrown into my lap such as Playboy when I wasn’t any older than fifteen or sixteen years old. In addition to magazine publications, I was also allowed to buy some objectionable games and music. One of these games was the Leisure Suit Larry series. The original PC games had great (and dirty) humor, fun puzzles and some of the best basic game play you could fit into several floppy discs. Times change and the racy appeal of Leisure Suit Larry has made the Xbox 360 console. *sigh* I’m so sorry it did.
One of the appeals to the Leisure Suit Larry series is usually the graphics. Most of the games (especially once they got to VGA graphics) featured women that were pretty easy on the eyes. They weren’t real of course, but sometimes we hoped they were. In Box Office Bust, something isn’t right. The characters look reasonably drawn, especially when it comes to the males. But the females feel all wrong.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on March 6th, 2009
There haven’t been many compilation discs out for the 360 yet. There were the Orange Box and a few Xbox Live Arcade compilation discs. There was also Namco Museum Virtual Arcade which despite the plethora of titles wasn’t much more than a bunch of Xbox Live Arcade games and some retro titles thrown in for the nostalgia factor. Most of us retro purists were waiting for a compilation title that put together not only classic games but blended it with the new technology into an invigorating harmony. Our time has come in the form of Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection. There are forty plus games from the Sega Genesis and a sprinkling of Arcade & Sega Master games with HD technology and Achievements. We are pleased.
Since most of these games were made in the late eighties to the early nineties, most of us would not expect for these games to stand out graphically. However, Backbone Entertainment has gone to the trouble to recreate every game in 16:9 quality. This does wonders for some games like the Sonics and the Streets of Rage series. However, in a few of the older games like Bonanza Bros or Gain Ground, the stretching is more evident and the quality doesn’t feel as strong. There is also the option to play these games in their original ratio and have a static background behind it.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on November 24th, 2008
The original Fallout 3 was held in the firm hands of Interplay Entertainment under the working title of Van Buren. Developed by Black Isle Studios, that title never saw the light of the day when Interplay Entertainment went bankrupt and laid off the entire PC development team in late 2003. In 2007, Interplay sold the rights to the Fallout franchise to Bethesda who had developed the popular Elder Scrolls series. Bethesda scrapped the original code and worked on the project from scratch. It paid homage to many Fallout concepts and Fallout 3 saw gold in 2008. It was a long five years between the layoff of the original creators and the company who ultimately got the right to release the game. Was it worth the wait?
Graphics
The first thing that might strike you in the graphics department when you play Fallout 3 is that one never realized there are so many different shades of bleak. Shades of grey, black, brown & white are very prevalent here. But the good news is that the graphics are extremely detailed. People are easily seen and the darkness can sometimes be your best friend. The animation on a clean head shot and having the head roll down the hallway is one of the most satisfying pieces of graphic footage I’ve seen in a long time. My only real complaint is that once you get into the vast wasteland, the graphics while great tend to blend together into one continuous rock quarry.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on November 14th, 2008
In 2004, the world received a top notch role playing game in the form of the original Fable for first Xbox console. It promised a lot of things, ideas and concepts that were sure to revolutionize the gaming world. The crew at Lionhead studios delivered on most of those promises and the game went well over double platinum. Among many things it promised, one of these was a true concept of good and evil. Every action has a reaction whether positive or negative. It was this concept and others that were expanded when it came to the making of Fable II. The game is dubbed by its designer Peter Molyneux as a game that even non-gamers should be able to enjoy. To be honest, he doesn’t even want traditional game reviewers to review the game. Lucky for him, tradition and me broke ties a long time ago.
Graphics
The original Fable was a beautiful game only held back by the power of the console. For Fable II, the graphics are improved dramatically from the beautiful towns to the countryside to the little characters like you and me. For those who downloaded Fable II Pub Games or stayed close to the Fable web site were introduced to dozens upon dozens of breath taking art. Of course, other companies had done this only to see none of it make the final product. I’m happy to report that these shots and more found its way into the final product and it really shows the attention to detail that the artists and designers took in constructing the look of this game. This is really some of the best graphics I have seen in a game, period. The only minor complaint I have is that the subtitles for the game are a bit small.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on September 30th, 2008
The greatest game I ever bowled was probably around 180. A far cry from the perfect 300 but a decent game nevertheless. Most bowling video games are extremely simple in scope. Pick up a ball, roll it down the lane and see what pins drop. Sometimes you get to choose the curve of your ball and even the weight. But that is honestly about it. So when I saw that there was a new bowling game on Xbox Live Arcade, I didn’t think anything of it. However, once I tried the demo I realized this was something different. A game that blended bowling with miniature golf and created something kinda unique. I was so intrigued by the demo, I ended up coughing up the 800 points to make a review.
Graphics
Rocketbowl was originally a very simple PC game and had huge aspirations going into the Xbox Live Arcade format. The graphics are decent with major emphasis on the large variety of bowling balls that you can purchase. The balls look great with my favorite looking ball has to be the classic Fireball. The courses are okay, but most of them feel quite bland. If you are looking for a Hot Shots Golf or Tennis feel here with goofy players to play with, look elsewhere as your character or anybody you play against is merely a scoresheet and a small picture.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on September 29th, 2008
The Dark Knight movie did big business this year and most people were quite surprised there was no official video game for the movie. Anybody who was looking for a Batman fix after the movie either paid $8 to see the movie again or tried to re-enact scenes with their best friends in their basement. However, there was a little relief to be had. The wonderful teams behind Lego Star Wars and Lego Indiana Jones decided to go to market with a Lego Batman game. But instead of focusing on the recent movies such as Batman Begins & The Dark Knight they moved their focus to the past. Their inspiration seemed to come from the first 2 Batman films with Michael Keaton and a strong dash of the awesome animated series that ran during the same time period. Would Lego’s humor and strong gameplay succeed or would the jokes go as sour as any thought of Robin in a future Batman movie (especially one with Christian Bale)?
Graphics
If you’ve seen either of the previous Lego-themed games, you kinda know what to expect. Little block pieces in bright and vibrant colors come together to form your favorite Batman hero or villain. The graphics despite the expected kid’s appeal hit very close to home. Everybody on the roster (outside of a few generics) looks good and move in well across the screen. Seeing Joker fight along side Batman or Robin is a hoot (in Free Play mode) to watch. Special attacks like Batarangs or Mr Freeze’s Ice Gun also look equally pleasing. The buildings and basic Lego Build-it’s also look fantastic and fun. Too bad you have to destroy most of them (but at least you will have a blast doing it).
Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on August 18th, 2008
Fable II will become a reality on October 21st, 2008. The game promises to be even better than the first Fable which won game of the year awards on several sites. Fable was actually the first non-360 game I bought upon purchase of my Xbox 360. It is still my favorite non-360 game for my Xbox 360 to this date due to the rich graphics, intriguing storyline and variety. So when Fable II broke ground by announcing a set of three parlor gambling games were coming to Xbox Live Arcade, I jumped at the chance. My pre-order with Amazon was an automatic and my free code was soon sent to me. I was ready to start collecting items & turning some gold into much needed experience.
Graphics
Gambling games have never been strong on graphics. If you can see the cards, dice & the game board, then you probably don’t need much else. The three games have a very similar look and go together well. The cards in Fortune’s Tower are easily distinguished and the Spinnerbox spinners or tiles have a very fantasy rich feel to them while keeping quality graphics. In Keystone, the dice are easily distinguishable and the board looks good on the outside bets. However, the inside bets are sometimes hard to tell what exactly you are betting on and how much. Once you go through a few Keystone games, it does get easier. The graphics are crisp & clear overall and do a lot of good to keep that Fable feel.
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.
