Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on March 5th, 2010
Data East was a great video game company that lasted from 1976 to 2003 when it declared bankruptcy. It had an arcade & pinball heyday for most of the eighties with many fantastic titles. Luckily, most of the assets were bought up by a single company called G-Mode when Data East was forced to sell them off. Recently, Majesco worked with G-Mode and re-released fifteen of them in a very nice retro collection for the Nintendo Wii. With fingers crossed, we hope that this collection has aged well.
It's really hard to sit here and rate graphics on games that range from 15 to nearly 30 years ago. One has to rate it in the context of the era. Most of the games are emulated perfectly. Heavy Barrel looks amazing (the NES really got an inferior version) as does Crude Buster or Caveman Ninja. However, I think we can safely say that Lock n Chase or Burnin Rubber are still pretty ugly. The colors are sharp and they don't need an HD presentation to stand up on their own two legs. The only complaint would be that the menus were really rather dull.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on December 12th, 2008
The World of Warcraft is home to over eleven million people. Think about that figure for a moment. That's the size of an Ohio or Michigan or even more astounding parallel to the number of people inside Tokyo, Japan. A bunch of people playing gnomes, trolls, orcs, night elves and more. For four years, players have battled through the original World of Warcraft and the adjoining expansion pack: The Burning Crusade which allowed characters to play in Outland and bring their character to 70 levels of pain, sacrifice and dedication. Now they have a new task. The Scourge has come to take over Azeroth and bring an end to all life. They are lead by the Lich King Arthas and nothing will stop them until their mission is completed. This opens up players to a whole new area called Northrend as well as bringing us a new class: the Death Knight. But is it enough to stop the forwarding advance of the Scourge Army and Arthas' quest for blood?
(Please note, this article could not have been done without the cooperation of my girlfriend, Sarah. Her characters including her druid and her death knight were the instruments by which this review was created. I merely became a medium for the crafting of this article. I hope you the reader enjoys this interview and review of Lich King. Thank you.)
Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on March 7th, 2008
Movie games are interesting, let's put it that way. A game usually comes out for a movie if it is adventure oriented and at least some kid will be interested in it. However, it's rarely ground breaking since it is usually left until the last minute and a rush project to meet demand. Once in a while, you get something that is a little different or at least interesting but more often than not it's standard questing fare with dull objectives and a way to rehash most of the movie. Spiderwick Chronicles for the PC is unfortunately just that. There are a few spots where it performs above the norm but mostly it is your standard movie game aimed to draw in the kids. But at least this keeps them occupied for a few days.
Graphics
The game recommends 256 megs of video ram. My card has 512. I should be fine and good to go. My processor speed fits right in the middle between minimum & recommended at a 2G. My main memory also sits in the middle at 768 megs. So perhaps this game won't move at the speed of light but it should get a fairly decent frame rate. Inside scenes are delightful, you can run from room to room with little or no slowdown. Once outside, the frame rate drops rather harshly and suffers from poor lit conditions even when you turn the brightness way up. The colors are good and I liked the character depth, it just plays a little bit slow when you are doing anything out in the fantasy world.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on March 4th, 2008
Harry Potter is awesome. I have thoroughly enjoyed every movie and own all of the 2-disc special editions. I even have taken the time to play a couple of Harry Potter games on the Playstation 2 and found them to be decent offerings despite the usual rushed movie game flaws. So, needless to say I was slightly interested when I received a dvd remote game with Harry Potter on the cover and wondered if a dvd remote game could finally be any good. After spending a few hours with the product, you as the reader have two decisions. 1)You can read this review that will be full of one-liners and reasons why whoever came up with the concept of dvd remote games should be shot or 2)You can trust me when I say this, don't waste your time on this, please.
Graphics
What do you think of first when you think of Harry Potter, lavish and picturesque landscapes or blurry and pixilated messes of space? If you thought the first one boys and girls, then obviously you have not played this game. The game mixes footage from the Potter movies in with other scraps of animation and video offerings. This would be fine except the aspect ratio is all screwed up and it looks incredibly rough. Like someone took several pieces of Potter footage, deposited it into a blender and turned it to fricassee and hoped it would come out alright. The animation that was created to help along your objectives in the game doesn't do any favors either. At times, you can't tell if you are supposed to go up, down, counter clockwise or fall flat on your face. To be honest, if they had gone straight animation and not try to rely on film clips, it might have worked out better.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on February 20th, 2005
The shooter games of yesteryear, no I'm not talking about Doom or Blake Stone (never wanted to see a Blake Stone reference again did you?). The games I'm talking about are ones like Gradius, Galaga, or more specifically the 194X series. But wait, those games don't exist anymore. Or one would think. Castle Shikigami 2, also known as the sequel to Mobile Light Force 2(remember that game you passed over for at the bargain bin with three chicks on the cover?, that one, but its a decent game too, trust me), is a great...little shooter. It expands over its ancient roots and provides a satisfying link to your childlike experience with video games and expands fairly well into the next gen console.
Graphics
Posted in: Game Reviews by Archive Authors on July 10th, 2003
Written by Jason Franz
I can't remember the last time I've installed a game on my PC that had so many entertaining qualities matched with such brilliant gameplay. All too often PC developers focus on the eye candy and give gameplay little thought. WithGTA: Vice City, Rockstar not only avoided that problem, but they take us back to the glory days of fun PC gaming.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Archive Authors on June 30th, 2003
There are not too many fast motorcycle racers out for the Xbox console, but one title that may need your craving for a fast cycle racer through crowded streets is Speed Kings from Acclaim.
Players have the option of choosing over 20 different bikes and then racing them through some interactive street levels complete with traffic, obstacles, and radical jumps. Feel the need for some speed? Strap in and take Speed Kings for a spin then.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Archive Authors on June 15th, 2003
Take me out to the ballgame! Buy me peanuts, and popcorn, and…ah, maybe not. But, you should probably check out Inside Pitch 2003 out now for the Xbox console.
Players can do a bevy of gameplay options with Inside Pitch 2003 such as Season, Single Game, Network Play, and Championship Challenges. On top of all that, players with the LIVE service hooked up to their consoles can enjoy some downloadable content from the MS servers and invite a friend for some action out on the diamo...d.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Archive Authors on June 12th, 2003
Sometimes when a game is delayed and put out a little later than planned, the anticipation surrounding the title can help it with the fan base that had been waiting for it. However, that anticipation can cut both ways with folks who had been waiting for a game to release and end up just losing interest altogether.
In the case of Brute Force, the game was featured prominently at the Xbox Press Event during the 2002 Electronic Entertainment Expo. Indeed, it seemed the title was only a few short months ...way during the press activities at the show. Now, nearly a year after it was showcased during the Press Event, Microsoft has unleashed Brute Force onto the Xbox console--a game some have wondered may be the next HALO, and will have many thinking it most definitely is not.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Archive Authors on June 10th, 2003
Last fall when Grand Theft Auto: Vice City came out for the PS2, gamers got to witness a myriad of gameplay options. Not only could you shoot, beat up, hold up, and run down people virtually everywhere, but another big draw to the game was the fact that you could jack any car, anywhere, and haul ass around town in it.
Now Rockstar Games has recreated the racing parts of the Grand Theft Auto series and added some great extras in Midnight Club II--the sequel to Midnight Club--out ...ow for the Xbox console. Players get the chance to trade paint and speed dangerously through the city streets of Paris, Los Angeles, and Tokyo.
