Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on October 29th, 2017
When I was growing up in Charlotte, NC I grew up within spitting distance of an amusement park called Carowinds. To this day, I remember being dropped off by my parents at 11 or 12 years of age for a fun day at the park (which is pretty much unheard of these days). I always thought it was neat because there was a place in the park where I could be in North Carolina and South Carolina at the same time. It never bothered me that I was by myself. These days, I'd probably be scooped up by park security or some creepy guy in a white van. Which leads to our game review today, The Park. Somehow, I don't think this experience is going to be quite as fun (and probably will include a van and a creepy guy too).
Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on October 28th, 2017
During the 31 Nights of Terror, we here at Upcomingdiscs.com always like to do something a little different. Lots of other sites could sit here and write an essay on why Silent Hill is the greatest horror movie of all time...wait what? I was supposed to say Psycho or The Exorcist? Hrmmm, that's funny, I could have sworn I wrote it right for my notes. There has to be a reason, or it could be a fancy way of saying this 31 Nights of Terror, your favorite author's posts (That's me) will be focused on scary games rather than scary movies. The first such game is Oxenfree, we'll call it a ghost tale. And by the way, the original Silent Hill movie was quite awesome, seriously.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on February 29th, 2012
The quickest way I know for me to like a game is to give it a strong story. Games like Bioshock, Mafia and Skyrim succeed based on the fact that they provide entertaining and engaging stories. The player wants to unravel the mystery, take down that crime family, and slay that dragon because the story compels them to do so. This time around, we look at the game of the Darkness II, which takes a look at the story of Jackie Estacado and his ever going battle with the demon simply known as the Darkness.
For a game that participates so much in a dark setting, one might think that things such as detail might be tucked away and hardly ever seen. That could not be further from the truth. This game blends light and dark elements almost seamlessly. It is fairly easy for example to tell the difference between a dimly lit street light and by the same token, a large spotlight that Jackie needs to avoid.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on June 29th, 2011
“Hail to the King, baby.” That phrase through the years has escaped my lips on plenty of occasions. Most of the time, it has also ended by me being pushed onto the floor with a blanket and pillow and/or the eruption of laughter. Since Duke Nukem 3d debuted in 1996, I have always found new and not so appropriate situations to spew his catchphrases. Fifteen years later, nothing has changed, I still speak the Duke and I am still waiting for Duke Nukem Forever. Well today I shall wait no more.
When development for Duke Nukem Forever largely came about, the Playstation 2 and Xbox combination were ruling the console airways. As a result, this game looks straight out of that era with dated graphics that at best could be labeled as an early Xbox 360 first person shooter. The video is fairly rudimentary and detail can be found to be severely lacking or blurry.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on November 14th, 2010
My relationship with Fable is a mostly satisfactory experience. When I first bought my Xbox 360, the first game I actually purchased on the backwards compatible list was Fable: The Lost Chapters. Delighted by the gameplay and fantastic story, I quickly pre-ordered a limited edition copy of Fable 2 which in turn became my favorite game ever on the Xbox 360. Now, with the third one released, I decided to follow the same itinerary by purchasing a LE copy. It’s time to lead a revolution.
The video for this game is widescreen and capable of 1080p resolution. If you have played Fable II, you will notice a lot of similarities in the video presentation. Colors are lush here and there is a whole lot going on whether you are in the woods or in the thick of the city. Scenery really will catch you by surprise and even though a quest might lead you one way, you could find yourself easily going off the beaten path.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on September 3rd, 2010
The sandbox style of games is a rather recent genre when compared to many of the old standbys. We could argue that the idea started as far back as Metroid or Legend of Zelda from the mid 1980’s. However, it was not popularized as a grand concept until the birth of Grand Theft Auto III. Since then, it seems that every time you turn around, you are presented with a new game in the open world. Enter Mafia II, a gritty game set in the 1940’s showing the ugly side of the mafia underworld. Can Vito and Joe set their sandbox apart?
The video for this game is widescreen and capable of 1080p resolution. Empire Bay is a dark place reminiscent of major cities in the time period. It is alive and full of people and there is much to see. Many of the buildings appear to be in bad shape and you can see details of the decomposition. You recognize life is brutal every which way you turn as the snow covers the landscape. The landscape is truly gorgeous and feels authentic.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on November 18th, 2009
Some of you may remember that the last two Grand Theft Auto games I reviewed were the Playstation 2 ports of Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories. Most people probably thought that when GTA IV came out, I would have ran to my local game shop and picked up a copy. Truth is, I didn’t. The desire was there but I never really got around to it. So then Rockstar announced they would put their two DLC episodes on disc. Strangely, I was compelled to go buy it. First, I fully support retail releases of stand-alone content that was previously only downloadable and second I had missed Liberty City. I mostly missed the violence and wanton destruction.
Grand Theft Auto has never had amazing graphics. It usually sticks around average. It’s the same in this game. Liberty City will never be confused with the prettiest city in the US, but many times I wondered if it did have to see that many shades of grey. Besides the color drabness, graphic detail was not one of the game’s strong suits. There are a few things one can do to make the video a little more tolerable which involve playing with Brightness/Contrast and turning off the Radio effect (especially if you have an HD tv).
Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on September 1st, 2009
People rarely look for depth when it comes to games released on Xbox Live Arcade. This method of gaming mostly sees games that are puzzlers, recreations of once forgotten gems and the occasional sports diversion. A better word for these type of games: time wasters. However, most players wanted something more than a dumping ground for the newest falling block game, they wanted an awesome game in a small package at a thrifty price. Little do they know then that the people at Chair Entertainment have responded to that call and provided us with a game called Shadow Complex.
This could be one of the very few kinks in the armor. Since Shadow Complex is modeled after games like Super Metroid or Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, it is also made to look like those games but with HD rendering and some fancy paint. The game on a whole looks very good. However, certain areas are so dark (even with a flashlight), that sometimes you have no idea what is going on.
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 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.
![Shadow Complex [Online Game Code] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/shadow-complex-online-game-code-large.jpg)
