Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on November 6th, 2011
Despite some of the highest television ratings in recent history for the sport of basketball, the NBA announced a lockout on July 1st of this year. Even more disturbing was that just a few weeks ago on October 10th, they announced that the first two weeks of the season would be cancelled. For the time being, we are devoid of great shooting from Dirk Nowitzki or the spirited play of Derrick Rose. Heck, we can not even boo LeBron James. But 2k and Visual Concepts could have the cure, NBA 2k12 for the Xbox 360.
NBA video games have been increasingly realistic when it comes to recreating players with their signature jerseys, hairstyle and shooting motions. This year with the NBA’s Greatest mode, we can see legends move in familiar ways like Hakeem Olajuwon’s dream shake or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s skyscraper tall sky hook. This is recreated beautifully. The retro look of the game in this mode is also a neat thing to see with faithfully created arenas and slightly washed-out color to emulate an older broadcast.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on April 14th, 2011
Baseball has always been a passion for me. I played the game as a first baseman until my sophomore year in high school and have watched the sport as long as I was able to see it. I still have fond memories of my dad taking me to tons of games where the Charlotte O’s would play (an AA farm team for the Orioles). My favorite team? The Phillies (since the early 80’s). So naturally, I was pretty excited to see Roy Halladay grace the cover of MLB 2k11 for the Xbox 360. Here is hoping to another great year.
(*Please note, the following review will have a heavy dose of Philly fanboyism. If you object to this sort of thing, feel free to go watch reruns of Gilligan’s Island or NYPD Blue. I’m not sure why a pansy who roots for the Braves or Yankees would want to read this review anyhow*)
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: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on May 12th, 2010
Back in the day, I had a passion for side-scrolling beat em ups. Whether I was fighting with my bare knuckles, super powers or sword and sorcery, I liked them all. There were so many good ones: Double Dragon, X-Men Arcade, Knights of the Round and more. Apparently Capcom wants me to channel my gaming self from the early nineties and bring me two awesome games of the genre: Final Fight and Magic Sword, better known as Final Fight: Double Impact.
True to the Xbox Live Arcade format, there are actually a lot of options here for the graphics. You can choose to have the game in classic mode harking back to when these games were in the arcade. Capcom goes one step farther with this and includes the look and feel of an actual arcade curved CRT monitor. This is retro style at its absolute best. More arcade titles should employ this method of preserving old school graphics.
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 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 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 June 12th, 2008
World Heroes. When I was a teenager, one of my favorite games was World Heroes 2 for the Super Nintendo. I remember it distinctly because it was one of the last games I bought brand new for the SNES. I played the game for hours, then days and even into many assorted weeks trying to exploit all the characters from my favorites like Rasputin, Muscle Power, & Kim Dragon to even lesser characters like Johnny Maximum or Erick the Viking. With the exception of Mudman, (I never played Mudman and I'm still annoyed when fighting him to this very day) I beat the game with each and every character. This is one of my prouder achievements when it comes to fighting games, and with the exception of the Tekken series or compilations, the last fighting game I've really played for such a long stretch. One would then imagine my joy when I heard about World Heroes Anthology when it came out for the Playstation 2. I had also played the first World Heroes in my time, but the idea that I would get my favorite World Heroes 2, coupled with the original and 2 games I've never even played before; my mind suddenly became agaze with the possibilities.
Graphics
True to form, the four games that make up the Anthology are not enhanced or brought up to Playstation 2 standards (whatever that might be). Remember the titles as they appeared on the Neo-Geo or their MVS Standups? That is how they look here. Straight to form with all of the cheesiness of their characters. From Muscle Power's No #1 Pose to the lush jungle backgrounds of the Mudman, it's all here. It holds up fairly well in today's hi-def environment and is certainly far from boring with vibrant color and fairly good detail throughout. Naturally, World Heroes Perfect looks the best of the group but no title suffers too much from the graphical outlying of the day they were created in.
