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 November 2nd, 2012
When a company decides to adapt a made for pc game into something a console can play, it can either become a nightmare or something very rewarding. It simply is not a game of system requirements but rather adapting a keyboard layout and game play into something that allows for more bite sized morsels. But at the same time, one cannot produce a dumbed-down game and must pay homage to the classic. After years, I think we might have one of the very few games that has underwent this transformation and done it fantastically. Enter XCOM: Enemy Unknown.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on October 23rd, 2011
When these 31 Nights of Terror started, I was pretty much set on spending time with both Condemned: Criminal Origins and the sequel Condemned 2: Bloodshot. As I got farther into researching the first adventure, I realized I rather keep on writing with the same material. There was certainly more story to tell and furthermore I liked what I was writing. Hopefully, you as the audience enjoyed it too. So here we go with the second part. Ethan's story has only begun.
Posted in: Random Fun by Michael Durr on October 17th, 2011
Perhaps it is a cliché for a lot of review writers on here to aspire to be “published writers”. To go beyond the webpages that we put out two and three times a week (and in case of some hard working site owners and webmasters, two to three times daily) and produce a physical, published book. For many of us, it is a dream that we wish we could make a reality. Personally, I have had that dream for over twenty years and after hardships, setbacks and general depression, I find myself in a place where I finally feel I can write. Hopefully in these pages, we can consider this another step towards that fulfillment.
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.
Posted in: 1 player, 2k Games, First Person Shooter, News and Opinions, Random Fun, Xbox 360 by Michael Durr on October 15th, 2010
Most people have figured out by reading my reviews, columns and other assorted passages of bloggery that I'm wired a little bit different. Most people wouldn't have the guts (or foolishness) to write a gaming column for four years on a site that is dominated by movie reviews. Contrary to many other review writers, I am interested in the story rather than the technical specs. It's no wonder that last year's 31 days of Horror, I wrote a rather long review on The Thing without even touching any information about the dvd or blu-ray release.
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?
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.
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.
![Shadow Complex [Online Game Code] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/shadow-complex-online-game-code-large.jpg)
