Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on December 16th, 2012
Another year for the franchise NBA video game of the console, portable and pc world has come. NBA 2k13 is automatically the best NBA game you will play this season before you even flip on the game menu because no other outfit can get their act together long enough to produce a viable game. With that aside, I suppose NBA 2k13 could have rested on their laurels but instead we get a game that is introducing a lot of new concepts. Let us go forth and play this hardwood smash of putting the ball into the ole peach basket.
Ultra realism is the mark of the hour for NBA 2k13 graphics and they are arguably the best the game has ever been in that department. Player's faces look reconditioned, custom animations have improved dramatically and uniforms are tailored to the slightest detail (with updates). It looks and feels like a television broadcast worthy basketball game. There are so many players to get right (including members of classic teams) but I think we can safely say that all of them are covered correctly here.
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 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 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.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on October 3rd, 2007
Halo 3, the hype machine; have you drank the kool-aid, errr the Game Fuel yet? In the midst of a media storm and $170 million opening week sales, Halo 3 was released to the public in three different versions. For most people, the regular edition was enough to satisfy. Some like myself opted for the limited edition, which includes a tin and a bonus disc. Others decided they wanted a Master Chief helmet and opted for the legendary. No matter which edition you decided on, you were more interested in the amazing gameplay & multiplayer from the previous incantations. By the time it takes to come down from the caffeine buzz generated by the mixture of code red & live wire (& cough syrup I believe), though, you realize that Halo 3 — while awesome on many fronts — isn't quite the mega-wonder we all had hoped for.
Graphics
Games that present the action in full 1080p are starting to come into focus. Halo 3 is one of those dandy operations that supports this function and provides perhaps the best looking console video game to date. The colors are vivid (especially if you like the color green) and the environments are beautiful. Who would have known that Brutes could look this good? If the scenery goes underground and into the darkness, this is one of the rare games that I did not have a lick of trouble figuring out which way to turn. Even in the most dense jungle, very little distinction is needed to get to the next objective. Gunfire is easy to detect and as long as your shields hold up, you'll be able to see where it is coming from and return it in no time. Halo 3 will sell more 360 systems based on store displays alone (just look at those gorgeous loading screens) than any other game to this point.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on January 28th, 2007
Opening
The Rainbow Six series of console and pc games has always been about realistic tactical warfare. These games are not for the faint of the heart as with any Tom Clancy shooter. In their latest offering: Rainbow Six Vegas; they take that realism and then put it in the anything but real land of glitz, glamor, and high rolling. Las Vegas, Nevada. A town where nobody sleeps and that's unfortunate because you are going to need all the skills and firepower you can muster at all hours ...f the night. The Ubisoft Montreal team have done a great job of providing new and old features for first person shooter fans to enjoy.
Posted in: Game Reviews by David Annandale on July 13th, 2005
Gameplay
The maps range from the enormous to the intimate. The biggest are Containment and Terminal. Containment is a vast, snowy valley with fortresses at either end and tunnels running the lengths of the mountain walls. This is a map that makes one wish the multiplayer limit was greater than 16, as even the biggest parties can all but disappear in here. Its size does make it the map most amenable to vehicle combat outside of Coagulation. Terminal, on the other hand, is an urban environment reminisc...nt of Zanzibar and Headlong, only on steroids. Asymmetrical, and set up very deliberately with the idea of one team attacking (armed with Warthog and Ghost) and one defending (with Wraith), this map also features the most exciting dynamic addition of the set: a lightning fast and utterly lethal train that hurtles along the tracks every few seconds. The train is an important factor, given that the energyh sword is located over the tracks, and the hill in Crazy King often places itself in the path of the train.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Archive Authors on March 13th, 2005
Day 1 Studio’s produced one of the most anticipated games associated with the early days of the X-Box; MechAssault. This original game captured gamers with in depth gameplay, excellent visuals and great sound. What’s not to like about jumping in a 40 ton carnage dealing machine and blowing up everything in sight? The only drawback to the first one was a lack of multiple modes of online play. Day 1 has returned with the sequel to the highly successful MechAssault with MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf and ...ives the fans everything that they asked for. Let the online devastation begin!
Gameplay
Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on October 12th, 2004
ESPN NBA 2k5 is the basketball game for the cool and low priced Sega Sports at a meager $19.99 price point. My copy was purchased for $14.95 in fact at the local Best Buy. By competing with people's wallets, they have established solid competition with NBA Live 2005 by EA before they even open the box. As shown by well placed titles such as NFL 2k5 & NHL 2k5, one would think Sega Sports would have a fine showing with their basketball title. They have folks, it is a great sports game and debatably the best showing...this season, but it comes with a couple of tiny faults which need to be explored.
Graphics
Posted in: Game Reviews by Archive Authors on February 12th, 2004
Written by Jason Franz
When I first heard of the Movie Karaoke idea I was surprised I hadn't heard of anyone coming up with it sooner. With the outstanding use of the Revoice software on the Shrek DVD set, I was ready to have a blast.
