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Video Game Review: ‘Brave: The Video Game’ Works Only For Most Loyal Fans of Pixar Hit

Brave: The Video Game

CHICAGO – The genre of video games based on feature films is a notoriously weak one in terms of creativity. There’s often the sense that these are mere marketing tie-ins with no passion or spark behind their development. Like their theatrical counterparts, Pixar video games are often an exception. “Up” had some inspired energy (especially on the Nintendo Wii) and “Toy Story 3” is arguably the best video game based on a kid’s movie. So there’s reason to hope when you open your copy of “Brave: The Video Game,” now available for the PS3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, and PC. Sadly, that hope dissipates due to uninspired gameplay, mediocre visuals, and thin storytelling. It’s not a total mess but the film’s fans deserved better.

Video Game Review: ‘Max Payne 3’ is Gaming as Cinematic Immersion

CHICAGO – So what’s Max Payne been up to since we last saw him all those years ago? No, not since the horrendous 2008 movie. The movie just doesn’t exist folks. Take a deep breath. It’s been nine years since the last gaming incarnation of Payne. The long wait to the release of “Max Payne 3” has seen some things change and some stay the same.

Video Game Review: ‘Armored Core V’ Comes Streamlined But Still Tough

Armored Core V

CHICAGO – For those unfamiliar with the “Armored Core” series, the story of the franchise comprises the usual Mech game elements — evil corporation, slightly misguided rebels, and apocalyptic landscapes. There’s even a genre-defining female voice guiding you through your mission. In other words, the story is there if you want to pay attention but it isn’t what has kept fans interested in the series for so long.

Video Game Review: ‘I Am Alive’ Finds Atmosphere in Genre Often Dominated by Action

CHICAGO – What would you do if you were one of the few survivors on Earth? You’re trying to get home. You’re low on supplies. Potential enemies who want to take the little that you have are probably around the next corner.

Video Game Review: Landmark Pair Included in ‘Silent Hill HD Collection’

CHICAGO – The trend of packaging already-available games in HD collections has finally reached the most terrifying location in the history of gaming — Silent Hill. Interestingly, Konami chose to just take the peaks of the franchise, the brilliant “Silent Hill 2” and “Silent Hill 3,” the two games that really made this mega-franchise what it is today.

Video Game Review: ‘Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13’ Offers More of the Stellar Same

CHICAGO – I adored “Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters,” the best golf game for the PS3 generation yet produced. Where does a franchise go from there? How could “Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13” differ much from its award-winning predecessor?

Video Game Review: Non-Stop Action Can’t Hide Flaws of ‘Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City’

CHICAGO – I adore the “Resident Evil” franchise to such extremes that I kept trying to find ways to overlook the notable flaws of the action spin-off “Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City” but they add up to the point that they can no longer be ignored.

Video Game Review: ‘Street Fighter x Tekken’ Enters Crowded Arena of Stellar Fighting Games

CHICAGO – It’s an amazing time to be a fight game fan. For years, it seemed like the genre was on life support, waiting for someone to unleash the fatality that put it out of its misery. There seemed to be a distinct lack of creativity in the arcade-based form that once gave us titles like “Mortal Kombat” and “Street Fighter,” games so popular that they even spawned movies.

Video Game Review: Spectacular ‘Mass Effect 3’ Provides Emotional End to Amazing Trilogy

CHICAGO – The highly-anticipated “Mass Effect 3” has been devastating and dividing fans for about a month now while we played through our copy of the title and tried to figure out how to fully capture it in a review. It’s difficult to address a title this complex, this emotional, this epic, and this popular.

Video Game Review: Congested, Glitchy ‘Blades of Time’ Not Worth Playing

Blades of Time

CHICAGO – Gaijin Entertainment is a gaming company known for their car racing games and flight simulators. With releases like “Adrenaline,” “Anarchy: Rush Hour,” “Apache: Air Assault,” and “Death Track: Resurrection,” it was interesting when they brought out “X-Blades” (a hack and slash adventure game) back in 2009. Now, three years later, Gaijin is back with a spiritual sequel to “X-Blades” called “Blades of Time;” a confused and convoluted adventure that will make you wish Gaijin had stuck to cars and planes.

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TV, DVD, BLU-RAY & THEATER REVIEWS

  • Manhunt

    CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on March 21st, 2024, reviewing the new streaming series “Manhunt” – based on the bestseller by James L. Swanson – currently streaming on Apple TV+.

  • Topdog/Underdog, Invictus Theatre

    CHICAGO – When two brothers confront the sins of each other and it expands into a psychology of an entire race, it’s at a stage play found in Chicago’s Invictus Theatre Company production of “Topdog/Underdog,” now at their new home at the Windy City Playhouse through March 31st, 2024. Click TD/UD for tickets/info.

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