Xbox 360

Video Game Review: ‘NBA 2K12’ Brings Sport Home During Lockout

CHICAGO – “NBA 2K12” is tough. And I mean that in the most complimentary way. I’m old enough to remember basketball games that were all about the timing of a button press but 2K Sports has revolutionized the way we simulate the game in the comfort of our own homes. The detailed controls along with the best audio/video presentation yet produced for this award-winning series make this a strong contender for the best sports game of the year.

Video Game Review: ‘NHL 12’ Continues Stellar Sports Franchise

CHICAGO – For years, there were competitions for the allegiance of certain sports fanatics. There were dozens of baseball games and there’s still a heated debate between the 2K fans and those loyal to “MLB The Show.” But when it comes to hockey, there’s no contest. No one else even grabs a puck. The world of simulated ice hockey belongs to EA and their latest conquest, “NHL 12,” proves why.

Video Game Review: Lackluster ‘X-Men: Destiny’ Has No Super Powers

CHICAGO – Imagine this — an X-Men game in which you don’t play a known member of the legendary team. Want to rage with Wolverine’s claws, shoot beams with Cyclops’ eyes, or rain chaos with Storm? Well, you’ll have to go back to the last “Marvel Ultimate Alliance” game to do so because they’re not playable here.

Video Game Review: ‘Driver: San Francisco’ Offers New Twist on Racing Games

Driver: San Francisco

CHICAGO – How do you make an open-world racing game? “Burnout Paradise” made a reasonable effort by presenting a city in which stop lights led to races, but the developers of “Driver: San Francisco” take it a step further with one of the most unique driving game dynamics in the history of the subgenre. The result is an original twist on an old favorite that gives it a little bit of juice even if it can’t quite win the race.

Video Game Review: Apocalyptic ‘Rage’ Goes For Straight Adrenalin

CHICAGO – I’d love to be in a meeting when video game companies are trying to come up with the titles for their latest shooters. What’s something that strikes a chord in the guts of men who want to spend their free time shooting mutants or upgrading their rocket-powered vehicles? “Adrenalin”? “Power”? “Aaaarrrgggghhhh!”?

Video Game Review: Poor Execution Leaves ‘Bodycount’ in the Dust

Bodycount

CHICAGO – The shooter genre has become not just immensely popular but critically adored as well, making it even more difficult for sub-par fare to pass as viable entertainment. I remember the years following the breakthrough of “Doom II” as a cavalcade of mediocrity disguised as competition. For every great shooter title, there are a handful of near-misses or even complete failures.

Video Game Review: Smash ‘Madden NFL 12’ Returns For New Season

CHICAGO – Maybe you’re still shaking off the hangover of an amazing first week of NFL football that saw the Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots, and Baltimore Ravens successfully start their run at another post-season, but you should know about a video game that a vast majority of pigskin fans have probably already plunked more time into than Jay Cutler does his practice.

Video Game Review: Gory, Gruesome ‘Dead Island’ is Nearly Great

CHICAGO – Video games have an amazing way of suppressing critical thought. Like a great action sequence can allow the movie goer to ignore stupid dialogue and cliched characters, if a game can provide adrenalin-pumping, visceral thrills then complaints become easier to forget. Such is the case with “Dead Island,” a clever zombie game with some serious flaws that really don’t matter in light of how damn enjoyable the game can be.

Video Game Review: Incredible Gaming Experience of ‘Deus Ex: Human Revolution’

CHICAGO – Rarely has an action game given me the same sense of accomplishment as “Deus Ex: Human Revolution.” While we’ve come a long way in the genre over the last few years, most shooters are still based on predetermined patterns. Enemies pop up in the same place. The same doors must be opened. Precise paths must be taken.

Video Game Review: ‘Fruit Ninja Kinect’ Brings Mobile Hit to Xbox

Fruit Ninja Kinect

CHICAGO – Millions of people have spent countless hours slicing watermelons, bananas, coconuts, and more via the incredibly-addictive “Fruit Ninja,” one of the most successful mobile phone apps in the history of the handheld device. Halfbrick and Microsoft have now worked together to replicate that beloved experience on your television with “Fruit Ninja Kinect,” a successful adaptation that may seem a bit like overkill for casual fans but plays well to hardcore ones.

Syndicate content

User Login

Free Giveaway Mailing

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.

Advertisement



HollywoodChicago.com on Twitter

archive

HollywoodChicago.com Top Ten Discussions
tracker