Video Game Review

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.

CHICAGO – HollywoodChicago.com is pleased to announce we’ve inked a new syndication relationship with the video behemoth Metacafe to bring you compelling, original entertainment videos!

CHICAGO – “From Dust” is such a unique, unusual experience that it’s tempting to recommend it based purely on its originality. It stands out from the crowd and, for that fact alone, deserves a look for those of you with credit to burn and in need of something refreshing. Ambition needs to be matched by execution though and there are frustrating elements of “From Dust” that can’t be ignored.

CHICAGO – Disney’s “Phineas and Ferb” is one of the most clever cartoons on the air right now, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t completely dreading the newest video game tie-in, “Phineas and Ferb: Across the Second Dimension,” now available for PS3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo Wii, and timed to tie-in with the hit movie that premiered this week on the Disney Channel.

CHICAGO – Having played through dozens of survival horror games and become pretty knowledgeable on the entire universes of “Resident Evil” and “Silent Hill,” it’s rare for this video game critic to honestly experience fear while playing a new title.

CHICAGO – HollywoodChicago.com founder and publisher Adam Fendelman joins the 80th episode of the CinemaJaw podcast to discuss the best video game movies (if there are any). Listen now below to find out which make the top five!

CHICAGO – Rarely have I played a game more frustrating than “Call of Juarez: The Cartel.” It’s far from the worst game of the year. It’s not even the worst game of the season. But it’s underdeveloped, disappointing, and sometimes plain broken when it could have been something truly great. This is a game that should have worked and there are elements that do but the overall title never quite comes together.

CHICAGO – I’m not sure there’s any sports title of the year that I look forward to as much as “NCAA Football” and the new edition, “NCAA Football 12” is like another solid season from your favorite team — it doesn’t make any significant-enough changes to drop the ball but doesn’t really air it out either. It just moves it on down the field and wins the game.

CHICAGO – After the resounding success of Sony and Sucker Punch’s 2009 “Infamous,” my expectations were sky high for the June 2011 follow-up. In fact, they were so high that the first couple hours of the game disappointed me. This is it? It feels too much like the first game. Give it time.

Video Game Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – As “Shadows of the Damned” began to kick into high gear, I was pumped up. I thought that after numerous disappointments this season like “Shadows of the Damned” and “Duke Nukem Forever” that we finally had our first real gem of the summer. So, it’s a bit frustrating to report that “Shadows” doesn’t quite fulfill on the potential of its amazing opening act, but I can safely say that it’s worth a look for the target audience.