HollywoodChicago.com Video Games

Video Game Review: Inventive, Clever ‘The Saboteur’ Gives Vengeance Good Name

CHICAGO – Gamers have fought so many battles of World War II from so many different viewpoints that I have to admit that I approached the late-year release of EA and Pandemic’s “The Saboteur” with more than a little bit of trepidation.

Video Game Review: Full Albums Available For ‘The Beatles: Rock Band’

Beatles Rock Band - Rubber Soul

CHICAGO – What better way to begin the decade than with full albums from The Beatles now available for the best music-based title of the year? Fans of the great “The Beatles: Rock Band” can now download “Abbey Road,” “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” and “Rubber Soul,” and make this amazing game even more fulfilling.

Video Game Review: Kids Will Dance to ‘Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel’

Alvin and the Chipmunks Wii Game

CHICAGO – Reviewing games based on kids movies that are as clearly aimed at children as are the DS and Nintendo Wii tie-ins for “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel” can be a tough assignment. What approach is appropriate? I generally think that I can only be honest about my personal experience with a game, but what if that game isn’t designed with my demographic in mind? Personally, I struggled with getting enjoyment out of either console version but I think some of my eight and nine-year-old relatives would love both.

Video Game Review: Truly Awful ‘Rogue Warrior’ Fails on Every Level

Rogue Warrior

CHICAGO – We’ve become spoiled by the next generation of gaming. Most high-profile games have gone through enough research and development during their production and are made by such experienced developers that they rarely come out of the industry machine with little to no redeeming value at all. Sure, there are disappointments, but you don’t see as many complete bombs in the gaming world as you do in film, music, or TV. The exception to the rule is the truly awful “Rogue Warrior”.

Video Game Review: Addictive, Gorgeous ‘Assassin’s Creed 2’ is a Must-Play

Assassin's Creed 2

CHICAGO – The team behind the highly anticipated “Assassin’s Creed 2” have delivered one of the most remarkably realized and complete video game worlds of the year, a journey back in time to when a man’s word meant as much as the edge of his sword. With very few hiccups, “Assassin’s Creed 2” gives fans exactly what the expect, improving significantly on the original without deviating from what worked about the first hit game.

Video Game Review: ‘Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles’ Delivers Action You Need

The Darkside Chronicles

CHICAGO – Fans of the “Resident Evil” franchise and rail shooters in general (two parties of which I would definitely claim membership) should not let the excellent “The Darkside Chronicles” pass them by and I believe even newcomers to either zombie games or Wii shooting titles will find something to like in this expertly conceived title with only one significant flaw.

Video Game Review: Epic ‘Dragon Age: Origins’ Sure to Satisfy RPG Fans

Dragon Age: Origins

CHICAGO – When I told a friend I was getting sucked into the world of the epic-length “Dragon Age: Origins” and worried about the time commitment and how much it would take away from the rest of my life, he used a phrase that I had never heard before: “the RPG hole”. Like a black hole, role-playing games have a way of sucking players in, and when the experience is as immersive, well-designed, and entertaining as “Origins,” it’s easy to see why.

Video Game Review: ‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’ Delivers on High Expectations

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

CHICAGO – One of the more anticipated games in years is finally here and, by now, most diehard fans of “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare” have played through “Modern Warfare 2” on multiple difficulty levels and spent countless hours working through the variety of multiplayer modes and special ops missions. Hardcore fans of this franchise don’t just “play” these games. They eat, breathe, and live “Modern Warfare” for months after the game’s release and with a title this good, who can blame them?

Wii Round Up, Nov. 24, 2009: ‘We Cheer 2,’ ‘Family Feud,’ ‘Where’s Waldo’

We Cheer 2

CHICAGO – Several Nintendo Wii games have been released in the last few weeks that might be just what you’re looking for when you do your holiday shopping this season. With so many huge releases like “Uncharted 2,” “Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time,” “Left For Dead 2,” and more taking up advertising space, it’s easy for smaller games to slip through the cracks.

Video Game Review: ‘Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time’

Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time

CHICAGO – There have been several highly-touted, well-marketed video game releases this season including “Uncharted 2,” “Assassin’s Creed II,” “Left For Dead 2,” and “COD: Modern Warfare 2,” but one of my most personally anticipated titles of the year has gone somewhat unnoticed. The lack of press made me wonder if perhaps I would be let down by “Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time”. Wonder no more - this is easily one of the best games of the year and a worthy entry (and reported finale) in this beloved franchise.

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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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