Namco Bandai

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: ‘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: ‘Tales of Graces f’ Excites with Fights, Stumbles with Story

Tales of Grace f

CHICAGO – Finally coming state-side after over a year in Japan on the Nintendo Wii, Namco Bandai and Namco Tales Studio brings us “Tales of Graces f.” The game actually fits as the twelfth release in the ‘Tales’ series out of thirteen, fitting in-between “Tales of Hearts” and “Tales of Xillia,” but is the first release in North America since the ninth game, “Tales of Vesperia,” which was released in 2008.

Video Game Review: Stellar Fighting Mechanics Elevate ‘SoulCalibur V’

CHICAGO – Imagine after a long night of playing one of the many recent “Assassin’s Creed” games that you fall asleep and dream of a world in which Ezio Auditore da Firenze jumps into various game types, including one in which he gets to fight and unleash a series of wicked combo moves on scantily clad and sword-bearing enemies. Welcome to your dreams.

Video Game Review: ‘Ace Combat: Assault Horizon’ Gets Shot Down

CHICAGO – I like to think of myself as a bit of a maverick. I always thought how awesome it would be to be Tom Cruise in “Top Gun,” killing bogeys, winning the girl’s heart, and showing Val Kilmer what’s what. I guess you could say I was excited to strap on the seat belt and give “Ace Combat: Assault Horizon” a try.

Video Game Review: ‘Dark Souls’ Promises Death, Doesn’t Disappoint

CHICAGO – Namco Bandai Games and From Software Inc. have teamed to bring you an adventure that warns right in the tagline “You Will Die,” and, trust us, you will. “Dark Souls,” the spiritual successor to “Demon’s Souls,” is a game that can easily be described as one of the most difficult adventures in the gaming world, but also a very rewarding one. It is not a game for the impatient or the easily bored. You must fight to get anywhere, and even then you will die several times.

Video Game Review: Incredibly Addictive ‘Pac-Man Championship Edition DX’

Pac-Man Championship Edition

CHICAGO – There are very few companies as talented at taking retro properties and making them new again as Namco Bandai and they’ve worked wonders again with the excellent “Pac-Man Championship Edition DX,” a totally-addictive variation on the arcade classic that merely proves once more that sometimes downloadable titles can be even more satisfying than some of the most-publicized disc-based games of the season.

Video Game Review: ‘Splatterhouse’ Goes For Bloody Overkill

CHICAGO – Just as home gaming was gaining popularity in the late ’80s and early ’90s, Namco released an ultra-violent variation on the hit platforming games of the day called “Splatterhouse” (and followed it with two sequels). In the world of video games, nothing ever really dies, it just goes away until it gets remade.

Video Game Review: ‘Time Crisis: Razing Storm’ Brings Arcade Experience Home

Time Crisis

CHICAGO – With the verdict still out on the market relevance and popularity of the Sony Playstation Move, one wonders how we should approach the “phase one” titles that try to take advantage of this new technology. Should we be a little soft and consider the growing pains involved in anything new? Or be extra hard as these are the titles meant to justify the purchase price of the new tech? “Time Crisis: Razing Storm” only works if you take the former approach.

Video Game Review: Lush Journey of ‘Enslaved: Odyssey to the West’

CHICAGO – One of the most surprisingly-accomplished and well-executed titles of the season has to be “Enslaved: Odyssey of the West,” a gorgeously-rendered blend of combat, puzzle solving, and climbing that gets a bit repetitive but stays entertaining due to its incredibly high production values and beautiful graphics.

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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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