Monday, October 30, 2006

iTunes TV Show Review ( Viva la Bam - Season 1 )

Cost: $14.99 ( For the season )
$1.99 ( Per episode )

Viva la Bam is now available on iTunes, and for good reason. It's one of the best newer shows on MTV. Here is my review for season 1.

Phil's Hell Day: 5/5 Bam demolishes a family van; Installs a firepole in his room; Sends his mom and dad on a trip so he can turn their house into a skatepark; Irons hamburgers on all of Phil's shirts.

Don't Feed Phil: 5/5 Bam sends out flyers all over town telling no one to feed Phil for 24 hours.

Family Reunion: 4.5/5 Bam makes a family reunion a special one by creating a moat at the front door with a drawbridge; building a castle on the front lawn; inviting Compton Ass Terry over the house.

Viva Las Vegas: 4/5 It's Phil and April's anniversery and they get remarried in Las Vegas; Raab gets a mailorder Russian bride; Don Vito gets his hair dyed.

Paint Phil Blue: 4.5/5 Bam's mom and dad go on a 3 day trip, so he paints the house blue; builds a tunnel into Don Vito's house; and soups up April's car.

Very Merry Margera Christmas: 5/5 Bam makes his house extremely bright with lights; makes a skating rink in his house; has a snow ball fight.

April's Revenge: 4.5/5 April strands Bam on an island with his friend thinking that he was doing it to her. She leaves them there for a little over 24 hours, and Bam calls his upon his friends to help him out.

Scavenger Hunt: 5/5 Bam, his friends, and the Bloodhound Gang have a scavenger hunt and see who can get the most "points" to win the game. To get points, they drive around in junk cars and do bizarre tasks.

Viva la Bam - Season 1 off of iTunes is perfect for you iPod. It's for sale at a reasonable price, and the show is just as great as ever. If you like the show Jackass or any show like it, Viva la Bam should suit you well.

5/5

iTunes TV Show Review ( Celebrity Deathmatch: Knockout Collection )

Cost: $23.88 ( For the 12 episodes )
$1.99 ( Per episode )

What makes Celebrity Deathmatch: Knockout Collection ( CDKC ) so great is that it is at least available on iTunes; no Celebrity Deathmatch seasons have been released up to this point and this is great to at least have it somewhere. What makes Celebrity Deathmatch great as a show is how it is just so damn unique. Celebrities made out of clay fight to the death in arena just to please the fans, with Johnny Gomez and Nick Diamond doing broadcasting. Also, Mills Lane is the referee, and Stacy Cornbread does the interviews. My review.

Comedians of Carnage: 5/5 Features some excellent fights. Beavis vs. Butthead, Tim Allen vs. Seinfeld, Ray Romano vs. Drew Carey, Dana Carvey vs. Mike Meyers; and more. What also makes this well worth $1.99 is the fact that it's 45 minutes long; right on!

The Ragin' Rockers: 4.5/5 Features some good fights. Mick Jagger vs. Steven Tyler, Tommy Lee vs. Ron Jeremy, 'N Sync vs. Backstreet Boys, Kiss vs. 'N Sync, Ozzy Osbourne vs. Rob Zombie; and more. And more-so than Comedians of Carnage, this episode is just over an hour long; which makes it even MORE well worth th $1.99. What a great deal.

Athletes of Aggression: 4/5 This episode has some very unique fights. Vince McMahon vs. Stone Cold, Sammy Sosa vs. Mark McGwire, Shaq vs. Kobe, Andre Agassi vs. Tiger Woods; and more. This episode is only 32 minutes long, but it is still worth buying.

The Family Feud: 4/5 There are some nice fights featured in this episode; it features several tag-team matches, too. Bruce Willis and Demi Moore vs. Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise, Mary-Kate Olsen vs. Ashley Olsen, Wayans brothers vs. Baldwin brothers; and SEVERAL more. This is a 54 minute episode. The only reason why I didn't rate this higher is because the fights simply aren't just overall as entertaining.

The Monster Massacre: 4/5 Features: The Lochness Monster vs. Big Foot, Nick Diamond vs. an Alien, Nick Diamond vs. a Satyr, Potato Kahn vs. Cousin Grimm, Steve Irwin vs. Medusa, Brendan Frasier vs. a Mummy, and more. This is a 55 minutes episode that has some good fights, but doesn't compare to the excellence of some of the other episodes.

( More reviews as I buy the episodes. )

CDKC is definitely worth a purchase for the price; and for the fact it is Celebrity Deathmatch. This is one of the best shows available on iTunes for purchase, so you should definitely buy it.

5/5

iTunes TV Show Review ( Drake and Josh - Season 1 )

Cost: $11.94 ( Whole season )
$1.99 ( Per episode )

Drake and Josh is a really, really good show. I only watch Nickelodeon because of Drake and Josh. It's full of jokes, and a large audience of people can watch this show. It does, however, seem to rip off the show Seinfeld at times: ( Such as the infamous "Newman!" Seinfeld uses when he sees Newman, in Drake and Josh Josh says "Meghan!" ) this is still well worth buying. Some of the jokes in season 1 are pathetic, but others are good. This season has the great episode Grammy; one of my favorites. My review.

Pilot: 4.5/5 Josh reveals that he is Miss Nancy, and Drake goes out with a girl who wrote a letter to "Miss Nancy".

Two Idiots and a Baby: 4/5 Drake and Josh are left alone to take care of a baby; but Drake has a concert.

First Crush: 4/5 Josh falls in love with a girl and mistakenly tells her he can play guitar. Drake tries to help Josh learn.

Grammy: 5/5 Josh's Grandma comes to babysit Drake and Josh. Grammy and Drake get on eachother's bad sides.

Dune Buggy: 4.5/5 Drake and Josh get a dune buggy from Trevor and fix it up. They are told not to drive it, but Drake does anyways, and gets hurt.

Believe Me, Brother: 5/5 Drake has a girlfriend that won't admit she has a thing for Josh.

I repeat; buy this season. It's not as good as some of the later seasons, but it gets by. It's well worth purchasing. It also ( like all iTune videos ) has a crystal clear picture.

P.S. Where's season's 2 and 3?

4.5/5

Hardware Review ( iPod Video 30 GB )

The iPod video has made the most significant generation leap for the iPod. The iPod video features ( of course ) video playback, as well as a thinner design, a color screen, ability to add pictures, more space, and a lower price tag. My review.

Pros: Solid amount of space for the average iPodder; Nice color/size screen; Pretty thin; Several capabilities; Pretty affordable price nowadays.

Cons: Scratches easily; Battery doesn't last nearly as long as it says; When watching videos, the battery life drains quickly.

Other than those cons, there is nothing at all bad about the iPod. It's a great thing to have for a music lover. And for the best experience, get the iPod video. And don't fear a new design; the only thing they can do now is add more GB's, make the design a bit thinner, and possibly ( if they can ) add a camera. (Which would be cool ). The iPod video is well worth the price, especially with the fact that the price has dropped so drastically in the last year.

5/5

Hardware Review ( DLO Action Jacket iPod Case )

The DLO Action Jacket Case for the iPod is just about the best case you can find for your iPod. This case features rubber grips on the side to reduce your chance of dropping it, has a band that you can use to wrap around your arm when you run, and it has a clip so you can put it on your pants. There is also a plastic cover that goes over your screen and click-wheel, as well as a velcro strap on top of the iPod to prevent any chance of it falling out. The case will run you about $30. I'm not done yet; there are a few flaws. The rubber grips on the side make it difficult to fit into your pants, and since there is no top covering, if you drop it on the top, it will still crack/scratch the top of your iPod. Also, it is very hard to get your iPod out of the case if you wanted to clean it. With the clip on the back of the case with the iPod, it will make your iPod very vulnerable to screen scuffs ( happened to me and it is very annoying ) mainly because it sticks out so far. This is a good case, but for $30 you might want to think twice.
3.5/5

Somewhat Recommended.

Saturday, October 21, 2006

Game Review (Perfect Dark: Zero - 360 )

Graphics: 5/5 The graphics are great. The explosions look good, the enviroments look spectacular, and the lighting is super. One of the better looking games on the 360.

Sound: 4.5/5 The sound is very good. The voice overs are okay, though, and nothing too special. The guns and footsteps and all the little things sound nice.

Control: 4/5 Controlling this game isn't all that bad. The speed at which you turn around at is pretty annoying, and the controls are a bit sensitive, but you can kind of adjust it. Also, it takes time to get good at the game, since it's ( obviously ) easier to get headshot kills when you're good.

Fun: 4.5/5 PDZ ia really a fun game. The online is good, and so is the offline modes, which you can still play with bots to get achievements. The one flaw with this game is that there is no stat tracking; which is dissapointing. So you have no idea how good you are doing overall. There are only 6 maps, too, but they are still very fun to play. I highly recommend you try PDZ.

4.5/5

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Game Review ( Guitar Hero 2 Demo - PS2 )

I was waiting a LONG time just for this demo and I finally got it ( October 9th ). Here is my review for the songs.

Shout At The Devil: 4/5 A good song by Motley Crue, but it's pretty easy even on expert.
You Really Got Me: 3.5/5 Of all Van Halen songs, why this one? It's good, but there are better.
Strutter: 4.5/5 Catchy song by Kiss. Definitely one worth playing.
YYZ: 4.5/5 A great lyric-less song by Rush. Probably the best of the four.

The four songs on the demo isn't much, but it is enough to hold you over until the game is released.

Also, the Guitar Hero 2 song list has just been confirmed.

Friday, October 06, 2006

Game Review ( NHL 2K7 - 360 )

NHL 2K6 was far from a good game last year. It was exactly the same as 2K6 for the PS2 and Xbox, just with a $60 price tag. NHL 2K7 is a whole lot different and a whole lot better. My review ( Basically just for you Marc ).

Graphics: 4.5/5 The graphics are really good. The cut scenes look good, the rinks look great, but some of the well-known skaters don't look quite like themselves. Also, the fans look pretty strange too usually. The one strange thing about the graphics though is that there is a weird looking fog or something that is on the rink. Pretty strange.

Sound: 4/5 Nothing worth noting. The crowd seems quiet most of the time, the soundtrack overall in this game is poor, blah blah. You do get to decide, though, whether you want to play to music or play with commentary. Both are good choices; depending on what kind of music you like.

Control: 4/5 It works just fine. Anybody can pick this game up and use the controls. The one problem with the controls is how when you use the right analog stick to deke, the player will deke for what seems like forever, so it's quite easy for another player to steal it. That is one fault to the controls in this game. The default camera angle is great, by the way; giving you a great view of the rink from all sides.

Fun: 4/5 It's a hockey game with improved graphics, basically. There are some extras, but we've seen them before: air hockey, pond hockey, unlockable jerseys, and so on. The online play is pretty good; much better than NHL '07. If you are a hockey fan, then you should rent this game. Hockey season just started.

4/5

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Game Review ( Dead Rising - 360 )

This is my review for Dead Rising; one of the most over rated 360 games of the year. Here come my reasons.

Graphics: 4/5 Pretty good graphics. The blur effects when you turn are nice, for the most part the cut scenes are good, but there are occasional graphical in-and-out cuts, and the character's hands in the cutscenes are hideously weird looking.

Sound: 4/5 Good voice acting. The cut scenes are well acted for the most part, the zombies sound fine; nothing great or terrible about the sound.

Control: 3.5/5 It takes some getting used to. This isn't a jump-in-and-play type of game that anyone can pick up and learn to play. There is a bit of a learning curve that will take a good 45 minutes to get used to it.

Fun: 3.5/5 Dead Rising is simply put - OVER RATED. It's a very unique game, I'll give it that, but there are so many problems. For one thing, you can only have one save for some reason. So if you have a brother or friend who wants to play it at your house you'll need to find out something else to do, like create a new profile or Xbox Live account. Second, it is damn hard to read the text on a standard tv. Capcom has let its consumers know this problem by saying Dead Rising was created with HD in mind. Sucks for people with standard tvs. It's so small and blurry you'll be struggling to read it. Also, the game isn't the longest game in the world, and there is no co-op or Xbox Live ( Blah! ) Dead Rising could have been a better game, but with so many errors, and just I.M.O. sort of repetetive, it's nothing more than worth a rental.

3.5/5

Monday, October 02, 2006

Game Review (DOOM - 360 Arcade)

DOOM has been one of the most popular first-person shooters ever. DOOM has recently slipped into the Xbox Live Arcade on the 360, and this is my review. ( Nylon or regular? )

Graphics: 3.5/5 Pretty stale graphics, but you can't expect much more. This is an old, OLD game just reformatted to HD stylized graphics. Nothing spectacular here.

Sound: 4.5/5 Synthesizers never sounded better. The music in this game is great. So super catchy - just as it always was. The guns sound alright, and the deaths sound good. Good sound indeed.

Control: 4/5 DOOM never did have the greatest controls, but they work alright. Like in the original, you can not look up and down; only left and right, and to shoot something, your gun has to be aiming at it ( obviously ). Online, the lag really makes the control difficult ( Lag? On DOOM? Yes. )

Fun: 4/5 DOOM is definitely one of the best games in the 360 Arcade right now. Sure, there are great games like Geometry Wars, Uno, Gauntlet, and so on, but there are no shooters quite like DOOM. The online play is pretty good; there is a stat counter for kills and deaths, and then a record scoreboard for time spent in single player, and the best players in Co-op. That's right; you can play with up to four players in co-op mode. It's all in good fun. All-in-all, DOOM is still a great game. The lag somewhat destroys the online play at times, and more than four players in Xbox Live and teams would have been cool, but DOOM costs 800 points. It should be 400, but oh well. Buy DOOM.

4/5