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'Dead Island: Riptide' Video Game Review: This Game Will Turn You Into A Zombie

04/26/2013

Dead Island: Riptide continues the story of the four survivors from the original game, but regardless of whether I picked Logan, Sam, Xian, or Purna, I found myself ironically turning into a zombie from having to hack through such a boring game. The story is typical of a generic B-movie about zombies. A group of survivors from a sudden zombie outbreak endure many hardships in their attempts to find safe shelter. And not to be left out, there is an overarching conspiracy plot that hinders their every move.

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'Evoland' Video Game Review: Shirogames Takes You On A Trip Down Memory Lane

04/10/2013

Evoland, from Shirogames, reminded me of the days as a kid where I was locked in my room for hours on end playing RPGs like Breath of Fire, Zelda, and Chronotrigger on my Super Nintendo. Similar to how Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake brought back the past in their “History of Rap” musical medleys, Evoland provided a nostalgia-filled adventure through the evolution of role-playing games (RPG). You start out as a character with no weapons in a non-color 8-bit environment, unable to do much of anything.

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'BioShock Infinite' Tells A Gripping Tale

04/05/2013

Last year, Sony signed a deal with Ubisoft to adapt its massively successful Assassin’s Creed franchise onto the big screen. Hollywood was shocked by the move because it gave Ubisoft unprecedented control. This creative freedom created a problem. “But they're not moviemakers, and the only way to make sure it's a bad movie is to undervalue what movie studios do — and this is a deal that totally undervalues what movie studios do,” a studio exec told Vulture. Yet, movie studios have consistently put out atrocious video game movies such as Super Mario Bros.

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'Tomb Raider' Ideal For The Gamer With An Explorer's Streak

03/08/2013

Assassin’s Creed meets Lost in Square Enix’s latest reboot of the Tomb Raider action-adventure video game franchise. “We’re not getting off this island,” Lara Croft says after surviving a crash from a rescue helicopter. Waves of nostalgia from ABC’s Lost swept through me as I remembered a certain Jack Shepard insist on staying on a similar island with magical properties. Don’t worry, though, you don’t encounter the smoke monster or find yourself in the middle of battle between Heaven and Hell.

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'Crysis 3' Is Worth A Closer Look

02/22/2013

When I decide on what movies I want to see in theaters, it comes down to who's starring in the movie, and what the movie is about. Sometimes, though, the visual effects are enough to pique my interest. Just recently, I saw Life of Pi, primarily for its stunning visuals (the story and acting just happened to be outstanding as well). I applied the same philosophy for choosing to play Crytek’s Crysis 3 video game, the newest installment of a franchise renowned for its superb graphics. While I had not played the first two games of the series, I wanted to see the beauty of the scenery and environment of the latest chapter for myself.

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'Aliens: Colonial Marines' Lacks The Suspense Of The Movies

02/15/2013

“What a piece of junk,” Luke Skywalker said after seeing the Millennium Falcon for the first time in the movie Star Wars. He would have said the same about Sega’s new game, Aliens: Colonial Marines, which was developed by Gearbox. But at least the Millenium Falcon, the fastest ship in the galaxy, had a redeeming quality. Aliens: Colonial Marines has no such defining feature. The game takes place 17 weeks after the end of the 1986 film Aliens, and from the start Colonial Marines set out to disappoint gamers and fans of the once-great movie franchise.

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CelebSelect

Danielle Panabaker's Top Pop Picks
- Favorite Band: The Avett Brothers
  
  "I'm really into the Avett Brothers as of late."
- Favorite Book: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
  
  "My girlfriends are I - we are very nerdy. We started a book club and the first book we read was Gone Girl."
- Favorite New Movie: Silver Linings Playbook
  
  "I thought it was a great film and I thought Jennifer Lawrence was incredible, you know those angry tears, I've certainly experienced that."
Paul Van Dyk: Current Favorites
- School of the Seven Bells
  
  The New York-based band unites Benjamin Curtis of "Secret Machines" and Alejandra Deheza. Formed in 2007, the duo is named after a mythical South American pickpocket training academy of the same name.
- Linkin Park
  
  The Californian rock veterans have come a long way since 'Hybrid Theory.' Back now with their fifth studio album in over a decade, 'Living Things' is one of Paul Van Dyck's favorite albums this year.
- Jupiter Jones
  
  The German punk rock band formed in 2002, but has already released several LPs, including an eponymously-named album in 2011.
- Depeche Mode
  
  The legendary Essex electronic band from the 80s remains a classic for Van Dyk. It was also recently among 'Q' magazine's "50 Bands That Changed The World!".
Cody Simpson
- Favorite Movie
  I'm still really into the Ocean's series. I got into them recently. I was always too young to watch them.
- Favorite Book
  This book called Contest by Matthew Reilly, he's an Australian author.
- Favorite Album
  Drake's Take Care — big fan of that
- Favorite TV Show
  The Mentalist
Styx's Lawrence Gowan
- Bossypants by Tina Fey
  
  "That’s got me laughing hysterically on airplanes."
- Making Mirrors by Goyte
  
  "I thought that was a tremendous record."
- The Artist
  
  "It really impressed me."
- Keane
  
  "They’re really strong."
90210's Michael Steger: My Favorite Stuff
- Favorite TV Show: Rome
  
  HBO's series starring Cirian Hinds
- Favorite Album: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
  
  "Either that or The Gypsy Kings."
- Favorite Book: The Fountainhead
  
  "Probably my favorite book of all time."
- Favorite New Movie: Attack The Block
  
  “It reminded me of The Goonies.”