The Cheetah Girls One World DVD Review
December 20, 2008
The Cheetah Girls One World
DVD Review
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Released: December 16, 2008
Disney has come back with yet another made-for-cable musical on the DVD format with the release of The Cheetah Girls: One World on the DVD format.
The Cheetah Girls are made up of Chanel (Adrienne Bailon), Dorinda (Sabrina Bryan), and Aqua (Kiely Williams). The story plot of the movie has the three girls hired by a director to film a Bollywood movie in India. Read more
The Cheetah Girls One World Blu-ray Review
December 20, 2008
The Cheetah Girls One World
Blu-ray Review
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Released: December 16, 2008
Disney has had a great deal of success lately with musicals such as High School Musical, Camp Rock, and others. Disney is back at it again with a new musical film One World, starring the Cheetah Girls. Read more
Lips Xbox 360 Review
December 19, 2008
Lips
Xbox 360 Review
Publisher: Microsoft
Developer: iNiS
Released: November 19, 2008
Music games are becoming more and more popular among gamers, with Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and others topping the charts. The thing about these games though is that even though they appeal to the masses, they are still not the most casual party games as you have to know somewhat about what you are doing. With that said, we are given Lips, the game that aims to create the ultimate karaoke atmosphere on your Xbox 360.
Microsoft is clearly making the push towards casual gamers this year with releases such as Lips, You’re In The Movies, and others. Some of these efforts have been strong, some not so strong. Lips, I can safely say, is up there as one of the best efforts to date.
Lips relies on the fact that people love to get drunk, have a good time, and take part in some good old-fashioned karaoke sessions.
That is the exact crowd that Lips is going for, and it succeeds on many levels in that it will do a great job of being very entertaining for that crowd.
The developer iNiS worked on this one and shipped the game along with two very stylish wireless microphones so you are not tied down to any wires while you sing your hearts out.
This is not a clone of Karaoke Revolution in any way, as it really relies on you just having a good time. The game is all about loading up songs, and going at it on the microphone. The whole idea behind it is that you will see the lyrics up on-screen, and while you are singing, you will see if you are hitting the right notes at the right times.
Once you rack up enough points, after making a total fool of yourself, you can use the mic, which is motion-sensitive, to pose and spark a star power of sorts.
When you are playing Lips, it is important to factor in that you cannot fail. So if you are too drunk to even pay attention to what is going on, you have nothing to worry about.
The scoring is also very lenient to say the least as you can get a good score without even saying the right words at times.
This is not a bad thing though, as Lips only aims to be a great party game. If you have a bunch of people at a party trying to sing and they fail in 10 seconds, the whole fun of the game is gone, this is where the game truly succeeds.
The track list features 40 or so songs that will certainly appeal to people of all ages, with songs from Avril Lavigne, and many other big name artists. As stated above, this is pretty much a karaoke experience as you have nothing to unlock, you get every song the first time you load up the game.
There are some varying game modes here such as a battle mode to go up against somebody, as well as some Xbox Live support where you can compare scores, try to top other people’s high scores on your friends list, etc.
The other bonus is that the game allows you to use your own songs in the experience. These will be filled with standard background videos and such throughout, but no lyrics. So if you wan to sing these songs make sure you know the words! We were able to successfully use our Microsoft Zune to get the songs on there.
In time, it is expected that many more songs are going to be up and available for download off of the Xbox Live Marketplace, and are going to add a lot of legs to the game.
My only wish was that Lips supported the Xbox Vision camera so you could record your own music videos, but hey, maybe in the sequel!
Lips aims to be a karaoke experience which does not force gamers to try and achieve scores, hit the right notes, etc. Instead, the game is simply about loading up some great songs, and singing your heart out no matter how good or bad you are. If you are looking for a good karaoke game to take out at a party, this is a solid choice!
Graphics: 8.0 The music videos that go with the music are very clear, not bad at all!
Audio: 8.0 The sound quality is superb and the selection of tracks is very well-done, will appeal to all ages.
Gameplay: 8.0 The game is not very deep, but it succeeds in being a solid karaoke experience.
Replay Value: 6.0 The biggest issue with this one is that if you are not in the middle of a party, there is really no fun in it.
Final Score: 7.8
Do you have a product that you would like featured on dBTechno? If so, drop us a line at vicb@dbtechno.com
Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who DVD Review
December 19, 2008
Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who
DVD Review
Fox Home Entertainment
Released: December 9, 2008
Fox has released Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who on the DVD format for the first time, from the animated studio that brought us the great Ice Age films, Blue Sky Studios.
The story here revolves around a massive elephant by the name of Horton, who finds out that there is a place where Who’s live. He finds it on this tiny speck, and decided to protect them and watch over them. Read more
Prince of Persia Xbox 360 Review
December 19, 2008
Prince of Persia
Xbox 360 Review
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher: Ubisoft Entertainment
Released: December 2, 2008
Players: 1
The Prince of Persia franchise has been one of those games that has managed to be highly-successful from generation to generation. The game was a huge success back when it was in its 2D form, and also had a great run on the PS2 and original Xbox. The series has now made the move to the next-gen with the release of Prince of Persia, and needless to say, this is definitely a game of the year candidate.
Prince of Persia on the Xbox 360 is an absolute achievement on so many levels, as the game has an artistic presentation that will simply blow you away from the second you step into its world. Read more
Tommy Boy Blu-ray Review
December 19, 2008
Tommy Boy
Blu-ray Review
Paramount Home Entertainment
Released: December 16, 2008
I have to admit, when we received Tommy Boy on the Blu-ray format I had a smile from ear to ear, as this is one of the most classic comedy films of all time, starring two greats, Chris Farley and David Spade.
The movie is directed by Peter Segal and was written by Bonnie & Terry Turner. It followed Tommy Callahan, played by none other than Chris Farley, who doesn’t have a care in the world. Read more
Coach Carter Blu-ray Review
December 19, 2008
Coach Carter
Blu-ray Review
Paramount Home Entertainment
Released: December 16, 2008
Paramount Home Entertainment has brought us the release of Coach Carter on the Blu-ray format, an inspirational sports story that is headed up by the great Samuel L. Jackson.
Coach Carter, on the surface, will seem like your Cinderella tale of an inspirational sports story, we have all seen how these go. The story is based on a high school basketball team in a poor community. The film revolves around the real-life story of Ken Carter, played here by Samuel L. Jackson. Read more
The Heartbreak Kid Blu-ray Review
December 19, 2008
The Heartbreak Kid
Blu-ray Review
DreamWorks Home Entertainment / Paramount
Released: December 16, 2008
The Heartbreak Kid marks the return of the Farrelly Brothers once again as they have teamed up with Ben Stiller to try and re-create magic from the past. This comedy has been released on the Blu-ray format courtesy of DreamWorks and Paramount.
The Farrelly Brothers have not had that much luck since There’s Something About Mary, with such films as Stuck On You, Me, Myself & Irene, as well as others which have not done very well to say the least. Read more
Into The Wild Blu-ray review
December 19, 2008
Into The Wild
Blu-ray review
Paramount Home Entertainment
Released: December 16, 2008
Paramount Home Entertainment has dug into their bag of tricks and brought us the film Into The Wild on the Blu-ray format for the first time.
The Wild is based off of the book by Jon Krakaeur and tells the story of Christopher Johnson McCandless. The film is directed by Sean Penn and stars Emile Hirsch in the lead role as McCandless. The story revolves around this young man, and his journey into Alaska where he decides to go and live after he graduates college. Read more
Old School Blu-ray Review
December 19, 2008
Old School
Blu-ray Review
Paramount Home Entertainment
Released: December 16, 2008
Old School is up there as one of the top comedy films in my collection, as it is a screwball comedy that has a lot of creativity, a tremendous cast, etc. This classic has been released for the first time on Blu-ray thanks to Paramount Home Entertainment.
Old School is, in my mind, Animal House for the modern age. This film is absolutely hilarious from start to finish. The film stars Will Ferrell, Luke Wilson, and Vince Vaughn who are three buddies who want to go back to the days of college and basically be young again. They start a fraternity whom does not make a friend with the dean, who tries to shut them down over and over again. Read more
