The Goonies (1985) Review

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(More customer reviews)Director Richard Donner has gone into his wine cellar, retrieved this vintage flick, and poured it out for today's kids who might enjoy it along with a serving of Spy Kids and Harry Potter.Now, what is a goony, they might ask? Well, in this case, it's one of seven kids who find themselves searching for buried pirate loot, and running from the villainous Fratelli family. It's Saturday-matinee serial redux; SEE the Goonies escape from Steven Spielberg death-traps and Rube Goldberg booby traps! LAUGH at the unforgettable 'Truffle Shuffle!' APPLAUD as our heroes save the day, and WISH they'd made a sequel.Donner's wine has improved with age. The rapid pacing, the unraveling mystery, the over-lapping dialogue...and the incomparable Anne Ramsey as Mama Fratelli. Ahhhh, what a great actress. She scared the lice off of me as a kid, and can still do it, sixteen years later. And Sloth, cousin to the Incredible Hulk. How much can one love a misunderstood movie mutant? And Jeff Cohen as Chunk, possibly the greatest juvenile scene-stealer in motion picture history, (although, unlike most kid actors, you WANT him to do it).OVER 21 ALERT: It's not just a kids' movie! Oh, no! There's plenty for the big kids, really! This DVD has for example, several deleted scenes, including the infamous and mysterious 'octopus' scene, subject of much discussion and speculation. Well, now you can see for yourself why it was cut...We have here also the complete two-part Cyndi Lauper "Goonies R Good Enough" music video, guest-starring the Goonies cast, the Bangles as lady pirates, the hibachi chefs, the professional wrestlers, the plastic cow, Dave and Wendy and...(drum roll)...Andre the Giant! Yes, it's all here...the 12-minute video that was almost long enough (and funny enough) to be Goonies II.But never mind all this. What the grown-ups REALLY want to see is the Director's Commentary. That's right, SEE. This special edition DVD occasionally allows you to see the stars and director chat and reminisce about the picture, and...WOW. ALL SEVEN Goonies are here! Chatting, bickering, laughing, remembering. And I KNOW you all want to see how well the Goonies aged over 16 years. Very well, actually. And it's funny to note that Corey Feldman's character was called "Mouth," as he blabs away, hogging most of the commentary himself, (with Martha Plimpton in second place for the Chatterbox award). Interestingly, Sean Astin simply gets up and walks out halfway through the movie. Why? No one could say. Perhaps that will someday be as big a mystery as the 'octopus' scene...

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Following a mysterious treasure map into a spectacular underground realm of twisting passages, outrageous booby-traps and a long-lost pirate ship full of golden dubloons, the kids race to stay one step ahead of a family of bumbling bad guys... and a mild-mannered monster with a face only a mother could love.DVD Features:Audio CommentaryDeleted ScenesDocumentaryMusic VideoOuttakesTheatrical Trailer

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Lucas Archives Volume 1 Review

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(More customer reviews)For fans of LucasArts' classic DOS adventure games, LUCASARTS ARCHIVES VOL. 1 is a must-buy. This six-CD set contains full versions of the 1992 game INDIANA JONES AND THE FATE OF ATLANTIS, and the two 1993 masterpieces DAY OF THE TENTACLE and SAM AND MAX HIT THE ROAD (the latter will have a sequel coming in 2004). If you are unable to buy this set here, you can still order the three games directly from LucasArts as of today -- go to www.lucasarts.com/companystore and order "The LucasArts Archives: Adventure Collection."
Since these games were made for the DOS environment, they run best on a DOS PC with legacy Sound Blaster support. On a Windows XP machine, where DOS mode is nonexistent, one needs a third-party DOS emulators such as the free and open-source DOSBox, VDMSound, and SCUMMVM (which was made specially for many LucasArts games). I managed to run the three games in this set (and also other DOS games) on an XP Home PC with Audigy sound card using these DOS emulators, with SCUMMVM giving me the greatest success. So, in short, these old games CAN be run on your new PC. LucasArts provides no support for its DOS titles, but one can get help from user-support forums such as vogons.zetafleet.com .
Also included in this set is a CD containing Star Wars-themed screen-savers, a CD containing a three-level demo of REBEL ASSAULT, and a CD with playable demos of other LucasArts games -- FULL THROTTLE, DARK FORCES, TIE FIGHTER, REBEL ASSAULT II, and THE DIG. None of these three discs is really essential. The only reason to get this set is to have the three classic adventure games.
All three adventure games run in 320x240 resolution and 8-bit color, with speech, sound effects, and MIDI music. They all use the so-called SCUMM interface that enables point-and-click actions with the mouse. The two older games, INDIANA JONES and DAY OF THE TENTACLE, still rely heavily on text during gameplay -- you see a text description when you point at an object, and you click on large text buttons to perform actions such as "Look", "Give", "Pick up", etc. SAM AND MAX, however, is fully graphical -- all the actions, including conversations, are icon-based.
All three games are memorable because of their humorous stories, nice drawings, and puzzles that are enjoyable but not ridiculously difficult. THE FATE OF AN ATLANTIS is the first game to feature the Indiana Jones character, and it is a fun adventure about treasure hunting. DAY OF THE TENTACLE features a wacky and outrageous story about a mad scientist and his evil creations, the living tentacles, which try to use time travel to conquer the world. SAM AND MAX HIT THE ROAD is about a free-lance police team, a dog and his rabbit sidekick, trying to find a missing pair of circus freaks, a big-foot and a giraffe-necked human.

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Includes Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, Sam and Max Hit the Road, Star Wars Rebel Assault and Day of the Tentacle. BONUS - Includes DEMO of Full Throttle, Dark Forces, The Dig, Rebel Assault II and TIE Fighter Collector's.

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Playmobil: Pirates Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm a 38 year old male gamer with an 8 year old son who still enjoys his Playmobil toys. Playmobil toys have always had a soft spot in my heart because my son grew up on them, and as a parent I love them because they're sturdy, adorable, and delightfully simple while offering interesting themes and endless variety...they're a lifelong classic toy like Legos.
Anyway, out of my admiration and nostalgia for Playmobil toys, and the fact that this game was only $20, I figured I'd give it a shot. Although I have a DS like my son does, I haven't found many games I enjoy playing on it, because I just don't get the point of playing a game on a 3-inch screen...I have trouble immersing myself in something so tiny. But there are a special few games that I've found engaging on the DS...Lego Batman is one, and this Playmobil Pirates is another. The graphics are great (especially the cut-scenes), the dialogue is funny, the gameplay is entertaining and challenging without being frustrating (except for a few cases), and the minigames are fun and a neat addition.
The game is well done, melding game elements from proven performers. For example, I recognized a lot of the successful elements from the Grand Theft Auto series, where (in this case) you must earn enough dough to buy, repair and upgrade your pirate ship, and a decently long story-driven mission structure that also allows you to spend hours in diversionary activities like earning money by trading goods across the islands, sinking ships for their loot or fighting sea monsters for cash, and playing the minigames on the islands whenever you're ashore.
There are also two minigames found on the high seas themselves, should you be lucky enough to stumble on them (although they're included in the missions as well if you don't find them just sailing around): a "rescue the castaways" time-limited game where you fling life rings to drifting castaways in the water, and a "diving for treasure" game where you must catch bubbles but avoid jellyfish on the way down to the sea bottom, grab the treasure chest, and repeat the feat on the way back up. Diving for treasure is great fun. Rescuing the castaways was a bit more challenging and less satisfying, but I got better when I prioritized the nearer castaways over the ones further out, because the nearer ones allow for a faster reload of the next life ring.
There were a few parts of the game that were frustratingly hard and required several retries, but the game is forgiving, as you never lose the money you've acquired to date, no matter how many times or ways you die (although you can lose your ship if you're not careful, and if you don't have any money for a new one, it can be a long climb back up to the lifestyle you became accustomed to!).
One island I found particularly difficult to traverse, so I just mostly avoided it. The final mission calls for a fully-tricked out ship and decent maneuvering skills, as you must first battle and sink six ships before you can even land on the island to rescue the mermaid where she is being held captive. If you've gotten used to the more advanced side-shooting ships throughout the game, it shouldn't be too bad. I had trouble at first with the side shooters, so I stuck with the cheaper front-shooter. But that meant I wasn't really ready for the final mission when I got to it, and I had to practice that attack several times before I could break through the protective blockade. The moral of the story is to get used to the side-shooters early!
The game supports wireless play with a friend with 2 DS cards, and will even do one of its minigames (its version of Battleship) with only 1 DS card shared between the two players.
A note to parents: I was surprised to find the word "damn" in one line of dialogue, and the half-censored word "sh.." as in "the bird sh.. in my eye," which is an actual line of dialogue in the game. Even the marketing language has the word "pimp" as in "pimp out your ship," which seems a little over-the-top for the target audience of kids. These three instances of stronger language gave me pause with regard to my 8-year old playing it, but are not a show-stopper. However, some parents may find that too objectionable and ought to be forewarned. But aside from these few exceptions, I found the game quite harmless, and it always carries the sunny, light-hearted spirit of the Playmobil toys themselves.
This is a delightful, colorful, and fun game that I couldn't put down until I finished all 70 missions, which I did in about 15-20 hours. I highly recommend it!
Having enjoyed Playmobil Pirates so much, I can't wait for Playmobil Knights when it comes out in a few weeks!


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Playmobil: Piratesis a playful pirate adventure for DS and DSi that will thrill andentertain players of all ages. Set within the faithfully reproducedPlaymobil Pirate universe, Playmobil Pirates features a 3Drendered gameworld full of sea and island environments to exploreas you engage in 70 missions, collect treasure and struggle to savea damsel in distress on the high seas. Additional features includeship customization, six pirate-themed mini-games and wireless multiplayerfunctionality via DS single and multi-card options. Live a pirate's life on your DS. Viewlarger.

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Star Fury Review

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(More customer reviews)Decent game for the money. The graphics aren't really all that impressive, but it has a decent campaign line and and excellent array of customization. One of the better open-ended scifi games out there.

A must-have for any Sci-fi gaming fan!

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This software is BRAND NEW. Packaging may differ slightly from the stock photo above. Please click on our logo above to see over 15,000 titles in stock.

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Lego Battles Review

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(More customer reviews)First, what it's not. Lego Battles is not just another Lego shoot-em-up game for the DS. Your six year old will probably hate it, if they aren't willing to learn how to play real-time strategy games. This isn't a game where you run around shooting things. This is a game where you build cities, control soldiers, builders, heroes, etc. Is it fun? absolutely.
This game feels like Warcraft 2 for the DS, which is a compliment. It's a great RTS with Castles, Barracks, Farms, soldiers, kings, workers, etc. It has some of the more "advanced" RTS controls, things like build queues, rally points, etc., which we've come to expect from games like Total Annihilation, Supreme Commander, and others.
I have really enjoyed this game because it fills a void: the missing RTS for the DS. I've looked around, but hadn't found anything good in this genre on the DS. Lego Battles allows you to strategically build cities, plan battles, etc. My only complaint is that some of the early campaigns are very easy. I wish there were a way to increase the difficulty. That said, it's an outstanding game. Highly recommended.

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Battle through elements of three LEGO toy themes.

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