Gamers face prehistoric peril

“Dino Strike” is an arcade-style shooter where you the player investigates the disappearance of a research team that was investigating a volcanic island where dinosaurs thrive.

In this game there are unfriendly dinosaurs, including raptors and one very angry T-Rex.

Everything is out to eat you, so gamers need to watch their ammo and keep a sharp eye out for anything cold-blooded.

The game play is all right as far as a rail shooter goes.

Sometimes you don’t get enough time to collect all of the power-ups you would like, but that is more reliant on the skill of the player.

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Shyamalan delights in devilish film

Writer M. Night Shyamalan is known for his dark horrific twisting tales.

“Devil,” released on DVD Dec. 21, is yet another movie sure to fit in with his already growing list of accomplishments.

Shyamalan, creator of movies like “The Sixth Sense” (1999), “The Village” (2004), and “The Last Airbender” (2010), continues his evil ways in “Devil,” part one of “The Night Chronicles,” a series of movies based on Shyamalan’s many stories.

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Retro “Metroid” revolutionary for its time

The Super Nintendo classic “Super Metroid,” made in 1994, is the third game in the “Metroid” series.

Set after the original “Metroid,” and just before “Metroid: Other M,” our hero Samus goes to a research colony with the last Metroid so it can be studied. Soon after, it is stolen by an old enemy, Ridley.

You must head to planet Zebes to retrieve the baby Metroid so it cannot be bred and used as a weapon. On the way to the baby Metroid, you collect power ups and weapons along the way.

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‘Labyrinth’ a timeless movie

When the Jim Henson movie “Labyrinth” first hit the screens in 1986, it was nowhere near the success it is now.

Grossing well under its budget, the film did not gain popularity until years later and is now considered a cult classic.

The film starts with Sarah (Jennifer Connelly), an imaginative and angsty teen caught up in the fantasy books she reads.

One night while tired of babysitting, Sarah wishes for goblins to come take her infant brother Toby away.

Sarah immediately regrets her mistake when the Goblin King Jareth (David Bowie) appears and takes Toby away to his castle. Sarah then has no choice but to work her way through the ever-changing labyrinth and solve the puzzle within 13 hours or her brother will become a goblin forever.

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‘Awakened’ good to borrow, not to buy

“Awakened” is the eighth installment of the popular “House of Night” series penned by Oklahoma mother-daughter authors P.C. and Kristin Cast.

The New York Times best-selling authors have created a new type of vampire. The series is based in Tulsa, but with one major difference: there is a vampire high school called the House of Night.

The story itself follows a young girl, Zoey Redbird, as she is marked as a fledgling vampire and experiences all the changes that go with it.

The series ultimately is a good vs. evil story, with Zoey as the ‘good guy’ and her mentor, Neferet, as the ‘bad guy.’

While the writing and flow occasionally leave something to be desired, it nevertheless retains the personality of the character whose viewpoint you are reading at the time.

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The Decemberists reign in new album

The Decemberists bring in the New Year with the drop of their latest LP “The King Is Dead.”

Capitol Records will release the collection Tuesday, Jan. 18, and make it available for streaming in its entirety on NPR.com until then.

This folk-influenced indie-pop band has a sound reminiscent of Bob Dylan and Modest Mouse mixed with early ’80s college rock. The band’s line-up includes bassist Nate Query, keyboard/accordionist Jenny Conlee, drummer John Moen, and guitar/multi-instrumentalist Chris Funk.

Front man/songwriter Colin Meloy’s lyrics in this album show off his knack for storytelling.

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Duran Duran zoom in on familar sound

After the letdown of their last album “Red Carpet Massacre” in 2007, Duran Duran fans have eagerly and impatiently waited for the time the band would regain their signature sound which made them the ultimate party band in the ’80s.

With their newest album “All You Need Is Now,” the goal was to return to the group’s roots and provide something that would satisfy die-hard Duranies while still managing a contemporary sound.

The album, which was produced by Mark Ronson and features guest vocalists such as Ana Matronic of Scissor Sisters and musical artist Kelis, does not disappoint.

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‘Hornet’ not your typical hero

The “Green Hornet” was a decent movie that made a mockery of everything that a superhero movie is about, but in a good way.

In the usual superhero movie, the hero is amazingly smart and the sidekick is unremarkable. However, in the “Green Hornet,” Britt Reid (Seth Rogan) could very well be legally retarded, while Kato (Jay Chou), the sidekick, is a genius.

Most superheroes are nimble, able to dodge bullets or deflect them with something. The Green Hornet gets shot in the shoulder and Kato only gets trapped beneath a desk for a brief moment.

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Director’s dark ‘Swan’ soars above the rest

Darren Aronofosky is known for his films to divulge into the darkness and horror of the physical human condition.

Aronofosky has directed such diverse films and characters like the junkies struggling for their next fix in “Requiem For A Dream” (2000), to a washed-up professional wrestler with family issues in “The Wrestler” (2009).

His fifth film, “Black Swan” is no different than his previous work.

Nina (Natalie Portman) is a dancer for a ballet troupe in New York City.

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