A few Weeks ago, E3 (or the Electronic Entertainment Expo), one of gamings biggest expos landed and everyone from Microsoft to Ubisoft was there to present the latest and greatest in the industry. While everyone agrees that this year they all appeared to be treading water (no doubt Microsoft and Sony are busy preparing the next generation of home consoles) that didn't necessarily mean there wasn't anything worthwhile on display. In fact, a few of this years titles have got me extremely pumped, which I wasn't really expecting since all of my most anticipated games have been released with the exception of Bioshock Infinite (which has been delayed to 2013). Here is a selection of the ones I'm most interested in:
The Walking Dead Episode 2:
By now you're probably well aware that I loved the first instalment of The Walking Dead video game. Episode 2, which is set three months after Episode 1, is set to come out at the end of the month and I can't be more excited. 'Starved For Help' has the advantage over it's predecessor mainly because the company behind it, Telltale, has been able to look at the feedback and choices made by the players in the first episode and further improve and iron out a few of the graphical bugs. The episode-by-episode approach should pay off in the long run, and I can't wait to play Lee again. GO WALKING DEAD!
Assassins Creed 3:
I haven't really gotten into the whole Assassins Creed craze, I guess the Series has never really piqued my interest until now. You can't blame me though, there have been so many good games coming out in the past few years at such regularity that I only choose those that I think I'll get the most enjoyment from, and as a result I've been missing out on a few major franchises like Gears Of War, Halo and Assassins Creed simply because I don't have the time or resources to play all of them. Assassins Creed 3 however, has really gone up in my estimations after this year's E3. Ubisoft showed off some amazing naval combat (very reminiscent of the Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise) that made me scream at the top of my voice: I WANT THIS NOOOOW! I've been hoping for a great Pirate video game for some time now, and Assassins Creed 3 (while not a fully fledged battle-on-the-high-seas adventure), aims to cater to my tastes. And that's just the naval combat, let's not forget all the other things the game has got going for it like the great setting (American revolution), an expansive and detailed open-world akin to Red Dead Redemption and some really nifty new combat mechanics that look very similar to the Arkham games from afar. So yes, the game has a lot of good things going for it. The demo at E3 looked so good that I think I might the buy the other Assassins Creed games beforehand just to see if I've been missing out on one of gamings great franchises.
The Last Of Us & Beyond: Two Souls:
These two games almost broke my heart. Both of them look fantastic, and yet I can't play them when they come out in 2013 because I don't have a FRIGGING PS3! F*CK YOU SONY, for making some of the best games ever (I would buy Uncharted 3 in a heartbeat if I could) and then make them bloody exclusive to your console. Why I would buy a PS3 just to get my hands on one of these beauties! Oh wait, I think that's the point. Anyway, both of these games are driven by a strong narrative, and in the case of The Last Of Us, a graphical fidelity that is borderline scary. All we've seen from Beyond so far is a selection of cool, tension-filled cut-scenes, but the motion capture performance of Ellen Page is really striking. To be honest, I'm starting to wonder if getting a 360 was the right choice, because when you look the exclusives on the Xbox (Gears Of War, Halo) vs the exclusives on the PS3 (Uncharted, Beyond, Last Of Us, God Of War etc...) it's clear who the winner is.
Tomb Raider:
Finally, a game that looks and plays amazing that isn't a Sony exclusive. The new Tomb Raider is essentially a grittier version of Uncharted, with the focus primarily being on Story as well as tense action packed set-pieces. Having played previous Tomb Raider games (which I thought were frustrating piles of crap) I can safely say that this looks so much better and is definitely a step in the right direction. The demo they showed off felt very, very polished and the lack of puzzles (which in previous entries were very frustrating for me personally) is most definitely a plus. 2013 you say? CAN'T. FRIGGING. WAIT.
Watch Dogs:
The game that caught everyone by surprise is also the best game shown at E3 2012, and it came from Ubisoft, of all people. Watch Dogs looks stunning, and features some truly innovative gameplay mechanics not to mention a graphical fidelity that is borderline insane (more-so than The Last Of Us). In fact, the graphics are so good that a lot of people are speculating that it's coming out on the new generation of consoles, not on the 360 or PS3. It's essentially the big open world environment of Grand Theft Auto with a dash of Assassins Creed thrown in for good measure. The story doesn't look good at all though, in the demo everyone's (highly-detailed) faces look ugly and they mainly just spew curse words all over the place. But to be fair, I am basing everything off of a 9 minute Demo. Ubisoft seems to have a lot going for it on the software side, so colour me intrigued indeed.
Star Wars 1313:
There's not a lot to say about this game other than it's a mature, narrative driven Star Wars game that is all about the seedy underbelly of Coruscant in the Star Wars Universe. Think Uncharted in space, really. Is it just me or does all the games this year look a bit like Uncharted 3? It's just they all seem to show off how big their set-pieces and graphics are and most of them boast 'complex' narratives as well. Still I'm not complaining, a good game is a good game I guess.
Resident Evil 6:
I picked this one just because the trailer for it looked was awesome. Don't believe me? Look for yourself:
That's more more 'splosions and melodramatic characters than all three Transformers movies put together! And yet I feel weirdly drawn to it, like a moth to a light.
Well that's pretty much all of the games that I'm excited for in the near future. They all look amazing, and I think Ubisoft have really brought their A game this year. Next year looks to be even better however, because the next generation of consoles are just around the corner....
Hugo is to put it simply, a film about film. It revels in cinematic history and manages to tell a charming tale about an old man recovering from his past. It's a great little film, and is draped in gorgeous visuals that only a legendary director like Martin Scorsese could produce. You could say that it has a little bit of that 'Je ne sais quoi'! It also serves as a great launching pad for child actor Asa Butterfield, who is one of the most accomplished child actors I've seen, and that's standing next to Chloe Moretz, who sets a high standard herself. In the film Asa plays an orphan named Hugo (if you haven't already guessed that from the title) who's currently living in a train station in the middle of Paris, charged with winding up the many clocks. He's trying to fix this creepy automation that his father has left him, believing it to contain a message that could start an 'amazing adventure'. The first half of the film shows the off setting nicely, as you get to learn Hugo's day-to-day life. You feel practically smothered by the smoke in the Parisian atmosphere, and that's in 2D. Heaven know's how good this was in 3D, but I can say that if you've got a 3D T.V set-up then this film is a must have purely on a visual level. The level of detail in the set designs are astounding, and the complex gears that winds up the many mechanical instruments give off an almost magical vibe. When we delve into the second half of the film however, you find that there's a lot more on display here than just simple imagery. Scorsese has truly crafted a labour of love here, telling the tragic (almost fairytale) like story of one of the founding fathers of modern cinema. It's a love-letter to the 1930's, illustrated by posters of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and flashbacks to Les Freres Lumieres. Any film buff will feel right at home here, and Scorsese presents cinema as a way to make a directors dreams come true (for him especially). Aside from the visuals and story, the characters and performances are equally nuanced and well thought out. Hugo is a somewhat different protagonist than what we've been used to before, and teamed up next to Chloe Moretz they make for a great pairing. Sacha Baron Cohen, (famous for having played Borat) is a likeable but menacing station officer, although he barely counts as a 'villain' of sorts, more like an obstacle in Hugo's way. Ben Kingsley, the grumpy old man running the station toy shop is another wonderful performance, not to mention he is the spitting image of the person he's playing (spoilers). Several well known character actors like Christopher Lee, Jude Law and Ray Winstone make a welcome appearance as well.
Overall, Hugo is a love letter to film disguised as a kids adventure film (if it can be called an adventure), and is brilliantly acted, directed and scripted to make it a film well worth your time. The only complaint I have is that the film did take a while to get going, as the first half feels too plodded out. 8/10.
It's been one year since all the adults disappeared. Gone. Despite the hunger and the lies, even despite the plague, the kids of Perdido Beach are determined to survive. Creeping into the tenuous new world they've built, though, is perhaps the worst incarnation yet of the enemy known as the Darkness: fear. Within the FAYZ, life breaks down while the Darkness takes over, literally—turning the dome-world of the FAYZ entirely black. In darkness, the worst fears of all emerge, and the cruelest of intentions are carried out. But even in their darkest moments, the inhabitants of the FAYZ maintain a will to survive and a desire to take care of the others in their ravaged band that endures, no matter what the cost. Fear, Michael Grant's fifth book in the best-selling dystopian Gone series, will thrill readers . . . even as it terrifies them.
The Gone Series is often regarded by me as being some the best books I've ever read (you can read my thoughts on the previous books HERE and HERE). But does the latest entry in the Series, 'Fear' still validate my claim? How does it compare to the rest of the Series?
If I were to rank the Series based on my personal preference right now I would put Fear around second-to-last (the worst being Lies), but that in no way means it's bad, in fact it's still better than most other books. So what did I like? Well the characters and character dynamics are still top-notch, despite the somewhat uneven main plot. The gigantic cast of characters are still fleshed out and complex, even if they seem damned for all eternity. Fear as a theme for this book was very well done, and Michael Grant still knows how to really get into their psyche and mess with their heads. Even though the concept of the FAYZ going dark took far too long to get going (it spent half the book being an ambiguous black stain on the wall) and poorly utilized to it's full potential afterwards, everything else to do with Fear was masterfully handled and described. To quote Astrid, a character who was given some great monologues in this book:
"…they assumed all fear must come from a thing or a place. An event. Cause and effect. Like fear was part of an algebra equation. No, no, no, so not getting the point of fear. Because fear wasn’t about what made sense. Because fear wasn’t about what made sense. Fear was about possibilities. Not things that happened. Things that might. Things that might … Threats that might be there. Murderers. Madmen. Monsters. Standing just a few inches from him, able to see him, but his eyes useless. The threats, they could laugh silently at him. They could hold their knives, guns, claws right in his face and he wouldn’t be able to see. The threat could be. Right. There." [p415-416]
The FAYZ's sub-plots are equally well handled, and it's awe-inspiring to see Michael Grant juggle so many fantastic characters and great arcs at once. If it wasn't Dekka trying to win back Brianna, Edilio's sexuality ('Dude this is the apocalypse, and you're worried that people will laugh at you because you're gay?'), Lana's sheer badassery or Orc trying to come to terms with Howard's unexpected demise then it was Little Pete's god-making powers or Quinn's sudden relevance (who apart from fishing has done literally NOTHING for three books!) that made you want to turn that extra page. The character to really take the spotlight this time around is Penny, an insane girl who has the power to conjure up your worst nightmares and make them seem real. In one horrifying scene a kid started eating his own veins out because he thought they were candy liquorish ribbons. It's not an easy sight to think about, but then again the Series sole intention is to make you squirm while reading and it certainly did that. These books love to torture both the readers and the characters, and Penny is in some ways the perfect villain to show this. Unfortunately, her rise to power and eventual downfall happen far too quickly and feels rushed. The writer teased us into thinking she was the next great villain, and yet she ended up with only a few seconds to shine. Disappointing. Speaking of disappointment, the gaiaphage's latest scheme to take over the FAYZ and puncture the outside world was far to one-note and boring. It's plot to be re-born felt done to death in my eyes, especially having just finished watching The Fades. The final battle is silly, with the anti-hero's facing off against what amounts to being a green radioactive toddler with super-powers, supposedly the very definition of evil incarnate! At least the set-up for the next book seems promising, but the threat was nevertheless undeveloped (literally). It did have a few horrifying moments, but that's it.
Another great aspect of the book is that we finally get answers to most, if not all, of the lingering questions. Heck the very first chapter in the book is what happens 'outside' the FAYZ wall, and we get to see just what happened to all those adults that 'poofed'. It made for a very interesting read and it felt as if the Series had been building up to this point all along. The icing on the (somewhat) burned cake was the ending, which truly caught me by surprise. If this book was about Fear, then the fears of all the characters (particularly Sam) has finally come true. It's at this point I know the next (and final) book in the gone series is was probably going to be amazing. Gosh, what a ending. You could practically visualize Sam's face realising that his life can NEVER go back to being normal now. All his demons were literally laid out in front of him, for all to see. But for the time being at least, I'm stuck with a book that is in some aspects disappointing. Still a fantastic page-turner (I finished the book in three days) but not what I was expecting really. And as for the sticker on the cover which boldly claimed 'More thrilling than the Hunger Games', me having not read the Hunger Games doesn't give a proper opinion but I doubt you'll find that level of 'thrills' in this book. The Series maybe, but certainly not Fear. Go read Plague, the previous entry, now THAT is thrilling. 8,5/10 (by this Series standards).
Never has a family movie touched me in the same way that 'The Muppets' has. It felt literally like a trip back in time to my childhood, where I used to watch recordings of 'The Muppets Treasure Island' on our VHS player and was part of those sweet innocent 'Disney' years. Because this movie is aimed at people exactly like me (the nostalgia riddled geek) I was of course swept away by this film. However there is enough heart, catchy songs and that special brand of Muppet humour on display here to enrapture any viewer. The Muppets you see, don't live in our world. They live in Disneyworld. Not disneyworld as in, the theme park, it's the sense that you're living in a world full of happiness, joy laughter ect... This sort of simple, innocent (no adult jokes) almost whimsical approach makes The Muppets one of the best feel-good movies ever, right up there next to It's A Wonderful Life. I'm not kidding, I've watched this sucker three times by now and can't get enough of it. There is just something about these characters that really resonates with me.
Anyway weird nostalgia trip aside, what exactly makes this movie fun again? Well while the plot feels very tertiary and simplified (it's the classic, 'Let's all get the old gang back together and host a telethon to save the Muppet studios!') it succeeds because it plays to what has always been the Muppet's core strength, and that's entertainment. It embraces the song and dance numbers open heartedly, but acknowledges it as being very tongue-in-cheek and refreshing at the same time. The songs are all very catchy and you won't be forgetting them any time soon, 'Life's a happy Song' is especially memorable and you'll be miming the words in your head for day afterwards. The second best thing this movie has going for it is the introduction of a new muppet Walter, who is (somehow) the brother of Gary, the films human protagonist. He is simply adorable to watch and you really start rooting for him at the end. I hope he stays as a regular in the future, he's probably my favourite muppet now actually. The humans of the film, Gary and Mary are the classic disney couple stereotype, but the actor's performances (Jason Segel and Amy Adams respectively) coupled with a truly fantastic song ('Am I a Man or a Muppet?') makes them feel like so much more. The constant breaking of the fourth wall is the film's clever way of saying 'just go with it, don't take any of this seriously' and as such whenever the characters act overly disney (trademark) the audience never feels alienated. If anything, the charm of this movie stems from that the fact that it harkens back to the films of our childhood, which were full of whimsical escapism and exuded innocent happiness, nowadays you've got those lazy cynicism fuelled Shrek sequels and *SHUDDERS* that horrible Smurfs movie a few years back that are essentially just entire movies filled with pop culture references.
No, The Muppets feels like a pure, honest-to-goodness family film, and it deserves every ounce of praise it can get. I can also say (with no shame whatsoever) that The Muppets brought me close to tears on several occasions. Yes that's right, a felt-laden frog with ping-pong balls for eyes made me shed a tear, I'LL ADMIT IT. You can't help but get invested into these characters, especially after the several rousing speeches made by Kermit every 5 minutes. He was handing out moral guidance by the buckload: 'Thanks to Walter here, we tried. and if we failed, we failed together and to me, that's not failing at all' had us all fetching buckets to catch our tears. Watching the Muppets for me ignites feelings of nostalgia happiness and most importantly my love for the Muppets. It feels like the ultimate family movie, and triumphs in many area's. I don't care how old you are, go see this movie, NOW. You won't regret it. Oh, how I have missed the Muppets. 10/10.
