Retro Review: Star Wars: Battlefront II

First played: 2005 on PlayStation 2

Star Wars Battlefront II remains immensely popular and has a deserved reputation as one of the all-time greatest Star Wars games. With a third entry in the series finally coming out thanks to EA and DICE, how does the previous title hold up?

Battlefront II’s game modes take place both the original and prequel trilogies across single and multi-player with the campaign, titled Rise of the Empire following the 501^st Legion’s career in both the Clone Wars and later the Galactic Empire; it’s a simple story, but surprisingly it manages to be engaging with Temuera Morrison’s (Who played Jango Fett in Attack of the Clones) narrations drawing you into to each mission, which in turn tie in well with series canon and even provide some insight into what the Empire was up to in the twenty years leading up to “A New Hope”. But following the canon as with every Star Wars game does force the campaign’s length down to around five or six hours max. The enemy AI is also quite inconsistent, sometimes enemies will run right past you, shoot the ground, or suddenly turn their attention to you with sudden accuracy, making it poor preparation for online play. Fortunately the game still has plenty to do beyond the story; across all modes, you’ll earn medals which (after much perseverance) will unlock upgraded weapons and bonuses for your character and then there’s Galactic Conquest. Adding a twist of strategy to the mix, GC pits the player and their fleet(s) against an opposing force for control of planets; winning battles will capture worlds, whilst losing will force your side to retreat. The game also adds boosters to vary the combat further such as enhanced weapon damage or the appearance of a hero or villain on the battlefield. It’s a long-lasting mode, but it begs for an option to play it online. What you will get online is a strong-standing multiplayer component offering up to 64 player galactic warfare across a huge number of maps. All players can host their own servers and join games via a buddy list; the latter could have used some tightening up as the only way to add buddies is to join the same server they are on. Battlefront II isn’t quite as organised as its modern contemporaries but terms of sheer chaotic online fun, the game delivers quite well.

In a similar way to EA’s Battlefield series, Battlefront II is all about playing as a team with the different classes through either first or third person (my preferred viewpoint!); soldiers are built for direct combat, heavy troopers target vehicles, marksman take aim from afar and engineers provide support through repair. But where Battlefront differs from other games of its kind is with its special units; the Clones, Droids (CIS), Rebels and Empire each have their own unique units which really add a spice of variety to the proceedings including the rolling destroyer droids (CIS) and the jet packing Dark Troopers (Empire). In addition to returning vehicles to commandeer, Battlefront II also added heroes and villains and fully-fledged space combat. Playing as a hero or villain is a fun and balanced novelty, although after a while it doesn’t feel too much different from standard infantry. Space combat on the other hand is very enjoyable and deep; the factions have four types of vessels specialising in dogfights (TRI Fighter), bombing (V-Wing), transport (Imperial Landing Craft) and a well balanced mix of the former (X-Wing); battles take place between capital ships, both of which can be boarded and have specific weak points to exploit. Each aspect of the game is simple to get into but also requires a degree of skill to master and aside from some cheap tactics where force powers are concerned, Battlefront II remains a mostly enjoyable and tactical experience.

Star Wars Battlefront may have some problems with its AI and a brief campaign but it does what no Star Wars game that came before it could; it absorbs and invests the player into the battlefields of George Lucas’s sci-fi epic better than any other game based on the licence, making them feel like one cog in a giant machine.

My recommendation: Get it on PC if you can; the multiplayer servers are still running and it’s often very cheap on Steam.

Retro Rating: 8/10

Godzilla 2014 Movie Review

Since his debut in 1954, the legendary Godzilla has starred in numerous films, proving that he is indeed, “King of the monsters”. But the giant nuclear Japanese beast hasn’t been seen in a western flick since 1998. Godzilla 2014 is bent on righting the previous wrongs of Emmerich’s 1998 flop but ultimately all it amounts to is an even more lacklustre effort.

The titular monster may be in the title but unexpectedly and rather disappointingly, Godzilla follows the story of the Brody family and their endeavours with other humans to deal with the entrance of a giant monster. Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston) loses his wife in a catastrophic nuclear station failure but deduces that the tragedy was not caused by man or weather but an unforeseen force. Flash forward fifteen years and Joe’s son Ford (Aaron-Taylor Johnson) is thrust into the chaos with Godzilla and two MUTOs (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms) facing off. Right from the start, it’s Godzilla so surely you’d expect some gargantuan battles to take place throughout the film. Regretfully the film contains hardly any of that and instead focuses on the humans talking and partaking in every kind of generic military fare whilst the monsters take an insulting back seat. It’s not always a bad thing to focus on the humans in a monster movie, as proven by 2008’s Cloverfield, but when almost every character is so meaningless and so under-developed, it is all too evident that this is a film where very little happens until the final act and even that is too brief to meet the quota for a monster brawl. Godzilla seems to appear out of nowhere in the film and because of shots of the creature’s back at the beginning of the film, there’s hardly any tension built throughout the film as we know he’ll show up at some point anyway. At least the 1998 film actually delivered in terms of action, and revealed the monster fairly well, however bogged down it was by terrible acting. It’s as if the film studio ran out of money making the effects for the final battle and figured that they had to throw in a heap of unrelated material that strays too far from the film’s premise. Rather than watching a Godzilla movie, it felt more like another “Battle: Los Angeles” at numerous points. With a plot as off the rails as this, they may as well have renamed the film “Call of Duty: Monsters Unleashed”.

The film’s focus on the humans, as opposed to the monsters attempts to bring some emotion to the proceedings but it only ends up serving a terribly conceived distraction that endlessly gets in the way and undermines the little action that takes place. Young Brody and his family are the same old group in peril who have been done to death in most disaster and military movies before and whenever they’re on screen you’ll just be counting down the minutes before the monsters come on again. Dr Ishiro Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) TRIES to relay and relate some modern themes such as the use of nuclear power but really all he’s doing is spouting dialogue which doesn’t receive any kind of payoff. Speaking of a lack of payoffs, there’s Bryan Cranston, who has been utterly wasted on this film; his character’s internal conflict over the loss of his wife is by far the most interesting thread in the film. But what happens then? He is killed off only a third into the movie without any proper conclusion to his arc. The rest of the characters are pure fluff, only present to play out the same tired militaristic situations seen in countless other films. What it comes down to is that you simply don’t care about the characters one bit, which only serves to magnify the film’s failed and fundamentally flawed approach to focus on the humans, rather than the monster rumble we were all expecting to see in a film titled “Godzilla”.

Legendary Pictures take on the classic monster may suffer from an identity crisis and have some painfully under-developed human characters but at least it looks the part. Monster based destruction has never looked better in a Hollywood blockbuster. Buildings burn, piles of rubble are everywhere; it all works to highlight the destructive nature of the creatures. And then there’s Godzilla himself; Edwards and company have truly nailed the look and feel of Toho’s monster this time around. He’s much more bulky, stands upright and breathes his trademark nuclear breath (which gives way to some sumptuous lighting effects). The music is also solid, providing sweeping notes whenever the monsters are brawling. The editing is well done, providing a huge sense of scale whenever Godzilla is on screen, though ironically many shots also emphasise the film’s biggest problem; often times you will see the monsters stomping around in the distance or fighting but then the camera will either pan or cut to the humans, resulting in many moments of frustration for the majority of us who came to see a monster brawl. All told the visual elements of Godzilla are great, but they really don’t stand a chance of saving the film as a whole.

Godzilla tries to be the big budget Hollywood monster movie we were all hoping for but it is instead a crushing disappointment that only becomes half decent in the final twenty minutes. At the very least it does get the monster right where the 1998 version failed to do so but the film’s baffling focus on the people rather than the titular character brings it crashing down.

Rating: 2/5 Stars

Grand Theft Auto 5 Game Review (PS3)

The Grand Theft Auto series (if the one billion dollar profit in just three days is anything to go by) is perhaps the biggest and most popular video game franchise of all time. With each new release from one generation to the next, Rockstar has consistently outdone itself. Grand Theft Auto 5 returns the series to the west coast rendition of Los Angeles and it is, by all accounts the best game ever put out by the company.

The city in question, Los Santos in the present day, plays host to not one but three tales of Michael, Franklin and Trevor; very different men who come together to solve each other’s problems in the crime business and ultimately pull off a collection of high risk, high reward heists that could set them up for life. Michael is a retired bank robber who has in a sense, reached the American Dream, owning a top-of-the-line property and having started a family; but Michael doesn’t feel like he reached anything, with his family hating him and his trips to therapy resulting in little success. Young street-hustler Franklin is on the other side of the coin, starting off in a similar position to CJ from 2005’s GTA San Andreas on Grove Street; he seeks to make a luxury life for himself and in a chance meeting, finds himself taken in by Michael. Then there’s Trevor; a “friend” from Michael’s past who eventually hears word of the former’s exploits and comes looking for a piece of the action. Trevor is a complete nutcase, endlessly engaging in felonies of the worst kind; he’s such a loathsome piece of work yet ironically he’s the embodiment of the players who just want to go on an all-out rampage against the law at every opportunity. The plot proceeds just like any GTA would, with the protagonists crossing paths with a range of colourful characters and the criminal schemes gradually escalating into full-blown capers along the way. Grand Theft Auto 5’s story is much more light-hearted than its predecessor, piling on the satire and controversy in greater amounts. Rather than placing a primary focus on one man’s claim to the American Dream, the game tackles some heavy topics in an attempt to push the boundaries of what is accepted in the medium. Some of this will no doubt offend some including mistreatment of women, economic crisis, corruption in government and the use of torture. The latter is personified in a very graphic mission featuring Trevor which was quite uncomfortable to play through. The light-hearted tone also gives way to more humour, culminating in an entertaining story which will definitely satisfy those who just want to play and forget about the thread tying it together. But if you compare it with GTA 4, it’s definitely a step back from one of the best stories in the medium; the trio’s hunt for wealth isn’t memorable as Niko’s quest for revenge and the three characters aren’t really as likeable because of their confined archetypes and reduced realism.

Grand Theft Auto 5 is simply the biggest open world game ever created; the state of Los Santos is bigger than Grand Theft 4’s Liberty City, and Red Dead Redemption’s valley put together and at every turn the landscape is like a giant piñata just bursting with things to do. 69 story missions comprise the game’s story but completing all of these only amounts to around fifty percent of the experience. GTA 5’s three playable characters are let loose in the entirety of Los Santos from the get-go to take on missions, search for items and participate in far too many side activities to count. Each of the characters possess their own money balance, wardrobe, property, vehicles and weapons, meaning that you’ll have to raise funds and buy items for each character separately. With the realism of Grand Theft Auto 4 gone, the customisation elements from past games have made a welcome return; guns (which range from pistols to a massive mini-gun) can be customised with sights, scopes, colours and other attachments. Likewise cars can be fitted with engines for increased speed, tyres for better handling and even armour for brushes with the law. Planes and the Rhino Tank are also back along with a submarine, allowing players to freely venture beneath the waves for the first time. The characters also have their own special abilities; Michael can slow down time to rack up headshots, Franklin can slow down time whilst in a vehicle to make turns silky smooth and Trevor can fly into rage mode where he takes less damage and dishes out more to enemies. The special abilities are just one of many aspects that feed into the returning RPG elements. The more shooting, sneaking, driving, athletics and flying the characters do, the better they will get at each skill; this goes hand-in-hand with the side activities which offer endless opportunities to boost skills. Michael can take part in tennis or triathlons to boost his stamina, Franklin might go to the shooting ranges and flying schools to raise shooting and flying or Trevor could go around getting into random fist fights to prop up his strength.

All of these additions really add to the game’s depth which is complimented by the improvements to gameplay and that’s before we get to the missions themselves, which are by far the best they’ve ever been in the series. Each character gets their moments of glory with Trevor’s mid-flight assault and hijack of a cargo jet, Michael chasing a target across airport runways and many more will leave a brilliant impression over the course of the game. But the heists are where the game really pushes the open world game over the top; building on the success of GTA 4’s Bank of Liberty Robbery, the heists are multi-staged missions which involve choosing a method and crew, making preparations and then executing with all three characters working together. Depending on the crew and approach you select, the heist may not go according to plan but at the same time you also have to consider how much of the money each crew member will take home. It’s a new highly unpredictable kind of mission design which offers full replayability, along with every other mission thanks to the mission replay option in the pause menu. Each major mission and side mission has a bronze, silver and gold rank which will continue to bring players back for months to come.

If that isn’t enough then the fully fledged multiplayer mode, GTA Online will more than suffice. Rockstar has really gone all-out to improve the online aspects of its crime simulator. You start by creating your own character with some extensive options (who is also selectable from the single-player mode), and choose their lifestyle, which will determine your starting skills and from there you can jump straight into either standard matches, or just free roam around the Los Santos with 15 other players, ranking up as you go and raising money to buy properties that cannot be found in the main game. While this is a bit of a disappointing number, considering the size of the map, this is redeemed by the new mission editor. From the multiplayer menu, players can enter any part of the map and conjure up any kind of mission they fancy from new variants on standard modes to outright ridiculous race courses and everything in between. If your mission is a solid fit, Rockstar may potentially add it to the playlists for all players to see. More customisation options are being put out in the months to come with even brand new heists making their way into the mode. There are still a few technical problems with lag, particularly when taking the passenger seat in another player’s car but less than a year from release, GTA Online still has heaps of potential and is only set to get better with time.

Grand Theft Auto 5’s gameplay picks up where its predecessor left off, continuing to refine and polish to a fine sheen. The cover system introduced in the previous game is now much more responsive, resulting in less sticking to the wrong piece of the environment in gunfights. A weapon wheel is now available, slowing down time to make choosing the right armament much easier and engaging a character’s special ability is as simple as clicking the two analog sticks together. Driving has received a much needed boost with the vehicles with the car handling being much more accessible this time around, although it can still be quite fiddly trying to aim weapons while driving at the same time. Planes and helicopters are fairly challenging to drive until the characters visit flight school. The numerous mini-games players can take part in have all sorts of control schemes tied to them, but the game is very helpful with its tutorials, ensuring that players can get into the side-activities easily without fumbling around with the controls. The law enforcement of Los Santos has also undergone a slight change; players can still evade the police by escaping the immediate area but that puts you at risk of running into other patrolling officers; if players pay attention to the police sight cones and stay out of them, they can be right next to the authorities and still escape just fine. Enemy AI has never really been a major strength of the series but in GTA 5, enemies will do their best to find cover and you’ll often face many at once. Thankfully the game has (finally!) added mid-mission checkpoints, drastically reducing the frustration levels in every mission. As the most refined game in the series to date, Grand Theft Auto 5 is an immensely enjoyable game to play and a testament to Rockstar’s undeniable ability to fly higher with every new release.

Just like the gameplay, Grand Theft Auto 5 boasts the series best graphic look to date. Los Santos, as I mentioned before is a big place, packed with a great variety of different environments including deserts, mountains and lakes in addition to the main city. The character models have also received an uplift with better facial expressions and more believable animations. The weather effects also look great, with stunning sunsets and detailed weather effects consistently rolling in to immerse the player. The soundtrack is once again stellar with a huge amount of memorable tracks from the 80s, 90s and modern times. With all that said, the game isn’t the greatest looking title out there; a couple of mild glitches here and there such as characters clipping into objects, and disappearing objects can be a little distracting. Despite these issues, the game still runs well and the voice acting is top-notch, brilliantly putting across the humour and satire in the story.

Grand Theft Auto 5 may not have the best narrative in a video game, nor does it push current hardware to the limit but the vast majority of places where this game delivers are simply off the charts, delivering the all-time best standards in mission design and open world gameplay. The game will undoubtedly go down as Rockstar’s crowning achievement in their prestigious and downright unstoppable career in the industry.

Rating: 9.5/10

Grand Theft Auto 4 Game Review (PS3)

Since 1997, the Grand Theft Auto series and its developer Rockstar have proven time and time again that it is the undisputed king of the open-world genre. As the first entry onto PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, GTA 4 aims to fly higher than any of its predecessors and in this regard, the game is by most accounts wildly successful.

GTA 4 returns the series to Liberty City, but the city fans remember from 2001’s Grand Theft Auto 3 is but a distant memory. Rockstar’s newest iteration of the east coast is based on New York and the city plays host to what is no doubt the developer’s finest story to date. Players step into the shoes of Niko Bellic, an Eastern European who comes to America to escape his dark past and, according to his cousin Roman, enjoy a life of luxury in the big city. Upon arriving, Niko quickly learns that he has an extremely long way to go to reach that point and quickly (and reluctantly) becomes wrapped up in his criminal ways once again. Niko’s journey of criminal activity and revenge crosses paths with a huge range of memorable characters just like every game in the series before it, but where Grand Theft Auto 4’s story really goes beyond that is through its sense of realism and narrative choice. Written by Dan Houser, the plot goes asks some very interesting moral questions, criticising man’s desire for power, corruption and the American Dream in addition to its satire of US culture. Adding to the story is a full voice cast as opposed to the use of celebrities in previous games; each character is well-acted, thoughtful and has a significant role to play over the course of the game. For the first time in the series Niko is placed at major story points where he must decide who lives and dies or how ruthless he will be in his pursuit of prosperity. Add to that a likeable leading protagonist and you have the very first story in the long running series that makes you really care about the characters and one that stands among the best in video games.

Although the map size is much smaller than the developer’s previous creations, Grand Theft Auto 4’s game world is no slouch when it comes to content. The story takes place across 88 main missions which add up to at least thirty hours of gameplay, but as with any game in the series, there are so many distractions and things to do that your time spent with the game substantially expands. The biggest addition to the design is socialising; as Niko goes through the game he will acquire several contacts saved to a mobile phone. He can invite them (or be invited) to go bowling, drinking or play darts amongst other activities and errands which raise ‘’like’’ and ‘’respect’’ percentages. Once these rise high enough, some friends will offer special abilities such as weapon stores and extra back-up both on and off missions. It’s a great addition, although the frequency of people calling in can become aggravating at times, especially where refusing social offers unavoidably depletes the ‘’like’’ percentage. Mission design has always been one of the major strengths of the series and while many of the missions still involve the process of watching a cutscene, driving to a location and killing everyone on sight, there are some real standouts here; a long range sniping mission from the top of a skyscraper and a fully-fledged bank robbery are particularly intense and thrilling. Whilst the missions do entertain, they do suffer from a lack of checkpoints; a problem which has long plagued the series, forcing players back to the start to retry from the beginning. The realism that permeates the story has also invaded the game’s design which will no doubt divide fans of the series; customisation has been restricted, the weapon count has been lowered, upgradeable skills are gone and there are no planes or tanks to commandeer. These changes work well at enhancing the story but in terms of gameplay it does mildly reduce the amount of enjoyment some may get out of the game. These gripes stick out a little but when GTA 4 is so large, expansive and immersive, all is mostly forgiven.

In addition to the humongous single player mode, Grand Theft Auto 4 introduces the series very first online mode; up to 16 players can battle one another in structured matches or simply drive around causing mayhem in the city. The game offers a relatively modest set of customisation options for your virtual criminal in addition to enabling and disabling police and traffic. Getting into the multiplayer modes can take a lot of patience as players are often ruthless in their efforts to take others down and take the most valuable weapons for themselves. Some of the team based modes are still great fun such as Cops n’ Crooks but compared with today’s popular multiplayer games the online functionality of Grand Theft Auto 4 is acceptable and little more.

Grand Theft Auto games in the past have suffered from some lacking shooting and driving controls but for the fourth main entry in the series, Rockstar has rectified almost every problem. Shooting is now handled through a cover system typical of most third person shooters where Niko snaps to a wall or solid object and peeks out to shoot with any available weapon. This makes taking on many gang members at once much more manageable and less frustrating than it was before. On the other hand, driving in GTA 4 is something that you really have to get used to over time; in a first for the series, most of the vehicles handle like the real thing and if you’ve played a lot of racing games then you may find it quite monotonous at first. Aside from sports cars the various land transports simply aren’t designed to turn while breaking and each need to be mastered depending on their size and weight. Add to this the danger of crashing through the wind-screen if Niko hits a solid object head-on and you have a much more tense experience all around, especially when evading the law. The Liberty City Police Department is once again relentless in their pursuit of Niko, bringing to bear heavy weaponry, vehicles and NOOSE teams depending on the protagonist’s wanted level. To evade the authorities Niko must escape the circled area the police are searching; this is assisted by switching vehicles or entering one of several purchasable safe houses across the map. On the whole Grand Theft Auto 4’s gameplay marks the biggest improvement to the series and is sure to be replicated and refined in future titles.

Grand Theft Auto 4’s technical presentation is miles beyond any game in the series before it but that is mostly down to the increased power of the PS3 and Xbox 360. The game adopts a darker and saturated look which again compliments the realism of the story but the graphics as a whole won’t set the world on fire. Facial animations are quite good in cut-scenes but the character models lack detail and you’ll often come across reused voice sampling in the civilians of Liberty City. With that said, Liberty City remains a marvel of a setting, bustling with activity of both the normal and criminal kind, there’s little that doesn’t work to absorb you into the game. The interior sections are much more detailed this time around, be it a hospital with medical staff wandering about their duties or a police station with law enforcers patrolling day and night. The track list has grown larger over the years and Grand Theft Auto 4 boasts one of the biggest soundtracks featuring real music with over 200 different songs across 19 radio stations. It’s a bit rough around the edges but Grand Theft Auto 4’s detailed cityscape and brilliant soundtrack do ultimately save the package.

Grand Theft Auto 4 isn’t quite the best game in the series, but it is definitely a huge step forward for the series. The story can rank among the best in the medium and most of the issues with gameplay that plagued the series in the past have been fixed. Even though its successor has effectively blown the doors off the gaming landscape, ’’4’’ is still well worth a look.

Rating: 9/10

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Movie Review

With 2012’s ‘’The Amazing Spider-Man’’, everyone’s favourite web-slinging hero made his return to the silver screen, with a prime focus on the original comic book series. Two years on, the sequel aims to soar higher with more villains and more action all around.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 continues from the original, with Spiderman aka Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) continuing to protect New York while also grappling with his personal life and past. It’s a fairly straightforward springboard for a superhero flick but from here, many things come to pass. New characters and villains rise, Peter’s relationship with Gwen Stacey (Emma Stone) is pushed to the limit and more details about Peter’s parents come to light. It’s a lot to take in and although the film delivers healthy doses of action and drama throughout, inevitably there are some plot points that get neglected at several points in the film. For example the intriguing story thread of Peter’s parents and their involvement with the OsCorp Company (which links with the original film quite well) is tossed to the side and doesn’t really receive a proper payoff at the film’s conclusion. Aside from these issues, ‘’The Amazing Spider-Man 2’’ maintains the quick pace of the original, which is sure to keep any superhero fan on the edge of their seat.

Spidey’s second outing into a comic book focus sticks to what worked in the original in terms of casting, while also bringing in new faces. Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone are again great as Spiderman and Gwen Stacy with their relationship shining through at every opportunity. Peter Parker in particular goes far beyond wisecracking as his character is faced with a great deal of strain from multiple angles throughout the film. On the other hand the villains are often very lacking; they suffer a similar problem to 2007’s Spider-Man 3 in that they all have their individual strengths but are struck down by a lack of cohesive development. Elektro (Jamie Foxx) has the best action scenes but his backstory is essentially non-existent; his character is a typical nerdy OsCorp employee who happens to be saved by Spiderman and nothing more. The Green Goblin/Harry Osborne (Dane DeHaan) suffers from the opposite problem; he has a solid build-up and fits in naturally with the main cast but when it comes down to fighting Spider-Man his ultimate appearance is disappointingly brief, and if you thought Venom’s part in Spider-Man 3 was brief, just wait until you see how much screen-time the Rhino gets in the film. The characterisation of ‘’The Amazing Spider-Man 2’’ is altogether mixed, delivering both great heroes and dissatisfying villains in differing measures.

Sony Pictures were really pushing the 3D for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and the final results are much like the characterisation, mostly mixed. The shots of Spider-Man swinging through the city continue to be awe-inspiring, although there are several areas that really don’t need 3D, especially more quiet and subdued scenes. But whenever Elektro comes on screen, the film transforms into a dazzling lightshow fairly similar to Sony’s InFamous series on the PlayStation 3 and the 3D effects are better for it, enhancing the action scenes to great effect. The super-villain, along with most of the action sequences rely mainly on CGI to entertain the viewer, though for the sequel slow motion shots have taken over from the point of view angles seen in the original film. The use of slow motion also works fairly well, increasing the intensity while never becoming excessive across the film’s 142 minute run time.

Despite having a little too much going on and the heavily unbalanced villains ‘’The Amazing Spider-Man 2’’ still has a few things to enjoy, making it another competent entry in the web slinger’s cinematic career.

Rating: 2.5/5 Stars

The Amazing Spider-Man Movie Review

Since 2007, the wall-crawling Spider-Man has remained in cinematic limbo. After multiple disagreements and a mixed reaction to the last film the popular hero has swung his way back to the big screen, this time with a very different focus.

The Amazing Spider-Man marks a new beginning for the web-slinger, with the reboot following the way of the comics rather than the realistic tone covered in the Raimi films. After being bitten by a radioactive spider, high school student Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) finds his life transformed as he becomes Spider-Man. In his new life, Peter faces pressures from his aunt and uncle (Sally Field and Martin Sheen), his love interest Gwen Stacey (Emma Stone) and her father Police Captain George (Denis Leary) and not to mention Doctor Curt Connors/The Lizard (Rhys Ifans) who threatens New York with his lethal mutation gas. The plot as a whole is much faster paced than previous films, never slowing down to keep the action scenes flowing consistently; this is evident through the use of brief flashbacks that put across the backstory without wearing out their welcome. With that said some of the more emotional moments that were so strong in the original trilogy seem to be brushed over rather quickly here, with the film assuming that all audiences are well aware of the superhero’s backstory. But where some areas are neglected, other areas receive greater attention; ‘’The Amazing Spider-man’’ provides a detailed account of Peter’s parents and their greater role in the field of genetic research where the previous films did not. With this in mind, the film also delves into scientific themes with the introduction of the fictional OsCorp Company, a place where both ingenious experiments flourish and deadly super villains are inadvertently created. Interestingly, the fictional Daily Bugle newspaper that served a major source of comic relief in the Raimi, plays a very small role here and it was the right choice, ensuring that the drama is never overshadowed by the comedic elements.

The characters of The Amazing Spider-Man fall in line with the original comics and while they are subject to the often clichéd dialogue associated with teenage romance, Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone both pull their weight to make the relationship between Spider-Man and Gwen Stacey a memorable and well developed one. Garfield also brings a much more light-hearted mood to the proceedings with a few wisecracks here and there as the titular hero. In ‘’The Amazing Spider-Man’’, Gwen sets herself apart from Kirsten Dunst’s Mary-Jane by being much more than just a love interest who needs to be rescued; instead she eventually takes a full part in Peter’s two lives and in doing so, makes a much bigger impression in her film debut. The villain also has a fairly substantial backstory, with Doctor Connors interacting with Peter on many occasions and often being torn between his caution for experimentation and his burning desire to regain his lost arm. Despite the mostly solid effort from the cast, there are some characters here and there who are really underused, most notably Martin Sheen as Peter’s Uncle Ben; a shame, considering the actor’s reputation and the significant role the character had in previous films.

As the first Hollywood production to be filmed with RED Epic Cameras, The Amazing Spider-Man is mostly successful in capturing the thrill of high flying web-slinging action. This, along with some point of view shots sprinkled at certain points really immerses the audience into Spidey’s adrenaline fuelled perspective. Although the action scenes are sometimes quite brief by superhero standards, there are still many intense moments to enjoy. The battle between Spiderman and the Lizard in a claustrophobic sewer is a particular highlight. The Lizard himself is a fairly good design, looking quite reptile like, although the face could have looked more rectangular than humanoid. The music (composed by James Horner) is suitably over-the-top during the action sequences, but it also finds time to calm down in the more emotional moments. The Amazing Spiderman’s presentation is to a good standard, meeting the expectations set by previous films and providing thrills that no other superhero can muster.

The Amazing Spider-Man isn’t quite as brilliant as the Sam Raimi trilogy but it nonetheless does a good job of setting itself apart from those films, delivering the hero into new territory in the process.

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

25 Gaming Franchises that lived and died on the last generation

When it comes to modern gaming, a large majority of new releases are part of a franchise but when the next generation of consoles comes about, not all of these can make the jump for many reasons. This list contains series that had more than one entry to their name but did not (or probably will not) reach PlayStation 4 or Xbox One anytime soon.

1. Motorstorm (PS3: Evolution Studios)

Motorstorm was one of the first PS3 exclusives; often bundled with the system upon its release back in 2006, the game was focused on off-road racing with many different vehicle and terrain types to consider. The series went on to host four more titles on the PS3 and PSP including the tropical island focused Pacific Rift but eventually came to a stop after Motorstorm Apocalypse and RC in 2011 and early 2012.

Why did it die off (or slow down)?

With Evolution Studios moving on to develop the social focused DriveClub for PlayStation 4, it’s easy to suggest that the MotorStorm festival has spent its last petrol tank on the racing scene. The servers for each title have gradually been shut down since 2012, fully closing the doors on the series.

2. Guitar Hero, Rock Band and DJ Hero (Multiplatform: Harmonix)

Debuting in 2005, 2007 and 2009 respectively, the peripheral based Guitar Hero, Rock Band and DJ Hero are easily the crown jewels in Harmonix and Activision’s efforts in the music genre. The plastic instruments may not have been realistic up to Rock Band 3 but that didn’t stop the three games from becoming immensely popular in party play. Rock Band was particularly revolutionary in that it brought the music genre to the mainstream, allowing for four players to play guitar, bass, keyboard, drums or even sing. The three series make up 11 games in total but have all since slowed down in the last few years.

Why did it die off (or slow down)?

All three music series started off strong in terms of sales and popularity but from 2009 onwards this gradually declined to the point where Activision cancelled the Guitar Hero and DJ Hero series. This could have been down to the advent of more realistic music simulators such as Rocksmith as well as the over-saturation of the rhythm genre, especially where Guitar Hero is concerned.

3. Army of Two and Kane and Lynch (Multiplatform: EA and IO Interactive respectively)

AOT and KAL are both similar games in that they both feature two tough-as-nails protagonists and both have a primary focus on cooperative gameplay. Both started towards the beginning of the seventh generation with the two titles making their debuts on PS3 and Xbox 360. There were three titles for Army of Two, and two for Kane and Lynch which tried to different levels of success to fill the coop shooter niche from 2008 through to 2013 with ‘’Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days’’ and ‘’Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel’’ rounding off the two series.

Why did it die off (or slow down)?

Army of Two and Kane and Lynch both started off with mixed to mildly positive critical reception but as things went on, the series both got more mediocre and tedious, refusing to push forward whilst magnifying what was wrong with the games to begin with. Kane and Lynch in particular fell flat on its face with Dog Days as it had a painfully short single-player campaign and an all-around lazy design.

4. LittleBigPlanet (PS3: Media Molecule)

LittleBigPlanet arrived in the first much needed wave of exclusives for PS3 and it met expectations brilliantly, revolutionising user-generated content for consoles in the process and giving the system its first major mascot. Thousands of fully-fledged levels were made using the in-game editing tools and the 2011 sequel pushed things even further by allowing full games to be made. There were also two handheld entries on the PSP and PlayStation Vita and a kart racing spin-off, all of which did well both critically and commercially. Since 2012 the series has not been heard from however.

Why did it die off (or slow down)?

With the enormous amount of DLC and user-generated content made in both games, LittleBigPlanet is more than capable of sustaining itself over the years to come. Developer Media Molecule has been getting into other projects including Tearaway and an unannounced PS4 title. The series that made them famous could make it to PS4 at some point but at the moment, the developer may want to try something new for a new system.

5. Dead Space (Multiplatform: EA)

Debuting in 2008, Dead Space was once a staple in modern horror gaming with its unique combat system of strategic dismemberment, rather than constantly aiming for the head. The original took place on the claustrophobic and blood-streaked corridors of the Ishimura, the sequel opened things up on Titan Station and the third moved to the icy Tau Volantis, with mixed results. There were also a few spin-offs here and there, including Ignition and Dead Space Mobile but since DS3 there has been no word of any future games in the series.

Why did it die off (or slow down)?

Like many survival horror titles in modern gaming, Dead Space gradually fell into the trap of being butchered into an action game in an attempt to appeal to as wide an audience as possible and when this reached boiling point with Dead Space 3, fans were decidedly angry, even more so for the micro-transactions that EA placed into the title. Despite these complaints, the game still sold well and the story left things open for a fourth game in the series. But no thanks to the sales forecasts that were not met, EA has effectively pulled the plug on Dead Space.

6. The Conduit and Red Steel (High Voltage Software and Ubisoft respectively)

Much like Army of Two and Kane and Lynch, The Conduit and Red Steel were both motion controlled first person shooter games for the Nintendo Wii. The latter anchored the launch of Nintendo’s system whilst the former sought to reach the success had by Metroid Prime 3 two years later. Both made fairly good use of the console’s motion controls for pinpoint shooter controls but ended before they could reach ‘’system-seller’’. The Conduit 2 in particular suffered from a cliff-hanger that continues to tease fans to this day.

Why did it die off (or slow down)?

Both The Conduit and Red Steel thrived because of the Wii’s motion controls which allowed for precision gunplay but when Nintendo moved away from this scheme with the Wii U’s tablet controller, the series would have lost what made it enjoyable for fans. The Conduit in particular possesses development problems; a third game in the series would have a hard time appearing on the Wii U because of High Voltage’s independent publishing.

7. Supreme Commander (PC: Gas Powered Games)

The Supreme Commander series is incredibly complex in terms of strategy, boasting a huge amount of different units and an even bigger amount of thought needed to succeed in battle. But with all its complexity the series also brought some new ideas to the table, including the ACU (armoured command unit) used to build and maintain bases. The series had two main games from 2007 to 2010 with the Forged Alliance expansion in-between, but as of 2012 Gas Powered Games seems to have gone into hiding with little word on what they are working on next.

Why did it die off (or slow down)?

The strategy genre is often very crowded and from 2010 onwards many long awaited RTS games were released including StarCraft 2, Civilization 5 and the Total War games seemed to shift Supreme Commander from its top spot and gained significantly more popularity in the process. If Supreme Commander 3 was released it would face some stiff competition against its contemporaries.

8. Overlord (Multiplatform: Triumph Studios)

Overlord was an interesting series for what it was; playing as an evil Overlord commanding a horde of minions mixed role-playing and strategy into a fairly solid mix with the two main games in its lifespan. Not only would the Overlord battle through varied levels but he would also build and upgrade his base of operations; a great incentive to keep playing for fans of the series. The game was often very humorous too with Rhianna Pratchett’s patented writing making its way into the series.

Why did it die off (or slow down)?

Overlord had some good moments but the series suffered from persistent issues such as camera problems and fiddly multi-tasking that may have contributed to lowered review scores and therefore stopped the series from progressing any further. Triumph Studios has since returned to other franchises, such as the recently released Age of Wonders 3. At this point the studio will either return to Overlord at some point in the future or start something completely new.

9. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Multiplatform: LucasArts)

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed had some brilliant potential; the gameplay showing off the most destructive uses of the force was eventually paired with a great story which filled in the gaps between Episodes 3 and 4 of George Lucas’s Sci-Fi epic. But when the two games in the series were actually released they failed to live up to the hype promised by the trailers, growing repetitive very quickly and being rather restrictive in the amount of destruction that could take place on screen.

Why did it die off (or slow down)?

With the closure of LucasArts last year, the fate of ‘’The Force Unleashed’’ now lies within the hands of Disney and EA who are handling the development of all future titles in the Star Wars Universe. Though given the lukewarm critical response of both games it’s difficult to see the series making a comeback; EA’s current focus is clearly on delivering the next Battlefront game whereas Disney has full control over the license.

10. Crackdown (Xbox 360: Microsoft)

Just as LittleBigPlanet was a major exclusive for Sony, so too was Crackdown for Microsoft. Beginning in 2007, Crackdown was initially seen as a pricey ticket into the then highly anticipated Halo 3 multiplayer beta. But it also went beyond that by offering an addicting gameplay experience akin to being a superhero. The super-agent could scale the tallest of buildings, pick up the heaviest of objects and commandeer the most hi-tech vehicles in the open world of Pacific City. A sequel came out in 2010 from Ruffian Games but then the series seemingly vanished without a trace from then on.

Why did it die off (or slow down)?

Crackdown was a surprise hit in 2007 but this may have been down to the fact that it came with a key to the Halo 3 beta rather than the game itself. Because it didn’t have this incentive for purchase, Crackdown 2 was much less successful than the original in terms of sales. Phil Spencer has talked briefly about bringing the series back on Xbox One, but until that happens, the series remains in limbo.

11. The Darkness (Multiplatform: 2K)

Beginning as early as 2006, The Darkness (based on the comics) put players in the shoes of Jackie Estacado, a man with the power to summon and conjure demons at will. This provided a welcome twist to the usual first person shooter gameplay with differing abilities granted from the demons at Jackie’s disposal. The game also followed the comics well, portraying a dark and brooding atmosphere. A belated sequel came out six years later but the series has since stopped completely.

Why did it die off (or slow down)?

With the fairly definitive ending which left Jackie trapped in an impossible situation, there seems to be little room or point for another game in ‘’The Darkness’’ series. Because the two games were released so far apart from each other, fans had mostly lost interest in ‘’The Darkness’’ by the time 2 came along and other games had taken control of the market. 2 was also much less successful critically, sporting flaws such as predictable enemy A.I and a short campaign for the asking price.

12. Destroy All Humans! (Multiplatform: THQ)

Beginning in 2005 on the PS2, Destroy All Humans was one of the first games that focused entirely on quite literally, destroying all humans in all sorts of wacky ways as alien invader Crypto with the backdrop of classic 1950s science fiction. After its original developer Pandemic went bust, the series made it onto PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii but eventually stopped after the release of Path of the Furon in 2009.

Why did it die off (or slow down)?

Path of the Furon may have been released on what was then next-generation hardware but it suffered from a poor critical reception, leading to the cancellation of the series. Not only that but both THQ and Pandemic have closed their doors, leaving it up to Nordic Games as to what to do with the franchise.

13. Medal of Honour (Multiplatform: EA)

Debuting in 2010, the modern day reboot of Medal of Honour was EA’s attempt to oust the annual Call of Duty juggernaut that continues to rake in millions to this day. The reboot series had two titles with the first taking place almost entirely in the Middle East and the other following the more straight-forward layout of a world-wide conflict. Like Call of Duty it also adopted a similar multiplayer style with fast-paced on foot combat developed by DICE.

Why did it die off (or slow down)?

Just like Dead Space, the Medal of Honour reboot is a franchise that landed in the ash can because in EA’s eyes, it was not successful enough to continue. After a lacklustre effort in 2012’s ‘’Warfighter’’ and a failure to best it’s biggest rival, both EA and DICE likely decided to use Battlefield as its premier shooter franchise, leaving Medal of Honour to fall back into obscurity once again.

14. Mafia (Multiplatform: 2K)

The Mafia series is best known for its story which manages to take the best of the classic crime drama films while also adding a detailed family drama of its own. With that said, the game’s third person shooting and open world environment don’t really make too much of an impression when compared to its contemporaries.

Why did it die off (or slow down)?

Because of its failure to stand alongside the best crime simulators, Mafia 3 is unlikely to make an appearance and given that 2K Czech hasn’t been heard from since 2011, it’s difficult to tell what the future holds for the series.

15. Lost Planet (Multiplatform: Capcom)

Lost Planet is a major example of a Capcom title which had outstanding production values but never quite reached its full potential from a gameplay standpoint. The series took place on an inhospitable frozen planet where thermal energy and vital suits were essential for survival. Lost Planet: Extreme Condition and Lost Planet 2 were the most ambitious and extravagant of the two with 2 boasting full four player coop while the third was much more scaled back and distant, having been passed over to Spark Unlimited.

Why did it die off (or slow down)?

Lost Planet tried three times to reach the golden standards met by the likes of other Capcom franchises but in all attempts, numerous flaws dragged the series down to the point where the company saw no point in taking the series any further. Extreme Condition suffered from an awful story and finicky controls, 2 couldn’t fix these issues despite going bigger in every way and 3 was far too shallow to make an impression and stepped too far from what made the series unique.

16. Epic Mickey (Multiplatform: Multiple developers led by Warren Spector)

In collaboration with Disney, the creator of System Shock and Deus Ex, Warren Spector produced a licensed game for the mega-company’s most recognised mascot. With such a big name behind the project, everyone expected the Epic Mickey series to be a huge hit, but in the end it only had two main titles to its name, both of which failed to capitalise on the developer’s previous successes.

Why did it die off (or slow down)?

In modern gaming, Disney appears to be operating under a similar mind-set to EA in that any series that does not meet lofty critical and commercial aims should not be continued and that is precisely what has happened with Epic Mickey as Junction Point was shut down by the publisher due to poor sales and Warren Spector hasn’t been heard from since.

17. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii: Nintendo)

The Super Mario Galaxy series was without a doubt one of the finest efforts on the Nintendo Wii, once again proving that the Japanese Company does first party titles like no one else. The original re-invigorated the platforming genre with its gravity defying traversal while the sequel greatly expanded on it, adding more challenge and variation to become more than just a straightforward sequel.

Why did it die off (or slow down)?

With every new Nintendo console released, the company finds a way to produce a new perspective or hook on its first party franchises to keep them from going stale after numerous games over many years. Despite the huge success enjoyed by the two Super Mario Galaxy titles, the series will remain on Wii so that Nintendo can do something new with the portly plumber when he eventually makes his full 3D debut on Nintendo’s system.

18. Prototype (Multiplatform: Activision)

Unlike its biggest rival InFamous, Prototype went for full-on carnage and all-out madness in every aspect of its gameplay. Playing as the biologically enhanced Alex Mercer (and James Heller in the sequel) there was no structure in being good or evil, it was all about wreaking as much havoc on the people and bio-terrorism units of New York City. But where InFamous made it onto PS4, Prototype came to a screeching halt in 2012 and hasn’t had another entry since then.

Why did it die off (or slow down)?

Prototype’s cancellation is purely down to the heavy lay-offs that hit developer Radical Entertainment in 2012. Activision said that the series failed to reach a strong commercial audience, which was likely because of the greater popularity enjoyed by the InFamous series. The sales of Prototype 2 were also disappointing compared to the original which meant the series will not see a third instalment anytime soon.

19. Crysis (Multiplatform: Crytek)

Crysis was once the pinnacle of technical prowess on PC and consoles; it pushed hardware to the limit but also had some stellar gameplay to back up its stellar technical presentation. Utilising the nanosuit’s strength, speed and invisibility powers led to a game which offered a great deal of player choice in how to tackle each combat situation. There were three main games, all of which were developed by Crytek.

Why did it die off (or slow down)?

In a similar way to Dead Space, Crysis slowly grew less and less enjoyable as the series went on. The original Crysis was brilliant, setting high standards in open world combat and enemy AI. But from there things slowly went downhill. Crysis 2 became a linear affair, with some bugs in enemy behaviour and Crysis 3 didn’t get much better, despite boasting a fairly decent story. With the story now complete, Crytek has gone on to make Ryse and now the upcoming Homefront 2.

20. Raving Rabbids (Multiplatform: Ubisoft)

Beginning at the start of last generation, Rabbids was initially an experiment by Ubisoft to go beyond the Rayman character but eventually turned out to be one of their most successful franchises targeted towards children. The Raving Rabbids have become just as famous as the character they were spawned from, journeying across numerous platforms and putting out one game every year from 2006 to 2013.

Why did it die off (or slow down)?

After eight games, Ubisoft has recently returned to Rayman with Origins and Legends and in doing so, has greatly satisfied fans of platformers in the process. Rabbids seems to be moving away from gaming in the future and will instead invade television with a fully-fledged cartoon series to be broadcasted in the coming years.

21. The Legend of Spyro (Multiplatform: Sierra Entertainment)

After three outstanding titles on the original PlayStation (and a few mediocre efforts when the series left Insomniac) Sierra Entertainment and Krome Studios picked up the character for a trilogy of games in which the titular dragon faces off against Cynder and her oppressive Dark Master. The series scraped onto PS3, Wii and Xbox 360 with Dawn of the Dragon. But the character would not see another title and was instead placed into the now widely popular Skylanders series.

Why did it die off (or slow down)?

The Legend of Spyro clearly marked itself as a trilogy and the story was fully completed at the conclusion of ‘’Dawn of the Dragon’’ and now that Spyro has moved to Skylanders, the purple dragon may never see another fully-fledged single-player adventure. Perhaps his time as a mascot has long passed? Ever since Insomniac handed the character over to other developers, Spyro has had his ups and downs but from here on in, he may only be seen as a collectable toy and nothing more.

22. No More Heroes (Multiplatform: Grasshopper Manufacture)

As one of the few third party game to take full advantage of the Wii’s capabilities, No more Heroes told the story of Travis Touchdown as he carved his way through a ring of assassins in an over-the-top and cell-shaded style. In doing so the game also set itself apart from the usual family friendly Wii games at the time. There were two main games on Nintendo’s system before the series eventually made it to the PS3 with Sony’s PlayStation Move controller.

Why did it die off (or slow down)?

Along with Zack and Wiki, No More Heroes was one of the few third party titles to make a big impression on Nintendo’s system, but because there was so much shovel ware on the Wii, the series was inevitably buried under a mound of rubbish. Things continue to look grim for third party support on the Wii U and with motion controls thrown out the window; Travis Touchdown may have swung his last beam katana.

23. Tom Clancy’s HAWX (Multiplatform: Ubisoft)

Of all the game series based off Tom Clancy’s fiction, HAWX was the only title to dive into aerial combat with two games on the previous generation of consoles. To differ from the traditional gameplay of a cockpit view, HAWX allowed players to view the outside of the fighter jets to better track opponents and execute maneuverers more effectively. Both games offered single player modes of adequate length but they shined much brighter online where a highly unpredictable competition awaited budding pilots worldwide.

Why did it die off (or slow down)?

Where Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six have continued over the years, HAWX was only a temporary franchise made just for the PS3 and 360 generation. The series just doesn’t have the depth or replayability to endure across multiple generations, nor can its multiplayer be placed on the competitive scene the way its contemporaries can. Add to this the mixed reception and it’s easy to see why we haven’t seen a HAWX 3.

24. F.E.A.R (Multiplatform: Vivendi and WB Games)

F.E.A.R differed from most first person shooters at the time in that it mixed in a huge dose of horror along with a futuristic setting. The protagonists would take on regular human opponents but throughout the ordeal they would also be forced to deal with enemies of the supernatural kind. The series lasted from 2006 through to 2011 but didn’t quite manage to break into the current generation.

Why did it die off (or slow down)?

Though the F.E.A.R series could do with another coop based ride through the demon hordes, the series seems to have been put to rest for good with Day 1 Studios being acquired and rebranded by Wargaming.net, developer of World of Tanks.

25. Resistance (PS3: Insomniac Games)

Finally we come to Resistance, whose multiplayer servers have recently been shut down by Sony. The series had three main titles to its name along with Retribution on the PSP and prided itself on offering action packed shooting mixed with a dash of horror elements. The first game was certainly the best title of the PS3 launch line-up, the second upped the ante in every respect and the third was decent, but ended up leaving the series on a significantly lower note.

Why did it die off (or slow down)?

Resistance was Insomniac’s final series that was exclusive to Sony consoles and they are now working on Sunset Overdrive for the Xbox One. It’s quite a shame that the series had to end with such an anti-climactic ending and derivative multiplayer that ended up being so stripped back from R2. Sony may pass the series to another developer but as of 2012 with Resistance Burning Skies, there has been no confirmation of this or any other news on the future of the series.