Her (2013)

Now a bit of a preface before I get into this review. I love talking about and watching films, but rarely have I done a written review so if it appears a little formulaic what I present, well, so be it. It's all about evolution and if I can get back into doing this on a regular basis I'm sure it will in turn create a more flowing experience for the next film review. Having tried different formats for my game reviews (albeit a while ago), I feel it's best just to go with a more generalised and structured review, as opposed to a more casual interpretation. Now without further adieu: Her.

Written and directed by Spike Jonze, whose directorial credits vary so greatly from documentaries and music videos (Sabotage by The Beastie Boys, Daft Punk's Da Funk), to feature length films of different genres such as 1999's Being John Malkovich to 2009's Where the Wild Things Are and even 2013's Bad Grandpa (a collaboration with Jackass' Johnny Knoxville), Her, essentially a sci-fi romance, doesn't necessarily seem like the kind of film Jonze would do. Especially taking into consideration this is his first wholly original film, with his previous works being in collaboration with Charlie Kaufman or the adaptation of a noted children's book. But what he has managed to do is bring to the screen a powerful movie about love, loss, personal growth and the nature of existence. I don't like the term 'emotional ride' or 'emotional rollercoaster', but this is a film which will have you experiencing a wide degree of emotions and it's commendable to Jonze that he has managed to create that experience in a film which, under different circumstance, may not be able to stand this way this one has.

Her focuses on Theodore Twombly (Joaquim Phoenix), a middle-aged man working as a letter writer for people unable to adequately express themselves in a future-Los Angeles. Having been through a break up and in the middle of divorce proceedings it's an interesting diametric presented initially, given that this character, who has the talent to 'feel' for other people and put that to writing, himself is living a lonely, unloving existence spent cycling through email's, playing computer games, having a awkward conversations with his neighbours and using phone sex lines in an effort to bring some sort of fulfilment to his dull life.

With the release of a new computer operating system though, his life begins to change. The disembodied voice of the system, Samantha (voiced by Scarlett Johansson) starts to become a bigger factor in his life, changing and evolving and growing as an individual, the two form a bond which strengthens during the movie, in turn allowing Twombly to want to better himself from the person he was.

Of course with any romantic film, tribulations are a given, and on numerous occasions these come to the fore but given the fact that Samantha is a computer it adds another dimension, bringing in questions of the nature and validity of their relationship, jealousy, the judgements that others have of this sort of relationship. And we see in this film differing viewpoints from others on this issue, which is refreshing and essential.

The two leads are fantastic, Phoenix  gives a great performance as this character, from the opening moments taking you through his daily life, and further on as he reflects on the mistakes he made in his previous relationship, his fear of going through the same again, and the difficulty he has in the relationship with Samantha, are all effectively presented by the actor. Johansson is exceptional in her voice-work which is so well conveyed, and as such the audience in turns genuinely feels for these two individuals as they go face the inevitable hurdles, her own personality shines through, with optimism, curiosity, turning to melancholy, uncertainty, fear throughout the course of the film, a wonderful performance. Many shots also linger exclusively on Theodore during his conversations with Samantha, giving such moments a highly intimate tone. Commendable supporting roles also to Amy Adams and Chris Pratt as Theodore's neighbour and co-worker respectively, and a great cameo from Kristen Wiig; who you may not even recognize till the end credits. Olivia Wilde also has a small role, and Rooney Mara stars as Theodore's bitter ex-wife.

The direction from Jonze is fantastic, the way that he is able to convey the conversations between Theodore and Samantha was incredible, and some of the quieter moments where the score takes over are just as good. The score as well warrants a mention. Penned by Canadian indie band Arcade Fire and Owen Pallett, with Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs also penning a track, was incredibly moving and just perfect for the film. Unfortunately to date there has been no official soundtrack release.

And the cinematography is also incredible. As this is set in the near future we have a credibly presented possible Los Angeles, expanded with CGI to include much more sky-scrapers in it's already sprawling landscape, and with extra footage being shot in Shanghai, it gives the film a plausible and realistic appearance despite it's future setting.

It's worth noting that in addition for it's Golden Globe win for Best Screenplay this film is up for several Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Score and Best Original Screenplay.

If there are any negative aspects of this film, the only one I can think of would be length, if you do not like long movies then this might not necessarily be your thing. Clocking in at over 2 hours it can feel like a very long movie given it's so character driven as opposed to say, an action film which can make a 2 hour run-time feel much shorter, however I felt the length was necessary to delve into each possible moment these characters could have and situation they face throughout the course of the story.

I do highly recommend this film though. A+

A CDR REVIEW: Wii Cricket (Wii)

For Cricket and Wii fans the prospect of a Cricket game for this platform was very exciting, prior to the release of Wii Cricket. Having the Wii-mote act as a responsive bat, or using it in place of a ball was something any cricket fan could look forward to, considering till the release of this game, the only cricket titles out there you had to control via a regular gaming controller, or using keyboard keys (stickcricket.com being the best exponent of this mode of play).

But 2009 saw the release of Wii Cricket. And, sad to say, it was a disappointment in more ways than just the controls.

Gameplay:

Foreshadowing the 2009 Ashes series (in which cricket teams from Australia and England contest the Ashes trophy, a competition running since the late 19th century), and considering this game only received licensing from Cricket Australia and it’s English Cricketing counterpart, Australia and England are the only ‘official’ teams you can field. Otherwise you have to make do with teams made up of poorly named doppelgangers from South Africa, India, Pakistan, the West Indies, Sri Lanka, and New Zealand.

I'm not even sure who he's supposed to be imitating...

In addition, there are multiple grounds to choose from; however the majority of those are fields in England where the 5-test Ashes series was contested. The MCG (and a poorly rendered one considering it looked quite different at the time in real life), Eden Park (New Zealand), Eden Gardens (India), Wanderers Stadium (South Africa),  and Sabina Park (West Indies) being the other grounds matches could be played at. Choosing teams does allow you some variety but you probably wont bother too much, most teams are already allocated their 11 players according to their individual strengths and/or reflecting who was playing in what team at the time. The problem of course with this game being developed when it was is that you’ll have teams fielding players no longer playing, like Marcus North and the long-forgotten Ben Laughlin for Australia, or Michael Vaughn, former England captain. 

And even then, all characters are appallingly rendered, barely resembling their real-life counterparts.

Flintoff? I call bullshit.

An Australian player....but who?

And you can contest a variety of matches at these grounds between said teams, from playing out the full 5-Test series in England, or one-off test matches between any other countries, or custom matches like 5, 10, 15 or Twenty 20 matches are also available. And these are great if you just want a quick match to slog it out, otherwise, the 5-Test series is there for those looking for a more authentic experience. And if playing in single player mode, you’ll be bowling and facing every ball, it’s not physically draining, but if you have to put up with lazy AI as I’ll mention later, it can be a very long process. But the bad AI can work for you, and you can easily rack up enormous scores for individual batsmen and the teams, for example, using the bad AI I was able to notch 0/250 in a 10 over match, get Mike Hussey to a score of 526 (and the computer stops recognising your centuries once you get past 400), and had once scored a team total of 1513, with all but 3 batsmen registering centuries (and those 3 got half centuries each). And you can change the difficulty of the opposition, but this hardly makes a difference.

Teams are also rated in terms of their strengths, for example, Australia, India, South Africa and England being the strongest of the teams, with a balance of batting and bowling strength, whilst the lesser teams have to make do with average ratings, though you may find strong performers in the lesser teams, like Darren Vittare (Daniel Vettori) for New Zealand and Sumit Tenhukkar (Sachin Tendulkar) each having individual ratings of 9/10.

But in reality the difficulty of the teams is a non-issue. Of course, if you’re playing as 1 player you’ll be able to tame the bowling, or batting with relative ease, each bowler has the chance to bowl a perfect ball (or ‘perfect bowl’ as the game ridiculously labels it) every three balls if you string together said three deliveries at the right time, too soon and the ball is likely to be sent to the fence, too late and you won’t even bowl the ball and it will be ruled a no-ball (awarding the batting team with an extra run), which is completely removed from the rules of cricket; a ball not bowled is ruled a dead ball and the bowler can deliver again with no penalty. But if you can get those 3 balls bowled in time, a perfect ball is available, which only increases your chances of taking a wicket (and marginally at that).

And when batting you can take advantage of the oppositions lack of AI as opposition teams will switch between 1 of 5 different field settings depending on the circumstances of the game, for example, at the start of the match a routine field will be set, with catchers close in, and others stopping runs further out. If a wicket is quickly taken all fielders will be brought in closer to encourage new batsmen, low on the ‘confidence meter’ to try and hit out over the field, or remain on strike, slowly gaining confidence and stalling the play. But if two batsmen are slaying the bowling and sending the ball to all parts of the ground, all fielders will be on the boundary awaiting a catch, though you can easily overcome this by playing on the ground to the middle of the field, taking easy runs while the opposition lumbers in to field the ball.

                                        

Andrew Symonds, sans dreadlocks (which he had till well after the '09 Ashes), suitably not fielding the ball.

And this is a real blight on the AI, as the fielding captain, you’ll be able to set the fields anyway you like to overcome the difficulties presented in any of the scenario’s just mentioned, the computer simply lacks that ability and, frankly, human instinct to understand what to do in order to stop the human player having the advantage in every situation. Every opposition NPC will stand in their places, but using the remote, you can direct the ball to easily slip between them once you have taken your shot, and boundaries will be in abundance.

And during gameplay you’ll be subjected to repetitive commentary courtesy of Jonathon Agnew, Tony Greig, Ian Botham, Michael Holding and Shane Warne. But you’ll quickly turn this option off as quickly as possible due to the inane conversations the commentators go through hour after hour. 

Controls:

Wicket taking can be either the easiest task or the most infuriating challenge, and worst of all, it will not be up to you at all. The fielding NPC’s are highly inconsistent in their ability to take catches. You’ll find yourself shaking your head in disbelief as a NPC sits under a high ball for seconds, only to spill it at the last second, or stands still as the ball drifts within feet of him while the batsmen are lethargically running between the wickets, leaving fielding of the ball to an NPC on the other side of the wicket, or much farther away. But by the same token (and from experience), you’ll have wicketkeepers taking catches from directly behind the stumps mere fractions of a second after it’s been hit by the batsmen, or the ball literally passing through the batsmen’s legs to knock the wickets down. While this is amusing, it again goes against the supposed ‘realistic experience’ the game promises.

Bowling is an otherwise mediocre and tedious task, after 'shining' the ball by rubbing it against your crotch (who said cricket wasn't sexy?), or just waggling it really quick to determine the level of shine (imparting more or less swing and spin) the game instructs you to hold the remote, and other the A or B button, depending on if you want to bowl a slow or fast delivery, and swing your arm round as if delivering a ball in cricket. You’re also encouraged to tilt the remote at the screen once the ball has been bowled to determine the direction of the ball as it travels off the pitch, but this can be pointless at times. But rather than do that you can simply hold whichever button you want, and quickly flick the remote at the correct time to deliver the ball all the same.

Simple bowling mechanics, dark spot indicates where the ball will land, just roll your arm at the right time to do the rest.

Batting is also a letdown. The remote is not as responsive as you’d hope, and it’s a shame considering games like Wii-Sports, a launch game for this console, seemed to be much more responsive than for this game. You can’t even determine if your swings are going to register considering the batsmen don’t seem to lift their bats as well unless it was part of their pre-programmed animation. Determining the direction of your stroke is just a matter of pointing at the screen, all that’s left to do is swing as hard or as softly as you like (though the A and B buttons also determine if you’ll perform a block or slog shot). But if you take it seriously you can swing away happily and there is a sense of satisfaction if you slog down on one knee and the ball goes sailing into the crowd.  But for anyone who has batted, the abilty to cut the ball, or deftly deflect it is taken away, all you’ll need to do is select what direction you want the ball to go in, and swing.

Supposedly assisting you for both these parts of gameplay were specially crafted bat and ball replicas which you could slide your remote into, but the bat at least was not a help at all, maybe if you wanted to hold it aloft after scoring a half century or century. But it's practically useless considering the bat itself blocks the infra-red sensor in the remote, making it all but impossible to point it at the screen accurately, making shots impossible to plot. 

Pictured: Something of Zero Assistance.

How the ball attachment helps, I can't honestly state, but my guess would be zero.

Visuals:

As mentioned, the character models are awful, and barely any of them possess a passing resemblance to their characters. The crowd models are equally poor, being 2-dimensional cutouts continuously clapping no matter the circumstances. Most grounds have been replicated as best as possible, and some actually do look pretty good, like the Oval, or Lords, others look pretty generic, and again, the MCG looks dated and nowhere near comes close to an accurate representation of the actual field.

Conclusion:

Being a cricket fan and a player, this game is a guilty pleasure. It does have a great deal of problems, but if you have played like me and want to live out fantasies of amassing massive scores as a batsman, or taking big-wicket hauls, it can be fun on a rainy day. But it is also very hard to get past the poor rendering of players, the dated team lists, the barely responsive controls, dodgy A.I., and awful commentary.

I give it 4.5/10 poorly rendered cricket players.

Step Back in Time: L.A. Noire

L.A. Noire

Released in 2011, L.A. Noire was a collaboration between Sydney based Team Bondi, and Rockstar Games, and both companies brought very noticable features to this game. From Rockstar there are influences from GTA IV, of course, free-roaming around a virtual world is a hall mark of their games not just GTA, but going way back to their days as DMV when they made Body Harvest for the Nintendo 64. There is also the option to drive or act as passenger, as well as a cover and gunfighting system which uses all but the same controls from GTA IV. 

The now defunct Team Bondi chipped in with help from a sister company, Depth Analysis, with their MotionScan techonlogy which captured in vivid detail the facial expressions of the hundreds of characters present in the game, not just the main character, but even the random pedestrians of 1947 Los Angeles got this treatment, and it was quite astounding to play through this game and recognise actors not just by their voice, but their appearances which had been faithfully rendered. This technology I hope, wont be consigned to history. Coming off the back of playing GTA IV (which to date I'm still playing through considering after I got L.A. Noire, GTA IV got put on hold), it was refreshing to see the detail going into facial animations compared to the characters of GTA IV, and I hope it's used for more games like this where sacrifices have to be made for the scope of the game, but not to the point where you can't faithfully re-engineer someone's likeness.

Story:

The story opens in 1946 and you take on the role of Cole Phelps, a former Army Marine from the Pacific Theatre in WW2. Working as a beat officer you get the chance to play through 4 tutorials introducing you to the 4 aspects of this game, clue-hunting, interrogation, brawling and driving. As you progress you'll move on to gun fights and car chases but for any sandbox player those aspects have become second nature. 

After obtaining a succesful confession for murder, Phelps is promoted to Detective, and as him you'll be working through 5 departments of the Los Angeles Police, investigating a number of cases per department. The departments being the introductory Patrol, Traffic, Homocide, Vice and Arson. The key to all cases lay in clue-finding and interrogation, which is probably the most enjoyable part of this game. After searching through a crime scene, the clues will lead you to witnesses, suspects and locations to investigate. By case end you'll be interrogating one or multiple suspects in a case, and if you have hard evidence on your man, you're able to charge them with the crime in question. Without evidence though, the case will get thrown out, and instead of being treated to a cutscene of your superior officer patting you on the back, they'll get the shits instead and yell at you, threatening to put you on desk duty. This wont affect the progress through your game though, and you're able at anytime to replay cases to obtain better ratings. 

In between cases they'll either be cutscenes furthering the ongoing story about Phelps' progression through the ranks, or of his personal life. Or of flashbacks to the war in the Pacific of Phelps' unit against the Japanese. Both do well to add further characterisation to the main character. 

The story advances through the course of Phelp's career and either through promotion of demotion you'll be working as him through the various arms of the law in L.A. investigating traffic crimes, murders in the vein of the Black Dahlia case so much so the killer is referred to as the Dahlia and a fictitious account is given as to why the Black Dahlia Avenger was never caught. Vice crimes involving a stolen shipment of Army grade Morphine, and investigating a spate of house-burnings in the Arson squad, leading to a conspiracy involving top people in L.A. 

However you have no real control in the outcome of the story. Whilst cases can be solved or fall apart and you can continue regardless, you're limited to the pre-determined and to be honest, unsatisying conclusion the game reaches as 

SPOILERS 

 After switching from Phelps (who is warned off the conspiracy trail) to D.A. Investigator and fellow Marine Jack Kelso, Cole Phelps dies at the end of the story, yet you're still able to free-roam as him after the conclusion of the game. Whilst this is fine for films, having him die yet able to play as him again either through previous cases or the free-roaming robs the ending of any real emotional impact.

END SPOILERS

Voice Acting:

And as for the characterisation the acting/voice acting (considering the detail of the actors you may as well judge their performances as you would a film or show) is really quite good. Aaron Stanton plays the title character and gives a great performance (admittedly, I haven't seen much of him though), and the same goes for the supporting 'cast', which includes so many familiar faces but not so familiar names, among them:

 The ginger from Season 4 of '24' who shoots down Air Force One. 

What's-his-name, from 'Fringe' and 'The Return of the King'.

And the cop who wouldn't give the Joker his phone call in 'The Dark Knight'.

To go through and give images and synopsis of all the actors would be incredibly redundant but suffice to say it is one of the largest casts I've seen assembled for a video game, owing to the fact that you'll be talking to about half a dozen people per case (and that may not include fellow cops) from each of the cases of 5 of the departments of the police to play through, and then there's the other citizens in Los Angeles as well. While the more central characters are well rounded and are given a healthy amount of dialogue, some of the lines uttered by random pedestrians is bizarre, from random jokes like '3 guys walk into a bar, you'd think one of them would have seen it', or a cop in a police station suggesting (to no one really) that 'we should break down the door and find that evidence'.

But as said, the main characters are the 'stars' and the game does play out like a film, with a diverse cast of crooked and jaded cops, shady mob types, desperate for cash ex-soldiers, and all the suspects and witnesses from cases to talk with. The MotionScan technology does wonders for this interaction, as watching facial expressions is key to successful interrogations to determine if a witness or suspect is lying or not. 

Gameplay:

And most of what you'll be doing in L.A. Noire is interrogating, and clue hunting, and lots of it, with about 300 clues scattered through the cases to work almost all are essential to making or breaking a case, nothing really should be overlooked but the odd red-herring will be found every now and then, such as a hairbrush, or wooden spoon or iron to throw you off (especially if you play without the musical chimes and controller vibrations that signal a clue is nearby). But you'll also need to use your wits and pay attention, as some clues may not be useful at one location, but at another instead, or you'll need to decipher codes and ciphers, or use the knowledge of the city to track down other leads. 

Coming from the mayhem of GTA where pretty much every mission is solved through the use of brute force, having the be meticulous and thoughtful about the clues you have gathered was a welcome change of pace.

And once you have the evidence you'll need to interrogate suspects, questioning them on the events of the case, and citing evidence you've gathered to prove if they have told a lie, or coaxing the answer from them if you don't have the necessary evidence but suspect the person is holding something back, or prodding them if you believe the truth has been told. Certain buttons on your controller/keyboard will indicate which option to use. 

Car chases, on-foot pursuits and shoot-outs make up the remainder of the gameplay. Foot chases probably the more exciting given you'll often need to be clambering over rooftops, up waterpipes and ladders in pursuit of a suspect or otherwise scaling a tall structure. When chasing a suspect you'll normally get a jazzy musical score, which gives it a nostaglic feel. Car chases can be a pain, given the era in which the game is set car controls are very jerky and only a few scattered throughout the city handle well and can attain a decent top speed, and you'll need good handling considering the amount of times suspects in cars will drive effortlessly through alleyways or construction sites while you have to dodge debris, civilians (injuries to civilians impact upon case rankings), walls, 'indestructible' chicken-wire fencing and idiots in trucks and cars who just 'happen' to come to a screeching halt right in front of you while you're in pursuit. 

Mercifully though if a chase drags on too long, the suspect will often trash their own car by running into a wall or other obstacle, or another car will crash into it. 

And shoot-out's are routine, you have the option to select from a limited number of weapons, handguns, shotguns, rifles and machine guns. Unfortunately, and this is one of the biggest sticking points of this game despite evidence to the contrary (ie. reality), in that cops can't just un-holster their guns in public and unleash a spray of bullets upon anything anywhere at any given time. You're only allowed your firearm in instances that demand it in cases, or participating in some of the 40 'street crimes' that occur throughout the city where there has been a bank robbery or other armed robbery, or if you're chasing an armed suspect. 

And the selection of weapons can only occur either at a marked police car, or if you pick one from the corpse of an enemy.

Enemies are pretty intelligent not just the ones trying to lie their way out of an interrogation, but those shooting at you will find cover and blind-fire round corners to stay in cover, and it normally takes a few shots to put them down, of course though, a headshot will kill instantly.

The health system borrows from another older game The Getaway (a game which writer/directer of L.A. Noire Brendan McNamara also had a hand in), where you have no health meter on the HUD (in fact, the map is the only thing on the HUD), but damage inflicted becomes apparent in blood on your clothing, and colour fading from the screen when you're close to death, how this works with the option to play the game in black & white I'm honestly unsure of.

Setting:

The setting in L.A. Noire is almost too massive. The attention to detail is pretty astounding and you're able to drive the majority of the city though roadblocks and invisible walls in certain areas will halt your progress. Several landmarks can be discovered, some still standing like Pershing Square and Grauman's Chinese Theatre and some which I'm sure aren't around anymore, and as you discover each of the 30 landmarks a brief history on one such place will be displayed. 

But there comes a problem when making a game of this size with limited interactivity. While this hasn't been a problem for Rockstar Gaming with the GTA franchise, it is here. In GTA you at least are able to visit safehouses, gun shops, car-customisation shops, food outlets you can eat at, strip joints and in the latter extension of the series, cabaret clubs, bars. You can go on dates, go to clothes shops and really customise your appearance, and taking it to the extreme, fly in planes, or helicopters and pilot boats.

There's none of that freedom here. You can change Phelps' suits and he does look incredibly pimping in them, and you all know why that is: 

But that is really all you can do in this city beyond street-crime cases, finding landmarks and the apparent gold-film reels (and maybe police badges also) that are scattered somewhere throughout the city. I thought Rockstar would have learnt from GTA: San Andreas that you CAN have too much of a good thing, in that game the world was huge for it's time and there were many hours spent searching for graffiti tags, oysters, and images to be photographed for no real reward. 

Apparently, finding all the film canisters too gives you a reward, but only another trophy to add to your PS3 account addition.

Oh, so there they are...fuck that.

And even if you're not searching for the afformentioned items in 1947 Los Angeles, you're painstakingly hijacking vehicles (in the name of the law this time) to unlock all the 95 cars created for this game, and given how the ones that aren't hidden away in marked garages all over the city, all look so similar, it's a maddening task. I've unlocked about 40 of the 95 vehicles and already have given up on that endeavour. The reward for doing so is to view them individually in a gallery with differing colours. But while the cars are incredibly detailed and quite beautiful, this is hardly reward for such a time consuming task. Maybe for people on the Games for Windows Live or the Playstation network having these achievements in your account means something, but it really doesn't for me but for a passing interest. Maybe I'll track down such items, but if there's no serious reward, like at least a few more suits(!) I'll pass.

And even more hair-pulling is the inclusion of an airfield which does house multiple planes, but can you fly them? Of course not (you're a cop after all, not a pilot), but to include the models but with no option to fly is a slight annoyance. Having the map landlocked though would have presented a major challenge for anyone flying in this game to be prevented from venturing outside the map, so I can sort of understand why you cannot fly. But not being able to does bring grievance to certain inaccessible areas in the game, with high walls that can't be scaled and those ever present wire-gates which can't be mowed down by the biggest of trucks give the impression of either missing content or downloadable content to come, which I find a problem either way. The emergence of downloadable content is an argument for another day, but I don't find it fair to pay for a product which is either unfinished, or is finished but I need to shell out more money in order to get somewhere already created in the game, not happy in either case. 

So whilst the setting is faithful to the time, well detailed and impressive in it's size, it is ultimately hollow and lifeless.

In conclusion it's technically a good game, the technology used for the facial animations is a big step forward for gaming which I hope to see further used in future. The Interrogations were enjoyable and you get a good feeling when you know you have the evidence to contradict a liar, and clue hunting, whilst tedious, is a necessary evil.

The acting was also a standout, considering this is a video game it's probably one of the most cinematic around and the performances are a highlight. Clearly there are homages to the Film Noir genre and the music does a fantastic job of highlighting this, from the haunting score of the main menu to the prevalent music through the game, including the music, advertisements and radio 'shows' you can listen to while in a civilian vehicle, the game really does capture the essence of the genre and accurately portrays the era in which the game takes place.

But the game doesn't make good enough use of the massive world it has created. L.A. in this game is boring and there's not much to keep you coming back to the free roam mode but to solve the street crimes. I've completed 39 out of the 40 but that final mission still isn't loading up which is quite frustrating. Going over cases again to get a better rank is a great idea and it's good that you're not penalised for failing a case. There's nice continuity as well between cases as Detectives will talk about the case they have just been on, or you will find certain characters pop up from one case to another, or in an unrelated street crime.

But unless you're a classic car enthusiast and want to appreciate the detail put into the creation of the vehicle models in the gallery, or if you have the time on your hands to hunt down those film reels and badges in a map the 8 square mile large map, there's no reason to head into free-roam.

To be honest this really is only worth renting out because if (like me) you have the time you can knock this game over in less than a week without worrying about the hidden vehicles and other items that don't give a real reward. While it does have some standout features, once you're finished the cases, there's not enough to keep you coming back which is a real shame. 

I give it 6.5 out of 10 obscurely hidden film-reels.

Review: Shadows of the Empire

A Gaming Flashback:

Shadows of the Empire.

And yes, spoilers ahead, if you haven't exited 1996...

To talk about Shadows of the Empire (or SOTE), released in 1996 on the Nintendo 64, it merits talking a little about the inception of this part of the Star Wars franchise.

As well as being another means for which to line George Lucas’ pockets with money before that goal reached its horrible zenith... 

...the story of Shadows of the Empire was created to bridge the gap between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. And this was achieved in numerous ways, as well as this game, also released a year later for PC, the story was published as a novel by Steve Perry, which I highly recommend if not to read more of the brilliant antagonist, Prince Xizor, then for gaining a better perspective on the events of the story beyond what this game can deliver, despite some inconsistencies between game and novel. Comic books were also released chronicling the storyline, as well as an extensive line of merchandise, of which I still own a ridiculous amount.

So when I got my N64 for Christmas many, many years ago, I wasn’t immediately taken with the standard launch titles, Mario64 was fun, but couldn’t hold my interest in all honesty, the 64 was my first console, and even though we did have another gaming system akin to the Commodore 64 (the name escapes me though), my earliest memories of playing games before the N64, were of Commander Keen, Space Quest, Kings Quest, or Leisure Suit Larry (which was completely inappropriate considering how young I was at the time). But being a big Sci-Fi fan and a Star Wars fan I gravitated quickly towards SOTE, and it’s one of those games for which I’ll never want to part with not only for nostalgia’s sake, but because it remains one of the best Star Wars games out there.

You take on the role of Dash Rendar, who is much like Han Solo, a smuggler and occasional ally to the Rebellion though he has no real aspiration to join them against their struggle with the Empire. The story opens on Hoth just prior to the Rebel evacuation that’s about to come, as Rendar is delivering supplies to the Rebel base. However before long the Empire strikes, and you’re soon piloting a Snowspeeder in the obligatory-for-every-fucking-Star Wars game out there Battle of Hoth. After shooting down probe droids, AT-ST’s and stringing up the legs of AT-AT’s , the evacuation of Echo Base is winding down, you’re the last man left, and have to fight your way through the ridiculously expansive base to your ship The Outrider, co-piloted by your droid offsider Leebo who contacts you at various points in the game to outline objectives. And apart from waves of Snowtroopers, you’ll have to keep an eye out for friggin Wampas which are conveniently placed between you and power ups, meaning you’ll need to release them from their cages, or behind some cargo containers to get to the goods in your way. The good news is that they’ll be attacking any Snow troopers that get in their way also.

After escaping from the Hoth system the events of The Empire Strikes Back run their course, till you’re called upon by Princess Leia to assist in finding Han Solo and rescuing him after he’s frozen in Carbonite.

After discovering wreckage of assassin droid IG-88’s ship, you’ll be controlling Dash on the junkyard world of Ord Mandell. Riding from one train to another to reach IG, one of the amazing things about this level in particular, is the size and the attention to detail most notably, you’ll be seeing a downed AT-AT in one spot and a wrecked Imperial transport in another, but after you’ve dealt with the train guards and piloted the train you’re on through a barricaded facility where IG-88 is holed up, you’ll be facing a tough battle with a scary ass-motherfucker. It’s not enough that the final stage of this level is claustrophobic and inescapable, but IG sees fit to make some seriously freaky noises when attacking you:

SOTE has the dubious honour of being one game where I think I failed to beat any of the main bosses, pawning that responsibility off instead to my older brother at the time (that’s what they’re there for, right?). But after defeating IG-88 and interrogating him, you’ll learn Boba Fett is holed up in an Imperial base on the moon of Gall for repairs, where he has Han Solo in his cargo bay.

This is where the game does differ from the book, but with some creative thinking both events can sort of be joined up, regardless it’s a taxing level. Some have gotten it out in record times but those records could be no less than 9 minutes. If it’s your first time playing through, or the first for a long time, it will take much, much longer. But it’s still a highlight. Like Echo Base and Ord Mandell, the level size is huge (though deceptively, as I’m sure the high canyon walls mask the true scale), and it also gives you the Jetpack for which you’ll be making use of till the end of the game. But as well as that not only do you get to listen to the ridiculously cool ‘Departure of Boba Fett’ over and over again for the level, but you get to fight Fett (thankfully not voiced boringly by the otherwise bad-ass Temuera Morrison) and the Slave I in an effort to prevent him leaving with Solo.

Fett does escape with Imperial aid though, so the story changes pace as you are asked to watch over Luke Skywalker after a failed assassination attempt.

Finding Dash in Mos Eisley as Luke trains at Obi-Wan’s old crib in the Dune Sea, a conversation is overheard of which a swoop gang is planning on killing Skywalker for Jabba the Hutt. In another showing of the versatility of this FPS/3rdPS/Flight/Rail game, you’ll be piloting swoops (like hovering-motorbikes) through Mos Eisley and through the Beggars Canyon at high speed, looking to take out members of the gang before they reach their destination.

Upon saving Skywalker, Luke tells Dash he’s learnt of the location of the plans for the Second Death Star, aboard the Imperial Freighter Suprosa (yes we know many Bothans died for us to know Mon Mothma, you patronising bitch).

'Blah, blah. blah-blah-blah, Bothans, guilt trip, mope-mope-mope...'

Intercepting the frieghter Dash must make his way through the bowels of the ship till meeting up with another impossible (to me) boss in the Loader Droid, and upon destroying the droid, the plans are collected.

By this stage Leia has learnt that Xizor has been responsible for conspiring with the Emperor by allowing the Death Star plans to fall into Rebel hands, and had a contract put on Luke’s head. She’s then held captive, and holy shit you’ll be taking on two more ridiculous boss fights in the sewer underneath Xizor’s palace, and inside the palace itself on Coruscant. The first being a giant goddamn Dianoga, which you’ll get to after navigating the labyrinthine sewer system. And the second being the Gladiator droid, I’d say the penultimate boss battle in the game as it’s the second-last level, but it may as well be the final boss fight of all for you’ll find the final (awesome) level a breeze in comparison. After infiltrating Xizor’s palace you’ll need to plant explosives to prevent Xizor from reaching his skyhook in orbit from the safety of his palace, but after mowing down his personal army and exploring the depths of his palace, you’ll be faced with the toughest adversary yet:

The fucking Gladiator Droid. Which you think you’ve killed but only slowed down, as you continue to inflict damage it will only separate into smaller, more lethal pieces till you’ve obviously used the force and found the means to destroy it.

And from then on you’ll be flying on route to the Skyhook in space, after taking down members of Xizor’s fleet from the gun turrets in The Outrider, you’ll get the chance to fly the ship itself in a sweet space battle around the sky hook involving X-Wings, TIE-Fighters, a goddamn Star Destroyer (which no matter how many times you shoot it, it’s health wont waver), and the skyhook itself, which needs destroying.

Aside from story and level design, another standout is the soundtrack, I’ve already mentioned one theme you’ll hear in one of the levels, but not only will you be hearing more tunes from A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back through the course of the game, but other, original works which you’d think as well were the works on John Williams, but surprisingly, he did not score some of the original material, but the music you hear for places like Xizor’s Palace, or Mos Eisley/Beggars Canyon was composed by Joel McNeely, and performed by The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, adding to the quality of the production.

As to the gameplay, though you wont be wielding any other weapons bar your blaster, you’ll be picking up plenty of upgrades like flamethrowers, rapid firing pulse rounds, homing missiles and the equivalent to a near nuclear device which will destroy all but the toughest (fucking) Gladiator droids with relative ease. Being able to play in Third or First Person was a great way to appeal to those who preferred FPS’, but I enjoy 3rd Person Perspective instead, and having the levels cleverly broken up into flight levels, then on foot, at intervals ensured it never got stagnant having to play on-foot missions over and over again, or vice versa. The enemy AI, no it’s not anything to brag about, but this game was developed a very long time ago, so most Stormtroopers or Xizor guards will simply approach and shoot you with no through of retreat or taking cover. Occasionally you will also have to take down remote guns or flying sentry drones, but the auto-aim feature makes short work of them.

The Boss fights though do make up for the lack of goon AI. Taking down the first AT-ST was a big challenge for me and you’d be running out of places to hide from it on that level compared to the second time you face one on foot in Gall. The loader droid will have you cramped for space as it shoots its friggin’ arms at you to inflict damage, and you’ll need to make the use of your jet pack to fly in and out of the water when battling the Dianoga at the end of the sewer level, being mindful of your oxygen levels in the process.

The opportunity is there to unlock an extended ending after gaining enough challenge points which are scattered throughout each level as either highlighted asteroids to be shot or floating, silver Rebellion logos to be collected.

The controls were never an issue, the revolutionary N64 controller made full use of all buttons making Dash easy to guide through all levels, and piloting was a breeze (but I always had trouble with the speed of the Swoops).

And the levels all offer something different, visually and in terms of how you approach guiding Dash through them, though Echo Base and Gall are quite similar in that you’ll have to tip toe around numerous chasms and cliff-faces. But aside from that every other level offers a different environment, different accompanying music, the enemies you’ll need to take out range from Wampas to hired thugs, Stormtroopers, Xizor’s personal guard as well as that asshole droid from the Special Edition of A New Hope that bops the flying droid on the head as Obi-Wan and Luke enter Mos Eisley:

Standout levels would be Echo Base for the sheer size, Ord Mandell for size and visuals as well as the challenge of jumping from train to train, Gall for length, Xizor’s Palace for the wonderful music, and the final Skyhook level.

Is there value for replayability? If you’re a big fan of this franchise I say yes, I say do what I’ve done, keep a hold of your N64 (I think I’ve managed to collect 3 somehow) and always have a copy of this game and a memory card on hand, so you can bring it out of the box or cupboard and play it at least once every few years. Even if you’re not a Star Wars fan you probably will still enjoy the challenge of this game even though you may only run through it once.

For me though it will still remain one of my favorites.

I give it 8/10 Asshole worker droids

Arkham City

CAUTION: HERE BE SPOILERS...

As I noted in my review of Arkham Asylum I had not been in on the Batman gaming craze up till long after that games release. Luckily enough though it wasn't long till I was finished that game that I was aware of the development of Arkham City:

The trailer above was just a hint of what was to come, already featuring an ailing Joker and Harley Quinn, we saw snapshots of the city/prison itself, the inhabitants, the state of decay, along with hints to the inclusion of Penguin (the Iceberg Lounge), Two-Face and Black Mask. More trailers followed in the lead up to the release of the game alluding to the involvement of all the main villains, as well as the ability to play as Catwoman.

Pictured: Stealth. Not pictured: Appropriate winter wear.

Long months passed and then the big day arrived, the game was released on PS3 and X-Box 360, but us poor PC gamers had to wait as the game faced multiple delays (presumably to sort out a bug involving the loss of saved game files), but eventually the game was released on PC and I was blown away even more so by this game than it's predecessor.

But in the lead up to the games release there was a 12-15 minute video of what I assumed would be the opening level, with Batman rescuing Catwoman from Two-Face in the courthouse in the hear of Arkham City. It was a big surprise then to find the game opening in completely different fashion. You in fact start the game off as Catwoman, who has broken into Two-Face's HQ where you beat down some of his goons and steal a map coded to a memory card. Two-Face though puts a gun to Catwoman's head, and the first level ends.

What follows was all the more surprising, a press conference outside Arkham City is being held by Bruce Wayne who is campaigning to have Arkham City shut down, due to the gang wars happening inside the city between Penguin, Two-Face and Joker's thugs. A private security firm though storms the conference and takes Wayne prisoner. Then you get to say hi to this guy:

One of the trailers mentioned previewed Strange's motivation in that he knew the identity of Batman and as Warden has Wayne captured and placed in Arkham City to avoid interference in 'Protocol Ten'.

I was only thinking to myself that this is the Empire Strikes Back of games in that it takes the established and improves in every conceivable way.

The story, as I said, is engaging, after being placed in the asylum you'll come face to face with even more villains than presented with in Arkham Asylum, some recurring (like Bane, Poison Ivy, Zsasz and the Riddler in side missions) and new ones like Two-Face, Penguin, Mr Freeze and Ras Al Ghul. The way the story is woven is well done, as you have to face off with all these villains in order to advance the story, and no battles or side missions seem thrown in for no particular reason (maybe Poison Ivy and having to fight Bane, the reason for his inclusion though seemed plausible). And each time you encounter them you get something fresh which is a step up from the somewhat repetitive boss battles in Arkham Asylum.

And another bonus to the boss battles is the use of gadgetry. Gadgets never played much of a role in the previous game but to further areas of exploration and continue the story. Here they do do the same thing, but you'll always find yourself using new gadgets in every battle, and collecting more upon the way. There are the old favorites making a return from Arkham Asylum being your never-ending supply of Batarangs, explosive gel, the line launcher, the cryptographic sequencer (which has been overhauled to intercept radio transmissions as well as unlocking doors and bringing down forcefields), and the remote control and Sonic batarangs. All of which (excepting the Sonic Batarang if I'm not mistaken) have been improved upon. The line launcher can now be used as a tightrope and you can also switch directions midway through zipping through the environment, the remote control batarang thankfully has a boost and brake function added, and the grappling gun can be upgraded to allow Batman to shoot from a ledge or gargoyle up into the air to attain flight. Detective mode has also been altered, you'll still be able to see through goons to know who's armed and who's not, but the clarity has been reduced meaning less reliance on it like in Arkham Asylum, where you'd almost have it on through the whole game. This was a good move as the city/prison is just too well detailed to have everything negated out through a blue filter. And occasionally you will find goons carrying jamming signals stopping you from using either Batmans Detective mode, or Catwoman's thief vision, meaning you'll have to take them out if you want to continue your hunt with either mode on your side.

Batman just gotta
tip on the tightrope.

Grappling guns, perfect for pulling
goons off ledges, or Bats into the skies.

New editions to the utility belt are the REC (Remote Electrical Charge), basically a gun which fires non-lethal bursts of electrical energy which can be used on enemies or items reliant on electricity like doors, the smoke pellet, which makes almost too much sense it's amazing it was never there in the previous game which you can use to escape gun fire or throw into a crowd of enemies and trick them into attacking each other. 2 freeze related items that you get courtesy of Mr Freeze in the form of an ice-grenade which can be used to freeze an enemy in place or be used to freeze a pool of water, allowing you to access areas otherwise impossible to enter due to the bodies of water you'll encounter throughout the game, or a freeze cluster-grenade, which can freeze the legs of a group of enemies at once. As well as a jammer which can be used to disable weapons or mines which smarter enemies will lay in throughout predator levels to impede your progress.

Using the REC means goons also fire wildly
in the air, but never at each other, typical.

The freeze cluster grenade
immobilises groups of enemies.

The smoke pellet in action.

On top of gadgets the gameplay, combat, voice acting, the environment, everything has been scrutinised and bettered. The fighting system adds more combos and more takedown moves, and goons wont just line up to attack you one at a time, you'll have to make use of more takedowns and counters to disable 2-3 goons at ones. And the enemies you'll encounter are smarter, better armed and better armoured than in Arkham Asylum. Not only do more goons have more guns than before, but you'll also have to deal with ones with thick armour that can't be taken down by predator tactics (though shooting their metal armour with the REC is amusing), or others that find shields to ram Batman or Catwoman. Goons armed with knives and electrified batons make turn up again to make combat slightly more challenging, but using the grappling gun, they'll be disabled in no time. 

Armed and armoured goons don't let
function get in the way of fashion.

As mentioned, boss fights also get beefed up and instead of ducking and weaving past the main boss while battling goons you'll have more of a challenge on your hand. Solomon Grundy, Ras Al Ghul, Mr Freeze, and the final boss fight stand out not just for the challenge they created, but also for the environment in which you'll have to do battle in. While you have to take on Grundy in a pit under the Iceberg Lounge, and the story has you battling Ras Al Ghul in a surreal desert landscape littered with landmarks of Arkham City, which is not unlike the Scarecrow levels in Arkham Asylum. 

Taking on Ras Al Ghul is on the of games many highlights.

Mr Freeze is, probably without doubt though, the best boss fight in this game, which is remarkable considering it takes place only a little after halfway through the story. You'll have to think on your feet if you want to make it, considering once you use a takedown technique or attack Freeze with one of your gadgets, he'll adapt and you wont be able to use it again, to date this has been a killer level for me as playing through on New Game + you'll need to find about 10 different ways of attacking him, before you can beat him. The environment also is against you as all the platforms reserved for grappling up to have been frozen over, and there's no way out. Freeze will also coat ledges and grates with ice as well, ensuring you'll run out of places to hide.

'You will bring me Nora, or you will die.'

Futurama/The Simpsons/Pinky and the Brain/anything else with voice over work will also recognise the multi-talented Maurice LeMarche voicing Mr Freeze, which I would say is the best casting decision for all voice over actors in this game (barring Hamill and Conroy).

The voice acting is top notch here as was in the previous game. Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy return to voice Joker and Batman respectively, and those who lend their voices to other villains to well, but special mention would go to LeMarche, as well as Corey Burton, whose baritone voice gives life to Hugo Strange (to such effect you'd swear it was Christopher Lee voicing him), and Dee Bradley Baker who voices Ras Al Ghul, who you may recognise otherwise as:

'Ladies...?'

And then there is Catwoman. One of the big selling points of Arkham City was that she would be a playable character. Was it worth it? To be honest, I don't think so. I didn't have to pay any extra for it, but to be honest I'm not sure if I would have gone out of my way to have downloaded the missions you play as her. Grey De Lisle (from among other games, Knights of the Old Republic II) does a fantastic job voicing her, and the look is pretty much perfect for the semi-real universe these games are set in, but the missions she is in are very short, her gadgets are limited to her whip, bola's and caltrops used to trip enemies, and her health is much lower than Batmans, even with the option to upgrade her armour, it still wont hold up too well if you're facing the same amount of well armed, armoured enemies as Batman. Though her combat moves flow better, and I found on the challenge maps that it was much easier to rack up larger scores for the combat maps than it was for Batman. 

And while the score is a standout for the game the menu music in particular harkens to Hans Zimmer's score for the Nolan-Batman films, when roaming Arkham City as Catwoman, you'll hear the same music over and over, wasn't impressed.

I suppose she had headphones in
and was listening to better music.

The city itself is massive. Apparently the map is 5-times larger than Arkham Asylum's playable area and it shows. The scope of the city itself impressive once you first arrive and have the chance to fly over and experience all the different areas and environments. Also to be taken into account is the fact that you have the Steel Mill, the Museum/Iceberg Lounge, the Subway, and the steampunk-inspired Wonder City to roam through and do battle in, not to mention the courthouse, the GCPD building, and the various Riddler rooms in which you have to save hostages from. The attention to detail is outstanding and you don't have to go far to find notable landmarks like the Monarch Theatre and Crime Alley (where a chalk outline of Thomas and Martha Wayne's bodies still lay upon the floor with a nearby bundle of flowers), the industrial zone which has been turned into a fair ground as it's dominated by Joker's troops,the Bowery which takes high class buildings and surroundings and brings them down by scattering Penguins well armed mercenaries around, the urban Park Row, home to Two-Faces crew and places like the ACE Chemical Factory, and Amusement Mile, half swallowed up by water due to an earthquake, where hotels and casinos line the streets. They'll also be posters on walls, shop fronts or other items scattered through the city to be scanned in detective mode to unlock 'Arkham City Stories'. And as you battle your way through the game you'll also be unlocking bios on villains and allies alike, including patient interview tapes as Hugo Strange interrogates the various rogues. 

 

And what after you're finished? Well aside from New Game + there's the challenge maps and campaigns, there's the abundance of artwork and character trophies you'll unlock to appreciate. Downloadable content had also been released allowing you to play through challenge maps as Robin or Nightwing, as well as more skins for Batman (which weren't rendered for the more cinematic cutscenes which was a shame, 1970's Batsuit or the 50+ year old Batman in the Dark Knight Returns skins would've been unintentionally hilarious). A Sinestro Corps skin was also available with the Blu-Ray release of The Green Lantern.

Nightwing ummm...fighting?

L-R: 1970's. Year One. Dark Knight Returns. Earth One. Batman Beyond. Sinestro Corps. Batman: TAS.

And hopefully they'll be more to come, I'm hoping more story content as I only have a passing interest in the challenge maps and don't compete online to get to the top of the leaderboard. There are also persistent questions asked of possible glitches and other unexplored areas of the game, like a building near where you first enter Arkham City which has heavy bass music emanating from it. Or a locked door in the Arkham City processing center which wouldn't be a big deal considering there are hundreds of buildings in the city, but the only locked doors you'll encounter mean you can't enter them at a certain stage, or you can't open them on account of being Catwoman. Glitches or not, there is still huge potential for exploration inside this massive facility.

An excellent gaming experience, not only does the story draw you in, but you will find yourself playing for hours on end either completing the many side missions which sees you teaming up with Bane to destroy containers of Titan which have been captured by the various villains, finding hostages the Riddler has placed in his Saw-like death rooms, stopping Zsasz from killing hostages as you answer phones throughout the city, or completing flight challenges which test your abilities (though this can be a bitch with PC-controls) . You'll also need to complete over 400 Riddler challenges which involved finding Batman and Catwoman-specific trophies, completing certain combat or flight challenges, destroying video cameras, chattering teeth, breakable Penguin's and so on. Or you can just go into free roam and take on the game's never ending supply of replenishing goons. 

Arkham City: 10/10 Batarangs.