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Brighton Rock DVD Review

September 19, 2011

Genre: Crime/Thriller/Noir
Director: Rowan Joffe
Starring: Sam Riley, Andrea Riseborough, Helen Mirren
Running Time: 111 minutes
Available for purchase at: Madman Entertainment ($34.95)

Overview

Too often, film adaptations or remakes are compared to their original inspiration instead of judged as a standalone work. The film must always be better than or worse than the original, but no matter what happens it is always defined by what came before.

Such is the case with Rowan Joffe’s Brighton Rock, a film that must live up to a 1938 Graham Greene novel and a 1947 John Boulting film of the same name. Most critics have stated the 2010 film as a remake falls short of the original; I haven’t seen the original nor have I read the novel, but I most definitely must say that overall, Brighton Rock was a disappointment.

Plot

The narrative tells of a thug named Pinkie Brown, who is a member of the Spicer’s gang. When the rival mob in Brighton, run by Colleoni, kills Brown’s boss, he seeks revenge in the form of killing a member of Colleoni’s gang. However, a young waitress named Rose witnesses the murder, and Pinkie must seduce her in order to keep her quiet. Rose’s boss becomes increasingly suspicious of their relationship, and soon it becomes difficult to tell whether Pinkie is falling for Rose or if she is just a part of his plan.

As far as narratives go, Brighton Rock is one part crime-thriller and one part film/neo-noir (depending on how technical you want to get). The film begins wonderfully, and ends with a twist that, really, isn’t a twist because any half-intelligent member of the audience would see it coming. However, this ‘twist’ is what ends up breaking the film and sending it on a downward spiral, just like its protagonist.

Watching the film, it’s hard to believe Joffe had two previous storylines to work with because the film seemed to disintegrate from the halfway mark. With the story already mostly formulated from the novel and 1947 film, all Joffe had to do was work through the plot and make it a believable yet tragic tale. What resulted instead was an increasingly ridiculous and unbelievable attempt at communicating the story about a gangster and his lover – even the script itself was unengaging and felt forced at times.

Characters

The main character in the film is Pinkie – an antihero, if I had to box him into a category. Pinkie is cold and calculating, but (unlike most other antiheroes) there is so little of his personality or actions that are actually relatable. In the beginning of the film, Pinkie’s motives behind his actions were clear and understandable; as the film progressed, he became more distant from the audience. His character could have used far more character development – the film failed to really delve into his life, though and thus left us with a very two-dimensional gangster. You have to wonder why he’s even the protagonist when there’s no sense of his progression throughout the entire film.

Even if the character development was poor, Pinkie’s character could have still been redeemed if Sam Riley had a real connection with his character. Suffice to say, he didn’t. It felt as though Riley was just playing the character of Pinkie Brown, rather than connecting with his motivations and understanding what makes his character tick.

However, Pinkie is a right treat compared to Rose, the waitress he pursues. Carey Mulligan was originally offered the role of Rose, but when she turned it down it was offered to Andrea Riseborough. Rose is a shy, blithering girl who falls in love with Pinkie and must fight against what her boss and friends tell her about him. While she starts out very sweet and innocent, the only way to describe her as the film progresses is “more and more irritating”…seriously. Rose falls in love with Pinkie after a few days (more out of desperation and the fact that a man is paying attention to her than genuine ‘love’, in my opinion) and then becomes a pathetic puppy that follows him around for the rest of the film.

Riseborough’s performance was more disconnected than Riley’s, and it definitely felt as though her casting in this role was all wrong. There were sparks of brilliance in her execution (which cannot be revealed because they would most definitely be spoilers), but for the most part her portrayal of Rose was awkward and inconsistent. Also, it didn’t help that Riley and Riseborough seemed to have no chemistry at all between them.

The true shining star of the film however, is Helen Mirren’s character, Ida. Ida is a wonderful mother figure to Rose, while still maintaining sexy streak – basically, she’s just Helen Mirren thrown into a gangster flick. Perhaps its Mirren’s experience, or the fact that her character was probably the most sane (and least frustrating) out of the three main characters, but Ida made the film’s narrative weaknesses slightly more bearable.

Visual/Audio

Despite the film’s shortcomings, what makes Brighton Rock beautiful is the visual elements and the soundtrack. From start to finish, the film’s cinematography captured me. The intense contrast in the lighting, the extreme long shots of the scenery, and the general tone of the visuals really captured the mood in a nutshell. The locations were also brilliantly selected: no matter if it’s a lighthouse on top of a hill or the boardwalk, everything is a delight to look at. The costuming was also beautifully executed, with Rose and Ida’s clothing being an aesthetically pleasing representation of the setting of the film.

Soundtrack-wise, the selections were often unique and definitely captivating. During chase scenes, the music that would belt out would not be fast-paced rock music; rather, Joffe selected a soundtrack with saxophones and drums to add to the film’s jazzy noir atmosphere.

DVD Extras

The DVD comes with so many extra goodies, they had to house it in a separate disc (yes, Brighton Rock is a two-disc purchase!). With audio commentary from the director and the editor, Joe Walker, a “making of” segment, extended interviews with Joffe, Riley, and Riseborough, deleted scenes, and even more, there sure is plenty to come back for after the credits have rolled.

Final Comments

Brighton Rock is a shaky film that has more cons than pros. It’s definitely worth watching if you’re in for a visual treat, but as the narrative gets shakier and Pinkie and Rose both become irritating, the cinematography can only do so much. The only other reason I could possibly suggest to watch it (besides for comparison to the original) is for Helen Mirren – I know she’s popular with the gents, and two hours of Mirren is worth it no matter how mediocre the film is.

Preview: Super Mario 3D Land

Michael Irving

September 19, 2011

Gamers are a passionate bunch, and will dispute everything. But if anyone ever tries to tell you that Super Mario 64 wasn’t a revolutionary game, I want you to Goomba-stomp them for me. Then run away with your hands over your ears.

Having played, finished and loved every single Mario platformer Nintendo has produced, I was stoked for the opportunity to get my hands on the newest adventure, which we all knew was gonna be awesome anyway. Despite the super clunky title, Super Mario 3D Land is likely to be responsible for shifting ludicrous numbers of 3DS systems leading up to Christmas.

If you’ve played a Mario game before – and I refuse to accept that anyone hasn’t – you already know the basics. But there’s more to it than what you expect.

As I started off by saying, Mario 64 was a revolution at the time; the switch to open-world 3D environments was unprecedented, and it sparked a new direction for the platform genre. But that was just one direction it could have taken. Around the same time, Crash Bandicoot emerged on the Playstation, rejecting the open world design in favour of linear levels that flow like a traditional platformer, while allowing for 3D movement.

Super Mario 3D Land follows Crash’s style, so in a way it feels to me like an alternate-reality Mario 64. While the 3D games were fantastic, I always found it hard to get into the flow in an open 3D environment. 3D Land reduces the freedom of exploration to create more structured, flowing gameplay. It mostly consists of 2D levels, sidescrolling left to right, with verticality as per usual, but now it allows movement towards and away from the screen. It’s a little hard to explain the significance, but it drastically changes the flow of play: levels usually follow a linear 2D path, allowing a small amount of 3D movement away from that axis. From time to time it will open up into a small open area, before narrowing back onto a single path or two. In this way it can retain the flow of a 2D platformer but allow multiple pathways, hidden areas and items to be accessible through the background/foreground.

This of course makes it perfect for Mario’s transition into the much-hyped third dimension; with gameplay literally going in and coming out of the screen, it looks and plays brilliantly in 3D. Bullet Bills fly towards the screen, there’s a new type of piranha plant that spits ink all over your view for a short time, and as Nintendo likes to spruik about, it actually is much easier to judge distance in 3D. I was sceptical about the idea, but my cynicism quickly melted away on having tried it. I hate dying in games because I overshoot an enemy or underestimate a gap. That frustration is all but gone, as your distance judgements feel strangely instinctive.

Another common gripe people have with 3D platformers is controlling the camera. Somehow, the industry has still not quite perfected the method of presenting game worlds in third person. There is no bigger frustration than dying because the camera suddenly swings in the opposite direction, or obscures the other side of the gap. Mario Galaxy tried to remedy this by wrenching the camera from the player’s control at crucial moments, pulling back to give the optimal view of the area and allowing players to focus on the actual task.

Super Mario 3D Land does this the whole time. Players are unburdened by camera controls; rather, your vantage point sits constantly at a perfect isometric angle, like someone’s pulled it up a bit from its usual perch in a 2D platformer. If Mario does happen to wander behind some scenery, as he’ll often be enticed to do for hidden items and areas, his silhouette will be visible through it, showing where he is and what he’s doing. Think Super Mario Sunshine, without the pointless iris-in effect. We’ll have to trust the designers to not put anything too dangerous back there.

Elements of most Mario platformers are apparent, but its strongest influence is Super Mario Bros. 3, arguably the pinnacle of the 2D Mario games. Each level is timed, and ends with a flagpole, complete with a set of stairs or a platform nearby to allow Mario to gain some extra points by aiming for the top. The last level of each world takes place on flying airships, and culminate in a boss battle with one of Bowser’s kids. And of course, Tanooki Mario returns.

Tanooki Mario, the raccoon suit you for some reason collect from a leaf, was iconic to SMB3, but hasn’t been seen since. Its reappearance was one of the first things the world learned about 3D Land, when it was revealed in the logo. Its use in the new game amounts to pretty much what it did in SMB3 – use it to whap your enemies or coin boxes, or flutter it during a fall to slow your descent. In practise, it unfortunately now has little effect on your falling speed, reducing its usefulness somewhat.

Its most useful power in its last appearance was flight. Get a decent run up, and you could effectively fly over the entire level. How this would work in a 3D environment has apparently stumped even the developers. It was announced recently that all Tanooki Flights have been grounded in Super Mario 3D Land, although it shouldn’t be unreasonable to expect that it still provides a longer or higher jump, with enough speed built up.

I was excited about this game by default, and my time with it has increased that excitement tenfold. Screw the third instalments of Battlefield, Killzone and Modern Warfare – this is my most anticipated title for the remainder of 2011. Nintendo never fail to creatively utilise their own hardware (eventually), and Super Mario 3D Land is probably the strongest reason yet to buy a 3DS.

Renegade Ops Review

Claire Phillips

September 19, 2011

Renegade Ops
Developer: Avalanche
Publisher: SEGA
Platform: PSN, XBLA (reviewed)
Release Date:
Price: $14.99 (USD) , 1200 Microsoft Points (buy here)
Genre: Action, Shooter

Introduction

Renegade Ops is a top down twin stick shooter with combat that is entirely vehicle based. It was developed by Avalanche, the studio behind the Just Cause series, and boy can you tell. Renegade Ops even uses the same game engine as it’s big brother, and combines well paced chaotic action with amazing visuals to pump out a great little XBLA experience.

Story

A missile launching psycho going by the name of Inferno is causing serious problems in the world. As politicians sit around debating how best to talk him down, one man takes a stand, throwing down his military responsibilities and going straight for the jugular. General Bryant forms the Renegades, and sets off to bring down Inferno in his own explosive style.

Players jump in as one of the four members of the team and battle through Inferno infested jungles, towns and temples in pursuit of the man himself. The Renegades are soon joined by Natasha, an ex Inferno ally set on bringing down her old boss…

Sure, the story is all cartoon stuff but that’s all Renegade Ops needs, and it pulls it off well. Cutscenes are handled via the usual comic book style panels, and come complete with some over the top voice acting and pantomime dialogue. The banter between Inferno and Bryant does fall a bit flat sometimes and could have been abused for some more laughs, but the story is strong enough to give all the action a purpose.

Gameplay

Players have a choice of four different characters, each with their own special ability and vehicle style. The abilities are nicely balanced between the defensive (armor plating, EMP) and the offensive ( heavy gun, airstrike), and can be upgraded as the game goes on. Every level gives you the chance to switch character so there is plenty of opportunity to find your niche without having to replay the early stages.

In game controls are a simple combination of left stick to drive and right stick to aim and shoot. The driving is easy to handle without being boring, and when the combat kicks in you have to be able to combine it well with your shooting – there’s no way to survive standing still! Special abilities and secondary weapons are unleashed with the shoulder buttons and there’s a turbo button too – although a bit more speed would have been welcome here.

Players are directed through the levels by primary and secondary mission pointers, which along with the timed nature of the primary objectives maintain a good pace to the gameplay. Primary objectives are mission essentials like destroying missile silos and taking out tanks, whilst secondary objectives tend to be fetch and carry tasks that gain achievements upon full completion.

The firefights happily make up most of the gameplay, and are big, noisy affairs that see you doughnutting around like a madman with all guns blazing. Demolishing enemy vehicles gives you health, weapon upgrades and secondary gun ammo, so when the going gets tough it’s essential to keep blasting away to survive. Secondary weapon ammo can be a bit hard to come by, a shame given that the rail gun, flamethrower and rocket launcher all add a fun kick to the combat.

The environments are all destructible too, a great addition that sees you ploughing through buildings mid fight, bringing them crashing down in clouds of dust and rubble. Level settings are nicely varied and see you cruising through lush jungle and grimy mines and speeding around ancient pyramids in the dark. There are always several paths to take and the size of the areas is impressive, but I did find myself occasionally getting stuck in trees or corners – very frustrating when the enemy’s about.

Enemies range from foot soldiers to warships, and a few battles give you the chance to pilot a helicopter instead of your usual vehicle. These sections strip you of your special ability (in my case the armor plating) and put a lot more emphasis on your piloting skills. As well as being a lot of fun (and a bit more of a challenge) they add a taste of much needed variety to the missions, the run and gun structure of which never really changes. Boss fights do crop up, but for the most part are a repeat of the same enemy over and over again (Inferno’s dead! Oh no he isn’t! Oh yes he is!).

Playing solo is enjoyable, but multiplayer is where this game takes off. Co-op is available for two players locally and up to four online, with each player able to act independently -so there’s no need to keep to a magic distance for fear of suddenly being teleported away. Two or more players equals to a hell of a lot of chaos, and the leader boards provide a bit of incentive to keep playing Renegade Ops after finishing the campaign.

Presentation

Renegade Ops is probably the best looking XBLA game I’ve played. There’s no cartoon cop out here, everything is realistically styled – water shimmers in the sunlight, your vehicle kicks up a dust trail as you barrel along jungle paths . The environments are incredibly detailed and everything from bunkers to electricity pylons can be destroyed. It’s all very reminiscent of Just Cause, and of course that’s nothing but a good thing.

Considering the massive amount of chaos that can be on show the frame rate copes extremely well. The screen can be totally engulfed by explosions, gunfire, a dozen different vehicles, flamethrowers and collapsing buildings and yet the action doesn’t miss a beat -it’s very impressive!

The sound effects add a proper sense of impact to all the destruction – and the explosions in particular are fantastic. The music never really registers in game but it doesn’t have to, there is already plenty going on to keep your ears occupied! Sadly I do have to mention the horrible jarring noise that can strike when things get busy on screen, but that’s the only thing that mars an otherwise fantastic set up.

Closing Comments

Renegade Ops is an excellent game, but is brought down by a lack of mission variation and lacklustre boss fights. It’s also pretty short considering the asking price, but the chaotic fun of the combat and the nigh on perfect presentation definitely make it a worthwhile play. For twin stick shooter fans it’s a must, and is at its best with as many players as you can manage and broken up into small but satisfying chunks.

Renegade Ops scores high:

Excel Saga: Complete Series Review

Travis Bruno

September 19, 2011

Excel Saga: Complete Series
Studio: J.C. Staff
Publisher & Localization: FUNimation
Release Date: May 17, 2011
Price: $49.98 – Purchase Here!

Overview:
There are many ways that an anime can be considered a comedy. It could be a show that features occasional jokes or strange situations, or one that makes snide comments about modern life or any number of things. Another way it to be absolutely wacky and random in such a way that even veteran anime viewers will be unsure of what is going to happen next.

One such show is Excel Saga, released back during 1999 in Japan the show deviates and follows a completely different storyline than the one originally set in the manga of the same name. With zany and completely off the wall humor, Excel Saga was a show that many who watched it could not easily forget. Now that FUNimation has rereleased the entire twenty six episode package under their Anime Classics label, how does this crazy show stand?

Story:
The story of Excel saga is something extremely strange to describe. The main storyline that the show seems to follow is about a teenage girl named Excel who may be classified as clinically insane if a doctor ever was able to keep her still long enough to analyze her mental condition. Excel is a devout follower of a man named Il Palazzo who is the evil mastermind behind his own little organization known as ACROSS which is trying to take over the world. It just happens however that they have absolutely no idea what the world they are doing and the crazy tasks that Il Palazzo set Excel and her eventual partner Hyatt on usually end up making absolutely no sense.

If that wasn’t enough, there is also a side storyline about a construction worker named Pedro who is an extremely hard worker who loves his wife and child. However due to many strange circumstances the man gets taken on an odd journey away from his family. This is only the tip of the iceberg however as various other characters and references are thrown in completely at random, with only occasional intersections of storyline. Because of this there are numerous storyline arcs that run at one time which can make it extremely easy to get lost, but that may also be because of the amount of laughing that the viewer will be doing.

Nearly every episode of Excel Saga is a spoof of some kind or complete and utter randomness. The show can switch gears from an action styled show to a romance, to horror to flat out comedy with every episode that passes. Most of these are pure spoofs of the genres they involve, including an episode titled “Increase Ratings Week” which involves the female characters wearing swimsuits. The amount of tongue-in-cheek humor delivered towards the anime industry as a whole is certainly a highlight for experienced viewers. There is heavy adult humor as well with plenty of vulgarity and many weird references that while some people may still not end up getting, will be enjoyable in their own right simply because the viewer will be left to interpret what the hell they just saw.

Besides being completely random, there is indeed excellent humor involved thanks to the characters themselves, the slapstick based skits and the convoluted plot that usually makes no sense. There are many moments where a character will be killed only to be back in one minute like nothing ever happened.

The only problem is that Excel Saga may be extremely difficult to get into at the start. The craziness of the show is something that takes a bit of time to get used to which can be a problem at times. Plus this isn’t a show that would be good for new anime fans as the humor often references specific anime tropes and could leave them in the dark at times.

Artwork:
Excel Saga is quite an odd show to say the least, and of course the artwork has to be right up there with it. However with all the zaniness occurring at a time, the artwork does a remarkable job of being extremely high class at times and then being rather low class in quality. The low end usually comes when the characters receive some form of deformation to help heighten the hilarity of a gag or when they go nuts.

Still, the show is made from 1999 so don’t expect anything remarkable as far as the drawings are concerned. There are plenty of styles to be seen here however, usually changing every time the theme of an episode changes. The artwork is always consistent in quality without any errors or significant drop in overall quality without reason which is a major plus to the series and I couldn’t find any noticeable shortcomings.

Audio:
Considering how random at times the storyline can be, there are a lot of characters that have to be voiced and acted out in Excel Saga. Excel Saga contains both the original Japanese voice cast as well as an English voice cast. The English dub does a great job keeping up with the crazy actions that take place all of the time which makes me wonder how the recording studio sounded at times. Still, the Japanese voice actors actually do a perfect job with their characters which heightens the overall experience, which means that some may prefer the original Japanese dub with English subs instead.

There are a few strange songs as well which match the lunacy of the show. The opening song is sung rather poorly but this is meant to be the case and is set to very strange visuals. Dancing and singing in the middle of a man’s bathhouse anyone? The ending song is extremely interesting however as it is barked out by Excel’s dog Menchi which is called “The Bolero of Sorrow.” The song is very interesting and is a delight to hear mostly due to there being practically nothing ever like it.

Characters:
There are a plethora of characters in Excel Saga and most of them have very strange quirks about themselves but the main highlights are the two female leads Excel and Hyatt. As I mentioned before, Excel is a crazy character that is extremely hyper and off the wall. I’ve seen many characters who have acted insane before, but none can surpass Excel.

Hyatt on the other hand is a more soft spoken character and can be seen as a beauty by some. That is of course until she just bursts into spouts of blood and falls over dead or passed out. Hyatt is one of the characters that is extremely difficult to understand and her frailty is the centerpiece to her character. Besides the two female leads, a rather unusual dog stands out as well.

Named Menchi by Excel, he is kept as their pet dog. However they have another name for him as well, Emergency Food Rations. The dog is mostly kept because they will eat him if they ever grow hungry enough to do so. It would be impossible to count the amount of jokes that are made and alluded to the eating of poor Menchi. Even Menchi himself knows this as the aforementioned song is all about how he would like to be cooked and eaten. Which would be such a shame as his side antics in the background are usually a great highlight to any scene he is in, as well as his constant attempts at escaping from Excel which could try to turn him into diner at any time.

Extras:
There is a rather surprisingly large amount of extras to be found on this release of Excel Saga, including your standard clean opening and ending songs as well as trailers for other FUNimation releases. But the other bonuses are quite abundant, even though they may not be the most exciting at times.

There are Japanese television spots and trailers as well as soundtrack spots that were used for promotional material in Japan as well as a ton of tiny extras involving the show Puni Puni Poemy which was actually a spin-off of Excel Saga that was developed at a later date. The extras include a preview for the show, an interview with Yumiko Kobayashi and much more. The extras are good for a quick look but even though there are a lot, most will are barely worth a second viewing.

Overall:
Excel Saga is a very enjoyable show that, despite its rather convoluted and off the wall storyline is extremely hilarious and can be very fun for those who have seen plenty of anime. New anime viewers should probably steer clear simply due to the randomness that can be off putting to those who aren’t familiar with many types of anime. On the other hand, there are so many references to other anime and their themes that viewers will constantly be seeing something new and laughing at the on-screen antics. Excel Saga is a show that follows almost no guidelines except its own and would be hard to pass up.

I give Excel Saga: The Complete Series

Nintendo 3DS: Aussie celebs Luke Jacobz and Sophie Falkiner showcase their lives on 3D photos

Kelly Teng

September 19, 2011

The Nintendo 3DS sure has given us a new perspective on the world of gaming, but four Australians have found a new way to use the 3DS: photography.

An exhibition will open on the 20th of September (yes folks, the same day as Gears of War: 3 comes out), showcasing photographs of the lives of four Australians in a new light.

X-Factor host Luke Jacobz takes audiences for a behind-the-scenes look at the TV show, TV presenter Sophie Falkiner reveals her life as both a presenter and mother, Jumping Crocodiles Cruises owner Tony Blums gives us a peek at crocs on his tours, and photographer James Morgan takes a new 3D look at Sydney’s Harbour Bridge.

The exhibition will run between the 20th and 22nd of September from 11am to 5pm at The Argyle in the Rocks. Get there by catching a train or bus to Circular Quay, and don’t miss out on this exciting showcase of how the 3DS is changing the way we photograph the world.

Black Ops Rezurrection Zombie Lab Phase 2 Trailer

Matthew Vella

September 19, 2011

PS3 and PC gamers have been anxiously waiting for their turn at intergalactic zombie slaying in the latest DLC for Call of Duty: Black Ops. Rezurrection, featuring 5 zombie maps including the infamous Moon has just received yet another awesome ‘Zombie Lab’ trailer entitled ‘Phase 2’ to further tease COD fanatics.

The live-action trailer shows an in-depth view on low-gravity zombie research and finding out what makes them tick, before of coarse, having them escape and cause mass destruction-the perfect excuse to go on a massive undead killing spree! The trailer also contains gameplay footage of the remade maps from World at War: swamp, night, asylum, factory, and the new addition, moon. Check the trailer below and see for yourself!

Call of Duty: Rezurrection launches for PC and PS3 on September 22nd.

CLICK HERE FOR ACTIVISION MORE NEWS AND REVIEWS!

TGS 2011: Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater 3D Hands On

Kyle Moore

September 19, 2011

TGS 2011: Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater 3D Hands On

One of the booths with longer lines at Tokyo Game Show was Konami. Whether it was that people weren’t being given time limits, or that the games were popular, I decided to brave the queue and play some of their soon to be released titles for the Nintendo 3DS. One of the longer lines, and perhaps with good reason too, was for Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater 3D. While I was only able to play for a short time, I was impressed with what I had seen and quickly realised this was unlike any other game I have played on the 3Ds to date.

While I did like the game, the controls took a little bit to get used to. The game played as something not specifically built for a portable console, but Konami have done their best, I am sure given more than 10 minutes the controls would be easy to adapt to. Really, the only problem is the camera rotation control being assigned to the A, B, X and Y buttons which I found a little odd. But as I said, given more time I would adapt and be well on my way to enjoying the game.

When playing any game that involves a gun, and isn’t on rails of course, I find myself racing through firing from the hip wildly to complete my objectives (like me playing Goldeneye as a teenager). Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater 3D is not this sort of game. It is nearly impossible to race through and forego the art of a stealthy attack (at least in the level I played through). I found this instantly enjoyable. From crawling through long grass, to using a silenced gun to pick off enemies from safe vantage points, the game feels as if has a high level of mastery, even if it actually doesn’t. The sense of achievement making it through an area is not something I often feel playing a game, but Konami have done a great job boosting my ego.

I find that very few companies actually make a 3DS title that has used the 3D technology to its best advantage. While I’m sure part of the problem is my eyes, a lot of early release titles on the 3DS hurt my eyes, or don’t work in 3D at all. Konami are not one of these companies. Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater 3D in particular boasts some impressive 3D graphic and a highly detailed environment for you to navigate through. I regret not playing the game through much, but by the same token, the short play through I had ensures that this is a title I’ll be picking up.

Click here for our full coverage of Tokyo Game Show 2011

Preview: Kirby’s Return to Dreamland

Michael Irving

September 19, 2011

Kirby may not have been at the forefront of gaming consciousness over the past few years, but he’s definitely persisted, starring in several handheld adventures. He’s somewhat known for being Nintendo’s guinea pig when it comes to new gameplay styles – he’s starred in many a puzzle, pinball and racing game, and his exploits on the DS (including the upcoming Mass Attack) have implemented touchscreen functionality quite well – but his newest adventure, Return to Dreamland, brings the series back to where it began, and where it belongs.

After a preview session at Nintendo HQ in Melbourne, I can say Return To Dreamland feels like the pinnacle of the franchise. Kirby’s Epic Yarn was an interesting side note in the series, and a great game in itself, but it didn’t feel like a “true” Kirby game. Kirby’s Return rectifies that: all the staples of the series are present, including the characters, enemies, environments, soundtrack, and gameplay, and the inclusion of new features fits the Kirby aesthetic and gameplay style perfectly. Every element of the design is reminiscient of the classic SNES and Gameboy games.

To many, including myself, the SNES game Kirby Super Star (or Kirby’s Fun Pack in Europe and Australia) defines the series, in terms of gameplay, visuals and sound. You’ll be happy to know that this feels like a direct follow-up to that game. The levels look much the same, with an obvious graphical update, making the cutesy visuals and vibrant colours so damn pretty. Of particular note was the familiar enemies, which retain their classic design but into the current gen. Everyone seems to be accounted for – those mushroom hat guys, the un-suck-up-able pig heads, waddle dees/doos/daas/etc and the rest. Even Whispy Woods, the iconic tree boss, appears as the final fight in the first world.

Of course, those are just the basic enemies. The lack of Kirby’s trademark inhale/copy ability in Epic Yarn was much lamented, but a return to his origins wouldn’t be complete without the return of the ability to mimic the powers of enemies you swallow. So of course, certain enemies in Return to Dreamland let Kirby use swords, beam wands, spikes, sparks, rocks, umbrellas and whatever else they happen to have on them. All the usual suspects return, along with a few new powers. Donning a flamboyant pink cowboy hat, Kirby has access to a whip, to defeat enemies or pull out-of-reach items into range of his stubby little arms. Or become Water Kirby, to shoot spouts of water at enemies or surf your way across the ground. I’m sure there are more newbies, but these were the two that I encountered during my short time with the game.

Absorbing a glowing enemy will grant Kirby a special super power, that can clear the screen or damage multiple enemies. These can be used more than once, within a time limit, and can be quite devastating.

Gaining powers doesn’t just rely on absorbing enemies, but grabbing a capsule from a dispenser thing lets you take a power instantly. A similar method was used in Super Star, but was less common than seen here. Of course, this may be due to the fact that the game follows the other trend in Nintendo’s 2D platformer revival: multiplayer co-op. With up to four players jumping around at once, you’ll need enough powers for everyone.

My brother’s a bit of a control freak, so playing games growing up, I was always Luigi to his Mario, Diddy to his Donkey Kong, and the helper thing to his Kirby. The two-player co-op in Super Star made the game much more fun, and here it’s only an improvement. Additional players can take the role of King Dedede, Meta Knight, and a Waddle Dee armed with a spear, or any number of colour-coded Kirbys.

In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, all four characters had the exact same abilities, speed, jump height and length, etc. There was no difference in how they played – that shame you felt when playing as a Toad was purely because your friends don’t like you.

Here, each character plays differently, with minor differences in the style of play they encourage. Only Kirby can absorb powers from enemies, but the others cannot lose their equipped power, so there’s a bit of a trade-off there.

Meta Knight is, as he was in Smash Bros Brawl, a bit overpowered. He’s super fast, kills anything quickly, and will slash automatically on contact with an enemy in midair. Waddle Dee plays like Kirby, except his weapon of choice is an awkward, cumbersome spear. King Dedede is slower and heavier, but feels more powerful. He seems to be able to defeat enemies with fewer attacks, but it’s hard to tell. There’s really not much difference when they all die after a few seconds of combat anyway. In fact, I found him to be a little too slow, often struggling to keep up with the others.

Together, the new playable characters add some variety to the game, but in a way they detract somewhat from the “Kirbyness” of the game. It’s all too easy to just spam enemies and bosses with Dedede’s hammer or Meta Knight’s sword, rather than the strategic swapping of abilities that Kirby as a character offers. They would be fun to try, but my guess is that the game would be most enjoyable when played as an all-Kirby team.

As I jumped into the demo a few levels in, I missed what little story the game would provide. I’m a little curious as to what’s going on – with Dedede and Meta Knight playable, who is the game’s antagonist? I guess that will be answered in time.

Nintendo have been teasing us for years with the possibility of a new Kirby platformer for the Wii, and before that, the Gamecube. Now, his exciting return to form is almost here, and if you’re a fan, you’ll definitely want to return with Kirby to Dreamland.

Kirby is due to return on October 24th in North America and in December in Europe. Unfortunately, Australia is probably included in the European release window, and sadly, we will also have to endure the much lamer title of Kirby Adventure Wii. Whatever they call it, Kirby’s latest outing looks to be a lot of fun.

Heroes of Neverwinter finally in Open Beta!

Claire Phillips

September 19, 2011

If you didn’t manage to grab a spot on Atari’s Dungeons and Dragons Facebook game whilst it was in closed beta, you’ll be happy to know that the game has now moved into the open beta stage!

Subtitled Heroes of Neverwinter, the game uses 4th edition rules for both combat and character development. Players can choose to play as a rogue, wizard, warrior or cleric, hiring fellow adventurers to fight their way through over 50 dungeons in pursuit of gold and experience. As well as the included game content, players can create their own dungeons to share with the community. The creator tool only becomes available at level ten, so a good bit of dedication to dungeon crawling is needed before you can unleash your own creations, but make a good one and the gold from the entry fees will quickly make it worthwhile!

Heroes of Neverwinter has a heck of a lot of content and depth for a Facebook game, and the gameplay is very well executed considering the platform. The community during the closed beta has been extremely active, and the game’s Facebook page and Atari forum are constantly refreshed with the latest updates from the developers and in depth hints and tips from players. The whole in game interface has even had a complete redesign – so you can be sure that Heroes of Neverwinter will be an ever more polished experience.

Click here for an in depth look at the game!

Phineas & Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension Review

Jack Joly

September 18, 2011

Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension
Developer: High Impact Games
Publisher: Disney Interactive Studios
Genre: Action/Adventure
Platform: Wii (PS3, Nintendo DS)
Released: 16th September

Although this isn’t the first Phineas & Ferb game ever made, Phineas & Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension is the tie-in of the first ever feature-length episode of Phineas & Ferb, which appeared on the Disney Channel as a summer movie with the same title. What it’s good to see, though, is that the game wasn’t completely rushed in order to coincide with the film (which had already arrived prior to this game’s release). It’s a trademark of most films and their tie-in games meaning the result is a rather unfinished final product, and even if it is a much smaller budget film for TV, it’s still positive to see there was some breathing space, if not a whole lot.

However, that’s not to say Phineas & Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension has a great deal of polish, but saying that, for what it is, it’s an okay plat former and well suited for kids, at that. It managed to carry through whatever it is children find appealing about the pair and their daring adventures, with a choice of playable characters, including an all new ‘Agent T’ character who, much like the boys’ pet Perry the Platypus (Agent P), is a super-intelligent animal who works as a spy. As Phineas, Ferb and gang, you work to foil the evil plot of Dr Doofenshmirtz by putting the chaps gadget-making know-how into practise as you hop between dimensions, as in the story depicted by the feature-length movie.

With such an open-ended setting of numerous dimensions, over the course of the story you visit some interesting locations. Some of which are cliché platform themes like factories, cityscapes and gardens, but some are genuinely quite imaginative ideas, like a balloon world where their form of rain is water-balloons dropping from the sky. Just because they’re good ideas, though, doesn’t make the levels great, as the adventuring can only be described as average. Not that you would expect much more of the game, but it’s standard stuff in the way you walk and jump from secluded zone to secluded zone and dispatch the group of enemies before moving on.

The difficulty has clearly been geared towards the children who watch the show; there are no difficulty settings, only the single, relaxing, forgiving pace of play. An AI buddy helps you out, or alternatively, there is two-player co-op for another human to help you out, and there are no time limits or other restrictions hurrying you along. Invisible walls cushion you in to prevent you from taking a spill over the edge, and in sections where it is possible to run off of the edge – according to the great Phineas himself – you are equipped with one of their many inventions the teleporter belt, meaning whenever you fall off of the edge, you simply appear where you were before you jumped off ready to try again. As such, there is no concept of lives. That said, you do have a health bar, but fallen enemies spit out more health packs than even small children are likely to need, and dying through loss of health only results in the aforementioned offer of retrying from where you were anyway.

There are six different dimensions, each home to a set of short levels, although these are essentially sub-levels they’re so short, as some are brief encounters with bosses or flying sections. That’s right, as well as platforming, there are on-rails flying sections where you steer and shoot as you move through as scene in a jetpack. In addition, occasional other sequences where you have to guide something – be it you or another object – through 2-D or 3-D spaces. In effect, you can almost take it as having 6 decent sized levels, even though it does benefit from breaking it down as this method allows for shorter play sessions. However, there is evidence of a lack of polish through some of the glitches present. Despite being fairly harmless in nature, some circumstances haven’t been accounted for meaning you can manage to slip through walls and floors to plummet to your doom – well, that would be the case if you didn’t instantly appear back on solid ground again straight after.

As you would expect from a game about inventor brothers, there’s a focus on gadgetry, with 5 of their credulous gadgets forming your arsenal of weaponry, like an anti-gravity way for some basic puzzles where you have to lift heavy pieces (you guessed it, parts of more inventions), or a baseball launcher gun for dispatching evil minions. The collectibles are focussed around the gadgets too; collecting raw modifications for your weapons lying around; little bits of electronics that can be fashioned into computer chips to undergo more upgrades like increasing the ammo capacity/damage/rate of fire; or picking up golden tokens which are currency for two funfair-style mini-games, which earn you tickets which can be redeemed against other enhancements.

Overall, Phineas & Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension does its job quite well. The game as a whole is average; the adventuring is similar to that of many movie tie-ins, but importantly, isn’t broken; the dispersal of non-threatening bugs shows a lack of polish but doesn’t hurt anybody; and the graphics hold up quite well for the Wii’s standards, although I expect it’s a different story when it comes to the PS3’s visuals relative to other games. It’s unchallenging, making it ideal for young Phineas & Ferb fans, plus it’s a decent enough platformer for me not to discourage you from getting it if you’re looking for a co-op game with the kids, as somehow the developers have managed to tone down the franchise’s annoyingness to a manageable level (probably starting with the removal of that horrible, horrible theme tune).

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