Highly regarded soccer simulation series Pro Evolution Soccer, or PES, is going to be coming into its latest iteration with the upcoming PES 2012.
To tease audiences and to satiate interest, Konami have released three entirely new, never before seen screenshots of the game in action. These screenshots detail various types of actions within the game, as well as the incredibly pretty graphics. The jostling system implemented in the last game makes it’s return with some enhancements that are to offer new forms of bodily contact and more physical reactions within the game.
PES 2012 is going to give players complete control, with refined mechanics and artificial intelligence to create a more enjoyable experience.
Here are the latest screenshots for your enjoyment!
Bleach the Movie: Memories Of Nobody Tag Line: One hour to seal the fate of two worlds Produced by: Viz Media Run time: 87 minutes, Feature length film Language: English, Japanese Genre: Action, Shounen, Supernatural Available for purchase at Madman Online Store ($29.95)
Overview:
That’s right folks, the fate of two worlds is on the line again, as often is the case in stories involving two worlds. But this is the first true time for Bleach that the fate of both the Human world and the Soul Society have been simultaneously threatened with destruction (oh no! Won’t somebody please think of the children!) .
Bleach is a series of little subtlety and in it’s first silver screen outing, let’s just say I had prepared for the worst, with memories of other shonen anime movie adaptations slowly but surely becoming a tumour on my cerebellum (why can’t I forget Naruto: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow!?). But hey, I went in with low expectations and was pleasantly surprised to see that it in fact; didn’t suck.
Bleach the Movie: Memories of Nobody is a rather sound first feature length outing for Ichigo Kurosaki and friends. With a concise plot that would put some story arcs from the series to shame and some battles on par with the best fights of the series, the movie was a pleasant surprise. But is it without it’s pitfalls?
Story:
The movie should be treated as a side-story as it does not particularly have a canonical fit into the anime or manga. But, if you are going to watch it, the perfect time would probably be right after the Soul Society arc. Though, it could essentially be watched at any time, it does have the problem of relying on the viewers knowledge of Bleach as it doesn’t reintroduce characters for the new viewers. It simply tells a story aimed towards people in the know with Bleach. Just a word of advice to those who haven’t watched anything to do with Bleach, this series has several truck-loads of characters and most of them appear in this movie. Sadly, most of them play little role in the actual story and instead just play part in a battle or two or watch on helplessly whilst shouting out Ichigo’s name.
But, as to the nature of the story, it details the appearance of a mysterious girl named Senna who appears to be a Soul Reaper, but she is generally just a very confused girl who needs Ichigo’s help. Long story short, a league of villains appear revealing a plot to destroy the human world and the soul society and as you’d expect, the Captains and Ichigo defeat them all and save the day. This is a cause of irritation and definitely a pitfall of the film, though it is later redeemed by the time the credits roll.
Thankfully there is more heart underneath all this predictability and even a little unexpectedly bitter sweet. The film has a warmth to it that is not as easily found in the series, which tends to shoot more for badass bravado. The gooey center of this warmth is Senna, the mysterious girl, but to say any more would spoil things (lets just say the title is a hint of what to expect). The film left me feeling both melancholy and happiness, something I never thought anything Bleach related was capable of. Perhaps it’s because Kubo had nothing to do with writing it.
Artwork:
As you’d expect from a film’s budget, the artwork and animation is of a much higher quality then it’s source material could be, and rightly so. With bright visuals, crisp character designs and a vivid scenery; it provides a stark contrast to the series and even more so to the manga (famous for minimal backgrounds). It certainly creates the big screen feel that other anime movies fail to achieve. The fight scenes are animated spectacularly and the characters move more gracefully than ever before, it all makes this film feel large (that’s a good thing trust me).
There isn’t much to say really, the visuals were very impressive and made everything feel so much bigger than in the series. In film adaptations of anime, if they can achieve this, they at least got something right.
Audio: I have to say, I love the soundtrack of the Bleach series and thank god they kept some pieces for the film. To me personally it would not have felt like Bleach without the classic “if you want to see some action..” roaring over the battles like rolling thunder. It is both my favourite musical piece of the series and also of the film.
Though I have to give kudos (no not Kubos!) to the film’s original pieces such as the theme for Senna which was beautifully used when she parts ways with Ichigo and in her past revelations scene.
Characters:
Ah the biggest and most glaringly obvious pitfall of them all, the characters. Not that there is anything particularly or fundamentally wrong with them (mostly), it’s just that there is far too many of them. Surely not all of them needed to be in the film. I mean come on, side lining some of the most developed characters in place of under-developed ones such as most of the captains and introducing villains and then not bothering to expand on them at all?
I know this is more of Tite Kubo’s fault for introducing so many characters in the manga (and thus the anime), but surely it wasn’t necessary to include so many of them. Especially when the majority served little to no purpose beyond killing the baddies in the end.
Fortunately there was one saving grace in this department, the introduction of Senna (and unfortunately farewell as she isn’t a canon character). She is expanded upon so greatly that you would think that she was actually a character in the series. Her story is more heartfelt and painful than any other characters, besides Ichigo of course (the hero must always be the most emotionally wounded, just letting you know).
Her entire character, in tandem with Ichigo, is what holds the movie together and is what actually makes the movie, you know… good. For me personally, seeing her journey was the true story of this movie, I was more concerned with whether she survives, rather than whether the two worlds are destroyed – which says something.
Special Features: Madman has really done a great job with this release, which includes a special movie booklet which features character bios and information on the film and we also are given a reversible DVD cover (which isn’t half bad). The discs special features section includes an inside look at Viz Media’s work on the dubbing of Bleach the series and particularly this movie. We also get some interviews with the japanese creators (no Kubo trolling unfortunately), some trailers and the good old line art that Viz loves to put in the majority of their releases.
Overall:
This movie certainly surprised me, I didn’t expect it to be this good, that’s not to say there wasn’t the expected down-sides. But overall it was a great film that puts a lot of it’s source material to shame. And isn’t that what a film based on a series is supposed to do? It is supposed to be bigger than the series and justify itself being a film. Fortunately Bleach the Movie: Memories of Nobody does all this and more.
Siren Visual wants to be your friend. They are even willing to eagerly nudge you with DVD samplers to get their coveted Facebook “Like”. They have recently announced that everyone who liked their page in the month of May is eligible to recieve a free booklet and DVD sampler featuring 3 noitaminA (a late-night television block in Japan) anime series.
The sampler includes episodes of:
Welcome to Irabu’s Office
The Tatami Galaxy
House of Five Leaves
As an added incentive, “liking” their Facebook page enters you into the draw to win a Clannad: After Story lithograph worth $250 with the winner being drawn on July 15th, 2011. So if any of this tickle your fancy, you have a whole day left to become eligible for the offer.
For the past few months, we have been bringing you all coverage on Zordix’s Valet Parking 1989, a game in which players must use their best time management skills in a hip 1980’s setting to please both their evil boss and celebrity clients as they rush to park cars in a strategic fashion. Today the wait is over and Valet Parking 1989 is now available on the DSiWare download service.
Also released was a comdedic list of features for the game, giving potential parkers a look at what to expect from this snazzy new title:
Park and return cars to patience impaired guests.
One evil bossman!
Intense and stressful gameplay
Set in a neon lit California 1989, or something like it.
Two modes of play, endless play and a teen movie story mode.
Shoulder pads galore
30 characters that you may or may not (n)ever have heard of.
Mullets, mullets everywhere!
15 songs (quite but not like, anything you heard before)
Two words, handcuffs and ice-cream
15 cars all with Hollywood style steering and Hollywood style screeching tires.
Never ending play, with or without a story.
A nice ambulance, you will need it!
Mullets, ice cream, handcuffs, and 80’s flare sounds like a great time to me. Valet Parking 1989 has had my interest for a long while as it just seems to stand out for the obvious reasons along with the addictive gameplay formula that has been advertised by Zordix. If you own a DSi though and have been looking for something to grab with those points, the only “Totally Rad” choice is now available in North America with Valet Parking 1989. Stay tuned as well as a review is coming soon.
SBS is always filled with multi-cultural and Australian goodies, and August 2011’s lineup is no different. Here’s a pick of a few of our favourite Madman/SBS coming soon titles here at Capsule Computers!
Coast and Beyond – Series 5
Release date: 3rd August 2011
Following the success of the first four series exploring the mysteries of Britain’s coastline, the BAFTA awarding-winning COAST is back with eight hours of brand new content, celebrating the unique character of the British Isles. Lead by Neil Oliver (A HISTORY OF SCOTLAND), the fifth series covers new ground as the team embarks on ambitious voyages to Brittany, Denmark and Ireland, where they climb the stunning sea cliffs of the West.
In Their Own Words
Release date: 3rd August 2011
This is the story of the 20th Century novel, told by the authors themselves, featuring great novelists talking candidly about their life and work. IN THEIR OWN WORDS includes Arthur Conan Doyle, HG Wells and EM Forster through to Salman Rushdie, Jeanette Winterson, Martin Amis, Kazuo Ishiguro and Hilary Mantel. The series provides fascinating insights into what mattered to writers about the times in which they lived, and includes the only recording of Virginia Woolf in existence and William Golding explaining LORD OF THE FLIES to a room of young school pupils.
The Buddha – The Story of Siddharta
Release date: 3rd August 2011
This two-part series by award-winning filmmaker David Grubin and narrated by Richard Gere tells the story of the Buddha’s life, a journey especially relevant to our own bewildering times of violent change and spiritual confusion. It features the work of some of the world’s greatest artists and sculptors, and we hear insights into the ancient narrative by contemporary Buddhists, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Scene is set : Capsule Computers Head Quarters (somewhere in the world)
MasterAbbott walks into the interrogation room, wearing a slick brown suit and a matching fedora hat. He takes a seat, stares down his suspect, then begins his questioning.
MasterAbbott : So, could you tell me where you were on the night of the 14th of October 1977 ?
Suspect : LOOK I DIDN’T DO IT … I’M INNOCENT I TELL YA!!!
MasterAbbott : YOU’RE LYING.
Abbott takes out his trusty magical notebook, opens it up to the right page and begins looking for hard evidence. He thinks to himself, “hmmm… everything’s so neat in this notebook. It’s organized so well: people, clues, locations…I can find everything I need in here, plus I never knew I had such neat hand writing – must be this ultra-pointy led pencil I keep in my pocket!”.
Abbott glances through his clues and finds the evidence he needs to nail this scumbag.
MasterAbbott: Hmm, let’s see…I have proof that you were at home playing Pong on your Atari 2600 ! Your fingerprints all over it, and PLUS your mum said she could hear you complaining and yelling that the DOT was too small and moving too fast, and the other PONG board was cheating! Then she heard a loud crash, and moments later saw you running from the scene of the crime.
Suspect swallows awkwardly, and adjusts his collar, feeling very uneasy.
Suspect: …. OK.. OK !!! It was me but I can explain. This new gaming console called the ATARI 2600 just got released today at the local store. Everyone’s been talking about how good this new game called PONG was, so I went and picked up both a new Black & White TV and the Atari 2600. I followed the instructions and connected it all up. Then I started playing PONG…that’s where it all started. The TV all of a sudden was flickering just when I was about to hit the pong ball, which made me miss and lose a point. Then just when I was about to win and needed one more point, the ATARI would FREEZE one me, so I had to reset the game and start all over again. I couldn’t WIN !! I lost EVERY SINGLE GAME. THEY WERE WORKING TOGETHER AND CHEATING I TELL YA !!! I KNOW THEY WERE !!! THEY BEAT ME 20 TIMES IN A ROW !!! No one beats me !!! NO ONE !!!
MasterAbbott : This all the evidence I need. You’re under arrest for the destruction of a defenceless black and white TV and an ATARI 2600. You have the right to remain silent …
Suspect : YEAH YEAH YEAH !! I KNOW I KNOW !! Just cuff me and take me away. That TV and ATARI got what was coming to them. I’ll be out in 6 months, and when I get out I’ll do it all over again, and this time Mr Smartypants DETECTIVE you won’t catch me !!!
MasterAbbott : 6 MONTHS !!! HA !!! By the time you get out they’ll have video game systems that’ll be 100x times smarter than you, they’ll be controller-less and also in 3D and will freeze up a whole lot more than this poor little ATARI ever did !!! Who knows they might even make a game about me sending you off to JAIL, now wouldn’t that be a sight to see. Take him away boys.
Abbott gets up and walks out the room, happy that another video game bully has been brought to justice.
Screen fades to black….
As you can see all I’ve had time for this week was L.A Noire. If you want the empowerment of sending scumbags to Jail, then run off to your local store and pick this game up. You won’t regret it, ROCKSTAR GAMES have really hit the ball out of the park with this potential “GAME OF THE YEAR” make sure you check out our review of the game here.
Now If you’d excuse me, I have work to do (runs into the closet to change into his black suite and fedora had). Somewhere out there another scumbag is throwing a controller at a poor defenceless TV, just because they can’t get pass the first level (tutorial) of whatever they are playing.
Enjoy your week. Remember, play hard or don’t play at all!
Senior Editor: Travis Bruno
Unfortunately this week I haven’t been playing a whole of different games since my time has been spent with family more often than not. But when I did have time of my own I have been spending it searching crime scenes for clues and interrogating suspects in L.A. Noire. After putting more time into the title I’d have to say that it really is an amazing game. I don’t think I have seen a title before that has went to such lengths with storytelling in recent memory that wasn’t just an RPG. It is good to see a title such as this, a blend of mystery and drama, do so well in the market. One thing that is interesting though, and that I actually appreciate, is the fact that the action sequences are not the biggest part of the game, but instead the interviews and clue collecting are. You can mess up during an action sequence as many times as you like and the game may just let you skip it with no consequence. Then again if you mess up all of your questions or don’t have enough evidence then you are left without a chance in the world.
Besides L.A. Noire I’ve also got my hands on Dead or Alive: Dimensions for the 3DS. I’ve put a decent amount of time into the game already since the first day I received it, and I’d have to say so far that it is the premier fighting title on the 3DS. Super Street Fighter IV may be more popular in some circles, but Dead or Alive’s three dimensional fighting is not only more advanced, but also more enjoyable as well. If only turning the 3D on didn’t make the screen play a little choppy. Also, it has a storyline! The idea that a fighting game can get away without a storyline is archaic in this day and age. Sure it takes a bit of work, but it at least shows fans that you are trying to develop your game further than your last title. Or you know… add two characters and charge $30 calling it new.
Senior Editor: Jed Bradshaw
This week I got about halfway through one of last years summer of arcade games: Hydro Thunder. So far I am enjoying it a lot, although the graphics look like something from the last generation of consoles. The addition of collectibles was ill thought. Other than that though, I love the off the wall psychics and awesome shortcuts. Jumping other boats to take 1st is also loads of crazy awesome!
Senior Editor: Dylan Radcliffe
I bought myself the LG Revolution, and it is one sexy phone. It runs on the Android OS and I have been playing random games on that. I refuse to pay for the games though, so they are all the free ones I could get my hands on. The current list is: Unblock Me, Trapball, Alchemy, Nova, Puzzles, Chippers Challenge, SpeedX 3D, Abduction 2, Impossible Level Pack, Fruit Ninja, YooNinja NinJump. The list keeps growing daily because I tend to find a bunch of games that are either already free or I know how to get for free. Since the Android is an open OS (one of the main reasons I wanted to buy it) if you know just a small amount of programming you can do a lot with this phone – that and if you don’t mind settling for ads, there are free ad supported apps that are the same as the paid ones. I also started playing Pokemon White. Pokemon White is a fun game and all, but amazingly I am unable to get my main six that I like to have. I tend to be able to slowly fill in all the gaps for the six starters that I like, but I now have a fighting type pokemon in my group and the stupid Patrat Pokemon simply because I need all six. My Water type of the group keeps switching because every time I get a new Water type, he tends to disappoint me and I replace him with another Water type. I’ve managed to accumulate three that I want to keep, but the other three are still up in the air and there are no Pokemon that are actually catching my fancy. I treat my Pokemon as real creatures: they have the choice from the minute I start using them to either impress me or disappoint me. If they disappoint me they are quickly gotten rid of. Also, it isn’t like I expect them to win every battle, but if they consistently lose (especially in easy battles where they had the upper hand in everything) then they aren’t worth my time.
Senior Editor: Dustin Spencer
This week has been a busy one for my 360. I started playing Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale, which honestly is starting to feel like more of a chore than entertainment. D&D is a brilliant franchise that I have recently started to enjoy, and this game just doesn’t represent it as it is not only buggy, it is bland and somewhat boring so far. Maybe that will change, but for now I just feel that this release is one that will be quickly forgotten and deemed a cash-in rather than a worthy entry into the series. I have also put a bit more time into L.A. Noire, which I am still enjoying greatly. I am almost done with homicide at the moment I believe and the story is really picking up. Thankfully if I go a day or so without playing I still feel like I can hop right back in where I left off. Not too many games are able to accomplish that anymore, which makes L.A. Noire that more worthy of a GOTY (so far) candidate.
This week I purchased my first Games of Demand title through Xbox Live with Beautiful Katamari. It has been a long time since I played a Katamari title, but this is by far one of my favorites in the series. Still hoping for a 3DS release as well. Other than 360 titles, I have been trying to get my head around Dream Trigger 3D for the 3DS, which is a fantastic game, but very hard to pick up and play due to the learning curve and control scheme. Other than that, Pokemon, Strange Journey & a bit of Borderlands round up this week nicely and hopefully next week’s release of The Hunted will live up to the hype as I am anticipating it greatly due to the gameplay…and Lucy Lawless.
Editor: Ben Webb
I recently came across APB: Reloaded, which is the relaunch of the cancelled RealTimeWorlds MMO, All Points Bulletin. You see, folks down here in Australia never recieved the game in its original run due to RTW not wanting to shill for servers here. I would also like to point out that a large number of Aussies were dying for this game and RTW not catering to an Australian audience is what could have been a deciding factor in their demise. But that is just me over-thinking things – at the very least, our market could have kept them from becoming broke at an increased rate, but we’ll never know now. Anyway, the game is really, really fun! And even though I’m accessing the servers from down here in AUS, I don’t experience any of the lag that some users more locally complain about…though I do get other errors (freaking punkbuster!). It’s still in beta, and problems do happen and get patched out in this phase, so let’s hope I don’t continue to get random PB kicks at launch.
Also this week I’ve also been playing…you guessed it, QuakeLive! I think my skills are starting decline due to my newfound addiction to APB:R. No incredibly awesome scores this week 🙁
I’ve also been playing Yu-Gi-Oh World Championship 2011. Man, I absolutely love that game! It’s got the children’s card games, the card games on motorcycles and even Jack Atlas! ‘Eff yeah!
Lastly, I may or may not have a review for The Witcher 2 coming out in a day or two (or three… or never). I don’t want to talk too much about it here, BUT IT IS SO AWESOME! I’m loving this game so far, so make sure to check back on the review when it’s up.
Editor: Matt Vella
I’ve been taking a slight break from the gaming side of Capsule Computers recently and focusing more on the other side of the entrainment world, so I’ve been ‘playing’ Blu-ray discs more so lately! My reviews of Winter’s Bone and Chobits Collection will go up in the next few days, and I’m quote stoked to share them with everyone! As for video games however, my passion has been revived for ‘Words with Friends‘ on the iPhone. My user name is Smelloner. Find me and start a game, and have your butt annihilated!!!!!
Oh yeah, and I don’t think I’ve mentioned this yet, but that Call of the Dead map for the Black Ops expansion pack Escalation is epic to say the least! I really wish they’d hurry up and release a COD game focused just on the zombie mode for the 360, that’d be amazing!
Editor: Michael Marr
Not much time for gaming as of late due to a heap of university stuff being piled on as of late. The only things I’ve really gotten around to playing this week have comprised of a little bit of Portal 2 Co-op mode, and a little bit of Dragon Age 2, starting up a new Mage profile for a second, alternate playthrough.
I still have yet to fully complete Portal 2’s co-op mode, although I have to admit, I’m certainly reveling in the humour level delivered even in a 2 player game. That said however, the co-op puzzles I’ve found to be so much more difficult than the single player ones. The additional of 4 portals instead of 2 really forces the mind to think logically, co-operatively, creatively, and in some senses, competitively. I can’t be the only one hoping to appease GLaDos more than my partner, can I? More than anything, I like the fact that it keeps the cruel humour charm of the single player campaign, and mixes it in with the co-op campaign. I also find it particularly funny how GLaDoS even tends to sledge her own kind, and taunt the “can never die” thing. If you haven’t played Portal 2 yet… then why the hell not? No excuses. GO BUY IT. NOW.
Editor: Adam Tabor
So I am back from my little vacation to Myrtle Beach and now that I have had my fill of fresh sea air and UV rays, sadly I return to the real world of bills and boring day jobs. Not much gaming was done but I was able to pick up a new game for my 3DS while I was there: Dead or Alive Dimensions. If you played DoA games before then you know the drill: hot babes fighting and beating the crap out of one another and jiggly physics all around. There were dudes in the game…but sorry I wasn’t paying attention, the physics engine of the game has my focus. I also rented Riden IV on the 360 and its a nice little shoot’em up. I also need to get back to LA Noire. For now I’m on my PC listening to Costa Del Sol (or the beach theme) from FFVII and missing the beach.
Editor: Alexis Ayala
We now return you to another gripping tale from, A New Yorker in Sydney!
Last week we left off with our hero bravely moving forward and feeling the blight of not having his consoles, as he painstakingly awaits their arrival from New York via ship. How will he cope? What will he do? Will he survive!? Read on to find out!
Controller… Oh how I miss you controller. It’s been so long. So long have I had to suffer with this substitute. This buttonless beast that keeps on insisting I touch it. This iPhone… Always with the touching. This week I played more of Orions 2 (iOS). I’ve decided, collectable card games despise me. Such a fitting thing for me in my consoleless Hell. I’ve also spent time with Frog Minutes (iOS). The name should really be Frog Hours. However, it’s barely a game. There’s a review up, so please. I implore you: read it. I have however, had a slight ray of light shine on me. Namely in the forms of Bumpy Road(iOS) and To-Fu: The Trials of Chi (iOS). Both have been a generous light in my life and filled me with great joy. Expect reviews sometime in the future. And to the future. Oh sweet, sweet future. I long for you to arrive with my long lost controllers. I long to press their buttons. Such a simple, yet beautiful thing… a button.
Editor: Jorel Alvarez
I haven’t done much gaming in recent weeks thanks to the endless amount of uni assignments. But this week I thought I’d take a break from hammering my head and try playingPockie Ninja! As I’m a big fan of Naruto and Bleach, when someone suggested I play it, I went straight to it! One of the things I hate about myself in regards to gaming is my indecisiveness when it comes to creating/choosing my character. There’s 18 starting characters to choose from in Pockie Ninja so with that many choices, I think it took me around half an hour just to decide who I wanted to be (which ended up being Aburame Shino by the way). I’m pretty much new to the online gaming scene. The only games I used to play online were Farmville and Restaurant City on Facebook to pass the time at uni (don’t judge me), so playing a more enjoyable game like Pockie Ninja got me all fired up and motivated to work on my brain-bashing assignments!
Editor: Luke Halliday
This week I have been playing Marvel vs. Capcom 3: The Fate of Two Worlds. Yes, quite the ominous subtitle for a game. I mean the fate of not just one, but two worlds rest in the hands of a bunch of Capcom characters and Marvel superheroes. What is happening to the worlds, you ask? I wouldn’t be able to tell you, but it all sounds quite spooky. The game itself is pretty neat, although pretty much everyone online uses the same team: Wolverine, Iron Man and Albert Wesker. But that’s not the games fault, it’s all you punks making me rage quit, fist-through TV style. So please, no Iron Wolves Wesker combination’s punks.
After many delays, Driver: San Francisco is set to release in late August, but off course many of you have been following this entry in the series probably already knew that by now. To go along with the release, Ubisoft are also spicing things up with a Driver: San Francisco Collector Pack, which includes extra goodies such as a replica model of the 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T, a comic book, map of the city with all collectibles displayed, and codes to unlock extra vehicles in the game for multi-player.
With this news of this special edition of the game also comes a new trailer, displaying all of the content that will be sure to make any fan of the series drool a bit as this whole set is done remarkably well. Driver officially releases August 30th in the U.S. & September 2nd for Europe. Until then, you can watch the trailer for all of the aforementioned contents below.
Genre: Horror/Comedy/Sci Fi/”Ozploitation” Directed by: Michael & Peter Spierig Starring: Felicity Mason, Mungo McKay, Rob Jenkins Year of production: 2003 Running Time:100 min
Available at the Madman Online Store (DVD $19, Blu Ray $34.95)
Overview
Not sure if you’d like Undead? Well, there’s an easy, effective way to tell – put the disc in and watch the menu. If the image of a pair of legs with a piece of spine poking out the top, dancing across the screen, makes you laugh or cringe, or both, you’ll likely enjoy the film. But if films like Evil Dead are not your thing, there’s nothing for you here.
I hadn’t heard anything about Undead before watching it, and often the best way to go into a film is bias-free. I didn’t really know what to expect, but that simple, memorable image gave me a clear indication of what I was in for – a self-aware, gory, funny, B-grade zombie movie.
This was the Spierig brothers’ first film, and as their later, better-known film Daybreakers does with vampires, Undead puts an interesting spin on the zombie formula.
Plot
The film mostly follows a well-worn narrative, as a rural Australian town is overrun with zombies, and a small group of feuding townsfolk band together to survive.
René (Felicity Mason) is the town beauty, appearing in local pageants and advertising, but after her family’s farm is repossessed, she decides to head to the city to pursue bigger things. Unfortunately, a freak meteorite shower turns many townspeople into zombies, and leaving becomes much harder when a giant wall appears around the town.
She hides out in a farmhouse, where she meets other survivors, including Marion (Mungo McKay), a, gruff conspiracy guy who is strangely prepared for the infection, and claims aliens are involved. Others include a couple expecting a baby, a pair of panicky cops, and….
I’m actually going to interrupt myself here, to point out that I was racking my brain for ages trying to remember all the characters. I realised that the fact that I couldn’t recall them, and had to resort to IMDb to refresh my memory, doesn’t make a good case for the characters in the film. They are generally forgettable and don’t seem to develop through the film. Even Marion, the most interesting person in the film, began to grate on my nerves. His tough-guy lines, delivered so seriously, incite many a cringe. After watching the film I read an interview with the directors that indicated it was supposed to be funny, but in practice, the lines just come across as lame, macho quips.
The dialogue for the other characters is inconsistent, with some fairly funny lines scattered among others that were probably meant to be funny, but didn’t quite get there. The panicky cop is a good source of one-liners, but they’re lost in a sea of dropped lines from Marion. I’m sorry, I just couldn’t make myself like Marion. With a voice gruffer than Batman’s in TheDark Knight , and the appearance of a parent’s-basement-dwelling computer nerd, I couldn’t take him seriously. Yeah, I get that he isn’t meant to be taken seriously, but a degree of likeability is required in a main character. I couldn’t help seeing in him the Manwhore from Sexual Lobster’s animated shorts on NewGrounds. If you know what I’m talking about, you’ll understand how distracting it is.
It’s not until towards the end that the scenario is revealed to actually be quite clever. As the survivors navigate the town avoiding the zombified townsfolk, they encounter regular showers of acidic rain, and strange beams of light from the clouds that carry people up, adding weight to the idea of alien involvement. The last twenty minutes or so, as the weirdness falls into place and things begin to make sense, redeems the film from becoming nothing more than a generic genre piece that it attempted to make fun of.
Visuals
The brothers are clearly inspired by classic B-movies, stating Sam Raimi (Evil Dead) and Peter Jackson’s early work (such as Bad Taste) as direct influences on their work. As such, the film is overtly ludicrous and silly, and excessively gory. The image of the disembodied legs and spine mentioned earlier is a perfect example of both, as is a zombie with a shovel lodged in its head trying to walk through a doorway, and Marion punching zombie fish. These are the moments to watch the film for. The action sequences are exaggerated to comic effect, as the rather stocky Marion performs acrobatic combat movements usually reserved for cliché hot chicks in action movies. Seeing a heavyset neckbeard pull handguns from unseen pockets, do a backflip, dig the spurs on his boots into the wall, and shoot zombies while hanging upside down, is something you won’t find anywhere else.
The visual style is where the film really shines, not just through the gory humour and outlandish action, but in the colours. At the beginning, the film is a yellowish, almost-sepia tone, giving it a warm, classical feel, and the accompanying scenes set up the town as the peaceful fishing community it was. Once the mysterious clouds cover the sky, frequently depositing the acid rain, the image becomes a dark, cold blue for the majority of the film, effectively setting the mood.
DVD Extras
The bonus features included on the disc are nothing too exciting, but there are a lot of them. It has all the usual stuff, like trailers, image galleries, deleted scenes, “making of” featurettes, etc. If you’re into that sort of thing, the behind-the-scenes looks are interesting, showing how the zombie makeup effects were achieved on such a modest budget. And who doesn’t enjoy watching squeamish crew members spraying chunky fake blood onto walls and extras?
Overall
It’s hard to recommend Undead in a general sense. It will appeal to a niche audience, and within that niche, some may prefer the classic Evil Dead series, Brain Dead, or the recent exploitation films like Planet Terror and Machete. If you are a fan of this kind of film, then you will probably enjoy this. Just watch it with the understanding that it isn’t meant to be taken seriously. It’s not in the same league as the classics, but it is a noble attempt at an Australian entry to the genre, and with the unique spin of alien involvement and a bit of a twist at the end, the film has found a dedicated cult following.
All of this information is freely available on multiple websites, I have no inside knowledge regarding the situation only a few random ideas and opinions and decided to share. So please anyone who reads it take it as my own thoughts not based on any insider facts.
I have to begin with how PS3 games are booted and load at a very very basic level. I have no development knowledge but have been following Sony and the whole jailbreak thing from its start. Every game has within it something called an eboot file and a param file which are apparently very important in initial booting and directing the PS3 towards various other loading protocols. Each eboot has been signed by Sony with the ever important Master keys that tell the console what firmware it requires to boot the game. All games Portal 2 onwards have been signed by Sony with 3.60+ keys meaning they are not playable by hackers and those with unauthorised homebrew installed. The Param file contains information on the game such as the ID as well as firmware requirements. Ok simple enough, if you have 3.55 firmware you can’t play these new games regardless of whether you have a hacked console or not unless you update the firmware.
Yet, with the exception of Portal 2 and one or 2 other games, the hackers are still able to enjoy these newer games thanks to official patches released by the actual game developers. Personally I can only come to one conclusion besides total incompetence as to why they would put this out; to allow as many people access to the game regardless of the small number who obtains their copy illegally. There is simply no explanation for it except laziness and ignorance which I hope is not the case. Surely if Sony had gone to all the effort of signing these games with new keys after the whole Geohot saga they would give these keys to the developers to use for their patches.
A lot of these companies although reporting no real impact from the PSN outage would still have lost substantial amounts of money and users. Many games were delayed, while the online services of others were mute for extended periods, impacting on sales forecasts and profits. Who could really blame these developers for wanting as many users as possible to purchase their games? How does this make sense you ask, simply update and everything’s fine? The Scene groups who work on homebrew for the PS3 are not all involved with piracy. There are plenty of cool legal PS3 applications that many users refuse to let go off in exchange for the ability to play the newest games. Remember I am talking about non-pirates who would legitimately purchase the game most often on preorder. Unable to play these games they take their business elsewhere, resulting in one less sale. Looking around forums this doesn’t seem to be an isolated small issue and I’m guessing hasn’t escaped the attention of the major game developers.
Check out the latest games to be released onto the market
LA Noire – a huge release and originally signed by Sony with 3.60 keys
– Patch released by Rockstar Games allows loading on lower firmware increasing market scope
Brink – another big release and also originally signed with 3.60 keys
– Patch released by Bethseda studios allowing lower firmware to load
MX vs. ATV – not a huge release but also signed with 3.60 keys
– Patch released allowing lower firmware consoles to load
Motorstorm Apocalypse – signed with 3.60 keys by Sony
-patch lowers firmware to 3.50 allowing users with lower firmware to purchase
Mortal Kombat – released working to all but special moves didn’t work on lower firmware
– Patch released which allowed special moves to be performed on lower firmware
It all seems a little bit nonsensical to me unless the developers are trying to widen their market by allowing users with modded consoles to still be able to purchase their games. Maybe I’m wrong and it’s all a mistake and Sony just haven’t sent out the new keys to developers yet. Maybe they are seeing what the hackers do before they commit to new keys only to have them compromised. Either way surely it can’t be that hard to send an email to developers unless of course they don’t trust them. Enough of a ramble, it’s just my thoughts but I found it interesting. In case you were wondering how I know all this it’s called google.com and is a good resource. This stuff is not hard to find it’s just not splashed across the front page of commercial PS3 sites.
Apparently Sony are unofficially releasing a new firmware 3.70 in conjunction with updates needed to use new peripherals in the form of headphones, but no official statement has been made.
For all you Aussie readers, FOXTEL just announced that it really wants you to watch using the 360 more. If you’re a Telstra BigPond broadband customer, you wont be charged for any data while using FOXTEL on your Xbox 360, and to top it all off, there will be six BigPond TV channels added to the service from Monday, May 30, 2011.
This means all video content will be unmetered for Telstra BigPond customers when viewing the FOXTEL on Xbox 360 service, including watching TV shows from up to 30 world-leading FOXTEL channels on the live streaming television service, the six BigPond TV channels, Catch Up TV, and hundreds of new release films, library movies and TV episodes from the FOXTEL on Xbox 360 On Demand service.
BigPond TV Channels include:
FOOTY TV: AFL TV is around-the-clock action featuring the best of the AFL regular-season and finals series. With match replays, highlights, player interviews, International Rules action and much more, this is 24/7 footy at its best. From June AFL games will be available as Catch Up video on demand after a twelve hour delay following the live game.
LEAGUE TV: Catch every game of the Telstra Premiership, Finals Series, State of Origin, City v Country, Four Nations and Test Matches on LEAGUE TV. LEAGUE TV offers match highlights, full game replays, NRL news, player interviews and more. From June NRL games will be available as Catch Up video on demand after a twenty-four hour delay following the live game.
V8 TV: Suit up for 24/7 streaming of the big events including, live action, interviews and driver features, expert analysis, race recaps, crash compiles and more. V8 races are streamed live and a highlights piece from each race is available as Catch Up video on demand.
RACING TV: TVN is a dedicated thoroughbred racing channel including local and international racing, commentary, tipping services and the latest thoroughbred industry news and information from Australia and around the world.
BigPond News:BigPond News provides the latest entertainment, finance and technology stories, regular weather updates, live crosses to breaking news, broadcast around the clock.
BigPond Sport: BigPond Sport TV covers everything to do with sport – tune in and sit back for big news, plus live events, big-match replays, highlights, opinion and profiles from all the sport you love.
