17 Minutes of Batman Arkham Origins revealed

17 Minutes of Batman Arkham Origins revealed

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment today has unveiled a comprehensive 17 minute gameplay walkthrough video for Batman™: Arkham Origins.

The Batman: Arkham Origins Official 17 Minute Gameplay walkthrough video features Senior Producer Ben Mattes and Gameplay Director Michael McIntyre at WB Games Montréal as they guide viewers through the mechanics of the new title, highlighting the game’s deep combat system and engrossing narrative. Over the span of 17 minutes, you’ll see the Dark Knight explore the Batcave, beat down on thugs and infiltrate a corrupt Gotham City Police Department

Developed by WB Games Montréal, Batman: Arkham Origins is based on DC Comics’ core Batman license and features an expanded Gotham City and introduces an original prequel storyline set several years before the events of Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City.  Taking place before the rise of Gotham City’s most dangerous criminals, the game showcases a young and unrefined Batman as he faces a defining moment in his early career as a crime fighter that sets his path to becoming the Dark Knight. As the story unfolds, players will meet many important characters for the first time and forge key relationships. 

Batman: Arkham Origins is the next installment in the blockbuster Batman: Arkham videogame franchise and will be available for the PS3™, Xbox 360®, the Wii U™ system, and Windows PC.  Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate™, the handheld version developed by Armature Studio, will be available for PlayStation®Vita handheld entertainment system and the Nintendo 3DS™ handheld system.  The games will release on all platforms worldwide beginning Oct. 25, 2013.  Batman: Arkham Origins free-to-play mobile game is available now in the Apple App Store for iPad, iPhone and iPod. 

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FIFA 14 - PS3 Review

FIFA 14 - PS3 Review

Released by EA Games
Platform: PS3

The beautiful game has been a relatively hit and miss affair on the PlayStation over the years.

Every time it's come close to winning, some features have helped it score an own goal. So it's good to report that the latest FIFA 14 is not a game of two halves. Well, it is literally, but not metaphorically.

It's a FIFA title so you know what to expect from the sports sim- it's a game of football, of teams and giants and one of players, stamina and skill. Whether it's one on one or with friends, the game of soccer's always been a fun affair on the PlayStation even if there have been some frustrations.

From the start up of the game, there is the feeling this latest is more of a polished affair, with player experience being the main thrust of it. Firstly, the game is a lot easier to play, with animation of the players feeling a lot smoother and more liquid. From kick-off to trying to attempt to score, there's a realism which sucks you into the action.

Granted, the commentary for the most part works well - though there is the odd repetition and slightly generic feel when not much is going on. But for the majority of the game, those corny smooth talkers will keep you entertained as you try and match your wits on the pitch.

There doesn't feel like there's been too much messing around with the game's engine; it's still about passing the ball, creating the opportunities and taking the moment to belt one past the keeper. But it's the flow of the on the pitch action which keeps this title hurtling along. Shooting squarely on still takes a level of skill, but equally as much can go wrong as can go right. Career, seasons and online modes are on offer, as well as the chance to train on the pitch to improve your game and a single match if you fancy a game against the AI or a mate; there's a refined feel to the end result which captures something in the sports sim which has been lacking for a while - class and sophistication.

All in all, FIFA14 doesn't exactly redefine the sports simulator - but for an annual release, it certainly brings a level of fun and addiction to the game - with the chances to relive those golden and disastrous moments with replays, there's certainly more than enough to keep the die hard footy fan involved. And even newbies will garner a taste for the on the pitch action.

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The Call: Blu Ray Review

The Call: Blu Ray Review

Rating: R16
Released by Roadshow Home Ent

Halle Berry stars as an American 911 call centre operator Jordan in this thriller.

When she receives a call from kidnapped teenage girl Casey (Little Miss Sunshine's Abigail Breslin), she finds herself in a race against time to try and do what she can to save the day. But she gradually realises this kidnapping has some chilling parallels to another call she took in the past.

The Call is a relatively thrilling idea, well-executed to start off with, even if it does lapse into predictable moments of tension. Berry plays Jordan with steely eyed conviction, despite the story throwing in the usual twists and turns.

That's the thing with The Call - it's ultimately doing exactly what you'd expect it to do and offering up no real surprises to anyone who's seen these type of movies before. Plus when Jordan's sent home from the call centre and begins to investigate herself, the film loses what credibility it actually had and becomes a routine horror thriller which is a real shame as it destroys what tension it had originally set up.

Extras: Deleted and extended scenes

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The Paperboy: Blu Ray Review

The Paperboy: Blu Ray Review

Rating: R16
Released by Roadshow Home Entertainment

Director Lee "Precious" Daniels turns his eye to this sexually and racially charged film noir set in 1960s South Florida.

Investigative reporter Ward (Matthew McConaughey reprising his southern lawyer schtick with ease) along with his partner and brother Jack (Zac Efron) are looking into the case of Hillary van Wetter (an uncomfortable John Cusack), who's been accused of murder. Along with van Wetter's death row groupie (Nicole Kidman in a stand out role), the whole situation stirs up a potent mix within the swamps.

The Paperboy is a difficult film to connect with and to really get sucked into.

It starts off with a voiceover from Macy Gray's maid Anita which doesn't help you connect with the characters in the slightest; Throw in some sordid moments which will challenge both the actors and audience alike and it's easy to see why it flopped at the box office - even the shots of Nicole Kidman peeing on Zac Efron (perfectly innocently, I may add) and some of the other sexual material give the piece an uneasy and tonally disconnecting feel.

All in all, The Paperboy needs to be seen for Nicole Kidman's performance - she channels something she had a while back in To Die For and it's electrifying to watch.

Extras: None

Rating:

Doctor Who 50th Anniversary trailer

Doctor Who 50th Anniversary trailer

The Doctor Who 50th Anniversary trailer is finally here.

To celebrate the upcoming 50th anniversary of Doctor Who, the BBC's released a new trailer teasing The Day of The Doctor episode which will air on November the 23rd.

They've also released an image of all 11 of the Doctors in readiness for the celebration of the Time Lord.

Watch The Day of The Doctor trailer below.

Snitch: Blu Ray Review

Snitch: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Sony Home Entertainment

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson stars in a dramatic role for a change in this film, inspired by true events. He plays construction boss, John Matthews, a good family man who cares for his workforce as well as his two families. So, when his estranged son Jason is arrested on suspected drug smuggling charges, he's forced to enter the seedy world of drugs and drug dealing to try and get him off a long jail sentence.

But John decides (with a little help from Susan Sarandon's Joanne Keeghan, who's trying to get elected to senate) that the best way would be to help try and bust a drugs cartel. To that end, he befriends one of his workers Daniel (Bernthal of The Walking Dead fame) because he's done time for drugs trafficking but is now trying to go clean.

Daniel gets John an introduction into the world of the cartels, and with the FBI and Mexican druglords closing in, the stakes are incredibly high... Snitch is at times, like watching a more Hollywoodised version of an episode of The Wire, with a surprisingly subtle performance from the man you've come to know as The Rock. A sincere and earnest performance means a bit more presence this time around.

But its message of the horrors of drugs on a white middle-class family is somewhat of a muddle and an unsurprising take on the whole thing. An obligatory car chase scene involving a truck is inevitable but well played as the shoot out heads to the freeway in the film's final act, but despite that, Snitch manages to conceive and execute a morally grey story which is watchable, workmanlike and well acted. It's just a shame the message of drugs being bad, yo, is lost thanks to its ham-fisted and ultimately predictable execution.

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