Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris: PS4 Review

Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris: PS4 Review

Platform: PS4
Released by: Square Enix

The Tomb Raider reboot last year was one of the best games to hit the PlayStation.

Gritty, and with a depth of character for an action heroine, it was an engrossing piece that swept you up in the world and gave you something to enjoy.

Equally enjoyable but for different more disposable reasons is Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris, an isometric gamer that works better if you play with a group of people rather than solo.

Once again, you get to take hold of Lara in a new adventure that's fairly light in content but simple in execution. Picking up where 2010's Guardian of Light left off, this arcade style game (that's reminiscent of Gauntlet and Dead Nation) is a fairly stylistically simple piece that's not really about graphics, other than in its glorious cut scenes.

Lara's on a journey to the Egyptian pyramids when she inadvertently stirs Set, an Egyptian god of destruction and sets in motion a chain of events that could signal the end of the world. Along with fellow explorer and rival Carter Bell and a couple of gods, Horus and Isis, the group tries to revive Osiris to save the day.

Occasionally a top down view can make judging surroundings hard and climbing things difficult, but for the most part it fuels down some gaming which feels very much of an arcade game at its best. Collecting gems a la God Of War from urns and shooting hordes of enemies with your duel guns (as used by your right stick) the game's mechanics are breezy and easy to accommodate.

Artifacts, relics and weapons can all be collected and equipped; a staff can be used in something like Raiders of the Lost Ark style burning of other creatures and problems, but once in a while you'll have to employ the grey matter to help you as well as the fellow team-mates. While Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris plays fine as solo, it's really more suited to a co-op experience although that can lead to some screen frustrations if characters lag behind or you're desperate to push on.

Perfectly disposable, utterly fun, Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris is a game suited to the ADD Generation; if you want to invest hours within it, you'll be rewarded. But equally, if you just want to blitz through a few levels to kill some time, you'll also find your lack of patience deeply satiated.

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Skylanders: Trap Team: PS4 Review

Skylanders: Trap Team: PS4 Review

Platform: PS4
Released by Activision

Toys, there's just something endlessly enduring about the collectible nature, the little plastic figurines and the Pokemon-got-to-get-them-all mentality.

Skylanders was one of the original starters from the franchise and was ahead of the game before Disney Infinity swept in and stole some of their gaming thunder. So, a fourth iteration of the series has some way to go to try and ensure the series doesn't fall prey to heated up competition.

For those who've never played Skylanders before, this is a good place to jump in with a starter pack coming with a base and the ability to reuse old toys again. In among the gaming, the idea is that you can trap other characters within the game by defeating them and using the trap panel on the base to your advantage. But you need to have the right element to capture these characters too, with the developers ensuring that you have to stump up more cash to get them on your side.

Bright colours, simple mechanics and a desire to ensure you've completed all of the areas means that this is addictive and financially draining to any completist out there. But with the fact that the villain's capture throes fade from the TV into the Trap box is a cool little touch which makes it feel like it's not just a simple cash in on any front.

The game manages to bring some life to the toys but doesn't quite leave you feeling that you are being a little short-changed in that you can't access other games and content without opening up your wallet.

The Skylanders set is clearly aimed at the kids and it'll work in much the same way that Disney Infinity has - it captures their imagination, leaves them dazzled with bright colours and ideas and has them clamouring for you to get them more sets.

As summer's here, and the push for family entertainment is getting harder to fulfill, it's clear Skylanders Trap Team will work for those rainy days. The need for further content will be clearly obvious to older game players, though I suspect the youngsters of the families won't care about that and will simply spend hours on this action-platformer game that's definitely going to trap them.

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The Crew: PS4 Review

The Crew: PS4 Review

Platform: PS4
Released by Ubisoft

With the relatively mixed release of Driveclub ringing collectively in gamers' ears, it's fair to say there's a small hint of wariness around the latest online racer, The Crew.

Ubisoft's got a way to go with convincing fans of the arcade racing game that this is the title to invest in - over the rival XBox One's brilliant Forza Horizon 2.

But it doesn't quite get there to be honest.

Mixing a plot that feels derivative of Fast and Furious (a bloke Alex, played by Troy Baker, infiltrates a racing gang), The Crew's open world nature and mash up of Need For Speed feels like it's not really trying for originality at all.

So, it's best to flip the story into reverse and ignore that side of things and concentrate on the driving, thanks to a completely massive open-road world and a map that allows you to go anywhere. Detailed and sophisticated with zooming in and out revealing growing levels of detail, the map's the best part of the game and the depth of the developers' efforts is clear to see. Timings and mission info are all there for you to factor in and a drive is not always a simple 10 minute burn through the country, which really helps you engross in the game (a trait lacking thanks to the story)

The game however, needs a constant internet connection to play, giving you the chance to be part of the bigger world if you want. Though I had the growing feeling there was no need all the time for such constant connectivity - sure, you can form Crews and team up with mates, but if you want to be solo, there's really no need to take the game to the WWW.

Transactions and level ups are all fine as they work on the usual XP; and there's plenty to work on around the game as well - but it's the story which unfortunately puts you off a deep dive into The Crew.

It's playable enough, but it's not quite the driver we were looking for at the end of the year. While it's to be praised for its real driving times and beautiful scenery, the cars very rarely stand out and the story really does drag it down.

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Big Hero 6: Film Review

Big Hero 6: Film Review

Voice cast: Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, TJ Miller, Jamie Chung, Damon Wayans Jr, Genesis Rodriguez, James Cromwell
Director: Don Hall, Chris Williams

Stand by for a new animated character to find its way into your hearts.

Following the success of Frozen and Wreck-It Ralph, Disney ventures into the animated world of Marvel with Big Hero 6, a story about a boy and his robot.

Prodigy and robot wizz Hiro Hamada (voiced by Ryan Potter) is spending his young life in a Robot Wars style arena, clearly talented but wasted. His older brother Tadashi, though, pushes him into using those talents to work in the robotics world like he does.

But one small tragedy later and Hiro has lost all interest.

Until he discovers the robot that his brother built, Baymax - a big hulking white stay puft of a creature that's sole purpose is to cure Hiro. However, Hiro, along with Tadashi's co-workers, adapt Baymax to help track down the evil that's haunting San Fransokyo.

Big Hero 6 is perfect family animated fare for the Christmas holidays.

With gorgeous backgrounds (San Fransokyo mixes San Fran and Tokyo as you'd expect from the name to breathtakingly beautiful effect) and some truly joyous animation, the film is nothing short of fun, hilarity and heart.

For at least the first hour anyway.

Those initial 60 minutes or so concentrate of the mechanics of the burgeoning relationship between Hiro and Baymax and imbue the screen with a gooey warmth and humour that's infectious and reminds you why animation and visual gags can work best when stripped back to their basics. Their bond is beautiful and will touch your heart thanks to a simplicity of emotive moments and strong writing; Hiro with his big Japanese anime style eyes and Baymax with his simple two eyes joined by a line give everything you need to know with a minimum of exposition and with humour that's spot on.

So, it's a shame that the movie becomes a bland middle of the road superhero origin piece as Hiro puts together a team to track down the bad guy who's running amok in San Fransokyo wearing a Japanese kabuki mask with one of Hiro's inventions.

While this section of the movie is perfectly fine and is gorgeously animated, it lacks the emotional feast that's been served up prior to the standard visuals and plot machinations. As it veers away from the fun and unique, Big Hero 6 becomes formulaic (even derivative of the Avengers and its conclusion) and forgettable.  Further examination provides discrepancies in the plot and the villain's raison d'etre and reveal is muddily handled, with a final showdown feeling like something we've seen a million times before in the genre.

At its heart, Big Hero 6 is a movie about loss, dealing with it and moving on - and it's here that it truly triumphs (even with some Stan Lee visual gags). While the formulaic nature of its denouement and origins story may rankle, the first adaptation of this Marvel comic still impresses even if it doesn't feel as fresh as it should.

(Make sure you get there early too to catch the beautiful short Feast, about a dog whose relationship with food is charted through the relationship of his owner and his love life. Inventive and adorable, it's the perfect computer generated fare).

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Penguins of Madagascar: Movie Review

Penguins of Madagascar: Movie Review

Vocal cast: Tom McGrath, Christopher Miller, Christopher Knights, John Malkovich, Benedict Cumberbatch, Werner Herzog

Director: Eric Darnell, Simon J Smith

The Penguins spin-off from the Madagascar series couldn't be a more perfect piece of screwball insubstantial entertainment for the kids in all of us.

Skipper, Rico, Private and Kowalski head out into the big wide world but soon find their lives are in danger when an old enemy, an octopus called Dave (voiced with glee by John Malkovich), appears on the scene. 

Forced to team up with the North Wind, a splinter spy group headed up by Benedict Cumberbatch's wolf, the penguins must try and save the day from Dave's bitter campaign.

Penguins of Madagascar is frenetically silly, ADD entertainment of the highest order which packs in silly gags for the kids and some adult moments for the rest of us.

From the Werner Herzog documentary crew trailing penguins opening through to Dave's use of Hollywood star names to bark out orders (Hugh, Jack, man the pumps being just one example), the film's clearly got its heart in the zany camp rather than the long -term emotional fulfillment area.

Which is probably a good thing, because the paper-thin story only falls apart around the two-thirds' mark as it hits a lull that is only noticeable due to the lack of throwaway gags and globe-hopping antics.

Coupled with a tacked-on last minute "message" about how looks aren't important and it's what's inside that counts as well as being a valued member of a team, the final third of the Penguins of Madagascar loses some of its prior zippy pacing as it heads towards the finish line.

Benedict Cumberbatch and John Malkovich are terrific in their respective roles; Malkovich's suitably rubbery voice gives some tentacles to Dave and Cumberbatch plays a little looser with his smart and superior TV personalities to give his Wolf (aka Classified) the uptight yin to Skipper's looser yang.

All in all, Penguins of Madagascar may well appeal to the kids of all ages thanks to its scattergun silliness, its off-the-wall zaniness and puns, but it's not quite the soaraway animated success that you'd expect - merely a distracting diversion to start 2015.

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Exodus: Gods and Kings: Film Review

Exodus: Gods and Kings: Film Review

Cast: Christian Bale, Joel Edgerton, Ben Kingsley, John Turturro, Ben Mendelsohn
Director: Ridley Scott

It's perhaps apt that Exodus: Gods and Kings is dedicated to Ridley Scott's deceased brother Tony, given that this story is about the bond between brothers.

Christian Bale is Moses, and Animal Kingdom star Joel Edgerton is his apparent brother Ramses in the year 1300BC as Scott's retelling of the classic Sunday school tale is doled out.

With Moses willing to do anything for his brother and apparently being preferred as the King of Egypt by King Seti (John Turturro, who appears only in a handful of scenes), his world is rocked when he discovers the truth of his lineage.

Exiled by Ramses and with the bond seemingly shattered for good, Moses rises up against the Egyption Pharaoh as God's messenger urges him to let his people go-go. But the quest for freedom continues and the clashes bring a series of terrorist-like raids, the personal cost for Moses could be too high.

Emotionally withdrawn and relatively bland in execution, Ridley Scott's Exodus: Gods and Kings may tell an epic story, but it draws it on a canvas that's lacking any real flair.

An extremely flat execution of Moses' exile, the almost Keith Richards' like Ben Mendelsohn as Hegep, and a pre-ponderence of guyliner prevent Exodus: Gods and Kings from achieving any feeling of grandeur over its 150 minutes run-time.

The one sequence that finds Exodus coming alive is the depiction of the plagues unleashed on the Unbelievers. It's here the CGI comes into its own as Scott effortlessly brings into reality the horror of vengeance. Likewise, the parting of the Red Sea is creatively impressive and smartly executed, with a deftness of touch that's somewhat lacking throughout.

Bale and Edgerton start off strongly but with a lack of character development (creatively, there was nowhere for those involved in the writing to go without bringing down a series of plagues on themselves), they soon pale and fail to reach the emotional highs which are needed to help Exodus soar out of the ordinary. A few off-kilter humorous moments involving the seers - including a cameo from Ewen Bremner - add some levity to the ponderous proceedings.

As a 21st century realisation of a timeless story, Exodus: Gods and Kings is sorely lacking.

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The Imitation Game: Movie Review

The Imitation Game: Movie Review

Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Mark Strong, Charles Dance, Rory Kinnear
Director: Morten Tyldum

Perhaps it's fitting that a movie about the cracking of the Enigma code tries to serves up the cracking of a character who's an enigma himself to many.

Benedict Cumberbatch is Alan Turing in this biopic that never really scratches the surface of the character as it chooses to concentrate on Turing and his peers trying to save the day at Bletchley Park during World War II.

The film starts with Turing being investigated by police (headed up by sympathetic Rory Kinnear) after a burglary at his home - Turing's stand-offish behaviour and insistence that nothing's been stolen actually provokes the police to dig deeper into the case and his background.

While the kernel of the story focuses on Turing's initiation into the Bletchley Park world and his inability to work with others thanks to a sense of superiority, flashbacks to Turing's early days and love at a boarding school and flashforwards to the police investigation dizzy up the narrative, that's swamped with newsreel footage of the war effort and Hitler's relentless push towards dear old Blighty.

And that's the majority of the problem of The Imitation Game.

The first half of the film is formulaic, by-the-numbers Oscar-baiting period piece which lacks a frisson of excitement and a depth of character. While Cumberbatch soars as Turing (more on that in a moment), those who swirl around him are lazy stereotypes ripped from a Boys' Own novella.

There's the suave mysterious head of an unknown MI6 (Mark Strong), the suave cad that clashes with Turning (played by Matthew Goode), the military leader who answers to nobody but Churchill (Charles Dance) and the woman who's better than the men (Keira Knightley) - all of these are simply sketched dancers who pirouette around Turing's troubled genius and ultimately, end up dancing to the mad man's tune.

But amongst it all is a truly impressive character turn by the chameleonic Benedict Cumberbatch. To say that he inhabits the role and overtakes the screen is a massive understatement. Essentially playing a variant of Sherlock's intellectual superiority, inability to suffer those whom he perceives as fools and arrogance with a dash of A Beautiful Mind's genius thrown in, Cumberbatch's fiery genius Turing tears up the screen - but at the cost of those around him unfortunately, who thanks to formulaic underwriting fare less well.

And it is parts of the writing that really make the film suffer; the flashbacks to the youth and flashforwards narratively don't mesh and integrate as well as they could, leaving a dramatic frisson and depth unexplored. Equally, Turning's homosexuality is merely subtly hinted at which is fine for some but for a picture that aims to expunge history's view of him seems like a major oversight thanks to hints and broad brush strokes. The single moment of drama only comes with the cracking of the Enigma code - though you suspect here the drama is piled on for drama's sake and artistic licence.

The Imitation Game really feels like an imitation of a formulaic biopic; there are manipulative moments of swelling music that seek to orchestrate your feelings and the decision to hold off from truly delving deeply into its subject proves to be a crippling flaw. It's only thanks to Benedict Cumberbatch's dizzyingly mesmeric turn that the film rises out of a potential mire.

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