Mad Max: PS4 Review

Mad Max: PS4 Review

Developer: Avalanche Studios
Platform: PS4

Mad Max has had a great year.

What with the cinematic epic chase film Fury Road starring Tom Hardy earlier this year and now an extremely enjoyable entry into the console world, it's been all about the return of Max.

Set in the post apocalyptic world we're all familiar with, this open world game gives you the chance to become Mad Max and to scavenge the wastelands and get revenge. When Max finds his vehicle stolen by local warlord Scrotus, he's on a quest to get it back - with only help coming from an oddball mechanic called Chumbucket (looking like the hunchback from 300), Max has to build a war vehicle, survive the baddies and get his beloved Interceptor back.

With missions and side-missions, the majority of which are aimed at getting Max's new vehicle built, scavenging parts and tooling up, there's plenty to do and plenty of places to explore in Mad Max. Which is a great thing, because the open world that's been created by Avalanche is simply stunning, a wasteland of epic proportions which really does translate well on the small screen following the film's magnum opus. Salvaging scrap from areas also helps Max reach his goals as well, and gives you extra reasons to hang around areas.

Using the usual combat methods and fisticuffs to take out various members of the warboys who stand in your way, Max has a kind of gritty realistic feel to its fighting that's both familiar and welcoming. Running up to a victim and smacking them squarely in the face with a power punch has quite the impact and Max can even unleash his Fury when hitting enough of the right anger points.

And the driving elements of the game prove to be exciting too - powering through sand dunes in buggies and taking on bad guys as you head to your next mission gives this game a feeling of place within the Mad Max canon - equally, the initial opening sequences and cut scenes really are perfect; a mix of the gut-punching violence and the superb execution (both literally and figuratively) give Mad Max a sense of brutality and tension that's welcome.

Oddly though, there are some glitches, including moments when Max tries to run through vehicles and simply melds into them rather than stopping and going around and occasionally some of the movement and execution of jumping doesn't quite work. But these are minor niggles that don't fully detract from the game once you embrace their quirkiness.

All in all, Mad Max is a well-executed take on what was undoubtedly one of the action films of the year. Brutally faithful to its source material and with some uniquely Aussie twang and slang, it certainly hits all the key moments and gives the open world game an authenticity that's worth embracing.

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Disney Infinity 3.0: PS4 Review

Disney Infinity 3.0: PS4 Review

Platform: PS4
Released by Disney

The Force may not be awakening until December this year, but the merchandise certainly had a rude awakening already.

So it is with the rather brilliant family orientated Disney Infinity series which sort of spluttered a little with the Marvel SuperHeroes set last year - but there was certainly a lot more excitement when the news was released that Star Wars would be finding its way on to the platform this time around.

Granted, you'll have to wait until a little later in the year to play an original Luke, Leia and Han set adventure, but this starter pack that's out now is certainly making all the right noises in a market place which is already somewhat crowded, with this franchise, Skylanders and in a few weeks, LEGO Dimensions (bring on the Doctor Who element already!!)

Twilight of the Republic is the major starter pack piece, and the cartoony approach that Disney Infinity brought with their art style, certainly works wonders with this given how it's set in the Clone Wars Universe. In fact, this execution is nigh-on perfect with the ducking and diving, fighting - and you can see how it's come from the same developer as Devil May Cry. Using the light sabres never loses its thrill either - and to be honest, kids of all ages - particularly dads and their sons - will get a lot out of the adventure. Playing as Anakin or Ahsoka, there are different skills to master and different ways to play. But with the wonderfully realised statues on hand, the boundaries to this is as much as the imagination will allow.

And the Toy Box makes a welcome return too - using the if you can build it, you can play it mentality and ethos, there's still plenty to do. The core concepts of the development are the same, but thankfully, the community's embraced this way of gaming already and there's plenty of options to experience what others would create early on. But that's the great appeal of the Toy Box, worlds are created and you can access other people's work; it's a boon to the lazy and the restless - and it's a joy to see others bring it to life.

The thing with the Disney Infinity Star Wars iteration is its perfect amalgamation of gaming and the imagination. Star Wars was always about dreaming, of shooting and playing with light sabres in a galaxy, far far away and now this set has brought that to life. You'd have to be a curmudgeon to not fall for its charms, though it's understandable that given the number of characters to collect, your budget may feel a great disturbance over the coming months.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops III: PS4 Preview

Call of Duty: Black Ops III: PS4 Preview

Studio: Treyarch Games
Platform: PS4

Earlier in August, the Call of Duty: Black Ops III Beta dropped giving long time fans of the franchise a sneak peek of what lies ahead with the latest release.

The sequel to the 2012 game series is highly anticipated and with PlayStation nabbing some of the exclusive content, the PS4's early sneak was entirely welcome, even if its fast paced nature meant plenty of respawns for those involved.

Last year's annual iteration, the release of Advanced Warfare certainly upped the game for those wanting to play smooth shooters and its execution meant the recent DLC for the series has been thrilling and exciting. This Beta showed the future of the series and to be frank, it appears to all be about pace.

Set 50 years in the future in 2065, and with a storyline that concentrates your forces more on the ground rather than allowing them into the air, it's clear that Call of Duty wants to hit the ground running. And it's not just the ground that gets the running too, as you can hurtle along the walls.

The multiplayer gives you a chance to choose a specialist area as well when it boots up, which gives you special skills and weapons, but more of that will be forthcoming when the game is released in November.

The games kick in with a real urgency and speed, and it wasn't long before others dealt to me very quickly, providing plenty of respawn opportunities. This is not a game to stand and admire the world around you - although, in the brief moments before being blasted again, there is more than enough to see, thanks to the wondrous world around it. It's kind of cool because there's plenty of space in the open world to both explore and hide in as well. But when push comes to shove, it's really about the action and it's fast-paced, occasionally hard to adjust to and worth simply getting your sights on.

One of the games I played was a capture the area type scenario, where weapons were good, but stealth was better. Simply put, this beta took some of the finer points of Advanced Warfare and ramped them up to 11. Speed is definitely an issue with this iteration of COD and I do hope there's some time to adjust to what's ahead before being thrown into the game, as you need time to adjust to skills and weaponry.

The beta was an enticing look at Call of Duty: Black Ops III and there's certainly proof that the maps offer up plenty of scope for gaming excitement. I'm intrigued to see what the game offers in November and expect that Treyarch will knock it out of the park when the time comes.

Star Wars Battlefront 10 mins footage

Star Wars Battlefront 10 mins footage

10 minutes of alpha play from STAR WARS BATTLEFRONT  has made its way onto the internet.

Watch the Star Wars Battlefront footage below.

Samba: DVD Review

Samba: DVD Review

Rating:M
Released by Transmission

The directors of The Intouchables re-team with the star of that film, Omar Sy, for this new flick, that promises comedy but wallows in its own earnestness.

Ten years ago, Samba (Sy) migrated from Senegal to Paris and has been doing lowly paid jobs to get by, slowly shuffling cash back home. But when he's caught in an immigration sting, he comes across Charlotte Gainsbourg's Alice, an immigration worker who's a little lost in life.

The two form a friendship thanks to Samba's flirting and big brown eyes hitting the spot with Alice, his case worker who's getting involved where she shouldn't. But the relationship that shouldn't be faces all kinds of problems and stumbling blocks...

Samba starts with a dancing club- flapper style hijinks, with the camera pulling back to reveal a wedding and then looping into the backrooms and the solitude of Samba working in the kitchen. It's a burst of energy from the high life to the backlot but it's symptomatic of the hiss and the roar that Samba starts with and then fizzles out.

Granted, there are comic moments here and there, with Samba working a window cleaning job atop a tall building providing the best laughs of the film, but Samba the movie struggles to find an engaging footing throughout despite the work of the two leads. There's a nice softening of the relationship which is carried along by a modicum of gentle charm, but the movie tries to mix the earnestness and cliche to create a commentary on migration in these times.

It's nowhere near as successful as it wants to be, which is a real shame, and Samba consequently struggles to find its own path, meaning the message is lost, and the film, like Samba adrift in the system, fails to really capitalise on its own identity.

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A Little Chaos: DVD Review

A Little Chaos: DVD Review

Rating: M
Released by Transmission


It's off to the palace of Versailles for this the second directorial outing for Alan Rickman.

It's Paris, 1687 and Winslet plays Sabine de Barra, a landscape gardener who's on the look out for her next commission. So, with the weight of expectation not in her favour, she attends an interview for a commission to build in the palace of Versailles and in an ironic twist for the time, manages to convince the man in charge Andre Le Notre (Rust and Bone star Schoenaerts) that she's the right man for the job.

But her appointment causes all manner of problems; from the work force who won't take her seriously to the back and forth between her and Le Notre, as well as wrestling with her demons, it looks as if De Barra is on a hiding to nothing.

Winslet is the rock and foundations of the somewhat disjointed A Little Chaos.

Her underplaying of De Barra stands in stark contrast to Rickman's relatively frenzied zig-zagging direction. The film's constantly being derailed in terms of its flow by the stop-start stutterings of the story and De Barra's flashbacks (pointlessly inserted in from time to time in way that over-eggs rather than nourishing the whole piece).

There's a plodding pace to the film too, which Rickman fails to fully grasp and exert some kind of control of; moments of nuance from Winslet are counter-balanced with moments of a relatively emotionless Le Notre and end up cancelling each other out. (In another world, the Le Notre role of brooding would have been played by Viggo Mortensen).

There are some moments of humanity and heart where a levity of touch proves a welcome tonic to proceedings - nowhere more so than when Rickman's King Louis is incognito in a garden and De Barra mistakes him for a seller rather than royalty. It's this single scene that breathes some life, passion and emotion into the proceedings and sees this drama bloom and blossom. Equally, a veritable cameo from Stanley Tucci as the King's brother in law only serves to highlight what exactly the film is missing in one single scene.

One major problem is the romance between the two leads which suddenly feels abruptly shoe-horned in and doesn't inject any of the gravity or passion that's clearly hinted at throughout, leading to a conclusion and romance that feels forced and unnatural.

All in all, A Little Chaos could have benefited from a little more order; Rickman has moments that work well but they're suffused with too much that doesn't quite work as well as it should. A touch more pruning at the script stages could have meant this flower would have smelt a little better and blossomed for a little longer.

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Legend: Film Review

Legend: Film Review

Cast: Tom Hardy, Tom Hardy, Emily Browning, David Thewlis, Paul Bettany
Director: Brian Helgeland

There's no disputing the Krays were synonymous with violence, intimidation and gangland rude in 1960s London.

This latest film to explore their riotous regime is pitched more as a romantic love triangle between Ronnie and Reggie Kray (both played by Tom Hardy) and Emily Browning's Frances Shea who's a bit fragile, according to her brother and desperate to rebel against her mother's wishes.

Ronnie is the more volatile of the pair, a sort of pug-nosed Michael Caine with a cold in Hardy's hands, but whose desire to rule with an iron fist sees him at loggerheads with the more suave and calmer Reggie, who believes himself to be a gangster prince at heart, but won't publicly acknowledge that. Into their world comes Frances, a naive waif of a girl whose fragility is at odds with the harshness of the reality of the Krays, but who's willing to be swept off her feet and seduced by Reggie.

Oscar winning director Brian Helgeland (LA Confidential) wastes no time in setting this latest version of the Krays up as a stylish look at the duo - and something quite distant from the Kray twins outing starring the Kemp brothers from back in the 1980s. But yet, despite the pristine veneer of the occasional bursts of violence (bizarrely set to music that sounds like a bad 70s style sitcom, no doubt to detract from the seething ugliness of the attacks), there's scant character progression at key moments.

Shea's decline is more immediate than gradual, and feels a little shoehorned in, a casualty of the escalating gang tensions and the police's sudden desire (and the narrative's sudden drive) to take the Krays out once and for all. It's a shame because Browning's porcelain fragility is neatly juxtaposed to the ugliness around her - even if her narration and voiceover begins to irritate as the film continues, preferring to use this as an expository tool rather than witness events.

Shea needs to be the eyes and ears of the Krays, a window into their world into the beauty and ugliness of it all, and sadly, she's too sidelined in this to make an effective story-telling tool or character.

Thankfully though, Hardy and Hardy's searing and savage turns as the suited-and-booted bastard Krays really stand head and shoulders above anything else in this. Helgeland wisely holds the duo from appearing on screen together  (save for back of head shots) until an epic showdown where Hardy takes on Hardy as the Krays scrabble at each other.

And from here onwards, Legend takes on a life of its own as the charismatic charm of the Krays becomes a balancing act between outright monsters and Casino like heroes. (Helgeland's Scorsese influences are worn on his sleeve - both from Goodfellas and Casino, and complete with swooping one takes that looks awfully familiar).  But Hardy never once loses sight of the nuances of the character which are needed to keep these two apart (even if the script feels the best way to do it is to push them into ACME cartoon comedy territory)

Ultimately, Legend stands on its gimmick, rather than the rest of its story-telling. There are a few story-telling niggles throughout this stylish pic that pick away at you throughout, but not for one moment, will you be distracted by Hardy's Legend-ary performance.