Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection: PS4 Review

Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection: PS4 Review

Released by Naughty Dog / Bluepoint Games
Platform: PS4

Lara Croft x Indiana Jones x PlayStation = Nathan Drake.

It's a fair comparison and to those unschooled in the life of Nathan Drake, one of PlayStation's icons, it's perhaps the easiest way to instantly give you a flavour of the game.

Wrapping all three of Drake's adventures into one bundle, this remaster and re-collection is clearly aimed at getting people on board ready for the hype of Uncharted 4 next year (and whose Beta arrives in December).

Mixing cinema style action with Indy style quippery and Sean Connery style older partners, Nathan Drake's PS4 outing proves to be as much fun as it was back in the PS3 days. Drake's Fortune, Among Thieves and Drake's Deception are relatively simple titles in terms of what you need to do, but what Naughty Dog did initially with the series was to drape it in a story-telling vibe that's as commendable as it is playable.

It's in effect a remastered port, a title which uses photo mode really as its newer edge as any additional edges would require long-term support and I suspect those resources are going on making the conclusion of Nathan Drake's career the best it possibly can be.

While everything's been given a spit and polish, it has to be said that the game's loading time initially does grate somewhat with you needing to spend another 10 minutes or so waiting for the titles to essentially unpack into your hard drive. Given this is a 40+GB title, that's possibly fair enough, but it did irritate when I simply wanted to get into it.

Drake's Fortune plays well, but has aged though that's unavoidable - and if you're willing to play through it all again, you may well start off at the beginning. And with each game, you get a sense of progression both in character but also in Naughty Dog's execution of the titles and a growing sense of confidence.

The scope of the Uncharted series has always been its adventuring and to be honest, none of that is lost in this remaster - sure, there will be those who bemoan the lack of the Multiplayer and feel like Sony's simply brought out yet another remaster, but when the game's of this higher quality and remains as playable as it did years after the initial release, those complaints are drowned out by those who are cheering instead.

Roll on the conclusion of the Uncharted series next March.

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Scout's Guide To The Zombie Apocalypse: Film Review

Scout's Guide To The Zombie Apocalypse: Film Review

Cast: Tye Sheridan, Logan Miller, Joey Morgan, Sarah Dumont, David Koechner
Director: Christopher Landon

The fact there are four writers on this film and it's still not on par should tell you all you need to know about Scout's Guide To The Zombie Apocalypse, an occasionally gore-filled comedy that's more miss than hit.

Aimed purely at teenage boys who are on the cusp of obsessing about breasts, its three protagonists are members of a scout troop, headed up by Anchorman star David Koechner's Dolly Parton obsessed leader Scout Leader Rodgers.

This trio consists of level-headed Ben (Mud star Tye Sheridan), the crass sex-obsessed and party wannabe Carter (Miller) and chubby lisper and long term scout Augie (Morgan). Heading out on their final camping trip together, they find a zombie apocalypse on their doorstep. Their only initial guide to surviving the hordes of the undead and the bitey brigade is cocktail waitress Denise (Dumont, who's bedecked in a tank top and cut off jeans throughout) but soon, the trio has to rely on their scouting skills to try and save the day.

To say that Scout's Guide To The Zombie Apocalypse aims for low-hanging fruit is an obvious understatement.

It's not setting out to change the world, merely to try and offer some laughs, but to be frank, it fails to deliver a lot of that for the majority of the time. It's only in the last 20 minutes that the film finally embraces the silliness of its premise and gorges on the energy it's been so lacking in throughout.

There's a vein of obvious raunchiness throughout that Landon has tried to throw in with the bro-bonding and friends dynamic - and that element will certainly appeal to the tittering teens whose comic bones will be amused by (to give an example, the strip club in town is called Lawrence of Alabia). But there's far too little of anything in Scout's Guide To The Zombie Apocalypse to give it a real edge or stand out above fare of a similar nature. And it's no Shaun of The Dead either, lacking any level of sophistication - despite how much Sheridan delivers on a cliched character trope.

The film has some reasonably amusing moments - the promise of zombie cats delivers, another of the undead wears a YOLO shirt, a half smashed glass driven into a head delivers a pouring spout of blood and an escape sequence involving a trampoline finds the lowest common denominator - but Scout's Guide To The Zombie Apocalypse is an entirely forgettable film the moment it's over.

Solid camaraderie and a Three Amigos bond give Scout's Guide To The Zombie Apocalypse the heart the undead are missing, but frankly, due to missing laughs and an uncertainty to dive in and be as stupid as it clearly wants to be,this adolescent fantasy piece that objectifies women throughout never really comes to life until the end - and it's too late by then.

Lord Baden Powell would turn in his grave.

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The Face of an Angel: DVD Review

The Face of an Angel: DVD Review

Rating: R16
Released by Madman Home Ent

The Foxy Knoxy case gets put through the Michael Winterbottom prism/ microscope in this drama starring Daniel Bruhl and the ever watchable Kate Beckinsale.

Bruhl is Thomas Lang, a film director given the chance to adapt a book by journalist Simone Ford (Beckinsale) - the book is the case of American student Jessica Fuller who was accused of the murder of her flatmate Elizabeth Pryce.

But the deeper he gets into making this film, the more Lang starts to question his own sanity and role within.

The Face of an Angel doesn't fly in perhaps the way you'd expect it to with such a stellar cast.

Despite a relatively engaging turn from Bruhl and the delightful surprise of Cara Delevingne's debut role, it never quite hits the emotional beats you'd expect it to as it ploughs through the story.

Bruhl's Lang becomes the tortured soul and the story really revolves around him, which is a misfire as the trial and that side of the story becomes incidental to all that's going on in his life - affairs, crisis of marriage, crisis of making a film etc. Consequently the film, which is nicely shot and moodily evocative in parts, becomes a bit of a sludge fest as it heads to the final strait.

It's never badly acted, but it's just lacking some of the more human elements to fully engage - worth seeing for the trio of leads alone, it makes this Winterbottom flick one that tries but fails to meet its own mark.

Extras: Behind the scenes, trailer, interview with stars

Freeheld: Film Review

Freeheld: Film Review

Cast: Julianne Moore, Ellen Page, Michael Shannon, Steve Carell
Director: Peter Sollett

Mixing in disease of the week tele-movie sensibilities, based on a true story vibes with the lightning rod of equal rights gives Freeheld the kind of material that usually brings awards and nominations banging on the door.

Moore stars as Hester, a hard-bitten detective in New Jersey, who's been on the force getting results for most of her life. But she's always been overshadowed and passed over for the work she has done in favour of her partner Dane Wells ( a terrifically stoic and centred Shannon) - even if he does insist on sharing credit where credit's due.

However, when Hester meets a coquettish yet confident Stacie (Page in a strong supporting role), the two end up in a relationship that faces the hardest of tests when Hester gets terminally ill and the state refuses to recognise Stacie's status, meaning none of Hester's pension benefits will pass to her when she dies.

Determined to right the wrong, Hester faces a race against time and against society to ensure equality for Stacie...

Julianne Moore provides another facet of her role from Oscar-winning Still Alice, but manages to imbue her initially guarded detective Laurel Hester with the kind of dignity she's rapidly becoming known for with these types of roles. Complete with gradual physical degradation, Hester remains resolute, a figure fighting for equality rather than a poster girl for gay marriage. Equally, Page manages a softer touch with Stacie, a steady if unshowy presence throughout - and she slightly withers away in the back half of the film.

The relationship between the cops of Michael Shannon and Moore feels realistic and adds a level-headed approach which is welcome. Granted, there are the usual tropes of your button-pushing weepie (montages set to twinkling piano music) but director Sollett just manages to keep it reigned in and more dignified throughout. And that's even despite the addition of flamboyant lawyer and gay marriage crusader Steven Goldstein (Carell who's clearly there to lighten to mood while never detracting from the seriousness of the situation as well as presenting some conflict to Hester and Stacie who just want a quiet life, rather than to be thrust into the limelight).

Less successful are the hints of tension over Hester's insistence on denying Stacie's true place in her life through fears of prejudice - these are carefully seeded very early on but then brutally skirted over in favour of the main storyline and the ailing predicament, which seems part of Freeheld's MO to avoid the cliches of such relationship films and frustrate and delight in equal measure. Also, Hollywood's predilection du jour for true stories continues with final title screens initially replaced with images of those involved, as if to ram home the point and emphasise the facts.

Empowering but occasionally over-milked, Freeheld may push some of the emotional buttons and sporadically hold you at arm's length as it negotiates weepie with justice, but it's to be commended for telling an inspiring story of discrimination, even if it guides the audience through and tells them how to feel rather than that side of it growing organically.

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New XBox One Experience unveiled

New XBox One Experience unveiled

Mike Ybarra, Director Of Program Management For Xbox has unveiled details of the new XBox One experience

Starting on November 12, you will be able to update your Xbox One with the fastest and most social Xbox experience ever. And, you’ll be able to play Xbox 360 games on Xbox One at no additional cost. We’re delivering on some of the biggest requests you asked for – thanks for your continued input. The New Xbox One Experience is releasing alongside the greatest games lineup in Xbox history, making it an incredible holiday for gamers.

We’re going to give you a closer look at the New Xbox One Experience over the coming days, with today’s focus on your new Xbox One Home. We’ll be sharing more videos and updates, so check back often to see more details on what you can expect to see on Xbox One starting November 12.

When the update is released, the first thing you will see is a redesigned Home screen. The new design will look very familiar but we’ve made some important updates inspired by fan feedback. Your most recent items will still be front and center but we’ve added the ability to scroll vertically. You can scroll down to see the list of your most recently played games and apps, and each tile has contextual items that allow you to easily see messages straight from the developer, see which friends are playing games, and share your latest game clips and screenshots.

Pins are a fan favorite which enable you to save the games and apps that you care about most for quick access. In the New Xbox One Experience, your Pins are also included in your new Home at the bottom of the screen. You can scroll down or press the right trigger on your controller to quickly go straight to your Pins. You can also go straight to your Collection from your Pins to see all your games and apps – just pull the right trigger and then press A.

Another new feature we added that you’ll see on Home is a new tips tile. In the lower right corner of Home, you will see tips to help you get the most out of the New Xbox One Experience. For example, if you scroll down to your Pins frequently but haven’t used the right trigger shortcut to get to them faster, the tips tile will recommend you try it.

I also want to share more about my favorite new feature – the guide.

The Xbox 360 guide has been a longstanding fan favorite, so we wanted to reimagine this for the Xbox One to help you get to all the things you need while you are gaming quickly and easily. The new guide helps make several gaming scenarios up to 50 percent faster.

To access the new guide, you can tap left from the Home screen with the d-pad or left thumbstick to bring it up as an overlay. You can also get to the guide easily while you’re playing a game by just double tapping the Xbox button on your controller. The guide will load instantly as an overlay on the left side of your screen and won’t disrupt your gameplay.

The guide gives you instant access to several important things:

1. Profile: You can add and manage profiles on your console, switch users, view your profile, and view your achievements here.
2. Friends: You can easily see which friends are online, see the games they are playing, and invite them to join your game. This is the default section of guide that first opens. In game, you will be able to check your friends’ status up to 10x faster.
3. Party: You can easily start or manage a Party, which can now include 12 active participants, making it 3x as fast to start a party and 6x faster to join a party while playing a game.
4. Messages: Easily access all of your messages and group text chats via the new guide – starting November 12.
5. Notifications: Your Notifications will also be included in the guide and we made improvements to group your Notifications together by type, separating social notifications from game-related notifications from the developers.
6. Settings: We’ve redesigned Settings based on feedback to make the most commonly used items easy to access.
7. Snap: Easily snap an application, like achievements, from the guide.

That’s a closer look at your new Home and the new guide. We’re grateful to our dedicated Preview members for taking time over the past few months to share valuable feedback that has been integral in creating something we can all be proud of. We’re so excited to share the final experience with all Xbox One owners beginning Nov. 12.

See you on Xbox Live and on the New Xbox One Experience!

Mike

@XboxQwik

Gamertag: Qwik

Call of Duty Black Ops III Grows nearer

Call of Duty Black Ops III Grows nearer

Set in 2065, this fan favourite map from Black Ops has returned in a big way. Nuk3town has been re-designed from the ground up to highlight Treyarch’s new momentum-based, chained-movement system, allowing players to battle in this adrenaline-charged multiplayer map. Players will experience a new take on this classic run-and-gun, close-quarters map. Escape your harsh reality and enjoy this virtual neighbourhood of the future.

The official Call of Duty®: Black Ops III live action trailer, directed by Wayne McClammy and featuring Michael B. Jordan, Cara Delevingne, and Marshawn Lynch, follows Kevin as he wall-runs, thrust jumps, and power slides through enemies and zombies on his way to glory. No matter who you are, there’s a solider in all of us. Call of Duty: Black Ops III arrives globally on November 6th, 2015.

You can watch the Official Call of Duty®: Black Ops III Live Action Trailer - “Seize Glory” below

99 Homes: Film Review

99 Homes: Film Review

Cast: Michael Shannon, Andrew Garfield, Laura Dern
Director: Ramin Bahrani

That 99 Homes leaves you seething is a testament to the power of this drama and the moral turpitude it throws you into as this take on the American dream and the obsessions with property play out.

In an entirely relevant parallel given how over-heated the world's property markets are, Garfield is Dennis Nash, a father whose Orlando family home is foreclosed by the bank in 2008. Believing he has 30 days to fight the repossession, Nash's shocked to find the police on his doorstep the next day, demanding he, his mum (a solid Laura Dern) and his son leave immediately.

Also on the scene of the repossession is the lizard-like Rick Carver (an excellent Michael Shannon), a former real estate agent who is now head of his own realty company and who specialises in taking homes and turning profits - whatever the cost and with no regard for the emotional fall-out.

Humiliated and homeless, Nash is forced to work for Carver in a (contrived) series of events, but soon finds his desire to ensure his family has somewhere to live is over-stepping his basic humanity as his Faustian deal with Carver descends to new depths.

99 Homes is a powerful searing drama; it gives a human and inhuman face to the property crisis that beset America and that teeters on the edge worldwide currently.

Shannon's nothing short of electric and horrifying as Carver, a man whom we first meet at the scene of a suicide of an owner whose home has been taken by Carver's realty business. But in typical anti-hero stance, Carver doesn't care about the human cost of his business and Bahrani isn't really interested in fleshing out his character other than a few piecemeal scenes that give chilling insight and horrifying human touches to this monster of a man.

Equally, Garfield's Nash is played well; the conflict he feels is clearly marked early on, but the gnawing sickness of reality and desperation provides plenty of dramatic fuel as well as plenty of debate over what you would do. The line between black and white blurs easily in this morality tale, given human form and faces which can't be blocked from memory.

As this suspenseful thriller plays out and Nash dances ever closer to the devil, the intensity of the film ramps up, even if the credibility of some of the situations edge dangerously close to convenience rather than natural drama. Certainly, the balance of rational from Nash compared to Carver's clinically cold and despicable attitude is nicely struck early on, and both Garfield and Shannon's performances remain the real reasons to stay so engaged with 99 Homes throughout.

If anything though, 99 Homes is Shannon's film - it's a blistering turn that sees him blow smoke on the fire of who's fuelled this situation and Bahrani fans it by insinuating everyone is to blame, given that the banks lend more money when the home hunters are eager to gobble it up.

Ultimately, 99 Homes is a recession drama and a searing, sickening commentary that will eat at your soul long after it's done  - and thanks to its morally compromised leads, the desperation of Nash and the almost vulture like behaviour of Carver will pick at you long after the lights have gone up.

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