Street Fighter V launches

Street Fighter V launches

RISE UP! STREET FIGHTER™ V RELEASES ON PLAYSTATION®4 AND WINDOWS PC

 A New Era of Fighting Games Begins Today as the Next Chapter in the Historic Franchise Hits the Streets

Sydney, Australia – February 17, 2016 – Capcom, a leading worldwide developer and publisher of video games, today announced the release of Street Fighter™ V exclusively for the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system and Windows PC.

Through a strategic partnership between Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. and Capcom, the latest game in the renowned series offers cross-platform play that unites Street Fighter™ fans into a unified player base for the first time ever. In Australia and New Zealand, the game is currently available physically and digitally on PlayStation®4 and on Windows PC. For Australian and New Zealand pricing, please check local retailers.

The legendary fighting franchise returns today with Street Fighter V! Stunning visuals depict the next generation of World Warriors in unprecedented detail, while exciting and accessible battle mechanics deliver endless fighting fun that both beginners and veterans can enjoy. Challenge friends online, or compete for fame and glory on the Capcom Pro Tour.

The initial Street Fighter V purchase will be the only one that consumers need to make to ensure they always have the most up to date version of the title. A cinematic story expansion will be released in June 2016 as a free update and over the course of 2016 (and beyond) further gameplay content, costumes, new challenges and balance system updates will continually be made available to all players. For the first time in Street Fighter history, all of the post launch gameplay content can be earnable completely free of charge through completing various in-game challenges and receiving earned in-game currency, called Fight Money. For those who just can’t wait to unlock each piece of new content, content can also be obtained instantly using purchased in-game currency, called Zenny.

The first of the 2016 content updates will come in March, when the in-game store opens and adds a new World Warrior to the roster – Alex. Players who have played through the majority of the single player content at launch will have earned enough in-game Fight Money to be able to add Alex to their Street Fighter V rosters for no additional cost.

Dungeons II is announced

Dungeons II is announced

We are pleased to announce Dungeons 2 for PlayStation 4 to be released in Australia and New Zealand in May this year. Dungeons 2 is a real time strategy game with some dark and humerous Dungeon simulation.

About Dungeons 2

The Dungeon Lord is back – and this time he’s serious! In Dungeons 2, fulfill the Dungeon Lord’s insatiable quest for vengeance by recruiting fearsome new monsters from all corners of the underworld in order to undertake his evil bidding. Taking over the underworld isn’t enough though – this time The Dungeon Lord will extend his dominion over the puny humans and attempt to conquer the overworld too!

Dad's Army: Film Review

Dad's Army: Film Review

Cast: Toby Jones, Bill Nighy, Catherine Zeta Jones, Tom Courtenay, Michael Gambon, Daniel Mays
Director: Oliver Parker

Broadcast between 1968 and 1977 on the BBC, David Croft and Jimmy Perry's sitcom staple Dad's Army was a much loved series about the Home Guard that captured the zeitgeist and pomposity of authority at a local level.

The 2016 film version of Dad's Army is a curious beast, coming 45 years after its last cinematic outing and unlikely to garner a new fan base and likely to appeal only to an older generation, already versed in the ways of Mainwaring, Pike and the catchphrases.

With World War II drawing to a conclusion and with the Allies poised to make one final push, the small seaside town of Walmington-on-Sea becomes a hotbed of activity for the Home Guard. With a female journalist (a wannabe vixenish Catherine Zeta Jones) visiting and winning over the troops led by Captain Mainwaring (Toby Jones), there are fears there's a spy operating in the area.

Mainwaring and his woefully inept men are tasked with tracking down the spy... is this a job Dad's Army can get right?

There's something willfully old fashioned and extremely reverent about the Dad's Army movie.

From its "You have been watching" end credits nod to the TV shows of the 70s and 80s to Toby Jones' nigh-on perfect encapsulation of Arthur Lowe's pompous and self-officious Captain Mainwaring, there are plenty of moments for old fans to revel in. (Including a cameo from one of the few surviving members of the show).

But the problems extend beyond the faithful line that's adhered to throughout.

Simply put, it may coast by on affection, but there's barely enough plot to fill a 30 minute episode of the series let alone pad out a 100 minute feature film, despite everyone's best intentions.

Dad's Army feels terribly old school, a throwback to Ealing comedies with the screwball elements of the show toned down for a wider audience. But in doing so, the film fails to either capitalise on anything more than nostalgia. In fact, it feels very much like a plot from the TV series writ large but inessentially brought to the big screen.

Thankfully, the casting of the film is spot on.

Toby Jones is excellent as the pompous buffoon Mainwaring, getting the inflections of his voice down pat and bumping up some of the slapstick as well as delivering a comedic turn that benefits brilliantly from timing and plays to his strengths. He manages to turn something in that is as reverential as it is stand-alone and delights by giving the film its lead that it needs. Others, such as Courtenay, hit the beats of their characters from the past with ease; Gambon's dodderiness as Godfrey is amusing as much as it is grating. 

Sadly, the script is not up to par and creaks in places as much as some of these old timers' joints potentially do too. With the smarter women played as nothing more than hen-peckers and the men as fools, it feels like a pantomime from the 1970s, a Carry On film without the grace of the innuendo to propel it through, and an excuse to shoe horn in some of the show's catchphrases with no more grace than a wink and a nod to the older end of the audience.

It's hard to see exactly who Dad's Army will appeal to. 

A younger generation will avoid it, scoffing at its corniness and its yesteryear sensibilities; and the older generation, brought up so relentlessly on the continual servings of the 9 series, will feel it lacks something concrete and is nowhere near as good as it could be, given the immense talent of the ensemble involved.

It's entirely pragmatic to believe this nostalgia tinged wannabe broad appeal flick has nothing short of good intentions but its gentle and under-padded comedy unfortunately doesn't quite cut it in a savvier cinematic world and with audiences now used to subtler comedic fare.

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A Walk in The Woods: DVD Review

A Walk in The Woods: DVD Review

Released by Universal Home Ent


As the saying goes, it's not the destination, but the journey you are on.

In this latest flick from renowned comedy director Ken Kwapis, Robert Redford plays celebrated travel writer Bill Bryson, who's back in America and struggling to decide what to do next in his career.

So, challenging himself, he decides to walk the 2000 mile Appalachian Trail which winds its way through America's wilderness, giving an unforgiving challenge to those who try it but soaring rewards to those who complete it. Under direction from his wife (Emma Thompson) to not walk the route alone, he tries to find a companion from his contact file, but all turn him down. On the eve of heading off, a blast from the past, Stephen Katz (played by an extremely grizzly Nick Nolte) calls and offers to be his companion.

Reluctantly, the two team up and head out on their adventure...

Extremely broad right from the start, and inexorably episodic, the adaptation of Bryson's memoir,A Walk In the Woods is a hybrid of The Odd Couple and Laurel and Hardy slapstick.

Heading for gently easy and predictable laughs, it's cleared skewed for an older generation, willing to forgive every contrivance possible as the film heads for its obvious destinations. No doubt the more astute will find themselves distracted at how clearly out of shape Katz is for the journey and how unprepared the duo are for the trek, but if you're willing to forego these fairly big shortcomings, you may find yourself lapsing into a blanket of feel-good buddy road trip movie fuzz rather than an incisive examination of what motivates us later in life.

It doesn't help that the route is littered with oddballs and quirky characters at every turn, though points have to be given to Flight of the Conchords star Kristen Schaal as an irritatingly "shoulda done this" hiker whom the pair try to lose.

While Redford and Nolte have a reasonable chemistry, they are somewhat stuck in a rut of Redford's Bryson being irritated by Katz' presence - it's likely to strike a chord with an older audience, looking to bask in the lighter tones of the film, rather than those seeking a harder watch. It lacks the resonance that Redford portrayed in All Is Lost, forsaking that for a more comic edge.

Entirely predictable and bordering on irritating in its final stretch as the pair's escalating screwball farce heads into slightly more reflective territory, how you feel about A Walk In The Woods may well depend on how you deal with its succession of bumbling and another fine mess you've got me in ethos. There's no denying its geniality, but you may find this is one hike you'd rather sit out.

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Hitman Go: Definitive Edition on PS4

Hitman Go: Definitive Edition on PS4

Hitman GO: Definitive Edition for PlayStation®4, PlayStation®Vita and Steam

Coming February 24

Square Enix Montreal’s Award-Winning Puzzle Strategy Game Will Advance to

Sony Platforms and PC with Adapted Features

SYDNEY, 16^th February 2016 - Square Enix Montréal today announced that Hitman GO: Definitive Edition will be releasing for Steam, the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system and the PlayStation®Vita system on Feb. 24 across Australia & New Zealand. The revisited and adapted version of the studio’s critically acclaimed turn-based puzzle strategy game will be available as a cross-buy digital download from the PlayStation Store and the Steam store.

The definitive edition has been updated with improved graphics, new control schemes optimized for consoles and PC, integrated achievements including a platinum trophy, and cross-save functionality allowing users to seamlessly transfer save files between PlayStation systems to take Hitman GO: Definitive Edition on the go. The game includes all of its original content as well as all subsequent content updates (Opera, Airport and St. Petersburg boxes), and all in-app purchases have been removed.

“We are very excited to be bringing Hitman GO to even more players with this revisited edition. We hope the challenging turn-based gameplay will please even the most dedicated Hitman fans.” said Patrick Naud, Head of Studio for Square Enix Montreal. “Hitman GO is an innovative iteration of the successful stealth franchise and should see continued success with this release on consoles and PC.”

Hitman GO has been honored for Best Game Design and Best iOS Game in the 2014 Canadian Videogame Awards and was a nominee in two categories at the BAFTAs. The game was chosen as an Essential app for iOS devices by Apple and featured as one of the best Apps of 2014.

Dying Light: The Following: PS4 Review

Dying Light: The Following: PS4 Review

Released by Techland
Platform: PS4

It's expansion time for the Dying Light series with a pack that's similar to the first game, but ramps up other parts.

It's the open world which sets the expansion apart and the fact that driving forms a part of it too.

Loosely put, The Following throws you back into the infected world of the Zombies as you take on the role of Kyle Crane. Discovering that a cultist group has survived and managed to control the virus, Crane takes off into the wilds to investigate...

Once again parkour, climbing and jumping off things helps you zip about and helps you counter the tedium of the outside world. Equally a driveable dune buggy helps you through the acres of farmland that adorn your world, a far cry from the crumbling vistas of the main game.

The map's twice as large as the original Dying Light map and will see you having plenty of fun hurtling around trying to work out what's what and where to go next. Side quests are the main thrust of the game as you try to work out what's going on and how and who to trust; fetching things, running errands, Kyle's got his work cut out - and consequently when the hordes attack, so do you.

Thankfully, extra weapons such as crossbows and revolvers help to mow down the undead, as does your drivable car, which can be powered up and turned into quite the Mad Max mobile. Customisation is also thrown in and gives you the chance to immerse yourself in this world. Though the fact the car can break down won't exactly help matters either. Especially when it is dark.

The expansion itself is relatively fun and builds on the world created in Dying Light. Techland's commitment to it is commendable and while the game suffers a little from a weaker main story narrative, its dedication to its open world mean it's worth your time and your effort.

MacBeth: DVD Review

MacBeth: DVD Review

The infamous Scottish play gets a bloody 2015 revamp at the hands of Snowtown's director, Justin Kurzel, with Michael Fassbender taking the lead and Marion Cottilard as his bride.

Setting the play and its prosaic text to the battlefields of Scotland, where mist readily rolls in and envelops all in its path, Kurzel's drenched this adaptation in doom and gloom. The film begins with an extension of a line uttered within the movie that's been expanded out (perhaps which will annoy purists) depicting both MacBeths laying a child to rest. It's a brave move to add to the text, but one which grounds the film's protagonists in a degree of motivation as this tale of ambition and its consequences plays out.

From its slow-mo battlefield scenes to its final orange-hued showdown between Sean Harris' wounded MacDuff and Fassbender's on the edge MacBeth, this version of the film tends to favour style and grit over everything else. And for the large part, its grit and doom-laden moodiness is incredibly evocative in terms of scene-setting. But Shakespeare's play has always been about the central protagonists and their ascent to the heights of ambition and the descent of their insanity.

And perhaps in some of the key moments, it doesn't quite nail the beats of the play (though one could argue that an understanding of the text from the study I had to do as a child may mean I have a deeper insight into its execution). Particularly Fassbender who unfortunately doesn't hit the requisite beats of the Bard's verse in the well known parts. While his dagger before me speech is nicely executed with a ghostly apparition, his king's transformation and descent into insanity as he spies the barely recognisable ghost of the slaughtered Banquo (Considine in a blink and miss it performance) doesn't ring true. And while Fassbender's softer delivery of these speeches is spiked with a series of exclamations, it feels like an odd mix, mainly due in parts to Kurzel's handheld camera style and shakiness.

Thankfully, Cotillard's tortured siloloquy as she wrestles with that damned spot is more intimate and devastating, her ghostly white visage draped in the dawning horror of what she and her husband have executed. If anything, Lady MacBeth appears more as a well-rounded character than the text, a less black and white nag who picks at her husband to vault her dizzying ambitions of power.

But while there are psychological moments that don't quite hit the required heights, there are stylish touches that demonstrate Kurzel is willing to update the text into something that can chime with youth studying it and with those whose thirst for blood is today satiated with George R R Martin's prose and its subsequent televisual execution. (Right down to a stake-burning that seems all so familiar)

Nowhere is this more evident in his thrilling reinvention of how the Birnam woods make their way to Dunsinane as part of the prophecy, a final battle that has equal moments of desperation and despair and a clever execution of hordes warning Macbeth to beware MacDuff.

It's for these moments and Cotillard's performance that Macbeth almost succeeds in vaulting its own lofty ambitions - but it doesn't quite reach the peaks of its own desire, falling at the last summit.

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