The Huntsman - Winter's War: Film Review

The Huntsman - Winter's War: Film Review

Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Emily Blunt, Jessica Chastain, Charlize Theron, Sam Claflin, Nick Frost
Director: Cedric Nicolas-Troyan

If the latest entrant into the Huntsman franchise is to be believed (Liam Neeson's sonorous voiceover at the end hints of more to come) then the series seems to be in danger of losing any identity it has.

Meshing Merida from Brave, a sort of Tolkien-esque quest complete with dwarves and throwing in a snifter or two of Frozen's plot, The Huntsman - Winter's War somehow fails to really eke out any real USP of its own.

This time around in a sort of prequel cum sequel (it's a tad confusing), the once upon a time concentrates on the sisterly relationship between Theron's Ravenna and Blunt's Freya. When Freya suffers a tragedy, her latent ice-queen powers are unleashed and she flees the kingdom to wreak her own terror.

Recruiting stolen children into an army of Huntsmen, Freya's forbidden any kind of love - but when Hemsworth's Eric and Chastain's Sara defy her wishes, they're banished from each other. 

Seven years later and Eric, along with Nick Frost and Rob Brydon's dwarves. are tasked with finding the Magic Mirror before it falls into the clutches of the Ice Queen....

Missing Kristen Stewart's Snow White in only the slightest fashion, The Huntsman 2 - Winter's War is nowhere near the level of film that it could be or that a sequel should be.

Tonally lurching between comedy dwarves / banter to love torn apart drama doesn't serve it well and actually makes the whole piece feel unsure of itself and also leaves it lacking in any kind of emotional stakes.

Despite some incredible production designs and costuming (though Charlize Theron's returning Ravenna looks like she's stepped out of an emo L'Oreal ad at the end of the film), the film's only saving grace is its Tarsem Singh-esque visuals and FX work which is restrained and left for set pieces.

It doesn't help Hemsworth and Chastain have little chemistry - not to mention bizarre Scottish brogues - and feel like their Sara and Eric's love story doesn't even hit home with them as they move into Romancing the Stone territory style squabbling. At times, you're never quite sure whose story it is either - is it Sara and Eric, is it Freya and Ravenna; they're all blurred and blended up together in a mixture that feels under-cooked.

On the plus side, the CGI is used sparingly and is saved for Ravenna's almost Spider-Man Venom like attack on the Huntsmen and a creation of a Goblin also impresses. Director Cedric Nicolas-Troyan was in charge of the FX the first time around, and he does a good solid job of ensuring it doesn't overwhelm proceedings, but he has little to work with other than some nicely choreographed fight sequences.

And to be fair to the dwarves' dynamic, Sheridan Smith and Rob Brydon work well in terms of banter and humour; Frost and One Chance's Alexandra Roach add a softer sweeter touch to their interactions.

All in all, The Huntsman - Winter's War may have promoted its co-lead and his raffish Hemsworth charm to lead, but by not providing enough to work with and muddling other portions, the whole underwhelming thing feels like it's failed the Mirror, Mirror test before it's even started.

DOOM Open BETA Announced

DOOM Open BETA Announced

We’re pleased to announce DOOM’s Open Beta will run from 15-18 April. This Open Beta will not require a code and players will simply be able to logon to the platform of their choice and download to accessTeam Deathmatch and Warpath on the Heatwave and Infernal maps.

These maps and modes are just a fraction of what players will experience when the game launches May 13 on Xbox One, PS4 and PC. In a recent video series we explored the maps, modes and power-ups of DOOM’s multiplayer – all things players have to look forward to at launch. But support for DOOM doesn’t end when the game is out. For the rest of the year, we expect to provide free content updates across SnapMap and multiplayer.

We know the DOOM community has always been about great user-generated content, and that’s something we want to continue to encourage with SnapMap, an innovative new component of DOOM designed to make creating, sharing and playing new game experiences fast and easy.  On top of being able to access and play new modes and maps created by fellow gamers, id plans to offer content updates for SnapMap, including map modules; props and objects; additional features and functionality; AI enhancements; editing tool enhancements and more. Multiplayer will also receive content updates in the form of new game modes. Both of these SnapMap and multiplayer updates will be free to use and play.

In addition to the planned free support and content updates, we will also be releasing three premium multiplayer DLC packs after launch, which will get you a number of new maps, hack modules, playable demons, weapons and more. The first DLC will be available this summer and give you access to:

·         Three new maps

·         One new weapon

·         One new playable demon

·         One new armour set

·         One new piece of equipment

·         New hack modules and taunts

·         New customization colours and patterns

Each DLC pack will cost $23.95 AUD / $26.95 NZD , or you can get them all at a discount with the Season Pass for $59.95 AUD / $74.95 NZD. Check your preferred retailer to pre-order the DOOM Season Pass.

Dark Souls III: The Witches Animated Trailer

Dark Souls III: The Witches Animated Trailer

THE WITCHES ANIMATED TRAILER

Discover ‘The Witches’: a Dark Souls animated trailer directed by Eli Roth.

Also available is a special behind the scenes video: 



Light up the Fire on April 12th, on PC, Xbox One and PS4! 

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Assassin's Creed Trilogy Pack for PS Vita

Assassin's Creed Trilogy Pack for PS Vita

ASSASSIN’S CREED^® CHRONICLES TRILOGY PACK AVAILABLE NOW FOR PLAYSTATION^®VITA SYSTEM

Sydney, Australia — April 6, 2016 — Today Ubisoft^® announced that the Assassin’s Creed^® Chronicles Trilogy Pack is now available for PlayStation^®Vita handheld entertainment system. This pack brings the full Assassin’s Creed^® Chronicles experience to PlayStation^®Vita system and includes Assassin’s Creed^® Chronicles: China, Assassin’s Creed^® Chronicles: India and Assassin’s Creed^® Chronicles: Russia. Assassin’s Creed Chronicles Trilogy Pack was released on February 9 for PlayStation^®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One and Windows PC. 

Developed by Climax Studios in collaboration with Ubisoft Montreal, Assassin’s Creed Chronicles brings the thrill of being a Master Assassin to 2.5D. A natural fit for PlayStation^®Vita controls, players journey to three distinct civilizations and time periods throughout history, the Ming dynasty in China at the start of its downfall, the Sikh Empire as it prepares for war in India and the aftermath of the Red October Revolution in Russia. Each chronicle stands on its own with a unique setting, art style, story and Assassin, but they are all tied together narratively.

Assassin’s Creed^® Chronicles Trilogy Pack for PlayStation^®Vita is available for download now on PlayStation^®Store.

Fallout 4 DLC The Wasteland trailer released

Fallout 4 DLC The Wasteland trailer released 

Available worldwide on Tuesday, April 12 across Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC for $6.95 AUD / $7.45 NZD!

 With the Wasteland Workshop, design and set cages to capture live creatures – from raiders to Deathclaws!


Tame them or have them face off in battle, even against your fellow settlers. The Wasteland Workshop also includes a suite of new design options for your settlements like nixie tube lighting, letter kits, taxidermy and more!

 Expand the capabilities of settlements with Wasteland Workshop, and then in May, travel beyond the Commonwealth to Maine for Far Harbor – the largest landmass Bethesda Game Studios has ever created for post-release content.

 Stay tuned for more details on even more add-ons to be released in 2016 and on free updates like the Creation Kit, which will allow you to create mods on the PC and then share and play them across all platforms, including consoles.

 For more information visit www.fallout4.com.

DOOM Beta PS4 Preview

DOOM Beta PS4 Preview

Released by Bethesda
Platform: PS4

The first person shooter, DOOM (or Doom 4, depending on your viewpoint) is hellishly anticipated.

Bloody, brutal and fast, the game is nothing short of a feverish and frenzied fighter that demands everything from you right away.

The closed BETA offered a look at some of the multiplayer elements of the upcoming game, which launches May 13th - yep, Friday the 13th, which seems wildly appropriate given the hellish content within.

Deathmatch is the title that most of the time was spent on and in the ten minutes duration of each game, it's all go - right from the start.

While the match-making took a little while - no doubt due to smaller numbers as it was a closed beta - the chance to customise your character was a welcome one. It's almost as if the MasterChief look has been transported over to the game and given your own look and appeal. Liveries and weapons can all be given a shiny new sheen and your own personal touch.

But really, it's all about the weapons, and about the gameplay. Once the game counts down and you're allocated to a team, it's quite simply all on. Set over a few locations, the division into two teams is simple and effective; it's all about the first one to get to 75 kills. And there are a lot of kills, some of them bloody and explosively gory.

Choosing a rocket launcher as weapon of choice proved a wiser move for taking on the opposition. There's little time to really focus an attack when you're being chased so it's very much a shoot and hope kind of mentality of the game that keeps you engaged. From racing around to shooting others, there's enough of a frenetic feel to the BETA to keep you on your toes; respawning happens very quickly and there were scant occasions when the game respawns you in jeopardy.

Backdrops are impressive (not that there's plenty of time to view them) - from pouring lava to pits of molten death, the whole thing feels like it's on a Ripley-esque spaceship in one of the multiplayer levels. There's no map to help you negotiate your way around and it's simply a case of getting used to the surroundings and getting on with it.

The biggest thrill of the multiplayer though is the chance to spawn yourself as a devil and run amok, killing with ease. When the demon option spawns, it's usually everyone rushing to get what is essentially a few moments of invulnerability. From the ripping of your arms to becoming a hellspawn to the running around blasting and essentially tearing the opposition to pieces, there's a real thrill to being the big bad. Whether this option will be available in single player is anyone's guess right now, but it could make all the difference between winning and losing.

The pace of the multiplayer means the 10 minutes goes quickly and the end of the game signals a chance to level up and gain XP as well as unlock various collectables, weapons, etc. Double jumping and thrusting gives you a chance to hurtle around the landscapes too; and teleports get you to where you need to go as well.

Quite simply DOOM's BETA has shown the game's got a lot to offer and given its frenetic pace and its killer MO, the open BETA will be fun - and the game should be incredible.