MASS EFFECT™: ANDROMEDA – Official Cinematic Reveal Trailer

MASS EFFECT™: ANDROMEDA – Official Cinematic Reveal Trailer

A brand new trailer for Mass Effect Andromeda has been released

Navigate the uncharted reaches of the Andromeda Galaxy to unravel its mysteries, discover vivid alien worlds, and lead the charge to find a new home among the stars. How far will you go to become humanity’s hero?.

Mass Effect: Andromeda will be released in Australia and New Zealand in Autumn 2017 on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4 Pro, and Xbox One. Join the Andromeda Initiative: http://x.ea.com/25657

Rise of The Tomb Raider 20th Year Celebration: PS4 Review

Rise of The Tomb Raider 20th Year Celebration: PS4 Review

Platform: PS4
Publisher - Square Enix

There's no disputing the brilliance that is Rise of the Tomb Raider.

Previously an exclusive on the XBox One, the PS4 version is finally here and well worth it.

Much like the first rebooted Tomb Raider received the same treatment, this 20th anniversary collection pulls together all of the previously released DLCs (including the Baba Yaga: The Temple of The Witch) as well as adding in some new expansions worthy of the platform and also the newly-launched VR experience.

In the previous review of the adventure , the feeling was With added tombs and challenges, this latest is simply one of the best of the year - and with its hidden treasures, it continues to grow the next gen legacy in more ways than one.

This time, it's about Lara trying to survive the machinations of a secretive group known as Trinity as their quest intersects in Lara's past with her father and the present with her rise to Tomb Raider.
Throwing a human element into the story makes all the difference and once again, the Square Enix guys really added more depth to the franchise and boosted what the series had with engagement, involvement and some truly stunning set pieces. It's no surprise the PS4 version benefits with a spit and polish that makes the best of the next gen graphics and grunt of the gameplay.

But one year on, there are no real surprises in the game's make-up and the gameplay remains as fresh and enticing as it ever did - this is an adventure that both embellishes and embraces Lara's mythology, creating an experience that's crying out for a cinematic makeover and a big screen outing.

It's the extra content in Rise of the Tomb Raider 20th Year Celebration that makes this set so worth buying.

From a new chapter called Blood Ties, which lets you look around Croft Manor trying to uncover secrets from the past and help you save the manor, to the Lara's Nightmare section which pits Croft against feverish and fiendish hordes, there's more to explore in the set than you'd first realise.
And the addition of the VR mode gives you the chance to look around the Manor too, exploring and embracing the immersiveness of the environment. Adding in Endurance Online is just the icing on the cake and shows that Tomb Raider has a long life still left within it.

It's these tweaks which make this adventure worth the time and give it a feeling of depth and scale that's befitting of the series.

Ultimately, it may have been 20 years since a rather gravity defiant pneumatic Lara hit the gaming screen - but the steps to evolve her and the depth of story-telling that's now in play make this one of the most impressive rebirths and emotional experiences on the console front. It may have been that a new title has been leaked (Shadow of the Tomb Raider indeed) but based on this complete collection, Lara's got plenty of life left within her - and that's a great thing.

Tumble: PS VR Review

Tumble: PS VR Review

Developed by Supermassive Games
Platform: PS VR

It was pretty obvious that once VR was announced, interactive puzzle games would be dropped into the release schedule.

Tumble VR is one such game.

Set in a virtual dome, it's your job to stack blocks, destroy blocks and redirect lights through blocks to gain glory in the forms of medals. Over 30 levels, your patience will be tested as you move the PS Move tool around, building and hoping gravity doesn't do its thing.

With an instructional floating ball robot at your side (looking like one of the robots out of the VR Playroom) the tutorial section of the game is easy to get through - though the lack of an option to scroll through instructions you've already heard if you're forced to repeat is a serious frustration.

Once in to the game, it becomes a case of using what you've learned to get through.

As the TETRIS Style stacking starts to take effect, some of the limitations of the VR become noticeable. Things by nature need to be a bit fiddly to ensure completion and the PS Move isn't quite up to the job; equally turning blocks over and around can be difficult to achieve because there's no way to literally grab and rotate the block as you would with a hand.

Overall, Tumble VR is quite a pleasant experience that shows puzzles may have a future in the VR world, but its minor niggles cause a slightly frustrating gameplay feeling as the game goes on.

Mafia III: PS4 Review

Mafia III: PS4 Review

Platform: PS4
Released by 2K Games

Already one of 2K Games' biggest titles, Mafia 3's 1960s set America is a veritable powder-keg of a game.

The third person shooter sees you taking control of Lincoln Clay, a Vietnam war veteran who's after revenge for his murdered mates. Put in the context of New Bordeaux in 1968 where racism is rife and violence is never far from the arsenal, this semi-sort of Goodfellas tale gives you the chance to explore 10 different regions and work across several differing sandbox storylines.

Pitting you against fellow Haitian mobs and other would-be hoodlums, Clay has to work his way to the top, and using stealth and occasional brute force, it's a long road to get there.

What Hangar 13 and 2K Games have done with Mafia III is relatively astounding, even if there are elements which feel repetitive in the story missions.

The game oozes with atmosphere, and the era of the time. From the use of Jimi Hendrix's All Along The WatchTower at the start through to the less savoury elements, the game's embracing of the period makes this Grand Theft Auto South style game feel authentic and occasionally uncomfortable.

Coupled with a great script, some documentary style edges and some good solid voice acting, Mafia III's higher elements work better than the moments that feel familiar and retread old mission ground. Robbing, murdering - they're all part of the various missions scattered around the sandbox world and pushed around the different regions for you to perform. And they all form a purpose too, as you gain control of regions and take charge of lieutenants to carry out your desires and keep you stocked up with weapons.

While the game has glitches here and there (I spent some time riding around New Bordeaux's areas half melded into another car after trying unsuccessfully to drive over it), there's a lot to be said for the scope of Mafia III and the ugly reality it embraces.

There's a strength to the reality of Mafia III and it makes a gameplay experience feel more grounded than the likes of GTA - its commitment to recreation deserves great praise, and its solid core mechanics demonstrate it's understandable why it's been so popular.

For a sandbox game to sink your time into, Mafia III makes an offer you'd be foolish to refuse.

Until Dawn: Rush Of Blood: PSVR Review

Until Dawn: Rush Of Blood: PSVR Review

Developed by Supermassive Games
Platform: PS VR

There's nothing worse than a haunted house ride.

A rollercoaster takes you through a series of static locations where some goon presses a lever and out pops a ghost that looks like it wouldn't scare a 2 year old - it's a pitiful sight most times.

So it is that the Until Dawn developers have taken this concept on board and created a light gun shooter that panders to the scope of the VR World.

Taking you into the seat of a rollercoaster (even so much that unlike Batman VR you have legs and arms) you're sent spiralling around a series of levels via haunted house / rollercoaster and out into the environs that you may recognise from parts of the original Until Dawn game.

The premise is simple - you have 2 guns and you have to shoot things. It's not rocket science, but it's also not your usual shoot at the rubber duckies carny fare either. As you move slowly but with certainty around the tracks and into one location after the next, it's all about using the dual PS Move controllers to load up, fire and reload when the guns glow orange.

Ducking and diving to avoid low hanging obstacles is present too - and it's occasionally hit and miss as to whether you actually hit and miss.

Taking out some static targets boosts the multiplier and others are collectables, but at the end of the day, this is about shooting what comes at you from within the dark - be it mannequins that require an inordinate amount of bullets to stop them dead or scary clowns that menace you.

The scope of the VR means you're constantly scanning around as you play through seven levels and with bits going on on the side of it all, it means that there's always something to look at. If you're a horror buff, you'll know the tropes and maybe won't jump as much as others will, but there's something to be said for the pace of the game and the way it knows what it wants to do.

Less effective is monitoring your life as you take on hits from others. Because there's always something happening on screen, it's uncertain how much health you have left in the face of attacks and during the marauding moments, there's no indication of how close to death you are which is frustrating to say the least.

Ultimately, Until Dawn A Rush of Blood gives you the kind of adrenaline boost you'd get from a haunted house ride - it's kind of fun, occasionally tough and occasionally corny and cliched, but it shows there's great promise in VR in creating entire worlds that feel organic.

Trolls: Film Review

Trolls: Film Review

Cast: Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Zooey Deschanel, James Corden, Russell Brand, Christine Baranski
Director: Mike Mitchell

Finally, a film that will make you re-consider your opinion of Trolls.

Rather than the pain in the ass online lurkers, these Trolls are the Dreamworks film version of the Thomas Dam toys and quite frankly, this is going to be one of the summer family films.

The preternatural preppy Kendrick is Princess Poppy, the upbeat pink haired Troll whose life is all perpetual happiness. 20 years ago, she and her fellow Troll-kind escaped the clutches of the monsters of the Bergen town for good.

Believing the only way to happiness is to consume a Troll, the villagers of Bergen are furious but one day, their chef (Christine Baranski) stumbles across the Trolls' hideaway and snatches a couple of them. Setting out on a rescue mission due to their "No troll left behind" ethos, Poppy and pals - along with the grey stained and anti-Trolls happiness Branch (Timberlake) - try to save the day...

Make no mistake, the brightly coloured, utterly fluffy and energetic blast that is Trolls is a family film that will delight the youngsters and will keep the parents amused enough to paper over the fact there are shallow characters on screen and scant little story.

The film keeps on the right side of darkness (BFG style snatching, eating Trolls for happiness - it's all got a Grimm fairy tale element bubbling under) but even the three-year-old I was with was entranced from the get-go declaring that the Scary Lady (Baranski's marauding chef) was the best part of the film.

Mixing up CGI and some stop motion, Dreamworks' visual inventiveness for this one, keeps on the right side of upbeat as it trots out one retro tune after another. It's a visual candy coloured assault on the senses and while initially there may be elements of you sympathising with Doomsday Prepper Branch, the fun and frivolous nature of it all ultimately wears you down and wins you over.

While there's no real sense of an original film being rolled out here, and elements of The Odd Couple, Cinderella and Grimm Fairy Tales are all dusted into one overtly saccharine flick, the young kids will enjoy it and its message of happiness coming from within rather than being consumed.

Sometimes, subtlety is over-rated and Trolls is distinct proof of that - it's here for nothing other than a good time and running through its 90 minutes with exuberant energy and at a fair pace, it achieves that with ease.

Headmaster PSVR Review

Headmaster PSVR Review

Platform: PSVR
Developed by Frame Interactive

Ever wanted to be part of a stalag training camp aimed at ensuring you nod complicity while heading balls into a goal?

Well, then Headmaster is the game for you.

Cheekily dropping you into a training camp and pushing the idea that you can improve with practice, the game Headmaster is about little more than simply nodding the correct way and sending balls into the goal as you try to win your own freedom.

Using different angles, the ball heads different ways and it takes a little while to work out exactly what's the right way to send the ball flying into the goal mouth. The more you progress the harder it gets to knock the ball into the expected direction and the more obstructions are placed in the way.

It's a simplistic premise, and with the tongue in cheek humour (you train at night under the starry skies and with the silhouette of a watch tower in the background) the game's actually quite enjoyable when you consider how simplistic the actual premise of it all is.

Occasionally the tracking of the set makes it a little difficult to achieve the overall aim of what's required and goal attempts to the side are a little harder than you'd expect, but all in all Headmaster is actually a novel experience as you play through the Football Improvement Centre.