FINAL FANTASY XV Royal Edition & Windows Edition Out Now + Launch Trailer

FINAL FANTASY XV Royal Edition & Windows Edition Out Now + Launch Trailer

FINAL FANTASY XV ROYAL EDITION

AND WINDOWS EDITION AVAILABLE NOW

SYDNEY, 7^th March 2018 –   Square Enix Ltd., have released FINAL FANTASY XV ROYAL EDITION for the Xbox One and PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, and FINAL FANTASY® XV WINDOWS EDITION for STEAM®, Origin, Windows 10, and select Australasian retailers. Both editions are packed with features and brand-new content in addition to the base game, including all current Season Pass content released since launch, an expanded map, new areas to explore and more.

To celebrate the release a new launch trailer was released today and is available here: https://youtu.be/LQ6HotlD4yM

FINAL FANTASY XV ROYAL EDITION and FINAL FANTASY XV WINDOWS EDITION feature*:

• Expanded Map: Insomnia City Ruins – all-new side quests and enemies such as Cerberus and Omega available through the expanded map of the Crown City of Insomnia.
• Fully-controllable Royal Vessel boat, expanding the world of Eos allowing players to explore the area between Cape Caem and Altissia.
• A new accessory that can activate the new action “Armiger Unleashed” – after collecting all of the royal arms, unleash powerful attacks while the Armiger is summoned
• A new first-person camera mode, experience the game from Noctis’ perspective.
• More than a dozen pieces of downloadable content including weapons, Regalia car skins and item sets
• All current season pass content including EPISODE GLADIOLUS, EPISODE PROMPTO, MULTIPLAYER EXPANSION: COMRADES** and EPISODE IGNIS
• Archive – “Cosmogony” stories scattered throughout the FINAL FANTASY XV world allows players to discover more about local myths and legends
• Quest to obtain and strengthen Regalia Type-D
• The FINAL FANTASY XV base game, with new trophies/achievements

*Internet access is required
**FINAL FANTASY XV MULTIPLAYER EXPANSION: COMRADES on console requires a subscription to an Xbox Live Gold membership or a PlayStation®Plus subscription.

Owners of the original console game can purchase the FINAL FANTASY XV Royal Pack and access the new content (excludes Season Pass content) via the Xbox Store and PlayStation® Store.

FINAL FANTASY XV WINDOWS EDITION also features:

• High-resolution options and visuals compatible with native 4K (3840 x 2160), graphical options can also be configured to support up to 8K
• HDR 10 support

• Mod Support - As a preview of what players will be able to do with mod support, players who own FINAL FANTASY XV WINDOWS EDITION on Steam (including boxed versions) can find the Half-Life Pack items in the Steam Workshop. Further mod support details to be announced at a later time.

• Tobii Eyetracking Integration - For more information on how players can control cameras, auto-aim, warp to locations and more via eyetracking, refer to the blog post here:http://www.tobiigaming.com/Final-Fantasy-XV-Eye-Tracking
• AlienFX Integration – Allows for a more immersive experience with lighting effects tied directly to in-game action on Alienware peripherals.

Additionally, a free update to FINAL FANTASY XV MULTIPLAYER EXPANSION: COMRADES is also available today, introducing several new gameplay areas, quests and other content, including:

• Comrades Quest (Beginner - Intermediate) - Players can now earn exclusive avatar items through a new Comrades Quest where they take control of Noctis, Gladiolus, Prompto and Ignis and complete a thrilling series of Escort, Defense, and Hunt quests in medley form.
• Chocobo Breeding (Intermediate - Advanced) - Up to 10 wild chocobos can now be raised, used to develop new power routes and pitted against ferocious foes at the Caem Colosseum after a sequence of events at Cape Caem are completed.
• Royal Sigils (Advanced - Master) - Players can now unlock an extremely challenging multiplayer quest after completing a sequence of events at Galdin Quay and collecting the six remaining Royal Sigils.
• Hidden Harbor - A new outpost is now unlocked after completing a sequence of events at Galdin Quay, functioning as a “mini-Lestallum” complete with Mission HQ, Power Station, Glaive Barracks, a Remodeling Station and new Chocobo Stables. The new mini-outpost Norduscaen Garrison can also be unlocked.

• Additional Content:
  • Higher Avatar Character Level Cap - From Level 50 to Level 99
  • Higher Weapon Level Cap - From Level 99 to Level 120 (requiring special Meteorite component)
  • Ability to Dismantle Armaments - Available after obtaining the Engine Schematics
  • New Guest Chefs at Camp - Including Libertus, Gentiana, Cor, Aranea and Iris
  • Exchange Gil for Meteorshards - Visit Navyth at a certain outpost
  • New Hunt, Escort and Defense Quests
  • New Armaments, Weapon Abilities, Remodeling Components
  • New Avatar Items - Modeled after familiar faces from FINAL FANTASY XV

The Mercy: Film Review

The Mercy: Film Review

Cast: Colin Firth, Rachel Weisz, Ken Stott, David Thewlis
Director: James Marsh

The name Donald Crowhurst may not mean much to many.

But The Theory of Everything's director is aiming to change that with this intriguingly melancholy and cautionary tale of hubris.

A failing inventor and salesman in the 1960s, a contemplative Crowhurst (a sincere Firth) decides to take on the 1968 Sunday Times Golden Globe Race to prove something to himself and to leave a legacy.

The round-the-globe race would see the amateur sailor granted fame and his family and help boost their family out of the financial mire.

So, with a not sea-worthy boat and a headful of doubt, as well as saddled with debt, Crowhurst sets out to fulfill his burning desire to do something with his life.

And along with a publicist plotting everything on land (a bullish Thewlis), Crowhurst finds the pressure building...

The thing about The Mercy is, much like Robert Redford's flashier All Is Lost, it's essentially all about the demons of a man left at the mercy of the elements and with only his own thoughts to spend time with.

Whereas All Is Lost was a little more of a traditional film, complete with danger, The Mercy's melancholy is the one over-riding element, as it washes over in the final back half of the film.

The tragic atmosphere's greatly helped by Marsh's sound team, who amplify the creaking of the mast, the lapping of the sea and the constant drip of water to maximum effect, building a soundscape which goes some way to giving an insight into Crowhurst's descending state of mind.

Whereas the first third of the relatively short film devotes an inordinate amount of time to telling backstory and simply presenting it with clunking ease, the rest of the film allows the actors the time to shine.

Particularly Weisz, whose initial appearances as a supportive wife are thankless at best - and superfluous at worst.

Aside from one awkward CGI presentation of great swells which appears to be cast offs from Mark Wahlberg's The Perfect Storm, the simplicity of the presentation of life on the sea gives the ever-reliable and always relatable Firth the chance to offer a subtle and nuanced turn as the woefully inept Crowhurst starts to face the reality of his situation.

Despite what Thewlis' PR person bellows early on, ("it's a story of derring do, waiting to be told,") The Mercy is not that kind of film.

Maudlin and with some narrative edges that will require leaps if you're not familiar with the events that transpired for Crowhurst, it's a once over lightly psychological piece that skirts with the psyche of sailing rather than fully diving deeply in. Something which becomes deeply more evident in the film's final straight.

The Mercy never quite achieves the insight into Crowhurst that perhaps it's aiming for, but in translating the smaller details to the bigger screen, it's a little more successful than you'd expect, but also a little more disappointing if you're after something more substantial as it strays from its course.

Tekken 7 Melbourne ESports date revealed

Tekken 7 Melbourne ESports date revealed

TEKKEN 7 SPREADS ITS WINGS AND TAKES FLIGHT TO GREATER ESPORTS HEIGHTS

BATTLE ARENA MELBOURNE CONFIRMED AS AUSTRALIAN TEKKEN WORLD TOUR EVENT

Leading interactive entertainment media publisher and developer BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. in conjunction with partners at Twitch, Red Bull, and TBS are bringing TEKKEN™ 7 tournament events around the country and delivering the game’s hard-hitting action into living rooms throughout the nation. Through a variety of live events, TEKKEN 7 fans and serious fighting game players will be able to participate in a multitude of tournaments or simply revel and cheer for their favorite players - at the highest levels of competitive play - on TV and online.

2017 marked the official return of TEKKEN 7 to a global stage with BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc.’s TEKKEN World Tour. The tournament series held regional tournaments throughout North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia in search of the best players in each respective region. The competition and heated-action culminated in an explosive finale at the TEKKEN World Tour Finals, held in San Francisco, California, where a diverse collection of highly-skilled competitors from around the globe fought to take home a large cash purse and most importantly… world-wide bragging rights.

In 2018, TEKKEN 7 will soar to greater esports heights as BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. continues to support the passionate TEKKEN fighting game community through exciting partnerships with the biggest esports content provider brands such as ELEAGUE and Red Bull. BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc., in partnership with Twitch, also returns with the TEKKEN World Tour for 2018 featuring bigger regional tournaments and a new global leader board system which will surely heat-up the competition around the world. These partnerships and tournaments are part of a long-term strategic plan within BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc. to drive esports growth through developing and publishing competition-ready game content and continued grass-roots support of the growing esports community.

“TEKKEN 7 has emerged to become one of the premier fighting games driving the esports growth we are experiencing in the video games industry,” said Eric Hartness, Vice President of Marketing at BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. “As esports continues to grow in popularity, relevance, and reach around the globe, BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment will continue to develop more blockbuster titles like TEKKEN 7 to provide exciting content for esports fans everywhere.”

TEKKEN World Tour 2018

Coming off last year’s stellar tour and earth-shaking finale, for 2018, BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc. continues its partnership with Twitch to raise the bar for this year’s TEKKEN World Tour. The tournament series will take-on a truly global format which will pit players from the Americas, Asia, and Europe against each other through a world-wide leader board system with competitors accruing Ranking Points (based on their results) on a global basis. For more information about the TEKKEN World Tour Ranking Points system, please visit: http://tekkenworldtour.com/

TEKKEN World Tour kicks off its eight-month season for 2018 on March 16 at Final Round in Atlanta, GA. with additional regional events taking place in Peru, Thailand, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Korea, Italy, Australia, Taiwan, and more. The top 19 players who have accrued the most Ranking Points will automatically qualify to compete in the TEKKEN World Tour Finals event which will be held in Amsterdam, Netherlands in November 2018. One additional finals slot will be open for the lucky winner of a Last Chance Qualifier tournament which will take place at the TEKKEN World Tour Finals. For more information about the TEKKEN World Tour world-wide event schedule, please visit: https://tekkenworldtour.com/schedule/

The TEKKEN World Tour event for Australia takes place at Battle Arena Melbourne 10, on May 18^th to May 20^th, 2018. BAM10 is held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, bays 1-2 (Opposite Crown Casino) 1 Convention Centre Pl, South Wharf, Victoria. More information and Registration via www.couchwarriors.og/bam10. You can join the Facebook event here and follow CouchWarriors on Facebook and Twitter for regular #BAM10 updates.

TEKKEN 7 is available now in the Americas for the PlayStation®4, Xbox One, and PCs via STEAM®. For more information about TEKKEN 7 or other titles from BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. please visit:https://www.bandainamcoent.com, or follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/BandaiNamcoUS, or join the conversation on Twitter at: https://www.twitter.com/BandaiNamcoUS.

Win a double pass to see A Quiet Place

Win a double pass to see A Quiet Place

You can win a double pass to see A Quiet Place in cinemas

Produced by Michael Bay, Andrew Form, Brad Fuller

Story by Bryan Woods & Scott Beck

Screenplay by Bryan Woods & Scott Beck and John Krasinski

Directed by John Krasinski

Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Noah Jupe & Millicent Simmonds

If they can’t hear you, they can’t hunt you.

A Quiet Place hits cinemas April 4.
  To win a double pass, all you have to do is email  your details to this  address: darrensworldofentertainment@gmail.com or CLICK HERE NOW!

Include your name and address and title your email SHHHHHHHHHHH!
Competition closes April 4th

Win a Sherlock Gnomes prize pack

Win a Sherlock Gnomes prize pack

Starring James McAvoy, Emily Blunt, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Maggie Smith, Michael Caine, Ashley Jensen, Matt Lucas, Stephen Merchant, Mary J. Blige and Johnny Depp

The beloved garden gnomes from GNOMEO AND JULIET are back for a whole new adventure in London.

When Gnomeo and Juliet first arrive in the city with their friends and family, their biggest concern is getting their new garden ready for spring.

However, they soon discover that someone is kidnapping garden gnomes all over London.

When Gnomeo and Juliet return home to find that everyone in their garden is missing – there’s onlyone gnome to call… SHERLOCK GNOMES.

The famous detective and sworn protector of London’s garden gnomes arrives with his sidekick Watson to investigate the case.

The mystery will lead our gnomes on a rollicking adventure where they will meet all new ornaments and explore an undiscovered side of the city.

Sherlock Gnomes hits cinemas April 12th

  To win a prize pack, all you have to do is email  your details to this  address: darrensworldofentertainment@gmail.com or CLICK HERE NOW!

Include your name and address and title your email SHERLOCK!
Competition closes APRIL 12TH

Thor Ragnarok: DVD Review

Thor Ragnarok: DVD Review

Director: Taika Waititi

Increasingly, Marvel's cinematic universe appears to largely be abandoning its dramatic edges and opting for humour to wow the crowds.

In a trend majorly signalled and kick-started by Guardians of the Galaxy's first outing, humour has become a crutch for the last batch of films, and is threatening to overthrow any dramatic investment you may have in the ongoing series.

It's a leaning followed - perhaps to the very extremes of the spectrum - by Kiwi director Taika Waititi's Thor: Ragnarok, the latest Marvel film to hit and the third stand-alone for Chris Hemsworth's golden-haired god.

Troubled by visions of Asgard falling and Ragnarok destroying all, Thor returns home to find Loki's Odin imposter ruling the roost (and allowing Anthony Hopkins to play fast and loose with the king of the gods).

But when the real Odin passes on, the true threat to Asgard rises, in the form of the missing Hela (Cate Blanchett, all emo and Maleficent style-costuming). Angry at being written out of the planet's history, Hela decides to re-ignite her appetite for destruction.

However, when Thor rises up to face the challenge, he finds himself stranded on the planet Sakaar, as a prisoner and forced to fight against The Hulk, gladiator-style at the whim of the Grandmaster (an obtusely eccentric Goldblum).

The day-glo blast of colour and 80s matinee style vibe of Waititi's Thor: Ragnarok is a colourful distraction.

Waititi continues to bring clarity and a distinctive edge to the dealing out of action scenes, handling CGI and clear-cut action as masterfully as he did Hunt For the Wilderpeople's final chase sequence.

And he's infused the trappings of the Marvel with a lighter touch, that, in all honesty, at times threatens to over-power the final mix. There's so much Kiwi humour in this that it feels, at times, more hokey-pokey than Marvel hokum.

Unfortunately, the dramatic edges are frayed under the strain of too much humour; stakes never feel woefully threatened enough and the eccentricities and lighter feel veer dangerously close to overwhelming.

Once again, the villain of the piece (in this case, Blanchett's Hela) never feels like too much of a threat, with the familial feeling all too familiar.

While Waititi's film manages to keep things intimate in some sense of scale and action, the price of the comedy for Thor: Ragnarok's dramatic raison d'etre is threatening.

It's easy to understand why Hemsworth found the latest Thor iteration appealing - essentially, it gives him a chance to showcase his comedic side (and also helps him to stray away from the po-faced Thor we've experienced before). Coupled with Ruffalo's Hulk, the pair form a buddy movie in the middle part of the film as they try to escape.

It's not that the 80s drenched, synth-scored and candy blast of colours Thor: Ragnarok isn't fun by any stretch of the imagination. And it certainly isn't that Waititi's not to be commended for his eye behind the camera.
As a scavenger, Tessa Thompson is perhaps the film's MVP - a booze-swilling swagger disguising a secret. Her turn gives the film a frisson of cool that's needed and grounds it in a slightly stronger edge.

Ultimately, it's the story-telling which lets Thor: Ragnarok down a little. With the drama not as strong as it could be, the fun elements are Waititi's trademark unlikely characters in mundane settings.
And while it's a comedic tour-de-force for Hemsworth, it's certainly a Marvel film that doesn't potentially quite stand up to repeated viewings.

Waititi deserves saluting for the crowd-pleasing elements of Thor: Ragnarok overall, and there will be many who feel the fun edges make it a cinematic night out worth taking, but in this mind, it feels like Marvel's reaching a crisis point as it's gone as far as it can on both fronts, and is in danger of humour being the constant crutch and hook.

With a plethora of more releases planned and scripts to be written, it almost feels like we're bordering on breaking point for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

A new direction needs to be found quickly if the continued cinematic saturation isn't going to be too much for repeat viewers and audiences to bear, and those searching for dramatic nourishment don't go wanting.

Oscars 2018 winners

Oscars 2018 winners

Here is the full list of the 2018 Oscar Awards aka the 90th Academy Awards:

The full list of 2018 Oscar winners is:
Best Picture:
The Shape of Water

Lead Actor:
Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour

Lead Actress:
Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Supporting Actor:
Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Supporting Actress:
Allison Janney, I, Tonya

Director:
Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water

Animated Feature:
Coco

Live Action Short:
The Silent Child

Adapted Screenplay:
James Ivory, Call Me by Your Name

Original Screenplay:
Jordan Peele, Get Out

Cinematography:
Roger Deakins, Blade Runner 2049

Documentary Feature:
Icarus

Documentary Short Subject:
Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405

Animated Short Film:
Dear Basketball

Foreign Language Film:
A Fantastic Woman (Chile)

Film Editing:
Lee Smith, Dunkirk

Sound Editing:
Alex Gibson & Richard King, Dunkirk

Sound Mixing:
Mark Weingarten, Gregg Landaker, and Gary A. Rizzo, Dunkirk

Production Design:
The Shape of Water

Original Score:
Alexandre Desplat, The Shape of Water

Original Song:
Remember Me from Coco by Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez

Makeup and Hair:
Darkest Hour

Costume Design:
Phantom Thread

Visual Effects:
Blade Runner 2049

Need for Speed: Payback: Xbox One Review

Need for Speed Payback: XBox One Review

Released by EA

Platform: XBox One

The Need for Speed series is one that's clearly always aimed for stupidity over anything else.

Essentially about the wipeouts and the totalling of your opposition on the road, this is the 23rd entrant into the series (there are as many of these as there are Fast and Furious series entrants clearly) and to be honest, it feels a little like the wheels are falling off.

Set in the fictional world of Fortune Valley, the game plonks you right in the middle of the action as one of three playable characters who get caught up in a heist that doesn't go according to plan.

Being set up by a shady boss and being betrayed, it's up to you to clear their name and get revenge (the payback of the title obviously).

With around 18 hours of story to get through, there's enough to dive into with Need for Speed: Payback, but what happens with the game is the more time you spend with it, the more you realise how it pales compared to the previous entrants.

It's barely helped by the cliched dialogue and lunkheaded way the story unfolds - yes, I know you're not expecting Oscar worthy material for games sometimes, but the reality is, the more engaging it is, the better the immersion - and I found myself rolling my eyes too much too often.

A lot of the game's pulled back from what the series used to offer - be it the police chases or the wipeouts, it just seems a hell of a lot tamer than it was in the past with checkpoints and targets to hit rather than seat-of-your-pants-moments which make you question if you'll escape in time.

The thrill wanes in many ways - and while graphically the game's good, solid just doesn't seem to be enough for this latest Payback.

Slow mo crashes happen here and there and the opening sequence where you segue from racer to racer clearly has been ripped from the Grand Theft Auto and Forza series, but that's also part of the problem.

Little in Need for Speed: Payback feels original or clever - in fact, it feels rushed, lazy and more homage to the series than anything.

Plenty of side quests may offer enough to do, but given involvement and immersion in the game are lighter than ever, it's almost a waste of time.

Ultimately, Need for Speed: Payback is an exercise in playable formula - but it's a disappointment in terms of what the Need For Speed series signifies - and what it could be.

Fe: PS4 Review

Fe: PS4 Review

Developed by Zoink Games
Published by EA Games
Platform: PS4

The idea of a game as exploration is not a new one.

Since thatgamecompany's 2012 release Journey re-defined the emotions and the raison d'etre for the genre with its combination of haunting music and genuine feels during a sparse narrative that won multi Game of The Year awards, there's been an ongoing hunt for games that really recapture that vibe.

The latest is Fe, from indie developers Zoink Games who were responsible for Stick It To The Man.

Taking on the role of a fox-like creature, called Fe, you find yourself in a forest environment that's riddled with entities known as the Silent Ones.

These creatures, which scrabble like spiders and stand tall like an elongated Mike from Monsters Inc., are currently tearing up the forest, imprisoning critters and generally appear to at war with the environment.

As Fe, you venture though the forest, learning new animal languages, interacting with your surroundings and avoiding the glare of the Silent Ones. During the journey, different parts of the world open up as the fox gains various new levels of intellect.

From the EA Originals stable, which caters for indie developers, Fe is a game that's hard to review.

Much like Journey did when it first emerged, part of the engagement of the game is finding out what needs to be done and simply getting on with it.

Fe doesn't rely on hand-holding, offers no instructions and can occasionally be frustrating if you're stuck without a clue how to overcome an obstacle.

It means the traditional elements of gameplay rely on you being intuitive and connecting with nature, rather than hurtling through the forest ignoring everything around you. (To some, that may be the hidden message of life, but again, you take out what you put in in this game.)

Bathed in hues of purples, blues, and blurred colours means that Fe's look is unique.

However, it also means that occasionally, it's hard to know which parts of the environment can be used to your advantage. Fe is able to scamper up trees and leap from one peak to the next; but from time to time, the uncertainty over whether a tree can actually be climbed (due to odd mechanics) means you're stuck trying to do the simplest of things.

And the lack of direct idea what to do won't be for everyone.

Even though you can corral birds into helping by singing to them (by depressing the R2 button) and other animals can help (you bond with them by chanting in a similar way to how Abe did with fellow Mudokons in Abe's Oddysee), it will take patience to get through the game and its mechanics. Once you're au fait with it, you'll find yourself rushing around trying to solve the mysteries, which become less tangible as time goes on.

In fact, the reward for so doing in Fe is solid, but not as in-depth as Journey.

However, Fe offers up a tantalising look at what indie gaming could be on the big stage; a game where the smaller moments matter and the destination isn't as important apparently as the journey itself - no matter how occasionally flawed the trip appears to be.

Shadow of the Colossus: PS4 Review

Shadow of the Colossus: PS4 Review

Platform: PS4
Developer: Team Ico, SIE Japan Studio

Cited as one of the most important games to be released on the PlayStation, the revamped and re-visualised version of the 2002 PS2 classic will appeal if you're in a mood for nostalgia - but may frustrate if you remember some of the issues of The Last Guardian's release last year.

Essentially a spiritual quest with some fight sequences thrown in, Shadow of the Colossus puts you in the position of playing Wander, a boy who, as the game starts, appears to be carrying the body of a girl on the back of his horse.

As he lays her body down in a shrine in a temple, Wander's given the chance to bring her back to life
- if he slays the various Colossi wandering the land. Each of their deaths returns a piece of his beloved's soul to life.

However, it's not that easy to achieve.

With a sword that shines a light to the location of the nearest Colossus and a trusty steed to transport you to where you have to go, it should, in theory, be simple.

But the game's edges may leave you extremely frustrated if you're not fully engaged with the arc of the journey.

While the remaster for the PS4 has made the vast lands that Wander travels through sparkle and come to life, with the grasses swaying in the breeze and horizons seeming more defined than earlier iterations of the game, there are still some previous console tics that make the game a rip-your-face-off frustration.

Principally, an appalling camera that spins around really grates - it barely centres on what you fully want it to when it's most crucially needed.

Much like The Last Guardian's camera issues which left jumping a gamble, Shadow Of The Colossus's camera can take you out of a fight at a crucial moment, meaning you're stomped on and dead before you can take stock of where you are.

Equally, Wander's horse Agro is nigh on uncontrollable at the most basic of times - unless you're doing anything other than flying forward in a straight line. It'll hurtle into walls, graphic glitches cause the critter to mesh with rock formations and bizarrely, it'll climb some rocks and not others.

The lack of consistency is puzzling at best, and irritating as hell at worst.

It's a shame because these two central niggles actually do more to remove you from the gameplay than you'd ever like.

At the moments when it soars, Shadow of The Colossus is incredible.

Taking on a titan and clambering up and around it to bring it down is a task in itself. Whether the beast tries to shake you loose or you spend time hanging on for dear life, the fight scenes, along with their stunning orchestrations and OST, are riveting to play - and warrant the time investment.

There are spiritual moments within the game as well, but while the original Shadow of the Colossus may have garnered a PS2 and PS3 redo, the PS4's lush-looking remaster looks great, even if it plays like a last gen game.

It's obvious that Shadow of the Colossus is trading on the nostalgia of users at a quieter time, and while this is definitely a game that's more about the journey than the stopovers, it may be puzzling to the current generation who trade other specifics over emotional investment and time.

Death Wish: Film Review

Death Wish: Film Review

Cast: Bruce Willis, Elisabeth Shue, Dean Norris,Vincent D'Onofrio, Camilla Morrone
Director: Eli Roth

It's hard to imagine a worse time to release a film about a guy righting wrongs with the power of a gun.

Certainly in the US, where thanks to the Parklands School shooting, the issue of gun control and the debate around it has never been stronger or more pertinent.

But horror wunderkind Eli Roth has taken on the mantle of the remake of the Charles Bronson 1974 vigilante revenge flick.

Willis stars as ER doctor Paul Kersey, who lives in a Chicago beset by gun crime (we know this because Roth hammers home the message repeatedly using cuts of DJs and talkback to emphasise the horror of gun chaos run amok).

On his birthday eve, he's called to work, and forced to leave his vivacious wife (Shue, whose brief time on screen lights up the grubby sheen) and soon-to-depart-for-college daughter (Morrone) behind.

Things take a turn for the worse when criminals break in, leaving both victims of gunshots - and they're transported to the local ER.....

As the police investigate the crime, and murder, Kersey finds he has no choice but to take justice into his own hands.

Eli Roth's Death Wish is a tame, somnambulant take on the revenge thriller.

Its main problem is that it's generic, watered down and blessed with a lead who barely offers a level of emotion that engages throughout. Even though it wants to clear be a pro-NRA film that promotes the message of one man making a difference with his gun.

It also doesn't help that it squanders any chance of moral discussion, preferring briefly to flirt with the morality of whether it's wrong or right (largely through the aforementioned DJs and a line that asks whether it's good a white man is on the streets shooting black people).

Preferring to tick the boxes of a training montage, some shots of laughable violence and extreme blood splatters from close up, this 2018 version of Death Wish, from writer Joe Carnahan, appears to squander the grubbiness of the 80s revenge flicks that continued to offer vicarious thrills thanks to varying levels of violence.

While Death Wish can be commended for not putting its hoodie clad Grim Reaper into a series of shoot-outs that glamourises gun crime, its desire to avoid any of the intellectual moments that could have made it more contemporary is a major disappointment.

And with the house break-in sequences have some of the elements of horror with their long drawn out sequences, dark lighting and angling, there's little else to recommend the remake of Death Wish.

Police action and inaction is laughable, and while Norris' biggest sense of debate comes over a low fat diet rather than conflict over when his suspicions fall into place. The lack of moral turpitude in the film stands out like a sore thumb, especially in times of Trumpian inaction, enraging gun debate and woefully inadequate policy.

The biggest disappointment is Willis - there's only one scene toward the end which shows him remotely engaging with the material, rather than sleep-walking throughout. It's a shocking reminder of what's missing during the rest of the film - a hero whose conflict is articulated by himself rather than others around him.

Ultimately, the non-exploitation 2018 version of Death Wish is a muddled, mistaken, and misshapen attempt at a remake - lacking any contemporary feel and any directorial flair, it sticks out like a sore thumb.

But for all the wrong reasons.

Win a Shadow of the Colossus prize pack

Win a Shadow of the Colossus prize pack

To celebrate the release of Shadow of the Colossus, only on PlayStation you can win a prize pack, thanks to PlayStation NZ!

Rebuilt from the ground up by Bluepoint Games and JAPAN Studio, SHADOW OF THE COLOSSUS on PlayStation 4 system introduces the awe of its unforgettable world and towering creatures to a new generation of gamers, while allowing long time fans to revisit the beloved masterpiece with unparalleled visual fidelity and improved performance.

Shadow of The Colossus is out now on PlayStation 4!

To win a copy, all you have to do is email  your details to this  address: darrensworldofentertainment@gmail.com or CLICK HERE NOW!

Include your name and address and title your email COLOSSUS!
Competition closes MARCH 16TH

Tulip Fever: DVD Review

Tulip Fever: DVD Review

Forever destined to be known as the film disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein left on the shelf for 3 years and also the first film to be released by the Weinstein Company post Weinstein's spectacular fall from grace, Tulip Fever is something of a tonal mess.

Future Tomb Raider star Alicia Vikander stars as Sofia in this period piece set in 17th century Amsterdam as the tulip market grows feverishly. Similar to the stock market, there's a great trade to be had in bulbs and speculation, and Sofia finds herself in the middle of it when she escapes the convent she's in by agreeing to be married off to Waltz's merchant.

With pressure to conceive, Sofia is found wanting and Waltz's Cornelis decides to commission a painting of the two of them from upcoming artist Jaan (DeHaan). But an illicit affair grows between the pair, culminating in tragedy for everyone in the house - including Grainger's maid and confidante and her lover (O'Connell).

It's hard to know exactly what Chadwick (The Other Boleyn Girl) wanted to do exactly with Tom Stoppard's mashed together screenplay.

From period drama, romance, farce and finally on to inevitable tragedy, the film flip-flops so badly and bounces between different genres that you get cinematic whiplash watching on.

It's not like any of the cast (with the exception sadly of DeHaan and Delevingne who prove to be the weakest links here) give it anything but their best and throw themselves into it with gusto. But a lack of coherence and cohesion proves to make this narrative bulb wilt and wither as its inevitable formulaic tropes are systematically ticked off.

Inevitably what emerges from Tulip Fever is a Carry On style drama film that even Shakespeare would have dismissed as too light for his attention.

And despite Vikander's continuing allure and dramatic chops for every role she takes, the film's fatal flaw causes the whole house of cards to come crashing down around everyone's ears.