Control launches, with a charity stream and excellent reviews

Control launches, with a charity stream and excellent reviews

505 GAMES, REMEDY ENTERTAINMENT’S CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED CONTROL LAUNCHES TODAY ON PC, PS4, XBOX ONE

Supernatural Action-Adventure Game Now Available at Physical and Digital Retail

Global videogame publisher 505 Games and its partner, internationally renowned developer Remedy Entertainment, Plc. today launched the award-winning Control on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One for physical and digital retail, with a simultaneous digital launch on the Epic Games store for PC.

Set in a unique and ever-changing world that juxtaposes our familiar reality with the strange and unexplainable, Control is a third-person action-adventure game combining Remedy’s trademark gunplay with supernatural abilities. 

After a secretive agency in New York is invaded by an otherworldly threat, players will take on the role of Jesse Faden, the new Director struggling to regain Control. This sandbox-style, gameplay-driven experience built on the proprietary Northlight engine challenges players to master a combination of supernatural abilities, modifiable loadouts and reactive environments while fighting through the deep and mysterious worlds Remedy is known and loved for.

Watch the Launch Trailer Here

“Control is our most ambitious game as a studio yet,” said Mikael Kasurinen, game director, Remedy Entertainment. “We said early on this would redefine what a Remedy game is; giving our fans a more player-driven experience than we’ve ever created before, while still retaining the compelling worlds we’re known for. Everyone at Remedy is proud of what we’re delivering to players today and we look forward to continuing to expand on what we’ve built after launch as well.”

To celebrate the launch of Control, 505 Games will hosted a stream today from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. PDT in an effort to raise money for the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, a hospital and research facility working to change the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Guests included YouTube personality Alanah Pearce, lead voice actress from Control Courtney Hope, Remedy’s Creative Director Sam Lake, Twitch personality SanchoWest and more. Donations are done via tiltify.com/@505games/505-games-for-st-jude.

Control on PC is one of the first games to support multiple ray-traced effects, including ray-traced reflections, contact shadows, and indirect diffuse lighting. Control on PC also supports NVIDIA DLSS. For a limited time, gamers will receive Control with the purchase of an eligible GeForce RTX GPU-equipped graphics card, desktop or laptop; more details here.

Also available now are the physical retail-exclusive Retail Deluxe Edition for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, with collectable FuturePak Exclusive Metal Packaging and limited-edition art cards, and the PlayStation 4 Digital Deluxe Edition, which includes all of the content from the PlayStation 4 base version as well as an extra side mission, “Isolation” and an additional exclusive outfit, Jesse’s Urban Response Gear. This version will also come with two Expansion packs, “The Foundation” and “AWE” (available at a later date). Each pack will contain new locations, story missions and mysteries for players to solve.

“We are proud to have played a role in bringing a game of this scope and vision to life in partnership with Remedy,” said Neil Ralley, president, 505 Games. “The launch today is a major moment for both our companies. Control is already well on its way to being another major hit for us, on a bigger scale than ever before, and we look forward to delivering even more to players in the coming months through future expansions and other content.”

For more information and regular updates on Control, please visit www.controlgame.com.

The Kitchen: Film Review

The Kitchen: Film Review

Cast: Melissa McCarthy, Elisabeth Moss, Tiffany Haddish, Domnhall Gleeson, Bill Camp
Director: Andrea Berloff

Melissa McCarthy digs deep once again from the well of seriousness which served her so well and nabbed her an Academy Award nomination.

McCarthy stars as Kathy, the wife of an Irish mobster in Hells Kitchen in New York in the 70s. When Kathy's husband, along with his two co-conspirators, are jailed, Kathy, along with her friends Ruby and Claire (Haddish and Handmaid's Tale's Moss respectively) decide enough's enough and look to take over business.

But their desire to do the right thing and also make some money on the side puts them in the eyeline of the police and the Mafia.

The Kitchen's approach to drama is piecemeal at best.

Whereas Widows had dramatic heft, emotional bite and weight, The Kitchen flounders in comparison.

Sadly, by dipping in and dipping out of the characters, and even with a restrained McCarthy trying to build on Can You Ever Forgive Me, The Kitchen doesn't hit any of the straps it wants to.

Opening with James Brown's It's A Man's World over shots of NYC, as well as mobsters, it's clear that this is a male perspective and those in charge are determined to smash it. But underwriting, as well as scenes that fly by quicker than they should, those involved really don't know how to construct a drama that has tension and suspense.

Shouting stereotypes and with dialogue that's ham-fisted as the characters' so-called intentions, this attempt at gender-flipping falls massively short.

Humorous moments that are supposed to be dark and gallows are delivered with such heavy-handedness they fall flatter than they should or deserve to. There's a lack of nerve, and even moments of violence, brief as they are in their brutality, fail to deliver the punch they could have.

IT's almost as if The Kitchen were too afraid to go as dark as it could, to deeply enrich its characters and to blur the moral lines that the best gangster films do - because of that, it ends up feeling inconsequential, a waste of the talents within and a flight of empowerment that's grounded before it even begins.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker “D23 Special Look”

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker “D23 Special Look”

Lucasfilm and director J.J. Abrams join forces once again to take viewers on an epic journey to a galaxy far, far away with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the riveting conclusion of the seminal Skywalker saga, where new legends will be born and the final battle for freedom is yet to come. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker opens in NZ cinemas on December 19.

The film stars Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Anthony Daniels, Naomi Ackie, Domhnall Gleeson, Richard E. Grant, Lupita Nyong’o, Keri Russell, Joonas Suotamo, Kelly Marie Tran, and Billy Dee Williams.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is directed by J.J. Abrams and produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Abrams and Michelle Rejwan. Callum Greene, Tommy Gormley and Jason McGatlin serve as executive producers. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was written by J.J. Abrams & Chris Terrio.

TOM CLANCY’S RAINBOW SIX® SIEGE Announces Free Play Week Starting August 28th

TOM CLANCY’S RAINBOW SIX® SIEGE Announces Free Play Week Starting August 28th

TOM CLANCY’S RAINBOW SIX^® SIEGE ANNOUNCES FREE PLAY WEEK STARTING AUGUST 28^th

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – 27^th August, 2019 – Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege will be available to play for free from August 28^th through September 3^rd, depending on the platform. Interested players can join more than 45 million players in the Rainbow Six Siege community on all platforms, and they will be able to experience the game for free with access to all maps, modes and play up to 20 Legacy operators.

Click the image below to watch the trailer

Players who try the game during the free week can carry over their progression and continue to play uninterrupted if they purchase the game. They will also benefit from a discount up to 70% off on the Base game (available on PC only), Deluxe, Gold and Ultimate Editions between August 28^th and September 9^th, depending on SKU and platform.*

Exact timings for Australian & New Zealand timezones for the free play week and discounts will be communicated on Rainbow 6 ANZ social channels including: Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Now live on the Test Server, the upcoming Operation Ember Rise introduces a new Attacker and a new Defender, Amaru and Goyo from Peru and Mexico. The map Kanal has also been entirely reworked with a new look and improved navigation and flow. Finally, Ubisoft announced that Battle Passes are coming into the game, with a free Phase 1 pass named “Call Me Harry” to be released later in the season.

For more information about Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, please visit: https://rainbow6.ubisoft.com.

Upcoming Monster Hunter World: Iceborne Beta for PlayStation®4 and Xbox One Offers Four Quests, Including the Elder Dragon Velkhana

Upcoming Monster Hunter World: Iceborne Beta for PlayStation®4 and Xbox One Offers Four Quests, Including the Elder Dragon Velkhana

Upcoming Monster Hunter World: Iceborne Beta for PlayStation®4 and Xbox One

Offers Four Quests, Including the Elder Dragon Velkhana

Ahead of the Monster Hunter World: Iceborne massive expansion’s global console release on September 6, Capcom today confirmed details about upcoming beta sessions, which offer four quest options for players to try at home. The Monster Hunter World: Iceborne PlayStation®4 beta will be available for all PS4™ users from 5:00pm AEST on Friday, August 30 through 4:59pm AEST on Monday, September 2. Following that, a beta for Xbox One will be available from 5:00pm AEST on Monday, September 2 through 4:59pm AEST on Thursday, September 5. Preload options will be available a couple of days before each beta period begins. The Monster Hunter: World base game is not required to participate in the Iceborne beta sessions.

These pre-launch beta sessions for Monster Hunter World: Iceborne are cooler than ever with the addition of a frosty new challenge. Alongside the previously available Great Jagras (Beginner), Banbaro (Intermediate) and Tigrex (Expert) quests, players will be able to battle against the game’s mythical flagship monster Velkhana for the first time. Watch out though, this Elder Dragon’s icy breath is dangerous and offers a bone-chilling fight for even the fiercest of hunters.

Similar to previous beta sessions, hunters can test out all 14 weapon types in any of the four quests and the training area. The weapons include the new Iceborne features, plus the new Slinger tool options such as the Clutch Claw grapple mechanic.

Upon completing each quest for the first time, hunters can earn a total of four special commendation packs containing helpful consumable items that will be available to use in the full version of the Iceborne expansion when it releases. So, pack those Hot Drinks and join a hunting party to clear these quests!

Rocketman: Blu Ray Review

Rocketman: Blu Ray Review

The musical biopic is so hot right now.

On the coat-tails of Bohemian Rhapsody, its global success and its unexpected awards success, it's no surprise that Rocketman arrives in cinemas with a weight of expectation.

With its more verite approach thanks to singing actors, rather than a performer miming, Dexter Fletcher re-teams with his Eddie The Eagle co-star Taron Egerton to take on the story of one Reg Dwight.

Beginning with the neglect in his childhood from his father and distant mother, to the discovery of his piano skills through to the tales of excess and stardom, Fletcher weaves an interesting tapestry of Elton John's life from the early years.

It's crowd-pleasing, conventional, and in the latter stages, somewhat camp, but never anything less than a spectacle.

Fletcher knows what the tropes of the genre are (early childhood adversity, self-doubt, midlife adversity, lovers adversity and ultimately self-acceptance) and skirts through them with ease.

At times, this is both a good and a bad thing for Rocketman, with the film feeling very much like outside of Elton John himself, it  skirts over some character edges, which is much to its detriment. (The only female character of note is John's grandmother).

Even the darkness of Elton John's life are given a light touch, but are never shied away from, as Fletcher pulls what could easily be a stage show, framed as it is with John's AA group confessional, into something that becomes a jukebox piece tale of acceptance, dishing out the hits when the energy hits a lull (as it does in the final third).

In truth, Rocketman is never better than when it's a balls-to-the-wall brazen musical.

From the younger version of Elton John bursting through a pub and segueing into Egerton's look to Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting, to John's Troubador club appearance in the US where the music literally lifts the audience through euphoria, via Pinball Wizard's swirling piano as the film shuffles through numerous outfits and John's need to be his on-stage persona cycles through, Fletcher's smart enough to deploy some visual flourishes to keep the film engaging as the energy levels teeter dangerously high to exuberant.

It's less successful in some of the more human elements - but not because of Egerton's efforts as Elton John.

Moments when Elton interacts with his stifled father desperate for love are given a tremendous resonance in their brief outings. And while Richard Madden brings a dangerous smouldering to his manager-cum-lover, it's Egerton who sells the relationship with the most subtle of touches.

Ultimately, much like Bohemian Rhapsody, it won't matter what critics make of Rocketman.

In places, it soars, a spectacle of a tried-and-tested story of acceptance; elsewhere, it's grounded. But audiences will adore its commitment to being crowd-pleasing, its desire to entertain and its salutation to the early part of the Elton John legacy. 

Control: PS4 Review

Control: PS4 Review

Developed by Remedy and 505 Games
Platform: PS4

A game that keeps you mystified and bemused throughout, Remedy’s CONTROL is not your typical IP.

Meshing supernatural TV show Fringe with a shooter and wrapping the whole thing up in an enigmatic riddle, the game’s adherence to Nolan-esque shifting visuals and one location make it one of those games that almost makes you wish you mapped it as you go along - were it not for the fact that everything keeps shifting and changing.

You are Jesse, who heads into the Federal Bureau Of Control to find out what happened to your brother who went AWOL.

But upon entry, you’re thrown into a world of confusion and supernatural edges as you work your way through the levels.

Part of the joy of Control is the unknown, and it’s not this reviewer being coy to not reveal what the Hiss is, what the story is and where it lands - that’s simply respectful of Remedy’s efforts to bring something new to an ever saturated and easily spoilt gaming world. It's refreshing that it plays differently, and slowly reveals like an onion of excitement.

The game rewards you as it unfolds as it pushes its third person shooter and investigative MO to its limits. (Although at its heart, Control is a shooter and meshed with Infamous character abilities).

Astral planes are involved, strategy is needed and a non linear approach to the game will be rewarded - albeit in due course.

While there are some gaming similarities with their own Quantum Break and the aforementioned Infamous, the graphics work well to create an atmosphere of unease and uncertainty, as befits the story.

Occasionally there are some jarring overloads in the action on the screen but mostly it’s clear and unfussy workmanship that stands out to produce the structures and the cut scenes which add to the intrigue.

It also rewards the player for the effort they put in and the time that they enjoy trying to work out the head scratching sensibilities of the game itself.

While most of the cut scenes are of a static nature, the HD qualities of the characters themselves make them superlatives in their execution.

This is a game which takes its time to unfold unless all more and enticing because of it, simply put Control would not be the game it is not without Remedy's careful and meticulous touches and commitment to unnerving and atmospheric thrills.

Do yourself a favour and experience Control the way Remedy wanted you to - unspoiled and unsure what’s happening next; it’s the best way to evolve your experience within and get the most out of the shorter main story.

It is rare for a game to appear on the scene without any elements completely and spoiled.

Control offers a unique and edifying experience that is worth acclaiming - sure, its brevity and some of the load issues cause a few red flags, but all in all, this is Remedy firing at their cerebral best, and gaming at its most intriguing and rewarding.