2010

1 Toy Story 3

2 Inception

3 Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

4 Kick-Ass

5 Avatar

6 The A-Team

7 Iron Man 2

8 Shutter Island

9 The Expendables

10 Salt

11 Daybreakers

12 Hot Tub Time Machine

13 The Losers

sdf

So I understand many of you will be on your last FM10 legs. You've lead your home team to the Champion's League. You've made Gary Speed the world's first 200m player. You've won the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, B and Z, the Hungarian Second Division and Hadjuk Split. You've probably started a Liverpool game. You've signed Romelu Lukaku several times. And now, with FM11's shadow casting over the forum, here are some ideas and challenges to get the most out of your management. Who knows, you might end up falling in love with it and never wanting to quit. There's a rehab for that.

Bare in mind there is no real leaderboard or points system - this is just some ideas so you can get the most of out of FM10 while you still can, before it becomes obsolete.

Fifteen ideas below to get some things churning, feel free to recommend your own.

1: Unemployment Challenge - On Speed

So I'm sure most of you have heard/attempted/completed the Unemployment Challenge. If not, it's exactly as the title suggests - you start off unemployed and have to build yourself up to managing one of the top teams in the world. It's a ridiculously popular challenge, and it's done every year. This is that, but with a twist. Instead of having your rep and past experience being Automatic and Sunday League, it's International. You're a legend who's out of work, and you want to see who's hiring. Usually, you'll end up starting at a Championship side and who knows? By the end of the season, Premier League, Serie A and La Liga big boys might come calling.

2: Build Your Own

This involves you assembling your own team. Remove Portsmouth/Hull/Burnley, set all of their players to Free Agents and delete the club. Then, create a club, place them in the Premier League with no players and give them a budget for £200m and a wage budget of 300k a week and go nuts. Buy 25 players, a squad capable of surviving the league. It'll take time to gel, so survival might be your only option.

3: The Minnows Cometh

There's those teams in a division that have either not done anything for years. They've just sat there. Mid-table season after season, never pressuring, never pushing. Just there. Well, bollocks to that. You're here now, you're changing it. Take the club from wherever it stayed before and lead them to the promised land, European football. To make it interesting, if you don't get 6th or higher, you're out.

Teams Available:

EPL: Bolton, Birmingham, Fulham, Blackburn, Stoke, Sunderland, West Ham, Wigan

La Liga: Racing Stander, Malaga, Deportivo, Zaragoza, Osasuna, Espanyol, Almerica, Sporting da Gijon

Serie A: Atalanta, Chievo, Napoli, Catania, Lazio, Cagliari

4: For Managing There, You Want Bloody Shooting!

Arsene Wenger, Brian Clough, Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho. Your task is to mirror the achievements and accomplishments of these managers. Whilst not being exact, you must be very similar - for example, when Fergie led Aberdeen to glory, lead a similar Scottish mid-table club to glory. Where Cloughy started, you continue. For Mourinho, win the Champion's League with a Portugese club, then go onto bigger horizons. Any manager this is applicable for, as long as they have the history and the success to determine it.

5: Don't Spend, Don't Sell

Barebones challenge here. Don't Spend or Sell for your first season and see how you can do.

6: Bjorken Shafen Ein

Remember the Swedish Chef from the Muppets? Imagine him, in full Gotenburg kit, celebrating their victory in Europe. Get as far as you can in the Europa League or Champion's League with a team in a country that is not:

England, Germany, France, Portugal, Spain, Scotland, Italy. Also, not Shaktar or Zenit.

You could use one of Andy_DU's leagues to make it interesting.

7: BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Win the World Cup/Get to the final with an African team. Really, that simple.

8: World Series of Soccerball

Become manager of an American football team, and lead them to glory. Win the World Club Cup, basically. Then leave. Because no one cares about football over there.

9: WINNING THE SHIT OUT OF THESE LIMEY COMPETITIONS

Win the World Cup with the US.

10: Zeroes to Slighty Bigger Zeroes

Take control of the smallest team in a league (minimum second tier, lowest rep) and manage them as high as you can.

11: Pascal Chimbonda Would Be Proud

Have an entire new team implemented within three seasons in any club. This does not apply to players that begin in the reserves/U18's.

12: NATIONALIST FUCK

Only buy players from one country. Fairly simple, really.

13: ULTIMATE NATIONALIST FUCK

Only buy players from one country that is not the country your team originates from.

14: Mix-Up Mowtown

This is a long-winded one. Download one of the several free agents databases. Then, create a new game using any major league. Then holiday for a year. Take over any club you desire in the top flight. This will give the game a fresh feel.

15: Director of Football

Inspired by Walnut's thread a few weeks/months ago. You do all of the things a director of football would - decide tactics, transfers and everything else in the transfer window months. However, you are n01245 471154ot strictly a manager. You merely sign players for your team and tell them how to play. Your assistant is the real manager here, so pick a good one. You must go on holiday when there is not a window open, and hope for the best.

And that's about it. These are just a few ideas I came up with a few nights back for you (and indeed myself) to get the most out of the time left on FM10. Bare in mind there are a lot of other challenges and competitions spread around the forum, these are just if you do not have anything else left to do and are bored of normal management.

Review: Alan Wake

It's occasions like this where you both feel sympathy and empathy for a developer. Remedy had four years to create an exclusive, so whatever happened, considering the hype that was built over, it was always going to be accused of disappointing or feeling lacklustre. On the other hand, I'm not quite sure what took Remedy so long to finish it. Maybe it could have been the lighting, or textures, because it seems like this could have easily been put out last year, maybe even in 2008. If Bethesda can make Fallout two years after Oblivion, Remedy could have done this quicker.

Alan Wake is set in an episodic format (think Siren: Blood Curse for the PS3) and is six episodes long, lasting roughly ten or so hours. It's a rather enjoyable psychological action romp, with some startling scenes, some 'WTF' scenes, some scenes that really get inside your head and some that are meant to be epic, but end up falling slightly flat. Basically, Alan Wake pretty much represents the average TV series - even including 'Previously' scenes and voice overs. It's set out very much like a movie in the style of Stephen King but ends up feeling like a mix of Misery and Lost.

To put the story simply: Alan Wake and his wife Alice go on a holiday to Bright Falls, as a get away planned by Alice to get her husband out of his two years writers block. When Alan finds this, he's not exactly happy and storms off - giving the villain just enough time to steal his wife and send Mr. Wake on a rescue adventure. It turns out that it was all a trap - it was part of a story that he doesn't remember writing, and it's coming to life in front of him. The trick is to give the villain more and more power - this is the first of Alan Wake's flaws. The villain is un-interesting. She's just generally rather bland, with no real depth or complexity, and she generally doesn't pose much of a threat. She's holding Alice, but that's no match for your torch.

The game is mainly set around a day and night cycle - at day, you're fine and free to travel around...as uncommon as that is. At night (which it is 85% of the time) you'll be attacked by Taken, the dark forces that can only be repelled by light. The enemies however are also slightly bland - they're all defeated in the same way and barely any pose more of a threat than any other. There are no real boss monsters to talk of, no real major enemies - just a succession of samey dudes, attacking you with worktools and being destroyed by brightness.

Alan Wake's biggest problem by far is repetition. Virtually everything in the game is repeated at least once - the enemies, the driving sequences, the birds that seem to have a remarkable similarity to the Kryll from Gears 1 - but surprisingly, it's only a little niggle in the game. The repetition is no where near Borderlands level - whilst it is all pretty samey, I can't really think of how else the game could have changed it. There's only so much you can do with a day and night cycle and a writer - but as I said, a boss fight wouldn't have gone a miss.

Due to all of these 'problems', you may be surprised to hear that I actually really enjoyed Alan Wake. It's not the horror psychological ride it could have been, but my comment at the start deems that irrelevant - some bits are generally just jumpy moments meant to give a quick 'AH!' before resorting to normality, but some are brilliantly timed and give a great psychological spook. It's fun to play, and whilst I was going through it, I barely put the game down during the weekend I played it for. I recommend you at least rent it, even if for just a few days, just to see Bright Falls - if you take nothing else away, at least you'll agree it's interesting.

THE VERDICT:

Alan Wake - 8.5/10

Le Collection Chez SamStar42

Xbox 360:

Assassin's Creed

Assassin's Creed 2

Band Hero

Batman: Arkham Asylum

Battlefield: Bad Company 2

BioShock

Borderlands

Call of Duty 4

Call of Duty: World at War

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Crackdown

Dead Space

Dragon Age: Origins

Fallout 3

FIFA 09

FIFA 10

Forza Motorsport 3

Frontlines: Fuel of War

Gears of War

Gears of War 2

Grand Theft Auto IV

Guitar Hero III

Guitar Hero: World Tour

Halo 3

Halo 3: ODST

Halo Wars

Just Cause 2

Left 4 Dead

Left 4 Dead 2

Mass Effect

Mass Effect 2

Metro 2033

Midnight Club: Los Angeles

Mirror's Edge

PGR4

Prince of Persia

Red Faction: Guerilla

Resident Evil 5

Rock Band

Sega Superstars Tennis

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Street Fighter IV

The Beatles: Rock Band

The Orange Box

XBLA:

3 On 3 NHL Arcade

Battlefield 1943

Braid

Castle Crashers

'Splosion Man

South Park: LGTDP!

Shadow Complex

Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition

Trials HD

DLC (Shut Up I Count It):

All WaW Map Packs

F3: The Pitt

F3: Broken Steel

F3: Point Lookout

F3: Mothership Zeta

WT: Few Songs

Every Halo 3 Map Pack

GTA4: The Lost and Damned

L4D2: The Passing

RB: The Killers Track Pack

RE5: Lost In Nightmares

TBRB: All You Need Is Love

TFU: Hoth Pack

Crystal Ball Review: Greenday: Rock Band (2010)

[We have entered a state of flux. We are now seeing the future. Please stand by.]

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Space Year 2010
September Ends

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Oh man, this year of gaming so far has been amazing, but the main advantage came in the form of rhythm action. I thought we couldn't have improved on last years seven minor games - but with the surprise announcements of Guitar Hero: Nirvana, Guitar Hero: My Chemical Romance, Guitar Hero 6, Rock Band: Trackers Unite, DJ Hero: DJ DJ and Rock Band: Avril Lavigne at this years E3, it's a good year to be a rhythm actionist. on fan. But before next month's Band Hero: La Rouxhits store shelves, I thought it would be a good idea to review this week's newest: Greenday: Rock Band.

I can honestly say it's really good. The guitars actually feel plinky plonky, the drums crishy crashy and the singing douchey. You can also customize your rocker, to give his as much stupid eyeliner and as many retarded spikes as you want. Yay! Guitar Hero: Nirvana should have had this, instead of, you know, the really weird note writing bit.

The track list, you ask? Well, there's only five songs on the actual game to start with, but we've been promised more as DLC, just to show that Harmonix cares about its target audience by supporting its games long after release! Never mind for now though, because after you play 'American Idiot' over and over again, you'll wonder what you ever did without it, and why you haven't heard it in so long!

If you've played The Beatles: Rock Band than you'll know that you can collect pictures of the fab four's career. However, in a new, spinningly fashionable idea to make the game innovative, you can now collect bits of sincerly depressive fourteen year old emos and put them into your songs! Yay!

Easily the best part however is that you get to create your own tribute band, with all the realistic style, such as getting harrasment letters, being called a fag on YouTube and angry men in suits turning up at your door demanding a cease and desist! Yowzer!

At the end of the day, this is clearly the best iteration in plinky plonky plastic since Simon. I've got to go now, as the new innovation Triange Hero has just appeared under my door.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III

I figured I'd post it up, if anyone cared to look at it. Spoilers for the two Modern Warfare's are all over this, by the way.

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Act 1: Apocalypse Now

Mission 1: Health Insurance (Soap McTavish) [Moscow, Russia]
Following the ending of MW2, Nikolai takes you and Price to a hospital in Moscow. After healing, the Russian goverment find out that American soldiers are in the hospital, and send in their army to finish you off. After a narrow escape from the hospital and an explosive drive away through the Moscow Metro System (during which you are open to attack for the whole time), you discover that from the now mostly destroyed US, people have turned against each other in a quest for food and water, and that through it all a resistance force has been created, in an attempt for glory.

Mission 2: Sinkbowl (Travis Marks) [Colorado, US]
You are Travis Marks, a member of the US Resistance, armed to the teeth in an attempt to take out what remains of the Russians in the US and to win back the glory for the nation. You find out that the Russians have a rendez-vous point in a local fair. The objective is simple: Find and destroy all Russians in the fair. You drive to the point on a motorcycle, before tracking down Vladamir Makarov - who escapes through a rollercoaster. You follow him on the rollercoaster, getting a shot hitting him the spine, disabling him. However, he is carried to the helicopter by his guards, as one of the henchmen places C4 near the end of the track. It explodes - you and your carriage fly off into the distance.

Mission 3: Night Fair (Travis Marks) [US]
You were rescued by a teammate (Holmes), and on the back of a truck, heading towards Michigan to find a Vietnam war veteran (Cregg) with possible information of how they come to own several weapons of mass destruction to wage war on Russia. However, after reaching it, it was a trap - the NamVet was paid greatly and promised the safety of his family. The Russian armada attack in force, but after fighting through bravely and finding Cregg, his family are dead around him and he is kills himself in front of you. You pick up the nukes, and leave.
.
Mission 4: Welcome Party (Soap McTavish) [Manchester, UK]
The RAF Airforce (specifically Captain Welbeck) welcome Soap and Price back, and offer him 3 new recruits for his new Guerilla force. A rogue agent is found in the midst however - who shoots four soldiers dead, before alerting the Russians of his position. They attack Manchester, bombing it to hell, whilst Price, Soap and two new recruits Jake and Swift fight off Russian planes in two AC-130s. Whilst there, the Russians get a lucky shot on the pilot, and the plane starts going down. Soap and Swift take the opportunity to jump out, and land on an incoming plane. They jump down, stab the top of the plane, and hold on for dear life. Swift falls. Soap begins to slide off -and does, before being grabbed by Price. Jake is still there, but Swift is no where to be seen. On the radio, an important message is broadcast: The United Kingdom has declared war on Russia.

Mission 5: Defiance (Frank 'Swift' Saunders) [Unspecified]
You wake up in a darkened room, tired and injured, with only a TV and a man on a stool smoking a cigerette. The declaration of war comes through, and the man stands up. He kicks Swift, several times, before shooting him in both kneecaps, and stabbing him in the leg. He calls himself 'The General', and claims that 'No one shall forget the Uprising.' He pours gasoline all over Swift, lifts his chair up, and opens the door - revealing a Berlin landscape. He lights him on fire, and then kicks him over the edge. We watch, as the ground comes closer, and closer, and closer.

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Mission 6: 'Breaking Dawn' (Travis Marks) [Moscow, Russia]

Travis Marks and six others are selected to get to the heart of Moscow - after riding a hi-jacked boat from the US to Moscow, you are tasked with one objective: Go down to the center of the metro, rescue the two kidnapped from the ferry, and plant the explosives collected from Cregg under the 'War Room'. You do so, and escape on the ferry - before 'The General' hijacks your boat, driving it into Berlin.

Mission 7: 'The Cobra and the Snake' (Soap McTavish) [Moscow, Russia]

The team (comprised of Price, Jake, Welbeck and Soap) go with the RAF due to Operation Roulette - crash a mafia owned casino in Moscow, and fight their way through to find Codename Snake Eater, who is supplying guns, money, soldiers and tactics to the Russian army. After parachuting into the heart of the city, things start going to hell real fast - the explosives planted in the previous mission go off. The tower starts falling, and the team (with Price carrying Snake Eater) has to escape as quickly as possible - through the elevator, and jumping into the opposite tower and then into the plane, piloted by Nikolai. You drive away, as Moscow explodes in the distance.

Mission 8: 'Uprising' (Soap McTavish) [Berlin, Germany]

Welbeck detects a distress signal coming from a US freighter, and follows it - into Berlin. As they arrive, walking through the city is almost tranquil - until you reach the city. American flags are being burnt, soldiers are gathering - to watch a public execution of Travis Marks, initiated by the self proclaimed 'Fuhrer'. Battle the way through the towers, to find a steady sniping position - your job is just to take out the executor, and the Fuhrer. But things are never that easy.

Mission 9: 'World War III' (Soap McTavish) [Luxembourg]

Travis has been executed. Germany has declared war on France, the US and the UK. The RAF and the Navy have the US and UK under control, so you must stop Germany invading France, through any means necessary. On foot, in car, in the air and on the ground - you have to stop them advancing.

Mission 10: 'The Fourth Reich' (Soap McTavish) []

The Fuhrer (Jens Harmann) has piloted to Afghanistan to pick up 'some weapons'. The group follows him, wherein he can pick up the 'Incinerator' - a nuclear bomb thirty times as powerful as Hiroshima, capable of being shot at and reaching the US, effectively destroying the US and the UK in one hit. Follow him, take out the bodyguards, kill 'Scorpion' before anyone else gets the chance.

Mission 11: 'Sinking Ship' (Soap McTavish)

It was a trap. France has fallen. Poland and Bulgaria are at war. Civil War in Spain. North Korea and Japan have joined with the all too powerful Fourth Reich, controlled by Russia and Germany. The team have to escape via speedboat - can they be fast enough escaping from the mighty grasp of the Fuhrer?

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Act 3:

Mission 12: 'All But Dust' (Soap McTavish) [London, England]

The Secret Service have the last information to win the war. Albert Stone, the current Prime Minister, can initiate an attack on Germany - powerful enough to sink the entire continent. However, this would also mean that the UK and the US would be too radiated to live in due to the weight of the blast. Take the weapon ('The Beatle') to him, through the streets being shot at in a high octane chase scene.

Mission 13: 'Till I Collapse' (Soap McTavish) [Washington, US]

Stone was assassinated. The bomb was stolen. The last resort has been reached. Reach FBI headquarters, and collect the Annihilator - a weapon that will literally rip the world open by destroying the core. Travel through to Washington, teaming up with the US Resistance as you go - and locate the weapon amongst the destruction.

Mission 14: 'Air Force One' (Soap McTavish) [The Vault]

Fly to the Vault, Germany's hangar flying over Russia and collect the second part of the Annihilator - which is in the Fuhrer's hands. Battle through the vault with Price, to the top - in the open, thousands of miles above the world.

Mission 15: 'Doomsday' (Soap McTavish) [The Vault]

The final showdown begins to decide the fate of the world - you versus the Fuhrer. The mission goes like this. You meet Jens Harmann on the roof of the Vault, thousands of miles above the Earth, in the open air. You brawl - a stab in the leg, a kick, a punch and a dodge and smash and Harmann ends up gripping to the side of the hangar. You stamp on his fingers. He falls off, screaming. You pick up the other part of the Annihilator, and connect them. Price comes running in - after you detonate. From below, the world erupts. Missiles detonate coming out of the worlds core, ripping it asunder. The Vault shakes. Price falls. In a desperate attempt to save Price, you reach out to grab him - but miss. He too falls. The vault begins to spin - you hold onto something. It continues to spin, falling - we see the damaged Earth from below, as we get closer - before crashing.

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Re-cap:

Act 1:

1: Apocalypse Please - Escape the hospital.

2: Sinkbowl - Find and kill Makarov at the fair.

3: Night Fair - Find Cregg and collect the weapons of mass destruction.

4: Welcome Party - Collect your team and stop the attacking Russians.

5: Defiance - Try to escape the clutches of 'The General',

Act 2:

6: Breaking Dawn - place the weapons in the metro.

7: The Cobra and the Snake - Find the mob boss Snake Eater, and bring him back to base.

8: Uprising - Assassinate the executor and the Fuhrer.

9: World War III - Defend France and Luxembourg by stopping the invading Fourth Reich.

10: The Fourth Reich - Follow 'The Fuhrer' into Afhganistan.

11: Sinking Ship - Escape Afghanistan.

Act 3:

12: All But Dust - Take 'The Beatle' to Albert Stone.

13: Till I Collapse - Locate the Annihilator.

14: Air Force One - Stop at nothing to find the second piece of the Annihilator.

15: Doomsday - Save the world.

2010:

Must Buys:
16/02/10: Aliens vs. Predator
26/03/10: Metro 2033
16/04/10: Splinter Cell: Conviction
27/04/10: Red Dead Redemption
Sometime in May: Mafia 2
Unspecifiedatime: Alan Wake
OVERTHETREES: Alpha Protocol
Space Date 2010: Halo Reach
GORDONBROWN: Medal of Honor
2010ReleaseYouMust: Force Unleashed 2
Somewhere, Over the Sea: Fallout: New Vegas
Cameron's Land: Dead Space 2
TreyArchTime: Call of Duty: Vietnam
WHERE IS SHE: Batman: Arkham Asylum 2
GEARS OF FUCKING WAR 3

Will Probably Buy Sooner or Later:
Project Natal
Battlefield: Bad Company Deux
Darksiders: Crossness of Horseman
Bayonnetta Vayenetta
Dead Island: There's Way Too Many Zombie Games
Army of Tutu: The 40th Ballet
Crackdown: Crack Harder
Transformers: With 100% Less Michael Bay This Time
Dead Rising 2: Re-Dawn of the Dead Rising
APB:
Singularity: Sold to One Guy
Mass Effect Zwei
BioShock 2: Water of Anger
Just Cause: The Squeakwel
Split/Second
Colonial Marines
Metal Gear Solid: Rising (Prequel to MGS: Falling, and MGS: Oh Shit Forgot Parachtute)

INTERESTING, VERY INTERESTING - Possibile, Peaches:
Final Fantasy 2,256
Resonance of Fate (This is a good place for JRPGS isn't it)
Blurrri
Robert Downey Jr In A Metal Suit Two
Lost Planet: Slightly Less Lost than Earlier
Max Payne 3: Fatty Fat Fat Fat
Castlevania: The Cereal
Fable 3: Attack of the Peter Molenyeux
Brink - WE'RE ON THE BRINK

I'd Like To Play You This Year But Oh Wait I Guess You've Delayed Yourself Again, Haven't you? Dirty, Dirty Game.

I AM ALIVE

Possibly the only title in the world that capsulates where the game is. When it's inevitably cancelled, will they change it to 'I AM POSSIBLY ALIVE'?

Future-o-Scope: Batman Arkham Asylum 2

In the Future-o-Scope, I talk about games, movies, tv shows, microwaves, oven cleaners, bacon and jam recipes, that I may want in the future. I'll start it off with five things I want from Batman: Arkham Asylum 2.

Batman: Arkham Asylum was great. It was amazingly good, the best Batman game ever and arguably the best game of last year. So, it makes sense for me to do this. Really. It does to me.

1: True Open World-Ness
The trailer for Batman 2 would seem that it is set in Gotham City, the general hub of all misdeeds and bad stuff in the DC Universe. It also seems that the Joker has taken control. Therefore, to me it makes logical sense for the world to be pretty much open world. I'm not talking about complete sandbox on par with GTA or Saint's Row - more along the lines of Brutal Legend, where there are various side quests to do, upgrades available for yourself and your motor and a few challenges along the way. Not so much we are distracted from the main story but enough to warrant replay value.

2: More of Batman's Stuff to use plz
The stuff in the first game is insane. Explosive gel, grappling hooks, batarangs - in Batman II I'd like even more. More stuff to mess around with like the Sonic Batarang - smoke bombs and money piles, in the same vein as AC2 to try and distract attention from yourself? What I'm really trying to say here is that I'd love the Batmobile, Batplane, Batboat and whatever other Bat-shaped vechiles possible. Please. I'm begging you.

3: More Bastards.
By this I mean, more bad guys with different ways to defeat them, rather than just 'hit them a few times, bad guys come through, hit them a few more times'. The main villains I would like to see in Batman 2 are Mr. Freeze, Black Mask, The Penguin, Two-Face and Ra's al Ghul, with the possibility of Scarecrow, Killer Croc and Riddler returning for some more. For varied boss fights: You have to swim to try and find the Penguin, escaping through sewers trying to get to him, whilst he bombs the crap out of you. Two-Face? Burning building, bombs about to go off, enemies being thrown at you all the way. Ra's al Ghul? The closer you get, the weaker you become, leading you to try and take him and his assassin's out from afar. And Mr. Freeze? He's trying to freeze you. Running away stealthily, trying to take him down as he tries to hunt you. I'd also like a boss fight on a rollercoaster but I feel I'm taking it too far now.

4: Co-Op or Multiplayer?
Multiplayer I can take or leave, but co-op seems essential. Think about it. Bigger city, more crimes. A seperate co-op campaign you can do with your friends, or just play the normal game with up to four players. One of you can be Robin, one Catwoman, one Huntress and one Batman, fighting the dark. Superman and Green Lantern could be DLC. How awesome would that be?

5: Leave room for more.
Seriously. This series is nothing but raw potential, and when leaving room for more games, you can have an unstoppable trilogy. I ask you again, picture this. You've just thrown the Joker off the tracks of the oncoming rollercoaster. He's on the floor, wounded, beaten. Everyone's gone. You've won. And then, on a huge screen, appears the true mastermind behind it all: Hush, laughing at you. Indistinctive and possibly unrecognisable, but a true mastermind, bigger and more powerful than the Joker and ready to do whatever it takes?

Coming next time: Batman Arkham Asylum 3, with Man-Bat, Clayface, Mad Hatter, Mr Freeze, Doomsday and Maxie Zeus against you as you fight for the survival of your fellow man.

Bye!

2009 Forget-Me-Nots

Games:
Assassin's Creed 2
Ghostbusters
Killzone 2
InFamous
Uncharted 2
Forza 3
Dead Space Extraction
Episodes form Libery City
Saboteur

Movies:
Coraline
Knowing
Monsters vs. Aliens
The Soloist
Wolverine
Terminator: Salvation
Drag Me To Hell?
Taking of Pelham 123
Transformers 2
Hurt Locker
Ice Age 3
Public Enemies
Harry Potter 6
500 Days of Summer
G. I. Joe
9
The Informant
Zombieland
Damned United
The Road
Brothers?

And, of course, AVA-FUCKING-TAR.

Avatar (2009)

...

I'm the only person in the world who hasn't seen this yet. Fear me.

It's not just about the will to see it, everytime I've had the oppurtunity to see it it's been either a) snowing, b) inconveinient or c) I felt like crap, with hidden option d) it was Christmas.

Only other showings are in the middle of the school day and which end at 11. Grrrr.

Saw: The Video Game (2009)

Saw is a franchise that by now has 6 movies out of a possible 9, and according to most film reviewers the series hasn't really been that good since the second one. Quite frankly, I beleive the series could (and probably should) have ended with the fourth or fifth one - seriously, by the next movie, SAW WILL HAVE MORE MOVIES WHERE THE MAIN CHARACTER ISN'T IN IT THAN WHEN HE IS. That's signs of a franchise going out of control, right there, which is a shame because I think that Jigsaw (Tobin Bell, who thankfully reprises his role here) is one of the best and most original horror characters ever coneived, and who is now about as well known in horror as giants like Mike Myers, Freddy Krueger and Jason Vorthees, and the same thing happened to them: their film series all went on way, way too long.

However, I'm surprised that a Saw game hasn't been made already. I would have thought the idea of a terminally ill man punishing people in a disturbing game to make them enjoy life would have been perfect game material. To play as a person who has no idea why they're here, except that they've done horrible things and they are set to be punished? That could be great, it could be edge of your seat, terrifying stuff. It could have changed the horror genre, or, at least, did something a little different like the first two films did.

Unfortunatly, that makes it all the more depressing that Saw: The Video Game is a turd. It's a dud. A flat, non-scary, repetitive irritating dud. It cost me exactly £0.00 to play it and yet I want every penny of my money back. I couldn't even finish it it was so fiddly, so dishevelled, ugly and pointless. The traps are fiddly, the devices are REALLY irritating and generally, the game feels like it's trying too hard to be something different and ends up falling flat on its back when it could have done so much more.

You play as Detective Tapp who you may remember as Danny Glover from the first film, who here is not Danny Glover and who is also apparently a dick. He got his partner killed and now Jigsaw wants him to play his game to try and make Tapp overcome his obsession with him. At this point I'm not sure who to root for - Jigsaw does make a better point than Tapp however, and it says something when the bad guy is actually 'better' than your character, and you end up wanting Jigsaw to succeed but that might be the part of me that wanted Vader to crash the Death Star onto Yavin and then throw a wild party, instead of, you know, Luke actually saving the galaxy.

It doesn't help that every character has about as much depth and characterization as a grain of sand and that I couldn't give a crap what happens to Detective Tapp in the end, which is a bad thing considering I don't neccesarily have to care for my character but I should want my playable character to FUCKING SUCCEED. Reading the ending of the plot on Wikipedia it seems that another kick in the balls is delivered with the ending that I guess could be a nice twist but probably ends up being completely pointless and inept before some bastard you just saved from certain death calling you a dick and claiming it's all your fault.

The combat also sucks harder than most games, and Tapp is so sluggish that for every one hit, you'll be hit around by your enemy three times. And when your enemy has a nail bat or a knife, three hits is too many and you end up dead and restarting the level again.

I may be missing the point but the game isn't even that scary, not even from a blood and guts perspective especially compared to games like Dead Space, which leads me to ask what was the whole point of the game in the first place? Oh wait, I know - piggybacking onto a franchise that fans will buy anything related to it and regard it well, no matter how inept it is. Let me ask you this: Who genuinly cares about Saw? Who cares about the storyline? I'm almost certain that 85% of the people who watch the films and have this really don't care what happens to the crooked cops or Bell's estranged wife - they just want to watch people to mutilated and generally receieve the most brutal treatment possible, which could be replaced by any other film series, like, oh, I don't know, the new Nightmare on Elm Street film?

Overall: The graphics are so dark it's impossible to differentiate most things from most other things, the combat sucks, the characters are shallow and unlikeable, with the exception of Tobin Bell the voice acting sucks, it's repetitive, the mini games are too fiddly to be effective, it's not that scary, it's repetitive, it doesn't live up to its potential, it's generally irritating and of course, it's repetitive. Stay way, way clear, as the poor gameplay and pointlessness of it all is a more effective torture weapon than anything in this game.

3/10.

Sherlock Holmes (2009)

This review may contain mild spoilers.

Sherlock Holmes is arguably the most recognisable detective of all time - some might also argue he is the most recognisable and popular character in English Literature since Shakespearean times, with the possible exception of Ebenezeer Scrooge. As is the case with many other books or popular comics, a lot of movies and TV series have been made about Sherlock Holmes, and so with every new one comes the question of how exactly good is it, does it live up to the original, and do they keep to the main characters.

Having seen Guy Ritchie's new version I can tell you the answer is a simple 'yes'. The plot is sound, it definatly lives up to the original text, taking from it everything neccesary and making the main characters as recognisable as possible without walking too far into fan-service and effectively alienating for the non-fans, a la Star Trek. The script is pretty good, the musical score is great and the dialogue is memorable, but the real joy is the acting and chemistry of the two leads: Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law.

The pair work incredibly well together, nothing feeling too forced nor too over the top. Jude Law plays incredibly well as Dr. Watson, playing not as the common bumbling fool but as a fellow collegue and at points, intellectual equal to Holmes. Downey Jr also is amazing - appearing not just as a know-all detective but as a childish, obsessive, borderline autistic brilliant madman, living up to the phrase 'brain and brawn' and doing it extremely well. It really is great to watch the two of them, both displaying gravitas and depth to the characters pretty much unmatched by most films this year.

Mark Strong also plays the part of the main antagonist Blackwood very well - portraying a rich man with everything he could need dabbling in the occult, in order to attempt to change humanity and the twist at the end is unexpected and very well done indeed, but at times it becomes obvious that Blackwood was meant merely as a set up to the bigger villain (Moriarty) in the next film - effectively Scarecrow or Ra's al Ghul to the Joker. Rachel McAdams puts in a great performence too as Irene Adler, Holmes' love interest who managed to outwit a smitten Sherlock twice. Also a joy to watch.

Overall: A great film, with the acting prevailing out. Downey Jr.'s great, Law is occasionally better, Strong is terrifying and McAdams is hot. What more do you want? :P

9/10

Surrogates (2009)

This review contains slight spoilers and Bruce Willis appreciation.

The idea of Surrogates has been one that's been around for a long time, but was mainly popularized by 'The Sims' and 'Sim City' - a virtual world, in which normal people control simulated CGI versions of themselves, as a way to escape reality. This is also why people get so addicted to MMOs and RPGs such as World of Warcraft or Oblivion - it's easy to lose all of the restraints of the outside world and therefore enter a fantasy, sometimes so immersive and believeable you'll never want to leave.

Surrogates takes this idea and puts it to use in every day life rather than a fantasy setting, where people control the titular 'Surrogates' using their mind - a set of robotic people without illness, creed, discrimination or violence. Crime rates have gone right down, and everything seems much better for the people. Or, so it would appear - until the first murder in years sets Detective Tom Greer (Bruce Willis) on a mission to see why, leading to a conspiracy that started over a decade ago that could change the human race forever.

Willis plays his part extremely well as the detective with an upsetting past but he really shines as his non-computerized counterpart - the genuine Tom Greep, as he tries to settle back into the world around him and re-adapt to the new population. Radha Mitchell also does very well in her part, at one point effectively playing three people and Rosamund Pike (Miranda Frost in Die Another Day, so you don't spend the entire movie wondering where you've seen her before) also does her best as the manic depressive Mrs. Greer, who never really got over the death of her son which keeps pushing her and Tom away, to the point where they barely speak and Maggie never removes from her surrogate, even in the privacy of her own home.

The thing about Surrogates is that whilst it is a good movie, there's not really much to say about it, other than the acting is good and the plot is solid. Nothing really groundbreakingly new happens - nothing that will staple Surrogates as one for the ages and no scenes really bring out a wow factor, despite some coming close - I'm sure if they had gone for the ending in the comic rather than the one on screen I may change that, but apart from that it's just a good 90 minute science fiction romp that does all it wants and achieves it well, doing eveything it needs to do right right and nothing really that badly.

Overall: It's worth a look, even just to see Willis or add it to the growing collection of 2009 good science fiction movies. See it, but don't expect Moon or District 9.

7.5/10.

AND SO IT BEGINS

I realised earlier this week that I have no where to spread my pointless, rambling bullshit that I like to state as opinion/fact/gospel that I'm too scared to tell my friends, less I be taken away and placed into a room coated with mattresses for eternity.

I digress. I'm an average gamer of average skill who watches films and tv shows in his spare time. To put it bluntly, I'm basically like 95% of people on the internet. However, I am also someone who likes to make people laugh and occasionally come up with any two words I can strain together, and claim it as a story. So I'm basically like 100% of the internet.

The Galaxy Roadshow was merely an idea I had that could include not only my pointless drivel and reviews of things you've all already played or watched, but to include things that I am testing out.

Effectively you're all enjoying the first beta of a 14 year old geek.

Enjoy. :)