SEP 2011 - issue (9)

LOCAL BAND FEATURES - REVIEWS - GIGS - EVENTS - INTERVIEWS - GAMING - MOVIES + MORE SEP 2011 - issue (9)

MUSIC THE FIRE AND I RODENT EMPORIUM BEHIND HOLLOW WALLS G I G F LY E R S

MOVIES MOVIE CHART MOVIE QUIZ F I N A L D E S T I N AT I O N 5 APOLLO 18 FRIGHT NIGHT

GAMING GAME CHARTS

Cover Photo by Superburschi

X T E N D P L AY F1 2011 F I FA 1 2 C A L L O F D U T Y: M O D E R N WA R FA R E 3 www.goguidemagazine.co.uk

G A M E F LY E R S

CONTENT Contents

wouldn’t notice... yeh right.

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GAME CHARTS (pg40)

Our choice of the best games across PS3, Xbox and PC.

- - - - - - - MUSIC - - - - - - -

XtendPlay - Review (pg41)

Do we need a controller addition to help us beat the latest games?

THE FIRE AND I - Feature (pg3)

We checkout Jim Gellatly’s favourite local band.

F1 2011 (pg42)

The latest Formula 1 racing simulation hits the track.

RODENT EMPORIUM - Feature (pg4)

A regular at Chicago’s ‘Cornerstone Festival’ we take a look at what all the fuss is about.

FIFA 12 (pg43)

With the EURO’s coming up this year we look at the newest offering of the best footy sim out there.

CALL OF DUTY : MODERN WARFARE 3 (pg44)

BEHIND HOLLOW WALLS (pg5) One of the newest Hardcore bands around.

Round 3 of the amazingly successful Call of Duty Modern Warfare hits the streets.

GIG FLYERS (pg6)

GAME FLYERS (pg46)

All the best shows from local venues and bands playing around the area.

Posters for some great games released this month.

CLASSIC MOVIE POSTERS (back page)

We take a look back at some classic movie posters.

- - - - - - - MOVIES - - - - - - FINAL DESTINATION 5 - Review (pg26)

Latest in the franchise sees a new group facing certain death.

APOLLO 18 - Review (pg27)

Following in the latest trend for ‘found footage’ movies we move into outer space.

MOVIE NEW RELEASES (pg28) All the new releases in cinemas this month.

MOVIE QUIZ (pg29)

Who are GOGUIDE...???

GOGUIDE is a local online magazine for the West Lothian area. We are trying to be less focused on local ‘news’ and more a, ‘what’s on’ or ‘happening’ guide to the local area. At the moment we are heavily focused on the whats going on in the local music scene, whats on and good @ the movies and what is happening in the world of PC/Console gaming.

FRIGHT NIGHT - Review (pg30)

We do have a pretty modern approach to GoGuide content and eventually hope to produce articles on subjects outside our usual stuff such as Clubbing, Internet, Lifestyle, Sport and Fitness etc.

MOVIE FLYERS (pg31)

www.goguidemagazine.co.uk www.myspace.com/goguide Facebook Search For: GoGuide

(Answers on inside back page)

Brand new remake of a classic horror movie.

Posters for some of the latest movie releases.

- - - - - - - GAMES - - - - - - ITV DOCUMENTARY IN IRA COMPUTER GAME BLUNDER! (pg40)

ITV slips game footage into documentry thinking we

With the vast majority of our content sourced from local contributors we are always on the lookout for new people to bring onboard to help us provide input to this content hungry mag so if your keen on writing stuff and getting it published in the mag feel free to drop us a message at content@goguidemagazine.co.uk

Click on the orange page number link to go to that page.

Although we hope to provide much correct information as possible beforer going to print some details on these pages may be subject to change after printing - please check online or with locations directly for fully up to date information.

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MUSIC

Feature

D N A RE

I

I F E TH

T

he Fire and I began life after Gordon Love and Hooligan Sadiksons’ 4 piece band disintegrated way back in 2007. They played around in a bedroom for a while and somehow found a unique sound that worked for them and allowed them to continue as just a 2 piece.

missing… Oh, and most tracks don’t have a whiff of keyboards either. The sound these guys get from just bass and drums is a joy to behold, its rock man, but defo not as you and I know it. TFAI manage to produce a truly awesome wall of sound full of peaks and troughs, they genuinely take you on a journey and each track seem to oose killed hooks from every chorus or break

Ah that’s easy you say…. ‘Just use a drum machine and a sequencer/ keys and your laughing mate’.

Well yeh that might work… but unfortunately bass and drums were not the problem for these two guys as Gordon plays bass and Hooligan is a killer stickman.

Impressively, but not surprisingly, the due have been on some mightily impressive support slots with Biffy Clyro, Amy Macdonald (Barrowland Ballroom) and The Young Knives and have a massive fan in Jim Gellatly; who selected their track ‘‘Revenge (To the Bloody Angel)’ in his top 10 of the year when he was with the Scottish arm of XFM.

So how can you have an indie rock band without guitars you ask? Well that’s where the genius of these guys comes to play. Just listen to tracks like ‘Revenge (To the Bloody Angel)’, ‘Dark in the Shade’ and ‘Just Face It’ and you honestly will not notice the vital element of the GUITAR being

Top gigs on the guys long list of shows include headlining T-Break stage at T in the Park, Wickerman, a sold out Amy Macdonald show at the Barrowland Ballroom and supporting Biffy Clyro in Sheffield.

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‘Revenge (To the Bloody Angel)’ was the guys first self-released single back in 2008. 2009 ‘Just Face It’ and ‘Dark in the Shade’ followed soon after in 2009. All of which are pretty much sold out!

The band are currently hard at work gigging to promote their debut album ‘Stampede Finale’ which should be released in early November on the CrashCar label. www.myspace.com/thefireandi

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MUSIC

Feature

Rodent Emporium

From Rodent Emporiums’ web site they profuse; ‘First and Foremost, this band creates music! And good music at that; it’s catchy, it’s quirky, it’s punk, it’s rockin and it’s pop.’

Well I’d say that pretty much sums them up in a Ronseal tin… I would however have to throw in a few other genres/tags along the way before closing the lid completely.

After listening to a good few of their tracks its clear pretty that there are a number of creations all fighting for a place in the mix here so rest assured you are in for an eclectic mix of ‘music’ from these guys. Never has a bands name been closer to how they sound and ‘Emporium’ really does suggest exactly what you’re going to get here just like some eclectic shop down Cockburn Street in its heyday.

The buck doesn’t stop with the music these guys produce, lyrically they suggest a simple ‘story telling’ style of writing that you find after a few listens is mostly just a front for some pretty serious subject matter, all be it put across in rather a comedic fashion… I’ll let you decide which is which.

Rodent Emporium began life when Page 4

what seems like the only constants in the band, Graeme Watt and Stuart Gilmour began gigging their creations around the local Falkirk area. 2006 saw the recruitment of one Owen Innes on sticks and then began what seems like a string of coming and goings for the other positions in the band (probably no more than any other band over a 5 year period). I won’t go into these coming and goings in this little feature other than to point you to their MySpace address at the foot of this feature for latest movements ;-) Having been together for over 5 years and played over 200 shows Rodent Emporium are well aware of what is needed to pen a cracking song and what is needed to put on a good live show. They have more glowing reports regarding their on stage antics than most major label signed bands I could mention. So much so that Chicago’s ‘Cornerstone Festival’ seems to be a second home to the guys now after first playing it way back in 2008, they now regularly tour the states and the festival remains one of the highlight.

One track which has SEP 2011 - issue (9)

become a firm on-stage favourite is “Chickens Of Thought” which Stuart has attempted to explain in an interview as “It’s about chickens that are running around in your head and you want to get rid of them, but you can’t coz they’re in your head. It sound ridiculous but we’re not all Christians in this band and to me it sounds like a spiritual attack.

Thoughts that come and tell you that you’re a loser, you’re defeated and all that sort of thing. It started out with just a loose influence but descended into madness, so it’s about fighting those thoughts. But whether anyone actually listens to that and says, ‘Well, that helped me through a tough time,’ I really doubt it.” Pretty much a perfect rendition of what a Rodent song is going to bring to the table if you ask me.

With 3 U.S.

tours, 2 Albums, 2 E.P.s, (one of which was recorded at the famous Elvis Pressley and Johnny Cash Sun Studio in Memphis, TN) the guys are a now a pretty established outfit and you can bet that things will keep going from strength to strength with the passion and effort they put in to everything they do it surely can’t fail to bring the rewards they deserve.

The band’s debut album ‘Music without Fear of Reprimand’ was released in 2008 on homegrown label

Void Avoidance Records with their second album ‘Sports’ coming from US label Raging Storm Records and released in the US in the summer of 2009. One US magazine describing the band and that US release thus: “Scottie hotties Rodent Emporium aren’t your regular, run of the mill, 1-2-3-4 Ramone-a-bes. Track to track, these boys teach a history of punk class that wisely ‘borrows’ from the likes of the Replacements, Black Flag and the holy trinity of ‘dead’ bands (Boys, Kennedy’s and Milkmen) infused with a little ska, a little reggae, some C&W and a heaping helping of satirical wit.

Take their homage to Rollins and Co, ‘Sports’. Sung by a guy who looks like the love child of Elvis Costello and Johnny Rotten and sings with a soaring falsetto, the song is fuelled by sports rock clichés like the arena wowing keyboard intro and Bon Jovi-esque solos; the chorus is

a grunted chant of ‘SPORTS, SPORTS, SPORTS.’ It is so well executed that it’ll probably go right over the heads of the jocks it mocks and become their adopted ironic anthem.”

I can’t sum them up any better so I won’t try…

Check out Rodent Emporiums’ collection of material over @ www.myspace.com/rodentemporium

Behind Hollow Walls

B

ehind Hollow Walls are a young five piece metalcore band started back in 2010 who have grown considerably into a rather accomplished and tight little unit.

Over that time the guys Ross (Vocals), Martin (Guitar), Robin (Bass), Elmz (Guitar/Vocals) and Paul (Drums/Vocals ) have strived to produce a sound that although steeped in the metalcore history, is a move away from your typical styles and trends. I think they have done an admirable job and look forward to hearing their new EP which is hopefully planned for the end of the year or the start of 2012.

The track we kept playing was ‘Wolves’ from the guys EP and you can defo see what they are aiing for.

The drums are solid when they need to be and carry you in a different direction when they want to and then crash to the beatdown just when you need it. This help set the track aside from just another typical thrash song. Throughout the track the guitars flit between thrash and licking, adding melody and highs and lows that are refreshing and keep you wanting to listen again, and again. With 3 members on vocal duty I have no idea who is providing the snarled vocals but they are performed with just the right amount of aggression and attack and work well with the additional harmony vocal parts on the tracks we listened to.

On the live circuit BHW have provided support for the likes of The Casino Brawl, SEP 2011 - issue (9)

Azriel, By My Hands, Rinoa and While She Sleeps among a host of other shows. Since recording their first 2 track demo (Wolves/Living Like This), the band has grasped and worked hard at the sound they have today from aggressive vocals to melodic harmonies, melodic lead licks to brutal breakdowns.

www.myspace.com/behindhollowwalls

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MOVIES Final Destination

5

Review

Director: Steven Quale.

Cast: Tony Todd, David Koechner, Emma Bell, Courtney B Vance, Nicholas D’Agosto, Arlen Escarpeta

F

ollowing in the footsteps of all the previous Final Destination films, FD5 starts out with a the obligatory glimpse into the possible future for one of our unknowing cast members Sam Lawton (D’Agosto), where he witness’s a disaster which leaves a large number of the other cast members deceased.

The movie begins with a bunch of workers taking a bus to a team building retreat, cue the pan across the trees and we see the disaster waiting to happen in the distance.

Bring the bus and the disaster together and it all kicks off with typical carnage all around them. As the last death occurs Sam snaps awake from his premonition and when a few of the things he had seen begin to come true he tries to convince his friends that they will all die as the bridge is about to collapse. Just in time he shepherds those that would

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listen to safety... but as we know from previous Fantasy movies he isn’t cheated for long.

As the survivors gather at a funeral they meet William Bludworth (Tony Todd), the coroner, for the first time and hear him utter the imortal words “Death doesn’t like to be cheated,” as he describes death’s design.

After the initial shock takes its toll the survivors move on and return to their daily routines, it is at this point the real fun begins and FD5 kicks off on its usual rollercoaster ride where we see a collection of elaborate and imaginative methods where the strange force of death rights the previous wrongs caused by Sam’s reaction to his vision.

Sometimes it seems like the FD franchise was specifically though of so directors and producers could show off how sick their minds are.

In this move we have death scenes that range from laser eye surgery to acupuncture or gymnastics. The only failing is a feeling that we might

SEP 2011 - issue (9)

have seen it all before?

3D elements and action offers the only real new feature of FD5 with the death scenes appearing a little more real when they’re up-close and personal. I don’t know if these have come at the expense of a staple ingredient in the franchise and that is the setting of the scene for each of the deaths. Previous movies fill you with anticipation and build the thrills in such a way that even though you know that someone is going to die, you just never quite know until the very last second exactly how they are going to die.

In the later stages FD5 seems to be a little more reliant on the homicidal aspect of things. Where if one of the predestined deaths takes the life of an innocent, death will pass them by. It’s a race to see who will murder or fall victim to death’s manipulation as the movie winds through the typical Final Destination plot lines.

GGG

MOVIES

B

Review

ack in 1999 a little movie arrived on the scene which pretty much defined its own side genre of horror movies.

That movie was the ‘Blair Witch Project’. From that day ‘found-footage’ films have been use as a key source of revenue for movie studios due mainly to their particularly low budgets and extraordinarily high profits.

As an example one of the most recent of the ‘found-footage’ genre, ‘Paranormal Activity’, was purchased

by Paramount for $350,000 – it went on to rake in $194 million worldwide – thus is believed to be the most profitable film ever made. Even with a higher budget the 2nd move in the franchise cost only $3 million to make and raked in $177 million worldwide.

Regrettably Apollo 18 goes a long way to prove that not every found-footage situation can deliver a pleasurable time at the cinema or be as much of a success. You would think that the perfect setting for another of these movies and a natural progression would outer space. After all it has spawned a fair few movies from all kinds of slants and stories that it shouldn’t be too hard to transfer to this new arena. However, Apollo 18 fails on pretty much all of the areas you would expect it to excel. It fails to build tension, provide genuine scary moments, or add anything really to

sci-fi folklore. Instead it borrows from other outer space horror films but proceeds to implement them in

pretty much telegraphed and done using a ‘scary movie 101’ type theme.

With scenes setups like this there are very few acceptably erratic moments in the film which would suggest a true ‘found-footage’ scenario. When Apollo 18 does get to the big payoff it has already failed to build tension sufficiently and in a believable fashion so the closing scenes kind of trundle along as anticipated.

less interesting ways.

One of the worst characteristics of the film is the cameras that we are to believe recorded this found-footage.

With this type of movie the camera is the most important thing however, the camera work in Apollo 18 is unexciting in some scenes stomachturning.

The story of Apollo 18 tracks three astronauts who are sent on a top secret mission to the moon in December of 1974 with the goal of installing a series of surveillance transmitters… or so they think. Two of the astronauts land on the moon, while the other stays in orbit in another spaceship, and soon realize that something is wrong in one of the moons craters. As the mission progresses the situation becomes increasingly unusual - and the astronauts begin to suspect that they are not alone.

Found-footage horror movies aren’t necessarily about accomplished acting or character creation - they’re about creating tension and intense scares. On paper, the Apollo 18 story seems like it has a sure-fire setting to be a hit at the box office - however on the screen, the film fails at nearly every single element that made prior found-footage stories enjoyable.

There are pretty much no real surprises in the film, like an ageing boxing champ with 1 too many fights under his belt the scary moments are SEP 2011 - issue (9)

Where the shocks in other movies are shown using mostly static shots Apollo 18 leans more toward a run of frantic moving and or shaky shoots that do little to add interest or create true tension.

If you are still not completely satisfied with your fill of ‘foundfootage’ movies then I suppose Apollo 18 does have something for you. After all, not all movies can be worldwide blockbusters or even indie classics so I suppose I could be being a little over critical of this particular movie. Mainly due to the trailer hinting at so much more than what was eventually delivered so if you are going to see the movie I’d recommend not watching the trailer first.

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MOVIES

NEW RELEASES THIS MONTH IN SELECTED CINEMAS NOW !!!!!

Fright Night (15) / Walt Disney Apollo 18 (15)/ Entertainment Films 3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Esctasy (18) / Metrodome

Attenberg (18)/ Artificial Eye Kill List (18)/ Optimum Releasing Robotropolis (15)/ Metrodome The Art of Getting By (12A) / 20th Century Fox

Self Made (15)/ Cornerhouse Friends With Benefits (15)/ Sony Pictures Jane Eyre (PG) / Universal Pictures Colombiana (15)/ Entertainment Films Troll Hunter (15)Momentum 30 Minutes or Less (15)/ Sony Pictures The Change-Up (15)/ Universal Episode 50 (15)/ Metrodome Don’t Know How She Does It (12A) / Metrodome

Mausam (12A) / Eros Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (15) / Optimum Releasing You Instead (15)/ Icon

Judy Moody And The Bummer Summer (PG)/ Universal Crazy, Stupid, Love (12A)/ Warner Bros.

Drive (18)/ Icon Killer Elite (15)/ Entertainment Films Mademoiselle Chambon (12A)/ Axiom Films Page One: A Year Inside The New York Times (15)/ Dogwoof 30 Minutes Or Less (15)/ Sony Pictures Abduction (12A)/ Lionsgate UK The Debt (15)/ Universal Green Wave (15)/ Dogwoof Melancholia (15)/ Artificial Eye Red State (18)/ E1 Shark Night (15)/ Entertainment Film What’s Your Number? (15)/ 20th Century Fox *** Some details are subject to change - please check online or with cinema directly for latest information.

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MOVIES

2

GG Quiz

1 In homage to the invisables creators we have we have painstakingly removed the actors from these film stills.

Can you guess the movies...???

4

3

5 on Answers ck inside ba page !

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I

MOVIES Review

f you had to pick a name for your latest creepy movie creation “Jerry the Vampire” I’m sure would not be top of your list. Like something from a ‘Universal’ rated movie or a low budget US sitcom.

However let me tell you Jerry, brought to life by Colin Ferrell in the new remake of Fright Night, is very, very scary.

Decked out like a Harley riding 50’s rocker, short black hair and tightfitting clothes, Jerry oozes attitude even when he’s not really saying or doing much. Forget any suffocating levels of teenage angst to attract the female admirers; the sight of

Colin Farrell proves his comedy credentials once more in this surprisingly effective horror remake. his bare shoulders in a sleeveless T, combined with his smouldering eyes, is sufficient to set feminine hearts fluttering.

Words don’t seem to come easy to Jerry, the rhythm of his speech varies -- sentences snapped off in military cadence one time, the next statement stretched out with pauses on an irregular beat, as though he’s actually thinking about what he’s going to say next. It’s unnerving.

Ferrell brings the menace in equal measure with bad-boy charm, so that Jerry comes across as a dark, handsome stranger with whom you might want to do bad, bad things, the kind of things that you’d never consider doing in the light of day.

Which make sense, because Jerry is very much a creature of the night.

Our story begins when Jerry moves next door to Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) and his mother Jane (Toni Collette) in a typical suburban development in some isolated part of Las Vegas. Charley is a good kid, a well-adjusted former geek who is surprisingly dating high school beauty Amy (Imogen Poots). Charley Page 30

A QUICK LOOK AT SOME NEW MOVIES OUT THIS MONTH... likes his life as it is now, and he really doesn’t want to listen to his best friend Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) when Ed points out that one of their friends has gone missing, along with some of their other high school classmates.

Ed is still a geek, and their missing friend is a geek too, but Charley has moved on and left that life far behind him. Worried about recent goings on Ed blackmails Charley into coming along to investigate what might have happened, and then reveals that he is convinced that Charleys’ new neighbour Jerry is a vampire. Naturally, Charley begins mocking Ed, and it’s not until Charley is presented with incontrovertible proof that he realizes he has to do something to protect those who are closest to him.

Fright Night differs from a lot of your typical remakes by not being overly similar to the original 1985

from the original script, crumpled it up and tossed it in the waste bin and then kinda wrote their own take on the movie. Maybe rehashing some key points for fans of the original for comic value.

What they did do however, for something that bears the Fright Night name anyway, is capture the original spirit of the movie. The new movie brings along with it a fair amount of dramatic weight, and scores well in the action, suspense, and thriller areas. Yet, conscious of its place in a post-Twilight movie world, the remake displays an apt sense of humour, with the comic bits serving as tension-breaking asides rather than as the main course.

The cast, which includes David Tennant as a Las Vegas performer, Sandra Vergara as his unhappy girlfriend, and Emily Montague as Jerry’s unlucky date, is very good, with Collette as a sensible mother, Poots as a sexy, supportive, and reasonable girlfriend, and Mintz-Plasse adding levels of comedy by his presence and body language. Surprising for me but old Doctor Who himself and Bathgate boy David Tennant does well in his performance but I can’t help but wonder just when the Tardis is going to appear, maybe just too soon for me (sniff, sniff).

film. It follows a similar idea, but at some stage it seems like the writers decided they had learned enough SEP 2011 - issue (9)

GGGG

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GAMING ITV documentary in IRA computer game blunder!

TV has apologised after footage it said was from an IRA propaganda video was in fact from a computer game.

the mistake was “an unfortunate result of human error”.

The website PC Gamer first raised concerns about the footage which showed black smoke pouring out of the stricken aircraft.

The pictures were used in “Exposure”, a documentary that is aired on ITV1 this month which focused on Colonel Gadaffi’s links with the republican movement.

It claimed footage labelled “IRA film 1988” was of terrorists using Libyan weapons to shoot down the aircraft.

The pictures were in actual fact from a game called ArmA 2. ITV has said

In a statement ITV said: “The events featured in Exposure: Gaddafi and the IRA were genuine but it would appear that during the editing process the correct clip of the 1988 incident was not selected and other footage was mistakenly included in the film by producers.

GG GAMES CHARTS GG GAMES CHARTS

“On a somewhat more positive note, we consider this as a bizarre appreciation of the level of realism incorporated into our games,” he added.

ITV has taken the documentary off its catch-up service ITV Player.

The Top 10 games for Playstation, Xbox and PC as voted by GoGuide

The Top 10 games for Playstation, Xbox and PC as voted by GoGuide2

X-BOX

DiRT 3 Red Dead Redemption Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood Grand Theft Auto Episodes from Liberty City Mortal Kombat

DiRT 3 Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Brink Halo: Reach Call of Juarez: The Cartel

no. 10

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PC

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Call of Ex: Duty:Human Modern Warfare 3 Deus Football Manager 2012 Revolution Battlefield 3 The Sims 3: Pets The Sims 3: The Sims 3 Generations The Sims 3: Generations RageSims 3 The The Sims 3: Late Night Football LA Noire Manager 2011

The Sims Medieval World of Warcraft: Cataclysm The Sims Medieval: Pirates and Nobles The Sims 3: Late Night StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty Portal 2

X-BOX

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 The Elder V: Skyrim Deus Ex: Scrolls Human Battlefield 3 Revolution FIFA 12 Forza Motorsport 4 Driver: San Francisco Batman: Arkham City Rugby CupTwo 2011 Kinect World Sports: Season Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure Madden NFL 12 Gears of War 3 CallRage of Duty: Black Ops

PS3

no. 13 1 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Deus Ex: Human 3 Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception Revolution 4 Battlefield 3 5 FIFA 12San Francisco Driver: 6 Batman: Arkham City Rugby World2012 Cup 2011 7 Pro Evolution 8 F1 2011 Madden NFL 12 9 Sonic Generations 10 Reloaded CallGoldenEye: of Duty: Black Ops

PC

PS3

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Marek Spanel, chief executive of the game’s developer Bohemia Interactive Studio, told games website Spong that he was unsure how ITV had made such an “obvious” error.

GAMING FEATURE

I

- XtendPlay -

XtendPlay for Xbox 360 and PlayStation: The Better Way to Play.

mproved ergonomics empowering better game play.

That’s what XtendPlay is all about. While its form factor is unusual, how it looks takes a back seat to how it works.

Video game controllers emphasize functionality over ergonomics and optimum performance. Clenching a small, tapered, hard plastic object can lead to fatigue and soreness in the fingers and hands, sweaty-palm syndrome, and challenged posture; all of which hurt your performance.

Better Ergonomics = Better Performance.

Weighing in at just 5 ounces and made of extremely durable softtouch material that strikes the right balance between flexibility and rigidity, XtendPlay overcomes these issues.

won’t slip into bad posture while playing. It looks unusual but form follows function with XtendPlay.

Available for PlayStation and Xbox 360.

XtendPlay for Xbox 360 is compatible with many wired headsets, Razer Onza controllers, and the OnLive Micro Console controller.

Review “Once you first look at it, you kind of wonder how this is going to work?

It just makes the controller bigger right? Wrong; though it may make the surface bigger but it also is very soft.

After that, I sat there for a good 2030 minutes deciding whether or not I liked the feel of it. It is not a normal controller, it is bigger and softer.

With longer periods of gaming you will notice your fingers tense up, and often times begin to cramp. I know I had always had this problem happen to me, as I game for 6-12 hours at a time. With the XtendPlay it did exactly as the name implies. It allowed me to game longer without the stiff fingers or cramping.

XBOX

Increased Accuracy and Precision: Securely holding the controller, its shape allows your fingers to remain in a more relaxed position during game play, reducing tension and fatigue in your hands. With XtendPlay all your hand/finger energy goes into playing the game, so accuracy and precision increase--and remain high over entire gaming sessions.

Improved Reaction Time: Airflow Channels strategically placed around XtendPlay’s textured surface promote air circulation to help keep hands and fingers cool and dry, bettering your grip, which improves reaction time.

Enhanced Stability and Control:

PS3

XtendPlay’s size and shape fill the negative space between your body and the controller, boosting stability by allowing XtendPlay to rest up against your midsection or on your lap in a more ergonomic way. This not only enhances control, it unburdens the upper body, so your arms, shoulders, even upper back and neck remain tension free and you SEP 2011 - issue (9)

If there was any gaming peripheral you should get your hands on it is the XtendPlay. If you find yourself getting cramps in your fingers after extensive gaming then I suggest finding an XtendPlay. Without it, I am sure my long gaming sessions would be the death of my hands.

Overall though this is a very good product; it is comfortable and unique at the same time. You will not find anything like it that is as comfortable and cost effective.”

FULL Review from thegamingexperience.net/ xtendplay/

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GAMING REVIEW

F

1 2011 is as usual available for the Xbox 360, Playstation and PC and the big question on everyone’s lips is should I buy or not? So we will try to give you enough details in this short review to hopefully decide if it is actually any good.

The first thing that impresses you with this new release is that it looks stunning. The graphics look absolutely astounding and incredibly life-like and the gameplay is really decent as well. Steering and brakes are stand outs as extremely well put together and the overall handling of your car is generally very responsive and you can even control KERS and DRS, just like in real life.

Players can choose to either take part in the Formula 1 championship or just individual races with the expected full roster of real-life drivers; Page 42

Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso etc. etc. etc. You will also be happy to hear that the two new tracks in India and Germany are both represented in the game.

The career mode allows you to work your way up from a simple F1 rookie driving for a lesser team, through the ranks until you hopefully reach world champion driving standard with one of the fastest cars around.

With F1 2011 there is also a real push towards multiplayer gaming with an option for 1 on 1 racing using a split screen mode that either lets you have 1 off races OR lets you and your chosen opponent drive for the same team across a full season where you can try to win the constructors championship and come out as the best driver. There is also a full blown multiplayer mode where up to 15 other people can race against each other online for top honours.

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The previous version of F1 went on to collect numerous awards for its impressive gameplay, and it seem that the 2011 version could be hot on its heels due to its plethora of impressive brand new innovations. The main one which jumps out at me is how the new AI of your competing cars seems to be way more adaptable to changing race conditions and they now make far better decisions during races hence making your job of winning races a damn sight harder.

Great graphics, great gameplay with some really nice new features so I’d guess even a non-driving fan could get a good deal of enjoyment from F1 2011 and those who thrive on tinkering will have an even better experience.

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H

aving stolen the crown from Pro Evolution Soccer a few years ago, the current most popular football game made its triumphant return on cue this September.

For a good few years Pro Evo dominated this genre of gaming and seemed to make the best game year on year, Fifa however had the big names in the bag and over time the games slowly began to creep together in terms of graphics and gameplay. Then the technology behind both games engines looked pretty on a par with each other, at that point there was really only ever going to be 1 winner in my eyes.

These days the annual releases have reached their maximum potential and now only offer small changes year to year and the obligatory player upgrades.

The big changes this year for Fifa 12 seem to be focused squarely at the opposing teams AI and we see the computer controlled players appear-

ing to be far more observant, they can intercept your passes and make passes a lot better, they can dribble through your defence.

A new defence system has also been introduced that makes things a little more difficult than simply running around tackling opponents.

Now you can also stay locked on to a player with the ball, annoying him by staying in his passing and shooting spaces while also force him into areas you want him to go into.

There is a pretty intricate tutorial for this but persistence doses pay off big time.

EA has kept the game modes the same in version 12 with ‘Ultimate Team’; where you open packs of cards to build your team, keep your team healthy and extend contracts; ‘Be a Pro’ which lets you create your own player and play for a preferred team of your choice and you can even reach the dizzy heights of playing for your country. The final mode is ‘Manager’ that allows you to take complete control of a team and having to extend contracts, buy and sell players etc. and reach your goals.

The online game mode is what can make or break a sports game nowadays but Fifa unfortunately can get very laggy and you seem to suffer SEP 2011 - issue (9)

from a mass of foreign connections which perhaps causes the problem for me? Perhaps a system where you could choose a limited play area with only people in the UK with gamers closer to you would have been a nice touch.

To round things up and a quick recap I must point out that the graphics are simply spot on and seem to get better with each release. The player impact engine adds even more realism to the play with players now seeming to properly react when they run into or trip over a player.

The AI is now super smart and certainly does give you a far more challenging game now.

In saying that if you are on a budget and already have Fifa 11 you might just find that there are simply not enough new features or improvements in this v12 of the game to justify buying the newest edition every year. If that’s the case maybe stick with 11 and pick up 12 when it’s in the pre-owned section.

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GAMING

Y

REVIEW

ou know what they say, “If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it” well Call of Duty : Modern Warfare 3 takes that saying and sticks fairly rigidly to it as millions of gamers certainly can’t be wrong. MW version 3 simply takes this opportunity to remind you why its franchise is one of the best in town.

When the guys behind Call of Duty decided that the Modern Warfare aspect deserved its own mini-series it took with it an exhilarating campaign mode, but more important than that, its phenomenal multiplayer mode blazed a trail for most other modern first-person shooters. Each year these elements are tweaked and refined until it has become one of the defining games of this generation.

This time round MW3 provides gamers with yet another tense campaign to play out, with rapid and aggressive gameplay. Even if it is just ‘more of the same’ it still manages to sucks you in and is rewarding and challenging enough to keep you completely absorbed and hugely satisfying.

The story starts where Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 ended. Makarov, is still at large and it doesn’t take our pair of heroes, Soap and Price, too

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long to get back in the search for him, and soon you’re travelling the globe in trying to capture/kill the illusive gentleman.

One of the most satisfying and stand out moments in the game are when you are involved in battles that tend to consume entire cities. From New York City to London to Paris, it seems nowhere is safe in MW3 and through the game we see a procession of iconic cities destroyed in the most electrifying and graphically amazing ways I have ever seen.

The backgrounds do seem to give the action more impact, and the campaign mode moves you around to various areas inside each city so you can experience the action from many viewpoints. The elements of previous games have not been lost and remain in place in order to keep the superb pacing that made the previous campaigns so great.

Remote air support control, on-foot fire fights, and edge of the seat vehicle sequences keep the campaign charging along in these urban

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environments.

The Modern Warfare 3 campaign does have has a few surprises along the way that will no doubt make heavy fans of the games beam with excitement and have you fist pumping the air. We won’t go into detail but highlights include a jet flight gone wrong and a Parisian streets chase to name but 2. There are scenes in this edition of the game that are played out in a slightly deeper manner than previously but when you encounter these in the natural course of the campaign it is not a particularly emotionally fraught campaign and brings the Modern Warfare story to a very filling conclusion.

Special Ops mode returns, after its debut in Modern Warfare 2, and offers 16 one-off missions that supplement the things that occur in the campaign mode very well, letting you see new sides of the global war in which you find yourself embroiled in. There are a good variety of missions with one needing some stealth when escorting resistance fighters across to simply blasting your way through huge numbers of enemy troops in a Juggernaut suit. The variable difficulty of these levels give hours of challenging combat and even though the longest missions can be completed in less than 10 minutes so are brilliant for a quick fix. You can also now tackle almost every mission on your own and make a bid to see yourself on the illustrious leaderboard.

Spec Ops also brings you a new ‘Survival Mode’, with even more occasion for either cooperative, or solo adventures. In Survival Mode you see yourself faced with wave after wave of increasingly difficult AI troops and take place on the same maps you would use in the competitive multiplayer areas.

The biggest thrill comes in MW3 when you take your skills learned in the campaign mode and Spec Ops missions on to the specialist MW servers and into the world of online competitive multiplayer mode.

Hitting the servers will be a familiar experience for anyone who has played the previous versions of the games. The fast paced action and rewarding experience point system are still as good in this version as they have always been and the small changes that have been made make it even easier to enjoy.

One enjoyable feature missing from this title that was available in Call of Duty: Black Ops is the Combat Training mode. This mode allowed you to ‘train’ in a SEP 2011 - issue (9)

simulated multiplayer environment with AI opponents, so anyone new to multiplayer gaming (is there any?) will need to jump in firmly with both feet to fully enjoy MW3.

The 16 online maps give a good range of arenas for the action take place. Bomb planting, flag grabbing, territory controlling, and straightforward killing form the mainstay of matches, with one new mode in Kill Confirmed.

This mode turns a few things on their head and requires you to collect tags from dead bodies in order to actually register your kills. Confirming a kill or denying an enemy kill by collecting a slain partner’s tags is as important a new tactical element.

Modern Warfare 3 still offers the same pleasure and satisfaction you’ve come to expect from the series and some of the best online shooter action from any other game around, and with the challenges of Spec Ops and a great campaign mode.

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MOVIES

ANSWERS

GG Quiz

1

Sucker Punch

2

r Tropic Thunde

3

ORPHAN

4

FIGHT

CLUB

5

Did you hear about the Morgans?

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CLASSIC MOVIE POSTERS 101

Blazing Saddles is a 1974 satirical Western comedy film directed by Mel Brooks. Starring Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder, the film was written by Brooks, Andrew Bergman, Richard Pryor, Norman Steinberg, and Al Uger. Based on a Bergman story the movie was nominated for three Academy Awards.

Brooks appears in multiple supporting roles, including Governor William J. Le Petomane and a Yiddish-speaking Indian chief. The supporting cast also includes Slim Pickens, Alex Karras, and David Huddleston, as well as Brooks regulars Dom DeLuise, Madeline Kahn, and Harvey Korman.

The film satirizes the racism obscured by myth-making Hollywood accounts of the American West, with the hero being a black sheriff in an all white town. The film is full of deliberate anachronisms, from the Count Basie Orchestra playing April in Paris in the Wild West to a rustler referring to the Wide World of Sports.

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