Is Everything Still Awesome The Second Time Around?
Reviewing kid’s movies is a very hard thing to do. In times past it was easy to dismiss them as reviewers tend to not be the intended audience. Over the last 10 years since the release of Pixar’s Toy Story, the family film was completely reinvented to appeal to all ages and what was originally intended just for the young, opened itself up to the young at heart. The wild success of the Lego Movie and its spin off’s have created a universe of self aware and vey meta films that kids love because well it’s Lego and adults can get a great kick out of with notable comedic voice actors and in jokes to stop us from being bored. The Lego Movie 2 : The Second Part is a few years overdue, it’s no secret that the movie hasn’t fared too well at the box office in the USA, and while it could be chalked up to the time of year for release or the disappointing Lego Ninjago movie that may have put people off, the cold hard fact is that it has simply been too long since the first film and with the events starting off directly after the first film, it does get the film off to a rocky start.
like Gotham City Guys where Batman sings lines like “We’re Affleck level hot and Oprah level rich” Additionally there is a song that will definitely get stuck inside your head (and more importantly your kids heads!) The music aspect was an odd addition at first, particularly when it wasn’t something that was really advertised as part of the movie’s previews. Surprisingly the soundtrack is amazing and has some great artists like Robyn, Beck and T-Pain contributing.
Thematically this movie is incredible. It introduces the younger sister (in the real world) to this mix and her sense of love and wonder is reflected in a lot of the Lego characters in the film. There is much more interaction with the real world in this film, and while Will Ferrell is nowhere to be seen, it is time for Maya Rudolph to be introduced as the Mum. She is entertaining and funny as she she is expected to be. There is one point where one of the characters sings these lines “I never cheat, I never lie, I never laugh when children cry. I never cry when I’m along at night, because I’m not The residents of Bricksburg are still reelsad I love my life” It is such a strong and ing after the invasion of Duplo which powerful message to be coming from has turned their once beloved city into a children’s film. There is also a strong Apocalypseburg, roughly resembling the sense of female in this film with three wasteland of the Mad Max films. The Du- female leads, all who have different perplo invaders often attack any new buildsonalities, different sense of humour and ings that are constructed and grenades surprisingly the story gives Wildstyle the in the form of love hearts and yellow stars lead just as much as Emmett. There is a keep the destruction entertaining. Emreally great surprise cameo in here that I mett (Chris Pratt) has a premonition of won’t spoil but it definitely is one of the the entire world being destroyed into the highlights of the movie. Bin of Store-ahge. After Lucy (Elizabeth Banks), Unikitty ( ) and Batman (Will Arnett) are captured by Queen Whatvr’wanabi (Tiffany Haddish) who convinces Batman to marry her so everything will be right in the world. Emmett chases after them and runs into Rex Dangervest (also voiced by Pratt) who is a caricature mix of Pratt’s high profile roles in films so far. This time around the film is more of a musical with some great meta songs
The animation is just as beautiful as it was in the first film, in particular they really seemed to have nailed making water look incredibly real with lego pieces. It does look very visually different to the previous film, it is nowhere near as colourful and a lot of dark tones and browns were used, particularly in Apocalypseburg. Adding in the lego raptors and new characters in both Lego and Duplo bricks are very well done. They look incredible and are solid additions to the series (hopefully will stick around moving forward). Overall The Lego Movie 2 : The Second Part is another solid entry in the Lego franchise. While it does suffer from being released way too late after the first film, there is enough humour, heart and a great story to make a decent entry in the series. Both the young and young at heart will enjoy this film. While it may take a good half hour or so to adjust to the new direction and musical element of the instalment, it ultimately pays off in the end proving that there are still a few bricks left in this franchise.
Watch our video review here Live March 21
In Aussie Cinemas March 21
Our newest writer Seth takes on Robert Rodriguez’s latest big budget spectacular
Alita: Battle Angel takes place 300 years after the Fall – one of those scifi apocalypses they don’t tell you a lot about, so the big reveal at the end surprises you. When we first meet Alita (Rosa Salazar), our heroine doesn’t even know her real name. She is discovered in a scrapyard by Dr. Ido (Christoph Waltz), a surgeon who mainly works on cyborgs and humans with metal parts. Suffering from amnesia, Alita quickly realizes that she can assassinate anyone who crosses her path like its her destiny.
Iron City, a near-dystopia right underneath the aerial city Zalum, is an overcrowded metropolis. Most of its inhabitants dream of ascending to the supposed paradise above them, but the only way up is by becoming the final champion of a dangerous sport called motorball. Most of its competitors are here to score points to get to that number one spot on the scoreboard, and are willing to kill for it. The motorball sequences are thrilling and fast. Alita discovers her hidden abilities by accident and wants to start using them more so she can remember who she really is. In brief flashbacks, slowly the bigger picture becomes clearer as we progress through the story. Her past and what exactly is going on up there in Zalum, are the two main mysteries. She is something else, something different and in many ways superior. But she’s also capable of human emotion – love hurts. This is the first leading role for Rosa Salazar (who’s most recent role was in Netflix’s Bird Box), but her performance – which is completely motion-capture – is aside of Andy Serkis’, one of the most impressive I’ve ever seen. She embodies the character and you can’t help but feel and root for her. Supporting cast includes Jennifer Connelly, Ed Skrein, Jack-
ie Earle Haley and most importantly the always sophisticated Mahershala Ali who only has a small role, but an important one, as the bad guy who’s possessed as a vessel by the mostly unseen villain.
Producer James Cameron, who has been wanting to direct Alita for the last 20 years, also co-wrote the film. The reason why he didn’t direct this one is because his Avatar-sequels are taking up all of his time.
Robert Rodriguez has showed us potential with Desperado and Sin City, but after going quiet for 5 years (his last film was the unsatisfying sequel to Sin City), he’s back and better than ever before. “Alita: Battle Angel” is a vivid sci-fi epic that lives up to its potential while leaving you wanting more.
Review by Seth Eelen
Brittany pilots up with Brie Larson for the first Marvel female superhero film.
In the magazine for May 2018, Novastream released an article celebrating the many woman of Marvel. We have space duelling sisters, a rebellious inventing princess, and even a once Russian spy. But no one is like Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel. After a mission gone wrong, Vers (aka Carol Danvers/ Captain Marvel) is separated from her militant Kree unit and captured by the shapeshifting alien race: the Skrull. Her memories are invaded and after a daring escape, she finds herself on Earth. With her Kree unit almost a day away, she is left to stop the Skrull alien invasion with the help of S.H.E.I.L.D Agent Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), ex-pilot Maria Rambeau, and Goose the ginger cat.
Fury incredibly throughout the entire film while also making young Agent Coulson’s (Clark Gregg) de-aging quite unnerving. Although Coulson is not a major role, his intermittent appearances throughout the film are not up to the standard of Fury. Granted, his ‘intermittent appearances’ would be the very reason for this. For a character not shown often, high-quality visual effects are better put elsewhere. The other CG elements, like Goose the cat at times, were very well accomplished. This gorgeous ginger isn’t just passed in the hallway as shown in the trailer either but is the source of multiple laughs and a key plot point to the whole cinematic universe.
However, like Coulson’s unnervThe story itself, as with many ing de-aged face, Captain Marspace travel films, relies heavily vel’s head doesn’t mix well with on exposition during the opening its surroundings during huge scenes. There is always a necesfight scenes. In saying this, the sity for this when there’s various drop in graphics here doesn’t planets, alien races, and religious actually take away from the maglike politics at play. There is room nificent spectacle that Captain for improvement, but Captain Marvel’s powers create. Marvel, like it’s hero, wanted to get to the action. And once the titular character starts her own journey, the audience is locked in by wonderful characters, quirky 90s references, and all of its ties to other Marvel films. Captain Marvel has succeeded to de-age
Because when Captain Marvel uses her powers the audience bares witness to a beautiful cinematic display of multiple supernovas exploding across the screen. From when her powers are restrained to when she releases full potential, her powers are a vibrant collision of colours aided by her witty colourful smirk.
but she will do anything to do what’s right. She’s flawed, and she is exactly what I wanted in a hero. Brie Larson portrays all this perfectly with her rambunctious attitude and devilmay-care tactics. And every element makes sense, drawn from her persistence to go higher, further, and faster because no one was going to hold her back.
Now, Captain Marvel herself is nothing like the heroes that came before her but also draws from their qualities and faults. These faults are, by no means, criticisms but something that needs to be praised. Because a character without faults is a character no one can relate to. She has Captain America’s attitude to keep fighting, Iron Man’s wise cracks, and Thor’s honour.
So, don’t let anything hold you back from seeing Captain Marvel. It’s funny and cinematic with a captivating new hero everyone can enjoy. The visual effects may let it down at times, but when they get those visuals right it is a spectacle to behold. And as a lead up to Avengers: End Game, I couldn’t have asked for a better film.
But more important, she’s her own hero. She doesn’t quite fill her boots yet and she’s over eager. She’s hot headed, intense,
Review by Brittany Howarth
I H L b t w p t h
Time to take your Dad to the movies Find out what Seth thought of the team up movie here.
T n a p s a B h o d R r ( w in w t
T o b I fi e g
T c t s r in
In 2015, a gang of pensioners broke into Hatton Garden Safe Deposit in central London, a heavily fortified vault used by the local diamond dealers to store their valuables. Their massive catch was worth a staggering 14 million British pounds and it made headlines all over the world. It is the biggest heist in British history.
The cast is led by Michael Caine and his native cockney accent. Caine plays Brian Reader, a London thief who made a promise to his late wife that he would stay out of trouble after her death. But after meeting young computer expert Basil (Daredevil himself – Charlie Cox), he finally gets the opportunity to realize one of his dreams by emptying all the deposit boxes kept in Hatton Garden. Reader and fellow team members Terry Perkins (Jim Broadbent), John Collins (Tom Courtenay) and Daniel Jones (a wonderful Ray Winstone) banter about ncontinence and hip replacements, which becomes repetitive sooner than they can crack open a safe.
The film turns a bit darker in its second half when old rivalries arise and back-stabbing becomes the main focus. In the meantime, the police force identifies the crooks almost immediately and everything starts to blow up into our old gang’s faces.
The film relies too hard on its well known cast to attract audiences, but somehow these actors don’t work well together on screen. It’s nice to see Mr. Caine in a lead role at his age, but some of his supportng castmembers just seem miscast and
come across unbelievable. There’s no character development or background, most of them don’t seem to have a private life or family. King of Thieves really should have been more interesting than it actually is. It felt like a chore to watch this film, directed by Oscar-winner James Marsh (The Theory of Everything). Joe Penhall‘s (Mindhunter) screenplay makes grumpy old men throw around F-bombs and homophobic insults at each other like there’s no tomorrow. The jokes don’t land and nothing feels suspenseful whatsoever. The true story falls flat when the tone of the story doesn’t connect with its genre and performances. The director tried to make this into some kind of a tribute with flashbacks/snippets to some older heist movies this gang of British legends were in, such as The Italian Job, Scum and Billy Liar. But it just seems like they’re trying too hard to make this into something it’s not. King of Thieves could’ve worked with a rewrite and a different director. In the hands or Marsh and his docudrama style, it didn’t.
Gone are the days of tights and cowls. Today, superheroes have evolved to become: emotionally unstable with a lot of daddy issues. What might this look like? Well, The Umbrella Academy of course. On one fateful day in 1989, over 43 children were born to women who had previously shown no signs of pregnancy. Seven went on to be adopted by billionaire Sir Reginald Hargreeves, six of which turned out to have extraordinary abilities. One of these six didn’t reach adulthood, another disappeared as a child. And the seventh was nothing exceptional. After their father’s death, five of the children return home only to be confronted by their lost brother who doesn’t look to have aged a day. What’s more, he comes baring news of the world’s demise. In short, The Umbrella Academy is a warped view of what the X-men would have become if Charles Xavier wasn’t a humanitarian but an apathetic father. The characters have been superbly cast and maintain a strong chemistry throughout the series. And this chemistry doesn’t stop at the adopted brothers and sister but continues to two Time Assassins that often steal the show.
Cha-Cha (Mary J. Blige) and Hazel (Cameron Britton) are the best at what they do, but it doesn’t always mean they like it. The pair deliver an amazing dry sense of humour based on Hazel’s disenchantment with the job while also creating some intense fight scenes and wild arson trips. They’ve taken the mundane nature of every day work and crammed it into this high-stake environment which leaves the audience equally entertained by their work related squabbles and gun slinging job. But it’s the children from the Umbrella Academy that are the real focus of this series. They were: Number One aka Luther (Tom Hopper), Number Two aka Diego (David Castaneda), Number Three aka Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman), Number Four aka Klaus (Robert Sheehan), Number Five
(Aidan Gallagher), Number Six aka Ben (Justin H. Min), and Number Seven aka Vanya (Ellen Page). Although the cast indeed worked wonderfully together, there were varying levels of skill in their performances. It was Ellen Page, Robert Sheehan, and Aidan Gallagher who all proved themselves as formidable actors and although the other siblings were admirable, they lacked the captivation that these three delivered. Gallagher, who is currently 15, spends the majority of the series portraying a 50 year old stuck in an adolescent’s body. But the young actor does such a convincing job that the audience doesn’t bat an eyelid at him blending up an icy cocktail or commandeering a van to stalk a doctor.
Then there’s Robert Sheehan who was born for the scallywag role (which we’ve already seen him accomplish in Misfits). But as the series progresses we see that he has the potential for so much more. He starts as the family’s black sheep, addicted to drugs and stealing from his deceased dad to fund the habit. But the perfect and slow peeling away of his character reveals a torturous past and a lonelier present. Sheehan pulls the audience into the character’s grief and before you know it, the laughter at Klaus’ antics turn to hearth break. The last character dissection worthy of note is Ellen Page. She plays the unextraordinary seventh child named Vanya. While growing up she was excluded from lessons and games, and as an adult she is near completely isolated. The simple lack of confidence at the series’ beginning is very evident, only highlighted more by her gradual progression towards confidence throughout the series. In an attempt to not spoil the plot, you can rest assured that Page has helped develop a very intriguing character. The story itself does deviate from the comics but, in the page to screen transition, the changes have been for the best. Gone are the evil orchestra and Luthor head-transplant. Instead we get super serums and a more realistic evil. Well, as realistic as you can make
super powers. However, the story isn’t quite perfect. Each Member of the Umbrella Academy has their own intentions and goals which are all, to an extent, pulled together by the series end in their attempt to stop the apocalypse. During their adventures, they occasionally come together to contemplate a mystery that is often solved by Pogo conveniently strolling in with the answer. It’s this convenience, which happens more than once, that annoys me. There’s so much build up of mystery with the audience trying to pull together the puzzle pieces only to be given the answer by a character who had always been in the know. In short, it creates a pointlessness to the journey and undermines the value of each character’s conflict.
The design of the show seems to pull from a style between Gotham and Legion where turtlenecks are cool, no one has a mobile, and a dance number could happen at any moment. It’s a difficult style to keep a handle on, and unfortunately The Umbrella Academy doesn’t stay consistent with its look. The series is visually at its best when the characters are walking the halls of their childhood home (or should I say mansion?) or in Vanya’s grimy apartment. But when the scenes move into the suburbs or a local bar the magic is momentarily broken.
this level of digital design available outside of the movies gives me high hopes for the future of visual effects in television. Although the actors vary in talent, each have amazing chemistry in portraying the dysfunctional family that is The Umbrella Academy. You won’t find a perfect story and the aesthetics aren’t always on point, but the character development and emotional growth that they experience make for an exciting addition to the world of Super Heroes. The Umbrella Academy is now streaming exclusively on Netflix.
There was, however, a brilliant consistency with the academy’s Review by Brittany Howarth assistant, the chimpanzee named Pogo (Adam Godley). Yes, he may be a thorn in the side of the story, but he is visually amazing. Seeing
Seth discovers if the anti romantic comedy is the romantic movie you are looking for.
Rebel Wilson is the star in this romantic comedy that wants to make it very clear to you that rom-coms are dumb. But not really..
worked on films such as Set It Up and The Wedding Date – know exactly who their audience is by pulling the stops on everything cliché and then dismissing them with one-liners and the witty actThe movie opens with a young ing of Rebel Wilson, who is better Natalie being advised by her than we’ve ever seen her in anyboxed wine-drinking mother (an thing else before. The script also underutilized Jennifer Saunders) comments on the clichés that are that the best she can ever hope being used, subjects such as gay for is that someone might want to stereotypes and Natalie’s weight marry her for a visa. 20-ish years aren’t taboo in this smart comelater, Natalie is an architect living dy. in her tiny, sad New York apartment with her dog. After anothOther female castmembers er disappointing day at work, include Priyanka Chopra as where a wealthy client (Liam self-proclaimed “yoga ambasHemsworth) thinks that she’s just sador” and GLOW‘s Betty Gilpin there to bring him a coffee, she as the shy colleague. They don’t gets assaulted by a stranger on really get a lot of screen time or the subway who tries to steal her character development – unless purse. But when Natalie fights in their alternative romcom-uniback and ends up smacking her verse – but that might’ve been head against a metal pole, she intentional. wakes up in the hospital – but something doesn’t seem right… The ending is the cheesiest thing Her doctor is McDreamy 2.0, the you’ll probably see all year, but street outside is way too colourful you kinda know what you’re in and “New York doesn’t smell like for, when choosing this film on shit anymore.” When yesterday’s Netflix. Isn’t It Romantic isn’t for client suddenly pulls up in a limo the truly hardened cynic, who’ll and asks her out on a date, she gladly pick apart every single desoon realises she’s stuck inside a tail. But optimists will definitely kids-friendly romantic comedy – catch themselves smiling at the musical numbers incl. The all-feclever details and nods to older male writing team behind Isn’t rom coms. It Romantic – Erin Cardillo, Katie Silberman and Dana Fox who’ve
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Everything is MORE awesome in The Lego Movie 2 game, as the usual formula of replaying events from the source material in amusing lego form is completely flipped on its head and a new adventure awaits with the characters we have come to know and love from the first two films. Instead of the usual brick bashing, character collecting and containted environments, the designers have opened it up to a more open world adventure that feels a lot like the Lego Worlds game, however this time there is more refinement and an interesting story that seems to run adjacent to the movie that encourages exploration and creation that completely capture the spirit of the film.
has been removed. You do still accumulate different coloured bricks that will allow you to unlock characters and items as well as abilities. These can be collected from different bricks around the worlds as well as purchased in packs from stores on every planet. While in previous Lego titles it can be tiresome to find enough lego studs to purchase upgrades, this never felt like a problem in this game (and this is a completely positive thing!) I wasn’t relying on the stud multipliyer to access some great content. Travelling to Syspocalypstar, it is a totally sandbox environment in which you can utilise all of the items you have accumulated over the game and decorate to your hearts content. This is where the creation Using a spaceship as the main part of the game comes in. It is method of transport, you fly quite a large planet and is a great around differenty planets and way to keep the gameplay going solar systems inspired by both after the story and side missions films. A long the way you help the have been completed. There is local inhabitants and collect pur- some free and paid DLC coming ple glittery mega bricks (similar to and while nothing has been conthe ones from Lego Dimensions) firmed, it looks like we can keep to unlock items, characters and playing this game in tandem with more worlds to explore. It isn’t new content for Lego DC Super so easy to unlock characters as it Villains. has been in previous games and the re dand yellow brick system
The voice acting is well honestly not even remarkably close to the fantastic artisty that is displayed in the movie, it is a fresh take on the characters. The shock of the adjustment in gameplay at the start is a little jarring and did take some getting used to, particularly it has been a few years since the previous Lego movie game release. Another part of the appeal of this game is just how Lego this looks. Now stick with me, this does sound odd for a Lego game, but it really feels like extra care has been given to the Lego movie titles to look more constructed from Lego pieces to create and fill the world. This game does look spectacular (reviewed on the Nintendo Switch) and while there are painfully long loading times, there were no noticeable bugs or lags once the levels and worlds were loaded. The Lego Movie 2 Game is another great addition in the Lego game canon and offers a fresh and invigorating new perspective on the formula that seems to get refreshed every couple of years. Combining the great gameplay mechanics esablished in Lego Worlds and moving everything up scale with great graphics have resulted in one of the most addictive Lego experiences to date. Fortunately while the PS4, Xbox One and PC versions are all in tact, it is the move of the game to the Nintendo Switch and the ability to play in both handheld and docked mode that really make this the best version of this game. It is incredibly fun in short bursts on the go as well as big creation sessions docked on the big screen. The Lego Movie 2 Game is another solid entry in the gaming franchise and is available now on PS4, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch. Review by Alaisdair “Leithal� Leith
The skateboarding classic makes the jump to the Switch Can it translate well to the Nintendo console? Read Leithal’s review here
Playstation owned the skating genre with the exclusive release of indie stdio Roll 7’s Olli Olli and sequel Olli Olli Welcome To Olliwood. Fortunately the studio has been hard at work porting over the two games to the Nintendo Switch for more Ollicity and this time you can take it on the go (unless you are not counting the PS Vita version!) With intiutive controls using the unique Switch controls, these games are completely reimagined and look beautiful on the portable console. While the controls are quite simple, it is how the Joy-con HD rumble and gyro mechanics of the joy-con controllers that truly make this a game to master on the Switch.
The game is quite simple, it’s a skateboarding 2d platformer (I want to say – of sorts?) to progress in the game you master a variety of tricks to gain points and this unlocks the next level. The levels aren’t that long (about a minute or so) but the constant need to master the maximum amount of tricks and points give the game an extreme amount of replayability. Having both titles to pick and choose from is a great feature, particularly when you can take it all on the go. Visually the game is as beautiful as it always was, the colours and vibrance really pop on the Switch screen. The graphics have been upgraded to a smoother style for the console and looks great either in handheld or docked mode. This also goes hand in hand with the soundtrack, particularly in the second game which was always a stand out from the original release. OlliOlli Switch Stance manages to mix up the gameplay with a fresh new look with challenging controls and the beauty of portability with the Switch system. This is the perfect indie title to bring to this system and is definitely worth picking up. OlliOlli : Switch Stance is available via the Eshop on Nintendo Switch now. Review by Alaisdair “Leithal” Leith.
The first time I played this game was a quick demo at PAX in Melbourne last year. I was immediately enchanted by the look and gameplay that immediately invited me to slow down and take a minute to breathe, play and reflect. I had just moved to Melbourne not 3 days earlier and for several months my life was a whirlwind of packing, saying goodbye to friends and family, leaving my job that I loved and exchanging a life of beach side luxury to an inner city adventure. The timing of my first play of this game I believe, was serendipitous.
the form of letters from family that are delivered to your mailbox and interactions with a mailman and travelling trader occur daily. The macabre tone of the story are further solidified by the simplistic controls and feeling of seperation as the more letters and interactions you have get stranger as the game moves on.
Having moved here, I left everything and everyone I loved behind, it was a frightening and incredibly lonely experience, having this game to play in hand really spoke to what I was going through. While The Stillness Of The Wind is set on a farm, I collected letters in the game from famiyou control the character of Talma who ly, I read text messages and Facebook IM’s runs a family farm in the country, all of her from my own family. I collected eggs and relatives and friends have moved away to cheese from my in game animals, I bought the city leaving her to run the family on her fresh eggs and food from farmers from the own. During the day you take out an array Queen Victoria Markets. The game seemed of farming chores like collecting milk and to be existing in some alignment with my turning it into cheese, feeding the animals, new life and I collecting eggs and petting your animals so they are happy. Information comes in
sympathised with the pain and loss of living away from the ones you love. The game however revels in the mundane, Talma loves her farm and is dedicated to its upkeep and routine. The controls are fairily basic, I reviewed this on the Nintendo Switch with cursor based movement and action button keeps things pretty tame, while this does work for the game, it can seem fairly basic for some and was my only complaint about the game. Now if you know anything about me, you know that my favourite game of all time is Stardew Valley, while I knew that this game wasn’t going to be the same, I did enjoy that the goal of this game was not to build up your farm and revel in your earnings. There is a time element and a definite finish to the main story (only a few hours long) but the entire experience of isolation, time and family echoes through gorgeous animation, a well told story and journey that you will want to experience. The Stillness Of The
Wind gave solace to my craziness during a turmoilic time in my life. It forced me to slow down, to realise that while my family and friends are far away, they will always be close to me and that time doesn’t have to be something that is fast and fleeting. It is rare that a game crosses over from game to art, The Stilness Of The Wind breaks that barrier to deliver one of the most beautiful works of art available on the Nintendo Switch right now. It is also available on Steam.
Devil May Cry 5 is the latest instalment in the series that combines insane gameplay, bloody graphics and a great story. By utilising two previous characters Dante and Nero playing in tandem as well as introducing new character V, who is able to summon creatures that offer a different playing style for this franchise. This iteration goes leaps and bounds ahead of the previous entry by seemingly combining the fun of being able to use a gun and a sword to mix up gameplay, this time around Nero has changeable arms which allow for a variety of different blasters that really keep things entertaining. Story wise it is a continuation of the last game and while it has been a while, there is a great little reminder of what happened previously just in case you need a refresher. This time around the game starts off at the epic finale and clocks it back a few months to go through a series of different missions to explore how to get to the final fight. Dante takes the brunt of the fight and lets Nero and V escape the demon king Urizen. You play as all 3 characters, constantly mixing up the store, timeline and gameplay to explore how the three unite in the final fight. Combat is the main aim of this game, with a combination of weapon types switching between guns, swords and depending on your character you can use hand blasters and switch them up with different abilities on Nero, assign a panther, eagle or monster to attack your enemies. There are a ton of different upgrades and abilities to collect as you collect red blood orbs and different coloured crystals which will all help unlock more skills and abilities. Chaining together your attacks and skills is scored each time you enter into a fight and depending on the score you get, extra skill points are added for Stylish fighting.
Graphically this game is breathtaking and is a massive step forward from the previous version. The cut scenes are hyper photo realistic and the level of love and effort that has been put into them really shows. Similarly the gameplay itself is outstanding, regrettably there were a few issues with lag and some significant frame rate drops during intense gameplay. Similarly the camera sometimes gets stuck and makes it really hard to see and control in certain areas of the game. While this is a minor niggle, it really is the only complaint about this game. While the previous games have quite a reputation for being difficult, this one feels a bit easier. Even on the harder difficulty, the lack of puzzles this time around and the introduction of being able to use gold or red orbs to revive you after you have been killed is a great way for game progression, but it can take the edge off the difficulty that previous titles did have. While the puzzles have been removed, the addition of colossal enemies do prove to be quite challenging. Each one has its own unique style and needs a variety of different moves and mechanics to defeat it. There is so much to this game that you will want to keep exploring and finding different ways to mix up your fighting mechanics to get the Stylish bonus point. In this way there is a ton of deployability offered in this title and the story definitely warrants a second play through (something that I am currently doing!) The graphics are a significant upgrade from the previous title and this is reflected in the cut scenes as well as gameplay. Having three different characters and styles does help the story along and offers something fresh to the series. While there is a little stutter here and there with frame rates and camera angles, this game is still a crown in the Devil May Cry series. While it may not be my favourite, it does do a damn good job of moving the series along. Hopefully we won’t have to wait 8 years for the next instalment.
Crackdown 3 is an open-world third-person action shooter developed jointly by Sumo Digital Ltd and Elbow Rocket and published by Microsoft Studios for the Xbox One, and it’s the first Crackdown game to grace Windows 10 PC’s via Xbox Play Anywhere. With the recent announcement that Microsoft Studios will now be known as Xbox Game Studios, perhaps this is one of the last games where we’ll see the use of this logo also. After first being announced way back at E3 2014 and suffering a few development delays over the years, Crackdown 3 will release worldwide on February 15, 2019. If you’re an Xbox Game Pass subscriber, you will be able to download and play on release day, so chalk up another great reason to get Game Pass! At present you can also download and play the original Crackdown through Xbox Backwards Compatibility, you’ll find it’s also been Xbox One X enhanced. As a quick recap, especially for players new to the series, the first two Crackdown games were released on the Xbox 360 in February 2007 and July 2010 respectively. Crackdown 1 stood tall amongst other openworld sandbox games on the Xbox 360 such as Just Cause and Saints Row, and added superhero gameplay elements such as hightech vehicles, weapons and armour to compliment the genetically enhanced Agents. The premise of the first game is criminal gangs have taken over Pacific City and a secret organisation, known as the Agency, tasked Agents with eradicating the gang leaders and restoring order. Each Agent had five skills at their disposal that could be levelled up to unlock new abilities and stronger power. Strength would increase your Agent’s punching and lifting power to throw bigger objects further, Agility would increase your jumping height and movement speed, the Driving skill improved your handling of vehicles, Explosives created bigger and better explosions (bringing the boom!) and Firearms increased your shooting ability with weapons.
10 years after the events of Crackdown 2, a terrorist attack has wiped out all of the world’s power. Survivors have sought refuge on an island called New Providence, however gangs have taken control of the area with gang leaders controlling various power, monorail and construction stations, all under the umbrella of the TerraNova Corporation. It’s your job to cause chaos in each precinct enough that it attracts the attention of the area’s gang leaders who will appear so you can take them out. There are some great abilities that can be unlocked in Crackdown 3. Agility skills include double jump, air dash and an Agency launch pad, driving skills allow you to summon an Agency vehicle to your position, remotely detonate said vehicle into a group of enemies, turning your vehicle into a spider which can climb walls of buildings, and eventually unlocking an Agency tank! There’s always orbs flying at you through all activities that you’ll do. Also, as you pick up new weapons and drive new vehicles, they all unlock into your supply vault. Spread across the world are supply points that will replenish your ammunition and you can also summon specific vehicles from vehicle supply pads.
Overall, I gave the game an 8.5/10. Crackdown 3 has taken the best elements from the first two games and combined them into a very polished and engaging world to explore. Playing as Terry Crews is a bonus, but any of the Agents are fun to play and the skill enhancements system is by far its strongest point, enabling bigger and better explosions, jumps, driving and killing power. I especially loved building up the Agility skill, enabling me to find more orbs in higher and harder to reach places. Some of the TerraNova broadcast towers were like jumping puzzles of their own! I did notice a slight drop in character detail when playing on my original Xbox One, but playing on my PC looked and ran great. Review by Chris Inglis.
Anthem is an online multiplayer action roleplaying game developed by Bioware and published by Electronic Arts. After initially being teased at E3 2014, Anthem was originally slated to release late 2018. As hype grew over 2017 and 2018, the release date was pushed out to early 2019. Anthem officially released on February 22, 2019 on PC via Origin, PlayStatioan 4 and Xbox One. Players who are subscribers to EA’s Origin Access were able to play a week earlier from February 15. I was fortunate to be provided with a review key, so I played very early on with little to no issues until the masses started to flood in on day 1.
gets badly injured. In order to survive, you defy Haluk’s orders and rescue him, becoming the only survivors. You part ways with Haluk and Faye and two years later, commence your journey in Fort Tarsis with your new cypher, Owen. Owen is a charismatic young man with ideals of becoming a Freelancer himself one day, though has a lot to learn. Fort Tarsis, named in honour of General Tarsis, is brilliantly detailed and I often stopped and looked up to see the effort the art team went to in order to create this central hub. As you walk through the shops and hallways, NPCs are going about their business and talking amongst each other. It was cool to stop The launch of any online game, even and listen to their stories in between going back over the years, seems to missions. This is where you interact be fraught with errors, disconnections with various characters throughout and crashes, and Anthem has been no the game, learning the lore of the land stranger to that. This isn’t unique to EA and completing contracts (side quests) or Anthem, it’s just one of those things and missions. The launchpad in Tarsis is that game developers across the board where you can enter the forge to cusstill haven’t been able to nail down. tomise the gear attached to your javeHaving experienced these kinds of day 1 lins. problems going all the way back to the first MMORPG’s in 1997 with Ultima On- The game is named after the Anthem line, I’ve come to expect issues upfront of Creation, a mysterious energy source from any game that features multiplay- that has power over life, death, creation er. This review will focus on my expeand destruction. Centuries ago the riences in Anthem over 28 hours and Legion of Dawn, under the leadership includes the 1.02 and 1.03 patch content of General Helena Tarsis, had inventor which fixed many recently reported Arden Vassa build the first javelins (arissues. mour suits giving pilots superhuman powers). You start the game as a rookie Freelancer on a mission with characters Haluk and Faye into the Heart of Rage. Your team is overpowered and Haluk
The Legion fought back the Urgoth and other forces that were ravaging the world and had enslaved humanity. General Tarsis sacrificed herself to overthrow the Urgoth which haven’t been seen since. 10-years prior to the events of the game, the forces of a faction called the Dominion wanted to access a shaper relic beneath the city of Freemark, called the Cenotaph. They believed it would grant them control over the Anthem. In activating the Cenotaph, this caused a cataclysmic event which destroyed Freemark leaving behind the Heart of Rage.
You start the game as a rookie Freelancer on a mission with characters Haluk and Faye into the Heart of Rage. Your team is overpowered and Haluk gets badly injured. In order to survive, you defy Haluk’s orders and rescue him, becoming the only survivors. You part ways with Haluk and Faye and two years later, commence your journey in Fort Tarsis with your new cypher, Owen. Owen is a charismatic young man with ideals of becoming a Freelancer himself one day, though has a lot to learn. Fort Tarsis, named in honour of General Tarsis, is brilliantly detailed and I often stopped and looked up to see the effort the art team went to in order to create this central hub. As you walk through the shops and hallways, NPCs are going about their business and talking amongst each other. It was cool to stop and listen to their stories in between missions. This is where you interact with various characters throughout the game, learning the lore of the land and completing contracts (side quests) and missions. The launchpad in Tarsis is where you can enter the forge to customise the gear attached to your javelins.
There are four javelins in Anthem – the Storm which is built for elemental attacks, the versatile Ranger for precision attacks, the Colossus which is built for destruction and the agile Interceptor built for speed. You initially choose one to start the game with and then progressively unlock access to more at levels 3, 8, 16 and 26. Each javelin has two pieces of offensive gear, one piece of support gear, six components, two weapons slots and an ultimate ability that is unique to each javelin. Loot you pick up in the game can be used in these slots and switched out to build up your gearscore which is the power of your javelin, and you can swap out gear to better assist your group in varying circumstances. You can also loot crafting materials and break items down to create items using blueprints you can unlock through gameplay. One of the great things with Anthem is the ability to customise the appearance of your javelin and you can spend a lot of time in these screens! You can customise the suit with different materials, paints,
vinyls and more to personalise it how you want it to look. There are some absolutely amazing javelin designs out there on social media. I’ve seen a lot of Colossus javelins customised to look like the Ironman Hulkbuster. You can go nuts with designs here. Me, I am a huge Mass Effect fan and so I was excited the developers added an N7 skin that you can purchase with in-game coins to make your javelin look like Commander Shepard’s uniform. What I would like to see added though is the ability to see all of the javelins we own standing on the launchpad so we can show them off, like the image of the javelins above. I am still using the Storm javelin which is the first one I chose, and haven’t touched the others. If they were on display then I would at least customise how they all look.
Bioware is renowned for their conversation wheel in games like Mass Effect, Star Wars: The Old Republic and Dragon Age. You commonly had a choice of three to four answers to respond to the NPC – a supportive answer, a good answer, a bad and/or evil answer. Depending on which you selected would alter how the NPC reacted to you and this sometimes impacted the story (light versus dark force powers as an example). In Anthem, you only get a choice of conversation option 1 or option 2 – option 1 being the nice answer and option 2 being the not-so-nice answer, with no real consequence either way. I felt this lost a lot of its charm as I just pressed option 1 most of the time.
Other NPCs in Fort Tarsis will give you quests to complete. Some are contracts for a faction like the Arcanists, Sentinels or Freelancers. Others will be missions to progress the overall Anthem story which is rich with mystery and action and back to classic Bioware form. Once you accept a mission, the quest icon will update and point you to your javelin which is waiting on a launchpad. There is a fantastic animation of you getting into your javelin and then you need to confirm the mission you want to do. At this point you could change your mind and swap missions or enter a Stronghold or play Freeplay. Missions can be taken on by yourself, inviting your friends or you can use matchmaking to open the mission up to other players in the world. The mission difficulty can also be altered prior to commencing from easy to hard for the first 29 levels. From around level 10 onwards I just did hard missions as there’s a better chance at good loot. Once you get to level 30, three Grandmaster difficulty levels are unlocked to challenge players as their gear gets more powerful. There were only a couple of times where I wasn’t matched with anyone for a mission, so I ended up completing it solo which took me a while. You don’t earn XP per enemy killed, instead you complete combat feats which are tallied for overall XP at the end of each mission. You also earn XP from feats earned by group mates, so it pays to form a group for each mission. Bioware have released a development roadmap which briefly outlines their plans for adding content over the next year and beyond. So far only the first 90 days are loosely mapped out, with many additional freeplay events on the way. This is welcome news for a lot of us who are near or already at max level and looking for more variety in endgame content. I also spied a new stronghold is on the way in April – The Sunken, so perhaps this could utilise some of those stunning underwater areas. Then in May, the Cataclysm starts!
Overall, I gave the game an 8/10. Anthem is a visually stunning action RPG with loot and freeform flight at the forefront, though loading screens disconnect the gameplay from Bioware’s renowned storytelling. Bioware have been very proactive and transparent with bugs as they’re reported and fixes as they’re developed. I’m looking forward to charging to level 30 and into those legendary contracts and grandmaster difficulty levels. Review by Chris Inglis
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