Nathan Drake > Lara Croft - Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009)
There’s a lot that Nathan Drake, star of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves on Sony’s PlayStation 3, has in common with Lara Croft, star of the Tomb Raider series: both make a living from some combination of being an archaeologist, adventurer and historian; both mingle with colleagues who aren’t always the most honest of business partners; and both know how to handle themselves in a fight. We’ve yet to see pictures of Nathan Drake in a clingy top that accentuates his cleavage, so I think it’s safe to say that that’s where the similarities end.
In Space. Screaming. Yadayadayada - Pandorum (2009)
Horror movies set in space are always a bit hit-or-miss: for every Alien, there's a Jason X, and a hell of a lot more in between. Pandorum, a US/German co-production from director Christian Alvart, might have a trailer that tries to sell it down the Alien-route, but having watched the film, you might be left wondering if you have to re-evaluate your opinions on what makes a bad horror-in-space film.
In Search Of Home - Away We Go (2009)
Having already won Oscars and hearts with Revolutionary Road and his directorial debut American Beauty, Sam Mendes returns to the world of couples and relationships for Away We Go, being flown into cinemas by stork this weekend. Yes, this is a film about pregnancy, babies and families, but before you start worrying that things might get too mushy, you can relax.
The Dark Knight Is Nuts - Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009)
Welcome to Arkham Asylum: check your sanity at reception and settle down for the craziest outing Batman has had in a while.
Developed by the UK-based Rocksteady Games, Batman: Arkham Asylum is the first original game to star the Caped Crusader in over five years (we’re not counting Batman Begins because it was a movie tie-in, and fun as it was, Lego Batman slipped under many a gamer’s radar.) Although graphic novels and mini-series have carried the name of Arkham Asylum, the game has a fairly original story as written by Paul Dini, one of the head writers of the award winning Batman: The Animated Series from the 1990s, and taking its cue from the series, the game is surprisingly deep and mature, while also incredibly fun.
Is It Really Better Late Than Never?
With the internet more rife with pirates than a Johnny Depp movie, we all know illegal downloading exists, and Irish ISPs and their reactions to sites like The Pirate Bay have been hitting the headlines over the last few weeks. The music industry in particular are doing their best to clamp down on piracy and illegal downloads, but let’s be realistic: internet piracy will probably never be completely eliminated, at least not until the ultimate cause gets nipped in the bud. So is piracy the result of consumer greed, or in some ways, have the entertainment industry been too slow to move into the digital age and created a situation of their own delayed action?
Hardcore Prawn - District 9 (2009)
If you haven’t already seen Alive In Joburg, the short movie on which District 9 is based, you might want to check it out before heading to the cinema to catch out this year’s most original feature, and possibly one of the best alien invasion movies to ever be committed to celluloid. But don’t think that you need to watch Neill Blomkamp’s short before hitting the cinema, as the film on its own is no less impressive.
In Basterds We Trust - Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Revisionist history isn’t necessarily synonymous with Quentin Tarantino, but it’s what you get in his latest big-screen offering, the intentionally misspelled Inglourious Basterds. In some ways, it’s a typical Tarantino film, some parts offering wickedly dark comedy, witty character interactions and bloody violence; in others, it’s quite different from anything Tarantino has done before and marks a more mature approach from the director, while retaining everything that has made his films instant such cult classics.
Flashback Feature: Marvel Vs Capcom 2
Originally released in 2000 as a coin-op machine in arcades, swiftly followed by a home-console release on both the PS2 and the Dreamcast, Marvel vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes is the fourth and last game in a series of fighting games pitting characters from Marvel Comics against heroes and villains from Capcom produced games (just in case you hadn’t figured that much out from the name, of course.)The series stretches all the way back to the mid-1990s, when Capcom were licensed to produce several fighting games based on and including Marvel’s characters, including the X-Men and the Avengers. The first game to be released was 1994’s X-Men: Children Of The Atom, and like many other arcade games of the era, it was ported to the Sega Saturn and PlayStation. Utilising just X-Men characters, both heroes and villains, the game utilised graphics and engines from Capcom’s successful Street Fighter franchise, and was followed up in 1995 by Marvel Super Heroes (released on the same consoles) which took some of the successful characters and broadened the brief to include other Marvel heroes.
Looking Through The Rain: A Sneak Peak At “Heavy Rain”
We recently got a chance to meet with Guillaume de Fondaumiere, CEO of Quantic Dream and executive producer of Heavy Rain, who showed off two scenes from the game, spoke about its development and gave us the opportunity to play through one of these scenes. The experience left us adding Heavy Rain to the calendar and eager to see more.
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