Building Bricks...ASSEMBLE!!

LEGO games. Like LEGO itself, they’ve brought families closer together. They’ve created their own genre, captured the essence of co-op multiplayer and haven’t ever let us down. Why? Because “Everything is awesome”.

2015 was a slightly different story though, as we were introduced to a new type of LEGO game in LEGO Dimensions. The Danish empire’s debut into the toys-to-life arena was a new direction for the gaming series, constructing actual building bricks that beam into the video game. To enjoy the full experience, one is encouraged to purchase individual level packs adding extra cost and changing the games dynamic almost completely. It felt a bit like Die Hard 4; all the right components, but Bruce Willis now has a pipe and slippers.

We craved a complete game with all the original brickwork. Collecting LEGO studs. The side-splitting parodies. Exciting gameplay. And SO MUCH STUFF TO DO. A LEGO game should be jam-packed with puzzles, levels, characters and all the replay value you’d find in a VHS copy of Basic Instinct. With LEGO Marvel’s Avengers, the LEGO world has been saved!

Unless you’ve been living in a Nordic alternate dimension for the last few years, you’ll be mighty familiar with the Avengers Initiative. Iron Man, Captain America, Hawkeye, Thor, Black Widow and Hulk are The Avengers, led by S.H.I.E.L.D Operative, Nick Fury. Similar to its LEGO platforming predecessors such as Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures, Star Wars: The Complete Saga and Jurassic World, don’t go expecting a new storyline here. Instead you’ll closely follow the plots of Avengers Assemble and Age of Ultron, as well as blockbuster spin-offs Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The First Avenger & The Winter Soldier.

For those of you who thought the 2013 Lego Marvel Super Heroes was special, wait until you see this new adventure into the marvellous Marvel Universe. There’s seven individual hub worlds to free roam including magnificently remodelled Manhattan. Battles with HYDRA bots over Sokovia, a trip to Malibu at Stark Mansion, moseying down to Barton Farm, across the rainbow bridge of Asgard, explore wild South Africa and visit the home of that other super power, Washington DC.

LEGO Marvel’s Avengers plays similar to other games in the brick-laden series but feels like its reached a new dimension. Characters can now perform outrageous combos together (a LEGO first) and cue ‘Avenger Initiative’ moves as you team up with specific core characters to solve quizzes and quests. 
With over 100 Marvel characters to find, you’ll have to play through the game multiple times to unlock all of its treasures and all of its heroes.

And there lies the real beauty of LEGO games. From the most hardcore achievement hunters to the most casual pick-up-and-players, these games transport you into a world which feels familiar and where you feel welcomed to relive your favourite movie moments at your own pace. Thanks to LEGO Marvel’s Avengers, consider our faith in the series re-assembled.

LEGO MARVEL'S AVENGERS is available now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, Mac, WiiU, PS3, XBOX360 and PSVita.

6 Red Bulls, 12 Pro Plus and a Cattle Prod up the Jackanory. I AM THAT AWAKE FOR THIS.

What can I say that hasn't been said already about Star Wars: The Force Awakens? Does it ooze adventure? Yep. Capture the magic of A New Hope? Wonderfully. Are all your favourite characters on hand to massage your nostalgia receptors into a sweaty mess on the cinema floor? Well, I'm writing this stuck to a persons shoe. There are twists, turns, loop-the-loops and all the action-packed goodness you'd find in a barrel full of red bull soaked Carolina Reapers.

In my opinion, The Force Awakens (TFA) is utterly, utterly brilliant. What also made my experience of it so unique, is that I watched alongside my better half; someone who is completely new to a galaxy far, far away, compared to myself, a man who had one of his first sexual encounters at the hands of a Jedi's reasoning tool. The force was strong. 

Don't worry. I promise I won't include any spoilers or give anything away. I wasn't born a total gooseberry.

In essence, JJ Abrams has grabbed the world's most beloved space opera by the Jabba the Hutts and taken the story forwards in Episode VII. Set 20yrs or so after Return of the Jedi, Vader has long been torched courtesy of that Ewok barbeque, yet the Empire continue their proclamation to wipe out the Rebels(scum) who won't be radicalised into joining the First Order, led by one-man Emo with daddy issues, Kylo Ren, played by the super talented Adam Driver. We meet new protagonists 'Rae' (Daisy Ridley), and 'Finn' (John Boyega) who cross paths by coincidence/ the force thanks to the charming want-to-take-him-home-and-build-a-fortress-together droid, BB8. Oscar Isaccs is lead X-Wing pilot Poe Dameron and all your favourite space pirates, princesses-turned-Generals and walking rugs are on call, as the rebels race to find Luke Skywalker before the dark side do. 

So, what will super fans make of it? Well, I'm still beaming like a Cheshire Cat and will be for quite some time. It was magical.

Having watched the world premiere (because real fans stay up 'til 4am on a school night...), it wasn't just the hype or scale of the film which blew me away, but the worldwide celebration of the original sagas legacy returning to smite the Empire once again. I don't remember quite the same fanfare for The Phantom Menace et al. It really was surprising to see the blatant lack of recognition for the prequel trilogy, a trio of big budget movies which are very much a part of the Star Wars universe, but people simply don't care. In all fairness, it does deserve to be digested by the Sarlak 3 times over, but still. No Hayden Christensen, No Ewan McGregor and definitely no Gungans (despite the internets pleas...) were invited. Liam Neeson was probably off kicking some Albanian's ass for yoinking the family dog, so he's excused.

However; Hamill, Harrison, Fisher, Chewie; they ARE Star Wars and boy was it good to see them together again.  

JJ Abrams' made a brilliant decision to write them into Episode VII alongside acclaimed screenwriter, Larry Kasdan, despite everyone initially thinking it may a terrible idea. Indiana Jones: KOTCS still gives me cold sweats 8yrs later. 

Kasdan; penner of The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi and even personal favourite Raiders of the Lost Ark, has captured the magic of Episodes V & VI wonderfully, which is assumedly what Abrams convinced Disney he could do given the freedom. 

He's surrounded himself with the same crew and production team who began this epic galactic adventure 38yrs ago and it's due to his own personal experiences of Star Wars as a young lad that he agreed to nurture and recreate it. No doubt the 3.3% of worldwide box office takings in his deal, playing a small part too. 

However, we've all seen the stupendous job he's done rebooting Star Trek. We had faith.

The new characters have been cast excellently. Mostly newbies; they bring vibrancy, wonder, fun and a a very satisfying fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants-ness which unleashes your inner youngling. 

Abrams has also been sure to hold back on the CGI after the smorgasbord of generated-tosh Lucas stuck on screen in the last trilogies outing. Instead, we have real explosions, the creation of bizarre and imaginative creatures particularly in Maz Kanata's Cantina courtesy of the genius, Neal Scanlan, and speaking of legends, superstar DOP, Dan Mindel, who has outdone himself with some of the most thrilling action sequences I've ever seen! Pyew-pyew laser gun fights, lightsaber battles, the Millennium Falcon returning to tear a new bigger, better, faster, stronger hole in the First Order's fleet. Simply breathtaking the lot of it.

The humour on board is also first rate. One of the opening exchanges between Issacs and Driver really set the tone for me, with Boyega adding tons of London-swagger to proceedings which hugely benefited the big scenes. His one-on-one with the TR-8R reminded me of the Raiders scene between Indy and the saracen sword-slinging vegetable seller. Although, this time no-one had the squits so they actually had to go through with it.

If I had any gripes, its that some of the story is a little random such as Rae suddenly hearing a lightsaber calling to her without a solid reason why, or how a measly storm trooper can be evenly matched in a duel with a Sith. Maul would've kicked his ass and probably eaten him after. We also didn't learn that much about 7ft silver-surfing trooper, Captain Phasma(Gwendoline Christie)either. What's her deal? Some scenes can also run a little long too. Shout out to Abrams though because although the cantina was one of those said long-uns for me, Maz looks just like my grandma which me chuckle and made the time go quicker.  

All in all, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is probably my movie of the year. It ticked every box, game me goose bumps at every turn, made me laugh, cry and there it brought back so many good memories. It's an institution and a club which I'm so proud to be a member of. 

Oh, and if you're wondering what the Mrs thought of the movie, she's now "actually quite looking forward to the next one".

Mission accomplished. 

Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens receives 5/5 Macho Man Randy Savages because it's Star Wars. End of. 

"You'd Better Rico-gnize..!"

Imagine all the action movie-makers of the 90s came together, had a party decided over an enormous cigar to make a game where anything goes, and every explosive cliche you can think of is encouraged? This also includes attaching animals to windmills and firing bazooka’s at 60mph sat comfortably atop the bonnet of a gardener’s truck. Well, you’re in luck sonny Jim, because Just Cause 3 has landed and its pretty tremendous.

Meet Rico Rodriguez; Dictator Removal Specialist. He's the hero of this open world third person adventure game comparable to the hispanic Nathan Drake, dipped in tabasco, and carrying all the masculine characteristics a Chuck Norris/ Jean Claude Van Damme hybrid baby would have, with Hot Shots’ Topper Harley playing its surrogate mother (*pats himself on back for the most ludicrous analogy of all time).

Swooping in as the third instalment in a series which began back in 2006, you may question whether or not you need to revisit JC3’s predecessors to make sense of its narrative. The answer is no. You really needn’t worry, because it won’t be the story that grips you. What will, is the adrenaline-fuelled nuttiness of the explosive action sequences and traversing around the large fictional mediterranean islands of Medici; Rico’s hometown, and a beautifully vibrant and colourful playground for him to become King of the Climbing Frame.

The plot revolves around dictator, General Sebastiano Di Ravello; the Dr. Evil of our story. Hellbent on world domination, it’s your job to round up the rebels and put a stop to the chaos bubbling underneath the islands surface. What you’ll REALLY want to do though is put the handful of island environments to the test by using your incredible array of gizmos, as adventurously as you can.

The parachute is back from JC2 and remains your answer to any last minute aerial ejections or infiltrating militant areas unseen. Praise be to the wing suit which you'll have available now too; one of the most welcomed additions to the series as you soar over the ocean, glide underneath bridges and into people’s washing lines. But, the piece de resistance, is the new and improved tether; a small but surprisingly sturdy grappling hook. Whether you’re ascending huge mountains, swinging from buildings Bionic Commando-style, or fastening a man to a goat to a car to a billboard to a fire, and pressing the action button to see what happens; it’s incredible the things your mind will suddenly manifest whilst using it. Apologies again to that helicopter pilot and small family of cows.

You may want to compare its open world vibe to the likes of GTA but in all honesty it’s a lost cause - JC3 understandably has far less depth and intricate detailing in comparison, especially once you venture past the first hour or so. 

But, I’m nitpicking. Just Cause 3 has bundles of character, some seriously tasty looking graphics and smashing tongue in cheek humour - it’s the perfect action game if you’re looking to unwind over a side-mission involving a quad-bike with a bomb strapped to it which you’ll have to inadvertently fling at a lighthouse to destroy it, because it’s blocking someone’s view.

Just Cause 3 receives 4 out of 5 Macho Man Randy Savages because it makes one appreciate that life ain't easy being a goat. 

Being John Cusack.

I play just about everything. Be it Sports games like FIFA, Adventure titles like Uncharted and even the odd First Person Shooter…not including Aliens: Colonial Marines. Obviously.

Watching the latest trailers of the coming Triple-A games has become just as crucial to its success as any movie studio churning out teasers of their blockbuster releases.

San Diego ComicCon recently dropped the first tasters for Warner Bros Suicide Squad for instance which was immediately boot-legged by almost every person who can work a keyboard around the planet, where they each told us that Jared Leto’s Joker looked “sick”, whilst stuffing their faces with nacho cheese. God bless America.

In the world of videogames, we annually have E3; a showcase which continues to be the biggest platform for games publishers to announce their new titles, which we eagerly await spending our hard earned cash on over the coming year. In the months that follow, we’re then presented with a family bucket sized smattering of rehashed game footage featuring the same 3minutes of gameplay re-edited countless times, to varying drum& bass related noises, before its launch date. Let’s not pretend otherwise, because regardless of how silly this sounds, we still collectively watch every single one of them online, because its basically eye-heroin.

Thanks to social media, hype surrounding anything related to the culture now revolves around ‘the drop’; the moment that teaser lands on the internet and we, as visual-crack pedalling merchants, then share, and share again, doing all the work for them. And I’m ok with that. God forbid I miss someone’s theory surrounding the third naked person from the left in some insignificant scene in Game of Thrones that happened this one time.

So, upon hearing the latest trailer for Call Of Duty: Black Ops III Zombies had been uploaded to the net recently, I got understandably excited. COD: Advanced Warfare was my re-entry point for online FPS’s after years away from the fray and the proposed 1940s swing on proceedings looked neat (The Order 1886 & the coming Assassins Creed: Syndicate proving steam-punk continues to resonate solidly with gamers right now). BUT, I found myself spending less time watching the fluid game mechanics and vivid new arenas to traverse, instead, trying to pull all the celebrity names out of a hat featured in the 3minutes, like watching coverage of some meaningless after party on E! I was utterly ashamed of myself.

What’s wrong with me? Why aren’t I focusing on the game? Am I only excited to play this because I can be someone famous? The first face I recognised was the Man with Jaw of a Mastodon, Ron Perlman.

Fair do’s, he’s previously worked on the Halo & Fallout series and earned his stripes. It wasn’t long before Jeff Goldblum showed up to the party either. I began recalling the previous iteration of COD games, and remembered Exo-Zombies where I could actually play as John Malkovich, ploughing his way through the undead, which was super cool. Oh my God, I’m actually living some perverted version of the film, Being John Malkovich! Does this make me John Cusack? Come to think of it, how many celebrities have I actually been inside??

This really got my brain hamster going. How many celebs in recent years have realised the potential they have to make some serious dollar by attaching themselves to gaming projects. And, does this make the game more lucrative for somebody who wants to cause carnage to hordes of bloodthirsty monsters…as Lenny from Of Mice and Men?

Kiefer Sutherland made exactly the same move into television world he spearheaded the revolutionary '24' –here’s a Hollywood superstar who traded the red carpet, for Cable TV. And, it was massive. As I'm sure his bank balance is now too. It began a movement. I remember playing 2002’s Grand Theft Auto: Vice City back on the PlayStation 2 accompanied by the Mafioso tones of Ray Liotta as Tommy Vercetti, which was a masterstroke by Rockstar Games having been such a gangster tour de force in Goodfellas. In this instance, it worked perfectly. 

Have a look online and you’ll be dumbfounded at how many celebrities have cropped up in games, most of them an utter embarrassment they’d probably rather lock in the ‘Vault of Forgotten Sh*t I Once Did’. This doesn’t count movie franchises where the stars of the films have been transported to the small screen in a franchise spin-offs either, or Def Jam: Fight for NY which was ultimately a way to promote the hell out of rap stars, with more product placement in it than Casino Royale. I’m talking fully-fledged commitments to games, as a performer.

It’s a pay check for most. Aaron Staton from Mad Men was basically the exact same character from the TV show, this time as Cole Phelps in LA Noire. And now he had a hat. #Win I can’t imagine Mickey Rourke actually wanted to be in Bethesda’s Rogue Warrior either in which he can be heard saying lines such as ‘…it’s a total goat f*ck’, the script clearly written by a giraffe on the spectrum.

Personally, I don’t like to think I ever play games because I can voyeuristically watch my favourite icons or celebrities. That’s what the new wave of VR headsets are for. Or, One Night in Paris. Next time you play something with a celeb attached though, it’s definitely worth asking yourself the question, “Do I really want to play this, or do I just want to be John Cusack..?”

Call of Duty: Black Ops III is out November 6^th 2015 and available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox360 & Windows.

NEWSFLASH: GM Dinosaur Born with Superpowers. Has Hissyfit.

'The Park is Open.' 4words which in the realms of the land before time, mean GET READY FOR DINNNOOOOSSAAAUURRSSS! 
Jurassic World is upon us; the fourth part in a series which began in 1993, a year otherwise remembered as being mostly shit. Spielberg's Jurassic Park was a box-office sensation which frightened, excited and captured the imaginations of every parent and child from here to Timbuktu. I still get goosebumps from John Williams' breath-taking score, synonymous with that very first glimpse of what 65,000,000 years ago looked like as that massive Diplodocus ambled into shot...just before Laura Dern brought us back down to earth again when she began sifting through Triceratops poop. But, we're not here to reflect on what was. We're all about the what now? 

For anyone who saw the previous 2 instalments, they weren't brilliant. We had familiar faces trying to re-create the magic of the original - nods to King Kong bringing dinosaurs to mainland America, working within the boundaries of Hammond's derelict park and Sam Neill speaking to Raptors through one of their 3D printed nostril bones. It was all a tad wanky and disappointingly predictable. 

Jurassic World however, is not. It's 20yrs later and John Hammond's legacy continues upon Isla Nublar as the Masrani Corporation headed up by flamboyant thrill-seeker owner, Simon (Irrfan Khan), has built upon the remnants of what was before, and created the world's only Dinosaur theme park. However, with attendance numbers dropping and revenue beginning to slide, top-secret genetic splicing in the island's underground laboratories is underway to create the next big "attraction", alas we have the new bad guy in town, the Indominus Rex; a hybrid of the Tyrannosaurus and Velociraptor, with some other very fun bits of DNA chucked in for convenient measure. Elsewhere on the island, ex-NAVY turned Dinosaur Whisperer, Owen Grady, (the brilliant Chris Pratt) is developing ways to communicate with Raptors using a Biro with the sly Head of InGen Security, Vic Hoskins (Vincent D'Onofrio) on his case to weaponise the Clever Girls, which Pratt thinks is a terrible idea. 

On a weekend when her nephews are in town, the park's Operations Manager, Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) has reluctantly agreed to play host to her younger nephews, Zach & Gray Mitchell (Nick Robinson/ Ty Simpkins) but due to corporate commitments coming out of her ears, gives them VIP tickets to the park in her absence. I know, best Aunt ever right? They expectantly wonder off on a mini-adventure in which we get to see some of the incredible forward steps made in CGI over the last 20years. The I-Rex escapes and all hell breaks loose, literally, in what is 124mins of the most fun I've had at the movies in AGES. The set pieces are out of this world. Director/ Writer Colin Trevorrow has managed to create the perfect evolutionary step for the Jurassic series in what I still

can't believe is only his 4th ever movie. Panning throughout the park's main attractions is a thing of beauty, as are the events that take place within its walls such as the Dimorphodon escape down 'Main Street USA', the Gyro-Sphere Safari, the Mosasaurus Aquatic Arena (amazing BTW) & the Triceratops donkey riding school. Ha. It's action adventure stuff of the highest calibre and the fighting sequences whether it be Dino vs Dino, Dino vs human, Dallas Howard vs Pratt's One Liners are some of Hollywood's finest and in my opinion, are the perfect showcase of just how superb the leading man would be as the new Indiana Jones. This needs to happen.

Claire and Owen's estranged relationship is fun to watch develop and although she goes through a physical transformation in the form of stand-offish workaholic to Lara Croft, it doesn't feel forced. Bryce Howard is a total babe too, I don't think anybody's ever so provocatively changed a shirt into a crop top. All the actors are excellent and huge kudos must go to the casting team for Jurassic World as the 2 brothers are terrific with some very funny moments together in the final act (holding hands jibe was classic) as well as Cage-Keeper Barry's (Omar Sy) affinity for dinosaur rights and the only cast member to return from the original, Dr. Henry Wu (B.D Wong) who's character is still a total and utter smarmy dickster. But, looks bloody remarkable for his age. 

Gripes. There aren't many. I was a bit anal about never finding out the exact genetic make-up of the Indominus Rex (which translates as 'Untameable King' - how cool is that?) eg. its extraordinarily long arms. Was it part Stretch Armstrong? Probably not, but we're never told. A lot of the action set pieces are somewhat rehashed version's of what was suggested in the original trilogy; communicating with Raptors (which has been done to death now), the giant aviary of Pteranodon's ready to play catch with anybody in the vicinity and the proposed possibility of genetic mutation. There was also no "Ah, ah, ahhh, you didn't say the magic word! Ah, ah, ahhhhhhh..." I'm perhaps clutching at straws a little. There was a great nod to the late Richard Attenborough in the museum main lobby with a statue depicting one of his most iconic characters.

 

Jurassic World is a total triumph. I was gripped from the moment the sinister opening credits began reminiscent of an old thriller flick. Lots of percussion, sharp strings to the birth of a cute, carnivorous little blighter who will have your finger off if you don't have your wits about you. Big dinosaurs, great scripting, spiffing casting and just the right sprinkling of nostalgia. 14yrs In The Making...and it was totally worth it. 

Jurassic World receives 5/5 Macho Man Randy Savage's mainly because there were no references to Ray Arnold's demise which means that a one-armed Samuel L. Jackson covered in cigarettes could STILL return for Jurassic Park 5. And that Chris Pratt becomes boys with a dinosaur called Blue. Which is amazing.