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Cell (2016)
An Absolute Mess That Could Have Been Great
I gave this movie 2 out of 10 stars. The second star is because it ended. I love the novel upon which this dross is based, and this movie is an affront to it. Why? One simple reason... The ending. By the point of ending, the movie was so far removed from the plot of the novel as to be barely recognisable to anyone who has read it. Then they threw an ending at us that was just a mess of convoluted ideas, all executed to the lowest possible standard.
Once you sort out the jigsaw puzzle ending - bearing in mind that this is a 7000 piece jigsaw with 10 extra pieces and no edges - you're left with a dismal conclusion to what was already a disappointing adaptation of an excellent novel.
Not only does the ending leave a sour taste in its wake, it essentially renders everything that happened in the 90ish minutes leading up to it completely meaningless. It doesn't just make them a bitter memory, it makes them completely irrelevant and obsolete. It also leaves a god awful song stuck in your head from which, if you're me anyways, you only know one verse that just keeps cycling around when you least expect it.
Word of advice, avoid this like a leprous gynaecologist and read the book instead.
Quantum Break (2016)
An Experimental Masterpiece
My love for the works of Sam Lake and Remedy Entertainment began with Alan Wake, a game which (for me) felt like playing a Stephen King novel. It was wonderful, so naturally I had high hopes for Quantum Break and it most certainly lived up to them. The game is part video game, part live action TV show, which is a really unique experience in itself. Actions in the game (as well as discoveries) will influence what you see in both the story and the TV show. It could be considered rather risky using both of these formats for in conjunction, but Remedy pulls it off beautifully. The show is action packed and well acted, while the game itself is so stunning to look at that at certain points, through little lighting nuances, it is impossible to distinguish between the real actors and their digital counterparts. The story is equally compelling; Time is ending and it is up to Jack Joyce (Shawn Ashmore in a compelling and brilliantly performed role) and his few allies to save the universe. Despite dealing with time travel and advanced quantum physics, the story is not too complex to follow. Jack Joyce makes it quite clear that he is no quantum physicist, much like the majority of people playing the game, and the story takes this into account. There are plenty of twists and little moments where you remember something from earlier in the story that seemed irrelevant at the time, but nothing too strenuous to follow. Gameplay wise, it is well crafted. Joyce moves with ease, his developing "time" powers are easily accessible, simple to upgrade and suitably potent in their effects (without being "godslayer" powerful) which is precisely what one would expect from manipulation of time itself. The visual effects throughout the game regarding Jack's powers and time itself are equally mesmerising and well animated. Gun play and combat is also suitably frantic, with intelligent enemies who will use team tactics (such as suppress and flank) to take you down. My only minor qualm with gun play is the camera. It's fine most of the time and easy to aim, but it has an awful habit of swapping shoulders after taking cover. It's easily fixed with a click of the stick so it is negligible in the grand scheme. I would also like to note that collectibles and intel' items are relatively easy to locate, which is fine, but reaching them can sometimes be a puzzle, which is also fine in terms of providing a challenge. For anyone with an Xbox One and a love of action games with a deep story, this is a must and I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. 10 out of 10, nice work Remedy!
Lost Planet 3 (2013)
return to EDN III
This review is purely for the main campaign content, not multiplayer. Lost planet 3 gives a much needed burst of life to the series. While lost planet 2 was clearly geared towards multiplayer formatting and did a reasonable job of it, it lacked in the story department. What story there was tended to be thin and a little convoluted in places. Lost planet 3 delivers a much more cinematic and story driven experience than prior instalments. To that end, the story is quite rich and full of surprises. It also works as a prequel, setting a scene for the first game and introducing the father first game's protagonist in his youth, before being hardened by war. The characters are superbly well developed (except Laroche, who seems to switch teams in a whim), and the cast are simply stellar in their performances, especially Bill Watterson as Jim Peyton. Visually the game is stunning (for best results use a full 1080p display) with nice little touches added here and there to add atmosphere. The only real let downs with this game were with the utility rig. The rig is Peytons personal 30 foot tall mech, as opposed to scavenging VS's in the previous games. It has such potential, but other than a few akrid battles, a rig on rig battle and wandering around doing odd jobs, it feels really underdeveloped. There are a couple of upgrades for it which, while inexpensive, are almost pointless, like a cutting/welding torch that you use once.... Why? These minor issues aside, a worthy addition to anyone's collection, whether you're a lost planet fan or not.