Author Archives: Junior Smart

Need for Speed – Hot Pursuit {Gaming Review}

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Yes indeed this is fast love…

Playing the original on the Playstation one was a thrilling affair for me years ago, taking me back to a lost youth spending many days on the legendary coin-op machine Chase HQ. It was fun and invigorating but much more so with my friends huddled around my bedroom on the weekend – it was more than a hook up it was ‘an event’. Hearing that Hot Pursuit was to have a makeover by none other than race masters Criterion got me all worked up, it was a bit like hearing Red Rum was going to race at the Grand National.

From the get go when it comes to presentation Hot Pursuit is one hot looking piece of totty. Game developers Criterion pulled out all the stops creating this game. Visually the game stops just short of astounding. Driving the vehicles is every young boy’s dirty dream and delivers a dramatic rush of adrenaline; the environments are just so outstandingly realised, drenched in detailed vistas ranging from mountainous slopes to bridges, towns and waterfalls. Race in the daytime and akin to ‘Burnout’ the lens flare will singe your retinas. Race through the night and you will squint to pick up the road ahead through the illumination of your headlights. Race in the midst of a thundering rainstorm and you will have a hard time keeping your eyes on the road because you want to gaze upon the next crackle of lightning. In case you aren’t getting my point Hot pursuit features some of the most highly detailed graphics I have seen in an age bar the game legend that is Grand Tourismo. So good is the game engine that it not only delivers impeccable detail but it does so with the smoothness of a well whipped ice cream. No matter how fast you go or how many people are on the screen it doesn’t blur or slow down.

Although it is a part of the Need for Speed franchise Hot Pursuit is mercifully without a tedious storyline. Thank heavens too it is also without a free-roaming world. All that nonsense removed means that the entire game is based around providing the finest race and chase experience.

Choose from an incredible array of predefined events spread over Hot Pursuit’s aerial view of ‘Californ-i-a’ alike Seacrest County. Much in the same way you did in Burnout before all the free-roam lunacy took hold, you choose your events – we all know the drill; forge a career, time trials, straight forward races, cop chases, concept and exotic duels, the staple diet of most racing games are all here for the taking. Progress is achieved by finishing in the required place or by gaining the required points via take downs or arrests and as you do so more tracks open and new vehicles and equipment become available. It’s a tried and tested formula, but this time with a twist – in career mode and online Hot Pursuit splits the game play experience between both ‘Cop’ and ‘Racer’ components, meaning that you’ll play on one side or the other depending on the event you chose and build up independent driver profiles for either side of the law. This brings a refreshing variation to the game as you require different skills and tactics dependent on what side of the law you are on. For example cops must work together to shut down racers, while the racers themselves are competing for first place in a ‘dog eat dog world mentality’.

The power-up system is well judged as is the learning curve which is both rewarding and frustrating at the same time. The equipment that you receive for achieving levels of success range from spike strips that can be dropped to pop the tires of pursuers, as well as ‘fast and furious-esque’ EMPs that target vehicles just ahead of you with a system-crashing boost of energy. The power-ups that you gain in this game were never going to be able to compete with the neon fantasy of other racing titles such as ‘Blur’ or the extraordinary explosions of ‘Split-Second’ but lets face it – they weren’t supposed to. For all the fantasy that Hot Pursuit offers it is grounded in reality, and that reality is at its best when cops and weapons are involved.

Here lies my first area of criticism I found the ‘Racer’ side of the career just a little bit…erm redundant. Besides the chase modes, the head to head duels and races were just too stripped to my liking. All you get are racers, nitrous boosts and…well…that’s it, no cops no nothing. I found myself wondering if the cops were at the doughnut shop and whether I should join them because to be honest these type of races are boring compared to the rest of the game and lack any real thrill, worse still they happen far too often and go on for just a tad too long. It would have been so good to have elimination rounds, nitrous boost rounds, something, basically anything to spice these tracks up because to be frank, besides the scenery, after a while they are…well…dull.

Online modes are what takes the game to the next level and at the heart of Hot Pursuit lies a gem in the form of a superbly integrated ‘Autolog’ hub. A very ‘facebook’ like addition to a racing game and built obviously with the aim of reimbursing the social aspect of the original title. Here you can add friends, post images on your wall and set fast times that will show up on your friends logs when they play the game. You can even post news about scores that you’ve just beaten and this adds a huge competitive element to the title. Racing just got a lot more compelling.

Another serious area of criticism to be made is regarding the Artificial Intelligence level especially in the offline modes. Sometimes it goes soooo beyond the call of duty to ensure that every race is nail-bitingly close that it bends conventional rules and even laws of gravity. For example I can recall a number of races where I took competitors out of the competition by slamming them over a cliff or hitting them with a spike strip yet within seconds they were in my rear-view mirror. How does that happen? Are they driving cars designed by ‘Q’ out of James Bond? No it is not good and not possible.

I also got the feeling that this game wasn’t sure what it wanted to be, whether it wanted to be a simulation or an arcade type racer. Certainly with the effort put into the graphics you get the feeling that this was meant to be a world class racer. Compared to ‘Split-Second’ I found the steering to be too overly weighted in comparison and often you need to pull real precision tight racing lines even in the shortcuts to be successful, all this screams ‘Racing Sim’ to me. Yet there is no manual transmission option, there are police on your tail, power drifts, nitrous boosts and spike strips – this seems to say ‘arcade’. In my opinion the game fares worse for not knowing or investing completely in what it is meant to be.

My final verdict? – well don’t get me wrong, for the most part this is a thoroughly enjoyable title, full of adrenaline, action, gorgeous graphics and some show stopping sequences. However is it a 10 out of 10? Hell no, it is more like an 8.7.
In my opinion it just pinches past the post in front of its rivals but not by that much. But it must be said that this title is still a fast love that you will want to spend a lot of time with.

by Junior Smart

Kinect {Gaming Review}

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After calling the Playstation Move controller a Wii remote look-alike, I had a sense of apprehension picking up a Playstation eye-alike from my games store. Cries of ‘Traitor’ ‘Turn coat’ and even ‘Defector’ awaited me as I picked up the Xbox Kinect system.

Whilst these words might seem a little strong and perhaps a little un-warranted, everybody knows my devotion for the Playstation 3 Console. I’ll put myself out on a limb and say what most games players know – that on paper at least – the PS3 is the most powerful console. No one can deny that; the Playstation Systems for each step of the way have rejuvenated gaming and given new meaning to the term ‘Home entertainment system’. First redefining the CD, then DVD, then the Blu-ray HD gaming medium. Who can forget that prior to that we had games cartridges and then the awful loading times of Sega Mega CD and 3DO. But I am a techie, and word on the street is that the Kinect System not only rocks but takes it to the next level. So despite devotion I just couldn’t resist booking myself a room at the Xbox hotel.

Given my love for the PS3 I soooo badly wanted to report back that the Kinect System is rubbish, that it contains crap technology and is a waste of money. The truth is whilst I found that it certainly has its faults it is a remarkable effort and offers a taste of something promising to come through its hardware.

Out of the box the Kinect System looks like a sausage squeezed Playstation eye and there are two other cameras which are reminiscent of the earlier surround sound systems of the 90’s that you arrange on either side. They work together to build up a 3D picture of the room and your position within it. The idea is that Kinect knows how close you are and that sense of depth allows it to judge things like whether your hands are behind your back, or whether you’re kicking your legs out in front or behind, for instance.

Kinect comes with its own menu system, accessible from the Xbox 360’s dashboard. Inside this menu, you are able to access all of the Kinect-compatible entertainment features that are available to you. Microsoft wanted user interactivity from the get go and it is surprising how quick and intuitive it is. The Kinect experience begins as soon as you switch on your 360 allowing you to browse even the basic features of the Xbox 360 without a controller. Holding your hand out in front of you creates a hand icon on the screen. Moving your hand the onscreen icon moves with you to select the option you desire, then to select and you hold it there for a couple of seconds until it activates it.

Another innovative use of technology lies in the Kinect’s voice control command system. Using the onboard microphone you can control your Xbox using your voice alone.
Saying “Xbox” alone is all you need to get the Xbox’s attention and its there like an eager puppy. Once said a list of commands then pops up from the top of the screen. These commands are context sensitive so for example if you’re playing music or watching a video, these commands include play, stop, or rewind. A well nice touch.

his is much the way you interact with many of the games; either by using hand gestures, voice commands or body movements to make your on-screen character move or to interact with objects, animals or characters on the screen.

So on to performance and playability. There’s no denying that there’s some fantastic technology inside Kinect. Yet as incredible as it is, shortcomings soon arise in terms of limitations. If you’re expecting to play a game and have your on-screen character do exactly as you do with your body, quickly, and completely in-time with you – you’re going to be sorely disappointed. You just can’t do that in most games. I blame the marketing for this, because in every advert I have seen it appears as if the people playing the game and their on screen characters are moving synchronously with them. The reality of this just isn’t so; in every game I have played there is lag and copious amounts of it.

Take a game such as Fighters for example. It’s a 3D Beat ’em up game where you control your fighter by performing fighting moves in real life. Now this was the game I was looking forward to the most as what it bodes for future fighting games such as Street Fighter and the like could be incredible. However I soon realized that this was a delusion of grandeur as such was the significant delay between me unleashing my punches, and them being mirrored on screen that often I completed my move in real life well before the character did so. Not good.

To be completely fair though this delay is dependent on how fast you move. A slow movement, for example those in dance games rather than shoot-em-ups, has almost no noticeable lag at all. The faster you move, the more pronounced the lag is. A real question to this lag lies in what types of games will we be expected to play. It remains to be seen if and how shooting games will emerge on this platform. As I doubt most gamers will want slow moving titles or cuddly little animal games.

Talking of games there were a whopping 12 different titles available at launch – two words: triple wow. Compare that against the paltry 6 or so games offered at the launch of the Playstation Move. Indeed Sony should be ashamed.

Another area of concern for me is with the sensor. In the marketing campaign it said that the Kinect is capable of working out up to six players movements at the same time. The reality is far less – it didn’t take much effort for me and just four of my friends to ‘confuse’ it and during our games session, we also noticed a few glitches and moments of weirdness when the sensor had lost our position or just wasn’t registering our actions. Tut-tut. This is something that should have been ironed out long before release because if this had happened in the middle of a frantic game it would have added to our frustration.

Another issue is space – fortunately for one of my friends two thirds of his ground floor is a front room, but for some on affordable housing (like me) (also known as housing bunker options) will quickly find themselves in problems. Kinect requires plenty of playing space. The instruction manual recommends having 6 feet of clear space in front of the sensor for single-player games, and a whopping 8 feet of clear space if you’re playing with two people. Yep – it’s time to move your granny out of the way at Christmas, oops and the tree, and the in-laws, oh yes and the sofa. With all honesty I cannot see the average UK bedroom being big enough to accommodate Kinect. This removes the bedroom games players out of the equation and could see people relocating the Xbox to the garden.

The last area worth covering is cost; The Kinect Sensor isn’t cheap, costing £125 on launch. It comes with a free copy of Kinect Adventures – a title with lots of mini sub-games designed to showcase the various capabilities of the Kinect system. Tut-tut Sony for just including a demo disc with your Playstation Move – Shame on you.

However, if you think of it like this – Kinect can detect up to six people in a room, and supports two active players at a time. So that £125 brings with it two-player gaming from the get go. That compares favorably to the £127 you’d have to pay for the equivalent PS Move setup (with PlayStation Eye, two Move controllers and two navigation controllers). With that in mind in a weird way it does represent value for money.

So my final verdict?

It is really hard not to like or to appreciate the Kinect system, yes there are lag issues with some games and dealing with aforementioned space issues as well which could relegate some gamers. However it is impossible to deny Microsoft really did their homework with this and have delivered a solid piece of hardware which equates to a real swift kick to the shins of Sony’s mighty Playstation console. It is sad because in my opinion without the likes of Halo and a couple of exclusives the Playstation still had the higher ground and was still the technically superior machine. However, the hardware that Kinect brings changes the game. Like it or not, faults or not, Kinect holds futuristic possibilities. My verdict is that it is an ‘innovative’ rather than an altogether ‘intuitive’ piece of technology. Keep that in mind and keep your eyes open for future games and lets see what happens. I get the feeling you won’t be disappointed.

Call of Duty – Black Ops {Gaming Review}

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Call of Duty – Black Ops exploded into computer games stores all over the country last night with as much with build up and lengthy queues as would be expected at a premiere release of a Hollywood blockbuster.

Considering the build up to this much eagerly awaited title who could blame people joining in line from as early as 5pm? This was of course for a game being released at midnight. Stapelines such as ‘are you ready’, trailers featuring soundtracks such as “Gimme Shelter” by The Rolling Stones got games players all over the world excited.

Do you think it was just a little bit more than by chance that the game was released just days before Remembrance Sunday the day that many war heroes are remembered? What about the infamous release date 9/11/ a date that brings to mind one of the world’s biggest tragedies and the start on ‘the war on terror’? Indeed this is Call of Duty, probably the most eagerly anticipated game of the year. The latest in a multi million pound franchise and they are intent on handling every aspect from publicity to the product with military precision.

From the get go everything about Call of duty – Black Ops just screams attention. This is a call to arms. For the first time in the new call of duty franchise for the majority of the game you play Alex Mason, a man who knows much more than he originally lets on to and the game opens with him strapped to a chair in an interrogation room endlessly grilled about a mysterious series of numbers that only he can apparently decode.

Through Flashback sequences we get to uncover more about the numbers and more about Alex Mason and the roles he played in several missions all over the world during the cold war era. This is all I can say because to reveal too much more about the game is like revealing a storyline to a movie; and a movie is just what you are playing; because at times this game is very reminiscent of those all too well remembered movies such as platoon Apocalypse Now and The Deer Hunter; topless soldiers with bandanas laying out body bags in the sun to the Good Morning Vietnam type deep south soundtrack

Developer Treyarch has done a terrific job in incorporating a movie experience into a game, which in many ways supersedes Modern Warfare 2.  The game play at times is too tight for it’s own good. For example when you are knee deep in the jungle (and trust me the graphics are gorgeous) often you want to go off and explore within the wider range than the game permits, in a way this highlights the faults as some of the levels are almost too compacted for their own good and way too short lived. They are however well-signposted and highly-scripted. But like a one night stand – wham bam and it is over. I completed a game that I waited almost a year for in just over 6 hours – shame

Black Ops though was never meant to be put in any type of league that offers exploration – It is a high intensity First person shooter and it delivers exactly what it says on the tin. Its slick, polished highly cinematic, and it throws every type of war experience from that era as fast as it can. Online game play is where this game was meant to shine – The multiplayer component is beautifully constructed and breathtaking. 14 maps greeted me, designed to explore and on my first play I was already looking at places I could sniper opponents from. “Jungle”, with its winding paths, tree houses and hanging vines, to the brilliant, “Nuketown”, designed to resemble one of those simulated neighbourhoods constructed by the US to test the effects of nuclear hardware. These are aspects that show a lot of thought has gone into the design.

The frame rate remains fast – 60 frames-per-second and the basic shooting mechanics remain as good and refined as they did in modern warfare 2. which was never going to be a bad thing.

My only gripe with these types of games is that often when you have played one you have played them all, I mean c’mon you know you are just going to be shooting; from cover, from a helicopter, from within a team. The principality of it rarely changes. But this said Black Ops does bring something new to the market in the terms of enough varying challenges and online multiplayer action to keep most games players busy.

Well worth a shot.

Rock Band 3 {Gaming Review}

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The Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises – are considered by many to be the most influential video games of the first decade of the 21st century. First released in 2005 it seemed as if air guitarists of a generation could finally unite. I remember the first time I picked up my plastic guitar and fretted along to a track. The whole idea of being a mini rock god in my bedroom just seemed to work.

However, that was a long time ago and a long time before they decided to milk the cash cow dry. Over the past number of years it seems as if we have been inundated with rock games. If I bought a new guitar each time a new game came out I reckon I would own about ten by now. To make things worse this year we have not one but two releases and you better believe it both are aiming to reach the number one spot on your Christmas list. I managed to get my hands on a copy on an early edition of Rock Band 3 to find out if I should still be rocking on.

As mad as it seems there is a reason for all of these games; Rock Band and Guitar Hero (and their sequels) are in fact the creations of separate rival software developers – Harmonix and Neversoft; and in numerous ways they have their own distinct diverse approach on how to make a rock and roll video game great and how to sell it.

Take Rock Band for example. Rock Band has always aimed for maximum playability with a large selection of pop rock type tracks. When they have gone for serious rock they usually pick tracks that are well known and they provide strong online support. Also in my view on the easier difficulty level the player is never actually really tested. Contrast this with Guitar Hero and Neversoft who seemed to cater mainly for the serious rock fanatics. Anyone who has played Band Hero will recognize their disappointment at going online and finding out that there was little if any online tracks to support their foray into popdom. Try too tackling Band hero on easy and your wrists will be sore. It might be a game but it doesn’t play nice.

Check out their titles too, once Neversoft and their publisher Activision realized that they had a market in plastic guitars they seemed almost like a bat out of hell-bent on riding the rock train until the wheels came off; delivering a new title almost every year – often with just new tracks and tweaks being the whole USP. Thank heavens for the term ‘market saturation’ because when the rock train was about to terminate at the next stop they turned their hands to the Vinyl and came up with the admittedly very polished DJ Hero. Out went the classic rock and in came the classic Hip-hop. Contrast this with Harmonix and the very incredible looking Beetles Rock Band – they always seem to go for quality over quantity.

To be fair to Neversoft they do have a flair for spotting innovative design because each new release of a ‘Hero’ has brought something new, however small and Rock Band 3 has capitalized on each and every aspect that they brought that worked. They also listened to their many fans

Game Play remains the same as before; successfully complete a song by using your controllers to strike the correct notes in time with note tracks shown on the game screen; or, in the case of the vocalists, to sing in the relative pitch to the original artist. Each player has a performance meter, which increases when correct notes are hit and falls when notes are missed; a band performance meter represents an average of all players. If a player’s meter should drop to zero, that player will temporarily drop out, silencing their part, and the band’s performance meter will start to drop. If the band’s meter hits zero, the band will fail the song and be booed off stage, and can either restart or change their difficulty level.

Rock Band 3 allows for several players, locally or for the first time online, to play the roles of lead guitar, bass guitar, drums, and vocals. I was pleased to see that Rock Band 3 had support for backup vocal harmonies with the lead singer (a feature previously introduced in The Beatles: Rock Band), and one playing an electric keyboard. (Yes it’s not just a new guitar you will need to buy this time).

Talking of which, it has often been a personal criticism that to plough the amount of time that you need to in order to get good at this game you are far better learning to play the guitar or drums in real life. Well this is a criticism put to rest because although this game is compatible with existing guitar controllers from previous Rock Band and Guitar Hero games. Mad Catz has just produced a new guitar controller, based on the Fender Mustang with real strings. Instead of five colored buttons, there are 6 buttons across 17 different frets, culminating in a total of 102 buttons to play. This idea is quite exciting me, as this game could redefine the whole term ‘fun learning’.
So on to playability. The game features a more in-depth career mode; and as before you can design your own character.

Reportedly the career mode includes over 700 career goals. The game also includes some 83 songs, ranging from Evanescence to Bob Marley and I was pleasantly surprised to see that all of my original downloaded content from previous Rock Band games transferred quickly and without additional cost. This gave me the feeling that this title is all about consolidating your Rock Band music. And that can only be a good thing. Tracks from the actual titles though such as Rock Band 2 required the purchase of a key but the transfer was quick and simple. I am always taken aback by Rock Bands online support and at time of writing there was over 2,000 songs available in the store for download. One word: wow. Developers of Guitar Hero should take note.

I found the game play to be rounded and a decent enough internet connection is all you need to ensure online play. Although, personally I found many tracks lacked sufficient challenge. The storyline was literally non existent – we all know the score: group of gang-banger wannabes decide to form a band and you have to help them scale to heights of success.

I do have a few gripes. Firstly the graphics – I was disappointed. Whilst functional they are no where near as polished as they should be, even if you were to take Band Hero which was out over a year ago and put these titles side by side graphically it would be stronger.

Secondly for me the sound mixer could have done with some refinement. For example I found it hard hear the vocal track if you are singing or vice versa. Guitar Hero 5 eradicated that problem ages ago. I couldn’t help but wonder why it is still here.

So what’s my view? – Well, despite its faults if you are going to get a Rock Band game then this is the title to get. In terms of game play and online support it has a much stronger, richer library. It is also the game you will return to and download tracks for and complete. More importantly it will keep you entertained without doubt through Christmas.

By Junior Smart

Playstation Move {Technology Review}

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I am one huge fan of Sony’s games machines. There you go I’ve said it. That’s because I work hard and I play hard. When I play hard I want an interactive, fun and exciting experience. I have had every single incarnation of their Playstation – yes including the original formidable black Playstation – the one where they gave every nerdy individual the somewhat futile chance in hell of developing and testing games for themselves in their own front room. In my time I have been called a games player and a games technician – work that one out. But don’t ever get me started on the amount of times they have missed opportunities.

Take the Playstation Move for example – Tempting, all so tempting. Waiting in the queue inside my favourite games store I had all that anticipation a young child feels going into a bakery but then upon seeing it I felt unsatisfied and like that kid out of that famous fairy tale ‘The Emperors New Clothes’ – you know the one, the one who spoke up with brutal honesty and said to the emperor “Your naked!”. Because there I was standing amongst people who were going oooh and ahhh and emailing their mates ‘OMG’ at the Playstation Move demonstration only to pipe up and say “But it looks like a Wii control for god sake!”

Stunned silence ensued. “Oh” but the techie with the Matrix style jacket said sternly, “It’s got true 1:1 motion control and a glowing end”. ‘Right,’ I thought out loud ‘so that’s where I got it wrong – how silly of me’
Lets be honest, such is the strikingly similarities between the Wii and the Move remotes that you almost feel like you are being conned. Yes, it does have a round glowing end – an end very reminiscent of an Ambi Pur air freshener which changes colour at regular intervals but true 1:1 technology is nothing new; in fact it is the same technology pushed forward by Nintendo in their recent range of Motion Plus. Arguably where Nintendo have gone wrong is that their games have been made too much for the younger casual gamer, so where Playstation ultimately needs to pull rank is in the games and in the graphics.

To be fair to Sony the Playstation Move has a whole different set up to the Wii; although again very similar. The Playstation Eye camera tracks the movement this time, (those of you who have owned an Eye Pet will know just how sensitive it can be) and with its own on board mic what this brings to the games is a whole new level of interactivity as you can be the star and hear your voice in your own games. Huge thumbs up.

The controllers whilst similar in design to the Wii’s are lighter – thanks to built in lithium rechargeable – which, much like the Playstation 3 controllers are quick to charge yet take ages to run out. This is another plus as games on this machine tend not to be casual affairs – they last for hours compared to minutes and to make it worse you often want to just get stuck in. The controllers are also much more ergonomic too and ‘just feel right’. They also have Sony’s trademark rumble feedback as opposed to mini speakers which you get on the Wii controls which, let’s be honest are pants.

There is however a number of issues that easily emerge. You see, with exception of the Tiger woods game I made a concerted effort to avoid any Move Sports games, purely because I had been there and done it many times with the Wii already and, to be frank, I am sick of it and what’s more I am sure I am not the only games player to say this. Sony has almost left it too long to capitalize on this technology. So failing the sports games how many games are left at launch? Well not many, Start the Party, Eye Pet Move and Kung Fu Rider. Things that make you go hmmm eh? In fact I had to wait until this week to get my hands on Move editions of Resident Evil 5 and Heavy Rain. I just hope every game is not going to be updates of old classics.

Also the technology does need some final tweaks. Whilst the Playstation Eye camera picks up speed and movement very quickly, I spotted that detection of the force behind a gesture is relatively non-existent, and this could cause problems in fighting games. I’m also not sure about so many buttons being positioned on both controllers, this could cause problems against the more simplistic approach offered by the Wii and could prove to be a nightmare should games require lots of button combination.

Another thing is the price – it will cost you around £59.98 for both halves of the Playstation Move controller and Playstation Eye camera and all this comes with just a demo disc. Let’s get this in perspective this is one third of the cost of a complete Wii system – which comes with a game as standard. Tut-tut indeed.

So what’s my final verdict? Well no doubt for many serious gamers and kids this will be the pressie at the top of their shopping and impending (dare I say it) Christmas list however I would advise that you wait to see whether time brings about better games and improved technology. Xbox and the Kenect system are just around the corner…

1:1 Technology – what is it?

In a nutshell – 1:1 Technology is the reading of precise movement. In the earlier days of the Wii you would move your arm and the sensor would pick it up and would play what was essentially an animation for your character on the screen. This could be for your character to punch, jump, move etc in the game and it was a standard animation; that means it didn’t register degrees of movement. (Yes, you were probably flapping your arms about for nothing.) Motion plus and Playstation Move took it to the next level so now not only does the computer recognise that you have done a movement in real life but it also senses how much and transfers this animation to your character on the screen in a 1:1 way. You move – it does it exactly. Hence the term 1:1 Technology.

by Junior Smart

RED {Film Review}

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Like perhaps many of you, I had seen the posters that have seemed to spring up almost overnight. The four vibrant faces of Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, and John Malkovich. The three big emblazoned letters RED, just inspires thoughts of an action movie that the entire world was waiting for. Encouraging you to think what a dynamic cocktail these actors could make.

Little wonder then that I entered the Cinema not quite sure what to expect. Sure I knew the history; RED is based on the three-issue comic book published by DC Comics and created by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner. If you have seen comic book to movie conversions though you know as well as I do that it is very much a hit and miss affair how good or bad these movies end up.

“Red”, is derived from the stamp on agent Frank Moses’ (Bruce Willis) file, meaning “Retired, Extremely Dangerous” Frank Moses is a former black-ops CIA agent, now living a quiet life in retirement. However, lonely with retirement he strikes up a slightly somewhat odd relationship with a customer service worker at Frank’s pension office in Kansas City. However, the path of love is never smooth his quiet life of retirement is brought to an abrupt end when he is attacked by a hit squad in the middle of the night.

Frank takes on his assailants and, knowing whoever is after him would have tapped his phone, makes his way to Kansas City to both protect Sarah and also find out who is now after him.

So how does it all play out? Well in my opinion whilst enjoyable the film was a bit of a mixed bag for me. The problem is the genre has been played out so many times before and often with the same actors that I found it hard to get into the movie. To their credit the actors play their part admirably but to my taste I noticed a hint of laziness on more than a couple of occasions. The storyline does permit for some interesting twists with the characters – Helen Mirren as a hit woman turned lady of luxury, John Malkovich as an ex-agent who is now paranoid and always thinks that someone is watching him are great examples of character depth and do produce a chuckle here and a chuckle there. But it is hard to ignore that these are well established actors in their own right and you can’t help feeling that they are capable of doing so much more especially if they were allowed to explore their characters more.

However these might be viewed as minor criticisms as what this movie does well it does extremely well. Adapted for the big screen by brothers Erich and Jon Hoeber (who also wrote the adaptations of Whiteout and Alice) where they did manage to succeed is in the dry, witty humour and quick fire action. I also found the idea of an older operative who is set in his ways having to contend with younger and fit agents as well as new techniques and modern technology quite refreshing. Although, it must be said I saw Bruce Willis in this role in Die Hard 4.0 and it was much a similar vein and did so with more success.

So – my final verdict? If you get the opportunity and are stuck for a movie to go and see you could do worse, however don’t make this the top of your hit list.

By Junior Smart

The Karate Kid review by Junior Smart {Film}

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The 1984 coming-of-age film comes of age with a modest makeover with solid characters and fluid performances that exceed your expectations. The Karate Kid, also known as The Kung Fu Dream in China, and Best Kid in Japan and South Korea, is a 2010 martial arts remake of the 1984 film of the same name.

Although Karate Kid has numerous differences to the original (for example the chief location is now china instead of Los Angeles and the lead protagonist is much younger and also an Afro-American). The significant core values and the spirit of the original plot remain. A bullied youth learns to stand up for himself with the help of an eccentric mentor and through the discipline of martial arts learns the value of respect, honour, friendship and love.

The film was directed by Harald Zwart and produced by Will and Jada Pinkett Smith and stars none other than his son Jaden Smith as the lead character Dre Parker. Jaden Smith looks good, moves like magic on the screen and strikes just the right amount of balance between inquisitiveness and annoyance. Moving from Detroit to china with his mother Dre finds himself out of his depth and struggling with issues of acceptance he falls foul of the school bully; an encounter that will change his life forever.

Jackie Chan plays Mr. Han, the apartment’s maintenance man with hidden skills in kung fu who takes a curious interest in Dre and then takes him under his wing. Chan is exceptional as usual; if memory serves me correctly I don’t think I have witnessed such a martial arts master who has appealed so much to as many generations as himself. I believe at one stage he even had a cartoon series, so just knowledge of his track record makes him immediately likeable and credible in his part. There is some on screen chemistry between Dre and Han that creates expected warm fuzzy feelings and it serves its purpose in driving the story forward. Whilst the movie goes a long way to developing the characters it is perhaps not as impressive or immersive as some other films of this genre yet it does meet its objective.

Filmed in china the film makers wisely decided to cash in on the rich history of the geographical location. There are some lovely shots of mountains, monks training and great walls of china and often lots of history is revealed to the audience as well as the relevant discipline there to be learned by Dre.

One of the core strengths of this film is the characterisation. Being a remake this film could easily fail short in viewer’s expectations by allowing itself to be compared too easily to what is now regarded as a masterpiece. However watching this film you get the feeling that what they tried to do was compliment the original film rather than replace it. As such it stands up as a feel good fight movie in its own right. The fight sequences are well choreographed and much grittier than the original. You can visualise Will Smith wanting to be there in person to support his son through the rough and tumble parts of the filmmaking process because there are some solid blows in the fight sequences that make you wince. And there is something that has to be said for a 12 year old that can make a Kung Fu combat sequence believable. You have to admire the child’s flexibility and courage and if anything you feel more on his side because you know what he is up against. There are also some nice nods to the original film for example in one scene Dre walks in on Mr. Han trying to catch a fly with chopsticks which after a few attempts Chan’s character ends up swatting it against a wall with a modern fly swatter.

In conclusion fantastic performances and a strong script bring this rendition of Karate Kid bang up to date. Lets face it this is the kind of films that you need in the summer season, it has good values and is great fun for all the family.

The A Team review by Junior Smart {Film}

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Bet you didn’t know that “Hannibal” Smith loves it when a plan comes together. Almost every single middle aged person on the planet knows those words and the theme tune that it almost instantaneously brings to mind and what it means. The A-Team was an iconic Saturday morning show of the 80’s, and brings back lucid memories of ‘family time’ huddled round the TV set and school playgrounds where every kid would pretend to be in the van and involved in epic shoot-outs. It is also the latest film to get the movie update treatment by film studios that seem to be fast running out of original material and are looking to entice film going audiences back into the cinema.

I would have loved to have seen the CEO of 20th Century Fox’s face of when they brought this plan to the table. You can almost hear his words ‘What – you only want to bring the biggest TV show of all time to the big screen? – Are you for real? Damn we better get this one right – if we screw this one up even my grand kids grand kids won’t forgive me!!! Hell – let’s go ahead but let’s throw the kitchen sink at it!’

Bringing this to the screen was either going to be hit – or a miss and they knew there was going to be no second chances, no reboot in five years time, no nothing. Screw up on any aspect, have the wrong actors, have a crap script and you can forget it. Little wonder then that the film was in development since the mid 1990s, having gone through numerous writers and story ideas, being put on hold numerous times. In the end the film was directed by the accomplished Joe Carnahan and produced by Stephen J. Cannell, and legendary brothers Ridley and Tony Scott. This talented group act almost like an A-Team in their own right and bring the story bang up to date with enthusiasm.

The story follows the principle of the original series. For those of you who didn’t know The A-Team are a crack group of soldiers who go on the run after being framed for a ‘crime that they did not commit’ who now exist as soldiers of fortune… The movie belts along at a cracking pace but with a few twists along the way and thoughtfully the directors decided to create the origin story for the first half of the movie. This I thought was a superb idea because at the very least it gives the action compulsion. By the end of the first half of the film you know why they are all together, and more importantly why B.A.Baracus ‘will not get on no plane’.

The actors’ success in portraying their characters is a major factor in the film’s triumph and is second only to the fantastic script. As an 80’s A-Team fan my initial apprehension was that this would be a shoddy remake that unfortunately we have become accustomed to over the past decade, with paper thin characters that not only did not look like their counterparts but were going to be unable to carry them. However Liam Neeson steps sturdily into the role of John “Hannibal” Smith. He breathes life into the guy with a smile yet plays him as an individual rather than try to imitate the now legendary role made famous by George Peppard. As a result you appreciate him far more. The same goes for the rest of the cast. Bradley Cooper as “Face” gives the character his own suave inventive spin and also worthy of note is Sharlto Copley as “Howling Mad” Murdock. He conveys the character as being genuinely off his head yet also a hotshot talented pilot and he creates some real laugh out loud moments.

You can tell that the entire cast fully enjoyed making this film because the level of authenticity in the camaraderie, as a result you feel for their disappointments and whoop for their success. Liam Neeson said in a recent interview that it was the script not memories of the 80’s show that made him sign on the dotted line and judging from the script who can blame him; the script is very strong. Indeed you could take the title away from this film and still have a great action movie in its own right. Yes it is clichéd, yes it action focused but it also fun and does definitely have a heart. For example B.A.Baracus (played by a very driven UFC Champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson) ends up in jail he finds faith and decides that he doesn’t want to kill anymore. An interesting idea considered that he is a solider ‘of fortune’ and that their adversaries seem to stop at nothing until the A-Team is taken out of the picture for good. The rest of the team play out this potential ‘conflict of interest’ as great friendship in real life would allow and for me this is a nice touch on the 80’s series.

Just as good as the actors were those working behind the scenes with the special effects. Whilst there is nothing here that is ‘new’ so to speak, the film is big budget and well executed, some of the scenes are incredible if not totally unbelievable but still worth seeing. Want to see a tank fall out of a plane? It’s here. Want to see a helicopter take on missiles? It’s here. Want to see a twist of romance in the middle of breathtaking action? It’s here.
This story, complete with the performances in both acting and special effects is a powerful concoction especially for those in need of a testosterone built blockbuster of the summer. “Hannibal” Smith loves it when a plan comes together – Trust me by the time the credits roll – you will too.