Halo: Reach Review (10/10)

Hmm. That simple thought struck me as I played through the opening levels of Halo: Reach, hearing the same sounds of gunfire, witnessing the same good-but-not-great graphics, and lobbing the same plasma grenades as I had in Halo, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo Wars and Halo 3: ODST before it. But do you know what? Despite all that, all the niggling criticisms that I could level at Reach throughout my game-play time, there wasn't a single moment when I wasn't loving it just as much as, make that more than the other Halo titles. If you didn't know by now, the planet Reach's take-over by the Covenant opened the original trilogy of Xbox titles, and so this prequel sheds some light on just how Reach was invaded and how the Master Chief managed to survive the conflict. But, in essence, it's the story of Noble Team, some of the most developed characters ever in the Haloverse, and their struggle to hold off the defence that bit longer, to save as many civilians as they can, and ultimately to lay down their lives in the name of humanity. The story truly is Bungie's franchise at its absolute best, proving the ultimate swan-song before the team leaves for a different series, and culminating in the most nostalgic way ever- I'm not kidding. The campaign will last you around 10 hours-20 depending on the difficulty level (I played on Normal and didn't find it too hard, but Heroic and Legendary kick up the difficulty insanely), but there's Firefight (much better than ODST) and Online to keep you going. Simply put, there's a ton of life-span here for gamers, fans and newcomers, and while it may not look the prettiest, or be the most original Halo ever (though romps in space, Falcons and MAC Cannons easily shake things up), it's the FPS you've known and loved for ten years, and doesn't get any better.

Merlin: The Tears Of Uther Pendragon Part 2 Review (4/5)

As I said last week, the first part of this opening story was a solid, darker start to the third season of Merlin, so it was up to Part 2 to take that one step further, which surprisingly it did. The Tears Of Uther Pendragon should have, by all rights, been a by-the-books opener with little accomplished other than yet another reintroduction of the main cast for newcomers. However, that wasn't the case: big events from Season 2 are referenced here as if you should have been watching the show since its beginning in 2008, and major plot-lines such as Merlin's destiny and the future love between Arthur and Gwenneviere were expanded largely for the first time here. The Great Dragon's fleeting appearance was nice, though hopefully if he's in the other 11 episodes the writers have thought of a solid reason for him to stay and help, not trying to think of a different circumstance every week. Seeing once good characters such as Morgana turn devilishly wicked is often quite disturbing stuff, and likely will be for the younger ones too! Whether this season can keep up the finale-like pace each episode remains to be seen (and the trail for the third story seems to suggest otherwise), but The Tears Of Uther Pendragon undoubtedly rivals the best of Merlin so far.

Playstation Move Review (7/10)

There'll be no Xbox 360 biasm here: I went into HMV as the proud owner of a Playstation 2, and a gamer intrigued by the concept of advancing the motion genre beyond the Nintendo Wii, looking only to credit the Playstation Move. So, what did it have to say for itself? I tried out three Move games, Sports Champions; The Shoot and Eyepet: Move Edition, and while I didn't come away flabbergast or breathless at the variety and calibration on offer in the titles, neither was I completely put off by the new control system either. The Move works using the Playstation Eye to detect a flashing light orb on the end of the new motion controller. Here a problem arose early on: even mild lighting can distract the all-seeing Eye in any one game, and given that most people will be playing this in the comfort of their bright living rooms, the lighting dilemma may start to cause major lag and calibration issues. However, for all the times the calibration was fine, the Playstation Move worked fine: Sports Champions played a little like Wii Sports Resort (8/10) but with better graphics, allowing precise sporting actions and fun multi-player romps (although it's been said that Kinect will cost more, however, thinking of the amount of Move controllers needed for multi-player as opposed to one camera will make the shelling out approximately even); The Shoot provided a compitent, if inaccurate FPS experience not far removed from Red Dead Redemption, though the novelty quickly wore off, and the same could be said of the Eyepet tool. One thing's for sure, the Move has more hard-core games to look forward to very soon, and as soon as its got its calibration issues sorted out, it could easily be the true successor to Wii, and a major distraction in Microsoft's master-plan to dominate casual gaming with the Kinect in Christmas. There's room for expansion, sure, but the launch line-up provides a solid foundation for what is to come in PS3's future.

Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam DVD Review (3.5/5)

The original Camp Rock (3/5) was Disney's latest attempt at finding a spin-off franchise of sorts for the so-called phenomenon the High School Musical trilogy, and though it had an average to decent soundtrack, the story was too predictable and the acting too melodramatic to provide a true classic. I'd love to say that's all changed with Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam, but as ever Demi Lovato and co give off the standard Disney Channel fan-fare that put me off the station as I left junior school, acting so unbelievably badly at times you'd think this was a soap (enter a wave of hate mail for this reviewer). To give it its credit, The Final Jam boasts a much more solid and consistently likeable soundtrack than its predecessor, with tracks such as Introducing Me and Brand New Day proving heartwarming and harkening back to the days of Grease's hits, and a story which may lift the emotions that little bit more than the original. If you can get over the terrible acting and often out-of-video vocal backing, Camp Rock 2 provides a better watch than the first film and a solid foundation for an increasingly lovable franchise.

Merlin: The Tears Of Uther Pendragon Part 1 Review (3.5/5)

So, Merlin's back for a third season, and predictably enough given the light-hearted nature of the first two series, the writers thought it was a time for a change, providing a dark twist with the new opener Tears Of Uther Pendragon. From Morgana becoming the cold hearted witch prophesised in the Arthur folklore to King Uther being ravaged by ghostly visions from the past, the tone was a lot more grim than we're used to. But, mostly, that was for the better. Only the utterly simple cliff-hanger of the Great Dragon saving Merlin from his untimely demise drew this opener down from being an otherwise solid start to the third series. To be concluded this Sunday...

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions Review (8/10)

Spider-Man certainly hasn't had an illustrious history in video gaming: movie adaptation Spider-Man 2 is considered to be the best title featuring the webbed wonder, and yet still upon closer analysis isn't that great. So, predictably, anticipation wasn't high for Shattered Dimensions due to the countless times fans have been let down before. But if hard-core Spider-fans choose to opt out of buying this fresh new release, they'll be missing out on a winner: Shattered Dimensions successfully combines four different game-play styles together, with only repetition encountered in the second half stopping it from acheiving Arkham Asylum (10/10) greatness. Critics have already complained the plot is too slim, however look back at most Spidey games and there wasn't much of a cohesive story there, either. The only problem I found here is that at times the game tried to get tangled up (pun intended) in the main stories of its respective comics, and in doing so alienated me, a fan but not hard-core comic reader, and probably the target audience of 16 year-olds looking to kick butt as four Spider-Men. The dimensions are as follows: Amazing (4/5), boasting simple Spider web-based fighting and some great comic animations, Noir (3/5) allowing for a more stealthy approach, yet getting caught up too much in the shadows to truly be the Silent Predator mode, 2099 (4/5), a futuristic brawler featuring fun free-fall sections but that are too sparse in-between, and Ultimate (4.5/5), getting my vote as favourite for its style and light fighting. After 6 or 7 hours of continuous play, Shattered Dimensions' repetition did tire on me somewhat, but having left it then come back the problem was pretty much solved, though sadly not unforgivable. Basically, this is the best Spider-Man game we've seen SINCE Spider-Man 2, but due to a couple of flaws won't match up to the best of Batman.

Aliens VS Predator Review (2/5)

The AVP franchise of the 21st century certainly doesn't have the best repertoire, with the original Alien VS Predator getting mediocre reviews and Requiem getting average at best, so can Aliens VS Predator, a new video game for 360 and PS3, manage any better? Sadly, it seems not. The human sections try to hastily put together FPS and horror, but it doesn't work as gunning down once-deadly Aliens feels both a chore and too easy. The sections based around that enemy don't work brilliantly either, with sloppy wall-crawl controls, and the less said of the Predator bits the better. Overall, a bit of a sloppy effort then, with mere moments of greatness.