My Top 5 Christmas Viewings

Rumour has it Christmas is just around the corner, and with such cold weather what better way to celebrate by staying in and watching some festive shows and films? Here are my top 5 merry recommendations:
5. THE VICAR OF DIBLEY: THE CHRISTMAS LUNCH INCIDENT- In my view, there's absolutely no better place to start on December 25th than this festive edition of the memorable comedy starring Dawn French, where the Vicar unwillingly agrees to spend Christmas at three different homes for dinner- with hilarious results!
4. NATIVITY- Expect my review of this later, but sufficed to say that Nativity is one of the only modern Christmas flicks out on DVD at the moment, and lead Martin Freeman's endeavour to help 'big up' a school nativity makes for a great watch.
3. DOCTOR WHO: CHRISTMAS SPECIALS (2005-2008, 2010)- Ever since its revamp in 2005, Doctor Who has had a special connection with the festivities, providing a special one-hour episode without fail on an annual basis. Any of the first four specials will get the Christmas spirit going, and of course this year's A Christmas Carol looks to keep the warm atmosphere going. Perhaps avoid the more solemn End of Time: Part One, though, as the Tenth Doctor's impending demise makes for a brilliantly tragic affair.
2. THE POLAR EXPRESS- I genuinely cannot believe this film gem was released six whole years before 2010: even watching it today, The Polar Express remains as fresh and substantial a Christmas romp as any before or after it, so if you've missed the classic tale featuring Tom Hanks (heck, even if you've seen it), go out and get it.
1. THE MUPPETS CHRISTMAS CAROL- Ironic as it is that I've recommended two versions of Dickens' dark but captivating yarn (though the Who version looks to give it a sci-fi twist), the Muppets version still manages to engage me to this very day, and its mix of emotion, tragedy, romance and Michael Caine should do the same for you any-time.

Sonic Announcements Coming In 2011

Sonic's been at an all time this year, appearing in three well-recieved titles across gaming consoles. Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode One (8/10) was a neat throwback to the original SEGA Genesis titles, while Sonic Colours brought back the fun of the daytime levels in Sonic Unleashed by stripping down the plot and focusing on tight game-play, and Kinect exclusive Sonic Free Riders provided fun hoverboard racing as one of the peripheral's launch titles. It is no surprise, then, that SEGA have revealed today that new Sonic games will be revealed early in 2011 for release later in the year. Marketing director Alan Pritchard told CVG nothing of what the announcements would entail, but hinted that "Sonic Colours has had high reviews, it's also the highest selling pre-launch pure Sonic game we've ever done. So that's a good indication." Could this mean a sequel is in store, or perhaps a release on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 as the reportedly excellent title was previously limited to Nintendo consoles? More news will hit our shores next year, and one particular rumor that's been circulating is a celebratory bundle to celebrate Sonic's 20th anniversary, but it's already been confirmed that Episode Two of STH4 will release in Spring 2011 so expect a game-play trailer with new characters to be one of the "two or three" reveals teased by SEGA. Let the speculation commence...

Advent Calendar Day Fourteen: Smallville Season One

Returning to the DVD box-set of Smallville Season One, I found a show in its infancy, though marred by the "Monster of the Week" format which plagued much of the earlier half. Of course, the show is based around a teenage Clark Kent growing up in the town of Smallville and his story of becoming Super-Man, but Season One is surprisingly light on continuity references, only featuring minor elements of the DC comic like Lex Luthor, Clark's fall via meteor shower and his childhood romance Lana Lang. The lack of true heritage here is noticeable, however it doesn't surprise me in the least given that DC weren't initially keen on the idea of one of their major comics being rebooted on television. The finale "Tempest" is the most memorable story on offer here, throwing Clark's life into disarray as he must abandon his best friends and the plots engulfing Smallville to save his crush from an incoming tornado, but several smaller moments also stick out such as the death of Whitney's father's funeral being set to a great cover of "Time After Time" and a deadly plant having adverse effects on Lana's confidence! Overall, there's nothing wrong with Smallville Season One's light-hearted approach to the Super-Man lore given that it is the premier series, but admittedly some of the later DVD sets contain better stories (Man Of Steel-wise) for Clark Kent.

Your Game Of The Year

It's a tie! I scoured Facebook for the public's Game of 2010, and while there were votes for Fallout: New Vegas and Red Dead Redemption, there was an overwhelming majority for both Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood and Halo: Reach. I certainly concur in many ways: both titles got a 10/10 here at the blog, the former boasting a completely refined combat system and gripping story, the latter incredible value for your money with its huge online component and consistent campaign. What we can only wonder now is just what video game in 2011 will top gamers' lists, and given that Mass Effect 3, Assassin's Creed 3, Elder Scrolls 5, Gears Of War 3, Batman: Arkham City, Test Drive Unlimited 2, Marvel VS Capcom 3, Portal 2, Zelda: Skyward Sword, Forza Motorsport 4, Prototype 2, Tomb Raider, X-Men: Destiny, the Nintendo 3DS and (breaths out) Star Wars: Kinect all hit stores next year it'll be a hard decision!

Advent Calendar Day Thirteen: World Exclusive

So, here it is. Two months before it's published in stores, an early review copy brand new 2-in-1 book Doctor Who: Death Riders/Heart of Stone has been sent to me, and very soon my WORLD EXCLUSIVE review will hit this site before anywhere else! The book, opening a new range of 2-in-1 packs, boasts two 200 page stories featuring the Doctor, Amy and Rory after the events of this year's season of the sci-fi. Death Riders sees the time travellers visit a deadly theme park which people go inside, but never leave, while Heart of Stone focuses on lumps of moon rock forming a trail towards a monster made entirely of rock. The first and only review for this upcoming release will be here very soon!

James Bond: Blood Stone 007 Review (4.5/10)

Wii gamers got lucky this winter with the GoldenEye remake out now, but it's safe to say that Bond fans with Xbox 360s or PlayStation 3s are going to feel more than a little shortchanged by their commiseration prize Blood Stone. For every time players feel like they are taking control of a cinematic gaming experience, there's a trial-and-error section that forces the fun out of the title. At first, the system of "try, try again" seemed to only encompass the driving sections- strange given that the developer Bizarre Creations helmed the Project Gotham Racing franchise- but soon enough the difficulty spikes seep into the shooting sections which form the majority of Blood Stone. Worse still, the plot is more lacklustre than even Quantum Of Solace was, with cutscenes of painstaking length adding by the level to the sheer tedium. All in all, James Bond: Blood Stone 007 is a shooter that had tons of potential to rule the world of the secret agent adaptations, but ultimately swims in a sea of mediocrity and repetition. My GoldenEye review will hit very soon!

Advent Calendar Day Twelve: Spike Video Game Awards

The Spike Video Game Awards sent off 2010's round of gaming with a bang, naming Red Dead Redemption (9.5/10) Best Game of the Year, BioWare the best developer with their superb sequel Mass Effect 2 (10/10) getting Best Xbox 360 Game, Super Mario Galaxy 2 claiming Best Wii Game and God of War Best PlayStation 3 title. Meanwhile, the world-exclusive reveals of brand new upcoming titles were also out in force: Mass Effect 3 was confirmed for Christmas 2011 as a climax to the trilogy, with hero Commander Shephard rallying the forces he chose to make alliances with in previous instalments against the Reapers, now conquerors of a dying Earth; a sequel to PS3 hit Prototype was announced; Forza Motorsport 4 was revealed to hit Xbox 360 solely with both controller-based and Kinect mechanics next Autumn; Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was premiered as a sequel to bestselling Oblivion to be released on 11/11/11 and Batman: Arkham City had a full CG trailer of Dr. Hugo Strange, posing a huge threat to the Caped Crusader in the sequel simply through his words "I know your greatest weakness. You are...Bruce Wayne.". It seems there has never been a better time to be a gamer than 2011, and though the Gears Of War reveal (rumoured to be a Kinect version) was postponed to early next year, the Spike Awards were a massive hit!