Doctor Who: The Dalek Handbook Review (5/5)

Last year, Steve Tribe provided us with the wonderful TARDIS Handbook, examining the ship throughout its fourty years of travel and adding a newfound sense of wonder and importance to the iconic police box, and along with James Goss Tribe does the same for the Daleks with The Dalek Handbook. The attention to detail and intricacy here with regards to both the overall narrative arc and the history of the pepper pots' inception in 1963- everything from the constantly destroyed or resurrected homeworld of Skaro to the ramifications of The Big Bang on the universe, from the impact of the Nazis on the Daleks' motives to their Death Camps playing a role in the infamous battle cry 'Exterminate', heck, even the spin-off video games and live productions released alongside the classic and modern eras are covered. Fans will undoubtedly revel in the constant wave of nostalgia that comes with such a well-thought out release, especially since the titular villains aren't set to make a comeback this season, and although casual viewers may find themselves a little lost at times overall this is as about as accessible as Who non-fiction gets, and in all honesty it's the hardcore followers of the programme who should be looking to purchase this. At just £10, this is truly a bargain and a step up and above everything that has come before it- even the new multicoloured incarnation may feel a bit scarier once you've read up on them...

Out Of Shadows Review (4.5/5)

Out Of Shadows is a truly remarkable novel, mixing elements of prejudice, politics and redemption to form a tale so strong that it would overthrow Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird were it not for a couple of drawbacks. The plot follows Robert Jacklin, a British schoolboy who moves to a South African boarding school in the time of Robert Mugabe's rise to power, only to find the promises of freedom and equality that came under the new leadership to be greatly exaggerated. Author Jason Wallace paces the narrative well, taking Jacklin from the early stages of Mugabe's reign to his darkest days while showing the looming strands of racism and corruption engulfing society; although, he perhaps focuses too much on the former issue, making the references to the prejudice facing Africa somewhat too obvious and explicit, to the point that where Lee subtly unveiled the shroud of darkness facing the world in the late twentieth century, Wallace simply endeavours to ensure that every reader knows the tone and overriding themes of the piece right from the offset. This is by no means a major reason not to read the Carnegie-nominated book, however, and certainly the harrowing and reflective climax is a fine pay-off, but it does hold Out Of Shadows back from a status as an all-time classic that is so noticeably within reach here. Nevertheless, Wallace's historical drama is one that does not deserve to be missed by readers!

ON-SCREEN RETURNS MAY 27TH

It's time for a break, with exams on the way for me and many of you lot, but after world-exclusive articles such as those on Doctor Who Experience, the Nintendo 3DS and Thor plus tons of day-one reviews of the likes of Marvel VS Capcom 3, Bulletstorm, Portal 2 and Clone Wars, plus a whole load of features and news on what's coming up in the next seven months, I'm sure I can be forgiven just over two weeks of 'free time'! If that's no consolation to you, dear reader, then know that I'll be back with awards for the best releases of the first half of 2011, reviews of all the latest films and games including Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, The Hangover: Part II, Kung Fu Panda 2, X-Men: First Class, Thor: God Of Thunder, LEGO Pirates Of The Caribbean, LA Noire, Child Of Eden and so much more, plus a full preview of what to expect at E3 (and full coverage after the brief hiatus in June) and in the second half of 2011. If even that wait is too long, then worry not as I will be updating the blog every Saturday evening (hopefully) with reviews of Doctor Who, Smallville and Glee where possible. In other words, if you've liked what's been hitting the blog over the last few months, know that you ain't seen nothing yet...

First LEGO Pirates Reviews Are In

Due out this Friday, LEGO Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Video Game looks to provide a hilarious take on all four Disney movies, and now the first reviews for the promising new title are in. If there's one thing that can be said right now, it's that opinions are a bit mixed- IGN gave the new instalment 7.5/10 on the basis that "it's an absolute blast for fans of both franchises" but equally that "it can't seem to learn from its predecessors, featuring confounding puzzle design and flawed controls", while the Official Xbox Magazine settled on a 7 as "the colours blaze and seep in the humid atmosphere", "the films suit the hyper-collectionist formula well" yet noting it's still the "same old LEGO". In contrast, NowGamer call Pirates "the best LEGO game yet", praising its "enhanced graphics" and "sense of regular innovation" and awarding it an impressive 8/10, and although they found it "doesn't break new ground", Destructoid still rated it at 7/10 due to "memorable five-chapter game sequences" and TT Games "injecting its bottomless supply of charm and whimsy into the characters and the world". Clearly the verdict is a divided one currently, but you can catch my definitive review of LEGO Pirates Of The Caribbean this half term!

Glee: Born This Way Review (4.5/5)

A confession: this week's episode of Glee gets most of its high score simply from its sensational renditions of greats like Somewhere Only We Know, Barbara Streissand and coincidentally enough Lady GaGa's Born This Way- the vocals, the choreography and the integration into their context were spot on. That said, equally impressive was the unusually layered plot, ranging from Quinn (sorry, Lucy) and Lauren's emotional battle to become Prom Queen- any script that can add depth to Diana Agron's frequently shallow character gets bonus points here- to Kurt's dramatic return to McKinley High and even being so bold as to cover Emma's Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, an issue that no programme usually dares to tackle for fear of insulting viewers but one which is handled perfectly here, allowing for total empathy on the part of the viewer. All that Born This Way left to be desired was perhaps boasting too long a running time at twenty minutes longer than usual (did we really need to cover Santanna's homosexuality again?) and somewhat disappointing in the sense that it was promoted as a sequel to the first season's GaGa episode yet featured just one song by the visually inspired artist, but once that advertising failure became apparent this really was yet another strong comeback that I hope Glee can keep up until its finale.

New James Bond Game Coming

Activision have announced that a new James Bond video game will ship later this year. The news is nothing we couldn't have seen coming after the commercial success of Blood Stone and GoldenEye last year (even if the former was painstakingly mediocre), but sadly we know nothing more than that other than it definitely isn't related to the upcoming Daniel Craig film set for release in 2013. What it could be, however, is a sequel to Blood Stone, seeing as the plot of the sketchy 360 and PS3 shooter was left annoyingly unresolved, albeit in such a fashion that just about no-one cared whether it ever came to a conclusion! More details are coming in the next few weeks, and alongside Transformers: Dark Of The Moon, Spider-Man: Edge Of Time, X-Men: Destiny and Modern Warfare 3 Activision are already placing their foothold on the second half of 2011's video gaming line up- and that's discounting their game reveals at E3...

New Alan Wake Game Coming

Remedy Software's Alan Wake arrived to mixed reviews last Summer, but nevertheless the developer has confirmed that a new entry in the series is set for release this fall. Speaking to Eurogamer, Oskari Hakkenen (head of development) said: "Fans of the franchise will be excited to learn that yes, more Wake is coming. But to be absolutely certain to avoid confusion, this will not be Alan Wake 2, nor will it be DLC." So if it's neither a sequel nor an add-on, what are we in for? I'd wager a semi-sequel like Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood and Fallout: New Vegas to bridge the gap to a full successor to the original, but Hakkenen wouldn't be drawn any further on what the new game will encompass. Expect more news next month at Microsoft's E3 conference on June 6th.