FEATURE: Everything You Need To Know About E3 2012

The biggest gaming event of the year just happened. Instead of going through all the various articles I've put everything you need to know in one page, so take a look. If you're searching for any new hardware from Sony or Microsoft - prepare to be disappointed.










XBOX NEWS


Microsoft have released Smartglass. This is so that you can use your tablet or smartphone with your Xbox, such as using it as a remote, or watching a film then carrying onto your Xbox. It's not only part of Microsoft (finally) realising that a games console should be an entertainment hub for every living room (something Sony have been saying for years and years) but also puts it into direct competition with Wii U who have used their GamePad to do pretty much exactly the same thing. Clever Microsoft. It will also now feature Internet Explorer, some new Nike thing for your shoe (like Nike+ for your iPod) and that's about it.

SONY NEWS


Not much to be honest. A lot of plugging the Vita and saying it will be able to be synced with your PS3 so that, lo and behold, you can use it to interact with your Playstation as a remote or yadda yadda yadda. Also PS1 classics you have bought will also now be able to play on your Vita. No news about a new console.

NINTENDO NEWS


More about the Wii U, you'll be able to play titles like Mass Effect 3, Arkham City, Assassin's Creed 3 and more on it and use them in a different way. But who cares? The GamePad which will be the Wii U control will have a screen, but you can also buy controls without a screen. There will also be a new Wii Fit thing. Ultimately they are trying to show off Wii U but nobody really cares.


So let's move onto the games, which was pretty much what E3 was about this year.


WATCH DOGS


Ubisoft came in with a nice surprise called Watch Dogs. The idea is that you play someone who has access to everyone's personal details (not too far from what's happening with all this hacking etc. going on). Here's a cool gameplay trailer to get you in the mood:



BEYOND: TWO SOULS


David Cage has made quite a name for himself and yet his company, Quantic Dream, have released only a number of games I could count on one hand. His first real success was Fahrenheit in 2005 which was pretty dark but wanted to be less a game and more an 'interactive film'. They took this one step further with the superb Heavy Rain (reviewed here) in 2010 and now have shown us their next project starring Juno and Inception actress Ellen Page. Looks pretty good!

TRAILER



GAMEPLAY




SUPER MARIO BROS 2


Seeing as I get criticised for leaving out Nintendo most of the time, here's Super Mario Bros 2 on 3DS where you have to collect a million gold coins or something. Looks fun ... I guess.



LEGO: LORD OF THE RINGS


There's a huge fan base for the LEGO game series which I've dipped in and out of time to time. But they seem to have taken it one step further this time. Watch out for LEGOlas. Bam - went there.



MEDAL OF HONOR: WARFIGHTER


EA still feel like they are missing a piece of the Call of Duty pie and I won't go into the whole Infinity Ward / Activision debacle but rest assured that Warfighter is going to be a step up from the last reboot of Medal Of Honor which had it's moments but overall, was all style and no substance. Anyway, here's a trailer of things blowing up and shooting people form all sorts of places.





GOD OF WAR: ASCENSION


What hasn't caused much hype is the new God of War. Perhaps people are bored? Either way, their teaser trailer didn't really reveal much but here's some of the lush gameplay that Kratos et al are known for. Also, it has multiplayer?




ASSASSIN'S CREED III


Of course, one of the big boys was Assassin's Creed 3 and instead of showing you all the trailers etc., here's some gameplay for you to look at. There's some messing about on foot, but the sea stuff looks incredible.






ASSASSIN'S CREED: LIBERATION


If you can't get enough of the third instalment then if you got a Vita you lucky thing, then look forward to Liberation. Here's a sneaky glimpse.




DUST 514


There seems to be a lot of hype about Eve, a whole PC thing that I'm completely unaware of. Anyway, if I got this right (and please correct me if I'm wrong), while the Eve users are busy doing political strategic intergalactic Universe warfare stuff, Dust 514 console users will be battling out in an an FPS on the ground according to what Eve players are doing. Very strange if that's right, but very cool. Here's a glimpse.




CRYSIS 3


So more and more sequels. Crysis 2 was a bit of a let down it must be said, looked great but I really didn't enjoy it that much. In any case, I think it did quite well and people still bang on about the original so here's the third. Again, it looks brilliant, but then so did the second one ...




DEAD SPACE 3


One of the titles I wish I could say I was looking forward to is Dead Space 3. However, as much as I enjoyed Dead Space 2 (which wasn't a lot, but still enjoyable), I can't help but think they have completely deviated away form what made Dead Space so fucking brilliant in the first place. It's co-op?! Why? The whole point is that your on the edge of your seat trying not to poo your pants, instead this is getting a bit like Gears of War or something. Nothing will beat the first one and you haven't lived if you haven't played it. Anyway, I'll probably still get this. Damn EA.




PLAYSTATION ALL STARS


Quite simple. If you like Super Smash Bros (which I do, a lot) then you will probably love this. Drake, Kratos, Big Daddy, PaRappa The Rapper, Helghast person etc all going for it. Have a look.




THE LAST OF US


By far and away the game I'm looking forward to the most. This gameplay trailer almost made me cry, it's so fucking brilliant. Take a look.



THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN


Since Spiderman 2, I haven't been bothered about any other Spiderman games really. However, this time round it does look rather juicy. Take a look for yourself.



HALO 4


Of course Microsoft's big one was Halo 4. Not having been made by the guys who did the original trilogy, this still looks like it will be more of the same that everyone loves with apparently some cool new multiplayer features. Here's a bit of gameplay but to be honest, if you've played Halo before, you'll know what it looks like.




FINAL FANTASY: AGNI'S PHILOSOPHY


This was a tech demo for Square's new engine called the Luminous Studio Engine, which will apparently be making some waves and bridge current tech to next-gen consoles. Anyway, it does look mighty impressive and Square have said that it could be the next Final Fantasy if people like it enough. Who knows? Have a look.




UNREAL 4 ENGINE


In the same vein, Unreal released a new tech demo for their new Unreal 4 engine. A LOT of games use the Unreal engine so it's a bit of a big deal if you'll be playing any FPS in the next few years.




CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS 2


Well, there is always the big Call of Duty release and this time is no exception. I enjoyed Black Ops so would be good to see if this can have a good story behind it like last time.




RESIDENT EVIL 6


Capcom come back with Resident Evil 6 which looks more epic than ever. Hopefully, they have held off on the melodrama and tried to keep it a bit more grounded (as grounded as a zombie game can be), but with talk of the President etc. - it looks like this might be as cheesy as ever. Anyway, it will definitely be good fun.




STAR WARS 1313


Instead of a normal Star Wars game, this is supposed to be like Uncharted in space. There is no Force or anything like that, it's just a bit of action/adventure that keeps it all quite simple.




TOMB RAIDER


Definitely one of the top games to look out for, the Tomb Raider reboot looks and plays amazing. Will win a lot of awards next year I'm telling you! Look at this incredible trailer, if only films were more like this.




SPLINTER CELL: BLACKLIST


I really enjoyed the last Splinter Cell, something I haven't been able to say for some time. Blacklist carries on in the same vein and has definitely upped the game. Below is a gameplay trailer UbiSoft have released and I think it looks rather spiffing.

REVIEW: Super

Imagine Kick-Ass was less about a nerdy kid and more about a middle aged man. Imagine that there were no special training involved, no huge amounts of money to be squandered on fast cars and no neon effects but rather a tale of personal vengeance with murder, rape and prostitution high on the agenda. Then make it stupidly funny and call it a superhero film and you have "Super".


Super has to be the one of the most 'out-there' superhero films in that it's not 'out-there' at all. Rainn Wilson (Dwight from The Office) plays the Crimson Bolt who believes he is chosen by God to strike vengeance against those who do wrong. This epiphany comes after his wife, Liv Tyler, is stolen away by Kevin Bacon's slimy drug dealer and to which Ellen Page playing a comic store worker helps give him ideas.

For anyone who loves Dwight in The Office, Wilson gives a more in-depth but similar character to the much-loved character within this film. However, what he is lacking is Dwight's self-belief - something the Crimson Bolt can help with. Effectively, his superhero guise is a mask for his insecurity and complete emasculation at the hands of his wife and of Bacon. He is but a mere burger flipper working alongside Bubbles from The Wire and is a very simple, sweet natured man. So what makes this so strange is that he's a borderline psychotic.

Wilson's character Frank is practically brain-raped by God and under-used Nathon Fillion as a Jesus loving superhero seems to be his inspiration. This all seems well and good and could fit into any superhero origins story, however Frank is clearly deluded. Not only about God, but about his wife who does not care for him and, as we later find out, basically uses him as an excuse to go straight after a drug and booze fuelled past. Frank has clearly not lived a happy life, or one with much excitement, yet his moral compass is set to good - to the point where a lot of people get hurt along the way. It could be said that Frank is almost a metaphor for America in general - a superpower that believes it is banishing evil in God's name when in fact it's selfish, violent and horrendous behaviour arguably does more harm than good. However, my main issue is that there is no real redemption - Frank does not see the real folly in his ways and near the end the media almost glorify him. Great for the story, but not for the morally conscientious.

Frank literally knocks people's teeth out and goes to town on the most petty of crimes while Bacon's henchmen try and track him down by bumbling about and faffing around. Soon, once Ellen Page comes onboard, he starts to realise the psychotic behaviour of what they are doing and the grim reality behind what it must be like to fight crime. People get hurt and die. But this swinging from humour to tragedy is almost too regular and often leaves me confused - should I be laughing at the guy bleeding on the floor or at the man on fire while getting stabbed? One seems more funny than the other and although I did laugh, it was such dark humour that it was slightly uncomfortable. However, it's this point exactly that I love it.

Throughout the film, there's a lot of gruesome violence but all done with a tinge of comedy. It's lucky that they have clearly let Wilson go free on a lot of the scenes and the director (ex-husband of Pam from The Office) has a good eye and ear for what works. It's a stark, dark, twisted contrast to the ultra-glossy Kick Ass which it will undoubtedly be compared to and, although it's not as well-formed as Kick-Ass, I would probably watch Super more times than the latter. It's simply funnier and doesn't hold back. It brings it all back to a more personal, dramatic ending as, after quite a horrific Tyler rape scene, Frank looks back on his exploits and the reason behind all this and although he's no superhero, he's a hero in a lot of other ways. The epilogue sequence is a sad paradox to the superhero film because even though it works out, it doesn't work out at all. Frank is a sweet, simple man and for all his faults, he only tried to do the right thing. His memories and the life that he has been left with might be something others would sniff at but, for him, he's happy.

I enjoyed the film thoroughly and is a lot better than Defendor (a similar film in a lot of ways) but still lacks the oomph that could have made it spectacular. The humour was spot-on but the pace was somewhat lagging and I felt like there could have been more. It's clearly a well-loved piece of work and I would recommend it to the quirkier film-lovers out there who enjoy watching something a bit different. It simply won't work in front of a mainstream audience, but then, it was never meant to.

Rating: 7/10

Inception

"An idea is like a virus" states DiCaprio and seeing as this hasn't left my mind since I've seen it, he couldn't be more correct.

I'm guessing most people have already heard the incredible feedback this film has received and so might walk into it thinking 'how great can this be?' and the answer is, it is perhaps one of the best films I've ever seen.

This isn't like Empire where they throw top marks at everything that's not complete crap (and sometimes even then they don't hold back), but this is a brave, original, perfectly crafted work of art. Yes it's art. Art can still be a commercial success and at least this isn't up it's own arse.

If you're not familiar with what it's about I can tell you the less you know the better. So I'm not going to reveal too much but let's say it's got a unique blend of different genres - action, heist, spy, sci-fi, thriller, horror, fantasy, drama and even a bit of comedy thrown in every now and then. DiCaprio is a man with a haunted past that is able with his crew to penetrate people's dreams.

That's the basis and I don't want to reveal more of the plot than this as it's a review, not an essay. Though I'm sure a lot of film students will have a field day on this film as it beckons more questions than The Matrix ever did. The symbolism, science and pretty much everything is enough to keep your mind busy for a while and what's great is that - it makes sense.

It doesn't patronise the audience by talking to them like a child, but it explains in simple enough terms all the intricacies of how the science of it all works and it is clearly a topic Nolan had thought to death about. Nothing is spared, every possible loophole filled and leaves the audience satisified (unlike the awful writing of Lost for example).

So let's move on to Nolan. There's no denying the man is a genius, he knows how to make a true film and you can see the passion he puts into his work all over the screen. The directing cannot be bettered and I would go as far as to say he is possibly my favourite contemporary director after this film. Not one of his past movies (not just Dark Knight - but Memento, Insomnia etc.) has ever failed to be nothing short of incredible. His confident, brave and bold projects shows that it really does pay to take a chance and take on something most directors wouldn't dare. The fact that he wrote Inception (I'd imagine he let his brother at least look over it) shows that his personal involvement with these films puts people like Bay and more to shame. Nolan has taught us that even subject matter like a comic book hero doesn't mean it has to be anything less than amazing.

Back to Inception though. It's possibly the first time that I have looked at a film and thought the CG looks entirely real. Completely believable. The fight scenes were enough to beat Heat & The Matrix (which if you remember were pretty much the best bits of the respective films) and the action is relentless. Like all Nolan films, not one scene is filler - every single moment in the film is relevant and even at a lengthy 2 and a half hours, I would have stayed and watched the whole thing again happily. It also shows that to have such an amazing scale, you don't need to be in 3D either and that it probably would have possibly ruined the film should people have been too obsessed with the 3D aspect of it. Thoughts?

Either way, the acting was perfect, I even enjoyed watching Page whom I hated before this film. Tom Hardy once again proves he is Britain's best young hope and even DiCaprio works on his Shutter Island performance to give a depth and gravitas I've never seen him do before. Even the score, cinematography, script and basically everything is incredible, I cannot gush about this enough. Fuck Toy Story 3 - if you've got a choice, choose this.

Saying that, it can't be completely perfect right? Well, that's true. For some reason, the first fifteen minutes felt a bit Johnny Mnemonic to me and I started to get a bit wary of where this was going, although luckily that feeling left quite soon. Also Michael Caine jarred with me slightly as I felt like he was just going to turn around and go "Yes Mr. Wayne" at any point. The fact that they go through so much trouble to plant an idea in someones head also feels ridiculous - surely there are easier ways of manipulation? And wouldn't it take someone just to go 'that's ridiculous, why would you do that?' to counteract it? Unless you truly believe it's like a disease and that you get obsessed with it. I don't know ...

However, these are such slight niggling things that all it will do is detract from your enjoyment of what is a perfect piece of film-making. I don't think anyone could argue that the way the dream layers come together at the end is nothing short of a superb piece of storytelling that could have easily gone wrong at any point. And the final shot? That's enough to drive you mad forever.

I can hardly fault this film and to be honest, I shouldn't, because if more film-makers like Nolan were around this truly would be a wondrous world. I'd just love to have a look at what goes on inside that head of his, but I guess this is the closest I'll ever get.
Maybe ....

Rating: 10/10