The SNES Classic is the best gift you could get any gamer

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Now the SNES Classic has been out for a week, I’ve had enough time to discover, and rediscover, an assortment of old titles. Yes, it’s every bit as fun as you’ve heard and this little console will be the perfect Christmas gift for any video gaming fan, whether they have a soft spot for retro titles or not. But beyond anything else, this last week has reminded me how unforgiving 90s games were. The haunted mansion levels of Super Mario are an absolute chore; Baby Mario getting seperated from Yoshi every five seconds is just painful; and do not even get me started on Donkey Kong Country. I’m halfway through a co-operative playthrough with my flatmate and I think I’m getting a sore throat after shouting so much over every mistimed jump. But all of this challenge makes it so much more rewarding when you finally do make it over the obstacles. These games all have so much charm, and it’s hard to believe just how old games like A Link To The Past and Yoshi’s Island are when they still look so good over twenty years later. Continue reading “The SNES Classic is the best gift you could get any gamer”

Rick And Morty Season 3 Review: Too much of a good thing

Rick And Morty Season 3

The third season finale of Rick And Morty aired this weekend, and with it fans are now facing a long wait for more episodes. Season 3 was promised to fans as the darkest season yet, and it certainly lived up to that claim. But letting Rick ‘off the leash’ had the same effect as turning on cheat codes in a video game to overpower yourself: it’s fun for a while, but you need to be reined in now and again to really appreciate the best moments. Continue reading “Rick And Morty Season 3 Review: Too much of a good thing”

Dissidia Final Fantasy NT: 5 Characters I want to see

The Closed Beta is here, and in-between getting my ass handed to me online, I’ve found time to think about who I want to see in the final product…

Dissidia-Final-Fantasy-NTThe closed beta of Dissidia Final Fantasy NT arrived a few days ago, with fan reaction to some of the gameplay changes from Dissidia 012 being less than stellar – it certainly takes some getting used to the way 3v3 changes the gameplay.

But it’s extremely early days, and a lot can change before the game officially releases in early 2018. I am hoping for a less cluttered HUD (Does the map need to be that big?), better/faster matchmaking, and much more customisation. The introduction of a full 1v1 local/online mode would be amazing. I’m also curious how the single player campaign will play, though I don’t think many of us are too bothered about an in-depth storyline when it comes to a fighting game based around Final Fantasy characters.

I thought I’d use this post to focus on five characters I would love to see in the final release of Dissidia NT. The entire roster of 012 is already confirmed to be returning, and Noctis from XV is obviously going to be a newcomer. So who else would be great to see? Continue reading “Dissidia Final Fantasy NT: 5 Characters I want to see”

WONDER WOMAN REVIEW: A must-see in the oversaturated Superhero film genre

I basically watched the entire film with a smile on my face from ear-to-ear

 

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I’m not normally one for superhero films in all honesty, but this is a film where a warrior princess of Greek myth descent uses a golden lasso, a legendary sword and bulletproof bracelets to beat up evil men. Am I going to enjoy it…? Of course I bloody am!

Set in 1918, Wonder Woman sees Princess Diana (Gal Gadot) become the titular heroine after American pilot Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) washes ashore on her Mystery Island of Badass Amazon Warrior Women™ and takes her away from her home to fight in the on-going World War.

Wonder Woman quickly became my favourite superhero film I’ve seen, knocking Guardians of the Galaxy Vol II off of its pedestal almost as quickly as it got there. But it has to be said they’re very different films – there’s no upbeat soundtrack or heavy comedy in Wonder Woman. Massive amounts of comedy aren’t really needed when you’re too busy watching Wonder Woman effortlessly lasso a man and kick him in the head and loving every second of it. Continue reading “WONDER WOMAN REVIEW: A must-see in the oversaturated Superhero film genre”

‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ celebrates its 20th anniversary

This post sums up how a quirky 90s drama has solidified itself as my favourite TV series – and why thousands of others feel the same way

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20 years ago today, Buffy Summers first arrived in the Californian town of Sunnydale rejecting her calling to slay vampires and wanting nothing more than to be a normal girl. Over the next seven years, she came to terms with her destiny and made a huge impact on the world of television in the process. Buffy the Vampire Slayer introduced viewers to a modern female heroine who didn’t need to be rescued. It gave us humour, drama, horror, a musical episode and even an emmy-nominated ‘silent’ episode. Now, the show is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a new line of merchandise and lives on in a canonical comic book series currently on season 11. It is my favourite show by a mile, and this post explains why. Continue reading “‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ celebrates its 20th anniversary”

10 Moments I’d Love To Replay In A Final Fantasy 30th Anniversary Collection

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the Final Fantasy franchise, and some rumours pointed to the announcement of a special PS4 disc containing Final Fantasy I through IX. Unfortunately this wasn’t announced (Though we did get a July 11th release date for FF XII The Zodiac Age and some dates for new XV DLC), but that doesn’t stop me reminiscing about those moments I’d be giddy to replay if we do eventually see a collection like this one day. Here are ten of them:

BAHAMUT VS ALEXANDER (FF IX)

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IX was the first Playstation entry where summons took the forefront of the storyline. These enormous creatures we had previously seen in sprite-form/blocky graphics were finally presented in stunning FMV cutscenes, the most iconic of which being an enormous battle in the kingdom of Alexandria. Dragon King Bahamut is shooting fireballs and wreaking havoc while you take control of multiple team members in different parts of the city, eventually managing to use summon magic to turn Alexandria Castle itself into a god-damn winged war-machine called Alexander. (OK, he’s technically behind the castle I suppose). Cue incredible CGI scenes with a dragon fleeing for its life from a gargantuan living fortress that can shoot laser beams out of its wings. It’s all kinds of epic and is my main memory from playing IX for the first time. Continue reading “10 Moments I’d Love To Replay In A Final Fantasy 30th Anniversary Collection”

La La Land REVIEW

AKA that film where Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling sing their way around Los Angeles and make you wish your life was a musical

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La La Land is receiving huge amounts of hype everywhere you look – with universal critical acclaim, being praised as one of the best films of 2016, and winning a record-breaking seven Golden Globe awards. If you’re hearing all the hype but not quite sure what it’s about: Emma Stone plays an aspiring actress in Los Angeles. Ryan Gosling plays an aspiring musician. The two of them fall in love and try to make their dreams a reality. Oh, and it’s a musical. Continue reading “La La Land REVIEW”

5 GREAT HORROR/THRILLER FILMS ON UK NETFLIX RIGHT NOW

In the mood to scream at your tv / have a panic attack / be afraid to go to sleep? I can help!

VISIONS (2015)

Isla Fisher, Anson Mount, Gillian Jacobs

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Despite the fact I still struggle to see Isla Fisher as anyone but the fantastically sassy lead character in Confessions of a Shopaholic (what a film!), this spooky horror flick sees Fisher playing a pregnant woman plagued by some damn creepy visions after her and her husband buy a vineyard. (Let’s face it, if you’re buying an old vineyard you deserve to be haunted in some capacity). All the ingredients are here for your standard run-of-the-mill ghost film, including blood on the walls and stuff appearing out of nowhere, but things don’t work out quite the way you expect. Continue reading “5 GREAT HORROR/THRILLER FILMS ON UK NETFLIX RIGHT NOW”

Harry Potter and The Cursed Child REVIEW

Nineteen years later and Harry’s still a dick…

I’ve only gone and bloody caught up on the Harry Potter universe! Since finishing reading the books for the first time last year, I’ve seen Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them (LOVED IT!) and read the script of The Cursed Child. The pacing of the story feels a little off and there are some messy plot mechanics, but this was made up for by the introduction of excellent new characters and some amazing throwbacks to the books. But why are we visiting the Wizarding world again? At the end of scene two an adult Ginny is talking about her youngest son and asks her husband: “Harry… He’ll be alright, won’t he?” He most definitely will not be alright Ginny, and it’s because of that we have this treat of a play to entertain ourselves with!

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WARNING! Spoilers abound throughout the rest of this review!

Continue reading “Harry Potter and The Cursed Child REVIEW”