Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare – Day Zero Edition (Xbox 360)

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare – power changes everything The power of the next generation of advanced soldier. The power of a gripping performance from Kevin Spacey. The power of all-new exoskeleton gameplay mechanics. Power changes everything. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare delivers an inspired new era of Call of Duty. Published by Activision and developed for consoles and PC by Sledgehammer Games, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare delivers a breathtaking new vision for the blockbuster franchise, jolting players forward in a groundbreaking experience that s ripped from the headlines of tomorrow, envisioning a future where both technology and tactics have evolved to usher in a new era of combat for the franchise. Delivers a stunning vision of the future Set in the year 2054, a private military corporation (PMC) has emerged with the power to rescue humanity from a devastated world struggling to rebuild after a global attack on its military and infrastructure. You are the advanced soldi
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Titanfall (Xbox 360)

Crafted by one of the co-creators of Call of Duty and other key developers behind the Call of Duty franchise, Titanfall is among the most highly anticipated games of 2014, having been shrouded in mystery for nearly three years. The visionaries at Respawn have drawn inspiration from their proven experience in first-person action gaming, and are building on that pedigree by taking a new approach to game design and creating an all-new universe with Titanfall. The Frontier Welcome to the edge of civilisation In Titanfall, many generations of humanity live in the deepest reaches of explored space. This vast region is known as the Frontier. It contains many well-known and inhabited solar systems, but many more worlds remain uncharted. Most people will never travel this far away from normal civilisation; but for pioneers, explorers, mercenaries, outlaws, and soldiers the Frontier offers both adventure and opportunity. The IMC: Blisk, Spyglass, and Graves. The factions The IMC The Interstella
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Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes Movie Review

A quick montage at the beginning of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes fills us in on what has happened since Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Three years have gone by for us in the audience, and about a decade for the assorted primates on the screen. James Franco and millions of other people are dead, victims of a lethal virus and the usual apocalypse-causing disease of hubris. After a period of violence and chaos, the survivors have cobbled together a reasonably stable society in the ruins of San Francisco, with Gary Oldman in charge.

But this is not ‘Dusk of the Planet of the Humans’. The spectacle of yet another desperate population, huddled together in the wake of catastrophe to await the next zombie, alien, robot or monster attack, would be unlikely to inspire much excitement. The real interest lies across the battered Golden Gate Bridge, in Marin County, where our evolutionary cousins, under the benevolent guidance of an upright-walking chimpanzee named Caesar, have built their own civilization. In contrast to the bedraggled human colony, the ape encampment is a thriving city-state with distinctive wooden architecture, domesticated horses, a sophisticated (mostly signed) language and an educational system overseen by Maurice, the gentle, copper-furred orangutan who gave the first movie an extra fillip of soul.

Cast:Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Karin Konoval, Nick Thurston , Judy Greer, Toby Kebbell and Kodi Smit-McPhee 
Music: Michael Giacchino 
Director: Matt Reeves 
Writer: Mark Bomback, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver 

The sylvan, simian Athens in the Muir Woods is a remarkable achievement and an important part of what makes Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, directed by Matt Reeves from a script by Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver and Mark Bomback, the best of this summer’s large-scale, big-studio franchise movies. Granted, this isn’t a very high bar to clear: “better than Transformers 4” barely counts as praise, even with an exclamation mark. But unlike that toy-smashing extravaganza – and unlike 2014’s visitations from the Spider-Man, X-Men and Godzilla money trains – Dawn is more than a bunch of occasionally thrilling action sequences, emotional gut punches and throwaway jokes arranged in predictable sequence. It is technically impressive and viscerally exciting, for sure, but it also gives you a lot to think, and even to care, about.

Starting with the apes themselves. In the final credits, Andy Serkis receives top billing for his performance as Caesar, a role that continues to redefine screen acting in the digital age. His facial expressions and body language are so evocatively and precisely rendered that it is impossible to say where his art ends and the exquisite artifice of Weta Digital, the special-effects company, begins. The same is true of the other main ape performers: Karin Konoval (Maurice); Nick Thurston (Caesar’s son Blue Eyes); Judy Greer (Caesar’s wife, Cornelia); and especially Toby Kebbell as Koba, Caesar’s lieutenant and eventual nemesis.

Koba, a survivor of scientific experiments, bears the physical and moral scars of human cruelty. When the apes encounter a scouting party from the city (led by Jason Clarke and Keri Russell), Koba is quick to sound the alarm. The humans, about to run out of fuel, want to restore an abandoned hydroelectric station in ape territory, and they ask Caesar for help. Koba warns that people are a violent, duplicitous, predatory species that should be fought if it can’t be avoided.

Caesar, who saw the generous, tender side of humanity when he was hanging out with Franco and Freida Pinto, is willing to give our kind the benefit of the doubt. There is plenty of evidence – both in the movie and beyond it – to support Koba’s view, but the film comes down squarely, and maybe a little too squishily, on the side of tolerance and cooperation. The ape and human societies are parallel primitive patriarchies (women nurture and worry, while men lead and fight, a disappointing but hardly surprising failure of imagination on the filmmakers’ part), and they are threatened by symmetrical schisms. As Koba opposes Caesar, so does Malcolm (Clarke’s character) find himself increasingly at odds with Dreyfus (Oldman), who sees the apes as a mortal threat to be confronted with maximum brutality.

The arguments – in essence, about whether the boundaries of solidarity should stay within the tribe or extend beyond it – give Dawn of the Planet of the Apes a nice allegorical heft. The old movies, which blew the minds and troubled the sleep of many children in the ’60s and ’70s (including young Bobby Draper in Season 6 of Mad Men), arrived at a time of racial conflict, ecological anxiety and a general sense of social breakdown. Since then, cinematic technology has evolved from rubber masks to digital sculpture, and our fears and aspirations have mutated, too, making Planet of the Apes a less abstract, more hauntingly immediate story.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes [Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray]

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And while Rise found room for exuberance in the shadow of catastrophe – partly because it seemed so justifiably excited by its own ingenuity – Dawn, its title notwithstanding, paints a darker, scarier picture of the future. It also has a grave, brooding beauty, intensified by Michael Giacchino’s wild and subtle score and by the deep, verdant shadows of Michael Seresin’s cinematography. Reeves has a fine sense of visual detail and also of the eloquence of nonverbal exchanges between characters, digitally enhanced and otherwise. (Russell and Kodi Smit-McPhee, as her adolescent son, do especially graceful work in limited roles.) The film is full of small, memorable moments and crowded with distinctive personalities on both sides of the ape-human divide.

In other words, it’s a satisfying movie and an example – a dispiritingly rare one these days – of what mainstream Hollywood filmmaking can still achieve. That we have progressed from Rise only as far asDawn suggests many future sequels, which may, in this case, be a source of hope as well as dread, provided that civilization doesn’t collapse in the meantime.

Movie Review by A. O. Scott, The New York Times [read more]

Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes Movie Review

Sonic Generations (Xbox 360)

Sonic Generations is the highly anticipated video game title to celebrate Sonic the Hedgehog s 20th Anniversary. Delivering the definitive gaming experience for Sonic fans old and new, Sonic Generations sees Sonic the Hedgehog playable as both the much loved classic 1991 character, and the modern day video game hero he has become in this exciting new fast paced adventure. Set across three defining eras from 20 years of Sonic the Hedgehog video game history, the instantly recognisable environments of Sonic Generations have been re-built in stunning HD and are now playable in both classic side scrolling 2D from 1991, as well as modern 3D style found in Sonic s most recent adventures. Each incarnation of Sonic in Sonic Generations comes complete with his trademark special move, Spin Dash and Spin Attack for Classic Sonic, and Homing Attack and Sonic Boost for Modern Sonic. An innovative new interactive menu system allows for complete immersion in Sonic s universe with favourite character
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GRAND THEFT AUTO SAN ANDREAS PC

Five years ago Carl Johnson escaped from the pressures of life in Los Santos, San Andreas a city tearing itself apart with gang trouble, drugs and corruption, where film stars and millionaires do their best to avoid the dealers and gangbangers. Now, it s the early 90 s. Carl s got to go home. His mother has been murdered, his family has fallen apart and his childhood friends are all heading towards disaster. On his return to the neighbourhood, a couple of corrupt cops frame him for homicide. CJ is forced on a journey that takes him across the entire state of San Andreas, to save his family and to take control of the streets. Minimum System Requirements: 1GHz Intel Pentium III or AMD Athlon Processor. 512MB Ram. 64MB Video Card with DirectX9 compatible drivers (Windows 2000 & XP, Vista Basic). 128MB NVIDIA GeForce 6 Video Card (Vista Premium/business/ultimate). 8X Speed DVD-ROM Drive. 3.6GB of free hard disk space for a minimal install. DirectX9 compatible stereo sound card.
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Need for Speed Most Wanted (Xbox 360)

Prepare yourself for thrills and spills in the latest instalment in the Need for Speed video game series, developed by Criterion. Most Wanted boasts many finely crafted features so that you can race through an intriguing open world, take on your rivals and leave the rulebook behind as you tear through Fairhaven City. Drive a series of vehicles or master the vehicle of your choice and you can compete against the 10 best cars in the game. Modification is also possible, whether you decide to reinforce your chassis, add track tires or protect your car from the powerful impact of collisions. To be Most Wanted, you ll need to outrun the cops, outdrive your friends, and outsmart your rivals. With a relentless police force gunning to take you down, you ll need to make split second decisions. Use the open world to your advantage to find hiding spots, hit jumps and earn new vehicles to keep you one step ahead. In true Criterion Games fashion, your friends are at the heart of your experience. In
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Civilization Beyond Earth (PC DVD)

A new science-fiction-themed entry into the award winning Civilization series. Set in the future, global events have destabilized the world leading to a collapse of modern society, a new world order and an uncertain future for humanity. As the human race struggles to recover, the re-developed nations focus their resources on deep space travel to chart a new beginning for mankind. As part of an expedition sent to find a home beyond Earth, you will write the next chapter for humanity as you lead your people into a new frontier and create a new civilization in space. Explore and colonize an alien planet, research new technologies, amass mighty armies, build incredible Wonders and shape the face of your new world. As you embark on your journey you must make critical decisions. From your choice of sponsor and the make-up of your colony, to the ultimate path you choose for your civilization, every decision opens up new possibilities. Features: Seed the Adventure: Establish your cultural ide
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