Ghostbusters - Horror Videogame Review (X-Box 360)

Ghostbusters are amazing aren't they?  I had forgotten how much I love the Ghostbusters until I played this game.  Both Ghostbusters 1 and 2 are really good films, Bill Murry, Dan Akroyd et al are fantastic.  For this game they all reprise their roles, and are fantastic!  Not only do they reprise their roles, but other key characters from the films also reprise their roles such as the character of Walter Peck.

The game takes place in 1991, a few years after the events of Ghostbusters 2.  The Ghostbusters are doing well, and supported by the Mayor of New York on a Government contract to keep the City Tourist friendly.  They take on a new member (the character you play as) a young boy who is hired to test out experimental ghost busting gadgets.  Soon after the start of the game a psychic shock wave shakes the City emanating from a exhibit at the Museum dedicated to Gozar (the main demon thing from Ghostbusters).  The shock wave frees Slimer from his containment unit so the Ghostbusters head to the Hotel he was originally caught in to get him back.  Soon after the Stay Puft Marshmellow man makes a surprise return and ghost sightings spread like wildfire.  It is up to the Ghostbusters to discover what has caused this outbreak of Ghosts.

I played the demo for this game ages ago.  I hated the demo! I found the controls confusing, and the gameplay frustrating, it left a bad taste in my mouth.  Thankfully the actual game is a billion times better.  It doesn't help the demo that it's from a section about halfway through the game (and quite a hard section at that), and the controls really were not very well explained at all.  The proper game itself has a useful tutorial opening (disguised as hunting down and capturing a escaped ghost at the Ghostbusters HQ).

You play as the unnamed rookie who teams up with random members of the Ghostbusters in each level.  You are silent, but the main Ghostbusters are constantly talking amongst themselves as well as gently mocking you.  They are really funny, and really feel like the same characters that were portrayed in the films.  Bill Murry as Peter Venkman in particular is really funny.  The voices don't sound like they were just phoned in.

A knowledge of the films is pretty much essential to really enjoy the game.  The soundtrack is the same as that in the previous films, and the plot is basically Ghostbusters 3, referencing, and linking the previous films together.  Locations are a mix of old and new.  As well as the Hotel from Ghostbusters you also revisit the Library location as well as the Museum of Ghostbusters 2.  New locations include Central Park, a mysterious Island, as well as several Demon Realm levels.

There are lots of different enemy types, but fall into 2 different types.  There are ghosts who you must wear down by shooting your proton lasers at.  These include the famous one such as Slimer, as well as game specific ghosts such as tramp ghosts, and Gozer cultist ghosts.  Once their energy bars are worn down then you can throw out your trap to capture the ghost.  The other enemy type are possessed objects.  These are far more varied.  They include everything from stone gargoyles, flying books, stone cupids, giant golems (made out of objects such as coal, or furniture), and more.  The possessed enemies can just be blasted till they fall apart. All the enemies have their own bios you can read on the pause screen

You have access to 4 types of weapon.  The iconic proton beam is the first one you get access to, other ones include a slime gun (that can also be used to tether objects and enemies together), a shotgun style weapon (that can slow down ghosts movements), and a high powered machine gun type beam that doubles as a rifle beam.  The weapons can all be upgraded by collecting money.  The money is earned by not only catching ghosts, but also by destroying the surrounding areas.  It is really funny how little the Ghostbusters care about damaging the locations they find themselves in, often making jokes about the damage they are causing.

After each mission you go back to HQ where you can wonder around and look at objects you have collected (hidden in each level is a variety of special objects that appear at the HQ once collected).  These objects range from possessed Ghostbuster toys to evil paintings, and masks.  All have a little bio which is usually quite humorous to read.  The HQ is fun to walk around and the evil painting from Ghostbusters 2 is even there!

The game is not very hard, but is fun.  There are a few frustrating moments in the game but these are rare.  You never get to drive the GhostbustersGhostbusters theme never plays in its entirety.  Loading screens have the first part of the song, and the end credits have part of the song, but it never shows up in full anywhere which annoyed me!

The game is defiantly worth picking up if you have any interest in Ghostbusters.  The Wii version features more cartoony visuals, but I assume the actual game is the same.  I do also own the Wii version so will review that when I have played it.  The game does support up to 4 players in a special multiplayer mode in which I assume you get plonked down in a location from the main game in order to clear the area of ghosts and monsters, but as usual I never got to try it this way.

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Last of the Living - Zombie Film Review

This is the 2nd zombie film I have seen from New Zealand (the first being the gore fest Brain Dead).  Last of the Living is another zombie comedy, but has less in common with Brain Dead, and more in common with the likes of Shaun of the Dead, and Zombieland albeit on a much lower budget.

Last of the Living takes place 6 months after a zombie apocalypse has swept the globe.  3 losers Morgan, Ash, and Johnny while away the days drinking, watching films, and playing video games.  To them the apocalypse was the ultimate adventure, and they are happy, if a bit bored in their lazy lifestyle they have chosen.  They don't see the undead as a threat, and the only real negative thing they seem to have about current events is the lack of females.  While out driving in Johnny's modified Cadillac they come across a female survivor.  She is a Scientist who has the potential cure to the apocalypse, and a plan to implement it.  Deciding to make a difference to the world (and to possibly pull the attractive girl) they decide to team up with her on her mission.

The film is really really funny, but also manages to be downbeat, and depressing.  The 3 lads comprise of a geek (who always wears armour when going outside which gets him heckles from his mates for being a wimp), a self obsessed jerk who is convinced he is Gods gift to women (he phones up random girls he used to know on the off chance they are still alive and may want to hook up), and a crazy man (his biggest wish is to perfect his 'special move' he created when boxing, as well as get his Rock bands demo tape heard despite him being the only surviving member).  The characters play off each other fantastically, constantly insulting each other, but genuinely do care about each other.  The female character in comparison is much more subdued and bland only seeing the bad side of the apocalypse, and driven on her mission.  There are a few other characters, but for the most part it is just these 4 the film revolves around.

The contrast between the lads and the girl is brilliantly done.  Hearing the boys describe their Towns last stand against the zombie hordes is hilarious.  They didn't actually participate in the last stand but described the 6 day long stand off as 'sounding awesome' from their vantage point at a house hanging out.  The girl just can't understand how such lazy people could survive.  The undead are not taken seriously by the boys.  They see fighting zombies as a game, and get great pleasure in battling the zombies, and ogling the female zombies.

The film concerning the death of the world is downbeat at times, which the excellent soundtrack compliments, you come to care about the likable characters, and really want them to win.  A few niggly problems with the film.  I really don't know if there would still be power 6 months after the apocalypse.  Phones, household appliances all operate fine, and shops still have full power (lit up, music playing over the intercom, electronic doors working).  It would be cool if power did last that long after the apocalypse!  Characters also don't really seem to value life.  When people die they are sad up until the next scene when the dead characters are pretty much discarded and never mentioned again.

The zombie effects are not brilliant, mostly just face make up to show the zombies, but there is variety, everything from chained criminal zombies, to bride and groom zombies to workmen zombies, and it is funny when characters reckon zombies as ex girlfriends, friends etc.  The zombies also have a disparity in how they act.  Early on in the film the zombies are the slow, dim witted shuffling kind, while later on the zombies are more the 'rage' style zombies being able to run super fast.  I think the reason the characters are so careless about death is that they know they cannot survive and are just making the most of the time they have left happy in the knowledge they have survived longer than friends and family.

I really enjoyed this film, it has a likable cast, and made me not only laugh out loud in places, but also really worry for the characters as well.  A very good film, New Zealand's (low budget) answer to Shaun of the Dead!

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Le Chuck's Revenge: Monkey Island 2 - Special Edition (X-Box Live Arcade Videogame Review)

Monkey Island 2 is my 2nd favourite point and click game of all time.  Only Toonstruck is higher on my list, and that's only because it no longer exists in any playable form.  Monkey Island is the sequel to The Secret of Monkey Island.  The special edition of that game was released last year.  Again for the 2nd game the graphics have been totally redone, and the voice actors from 3, 4, and the Monkey Island Episodes have given the characters of the game voices for the first time ever.

Monkey Island 2 takes place a few years after the events of Monkey Island.  Guybrush Threepwood is in search of a legendary treasure called Big Whoop, and has travelled to lawless Scabb Island in his search.  A series of strange circumstances leads to the resurrection of Le Chuck.  He was a Ghost Pirate in Monkey Island, now he is a Zombie Pirate, and a angry one who wants nothing more than to kill Guybrush.  To defeat him Guybrush must locate the treasure of Big Whoop.

This game is so much better than Monkey Island.  That game was fantastic, with a great script, but this one is even better.  There are more Islands to explore, more characters, and more puzzles.  The game is split up into 4 chapters, with the search for the map to Big Whoop in chapter 2 comprising the majority of the game.  Point and click for those who don't know basically means (in the original at least) you control your character by clicking where you want him to go.  There are commands at the bottom of the screen such as Pick Up, Push, Talk To etc with which you can interact with the objects, people, and locations of the game world.  For the remake the commands are all hidden out of sight, brought into play via the shoulder buttons on the controller, and Guybrush can be moved around more easily via the D-Pad or left analogue stick.

The locations again are all Pirate based, the game being set in the Caribbean.  The initial 3 Islands you get access to are all different feeling places.  You have Scabb Island with its Swamp, and Graveyard, Phatt Island which is a Dictatorship, and Booty Island which is permanently in party mode.  The characters are all fantastic creations, made even better with the addition of voices for them.  Many characters from the first game reappear, and there is many references to past events.  Favourites of course would have to be Le Chuck, Guybrush, and Elaine Marley (all returning characters) but voices really made the characters of Stan (the used coffin salesman), Mad Marty (the tone deaf laundry worker), and Wally (the wimpy cartographer) come alive more than they had before.  Not all the voices are like I would have liked.  Largo Le Grande in particular I didn't really like the voice for.

The problem with playing the game so much is that I can do it with my eyes shut, so the experience got a bit boring for me.  That is only because I must have played the game from start to finish at least 30 times by now.  The puzzles are clever, but there are some obscure ones hidden away in there.  The graphical style again is not too smooth, though this comes with trying to match the animations of the new characters to the pixel-lated ones of the old game.

Differences from the original Monkey Island 2 then?  As well as redone graphics, and voices the soundtrack has also been redone.  The music in this game is one of the best soundtracks ever for a game, but I found myself missing the midi tones of the original.  You can switch between the original game and the remake at the flick of a button, but it is a shame that you can't play the original game with voices enabled.  Other changes include achievements (not very exciting though) and a commentary at key parts of the game.  I could imagine that would be quite interesting to listen to, I shall do so one day.

If you want to see what a great script in a game should be like, and be genuinely entertained by a very funny game then this is for you.  Plus it has a zombie in it!

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F.E.A.R (2005) - Horror FPS Video Game Review (Xbox 360)

I like cheevo mining (playing back through old games to get additional achievements), and recently played through F.E.A.R (known as Fear from now on) in pursuit of some. Fear was quite an early XBox 360 game, and was ported over from the PC. It was billed as a survival horror first person shooter due to the presence of a creepy ghost child in a red dress called Alma who popped up at points throughout the game.

You play as the 'Point Man' for a secret special ops group of the U.S. government specialized in dealing with paranormal threats. A man named Paxton Fettel has escaped from a cell, and has gotten control of a battalion of soldier clones that he can psychically control. Your squad have been charged with hunting Paxton down, as with him captured his psychic link with the clone soldiers would be broken. Starting off at some abandoned offices you soon learn that his clone army is assaulting Armacham Technology Corporation (ATC) which leads you there. Eventually you discover ATC's experiments with a young girl called Alma who it seems Paxton is trying to locate. It seems that both you and Paxton have some connection to this crazy ghostly girl.

The game is first and foremost a first person shooter. The main enemies are the clone soldiers who reminded me heavily of the main enemy of Half Life 2, both in looks, and voices. The soldiers yell out commands to each other and show a surprising degree of A.I. They try and flank your position, use cover, and even try and retreat should they get too battered. The other type of enemy is the ATC security forces. They have been instructed to stop anyone from finding out ATC's secrets. At some points in the game when the clones and ATC both turn up they start fighting between themselves letting you either watch, or use the distraction to take them all out. The enemies are fun to fight, and are quite varied, especially with the introduction of invisible assassins (that the recent Wolfenstein copied) and powerful mechs.

The character you play as - Point Man has bullet time powers. You are able to briefly slow time down which is key to taking out the many enemies, as well to escape explosions. You can hold up to three weapons at a time. These range from the normal guns expected such as assault rifles, and shotguns (the shotgun is a very cool weapon in this game!) to more experimental weapons such as a gun that fastly fires bolts that can pin enemies to walls, and a long range rifle whose bullets totally strip the skin off the victims it hits leading just a bloody skeleton behind. The aiming for the most part is annoying though, as even zoomed in you never get to really have precision on where you are firing, so I tend just to spray bullets in the general direction of enemies.

The game like Condemned: Criminal Origins all takes place in ultra realistic locations. The game even uses the same objects, such as identical calendars showing up. This makes the game feel like it takes place in the same game world as Condemned. Starting off at dockside warehouse, you go to the ATC HQ, as well as derelict buildings, and a underground vault. There are friendly characters you encounter during the game which splits up the fighting, but most the chatter takes place over Point Man's headset he is wearing.

The supernatural element of the game mostly revolves around Alma. Usually when nothing is happening (there are lots of times when you are exploring places with no enemies) the screen will rumple, static will play and then you will see Alma creepily walking around. A few points she will actually be after you, but mostly it is just to try and create fear. Paxton does the same to you, and also you have hallucinations every now and again that transport you to a hospital setting where the walls literally ooze with blood.

Talking of blood, the game is quite bloody. You are not able to maim enemies, but shooting them results in lots of clouds of blood, as well as the walls, and floor getting caked in the stuff, this looks real cool. The locations have lots of destructible elements, mostly windows, and crates, but there is nothing better than making an entrance to a room via shotgun blast to a window.

F.E.A.R is really not scary, and the plot takes itself far too seriously, but despite this it is fun, and addictive. The later games reduced the fear element and added in more mechs and action, but F.E.A.R is at it's best when there is action punctuated with slow exploration sections.

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Predators - Film Review

I was alerted to the release of this film by a very intrusive advertisement in the fun Quantum of Solace video game.  Chasing Vesper in Venice I rounded a corner to be confronted by a poster advertising the film.  Predators is a film featuring the enemy of Aliens everywhere - Predators.

The film starts with 9 or 10 people awakening during free fall towards a dense Jungle.  None of them know how they have gotten there, and don't trust each other.  Each person is armed with a different weapon, and are from a variety of walks of life.  Among them is a young Dr, a Prisoner who was on Death Row, a Tribesman, Soldiers, a Mexican Drugs Cartel member, a Yakuza member, as well as Mercenaries.  Led by the Mercenary they head off to find out exactly where they are.  They soon discover they are on an Alien planet, and also that they are being hunted by some mysterious assailants.  Morpheus from the Matrix appears and reveals that they are all on some kind of Game Reserve Planet, and that they are there to be hunted for sport by Predators.  They must work together to defeat the Predators and find a way to escape the Planet.

The film really reminded me of Cube.  Cube set in a Jungle, and with Predators.  The way they are all strangers, and have all been kidnapped, plus an early deadly trap sequence all reminded me heavily.  The film starts off great.  Until about a third of the way through the film the characters don't even know what they are being hunted by.  It would have been cool to have discovered along with the characters what was going on, but the films title kinda gave the game away.

The Predators are cool as always.  There are plenty of Predator view infra red perspective shots, and all the iconic Predator weapons are used; including Spears, the Discus, the blue plasma gun thing, and the fantastic 3 red dot weapon.  It is set as a direct sequel to the original Arnie fest Predator.  One of the characters recounts the events of that film as she was one of the people who debriefed Arnie following his return from his film.  The characters are quite a likable bunch overall.  All ooze attitude for the most part, but highlights include the hilarious serial killer/rapists (his rant about only being armed with a knife while everyone else had high powered weapons was fun), the Yakuza member was cool, and calm, and the main characters of the Sniper lady, and the hawk nosed Mercenary were great.  It's a shame that some of the other characters were killed off before they had a chance to shine, but all characters were completely different from each other.

The film was only a 15 but there was plenty of action, explosions, gun fights, and brawls.  There were a few of the iconic Predator kills (head and spine pulled out the body) and plenty of spilt Predator blood (luminous green of course) Plenty of guns in the film including a fantastic mini gun, and a stylish shotgun.

I was surprised how fun I found this film.  Alien VS Predator was pretty terrible, but this was fun.  Of course, not a patch on the original film, but a worthwhile entry in the sometimes dodgy series.  It is a shame I missed the final kill of the film (due to a real life fight breaking out in the Cinema!) and the trailer is very misleading in that it shows cool things that just don't occur in the film itself!.

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General Update for July 2010

I've recently finished watching the unrated directors cuts of the excellent Rob Zombie Halloween remakes. I had already seen the directors cut of Halloween so there was not much more I noticed in the unrated version apart from more gore, and some full frontal nudity.

Halloween II though I had only seen the theatrical version of. The directors cut completely changed the film in that firstly Laurie was shown as a girl completely not dealing with her problems. She was in constant arguments with her former best friend who she fantasised about killing, she uses alcohol, and speeding to drown out her issues, and hates her therapist. Myers is shown completely different also.  Half way through the film his iconic mask is half ripped off, so that his face is visible far more, there are many more scenes of him in daylight sans mask, and he even speaks! The ending scene is vastly changed also. Well worth watching though I'm not sure if I prefer it to the theatrical version.

In game news I thought about reviewing Dark Void on here, but decided against it. Dark Void is a action sci-fi third person shooter in which you play as a man in 1947 who has been transported to an alternate dimension after flying though the Bermuda Triangle. In this dimension he gains a cool rocket pack and starts an uprising against the evil alien masters of the dimension who have secretly been setting up the start of World War II. The game is not really horror though, and is much more action based. Still, it was a really fun game.

Quantum of Solace I have also recently played. It is a very fun first person shooter, but of course James Bond is not remotely horror, so no review for that either!

I am currently playing Lit on Wii-ware. It is a horror based puzzler in which you play as a boy trapped in his school at night. He must stay in the light as going into darkness leads to instant death at the hands of shadowy monsters. Each level is a different room of the school. The aim in each room is to get from one side to the other using table lamps, PC monitors and moon light through windows to achieve this.  Is quite creepy.

Ju-On: The Grudge - Horror Videogame Review (Wii)

This game is terrible, but by far the most scary thing about this game is the hideous box cover.  Everywhere out of Europe had a cool Grudge style image.  We here did not.  See if you can guess which of the above covers the UK got for the game!  I honestly thought it was a joke when I first laid eyes on it.  No joke though; this is the WORST cover for a game I have ever seen!

The game follows the exploits of members of a Japanese family.  Each level focuses on a different character, and each ends with their demise at the hands of the Grudge.  You get a girl exploring a abandoned factory in search of her Dog, a woman who wakes up in a deserted Hospital, a security guard at a TV studio, and a delivery man who is taking a package to a dilapidated apartment block.

The game tags itself as a 'fright simulator'.  The game is played from the first person perspective.  You have no weapons, and there is no combat.  You s-l-o-w-l-y walk around each environment and use the Wii-mote as a flash light (I think the family members you control must all suffer from a hereditary disease that slows their metabolism).  You need to find batteries around each level as it is game over if your torch goes dead.  Also hidden around each level are special items such as photos.  To be able to get the 5th and final level (I assume would be the house from the Grudge films) you must collect all the hidden items.  I did not do this.  The levels are good for one play through, but agonisingly boring after this.

The scares come in the form of things leaping out at you, and strange noises.  These are all scripted, so the exact same thing happens each and every time meaning the game is only creepy once.  My problem with the idea of a 'fright' simulator is that using the Grudge licence there is only the two ghosts; the little cat boy, and the woman with the long hair.  It gets almost farcical the amount of times these two show up throughout the levels!  The game does look ok, and does have atmosphere on its levels which at least do feel like totally different locations each time.

So is the slow pace, and the scripted scares the only problems this game suffers from?  No, not at all.  Every know and again you will get into a scuffle with one of the ghosts.  To escape you must shake the Wii-mote in the direction the game tells you to, but this is very imprecise which is made worse by the fact if the game fails to recognise your motions then you die and have to restart the level.  I also had problems with the controls in general, my torch kept getting stuck facing at the ground or ceiling which got irritating.

The game is able to be played in 2 player.  As usual I did not get to try this out, but the way it works I think is that the 2nd player can 'control' the scares by pressing a button every now and again.

Overall this game is pretty terrible.  I only paid £5 for it, but still feel ripped off.  The cover is a warning in itself, nothing that badly designed can conceal a good game.  Good for a rent, as the first play through of each of the short levels is kinda scary, but the deathly slow pace kills most the enjoyment.

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Crackdown 2 - Thoughts on the X-Box 360 Demo

Crackdown was a fun open world action game, one of the first open games to really give you the feeling of immense power.  Sure there had been Spiderman 2, and Hulk Rampage (or something) but this was the first next gen version.  Your character could jump gigantic distances, throw cars, and do plenty other super human things.  Apparently Crackdown featured a mission in which you released mutants (known hence forth as zombies) out of a laboratory.  I can't recall this mission, but this action has had dramatic consequences.

The main difference in Crackdown 2 seems to be that once the world turns to night hordes of zombies pour out from underground, and the game turns into an open world zombie apocalypse game.  Which is quite cool.

The demo has a fixed time limit of 30 minutes.  After the first task of securing some landing sites for fellow Agents you are next tasked with setting up a series of beacons with the aim to initiate a sun light beam into the zombies day time lair.  The zombies in this game have a Vampiric reaction to sunlight, it kills them instantly.  The zombies are cool, not strong obviously due to their number.  The end of the mission was a bit irritating though as I was tasked with defending the charging sunlight machine from attacking zombies who were trying to destroy it.  I kept running out of ammo though, but think that's more error on my part than the game.

I am currently playing through Crackdown again, and may well pick Crackdown 2 up if it is any good.  I recommend watching the Crackdown webisodes as they are quite funny, and entertaining and set up the basis for the game, and charts the rise of the zombie threat to the City.

Lastly there are some Crackdown 2 Avatar clothes, one of which is a mutant mask.  I purchased this, the mask totally covers your Avatars head, with eye holes cut into it.

Quizocalypse - X-Box 360 Indie Videogame Review

What do you get if you cross Zombies with a Quiz game format?  Do you have a wonderful experience, or something bland, boring, and terrible?  Wolpertinger Games set out to discover the answer.

The game is a Quiz game in which you play as one of 4 different zombies; Lickin' Lou, Zealous Zoe, Billy the Brain, or Friendly Frank.  There are 13 questions (at least in the game I played) that are based on 'Nerdy' topics.  The 13 questions are randomly generated and pull from a database of a few hundred.

First the good.  The game is bright and cartoony and captures the game show vibe well, and the quiz show company has an Umbrella style symbol, and is called the Raincoat Test Facility.  The game is set in a Studio with bright lights, while outside crowds of Zombies swarm against the Studio windows.  The 4 Zombies you can choose to play as are competing for the chance to win Brains rather than money.  The game is 1-4 players.

The game is insanely boring! There is only the one style of round with questions that take a long time to display on screen, and are stupidly easy.  The questions are multiple choice and feature such mind twisters as (to paraphrase) what is the name of the evil man in black in the Star Wars films? Pathetic.  I couldn't even see this being fun in multi player due to the boring questions.  A few hundred sounds a lot, but it would not be long before these began to repeat.

The game is 240 Microsoft Points, 80 Microsoft Points would have been too much.  A hollow, vacant quiz with the Zombie Theme slapped on the top.  Avoid!

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How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse - The essential guide to surviving the inevitable zombie apocalypse!

'How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse' is a cult seminar series created by zombology guru Dr Dale Seslick.  The aims of the seminars are to educate both novices, and survival experts alike on the best methods to survive the coming zombie apocalypse.  Such a serious subject as Zombie Armageddon can be a little dry, and grim, luckily though Dr Dale and his crew inject lots of humour into their frequently bizarre discussions on the topic.

Each seminar while being mostly improv does feature a basic structure.  The seminars are led by Dr Dale, and include other members of the world renowned School of Survival such as Science expert Judy O'Dea, survival expert Donald Straite, and Tristen Granger.  The seminars cover all the essential zombie apocalypse topics you would naturally want to know.  These include topics as the safest places to go, and best weapons to use, to less generally discussed topics such as the secret to group defence, and zombie recognition techniques.

Audience question and answer sessions are a key part to the improvisation, and naturally with such things do rely on the audience to interact with the experts for the best and most comedic (yet knowledgeable) results. The Simulation section has the crew displaying their amazing acting skills as they role play possible situations that could come up during the apocalypse.

The show, or seminar as it should be titled started life back in June 2009, and over time became a cult event winning lots of praise from many different publications (including the fantastic Fortean Times!).  The show is mainly all improvisation, and as such no two seminars are the same.  I am sad to say I personally have never yet seen it.  I believe on their last Tour they had a show in Leicester, but I so hate leaving the safety of Northampton.  Currently they are on their 2010 UK Tour, so if they are ever in your area I highly recommend catching them.  Next time they are anywhere near Northampton I will defiantly be checking them out.

In addition to their show they also have a Podcast (available from i-Tunes).  This weekly Podcast is recorded from the School of Survival HQ, each episode roughly 30 minutes long, and mostly quite funny, and random.  The show has a simulation section (such as what to do if a zombie appears while your on a aeroplane; the answer in this case is to flood the plane with water!) as well as listener questions and general goings on at the School of Survival.

In August the esteemed Dr Dale is releasing a book 'Dr Dale's Zombie Dictionary; The A-Z Guide to Staying Alive' which promises to be the "ultimate alphabetical reference guide on how to survive when the zombies finally arrive and attempt to eat us all".  If I can afford to buy it, I shall do and give my thoughts. They will be doing a Tour later on this year to promote the book.

For further information on the show, and Tour Dates then head to http://www.howtosurviveazombieapocalypse.co.uk which will feed all your needs.  Dale Seslick can also be found on Facebook, as well as Twitter.  It is good that there are such people as him to provide illumination to the mostly unprepared masses!

Finally; Dr Dale and crew have a brand new seminar coming this August at Edinburgh, called 'How To Survive A Zombie Apocalypse : RELOADED'.  It's going to be on from the 6th August to the 29th August at the Zoo Southside - Venue 82.  If your interested, and in the area tickets can be booked from the website.  "Brain Destruction is guaranteed"!

Avatars VS Zombies (2010) - Zombie Videogame Review (X-Box Indie)

Avatars VS Zombies looked like it was going to be crap. I fully expected it to be, and for 80 Microsoft points I had reason to. The game is riding on the coat tails of the diminishing zombie popularity in pop culture currently. It looked like a very cheaply made game designed to sucker people in by bright colours and avatars, and yes; zombies.

The game casts you as the space marine from Doom...actually it doesn't, you play as your 'avatar'. Mine just happens to be wearing the space marine armour from Doom (unlocked by completing the Doom II bonus chapter). The game is an arena based twin stick shooter. As usual the left stick controls movement, while the right stick fires. Your avatar comes under attack from zombies, asteroids, and various bright coloured shapes as well as a bomb spitting giant fish. All are very basic having no frames of animation, and simply vanish when killed.

There are around four different stages which repeat to infinity. Starting off in a very colourful cartoony landscape you go to a table top, an American football pitch (complete with banners for the designers other Indie games), as well as a computer interface grid. After every four rounds you get a five second screen to relax, complete with sedate music. The music for the game is mostly generic action style, not at all memorable.

I got to round fourteen on my one and only playthrough. Each round isn't particularly long. The game didn't outstay its welcome, and was just as bad and cheap as I expected it to be. Only 80 Microsoft points, and is four player, the only problem being Avatars VS Zombies is just not very good, or interesting.

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Wolfenstein - X-Box 360 Videogame Review

Return to Castle Wolfenstein on X-Box was a game that I found so frustrating that I snapped the disc in half.  A year or so later I brought it again cheap, and again snapped the disc in half.  It was not a fantastic port of the PC version.  Utterly dreadful stealth sections ruined what could have been a fun game.  Would the latest installment of the series be any better?  It may seem silly buying a sequel to a game I hated, but the original Wolfenstein 3D I have recently gone through on X-Box Live Arcade; it was a fun game.

Wolfenstein casts you once again as B.J Blazkowicz.  The intro sequence sees him blowing up a Nazi U-Boat and discovering a strange magical amulet.  The amulet plays a key role in the game.  B.J travels to a small German (maybe?) Town called Isendat where the Nazi's have discovered some ruins belonging to an Ancient Race of people who harnessed the power of an alternate dimension known as Black Sun.  Soon after arriving at the Train Station his cover is blown, and is never retrieved again.  Thankfully this means there are no dreadful stealth sections!

The game has a main open world hub level which is the Town.  You are free to wander the Town, investigating houses, collecting hidden items, and files, as well as choosing missions from either of the 2 factions, and also discovering side quests by talking to allies.  The Town has a Nazi presence, so you are free to either just shoot your way through everywhere, or be more cautious, using the sewers and rooftops to get around.  The Town is quite maze like and has passages, and tunnels all over the place.  The Town also has several shops where you are able to use your collected gold to buy upgrades for your weapons and powers.

There are around 12 main missions, or levels.  These range in size, but all involve mostly shooting everything that moves.  The game really is mindless, but in a good way.  The enemies for the most part are Nazi Soldiers, who are very weak, and so real fun to kill.  Their limbs, and heads can be blasted off, but it is not over the top, and was about a third of the way into the game until I even realised this could be done.  Other enemies include super soldiers who use experimental weaponry such as jet packs, and proton beams, as well as Wizard type characters who can throw energy balls at you, as well as create force fields for other enemies.  Lastly there are the weak mutants who attack via melee.

The levels are quite varied, and start off quite bland but later get really good.  2 levels in particular really stood out.  One sees you start on a route to a Farmhouse where a resistance member is being held captive.  It seemed like the mission was going to be quite small, but discovered in the Farmhouse was a secret elevator which led to a massive underground base that was really epic to fight through.  Another level is set in a Hospital.  You spend half the level with no combat, as you hunt down a mysterious invisible assassin who is systematically murdering all the staff and patients.  That level had a real F.E.A.R style feeling of horror to it, and was really slowed in pace to other more action packed levels.

The weapons are fun to use, and have real weight and impact to them.  Shooting an enemy will result at the least in them getting bloody.  As well as machine guns, and rifles you also get access to super weapons such as a Tesla Cannon, and some kind of disintegrating beam. In addition you get access to 4 magical powers.  One speeds up your movements, another slows down time allowing you to get under closing gates.  Your third power renders you able to shoot through force fields and armour which especially later in the game comes really useful.  My favourite is the shield ability.  This encases you in a bubble that is impervious to damage.  Better still bullets bounce off it causing funny moments when enemies accidentally kill themselves via reflecting projectiles.  Weapons and Magic can be upgraded with increased damage, silencers, and sniper scopes all attached to weapons.

The enemies have great death animations, from writhing around on fire, to holding their throats as blood jets out, to falling off balconies screaming, all our fun to watch.  The plot on the other hand is quite rubbish, really this was expected though.  The game seems to be a proper sequel to 'Return..' referencing events from that game, as well as having the main bad guy be the same.  The game frequently has short action cutscenes which are very bad looking, and look very last generation in their blocky unrealistic character movements.

The game is really lots of fun, but not the least bit intelligent.  Objectives usually just task you with getting from A to B, and there is not a lot of variety in what you do.  Just shoot, and shoot some more.  There is lots of replay with all the hidden files and gold through out the games levels.

The game features multiplayer modes such as deathmatch. I briefly tried this, but no surprise there was virtually no one playing it.  It is a real shame that over two thirds of the achievements are earned via multiplayer, and so I wont be getting them.

Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes - Videogame Review (Nintendo DS)

Is this game a RPG? Is it a puzzler? Actually it's both, bringing to mind memories of the ace Puzzle Quest (by the way; Puzzle Quest 2 out on X-Box Live Arcade next Wednesday!)  A friend of mine recommended I get this game as she loved it.  So I did.  Recently completed it, and recently discovered a HD version is coming out on X-Box Live Arcade.

The game starts with you a bunch of Humans and Elves meeting in some woods.  Demons unexpectedly turn up and kill everyone.  Everyone apart from a handful of young teens who mostly escape via a malfunctioning teleporter that teleports them to random locations in the world.  Each level sees you in the role of one of these teens.  Starting off with the female Elf you discover that the Demons have orchestrated the slaughter to create war between Humans and Elf's.  Each character has their own little storyline that fits into the overall one of Demons trying to take over the world.  The Knight for instance has been declared a rebel, and so must sneak into his City and convince the King otherwise, while the Knights sister finds herself not only teleported to the realm of the Necromancers, but also discovers she has died and is now a ghost!

The game for the most part is Fantasy, not Horror.  Well to be honest for the whole part the game is Fantasy.   It's going to be really hard for me to describe how this game works.  The top screen shows the enemies troops.  The bottom screen shows your troops.  The aim of most the battles is to use your troops to attack the enemies health bar.  To do this you must first defeat any enemy troops in the way.  Different units have different attack charge times, and powers.  line up 3 troops of 1 type together vertically and they will go into attack mode.  Line them up horizontally and they will turn into a defensive structure whether it be vines, or gold walls.  More special troops require either 2 normal troops to charge them up, or 4 for the really strong units such as Titans from the Persian Style troops, to Angels of the Knights troops.  All are in limited supply.

Each level sees you in a map with several things you can do.  Characters with a silver sword above them are optional fights.  Characters with a gold sword above them are quest related fights.  Characters with question marks above their heads either can be spoken to, or challenged to fight.  Each fight you win gives you experience points, as well as gold (that can be used to replenish troops).  Also in the levels are treasure chests that usually hold special items (1 special item can be equipped at a time, they give you battle stat boosts), and Hunters who provide much of the games optional bonus missions.  Lastly there are puzzle quests in which you have a chess style one move problem to solve.

It is the third and fourth levels that earn the game its place on The Rotting Zombie.  The third level sees you in the land of the Necromancers as a ghost.  Troops you recruit include Skeletons, as well as...Zombies! Heh, love the zombies.  The whole land of the dead is great, all cartoony gloom, and gravestones.  The fourth level is set in the Demon realm with a boy who finds he has the power to control Demons.  The Demons are portrayed as comedic and cartoon bad, the Demon Pub in particular is a very fun place due to the music, and comedy dialogue.

The game does have some faults.  Random encounters can be frustrating when you are being attacked by enemies stronger than yours.  Defeat holds no penalty which is good, but if you decide rather than waste 5 to 10 minutes in a fight you cannot win you instead escape the battle then you get heavily penalised, loosing lots of gold.  The level caps are quite low.  Troops can level up to level 5, while the main characters can level to 10 meaning towards the end of each level the random battles etc serve no purpose other than to irritate.

The review has been terrible, I apologise, but if you want a RPG/Puzzler of a decent length (around 30 hours) then get this! Or better still, buy it when it comes out in HD on the home consoles!

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