Reviews by Kyle Ellis

I've been reading a lot of negative comments on this title and I felt I should put my opinion out there as well, because I believe most of those comments come from people that have either not played the game at all, or are no RPG gamers in the first place. That is exactly, first and foremost, what this game is..a huge, intelligent RPG, that takes time, effort and brains to complete. There are a few minor mistakes (like the same voices being used for many of the different interactive characters), but in my opinion, the sheer volume and content of the game itself, makes up for those mistakes.

Im 32hrs into the game at this point, and I've only completed 2 objectives of the main quest. It is MASSIVE, and I can see how it could be overwhelming for non-rpg gamers or those new to the genre, because of the side-quests (it's hard not to lose yourself in them). If you're used to having your hand held through-out the games you usually play, than this is certainly not for you. The story takes place, as in any Fallout game, in a world laid to waste by a nuclear holocaust..So that means; no big cities or the comforts they provide, no crowds of people everywhere you look, not even a beautiful woman passing you by on the street..because there aren't any. You'll be spending a lot of time on your own, with no one around to help or assist you in any way. It is the ultimate sandbox experience, with nothing but a main quest (to find your father) and no leads to his whereabouts whatsoever, to begin your game with. Everything else, you'll have to figure out, discover, or force out of the world and its inhabitants on your own. But when you do, the world created by Bethesda slowly opens up and shows you just how gigantic and detailed it truly is. What at first glance seems like a barren, godforsaken wasteland, slowly unveils itself as a giant testament to the survival of civilization as a whole..whether that be human or that of a sub-species, and against any odds.

Unprecedented player choice is the main theme. You can lie, steal, murder, charm or work your way into completing your objectives. Be a goody-goody, a beacon of hope for the lost souls out there, become their worst fear or morally as grey as a clouded sky. The choice, really..is up to you. Now I have played a lot of rpg's and interactive movies in my days, but I have never played anything that was so free and interactive as the world (AND STORY) presented to you in Fallout 3.

And yes, I know the comments, like; it's not Fallout 1&2..yaddayadda, but it's not trying to be. It's a stand-alone game, with a stand-alone story set in a universe that is definitely recognizable as a Fallout universe and let no one tell you anything different than that! Sure, it runs on the Oblivion-engine, and while I didn't like The Elder Scrolls AT ALL, it doesn't bother me.

So to wrap it up, Fallout 3 is a genuine RPG mixed with a bit of shooter, wrapped in a massive explorable world and is good for more than a 100 hours of gameplay. A must have/play for RPG and Adventure fans, but unfortunately..not for anyone else.

I'm going to come right out and say this is the most terrifying game I have ever played or even heard of. The game play was a little sluggish, but then again it was the first game in the series. I'm going to state some of the experiences you will have in this game, as well as my opinions.

The Game: I own this game for the PS3, Xbox 360, and the PC. The PC version was the weakest experience, the controls in this game are much more suited to a console. The game play is in it's early stages, but it is playable, just not as refined as the later games. The graphics are great and enhance the atmosphere. The main weapon of choice is the plasma cutter, it really is the only gun you need, except the flamethrower which I use to kill the brutes. You want a tip, shoot the brute in the face with the plasma cutter, it will shield itself in a ball so you go up behind it and barbecue it with the flamethrower. It's the most effective way I have killing the brutes, I don't think i've ever heard anyone mention that tactic. The atmosphere is dark and disturbing, it is accompanied by the creaking of the ship and the odd noise in the background. You always have to stay on constant alert, you aren't safe any where. This game is very terrifying, it will make you want to quit, but I was so in to it I couldn't stop playing it, I had to see what was going to happen next. To sum it up, if you want a heart-attack play this game, some parts of the game had me screaming in excitement and terror. Movies mostly rely on jump scares, same with some games, those are cheap attempts at being scary, but here you will be scared throughout the duration. This game also features an immense amount of disturbing moments, some are gruesome and others more subtle. Here is one example, the beginning of chapter ten starts off with you entering this lobby area with only the glow of candles to light the room, there are many dead bodies with their faces wrapped up, there is also a lullaby playing in the back ground. If you just stop and take it in for a second it quite a gruesome scene. The Necromorphs are very grotesque, the screeches they make are chilling enough, especially when you hear that they are in the same area as you and you have to find them quick. This game is incredibly graphic, some of the ways the Necromorphs kill you are disgusting, one of them literally knocks your head off and attach's itself in your neck stump and takes control of your body. This game is not for the faint of heart.

This game is the pure essence of horror, it is terrifying, thrilling, and shocking, it is better than most horror movies, and is easily the scariest horror game ever made. Highly recommended if you can handle the gruelling moments this game has to offer.

The first Dead Space reinvented not just the horror genre, but the sci-fi genre at the same time. Dead Space in itself is one of the greatest sci-fi stories of all time, and Dead Space 2 lives up to that, and more. Dead Space 2 drops you off not after the Necromorph outbreak, but right as it's happening, and this time on a space station instead of a ship (for those who haven't played the 1st game). Dead Space is a sci-fi epic with emotion and horror packed into two little games, as of now, that could be a set of films or a TV series. Fans of the horror, shooter and action genres should all play this game no matter what you've heard and check out the first one as well because you need the original for this one to hold its place among the greatest. Dead Space is one of the greatest sagas of all time and should become more known.

10/10 Stars***

Warning: Spoilers
(I'm a proud Playstation 3 owner.)

2011's "Mortal Kombat" is the ninth game in this explosively violent fighting game series. Early reviews seemed to indicate that this would reboot the series, allowing things to restart from scratch. Others indicated that it was a genuine sequel to 2006's "Mortal Kombat: Armageddon." It's a little bit of both, actually.

"Mortal Kombat" (promoted early on as "Mortal Kombat 9") is both a reboot of the series and a sequel. Boasting a movie-quality story-line and taking place after the catastrophic events of "Mortal Kombat: Armageddon," all of the Earthrealm and Outworld fighters are dead, with the exceptions of benevolent lightning-god Raiden and Outworld emperor Shao Kahn. Just as Shao Kahn is about to deliver the fatal blow to Raiden, he is able to magically send visions of the future back in time to his younger self during the very first Mortal Kombat tournament. Using these hazy visions of the future, the younger Raiden tries to use these to his and the Earth warriors' advantage in helping to avoid Armageddon.

I've been playing the "Mortal Kombat" series of video games pretty much my entire life, ever since getting my hands on my cousin's version of the hit Midway game co-created by software developers Ed Boon and John Tobias all the way back in 1993 at the tender age of eight. The first 1992 "Mortal Kombat" started a revolution in fighting games with its realistic graphics (which included digitized versions of real flesh & blood actors as opposed to digitally animated cartoon sprites) and extreme violence. This latter trend helped lead to the formation of the ESRB - "Entertainment Software Rating Board" - a panel which issues ratings to games much like the MPAA issues ratings to movies.

2011's "Mortal Kombat" is a return to the basics of the first three games in the series; the game itself features roughly the entire story-lines and characters from the first "Mortal Kombat" game, "Mortal Kombat II," and "Mortal Kombat 3." Wisely enough, none of the characters featured from "Mortal Kombat 4" through "Mortal Kombat: Armageddon" are featured, which would have blown this game's software engine to the max and leading to a lot of confusion over which lethal character you want to play as the most.

"Mortal Kombat" does have a lot to offer gamers. Interestingly enough, you don't really need to have played any of the previous games to understand the story and what's going on here. Although it would help to have a little prior knowledge since you're not seeing an entirely accurate retelling of events, since things in this "Mortal Kombat" are slightly altered (I won't spoil by revealing what, but just know that things are changed here). I do wonder, though, will this game make all the previous games irrelevant and non-canonical? Can an entirely new series of fighting games based on this re-booted storyline be on the horizon?

In terms of features, "Mortal Kombat" has plenty. The most welcomed is the seriously revamped fighting engine that includes faster game-play, smooth and more-realistic graphics, two-dimensional fighting with three-dimensional characters (replacing the all-out 3D arena fighting of the last several entries), beautifully rendered backgrounds, and lots of brutal gore and violence that fans of this series love so much. What will surely appease gore-hounds is the new "x-ray" feature, which allows a fighter to deliver a series of punishing strikes to his/her opponents and true to the name of this feature, the camera allows the player to see inside his/her opponent's body as bones are broken, organs are ruptured, and weapons enter places where they shouldn't. It's cool, fast, and it's brutal.

There's a re-booted single-player version of the "Mortal Kombat" storyline, which thankfully consists mostly of one-on-one fights, mostly. Other times, you're facing tag-teams that can sometimes consist of up to four opponents at a time! It's certainly challenging and nerve-wracking but for serious gamers, it's not impossible to accomplish. (One of the worst aspects of this are the boss battles, especially with Shao Kahn; I'm going to say flat-out right now that I lost one of my controllers battling him because simply put, he's impossible to beat. The only way to win a battle against him is to edge your character to the side of the screen and just constantly launch projectile attacks at him while simultaneously avoiding attacks of his own. This uneven level of difficulty is also indicative of "Mortal Kombat's" most significant design flaw.)

More features include a new "Krypt" that features over 500 items of unlock-able content, character and fatality training modes, the four-player tag-team mode, and the new "Challenge Tower" that allows players to complete 300 different challenges meant to sharpen a player's fighting abilities (or test their patience, whichever is more relevant). The ultimate prize does appear to be worth it (as of now I've only completed 150 of the challenges) - especially if you're a guy, like me - since you've already seen what the ultimate prize is if you've played through the storyline mode. But the fun doesn't end there: there's also a wealth of additional content that can be downloaded off the Internet and will add to the game-play, and that additional content consists of new characters, alternate costumes, and one new ultra-secret character (hint: he's a famous horror movie icon). Finally, there's also online Kombat.

"Mortal Kombat" is a fitting addition to this revolutionary series of fighting games. Its uneven difficulty in some places - namely the seemingly impossible boss battles and tag-team matches - is this game's greatest weakness and can be extremely frustrating, even for experienced gamers like myself. Still, though, "Mortal Kombat" is simply marvelous. I can't believe it was all started just to rival the success of "Street Fighter II," which I also adore, by the way.

9/10

P.S.: Be sure to go out and get the soundtrack for this game, also! Like the game itself, it absolutely rocks!

...It's an epic! "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" has to be the greatest video game ever made. I've been playing the game almost everyday since it dropped on October 26th and I'm still not even half way through it. That goes to show you just HOW MUCH thought and detail was put into its production.

While this "GTA" title is a massive improvement over the previous two, it doesn't just surpass them in terms of graphics and gameplay, it surpasses them by building on the many things that made them great in the first place, and then some.

I've been a massive fan and player of the "GTA" titles on the PS2 since the revolutionary "Grand Theft Auto III" was released in 2001 and its 1980s prequel/sequel "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City," which dropped in the early fall of 2002.

"GTA: SA" puts a lot of its focus on Carl "C.J." Johnson, who returns to the city of San Andreas and the minute he steps off the plane, he runs into trouble. Trouble comes in the form of two corrupt cops who have him set up to take the fall in the murder of a police officer, and C.J. finds that his old neighborhood of Ganton is in shambles.

His mother has passed, many of his childhood friends are into gangbanging, and many of the families have since dissolved their relationships with one another. What follows is a statewide odyssey for C.J. that will take him out of his Ganton ghetto and into the flash and glitter of the casinos in Las Venturas a la Las Vegas.

From the get-go, you're entranced by a thoughtful storyline that has you doing a lot more than just missions so that you can earn "respect"; you become a significant part of the story, or more accurately, you become the story. Whereas the previous two titles had you doing things to further your position, not a whole lot of weight or thought was put into your motivations in those games.

It is true that this game was heavily influenced by the hip hop culture of the 90s, and many rap artists are prominently featured on the soundtrack, including Dr. Dre, Snoop [Doggy] Dogg, Public Enemy (Chuck D is the "Forth Right MC"), Big Daddy Kane, Eric B. & Rakim, Ice Cube, Cypress Hill, 2Pac, and N.W.A. And also, references to many "'hood" movies from this time are in abundance, namely "South Central," "Menace II Society," and "Boyz N the Hood" (be on the lookout for a "Tre" look-alike wandering about).

10/10

I loved every minute of this superb animated series, and I am not afraid to say that out of all the animated shows based on the character, this series is without doubt the best of the lot. The animation was fantastic, no better way to describe it really, very dark and fluid instead of the Saturday- morning-cartoon standard that has marred animation recently. The theme tune by Danny Elfman was haunting and memorable, the same Danny Elfman who composed the music for Edward Scissorhands, which coincidentally is one of my all-time favourite movie scores. Also the plot lines and teleplays are very interesting, and I loved the characters, especially Batman, who was dark, brooding and complex like he is supposed to be. And what about the villains? Harvey Two Face, Mr Freeze, the scarecrow, Penguin, and my favourite the joker, who Mark Hamill voiced superlatively, making him sinister and fun at the same time. Though I was wondering, if the producers hadn't replaced their 1st choice for the character Tim Curry, he would've done just as well. I happily award Batman: The Animated Series a 10/10. Bethany Cox

While decidedly languid and a tad too short, this is the first and best of the tales about the Australian living legend. The scenery and cinematography are very nice, and there are entertaining and somewhat informative parts in the script. The story is engaging too, and has both funny and quite tense bits. The direction is fine, and the acting is good enough. Paul Hogan is a very likable, charismatic and funny hero, and Linda Kozslowski is decent support. As for the sequels, the second was inferior but passable but the third isn't really worth bothering with. This though, while not perfect is the real deal and works as solid entertainment. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Was over-time on a gradual binge of watching 'Game of Thrones' from the first episode (gradual because of being so busy), having heard nothing but amazing things about it from friends, family and IMDb reviewers. Plus with such a great cast of talent and a brilliant book series, how could it possibly go wrong?

The good news is that 'Game of Thrones' didn't go wrong. Quite the opposite. Not only is it a rare television show that does its original source material justice and treats it with respect but it is on its own merits one of the finest, most addictive and consistently compelling shows in recent years. A television show so brilliant that one has to actually check that it was made for television when everything is done to such a high level that it puts many films made today to shame. This is one of the strongest examples of an acclaimed show that deserves every ounce of the praise it's garnered.

Visually, 'Game of Thrones' looks amazing. The scenery is throughout spectacular, the sets are hugely atmospheric and beautiful on the eyes with a real meticulous eye for detail and the costumes suit the characters to a tee. Then there are the special effects that are some of the best of any television programme and are not overused or abused, the scale, the detail and how they actually have character and soul are better than those in a lot of the big-budget blockbusters. As well the cinematography and editing, which are cinematic quality as well.

One cannot talk about 'Game of Thrones' without mentioning the thematically, orchestrally and atmospherically multi-layered music scoring and the unforgettable main theme. Again, worthy of a high-budget fantasy/action/drama film.

It is hard not to be bowled over by the quality of the writing, outstanding isn't a strong enough adjective to describe how good the writing is. It always has a natural flow, is layered and thought-provoking and demonstrates a wide range of emotions such as suspenseful tension, poignant pathos and witty humour. The story-lines are paced so beautifully, structured with such nuance and attention to coherence, a high emotional level and touch upon complex and sensitive themes with intelligence and tact.

Whenever there's a set-piece or more action-oriented scene there's always a reason, never there for the sake of it. Not only are the set-pieces done with a lot epic scale, superb staging, excitement and dramatic tension but underneath all the scale and flashy attention to detail there is a lot of heart and a multi-layered one. They're not overlong, nor are there out of place elements.

Characters are a huge part of the appeal too. 'Game of Thrones' has characters that are so well developed and as close to real life as one can get despite being in a fantasy world. These characters are not hero and villain archetypes (Joffrey is the only one close to that, the difference though is that he is an extremely interesting one with a lot of development who ranks well beyond one hundred percent on the threat level scale), they have much more to them and have strengths and flaws. Decisions are logical and one doesn't like any character any less when a decision is not the right one because mistakes are acknowledged and learnt from.

'Game of Thrones' cast is full of talented names and, thanks to so well rounded characters and such great writing, nothing but the very best is gotten out of them. Even those who are not favourites of mine. Big acting standouts are Peter Dinklage, Sean Bean, Lena Headey and Jack Gleeson (Joffrey being the king of all young characters with not a redeeming bone in their body).

In conclusion, absolutely outstanding and a rare television show worthy of being a cinematic modern classic. This review may sound superlatively hyperbolic, but to me 'Game of Thrones' is that good. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Having heard nearly nothing but good, actually great, things about 'Stranger Things', despite it attracting some criticism (like a lot of popular shows do these days, interest was high watching it. Due to being so intrigued by its concept and various ideas and tones.

'Stranger Things' on the most part is deserving of the love it has, for me its lack of originality was not a problem because it executes so much of everything else so wonderfully. It is not perfect and not an even in quality show, but when it was good, as shown in a quite excellent first season, boy was it more than great. Along with 'The Crown' and 'House of Cards' in its prime, 'Stranger Things' is one of the best Netflix has done and in well above their general standard.

Do agree absolutely that Season 2 is not near as good as Season 1. There are still a lot of elements present in Season 2 that was especially good about the first season and part of the show's appeal, but somehow the writing didn't always feel as tight, focused or rounded and some of it was a bit forced and obvious.

Also felt some of the effects weren't as refined either. While the acting is great from almost all the cast, Winona Ryder's melodramatic over-acting did feel at odds with everything else.

Everything else is executed so well. A vast majority of the time, apart from the lack of refinement of some of the effect in the second season, the production values are just great. Very stylish and atmospheric, with some truly beautiful images that one can't believe such high quality comes from a Netflix show. The music is haunting and nostalgic.

Writing is thought probing and has a lot of brains and heart, with some nice gentle humour that doesn't overpower, some truly poignant drama and tension. The story is rich in atmosphere and even though the story ideas are not original and have been understandably described as derivative, it's the execution and telling of these ideas that makes one look past that. The suspenseful mystery elements, the inventive and intriguing sci-fi elements and dark and disturbing horror elements are beautifully balanced and handled adeptly on their own. With an emotional core and nostalgic homages added as well.

Characters are compelling and it's the chemistry and interaction and how the relationships are written that makes 'Stranger Things' work so well. Excepting Ryder, the acting is terrific. The standouts being Finn Wolfhard and particularly Millie Bobby Brown (such an expressive actress in a beyond-her-years subtle way), if they continue to act this way and be wise with their career choices they are very likely to have big careers.

Overall, very good show and at its best excellent. Do wish that Season 2 was as good as the first though. 8/10 Bethany Cox

I have seen many brilliant shows, and The Wire is one of them. Even the word brilliant isn't enough to put into words how good this series is. The Wire is incredibly well made, with moody lighting, striking location work that also brings atmosphere and great photography, while the music is very haunting. The Wire with its thoughtful and tense dialogue also has some of the best writing of any show I've seen, the stories are ceaselessly compelling and the characters are rich and unforgettable. All the episodes are superbly directed, and very rarely do you feel cheated at the end of episodes. The acting is superb, Dominic West and Idris Elba are especially brilliant. In conclusion, phenomenal. 10/10 Bethany Cox