Comic Mini-Reviews: October 2011

This month we've got reviews of Daredevil #5, The Punisher #4, and a load of The New 52 Issue 2's including Justice League, Batman, The Flash and many more!
We also have a new 100-point scoring system starting from 1.0 (for the really awful stuff), and ending with 10.0 (for the great stuff).

As we did last month, we have divided the round-up into three sections: The Great Ones, The OK Ones, and The Bad Ones:

The Great Ones

The Punisher #4

Last month's issue featured a gripping fight between The Punisher and The Vulture which I loved, but it did mean that the story stood still for an issue to make room for the battle. This month though the story comes back and is better than ever.
We get a look into The Punisher's origins and past, as well as the aftermath of his fight with The Vulture. Meanwhile the art and writing remains some of the best I've seen in a while, as well as the best cover this series has had yet.
While I'm still not completely sure where the current story is heading, you can bet I'll be there for the ride.
This series is unmissable.

9.6/10 - Comic of the Month


Justice League #2

This month sees the Justice League really start to take shape. Don't get me wrong, the group are still arguing and Wonder Woman is yet to be seen, but we do see an element of teamwork that was practically unseen in the last issue.
This issue picks up where the last left off with Batman and Green Lantern vs. an angry Superman only this issue The Flash comes into the mix to make things a bit more chaotic.
The Darkseid plot begins to thicken too, and we get our first look at Cyborg's Dad who's a big shot at S.T.A.R.S Labs where things start kicking off by the end of the issue, but I won't spoil it for you.
The writing continues to be quite strong along with some impressive art which I like a lot that makes the story feel more like a blockbuster movie.
In the end though with more character's, a more substantial story and an exciting ending, Justice League #2 beats the first issue hands down and is a great read.

9.3/10

Batgirl #2

Batgirl #2 picks up where the last issue left off, and while it's not quite as good as the first issue, it's still a great read.
We get more of an insight into the past of the main villain "Mirror" although I am still a little confused as to what his Mirror can do, but I'm sure that will be explained in greater detail soon.
The art is great, detailed stuff and the writing still manages to keep Batgirl a three-dimensional character with an interesting personality.
The ending to this issue is the icing on the cake, (no spoilers, don't worry!), but it is a great cliffhanger and I'm looking forward to next issue to find out what happens.

8.5/10


The Flash #2

The Flash #2 is a book with great art. I said it last month and I'll say it again - the art really suits the character well and has a great style. The story on the other hand is beginning to get a bit confusing. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the story and the climax of this issue was a great cliffhanger which hooked me in for next month's book - it's just that the story is still largely unexplained and seems to go off on a tangent this month as The Flash works on improving his abilities.
This is done really well though, and the art really triumph's with some great scenes and clever writing. It focuses on The Flash trying to improve his speed, by using another part of his brain that was previously un-used. I'll leave it at that, because it's something you have to read yourself rather than get told about.
All you really need to know is that it makes this book an exciting, entertaining read which shouldn't be missed. I just hope that more is revealed about the story next issue.

8.5/10

Batwoman #2

I wasn't a huge fan of the first issue of Batwoman, but I'm glad I stuck with it as this issue is miles better than the first.
As the mysteriously sinister Cameron Chase, (who only had a couple of lines in #1), comes to Gotham the hunt for Batwoman begins. Not to mention more murdered children at the hands of the strange weeping woman - who also becomes easier to get excited about than she was last issue.
The art in this book is something I can't make my mind up on, sometimes it looks great, other times not so much - but all in all it's pretty good.
Batwoman #2 is a lot better than #1, but it's still not perfect. The story is easier to understand now, but still a bit confusing and the art is a little bit odd-looking at times. But generally, it's a great book with a story with a lot of potential - I'll be back next month!

8.0/10

The OK Ones

Aquaman #2

After such a strong entry into the New 52 with #1 of this series, I couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed with this second entry. There's more action, and the art remains great - but it's the story that seems a but weak. Fish people from the bottom of the sea, come to the surface and eat a few people - that's practically it.
But, to be fair the action is good, and there's a strong chance we'll find out more about who exactly these fish people are next month, so I'll keep an open-mind.
Aquaman isn't a bad book, I think I just made the mistake of thinking it would be as good as #1, and it just wasn't - but it's not bad and still worth your time.

7.5/10


Daredevil #5

Daredevil is a book with an OK story and an OK art style. But that was the problem: It was all OK, but none of it really blew me away. The story consists of Matt Murdock (Daredevil), now teaching his clients to defend themselves in court due to so much suspicion that he is Daredevil. He finds a client who was fired for overhearing a conversation between two Latverians (a dodgy thing to do).
Soon Murdock discovers that this is a lot bigger than just a chat between two Latverians.
Like I said, it's an OK story, but I failed to get too excited for it.
The art is also not something I like. It just looks a bit old-fashioned. A bit nostalgic? Something like that. This doesn't ruin the book, and it'll be fine for those who have no problem with older-styled comics - but I'm a bit of a sucker for flashy art so...
Daredevil is a fine book, that has it's ups and downs, but I just can't get excited for it and I'm not sure it'll make the cut next month.

7.0/10


Batman #2

Batman #2 is in a similar situation as Daredevil. None of it is bad, but none of it is that great either. The story I found to be a bit dull, with the cliffhanger of #1 turning out to be nothing, and the current story being something that I just can't get interested in.
I know I can't speak for everyone, and if your loving the current story then you might as well give this one a go. But I just can't get on board with it, and #2 is definitely not as good as the first.
I'm also not a fan of the art which looks a little too square-jawed, although saying that, it's not terrible.
I guess I just expected more from such a big-time DC character.
I wouldn't recommend Batman to anyone except long-term fans.

6.2/10


The Bad Ones


Batwing #2

I wasn't a huge fan of #1 of Batwing, but I decided to give it another chance. Wrong decision. Batwing #2 is just tedious to read. It's boring, with the majority of the issue seeing Batwing in bed recovering from the stab he received last issue.
Plus, the writing just seems a bit wooden. None of the characters have much of a personality, Batwing included. This issue I realised that I like the concept and appearance of the character more than the character himself. This could be because the one good thing about this book is the art. It's very detailed, and very life-like - so there's something.
But no, I won't be going back to Batwing - I gave it a chance and it failed again. And to think, I ditched Catwoman for this rubbish! *Sad Face*

3.5/10

So those are your mini-reviews this month guys, come back next month for more!

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UK Box Office Top 10: 25th October 2011

UK Box Office Top 10:

No. 1 for the past two weeks Johnny English Reborn has fallen from the top spot to No. 2 this week, in order to make room for horror-sequel Paranormal Activity 3 - which beats Johnny English by over a £1 million in ticket sales.
Other new entries this week are epidemic thriller Contagion which comes in at No. 3, and drama We Need to Talk About Kevin which comes in at No. 7.
US hits, Dolphin Tale and Footloose continue a mediocre box office performance here in the UK, by falling to the bottom two spots, just 1 week after release.


1. (-) Paranormal Activity 3 - £3,405,036
2. (1) Johnny English Reborn - £2,052,062
3. (-) Contagion - £1,463,638
4. (2) The Lion King 3D - £1,356,217
5. (4) Real Steel - £842,597
6. (3) The Three Musketeers 3D - £585,506
7. (-) We Need To Talk About Kevin - £492,297
8. (5) Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - £394,605
9. (7) Dolphin Tale - £364,921
10. (6) Footloose - £270,794

That's the top 10 this week, be sure to come back next week for more of the latest Box Office action! Make sure you subscribe by email, or follow this blog! We'll see you next week!

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UK Top 10 Singles: 24th October 2011

UK Top 10 Music Singles:

So, Rihanna and Calvin Harris have managed to keep the top spot for the 3rd week now! The Wanted's latest lovey song "Lightning" manages to come in at No. 2 instead.
Kelly Clarkson's "Mr. Know It All" manages a good debut at No.6, meanwhile Lana Del Ray's "Videogames" comes in at No. 9.
David Guetta manages to climb into the top 10 this week with "Without You" featuring Usher - He's climbed 6 places this week to No. 10.
Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera finally let go of No. 2 and drop 2 places to No. 4.


1. (1) Rihanna - We Found Love (feat. Calvin Harris)
2. (-) The Wanted - Lightning
3. (7) Charlene Soraia - Wherever You Will Go
4. (2) Maroon 5 - Moves Like Jagger (feat. Christina Aguilera)
5. (3) Gym Class Heroes - Stereo Hearts (feat. Adam Levine)
6. (-) Kelly Clarkson - Mr. Know It All
7. (4) Christina Perri - Jar Of Hearts
8. (5) LMFAO - Sexy And I Know It
9. (-) Lana Del Ray - Video Games
10. (16) David Guetta - Without You (feat. Usher)

That's the top 10 this week, but come back next week for the latest chart action. Make sure you follow this blog, or subscribe by email!

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UK Top 10 Games: 24th October 2011

UK Top 10 Videogames (All Formats, All Prices):

Of course, Batman: Arkham City comes in at the top spot, knocking last week's No. 1, Forza 4, down to No. 4.
Other new entries this week are Football Manager 2012 in at No. 3, and The Sims 3: Pets at No. 6.
Outside the Top 10, the two other new entries are Playstation Exclusive Rachet and Clank: All 4 One which comes in at No. 24, and Kinect Exclusive Dance Central 2 which just manages to come in at No. 40.
We'd like to mention Spiderman: Edge of Time because sales are not looking good for that game right now! It managed to come in at No. 39 last week which isn't great, but this week it's nowhere to be seen! And it just so happened to be one of the games on our "13 Games That Won't Sell This Christmas" feature.

You can read that feature by clicking here!

1. (-) Batman: Arkham City
2. (2) FIFA 12
3. (-) Football Manager 2012
4. (1) Forza Motorsport 4
5. (3) Just Dance 3
6. (-) The Sims 3: Pets
7. (5) Pro Evolution Soccer 2012
8. (4) Rage
9. (8) Zumba Fitness
10. (6) Gears of War 3

Make sure you subscribe via email, or follow this blog, and come back next week for more of the Top 10!

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US Box Office Top 10: 24th October 2011

US Box Office Top 10:

This week sees Paranormal Activity 3 swoop in with a huge $54 million and take the top spot, leaving last week's number one, Real Steel, down one at No. 2.
Other new entries this week are The Three Musketeers and UK smash Johnny English Reborn who come in at No. 4 and No. 8 respectively.
Horror prequel, The Thing had quite a strong debut at No. 3 last week, but this week plummets to No. 9. This hints at quite a poor box office performance for the film. Although this may just be because the only horror film, (or film in general) that people wanted to see this week, was Paranormal Activity 3 which is millions of dollars ahead of the competition.


1. (-) Paranormal Activity 3 - $54 million
2. (1) Real Steel - $11.3 million
3. (2) Footloose - $10.8 million
4. (-) The Three Musketeers 3D - $8.8 million
5. (4) The Ides of March - $4.9 million
6. (5) Dolphin Tale - $4.2 million
7. (6) Moneyball - $4.05 million
8. (-) Johnny English Reborn - $3.8 million
9. (3) The Thing - $3.11 million
10. (7) 50/50 - $2.83 million

That's the top 10 for this week, make sure you follow this blog, or subscribe via e-mail and come back next week for more box office goodness!

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Soul Calibur V: Ezio Gameplay Video

The latest SoulCalibur guest star was leaked a few days ago, but officially announced today. Ezio Auditore from the Assassin's Creed series looks to be a little more balanced than Yoda was, but still manages to look awesome!
SoulCalibur: Broken Destiny's Dampierre will also be playable as a pre-order exclusive.
SoulCalibur V comes out in the US on the 31st January 2012, and in the UK on the 5th February 2012.

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The Golden Joystick Awards 2011: The Winners

The votes have been counted for the Golden Joystick Awards 2011, and here are the games that came out on top:

Best Action:













Winner - Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
Runner Up - Portal 2
3rd Place - L.A Noire


Best Mobile:











Winner - Angry Birds Rio
Runner Up - Fruit Ninja
3rd Place - Infinity Blade

Best RPG:













Winner: Fallout: New Vegas
Runner Up: The Witcher 2: Assassin's of Kings
3rd Place - Dragon Age II

 Best MMO (subscription):


Winner - World of Warcraft
Runner Up - Rift
3rd Place - Eve Online

Best Fighting:



Winner - Mortal Kombat
Runner Up - Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds
3rd Place - Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition

Best Racing:

Winner - Gran Turismo 5
Runner Up - DiRT 3
3rd Place - Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit

Best Sports:

Winner - FIFA 11
Runner Up - Pro Evolution Soccer 2011
3rd Place - NHL 2011

Best Strategy:

Winner - Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty
Runner Up - Civilization V
3rd Place - Total War: Shogun 2

Best Music:




Winner - Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock
Runner Up - Rock Band 3
3rd Place - Child of Eden

Best Free-to-Play MMO:

Winner - League of Legends
Runner Up - World of Tanks
3rd Place - Runescape

Best Downloadable Game:

Winner - Minecraft
Runner Up - Limbo
3rd Place - Dead Nation

Best Shooter:

Winner - Call of Duty: Black Ops
Runner Up - Halo: Reach
3rd Place - Crysis 2

One to Watch:




Winner - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Runner Up - Battlefield 3
3rd Place - Guild Wars 2

Innovation of the Year:

Winner - Nintendo 3DS

Outstanding Contribution:

Winner - Sonic the Hedgehog

Ultimate Game of the Year:

Winner - Portal 2
Runner Up - Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty
3rd Place - Call of Duty: Black Ops

So that's your lot for this year, do you agree or disagree with the winners? Comment.

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Music/Videogame Sales and the US/UK Box Office: 18th October 2011

Another week has flown past, and so here's the UK Top 10 Best-Selling Videogames, the UK Top 10 Music Singles, and the US and UK Top 10 Box Office Movies.

So who are the Number One's this week?

Top 10 Bestselling UK Games (All Formats, All Prices):

This week sees No. 1 of the past two weeks, FIFA 12, get knocked down to two, as 360-Exclusive racer Forza 4 comes in at the top, but does it with only 700 more sales.
Wii, Move, and Kinect dance title Just Dance 3 comes in at No. 3, while the latest entry in the PES series makes a fairly good debut at No. 5, although yet again fails to make as big an impact as FIFA.
Other Top 10 entry this week is the second Rugby title to make it into the Top 10 recently, Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge.
Honourable mentions go to the four games that were on our "13 Games That Won't Sell This Christmas" feature - they didn't make it to the top 10, but they were in the top 40.
Plane game, Ace Combat: Assault Horizon at No. 12, Dead Rising 2: Off The Record at No. 14, Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure at No. 16 and Spiderman: Edge of Time at No. 39.
Don't miss our feature at the end of the year, where we go over the 13 games we chose on that feature and see if we were right!


1. (-) Forza Motorsport 4
2. (1) FIFA 12
3. (-) Just Dance 3
4. (2) Rage
5. (-) Pro Evolution Soccer 2012
6. (4) Gears of War 3
7. (3) Dark Souls
8. (6) Zumba Fitness
9. (5) F1 2011
10. (-) Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge

UK Box Office Top 10:

The top two movies of last week hang on to their spots this week, despite four new entries in the top 10. The highest is Paul W Anderson's, The Three Musketeers 3D. Followed quite closely by Real Steel coming in weaker than in the States, and Australia where it was No. 1.
Dance title Footloose comes in at No. 6, meanwhile true story, Dolphin Tale comes in at No. 7 - both of which have weaker debuts than in the US.


1. (1) Johnny English Reborn - £3,072,542
2. (2) The Lion King 3D - £1,906,686
3. (-) The Three Musketeers 3D - £1,461,251
4. (-) Real Steel - £1,337,491
5. (3) Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - £572,806
6. (-) Footloose - £460,271
7. (-) Dolphin Tale - £429,140
8. (6) Midnight in Paris - £396,584
9. (5) Don't Be Afraid of the Dark - £250,542
10. (8) Drive - £178,230

USA Box Office Top 10:

Real Steel manages to hold onto the top spot this week despite 3 new entries in the top 10. Footloose at No. 2, horror-prequel, The Thing at No. 3, and The Big Year at No. 9.
We have to mention The Lion King again which this week rakes in another $2.79 million, bringing its total to a whopping $90.5 million.


1. (1) Real Steel - $16.3 million
2. (-) Footloose - $15.6 million
3. (-) The Thing - $8.49 million
4. (2) The Ides of March - $7.11 million
5. (3) Dolphin Tale - $6.23 million
6. (4) Moneyball - $5.46 million
7. (5) 50/50 - $4.26 million
8. (6) Courageous - $3.31 million
9. (-) The Big Year - $3.25 million
10. (7) The Lion King - $2.79 million

UK Music Singles Top 10:

This week sees Rihanna and Calvin Harris keeping the top spot with "We Found Love." Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera also keep No. 2 for the millionth week. Seriously.
Christina Perri's "Jar of Hearts" re-enters the top 10 after a little while out. Meaning it's been in the top 10 for 20 weeks now, (roughly 5 months).


1. (1) Rihanna - We Found Love (feat. Calvin Harris)
2. (2) Maroon 5 - Moves Like Jagger (feat. Christina Aguilera)
3. (-) Gym Class Heroes - Stereo Hearts (feat. Adam Levine)
4. (12) Christina Perri - Jar Of Hearts
5. (7) LMFAO - Sexy And I Know It
6. (-) Matt Cardle - Run For Your Life
7. (20) Charlene Soraia - Wherever You Will Go
8. (3) Sak Noel - Loca People
9. (13) Ed Sheeran - The A Team
10. (4) One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful

So those are the Top 10's of the week, come back next week for more, and feel free to comment!

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Music/Videogame Sales and the US/UK Box Office: 11th October 2011

Hello! A week has gone by and so it's time to go over the UK and US Box Office Top 10, as well as the UK's Top 10 Best-Selling Videogames and Music Singles.

UK Box Office Top 10:

This week sees spy-spoof-sequel Johnny English Reborn come straight in at No. 1, followed somewhat closely by re-release of Disney musical The Lion King.
The number 1 of the past three weeks, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy slips down to No. 3. Meanwhile this weeks other two new entries are Guillermo Del Toro's horror, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark at No. 5 and Midnight in Paris at No. 6.



1. (-) Johnny English Reborn - £4,965,000
2. (-) The Lion King 3D - £2,746,763
3. (1) Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - £1,066,742
4. (2) Abduction - £512,630
5. (-) Don't Be Afraid of the Dark - £495,734
6. (-) Midnight in Paris - £495,709
7. (4) Crazy, Stupid, Love - £367,723
8. (8) Drive - £304,163
9. (7) The Inbetweeners - £285,264
10. (5) The Debt - £278,060

US Box Office Top 10:

If you still think a robot boxing film is a ridiculous idea then think again as Real Steel comes in at No. 1 and with $27.3 million it gets the title highest boxing movie debut ever, beating Rocky IV's previous record of $20 million. It's also the second-highest opening for a sports drama, just behind The Blind Side with $34.1 million.
Other new entry, The Ides of March comes in at No. 2, (though with quite a gap between Real Steel), with just $10.5 million.
Last week's No. 1, Dolphin Tale, falls to No. 3.
And we'd just like to note that while it may be at No. 7 now, The Lion King re-release has raked in a huge $86 million in the US alone. And with a strong UK debut it looks to be one of the highest grossing films of the year.


1. Real Steel - $27.3 million
2. The Ides of March - $10.5 million
3. Dolphin Tale - $9.13 million
4. Moneyball - $7.45 million
5. 50/50 - $5.65 million
6. Courageous - $4.87 million
7. The Lion King - $4.6 million
8. Dream House - $4.48 million
9. What's Your Number - $3.13 million
10. Contagion - $2.94 million

 UK Best-Selling Videogames Top 10 (All-Formats/All-Prices):

We have to admit we were surprised to see FIFA 12 keep the top spot, despite highly anticipated shooter Rage coming out - but nevertheless that's what happened. We were also surprised to see punishing action title Dark Souls have such a high entry, especially after we featured it in the post we called "13 Games that won't Sell this Christmas." Is it possible that we were wrong!? Resistance 3 also climbs back into the top 10 after being at No. 13 last week. Honorable mention goes to NBA 2K12 which misses the top 10, but comes in at No. 12.

1. (1) FIFA 12
2. (-) Rage
3. (-) Dark Souls
4. (2) Gears of War 3
5. (3) F1 2011
6. (4) Zumba Fitness
7. (5) Dead Island
8. (6) Deus Ex: Human Revolution
9. (9) Lego Pirates of the Carribean
10. (13) Resistance 3

								UK Best-Selling Music Singles: Rihanna's team-up with Calvin Harris comes straight in at No. 1, knocking last weeks No. 1, "Loca People" by Sak Noel down 2 to No. 3. LMFAO's "Sexy And I Know It" also climbs 13 places to enter the top 10 at No. 7. 1. Rihanna - We Found Love (feat. Calvin Harris) 2. Maroon 5 - Moves Like Jagger (feat. Christina Aguilera) 3. Sak Noel - Loca People 4. One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful 5. Goo Goo Dolls - Iris 6. Dappy - No Regrets 7. LMFAO - Sexy And I Know It 8. James Morrison - I Won't Let You Go 9. Jason Derulo - It Girl 10. Bad Meets Evil - Lighters (feat. Bruno Mars)
								So those our the figures for this week. Comment your thoughts and we'll see you next week!

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Opinion: It's time for FPS games to Go!

The FPS game is one that dominates our current gaming marketplace. I'm not saying that there aren't other successful genre's in gaming - but whenever a new Call of Duty comes out, it's an immediate No. 1. Am I the only one getting tired of this?

Recently people have been growing tired of the FPS genre, but that hasn't stopped the games from selling by the bucketload. So far the total sales of CoD: Black Ops on every platform has reached around 26.25 million copies.
This is a ridiculous amount for a game that not only has been called one of the worst CoD titles, but also for a game that is basically just shooting people again and again and again. Whatever happened to creativity in games? It seems that nowadays you can put a load of guns, blood, and swearing in a game, call it something stupid like Mercenary Bastards and it's bound to shift a few copies!

I know not all shooters are terrible games, but the majority at least, seem to be lacking any story or emotion - instead they consist of shooting generic bad guys in the face. I'm not anti-action. I love a good action title, but in my opinion FPS's have nothing to do with action - they're just killing games. One game which I love that manages to be action packed and have a great story is Enslaved: Odyessy to the West. How much has this game sold? Around 750,000 copies. While this is okay compared to the sales some unknown titles get, when compared to Battlefield: Bad Company 2's 6.09 million copies it looks pretty puny.

It also means that other genre's have now been labelled as lame. I went round a friend's the other night with fighting game, Marvel vs. Capcom 3, they said it looked boring, and we had to play Halo: Reach all evening. Boring? BORING? The one thing a Marvel vs. Capcom game isn't, is boring. If you haven't seen one before I can tell you that the amounts of ridiculously bright-coloured effects make it one of the least boring games on the market.

Boring? Not a chance.

Then there's a load of ignorant people who think playing shooters and having a good kill streak makes them "hardcore". I don't believe in the whole, "hardcore gamer" thing anyway, but I can say that if someone really wants to be hardcore - complete Dark Souls!

At the end of the day, the FPS market is one that is getting flooded. This year alone, nearly 50 FPS games have/or will be released - that's nearly one a week. That's too much, especially when they all consist of the same, basic formula. I can't tell you what you enjoy, no one can. But it seems that FPS's are getting less and less interesting. And for me, and people like me they never were. I'm sure the genre has a lot of life left in it, but one day it will crash.

I know this because it's happened before. It happened in the early noughties when fighting games like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat were getting released too frequently for gamers and ended up failing. And more recently with the music genre. Games like Guitar Hero used to be successful ones that filled people's houses with plastic peripheral's - now though, the Guitar and DJ Hero series' have been cancelled, (or at least put aside), and the fate of the genre is in question - the same will happen here.

The real question is how long it will take.

But, what do you think? Comment.

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Opinion: Is the Wii Already Dead?

There was a time when the Wii was king of the console world, now though, it's struggling. And while it has got a bit of a Christmas ahead of it with the likes of Zelda: Skyward Sword, and Kirby's Return to Dreamland, we have to ask - Is the Wii already dead?

Sales of the Wii console have been going down recently - no question. Even with the price drops the Wii struggles to hit 200,000 units a month. The last batch of NPD figures tell us it struggled to 190,000. And while this may not seem too bad, compared to the X360's 308,000 and the PS3's 218,000 it isn't great. So, it's competitors are leading in terms of console sales, but maybe everyone already bought a Wii! At least the Wii gets great games right? Wrong.

Sure, the Wii has had good games: Mario Galaxy, Resi 4 etc. But so far this year the only big/good exclusive the Wii has had was Xenoblade, and North America didn't even get that!
Look up 2011 on the Wii's metacritic page, and you'll find only 8 games that have managed to receive good reviews for the whole of this year! I know not everyone always goes by reviews - but that has to mean something.

Remember when the Wii had good games? Those were the days...

The thing that hasn't helped is that the Wii ports of games always seem to be poor too. For example, FIFA 12, good on 360/PS3, not so good on Wii. Driver: San Francisco, surprisingly decent on 360/PS3, poor on Wii. This means not only is the Wii lacking in first party support, but the majority of third party titles are bad as well.
Publisher's seem to have struggled taking the Wii seriously recently, with it's SD graphics, and lack of memory. And this seems to have been a big problem throughout the Wii's 5 years on Earth.

And so here we are. We're now only 3 months away from Christmas - arguably the most important time of the year for games. And the Wii has little over 3 games to look forward to. Sure, kids and mums might still love it thanks to the continued success of games like Zumba Fitness and Just Dance, but the gamers are the people who are really going to be faithful to their systems - and I'm not sure if they care about Wii anymore. I'm not saying there's never been hardcore on Wii. There's been Madworld, Resident Evil, House of the Dead, No More Heroes etc. But there was just too much shovelware crap like Carnival Games for anyone to care.

Had there been more hardcore, maybe Wii would still be relevant...

Even with Skyward Sword, (which has had a slight lukewarm reception from some), and games like Pandora's Tower/Last Story which have potential to be great - I'm not sure it's enough.
Right now, I would say the Wii is in the same position the PS2 was around 2-3 years ago. It's still selling, but nowhere near as much as it's competition and with a lack of support from publishers. Plus, with some shops selling it for as little as $99 new, it's basically just become a budget console for families with small kids who love minigame collections.
I think the Wii might not be dead yet, but probably may as well be. With the Wii U already announced, and few games on the horizon they may as well just focus on the 3DS and turn games like Last Story into Wii U launch games.
But what do you think? Comment and let us know!

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Thor Review

Thor is a movie that says no to realism, and yes to being as faithful to the comics as it can - and it works.

Thor starts off as an arrogant heir to the throne of Asgard - the realm in which he lives. After a particular act of arrogance he is cast out and winds up on Earth. While he's stranded there things start to fall apart at Asgard. Thor's father, (King of Asgard), falls into what is known as the Odin sleep and so Thor's brother Loki takes over the throne. Not a good sign.

This is a story that is told well, with a good script that features many funny moments, and some sad moments too amongst all the action. The problem is it isn't the deepest of stories. In fact if anything it just feels like a coming of age story except for a super hero. This isn't necessarily bad thing, but films like Batman Begins have proved that a super-hero origin story can be much deeper then just a person getting super powers.
But as I said, this is in no way a bad story. It's full of great action and some very entertaining moments, but just don't expect anything too deep.

One thing that should be praised in this movie are the effects which I thought were great. They make up the majority of Asgard as well as featuring in the fight scenes, and yet they doesn't seem too over-used (we're looking at you Daredevil). Instead they look fantastic and just make the film stronger.

The cast is also very good. Chris Hemsworth does a great job as the God of Thunder, Natalie Portman does well as Jane Foster, and Tom Hiddleston and Anthony Hopkins are brilliant as the Asgardians, Loki and Odin.

The ending was slightly underwhelming purely because it felt a little unfinished. I know some threads may be picked up in The Avengers, but it was still annoying that this movie couldn;t stay somewhat self contained.

But despite all of this, Thor is a great, fun film that does manage to make me more excited for The Avengers. And even with the basic story, and odd ending it still manages to be awesome due to it's great effects, and very talented cast.
If you like super-hero's you owe it to yourself to watch Thor.

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Comic Mini-Reviews September 2011

Hello! Well, DC's universe relaunch is all over now, and while we couldn't get all 52 issues (not enough money), we did get a few - including Justice League, Batgirl, Batwoman, Supergirl, The Flash and many more. We've also got a copy of #3 of the new Punisher series - but was it any good?



These are the comics we bought last month ranked from best to worst:

The Great Ones:

1. Aquaman #1

Aquaman #1 is awesome. It's gives you action from the start, makes some pretty funny references to some misconceptions about Aquaman that made him the joke of the superhero world, and also it sets up a quite a creepy enemy for next issue. I can't recommend Aquaman enough...

10/10






2. Justice League #1
Justice League #1 is great for anyone first dipping their toe into the DC pool - and is also great for those who have always read DC! The art is great, the writing's good and while there may not be too much in the way of story - remember that this issue and probably the next couple are more about the Justice League forming than anything else. A great read nonetheless.

9/10






3. Batgirl #1

Batgirl is another brilliant one. The action is great with a cool fight scene mid-way, but the writing is great too exploring not only Batgirl but her alter-ego Barbara Gordon. The main villain of this issue looks like an interesting character and I'm looking forward to seeing how he develops. I also enjoyed seeing that Batgirl isn't fearless. After being paralysed for a few years she is scared of being shot at, and that makes her an interesting character, and one I intend to follow.

9/10



 4. The Punisher #3

This year's Punisher series has been great, and this issue is no exception. There's a gripping fight between The Punisher and the Vulture that blends well with a fast-paced climax. The art is still just as impressive as it was at the beginning, and so is the writing - Brilliant.

9/10







5. The Flash

The Flash is a book blessed by a great art style that suits the character perfectly. It has good writing, and a plot that looks to be a very interesting story, even if it verges on nonsensical right now. I recommend The Flash and hope to continue with it next month.

9/10







The OK Ones:

6. Batwing #1

Batwing is a decent book that suffers from occasionally bad writing, and a lack of recognition. But these could just be growing pains. Batwing only came into exsistence recently and it has to be hard to build a new character from the ground up. On the plus side the art is great, and the story looks to be quite good - it's worth a chance as this one has potential.

7/10






7. Batwoman #1

Batwoman is a promising book with good art, but unfortunately the story is a little too supernatural at times - and there's one important splash page which is difficult to understand which is annoying as it is quite significant. Apart from this though, the story has a lot of potential, and I'm tempted to go back to this book next month.

7/10







8. Green Arrow #1

Green Arrow is a good book with a story that looks okay, but its art style makes it difficult to take seriously. This is a shame as the writing is really good. The art isn't exactly bad but it just isn't as good as the likes of Justice League and Aquaman. It doesn't stop this book from being good, but it taints the experience. I'm interested to see where the story goes, but I'm not sure whether it'll make the cut next month.

7/10






9. Catwoman

Catwoman has potential to be great, but there seems to be an absence of a strong story in this first issue. There is some good action, and there are parts that hint at an interesting story, but they don't show much in this issue. This is worth a go, but I'm not sure if it's one I can continue with.

6/10






The Bad Ones:

10. Supergirl #1

Supergirl is very disappointing. It's great for those who are unfamiliar with DC as it starts at the very beginning of Supergirl's life on Earth. But the majority of this issue is Supergirl fighting with a bunch of robots for not much of a reason. This could have been explained a bit better. Also, while the art is okay, the environments are...well, there's not many - especially during the fight scenes. The writing is okay, but not great and it makes Supergirl an overall boring experience.

4/10





11. OMAC

OMAC is just stupid. First you're at Cadmus Industries offices, then OMAC appears with no explanation why he's there, what he's looking for or anything else for that matter. Maybe this is part of OMAC's character, but for a new DC reader this was terrible. The art is ok, but the writing is poor and so is the story - a complete and utter mess.

2/10

Those are the mini reviews for this month, be sure to come back next month and feel free to comment below!

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