Avengers Assemble

Greetings, Avengers assemble as it is called in the United Kingdom is a movie that has been suggested throughout several of the previous Marvel films including Iron Man. The story revolves around a few of the well known characters, most of whom had received their own films prior to this one but there are a couple who didn’t such as Hawkeye or the Black Widow.

Apparently the plot is linked to the Captain America story, which I have as of yet not seen. The defensive company S.H.E.I.L.D. under the direction of Nick Fury, attempt to create a team of individuals with unique powers or skills in order to protect earth against various forces of evil.

The need to form and unite the heroes into a group becomes more pressing when a power source known as the Tesseract opens up a portal in one of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s bases allowing Loki to enter the planet and steal the resource. Loki is a super villain and adopted brother of the superhero Thor, stealing the Tesseract as part of a deal in exchange for an army.

It has a talented cast with likeable characters including Downey’s Iron Man or Hawkeye and has comedic elements throughout the film which suites the story quite well. The plot might not have been the greatest, neither did I know all the characters but that didn’t prevent me from enjoying the experience. Overall if you liked Marvel’s other films, chances are you will like this one as well. The eighteenth chapter of Team X Paranormal Division is up at Warehouse 17.

Plot=7/10

Characters=8/10

Special effects=8/10

Overall=8/10

Quote of the day

Did you just kill my new wife?

Dr John Watson

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Live and Let Die

Greetings, Live and Let Die is the second novel in the James Bond series and follows on from Casino Royale. 007 is sent from London by M to America in order defeat his latest enemy known as Mr Big and overthrow his operations. Like Casino Royale I felt that it was simply ok in terms of experience, it certainly didn’t make me want to continually keep reading to see how it would turn out. It is probably because of the fact that the agent eats and drinks for half the book instead of pursuing his target.

The plot isn’t the most thrilling as it is yet again similar to the original in that the villain is trying to fund the Soviets operations, though this time it is through 17th century treasure of a notorious pirate called Bloody Morgan. Mr Big runs his scheme through convincing his followers that he is the zombie of Baron Samedi, a figure in voodoo related to death. Bond and CIA agent as well as recurring character Leiter are tracked by Mr Big’s network of spies as they attempt to achieve their objectives

Overall I preferred the original novel but I am staring to see elements of the sinister villains that 007 encounters in the films and is often regarded for having. For instance Mr Big uses sharks to defend his island and has used them against the secret agent. While it wasn’t a great book, it wasn’t terrible either and so I plan to continue the series in the hope that it will improve as time goes on and the more recognisable rogues start to appear. The seventeenth chapter of Team X Paranormal Division is up at Warehouse 17.

Plot=7/10

Characters=7/10

Wording=7/10

Overall=7/10

Quote of the day

I don't know how to work it. Computers in Hell all run Linux

Sam

Sam and Max: Beyond Time and Space

Sam and Max Beyond time and space

Greetings, Sam and Max Beyond Time and Space is a point a click adventure and sequel to Sam and Max season one. It continues on with the same format as the original by splitting up the storyline into several episodes which altogether add up to a plot that had been running through the two games. It should be noted that season 2 has one episode less but this in no way makes it inferior to its predecessor, despite this I feel that on the whole they both are equal to each other. As far as I can tell all the characters made a comeback for at least a cameo role and new ones were introduced who are necessary to complete the tasks that are placed in front of you.

Judging from the fact that the two main heroes are a dog and a rabbit who work as freelance police it is understandable that the storyline is weird. The first episode revolves around trying to uncover what has happened to and to help Santa who has suddenly been acting very strangely via locking himself up in his office in the North pole as well as shooting anyone who comes near his door. It gets progressively madder as the plot continues to go on.

The soundtrack continues to be an interesting mix of jazz and other styles of music with the occasional cut scene dedicated to a song that explains part of the story. I found this game continued the high levels enjoyment and strange humour of season one. In my opinion it is a great addition to the series and I have great enthusiasm for the third one in which the ending of Beyond time and space suggests will be an interesting one. The sixteenth chapter of Team X Paranormal Division is up at Warehouse 17.

Plot=9/10

Characters=9/10

Graphics=8/10

Overall=9/10

Quote of the day

It's so easy to see the galaxy in black and white. Gray? I don't know what to do with gray.

Garrus Vakarian

Mass Effect 2

The Muppets

Greetings, the Muppets film is the latest movie that originated from a long history and colourful of the television series which has expanded into several types of entertainment such as videogames since its birth. I used to watch the Muppets during my childhood and this is probably why the film works so well, it is a brilliant piece of nostalgia in my opinion. I believe the Muppets needed it after the straight to DVD and TV movies released which I have avoided due to the fact they didn’t make it to the cinema. They would have been of questionable quality, however this film brings it back to its rightful place.

The plot is relatively simple, the Muppets have been off the air for years and have all drifted apart. A new Muppet by the name of Walter who grew up with the television series and become obsessed with it eventually gets to go to see the old theatre when his brother Gary plans to take a visit to Los Angeles with his girlfriend, Mary. When visiting the dilapidated site, Walter over hears a conversation in which oil Baron Tex Richman reveals his plans to demolish the buildings as there is oil underneath. Walter, Gary and Mary track down Kermit the Frog to tell him of the news, convincing him to round up the old cast. They are to put on one last show to raise enough money to repurchase the site and save it from destruction.

The film also has musical numbers which was written by Flight of the Concords star Bret McKenzie. This could possibly be the beginning of the return of the Muppets or if not at least they came back to create the best of their films in my belief. It is a whimsical comedy packed with celebrities and radiates a feeling of warmth that modern cinema often lacks. This is without doubt one of the greatest films I have seen and so it earns the  title of  Super Duper fantastic 100% the best award. The fifteenth chapter of Team X Paranormal Division is up at Warehouse 17.

Plot=10/10

Characters=10/10

Special effects=10/10

Overall=10/10

Cracking cheese, Gromit!

Wallace

Wallace and Gromit: The Wrong Trousers

Jurassic Park

Greetings, Jurassic Park is a well known novel that was written by Michael Crichton and a film trilogy that developed from it. The series has expanded into other media such as video games as well, but the book and the first movie differ a little in certain areas. An example is the cast of characters, in the movie a few individuals are left out of the plot or had their roles shortened, another noticeable factor is the fate of some of the people is different between the two. While the movie may not be completely true to the original storyline, it is still by far one of my favourite films of all time.

The plot is brilliantly thought out and explained which adds a vibe of realism to the experience, hence making it more enjoyable to read. In Costa Rica several reports of children’s injuries are recorded in local hospitals, the animal causing the new set of attacks has been unidentified.

Palaeontologists Dr Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler were invited to an island close to Costa Rica, in order to inspect the new park. Along with them is a mathematician named Malcolm, Nedry, the man responsible for setting up the software and a lawyer called Gennaro. Once on the island, it is revealed that it is a park created for genetically engineered dinosaurs. The game warden, Muldoon claims that the weapons he has been given are not effective enough to use in a real emergency if the security systems should ever fail.

The characters are nicely written and interact well with each other. Especially the relationship between Jurassic Park’s deluded creator John Hammond and Malcolm who attempted to prevent the park from being constructed. It is a good book that will take a while to get into but it is worth the slow build up and I would encourage you to read it. The fourteenth chapter of Team X Paranormal Division is up at Warehouse 17.

Plot=8/10

Characters=9/10

Wording=9/10

Overall=9/10

Quote of the day

E.T. phone home

E.T.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2

Greetings, Star Wars the Force Unleashed 2 follows on from its predecessor and the individual believed to be a clone of the leading character in the original, Starkiller. The clone of Darth Vader’s secret apprentice begins to recall memories of his dark past and the betrayal of the Empire near the beginning of the game. Starkiller then escapes the facility known as Kamino which was responsible for developing him and creating other imperfect versions of him. He attempts to seek help from those that he had allied with in his previous adventure and escape the Sith Lord Vader.

This, like the original is a very short game, with little added in terms of expanding to the Star Wars lore. Also I would have liked to have seen the classic characters from the series such as Yoda and Boba Fett to have a larger role in it. Another feature which could be improved is the endings, the player can choose between the good and evil paths but this game seemed to have ignored the sith conclusion of the last one. This means that the story fails to have a smooth connection to between both of them.

There are some positives to it though, the enemy AI have become more diverse and the methods in which the player decides to kill them by ranges vastly. The game play has been developed as there are a few more force powers available, for instance mind control which was not in the Force Unleashed. The soundtrack gives it some of the atmosphere that was present in the film, sometimes even incorporating notes into it and is in synch with the levels or cut scenes. Overall it is a decent, enjoyable game that will keep the player entertained for its duration. The thirteenth chapter of  Team X Paranormal Division is up at Warehouse 17.

Plot=7/10

Characters=8/10

Graphics=8/10

Overall=7/10

Quote of the day

You hear that, Sev? Someone thinks I'm excellent.

Scorch

Star Wars: Republic Commando