JAN 2012 - issue (13)

A TORN MIND

CROSSING GIANTS

MUSIC

GIG FLYERS

GAMINGGAMES CHARTS

ALIENWARE X51

MOVIESMOVIE CHART

MOVIE QUIZ

THE BARRELS

Cove

r Pho

to b

y M

agic

amen

tele

na

WAR HORSECORIOLANUS

THE DESCENDANTS

MAX PAYNE 3BATMAN : ARKHAM CITY

DEAD ISLAND

JAN 2012 - issue (13)

OUT&ABOUTC a r t i n g , B o w l i n g , P a i n t b a l l , I n -d o o r g o l f , S k a t e b o a r d i n g , B M X ,

P l a y a r e a s , m u s e u m s , f u n p a r k s . . .

y a d a y a d a y a d a

LOCAL BAND FEATURES - REVIEWS - GIGS - EVENTS - INTERVIEWS - GAMING - MOVIES + MORE

www.goguidemagazine.co.uk

JAN 2012 - issue (13)

Contents

- - - - - - - MUSIC - - - - - - -

A TORN MIND - Band Feature (pg3)One of the best prog rock bands on the local scene.

THE BARRELS - Band Feature (pg4)Indie rockers The Barrels are bringing their brand of indie pop rock to the GOGUIDE pages. CROSSING GIANTS - Band Feature (pg4)Crossing Giants bring their celtic folk punk charms over for us to have a look see.

GIG FLYERS (pg5)All the best shows from local venues and bands playing around the area.

- - - - - - - MOVIES - - - - - - -

MOVIE NEW RELEASES (pg18)All the new releases in cinemas this month.

MOVIE QUIZ (pg19) (Answers on inside back page)

WAR HORSE - Review (pg20)The latest Spielberg epic gets the once over from our beady eyed reviewers.

THE DESCENDANTS - Review (pg22)Clooney in one of his best roles for years.

CORIOLANUS - Review (pg23)The most unfriendly Shakespeare play gets the holly-wood treatment.

MOVIE FLYERS (pg24)Posters for some of the latest movie releases.

- - - - - - - GAMES - - - - - - -

Alienware X51 - Review (pg38)The brand new hardware release from ALienware - is is a PC, is it a console... you decide.

CONTENTJAN 2012 - issue (13)

GAME CHART (pg38)Top 10 games across PS3, Xbox and PC.

MAX PAYNE 3 - Preview (pg39)Preview of the next Max Payne game coming this year.

BATMAN - ARKHAM CITY (pg40)Following on from Asylum the caped crusader hits the city.

DEAD ISLAND (pg44)Simple.... ALL OUT ZOMBIEFEST....!!!!!!!

GAME FLYERS (pg46)Posters for some great games release.

OUT & ABOUT (pg53)Some great indoor and outdoor stuff to get up to.

CLASSIC MOVIE POSTERS (back page)We take a look back at some classic movie posters.

Although we hope to provide much correct information as possible beforer going to print some details on these pages may be subject to change after printing - please check online or with locations directly for fully up to date information.

Click on the orange page number link to go to that page.

Hope everyone had a great xmas and new year - Jan, as usual, is pretty quiet on the games and movie front but here we go for another roundup of what’s going on in the local music scene, your movie roundup, some cool games stuff and some things to get up to during the holidays.... GG

GOGUIDE is a local online magazine for the West Lothian area. We are trying to be less focused on local ‘news’ and more a, ‘what’s on’ or ‘happening’ guide to the local area. At the moment we are heavily focused on the whats going on in the local music scene, whats on and good @ the movies and what is happening in the world of PC/Console gaming.

We do have a pretty modern approach to GoGuide content and eventually hope to produce articles on subjects outside our usual stuff such as Clubbing, Internet, Lifestyle, Sport and Fitness etc.

www.goguidemagazine.co.ukwww.myspace.com/goguideFacebook Search For: GoGuide

With the vast majority of our content sourced from local contributors we are always on the lookout for new people to bring onboard to help us provide input to this content hungry mag so if your keen on writing stuff and getting it published in the mag feel free to drop us a message at [email protected]

Who are GOGUIDE...???

http://www.goguidemagazine.co.uk

http://www.myspace.com/goguide

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Goguide-Music-Page/293686737354033

mailto:content%40goguidemagazine.co.uk?subject=Contribute%20to%20GOGUIDE%20

mailto:content%40goguidemagazine.co.uk?subject=Contribute%20to%20GOGUIDE%20

JAN 2012 - issue (13)

Progressive Rock bands are not my strong point but local band A Torn Mind stand as

one of the best out there. Having been around for a while members Grant (Vocals/Guitar), Chris (Guitar/Keys/Sax), Ryan (Bass) and Euan (Drums) have crafted some of the most accomplished progressive rock music I’ve head in a while.

They manage to include all the classic elements of their chosen genre but seem to have a canny knack of making it all sound so very new and

refreshing. One encouraging sign is the blend of a heavier aspect over an aggressive prog structure and style that bodes for an interesting take on things.

The ATM guys are a pretty hands on bunch with recording and production duties very much an in house affair yet they somehow seem to produce stunning quality pieces of music for us to listen to. As is the norm for prog rock 101 each member of the band are technically very, very good with every piece played in astounding passion and ability that it is hard not to appreciate what they do and their excellence in its execution. They have succeeded in creating an epic sound where even the pieces that could maybe be scrimped upon are absolutely beautiful. Song writing and competent arrangement are the hallmarks of ATM’s genre and they don’t fail in this respect either with well-crafted, painstakingly arranged, and layered sections all coming together in one massive melting pot to produce at the other end a product that is to all intense purposes a 10/10.

Although destined to remain very much a fringe genre (even big new prog ringleaders Biffy had to go pretty pop for people to really start to notice them) I’m sure there is a large fanbase out there for ATM’s kind of polished material and hopefully they can have more than their fair share of those people to buy their stuff and come to their shows as I’m sure they won’t be disappointed.

Checkout the debut EP from ATM “Barriers” out NOW and more info can be found over @

www.atornmind.com

MUSICFeature A

TORNMIND

http://www.atornmind.com

JAN 2012 - issue (13)

MUSICFeature

4 Piece indie rock band The Barrels are Michael (Vocals/Guitar), Liam (Guitar),

Joe (Bass) and Dayle (Drums) and were formed at the end of 2008 and clearly heavily influenced by the likes of the big indie bands of the day.

Taking those influenced and turning them into something unique to your band is the hard part. When you listen to some of The Barrels tracks it seems they are doing pretty well in achieving those goals and have a keen eye for picking out a particular element from those varied influences and elaborating on that to produce something new. Tracks like ‘Who are You?‘ Is a classic upbeat indie/rock song if ever I hear one and defo something that would easily slip into the chart scene had it been

written by one of the top indie outfits. ‘Through The Door’ struts through with a vibe reminiscent of the laid back Arctic Monkeys or The Last Shadow Puppets and then there is the track ‘Today Is Not Your Day’ which pulls you into another dimension completely with a song in a vein that most bands stay well away from at such a stage in their musical career, It is as close to a classic indie ballad as ‘505’ was for the Arctic Monkeys. Kick back into high gear with Crooked Eyes and Sold and your back on the good old sweat drenched indie rock that so many love today.

On the live circuit the guys have been

pretty busy playing not just locally but in the big smokies as well and appear to have supported a good few names along the way ala Complete Stone Roses, Jon Windle (Little Man Tate) etc. so get along to see them when you can.

Catch all their latest info @

www.myspace.com/thebarrelsmusic

The Barrels

With influences like Dropkick Murphys, Flog-ging Molly and

The Pogues I wouldn’t neces-sarily call the Crossing Giants a truly acoustic punk band

but throw in a good measure of folk and Celtic charm and I’m extremely happy to say that they are a 2 piece acoustic Celtic, Folk, Punk band. Their music clearly pulls inspiration from those guys mentioned above and more recently peo-ple like Frank Turner and The Gaslight Anthem.

Being a 2 piece of Iain Macaulay on vocals and guitar with Dan Brennan on bass and vocals gives the sound a little more depth than just maybe a 2 man acoustic setup so the songs although still at heart very acoustic

are pretty powerful in themselves. Although it is difficult to assess com-pletely as the guys only have demos available online.

Crossing Giants are playing regularly in the local scene as well as most other venues throughout the central belt with a keen liking for a little place called the ‘Linen 1906’ in Pol-lock, Glasgow (think it’s a free bar for them?)

So get along to see them if you can and checkout their web site to catch those demo tunes @

www.myspace.com/570429117 or search Facebook for Crossing Giants.

C R O S S I N G G I ANT S

http://www.myspace.com/thebarrelsmusic

http://www.myspace.com/570429117

JAN 2012 - issue (13)

NEW RELEASES THIS MONTH

Despair (15) / Park CircusGoon (15) / Entertainment One UKThe Iron Lady (12A) / Fox/PatheMother And Child (15) / Verve PicturesThe Darkest Hour (3D) (12A) / 20th Century FoxMargin Call (15) / Stealth MediaShame (18) / Momentum PicturesTatsumi (15) / Soda PicturesA Useful Life / DogwoofWar Horse (12A) / Walt DisneyVettai (D) (15) / UTV Motion PicturesHaywire (15) / Paramount/MomentumIn Search of Haydn (TBC) / Seventh Art ProductionsCoriolanus (15) / Lionsgate UKJ. Edgar (15) / Warner Bros.L’Atalante (R/I) (PG) / bfi DistributionThe Nine Muses (PG) / New Wave FilmsRed Light Revolution (18) / Terracotta DistributionThe Sitter (15) / 20th Century FoxUnderworld: Awakening (3D) (15) / Entertainment Film DistributorsW.E (15) / STUDIOCANALX:Night of Vengeance (18) / Revolver EntertainmentActs Of Godfrey (TBC) / Guerilla FilmsAgneepath / Eros InternationalThe Descendants (15) / 20th Century FoxThe Grey (TBC) / Entertainment Film DistributorsHouse Of Tolerance (18) / The WorksIntruders (15) / Universal PicturesLike Crazy (12A) / ParamountMercenaries (15) / Kaleidoscope EntertainmentA Monster In Paris (3D) (U) / Entertainment One UKPatience (After Sebald) (12A) / Soda Pictures

IN SELECTED CINEMAS NOW !!!!!

Some details are subject to change - please check online or with cinema directly for latest information.

MOVIESRELEASES

JAN 2012 - issue (13)

12

4

5

3

Answers on

inside back

page !

WE HAVE REMOVED THE ACTORS FROM THESE FILM STILLS - CAN YOU GUESS THE MOVIES...???

MOVIESGG Quiz

JAN 2012 - issue (13)

MOVIESReview

War Horse looks glorious with its old-school Hollywood

cinemascope style of shoot-ing with Spielberg showing his obvious love of David Lean in probably the most obvi-ous way so far. Scenes in War Horse take us back to the days of the epic and expan-sive scene-scapes the likes we have not seen since Lawrence of Arabia. The John Williams score throughout the movie adds even more to the senses and assists in transporting you to that golden age in this stylish attempt to pay hom-age to that epic era.

It is a movie that wants to sweep you up and carry you along in the story without you realising it. And for the most part it does that with ease and you quickly forget everything except the passion of the moment.

When watching War Horse, a movie adaption of Michael Murpurgo’s chil-dren’s novel about a horse enlisted in the cavalry in WWI, I seem to be torn between two completely dif-ferent elements of the movie which

don’t really gell and blend well together to be any one particular thing. Not having read the book I’m not sure if that’s a part of the written narrative or not but what I see on one hand is a story written as a kind of uplifting disney’esque feelgood story of a horse helping its brethren regardless of the danger it might face… and then on the other hand we are grimly reminded of the intensity of war, with harrowing battle scenes playing out around us. In one sequence we are humbled by the destruction of an entire troop of men in one of the typicaly pointless charges carried out so many times in WW1, I find it very difficult to reconcile these to side of the story enough to let me really enjoy this move.

Spielberg has already shown he can make serious war movies and titles such as Schindler’s List, Empire of the Sun and Saving Private RyWan certainly show just how good he can be in that genre. So maybe an at-tempt to produce a cross between a ‘Ryan’ movie, with all its realistic ele-ments, and say a ‘Lassie’ movie isn’t quite going to work as effectively as you might expect.

Screenwriters Lee Hall (Pride and Prejudice, Billy Elliot) and mostly comedy writer Richard Curtis (Love, Actually, The Boat That Rocked, Bridget Jones’s Diary) have done an

WARHORSE

Director: Steven Spielberg Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston, David Thewlis, Emily Watson

JAN 2012 - issue (13)

Director: Steven Spielberg Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston, David Thewlis, Emily Watson

admirable job but can’t seem to suc-cessfully port the book to the movie. Maybe it is because of the number of characters they have written into the script and the large quantity of connections we see the horse making throughout the movie. We start with Albert (Jeremy Irvine), the dirt farm-er’s son who looks after the young pony before the war, then there’s a young Cavalry officer (Tom Hiddles-ton), followed by a pair of German deserters, a French farmer and his granddaughter yada yada yada.

The movie physically drops consid-erably as it moves into the middle stretch after yet another character is killed off and compared to such WW1 movies as Gallipoli or All Quiet on the Western Front this offering is simply too sentimental.

The dialogue like the performance of most of the cast is passable but

doesn’t seem to offer anything new or anything to make you think any-thing other than your immediate im-pression of people. People are exactly who you would expect them to be with no real dimension to them. Even the cast are, well, type cast I suppose with David Thewlis (Harry Potter, Lon-don Boulevard) as the egotistical, rich landowner; Peter Mullan (Neds, Train-spotting, Braveheart), is the drunken farmer and Emily Watson (Cemetery Junction, The Memory Keeper’s Daughter) is the long-suffering wife.

A movie that sums up the ‘never judge a book by its cover’ idiom as it looks a damn site better than it comes across in watching. A capable offering but not really reaching the heights that it promises with its story, cast, writers and director.

G G G G

JAN 2012 - issue (13)

MOVIESReview

Matt King (George Clooney) has a life chang-ing problem to

cope with; his wife Elizabeth (Patricia Hastie) is in hospital in a deep coma following an accident in which she was launched from a speedboat, he is trying to stay positive but doctors have told him that her condition continues to get worse, and due to a condition of her will, the life support machines keep-ing her alive will soon be switched off.

In The Descendants a workaholic lawyer Matt, is facing the inevitable passing of his better half and now looks to be thrown into the ring as the sole guardian of their kids. Scot-tie (Amara Miller, making her big

screen debut) is a 10-year-old oddity and 17-year-old Alexandra (Shailene Woodley) a rebellious boarding school student with a ropey past.

Over the movie Matt is forced to reconnect with his children but he also has the added pressure of being the guardian of a piece of land that was handed down to the entire family through a trust by his ancestors. That trust is set to expire and Matt has the task of working out what to do with the land. He has two options, follow the majority’s opinion and sell it to developers, which would mean everyone gets a big pile of money, or just do nothing and cause major uproar between the various family groups who are all struggling for money.

As the story progresses we are treated to one of the most sensi-tive and commanding scenes in the movie when Matt learns that during the time of the crash his wife Elizabeth was seeing someone else

and was about to file for divorce. We see Clooney at his best here with what could be considered as his most seasoned and emotion-ally raw showings of his career so far. As the conflicted and distressed Matt, Clooney shows a good range as we see him pass through the various stages of his character which are done sometimes with a simple movement or expression.

Acting in her first major film role Woodley, as the troubled teen, portrays a character that nearly all parents of a teen will have a connec-tion with. She plays the part to a T and the intensity she puts across is

The Descendants

Director: Alexander Payne.

Cast: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Am-ara Miller, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard.

JAN 2012 - issue (13)

simply absorbing. It would be nice to think that Clooney had a part in helping this young actress along the way as I’m sure we will be seeing much, much more of her in the near future.

The rest of the supporting cast are also impressive, with Robert Foster as Matt’s grudge-holding father-in-law, Matthew Lillard as Elizabeth’s secret lover, Nick Krause as Alex’s daft platonic friend and lastly Judy Greer as the wife of Lillard’s Brian Speer.

Alexander Payne has adapted this movie from a novel by Kaui Hart

Hemming and wrote the screenplay with Nat Faxon and Jim Rash. They have succeeded in producing a script that flows with just enough pace to allow the well written characters to develop without dragging the movie down much. This lets you get a personal connection with them when they face their problems or

open up with their weaker sides. You sometimes think you have Payne all figured out, when he decides to throws you a curveball and gets your mind going in a shedload of different directions.

The Descendants attempts to show just what happens when people are faced with hardship, It does a phenomenal job of it to, and it is not too often that a movie will keep you thinking long after you have gone home and tucked yourself into bed but this might just be one of those movies.

G G G G

Probably the least welcoming of Shake-speare’s pieces is ‘Coriolanus’ but here

we have it on the big screen for the first time with an ag-gressive twenty-first-century rendition which also marks Ralph Fiennes’s directorial debut.

The original saga tells of political leadership at odds with the popu-lace and is set in Roman times, the movie version is set in a modern city still called Rome and draws on the visual iconography of recent Balkan conflicts. It presents us with grey combat fatigues, suffering civilians and splashes of satellite news feeds. When these works are transposed into modern day settings the fine line is set between how true to the original you stay and on how far the director and writers push the modernism.

Caius Martius Coriolanus (Ralph Fi-ennes) as the general is just the man

to save the city from Tullus Aufidius (Gerard Butler) and his Volscian forces, although struggling with the political elements of the position. Coriolanus may be driven by decent and civilized ideals but he regards the public as well below his stature.

As a director, he doesn’t quite pull off the modern urban warfare se-quences but he knows when to keep it simple and let the actors do what they do best. Vanessa Redgrave is

astounding as Coriolanus’s she-wolf of a mother, Brian Cox easily shines as an underhand politico, and Fiennes himself is in intense form. A steadfast and worthy modern day version of a play so few of us would really have any exposure to, other than those with a love affair with the bard himself Shakespeare, so well worth a look.

CORIOLANUS

G G G

JAN 2012 - issue (13)

JAN 2012 - issue (13)

X 5 1GAMING

NEWS

Alienware’s officially unveiled its cheap, ‘console-like’ PC, the Alienware X51.

Sporting a smaller form-factor just larger than an Xbox 360 and capable of running titles such as Battlefield 3 at full spec, the X51 is aimed at “the mass market”, says Alienware.

The base model comes in at £699 and so is only ‘cheap’ compared to the firm’s other systems. It boasts a 3.3 GHz Intel Core i3-2120, Nvidia Geforce GT545 graphics card, 4GB of

DDR3 RAM and a 1TB harddrive.The pricier £999 version includes 8 Gigs of RAM, an Intel Core i7-2600 and Nvidia Geforce GTX 555 graphics card.

Specs wise that could give you up to 77 frames per second from Battlefield 3, according to Dell-owned Alienware and all the systems are completely upgradeable.

“I don’t personally believe you can offer a system that offers a better gaming performance within that form-factor or even that there is anything close,” says Eoin Leyden, Alienware’s senior product consultant.

“I asked one of our designers what cool thing I should be telling people in the briefings and he said, ‘Tell them that we managed to make it all fit in’!”

Leyden explained that Alienware is keen to tap into the growing group of gamers that do not have the

justification for a huge, powerful gaming machine.“Desktop as a category has been declining, and the only shining light has been small and ultra-small form factor PCs,” he added. “These PCs have been predominantly digital hubs for the living room that have no regard for the gaming population at all. Some of that has been partly driven by price, but also the heat generated by gaming systems is a problem.”

Sure, you could probably build a PC yourself with the same specs for significantly cheaper, but it wouldn’t look as cool, would it?

Whats do you guys think?

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Uncharted 3: Drakes DeceptionBattlefield 3 FIFA 12 Batman: Arkham CityPro Evolution 2012F1 2011Sonic GenerationsGoldenEye: Reloaded

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 The Elder Scrolls V: SkyrimBattlefield 3FIFA 12Forza Motorsport 4 Batman: Arkham City Kinect Sports: Season Two Skylanders: Spyro’s AdventureGears of War 3Rage

The Elder Scrolls V: SkyrimCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 3Football Manager 2012Battlefield 3The Sims 3: PetsThe Sims 3The Sims 3: GenerationsRageThe Sims 3: Late NightLA Noire

123456789

10

GG GAMES CHARTS

PCX-BO

X

PS3

The Top 10 games for Playstation, Xbox and PC as voted by GoGuide2

Fifa 12 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Battlefield 3 Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Assassin’s Creed: Revelations Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception Need For Speed: The Run Saints Row: The Third Rayman Origins Sonic Generations

Fifa 12 Battlefield 3 Forza Motorsport 4 Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Need For Speed: The Run Saints Row: The Third Kinect Sports: Season 2 Kinect Sports Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary

Football Manager 2012 Star Wars: The Old Republic The Sims 3 Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 The Sims 3: Pets Battlefield 3 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim The Sims 3: Generations The Sims 3: Late Night World Of Warcraft: Cataclysm

GG GAMES CHARTSPCX-BOXPS3

The Top 10 games for Playstation, Xbox and PC as voted by GoGuide

1

10

Alienware unveils small ‘console-like’ PC @ £699 The X51 can run Battlefield 3 at full spec!!!!

10

1

JAN 2012 - issue (13)

X 5 1GAMING

FEATURE

Rockstar officially announce today that Max Payne 3, the h igh ly-ant i c ipated

dark and gritty action experience that continues the tale of former New York City detective Max Payne, will be available for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation3 on May 18, 2012, with the PC version launching on June 1st, 2012 in Europe.

For Max, the tragedies that took his loved ones years ago are wounds that refuse to heal. No longer a cop, close to washed up and addicted to pain killers, he takes a job in São Paulo, Brazil, protecting the family of wealthy real estate mogul Rodrigo Branco, in an effort to finally escape his troubled past. But as events spiral out of his control, Max Payne finds himself alone on the streets of an unfamiliar city, desperately searching for the truth and fighting for a way out.

Featuring cutting edge shooting mechanics for precision gunplay,

advanced new Bullet Time® and Shootdodge™ effects, full integration

of Natural Motion’s Euphoria Character Behavior system for lifelike movement and a dark and twisted story, Max Payne 3 is a seamless, highly detailed, cinematic experience.

In addition to an expansive single-player campaign, Max Payne 3’s multiplayer offering brings the game’s cinematic feel, fluid gunplay and kinetic sense of movement into the realm of online multiplayer. Building on the fiction and signature gameplay elements of the Max Payne universe, Max Payne 3 features a wide range of new and traditional multiplayer modes that play on the themes of paranoia, betrayal and heroism, all delivered with the same epic visual style of the single-player game.

Look for much much more from Max Payne 3 in the weeks and months ahead.

ht t p : / / w w w. r o c ksta r g a m e s . co m /maxpayne3/

Coming to Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC this May.

JAN 2012 - issue (13)

GAMINGReview

In the latest Batman epic you are now free to explore and travel throughout the exhila-

rating cityscape that is of course the grimly fiendish city of Arkham. In Batman: Arkham City the entire city has become a quarantined prison for Gotham’s worst criminals, our hero, the Caped Crusader struggles to bring justice to the chaotic streets, preventing the plots of super villains and protect-ing the victims of those who prey on the innocent. AC is one amazing adventure game with its breath-taking scen-ery, stimulating movement, immensely smooth and satisfying combat as well as plenty of secrets to discover, side quests to complete, and other in game attractions.

The Game begins by showing us Bruce Wayne being arrested and placed inside the super prison a result of a successful plan by one of the games villains Dr Strange. Upon entering the prison Bruce must fight off some of the Penguins henchmen and scale a building to secure his Bat suit, leaving you to freely glide across Arkham City in race to stop whatever Dr Strange is plotting.The city scale that makes up the super prison isn’t the biggest when it comes to open worlds, but what it lacks in scale, it makes up for in immensely detailed surroundings. Arkham City contains many ruined structures to explore including a rusty courtroom, an overrun mu-seum and police station, industrial factory turned fortress and a “safe-haven” church and all potential homes to some of Batman’s great-est enemies.

Returning from Arkham Asylum is the games effortless but enjoyable combat system. It mainly consists of a simple one button attack, while the other counter attacks. However the challenge of the combat all comes down to good timing and chaining your attacks together and turning your enemy’s attacks to-wards one another to form a great fight sequence. It’s also as smooth as it is brutal, making it a joy to leap straight into the fight. The wide-ranging attack animations make it look like a work of choreographed fight sequences in a movie. In even better timing you can even counter up to 3 enemy attacks at once or take advantage of the environment and slam an enemy’s head against it. As you begin to progress through the game you will then encounter enemies equipped with weapons or shields that make taking them down more complex. For example; enemies with body armour can only be hurt with a rapid punch attack called a beat down, guards equipped with stun batons can be attacked only from behind and enemies with shields can only be taken down an aerial attack. There’s nothing like a feel of accomplish-ment when defeating large, various groups of enemies which would take a lot of skill and a variety of techniques.

There are still some tweaks that

JAN 2012 - issue (13)

JAN 2012 - issue (13)

GAMINGReview

need mended, for me sometimes I would attack enemies that I didn’t face at especially when performing an aerial attack for taking down an enemy with a shield. This can be annoying when trying to chain moves together then ac-cidently punching a foe with a shield.

The Riddler character has a new set of environmental riddles for you to solve, in addition to his trophies. Some of these take the form of questions or statements, such as “Do you have Strange thoughts? Maybe you should seek help?” and “I am an actor who can transform a film with the final cut. Who am I?” Answering these requires you to locate significant signs within the environment that contains the answer. Each of these that you solve unlocks an Arkham City story, which offers some textual background on the people associated with that particular riddle. The Riddler’s perspective puzzles also make a comeback. These are question marks painted in the environment that need to be viewed from just the right place to appear correctly. Working out the proper vantage point from which to solve these puzzles is as enjoyable as ever.

Catwoman is an enjoyable character to play, with her own unique fighting style and gadgets to make the game experience even more diverse than just using Batman. She can grip to certain ceilings and use her claws to cling and pounce off walls, and her caltrops and bolas can be used in combat to trip and get the upper hand on her enemies. Even though you only play a short time as her during the main story, after completing the game you can change

JAN 2012 - issue (13)

between Batman and Catwoman at any time, and she has her own objectives and challenges to complete along with her own set of Riddler trophies to col-lect.

If anything though, it’s the adventure and explorations within the city of Arkham itself that make this game what it is. Rocksteady really have left their mark and seem to be rapidly becoming one of the best super hero game makers around. Arkham City definitely exceeded my expectations and probably a whole lot more people as well, and stands up as one of the best open world action/adventure games to date.

G G G G

GAMINGReview

They say you should never judge a book by its cover and Dead Island is probably a

game you shouldn’t judge by its cover. Sure, Zombies do overrun the island, but it’s not just a survival horror game. It’s played in first-person and involves shoot-ing, but it’s not a first-person shooter. And the slow-motion trailer would have you believe it’s an emotional rollercoast-er, but it’s not. Dead Island is nothing more than a free-roam action RPG that thrives on gruesome melee combat.

Dead Island’s expansive world spreads all over, from the sunny Palms Resort into a slum city and jungle environments. Its RPG ele-ments are mainly featured in level-ling up you character and choosing perks to improve your game through branch trees. It’s also shown when you travel throughout the world and encounter other survivors stranded and in dire help. The majority of your gained experience will come from hacking away at hordes of zombies but a large chunk of it will come from finishing quests. There

are also countless weapons to be improved, upgraded, and enhanced, and its online system supports a four-player co-op mode in which the game is more enjoyable and fun to play.

The game does have its share of graphical glitches and frame rate issues throughout a lot of the game. The characters have pretty much no character apart from what you see in the opening trailer, and the story has nothing to do with the vivid dra-matic trailer that everyone loved.

Combat is clumsy yet brutal. You can change how you control your weap-on by setting the controls to the analogue sticks to try to get a more precise cut or smash and for random moments of shooting human sur-vivors that are barely smarter than the undead, it definitely isn’t push-ing towards a top notch first person shooter. The vehicles, to me, are fun at times but not thought through enough as there’s no handbrake turn and basically every obstacle is

a solid wall, even sand castle will bring your 4x4 to a sudden halt. But all the flaws and missteps amount to a game that is frequently annoying but if you’re playing Dead Island just to have fun then you’ll appreciate its strong desire to entertain us, Dead island isn’t a work of perfection, but how much content is in it will give you a great experience.

Fans of Dead Rising 2 will be pleased as the same weapon system idea is involved. Weapons can be mod-ded for even more brutality for example; spiked baseball bats, electrifying samurai swords and sledgehammers, incendiary ammo and poisoned blades. There are guns to use, though they don’t come till later in the game; melee weapons are the way to go, slicing and smash-ing you’re zombie foes to a bloody pulp leaving nothing but hacked and broken limbs, decapitated heads and enough gore to make you cringe! Or want more, whatever floats your boat. Considering there’s probably enough blood to float a boat!

JAN 2012 - issue (13)

JAN 2012 - issue (13)

You find basic weapons such as baseball bats, knives and hammers lying around. Weapons do degrade irritatingly fast over time, a strong weapon you’ve upgraded and enhanced to the max might not last too long during a quest, leaving you to improvise with whatever is lying around or to find weapons locked away in trunks. But honestly when worst come to the worst and you have no weapons, you’ll realise that the best weapon you have in your arsenal is your feet, the kick function works tremendously well, better than some weapons to be honest, and delivers some strong attack to-wards downed enemies or to create some distance or give a jumping kick to the face of an unexpected zombie which it always fun.

When guns finally arrive, they are only second guessed to use as Dead Island doesn’t excel as a shooter. The guns would be a certain change

of pace in combat especially when it comes to shooting down human enemies with guns, in which case it’s slower. You occasionally face off against groups of smugglers and thugs, but the clashes are mostly tedious, as they all re-spawn at the same area, turning a mainly hack and slash action game into a so-called shoot-em-up.

Dead Island’s multiplayer is the way you should play the game with a system for joining up with up to 4 players online. Being able to play online for hours I’ve unfortunately encountered some connection er-rors that happens every blue moon but what game doesn’t have that. If you play alone however the other three characters aren’t there to help you through, though they still ap-pear in cut scenes.

As a free roam action role-playing game based on killing zombies solo or with your friends, even if it is

imperfect Dead Island is a game full with possibilities. If you did read the brochure then expect a thrilling horror experience and have a bloody good time.

G G G G

JAN 2012 - issue (13)

JAN 2012 - issue (13)

Funtastic Fantasy Golf Limited Miniature golf arena but it’s one with a difference it’s BLACK-LIGHT UV which means that not only do the 3D prop’s glow in the dark but also the golf balls and art work on the wall do too. This facility is a fantastic family day out for all ages & abilities with a cafe that sell homemade food made onsite at their cafe ‘Dino Bites’

Mon - Sun: 10:00 am - 10:00 pm 3 St Andrews Way, Livingston, EH54 8HQ

07935 576943

Racing Karts

Racing Karts quickly established itself as a force in Indoor Kart Racing due to its attention to safety, cleanliness and customer satisfaction.They like to call themselves ‘The Friendly Circuit’

www.racingkarts.co.ukTimes: Booking required - call to arrange

Arrol Square, Deans Industrial Estate, Livingston, EH54 8QZ01506 410123

Deer Park Ten Pin Bowling

Deer Park Bowling Centre is a 16 Lane Bowling Centre with the ca-pacity to hold 128 bowlers. There is a bar and food served through-out. At ‘Late night Glow Bowling’ the lights are dimmed and the lanes come alive with GLOW IN THE DARK, ULTRA VIOLET lighting effects and music.

www.deer-park.co.uk Mon-Thur: 4pm-10pm / Fri: 12pm-midnight / Sat: 10am-midnight /

Sun: 10am-10pmGolf Course Road, Livingston, EH54 8AB - 01506 446699

Livingston Skate Park The Livingston Skatepark opened in 1981, at a time when most com-mercial skateparks were closing and was one of the most important facilities in Britain during a critical period in the development of skateboarding. It is an example of a free, unsupervised facility which achieved international status.

Daylight access all year round FREE

16 Northwood Park, Opposite Almondvale Shopping Centre, Livingston, EH54 6HR

OUTABOUTIN WEST LOTHIAN

&

JAN 2012 - issue (13)

Delta Force Paintball Delta Force Paintball provides world class paintballing in Scotland. In addition to the scenery, incredible game zones provide players with an adrenalin-fuelled day of paintball action all year round.

www.paintballgames.co.ukWeekends + 1 Weekday - check online for details

Off Burnhouse Road, Dechmont, Livingston, EH49 6PL0844 477 5050

Go Ape - Beecraigs

It’s not in the dictionary, but if it was, Go Ape would be described as a ‘tree top adventure’. A dollop of breathtaking scenery; a smatter-ing of tree-top wires, crossings and wind-in-your-face zip wires; fin-ished off with a liberal dose of people in search of their inner Tarzan.

www.goape.co.ukCheck Web Site for opening times and bookings

The Park Centre, Beecraigs Country Park, Linlithgow EH49 6PL0845 643 9215

Overboard Soft Play

Overboard Soft Play is an exciting indoor Soft Play and entertainment venue for kids aged 0-11 yrs. They have it all, from chutes to ball pits to go-karts to ball cannons. With an underwater theme and seperate play zones for different age groups and abilities, your children are sure to have a great time from the minute they arrive until it’s time to go home.

www.overboardsoftplay.comWed - Sun: 10:15 am - 6:00 pm

3 St Andrews Way, Livingston, EH54 8HQ - 01506 873888

Five Sisters Zoo The Five Sisters Zoo was established in 2005 and is the only wildlife attraction centre in West Lothian. With over 100 different species of animals, birds and reptiles from all around the world your visit will be a fun, enjoyable and educational one - all ages.

www.fivesisterszoo.co.ukOpen 7 Days a week - 10am - 6pm (5pm Winter half of year)

Gavieside, West Calder, EH55 8PT01506 871 111

OUTABOUTIN WEST LOTHIAN

&

JAN 2012 - issue (13)

The Bennie Museum The Bennie Museum opened in 1989 as a museum of Bathgate’s his-tory and life. It is run entirely by volunteers under the management of a Charitable Trust. It has been commended by the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions.

www.benniemuseum.org.uk11am - 4pm (Apr to Sep) & 11am -3.30pm (Oct to Mar) - FREE

9-11 Mansefield Street, Bathgate, EH48 4HU01506 634944

Almond Valley Heritage Trust,

Almond Valley is operated as a popular leisure destination that ap-peals to a diverse audience and promotes learning through discov-ery, family interaction and play. We also operate a formal education programme.

www.almondvalley.co.ukMillfield, Livingston, EH54 7AR

01506 414957

Bankhead Mountainball

Like many ‘extreme’ sports, Zorbing, Orbing or Sphereing was created in New Zealand back in 1994. The concept is quite simple, you build a human sphere which can accommodate up to two fully grown adults, secure them inside then let them roll down a hill in it (hamsters have been exercised for many years in a very similar way!)

www.bankheadmountainball.co.ukContact for opening hours

Bankhead Farm, Dechmont, Broxburn, EH52 6NB01506 811209

The Garage Skatepark Stu Graham and co have decided to open a new skateshop at The Garage Skatepark in Livingston! The shop is still in it’s early stages but should be open for business right now.

FACEBOOK: The Garage Indoor Skate Park Mon - Sat: 10am - 10pm - Sun: 10am - 8pm

5D Grange Road, Houston Industrial Estate, EH54 5DE

JAN 2012 - issue (13)

MOVIESQUIZ ANSWERS

1

Captain America

Zombieland

2

Water For Elephants

4Australia

3

UnderworldRise of the

Lycans

5

JAN 2012 - issue (13)

CLASSIC MOVIE POSTERS 101

Barbarella is a 1968 Franco-Italian science fiction film based on Jean-Claude Forrest’s French Barbarella comics. The film was directed by Roger Vadim and stars Jane Fonda, who was Vadim’s wife at the time.

After an in-flight anti-gravity striptease (masked by the film’s opening titles), Barbarella, a 41st century astronaut, lands on the planet Lythion and sets out to find the evil Durand Durand in the city of Sogo, where a new sin is invented every hour. There, she encounters such objects as the Exessive Machine, a genuine sex organ on which an accomplished artist of the keyboard, in this case, Durand Durand himself, can drive a victim to death by pleasure, a lesbian queen who, in her dream chamber, can make her fantasies take form, and a group of ladies smoking a giant hookah which, via a poor victim struggling in its glass globe, dispenses Essance of Man. You can’t help but be impressed by the special effects crew and the various ways that were found to tear off what few clothes our heroine seemed to possess. Based on the popular French comic strip.

JAN 2012 - issue (13)

Documents

Transcript of JAN 2012 - issue (13)