Darkmatters Review: Passengers

Passengers (12a)

Dir. Morten Tyldum

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@Cleric20)

Read the newspaper version of this review: The Chronicle

“We boarded the Avalon with the destination a hundred and twenty years hibernation means you wake up in a new century, on a new planet, but a year ago everything changed.”

Space – the final frontier for big budget romance films apparently. Now though we have the strapping Jim Preston (Chris 'Guardians of the Galaxy' Pratt) and gorgeous Aurora Lane (Jennifer 'Joy'  Lawrence) daring to go where no epic sci-fi has gone as literally star-crossed lovers on an intergalactic voyage of luuurve.

"Nice spaceship - shame about the action"

It’s not quite what you think though as Preston finds himself awoken from his planned 120 year hyper-sleep after just 30 years – and with no capacity to go back under, is staring at living out his remaining years alone in space (all the crew and other passengers are still blissfully asleep). All Preston has for company are serving / cleaning robots, and an android named Arthur (Michael 'Nocturnal Animals' Sheen) who tends a Shining-esque bar.

"Table manners don't happen in space"

But even a cursory glance at the trailer or poster will alert you to the fact that Lane – the woman of his dreams – is on board and despite that in doing so he’s condemning her grow old and die with him – he reads all about her, noting everything that she likes in an advance pre-stalking move and then wakes her up…

The two of them then fall for each other despite his dark secret of having basically hand picked her and manipulated her fate to be his mate. Lawrence and Pratt however do make an extremely handsome couple though and each gets to spend obligatory time in their skimpys in case we were in any doubt of their loveliness.

"Let's go outside!?"

To break up the creepy ‘arranged’ space cohabitation there are at least some intergalactic peril scenes – pick of the bunch being a jaw dropping loss of gravity whilst Lawrence is swimming. It seems that the spaceship might be going wrong – hhhmmm, I wonder if Preston being an Engineer is going to come in handy? Alas though the plot doesn’t do anything very surprising despite the android holding the possible power to let Lane know about her non accidental awakening and Laurence Fishburne popping up for a short plot device mechanic.

"Extreme swimming"

In the end director Morten ‘The Intimidation Game’ Tyldum makes Passengers a good looking, slick piece of romantic drama beyond the stars which is only really worth checking due to the star power of the two leads. If you can get over the uncomfortable plotline, an enjoyable ‘lust in space’ riff on a high-tech desert island awaits.

"Ah Mr Torrance... We've been expecting you"

Out of a potential 5 you have to go with a Darkmatters:

ööö

(3 - In Space no-one can hear you Stalk)...

Awesomeness ööö – Occasional bursts of good stuff

Laughs öö – Some but could have done with more

Horror öö – Peril scenes and creepy plot!?

Spiritual Enlightenment öö - Don't play God just cos you fancy someone

Darkmatters Review: Rogue One A Star Wars Story

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (12a)

Dir. Gareth Edwards

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@Cleric20)

Read my newspaper version of this review: The Bedford Times

“I fear nothing. All is as the Force wills it.”

Prepare to jump to light speed once again as we find ourselves caught up in the big screen sci-fi events of a rebellion built on hope… Not ‘A New Hope’ which was the blueprint for the last year’s The Force Awakens but rather a desperate gambit by some plucky rebels who must risk everything if they are to help stop the Empire’s new ‘Death Star’.

Rogue One is both the prequel to Star Wars IV (A New Hope) and a kind of sequel to Star Wars III (Revenge of the Sith). It’s certainly a new kind of Star Wars prequel, namely one that doesn’t’ suck.

Miss Erso... Don't call her Rey

Meet gutsy young Jyn Erso (Brit actress Felicity ‘A Monster Calls’ Jones), whose dad happens to be the architect of the Empire’s planet destroying super weapon. Aided by a rag-tag fugitive crew that includes Force samurai Chirrut Îmwe (Donnie ‘xXx: Return of Xander Cage’ Yen), freelance assassin Baze Malbus (Jiang Wen) and a reformed Imperial pilot Bodhi Rook (Riz ‘Nightcrawler’ Ahmed) they attempt an audacious mission.

Also in on this potentially suicidal effort to steal the plans of the Death Star are Rebel Alliance Captain Cassian Andor (Diego ‘Elysium’ Luna), Clone wars veteran Saw Gerrera (Forest ‘Arrival’ Whitaker) and comedy kick-ass enforcer droid K-2S0 (Alan ‘Big Hero 6’ Tudyk) who steals every scene he's in. And if you don’t recognize any of those names from the sequels – you just know that all bets are off as to who will survive, which gives Rogue One a fantastic sense of unpredictability and peril.

I'm not programmed to respond to men with moustaches

The Dark Side sees the glorious return of the iconic Darth Vader (voiced by James Earl-Jones) and suitably nasty Director Orson Krennic (Ben ‘Slow West’ Mendelsohn) doing the Empire’s nefarious bidding. Also back is a surprise - aided by CGI - character that helps this link to the next film.

if you only knew the power of the Dark Side

When the battle to steal the plans kicks off it’s all wonderful Star Wars battle business, there is pure nostalgic joy in seeing AT-ATs attacking the rebels whilst X-Wings and a variety of other spaceships duke it out in some of the best space combat ever committed to film!

these ARE the troopers you're looking for

Although it drags initially, if you’re not on the edge of your seat by the finale you’re probably in a Force coma – Rogue One is a cracking space odyssey that does great fan service to those who love the original Star Wars films whilst simultaneously expanding the universe in new and cool ways.

Packed with crowd winning references and cameos from other Star Wars movies - this is how you make a truly epic prequel Mr Lucas.

The Force will still be with you...

Out of a potential 5 you have to go with a Darkmatters:

öööö1/2

(4.5 - A Franchise rebuilt on hope!)...

Awesomeness ööööö – The Force is still strong

Laughs ööö – Some metal head fun quips

Horror öö – Slightly violent in your standard Star Wars way

Spiritual Enlightenment öööö - Sacrifice and honour for the greater good

Watch the Rogue One Trailer HERE

Darkmatters Review: Hunt For The Wilderpeople

Hunt For The Wilderpeople (12a)

Dir. Taika David Waititi

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@Cleric20)

“I'll never stop running!”

“Yeah, and I'll never stop chasing you - I'm relentless, I'm like the Terminator.”

“I'm more like the Terminator than you!”

“I said it first, you're more like Sarah Connor, in the first movie too, before she could do chin-ups.”

Buckle up for what might just be the best film of 2016. A touching, heart-warming action family comedy that delivers on every possible level. Hunt For The Wilderpeople, based on Barry Crump’s 1986 novel is directed by Taika ‘What We Do In The Shadows’ Waititi – who brings both an exciting comic manhunt movie and a powerful essay on family life, meaning and the courage required to trust.

"I didn't choose the skux life, the skux life chose me. #Wilderpeople"

Meet young orphan Ricky (Julian Dennison) a troubled soul who has been rejected by every foster family he’s been placed with. This is a boy with accumulated issues who deals with his repeated rejection through a mixture of bad attitude, hip-hop music and petty crime minor gangsta ambitions. But maybe, just maybe his new foster aunt Bella (Rima Te Wiata) and her gruff husband Hec (The awesome Sam ‘In The Mouth Of Madness’ Neill) could be his ‘happy ever after’…

In the real world though, things never quite turn out to plan and before you can say ‘too good to be true’ Ricky finds himself on the run from terminator-alike Child Services Nazi Paula (Rachel “Wolf Creek’ House), lost in the Bush. With the reluctant Uncle Hec (Sam Neill) and a dog called Tupac the two rejects must battle through mishap, injury, wild bore attack and manic bounty hunters.
New Zealand looks great, especially when shot from cool drone POV and native director Waititi shows off the country as if it was one of the characters. Dennison is superbly likeable as the unfortunate orphan – who comes out with class sweary haikus and a true emotional core which will leave you shaken and stirred.

Nature's gangsta

Juvenile delinquency has never played so well on the big screen and this bizarre outback adventure wrings both heart-breaking pathos and astonishing honesty from the comic plot. Blessed with a soundtrack boasting cool Leonard Cohen and Nina Simone, Hunt for the WIlderpeople keeps the good times rolling even when young Rickly and his reluctant Uncle face gun toting enemies or sheer survival challenges.

I’m a huge believer in experiencing films with pals and a lot of the joy I had watching this was seeing witnessing the similar reactions being registered to the cool pop culture references and genuinely beguiling action by the big hairy old man next to me (props Mr Wilmshurst!).

fast and furious eat your heart out

Hunt for the Wilderpeople is a film everyone should witness – this is cinema at it’s best, in a word “Majestical”.

Out of a potential 5 you have to go with a Darkmatters:

ööööö

(5 - Life can be an adventure - whatever cards you're dealt)...

Awesomeness ööööö – Grin inducing fun and action

Laughs öööö – A wicked cool sense of humour throughout

Horror öö – Slightly violent but not too nasty

Spiritual Enlightenment öööö - Nature just got gangster

Darkmatters Review: Office Christmas Party

Office Christmas Party (15)

Dir. Josh Gordon & Will Speck

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@Cleric20)

“It’s Christmas, we should celebrate they say, just a little get together for the employees. Have a few drinks, blow off a little steam, nothing crazy.”

Tis the Season for work-based Christmassy corporate hair being let down and that’s exactly what Office Christmas Party (OCP) delivers – with the Hollywood spin of things getting extremely out of hand. Sure we’ve seen big screen parties going off the deep end before with varying levels of success with the classic Animal House, the riotous Project X etc, but this attempts the mix the formula with some Yuletide Ho Ho Ho’s.

the OCP test viewing wasn't hitting the spot

The flimsy plot sees the sour faced Carol Vanstone (Jennifer Aniston) CEO of tech firm Zenotek planning to close her branch run by her drop out brother Clay (T.J. Miller). His only shot to save his branch and keep the jobs of his workers lies with straight laced Chief Technical Officer Josh Parker (Jason Bateman) who must help arrange an epic office Christmas party to impress a potential millionaire client Walter Davis (Courtney B. Vance).

bring  your own snacks?

So with a kick-ass Christmas party the only hope of salvation, festive chaos breaks lose despite the best efforts of super uptight Human Resource Manager Mary Winetoss (Kate McKinnon). Cue all sorts of drunken raunchy antics, debauched co-worker naughtiness and utter Christmassy mayhem. It’s quite a spectacle to behold and the likeable cast look like they’re having a ball shooting it all.

Alas the comedy is very hit and miss and the trite plot which shoehorns in unnecessary gun packing pimps and a weak feel good conclusion detracts from the glimpses of occasional comic genius. I laughed most at the end credit out-takes which doesn’t bode well for those looking for a full on comedy.

dance floor action

Director team Gordon and Speck who made the fun Blades of Glory do pay fun homage to other movies – climaxing with a full on Fast & Furious “(They just get faster and more furious” as Clay tells Josh) recreation using a Kia which is worth seeing.

The best way to enjoy Office Christmas Party is to lower your expectations, imbibe the Christmas spirit and let the mildly offensive and sometimes amusing party fun wash over you without thinking about it too much.

Better festive mayhem than Bad Santa 2, this Office Christmas Party is certainly not mandatory attendance but I’ve absolutely been to worse ones in the real world!?

Out of a potential 5 you have to go with a Darkmatters:

öö1/2

2.5 – The party you never got invited to (until now)

Awesomeness ööö – occasionally does get awesome but never enough

Laughs ööö – be sure to stay for the outtakes

Horror öö – gross out in places

Spiritual Enlightenment öö – Jesus makes a brief appearance!?

Darkmatters Review: The Edge of Seventeen

The Edge of Seventeen (15)

Dir. Kelly Fremon Craig

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@Cleric20)

“When I get mad I get really quiet and really still and I say to myself: ‘Everyone in the world is as miserable as you are. They’re just better at pretending'”.

Meet Nadine (Hailee ‘Enders Game’ Steinfeld) a super awkward teenager whose life is a cringe-em-up writ large on the big screen. Everything is wrong for this young lady – her specialist subject is making bad life choices unlike her much cooler brother Darian (Blake Jenner) who gets all the attention and love. So much love in fact that even Nadine’s best / only pal Krista (Haley Lu ‘Mortal Kombat X: Generations’ Richardson) falls for him which leaves our heroine all alone in the world.

BFFs?

Mocked by her favourite teacher, the sarcastic Mr. Bruner (Woody ‘Triple 9’ Harrelson) – who delivers most of the best lines and some awesome laughs, Nadine’s only chance of salvation is shy fellow student Erwin (Hayden Szeto) who gives her a glimmer of hope that things just might not be quite so terrible after all.

Director Kelly Fremon Craig makes her debut with Edge of Seventeen and scores a direct hit with this coming of age heartbreaking comedy which is like a super-charged modern day John Hughes film. The character of Nadine is an iconic champion for awkward teens everywhere (and the inner teens of us all). There’s so much heart and just as much brains packed into this pure joy of a movie.

See me after class...

Steinfeld is superb as nerdy Nadine who deals with having a crush on Nick (Alexander Calvert) – an older chap who she bumped into in the local pet store by stalking his social media. But the heart of the film is her relationship with Mr. Bruner who despite his off handed way of dealing with her dramas is actually there for her if she needs it. Nobody is perfect though it transpires – and when Nadine gets her heart mangled it falls to the outsider Erwin to offer a possible way to re-engagee with everyone around her.

If you enjoyed films like Juno or Mean Girls, this is necessary viewing, it’s the best big screen teenage angst for years. The Edge of Seventeen is just a great film which will make you laugh, cry and feel all the pain of being young and unsure of yourself again.

Argh the horror!

Out of a potential 5 you have to go with a Darkmatters:

ööööö

(5 - You're only young once... is it over yet?)...

Awesomeness öööö – You'll feel the feels

Laughs öööö – Some cracking sarcastic funnies

Horror ö – Slightly tense moments

Spiritual Enlightenment öööö - Be true to yourself

Miss Steinfeld in her more glam 'pop singer' guise

Darkmatters Review: Arcadia

Arcadia (15)

Dir. Tom Large

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@Cleric20)

“Education is the key to preventing further outbreaks…”

Timely release for a Brit Sci-fi vision of possible near future pastoralism and populace harmony, shot through with a Black Mirror-esque bite – yes Arcadia (from the Greek term province / idyllic vision of unspoiled wilderness) is a hard hitting wake up call.

fashion: the first victim of the future

So with us pesky humans multiplying and making the world over-populated to dangerous levels, it seems like mother nature has devised a cull in the form of a deadly disease has been lowering life expectancy somewhat. But not for those in 'Arcadia' – oh no, this is a man made safe and disease-free haven for the privileged few delivering the ultimate stage of the ‘Free Care’ programme.

this isn't going to end well...

Charlie (Marc ‘Coronation Street’ Baylis) is working to get him and his daughter into Arcadia. Given the assignment to kidnap suspected government stooge Adam Black but Charlie doesn’t know the truth about Black’s role and the 'Free Care' programme itself.

Large delivers some nice sci-fi lite visuals and makes the most of his obviously limited budget – bringing a mean, moody and paranoid near future panic-em-up that is worth checking out and bodes well for future output too.

Out of a potential 5 you have to go with a Darkmatters:

ööö

(3 - Strong near future paranoia Brit style )...

Awesomeness ööö – Some panic inducing scenes

Laughs öö – Not really much funny business

Horror öö – Bit nasty in places

Spiritual Enlightenment öö - Don't trust the authorities

ROGUE ONE - May The Force Be With Us (trailer)

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Matt Adcock is excited...

Here is the final trailer for the Star Wards spin off and it looks superb - The Force is flowing through this trailer and at Darkmatters we have a very good feeling about this.

Director Gareth 'Monsters' Edwards looks like he's got the right balance of fun, thrills and excitement - will Rogue One gate crash the Darkmatters Top Ten Films of the Year like The Force Awakens did?

GET

READY

I have felt a disturbance in The Force

Darkmatters Review: Bad Santa 2

Bad Santa 2 (15)

Dir. Mark Waters

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@Cleric20)

“I traveled all the way across the USA to rob a Goddamn charity...”

Tis the Season to be angry, depressed and filthily offensive (again) it seems, as Bad Santa 2 comes calling. Fueled by cheap whiskey, greed, lust and a general hatred not just for himself but most of mankind. Yes, the world’s least jolly Santa - Willie Soke (Billy Bob Thornton) – is back and he’s once more teamed up with his little (literally tiny) sidekick, Marcus (Tony Cox). Their dubious plan is to knock off a homeless charity on Christmas Eve, Ho Ho Ho.

making eyes at Santa

Also back is the chubby man child Thurman Merman (Brett Kelly), now 21 and still hoping Willie will ‘pop his cherry’ – although he’s not entirely sure what that entails. And this time the oddball crew are joined by Willie's dear old mum Sunny Soke (Kathy Bates), who has a cunning plan that will require lots of criminal behavior – which happens to be her specialist subject.

Bad Santa 2 might not feel like a necessary sequel but there is still some incredibly un-PC fun to be had in witnessing Willie’s rock bottom sex, deviancy and booze fuelled antics. If you’re after an uplifting or feel good Christmas film then you should move along as this is a fast track self destruction seeking cinematic missile of bad taste and vulgarity.

this could a tip as to how to deal with such a poor film

Director Mark ‘Mean Girls’ Waters certainly ups the raunch factor this time gamely packing in sex scenes for Willie with new characters such as Diane (Christina ‘The Neon Demon’ Hendricks) and Jenny (Gina De ’50 Shades of Black’ Luca). Alas he doesn’t manage to find much else new and much of the ‘comedy’ feels reheated and possibly trying too hard to offend.

You’ll need to be a serious Scrooch not to find yourself laughing at least some of the comic hi-jinks on offer but it will come at the cost of your self decency and moral standards. The original Bad Santa pushed boundaries and got away with it but this follow up doesn’t hit the mark.

the anti-trinity of Christmas

If your Christmas wish is to see the triteness of the Season writ large on the big screen whilst  being both offended, not just by the humour but by the sheer poorness of the film Bad Santa 2 will certainly deliver. Those not looking to wallow in the Seasonal blues, won’t want to risk a visit to this Santa as he’s past his best in just about every way.

Stick to the first Bad Santa if you must get your Holidays off to a filthy start...

Out of a potential 5 you have to go with a Darkmatters:

ö1/2

(1.5 - Ho Ho NO, Duff Santa 2 more like)...

Awesomeness öö – The first 10 mins has a few laughs

Laughs öö – Not enough and not funny enough

Horror öö – Gross out human unkindness

Spiritual Enlightenment  - None

Darkmatters Review: PURGED (Matt Hunter book 1)

Purged

by Peter Laws (@revpeterlaws)

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@Cleric20)

“I’ve repented and I’m with God now. Maybe one day you could come too?”

Religious nutters eh? Can’t live with em, can’t run from them when they murder you so you can go ‘straight to heaven’… Welcome to the future of crime chiller fiction – Purged is a spooky murder-em-up which comes on with massively unsettling supernatural elements that feel like James Herbert at his best... Strong stomachs certainly required as the seemingly idyllic English village Hobbs Hill is torn apart by some grisly murders.

welcome to Hobbs Hill

Matt Hunter is the hero of the piece, he’s a once ordained vicar whose faith has been lost and now he’s a professor of sociology writing a book debunking Christianity faith. In his spare time Hunter works with the police to help solve religiously motivated crimes – which is handy here because when he and his family visit the village of Hobbs Hill, he is soon caught up in a murder spree by a religiously unhinged tag team of killers.

As fate would have it, Hobbs Hill is home to Hunter’s former Bible College buddy Chris Kelly who is spreading that ol time religion with all the modern trappings across the wooden cross strewn village. Things get progressively more sinister still as locals go missing, the creepy church youth worker starts perving on Hunter’s young daughters and soon somebody in the locality starts delivering killer baptisms…

Gosling - would make a good Matt Hunter for the film adaptation

The incidental details really help the plot of what would make the nastiest Midsomer Murder ever - less clichéd and actually a shock to the senses. I haven’t been this creeped out by a novel since Let The Right One In and whilst Purged isn’t a standard ‘horror’ it is packed with disturbing themes that will linger in your mind. I smiled at the riling against the faith and the way the oddities of the happy-clappy church presented very much from that of an ex-insider.

Purged is the first in a new macabre crime fiction series, dark and intense, creepy and quirky – a bit like its author Peter Laws who is a journalist, film critic and public speaker and ordained Reverend in the UK Baptist denomination.

and let's have Carey as Wren (Mrs Hunter)

Purged will wreck your head in a good way - the creepiest of chillers. Put a book token or Amazon voucher on your Christmas list in preparation (it doesn’t hit shops until February ‘17).

Out of a potential 5 you have to go with a Darkmatters:

öööö

(4 - In Hobbs Hill no one can hear you pray)...

Read Darkmatters review of UNLEASHED (Matt Hunter book 2)

Read the Darkmatters review of Severed (Matt Hunter book 3)

Darkmatters Review: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (12a)

Dir. David Yates

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@Cleric20)

“You're an interesting man, Mr. Scamander. Just like your suitcase, I think there's more to you than meets the eye.”

Listen up Muggles, or ‘No-Majs’ should I say - as that is what our American brethren call none magical peeps. Director David ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’ Yates takes us back to a time before the boy wizard Potter was even a gleam in his parent’s eyes and in doing so launches a series of prequel films that tell the tale of Newt Scamander (Eddie ‘Jupiter Ascending’ Redmayne).

Ssshhhh

So it’s 1926 and Newt (short for Newton) has just completed a global excursion to find and document an extraordinary array of magical creatures – after being kicked out of a certain Hogwarts. When he gets to New York for a brief stopover he misplaces his magical case, and a misadventure lets some of his fantastic magical beasts lose in the city which could ‘spell’ big trouble for both the wizarding and No-Maj worlds alike.

Here on wizarding business

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them or FBaWtFT is a tale of high fantasy, packed with action and no little suspense. JK Rowling has conjured up some magical new characters in Newt plus ex-Auror Porpentina "Tina" Goldstein (Katherine Waterston), the mind reading Queenie (Alison Sudol) and unwitting No-Maj Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler).

Look it's a beast - a fantastic one

Also on hand are high-ranking Auror and the Director of Magical Security, Percival Graves (Colin Farrell) and the mysterious Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller) along with a host of others including turns by Ron Perlman, Jon Voight and Samantha Morton.

Careful, she knows what you're thinking

At points when the CGI fantastic beasts run rampage, it all gets a bit ‘Jumanji’ but the tone is kept fairly light even when the main characters find themselves in the cross fire between humans and witches. Of course this being the first in a series it is doing a lot of groundwork to establish the magic world mythos some 80 odd years before the Potter films kick off. It feels a bit of an overload in terms of new ideas and it can be tough to keep track of exactly who is who and what they’re up to.

My what a big nose you have

FBaWtFT manages to be both a visual marvel and a heartwarming story that adds a great new layer to JK Rowling’s wizarding universe. This is a magical new chapter – think Harry Potter for adults and enjoy!

Out of a potential 5 you have to go with a Darkmatters:

öööö

(4 - A welcome extension of magical proportions)...

Awesomeness öööö – Some great set pieces and strong overall

Laughs ööö – Nicely judged humour

Horror öö – Occasional but nothing too strong

Spiritual Enlightenment öööö - Stand for the light

Darkmatters Review: WatchDogs 2

Matt Adcock reviews Watch_Dogs 2 (PS4)

"Are you gonna bark all day, little doggy, or are you gonna bite ..."

This is what you wanted people, this is what you voted for, no, not Trump or Brexit, but a place run by the Blume Corporation where absolutely everyone is constantly under the gaze of an advanced Big Brother surveillance system. This near future society is a ‘Black Mirror-esque’ tech-ed up city where ctOS2.0 (central Operating System), connects everyone with everything and knows all about each citizen. And with the corrupt powers that be using the ctOS system for their own ends somebody needs to fight back and that is where you come in.

Deadmau5 who?

Watch_Dogs 2 picks up after the Chicago based events of the original game which saw young hacker Aiden Pearce hunting for those who hurt his family and taking high-tech enabled revenge. Now despite the hacking antics of the first game, Blume Corp has installed ctOS in San Francisco and a new hacker hero arises in the form of Marcus Holloway who was framed for a crime by the upgraded ctOS 2.0. This time Holloway joins hacking group ‘DedSec’ in order to take the fight to Blume using their own ctOS 2.0 as his weapon.

nice car... I'll take it

If you played Watch_Dogs you’ll immediately know the score in terms of very GTA-alike third-person gameplay where the open world is yours to explore on-foot or by a good range of vehicles. Ubisoft have taken everything that made the first game a fun if not perfect experience and improved on it – which is most apparent in the great visuals and more elaborate and less ‘samey’ missions that allow for multiple ways for you to complete them.

Who invited Metal Mickey?

The friendly hacker crew of DedSec is made up of Sitara who is the marketing brains behind their anarchist ‘brand’, Josh - the ‘Mr Robot’ of the bunch who does the coding and the mysterious Wrench (always wearing a light up mask like some kind of Deadmau5 dropout) who is the gadget and weapons specialist. Holloway becomes the DedSec operations man, carrying out missions in order to get people’s attention and get the masses to download their app allowing DedSec to harness the processing power of thousands of regular folks’ phones to via a botnet – a weaponised super-system that can take Blume down for good.

The big question here though is Watch_Dogs 2 good enough to go toe-to-toe with the global phenomenon of GTA V which has become the gold standard of open world mayhem-em-up games?

Read the full review over at: PUSHSQUARE