Darkmatters Review: Tangled

Tangled (PG)

Dirs. Nathan Greno, Byron Howard

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

Tangled is a fun new Disney big screen fairy tale-em-up which blends cutting edge 3D CGI animation with an old school adaptation of the Rapunzel. So we have a young princess with her magical 70ft of golden hair, trapped in a secret tower by an evil old hag, locked away from the world – including her royal parents.

This is the first ‘traditional hand-drawn style’ Disney release that is strong enough to go toe-to-toe with the best that Pixar and DreamWorks Animations can produce. Tangled is a born crowd pleaser and it improves on the last Disney effort - The Princess and the Frog by a wide margin. My ten year old son surprised me actively wanting to see Tangled (he’s more of an A-Team kind of film fan these days) which is a testament to the power of a good marketing campaign. But despite my being slightly dubious, we came away having enjoyed a rip roaring sing along fairy tale, energised with a slick script and quality production values.

The only downside being that it all feels very familiar but that is because this is a strict addition to the classic Disney cannon. You know the tale of a young girl (voiced by Mandy Moore), having to come of age and decide if she will follow her heart when handsome and good natured thief Flynn (Zachary Levi) barges into her sheltered life. The basic Rapunzel’s story is enlivened here with a couple of nasty thieves who are after Flynn, a fun sidekick chameleon and a scene stealing horse named Maximus who is the character that stays in your mind most after the credits roll.

"Gotta love that horse!"

The computer animation continues to improve and it effortlessly blends the photorealist big-eyed characters with the primary coloured world. Stand out cinematic scenes include a jaw dropping dreamlike cascade of floating lanterns which ranks as one of the most unforgettable animated sequences I’ve witnessed. The 3D actually works well too – some of the younger members of the audience were reaching out and trying to grab the lanterns as the floated by which would surely please the animation artists.

What was most refreshing though was the lack of clever pop-culture references, bawdy humour or overt product placement. Tangled is a film that parents can take their younger kids to safe in the knowledge that it will deliver a fun, family friendly experience which is kind of what Disney has always been about surely?

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


öööö

(4 - quality Disney fairy tale fun)...

Awesomeness ööö – the horseplay is especially genius

Laughs ööö – some nice laugh laughs

Horror ö – mild threat more than anything too horrible

Babes ööö – Rapunzel is a looker

Spiritual Enlightenment ööö – true love wins

- - -
Second opinion - try Empire

"Mandy Moore - 'fit' to be a Disney Princess"

Darkmatters Review: Two Worlds 2

Two Worlds 2 (PS3)


Reviewed by Matt Adcock

Role players rejoice, shake your ten sided dice and don your best elf costumes of power +1 because the venerable Elder Scrolls and Dragon Age – the console Role Playing Games of note from the last few years – have a new competitor…

Lo here cometh ‘Two Worlds 2 – The Temptation’ from makers Reality Pump – and it be a direct sequel to the original ‘Two Worlds’. Indeed the action taketh place shortly after the events portrayed in the first game but don’t let that put you off if you’ve never plated Two Worlds before as the ‘2’ stands as its own game and does not require knowledge from before.

"bold warriors and scantily clad women - with horned helmets"

Two Worlds 2 is subtitled “The Temptation” and that temptation seems to be ‘making it available to as many gamers as possible’ because it marks the series’ debut on the PS3. Yes in a move much like Mass Effect series jumping over to the Sony machine with the second instalment – whereas originally only being found on the Xbox 360 and PC.

The mythical action takes place in a place called Eastern Antaloor, in regions surrounding the city of Oswaroh and across the Drak’ar Desert – just down the road from Luton. Ah forsooth, as you can probably tell from the WTF place names we’re knee deep in nerd-em-up fantasy here.

"weird things abound in Two Worlds 2"

The good news be that Two Worlds 2 is a much improved beastie than the first game which was riddled with bugs and generally written off by gamers as a valiant failure. This time the makers have raised their game and brought more intricate missions, much improved voice-overs, a new graphical engine and sexy battle animations. The gameplay itself has been total retooled so that it actually works really well, crashes less and delivers some pleasingly crunching fantasy combat.

So might we have a new RPG heavyweight contender on our hands?

In a words ‘yes’ - Two Worlds 2 is a decent free roaming game where you can explore a beautiful world which is yours to freely adventure in. The map is big – and enjoyably varied with deep jungles, marshes, forests, deserts and cities aplenty. It is also populated with a good range of different characters, critters and NPC plot drivers both friend and foe – who will give you quests or a beating depending how they feel about you. The sheer size of the world map means that you’ll be using the teleports a lot and having a horse is necessary to prevent lots and lots of walking!

"Dar Pha - putting the 'ass' in 'Assassin'"

It has often been said that the voice acting in RPGs sucks and Two Worlds doesn’t buck this trend – it is better than before though and at least there is a more varied cast so you don’t get the ‘Oblivion’ syndrome where half the characters speak with the same voice…

Fortunately gameplay is quick to pick up and works well with the trusty DualShock controller. You’ll soon be fighting, collecting experience and levelling up to your geek heart’s content. Two Worlds 2 brings a good range of weaponry – including a nifty magical Oculus which is a floating eyeball you can send out before you to check for enemies (and if you have an upgraded one, can even fire a magic missile or place a trap to confound them – which is lots of fun).

Much emphasis is placed on looting your fallen foes, robbing treasure chests and breaking into houses to help yourself to the contents of the cupboards – the lock picking mini game is well worked too with just the right balance of skill / luck. You’ll get nowhere fast if you’re too pious to pick a pocket or two… as loot = cash and cash = better weapons and equipment which you’ll need for some of the more fearsome beasties and baddies you’ll encounter.

As is the norm for RPGs you’ll spend a lot of time grabbing different armour, weapons, potions, magic trinkets etc – the spoils of war add a satisfying incentive to find and take down ever harder enemies. Plus there are plenty of merchants to trade with so you’ll need to amass plenty of cash.
The spell crafting system is called ‘DEMONS’ which stands for Dynamic Enchantment, Magic, Occultism and Necromancy System – and it works a treat for all you Gandalf wannabes despite the clichéd name.
All in all Two Worlds 2 is a great RPG – you probably won’t go near this if you only play Call of Duty, even though it does deliver a fair combat blast. Sure it feels a bit shallow compared to some of the other games of the genre (it lacks what even space RPG Mass Effect packs in with a huge wealth of background ‘universe establishing’ documentation) but Two Worlds is without doubt a perfect stop gap for RPG fans until the epic big guns of Dragon Age 2 and Elder Scrolls Skyrim arrive later this year.

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


öööö

(4 - nerd lore magical adventuring and combat FTW)...

Read more about Two Worlds 2 here