Darkmatters - Matt falls for a Fat Princess

Fat Princess

PS3

Titan Studios

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

She's fat, she's round, she bounces on the ground…. But you’ve got to love the PS3’s new chubbilicious royalty because she’s redefining the online battling.
Step up if you’ve ever fancied being knight / wizard / priest or um, harvester… This is war, you’ll need to fight, you’ll need to use all your cunning and you’ll need cake, lots of cake!!
Out there is a beautiful maiden to be rescued (alright maybe ‘beautiful’ is a bit of a stretch) but she’s in need of delivering from an army of enemies…
So the feminist baiting, un politically correct Fat Princess has been let loose exclusively on the Playstation Network.

Fat Princess is like a 3rd person medieval Call of Duty, you have five classes of character to use – pick from sword and spear wielding warrior through the ranged archer / musket man or magically charged, fireball throwing mage. Shoot, chop, blast and slap your way through the enemy ranks, breach their castle and escape with the obese Princess. All you have to do to switch classes is pick up the right hat, this includes ‘borrowing’ the hats of your fallen foes. It works really well.

If like me, you’ve ever enjoyed battling online (I’m a vet of COD4, Killzone 2 and Warhawk) then the chances are that you’ll fall for this lardy lady, because whilst she might not have the looks, as Han Solo once said “she’s got it where it counts”. Titan Studios have created a wonderful game, chock full of great ideas, superb playability and serious replay-ability. Everything pulses with invention – you can tell that this is a game made by people who love playing games… From the cute menus ‘play with others’ or ‘play with yourself’ etc through to lovely little touches like the ability to turn enemies into chickens and slaughter them for fun – this is a perfect storm of genius design, mixed with quality programming.


"blood and cake..."

There is an element of resource management too – collecting slices of cake and bringing them back to the enemy princess in your dungeon makes her put on weight so that she’ll require more baddies to carry her off. There are also wood and metal resources which you can harvest, these allow you to upgrade your battle equipment, make new machines of war or build castle defences.

For those out there who normally suck at online battle games Fat Princess is refreshingly ‘pick up and play’ with controls that can be mastered in under 10 minutes. But it will take you much longer to master the subtle variations, upgrades and unique abilities of the various classes.

Online multiplayer sees up to 32 players battling it out in either Rescue the Princess (capture the flag), Team Deathmatch, and Conquest (capture and hold zones) styles. There is a nice selection of maps too from traditional castle based mayhem, through volcano levels or a pirate ship and my favourite – a giant football pitch where unlike the Premiership, violence is recommended!

Overall this a must buy for PS3 owners, Titan Studios deserve to wrack up some serious sales with this classy piece of software. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got another date with that large girl online…


Darkmatters final rating of: ööööööööö(9 – let them eat cake!!)

Darkmatters Review: The Taking of Pelham 123

The Taking of Pelham 123 (15)

Dir. Tony Scott- who previously brought you True Romance, Man On Fire etc

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (viewed in Luton with a bunch of pals)

ONE WORD SUMMATION: Motherfrekinhostigisation


Movie credits running over a classic Jay-Z track?
Check.

Zip zoom / flash cut cinematography using the highest possible techsatellite high definition images?
Check.

Denzel Washington looks good, being mean, moody and unfeasibly cool?
Yep…

Oh yes, we’re deep in Tony ‘Top Gun’ Scott territory here and it’s all aboard the New York subway for a thrill ride remake of Joseph Sargent's classic 1974 hostage drama.

It’s certainly a bad day to take the train as a ticked off and heavily armed Mr Ryder (uber baddie John Travolta sporting this year’s best moustache) takes over the Pelham 123 with the help of a couple of ‘rent an Eastern European retard’ henchmen. Seems that he’s looking to make a swift tax free $10million – or he’ll start executing the passengers, I guess it’s one way to try and beat the credit crunch?


It falls to decent train co-ordinating Walter (Denzel ‘I always put in a good performance for Tony Scott’ Washington) to negotiate with Ryder over the radio… Walter has his own issues as he’s being investigated for possible bribe taking but deep down he’s a good guy, the only question is ‘can he pull through and save the day?’

As the one hour deadline for the cash ticks down, the tension, the number of needless but very exciting car chase scenes and general body count all keep ramping up. You certainly don’t need to be a genius to realise who is going to win this battle of wits but The Taking of Pelham 123 isn’t trying to do anything new, it just wants to entertain you and for the most part it succeeds.

Where the original was slow-burning cat and mouse game, the 2009 version is a hyperactive, foul mouthed and violent car crash. It shouldn’t really be as fun to watch as it is. Sure the clichés come thick and fast from Brian ‘LA Confidential’ Helgeland’s script – he must have been taking ‘dumb-down’ pills since then - but everyone in the packed screening I saw this at was having a very good time.


The two lead actors eat up the screen and make the film worth watching and they are backed up by quality support from Luis Guzmán as a traitorous subway worker and James Gandolfini as the mayor of NYC.


"Basically, if you’re looking for a slick, fun action thriller, the Pelham 123 is a ride worth taking…"


Darkmatters final rating of: öööööööö (8 – wham blam snazzy visual overload, don't think about it too much!)


Darkmatters quick reference guide:

Action 8 (bullet to the head)

Style 8 (smooth and high tech, that's how Scott rolls)

Babes 6 (cute girlfriend webcams herself)

Comedy 6 (Travolta chews up some great one liners)

Horror 6 (innocent people get dead)

Spiritual Enlightenment 5 (nice guys always win)

Darkmatters Review: Crooked Little Vein

Crooked Little Vein

Warren Ellis

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

Here’s something a bit special for those who can handle their fiction extreme – meet Michael McGill, a burned-out private detective and self-styled sh*t magnet who is just about to get a virtual cattle prod to the crotch, in the form of an impossible assignment delivered directly from the president's heroin-addict chief of staff. It seems the Constitution of the United States has some skeletons in its closet: the Founding Fathers doubted that the document would be able to stave off human nature indefinitely, so they devised a backup Constitution to deploy at the first sign of crisis. In the government's eyes, that time is now, as America is overgrown with perverts who spend more time surfing the Web for fetish porn than they do reading a newspaper. They want to use this "Secret Constitution" to drive the country back to a time when civility, God, and mom's homemade apple pie were all that mattered.
The only problem is, no one can seem to find it . . .
So who better to track it down than a private dick who's so down-and-out that he's coming up the other side, a shamus whose only skill is stumbling into every depraved situation imaginable? His partner in crime is sexy college student side-kick, Trix, who is writing a thesis on sexual fetishes (and she does a lot of field work for her project).
With no lead to speak of, and no knowledge of the underground world in which the Constitution has traveled, McGill embarks on a cross-country odyssey of America's darkest, dankest underbelly. Along the way, his white-bread sensibilities are treated to a smorgasbord of depravity that runs the gamut of human imagination. The filth mounts; it is clear that this isn't the kind of life, liberty, or happiness that Thomas Jefferson thought Americans would enjoy in the twenty-first century.
But what McGill learns as he closes in on the real Constitution is that freedom takes many forms, the most important of which may be the fight against the "good old days." Like Vonnegut, Orwell, and Huxley before him, Warren Ellis deftly exposes the hypocrisy of the "moral majority" by giving us a glimpse at the monstrous outcome that their overzealous policies would achieve.
Graphic Novelist Warren Ellis blows a hole in the seedy underbelly of Middle America in Crooked Little Vein. His debut novel is a drama / thriller / comedy so irreverent yet touches a core vein of humanity and holds up a dark tinged mirror to our base instincts. There are scenes here that you’ll never forget – my favourite being where Mike gets an entire planeload of passengers to beat the crap out of a boring guy next to him by handing him his lighter and yelling that he saw him trying to light a bomb in his shoe!
There are some cool extra materials in the book too - notes by the author including cooking tips… Even a soundtrack listing that inspired the project.

Hat's off to Ellis -I hope he writes another, or maybe would like to do some Darkmatters based graphic novel pages?

Sample text:

“The kids, only one of whom sounded hopelessly stoned, explained that their signal didn’t reach more than a couple of miles, and only that if the wind was behind it and you were standing downhill with your arms out and a wire coat-hanger stuck on top of your head.

The unstoned one was pretty smart. In between the music – which apparently was all by local unsigned bands, and some of it wasn’t bad – he talked about what they were doing and why. By playing local indie music, they were both supporting his community and broadcasting donated content that didn’t require a royalty payment. They weren’t, they insisted, pirates. They were even observing band adjacency, he said – this one, the guy who hadn’t smoked a field of weed, was obviously the Head Geek – broadcasting on 94.2, clear space between two “lite”/soft rock channels. And that was the point, he figured – most of Columbus’ dial was all eaten up by soft rock, country and Christian radio. All the major monolithic radio entities ran stations in Colombus, but they all broadcast exactly the same kind of material. They all had a Christian station, they all had anaesthetic adult easy-listening rock stations playing the kinds of records we used to lift out of our parents’ collections and use as ashtrays when I was a kid.

It suddenly occurred to me: I didn’t remember the last time I went to a gig. Couldn’t remember the last time I heard live music. Or went to a club to hear a DJ.

They played something by another local group, that had the real thump and clang of live music. The drummer started up on the toms, and collapsed into a glorious mess that sounded like he'd kicked the drumkit down a flight of stairs. The bass walked in and made the back of the car rattle. The lead guitarist went screaming down the strings and I laughed out loud, it sounded so good. And then there was a f**kload of static, ten seconds of silence, and a fight. Someone had entered their makeshift recording studio, and one of the kids, probably the smart one, had put the microphone back on.

"We are the FCC," a loud voice proclaimed. "Take off your clothes and put these orange jumpsuits on."

"The f**k?" said Herb Boy.

"Pirate radio operations have been reclassified as Broadcast Terrorism. You're going to be wearing dogs in your asses at Abu Ghraib for the next five years, you dirty bast*rds."

"This is community radio!"

"If we wanted communities, we'd make Clear Channel pay us to run them. Put on the hoods too. No more devil music for you, radio bin Laden."

Darkmatters final rating of: ööööööööö (9 – Twisted genius that drives you over the cliff of normality with nitro turbo boosts of subversiveness)


"If a Crooked Little Vein film is being considered - I'd vote Emily Browning for Trix"

Darkmatters Review: The Proposal

The Proposal (12a)

Dir. Anne Fletcher - who previously brought you 27 Dresses

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (with his lovely wife)

ONE WORD SUMMATION: Rom-cheese-com

All couples have a ‘tale’ about how they got together - mine is how I asked out both my wife and her best friend at the same time in a kind of “Would you and / or your friend like to go out with me?”… It was a bit cheeky but we’ve been married 15 years now so it must have been the right thing to do. If however I’d been in ‘The Proposal’ my tale would have gone like this:

Evil boss Margaret (Sandra Bullock) is executive editor-in-chief at book publishers Colden Books, she blackmails her loyal assistant Andrew (Ryan Reynolds) to marry her in prevent her being deported. He isn’t thrilled at the prospect but agrees if she will promote him to the rank of Editor. But the course of quickie-convenience-marriage doesn’t run smoothly and much humour occurs as the awkward pair have to spend the weekend with his parents in Alaska. Can they convince the family, and more importantly the man from immigration, that they are really in love? Is it even possible that they might actually fall for each other?

Director Anne ’27 Dresses’ Fletcher brings her pleasant brand of slick romantic comedy to this tale of true love blossoming in the face of adversity and for the first hour or so it works well. Alas by the end all has turned to overly twee, sentimental mush but there are just enough laughs along the way to make The Proposal one worth considering as a decent date movie. The scenes containing the annoying ‘Granny Annie’ (Betty White) however should have been cut because they are truly terrible…

I saw this with my wife who gave it the thumbs up, although she mentioned that Sandra Bullock might be getting a little old for this sort of role!? We agreed that Ryan Reynolds however is going to be a big star and is quality leading man material.
The two likeable leads are ably supported by the likes of the lovely Malin ‘Watchmen’ Akerman who plays Andrew’s hot blond ex-girlfriend and Craig T. Nelson who does the harsh disapproving father well.

The Proposal is probably the best girly rom-com this year so far and has done big business in the U.S. but it’s still not half as funny as The Hangover…

Darkmatters final rating of: öööööö (6 – here comes the bribe…)

Darkmatters quick reference guide:

Action 4 (move along…)
Style 6 (sassy n fun)
Babes 7 (Malin sexier than Bullock)
Comedy 6 (Some good laughs)
Horror 6 (The Grannie scenes are horrific)
Spiritual Enlightenment 4 (Limited)



"if this was your ex-girlfriend would you pick Bullock instead?"

Darkmatters Review: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (12a)

Dir. David Yates - who previously brough you Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (with eldest son Luke in a packed show in Stevenage)

ONE WORD SUMMATION: Horcruxed

“Years ago, I knew a boy who made all the wrong choices. He seemed a student like any other. His name was Tom Riddle. Today, the world knows him by another name: Voldemort…”

Listen up muggle lovers, Harry Potter is back for the sixth time – now tackling a historical mystery about a rogue agent known only as ‘The Half Blood Prince.’ This ‘prince’ once attended Hogwarts and his annotated potions text book helps Harry shoot to the top of the class – now taught by the slimy Horace Slughorn (a genius turn from Jim Broadbent). But young Harry is growing up and so fighting ‘He Who Must Not Be Named’s minions (again) takes a bit if a backseat whilst his hormones dictate that he needs to wise up to the wiles of the fairer sex.

"Hermione - she's a keeper!"

Harry’s best friends Ron (lanky Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson getting cuter every year) are also feeling the effects of teenage emotions kicking in and start to find each other irresistible. It is Ron’s sister Ginny (Bonnie Wright) who becomes the focus of Potter’s adolescent fantasies – or might it be true love?
The upshot of all this teen angst and hormonal desire is that Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince – working title ‘Harry Potter and the Slightly Tedious Tying Up Of Plot Points’ limps around signifying nothing much. To this end the film, much like the book, feels like we’re treading water, dragging out the story rather than ramping up to the final climactic showdown that everybody is waiting for. Sure we do get the death of a major character but even that feels a bit cheap and is not afforded the magnitude that they deserved.


"Did I mention - miss Watson is the best thing about Half Blood Prince?"

Having said all that, Half Blood Prince isn’t actually a bad film and Potter fans will find much to enjoy here. Returning director Yates is right at home in the magical world and delivers some sumptuous visuals, a cracking game of Quidditch and plenty of wizardly attention to detail. The cast have made these parts their own and even their limited acting ability works to make the awkwardness of being a teenage feel more authentic.
If you’ve seen parts 1 – 5 then you’ll need to see this but I doubt that anyone will come out proclaim this their favourite of the series. Bring on the Deathly Hallows parts 1 & 2 already…

Darkmatters final rating of: ööööööö (7 – Harry's still quality but this one drags a bit)

Darkmatters quick reference guide:

Action 5 (lacking)
Style 7 (magical)
Babes 8 (jailbait)
Comedy 6 (Ron W)
Horror 6 (curses)
Spiritual Enlightenment 5 (sacrifice)

Matt reviews Harry Potter and:

THE GOBLET OF FIRE

THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX

Darkmatters review - Brüno

Brüno (18)

Dir. Larry Charles

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (at a raucous late night screening)

ONE WORD SUMMATION: Kugelsack-for-the-masses

2006 saw the excellent ‘Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan’ blast a strong comedy shockwave across the world as Sasha Baron Cohen provoked middle America into showing their bigoted ugly faces to the camera. Now he’s back with Brüno – originally entitled ‘Bruno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt’ and that title pretty much sums it up…

Brüno may have a weaker storyline than Borat, i.e. the overly camp Brüno (Cohen), a disgraced fashion TV presenter, goes to the USA to try and become a celebrity, but it overcompensate with levels of crudeness beyond what you’d usually expect of even an ’18 rated’ movie (although have just seen announcement that there will be a toned down 15 version also hitting screens).

If you’re at all squeamish about sexual imagery – we’re talking full close up male bits to camera, which are even hilariously animated to talk at one point - then you might want to look elsewhere for your laughs but if you’ve a very open mind or are looking to be challenged about people’s
responses to overt sexuality then you won’t find a funnier or more subversive big screen ‘outing’ this year.

Brüno closely follows the Borat formula of setting up deliberately incendiary situations such as a proposed peace negotiation between Israelis and Palestinians where the only thing they can agree on is that ‘humus is healthy’. Other highlights include a ‘can’t believe he’s doing this’ adoption of an African baby named OJ who he takes on black TV chat show and causes uproar, plus a climactic cage wrestling session where the term ‘man on man combat’ is put through a new definition much to the indignation and violent outrage of the beer fuelled redneck crowd.

Cohen certainly has balls in his kugelsack and he’s not shy about showing them – there is even a crazy scene of them being vacuumed at one point. But where Borat got away with lots of his racist outrageous world views due to his bumbling cultural ineptitude, Brüno often comes across
as being a less likeable and self indulgent glory hunter.

It is hard however to resist getting to witness a terrorist being asked to his face why his “King Osama looks kind of like a dirty wizard or a homeless Santa Claus?” or to wonder quite how far this self-confessed ‘hottest Austrian export since Hitler’ will go. The only way to find out is to take a date with Brüno, you might never be the same…

Darkmatters final rating of: öööööööö (8 – balls to the wall comedy goes OTT!!)

Darkmatters quick reference guide:

Action 7
Style 7
Babes 4
Comedy 8
Horror 6
Spiritual Enlightenment 3

Darkmatters does s darko

S. Darko: A Donnie Darko Tale (15)

Dir. Chris Fisher

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

ONE WORD SUMMATION: Manipulated-Living

“Look up there on that screen and try to visualise what you think God’s plan for your life is...” Pastor John, S. Darko

Life is one long insane trip. Some people just have better directions…

This genius tagline from Donnie Darko is very true when comparing the two ‘Darko’ films. I love Donnie Darko and now having witnessed S. Darko (which my son suggested they should have called ‘Sammie Darko’) I think the torrent of negative reviews it has attracted are somewhat unjustified.

Donnie Darko swept along on the genius that Richard ‘Southland Tales’ Kelly imbibed into it. S. Darko however travels in the slip stream of Donnie, it’s an engaging, thought provoking trip that seems uncertain of its freakiness just as Donnie has seemed so surely through the wormholes of tangent universes.

Is S.Darko a terrible movie? No – not in it’s own right, but is it terrible in the light of it being the sequel to one of the best films of all time?

Undeniably…

What’s it all about then? Well, this is the tale of Samantha Darko (yep, ill fated Donnie’s little sister) played again by Daveigh Chase- who has grown up all oddly sexy in a kind of Alicia Silverstone / Liv Tyler circa Aerosmith Cryin’ video way.

S. Darko is now a troubled teen who runs away from home with her bratty best friend Corey (Briana Evigan) – the two girls hit the open road but break down in a freakshow Utah town. Whilst waiting for their car to be repaired by local heart throb Randy (Ed ‘Gossip Girl’ Westwick) with whom Corey gets very friendly.

Twilight star Jackson Rathbone pops up as nerdorama Jeremy who has a thing for Samantha, also around is Iraq Jack (James Lafferty) who for reasons probably only known to the writer decides to make a ‘Frank’ metal bunny mask.

Throw into the oddball mix religious nutjob Pastor John (Matthew Davis) who may or may not be taking advantage of his one true disciple Trudy (Elizabeth Berkley).

Here's some sample dialogue:

Pastor John: “I used to be like you.”
Corey: “What, you had a training bra?”
Pastor John: “Not exactly. But when I was your age, I experienced things that made me feel like God didn't exist. Maybe you've experienced something like that too.”
Sam: “You don't know anything about me.”
Pastor John: “I can see that you're in pain.”
Sam: “I'm alive.”

So Sam’s story is less a standard sequel, more a companion piece, a lesser piece for sure but still an interesting one.

If you’re a Darko fan, then you might want to give this a look because there are some amazing scenes, stunning visuals and hey Briana Evigan is cute. But you absolutely have to set your expectations to ‘low’ because if you hope for a classic follow up then you’ll be lost in a time bending loop of disappointment…

"...what if you could go back in time, and take all those hours of pain and darkness and replace them with something better?"

Darkmatters final rating of: öööööö (6 – Living Recievers will worry about the Darko quality control)

Darkmatters quick reference guide:

Action 6
Style 7
Babes 7
Comedy 5
Horror 6
Spiritual Enlightenment 6


"Red car of death approaches"

A storm is coming, Frank says / A storm that will swallow the children / And I will deliver them from the kingdom of pain / I will deliver the children back the their doorsteps / And send the monsters back to the underground / I'll send them back to a place where no-one else can see them / Except for me / Because I am Donnie Darko…


Not convinced? Read what Marc Patterson over at the awesome Brutal As Hell has to say:

"For me Donnie Darko was simply the 12 Monkeys and Mouth of Madness for a different younger generation of movie viewers and watching it gave me a sense that others had tread this ground before and done so with perhaps a bit more intelligence. Ironically, a little over halfway through S. Darko there is a scene set at a movie theater where the featured attractions are shown on the marquis written backwards. Pay attention. They say “Twelve Monkeys” and “Strange Days”. Two not so subtle nods to a couple of influential films."

Matt 'Tiger Woods' Adcock is a Bad Ass Gamer

"Thanks Matt, glad you liked it!"

BAD ASS GAMER site... Seemed like a good idea but the guy running it folded.

So this post is defunct except for this great quote from Mr Woods:
“Hockey is a sport for white men. Basketball is a sport for black men. Golf is a sport for white men dressed like black pimps.” Tiger Woods...

Tiger’s cup of golfing goodness runs very deep this year!

Darkmatters Review - Public Enemies

Public Enemies (15)

Dir. Michael Mann

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (with good friends J and G)

ONE WORD SUMMATION: Crimtastic

“I like baseball, movies, good clothes, fast cars... and you. What else you need to know?
My name is John Dillinger and if you ask me what I want? – I’ll tell you - everything.
Right now.”

Public Enemies see Johnny Depp playing the infamous criminal Dillinger in Michael ‘Heat’ Mann’s love letter to the 1930s one man Chicago crimewave. This is without doubt 2009’s classiest, coolest and most engaging action thriller – a perfect storm of quality cast, attention to detail and stylish visual flair.

Depp is perfect in the lead role bringing the FBI’s most wanted man to believable life dripping with dangerous charisma and cool swagger. This is a guy who believes in himself, who isn’t afraid to take on the system – mostly through the liberal application of audacious bank robberies. Exciting gun fights, chases and heists ensue as the authorities do everything they can to try and contain him.

Christian ‘Terminator Salvation’ Bale plays FBI Agent Melvin Purvis, the man tasked by J. Edgar Hoover to bring Dillinger down and a wildcard in the mix here is vicious psycho ‘Baby Face Nelson’ (a convincingly unhinged Stephen Graham). Nelson doesn’t subscribe to Dillinger’s gentlemanly conduct in keeping his criminal activities to the liberation of money from major banks whilst keeping the body count to a minimum.
And the path of true robbery runs even less straight when Dillinger loses his head and his heart to Billie Frechette (Marion ‘La vie en Rose’ Cotillard).



Public Enemies is a fantastic film which rewards viewers with a captivating story, it’s hard not to find yourself rooting for the bank robbing pose as they repeatedly stick it to the man. The timing of the film couldn’t be better either with banks being at a potential all time low in the affections of most people.
Standing head and shoulders above the very average blockbusters we’ve had so far this summer, it is refreshing to find a film that you’ll want to think about afterwards and want to see again.
Director Mann has shown that he can deliver superb period action thrills to match his modern day classics Heat and Miami Vice. For me Public Enemies has crashed straight into my list of ‘best ever crime films’ to stand beside others like Goodfellas, The Godfather and Miller’s Crossing – denying yourself the chance to see this on the big screen would be a crime!

Darkmatters final rating of: ööööööööö (9 – Public Enemies will blow you away!)

Darkmatters quick reference guide:

Action 8
Style 9
Babes 7
Comedy 6
Horror 6
Spiritual Enlightenment 7

Darkmatters does Blood the Last Vampire

Blood: The Last Vampire 2000 – anime (15)

Dir. Hiroyuki Kitakubo



Blood: The Last Vampire 2009 – ‘real skin’ (18)

Dir. Chris Nahon




Reviewed by Matt Adcock

“You Asshole! Don't ever piss her off again! As far as we know, she's the only remaining original!”

This is a quote from the anime version of Blood: The Last Vampire (which I have owned on DVD since it came out and thought it was time to give it a re-view as I caught the new live action version at the weekend)… The quote works as advice to Chris ‘Kiss of the Dragon’ Nahon too and fortunately he’s heeded the warning as his film is a great reworking / companion piece to the anime.



Basically in both films Blood: The Last Vampire tells the tale of Saya – half-human, half-demon, all schoolgirl. This ancient immortal (who still looks like a typical 15 year old due to unexplained lack of aging) is from a bloodline of demon / vampire hunters. Needless to say that Saya is the last of her kind – duh – the clue is in the title... Saya (Gianna Jun) is more than a Japanese jailbait ass kicker, she wields a magically enhanced sword which can cleave demon vampires right in two… and she wears a sailor girl uniform whilst killing lots of bad-ass-baddies.

Saya works for The Council – no, not Luton Borough Council (been there, done that) but a shadowy organisation that employs her to hunt demons. The new film is a period piece circa 1970 but the original anime seemed more present day – judging from the military hardware on display.
Another difference is that in the feature film there is a main story arc about an ancient demon known as ‘Onigen’ (Koyuki). Bothe film open with the same scene – a subway ‘hit’ where Saya takes out a vampire and gets questioned by her superiors because the perp looks just like a normal guy… But instead of being reprimanded, Saya is sent undercover to an American military airbase in Tokyo to investigate possible demon assisted deaths there.



Here the films diverge in that in the anime Saya saves a chubby teacher and fights monsters just on the base. In the new film Saya save teenage hottie Alice McKee - spoilt daughter of the base's commanding officer – who happens to be martial arts trained too, so in effect a much more agreeable sidekick.
Bill Kong, producer of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero worked on the 2009 adaptation of Blood: The Last Vampire and the fights are pleasingly stylish and brutal affairs even if all the blood that gets spilt is CGI – with an almost cartoony element to it.
This dodgy use of CGI in the new film is entirely at odds with the original anime which boasted some of the best computer generated artwork ever… (which was noted by James Cameron).

So how did I rate the two Blood: The Last Vampires?

Here you go:

Blood: The Last Vampire 2000 – anime (15)

Earns an arbitrary Darkmatters final rating of: ööööööö (7 – great visuals and fun plot but only 45mins long!)

Darkmatters quick reference guide:

Action 7
Style 9
Babes 6
Comedy 4
Horror 7
Spiritual Enlightenment 3

Blood: The Last Vampire 2009 (18)

Earns an arbitrary Darkmatters final rating of: öööööööö (8 – expanded on the original, just sit back and enjoy, don’t worry about the dodgy effects!)

Darkmatters quick reference guide:

Action 8
Style 8
Babes 8
Comedy 5
Horror 7
Spiritual Enlightenment 4


"Gianna Jun - in 'non vampire' alter ego"

Darkmatters Review - Year One

Year One (12a)

Dir. Harold Ramis

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

ONE WORD SUMMATION: Weak-idol-offerings

Dearly beloved we are gathered here today to witness some comic tales from the bible’s Old Testament… The not so reverend Harold Ramis will conduct the lessons, mostly from Genesis, all of which feature two lesser known bible characters – Zed (Jack ‘Neverending Story III’ Black) and Oh (Michael ‘Juno’ Cera). These two loser primitives take low brow comedy to uncharted new unfunny depths, which is unforgivable given the potential Year One had to be a classic ‘prequel’ to Life of Brian.

As a bible reading Christian, I was amused at the depictions of the Old Testament characters – such as Adam (Ramis himself) and his sons Cain and Able - that original brotherly relationship that didn’t go so well. The sight seeing jaunt through Genesis also means we also get to meet Abraham (Hank Azaria), visit the infamous cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and witness the eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Some might be offended by the hit and miss fun being poked at the biblical characters, I was more offended by just how few laughs there were throughout. Year One limps along in a series of skits, resorting to toilet humour often when the script fails to be funny. Jack Black – who I’m sure used to be funny – plays his usual over the top persona which we’ve seen a million times now, whilst some credit must go to Michael Cera whose droll straight man act at least allows him to walk away from this car wreck with some dignity.
Love interests for the two heroes come in the shapely forms of Maya (June Diane Raphael) and Eema (Juno ‘Atonement’ Temple) but they are given little to do except be sold into slavery at every turn. The patchy supporting cast also includes ‘rent a hard man’ Vinnie Jones as Sodom ‘s head of security and a creepy High Priest (Oliver Platt) who takes a bit of an unhealthy shine to Oh.


"This is about as deep as Year One gets..."

There have been less funny ‘comedy’ films but I’m struggling to think of one this year, especially after The Hangover which was just excellent. On the strength of this Ramis should forget about ancient history and bring back Ghostbusters (he wrote the latest PS3 videogame version which is great fun and shows that he’s not completely lost his touch).
Alas, if you want a religious based laugh-a-thon then you’d be better served by The Da Vinci Code which is a comedy riot compared to Year One.

Not convinced? check out this mini review of the film over at FilmJerk.com:

"'Year One' is not quite the death of comedy, but it tries for a cartwheeling tone of irreverence and buffoonery that doesn’t quite fit in with today’s presentations of irony and sarcasm, and lacks the crisp, filling writing of yesteryear. There’s barely more than a few laughs during the entire film, but I suppose there should be some appreciation offered for even attempting an expansive giggle melee such as this. And then a character decides to eat a piece of poop. And then 'Year One' becomes an inexcusable misfire from a group of professionals who really should’ve known better.”

Arbitrary Darkmatters final rating of: ööööö (5 - patchy and weak despite great premise and cast)

Darkmatters quick reference guide:

Action 6
Style 6
Babes 6
Comedy 6
Horror 4
Spiritual Enlightenment -5

Darkmatters DVD Review - Ben X

Ben X (15)

Dir. Nic Balthazar

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

ONE WORD SUMMATION: Virtua-Rain-Teen

“Courage is everything.”

Want to play a game? Ever fancied being the strapping hero in a far off realm? Fighting for justice, saving the day and getting the girl… The opportunities are many if you sign up for games like Archlord but alas not always so easy in the real world – especially if you have Asperger syndrome - an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and people with it therefore show significant difficulties in social interaction, along with stereotypes and other restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviour and interests…

Welcome to the world of Ben X, a debut feature developed by Nic Balthazar from his own novel. The titular ‘Ben’ (newcomer Greg Timmermans) is a young guy with problems – not only does he suffer from autism which makes him pretty much unable to function socially, Ben is also on the receiving end of some vicious bullying and feeling helpless to know what to do.

What he does is to become Ben X, a level 80 warrior in the online realm of Archlord which he plays every day – and through which he has developed his only ‘friend’ another player, a female healer babe character, who goes by the name of Scarlite (Laura Verlinden). In a surprising and fairly unbelievable plot twist, Scarlite in the real world isn’t a pervy 40 something year old nonce seeking jailbait on the web – no she’s a teenager who might just hold the path to salvation for tragic Ben. Ben X plays out well even whipping in some Sigur Ros soundtrack at the end.

This film also rips real emotion from the viewer with its clever interspersed interview footage of Ben’s parents, teachers and doctors. Plus superb game footage from Archlord which turns this into a pseudo fantasy film and amps up the watchability considerably for game fans. As someone who was bullied myself at school, I related to the real heartfelt authenticity at work in this film – and can only hope the muted American remake keeps this throughout.

So the plot builds to a palpable sense of dread, you just know that something bad is going to happen. And I’m not gonna spoil it for you as if you’re looking for an engaging and curious slice of teen angst from a different perspective… step up for Ben X.

Not convinced? check out this mini review of the film over at Screenjabber:

"Ben X is an audacious debut from writer/director Balthazar. Said to be based on a true story, it began life as a book, then a play and now it's being remade (again by Balthazar) for Hollywood. More an examination of bullying in school than of autism, it's an emotional rollercoaster ride that leaves the viewer quite drained.”

Arbitrary Darkmatters final rating of: öööööööö (8 - you say it best, when you say nothing at all)

Darkmatters quick reference guide:

Action 6
Style 8
Babes 6
Comedy 4
Horror 6
Spiritual Enlightenment 5


"Is that a +10 powersword in you pocket, or are you just pleased to see me?"

Alice In Wonderland - Tim Burton brings the madness...

'Mia Wasikowska - fresh from Defiance, enters the rabbit hole'

Alice In Wonderland - Tim Burton brings the madness...

New images from next year's Alice reworking are all over the net but they're so good I just had to share them here too...

Really excited about this one.


'Helena Bonham Carter does the Red Queen'



'Wonderland's guardians... Also known as Matt Lucas'



'Johnny Depp... the Manson of Mad Hatters'

Genius!!!

Darkmatters Review - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (12a)

Dir. Michael Bay

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (in Luton with my sons aged 8 & 12 - who loved this film big time)

Strap in for the biggest, loudest action overload of the summer… The heavy metal Transformers are back and this time the heroic Autobots have got to stop the evil Decepticons destroying our sun (the ball of gas not the newspaper).

You might be surprised if I told you that ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a subtle, gently nuanced film full of real human emotion and poignancy’ – actually I’d be surprised if I told you that too because nothing could be further from the truth.

Michael ‘Transformers and Bad Boys’ Bay subscribes to the filmmaking ethos of ‘Let’s blow up as much as we can and make the destruction look as good as possible’… He also seems to have a bit of a military fetish going on – never before have so many G.I.’ s been made to look so macho and patriotic, nobody does military hardware silhouetted against sunsets or explosions quite as well as this chap… It almost made me want to sign up for a tour of duty

Also in a Bay film, every single character has to have ‘hot moment’ where the camera pans around them slowly as they look earnestly into the middle distance. In the case of returning love interest Michaela (supernova hot Megan Fox) or new evil love interest rival Alice (unfeasibly attractive Isabel Lucas) – that’s not actually such a bad thing.

The main stars here though are the robots – brought to shiny, intricate life once again by the genius special effects teams of Industrial Light and Magic (ILM). Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen really does up the ante as to just what is possible to achieve on screen. The humans led by Sam (Shia ‘new Indiana Jones’ LaBeouf) run around getting in the way of the metal marvels whose clashes are suitably epic. One thing though, the robots aren’t that bright – summed up when new Autobots ‘Skids and Mudflap’ explain that they can’t actually read…

There is a plot of sorts but it really doesn’t need explaining, all you really need to know in order to appreciate this film is that thinking about it will only spoil it. There may never be a bigger, stupider or better looking summer blockbuster on planet earth… Although given the colossal amount of cash this is likely to make, the chances are that this won’t be the last time we see Optimus Prime and pals strutting their CGI stuff on the big screen. Good news for action loving filmgoers as long as you can unplug your brain before witnessing it.

Darkmatters Rating out of 5: öööö (4 - so wrong it's right!)

Darkmatters quick reference guide:
Action 4
Style 4
Comedy 3
Horror 4
Spiritual Enlightenment -2

Not convinced? check out this mini review of the film over at Tom Wade's Emporium of Man Love:

"Technoarmybabble talk scenes ‘Get the F17 to BRING THE RAIN in quadrant 17 of the T12’s white zero fly by in ZXA altitude…’ Am I boring you yet? Seriously, I’ve not left the cinema this angry for a long long time. Yes I know it’s a film about fighting robots blah blah blah – but that’s no excuse for self indulgent bloated work that my nephew could write in his sleep
No matter what I say you’ll either still go see it, or would have already seen it. if you’ve already witnessed it – I share your anger and pain. If you haven’ yet, go wonder into your local hospital and try and catch swine flu. I promise it’ll be time better spent.

And Matt Adcock – I know you loved this. But you’re wrong"

Read the Darkmatters review of the original Transformers HERE

Punisher: War Zone

Be warned - The Punisher is being unleashed...

Punisher: War Zone is out to buy on Blu-ray, DVD and UMD Video on 22 June, 2009 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Adapted from the popular Marvel comic, former FBI agent turned vigilante The Punisher pulls no punches in this action-packed sequel starring hard man actor Ray Stevenson and British heart throb and star of TV’s “The Wire” Dominic West.

Click below to see what all the fuss is about:

Darkmatters review - Terminator Salvation

Terminator Salvation (12)

Dir. McG (Charlie’s Angels etc).

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (in Luton with Mr Landsman on a wet Friday night)

ONE WORD SUMMATION: Machine-tooled!!

Read Darkmatters review of the Terminator Salvation Game

“I knew it. I knew it was coming. But this is not the future my mother warned me about. And in this future, I don't know if we can win this war. This is John Connor.”

Yes the human resistance of the near future finds itself in dire straits once again at the hands of those pesky computer controlled robots we know as ‘terminators’… The battle has changed, we’re now in 2018 – post the ‘judgement day’ nuclear strike and hero John Connor (now Christian ‘The Dark Knight’ Bale) is trying to live up to his ‘saviour of mankind’ prediction. Enemy computer system Skynet has given up trying to wipe out the last of the humans by sending terminators back in time, so it decides to win the war against us by going after the hero of the first film Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin) while he’s still a grumpy teen. There is of course an obligatory Terminator who thinks he’s human in the form of Marcus (Sam Worthington), he might just hold the key to mankind’s safety or extermination… Yawn…

The technology on offer in Terminator Salvation isn’t as advanced as in T2, so don’t go expecting any morphing liquid metal hi-jinks. The machines here are actually more Transformer like prototypes – here’s a house sized giant robot!? Ohh look out for the motorcycle shaped speeder terminators etc etc… This makes for a few ‘wow’ CGI battles but takes something away from the general motive of the series so far, which was always been about a battle of wits between advance human form terminators and Connor at one age or another.

Terminator Salvation does deliver lots of vacant wham bam action, but even this is low on actual death due to the family friendly age rating - which also means that the terminators now don’t include expletives in their list of possible responses. What is most sorely lacking though is any real sense of actual threat, you just know that there’s no way in which the machines will win this round because we’ve already met some of these characters in later life in earlier films… if you follow me?

Having said that this fourth Terminator film is more fun and generally more watchable than the lacklustre part three. I’ve no doubt that the terminators will “be back” for a further tale of man vs machine smack down but it’s probably too much to hope that they can reignite the excitement levels of the first two which are bona-fide classics.


"Moon Bloodgood... good looking for a resistance fighter"

Arbitrary Darkmatters final rating of: öööööö (6 - robots in disguise!?)

Darkmatters quick reference guide:
Action 8
Style 6
Babes 5
Comedy 5
Horror 7
Spiritual Enlightenment 3

Not convinced? check out this mini review of the film over at Tom Wade's Emporium of Man Love:

“Big explosions – bleak backdrop – meh storyline – Christian Bale doing the Batman voice and being a bit bland – seeing Arnold in CGI – lots of chases – directed by a man called McG – I can’t forgive him that."

Terminator Salvation Game Review PS3

Terminator Salvation

Played on PS3

Developer: Grin / Evolved Games

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

Read the Darkmatters review of Terminator Salvation (film) 

“Come with me if you want to live (press x)... Now shoot that robot (press R1)… Now come with me if you want to live (press x)… Now shoot that robot (press R1)…” repeat…

The Terminator has seen four major films, a TV series and lots of mediocre videogame adaptations… and now lumbering into view comes Terminator Salvation – the film based loosely around the latest of the films.

Now I’m a fan of the movies (even had some time for part 3) and I really liked the TV show… but I’ve also played most of the videogames so I knew not to get too excited in advance of this new one.

So with my expectations set to ‘it’s gonna suck ass’ I ventured into this post Judgment Day action game looking for terminator exterminating thrills…

Terminator Salvation doesn’t start well, you immediately feel that the game has been rushed out to hit at the same time as the film – and even then it stands out as weak compared to the heavy-duty quality title hitting the PS3 this year such as Killzone 2 or infamous… But after three fairly annoying and slogging levels something weird happened to me, I began to enjoy this for what it was - a repetitive and predictable ‘old school’ shooter.

Sure it’s as on rails as a freight train but there is a odd sense of satisfaction at beating some of the harder levels – and for trophy hunters out there, Terminator Salvation is an absolute gift… every one of the eight levels will give you GOLD TROPHY – and that actually makes it really worth a play through.

Graphically we’re not talking anything special here, staple ravaged city streets and blasted buildings, useful trashed cars and walls for the clunky cover system… The PS3 version supports 720p and some of the special effects look good, but this ain’t gonna win any awrds for pushing the boundaries.

Game play works ok as long as you’re not demanding of slickness or intolerant of unforgivable loading times (despite an install – WTF!?) – best if you have  a pal to co-op with as there are lots of moments when the computer buddy A.I. will leave you shouting at the screen to help you flank an annoying terminator or two…

There are only a limited number of enemy types, and each has a signature take down style, pick of the bunch must be the T600s who are hard as nails, I was kinda hoping for a T800 in there somewhere but so dice. Some of the new baddies from the movie are fun to battle like the transformer alike motorbikes which form one of the several vehicle chase / shoot levels.

My favourite level is where you get to control of another of the transformer knock off types – the giant Termigantinator stomper robot which allows you to put some smackdown on Skynet HQ. That and the lovely ‘ca-ching’ of another gold trophy popping up on the screen!

Darkmatters final rating of: öööööö (6 - if you wanna shoot Terminators on the PS3 this is your best bet) 

Darkmatters Review - The Book Thief

The Book Thief
Markus Zusak

Reviewed by Matt Adcock


“She leaned down and looked at his lifeless face and Liesel kissed her best friend, Rudy Steiner, soft and true on his lips. He tasted dusty and sweet. He tasted like the regret in the shadows of trees and in the glow of the anarchist’s suit collection. She kissed him long and soft, and when she pulled herself away, she touched his mouth with her fingers. Her hands were trembling, her lips were fleshy, and she leaned in once more, this time losing control and misjudging it. Their teeth collided on the demolished world of Himmel Street.” The Book Thief page 536

Sometimes you read a book that you know nothing about… When my eldest son was given a copy of The Book Thief he suggested I read it as he was already reading something. I liked the image on the cover of death dancing with a girl (the book thief herself as it turns out) so gave it a go.

This is a slow burn and build up of a novel which is worthy of your perseverance as by the end you’ll have been deeply moved, entertained and challenged by the tale of young Liesel, her adopted family, her friends and her experiences of the second world war in Nazi Germany.
The plight of the Jews in Germany at that dark time in history is interwoven with the coming of age tale of the titular book thief. The story is told by Death himself but this is no Terry Pratchett Discworld, here Death is a narrator who is detached enough to record our inhumanity and express his lack of understanding at why we humans act as we do,

The ponderous pace builds up a beautifully balanced and highly engaging narrative, Zusak uses clever devices such as mini previews of each chapter (which can not always be trusted).
Liesel who is the book thieving rascal of the title charts her relationships with her adoptive parents – hardship and survival go hand in hand – never more so than when the family hide Max (a Jew on the run) in their basement at great personal risk to themselves. The tangible sense of danger is expertly woven through the narrative, this really isn’t a happy tale and you can sense some form of tragedy on its way as the war escalates and the Allies start bombing Liesel’s town. Although, having said that there are some moments of pure joy that stand out all the more for the bleak backdrop against which they are experienced.

As with all great books, there are some unforgettable scenes such as when Liesel and her friend Rudy take bread and try to feed a line of Jew being marched through the streets to a concentration camp. Scenes like this blend seemlessly with Liesel's thieving escapades, her father's tours of duty and her mother's struggle to keep everything going... These are characters that you'll remember for some time.

The Book Thief is book which everyone should read – it is an unsettling and thought-provoking novel, buy beg or steal yourself a copy.


Darkmatters final rating of: öööööööö (8 - a compelling if slow moving modern day classic)

Film news - Fox 2000 has bought the rights to The Book Thief - it's status is 'in production'...


"I think Dakota Fanning would make a good Liesel - she's cheeky enough!"

Darkmatters review - The Hangover

The Hangover (15)

Dir. Todd Philips (Road Trip, Old School, Starsky & Hutch)

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (in Luton with a packed house all having a good time)


One word summation: Testosteronelicious

Let’s get one thing straight right away – The Hangover is a blokes film, it’s not a romantic comedy, there’s no singing or dancing and it’s not for kids… We’re talking a pure overdose of puerile testosterone being delivered directly into the eyeballs, and it’s great!!
The plot is a Las Vegas-set ballsy dark comedy with the simple premise of three groomsmen who lose their about-to-be-wed buddy during their night of drunken misadventures. We join them in the mother of all ‘morning afters’ from where they must retrace their steps and try to work out quite what happened.
It doesn’t take long to realise that things must have got seriously out of hand – let’s look at the evidence… There is a ferocious tiger in their hotel suite bathroom, an abandoned baby in the wardrobe, one of the guys is missing a tooth and another has a hospital admittance tag on his arm…
The motley crew of heroes here are schoolteacher Phil (a charismatic Bradley ‘Wedding Crashers’ Cooper), hen-pecked dentist Stu (Ed ‘The Office – American version’ Helms) who are the groom’s best friends. Also along for the ride is new brother-in-law-to-be Alan (a comic genius turn from Zach ‘What Happens in Vega’ Galifianakis) as the dim-witted bearded oddball.
The missing groom Doug is played by the likable Justin ‘National Treasure’ Bartha and together these four adventure seeking chaps generate some excellent rapport.
The laughs come thick and fast, and range from the satisfyingly dark e.g. abduction and drugging, through the surreal – naked Chinese man attacks, to the superbly well observed ‘male condition’ problems. You’ll feel for poor Stu who is saddled with Melissa - possible the most obnoxious girlfriend in movie history aptly who’s evil attitude to men is summed up in this encounter when he’s trying to persuade her to let him go on the stag weekend:
Stu says: ‘My friends are really a lot more mature than you think,’ just as their car pulls up outside and Phil yells: ‘Paging Doctor Faggot! Paging Doctor Faggot!’ She retorts with venom: ‘You should probably go, Doctor Faggot.’
Okay, so it’s not high brow funnies but this is a comedy that steams along on a tidal wave of feel good macho-ness backed up with some fantastic and unforgettable set pieces.
Over the weekend these buddies forge deeper friendships through their various trials by fire and by the time the credits roll you’ll feel like they are your good pals too.
Other incidental highlights include Mike Tyson singing ‘In the Air Tonight’, Stu finding out that he married a hooker during the course of the night (a gorgeous Heather Graham as it goes) and some seriously amiss man style baby care.

"Heather Graham, would you marry her on the off chance in Vegas?"

Cinematic ribaldry hasn’t been done this well for a while, my advice is for men everywhere to experience The Hangover – no drinking required…

Arbitrary Darkmatters final rating of: öööööööö (8 - man up lads, what happens in Vegas...)

Darkmatters quick reference guide:
Action 7
Style 7
Babes 7
Comedy 8
Horror 6
Spiritual Enlightenment 7 (for blokes)

Not convinced? check out this viewpoint over at Bina (be aware you'll be getting a female review) be sure to read the comments!:

“basically a rip-off of the Ashton Kutcher vehicle, "Dude, Where's My Car?". Except this time, the drunken idiots are a thirty-something bachelor party in Vegas..."

inFAMOUS

In the aftermath of an urban disaster, an everyday guy finds himself with extraordinary powers. What he does with them is up to you. This is inFamous... a superb new title for PLAYSTATION®3

If society collapsed tomorrow and you found yourself with unique powers that could either help people or hurt them, which would you do? That’s the question at the centre of inFamous, the exclusive PLAYSTATION®3 title from Sucker Punch Productions. The open-ended, free-roaming game puts you in the shoes of Cole McGrath, an everyday guy and urban explorer, in the aftermath of a huge disaster that destroys his hometown of Empire City. As Cole, you must first learn to use new found powers and then decide how you will use them.

After the explosion, Empire City falls into chaos and Cole must use his new powers and climbing agility. Along the way he will unravel an evolving mystery, experience fame and/or infamy and battle powerful, iconic villains. inFamous gives you the freedom to play how you want, whether that’s aggressively, tactically or stealthily (or indeed as a true-blue Hero (like Captain America/Superman/) or do you play as the Anti-hero guy (like Frank Miller’s Batman/Daredevil or Wolverine/ Punisher/Ghost Rider) who simply “gets things done” irrespective of the cost - be warned, however, that the city’s people and environment will react to what you do. Events will unfold based on the role you take in them and your actions will create broader reactions in the citizens and landscape around you.

Developed by Sucker Punch Productions, the studio who gave PlayStation the acclaimed Sly Cooper franchise, inFamous brings you a new type of superhero – an uncertain man with the weaknesses of a normal human being. What will you turn Cole into? The choice is yours when your inFamous!?