Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (Wii)

This may be the eleventh title in the series but not an awful lot has changed since it’s beginnings on the NES in 1990. There are some minor tweaks over the Gamecube prequel, to which this continues the story, but really this isn’t going to attract any of the new audience the Wii has so successfully courted.

The most immediate and glaring lack of innovation is the decision not to use the Wii’s motion sensing capabilities. One might’ve thought that for a grid-based strategy title the use of a mouse-like cursor might be ideal but instead you are forced to use the Wiimote as an NES pad! In hindsight this mightn’t have been a bad choice as the switching between the small tiles could become quite fiddly and the fatigue factor during a 2 hour long level might be crippling.

The graphics have received a welcome update (if not as much as some might’ve expected) with some nice spot effects for the magical attacks being the highlight. The anime cut-scenes are superb its just a shame there’s so few of them.

The freshest part of Radiant Dawn comes in the alternating use of multiple armies - levelling up, recruiting and arming 3 entirely separate groups of characters. This greatly helps to maintain your interest over what is a very long game(60 hours+) as you are effectively playing 3 instances of the game. Strangely, however, you are given charge of the weakest army first and are asked to negotiate 10 gruelling levels at the beginning. This then serves to render the subsequent chapters as quite an anticlimax seeing you breeze past the enemy with a new, and much more powerful, army at your disposal. Overall the approach does work and throws up some interesting twists towards the end of the game.

Continuing on the plot of the 2005 Gamecube game is handled with the story-telling skill one would expect from Intelligent Systems with the bold issues of prejudice, racism and the horrors of war smoothly transferred into a new context with original topics of hero worship and religion also being broached admirably. This is aided by the superior dialogue and scripting that doesn’t have you skipping though the endless juvenile nonsense contained in most text heavy games. Regrettably the narrative is let down at times by some unsophisticated changes in direction that helps break the predictable flow of events but could surely be accomplished by some subtler means.

As strategy games go this is up there with the best of them, it requires solid planning and tactics whilst bound by a logical and consistent rule-set. Its difficulty, although being steep, never leaves the player feeling cheated and always leaves the opportunity for a new approach. If the genre isn’t your “cup-of-tea” then this will do little to persuade you otherwise – especially with its sink or swim initiation, functional graphics and general lack of Wii-ness.

Movie Round Up

Evil Dead 2 (1987/USA)
Disappointing re-hash of the classic original leaning more towards comedy rather than horror. Still contains some hilarious moments and entertainingly gorey scenes

Doomsday (2008/UK)
Silly but largely fun sci-fi adventure that borrows heavily from the likes of Mad Max, Escape from New York, Aliens – to name but a few. Quite slick considering the low-budget but far too derivative to stand out.

Burn After Reading (2008/USA)
As entertaining as you would expect from the Coens in their take on mid-life crises and infidelity. A reliance on the base humour elements, however, overshadows the wittier moments which are few and far between. Some great characters and good performances make it worth a watch.

Dead Man’s Shoes (2004/UK)
Tense, dark and brutal at times, this solid drama delivers on a lot of fronts. The superbly crafted balance between the genuinely disturbing and the darkly comic makes for a poignant piece of filmmaking.

Toolbox Murders (2003/USA)
Dull remake that fails to make use of a decent premise. A chore to watch - Hang your head Tobe Hooper

Movie Views

The Strangers (2008 / USA)
The simple premise of this tense horror allows for the well crafted jumps and taut scenes to keep coming. Some could argue it gets slightly repetitive but they couldn’t deny it delivers pure horror with aplomb.






Rambo (2008 / USA)
One could understandably baulk at the idea of wedging in some political commentary into a film of this ilk but strangely enough the ultra-graphic violence actually reinforces the depiction of the Burmese regime. Whether that works for you or not its still a cracking action movie.






Hancock (2008 / USA)
What begins as an entertaining black-comedy descends into sentimental Hollywood drivel by the hour mark. A missed opportunity to do something a bit different.







Eastern Promises (2007 / USA/UK/Canada)
A fairly unassuming plot as Mafioso movies go. Aided by some believable characters and tight casting with a reasonable twist towards the end makes this a pleasant surprise. Cronenberg fans will be satisfied by the typically visceral knife fight scene.

Movie Views

The Happening (2008 / USA)

What begins with some promise (and Shylaman’s trademark atmosphere) ends up petering-out before long and results in a post-apocalyptic “lite”(as the yanks would say) experience

Cannibal Ferox (1981 / USA)
A bizarre mix of social commentary and gorey, shock-horror mirrored in the jarring scene switching between the locales of New York City and the Amazon jungle. Strangely effective though and worth a look (if you can stomach it!)

The Hamiltons (2006 / USA)
A low budget but skilfully directed horror with a genuinely creepy atmosphere. The disturbed characters and innovative finale make this a gem and well worth looking up for fans of the genre.

The Evil Dead (1981 / USA)
A schlock-horror classic due to the harrowing intensity it maintains during even the most ridiculously cheesy of scenes. Brilliant.

Movie Round Up

Batman: The Dark Knight (2008 / USA)
A genre masterpiece which manages to maintain a relentless pace throughout it’s 150mins, not just through typically dynamic action sequences but via an engaging and enjoyably convoluted plot. Nit –pickers will have to bite their tongues as the level of entertainment is well worth the suspension of disbelief.

Prom Night (2007 / USA)
Generic teen slasher which despite being fairly slick in parts, never breaks from the tired clichés in almost every scene.

Wicked Little Things (2004 / USA)
Unfortunately this dull horror never makes the most of its excellent locations and superbly dilapidated sets. The decent premise is ruined by woeful plot exposition which leaves very little worth recommending.

Death Proof (2006 / USA)
An over-reliance on kitch B-movie references and dialogue which is well below Taratino’s normally excellent standard makes for a film which takes far too long to get going and then fails to live up to its potential.

Welcome to the NHK (Manga)

A story revolving around a depressed recluse who hardly leaves the house and has little social contact is never going to be plot heavy but Tatsuhiko Takimoto manages to generate enough twists, turns and cliffhangers without ever really venturing out side the head of it’s main protagonist.
The dark humour is apparent from the very beginning where nothing is taboo as societies norms are, apparently, torn apart through the eyes of a crazed otaku. The majority of the laughs are to be had at Satou’s inability to cope with other people and his environment but there’s a more subtle level of tragic comedy, at the levels of denial he is willing to undertake to avoid such stressful situations, to be found throughout the manga.
The humorously over-the-top illustrations of Satou’s face as it contorts in anguish are a regular feature and are drawn in a very individual style with our hero often appearing to be decomposing with embarrassment.
As the story progresses Satou’s develops relationships with other deranged individuals and the bizarre reasons they have for being so demented are explored with a keen understanding of psychoanalysis and sociology allowing for a viewpoint that is fresh if a little hard-going at times. The insight into the minds of the young adults as they struggle to cope with the expectations and demands that come with maturity is handled skilfully and delicately, despite the often warped and sometimes crass situations.
The comedy all but disappears during the middle act of the story as Satou plunges deeper and deeper into despair. As things take a less surreal turn, the writer seems more concerned with exorcising his own demons through the analysis of Satous fragile condition which can leave some of the chapters feeling a little flat.
The underlying romance elements are superbly done and takes the usual “will they/wont they” dynamic to new levels, forcing the reader to question if the romance element indeed exists at all as the protagonists struggle to get to grips with their very existence let alone each other!
The “love story” becomes more prevalent in the latter half of the manga and eventually proves cause for the return of the humour towards the end as the writer attempts capture the magic of the opening acts. Unfortunately, despite delivering many excellent points of thought, it never really reaches the manic heights laid down in the opening chapters. Although, that said, it keeps the reader thoroughly gripped throughout as the intriguing and complex characters collide and self-destruct with only fleeting moments of hope or clarity.
You are sure to find an idiosyncrasy of your own reflected in one of the neurotics on display as it demonstrates how ultimately we’re all a bit messed up in our own way!

Movie Round-up

Wanted (2008/USA)

It’s hard to know if you’re laughing at, or with this film. The hilariously preposterous stunts are quite entertaining but the droll pseudo-solemn moments are highly aggravating. Arguably the stupidest film of all time (and certainly holds the record for most slo-mo used)

The Italian Job (2003/USA)
Not really much to this fairly threadbare heist movie. It seems to bank everything on a grand-stand finish but the deficiency of wit or guile may have you turning off before hand

I, Robot (2004/USA)
Surprisingly solid sci-fi thriller which provides the action and drama but doesn’t quite make the leap to stirring your imagination the way the best examples of the genre do.

Superbad (2007/USA)
Exceeded my expectations of another “American Pie”, with its more grounded approach and the undeniable charm of the two leads. There’s still plenty of “frat-boy” humour but its handled with a little more nous which gives this the edge on most, recent teenage comedies.

Superhero Movie (2008/USA)
One of the better “…..Movie”, films but suffers from the same flaw as the others in that all the jokes are used up by the time it’s half way through. The want for a more creative story is evident as it sticks rigidly to the Spiderman plot when so much more spoofingly-good tomfoolery could’ve been had.