Critics-R-us Reviews

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009 Video Game)

Instant classic, Ps3 essential!!

[10/10 · 8 December 2009]

-Title: Uncharted 2. -Rating: 16/RP. -Director: Amy Henning.

A Summary:

Uncharted 2 is a perfect mix of action, puzzles, funny moments, and multiplayer, You play as Nathan Drake, Who is basically the personality and sense of humour of John mcClane (Die Hard), The Charm of Indiana Jones, The gun-slinging-ness of James Bond, and The Climbing talents of Lara Croft (Tomb Raider), Faith (Mirror's Edge), Ezio Auditiore (Assasin's Creed 2), and Altiar (Assasin's Creed) rolled into one.

Characters:

This game has LOADS of characters, some old, some new, and all brilliant, the voice acting is spot on, and you will never find friendlies running into your line of fire.

Animation/Graphics:

An awesome frame rate, excellently smooth 720p graphics, and Bright colours, along with the same wet engine (your clothes get saturated when you decide to take a swim) and with a new snow engine,(you get coated in snow, then it melts, and then your wet)

Plus, all environments are colourful and interactive.

Handy things/fun gizmos:

There is a machinima mode that lets you create films with the characters (check out "Drakes Ps3" on YOUtube for a brilliant example)

There is Lip-syncing, meaning what you say moves the character's mouth.

26 story-mode levels, (26!!) and loads of maps online.

Many varied online modes, Eg: Plunder (C.T.F with a small, heavy golden statue)

There are also co-op modes, but, instead of playing the story mode, you play in segments.

There is a costume select in the online mode, from Jeff to Skeletons and everything in between!

There is even an Uncharted 2 Twitter account built INTO THE GAME that lets you post your progress through the game.

Critisisms: Very few, I found that online, many times you can be shooting at an enemy, yet they never seem to die, there is a martyrdom-esquire perk called Revenge, (I think thats what its called) The characters online, and in the single-player costume select, don't get wet. This happened to me once, I was demoted because I quit an online match early, going from rank 7, back to rank 1, thats quite a harsh punishment, for such a small accident.

Overall:

I loved this game, and I've gotten over some of the criticisms, and the game has a lot of replay value, so, if you'll excuse me, I'm getting ready for my 5th playthrough of Uncharted 2: AMONG Thieves, on crushing. I give Uncharted 2 a well-deserved 10/10

Critic: Mike

Planet 51 (2009)

Not to be taken too seriously

[7/10 · 7 December 2009]

Title: Planet 51 Director: Jorge Blanco Release Date: 20 November 2009

Summary:

Planet 51 is a spin on alien invasion movies, this time, *humans* attract the attention of the military, and it is up to an *alien* to escort the human home, sound familiar? Thats because it is like ET, however this film provides more hilarious moments than the 80's classic, for example:

"You did great!" exclaims an actor dressed as a tube of tooth-paste

"I know" says an actor dressed as a toothbrush, "but I'm also a great suppository!"

Animation: On a scale between 1-10: 1 being like a S.N.E.S game, 10 being like a PS3 game, I give this title a 7/10.

This film does not look realistic, it is cartoony, and, depending on who you are, this is either a good thing or a bad thing. I thought this was good, as the character models look funnier and, although they are aliens, they retain some human features, eg: 2 legs, 2 arms, a head, and clothes, which stops kids from freaking out because they're scared of the aliens on screen.

Characters: The characters are funny, and most have their own hilarious memorable moment, and the names are imaginative, yet too imaginative, and within a couple of minutes, I had forgotten most of them, for example:

Lem? Neera? Glar? Skiff? Eckle?

These were the good guy's names, and I don't particularly enjoy memorising them to understand the film.

References: This film provides a bucket-full of references; The main character's dog, Ripley is an Xenomorph from the film "alien", complete with that creepy tongue thing and acid urine! (apologies if I didn't spell "Xenomorph" right) The robot-dog, Rover, seems to resemble EVE from Wall.E, yet less lovable. An astronaut repeats lines from STAR WARS to entertain his friend. There is a scene with Rover that resembles "Singing in the rain" Although it steals from many films, this film does it well, and adult will find these parts funny.

Yet there are so many other references that I missed, so go and find them. Just a warning; Do not, under any circumstances BUY THE GAME.

Criticisms: My one main criticism is that, for some parts, the film gives up its funny theme to deliver a serious scene, this breaks the suspension of disbelief of the film, but this only happens once or twice.

Overall: Planet 51 is a film worth watching, I did'nt have high expectations, but it is a great kids film and will provide a lot of laughs, adults will enjoy it too, but not as much. I give Planet 51 a generous 7/10

Critic: Jak