Total Format

Cryostatis - Sleep of Reason

Detomah — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 13:54:10 +0000

by: Detomah

Description: [b]Game Title:[/b] Cryostatis - Sleep of Reason [b]Published by:[/b] 505 Games [b]Developed by:[/b] Action Forms [b]PEGI Rating: [/b] 16+ [b]Release Date:[/b] 27th February 2009 [b]Asin:[/b] B001CSPU68 [b]Platform For Review[/b]: PC [b]Genre:[/b] First Person Shooter [b]Players:[/b] 1 player [B]Features[/B][LIST][*]Terrifying first person survival/horror action gameplay [*]Mental Echo ability that lets the player change a character's past [*]Highly detailed levels based on a real Russian ice-breaker [*]Battle powerful enemies that have been transformedby the cold [*]Historically-authentic weapons [*]Unique weather system with realistic ice, frost and snow with advanced character/object physics[/LIST] [center][url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/132116][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5208/thumbs/Cryostasis_0037.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/132115][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5208/thumbs/Cryostasis_0036.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/132114][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5208/thumbs/Cryostasis_0035.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/132113][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5208/thumbs/Cryostasis_0034.jpg[/img][/url][/center] [b]Manufacturer's Description[/b] There's a chill in the air with spooky survival horror Cryostasis. Taking place in the Arctic Circle in 1968, players take on the role of Alexander Nesterov, a Russian meteorologist sent to investigate the final hours of the North Wind, an old nuclear ice-breaker shipwrecked in an icy grave. The freezing cold has turned the inhabitants of the ship into freakish frozen monsters that will hunt down anything warm and destroy it. Thankfully, Alex possesses a unique 'Mental Echo' ability, which allows him to relive the final memories of the dead and change their actions in the past. But, can Alex discover what happened on the North Wind or will he also become the latest victim of the terrible cold? [center][url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/132112][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5208/thumbs/Cryostasis_0033.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/132111][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5208/thumbs/Cryostasis_0032.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/132110][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5208/thumbs/Cryostasis_0031.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/132109][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5208/thumbs/Cryostasis_0030.jpg[/img][/url] [/center] [b]Total Format Description[/b] Cryostasis is a great game, although it'd be better of as a film than a game, because the storyline is fantastic, but let down a little by the game itself. Essentially you are in a horror film, playing the main character, it'll make you think of Dead Space, it's in that kind of area, but Cryostasis is more psychological. You play the main character Alexander Nesterov and play in the present and in the past in a way which allows you to actually change the course of events from time that has already past. You are a meteorolgist who has been sent to investigate the North Wind a Russian icebreaker shop that has had a bit of a bad time of things. When you arrive there is a bit of nasty storm going on, so you can't actually see a great deal of what is going on, which adds to the atmosphere. Ironically, the same storm makes your body get cold, something you have to keep in check, with the body warmth gage, that kills you if it runs out, as you freeze to death, so you find yourself making use of every fire, lightbulb, hot pipe and pretty much every heat emitting object you can, to warm yourself up. Not only is it your warmth that you have to keep a close eye on, you also have to watch your health, the locals can be damned vicious at times, this is one of the things that lets this game down though, while your having chunks cut out of you by the local axe weilding nutter, your frantically trying to get your weapon sorted and it is a pain and often results in sticky endings of the red and bloody variety. Of course, you may actually get a buzz from the tension of that and enjoy the game more as a result, I know I did. One of the main things i'd say you should do playing this game, is close the curtains, turn the lights off, turn the sound up and prepare yourself for a frightfest. I seriously add emphisis to turning the sound up, every moan and groan, creak of doors, blow of the wind will have you more and more on edge and when something unexpected happens, you may just want to make sure you have some spare underwear within easy reach. The game offers a great story, which like Dead Space, I think would make a great movie, it's genuinely scary when played as mentioned above, but due to the poor FPS aspect, repeating scenary at times and the need for a super computer to run it in full eye candy mode. Well worth playing all the same. [center][IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/divide.jpg[/IMG][/center] [B]Total Format Scoring Details For Cryostatis - Sleep of Reason[/B] [B]Graphics[/B] [IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/80.jpg[/IMG] The graphics are very very smooth and very easy on the eyes and they flow very very well on a powerful computer, for personal purposes i'd give graphics a 9.0 but that's because I have a machine that can handle all the settings turned up high, most people trying that are going to find their machine is crippled as the life will be sucked out of it with the overheads that the graphics throw at the hardware. Don't get me wrong though, the graphics are still lovely on the medium none machine killing settings. [B]Sound[/B] [IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/90.jpg[/IMG] The fantastic atmoshperic sounds and background noise are what make this game. You can see a lot of effort has gone into making the effects work so well. Doors creaking, monster approaching and grunting as they get closer to you and a whole host of little things that show great attention to detail, the sound is done extremely well for Cryostasis and deserve a high score. [B]Gameplay[/B] [IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/80.jpg[/IMG] The gameplay is pretty good, but as has been mentioned on just about every site i've seen do a write up for the game, the first person shooter aspect of the game is what stops it from having a higher score. It should have steered clear of that aspect of the game, because it is the one major element that lets it down. Everything else is pretty damn good though, if not a little repetitive at times, but because the game has a really good storyline, which fans of game stories will seriously enjoy, the game still scores well for this bit. [B]Lastability[/B] [IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/55.jpg[/IMG] This area is what lests the game down. You play it, you complete the story campaign and erm, that's about the end of it really, when there are so many other FPS games out there that already offer stuff like fantastic multiplayer modes, your not going to give this game much of any kind of look in once you've played and completed it, unless you fancy going back and doing it over again in case you missed something, the vaste greyness and repeating scenary will most likely stop that from being high on your agenda. [center][IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/divide.jpg[/IMG][/center] [B]Overall[/B] [IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/75.jpg[/IMG] The power hungry graphics, repetitive colouring and scenary and somewhat lacking first person shooter aspect of this game are a bit of a let down, on what is an otherwise extremely good and graphically ambitious and enjoyable game with a great storyline. It's well worth playing and it is a game that Total Format recommends you play, but with some nice patching from the developers, it could go from just being a good game to being a great game.

Elite Force Unit 77

Detomah — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 08:52:00 +0000

by: Detomah

Description: [b]Game Title:[/b] Elite Force Unit 77 [b]Published by:[/b] Deep Silver [b]Developed by:[/b] Abylight [b]PEGI Rating: [/b] 16+ [b]Release Date:[/b] 6th March 2009 [b]Asin:[/b] B001NGS6C4 [b]Platform For Review[/b]: DS [b]Genre:[/b] Action [b]Players:[/b] 1 player [B]Features[/B][LIST][*]An intense combination of action military strategy and tactical gameplay [*]Control four specialised characters: the quiet and effective sniper, the fearless explosives expert, the brilliant hacker and the devastatingly powerful gunner [*]Control a single character or the whole team for a greater tactical experience [*]Highly detailed 3D environments that move the action from the dense jungles of the tropics to abandoned arctic and the sweltering sands of the desert [*]Various actions: disarm mines, drive vehicles, access encrypted files or use stealth [*]12 challenging missions in 3 different scenarios [*]More than 20 hours of action-packed fun [*]Control all the action using the DS Stylus[/LIST] [b]Manufacturer's Description[/b] Tool up and prepare for intense action with Elite Forces Unit 77. A number of high profile VIP's from the world of science, Industry and entertainment have mysteriously disappeared in what appears to be a horrific global terrorist threat. With the clock running and the lives of the hostages and millions of others in danger, the last hope lies with an extremely covert and highly specialized military team, Unit 77. Made up of four professionals who are the best of the best, Unit 77 must combine their skills to stop massive world destruction by the hands of terrorists. [center]Click On Image to see full sized versions: [url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/132078][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5207/thumbs/Elite_Forces_Unit_77_0005.gif[/img][/url] [url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/132079][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5207/thumbs/Elite_Forces_Unit_77_0006.gif[/img][/url] [url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/132075][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5207/thumbs/Elite_Forces_Unit_77_0002.gif[/img][/url] [url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/132076][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5207/thumbs/Elite_Forces_Unit_77_0003.gif[/img][/url] [url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/132077][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5207/thumbs/Elite_Forces_Unit_77_0004.gif[/img][/url] [url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/132074][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5207/thumbs/Elite_Forces_Unit_77_0001.gif[/img][/url][/center] [b]Total Format Description[/b] Elite Forces Unit 77 is a competent budget range game that puts you in control of a mini army, sent to kill the bad guys and rescue the ever important scientists and industrial types. When you load the game up you can watch a nice little intro movie that explains what, why and how, after that and negotiating the rather simple and easy menu, it's straight into the action, well mission one is your tutorial, so it's not straight into the life threatening stuff. The controls are fairly simple and self explanitary, chose your leader, click the screen and move and kill, just as you'd want and expect. You have an array of weapons to choose from, each of your soldiers specialises in different area's, the sniper, the explosive expert, the techspert, the driver and of course, the beefcake weapons nutter who loves the heavy weaponary and splattering anyone that comes near enough to be shot at. As you go through the missions, you will quickly get the gist of the game, some people need rescuing like prisoners, there's a fair amount of stuff needing destroying by blowing it up. You will notice that some levels need sub goals befoer you can move on to the next mission, which when you have to backtrack can be a little annoying with the enemy respawning when you go back to their area. The controls can be fiddly and awkward, for example, when trying to control the vehicles, it can get very frustrating when it doesn't respond how you want it and patience can quickly run out after multiple attempts at the same maneouvre. Thankfully there are multiple automatic save points, although you may actually find yourself repeating the same bits of levels over and over and over again, far more than you would like to be, as a result. This often occures when you are trying to take out a particularly difficut target, like the duel chaingun turrets in the prison break. Juggling multiple things at the same time, like swapping characters, picking grenades, giving healthpacks and the likes, often results in dieing. Once you have completed the story mode game, you can then go back and take on indivudal levels to keep your interest in the game up and there is a gallery that can be unlocked, but once story mode is done, I found there to be only limited appeal thereafter. [center][IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/divide.jpg[/IMG][/center] [B]Total Format Scoring Details For Elite Force Unit 77[/B] [B]Graphics[/B] [IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/70.jpg[/IMG] The graphics are solid enough and make the playing experience enjoyable enough, but they are nothing particularly breathtaking and don't push the limits of DS graphics capabilities. [B]Sound[/B] [IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/50.jpg[/IMG] Like the graphics, the sound works very well for the game, while not being particularly outstanding, enjoyable enough though. There are limitations, some of the weapon sounds, soldier noises and the likes are fairly weak and there seems to be not enough of them. [B]Gameplay[/B] [IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/70.jpg[/IMG] The 12 missions are plenty enought o keep you playing for hours on end and for the price the game is available from various online shops, it is good value for money. The slightly awkward controls do stop this game from getting a higher score though, as they do get a little annoying at times. [B]Lastability[/B] [IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/50.jpg[/IMG] As said above, the missions will keep you going for a fair while. Once completed though, it's not the type of game that will have the cartridge making multiple trips out of the box on a regular basis. [center][IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/divide.jpg[/IMG][/center] [B]Overall[/B] [IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/60.jpg[/IMG] The game is fairly simple and at times can be annoying and frustrating, but as a budget game it is certainly enjoyable enough to make it worth while owning the game and for your money you will get enough play from the game to make it pretty good value for money. There are a lot worse in this genre costing a lot more money put it that way.

Wallace and Gromits Grand Adventures

Detomah — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 14:48:55 +0000

by: Detomah

Description: [b]Game Title:[/b] Wallace & Gromits Grand Adventures [b]Published by:[/b] Telltale Games [b]Release Date:[/b] March 24 2009 (UK) [b]PEGI Rating: [/b] 12+ [b]Platform For Review[/b]: Windows XP or Vista [b]Genre:[/b] Adventure - Point and Click [b]Players:[/b] 1 player [b]The system requirements for this game are as follows:[/b] � Operating system: Windows XP / Vista � Processor: 2.0 GHz or better (3 GHz Pentium 4 or equivalent recommended) � Memory: 512MB (1GB recommended) � Hard disk space: 310MB � Video: 64MB DirectX 8.1-compliant video card (128MB recommended) � Sound: DirectX 8.1 sound device � DirectX: Version 9.1 or better [center][url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/131912][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5203/thumbs/wg_yard.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/131911][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5203/thumbs/wg_wallace-truck.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/131910][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5203/thumbs/wg_screen_tanker.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/131909][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5203/thumbs/wg_screen_street.jpg[/img][/url][/center] In Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures, the world of West Wallaby Street comes alive in four brand new stories you can play. Like the films, each Wallace & Gromit episode finds the earnest inventor and his faithful canine companion embarking on ambitious new ventures laced with unexpected (and always amusing) complications. Players will experience all of their favorite elements from the acclaimed Wallace & Gromit films: imaginative storylines; warm, character-based humor; creative contraptions; physical comedy; and a distinct visual style. For PC, Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures is available as a downloadable, four episode bundle from Telltale's website (http://www.telltalegames.com/wallaceandgromit). In the March 24 premiere episode, "Fright of the Bumblebees," Wallace & Gromit are struggling to find success with a honey business plagued by giant problems. Subsequent episodes, scheduled for May, June, and July, will take the duo from an underground beach resort to a sprawling carnival to a country club hiding an age-old mystery. [b]About Wallace & Gromit[/b] [b]Wallace[/b] An endearing and affable inventor. Ever enthusiastic, Wallace's hair-brained, over-ambitious, yet well intentioned ideas consistently get him and his faithful hound into trouble. A definite penchant for cheese and crackers, not to mention fashionable knitwear! [b]Gromit[/b] Wallace's long-suffering loyal pooch. Gromit cares greatly for Wallace even though he's often railroaded into his master�s mad-cap plans. Though cultured and sensitive, preferring order and the quiet life, Gromit displays amazing courage and heroism when it comes to getting his master out of self-made scrapes. Always showing astonishing initiative, Gromit is definitely the intelligent one of the pair. [b]PC version:[/b] On the PC, the games is available in downloadable format, four episode bundle from www.telltalegames.com for the price of $34.95 (approximately GBP25). Fright of the Bumblebees launched on March 24 2009 and the subsequent episodes will be delivered in May, June, and July. (Please note that pricing and release dates may vary slightly.) [b]Xbox version:[/b] Wallace & Gromit�s Grand Adventures will also be available through Xbox LIVE Arcade, although that is not the case as of the time of writing this article. Content-wise, the games are identical, for both versions. [b]Gameplay controls:[/b] Since the Wallace & Gromit series was developed for Xbox as well as PC, it uses a direct control system that�s different than the point and click interface Telltale has used in their other games. The default PC controls are the arrow or WASD keys to move the character around, the mouse to select objects, and the shift key to open the inventory. (In addition to these basic controls, they�ve also mapped several other keys to try to provide as many interface options as possible. The game�s tutorial explains the controls and I suggest checking them out to get the hang of them. If you prefer to use a gamepad, that is also an option. [b]Languages:[/b] The game has subtitle options in German, French, Italian, and Spanish. [center][url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/131908][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5203/thumbs/wg_screen_squirrel.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/131907][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5203/thumbs/wg_screen_gromit_mixer.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/131906][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5203/thumbs/wg_plans.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/131905][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5203/thumbs/wg_mail.jpg[/img][/url][/center] [center][IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/divide.jpg[/IMG][/center] [B]Total Format Scoring Details For Wallace & Gromits Grand Adventures[/B] [B]Graphics[/B] [IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/90.jpg[/IMG] As wtih previous titles from TellTale Games, the quality of the graphics for Wallace and GRomit are extremely smooth and fluid, to the point of having finger marks in the plasticine effect figures, which is a very nice touch. Nick Parks being the perfectionist will definately approve of the attention to detail. [B]Sound[/B] [IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/70.jpg[/IMG] I found the sound was as I would expect, the theme was clear and distinct as Wallace and Gromit, all the right sounds play in all the right places and everything is as it should be, except... and I know this is a big exception, but the lack of Peter Sallis doing the voices is very noticable and to me it makes a big difference in an unfortunately bad way. I may be being a little picky with that and most other people may not even notice it, but the characters simply didn't sound correct for me. I don't know what will happen when Peter Sallis stops doing the voices completely. Wallace and Gromits days may be numbered. Of course, I didn't want to put the game down just because of the voices though, it was just something that niggled. [B]Gameplay[/B] [IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/80.jpg[/IMG] The game is very smooth playing and follows a distinct path through the course of the game. Anyone having played such classics as the original Sam and Max and Day of the Tenticle will appreciate the style of play and will love it, being a Wallace and Gromit fan just adds even more fun to the proceedings. The controls are as said above, slightly different from TellTale's previous titles, but it works, although it did take a short while to get used to, but thankfully the tutorial gives you that time, before you get into the real nitty gritty of things. [B]Lastability[/B] [IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/50.jpg[/IMG] This to me is the games big let down, it is the sort of game that you will play from start through to the finish, then are likely to put down and not bother with for a fair while, until such time as you've either forgotten it, or nostalgia kicks in. Thankfully there are 4 seperate parts to this adventure coming over the following months, so those that enjoy the series will be able to follow on with the adventures. [center][IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/divide.jpg[/IMG][/center] [B]Overall[/B] [IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/70.jpg[/IMG] For fans of Wallace and Gromit this is a must have, for fans of adventure and point and click games this is a must have, for gamers wanting a bit of light fun this will fill the gap, for people who enjoy games such as Call to Duty, this will probably not be the kind of game you will find yourself getting engrossed in. There is plenty of humour in the game to keep you amused when things get a little slow, but the gameplay is at times may be a little too rigid to keep those with short attention spans carrying on, nonetheless, I would certainly recommend checking the demo out before dismissing the game outright.

Samurai Shodown Anthology

Detomah — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:18:29 +0000

by: Detomah

Description: [b]Game Title:[/b] Samurai Shodown Anthology [b]Published by:[/b] SNK Playmore [b]Release Date:[/b] March 28 2009 (UK) [b]PEGI Rating: [/b] 12+ [b]ESRB RATING:[/b] T (Teen) [b]Platform For Review[/b]: Microsoft Xbox 360 [b]Genre:[/b] Action - Fighting [b]Players:[/b] 1 or 2 player [LIST][*]Six incredible games on one disc [*]Tons of unlockable bonus content material [*]Pick-up-and-play, non-stop action [*]Wireless Ad-Hoc 2-player support[/LIST]The Samurai Shodown Anthology is a compilation of games from the groundbreaking SNK weapon-based fighting Samurai Shodown series. Celebrate the history of the franchise through the years by battling as one of the greatest Samurai of all time, through six separate adventures in this incredible collection. The collection includes six games from the series including Samurai Shodown I, II, III, IV, V and the never before released in North America Samurai Shodown VI. [center][url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/131894][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5202/thumbs/psp_samurai_shodown_04.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/131895][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5202/thumbs/psp_samurai_shodown_05.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/131893][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5202/thumbs/psp_samurai_shodown_03.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/131892][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5202/thumbs/psp_samurai_shodown_02.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/131891][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5202/thumbs/psp_samurai_shodown_01.jpg[/img][/url][/center] [img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5202/samurai_sa_game1_150.jpg[/img] Released in 1993, Samurai Shodown remade the fighting genre by introducing weapons-based combat. With it victory was made possible with a single stroke and the popularity of the genre soared. [img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5202/samurai_sa_game2_150.jpg[/img] Released in 1994, Samurai Shodown II featured special moves like weapon-breaking and an increased total of 15 playable characters, as the cocky Haohmaru gladly pursues forces that seeks to destroy him. [img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5202/samurai_sa_game3_150.jpg[/img] Released in 1995, Samurai Shodown III featured a fighting system overhaul that made it possible for players to choose from two sword types, as well as three levels of ability when entering into a duel. [img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5202/samurai_sa_game4_150.jpg[/img] Released in 1996, Samurai Shodown IV introduced multiple combo elements, such as slashes, sneak attacks and suicides to the fighting system as well as time limits making for more possibilities and ratcheted action. [img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5202/samurai_sa_game5_150.jpg[/img] Released in 2003, Samurai Shodown V increased the number of playable characters to 24, including four that are entirely new and introduced new features like "Sword Gauge" and "Concentration One." [img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5202/samurai_sa_game6_150.jpg[/img] Released in 2005, Samurai Shodown VI features 2D and 3D backgrounds, a large cast of playable characters from the entire series and the "spirit select" system, which allows access to fighting styles from the entire series. [b]Total Format Review[/b] 15 years after blessing us with their presence first time round Samurai Shodown has made a grand re-entrance on the PSP as a retro compilation, containing 6 memorable fighting games from this great series. The clue though really is in the term retro, because while 15 years is quite a long while, memories of the first game paint it as a much better looking game than it appears now, like so many other retro games, the games in this series have not stood the test of time very well in the graphical department. But and it is a but of rather large proportions, the graphics were never the ingredient that made this series so enjoyable in the first place and they certainly don't spoil it now. You would be forgiven for thinking that SNK are trying to cash in on all their old games by releasing them as compilations, but I say why the hell not when such great games can be released in such a great collection pack, at such a great price. There are plenty of other collections out there by other companies that come nowhere near the standard that this series has offered. This set of games is exactly as the title of the game clearly states, this is a set of great fighting games with the theme being Samurai, for the older gamer, this will not just be a trip back to childhood, it will be a sharp reminder of how good, yet simple games from the not so distant past were and how much fun can be had, without the need for investing a month of Sundays into it. [center][IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/divide.jpg[/IMG][/center] [B]Total Format Scoring Details For Samurai Shodown Anthology[/B] [B]Graphics[/B] [IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/70.jpg[/IMG] Slightly dated by todays standards, but they hold up extremely well on the PSP version of the games. [B]Sound[/B] [IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/70.jpg[/IMG] The sound quality for this collection is of a similar standard to the original releases, acceptable but nothing memorable, solid and practical, yet nothing that will blow your socks off. [B]Gameplay[/B] [IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/80.jpg[/IMG] There are some great unique elements to these games that make the games very enjoyable and even by todays standards, these games have plenty enough to keep you going and wanting more. These games are among the better fighters that were around back in the day and they are still enjoyable, especially for old school gamers. [B]Lastability[/B] [IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/80.jpg[/IMG] As I will keep on saying, with all fighters of this kind of quality, there will always be a few spare moemnts to load them up and kick some pixelated butt, they never get boring, providing the gameplay is good and this series has great game play, smooth movements and enjoyable fights, they will get a lot of play time. [center][IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/divide.jpg[/IMG][/center] [B]Overall[/B] [IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/75.jpg[/IMG] A very enjoyable and memory enducing experience and well worth the money, each of the games offers something a little different. For older gamers who were into fighting games, this collection is serious must have and for first timers, I'd say give this retro experience a shot, you'll be really surprised at how much fun you can have with them.

Winter Sports 2009 - The Next Challenge

Detomah — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:33:07 +0000

by: Detomah

Description: [b]Game Title:[/b] Winter Sports 2009: The Next Challenge [b]Published by:[/b] RTL Sports [b]Release Date:[/b] February 2009 (UK) [b]PEGI Rating: [/b] 3+ [b]Platform For Review[/b]: Microsoft Xbox 360 [b]Genre:[/b] Sports [b]Players:[/b] 1 to 4 player [b]Amazon Product Description[/b] [LIST][*]18 disciplines out of 11 different, action-packed sports [*]New disciplines: Snowboard Half pipe & Biathlon [*]Optimized commentators and Interface [*]A challenging campaign and reworked career mode [*]20 gadgets and several special characters to unlock [*]Multiplayer party fun: hot seat (4 players), split screen (2 players).[/LIST]Winter Sports 2009 is a high-quality implementation of the successful and innovative Winter Sports series. [center][url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/131881][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5201/thumbs/Winter_Sports_2009_0005.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/131883][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5201/thumbs/Winter_Sports_2009_0007.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/131884][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5201/thumbs/Winter_Sports_2009_0008.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/131880][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5201/thumbs/Winter_Sports_2009_0004.jpg[/img][/url] [/center] [b]Total Format Product Description[/b] The first thing you should do is go to Options and kill the commentary that otherwise plagues you throughout your chilly career. If you don't, then you may find yourself wanting to throw your controller at the screen if the two dimwits don't stop describing how awful you are. Following on from the previous title in the series, Winter Sports 2008 The Ultimate Challenge, Winter Sports 2009: The Next Challenge is a decent update that includes new sports, including the Snowboarding Half-pipe and the Biathlon. Single Events is, obviously, the place where you can choose any of the winter sports that you wish without worrying about unlocking stuff...mostly. Here, you can play a single set or a tournament with up to four other players (some sports only allow three players). There are three types of bobsledding alone, and these all appear very similar, but closer inspection reveals distinctions: ride the usual four-person bobsled, or do a Skeleton, or the Luge - a backwards-facing sled. As you would expect from such a game, there's also the usual Slalom runs, Ski Jumping, Alpine Skiing, Speed Skating, Figure Skating and the likes. Back to the main menu and on to Competitions. These are the aforementioned sports spread between 5, 9 or 16 events in a row (or you can customize your own). Career mode allows you to build up what are called 'experience points' starting on the Rookie Cup (3 events) and working your way all the way up to the mammoth World Cup (16 events). All but five of the cups will be locked at first, but by winning these cups you'll unlock the rest. Finally, Campaign mode offers the most fun, with a honeycomb menu structure that houses challenges such as 'do a perfect Ski Jump' or 'collect all the coins on a Slalom run'. Dozens more tasks like this are unlocked for each one that you complete. [center][url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/131882][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5201/thumbs/Winter_Sports_2009_0006.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/131878][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5201/thumbs/Winter_Sports_2009_0002.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/131879][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5201/thumbs/Winter_Sports_2009_0003.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/131877][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5201/thumbs/Winter_Sports_2009_0001.jpg[/img][/url][/center] [center][IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/divide.jpg[/IMG][/center] [B]Total Format Scoring Details For Winter Sports 2009: The Next Challenge[/B] [B]Graphics[/B] [IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/80.jpg[/IMG] I found the graphics to be smooth and fairly detailed for the most part, although it feels a little rushed in places and a little more attention to the finer details would have made this games graphics really stand out from the crowd. [B]Sound[/B] [IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/60.jpg[/IMG] The commentators will drive you completely crazy after a while and so the score has little choice but to reflect that, which is a shame, as the sound is perfectly ok besides those damn commentators. You can disable the commentators, but despite the pair of them driving you insane, it feels less real without them, so your caught between a rock and a bit of a hard place with it. [B]Gameplay[/B] [IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/60.jpg[/IMG] Game play really is a bit hit and miss, some of the events feel like they are missing something, i can't quite put my finger on exactly what, but it feels a little like the developers spent a little less time on on certain events and in it's movement and too much time on certain other bits. [B]Lastability[/B] [IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/50.jpg[/IMG] Unfortunately, this is the area that I feel this game will fall down on. It's fine playing with friends, it will keep you amused for a fair while, just as most sports games have in the past, *rubs hands and thinks of joystick burns as a result of Daly Thompsons Decathlon*, but when it comes to playing it alone, it won't keep you engrossed for very long before the commentators start driving you mad and wanting to hit the off switch. [center][IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/divide.jpg[/IMG][/center] [B]Overall[/B] [IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/60.jpg[/IMG] This is a fair game, that could have been better. It will have an attraction value for older gamers and will offer fun and so is worth the money, but between now and Vancouver 2010 I can see better winter games coming along. The controls for the game aren't always 100% reliable, which makes what is a fairly complicated learning system exhausting at times. Personally, I really enjoyed the game, but when you've played games like this on the ZX Spectrum, you are always blown away by how far gaming has come. I'd like to see a little more time taken on games like this, they have more potential than is often see as the end user.

Arcade Classics Vol 1

Detomah — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 11:52:48 +0000

by: Detomah

Description: [b]Game Title:[/b] SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1 [b]Published by:[/b] SNK Playmore [b]Release Date:[/b] 28th March 2009 (UK) [b]PEGI Rating: [/b] 12+ [b]ESRB RATING:[/b] T (Teen) [b]PlatformFor Review[/b]: Nintendo Wii [b]Genre:[/b] Action Compilation [b]Players:[/b] 1 or 2 player [b]Amazon Product Description[/b] Celebrate the history of SNK with the ultimate collection of arcade hits. 16 NEOGEO games on one disc. Some of the greatest SNK arcade games of all time are now here in this compilation pack. Volume 1 includes 16 of the best games from the SNK catalog in one compilation. Included are Art of Fighting, Baseball Stars 2, Burning Fight, Fatal Fury, King of Fighters '94, King of the Monsters, Last Resort, Magician Lord, Metal Slug, Neo Turf Masters, Samurai Shodown, Sengoku, Shock Troopers, Super Sidekicks 3, Top Hunter and World Heroes! [center][url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/131875][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5200/thumbs/Arcade_Classics_0008.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/131876][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5200/thumbs/Arcade_Classics_0009.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/131873][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5200/thumbs/Arcade_Classics_0006.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/131870][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5200/thumbs/Arcade_Classics_0003.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/131868][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5200/thumbs/Arcade_Classics_0001.jpg[/img][/url][/center] [b]Total Format Product Description[/b] SNK Arcade Classics has all the games that were released for the PS2 version: Art of Fighting, Baseball Star 2, Burning Fight, Fatal Fury, King of the Monsters, Last Resort, Magician Lord, Metal Slug, Neo Turf Masters, Samurai Showdown, Sengoku, Shock Troopers, The Next Glory, The King of Fighters '94, Top Hunters and World Heroes and this collection still takes advantage of the Goals system where certain in-game tasks unlock extra content on the main menu. Most extra content comes in the form of move lists (for the fighters), artwork and music tracks. World Heroes is the only game that must be unlocked through earning a certain number of medals. Each game in the Wii version may be played with the Wii remote and nunchuk setup. You can choose to play games with the remote and nunchuk together or they can be played with the remote by itself. Games may also be played with a Gamecube controller or the Wii classic controller. Control options may be changed through the main menu in each game and they can be set up to where each game shares the same control setup. Playing some of the games with the remote and nunchuk setup works fairly well, but most SNK fighting fans will likely prefer to use the classic controller or Gamecube controller to play the fighting games included therein. Even without the motion controls, this version has the best control options out of the three versions that are available thanks to numerous control setups. The Wii version does not really offer much more than the other PS2 and PSP games that came out late last year, but as said above, control wise you are able to use the Wii's full selection, the Wii-mote is good for the beat-em-ups whilst the Gamecube and Classic controller are great on the fighters. With only a couple of poor games in there this is a good collection to pick up, especially at the bargain retail price. [b]Titles In Collection[/b][LIST] [*][B]ART OF FIGHTING[/B] - The first game in SNK's second fighting-game franchise, set in the same universe as Fatal Fury. [*][B]BASEBALL STARS 2[/B] - The sequel to SNK's popular baseball arcade game. [*][B]BURNING FIGHT[/B] - New York detectives battle organized crime in this fighter. [*][B]FATAL FURY[/B] - First released in 1991, Fatal Fury introduced the two-plane fighting system. [*][B]KING OF FIGHTERS '94[/B] - The first game in the popular King of Fighters series. [*][B]KING OF THE MONSTERS[/B] - In King of the Monsters, giant monsters fight for power in epic battles. [*][B]LAST RESORT[/B] - A challenging futuristic shooter. [*][B]MAGICIAN LORD[/B] - Players help the wizard Elta save his homeworld in this platformer. [*][B]METAL SLUG[/B] - Known for its humor and fast- moving gameplay, this run-and-gun side-scroller was the first in the popular series. [*][B]NEO TURF MASTERS[/B] - A golf game which debuted on the Neo Geo Pocket Color in 1999. [*][B]SAMURAI SHODOWN[/B] - Set in the 18th century, Samurai Shodown features bladed-weapon combat and an international cast of characters. [*][B]SENGOKU[/B] - In Sengoku, players face off against undead feudal Japanese armies. [*][B]SHOCK TROOPERS[/B] - In this run-and-gun adventure, players save a scientist and his granddaughter from the Bloody Scorpions. [*][B]SUPER SIDEKICKS 3[/B] - A soccer game featuring teams from all over the world. [*][B]TOP HUNTER[/B] - Bounty hunters protect colonists from space pirates in this futuristic action game. [*][B]WORLD HEROES[/B] - This classic fighter pits players against historical figures in a tournament enabled by time travel. [/LIST] [center][url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/131874][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5200/thumbs/Arcade_Classics_0007.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/131871][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5200/thumbs/Arcade_Classics_0004.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/131872][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5200/thumbs/Arcade_Classics_0005.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/131869][img]http://www.totalformat.com/gallery/data/5200/thumbs/Arcade_Classics_0002.jpg[/img][/url][/center] [center][IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/divide.jpg[/IMG][/center] [B]Total Format Scoring Details For King of Fighters: The Orochi Saga[/B] [B]Graphics[/B] [IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/65.jpg[/IMG] The style of graphics is clearly and obviously not a scratch on some of the modern games available now, but it doesn't make the games unplayable and old school gamers especially, will appreciate the accuracy in which the games have been kept to their original formats. [B]Sound[/B] [IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/70.jpg[/IMG] Classically adapted from the original games, in both good and not so good ways, the original voiceovers, music scores and every cheesy sound effect are brought along from their original counterparts with this compilation. [B]Gameplay[/B] [IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/85.jpg[/IMG] The fact that there are 16 titles to this collection and offering games of all different styles, means there is something for everyone in this package and that makes the package overall well worth playing. [B]Lastability[/B] [IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/90.jpg[/IMG] As said above, the fact that there are 16 games to the package means there is plenty of games to play and because most of them are generally casual games, picking them up and having a quick play is never going to be a problem, which means the disc will find its way into the console rather more than a lot of other games would, just like all good classic games always have and always will. [center][IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/divide.jpg[/IMG][/center] [B]Overall[/B] [IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/75.jpg[/IMG] This collection may lack a little in the graphical department and may come across as a little dated, but what it lacks in those areas it more than makes up for in value for money and general fun, you won't find a better way to get this great selection of games for the Wii.

King of Fighters - The Orochi Saga

Detomah — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 17:09:32 +0000

by: Detomah

Description: King of Fighters: The Orochi Saga is one of only a few fighting games available on the Nintendo Wii right now, but that's no bad thing, because as a series, Kong of Fighters has a good solid history, so for it to be ported to the Wii is good for old school fans of fighting games as well as newcomers to the genre. The price of the game is fair, but with this being a compilation of somewhat dated games, it is initially a little on the expensive side, although for fighting game fans, this does provide a decent amount of game playing time for the price, and if you've ever enjoyed a King of Fighters title before, there is a good chance you will get a fair deal of pleasure from this collection. As a 30 something, I have to say it has brought back some very fond memories and will get plenty of play time, as a simple beat em up type press and go style fighter. For anyone who is new to the King of Fighters series, The Orochi Saga is a compilation of the first 5 released King of Fighters games, from 1994 through to 1998. The King of Fighters series started out by taking the best characters from a variety of other titles, such as Samurai Showdown, Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting, matching powerful opponents from those games against each other, usually taking the biggest characters from each of the games for the biggest battles. However, over time King of Fighters evolved and became a great game in its own right, in fact in case becoming a better game than those it borrowed from in the early days. [CENTER][IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/kof_orochi_1.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] The first thing that springs to mind when it comes to 2-D fighting games is of course the old classic Street Fighter series and when the series first started out in 1994, you'd have been forgiven for mistaking the two. But while there are some real similarities between these series, King of Fighters stand it's own ground and is a very good series. It was one of the first fighting games to implement the tag system for example, which was made popular through such titles as Marvel vs. Capcom 2, where you pick a few fighters for each match and switch between them when you felt the need, making use of their individual life bars and requiring your opponent to defeat all three players before the round would end. This may seem a bit basic these days, but back when these games first came out, it was quite a big thing. [CENTER][IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/kof_orochi_2.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] To be honest, to those used to playing games such as Dead or Alive and Soul Calibur, this series may seem a little dated, but as a collection, this is a massive achievement throught the eyes of anyone old enough to have enjoyed the games first time round. For nostalgia reasons alone this game is well worth having and for addictiveness and playability, it is streets ahead of a lot of the more modern fighters, especially llayer versus player, which offers hours of scraming and ranting between mates. What you get with this collection is a near perfect replication of the original games, with all the original moves being included and with each version offering little improvements from it's predecessor, with new characters added, better graphics, but the same great gameplay. Obviously there are some differences between the original series and this compilation though, for a start the controls on the Wii are completely different, but much more familiar feeling than you'd imagine and of course you can mix and match the controls on the Wii anyway, so if one setup doesn't suit you, you can change it to what fits you best. By default, the nunchuk and A & B buttons on the control the movements, which felt a little awkward, but hey, you can always plug in a trusty controller, which feels much more natural. [CENTER][IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/kof_orochi_3.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] One word of warning though, don't expect sexy smooth graphics if your playing the game on a 42" HDTV, because you will be a little dissapointed, these games where never intended for such big screens, therefore blowing them up so big causes pixelation. Using a 21" computer montitor however has been plenty smooth enough for my purposes. The Wii version of King of Fighters: The Orochi Saga is undoubtedly still the same great playing experience that is available for the PS2 and for the older gamer looking to relieve those past coin-op arcade glory days this will be a great experience, but of course, most will probably be sickened a little by the less than stimulating visuals. But as has been said many many times, there is much more to a game than eye candy and this series has it in abundance, the playability seriously makes up for lack of modern graphics. [center][IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/divide.jpg[/IMG][/center] [B]Scoring Details For King of Fighters: The Orochi Saga[/B] [B]Graphics[/B] [IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/60.jpg[/IMG] The graphics are no let down for a game series that spans 15 years back, but by comparison to todays games, they do look dated and do pixelate on a larger screen. They do not stop the games from being thoroughly enjoyable though as you soon forget about the visuals and get into the action. [B]Sound[/B] [IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/70.jpg[/IMG] The sounds are great in places and pretty poor at times. Some great original voice overs will send a shiver down the spine of fans of the series and there are a few pleasing tracks playing along in the background. [B]Gameplay[/B] [IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/90.jpg[/IMG] When these games came out originally, they were the type that would always get played, over and over again, because of the simple concept and easy gamplay, nothing has changed, the series is just as playable and fun and therefore is going to be getting played lots, even if for short periods. [B]Lastability[/B] [IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/80.jpg[/IMG] The differences between each of the different games is not particularly noticable, except fans of the series who will instantly spot them, but that does't matter. You can pick up the disk, put it in and be fighting very quickly and for a bit of casual fun, that alone gives this a very good chance of being played time and time again. [center][IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/divide.jpg[/IMG][/center] [B]Overall[/B] [IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/75.jpg[/IMG] Worth having in any collection, but a must have for fighter fans and old school gamers.

Skimming Stones

Detomah — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:50:00 +0000

by: Detomah

Description: [B]About Jacanda[/B] (Their words) "Immaculately played and warmly produced" (Venue CD review) "World class" (Bristol Rocks CD Review) "Warm melodies and emotive songwriting.......classic pop songs" (Subba-Cultcha) . "Folk-tinged pop songs spiked with warmth and heart....a convincing and graceful performance" (www.ukmusicreview.co.uk) Jacanda is the new band from Bristol-based artist Chris Pritchett. Chris has been described as a "formidable singer-songwriter" (Songwriter Showcase London)" and a "tuneful, polished, intelligent songsmith" (Decode Magazine), and has written and performed with several artists as well as promoting his solo material. Formed in Bristol in January 2006, Jacanda is a vibrant extension of Chris Pritchett's classic folk-pop songwriting, calling to mind the memorable lyrics and melodic warmth of Neil Finn and Crowded House. World music rhythms and jazz-inflected piano and sax are woven into Chris' delicate guitar and folk storytelling to create a refreshingly warm take on classic mature pop music. "Back to the sky" features 10 full production songs recorded from July - September 2006 at Lakeside Studios in Bristol, with the band's instrumentation complemented by sprinkles of cello, mandolin and bass, as well as James and Chris' glorious harmonies. The subject matter ranges from lost love and wasted opportuntities (Wheels) to humanitarian protest over the situation in Darfur (Roundabout), but always keeping to the idea of the circular nature of life. Nowhere is this more appropriately demonstrated than in the standout "Outside to in", which deals with the subject of death in a redemptive and uplifting way, before washing the tears away with one of the finest sax solos you'll ever hear. [B]Band Website[/B] www.jacandamusic.com [B]Band Members[/B] Chris Pritchett Guitar voice Ed Body and Steven Beek Percussion Kev Hawthorn Piano James Phillips Sax, voice Nick Pritchett Guitar, cello, voice [B]Influences[/B] Neil Finn, Seth Lakeman, James Taylor, David Gray, Tom Mcrae, Crosy, Stills & Nash, Eagles, Gerry Rafferty, Neal Morse, Steven Wilson, Peter Gabriel [B]Sounds Like Have a listen.....[/B] folky, rocky, soppy, proggy, but always acoustic-y [B]Record Label[/B] Emubands [B]EAN NUMBER[/B] 5060109094350 [B]Tracklist[/B] [LIST=1][*]Ashes [*]Shade of an ordinary life [*]You're gone [*]Skimming stones [*]The picture [*]Believe [*]Shattered [*]Walls [*]Runaway heart [*]Clocks[/LIST] [b]Official Description[/b] Following the release of their first album, 'Back to the Sky' in 2006, Jacanda are back with a brand new album titled 'Skimming Stones'. 'Skimming Stones' expands on the folk-pop blueprint of 'Back to the Sky', offering more variety in the arrangements and adding subtle programming touches and strings to the acoustic core of songs Chris thinks are his best yet. Phil Beer (Show of Hands) pops up to lend some fiddle as well. Jacanda's lyrical endeavours range from real world tragedy in the Amish community (Shattered), arguing and estrangement (Walls) to a strange psychotic fantasy involving doing unpleasant things to noisy and disruptive people on public transport ("Ashes" � probably best just to hear it). "Skimming Stones" also sees saxophonist James and bassist Nick turning in cosmic lead vocal performances, on the pithy break-up song "Shade of an ordinary life" and the wistful "Believe" respectively. [B]Total Formats Description and Opinion[/B] Having recieved and loved Jacanda's debut album, when I was informed the new album was coming out soon, I was quite excited, it was a fair while in coming, but in my opinion well worth the wait. It's a second album, second album's are well known and documented as normally being very iffy and generally pretty poor, suffering from second album syndrome, this one however is a massive surprise, it's nothing short of brilliant. Of course, liking folk and soft rock definately helps, but this crosses over into being genuinely likeable for mainstream listeners of fine music, it's certainly not as one uneducated reviewer wrote "bargain bin" music. Which leads me on... I've read other reviews about Jacanda, some saying that the voices are too perfect and that the music is only good if you are a major fan of folk. The irony of these less than appealing reviews, is that the only people that seem to say a single bad word about Jacanda are sites and reviewers that would be better off, well, streering very much clear of music all together, to put it very politely. This is an album, which in my opinion people should definately give a chance, I will say it one last time... FOLK! It is definately more likeable if you like that kind of music. I've seen bands come and go over the years, many which could have made it, many which did make it and a mountain of bands that never got close to even the first step. Jacanda in my opinion are certainly a band the deserve to make it and in time, I think will. Of course, if you are into Girls Aloud, your probably wasting your time even reading this. At the very least, go and have a listen to their music over on their myspace webpage http://www.myspace.com/jacanda and decide for yourselves whether you like Jacandas sound or not. Don't just pass it on by, it's better than that. [center][IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/divide.jpg[/IMG][/center] [B]Rating[/B] [IMG]http://www.totalformat.com/images/reviews/ratings/70.jpg[/IMG] An album that is definately worth a listen to. Although the sound will not be to the taste of everyone.

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum

Detomah — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 13:00:46 +0000

by: Detomah

Description: Zero Mostel, Buster Keaton, Phil Silvers and an all-star cast scam their way through this boisterous romp amidst gorgeous girls, mistaken identities, stunning surprises, cunning disguises and great Sondheim songs. [b]Special Features[/b] Original theatrical trailer Interactive menus Scene selection [b]Technical Details[/b] Actors Zero Mostel, Phil Silvers, Jack Gilford, Buster Keaton, Michael Crawford, Michael Hordern, Annette Andre, Roy Kinnear, Alfie Bass, Frank Thornton, Peter Butterworth, Jon Pertwee & Ingrid Pitt Director Richard Lester Certificate PG Year 1966 Screen Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic Languages English - Dolby Digital Surround Additional Languages Dolby Digital (1.0) Mono: French ; German ; Italian ; Spanish Subtitles Danish ; Dutch ; English for the hearing impaired ; Finnish ; French ; German for the hearing impaired ; Greek ; Italian ; Norwegian ; Spanish ; Swedish Duration 1 hour and 35 minutes (approx) Region Region 2 - Will only play on European Region 2 or multi-region DVD players.

A Force Of One

Detomah — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 12:57:50 +0000

by: Detomah

Description: He hears the silence. He see's the darkness. He's the only one who can stop the killing. A Force Of One brings to the screen the first full contact Karate bout to be shown in a Hollywood movie.In this all-action thriller, Matt Logan (Chuck Norris) six times undefeated World Champion is enlisted by the California State Police Department to assist in the investigation of a multi-million dollar cocaine trafficking ring.At first reluctant to help, Logan is gently persuaded by undercover D.E.A agent Amanda Rust.In an electrifying climax, Matt Logan duels with his nemesis Bill "Superfoot" Wallace - a conflict that only one of them will walk away from alive ... [b]Technical Details[/b] Actors Chuck Norris & Ron O'Neal Director Paul Aaron Certificate 18 years and over Year 1979 Screen Fullscreen 4:3 Languages English - Dolby (2.0) Stereo Duration 1 hour 30 minutes (approx) Region Region 2 - Will only play on European Region 2 or multi-region DVD players.

A Fistful Of Hell

Detomah — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 12:55:58 +0000

by: Detomah

Description: This cop doesn't carry a gun. His fists are loaded! Robbery. Murder. Suicide. Blackmail. Prostitution. You name it, in twenty years of service on the homicide squad Flatfoot has dealt with it. All this has been done without the help of firearms, due to the unfortunate accident in his career. Flatfoot relies on his fists, which are as lethal as any weapon. But it is his fists that land him in hot water when he discovers a ring of dealers pushing drugs at young kids. His superiors don't believe him, and he is thrown off the force! He decides to taken action on his own by starting a gang war which makes Chicago in the thirties look like a Sunday school picnic! [b]Technical Details[/b] Actors Bud Spencer, Adalberto Maria Merli, Raymond Pellegrin & Juliette Mayniel Director Steno Certificate 15 years and over Year 1974 Screen Widescreen 16:9 Languages English - Dolby Digital (1.0) Mono Duration 1 hour and 32 minutes (approx) Region Region 2 - Will only play on European Region 2 or multi-region DVD players.

48 Hours

Detomah — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 11:25:59 +0000

by: Detomah

Description: Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy make one of the most unusual and entertaining teams ever in Walter Hill's roller-coaster thriller, 48 HRS. Nolte is a roughedged cop after two vicious cop-killers. He can't do it without the help of smooth and dapper Murphy, who is serving time for a half-million dollar robbery. This unlikely partnership trades laughs as often as punches as both pursue their separate goals: Nolte wants the villains; Murphy wants his money and some much-needed female companionship. Watch for Murphy's hilarious scene in a redneck country-western bar - you'll want to see it again and again. [b]Technical Details[/b] Actors Eddie Murphy, Nick Nolte, Annette O'Toole, Frank McRea, James Remar, David Patrick Kelly, Sonny Landham, Brion James & Tara King Director Walter Hill Certificate 18 years and over Year 1982 Screen Widescreen 1.85:1 Languages English - Dolby Digital (5.1) Additional Languages German ; Hungarian Subtitles English For The Hard Of Hearing ; English ; Swedish ; Danish ; Norwegian ; Dutch ; German ; Finnish ; Bulgarian Duration 1 hour and 33 minutes (approx) Region Region 2 - Will only play on European Region 2 or multi-region DVD players

44 Minutes

Detomah — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 09:00:34 +0000

by: Detomah

Description: The most intense shoot-out in LAPD history In North Hollywood on a calm summer day in 1997, fifty police officers were defenseless against two lone gunmen armed with AK 47 assault rifles and full military body armor. Only their extreme courage, valor and training put and end to the massacre inspiring a new motto for the L.A.P.D. - "The Day Willpower Beat Firepower." Based on the true story of the North Hollywood shootout. [b]Technical Details [/b] Actors Michael Madsen, Ron Livingston, Ray Baker, Douglas Spain, Andrew Bryniarski & Mario Van Peebles Director Yves Simoneau Certificate 15 years and over Year 2003 Screen Widescreen Languages English - Dolby Digital (5.1) Duration 1 hour 22 minutes (approx) Region Region 2 - Will only play on European Region 2 or multi-region DVD players.

15 Minutes

Detomah — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 08:59:04 +0000

by: Detomah

Description: Some people will kill for their 15 minutes. Now two of New York's finest must stop the media madness. Seasoned celebrity homicide detective Eddie Fleming (Robert DeNiro) teams up with young arson investigator Jordy Warsaw (Edward Burns) to hunt down headline-hungry killers who dare to videotape their crimes... [b]Special Features [/b] Two documentaries: 'The Tabloid Stars' and 'Does Crime Pay?' Deleted Scenes (With Commentary) Footage From An Actor's Perspective Rehearsal Scenes Trailers Music Video Interactive Menu Scene Access [b]Technical Details[/b] Actors Robert De Niro, Edward Burns, Kelsey Grammer, Avery Brooks, Melina Kanakaredes, James Handy, Kim Cattrall, David Alan Grier, Charlize Theron, Roseanne & Karel Roden Director John Herzfeld Certificate 18 years and over Year 2001 Screen Widescreen 2.35:1 Anamorphic Languages English - Dolby Digital (5.1) ; DTS Subtitles English Duration 1 hour and 56 minutes (approx) Region Region 2 - Will only play on European Region 2 or multi-region DVD players.

1492 - Conquest Of Paradise

Detomah — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 08:56:58 +0000

by: Detomah

Description: Gerard Depardieu plays Christopher Columbus in Ridley Scott�s film about the humble explorer who chanced upon a new world while searching for an ocean route to Asia. Columbus faced much hardship on his daunting nautical voyage, and once the fanfare of his discovery died down, he was left to die in obscurity. This was one of three films about Columbus to hit the screens in 1992, the 500th anniversary of the original voyage. [b]Technical Details[/b] Actors Angela Molina, Armand Assante, Fernando Rey, Frank Langella, Gerard Depardieu, Loren Dean, Michael Wincott, Sigourney Weaver, Tcheky Karyo, Steven Waddington & Arnold Vosloo Director Ridley Scott Certificate 15 years and over Year 1992 Screen Widescreen 2.35:1 Languages English - Dolby Digital (2.0) Stereo Subtitles English For The Hearing Impaired Duration 2 hours and 29 minutes (approx) Region Region 2 - Will only play on European Region 2 or multi-region DVD players.

A

Detomah — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 11:50:18 +0000

by: Detomah

Description: Ultra lunatic girl duo Afrirampo have neatly filled a long-standing idiot-savant gap on the Osaka underground scene. The girl's career to date has been unprecedented: Since their formation as a duo in 2002, the two sisters of Osaka's Afrirampo have enjoyed something of a meteoric rise through the avant-rock underground, recording with Acid Mothers Temple and touring with Lightning Bolt and Sonic Youth. Though their national origin will surely prompt impulsive comparisons to Melt Banana or early Boredoms, there's something entirely unique going on within Afrirampo's free-form, primal garage-stomps. Afrirampo ( the name translates loosely yet accurately to "naked rock" ) is comprised of guitarist Oni and drummer Pikachu, both of whom add wild, lustful vocals that occasionally reach pitches of near-cartoonish intensity. [b]Track List[/b] Uchira Wo KO Sasetemiro Afriampo Oni-Pika Heart DoDoDoDo Kawaii Watashi Akan Konomama Kaesanai Natsu Ga Kita Yuki-Chan

2nd Brigade

Detomah — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 11:46:41 +0000

by: Detomah

Description: Atmos is a psychedelic trance artist from Sweden whose real name is Tomasz Balicki. Tomasz is originally from Poland. He is most famous for his 1998 hit, "Klein Aber Doctor", and his 2001 hit, "The Only Process", each released on various compilations. Atmos, along with other Swedish artists like Noma, Vibrasphere and Human Blue, was responsible for introducing and popularizing the new, minimal and progressive, form of psytrance circa 2000. His music is characterized by a combination of deep pulsating beats and basslines with subtle, understated melodies and soaring atmospheric sounds, as heard especially on his debut album "Headcleaner". Atmos' 2004 "2nd Brigade" album seems to target a more mainstream audience than his previous work, and is a good example of progressive dance music. [b]Track List[/b] Raumwelt Signal Al Bummer KNS Metro Deluxe Umbau Scent Of A Tunnel Transmission In Vain Ordinary Weekend

Twenty Four Hour Roadside Resistance

Detomah — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 11:43:26 +0000

by: Detomah

Description: 24 Hour Roadside Resistance is an album by the political-ska punk band Against All Authority; first released in 2000. The album contains a two-and-a-half minute spoken word track (the second half of 'The Source of Strontium 90') from a member of the Radiation and Public Health Project about the risks of radioactive fallout from nuclear power plants for children in South Florida. [b]Track List[/b] 24 Hour Roadside Resistance Dinkas When I Close My Eyes Pestilent Existence Committing The Truth Nothing To Lose I Think You Think Too Much The Next Song Ugly Desires Killing The Truth Policeman I'm Weak Inside Stuck In A Rut The Excuse The Source Of Strontium 90

I Am Legend

Detomah — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 09:25:33 +0000

by: Detomah

Description: The last man on earth is not alone. Will Smith portrays that lone survivor in I Am Legend, the action epic fusing heart pounding excitement with a mind blowing vision of a desolated Manhattan. Some how immune to an unstoppable, incurable virus, military virologist Robert Neville (Smith) is now the last human survivor in New York City and maybe the world. But he is not alone. Mutant plague victims lurk in the shadows... watching Neville's every move... waiting for him to make a fatal mistake. Perhaps mankind's last hope, Neville is driven by only one remaining mission: to find an antidote using his own immune blood. But he knows he is outnumbered... and quickly running out of time. [b]Technical Details[/b] [b]Actors[/b] Will Smith, Alice Braga, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Charlie Tahan & Willow Smith [b]Director[/b] Francis Lawrence [b]Certificate[/b] 15 years and over [b]Year[/b] 2007 [b]Screen[/b] Widescreen [b]Languages[/b] English - Dolby Digital (5.1) [b]Duration[/b] 1 Hour and 36 Minutes (approx) [b]Region[/b] Region 2 - Will only play on European Region 2 or multi-region DVD players.

Misspent Youth

Ratio — Sun, 25 May 2008 12:28:51 +0000

by: Ratio

Description: From the author of the magnificent 'Night's Dawn' trilogy, a provocative look at the days not too long after tomorrow It is forty years into the future and, following decades of research and trillions of Euros spent on genetics, Europe is finally in a position to rejuvenate a human being. As the first subject for treatment, is chosen Jeff Baker - the father of the datasphere (which replaced the internet) and philanthropist extraordinaire. After eighteen months in a German medical facility, the seventy-eight-year-old patient returns home looking like a healthy twenty-year-old. MISSPENT YOUTH follows the effect his reappearance has on his family and friends -- his young ex-model wife Sue, his teenage son Tim, and also on his long-term pals who are now themselves all pensioners, and starting to resent what Jeff has become. Bestselling author Peter F. Hamilton has brought his unique story-telling skills to bear on an aspect of future living that is bound to increasingly fascinate. # Hardcover: 368 pages # Publisher: Tor (8 Nov 2002) # Language English # ISBN-10: 0333900707 # ISBN-13: 978-0333900703

Peter F. Hamilton - The Confederation Handbook

Ratio — Sun, 25 May 2008 12:23:53 +0000

by: Ratio

Description: Peter F Hamilton's bestselling "Night's Dawn Trilogy" has been one of the most triumphant works of science fiction to appear in decades. Swiftly gathering a worldwide readership, this masterwork of cosmic imagination and sheer storytelling amounts to over 3,7000 pages (or 1,200,000 words) in total, and has brought to life an entire galaxy of diverse planets and astonishing civilisations. At the core of this magnificent creation is the Confederation itself: an assembly of human and xenoc colony worlds and asteroid settlements whose cultures and conflicts and turmoils are described over a time line of nearly 600 years. To mark the completion of this awesome trilogy, Peter F Hamilton has produced The Confederation Handbook as an essential companion guide to the diverse elements of the massive universe he has created. Here we have his personal exposition of Adamist culture, Edenist culture, the starships, the status of the Confederation in 2610, a description of sentient xenoc species, as well as a full list of characters and their roles, and , of course, details of the Timeline itself # Hardcover: 240 pages # Publisher: Tor (28 Sep 2000) # Language English # ISBN-10: 0333785886 # ISBN-13: 978-0333785881

Peter F. Hamilton - A Second Chance at Eden

Ratio — Sun, 25 May 2008 12:19:46 +0000

by: Ratio

Description: This novella and six stories are set in the same universe and time-line as the "Night's Dawn" trilogy. # Paperback: 512 pages # Publisher: Tor (8 Oct 1999) # Language English # ISBN-10: 0330351826 # ISBN-13: 978-0330351829

Peter F. Hamilton - Fallen Dragon

Ratio — Sun, 25 May 2008 12:17:37 +0000

by: Ratio

Description: From the author of the bestselling 'Night's Dawn Trilogy', a new space adventure on galactic scale. Born in a colony world in 2310, Lawrence Newton hankered after the golden era of starships exploring the galaxy. But the age of human starflight was drawing to a close, so this hot-heated teenager ran away from home in search of adventure...Twenty years later, he's the sergeant of a washed-out platoon taking part in the bungled invasion of another world. The giant corporations call such campaigns 'asset realization', but in practice it's simple piracy. While he's on the ground, being shot at and firebombed by local resistance forces, Lawrence hears stories about the Temple of the Fallen Dragon -- and a sect devoted to the worship of a mythical creature that fell to the ground millennia ago. More importantly, its priests are said to guard a hoard of treasure large enough to buy lifelong happiness -- which information prompts him to mount a private-enterprise operation of his own. # Paperback: 650 pages # Publisher: Tor; New Ed edition (5 Jul 2002) # Language English # ISBN-10: 0330480065 # ISBN-13: 978-0330480062

Peter F. Hamilton - The Nano Flower

Ratio — Sun, 25 May 2008 12:15:38 +0000

by: Ratio

Description: Hamilton's third Greg Mandel novel. A strangely beautiful flower is delivered anonymously to Julia Evans, head of the Event Horizon conglomerate. When Greg Mandel sees it he is devastated at the wave of psychic power that pours out from it. The flower may be a message from an alien intelligence. # Paperback: 576 pages # Publisher: Tor; Unabridged edition (10 Mar 1995) # Language English # ISBN-10: 0330330446 # ISBN-13: 978-0330330442

Peter F. Hamilton - A Quantum Murder

Ratio — Sun, 25 May 2008 12:14:10 +0000

by: Ratio

Description: Dr Edward Kitchener, is a brilliant researcher into quantum cosmology for the Event Horizon conglomerate, but no good to anybody now, lying dead with his lungs spread out on either side of his open chest. The security system at Launde Abbey was premier-grade, yet a mercenary could still have got through, and plenty of people anxious to stop Kitchener's work would pay the killer's fee. But why would a professional waste time in ritually slaughtering the target? Event Horizon needs to know fast, so Greg Mandel, psi-boosted ex-private eye, is enticed out of retirement to launch himself on a convoluted trail involving confrontation with a past which - according to Kitchener's theories - might never have happened. # Paperback: 384 pages # Publisher: Tor; Unabridged edition (April 1994) # Language English # ISBN-10: 0330330454 # ISBN-13: 978-0330330459

Peter F. Hamilton - Mindstar Rising

Ratio — Sun, 25 May 2008 12:11:13 +0000

by: Ratio

Description: It's the 21st century and global warming is here to stay, so forget the way your country used to look. And get used to the free market, too - the companies possess all the best hardware, and they're calling the shots now. In a world like this, a man open to any offers can make out just fine. A man like Greg Mandel for instance, who's psi-boosted, wired into the latest sensory equipment, carrying state-of-the-art weaponry - and late of the English Army's Mindstar Battalion. As the cartels battle for control of a revolutionary new power source, and corporate greed outstrips national security, tension is mounting to boiling point - and Greg Mandel is about to face the ultimate test. # Paperback: 438 pages # Publisher: Tor; Unabridged edition (27 Aug 1999) # Language English # ISBN-10: 0330323768 # ISBN-13: 978-0330323765

Peter F. Hamilton - Pandora's Star

Ratio — Sun, 25 May 2008 11:51:16 +0000

by: Ratio

Description: In AD 2329, humanity has colonised over four hundred planets, all of them interlinked by wormholes. With Earth at its centre, the Intersolar Commonwealth now occupies a sphere of space approximately four hundred light years across. When an astronomer on the outermost world of Gralmond, observes a star 2000 light years distant - and then a neighbouring one - vanish, it is time for the Commonwealth to discover what happened to them. For what if their disappearance indicates some kind of galactic conflict? Since a conventional wormhole cannot be used to reach these vanished stars, for the first time humans need to build a faster-than-light starship, the Second Chance. But it arrives to find each 'vanished' star encased in a giant force field -- and within one of them resides a massive alien civilisation. # Paperback: 1152 pages # Publisher: Tor; New Ed edition (4 Mar 2005) # Language English # ISBN-10: 0330493310 # ISBN-13: 978-0330493314

Peter F. Hamilton - Judas Unchained

Ratio — Sun, 25 May 2008 11:35:35 +0000

by: Ratio

Description: Humanity's interstellar Commonwealth is in serious trouble. Thirteen of its hundreds of worlds (linked by wormholes and high-speed trains) were lost to a first mass attack by the insanely hostile alien Primes. The controlling Prime intelligence, MorningLightMountain, can imagine no way of dealing with first contact but genocide--and has the resources to do it. Amid political and personal chaos, it's becoming clear that the war was arranged by a third party. For centuries, only the fanatical, outlawed Guardians cult believed in this mysterious influence called the Starflyer. New evidence emerges, only to vanish again. Key figures are destroyed by near-invincible assassins crammed with inbuilt "wetwired" weaponry. One determined detective is on the track, but she faces massive political opposition. The multi-stranded action follows many criss-crossing human stories, with fights, pursuits, quests, deaths, resurrections, exotic landscapes and armaments, good sex, and several interesting aliens. Betrayals are frequent, thanks to brainwashed Starflyer agents in positions of trust. Only the Guardians have a scheme to deal with the Starflyer itself--a grandiose strategy known as "the planet's revenge"--but no one trusts those crazy cultists� In space, the arms race becomes dizzying, with Prime doomsday weapons used against suns while frantic human research leads to "quantumbusters" so appalling that there's serious moral debate about their use. Can we face the guilt of total genocide, even against a horror like MorningLightMountain? Or is there some way to force this psychopathic genie back into the bottle? # Paperback: 1100 pages # Publisher: Tor; New Ed edition (5 May 2006) # Language English # ISBN-10: 0330493531 # ISBN-13: 978-0330493536

Peter F. Hamilton - The Naked God (Night's Dawn Trilogy)

Ratio — Sun, 25 May 2008 11:32:45 +0000

by: Ratio

Description: The third volume in the 'Night's Dawn' trilogy Hell just went quantum...The Confederation is starting to collapse politically and economically, allowing the 'possessed' to infiltrate more worlds. Quinn Dexter is loose on Earth, destroying the giant arcologies one at a time. As Louise Kavanagh tries to track him down, she manages to acquire some strange and powerful allies whose goal does not match her own. The campaign to liberate Mortonbridge from the possessed degenerates into a horrendous land battle, the kind that hasn't been seen by humankind for six hundred years. Then some of the protagonists escape in a very unexpected direction...Joshua Clavert and Syrinx now fly their starships on a mission to find the Sleeping God - which an alien race believes holds the key to finally overthrowing the possessed. # Paperback: 1184 pages # Publisher: Tor; New Ed edition (7 Oct 2005) # Language English # ISBN-10: 0330351451 # ISBN-13: 978-0330351454

Peter F. Hamilton - The Reality Dysfunction (Night's Dawn Trilogy)

Ratio — Sun, 25 May 2008 11:27:08 +0000

by: Ratio

Description: In AD 2600, the human race is finally beginning to realize its full potential. Hundreds of colonized planets scattered across the galaxy host a multitude of prosperous and wildly diverse cultures. Genetic engineering has pushed evolution far beyond nature's boundaries, defeating disease and producing extraordinary spaceborn creatures. Huge fleets of sentient trader starships thrive on the wealth created by the industrialization of entire star systems. And throughout inhabited space the Confederation Navy keeps the peace. A true golden age is within our grasp. But now something has gone catastrophically wrong. On a primitive colony planet a renegade criminal's chance encounter with an utterly alien entity unleashes the most primal of all our fears. An extinct race, which inhabited the galaxy aeons ago called it "The Reality Dysfunction". It is the nightmare, which has prowled beside us since the beginning of history. "Absolute vintage science-fiction. Hamilton puts British sci-fi back into interstellar overdrive" - "The Times". # Paperback: 588 pages # Publisher: Pan Books; Unabridged edition (1996) # Language English # ISBN-10: 0330340328 # ISBN-13: 978-0330340328

Peter F. Hamilton - The Neutronium Alchemist (Night's Dawn Trilogy)

Ratio — Sun, 25 May 2008 11:25:24 +0000

by: Ratio

Description: The second volume in the "Night's Dawn" trilogy. An ancient menace has escaped from Lalonde, shattering the Confederation's existence. In such times the last thing the galaxy needs is a new, powerful weapon. Yet Dr Mzu is determined to retrieve the Alchemist, so that she can complete a vendetta. # Paperback: 1225 pages # Publisher: Tor; New Ed edition (9 Oct 1998) # Language English # ISBN-10: 0330351435 # ISBN-13: 978-0330351430

Peter F. Hamilton - The Dreaming Void

Ratio — Sun, 25 May 2008 11:23:24 +0000

by: Ratio

Description: AD 3580. The Intersolar Commonwealth has spread through the galaxy to over a thousand star systems. It is a culture of rich diversity with a place for everyone. A powerful navy protects it from any hostile species that may lurk among the stars. For Commonwealth citizens, even death has been overcome. At its centre is a massive black hole. This Void is not a natural artefact. Inside there is a strange universe where the laws of physics are very different to those we know. It is slowly consuming the other stars of the galactic core - one day it will have devoured the entire galaxy. Inigo, a human, has started to dream of a wonderful existence of the Void. He has a following of millions of believers. They now clamour to make a pilgrimage into the Void to live the life they have been shown. Other starfaring species fear their migration will cause the Void to expand again. They are prepared to stop them no matter what the cost. And so the pilgrimage begins... # Paperback: 795 pages # Publisher: Pan Books (2 May 2008) # Language English # ISBN-10: 033044302X # ISBN-13: 978-0330443029

Alastair Reynolds - Zima Blue and Other Stories

Ratio — Sun, 25 May 2008 11:08:00 +0000

by: Ratio

Description: The stories in "Zima Blue" represent a more optimistic take on humanity's future, a view that says there may be wars, there may be catastrophes and cosmic errors, but something human will still survive # Paperback: 300 pages # Publisher: Night Shade Books (15 May 2007) # Language English # ISBN-10: 1597800791 # ISBN-13: 978-1597800792

Alastair Reynolds - Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days: Tales from the Revelation

Ratio — Sun, 25 May 2008 11:05:24 +0000

by: Ratio

Description: Just when you thought it was safe to go back into interstellar space . . . Alastair Reynolds burst onto the SF scene with the Arthur C. Clarke Award-shortlisted REVELATION SPACE, British Science Fiction Award-winning CHASM CITY, and REDEMPTION ARK. Now experience the phenomenal imagination and breathtaking vision of 'The most exciting space opera writer working today' (Locus) in these two tales of high adventure set in the same universe as his novels. The title story, 'Diamond Dogs', tells of a group of mercenaries trying to unravel the mystery of a particularly inhospitable alien tower on a distant world; 'Turquoise Days' is about Naqi, who has devoted her life to studying the alien Pattern Jugglers. # Paperback: 240 pages # Publisher: Gollancz; New Ed edition (9 Oct 2003) # Language English # ISBN-10: 0575075163 # ISBN-13: 978-0575075160

Alastair Reynolds - House of Suns

Ratio — Sun, 25 May 2008 11:02:25 +0000

by: Ratio

Description: Six million years ago, at the very dawn of the starfaring era, Abigail Gentian fractured herself into a thousand male and female clones: the shatterlings. Sent out into the galaxy, these shatterlings have stood aloof as they document the rise and fall of countless human empires. They meet every two hundred thousand years, to exchange news and memories of their travels with their siblings. Campion and Purslane are not only late for their thirty-second reunion, but they have brought along an amnesiac golden robot for a guest. But the wayward shatterlings get more than the scolding they expect: they face the discovery that someone has a very serious grudge against the Gentian line, and there is a very real possibility of traitors in their midst. The surviving shatterlings have to dodge exotic weapons while they regroup to try to solve the mystery of who is persecuting them, and why - before their ancient line is wiped out of existence, for ever. # Hardcover: 480 pages # Publisher: Gollancz (17 April 2008) # Language English # ISBN-10: 0575077174 # ISBN-13: 978-0575077171

Alastair Reynolds - Galactic North

Ratio — Sun, 25 May 2008 10:45:04 +0000

by: Ratio

Description: Set in the Revelation Space universe-the first short story collection by "one of SF's best and most ambitious novelists." (SFX) With eight short stories and novellas- including three original to this collection- Galactic North imparts the centuries-spanning events that have produced the dark and turbulent world of Revelation Space. Centuries from now, the basic right to expand human intelligence-beyond its natural limits-has become a war-worthy cause for the Demarchists and Conjoiners. Only vast lighthugger starships bind these squabbling colonies together, manned by the panicky and paranoid Ultras. And the hyperpigs just try to keep their heads down. The rich get richer. And everyone tries not to think about the worrying number of extinct alien civilizations turning up on the outer reaches of settled space...because who's to say that humanity won't be next? # Paperback: 400 pages # Publisher: Gollancz (8 Nov 2007) # Language English # ISBN-10: 0575079843 # ISBN-13: 978-0575079847

Alastair Reynolds - Century Rain

Ratio — Sun, 25 May 2008 10:42:05 +0000

by: Ratio

Description: Three hundred years in the future, Verity Auger is a specialist in the archaeological exploration of Earth, rendered uninhabitable after the technological catastrophe known as the Nanocaust. After a field-trip to goes badly wrong, Verity is forced to redeem herself by participating in a dangerous mission, for which her expertise in invaluable. Using a backdoor into an unstable alien transit system, Auger's faction has discovered something astonishing at the far end of a wormhole: mid twentieth-century Earth, preserved like a fly in amber. Is it a window into the past, a simulation, or something else entirely? CENTURY RAIN is not just a time-travel story, nor a tale of alternate history. Part hard SF thriller, part interstellar adventure, part noir romance, CENTURY RAIN is something altogether stranger. # Paperback: 544 pages # Publisher: Gollancz; New Ed edition (3 Oct 2005) # Language English # ISBN-10: 0575076917 # ISBN-13: 978-0575076914 # Product Dimensions: 17.5 x 12.7 x 4.1 cm

Alastair Reynolds - Pushing Ice

Ratio — Sun, 25 May 2008 10:39:25 +0000

by: Ratio

Description: Some centuries from now, the exploration and exploitation of the Solar System is in full swing. On the cold edge of the system, Bella Lind, captain of the huge commercial spacecraft Rockhopper IV, helps fuel this new gold rush by attaching mass-driver motors to organic-rich water-ice comets to move them back to the inner worlds. Her crew are tough, blue-collar miners, engineers and demolition experts. Around Saturn, something inexplicable happens: one of the moons leaves its orbit and accelerates out of the Solar System. The icy mantle peels away to reveal that it was never a moon in the first place, just a parked spacecraft, millions of years old, that has now decided to move on. Rockhopper IV, trapped in the pull, is hurled across time and space into the deep, distant future, arriving in a vast, alien-constructed chamber. And the crew are not alone, for each chamber contains an alien culture dragged into this cosmic menagerie at the end of time. The crew of the Rockhopper IV know a lot about blowing up comets, but not much about first contact with ultra-advanced aliens. They have two things to worry about: can they (and their new alien allies) negotiate their way through each harrying contact? And can they assimilate the avalanche of knowledge about their own future - including all the glittering, dangerous technologies that are now theirs for the taking - without destroying themselves in the process? # Paperback: 528 pages # Publisher: Gollancz; New Ed edition (12 Oct 2006) # Language English # ISBN-10: 0575078154 # ISBN-13: 978-0575078154

Alastair Reynolds - The Prefect

Ratio — Sun, 25 May 2008 10:36:30 +0000

by: Ratio

Description: Tom Dreyfus is a Prefect, a policeman of sorts, and one of the best. His force is Panoply, and his beat is the multi-faceted utopian society of the Glitter Band, that vast swirl of space habitats orbiting the planet Yellowstone. These days, his job is his life. A murderous attack against a Glitter Band habitat is nasty, but it looks to be an open-and-shut case - until Dreyfus starts looking under some stones that some very powerful people would really rather stayed unturned. What he uncovers is far more serious than mere gruesome murder: a covert takeover bid by a shadowy figure, Aurora (who may once have been human but certainly isn't now), who believes the people of the Glitter Band should no longer be in charge of their own destiny. Dreyfus discovers that to save something precious, you may have to destroy part of it # Paperback: 512 pages # Publisher: Gollancz (10 April 2008) # Language English # ISBN-10: 0575082186 # ISBN-13: 978-0575082182

Alastair Reynolds - Chasm City

Ratio — Sun, 25 May 2008 10:32:44 +0000

by: Ratio

Description: In Chasm City, Alastair Reynolds revisits the noir universe of his debut SF blockbuster Revelation Space with a suspenseful, convoluted pursuit story. Its dizzying reversals and games of disguise are reminiscent of Iain M Banks at his trickiest. The main narrative stars trained killer Tanner Mirabel, a man hell-bent on revenge, who stalks his enemy Reivich from the world Sky's Edge across a 15-year interstellar gap to the gaudy, poisoned melting pot of Chasm City. Flashbacks reveal the violent events and worse repercussions that so badly twisted Mirabel and others. Virus-induced dreams provide a third story line from inside the head of legendary traitor-messiah Sky Haussmann, who long ago shaped the original colonisation of Sky's Edge and whose real story never got into the history books. Chasm City's complications include spectacular space-elevator sabotage, faulty antimatter drives, hidden aliens, mystery drugs, exotic bio-modification, tailored disease, high-tech weaponry, a new and deadlier form of bungee-jumping, and that traditional SF symptom of decadence: organised hunts with human prey. Violent death is never far off, but our protagonist has deeper worries in that his own motives and memories, even his identity, don't seem to add up quite as they should ... # Paperback: 616 pages # Publisher: Gollancz; New Ed edition (10 Jan 2002) # Language English # ISBN-10: 0575073659 # ISBN-13: 978-0575073654

Alastair Reynolds - Absolution Gap

Ratio — Sun, 25 May 2008 10:29:38 +0000

by: Ratio

Description: With Absolution Gap, Alastair Reynolds completes the star-spanning Inhibitors trilogy in which the previous books were Revelation Space and Redemption Ark. The Inhibitors are a mechanical plague, mindlessly but very resourcefully wiping out space-going civilisations that come to their notice. Their latest target is humanity, which lost a round in Redemption Ark. One small human faction now has stealth weapons and technologies that can almost fight Inhibitor assault to a standstill, but running away still seems the only long-term option. From the same cryptic source as that supertechnology, filtered through a young girl's mind, comes the urgent message to make an interstellar trek to Hela, barren moon of the gas-giant Haldora. Hela is home to an obsessive religion fuelled partly by mind viruses and partly by the miracle of Haldora. This unpredictable, unbelievable event happens in an eyeblink, but more and more often. For the devout this increasing frequency is a signal of the End Times, which is why a group of vast mobile cathedrals lumbers forever around Hela--to keep Haldora at the zenith for best observation of its marvels. And on this last circuit, with a madman in command, the greatest cathedral of all plans an impossible short cut over the mysterious, delicate bridge spanning an immense rift in Hela's surface: Absolution Gap. # Paperback: 672 pages # Publisher: Gollancz (13 May 2004) # Language English # ISBN-10: 0575075570 # ISBN-13: 978-0575075573

Alastair Reynolds - Redemption Ark

Ratio — Sun, 25 May 2008 10:26:03 +0000

by: Ratio

Description: Redemption Ark is Alastair Reynolds's third hefty SF novel, a direct sequel to his debut book Revelation Space, and also linked with Chasm City, which won the British SF Association Award. Gripping high-tech action features various groups struggling for control of a cache of "hell-class weapons", while the alien Inhibitors--who stamp out space-going intelligence wherever they find it--are busy dismantling planets to build a doomsday engine of awesome size. Building on the previous books, the interstellar situation is exhilaratingly complex. Major players from Revelation Space are still at large in the solar system containing the new Inhibitor construction site, the vast old starship Nostalgia for Infinity (hideously transformed and merged with its captain by "Melding Plague"), the hell-weapons, and the colonized planet Resurgam--which may need to be evacuated at speed. Many light years away, the mechanically enhanced human Conjoiners are fighting a space war around Yellowstone, the world of Chasm City. Although victory approaches, the Conjoiners are frantically building advanced starships and planning to run for their lives, thanks to an incredibly dangerous project that sucked information from the future--including news of the Inhibitors. The Conjoiners have their own internal factions, at least one of which isn't what it seems, and a fresh split leads to a tense relativistic race for the Resurgam system and those coveted hell-weapons. Booby-traps and deadly strategems enliven the desperate journey. Other, non-Conjoiner humans--not to mention machine intelligences and genetically engineered man-pig chimeras--are caught up in the intrigue and violence. Many members of this large cast have inner secrets, other identities, painful relationships, long-concealed guilt. As at last they converge on the Resurgam system, there are jolting surprises. Meanwhile, the immense past and future of Reynolds' universe becomes clearer, a cosmic tapestry with the deep-time scope of Stephen Baxter's Xeelee series, ranging from the Dawn War in the early aeons of galactic life to a cataclysmic event still three billion years in the future. A disaster which the loathed robotic Inhibitors are working patiently to minimise.... # Paperback: 528 pages # Publisher: Gollancz; New Ed edition (8 May 2003) # Language English # ISBN-10: 0575073845 # ISBN-13: 978-0575073845 # Product Dimensions: 17.7 x 13.2 x 6 cm

Alastair Reynolds - Revelation Space

Ratio — Sat, 24 May 2008 16:27:28 +0000

by: Ratio

Description: Alastair Reynolds's first novel is "hard" SF on an epic scale, crammed with technological marvels and immensities. Its events take place over a relatively short period, but have roots a billion years old--when the Dawn War ravaged our galaxy. Sylveste is the only man ever to return alive and sane from a Shroud, an enclave in space protected by awesome gravity-warping defences: "a folding a billion times less severe should have required more energy than was stored in the entire rest-mass of the galaxy." Now an intuition he doesn't understand makes him explore the dead world Resurgam, whose birdlike natives long ago tripped some booby-trap that made their own sun erupt in a deadly flare. Meanwhile, the vast, decaying lightship Nostalgia for Infinity is coming for Sylveste, whose dead father (in AI simulation) could perhaps help the Captain, frozen near absolute zero yet still suffering monstrous transformation by nanotech plague. Most of Infinity's tiny crew have hidden agendas--Khouri the reluctant contract-assassin believes she must kill Sylveste to save humanity--and there are two bodiless stowaways, one no longer human and one never human. Shocking truths emerge from bluff, betrayal and ingenious lies. The trail leads to a neutron star where an orbiting alien construct has defences to challenge the Infinity's planet-wrecking superweapons. Product details * Paperback: 560 pages * Publisher: Gollancz; New Ed edition (3 May 2001) * Language English * ISBN-10: 1857987489 * ISBN-13: 978-1857987485

An Eye For An Eye

Detomah — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 17:02:29 +0000

by: Detomah

Description: [b]Special Features[/b] Scene selection Trailer Interactive menus [b]Review[/b] Chuck Norris doesn't need a weapon... he is a weapon! A classic Chuck Norris revenge tale, 'An Eye For An Eye' also stars Christopher Lee, and Richard Rowntree and begs the question 'What makes an ex-cop take the law into his own hands?' Chuck Norris plays Sean Kane in this fast and furious Martial Arts movie. A witness to the brutal slaying of his partner, Kane is forced to leave the police force. He embarks on a one-man vendetta to avenge the murder. The trail leads Kane into unexpectedly high places and enormous danger, but Kane doesn't need a weapon - he is a weapon! [b]Technical Details[/b] Actors Chuck Norris ; Christopher Lee ; Richard Roundtree ; Matt Clark ; Mako ; J.E. Freeman ; Professor Toru Tanaka ; Rosalind Chao Director Steve Carver Certificate 18 years and over Year 1981 Screen 16:9 Languages English ; German ; Spanish ; Italian - Dolby Digital (2.0) Subtitles German; Italian ; Spanish ; Portuguese ; Danish ; Finnish ; Swedish Duration 1 hour and 40 minutes (approx) Region Region 2 - Will only play on European Region 2 or multi-region DVD players.

An Angel At My Table

Detomah — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 17:01:13 +0000

by: Detomah

Description: [b]Special Features[/b] 3 Interviews with Jane Campion Theatrical Trailer Filmographies Janet Frame Biography Stills Gallery [b]Review[/b] This sprawling, detailed film by Jane Campion tells the true story of Janet Frame, a painfully sensitive girl who managed to escape a dreary rural upbringing and eight years in a mental hospital to become New Zealand's premier poet. The film unfolds as a trilogy, with each section based on a different Frame autobiography. 'To the Is-Land' chronicles her childhood and awkward teenage years. 'An Angel at My Table' focuses on her time as a teacher and her horrifying mental institution experience. 'The Envoy from Mirror City' finds Frame an emerging, critically lauded writer traveling on a grant in Europe and finding love for the first time. This acclaimed film debuted on New Zealand TV as a miniseries and was later edited for feature-length release internationally. [b]Technical Details[/b] Actors Kerry Fox ; Alexia Keogh ; Karen Fergusson ; Iris Churn Director Jane Campion Certificate 15 years and over Year 1990 Screen Fullscreen 4:3 Languages English - Dolby Digital (1.0) Mono Duration 2 hours and 31 minutes (approx) Region Region 2 - Will only play on European Region 2 or multi-region DVD players.

Amores Perros

Detomah — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 16:59:49 +0000

by: Detomah

Description: [b]Special Features[/b] Additional Scenes with Commentary by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Director) and Guillermo Arriaga (Writer) Behind the Scenes Three Music Videos Theatrical Trailer Campaign Development Scene Selection Interactive Menus [b]Review[/b] 'Amores Perros' is a bold, intensely emotional, and ambitious story of lives that collide in a Mexico City car crash. Inventively structured as a triptych of overlapping and intersecting narratives, this blisteringly intense film explores the lives of disparate characters who are catapulted into unforeseen dramatic situations instigated by the seemingly inconsequential destiny of a dog named Cofi. In 'Octavio and Susana,' Cofi's teenage owner enters his dog into the brutal world of dog fighting to raise money for his elopement with his brother's young and appealing wife. Cofi's near-fatal injury prompts a reckless car chase that ends abruptly and violently. In 'Daniel and Valeria,' a middle-aged businessman discovers that dreams can become nightmares after he abandons his family to set up housekeeping with a beautiful young model who is tragically transformed by the crash. Finally, in 'El Chivo and Maru,' a revolutionary-turned-assassin witnesses the accident and finds that it leads him to an unexpected and life-altering moral epiphany. [b]Technical Details[/b] Actors Emilio Echevarria ; Gael Garcia Bernal ; Goya Toledo ; Alvaro Guerrero ; Vanessa Bauche ; Jorge Salinas Director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu Certificate 18 years and over Year 2000 Screen Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic Languages Spanish - Dolby Digital (2.0) Stereo Subtitles English Duration 2 hours and 27 minutes (approx) Region Region 2 - Will only play on European Region 2 or multi-region DVD players.

American Yakuza

Detomah — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 16:58:15 +0000

by: Detomah

Description: [b]Review[/b] In America, they call it the Mafia. In Japan, they call it Yakuza. When they meet, they call it war! Viggo Mortensen and Michael Nouri star in this explosive action-thriller about the first American accepted into the savage brotherhood of Japan's criminal underworld. Sent to infiltrate the American arm of the Yakuza, FBI agent Nick Davis (Mortensen) rises through the ranks of assassins and is soon adopted into the powerful Tendo crime family. His work brings him into brutal conflict with not only the Italian mob, run by Dino Campanela (Nouri) and hotheaded enforcer Vic (Nicky Katt, Boiler Room), but also a hard-nosed FBI task force guided by unscrupulous Agent Littman (Robert Forster, Jackie Brown). Caught dead centre in a war between the Yakuza, the mob, and the FBI, Davis must decide what's more important: his old loyalties' or his new bond of blood. [b]Technical Details[/b] Actors Viggo Mortensen ; Franklyn Ajaye ; Robert Forster ; Ryo Ishibashi ; Michael Nouri ; Yuji Okumoto ; Nicky Katt Director Frank Coppello Certificate 18 years and over Year 1995 Screen Widescreen Languages English Duration 1 hour and 35 minutes (approx) Region Region 2 - Will only play on European Region 2 or multi-region DVD players.

American Splendor

Detomah — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 16:57:21 +0000

by: Detomah

Description: [b]Special Features[/b] Exclusive intros to DVD extras from Harvey Pekar Audio commentaries with directors and cast "Harvey Meets BBC Collective" interview with Harvey Pekar Sundance Channel's "Road To Splendor" featurette Deleted scenes Trailers Interactive menu Scene access [b]Review[/b] Harvey is a file clerk at the local hospital and a music enthusiast in his spare time. He has thousands of books and LPs and scours the markets for additions to his collection. At one of these sales he meets a fellow enthusiast who years later is to find success in underground comics. Years later Harvey is inspired to do the same... [b]Technical Details[/b] Actors Paul Giamatti ; Hope Davis ; Chris Ambrose ; James Urbaniak ; Harvey Pekar ; Donal Logue ; Molly Shannon Director Shari Springer Berman ; Robert Pulcini Certificate 15 years and over Year 2003 Languages English Duration 1 hour and 37 minutes (approx) Region Region 2 - Will only play on European Region 2 or multi-region DVD players.

American Soldiers

Detomah — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 16:56:22 +0000

by: Detomah

Description: [b]Special Features[/b] Trailer [b]Review[/b] What started as a routine day became a fight for survival. Iraq 2004: During a routine sortie a US patrol is ambushed and the young soldiers are forced to put their training and skills into action fast. A determined foe with superior local knowledge, the Fedayeen insurgents soon draw them into close quarter combat and a desperate fight for survival.... [b]Technical Details[/b] Actors Curtis Morgan ; Eddie Della Siepe ; Michael Belisaro ; Philippe Buckland ; Michael Challenor ; Ben Gilbank ; Brett Ryan ; Paul Sturino ; Kevin Walker Director Sidney J. Furie Certificate 15 years and over Year 2005 Languages English - Dolby Digital (5.1) Duration 1 hour and 39 minutes (approx) Region Region 2 - Will only play on European Region 2 or multi-region DVD players.

American Me

Detomah — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 16:55:22 +0000

by: Detomah

Description: [b]Special Features[/b] Regions 2/4 [b]Review[/b] A life of violence is traced from the Zoot Suit riots of the 1940s to the bloody streets of the 1990s. Three homeboys, Santana, Mundo and JD, born in a crucible of poverty, create the capitalist dream in their own way as powerful gang members. Jailed in their youth, they control the streets from the cellblock. After his release, Santana wavers between his old lifestyle and a fresh beginning with a new love. The question is, are those old habits too deeply rooted for him to escape from? And does he really want to give it all up... [b]Technical Details[/b] Actors Danny De La Paz ; Sal Lopez ; Vira Montes ; Roberto Martin Marquez ; Dyana Ortelli ; Panchito Gomez ; Edward James Olmos ; William Forsythe ; Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa ; Pepe Serna ; Steve Wilcox ; Richard Coca ; Evelina Fernandez ; Daniel Haro Director Edward James Olmos Certificate 18 years and over Year 1992 Screen Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic Languages English ; Italian ; Russian ; Spanish - Dolby Digital Surround Subtitles English; Danish ; Spanish ; Finnish ; Norwegian ; Swedish ; Italian Duration 2 hours (approx) Region Region 2 - Will only play on European Region 2 or multi-region DVD players.