Californication – JFK to LAX Review

‘Californication returns and picks up two and a half years after Hank departed Los Angeles with Karen leaving him for another guy and moving on.‘

Californication

People could be forgiven for thinking that the Season 4 finale of Californication – And Justice For All was meant to end the series. The major story arcs had been wrapped up and it looked like Hank Moody might finally be ready to get on with his life, driving into the sunset with his typewriter in the backseat. But no series as popular as Californication is allowed to rest on its laurels, every last penny has to be squeezed out and so we have JFK to LAX, the premiere for a fifth season of a show that seemed to have said all it needed to.

Season 5 picks a few years down the road Continue reading →

Top 10 Movie/TV Tie-in Games

Top 10Movie Tie-In games have developed a terrible reputation over the years for a variety of reasons. Firstly, while a movie’s storyline is meant to keep the audience interested for only a couple of hours, an 8 hour game is considered to be very short. This means that a whole slew of unrelated storylines and time-wasting exercises are shoehorned into the final product, leaving it feeling disjointed and unrelated to the source material.

One of the other big reasons behind Tie-In Games’ bad reputation is the time constraints put on developers. The amount of time to make a movie is nowhere near comparable to the time needed to build a game from the ground up, but the developers of these games often have even less time than the filmmakers to develop their product. This is the primary reason for the many buggy unimaginative games that litter store shelves the world over. Thankfully, a number of publishers are slowly waking up to these facts and realising that making a sloppy game and slapping a movie title on it is no longer a surefire recipe for success.

Every rule has its exceptions though, and there have been a number of Tie-In games over the years that have broken the mould to give audiences a fun and engaging experience. Here is a list of my Top 10 favourite Movie Tie-In Games. This list is entirely subjective, so feel free to put forward your own favourites in the comments section. Continue reading →

Sherlock – A Scandal in Belgravia Review

‘The monarchy is threatened by some the emergence of some compromising photographs. Sherlock is soon on the case, and uncovers links with international terrorism and corruption in the British government. But to avert a royal scandal he must best Irene Adler, a woman every bit as brilliant as he is.‘

Sherlock

Fans the world over have been waiting anxiously for Season 2 of Sherlock so they can finally get a conclusion to The Great Game‘s nail-biting cliffhanger. While there is certain to be a lot of disappointment at how things end up playing out, the rest of the episode more than makes up for it.

A Scandal in Belgravia moves away from the standard pattern Continue reading →

Esoteric Fish on Radio

Hi All,

Just a quick update on the state of the blog. Things are slowly settling down here and I’m hoping to have some more time to devote to the site. I’m currently putting together an article with my impressions of the Star Wars: The Old Republic beta as well as a few articles on the recently relaunched DC Universe Online. Given that there are so many games being launched at the moment the site will be focusing largely on game reviews for a while. Since these reviews obviously take longer to put together (having to play through them first) I’ll try to squeeze some movie and TV reviews in there as well as some editorials e.g. Top 10 Movie Tie-in Games.

For those of you looking for some extra Esoteric Fish, Lindsay was recently on the Weekly Geek Show on Triple H Radio to talk about his top movies of the year and other geeky good stuff. The podcast of the show is now available to download here.

As always, if you have any suggestions for reviews or articles, feel free to leave a comment.

Cheers,

Al

Jurassic Park – The Game Review

‘Security systems have failed and the creatures of the park roam free. Now, a rogue corporation will stop at nothing to acquire the dinosaur embryos stolen and lost by Dennis Nedry. Experience a brand new adventure set during the events of the first Jurassic Park movie and see new areas and dinosaurs in this landmark adventure 65 million years in the making!‘

Jurassic Park: The Game

The Jurassic Park movies are a mixed bag. The original movie captured the imagination of an entire generation (and still holds up today), but the sequels were an excellent demonstration of diminishing returns. They were still fun, but some of the magic had gone. When I heard that Telltale Games (of Sam and Max fame) were taking a shot at making a game set around the original film, I was cautiously optimistic. Movie tie-in games have a pretty poor track record, but Telltale weren’t setting out to make your typical action game, it could go either way.

Thankfully, Jurassic Park: The Game is Continue reading →

Uncharted 3 Review

‘Fortune hunter Nathan Drake is catapulted headlong into an adventure that takes him on a daring trek into the heart of the Arabian Desert in a search for the fabled “Atlantis of the Sands.” This journey pits him and his mentor Victor Sullivan against the occult treachery of a shadowy clandestine organization and its ruthless leader. When the terrible secrets of this lost city are unearthed, Drake’s quest descends into a desperate bid for survival that strains the limits of his endurance and forces him to confront his deepest fears.‘

Uncharted 3

Nathan Drake has become one of the unofficial mascots for the Playstation 3, with good reason. The Uncharted games have been some of the best examples of how great cinematic games can be with the right team behind them. While the first Uncharted game was well received, it was Uncharted 2: Among Thieves that catapulted the franchise into the spotlight, quickly becoming a favourite among critics and players alike. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception certainly had a lot to live up to, but surely the developers at Naughty Dog were up to it?

Well, yes and no. Uncharted 3 is Continue reading →

Web Review – Dragon Age: Redemption – Josmael

‘Dragon Age: Redemption is a six-part web series set in the world of the EA/Bioware RPG Dragon Age. The series tells the story of Tallis, an Elvish assassin, who gets a last chance at redemption when she’s sent to capture a rogue Qunari mage intent on wreaking havoc in the world.‘

Dragon Age: Redemption

Dragon Age: Redemption is certainly an impressive achievement in web video, but thankfully it’s also really enjoyable to watch. Each episode has built nicely on those preceding it and it feels like a nice coherent experience, even though it’s being delivered at the rate of only a few minutes per week.

The party building aspect of the series feels Continue reading →

Blizzcon 2011 Impressions

Blizzcon 2011

Every year, more than 20,000 gamers descend on the Anaheim Convention Center to hear the latest news on the Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo franchises from Blizzard. For the last few years, they have been joined by tens of thousands of people from around the world on the Blizzcon livestream; but the viewing experience has always had its share of problems. 2011 was no different, in fact the viewing experience this year was the most problematic that I have experienced. Continue reading →

Fright Night Review

Director: Craig Gillespie

Writers: Martin Noxin, Tom Holland

Starring: Colin Farrell, Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, David Tennant

Year: 2011

I sometimes like to claim that I have a bizarre relationship with horror films. When I was a little ‘un, and our family would go to the video store, I would check to make sure no-one was watching, then sneak into the horror section and start checking out the covers. I wouldn’t actually watch one – not in a million years (well…12 to 15) – but the images on those boxes held a dread fascination. One such cover that I have always clearly remembered was the 1985 cult classic Fright Night. Continue reading →

The Captains Review

‘Since first soaring onto television screens in the 1960s, Star Trek has become one of the most beloved franchises of all time. Now, the original Captain Kirk, William Shatner, travels around the globe to interview the elite group of actors (Chris Pine, Patrick Stewart, Avery Brooks, Kate Mulgrew and Scott Bakula) who have portrayed the role of Starship Captain, giving fans an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the pop culture phenomenon as well as the men and women who made it so.‘

The Captains

William Shatner has made a whole comedy act out of poking fun at his most famous role, but you don’t often hear him or any of the other Star Trek actors talk about the impact that it had on their personal lives. There are plenty of documentaries out there that talk about how obsessed the fans are, or what impact the show made on television, but how does it feel to be a part of something so massive?

The Captains is a very honest, if a little Continue reading →