GAME REVIEW – Batman: Arkham Asylum

By Marty Mulrooney

BatmanLookingOverArkhamAsylum

With Christopher Nolan successfully rebooting Batman on the silver screen in recent years, the dark knight is pretty hot property right now. I didn’t realise before writing this review, but there have actually been a lot of Batman games over the years, usually to tie in with the various film releases, with varying degrees of success.

This new Batman game from Rocksteady Studios is nothing do with the recent film releases though, being released on the PS3 and Xbox360 last month, with the PC release coming out later this week. The version I am reviewing is the PS3 version, but it should apply to the XBox360 version as well: at long last, it seems that multi-platform game design is reaching a stage where differences between the HD console versions is negligible. Continue reading →

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FILM REVIEW – Inglourious Basterds

I have often lamented Tarantino’s fixation on violence when he is such a fantastic writer and storyteller. Pulp Fiction is perhaps so fondly remembered because it seldom felt gratuitous in it’s gore and blood-spilling. Later offerings such as the ultra-violent Kill-Bill and the hyper-reality of Death Proof always felt like experiments rather than fully rounded films. Tarantino had no problem with bending the rules so Uma Thurman could get on an aeroplane with her katana sword, and here he does the same with Hitler and the Nazis. Continue reading →

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Mini Interview – TOMI: The Siege Of Spinner Cay (What Does Dominic Armato Think?)

By Marty Mulrooney

Guybrush With Sword

After every new episode of Tales Of Monkey Island is released, Alternative Magazine Online of course posts a review. However, what we shall also be exclusively doing is asking Guybrush Threepwood voice actor Dominic Armato a few episode-specific questions every month, so that our readers can get some further insight to accompany the reviews. This month, it is of course all about the second chapter in Tales Of Monkey Island, entitled The Siege Of Spinner Cay… Continue reading →

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GAME REVIEW – Tales Of Monkey Island: Chapter 2 ‘The Siege Of Spinner Cay’

By Marty Mulrooney

Spinner Cay Swordfight

After the euphoria that came along with the realisation that NEW Monkey Island games were being made started to wear off, I began to panic. Perhaps my review of Narwhal had been over generous? Perhaps the only way forward from there on was downwards. After all, there is a lot riding on this new series of games, not just for the future of the franchise, but perhaps for the future of the genre. Luckily, although there are some minor hick-ups in the second chapter of Tales Of Monkey Island, it largely builds on the strengths of the past episode. In fact, it served to remind me exactly why my review for Chapter 1 was justified in it’s praise: Monkey Island is back, and it is never less than a pleasure to watch Guybrush in his latest crazy adventure, doing what he does best… and some other stuff he sucks at! Continue reading →

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