To celebrate the release of Eye in the Sky on DVD and Blu-ray, we’re giving away three copies on Blu-ray.
EYE IN THE SKY features a stunning ensemble cast with equally evocative performances from multiple award-winning Helen Mirren (Trumbo, The Queen), Aaron Paul(Breaking Bad, Need for Speed), Barkhad Abdi(Captain Phillips) and the great Alan Rickman(The Harry Potter Franchise, Die Hard) whostars in his last on-screen role as Lieutenant General Frank Benson.
Colonel Katherine Powell (Helen Mirren) is a UK-based military officer in command of a top secret drone operation to capture terrorists in Kenya. Through remote surveillance and on-the-ground intel, Powell discovers the targets are planning a suicide bombing and the mission escalates from “capture” to “kill.” But as American pilot Steve Watts (Aaron Paul) is about to engage, a nine-year old girl enters the kill zone triggering an international dispute, reaching the highest levels of US and British government.
With the livelihoods of whole communities at risk, Colonel Katherine Powell (Mirren), Lieutenant Steve Watts (Rickman) and various world leaders must decide – is the sparing of one life worth risking the lives of hundreds of others?
A truly tense, ticking-clock thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat, EYE IN THE SKY questions the incredibly topical and the intriguing drama of global counter terrorism and the moral, political, and personal implications of modern drone warfare. Don’t miss the military thriller of the year – and for one last time to see on screen the legendary Alan Rickman in all his brilliance.
How to enter to win
We have three copies of Eye in the Sky to give away on Blu-ray.
All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is enter below:
To celebrate the release of The Colony on DVD and Blu-ray, we’re giving away three copies on Blu-ray.
One woman’s efforts to rescue her lover from a brutal cult, set to take her on a journey into the heart of darkness in Florian Gallenberger’s nerve-jangling thriller, The Colony.
Set amidst the Chilean coup of 1973, The Colony begins by depicting the masses who are out on the street, protesting against General Pinochet. Amongst them are Daniel (Daniel Brühl – Rush, Captain America: Civil War) and Lena (Emma Watson – Harry Potter, The Bling Ring), a young couple who, like many others, get arrested by Pinochet’s secret police for producing propaganda against the regime. Following his arrest, Daniel finds himself trapped in a secret interrogation camp located beneath the infamous Colonia Dignidad; a German sect under the leadership of the notorious, charismatic and unflinching Paul Schäfer (Michael Nyqvist – The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, John Wick). Presenting itself as a charitable mission, the Colonia is in fact a place of brutality and terror that nobody has ever escaped from. Desperate to rescue her boyfriend, Lena infiltrates the cult and witnesses the true darkness of Schäfer’s regime before she attempts a dramatic escape that puts both their lives on the line.
Also starring Julian Ovenden (Downton Abbey, Person Of interest), The Colony places a microscope over one of history’s lesser known atrocities and also gives fans the chance to see an incendiary Watson as she’s never been seen before. Filmed with input from real-life survivors of the Colonia Dignidad, Florian Gallenberger’s thriller is a sobering, taut must-own this summer.
How to enter to win
We have three copies of The Colony to give away on Blu-ray.
All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is enter below:
The contest ends at 12.00AM on Monday 29th August 2016.
Based on harrowing true events, The Colony is available to own on Digital HD from 19th August on Blu-ray & DVD from August 22nd, 2016 courtesy of Signature Entertainment.
With this year’s Call of Duty approaching both the summer slump, and the end of its lifecycle ahead of Infinite Warfare, it’s about time season pass holders got some more content. And so begins the third DLC drop, Descent. Featuring four multiplayer maps (including a remastered version of an old classic) and a new zombies experience, can Descent keep the player base coming back for more?
Beserk is first up, and is likely going to be many peoples tied first choice out of the bunch. Set in an ancient war-torn Viking village, the map’s layout is well suited for objective modes. The central bridge is often the focus of many battles, with solid cover in the middle and over watching lookouts on either side. Flanking is of course always an option with one (elevated) side home to risky wall running routes, with the corresponding other side being a slightly more open area, but with quick routes to the overlooking spots. The snowy aesthetic design is fairly striking too, especially in comparison to the games’ core maps, making it a welcome change of pace whenever it appears in the rotation.
The death-trap bridge in Beserk
Cryogen is up next and provides a true test of player’s wall running abilities. Essentially split into two sections, Cryogen’s large design is likely meant for two types of play. The larger, open side of the map features some decently long lines of sight, whereas the claustrophobic interiors on the other side, promotes close range combat. In reality, 90 percent of the fights you’ll encounter will be housed inside; trading SMG kills with the opposition whilst a few lone warriors stick to the smaller, more ‘campy’ areas outside. The interesting bio-lab style is also unfortunately overshadowed by the surplus of generic interior designs too, it’s a shame as it constantly feel as though Cryogen doesn’t quite live up to its potential.
Rumble is the final ‘new’ multiplayer offering and much like Cryogen, seemingly falls just shy of what it could be, especially in terms of looks. In another odd contrast to Treyarch’s normal prerogative, Rumble doesn’t exactly follow the usual ‘three lane’ design approach. Once again, the map’s essentially split into two sections, the great looking open outside arena, complete with large (although sadly inanimate) robots, and the more rushing internal sections. Whereas Cryogen might be better suited to Team Deathmatch, Rumble feels very much oriented towards Domination. Feeling strangely reminiscent to Black Ops 2’s ‘Encore’, it’s also one of two maps in this pack that lowers the emphasis on wall running too, giving it a more ‘boots on the ground’ feel.
We’ll miss you basketball court
Empire is Descent’s last multiplayer offering, and is the token reimagined map included in the pack. This time around we get a true classic from the Black Ops 2 era, Raid. A favourite for many during Black Ops 2’s glory days, its small size combined with some devilish lines of sight lets it hold its own against some of the heavy hitters in the rotation. To help keep a semblance of authenticity with its predecessor Raid, not much in terms of the map itself has changed and on top of this, the wall running options are once again, gratefully limited too. In terms of its looks, Empire has gone through quite the makeover; visually it looks great, with the rolling countryside providing a great backdrop to the newly implemented Roman styling. Sadly the basketball court’s on a hiatus, but I suppose we can’t have everything!
For those who’re more into their zombies, Gorod Kovi provides yet another delve into the supernatural, this time in the ever mysterious Stalingrad. Once again featuring the original cast, it includes super soldiers, dragons and an unnervingly large amount of chaos. Traversal around the map seems to be a little easier this time around too, with me being able to memorise routes and paths much quicker than before. When you’re not being bombarded by torrents of fire from the above circling dragon, mounting a machine gun (for a price) or generally being slapped silly by zombies, there’s also the new weapons added into the map to tinker with. Alongside a slew of recent multiplayer guns, there’s also the PPSh from World at War, of course on top of a new Wonder Weapon too. Whilst your first run through may fare better than other maps of the past, that’s not to say that there aren’t the usual plethora of secrets and easter eggs to discover too. The customary Treyarch touch is still present!
The usual zombies map flair in effect
Descent is a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to its content, the draw of a remade Raid in Empire would be a large selling point for me, but it’s more of a nostalgia trip than an excellently playing map. Beserk is probably the most fun to play as it feels the most balanced between lanes, engagement distances and wall running. The other two, Rumble and Cryogen feel a little too generic with bland indoor sections being home to all of the action, and that’s on top of their underwhelming visuals. Once again the zombies offering can be a great amount of fun if you’ve got a few friends to run through it with and, as per usual, is probably the strongest map of them all. Descent is probably more suited for the more hardcore players of the game who purchased season passes, which will still sting a little seeing as the supply drop weapons are far more desirable and game changing than these maps. If you’ve only got a passing interest in Black ops 3, then honestly, I’d probably recommend saving your money and sticking with what you’ve got.
Edge Case Games, developers of the team-based space combat game, Fractured Space, has announced the game’s Alpha 18 update, code-named ‘Olympian’, is now live. This is the game’s last planned major update before the game’s beta launch this fall when the game is scheduled to exit Early Access on Steam. To mark the game’s progression, the studio further announced that Fractured Space will be exhibited at PAX West in Seattle from September 2nd–5th, with media and community members invited to attend and play.
With the update, players can celebrate the games of summer with a new freeform tech tree, new sectors, a new game mode, a new ship and new patriotic ship skins that allow players to show their support for their national sports teams. Captains can root for their country’s Summer Games team with US, UK, French, German and Russian national flag skins on offer or Jolly Roger pirate flag for those with a mischievous streak as seen in the “World Games” update video released. Edge Case Games will be tracking results by flag and will let players know who is racking up the most wins!
The game’s tech tree has been revamped to let players assemble their ship fleet without restrictions. All ships in Fractured Space are designed to have equal value, with well-rounded, easy to play ships for new players, and extremely specialized, hard to play ships available for veterans. Previously, there was a manufacturer XP-based progression with easier to play ships being followed by more difficult to master ships. Now, any ship can be unlocked without having to unlock previous ships. As before, all ships can be purchased with earned credits or Platinum premium currency and all ships can be battle tested on the Firing Range before purchase to ensure they suit the player’s style.
Two new sector maps join the game’s original alpha and beta sectors—which have also been updated—so players can discover new battle strategies and environments. The first, a forest of vertical angular structures orbiting a binary planet offers numerous hiding spots, making it a great place for ambushes and skirmishes. The second takes players to a tightly packed asteroid field where mines are flanked on both sides by cover, making pushing toward the enemy forward base a daunting task.
The new TDS Executioner ship available with the update represents an evolution in fast strike tactics for captains who favour a finisher role. With a brutal Gauss Cannon and the unique Blink Back utility that allows the ship to instantly jump a certain distance in any direction, the ship is a close quarters, knockout specialist with poor general mobility balanced against its devastating single-strike capability as demonstrated in the Executioner Ship Guide video.
Additionally, showing the team’s commitment to Open Development where new features are shared with the community, the game’s new Experimental Mode will launch later this month. This mode will offer a weekly play test of fun new features such as massively increased ship speeds, double damage or other trial ideas to let players experience one-off changes that may someday be implemented in the game. Game stats during Experimental Mode matches are not stored so players can experiment and have fun with no consequences.
Get ready to watch the brand new trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. But finally we can see the long awaited trailer for Rogue One. It’s not exactly the same trailer that was shown at Star Wars Celebration, but finally we can see it.
Endemol Shine Beyond announced today that gaming’s biggest names will be joining Legends of Gaming Live, the return of their spectacular live gaming event, back bigger-and-better for the second year running and now extended for two-days, being held at Alexandra Palace, London on the 10th and 11th September 2016.
Hardware plays a big part at Legends of Gaming Live, with Fierce PC bringing their jaw-dropping specialist PC’s to the show and, GT Omega inviting boy-racers to sample their incredible range of Racing Seats.
World renowned publisher Frontier will be sponsoring the second stage at the event, welcoming YouTube’s hottest gaming celebrities throughout the weekend. With Elite Dangerous, Planet Coaster and surprises galore, Frontier will be bringing their trademark awe and excitement to Alexandra Palace with plenty of opportunities for visitors to check out the games in action.
BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment, arrive at Alexandra Palace, looking for a winner and armed to the teeth with a number of exclusives. Visitors will get to see their favourite YouTube legends go head-to-head, as the company launches their inaugural YouTube TEKKEN 7 tournament! The latest in the legendary fighting series, TEKKEN 7 is the years’ must-have brawler and BANDAI NAMCO will be offering a one-of-a-kind trophy to the winner of their Legends of Gaming Live YouTuber Champion Tournament! It’s not just the YouTube stars who get all the fun, fans attending the show will get their chance to play throughout the event, along with another blockbuster first in the form of Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, the latest unmissable title in the Dragon Ball saga and available to play for the first time anywhere in the UK. Ultra-realistic and immersive sim-racer Project CARS will also be playable and attendees can enter daily tournaments for a chance to face one of the YouTubers live on stage.
2K arrive ready for in-ring action, offering lucky fans the opportunity to play WWE 2K17 for the first time anywhere in the UK. With an exciting roster of WWE Superstars appearing in the game, 2K is likely to be one of the most popular publishers at Legends of Gaming Live and is a must-play for WWE fans everywhere!
As the official gaming headset partner of the show, Turtle Beach® will be at Alexandra Palace to ensure the stars and public alike get the very best audio experience possible. Leaders in gaming audio, Turtle Beach will exclusively be providing their latest Elite Pro Tournament Gaming Headsets for the stage, as well as providing a variety of other gaming headsets on the show floor ‘Tournament Zones’, giving visitors ample opportunity to sample their range of products.
Adventure fans can battle dangerous enemies and beasts in the hit Miniclip mobile game Beast Quest. Beast Quest will beappearing on stage and on the show floor with fantastic giveaways for fans, and attendees will find no shortage of deals at Legends of Gaming Live, thanks to GAME, the UK’s largest gaming retailer appearing on the show floor, armed with plenty of hot deals.
Twenty of the world’s most popular YouTube gamers will be in attendance with two world-class stages running continuously and multiple meet-and-greet opportunities for visitors, promising heavy audience interaction throughout the event. With console gameplay taking place exclusively on PlayStation 4, and the entire event being streamed live to an estimated 500,000 viewers, gamers can be part of the action instead of simply watching at home
Bringing the action of Legends of Gaming to life, a host of top gamers from the channel including Ali-A, Spencer FC and LDShadowLady, will be battling it out for the title of ‘Legend of Gaming’ as the winner of the latest series is announced live on stage!
With a combined subscriber base of over 30 million and more than 6 billion views between them, YouTube superstars confirmed for the event include:
Tickets are now on sale at www.legendsofgaming.co.uk, with early-bird tickets available at just £15. For a limited time only, those purchasing tickets will also receive a free download of indie favourite PC game Black & White Bushido, which will be launching later this year on PS4™and Xbox One.
Keep up with the latest Legends of Gaming news and exclusive content on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
PLAY Expo Manchester, the largest video game expo in the North of England, announced today a huge roster of events, taking place throughout the weekend, celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Tomb Raiderwith a one-time-only series of events, proving unmissable for fans of the franchise.
In tribute to gaming’s first lady of adventure, the party starts with what is set to be the largest Tomb Raider panel ever assembled! Hosted by Sky Sports™ eSports commentator Matt Andrews, and with a host of famous names throughout the history of the franchise, fans will be able to engage in a Q&A with the panel as well as hear untold stories from the development of the series. With more names yet to announce, confirmed guests include:
• Ian Livingstone CBE: Former CEO of Eidos® Interactive
• Natalie Cook: Lara Croft™ original model for Tomb Raider
• Richard Morton: Lead Game Designer / Level Designer / Environmental Artist – Tomb Raider II™ – Tomb Raider III™– Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation™ – Tomb Raider Chronicles™ – Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness™
• Gavin Rummery: Programmer for Tomb Raider – Tomb Raider II – Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness / Head of Core® Design
• Heather Gibson: Level Designer for Tomb Raider / Tomb Raider II
• Andy Sandham: Level Designer / Artist / Script Writer – Tomb Raider III – Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation – Tomb Raider Chronicles
• Murti Schofield: Lead Writer / Casting – Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness
• Nathan McCree: Composer – Tomb Raider – Tomb Raider II – Tomb Raider III
With so many cast and development members’ together at last, no reunion on this scale would be complete without the opportunity to capture the moment, and a Tomb Raider themed photo shoot will be the perfect place stand shoulder-to-shoulder with gaming’s greatest heroes!
In a feat worthy of Lara herself, PLAY Expo Manchester has scoured the globe unearthing the rarest of Tomb Raider collectibles, merchandise and memorabilia, on show in a specially designed display. Respecting the ground-breaking gameplay that has defined the series for two decades, PLAY Expo Manchester journeys through time, with every single Tomb Raider game throughout the ages on display and ready to play!
Industry legend Ian Livingstone CBE, who played such an enormous role in the success of the series will be hosting a separate talk on his staggering career in gaming.
Offering a separate discussion, renowned musician and composer of the first three Tomb Raider games Nathan McCree joins the expo hosting a talk on the sound design of the franchise and the importance of audio in games today.
“Tomb Raider is a cultural phenomenon and a franchise which means so much to so many gamers. We couldn’t be more excited to make PLAY Expo Manchester the destination of choice for a 20th anniversary celebration of such a grand scale,” said Andy Brown, Director for Replay Events. “Tomb Raider fans simply cannot afford to miss out on PLAY Expo Manchester and this years’ show is shaping up to be extraordinary! We’re working hard to ensure that the expo provides something for everyone and with so much yet to announce we’re confident that the expo will prove to be an unmissable date on every gamers’ calendar.”
PLAY Expo Manchester is a highly popular two-day video game event, ideal for all the family and offering visitors an unrivalled experience with features, tournaments, exhibitors, industry guests, panels and so much more. Celebrating gaming and popular culture, the expo uniquely caters for casual fans and dedicated gamers alike and promises to be an event not to be missed.
Snakebyte, leading innovators of gaming hardware, announced today an all-new range of high-quality products, arriving in time for the long summer of gaming! The new range includes something for everyone, from a new game pad for PlayStation4, as well as the state-of-the-art VR: Controller, a brand new game pad designed to provide ultimate control when used with compatible Virtual Reality headsets.
The VR: Controller is compatible with a wide range of VR headsets and smart devices. Thanks to cutting edge Bluetooth technology, the game pad provides genuine console quality entertainment and can be used effortlessly with Samsung Gear VR, Android TV, Android powered streaming media devices, such as the AmazonFire TV as well as connected devices including smartphones, laptops and tablets. In addition, the VR: Controller utilizes a standard HID profile, allowing for quick and effortless configuration when gaming on PC.
When using with non-Bluetooth enabled devices, the VR: Controller features a detachable Micro USB cable allowing for the ultimate in platform compatibility. The next-generation of virtual reality gaming demands that players are equipped with reliable, high-quality and intuitive control in order to navigate their virtual environment without being able to look at their controller in hand. Featuring dedicated ‘Back, Home and Recent’ buttons for use with Android devices, the custom controls allow gamers to master their device and access key features intuitively, serving as your secret weapon when braving the new frontier!
PlayStation 4 gamers can also look forward to a new game pad arriving over the summer, with the launch of the Game: Pad™4 for PlayStation®4. The Game: Pad 4 provides precision control and ergonomic design. Compatible with all PS4™ games and apps, the game pad includes a full complement of controls, including silky-smooth analog thumb sticks, advanced dual vibration motors, clickable touch pad as well as Share and Option buttons. The ergonomic trigger and action buttons have been designed to provide years of effortless response, all combining to provide a great value, highly desirable game pad.
For hassle-free communication, the Head:Set™ for Xbox One and PS4 is an ideal choice for online chat. A robust, sleekly designed mono headset, gamers can remain in the heart of the action without being taken out of the real world! With no need to worry about batteries or charging, the Head: Set plugs directly in to your controller, available to use in an instant. High quality, over the head design and cushioned ear cup allow for hours of comfortable use and in-line volume and mic mute controls allow for customised audio control.
“We’ve been providing players with high-quality gaming products for two decades, and now feels like the ideal time to flex our development muscles further with the introduction of a whole new range of hardware which significantly raises the bar for performance and quality,” said Chris Carroll, Director of Product Development for Snakebyte. “Great value doesn’t need to mean compromise in quality or design. We believe gamers will love our new line of hardware and products like the VR: Controller demonstrate our ability to innovate in the ever evolving world of interactive entertainment.”
The new range of gaming hardware from Snakebyte is expected to begin shipping globally from August 2016.
Kick & Fennick is a platform title developed by Dutch indie studio Jaywalkers Interactive. Whilst it is not unusual to see such a title being developed these days, it’s still commendable to see a developer creating a new platform title.
Following on the success of the original “From Bedrooms To Billions” this next instalment “From Bedrooms To Billions: The Amiga Years” gives you an insiders look into the fascinating true story on the Commodore Amiga’s influence on the video games industry.
As with the original ‘From Bedrooms to Billions’ the filmmakers balance the ‘The Amiga Years!’ with nostalgic archive footage, stills and music with newly shot interviews with some of the original Amiga design team as well as with some of the biggest names in video game development, publishing, music and journalism from across the last 30 years!
The Amiga featured some truly stunning games and many of the creators of those games appear in The Amiga Years movie such as Eric Chahi (Another World), Bullfrog (Syndicate, Populous), Paul Cuisset (Flashback), Martin Edmondson (Shadow of the Beast), Team 17, Magnetic Fields, Factor 5, DICE, Cinemaware and many many more!
Educational toy company LeapFrog partners with parenting expert and Channel Mum to offer support and advice to mark launch of LeapStart and prepare kids for school success.
The summer holidays are upon us, but for thousands of parents across the UK it’s the start of the countdown to their child’s first day at school. Following the recent State of Education Report from The Key, which revealed that more than half of new pupils are below the expected level of school-readiness and lack social skills, multi award-winning educational toy brand LeapFrog is supporting parents to help make sure their kids are ready for the classroom.
Working in partnership with parenting expert Liat Hughes Joshi and YouTube’s friendliest – and most honest – community for mums, Channel Mum, LeapFrog is providing parents with practical tips and activities that they can practice with their kids over summer. The brand has recently launched its latest educational toy, LeapStart, an interactive learning system which aligns with the school curriculum and teaches children key school and life skills.
To help prepare parents emotionally for that all-important first day, LeapFrog has teamed up with four vloggers from Channel Mum, two of whom have children starting school this September. In a dedicated series of the videos, the mums discuss how they are feeling ahead of the big first day at school and share their tips on how to help kids get school ready.
Good mental health is based on our ability to think, plan and act in ways that are effective and appropriate for our environment. Sometimes we have difficulties in some areas but we have abilities in other areas that help compensate for our limitations. For example if someone has flight anxiety but finds a way to lead a full life without having to fly, their mental health can be good. Someone else with ADHD who is unable to cope in life socially or occupationally may suffer from less good mental health and this can affect them at school. Lack of exercise, lack of sleep or unhealthy diet affect our brain and mental health just as much as they affect the body, because in the end it is one system. If your child has a physical problem, such as a physical disability or something that is also debilitating such as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, then they have probably already had a test for carpal tunnel. They should be encouraged to do gentle exercise to assist any symptoms and keep them physically active which should help them with getting into a school routine. Good mental health cannot relate only to happiness or mental well-being or even to the absence of mental illness. It is a complex that can be addressed in each of its aspects and combined to understand in which areas of mental health we need to put effort and improve to help our kids. This way, children can have a great return to school.
Liat Hughes Joshi comments: “A child’s first day at school is such an emotional time for the whole family. It’s important to remember that in preparing for this day, it’s not about competitive parenting, but more about giving children the skills to make sure they can be confident and happy and ease into this new stage in their lives”. Her top tips for parents who have children starting school this year are:
1. DO talk to them about the idea of school – tell them about your own positive school experiences and find out any specific concerns they have about not having mum or dad around.
2. DO attend settling-in days to help them to feel more relaxed – they’ll be able to meet the teacher and experience the classroom environment. Point out things they will be able to enjoy next time they come to school, such as the playground.
3. DO help them find a familiar face if your child isn’t starting school with friends from their existing nursery or preschool.
4. DO arrange a meet up – ask among local friends to see who has a child starting the same school and arrange meet ups if you can, like a picnic or a visit to the local playground.
5. DO teach them ‘self care’ – like undressing and dressing themselves for PE – practice this over the summer with clothing that has zips and buttons.
6. DO teach them how to eat independently with cutlery, get them chopping and slicing their food as much as possible.
7. DO toilet train them (again!) so they know how and when they can ask to use the toilet, how to wipe up and wash their hands properly.
8. DO practice counting up to 10in your daily activities, as this forms the core of maths learning in the first year of school and start looking at basic sums, using practical items around the house.
9. DO introduce books and stories so your little one can see how letters correspond to sounds and words to sentences. Sharing stories and pointing out specific sounds is a gentle way to introduce this.
10. DO teach them to recognise their name so they can find their coat peg or spot the name label on their jumper in a pile of others.
11. DO see using apps as a positive to help – we all worry about too much screen time but good quality, well designed apps can be an engaging way to learn.
12. DO encourage basic etiquette, namely taking turns and listening when others speak.
13. DO practice sitting still! Practice for half an hour at first and introduce sedentary activities, for example, completing a jigsaw puzzle, to help with this.
14. DO role play to help your child to feel comfortable approaching and talking to their teachers and to not be intimidated.
15. DO take time to reassure them of any anxieties, even if you’re feeling worried yourself!
Available in two models – one for preschool children aged 2-4 and one for primary school children aged 5-7 – LeapStart works with a library of 16 replayable activity books across four learning levels, that provide productive, safe and fun off-screen play. The books, each sold separately, have been designed to work with both LeapStart platforms, together teaching 50+ key skills; from the alphabet and 123’s to space science, basic coding and educational problem solving.
LeapStart system (RRP £34.99) as well as the 16 LeapStart Activity books (RRP £9.99 each, ages 2-7) are now available at selected UK retailers. For more information, visit: http://www.leapfrog.com/en-gb/products/leapstart
Among the big news and surprises that came out of E3 2016 this year was an intriguingly dark yet very English toned game and it captured my interest straight away. We Happy Few has now entered into the Xbox One Preview program as well as early access on STEAM allowing gamers to purchase this unfinished version of the game, to try it out and help refine the game with feedback before its full release next year. This was my first chance to see the game beyond the E3 trailer, and if I am honest, it is not the experience or the game I was expecting.
Developed by Compulsion Games, “We Happy Few” is set in a dystopian 1964 England that actually lost World War II. The game is set in the English town of Wellington Wells where the people are taking a drug called “Joy” which puts them in a state of happiness, forcing them to see the world around them only in a positive and wonderful way. Joy masks the reality of the world and helps them to exist in denial over what has happened, forgetting their bad memories and any pain they have suffered.
We are introduced to Arthur Hastings who works as a newspaper redactor, someone who scans newspaper stories in order to censor anything negative from them. But we also see that Arthur is beginning to fight against the drug Joy, refusing to take and when he comes across a news story that features him and his brother from years ago, he throws his bottle of Joy Pills away before another member of staff enters his office to call him to join a game of Piñata, but notices that Arthur is acting strange and asks if he has taken his Joy to which Arthur lies and says he has. On leaving the office you can see that another member of staff has gone missing after becoming ill, but you can see that she has been missing for a full month by the rotting get well soon fruit basket in her office and the cards there but seemingly due to the office taking Joy, her absence is not missed. The effects of Joy are also seen as Arthur makes his way to the Piñata party with the office in disarray, repairs clearly needed but ignored and work clearly piling up but no one caring to deal with it.
All this time the effects of Joy are starting to wear off in Arthur after refusing to take a Joy pill, and when he joins the others he can see them beating on a Piñata in order to get to the candy inside but when encouraged to hit it himself, he delivers the final blow resulting in blood splattering over himself, the shock of this shakes off the final effects of Joy in his system and he discovers that the piñata was in reality a giant rat, and the other people are now eating this resulting in Arthur being sick. This alerts the others to the fact Arthur is off his Joy and they call him a ‘Downer” and call security and Arthur tries to escape before being cornered and knocked unconscious.
The game picks up after Arthur wakes up, finding himself in a safe house of sorts, and this is where the game began to surprise me. From the E3 trailer I had expected We Happy Few to be a linear story driven game but I was very wrong. We Happy Few is actually a first person survival game where you will struggle every day to find food, water and shelter in order to live long enough to explore the world and find a way to escape. Like other survival games you must scavenge materials in order to craft weapons and tools whilst seeking out food and water to prevent starvation or dehydration. None of this was suggest by the trailer and it did catch me unaware to begin with.
Leaving the safe house, you find yourself in a very run down area of Welling Wells, with damaged and condemned buildings. The area is full of “Downers” people who have either stopped taking the drug Joy or who have become immune to it leaving only the pain and damage of taking the drug for years. This area has been abandoned by society and left alone without support or aid which means food, clean water and medical supplies are all in short supply and the locals are even less friendly to newcomers. The first thing you will want to do is begin exploring the area and doing so will start to reveal areas on the map. Soon you will discover encounters such as an area where bees are creating honey which you will require to craft a padded suit in order to go near. As you continue to move about you will find yourself needed to eat and drink to keep your food levels up, luckily plants can be used to create healing balms and some of the plants can be eaten to provide some nourishment whilst some water can drunk and taken from various water pumps scattered around.
Luckily to craft items all you need to do is find the materials required and the crafting menu will tell you what you can make with the items you are carrying with more advanced creations possible as you find more suitable materials and range from stronger weapons and tools to new clothing. One of the themes that We Happy Few utilises is that of how people see you and therefore react to you, and this is shown in the clothing you wear which will effect how the people around you react to you either positively or negatively. The next theme is how you perceive the world around you, now that Arthur has come off the Joy drug, he is remembering how the world really is how harsh that reality is. You can still take Joy pills that you find, and for a brief time you will see the world as all shiny and lovely and even your walk animation has you pumping your arms like you are in a Disney movie, walking to a lovely chorus song. But when it wears off, you will feel withdrawal symptoms but you can almost understand how powerful the Joy drug is now you have had a taste of life without it; it is very much like the old “blue or red pill” from the Matrix almost.
The aim is to survive long enough and find a way to escape, and if you explore enough you will discover different toll bridges that can lead you to different areas, one area is very much like the one you find yourself in from leaving the safe house and the other will lead to a town where everyone is on Joy and is patrolled by Police who as you saw in the opening section, take a very violent tone with anyone not on drugs as will any of the people there on Joy. In order to blend in here you need to not only take a Joy pill to fool door sensors and checkpoints but also the Police and other people. I did find however that how I was dressed at this point made the people question my presence even if I was on Joy and as the effects are short lived, knowing when to use a pill to gain progression in the town or access to a building. You can use the lock picks you craft to bypass these on some occasions but if caught the Police will come to attack you.
This preview build does not contain any of the main characters or storylines that will feature in the main game, and throughout the preview period, new features and elements will be added to test out game mechanics and ideas ahead of the full release next year and because it is in the preview stage, it does have quite a few issues that will be have to be addressed before it does release.
I found that need to constantly sleep a hindrance when trying to explore as failing to rest properly will result in a limit placed on your stamina bar which limits your ability to sprint and fight in combat. The game uses a day and night cycle but the day felt like it passed too quickly on some days and pretty soon my attempted sleep cycle was thrown off. Crafting made creating healing balms simple which is handy as I found myself getting into fights with the locals quite often and mostly they would attack in groups. The combat system works ok with weapon damage increasing depending on the weapon you wield and these can all be upgraded and improved with materials found.
It did take me three play through attempts to find my way off the first section by way of the toll bridges, as the game features a perma death option as default, the first time I died as a result of combat but the area was full of things to discover such as dig spots and abandoned houses. The second time however, I found less things to explore and as I revealed more of the map, it was all rather empty so my time was spent simply eating, drinking and walking around for a good five hours. The third time I was indeed able to cross the toll bridges and do some more exploring, but on each of the attempts, the need to constantly find somewhere safe to sleep and things to eat or just to find interesting things to do just left this initial preview experience feeling rather empty. When I did manage to find myself in the Joy part of town, I found myself with no where to sleep so my stamina was decreased in half and running out of joy pills so in an attempt to return to the downer area where my safe house was situated, I found myself in some kind of hospital where people were scanned to see if they were downers or not. I found my way into a room but then the doors closed behind me and the NPC there simply looked at me but I could not interact with him or any door in the room which just resulted in me having to starve to death and that was it, end of that play through.
Overall I was intrigued by the We Happy Few E3 trailer, and I was expecting a linear story experience. This preview has surprised me by revealing that the game will in fact be a survival genre game, with procedural encounters but with fixed main story missions and characters which will not be revealed until the game fully releases next year. As a preview build of the game, it certainly does give you a good idea of the way in which the gameplay works and the systems of the game, but it does just feel as though it is a very early build of the game, with too little to do and too many issues holding you back from really exploring its full potential. Frame rate drops, lack of encounters and a need to constantly sleep all left me with the feeling that We Happy Few needs quite a bit of work, and before recommending this for people to buy right now to try it out, I would suggest holding back until the first of many updates and new features added.
We Happy Few does still fascinate me with its story and gameplay, it might not be the game I was expecting just yet and certainly is not the finished game either, but right now, it is a game that belongs in preview for sure, but could have benefited by having just more things to do to showcase itself far better following that great E3 Trailer.
We Happy Few is available now on Xbox One Preview and early access on STEAM.
Have you ever wondered what life in a professional kitchen is like? We have the hellacious representation in Hells Kitchen where trying to be the number one chef in the kitchen can be cut throat or with Kitchen Nightmares (Gordon Ramsey does do a lot of TV huh) it can result in a poorly run restaurant that lets down customers and has a terrible reputation. If you break down the fundamental elements of how a restaurant kitchen works you essentially have take the order placed by a customer, prepare the ingredients, cook the ingredients, plate and then serve the dish. All sounds relatively simple right? Well this is where Overcooked comes in and takes what is an already stressful process and turns it into a fun yet challenging local co-op party game.
Couch Co-Op party are few these days but Overcooked has plated up an extremely tempting course for gamers who relish teamwork and co-operation in a true test of all those elements but blended in with an appetizing challenging puzzle game based on the very basic principles of restaurant cooking with a rather unique twist.
Overcooked’s Story Campaign can be played solo or best with co-op partners from two to 4 friends all working together. The introduction explains that the players are chefs working for the Onion King in the Onion Kingdom when the terrible end of days begins when a giant monster attacks the kingdom with the only way to satisfy the beast’s hunger is to cook and feed it all the food it wants before the time runs out. Despite your best efforts, it will not be enough to sate the hunger of the beast and the Onion King opens a time portal for you all to escape through. Certainly not the opening I would have expected from a cooking game.
Having been through the time portal the King informs you that you have gone back in time to the year 1993, and sets you off on a mission to visit various kitchens across the kingdom in order to learn and perfect the co-operation skills needed to successfully cook and feed the monster without failing. Each kitchen will pose a different challenge with different recipes to learn and master how to work as a team of chefs to complete each one.
The kitchens are all more challenging than the last and creatively designed to provide a challenge on different levels. First you have the actual cooking and preparation of each order which in itself is a tricky task. The ingredients can be found in a different area to where the preparation area is which can also be further away from the cooking section. You must first collect the ingredients needed for the customer order seen in the top left of the screen and prepare them before cooking them and finally placing them on a dish ready to be served. Even in solo mode you will have a basic team of two chefs to us, switching between the two using the controller bumper buttons but in co-op mode each player can control a different chef. Once you begin cooking the ingredients you will only have a short time to add the remaining ingredients or to plate the finished food before the meal overcooks which will spoil it, requiring it to be disposed off and to start the order all over again. Failing to plate the food will also result in the pot catching fire which will begin to set the rest of the kitchen on fire unless you grab a fire extinguisher to put out the flames.
Then of course you have the kitchen itself that adds its own little devilish twist to the action. As players progress through the different stages, the kitchens become more intricate to both navigate and have the chef’s work together. At times, chefs can be separated all together in the kitchen, where good communication will be essential just to have the meals prepared. Some kitchens are themed such as the street restaurant that will have pedestrians walking up and the down the middle of the kitchen forcing the chefs to navigate around them to pirate ship kitchens where the roll of the ship causes sections of the kitchen to move position completely changing the layout. A rather insidious added challenge sees some kitchens having a rat problem, where any ingredient left unattended they will scamper in and take it away.
Each kitchen will grade your team’s performance up to three stars and these are important because some of the later kitchens require you to have acquired a certain number of stars in order to play them. This is where playing the campaign solo starts to buckle, as the majority of the kitchens are designed to be played co-operatively and though the grading feels more relaxed for single player to earn stars, I found it tricky to replay certain difficult kitchens to earn more stars to proceed.
Where Overcooked really comes to life is when played with others in local co-op, with up to four friends able to work together in the story campaign but also in versus mode playing in competitive kitchens against each other. So many aspects make this just a superb party game the more players you have to take part, the challenge of successfully completing orders against all the high pressure needs of working together, communicating well and just trying not to burn the kitchen down leads to great fun and no doubt a few fights along the way but its perhaps the most challenging party game in a good long while.
Even when I set had set fire to the soup, forgotten to fry the fish to go with the chips the Eskimos had ordered or putting together the perfect burger to go, Overcooked is so much fun and a real test of friendship when partnering with friends. Developer Ghost Town Games has put together a great game with so much rewarding challenge and stage designs that you will always be put to task in each stage.
It is no surprise that TEAM 17 has published this and will certainly make you reconsider putting in an entry form to Master Chef.
