Saturday 10 September 2022

REVIEW: Wire Room (2022) - Starring Bruce Willis and Kevin Dillon

Lionsgate is back with a new release featuring Bruce Willis in one of the final films of his career. Willis stars as Home Security Agent Shane Mueller, who is in charge of the Wire Room, a high tech command centre that surveils dangerous criminals, watches them through hidden cameras, and listens in on conversations.

Now although Bruce Willis is the big name attached to the film, if you have been reading my reviews long enough, you know that often these films are actually vehicles for other actors, and this one is no different. Kevin Dillon is the real star of this film, he plays Justin Rosa, a new recruit to the Wire Room, he is tasked by Mueller to monitor an arms-smuggling cartel member called Eddie Flynn, played by Oliver Trevena. Despite being from London, Trevena has a pretty convincing Irish accent, and I would suggest the Eddie Flynn character has to be based in part on Conor McGregor.

Full Review at


Friday 9 September 2022

REVIEW: Pinocchio (2022) - Starring Tom Hanks and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth

Pinocchio is one of those titles that has been made and remade many times, and although the Disney cartoon version is the most famous, there have been plenty of other films and cartoons made, mainly due to the fact the story went into the public domain in 1940.

Well for reasons that no one has explained, Disney has decided to remake their own version of Pinocchio from 1940, this time in a live action format with CGI characters.

We find ourselves in 1895 in a small village in Italy, Jiminy Cricket (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) has entered the home of an elderly woodcarver Geppetto, played by a curly haired Tom Hanks.

Full Review at


REVIEW: GOLAZO! 2 on Nintendo Switch

It has been a while since I have played a simple arcade style "soccer" game, and despite most the of the civilised world calling it Football, I thought I would check out new arcade Soccer game "Golazo 2". Now I have never played the original, nor have i heard of it, so I am coming at this game from a totally new perspective.

Since this is an arcade game, there isn't much in the way of depth, so if you have been playing FIFA then this game might seem very simple in comparison.

When you start you are given a few choices, Quick match, Street Tour, Tournaments or World League. You can play with National Teams or "Street Teams", which craftily gets around any licensing issues. 58 national teams with 10 international stadiums, 6 Street fields with 12 street teams.

Full Review at

Sunday 4 September 2022

REVIEW: Chenso Club on Nintendo Switch

Chenso Club is a Japanese style 2D side scrolling action platformer, I say Japanese style as it is actually developed by Swedish studio Pixadome and published by Curve Games.

"The Chenso Club girls are sassy, strong and eager to show off their moves. Our heroines want any excuse to use their newfound powers. It's up to you to master their moves, increase their power and show the world the might of the Chenso Club."

As you start the game you will first be able to choose one character to play with, but as you progress more will be unlocked. All the characters are female, which is a cool touch and not something you see that often. You will start off with a character called "Blue" which is a Chainsaw wielding android, but you will soon gain access to Carmine who wields a heavy hammer. With 5 characters in total, all very unique with their own fighting style.

Full Review at


Friday 2 September 2022

REVIEW: Fall (2022) - Starring Virginia Gardner and Grace Caroline Currey

Sometimes films are made which are totally predictable, almost from the very start to the very end, you the viewer can call out in advance pretty much everything that will happen. Fall is one of those films. But that doesn't always mean the film is bad, we as humans like patterns, we see them everywhere, we like to be able to predict things, as it makes us feel better about ourselves, throw in a story that will set your anxiety levels to the very top, and you can sometimes end up with a pretty decent outcome.

The film starts with Becky (Grace Caroline Currey) and Hunter (Virginia Gardner) climbing a mountain, along with Dan (Mason Gooding), everything is going well until Dan falls to his death. As you can imagine this is not an ideal situation.

Before you know it, Becky and Hunter have decided to honour Dan by climbing a 2000 foot, abandoned radio tower in the middle of nowhere, to not only conquer their fears and push their limits, but also so they can release Dan's ashes from the top.

Full Review at


Wednesday 31 August 2022

REVIEW: Nope (2022) - Starring Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer and Steven Yeun

This review will contain spoilers, so do not read on unless you want to know what happens.

Jordan Peele is back with his latest film, yet again he desperately wants to be seen as the new M. Night Shyamalan, but instead he proves that he just doesn't have that magic that Shyamalan had, especially in his early films.

Now if you have seen the trailer to this film, or heard basic chatter, then you might be expecting some kind of alien invasion film, along the lines of M. Night Shyamalan's excellent film Signs. But if you expect that you will be sorely disappointed. NOPE, this is not an alien invasion film.

Some quick question and answers before we go on.

Are their any proper little aliens in this film? NOPE
Does this film have a clever twist? NOPE
Will I care about any of the human characters in this film? NOPE

Full Review at


Tuesday 30 August 2022

REVIEW: Me Time (2022) - Starring Kevin Hart and Mark Wahlberg

A 95-minute buddy comedy you say? With Kevin Hart and Mark Wahlberg? I'm in!

Kevin Hart stars as Sonny Fisher, he is a stay-at-home dad, his wife Maya (Regina Hall) works as a talented architect, Sonny is pretty much the perfect dad, but one day he realises he needs some me time, especially as a millionaire playboy seems to be sniffing around his wife.

After playing golf with some old Asian women who hustle him, and then making himself sick, eating too much BBQ, he tries the local strip joint where he sees the babysitter. This "Me Time" is not going well.

All the while his best friend Huck Dembo (Mark Wahlberg ) who he hasn't seen in years keeps trying to get Sonny to come out with him, eventually Sonny realises he needs more and agrees to go celebrate Huck's 44th birthday.

And of course, this is where the craziness begins. Whether it is fighting a mountain lion, an out-of-control party or pooping in his rival's bed. This is a good old fashioned buddy comedy that works.

Full Review at


REVIEW: Pascal's Wager: Definitive Edition on Nintendo Switch

It has been a while since I have played a good action RPG, so when Pascal's Wager: Definitive Edition came across my desk, I just had to check it out.

Set in a world of "dark fantasy", you step into the shoes of Couriers, as they "discover the tale behind the mysterious Dark Mist."

"Centuries ago, the sun sank into the sea, leading to the Dark Mist enveloping the lands. At the same time, great, towering beings began to appear. These were the Colossus. They brought light to the areas surrounding them and in turn, humanity found its last and only refuge.

Thousands of years after the Colossi appeared, a mysterious illness beset these creatures of the light and they began to fall...

Following the trail of the falling Colossi, Terrence the Courier and his companions embark on an arduous journey. They will encounter figures benevolent and evil, seal or witness their fate, and unveil the truth behind the dark world."



Sunday 28 August 2022

REVIEW: Bullet Train (2022) - Starring Brad Pitt

Director David Leitch brings us his latest Action-Comedy film, Bullet Train, set aboard a fictionalised version of the Tokaido Shinkansen, aka the bullet train, due to its near 200 mph speeds. Brad Pitt stars as "Ladybug", a ridiculously unlucky American assassin. And the rest of the all-star cast include such names as Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji, Hiroyuki Sanada, Michael Shannon, Bad Bunny, and Sandra Bullock.

The film starts off in Tokyo, Yuichi Kimura "The Father", a Japanese member of the White Death's organization is grieving after an unknown man pushes his son off a rooftop, he wants revenge.

Meanwhile a semi-retired assassin known as Ladybug (Brad Pitt) is given an assignment to retrieve a metal briefcase which is on the bullet train bound for the cultural capital of Japan, the city of Kyoto.

Full Review at


Saturday 27 August 2022

REVIEW: Race Me Now - PC (Steam)

With the tagline "Race Fast, Race others, Race Me Now!" we have a release from a solo game developer, Werys Game Studio. Any time a solo developer manages to get a game to final release, it is something that should be applauded, as often a lot more than just time goes into such projects, a lot of care and love for the game too.

Let's take a look at the synopsis.

"Race sneaky opponents in beautiful surroundings. Races are fast and ruthless, other drivers will try to push you out of the road to take your place. Will you be able to push them out first? Will you be able to beat them all? Will you become the champion?"

Full Review at


Friday 26 August 2022

REVIEW: Samaritan (2022) - Starring Sylvester Stallone and Javon Walton

Since I first saw the trailer for Sylvester Stallone's newest film Samaritan, I have been looking forward to watching the whole film.

The story revolves around a young boy who comes to the realization that a famed superhero, who was thought to have gone missing after an epic battle twenty-five years ago, may in fact still be around.

Sounds pretty good, but is it?

The film starts off with the narration of an animated retelling of the story of Samaritan, and how his brother Nemesis used innocent people as a way to get Samaritan to come fight him. There is a blast and both Samaritan and Nemesis die.

Full Review at


REVIEW: Robby's Adventure on Nintendo Switch

Are rage inducing side scrolling platformers your thing? If you answered yes, then Robby's Adventure might be the game for you.

Robby came to earth from another planet, a young boy found him in a field and made friends with him. But one day Robby was broken, so the boy's parents gave Robby to a factory to fix it, but the factory manager quickly realised that Robby was more than just a regular toy, so decided to keep Robby so he could research him with the hope being he could clone the alien robot.

And that is where our game starts.

Full Review at

Thursday 25 August 2022

REVIEW: Train Valley: Console Edition - On PC and Consoles

Although Train Valley has been available on PC for quite a while, the developers have finally released the game on consoles.

The concept is simple. You play on a single screen map and start with a couple of train stations. (You can zoom in and out). The problem is that there is no track. That is your job, connect the Stations, so that the trains can travel from one point to another. But of course, things aren't that easy. For a start you have a strict budget, and you have to pay taxes every in-game year.

When laying tracks across empty areas, they cost just $1000 per piece of track laid, but if there is a tree in the way then the cost doubles, oh and if there is a house in the way that price goes up. The bigger the obstacle the more it costs, so the clever builder will avoid obstacles. And that creates it's own set of problems.

As you play the game and time passes, more train stations will appear. Everything is colour coded, and it needs to be, because now trains will need to go to specific stations, so you not only need to make sure the tracks are laid correctly, but you also have to control switches.

Full Review at


Wednesday 24 August 2022

REVIEW: DC League of Super-Pets - Starring Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart

I love Superhero films, I hate Superhero cartoons, I avoid them like the plague, however I thought I would give League of Super-Pets a chance, as I had heard good things about it.

The basic story tells of Superman's pet dog Krypto and shelter dog Ace who work with other animals to rescue the captured superheroes from Lex Luthor (Marc Maron).

With an all-star cast including Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Kate McKinnon, John Krasinski, Vanessa Bayer, Natasha Lyonne, Diego Luna, Thomas Middleditch, Ben Schwartz, and Keanu Reeves, surely, they can't go wrong!

The film starts off with the classic Superman origin story, but with a slight twist. During the final moments of Krypton before its destruction, Kal-El's parents put baby Supes in a small spaceship pod so he can survive, as the little ship is closing, a Kryptonian Labrador Retriever puppy jumps into the pod too.

Full Review at


Monday 22 August 2022

REVIEW: Lost in Play on Nintendo Switch

Lost in Play is one of those games you know you are going to love, even after only playing it for 10 minutes. And that is exactly how I felt after a short time after loading it up on my Nintendo Switch Lite.

Similar in style to classic point and click games, this uses a slightly different type of interface to interact with onscreen objects than just pointing and clicking, playing more like an interactive 2D cartoon, you play as a brother and sister Toto and Gal, as they explore their dreams, befriend magical creatures, and of course solve lots of puzzles along the way.

This game is based on the imagination of children, something that as adults we lose, but can still remember those crazy adventures we had as kids, when we didn't have computer games or endless screens to look at, instead we had to use our imagination.

"Between reality and fantasy, the siblings explore the enchanted forest of a horned beast, start a rebellion in a goblin village, and help a team of frogs free a sword from a stone."

Full Review at


Sunday 21 August 2022

REVIEW: Bullet Proof (2022) aka Death Pursuit - Starring Vinnie Jones, James Clayton and Lina Lecompte

So, there is this film and we want to cast Vinnie Jones.... Yep, you got it, a gritty gangster film!

Ok, to be fair it is a bit more than just a gritty gangster film, it has a lot of car chase scenes too!

We are quickly introduced to a character that we only ever know as The Thief (James Clayton), in fact the one moment in the film where he says his name, there is a hilarious cutaway to a plane propeller, so we never do hear his name spoken. Anyway, The Thief is sneaking about in a drug dealers' hideout which just happens to be in a car scrapyard. The Thief steals millions in cash that just happens to be lying around, while a bunch of gangsters are taking care of "business".

For some bizarre reason after getting the cash and jumping in a car for his easy escape The Thief decides to put some music on, and we quickly have a shoot out, chase scene.

Full Review at


Saturday 20 August 2022

REVIEW: Orphan: First Kill (2022) - Starring Isabelle Fuhrman and Julia Stiles

Have you ever started watching a film and then instantly thought you had seen it before? Well, I felt that way about Orphan First Kill, so I quickly got on google and realised this is a prequel of a 2009 film, with the same actress in the lead role.

If you have never seen Orphan (2009), it is basically a film about a 9-year-old girl adopted by a family, but the girl is really a 33-year-old psychopath who suffers with a disease which has stunted her growth and left her looking like a child.

Orphan: First Kill is a prequel which covers the years before the first film.

The film starts in Estonia in 2007, Leena Klammer (played by Isabelle Fuhrman) is a psychiatric patient at the Saarne Institute. Although she looks like a child, she is in fact a 31-year woman. One day she seduces a guard, steals his key and then kills him. She hides in the car of a therapist who was visiting the institute and escapes. She then breaks into the therapist's house and kills her. Leena discovers that she has a strong resemblance to a missing girl from the United States called Esther Albright.

Posing as the missing child, a police officer approaches her and she tells him that her parents are in America.

Full Review at


REVIEW: Spinny's Journey on PC (Steam)

Although it's been out for a while, I was asked to check out Spinny's Journey on PC.

You play as "Spinny" an alien explorer the size of a peanut, who has come to visit earth. Due to his small size, and the small size of his spacecraft, he finds himself attacked by a sparrow, which leaves him with just his emergency propellers to go find the lost parts of his ship so he can rebuild it.

General gameplay has you trying to navigate maze like levels with the spinning propellers, bit like a spinning matchstick. You have to dodge traps and navigate the course, all the while using the spin of your propellers to your advantage to pass through the course. This is much harder than it first sounds.

With over 50 challenging levels to master, including the classic 3 stars rating system. (don't hit anything, pass the level as quick as you can), there is enough to keep any puzzle fan busy for a while.

Everything is hand drawn and looks great.

Full Review at


Friday 19 August 2022

REVIEW: Tower of Fantasy (Mobile Version)

I was lucky enough to be invited to take part in the closed beta test of open-world RPG Tower of Fantasy, and now the game has been officially released I thought I would share my thoughts.

"Set hundreds of years in the future on the distant planet of Aida, the shared open-world MMORPG, anime-infused sci-fi adventure Tower of Fantasy from developer Hotta Studio and publisher Level Infinite, is now available on PC and mobile platforms globally. Players will be able to experience an anime-inspired post-apocalyptic sci-fi art style, freeform character development, and exciting combat through thrilling battles and exciting open-world exploration.

In Tower of Fantasy, dwindling resources and a lack of energy have forced mankind to leave earth and migrate to Aida, a lush and habitable alien world. There, they observed the comet Mara and discovered an unknown but powerful energy called "Omnium" contained in it. They built the Omnium Tower to capture Mara, but due to the influence of Omnium radiation, a catastrophic disaster occurred on their new homeworld."

You play as a newcomer to a small settlement, and since this is the future, we have robots, monsters and all sorts of crazy post-apocalyptic things we all love and enjoy. As you play you quickly learn who your friends are, mainly due to being pulled into battles against those monsters and robots I mentioned earlier.

Full review at


REVIEW: The Moderator (2022) - Starring Irma Lake, Gary Dourdan and Robert Knepper

I thought I would check out new action crime thriller The Moderator on Prime Video, mainly due to the awesome poster, but also because I like a good international thriller, as they often offer something different to the usual rubbish that comes out of Hollywood.

Irma Lake stars as Mya Snik, one day she finds out that two of her Scandinavian friends in Morocco have been killed, and a video of their deaths sent to family. Luckily Snik happens to be a covert assassin, which means she can seek out revenge.

She quickly finds out that the deaths are part of a long line of sadistic murders by an underground crime syndicate, she decides to start hunting them down one by one. We soon learn that Snik is part of a group that are fighting against misogynistic men, and are getting revenge for women targeted by such men, rape victims, murder victims and so on.

Directed by Zhor Fassi-Fihri from a screenplay co-written by producer Hicham Hajji and Jonathan McConnell.

Full Review at


Thursday 18 August 2022

REVIEW: Black Wood (2022) - Starring Tanajsia Slaughter & Glenn Morshower

Tanajsia Slaughter stars as Dowanhowee, a Native American woman, her family have been murdered and she is traveling through the American Old West. One day she comes across a small town, she is after a horse to ride to help her on her journey. She comes across the Dutch Wilder Gang who are on their own mission to find hidden gold.

When Dowanhowee realises one of the gang members was behind her family's death, she takes revenge by shooting an arrow through his neck and then finishing the job. She then escapes towards the Black Wood Forest.

The gang chase after her, capture her and then force her to guide them through the forest to what they hope will be a fortune of gold.

Full Review at


Wednesday 17 August 2022

REVIEW: Day Shift (2022) - Starring Jamie Foxx, Meagan Good and Dave Franco

From J. J. Perry in his directorial debut comes Day Shift, a good old fashioned vampire horror comedy

Jamie Foxx stars as "pool cleaner" Bud Jablonski, one night after seeing someone leave a nearby house, Bud breaks in and is confronted by two vampires, one a young man and one an old woman. Of course, he kills the vampires and we quickly learn that Bud is no ordinary pool cleaner, that is just his cover, because by night he is a vampire hunter. After killing the vampires, he takes their fangs.

Back in the normal world and Bud is having family problems, his ex-wife wants to move to Florida, taking their young daughter with her. She can't afford the fees for her daughter's private school, as well as needing money for braces, and as everyone knows, life is cheaper and much better in Florida. Bud promises to find the money if they promise to stay if he does.

Bud tries to sell the fangs at the pawn shop, who also just happens to know all about vampires, but the money on offer is not enough. Bud realises he needs to get back into the vampire hunting union, whereby he will be rewarded much better for his hunts.

Full Review at


REVIEW: Mega Man Battle & Fighters - Nintendo Switch

Mega Man Battle & Fighters is a straightforward port from the NeoGeo Pocket Color release of Mega Man The Power Battle and Mega Man 2 The Power Fighters.

Basically, this is a simple way to just play the boss fights from the Mega Man 1 - 7 games, you can choose to play as a few different characters from the series including Proto Man, Bass, and Duo. Each have their own styles of fighting and weapons to master.

With 40 boss battles to master, there is enough here for fans of the original series to enjoy. As you beat your opponents you collect their character data and fill up your database.

With all this said, as this is a direct port of a super niche release on the Japanese NeoGeo Pocket Color, in game everything is in Japanese, and the trading functions have been disabled. Although the menu is in Japanese, because the trading function is greyed out, it is easy enough to figure out things enough so that you can play the battles.

Full Review at


Tuesday 16 August 2022

REVIEW: Secret Headquarters (2022) - Starring Owen Wilson, Walker Scobell and Jesse Williams

I am a big Owen Wilson fan, so when I heard about this new film starring Owen Wilson as a super hero, I was very excited to see it.

Unfortunately, Owen Wilson is more of a cameo on the film, and instead this is a kid's film in the style of Spy Kids.

The story starts out with Jack Kincaid (Owen Wilson) coming across a crashed alien ship, an alien ball then chooses him to be "The Guard" and bestows upon him special powers. So far so good.

Full Review at


Sunday 14 August 2022

REVIEW: Voyage on Nintendo Switch

From Ratalaika Games and Venturous comes a new side scrolling adventure game in Voyage.

You play as two survivors on an unknown planet, with beautiful hand drawn graphics, you must keep moving forward and try to overcome whatever obstacles stand in your way so you can find your way home as well as understand about the world you are on.

Played best as a co-op game, this can also be played solo, whereby you can switch between characters where needed. A bit like "Another Sight" but your characters tend to stay much closer together.

Main gameplay involves pushing and pulling things, using each character to help the other reach places, activating "Statue Scenes" and so on. Communication is basic between the two characters, and you can switch between characters at will. If playing solo, the character you are not controlling will generally just follow you, so you may need to tell them to stay put, or to follow. You can even hug each other which is nice.

Full Review at


Friday 12 August 2022

REVIEW: Arcade Paradise on Xbox

When I was first asked to review Arcade Paradise, just looking at the press material I assumed this would be something similar to the recent Capcom Arcade Stadium releases, but although sharing elements with that game, this does things a little different.

You play as Ashley, and your job is to run the tedious day to day business of a launderette after your father Gerald, has gone to the Riviera.

Now what has any of this got to do with Arcade games I hear you ask, well in the back of the launderette is a room full of Arcade games. General gameplay starts with you entering the launderette, you will clean up rubbish from the floor, pull chewing gum from seats and when your rubbish bag is full you will take it outside and put in the large trash. Back inside you will pick up dirty clothes, put in washing machines, and then in the dryer. Do this all in quick time and you will get a score based on that.

Doing these tedious tasks earn you money, which in turn you can use on the computer in the office to unlock new arcade games.

Full Review at


Thursday 11 August 2022

REVIEW: Before We Leave - Nintendo Switch

I originally reviewed Before We Leave for its original PC release, so I was looking forward to seeing how well this game would port to a Nintendo Switch, well wait no longer it is here, and I am checking it out on a Switch Lite.

"Before We Leave is a non-violent city building game set in a cozy corner of the universe."

As with all city builders, your job is to create a society, and help it grow, and expand. Your people are known as "Peeps", and they have spent generations underground, since their civilisation is lost, you will slowly help them grow, expand the settlements, discover new as well as lost ancient technologies and eventually even leave the planet and colonise new and wonderful places.

Everything is very laid back, the mechanics of the game are very simple, the planet your play on is based on hexagonal tiles, each tile represents an area you can build on. You start off with everything very basic, and as you go along, you will find that you can research new ways to do things, everything from the way you build roads, to the buildings and so on.

Full Review at


Wednesday 10 August 2022

REVIEW: Sweet Transit (Early Access) on PC (Steam)

Sweet Transit is an intricate city builder where the railway is the king and the solution to all your city problems.

 

We have had hundreds if not thousands of city builder games over the years, and quite a few of them have been based around railways, and this is exactly where Sweet Transit sits. Although the railway system is the centre point of the game, it is much more than just about laying tracks, you also have to build a city, you have to create production lines, turn small villages into thriving modern cities.

 

You start off with a simple warehouse, and as you grow your village you will also grow your railway network.

 

As I mentioned earlier this is an intricate city builder, if layman's terms that means this is a detailed simulation. Perhaps a little too detailed and intricate for some hoping for more of an arcade experience.

 

Instead of just jumping straight into the game, you really need to start off with the tutorials, so you can get an understanding of how to get going. If you jump straight into the game, you will quickly get stuck and have no idea what you are doing. The onscreen display is not the best and I hope improves massively as the game further develops.

 

 

Full Review at

http://www.gamingcouchpotato.co.uk/2022/08/review-sweet-transit-early-access-on-pc.html

 

REVIEW: Unholy (2024 Horror Game) - On Xbox

Unholy by Duality Games immerses players in a chilling world split between a bleak dystopian reality and a grotesque, supernatural realm. ...