Xbox 360 vs PS3 vs PC Head-to-Head Face Off: Dead Rising 2 and F1 2010

Every so often, Eurogamer run a series of technical comparison reviews for games released on both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

This is the latest update to the full list.

• Dead Rising 2 (PC)
• F1 2010

Shinjuku Incident (2009, Jackie Chan Crime Drama) – 7/10 movie review

Cast / crew Executive Producer: Jackie Chan Producer: Willie Chan Producer: Solon So Writer: Derek Yee Writer: Chun Tin Nam Jackie Chan: Steelhead Director: Derek Yee Naoto Takenaka: Inspector Kitano Daniel Wu: Jie Xu Jing Lei: Xiu Xiu / Yuko Eguchi Masaya Kato: Toshinari Eguchi Toru Minegishi: Koichi Muranishi

Shinjuku Incident (2009) Chinese farmer Steelhead illegally travels to Japan to find his girlfriend who left a year or so ago to make her fortune. When he arrives, he discovers the streets are not paved with gold. Not unless you’re willing to paint them with blood first. 7/10 This is unquestionably the best written Jackie Chan movie in his entire career. Shinjuku Incident has an interesting story in an interesting setting with convincingly crafted characters. Jackie exhibits a baffling character trait where he refuses money as a gift or for services rendered but is happy enough to steal, cheat and kill for it. This isn’t a good man forced to do bad things; he sees a, criminal, shortcut and takes it and discovers he’s rather good living on the wrong side of the law. There have been a few Jackie Chan movies where they said ‘you’ll see Jackie as you’ve never seen him before.’ This is the first and only time it’s been true. What’s amazing is that the setups for Chan-tastic fight sequences are all there but then he either runs away (and gets reinforcements) or flails inelegantly. He’s not even called Jack or Jackie in the movie (his name is Steelhead though, which is sufficiently awesome). It really is a genuine shock and is another reason to see this movie, if only to experience that surprisingly deep feeling. This movie contains mild swear words and substance abuse and strong graphic violence, gory and very unpleasant scenes and mild non-sexual nudity, sex scene. Classified 18 by BBFC. Suitable only for persons of 18 years and over.

Gandahar (1987, French Animated Fantasy Adventure) – 6/10 movie review

Cast / crew Producer (Presents credit): Henri Rollin Producer (Presents credit): Jean-Claude Delayre Writer (Adaptation): René Laloux Writer (Original Novel) "Les Hommes-Machines Contre Gandahar" Editions Denoel: Jean-Pierre Andrevon Writer (Dialogue): Raphael Cluzel Animation Designer: Philippe Caza Director: René Laloux Pierre-Marie Escourrou: Sylvain Catherine Chevalier: Airelle Georges Wilson: La Métamorphe

Gandahar (1987) Gandahar is a peaceful utopia but mysterious attacks that are leaving citizens petrified (turned to stone) means that their way of life is under serious threat. They assign their best man, Sylvain, to investigate but his arrogant courage may be his undoing. 6/10 Frankly, I absolutely did not follow the plot (SPOILER soldier hibernates for a thousand years to kill a giant brain instead of waltzing through a time portal and doing the deed straight away). However, the film keeps your interest, showcases plenty of imaginative design, and features an intelligent and charming (and naked) sidekick. This is also a movie with a definite topic; it is, at the very least, about responsibility toward technology. One experiment gets out of control and ends up destroying and saving everyone (it’s complicated) while another doesn’t go as planned and, despite being discarded and abandoned, proves a critical part of Gandahar’s salvation. It reminds us that actions always have consequences. Classified 12 by BBFC. Suitable only for persons of 12 years and over.

9 (2009, CG Animated Post-Apocalyptic Action Adventure) – 6/10 movie review

Cast / crew Director: Shane Acker Writer (Screenplay): Pamela Pettler Writer (Story): Shane Acker Producer: Jim Lemley Producer: Tim Burton Producer: Timur Bekmambetov Producer: Dana Ginsburg Elijah Wood: #9 John C. Reilly: #5 Jennifer Connelly: #7 Christopher Plummer: #1 Crispin Glover: #6 Martin Landau: #2 Fred Tatasciore: #8 / Radio Announcer Animation Director: Joe Ksander

9 (2009) Small sack-man 9 is born into a desolated world where men fought machines and neither side won. He runs into others like him but a little semi-spherical gizmo he’s brought with him is going to change the world forever. Whether he meant to or not. 6/10 SPOILER In order for 9 to make sense, all nine sack-people needed to be absorbed into the machine. They didn’t and so it doesn’t. So, the story’s broken, what does that leave? It leaves an exciting, involving, pacy action adventure that has a memorable visual aesthetic. It’s also highly unusual for an animated film in that it has the tone of a summer action blockbuster instead of a Disney / Pixar experience. It’s definitely worth seeing. I would even go as far as to say it was a good movie. But it could have been so much more. This movie contains magnet abuse (!) and violence, scary scenes, unpleasant scenes, suicide scene. Classified 12A by BBFC. Persons under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult.

Coraline (2008, Stop-Motion Fantasy Adventure) – 4/10 movie review

Cast / crew Dakota Fanning: Coraline Jones Teri Hatcher: Mel Jones / Other Mother / Beldam Jennifer Saunders: Miss April Spink / Other Spink Dawn French: Miss Miriam Forcible / Other Forcible Ian McShane: Mr. Sergei Alexander Bobinsky / Other Bobinsky Lead Animator: Travis Knight Lead Animator: Trey Thomas Lead Animator: Eric Leighton Lead Animator: Phil Dale Supervising Animator: Anthony Scott Producer: Henry Selick Producer: Mary Sandell Writer (Original Novel): Neil Gaiman Writer (Screenplay): Henry Selick Director: Henry Selick Production Designer: Henry Selick

Coraline (2008) Coraline Jones moves with her distracted-by-work parents to a new home out of the city and discovers a mysterious, magical tunnel to another, better, world with another, more attentive, father and another, more loving, mother. 4/10 I don’t know what it is about Henry Selick’s films, Tim Burton / Danny Elfman masterpiece The Nightmare Before Christmas aside. This has the same charmless, unpleasant, uninteresting feeling as James and the Giant Peach and his MTV idents. It never connects emotionally but it is very good technically (despite appearing to have quite a low frame-rate). The facial animation, especially, is uncommonly expressive for stop-motion, the cloth and hair animation is astonishing and the character animation is endlessly superb. It should be noted that, despite being animated, I can’t see children liking or even getting through this at all. I certainly did not like it. This movie contains unpleasant and scary scenes and unpleasant near nudity. Classified PG by BBFC. Parental Guidance.

Split/Second (2010, Action Racing Game) – 9/10 game review

Cast / crew Director: Nick Baynes Senior Producer: Alice Guy Director of Production: Alice Guy Design Director: Paul Glancey Technical Director: David Jefferies

Split/Second (2010) 9/10 Two things hurt this game: a title change from straight-forwardly cool Split Second to the teeth-grindingly unnecessary Split/Second: Velocity and the words ‘reality show.’ A demo that did nothing for me didn’t help but once I started playing the full game, Split/Second‘s eye-poppingly spectacular scenarios and consistently thrilling, fun and rewarding gameplay totally won me over. The entire game is like driving through a cut-scene, yet it is you triggering the spectacular carnage. There is surprising depth to the ‘splosions and handling with both providing immediate thrills balanced with greater gains for experience and finesse. The total lack of licensed music (we have a terrific Rocky IV-esque score by a seemingly uncredited Marc Canham) and licensed vehicles (wonderfully sleek supercars and meaty super-SUV’s) means it looks and sounds like nothing else. This is as good as arcade action racing gets. Classified 7+ by PEGI. The game is only suitable for persons who have reached the age of 7 or over. Links Eurogamer Head-to-Head: 360 Lens of Truth Head-to-Head: PS3

Last Action Hero (1993, Arnold Schwarzenegger Fantasy Action Buddy-Buddy Comedy) – 8/10 movie review

Cast / crew Director: John McTiernan Writer (Screenplay): Shane Black Writer (Screenplay): David Arnott Writer (Story): Zak Penn Writer (Story): Adam Leff Arnold Schwarzenegger: Jack Slater / Himself F. Murray Abraham: John Practice Art Carney: Frank Charles Dance: Benedict Frank McRae: Dekker Tom Noonan: Ripper Robert Prosky: Nick Anthony Quinn: Vivaldi Mercedes Ruehl: Mom Austin O’Brien: Danny Producer: Steve Roth Producer: John McTiernan Executive Producer: Arnold Schwarzenegger

Last Action Hero (1993) Through the use of a magic ticket, film fanatic Danny Madigan gets transported through to the world of the cinema and gets hooked up with his beloved screen hero, Jack Slater. Helping Slater solve the current ‘movie’ mystery, things take a turn for the worst as the bad guys get hold of the ticket and transport through to the real world causing mayhem as they do. 8/10 Hugely entertaining action movie which has several super sequences and is great fun throughout. It suffers very slightly from John McTiernan’s usual problem of feeling a bit too long and it definitely could have used some fine-tuning to some of the non-action sequences and silly reaction shots (there wasn’t time before the film had to be released) but there is a nice pile of gleefully cheesy one-liners ("Do you want to be a farmer? Here’s a couple of acres?" is my favourite, delivered by Arnie before booting a dude in the goolies) and the action is consistently spectacular, fun and thrilling. This movie contains a single sexual swear word, mild swear words and violence, mild unpleasant scenes, mild gory scenes. Classified 15 by BBFC. Suitable only for persons of 15 years and over.

Xbox 360 vs PS3 Head-to-Head Face Off: Tom Clancy’s HAWX 2

Every so often, Eurogamer run a series of technical comparison reviews for games released on both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

This is the latest update to the full list.

• Tom Clancy’s HAWX 2

Xbox 360 vs PS3 vs PC Head-to-Head Face Off: Mafia II

Every so often, Eurogamer run a series of technical comparison reviews for games released on both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

This is the latest update to the full list.

•  Mafia II

The Myth aka San wa (2005, Jackie Chan Fantasy Action Romance) – 5/10 movie review

Cast / crew Executive Producer: Jackie Chan Executive Producer: Willie Chan Director: Stanley Tong Jackie Chan: Meng Yi / Jack Kim Hee-Sun: Ok Soo Tony Leung Ka Fai: William Mallika Sherawat: Samantha Choi Min Soo: General Choi Tam Yiu Man: Xu Gui Writer (Screenplay): Stanley Tong Writer (Screenplay): Wang Hui Ling Writer (Screenplay): Li Haishu Stunt Choreographer: Jackie Chan Stunt Choreographer: Stanley Tong Producer: Willie Chan Producer: Solon So Producer: Barbie Tung Writer (Story): Stanley Tong

Myth, The aka San wa (2005) Quin Dynasty: General Meng Yi oversees the transfer of Concubine Li to his Emperor’s kingdom but a battle quickly ensues. As they make their escape alone, they develop a love that will survive anything, even death. 5/10 This is an attempt at a cross-generational romantic fantasy but an entirely broken script is given way too much screen-time to be overlooked. You spend all of the non-action sequences trying to work out what’s happening regardless of the usually misleading and contradictory words. It starts with a baffling sequence where Tony Leung Ka Fai attempts to save his betrothed by stabbing Jackie (who is the only thing stopping her falling to her death), then they all leap off the cliff anyway and it only gets more nonsensical. It’s largely a good-looking film (the effects are poor) and the score is nice but, of course, we’re here for the action. The action sequences are generally good with the best being the Rat Glue Factory fight, which includes the flexible eye-candy of the almost indescribably hot Mallika Sherawat and punctuated marvellously by a pair of comedy underpants (though I don’t know why you’d want to glue rats to anything ;) ). It’s a classic. The early coffin fight is also superbly orchestrated showcasing the continued inventiveness and energy and comedy that Chan brings to his best sequences. This movie contains martial arts violence, graphic period war violence, gory and unpleasant scenes. Classified 15 by BBFC. Suitable only for persons of 15 years and over.

The Little Mermaid (1989, Disney Fantasy Romance) – 8/10 movie review

Cast / crew Rene Auberjonois: Louis Christopher Daniel Barnes: Eric Jodi Benson: Ariel / Vanessa Pat Carroll: Ursula Paddi Edwards: Flotsam & Jetsam Buddy Hackett: Scuttle Jason Marin: Flounder Kenneth Mars: Triton Ben Wright: Grimsby Samuel E. Wright: Sebastian Composer (Songs): Howard Ashman Composer (Songs): Alan Menken Composer (Score): Alan Menken Producer: Howard Ashman Producer: John Musker Writer: John Musker Writer: Ron Clements Director: John Musker Director: Ron Clements Directing Animator: Mark Henn Directing Animator: Glen Keane Directing Animator: Duncan Marjoribanks Directing Animator: Ruben A. Aquino Directing Animator: Andreas Dejá Directing Animator: Matthew O’Callaghan

Little Mermaid, The (1989) Ariel the Mermaid dreams of leaving her watery palace home and joining the human world. Ignoring the advice of her father King Triton and friend Sebastian the crab, she strikes a bargain with sea witch Ursula, giving up the power of speech in return for human form. Once on dry land she falls for Prince Eric but discovers that the deal was not as straightforward as it seems. 8/10 How important a movie in a company’s history do you have to be in order to have it’s score become the company ident theme? That’s what the song-writing duo of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken achieved here with a beautiful score and indispensable songs. Ashman worked on a song in Oliver and Company, then, with Menken, produced three all-time Disney classics with this, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. Howard Ashman was the driving creative force behind these and sparked a resurgence in the venerable studio that would last for an entire decade after he died. Menken talks about him (on The Little Mermaid commentary) as "the greatest theatrical and dramatic talent of our generation" and, for once in Hollywood, that wasn’t empty hyperbole. Classified U by BBFC. Universal: Suitable for All.

Clash of the Titans (2010, Bland Fantasy Adventure) – 2/10 movie review

Cast / crew Director: Louis Leterrier Writer (Screenplay): Travis Beacham Writer (Screenplay): Phil Hay Writer (Screenplay): Matt Manfredi Producer: Basil Iwanyk Producer: Kevin De La Noy Sam Worthington: Perseus Gemma Arterton: Io Mads Mikkelsen: Draco Alexa Davalos: Andromeda Jason Flemyng: Calibos / Acrisius Ralph Fiennes: Hades Liam Neeson: Zeus Director (Original Motion Picture): Desmond Davis Writer (Original Movie): Beverley Cross

Clash of the Titans (2010) Perseus, illegitimate son of the god Zeus, has been blessed with incredible thighs and the ability to learn decades of sword-fighting experience in under a minute but cursed with the charisma of cheap cheese. Fortunately, bland, stubborn, irritating and Australian is how the ancient Greeks like their heroes and so he is sent to the Fates to discover how to defeat the Kraken and save Argos, thus protecting catalogue shopping for all time. 2/10 Whatever charisma is, Sam Worthington doesn’t have it but he is by no means the worst thing about this film. No, that would be the script which sees writers laughing all the way to the bank as they cut-and-paste movie tropes with reckless half-heartedness with no consideration for an audience that will be tempted to watch this for spectacular monster mash action. That said, audiences will be deceived on that front as well. There are a number of decent monsters but they are undone by Hollywood’s current inability to produce a decent action sequence. An action sequence should have a beginning, middle and end. It should be a mini-journey, a clear battle of mind and metal with our hero emerging victor because of something only he can do. Clash of the Titans is bland, worthless non-entertainment and the extra star here is for the Pegasus effects only. This movie contains mild adult dialogue, bad language and extreme violence, extremely unpleasant scenes. Classified 12A by BBFC. Persons under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult.

Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Double Agent (2006, Stealth Action) – 8/10 game review

Cast / crew Michael Ironside: Sam Fisher

Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Double Agent (2006) Reeling from grief over his daughter’s accidental death at the hands of a drunk driver, Sam Fisher abandons his mission to find the night-vision goggles he hurled out of a helicopter over the sea and undertakes an highly risky undercover infiltration of a terrorist organisation known as John Brown’s Army. 8/10 After getting used to the pace of the game after playing just about anything else, this is an absorbing highly satisfying chance to pummel terrorists. Silently, of course. The structure of the game is terrific: you have several objectives, some have to be done, some don’t. It means that you don’t have to do everything perfectly and allows for three major decisions for you to take with agreeably weighty outcomes and lots of little ones. Despite being an early seventh-generation console game, it looks fantastic – crisp, detailed and highly convincing. It’s not brutal and detailed in the violence but that doesn’t lessen the impact or joy of rendering another scumbag unconscious without alerting any of his buddies. This game contains bad language and violence. Classified 15 by BBFC. Suitable only for persons of 15 years and over.

Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993, Disney Musical Fantasy) – 9/10 movie review

Cast / crew Director: Henry Selick Producer: Tim Burton Producer: Denise Di Novi Music Composer: Danny Elfman Composer (Lyrics): Danny Elfman Writer (Original Story): Tim Burton Writer (Original Characters): Tim Burton Writer (Adaptation): Michael McDowell Writer (Screenplay): Caroline Thompson Animation Supervisor: Eric Leighton Associate Producer: Danny Elfman Danny Elfman: [voice of] Jack Skellington (singing) Chris Sarandon: [voice of] Jack (speaking)

Nightmare Before Christmas, The (1993) Halloween Town’s pumpkin king Jack Skellington stumbles across Christmas Town and decides to cheer himself up by handling the Christmas duties himself. Will his attempt be a success or will it be The Nightmare Before Christmas? 9/10 Brilliant musical fantasy which marries stunning technical achievements to breath-taking visual artistry, a charismatic score and several terrific songs with unforgettable consequences. This is, after Edward Scissorhands, Danny Elfman and Tim Burton’s second masterpiece; a near-flawless collaboration of Burton’s ability to produce absolutely striking visuals and new ‘fairy tales’ that feel like they’ve been around forever and Elfman’s ability to hook completely into the tone of Burton’s vision. Director Henry Selick was the last key to this particular production as he marshals everything into brilliantly animated life. This movie contains unpleasant scenes. Classified PG by BBFC. Parental Guidance.