While our on/off break is taking longer than expected, this update will
take in a new competition as well as a catch-up on DVDs and Games that have
come in recently as well as singles of note in the charts.
The new competition online is as follows:
Life on Mars Series 2 (DVD)
CHARTS: Catch-up to date with the best and worst singles of the past few weeks...
Not a full chart run-down yet, but a catch-up on what we've missed from the
past few weeks as to what was worth a listen and what was a complete waste
of plastic (or a download if that's your music method of choice).
The release dates for singles and albums will continue when normal service
resumes in due course.
New DVDs and games out now and soon: The Warriors on Sony PSP...
First in this round-up this week is The Warriors (£29.99, Rockstar), which is out now
on Sony PSP.
New York, 1979. A battle on the streets. The armies of the night number 60,000 strong, and tonight they're
all after The Warriors a street gang wrongly accused of killing a rival gang leader. The Warriors must
make their way from one end of New York to their turf on the other side of the city. All that stands
between The Warriors and their survival are 20 miles and thousands of street gang members.
The army of gangs owns the streets and there's no turning back, they must fight for their lives and
learn the meaning of loyalty as danger and uncertainty emerge from the city night.
Features include:
Story Mission- Play as all the members of the Warriors through the events leading up to and including the film.
Side Missions- Engage in bone crunching side missions including Turf Invasion (attacking rival gang territory) and Robbin' Hood (earn cash for various members of the local community)
Rumble Mode- versus multiplayer in which you can play as any character from any gang featured in the game and challenge your friends to all out brawls in numerous arena based environments.
Armies of the Night- The side-scrolling homage to the arcade brawlers of old, now fully unlocked from the beginning.
Cooperative and versus multiplayer via Wi-Fi available in all game modes.
Play as 9 different Warriors with a huge range of visceral fighting styles and deadly combos.
Incredibly varied gameplay including spray paint tagging and numerous side missions and objectives.
Control your gang members using warchief commands including commands to 'Destroy Everything' and 'Watch Your Back'..
Click on the packshot for further info.
Sid Meier's Pirates on Sony PSP...
Out now is Sid Meier's Pirates on the Sony PSP from Take 2 Interactive (£29.99).
Sid Meier debuts on the PSP with his award-winning adventure/strategy game, Sid Meier's Pirates!
Take on the role of a Pirate Captain to amass fortune and fame and seize your rightful place as one of
the most revered and feared pirates in history. There is a whole cast of interesting and dangerous
characters to meet, mysteries to solve, exotic island destinations to discover, and powerful alliances
to forge.
Duel, battle (on land and sea), dance, sneak, and hunt your way to unimaginable riches! Each time you
play you create a new and exciting adventure, so the replayability is limitless!
Click on the packshot for further info.
Test Drive Unlimited drives onto the PS2...
In Test Drive Unlimited on the PS2 (£29.99, Atari), which is out now,
live the dream car lifestyle with the most unique and innovative on and offline racing gameplay on the
biggest network of roads ever realised on PlayStation 2, fully streaming with no loading times. With
the ability for thousands to play online simultaneously, gamers take part 8 player races or go for
a drive on over 1000 miles of diverse Hawaiian roads, passing by any number of other players on the way.
Visit exclusive dealerships to purchase new cars or simply take them for a spin. Collect and trade rare
performance parts and customize each car to make it one-of-a-kind. Winning races, challenges, missions and
tournaments earns credits which can be used to purchase new cars, rare performance parts, clothes,
apparel, homes and garages. Test Drive Unlimited is racing reinvented.
Click on the packshot for further info.
Bullet Witch flies onto the Xbox 360...
In Bullet Witch on the Xbox 360 (£39.99, Atari),
developed by Japan-based Cavia, this game is set on a bleak planet earth in the year 2013 with human
kind on the brink of extinction and hideous demons creating a tidal wave of destruction and havoc. All hope
of mankind’s survival rests with Alicia, a beautiful witch blessed with magical skills and a swift
trigger finger.
Players must guide Alicia in her heroic quest to prevent the decimation of mankind by wielding fearsome
weaponry and using her unusual and spectacular powers to manipulate natural phenomena in her environment.
Click on the packshot for further info.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories arrives on the PS2...
Out now is Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories on the PS2 (£19.99, Rockstar).
Vice City, 1984. Opportunity abounds in a city emerging from the swamps, its growth fueled by the violent
power struggle in a lucrative drugs trade. Construction is everywhere as a shining metropolis rises from
foundations of crime and betrayal. As a soldier, Vic Vance has always protected his dysfunctional family,
his country, himself.
One bad decision later and that job is about to get much harder. Kicked out onto the streets of a city
torn between glamour and gluttony, Vic is faced with a stark choice - build an empire or be crushed.
Vincent Cassel (LA HAINE) plays a psychotic groundskeeper who welcomes in the daughter of his employee after
she has enjoyed a hard night of partying with her friends (whom she also brings along). After Cassel's
character spooks the visitors with a tale about Satan things really get spooky as strange events start
to beset the house.
Extras include bonus footage, deleted scenes and featurettes including Vampire, a short featuring Monica
Belluci.
Click on the packshot for further info.
The Bigas Luna Collection on DVD...
Out now The Bigas Luna Collection on DVD from Tartan (£34.99).
This is a box set of four titles from revolutionary Spanish director Bigas Luna: The Ages of Lulu, Jamon Jamon,
Golden Balls and The Tit and the Moon, all in anamorphic widescreen.
Extras include an interview with Bigas Luna plus documentaries including "Ages of Lulu at the BBFC" and
production notes.
Click on the packshot for further info.
Four new DVDs from Silver Vision and FightDVD...
First of the four is Pride 30 - Fully Loaded (£17.99, released April 16th),
running for 206 minutes and the matches include Mirko “CroCop” Filipovic vs. Josh Barnett,
Ken Shamrock vs. Kazushi Sakuraba, Makoto Takimoto vs. Dong Sik Yoon and
Sergei Kharitonov vs. Fabricio Werdum.
Next, UFC 65 - Bad Intentions (£17.99, out now) runs for 171 minutes and contains the
UFC Welterweight Championship: Matt Hughes vs. Georges St. Pierre, plus
UFC Heavyweight Championship matches including Tim Sylvia vs. Jeff Monson,
Alessio Sakara vs. Drew McFedries and Frank Mir vs. Brandon Vera.
Armageddon 2006 (£17.99, out now) features a number of different matches such as the
Last Ride Match: Undertaker vs. Mr. Kennedy, the Cruiserweight Championship: Gregory Helms vs. Jimmy Wang Yang,
and the United States Championship with Chris Benoit vs. Chavo Guerrero and Boogeyman vs. Miz, running
for 186 minutes in total.
Finally, New Year's Revolution 2007 (£17.99, released April 16th) is the last title
to be featured today and runs for 182 minutes, containing matches such as the
WWE Championship: John Cena vs. Umaga, World Tag Team Championship: Rated-RKO vs. D-Generation X,
Steel Cage Match for the Intercontinental Championship: Jeff Hardy vs. Johnny Nitro and
Women’s Championship: Mickie James vs. Victoria.
Click on the packshots to purchase these titles on Amazon.
Go back in time with Ancient Wars: Sparta on the PC...
Out on April 20th is Ancient Wars: Sparta for the PC DVD-ROM (£29.99, Eidos).
Ancient Wars: Sparta is based on the history of the ancient ages and their main nations. Spartans, Persians
and Egyptians are fighting for influence around Asia Minor, Europe and North Africa. Following historical
events, the action takes place with different campaigns for all three races. Sparta represents 3D strategy
in real time with the newly developed Ancient Wars Engine (AWE), where the player will have to use each
nation's powers to be superior over other competitors and build up a dominant culture and civilisation.
The main emphasis is on large-scaled battles and complex tactical manoeuvres. Players can strategically
equip soldiers with weapons of choice. Warriors can be equipped with weapons and shields, can be put on
horses or on chariots and be given special abilities. The player can collect abandoned weapons after
battles or import powerful weapons from other cultures to build special units. Fire, Wind etc. will
effect the whole environment. Cities can be upgraded and turned to fortresses, workers gather resources
to ensure a safe economy. Ancient Wars: Sparta offers RTS fans all their favourite gameplay with a vast
variety of new features and innovative options.
Click on the packshot for further info.
Japanese puzzle genius with Gunpey on the Sony PSP...
Out now is Gunpey on the Sony PSP (£29.99, Atari).
The original concept developed by video game legend Gunpei Yokoi, comes to life on the PSP. Re-imagined by
the creative minds at Q Entertainment, Gunpey delivers an addictive puzzle game experience, combined
with exciting music and visuals for the ultimate game on the go. The player's objective is simple - or
is it?
Various line angles climb up the screen over five panels, and you must connect all the lines over
the five panels, filling the screen from left to right. If an incomplete line reaches the top of the
screen, the game is over.
Click on the packshot for further info.
Go to the War Front on PC DVD-ROM...
Out now is War Front: Turning Point on the PC (£34.99, Atari).
This game is the first "Science-Fiction/World War II" RTS title that combines resource gathering, army
building, base construction and a full-fledged with an intuitive interface and accessible tactical combat.
In an alternative universe Adolf Hitler is successfully assassinated during World War 2. But Evil Breads
Evil and the events that follow on bring more evil to the world. Great Britain is occupied; and the War
takes a dramatic change.
The Nazi War machine is unchallenged and develops highly sophisticated weapons while the Americans, who
else, lay silently constructing weapons of there own to launch the a massive offensive to liberate Britain.
Play as Colonel Lynch and defeat in the Nazis in the New Battle of Britain. Contact the German resistance
and investigate just who is behind the Nazi regime. Is it the Russians, the Chinese or is Fuhrer still alive?
Click on the packshot for further info.
Play ball with Everybody's Tennis on the PS2...
Out this Friday is Everybody's Tennis on the Sony PS2 (£29.99, Sony).
A cartoony, great piece of entertainment, make the most of Challenge Mode and Training to master controls
and tennis technique and establish your own play style. Use those skills when you play versus matches,
and think of the CPU players as your warm-up.
Meanwhile practise doubles formation and polish your teamwork to get the most enjoyment out of
team versus matches.
Click on the packshot for further info.
A Woman in Winter is out today from Tartan on DVD...
Out today is A Woman in Winter from Tartan (£19.99),
and stars Jason Flemyng, Julie Gayet and Brian Cox.
Gothic ghost story set against the gloomy backdrop of Edinburgh's spires and closes.
Michael (Jamie Sives) is a young astronomer heavily involved in experiments to break down the barriers
between space and time. A chance encounter with a pretty young French photographer, Caroline (Julie Gayet),
develops into an obsessive love affair. Michael, though the claustrophobic nature of his work, has
lost touch with reality and his mental state begins to crumble.
He is soon locked in a mental struggle to discover whether he is actually a ghost or whether it is Caroline
who has already passed to another dimension.
Extras include a making-of documentary, a director's commentary plus a storyboard featurette and production
notes.
Click on the packshot for further info.
Ghosts spooks it out onto DVD from Tartan...
Out today is Ghosts on DVD from Tartan (£19.99).
Ghosts is a Nick Broomfield-directed dramatisation of the story of 23 Chinese illegal immigrants lost in
Morecambe bay in 2004.
Ai Quin (Ai Quin Lin), a young Chinese girl from a rural area, pays $25,000 to people smugglers to be
brought to the UK in hopes of supporting her family back home. However, rather than a land of milk and
honey, she finds the UK offers her only a series of menial, disastrously paid jobs in food preparation
for large supermarket chains and a cramped, dingy hovel of a home she must share with eleven others in
the same boat.
Finally, they're sent to work picking cockles illegally in the dangerous tidal waters of Morecambe bay
by night, under brutally grasping gang bosses. By using untrained actors, many of whom are former illegal
immigrants themselves, Broomfield lends a chillingly real documentary feel to this portrayal of the
inhumanity being meted out on a large fraction of an estimated 3 million illegal workers in the UK today.
Click on the packshot for further info.
Lead 300 Spartan warriors into battle in 300: March to Glory on Sony PSP...
Out now is 300: March to Glory for the Sony PSP (£29.99, Eidos).
Live the epic adventure inspired by the powerful graphic novel and film, 300. As King Leonidas, you will
lead 300 Spartan warriors in a heroic fight to the death against Xerxes' massive Persian army. The odds
are impossible, but through strategy, bravery, and skill you can save all of Greece and change history forever.
480 B.C.
Xerxes has come to the Hot Gates. Xerxes, the God-King of Persia, the Devourer of Nations. All
who stood in his path now kneel as slaves, licking the blood from his sandals as he treads upon the corpses
of countless kings. But now, we few stand against him - against a horde of men and beasts so massive it
shakes the earth with its march. Our King Leonidas wavers not.
The steady breathing of three hundred boys at his back&ready to die for him without a moment's pause every
one of us ready to die. A thousand nations descend upon tiny Greece, ready to snuff out the world's one
hope for reason and justice. Snorting, snarling desert beasts, howling barbarians, armies from every
corner of the Persian Empire, all amassed in this one place, sworn to make slaves of the only free men the
world has ever known. We, the sons of Sparta.
DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
