The Unborn (movie review)

I had been looking forward to this movie for a few months & at the time the buzz was pretty good, even the trailer looked promising but having watched it I have to say it really didn’t live up to the expectations at all. I think the main problem is that instead of taking a fresh approach to the horror genre it relied too much on “Ring” type scares with a dash of “The Exorcist” thrown in.. not that those films are bad to start with but I have seen those scares before & indeed so have many movie fans.

So the story goes like this:
Casey played by Odette yustman has a series of bad dreams which feature a dog with an upside down head (seriously) & a spooky looking ghost boy. As the story progresses we learnt that young casey is cursed & this particular curse reaches far back into her families history. It turns out that caseys mother committed suicide & her unborn brother is actually a Jewish demon (very omen like) this particular Jewish demon was born in Nazi Germany through a series of experiments & such, the demon can jump from one body to the next (like the movie Fallen) but it seems to stay most of the time in a creepy looking boy, purely for shock I bet. Apparently a gate has opened from one world to the next & in order to close it casey must undergo an exorcism (the exorcism scene has a few predictable scares) other than that the film didn’t contain enough good scares & the story was rather ..bad, at one point the demon uses the body of an old man to attack its victim & you might think the old man bent up like a spider is a fresh scare but no its been done before - in a deleted scene of the original exorcist the filmmakers had an identical scene with an identical spider walk gimmick.. Did the unborn guys see this & think no one would notice, either way it was too little too late. The acting is surprisingly good with a good performance from all the cast but the story falls apart too soon & scares just don’t live up to the hype, the chances are if you have seen the trailer then you have seen all the scary bits already. I really wanted to like this film but alas its below average & too predictable.

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RESIDENT EVIL 5 (review) - completed on PS3 & Xbox 360

Back in December I posted a review of the demo for res5 & at the time the only bad thing I could say about it was the controls were very ropey & no that I have played & completed the full game I can finally give a fill opinion on the whole thing. Chris Redfield returns as the main character in this latest incarnation of the series, he is joined this time with partner Sheva Alomar who’s strength & intelligence is vital in completing the mission. Using the handy 2 player co-op mode in the main game play the play can get a friend to take control of Sheva & join in the action - this counts for both offline & online, for anyone who’s never tried online co-op this is a really good game to start it off on. Since I went through the whole game I’ll try and go into as much detail without spoiling too much for people who have yet to finish or indeed play the game so.. On with the review.

I’m not going to go into too much detail about the story because its hard to say a little without saying too much. The plot ties up a lot of loose ends from the start of the series up into 4 & of course 5 while still sticking closely to weskerlos illuminados & the evil las plagas infection. The new infection created stronger.. Faster more intelligent enemies that you have to face in the game. The game itself is set in Africa & centres around the character of Chris Redfield, on arrival he teams up with Sheva Alomar.. But soon enough they both start to notice that something is definitely wrong…

Resident evil 4 completely changed the way survival horror games would play for years to come & it was obvious that res5 would have a lot to live up to & for capcom the makers of the game it was definitely a huge task to live up to the expectations that were set from res4. Res5 like 4 is more of a shooting first & asking questions later kind of game, in fact the AI comes at you so fast sometimes its almost impossible to think about it, you just have to jump in head first & shoot your way through the horror that’s coming at you.

The feeling of a first person shooter is dominant in this game so get used to laser sighted targeting or even sniper rifle targeting because it will soon be your best friend. The controls themselves are basic enough with an added strafe option to help you walk & aim, the cover options work meaninglessly making it easy to duck out of trouble or crouch under surfaces, sadly however the controls stay a little flat but then I guess if they got more complicated then the character movements with get so complex that it would loose the survival horror element.
It seems like before res5 there was a lot of games trying to fill the spot “left 4 dead” - “dead rising on the wii” - “house of the dead overkill”, left 4 dead was maybe the strongest contender for the title & while swarms of flesh hungry zombies were aplenty it lacked one major element.. A real story & level bosses. Res5 of course has a huge story & incredible level bosses. The enemies this time around seem to be even smarter & harder to beat (I finished the game on VERY HARD mode) they move faster & more coordinated than ever & they look more terrifying than ever too! The bosses are really impressive & it wont be a walk in the park when it comes to taking them down.. But that’s a good thing! The game will last longer. There is a strong group of different & varied looking & acting enemies & while one or two may seem similar to the ones in 4 you wont be disappointed with the number of new & freshly designed creatures & zombies. In games like left 4 dead zombies will most likely just run at you & tear you apart..ok that’s horrifying enough but in res5 some of the enemies will toss axes & spears at you/carry heavy weaponry & guns/some will even be equipped with stab proof vests & Kevlar.. Think zombie soldiers & it will make sense. Like I said I don’t want to spoil the game so its hard to not go into so much detail when the game is just so damn good.

The graphics themselves are top-notch & will really make you feel like you are in these environments. The lightning is some of the best I have seen in any game so far with much care given to surfaces & weather elements, particle effects are flawless & smoke & fire seem immaculate, every little element of the atmosphere meshes so well together that at times you will forget you are playing a game & think you are actually watching a movie. As for the FMVS/cinematics they are some of the best the series has ever churned out, the human & indeed zombie characters all have great facial/eye/body movement. Having played res5 on both the ps3 & the xbox 360 I noticed a small inconsistency.. The frame rate on the ps3 was a little bit lower than that of the 360, while its not a huge difference if like me you have both systems then I’d suggest getting it for the 360 simply for the frame rate issue - on BOTH systems the content & features/game play is equal.

Having sheva in the game (player 2) is a good & bad thing. Ok so her AI capabilities are pretty sharp & she is good at taking out enemies & even saving you with a quick boost of health.. But at times you might feel like you want to go through the game alone. She does however double inventory space making it easier to carry more items & weapons.. But you have to remember that she too will need ammo & weapons so their has to be a balance, you also need her to perform complex actions that will help you reach areas & parts of the game. As for items & weapons there is a good selection. Missing this time around is the arms dealer that showed up so regularly in 4..I liked that guy! Instead this time you reach a screen where you can just purchase the items & weapons of your choosing. Like in 4 you earn money by collecting up gold/treasure/jewels etc & then selling them for cash..with the cash you buy the weapons..simple really, so what weapons are there. Handguns/sniper rifles (the dragunov SVD being my favourite) assault rifles (the AK makes an appearance) submachine guns (mp5 included) explosives/other types of ammunition & of course most of the weapons can be upgraded & modified to enhance their power. During the game its always a good idea to keep an eye out for items that can be sold at the end of the level because they will eventually disappear if they are not collected so smash open crates & boxes because the rewards are worth it & you will need to upgrade your weapons & items to make it through to the next level.

Like res4 this too has a lot of lifespan & you will definitely be coming back to the game for its many features & unlockables such as costumes/figurines/goodies & of course the all important Mercenaries game - this time around Mercs has 10 unlockable characters. If you never played 4 then you will be new to the Mercs experience, in Mercs the player or players (its 2 player this time!) is plunged into a level surrounded with zombies & they have to take out as many of them before the timer runs out, its fast paced & you can collect time to keep the game going but you have to really work hard to get further & string up combo’s.

So having played though the game I can say it’s a great experience & it will definitely satisfy both fans of the resident evil series & even people who have never played a res game before. It can be tough at times but it being a survival horror game you have to expect it & resident evil has never been an easy game nor do then fans want a simple walkthrough. Its true that not a whole not has changed from number 4 but that’s not a bad thing, 4 was pretty much perfect & at the time the only thing to improve on was the graphics.. With 5 the graphics have leaped forward & the game play is solid. The unlockables & extra features give the game a strong lifespan while the atmosphere & playability will have you coming back again & again for more - if you buy any game this year make it Resident Evil 5.