PlayStation Classic – The other 15 games we’d like to see

Originally published on Set The Tape

It’s an exciting time for fans of the original Sony console with this week’s announcement of the PlayStation Classic. We know it will have 20 pre-loaded games accompanying it, but only five have so far been revealed: Final Fantasy VII, Ridge Racer Type 4, Tekken 3, Jumping Flash and Wild Arms.

There are hundreds of games that Sony could potentially pick from for the remaining 15 titles, many of which are amazing games. Here’s the 15 that we would love to see.

Metal Gear Solid

Not just one of the best games on the Playstation, but perhaps one of the greatest of any console ever. It introduced thousands of fans to the Metal Gear universe and Solid Snake. A game that, at times, feels more like watching a movie, with so much dialogue it could fill a novel; it’s packed with great characters, over-the-top action, epic boss fights, and a story that will keep you entertained for hours.

Resident Evil

The mother of all survival horror games, Resident Evil is still an entertaining play, despite the clunky controls and awful dialogue. With the series still going strong today, two series of movies, novels and manga, this is a universe that is far from being done. Not only is this game worth including as an all time great, but there are still a lot of younger gamers who haven’t experienced the original. This would be the perfect opportunity for them to see where it all began.

Crash Team Racing

Sony’s attempt at Mario Kart, Crash Team Racing was never big enough to warrant a sequel, but it’s still one of the most popular racing games on the console. Whilst I would usually include Crash Bandicoot itself on this list, I’m not going to because of the recent remaster (same for Spyro), but as Crash Team Racing wasn’t a part of that remaster, I think it’s about time the game got another shot in the spotlight.

Final Fantasy VIII

I get why Final Fantasy VII is on the console, it’s the one in the series that is supposed to be the best (I personally disagree). With Nintendo having just announced a whole host of Final Fantasy content coming to the Switch, including VII and IX, the only main Final Fantasy game from the PlayStation not getting a new release is Final Fantasy VIII, and this is unacceptable. With the much improved graphics over VII, the cast of interesting characters, a more complex story that still has fans debating two decades later, and a much more enjoyable gameplay experience, it’s the perfect choice to be part of this package.

Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver

Not the first game in the Legacy of Kain series, but it is probably the most well known. The game that revitalised and relaunched the sprawling and complex game series, as well as introducing new protagonist Raziel, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver is one of the darker, more complex action adventure games on the PlayStation.

Vagrant Story

One of the most popular Role Playing Games on the console, Vagrant Story is often also cited as one of the best. With its shift in focus from traditional RPG elements such as NPC interaction and buying supplies from shops and traders to puzzle solving and weapon creation, Vagrant Story presents what was a fairly unique PlayStation experience. With copies of the game costing around £30 second hand, this new console could be the first chance for a lot of people to play it, if included.

Dino Crisis

Dino Crisis wasn’t a long lived franchise (existing between 1999 and 2003) but whilst it was around, it was damn good. Taking a lot of elements from Resident Evil, but shifting the focus from mutant monsters and zombies to dinosaurs, the game added a whole new dimension to the survival horror experience. The series may have shot itself in the foot with Dino Crisis 3 but there’s still a lot to love about the original.

Silent Hill

Other survival horror games rely on deadly enemies and jump scares to keep people frightened. Silent Hill went for atmosphere and psychological horror instead. Set within the fog-shrouded mountain town of Silent Hill, the game puts players in the shoes of a desperate father looking for his lost daughter, a story that will send you into Hell itself and spawn one of the most popular game series around.

Tony Hawks Pro Skater 2

I was never really into skating as a teenager, it didn’t really appeal to me, but I loved Tony Hawks Pro Skater 2. It was fun and challenging, offering new players an engaging experience, whilst allowing the more experienced experts further challenges. Its ability to appeal to players from a broad range of skills, its variety of courses, and the challenge of trying to unlock Spider-Man as a skater made it one of the best sports games on the console.

Resident Evil 2

Resident Evil 2 proved that a sequel can improve upon the original in every way. It shifted the action from a confined mansion to an entire city, brought in new monsters, new characters, and an expanded story, all whilst improving the controls and gameplay. With the added bonus of an A and B scenario for both main characters, plus two additional unlockable modes, Resident Evil 2 would add hours of gameplay to the new console. The fact that the remake is fast approaching would also mean that a lot of gamers would get the chance to re-experience the original before the update.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

A bold reinvention of a series already a decade old upon its release, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night changed a lot of the series staples, shifting the protagonist from the vampire hunting Belmont’s to Alucard, son of Dracula, adding a new loot system, non-linear exploration and a whole host of new enemies. Often cited as one of the high points of the franchise, it’s still an incredibly enjoyable and challenging game.

Wipeout 2097

Swapping cars for super fast flying vehicles of the future, the Wipeout series is still one of the best racing games around. Making what can often be a repetitive and boring genre into something fresh and exciting, Wipeout 2097 upped the ante on previous entries in the series, adding a new interface, weapons and stages, all accompanied by a techno soundtrack. It’s a racing game guaranteed to appeal, even to those who don’t usually enjoy the genre.

Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee

A puzzle solving platform game set within its own uniquely bizarre world, Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee put players in control of Abe, a Mudukon slave worker escaping captivity when he discovers his people are about to be used as food. A strange game, with some weird gameplay, it nevertheless offers a fun and different platforming experience.

Parasite Eve II

Based upon a popular Japanese novel of the same name, Parasite Eve was a genre hybrid that blended together action RPG and survival horror. Following New York City cop Aya Brea as she tries to stop an entity named Eve from destroying humanity, the game added interesting new features such as real-time battles and the ability to target particular body parts. Clearly having inspired other games with its infusion of RPG progression systems into a survival horror framework, Parasite Eve II is an often overlooked classic.

Tomb Raider II

Whilst the first Tomb Raider game is the one that sparked the entire franchise, it’s not the best one on the PlayStation with that title instead falling to the sequel. Tomb Raider II expanded on different aspects of the original, but managed to refine many of the issues. Controls were made smoother, combat enhanced, better puzzle solving was added, exploration and environments were improved, and both the story and characters were better. A peak in the series for many years, it deserves its place on the new console.


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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 1×09 – ‘Repairs’ – TV Rewind

Originally published on Set The Tape

With the first season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. close to its midway point the show should have found its feet by now and should really know what kind of show it wants to be. Sadly, ‘Repairs’ continues to be a fairly lacklustre adventure of the week that fails to impress.

The main problem with this episode is that the tone feels skewed, trying to mix together the humour of Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) and Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) deciding to prank Skye (Chloe Bennet) as the new girl on the team with the past trauma that Agent May (Ming-Na Wen) has experienced. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has always done a good job of combining together humour and more serious elements, but this particular episode feels like a large misstep.

Whilst we have yet to be told, or shown, what exactly happened to May in her past, we know that it was traumatic enough to make her give up on field work and shut herself off from other people. The event must have been something traumatic to have this kind of effect, yet Fitz and Simmons seem to find it something appropriate to joke about. It’s bad enough that they’re making up stories at the expense of someone else, but to do so with something that was deeply damaging to someone they regard as a friend just makes them look like jerks.

The main mystery of the week isn’t too inspiring either, with the focus being on a young woman named Hannah (Laura Seay) that appears to be displaying telekinetic powers. As the episode unfolds we learn that she is actually being stalked by Tobias Beckett (Robert Baker), a man that was obsessed with Hannah before being caught in an experimental explosion that has caused him to become trapped between dimensions. Shifting between this world and an alien reality, Tobias acts somewhat like a ghost, able to disappear and reappear at will.

The concept isn’t bad, but it’s not especially well executed. Instead of making the most of the concept the episode appears to have been reduced to a bottle episode, with all of the major action beats and plot points taking place within the confines of the S.H.I.E.L.D. plane. With power out on the ship the team are reduced to sneaking their way through darkened corridors with very little sense of where they actually are within the structure. For a set that’s used so often it’s hard to get a real sense of the layout or scale of The Bus.

‘Repairs’ also doesn’t seem to know what to do with Skye or Coulson (Clark Gregg). The team leader is pushed to the side, stuck at being reactive rather than proactive. The show also seems to have admitted that it doesn’t know what it’s doing with Skye, reducing her role on the team to being nice to people. There are a few moments that are quite good in the episode despite the many flaws it seems to be suffering from, while Iain De Caestecker and his terrified scream at his own mop prank is quite amusing.

It’s easy to see why the early days of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. had trouble keeping viewers when it was producing episodes that misfired as much as this one. Sadly, it took the first season a long while to find not just its tone, but its overarching narrative. Things do get better, especially when the series falls into line with the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier but at this point the show is very much treading water.


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Deep Rising – Throwback 20

Originally published on Set The Tape

Before his success with The Mummy, the Stephen Sommers written and directed Deep Rising hit screens in an unashamed tribute to cheesy monster movies that should be terrible, but ends up being enjoyable because it doesn’t take itself too seriously.

The film follows ship captain John Finnegan (Treat Williams), who has been hired by a group of shifty mercenaries headed up by the ever sinister Hanover (Wes Studi) to transport them to the state of the art cruise-liner Argonautica. The mercenaries are working for the ship owner Simon Canton (Anthony Heald) and plan to rob the ship and sink it for the insurance money.

Unfortunately, before they are able to arrive at the Argonautica, something rises up from the deep of the ocean and attacks the ship. By the time the bad guys turn up, none but a small group of survivors are left alive, including the international jewel thief Trillian St. James (Famke Janssen).

Whilst looking for a way off the Argonautica and for the supplies needed to repair their ship, the group discovers a deadly sea creature that is hunting down the humans and devouring them.

Deep Rising is an unusual film in the sense that there are no heroes for you to root for. Yes, Finnegan is fairly heroic and the nicest of a group of nasty people, but every survivor on the Argonautica is a villain. There’s a gang of killers, a corrupt businessman, and a thief. Despite this, you find yourself wanting certain members of the group to survive, whilst you actively hope for others to get eaten. Though how you feel about certain characters will shift from time to time.

The real star of the film, however, isn’t any of the human characters, but the giant sea monster come to kill them all. Described by Canton as probably being an extremely mutated version of an Ottoia, a type of prehistoric sea worm, the monster is like an octopus from hell. With a central body that looks like a giant demonic baby, it has dozens of tentacles coming off it that each have their own vicious mouths on the ends, capable of swallowing people whole, where they are then dissolved whilst still alive.

The monster is a unique design, one that I’ve not really seen repeated in other films, and the setting makes prime use of it. The tentacles spread throughout the ship, working their way through pipes, under floors, and through portholes. Due to the way the ship is built there’s not a single place that’s safe from them suddenly appearing, and this means that the film doesn’t have a chance to take a break. The pace is fast as the characters run for their lives; which is a good thing really, because it stops you from having a chance to think about how cheesy the film actually is.

Deep Rising clearly takes inspiration from disaster films and B-monster movies, and wears these proudly. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, and this makes the whole experience better. The story is too ridiculous to be anything other than tongue in cheek, and the film would definitely have suffered if it had tried to be anything else. It’s easy to see the style that would go on to become recognisable in Sommers later works such as The Mummy films, and Van Helsing developing here.

A fun little film for fans of the monster genre, with a unique design and some fun performances, but don’t come into it expecting a cinematic great or you might be a little disappointed.


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Road To The Predator – Alien vs Predator: Armageddon (The Rage War Book 3) – Book Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

‘The Rage launch the ultimate assault on the Human Sphere. Their greatest weapons are the most fearsome creatures in the galaxy – the Xenomorphs. Having fled centuries before, the Rage return to take revenge and claim the planet for their own. Now, through a deal struck with the unlikeliest of allies, the human race may rely on the Predators to ensure mankind’s ultimate freedom. Yet even the combined might of the two races may not be enough. The fate of the Earth may rest with a single android – Liliya of the Rage.’

The final entry in the Rage War trilogy brings humanity and the Yautja together to fight against their greatest enemy, the Xenomorphs. After two books of build-up, the war that readers were promised finally comes to a head as the Rage invade human space, launching vicious assaults on human worlds and space stations with deadly effect.

Where in previous entries of the series, and Predator literature as a whole, humans have been fighting against the alien hunters, here an alliance is formed in a way that’s not really been seen before. Yes, the Yautja and humans have worked together before, such as Machiko Noguchi in the original Alien vs. Predator comic, or Lex Woods in the Paul Anderson film of the same name, but here we see an alliance in a much grander scope.

Yautja ships engage in space battles to protect human fleets, and dozens of their warriors fight alongside colonial marines on planets overrun with thousands of xenomorphs. These scenes are some of the best in the whole series, watching humanity fighting alongside creatures that in normal circumstances would hunt them like animals.

A new Yautja character called Yaquita is also introduced in the final volume of the trilogy, a female scientist with a mechanical lower body. As the films have only ever shown hunters and chieftains/elders (as far as we know anyway), it’s nice to explore a different side of the Predator universe. Yaquita is quiet and reserved, interested in understanding how the universe works, and more than willing to work alongside her human allies.

Whilst the Rage target human colonies with the aim to cause as much death and destruction as possible in order to draw out Marine forces, the main ship travels to the sol system to target earth itself. The assault on the sol system and the Colonial Marine command should feel like an epic battle. It involves ships, a space station, xenomorphs, and marines in spacesuits flying around, but instead it’s a tough thing to read. There’s a sense of hopelessness throughout as the human forces slowly lose, and characters we’ve come to know die.

It would be impossible to write a story about war and not have characters die, and we’ve already lost a lot in the first two books, but the final chapters of The Rage War Book 3: Alien vs Predator Armageddon feel especially grim. You know that you’re coming close to the end, and you’re desperately willing characters to survive just a bit longer. Despite a human and Yautja victory, the book doesn’t end on a happy note. Characters that the reader will care about will have died, humanity is left in tatters, and there’s no real answer as to what might happen next.

The Rage War trilogy is a great reinvention of the Alien and Predator universes, one that crafts its own version of the shared universe, yet feels true to what has come before. It combines the things that we know and love from the films and books of the past, whilst taking the story in bold and dynamic new directions. Tim Lebbon has written an engaging and dramatic tale, one filled with wonder, action, and horror, that is sure to stick with readers.


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Road to The Predator – Predator: Concrete Jungle Comic Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

‘The Predators are back, only this time their hunting ground isn’t the tropical jungles of South America — it’s the concrete and street jungles of New York City! It’s the hottest summer on record, and Detective Schaefer suspects that his brother’s disappearance is somehow tied to the wave of gruesome murders plaguing New York!’

Following the success of the original Predator film Dark Horse were quick to try and cash in on the popularity and created a comic that would become an unofficial sequel before Danny Glover took the spotlight in Predator 2.

Set in New York City, the story was originally set to focus on Alan ‘Dutch’ Schaefer, Schwarzeneggar’s character from the first film, who had gone on to become a cop. The lead character was altered to Detective Schaefer, Dutch’s brother.

Fighting against gangs during the worst heatwave the city has ever seen, Schaefer comes up against the deadly alien hunter, and finds himself drawn into the secrets behind his brothers disappearance years earlier.

It’s easy to see the similarities between this book and the second Predator film; the shift from the jungles of South America to a US city, focusing on a police officer, setting the story amid gang wars in a heatwave, it’s all here. Where Predator 2 had a completely new cast and almost no connection to the first film outside of some nods in dialogue, Predator: Concrete Jungle feels like a true sequel.

Detective Schaefer (we never learn his first name) has a drive and desire to find his brother, something that even takes him to the jungles of Val Verde to see the aftermath of Dutch’s fight with the Yautja hunter. It’s this desire to find out what happened to his brother that drives the main plot, that keeps bringing him into contact with the Yautja, as well as butting heads with Dutch’s old commander General Phillips (also from the first film).

The book combines the personal story with a number of action set pieces, mixing together gun fights, fist fights with the Yautja in the jungle and an all out war with an alien army in the streets of New York. Writer Mark Verheiden manages these multiple set pieces well, keeping a balance between character and story development with the expected level of action.

The art by Chris Warner and Ron Randall is superb throughout, capturing the grim and gritty feel of the Predator universe whilst staying bright and colourful enough not to feel too depressing or drab. Dark Horse have some great artists on their payroll, and Predator: Concrete Jungle was big book with some of its best artist working on it; and it really shows even close to 30 years later.

The only real part of the book that lets it down is the conclusion, where the Yautja army appears to be defeated by some summer rain. It’s a misstep, but one that doesn’t take too much away from the overall quality of the book.

Predator: Concrete Jungle was the first comic set within the Predator universe, and shows how to go about creating a sequel in such a way that it’s clear Predator 2 took a lot of inspiration from the book. A must read for any Predator fan, the original sequel is still a great read.


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The Road to The Predator… Rage War Book 1: Predator Incursion

Originally published on Set The Tape

‘Predator ships stream into Human space in unprecedented numbers. The Colonial Marines, controlled by Weyland-Yutani, respond to the incursion, thus entering the Rage War. This terrifying assault by the Yautja cannot go unchallenged, yet the cost of combat is high, Predators are master combatants, and each encounter yields a high body count. Then when Lt. Johnny Mains and his marines – the Voidlarks – enter the fray, they discover an enemy deadlier than any could imagine.’

Thanks to Dark Horse Comics the Predator and Alien series have become synonymous with each other, with dozens of comics, novels, games, and movies depicting the two iconic space monsters going up against each other. Predator Incursion is the first part of a novel trilogy that brings them together again, in a way that’s never been seen before.

Set long after the events of the Alien movies, over two hundred years after the events of Alien: Resurrection, things have changed dramatically in the AVP universe. Humanity has expanded further with new technology, though Weyland-Yutani is once again a controlling power. Humanity has encountered the Xenomorphs on multiple occasions, as well as the Yautja, and has developed new arms and armour to defend against these threats.

These changes are one of the first surprises in the new universe being crafted by writer Tim Lebbon, one where the Colonial Marines are no longer the ones on the back-foot, here they’re a very competent group that can take on Yautja and win. But Predator fans don’t need to worry about the Yautja being weakened by the increase in human technology, yes, the humans can kill them much easier, but the Yautja are still a formidable threat.

The first time we see a Yautja within the book they’ve already killed two of the Void-larks, the main group of marines we follow. Supposed to be the best train and best equipped soldiers humanity has, the Yautja are still able to hunt and kill them. The Yautja might not be able to kill as easily as we’ve seen in the past, but this just makes them more cunning and unpredictable than before.

When more and more Yautja begin appearing within human space, Weyland-Yutani task scientist Isa Palant, a Yautja specialist, to learn as much about them as possible. When a pair of Yautja arrive on the planet her and her colleague are on they become prey to the deadly aliens, but begin to make huge leaps in their study, unlocking the secrets of the Yautja language. This is one of the big moments of the book, as it allows the humans to learn that the increase in Yautja attacks is because they are fleeing their home space because of an even deadlier threat. Not only that, but the humans are able to use Palant and her studies to broker a truce with them.

Whilst we have seen small alliances between humans and Yautja in the past, usually due to humans proving their worth and honour in battle, here we have a species-wide alliance, complete with peace conference between Palant and the Yautja elder Kalakta. Palant’s story, and the insights into the Yautja she learns are always interesting, and gives the reader a look into the inner workings of the Predator society and in some cases even psychology.

These aren’t the only insights into the Yautja the book gives, however, as the earlier mentioned Void-larks are tasked with monitoring a Yautja habitat on the edge of human space, a mission that goes disastrously wrong when the Yautja begin to enter human space, causing the Void-larks ship to be destroyed and the marines stranded on the habitat.

Trapped on a Yautja habitat, the marines are forced to fight for survival as they make their way through an environment that no human has ever been in before. These moments are very tense, with the constant threat of sudden attack always hanging in the air. Unfortunately, things get worse for the marines when they learn that that habitat has been invaded by an army of modified Xenomorphs.

This is where things are interesting for this book, and the whole of the Rage War trilogy. The Xenomorphs have finally been turned into bio-weapons, as Weyland-Yutani have been wanting for centuries, but this time both the Yautja and Humanity are the targets. Enslaved by a faction of humanity that left human space centuries before, they’ve been turned into the perfect soldiers under the command of android generals. And now, those people discarded by humanity have come home looking for revenge.

Predator Incursion is the first part of a three book story, and as such leaves a lot of things open to be carried on, but it manages to still feel fairly self contained and satisfying in the events that take place.


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The Predator: Aliens Versus Predator (1999) Game Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

For many, when you mention Alien Versus Predator they’ll think of the Paul Anderson film, but before its release in 2004 the Rebellion game would be the first thing that would have come to people’s minds. Released for the PC in 1999, the game put players into the shoes of the Predator, Alien, and Colonial Marines, in three distinct and separate first person action/horror adventures.

The Marine story saw players thrust into the role of an unnamed soldier on a research station on the planet LV-426, the world that began the whole Alien franchise. Built to study the remains of the crashed alien spacecraft that Ripley and the Nostromo crew discovered in the original film, the facility falls under attack from the Xenomorph creatures.

Armed with a variety of weapons from the Alien franchise, including pulse rifles, smart guns, and the iconic motion tracker, you must make your way through the dark, twisting corridors of the facility, defending yourself from alien attack. Eventually having to enter the alien spacecraft, before travelling on to the atmosphere processing station, and eventually a space station, the marine story takes players through a series of very recognisable locations.

By far the most frightening of the three campaigns, the marine section forces you to traverse almost pitch black areas, using a small torch and flares to light your way, with even the tiniest blip on the motion tracker sending shudders down your spine.

The Alien portion of the game actually puts you into the body of one of the titular creatures as you defend your hive from Colonial Marines, before eventually leaving and making your way towards Earth.

The Alien gives players the most freedom in the game, with the monster able to traverse any surface, including walls and ceilings. Coupled with the incredible speed of the creatures, you’ll soon find yourself dashing around the levels, slipping upside down, around corners, and over obstacles like they’re nothing in order to reach your foe.

The Predator sections are probably some of the most balanced, managing to capture some of the horror that permeates the Colonial Marine levels, whilst also giving the player a sense of power and freedom. Sent to recapture stolen Yautja technology from the human, the Predator finds itself travelling to a number of different planets, including Fiorina ‘Fury’ 161 from Alien 3, as it hunts down and destroys those responsible for the creation of several Alien/Predator hybrids.

Equipped with a number of weapons from the films, such as the plasma caster, throwing disc blade, and spear gun, the Predator feels incredibly powerful as you move through the levels, using heat vision to hunt and kill the unsuspecting humans. Despite the obvious power of playing as a Yautja, the game manages to keep things feeling fairly balanced, forcing the player to carefully consider their approach to certain situations as to not be killed in a hail of pulse rifle fire.

Aliens Versus Predator was the first game to give the best sense of what it would be like to control the monsters from the iconic movie franchises, and essentially gave players three games for the price of one. Whilst each of the campaigns wasn’t huge, they were challenging enough to ensure that you couldn’t just breeze your way through them, and would have to spend a good deal of time with each character in order to complete their stories.

Almost twenty years later the game is still an incredibly enjoyable and engaging experience, proving to be a challenge to even experienced gamers. Well worth the time to play if you can track down a copy, or if you have access to Steam.


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'The Predator: Hunters and Hunted' Official Movie Prequel Book Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

A lot of movie tie in books, especially prequel stories, find it hard to connect to the film that they’re supposed to be a part of. Often times this is because the film makes it hard to create an exciting new story around it without taking away from the events of the movie.

One example that immediately springs to mind is Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday, the prequel to the 2007 movie. The book felt like it was having to try hard to make a compelling story that didn’t effect the film in any way; and this was something that I was expecting from The Predator: Hunters and Hunted.

Thankfully, however, the book not only introduced a number of the characters that will appear in Shane Black’s upcoming The Predator, but also contained enough action and story to feel like it could have been a Predator film in its own right.

The story follows a group of people from Project Stargazer, a secret government programme to protect the Earth from Yautja incursion, and to acquire both their technology and a living specimen to study. It’s here, at Project Stargazer, that we meet two characters from the film: Sterling K. Brown’s Will Traeger and Jake Busey’s Sean Keyes.

Sean Keyes, as eagle-eyed Predator fans may have spotted, is the son of Peter Keyes (Gary Busey) from Predator 2. His inclusion is one of the things that intrigued me the most about the new project, and his character gets a really good introduction, delving into his reasons for being at Project Stargazer and becoming a xenobiologist in the first place. He doesn’t feature much in the book, but his scenes are very engaging and sets up his motivations and character perfectly for the film.

Traeger, on the other hand, gets much more of the book dedicated to him, taking up part of the sub-plot where he and the project’s commander have to lobby for more funds in Washington DC. Not the most exciting sounding plot, but when it’s revealed that Traeger is actually carefully manipulating politicians in order to oust the project commander and take over, it becomes a little more interesting, and sets up his position for the movie.

The rest ofJames A. Moore’s novel is given over to The Reavers, Project Stargazer’s elite unit trained by a Yautja survivor, Roger ‘Pappy’ Elliott. The Reavers are interesting enough and ‘Pappy’ is engaging as both a Vietnam Veteran and someone who has survived a Yautja in the past. The book makes a point to spend some time highlighting that having faced an alien in combat has left more than just physical scars on him, delving into his recurring nightmares and resulting alcoholism. It also gives some vague hints at other survivors, including mentioning both Alan ‘Dutch’ Schaefer (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Mike Harrigan (Danny Glover), without using their names.

This is what I was expecting from the book: a look into the human side of the upcoming film that touched upon some of the characters that would be appearing. What makes it really good is when a Yautja comes to Earth to hunt.

The Reavers are sent out to capture the creature, and actually manages to do so (though they do lose half their men when they do so). When the creature manages to escape from the Project Stargazer facility it returns to its ship, gets some new gear, and sets out to go retrieve its weapons and tech from the humans. It’s here that the best part of the book begins, as the remaining members of the Reavers go out to kill the alien.

Whilst the book is good at crafting human drama and has a fairly epic finale action sequence, the one thing that I feel lets it down is the Yautja; or more specifically, the sequences written from its point of view. There’s nothing hugely wrong with these moments, they’re not as good as in other Predator books and James A. Moore lacks a little something in these moments.

On a whole, however, The Predator: Hunters and Hunted is engaging and entertaining. It’s hard to know how well it fits into The Predator yet, but the story here builds a sense that it provides a good background that shouldn’t step onto the toes of the film’s events. Even if this was a stand alone book that wasn’t a tie-in, it would still be a thoroughly entertaining read.


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Birdman of Alcatraz – Blu-Ray Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

Birdman of Alcatraz is often cited as one of the greatest prison dramas ever committed to film; and now, for the first time ever, the moving human drama has been brought to Blu-Ray in stunning quality.

Telling the highly fictionalised story of real life prisoner Robert Stroud (Burt Lancaster) through his many years incarcerated in Leavenworth prison and later Alcatraz. Sent to prison for murder, Stroud quickly finds himself at odds with those running the institute due to a rebellious streak. After fatally attacking a guard, he’s placed in solitary confinement where he discovers a baby sparrow, which he nurses back to health. This begins a passion with birds that would become an area of expertise, earning him the moniker ‘Birdman’.

After being moved to Alcatraz, Stroud continues to find himself at odds with prison authorities, yet still manages to help stop a prison riot. Eventually, Stroud is moved on again to another prison, where he would remain.

Having read a lot about Robert Stroud, it’s difficult to fully enjoy the film as the story is so removed from actual events to be almost completely fictional. One of the biggest issues is that Burt Lancaster is too likeable as Stroud. Whilst he doesn’t play the character as a ‘good’ person, there’s enough charm to him that by the end, the audience is very clearly supposed to come away liking Stroud. This is in large down to changes made to events that paint the man in a much kinder light.

For example, the film says that Stroud killed a prison guard due to an issue around being denied visitation with his mother. Whereas, in real life, he stabbed a man to death over a minor rule infraction. His role in helping to end a prison riot on Alcatraz  is also an attempt to show him as a kinder, more reformed prisoner, but in real life he had no involvement in this incident in any way. In fact, the escape attempt was not even a full scale riot at all and only involved six prisoners.

Whilst these historic inaccuracies may not be too much of an issue for a casual audience member, I couldn’t help but stumble through them, with the depiction of Stroud drawing me out of what was an otherwise enjoyable film experience. Lancaster is on fine form but the real Stroud was far from mild-mannered. Hewas described by those who knew him as “jerk”, a “vicious killer” and someone who “liked chaos and turmoil”. It is reported that fellow prisoners who saw Birdman of Alcatraz actually said that Burt Lancaster “owes us all an apology”.

Despite these historical inaccuracies, the film itself is well deserving of its place as a classic of cinema. The direction from John Frankenheimer is good throughout and he gives his actors the room to give life to their characters. The scenes are longer than they would be in a modern film and the dialogue is much slower, but this actually gives a lot a weight to scenes that would otherwise be fairly flat.

Arguably, Lancaster gives Stroud more depth and charisma than the real person had (or deserved) and some of his scenes are incredibly absorbing. Burt is also accompanied by a strong supporting cast; in particular Karl Malden as Harvey Shoemaker, the embodiment of the prison system that frequently butts heads with Lancaster.

The Blu-Ray looks beautiful and it appears that a great deal of time and effort has been made into presenting the film in the best possible quality. The picture and sound quality are superb and Blu-Ray is definitely the best way to watch this classic. Whether you’ve seen it before or have only ever heard about it, now is the perfect time to watch the oft-cited cinematic masterpiece.


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The Road to The Predator… Predator: Concrete Jungle (2005)

Originally published on Set The Tape

Predator: Concrete Jungle is a third-person action game that puts you in the shoes of the Yautja hunter ‘Scarface’ on his mission for redemption. Beginning in the 1930’s, the Yautja hunter stalks and kills mobsters across New Way City. When the hunt goes wrong, leaving the hunter badly scarred, and some of his technology in human hands, he’s exiled by the rest of his clan. However, 100 years later, his clan give him the chance to redeem himself as he returns to Earth to retrieve his technology.

The story of Predator: Concrete Jungle is fairly basic, and is easily one of the strongest aspects of the experience. It uses some of the established lore from the Predator books and comics and delves into the idea of the hunters honour system as it’s core plot. Sadly, this is probably the highlight of the game, as the actual game-play and level design lets the whole experience down.

The game progression is mission based, with 27 in total, each of them having multiple objective which you will need to accomplish. The mission objectives for each level aren’t always the clearest either, with you having to go into the menu in order to find out what you need to do. Added to that, they sometimes feel quite disjointed and make little sense within the context of the universe. For example, in the middle of your quest to undo your past mistakes you have to interrupt a mugging, then take refuge in a church. Why? Well, the game never really explains why.

The game also doesn’t move from one mission to the next, instead returning you to the main menu after finishing one, making you select the next mission rather than just taking you to it. Scarface is fairly well equipped during the game, armed with a variety of combat spears, explosives, plasma caster, vision modes, and stealth camouflage.

Whilst you do have the iconic stealth camouflage the game’s stealth mechanics are not the best, sometimes you will be hidden, yet other times the enemy will suddenly be able to see you, with little warning that this is happening. There seems to be no clear rule as to when you are and aren’t visible, and coupled with some unexpected difficulty spikes leads to a game that can often be unforgiving. Poor camera controls and a lack of mission checkpoints, meaning that if you fail you have to replay the entire level again, round out a game that should have been good on paper, but thanks to some poor mechanics lets the whole experience down.

Predator: Concrete Jungle is a great concept, and the story itself is fairly good, but you have to work your way through a lot of difficult and poor game-play in order to experience it.


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The Road to The Predator… Predator: If It Bleeds

Originally published on Set The Tape

‘Over the centuries, extraterrestrial hunters of the Yautja race–also known as the Predators–have encountered (and stalked) humans on Earth and in the depths of space. Offered here are sixteen all-new stories of such hunts. Inspired by the events of the original Predator movies, graphic novels, and novels, these adventures pit hunter against prey in life-and-death struggles where there can be only one victor.’

Following 2017’s Aliens: Bug Hunt, an anthology book that told several stories set within the Alien universe, it was only a matter of time until a book focusing on Predator came along. Whilst Aliens: Bug Hunt was certainly a mixed bag of stories, Predator: If It Bleeds is a huge improvement in quality.

The beauty of the Predator universe is that it allows the titular creature to visit so many places and times from across human history. And the stories in the book take full advantage of this. ‘Stonewall’s Last Stand’ tells the story of Confederate general Stonewall Jackson and a unit of his men falling afoul of a Yautja (Predator) hunting soldiers during the American Civil War. The story makes great use of being able to set the action within real historical events, by explaining away why Jackson ended up being shot by his own men; he was running away from a Predator and his men thought he was deserting.

Whilst the rest of the book doesn’t set events within such specific events it does make use of Earth’s varied history. There’s a story where a band of vikings come up against a trio of young Yautja that have come to earth to learn to hunt humans that shows how badass vikings were and why we need a movie of Predator vs. Vikings. There’s also a story where a wandering samurai returns to his homeland to fight the demonic Oni that’s killing all other warriors, a story that leads to the the samurai learning from the Yautja’s techniques to form the first ninja.

A lot of the stories are about humans fighting Yautja hunters, but sometimes the book surprises with a story that subverts expectation. There’s a story where an abused child angers one of the creatures and lures it to his home so that it will kill his abusive guardians; and a story where a POW rescues a Yautja from captivity in order to escape.

The book also has some nice connections to existing Predator stories. Tim Lebbon returns to write a prequel story to his amazing Rage War trilogy that pitted the Predators and Aliens against each other. The story, titled ‘Devil Dogs’, shines a light onto the history of Akoko Halley and her military unit, The Devil Dogs. It’s a good story, and a solid choice for the first story in the book as it will feel familiar to those who have read other recent Predator books, whilst also being exciting enough to draw in new readers.

‘Drug War’ acts as a follow up to Predator 2, featuring the return of Danny Glover’s Harrigan as he comes across a Yautja waging a small war against the drug cartels in South America. It’s cheesy and very over the top, but it feels like a good follow-up to the film, with the same kind of sensibilities and unrealistic depictions of a crime ridden near future (though it’s well in the past for us now).

There are so many stories in the book that there’s bound to be one that appeals to someone, even if you don’t end up enjoying the whole book. There’s one set in Vietnam, World War One, Hurricane Katrina, and distant alien worlds. It’s a book that makes the most of the Predator universe, that draws inspiration from all corners of the franchise and presents new and exciting depictions of the famous monster.


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'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Bebop and Rocksteady Hit the Road #5' Comic Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

‘Bebop and Rocksteady’s road trip reaches its crazed conclusion as old enemies from their trip catch up and a brand new unbeatable foe stands between them and their home!’

The final issue of the Bebop and Rocksteady Hit The Road mini series is not a satisfying conclusion. The series has been all over the place in overall quality, with random and strange events interspersed with awful dialogue and messy art, and this may end up being the worst of the bunch.

Forced into a final confrontation with Agent Ravenwood of the Earth Protection Force, the two bumbling mutants end up not only fighting the grotesque Ravenwood, but also robot versions of themselves. Why fight robot versions of themselves that add nothing to the story or build anything? I have no idea, but it helped to stretch out the already paper-thin plot even more, so perhaps it was put in to beef up an initial script that came in too short.

Having fought their robot counterparts for no real reason – seriously, this sequence could be removed and you wouldn’t even realise it – the two ‘heroes’ go up against Ravenwood. Up to this point we’d seen that she was a hulking antagonist with enhanced strength, and some Plastic Man style stretchy powers, but during the final battle we discover that she’s actually a collection of five heads with tentacles attached to them.

The one good thing in this issue is this reveal, and the subsequent shock that Ravenwood is actually much more disturbing that we were led to believe across the previous issues. It also goes a way to explaining just why Agent Bishop seemed determined to ruin her mission.

Following this fight, in which all but one of the Ravenwood monsters is killed (I’m guessing one was left alive so that she can return at some later date), the two broken and beaten mutants finally make it to New York City. And that’s about it, that’s the big conclusion to the five issue series.

This is the biggest problem with this issue, and the whole run in general: it doesn’t feel like anything was gained from this story. I don’t really know what it’s added to the TMNT universe, or what it’s done to grow any of the characters.

Unfortunately, the issue isn’t helped by the artwork either, which is at its best simple and cartoony, but at times downright ugly. One segment of the issue is filled with huge explosions and Bebop and Rocksteady covered in blood, but the panels are a mess of thick black jagged lines, deep red splashes of colour, and white highlights. It’s a shame, because Ben Bates has produced much better work throughout the rest of the series.

Overall, the final issue of Bebop and Rocksteady Hit the Road is a letdown of a finale, in what has been a fairly lacklustre and pointless series. It has crammed in references to past stories and characters, yet fails to really do anything of significance with them. Hardcore fans may find something here to like, but it’s certainly not accessible to a casual reader.


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The Nun – Who Is The Real Valak?

Originally published on Set The Tape

The titular demonic Nun of Corin Hardy’s prequel horror was first introduced to us in James Wan’s The Conjuring 2 back in 2016, which dramatised the infamous Enfield Haunting and the inquiry conducted by world renowned paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga respectively) on behalf of the Vatican. The Nun is a horrifying entity that barely appeared in the film, yet managed to make its presence felt throughout. This character was added to the story late in the production, with the scenes filmed as part of the re-shoots, but the creature has some very real roots.

Lorraine Warren, a medium as well as a paranormal investigator, has reported a number of times that during many of her investigations, including the famous Amityville Haunting, Enfield Haunting, and Annabelle case, she experienced the presence of a dark, demonic spirit. She dreamt of a hooded and veiled figure with ‘female energy’ who would often attack her husband, Ed. Over the course of months and years, the dreams would become more frequent, and eventually Lorraine began to experience these visions during her waking time too.

An illustration of ‘Volac’ from Infernal Dictionary by Collin De Plancy.

Lorraine investigated these visions and discovered that the veiled entity was in fact the demon Valak – played so memorably by Bonnie Aarons in the supernatural horror film.

Valak was first mentioned in literature in the 17th Century demonic grimoire ‘The Lesser Key of Solomon,’ a book that drew together stories and tales from centuries prior. The book focuses on demons that were apparently summoned to Earth by the biblical King Solomon, hence its name.

The book describes Valak as a the Grand President of Hell, commanding over a legion of lesser demons. It says:

“The Sixty-second Spirit of Volac, or Valak, or Valu. He is President Mighty and Great, and appeareth like a Child with Angel’s Wings, riding on a Two-headed Dragon. His Office is to give True Answers of Hidden Treasures, and to tell where Serpents may be seen. The which he will bring unto the Exorciser without any Force or Strength being him employed. He governeth 38 Legions of Spirits, and his Seal is thus.”

Obviously, the description of Valak in the book differs greatly from that of the upcoming film and The Conjuring 2, where it is portrayed as a sinister nun, largely due to the artistic licence afforded director James Wan. Lorraine Warren described her visions of Valak as being a “swirling tornado vortex with a hooded figure” in the centre.

Whilst all of the promotional material for The Nun still depicts Valak as a nun, perhaps the film will surprise us all with a shock look at the cherub-like winged baby demon at some point too?


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Back To The Future: Tales From The Time Train - Book Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

‘It’s 1893, and at last, Doc Brown fulfills his promise to Clara as he completes the project he’s been working on: the Time Train! But where in time and space will the Brown family go on their inaugural trip? And what could possibly go wrong if and when they get there?’

Back To The Future: Tales From The Time Train takes a break from the main story of the Back To The Future comics to focus on Doc Brown and his family, as they settle into their new lives as time travellers. Despite what the title may lead you to believe, there aren’t multiple tales contained within the pages of this collected volume, but one large story of the Brown family’s first trip together through the time stream.

Originally travelling into the future of 2038, Doc and Clara try to distract and entertain their young sons with a trip to a future amusement park, filled with robots. Unfortunately, it’s not the future adventure that they were hoping for, and things soon go astray, leading to Doc Brown to try a different approach, and time.

Taking his family to the New York World’s Fair in 1939, he hopes that they can find something to keep them entertained. Unfortunately, things don’t go as planned when Einstein escapes from the time train and gets lost in the Fair, getting himself mixed up with Prince Rufio, the ‘four legged regent of Barataria’; whilst Doc Brown falls into the sights of a pair of Nazi agents, who think that he might be Albert Einstein.

What ensues are two outlandish and over the top stories that keep intertwining around the two cases of mistaken identity, and bumbling villains.

The story itself isn’t too bad, and is at times quite fun and inrriguing. Doc Brown and his family are genuinely pleasant to spend time with, and Jules and Verne never quite stumble into the ‘annoying kid’ role that often happens in fiction. Their reactions to the things that they are seeing feel very real and believable, and can sometimes even be quite sweet. The scene where Doc Brown explains away why the Fair means so much to him and is a moment of hope in a very dark world gives a wonderful insight into the character.

Sadly, the villains of the piece, two Nazi agents, and some of the handlers of Prince Rufio, feel very two dimensional and flat in comparison. They spend much of the book as caricatures, rather than characters. If the Brown family weren’t so well written then this would have been a major problem, instead of just a minor annoyance.

The artwork is well drawn, and is simply coloured with most of the art having just a base shade and a shadow. It keeps things simple, and stops the panels from feeling too crowded, and the simple, flat coloured backgrounds helps to emphasise the action taking place with the characters.

The main criticism of the book is that it begins to feel a bit long by the end, with the story stretched too thin. The book has six issues, but it could easily have told the same story without missing anything important in just five. Whilst a good portion of the book is filled with entertaining character moments, it’s towards the end, when the characters are on the run from the villains, that things start to feel a little too long, and dare I say, boring.

Overall, Back To The Future: Tales From The Time Train tells a very entertaining and engaging story, and even adds new light to one of the final scenes from the films. It explores the Brown family in fun ways, and creates a core cast that readers will definitely want to see more from again in the future.


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