REVIEW: P.T. (PS4)

Released without much fanfare during a Sony press conference, P.T. (which stands for "playable teaser") is a free download from the playstation network, and is on the surface a viral marketing tool for a new Silent Hill game. However, within twenty four hours of its release it had become infamous across the internet, for several reasons. Firstly, it was never made clear from the start that this was a teaser for a new Silent Hill game; not to mention one that is directed by both Hideo Kojima (Metal Gear Solid) and Guillermo Del Toro (Devil's Backbone, Pan's Labyrinth)! Great news as Silent Hill 2 is still one of my favourite games of all time, and I suggest you check out my review for why a Silent Hill game when done properly is an amazing experience. Secondly though, P.T. is a masterfully made and *utterly terrifying* experience in it's own right, and probably the most frightening video game for several years!! Thirdly, the game is cryptic and mysterious in the most interesting way, especially the final "puzzle" solution needed to reveal it's true purpose as a teaser for Silent Hills.

I'm going to try and avoid spoilers as you really need to experience P.T. fresh and unknowing for its full effect to be felt; so my advice is to go now and download it! The basic structure of the game is that you wake up on the floor of a locked room with cockroaches scurrying about and after a cryptic message saying something about "cracks in doors" being portals to another world. The door to your confinement opens and you're free to leave into a thin 'L' shaped corridor, filled with various cabinets, photographs, radios, telephones and other nick-knacks you would expect to find in the lower floor of a home. There is a news report playing on the radio about some grizzly murders that have taken place and various discarded cans of booze and pills lying about the place; clearly it's not a wholesome happy home. If you walk to the end of the corridor you begin the second "loop" of the game as you reenter the same stretch of rooms again and again and again, but each time there will now be something you need to look at or interact with to progress... and it'll get slowly and surely more disturbing and terrifying each time. Something supernatural and p***ed off is trapped in there with you!!

The graphics of P.T. are incredibly realistic, mundane because it's just a corridor in a house, but very immersive and they're also filtered through a sort of slow refresh-rate fuzziness with the sort of image retention you got from old video equipment. This obviously adds to the discomfort and slowly building sense of paranoia that comes from repeating the same stretch of hallway but with things subtly changing around you. After a few "loops" things really start to descend into gut-wrenching fear as you start to hear breathing, crying, and other unidentifiable noises surrounding you (a key moment in the narrative makes these bodiless sounds all too horrifyingly real). As I stated earlier, I don't want to spoil what happens but expect to be cowering with fear by the time you pick up a much needed flashlight, and spend the game thereafter crawling around in the dark just like in the old Silent Hills. I've played an awful lot of survival horror games over the years, even as the genre diversified to become more action orientated (Resident Evil 4, 5, 6, and the Dead Space games) and even though there have been some good old-school throwbacks (Siren: Blood Curse) that have given me the shivers, I'm pretty hardcore now and not easily scared. The atmosphere of P.T., with it's creeping sense of dread and occasional expertly orchestrated jump-scares, had me wanting to turn it off because I didn't know if I could continue; I was that terrified.

It really is crazy that the most fear-inducing video game to surface in recent years could be considered a "glorified demo" or "free sampler" of another potential game to come, but P.T. is just that. It's one of the best games I've played recently, and the few hours you spend with it you will be fighting the urge to soil yourself!!

REVIEW: Evangelion (Anime)

The anime reviews I have been writing recently have been for shows that are fresh in my mind, usually because I've watched them at least within the last few months. However, I wanted to review what is possibly still my all-time favourite anime, especially because it's in a unique sort of flux at the moment with a series of new films either replacing, complimenting or following up the original... depending on how you look at it. Originally created back in the late '90s as Neon Genesis Evangelion, it was the product of Hideaki Anno who had previously collaborated with the great Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli on another of my favourite fims, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. After further collaborations with Miyazaki, Hideaki Anno fell into a four-year bout of depression, as he felt that the creative control over his projects was slipping away from him and that the "otaku" lifestyle (basically being an extreme geek in Japan) was destructive and isolationist; it was Anno's belief that human beings find it difficult to connect with and really know each other due to being separate isolated individuals. Like my all-time favourite movie, Apocalypse Now, it was this unique boiling pot of circumstance and ideas that lead to the creation of an anime television series like no other.

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Neon Genesis Evangelion:
The initial basic plot of the series is similar to a lot of "classic mecha" anime, with giant robots and teenage protagonist pilots, but right from the start there are hints of something darker lurking beneath. In the near future the Earth is recovering from a cataclysmic event dubbed "second impact", which melted much of the polar icecaps and destroyed a pretty sizable chunk of all life in the world. We join our young protagonist Shinji Ikari as he arrives at Tokyo 3 at the behest of his estranged father, who rejected him very early on in his life and has been working top secretly on some sort of government project. As he arrives at the city borders, a colossal creature called an "Angel" appears and begins to attack the place. With the army frantically trying to fight it off, Shinji is rushed to meet his father Gendo and told that the reason he's been brought there is to pilot a large mecha (giant robot) called an "Evangelion Unit", and that this is the only way to combat the Angels. Thus begins the first part of the television series when there are lots of exciting and well animated, for the time, battles between the Eva Units and the Angels. As well as fantastic action-packed fight scenes, and compelling drama, there are also lots of very humourous encounters between Shinji and other members of the cast such as his new roomate (and commanding officer!) Misato and fellow Eva pilots; the enigmatic Ayanami Rei and feisty German redhead Asuka.

But, somewhere around the half-way point of the series, it all starts to take a dramatic change of direction away from all-out action and more towards a psychological and theological character piece. These elements are there from the very start of course, but Neon Genesis Evangelion lures you in with it's more approachable aspects before pulling the rug from underneath you, at which point you're already hooked and invested heavily in the characters. Speaking of which, I've already mentioned that Shinji is separated from his father, his mother is also dead and he finds it hard to bond with anyone else, being a bit of a sociopath and suffering from chronic depression. Ayanami Rei is an emotionless doll, a shell of a human being, who doesn't understand people's emotions or motivations, Asuka has "daddy issues" and a lack of self-confidence so extreme that she overcompensates with an extrovert persona and by lashing out at everyone... you get the picture. Pretty much everyone involved in saving Tokyo 3 from the Angel attacks is psychologically disturbed or imperfect in some major way and this has a massive impact on the plot of the series. With Shinji being our protagonist we are shown things from his point of view and eventually the show descends into long monologues from him, inside his head, as he falls deeper into psychosis and through the actions piloting the Evangelion Unit, into deep catatonic despair. This is *not* a happy story or a simple Gundam-like show.

The end result is something that, in terms of plot characters and themes, is so utterly unique in anime and still stands up to this day because of how different it is from the usual tropes and conventions of this medium. As the plot progresses there is a central theme of 'the instrumentality of man', which was seemingly a bit of a hot topic at the time as it is also dealt with in Serial Experiments Lain (another of my all-time favourites and something I'll have to write a review of at some point), but this is not really resolved until the follow-up films discussed below. Despite being shot on grainy and cheap 16mm film, the animation still holds up well against modern productions, and considering its age the first half of the series, and some parts during the second, still look great. This is a combination of Gainax, the production studio headed up by Hideaki Anno, really knowing what they were doing and also because they blew a *massive* amount of their budget early on to make the show looks special; which unfortunately resulted in them completely running out of funding before the show was even through! The last two episodes are discussed below, but suffice to say the animation becomes more basic and rudimentary as the series nears its infamous climax. The music for Neon Genesis Evangelion is fantastic, and I still find myself humming some of the battle music, or the series opening theme, to this day! Once you have watched this television show, you'll never be able to hear 'Fly Me to the Moon' in the same way ever again, I guarantee it.

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"Death" + "Rebirth" AKA:
 'The End of Evangelion':
If Neon Genesis Evangelion had just carried on being the awesome 'mecha' action show that it started out like, I've no doubt that it would have become one of the most well-loved and famous anime series of all time. But the direction Hideaki Anno took it in, and the effects of Gainax's financial situation, meant that by the end it was one of the most loved and *infamous* anime series ever made. The final two episodes of the television series are always spoken about with such controversy for good reason, as even today they stand apart from the rest of the series and it's as if the final thread, the last remnant, of a traditional linear story is pulled apart and destroyed. As the story hurtles towards its dramatic climax, the studio ran out of money, and so the apocalyptic events that finish Evangelion were shown through still images, supposedly the thoughts and fears of Shinji Ikari as "third impact" happens around him. After these two final episodes had aired on Japanese TV the fans of the show exploded in a mixture of astonishment and anger, the result of which was that Hideaki Anno received death threats and hate mail that sent him into a suicidal depression. But the cult following of Evangelion only grew because of these mysterious and enigmatic final moments, and amidst the angry voices Anno also received lots of support and eager questions from supporters about what happened in the story, to the characters, and what exactly was the "third impact" that ended the show. Gainax announced they would make two films to end the story of Neon Genesis Evangelion, and it seemed like the demands of fans and haters alike had been answered.

I'm not going to talk at all about the first movie Death & Rebirth because it's largely superfluous, being that it's really just a long "recap movie" to get people up to speed enough for the next film; but it's worth watching to help you remember important story beats as well as showing some of the original series animation but at a superior quality shot on 35mm film stock. The follow-up End of Evangelion movie is the *true* end to the television series and is even split into two, like a pair of episodes complete with title cards and points for an advert break. It's also 100% new never-before-seen footage shot on 35mm with the large budget of a motion picture. In terms of the story, Neon Genesis Evangelion made heavy use of symbology and ideas from ancient kabbalistic texts, the Book of Revelation, and most importantly the apocryphal Dead Sea Scrolls, and thus the show has always been filled with judeo-christian iconography. End of Evangelion however takes this to the 'nth degree and really ramps up this aspect of the plot, revealing what "third impact" is, the motivations behind some of the shady organisations in the series, and also resolving some of the mysteries and enigmas that were left hanging by the infamous final two episodes. It does all this with aplomb, sporting sumptuous animation and some of the most exhilarating action sequences in the whole of Evangelion, or perhaps ever committed to film! It also follows the television series structure in that while the first half is all action, the second half is all metaphysical abstract imagery and more importantly, the way that Hideaki Anno chose to end his masterpiece divided people more than ever!!

The important thing to remember from the start of this section is that following the end of the television series, Hideaki Anno was depressed, suicidal, and receiving constant death threats from "fans". It was in this frame of mind that he wrote and directed the End of Evangelion, and this shows in the final film. Anno read all of the brash requests made by angry fans and gave people exactly what they wanted, but in the most painful, gory and shocking ways imaginable. I'm unfortunately entering a bit of spoiler territory here, but be forewarned that every character you will have come to know and love in the television series will have the worst things ever happen to them, perhaps not always physically but certainly mentally or psychologically. The imagery here at the end of the story is the stuff of nightmares, and as the narrative begins to break down so does the film, with Hideaki Anno even splicing in some screenshots of the death threats and abusive letters that he received... presented in the End of Evangelion film itself. It's just the most beautifully done "up yours" ever, and as an end to Evangelion itself, it all works beautifully! There is resolution and conclusion here that was missing before, and combined with the last two episodes of the television series watched in tandem, it all provides enough information to answer most of the lasting questions; although a quick mooch about on the internet and a read through of some interpretation articles wouldn't hurt either. Special mention must go to the use of classical music in the film, which works superbly, and even some great licensed music as the whole thing comes crashing down. Watched as a whole, Neon Genesis Evangelion and the End of Evangelion, is an absolute masterpiece and something that will probably never be reproduced or emulated because of the circumstances that it was created in. Of course though, Hideaki Anno recovered from his depression, Evangelion continued to grow in popularity and infamy, and the unexpected happened; we got more.

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Rebuild of Evangelion:
The original Neon Genesis Evangelion television series was released on DVD a few times, with remastered 'platinum' and 'restored' versions sporting high quality transfers and cleaned up animation, but eventually the move had to be made to high definition formats like Blu-Ray. The problem was that Gainax had by this time closed down, the original animation cells mostly destroyed, lost or sold, and the original film prints of the series were on grainy 16mm film not ideal for high definition transfer. Even the two follow-up movies had seemingly been lost to time, as since the initial launch on DVD the End of Evangelion has never been remastered or reissued. Something had to be done and Hideaki Anno announced a complete fresh remake of the Evangelion story as four consecutive films, which were dubbed the Rebuild of Evangelion movies. At this time of writing I have only seen two of the movies, the third one is still not released in the UK and the fourth is not even complete, so no doubt I will be revisiting this topic at some point with some final thoughts on the success of these rebuild movies. However, of the two that are already released there are some interesting things to talk about, especially in terms of their context, which I'll discuss later. First up, it's worth mentioning that Evangelion 1.11 (originally Evangelion 1.0 in cinemas but given the 1.11 moniker to signify the home entertainment released that includes a bit of extra material) is almost a straight up retelling of the first five episodes of the television series. Some animation sequences are even lifted wholesale from the original show, but obviously reanimated in crisp high-definition, and barring some additional scenes here-and-there that flesh out the story in interesting ways, you could almost be excused for thinking it was just another stab at Death & Rebirth. But it isn't.

Evangelion 1.11 looks absolutely fantastic and seeing some of the key action sequences of the original story but done properly is fantastic. It obviously suffers from a lack of characterisation when compared to the original series though, due to the shortened time constraints, and this is similar to the Berserk movies (see my earlier review). Also similar to the Berserk movies, Evangelion 1.11 works better as a companion piece to the original series rather than a replacement, and it helps immensely if you already know the characters well and the general gist of the plot. However, it is also in this first movie that there is some deviation from the original storyline of Evangelion, and Hideaki Anno stated that with these Rebuild movies he wanted to retell the story in a different, more concise manner, and more accessible to a large audience. This is a strange proposition as with the rushed characterisation of the first film it almost feels less accessible to newcomers, and not only that but people began to get a sense that perhaps Rebuild was much more than a literal remake. There are clues scattered throughout the movie that what we're getting may in fact be a continuation of the Evangelion story, a sort of pseudo-sequel to the End of Evangelion, which I can't really explain without *massive* amounts of spoilers. One thing though, for instance, is that in the original series the ocean is blue like normal, only turning a blood red colour after the events in End of Evangelion... in the new Rebuild movies the ocean is already blood red, and completely devoid of life to boot. There are many more indicators that these movies could be continuing the story rather than remaking it.

In terms of the original story the next film, Evangelion 2.22, really went completely off course and basically establishes a completely new storyline, or an alternate timeline if you like, where events play out completely differently than before. This means that even for old veterans, Evangelion 2.22 is fresh new material, and keeps the established audience on its toes, and at the edge of their seats! Because of the new plot, characters are given a lot more space to breathe, and some delightful scenes really build up the new take on people's psychology, which is nowhere near the levels of mental illness as before, providing much more stable and relatable protagonists. This could be what Hideaki Anno meant when he said "more accessible", and the fact that our director is no longer a suicidal mess really shows; although it's all significantly less interesting, deep and complex than what came before. Evangelion 2.22 surprises right up to the very end though as the plot accelerates through the cataclysmic events, such as another devastating "third impact", which ended the original storyline; this effectively means that with the next two films we are in completely unknown territory and utterly in the dark. While the jury is still out as to whether these films will end up being a sequel to the Evangelion story, or if in fact they are a reboot with lots of teasing false information (or even if the next two will actually be any good!), for now we have two very accomplished and entertaining anime movies. I highly recommend them for any fans of Evangelion and I'm eagerly looking forward to Evangelion 3.33 and Evangelion 4.44 in the future. Just make sure you watch all the original television series and movies first.

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Evangelion Store:

So there we have it, my opinion of the mighty Evangelion story so far, and my high hopes for the future are that it will continue to deliver the good stuff. As an aside, when I visited Harajuku in Tokyo this year (2014), I found the Evangelion Store, which sold all sorts of awesome products from the original and rebuild stories. I'll leave you with this picture of me, chuffed to bits after buying merchandise from my favourite anime of all time; Neon Genesis Evangelion, End of Evangelion and the Rebuild of Evangelion. See you all in the future with my thoughts after it's all over and finished. Thank you Hideaki Anno.

REVIEW: Spice and Wolf (Anime)

I think it's fair to say that a lot of the anime series I end up watching are "shounen", meaning that they're usually a teenage cast of characters fighting in big robots/with big swords/ lots of action and emotions running high. However, I also really enjoy more family friendly affairs like the films of Studio Ghibli (who doesn't!?), and I even have a soft spot for a love story or two. This brings me nicely to my review of an anime series I've only *just* finished watching today, but which I felt was so good I had to come and write a review about it. Spice and Wolf is a series adapted not from manga, as it the norm, but from a series of "light novels" each clocking in at about 300 pages of text and artwork, and ostensibly deals with a blossoming romance... set in a medieval light-fantasy setting with a heavy emphasis on trading and economics!! Suffice to say, this is pretty different from almost everything else out there and such a unique series ran the risk of turning out badly; thankfully it didn't and Spice and Wolf is wonderful in every way.

The main protagonist of Spice and Wolf is a merchant peddler named "Craft" Lawrence, who travels across the fantasy country buying, selling and trading, trying to make a fortune for himself so that he can settle down in a town running his own shop. One day whilst visiting a pagan wheat-growing community he awakens in the night to find that a naked girl has stowed away on his cart; she has blood-red eyes, pointy animal ears, fangs and a large bushy tail. This turns out to be a pagan deity called Holo, the "Great Wise Wolf", who in older times was appeased by the local townspeople to make the harvest more plentiful but who has now been forgotten due to modern agriculture taking the place of superstition. Since she is no longer needed, and feels alone/outcast, Holo wishes to return to her ancestral home in the north. Lawrence agrees to take her, initially because her unique supernatural skills will help his business, but the two develop a close and romantic relationship during the show's two seasons travelling together. This forms the basic premise of Spice and Wolf, and while the show is light on physical action (especially the superior second season), there are lots of trials and tribulations that our two heroes must overcome, usually to save their relationship and fortunes.

These trials usually take the form of some sort of economic dilemma, as one of Lawrence's shady deals goes wrong, or the pair are double-crossed by various unions and trade associations, but sometimes they're put in genuine peril and have to fight their way out. The first series makes more use of Holo's wolf-deity powers, and there are more action sequences and set pieces, whilst the second series drops this largely to focus solely on the characters and their personal troubles. Oddly, for someone who usually likes action-packed anime (see Attack on Titan), my main enjoyment from this series came from just how well written the main characters are, and the expertly written dialogue between them; which if you are fluent in Japanese apparently has even greater resonance as Holo speaks a sort of ancient dialect. The love story between Lawrence and Holo is a believable slow-burn, and you get a real sense of their psychology; especially Holo, who after hundreds of years being lonely is desperate for connection and to be loved but afraid to commit to someone who she will outlive, have to watch die, and ultimately be alone again. It's compelling character drama.

Being such a focused character piece though, the animation is suitably subtle, and there is nothing too flashy or impressive of note except some gorgeous backgrounds and well realised locales. The characters themselves are wonderfully drawn and very emotive; it's also refreshing to have main characters who are older than usual, with Lawrence being in his mid-thirties and Holo being hundreds of years old - despite being very cute. The two series of Spice and Wolf were animated by different studios, and while they fit together flawlessly, the first series has a more muted colour palette than the second, which is more vibrant and lively. Special mention must also go to the music, as while there are a few repeated pieces, it is all very authentic sounding and really fits the medieval setting without resorting to 'Greensleeves' and the like. The opening songs, one for each series, are absolutely beautiful and very moody/evocative, whilst the closing songs are more upbeat and along with the animated vignettes remind me of Ghibli film credits.

In summary, whilst the heavy emphasis on economics and market trading for the "action" should make it a hard recommendation, the character drama between Lawrence and Holo is just too damn good to pass up! Whilst Spice and Wolf certainly won't appeal to everyone, its different enough that everyone should at least check it out. Personally, I absolutely *loved it*!!

REVIEW: Attack on Titan (Anime/Manga)

When something becomes popular, inevitably there are people who become "hipsters" about whether it's any good or not. The new hotness in anime is 'Shingeki no Kyojin' or to give it its international name, Attack on Titan, and there are plenty of people to tell you how over-hyped it is, etc, etc. They're basically idiots!! While I was visiting Japan earlier this year (2014 at the time of writing), you couldn't go into a convenience store without running into something Attack on Titan related, and it was this prevalence of "stuff" that made me interested in checking out the anime series when I got home; it was hopeless in Japan as nothing on TV is English subtitled. So, after binge-watching it over the internet on the 'Crunchyroll' streaming service it is almost ready for Blu-ray and DVD release here in the UK, and I thought I'd take this opportunity for a brief review of both the anime series and the manga original.

The plot of Attack on Titan concerns itself with a kind of post-apocalyptic scenario. It is some undetermined time in the future, and mankind has previously been driven to the brink of extinction by large humanoid creatures known as Titans, who wander the earth feasting on living human flesh. The last hope mankind has is by eking out a meager existence behind huge concentric walls, and the level of technology and social structure has been consequently thrown back to a feudal middle-ages equivalent. Titans themselves are nearly immortal, as they don't actually need to eat for sustenance (it's suggested that they're powered by the sun) and can regenerate nearly any amount of damage done to them as long as the nape of their neck is not cut out. Our protagonist for the story of Attack on Titan is Eren Jaeger, who during the opening attack upon his hometown behind the wall is forced to watch his mother ripped apart and devoured by Titans. He swears revenge on the creatures and joins the military with his childhood (and similarly orphaned) friends, who make up the other main characters, hence begins the onslaught.

The story arcs, and the way that they develop, are fantastic and easily some of the best and most compelling television you'll watch all year; there are two reasons for this. Firstly, the damn cliffhangers!! Attack on Titan drip-feeds its story to you, and while intense action make up the bulk of the time on-screen, the final few minutes of each episode usually give you just enough information to satisfy your desire to piece together the many mysteries (what are the Titans? where did they come from? etc.) and also usually end on a *massive* *MASSIVE* cliffhanger. Because of this, the show is almost un-put-down-able, and there really is no good opportune time to stop watching, you just have to tear yourself away! The second thing that makes the series so nail-biting to watch is the complete disregard it has for it's characters safety; and I mean all characters not just ancillary ones. Someone once commented in another review that if Joss Whedon and George RR Martin got together and watched Attack on Titan they would tell the shows producers to "slow the f**k down" with the amount of character deaths, which is saying something. But of course, this is brilliant as it gives situations a real sense of peril and danger that is missing from most television series, especially anime.

Hopefully the accompanying pictures illustrate this, but Attack on Titan looks incredible, especially for an anime series and not a feature film. Animation is fluid, looks absolutely gorgeous in high definition, and the character designs are great and help everyone stand out; which is important with such a large supporting cast. Action sequences in particular, the meat and bones of the show, are extremely exciting and well done... which makes it so much crueler when they end in a cliffhanger! AARGH! Special mention must go to the soundtrack too, especially the awesome as hell opening themes, which are *epic* and awesome; I've even seen silly chibi versions and spoof cartoons of Attack on Titan that use the same soundtrack and still seem epic as a result. In summary, basically everything about this anime series is amazing and exceptional, well deserving of all the hype and popularity that it has received, and I can only see it gaining more avid fans once it becomes officially available here.

MANGA: About the only real negative that can be said about Attack on Titan is the lack of closure. This is because it's only the first of two (or more) series based on the original manga, and really leaves a lot of plot threads up in the air; especially the central mystery of Eren's key hanging around his neck. While it is pretty much guaranteed there will be a second series based solely on how well it's done, at the time of writing there is no confirmed release date or even confirmation that they're even making the thing! This is probably because the series caught up with the manga pretty damn fast and there isn't enough material yet to fill another 26 episodes. So, in the meantime, if you want to uncover some of the buried strands of plot or you simply want to carry on the story the solution is to pick up and read the manga, or read it online via a manga reader like I did, and you *will* want to carry on at least a while.

Unfortunately, while I've enjoyed reading through a fair chunk of the remaining current manga to uncover a few more of the mysteries, I've not found it to be as awesome to read as something like Berserk. The main reason is that Attack on Titan is primarily an action-packed show of fights and intense violence, and this is not as kinetic or punchy in the original manga; especially compared to the excellent anime. In fact, I would go so far as to say that the anime of Attack on Titan is superior in almost every way and therefore feel free to completely skip most of the volumes and start from the middle of volume eight, which is where the anime ends. Also, while the art style is decent and often looks really good, it is not a patch on the television series; compare the above panel of the Colossal Titan with the one near the start of this article to see what I'm saying. I've read far enough into the manga to satisfy some of my curiosity about where the next series will go, uncover some *massive* mysteries and plotlines, and stoke my enthusiasm for watching the anime series again, this time forearmed with new knowledge about certain characters and events... but I think I'll stop reading for now. It'll be good to keep some things fresh for Attack on Titan Series 2 when it eventually rolls 'round sometime (hopefully) in 2015.

REVIEW: Berserk (Anime/Movies/Manga)

As a massive (understatement of the century!) fan of the Demon's Souls and Dark Souls video games, I've always been interested in Berserk. The games' creator, Hidetaka Miyazaki, has always stated that the manga and anime has been a huge influence on the aesthetic, tone and some of the monster, character and weapon designs of both Demon's and Dark Souls and has always suggested series fans check it out. It's taken me a long time, but over the past couple of months I've discovered Berserk in a big way and, completely divorced of the 'Souls connection, it's become one of my favourite pieces of Japanese animation in a long time. Not only that, but the unique conditions by which you have to experience the story of Berserk to actually get it all has lead me to pick up manga - something that very rarely happens with me as I'm not usually a fan of comic books or graphic novels. In this article I'm going to try and explain why Berserk has captivated me so much and hopefully make you want to check it out yourself; also this will hopefully be the first in a series of articles/reviews for anime since I rediscovered my love of it after visiting Japan this year.

Anime (TV Series)
Like a lot of people in the West, my first introduction to Berserk was through the 1996 anime television series, which is a full 26 episodes and basically covers the "Golden Age Arc" of the story with a smattering of "The Black Swordsman" at the beginning. Speaking of beginnings, Berserk has a particularly bad one unfortunately, as while I was lead to believe that this was a classic and amazing series (it is!), the first impression that I got was of a dude-bro throwback to 80's anime like Fist of the North Star. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it just wasn't what I was expecting from all the hype. It turns out that this first episode is a bit of an aberration, as it quickly changes gear and goes back to an earlier time period, which not only looks visually different but tonally is much more welcoming as an entry point for the series; lots of fans advise to skip the pilot and start on episode two.

From here on out we are quickly introduced to the main characters of the story, namely the central protagonist Guts with his gigantic sword, Casca a beautiful and exotic female warrior and Griffith, an effeminate but heroic leader. There are many other fantastic ancillary characters that make up 'The Band of the Hawk' but the main beats of the story concern these three central characters, their emotional past, and the epic journey that they embark on together. You see, they're all pulled together by Griffith's dream - that a man who started life in the gutter but who wants to inherit everything can do so as long as he believes in it wholeheartedly. 'The Band of the Hawk' is Griffith's own personal army that he intends to use to carve out a piece of the kingdom for himself, and when we initially meet him his plan is missing one important element, Guts, who is Griffith's equal in almost every way except for the drive and ambition - something that becomes a point of contention later on. The central themes of Berserk are unavoidable fate and living inside another person's dream. Early on, Guts is given a prophecy that "when [Griffith's] ambition crumbles it will be [Guts'] doom" and this dark premonition hangs over all the events that follow right up to it's crushing nihilistic conclusion.

To say that the ending of "The Golden Age" story arc is tragic and dark is to do it a great disservice; it makes something like Game of Thrones looks like uplifting family entertainment. Aside from the story, the Berserk anime series is also infamous for having a VERY unfinished ending - while it is very true to the manga, it also makes no attempt to wrap anything up in its 26 episodes, and in fact ends DURING one of the most pivotal scenes in the story!! I really can't stress enough how disappointing you will be with where it all ends, as they basically just got to episode 26 and stopped, with no second series to carry the story onward. Its testament to the strength of this anime series then, that despite this appalling ending, the series is still regarded as one of the best of all time. A product of it's time, the animation from 1996 is not the best, especially nowadays where it really looks quite rough, but the artwork characters designs and style of the anime is fantastic. The sound design also needs a mention as, aside from truly awful opening and closing themes, the music used in the series is haunting and atmospheric to the extreme. But really, it is the characters and story that drive Berserk into the top ten list for most people, there really isn't anything as complex and finely woven as this.

Manga
So, what happens after episode 26!? That is the first question any fan of the Berserk anime asks after watching the series for the first time as you simply need to know what happens. Of course, you can find out by picking up the manga, and that's exactly what I did - or more precisely I picked up volume 13 of the manga, which is where the series ends (in the middle). Lots of Berserk fans would probably frown at this and tell you to start at the very beginning, but I really had no interest in reading past the "Golden Age" and just wanted to know what happens in the end. I had no idea how hooked I would get. Now, its worth mentioning that after watching Attack on Titan I was in a similar frame of mind, and only read far enough into the manga to get some much needed answers, and then felt satisfied. However, I'm actually still reading through Berserk and I'm loving every minute of it!

In a similar vein to the television series, the next arc of the story (after "The Golden Age") gets off to a bit of a ropey start, and I really wasn't expecting some of the goofball comedy from characters like Puck after the blacker-than-black events that had just transpired. Once you're past this small interlude though, the story starts to pick up again, oozing the dark fantasy and ultra-violent vibe of the series once more. Not being too much of a comic book fan, I've been continually blown away by the art style of Berserk, I just think the way that the panels are presented is often very dynamic and also the artwork itself (as hopefully these couple of screens demonstrate) is excellent; very dark and visceral. The story is going from strength to strength and I have loads more still to go. It's hard reviewing what is still an ongoing thing for me, and maybe at some point I will return and offer a final verdict, but as for now I can say that Berserk is a rival to grand fantasy epics like A Song of Ice and Fire. I love it.

Anime (Movies)
There is however another way to experience the Berserk "Golden Age" story arc, besides watching the television series and reading the manga, (which you should still do) and that is to instead watch the new trilogy of films released over the last couple of years. The aim here was to completely reboot the story of Berserk in anime, starting with a trilogy of films to quickly cover already familiar material (to anyone who watched the original series) and then follow up with a new series to continue the story in line with the manga. Interestingly, the last film The Advent also offers a good replacement end for the anime television series all by itself - but my recommended way to absorb this story would be to watch the original series first, then watch all three films back-to-back afterwards, and I'll try and explain why.

Basically the first two films, Egg of the King and Battle for Doldrey, cover the same storyline as the original anime series but much more abridged from the original manga, with lots of ancillary characters missing, and superfluous scenes removed. Of course, this means that in terms of story and character development, it is the weakest incarnation of Berserk, which is why most people recommend the series first. But, the films give Berserk something that it's never really had before - a truly epic scale. Right from the get-go, Egg of the King is massive in scale, as thousands of armoured knights assault a castle with siege engines, leading into the scene with Guts fighting Bazuso (pictured above). This sense of grandeur is echoed across all three films, with perhaps its pinnacle being the Battle for Doldrey itself, and really gives the world and the military struggles that provide the background framework for the story a much needed boost in terms of production values and richness of vision. Action packed sequences that were always roughly handled in the television series are given new visceral life here, with some astounding high definition cell-shaded graphics, and lashings of gore!

For the first time in an anime form, Berserk is finally given a full and proper ending treatment, and an absolute adaptation of the infamous "eclipse" sequence from manga volumes 13 and 14; as promised it is hellish and uncomfortable to watch and utterly unforgettable. While some of the emotional punch is diluted from the original series, due to the characters not being fleshed out a much, the pure horror onscreen is handled masterfully and really hammers home the benefits of a full film budget and modern technology. Music in all three films is also very epic and grandiose, with huge sweeping orchestral scores permeating throughout and some odd uncomfortable pieces of music for the supernatural elements towards the end. While I don't consider the films to be as good as the television series (if you had to pick one then see that instead),  I do consider them to be a very worthwhile and almost-essential accompaniment that fleshes out many battle and action scenes. Just be warned, that the films do not pull any punches where nudity, sex and violence are concerned.

To conclude then, I think that Berserk is very unique in many ways, not only in terms of subject matter, characters and storyline, but also in how it is consumed as a piece of media. To get the full rich tapestry on offer, you effectively need to watch a television series, three films and then read an massive series of comic books! Is it worth it? At this point, I consider Berserk to be one of the very best stories I've ever experienced, especially the "Golden Age" arc, which is what most of this article is based upon. Highly recommended.

REVIEW: Dark Souls II (PS3)

I've been waiting a looong time for this game. In fact, I think I'd had the damn thing preordered on Amazon for well over a year before it finally landed in my desperate hands. And now, after finishing the sequel to one of my favourite games of all time, I have the same feeling all over again... a hollowness, an emptiness, that I know no other game will satisfy until they (hopefully) release the next edition of this dark fantasy RPG. The first game in this series, Demon's Souls, was a complete surprise for me when I picked it up along with my PS3 all those years back, I had grabbed it on a recommendation for it being one of the best exclusive titles on Sony's platform. I was blown away and instantly addicted to it's hard and dismal gothic-fantasy world, which was unlike anything I'd every played, save for the overtones of Shadow of the Colossus, my all-time favourite video game. When they announced a "spiritual successor" I was overjoyed and Dark Souls did not disappoint. While initially I was unsure about the changes from Demon's Souls (like the move to an "interconnected open world" and the whole rejiggering of many things) eventually I came to love this new game every bit as much as the first; more in some areas and less in others. Like everyone else, I eagerly awaited the announcement of 'Dragon's Souls' or something like that and when they instead announced a direct sequel I was both excited and nervous at the same time. Please From Software... don't f**k it up!!

Upon loading up Dark Souls 2 you are instantly taken back to that dark fantasy world from the first game, only this time hundreds or thousands of years into the future, where kingdoms of men have risen and fallen since the escapades of your first character; but the dismal cycle of death and rebirth continues unabated. You are yet again an undead ( or 'hollow') out of a quest to rid yourself, and perhaps mankind, of "the curse", only this time through it might not be as simple and straightforward as that. Initial comments from the game's new director about making the story "more accessible" seem to be unfounded, as if anything the actual lore is even more shrouded in mystery and interpretation this time. The actual direction to take and what to do in Dark Souls 2 is more easily signposted this time around though, as there are more characters to steer you in the right direction, and more freedom in which order you tackle areas. A lot of this freedom to travel and explore is facilitated by an almost-return to Demon's Souls's "hub structure", and you are given the ability to fast-travel from the very start; allowing you to return to the central point of 'Majula', the only place you can level your character up, reset stats, increase potency of healing items etc.

Freedom is the main theme of Dark Souls 2's design choices as you now also have more slots for weapons, armour and useable items on your belt. You also have more options in terms of healing, either by using fixed 'Estus Flasks' from the previous game or by using consumable items similar to Demon's Souls. Indeed, you even have the freedom to play around with the "new game plus" option by burning 'bonfire aesthetics' and resetting all the baddies, bosses and items in an area in the same what you would do with a complete second play through of the game! Obviously, because it's a From Software game, a lot of these things are not fully explained by the game, leaving you to find out for yourself or online in guides, but the fact this is all here makes the game extremely enjoyable and customisable. I took advantage of all these things during my first play through, and re-specced my character half-way through into a "Dark Knight", hurling hexes at foes, using dark-infused weapons, and reaching top-tier in a covenant designed to explore The Abyss. Next time, I'm going to spec my character for dexterity and faith and make a halberd wielding temple knight (although disappointingly there are no divine weapons this time 'round), and it's this complete ownership over both your character and over how you play the game that makes it so enjoyable, addictive and endlessly replayable.

The world of Dark Souls 2 is very well designed, and there is a good variety of locales, enemies and bosses this time 'round. While there is some (intentional) reuse of things from the first Dark Souls early on, there is very little reuse of assetsfrom early to late game this time, unlike the latter half of the first game, which the creators admit was rushed. Here you get the sense they had a good plan for the development of the game and saw it right through to the end, with a particularly strong second half leading some some spectacular final areas. Bosses are all challenging and pose their own strategies and tactics to overcome, which is also helped this time with a more robust multiplayer system, meaning it's very easy to summon assistance if you get stuck (although due to the idiocy of some players I often overcame the most difficult bosses solo). Music is top-knotch, graphics are much improved in terms of frame rate and special effects, although I didn't find the art direction to be quite as good as either of the first two games, it's still leagues above most other fantasy RPGs! All-in-all a very worthy sequel and while I would like to talk all day about the many features that are exemplary and the many secrets and unlockable events that happen, I would much rather just say: go play this game.

Thus begins the long drawn-out wait for another in the 'Souls games, hopefully made more bearable with some DLC to tide me over (the game checks for DLC on start-up so I'm hoping it's a hint of things to come)...

REVIEW: Beyond Two Souls (PS3)

Firstly, a little disclaimer. If you have any interest in this game (and if you have a PS3 then you should), then be warned that even looking at the pictures in this review is going to be entering 'spoiler' territory. This is a game that is probably best approached knowing nothing about except that a.) it's an "interactive drama" and relies on contextual controls not conventional gameplay; and b.) it's bloody brilliant!! This is the second PS3 exclusive game from second party studio Quantic Dream and the director David Cage. The first, Heavy Rain, polarised critics with it's approach to video games as a medium, like films and books, through which to tell a story. People will often band about statements like "it's just a load of quick time events" and make the accusation that there is little gameplay, inferring that it's like watching a game-long (8 hour) cut-scene; incidentally these very same sentiments are often expressed towards Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. I personally find this kind of attitude to be backwards and shortsighted to the extreme. Heavy Rain tried to do something different by presenting a complex interwoven story, usually outside the scope of video games, and used what I would refer to as "contextual controls" rather than having a rigid control scheme; definitely not quick time events, which by their nature are "press X now, oh too late you died!" In fact, a later re-release and patch allowed Heavy Rain to be played with the Move Controller, allowing a very real connection with the game through gesture and motion control.

Speaking personally, I was a massive fan of Heavy Rain and it has remained, for me, one of the defining games of the PS3 and a "must-buy" title. When it was announced that David Cage was following it up and releasing a new game in the same genre, I was stoked and Beyond Two Souls became one of my most anticipated games last year. Obviously, like it's predecessor, it released to mixed reviews. Also like it's predecessor, critics just didn't get it!! Beyond once again explores the idea of using video games as a medium for a complex narrative, this time focusing on the character of Jodie Holmes, a girl born with a paranormal connection to a spiritual entity called Aiden. This time, rather than jumping between the viewpoints of different characters (as was explored in Heavy Rain) Beyond's narrative structure is non-linear and different chapters hop and skip to different parts of a timeline; always logically filling in bits of backstory before diving into a relevant later chapter in Jodie's life. This keeps the game extremely compelling and each time a new chapter begins you'll want to know what new secrets it exposes or how it develops Jodie's character. Once again all this is realised with mostly context dependent controls, however this time the game has been confidently made so that intuition (rather than on screen button prompts) guides you. This doesn't always work flawlessly, and sometimes you'll have to walk about and experiment to further the scene, but it definitely adds to the immersion of the game by not having a heads up display or other intrusive elements. Often the only time you'll see a face button popping is when choosing dialogue options, which is why in screenshots there is nothing to suggest how the game actually plays.

The other control scheme used is a fixed, almost third-person-shooter, setup that allows Beyond to contain some more traditional gameplay sections. These lengthy sequences, mostly regarding Jodie's time working for the CIA, feel very much like a Metal Gear Solid game, as you are tasked with sneaking about and completing objectives. I found these parts of the game to be immense fun, and I can see why people might wish the entire experience had been like this. But that would be to miss the point, as while these sections give the player the most traditional "video-gamey" experience, they don't usually have as much emotional gravitas as some of the slower purely-storyline driven sections of the game. The chapters where you play as a little girl in particular pulled on my heartstrings the most; but that might just be because she is so adorable, and goes through such a crappy childhood, poor thing! Speaking of the storyline, the game also has a multiple endings, twenty-six of them in fact, which means there is potentially a lot of reply value. Like Heavy Rain before it, there is a lot of reason to play again through sections of Beyond to see how your actions affect the scene, and to earn different trophies as a reward.

Lastly, it's worth mentioning the technical achievements of this game, which regardless of your own opinion regarding the storyline, player agency or whether this is all a "game" in a narrow inflexible definition, no-one can deny that this game is stunning to see in motion. The graphics engine in Beyond produces some of the most realistic life-like visuals I've ever scene, with lots of hidden level-of-detail jumps bringing out some insane depth to close-ups of characters faces, allowing you to truly read emotions and thoughts in character's eyes and expressions. It helps that the motion captured performances from everyone involved is Hollywood caliber stuff, especially from Ellen Page in the starring role as Jodie; even the bit-parts and cameos are all very well done from the different actors. While playing I was frequently picking my jaw from off the floor. The soundtrack, while not as memorable as the previous game, is still excellently well done and I believe nominated for some awards. To sum up this review, Beyond is a fantastic video game (and perfect follow-up to Heavy Rain) that does some interesting and new things with the medium, perhaps not appealing to snuffly-nosed boring old purists, but great if you are open to try something that requires you to think and feel rather than twitch and shoot.