review

Mr. Oizo – Rythme Plat review

27th March 2019 By Qazimod Leave a Comment

The music of Quentin “Mr. Oizo” Dupieux has gone from strength to strength throughout the ’10s (is that what we call this decade?), with The Church and All Wet providing some wonderfully varied and catchy tunes that quickly found a permanent residence in my MP3 library. This year there had been plenty of teases in social media for the latest EP, Rythme Plat, and the four-track collection was finally released for streaming, download or vinyl purchase last week. I was kind of caught up taking in various news and releases over the past few days and I didn’t really get a chance to write about Rythme Plat as soon as I would have liked, but I feel like it’s worth sharing my thoughts on it now that I’ve had time to give it more attention. The selection of tracks can be enjoyed in less than ten minutes, but it’s hard not to appreciate the catchy hooks and hypnotic beats that Mr. Oizo can deliver so reliably.

Rythme Plat – a safe opening

The opening track, Rythme Plat, begins as a confusing array of sounds – a woodblock beat in a bossa nova-style rhythm contends with something approaching an air-raid siren as a vocal repeats the title of the song – but eventually it settles into a slick groove and it’s hard to avoid nodding your head to the hypnotic rhythm, simplistic as it may be. There are no massive upsets to the format of this opening track, only a few elements being dropped in and brought back, but that’s perhaps for the best. This vibe of slow and catchy grooves is continued through to the second track of Rythme Plat; “Viandes Légumes Véhicules”. That name translates as “Meat Vegetables Vehicles” (according to the internet; my French probably isn’t what it used to be) and once again is vocally repeated throughout the track. It’s accompanied by a slow, simple beat, but this unassuming start allows Mr. Oizo to slowly bring more effects into the track as it continues. Some might argue that Viandes Légumes Véhicules is a bit too pared down and that it needed a few more minutes to really expand beyond that basic melodic structure, but I think the length works in the track’s favour, bringing things to a close before they get too repetitive.

…and a late surprise

If the first two tracks gave listeners the impression that this was going to be an EP full of slow tempos and samey hooks, the latter two tracks defy that notion and are a little more creative. Dolce Vita sees Phra join in for vocal duties, with some interesting lyrical work being draped over an easy-going backing hook and a fantastic (if subtle) bassline. Admittedly, listeners may need the help of a translator to get the full effect of the lyrics, but the individual elements complement each other really well. This is the last time Rythme Plat threatens to be slow and safe, however; Nuque is the last track on the EP and is probably my favourite of the four. With a more upbeat tempo, this track is given ample opportunity to change and evolve more frequently over its duration, and it’s much better for it. Then again, even if I prefer the mood of the latter two tracks, the whole EP is varied enough to please all Mr. Oizo fans. (On a more personal note, Discogs suggests that it’s currently only available on vinyl and digital – as a fan of CDs (at the time of writing) I kind of would have liked another shiny disc for my collection, but it’s no big deal.) I’m sure lots of people will have their own favourites from the EP, so go and take a listen today.

Rythme Plat is out now on vinyl and digital formats

The Prodigy: No Tourists review

2nd November 2018 By Qazimod Leave a Comment

Thinking about The Prodigy‘s last couple of albums prior to No Tourists makes me think of an identity crisis. A few years ago one group of fans would welcome the shouty, punk vibe of Omen and Wall of Death, whilst another bunch of followers would lament the apparent death of The Prodigy’s roots, as it stepped further and further away from the techno-rave aesthetic that defined the Experience album and certain parts of Music for a Jilted Generation. Some might argue that the evolution began with hit single Firestarter and continued from there; the same people who would pin the “blame” on poor Keith Flint headbanging and shouting in an abandoned London Underground tunnel. Personally I’m a fan of each of these “eras”, but this also meant that I wasn’t a dissenting voice – it meant that I was probably part of the problem. Maybe that’s why I feel some relief in knowing that No Tourists has taken steps to work on that identity crisis and maybe even embrace it.

No Tourists – a history lesson

Listening to the ten tracks of No Tourists is like embarking on a journey through Prodigy history; Light Up The Sky has vicious sounds, big beats and simple, shouty lyrics (not to mention some minor effects that sound straight out of Breathe and Their Law) – it carries the same punch as something like Nasty from The Day Is My Enemy. Elsewhere, We Live Forever sounds like a lost track from the Experience album; you’re listening to the chatty vocal sample and half-expecting it to tell you it’ll “take your brain to another dimension”. Later on, Champions of London and Boom Boom Tap have the kind of hurried tempos that you’d normally hear on a drum ‘n’ bass record, bringing to mind the similar urgency of Roadblox. Of course, there’s always the chance that Disposable Media is being swept up in the thrill of the new here, and maybe certain tracks will lose their shine over time (I personally found that Need Some1 and Fight Fire With Fire were kind of weak to begin with), but right now it feels like No Tourists has a little something for everyone. My personal favourite at the moment is Resonate; it combines distorted vocals and heavy beats with classic synth sounds – and somehow it all works together gloriously.

No Tourists – no “buts”

As I listened and collected my thoughts on No Tourists I was surprised at the overall quality and variety of the album, and I was wondering if there would ever be a “however” moment in this article. My only minor issue I found with the album – and it probably won’t be an issue for some fans – was that there’s an aggressive, loud, merciless vibe throughout the whole thing… and there’s little room to take a breather. As much as I love this, I also enjoy the chilled intros and slow build-ups of tracks such as Climbatize and Weather Experience, and I was waiting for a similar moment when listening to No Tourists. There are definitely some slower tracks on the album, but nothing with the same vibe carried by those older tracks. Even so, the consistent quality and variety in each of these relentless tracks is more than enough to satisfy me; when tracks were being revealed before the album’s release I felt like I had a new favourite every other week – now I’ve listened to the rest of the album and have yet more favourites to think about. No Tourists sees The Prodigy doing what they do best, whilst also respecting the evolution of the Prodigy sound throughout the group’s history. That in itself is enough of a reason to pick this up.

No Tourists is out now – buy it on iTunes or stream it on Spotify

House of Feasts with Damian Wawrzyniak

22nd May 2018 By Liz Randell Leave a Comment

Last week I got an invitation from Eat Peterborough to try the new 12 course tasting menu at House of Feasts. Conceived and run by world renowned Polish chef Damian Wawrzyniak, it’s safe to say, I (and my +1 Dan) jumped at the chance.

Not only is head chef Damian famous for his celebrity clientele (Kate and Wills) but his culinary C.V. reads like a foodies dream. His past accolades include working at NOMA – which perhaps has influenced his style of working with seasonal and local produce to create simple, great tasting dishes – and he has also recently worked on the BBC2 programme Mary Berry’s Easter Feast, where he made Polish babka for Mary in the studio.

House of Feasts itself is a light, airy modern venue with an eclectic decor – with a quirky mix of murals on the ceiling, clean lines and rustic touches including bare brick walls, unfinished wood tables and fake fur throws dotted around the dining area. It has a laid back ambience and I felt very relaxed in the subdued glow of candlelight (although in hindsight this could have been due to the extremely large gin and tonic which was served in a fishbowl sized goblet!)

The menu was a selection of courses created from almost entirely local produce, influenced by Damian’s Polish roots, resulting in some beautifully conceived and crafted authentic Polish dishes.

Aged Beef Tartare with cured egg yolk and pickles – this House of Feasts favourite was rich but equally yummy and I found just the right sized portion.
Smalec and Sourdough Bread and Pickles – three cuts of British pork, Apple & herbs, in house made pancetta – a dish that was served to Prince William and Kate Middleton in 2017. The infamous activated charcoal sourdough made an appearance and it was divine.
Cured herring with beetroot puree, activated charcoal Tuile de Pan and pickled onion – this was delicious but I’m not really a fish fan so the flavour was a little over powering for me. However, the texture of the cured herring was incredibly melt in the mouth.
Leek Tree tempura with light cream and smoked cheese – served on hot coals, the tempura leek was delicious. Could have eaten a whole lot more of the smoked cheese that came with it had it not disappeared in between the hot coals!
Beetroot Cured Salmon with Star Anise Cured Beetroot and Leek Ash – The ash really gave this a punchy aftertaste which I didn’t mind but may not be to everyone’s liking. The salmon fell apart beautifully and was served on a beetroot ‘splash’.
Sea Bass with Fermented Asparagus and Lovage Leaves – perhaps the stand out dish of the night for me, simply because I thought both the flavour combinations and textures worked so perfectly together.
Potato Cottage Cheese & Ash – a potato fondant, topped with a spinach cottage cheese and potato ash – the potato was cooked to perfection and the cottage cheese and spinach on top cut through some of the richness.
Short rib of beef with preserved elderberries and cured carrot – the elderberry sauce was the winner here for me. The cut of beef was great but the preserved elderberries really brought out the flavours of the dish with a real smack.
Honeyed parsnip, Lemon preserved parsnip and pickled parsnip – I thought the honeyed parsnip puree was amazing and the tiny twirl of pickled parsnip had just the right amount of acidity. The honeyed parsnip was fine but this wasn’t a great dish if you’re not much of a fan of parsnip – like me!
Lamb with preserved nettles and lamb jus – the quality of the lamb was just incredible and this dish had so much flavour.
Pork belly and pickled Tindora – brined and slow cooked pork belly on mashed potato. By this point I was starting to feel a little full but I persevered (I knew dessert wasn’t far away!) – the pork was lovely but I was a little disappointed with it being a little too fatty but the crackling was cracking.
Faworki Mille Fuile – this came with a side of ginger and orange dust and a raspberry sauce. It was an amazing combination of textures and the flavour reminded me of a fresh jam doughnut.
Aerated Chocolate Mousse – the final course was a decadent chocolate mousse with orange. I adore this flavour combination and even after the previous courses, wasn’t too heavy an end to the tasting menu meal. The texture was velvety smooth too.

All the food created by Damian Wawrzyniak shows a huge respect for both seasonal and local ingredients – which is exactly my kind of food and ethos – but also the quality of the produce was superb. The stand out dishes for me were definitely the Aged Beef Tartare and the Sea Bass, whereas Dan (who has recently been spending much more time himself in the kitchen due to his new favourite gadget) happily devoured every morsel of all the dishes but I believe he enjoyed the three fish dishes the most.

Whilst writing this, I’ve realised it was in fact a 13 course tasting menu not 12 so we even had a few bonus bites! And now we’ve sampled the tasting menu from House of Feasts we’re already looking at returning for a Sunday roast. Pyszne!

Lumo Review (PS4)

24th February 2017 By deKay Leave a Comment

Lumo is how you remember old Spectrum isometric games played. You know the ones, like Batman and Head over Heels and Knightlore. Only you remember wrong. Because although we all loved them back then, they were a pig to control and the hardest things ever.

Take the idea of these games and view them through a rose-tinted lens, and you have Lumo; it both pays homage to and lampoons the 8-bit isometric arcade adventure genre.

You begin in “the real world”, visiting a small-time retro gaming event. One of the machines on display malfunctions, and you’re sucked into a world where you’ve become a super-deformed wizard and electrified floors and hidden cassette tapes are the order of the day. You move from room to room, overcoming platforming challenges or puzzles, collecting four artefacts. Collect them all and you just might return home.

Where Lumo succeeds is in evoking the feeling of those old games. Not just in the viewpoint, but in the sort of objects, room layouts and traps you encounter. Several rooms are almost carbon copies of classic ones, triggering the retro glands. Some rooms contain more front-and-centre references, literally including sprites or screenshots. There are nods to 80s computer games and UK gaming culture of the time everywhere. In one section, you ride a lift and the music playing is Your Sinclair’s very own Whistlin’ Rick Wilson and his classic “Hold My Hand Very Tightly (Very Tightly)”. They played it on Radio 1 once, you know.

Sometimes the game will deviate from the Ritman/Drummond/Ultimate template into other areas. There’s a minecart section, and several bonus areas that ape Ballblazer, Zaxxon, Horace Goes Skiing and Nebulus amongst others. Some of these work well in isometric, some (*cough* Horace *cough*) do not.

Where Lumo performs less well is mainly due to this 45 degree viewpoint. Also a complaint with many of the classic titles, seeing where you are in space relevant to platforms you need to land on can be a struggle. One particular section in a later area of the game has you navigating a bubble between spikes, and it’s near impossible to determine where it will actually pass. Failing a screen because your pixel-perfect jumping isn’t up to scratch is one thing, but because it looks like the landing area is in front of you when it’s actually up in the sky several squares away? Not great.

Thankfully, and unlike isometric titles of yore (unless you cheated!), infinite lives help stave off throwing your gaming device through a window. Some of the more tricky, long, or “perspectively challenged” areas still cause the red mist after several dozen deaths, but these are rare.

It’s definitely a game aimed at 80s Speccy kids, and is worth playing for the nostalgia if nothing else. In itself it’s pretty decent too. It may lack a little polish perhaps. And maybe a few rooms should have been tweaked to reduce the viewpoint issues a tad, but there’s a lot to like here anyway. Oh, just one more thing: Make sure you install the update before you play. There are nasty save game bugs otherwise!

Pokémon Picross (3DS)

5th January 2016 By deKay 1 Comment

Picross e, then Picross e2. Picross e3, e4, e5 and – as you’d expect, e6. You’d be forgiven for thinking that developers Jupiter were stuck in a bit of a rut, but as a massive fan of the series of Japanese puzzles, you must understand that the inevitable e7 was high on my shopping list. Surprise! There’s no e7, as Jupiter have gone Pokémon, with Pokémon Picross.

Can you tell what is is yit?

If you squint, it’s more of the same. Instead of the usual pixel art representations of toilets and anchors and chickens, they’re all Pokémon. You probably guessed that was coming. In itself, it’s not a bad thing as any more picross – to a picross aficionado – is always welcome. It doesn’t matter what the hidden picture actually is anyway, as it’s all about the journey. Snorlax or snooker table, who cares, right? Right. Especially since the game is free!

Only Nintendo stuffed the game full of IAPs, didn’t they. Artificial paywalls to progress, as already seen in other 3DS Pokémon games – Pokémon Rumble World and Pokémon Shuffle. In those games the in-app purchases merely served as ways of speeding up the game progress, and Shuffle at least was perfectly completable without ever busting out your eShop wallet. I was expecting the same here, and since I’d play only a handful of puzzles a day in the e-series games thought this would see me through. Sadly, this is not the case.

Pokémon Picross: The first one is always free

Liberally plying you early on with Picrites (the in-game currency) to show you how you can unlock more areas, puzzles and Pokémon slots, the flow soon slows to a trickle with each completed puzzle only rewarding you with 6 or 7. That’s a best-case scenario as in order to get the maximum number of Picrites from a puzzle you need to fulfill some requirements, such as use certain Pokémon. In turn, this leads to repeating the puzzles as you can’t always max them out on your first attempt. This might be fine in other types of games, but you really don’t want to be redoing picross puzzles. You wouldn’t redo a crossword, would you, and It’s the same here. To open up the next area of Pokémon, with each area home to around six or so beasties, you need a large number of Picrites. 70 or 80 for the earlier areas, and as you only get 6 or 7 per puzzle some quick maths shows there aren’t enough puzzles in each area to stump up the Picrites to unlock the next, and that’s before you start spending them on other in-game stuff. The solution: Pony up real actual money. Cunning Nintendo. A few more Picrites are handed out in the daily challenge puzzles, which are boring, randomly generated and pictureless, and you get a handful more for achievements, but it’s still not enough to get through without tedious repetition.

It’s a shame they missed a trick and didn’t make the map itself a giant picross puzzle.

The other changes to the standard e formula are less intrusive, with the puzzles themselves following the same style, right down to the same font, used in the older titles. Whereas before you had the option to automatically display one row and one column before you started, and had blue “number hinting” to help with determining if you had available moves, these features now manifest in the form of Pokémon moves. Collect the creatures by solving their puzzle, then set up to six of them (providing you stump up the precious Picrites necessary to open all the slots) at a time to be used during other puzzles. These moves can activate those traditional abilities as well as new ones, such as a “scattershot reveal” or a correction tool. Some have cooldowns meaning they can only be used once in a period of (real) time, and some only apply to certain puzzles sizes, so catching them all is once again on the cards. It’s actually quite good fun and a welcome twist. In fact, as you work through a single area you realise how much you’re enjoying it then BAM! You run out of energy.

Did I not say? I’m sorry. That’s right. Energy. Every tile you place in each puzzle drains one unit of energy, and you only have a finite amount. Before you even reach the paywall at the end of an area, you hit another paywall because you can’t play any more as your energy is depleted. You can wait until the next day for it to be replenished, of course, or you can splash out on some more of those naughty Picrites and bypass the forced pause in play. A double-whammy of painful penny pinching.

Pay ALL the money

One thing you can’t money your way out of is the control system. Although you’d expect that filling in picross puzzles with a stylus makes more sense than a d-pad and button combo, to someone who cut their picross teeth on Mario’s Super Picross on the SNES the stylus is An Unnecessary Item. In the e games, you can choose your input mechanism of choice, and in Pokémon Picross it would appear you have the same option. It’s a façade: You can only use buttons to solve the puzzles, and most of the rest of the UI requires a plastic stick or finger to operate. There’s no reason for it, it’s annoying, and it’s a thoroughly confusing design decision. It sounds a small complaint, but after you’ve pressed B for the n-teenth and “Use the stylus!” has flashed up yet again, it grates.

Like previous games, puzzles vary in size.

As a free game it could get a lot of slack for things like this, but the game isn’t free. To get fun out of it you’ve no real choice but to buy some Picrites. When you look into the Picrite shop, you can see that if you spend enough money, they become free from then on, effectively buying the game outright. If you want to get onboard with this way of paying for your Picross game, it’ll set you back around £30. The older e titles are nearer a fiver. Just sticking Pokémon in it does not mean they’re worth an extra £25, especially since you can almost buy all six Picross e games for the cost of Pokémon Picross. And, frankly, that’s where your money should go instead.

The Prodigy: The Day Is My Enemy (Expanded Edition) Review

23rd November 2015 By Qazimod Leave a Comment

The Prodigy album The Day Is My Enemy (Expanded Edition) was released on November 10^thand features all of the songs from the The Day Is My Enemy album as well as a selection of more than twenty bonus tracks. Some of these remixes have already been made available through other EPs, but there’s also a lot of new content available here.

The Day Is My Enemy and Roadblox

The album’s title piece is treated to four remixes, beginning with the Liam H Remix (featuring Dope D.O.D) which adds a hip-hop flavour and extra vocals whilst maintaining the strong basslines and beats of the initial release.

The first of three album-closing edits of the title track, the Caspa Remix opts for a slower dubstep-style rhythm and rearranged samples. Next, the Chris Avantgarde Remix introduces calmer beats, piano breaks and noisy synth sounds for an interesting combination. This is followed by the LH Edit, which doesn’t sound amazingly different from the original, so it’s not really a big standout.

Despite some positive aspects at times, the full complement of TDIME remixes didn’t really resonate with me because I was never a massive fan of the original to begin with. I did, however, quite enjoy the raps over the Liam H remix, and I’d recommend it even if you never listened to the original song that much

Elsewhere on the album, Roadblox gets a couple of edits courtesy of the Jaguar Skills Ninja Terminator Remix and Reso Remix. There’s also a live recording from this year’s SONICMANIA festival. However, I wasn’t too fond of these tracks; they’re not particularly bad, but the original Roadblox was already a great track with plenty of energy and variety, and the remixes don’t really add much to what is already a solid tune.

Shut ‘Em Up and Ibiza

A welcome surprise on the album is Shut ‘Em Up – this isn’t a remix or instrumental of a track from the original TDIME; instead it’s a mash-up between the Invaders Must Die’s Stand Up and Public Enemy’s Shut Em Down. You’d think this would be an unusual combination but it ends up working much better than might be expected, and is easily one of the highlights from the Expanded content.

There’s also a previously vinyl-only instrumental courtesy of Ibiza It was already a great song on the original album – but as most of that greatness came from the rambling vocals of Sleaford Mods, it loses a lot when reduced to the underlying rhythms and melodies.

Wild Frontier and Nasty

The remixes of Wild Frontier and Nasty are plentiful, yet they aren’t really worth talking about to a great extent because they have already either circulated around the Web via exclusive streams or featured on the aforementioned EPs. Even so, if you haven’t listened to them then I can recommend the excellent Spor Remix of Nasty that drops in a drum ‘n’ bass beat and reinvigorates the song with even more life than before. With its faster samples, pared-down arrangement and relentless rhythm, the Wilkinson Remix of Wild Frontier is another highlight from the remixes on offer.

It would have been easy for people to see this expanded collection as little more than a lazy way of making more money from The Day Is My Enemy due to the way in which so many tracks were already released on previous remix EPs, but there’s enough extra content around the recycled works that it works out as a decent collection that’s good value for money.

If you liked The Day Is My Enemy when you first listened to that album, this Expanded Edition is definitely worth picking up as the energy and diversity of the original tracks are reinvigorated theough the compiled remixes. It’s currently only available digitally but as each of the previous Expanded Edition albums have seen physical releases, there’s always a chance that this could end up on CD as well.

Currently priced at £8.99 on iTunes, you get thirty-six tracks on the album – about fifteen of which are from the original album, with others either being new additions or material from the EPs – so there’s a lot of content for a reasonable price. It’s certainly worth picking up if you don’t own The Day Is My Enemy already, and even if some remixes don’t cater for your personal taste, there are plenty of others that you’re sure to enjoy.

Find out more about The Day Is My Enemy (Expanded Edition) at TheProdigy.com

Buy The Day Is My Enemy (Expanded Edition) from iTunes

Batman: Arkham Knight Review (PS4)

11th October 2015 By deKay Leave a Comment

There’s a point just a few hours into Batman: Arkham Knight when you’re challenged to take the Batmobile onto a roof, and make it jump across the top of buildings to reach some kind of electrical panel. Even within the realms of a comic-book based game and the gadgets Bruce Wayne regularly employs, it’s a bit ridiculous. Even with the acrobatics of the Batmobile in recent films, it’s still not exactly what you’d expect. And makes you fear for the rest of the game.

Thankfully it didn’t get any sillier. Sure, there were a few car-based acrobatics later on, but those – such as lowering it down the wall of a giant fan shaft – seemed to fit. By that point you’d come to accept that the Batmobile is essentially a tank capable of scurrying around like a spider. Rather than a bat.

Gritty and weighty like previous Arkham games, but bigger in scope than the rest put together, going into Arkham Knight was a torn experience. As great as Arkham City was, it was too big, too dispersed and less focussed than Arkham Asylum. The core was the same, but fragmented over a wide area. More Batman, on a current gen console especially, was something to look forward to. The nagging doubt it would be spread even more thinly was a worry. Do you remember how many times you visited the same damn steelworks before, despite having a massive city to play in? Aside from Riddler trophies, much of Arkham City was empty. Not so here, which was a relief.

In common with past Bat-outings, the story progresses through set pieces: detective sections, brawls, predator take-downs, boss ba…oh wait. No boss battles? Perhaps Rocksteady realised those in City were almost universally rubbish and ditched them. You still have to confront and defeat major foes, but by other means instead. It actually works well and you don’t miss them.

As you work towards taking down the Arkham Knight himself (finding his true identity along the way – I managed to guess before the game gives you a massive clue) and Scarecrow, the usual Batman events I’ve mentioned pop up. In addition there are now tank battles. The Batmobile, impossibly, is used to take out the Knight’s army of drones, rocket launchers, cannons, helicopters and what appear to be mechs. Of course it is. Surprisingly, these battles are actually a lot of fun, and there’s an entire side quest devoted solely to them. In fact, almost every one-off task in the main game has a side quest full of that sort of event. Take down a watchtower (Assassin’s Creed Borgia style), and there’s a load more if you want. Like detective work? Why not find out why a load of bodies are literally hanging around Gotham. And so on.

These seemingly optional side quests turn out to be essential for completionists. In all, there are 14 or so of them, with many terminating in the capture of a major Batman foe (Penguin, Two-Face, etc.). Once you’ve finished the main story in the game, it turns out you haven’t actually finished the main story at all – you have to complete at least 7 of these “optional” quest lines. It felt like a bit of a letdown. The quests are mostly fun, some more than others, but it was disappointing to finally overcome Scarecrow only to be unable to finish the game because some lesser crimes haven’t been resolved.

In fact – when you beat Scarecrow the game just carries on. If you want the satisfaction of the end credits, then you need to complete at least 7 supposedly optional side quests. And to get the full-on, proper ending, you’ll need to complete all 14.

That’s the structure of the game, but how does it actually play? Gloriously. The combat is meaty. The driving is a welcome addition. Wiping out an entire room of armed guards without a single one spotting you is a fantastic as it ever was. Soaring over the city is never less than stunning. Batman’s array of gadgets are a joy to wield and integrating his car into some of the combat is a master stroke. Gotham feels so much more alive than in previous Arkham titles, with something happening on every corner and car chases going on all the time – which you can assist in, should you choose.

It must also be said that the voice acting is fantastic, especially Mark Hamill as The Joker: Yes, that’s a spoiler. No, Joker is still dead. Yes, it’s confusing. There’s a scene where Mr J does his karaoke routine which is hilarious and grim in a way only the Joker can be.

Despite the cast of potential allies, Arkham Knight is very much a solo Batman endeavour. Robin is constantly told to stay out of it and Batman reluctantly lets Nightwing actually do something as long as it’s nothing to do with the main story. Oracle is central to the plot, but Catwoman is now tucked away in a Riddler sub-story. Scarecrow is playing on Batman’s only fear – that revealing his identity will hurt his “family”, but in trying to protect his friends Bruce is only getting them in more trouble. Silly Bruce. Much of the game would have been avoided if he’d accepted help when offered. Still, that’s Batman for you.

With the story complete and enough side quests mopped up to see the ending, there was a little sadness. Rocksteady have already said this is their last Batman game, and as the end credit roll the montage of moments from all three Arkham games (Rocksteady don’t consider Origins or Blackgate canon it seems) retell the trilogy. It’s been a long road, but that’s it. No more Batman to look forward to from that corner, and it’s hard to see how any other Batman game can be as Goddamn Batman as Arkham Knight was. Arkham Asylum was purer, but Knight was truly an epic sendoff.

Point Perfect Review

3rd October 2015 By Chris Walton Leave a Comment

You can image how Point Perfect might have been conceived.

Sat staring at a computer monitor with nothing to play, or waiting for something to happen. You gaze idly at the mouse cursor as you move it around the screen. Perhaps you click on a few things or drag big rectangles, and then inspiration hits – “What if this was a game?”

And so the unique feature of Point Perfect springs into life. The spaceship of most shooters is replaced with your mouse cursor. Rather than passing above objects, the pointer becomes a physical object inhabiting the same space as obstacles and enemies, leading to collisions with both.

This leaves you with a sole method of defence. The only way to repel enemies is by selecting them in groups. So as the ships and so on fly in, you’re tasked with surrounding them with ‘bounding boxes’ before they have the chance to do whatever it is they intend to your otherwise unarmed cursor.

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It’s a novel and fascinating concept that takes a while to get accustomed to. Even then, you’ll probably still suffer from momentary lapses in concentration and foolishly plough your ship into something that you were trying to go through instead of around. Having this cognitive dissonance as part of the central game mechanic is what makes Pitch Perfect so stressful as well as exciting.

Point Perfect is a game produced for a specific controller. You could say that it’s similar to the stylus control experimentation behind early Nintendo DS titles. It definitely works, as long as you have adequate mouse and motor skills. You might even find you improve your mouse handling on the route to point-y perfection.

It won’t be easy though.

Even when not taking my own stupidity into account, Point Perfect is very difficult. However, that difficulty doesn’t come from unfairness.

The gameplay is quite logical and consistent, without relying on cheap tricks. With procedurally-generated enemies following different flight paths, it means you can’t rely on the memorisation that guides you through most shoot’em ups. Only boss battles tend to stick to certain patterns. That unpredictability means you’re in a constant state of reaction, rather than being able to prepare for the next offensive. It does keep the game fresh, yet also maintains its challenge.

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If Point Perfect has a flaw, it’s due to the nature of the game and control method dictating a lack of variety common to many shooters. But the large roster of bosses and a couple of secret stages offer enough change to keep the game compelling, and there’s enough overall to keep you motivated to come back to what is essentially a score attack game. Still, you probably won’t see most of it. You’ll be dead, mocked by the game for your lack of skill!

The game is graphically presented in a pixellated retro style that is slightly more complex than true 8-bit graphics. And it’s complimented by ’80s chip-tune style music which unfortunately gets fairly repetitive. The tunes do evolve a little if you’re good enough to reach past the initial stage of each game, but not enough to avoid becoming overly familiar.

Stylistically, the Point Perfect mostly references internet trolls, on-line PC gaming and some classic ’80s retro games. Er, and some good old weirdness! It’s actually interesting that the game manages to share the spirit of 8-bit classics quite so well too, since the core concept of the game is quite new.

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Point Perfect also is a bit basic in terms of guidance and online features. No instructions are included, so you have to figure things out for yours. Some might say that the game is holding true to its ‘old game’ inspirations right there!

But it’s harder to justify the big omission of online high score tables, which would add competition and more of a replay value to the game. And there are no sensitivity options – which means everyone has the same experience but might frustrate some players. The Steam version does achievements and trading cards, which means when there’s a sale, the game could almost pay for itself!

Overall, Point Perfect is definitely worth checking out if you’re a fan of difficult challenges and unique gaming experiences – as long as you don’t mind a game hitting back with some on-screen mockery! It’s overall a stressful, frustrating and also compelling experiment that works rather well. For a certain type of player. Those who aren’t interested in a game style that leads to a gradual improvement of skill or beating high scores won’t find much of interest here.

Not entirely drawn in by this type of game, I’d rate it at 6 out of 10. A more experienced Shoot’Em Up fan or someone prepared to take on the difficulty challenge will probably get more mileage out of the unfortunately solo experience.

Given the history of ‘Point ‘n’ Click’ Adventure games, it certainly deserves some recognition for bringing a new ‘Point ‘n’ Drag ‘n’ Click’ experience to shooters.

Point Perfect is listed at £4.49 on Steam for Windows or Mac.

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