Tag: gripping
Diablo 4’s beta shows a gripping, if self-conscious, revitalisation for the series
Father forgive me, for I have spent the weekend conversing with the damned. No, I haven’t gone all Alan Moore and grimoired up a demonic pal to go gallivanting around the big Tescos with. That is next weekend. Instead, I’ve been playing Diablo 4’s beta, closed to all except an elite cadre of press, pre-orderers, and, uh, chicken enthusiasts. And so, axe in hand, I set forth, confident that whoever I found myself temporarily adventuring with would at least be fortified with adequate protein to wield rippling gains against the lords of hell.
Mouse-clicking connoisseurs of a certain age may remember a time when the name Blizzard was synonymous with the most gorgeously impressive CGI cutscenes your tiny mind had ever been blown by, and while Diablo 4’s lengthy introduction comes at a time where there’s far too much widespread talent for any one studio to claim that crown, it is still a goshdarn treat to take in. Not just technically, either. This chronicle of a cursed expedition is a mission statement for Diablo’s new (old) tone, and it sets the scene for things to come spectacularly – even if that tone straddles the line between gripping and noticeably self-concious about past accusations of cartooniness.
The Pale Beyond review: a gripping survival game full of drama and despair
You know it’s a great turn in The Pale Beyond when only five of your crew are freezing, two have frostbite, and one has scurvy. After all the struggles and dangers I’ve been through trying to keep my ship’s crew alive in the bone-biting cold of the arctic tundra, that’s definitely a success in my book.
It’s easy to describe Bellular Studio’s survival sim as just ‘Frostpunk on a ship’, but in some ways that’s pretty accurate: you’re the leader of a group trying to survive in a harsh frozen wasteland. But it’s also a comparison that falls short in plenty of other ways. Sure, the engine of this survival sim might run the same as Frostpunk’s, but it’s buried deep in a handcrafted hull. With an overarching story that deals with the drama and despair of survival, together with a cast of underdog characters whose personalities and flaws fuel your determination to keep them alive, The Pale Beyond is much more human than its steampunk counterpart.
Rishi Sunak will vow to tackle winter crisis gripping NHS in landmark speech
RISHI Sunak will today spell out his plans to tackle the winter crisis gripping the NHS.
He will also announce everyone has to study maths until they are 18 to boost numeracy levels.
Rishi Sunak will spell out his plans to tackle the winter crisis gripping the NHS[/caption]
It comes ahead of a keynote speech by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer[/caption]
The PM is to make a major speech outlining his blueprint for a “better future” — with a focus on easing the backlog of cases in the NHS likely.
The cost of living crisis will also be a focal point, as well as getting a grip on the small boats issue in the Channel.
He will also say giving every child the highest possible standard of education was “the single most important reason why I came into politics”.
He will say: “This is personal for me. Every opportunity I’ve had in life began with the education I was so fortunate to receive.
“With the right plan – the right commitment to excellence – I see no reason why we cannot rival the best education systems in the world”.
He will start bringing about the changes in this Parliament and complete the work afterwards.
Eight million adults in this country have the numeracy skills of primary school children and only half of 16-19 year olds study any maths at all.
The majority of major nations including Australia, the US, France and Canada all teach some maths up until 18 allowing them to deal with personal finances or mortgages confidently.
He will add: “One of the biggest changes in mindset we need in education today is to reimagine our approach to numeracy.”
It comes ahead of a keynote speech by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer tomorrow.
Company Of Heroes 3’s dual campaigns are a gripping mix of old and new
For the last six months, I’ve been slowly picking my way through Company Of Heroes 2 for the first time. I’m about halfway through its campaign at the moment, but the rhythm of calling up replacements and reinforcing my squads hasn’t quite been engrained into my hotkey fingers yet. I keep making the mistake of thinking I can just push through with my remaining forces, but as any COH stalwart will know, that kind of road only ever leads to total disaster.
Imagine my surprise, then, when I came to preview the latest build of Company Of Heroes 3‘s dynamic, Total War-style Italian campaign and seemed to be, you know, actually making some pretty steady progress as I pushed up its mission maps. I was, admittedly, only playing the opening levels of this particular campaign, and I also had the aid of a handy M4A1 Sherman tank providing some welcome backup muscle. But during my four hours with it, I felt more in control of the battlefield than I’ve ever done while playing COH2. I was making excellent use of its reinforcement options, and heck, I was even remembering to tell units to retreat back to the nearest aid post so I didn’t lose the buffs they’d earned through their new EXP-driven promotions and veterancy bonuses. Then I played a mission from its more linear North African campaign, and had a very rude awakening indeed. Why, hello, frantic pressure and torrents of death bullets from Company Of Heroes 2 again, it’s been a while.
More People Should Check Out This Gripping Horror Anthology Series – CNET
More People Need to Listen to This Completely Gripping Horror Podcast – CNET
More People Need to Watch This Gripping Horror-Mystery on Netflix – CNET
The Case Of The Golden Idol review: a gripping detective game with echoes of Obra Dinn
Detective games are often about filling in the blanks. A terrible crime will sit at the heart of them, yes, but most take place in the days and weeks that follow, where the bulk of your time is spent gathering clues and building a case to work out whodunnit. Rarely do you get to glimpse the immediate aftermath of the crime itself, where all the major suspects are still in play and their pockets are stuffed with incriminating evidence they’ll no doubt be disposing of in the coming minutes.
The prime exception to this rule is Lucas Pope’s Return Of The Obra Dinn, which gives you a time-travelling pocket watch to revisit the scenes of its many, many murders and work out exactly what happened to its 60-strong passenger list on its titular, ill-fated ship. Frogwares’ Sherlock Holmes games and their mind palace visualisation techniques also warrant a mention here, and maybe even Outer Wilds at a push, if you count its 22-minute timeloop as an investigation scene several millennia in the making. But it’s Obra Dinn that Color Gray Games emulate most strongly with their impressive debut in The Case Of The Golden Idol, which gives you a series of 12 murders to solve, each of which is presented as a freeze-frame vignette at the moment of death. You’re still filling in blanks here, slotting names, objects and eventually verbs in its various scene scrolls to deduce whodunnit and howtheydunit, but this intriguing tale of 18th century high (and a secret) society, betrayals, backstabbing and murder most foul is a mystery game for the ages.
‘Welcome to Wrexham’ is a gripping sports doc, but don’t watch it for the celebrities
There were a lot of different directions this documentary could have gone in.
When the news broke that actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney had bought Wrexham AFC, a football club in the fifth tier of English football, it raised a whole bunch of questions. What would their takeover mean for the club? How would it impact the local community? Why were two Hollywood actors even interested in Wrexham?
Disney+’s documentary series Welcome to Wrexham explores all of those questions over eight episodes, but it focuses mainly on the first two — and it’s the better for it.
‘Welcome to Wrexham’ trailer will remind you Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bought a football club
The series starts with some necessary history and context. We go back in time to 2020, to the perplexing headlines about McElhenney and Reynolds being interested in the club’s purchase, followed by the public’s reaction as the news ripples out into the local community. The documentary cuts between Wrexham and the hazy sunshine of Los Angeles as the two worlds come together, following McElhenney and Reynolds on a series of video calls as they organise their bid for the club. Meanwhile, while we simultaneously get to know players, coaches, and the people who run things back in Wales.
At one point Reynolds describes Wrexham as an underdog story, and that’s clearly what the documentary is going for…
At one point Reynolds describes Wrexham as an underdog story, and that’s clearly what the documentary is going for — a Last Chance U style exploration of a team fighting to claw their way back into the big leagues, and the impact the game has on both the players and the people who come to watch.
Welcome to Wrexham borrows a lot from Last Chance U. The series is similar to Greg Whiteley’s Netflix doc about U.S. college football in both its style and choice of focus, weaving together interviews and storylines from both new and old players, staff and fans.
Some of these characters and side stories make for the most entertaining parts of the show.
“I’m a painter by trade,” says Wrexham supporter Shawn Winter at one point. “My grandad was a painter, my dad’s a painter. And I fucking hate it.” We watch Winter in the stands with his two sons, and hear him at the the local pub mentioning — almost in passing — that his partner recently left him. Elsewhere there’s Michael Hett, lead singer of a local band, The Declan Swans, who have had a surprise hit with their song about Reynolds’ and McElhenney’s takeover of the club. Hett is a cancer survivor balancing touring with chemotherapy, wishing for a chance to see Wrexham finally achieve promotion. Then there’s Wayne Owens, owner of local pub The Turf, whose business has taken a hit from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The thing that brings all these people together is their love of Wrexham AFC, and through their stories we get a sense of just how big a role the club plays in the lives of this community.
Credit: Disney+
Amongst all of this, of course, is the game itself. We follow Wrexham AFC as they start a fresh season with a new manager, new players, and dreams of promotion, watching the many highs and lows of saved penalties and last minute equalisers. The documentary does an excellent job of building suspense through its editing, using sound, slow motion, and pained reaction shots to impressively tense effect.
In this way Welcome to Wrexham is both a thriller and a drama, an action-packed sports doc that delves into the lives affected by the club’s ups and downs.
Reynolds and McElhenney, who could easily have been placed at the forefront of the series, don’t feature as much as some might be expecting (at least in the first five episodes, which I was given for this review). The focus is very much on the club rather than its two celebrity owners. Don’t get me wrong, they still play a part –—one entertaining sequence sees them visiting a studio sign commemorating Reynolds’ first movie only to discover it’s made of rubber and falling apart (“This is Hollywood to a tee,” comments McElhenney. “Beautiful on the outside, and just…shit.”) – but in some episodes they barely make an appearance.
If you’re going in hoping for a celebrity reality series that pulls the curtain back on the lives of two Hollywood actors, you may be disappointed. There is an element of that, but for the most part LA stays in the background. If you’re looking for a documentary that captures the highs and lows of football, though, and the lives impacted by the sport, then you’ll be pleased to hear Welcome to Wrexham places its namesake front and centre.
Welcome to Wrexham is now streaming on Disney+ with the first two episodes live, and two episodes to be added each week.