The cold, bleak, winter wildernesses is the opening tone for ‘Prisoners’, Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) and son, Ralph Dover (Dylan Minnette) are out hunting in Pennsylvania, and as the Lords Prayer is being whispered by Keller, his son fires a single round upon an unsuspecting deer. This small segment immediately signals this isn’t a normal kidnapping movie and isn’t using the same formula as recent films in this topic (such as Taken 2 that begins with a happy tone at the start). You can tell this movie is taking its self seriously.

The Dover’s, Keller, Ralph, Grace (Maria Bello) and Anna (Erin Gerasimovich) are celebrating Thanks Giving around their neighbour’s house, the Birch’s, in their quite Pennsylvania town. After the two young girls from either family, Anna Dover and Joy Birch (Kyla Drew Simmons), go looking for a red whistle that Keller had lost some time back, they both go missing and the finger is then pointed at Alex Jones, whose RV was where the girls where playing near earlier on in the film.  

The Birch family, Franklin (Terrence Howard), Nancy (Viola Davis) ,Eliza (Zoe) and the Dover’s Thanks Giving is thrown into turmoil and they then take matters into their own hands when they feel that the cop assigned to their case, Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal), isn’t doing enough to find their daughters.

‘Prisoners’ is a very chilling film, using suspense to its advantage without spoiling it with a cheap jump scare. This is a very realistic take on a kidnapping; you have both ends of the work going into finding these girls. Detective Loki, has solved every case he has been assigned to and you can understand why with the sheer work he is putting it to find these girls. At the other end of the spectrum you get the vast range of emotions flowing through the families that is explored well. You get the devastation from Grace, the anger from Keller and both are explored greatly whilst balancing this fear that they may not find their daughter.

The cast is one of the best assembled in 2013 so far and they all give very strong performances. Hugh Jackman is the stand out and since being apart of the Oscar Winner ‘Les Miserables’ he is giving it all to every part he is playing. Jake Gyllenhall, Melissa Leo and Paul Dano are equally superb; nothing about their performance could be faulted. Everything these characters are doing is in aid to find their daughters, nothing feels unnecessary and everything has its place to add to the emotions these characters should be feeling.  The one weak point is Kyla Drew Simmons character, as you rarely get to see her emotions after this devastation, but I do feel this is largely down to the short screen time she had compared to the rest of the cast and wasn’t anything to do with her acting capabilities.

‘Prisoners’ does get going fairly quickly, but is extremely long (at 153 minutes) and you do feel that perhaps a few of the repetitive scenes could possibly have been axed from the final cut to shorten the movie. But saying that the movie never drags, and director Denis Villeneuve has done a great job to constantly lead the audience up these different paths, leaving you constantly guessing who has taken their daughters.

Another aspect of the realism is that the police are literally starting with only the bare minimal information that the Dovers and Birch’s have provided, Loki has to explore leads that lead to dead ends as they would in real life, whereas in other movies that use a kidnapping, (using Taken 2 again as an example) they tend to find a vital piece of evidence or a clue at he scene to where the missing person is and they are immediately on the right path. With ‘Prisoners’ you get this layer of realism that overall makes this film more enjoyable than the majority of films in this topic.

Chilling and suspenseful, ‘Prisoners’ is well crafted from start to finish. Not only is it well acted but the sheer emotion pouring out of these characters makes you really feel you are apart of that family and hope they are able to find their daughters. ‘Prisoners’ is engaging from start to finish in the way that you are constantly making up predictions in your head to who the kidnapper is and this makes the two and a half hours easily manageable. Prisoners is undoubtedly a must see and is one of the best films released this year. 

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The iPhone 5C and iOS 7 are little over three weeks old now and after now having both of them in my possession for this time period, I have had the chance to get to grips with all the new features, had time to see the usefulness and whether the new OS is a step up from the interface people are use to.

iPhone 5c

The iPhone 5c was released on September 20^th alongside the 5s. The 5c is herald as the budget model that is replacing the 5, though the cost of the phone still starts at £469 for the 16GB model.

The handset is exactly the same as the 5 apart from the “beautifully, unapologetically plastic” (in the words of John Ive) exterior that is replacing the glossily, glass and metal casing we are use to with previous iterations. I would recommend the 5c to people that are still alien to the iPhone or currently in possession of an earlier model than the 5 (4s or before). The phone is still pricey seen as though this is supposed to be Apple’s budget model, and being only £80 cheaper than the 5s (that has a new fingerprint scanner to lock and navigate through the phone, a new 16-bit chip that increases the speed of phone and slow-motion camera), it may be worth you paying the extra to be up-to-date with the latest handset and having those extra features. The slow-motion camera alone is enough to get the 5s after having hands on with the feature, but saying this I’m really happy with the 5c (5c is available in white, red, yellow, blue and green), though if you already have the 5 then there is no need for you to even consider the 5C. instead look to the 5S.

iOS 7

The new OS from apple is the biggest change in their interface and despite this being a pain to download on its release, it has now been available for almost a month and overall I feel it’s a step in the right direction. The new slick simplistic design definitely showcases what Apple is all about, to create simple and well designed products. Near enough everything has been overhauled from the icons to the new dynamic backgrounds.

The dynamic backgrounds that turns the backdrop of your phone into a 3D image as you move the phone is a cool feature that has been added and makes the task of choosing what background you should have that whole lot trickery to get the best out of this effect.

By swiping up on the screen, from bottom to top you now call up the Control Centre that gives you quick access to features such as your music, brightness, camera, Bluetooth, Airplane mode and a flashlight. The spotlight search feature was previously available by swiping to the far left of the phone, whereas now is available be swiping down on the home screen (though not from the very top as this still brings down the notification centre).

The improved multitasking feature is again an improvement. Before to close your apps that were running in the background you would have to tap the little red circle on the top of the icon after double tapping the home button, whereas now you are show all your applications in the middle, simply tap on the icon to open or swipe the page up to close the app.

It was about time that the iPhone camera came along with filters to edit your pictures and with this feature added alongside different photo styles, such as a panoramic picture mode. This is yet another app that has been given the Apple style face lift.

There are many new features that could be named such as the Find My iPhone feature, an improved app store, an improved Siri that now adds in Twitter searches into the functionality of the app. The final cool feature that im excited to get my hands on is iTunes Radio that allows you to find new music relevant to what you are listening to, but this feature isn’t yet available in the UK, the UK release date is said to be around early 2014.

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Musicians and others that need to record, arrange and edit music can often use a Cubase tutorial and are successful. This product is well known and produced by a German company that makes this software for both Windows and Mac platforms. It is one of the most widely used products in the world and people use for many different kinds of music work.

Do try this at home

People that need to create musical scores for projects like videos, CDs, movies or other reasons can often learn to use these products at home. One factor that can help is to have some background in producing music this way. This program is somewhat intuitive and allows people to put music out in different formats such as MIDI or .wav files depending on how they are going to use them.

There are some other programs on the market that have similar purposes. Whether the two systems are compatible or not will depend on what kinds of services are being attempted. This is something that people may need to explore on a case-by-case base.

Or don’t try this at home

While people can often get good results from home studios, many people prefer to work with professionals. Because there are so many different people in the music industry and software has made it easier to produce professional results, many small studios have come into being. This has gone a long way to giving people access to professional services but also has made the cost more affordable.

One of the best reasons to use a professional studio is that the engineers often have considerable experience in music production. This can help to get the right mix and sound but also help people to get the effects that they might not be able to achieve at home. Additionally, when there is a problem with getting the right result, the engineers here know what to do to overcome the problem and get the project back on track.

The kinds of projects that can benefit from these services

Using these techniques can help many different kinds of projects. For any band entering a contest, this can be the best way to get the right result for a recording. More than one band has made demo CDs that helped to launch professional careers. Anyone that is working on a video, documentary or independent film will be able to get the right services using these kinds of companies.

For more information, visit https://www.obedia.com/steinberg-cubase.

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 Over the past couple of years, it hasn’t looked like that much fun being in Kings Of Leon. The incident-ridden plagued that accompanied their last album, 2010’s under-performing ‘Come Around Sundown’, felt like a miserable and clichéd final chapter for a band that, you suspected, were struggling to cope with the gigantic success that had been thrust upon them and, though the people that cried “sell out” after ‘Sex On Fire’ and ‘Use Somebody’ were being too harsh, it was clear that something special had been lost on their journey from bars to arenas. Nevertheless, they return after a short hiatus with their sixth album, ‘Mechanical Bull’. Early whispers surrounding the record have suggested that the band have returned to the rough and ready sound that made their first few albums such a joy to listen to, but can they deliver on this promise?

 Initially, ‘Mechanical Bull’ feels like their second coming. Lead single ‘Supersoaker’ is fantastic, taking the thrilling southern rock of their past and reinventing it to fit with their current stadium style to great effect, with Caleb Followill’s proving that his vocals still have the power to blow people away. ‘Rock City’ is a boozy mid-tempo track that seems custom built to soundtrack bar room brawls, while ‘Don’t Matter’ is a Queens Of The Stone Age track if they grew up by the Nashville swamp instead of the California desert. They save their best for ‘Temple’, which is easily the best song they’ve recorded since ‘Only By The Night’ took them to the big time. Boasting riffs that feel like they’ve jumped straight from a classic Bruce Springsteen song and a chorus that won’t leave your head for days, it’s the perfect example of what Kings Of Leon do best.

 Unfortunately, the band can’t keep up their early momentum. ‘Wait For Me’ aims for epic but just feels uninspired and hollow. Similarly, the majority of the quieter tracks on the album feel like a little bit of a chore to get through, with ‘On The Chin’ in particular sounding too middle of the road for it’s own good. Kings Of Leon have usually excelled at slowing the tempo down and still being brilliant, but here, these songs simply weigh the album down. The almost laughably cheesy lyrics that accompany ‘Comeback Story’ seem to prove that their old spark won’t be making a full return anytime time soon.

 Maybe it was unfair to expect so much from ‘Mechanical Bull’. After all, Kings Of Leon have been in ‘stadium mode’ for five years, longer than they spent in their supposed ‘classic period’ (between 2003’s ‘Youth And Young Manhood’ and 2007’s ‘Because Of The Times’) and, after multiple marriages and births within the band since then, they’re vastly different people from that time, but even with its strong opening tracks, ‘Mechanical Bull’ doesn’t quite live up to the massive expectations surrounding it.

 Verdict: While there are moments of their old brilliance on ‘Mechanical Bull,’ the first part of the title of Kings Of Leon’s sixth album might be a little bit too apt, with much of it’s second half feeling slightly soulless. Its best moments are worth treasuring, but aren’t enough push it from ‘good’ to ‘great’.

Click here to Buy Mechanical Bull Now. 

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Anyone who has followed the Sheffield four-piece Arctic Monkeys since their debut in 2006 will be able to tell you the band have come a long way since the songs about teenage nightlife, wedding singers and moody girlfriends that filled their first album Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not. Now with the release of their fifth studio album AM, Arctic Monkeys are unapologetic about the undeniable changes in their musical direction, as frontman Alex Turner told NME “I don’t think anyone really expects us to continue – or return to – the approach we had seven years ago”.

You would be forgiven for assuming that Arctic Monkeys attempted to just recreate the music on their collective iPods, as many of the songs on AM are clearly heavily influenced by R&B, hip hop and ‘70s rock. However it is clear they were certainly not lazy in doing so, as Alex Turner described “you gotta be careful which elements you take. It’s like a chemical reaction, you get a bit too much of one thing and you don’t get any bang.” But rest assured, ‘AM’ provides plenty of “bang”.

The album opens with the electrifying guitar riff of Do I Wanna Know?, and with its epic chorus it sounds like Arctic Monkeys are completely back on form compared to their dirgy and Bob Dylan-esque previous albums Humbug and Suck It And See, respectively. Despite all the time spent in LA to record this album, ‘Do I Wanna Know?’ as the first track reassures its listeners that Arctic Monkeys are still the same four reluctant rockers from Sheffield, as Alex Turner’s notorious Northern accent prevails, “… sticks around like summat in your teeth?” .

R U Mine? is the first of many songs on the album to recall ‘70s rock but no two songs sound the same, as Arabella, a definite standout track, is a successful merger of a Dr Dre-influenced intro and a chorus reminiscent of Black Sabbath (as strange as it sounds), I Want It All reeks of glam rock and the comparisons that could be made between Mad Sounds and Lou Reed’s Take A Walk On The Wild Side are endless.

One For The Road evokes more of an R&B style as Alex Turner’s lyrics and vocal style are noticeably more sensual, but still retains the vintage guitar riffs that are becoming ‘AM’s trademark. Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High? , like Arabella and One For The Road, also makes use of a hip-hop style intro but out of all twelve songs, lyrically it could belong on their first album.

In contrast to the majority of songs on AM, No. 1 Party Anthem is slower and its wistful lyrics are reminiscent of those found on their previous album Suck It And See, but the heavy presence of piano ventures into cabaret territory at times, however many fans have already stated that slow dancing to this song has made it on to their bucket lists. The driving drum beat and guitar in Snap Out Of It defies any listener to sit still while listening to it, and observant listeners might recognise a guest appearance by Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme on the witty and provocative Knee Socks.

AM finishes with Alex Turner’s homage to poet John Cooper Clarke, I Wanna Be Yours, its soft, slow and echoey drum beat evoking that of a beating heart and lyrics which every young girl would dream of having sung to them.

Despite the radical changes in style, Arctic Monkeys songs haven’t lost any of the imagery, intelligence and relatability of the songs the British public fell in love with back in 2006. Is it safe to say the awkward yet witty and incredibly talented youths behind the iconic ‘Whatever People Say I Am…” haven’t changed, as much as people like to believe, but just grown up?

Buy 'Arctic Monkeys AM' now for only £8.99.

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    When it was first announced that SquareEnix would collaborate with Disney to develop an action RPG, that takes aspects of Square’s hit Final Fantasy series and combines it with the Disney universe, many people thought it was a terrible idea which would never have taken off. Well apparently it did.

The game that started it all was Kingdom Hearts; it arrived on the PlayStation 2 all the way back in 2002. Since then it has gone on to become one of the biggest gaming franchises on the market today, spawning a number of sequels that continue the quest of Sora, Donald and Goofy as they fight evil throughout a number of worlds.

      The original game can look a bit dated if you play it today, but not anymore thanks to Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix. Not only has the HD remix made the visuals so much smoother, but SquareEnix have also added more features which include remakes of Kingdom Hearts 358/s Days and Chain of Memories. That is 3 games for the price of 1, all in stunning HD.  A fan of the series would be a fool not to buy it.

Apart from the HD visuals, the games are still the same as the originals with the exception of a few extra cut scenes and collectables. However the PlayStation 3 has added trophy support, so those trophy hunters out there have a goal to accomplish. 

Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix is a great way for the fans to replay some of their favourites in the Kingdom Hearts series. Even though the official sequel to the franchise (Kingdom Hearts 3) is still in development, the HD remix should hold over the fans for a while.

If you are a fan of the series and have yet to purchase it, all I can say is what are you waiting for?

Click here to buy Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix on Amazon for under £24.
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It’s been one of the most talked about films this summer and with good reason. From Jennifer Aniston’s strip tease to an awkward teenage boy getting his testicle bit by a spider, this has to be one of the best films I have ever seen.

The plot entails a low end drug dealer David (Jason Sudeikis) having to smuggle drugs in from Mexico after losing his boss a lot of money. David comes up with a plan of creating a fake family on holiday in an RV so that he doesn’t get stopped and searched at the border. David then proceeds to hire a stripper who lives in his building, Rose (Jennifer Aniston), a nerdy teenage boy (Will Poulter) and a homeless tough girl (Emma Roberts). After a lot of persuading on David’s part, all of the characters agree to go on the trip knowing the consequences.

 After obtaining the drugs, the Millers start to head  back to the border, however along the way the  Millers  RV breaks down and they are rescued by an unassuming family, the Fitzgerald’s, whose idiocy and naivety make them adorable to the audience.
Of course a film wouldn’t be a film without the actors. In many ways, the actors can either make or break a film as if there’s one bad performance, it sets the tone for the whole film. Thankfully in this film, the actors only add to the excellence.

Jason Sudeikis conveys a funny drug dealer who the audience come to love due to his hilarious desperation not to be found out, this along with his pan faced insults to nearly every character in the film, show the audience a different side to this actor. Sudeikis makes his character convincing as a low grade drug dealer who is just trying to keep himself afloat in a drug business that he cannot possibly control or fully understand.

Jennifer Aniston plays an unforgettable role as Rose, the sexy stripper, who is going along with the Miller scheme with the promise of money. Although this is not Aniston’s typical role, she portrays it well, showing the audience the true emotions of her character with brilliant reactions to the drama going on around her. And of course, you cannot talk about Aniston’s character without bringing in the strip tease. The snippet of the strip tease shown in the trailer does not justify Jennifer Aniston’s sexiness in the scene that does not come soon enough.

Will Poulter who plays Kenny is the hidden gem in ‘We’re the Millers’ as his naivety makes him the most lovable of the characters as the audience instantly engage and connect with him. The Kenny character is the typical nerd who wants to be able to stand up for himself and others, wanting to ‘get the girl’ and mostly to be accepted. All of these factors come across flawlessly with Poulter playing him. Poulter makes himself known in this film and confirms his status as a rising star.

Editing and Graphics by Conor Rees

Unfortunately Emma Roberts who plays Casey is the weak link in this otherwise brilliant film. Roberts gets the ‘boring’ character as Casey doesn’t contribute much to the main plot. The main incentive for her character is to be part of a family that she feels accepted in. Roberts is however very capable of pulling off the stroppy teenager, a role that she frequently possesses. However, it is unlikely that Roberts will receive any credit from this film as her performance overall was boring and unneeded.

Overall, I would definitely buy this movie as soon as it comes out on DVD/ Blu-ray because although it contains flaws, it’s one of the best films I have seen recently with its crude humour, that striptease and lovable characters; it’s definitely one to watch.

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‘Breaking Bad’s second part to season five is building to a dramatic finale. Every episode either matches or tops the last and we are now only a mere three episodes away to the ending of one of the greatest TV shows every made.

Graphics and Editing by Conor Rees

England leapfrogged Montenegro and should now be favourites to book a place in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil after brushing aside Moldova at Wembley.

 Goals from Steven Gerrard, Rickie Lambert and a brace from Danny Welbeck in front of an expectant crowd and settled nerves ahead of a crucial night on Tuesday where the new group H leaders will play Ukraine in Kiev.

Starting as they were meaning to go on, England set the pace early on with Gerrard drilling a low shot past the Moldovan goalkeeper with only eleven minutes gone.

With Moldova’s Goalkeeper Namasco having a dreadful night between the sticks it  seemed to inspire England to keep the pressure on and It got better for England fifteen minutes later, after a lot of persistence  put on the Moldovan backline through the three lions attack, they eventually caved with Lambert nodding in from 6 yards.

England however suffered a blow shortly before half time, with Welbeck receiving a yellow card for kicking the ball away after failing to hear the referee’s whistle for the halt in play, ruling him out of the crucial tie in 4 days. Though there was less than a second between the whistle blow and the time the ball left Welbeck's foot.

It didn’t seem to affect him though as less than a minute later as Lambert sent a teasing ball past the centre back for Welbeck to run on to, slotting past the goalkeeper, who was caught horrendously out of position to see England go in 3-0 at the break.

Out for the Second half, Roy Hodgson took a cautious approach ahead of Tuesday night with Ashley Cole, who like Welbeck was on a yellow card heading into this game and was replaced by Leighton Baines, as Hodgson tried to keep his stars safe from discipline.

The Three Lions started fast and their pace was rewarded with another goal from Welbeck after a sweeping pass out wide to Lambert from Gerrard who crossed in to Welbeck’s feet for him to dink the ball over the hapless keeper to make it 4-0.

Moldova very rarely threatened with their best chance coming late in the second half with a shot from the number ten Dedov sailing over Joe Hart’s goal, in what was an uneventful night for the England goalkeeper.

James Milner could have put the icing on the cake with the last chance of the game after a free kick from the right side of the area, he found himself in acres of space with only the keeper to beat but managed to hit the ball high over the cross bar.

Overall an easy win for England, and a dominant display, which can hopefully be carried on for their three remaining fixtures in Group H.

England: Hart,  Walker, Cole (Baines – 45’ ), Cahill, Jagielka, Gerrard, Walcott, Lampard, Wilshere (Barkley – 59’ ), Welbeck, Lambert (Milner – 70’ ) SUB: Ruddy, Forster, Smalling, Baines, Carrick, Cleverley, Milner, Barkley, Young, Sterling, Townsend, Defoe

Moldova: Namasco, Armas, Golovatenco, Epureanu, Bulgaru (Suvorov – 57’ ), Bordiyan, Ionita (Onica – 19’ ), Antoniuc, Dedov, Gheorghiev (Pascenco – 84’ ), Sidorenco SUB: Pascenco, Cebanu, Racu, Boestean, Erhan, Onica, Cebotaru, Suvorov, Pascenco, Gheorghe, Andronic, Doros, Grosu

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W hichever way you look at it, Reading Festival is an important part of the history of British rock music. From hosting Nirvana’s landmark set in 1992 to propelling countless bands into the big leagues, it’s an essential part of any music fan’s calendar. Returning this year with a noticeably more mainstream lineup than usual, here’s the lowdown of all the bands that mattered.

 Friday

 The first full day of music gets off to a relatively slow start, with Dry The River (**)’s midday set on the NME Stage not exactly thrilling the largely-hungover crowd. Maybe their unassuming folk style would suit a more intimate setting, but there’s no escaping that a large portion of the audience are regretting waking up early for this. Meanwhile, on the Main Stage, While She Sleeps (*) manage not to produce a single original idea throughout their allotted time. Even the lead singer’s uninspired ‘banter’ with the bored audience suggests that he would give his right arm to be in Bring Me The Horizon (***), who play later on in the day and show the pretenders just how metalcore should be done.

 Things begin to pick up later on though, with Deap Vally (****)’s brand of raw blues rock on the NME Stage confirming why they are fast becoming one of the most talked bands in the world right now. Opening with the thunderous ‘Baby I Call Hell’ and only getting better from there, singer and guitarist Lindsey Troy commands the audience with ease for such a new band. Another new band proving their worth today is Peace (****), with their woozy indie coming across surprisingly massive in the tent. Playing to a huge crowd, the Worcester band shake off most of the ‘style over substance’ accusations that have been thrown at them by critics to deliver a great performance. Expect bigger and better things from the two.

 You’d forgive Deftones (****) for putting on a less than triumphant show on the Main Stage, considering the recent death of talismanic bassist Chi Cheng. Thankfully, this is not the case, as they dazzle the crowd with their bone-crushing riffs and Chino Moreno’s fantastic voice. Playing a good mix of material from new album ‘Koi No Yokan’ and older fan favourites, they sound as relevant and fresh as ever. Fellow alt-metal veterans System Of A Down (***) follow them in gloriously weird fashion. Though there’s a noticeable lull in energy whenever they stray from well-known songs, like ‘Chop Suey’, they still prove a very interesting watch.

 The year between Green Day (***)’s secret set at last year’s festival and tonight’s headline set has been a rough one. Between their trilogy of new albums flopping and lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong’s stint in rehab, they could use a strong headline set here to put them back on top. In that respect, their set can only be viewed as a partial success. When they are good, they are sublime (Jesus Of Suburbia in particular is one of the highlights of the festival), but the decision to play 1994 album ‘Dookie’ in full is a poor one and it significantly thins out the crowd. The extending of each song they play to a ridiculous length doesn’t do them any favors either and means that they come across as merely good rather than great tonight.

 Saturday

 Saturday’s festivities kick off with Drenge (***) on the Festival Republic Stage. Though they have the rawness and energy recently seen on their debut album, the tightness of their playing leaves something to be desired. Elsewhere, Earlwolf (***) do a good job of creating early afternoon chaos on the Main Stage. Despite Tyler The Creator and Earl Sweatshirt’s music occasionally veering off into a mess of amateurish bleeps, their sense of fun is refreshing. The same cannot be said about Twin Atlantic (**)’s set. Not helped by numerous sound issues, they sound and look hopelessly lost on such a massive stage.

 One man used to the big time is Johnny Marr (****), who thrills the crowd at the NME Stage while a selection of solo material, classic Smiths and a stellar cover of The Clash’s ‘I Fought The Law’. Playing on the Main Stage as the sun sets, Foals (****) increasing sound like a band that could headline huge festivals like this in the near future. Standout tracks ‘Inhaler’ and ‘Late Night’ showcase their growing ambitions with spectacular effect and point towards something approaching greatness.

 Not even this prepares you for how outstanding Tame Impala (*****) are. Destroying all expectations, their psychedelic rock is positively mind blowing. Last year’s ‘Lonerism’ was one of the best albums of the last 5 years and tonight’s performance more than does it justice. Kevin Parker’s brittle voice recalls George Harrison in his prime, while Julien Barbagallo’s drumming is wonderfully close to John Bonham at his most bombastic. Ending with a frankly insane version of ‘Apocalypse Dreams’, they leave the audience at NME Stage stunned.

 After that, the night ends rather anti-climatically. Jake Bugg (**) comes across as a cheap imitation of Bob Dylan during his set, while Eminem (**)’s Main Stage headline set feels oddly hollow. Though he easily gets the biggest crowd of the festival, it’s an astounding lazy performance, with the clear presence of a vocal track being particularly off-putting. It’s a poor end to what has been a very strong day of music.

 Sunday

 Clearly glad the torrential rain from this morning has cleared, Hadouken! (***) do a good job of warming up the Main Stage crowd for the last day of music. Having replaced their old new-rave style with a more muscular and dubstep-flavoured sound, it goes down very well indeed. On the NME Stage, an on-form Tribes (****) go down a storm with a setlist, wisely ignoring the majority of poorly received second album ‘Wish To Scream’ in favour of infinitely stronger older tracks. By the time they play the anthemic ‘We Were Children’, the entire tent is singing back at them in uplifting fashion.

 A few years ago, it looked certain that Editors (****) would be filling arenas and headlining festivals like Reading. A poor third album and a long wait till this year’s comeback record, ‘The Weight Of Your Love’, seem to have put those plans on hold for now, but they do a very fine job of playing an afternoon slot on the Main Stage today. Front man Tom Smith stalks the stages like a man possessed, while the crowd livens up for older tracks like ‘Munich’ and ‘An End Has A Start’.

It’s hard to know how to judge Nine Inch Nails (***)’ performance on the Main Stage. On one hand, the first half’s paranoid electro is equally as thrilling as the second half’s evil industrial metal and Trent Reznor’s band sound as tight as any band you’re likely to see. But something feels wrong throughout, with the setlist missing out nearly all of their old hits (the closest thing to a hit that we get is the manic ‘March Of The Pigs’), the production being severely striped down and the band clearly don’t want to be there. Overall, it’s a brave set, but also a massive missed opportunity. 

 Biffy Clyro (*****) make no such mistakes. With what may very well go down in history as their defining moment, their headline set is the most powerful performance of the weekend by far. Heavier songs like ‘That Golden Rule’ and ‘Modern Magic Formula’ send the crowd into a swirling frenzy, while Simon Neill’s acoustic version of ‘Machines’ is touchingly beautiful. Above all else, they seem like the only headliner to genuinely understand how important Reading Festival is to the people who attend it. An absolute joy to watch.

Enjoyed this review? Click here to read Liam's last review of Download Music Festival 2013

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The FREE XBLA title, “Spartacus Legends”, was released last week that is based off the popular TV series on Sky. Spartacus Legends (Ubisoft) is a fighting game that is slightly similar to the XBLA title ‘Deadliest Warrior’ (again based off a TV show), that was released a few years back, though Legends is free compared to DW.

After playing the game over the weekend the game is definitely worth checking out. It uses that free to play module that is coming all the range today that we have seen for years on mobile platforms.  Though this module hasn’t really been explored yet on the consoles it is clear that we can expect to see more title such as Legends rolled out in the next generation of consoles (if these sort of titles prove worthy financial wise for developers).

You receive both silver and gold coins, silver from winning matches and gold from levelling up. Silver coins are fairly easy to obtain and used to customize and buy better gladiators. As you rank up better customizations are made available, but for those that can’t wait you are able to make purchases using gold coins. Though gold coins are hard to come by more are made available through MSP purchases (gold coins are also used to purchase boss characters once they are defeated).

Gold Coin Glitch

One flaw I found within the game is the ability to gain an unlimited amount of gold coins through a glitch. Obviously by obtaining these extra gold coins it makes the game completion a lot easier through buying better characters and equipment.

The glitch occurs when you rank up after you have complete a match. Once the icon appears in the middle of the screen showing your new rank, gold coins will be rewarded to you (the amount will depend on your rank, you begin earing 2 gold coins and by the time you reach level 15 you are earning 5 gold coins). Stay on that screen where you are rewarded the gold coins. As soon as you see your gold coin total change on the top bar/ top of your screen, hit the guide button and dashboard. 

Load Legends back up and you should find you have been rewarded the gold coins but still haven’t ranked up. Play another match and once you rank up again repeat the process.   

Review

Overall when you first start out it does appear quite challenging, especially learning all the moves – expect to lose your first few matches. This can be off putting for some though once complete the first few games and start winning it does become entertaining. Your Gladiator characters can die in this game; this can cause frustration when trying to beat the boss characters, especially at the lower levels. As you can expect the difficulty of the fights increase as you progress through the different stages though by defeating the earlier bosses these won’t be as hard. By defeating a boss they are made available in the market (though boss characters cost gold coins), and it’s worth purchasing certain ones as they make the later boss fights a lot easier. Legends does have an online mode, though this feature isn’t anything to special, mainly due to the fact that matchmaking is random, so no private games with friends.

Spartacus Legends is fairly entertaining and you can expect to complete the game by the time you are level 15-16. Once you have completed the game there isn’t much replay value unless you are either determined to get the ‘Reach Level 50’ Achievement, or unless you are playing online matches. Though this is a problem the title is free and will definitely keep you entertained for a few days as long as you can get past that frustrating huddle of the first few fights.

Boss Tips

Boss 1 (Extremus District):- Oenomaus – Sword and Shield – Rating 283

The best Gladiator to use is one in the Dual Daggers category. Easy: Easy. Recommend Buying: - No.

Boss 2 (Mercatus District):- Acolytus – Dual Daggers – Rating 275

Use a character that has a longer weapon (not the Dual Daggers). Keeping this boss away from you is the key. Allowing him to get close to often is what will cause you to lose. Easy: Fairly Easy. Recommend Buying: - Yes.

Boss 3 (Insulae District):- Ixion- Two Handed Hammer – Rating 296

Use Acolytus against this boss and you shouldn’t have too much trouble. Ease: Fairly Easy. Recommend Buying:- No.

Boss 4 (Domus Nobilium District):- Masonius- Spear and Shield – Rating 296

Again I recommend using Acolytus but only by getting close can you win this one. Be prepared for a few attempts. Ease: Hard. Recommend Buying: Yes.

Boss 5 (Oscan Capua District):- Crixus- Two-Handed Sword – Rating 323

This is the most difficult fight and I recommend using the Two-Handed Sword Character. This may require you spending some gold coins on a purple class character. Ease: Most Difficult. Recommend Buying: Yes.

Boss 6 (Spectacula District):- Spartacus – Dual Swords – Rating 325

This is a very tough fight, though if you use Crixus you should find the fight fairly easy. Ease: Hard. Recommend Buying: No (Dual Swords is one of worst classes and Crixus feels twice 
the better character). 

Buy Spartacus Legends on DVD 

Season 6: Episode 3 Review

Not going out returns from the ski slopes back to the comfort of Lee’s flat to continue the comedy genius.

Last week’s episode was slightly disappointing due to the confinement of the cable cart. I know you are normally confined just to the flat in certain episodes but last weeks you found that there was a lack of factors the characters could interact with other than the pregnant woman.

This week’s episode, titled ‘Therapy’, stars the usual cast of Lee, Daisy, Lucy and another appearance from Lee’s dad. Lucy starts taking up classes in Psychology and Therapy and eventually Lee uses Lucy’s new skills to patch up his troubled relationship with his farther.

This show is currently one of the funniest shows on TV and that sarcastic and quick witted comedy is what makes the show, this episode doesn’t fail to deliver on the comedy front.  The show has enough puns to try for a world record and responses to questions are ninety percent of the time answered with sarcasm. Yes jokes can be predictable at times but it still keeps you laughing.

In parts of this episode such as where Lee asks Lucy to guess what disorder he is describing and when Lee has a personal therapy session with Lucy you get this constant reel of quick witted comedy. It is hilarious and this is what the show does best.

Overall if you don’t like puns being fired at you for 30 minutes then this isn’t for you. But if you are willing to endure half an hour of laughing out loud and at times side splitting comedy then this show is for you. The show seems to be dealing with the loss of Tim very well and his serious like tone not missed. Yes jokes are predictable but listening the how everything is presented by Lee Mack is the penultimate factor that helps deliver this sitcom as comedy gold on TV.

I would seriously recommend any one to purchase the previous series' of Not Going Out, they are arguably more funny than season 6 and well worth the money.

Or if you are interested in checking out some of Lee Mack's previous stand up click here. 

Not Going Out Season 6 

Episode 1 Review and new series Preview

Not going Out has returned to or screens on the BBC along with the hilarious comedy genius, Lee Mack. Lee, Lucy and Daisy star in the first episode of season six, with the only regular absence being Tim. I love this show and it’s so cleverly written around the star of the show, Lee Mack. I’m a big fan of his and ultimately it’s the sarcastic, quick witted response’s that give you these side splitting laughs. It’s so clever written because this is what Lee Mack is good at on his comedy shows and his characters also contains this talent.  

This episode revolves around Lucy accidently running over one of her client’s pet rabbits and the panic then unfolds. In typical Not Going Out Fashion Lucy gets Lee’s help and inevitably make the situation worse. It reminded me of the previous episode where Tim and Lee mistakenly get a stash of drugs after picking up the identical wrong coats. By trying to solve the problem they make it worse with hilarious consequences for us the watchers. They try to simply replace the Rabbit but go about it the hard way with lies, breaking into a pet shop and much more.

This show is brilliant and truly amazing. It guarantees a laugh and will keep you doing so as long as the star, Lee Mack, continues his quick witted and sarcastic responses. If you haven’t seen this before then I recommend you check out the previous five season and keep tuned into the rest of this season.