Welcome to April's edition of Filmflux Monthly Update! In this (slightly late, due to exams and such) monthly update, we'll be showcasing the best of the huge chock-a-block of Filmflux's content from the month before this one! Simply click read more, scroll down, read and watch what we have to offer. (Also, sorry for the small typo in last month's monthly update (March) :3.

Since its explosion onto the market with the revolutionary Metal Gear Solid in 1998, the series has done nothing but grow to achieve stardom for its gameplay, characters, and let’s not forget the story. I mean, if you haven’t paid much attention to that, chances are you skipped about 40 hours worth of cutscenes. 

Before I commence the review of Assassin’s Creed Revelations, I’d like to give an impression of how I rank each game in the series (thus far) from least favourite to most favourite...

A selection of content from last month

1. TechFlux Review: Port Designs 15" Laptop Bag
   
2. Microsoft confirms: No new Xbox at E3
   
3. REPLICA Vlog 2: March 2012
   
4. Metal Gear Series sells over 30 million, earns spot at Smithsonian
   

-Chris

Before Filmflux goes into hibernation for a week or two, I thought I would post my review of the Playstation Vita. Enjoy...There are some questions for which many answers can be given. Is there a God? What is love? Why didn’t they ride the eagles into Mordor? One I like to ask people is, when you hear ‘Sony’ what do you think? Of course you will have fanboys whom reply with ‘Better than Microsoft’, then you get your average Joe ‘Blu Ray discs’ and then there are quite a large group of people who will say ‘$$$’. Yes, I am referring to the ancient tradition of costly Sony products.

I wanted to buy a Playstation Vita. I miss the days when you would pick something off the shelf, buy, then enjoy. But it just isn’t that simple any more. The worst thing about the Vita is that there is no internal memory. Zilch. None whatsoever. So without a memory card, it’s about as useful as a goldfish. Or at least a nice big, shiny and black goldfish. So that’s an annoyance. Oh well, I guess I’ll just reach in and get the card anyways- oops. It’s sold separately. FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUU-

Well, that’s alright I guess… I’ll just pop to the shop and shell out a couple of quid for one. Oh no. They cost another (roughly (depending what size)) £20! Fine, fine. I’ll take it mister shopkeeper. I mustn’t now forget either, that I’m on a pay-as-you-go SIM card for the 3G, which means more dosh gon’ disappear homedawg. 

Right, now that all the costs are take care of, lets settle down with the Vita and play a nice game. Oh shit. I need a game. How much are they? Almost as much as a brand new PS3 game you say?

In all seriousness, once you get past all that stuff, the Vita is a great piece of tech. It’s so nice looking for a start, sleek, smooth and shiny all over. It feels awesome in the hands too, a good rounded fit. Let’s analyse a few specific features of the device…

Screen- 5’ OLED, Touch sensitive

Love the screen. The touch software is definitely as good as, if-not-better than, the best smart-phones around. It produces a very vibrant and sharp picture quality and my only upset on this feature is that I feel bad each time I ruin it with my greasy fingers! Yep, definitely 5/5 for the screen.

Buttons

Pretty much the same as the buttons on a PS3 controller, a tad smaller I guess but that seems to be it, pressing them feels as natural as it can be. 5/5.

Analogue sticks- (yes there are two!)

Why weren’t there two on the PSP??? Is what these will make you exclaim. You’ll never know how you managed before without twice the fiddling and twirling or the sexy camera movements the second stick allows. Very well implemented, very natural, another 5/5.

Back touchpad

Don’t get me wrong. It works. And it feels nice. But really, what was the need? This is probably the most un-necessary feature of the gadget. If the screen wasn’t touch, I would understand. I’m not saying it is 100% useless, I’m sure one or two games will come up with something to use it for but, returning to my points on pricing, this is where the costs could have been reduced, even if by just a little. 3/5- good, but not worth the monies. 

Cameras- (two of these too)

Decent quality. First time I fired them up it reminded me of my webcam. Lighting could be more apparent but it will suffice. As with the back touchpad, this is somewhere to cut back, I know the 3DS has two cameras but that was for 3-D. This is done more Ipad style with one on the front, one on the back. Of course this means you’ll be able to use apps for face-time or whatever but Sony should have been looking at every possible option to slash the Vita’s price, getting rid of a camera would have been a smart thing to do in my opinion. 4/5- They’ll do.

Audio

Not related to audio quality but I’ll start off by saying that the default menu music is a no-me-gusta for me, too Nintendo style- Of course Nintendo isn’t bad, but Sony really should have made the music fit with the sleek and simple feel. I would prefer dead silence to be honest. Anyways, the quality is okay as is, but I would highly recommend you utilise the headphone jack as it sounds a million times better and clearer through there. If you don’t care about sound, or are deaf, don’t bother with the headphones because they get in the way a little bit, and it feels nicer and more casual when the device is held in your hands with no wires coming out of it at all. 4/5, I just wish the quality was as good without headphones.

Browser
Meh, same as PS3 really. 3/5. 

Lastly, graphic capability

After a good bash out of Uncharted: Golden Abyss, I almost forgot that all of the awesomeness was compressed into a tiny plastic card. The graphics are not revolutionary, but they are certainly pretty amazing for a handheld. The lighting and physics and textures hold up surprisingly well as does the frame-rate. 5/5- I’m impressed.

So… does the Vita sound good to you? I’m really enjoying it thus far, and it is a brilliant showcase of how far technology has come in recent years, however upon discovering it costs way more than a brand new PS3, you may want to wait a while until you actually acquire one.

Thanks for reading.

~Sam 

Number 5: Ned Stark decapitated despite readers being a-head (pun intended)- Game of Thrones

Nobody saw it coming. Except people who read the book. And anyone who knows that Sean Bean likes dying all the friggin’ time. Anyways, if there’s anything worse than Joffrey Baratheon, it is Joffrey Baratheon as king. So with his newfound power, he kills our favourite character (besides Tyrion). Slimy bastard.

Number 4: I take thee Rachel- Friends

A slightly less fatal twist now, as Ross single-handedly destroys his marriage to Emily in front of an audience. And a studio audience that gasp so much they sound like they’re watching a firework display during that scene. That, or being strangled by the force.

Number 3: Jack wants to go back- Lost

Many revelations in such a short space of time. Not only do some 815 survivors escape the Island but Jack, the one who hates that rock the most, is desperate to get back to fulfil the balding destiny of Mr Jeremy Bentham. Opens many doors for the last 3 seasons.

Number 2: Peter Bishop is from ‘over there’- Fringe

Well, I’m a n00b to Fringe but this knocked my socks off. Just as we adjust to the fact that there is an alternate universe, we discover that one of the main characters is actually dead and was kidnapped from that universe. Mind=Blown.

Number 1: It was all a dream- Dallas

An inspired and totally original twist which magically re-wrote an entire season and brought a beloved character to life. The Dallas writers prove that some are willing to rinse away bad plot developments with a nice hot shower. Don’t tell the pissed off Mass Effect fans, they’ll go to town on this.

Thanks for reading.

~Sam

It has been announced today, that the GAME group, the huge UK-based video game specialist retailer behing GAME and GameStation, Game Group PLC has gone into administration, with MJA Jervis/SD Maddison announced as its administrator.

It has also been announced that a total of 277 stores across the UK have closed their doors for the final time, meaning that over 2,100 people have lost their jobs in these hard economic times.

To be honest, I thought it was never a question of 'will GAME go?', more like 'when will GAME go?', following the rise of Zavvi, The Hut, Amazon, and other retailers that sell stuff for £2 less and throw in a plush teddy bear with each purchase. Win. I won't be shedding tears over the unavoidable death of the GAME group. But to those redundant ex-employees- good luck on finding a new job, and god speed. :)
-Chris