REVIEW: WBSC eBASEBALL™: POWER PROS on Nintendo Switch

We are back again with our latest review, this time a Baseball/Softball game for Nintendo Switch called WBSC eBASEBALL™: POWER PROS.

Originally a Japan only release, eBaseball has now had a worldwide release.

This is the official baseball game of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), no I had never heard of that organisation either, but since Baseball is huge in Japan, I will assume this is their version of the MLB.

Here is the official blurb.

"Create your own team from over 300 original characters!

With over 300 characters to choose from, players can assemble their team of batters, catchers, and pitchers to compete in online matches against rivals from all over the world. Mix and match different players with different stats to find the winning formula!

Once you've got your team, test your skills against the world!

Once you've assembled your team of sluggers compete online in matches with friends or online competitions like Championship Mode with rivals from all over the world."

Full Review at

http://www.gamingcouchpotato.co.uk/2023/02/review-wbsc-ebaseball-power-pros-on.html

REVIEW: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania - Starring Paul Rudd & Evangeline Lilly

In my opinion the Ant-Man franchise is the least interesting out of the whole Marvel Universe, and although the first film was entertaining due to it's light hearted nature, the second film, which I rewatched recently was a bit of a fart in church, and with the next big Marvel bad guy being featured for the first time in Quantumania, I had high hopes.

During her time imprisoned in the Quantum Realm, Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) meets Kang (Jonathan Majors), an exiled traveler who promises that if she can assist him in reassembling his Multiversal Power Core, they can both escape the realm. When they finally succeed in fixing it, Janet has a vision of Kang destroying and capturing entire timelines. After Kang explains that he was banished by his own variants out of fear, Janet becomes hostile with him. Outmatched, Janet enlarges the Power Core with her Pym Particles to make it useless.

Full Review at

http://www.beentothemovies.com/2023/02/review-ant-man-and-wasp-quantumania.html

REVIEW: Rooftop Renegade on Nintendo Switch

Rooftop Renegade is an awesome new action platform game that concentrates more on speed and flow than deliberate precision moves. You can run and use your hover blades, and your main objective is to reach the end of the level as fast as you can, as well as collecting as many diamonds as you can. The better performance you do the higher score you will get.

Run and glide your way through various futuristic areas, on skyscrapers and gliding on bars. You also have a few special moves you can do, boost and slide, which will help you make epic jumps, as well as slide under the various hazards and traps set by Globacorp, who are constantly trying to stop you.

With this game being about speed, split second thinking is needed here, one mistake and you will lose your flow, or get caught by Globacorp.

There are a few modes to play, Arcade mode, which has you working your way through various levels and stages, which as you would expect gradually get harder and more challenging. Then there is a generator mode, which remixes levels in new ways depending on what you enter in the seed box. Just type a random number for example and see what kind of level it creates.

Full Review at

http://www.gamingcouchpotato.co.uk/2023/02/review-rooftop-renegade-on-nintendo.html

REVIEW: The Legend of Gwen - Nintendo Switch

Back again with our latest review, this time for The Legend of Gwen on Nintendo Switch, no this is not a game about the wife of the late Derek Acorah, but instead a game about a young Witch who is a newcomer to a wizardry school. She wants to become the best witch in the world.

"To her bad luck, her arrival came at a bad time because just when she arrived she couldn't have a welcome party because there was a surprise guest... "The Evil One!"

"Evil" didn't hesitate twice and began to absorb everything she could from the school! Now who will teach Gwen about sorcery! Will she be able to learn on her own? Will she be able to overcome the obstacles of "The Evil One" and get the school back? Help Gwen with this challenge and defeat "The Evil One" (if you can ....)."

At its base this is a hardcore platform game, and when I say hardcore, i mean it, as this game is tough, really tough, from the very first level it is tough, this is a precision platformer, with something of a fixed camera for a 3D environment.

Ful Review at

http://www.gamingcouchpotato.co.uk/2023/02/review-legend-of-gwen-nintendo-switch.html

REVIEW: Plane (2023) - Starring Gerard Butler and Mike Colter

I like a good action thriller, and i like Gerard Butler, so what better way to spend my evening than watching the new film Plane. Although I think they should have come up with a better name for the film, imagine searching for Plane on a search engine hoping to find the film first time out!

Former RAF pilot and commercial airline pilot, Brodie Torrance (Gerard Butler), is navigating Trailblazer Airlines Flight 119 from Singapore to Honolulu with a layover in Tokyo. However, a severe storm in the South China Sea causes substantial damage to the aircraft, forcing Brodie to make an emergency landing on the rebel-controlled Jolo Island in the Philippines. Tragically, a stewardess and an RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) officer who was escorting a wanted homicide suspect, Louis Gaspare (Mike Colter), were killed during the landing.

Full Review at

http://www.beentothemovies.com/2023/02/review-plane-2023-starring-gerard.html

REVIEW: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever - Starring Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong'o and Danai Gurira

I wasn't much of a fan of the first Black Panther film, as it was pushed purely on identity politics as opposed to substance. In other words, "watch this film, or you are a racist", which is a terrible way to promote a film. So I was in no rush to watch Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, especially since the original star of the film, Chadwick Boseman had tragically died. Some have suggested that the franchise should have just been left alone after his death, but Hollywood rarely cares about sentiment when there is money to be made.

With all that said, I think it is worth seeing Wakanda Forever as a stand-alone film, forget about the fascist overtones of the original film, (race superiority, nationalistic tendencies, building a giant wall around your country to keep people out, refusing to share your technology, healthcare and so on with poorer nations around you), and instead really try to see this as a film in its own right. The general story has the leaders of Wakanda fighting to protect their nation in the wake of King T'Challa's death, from a bunch of blue Aquaman type people from the sea.

The film starts with Shuri (Letitia Wright), the sister of the king of Wakanda, T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman who we obviously do not see outside of flashbacks from the first film), believing that a "heart-shaped plant" might heal the disease that is killing the monarch. After Erik Killmonger destroyed the herb, Shuri makes an unsuccessful attempt to synthetically recreate it before T'Challa passes away.

Full Review at

http://www.beentothemovies.com/2023/02/review-black-panther-wakanda-forever.html

REVIEW: Whisker Squadron: Survivor on PC (Steam)

Another day and another review, this time we are looking at Whisker Squadron: Survivor.

This is the first game set in the Whisker Squadron universe, and a roguelite shooter from the makers of RACE THE SUN. In Whisker Squadron: Survivor, the action takes place in a continuous corridor setting over the course of 30 minute runs, with a strong emphasis on roguelite survival.

With a variety of feline pilots, ships, and weaponry at your disposal, you may customize your loadout before setting out on a run that only gets tougher with each wave. You can upgrade through a dizzying array of randomly selected upgrades by collecting scrap from your defeated enemies, giving each run a distinctive build.

Whisker Squadron: Survivor, which serves as a prequel to the 2023 space-faring adventure Whisker Squadron.

Full Review at

http://www.gamingcouchpotato.co.uk/2023/02/review-whisker-squadron-survivor-on-pc.html

REVIEW: Shotgun Wedding (2023) - Starring Jennifer Lopez and Josh Duhamel

Usually I am not a fan of romantic action comedy films, as they are more often than not terrible, but I liked the trailer for this, and i think highly of Josh Duhamel as an actor so I thought I would check it out.

Tom Fowler (Josh Duhamel) and Darcy Rivera (Jennifer Lopez), along with their families, travel to a private island in the Philippines for their big destination wedding. But just as the couple began to have second thoughts and start arguing, their guests are taken hostage by pirates. The kidnappers demand a ransom of $45 million dollars from Darcy's wealthy father Robert Rivera (Cheech Marin), who refuses to pay until he knew his daughter was safe.

Separated from the wedding party, Tom and Darcy are briefly captured by the pirates but manage to escape, killing several of their captors in the process in some fun and inventive ways. As they try to evade recapture, they also grapple with their doubts about getting married. Eventually they find themselves trapped in a vault beneath the manager's office, Tom ultimately surrendered himself to the pirates so that Darcy could remain hidden.

If I said much more, I would give away too much, so I will leave the general plot at that.

This is one of those films that relies on its cast to do the heavy lifting. Jennifer Coolidge appears in the film as Tom's mother Carol, and along with Cheech, they are the more familiar of the extended cast.

J-Lo is as gorgeous as ever, and they make sure to use her sex appeal plenty in the film, including a funny scene of her in her underpants! That scene is definitely for the men watching!

Full Review at

http://www.beentothemovies.com/2023/01/review-shotgun-wedding-2023-starring.html

REVIEW: M3GAN (2022) - Starring Allison Williams, Violet McGraw and Amie Donald

By now the old trope of robot/doll gone bad is about as old as anything in Hollywood, so when I hear of a new science fiction horror film, with a robot doll that goes bad, let's just say I was less than interested to watch. However M3GAN has gone on to be a massive hit, so I thought I better check it out and see if it has anything new to bring to the genre.

After a devastating car accident that leaves Cady (Violet McGraw) an orphan, she is sent to live with her aunt, Gemma (Allison Williams), a roboticist at the high-tech Seattle toy company Funki. Gemma is working on a revolutionary project, a life-sized humanoid robot doll named M3GAN (Model 3 Generative Android) that is powered by artificial intelligence, designed to assist in caretaking duties and act as a loyal companion to the child to whom it is assigned. However, after a test with M3GAN's functions in their lab goes wrong, Gemma's boss David (Ronny Chieng) orders her to abandon the project.

Cady and Gemma find it difficult to adjust to their new living situation, as Gemma is a workaholic and has little time to bond with Cady. However, when Cady discovers Bruce, a motion capture robot that Gemma created, she expresses a desire for a similarly complex toy. This motivates Gemma to complete the M3GAN project.

Full Review At

http://www.beentothemovies.com/2023/01/review-m3gan-2022-starring-allison.html

REVIEW: WHALIEN - Unexpected Guests on PC (Steam)

We are back once again, and this time we are looking at a bright and colourful action adventure game.

"Players take on the role of Ernest Hemingwhale, the sole remaining inhabitant of Fin, the mechanical whale. Fin is not only Ernest's home but also his close friend. When mysterious and dangerous Squiddies begin taking over Fin's body, he doesn't hesitate to take down the slimy threats. The origin of the mischievous little beings is not the only secret to discover. The mechanical whale is filled with little details and even more unexpected guests, the Springpeople. Whatever they are up to remains to be seen.

Ernest must use both his wits and special gloves and pearls - appropriately named Mr. Push and Mrs. Pull - to manipulate objects in the environment, solve puzzles, and send the Squiddies packing. Through unique, vibrant, and colorful environments, players delve deep into the inner workings of Fin, meet loveable characters, and help protect not only Ernest's home but also his friend.

WHALIEN- Unexpected Guests is a short but sweet adventure game about friendship."

Full Review at

http://www.gamingcouchpotato.co.uk/2023/01/review-whalien-unexpected-guests-on-pc.html

REVIEW: JUNG_E (정이) - Starring Kang Soo-yeon, Kim Hyun-joo and Ryu Kyung-soo

It is not often I review films that I actually wanted to see and was looking forward to seeing for a while, but Jung_E is one of those rare exceptions. I enjoy Korean cinema, and I love a good sci-fi film, so right here we have something that includes both.

Worth noting that Jung_E features the final film appearance of Kang Soo-yeon who passed away before release. Also, I refer to the "Ardian Republic" below, but on the subtitles, it showed as Adrian Republic, but online it says Ardian, so I am a little confused.

In the 22nd century, Earth has become uninhabitable due to climate change, forcing humans to live in man-made shelters built in space. As they settle in around 80 of these shelters, three, No. 8, 12, and 13, form the Ardian Republic and begin attacking other shelters, leading to a civil war between the Allied Forces and the Ardian Republic.

Full Review at

http://www.beentothemovies.com/2023/01/review-junge-starring-kang-soo-yeon-kim.html

REVIEW: Breakers Collection on Nintendo Switch

Back in the 1990s we were very lucky that we had an almost endless stream, of beat-em-up arcade games, from the Fatal Fury series, to Streetfighter and of course Breakers. And today we get a re-release of not only Breakers but also the sequel in Breakers Revenge on the mighty Nintendo Switch. Called the Breakers Collection, it is your classic 2D beat-em-up style game with a few important improvements.

Here is the plot of the game.

"Somewhere in Hong Kong, two martial artists face each other in a vast courtyard. The challenger is a stout man in brown skin. The ground has been tainted with blood. However, his crescent blade has not touched his opponent yet. It was a one-sided battle. He was already exhausted and it will not be long before he would fall. "Fool, you will become one of my family" resounded the opponent's voice, as the challenger crumbled to the floor and was turned into sand.

The Fighting Instinct Tournament, or FIST, is a tournament as fierce as its name suggests. There was no shortage of martial artists who entered the tournament seeking fame, and yet there were many who left the tournament as corpses. The last challenger who remains in this lawless tournament gets to challenge the organizer of the tournament, the Head of the Huang Financial Clique, for the chance to win the massive prize money. The martial artist who can manage to defeat him will obtain the honour of truly calling him or herself the strongest. However, none of the martial artists who were chosen to challenge the champion in a private final match have ever come back alive. The sponsor is actually an evil spirit who possessed the body of a modern man from Hong Kong who has established a selection system to amplify his dark powers. The FIST tournament has gathered numerous participants from around the globe and another sacrifice will be chosen this year."

So, it your classic tournament system, to win money, yes, I know it is not really very original, but does anyone really care about the plot line in beat-em-ups?

Full Review at

http://www.gamingcouchpotato.co.uk/2023/01/review-breakers-collection-on-nintendo.html

REVIEW: The Old Way (2023) - Starring Nicolas Cage

I don't get to review many Westerns, in fact the last one I recall seeing was Terror on the Prairie with the excellent Gina Carano, before that I genuinely can't remember reviewing any on the site! So, to hear that there was a new Western out at first didn't really attract me, but then I see that the legendary Nicolas Cage is in it, and I am intrigued, for as far as I know Nic Cage has never ever starred in a Western!

In the beginning, in the Montanan Old West we are introduced to Colton Briggs, a bounty hunter played by Cage, who demonstrates his exceptional shooting skills by causing a massacre in a town square after interrupting a town hanging. With his Mustache and intense gaze, Cage portrays a ruthless killer.

Fast forward 20 years and now, we see Colton has retired from hunting and no longer has that epic Mustache which to be fair is a massive shame. He is now living a peaceful life, as a shopkeeper and family man with his wife, Ruth (Kerry Knuppe), and his 12-year-old daughter, Brooke (Ryan Kiera Armstrong). However, the arrival of James McAllister (Noah Le Gros) and his group of thugs seeking revenge for Colton's past actions leads to a turn of events that will change the lives of all involved, the outlaw son of a man he killed returns to exact revenge, resulting in the death of his wife.

Full Review at

http://www.beentothemovies.com/2023/01/review-old-way-2023-starring-nicolas.html