Feature Category: Article

It seems like everywhere you look these days, you see gamers. Gaming is no longer reserved to those selected few that are obsessed with technology or sci-fi gameplay: online gaming took everything by storm, making multiplayer online battle arena and RPG games like Dota, League of Legends and World of Warcraft extremely popular – so much that they have invaded pop culture as well. Yet gaming existed long before that. It all started at the humble – and highly social – amusement arcades that teenagers flooded on Friday nights to play Pac-Man (1980) and Street Fighter (1987). Granted, the coin-operated machines lost some of their appeal with the emergence of home-based consoles and PC-based gaming and were mainly preferred for games that required elaborate controls, largely inaccessible to home players, such as dance platform games. But it seems that there is something on the move in the arcade gaming industry lately – a feel of a comeback, as arcade games are slowly yet steadily increasing the numbers of people they attract. But how do Spider-Man and the rest of his superhero buddies feature in all of that?

 

 

The second series of Big Finish’s THE OMEGA FACTOR adventures promises new revelations in the conspiracy and plenty more scares along the way…

“I’d always want to tell horror and supernatural stories on audio,” reveals writer and script editor Matt Fitton. “That’s what excited me most about doing The Omega Factor in the first place. The thing I keep saying to the writers when we send out the briefs is that ‘I just want it to be as scary as possible.’” Back in 2015, Big Finish released the first set of four adventures based on Jack Gerson’s acclaimed, if short-lived, BBC Scotland TV series, starring James Hazeldine and Louise Jameson, and originally broadcast in 1979. Across ten episodes, The Omega Factor followed the work of Department 7, a team of scientific specialists who investigate reports of psychic and paranormal phenomena. Impetuous journalist Tom Crane (Hazeldine) teamed up with level-headed physicist Dr Anne Reynolds (Jameson) to explore strange and unexplained happenings, and track the work of the mysterious and increasingly threatening ‘Omega’ organisation.

When designing the setting for the first collection of audio stories, Big Finish might have been expected to have turned the clock back four decades. “We never actually considered going back to the 1970s series, which is unusual for us at Big Finish because that’s what we do,” producer David Richardson concedes. Fitton confirms that it was decided to reset the series in the present. “What we’ve done is, we’ve brought it up to date,” he says. “With The Omega Factor, we want to conjure as contemporary a world as possible, a place that feels ‘real’. It adds to the threat once you see the ‘strangeness’ happen in a world that you recognise. It gives things a bit more of an unnerving edge, I think.”

This time-shift also meant that the relationship dynamic at the core of the show would change, as Reynolds had become a more senior, as well as a much older, figure. “I liked the idea of giving Louise the role of leader and having her character Anne be in her sixties. It gave us so much more scope,” says Richardson. The death of James Hazeldine in 2002 meant that his role would need to be recast, but in updating the series, it was decided instead to introduce the character of his son Adam Crane, played by John Dorney. “This allowed us to have the interesting dynamic of Anne in a professional partnership with the son of the man she once loved. She’s almost like a mother to Adam,” Richardson suggests. What gives their relationship additional poignancy is that Adam has been gifted some of his father’s psychic abilities, an inheritance he sometimes struggles with.

The set of four disturbing tales that comprise the first series confirmed that Big Finish would be staying true to the TV show’s defining dramatic motifs. “It’s certainly very adult,” Richardson insists. “With Doctor Who, we’re quite rightly writing for a family audience, because that’s the audience associated with the brand and it’s the ethos of the show we love. The Omega Factor was always aimed at a much older demographic, so we can just step over the line a little bit. I think, at its core, it’s deeply unsettling.”

The first series of The Omega Factor audio stories attracted praise from both listeners and critics. “It got great reviews, we were helped by word of mouth and good comments on social media. I think the series’ nomination in last year’s BBC Audio Awards was further recognition that this is a full-blooded drama,” he suggests.

Series One was conceived as a self-contained drama that could work on its own independent terms, and provide an entry point in The Omega Factor universe. “You don’t have to know the TV show to be able to go into that first audio series,” says Fitton. “It was written to re-energise this investigation team. And the mini-arc that we have running through it is that they begin on the back foot, with Anne virtually shutting the place down. Then Adam’s arrival sparks something in her, and it gains new life and they manage to convince the powers that be that it is worth the work of Department 7 continuing.”

The second series introduces something of a shift in focus. For a start, Department 7 once again has both funding and official backing. “At the beginning of the first episode, we’ve got lots of new equipment, being moved into the department,” says Fitton. “Their boss James Doyle, having heard the footage of the collapse of the church at the end of Series One, has convinced his paymasters that this is something worth investing in. So they have got a bit more money behind them.” That also means that they are under greater scrutiny from Doyle, who “plays a bigger part through this second series as well.”

“What we wanted to do was to bring the Omega conspiracy into it a little bit more, but very much begin as a ‘business as usual’ situation,” he adds. “That was the starting point, and then we wanted to seed in reminders from the past of what Tom Crane had started to uncover and what had been going on in the background for the last 35 years or so.”

The relationship between Anne and Adam remains key to the fabric of the modern Omega Factor, and the natural chemistry between the series’ two leads is palpable. “Both Louise and John are absolutely brilliant in this,” enthuses Richardson. “I’ve said elsewhere that I resisted casting John in the role for a long time because we know him so well. So I went away and looked at loads of other actors, but just kept coming back to John. And Louise I’ve worked with many times, and I know she can pull me into a scene, break my heart and take me through a thousand emotions.”

Once again, the show’s scripts explore some tough issues. “We are dealing with themes of death and of loss,” Fitton acknowledges. “The series does go to some very dark places in series two. Phil Mulryne’s opener ‘Somnum Sempiternum’ has got some horrible murders and assassinations involved. Roy Gill’s episode ‘The Changeling’, set in a prison, is extremely good and unflinching. And, in the second half of the series, Louise’s story ‘Let the Angel Tell Thee’ is much more of a character piece; an examination of Anne and her loneliness, in which other forces move in to exploit her. Then in the last story, ‘Awakening’, which I wrote, all hell breaks loose.”

One of the standout aspects of the first series is the extraordinarily immersive (and frequently spine-chilling) soundscape that runs through the episodes. The finale of series one “used sound in a way that we’ve never used before in Big Finish,” suggests Fitton. Martin Montague, who delivered the much-praised sound design for Series One, was unavailable. “We’ve got Steve Foxon this time, who is another miracle worker,” says Richardson. “To me, what these guys do is magic. I get to hear the raw studio recordings, and then when the edits come back to me they are three-dimensional soundscapes. That sound texture is then beautifully enhanced by Nick Briggs’ astonishing music.”

As the Omega conspiracy begins to loom large once more, there’s little danger of Department 7 being wound up anytime soon. “There will be a third series”, Richardson confirms. “And I really hope there will be more after that. I’m really happy to think that, when we have recorded series three, we will have made more audio episodes than there were TV episodes. That’s quite a feat!”

Series Two of THE OMEGA FACTOR is out now from bigfinish.com.

Who hasn’t heard of Guns N Roses?

The American hard rock band were poster boys of the 1990s, rising to fame and taking the world by storm with the release of their debut album Appetite for Destruction in 1987. Hits such as ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ and ‘Welcome To The Jungle’ have cemented themselves in history as some of the greatest songs of all time, as music lovers all over the world continue to rock out to these beats in their basements, channelling their inner rock star.

Their best-selling record – Paradise City – was critically acclaimed as one of the greatest releases of all time, but just three years after its release, there was trouble brewing in paradise, and it all came crashing down for the famous artists. The band fell apart, leaving a bitter taste in the mouths of their fans who wondered if there would or could ever be a reconciliation.

Whichever console you grew up with, we all know the disappointment of completing a game only to have to wait for the next instalment in the series, which sometimes never came (unless it was Zelda’s still going strong).

Luckily, some of the best, most iconic video game characters received a new lease of life – after they were reinvented as super-rewarding online slot games.

Such as…

Tomb Raider

Two words: Lara. Croft.

Perhaps the most famous archaeologist (after Indiana Jones), this kick-ass lady has a new lease of life in the form of a successful comic book series, as well as the odd new movie release, but it’s the video game character that we’ll always fondly remember.

She really had it all – as the first lady of video games, Lara was more than just the standard damsel in distress – she got stuff done, and taught people lessons.

And nowadays, she lives on in an exciting slot (with epic added bonuses), known as – what else –  Tomb Raider. To check it out, and even play it for yourself, here’s an in-depth Tomb Raider slot game review, which lists all main features of this popular online game and its rewarding offers.

 

 

We’ve all suffered from tummy troubles at some point or another. Whether it’s explosive wind or too many trips to the smallest room, gastro problems are nothing to be sniffed at – in fact, they’re a right old pain in the rear. However, just think yourself lucky that you don’t have the same issues as the lead in Bad Milo!…

The troubled man in question is Duncan (Ken Marino), and when we first see him he’s with his wife Sarah (Gillian Jacobs) at the doctors. The doc is conducting an ultrasound scan, but it’s not Sarah who’s receiving it, it’s Duncan. The doc (Toby Huss) tells him the strange mass they see on the screen is more than likely a polyp caused by bad stress management. It seems Duncan has had issues for almost all his life, spending up to ninety minutes in the bathroom. “Not at once – over the course of the day,” he tries to explain to the concerned physician. However, the doctor has a plan, and tells the couple about the simple procedure, “We’ll insert a camera into the anus, there’s an electrified wire loop at the end, and then we pop it off, like a plum off a tree… being pulled by an electrified wire loop”.

He’s offered some extra help to cope with the stress, and despite ‘not being a therapy guy’, Sarah takes charge and accepts the help on Duncan’s behalf. Being told to have ‘no stress’ is easier said than done for Duncan as his office job is just about to get a whole lot worse as he has been moved from being an accountant to human resources.  His callous boss, Phil (Patrick Warburton, currently playing Lemony Snicket in the TV version of A Series of Unfortunate Events and perhaps best known as the voice of Peter Griffin’s neighbour Joe Swanson in Family Guy) wants him to handle the company’s layoffs since he’s a ‘nice guy’. Duncan is naturally horrified, and even more so when his new office turns out to be a not-so-refurbished toilet. His first therapy session doesn’t exactly go any better, with the shrink in question, Highsmith, (played by Peter Stormare, one of those ‘where have I seen him before?’ actors) has a sass-talking parrot and a hippy-dippy attitude.

Maybe one of the causes of his stress is his mother Beatrice (Mary Kay Place) taking up with a younger man Bobbi (Kumail Nanjiani). Their closeness at the dinner table is clearly something he’s not comfortable with. “Let me tell you,” the new beau says “this food is not the spiciest thing at the table,” as well as requesting Duncan calls him Dad. “Just don’t call me daddy – that’s reserved for someone else.” The discomfort just gets worse when Beatrice reveals she’s invited a guest of her own – a fertility doctor. Duncan’s initial response is concern that his mother is planning another child (“Not the way we do it,” deadpans Bobbi), but no, he’s been brought along to sort out why he and Sarah haven’t had any luck in the progeny department. As the evening goes from bad to much worse, he gets a call from Allistair, the guy who shares his ‘office’, to tell him that he may have accidentally deleted some important files his computer.

This is all too much for Duncan’s delicate disposition, and when they get home, he has to dash to the littlest room. As well as pebble dashing the porcelain, his straining causes him to pass out, but something has exited his back door.  When he wakes in the morning, he discovers Allistair has been killed in a ‘racoon attack’. This, coupled with the trauma of having to fire a succession of employees – and palming them off with severance packages that range from keyrings to condoms – and the fertility doctor contacting him, determined to get his ‘tadpoles’ swimming,  gives Duncan the impetus to give the therapist another go.

Putting him under hypnosis, some alarming home truths are revealed about Duncan’s father, whom he had dismissed as having ‘just left’ when he was a child. It’s during this session that we get to the bottom – quite literally – of Duncan’s issues. The polyp is, in fact, a small creature – an extension of himself that has a compulsion to kill those who are causing him distress. Highsmith is as fascinated as much as he is terrified. A swift look through an encyclopaedia later and he has come up with a reason – an ancient text that says this type of butt demon is an extension of the person’s subconscious and as such, if the monster is hurt or killed, it would have a dreadful effect on Duncan, something like a lobotomy. Highsmith pleads with him to attempt to bond with the little fella when it returns and before it makes its way back up the rear entry.

It’s that re-entry that puts Duncan through even more dread. Up to now, that’s been exit only and this is no small critter! But back up he goes, but not before Duncan does his best to bond, even calling the entity Milo. For what essentially is a growth from his colon and crapped out in an undignified manner, Milo’s a cute little blighter. He’s also mighty hungry, and won’t put up with any rubbish like cat food. Trying to avoid his rather obvious bloodthirsty streak, Duncan offers up one of the pet mice in his office… up his orifice, naturally. Which is also the most awkward time for a co-worker to pop in to get him for a meeting.

With the revelation about his father now ‘out there’, Duncan decides to bite the bullet and seek him out. He’s now living a solitary life in the middle of nowhere and seeing no-one. Their reunion goes badly, to say the least, ending with a particularly emotional Duncan fighting with Milo in a wooden outhouse. It’s with great reluctance that Duncan’s father agrees to attend a meeting with the psychiatrist (following a session involving sock puppets), which certainly gets to the bottom of many of the problems. While it’s a little predictable, it’s a fun revelation.

As the film builds up to its frantic conclusion, the entertainment level doesn’t drop, and the denouement leaves the story open for a sequel that will probably never happen.

Watching Bad Milo! brings to mind several others classics, without being derivative or blatantly imitative. One obvious one would be Frank Henenlotter’s Basket Case (1982), certainly in the creature’s impulse to correct the problems going on in the protagonist’s life via death and destruction. Larry Cohen’s It’s Alive (1974, remade in 2009) uses a similar motive and little Milo has elements of both of these creature designs, mixed with the titular monsters from Ghoulies (1984) and, bizarrely, the cuteness of Gizmo from Joe Dante’s Gremlins (1984). One common connection between them all is the use of puppetry rather than rely on CGI, something that would have completely ruined the illusion and connection we have with Milo. He’s not the first demon to have been shit into existence (step forward Monsturd and the Golgothan creature from Kevin Smith’s Dogma), but he’s certainly the most accessible, despite the razor-sharp teeth. It’s to the credit of director Jacob Vaughn and his co-writer Benjamin Hayes that the puerile nature of the premise doesn’t overtake the story. In fact, some of the best humour comes from Duncan (and the audience’s) discomfort with the many awkward conversations that happen around him, particularly in the aforementioned dinner sequence, rather than rear-end gags. Make sure you stick around during the end credits, as there are a several out-takes that show how much fun the cast had making it.

Bad Milo! also has a unique honour of being accepted and screened at the FrightFest film festival in 2014, despite it already being available (in the US) on Netflix. Rather than kick up a stink, the audience embraced the movie and its classic monster tone. One would have thought the chances of it making the grade at the prestigious event would have gone down the pan, but the organisers took a gamble and ended up flushed with success.

Despite the outlandish concept and frequent bloodshed, Bad Milo! isn’t a horror film as such. Aside from a little peril with the ‘who is going to be offed next’ stakes, what we have is actually a revenge buddy comedy with a massive difference. That’s not to say the subject matter isn’t horrific. In fact, by the very nature of the taboo-breaking element, it’s as shocking as they come.

While one would think the film would be wall-to-wall toilet humour (literally), the more ‘sensitive’ aspects of the tale are handled surprisingly delicately. We would expect the gags to be more scatological than they are, but in reality, by treating the bowel problems as matter-of-factly as possible, this odd little horror comedy actually takes this subject – something most of us would certainly shy away from discussing – and makes it as normal as it really is. By visualising (albeit in a rather outlandish way) the problem, Bad Milo! removes the embarrassment that would otherwise surround it. True, it’s still uncomfortable to imagine being so open about such issues, but just remember it’s not as uncomfortable as having a two-foot snarling demon-type creature plopping out of your anus. 

Catch BAD MILO! on Horror Channel on June 18th. Sky 319, Virgin 149, Freeview 70, Freesat 138.

ISSUE 438 – OUT NOW!

This month, we celebrate the next chapter in the simian fight for supremacy, WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES.

We also preview the new film from the legendary Luc Besson, VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLANETS, the latest animated film based upon a ridiculous idea, THE EMOJI MOVIE, we get to the bottom of ANNABELLE: CREATION and see what’s in store for Season 7 of GAME OF THRONES.

We also take a look at flying saucer movies to commemorate 70 years since the Roswell incident and tell you what you’ve been missing if you skipped BATES MOTEL. If that’s not enough, we have an exclusive interview with comics legend Rob Liefeld, telling all about his new DEADPOOL graphic novel.

In our regular features, we look at Jennifer Lynch’s CHAINED as it heads to HORROR CHANNEL and Independents Day profiles the director of ZOMBIE CROC.

Plus all your favourite COLUMNS, NEWS, REVIEWS and much MORE from the worlds of SCI-FI, HORROR and FANTASY!

 

AVAILABLE IN PRINT(HERE) & DIGITAL (HERE)

SHARE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW OR ON TWITTER @STARBURST_MAG

Find your local STARBURST stockist HERE, or buy direct from us HERE. For our digital edition (available to read on your iOS, Android, Amazon, Windows 8, Samsung and/or Huawei device – all for just £1.99), visit MAGZTER DIGITAL NEWSSTAND.

MORE FROM AROUND THE WEB:

Mystery boxes are a big thing right now – and it’s understandable, who doesn’t like having a bunch of geeky merch every month? Well, there’s a new block in town – A-BOX – and it’s a doozie!

We’ve had a taster of the kind of things to expect from the A-Box, and we must say we were impressed with the goodies that were included. There are some incredible items – all officially licenced – from massive companies such as Marvel, DC, 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Ubisoft, Activision, and Sony among others. That means you have the chance of getting merch from properties like Star Wars, Spider-Man, James Bond, Alien, and much more! There’s even a special official Alien: Covenant-themed box that promises a life-size replica among the fabulous items!

We were particularly impressed with the Rogue One bomber jacket and Logan messenger bag.

Check out A-Box now and find a box that suits you.

Superman would be proud of The SuperMap. This interactive tool from TrustTwo tracks Superman’s main trips (yes, all those arduous sky-flying journeys) that he effortlessly, but bravely, completed in each of his 4 movies: Superman (1978), Superman II (1980), Superman Returns (2006), and Man of Steel (2013).

It was easy for Superman, with his ability to fly, but what would be the equivalent cost for us mere humans if we were to do the same journey without the luxury of superpowers? That’s a lot of math and air miles! Thankfully, The SuperMap calculates it all for you.

Lovers of Superman, superheroes/comics, and travel will be able to select a Superman movie to reveal an interactive flight path on the map. Followed by a backstory behind each flight individually, an itinerary of Superman’s travels is created with a ‘Real Life Equivalent’ for comparison on transportation modes and total costs.

Mimicking the travels in the first Superman film and taking into account all the stop-overs, including the visit to Lois Lane’s Metropolis apartment, the total cost comes to a whopping $359,399, or around £280,000! That’s one epic holiday! 

Movies. We love ‘em. Of that, there’s little doubt. While Hollywood and other movie-generating regions around the world are beginning to show signs of CGI fatigue and a lack of creativity, when they get back down to the meat-and-potatoes of great storytelling, it can captivate.

In fact, the best told stories capture audiences for generations, drawing new fans to these older movies time and time again. There have been some great (as well as flat-out duds) casino and gambling themed movies through the years, and we’ve put together a list of them here.

These are, in essence, the best casino movies of all time, in our highly experienced estimation. You may disagree or notice one that isn’t on the list, and if so, we’d love to hear your opinion. In the meantime, without further ado, let’s release our list of the top 10 casino and gambling movies of all time.

1. Casino

In 1995, Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci stole the scenes with their often improvised dialogue (director Martin Scorsese allowed them to know the scene, direction, and then take their dialogue where they wanted to go within character) and created a masterpiece.

A deep, inside look at the heydey of Las Vegas, regulations, cheating, and the attraction and lure of gaming for millions of fans. Casino remains one of the best casino movies of all time.

2. The Sting

Starring Robert Redford and Paul Newman, two icons in cinematography, this movie was about the con two men pulled on a mob boss. The story was inspired by the real story of Fred and Charley Gondorff. The characters use an off-track betting establishment to run the con and intense and replete with a ton of twists and turns, along with great acting, has made The Sting a classic among fans.

3. Ocean’s Eleven

A remake of the 1960s version, the 2001 version starring Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and a wealth of incredible actors hit the screens to wide acclaim. The story revolves around Daniel Ocean bitstarz casino who was recently released from prison on parole and wants to get his ex-wife back from the man who stole her heart. The problem: that man is a notorious casino owner who is known for brutalising anyone who tries to steal from him.

A riveting thriller, Ocean’s Eleven takes the viewer on a thrill ride throughout most of the two-hour run time.

4. Rounders

Matt Damon plays a college kid who is a reformed poker player trying to make an honest living. When his best friend is caught up owing big money to some tough sharks, he takes a loan out from a professor and puts everything on the line to win back his friend’s freedom, his own, and find his place in this world.

5. The Cincinnati Kid

It’s every poker player’s dream: to capture the world by storm and take on the biggest names in the business, winning all the way as they go. That’s what this great film is all about.

6. High Roller: The Stu Ungar Story

Stu Ungar is legendary within the gaming industry and High Roller tells the tale of this tragic soul who seemingly lost everything, won the Main Event at the World Series of Poker, and then died within a year after that. A tragic story, it focuses on the gaming world and the lure it offers many looking for some thrills.

7. 21

What do you get when you have MIT whiz kids who figure out how to effectively count cards and then, led by a malicious professor, take on Vegas? You get 21.

8. Maverick

Maverick stars Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, and James Garner and tells the story of a poker player looking to raise money for an upcoming tournament.

9. Owning Mahoney

What if you discovered you had control of a wealthy bank account and also the desire to hit the high stakes room at the casino? Well, you’d get Owning Mahoney.

10. A Big Hand for the Little Lady

Set in 1966, this movie offers an off-humor look at what happens when someone places wagers in a poker game he can’t really afford… and loses

It seems like there are slot games for just about every type of theme out there, including those based on pop culture. These are at an all time high nowadays as it seems that players cannot get enough of what they have to offer. In this article, we’re taking a look at some of our favourite games in this genre and whether this trend can continue.

Guns n Roses

If you love the stylings of this group then you will love the slot game based on their playlists. The slot game features a lot of their tracks and even a setlist that allows you to pick your favourites. Plus, it has a lot of bonus features too, which can help you win a lot of extra cash.

It’s a very simple slot game to start playing but there’s a lot of fun to be had when you spin it. You can also pick how much you want to bet on this game, all budgets are catered to with this fab slot. It’s also mobile optimised so you can play it wherever you may be!

 

The Godfather

This gangster movie was undoubtedly one of the most popular of the time, so it will come as no surprise that it has been immortalised in a slot game. This game features many aspects from the original movie, which will be sure to please any fan of the source material. There are even some additional features in there to help you splash your cash in style.

Why are these games so Popular?

It’s hard to put a finger on exactly where this trend began, as movie and music themed slots just seemed to explode onto the scene all at once. We have to put this in part down to the graphics which are now used in slot games, as they can more accurately portray the movie or theme.

Traditional slot games and modern interpretations are still popular on slots and bingo sites though. NetEnt and other developers are still making games like starburst slots that aren’t branded in any particular way. These slots are particularly popular on bingo sites because they are seen as soft gambling, rather than a real gambling experience.

The addition of bonus features and extras means that these games are also more immersive than they may first appear. Free spins and bonus rounds are always appreciated by players and in branded slot games they can even take the form of themed rounds. This means that the slot has more to offer players than just a theme.

Will this Continue?

It seems that after every major boom in gaming, there is a dip afterward. Often we hear about something being the ‘next big thing’ in gaming before it disappears out of sight. It does seem that these games have stuck around for a while and they may be apt to keep being created. Let’s face it, there’s no end to all of the different pop culture movies, games and music out there to use as source material.

Considering the popularity of these games, there is an ever-growing market for them. With the expansion of slot gaming as a whole, there are more players than ever having a few spins on these games. The only thing that we see as a competitor to these pop culture games are other innovations, though these can always be combined further into other games.

If you’d like to try out a game based on your favourite pop culture features then you can always check them out on gambling based site. You can even play many of them for free if you like!