STATE OF PLAY Games reviews with Steven Fox Need For Speed: Shift XBox 360, 59 (also available on PS3, PSP and PC, 35) Driving games dont do compromise very well: simulation racers sit firmly in one camp, arcade games in another. Sims tend to be pretty, authentic, technically superb, inaccessible and dull; arcade racing offers all the fun but without the realism. Amazingly, the latest Need For Speed title manages to combine painstaking authenticity with massive racing thrills better than its predecessors, making the driver its focus. This results in easily the most visceral racing experience in gaming. Using the in-cockpit view, every bump, shunt, corner and spin is translated as a high-speed thrill. Around 80 cars, 18 tracks and a variety of modes offer plenty of diversity. Upgrades, crash damage, driver aids and everything youd expect from a great racer are in there too. A nifty driver profile system in career mode rewards you specifically for your own style of racing. A real return to form for the Need For Speed series. The Beatles: Rock Band XBox 360, 59 (game only), 179.99 with instrument pack (also available on PS3 and Wii, 47 game only) Music games have become a phenomenon, spearheaded by Guitar Hero and Rock Band. The simple joy of strumming a plastic guitar controller or banging a digital drum along to your favourite tunes has captured the imagination. These games largely follow the same formula, which is why the musical content of the game is so vital. Given The Beatles have the most prized back catalogue in existence, it was always going to be impossible for The Beatles: Rock Band to be anything other than awesome. Taking in 45 tracks, you can grab one of the superbly made new themed instruments and rock out your Beatles fantasy until youre blue in the face. Add in vocal harmonies, some excellently recreated stadiums and venues from the Fab Fours past and you get a very respectful fan experience that doesnt compromise at all on gameplay. Monday, September 21, 2009 metrolife 13 Staying In DVD Reviews Oscar-winning director Kevin MacDonald (The Last King Of Scotland) delivers another award-worthy effort with this engrossing political thriller. Based on the 2003 Bafta award- winning BBC mini-series of the same name, its also a masterclass in how small to big-screen adaptations should be done. Russell Crowe admirably leads a first-rate ensemble as Cal McAffrey, an old-school investigative reporter for the Washington Globe, who is caught in a professional vs personal quandary when he links three recent murders to his old college buddy and ambitious congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck). The problem rapidly escalates when news gets out that one of the victims was Stephens research assistant-come-pregnant lover. With the local media pack DVD Of The Week State Of Play Universal, 15, 23 whipped into a frenzy by the scandal, Cals ruthless editor Cameron (played to ballsy perfection by Helen Mirren, pictured) orders him to team up with the papers fresh-faced political blogger (Rachel McAdams, charming) and scoop their rivals at all costs. What follows is a gripping race against the clock as the unlikely duo scramble to uncover the truth, which becomes increasingly elusive and complicated the more they dig. Remaining largely faithful to its TV source wisely, the changes only enhance and update the tale the film is deftly paced, ricocheting from one gripping twist to the next. And while its the politics and murders that propel the script along, its the compelling ethical and personal dilemma at its core that makes the film such a rewarding watch. Extras: making-of, deleted scenes. Damian Tully-Pointon To see or not to see: Cliff Richard Pro: Cliff Richard and The Shadows are back on the road 20 years after they last performed live together. Con: Did anyone miss them while they were pursuing easy-listening solo careers? To many, this 50th anniversary reunion tour just smacks of jumping on the lucrative nostalgia-tour bandwagon. Pro: Sir Cliff holds the record for being the only British artist to make the UK singles chart every decade between the 1950s and 2000s. In his heyday, he was a skittle band hotty gyrating to Bachelor Boy, Move It, Summer Holiday and Lucky Lips. Phwoar! Con: Note the word heyday. The man shouldve spared us his 1980s output onwards, gems of which include Daddys Home, Santas List and Janet Jackson duet Two To The Power Of One. Dont remember it? Nah, neither do we it was only released in the UK and South Africa, peaking at No.86 in the formers singles charts. As for his gyrations, alas, Cliff put his pelvis away when he found God in the early 1960s. Pro: Cut the man some slack. Mr Richard is well aware of his square-bear public persona, and was canny enough to send himself up on Living Doll in 1986 with irreverent comedy troupe The Young Ones. Con: It wasnt his idea The Young Ones approached him on behalf of Comic Relief. Pro: A devout Christian, Cliff has had nine Christmas singles ten if you include Band Aid II. Cmon, what Chrimbo would be complete without Mistletoe And Wine? Oh, the sleigh-bells! The choirboy! The children singing in Christian rhyme! Con: Put a yule log in it, Cliff. Release some non- seasonal material and maybe well revise our opinion that youre a self-serving opportunist. Pro: Cliff has asserted that he is the most radical rock star there has ever been for having snubbed the sex, drugs and rocknroll lifestyle expected of celebrity. And we agree theres nothing more hackneyed than yet another collapsed C-list nasal septum. Con: Rock star, you say? Show us evidence of spray-on-leather-pant-wearing-riffola in lyrics such as Congratulations and celebrations/ I want the world to know/Im as happy as can be, and well show you respect. Lucy White Tonight, The O2, East Link Bridge, North Wall Quay D1, 6.30pm, 81.25. Tel: 0818 719 300. www.cliffrichard.org Cheri 20th Century Fox, 12, 18 The powerhouse trio of director Stephen Frears, writer Christopher Hampton and actress Michelle Pfeiffer are reunited for the first time since cult classic Dangerous Liaisons in Cheri. The question is will they strike gold second time round with yet another French period drama of lust, cruelty and love? Well, the answer sadly is no. The tale of an ageing courtesan (Pfeiffer) who has her heart broken by a superficial young dandy (Rupert Friend) should offer many delights spiked as it is with barbed wit but translated to the big screen it displays about as much depth as its leading man Cheri, whos left with little to do other than pout and look pretty as he throws the occasional strop. Both are immensely watchable but theres no real sense of burning passion between the two, hence the films emotional vacuum. Still, its a lavish affair and while were swept up by its stunning good looks, this little cinematic fling never delivers the hefty emotional wallop it wants to. Extras: making-of, deleted scenes, photo gallery, trailer. Ann Lee Fast and Furious 12, Universal Studios, 23 New model, original parts is the tagline. Yet this unthrilling, fourth-in-the-franchise outing is about as original as scrawling clean me on a dusty white van. Plot sees our bald, be-vested hero Vin Diesel somehow squeeze his biceps back behind the steering wheel, as a fugitive ex-con on a mission. As ever, with the F&F franchise, story, dialogue, characterisation, all that narrative stuff, is mere background Tarmac to the road chases. No problems with that. The first, vastly differently titled, The Fast And The Furious movie (1999), ram-raided our fun circuits with its winning formula of pimp my ride racer action, hi-octane cheese and gleaming bodywork (and that totally includes the babes). Action here, by comparison, is both joyless and poorly choreographed. Still, if youre looking for no-brain action, evidence at the box office suggests this baby hits the spot. Extras: director commentary; Vin Diesel Driving School; location feature; gag reel. Larushka Ivan-Zadeh La Tte Contre Les Murs Eureka!, PG, 23 Georges Eyes Without A Face Franju started his full-length feature film career (at the age of 50) in impeccable style, with a cast including Paul Les Diaboliques Meurisse, Anouk Aime and Charles Aznavour. Head Against The Wall is more medical horror from the French master of menacing shadow but this time grounded in real-life miseries. When aimless troublemaker Franois Grane (Jean-Pierre Mocky) is sectioned by his vengeful father, hes caught in the middle of a tussle between two competing theories of psychiatric care: the idea that the mentally ill should be locked away forever to protect society (represented by Pierre Brasseur, the mad surgeon from Eyes...) versus the nurturing approach posited by Meurisses Dr Emery. Its accuracy means its still shown at psychiatric conferences but its also a poignant drama with some passionate performances from the cast. Extras: 48-page booklet, actor interviews from 2008. 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