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Dracula Untold – Movie Review

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draculauntold_3059911bIf history is anything to go by there are many different ways of telling the legend that is Dracula and even more when it comes to covering the subject of Vampires of which Dracula is seen as the King or at least the one who started it all.

King of the Dracula movies so far has been Ford Coppola’s 1992 version, but here akin to the recent films such as ‘I Frankenstein’ what we have here is a dramatic retelling of the origin story, complete with armies in the style of 300, stop motion capture in the style of The Matrix and battles in the style and glory of Game of Thrones and more bats than Batman Begins. If Francis Ford Coppola had access to CGI effects like these who knows what he would have created. Instead it is down to director Gary Shore to capably show us his vista of the hows and whys of Vlad ‘the Impaler’ Tepes earning his supernatural powers and becoming a creature of the night.

Set in Transylvania during the 15th century, Transylvanian prince Vlad is enjoying a long period of peace. He served the Turks well and his brutal style of combat has earned him the name of “The Impaler”.  When Sultan Mehmed (Dominic Cooper); heir to the Turks throne demands 1,000 boys including Vlad’s own son to participate in his army with the ultimatum of not doing so being war and mass slaughter of his people. Vlad chooses to make a stand and seeks out an old mythical mountain and a nightmare creature (Charles Dance) in order to save his family and kingdom.

Striking up a bargain, Vlad is allowed to experience what it’s like to be a vampire for a short period of three days, giving him the strength of 100 men, the speed of a falling star and enough power to destroy his enemies. However, the catch is that he will also have an insatiable thirst for blood. If Vlad succumbs to this thirst he will forever be damned as a vampire and the evil that was contained within the mountain will be released. The story cracks along at a fairly fast pace; a solid film debut for Gary Shore who has directed from a script written by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless. The dialogue is fantastic, very much the piece and the direction wise enough to have just enough scares without it crossing the boundary into actual horror territory. This film takes the honourable sympathetic approach to Dracula’s virtues – a man who is willing to risk all, including his humanity and sanity to save his son, his family, his kin and his kingdom.

Special effects alone cannot carry a movie and there are some great performances, Dominic Cooper and Charles Dance all carry their roles capably but it has to be said it is the charismatic presence of Welsh actor Luke Evans (Fast and Furious 6) which really anchors this film. It is incredible how he shines in this role, able to bring real emotions and real anguish to a character not yet previously seen. Thanks to him, you believe in Vlad’s cause, compromise with his predicament and feel empathy with his character when he seeks to exact revenge.

There is no doubt that Dracula Untold is a competent film, for many either they will either like it or hate it. There is just enough vampirism and love enough to soothe Twilight fans and more than enough action to suit the man cubs out there.

The slight let down is the ending which blatantly sets things up for a sequel. Hopefully if the film does well things could be very interesting indeed.

The Verdict

If you are into modern day imaginings, was a fan of the Twilight series and like Game of Thrones or Gladiator this film is your thing

8/10

The Giver – Movie Review

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appleIs it better to give than receive?

The Giver’ is the latest in the long line of film adaptations aimed at the angst driven young adult market; the very same genre that belonged to Twilight, Hunger Games, the latest iteration of Spiderman and most recently Diversion.

The movie Divergent is an interesting comparison to make because to be honest, even though Lois Lowry’s novel The Giver was released almost 15 years before Divergent in 1993 to what some would say was more critical acclaim once you have seen Divergent you just can’t watch this film without thinking this is just another version of the same film. To excuse the pun; this film just doesn’t diverge enough.

To be fair it boasts a decorated cast led by Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep and a capable director in Patriot Games’s Phillip Noyce;  these key ingredients come together to create an incredible cocktail with what they have. But Meryl Streep in her bad girl role comes across like Kate Winslet’s evil step sister but with a whole lot less ‘aggy’, Jeff Bridges on the other hand is as enigmatic as ever but unable to really breathe given the limitations of his role.

Like many of the aforementioned films The Giver is set years after a cataclysmic event that prompted society to adopt a scheme whereby emotions are stripped and families are assembled based on character traits. When a young person leaves childhood, they are handed pre-determined roles within society. Those that don’t ‘fit’ become outcasts or ‘forgotten’; people can’t lie, the society is fashioned on order and obedience and with power comes control. Now, I don’t know about you but I’ve seen enough film adaptations to know that it is just ripe for someone who thinks differently to challenge the corruption and change the upheld views.

This task falls to none other than Jonas (Brenton Thwaites); chosen to take over the role of receiver of memory from The Giver.  He will learn everything about the world before the ‘new world order and utopia’ in order that he has the wisdom to advise the Elders in times of crisis. How will he learn you ask? Is it by reading books, in these types of utopia aren’t books banned? Of course they’re banned, No he learns through ‘mind-melds’ with The Giver, because he needs to ‘experience’ the past. Oooooh I hear you say. That’s exciting. Yes, and it is through these experiences that Jonas learns his new role comes at a cost, you see there is no such thing as love in this life, and no such thing as joy. As such he begins to experience an emotional awakening. Noyce cleverly visualizes Jonas’s epiphany by bleeding colour into black and white images, this happens in such a gradual deliberate way that it almost makes you take a double take, for example he sees the vivid red of an apple, or his love interest’s bright eyes before later seeing the sky full-on blossom into Technicolor.It’s a really nice touch.

This is one of the film’s greatest strengths, by experiencing Jonas relieving the memories of our own history the audience themselves are taken on a journey of the highs and the lows of life. It is there that the connection comes within the film as when he returns each day back to the society the blandness is almost all consuming and it is there you recognise with his plight to change things.

There are some other good supporting roles too. Katie Holmes and Alexander Skarsgård have great turns as Jonas’s parents, whilst Taylor Swift appears in hologram form as a former protégé of The Giver. Unfortunately, none of them are on screen long enough to create much of an impact.

Whilst obviously on a tighter budget than Hunger Games and Divergent, The Giver does well with its production values and costume design. Indeed if Steve Jobs is in charge of architecture up in heaven most would agree it would look like this.

The only thing I thought let the Giver down was its ending; it just lacks that visceral punch of its contemporaries. However, some would argue that it isn’t necessary; this is a touching film about love and identity; about power and responsibility not a movie actioner. It’s a nice film but I can’t help but feel it’s a shame; if this film had come out five or even ten years earlier it would probably be one of those memorable films of a lifetime. However with Hunger Games and Divergent sequels on the horizon my only fear is that this title will soon be forgotten.

7 / 10

Samsung Gear VR

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Samsung VR

This is the Samsung Gear VR, a wireless virtual reality headset that marks the company’s first steps into the wearable future tech arena previously pioneered by Oculus Rift and Project Morpheus.

What makes this baby different? Well the headset houses the Galaxy Note 4 and uses that as the screen to create the 360 visuals. Samsung says with Gear VR people can ‘fully immerse themselves in a cinematic virtual reality environment’. Samsung says the Note 4’s quad HD screen provides ‘stunning and engaging visuals’. First testers likened the experience to sitting in the best seat of a theatre or being ‘on-stage at a performance with full 360 3D video’.

First impressions are that it looks state of the art and very cool, but what is it for? Playing virtual reality games and watching 360-degree videos of course. Questions also arise when you think of the technology, Oculus Rift and Project Morpheus have been years in the making and both products have individual screens; one for each eye. Project Morpheus uses the PlayStation Camera to maintain calibration. I don’t know about you but when using maps on my mobile phone it annoyingly repeatedly needs recalibrating so quite how it will work without this issue remains to be seen. However by turning the phone into a functioning VR kit one thing is clear and that is Samsung seems intent on making 360 experiences accessible as possible. It’s interesting too that given the Google Glass they have chosen to go in a completely different direction.

So how much does it cost? Well first views are that the headset may cost around the £250 – that is separate from the phone itself. However given the likelihood of different deals by various companies this may change.

Keep it tuned to Frost for more details.

 

Infamous: First Light Review

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Here’s a mind meld question for you. How can you give people the taste of a game without them paying the full price or giving them a game so small it’s a demo. By making it a DLC which is also a standalone game of course. That’s the case for First Light, in which you play as Abigail “Fetch” Walker, a character you met in ‘inFamous: Second Son’ on the PS4. Being an extension of a standalone title means that you don’t have to own the full game to enjoy this and what’s more, Sony Computer Entertainment have priced this right (around a tenner on PSN and soon to be £15 on physical retail mid-September) and packed in just enough of a game to prolong the interest of players of ‘Second Son’ as well as draw in new attention from those who perhaps weren’t too impressed by inFamous’ and were holding out for other titles that would really push their consoles.To be honest it’s a win-win for players. The PS4 lacks original titles and the summer break is traditionally a hiatus for games releases, therefore, games players are under-nourished right now and can expect to be until the likes of Destiny, Alien and other big titles hit the shelves towards the Christmas holiday season. Equally, Sony owes it to the players who forked out on their console and are also gambling that this will draw players to back to their title inFamous: Second Son. It’s a gamble that pays off.

Set two years prior to the events of Second Son, First Light follows Abigail “Fetch” Walker a homeless, ex-heroin addict and her brother Brent through a story of deceit, revenge and all out destruction. When we first meet them Brent wants to do one last robbery so they can afford a better new life. The pair has been sleeping rough; Fetch keeping her powers hidden so as not to attract attention from the authorities. From there it doesn’t take long for things to go pear-shaped in a big way and it takes no time at all before you are unleashing your neon abilities all over the shop, running at super speed, collecting power-ups and taking down enemies with bolts of electricity.

First Light may seem limiting to some because Fetch only has a single power, whereas in infamous: Second Son Delsin ended up with a handful. However, where using Delsin you didn’t always get a chance to appreciate and embrace his powers because the game forced you to switch between them, Fetch identifies by her neon abilities, so you have to learn the different skills and learn them well. This plays into both the story and the combat.

As is accustomed to ‘sandbox’ games there are a small handful of optional activities. Fetch can blast graffiti onto marked walls, though she does so in glowing neon lines. There are races against glowing balls of light called Lumens. There are also drive-by shootings and civilian hostage situations to manage. All which help you to earn Skill Points, which are then traded to evolve Fetch’s neon powers further.

The writing and voice acting are, for the most part well executed. Abigail is a highly likable heroine so whilst you don’t have those critical moral choices as in Infamous: Second Son and there are no light and dark abilities to gain you still want to gain more powers and see her story through. There are also some harrowing elements of the storyline such as monitoring CCTV in order to take down a sex trafficking ring (you see the women followed and then kidnapped) and moments where Abigail talks about her addiction (Abigail is at best in her teens).

It’s hard to make any real criticisms of this game because this is, after all, just DLC presented as a standalone game. In comparison to Second Son it’s inherited all of its strengths for example the beautiful city, the amazing lighting, the fun combat, the feeling of being a superhero. However these are contrasted against it weaknesses, the fact that it is never really populated and you never feel a part of this world.

That said, the price tag and the content make this a worthy purchase; it easily ranks above most other standalone games on PSN within its price range and there is enough there in terms of online leader-boards and side missions to keep coming back if even for a short while.

8 / 10

Infamous: First Light is out now on PSN and available on Retail Edition from mid-september

Taking on the RoboReflex Challenge

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On a cold day in May, at a hidden location in East London, I, Junior Smart, stepped up to the Roboflex challenge. A formidable task which involved entering into an arena armed with both machine gun and pistol and taking down ten targets as fast as possible and beating the time set by the latest iteration of the Robocop franchise.

In case you failed to see it whilst it was in the cinema, Robocop is a re-telling of Paul Verhoeven’s 1987 classic in which father and skilled cop Alex Murphy (played here by Joel Kinnaman of Easy Money, TV’s The Killing) is critically injured in the line of duty and transformed by mega-company OmniCorp – headed by CEO Raymond Sellars (a role carried well by Michael Keaton – star of Batman and Need For Speed) into a part-man, part-robot police officer designed to rid Detroit of crime.

Fortunately for me I didn’t need to be critically injured in the line of duty to experience the delights of the warehouse challenge; a challenge where the newly ‘renovated’ Murphy has to ‘prove his worth’ to OmniCorp in a heart-racing shoot out against the clock. Nonetheless, even though I knew this event was for fun I have to admit my heart was pounding; it wasn’t just me who was taking part in the challenge, around me stood other reporters from different magazines and although we were all professionals and smiled nicely at each other, deep down we all knew that no one wanted to come last and go home to our editors with our tails between our legs. The stage was therefore set.

Robo_Reflexes_Experience_Day_008My first job was to be suited in the correct gear; an ominous police onesie followed by body armour and that was before the gun holster and machine gun were handed to me. Then followed a briefing on the safe and correct use of firearms delivered by Stirling Airsoft these guys knew how to put someone like me through their paces, I quickly learnt how to draw, how to move whilst firing a weapon and most challengingly, how to change weapons in the heat of a battle. I soon realised it is nothing like the movies; there is so much to think about and there is no way you can use the Americanised posturing you see in video games and movies as the recoil from the weapon at best destroys your aim and at worst can cause injury. Worse still, the body armour slows down your flexibility, the helmet destroys your field of vision. I have to be honest I had real sympathy for anyone who carries a weapon either to serve our country or protect our liberty.

Robo_Reflexes_Experience_Day_019Nonetheless the briefing had me sufficiently amped and ready. The target was set – three times through the course, first time machine gun, second time pistol and third time changing to weapon on instruction. I was off; the subdued lighting and smoke making it hard to see (well, that’s what I’m sticking to anyway). I managed to take down all targets in a respectable 33 seconds. The second time with the pistol I fared better; the smaller hand held weapon feeling more immediate and certain along with my familiarity with the landscape. I punched the air with my fist when he told me it was 15 seconds. The third time however was embarrassing. I had seen Robocop in the movie and witnessed the way he had changed weapons and he makes it look easy, however there is a good argument for why robots are needed in the film and one of them is because they make far less errors. I entered the arena, click, click my machine gun is on ‘safety’. O.k I think, I can make the time up, then after I take down a couple of targets the instructor from Stirling Airsoft shouts “change” meaning to change my weapon, then I not only struggle with getting the pistol out but to my horror realise it is on safety too. My time – 32 seconds only a second slower than when I had one gun. I would have buried my face in my hands – that is, if I wasn’t wearing a helmet.

When I got home I consoled myself by making sure I had pre-ordered a copy of ROBOCOP, which arrives on Blu-ray and DVD on 9th June 2014. I strongly recommend that you do the same or make sure you pick up a copy on the day of release; it is a fine retelling of a classic film and one which tries to builds upon the original’s legacy instead of merely repeating it and features some star turns by Gary Oldman and Samuel L. Jackson. What’s more, the DVD has deleted scenes and a making of featurette. Check it out.

Robocop is available on digital platforms from 2 June 2014, and on DVD and Blu-ray from 9 June 2014, courtesy of Studio Canal.

 

Don’t Touch My Locs Clothing Line

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dtml luke trpLast week I reported on my visit to Camden and why it has deserved its reputation as ‘quaint fashion capital of London’. Even better, I wrote about Fashion Meets Music (FMM) a social enterprise determined to make the fashion business more accessible for new designers. Hopefully you took my advice and headed over there and got yourself a bargain.

This week I am writing about DTML, a unique brand with a distinct and special statement, and I get talking to the one very exceptional lady behind it to find out why her brand is not only distinctly urban but carries an underlying message which people can relate to.

Ms Kinky Locs is founder and creator of ‘Don’t Touch My Locs’ a brand that has been over a year in the making. The big question I had to ask of her was knowing what challenges exist in the fashion industry what made her decide to start up her own unique brand and go at it alone? Looking at her she pauses for almost a serene moment before pointing to her hair where lustrous natural locks flow without a hint of extensions. “I got fed up of strangers so intrigued by my locs touching them without permission, I felt they were coming into my ‘private space’ as I wouldn’t go up to a stranger and say ‘Oh, I love your bottom and touch it!’” We both laugh; she has a point.

dont touch myLooking at the logo, you can see that the ‘O’ in Locs is changed; to some people it almost looks like the letter ‘E’ to the point where you could be forgiven for thinking the logo reads ‘Don’t Touch My Legs’. It is only when you look closely you realise that it is in fact the ‘Gye Nyame’ character which is from the Akan symbol, meaning for ‘except God’ this is entwined with African heritage / UK roots. “I wanted something that represents me and feel the logo is a strong statement. I hope it’s something that everyone can connect with in one way or another…to some the ‘Gye Nyame is a pretty or clever image used in place of the letter ‘O’ to some it is a deeper meaning that they should not feel awkward in telling others ‘Don’t touch My Locs!’”

“I have not seen anybody utilising the Akan symbol(s) in the same way i.e. on the high street incorporated into Urban wear.” She explains. I have met people with Locs that said they wish they had a t-shirt that said what they really wanted about warding people away from touching their locs! I love the fact that this is an abundantly clear statement. A young boy came into the pop-up store in Camden & was of Ghanaian heritage, he saw one of the snapbacks (baseball caps) and wanted one. His Father went on to tell me his Son was keen to have the cap because he’d never seen a baseball cap with something he could relate to that wasn’t ‘Americanised’ for example with New York labelled on it! This young boy pointed out the brand is unique!

dtml boy thangSo who is the brand ultimately targeted at? “It’s for every body and anybody that simply likes it! Fashion is what the individual perceives or makes it for their own pleasure. The brand is very much unique and I hope it gives people that ‘extra’ pep in their step, clothing that provides that ‘feel good’ factor. My aim is to provide you the customer with quality clothing and I purposefully want to make it accessible to all.

So what does the clothing range consist of? Well looking at the stock I saw a range of Heavy duty quality Cotton T-shirts for Men, Women, Unisex Varsity Jackets, Baseball caps, long sleeved tops and Strong Canvas bags. However, pointed out the aim is not limit the range to Urban wear only…

What is next for you I ask her, I was told that this brand exists solely online and is in effect ‘made to order’. Kinky Locs explains “I aim to hit Natural Hair exhibition at The Westminster College on the 6th April 10am till 5 pm.”

So there you have it, if you are tantalised by the style, if you want to wear clothing that is not only fashionable but carries a message – drop Kinky Locs a line at:

dtml96@yahoo.co.uk

For more info on the clothing email:
dtml96@yahoo.co.uk

Photography by Active 8 Images
www.active8images.com

and Julie Vaccalluzzo

Models:

Anastasia May

Luke Yohn

INFECTA – Alika

Max Bennett

 

Want  to see more – check out the showreel below

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Computer Game Experiment – Sound without Sound

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Make no bones about it computer companies of today invest serious amounts of money on ensuring the sound quality is as fantastic as it possibly can be. It may seem hard to imagine now but back in 1990 when the Sega Megadrive was released it had just 6 channels of stereo sound. imagine that by comparison the Dolby 5.1 surround sound of today has almost ten times as much.

I was invited to take part in an ‘experiment’ by Amplifon which involved me playing a game that I had never played before to see what kind of difference it would make to the gaming experience if there was no sound. Before I begin it is worth pointing out that although this was a fun experiment to be part of, there are some very real issues underlying this; I don’t think many people stop to consider just how many young people are hard of hearing of which National Statistics suggest stands at around 25,000 for children aged 0-15 years. I feel fewer of us stop to appreciate just what an impact this can have on just day to day living let alone playing computer games and what a different experience that must be.

tombraiderThe game I chose was Tomb Raider Definitive Edition for the Playstation 4. Why? Well for a number of reasons. Firstly to be honest I haven’t played that game since the age of the PS1 days and I haven’t reviewed it previously so it means there is no comparison to base it against, so that is reasonably fair. Secondly I was fortunate enough to get my hands on the next generation hardware before Christmas and like many gamers I have been frustrated by the lack of games for the machine thus far, so this way I get to experience new hardware and a new game from a fresh perspective.

Tools of the Trade and Rules of the Game

The game Tomb Raider Definitive Edition on the PS4 obviously – the conditions were set that it must be played ‘as is’ that is, no setting adjustments could be made other than difficulty level and brightness. I had to play this game ‘raw’. For a full comparison I made the decision to play the game for a full 4 hours without sound and then again with sound and document my experience and progress.

The other tool was a pair of JVC Noise Cancelling Headphones – these babies are stated to have up to 75% noise cancellation and no, they were not plugged into the controller – that would be cheating.

So with the tools and the rules set in motion I put the headphones on and fired up the console.

Experiences

The first thing that stood out for me, even just upon firing up the console is that of awareness.  Even on the basic screen for the PS4 it dawned on me just how dependent we are on sound for even basic things such as cursor movement and game selection. It occurred to me very quickly that I had to be very alert and could not take my eyes of the screen even for a few moments; as the game proceeded to do its update and then restart I had become distracted and when I turned my eyes to the screen and it was blank and I could honestly not say what was going on.

Ease of Gameplay

3.-Tomb-Raider-2013In the game this was even more so. It is perhaps a tragedy that Tomb Raider does not have the subtitles set to ‘on’ as default. Watching the intro I could see the young Lara Croft on a boat, about to drown and then running to what seemed to be her father and falling from his grasp. But I could hear absolutely nothing, without subtitles you can be at a loss. Praise has to be given to the developers I was surprised at the level of detail put into the game; Lara looks better than she ever has, but despite this when the characters are speaking I doubt that the mouth movements are lip-synced. Now I am no lip reader but I certainly could not tell one word from another. I could tell expressions – sadness, anger, fear but little else. By hour two of gameplay I realised just how dependent on all my other senses I had to be and whilst this was great as an experience I felt a great empathy for those that have to deal with far more complex tasks than finding arrows, shooting wolves and solving puzzles.

O.k so without speech and without language can there be a plot? Well yes and no, thankfully a few things show up on the screen as you are playing explaining what you should do and what you can look for. Another great thing of the modern day console is the use of vibration, although similarly to speech it is far from accurate you at least can tell and have some immersion with what is taking place on the screen. Firing weapons, turning cogs all would have had far more dissidence had there not been vibration as some kind of feedback on the senses. However it was really hard to tell what was happening and this was especially true when Lara looks back on her video camera, I could get a gist but certainly couldn’t work out who was who. I ended up bumbling through, trial and error becoming my best friend and I realised by hour three that I had missed a couple of caves because it flashed up on screen: ‘When you hear this sound a cave of treasure is nearby’ I was thinking all good and well you telling me but if I can’t hear it what difference does it make.

Unconsidered factors

There are parts of the game too where it takes voice recognition and I am sure whilst this is a novel idea, I had no idea how loud or quiet my voice was, the first few times this didn’t work so in the end I had to shout everything. I am sure my next door neighbours thought I was losing my mind shouting out words like “Map” “Gun” “Stealth” at opportune moments like I had Tourettes. I am just glad they didn’t call the police because with the headphones on I wouldn’t have heard the door.

Comparison with sound

Playing the game a second time with sound was a different experience altogether. The first thing that surprised me was just how much voiceover there is; Lara reflects on practically everything and every situation she finds herself in and there is a great deal of interaction between her on screen and you as the player trying to figure out the puzzles. Obviously the graphics are just as good but you can tell what is going on because you can hear what people are saying and the style of mood in the soundtrack changes to reflect whether it is a stealth situation or if you have been spotted.

Also worthy of note is the sound immersion. The PS4 has a speaker on the controller and this game fully utilises it. This ps4 speakermeans gun shots ring out from the controller, audio diaries are read to you and you can hear those jungle drums when you are near a hidden cave. The experience is completely different and this means the engagement is different. By the end of hour four I was much further ahead than in my previous attempts without sound.

In conclusion computer companies spend serious amounts of money on ensuring the sound quality is as fantastic as it possibly can be, they do this for good reason, the engagement from the player is tantamount to the game’s success. Do they consider those with less ability in areas such as hearing? I doubt it; the numbers just wouldn’t tally up in terms of investment, but what I think can and should be done is greater player options, it really would not hurt in making gaming more inclusive than exclusive. Lets be honest this experiment is far from scientific but one thing it certainly achieved is in raising my awareness of those less fortunate. It also made me realise just how many things we take for granted.

Xbox 720 finally unveiled as Xbox One

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It really was an incredible moment even for a PS fanboy such as myself to witness the online launch of the eagerly-awaited Xbox One just a mere hour ago.

“It’s time for technology to step behind the curtain,” said Don Mattrick, President of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft as he stepped aside to announce Xbox One – “All your entertainment – in one!”

This is the power of Microsoft’s well-oiled publicity machine. Unlike the PS4 launch earlier this year, Xbox One’s architecture was there for all to behold – a glossy, fantastic looking machine with a new pad. And again, unlike the PS4 launch, this one ran to time and wasn’t overplayed. This time, the launch of the Xbox One was clearly designed to set the stage and tell the tale of the next generation of console warfare.

To be completely honest, the stats kept coming – the console boasts an eight-core CPU, next generation USB 3.0, WiFi direct, a Blu-ray drive for the first time, 500GB HDD, HDMI input and output, and 802.11n wireless. If you didn’t get all that, It’s good – trust me.

Xbox Live is also getting a major update, with 300,000 servers backing up the service. “Your content is available and it’s stored in the cloud,” Microsoft’s Marc Whitten said. “That includes a DVR-like service for capturing game developers, and offloading processing”.

In terms of features, full voice-activated control was shown through the Kinect which is now embedded as part of the system. And, we’re told, not only would voice activation control games, but the TV and Skype functions tool. There was instant switching from the Xbox One dashboard to live television and back again with admittedly impressive speeds. They also demonstrated gesture controls for the console’s UI, quickly snapping back to the dashboard with a pinch command.

However, it was the games that were perhaps the most shocking. It seems as if Microsoft has lined up a number of developers tol produce exclusive content for the Xbox One. First up, EA Games with the usual Madden and UFC titles powered by EA Sports Ignite – a brand new engine build for the next generation hardware. Then they drop the bombshell – Fifa 13 will be exclusively for Xbox One.

While the room recovered, the usual demos followed along with talk of a Halo television series on Xbox TV, directed by none other than Spielberg. However, the biggest bang was the trailer for new Call of Duty: Ghosts. The graphics were better than imagined, with the new engine producing more detail, dynamic shadows and so much more. We are promised dynamic multiplayer maps, earthquakes and trapdoors will change the environment and even little things like better smoke and AI for fish as you swim past them. But, the big issue again is that this too is an Xbox One exclusive title. I can’t imagine many PS owners being happy about that.

Of course, the big place to check out all the new releases will be at the E3 which happens 11th-13th June this year. This will be the time when all the new technology will go head to head. It is going to be an incredible ride, so stay tuned to Frost Magazine to stay ahead of the game!