GAME REVIEW: LEGO Batman (E10+)

STORY:
Batman's villains have escaped from Arkham Asylum, and they're running around Gotham City to finish their plans and only one person can stop them. The Batman.

POSITIVE ELEMENTS:
Batman and Robin run around trying to save the day, and Batman never kills any of the major villains.

GAMEPLAY:
What you're going to be doing when you use Batman and crew, you'll punch, kick and throw your way though each level until the end. but when you play on the villain side you'll have to solve a few puzzles along the way, and occasionally there is a 'vehicle level' where all you do is drive and shoot.

SPIRITUAL ELEMENTS:
In the Joker episodes, the final showdown with him takes place at a cathedral.

SEXUAL CONTENT:
Poison Ivy shows up in an outfit that looks entirely made out of nothing but leaves, and Catwoman shows up and during every cutscene she's in makes anything she does 'interesting'. Catwoman kisses Batman for a long time after he finishes fighting her, but they're all LEGO minifigs so there's nothing too odd.

VIOLENT CONTENT:
Batman’s known to be quite a martial-artist, and he still carries a bit of that into the LEGO world, limited as it is. He and Robin attack with punches and a kick or two. They can also grab enemies and either hit them or throw them. Since this is all with LEGO figures, the enemies just literally go to pieces. Some bad guys bring guns into the fight, but the result is still the same as it is when combat is hand-to-hand. You have to punch the female enemies to get rid of them, which may upset a couple of players.

PROFANITY:
none

OTHER NEGATIVE ELEMENTS:
The Joker use a joy buzzer that zaps his enemy into skeletons until they break apart, Scarecrow uses something called 'fear gas' to make his enemies see their worst fears and when you use it they curl up into a ball. Then there are a couple of goons in some of the levels that try to get a girl to kiss them, that is until you get rid of them.

CONCLUSION:
If you can get past the fact that it's darker than any of the other LEGO games so far, and that though half of the game you don't have any weapons. You'll realize that Traveler's Tales fixed up what was wrong with LEGO Star Wars II, and made a very fun game. I give it a total of 4 out of 5 stars.

MOVIE REVIEW: Aliens vs Predator (14A)

WARNING: This movie has a ton of violence in it.

STORY:
A squad of scientists and archaeologists arrives in Antarctica to investigate a strange pyramid that was found underground unknown to them, inside the pyramid is a nest of Aliens that are waiting for other aliens called the Predators to come and start the war.

POSITIVE ELEMENTS:
The explorers are led by environmentalist and expert ice climber Alexa Woods. She’s brave and loyal. She’s also the voice of reason who thinks it foolish to run headlong into the potentially dangerous unknown out of pride and greed. One of her colleagues courageously saves her life, only to lose his in the process. (SPOILER) A Predator shows mercy to a man with a weak heart who is not deemed a threat.

SPIRITUAL ELEMENTS:
none

SEXUAL CONTENT:
none

VIOLENT CONTENT:
One man gets stabbed in the stomach by huge, retractable claws which emerge, bloodied, through his back. A man hides while watching a Predator walk right by him, next thing you know another Predator shows up behind him and stabs him off-screen (you see blood fly onto the snow). A Predator slices a 'face-hugger' into two, and also snaps a newborn alien's neck. The Aliens get brutal, too. Newly hatched face-huggers leap onto the faces of their victims and dispatch an Alien embryo into the person’s esophagus. Those critters grow until they eventually burst forth from their living hosts’ abdomens. A woman writhes in pain, torso bulging (the camera cuts away just as the Alien emerges). Alexa shoots one of her colleagues to spare him the agony of “giving birth.” A full-grown Alien penetrates the skull of a Predator, killing it. On several occasions they drive their sharp tails through the bodies of their enemies. In a flashback, swarms of Aliens and Predators fight each other until a nuclear-size blast annihilates everything.

PROFANITY:
Alexa uses the f-word once, and starts to say “mutha------” before the second half of the obscenity gets drowned out and also she uses the b-word. There are also about seven s-words and a few milder profanities.

OTHER NEGATIVE ELEMENTS:
none

CONCLUSION:
If you don't mind seeing a load of action and a bit of blood and if you can find the 'mute' button before the f-bomb comes on this is the movie for you, I give this movie 3 out of 5 stars.