Review: Home entertainment

CD
Guns 'N' Roses: Chinese Democracy
4/5

Normally, the release of a new album by The Killers would be worthy of a mention in this section.

But Vegas retro-boy Brandon Flowers can quite frankly bog off until next week, because bug-nuts Axl Rose is back in town.

People thought the talented but ludicrously crazy singer of Guns n Roses stopped making records after the coverfest of The Spaghetti Incident? in 1993. Of course, he always said he was doing this thing called
Chinese Democracy, but that's just something people say so they don't have to admit they're just hanging round the house watching Quincy with a bottle of Wild Turkey, right?

Apparently not. He blew £10million and lost the rest of his band, but Axl's finally delivered. And while it lacks the irreplaceable imprint of axe virtuoso Slash, it's not as bad as everyone expected it to be.

The songs change character in mid-flow with little notice, as the weight of more than 14 years of tinkering bear down. But there's a snarl dripping with venom on Axl's lips, and while it's not going to knock you dead, it'll probably get you shaking.
John Hill

DVD
Wall-E (U)
4/5

Some people don’t watch comic book movies and animation because they’re just for kids.

These people are idiots, and in the last few years they've been seriously missing out.

In the last few years alone, we’ve been treated to the brilliance of Sin City, the wonders of Toy Story and the greatness of Monsters Inc, and you’d have to be made of stone not to love Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas.

You can quite happily add Wall-E to that list as well, as it’s a beautifully rendered love story and comedy which restores the form of Pixar after the comparative disappointment of Ratatouille and Cars.

The story focuses on a robot left to clean up after humans flee the trash-soaked planet for a new life in space. He bumps into a next-gen droid and begins an eye-opening adventure in the stars.

While the eco-messages – and the curious car adverts that followed – fall a little flat, it doesn’t really affect the film in any way.

Wall-E is a hugely likeable character, and the ending is affecting enough to bring a tear to the eye of even the most rabid cartoon-hater.
John Hill

GAME
Dead Space (PS3/XBOX360/PC)
4/5

Dead Space shouldn’t be this great.

It pinches ideas from sci-fi films and other games – notably, Event Horizon and Resident Evil 4. And yet, it’s one of the most atmospheric and downright frightening titles this year.

Stranded on a deep space mining sheep overrun by parasitic alien lifeforms, you need to discover the secrets of the ship and survive the infestation.

Easier said than done – warning lights flash in the claustrophobic corridors and shadows scuttle past, then suddenly pounce to reveal hideous four-pincered freaks. You’ll scramble for your gun or saw to frantically remove their limbs, before finishing ’em off with a satisfying, stamping squelch.

Zero gravity environments, myriad puzzles, gruesome bosses and the chilling recordings left behind by the dead crew make Dead Space an unnerving experience. And you’ll never get lost, with a neon light leading the way.

Dead Space is as adult as games get, and horror fans would be mad to miss it. It’s dead good.
Mark Scott, GAME