Stu-5

The Tex Murphy series of interactive movies has become one of the most prestigious and respected in the business of computer games. Access are always keen to reach a new paradigm in gaming technology (they were the first to release a game on DVD), but the most important thing is that they deliver a solid, strong and entertaining game. Out of the three 'Tex' games made, The Pandora Directive is the best.

Tex Murphy (played by producer Chris Jones) is possibly one of the most legendary characters in the gaming world. He is a bourbon drinking, stereotypical private-dick, right down to the cigarette stubs and the five o'clock shadows. Slowly, he is drawn into a web of bizarre, corrupt characters, and the plot establishes itself to be quite complex and convoluted. After some game time, a mysterious 'Pandora' device emerges, and it becomes known that it has the answers to the Roswell mystery of 1954 (or is it 1952?).

The game is set in San Fransisco, 2043, and from what we gather in the introduction, there has been a schism between the humans and the 'mutants,' a character class that emerged after a nuclear bomb was dropped on the town. Tex lives with the mutants, though he isn't one himself, and tries extremely hard to court the elusive and beautiful Chelsea Bando, the mutant newspaper stand salesgirl. Access Software have done a good job of establishing a believable, likeable protagonist and landing him in a compelling, intriguing plot/sub-plot line.

But all in all, the Pandora Directive is a very entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable experience that can be played multiple times as it has seven different endings.

Nine out of ten.

Matt Damon stars as Mike McDermott, a highly-skilled poker player that knows all the in's and out's of the game, insisting that its 'not a game of luck, but rather skill.' He frequents the many seedy bars and cleans up on naive, first time players, but one night he loses 'three stacks of high society' (30 grand) to the notorious Teddy KGB (John Malkovich), and resolves that enough is enough- no more gambling. That is, until his slimy friend Worm (excuse the pun [Edward Norton]) gets out of prison and reintroduces him back into the world of gambling.

Slowly, the storyline develops and it is learnt that Worm is neck-deep in a fifteen-thousand dollar debt to Teddy KGB. Mike, between juggling law school and his girlfriend, vouches for Worm that the debt will be repayed. What follows are some intriguing, compelling and above all entertaining poker scenes. Its interesting to hear Mike use the poker player vernacular, saying things like "I've got the wheel," and "gimme three stacks of high society ($30000)."

Rounders is a very well acted, stylishly filmed movie. All the performances are very solid, notably Edward Norton as the infuriatingly arrogant Worm. Martin Landau, Gretchen Mol and John Turturro also make appearances, although John Turturro is criminally underused.

Above all, Rounders is quite a different motion picture. If you can look beyond pervasive language and see the film underneath, then you won't be disappointed.

Eight out of ten.

This Australian TV series is one of the best to come out of our fair country for quite some time. After a string of dud sketch comedy shows like Totally Full Frontal, Big Train, Mad TV and O'Loughlin on Saturday, this is a refreshing change. The comic genius behind it is Full Frontal alumnus Eric Bana, whose irreverent, rapier wit is contrasted beautifully with a fantastic television show. His is supported by an experienced cast of fine Australian comedians, notably sketch comedy veteran Michael Veitch, as well as The Castle's "Dale Kerrigan": Stephen Curry.

There is no plot as the show is comprised totally of sketches, although they are cleverly linked together by preceding skits. Some of the jokes are absolutely hilarious, though they are made from nothing at all. One of the best jokes simply comprised of an ethnic man who continuously suggests to his son that he see 'Chelsea Brown' and 'Englebert Humperdink,' and that he tries some of his mother's apple strudel. It may seem devoid of laughs in this review, but the accent and timing made it a piece of comedy gold. Therein lies the ingenuity of Eric Bana.

Initially, this show was one hour long and spanned a mere six weeks. But channel 7, showing a bit of initiative for the first time in Australian history, cut it down to 12 half-hour episodes. Good things come in little doses.

This was a welcome change from the deluge of American sitcoms we are constantly bombarded with. It seems every week we get a new one. Shows such as "Veronica's Closet", "Friends", "Suddenly Susan", "Caroline in the City" and "Full House" are so bad that I have to turn the television off. Its a shame that Eric had to finish so soon.