Review No. 143 Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth By Sleep - A Fragmentary Passage - PS4 (12+)

Strong Points:
Beautiful graphics
An interesting development on Aqua's character
Smooth and fluid gameplay
Good pacing
Brilliant soundtrack
Helps to explain odd plot holes from the previous games
And sets up Kingdom Hearts 3 nicely
Customisation surprisingly works
Good voice acting
The animation in cutscenes is top notch
You can straight away see Aqua's power

Weak Points:
Some gameplay elements such as the clock gears were little more than gimmicks
Yearned for more
Ice ramps aren't properly explained and a slight change in environment will affect them

Some spoilers ahead:

Review No. 142 Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep Final Mix - PS3 (12+)

Strong Points:
Great battle system
Intricate deck building...
A large adventure which demands to be seen as a whole rather than three stories
The Final Mix adds even more story and battles
A nice selection of worlds
Great voice acting from most...
Helps to fill in gaps from the wider KH narrative
Music is brilliant
Mirage Arena is a fun experience
Lots of little collectables...

Weak Points:
...which is slightly at ends with the original portable design of quick play sessions
...Although the three main characters could do with a bit more expression
The three stories mean the overarching narrative isn't filled in until the end, so remember to read up on what you've done before
Slightly barren worlds
Not enough Unversed bosses
...Which aren't really explained as to why they are there
Music sometimes loops too often - Cinderalla's World especially
D-Link takes too long to load

PS4 photo due to sharing option

Film Review No. 41 Ocean's Eight (12+)

Strong Points:
Entertaining and humorous throughout
Tongue-in-cheek...
Didn't rely on raunchy or over the top jokes as many films do when trying to show 'real female characters'
Clever heists
Multiple twists
Some nice references to the previous trilogy...
Low stakes make for an entertaining popcorn flick...

Weak Points:
...sometimes too much so
Slightly too long
James Corden's role wasn't needed
...But was it really needed?
...albeit a forgettable one
Some characters could have had larger, more fleshed out roles

Spoilers ahead:

Video Game Character of the Month - July 2018 - Merlin - Kingdom Hearts

Video Game Character of the Month

July 2018
Merlin
Kingdom Hearts

Overview:
Ah, Merlin. While you have had many incarnations over the years across a wide spectrum of mediums, it is Kingdom Hearts where you are remembered most fondly by this writer. His bumbling but calm demeanour brought moments of peace to an otherwise frantic game series. He also introduced the series to The Hundred Acre Wood and, as the series progressed, was shown to have a vast array of powers, including the ability to train people in the ways of the Keyblade. For this, and many other reasons, Merlin is being given the Video Game Character of the Month Award today.
And now for some information on Merlin: