LATEST ADDITIONS

It’s no exaggeration to say that Sony enjoyed a bumpy 2011. Quite apart from its well documented financial ills, the brand’s sprawling TV range was wildly inconsistent, with not even top-flight models escaping criticism.

Ironically for a game entitled Brave, this licensed tie-in to the latest Pixar film plays it incredibly safe. Sure, some people might argue that it doesn’t need to be particularly imaginative as it’s aimed at family audience. But the same thing could also be said for Disney’s enjoyable Toy Story 3 or Cars 2 games. And what about Traveller’s Tales’ Lego games, which are still phenomenally popular with players of all ages?

Like Richard III and Romeo + Juliet before it, Ralph Fiennes’ directorial debut gives one of Shakespeare’s plays a modern spin. A tale of warmongering and politics  infused with imagery dragged straight from contemporary war zones, it makes for an arresting piece of cinema – even if it isn’t the most approachable of the Bard’s works.

I don’t normally shout at the TV, and if I do it’s only to encourage proponents of major sporting events, such as Foxy Boxing. It’s rarely an outburst at the factual information programme BBC News at Ten. But on the launch day of the BBC’s most forward-thinking initiative since iPlayer, the online arts platform The Space, I found myself in tooth-spitting form.