The 10 greatest TV sitcoms of all time.

It's all in the writing...the 10 greatest sitcoms of all time might be mostly American, but it's for no other reason than the stark fact: they're funny. There's no other consideration here...if it's humorous, it's in the top 10. Simple.
10: Scrubs- This hospital set US sitcom is an inoffensive, light-hearted comedy that possesses its own unique brand of surreal humour. Following JD (Zach Braff) through his workaday life at Sacred Heart, the action is fast-paced, cutting between reality and JD's random fantasies. Scrubs is unique in its ability to surprise you with spikes of pathos among the laughs managing to be both touching and heartwarming. While Scrubs might not be for some people, they're missing out on a warm, funny sitcom. Just what the doctor ordered. Ha!
9: Friends- For some, it's cool not to like Friends. Maybe due to its enormous mainstream popularity, Friends doesn't seem to appeal to the sitcom cynic. What they fail to realise is that Friends was a sharp, often witty show, well-written and perfectly performed by a strong cast. Friends' biggest crime is giving birth to a torrent of sub-par xeroxes such as Will and Grace and such like, but when Friends is also guilty of being consistently funny, who cares? After all they'll always be there for you.
8: Frasier- The Cheers spin-off that actually managed to transcend its source material, Frasier is another brilliantly well written US sitcom that does the light farce schtick disturbingly well. Sure, its a bit far-fetched, even a bit daft at times, but it's also sophisticated and effortlessly charming and witty in equal measure. It's impossible not to relate to the proud radio shrink, his luck in life and love is as unpredictable and unfortunate as anyones...if you're a single male that is...ahem.
7: The Young Ones- Anarchic...there that's that word out of the way. It's the single word synonomous with The Young Ones because that what it was: the most groundbreaking and anarchic comedy to hit British television during the Thatcherite 80's. The Young Ones was a refreshing change from the dull, predictable sitcoms that plagued the BBC during the 70's (Fawlty Towers excepted) bringing unsubtle, cartoonishly violent, explosive and incredibly random and surreal comedy to audiences, it was like nothing before it. That's why The Young Ones is arguably the most important comedy to ever hit the British TV.
6: Curb Your Enthusiasm- The somewhat farcical misadventures of Seinfeld co-creator Larry David and his hapless manager, Jeff make for the funniest US comedy in years. Shot in a documentary, verite style Curb sucks the viewer into the twisted world of Larry David and invites you to meet all of his celebrity friends who play fantastic caricatures of themselves. There's 1001 reasons why Curb is as brilliantly funny as it is. Firstly, there's the neurotic, socially underdeveloped, tactless and self-loathing Larry David, a walking id who says exactly what he's thinking with little thought as to what the results of his hapless comments might be. Then there's the outlandish, ever-spiralling events which reach a head by the climax of each episode, building to such dangerous levels of farce, that it shouldn't work. That it does work incredibly well, is testament to Curb's brilliance. The fact that the show is primarily improvised and yet still works from minimal scripting just makes the feat even more impressive. A one-of-a-kind.
5: Seinfeld- The show about nothing that went on to become one of the biggest hits of all time, Seinfeld's success came from its awesome creative team, writers and actors alike. The ensemble cast was in place from the very beginning, offering characters in situations that can immediately be related to from the outset. Seinfeld taps into all of life's trivial idiosyncracies, amplifies them and draws comedy from things that we ourselves encounter in everyday life (sometimes). The show's success came as a result of its vivid, memorable characters that are just great fun to watch and the consistently fantastic writing throughout each and every episode. Most sitcoms simply don't come much more perfect than this.
4: Arrested Development- This was a really close call, and on the strength of the third and last season this shouldn't be this high up in the top ten. But then there's just an inexplicable something about Arrested Development that makes it very special. Nevertheless, here's an attempt at an explanation anyway. Following the riches to rags story of the Bluths, AD is host to a mix of the most eccentric and hilarious characters in TV sitcom history. Gob and Tobias are particular stand-outs in a flawless cast of crazies who are forced to adjust to a less frivolous life as the Bluth company faces imminent bankruptcy. Whether it's Tobias' attempts to act or join the Blue Man Group or Gob's overly flamboyant magic acts and stunts, there's always something hilarious and intriguing going on. AD has no boundaries and the plot takes some unexpected turns injecting a modicum of drama into the show. Arrested Development stands as an underrated work of genius that deserved to reach a wider audience and was cancelled by Fox as a result of the show's lack of mainstream popularity. Here's hoping they see sense and commision a fourth season.
3: The Office- This is Spinal Tap had done the mockumentary thing before The Office came along, yet the show is one of the best, most original sitcoms to come out of the UK. The brain-child of Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais who later followed up with the also ace Extras, The Office focuses upon Wernham Hogg paper merchants in Slough, depicting the daily grind of work in a mundane office environment. A cast of endearing, recognisable characters are what makes The Office work so well. We know these characters, anyone who's ever worked for a living does. That the show is so relentlessly funny is down to the absurdity of office boss David Brent and his unending quest to be popular. Brent will go to any lengths to garner approval as a cool "chilled out entertainer" that he invariablyends up making a fool of himself, giving rise to some truly cringeworthy moments. Yet, despite all of Brent's flaws and foibles, we still root for him and he emerges as a likeable, misunderstood buffoon. Then there's that dance...
2: Fawlty Towers- Without a doubt the absolute pinnacle of the British sitcom, no matter what anyone says, Fawlty Towers is timeless, flawlessly written and expertly performed. Anyone else who tells you otherwise is a pea-brained idiot. FT has it all, pitch perfect farce, slapstick, verbal comedy: it's all there, it couldn't be any better than it already is. Heavy on the hyperbole this may be but there's simply no other way to convey the unparallelled brilliance of John Cleese and Connie Booth's creation. In simple terms, no Britcom has come close to eclipsing it: FT is 12 episodes of pure perfection. That's not opinion, that's cold, hard fact.
1: The Simpsons- 18 seasons and counting, The Simpsons is still going strong after 16 years on televisions all over the world. A sublime synergy of writing, voice performances and quality animation has allowed The Simpsons to stay the most consistently funny sitcom for the longest period of time. Sure, recently not every episode's a winner, but even the weak shows beat the hell out of the majority of flaccid sitcoms on TV at the moment. Being an animated show means near infinite possibilities in terms of story, which has contributed to the longevity of the series. Also key to the show's unrivalled success is an expansive cast of brilliantly well-realised characters. Even the peripheral characters have there own place in the show and contribute to the richness of The Simpsons universe. Homer Simpson alone is unarguably the single greatest character in any sitcom ever.
Created by Matt Groening, creator of the underrated and almost as brilliant Futurama, The Simpsons was something truly unique from the very beginning. Starting as a short cartoon on The Tracy Ullman Show it developed beyond its boundaries and the potential was always apparent despite the relatively crude visuals. That it would become the all-conquering behemoth that it is today was maybe unexpected, but no other show is more deserving of it's uber-incredible status. THE GREATEST SITCOM OF ALL TIME.

Review: Tekken: Dark Resurrection (2006, Sony. PSP)

So, Tekken makes its long awaited debut on PSP but is it any good? Well, first things first: a few facts. Tekken: Dark Resurrection is a direct port of the arcade original, which is in itself an update of Tekken 5 but with a few added extras. Two new characters have been added to the already very extensive roster of eccentric brawlers. Lili: a rich kid fighting for her father and Sergei Dragunov, a soldier who fights like a cross between Baek and Bryan Fury. Armor King makes a comeback due to popular demand and controversially every character is now available from the outset, meaning that there's no longer any need to unlock them. This is a weird move since the main impetus for playing through the story mode was to gain extra scrappers. This doesn't really matter though as the story mode is identical to Tekken 5's, which you'll have no desire to go through again if you've already played through it once already. Instead, Tekken: DR boasts a raft of character customisation options as well as loads of new unlockable extras, including new modes such as the dojo, attack mode and the return of Tekken Bowl. The best new addition is the dojo mode which allows you to fight against AI ghosts of Tekken fighters from all over the world. This gives you the opportunity to work your way through the world ranks and gain a clear overall picture of how good a Tekken fighter you really are. Us? We'd rather not say.
The bottom line is that this is Tekken in all its excessive glory, in the palm of your hands for-crying-out-loud!! It plays flawlessly and button-bashers needn't worry as the PSP's face buttons are actually surprisingly robust and able to withstand a good hammering. Despite ever so slightly simplified textures and character models that close-up appear a tad more angular than usual the graphics remain sumptuous as ever. Wireless ad-hoc game sharing and AI ghost downloads join all the usual stuff that you'd expect from a Tekken title squeezed onto a little UMD disc: it's nothing short of miraculous. Our only qualm? It doesn't really innovate or move the series forward in any way, but when you're talking Tekken in handheld form, frankly, we couldn't care less when it's this good. An indispensable title that's an essential purchase for any self-respecting PSP owner.
Verdict: 9/10

PlayStation 3 price cut?

Apparently, Sony have decided to cut the price of the PlayStation 3 for it's US and Japanese release. Whether this will apply to the European launch remains to be seen, but a pre-release price slash would make an already tasty prospect even tastier. And with stiff competition from the Nintendo Wii which will retail at 180 quid, Sony would be wise to cut the projected price of 425 GBP if they want to compete with Ninty's forthcoming wonderbox.
On September 6th, Sony announced that the PS3 will be delayed until March 7th 2007 in Europe, so a price cut would go some way to healing our wounds of disappointment...right Sony? Right??!!!

Coming soon: heterogenous shed's 5 most anticipated games for 2006/2007.

Review: Daxter (Sony, PSP, 2006)

Taking place during the events between Jak and Daxter and Jak II: Renegade, Daxter aims to fill in the blanks of what happened while Jak was left languishing in prison. Anyone who's played any of the three Jak games will feel instantly at home double-jumping around lavish and colourful locations, only this time you take control of the titular ottsel. Daxter finds himself working for a bug zapping business in a Haven City overrun with the vicious sods. With only an electro-swatting thingy your task is to rid Haven of a bug epidemic threatening to take over.
Although this is pretty familiar platforming fare it's executed with such charm and aplomb that you can't help being sucked into Daxter's world. Collecting precursor orbs, gems and upgrades is the order of the day as with previous Jak installments and while this sounds like a tiresome, lazy retread, it's anything but. Playing as Daxter somehow manages to make you feel like you're playing a completely new game, the furry little bugger remains a likeable, genuinely funny character who we felt always deserved his own title.
Along with the usual vehicular tasks thrown into the mix you can now unlock brilliant tongue-in-cheek dream sequence mini-games that reward you with new abilities. Homages to certain fantasy and sci-fi movies is a stroke of genius, riffing on movies like The Matrix and Lord of the Rings is a welcome diversion from dispatching insects.
Daxter has a whole raft of cheats and extras to unlock by collecting precursor orbs, you'll be playing for ages before you complete the game 100%. Visually accomplished, Daxter is up there with the best on the PSP and ranks among the most essential titles currently available for Sony's handheld. A treat from start to finish, you really ought to buy this now.
Verdict: 9/10

Nintendo Wii UK release date and price confirmed!

A release date for Nintendo's highly anticipated but oddly named Wii (pronounced 'wee'...yeah, tee hee) has been confirmed for December 8th in the UK. That's a week after the Japanese launch and three weeks after the US release. Want more good news? It'll only set you back 179.99 GBP. Cheap for a console that could arguably be the most inventive and original thing to happen to gaming in years. Oh, and it comes bundled with a compendium of interactive sports games surprisingly titled Wii Sports (above). The package comprises of tennis, baseball, golf, bowling...games which pretty much involve some kind of arm swinging action . All in all the Wii launch is an exciting prospect that represents great value. We'll be adding a Wii to our Christmas list, which this year we're writing on a toilet roll. We urge you to do the same.

The 10 GREATEST games EVER made...EVER.

1: Resident Evil 4: (Capcom: GameCube/PS2: 2004) A triumphant reinvention of an increasingly indolent formula, Resi 4 was a shotgun blast to the arse of a series on the brink of going stale. Out with the familiar fixed camera angles, the inability to overcome simple obstacles like locked doors (you're a special-ops soldier for God's sake! Kick the damn door down!!!) and hunts for silly little keys. Out with zombies and in with Las Plagas infected freaks and muttering, fanatical tattooed monks, who are worryingly fleet of foot at times. Resi 4's biggest revolution was switching to an ingenious over-the-shoulder viewpoint, which made aiming more intuitive and rewarding. Most important of all the new view allowed you to get closer to the action giving the game a more immediate, intense and immersive feel. Enemies ferociously come right at you now! Thankfully you can shoot them in the legs and slow them down, or why not just pop their melon heads with a well-aimed shotgun shell? Satisfying. To summarize, Resi 4 incorporates every fanboy's wish list of what they ever wanted from a Resi game. Add to this near-infinite depth and replayability and you have a game that is perfect in every conceivable way. For this, Shinji Mikami-san, we salute you sir, for thou hast maddest the Greatest Game of All Time.

2: Streets of Rage II: (SEGA: Sega Mega Drive: 1992) The absolute zenith in 2D scrolling beat 'em ups. Why in the name of mighty Thor Sega haven't bothered to reinvent this game for today's consoles is incomprehensible. The concept is simple. Stroll along the crime riddled streets inflicting fistfuls of painful justice. That is mullering waves of generic punks and other eccentric villains with all manner of weaponry to Yuzo Koshiro's unique soundtrack. Despite a limited set of moves and levels that are the very definition of linear, Streets of Rage II manages to be forever fresh and enjoyable, especially with a friend. (As an excitable 10 year old my friend and I finished this seven times in a row). Today it has a lo-fi charm and along with Capcom's Final Fight, this was the high-water-mark for not only scrolling beat 'em ups, but for 16-bit gaming, full-stop. Play it alongside a modern scrolling beat 'em up and it might not look red hot, but it'll sure as hell play a billion times better. Sure, it's brief too, but its brevity only leaves you wanting more. Too bad Streets of Rage 3 didn't manage to live up to expectations. So Sega, if you're listening, BRING BACK STREETS OF RAGE!!! SOON!! IF NOT SOONER!!!

3: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas: (Rockstar: PS2/X-Box/PC: 2004) An obvious choice we hear you scream, but it's a choice that's made with good reason. No other game encapsulates the concept of sandbox gaming better than GTA:SA. The sheer scale and consistent quality of what is on offer is truly overwhelming, it's like (to use a well-worn cliche) being a kid in a candy shop. Planes, trains, automobiles...oh, and boats, helicopters, jets, bikes: they're all up for grabs. Sniff the screen while you play, can you smell the quality? You should be able to. GTA: SA's subject is handled with such panache that this is the closest a game can get to being an interactive movie. In terms of ambition, Rockstar's greatest opus remains unchallenged by the whole gamut of pretenders and rip-offs buzzing around it's genius like fetid flies. Such a rich gaming world just waiting to be fully explored, GTA:SA is a treasure trove, incorporating virtually every genre it can into its vast repertoire. As a result GTA's replayability factor is infinite and the ability to do pretty much anything just makes real life seem, well, dull.

4: ICO: (Sony: PS2: 2002) Everyone needs a break from killing people and punching faces. Enter ICO, the perfect antidote to wind down with. Beautiful and serene, ICO is the antithesis of all the self-styled 'urban' themed games currently choking the shelves of every game store. Fumito Ueda's classic is a true one-of-a-kind, its sequel Shadow of the Colossus the only game that comes close to eclipsing it. Epic in every sense of the word, ICO is an invigorating experience. Challenging you to go the extra mile every time to protect the ethereal, delicate Yorda from being dragged into the abyss, you'll be hooked, such is the emotional attachment that you develop with the characters. There's simply no other game like it, nothing is as touching or memorable.

5: Super Mario Kart: (Nintendo: SNES: 1992) Colourful and bright, Super Mario Kart is undiluted, addictive gameplay on a 16-bit cartridge. The lacklustre copycats since only illuminate how flawless a gem this game really was and still is. Not even Mario Kart: Double Dash managed to capture the unique brand of fun of the classic original and best. Get friends round too and Mario Kart develops into undoubtedly one of the best multiplayer games ever made. Mario Kart's secret lies in its accessibility. Anyone can play it and enjoy it, even if they do suck...a truly unifying game.

6: Street Fighter II: Turbo: (Capcom: Arcade: 1992) The definitive fighting game, SF II practically invented the one-on-one beat 'em up as we know it. Combos, special moves, eclectic and unusual fighters, Street Fighter II has it all. By the time Street Fighter II: Turbo came along the formula had been refined to its peak. Fighters had either new moves or welcome tweaks to familiar ones and the action was now faster (hence turbo, duh) and more fluid making for the ultimate in fighting. No true veteran gamer will have neglected to play SF II in some capacity. Every gamer has a place in there heart for it...for us it defined a golden era in arcade gaming. Back in the day, SF II was a global phenomenon. In a nutshell, no Street Fighter II: no Mortal Kombat, no Tekken, no Dead or Alive, no Virtua Fighter. It's that important.

7: Manhunt: (Rockstar: PS2/X-Box: 2003) For a full review, see below. One of the biggest controversy baiting games in recent years: Manhunt was condemned by Daily Mail readers (aka 'idiots') for its raw and brutal depiction of violence. What they didn't understand is that Manhunt is an incredible game: a dark, twisted urban nightmare with a vein of gallows humour running through it. It's the first game that actually appealed solely to an adult audience, the unflinching violence an integral part of the story. James Earl Cash has been set up and relentlessly manipulated, shoved around like a rat in a cruel maze by a sadistic, omni-present snuff movie director, so he's hardly going to be nice to the stalkers out to butcher him horribly. Manhunt's cleverest feature is the use of the PS2 headset. Brian Cox's performance as the malevolent director, Starkweather constantly hissing down your ear adds to the psychological assault on your senses. Manhunt is a true one-off that must be not just played but experienced...if you've got the spine and the stomach for it. You've been warned.

8: Metal Gear Solid: (Konami: PSone/GameCube (as Twin Snakes)/PC: 1999) Metal Gear Solid was without a doubt the best game ever to grace the original PlayStation and was responsible for inventing the action/stealth genre. Splinter Cell, Syphon Filter and countless other lazy copycats (I don't include SC and SF in that list) all take their cue from MGS. A flawless masterpiece, MGS put creator Hideo Kojima on the map as a renowned gaming auteur. Maligned for its loooong cut scenes, Metal Gear's stories are always twisty-turny, techno-political yarns that have us scratching our scalps red-raw. They always manage to have us hooked somehow despite only a rudimentary grasp of what's going on. It's because we want answers and MGS puts you through the wringer like Lost does on TV every week. Playing through MGS is one of the most memorable gaming experiences that you're ever likely to have, it's brimming with unforgettable, inventive and original moments. Moments of bizarre interaction with game boss Psycho Mantis, cryptic puzzles like a code printed on the actual game box. MGS is pure genius, absorbing, intriguing but most of all utterly enjoyable. It might be short, but you'll probably want to play it through four or five times because once just isn't enough.

9: Final Fantasy VII: (Square: PSone/PC: 1997) Gamers who were never into role-playing games were after playing this. An all-consuming epic, FF VII remains etched into our memory such was its power. When a central character dies halfway through, it was the first time a game had managed to give us a lump in our throat. Play it and Midgar will feel like a second home, you'll remember where everything is and you'll always have your favourite locations. FF VII plays less like an RPG, more like a series of great moments. All 70+ hours of the game are a joy to play, there simply isn't a single weak link amongst the action to mar the experience. You'll be constantly riveted, wanting to explore every nook and cranny of the vast world, breeding Chocobos and collecting magic enhancing materia along the way. Undoubtedly the greatest RPG of all time, FF VII is the only game you'll play for over 70 hours and wonder where the hell all that time went...after all, it does fly when you're having fun.

10: Sonic the Hedgehog 2: (Sega: Mega Drive: 1992) This one was a tough call, but then it was decided that the top 10 wouldn't be right without an appearance from the blue, spiky one. Sonic 2 saw the supersonic hedgehog at the top of his game, graphically it was a marked improvement over its predecessor. Bold, bright and sharper than a cyber razor cut (don't ask). And boy, is it fast. The chemical plant stage sometimes has trouble keeping up with the little blue streak such is the speed of the action. Sonic 2 was also far more streamlined, comprised of quick two act stages, the game progressed at such a pace that there's always something new thrown into the mix whether it be the casino night level or the labyrinthine mystic cave or the teeth bending frustration of the metropolis stage. Sonic 2 stays fresh and varied throughout the entirety of its twenty odd levels. Along with Super Mario World 2D platforming doesn't get much better than this. Classic.

Review: LocoRoco (2006, Sony. PSP)

Bold, colourful, original. LocoRoco is all of these and more, a quirky, simplistic and fiendishly addictive, not to mention moreish game to play. Playing as a malleable ball-shaped globule your task is to navigate through colourful landscapes avoiding marauding mojas whilst eating flowers to grow larger. The idea is to locate and devour all 20 flowers on each level to unlock bonus parts for your largely pointless locoroco house. Finding funny little blue men called mui-muis also award you with more parts for your 'roco house. Acquiring these parts doesn't really make much sense until you unlock the third of three mini-games; the level editor. Here you can build your own custom (albeit very basic) mazes to trade with mates. LocoRoco's striking 2D cartoon visuals disguise it's ability to ensnare you in it's primary coloured talons, refusing to let go. It'll relentlessly eat up your time sucking you into it's crazy world of singing, coloured balls. Ah, the singing. There are six different coloured locorocos, each with their own unique singing style and theme, all funny, all worth playing through the game to hear. Rolling your locoroco through each level only requires the use of the PSP's shoulder buttons to tilt the entire landscape, pressing both simultaneously enables your 'roco to jump and O splits your blob into it's separate parts (each with its own singing voice). Since your locoroco is made up of smaller blobs, depending on the number of flowers munched, it's imperative that you try to stay in one piece. Certain narrow gaps require the separation of the big 'roco into smaller blobs, making them vulnerable to attacks from swooping mojas who are out to eat as many of your component parts as possible. Losing a small, defenceless globule to an evil moja is a genuinely traumatic experience, especially if you've managed to successfully collect a substantial number of flowers. Especially tragic is grabbing all 20 flowers, growing to full size only to have a piece nibbled away right at the exit. Gaaaargh! Bet your ass that you'll be back later to retry the same level to try and gobble up that elusive perfect 20, because LocoRoco is that kind of game. Infinitely replayable as well as consisently fun and more enjoyable than a chocolate bath. Get this and Me and my Katamari for your PSP and fulfil all your ball-shaped puzzling needs.
Verdict: 9/10