SINGLE OF THE WEEK

King of Leon – Supersoaker Columbia

SADLY not an ode to the children’s toy water pistol from the 90’s. This is the Kings of Leon back to their stripped back early sound, with buzzsaw guitars and attitude aplenty.

APP OF THE WEEK Monster Meltdown £1.49 on iTunes YOU play this as Yuri, a hapless caretaker on a journey to recapture his escaped monsters. There are over 80 levels of brain-twisting fun that have all the app-plaudits giving this game a five-star rating. Start Space-warping and watch your day fade away...

GAME OF THE WEEK

Legacy of a Master Thief (PC, Nordic)

GIGGLING fan that I am of LucasArts’ classic Maniac Mansion and Monkey Island point-and-click adventures, this first-of-three-parts affair stuffed my anticipation sac (it’s adjacent to the disappointment gland) to the brim.

And while it doesn’t have the wit and edge of the above (hell, what does?), as far as nostalgic trips (cue wobbly lines) to software of old is concerned, this is a little peach.

However, one must first enter into the spirit, and it’s a spirit jammed with cheese and stilted, patronising dialogue. But once you’ve swallowed the movies-of-old style, expecting little in the way of polish, you’re away.

There’s a 60s-set mystery afoot concerning high-end burglaries and our pudgy Swiss detective must sort out the mess in his slow-talking, jolly approach, interacting with objects and people to get on top of matters.

It’s hardly a revolutionary wad of code but there’s a sweetness and kitsch appeal that’s very rare today.

Lyndon Hogg

DVD OF THE WEEK

Side Effects (15) Entertainment One

TOUTED as Oscar winner Steven Soderbergh’s final project in the director’s chair, Side Effects is a lean psychological thriller about our reliance on prescription medication to smooth every emotional wrinkle.

The film is built on the rock-solid foundations of Scott Z Burns’s script, which repeatedly pulls the rug from under us just as we begin to think we know what is going on.

Plot strands become deliciously tangled and there’s undeniable pleasure watching the characters try in vain to wriggle free from the complex web of lies.

Jude Law plays his role as a pawn in a deadly game with restraint, while Rooney Mara delivers another mesmerising performance after her Oscar nomination for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

Soderbergh’s cool direction oozes style, navigating the hairpin plot twists with aplomb, leaving characters’ fates hanging in the balance so we’re never entirely sure if anyone will emerge from the melee unscathed.