A simultaneous good thing and bad thing happened this week on This Morning's show with Philip Schofield and Fern Britton.
If you don't know what I'm talking about visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxKMPTR0MVA.
The pop star turned human tabloid car crash that is Kerry Katona out did all previous stage performances and became a sensation in six minutes - for all the wrong reasons.
Gurning her face off, the 28-year-old former Atomic Kitten star embarassed herself by mumbling and slurring throughout the interview.
She was on the show to promote Whole Again, her new reality show on MTV. Oh, did I mention the fact that she had her breast operation filmed live for the show?
One needs to question how much of a "performance" she was asked to give to promote it. (Am I being too shallow?!)
Okay for starters, the good thing about the foray was the fact that her appearance convinces those that don't know her how shallow and worthless these so called 'celebrities' are.
The bad thing is her appearance will no doubt fill the pages of certain Sunday newspapers for the next few weeks thus fuelling the desire of the nation to read about her in the future.
Sadly the rise of the internet has led to the rise of the 'e' listed celebrity.
In years gone by the likes of Kerry Katona would have been famous for their popstar careers while they had them. As they disappeared into the wilderness like Colour Me Bad, one would think they would never be heard from again.
Sadly former popstars feel the need to crash and burn, and people like PR guru (and Katona's manager) Max Clifford are there to pick up the pieces and drag it along the news columns - and so it starts over.
Web journalists (whether trained by the NCTJ or by a coupon in a cornflakes packet) then take up the story and drag it out.
And that's where youtube comes into play. Hundreds of people upload the video and it's viewed by countless number of people - as it has.
And sadly the likes of Kerry Katona become supposed celebrities again.
Personally I'm not sure which was more painful... a). watching the actual interview and witnessing Katona's obvious illness; or b). knowing she will cash in and do daytime tv and newspaper interviews for the next two years about it.
Rant over.
Here's the best of the recent games releases:
Title: Pro Evolution Soccer 2009
Platform: PS3
Genre: Football
Price: £49.99
Hit count: 4/5
Round two in the clash of the football titles! After FIFA 09 dazzled just a few weeks ago, it's the turn of the Pro Evolution series to strut its stuff.
Just as EA's football monster improved in a host of ways, so this `09 incarnation has undergone a radical graphical overhaul to become a real visual treat for players.
In full flow, you could be mistaken for thinking you were watching the real thing.The 'Be A Legend' mode effectively combats FIFA's 'Be A Pro' offering, and Master League has been tweaked to offer an improved hardcore mode for PES regulars.
The final score in this clash of the titans? A draw. Until next year's replay then...
Title: Saints Row 2
Platform: PS3
Genre: Action
Price: £49.99
Hit count: 4/5
After the incredible impact that GTA IV had on next-generation consolesearlier this year, Saints Row 2 is in the unenviable position of being in the exact same genre - it's a tough act to follow.
However, while this never reallyreaches the dizzy heights of GTA, Saints Row 2 is much-improved from its firstouting, with a totally transformed and expanded city of Stilwater, all-new vehicles, sandbox tools and toys as well as both online co-op and competitivemultiplayer.
And it is great fun - always a good thing in these games, which canoften take themselves too seriously.
Yes, the story is darker and more sinister,but it's the action, customisation options and overall player freedom that makeyou want to give this a go just months after tackling Liberty City.
Title: Dancing Stage Universe 2
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Dancing
Price: £29.99
Hit count: 4/5
Have you ever seen Youtube footage of overweight teenagers somehow movingtheir feet faster than the speed of light on an arcade dance machine, with theironly care in the world seeming to be simply stepping on the arrows in time withthe music and on-screen prompts?
You should, and playing Dancing Stage Universe2 could elevate you to similar status.
It's rhythm gaming in its classicoriginal form and is such simple, fantastic fun.
All you need to worry about ismatching arrows in time to the music on a mat, and the game will give you a tripthrough the dance decades with tunes as diverse as Franz Ferdinand's Take Me Outand Kool & The Gang's Jungle Boogie.
Give grandad a go on it at Christmas.
Title: NBA Live 09
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Basketball
Price: £49.99
Hit count: 4/5
One of the biggest basketball franchises in gaming has experienced somethingof a stuttering start on the court, as early efforts proved.
However, Live 09 has taken a giant stride and leap in the right direction towards slam-dunkingthe series into the Hall of Fame.
The slick gameplay is matched by excellentmotion-captured character models and facial mapping, while Dynamic DNA and Live 365 technology ensure that your own on-court battles draw realism from real-lifeteam and player performances.
This gives the challenge on offer an all-newdimension for people looking for true depth, yet the game also offers enoughpick-up-and-play fun to keep casual ballers amused.
Title: Pipe Mania
Platform: PSP
Genre: Puzzle
Hit count: 3/5
Price: £19.99
Puzzle fans, get ready for some more fast and frenetic pipework.
Pipe Maniabuilds on the infectious playability of the original with expanded game modes,new themes, new play mechanics and new pieces to challenge gamers of all typesand ages.
You've got to slap the pipes down onto the game board before theflooze starts flowing, creating a watertight pathway from start to finish - and, if your leak-o-meter tops out, it's curtains.
This game has come a long way fromthe 1980s original on the Amiga, yet calling upon classic gaming skills - quickthinking, hand-eye co-ordination and keen spatial awareness - means that fun isalmost guaranteed.
It's a tough challenge, but stick with it - it's worth it.
Title: Little Big Planet
Platform: PS3
Genre: Action
Price: £44.99
Hit count: 5/5
It can take a while for a new console to produce the kind of titles that you’ll look back on with huge affection when the next ’next-generation’ is in full swing.
Little Big Planet is absolutely one of those games for the PS3.
Creative and incredibly addictive to play either on your own or with friends, it’s an action game with a real difference.
You can choose to build a world to share with other gamers or simply explore the adventures there on the disc.
Either way, customising your sack-man character is an absolute hoot, and developing your own patch on the planet for others to come and see feels more like the game itself than an added extra.
This is unique, stunning and sets a new benchmark for PS3 games to beat – and that could take some time.
Title: Far Cry 2
Platform: PC
Genre: Shooter
Price: £34.99
Hit count: 5/5
The original Far Cry was an incredible first-person shooter experience on PC - and that’s saying something, bearing in mind how many FPS titles have appeared in recent years.
Four years later and it’s back, with a new developer and a new location – Africa – for the action.
And this is about as good as these games have ever been, with 20 square miles to explore in search of an arms dealer called 'The Jackal', using stealth or all-out attack.
The weapons are there, whichever approach you choose, and the environments are unbelievably rich with amazing flora and fauna to uncover, should you find the time.
Bundle in a dynamic weather system to help – or hinder – your progress, and you can be sure that Far Cry 2 presents one of the toughest and most tantalising FPS worlds on any format right now.
Title: Bioshock
Platform: PS3
Genre: Shooter
Price: £39.99
Hit count: 5/5
Quite rightly considered one of 2007’s games of the year on Xbox 360 and PC, Bioshock is finally available on Sony’s next-gen console.
And, as before, what you experience throughout your exploration of Rapture, an underwater city built by the realm’s self-proclaimed leader Andrew Ryan, is likely to change the way you relate to games forever.
Posing gamers with a layer of moral questioning above the strikingly-solid gameplay mechanics, weapon and ’magic’ customisation and a tightly-knitted plot, Bioshock is so much more than just ’run and gun’ - if you want it to be.
Let it get into your head and you’ll realise that what has been created here is more than a game, perhaps more of a personal journey with all the top-notch trappings of a near-perfect title to revel in around it.
Genius.
Title: Dead Space
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Action Shooter
Price: £49.99
Hit count: 4/5
Someone once said that, in space, no one can hear you scream.
That’ll be a relief for anyone passing by gamers engrossed in Dead Space, which turns out to be a frighteningly-creepy, survival-horror title set on-board a spaceship overrun by Necromorphs – or aliens, to you and I.
Graphically it’s stunning, and the atmospheric sound will be the source of a spine tingle or two as well, although the game itself is a little on the linear side.
Games in this genre have been a little hard to come by recently if you’re looking beyond the Resident Evils and Silent Hills of the console world, so Dead Space fills a decent-sized black hole in outer space and your games collection.
Title: NBA 2K9
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Basketball
Price: £39.99
Hit count: 4/5
This series of basketball games does battle with EA’s offering, and it’s a highly-competitive event generally, with gamers guaranteed to come out winners.
This 2009 instalment from 2K Games seems to be especially tasty, with quicker overall gameplay, more intelligent team-mates and opponents, plus some pretty jaw-dropping recreations of your favourite ’baller superstars.
The addition of ’5 v 5’ online adds a frenetic human element to the multiplayer arena, while online updates should keep your virtual rosters representative of what’s happening in real life.
All in all, a great basketball sim from a top-performing franchise.
GAMES CHART ALL FORMATS FULL PRICE
1. (-) Pro Evolution Soccer 2009
2. (1) FIFA 09
3. (-) Saints Row 2
4. (2) LEGO Batman: The Videogame
5. (3) Wii Fit
6. (6) Mario Kart Wii
7. (4) Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
8. (7) Wii Play
9. (8) Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09
10. (5) Brothers In Arms: Hell’s Highway
