Mind the Gap

I have been awaiting Hellgate London for the past month with bated breath. Today is finally the release and I just played for an hour and a half in what seemed like minutes. For those who don't know, Hellgate is an action/adventure/mmo/rpg/fps. You play it standard hack n' slash mode with the option to switch to a first person view. As you get kills you level up and get the oppertunity to get new skills and attributes. This is the most faithful reproduction of Diablo that I have seen since the genuine article.

The game is definitely entertaining, but I have some problems with it to get out of the way first. FIRST! The most glaring problem with the game is the atrocity of the graphics. They look pretty terrible.... I am running the game on medium/high settings (best my card can handle) and at times it looks like an N64. The models look ok, but the textures are pretty terrible. SECOND, its really easy.... I hope the difficulty picks up later, but it seems that I don't have to worry about health. I kill things so quickly that I rarely even get hit. Perhaps it is the nature of the Marksman class to just pwn really hard, but I was expecting more of a challenge. THIRD! Every part of this game's production seems botched. To participate in the beta, a preorder of the game was required. Not only that, but between the beta closing and the game release (a few weeks) the forums closed down. It seems Flagship is trying as hard as they can to destroy any vestige of a community. Also, the only reason I am writing now is that the servers required maintenance ON LAUNCH DAY! Come on guys, hammer out the bugs BEFORE the game is released.

Now the good part! I think the game is very entertaining. Playing an fps with skills and expandable equipment is fun. Adding in multiplayer co-op and a buy/sell mechanic and you have a game that is arguably more entertaining than WoW. I enjoyed every minute of my play, despite the shortcomings. I encourage anyone with 50 bucks and a desire for a new RPG or FPS or MMO to pick it up.

If you DO get it , I am Revik on Shulgoth

Legend of Zelda: Blogquest

I recently bought The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass with some gas money, and I am happy to say that I am not disappointed. I have yet to finish the game, but sources tell me that I am towards the beginning of the game still.

The game features a familiar Link-based story. This particular Link appears to be the same one from The Windwaker however. Those who played the Windwaker will remember Tetra, the pirate-lass-turned-princess, who makes a return as the damsel in distress in the .... sequel?

I had misgivings as to the quality of a Windwaker sequel keeping up to par on a hand-held system. With a style so unique and graphics-heavy, I worried that the game would pale (or fail) in comparison to the previous entry in the series. I am happy to say I was surprised.

The game fits into the dual-screened, minimized, style of the DS fantastically. The graphics are decent, the sound is great Zelda music, and even the controls are... decent. I was iffy initially with the entire touch-screen controls, but later came to love them (along with most of the things in the game). At times the controls felt clumsy and I swung a sword when I meant to walk or I did a spin attack instead of roll, but I really can't complain that much.

Another big complaint of mine is the difficulty factor of the game. Hopefully it will scale up as I play, but I really can't see that happening. I constructed this handy graph here to show my experiences with the level of difficulty (and definitely did not copy it from a physics lab...)















Check it out, Phantom Hourglass is a great Zelda game in a string of phenomenal pieces of game-art.

Until Next Time, Live Long and Prosper _\\//
~Mike

A Crappy Band in the Parlance of Our Times

Complete with repetitive lyrics and forgettable guitar riffs, As Friends Rust has established its place as a generic garage band in its authoring of "A Trophy Band in the Parlance of Our Times". The CD opens with a promising, Sublime-like grunge song with a mildly catchy beat. This credit to the band ends 40 seconds into the song. A bland chorus with unintelligent lyrics assaults the listener.

The raspy voice of the singer misses the endearing qualities of Rancid's Tim Armstrong and comes off at best annoying. The moronic words spewing forth from front man Damien Moyal's gutteral throat are accompanied by lame guitar riffs that fail to do more than drown out the sub-par vocals and drums. The simplistic bass lines are barely audible under the aural slaughter of the rest of the band's murderous rampage of suckitude.

With song titles like "More than Just Music, It's a Hairstyle" and "The Most Americanist" It appears that As Friends Rust attempted to come off as witty and endearing, but succeeded only in making unfortunate listeners like me thanks some form of God that there is more to listen to than this garbage.

I will remember very little of this album, not because it was obscenely short (clocking in at 17 minutes), but because it was bland, generic, and generally a shitty excuse for a nu-metal carbon-copy of Limp Bizkit's best album (I have no idea what that might be).

Regrettably yours,
Mike

Crazy Times at Costello Music

The Fratellis deliver an upbeat, light-hearted, poppy jaunt in there newest hit, Costello Music. The CD opens up with the plucky guitar and the slurred vocals of Henrietta. The song features some fantastic sounds that aren't quiet singing and aren't quiet playing instruments, but are fun none-the-less.

The radio-friendly hit Flathead follows with equally memorable banjo and vocals. The humorous lyrics accompany some fun, mindless gang vocals and some strange sounds to make the song an instant pop-rock hit. Being featured on an iPod commercial didn't hurt the song's success.

The rest of the album features similar tracks with varying tempo, but the same general feel. An exception being Doginabag which, despite having a strange name, is much slower as well as Whistle for the Choir. Both songs sound strange coming from such a fast and upbeat band.

Listening to this album's unique feel definitely convinced me to add The Fratellis to my list of favorite bands. I can't wait to see another album from them.

Here is some video goodness with an MP3 for the same song. Henrietta:



~Mike

_\\//

To Too Large a Divide They Have Sworn

For the sake of the Blog War, I was supposed to write a negative review of Soilwork's new album "Sworn to a Great Divide". The only problem with this setup is that I love the album. Love it a lot... because I couldn't find it in my literary heart to badmouth the fantastic piece of metal, I got my little sister (she is 12) to write what she thought. Enjoy:

I disliked the album. I disliked the album because I couldn't understand what they were saying. I also don't think their very talented for just screaming on the top of their lungs. Most of the songs sound the same too. I cant tell the difference between them all. Some of the songs have too long of introductions; I thought they were instrumentals for a little. I didn't enjoy listening to this album.

In closing, check the album out. I thought it was metal at it's finest. Enjoy the glorious metal, stabbing you mercilessly in the ears:

Sworn to a Great Divide
Breeding Thorns

~Mike

_\\//

In Rainbows OR Begun, The Blog Wars Have

A friend of mine over at Feed The Indie Kids is joining me in a week-long battle of wit and unabashed blog violence. Watch as we pedantically review 7 albums for the 7 days in a week with opposing view points. Cheer and Jeer as we make fools of ourselves, but mostly each other in: BLOGWARS.


Radiohead's new album hit the net last week. The album, entitled In Rainbows was released in the non-conventional web-only style utilized by many less affluent bands. Radiohead, however, has chosen this format because it has recently dropped its label. The indie band not only decided to not provide the record in stores, but more shockingly, they decided to opt with a "Pay what you feel like" mode of selling the album.I downloaded the album (electing to pay 0 pounds) and began listening, already excited about the prospect of legally receiving a record for free and must say that I was impressed. Radiohead delivered a great sounding, diverse record with In Rainbows.

The CD starts off with the frenetic guitar and synth of 15 Step. The song features the trademark (or so I am told) instrumental focus, while letting the vocals complement; rather than the other way around. The catchy song is followed by the similarly instrumental Bodysnatchers. The second song features a larger highlight of front man, Thom Yorke's singing, though the quick bass and squealing guitar are still clearly in the forefront.

After the speedy opening tracks, the record slows down with Nude. Opening with some slow echo effects and some moaning from Yorke, the song benefits from Colin Greenwood's deep, prominent bass-line. The track drags at points, but ends before any real damage is done to the listener's enjoyment of the CD as a whole.

Almost schizophrenically, the album picks back up with an almost "Legend of Zelda" sounding guitar line in Weird Fishes/Arpeggi. The picked-up pace only helps to alienate Nude more, making the listener wonder if they really did just listen to a 4:15 track with a snail's pace.

The middle of the CD blends together, making the listener unsure if they had just listened to 4 songs or 1 track of a phenomenal length. The heavily modified bass of All I Need accompanied by Phil Selway's drum skill keep the track entertaining. The quick, spitting vocals of Yorke make a return in Faust Arp. The incomprehensible vocals blend with the violin and guitar of the track to make an inseparable amalgam of sounds that would sound empty without the other.

Reckoner keeps the same pace, but drops out the soft violin and soothing vocals for a more metallic guitar and drums along with more wailing vocals. The indecipherable moaning becomes annoying at some points; but as with earlier tracks, it seems a subtraction of any part of the song would make it utterly unlistenable.

House of Cards features a more radio-friendly guitar line with discordant synth and repetitive vocals. At this point the album seems to lose steam from the fantastic beginnings of 15 step and Bodysnatchers. The lyrics of House of Cards (Yes! They ARE understandable) sound like something an angsty teen would write in a heartfelt poem to a spurned lover.

The following track, Jigsaw Falling Into Place, tries to reclaim some of the suckitude of House of Cards with a bass rif more reminiscent of earlier songs on the album and some quick, almost rap-like, lyrics from Yorke. This track is a diamond covered in crap, sandwiched between House of Cards and the equally terrible Videotape.

The CD as a whole is a great addition to my library which lived up to the cheap-as-free hype. Radiohead delivers a solid aural recording with In Rainbows, despite it's sometimes cryptic lyrics and meanings. Solid.... Enjoy the sounds I have so generously placed at the expense of Radiohead.

15 Step
Jigsaw Falling Into Place


Until Next Time, Live Long and Prosper _\\//
~Mike



PS~ To further elongate this, already gargantuan, post; The people at Blog Action Day ask that I spread awareness to the plight of our fine planet. She hath served us well in the past and we should stop bitch-slapping her in the eye. I mean... Get the arm or something. The eye really hurts.