Wake-up song of the month: Foo Fighters "Bridge Burning"

So I've had to get up rather too early too many times (more flights to the Dentist) so have needed something seriously loud to get me out of bed....this wins!!

Thor: God of Thunder vs. Thor (the movie)

How is it possible 2 things can be so many worlds apart? I am of course referring to the difference between say a movie & a movie-tie-in-game! There have been some properly shocking games released at the same time as movies & I really struggle to think of one which has really stood in the same league as the movie they claim to be tied to (I would suggest a hefty pair of scissors would see to that)...well maybe the Chronicles of Riddick prequels & Lego Star Wars!

If you look at some of the offenders: Iron Man, Transformers, anything James Bond (except the excellent, classic Goldeneye), Prince of Persia (the game of the movie of a game...wtf!) Tron Evolution, Battle of Los Angeles, Avatar & the Harry Potter & Lord of the Rings Games & there is a much bigger list (most of these all have sequels!) the developers don't seem to learn from their mistakes.

When you look at some of the brilliant games out there (I would argue Bulletstorm, Call of Duty, etc.) then why on earth does sheer crap like Thor: God of Thunder exist?

Now I tried with this game, I really did, but the gameplay sucked, the combat sucked, the camera angle sucked - it was wave after wave of mindless enemies & button mashing like the evil spawn of Dynasty Warriors 12 (or whatever number they're on) - but the irony is that I'm sure I would prefer the current iteration of DW, than this steaming pile of manure! I struggled on for about 6 hours & got a minute percentage of the way through the game - you would have to be a super-human to reach the end!

Now don't get me wrong the characters are some of my favourite in the Marvel Universe - Thor is definitely my favourite, eclipsing any of the Xmen, Deadpool, etc. I loved the movie it blew me away. But there are certain, universal rules - if you make a game of a movie or a movie of a game...it will almost certainly suck! There I said it, now let's move on!

In the end I had to trade it in, within a week of owning it! I'm going to save the in-store credit for Thor...the movie when it's released later this year, at least that will entertain me :D

Rant over (but for a full rant by those G4 Pros, see here)

Fighting...Bullletstorm & CoD7: Black Ops

So I've had both these games for a few months & with my recent blog-slackerness (9 posts in Jan + 3 in Feb + 4 in March + 0 in April & only 2 this month = fail!) I may have overlooked these quite remarkable games which have been stuck in my console at various times since pre-Christmas (& February with Bulletstorm).

So what's the big deal, well with Black Ops (Call of Duty 7) there have been massive improvements to what has been one of the most successful video game franchises/series of all time - selling 55 million call of duty units since 2003 -  not including Black Ops which has sold over 20 million as well so that’s at least 75 million units & over 3billion dollars – so they must be doing something right!

So the game, well now there are even more thing that are now possible both online & offline. The single-player mode is nicely varied around the world with a host of never-before-user weapons (a personal favourite being the crossbow - so much fun) & arenas of destruction. There is definitely a more theatrical experience in the single-player game, with a bigger emphasis on interactivity, but with that classic CoD idiocy that nothing can continue without your imput! Once again you have a great cast of actors this time Avatar/Terminator 3’s Sam Worthington is the ‘hero’ Mason, Ice Cube as Bowman & Ed Harris as Hudson, all supported by the great Gary Oldman back to the franchise with his best Russian accent as Reznov!

The big addition has be the bots – so rather than needing a host of friends or go online, you can add up to 9 bots & play against either a fixed or incrementally difficult digital opponent. This strangely does not get tiresome & helps you improve & practice for online warfare. There are also is a different system for unlocking weapons – cold hard cash! You earn it for every point you earn – this can be for kills, objectives or general skills. This means that although you can still level-up & unlock better weapons, you have to purchase the customisable parts, such as sights, camouflage, frag launchers & a host of other attachments.

This game simply begs to be played & completed & then when you’re done, there’s a vast multiplayer & the return of Nazi Zombies (with massive maps) to keep you busy – a serious 5 out of 5!



But next up, there’s the story of another title – this time it’s an original gaming title (difficult to come by these days with all these franchises Call of Duty, FIFA, Pro Evo, Project Gotham, Lego X, Battlefield, etc,) & although it has very close ties with the Gears of War team – they are using a new development house (People Can Fly), but with the rather-often-used Unreal Engine as the driving force behind the game.

It's called Bulletstorm & seemed to have been plugged rather heavily in the gaming press as it was so different  to many other things, but also because of the ties to the Gears (of War) franchise.The big kicker (pun intended) for this game is the ability to slide (a quick tap) to the nearest available cover - like the cover system in gears but even more awesome & 2 choice melee options - an electronic leash - a lightening device which means you can grab enemies from distance  (just like Scorpion from Mortal Kombat!) & the ability to kick people...really hard! Combine these together with some ridiculously vicious weapons (what could possibly go wrong with a quadruple-barreled shotgun?) & some tough customers/enemies & you have the makings of a great game - add in some witty dialogue & engaging storyline & you have a really special game.

This is another 5/5 game but some people might take away a point because of not amazing online multiplayer (it's just trying to score as highly as you can - competing against your friends/leaderboard)

...w.e continue

Music is my drugless drug, but it's still addictive!

For those people that know me well, you will know about my borderline-obsession with music. I listen to it all day, it’s always on in the car & I even have to fall asleep with music (specifically the Adam Freeland: Back to Mine, which has a massive play count of 1265…just on my laptop!)!

But one does occasionally need contemplate why this is the case – why does my life need a soundtrack?

There is a history to this – I will always say that I was brought up on a certain variety of music; it was a mix of some classic rock with Dire Straits & some new age electronic music with Tangerine Dream & Wavestar. Now 20 years have past since this & what has changed?

Dance & rock music has evolved since then. Rock has grown into many different directions & if you believe the the hype on the BBC is a dying art form as there were only 3 rock songs in the charts in 2010…quite frankly I don’t! there are some great rock albums from the last couple of years & if you look at the likes of Foo Fighters, Muse, Arcade Fire, Silversun Pickups, Kings of Leon, Them Cooked Vultures, Mumford & Sons, Smashing Pumpkins, the Mars Volta, it’s a big old list! Even if you remember Christmas 2009 when a Facebook campaign to get Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name” to number 1 in the charts, so that another bunch of cereal-box-created, written-by-someone-else pop music pap being celebrated by getting to the head of the charts (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_in_the_Name).

But what does it mean to me?

Dance music, well that has exploded & keeps flitting with mainstream popularity, but champions like Pete Tong, Judge Jules, Annie Mac & Zane Lowe on Radio 1 keep exposing the scene, free podcasts like Adam Freeland's Marine Parade, Tiesto's Club Life, even David Guetta help showcase new out future tracks. But for me I've loved it since a cassette I heard many years ago - On a Dance Tip. I didn't understand why, but something clicked - it was new & different. Then after some mainstream albums, I was introduced to Gatecrasher back in 1998/9 - something amazingly melodic & a cut above any other dance music I had heard up till then - Trance - I was now officially hooked (although I have only visited Gatecrasher once...in 2011).

Fast forward a few years & it was then Hard House - Tidy Boys, Lab 4, etc. who have a very 'bouncy' sound & a high rate of BPM! Fast forward again & it's Breaks & something I'm not even sure which genre it fits into - Adam Freeland, Evil 9, Deadmau5, Wolfgang Garner & Pendulum (is it dance, drum & bass, rock, metal - I'm still not certain?!). There is a constant search to hear new things & listen to suggestions from close friends & those who regularly either create their own or have similar music tastes - so a friend from school suggests coming to a Breaks night in Oxford, at around the same time as another friend introduces the Adam Freeland album (2003's Now and Them. That same friend also says that I must hear this Deadmau5 guy - he's crazy good! Dance music is always going to be part of my life, because not only does it continually recycle itself, but it changes & develops & grows in new & unexpected & exciting ways.

Now rock music is something which has had a long emotional bond with me - not only with memories of people & places, but also of teenage rebellion & escapist from when I was a kid. But now, although there is some form of escapism, it is much more diminished. But my tastes are normally more specific - I need riffs, great riffs & a good loud noise! This is plainly evident with some of my favourite bands - Foo Fighters, Silversun Pickups, Queens ofthe Stone Age, Them Crooked Vultures, Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, Sonic Youth Rage Against the Machine, Muse, Arcade Fire, Autolux, etc.

The soundtrack thing is slightly more difficult to explain - originally it was as a form of bullsh*t remover - blocking out the irritating sound of someone at work who drove me nuts with their constant babble of current affairs...on television - soaps, celebrity gossip, Big Brother & other crap they had read in The Sun that day. But now it has become a staple part of my working life - I don't know anyone else who has a constant stream of music playing (in 1 ear) all day, every day, all year round! My theory is that it keeps me sane & working. I know that regardless of the tediousness of any task, I can prevail - so long as I have my choice beats to accompany me - be that gardening, accounting, HTML/CSS coding, or even writing long blogs(!).

I now have a massive collection of albums & remixes & have a firm belief that I could make a totally kick-ass set/soundtrack/playlist. However, a distinct lack of tech, self-belief, combined with a knowledge of my own failings means that I don't think I'll ever be a DJ, but I will always continue to enjoy music, creating playlists & introducing myself to new sounds & artists, regardless of the development of it all.

How to write good

1. Avoid alliteration. Always.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They’re old hat.)
4. Employ the vernacular.
5. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
6. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.
7. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
8. Contractions aren’t necessary.
9. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
10. One should never generalize.
11. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: “I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.”
12. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
13. Don’t be redundant; don’t use more words than necessary; it’s highly superfluous.
14. Profanity sucks.
15. Be more or less specific.
16. Understatement is always best.
17. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
18. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
20. The passive voice is to be avoided.
21. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
22. Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
23. Who needs rhetorical questions?

Source

I love this & it made me laugh rather a lot, at work - brilliant!!