Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Review

What do you get when you make a crossover between Pokemon', Final Fantasy and The Legend of Zelda? It's Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, while it is not copying them there is an essence of their presence within the game. Level 5 (Dark cloud, Professor Layton series) and Studio Ghibli (Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro) have teamed up to remake this game which was originally release in Japan for the DS 2010.

 
Story

Ni No Kuni's storyline was created by Studio Ghibli, it follows 13-year old Oliver who due to unfortunate circumstances loses his mother, locks himself in his room for days, and cries, eventually he cries onto a doll his mother made for him, these tears break the curse put on the doll, it comes to life and addresses himself as Drippy lord high lord of the faeries. He tells Oliver that he is the one who is destined to defeat Shadar, a malicious jinn who contorts the other world Drippy resided in and crushes all those that oppose him, he then goes onto to explain that in his world there is a duplicate of everyone in Oliver's world, and that his mothers soul mate was a Sage who tried -and failed- to stand up and defeat Shadar, he trapped her in a soulsnare, and if Oliver can free her, it may bring his mother back in his own world.

This is the basis of the story but it is a very large story with cutscenes after cutscenes playing, however this will not get boring as the obscurity of it and the characters believability will keep you in-grossed and not bored, after all Studio Ghibli know how to tell a good story at a fantastic pace.
 
Gameplay

So why does it seem like Pokemon', Final Fantasy and The Legend of Zelda?, well gameplay can be broken down into different  sections: Cities, Wilderness, Battle, Side-quests, Dungeons.

In the towns of the game you will run about one end to the other, fulfilling certain needs in order to progress in the story and advance, this is where Final Fantasy comes into it, this will have you going to different towns, backtracking, locating people who are hiding and so on.

Outside of each city is the wilderness, a lonesome place you will walk to get from one city to the next, this is where creatures will attack and engage in battle, this is also Final fantasy like, but also like the older Zelda games.

The battles are the most complex part of the game, you can fight by using Oliver, familiars, or other party members, or their familiars. If you chose Oliver you are best using magic as physical attacks are weak, you will rarely use him though, if you want to use physical attacks then you're best using a Familiar. Familiars are creatures you can catch, you will get a starter but soon after you can catch all the different types in the wilderness, train them up and use them -Pokemon's element-. The fighting style is not exactly turn-based but it is not run around freely and press x to attack each time either. It's both. Say you want to attack, chose the attack option, chose who you want to attack, then for about five seconds your familiar will attack the chosen target automatically, depending on it's attack, evasion, accuracy and evasion it will all determine, how much damage it did, how likely it is to avoid attacks, block attacks, and take less damage from attacks. You can cancel at any time you wish and defend if they are going to do a special move on you, run away, switch to someone else, do a special, use provisions, heal etc.

Within the cities you will find people who need your help, these quests come in all different kinds, catch specific kinds of familiars, show me a spell, get me these ingredients, but the most common is the heart quests. Shadar takes peoples hearts and leaves them broken heated, there are numerous types that can be missing from a person, courage, kindness, restraint, enthusiasm etc. To complete these you have to find someone who has more than enough of the required kind. Take a piece of their heart and give it to the one who needs it. There are also other side-quests known as bounty hunts, these are creatures that are out in the wilderness that you need to take down, kind of like mini-bosses.

Dungeons, in some areas of the game you will be in places some call dungeons, while it may be outside and not have any floors there is still some truth to this. These places will have an ultimate goal and location, but the map will not be filled out, as you explore you will map it out yourself -like a maze- in here you will find save points that heal and restore your magic, monsters and a boss at the end, this again is where the vibes of Zelda and Final Fantasy come from.

 
Visuals

Ni No Kuni (lit. Second Country -some fans call it: The Another World-) is beautiful, the first cinematic cutscene can clearly be identified as Studio Ghibli, it has that magical yet relate-able look to it, the cutscenes are gorgeous and with splendid voice acting to complement it runs smoothly and is truly captivating. As for in game visual they too are stunning, rather than it being soft textures it is very rough, the tones do not blend but it fits perfect for this game as it feels less like a game and more like controlling an anime or animation. The overall feel to the game is incredible, from bright sunny villages, to gloomy Victorian streets, to wintery landscapes, this game has not been afraid to cram as many different locations, moods and atmospheres into it, and it paid off, it all fits in well and nothing seems out of place.

 
Closing Remarks

If you are a fan of any of the games, films, companies, ideas mentioned above, possess a PS3 and have yet to play this game, get your head checked, there may be something wrong. 

This game has a distinct feel to it that no other game could mimic without completely copying it. I sincerely hope that games like Ni No Kuni will continue to be made by these wonderful creators as they have shown  game developers that there is still a big wide marker for JRPG's and it is not us that are at fault, we are not bored of them, it is them for not believing in themselves and their ideas, stop playing it safe guys, take a leap.

Story - 83%

Gameplay - 90%

Visuals - 96%

Overall - 89.6%

Hitman: Absolution - Review

Hitman: Absolution has been out for quite some time now, so what's my view on it?

Originally the Hitman series came from IO Interactive, however this one comes straight from Square Enix -creators of Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, World Ends With You-, don't get me wrong I love Square Enix but making a game of this nature I'll admit it I was a bit skeptical at first, but those soon vanished as I began.

Rewarding players with patience and strategic thinking, Hitman is very satisfying as waiting for the perfect opportunity never felt so good when it finally comes up. Rewarding you for experimenting with your surroundings and good old trial and error this game gives you plenty of chances to take out your targets, some involve making it seem like a freak accident, natural death to just plain assassinate them, then hide from assailants, get disguises and so on.

Exploring the vast levels will give you plenty of insights into what method you think would be most appropriate as a befitting death for your target. This game takes alot of time, so if you want fast paced games with quick kills you'd best keep looking. 

Certain aspects have also improved one thing I noticed right away was the fibre wire killing felt much more natural, in Blood Money it was difficult and usual resulted in the person turning round and me being caught, in Absolution that frustration is thankfully gone, it's much easier to do meaning I don't need to keep restarting to get a clean kill, although I prefer to kill only those who need to die.

You no longer chose your weapons for each level, you start the level with the given weapons, if you want others you will have to scout the area for them. 

A cover system is also introduced, in the originals if caught you would have to run left to right, dodging the bullets, now though we can cover, wait for the moment and go for the shot, shooting too has made a change it can now include point shooting where it slows time as you pin point where you want to shoot then carry it out automatically, you don't need to do this however you can manually shoot if you prefer but it's nice to have the option there. The cover system can also work to be stealth like also, stay hidden, wait for a target to pass by then go after them. Instinct mode is added, this will tell you where people are, and where they are going, useful if your in an area where enemies patrol and need to know if one is coming.

That is just a few of the changes but I will not point them all out. 

So what did I think?

Compared to the other Hitman games, this is the best I think, I love the large levels that rewards exploration and concise plans, the various methods of killing are very creative and enjoyable to suss out all of them, for example attaching a live wire to a wire fence is rewarding as a build up of adrenaline surges through you as you sit back and watch your target come ever so closer to their demise, possibility of being caught is another adrenaline fueled experience as sneaking by enemies will have your heart pounding and palms sweating as you pray for them not to turn around and notice you.


Rating
+ Immense replay value
+ Huge levels
+ Powerful emotions through playing
+ Can create your own missions
- May get stressful if you are a perfectionist

9/10

My Mad Fat Diary Review

With much advertisement and hype "My Mad Fat Diary" is here.

We go back to the nineties to follow sixteen year old Rachael (Rae), who having been released from a psychiatric hospital, -due to mental health issues- attempts to fit back into society despite having to deal with an eccentric mother and having self-image issues, now free she sets off into the world and tries to be socially accepted through the use of drinking, sex, music, giving in to peer pressure and other normal teenager rituals.

So what was the opening episode like?

In a nutshell.
It starts with Rae talking with her counseller about her life since she left the institute and then follows what was done in the past few days since, she describes and introduces points with her inner voice that she dares not to voice out into the open but has expressed those thoughts detailed in her diary, it starts rough as her mom is late to pick her up, has gotten an illegal-immigrant boyfriend while she was being medicated, not being able to sleep due to their loud sex, hanging out with her friends and going to their pool party afraid to be wearing a bikini but realizing she is not see as monstrous as she perceives herself to be, it then ends with the aftermath between her and her counseller as he tries to make her see that there is a wide spectrum of what is considered normal by societies standards if you find the right people.

Rae seems like a normal person, in front of her former and new friends the dialogue is very realistic and befitting for Rae as it paints a very vivid picture of her traits, personality and so on, her dialogue is pitched both outspoken and inner monologues to provide a voice over, it is through these voice overs that she provides and when she is alone that we see her as a troubled teenager. One other thing that is usually parallel with the voice overs is that it has moments where the video is paused, and using the voice over child-like images are drawn to illustrate her point more clearly, if you have seen the likes of "Moone Boy" then you will know exactly what I mean.

This show is a good gateway for troubled teenagers who suffer mild mental health issues as it is possible for some viewers to associate themselves with Rae and through the use of serious issues being complemented by humor, this honest drama is very touching and was an enjoyable viewing experience.

My Favorite Films

Everyone has favorite films, it can be brought on by use of plot, characters, style, colour, the list really is quite endless, below is a small list I have complied on what my favorite films are:


Black Swan (2010)

The story follows Nina, a young ballet dancer who plays both roles in "Swan Lake", Odette the white swan which is very much like herself, and Odile the black swan, which is the person she begins to slowly change into throughout the film.
This film is a real thought-provoker as we come to learn all that can go wrong with each and every one of us.


Clockwork Orange, A (1971)

Set in a dystopian future we follow Alex a young criminal jailed for his crimes, upon hearing of the chance for an early release he opts in for an experimental procedure where his free will is altered and anything that is violent or sexual based will force-ably make him feel ill at ease.
With high violent and sexual scene "A, Clockwork Orange" was a revolutionary film in it's time and has since became a cult classic.



Donnie Darko (2001)

A little bit of a mind trip, okay a huge mind trip, "Donnie Darko" is about a teenager who, after surviving a bizzare accident is introduced to a man wearing a bunny costume known as Frank, who tells Donnie the date and time that the world will end, and it is up to Donnie to figure out what to do.
This film, with a complex storyline, is another cult classic through it's subtle and vague explanations and its use of exploration of the mind.

Evil Dead (1981)

Evil dead is about a group of friends who discover the book of the dead and unleash demons that possess them. Sure the plot is a little basic but this film is a cult classic beloved by all who have seen it, it gave us a new definition of horror through the use of unsettling scenes (tree scene -you know what I'm talking about-)



Hot Fuzz (2007)

The second film in the blood and ice cream trilogy follows Nicholas a police officer who has been relocated to the country side, however the peaceful village it was defined as has a dark secret as people are being murdered and disguised as accidents.
With a cast of dis-functioning characters  and a cleverly written script, "Hot Fuzz" shows us how brilliant British films can be and what potential it has.


Labyrinth (1986)

"Labyrinth" is a family film brought to us by the creator of the "Muppets" the story follows Sarah, a young girl who wished that her step-brother would be taken away by the goblin king, having her wish granted she begs the king to give him back, he agrees under the condition that she solves his labyrinth within a set amount of time.
With memorable music numbers and a creative cast "Labyrinth" surely is one for the ages.


Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)

Based on the hit manga, we follow Scott in his attempt to woo his crush Ramona, but in order to get with her he must defeat her 7 ex's who have teamed up to stop him from being with her.
Taking a retro video game aspect to it "Scott Pilgrim" is a unique film experience that any game lover should watch at least once.




Series of Unfortunate Events., A (2004)

It tried to be the rival of the "Harry Potter" films, however it did not gain enough attention or awareness in order to succeed and as a result it has been often been called a hidden gem. The film follows three orphans who start life anew with their uncle, however he only takes them in so he can claim their fortune for himself, being rumbled the children move and stay with another family member however Count Olaf tracks them down and is persistent in being their legal guardian.

Shaun of the Dead (2004)

The first in the blood and ice cream trilogy, "Shaun of the Dead" tells us the story of an unmotivated man who is stuck in a rut, where upon he finds himself taking leader in his group after the city turns zombie infested, from this he gathers his friends and family and attempts to find a safe haven to stay until help arrives. 
The horror/comedy collaboration works perfectly in this film with many memorable moments and easter eggs, "Shaun of the Dead" has since became a modern classic.


Spirited Away (2001)

Spirited Away is like a fairy-tail gone horrible wrong, a young girl through terrible circumstances is forced to work for a witch at a bath house for the Gods and spirits, it is here where she meets interesting and eccentric people through which she befriends as they help her towards going back home. 
This animation is really one for all ages as it is touching as it is visually beautiful.

Suspiria (1977)

When it comes to horror films most of them use low lighting and dark tones, "Suspiria" however goes against this, full of light and colour this Italian horror flick tells the story of Suzy Banyon an American ballet being transferred to a new ballet school located in Germany upon arriving bizarre incidents and deaths begin to occur, leading her to believe that something else is at work within the school.

9 Reasons Why the Wii U Will Most Likely Fail

1 It's usually a generation behind

When the Wii originally came out people couldn't help notice that it was: 

a) released a few years after Sony and Microsoft
b) the graphics and performance wasn't up to the current generations standards 

Now that the Wii U is out they are boasting about how is is slightly better than current generation ... slightly, why would someone buy something that is only a bit better and will be obsolete pretty soon, I mean lets face it the PS4 and Xbox 720 aren't going to be far off and when it does come out it will probably put the Wii U to shame.


2 They have no clue how to prevent minors buying 18's

Okay imagine this, you go on psn, or xbox market, and you wish to buy an 18, simple is it not?, purchase it, it will check to see if your age appropriate then allow the transaction, Nintendo on the other hand have no clue, sure you can prove you're over 18 but it will still deny you, so what do you need to do to buy an 18 online? (even though you clearly are), any ideas?, no?, well then you do purchase it but it will only grant you access between 11pm and 3am, anyone who can't purchase an 18 at those time on Ninendo's shop, well you just can't get it then I'm afraid.
 

3 The controller isn't impressive as you might think

Sure it does seem pretty cool but let's consider a few things first of all, an Iphone is multi-touch functional whereas this controller only allows single touch (behind again it seems), it has an inwards facing camera to allow you to be put into the game, but most phones now have both camera's outside and inwards, if the controller had an outwards facing camera to track screen position for alignment with the TV screen well that would have been pretty decent.

4 Games are questionable

Nintendo is pretty obvious now for game releases they will always release Mario Bros, Mario Kart, Zelda, not that it's a bad thing but it isn't surprising now is it rather than reacting like "Yes they're making a new Mario game I can't wait", now it's more like "Another Mario not surprised", other games that they are releasing have also been out for other consoles for months to even a year or so ... yeah, doesn't seem that great

5 Core gamers?

The Wii came out with how many games for core gamers?, not alot right, most was for children or non-gamers, it was more of a conversion to gaming console, and I don't know but seeing most of the first day release games I still think they are doing the exact same without realizing it, sure they did say this was also for core gamers now but those release games say otherwise (I'm aware of ZombiU but compare that to how many children like games)

6 Wii U is supposedly better yet misses functions

Okay for something that is more "advance" the PS and Xbox it's still missing basics putting it way back, PS2 could play DVDs and CD's, PS3 came along and added to it by giving BluRay too, The Wii couldn't even do DVD, the Wii U however, Oh wait ... they still haven't incorporated it, sure they may have Nintendo TVii but still come on PS2 had DVD functionality that was 2000, twelve years later and Nintendo still haven't done it.

7 Wii U pad is kinda obsolete

The PSVita has two cameras, multiple touch based (pad and screen), and can also be usable for the PS3, so Sony can do what the Wii U does but with more touch and cameras they'd do it better, sure it may be more expensive but it'd be better

8 How much !!!

You can buy a PS3 160GB for under £200, and a Xbox 360 4GB for about the same, Wii U is under £400 but only  8-32GB this would be okay if the Wii U was alot more technological advanced over it's competitors but it is not much more powerful that the others so the price seems way too high

9 Nintendo is losing it

Remember how crazy people went over the Wii, Ds and that, people went insane for them, what about the 3DS, wasn't that much craze was there, Nintendo suffered, couldn't shift then, and brought down the price by alot all within the first few month of release, why?, because it was merely seen as a gimmick, DS - 3DS, they share the same name, look the same, same games for some (ds had mario kart, 3ds made another one) and play the same, the difference is that one is in 3d, the Wii and Wii U, same name, console looks the same, same games (both will have Wii fit) oh no I feel another gimmick coming along.


Sure others may disagree but this is what I think of when I hear talk (not that much going around) about the Wii U

Worst Games Ever

Simulator games are pretty awesome, the creativity, the freedom, but one company in-particular -"Excalibur Publishing"- has pushed it and their amazing and highly innovative games will have anyone at the edge of their seats, no joke these are some of the best simulators that everyone would kill to experience and the prices are worth it compared to the vast amount you can do in the game.No but seriously, if you ever found this in somebodies house it's a sign that you should leave, almost instantly.

Airport Firefighter Simulator

Price: 
£24.99 (who would even pay that)

Description:
"Nowhere are the dangers more apparent than in a modern airport where thousands of travellers are in close proximity to highly flammable aviation fuel and hazardous materials. The risks are great and so are the demands on the elite squad of airport firefighters!"

Breakdown: 
The opening description seems like a dramatic failure at reeling in the audiences attention. How many fires would happen in an airport anyways? It doesn't appear on the news often, does it?, this must be the worst airport in the world. Either that or there is an arsonist near the airport that police haven't been bothered to track down.


Bridge Project, The

Price:
£19.99

Description:
"Build a bridge .... and get over it! The Bridge Project is the successor to the original and award-winning bridge Bridge Builder simulation, all amateur designers and structural engineers finally have a new challenge on their PC."

Breakdown:
Let me get this straight, this type of game has already won an award?, okay you simple build a bridge, watch people use it, move to another place, build another bridge and so on, simple ... simply boring.


Digger Simulator

Price:
£24.99

Description:
"Dig for pay dirt and form your own civil engineering company. You will be starting modestly with small wheel loaders but success is in the soil! As your skills and reputation increase grow your business with the purchase of a huge selection of equipment including the heavy road roller!"

Breakdown:
Want to dig a hole?, No?, of course not you have a life, we all do, why spend your time sitting in front of a screen controlling a digger to make a hole when you could be doing something, anything is better (apart from more Excalibur Publishing games).



Garbage Truck Simulator

Price:
£24.99

Description:
"In Garbage Truck Simulator 2011 you run a business collecting the rubbish of a large European town. Start with a small garbage truck and grow your business. Dive into the cab of your truck and become the driver and take your colleague quickly but safely to the collection area, of course pay attention to the road traffic regulations! "

Breakdown:
Is anybody getting excited to play this from reading that?, if yes then leave, just leave. Why would anybody pay such a staggering price just to do two things, drive to next bin, empty it, rinse and repeat for eternity, I mean come on who in their right mind would find this appealing?


Street Cleaning Simulator

Price:
£24.99 (that is a bargain, their practically giving it away)

Description:
"Brush off the dirt and make a clean sweep as you embark on a career to become an accomplished street cleaner. Use your highly detailed sweeping machines to roam the city in search of muck. As your experience grows so will the tasks you have to deal with! Get swept up into fighting the flotsam and jetsam of city life with Street Cleaning Simulator! "

Breakdown:
Simulators are often designed to be based on one, task, goal, job, etc but a job like street cleaning being a game .. really?, who would buy that?, who would play that?, what entertainment would you get out of it?, So drive around the streets and get cleaning, cause that's all you'll do.

Rather than destroy your very being I will only list a few other "great" games of theirs, I won't really need to describe them as you'll know how pointless they are:

Crane Simulator
Forklift Truck Simulator
Garden Simulator
Oil Platform Simulator
Ports (take creates off a ship and put it into a truck -£29.99- WHAT!!!)
Road Construction Simulator
Tow Truck Simulator
Traffic Management

Little Big Planet Karting Review

Modnation Racers ... of sorry Little Big Planet Karting is the new addition to the LPB franchise but does it live up to it's predecessors ?

First off lets start off with the bad points in this game that you can complete in an afternoon. When playing racing games such as this the races start off with everyone close together with about 0.5 seconds between each player then a bit after players will be widely spread with an average of 5-10 seconds between them, however this game is not the case, throughout the entire race every player will be close to each other constantly leaving the winning position down to luck and less about skill, this is problematic and frustrating, if you're in last place you're okay but if you're anywhere between 7th and 1st you'll get hit quite often, let's say you're in 1st place and you get hit in most games like these you'd go from 1st place to 3rd usually, but in this game because everyone's so close get hit and it's way back to 5th place then usually you'll get hit again right after and go to 8th place which is really irritating, not only that if you're a few places ahead you'll find that you get hit constantly, you won't get hit by one person and that's that, usually it's a case of you get hit, gain control of your vehicle, then you get hit again.

The game has presents in the tracks, these presents are used to make you own levels, if you miss a present and wish to collect it you obviously need to reverse, uh-oh what have they done if you reverse for too long (about two seconds) you'll end up dying and re-spawning a bit ahead, so to reverse without that happening you need to reverse, stop, reverse, stop and keep going which is really terrible.

Some of the weapons can also cause problems for example, there is one that allows you to fast forward yourself, this can sometimes cause problems because you'll fast forward, then it'll stop and let you gain control again but it'll do this sometimes right before a turn making you gain control and crash into the wall, then wasting time reversing and stopping to then race on again.

In the Little Big Planet series each game has a bold theme, the first game is set on different continents, in the second game it's set in different periods of time, in this game however rather than being new themes they borrowed the ideas from the two games and making it slightly less characteristic.

When a new installment of a game comes out it's meant to move forwards but this game seems to have went backwards for some features. The game's aim is creativity in the first game when giving your level music you had to chose from those songs that the game had, however in the second game they made it better by giving players the ability to make their own songs with a variety of instruments, tempo's and so on, now making a race track and giving it your own music would be great and would help to set the mood but oh no wait a minute, for some reason they have removed this feature making it less creative, why did they do that ?

Fancy making your own track ?, well be prepared to look up tutorial videos on Youtube for it because making you own levels to the game's standards is near impossible, the tools are tricky to understand how to use and using them is even harder if you do manage to grasp an expert knowledge of it you may find it fun and enjoyable to create your tracks and try them out.

It's not all bad though the weapons in this game provide three uses, throwing/shooting it in front of you, behind you and to defend you, if someone fires a rocket at you a rocket symbol will appear beneath you, when it turns into a blue shield use the weapon whichever one you have and it will destroy the rocket, this feature is actually pretty neat as it eliminates the bubble like protectors you pick up in games like these.

While I did say that the level themes have been used before it doesn't mean to say it's terrible, it would have been better to go with new themes but these previously used themes are actually still pretty good and very cleverly put together.

It's not all racing too there are battle levels one of which takes place in the sky on two planes, there's also solo races that challenges players to get from point A to B within a certain amount of time, challenges that range from being a dinosaur to destroy cars, get the eggs to the goal, hit as many people as you can within a time limit and so on.

This game should be played if you are a LBP fan despite it's hiccups and flaws it's still a niffty little game so enjoy.

Rating

+ Creative level design

+ Bold graphics

+ Great for creative needs

- Can get frustrating

- gone a bit backwards with some level design tools

- Glitchy weapons

 

 

6/10

15 Hilarious Videos In Under A Minute

Just to help make you day a little bit better get a good start with these short but amusing videos:

They Can't Show That, Can They: My Parents Are Aliens

How can this be for kids, I mean really?

You know how when you re-watching a TV show from your childhood, have you ever been amazed at what you didn't notice? My Parents Are Aliens is one of the best examples, as it had plenty of mature content but back then nobody really complained about TV shows as much as they do now.

Mr Coleman: "Is there some kind of problem?"
Mel: "boys, pregnancy, drugs, eating disorders, shop-lifting, take your pick, i quite like the one about the drugs"

This is just one example of how it's made us wonder how it was approved for children.


Sexuality

In one episode Josh attempts to get together with a new student for her wealth, however this soon turns bad very fast as he realizes that the girl has some sever mental problems, he originally tries to break it off with her but it fails, so he decides to take another approach and attempts to get her to break it off with him, he gets Sophie to morph into someone he'd want to spend time with, however being an alien she is not fully aware of the concept of gender and sexuality and morphs into his best friend Pete, and tells the girls that he is Josh's and he is "my everything", the next day at school the girl outs Josh to everyone for being gay while a curious Pete -the real one- asks a bewildered Josh "does this mean you're my boyfriend now?"

This isn't the only example of homosexuality, Brain the other alien is off the scale, there has been countless scenes of him chatting up Josh's friends, to even kissing Pete in one scene.


Unfit Parenting

In another episode Josh ends up in an alternate reality where everything is the opposite but a bad opposite, in this version Sophie (who in the normal version tries her best to be a good mother) laze's around, drinks, doesn't care about the well being of them or barely pay any attention to their existence, and doesn't care about their feelings

Sophie: "That's. what. it. says, you noodle-brain simpleton"
Josh: "What?"
Sophie mimicking Josh: "Whhaaaat"
Josh: "no, it's just not something you'd expect from someone who want's to be a good mother"
Sophie: "Oh really, well up yours an all you stuck up self righteous little brat"

I think the dialogue speaks for itself, for a kids TV show that's pretty dark, in another episode Brain becomes a clothes designer and replaces all the children's clothes with obscene outfits such as clothes being made from beaded curtains which Josh uses as a chat-up-line, which is an sexual innuendo:

Tanya: "Josh you're wearing curtains"
Josh: "Feel free to pull me at any time"

Shortly after they express their discomfort and tell him that sometimes less is more, however this makes him go to the extreme and removes everybody's clothes leaving them all naked and resorting to wearing bin-bags.


Gender Confusion

Several episodes feature Brian dealing with an inner conflict of his gender, for example episodes have featured Brian wearing a skirt and saying how it feels right, wearing make up, to even deciding to become in touch with his feminine side by growing breasts and take over as the mother in the house hold while Sophie takes over being the man, but back to Brian when they all learn about breasts and how it can produce milk Brian stated that he already looked it up "I already knew that, looked it up this morning.Where do you think I got the milk for our breakfasts?"


Breasts

This show makes plenty use for breasts like mentioned above by a man growing breasts and feeding the milk to his children, but other than that the word boobs appears quite often, however in one episode Sophie becomes influenced by celebrities saying how they have big breasts, and big ... other bits, taking part in the celebrity culture Sophie changes her breast size way out of proportion saying how her bra was made by the space shuttle crafts parachutes , this episode is also slightly perverted as pretty much every male character can't stop staring at her overly sized breasts as she uses them to influence other people and make them do what she tells them to do.


It ain't over

From locking animals in small cages and giving them alcohol to drink, beating up characters at a family event, locking children in a room and forcing them to work, blackmail others, observing drunk people, listening to a teacher peeing over the phone while saying "good morning Mr Darcy", the list is quite endless for the content that was in this show that surprisingly sneaked past the people in charge of parental rating, it just shows you how much has changed nowadays everybody complains about what's shown on TV.

SNSD Flower Power

The indie days of Gee, Genie, Oh! and the like are long gone, now SNSD have became more mature and with that maturity they have became more fierce, it's been a long five months since their last release "Paparazzi" and now they come along with a new song to tempt us.

The initial thoughts of "Flower Power" was that it was going to be a girly and cutesy song, however that could not be more wrong, their 6th Japanese single is far from down-to-Earth it is a very upbeat dance number taking influences from Japanese Shibuya-Kei (a techno like genre), to those of you who may not like their choice of song you may find that it will eventually grow on you especially the combination of the gang singing "flower" with Sunny vocalizing a "OooooOoooOoooowoo".

The PV for the song yet again has various versions, one "normal" version which has all the usual elements of an SNSD music video, close up shots of individual members and dance scenes that change environments and clothes, from a car park or basement, wearing a bondage style of outfit to a empty airplane scene wearing flight attendant styled clothing, to the dance version of the song which replaces the individual shots of them to dance segments. 

Wether of not you've heard of SNSD/Girls Generation you should give them a chance as you may be surprised to hear what Japanese pop sounds like as the majority of you would probably imagine it being fully composed of anime theme songs, fast songs with high pitched vocals, or traditional Japanese song, give this a listen and realize how wrong you've been. Enjoy.

Return to the Nightmare: Silent Hill

In my restless dreams,

I see that town.

Silent Hill.

You promised me you'd take me

there again someday.

But you never did.

Well, I'm alone there now...

In our 'special place'...

Waiting for you...

~Mary's Letter

With Halloween closing in on us again I decided to re-play one of my most beloved games Silent Hill 2, released in 2001 Silent Hill 2 was one of the greatest psychological horror's in gaming history.

You play as James Sunderland made a widower through the loss of his terminally ill wife Mary Sunderland, however shortly after her death James receives a letter confirming that she's alive and waiting for him in Silent Hill, being beckoned by the call we find our-self's on the outskirts of the hell-bent town, as we follow his journey throughout the town we find that his sense of judgement and facts have gone awry as he stops thinking of his Mary being dead and thinks of her as being alive, this makes other characters in the game question his state of mind as they ask him "but you said Mary was dead" making our character caught between reality and his own deluded world.

While Silent Hill 2 is a horror there are no screamers, jumps or cheap scares instead the game's atmosphere has been made so that each players imagination takes hold and conjures up the disturbing thoughts and images into their heads, almost as if you're punishing yourself for an unknown reason which reflects perfectly upon what James is going through in the town, all the while you go walking along dark corridors trying each door and praying that the door does not open as the black transition screen for going room to room will fill your heart with the fear of the unknown.

Some of the most intense sections revolve around the character named by fans as "Pyramid Head". Pyramid Head is one of the most metaphorical characters ever in video games, you could write an essay on just this one character (well I could anyway), he resembles alot of different things, guilt, punishment, shame, disgrace, restoration in humanity, executioner and so on. Of course he is also the root of many disturbing scenes like the infamous rape scene -as pictured below- This creature will give chase to you many times throughout the town, strangely enough however you seem to survive each time as he seems to lose interest in chasing you and simple walks away disappearing for a while, making you wonder why he isn't trying very hard to catch you it's almost as if he is toying with you.

You can't deny that's unsettling.

 
Silent Hill 2 makes full use of it's dark subjective material and utilizes it in a brilliant and disturbing way that no other game has ever achieved, if you have never played Silent Hill 2 and are a fan of horror I strongly recommend you should play this and add it to your collection.

Blast From The Past: Spyro the Dragon

"Spyro" was just like "Crash Bandicoot" -one of the greatest PS1 titles- with a whimsical purple little dragon that was adored by all and played by thousands, this however was short lived as Insomniac gave their legacy over to new developers to potential wreck their creation and ruin it they did, but a small light for the "Spyro" series still lives on within the original trilogy. 

The favorite of many fans out there but just like it's counterpart Crash, this game too had some initial teething problems to start with. The idea of this game was to find all the dragons that were encased in stone and free them, so it was essentially a big game of hide and seek. These statues however  were usually easy to spot and the developers made little effort to hide them (they couldn't anyway as they didn't create any good hiding places in the first place), even if there were one's you could see but couldn't reach, you could still easily get to it if you decide too work backwards.

Since each level had an average of four dragons to free it meant that the stages in this game were very short, you could go straight from the initiation of the level to the end of it in a matter of seconds, this comes across as a bit disappointing as it seems to lack obstructions and obstacles making the only challenges finding the statues (which is quite easy), collecting all the gems (which is easy too but time consuming), and finding the hidden keys (well I say hidden but they weren't really) which opens a chest which will have some of the levels gems in it.

Despite "Spyro" having it's problems it still doesn't mean that everyone should avoid it, with an interesting soundtrack that covers a spectrum of atmospheric settings and well created level layouts (which were sadly too short), the first game in the trilogy was still a success. 

Insomniac looked back at their first game and made a note not to make the same mistakes in "Spyro 2: Gateway to Glimmer"and they were brilliant at fixing them, with much longer levels and challenges that ranged in difficulty, this game outshined the first one.

For this game you had two main goals rather than one, collect talismans by completing the level, and obtain as many power orbs as possible which were given to you by completing challenges or finding the rare one hidden in hard to find places (which was actually well hidden this time), this game did also have the time consuming task of being able to collect every gem but this time in doing so you were rewarded with a bonus level at the end of the game making your efforts worth it.

This game also gave players new abilities such as swimming and climbing ladders however there was a downside to it, you had to pay in order to get the ability which robbed us in a way of completing earlier levels in one go as you might have needed to climb a ladder but wouldn't have the ability meaning you would have to come back at a later time.

The challenges in this game as I said before ranged in difficulty but some of them were a bit too difficult, for example - you goal is to get the fishes into the idol's mouth, you needed to feed it ten fish, blue and orange fishes are acceptable but red fishes made the idol sick and decreased the amount you had already given him, oh but did I mention the fishes leap out of the water giving you a fraction of a second to determine the colour and chose whether you can feed him or not, while this may not sound hard at all I can assure you it was and still is a tough challenge.

 

This was the final "Spyro" game in the trilogy and was undoubtedly the most critically acclaimed and longest one. In "Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon" players would find themselves seeking out the stolen dragon eggs which is a bit similar to the first game but instead of 80 statues this game had 150 -or 151 if you count the twins- eggs, making it last much longer than the first game as collecting the eggs was a mixture of finding them (varying in how easy they were to find), doing challenges for them and paying for them.

Just like the second game "Spyro 3" allowed players to swim, climb ladders and so on but this time they corrected their fault and allowed players to have those abilities right from the start and required no gems to purchase the skill.

Along with the third game new content came with it, new playable characters, new types of gameplay such as FPS, top down shooters etc and skateboarding areas were newly added into this game but they managed to get this right the first time without another game coming out and fixing the problems, this game is hard to fault with it was the best and sadly the last great Spyro game that was created.

Blast From The Past: Crash Bandicoot

It goes without saying that everyone with some form of gaming history has played at least one of the original "Crash Bandicoot" games, just like it's rival "Spyro", these were the best of the best of PlayStation gaming and have proven to be a series that have given us a lifetime of memories, for this entry i will only be writing about the first three games and exclude "Crash Team Racing" and "Crash Bash".

Alot of people adored the first Crash Bandicoot game and so did I, however after playing it fully a few months back I've realized how naive I was, everyone probably remembers using the super cheat code in order to play any level you wanted but did any of you remember how you saved the game for the first Crash game?, well basically you had to find the three boxes labeled "?" that had a token inside it which would take you to in the bonus round, from there you had to complete the bonus round and once completing it you were allowed to save, if you failed the bonus round by dying you wouldn't get another shot at it and have to keep playing through to the end of the level and into the next level to try out that bonus round and cross your fingers hoping you'd be capable of doing it otherwise, yup you wouldn't be able to save and have to play on to the next bonus round hoping you'd do that one.

Apart from the dodgy saving mechanic some of the levels were just poorly designed, for instance those levels set in the native's village there were sections in that where you had to spin at a wooden device to create a ledge, climb on top of it, jump on that one to spin at the device above the one you were on, jump onto that one and repeat all before the devices change, another "fine" example of this was the bridge levels such as "The Road To Nowhere" in these levels you would progress only by moving forward however most of the bridge was missing and required you to jump with extreme precision from the narrow plank of wood you were standing on to another single piece of wood, trust me guys if you remember this you'll now how difficult it was.

Even though I have pointed out this game's major flaws it doesn't mean that it's a terrible game, nay it is actually still very enjoyable -just not as great as I once perceived it to be- with several interesting settings and obstacles this game is still highly enjoyable and challenging (even though some parts are a little too challenging).

Crash Bandicoot 2 may not seem like it now but for it's time it pushed the ps1 to it's hardware limits and capabilities. Out of the three this one is the most unique game with interesting recurring themes such as city ruins, sewers, back-lands and so on that didn't seem like a random mess like the themes for Crash 1, this was also the first game to introduce the crystal concept as the first one only had gems (but it never told you which levels had gems which resulted in you wasting time collecting all the boxes and not being rewarded for your efforts), had an improved save file system and allowed players to repeat bonus levels until they were satisfied. This game was perfectly balanced for all players, in order to complete the game you'd just have to collect crystals and defeat the bosses this is a challenge for kids but easy for experienced players however the challenge for experienced is collecting the gems.

Furthermore this game featured easter eggs for example in one of the sewer based levels there was a split path, if you decided to take one path in particular you would find yourself in a room full of nitrogen boxes (instant death if touched), seems a bit odd doesn't it, however if you go right to the back of the room and avoid all the boxes the wall that is there is like a hologram as you can jump right through it into a secret area. This game had numerous hidden areas that even teleported you to another part of a different level making every level blend into each other as the majority of them linked up nicely.

For many of you out there Crash 3 was your favorite however the themes for this game, Egypt, Medieval times, Persia and so on have all been a little overplayed in games to the point it can be considered a cliche however the layouts of these levels and the obstructions they present are far from cliche, the idea's and problems the game presents to us in the form of a challenge is highly creative and very enjoyable as it has the right balance, it is not too hard that it is frustrating but not too easy that it is considered boring, it is challenging and like Crash 2 it can be played by any level of experience a player possesses, crystals for children, gems for experienced players and a new collectable which is the relic, a time attack mode that is aimed at children for the first few levels and slowly gets harder as it is aimed at the experienced players.

Early Halloween, SOLOWEEN Review

Well it's been a strange year for the duo Aural Vampire, they have ditched being a duo which lasted 8 years, to being a band by obtaining four new members, changed record labels and changed their genre from darkwave to electro rock and applying it all to their new single "SOLOWEEN".

 Track Listing

SOLOWEEN

Halloween Jitterbug

Back to Halloween

SOLOWEEN (instrumental)

Halloween Jitterbug (instrumental)

Back to Halloween (instrumental)

SOLOWEEN

Since this is the first song since the genre change SOLOWEEN is definitely not the same as the usual type they do, it no longer has that heavy darkwave sound to it, instead it's a lighter version as it is dimmed down with the help of guitars and drums -which is in charge of two of the new members-, however this is not all bad as SOLOWEEN actually sounds brilliant, EXO-CHIKA's style of vocals still remains the same and the music still sounds like a 70s horror soundtrack so the change is not all that bad.

Halloween Jitterbug

Again this piece has really toned down the darkwave sounds as this piece is mainly composed of guitar, piano and drums which again is brought on by it's new members, I was wondering at first if they could make a halloweeny track have a jitterbug vibe but it was made very clearly and effectively that, yes it can.

Back to Halloween

This song immediately pulled me in, it started off with a piano and sounded very merrily which by Aural Vampire's standards is a definite no-no, but I was not disappointing in hearing the start, quite the opposite I loved how they tried to be different and experiment their boundaries with what is and what isn't acceptable for their band, even EXO-CHIKA has changed her vocals every so slightly to make it more cheerful tones but still this is still a very good song in my books.  

My Top 25 Game Soundtracks

Sometimes a game's compositional score can have a great impact on the players emotional state of mind -or the lack of one-, some of these soundtracks can even make it into our everyday music library. It is this post that I will list my favorite scores and why: 

A Shadow Creeping Near

"A shadow Creeping Near" is a soundtrack from the game Clock Tower 3, the game lacks music throughout but when the player is being chased by an subordinate this music is played (not the music for the first two subordinates that give chase). I love the violins in this piece the high pitched and almost screeching like section gives off a brilliant horror atmosphere.

Ambient -Pipe Organ-

This brilliant mess, and clash of sounds comes from Fatal Frame IV, it is played nearing the climax of the game as the player finds themselves climbing their way to the top of a lighthouse. The music comes in gradually in terms of volume when the player is at the bottom of the lighthouse it will be quite to complete mute and as you climb the tower of stairs you will find that the music becomes much louder with each floor climbed. I think it's the memories I have of this game and the pipe organ that plays the melody underneath the long and almost breathy notes is what I've come to admire so much.
 

Chemical Plant Zone

Firstly how could anyone hate the score for "Chemical Plant" it's brilliant, the fast and almost bouncing dud's that play in the background, the melody and progression of each section, but the revamped version for Sonic Generations did it brilliantly and added an extra oomph to the sharp synthesized chords at about 00:42 in.


Closing Encounter, The

Klonoa next with the music for the final stage, the almost metronomic sound that plays in the background of this piece contemplates the music and helps bring each section together nicely, the choice of instrument is also highly admired as the dream like vibe it gives off is spectacular.

Day of Night, The

Silent Hill  has some of the best music out there, it can make you feel any emotion the composer wants and "The Day of Night" is no exception. The really long notes that blend into the next is beautifully done and a very relaxing piece yet loneliness surrounds it, in order to not make it boring a simple melody is played to finish it off.



Factory

It's Dark Cloud with it's contribution "Factory" the thudding of the bass played along side the soft synthetic piece goes really well together and is finished off with a few percussion pieces here and there that really help this score give a relaxed and calm vibe to it.


Fermata in Mystic Air

Another Silent Hill piece here, the static background noise that plays in the music gives it a very alluring effect almost as if a Gramophone is playing it, again this score does a tremendous job at making each long note blend into the next. However unlike "The Day of Night" I do not find this piece to be relaxing or lonely I find it very unique and mysterious.

Fireworks Factory

I love the whole fast thing they did with Spyro 3's Fireworks Factory level, it was a great way to build up adrenaline within players, the speedy bass line filled with a whole heap of various instruments, percussion's and sounds all go great when combined.

Golden Castle

I'm not entirely sure what it is that makes me love this piece, maybe it's the traditional sound to it, maybe it's the plucking like backing tracks in the piece that i admire.

Hikari -Orchestral Version-

I am not a big fan of pieces that use an orchestra of instruments, I find them a bit plain and although I do find them impressive I can never truly admire the piece they played. However "Hikari" is one of the very few (or maybe the only one) that I truly enjoy there are so many sections that this piece utilizes that makes it a wonder to the ears, Utada Hikaru is one hell of a composer even without her tremendous voice.

Hollow Bastion

Another Kingdom Hearts one now, with an interesting opening of scattered notes being flung at you that will entice you to keep listening and sure enough the entire piece is one very unusual score, form the scattered notes to the pipe melody at 00:30 this is one odd soundtrack.

Hydrocity Zone Act 1

I don't know about you lot but Sega has some of the best soundtracks, I'm obsessed with the retro and synthetic sound of 8bit and 16bit music, it's brilliant, I love the chorus of this piece (if you can call it that), the sharp chords of notes that play 00:36 and throughout the following section is a joy to listen to.

Hydrocity Zone Act 2

Hyrdrocity was one of my favorite stages in Sonic history, it is one of the very few water stages that I enjoy, and I loved these ones. The score of this piece was fantastic just like the stage prior, I loved the fast crescendo's that are played followed by a very uplifting crescendo section only to complete the circle and revert back to a very low toned piece. 

Inside the Claw Machine

I am not a fan of video games that are based on movies, however Toy Story was -and still is- one of the best adaptions that I have played, the soundtrack for the machinery level was very nicely done, I love the echo like sound that each note plays for the first section alone side on bass line and nothing else, it's simplicity gave off a very desolate feeling that worked really well for the level.

It's a Golden Show

The menu theme for Catherine is very different from others, most menu themes are very short or repetitive so players can hear it all before they move onto the game, however this piece is far from that, the opening piano made me want to listen to more of the soundtrack and when the jazz tones started to become apparent I was glad and the waiting did pay off, I'm not a big fan of jazz like music but the fact I like this piece is one of the reasons as to why it's one of my favorite game tracks.

Magdalene

Even more Silent Hill still (I did say they had some of the best soundtracks) this piece is beautifully made and Akira knows exactly when there should be a long period of silence before starting the next few notes followed by another few seconds of silence, we're use to music being polyrhythmic but having a piece where it is but one piano playing one note (or chords) at a time with no other notes playing in the backing of the track makes this very different from other scores in gaming.

Mine of Lights

Klonoa again here with "Mine of Lights" I am not entirely sure why this sticks out in my mind to be honest, but sometimes we like things without knowing why. Sorry.

Night of Fate

Last Kingdom Hearts here, this piece just sounds so epic and fast, now who doesn't love that eh? the violins and piano make a great contribution to the piece at appropriate times which helps boost my love for this fast paced score.

Opened Way, The

Shadow of The Colossus now with "The Opened Way" again another piece with violins -why do so many people hate the instrument anyway- this piece is even more epic than "Night of Fate" in my opinion, and with Viola's playing the backing track to this, both work perfectly together and with the best part starting at 00:37 who doesn't love that buildup.

Secrets

A sad piece now from Hotel Dusk - "Secrets"-, if listening to game soundtracks has thought us anything it is that piano's can create any emotion within us if it has been played and composed correctly and that's all there is to my liking of this piece a well created piece for the piano that is great at stirring an emotion.

Special Stage

Yeah I wasn't lying when I said I loved 8bit and 16bit soundtracks. The special Stage music for Sonic 3 is my favorite special stage score, I love the bouncing like rhythm of the bass, and the very obscure sound the melody plays off, plus the song gets faster and faster ... what's not to like?

Time of Confrontation, The

Viola's now with a truly remarkable style to it, the short sharp notes that are played continuously has a brilliant build up effect to it, and with the organ that is played alongside the viola but with longer notes does actually work really well when it's put together.

True

Last Silent Hill one and with a piano again, but unlike "Magdalene" this one has more than just a piano to it, it also has a soft synthetic beat and violins -yet again- these three instruments and their melodies all combined make a very lost sense coming from it.

Tsukimori -Music Box-

Ver 1

 

 Ver 2

Both these pieces are brilliant, I love the simple melody that changes it's pattern ever so slightly at times making it go upwards in pattern to repeating a previous section.


Untamed Heart

Last Klonoa one now as well (and last one overall), this is a deeply relaxing and dreamy score, I love the heartbeat that is played right after the opening sequence it is a very calming effect which is furthered by the following instrumental piece's that complement the score nicely.