Monday, May 21, 2012
In the End
Thursday, May 17, 2012
A Small Message to You Trolls Out There...
I lied. It's a long message. But you may find some enjoyment in reading this.
How to Become the Most Hated Member of Your Halo Team
Although video games have existed for nearly thirty years now, it’s only been around a decade since the popularity of online gaming has grown to its current state. Online gaming, where masses of 12-year olds and 30-year olds alike go head to head against each other, has recently become a cultural phenomenon in society. Over 20 million people have subscribed to Xbox Live service alone, leaving out the even greater number of people on the PC, Wii, and PS3. The Halo series is one of the most prominent series in online gaming, with over 953 years of online playtime after Halo Reach’s first week released. The majority of player would most likely say that they’re playing for fun; however, we all know that they’re really playing to win. And what better way is there for you to have fun than becoming the most hated player on your team? The answer: there is no better way! In doing these methods, you can be sure that at least one player on your team will be satisfactorily annoyed, as long as you remember one thing: do not get booted from the match. If booted from the match, all your attempts to become most hated will be rendered vain as your name fades in both the scoreboard and the other player’s minds.
Disclaimer: some methods may end up getting you banned, but you really shouldn’t care because no one does anything as preposterous as following the rules.
There are numerous ways to achieve your goal of being hated, and if you want a quick and easy way to attain this, here are a few fast, simple tips to becoming despised. First: quit the game as soon as it starts; if you’re lucky, you’ll also be the host, leading to a quick victory in being hated. Unfortunately however, the hate only lasts as long as you’re in the game, which only tends to be around five seconds. Another easy strategy is to first take your Xbox Live headset, and then prepare your voice for major usage; after taking these steps, yell as loud as you can. This ensures that everyone who has a headset will promptly fall to the ground screaming in agony at your voice, leading to a further domino effect as their voices compile on each other. Similarly to the last suggestion, screaming into the headset only works if you’re not muted by other players. Furthermore, this is only a temporary effort as you will most likely be muted after around five seconds. If neither of the previous two methods are particularly effective in your pursuit to be most hated on the team, simply take the Xbox 360 Wireless Controller and set it down. After completing this step, proceed out of the room and to completely ignore the fact that you willingly entered a game and left it. To add extra effect, come back within the last two minutes of the game to check if anyone has team-killed you; if this happens to be so, press the “X” button and then “yes” to boot any player that has rightfully killed you in frustration. If no teammate has attempted murdering you, attempt to play the game like you know what you’re doing, but you really don’t. This will most likely assure you the hatred of your team without taking difficult action to make them absolutely despise you.
If the previous methods weren’t successful, don’t worry; the more effort that goes into annoying your teammates, the more hatred you’ll get out of them. The next proposals return on that incentive if “quick and easy” didn’t work out. Number one: shoot your teammates. Besides actually playing the game how it’s supposed to be played, there is absolutely no better way to show you skill by shooting the people on your team. Since they’re not highlighted by a reddened reticule, aim-assist is turned off, making it ultimately more difficult to hit your teammates. Some explanation may be required to help your teammates understand; tell them why this shows you’re better than them. If they proceed to call you nasty names, good for you. The more creative and obscure the names you receive, the better you’re doing.
Here’s another tip: if you have the ability to grab all of the most powerful weapons on the map, go for it, even if you’re no good with them. Everyone knows the guy with the sniper rifle is the best player on the team, even if they couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn. This strategy is somewhat difficult compared to the others, but with a bit of “luck” (what some players might call “skill”), it should posses no challenge.
If you’ve taken all these steps and your team still shows some measure of likening to you, proceed to these next steps. Gather some friends (those people you supposedly spend time with in real life) together in preparation for a match. After collecting, proceed into game, making sure there’s one space left on your team for someone outside party. Next, have every single team member in party terrorize the single outsider on team. If angry screaming voices and/or the outsider attempts implanting your or team with bullets, do not stop. It will only make him happy. If more hatred is desired, do not boot the outsider from the match when he tries to annihilate you and your party. He/she only wishes to rid himself of the misery of playing with you. Instead, continue being an absolutely horrible teammate until either the outsider quits, or the game ends. If satisfaction is not gained from ruining the outsider’s day, there exists few other extremities to achieve the goal of being most hated. The following method is nearly 100% guaranteed to make you absolutely loathed by your other teammates. Almost identical to the last suggestion, this method again requires the use of “friends”. Before the game starts, invite the enemy team’s players into an Xbox Live party chat session. Once communication is established, proceed to form an alliance with the enemy. Take a vehicle from your team that has seats for multiple occupants; this will allow the other team to ride along in the same vehicle. This method usually works best with a driver-gunner combination vehicle, such as the Warthog. After gaining possession of vehicle, drive to the enemy team to have member get into gunner seat. With all these steps accomplished, drive vehicle by team members to allow enemy to get an easy kill. This method has been proven to get most, if not all team members to subsequently “ragequit” from the match.
Congratulations! You have become the most hated member on your team! This may have meant losing the match, but it’s a well known fact that no one really plays to win. Winning would mean gaining more credits, having a better reflection on your personal record, plus obtaining the respect of other players. It might have also cost you your Xbox Live membership, a membership you pay over $60 a year for, but it’s totally worth it! We hope that by following our guide, you have become an entry on Microsoft’s “ban until the year 9999 list”, and will never know the enjoyment of playing a friendly match ever again.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition Going Strong
It's been nearly a week since its release, and already Minecraft Xbox 360 edition has surpassed all previous Xbox Live Arcade sales, within its first 24 hours. Quite a feat, don't you think so?
The approval rating, although overall positive, is taking some hits from the lack of four-player splitscreen support on SDTVs, however. Apparently, many buyers of the game bought Minecraft on Xbox solely for the splitscreen purpose, of which their motivation was the four-player option, not the two-player option.
There are mayn sources that directly state that Minecraft can only be played on an HDTV in order to utilize four-player splitscreen, being only a short internet search away. If people would do their research on the game before buying it (impluse buying much?), they wouldn't be up at Microsoft's doors demanding refunds on their poor buying habits.
As another point, I would think that most people would own an HDTV of sorts by now, why would you play such a high-end, graphically demanding gaming console on anything less than HD? Even so, a 20" 720p monitor will only cost you around $200 at most, and the majority of the time, it'll be less than that (go here- http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_p_n_size_browse-bin_mrr_0?rh=n%3A172282%2Cn%3A%21493964%2Cn%3A1266092011%2Cn%3A172659%2Cp_n_size_browse-bin%3A1232879011&bbn=172659&ie=UTF8&qid=1337007464&rnid=1232878011 if you want to challenge that claim)
If you have the money to buy the extra three controllers required ($120- ~$200), you really shouldn't have that much of a problem buying an HDTV, then.
Also, PLEASE do some research on your purchase before buying something...it goes without saying that if you spend money, you should enjoy your purchase.
The approval rating, although overall positive, is taking some hits from the lack of four-player splitscreen support on SDTVs, however. Apparently, many buyers of the game bought Minecraft on Xbox solely for the splitscreen purpose, of which their motivation was the four-player option, not the two-player option.
There are mayn sources that directly state that Minecraft can only be played on an HDTV in order to utilize four-player splitscreen, being only a short internet search away. If people would do their research on the game before buying it (impluse buying much?), they wouldn't be up at Microsoft's doors demanding refunds on their poor buying habits.
As another point, I would think that most people would own an HDTV of sorts by now, why would you play such a high-end, graphically demanding gaming console on anything less than HD? Even so, a 20" 720p monitor will only cost you around $200 at most, and the majority of the time, it'll be less than that (go here- http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_p_n_size_browse-bin_mrr_0?rh=n%3A172282%2Cn%3A%21493964%2Cn%3A1266092011%2Cn%3A172659%2Cp_n_size_browse-bin%3A1232879011&bbn=172659&ie=UTF8&qid=1337007464&rnid=1232878011 if you want to challenge that claim)
If you have the money to buy the extra three controllers required ($120- ~$200), you really shouldn't have that much of a problem buying an HDTV, then.
Also, PLEASE do some research on your purchase before buying something...it goes without saying that if you spend money, you should enjoy your purchase.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Minecraft Out on Xbox
It's been nearly a year since its official announcement at E3, but Minecraft is finally available for download on Xbox Live. Costing 1600 Microsoft Points ($20), Minecraft won't make much of a dent in your pocket, being $40 cheaper than a full retail game. Being an Arcade title however, this is to be expected. Minecraft is the last Arcade game in Microsofts' new series of arcade games featuring 600 gamerscore as opposed to the old 200 gamerscore (it still doesn't do anything :'( ).
Minecraft is very similar to the PC version, but with a few minor differences from the Beta 1.6.6 version represented on Xbox. I don't really remember when shears were added, but they're not available in the current version on Xbox, returning wool-gathering to the ancient sheep-punch-fest of last year.
Worlds are also limited in that they don't generate forever like in the PC version; the Xbox's limitations in memory is unfortunately going to have to make me generate new worlds to access new materials in updates, such as when Lapis Lazuli was introduced; since my world already had the chunks generated, I had to travel far, far away in order to gain access to the shiny blue stuff. The process included a nether portal in order to cover the large distance. I'm not sure how the Xbox is going to handle this, but I'd rather not get thrown into the void while jumping out of my portal.
The graphics in the game are also slightly degraded from the PC version; fog doesn't have a presence, so you can see where the game is loading chunks in the distance; also, the shadows are particularly rigid, but I'm just assuming that since smooth lighting was introduced later in the Beta span.
Finally, I noticed that the grass/leaves are all the same shade of green, and I REALLY hope that they'll fix this later. Having the same color of leaves makes the game feel like it's still in the Alpha era, and the leaves are just...too green.
Minecraft is very similar to the PC version, but with a few minor differences from the Beta 1.6.6 version represented on Xbox. I don't really remember when shears were added, but they're not available in the current version on Xbox, returning wool-gathering to the ancient sheep-punch-fest of last year.
Worlds are also limited in that they don't generate forever like in the PC version; the Xbox's limitations in memory is unfortunately going to have to make me generate new worlds to access new materials in updates, such as when Lapis Lazuli was introduced; since my world already had the chunks generated, I had to travel far, far away in order to gain access to the shiny blue stuff. The process included a nether portal in order to cover the large distance. I'm not sure how the Xbox is going to handle this, but I'd rather not get thrown into the void while jumping out of my portal.
The graphics in the game are also slightly degraded from the PC version; fog doesn't have a presence, so you can see where the game is loading chunks in the distance; also, the shadows are particularly rigid, but I'm just assuming that since smooth lighting was introduced later in the Beta span.
Finally, I noticed that the grass/leaves are all the same shade of green, and I REALLY hope that they'll fix this later. Having the same color of leaves makes the game feel like it's still in the Alpha era, and the leaves are just...too green.
Exotic Guitars
Occasionally you might find a guitar with a particularly flashy paint scheme, but what might classify as "exotic"? Maybe a slightly different headstock with a few pointy juttings of wood? Maybe an axe that's actually is an axe. Here's a list of some particularly interesting 6-strings I found on the interwebz:
Thursday, May 3, 2012
PLEASE stop Believing
My last post gave me some inspiration for this.
While I do believe that Don't Stop Believing by Journey is good song, it's extrememly overplayed. This song is incredibly popular, being one of the only songs from the 80's still being played on pop stations (besides Michael Jackson, of course).
What irks me the most is not the actual song itself, but some of the listeners themselves. The people that claim "Oh, I listen to classic rock!" and list this song as their only example are...well...superficial. Yes, you know one song that wasn't made in the past three months. Good for you. But that doesn't make you a listener of the classics. If that person really listened to classics (and I usually define the classic era as the 60's and 70's), they would know much more than one simple, overplayed song.
On the other hand, having the song on popular radio stations can be somewhat of a good thing. The song exposes the talent-starved pop population of actual skill, with actual instrumentals in place of that digital no-skill synthesized junk (and not the 80's synths either). I don't really know if someone would be truly inspired to pick up guitar from just this one song, but it'll at least show what an intrument does.
While I do believe that Don't Stop Believing by Journey is good song, it's extrememly overplayed. This song is incredibly popular, being one of the only songs from the 80's still being played on pop stations (besides Michael Jackson, of course).
What irks me the most is not the actual song itself, but some of the listeners themselves. The people that claim "Oh, I listen to classic rock!" and list this song as their only example are...well...superficial. Yes, you know one song that wasn't made in the past three months. Good for you. But that doesn't make you a listener of the classics. If that person really listened to classics (and I usually define the classic era as the 60's and 70's), they would know much more than one simple, overplayed song.
On the other hand, having the song on popular radio stations can be somewhat of a good thing. The song exposes the talent-starved pop population of actual skill, with actual instrumentals in place of that digital no-skill synthesized junk (and not the 80's synths either). I don't really know if someone would be truly inspired to pick up guitar from just this one song, but it'll at least show what an intrument does.
Don't Stop Believing (in the Radio)
I've known about the song "The Spirit of the Radio" by Rush for some time, even before my recent obsession with Rush, but I've never noticed this before. My drummer friend from church, also a Rush Fanatic, brought a video into my attention yesterday night, right before I was going to hit the hay.
The chord progressions in "Don't Stop Believing" and in "The Spirit of the Radio" are nearly identical; if one plays both songs side by side, the songs match up perfectly in both timing and key. Strange, isn't it?
A "coincidence" between the two:
The Spirit of the Radio was released in 1980 on Rush's album "Permanent Waves", one year before Journey's release of its album "Escape", which contained its flagship song Don't Stop Believing.
While I'm not directly accusing Journey of stealing Rush's song, it's INCREDIBLY strange considering the timing of the releases, although I highly doubt it. Just listen for yourself, it's eerily strange...
The chord progressions in "Don't Stop Believing" and in "The Spirit of the Radio" are nearly identical; if one plays both songs side by side, the songs match up perfectly in both timing and key. Strange, isn't it?
A "coincidence" between the two:
The Spirit of the Radio was released in 1980 on Rush's album "Permanent Waves", one year before Journey's release of its album "Escape", which contained its flagship song Don't Stop Believing.
While I'm not directly accusing Journey of stealing Rush's song, it's INCREDIBLY strange considering the timing of the releases, although I highly doubt it. Just listen for yourself, it's eerily strange...
Sunday, April 29, 2012
More Songy-things
Here's a link to the two Cygnuses, I probably should have put these in the last post, so...
The Longer, the Better
First off, don't take that the way I think that you're reading that.
Actually, I don't even care.
But anyways, the longer in the title refers to song length, in this case. Cross out whatever crude image you have of conga lines, and focus here.
The average song length of a song on the radio clocks in at around 3-5 minutes, with a few outliers here and there. While I can understand that 10 minutes could be a long time (it isn't), I can't help but get fed up anyone sees an eight-minute song and freaks out, saying "THAT'S A LONG SONG". Perhaps this tells of the increasingly-getting-shorter attention span the average teenagers has. With a three-minute song, hardly anything can be said or done; there's only enough time for a chorus and maybe two verses. This also shows the lack of actual content songs really have now.
I know of many long songs, and all it takes is an attentive ear to grind through it. Yes, it's possible to sit still for more than two minutes, but I'm not going to control you.
Stairway to Heaven stands as the most well-known long song to the public, defying radio standards at around nine minutes long. However, when one looks at the live version of the same song (1973 TSRTS), it's grown to around 11 or 12 minutes. the extra few minutes is filled with a salivating guitar solo, something quite absent from today's mainstream music. (Skill too :P)
Many of Rush's songs are also long, in order to properly tell a story. The songs are truly deserving of "epic" (literally here). In the song "Cygnus X-1", Geddy Lee describes the tale of an adventurer going into space in the Rocinante towards the black hole, Cygnus X-1. The story progresses from a happy, upbeat tone towards a harsher, screaming tone, as the black hole tears the adventurer apart. Rush does a wonderful job establishing a setting and the characters, which is usually what takes up a large portion of the song. Even though Cygnus X-1 is around 11 minutes long, the story is still continued in a follow-up, Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres. The second song in the series is even longer than the first, at around 15 minutes long. While the incredible length of the songs makes it hard to find the time to listen to them together, when they are listened to, it's the equivalent of watching a show on TV. The entertainment's there, you just have to take the effort to indulge in it (like a book).
Another song by Rush, 2112, is around 21 minutes long, comprising of (I think) seven separate parts; the song has some of the best lyrics I've ever had the pleasure of listening to, gaining enough fame to even be the entire main story of a Guitar Hero game. Here's an excerpt from part III, discovery:
What can this strange device be?
When I touch it, it gives forth a sound It's got wires that vibrate and give music What can this thing be that I found?
See how it sings like a sad heart And joyously screams out it's pain Sounds that build high like a mountain Or notes that fall gently like rain
I can't wait to share this new wonder The people will all see it's light Let them all make their own music The Priests praise my name on this night
(Rush, 1976)
This part of the song is where the protagonist discovers a guitar, hidden behind a waterfall; 100 years in the future, such a device has been completely outlawed in the communistic society in the future. The story goes on to describe his encounter with the Priests of the Temple of Syrinx (the leader-figures), and later his dream about the past society. You really have to listen to the song in order to fully grasp it, so I strongly advise listening to it, it's definitely a masterpiece.
Actually, I don't even care.
But anyways, the longer in the title refers to song length, in this case. Cross out whatever crude image you have of conga lines, and focus here.
The average song length of a song on the radio clocks in at around 3-5 minutes, with a few outliers here and there. While I can understand that 10 minutes could be a long time (it isn't), I can't help but get fed up anyone sees an eight-minute song and freaks out, saying "THAT'S A LONG SONG". Perhaps this tells of the increasingly-getting-shorter attention span the average teenagers has. With a three-minute song, hardly anything can be said or done; there's only enough time for a chorus and maybe two verses. This also shows the lack of actual content songs really have now.
I know of many long songs, and all it takes is an attentive ear to grind through it. Yes, it's possible to sit still for more than two minutes, but I'm not going to control you.
Stairway to Heaven stands as the most well-known long song to the public, defying radio standards at around nine minutes long. However, when one looks at the live version of the same song (1973 TSRTS), it's grown to around 11 or 12 minutes. the extra few minutes is filled with a salivating guitar solo, something quite absent from today's mainstream music. (Skill too :P)
Many of Rush's songs are also long, in order to properly tell a story. The songs are truly deserving of "epic" (literally here). In the song "Cygnus X-1", Geddy Lee describes the tale of an adventurer going into space in the Rocinante towards the black hole, Cygnus X-1. The story progresses from a happy, upbeat tone towards a harsher, screaming tone, as the black hole tears the adventurer apart. Rush does a wonderful job establishing a setting and the characters, which is usually what takes up a large portion of the song. Even though Cygnus X-1 is around 11 minutes long, the story is still continued in a follow-up, Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres. The second song in the series is even longer than the first, at around 15 minutes long. While the incredible length of the songs makes it hard to find the time to listen to them together, when they are listened to, it's the equivalent of watching a show on TV. The entertainment's there, you just have to take the effort to indulge in it (like a book).
Another song by Rush, 2112, is around 21 minutes long, comprising of (I think) seven separate parts; the song has some of the best lyrics I've ever had the pleasure of listening to, gaining enough fame to even be the entire main story of a Guitar Hero game. Here's an excerpt from part III, discovery:
What can this strange device be?
When I touch it, it gives forth a sound It's got wires that vibrate and give music What can this thing be that I found?
See how it sings like a sad heart And joyously screams out it's pain Sounds that build high like a mountain Or notes that fall gently like rain
I can't wait to share this new wonder The people will all see it's light Let them all make their own music The Priests praise my name on this night
(Rush, 1976)
This part of the song is where the protagonist discovers a guitar, hidden behind a waterfall; 100 years in the future, such a device has been completely outlawed in the communistic society in the future. The story goes on to describe his encounter with the Priests of the Temple of Syrinx (the leader-figures), and later his dream about the past society. You really have to listen to the song in order to fully grasp it, so I strongly advise listening to it, it's definitely a masterpiece.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Crysis 3 Official Gameplay Trailer, Released
It's been about one year since the last Crysis game, Crysis 2. CryTek seems to have taken an approad similar to Activision, as the four-year gap between the other Crysis games is absent here. This presents a few worries to me, personally. From the gameplay trailer, it can be observed that the HUD looks exactly the same as the previous game; while this can be explained by the lack of different suits (i.e., Nanosuit 1.0 vs the 2.0 in Crysis 2), it still is somewhat troubling. HUDs between games generally change as a sign of progress, such as between Halo 2 and 3, even though the spartans of both games were wearing the exact same suits.
As Crysis is already at the pinnacle of graphic technology, there really isn't much room for improvement there. The game basically looks the same, although not in the same way that MW3 looks almost exactly the same as MW2. Hopefully the CryEngine has been improved to perform better on consoles, but I won't complain if there isn't much of a difference here.
The main "differing point" between Crysis 2 and 3 is the new bow; there hasn't been a lot of information given on the bow, like why it's even in the game in the first place (we've had guns for quite some time now...). The main function of the bow will probably be similar to any other stealth weapon, and probably won't put as large of a drain on the cloaking of the suit.
CryTek has hopefully put somewhat of a larger effort on creating the sandbox-feel of the first game; the environment is a mix of the first two games, literally being urban jungle. The third game will also hopefully fill in a few of the gap that left me confused at the end of the second game, even though Crysis 3 takes place a few years after the first two.
As Crysis is already at the pinnacle of graphic technology, there really isn't much room for improvement there. The game basically looks the same, although not in the same way that MW3 looks almost exactly the same as MW2. Hopefully the CryEngine has been improved to perform better on consoles, but I won't complain if there isn't much of a difference here.
The main "differing point" between Crysis 2 and 3 is the new bow; there hasn't been a lot of information given on the bow, like why it's even in the game in the first place (we've had guns for quite some time now...). The main function of the bow will probably be similar to any other stealth weapon, and probably won't put as large of a drain on the cloaking of the suit.
CryTek has hopefully put somewhat of a larger effort on creating the sandbox-feel of the first game; the environment is a mix of the first two games, literally being urban jungle. The third game will also hopefully fill in a few of the gap that left me confused at the end of the second game, even though Crysis 3 takes place a few years after the first two.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Beginners' Guide to Guitar Companies
Ever lost in the sea of guitar brands, unable to choose one out of them all to be your permanent playing companion? Look no further (or just read right over this), this post's aim is to give a few details on the most popular guitar manufacturers in America.
First up: Gibson
Gibson has established a long history in America, being renowned as one of the most popular and high-quality guitar manufacturers in the country, as well as being one of the most iconic. When people think of guitars, it's either the Gibson Les Paul that pops into their head, or the Fender Stratocaster (more later!).
Gibson's guitars are usually known by guitar players as having a thick, dirty sound; many of the classic rock artists such as Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones utilized Gibson guitars to create a hard, rebellious tone. The signature sounds of the guitar come from the dual-coil pickups in the guitar, called humbuckers. By winding two pickups close together, the hum generated by normal single-coil pickups are cancelled, as they are winded opposite of each other. Gibson isn't the only brand to do this, but almost all of their guitars are equipped with humbucking pickups.
Fender Stands as the other other guitar manufacturing standard; Fender produces perhaps the most iconic guitar of all time: the stratocaster. As a polar opposite to Gibson guitars, almost all Fender guitars have single-coil pickups; the sounds that emintate from this style are usually cleaner and crisper, giving strats their signature "quack". Stratocasters and Telecasters are most often used with cleaner, calmer songs, but they're defnitely not exempt from hard rocking sound. In addition to having two single coils on most models, some stratocasters have a humbucker mounted in the treble (back) position, allowing for cruchy rhythms such as Stevie Ray Vaughn's blues-driven riffing and Jimi Hendrix's also-blues-inspired melodies. The twang of the stratocaster may be more familiar in country-esque songs, like in the southern rock song Sweet Home Alabama, a tune almost everybody is familar with; in order to get such a sound, stratocasters produced after 1977 have a five-way pickup switch, allowing a combination of the back and middle/front and middle pickups to be active. Before this incorporation, players would put the switch in between the original first and second, temporarily wedging the selector in place.
Aside from the main two companies in my mind, many others exist: Ibanez. ESP, PRS, and also the sub-brands within the major manufacturers such as Epiphone and Squire (stratocasters). This next section won't be as thorough as the previous, but I'll try and put a few points in for each.
Ibanez and ESP are both used primarily for metal genres, and as such, I'm not as well-informed about them. From what I do know, the guitars are usually emphasized by two humbuckers pickups with one single-coil between both. EMG is a popular brand of pickups used by these guitars. Most ESP and Ibanez guitars are also fitted with some sort of tremolo bar system, usually some sort of Floyd Rose bridge.
PRS stands as kind of a mix of the other brands. Prices are usually high on the guitars, so I haven't ever came into contact with many, if any at all. Most of the PRS guitars feature a two-cut design, meaning they look similar to stratocasters. Being high-end guitars, PRS guitars have wonderful sound, usually being nice and warm while using two humbuckers.
Some PRS guitars are also fitted with a piezo pickup, which picks up sound in a different way than normal electro-magnetic pickups. Instead of translating disturbances in the magnetic field around the strings, piezoelectric pickups work by interpreting vibrations into electric signals. Piezoelectric pickups are commonly used on acoustic guitars, as some acoustic strings don't have the metal cores to disrupt magnetic fields.
But back to guitars; both Gibson and Fender give the option of lower-priced guitars, in exchange for lower quality materials and overall quality. Despite how this sounds, the guitars from Epiphone and Squire are still very good instruments to play, being nowhere near as bad as a random off-brand model (although you might find a good one every now and then; I'll cover one later). Instead of being produced in America, the guitars are produced in areas where labor is cheaper, such as Mexico and Korea. This is turn lowers the price of the guitar, in case you don't want to pay $3,000 on your first guitar (not guilty >_>)
Just as an additional side(ish) note, there are some off-brand companies that produce fairly high-quality guitars. My own personal guitar is produced by a small, family-owned company, and yet still is of good quality. Link here > http://ravenwestguitar.com/ Most of this comany's guitars are basically copies of other major-brand guitars, but they still perform well; the only complaint I've had so far is about the paint on the hardware. The paint on the harware finish seems to wear off easily, but it's not a major altering feature.
First up: Gibson
Gibson has established a long history in America, being renowned as one of the most popular and high-quality guitar manufacturers in the country, as well as being one of the most iconic. When people think of guitars, it's either the Gibson Les Paul that pops into their head, or the Fender Stratocaster (more later!).
Gibson's guitars are usually known by guitar players as having a thick, dirty sound; many of the classic rock artists such as Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones utilized Gibson guitars to create a hard, rebellious tone. The signature sounds of the guitar come from the dual-coil pickups in the guitar, called humbuckers. By winding two pickups close together, the hum generated by normal single-coil pickups are cancelled, as they are winded opposite of each other. Gibson isn't the only brand to do this, but almost all of their guitars are equipped with humbucking pickups.
Fender Stands as the other other guitar manufacturing standard; Fender produces perhaps the most iconic guitar of all time: the stratocaster. As a polar opposite to Gibson guitars, almost all Fender guitars have single-coil pickups; the sounds that emintate from this style are usually cleaner and crisper, giving strats their signature "quack". Stratocasters and Telecasters are most often used with cleaner, calmer songs, but they're defnitely not exempt from hard rocking sound. In addition to having two single coils on most models, some stratocasters have a humbucker mounted in the treble (back) position, allowing for cruchy rhythms such as Stevie Ray Vaughn's blues-driven riffing and Jimi Hendrix's also-blues-inspired melodies. The twang of the stratocaster may be more familiar in country-esque songs, like in the southern rock song Sweet Home Alabama, a tune almost everybody is familar with; in order to get such a sound, stratocasters produced after 1977 have a five-way pickup switch, allowing a combination of the back and middle/front and middle pickups to be active. Before this incorporation, players would put the switch in between the original first and second, temporarily wedging the selector in place.
Aside from the main two companies in my mind, many others exist: Ibanez. ESP, PRS, and also the sub-brands within the major manufacturers such as Epiphone and Squire (stratocasters). This next section won't be as thorough as the previous, but I'll try and put a few points in for each.
Ibanez and ESP are both used primarily for metal genres, and as such, I'm not as well-informed about them. From what I do know, the guitars are usually emphasized by two humbuckers pickups with one single-coil between both. EMG is a popular brand of pickups used by these guitars. Most ESP and Ibanez guitars are also fitted with some sort of tremolo bar system, usually some sort of Floyd Rose bridge.
PRS stands as kind of a mix of the other brands. Prices are usually high on the guitars, so I haven't ever came into contact with many, if any at all. Most of the PRS guitars feature a two-cut design, meaning they look similar to stratocasters. Being high-end guitars, PRS guitars have wonderful sound, usually being nice and warm while using two humbuckers.
Some PRS guitars are also fitted with a piezo pickup, which picks up sound in a different way than normal electro-magnetic pickups. Instead of translating disturbances in the magnetic field around the strings, piezoelectric pickups work by interpreting vibrations into electric signals. Piezoelectric pickups are commonly used on acoustic guitars, as some acoustic strings don't have the metal cores to disrupt magnetic fields.
But back to guitars; both Gibson and Fender give the option of lower-priced guitars, in exchange for lower quality materials and overall quality. Despite how this sounds, the guitars from Epiphone and Squire are still very good instruments to play, being nowhere near as bad as a random off-brand model (although you might find a good one every now and then; I'll cover one later). Instead of being produced in America, the guitars are produced in areas where labor is cheaper, such as Mexico and Korea. This is turn lowers the price of the guitar, in case you don't want to pay $3,000 on your first guitar (not guilty >_>)
Just as an additional side(ish) note, there are some off-brand companies that produce fairly high-quality guitars. My own personal guitar is produced by a small, family-owned company, and yet still is of good quality. Link here > http://ravenwestguitar.com/ Most of this comany's guitars are basically copies of other major-brand guitars, but they still perform well; the only complaint I've had so far is about the paint on the hardware. The paint on the harware finish seems to wear off easily, but it's not a major altering feature.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Angry Birds Floats Off Into Space
A popular app on both the Apple Appstore and the Android Marketplace (now Google Play), Angry Birds has become a cultural icon for phone games, spawning massive fanbases wearing anti-pig T-shirts and the small fluffy red things.
The newest entry into the series, Angry Birds Space, launched a few weeks ago, and surprisingly didn't contain too many levels. The new mechanics, however, are stunning. The game forces the player to utilize unorthodox methods for destroying their forever-nemisis pigs. Gravity, a key component of Angry Birds, is altered and in some areas completely removed from the game. While it may seem totally representative of "space combat", the birds still succumb to friction when flying through space, with their velocities strangely slowing down despite the total lack of atmosphere.
The game shouldn't take the average player too long to beat, having only two main chapters, with an additional five levels marked "hidden" where the player unlocks them by finding golden eggs hidden in the level. In total, there's somewhere around 50 levels, which is surprisingly lacking considering the average few hundred or so in the other three games. The other games have been available for quite some time though, so expect some additions to Angry Birds Space in the near future.
Have a download link, it's on the interwebz. (It'll cost you about a dollar on the Apple store...or whatever it's called, (sorry!))
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rovio.angrybirdsspace.ads
iOS: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/angry-birds-space-hd/id501968250?mt=8&affId=1823863&ign-mpt=uo%3D6
The newest entry into the series, Angry Birds Space, launched a few weeks ago, and surprisingly didn't contain too many levels. The new mechanics, however, are stunning. The game forces the player to utilize unorthodox methods for destroying their forever-nemisis pigs. Gravity, a key component of Angry Birds, is altered and in some areas completely removed from the game. While it may seem totally representative of "space combat", the birds still succumb to friction when flying through space, with their velocities strangely slowing down despite the total lack of atmosphere.
The game shouldn't take the average player too long to beat, having only two main chapters, with an additional five levels marked "hidden" where the player unlocks them by finding golden eggs hidden in the level. In total, there's somewhere around 50 levels, which is surprisingly lacking considering the average few hundred or so in the other three games. The other games have been available for quite some time though, so expect some additions to Angry Birds Space in the near future.
Have a download link, it's on the interwebz. (It'll cost you about a dollar on the Apple store...or whatever it's called, (sorry!))
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rovio.angrybirdsspace.ads
iOS: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/angry-birds-space-hd/id501968250?mt=8&affId=1823863&ign-mpt=uo%3D6
And the Default Language Is...
I'm pretty sure that last time I checked, the official langauge of America is ENGLISH...not Chinese, Japanese, or Korean. So many times I've turned my school computer and began typing, just to find that I'm typing some foreign dialect, complete with random lines and squiggles.
Last year this wasn't a problem even relatively heard of, as it didn't exist.
But clearly, it's enough of a problem for me to complain about it, especially since IT'S THE SECOND TO LAST MONTH OF SCHOOL.
When we first encountered the problem on our first computer lab day way back in August, we were told that whoever set up the system had accidentally changed the default language; I shrugged it off, thinking it would be a simple, easy fix. One week passed, language bar still in Asian.
Two weeks later, still sketching out squiggles.
One month later STILL having no idea what I'm typing...
SIX MONTHS later, still nothing has been done to resolve the issue.
Even as I look now, I can see another student having to go through the hassle of reverting the default language to English. The process in order to successfully change the language to English involves right clicking the small language button in the bottom right corner of the task bar, clicking settings, then changing the default language to English, then hitting apply, and finally, closing the window. Of course, this only works some of the times, being almost as reliable as the economy. Of course, this means just about nothing.
If one chooses not to undergo this process and simply skips to just clicking the little language button and changing it to English, they'll probably find it about as effective as trying to play guitar with a drumstick (a chicken one, mind you). After this process, clicking on ANYTHING else will revert the language to whatever default oriental language happens to be default on your computer.
You'd think this would be a simple problem to fix, right? It might as well be, but apparently none of our media technichians know how to fix it, or they simply just don't know about it. Obviously, they'll probably know how to fix it themselves, but WHY haven't they? I really have no idea. From my guess, it probably still won't be fixed by next year, but who cares.
Oh yeah.
EVERYBODY IN THE SCHOOL MAYBE?
Last year this wasn't a problem even relatively heard of, as it didn't exist.
But clearly, it's enough of a problem for me to complain about it, especially since IT'S THE SECOND TO LAST MONTH OF SCHOOL.
When we first encountered the problem on our first computer lab day way back in August, we were told that whoever set up the system had accidentally changed the default language; I shrugged it off, thinking it would be a simple, easy fix. One week passed, language bar still in Asian.
Two weeks later, still sketching out squiggles.
One month later STILL having no idea what I'm typing...
SIX MONTHS later, still nothing has been done to resolve the issue.
Even as I look now, I can see another student having to go through the hassle of reverting the default language to English. The process in order to successfully change the language to English involves right clicking the small language button in the bottom right corner of the task bar, clicking settings, then changing the default language to English, then hitting apply, and finally, closing the window. Of course, this only works some of the times, being almost as reliable as the economy. Of course, this means just about nothing.
If one chooses not to undergo this process and simply skips to just clicking the little language button and changing it to English, they'll probably find it about as effective as trying to play guitar with a drumstick (a chicken one, mind you). After this process, clicking on ANYTHING else will revert the language to whatever default oriental language happens to be default on your computer.
You'd think this would be a simple problem to fix, right? It might as well be, but apparently none of our media technichians know how to fix it, or they simply just don't know about it. Obviously, they'll probably know how to fix it themselves, but WHY haven't they? I really have no idea. From my guess, it probably still won't be fixed by next year, but who cares.
Oh yeah.
EVERYBODY IN THE SCHOOL MAYBE?
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Crysis 3 Reveal
And just in time for my finishing the games (and reviews, check them out- http://communicationblogdown.blogspot.com/2012/03/crysis-2-review-xbox-360-part-one.html), Crysis 3 got a brief leak in EA's store yesterday, with a picture of Alcatraz, the main character, sporting some sort of bow and arrow:
EA is planning an official reveal (although it's not offically anounced it's been Crysis they've been anouncing, it's fairly obvious that it is) on April 16th (four days!)
A Rush of New Music
Recently I've been listening to quite a bit of Rush, quite different form my usual Zeppelin obsession. Both are relatively within the same genre (classic rock...kind of), so it shouldn't be of much particular surprise that I've began a new taste in music.
Unlike most a lot of rock bands, Rush is composed of only three members, giving it the nickname of a "power trio". Instead of having a dedicated singer, the bassist, Geddy Lee, sings high-pitched Robert Plant-esque wails while at the same time pounding out complex bass riffs. Each member of the band is responsible for playing ridiculous amounts of intrumentation; for example, the drummer, Neil Peart, is completely surrounded by the massive amount of parts in his drumset. Geddy Lee, in adition to bass AND singing, also plays most of the syth parts in Rush's music.
Unlike most a lot of rock bands, Rush is composed of only three members, giving it the nickname of a "power trio". Instead of having a dedicated singer, the bassist, Geddy Lee, sings high-pitched Robert Plant-esque wails while at the same time pounding out complex bass riffs. Each member of the band is responsible for playing ridiculous amounts of intrumentation; for example, the drummer, Neil Peart, is completely surrounded by the massive amount of parts in his drumset. Geddy Lee, in adition to bass AND singing, also plays most of the syth parts in Rush's music.
Poor roadies...
Performing their song "Xanadu" in the past, each member of the band has had to utilize multiple instruments in order to get the full song out to the audience. Each guitarist had double neck variations of their instruments, with guitarist Alex Lifeson using a 6/12 combo similar to my own, and Geddy Lee using an unusual 4-string bass 6-string guitar combo in order to play the rhythm of the song.
Each member of the band is a virtuoso of their respective intrument, meaning that they're pretty much at the top of their level; each is a well-respected player.
So far, my complaints with Rush involve the complexities of their songs. Many of the songs present odd time signatures, making playing along very, very, VERY difficult to play to. It even gets to the point of 15/8 sometimes, and by then it's just ridiculous. The average non-musically inclined listener wouldn't even pick up on the odd times, so it just stands as some sort of "trolling" maneuver towards anyone trying to learn their songs.
As with Zeppelin over the summer, it's probably going to take quite some time to be able to name every Rush song by name; with a week of progress, I've only managed to learn a handful of songs. This is the necessary first step to throroughly learning a song, and the challenges/dares from my jamming drummer aren't necessarily helping either...
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Minecraft Xbox Edition, Coming Soon
With a game as popular as Minecraft, spreading to other gaming platforms seems like common sense, and it's common sense that the people at Mojang have. Already branched-out onto mobile devices, Minecraft is also set for a console release sometime in the Spring; announcment of both platform conversions were announced nearly a year ago at E3, and so far only the mobile version has seen the light of a release.
Details about the Xbox version, ported by 4J studios (who also ported Oblivion to PS3) have remained in the dark recesses of Minecraft's underground caverns. However, the light at the end of the tunnel (or just a really big underground lava flow) has finally been found: a countdown for the announcement of the official release date is in progress right at the time of the very writing of the post. The countdown is being hosted by Play XBLA, with the link being down below.
http://playxbla.com/minecraft-launch-date-tease-2/ (good luck getting through, I can't seem to get in from my current location).
Details about the Xbox version, ported by 4J studios (who also ported Oblivion to PS3) have remained in the dark recesses of Minecraft's underground caverns. However, the light at the end of the tunnel (or just a really big underground lava flow) has finally been found: a countdown for the announcement of the official release date is in progress right at the time of the very writing of the post. The countdown is being hosted by Play XBLA, with the link being down below.
http://playxbla.com/minecraft-launch-date-tease-2/ (good luck getting through, I can't seem to get in from my current location).
New SimCity, Set for 2013
If anybody has participated in the Future Cities program in middle school, they might remember the simulation they used to base their city creations off of: SimCity (of various versions I'd assume)
EA seems rather ambitious of the new game, stating:
"(it's) a true rebirth of the franchise that brings the depth of simulation that has been the series hallmark for more than two decades and marries it with next generation accessibility and a robust multiplayer mode, giving players the power to change a world together."
With the last true SimCity game being released nine years ago, it's safe to say that it has been quite a wait for the fans of the series, but Maxis and EA have teamed up once again to develop a new installment to the series, simply named SimCity. Not many details have been released on the game so far, but out of what is currently known, the game runs on a new engine deemed "Glassbox Engine".
A video showing off the new engine can be found here:
SimCity is set to be released sometime in 2013.
EA seems rather ambitious of the new game, stating:
"(it's) a true rebirth of the franchise that brings the depth of simulation that has been the series hallmark for more than two decades and marries it with next generation accessibility and a robust multiplayer mode, giving players the power to change a world together."
With the last true SimCity game being released nine years ago, it's safe to say that it has been quite a wait for the fans of the series, but Maxis and EA have teamed up once again to develop a new installment to the series, simply named SimCity. Not many details have been released on the game so far, but out of what is currently known, the game runs on a new engine deemed "Glassbox Engine".
A video showing off the new engine can be found here:
SimCity is set to be released sometime in 2013.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Crysis 2 Review Part Two
Okay, multiplayer. This part of most FPS games is what drives players into buying the game in the first place (yes, you Call of Duty). Crysis 2 doesn't rely on multiplayer to be it's main selling point, something I appreciate very much. Unfortunately, this also means it won't be as big or attractive as other triple-A titles on the market.
From what I've played so far in Crysis 2, the multiplayer is not nearly as competitive as other games like Halo; the game is much more casually-oriented, but meeting a level 50 still means getting your rear handed to you. Every gun in single player is brought over to multiplayer, even the Gauss rifle attachment on the SCAR. This allows for some fairly unique customization options, with a weapon modification system similar to Battlefield.; each weapon has separate categories for attachments, such as optics and under-mounted. With this configuration, multiple attachments can be added without taking up valuable perkspace.
Similar to perks in Call of Duty (which I've been comparing to a lot for some reason...), Crysis 2 offers the option of "modules" to alter certain functions of the nanosuit. Each module can be upgraded up to three times, adding incentive for the player to keep using them and stay playing the multiplayer.
I know this was somewhat short and lacking compared to the single-player review, but that's exactly what multiplayer is; problems occur with the amount of effort to kill someone. I don't know for sure if it's my connection or the game itself, but I also noticed this in the beta. As I mentioned before, the multiplayer isn't the highlight of the game.
From what I've played so far in Crysis 2, the multiplayer is not nearly as competitive as other games like Halo; the game is much more casually-oriented, but meeting a level 50 still means getting your rear handed to you. Every gun in single player is brought over to multiplayer, even the Gauss rifle attachment on the SCAR. This allows for some fairly unique customization options, with a weapon modification system similar to Battlefield.; each weapon has separate categories for attachments, such as optics and under-mounted. With this configuration, multiple attachments can be added without taking up valuable perkspace.
Similar to perks in Call of Duty (which I've been comparing to a lot for some reason...), Crysis 2 offers the option of "modules" to alter certain functions of the nanosuit. Each module can be upgraded up to three times, adding incentive for the player to keep using them and stay playing the multiplayer.
I know this was somewhat short and lacking compared to the single-player review, but that's exactly what multiplayer is; problems occur with the amount of effort to kill someone. I don't know for sure if it's my connection or the game itself, but I also noticed this in the beta. As I mentioned before, the multiplayer isn't the highlight of the game.
Crysis 2 Review Part 1.5
This is an addition to the previous post, as I forgot to mention a few things (I'll take notes next time, I promise). Music in Crysis 2 is vivid and surrounding, another feat that this game pulls off well. The game also generously gives the player access to the soundtrack via in-game menus, given that the player has run through the levels in which they were played. A consistent theme is present in Crysis 2, which was in an unfortunate absence from the first game.
Part two will be multiplayer, I promise :P
Part two will be multiplayer, I promise :P
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Crysis 2 Review-Xbox 360 Part One
What can I say? I expected a sequel, I got a sequel, I played the sequel. And I can for sure say that I thoroughly enjoyed the campaign this time around.
It's not too often that the campaign serves as the highlight of a game for me, but I always make sure to play it before hopping into the multiplayer, as it's generally the ways that the developers intend it to be. Unfortunately Call of Duty has seemed to get rid of this ritual for most players, but that's another topic.
Both games in the Crysis series have most of their emphasis on the campaign of the game, and Crysis 2 stands no different. Crysis 2 features a 10-hour campaign, 4 hours longer than the standard Call of Duty game, giving it a much more fufilling story than the previously mentioned. Despite usually only running through the campaign one time and leaving it be, Crysis 2 has a certain pull factor that makes me want to go back into the campaign and play it; the story is very fufilling, and definitely one of the best FPS stories I've played in quite some time. A normal FPS story is straight forward and require no explanation; Crysis 2 has a story that will have you go through the entire game, and end with a "what just happened?", which in this case is by no means a bad thing. The fact that Crytek can make such a complex story with only about five of six characters (and no alien hivemind) is quite a feat. It seems like I've been rambling about the glorious campaign part for quite a while, so I'll move on to the other aspects, starting with gameplay and continuing with graphics.
The original Crysis was well-recieved for its open-ended levels and player choice; it's not quite the same way in the sequel, given that it's set in the urban jungle of New York City this time around. Goals are generally straight forward, usually one at a time. Unfortunately, this means that's there's less choice to be given in order of goals, but the game still gives the players choices through the super-human abilities given by the Nanosuit. Should I use the suit's cloaking ability to sneak around the enemies? Or should I use maximum armor to go in guns blazing? The game is filled with opportunities like these, and it gives the player some fresh air for a change; instead of the standard "run to room, shoot everbody, move up, repeat that has become ridiculously overused in FPSes, there's more than one way to do one objective. Plus, stealthily stabbing the enemies one-by-one unnoticed by the other enemies is just so much fun.
Crysis 2 delivers many new gameplay features, as expected being a sequel. Immediately when I started the game, I noticed a table; normally tables just stand, maybe sometimes able to be pushed around; but I saw a little message come up-"Hold RS to power kick"- and to my joy and happiness, I did exactly as the game told me and the table flew across the room. The introduction of kicking heavy objects has allowed for some actual tactical purposes depsite seeming like a minor feature to add fun; cars and table alike can be kicked into enemies immediately to quickly neutralize them.
While the addition of kicking things is my highlight of new stuff, new customization options are added; along with the modification of weaponry similar to the first game, the player can also short-press the "back" button (on Xbox 360) to open up a Nanosuit modification menu; the player can choose one modification for each module of the suit, between basic suit upgrades, armor, power, and stealth (invisibility)
In order to buy these upgrades, the player has to collect a substance called "nano catalyst", which can be scoured from defeated aliens. Unlike the original Crysis, upgrades to the suit, along with all the weapon attachments the player has found, are carried over to any level the player chooses, and even if they start a new game; this means that the player could have the air stomp ability (picture Mario) right at the beginning inside the castle they awaken in.
Graphics in Crysis 2 remain basically the same as the first game, although with slight improvement, mostly like optimizations made to compensate for the console's hardware; Crytek consiously developed Crysis 2 with all platforms considered this time around, so it does, as expected, look great. Lighting remains this series' strength; from the light pouring down from the sun to the crimson trails of the insidious eyes of the Ceph, lighting looks amazing.
Vehicle gameplay this time around is much more subtle than Crysis, with only a few vehicles present in the game to even get into; the entire damage system and "diagnostic" showing the current locations of damage have been removed, instead replaced with visual signs. Basiscally, if you see fire, get out. Tires still pop on vehicles, and the bare rims on the road shoot out sparks; however, the player rarely, if ever, gets the chance to take advantage of this; there are hardly any circumstances where an enemy vehicle is moving, let alone travelling at a high enough speed to get them to flip from popped tires. Despite the lighter emphasis on vehicular gameplay, Crytek still made a "tank" level in the game, although in an LAV of some sorts. The level (and it's actually a part of a larger level), is somewhat short, but it's still enjoyable to speed down the FDR drive, explosions everywhere, pushing any civilian vehicle out of the way with minimal effort.
Crytek has done an amazing job with the campaign in Crysis 2; although not quite as open or nostalgia inducing as the first game's setting, the campaign of Crysis 2 still stands as one of the best storylines I've ever had the pleasure to play.
Stay tuned for part two: multiplayer. (Don't expect a lot of words like this one, I plan on making it brief, as I'm rerunning the campaign again.)
It's not too often that the campaign serves as the highlight of a game for me, but I always make sure to play it before hopping into the multiplayer, as it's generally the ways that the developers intend it to be. Unfortunately Call of Duty has seemed to get rid of this ritual for most players, but that's another topic.
Both games in the Crysis series have most of their emphasis on the campaign of the game, and Crysis 2 stands no different. Crysis 2 features a 10-hour campaign, 4 hours longer than the standard Call of Duty game, giving it a much more fufilling story than the previously mentioned. Despite usually only running through the campaign one time and leaving it be, Crysis 2 has a certain pull factor that makes me want to go back into the campaign and play it; the story is very fufilling, and definitely one of the best FPS stories I've played in quite some time. A normal FPS story is straight forward and require no explanation; Crysis 2 has a story that will have you go through the entire game, and end with a "what just happened?", which in this case is by no means a bad thing. The fact that Crytek can make such a complex story with only about five of six characters (and no alien hivemind) is quite a feat. It seems like I've been rambling about the glorious campaign part for quite a while, so I'll move on to the other aspects, starting with gameplay and continuing with graphics.
The original Crysis was well-recieved for its open-ended levels and player choice; it's not quite the same way in the sequel, given that it's set in the urban jungle of New York City this time around. Goals are generally straight forward, usually one at a time. Unfortunately, this means that's there's less choice to be given in order of goals, but the game still gives the players choices through the super-human abilities given by the Nanosuit. Should I use the suit's cloaking ability to sneak around the enemies? Or should I use maximum armor to go in guns blazing? The game is filled with opportunities like these, and it gives the player some fresh air for a change; instead of the standard "run to room, shoot everbody, move up, repeat that has become ridiculously overused in FPSes, there's more than one way to do one objective. Plus, stealthily stabbing the enemies one-by-one unnoticed by the other enemies is just so much fun.
Crysis 2 delivers many new gameplay features, as expected being a sequel. Immediately when I started the game, I noticed a table; normally tables just stand, maybe sometimes able to be pushed around; but I saw a little message come up-"Hold RS to power kick"- and to my joy and happiness, I did exactly as the game told me and the table flew across the room. The introduction of kicking heavy objects has allowed for some actual tactical purposes depsite seeming like a minor feature to add fun; cars and table alike can be kicked into enemies immediately to quickly neutralize them.
While the addition of kicking things is my highlight of new stuff, new customization options are added; along with the modification of weaponry similar to the first game, the player can also short-press the "back" button (on Xbox 360) to open up a Nanosuit modification menu; the player can choose one modification for each module of the suit, between basic suit upgrades, armor, power, and stealth (invisibility)
In order to buy these upgrades, the player has to collect a substance called "nano catalyst", which can be scoured from defeated aliens. Unlike the original Crysis, upgrades to the suit, along with all the weapon attachments the player has found, are carried over to any level the player chooses, and even if they start a new game; this means that the player could have the air stomp ability (picture Mario) right at the beginning inside the castle they awaken in.
Graphics in Crysis 2 remain basically the same as the first game, although with slight improvement, mostly like optimizations made to compensate for the console's hardware; Crytek consiously developed Crysis 2 with all platforms considered this time around, so it does, as expected, look great. Lighting remains this series' strength; from the light pouring down from the sun to the crimson trails of the insidious eyes of the Ceph, lighting looks amazing.
Vehicle gameplay this time around is much more subtle than Crysis, with only a few vehicles present in the game to even get into; the entire damage system and "diagnostic" showing the current locations of damage have been removed, instead replaced with visual signs. Basiscally, if you see fire, get out. Tires still pop on vehicles, and the bare rims on the road shoot out sparks; however, the player rarely, if ever, gets the chance to take advantage of this; there are hardly any circumstances where an enemy vehicle is moving, let alone travelling at a high enough speed to get them to flip from popped tires. Despite the lighter emphasis on vehicular gameplay, Crytek still made a "tank" level in the game, although in an LAV of some sorts. The level (and it's actually a part of a larger level), is somewhat short, but it's still enjoyable to speed down the FDR drive, explosions everywhere, pushing any civilian vehicle out of the way with minimal effort.
Crytek has done an amazing job with the campaign in Crysis 2; although not quite as open or nostalgia inducing as the first game's setting, the campaign of Crysis 2 still stands as one of the best storylines I've ever had the pleasure to play.
Stay tuned for part two: multiplayer. (Don't expect a lot of words like this one, I plan on making it brief, as I'm rerunning the campaign again.)
Sunday, March 11, 2012
A Comparison of Game Communities
So...you've played through Halo, Call of Duty, and Battlefield, the triad of mulitplayer kings. But how does each community of players compare overall?
I'll give some of my insight here.
Halo seems to be the most friendly from the people I've heard through the microphone, as Halo just seems like more of a casual game, being placed in a fictional future. Unfortunately the players seem to be generally younger and more annoying with their high-pitched voices breaking my eardrum constantly. Use of the mute button advised.
Call of Duty...well...I don't think there's much to say here about the blasphemous community here. But just in case you happened to have stumbled upon my blog and you're unfamiliar with it, COD's communities is mostly filled with shrubcakes galore. It's physically impossible to get into a match and still have your sanity intact by the end of the game. However, it's a ton easier to vocally troll all the 12-year olds in COD compared to Battlefield.
Battlefield unfortunately doesn't have a way for the entire team to communicate together (or rather fortunately in this case), so voice chat is restricted to each respective squad of four people, and people hardly ever have their voice settings correct in order for me to hear them. I don't think I've ever heard the voice of my squadmates in-game aside from my friends in my party. However, the amount of angry messages stemming from Battlefield entering my message box is substantially higher than when I've played other games. I can't help but smile every time I get someone mad enough in Battlefield to send me a hatemail though, with them telling me that I'm the one who's angry when I send a message back in response.
So what does all this mean? Pop Skyrim in and forget about mulitplayer together if you want your ears and eyes devoid of stupid.
I'll give some of my insight here.
Halo seems to be the most friendly from the people I've heard through the microphone, as Halo just seems like more of a casual game, being placed in a fictional future. Unfortunately the players seem to be generally younger and more annoying with their high-pitched voices breaking my eardrum constantly. Use of the mute button advised.
Call of Duty...well...I don't think there's much to say here about the blasphemous community here. But just in case you happened to have stumbled upon my blog and you're unfamiliar with it, COD's communities is mostly filled with shrubcakes galore. It's physically impossible to get into a match and still have your sanity intact by the end of the game. However, it's a ton easier to vocally troll all the 12-year olds in COD compared to Battlefield.
Battlefield unfortunately doesn't have a way for the entire team to communicate together (or rather fortunately in this case), so voice chat is restricted to each respective squad of four people, and people hardly ever have their voice settings correct in order for me to hear them. I don't think I've ever heard the voice of my squadmates in-game aside from my friends in my party. However, the amount of angry messages stemming from Battlefield entering my message box is substantially higher than when I've played other games. I can't help but smile every time I get someone mad enough in Battlefield to send me a hatemail though, with them telling me that I'm the one who's angry when I send a message back in response.
So what does all this mean? Pop Skyrim in and forget about mulitplayer together if you want your ears and eyes devoid of stupid.
Crysis 2 First Impressions
Yesterday I awoke to the sound of the mail truck slowly driving up our neighborhood.
Nothing better than waking to the sound of your mail being delivered.
After finally doing the dreaded by finishing the original Crysis on the hardest difficultly, my copy of Crysis 2 conveniently arrived. Now, coming from a game of Crysis' caliber, Crysis 2 had some high expectation to meet with me.
Are the graphics better?
On console, yes.
Check.
Is there a conceivable story?
Yep.
Check.
Is the game generally entertaining?
Of course, it's Crysis.
Check.
Did I get more than I expected?
There's a progression-oriented multiplayer, so yes.
Check.
Do I have open sandbox-style environments to explore?
Sadly...not quite.
(Uncheck? Maybe an "X" here...)
So, as I just said, Crysis 2's environments aren't quite what I wanted coming off from the original title. Levels generally have you progress in one direction, but instead of giving the option of order, the player gets the option of tactics, which isn't necessarily all too bad, I guess. The nanosuit highlights tactical options in various spaces, notifying the player when there are some available with the phrase "tactical assessment recommended" (yes, the suit talks).
So far, I've found it to be not quite as enjoybale as the first Crysis in this aspect, but the game does a much better job of storytelling...it's a shame the character you play as doesnt talk though. :'(
Nothing better than waking to the sound of your mail being delivered.
After finally doing the dreaded by finishing the original Crysis on the hardest difficultly, my copy of Crysis 2 conveniently arrived. Now, coming from a game of Crysis' caliber, Crysis 2 had some high expectation to meet with me.
Are the graphics better?
On console, yes.
Check.
Is there a conceivable story?
Yep.
Check.
Is the game generally entertaining?
Of course, it's Crysis.
Check.
Did I get more than I expected?
There's a progression-oriented multiplayer, so yes.
Check.
Do I have open sandbox-style environments to explore?
Sadly...not quite.
(Uncheck? Maybe an "X" here...)
So, as I just said, Crysis 2's environments aren't quite what I wanted coming off from the original title. Levels generally have you progress in one direction, but instead of giving the option of order, the player gets the option of tactics, which isn't necessarily all too bad, I guess. The nanosuit highlights tactical options in various spaces, notifying the player when there are some available with the phrase "tactical assessment recommended" (yes, the suit talks).
So far, I've found it to be not quite as enjoybale as the first Crysis in this aspect, but the game does a much better job of storytelling...it's a shame the character you play as doesnt talk though. :'(
Friday, March 9, 2012
Crysis Crises
Being an avid gamer, Crysis has came up is many conversations with friends; any game that's five years old and still has to have its graphics tuned down for console release is obviously not any ordinary game. In fact, Crysis on the PC is still used as a graphics benchmark, with cascading light still not nearly as prevelant in other game than it is in Crysis.
Upon hearing of Crysis' release of a remake for consoles, I immediately set it in my bucketlist of things to get; I had played the Crysis 2 Mulitplayer beta after already knowing of Crysis, so playing a single player representation of the Crysis series had huge appeal for me. A few months later, I can proudly say Crysis is in my collection of games.
Crysis takes play in the relatively near future, the year 2020. As such, the technology is vastly improved over its current state, with the Nanosuit that the main characters wear being a testament to that fact. The Nanosuit, which the player uses as the character "Nomad", is similar to most generic sci-fi power suits, although it takes its shape in some sort of body glove. There are four different modes for the suit to switch between, which are simplified to match the limited number of buttons on the Xbox controller: maximum strength, maximum speed, cloak, and maximum armor. Most of the abilities are melded within each other to make up for the lack of buttons, like strength jumping being mapped to holding the "A" button down on the controller. Unfortunately, as a side effect of this, strength mode is always turned on, making the player and all others equipped with a Nanosuit continuously glow red. Although not essentially game-breaking, it's still annoying when all of Raptor team is glowing bright red during a dramatic cutscene when they're obviously not supposed to.
Gameplay is Crysis is thankfully different from most first-person shooter; the game lets the player approach mission objective in any order they choose to, allowing the game to become somewhat of a sandbox shooter. Roaming around the fictional Lingshan Islands with Crysis' beautiful graphics is a giant relief from typical straight-forward shooters such as Call of Duty.
Also different is the sheer amount of weaponry and customizability of them thereof; the player can carry two primaries, a pistol (or dual-wielded pistols should the player find another), a missile launcher, remote detonated explosives, their fists, and an additional weapon at the end of the game (which would spoil the ending if I said...). While not necessarily part of the "carriable" armament the player can have, Crysis allows the player to pick up objects and hurl them wherever they desire with Nomad's Nanosuit-enhanced strength. Despite all these weapons, I still find it incredibly enjoyable to go around the island with my fists out Falco-punching every enemy I see, allowing the ragdoll physics to take over their bodies and make them fly away.
Crysis' technological feats are amazing even today five years after its initial release; buildings collapse, the lighting is otherworldly, and the in-game models are accurate representations of real life; however, being a console port of the superior PC version, some performance problems with framerate occur, along with a few low-res textures and shorter draw-distance; the game also lacks the PC version's multiplayer mode, meaning Xbox gamers are limited to the single player campaign.
The storyline in Crysis isn't overly amazing or overly original; the story seems to have been "inspired" by Halo in more than one area in the overall campaign structure. The player is somewhat of a super-tank, absorbing ridiculous amounts of fire at the same time. While making an archaeological dig, the scientists taken hostage by the enemy Korean government unearths a massive danger; this can be related to the Flood in Halo, which the enemy of that game, the Covenant, also finds deep within the world. The games also end in a similar way; without saying to much, it basically ends the same way with "we're not finished here, there's probably more", not unlike Halo 1's ending.
Despite a few minor issues and a somewhat generic story, Crysis remains a spectacular piece of work on the Xbox; the game is only $20 on the Xbox Live Arcade, which is practically a steal for anyone willing to wait the four hours to download it.
Upon hearing of Crysis' release of a remake for consoles, I immediately set it in my bucketlist of things to get; I had played the Crysis 2 Mulitplayer beta after already knowing of Crysis, so playing a single player representation of the Crysis series had huge appeal for me. A few months later, I can proudly say Crysis is in my collection of games.
Crysis takes play in the relatively near future, the year 2020. As such, the technology is vastly improved over its current state, with the Nanosuit that the main characters wear being a testament to that fact. The Nanosuit, which the player uses as the character "Nomad", is similar to most generic sci-fi power suits, although it takes its shape in some sort of body glove. There are four different modes for the suit to switch between, which are simplified to match the limited number of buttons on the Xbox controller: maximum strength, maximum speed, cloak, and maximum armor. Most of the abilities are melded within each other to make up for the lack of buttons, like strength jumping being mapped to holding the "A" button down on the controller. Unfortunately, as a side effect of this, strength mode is always turned on, making the player and all others equipped with a Nanosuit continuously glow red. Although not essentially game-breaking, it's still annoying when all of Raptor team is glowing bright red during a dramatic cutscene when they're obviously not supposed to.
Gameplay is Crysis is thankfully different from most first-person shooter; the game lets the player approach mission objective in any order they choose to, allowing the game to become somewhat of a sandbox shooter. Roaming around the fictional Lingshan Islands with Crysis' beautiful graphics is a giant relief from typical straight-forward shooters such as Call of Duty.
Also different is the sheer amount of weaponry and customizability of them thereof; the player can carry two primaries, a pistol (or dual-wielded pistols should the player find another), a missile launcher, remote detonated explosives, their fists, and an additional weapon at the end of the game (which would spoil the ending if I said...). While not necessarily part of the "carriable" armament the player can have, Crysis allows the player to pick up objects and hurl them wherever they desire with Nomad's Nanosuit-enhanced strength. Despite all these weapons, I still find it incredibly enjoyable to go around the island with my fists out Falco-punching every enemy I see, allowing the ragdoll physics to take over their bodies and make them fly away.
Can you tell the difference? Yeah, me neither
Crysis' technological feats are amazing even today five years after its initial release; buildings collapse, the lighting is otherworldly, and the in-game models are accurate representations of real life; however, being a console port of the superior PC version, some performance problems with framerate occur, along with a few low-res textures and shorter draw-distance; the game also lacks the PC version's multiplayer mode, meaning Xbox gamers are limited to the single player campaign.
The storyline in Crysis isn't overly amazing or overly original; the story seems to have been "inspired" by Halo in more than one area in the overall campaign structure. The player is somewhat of a super-tank, absorbing ridiculous amounts of fire at the same time. While making an archaeological dig, the scientists taken hostage by the enemy Korean government unearths a massive danger; this can be related to the Flood in Halo, which the enemy of that game, the Covenant, also finds deep within the world. The games also end in a similar way; without saying to much, it basically ends the same way with "we're not finished here, there's probably more", not unlike Halo 1's ending.
Despite a few minor issues and a somewhat generic story, Crysis remains a spectacular piece of work on the Xbox; the game is only $20 on the Xbox Live Arcade, which is practically a steal for anyone willing to wait the four hours to download it.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Radiant HD: Free App of the Day, Free Addiction of the Day
As a part of my regular daily routine, I check Amazon's free app of the day (great reason to download this!), and this morning I found what was named "Radiant HD", a modern (ish) revamp of Space Invaders. I had my initial doubts, as what shows up as the free app usually isn't anything special.
I was wrong. (yay!)
Turns out, the game is roughly based on Space Invaders, but only to the extent of the gameplay genre. Your ship automatically fires shots at fixed intervals, and there's only left and right movement. Aliens flow out from all sides of the screen firing lasers as aliens typically do. Every so often, there's a boss level as expected. But that's where the similarities end.
Players are presented a with an array of around five weapons, each with different characteristics, such as the plasma gun's shotgun-style spread. At the end of each level in casual mode (there's others, just haven't gotten to them yet), a store screen gives the player the ability to buy new lives and upgrade their weapons, something that really adds to the "I need to keep playing" value that makes this game so hard to put down.
The game mode I'm playing through right now is "Casual Mode", which is some sort of campaign mode; there's some dialog in the game that adds a few brief relax moments. Thankfully, the dialog is well-written with some great humor added in here-and-there; one of the lines made a small reference to the original Space Invaders from the 80's (but you'll just have to play it to find out what it was :P)
I still have yet to play the other modes like Survival as of yet, but from what I can guess, it'll probably be much more similar to the classic arcade version of Space Invaders, with a set number of lives, which when expended will make you restart from zero points.
Radiant HD will be free for the rest of the day (2/26) on Amazon Apps Marketplace, after which it will resume its previous price of $2.00.
The app is also available on Android Marketplace here > https://market.android.com/details?id=net.hexage.radiant.hd&hl=en
Go download it!
I was wrong. (yay!)
Turns out, the game is roughly based on Space Invaders, but only to the extent of the gameplay genre. Your ship automatically fires shots at fixed intervals, and there's only left and right movement. Aliens flow out from all sides of the screen firing lasers as aliens typically do. Every so often, there's a boss level as expected. But that's where the similarities end.
Players are presented a with an array of around five weapons, each with different characteristics, such as the plasma gun's shotgun-style spread. At the end of each level in casual mode (there's others, just haven't gotten to them yet), a store screen gives the player the ability to buy new lives and upgrade their weapons, something that really adds to the "I need to keep playing" value that makes this game so hard to put down.
The game mode I'm playing through right now is "Casual Mode", which is some sort of campaign mode; there's some dialog in the game that adds a few brief relax moments. Thankfully, the dialog is well-written with some great humor added in here-and-there; one of the lines made a small reference to the original Space Invaders from the 80's (but you'll just have to play it to find out what it was :P)
I still have yet to play the other modes like Survival as of yet, but from what I can guess, it'll probably be much more similar to the classic arcade version of Space Invaders, with a set number of lives, which when expended will make you restart from zero points.
Radiant HD will be free for the rest of the day (2/26) on Amazon Apps Marketplace, after which it will resume its previous price of $2.00.
The app is also available on Android Marketplace here > https://market.android.com/details?id=net.hexage.radiant.hd&hl=en
Go download it!
Saturday, February 25, 2012
A Blast From the Past...
Kinda going off my "What makes a good campaign post" (check it out here>http://communicationblogdown.blogspot.com/2012/02/what-makes-good-campaign.html), I went back into my pile of PC games and pulled out Halo PC, in preparation for the release of a mod many, many years in the works: CMT SPV3
This mod is similar to Halo: Anniversary in that it significantly upgrades the graphics, but different in that it totally revamps the gameplay of the game. New weapons from the other games in the series are added, new sections are added, and new music is added along with BLOOOOOOOM
This generation of games tends to be stuffed full of bloom, and it's one of the main reasons games look as great as they do. If you take all of Halo 3's bloom out, the real age of the game begins to show through; it's all the shininess makes it look comparable to modern games.
Anyways, along with very good dynamic lighting, CMT makes use of a program/app called "Open Sauce" to get at workarounds to the game's 11 year old engine, adding effects such as post-processing and alternative firing modes on the BR55 Battle Rifle (which is also nicely suppressed). This basically makes Halo CE, an 11 year old game, and puts it nearly on par with Anniversary.
I've played through about three times now, noticing different things every time I go through it, such as Easter Egg weapons. My favorite weapon (and only one so far :/) I've found is what's called the "Partygun", which is essentially a confetti gun.
This mod is similar to Halo: Anniversary in that it significantly upgrades the graphics, but different in that it totally revamps the gameplay of the game. New weapons from the other games in the series are added, new sections are added, and new music is added along with BLOOOOOOOM
This generation of games tends to be stuffed full of bloom, and it's one of the main reasons games look as great as they do. If you take all of Halo 3's bloom out, the real age of the game begins to show through; it's all the shininess makes it look comparable to modern games.
Anyways, along with very good dynamic lighting, CMT makes use of a program/app called "Open Sauce" to get at workarounds to the game's 11 year old engine, adding effects such as post-processing and alternative firing modes on the BR55 Battle Rifle (which is also nicely suppressed). This basically makes Halo CE, an 11 year old game, and puts it nearly on par with Anniversary.
I've played through about three times now, noticing different things every time I go through it, such as Easter Egg weapons. My favorite weapon (and only one so far :/) I've found is what's called the "Partygun", which is essentially a confetti gun.
Pics for days.
And this is Halo One (One!)
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
What Makes a Good Campaign
Boredom has recently driven me to finally play Reach again, which of course means doing all the daily challenges. Needing to kill a few more Covenant leaders, I played the final level, "Lone Wolf". Despite having played Reach multiple, MULTIPLE times, I still can't help but feel sad at the end, where Noble 6 meets his end.
That's right. Feel.
Feeling in a campaign stems from the attachment of characters in the duration of the campaign; Reach does an excellent job of doing this by establishing 6 very different personalities that are very hard to mix up. Each character has their own special role, for example, Jun is the sniper/marksman of the group. By developing a way to differentiate the characters, I can actually tell which characters are dying, as grim as that sounds. The more the player cries when a character dies, the better the game did at creating a connection between the two.
In Hollywood-esque blow-every-single-living-thing-explosions-everywhere type of games (*cough* COD), the focus is diverted from the characters into the massive amounts of boom-booms happening every second. I'm sure that if I was prone to epileptic seizures, games like COD would definitely put me under in less than 5 minutes of playing. Of course, this is generally what drives a large majority of players to play the campaign (few as there are). COD's campaigns usually feature about 3-5 major characters, with more recent COD games staying within the same point-of-view, that is, the same character. Back in the old school COD days before classes were even conceived (or competitive multiplayer in general), COD games would switch from multiple perspectives, switching between different countries fighting WWII. This was a necessary action back then, and this also allowed for lengthier campaigns. However, characters weren't very established; the player's names was rarely mentioned, and I would often be confused if I was being ordered to do something (RAMIREZ! FACE ME WHEN I ADDRESS YOU!).
Despite this lack of colorful characters, the original COD campaigns were considered classics at the time, being actually longer than 6 hours, and having an actual historical background. COD games have seemed to drop into a more unrealistic sense, more and more every year, especially with Black Ops in 2010. What seems interesting about the new COD titles is the growing convoluted-ness of the stories; this doesn't necessarily mean that they're bad, and on the contrary, makes multiple run-throughs a necessity if the campaign is ever to be understood.
More tomorrow, for I am tired, and my wrist is giving me pains....
(-_-) zzzzzzzzzzzz.....
That's right. Feel.
Feeling in a campaign stems from the attachment of characters in the duration of the campaign; Reach does an excellent job of doing this by establishing 6 very different personalities that are very hard to mix up. Each character has their own special role, for example, Jun is the sniper/marksman of the group. By developing a way to differentiate the characters, I can actually tell which characters are dying, as grim as that sounds. The more the player cries when a character dies, the better the game did at creating a connection between the two.
In Hollywood-esque blow-every-single-living-thing-explosions-everywhere type of games (*cough* COD), the focus is diverted from the characters into the massive amounts of boom-booms happening every second. I'm sure that if I was prone to epileptic seizures, games like COD would definitely put me under in less than 5 minutes of playing. Of course, this is generally what drives a large majority of players to play the campaign (few as there are). COD's campaigns usually feature about 3-5 major characters, with more recent COD games staying within the same point-of-view, that is, the same character. Back in the old school COD days before classes were even conceived (or competitive multiplayer in general), COD games would switch from multiple perspectives, switching between different countries fighting WWII. This was a necessary action back then, and this also allowed for lengthier campaigns. However, characters weren't very established; the player's names was rarely mentioned, and I would often be confused if I was being ordered to do something (RAMIREZ! FACE ME WHEN I ADDRESS YOU!).
Despite this lack of colorful characters, the original COD campaigns were considered classics at the time, being actually longer than 6 hours, and having an actual historical background. COD games have seemed to drop into a more unrealistic sense, more and more every year, especially with Black Ops in 2010. What seems interesting about the new COD titles is the growing convoluted-ness of the stories; this doesn't necessarily mean that they're bad, and on the contrary, makes multiple run-throughs a necessity if the campaign is ever to be understood.
More tomorrow, for I am tired, and my wrist is giving me pains....
(-_-) zzzzzzzzzzzz.....
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Try Looking Up Next Time...
Just a small recap from the previous post: an app was recently developed that allowed for a transparent phone screen (link in the last post). Although I really wasn't expecting much, I can faithfully say that I'm dissapointed.
One of the major problems with the app is the slow refresh rate of the camera, which projects the image needed to see through the phone; even at the lowest resolution setting on the camera, the picture was very choppy, and altogether not efficient enough to be of regular use. Hopefully in the future, the developer will boost the performance of the app, as im fairly sure that a dual-core 1.2ghz phone is the most powerful phone you'll find on the market right now, which means it should have no problem at all in the current state in development.
The app is still in a relatively early version, so I'll keep the app on my phone for the mean time; the app itself is relatively small, so it shouldn't be a major issue.
One of the major problems with the app is the slow refresh rate of the camera, which projects the image needed to see through the phone; even at the lowest resolution setting on the camera, the picture was very choppy, and altogether not efficient enough to be of regular use. Hopefully in the future, the developer will boost the performance of the app, as im fairly sure that a dual-core 1.2ghz phone is the most powerful phone you'll find on the market right now, which means it should have no problem at all in the current state in development.
The app is still in a relatively early version, so I'll keep the app on my phone for the mean time; the app itself is relatively small, so it shouldn't be a major issue.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
See-Through Phone Screens
While reading my blog-feed (is that what it's called?...) I stumbled across this story on TechCrunch...
"I used to scowl when I saw people walking down the street with eyes locked on their phones, but necessity has gotten me in the habit of doing it too. Thanks to a new app called Transparent Screen though, now I can do it free from the fear of falling into an open manhole or into a large fountain."
- (http://techcrunch.com/2012/02/06/transparent-screen-android-app-lets-you-text-and-walk-without-fear/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29)
The app works by projecting an image from the camera onto the screen of the device using it; why this wasn't though of earlier, I have no idea, but I'm not going to complain about it's development.
Unfortunately, using the camera in combination with other applications simultaneously will probably have a negative impact on the battery life. I'm downloading the app right now to do some testing, expect an update in the near future.
App download (free) https://market.android.com/details?id=botweb.transparent.screen&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDEsImJvdHdlYi50cmFuc3BhcmVudC5zY3JlZW4iXQ..
"I used to scowl when I saw people walking down the street with eyes locked on their phones, but necessity has gotten me in the habit of doing it too. Thanks to a new app called Transparent Screen though, now I can do it free from the fear of falling into an open manhole or into a large fountain."
- (http://techcrunch.com/2012/02/06/transparent-screen-android-app-lets-you-text-and-walk-without-fear/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29)
The app works by projecting an image from the camera onto the screen of the device using it; why this wasn't though of earlier, I have no idea, but I'm not going to complain about it's development.
Unfortunately, using the camera in combination with other applications simultaneously will probably have a negative impact on the battery life. I'm downloading the app right now to do some testing, expect an update in the near future.
App download (free) https://market.android.com/details?id=botweb.transparent.screen&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDEsImJvdHdlYi50cmFuc3BhcmVudC5zY3JlZW4iXQ..
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Nostalgia Attaaaaack!11
I don't know why, but while downloading a graphic overhaul mod for Minecraft, I got a little nostalgia from downloading mods for my old PC game days...so now, I reinstalled Battlefront 2, something I never really got to play much on my horrible computer of my childhood. Unfortunately, our Internet's been kinda downgraded, and I made my computer fail at playing Minecraft. Who would've thought that a game made up of blocks could be so CPU-intensive >.<
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Dazed and Confused, There's So Many It's Not True....
Alright, live versions time...not quite sure to handle this as I've never done this for live versions, but it seems apropriate due to the large amounts of versions of Dazed and Confused.
I did a search through my albums, and found a total of five versions, plus an extra from the 1970 performance at Royal Albert Hall.
A lot to cover...
It doesn't really help that each song is on average 20 minutes long, so I'll just try to cover some major changes and similarities between the songs.
First and foremost, the version from the album The Song Remains The Same is probably the most recognized; this version is also the longest, at 29 minutes and 18 seconds longs...and you thought 6 minutes was a long song... the beginning starts the same way as the studio, the only notable change being an added high-hat part from Bonham, but nothing really major; after the first few minutes, however, it breaks away into a faster-paced midsection, with new lyrics.
The song evolved gradually as time moved on; new parts were added in, mostly improvised sections. Only the beginning, viola bow secion, and ending have remained the same (insert TSRTS ref here) There, apparently, is a basic outline of the playing:
Stage 1: Bass intro and wah-wah interludes Stage 2: Main vocal theme Stage 3: Fast instrumental and 'oriental' riffs Stage 4: "San Francisco" or "Woodstock" Stage 5: Violin bow episode including echo-slapping from the guitar; interlude with Plant's 'instrumental voice'; Gustav Holst's Mars, the Bringer of War and return of the rhythm section Stage 6: Fast guitar solo and battle with Plant Stage 7: Slower tempo solo and 'funky' moods Stage 8: Violent breaks and call and response interlude Stage 9: Faster solo in crescendos and occasional break-up tempo Stage 10: New arrangement of Mars, the Bringer of War (slow and fast versions) and final frenzy Stage 11: Return to main theme Stage 12: Coda. Final instrumental and vocal battle inside syncopated rhythms, drum-solo and final explosion. I took this off of Wikipedia, but this is publicated from Luis Rey, who published this in an analysis of Zeppelin. At times in the song, other parts of Zeppelin's songs are added in; for example, in the version of Dazed and Confused, parts from "Walter's Walk" and "The Crunge" are added in.
During the live performances of Dazed and Confused, Page generally has a larger section played solo with his bowed-guitar playing, adding a sort of "creeping" feeling when it's done. Delay is added in, as Page slaps the guitar, and in the recording, the sounds flows easily from both ears.
I don't really know what else to really say here, besides that Dazed and Confused is a LONG song to listen to, so if you find yourself with a spare half-hour block in your day, go ahead and listen.
I did a search through my albums, and found a total of five versions, plus an extra from the 1970 performance at Royal Albert Hall.
A lot to cover...
It doesn't really help that each song is on average 20 minutes long, so I'll just try to cover some major changes and similarities between the songs.
First and foremost, the version from the album The Song Remains The Same is probably the most recognized; this version is also the longest, at 29 minutes and 18 seconds longs...and you thought 6 minutes was a long song... the beginning starts the same way as the studio, the only notable change being an added high-hat part from Bonham, but nothing really major; after the first few minutes, however, it breaks away into a faster-paced midsection, with new lyrics.
The song evolved gradually as time moved on; new parts were added in, mostly improvised sections. Only the beginning, viola bow secion, and ending have remained the same (insert TSRTS ref here) There, apparently, is a basic outline of the playing:
During the live performances of Dazed and Confused, Page generally has a larger section played solo with his bowed-guitar playing, adding a sort of "creeping" feeling when it's done. Delay is added in, as Page slaps the guitar, and in the recording, the sounds flows easily from both ears.
I don't really know what else to really say here, besides that Dazed and Confused is a LONG song to listen to, so if you find yourself with a spare half-hour block in your day, go ahead and listen.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
About This About The Blog....
Revision! Read up for a revised About this blog page: http://communicationblogdown.blogspot.com/p/about-this-blog.html
I think I'm going to focus more on a musical-oriented blog rather than a techology blog, enter the link for more inforation: http://communicationblogdown.blogspot.com/p/about-this-blog.html
And maybe again, in case you didn't see it the other two times:
http://communicationblogdown.blogspot.com/p/about-this-blog.html
I think I'm going to focus more on a musical-oriented blog rather than a techology blog, enter the link for more inforation: http://communicationblogdown.blogspot.com/p/about-this-blog.html
And maybe again, in case you didn't see it the other two times:
http://communicationblogdown.blogspot.com/p/about-this-blog.html
Infused With Confused
Been dazed and confused,
for so long it's not true...
(Please don't annihilate me SOPA...)
Song of the week time! Perhaps one of the most over-referenced songs, Dazed and Confused takes track 4 on Led Zeppelin's album, Led Zeppelin I. I think I've probably referenced the first lyrics of the songs so many times, it could probably invert the meaning into leaving me clear-headed and unclouded...
The song starts off with John Paul Jones' signature descending bassline, synchronized with Bonham's bass hits, creating a percussive punch with every note played. Going through the live versions, they all generally start this way; sometimes Bonham adds a few hits in, but it doesn't ever stray too far from the studio version. Jimmy Page also contributes his share with some natural harmonics, with some wah pedal effects and altering of pitch by bending the string behind the nut; others might achieve the same sound with a whammy bar, but true authenticators use the bending-at-the-nut technique.
Not too long after, Plant adds his vocals in, officially starting the song; this song isn't a genuine favorite of mine to play, with a long break during the midsection, which also contributes to me not listening to it as much. During the breakdown, Page used a cello bow with his guitar, something not too often seen in the guitar world. It's definitely something I want to try in the future, as soon as I somehow get my hands on a cello bow...
The song really starts to pick up after the bowed guitar section; the tempo picks up, once again starting with JPJ's bassline, but this time playing a box-shaped (on the guitar) ascent of notes, which he continues to play for the next few minutes. An interesting this to note here is in the live versions of this song; although JPJ plays the same rhythm and notes, he plays it MUCH faster in the 1973 TSRTS version; what astounds me further is the amount of time he manages to do this, probably somewhere around 4-6 minutes of Page's bantering on his guitar. Definitely a great show of stamina and endurance.
After Bonham adds his frantic cymbal-crashing, Page resumes his lead position in the band, playing the same riff as JPJ, but an octave up; this continues on for a while, until the true solo starts. The solo is fast and abrasive, using a wah pedal to push the treble levels up beyond the norm. Although the solo sounds somewhat difficult, it's not entirely too bad; it's fast, but not impossible. Page stays within the same area and two positions on the neck for most of the solo, so no large movements across the fretboard are needed. Playing this solo helped me a lot with my bend technique, especially with getting fast bends in with subsequent notes played.
After the solo, the signature triplets for which Bonham is famous for are played; learning this section can often help understand a key feature of Bonham's playing style, and any drummer who knows any Zeppelin should, at the very least, know this drum riff. Afterwards, the song slows back down and resumes its initial tempo, and JPJ re-establishes his descending bassline. After a few more bars and a few little flourishes from Page's guitar, the song ends on a strong, hard tone with powerful chords synchronized with JPJ.
Next blog post will cover the live portions of Dazed and Confused; the vast amounts of variations played by Zeppelin are massive enough to be an entirely different section, or at least a separate post.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Physical Education is Physically Incapable
Yes, yes, this isn't a normal topic for this blog, but everyone's entitled to their own rant once in a while, right?
High School Gym class.
I don't think there's another class in the entire school that I've taken that was filled with the amount of incapable "students" crammed into one space. Generally, gym class is filled with slacker students, probably because of the unwillingness to take a sport (guilty). Every new term of gym class starts off the same way: I hope there are actual willing people in my class, gym class starts, and the dissapointment settles in. Sometimes I get lucky and get SOME competent people in my class, but it doesn't happen too often.
Luckily for me, my class only has ~20 students in it, as opposed to the normal 40 or so crowded into the gymnasium. As another added bonus, I have it at the very start of the school day, when half the people are subdued from lack of sleep, and the other half skipped because they didn't care about their failure of every other class. Credit for gym class is given for dressing out and doing the set warm-up routine, of which requires nearly no effort to do; despite this, only 4 of the students dress out, and about 6 do the warm-up, while the other lazy (insert words here) walk on the sidelines. The "teacher" (or whatever gym supervisors are called) doesn't even care. Granted, he really shouldn't because it's their problems, but if I ever find out that they're still getting credit for being lazy....
There's other things I could rant about in gym, but I'm pretty sure that they'd break some sort of privacy rule about offending people. Then of course, I'd be pulled into a corner and be interrogated.
Things like that.
High School Gym class.
I don't think there's another class in the entire school that I've taken that was filled with the amount of incapable "students" crammed into one space. Generally, gym class is filled with slacker students, probably because of the unwillingness to take a sport (guilty). Every new term of gym class starts off the same way: I hope there are actual willing people in my class, gym class starts, and the dissapointment settles in. Sometimes I get lucky and get SOME competent people in my class, but it doesn't happen too often.
Luckily for me, my class only has ~20 students in it, as opposed to the normal 40 or so crowded into the gymnasium. As another added bonus, I have it at the very start of the school day, when half the people are subdued from lack of sleep, and the other half skipped because they didn't care about their failure of every other class. Credit for gym class is given for dressing out and doing the set warm-up routine, of which requires nearly no effort to do; despite this, only 4 of the students dress out, and about 6 do the warm-up, while the other lazy (insert words here) walk on the sidelines. The "teacher" (or whatever gym supervisors are called) doesn't even care. Granted, he really shouldn't because it's their problems, but if I ever find out that they're still getting credit for being lazy....
There's other things I could rant about in gym, but I'm pretty sure that they'd break some sort of privacy rule about offending people. Then of course, I'd be pulled into a corner and be interrogated.
Things like that.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Shaken...BLOG POST
Once a week...maybe not, but better late than never, right?
I purposely delayed writing this post mostly because of my lack of knowledge on the song featured in this post (for shame!)
Anyways, You Shook Me, the third track of Led Zeppelin's first album, Led Zeppelin I, will be featured in this post.
This is generally the song I skip whenever I listen to this album, as it strays from the normal hard and energetic tone in Zeppelin songs; on that note, it's also not an acoustic piece either, but rather, a hard blues song, based on the original by Willie Dixon, a favorite "base template" for Led Zeppelin songs. Along with being skipped by me, I also haven't really found the time to learn how to play this song, as I generally stay away from slide-blues songs (I'm really scared of odd tunings!). Despite the slide intro, the song does manage to stay with the standard EADGBE tuning...I guess I'll have to learn this at some point.
As I said above, the song is very blues-driven, being based off, or rather "inspired by" a Willie Dixon song. The very first thing heard in the song is Page's metal slide: it's a rather iconic riff for the die-hard Zeppelin fan, and whenever I hear it calling out (< not a Babe I'm Gonna Leave You reference...), I instantly know what song it is. The chording structure in this song isn't exactly new, and once again is a typical blues rhythm, with the BUH...BUHNUH...BUNUH...(repeat) going through the verses. On the other hand...the solo is truly amazing, and on that note, all the band member's parts are. But back to Page: as the song develops, the guitar part begins to break out of its standard patterning, sometimes following the vocals, sometimes doing a small call-and-respond. Listening to it now, I guess it isn't terribly repetetive, which reflects one of my upper points; I really haven't listened to this song a great deal yet; I'll still try my best to cover it, though.
The bass part is kind of absent in this song, with JPJ staying on the keys and organ for most of the song. JPJ actually did the organ part for another version of this song, back in the Yardbirds for Page and Beck, both of which ironically did their own versions of the song. (I won't get into the details...) Not much else to say on JPJ's part here.
Pertaining to the drum part of this song, Bonham plays through the verses with a very heavy, dragging rhythm, complimented by Page's guitar. This song, if I played it, would probably be an easy first song to learn...at least until the song develops later on. This song is a good showcase for Bonham in the second half, as his iconic fills start entering the song, particularly after Plant's harmonica solo around 3-4 minutes in. This is probably the first song of Zeppelin's to ever have the signature "drum triplets" of Bonham's the second being in Dazed and Confused (hopefully more on it next week...)
Regarding the live versions of this song, there are TONS of versions to look up, as this was featured in every Zeppelin set until 1973, around the time The Song Remains The Same Live conert album was recorded, explaining why it wasn't featured in the soundtrack. You Shook me is featured on the BBC Sessions album, along with the live video from Royal Albert Hall in 1970. Along with Communication Breakdown, You Shook Me is on BBC Sessions multiple times, with a few discreet differences which I still need to take note of as of the writing of this post.
In conlusion (Why does this sound like an essay?!), I really need to listen to this song more...and I also encourage the reader, yes YOU, to listen to it a little more, perhaps complimenting the distortion-driven sound with a little more relaxed blues-driven sound. Or maybe not. Maybe you could go listen to that...whatever it is.
Maybe.
I purposely delayed writing this post mostly because of my lack of knowledge on the song featured in this post (for shame!)
Anyways, You Shook Me, the third track of Led Zeppelin's first album, Led Zeppelin I, will be featured in this post.
This is generally the song I skip whenever I listen to this album, as it strays from the normal hard and energetic tone in Zeppelin songs; on that note, it's also not an acoustic piece either, but rather, a hard blues song, based on the original by Willie Dixon, a favorite "base template" for Led Zeppelin songs. Along with being skipped by me, I also haven't really found the time to learn how to play this song, as I generally stay away from slide-blues songs (I'm really scared of odd tunings!). Despite the slide intro, the song does manage to stay with the standard EADGBE tuning...I guess I'll have to learn this at some point.
As I said above, the song is very blues-driven, being based off, or rather "inspired by" a Willie Dixon song. The very first thing heard in the song is Page's metal slide: it's a rather iconic riff for the die-hard Zeppelin fan, and whenever I hear it calling out (< not a Babe I'm Gonna Leave You reference...), I instantly know what song it is. The chording structure in this song isn't exactly new, and once again is a typical blues rhythm, with the BUH...BUHNUH...BUNUH...(repeat) going through the verses. On the other hand...the solo is truly amazing, and on that note, all the band member's parts are. But back to Page: as the song develops, the guitar part begins to break out of its standard patterning, sometimes following the vocals, sometimes doing a small call-and-respond. Listening to it now, I guess it isn't terribly repetetive, which reflects one of my upper points; I really haven't listened to this song a great deal yet; I'll still try my best to cover it, though.
The bass part is kind of absent in this song, with JPJ staying on the keys and organ for most of the song. JPJ actually did the organ part for another version of this song, back in the Yardbirds for Page and Beck, both of which ironically did their own versions of the song. (I won't get into the details...) Not much else to say on JPJ's part here.
Pertaining to the drum part of this song, Bonham plays through the verses with a very heavy, dragging rhythm, complimented by Page's guitar. This song, if I played it, would probably be an easy first song to learn...at least until the song develops later on. This song is a good showcase for Bonham in the second half, as his iconic fills start entering the song, particularly after Plant's harmonica solo around 3-4 minutes in. This is probably the first song of Zeppelin's to ever have the signature "drum triplets" of Bonham's the second being in Dazed and Confused (hopefully more on it next week...)
Regarding the live versions of this song, there are TONS of versions to look up, as this was featured in every Zeppelin set until 1973, around the time The Song Remains The Same Live conert album was recorded, explaining why it wasn't featured in the soundtrack. You Shook me is featured on the BBC Sessions album, along with the live video from Royal Albert Hall in 1970. Along with Communication Breakdown, You Shook Me is on BBC Sessions multiple times, with a few discreet differences which I still need to take note of as of the writing of this post.
In conlusion (Why does this sound like an essay?!), I really need to listen to this song more...and I also encourage the reader, yes YOU, to listen to it a little more, perhaps complimenting the distortion-driven sound with a little more relaxed blues-driven sound. Or maybe not. Maybe you could go listen to that...whatever it is.
Maybe.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Hectic Hexic
Every piece of hardware you buy usually comes bloated with random programs, and most of that junk is left to rot in a corner. The Xbox 360 is no exception, although the bloatware is considerably less...bloaty.
Ever feel the repetitiveness of Skyrim and Battlefield 3 starting to set in? Me neither, (it doesn't exist :P) But anyways, I felt like playing something new, but being too lazy to reach over to open a different video game case. I leafed through my games library. Every Xbox comes standard with a few starter games, but mine only came with Hexic HD, which was only played when the Xbox box was opened 3 years ago.
So, feeling what could only be nostalgia, I gave into playing Hexic again...
Apparently leaderboards are supposed to be competitive...unfortunately since an actual game-on-disk is usually bought bundled with Xbox's those are what's played, leaving Hexic gathering dust in the Xbox live arcade library. Proof of this comes with the fact that only four of 30 of the people on my friends list have any score whatsoever on the Hexic leaderboards, requiring absolutely no effort at all to beat them. So, there goes a replay value.
My main problem with Hexic, other than the lack of competitiveness, lies within its repetitiveness. In case YOU are one of those people (and believe me, there's LOTS) who's never even realized that your Xbox came with a free game on the hard drive, Hexic is basically a reskin-copy of bejewelled, and in case you've never played that either, it basically boils down to "Match the colors to make triangles of the same colors."
Over. And. Over.
Despite having three game modes, I'm not really feeling the differences presented with each different mode. It's all just a bunch of circley-rotatey things, and it doesn't stray far from that at all. It's definitely a good concept, it just needs to be made more...exciting. Occasionally, bombs will pop up, requiring the player to use it in a combo within the set number of moves displayed on the bombs. Those who just want to see the explosion will be greatly disappointed; a greater amount of excitement can be found just by kicking Styrofoam. The detonation from the bomb just leaves a small hole where it was, sadly without anything resembling an explosion.
I feel that the developers were trying to go for simplicity, but games like this should stay with platforms such as Androids and Iphones; this kind of game shouldn't be what the powerful hardware on the Xbox be used for.
Besides...
Why play with triangles...
When you have Skyrim?
Ever feel the repetitiveness of Skyrim and Battlefield 3 starting to set in? Me neither, (it doesn't exist :P) But anyways, I felt like playing something new, but being too lazy to reach over to open a different video game case. I leafed through my games library. Every Xbox comes standard with a few starter games, but mine only came with Hexic HD, which was only played when the Xbox box was opened 3 years ago.
Courtesy of IGN
So, feeling what could only be nostalgia, I gave into playing Hexic again...
Apparently leaderboards are supposed to be competitive...unfortunately since an actual game-on-disk is usually bought bundled with Xbox's those are what's played, leaving Hexic gathering dust in the Xbox live arcade library. Proof of this comes with the fact that only four of 30 of the people on my friends list have any score whatsoever on the Hexic leaderboards, requiring absolutely no effort at all to beat them. So, there goes a replay value.
My main problem with Hexic, other than the lack of competitiveness, lies within its repetitiveness. In case YOU are one of those people (and believe me, there's LOTS) who's never even realized that your Xbox came with a free game on the hard drive, Hexic is basically a reskin-copy of bejewelled, and in case you've never played that either, it basically boils down to "Match the colors to make triangles of the same colors."
Over. And. Over.
Despite having three game modes, I'm not really feeling the differences presented with each different mode. It's all just a bunch of circley-rotatey things, and it doesn't stray far from that at all. It's definitely a good concept, it just needs to be made more...exciting. Occasionally, bombs will pop up, requiring the player to use it in a combo within the set number of moves displayed on the bombs. Those who just want to see the explosion will be greatly disappointed; a greater amount of excitement can be found just by kicking Styrofoam. The detonation from the bomb just leaves a small hole where it was, sadly without anything resembling an explosion.
I feel that the developers were trying to go for simplicity, but games like this should stay with platforms such as Androids and Iphones; this kind of game shouldn't be what the powerful hardware on the Xbox be used for.
Besides...
Why play with triangles...
When you have Skyrim?
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