First Listen: The Antlers - Burst Apart (2011)

It would be unavoidable to compare Burst Apart from Hospice, the latter being widely known as a great tearjerker. Since this was my first listen, I didn't have a background as to what the lyrics and themes were so I judged the album by its atmosphere. My opinion of this album will most likely change once I get to do a bit more research, since Hospice only managed to repeatedly make me cry after I learned its full story.

The musical presentation of Burst Apart came off as somewhat lighthearted and uplifting. It wasn't as haunting as Hospice, but it had the familiar feeling of melancholy tied to the songs. This song had me "bouncing to the beat" as compared to "swinging and swaying" that I usually do when listening to softer music.

Though it may lack certain elements from their most popular album, The Antlers made Burst Apart with a great atmosphere that clings to you and calls out to your curiosity.


Track Listing:

01) I Don't Want Love
02) French Exit
03) Parentheses
04) No Windows
05) Rolled Together
06) Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out
07) Tiptoe
08) Hounds
09) Corsicana
10) Putting The Dog To Sleep

LoZ: OoT - Water Temple

I just finished playing through Ocarina of Time's notoriously challenging dungeon, the Water Temple. From what I've heard from people in gaming communities, it's one of the most difficult stages in the puzzle platforming genre. Some people even consider it the hardest dungeon they've ever played.

I can somewhat relate to the general sentiments about this particular area in OoT. Most of this dungeon's puzzles use precision shooting + timed triggers, and aiming with a controller isn't really one of my greatest points. This was the only thing that really bothered me about the WT, being someone who is mostly unfamiliar with using a console controller. So far I had to begrudgingly deal with high stick sensitivity when using ranged weaponry. I barely managed to finish the shooting range challenge; It may take some time (maybe never) for me to complete the horseback archery challenge. You also had to shift between gear a lot in this dungeon. If you barely paused or opened the menu so far, you'd be seeing it more frequently.

Overall, I don't really think the dungeon is exceedingly difficult. I actually found it to be fun to play through. Maybe because I think the Iron Boots are cool, but also because the level design was something fresh for me. Back when I was still in grade school I mostly just watched my older brother play through LoZ: OoT, but I don't recall him getting stuck or ragequitting because of the Water Temple. The dungeon itself is very much playable, although saying it was way too easy would be a lie. Still, WT can't hold a candle to the mind-bendingly grating Meat Circus level in Psychonauts.

Frustration:  5.0/10

Puzzles:      8.5/10

Design:       8.0/10

Boss:          7.5/10

Overall:       8.0/10

Psychonauts Condensed Review

I just finished playing Psychonauts last night and now I've got this lingering sense of pride and achievement. Not only did I get past the final stage, (one of the hardest platforming levels I've ever played) but I completed the entire game using the input I was most familiar with: Keyboard and Mouse. The whole last level actually made me break my refrain-from-raging "oath". I also had to exercise a certain degree of restraint when thoughts of "smash the shit out of your seemingly unresponsive keys" came into mind, since I was playing on my laptop.

Psychonauts

[PC-Windows]Wiki

  Story        -  8.5

  Gameplay -  9.0

  Graphics   -  9.5

  Audio        -  9.0

Full Review

I managed to get myself a copy of the game thanks to the Humble Indie Bundle V, and it came along with other great titles such as Bastion and Amnesia: TDD.

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Written 20th June 2010 - Anime-Planet.com
Title: Finished N. G. Evangelion
Link to post


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Well, the first time I watched this series I was about five years old. I barely had any idea what the hell was going on, but I guess I kind of liked the mecha designs. Unfortunately the airing of the series was discontinued for reasons unknown. As I was scanning through anime recommendations, I once again stumbled upon Eva. I decided to finish the series.


I was curious about how the series ended up being tagged with Mindf*ck. Throughout the series, I found bits of it, but I thought it wasn't enough to fuss about. I didn't get the feeling I had when I watched FLCL. Eyes wide open, and brain feeling numb. Then came episode 25 and 26. I think all of the mind screw was jam packed into these episodes.


But it left me disappointed. I thought I was going to see some artistic abstract meant to stimulate the mind, but no. For almost every statement made in the last two episodes, I kept thinking (sometimes out loud) "That's already a given." and "I already know that." That was definitely not entertaining. It was a pain watching through the last two episodes, and it kind of ruined the series for me. Inconclusive endings bother me a lot.


Well, I'm going to try the movies, and hopefully it won't be full of mental dialog about self preservation and insecurity.


(Maybe I would've changed my opinion of the series had there been a random fight at the ending. Hehe.)

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Written as user VoidTemplar*
Cross posted because I actually like how I put my thoughts into writing with this blog post.


*I do have a tendency to use cheesy usernames. Hey, at least I try to keep it clean.

Game Reviews (Batch 1)

I actually promised to post game reviews a while back, but never got to do them.

In depth reviews will be posted by the end of the month

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Rune Factory 3

[Nintendo DS] Wiki

  Story        -  8.0

  Gameplay -  8.0

  Graphics   -  8.5

  Audio        -  9.0

Full Review

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Okamiden

[Nintendo DS] Wiki

  Story        -  8.0

  Gameplay -  9.0

  Graphics   -  9.5

  Audio        -  8.5

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Mass Effect

[PC-Windows] Wiki

  Story        -  10.0

  Gameplay -  7.0

  Graphics   -  8.5

  Audio        -  8.5

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Mass Effect 2

[PC-Windows] Wiki

  Story        -  9.5

  Gameplay -  8.5

  Graphics   -  9.0

  Audio        -  9.0

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Spore

[PC-Windows] Wiki

  Story        -  6.0

  Gameplay -  7.5

  Graphics   -  8.5

  Audio        -  8.5

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Torchlight

[PC-Windows] Wiki

  Story        -  7.0

  Gameplay -  8.5

  Graphics   -  8.5

  Audio        -  8.5

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Machinarium

[PC-Windows] Wiki

  Story        -  8.5

  Gameplay -  8.5

  Graphics   -  9.5

  Audio        -  9.0

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Dragon Age: Origins

[PC-Windows] Wiki

  Story        -  8.5

  Gameplay -  9.0

  Graphics   -  9.0

  Audio        -  9.0

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Bastion

[PC-Windows] Wiki

  Story        -  9.0

  Gameplay -  9.0

  Graphics   -  9.5

  Audio       -  10.0

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Treasure Adventure Game

[PC-Windows] Official Site | GOG

  Story        -  8.5

  Gameplay -  9.0

  Graphics   -  9.0

  Audio        -  8.5

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Katawa Shoujo

[PC-Windows] Wiki

  Story        -  10

  Gameplay -  *

  Graphics   -  9.0

  Audio        -  9.5

*It's a VN, so I have no idea how I'm supposed to rate GP.

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Once the full reviews are finished, I'll post them here.