By Tanner Banks 2/13/2016, 9:00 a.m. Tweet to: @SirJamtrousers
“For God’s sake just jump out the window!” I whispered to myself, enraptured by the 14 minute pitch by Sad Square Studio for Visage. The only thing that was going on was a slow walk through a dark and quiet house, yet I felt as if I were being slowly dragged into hell. Footsteps barely audible, no background sounds, save for the occasional “something” behind me. I didn’t know what I was expecting coming into Visage, but I left shaken, tense, and begging for more.
In this installment of Kickass Kickstarters, I had the chance to check out the Canadian team Sad Square Studio (@SadsquareStudio), and their psychological horror title Visage. While this game doesn’t look like it’ll be a gruesome splatterfest ala Friday the 13th, it’s definitely going to scare the piss out of you. The biggest thing that gravitated me to Visage, was the tagline just under the pitch video: “Each death has its visage. Would you dare look directly in its eyes?” It felt mysterious and spooky. After watching the pitch video, I’m not so sure I would look in its eyes.
Outside of a short blurb by the studio founders, the video was entirely gameplay. Lots of pitch videos will only highlight parts of the video game, whereas this was 12 minutes of continuous gameplay. And for a horror game, that’s exactly what it needed. Proper horror is about immersing yourself into the world and having that sense of vulnerability. And I’ll tell you, I was extremely immersed and felt very vulnerable. The sounds of someone or something brushing along the walls filled me with dread. A door slamming behind me had me bouncing like a rabbit high on a double espresso. And once I heard the clicking sound of a locked door in front of me, my eyes were trying not to pop out of my head. In terms of pulling you into the game and feeling scared, Visage did more in 12 minutes than most games do in hours.
Built on the Unreal 4 Engine, the visuals and sound give a real sense of “presence” to the game. It looks and feels like you are in the house. Despite the fact that I was watching it in a well-lit gym with the wonderful background noise of grunts and clacking weights going on all around me, as far as I was concerned, I was in the game and I was terrified. The designers talked about how the game was inspired by P.T.,Penumbra, and SilentHill, but I felt like I was back in Poltergeist. I kept being teased about whatever might be behind me, and the tension was getting to me. I was begging for whatever it was to just show itself. Rather than get a quick scare by flashing something scary in front of you, Visage slowly sinks its claws into you and pulls you in. Like the story of how you can boil a frog by slowly turning up the heat, I was a goner before I knew it. This game just gets the difference between scaring you, and making you scared.
Gameplay looks like it’s going to be akin to the aforementioned Penumbra, as well as Amnesia: The Dark Descent. You’ll need to keep yourself from getting too terrified in game before you start to hallucinate from the stress. You’ll need to look for clues everywhere and pray you find it, before it finds you.
You can run, you can hide, but can you survive?
The game still has nearly 30 days until the campaign is over, and it’s already starting to plow through stretch goals. While you can choose between a console or Steam release now, I’m going to suggest you play the PC version for one reason: Virtual Reality. This was one of the earliest stretch goals, and if I can get that scared watching on a crappy little notebook, I shudder to think how bad it’s going to be on an Oculus Rift. Scratch that, I’m jumping for joy about how sweet it’s going to be.
By Jon Quinn 2/12/2016, 12:00 p.m. Tweet to: @LeissureOG
Hail Adventurers! Level ten ARKnoob checking in. ARK is a pretty intense survival game that puts you in a world filled with dinosaurs and strange floating structures. Like Minecraft, you get little explanation about who you are or what you’re doing, but the implant in my arm and the previously mentioned floating structures definitely give it a Hunger Games vibe. You enter the game in full caveman mode and have to resort to punching trees for wood and picking berries off of local flora and fauna to survive, but after a bit of a grind you evolve into a badass with an RPG, riding a dinosaur! Oh, and you poop often in this game. So be sure to turn up your speakers so your roommates can enjoy that wet fart with you every few minutes! Don’t forget to pick it up with your bare hands, either – this is a “waste not, want not” kind of world and that fertilizer is going to come in handy! Pun unapologetically intended.
Early game is tough! You’re going to be spending a lot of time battling the elements. If you’re too cold, you need to get a fire started before hypothermia sets in. If you’re hungry, you end up picking berries while dodging carnivores like raptors on land or piranha in the water. The first few hours are definitely spent just trying to make it through to the next day, but after you get your shit together (literally) you can get some crops growing that takes a bit of the pressure off.
Pro tip: Don’t lead a pissed off brontosaurus to your thatch hut and expect to hide! Dinosaurs can huff, puff, and stomp that house down around you!
If you’re starting out in ARK, I would recommend trying to join a tribe as quickly as you can. You gain experience when friendlies gain experience. Also, the games tooltips leave much to be desired at this stage, a forgivable offense since the game is still in the alpha stage of development, but you’re going to want to have an ally around to help you figure out some of the basics of the game. If you’re logging in as a “forever alone” single player, there is ample reading on fan-made wiki pages that helps break down some of the finer points of ARK.
Taming dinos is by far the coolest feature of ARK. Want to mount up on a saber tooth tiger? That is a thing! Want to start a farm for the elusive dodo bird? Done. These dinosaurs are your friends, your allies, your life line, and your ticket to bigger and badder dinosaur pets! As you use a specific dinosaur, it will increase in level, allowing you to further specialize its talents like increased carrying capacity or stamina.
OK, I’m gonna go get my caveman on! Tune in next week for info on my evolution into mid-game.
By: Derek Moody 2/12/2016, 8:30 a.m Tweet to: @DerekMoody619
Former UFC Heavyweight Champion and Pride FC Legend, Kevin “The Monster” Randleman, passed away at the young age of 44 on February 11th. He was taken to the hospital to be treated for pneumonia and died due to heart failure. The MMA community lost one of the good ones. The Monster truly will be missed.
Wrestling
Before trying his hand at MMA, Randleman was an All American collegiate wrestler who won quite often. A record of 122-11 in 3 years time, Randleman won state titles and the NCAA tournament twice while at Ohio State University. Close friend and coach Mark Coleman (UFC Hall of Famer) figured Randleman’s wrestling was so impactful that he’d be a force at MMA and eventually convinced him to try Vale Tudo.
UFC
One of the most dominant wrestlers to enter mixed martial arts, Kevin Randleman struck gold early attaining the UFC Heavyweight Title at UFC 23, defeating Pete Williams in 1999. After successfully defending the title once, Randleman would eventually lose the belt and drop down to light heavyweight. Light heavyweight may have felt more natural for him, but it didn’t go as planned. Losing two fights in a row in the new division, he became frustrated but didn’t quit. The third time was a charm, picking up a decision win over a very respectable veteran, Renato “Babalu” Sobral. That would be the last time we’d see him the UFC. He wasn’t there long, just over 2 years within the organization, he managed to fight just about everyone of importance building his legacy. (Randy Couture, Bas Rutten, Chuck Liddell, Pedro Rizzo, and Babalu.)
Pride FC
At the time, the money was better, the stage was bigger, the talent was deeper, and the fans were knowledgeable. Who didn’t want a piece of that pie? Legends were made at Pride FC. Randleman was a part of epic fights during his time at Pride, not knowing that a majority of his fights would be considered super fights years later. Whether it was a win or a loss, everybody won because it cemented their names into something greater.
There weren’t many cards at Pride that didn’t have what we’d consider a super fight. The Monster may have won a title at UFC, but the work he did at Pride possibly outshines that due to the level of competition depending on who you speak to. During the 2004 Heavyweight Grand Prix, he gained a knockout victory over then Top Heavyweight contender Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipović, earning Randleman Upset of the Year and Knockout of the Year.
Fans new to the sport probably look at Randleman’s record, 17 wins 16 losses, and wonder how he’s regarded as a legend. Well, entering a tourney with people like Fedor Emelianenko, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mark Coleman, Heath Herring, Murilo “Ninja” Rua, Sergei Kharitonov, Semmy Schilt, and Cro Cop will do it. There weren’t many fights you’d consider a tune-up fight in the Pride days, so many great fighters fought wars and left with losses. It would be impossible for a tournament with that caliber of competitors to take place today. Almost every fight was a super fight. He went 2-9 in his final 11 fights. Like many fighters who fought 15 years or so, you have to know when to hang it up to salvage your health and MMA record.
What he did for the sport was enormous, especially for wrestlers with no other martial arts background. He entered the sport with a strictly wrestling base, dominated, and captured a title on the biggest platform. Always looked at as undersized for the division due to his height, similar to Mike Tyson in boxing, he still became a powerhouse in the sport. He made sure we always knew what he was thinking or feeling, never straying from the truth. Always positive, willing to teach, and aiming to make the sport better and more competitive; he will be missed. RIP Kevin “The Monster” Randleman.
By Tanner Banks 2/10/2016, 12:00 p.m. Tweet to: @SirJamtrousers
He’s pacing, he checks the corner for any hostiles. He’s ready for anything. He waits, and waits… and waits, for someone, anyone to run by… Tom Clancy’s The Division has been getting a large amount of hype from the gaming community, and with the success of Rainbow Six: Siege, The Division has its work cut out for it as a follow up by Ubisoft. Developed by the Sweden-based Ubisoft Massive, The Division is being touted as an online, open-world, role-playing shooter. As of February 2nd, the alpha and closed beta tests are finished, with the open beta set to release February 18th for the Xbox One and the next day for PC and PS4. With the open beta about to begin and the release date (March 8th) less than a month away, how has it looked so far?
Recently, I had the chance to interview Tony “Xythazar” Reno, a long-time gamer, and small-time streamer on Twitch (check him out he streams at Twitch.tv/Xythazar), who took part in The Division‘s closed beta, as well as the alpha. Tony was able to get the beta by pre-ordering and was lucky enough to be selected for the Alpha testing as well. For a review of The Division, I wanted to get a regular gamer’s opinion on the game with no ties to the industry outside of his love for games.
Due to the NDA that he had to sign, some of the comments that he mentioned during the interview about the alpha cannot be shared publicly. However, he did say that the game definitely felt like it was an alpha build. Alpha builds in other games tend to have stiff controls, little game content beyond a few key testing missions, little polish on visuals, and a large amount of bugs.
With his beta results, he mentioned that the gameplay was more discussable. As for the beta, he mentioned that it was a “pretty big improvement” over the alpha. Learning more about the game, he was able to discuss the story and gameplay. Taking place in a post-viral outbreak New York, your job as a special agent of the Division is to help reestablish order to the city. Several missions involved random encounters with rioters that needed dispatching. Several missions involved retaking parts of the city. And side missions were taking out encampments in certain buildings of the city to try to upgrade your home base in three key areas: Medical, Security, and Tech.
Increasing these parts of your base will help upgrade trees for your character in Medical, Security, and Tech. In Tony’s experience with the beta, he was only able to upgrade the Medical section of his perks, unlike other Youtubers who had fully unlocked characters from the developers. From looking at other players’ experiences like Total Biscuit’s they had similar instances. As for the map itself, Tony wasn’t able to go far away from his base, but he mentioned that the game may be cross-platform when playing. Hopefully there will be more on this later.
One aspect of the game has been especially scrutinized and hyped up for The Division, and that was the Darkzone. For Tony, the Darkzones are “a PvP-style area, where it’s the same style of open map, but it’s PvP instead of just PvE.” The loot mechanic for the Darkzone requires calling in a very visible and very loud helicopter that will leave you vulnerable for several minutes. When discussing the risk/reward balance, Tony mentioned that it needed some minor tweaks.
Outside of the Darkzone, the player interactions were “slim to none.” He told about how his experience with the matchmaking:
“In the beta, I actually tried the matchmaking engine and got matched up with like, three different teams, and each one didn’t really communicate and just wandered around the same room for 10 minutes. They didn’t really do anything. It was kinda like one of those things where the community didn’t seem really responsive outside of the home bases where people were just doing emotes and stuff. The players were just dicking around more than anything.”
As for the beta’s presentation, Tony had only great things to say:
“For the most part, the game looked beautiful. A lot of detail went to character animations and details. The environment especially was phenomenal, even with the beta. With a nice display, the scenery and the graphics really pop… Some of the small details were incomplete or looked over… but will probably be fixed later.”
When suggesting improvements, the big thing he wanted addressed was the lack of content:
“Honestly with the beta, what I saw was a lack of things to do after a while. Most of the enemies spawned in certain locations and they were the same activity over and over. After a while you, ran out of activities, and things to kill, and things to make.”
Popular YouTuber Jackfrags echoed Tony’s sentiments about the lacking content in the beta, “One of the biggest concerns I have here though is late game content… Will there be enough content there to keep players engaged and interested?”
Despite the harsh sounding criticisms about The Division, Tony had a good time playing the game. “Overall, it was a pretty good game. I found a lot of tiny little things I really liked. Like some of the NPC’s I found spoke fluent Chinese.” When I asked how he knew that, he revealed that he actually took Chinese beforehand and knew what they were saying.
From interviewing Mr. Reno, The Division has a lot going for it, but needs to show more of it. If Ubisoft is just playing coy with the amount of content, and is able to produce a game capable of providing more than just a few weeks of game time, they’ll have back-to-back hits between this and R6: Siege. Hopefully, that means the days of Assassin’s Creed: Unity are behind Ubisoft.
By Kaiana Miller 2/9/2016, 11:00 a.m. Tweet to: @Slickster_Mag
Stephen Thompson lands a straight left in his win against Johny Hendricks.
What was initially going to be UFC 196, featuring a Heavyweight Championship Title fight, turned into UFC Fight Night 82, which was supposed to show the new dedication and resurgence of former UFC Welterweight Champion Johny Hendricks. Unfortunately for Hendricks, Stephen Thompson had other plans. Here’s some thoughts about the main card including fights that would make sense for each of its participants.
Johny Hendricks vs Stephen Thompson:
This fight, on paper, was a classic wrestler vs striker scenario. The majority of experts thought this would be a fairly easy fight for Hendricks. Stephen Thompson came into this fight with an 11-1 professional record, but his one loss was to the same Matt Brown that Hendricks had grinded out a decision win against in his last fight. The problems with weight cutting that forced “Bigg Rigg” to pull out of his scheduled fight with Tyron Woodley seemed to be fixed. Hendricks woke up three days before this bout under the maximum weight limit of 171 lbs. He visibly looked fitter than we had ever seen him. This appeared to be the chance Hendricks was looking for to earn himself a shot at the title he had lost to Robbie Lawler 14 months ago.
For all the highlight reel knockouts that Thompson had on his record, the one thing being questioned was his grappling ability. Would he be able to stay on his feet long enough to wear down Hendricks and potentially knock him out? The answer turned out to be a resounding yes. Hendricks was able to get deep on a shot against the cage early in the fight, but ‘Wonderboy’ was able to keep the fight standing. Hendricks was a standing target for the remainder of the three and half minutes that this fight lasted. Thompson cracked the usually reliable chin of Hendricks with multiple kicks and straight punches against the cage forcing the referee to step in and call the fight.
What’s Next:
Hendricks has now alternated wins and losses in his last five fights. This was the first time that he has been finished in his career. To say he is finished would be ridiculous since he still possesses incredible knockout power and elite level wrestling. A fight against the winner of the Hector Lombard vs Neil Magny fight scheduled for next month would be intriguing and would also offer Hendricks a chance to prove he still belongs among the top fighters in the Welterweight division.
Stephen Thompson asked for a title shot after his win and a fight against current champion Robbie Lawler would be exciting to say the least. It appears that Thompson has improved enough in his grappling to be competitive in any fight in the division. However, if the UFC decides to give a rematch with the champion to Carlos Condit or to the rumored-to-be-returning Georges St-Pierre, a fight against Tyron Woodley could serve as a number one contender fight and would make the most sense.
Roy Nelson vs Jared Rosholt:
In what was disappointingly the most boring fight on the card, Roy Nelson was able to stay on his feet the entire fight and best Jared Rosholt via decision. Rosholt offered virtually no offense across the 15 minutes he stood in the octagon. Nelson is known for his knockout power, but that is no excuse for Rosholt to literally turn and run the way that he did. The win snapped a three fight losing streak for Nelson, who will turn 40 in June.
What’s Next:
Nelson has now won only two of his last seven fights. That sounds terrible, but he has fought the who’s who of the Heavyweight division. Still, it is concerning how much punishment Nelson is willing (and able) to take while trying to land his vicious right hand. The three kicks he threw against Rosholt as well as his performance in his last fight, a grueling five-round war against Josh Barnett in which Nelson scored multiple take downs and looked relatively fresh in the final round, offer some hope that Nelson is making an effort to improve his game. With the top of the division in flux, a fight against Travis Browne would be fun to see and would show if Nelson is still capable of beating above average talent. Browne is coming off a controversial win against Matt Mitrione last month.
The loss ended a three fight winning streak for Rosholt. Potentially the most boring fighter in the UFC, Rosholt has finished only one of his six UFC victories. He is too content to wrestle his opponent to the ground and hold him there for extended periods of time. It would be nice to see Rosholt fight his polar opposite in Derrick Lewis, who fought on this card and boasts a 100 percent finish rate in his professional career.
Ovince Saint Preux vs Rafael Cavalcante:
OSP was able to shake off an apparent ankle injury early in the first round and win a noncompetitive decision. Much like Rosholt, Cavalcante provided no real offense aside from some early leg kicks. Saint Preux showed an often unseen side of his game by taking Cavalcante down multiple times. He nearly finished him late in the third round with hard ground strikes from top position.
What’s Next:
Saint Preux has now won three of his last four fights and could be primed for a jump into the upper ranks of the shallow light-heavyweight division. A bout against Jimi Manuwa, who is coming off a loss to Anthony Johnson, would be the most logical fight for him to take.
Cavalcante has now lost three straight and four of his last five. The former Strikeforce champion looked awful in this fight, failing to capitalize on the aforementioned injury suffered early by OSP. If the UFC doesn’t give him his walking papers, a fight against Sean O’Connell would suffice. O’Connell lost via 30 second TKO at the hands of Ilir Latifi in January.
Joseph Benavidez vs Zach Makovsky:
Speed was the most apparent advantage in this one. Benavidez extended his current winning streak to five with the decision victory. Makovsky had little success against Benavidez throughout the bout. He was outclassed on the feet and the few takedowns he was able to land resulted in nothing as Benavidez was able to immediately scramble and get back to his feet.
What’s Next:
Benavidez has his mind on one thing, a title shot against pound-for-pound king and reigning flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson. However, the previous two times that they fought Johnson came away the victor, including a first round knockout just over a year ago. Johnson is also currently slated to fight former Olympian Henry Cejudo later this year. Barring any injuries to Johnson or Cejudo, the only fight that would make sense would be a bout against Kyoji Horiguchi. The Japanese fighter followed up his failed bid at the title against Johnson with win in September against Chico Camus.
Its back to the drawing board for Makovsky who has now lost two in a row after winning three of his first four fights in the UFC. A potential bout against ‘Uncle Creepy’ Ian McCall would be interesting and would get the winner back on the short list of fighters in the division. McCall hasn’t fought since dropping a decision to John Lineker in January of 2015.
Mike Pyle vs Sean Spencer:
Pyle silenced the doubters once again and proved that he isn’t slowing down even after his fortieth birthday. The ageless Pyle was able to pull off the upset with a third round stoppage of Sean Spencer. The veteran’s experience showed as he was able to overcome a slow start and end up finishing the fight with elbows and knees with only 35 seconds left in the fight.
What’s Next:
Pyle ended a two fight skid with the win and is a good litmus test for any up and coming fighter in the welterweight division. That is exactly what he should be for a once promising prospect in Court McGee. The Ultimate Fighter Season 11 winner returned after a two year layoff in December in a decision win against Marcio Alexandre Jr.
Sean Spencer failed once again. It seems that for all of his athleticism, Spencer may never develop into anything more than an average mixed martial artist. After winning two of his first three fights in the promotion, Spencer has now lost three of his last four. A prospect vs prospect fight would help determine if Spencer is capable of eventually beating more competitive talent. Randy Brown could provide just that. The undefeated Brown is coming off a decision win in his promotional debut against Matt Dwyer in late January.
Upcoming:
UFC Fight Night 83 Cerrone vs Oliveira — February 21
By: Derek Moody 2/9/2016, 9:30 a.m. Tweet to: @DerekMoody619
The 8th Annual Fighters Only World MMA Awards was held in Las Vegas at the Venetian on February 5th. Not many people are familiar with it, and I have no idea why. The purpose of the event is to recognize and award those who excelled within the sport during the 2015 calendar year. Normally, I’d be at home tuning into Fox Sports 2 on February 12th to watch the pre-recorded highly edited version, but this time, I had the privilege of attending it with my entire entourage a few rows from the stage.
A surreal experience, having drinks mixing it up with mma presidents, fighters, trainers, analysts, referees, fellow writers, and ring card girls. With so many egos, personalities, and grudges all within the same building it’s hard to believe the only drama came via a video acceptance speech. There were a few verbal jabs thrown between Bantamweight Champ Dominick Cruz and our Host for the night, Urijah Faber #3, but that was expected. I agreed with about 80 percent of the winners based on my voting; below is the list of winners. Some categories changed, some went away, and some were added. Overall, I believe they kept the categories of importance.
“The Preacher’s Daughter” Holly Holm may possibly be the most humble champion the octagon has seen since Georges St. Pierre. She’s definitely championship material, always humble and appreciative, even back in her boxing days. Easily cleaning house, the Women’s Bantamweight Champ took home four awards while winning over anyone who wasn’t previously a fan with her acceptance speeches.
Derek Moody with Holly Holm, 8th Annual Fighters Only World MMA Awards.
Then, on the other hand, our Featherweight Champion who wasn’t in attendance made his presence felt with a video acceptance speech that left all in awe.
A couple of streaks stayed intact and a few ended, some of the active streaks include: Conor McGregor with his second straight International Fighter of the Year Award, Ariel Helwani picked up his sixth MMA Journalist of the Year Award. Mike Dolce delivered one of the better acceptance speeches of the night when he received his third Trainer of the Year Award. Also, the UFC and Dana White both won their eighth consecutive Best Promotion and Leading Man of the Year Awards. When White won his award, Chumlee of Pawn Stars pulled a Steve Harvey on Ray Sefo, President of the World Series of Fighting, which provided a moment of awkwardness, even though I’m sure it was scripted.
Some comedic moments throughout the night included a 30 minute or so stand up performance by Renato Laranja. The self proclaimed 27-time world champion actually is a black belt in jiu-jitsu at 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu under Eddie Bravo. If you’ve never witnessed how hilarious this guy is, you’re missing out.
Derek Moody with Renato Laranja, 8th Annual Fighters Only World MMA Awards.
When I spoke to him that night, he informed me that they signaled for him to wrap it up at least four times before Urijah Faber had to come out and cut him off, forcing them to play his exit music. We wouldn’t have minded if he did another 15 minutes or so due to everyone in the Venetian Theatre being in tears.
The ceremony was filled with non stop laughter throughout the night. One of the best moments that caught everyone off guard and caused our faces to hurt from laughing, were the three parody videos. Ben Askren, Johny Hendricks and Rashad Evans all contributed to hysterical parodies. Parody of the night had to go to Ben Askren re-doing Adele’s “Hello,” aimed towards Dana White.
The Lifetime Achievement Award was handed out to a much deserved Bruce Buffer for his hard work and dedication dating back to 1996. In the last 20 years, he’s maybe missed a dozen events primarily due to them being scheduled the same day or a day apart in different countries. If it had been possible for him to work those events, I’m positive he would have. Overall, this was an amazing experience, and hopefully they don’t edit the event too much for the February 12th airing.
Derek Moody with Bruce Buffer, 8th Annual Fighters Only World MMA Awards.
Award Winners
Charles “Mask” Lewis Fighter of the Year : Conor McGregor
The Astonishing is an epic work. It is beyond epic. The prog metal masters, who are approaching 30 years of creativity, released their newest and most dramatic work to date. A “rock opera” or “concept album” in the truest sense, it clocks in at over 110 minutes long, with 34 tracks split across two full acts. In support of the magnum opus there has been a media blitz. Here is a compilation of some of the Dream Theater videos, interviews and selections from The Astonishing.
From Wikipedia,
The Astonishing‘s concept centers around a band of rebels using the power of music to defy an oppressive empire. It was inspired by contemporary fantasy and science fiction franchises, as well as (Guitarist and Composer, John) Petrucci’s observations on the ubiquity of technological automation in modern day society. In writing music to match the album’s narrative, the band wrote songs in a wide variety of styles ranging from mellow ballads to their more conventional progressive metal sound.
Still not sure what The Astonishing is about, here’s the trailer.
Founding member of Dream Theater, guitarist and composer John Petrucci recently took to Reddit’s popular “Ask me Anything” subreddit. Fans were able to do just that. Here is what they had to say to their guitar idol.
The first single released for the Astonishing was The Gift of Music. It was pre-released in audio-only format as a teaser in December 2015. The band has gone back and recorded a music video in February 2016. Just like every one of their songs and albums, you will not hear this on the radio or see this on television. This song features elements of classic Dream Theater, like an epic guitar solo and even some of the organ patches that sound similar to Images and Words or Awake, as well as new influences such as Jordan Redress’s compositional touches and a full vocal choir.
While the album is available for purchase from Roadrunner Records, large portions of it are also available on YouTube. Roadrunner UK released a five-part interview series with lead singer James LaBrie, guitarist John Petrucci, and keyboardist Jordan Rudress.
Dream Theater Interview Part 1
Dream Theater Interview Part 2
Dream Theater Interview Part 3
Dream Theater Interview Part 4
Dream Theater Interview Part 5
Eddie Trunk interviewed the main composers of The Astonishing, John Petrucci and Jordan Rudress, for his radio show. [For those of you reading this post after 2016, there was a massive snow storm during the week of January 18th, 2016 on the East Coast of the USA.]
Music Man guitars have put together a master class with John Petrucci and will be giving away a buttload of awesome gear and a one-on-one class with the wizard of guitar himself. Here is the riff by riff lesson for The Astonishing and the gateway to enter the contest.
Favorite band or musical act: I really don’t have a favorite band or musical act although, I do LOVE Beyonce. lol
Movie that scared you the most: Any Paranormal Activity movie.
Truth or dare? Dare.
Tell us about your hobbies or the worst date you ever went on: As hobbies, I like to network a lot (Facebook, Instagram, twitter, etc..), model, design clothes, hang out with friends, and just have fun living life.
2/7/2016, 10:00 a.m. – There are many kinds of games available out there in the world. You’ve got your full length 80-hours-or-more games that require such dedication and determination to play all the through. Mini-games found inside a much bigger game or as a stand-alone with much less time or effort needed to play through. Then there’s micro-games, when you’re just in no mood to play a game but still would like some sort of visual stimulation and you’re afraid Netflix will pull you into your next 20-hour binge of watching your favorite TV show. Don’t leave out the growing world of eSports. Celebrity gamers, like EatMydiction and The anit-meta Falcon SSBM sensation, N0Ne attract huge audiences.
That’s where games like QuikDate come in!
A date-site simulator that captures pretty well the rougher, blunter parts of putting yourself out there in the cyber world looking for your next Mr. or Mrs. Right. Emulating off of websites like OkCupid, you answer a few silly questions, get your personal appearance and yearly income randomized, and you’re ready to shoot a like or dislike in the very-virtual virtual world of QuikDate.
Dr. Love is your wingman on your adventures providing very helpful tips (albeit, rhetorically useless) about how to improve your chances of being liked or matching up. I’m not going to spoil any gimmicks here but let’s just say that your potential matches are not going to pull punches with your “feelings.”
Hey! I’ll have you know my cardboard box is a duplex I found outside of HOME depot… elitist…
FAIR WARNING! Online dating can be difficult
This game is a satire, a parody. It is NOT meant to be taken seriously and, as such, if you are easily offended, move along, this micro-game isn’t for the weak-willed. There is a reason your physical attributes are randomized and that is so that you don’t become attached to your “avatar” in any way, resulting in taking some of the harsher comments personally.
It’s a game that will really take up a few minutes of your time, as there’s not much else to do than like, “message” the rotten apple of your eye, or go to the next match. It’s a simulator, were you expecting a dating sim along the lines of Catherine? Although, since this game is still in development, it could possibly go further in future builds. Very notable are the visuals, the game is presented in a very cute way, which balances out it’s cruel nature (and I will ironically say that with love).
The game is on a “name your price” basis.
You can choose to support the developer at the link below and give the game a round or two. If you’re the curious type, to see if this really does capture the nitty-gritty of online dating, give it a look. Guy or girl, don’t take this game too seriously, we have the real world of online dating to crush your spirit for you!
Anita Sarkeesian is an outspoken feminist advocate who publishes her opinions on YouTube. Running the risk of alienating 95 percent of our reader base: many times she makes some strong points. One of her recent videos highlights the gender inequality of video game portrayals in video games. Her video, “Strategic Butt Coverings” has sparked an outlashing of, ahem… rebuttals. Pun intended. Taken directly from her channel (Feminist Frequency):
The Tropes vs Women in Video Games project aims to examine the plot devices and patterns most often associated with female characters in gaming from a systemic, big picture perspective. This series will include critical analysis of many beloved games and characters, but remember that it is both possible (and even necessary) to simultaneously enjoy media while also being critical of it’s more problematic or pernicious aspects. This video series is created by Anita Sarkeesian and the project was funded by 6,968 awesome backers on Kickstarter.com
If you haven’t seen it yet, watch “Strategic Butt Coverings” first before you read on.
While it’s impossible to measure how many people liked or have interacted with her post, she has earned over half a million views in just two weeks. There is no question the video has sparked a bit of a controversy. The number of responses posted on YouTube has been abnormally high. It would be well beyond this post to include every reaction video, but the channel Booze and Bullshit has quickly gained several thousand views.
“Re: Strategic Butt Coverings Anita Sarkeesian’s Tropes Vs Women In Video Games Booze and Bullshit Show”
Trying to get to the, ahem…. bottom of things, I did a quick search for “video game butts.” Apparently, this subject matter has been thoroughly covered since the dawn of YouTube. Some of the videos date back as far as 2010.
Using the search term “video game butts” brings up a history of butts in gaming.
Is this a dead topic or do you think we need to look into the video game butt controversy?
Randy Greenback is the Executive Director at Gun Media (http://fearthegun.com). With over 20 years of experience in game development, Randy has accepted the challenge to help create a faithful adaption of the Friday the 13th film franchise into a video game. While every gamer knows that making a video game from a movie is a recipe for self-immolation, Randy and the teams at Gun Media and Illofonic have the brains and brawn to pull off this monumental task. Not only do they have to answer to the wrath of the hardcore legions of fans of the original slasher movies, they also have to create a game that’s seaworthy by modern standards of gaming.
Randy is up for the challenge. We managed to catch up with him and talk about the development of Friday the 13th: the Game as well as what it takes to be video game developer.
Chris: Before we get started is there anything you would like to say, or is there any misinformation out there on the internet that you want to clear up?
Randy Greenback: Actually, no. Our fans have been kept in the know as much as possible. One of the big things that we’ve been pushing with Friday the 13this that we want to be transparent and open with our backers & also the fans out there. Whether they are Friday the 13th fans, Kickstarter backers, or just fans of gaming in general, we want them to get an inside look at how games are made. We’ve want to be more open with the process and talk about the challenges so people know what it takes to create a game.
Honestly, we feel that an informed gamer would be a little less toxic and more understanding with the trials and tribulations of game development. So the more open we can be, the better. I mean, Joe Blow out there, who follows games casually, sees an Assassin’s Creed game come out every year, right? So they naturally assume these giant massive games can be churned out yearly.
What they don’t know is that Ubisoft has three or four teams that are staggering releases and rotating out. Every time one game gets ready to be released, they pile on 1,500 hundred developers to push it out the door, and then the next one is in line and already being built as well. Then they roll those people off to the next one to get it out the door. Wash, rinse, repeat.
That works for Ubisoft, but it creates a bit of a conundrum, where players expect more and more every year. Expectations increase and get to be unsustainable. Every game can’t have a 40 million-plus development budget. Indie developers really get screwed out of having a nice release cycle without people over-expecting from a small budget and a short dev cycle.
We feel that by “opening the kimono” and showing gamers, and giving them everyone access to… like, “Hey! Here’s how MO-CAP works. And here’s why we’re doing it. Here’s the process, and what and who is involved. This is how much it costs.” That helps inform people. It helps frame expectations and shine the light on the challenges in getting a game out the door. Hopefully other game development studios will take notice of what we’re doing along with other studios operating this way, and start doing it as well.
Randy, you mentioned in that answer Ubisoft, and I know early in your career you worked for Ubisoft. The reality of the game development world is, it’s harsh. Many people try to get involved with game development but very few have successful careers. What is some advice you can give to a young and upcoming game developer about starting their career?
Early on in your career, when you are just learning and starting out, you’ve got to be passionate, and you’ve got to work daily on whatever you want to do. I would say, start broad when you’re learning about game development. Learn a little about every discipline whether it’s art, programming, design, and marketing, even! In doing that, you’ll have a base understanding of every aspect of game development… even QA.
Once you have a broader understanding of each discipline, you can better decide what you definitely want to do in your career. Like, do you want to be a designer or an artist? Are you leaning towards one or the other? Do you want to be a producer? The only way to know is to kind of dabble in each and then you pick one to “level up” in. Something has to be your focus, otherwise you’re a generalist, a master of nothing, but you know a little about everything. In game development, especially AAA game development, that’s not really desirable. They want people who are specialists. So, if you’re more of generalist, find that out early. If you want to dabble in everything, maybe indie games with small teams will be more your thing. You’ll be able to wear more hats and touch more aspects of the games you’re involved with.
In general, set aside time every day and be consistent with whatever you’re doing, whatever you’re learning, whatever skills you’re developing. Practice, practice, practice! It’s not enough to just go to school, and get a degree. You can’t just do the coursework and then use that in your portfolio. You’ve gotta actually do work outside of school, or if you’re self-teaching and doing tutorials online, then you need to challenge yourself to go beyond the tutorials.
If you’re not really going to work as hard, then maybe it’s not truly what you want. If you don’t absolutely love what you’re doing and aren’t passionate about becoming better, then you’re probably not going to make it. There are so many people gunning for these few jobs right now. Only the truly passionate, hard-working, and talented are going to succeed and get them. That’s the general advice I would give.
That’s great advice.
Going a step further, early you have to focus on scope control upfront with your early projects. That’s also very important. Like, your first project should never be, “Let’s make an MMO.” (laughs) That’s a recipe for disaster. I hear that a lot when I speak at colleges and community colleges after talking to students. They always over-reach for their first projects. I try to head them off and let them know that they are going to get burned out and likely never get much done. They’ll get disenfranchised, since they won’t have a cycle of completion that is going to fuel them forward.
I always recommend, “Build Pong.” Build a unique take on Pong, or try Space Invaders and put some new art or a new gameplay mechanic into it. Start simple and then slowly take on more complex projects. That’s the winning strategy, and each small project prepares you to take on the challenges of the next one.
As the Executive Director, it’s your job to inspire your team to “produce.” How do you handle that role in day-to-day operations, and keep the team moving in the right direction?
Communication with the team. I kind of leverage my experience. I’ve been in the industry over 20 years now, and I’ve seen where the pitfalls and problems happen.
What are some of these pitfalls?
Lack of adequate planning is one. “Feature creep” is another big problem. If the designer is really passionate and they are going to grow their favorite features, a game can quickly get more complex than it needs to be. So you always have to keep an eye on the overarching design and have an idea of what truly is important. At the end of the day, it’s the core gameplay experience that should be the focus.
When you ensure all that gets to be fun before you start adding on stuff and tacking on other elements that aren’t core to the game, you’ll be in a better place. If the core sucks and it takes a long time to gel, it doesn’t matter how much crap you have surrounding it. You’ve got to make sure the game is fun at its very essence before you build it out any more. That’s the right methodology to use. You keep an eye on the game and make sure everyone is thinking along those same lines… the cool thing is at Illfonic, they are!
Adam Sessler has covered so much of this project with you guys at the round table discussions, but I’d like to drill a little deeper. At the beginning of the interview you did with Kane Hodder, he punched you in the face pretty hard. Did that hurt?
I felt it! The impact was thankfully muffled a little by my beard! (laughs)
He did pull it, but it connected.
He’s a stuntman, you know, so if Kane punched me for real, with full force, I would have been knocked out on the floor. I am certain of this. The dude is tough! I just watched him throw people, like literally throw people around at the MO-CAP shoot last week. We released some video of that on Twitter and the F13Game Facebook page. You can see for yourself, he is a strong dude. So, he pulled that punch, but I still felt it, though. And… I did not know it was coming. I felt a clink in my jaw, and when was looking around like, “WHAT?” That was all real.
I did see some of those videos of Kane at the MO-CAP studio. I think he was breaking through a wall or something.
Yeah, that was an amazing experience, from day one all the way through the end of day five. We had so many kills that Tom Savini designed and came up with that we captured. As we actually got onto the studio floor and started figuring out how we were going to capture them adequately for the game, we started realizing just how brutal many of them really were. We live streamed a lot of it too, so there were a lot of kills that we revealed during that, as well. So if fans were watching, they got a little taste of some things that we hadn’t announced yet.
I know you’re going to do some of the classic kills, like the sleeping bag kill that everyone keeps talking about, but it sounds like Tom Savini has designed all-original, brand-new kills just for the game. Is that correct?
That is 100 percent correct! They call him “The Volcano of the Mind.” He’s the Sultan of Splatter, and he has such an active imagination. He just has idea, after idea, after idea, and they just keep coming. Then, all of a sudden, you have 40 plus kills that no one has ever done before. So you have this giant list, and it’s a lot of work to get that done. It’s going to be amazing. We’re confident that not only are we going to recreate the classic kills… we’ve reimagined some of them. We’re taking them a step further and they’ll be more gory… We also have a ton of surprising new stuff that the fans are going to eat up!
We just interviewed film director Trent Duncan. He has done the “Jason vs. Michael” fan films and we asked him this same question: Why, in your opinion, is Jason Voorhees such a timeless slasher? What contributes to his staying power over all these years?
There is definitely a mystery about him. You can watch all the films and still not fully understand how Jason went from a child who drowned in a lake to where he is today. It has never been fully resolved, so that mystery of his origins helps fuel some of the popularity. There are a lot of fan discussions that arise from not knowing and not having an official answer of what did happen. So, there is a lot of stuff that is exciting and can be filled in by fans. The debates over fan theories that happen are great.
The fans have their own theories as to why Jason… like in Friday the 13th Part VI, Jason starting going a little more undead and had some supernatural elements to him. Because in the early films, Part 2 and Part III, he was kind of running around and bumbling. He could be knocked down and he had more human qualities about him. Then, in Part VI and definitely in Part VII, he’s pretty much unstoppable. (laughs) At that point, it’s on! There is nothing anyone can do to bring him down for any length of time. He always comes back. That is another component that is exciting for everybody. You know you’re pretty much fucked when Jason is coming for you!
The other thing is Jason is very creative in his kills. That is because of actors like Kane Hodder and all the actors who played Jason. It’s because others were involved like Tom Savini and Sean Cunningham, they really liked to have fun with what they were doing in the genre. So, Jason kills with daily household implements that you would never think you could kill with. Somehow he manages to pull off kills in a really exciting and grisly way, surprising the viewer.
I think those are the three things are the biggest components that make Jason the pop culture icon that he is. I mean, he’s everywhere! You can go to Japan and show the Jason mask around and people know. That’s Jason. That’s from Friday the 13th. They know instantly. He’s permeated cultures around the world and has fans everywhere. I’m sure there are more reasons, but those are my top three.
You’ve gone to a lot of pains to make the environments and mimic the original settings. The camp used in the film was Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco. They are notorious about not letting fans on to the campgrounds. Did they grant you access, and if not can you describe the environment modeling process?
Yeah, we have not gone on set. A lot of those areas have changed so much over the years. Things have been rebuilt and torn down, put back or rearranged. A lot of that stuff has just rotted away. Even if we were to go on site somewhere like that, we’re not 100 percent confident that what we’d be seeing would be what was actually shown in the films. That said, we look to the films and we treat them as the ultimate arbiter for any of the decisions we make for how we’re gonna go about showing something off, or what we’re gonna show off.
We go through painstaking process to capture lots of different footage and collect all the reference images from the movies. Pretty much anything that was ever released in the past, like behind the scenes information or blog posts, we scour those as well. Sometimes there are really great behind-the-scenes shots and images of the sets as they existed at the time of the filming. We collect all that stuff and say, for instance, “Now we’re gonna look at the Higgin’s house.” We look at the props, and go frame by frame, pulling out reference images. So, if there was a toy wagon that was in the background or a sawhorse or some other tool in the shed or in the barn… we collect as much of that as possible. It all gets put on a style sheet and then the artists model towards that, so each object has the same look as in the movies.
Recently, we just posted some pictures on Kickstarter. It’s a whole bunch of sheets, like full reference sheets as well as the textures and the materials that was used. We showed the fans exactly what it looks like while we’re building it. The team is going to make sure everything is on point. Even if it’s just a blanket on the ground. It’s going to look right. The folds are going to be right when it’s set up for a picnic. There will be mustard and ketchup containers that are being modeled, and even those are as close as possible to the movies.
Everything, down to even something as small a pile of napkins on the table, we want to capture the look of that. We want everything to look as solid and as real as fans remember from the film. It’s a lot of work and I don’t envy the prop modelers who have to go through all that detail work, it sometimes adds up to a lot of revisions being made to nail the look. For example, if you don’t get Jason’s mask from Part III right, or the color is off, or some of the scuffs and rough marks from the damage to the mask, and the weathering isn’t correct… it goes back and they have to rework it. So there is a lot of iteration and reviews, especially on something as critical as Jason, his clothes, and especially his mask.
Well then, there was a lot of nudity in the original movies, how much nudity can we expect in F13: the Game?
There will be some. I can’t really say too much about where it’s gonna be and how much there is going to be. Yeah, you can definitely expect some. The difference is, you know you’re in the game and Jason is chasing you. You’re not going to stop and have sex when Jason is chasing you!
Fantastic!
Let’s talk about the gameplay mechanics. In the recent video on your YouTube channel you (Adam Sessler) shows how players can call the police to escape Jason. While no time frame is given for the amount of time it will take to locate the phone, repair it, and then dial the police, it does say that it will take a minimum of 10 minutes for the police to arrive. If you add that all up, I would guess a typical match is estimated at around 20 minutes of gameplay. Does this line up with what you’ve found in your testing so far?
Uh, yeah, actually that is pretty close! 20 minutes feels about right for the length of the game. Some go longer, some are shorter. If you have a really good Jason player and noob counselors, Jason can clean up really fast. At least that is what we are finding out from the testing so far, but again, it’s really early. We don’t know exactly where we’re going to end up, but right now it’s feeling pretty good and we want to target an average of 15-20 mins per match.
As far as calling the police, there is no timer that starts at the beginning of the game. All options are open. There are lots of ways that counselors can escape. They can fix a boat or a car and get away. There are two seats on the boat and four seats in the car, so counselors can get out those ways. There are other alternate goals that we haven’t announced yet, that can change the game around and create wildcard scenarios. There are lots of ways that the games could end, and that’s important. We want different user stories and different outcomes. It keeps the game interesting and keeps people talking and sharing stories about their games that they played with their friends.
So the police stuff is really cool, because even after you call police, Jason now knows that the police are arriving. It’s a known thing, so he can get more aggressive at that point. They arrive at a random location on the map, and then the counselors still have to get to them. You still have to survive, and Jason will still be trying to pick people off. Knowing that counselors will try to get to the police, that could be a good place for him to hang out, so it’s never a done deal. Those are the kinds of goals we like. Where you think you’re safe, in the free and clear, but there is another step you have to take. That last step is very dangerous and prone to you getting killed by Jason. That’s tension! That is fun.
Obviously, Jason is killing the counselors and the counselors can either team up and work together or go off on their own. But, can the camp counselors actually kill each other?
Not directly no, but there are elements we talked about where you can set traps for Jason. So, if you set a trap and another counselor happens to stumble into it instead of Jason, well then they get hurt. You can indirectly hurt others. Also, if Jason is chasing after you and a friend, when you’re running side by side you might say something to them so they look behind them. In that moment you get a little further ahead so that Jason captures them instead of you. Stuff like that creates a lot of social tension.
You’re helping each other, and it does help to keep other consolers around you, because another counselor might help keep you alive just by being a distraction. If you can somehow finagle that to happen, then at the end of the day that’s great, because all you care about is your own survival. Games start out with teamwork, but it quickly falls apart once Jason shows up!
Sounds pretty dog-eat-dog. What, if any, plans to do you guys have to punish people who might try to cheat in the game? Is there anything funny or cool you guys are programming in to nerf that?
We’re not that far along, where we have developed all of those strategies yet. We are looking at things to reward players who play better in the game. Rewarding the players who try to create a better experience for everybody else in the match is the goal. You can imagine, if somebody played Jason and just stands in the middle of the map and runs in circles, they are not creating the best experience for anyone. The counselors in that game won’t feel that they achieved anything when they escape, they won’t have any meaningful stories, and it all comes down to the fact that Jason wasn’t doing anything effective.
So, you guys are going to use more positive reinforcement than negative.
Right. Everybody wants to play as Jason, but everybody can’t play as Jason every match. So, we’re looking into systems that will track how well you do as Jason, how well the matches go with you driving it as the Jason character. You’ll be preferred to be picked more frequently than somebody who does a bad job as Jason and doesn’t create any exciting moments. Also, people who drop out of games or have a bad connections will be dinged against being Jason.
Being Jason is a pivotal role. You are driving the match forward. If you don’t play well, if you’re not creating tension, then players are not having as much fun as they could be… I don’t want to say they’d get bored, because there will always be tension knowing that Jason can come out of nowhere are stab you in the throat! We do want to pick, and prefer to pick, better Jason players. That’s a cool reward for everyone!
Most of the time you’re going to play as a counselor, and that’s a fun experience as well. You’re normally weak, so once when you get to be Jason after being a counselor seven or eight times, it’s like this really cool juxtaposition. You have all this power. You’re almost unstoppable, and you can do whatever you want to all these counselors on the map. So it’s really fun, and creates a compelling and sticky experience. That’s our goal.
I heard the first full track from Harry Manfredini, and it sounds like it’s mostly string samples and synths. Is there any plan to record the OST with live instruments?
All that is in the hands of Harry Manfredini. If he says he needs something, we need to accommodate. If he wants to get an orchestra together to record for this, then we’ll do that. Harry’s also working on something that no one on the franchise has done before, and that’s the sounds that Jason hears in his own head. It’ll be crazy, no doubt.
Randy, thanks for talking with us today. Are there any final thoughts or shout outs you would like to give?
The biggest and most important thing for me is always… I want people to remember that games are made by teams. It takes a huge effort from so many people to make anything of note. I want to make sure that everybody at Gun Media, everybody at Camp Crystal Lake Entertainment, everybody at Illfonic who are toiling away and putting in all sorts of work on various different aspects of the game, that they get a shout out. Illfonic is a very experienced group. Kedhrin (Gonzalez) is the creative director and Chuck (Brungardt) is the studio manager. Everybody on the project at Illfonic has been amazing to work with. They are the real heroes of the game development process. They bring the game to life.
2/5/2016, 7:37 a.m. Epic Sax Guy continues to rack up millions of views on YouTube. This viral video begs you to try the “10 Hour” challenge. The longest we ever made it at Slickster was 45 mins of Epic Sax Guy, and there were fist fights breaking out. If this is your first time to our site, welcome and have a look around. You’ll notice that we have a sick fetish for everything that was radical in the 80s.
While there is no denying that during the 80s the musical spotlight belonged to the guitar solo, there was an abundance of saxophones solos as well. In an attempt to make the quickly fading instrument still viable in the dawn of a digital era, these solos were often cheesefests of squawking and shreaking moments of laughable expression.
For the purpose of this list, we are only focusing on pop music. We won’t include any fucking awful smooth jazz, so keep your Kenny G. Christmas album put away. We thought this was a pretty original idea, counting down the top 10worst 80’s saxophone solos. We were wrong…. again. Check out http://imacomputa.org/sax for the definitive collection of horrible pop saxophone solos. This list will test the limits of the most hardcore saxophone enthusiast. Get out your shoulder pads and eyeliner, because we’re jumping in a Dolerean and going back to 1985 with the top 10 worst 80’s saxophone solos.
10. Your mom’s.
Yep, starting the list with that. Boom goes the dynamite.
9. “Careless Whisper” – George Michael, Wham!
We love the viral video of the guy playing Careless Whisper in the mall. Why the hell didn’t we think of that? At one point, the epitome of sultry and sexy, now it is a punch line to every 80’s joke. Instantly recognizable, and just imagine how many girl-boy romances, boy-boy romances, girl-girl, girl-girl-boy, girl-boy-boy-boy-boy-boy-boy-boy….You get the idea. Yeah, your parents made out to this. Get that out of your head while you listen to this awful sax solo.
8. Gerald Albright – Castlevania: Symphony of the Night end credits, “I am the Wind”
OK, here is an obscure one, and yeah, we know it’s not in the 80s. We love Castlevania games, so we’re putting it in here, anyway. From the 1997 Konami game, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, here is Gerald Albright’s snooze fest saxophone solo. Can you imagine, fighting through both levels of what many gamers consider to the be the best Castlevania game of all time and this is your reward!? You beat the normal game. You got the secret glasses and beat the upside down game (brilliant level design, by the way). You defeat Dracula, and then… you get listen to the worst song on the entire legendary soundtrack of Castlevania: SOTN. Bravo, Konami.
7. Wang Chung – “Dance Halls Days”
Everybody have fun tonight. No, let’s not. Making number seven on our list of the worst 80’s saxophone solos is this steaming pile of Wang Chung Dung.
6. Michael Stanley Band – “Lover”
We had never heard of this one, but found it on the list above. It is kinda of litmus test for everything that needs to happen to have a terrible 80’s sax solo. Awful tone, extremely over exaggerated emotion and a talented musician swallowing his pride to make a living at time when acoustic horns were rapidly being phased out of pop music.
5. Icehouse – “Don’t Believe Anymore”
We don’t believe anymore, either. Guess there was a reason ol’ Icehouse didn’t play at the Superbowl halftime show that year. But speaking of the Superbowl, here is one group that DID play at the Superbowl.
4. Chicago Bears – “Super Bowl Shuffle”
The 1985 Chicago Bears are the stuff that legends are made of. Mike Ditka and Walter Payton lead the team not only into the history books but into sports fans’ hearts forever. Everyone loves a bad 80’s rap, right? Wrong, and nothing can make a badly crafted hip hop track (and dance) than an atrociously bad saxophone solo. Just in time for Superbowl 50, check this one out. (Skip to 2:40 if you can’t “BEAR” the rap.)
3. Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam – “Lost in Emotion”
There is nothing to say, I’m lost in emotion at how bad this saxophone solo is.
2. Tim Capello – “I Still Believe”
Similar to number six, we hope our runner-up on the 80’s worst saxophone solos is still believing. The 80’s saxophone solo desperately needed to die a quick and painless death, but tracks like this went to great lengths to try to make it work. Kind of.
1. Alf – Season Three and Four Theme song
Like a bubblegum flavored tea bagging, this was neither asked for or needed. The third and fourth seasons of Alf (Alien Life Form, for those of you who’ve never eaten cats… and no, we’re not talking about being p.c. about “pussy crushing.”) utilized the tenor saxophone for the entire melody. While not as awful as some of the sax solos on this list, we thought just the concept deserved to be number one on the list. Imagine your favorite television sitcom, presently. You are sitting down to binge watch it on ProjectFreeTV and have to skip over the first 60 seconds of the credits. Now imagine your streaming feed needs to buffer endlessly and the only way to stop it is to listen to this awful 80’s sax solo. Do you understand why this is the first choice?
Bonus Round. Kenny Loggins – “Danger Zone”
Early Tony Scott gave us Top Gun and launched Tom Cruise’s career into orbit. Kenny Loggin’s “Danger Zone” was used not once not twice, but THREE times in the same movie! The outro sax solo is so awesomelly 80s it makes us want to jump into F-16 fighter jet and go blast the shit out of some Red communist MIGs. Are you on highway to the danger zone? You bet a cargo plane flying a load of rubber dog shit out of Hong Kong you are.
Comparing these movies is like comparing apples and oranges. The stories are entirely different, which is good for a remake. Because, as Gus Van Sant’s version of Psycho will demonstrate, shot for shot remakes are fucking boring. The original House of Wax (1953) relies heavily on the creepiness factor, and is propelled by plot. Simple, yet effective. After all, it was the 1950s, so perhaps it was easier to scare people than I assume. Whereas the remake from 2005 offers up a simple story and then, BAM! Horror all up in your face!
The original movie focuses on Vincent Price’s character and his interaction with the female lead. Vincent Price is Henry Jarrod. The owner of Wax Museum, Jarrod is a little too obsessed with his figures. He has an annoying investor/business partner that is trying to convince him to put a horror section in the museum to attract more business. Jarrod refuses and his partner tries to kill him in a fire, which happens in the beginning, for the insurance money.
Throughout the film, he is in disguise because he was horribly burned from the fire, which we see at the climax of the film. Price’s main goal is to “reclaim” and remake the main statues he loved so dear. Especially those of Joan of Arc, and Marie Antoinette. There is much more obsession and vengeance with Price, and he had two minions to do the heavy lifting and stealing of the bodies.
The new movie focuses more on a brother/sister story and much more streamlined. Friends go camping in the wrong place, and get lured into a small abandon town in which everyone everywhere is wax. It’s much more disturbing when you stop and think about it. Outcasts whose sole purpose is to kill innocent people and turn them into wax statues. The 2005 killer was loosely based from the original.
There are two brothers, one that captures victims and one that actually does the waxing and sculpting. One is severely deformed, not from a fire, but because he was conjoined at the back of his brother’s head and was surgically separated, which left him with half of his face missing. He wears a wax mask, just like Price did. His brother was homicidally angry and obsessed but in a much darker way than Price was. It seems like they took what was there from the original and amplified it and split Price’s character into that of the two brothers. Very crafty I must say. And the actual House of Wax is made of wax. I thought that was very intriguing.
I really enjoy the new one, and not just because we get to see Paris Hilton get impaled hilariously. I enjoyed it because it is a modern day horror tale. It’s a story that would be told sitting around a campfire with some friends. The old one is great as well because A. Vincent Price was a badass horror actor, B. The simplicity of the story, and C. movies back then had to rely much more on the performances of the actors and actresses. They did not rely on special and visual effects technology to make it more eye-popping. The actors in the new one are okay, but like many actors, I don’t feel like I am watching the actual characters they are portraying. Actors back then had a tendency to become the characters they were playing. Look at Max Shrek in the 1922 Nosferatu.
Two totally different movies that share the same name. You’ve got to appreciate the old stuff because it makes the new stuff more enjoyable to see just how far movies have come. I don’t really think that I could choose a superior film, because they are each fun in their own way. The 1953 film is a great time piece because of the fact that it takes place is in 20s/30s, when the whole carnivale attire was a big part of the country. The new one is fun because of the “campfire” horror shtick. The older generation enjoys Price’s version because that’s what they grew up. Most of my generation aren’t even aware that it was a remake, which is just sad. The stories are entirely different, Bo and Vincent are just crazy and really have no goal in doing what they do. They make mention that it’s to make their mother proud, whereas the original Price’s main goal is to “reclaim” and remake the main statues he loved so dear.
There is much more obsession and vengeance with Price. In the original film we don’t get to see him sculpting the wax. We only see the aftermath of his encased victims. Price really only explains how he does the sculpting. There is no gore factor either, being the 50s, they had to rely on people’s imaginations. I’m all for the bloodiness of the remake, but at the same time, I appreciate the simplicity of old story. A few people I have talked to about it really go for the new one because it’s so in your face. But I’ll go for a Vincent Price movie any day!
By Curt Gokcen 2/03/2o16, 4:30 p.m. Tweet to: @Slickster_Mag
Every weekend the League of Legends professional league, known as the League Championship Series (LCS), shows 20 different matches. While each game typically lasts between 30-45 minutes, most people do not have time to sit through every match. Fortunately (or unfortunately), I do have hours to spend watching and analyzing each LCS day in its entirety. I’m hoping to use my knowledge to highlight the one or two must watch games from each day.
Last week my game of the week, UOL vs. G2, was definitely the most exciting match of the weekend. Here is a link in case you missed it. It is definitely worth a watch. (Spoilers for that game below.)
While another week has come and gone, we really don’t know much more about the teams now than we did then. A few teams are rising to the top and quite a few a falling off the pace, but there is a whole cluster of teams in the middle of the pack in both Europe and North America. This week we will see if there is finally a bit of space in the standings, or if the mess in the middle continues.
Thursday 2/4
G2 (5-1) vs. OG (3-3)
Game 3, approx. start time 2:00 p.m. EST.
OG may finally be turning things around. While their two victories last week were against the painfully average Elements and the painful-to-watch Roccat, they looked much better as a team. They seem to be gelling much better with PoE in the midlane, and are showing glimpses of the team that ended up top four in the world at the end of 2015.
G2, on the other hand, had an absolutely monster week. They not only took down defending champs Fnatic, but dispatched rivals UOL on their way to a first place tie. These were two huge matches and everyone expected G2 to finally come back down to earth, but their meteoric rise continues. Their midlaner, Perkz, has shown to be one of the best in EU as he is continues to stomp his opponents and hard carry games. What else can be said about this guy besides it’s time for the Perkzulator? Despite everyone picking them to lose, G2 will not stop winning. Maybe it is time to believe they are legit title contenders.
Friday 2/5
UOL (4-2) vs. Vitality (4-2)
Game 3, approx. start time 2:00 p.m. EST.
Despite splitting their games last week, UOL had a strong showing and continue to look like a top team in the EU LCS. They easily beat Elements before dropping their showdown with G2. The game might not have been top draw in terms of macro strategy, but it was sure entertaining.
Vitality had a fairly innocuous week as a team. Their game against H2k was a 45 snoozefest, the equivalent of Ambien in League of Legendsform. They then easily beat lowly Roccat. We really did not learn a lot from the newly formed roster last week. Yet each of these teams are currently 4-2 and are tied for third. This match could have huge implications for seeding come playoff time.
Saturday 2/6
*Game of the week hype*
CLG (4-2) vs. Immortals (6-0)
Game 3, approx. start time 5:00 p.m. EST.
Against my better judgement, this is my claim for game of the week. I know full well that this game could actually turn out to be a complete stomp. No team really looks like they can compete with Immortals at the moment. However, I think that CLG could prove to be the one team to really give Immortals a run for their money.
CLG’s playstyle is to methodically outrotate their opponents on the map. They are widely regarded as the best NA team in how they handle the lane swap and the early game. While they are not the most mechanically skilled group, they make up for this by working as a team to win via macro shotcalling. What makes this game potentially intriguing is that Immortals have almost exclusively won their games by forcing fights and brute forcing their way to victory. If CLG can draft a disengage and siege comp, they may be able to avoid the fights Immortals need to get ahead. Their opposing playstyles potentially set up a very interesting matchup. Here’s hoping we get a good game and I don’t look like an idiot if Immortals crush CLG.
NRG vs. TiP
Sunday 2/7
Game 2, approx. start time 4:00 p.m. EST.
C9 (3-3) vs. NRG (4-2)
C9 as a team are so frustrating to watch. They have some real talent, but without their shotcaller Hai in the lineup the team wanders around the rift like a child lost in a food store. Their game against TSM was odd to say the least, both teams trading inhib turrets without so much as a kill. It then took a heroic effort on Rush’s part to beat the not so stellar Dignitas. This could be a long season for C9 fans if they have to sweat through a year of these types of games.
NRG seem to be almost as inconsistent. They looked completely out of sorts against Liquid last week and dropped a game against a lesser opponent. Yet when they faced the star studded TSM lineup, NRG put in one of the most thorough beatings of the young season. The bow tie enthusiast NRG made TSM look like the Washington Generals as they ran circles around them before finishing the game without a single death. Whatever version of these teams show up this weekend will ultimately decide the winner.
Grim Dawn is an action RPG by Crate Entertainment.
By Victor Sanchez 2/3/2016, 7:00 a.m. Tweet to: @Slickster_Mag
In mid-2012, Crate entertainment launched the Kickstarter campaign for Grim Dawn. You may know Crate Entertainment from – well, nothing other than Grim Dawn – but the company was formed from members of the defunct developer Ironlore, creators of the cult classic action RPG Titan Quest and its expansion Immortal Throne. Advertised as a spiritual successor to Titan Quest, Grim Dawn not only met but doubled its Kickstarter goal. While Grim Dawn was “released” onto Steam’s Early Access, it is now content complete and seeing its full release next month.
While Grim Dawn acts as a spiritual successor and plays similarly to Titan Quest, I will focus on how it holds up as a game in its own right.
Grim Dawn controls like any ARPG similar to Diablo. You have your standard 10-skill quick bar as well as a right and left click for skills. This is pretty basic stuff for the genre, but Grim Dawn does its job by putting feeling into otherwise ordinary skills and attacks. Blows strike with audible force with stronger abilities, making smaller enemies fly backwards or just straight up explode. The game also rewards the skillful player with good skill synergies by utterly devastating waves of enemies.
The campaign of the game can take up to 10-20+ hours which is a solid length for the game’s $30 price tag (it also often goes on sale on Steam). The game sports a variety of locations but the meat of the game’s environments are pretty samey, inhabiting “destroyed/19th century/Lovecraftian” hills. A few places in the game really stand out but they appear very briefly. The enemy design slowly becomes more and more reminiscent of H.P Lovecraft-style monsters, lending some variability to the similar environments. It doesn’t hurt that the game is gorgeous, especially considering its small team.
Two separate classes both using firearms in different ways.
But Grim Dawn’s biggest success is its incredible class system. While your typical ARPG has the player choose from a selection of classes, Grim Dawn does you one better – it lets you pick two classes. This gives character building a huge amount of customization as you can play as 15 possible combinations with weapons ranging range from the basic swords axes and great hammers to mystical tomes and effigies as well as even some primitive firearms, you have a variety of ways to play each class. A personal favorite of mine is a gunner who focuses on using grenades to wipe out enemies with devastating force, but you could easily use your firearm in conjunction with magic by staying behind summoned ally creatures while picking off enemies with arcane bullets.
The large selection of skills offers a great range of customization.
Replayability is no issue with this game due to the huge number of classes you can play. In addition to the wide array of classes, you also get passive upgrades through the devotion system, so finding shrines throughout the world gives you points for small upgrades or even augments to your abilities. These can be built up to suit your individual play-style. And for all you min-maxers out there, all skill points spent on abilities and devotion can be respecced via a merchant in the game.
Grim Dawn not only acts as an excellent spiritual successor but steps out of the shadow of its older brother to be one of the best action RPG of the last 10 years. If you’re a fan of ARPGs, Grim Dawn is a must play.
