inthemix.com.au, Music, Review, Writing

Baobinga and ID – Big Monster Dubstep EP

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Baobinga & I.D’s album is one of the best releases of this year – of any genre. If you haven’t got it, go out and get it. Anyway, this ep features dubstep remixes of some of the tunes by ID, Hektagon and DFRNT. All up, it’s not bad, But when the originals are as good as they are, it’s pretty hard to stuff them up.

ID’s remix of South Manchester Weather sounds more breakbeat than dubstep to me. It’s kind of like Freq Nasty’s earlier stuff, just not as full on crazy. The bass is big, but the traditional dubstep vibe isn’t quite there.
Hektagon’s remix of The Water Park is nothing special. It strips back the original, but doesn’t do anything great with it to make it a standout track.

Many dubstep tunes feel as though they’re trying too hard to be different. However, DFRNT’s remix of In the Air is nice and mellow without being too wanky and experimental, and is one of the best remixes on the EP.

Similarly DFRNT’s remix of The Machine is good. It’s almost like old school trance at the start, but gets more dubsteppy in the main meat of the tune. I like this tune the best, but the original is a fucking awesome tune anyway, so it’s not hard to like it so much.

Review, Video Games, Writing, XboxWorld

PES 09

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When I played Pro Evolution Soccer for the first time about 3 years, I was instantly sold on it. Sure, the game had funny names for teams and players, and the presentation was poor, but none of that mattered because the gameplay on the pitch was so good. It was the first time I felt like I was playing a game of soccer that closely replicated the actual physical game. The player’s skill numbers actually felt like they meant something, the team play was terrific, and the game felt responsive and fun.

But oh my, how the mighty fall. PES 09 doesn’t feel like the same series I fell in love with 3 years ago. Although there have been some improvements in getting real teams and players and adding some new modes, the actual game itself seems to have suffered as a result. Although it’s on the same engine as it has been for the last 3 years, there is an enormous gap of quality between PES 6 and PES 09.

The first thing I noticed which has changed for the worse is the team play. I can’t understand why it has changed, but players seem to flock around the ball rather than play the field. They’re often out of position or worse, get in one another’s way. This is particularly true of defence, and it means the opposition will find holes in your defence more often than they should. Players no longer make decent runs, or will run straight into opposition players instead of seeking out open space.

Passing has changed so now you hold the A button for longer passes. This is a good idea on paper, but let down by poor implementation. Often a player will run to the ball, but it will suddenly decide it can’t get their and stop their run. And I mean stop to a complete standstill while another player gets the ball, or to simply watch the ball go out of bounds. PES has always played along the 8 directions of the joypad, but now it seems if the ball and player aren’t lined up completely, the game gives the ball up.

Worse still is the physics. The ball now simply doesn’t feel right. The ball feels ultra heavy – it will stop dead far sooner than it’s meant to, meaning through balls feel wasted most of the time. And although PES has always had a problem with the ball bouncing off players, now it seems even worse. Players scramble over the balls, with the ball bouncing off players like a pinball.

Then there’s the issue PES always has had that still haven’t been addressed. Like throw-ins, where the opposition has an exclusion zone preventing the player from positioning and pressuring during the throw. FIFA 09 allows players to jostle during thrown balls, and this artifice of PES makes it seem really outdated. Also trying to score from free kicks still feels as pointless as ever. Yes, you can score, but the ability to get it right still feels like luck instead of skill. And turning kicks at goals still fly over the bar every time, no matter how much or how little power you apply.

It’s not all bad, and you will still experience some of the brilliance of the former games. Although crosses seem a little weaker, volleys still look and feel awesome when they smash into the back of the net. The pace is brisker than FIFA, yet measured. Results are still far more realistic. Although 5-nil games aren’t unheard of in PES, the occurrence isn’t nearly as frequent as FIFA, even when playing on the easier settings.

PES 09 has secured the rights of the UEFA Championship League, which is quite the coup. You can choose to play this league right off the main menu, and like previous titles, the league mode is as great as ever. You will get sick of hearing the UEFA music though. And PES still has the better manager mode, and once you get into it, the deep gameplay will have you rapt. The player improvement and transfers and all the other things which make this mode great are still in place. And now even the menu system is slightly less convoluted as before! PES also has the better method of displaying of team and player stats, meaning you can tell how good a team is and where a player’s strength lies just by looking at the skill pentagram. This is far better than FIFAs 100 points system.

A new mode to tackle FIFA Be A Pro, introduced in last years FIFA, is Become A Legend. Like FIFA, you control one player and run them through their career. Unlike FIFA, you’re not limited by their seasons, but by their age, which means you can play your pro until retirement at age 35. However, it is the much poorer cousin to FIFA’s excellent offering. You will play many squad v squad matches in order to get to you main team, and these are just on the training pitch with no crowd and no commentary. Realistic, probably, but quite boring in actuality. You can skip these, but then you don’t get XP to expand the player.

You’re rewarded for the way you play like FIFA, but there’s absolutely no feedback on the pitch. It assumes you know the sport. Of course if you have poor positioning like offsides, slide too much and get carded you, you will get a bad rating, but if you don’t know much about soccer, you’re going to get a little lost. To help, holding the left bumper makes player go into position, but some sort of onscreen direction would be preferable.
The online system is sort of weird. You sign into servers which show how many people are playing, then from there look for a quick game or ranked match. It feels a little awkward. Unfortunately I’ve only managed to have one game against a friend, although it was much better than PES 08, being smoother with far less lag, it was no where near the quality of FIFA 09’s online connections.

The game looks and sounds like PES has for the last 3 years. Menus are a little cleaner and more intuitive, but not by much. The players look a little better, but I think the player animations on field have gotten worse. I’ve seen players animate for a big kick even though I simply moved the joystick left or right. I’ve also seen the ball pass through a players legs, and it looked like all the animations played at once with the player spazzing out. However, other animations look cool, like when players automatically spin past other players.

Sound wise the music once again is what the Japanese developers think is “cool” amongst soccer fans at the moment. None of it is by any recognisable group, and although it’s not completely terrible, it’s not fantastic by any means. Commentary is almost exactly the same as last year. There is a little more banter played at the end of the game and after goals and goal chances, but it gets repetitive really quickly.

Conclusion:
PES has always been the little game that could. It’s faced the might of EA and delivered a soccer game that has been superior for most of its lifetime. However, lately EA seem to have suddenly “got” what players want, and have dished up a mighty fine game in FIFA 09. On the other hand Konami have seemed to rest on their laurels, and for possibly the first time have dropped the ball and seen FIFA take the win.

PROS
– UEFA Champions League mode
– The usual deep Manager Mode
– Still a good game of soccer
– Less lag than previous PES titles.

CONS
– Team play, ball physics and passing seem to have gotten worse
– Become a Legend mode doesn’t show any on screen help during play
– No other real improvements to the game
– Commentary gets repetitive really quickly

79/100

inthemix.com.au, Music, Review, Writing

Balance Presents Electric 04 mixed by Agent 86

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I’m not going to mince words – Agent 86 is one of the finest DJs in the country. The fact he can mix a variety of genres, in tune, as well as scratch up a storm simply blows me away every time I see him, and it is beyond my comprehension why he hasn’t been voted the number 1 DJ in inthemix’s DJ poll as of yet. I guess it’s because he’s a quiet achiever, all about the music rather than the scene.

Overall on the latest Balance Presents Electric, we find a very relaxed, breezy summery kind of vibe, funky, discoy and lots of fun, with tunes that sound like they could be from any era from the 70s to today, which essentially makes them timeless.

Some of the highlights are Aeroplane’s Pacific Air Race, the funky 80s disco vibe of Tease Me by Bermuda, the utterly groovy Fog by LSB, the Jackson’s sounding Shake That Booty by Soundtroopers and the 303 acid flashback of Bermuda’s Galaxy Race.

All throughout Agent 86 drops scratches from 70s disco classics (Dynamite! Outta Sight!) and the first landing of man onto the moon, creating an amazing soundscape that celebrates life and man’s great achievements, including making some funky ass music!

I’m not normally all that much of a fan of the housey disco sound, preferring breaks and hiphop, but it’s really growing on me, and combined with Agent 86s transcendently smooth mixing, this is a CD which will get play on many occasions, from getting ready to go clubbing to relaxing on a sunny Sunday afternoon with good friends and good brews.

inthemix.com.au, Music, Review, Writing

Ice Cube – The Essentials

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Covering Ice Cube’s career since NWA, this compilation shows without a doubt Ice Cube made it well and truly on his own as a rap MC. Although some think he has kind of lost it with his appearance in kiddy movies, his later raps are just as aggressive and confrontational as his early stuff.

The album opens with his 2006 track Go To Church with Lil’ Jon and Snoop Dog, a blistering attack on the prudes of the world. Also from 2006 is the live version of Why We Thugs / Smoke Some Weed, recorded in Perth, so this is an obvious tour tie in, but shouldn’t be dismissed because of that.

Pretty much all his best work is on here. From AmeriKKKa’s Most wanted we have Rollin’ With The Lench Mob and A Gangster’s Fairy Tale. From his best album, Death Certificate, there is Bird In The Hand, Givin’ Up The Nappy Dugout and The Wrong Nigga To Fuck With. From The Predator this compilation contains It Was A Good Day, When Will They Shoot and perhaps his most famous, Check Yo Self.

The album also contains Supreme Hustle, Greed, and War & Peace from War & Peace Vols 1 & 2. Whilst not as well known as his first few albums, these mid 90s tracks show the subject and witticism of his rhymes hasn’t changed much, even though the world did. Even the last track, 2008s Cold Places shows Ice Cube still has strong views on Black politics in the United States.

If you’re not a fan of Ice Cube, you’re not going to like this, and even I got a little bored of all the “fuck”, “bitches” and N*words throughout his rhymes. But I gotta admit, he does swear very well. And if you are already a fan you’ve probably got all his best stuff anyway. But considering the tour, and the fact he’s not had a ‘best of’ before, The Essentials is a great introduction to those who maybe only know some of Ice Cube’s more popular tunes.

Review, Video Games, Writing, XboxWorld

FIFA 09

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Last year, when I reviewed PES 08, I mentioned that FIFA wasn’t in the same league as PES, explaining “People don’t play FIFA because it’s the superior soccer game; they play it because it’s got all the teams and players’ people love, straight out of the box”. Although I only jumped on the PES bandwagon 3 years ago, I can see that PES has consistently been the better soccer game. Me and some mates still play PES 08 on a weekly basis (albeit on a far inferior console) whereas my copy of FIFA 08 actually has a fine layer of dust on it.

But when people rest on their laurels, as Konami has done a little with the last few PES games, a competitor can get the edge. And when that competitor is EA, the biggest publisher in the world, it gets very, very interesting. Because, if Konami don’t address the issues of that last couple of PES games, then I think FIFA will be the better game this year.

First thing you’ll notice is the fluid and organic player animation. Beautifully rendered, you’ll see them flow naturally from one move to the next as they move down the pitch. This is true of the overhead cams, and the closer third person perspective of be-a-pro mode. It’s also functional – you’ll notice a tired player leaning over with hands on knees. A player wanting a pass will throw their hand up. And a scoring player can now be made to do celebratory moves like the robot and belly slide.

AI is vastly improved, with players running into position and dealing intelligently with the ball. A player will trap a ball if it comes to them, or chest the ball to their feet, or leap over a sliding tackle and regain control over the ball. Players will run onto the ball, spring the offside trap intelligently, and call for passes when they’re in the clear. It’s not completely perfect – I’ve seen an opposition goal keeper kick the ball as my player was running past, and my player stopped the ball and scored. There are also the errant passes that go straight instead of to the side, but these feel far less frequent than other soccer games of the past.

The ball and the players have a real physical presence, as in past years and other games, but usually this hasn’t been implemented that well, with the ball bouncing off players at wrong angles and generally not feeling right. This time it feels almost perfect. Balls will die in open space, creating opportunities for faster pace men on your team. Get a strong player running with the ball, and they’ll athletically jostle for the ball, knocking a running player off their line and allowing you to tackle without resorting to a slide and invariably a free kick.

Speaking of free kicks, FIFA 09 is far more forgiving with play ons, with the Referee allowing play to continue. Once the ball goes out of play then cards are given, which can seem a little silly, but it’s better than the game stopping and starting. It’s still harsh with the Offside, giving it in situations that no linesman or ref ever could in real life, but it works both ways and has saved me as many times as hurt me.

As always, FIFA is packed with features. Manager mode is still here, and whilst it’s marginally better than last year and still relatively easy to use and understand, it still is not as deep as PES’ offering. With the copious number of teams and leagues to choose from, it’s a great long term game play option, especially if you begin in the lower leagues. Some people have issues with the AI controlled teams not trading players in and out, but to me that’s a minor gripe. Similarly Tournament mode has had some small tweaks, but feels as solid as last year. Some criticism last year were directed at the mode for not being realistic enough in terms of dates and calendars – I wouldn’t know if that has been fixed, as again, I’m not that much of a “real life” soccer nut nor that nit picky.

The Be-A-Pro mode returns, and this time around gets the most love. Offering you the choice to create your own player, his position, and play through four seasons from reserves to major, all the whilst improving the player, it’s another deep and interesting addition to the FIFA game. I made a player for Adelaide United in the A-League, and it was so satisfying whomping the ball into the net against Melbourne Victory, and then being called up for the reserves match to play for Australia against Slovenia. This year the feedback given on where you are meant to be is more direct and helpful, but it’s still difficult to play the back line well.

But where Be A Pro mode really shines is online. You can now play 10 on 10 in the BAP online, and with up to 10 people playing in a set position during a match, it’s probably the closest you’ll get to play the beautiful game for real. There is no lack of people playing, so you can always pick up a match. It’s a rush to nominate for the best positions, but the old adage is true – every player has their part to play. Sure, sometimes it feels like playing with a bunch of abusive under 5 year olds who’ll run off the field as soon as the icecream man drives past, but with a serious bunch of people the matches are just as intense as a real league game. Furthermore lag hasn’t been a problem in any of the game I’ve played, a considerable feat seeing as I had people from the UK, Canada, Australia and Spain in my games.

To aid in playing as a team on online games, FIFA introduces a Club mode, which is analogous to Clans. You have a bunch of people in the club, and these people can arrange matches against other clubs. On top of the online leagues and ranked matches, there is now almost as many options in Live as in single player, a real impressive feat.

One thing that really impressed me are the Achievements. Usually soccer games give you achievements for winning this league or that derby or completing the modes. In FIFA 09 they’re based on what you do in the actual matches, and this in turn helps you become a better player. For example, there’s an achievement for scoring a goal from a bicycle kick, and I’ve decided I want to get it, so I’ve been trying to perfect the bicycle kick. It’s helping me learn and play the game better.

I’ve already mentioned the fluid player animation, and the good looks don’t stop there. The stadiums look amazing, and player likeness is nearly spot on. The BAP player creator is robust and you can create good renditions of yourself, but they didn’t include a Tiger Woods import a photo option for your player, which is a little disappointing. Also disappointing are the menus – they’ve been standardised across all EA sports games and work a bit like the Xbox menu blades, but I’m still not sold on the whole idea.

Sound wise the game is equally impressive, with the thud off the ball sounding spot on, and crowds chanting your clubs’ name as you play, spurring you on. The commentary by Andy Gray and Martin Tyler can sometimes they fall behind the play and become a bit repetitive, but that’s the nature of sports commentary really.

Conclusion:
We’ll just have to wait and see if PES 09 delivers the goods to match this year, but EA have finally delivered a decent competitor in FIFA 09. The marketing team says there are over 250 changes to this year, and I don’t know if that’s true, but I do know this game is a vastly superior product to past FIFA games, and is a superb game. If you’re a FIFA fan, you will be impressed by the changes, especially online, and will count this as one of the best.

If you’re a past FIFA player who hasn’t liked the direction the game has been going, or feel its just the same old same old, pick it up and I guarantee you’ll be impressed with the depth and the way the game plays. I appreciate there are people who just won’t play FIFA because it’s Electronic Arts, or they only play PES Master League because it’s deeper, but I honestly think these people will be missing out on one of the greatest soccer games of this generation.

Pros:
Amazingly fluid and organic player animations
Excellent ball and player physics
Incredible amount of options and modes
Fantastic online play in Be A Pro Online

Cons:
Menus can be annoying
Manager Mode still lacks depth of other sports games

90/100

inthemix.com.au, Music, Review, Writing

Downsyde – All City

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Western Australia’s Downsyde have come a long way in the 8 years since their debut. Not only have they blown up charts over Australia, they’ve travelled the world and played at places such as India’s Mumbai Festival, and their experience really shows on their 4th album, All City.

Even though they’ve said in the press they’re trying to move away from the hiphop vibe, this album is straight up hiphop. And it’s straight up aussie hiphop, because no one else in the world could rap the piece of lyrical greatness on Calm Before the Storm “I need a pap smear because I’m such a sick cunt” and get away with it. Along with the salsa spiced Takin It Over, old school vibed Master MC and Super Heroes, the boys’ show they’re still the jump up party anthem masters.

There are also some more subtle and thoughtful tracks on All City. Fortune & Fame featuring Howling John Stone, Every City and the Summer in the City sampling Hot Town reflect on life and city living. The boys are brilliantly supported by Guru of Gangstarr / Jazzmatazz fame on Watucamehere 4, a track cautioning against letting success and greed rule your life.

The production by Optamus is top notch, but unlike say Muph and Plutonic’s last album, still primarily uses samples and beats to create a vibe, rather than real instruments. DJ Armee lets you know he’s scratching on turntables, and the beats are positively funky. That’s not to say there’s no instrumentation, as guitarist Cheeky rocks out on Life Speed featuring UK drum and bass MC Stamina. Soulfiend is a more downtempo bluesy track, and again Cheeky’s guitar blends splendidly with the samples and loops.

I half expected this to be ho-hum – not a diss against Downsyde, but rather a mark of respect to the greatness of Aussie Hiphop, which just seems to be going from strength to strength. Downsyde helped homegrown hiphop get the popularity it’s found, and yet still manage to keep hitting all the right buttons.

inthemix.com.au, Music, Review, Writing

The Bamboos – Side Stepper

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Recently I’ve been a bit down on modern music, and the derivative drivel that’s been put out by bands and labels alike. From reading my reviews one might think I’ve got a thing against “retro” music. Funny thing is I love it, but the reason I don’t like a lot of the dance music made in the last 5 years is I can’t understand why people would want to take a pretty average sounding music style and re-create that for their sound or genre without improving on it.

That’s why I dig the Bamboos so much. They have a retro feel, but first of all it’s based on original 70s funk and soul, which in my opinion is the best genre that exists, so there’s one plus, and second of all they do it damn good job improving it. Not only are all the members amazing at their instruments – and listen to drummer Daniel Farrugia on Amen Brother, Bruce Sandell on flute on the title track, or Lance Ferguson on guitar Funky Buttercup, to really appreciate their talents – but the selection of people they choose to work with is equally inspired.

Megan Washington’s take on the Kings of Leon “King of The Rodeo” is sublime, taking the rocking original and making into a 60s styled pop smash. UK hiphopper Ty’s delivery on I Can’t Help Myself is equally superb, the pace suiting the hiphop rhyme. Kylie Audist does an amazing job lamenting over lost love in Tears Cried and praising life for love gained in the next track, Now That You Are Mine.The Swedish sensation that is Paul MacInnes’ smooth vocals on Move On mark it as a timeless soul classic.

In fact, every song on this album is awesome. It really is simple as that. And something that makes it even sweeter is if you buy the vinyl, you get bonus tracks not on the CD, but you get the CD version thrown in! So stop reading this, go out to your record store or fire up itunes and buy this album.

inthemix.com.au, Music, Review, Writing

Freshtraxx Vol 3 – Mixed by Utah Saints

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Maybe I am just jaded, but I don’t know if it’s a case of Finger Lickin’ making some really poor music lately, or simply crap music selection by Utah Saints, but here is another ‘breaks’ mix that simply does nothing to impress me.

It starts of excellently, with the vocals of A-Skillz and Real Element’s Simple Thing acapella dropped over the ever so funky Simply Playing, also by A-Skillz. It keeps the funky vibe happening into the A-Skillz remix of Da Break. Then it kind of slides downwards from there.

The Twocker / Beat Vandals remix of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang by the usually superb Slyde I found to be lacking in goodness, and then we’re given a whole slew of average breakbeaty electro nonsense. Usually you’ll find one or two tracks on a mix CD showcasing a label that aren’t to the usual standard, and with a label such as Finger Lickin’ the standard was set pretty high. But these tracks are by some of the best in the business – Plump DJs, Drummatic Twins, and Brothers Bud. I almost cried because I was so disappointed! But the worst of the lot has to belong to Unison’s Electrogirl. The name alone should be warning enough to hit the skip button.

There’s a slight save at the end of the CD – the Evil 9 remix of Alex Dolby’s Hazy Way mixes into the dnb duo of Shimon and Nixon’s decidedly non-dnb track Around the Edge, which is nicely segued into Shimon’s VIP remix of the same track, which is decidedly dnb. The faster dnb beats of Matrix & Futurebound’s Coast to Coast teased with the High Contrast remix of Something Good by Utah Saints are a welcome relief on the ear, and although it’s not the best dnb you’ll hear on CD, it feels like it after the pap you’re subjected to beforehand.

Review, Video Games, Writing, XboxWorld

Soul Calibur IV

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I’m not the hugest fan of the Soul Calibur series. Fighting games are all about the fists or fatalities to me, and the Soul series with the ridiculously huge weapons never really appealed. But this game was eagerly anticipated by many people, so I wanted to know what all the fuss was about. And honestly, after playing Soul Calibur IV, I still don’t know what the fuss is about. Sure, the game is fun in a mindless, button mashing way, but all in all the game doesn’t impress me that much.

The overarching story, if it can be called that, is about a couple of swords and the fighters that have been in some way affected by their power. It’s as warped and interleaved as any fighting game, and with over 30 characters, including some not even from the Soul Calibur universe but from a galaxy far, far away, I don’t think it’s possible to understand all the links, even with the handy flowchart they provide in the game. Although there are over 30 Characters, there are really only about 12 different fighting styles. Still, it’s a very impressive amount and you’ll quickly find your favourite type to play.

Story mode was the weakest in the single player game. Choose a fighter, and fight through 5 rounds, and that’s it. You fight two to five combatants each round apart from the third where you face “a formidable foe”; and the final round where, depending on the fighter chosen you get one of two bosses, but it’s all over very, very quickly. Some characters start with an ally and others pick them up as you progress, and this makes short work of the mode, even on hard. Fighting through the mode will unlock different characters as you encounter them, and after defeating the boss, you’re awarded gold, which is used to buy more characters and buy items for the character creation stage.

Arcade mode offers a bit more than the story mode, and features far more interesting stages to fight on. It’s always one on one, but the fights are more difficult as you progress. Until you figure out how to throw, that is, and then it becomes simply a matter of waiting to the right moment then executing throw after throw. Yes, it’s cheap, but it works so well for most characters and modes that it feels criminal not to use it, especially considering there is so much to get through to unlock. I say most characters – some characters have anti-grapple skills that can prevent the character from being thrown, and Yoda, the Xbox360 Star Wars exclusive character, can’t be grappled at all, even by another Yoda.

Tower of Souls is a far better mode, being challenging and fun. You have to Ascend the tower first, and fight different battles and characters on every floor. During each floor block you get to choose a number of characters to fight with. Swapping characters allows them to heal up, which is good against some of the tougher opponents. During each battle you have the chance to unlock chests, which contain items you can use in character creation. It’s not very clear how to unlock the chests though, with some being simple to figure out like “Become a shield to repel the blade” is obviously block the character. Others are a bit more esoterically worded and you’ll need your noggin to work them out. At level 20 you gain Descent, a survival mode. Your character never regains health and you have to make your way through all the stages with just two characters. After defeating every 5th level, you’re rewarded with more items.

I’ve talked about character creation, and this robust mode allows you to take existing characters or create brand new ones and change their clothes, weapons, outfits, hair and skin, completely customising them to your taste. Some are unlocked by playing and completing story modes, and other are unlocked by Honour (basically getting achievements) and others are still unlocked by spending gold. Each character you can make is based on a premade character, and I couldn’t seem to edit some of the unlockable characters such as Yoda or Angol Fear, but otherwise it’s a great editor and allows you to choose different skills for your favourite characters for some of the tougher opponents in Tower of Souls. For example, giving an attacking character HP Drain or Gain is a must for the descent levels.

There’s also Versus Mode, which allows you to fight against another player with another controller. I didn’t really try this out as I only have one controller and don’t get many visitors who want to play fighting games. However Xbox LIVE more than makes up for not having any real friends to play the game with, and most of the combatants are much, much better than they would be.

Over Xbox LIVE, the game plays pretty well. The lobby opens 4 slots for players, and two people fight whilst the others observe. The games can be customised to go for certain amounts of time and to win any number of fights – standard fare really. You can choose to play the game’s regular characters without all the bonuses and abilities, but it’s far more fun to play other people’s often whacky creations, and it’s a real test of your knowledge of character creation as well as skill pulling of combos. I think I learned more going online than I did in the game, simply by watching other people and taking note of how they fought. Button mashing can still win games no matter how skilled you are, unfortunately.

During some matches I noticed some slight lag behind my actions – it was slightly off putting as I’d go to make a move and it would take that fraction of a second to respond. However, the games I noticed it occur the most were the ones I won (which was not many, mind you) so it’s certainly not game breaking. It was observing whilst waiting where I had the most drop outs – starting and playing the game were fine, but I kept getting dropped out when trying to view the games in action.

Soul Calibur is a mixed bag when it comes to presentation. The character models are splendidly detailed, and their fighting moves fluid and impressive. However, some items tend to stick through other items or the characters flesh, so, with one character for example, she had sword hilts coming out of her breasts every time she bowed in the end of fight cut scene. Speaking of breasts, they are truly beautiful in this game, bouncing around almost uncontained within the skimpy clothing of most of the female characters. Yes, I know that’s rather chauvinistic of me, but hey, I didn’t design and make the game, and I have to give credit where credit is due. The way armour shatters with equipment hits is also really cool, and it’s hilarious to see a pant less knight in full helm swinging his sword around.

The bad part is the story telling. Call me spoilt, but I was expecting with such colourful characters that the storyline would be told through video animation. After all, this is a videogame! But it was disappointing to start the Story mode and see a page of text scroll down the screen, much of it poorly translated. And, once you’ve defeated the boss opponent, you’re graced by a short animation of the character dealing with the immediate aftermath of the fight – usually simply teasing the last boss you fight – and then two lines of text. No elaborate animation of the character partying or suffering through life, just a couple of lines that amount to “and they lived happily ever after”.

Also the way the start/end of round voice goes over the voice of the character get’s really annoying. Even though it’s completely inconsequential what is said, it just seems silly to have the two voices, the announcers voice, and the music competing for your ears’ attention. Speaking of music, it’s okay for a fighting game, and although it’s different for the various stages it still sounds pretty similar from one stage to the next. The exception of course is for the Star Wars stages, where John Williams’ masterpiece plays.

Conclusion:
Not being a Soul Calibur fan, I found it a little difficult to fully appreciate the game. Yes, the game is fun and the amount of options and unlockables is incredibly impressive. The amount of characters and styles is huge. Going online and playing against friends with your cool creations is very enjoyable. However, to get the most out of the game you have to unlock everything. And that gets a little tedious. The Story mode is greatly lacking, and the other modes can be incredibly frustrating at times, so it feels like a chore to unlock all the cool stuff for Character creation.

Pros:
+ Incredible amount of unlockables and characters to play
+ Awesome character creation tool
+ Great fun over Xbox LIVE
+ Great Animation

Cons:
– Button Mashing works better than working out combos.
– Throws are too easy to execute.
– Story mode is very weak.
– Unlocking everything becomes a chore
– Bland music.

78/100

inthemix.com.au, Music, Review, Writing

Primal Scream – Beautiful Future

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It blows my mind that Primal Scream has been making music for close to 25 years. In that time they’ve had their ups and downs, both as a band and as individual members. They’ve done more drugs than found at last Saturday’s rave and gone from punk influenced indie pop to hippyish techno love gods to screaming devil rockers. And yet somehow they’ve always sounded like Primal Scream. Yes, a lot of it is to do with Bobbie Gillespie’s distinctive vocals and, since he joined in 1996, ex-Stone Roses Mani’s awesome bass playing, but even so, there’s no mistaking a Primal Scream song, whether it’s a lazy ballad, a disco throwback, or blues inspired rock song.

Beautiful Future is a celebration of the diversity of the band, and their ability to write damn good songs. The title track is probably their most unusual in that it’s the most poppy, with the bells that chime throughout making it feel rather Christmassy. Glory of Love is equally poppy but with a grimy, distorted bassline that belies the content of the lyrics. Uptown is a celebration of the weekend, and even though laid back, is catchy as fuck. Once in your head, it’s hard to get out.

Although never as angry as XTRMNTR nor Bluesy as Give Out But Don’t Give Up, in many ways Beautiful Future comes across as a best of album, even though they’re all new tracks. Suicide Bomb recalls the controversy of Swastika Eyes, but with a more laid back groove. Zombie Man and Necro Hex Blues (Feat. Josh Homme) are both rocking blues tracks, definitely reminiscent of Jailbird and Rocks. I Love To Hurt (You Love To Be Hurt) featuring Lovefoxxx is a bleepy dance track that harks back to Screamadelica.

All in all, Beautiful future is a solid rock album that dabbles in other genres, without being tryhard, and I think that pretty much sums up Primal Scream as a band in general. They may have been mellowed by age, and may not be as harsh and confrontational as they have been in the past, but with that comes a maturity and better understanding of music, which has led to Primal Scream putting out a damn good album.

Gigs & Mixes from the 2020s. Writing from the 2000s.