• 17Dec 08

  An Update

  Hey Guys, I haven't been on GS for a while, and I guess I should probably tell you what I'm up to. It's been a long term at school, my schoolwork is taking up a lot of my free time, the rest of it being taken up by socialising and games, so I guess I haven't really had time to come on GS. My A levels are going well, especially English and Politics, and I've even started looking at what university I want to study at in 2010, Manchester leaps right off the page for me. I love the city of Manchester, and degrees from there are held in high regard. It'll be a lot of work getting there, but I'm confident I can manage it.

  Games wise, I've finished Fallout 3, finished Mirror's Edge, and got started with Little Big Planet and Home. Fallout 3 is a very good, but short game. The concept of postapocalyptic Washington DC is great, but it feels a little too barren for the type of game it tries to be. Nontheless, it's a great purchase, and a great game. Mirror's Edge looks beautiful, and gameplay is fantastic. That said, it's horrifcally short, and I'd have been annoyed had I paid any more than £25 for it. I'm a little late to the Little Big Planet party, but it's definitely worth the wait for me. I don't think it should be hailed as godlike, as it often is, but it's an enjoyable platformer with heaps of charm that I'm sure I'll put hours into. Now Home... I'm not impressed. That's really only for one reason. 59p to download a virtual jacket... you're kidding, right?

  Anyhow, I hope to be on more in the next couple of weeks that I have off for Christmas. See you around hopefully

  Ash.

  • Posted Dec 17, 2008 10:07 am GMT
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• 22Nov 08

  Chinese Democracy

  I heard Chinese Democracy by Guns N Roses today. The album that had been in production for so long (17 years to precise) that it nearly slipped into folklore. Since songwriting began, all of the original members quit the band, except the singer Axl Rose, who has scrapped and rewritten the material numerous times over the past decade and a half. So much so that saying 'When Chinese Democracy comes out' almost came to mean the same as 'When pigs fly'. But now, it's actually here, and the first surprise? It's good.        

     Let me get this straight first, it's no Appetite for Destruction, in fact at times it doesn't feel like a Guns N Roses album at all. If you were to listen to Chinese Democracy expecting an Appetite for Destruction for the 21st century, you'll have to look elsewhere. This is not Guns N Roses, it's a seperate project in it's own right. The creative diversity that could be partially blamed for a rift between Axl and the other band members is present here as it is on efforts of the others, such as Slash's band 'Slash's Snakepit' or the collaboration of 3 of the former members in 'Velvet Revolver'. Axl is an effects junkie, and it is showcased to the highest degree on Chinese Democracy.

     In places it rocks like hell, most notably the title track 'Chinese Democracy' and the dark industrial track 'Shackler's revenge, but for the most part, Chinese Democracy is a very sedated approach on the genre. The majority of the album's tracks are ballads, including the soaring 'Street of Dreams', and the lyrics are much more mature than the Guns of old (whether that's a good thing or not, I'll leave you to decide).

     It's no classic, but it shows that Axl Rose is still here, and he can still sing and write songs over 20 years since the band's classic debut. Some will be disappointed, but those that can see Chinese Democracy for what it truly is, may just enjoy it.

  • Posted Nov 22, 2008 4:15 pm GMT
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• 24Oct 08

  Is it just me, or is BioShock a bit too easy?

  This morning, I got a package that I've been waiting for for a couple of days. BioShock, for PS3. After dutifully finishing my Geography work, I popped the disc into the machine, set it to Normal difficulty, and got going. What I was treated to was FANTASTIC. The areas are atmospherically lit, the baddies are as scary as hell, and the weapons, both plasmid and conventional, worked like a charm. Having nothing to do for the rest of the day, I just kept on playing. And now I've finished it. I just feel disappointed that this lengthy, well developed game was over in a matter of hours. I'll be replaying it on Hard, obviously, but I can't help but feel a little annoyed.

  Ash.

  • Posted Oct 24, 2008 6:03 pm GMT
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