WRC Rally Evolved's co-driver

He is truly one of the great video game companion characters of all time. Here's some of the comments he'll give you as you approach the starting line of a stage.

"Don't press that button."
"I am sweating .... with FEAR."
"... and only then did the doctor see the thermometer, haha!"
"Maybe we should turn the driver's aids on."
"Sigh, I hate this *bleep*-ing stage"
"I've got an idea, let's not crash today, right?"
"Can't we just play the video game version?"
"Hang on, I think I've dropped my pen."
"Damn it's hot in this cabin."
"This is gonna ROCK!"
"My head's still killing from last night."
"Hold on, my notes are upside-down."
"I really hope that bolt doesn't come loose."
"I'm buzzing already, COME ON!"
"The team are telling me that you need to drive faster, and crash less often."
"So I gave her the money for the taxi home, and we said no more about it."

What The Hell Guys?

Burnout 3: Takedown had a feature where you could skip the song the soundtrack was playing mid-game just by hitting the L2 button.

Why was this not incorporated into every single game made since then?

Summer Movies

For me this Summer has been made of made things; university research, studying Japanese, and movies, plenty of movies.

Battle Royale
If you can detach yourself from the extreme violence this is an very fun movie to watch with great action and characterization. 9/10

The Bourne Identity
A well paced action thriller with a good hook and occasional decent drama. 6/10

The Bourne Supremacy
Feels a bit like Jason Bourne ported into a plot he doesn't belong in, and without the good hook of the original, it simply feels like an extended 24 epsiode. 4/10

Caligula
This is bad, but it can be fun. 4/10

Citizen Kane
Not much to say, except that I now love Orson Wells. 10/10

Dracula (1931)
It's hasn't aged too well in terms of acting and effects, but it's refreshingly loyal to the book and certainly has its moments. 6/10

Duck Soup
Some of the most consistently funny dialogue you'll hear in a film, complimented really well with great visual and physical gags. 8/10

Fearless (1993)
A moving American drama on trauma, near death experiences, guilt and recovery. 8/10

The King's Speech
I thought I'd like this because I like Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush, and I did. 9/10

Man On Wire
One of those great documentaries that can transport you completely into a different time and mindset. 8/10

Murderball
A strong documentary on both sports and people's struggles with becoming handicapped. 7/10

Naked Lunch
Walks a fine line between bizarrely wonderful and utterly unwatchable, with some strong steps on either side. 5/10

Nosferatu (1921)
Makes up for it's melodramatic acting with beautifully gothic cinematography and some effective tension building, a classic. 8/10

Paprika
Satoshi Kon (RIP) completely stretches his creative legs in an movie that plays by nobody's rules, great stuff. 9/10

Sky Crawlers
If you can handle Oshii's slow pacing, this is a gorgeous and thoughtful movie filled with underlying metaphors, even if they're more impenetrable this time around. 7/10

Titus
I needed an annotated copy of the play in my lap to be able to watch this, but I still found it pretty amazing. 9/10

Trigun: Badlands Rumble
About as well as I could hope this movie to be, it's just a strong movie length episode that avoids feeling forced or dragged. 7/10

Tron
Dated, but imaginative and fun. 6/10

Tron Legacy
Great soundtrack, but it's just a really unimaginative rehash that ports a few ideas from the original and fails to add to them in any interesting way. 3/10

My New Blog

DeepSplinters

ICO and Shadow of the Colossus Trophies

ICO and Shadow of the Colossus are being re-released on the PSN next year, with updated HD graphics and trophy support. While I find the latter somewhat disturbing (that is to say, they'll likely detract from what the point of these games are), my friend over at Callisto's Patches and I have a few suggestions for possible trophies.


ICO

Cooties Trophy:
Complete the game without touching Yorda except for necessary jumps and climbs

Twilight Trophy:
Never let go of Yorda's hand or allow her to wander with any sort of independence.

Ragdoll Trophy:
For carelessly flinging Yorda around for so many minutes straight.

No Means No Trophy:
Have a second player play as Yorda and hit Ico with a thrown barrel or bomb.

Down Low, Too Slow Trophy:
Failing to jump across the retracting bridge in time.


Shadow of the Colossus

Divine Intervention Trophy:
Require every hint from Dormin before beating every colossus.

Sneaky American Trophy:
Exploit the NTSC glitch of riding hawks to great heights.

Wise Guy Trophy:
Visiting the lairs of later colossi in an attempt to fight them first.

Bringing a Knife to a Gun Fight Trophy:
Attempting to fight certain colossi with only a sword, when a projectile weapon would have been best.

Alright Now What? Trophy:
Successfully climb to the secret garden.

Touché Trophy:
Successfully climb down from the secret garden.

Fruitcake Trophy:
Eat all the (non-forbidden) fruits in the game.

New Blog

From now on, all my music related posts will be at

http://bingecringewhinge.wordpress.com/

Enemies List Home Recordings

ENEMIES LIST HOME RECORDINGS was created to explore something else; the inherent promise in the availability of the means of production. One person in a bedroom can write, record, burn and sell a record on par in quality with the best any label can offer, and for a tiny fraction of the cost. What does that actually mean?

It means that the Market Forces that have always acted as a restraint upon art are dead. Not dying. Not on the way out. Dead.

Official site
Lastfm community

This is a label I've wanted to write something on for a while. Enemies List is a vessel that celebrates people creating earnest pieces of art in their bedrooms or their basements, away from the influences of the industry and pressures for high production values. Many of the artists released by the label share members, but more noticeably, they often share a crushing emotional tone of bleakness and negativity. Something about the home made production of the music complements this mood so well, it feels more personal.

There's a few great bands I've managed to discover through this label.

Have a Nice Life
Genre: Industrial, shoegaze, doom
Probably the most well known artist, HaNL is a heavy band, not so much in music but in tone, production, lyrics and concept.
Bloodhail

Planning For Burial
Genre: Drone, shoegaze, ambient
PFB have this ability to slowly build intense music out of layers of fuzzy guitars, with hints of vocals, drums or keyboards usually playing supplementary roles.
Being a Teenager and the Awkwardness of Backseat Sex

Nahvalr
Genre: Black metal, noise
This was an open source black metal project that anyone could contribute to, with mixing of submissions done by Dan and Tim of Have a Nice Life. The result is a confronting and chaotic onslaught of barely distinguishable screeches and only god knows what else.
Chorus of the Blasphemes

Giles Corey
Genre: ????
This solo project of Dan seems to be an "anything goes" zone for various song ideas and experiments. The result feels familiar to fans of other EL bands, but has it's own flavor through use of country-style acoustic guitar and surprises such as brass instrumentation.
Blackest Bile

Xasthur
Genre: Black metal
Not too familiar with this artist yet, but my impressions so far are of completely raw low-fi black metal, with a bit of "weird sound" experimentation.
Soulless Elegy