Since I finally got a review up of the portable Katamari game, I thought it might be appropriate to go back and take a look at Good-Evil’s old reviews of the first two games. Courtesy of yours truly, here are Katamari Damacy and We Love Katamari for the PS2. Have a nice Thanksgiving! (more…)

Me & My Katamari is the third game in the Katamari series, this time for PSP. I think I have been sitting on reviewing this game for about 2 months simply because it’s so incredibly similar to the first two games. This is in some ways a very good thing, but it also ends up being a not so good thing. While you get essentially a new Katamari game on the go, you also get a troublesome control scheme that takes the “anyone can play” aspect out of it and horribly repetitive levels that seemingly have no rhyme or reason to them. (more…)

I’ve been a fan of Sigur Rós since picking up () on a whim. While their music isn’t the easiest to describe, to me, it always feels dream-like, minimalist, melodic, and having elements of post-rock. The lead singer Jónsi Birgisson’s high falsetto voice is one of the defining points of the band, and has always drawn me to pick up their albums, even if they are one of those bands I don’t ever feel exactly “in the mood” for at any given time. To me, it’s a great atmospheric band. Since most of their songs are in Icelandic or gibberish, it becomes great music to relax to, to sleep to, to ponder to, or even just to work to.

So, when I picked up the Heima DVD, I honestly thought it might be a mistake. I mean, I think I’ve regretted nearly every live DVD I’ve ever purchased to some extent (for various reasons) and for music I usually just left playing as ‘atmosphere’, this had “one viewing I’ll fall asleep on and then never watch” written all over it. But instead, this is probably one of the best documentary/live videos I’ve seen.

So, what makes this worthy of such praise? Well, various things come to mind. For one, the performances are top notch and flawless, and each live recording is immaculate. As far as I’m concerned, these live performances are perfectly recorded, and I have no doubt in a nice home surround sound theater it would sound just as great as being there. In addition to great performances, they also mix up a few of them enough to keep it interesting. There are acoustic versions of songs, longer jam versions of some songs, horn sections that come marching through the performance, etc.

And that’s all well and good, but a lot of bands have great sounding live performances. A big reason this one is so captivating is the diversity of each performance on the disc. Each performance, each song seems to have it’s own personality due to where it is performed. There are songs played on a desolate green countryside with nothing but an old house and miles of mountains. There are songs played in front of thousands of captivated fans with large flashy light shows. There are personal studio acoustic songs where the band plays by themselves, save a small child wandering through the camera shot. There are songs that are played at a small coffee house where the main audience seems to be small children and older folks. Even if the music doesn’t grab you, the different shots certainly will.

What adds to these performances is Iceland itself. It’s a beautiful country, and the documentary takes full advantage of that. There are tons of cutaways to countryside, animals in the wilderness, establishing shots of old architecture. It’s all very beautiful and serene and fits the music perfectly. Another thing I like about the direction is the focus on children. For a band whose music seems so happy, carefree, and innocent, it’s great to see small kids standing wide-eyed and amazed at the performances. There’s just a nice organic feel to the direction, as if you have the luxury of being someone in the crowd, soaking in an amazing mountainous view while looking around at all the kids and various age groups that are gathering around and enjoying their music.

There also some nice blurring of reality in the direction. When the horn section comes walking through the band playing during one song, you see the song and scene fade out with the horns still playing, and the next scene is that same song with the horns walking down the street playing. Then there’s a great performance that looks like it’s taking place in some crypt or pit (or something), and it cuts away at various times to a different video performance of that song live at a big concert.

The documentary also features several non-performance parts that delve into some Icelandic culture and while I didn’t follow all of it, it really gave you a great sense of how personal and close they made this film. They visit store owners and perform with (or listen to) older gentlemen, and there are several parts where they just talk to the people on the streets. It’s just a different culture, and it’s something a band almost couldn’t do in America.

My favorite song (“Untitled 8″, or “Popplagið”) of theirs is performed on this album as well, and if you want a good idea of what to expect, check it out here. This is one of the bigger performances on the album, but it shows a lot of what I was talking about too, as far as the excellent direction and diversity of shots in the documentary. “Olsen Olsen” is a different performance that shows you just how different their venues are and really showcases the Icelandic backdrop.

Ultimately, this has probably become my favorite live DVD. It’s full of great performances that I can listen to without getting tired of them, and it’s a great documentary to watch for fun or just to relax and zone out to. I highly recommend it if you enjoy Sigur Rós or the videos I linked to above.

The boys in AC/DC have been on a hiatus since releasing Stiff Upper Lip in 2000. However, they have kept busy pursuing different endeavors. In 2003, they played a gig in Toronto after the SARS outbreak, and they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Other than those two appearances, each band member has a separate hobby that keeps them busy (it’s important for senior citizens to stay active). They grew restless in their old age and decided it was time to hit the studio, and road, once again. Black Ice is the product that has emerged from the Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, British Columbia. (more…)

One look at the cover of Exploded Drawing should give you some idea of what to expect. This album is like a Chinese dragon meandering through a parade of fireworks. It is at times beautiful and sly, and other times harsh and direct. At times it is abrasive, lo-fi, and noisy, but it can quickly transition into much more listenable segments, but it never is mediocre.

Exploded Drawing opens with “Fast Canoe”, giving a good impression of what this album is about: weird guitar riffs, a jumpy drum beat, and a steady bass line. “Bridesmaid Blues” follows with more punk feel and ethereal vocals. The next song, “Flower of Forgiveness” displays Polvo’s ability to create driving rhythms and staccato, abrupt transitions underneath lyrically soft vocals. It’s not all hard rock though. “Passive Attack” is a short, springy melody featuring what sounds like mandolin and shamisen. Following is “Light of the Moon” which is best described as light cowboy psychedelia.

As quickly as the album takes a break, it gets right back into action with “Crumbling Down”. The verses are heavy punk, but the chorus transitions into a flowing progression that sounds like early Modest Mouse. By now you should expect that these songs don’t stick to one mood for long, and this is held true with “Street Knowledge”, which displays odd, distant vocals, a bright synth, and sharp harpsichord-like strings. Once again, as soon as things mellow out, the mood is brought back to full energy. The next song “High-Wire Moves” is perhaps my favorite song on the album. Moving from an in-your-face punk beat to a slick and slow balancing act progression and soon into a subtly anthemic movement reminiscent of Sebadoh, Polvo’s ability to travel through many states of mind is best exemplified in this single song. The next song, which closes out the first LP, is titled “Monolith”, yet sounds more soft and inquisitive than the title implies.

Opening up the second half of the album is “In This Life”, a song which epitomizes mid-90’s indie rock and both celebrates and chastises life itself in one fell swoop. Next up is “The Secret’s Secret”, an epic and solemn instrumental. With no lyrics, the intention of this song is hidden within the melody, but Polvo creates a telling mood. Shifting styles into something that sounds like a Dirty era Sonic Youth song is “Snowstorm in Iowa”. It must be wild and fierce when it snows in Iowa, as this song gives off nothing like a crystalline tranquillity. Closing off the third side of the record is “The Purple Bear”, a distinctly 90’s goofy song like one of Pavement’s many odd and bratty songs.

The final part of the album is introduced by “Taste of Your Mind”, a groovy bit of psychedelic soul-searching (in the mind of another). Near the end of this song, the tone of the song becomes more open and reverberated, so I’m guessing Ash Bowie made it into someone’s expansive skull. “Missing Receipts” is a slow, echoing, and brief instrumental that creates an oddly frustrating ambience. Ending the album is the 12 minute epic “When Will You Die For the Last Time in My Dreams” that drifts in and out of frustration, contemplation, and reassurance.

Each song contained on Exploded Drawing is unique in its own right, but as a whole the album is cohesive. Despite the various moods and tempos and styles, every song belongs on this album without a doubt. When I first listened to Exploded Drawing, I wasn’t too impressed. But with each listen I find something new to fall in love with. The hooks cut deep, and I keep finding new ways that the songs are interconnected with each other.

Polvo is generally overlooked, ignored, or just not well known, which is unfortunate as there is a lot to love here. And admittedly, it wasn’t until earlier this year that I finally gave them a good listen. I wish I had paid attention long before. Exploded Drawing is just an album that can be listened to over and over again while remaining fresh and exciting with each listen.

With Chuck’s review of Fallout 3 yesterday, it makes sense to go back and look at the first two games of the series. Luckily, Chuck has provided us with reviews of them over 4 years ago! I’ve dug them out of their archived grave, dusted them off, and reposted them for your perusal. (more…)

I have been anticipating this game for years. The first two Fallouts are amazing examples of creativity and freedom, and I have been waiting for a sequel since finishing Fallout 2 in 1999. Unfortunately, Black Isle Studios was shutdown by Interplay after going bankrupt in 2003, and the third installment was left incomplete. Then, in 2004, Bethesda Softworks announced it was going to develop Fallout 3. The impressive attention paid to details, humor, freedom, and overall quality of this franchise was going to be difficult for anyone to replicate. Thus, Bethesda was faced with a steep mountain to climb, and I am happy to report their ascent was pretty smooth. (more…)

Afrika Bambaataa started a revolution. “Rappers Delight” performed by The Sugarhill Gang in the late 1970’s established early rap/hip-hop. This song created a beat and rhythm that would be used by almost every rap artist until the mid 1980’s. Bambaataa’s 1986 album Planet Rock was the next step in the evolution of hip-hop. He and the Soulsonic Force introduced turntables and electronic drum beats to the genre and pioneered hip-hop’s popularity. His formula inspired and was duplicated by countless rappers. Bambaataa is also responsible for spreading hip-hop to Europe, Asia, and Africa. His contribution garnered Bambaataa the nickname Godfather of hip-hop. Today’s hip-hop still shows signs of Bambaataa’s work, as he is the most influential figure in rap history. Planet Rock was the first full album that showcased what direction hip-hop would take in the near future. It should be added that Planet Rock (while an album) is actually a compilation of singles dating back to 1982.

The song “Looking for the Perfect Beat” flawlessly sums up this album by saying there are many different types of music in the world but some people may not be satisfied with those types so something new must be created. Bambaataa experiments with different electro/synthesizer sounds to create the backbone of each song and ultimately creates a new style of music for the world to hear. This new sound comes across as a combination of funk’s timing, hip-hop’s flow, and electro’s rhythm. Try to imagine the James Brown’s “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag”, Public Enemy’s “Power to the People”, and “Herbie Hancock’s “Rockit” all coming together. That is the sound Planet Rock produces. It’s fascinating to listen twenty years after Planet Rock was made and being able to hear many of the elements in music today that evolved from this point.

There are no fillers or weak points to be found on Planet Rock (with only seven tracks it would be sad if one was a filler). But a few songs do stick out as being stronger than the others. “Planet Rock”, “Looking for the Perfect Beat”, and “Renegades of Funk” dominate this album and make it a classic. If you think “Renegades of Funk” has a familiar ring to it, that is because Rage Against the Machine covered it back in 2000. It’s such an interesting sound and point of origin that all should experience Planet Rock. Even if you aren’t into hip-hop this could easily appeal to you.

Crush is one of those PSP games that many people aren’t going to automatically associate with the portable, and that is a shame. Crush is the type of original game types that the PSP needs more of. It’s an interesting mix of 3D platforming mixed with puzzle solving in a 2-dimensional plane.

To explain Crush is hard without seeing it, but if you have played Super Paper Mario at any point, the gameplay gimmick is similar. You play the role of Danny, a man suffering from insomnia, and he has been put into a sort of virtual reality world to face his inner demons. Apparently, his inner demons are a series of levels where he has to collect orbs, avoid giant cockroaches, and solve creative, yet at times very frustrating, puzzles. The levels are all 3 dimensional, and you can position the camera above you, in front of you, behind you, or to the sides. This is a typical level in 3D:

This comes into play due to the the fact that at any point while playing, you can “crush” the level down to 2D. When you do this, items in the foreground or background will combine with your current surroundings and open up a way to reach new areas or avoid obstacles and solve various difficult situations. This is that same level as above when crushed into 2D:

At first, the premise is very simple and the levels correspond in kind. However, as you go, the difficulty ramps up with new types of blocks that you can’t “crush” on, timed events that you need to complete or you’ll have to restart the level, more deadly obstacles, and complicated moving platforms.

Part of the beauty of the game is that the levels are just ingenious. I can’t count the number of times I came to an area where I was convinced I could not go any further, yet I didn’t take into account if I swung the camera to my right, crushed to 2D, jumped on a block that was in the background previously, and then uncrushed, I could get to the place I needed to be. This kind of “a-ha!” gameplay happens in nearly every level. It is definitely a game that rewards people with great spatial recognition skills. Conversely, the game is unapologetically difficult at times. There are many levels where you much ascend and make many difficult jumps, and the character’s control is what I would call adequate, but not great by any means. This leads to many a missed jumps, and falling either to your death, or back to the beginning of the level, and you’ll spend another 10 minutes getting back to that same point. Needless to say, this is a game for the patient puzzle solver, not the twitch action gamer.

I have to admire the game’s art direction too. Looking like something out of Tim Burton film, it leaves a definite nice impression in both the in game graphics and the comic book style cutscenes. While I wasn’t wild about Danny’s animation (he looks like a drunk hunchback while staggering around the levels, and his jumping animation is pretty awful), the levels and backgrounds are alive with color and personality. The 3D engine is pretty nice technically too, as the game looks like an above average dark, cartoony PS2 game. And thankfully, the game’s load times aren’t terrible and the crushing and camera rotating abilities are lag free.

As I briefly touched on before, the controls are just okay. The crushing and rotating abilities are fast and responsive, but actually navigating the character can be frustrating at times. In 3D space, it can be hard to make simple jumps across chasms, and the character movement, while responsive, definitely isn’t as crisp as I would like it. That said, after you accept the basic rules of the game and how the controls are going to handle, it isn’t a huge distraction.

The music is suitable dreamy, melancholy stuff that has occasional spastic weirdness in it. It sets a good mood in that you feel like it could be the representation of someone’s disturbed subconscious, but it really isn’t all that catchy aside from the menu theme. The voices aren’t great either in the acting sequences, but they are certainly passable and move the game’s plot along. The plot isn’t anything that interesting either, but considering it could just be “here’s a bunch of levels, get to the end”, some attempt to tie it all together is nice.

As I said, it is a shame this game didn’t get more of a mainstream following, because it’s one of the best games I’ve played for the system to date. If it had shipped with a level creator like it was originally proposed to, there could be almost limitless replay here if you could download other’s puzzles. If they ever make a sequel and address some small issues, it will instantly be a classic. That said, Crush is original, creative, good looking, and very challenging. And that’s more than I can say for most of the games coming out on the market these days. If you own a PSP, you should really give this a try, especially since it is budget priced almost everywhere now.