Saturation pleasantly surprised me. I purchased the album after listening to the opening song “Sister Havana”. Before listening to this song, I never heard of Urge Overkill but I am happy I bought this album and discovered this band. I really dug the energy and sound on “Sister Havana” and I am glad that the rest of Saturation turned out as well as it did. I usually don’t care for music made past 1992, (with certain exceptions of course) so for this to grab my attention speaks volumes.

Like I said, Saturation opens with “Sister Havana”. The guitar riff grabs you immediately. It has a garage band quality about it that is very raw. The drumming on this song is also standout. It reminds me of Keith Moon in that the drummer plays with his ears and not his hands. He listens to the song and fills in as necessary. Both the guitar and drums combine to make this a great driving song. “Tequila Sundae” follows “Sister Havana”. We have another raw sounding guitar riff that could have been part of an Alice in Chains album if it were a little heavier. The vocals are reminiscent of Kurt Cobain. The singer comes off as more melancholy and presents a deeper tone for “Tequila Sundae”. Not as strong as “Sister Havana (and not nearly as catchy) but still a solid track.

The next two songs, “”Positive Bleeding” and “Back On Me” sound more polished and refined. Both songs can easily get stuck in one’s head thanks to the catchy choruses. “Positive Bleeding” features some nice guitar work switching from a soft to hard throughout the song. The closest thing I can compare it to is “Creep” by Radiohead. The drums on “Positive Bleeding” also return to a more original style similar to “Sister Havana”. So far it is obvious this is an alternative rock band, however, “Woman 2 Woman” has hints of a punk influence.

A chugging guitar riff, constant drumming, deep bass line, and fast vocals characterize “Woman 2 Woman”. This is a fun rocker that seems to be out of place. Who cares though? The spirit of the Ramones is evident and it creates a wonderful sound for the middle of Saturation. So far Saturation is pretty awesome. Catchy guitar work, distinct drumming, and diverse vocals keep album from being boring. Each song keeps the listener’s ears open and hits you with something new. Unfortunately, The latter part of the album runs into some snags.

The final six songs range from boring to just making noise. “Crackbabies” starts off with a keyboard that you would hear at a wedding and turns into an overly repetitive mess. “The Stalker” uses way too much distortion and there is an annoying high pitch screech sound at times, and “Heaven 90210” sounds like a bastardized Eric Clapton song. The rest, “Nite and Grey”, “Erica Kane”, “Dropout”, and “Bottle of Fur” lack any standout quality. These four songs blend together and are clearly filler.

The first half of Saturation is beyond good. Urge Overkill break from the mold of alternative bands with the first five songs and give the listener something unique. After “Woman 2 Woman” there is a drop off. The last half of the album looks like a seismograph with various peaks and valleys. It is too inconsistent for an album that started off so strong. I still recommend Saturation for two reasons. First, the songs that are good are extremely good, and second, I am not a big fan of alternative music. Therefore, many more people will be turned on to the last part of this album than I was.

A surprise to no one, another Castlevania DS game was released this year. What was a surprise, however, was that several of the recent typical Castlevania conventions were tossed out the window. Instead of basing the game entirely around Dracula’s castle, this game mostly takes place completely away from it. Instead of one continuous map that recalls the standard Metroidvania gameplay, this game is separated into levels that are as simple as one straight forward area, or a mini-sprawling map area. Also, the game doesn’t feature any Belmonts, has tons and tons of new sprites (which honestly is a small miracle considering how many have been recycled in the past few games), and an entirely new weapon system (Glyphs). But does it make the game better? (more…)

It usually takes quite a bit to get me to read a biography. It usually helps if it’s someone that I like, or care about, but it’s still sometimes quite a challenge. I’ve always liked Johnny Unitas. (more…)

In a post-apocalyptic future, one king holds 8 jewels with magical powers. In the wrong hands, these jewels could destroy the world. So guess what? Yeah, the King’s 8 trusted advisors kill him and take the jewels. Now you must get them back and place them on the Altar of Peace, so that the King may return and restore the world. This game sucks. I’m just gonna throw that out there right now. But let me tell you why it sucks. Where to begin… (more…)

Long, long ago, when I was about Five. Or Six. Or it might’ve even been Seven or later. The time does not matter, it is merely the event which counts, I suppose. But anyways, when I was young, my Mother purchased for me a movie. It bore a familiar name, and a Paramount logo, so being young, I trusted these three things: My mother, familiarity, and corporate logos. (more…)

In 1980, AC/DC had to make a decision. It wasn’t whether they would continue as a band after the passing of their lead singer, Bon Scott. It was who would replace their colorful and charismatic front man? After many auditions, they discovered Brian Johnson. Since 1980 Brian has been with AC/DC and has helped record some of their biggest hits. It was Brian’s powerhouse vocals that allowed AC/DC to take the world by storm and become the world’s biggest rock band. His raspy voice is recognizable and part of the signature AC/DC hits you with every time you hear one of the songs Johnson recorded. Over the years his voice has undergone changes. Drinking, smoking and screaming to every audience will cause anyone some vocal problems. He required throat surgery to save his vocal cords and it paid off big time.

The band has risen to its highest peak with Johnson, but he never forgot the man who preceded him. He always held Bon in great regard and often did not sing certain songs until the band said it would be okay. In that sense, his spirit has been with the band since its beginnings, however, physically he has now been with the band for twenty-eight years and hopefully he will remain for many more.

AC/DC waned a little during the mid to late 80’s. But in 1990 they stormed back with their album, The Razors Edge. This is a near complete AC/DC album even if they don’t use an apostrophe. From start to finish you hear everything you’d expect to hear in an AC/DC album: sex, drinking, rock and roll, and Christmas (I’ll explain that last one). It rocks and if one album cemented their place with the best bands ever it was The Razors Edge because it bridged the gap between great albums and brought them into the 90’s with a roar. This album seems to be broken into two halves: the first six songs are more upbeat and catchy and the last six are slower and heavier. (more…)

Contributed by Brandon Fincher. His website is Robotronic Dynamite and the podcast is located here.

For the faithful and discerning fan, the horror genre can be distilled into a vast selection of witch’s brews that vary from one end of the shadowy spectrum to the other. Whether your poison of preference comes in the adrenaline-soaked zombie annihilation variety, like the recent Left 4 Dead, or whether you opt for more of a thinking man’s terror with generous helpings of psychological fright (in which case you’d be hard pressed to find something more satisfying than Silent Hill 2). Either way, there’s something out there for everyone looking to face their deepest fears while still wanting optimal entertainment for their gaming dollar. But in this current financial climate, where our waking hours are often spent fending off an entirely different boogieman, how does a game find its way into our hearts and homes in this modern era?

Siren: Blood Curse (or New Translation as it’s awkwardly sub-titled in its native land), is SCE Japan’s latest attempt at easing the home console market into an all digital age with access to the game’s twelve chapters made available through Sony’s PlayStation Network on the PS3. A hugely pivotal, yet relatively underappreciated endeavor, SCE has eliminated the need to venture out into the light with the hopes that genre fans will gobble up their retail-quality terror in these bit sized chunks and come back, ravenously, for second helpings, but will this gruesome meal sustain?

Siren: Blood Curse already has one thing going for it – name recognition. While the average gamer may not immediately recall playing one of the game’s previous two installments, if you check with fans of the genre they will likely confirm at least recalling the name of the series. For Sony, that’s as good as gold. Not convinced? Remember all those political pamphlets you received in the mail leading up to Election Day? See!

So now that we’ve got the How out of the way, let’s get into the Why?

Siren: Blood Curse is a re-imagining of the 2003 title Siren (or Forbidden Siren depending on which side of the pond you live) in which a group of individuals, through various circumstances, are trapped in a mysterious village that was thought to have been destroyed during an earthquake in the mid seventies. Through happenstance, our cast of characters coincidentally stumbles onto a terrifying ritual where human sacrifice is on the menu and as quick as you can say “Curse? What curse?!” the ceremony is interrupted and our Gaijin visitors are sent running for their lives. In an attempt to differ itself from previous outings as well as increase appeal with Western gamers, SCE opted to remove the All-Japanese cast from the original Siren, replacing the protagonists instead with an American television crew, and a young American student attending high school in a neighboring town. This really comes off as a nice addition for the Western gamer as it not only aids in helping the player connect with the characters by familiar association, but it also increases the tension that comes with the stranger-in-a-strange-land scenario.

As the game proceeds and the plot unravels, Blood Curse reveals its true genius by splitting up the story into twelve individual chapters, each in turn being divided up into smaller segments. Flipping the modern method of linear storytelling in games on its head, Siren chooses to shun the A-to-B formula and instead bounces around from one point in time to the next and back again, giving you glimpses into the individual challenges that each of the characters face during their stay in the ghostly village of Hanuda.

Delivered in a way akin to a television series (perhaps a fun nod to the placement of the American tv crew), each chapter begins and ends like an episode of your favorite show, with video previews for coming installments as well as opening recaps. Once you factor in that each of the chapter’s segments can be played in a relatively short sitting that accommodates even the busiest gamer’s schedule, you start to appreciate just how great episodic content can be.

In addition to receiving bits of narrative from the typical cut scenes, Blood Curse also maintains the archive system made famous by its predecessors. As one scurries about the dilapidated ruins of traditional Japanese dwellings and other crimson-soaked landmark locations, certain items can be discovered that will prompt an in-game notification announcing the unlocking of new archive items. You’re able to access these informative objects from either the main or in-game menus, allowing you to sift through the multiple personal items and various world objects that will provide a fascinating look into the characters and the world they exist in.

Character hopping aside, the one gameplay technique that sets Siren apart from some of its contemporaries is the ability to Sight-Jack. Working much as the title would lead you to believe, Pressing a combination of shoulder buttons on your controller will allow you to cycle through all characters, friend or foe, in the immediate area, granting you the ability to see through their eyes and giving you a chance to monitor their patterns and find out other pertinent information needed to complete the missions objectives. When in use, Sight-Jacking enables you to split your vision between your controlled protagonist and one of the Shibito (corpse people) that are attempting to hinder your progress. After finding the Shibito you’re looking for, you can assign said POV to one of the four face buttons for easy cycling. Being that the creators of Siren would prefer you experience the added terror that comes from a good sneek-around, it is suggested early on that stealth is your greatest ally and this is where the Sight-Jacking really comes in handy as it gives you a leg up on avoiding the demonic denizens of Hanuda.

As you make your way from chapters one through twelve, certain scenarios will either provide you with a weapon, give you a chance to obtain one, or eliminate self-defense entirely. This variation adds a nice ebb and flow to the tension in the game, which breaks up the monotony while keeping the scares from being too intense, too frequently.

In the end, Siren: Blood Curse brings a great mix of East meets West, along with the standard requirements for what makes a horror game truly work. It’s not entirely perfect, and the very bizarre, very Japanese ending might put some of that desired Western demographic off a bit, but few will contest the fact that Sony has done a smash-up job bringing something fresh to both the genre and the downloadable market at large. Now, if they can stop coming up with new SKU’s for their hardware long enough to advertise some of the software we’d really have a contender on our hands.