I don't think I ever could have anticipated what would happen when I put this bad boy in.
Basically, as soon as you start getting into the core gameplay of Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare, it's glitches galore! The first thing I noticed was people spawning with their heads and arms missing. This wouldn't even be a big deal except that when the game spawns them, they also get spawned as their own faction. What I mean by this is that during missions (particularly when saving a town) not only will you have to kill the zombies to pass, you will also have to kill the headless civilians. This becomes difficult as they will often flee from town during the zombie attack. If they get too far away, eventually they disappear forcing you to fail saving the town. On top of that, what is particularly interesting is that the civilians without heads but with guns will help you shoot zombies but also shoot at you. So basically, you have a three faction clusterfuck that isn't supposed to be happening.
After this happens, if you try to save the game, you will only get a black screen that forces you to restart the game, hoping that auto-save didn't set you back too far.
In addition to these main glitches, the game also has many, many, many visual glitches. Zombies will also appear without heads or arms, people and zombies will occasionally go through walls, my horse's hooves even disappeared (though the horse shoes were still present).
I searched the internet about what was going on here and apparently it was only the latest update of the game that was causing all of these problems. Turns out, this is actually true which blew my mind. Never have I seen an update that messes up the game this much. In fact, though there are updates that have bugs that need to be quickly fixed, none that I know of have ever caused a game to go from fine to unplayable. I'm not sure exactly what they were trying to fix because when I deleted the patch from my Playstation 3, the game ran fine with no apparent glitches.
The only issue with deleting the patch was with my actual console. Since I didn't have the most recent update installed for the game, the PS3 felt the need to keep reminding me that there was an update available about every 15-20 minutes while playing the game. So, I had to disconnect my system from the internet to finish this one out.
Overall, it isn't great. The gameplay is fun but a little easy since you can basically abuse the "Dead Eye" feature, an ability to slow down time making headshots really easy. The graphics look pretty good once you delete the patch. There's a decent variety of weapons that allow you to kill zombies in a multitude of ways including throwing axes and stationary Gatling guns. The story is pretty basic but there are a few laughs to be had. Now, despite the horror based lore, the game does occur in the same continuum as the original, chronologically being a prequel (except for the end which occurs after the events of the original). Other than that, this game doesn't offer much else. It's open world but a lot of it is filled with empty space or cacti. It's a decent spin on the original so if you liked that and want to expand a bit on that experience, this will probably be up your alley.
Don't be surprised though at the run length. When I played it, my run time ran a little short of 7 hours and that included fighting the glitches at the beginning and doing all of the side quests. However, I didn't save all the towns though because I didn't see the point. Strategically, only saving a few towns is worth your while for fast-travel purposes. But yeah, the game length is a little short in an age where even garden variety shooters can reach 20 hours of total gameplay time.
For five bucks? Yeah I would give this a go. The latest update for the game hasn't been corrected for about five months now (at least that's what I gathered based on various forums) so, if you expect that patch to be fixed, I think you're sorely mistaken. However, if you don't install the patch, it's a decent 6-7 hours of gameplay.
To play online, I would've had to install the patch. I didn't bother.
Angus & Julia Stone - Self Titled
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| "Hehe, he'll never know about this picture." |
It didn't happen.
Sure there are a few exceptions, but the truth is that there really is a lack of creativity. In all honesty, I think it's a genre that has lots of potential to break the walls of compositional confinement. However, it's really the exact opposite. Like in regular pop music, many of the singers and instrumentalists are incredibly interchangeable and I often get them confused since most of them fall within the same cultural stereotypes.
Angus & Julia Stone are one of the few groups to rise up and make the genre their own instead of trying to drag their career along with catchy pop-synth progressions. Although I think that their genre would be better defined as indie-folk, they definitely have a fair number of songs that are driven by indie-pop elements.
It may be easy to assume that Angus and Julia are husband and wife due to sharing the last name, but they are actually brother and sister; which makes you feel incredibly awkward after making the mistake unless... <insert redneck joke here> The duo started making guitar driven music together in their home country of Australia in 2006, but didn't come out with a self-titled album until 2014. However, they did have several releases before this one.
This brings us to what I want to talk about today. Although Angus & Julia Stone have seen a fair amount of success with some of their previous singles such as "Big Jet Plane" and "Paper Aeroplane," based on what I have heard of their earlier material, they are still a duo that gets better and better with each release.
Angus & Julia Stone's self-titled album starts with a song that is relatively up-tempo. "A Heartbreak" is actually rather r&b based at its roots with the tonality of the guitars and the swing feel of the drum kit. It's a pretty solid song and I can see why they made a music video for it as it's pretty catchy. However, I don't think it's the best of what this album has to offer.
A better song is "Grizzly Bear," the third track on the album. Like "A Heartbreak," it as a bit of an r&b feel particularly in the keyboard, bass, and drum kit as they are very flowing and lightly accented. Although the lyrical content is pretty average in this song, this one really comes together instrumentally. The lead guitar almost never repeats the same thing twice and complements the laid-back rhythm section incredibly well. On top of that, the chorus is downright infectious. I bet after two or three listens to this song, you'll be strolling by singing "ba-baba-ba-ba---ba" at least in your head, if not out loud.
Some days watching a television of static from the worst angle is all I got too
It's not until the fifth song "Wherever You Are" that you realize how talented this duo really is. You won't hear Julia wail out the high notes or Angus shred on the guitar but the textures that they create with their voices and guitar playing are really just outstanding. Although trained singers would frown upon Julia's half-whispers as they are a clear indication that she is singing straight from the throat instead of down from the diaphragm, I think that the style greatly enhances their sound and distances them from other indie-pop singers that, more-or-less, sound the same. The guitar-work is also incredibly heartfelt. Every note feels like it was cherished and nurtured before making a sound. This song is actually my favorite on the album as both Julia and Angus emote incredibly well. It also has some of the best lyrics that the album has to offer. If there's any song you should check out on this album, it's definitely this one.
"I could live in your old car with a broken stereo. I want to be wherever, wherever you are."
This album is incredibly good in what it sets out to do and bringing quality music to the table. Indie-pop is a genre that I had basically given up on and even though this isn't exactly indie-pop, it still has proven that the genre can do better than it's doing now as, in my opinion, this is way better than the indie-pop that is being played on the radio. I highly recommend this album to anyone regardless of music taste as I never thought I would enjoy this style of music as much as I did. Without a doubt in my mind, this is my favorite album from 2014. The quality of music never drops off despite having over an hour's worth of material on it. The only critique I have of this album is the occasionally average lyrics. However, the majority of the lyrics are above-average and, at times, show brilliance. When the lyrics are more typical, it's still easy to give it a pass because the songs are so expertly performed.
Image: http://originals.last.fm/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Angus-Julia-Stone.jpg
Image: http://originals.last.fm/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Angus-Julia-Stone.jpg
Anti-Flag - American Spring
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| The flip side is an American soldier covered with the flower |
For instance, Die For the Government is a very fast tempo, erratic, gritty version of the Anti-Flag that is heard on American Spring which is mostly moderato, polished guitars, and stylized more as a series of punk anthems opposed to violent and destructive hardcore. A lot of bands mellow out a bit as they get older and Anti-Flag is no exception as this album definitely brings it down a bit.
Now, one tradition that Anti-Flag has kept constant over their lifespan is the incredibly packed lyrics booklet that comes included with each album. I always purchase hard copies of albums opposed to digital downloads and part of it is because sometimes the lyrics booklets can include some interesting material. Whether it's the interesting artwork in Smashing Pumpkin's Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness or the stylized writing itself like in many of the Rancid albums, they can be pretty interesting to look at. Anti-Flag takes it their own direction and not only has the lyrics for their songs but also the inspiration or explanation of each song which can prove to be an interesting read.
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| Inspiration for "Fabled World" |
As far as the actual music on this album? It's pretty good. You won't really find tracks that kick your ass like Die For the Government but the songs are still well-written and make their points clear.
Anti-Flag seems to have a knack for coming up with great album starters. "I'd Tell You But..." from For Blood and Empire sets the tone of the album rather nicely by giving a voice to Iraqi civilian casualties. Of course there is also the fan favorite "Turncoat" from The Terror State, an accusatory piece that points its finger directly at the current president of the time George W. Bush. Joining the list is "Fabled World," a piece about how wealthy corporate leaders use their power to increase their wealth as the other economic classes continue to suffer and how past and present racism and classism bear a correlation. The song, like the other album starters, uses a catchy guitar lead and very clearly sets the tone for how the rest of the album is going to be. The Terror State is accusatory, For Blood and Empire is exclamatory, and American Spring is mainly a proclamation.
For those of you who only like faster punk songs, "The Great Divide" is about the only faster song on this album. Otherwise, you probably wouldn't like this album.
As far as which songs are great, it's mainly the singles. "Fabled World" is really good along with "Brandenburg Gate" and "Sky is Falling." "Sky is Falling" is one of my favorites on the album as it really captures the hopeless feeling tied with the civilian perspective of war. It also has a fantastic lead guitar part which amplifies the angry-depressive nature of the song.
A lot of the rest of the album are pretty general Anti-Flag songs. Anti-Flag fans will enjoy all of them but other punk fans will probably shrug their shoulders, especially ones that do not particularly care for politically-driven punk music. I think that "Without End" is a pretty great listen though. I think it's about the lives that war ruins; the civilians, the soldiers with PTSD, the families whose father never comes home, etc.
Overall, a solid album, especially for Anti-Flag fans. For those unfamiliar with Anti-Flag's music, I would check out the singles and then give The Terror State a listen first as it is their best album.
Cover: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Spring_(Anti-Flag_album)#/media/File:Antiflagamericanspring.jpg
Lyric booklet picture is from my phone camera.
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