Disposable Media

This blog (and its RSS feed) has moved

2008-07-12T12:03:00.003+01:00

Probably should have posted this sooner, but this blog hosted at disposablemedia.blogspot.com is no longer being used. It has now moved to the main Disposable Media site:

http://www.disposablemedia.co.uk

So please head over there for all things DM related. Including everything that was posted on this one. Also, the RSS feed has moved as well, it is now located at:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/DisposableMediaMagazine

So be sure to update your live bookmarks and readers and technology stuff. Also, if you happen to be wanting to read DM on your mobile, we've also now got this so you can browse in comfort:

http://mippin.com/disposablemobile

So in summary, thanks for reading this blog and we hope to see you all over at the new one!

3 film reviews in 3 sentences: Miami Vice, Knocked Up, Little Miss Sunshine

2008-04-20T23:14:00.003+01:00

Having signed up for a DVD-by-mail service, I really should be doing full reviews of everything I watch, in preparation for updates to the DM site.

But at 11pm on a Sunday, I thought it'd be quicker and easier for both author and reader to see if I could sum up three films in a sentence each:

Miami Vice: Michael Mann reuses the slow, duller bits from Heat - just without the contrasting action, interesting plot or notable actors - and in doing so, sucks the fun and excitement out of fast cars and cops.

Little Miss Sunshine: Really enjoyable take on the road movie, which sees an oddball family in the independent film tradition undertake an occasionally challenging and dryly funny challenge to good effect.

Knocked Up: Trades on the charms of Katherine Heigl and occasionally funny set pieces with Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd, but the script is weak in places, the supporting cast are too one-dimensional to be engaging, and it's not as accomplished as Superbad.

So Little Miss Sunshine gets recommended, in a Disposable Media 4/5 star stylie, Knocked Up gets a bearable 3/5 stars, and Miami Vice loses the Vangelis soundtrack, comedy fashion, fun, excitement, and anything else - except the 30 minutes of running time that would have increased the pace and lost extraneous lingering arty shots.

In Review: Iron Man: The Movie

2008-04-15T18:27:00.009+01:00

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Disposable Media proudly presents one of the very first reviews of Marvel's latest comic book adaptations, Iron Man. Released world-wide on May 2nd, DM was lucky enough to attend the first Premiere of the film in Sydney last night, in the presence of Robert Downey Jnr. and director John Favreau, who revealed that the film has only been finalised in the last 2 weeks. Downey meanwhile admitted he hadn't seen the final version of the film until the premiere but was delighted by both the film and the audience's reaction throughout the screening. But is it any good? Read on to find out the first definitive review.

Marvel films carry a lot of expectations and with every new adaptation a new set of problems, worries and concerns arise. Iron Man is no different: Can Jon 'Elf' Favreau really turn one of Hollywood's most infamous wild-children, Robert Downey Jnr., into one of the most beloved Marvel characters?

The answer is a resounding yes, aided in no small part due to Downey being so perfectly cast as Tony Stark that at times the dividing line between character and actor are indistinguishable. There's clearly a lot of Downey himself thrown into the character, but that's not to say that Downey gives an obvious performance, far from it in fact. At face value Downey as Stark is akin to Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean films - full of flair and quirky personality, arrogance and cock-sure swagger. His attitude, actions and consequences are all exaggerated and highlight both the extremity of the character and the nature of a comic book hero – imaginative fantasies played out through creativity.

Stark is the perfect comic book character - the richest, most famous and talented man in America, complete with a playboy lifestyle and carefree attitude not too dissimilar to Downey's life during his mid-90s excess. But as the film progresses and Stark confronts his demons and chosen isolation, Downey subtly weaves other elements into the character, a regretful man, one of innate anger and child-like insecurity at times. Seeing Stark use these aspects of himself to fuel the personality of Iron Man whilst Downey does the same to create Stark and then keep up the performance for the whole two hour duration is wonderfully hypnotic. The film allows Stark to take a personal journey in a way that many other super-hero films or summer blockbusters would be afraid of, Batman Begins being an obvious exception. As a character Stark is captivating, as a performance, Downey is enthralling. It's not just Downey; all of the performances are well considered. Jeff Bridges and Gwyneth Paltrow in particular both offer similar exaggerations to create a fantasy world that so few comic book adaptations dare to try, never mind achieve. But the film doesn’t stray too far from reality, clearly taking into account modern day America with some carefully worked social commentary to help ground the film. By using such a contemporary setting it allows the super-hero film to flourish. Where Spider-Man and X-Men were intent on producing stories and worlds that could have been real, Favreau and the script writers have achieved a fantastical, pretension-free world that never gets too ridiculous and that good work makes the film all the more fun to watch.

The story is fairly compact, concentrating as much on action as it does exposition, never dwindling into overly-complex character backgrounds or unnecessary side plots. Therein lies one of the films great triumphs: the pace. Marvel are clearly hoping for a franchise with Iron Man with the ending and a scattering of quotes hinting (or even explicitly mentioning) future adventures for Iron Man, but it doesn’t get bogged down in becoming a base for any future sequels. As with any super-hero movie, the first half is largely focused on the creation of Iron Man as a character and Stark’s motivations, but Favreau very carefully ensures that this is never too 'heavy' and that you're never too far from some action or an important revelation. It's a balancing act that few blockbusters get right, but the success here is what makes the film so enjoyable and so much fun.

Because that is what this film is: Fun.

Jokes are frequent but never heavy-handed and the physical acting from Downey learning the suit never becomes slap-stick. There are considered one-liners delivered to perfection from the supremely confident and razor-sharp Stark and it is all held together with clever jump-cuts and quick-edits that makes the film one that you'll smile at almost constantly until the action stops.

If there is a problem it is the action, or lack of it. The relatively tight 2 hour running time means that there isn't that much room for lengthy fight scenes and occasional bursts of frantic action throughout the film take their place. The action scenes are certainly well created and any questions over Favreau's ability to direct an action film are almost instantly dispelled. The effects too are superb, never knowingly flashy or particularly revolutionary, but consistently seamless. The use of camcorders in particular demonstrate how well integrated the effects are into the Mise-en-scène and are at their best when the mechanics of the suit are shown in detail and during the climatic fight.

It's easy enough to try to rank super-hero films, but Iron Man stands separated from previous films. Downey's calculated performance is superb and his development as Stark from carefree-bachelor to world-weary war-monger and back again makes the film. Iron Man follows a similar template to last year's Transformers, but with more of an edge. Favreau's direction and vision for this film will appease fans of the comic and yet not alienate mainstream audiences. It's superb from start to finish with a relentless pace and a wonderful first instalment in what will hopefully become a great franchise and is an example of how to make a blockbuster.

Review written by Ian Moreno-Melgar

Drink, Drank Punks startle Peterborough – Anti Flag review @ The Cresset, February 23, 2008

2008-04-11T20:01:00.005+01:00

The Peterborough music scene was left Red, White and Brainwashed when Anarcho-Punks, Anti Flag hit The Cresset venue.

Renowned for supporting anti-racism, anti-fascism, and anti-war movements, the band from Pittsburgh, United States dawned on the city to show fans how to really stick two fingers up to society.

Before they even had chance to flood the stage with their chaotic blend of hard guitar riffs and battering drum strokes, lucky fans across the area had their chance to get up close and personal with the band as they freely wandered back and forth through The Cresset.

Kicking off the show with a rather skatanic performance were local band, Brassphemy, who wowed the crowd with their uplifting style.

Saxophone, trumpet, synthesiser, guitar and drum sounds pulsated through the room and really got the crowd dancing. Their flair for music and passion for what they do shined throughout their performance. Without a doubt, the band is going to go on to achieve great things in the near future.

Brassphemy who are from Bourne, Lincolnshire will also be joining ska legends, Sonic Boom Six on tour in March.

Next up was All Idols Fall who, in comparison, to the opening act was rather different. Bringing a set of rock heavy sounds to the stage, their music sparked off a miniature mosh pit.

Although they had a lot of enthusiasm and were completely focused on getting the crowd moving, unfortunately their style deemed to be less popular with the audience.

Bringing life back to the stage, were the ever popular, The King Blues. Infusing ska, reggae and punk attitude to create a cocktail of beats, the London based 6-piece pray to “unsettle the rulers of this country” with their ‘rough and radical’ style.

Performing tracks from their album, Under the Fog, The King Blues delivered a fantastic presentation of heart-felt, show stopping tunes including crowd favourites, Mr Music Man and Come Fi De Youth.

The moment everybody was waiting for finally arrived, four of the finest examples of punk rock scattered on to the stage to deliver spirit thrusting movements before a wild and hefty crowd.

Spitting out heavy punk lyrics and politically angst messages, Justin Sane and the guys dragged the Peterborough audience through a whirlwind of chaos.

“Raise your fist in the air and tell George Bush, tell Tony Blair and tell everyone out there we say ‘no’ to war, ‘no’ to racism and ‘no’ to homophobia”

War Sucks, Lets Party! Fans dived to the stage to salute their Captain of Anarchy, front-man Mr Justin Sane who was unfortunately feeling too good during the night.

However, bassist Chris #2 kept the fire burning as they blasted out tracks such as Die for Your Government, 911 for Peace, 1 Trillion Dollars and new songs from their fully pledged album, The Bright Lights of America.

Reciting lyric for lyric and thumping fists in the air, the rioting crowd campaigned for peace and unity. Ending the night on a high note, the guys jumped off stage to ‘high five’ and shake the hands of their keen supporters.

A night of inner rage, passion and heart-felt messages – go and see Anti Flag action for yourselves.

By Nicola Fox

Changes at Disposable Media

2008-04-09T10:52:00.003+01:00

It's with a huge mixture of excitement and sadness as I share the news that I'm no longer the Editor of Disposable Media.

Luckily, there's a great replacement in the shape of former TV and Films Editor, and all-round talented guy Keith Andrew, who is now heading the DM team.

Meanwhile I'm continuing my involvement as Editor-in-Chief, focusing on the direction of DM, marketing, advertising, and planning.

There are several reasons for the change. I've had a great 18 months or so heading what is essentially a great group project, and trying to do it justice for the people working on DM, and the people reading it, but various other things, ranging from changes in my career, to impending fatherhood, have meant that I haven't had the time to do it justice.

We're also got shed loads of ideas and plans which I haven't had time to work on, because we're trying to put out the best free downloadable PDF magazine, and website, we can, and heading that up can take a pretty big commitment.

I've got to know Keith really well over the last 18 months, and I know he's got a very clear idea of what works, and how we can improve over the next year. He's also a great writer, and has got us some great interviews and features. Plus he's slightly more photogenic!

Meanwhile I'm looking at new websites, blogs, ways to allow you to get more involved, and ways we can find investment/advertising to improve what we do, without it getting in the way of our main aim in all this:

To share the best content, images and designs from everywhere around us...

It also means there's never been a better time to get involved in DM, especially now that the mean, tetchy old Editor has been replaced by a nicer, younger, and more fashionable version. We're particularly looking for designer types to get involved, and it can be a real benefit to have DM in your portfolio, so why not drop us a line...disposablemedia@gmail.com

Why do they rock so hard? Reel Big Fish @ The Cresset, Saturday February 16, 2008

2008-04-02T20:58:00.003+01:00

MUSIC

Fun fuelled chaos dawned on Peterborough’s The Cresset last weekend when Reel Big Fish came out to play. It was the band’s third return to the city and it was by far the best show I have been to in a long long time.

Blending together a cocktail of reggae beats, funky punk vocals, hip hop and ska, Sonic Boom Six were first up to bombard the stage and they surely set the night off with a bang.

Laila K and the band knocked out some rather infectious tracks from their new album, Arcade Perfect including the energetic ‘Sound of a revolution.’ Minutes after appearing on stage, fans went absolutely crazy for them and began barging their way through the crowds, sparking off a wild mosh pit.

Next up were ska-punk sensations Streetlight Manifesto. The band is already vastly popular in the States and bearing in mind it was the band’s first appearance at the Peterborough venue, the night established that they are going to become a huge success in the UK.

The hype just did not die down at all - the kids kept on moshing! It was fantastic to see such dedication from Streetlight front man Thomas Kalnoky who proved to be a true entertainer.

If things weren’t stirred up enough, Reel Big Fish piled on to the stage and the energy of the crowd rocketed to an all time high.

Luckily for me, I was stuck to the barrier for the remainder of the night, but behind me there was a whole different affair going on. As the electricity pulsated through the heart of the mosh pit fans went wild as the opening track, Sell Out began to emit from the stage.

“I tell you what is b****in, this whole show is b****in!” yelled Reel Big Fish front man, Aaron Barrett.

The Californian ska outfit surely know how to “party hard” and had the entire audience hooked, reeling out a mix of old and new tracks. From the legendary ‘Beer’, to the pristine ‘New Version of you’ the band was then joined on stage by SB6’s Laila K, for an exhilarating performance of ‘She has a girlfriend now.’

Aaron, Scotty and Little Johnny Christmas brought humour to the stage with their usual mischievous antics and tied up the night with crowd favourites ‘Everything Sucks’ and a cover of ‘Take On Me.’

Reciting lyric for lyric and dancing in true ska style, the Peterborough fans could simply have gone on partying forever. I had the time of my life and even though I came out a bit battered and bruised – I’d definitely recommend you head along to their next show!

10 out of 10

by Nicola Fox

RllmukFM's Modcast becomes GamerDork's DorkCast

2008-04-01T20:19:00.007+01:00

GAMES

So yeah, we're a bit - okay, very late with the praise and plugging...okay, being the Games Ed I guess I'm very late with the praise and plugging, but my delay isn't without reason. For those of you who don't know, Rllmukfm is a webby radio station thing with contributions from a number of members of rllmukforum - a community Disposable Media owe a lot to, as it helped get DM off the ground before it blossomed into the mag/site/blog hybrid you know and (hopefully) love. Since we owe a debt to the forum, we're always looking for news about forum creativity outside of our own (such as the Umami post I made back in February), and I've personally been enjoying ModCast/Gamerdork for quite some time since it's debut, so I feel I've always owed it a mention here.

The show started out as an unscripted roundtable talk with, well, anyone who cared to spare an hour or so chatting about the games they've been playing, or the news that's been interesting them; the theory being that these random subjects would blossom into emergent discussion about other stuff and keep a nice discussion flowing for a sizeable length of time. A bit like DM's "never again" Halo 2 feature, where hours of MSN chatter had to be hacked down into standard feature size. But enough about our embarrassments. *blush*

I've always said that the best and worst games are the easiest to critique, because you get so worked up about how amazing/shit the game in question is that you can rant or rave for ages, picking out everything that makes the game good or bad and filling up tons of space. The more something bugs you, pushes your buttons in a good or bad way, the more inclined you are to go on at length about how you feel about it, and this is what made the unplanned format of the older Modcasts so successful. You could write a transcript of a Modcast, take all the opiniony bits and write them on a blogspot and you'd have a fairly decent opinion site, but that's not what it's about. It humanises the experience, delivers personal anecdotes that spin-off into other sub-discussions, and is always involving.

And that last bit is perhaps what makes it so brilliant - you can listen to Dorkcast and laugh with the hosts; you feel like they see their fanbase as their listeners, rather than as a few more hits that they can brag about. Don't get me wrong; all mediums have their pros and cons, and I'm not saying that PDF editors should stop doing what they're doing and instead set up a podcast (not least because, regardless of medium, a badly-expressed opinion will lose you fans), but the text you get in a PDF or a blog has as much emotion and humanity as an Oxford dictionary. It all leads back to the "chatter" format mentioned a few paragraphs up - personally speaking, I thought that the resultant discussion from our endeavours was excellent, but it was an absolute nightmare not just in terms of editing, but also in terms of organising the people to meet up on MSN at the same time. Another obvious point to make is that these formats are involving; I can recall a time when I was tasked with writing about the launch of the Halo 3 Beta (issue #8), and initially I was desperate to include boxout-based opinion from other writers - when drafting out the flatplan I thought "everyone's going to want a piece of the Halo 3 article; why not let them all have a few words?" However, a decision was eventually made for me to write the whole shebang (making me the target for any flames I'd receive from anal-retentive Halo fans who'd be desperate to pick out something I overlooked. Thanks chaps. :P)

I don't have any regrets about the final article - the singular opinion gave it some focus and made editing a bit easier - but listening to the latest DorkCast as I write this, I find the show funny, spontaneous, snappy, varied (with many opinions flying about), but above all this it has a more approachable, social side that's missing from a lot of websites that have several contributors pulling in different directions. After all, when a "group" project has members independently parading their own views, the only thing the consumer will get out of it is mixed messages.

To keep up-to-date with Gamerdork's news and shows, bookmark Rllmukfm.net or subscribe to the feed, or something. Happy listening.

The Greatest Guitar Riff of ALL TIME is....

2008-04-01T18:08:00.003+01:00

Smoke on the Water, apparently. That was easy, wasn't it?

OK, more details. The folks over at Guitar-X (www.guitar-x.co.uk) held a survey of their Guitar learning students to find out what was the best. Whilst Smoke on the Water might have been a bit obvious, it's hard to disagree with the top 25, really:

1. Smoke On The Water – Deep Purple (1973)

2. Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana (1991)

3. Walk This Way – Aerosmith (1975)

4. Purple Haze – Jimi Hendrix (1967)

5. Sweet Child O Mine – Guns N Roses (1987)

6. Paradise City – Guns N Roses (1987)

7. Ace Of Spades – Motorhead (1980)

8. Enter Sandman – Metallica (1991)

9. Under The Bridge – Red Hot Chilli Peppers (1992)

10. Welcome To The Jungle – Guns N Roses (1987)

11. Run To The Hills – Iron Maiden (1982)

12. Walk – Pantera (1992)

13. Johnny Be Goode – Chuck Berry (1958)

14. Back In Black – AC/DC (1980)

15. Immigrant Song – Led Zeppelin (1970)

16. Wake Up – Rage Against The Machine (1992)

17. Highway to Hell – AC/DC (1979)

18. My Generation – The Who (1965)

19. 7 Nation Army – The White Stripes (2003)

20. Born To Be Wild – Steppenwolf (1968)

21. Give It Away – Red Hot Chilli Peppers (1991)

22. Paranoid – Black Sabbath (1970)

23. Voodoo Chile (Slight Return) – Jimi Hendrix (1967)

24. Eye Of The Tiger – Survivor (1982)

25. Money For Nothing – Dire Straits (1984)

One thing that is a bit obvious the second you look through - even the newest song is 5 years old and the oldest is ten times older than that. John Wheatcroft, the Head of Instrument at Guitar-X attributed it to having "to wait until the 'dust settles' before we can truly consider a riff's eligibility for 'Classic' status" but it's got to be said there haven't been that many riff-driven tracks that have entered the public psyche in the last few years. Woman by Wolfmother perhaps? No-One Knows by Queens of the Stone Age for certain...but there aren't that many. Suggestions on a postcard (or even better, in the comments) welcome - I suddenly feel compelled to play Guitar Hero whilst muttering about the lack of a Rock Band release in the UK so far...

Mind you, if I was going to include one in the Top 25 that isn't already there, it'd probably be Day Tripper...

Dum, der dum dum dum dum der dum der dum dum.

Etc.

The Courteeners @ The Met Lounge, Thursday January 31, 2008

2008-03-30T15:24:00.004+01:00

MUSIC

Tipped to be one of the hottest new acts for 2008, last month saw hundreds of people gather to see NME darlings, The Courteeners perform in front of a sell-out crowd at city club, The Met Lounge.

Although the temperature outside dipped to below freezing levels, things soon heated up when the first few acts began to emerge.

Main support came from super-slick rock and roll band, Vincent Vincent and The Villains, who's vibrant, hip-swinging tracks 'On my own' and 'Pretty Girl' left a lasting impression on the crowd.

After short break between sets and a couple of drinks later, fans began to hoard on towards the dancefloor where indie sensations, The Courteeners took to the stage.

With a notable resemblance to fellow Manchester rock hero, Liam Gallaghar, Courteeners front-man Liam Fray quickly glugged down his Jack Daniels, grabbed his guitar and bashed out the first track of the night, Acrylic.

Polished guitar riffs and captivating lyrics, it was suprising to see fans reciting lyrics word for word, bearing in mind that their debut album is yet to be released.

There is no doubt that songs such as If It Wasn't For Me and Kimberly will go on to become true indie anthems.

The Peterborough crowd were fuelled with passion when Liam solely went on to perform a string of acoustic tracks.

Fray, who is renowned for making controversial headlines revealed a softer side to him, commenting on Peterborough’s ‘beautiful’ landscape. He told local press that “Peterborough is the urban equivalent of heaven, it has a lovely cathedral.”

Tieing up the night with an ecstatic performance of their latest track, "What took you so long?", fans went on to meet and chat to Liam after the show.

by Nicola Fox

Misty eyes and aching fingers

2008-03-28T21:42:00.006Z

GAMES/REMINISCENSE

Whilst I've been hooked on Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike for a few years and am looking forward to seeing more of the fourth game, it's easy to forget that the second game had a significant impact on my life as a gamer, as it did for many others. Although the title is rightfully praised for it's evocative backdrops, memorable music and flawless structure, it's the characters of the game that take centre stage - the inevitable crushing defeat a newcomer may face when meeting a particular adversary would lead them to use their opponent's supposedly superior moveset to battle through their next playthrough...only to be stricken down by an opponent previously thought to be a pushover. The 12 (or 16 if you're playing Super) stars of beat 'em up history are undoubtedly what makes the Street Fighter II series so special, as it demonstrates a remarkable balancing act of strenghs and weaknesses between characters which makes it hard for someone to pick a character who can easily beat all corners with little need for tactical variety (and let me stress that by "someone" I mean your typical man on the street - no doubt the obsessives would argue about tiers and unfair advantages, but when you only have time (and money) for a couple of plays at a seaside pier you don't think about these things.)

In order to appreciate the variety of these characters, and the balance of movesets and their various blends of damage, range, defence and whatnot, one needs to do the only sensible thing, and dust off their cabinet/copy of Anniversary Collection/XBLA library/SNES/MAME database for a hands-on trip down memory lane. Which is just what I did today, digging out my ROM of Champion Edition and taking Ryu through some of the most cherished memories of any veteran gamer (again, it's worth remembering that despite the increasingly anal perfectionists compiling excruciatingly detailed databases of damage conditions, frame data and God knows what else, this game used to be played much more casually by people who couldn't afford to piss away 10ps memorising such details, so my recollections will have a hint of the average player about them.)

Firstly, Street Fighter II (CE, but I'll probably continually shorten it to SF2 during this post) is difficult. On the one hand, this might seem as something of a surprise, especially coming from a 3rd Strike obsessive who whips through 8* arcade mode to kill time, but on the other hand it's worth remembering that this is an arcade game first and foremost, designed to get ever harder so that it coaxes ever more money out of determined players. Now at first, it doesn't seem like a particularly hard game. Oh sure, it's a bit of a challenge, as it's meant to be, but the challenge comes from learning about each of your opponents - when they are dangerous, when they are vulnerable - and exploiting the windows of opportunity you find...and that process of learning and exploitation won't eat up too many of your credits, because the specials aren't so damaging that you'll die before you've understood what makes your opponent tick. Following this evening's playthrough, discovering the pros and cons of each character's moveset is what makes the game so appealing; Blanka's ridiculous somersaulting leap into the air where he comes crashing down on the player might catch them by surprise at first, but maybe once they know to expect it they could perform a speedy getaway (say, a Spinning Bird-Kick to the other side of the screen if they're using Chun-Li) before it's too late.

However, if there's one point in CE where the difficulty of the game and the importance of knowing the movesets hammers home, it's during the final few enemies. Sagat, Vega, Bison and Balrog all have some ridiculously strong specials: Sagat's uppercuts, Vega's "climb around the background then dive" thing, Bison's Psycho Crusher, Balrog's ridiculously strong punches - they all mess up a player's health bar really badly if they're not expecting it, and they all caused me a lot of finger cramp as I tried to escape these deadlier moves. I think that, of those four, it was Vega who received most of my anger and hatred. Doing massive dives and taking huge chunks from my lifebar is one thing, but doing it after climbing up the background, which no-one else can do? Grr. Every time he began the climb, my heart sank as I prepared to get annihilated. :P But anyway, whether it's Vega or another boss - or even whether it's a boss or a standard character - the variation of fighting styles always encourages you to keep changing your own style, all without feeling too unfair. Well, usually.

I'll admit that there's not much point to this blog, it's just a little nostalgia trip that I thought I'd share with you (not that I'm saying that my thoughts were clouded with nostalgia when playing - SF2 is as intense an experience today as it ever was). Nevertheless, I hope you've enjoyed what I've had to say. Before I go though, I'll offer a few playing habits I found myself sticking to during this playthrough, for anyone who wants to get back into old-school SF2 (shoto) action.

Strong normals are more valuable than you think. Normally I stick to specials to keep enemies at a distance and create damage, and sometimes I use light normals when pressured, but strong normals frequently proved to be a convenient escape, and one that only required a single button-push.

Throws are great for causing damage and creating distance. I mainly know this because during my playthrough I was on the receiving end of quite a few, and it was usually when I only had a small chunk of my lifebar remaining; it eventually led to me keeping my distance if I was in danger, lest a throw finish me off. However, if you find yourself cornered, a throw is a convenient way to create some space and back off whilst they're recovering.

Tatsu escapes from corner traps are fairly handy. Essentially as useful an escape as a throw, they're best used when the enemy is airborne (natch). Again, Blanka's crazy somersaulting is an apt example of when to use a tatsu to get the hell out of there.

Best of luck!

NOFX @ Brixton Academy Sunday November 4, 2007

2008-03-28T18:00:00.004Z

Another great review by Nicola Fox, posted months later by the forgetful fool of an Editor...

MUSIC

It was most certainly the time to ‘Pump up the Valium’ as hundreds of NOFX fans swarmed through the doors of Brixton Academy to see the ground-breaking punks perform after a distant 4 year gap from the UK.

Although transportation to the venue was halted after closures were made to the main tube line, the outcome didn’t seem affected – it just built up more anticipation.

First band on stage were British hopefuls TAT who wowed the crowds with their punk-rock based image and intriguing style.

The band are more than set to be a huge success with their catchy yet controversial melodies such as ‘Champagne, Cocaine and Strawberries’ and the rhythmic ‘Live for Rock and Roll’ With a special hardcore appearance from Tatiana’s 90-year-old grandmother who positioned herself by the stage, the band then introduced fellow rockers, The Loved Ones.

Unfortunately for The Loved Ones, their set was let down dramatically by the poor sound quality. Whilst the Philadelphian rockers appeared to be having delightful time on stage performing tracks such as ‘Jane’ and ‘100K’, masses of NOFX fans sat down for the duration, eagerly waiting for Fat Mike and crew to surface on stage.

Once ‘The Loved Ones’ departed the stage, NOFX fans went wild and as heaving crowds began to emerge up front, they barely realised the notorious Fat Mike had already took place on stage!

Dancing lesbians plus a minuscule banner, Fat Mike then began to choke out his usual stage banter, toilet humour and crowd humiliating antics. Mike then took a brief moment before pounding out crowd favourites, ‘Dinosaurs will die’, ‘Liza and Louise’ and ‘Linoleum’ in true punk rock style.

All the rage as fans were squashed, mosh pits began to circulate and taking a step back you would see that Brixton transformed into NOFX fuelled frenzy. The hype was almost over after a 20 minute or so performance of the unpopular, ‘The Decline’ and then Fat Mike returned to his infamous ranting.

‘Eat the meek’, ‘Dying degree’ and ‘Franco un American’ got the crowds energized and they were wowed by a cover of Rancid’s track ‘Radio’.

The show concluded with several repeats of ‘I wanna be an alcoholic’ and an invigorating encore consisting of ‘Fuck the Kids’ and ‘The Brews.’

I’d say that the best thing about NOFX live is the atmosphere and Fat Mike’s riotous stage presence. Their return to the UK was most certainly worth waiting for!

Chaos as Amen hit the UK, The Park, Peterborough – October 28, 2007

2008-03-26T21:36:00.006Z

Part 2 in our series of 'Reviews which the Editor managed to misplace' covers the chaos of hardcore punk band Amen, hitting the East Anglian suburb of Peterborough - which definitely makes it worth a belated airing:

MUSIC
American hardcore punks, Amen recently joined forces with London unsigned metal favourites, The Inbreds and techno speed sensation DJ $peedranch on the fully anticipated 'No Barricades & No Bullshit 2007' tour.

Although the tour was struck by tragedy when it was announced that three of the band’s close friends and family had passed away, Amen continued the tour and thrashed out tracks in honour of their memory.

Indestructible front-man, Casey Chaos is famous for his wild antics on stage, aggressive appearance and anarchistic views but fans were privileged to be up close and personal with the band in such intimate venues across the country.

I caught up with the band at The Park, Peterborough (Sunday October 28, 2007) where the band was also joined by city horror punk favourites, The Ruined. Although the turn-out was mediocre, the reaction from the crowd was truly substantial.

City band, The Ruined opened the show blasting out hits from their ‘Hear Lies The Ruined’ album including the legendary ‘Poison Ivy’ and ‘Dead by Dawn’

The band were followed by Metal Hammer acclaimed ‘Britain’s newest stoner rock heroes’, The Inbreds who were out to party hard. As for the one-man laptop DJ - $peedranch left the crowd feeling in disarray.

With Halloween pending, Casey and the band took centre stage and drove fans wild opening the show with the ever famous ‘Coma America’.

After trashing the stage and horrifying the club owners, Chaos then gave fans the opportunity to choose what they wanted to hear. The words spat from the mouth of frontman as he belted out tracks such as ‘Piss Virus’, ‘California’s Bleeding’ and ‘Buy Amen’, raging fans from the city were relishing in Amen hype.

Amen closed the show with ‘The Price Of Reality’ and Chaos chatted to fans at the merch stall after the show.

by Nicola Fox

Rock City: Profane, Architects, Your Demise, Shikari, Lost Alone, Lovvers

2008-03-25T19:24:00.006Z

MUSIC

Editor's note: Apologies for regressing three months, but DM contributor Nicola Fox sent these reviews in a timely fashion. And then email disasters on the Editor's part saw them in a virtual abyss down the back on an internet filing cabinet. So expect a new review each day for the next few days!

All-night frenzy at Rock City – Saturday, December 22, 2007. 8pm-6am

Christmas celebrations went off with a bang as thousands of hungry rock fans swarmed through the doors of Nottingham’s Rock City for another fun fuelled distortion all-nighter party.

First up on stage were Profane who were feeling a bit under the weather as they had spent “two weeks suffering dirty, filthy Dublin flu” according to vocalist, Phil Bretnall. The band supported Shikari on their tour over in Ireland blasted out tracks from their outstanding album, ‘The day we scorched the sky’

Following Profane was Brighton’s metal gods, Architects who got everyone in the festive mood when they appeared on stage dressed as Santa dancing to Shakin Steven’s very best, ‘Merry Christmas Everyone.’

Wall of death and circle mosh pits, Architects got the crowd in a spin after a dose of ‘Buried at Sea’ and ‘The Darkest Tomb’.

Your Demise took stage in the basement just before fellow St Albans’ Shikari were to perform. Front man, George Noble sported a Bergkamp Arsenal t-shirt and strangely told fans that their songs were like a ‘reggae band at a trance.’

However, blood certainly didn’t run cold as hyped up fans jumped on stage to grab the mic belting out tunes such as ‘Diamonds are forever, your not’ and ‘No half measures.’

Crowds flocked into the main stage area for a bit of Shikari action and the famous glow sticks made a welcome return to Rock City.

Electric pulsations, eccentric fans and sirens filled the venue as Rou, Chris, Rob and Rory spilled on to the stage. Battering glow sticks the fans went into frenzy as the performed stonking hits from their 2007 album, ‘Take to the skies.’

‘Anything Can Happen in the Next Half Hour’ got the fans circulating once again alongside ‘Return to Energiser’ and the outstanding ‘Sorry You’re Not A Winner’ after a rather legendary string of tracks, Rou took time out to get a Mexican wave going.

Returning to the stage with ‘Today won’t go down in history’ and ‘Jonny Sniper’, Rou placed himself up on the speakers reciting the famous lyrics, “and still we will be here, standing like statues” dedicating their whirlwind performance to the heroes that were, the security crew.

The show closed with a showdown of Slade’s, ‘Merry Christmas everybody’ and snow began to fall from the roof to dust the sweaty crowd with some festive joy.

But the night was most certainly not over as a drunken performance from Nottingham’s, Lovvers caused a stir in the basement. There was no sound from the mic and vocalist, Shaun refused to leave the stage as gig-goers began to ‘boo’ them off stage. Even the sound tech guy struggled to throw the band off stage and had to get his fists out to Shaun. It was most amusing to see.

Lost Alone cheered fans up with renditions of Deep Purple and classic rock songs. The dreadful Lovvers were long gone and fans began to get back into the festive spirit.

DJ Shark and Blitz provided the entertainment for the rest of the night. Although the party became a bit of a blur by 4am, Christmas festivities continued until the crack of dawn. Rock on, rock city!

by Nicola Fox

Disposable's Games Editor no longer biased towards handhelds

2008-03-13T15:37:00.006Z

GAMES/SELF-INDULGENCE

Let me take you back to, er, late 2004: the specialist gaming press had lifted the lid (no pun intended) on Nintendo's DS system; the console was due to launch in the states on the 21st November, and promised to offer inventive gaming experiences that we had never experienced before, rewriting game design books and opening up a whole new way of thinking about what makes a game. From the moment it was announced, the DS was ripe with potential - the question that followed this announcement was, of course, "how soon will this potential be realised?"

Personally, I was excited about the potential of the system, but unimpressed by the launch line-up; games that you knew would be perfect for the system (Wario Ware, Polarium) sat alongside more convential material (Spider-Man 2, Madden and of course the ubiquitous (read: "just fuck off and die already") Rayman.) This mix of creativity and convention left me unconvinced of the DS' immediate appeal: a few games of Wario Ware Touched and Yoshi's Touch 'n' Go on a friend's DS proved to be a nice distraction, but at the time I was still enjoying the more conventional 16-bit ports on my GBA: with a gaming structure I was comfortable with, those games had a more tangible sense of progress than the gimmick games in the first wave of DS software. So it wasn't much of a surprise that I soon found my gaze drifting towards a forthcoming rival.

With structures so familiar, so comfortable, the games in the PSP's line up were an immediate draw for me. Here were titles that had that sense of progress I'd loved in the GBA software and longed for in the DS' library of games. Avoiding something as risky as the DS' design gave Sony the opportunity to play it safe and deliver the kind of games they already knew there was an audience for, and this approach proved to be effective in my eyes - I was fascinated by the promises, by the Sony classics I loved playing at home that could potentially be played in my hands. So it's obvious which handheld I ended up buying first. Isn't it?

Well, as you know, Disposable rarely gets the chance to review stuff for free (apart from my Freeware column, of course :P) and as much as I liked the PSP's line-up I couldn't justify spending that much on the console. If I recall, it launched at around £180 in the UK; something of a joke when you consider that the announced price for Japan was a shade over £100. The GBA market had pretty much dried up, save for a few ill-advised licenses, and I was casting my eyes towards a new handheld. Any new handheld. Suddenly I feel a pinch on my bum - it's the bite of Karma, letting me know that as much as I loathed the launch line-up, I would end up buying into the potential of the DS, hoping against hope that the future was brighter than this shaky beginning. Actually, I'll confess, it wasn't just the price difference that sold me a DS - it was Ouendan. But that's another story.

So I have my DS and a copy of Polarium, and I later bought Ouendan and enjoyed it. A lot. Maybe there is something to this "gimmick" console after all. However, the DS was still getting out of it's "1. Implement any form of touchscreen interaction 2. ??? 3. Profit" phase, and in the end it was inevitably the games with more conventional structures that won me over. Sonic Rush. Portrait of Ruin. New Super Mario Bros. Even Phoenix Wright, which can be played entirely with the DS' gimmicks, is (bonus case aside) a port of a game originally developed for the more conventional GBA. I was a DS convert: Nintendo had once more won the battle for my palm sweat. Well, until last Tuesday.

At £70 - a shade over the average price of a 360 or PS3 game if you shop at the wrong places - a local indie was selling a preowned PSP. Delightedly, I snapped it up a day after I first saw it and have since been enjoying the system I had originally planned to buy all these years ago. I have a lot of catching up to do with my games library - so far I only have Wipeout Pure, GTA: VCS and Tekken: DR to play - but I haven't felt so happy about a new gaming purchase since The Orange Box. Which arguably is still quite recent, but whatever.

So, as an afterword to that happy ending, I'll say that you can expect a bit more balance with regards to the handheld reviews in Disposable, and I hope that this anecdote has served as a reminder to the jaded old folk (trust me, I'm one of them) of the joy that gaming can bring. Happy playing.

Ace Attorney: Apollo Justice (or is it the other way around?)

2008-02-23T11:35:00.006Z

GAMES/FIRST IMPRESSIONS

I've put it off for quite a while now so that I could get a feel for the game, but as I'm currently playing through the first trial of the final case of Capcom's fourth Ace Attorney game (and the first DS-exclusive one), I believe some impressions are in order.

The last time I critiqued an Ace Attorney game was when I rambled about the third game and how the narrative was excellent but it still had the same mechanical flaws - over-elaborate cases with far too many ways of explaining something in your head but only one way of explaining something in the game: that horrible problem where adding leniency and allowing different methods of answering could promote wild guessing - eventually I probably blamed the penalty system for punishing creative answers, but conceded that the ability to save almost anywhere in the game allowed some creative problem solving without too much risk.

Apollo Justice keeps the penalty system. It keeps the punishing consequences for failing to second-guess the game. It keeps the elaboration, the lack of "quick-burst" cases and the overload of information from the Court Record, testimonies and everything else. Re-reading that it sounds like I have my own idea of what an Ace Attorney game should play like, and that my opinions are at odds with those of other fans. Rest assured, I can tolerate the current structure, otherwise I wouldn't have played and bought the first three games - I'd have probably said something like "oh, so these Psyche-Locks punish me before I've even entered court? Sod that." What I am trying to say is that the fourth game probably won't convert those who didn't get on with the fundamental mechanics of the previous games. Aside from the gimmicks we already saw in the first game's DS-exclusive fifth case, there are one or two other changes: Psyche-Locks are (so far, at least) absent, replaced by something called the "Minuku system" (more on that later), the 3D capabilities of the DS are put to good use in new crime scene investigation phases similar to the moments in Phoenix Wright games where you'd have a grey plan diagram of the scene and use it to prove your case, and there are even FMV style scenes between gameplay.

The Minuku system is arguably a bit simpler than the Psyche-Locks of old; again, you'll know when you need to use it (rather than having to try and use it at every statement), and it doesn't require cross-examination of evidence and testimony, so you won't need to present everything at every statement; it's more about looking for inconsistencies in behaviour (mostly via unique animations of characters) and then using the Minuku system to look into those inconsistencies in more detail as the statement is repeated in slow-motion: point out the moment in the statement when they occur, and you'll succeed. It's certainly weirder in presentational style than the Magatama's locks and chains, but it's very satisfying and perhaps slightly more accessible (since it's just about visual cues - not evidence).

If not for the penalty system (why not allow infinite penalties, then rank the player - from D to S - based on how many times they were wrong? :P ) Apollo Justice would be the most accomplished follow-up yet. It bravely departs from the narrative and mechanics of old, whilst introducing new ones that are just as appealing. The new prosecutor, assistant and even Apollo himself are excellent: swiftly casting aside any fears that Capcom set the bar too high with Maya, Edgeworth et al. Meanwhile, the Minuku system adds depth without being different for the sake of it. To conclude, it hasn't fixed the problems it already had, but it's built on the foundations of the mechanics that make the series such a success.

Just a shame that the import-averse are still waiting for Trials and Tribulations... *grumble*

Disposable Media Issue 10 out now

2008-02-17T22:47:00.000Z

The latest issue of free downloadable online PDF magazine Disposable Media is now available online at www.disposablemedia.co.uk

Highlights include our exclusive interview with Mr Biffo on the current state of Kid's TV, an exclusive interview with The Stone Gods (the reborn Darkness), Suda51, a look at both Battlestar Galactica and Californication, Manhwa (the comic genre of South Korea), and much much more...

There's also my own column, and my retrospective look at a legendary comic - in this case, the Kevin Smith penned Daredevil....

Tumbleweed Interactive announce Umami

2008-02-17T11:42:00.004Z

GAMES

Since it was the birthplace of the magazine, Disposable Media is often sourcing news and gossip from Edge Online spinoff Rllmukforum, and being the freeware/indie correspondent I'm always looking for news from the creatives and developers over there. So when vamecum, a passionate gamer and regular at the Development folder of Rllmukforum, publicised Umami, the latest work-in-progress from Tumbleweed Interactive - a fairly young development studio he co-founded with three other developery people last year - Disposable Media thought it'd be worth a mention over here. We can't reveal a lot beyond the information on the official site, but having spoken to vamecum and had him share a few bits and pieces about the game, we think it's well worth mentioning here. One to look out for.

"I'll be available for Forzing whenever"

2008-02-15T18:50:00.005Z

GAMES

forz (v.): to play the Xbox 360 game Forza Motorsport 2 (often shortened to Forza), usually online.

Example of forz in the present continuous form:

"I would be forzing tonight but my internet connection is playing up"

Additionally, the suffixal morpheme "er" can be applied when forz is used as a verbal stem:

"Is he playing Halo tonight?"

"Nah, he's a veteran forzer these days."

Due to the common pronounciation of the game's title, however, it's important to clarify whether you are using the noun or the verb+suffixal morpheme in conversation. Once understanding is established, using forz in casual conversation becomes effortless.

Another bookmark for fans of eastern freeware (shooters)

2008-02-06T15:21:00.002Z

GAMES

Usually when I'm looking for shooty material for my Freeware column I go to either Shoot The Core or Vector, and the former does occassionally provide download links from the latter when promoting new games. However, today I found StC referencing Freem, another nice eastern freeware site that has it's own section for shooters. Time will tell if the material's any good, but it's nice to have another bookmark.

Stone Gods - Live at Norwich Waterfront - 30/01/08

2008-02-03T22:57:00.000Z

Norwich gig venue The Waterfront has never been as packed before, and there's good reason. This is the hometown/last-night-of-the-tour show by the Stone Gods; the new band by the line-up of The Darkness (minus singer Justin Hawkins, the old bass player promoted to front man, and with a new bassist roped in. Got that? Good).

The extreme density of the crowd is no-doubt helped by a quarter of the audience being made up of friends and family of the band (guitarist Dan Hawkins' mum alone has 'plus sixteen' on the guest list!), but the performance delivered more than warrants it.

On the whole, Stone Gods are a much 'heavier' proposition than their previous incarnation, delivering a 12 song set that hints at every rock sub-genre they can possibly think of, from classic metal, a bit of punkier stuff, and even what one gig-goer dubbed 'theme tune from a crappy American teen drama'.

They may technically be a new band, but the stage-presence and musicianship of these guys is outstanding, with front man Richie Edwards clearly being born for the role.

Enjoy the pictures, and don't forget to check out our exclusive interview with the band in Issue Ten of Disposable Media, due out any day now!

digg story

In memory of Heath Ledger

2008-01-22T23:27:00.000Z

FILM & TV

Forget his upcoming part as The Joker. Forget 10 Things I Hate About You, and A Knights Tale. And Brokeback Mountain etc.

This weekend, I'll be paying tribute to Ledger with his part in a great film...

Great new single revamps the old...

2008-01-22T22:23:00.000Z

Music

You might have encountered Duffy on Jools Holland, or Radio 1, but don't let that put you off! It's a great retro sounding track, which, for me, is a perfect dance floor filler. If you don't mind filling the dance floor with a lot of people doing the Mashed Potato or Watusi, and dancing like their parents.

Sadly, as one of my parents used to be a classic soul DJ, he not only has better records than me, but used to be able to dance rather well - or so I'm informed. Luckily anytime we've shared the floor, I was either too young to take any notice, or old enough to drink too much to take any notice.

Anyway, enough of my meanderings...

Softening the blow...

2008-01-15T19:43:00.000Z

FILM & TV

There’s been a sudden surge in advertisements for concentrated fabric softeners, with each and every one of them painting a picture of an environmentally friendly product. Across the board, concentrated softeners are being sold as being better for the planet.

Naturally, there’s some logic behind it. Concentrated packs use less water, so the packaging is smaller, and the number of lorries needed to transport them up and down the country to our legions of supermarkets is far fewer. There’s certainly nothing wrong with billing those qualities as positive attributes.

But, marketers being marketers, the promotion of these products has gone beyond mere facts. These fabric conditioners are not just ‘better’ for the environment – they’re being sold as actually being ‘good’ for it, as well. Now, let’s not beat around the bush here, what we’re talking about is product that consists of little more than a chemical cocktail – one that can only be used in conjunction with a washing machine, which heat copious amounts of water and use electricity in households across the country day after day.

People have busy lives, but there is a genuine feeling amongst the mainstream that we do need to make changes in our lifestyles to help the planet. Joe Bloggs doesn’t have time to do his research, and by giving products like fabric conditioners an aura of being good for the environment, marketers are essentially tricking people into thinking they’re already doing enough.

It’s my view that these environmental campaigns are simply being used to revive tired old brands – and not just when it comes to fabric conditioners, either. From organic to free range, numerous products are desperate to associate themselves with positive movements – especially when traditionally stable sales start flagging. Heinz’ rule is that it only ever advertises it core brands – ketchup, beans and alike – when sales fall below a set level. That’s not enough for many, though. Now you have to put a completely new spin on products that have been around for decades. Now they have to do more than what’s on the tin.

Of course, I could be talking bollocks here. For all I know, Government research could have proved that by using concentrated fabric conditioner, we’ll have solved all our environmental problems in a matter of months/weeks/hours – I don’t know. I’ve not checked. And that’s the other problem with the situation as it is. Idiots like me can say what they like about the environment on blogs like this, in newspapers or on TV shows, because the media has no more idea about this than Joe Bloggs does. So, who can you trust? Mother Nature, methinks.

digg story

Sony and Nintendo pegged with a lawsuit

2008-01-13T23:03:00.001Z

Copper Innovations Group has a bone to pick with Sony and Nintendo, and has filed a lawsuit in Pennsylvania seeking after some monies and an injunction against further infringement.The patent in question?

read more | digg story

PS3 production costs cut by half

2008-01-12T22:36:00.003Z

It is being reported that due to removable of various components from the PS3's innards, coupled with smaller chip size, Sony has been able to cut the production cost of the PS3 by half since last year. Each console can now be produced at $400 a unit, rather than the $800 it was costing for each PS3 around November 2006.

read more | digg story

Another GameSpot Reviewer Decides To Leave

2008-01-12T22:36:00.001Z

Long time video game reviewer Alex Navarro, a frequent contributor to GameSpot's podcast The HotSpot and go-to video review narrator, will be leaving the site, according to the site's Editorial Director Ricardo Torres.

read more | digg story

Nintendo Wins anothe Emmy!

2008-01-09T11:09:00.003Z

For the second year in a row, the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has honored Nintendo with an Emmy® Award for excellence in engineering creativity.

read more | digg story

McDonald’s accuses videogames of influencing obesity

2008-01-09T11:09:00.001Z

Readers are likely to feel distinct pangs of "the pot calling the kettle black" with this one, but, believe it or not, the UK chief executive of fast-food chain McDonald’s has this week pointed accusatory fingers at videogames when asked about rising childhood obesity.

read more | digg story

PSP GPS system announced for US release

2008-01-07T13:18:00.001Z

Finally, GPS is coming to PSP. First details from CES.

read more | digg story

Disposble Media's Top 10 LPs of 2007.

2007-12-30T20:49:00.004Z

We've reviewed a few albums in the magazine this year. We've listened to even more. Here then are our top ten LPs of 2007. Alot of you will disagree no doubt, many will agree. Whatever your standpoint, get in contact by leaving us some comments-we'd especially like to have your suggestions for albums we missed out.

1. Radiohead, In Rainbows
This only just made it to number one by virtue of being (physically) released today. It is the best album of the year and now that it’s available to everyone as a physical CD, there is awkward discussion away from the album to prevent the songs being as immaculate as they are. For a much more detailed look at In Rainbows, keep an eye out for Disposable Media Issue 10, due early January 2008.

2. LCD Soundsystem, Sound of Silver
The first listen to Sound of Silver yielded one response; where are the singles? Subsequent listens illicit two responses; 1-who cares? And 2-wow.
This isn’t a dance album. It isn’t a rock album. It’s not indie, grindie, big-beat or hardcore nor is it especially different. What Sound of Silver is though, is an album for music fans, an album for grown ups and kids, an album so immaculately conceived and produced that at times it defies belief that in 2007 someone can produce an album that sounds both perfectly now and so ‘timeless’. It is practically perfect.

3. Justice, Cross
There are times when Cross is so loud that it barely makes sense. Made of what seems like a combination of drum beats and feedback for a large majority, it’s easy to dismiss Cross as an overly simplistic dance album with no real musicianship involved. However, here is an album where every single sound is full of purpose that when layered and structured together and woven with some very heavy drum beats it not only works but also thrusts itself into your body and consciousness. The Daft Punk comparisons are lazy, this is dance-metal and it is immense.

4. Battles, Mirrored
Why does the Battles LP work? At times it tries too hard, other times it seems as though it’s not trying at all. Beneath the obvious math-rock influences and initially unfriendly noodling, is an LP full of melody, pop sensibility and modern day understanding of how music can affect by effect. It sounds like nothing else this year but is a perfect partner for the understated LCD Soundsystem by trying to do the same sort of thing but with a more modern and noisy takes on dance rock. And by god how we love it.

5. Modest Mouse, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
It’s Modest Mouse. With Johnny Marr on guitar. And featuring The Shins on vocals on a couple of tracks. It’s utterly ace.

6. The Twilight Sad, Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters
If Explosions in the Sky came from Scotland they might sound like this. It wouldn’t be as majestic, as powerful or as Scottish as this, but at least you know have an idea of just how wonderful this album is.

7. Minus the Bear, Planet of Ice
Minus the Bear’s last album, Menos el oso was a summer album. The cover looked like summer, the album sounded like summer and some of the lyrics were about summer. Planet of Ice is a winter album. It still sounds like Minus the Bear, incredible finger tapping, ‘dance-prog’ structures and knowing lyrics/titles, but Planet of Ice is a slightly grown up affair, with much more emphasis on the prog. Listen at night in winter and be sucked in to the majesty.

8. Low, Drums and Guns
Criminally overlooked in end of year polls, Low’s latest Lp is once again a brooding affair, but now with added drum loops. Enchanting and bewitching, it’s the best Low LP since Things We Lost.

9. Besnard Lakes, The Besnard Lakes are the Dark Horse
Does this really sound like the Beach Boys having a guitar feedback fight with Spiritualized in space? Yes it does. In places. Comparisons aside, it’s a tremdous album full of both gentle and demanding guitar work, feathery vocal melodies and hugely deep production.

10. 65daysofstatic, The Destruction of Small Ideas
Vocals. There are vocals on the final track of this, 65’s 3rd LP. It’s a new departure for the band, but not a bad decision. Unlike the production. At times it threatens to undermine the thoroughly brilliant musicianship and perfectly structured songs on offer but with a few listens Destruction… allows itself to grow and truly reveal itself as the most subtle and most accomplished 65 LP to date.

A little break for Christmas...

2007-12-18T18:38:00.001Z

MUSIC

This time of year is more than a little busy, with presents to wrap and probably more presents to buy. Cards to write, decorations to hang and calculations to be conducted to work out how long to roast the turkey for (remember to place it on its breast shortly after you start cooking to ensure it is as tender as possible). And amongst all that, Disposable Media is rapidly approaching the deadline for its tenth issue with staff working more feverishly than any of Santa's elves.

But, here is a little favour for you at this busy time of year whether you're regular readers of the magazine, or part of the staff creating the magazine - stop. Just for a couple of minutes, sit back and remember that this isn't meant to be a stressful time of the year, it is meant to be fun. And to help you enjoy this tiny break, try this:

It's "Hilli (At The Top of The World)" by Amiina and features the late Lee Hazelwood and was released yesterday. And if it doesn't make you feel a bit more relaxed and a bit more comfortable there really is no hope for you.

And if I don't get to say it again before the day, Merry Christmas.

Student Arrested For Planned Shooting in CoD4

2007-12-18T16:15:00.001Z

GAMES
An American student has been arrested after discussing plans to 'shoot up' Frostburg State University over voice chat in call of Duty 4.

read more | digg story

Call of Duty 4- Some much needed change is on its way

2007-12-17T12:47:00.001Z

GAMES
The changes are split between two groups: playlist and patch changes. The playlist changes are numerous, and really help to balance and perfect the online experience. Maps are being added to rotations, new playlist variations are being introduced, and some rules are being changed.

read more | digg story

BioShock Propaganda Goes to the Grocery Store

2007-12-17T12:46:00.001Z

GAMES
Sometimes you see a Photoshop fake that is SO good you just wish it was real. Such is the case with this genius and extremely well executed pic

read more | digg story

Call of Duty 4 Outsells Super Mario Galaxy

2007-12-16T21:52:00.001Z

GAMES
NPD Group today released sales data for the month of November 2007, and Call of Duty 4 outsold the biggest name in video games.

read more | digg story

Strange Xbox Signal Suspected of Jamming Wireless LANs

2007-12-15T15:10:00.001Z

GAMES
Microsoft's Xbox 360 game console can create a strong and strange signal that disrupts wireless LANs, according to IT staff at Morrisville State College. It's not clear whether the signal disrupts the college's WLAN access points or students' wireless notebooks.

read more | digg story

Art, emotion, and nice animation

2007-12-13T22:35:00.001Z

GAMES

NB: this was originally posted by qazimod under the DM account as part of a new posting template test thing (but it was crap), hence the "disposable media" author.

I can't help but laugh at the "games are art" people sometimes. Well, not exactly laugh, but I do sympathise with them. I mean, it's hard enough convincing people that games aren't the spawn of the Devil, that they won't destroy our inner humanity, that they aren't about to defile our grandparents and bring about the collapse of society as we know it. So how on Earth are you supposed to put forward an argument for gaming as an artform? I don't want to get into that debate just this moment, but I will say that Ico has frequently been touted as a game that provides ammunition for those who think games are more than just FIFA and Def Jam.

I haven't had a lot of time to play the game, but I must admit to being suckered in by it's lack of complexity: think of all the squad -based firstperson shooters where you're launched into a chaotic battlefield with meaningless marine jargon babbling in your ear from the offset; it's not the most subtle welcome, and after a while it gets a little predictable. However, Ico's introduction is nice and understated: you have a chance to get a feel for the surrounding architecture, mess around with the swinging and jumping of Ico himself (I really like the attention to detail in Ico's animation, by the way), you meet Yorda, and then you fight the weird shadowy creatures.

One of the other things I like about Ico's initial combat sequences is that the shadow creatures have no distinct form, and you can vaguely swing at them and they'll collapse beautifully. Again, the little details in the animation are brilliant; it's like playing something like Flashback for the first time. And I thought Ico himself would be a lot more dorky than he actually is, but the characterisation isn't all that bad (as for Yorda, the first thing I tried to do was swing my stick at her - old habits...)

Anyway, I've barely scratched the surface, and I'm in the middle of a few other titles as always, but it's comforting to know that it is still possible to find a copy of the game if you are determined enough. :P

Activision Blizzard campaigns for innovation

2007-12-04T17:12:00.000Z

GAMES

Not exactly the most surprising news around, but it's not hard to imagine Guitar Hero going the way of the Birdman, with new releases (read: shameless rehashes) every six fucking months. Jesus wept.

EDIT: thanks to some tinkering by one of the staffers, we can now make links out of blog titles, so if you didn't notice that clicking the title leads to the news in question, have a look!

Ookiblocks heading to the IGF

2007-12-04T02:28:00.000Z

GAMES

For this English writer, my interest in Euro 2008 has rapidly disappeared after our utterly useless team of overpaid cretins failed miserably. The tournament might be great, but it just isn't as fun when you've not got anyone to support. Thankfully for the Independent Games Festival, we have.

Disposable Media is always happy to promote projects that are up to the high standards we like to see being achieved, but it is also nice when there is some vague knowledge of the people creating them. Pleasingly, Ookibloks falls under both categories. Plus, it gives us someone to cheer on at the next IDF, which whilst being one gaming event we're always firmly behind it is more fun when you have someone to shout for.

The full list of nominations includes some fantastic titles that have made a name for themselves in the last few months as well as some that we've never heard of before (the full list is here) which is almost always the way. And sure, it is one of those events where everyone is a winner but that doesn't mean we aren't looking forward to finding out who the proper winners are in February.

The title we are backing? From the official description...

OokiBloks is an innovative action puzzle game, filled with comical mischief, upbeat dance music and synchronized sound.

Take control of Ooki the monkey and leap around the colorful cartoon play areas, making music and changing blocks to their rightful color!

But more interestingly, have a look at the video:

Monkeys, music, crabs, monkeys, war, rhythm, monkeys, monkeys, monkeys...what more could you want from a game? It is certainly enough to get us wanting to play it and supporting it...

Visit the official Ookibloks website at http://www.ookibloks.com

2007-11-30T17:21:00.000Z

MUSIC/IMPRESSIONS

Squarepusher - Hello Everything (a week on)

So some time ago this year I bought my first Squarepusher CD - Feed Me Weird Things - and loved it to pieces. Sure, there are some tracks that I didn't listen to as much as others, but generally it's a nice album and left me wanting more. Anyway, last week it was my birthday and, among other things, I got Hello Everything and am listening to it now. Initial impressions were mixed, as it seemed to be a tiny bit less accessible than FMWT, but it's definitely growing on me; Hello Meow is every bit as good an opener as Squarepusher Theme was, Planetarium is astounding and kind of reminds me of Theme from Ernest Borgnine, Rotate Electrolyte has similarly nice synth sounds and is kind of chilled whilst maintaining a pacey rhythm... and The Modern Bass Guitar is completely relentless and insane and feels kind of Venetian Snares-y at times. So it definitely has its standouts, and it makes for a compelling whole despite the more abstract offerings. Yays.

2007-11-25T22:16:00.000Z

GAMES/FEATURE

Space Giraffe vs. Tempest

Even though it's not really a sparkling new release, Jeff Minter's Space Giraffe has still been generating a fair bit of debate around various online communities; some think that it's too complex, others think that it's too desperate, some say that it's humour is rubbish or that it's impossible to see the bullets, but most people say that it's like Tempest. It's easy to see why people would come to such conclusions; no-one needs reminding that Minter has been responsible for remakes on the Jaguar and Nuon, and if you were to look at a screenshot of Space Giraffe, you would think that it played like Tempest. However, claiming that the Tempest series and Space Giraffe are one and the same isn't an exact science; certain gameplay principles set the two games apart as easily as others bring them closer together. Look at it another way; if you were to summarise the gameplay of Tempest - the original black-and-white wireframe Tempest - you would do so by saying that, I don't know, "enemies come from one end of the playfield and you must prevent them from reaching the other end by shooting them whilst positioned at this other end". Space Giraffe has a bit of this - it's flowers are a lot like Tempest's spikes and will kill you if they reach the end you are moving along, and you can die by touching an enemy at the other edge if your power zone is non-existent, but the nature of ramming off enemies whilst your power-zone is active goes against what you learn from Tempest. This power-zone always drains over time but can be replenished by shooting enemies, so it's like...a rechargeable shield. Yes, that's it: Space Giraffe is Tempest with a rechargeable shield. Or is it? Ah well, time to find out. With a DS. Digging out Ninty's handheld, I root around for my copy of - and I'm ashamed to admit this as I normally dislike such shameless profiteering from publishers - Retro Atari Classics. Firing up Tempest, it's surprising how simple the formula is and yet how exciting it can be - you have left, right and fire, and that's it. The DS version has an analogue twist, but that's immaterial. In the game proper you zoom around various shapes shooting into the distance as enemies come towards you and attempt to either shoot you down or grab you if they reach the edge. Later levels introduce things like the spikes and the enemies that break into two after being shot, but the core principle is still the same; shoot stuff before it reaches the edge.

Firing up Space Giraffe, I decide to choose "Origin", a suitably Tempesty arrangement. Flicking the analogue stick to and fro I wipe out the first few enemies and then get destroyed by something near the edge, although I couldn't tell what it was because the pyros, er, got in the way a bit. Origin's a great example to use, as it shows the basic disciplines of bulling and bullet preservation, and so I can career into enemies without the same fear as Tempest, and if I get behind them quick enough I can reflect bullets and get a higher bonus. Moving onto Space Level 4, I go for a simple left-right strafing run as it's a nice flat level: in essence, I'm shooting stuff before it reaches the edge. Not only does this help me when the bonuses get counted, I also get to bull stuff safely. When I'm eventually bulling, I'm no longer shooting stuff before it reaches the edge, but in order to do this bulling I have had to shoot stuff before it reached the edge. Anyone still with me? Good, because I'm now on Space Level 5, the traditional cylinder arrangement. This time I concentrate a bit more; the enemies fade into nothingness and all I'm focused on are the bullets and the power zone; as long as the latter is still in the distance, I can shoot the former before they reach the edge for big bonuses. Peasy. I make it to the next level, but I don't last long as a cocky dash for a bullet costs me my last life.

I return to the desk and think about the two games; one focuses on shooting enemies before they reach the edge, avoiding bullets and watching out for spikes... whilst the other focuses on shooting bullets before they reach the edge, ignoring approaching enemies and watching out for a dead power zone. I'll admit that SG plays a clever trick by making you ignore most of the chaos to focus on what's important (power zones and bullets, at least initially), and this is a great "zone" feeling, but when you are in relative safety most of the time - as long as the power zone is active, anyway - it lacks some of the intensity of Tempest because said power zone acts as a shield. Sure, you could bounce bullets back and forth and they would be threatening, but you could also choose not to. With Tempest boasting a greater sense of threat earlier on, Space Giraffe feels like Tempest with a rechargeable shield. Perhaps.

2007-11-22T12:52:00.000Z

MUSIC

SINGLE REVIEW: "Go Faster Stripes" by Kat Flint

Regular readers of the magazine, at least those with fantastic memories, will remember the very first Doormat in DM4 spent much of its word-count raving about Kat Flint's "Secret Boy's Club" EP. Since then, things have been officially quite quiet on her part, at least in terms of things people could actually go out and buy. Until now.

"Go Faster Stripes" is Kat's first single since finally being snapped up by a record company. With their press release sounding suitably surprised, Albino Recordings are now home to Kat as well as Revere, who previously featured on another doormat. Where "Secret Boy's Club" was filled almost completely with girl and guitar (KT Tunstall without the selling out), "Go Faster Stripes" features a menagerie of talented musicians providing body to the song.

Within the menagerie, the saloon bar piano that punctuates the song single-handedly makes the track sound different and memorable. Chirping up with increasing regularity throughout, it gives a sing-along quality. It probably could have been integrated a little more and been used to demand attention and provide a bawdier finale, but sadly it disappears leaving the song to slowly and politely fade away...

But it gets better with each listen, familiarity breeding everything but contempt in this case. It isn't a single of the year and it is hard to imagine it dominating even a small corner of the charts for long, but that isn't the aim of a first single. This is an introduction to Kat Flint for the audience of 6Music and other potential fans that have managed to avoid her before now. And more importantly than that it shows, finally, she is making proper progress again.

It can now only be a matter of time before that saloon piano is given a boogie-woogie flourish on Later with Jools Holland. A sure sign of recognition, if ever there was one.

"Go Faster Stripes" will be released on December 17th. The album "Dirty Birds" will follow in 2008.

Visit Kat Flint's myspace page at www.myspace.com/katflint

2007-10-30T21:31:00.000Z

MUSIC

Does anyone buy albums now?

Obviously some people do. Mainly older people. But how about anyone under the age of 30? Does anyone still invest in album tracks as MP3s? Or those Compact Disc things?

I speak as an owner of over 500 CD's and a fair quantity of vinyl. And yet when we started listing the best albums and songs since the launch of Disposable Media for our 10th Anniversary issue, I struggled to think of 10 whole albums I've bought which were released since 2005.

I've listened to Pandora, I've listend to Last.fm, I've listened to Myspace, and I've bought singles and albums by artists I never got round to collecting, or never new existed. But they all tend to be Greatest Hits. Does this mean I'm all about the best songs, and won't ever need to battle my way through a nondescript album filler?

Actually I have found an exception that may prove the rule. Disposable Media's Mr Pogo apparently only buys albums - to the extent he struggles to think of 10 individual singles since 2005. Then again, he is a little odd. Stonkingly good photographer though, so we put up with him.

2007-10-23T21:26:00.000+01:00

Sometimes the BBC can make a good drama out of a crisis

At a time when the BBC is promising less original drama and more repeats, as well as selling off their spiritual home, I'm slightly heartened by the return of Spooks.

It might be another spy/cop/military drama, but it manages to twist things enough to be original, with interesting plot ideas. The actors are good, and they do a credible job of manipulating London to appear consistent with the plot. Can we have more, not less please BBC? If not, it'll be HBO everyone turns to...

Of course, noone can do it illegally any more because FACT have jumped on the chap responsible for the TV Links website. Which simply listed a range of programmes in a way that made finding them a little less hassle. So that's piracy stopped then? Or does it just take five minutes longer to trawl Youtube/Daily Motion etc for the links? With a few friends you can have a local TV Links of your own in an hour.

Obviously I'm not in any way promoting or facilitating breaking laws on copyright, as that would obviously be very, very bad. Even if it's because a show isn't broadcast any more, or you missed it, or you aren't going to subscribe to cable/satellite for a TV series you haven't sampled. Or because in ten years time, the entertainment industry might actually embrace the internet, rather than persecuting its enthusiasts

2007-10-18T20:40:00.000+01:00

GAMES

Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights Review

I have a bit of sympathy for this game. I mean, how can you not feel a little sorry for any racing game which appears slap bang in between Forza Motorsport 2, and Project Gotham Racing 4. And that sympathy made me overcome some preconceptions to discover what is actually a rather fun racing game.

Like Max Power, and US TV show Hot Import Nights, the game has a lot of show. It's slick, nice to look at, and there's a huge range of ways to customise a fairly large catalogue of available cars. You get the choice of racing and drifting events - from traditional races, to single drifting, to eliminator team drifting - and progress through several levels to prove you're the best in the world.

As expected, and like a 17-year-old with a modded Corsa, there's a bit more show than go. The racing itself is enjoyable in an arcade style, and there is some impressive speed when you indulge in a nitrous boost (recharged with powerslides). The handling is very arcade, with only the American muscle cars feeling really different to the Japanese and Euro offerings.

In addition to the racing, you can place bets with a single rival before a race, who will then consider your offer and could raise or lower it before the deal is done. In some races, you're also expected to offer up one of your cars as collateral. This adds a bit of fun, but after 10 minutes you'll know which racer always raises, which one always lowers, and how to guarantee bigger earnings. Online racing is also available with betting etc, but because it mirrors the Career mode, it can seem very time consuming to move up through the ranks and achievements, and it can be tricky to find opponents considering the other racing games around.

By the same token, you can choose a huge range of tuning, styling and paint options for your car, but despite the different brands of tuning products, there's no real reason to choose one over another. And although investing in styling could boost your earning potential when you sell your car online, you're going to struggle to find buyers who have picked this over FM2 and PGR4...

Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed Juiced 2: HIN. As a fun arcade racer, with nice graphics and flashy cut scenes, it hits the spot. Don't think of it as a rival for PGR4, or FM2. Think of it as a slightly more realistic Ridge Racer. 3/5

2007-10-08T14:46:00.000+01:00

GAMES

Succumbing to the power of Halo 3

Well, I finally capitulated and bought Halo3. Partly because my friends list was empty without it, and partly because it's the first game in over 18 months of Xbox 360 ownership which has made my girlfriend want to play

You're sure to have read plenty of reviews, and thankfully Bungie has avoided spoiling the series, even in the midst of splitting from the close tie-up with Microsoft. but one thing I have noticed is that you really do need a big HDTV. Playing it on an old CRT, particularly in split screen, can be really annoying, as snipers are very, very hard to spot, and the targeting reticule doesn't turn red even when you can inflict damage at extreme range. I blame Bungie for the impending delivery from a TV warehouse... And I can't wait!

Oh, and there are claims the 'No information from the Halo3 server' is client side, and also fixed, on Bungie's own forums... sadly it isn't the case, as it seems to be affecting a lot of people, and be more time dependent than hardware dependent. We'll be keeping a close eye on what happens...

2007-10-05T22:44:00.000+01:00

GAMES

Where has everyone gone?

It's quite a spooky time on Xbox Live. If you're not playing Halo 3, you haven't got a hope of meeting up with your friends...

Which makes it hard for any game we have for review at the moment. I'm currently working on about 3 or 4 reviews for this very blog, but testing online modes is lonely work... Still, when I've got the reviews done in the next few days, I have an excuse to get hold of Halo3, just as everyone else is either bored, or so skilled I don't even say them before I get shot, corpse humped and depressed!

On the bright side, DM 9 might only just be available, but plans are already underway to celebrate our 10th issue - which we're planning to publish at the start of December...

2007-09-10T19:34:00.001+01:00

GAMES

The most unusual achievement

The achievements list has now been released for Project Gotham Racing 4, and it features one of the most unusual achievements I've seen

Simply beat one of the PGR4 team (Bizarre Creations), or more boringly, someone else that has, and you win yourself 10G shiny achievement points. See the more boring achievements here.

2007-09-05T20:34:00.000+01:00

GAMES

Discoveries

We play to discover. Well, most of our life revolves around discovery; each new piece of information - every new discovery - has the potential to determine our immediate or distant future. However, it applies as much in games as it does in life, and whilst discoveries are necessary in order to formulate immediate solutions to immediate problems, they also play a vital part in enhancing the longevity of a game. In play, these discoveries are often a consequence of a flexible means of interaction within the gamepay environment - if a game offers spin-jumps, diving attacks, long jumps, ground stomps and whatever else from the offset, it's likely that you won't discover their usefulness until you are forced to use them in challenging situations. First give the player all the tools he needs to beat even the hardest enemy, and then let the player discover how the tools work under various circumstances.

It's not just gameplay that revolves around a theme of discovery - it's an obvious component of story and plot devices. Okay, a lot of the time developers simply shoehorn in lazy double-cross "twists", but when a story gets it right, the discovery can be powerful enough to turn your emotions, motives, or determination on its head. The Half-Life games, Phoenix Wright games, Beyond Good and Evil, (some of) the Final Fantasy games - all fine titles, all examples of stories where new discoveries are implemented with care and attention: simply shoving plot twists into every five minutes does not immediately turn a story into gold.

Discoveries are in many of my favourite games - Street Fighter III 3rd isn't an 80-hour epic adventure, but I keep coming back to it because I keep finding out new techniques, and new opponents force me to try out new play styles. Space Giraffe is expertly judged in terms of pacing and the introduction of new elements, and it gives you plenty of flexibility to discover your own tactics and techniques. Guitar Hero II sees me fail a song one day, then try sliding down the fretboard instead of trying to tap the individual buttons, discovering a useful new technique.

By now you're doubtless wondering if my definition is so wooly that discoveries can be found in any game, but remember that these examples help to redeem a game that might otherwise be run-of-the-mill. If a new use for an item is found and you think "what's the point of that? I might as well stick to the standard attack", the effect of the discovery has failed. I remember playing this rubbish FPS - it might have been Red Faction - and it took me a while to realise that, as well as beating people with your electric baton thing, you can also stun them, a bit like the prod charger in Deus Ex. However, out of those two options, I preferred neither, sticking to my guns. So, whilst they might not make or break a game, discoveries help to give games variety and longevity, encouraging play for play's sake and helping you come back for more.

2007-09-04T18:21:00.000+01:00

MUSIC

The other song for our summer

Revival by Soulsavers (featuring Mark Lanegan)

2007-09-02T17:36:00.000+01:00

MUSIC

The latest song to stick in our heads

Young Folks by Peter Bjorn and John

2007-09-02T11:40:00.000+01:00

GAMES

Bug spotted in Forza Motorsport 2

Members of the DM team have been hammering Forza Motorsport 2 in a quest to finish the final achievements. And they've also noticed an interesting graphical glitch

If you're racing on Maple Valley Reverse (the only time we've seen it), keep an eye on the track as you cross the bridge back over the hairpin section. If you're far enough ahead to be on the bridge as cars pass underneath you'll see strange dark patches fly across the track, from side to side. The reason?

It's the shadows of the cars driving along the track underneath...

2007-08-20T20:17:00.000+01:00

COMICS

See New Worlds

A few months ago I would never have thought I'd be writing about a comic with the title See New Worlds: A Journey Through Time to Discover the Future of Dundee, but, upon being sent a copy from an acquaintance in Dundee, I've been really impressed.

The comic came out a few months ago to coincide with the Six Cities festival in Dundee, which I know no more about than can be gleaned from a bit of googling, but I sure do like the comic. It's a time travelling story celebrating the history and topography of Dundee, where a girl helping her mother prepare the 2037 Six Cities festival is projected into a computer to fix whatever bug is threatening the smooth running of the event.

I've never been to Dundee and have been turned off by people disrecommending it to me ("disrecommending" is a made-up euphemism to cover "don't go near that shithole" comments) but now, because of this comic, I very much want to see what the place is like. Perhaps I will make it to the next Six Cities festival, or indeed the 2037 one.

2007-08-17T15:40:00.001+01:00

Games

Exclusive: Xbox 360 Price Cut on Friday August 24th!

We've just been contacted by a trusted Microsoft insider with exclusive news that the Microsoft Xbox 360 will be at a new recommended retail price from Friday August 24, 2007.

The new prices are:

Core 360: £179.99
Premium 360: £249.99
Elite 360: £299.99

2007-08-14T11:56:00.000+01:00

GAMES

"Ack, where am I going?...Ow!"

I can't blame the laws of time and download speeds for this, but the Bioshock demo really picked the wrong time to finish downloading. I write this as it just approaches noon, having recently finished having a quick look at said demo and not knowing where I was going because it really is quite dark. The initial journey in the bathysphere offered some interesting sights, and generally when I emerged at street level and got into the thick of it, I had to admit that it is a very pretty game, although some of the sheen may have been missing because I have a rubbish standard definition telly, and as mentioned before, the time of day couldn't have helped. Anyway, Bioshock is a very traditional game in terms of mechanics, and anyone who's familiar with System Shock 2 will feel at home here; you have your gauge for magical attacks, your hypos for replenishing health and magicky stuff, you have lots of blood and darkness and moodiness, and some very atmospheric locales. The game's narrative and audiovisual cues are great for easing the player in, and the radio chatter about the significance of the Big Daddies/Little Sisters is complemented by an encounter with said duo early on in the game: suffice to say that the Big Daddies are every bit as intimidating as they sounded in the preview blurbs. Also notable is the water: really, really lovely...not since Half-Life 2's airboat antics have I been so impressed, and even that stuff now looks a little flat next to Bioshock. My main concern for the full game is that the initial atmosphere promised in the opening will be forgotten about; the risk of a game getting too preoccupied with blasting your way out of situations all too palpable.

2007-08-08T17:30:00.001+01:00

RRR-NSFW (the 'R's are for 'really')

Ricky Gervais has always been a classy performer without a single pr blip in his acclaimed career. But recently, after a suicide-bomb of a comedy performance at the Diana Memorial Concert, the media snapped up the chance to criticise. (Such as here, here, and especially here.)

Gervais found an opportunity to turn these criticisms into a comedy set-up, and in his signature is-he-acting-or-not half-character, he pretended to try his best to ignore the recent media attacks on him and instead promote the next feature-length episode of Extras (coming this Christmas). His sidekick Stephen Merchant's character, however, continuously pushed the right buttons in brining out the brutal, and side-splittingly hilarious honesty in Gervais' half-character.

Ironically enough, the result is some of the funniest comedy Gervais and Merchant have ever, ever done.

Enjoy.

Rob.

FINAL WARNING: This clip contains an abundance of potty mouthes.

2007-08-07T17:53:00.000+01:00

MUSIC

I mentioned this song a couple of issues ago in DM (Memory fails me as to exactly which issue), but as the most perfect summer song I've heard in a long while, I thought it was worth mentioning again now that the flooding is subsiding and people have started to get suntans, rather than rusting in the British summer.

It's Revival by Soul Savers, and features ex-Screaming Trees frontman Mark Lanegan, Hammond Organ, Gospel backing and makes me want to raise my arms and scream 'That's what rousing, anthemic music should sound like...Hallelujah!"

Lanegan features on 8 of the tracks on the album, which mixes rock, hip hop, country, soul and gospel, and is out on V2 records.

Check it out with three other tunes on their Myspace page...

Oh, and feel free to add DM while you're there...

2007-07-30T16:49:00.000+01:00

GAMES

Metal Sluggish

So I finally got hold of the Metal Slug Anthology for the PS2, and I'm not really sure what to make of it. It seems like ages since I've played a Slug game and thoroughly enjoyed myself, and these days I'm getting a bit bored of the format, but it's nice to have all the games on one disc. And yes, I'll admit it, a big part of the reason for me buying it was so that I could see what 6 is like. Unfortunately, I don't think it's all that special. Like 4 and 5 before it, there aren't as many standout set-pieces and so it's a game you finish with a grin on your face but a mind devoid of happy memories, because it's very much by-the-numbers.

The slowdown didn't help either, making the whole experience feel like some dodgy emulation botch job thingy. And a small part of me hoped that they'd keep some of the extras they had stuck on the PS2 version of Metal Slug 3 ("Fat Island" and "Storming the UFO Mothership"), but I couldn't find either in this collection. But above all else, the reunion with the Slug games reminds me just how long it's been since I played one of them, and how many good shoot 'em ups and action games have come and gone since. I'm not saying that I've completely fallen out of love with the games, because as rubbish as 6 was I'm still looking forward to finally playing 3 on a big screen (I never bought the standalone release), and so the collection still holds some worth...I just can't help but think that the franchise has had it's day.

However, as coincidence would have it, the winners of our competition were announced today, so I hope that the winner of the MS Anthology doesn't read this and get the wrong impression. Ahahahahmm.

2007-07-30T12:40:00.001+01:00

GAMES

Features and track lists announced for Project Gotham Racing 4 announced, including more run off areas, and more signs of upcoming corners.

"Weather! These cities are now raceable in clear, light rain, heavy rain, snow, overcast, light fog, heavy fog, storm, icy, and wet. In rainy conditions you'll see puddles forming on track which dramatically change your racing line. In snow and ice these puddles freeze over, creating no-go patches of tarmac which only a fool would drive over.
New vehicles! As well as motorbikes (which drive totally differently and provide a new challenge for PGR veterans), there is also a much wider vehicle set this time around. It's not just "life begins at 170mph" any more; this time there are slower vehicles to take to the track as well.
New Game Modes! As well as favourites like Street Race, Cat and Mouse, etc. there are also new game modes entering the fray, such as Survivor and Superstar. "

Track list:
Macau, China
Las Vegas, USA
London, England
St Petersburg, Russia
Tokyo, Japan
New York City, USA
Shanghai, China
Quebec, Canada
Nurburgring, Germany
Michelin Test Track

More info at the Bizarre Creations site...

2007-07-28T16:41:00.000+01:00

GAMES

Are gamers cheaters?

It certainly seems so. Having started a blog about Forza to see how popular it might be and to save clogging this one up with too many stories about racing bravado), I've been looking at what brings the most traffic to the blog, and what people are searching for when they visit.

So far 100% of visitors are coming for car duping, money cheat, cloning paintjobs, and variations thereof...

A little soul destroying, as I could just post with those words every day and see my traffic stay the same as when I've pointed to a way to create carbon fibre paintjobs, or tuning tips.

Does this mean that most gamers want to use cheats? Or want to know about them? Or is it just the people actively searching the internet are the cheaters, and most folks aren't looking for Forza information via Google?

On the bright side, the latest update stops gifting and reselling cars with locked paintjobs (To stop duping), bans the Lotus Elan from online (temporarily...to cure the fact it's waaaaay too fast, and fixes some scoreboard glitches...

Hurrah. And all without resetting the scoreboards, meaning my times manhandling a D Class Camaro around will still stand

2007-07-20T13:34:00.000+01:00

GAMES

Incidentally, the latest issue of Disposable Media is breaking circulation records, mainly due to an army of enraged, Wiimote-waving Nintendo fans.
Our interview with Dave Perry, in which he suggested of gamers:

"When a game comes out - a game like a Halo or something, something they haven’t seen before - they’ll drop everything and they’ll drop their Wii controllers when it does."

It's appeared all over that interweb thing, including Wired Blogs, C+VG and Next Gen.

Particular thanks to those who've linked to the DM website.

It's meant we've had a huge take-up for this issue. It also means our bandwith is jumping up, so if you were looking to spend lots of money advertising somewhere, now's the time to take advantage of our lack of commercial skill. (email dan.thornton at disposablemedia.co.uk)
If you're not looking to spend advertising money, do feel free to sample some advertising or make a donation. Or just send us a virtual hug.

2007-07-20T13:26:00.001+01:00

GAMES

For possibly the first and last time my combined interest in video games and motorcycling has led me to spot something quite amusing.

So stick with me as I explain the background necessary for the pay off at the end.

Basically in motorcycle racing, there are two world championships. One, MotoGP (run by Dorna), is the two-wheeled Formula one equivalent with prototype bikes, star riders protected by PR armies, and all the associated trappings. The other, World Superbikes (run by FGSport) featuers more production based machines, more accessible riders, and a slightly more Italian way of doing things. Generally the two co-exist peacefully, in a kind of entente cordiale, although the occasional defection between the two, or occasional flaming tyre, does get exchanged.

Generally the Playstation motoGP game has been a Namco production. Meanwhile World Superbikes has only returned to gaming with SBK07 this year, produced by Italian firm Milestone...

(Still with me? Pay-off coming up)

So imagine my surprise when Capcom announced they'd be publishing a new MotoGP game, taking over from Namco, and would be using the Italian developer........wait for it.....Milestone.

I don't imagine the bosses of Dorna and FGSport are avid gamers, but I'm looking forward to them sitting down with their kids to play the game of their rival series and suddenly thinking "Hmmmm, I know that name from somewhere?"

2007-07-19T15:02:00.000+01:00

NEWS

Disposable Media #8 out now; here, there, and elsewhere (eventually)...

The latest issue of Disposable Media is out now, and if you want more of your favourite 'zine you can start to prepare yourselves for a move webwards: this lowly Blogger thing is just the beginning...

2007-07-12T17:36:00.000+01:00

GAMES/E3

Most Wanted list: so far

qazimod: is looking forward to HL2 Ep.2: Orange Box, Fatal Inertia and possibly Bioshock. Hopefully I'll badger the other staffers to add to this; stay tuned...

EDIT: and this.

Badger: I'll admit I've been rushing around this week, and barely able to filter through the noise of E3. But PGR4 with bikes? Yowsah! Me want, now....

2007-06-30T09:15:00.000+01:00

GAMES/IMPRESSIONS

Forza Motorsport 2

It's a testament to the maturity and sophistication of games that there are so many new ways of delivering a genre, and each attempt might strive for it's own "personality" so that it doesn't get dismissed as a rip-off. Personality? Project Gotham might be the street-smart show-off who you beg to be admired by just because he's so damned flashy, and Ridge 6 might be the shallow but entertaining breakdancer who doesn't care about how sophisticated he looks but simply wants to impress you with his moves. However, just as you finish high-fiving the kids and make your way home, you get smacked down by a gentleman wearing a sharp suit and a disapproving glare. Forza 2's approach isn't radically new, but to someone who hasn't played a racer with such heavy simulation pretensions for a while, it's quite a shock to the system.

I know Badger's already written about the game here, but as a newcomer to both the game and the series, I thought people might like a second opinion. Forza 2 isn't an example of a deliberately difficult game, despite the opening paragraph's inclination. The difficulty is the same sort of difficulty that came from being force-fed Ridge Racer sequels on OPM demo discs and then being introduced to Turismo: it's difficult through unfamiliarity. Once you accept that sim games require a different way of thinking, Forza 2 can become quite satisfying. Again with the GT comparisons, this is a game that isn't really concerned with the thrill of skilled racing, but is more interested in demonstrating the way in which skilled driving can yield it's own rewards. The racing line is one of the major contributing factors to the feeling that this game is disciplining you in the ways of its ruleset: how the physics, handling, geometry et al interact and how they must be used to your advantage.

Despite many penalties and a few frustrating races, I'm enjoying the racing, even moreso than the design. I've barely scratched the surface, having just got the "All Gold (Proving Grounds)" achievement, but I don't doubt I'll be back for more...glutton for punishment that I am.

2007-06-26T20:08:00.001+01:00

RECRUITMENT

HELP WANTED:

If you've seen the Disposable Media magazine, then you'll know how great our design team are. Unfortunately, there's not enough of them. So rather than an ill-advised cloning project, we're looking for designers.

At the moment it's unpaid, but goes great on a CV, and is also a good way to get into the world of film, music, games, art and online...

So if you're interested, email dan.thornton at disposablemedia.co.uk

2007-06-19T21:33:00.000+01:00

GAMES/IMPRESSIONS

Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales

Having just completed it this evening, I thought it'd be a good idea to post some immediate impressions about the game. I admit that I was a bit cautious when I bought the game as I can't stand J-RPGs. Correction; I honestly try really hard to like J-RPGs, but I am embarrassingly crap at them when I commence play, and this is nearly always down to the fact that I'm not tactically-minded enough to be any good at the battles. Christ, the first time I completed Final Fantasy VII it was largely down to frequent saving and the whoring of Cait Sith's "Game Over" limit, and as much as I try to love Chrono Trigger I nearly always reach a sticking point at a boss because I haven't levelled enough.

And that, right there, is where most RPGs fail me, and where Chocobo Tales has succeeded. You see, the thing about an RPG such as Final Fantasy VII is that behind each boss encounter (or just a new, harder enemy) is an assumption, made by the game, that you are at a high-enough level to defeat it. The thing is, if you're impatient like me and don't have time for grinding, or poking in holes for secrets, you won't be half as developed as you need to be...and so it stops being fun. So how is Chocobo Tales different?

The answer is within the cards. As you progress, exploring hidden areas, completing minigames and talking to people, you earn cards that represent attacks and spells that can be used in battle. The properties of each card determine it's effect in battle; some cards freeze an opponent, some heal you, some do straightforward attacks, etc. Your opponent has cards of it's own, however, and so each battle is an unashamed rock-paper-scissors battle, albeit one with many elements and variables. Succeed and the story develops, fail and you get kicked out and have the chance to try again (a welcome feature for a handheld game; no-one wants to die and then have to go through tedious plot exposition they've already seen before getting back to the battle.)

The set-in-stone properties of the cards, combined with the quick restarts, means that you can endlessly retry a battle, experimenting with different hands and decks so as to see how much success you have, and how your opponent's attacks are affecting your revised hand. For once, it's a game where accumulation of power and experience means nothing, and resourcefulness with the tools you have is the key to victory. Sure, you still have to accumulate these cards somehow, but this just means participating in minigames and doing a little bit of exploration: no bad thing. Let me stress again though; this is the first time in an RPG where I've actually looked forward to the battles, where I've been eager to go and get obliterated by an enemy and then, fresh with the knowledge of their hand and attacks, set up an effective counter-offensive, and a plan that actually works. Despite the dodgy dialogue and occasional ill-devised minigame, I think that if more RPGs took an approach to combat that revolved around resourcefulness and experimentation rather than grinding away, or second-guessing an opponent's strengths, I might learn to love the genre a little more.

2007-06-13T19:10:00.000+01:00

WEB/CULTURE

Deplorable Media

Why? Answer me that. It was a question that popped into my head about five minutes before I sat down to start writing this waste of your time and mine. Over sixteen of my years have been spent chasing the dream, and now that I'm living it, what's left?

Let me explain. In late 1990 I was introduced to the world of gaming journalism thanks to Commodore Format. Even today it remains a wonderful example of informative, entertaining and unique writing, but back then I adored the deconstruction of every great game, every rubbish one. Little wonder that one of my ill-fated dreams would be to follow in the footsteps of my idols and write something that the world is able to see.

Twelve years later, I wrote my first review for a web site, and I enjoyed every moment of doing so. I was critiquing what was at the time one of my favouritest games ever and so I poured my heart into detailing what was so brilliant about it, because I wanted the world to know about how good this title was. In hindsight, my views were somewhat shallow and short-sighted, but that's not the point; the point is that I was taking full advantage of the web's ability to get one man's voice out to the world.

But what next? Well, eventually I would write for my first webzine, and again I delighted in telling everybody about how good game x or game y was. But there was something more: as the reserve of favourite games got shallower, I was forced to look at games I had missed out on in the past (it was an 8-bit retro 'zine and so I had plenty of downloadable games and emulators at my disposal.) I saw this as a new opportunity for myself: an opportunity to gain a greater understanding of a history, and experience the best and worst games; the famous names and the overlooked gems. It was a fascinating time...eventually I had documented my thoughts on a little slice of gaming's past - or rather, the slice I was most interested in.

I've offered to help out many other sites between then and now. I know how easy it is to get your opinion online. I know that the web has enabled me to live the dream. And yet, whilst it's all been good fun, this evening one thought made me question my motives thus far: "I'm here, now what?" You see, the dream has now been lived. What's left? Am I just going through the motions; is the hobby becoming a job? I think a bit of self-discovery's in order; to find out why I love writing about gaming, surely I must consider why gaming is worth writing about. Sure, that opens the whole "why play?" can of worms, but thinking about it, that's a can I've always been tempted by...

qazimod

2007-06-10T13:24:00.001+01:00

WEB/CULTURE

Forza Motorsport 2 is go!

And I've alredy got some sponsorship...

2007-06-07T20:15:00.000+01:00

Man vs. Microsoft.

Simple bit of advice: If Microsoft detect that your 360 has been modified, even though it hasn’t, just follow these simple and hassle free procedures in order to get your Live account back. It is exactly the measures Desktop Support Technician Craig Stewart had taken before Microsoft finally decided to take a look at his console.

1) Spend over eight hours phoning customer support, talking to brick walls and call-queue-voiceovers.
2) Send over 15 Emails to the very same support centre, who’ll, in turn, advise you to call them.
3) Repeat Step One for a few more hours.
4) Contact a Barrister, one that understands consoles.
5) Get the barrister to contact Peter Moore.
6) Wait for Peter more to suggest taking a look at the console.
7) Wait for Microsoft to get cold feet on the idea, and refuse to look at your console.
8) Repeat steps 1-4, going slightly psycho in the process.
9) Compile indisputable evidence that your console hasn’t been modified.
10) Contact the press.

And that’s all it takes.

Please remember to pen this down in your 360 manual, because Microsoft’s detection system appears to be so paranoid that even if a DVD/RW so much as brushes along next to the console, you’re banned.

Here’s Mr Stewart’s compelling evidence.

2007-06-05T09:04:00.001+01:00

GAMES

Re: Dream come true?

Inspired by Qaz's Dreamcast post...

It's definitely a possibility. After all, there are new Neo Geo games released to this day, alongside the occasional Dreamcast shooter, and even Vectrex multi-game compilations. If the machine and code etc are released to homebrew developers, and there's a big enough market, games will always be made.

The only flaw is the increasing number of retro games available on next-gen machines. Certainly my own retro collection gets less attention now I can have a blast of Jet Pac or Defender on the Xbox 360, rather than having to dig out the Spectrum.

But I agree that the name and image of a console has a lot to do with the level of fandom. Sega was the cooler, more edgy and more adult brand, when just up against Nintendo. Until Sony joined. But Sony became too mainstream, and Microsoft became seen as the hardcore console for those with broadband.

And like all the greatest icons (James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain), Sega's hardware arm died young, and left a beautiful corpse (If a little mangled by the 32X, Mega CD debacles). It would be interesting to know how many people would actively seek out a Sega branded console if one appeared now, let alone one produced by a third party...

2007-06-01T20:14:00.001+01:00

GAMES/CULTURE

Dream come true?

I'd like to put a hypothetical scenario across to all the DC nuts who still think that Sega's console is the best thing since sliced bread and that no other console has, or ever will, better it. This isn't going to be the obvious rant about hating/loving a piece of hardware rather than it's individual software offerings - I've gone through that enough times with the PSP - instead, I'm curious as to how important the Dreamcast brand is to these fans when compared to the architecture, design, and specifications of the machine.

My scenario is simple:

Sega are still publishing software for other formats, but in this scenario they hold the rights/patent/whatever you want to call it to the Dreamcast name, brand, architecture. However, one day a smart entrepreneur with a few billion to burn realises that people still obsess over the machine to this day. Since Sega aren't doing anything with their Dreamcast rights, the entrepreneur buys the architecture rights. It doesn't matter to Sega, because any sort of return to the hardware market would get the jism of the Sega fanboys flowing, and so they are more than happy to make the sale.

Meanwhile, this entrepreneur has a business to be starting. After much organisation of his labour and resources, this guy's got Dreamcast hardware coming off the factory line by the minute; he's more than ready to start branding and marketing. And herein lies the catch: since he never bought the rights to the Dreamcast name or brand, he has to release his console - a console with identical specifications to the Dreamcast (a week after launch, enterprising hackers were able to break the system so that it runs Dreamcast games in addition to its own) - under a name of his choosing. Would you buy it?

You see, I think that if people really loved the Dreamcast for it's hardware and games (rather than the fact that it's a Sega machine and they get geek kudos whenever they tell someone how much they love it), they wouldn't care what it was called, or who made it. But how many people would genuinely be willing to accept the kind of scenario I have outlined?

qazimod

2007-05-22T13:52:00.000+01:00

GAMES/ONLINE

Halo 33 1/3

Having persevered through the crashing and dropping out, I'm a little underwhelmed by Halo 3 in multiplayer.

The weapons are OK, although the Spartan Laser is useless in my hands. As is the Missile Pod. But I'm a bit fan of the Battle Rifle, and the new Mongoose quad.

But until I see single player, the jury is out. Things feel OK in multiplayer, but they always did. And already the same old faces are grouping together in lobbies, both to hang out, and avoid any spawn killers, high-pitched kids, or trash-talkers (Mainly, but not exclusively American still).

I realise they couldn't redesign the golden calf with hands and opposable thumbs, but the biggest change appears to be the fact you can't chat to your friends in game, because every time you try and press the D-Pad to communicate, you get shot. So if you like sniping out from the distance, or you're the VIP in 'Protect the VIP', then you spend 5-10 minutes at on your own.

On the bright side, I've managed to get another 50 Orbs in Crackdown, and killed some mroe bosses.

2007-05-17T16:00:00.000+01:00

GAMES

Halo 3 beta: first impressions

"It's like Halo 1/2, but a bit sharper."

Okay, so I haven't been playing it for that long, but there's more than a hint of familiarity when you first spawn. The map is a reasonable size, visuals are a bit less blurry than previous Halos, and there are one or two interesting new items, but it isn't going to be much of a shock to the system if you're familiar with previous Halo multiplayer things. No doubt extended play will reveal some interesting subtleties, but at the moment it seems like a bit of a remix of older Halo excellence.

Which, by the way, is no bad thing.

qazimod

2007-05-17T13:53:00.000+01:00

GAMES

Halo 3 nonchalance: part two

There's nothing better than getting to play Halo 3 a day late.

At least I'd imagine that's the case. Unfortunately, having other commitments, I'd arranged for last night to be clear to indulge myself in gaming.

Now that I can finally download the thing, I've got so much stuff to do, it'll be June before I get a spare night.

*insert swear word of your choice here*

Badger

2007-05-16T22:01:00.000+01:00

GAMES

Halo 3 nonchalance: part one

Am I the only one?

Am I the lone voice that actually is more excited about the upcoming Forza Motorsport 2 launch, than the Halo 3 Beta tonight? And that's assuming I can actually download the thing.

That's despite me buying an Xbox for Halo, and being in a supermarket at midnight for Halo 2. And that's even despite the fact a good friend even bought Crackdown for me today, as he didn't want me to miss the Beta!

The reason? Look at any of the threads of Bungie.net... Those same guys will be online tonight, and I'll want to strangle them all.

Badger

2007-05-16T19:04:00.000+01:00

GAMES

Crackdown: more complete than the Halo 3 beta

Mm...all gang members dead and nothing left but a peaceful city and a few hundred agility orbs...at least it felt a bit more productive than idle thumb-twiddling. Speaking of thumb-twiddling, my Guitar Hero II order is scheduled to be available for me to pick up tomorrow; here's hoping it doesn't suffer from the kind of delays plaguing Bungie's endeavour...

qazimod

2007-05-14T19:02:00.000+01:00

PRESS

Feeding off a PDF's lifeforce

It's not hard to see the advantages that browser-based opinion has over downloadable opinion; just go to a well-disciplined forum, perhaps with a tight-knit base of passionate frequent posters, and you can get not only all the latest news, updated by the minute, but coverage from dozens of different viewpoints, each one having the potential - just like additional external news that might surface during the discussion - to influence the others and frequently evolve the discussion.

In contrast, with a PDF you run the risk of getting outdated news in something that's released once every few months, containing coverage from half a dozen people about much less material, thus potentially dissuading those who don't care about the topics covered by said material. No-one likes specialist cliques, and it can be a bit dispiriting when you announce a new issue and wonder how many people have actually remembered that you exist.

For clarification, I'm talking about pre-Disposable endeavours here - since the webby side of DM is still under internal discussion it's not open for comparison here - I once spent time writing for a PDF 'zine where I churned out dozens of reviews before I saw the finished PDF; by the time Issue 1 was released I probably had enough content for issues 2-4. Meanwhile, nearly every online thing I've helped out with has been wonderfully efficient; since the production time is a lot quicker, there's a lot less pressure to get things right. PDFs can take forever to make in terms of getting the layouts right, and getting enough material to fill the kind of page counts that don't exist on blogs and HTML 'zines is a nuisance that shouldn't - and doesn't - have to be tolerated. Web sites have a lot less boundaries, and so it's important to make the most of the opportunities this presents, or else you might as well stick to your unwieldy, arcane PDFs.

qazimod

2007-05-09T22:33:00.000+01:00

GAMES

Fans of the Chief, keep 'em peeled...

So I've been recently checking that my disc of Crackdown still works after many weeks of inactivity (because it went through a nasty period of freezing up all the time and so I didn't bother trying to play it), mainly because next week sees the opening of the Halo 3 beta. Obviously, this is significant news for many people, and fingers crossed you'll see some coverage of how good/bad it is somewhere in Disposable's network of...stuff.

In the meantime, why not enjoy issue seven of the magazine? Launched only the other day and with details here, it's solid proof that we haven't been scratching our arses all this time (or, in my case, spending more time here at Blogger than I am with the PDF 'zine. Ooops...)

qazimod

2007-05-02T19:02:00.000+01:00

MINIATURE REVIEW TYPE THING

Hotel Dusk (revisited)

The other day I mentioned that I'd been playing Hotel Dusk: Room 215 for the Nintendo DS; well, that game has been completed now, so I suppose I might as well deliver a more substantial opinion.

Yes, it's very similar to Phoenix Wright in places. For most of the game you will go from location to location examining the area and acquiring items and evidence. You'll open up new locations as the story progresses. You'll meet people at these locations and may be able to talk to them (some conversations opening up new topics to talk about, granting access to new areas, or resulting in new inventory items), and you can show these people any of the items you've already acquired in your inventory. Sometimes in these conversations you'll have to show people the right item or say the right thing, or else you'll be penalised. Any of this sound familiar?

If you think about it, the only real differences are that HD is a bit more technologically advanced (with 3D environments and many more varied interactive minigames), and Phoenix Wright has more wit, as well as "evolving" a lot faster - it's not until the final moments of Dusk that the game throws up multiple "succeed or else" challenges containing many questions and generally being much craftier than it's been in the other chapters; Wright's difficulty curve is a standard 45 degree angle compared to Hotel Dusk, which stays near to flat for most of the nine chapters, then climbs very rapidly as it reaches the end.

If you're willing to accept that the Phoenix Wright games are a decidedly hard act to follow, and can therefore forgive Dusk when it sometimes seems substandard, then it's well worth getting hold of. Also, whilst the mechanics of the games are very similar, the writing is obviously completely different (a different cast, different character histories to learn...) and so it's very important that you enjoy Dusk's writing for what it is, instead of subconsciously comparing it to Wright's.

Anyway, I've rambled on enough for now. Expect a proper review in the next DM, perhaps. Until then, see you.

qazimod

2007-04-28T15:33:00.000+01:00

GAMES

Microgames, interactive stories and rock

Today has already proven to be quite eventful. Whilst I have recently been disheartened at the fact that it's still impossible to find Guitar Hero II on shelves anywhere in the gaming (GAME, ePlay) and entertainment stores (HMV, Virgin) around town, I decided that it'd be best for me to just make a reservationy order thingy, and so - thanks to the helpful folk at Woolworths - I should be rocking in a matter of weeks. I can't wait.

My habit of purchasing more handhelds than I need got the better of me too - I spotted a GB Micro going for about £30 and snapped it up, even though I already own a DS. The theory is that it'll spur me on to repurchase all those GBA titles I sold to originally finance my DS. The reality? I bought it because it's cute. And cheap.

Finally, in a little follow up to the Wright cross-examination a couple of posts down, I'm currently enjoying Hotel Dusk: Room 215, another "retrograde formula with dated mechanics confined to a linear path"; hmm. Anyway, the atmosphere in the game is really likeable, and even the mini-puzzles are enjoyable, despite being a bit throwaway at times.

So, yeah. I've got plenty to keep me busy until GHII arrives, and so I'll doubtless have more to say shortly; see you then.

qazimod

2007-04-25T17:13:00.000+01:00

GAMES

Dilemma at the arcade

So I recently bought a new MSPoints card so that I could get the full version of Boom Boom Rocket at the Marketplace, and now I'm wondering what I should do with the rest of my points - hold out for greater things, or make up for my late entrance into the new generation by purchasing older titles?

I was very tempted to download Disposable's very own 360 Special Edition to remind myself about what I wrote in my Live Arcade feature, but that would be incredibly vain, wouldn't it? For the moment I think I'll just wait and see what's around the corner...

qazimod

PS: if you're wondering why the Wii Special Edition isn't on the site's sidebar...stop being picky. There's a link right there on the front page. Besides, we'll prolly be switching to Wordpress or something soon. Er.

2007-04-18T17:12:00.000+01:00

GAMES

So wrong...and yet so Wright...

Like Disposable, you're probably a fan of Capcom's excellent Phoenix Wright games on the DS and, previously, the GBA (oh, and there was a release on the PC, too, but that's another story.) I finished a mini review of Justice For All a few weeks ago and if all goes well it should make it into Issue 7 of the magazine. However, since this place is a deserted wasteland and I'm using my other Blogger haunt as a lab for my "five-word-opinion" experiments, I'd like to use this space to ramble about where the games succeed and where they, er, don't.

Immediately, at least, Phoenix Wright is a series that's easy to dislike. It's a retrograde formula that meanders along a linear path, with simple audio, scant animation and dated mechanics of item manipulation and conversation. It's impossible to deviate from what the developers want you to do without wasting time or being punished, and there are times when the trials and Psyche-Locks can, at best, have you second-guessing the developer's intentions and, at worst, have you abusing the ability to save anywhere as you try every option available until you succeed.

I liken it to Final Fantasy VII: I love that game, but I mostly love it for it's story, characters, and evocative locations. Why? Because it's gameplay is, being brutally honest, a series of conversations (and maybe the odd minigame) bookended by dozens of random, turn-based, tiresome battles. Battles that, being the hopeless case that I am, I can only win by first going to the World map and beginning a long grind to the point were my adversary is a walkover. It's the equivalent of Wright's game-save abuse.

I think that games don't necessarily have to be delightful and immediate in order to be rewarding; Wright's more detail-heavy scenarios only serve to make the game a more thought-provoking experience. At the most basic level, this can be seen by the fact that, in so many cases, the real culprit uses a misleading personality to hide their true self (Dolores Willow, April May.) Further cases then build the complexity up to a point where the finale is as headache-inducing as it is ingenious, and the revelation of the truth is nearly always a fitting reward for the hours you spent trying to out-crazy the solutions you were dreaming up: proof that retrograde formulas with dated mechanics confined to linear paths have their place in gaming.

qazimod

2006-03-30T04:42:00.000+01:00

GIG REVIEW

Graham Coxon, with Duels and One Reunion Sq.
Manchester Ritz, Monday 28th March 2006

It's always the quiet ones that surprise you in the end. Shy, retiring, NHS specs-wearing Graham Coxon, formerly second fiddle lead guitar in Blur, has only thrown his glasses to the floor (quite literally, twice) and become a punk rocker! Who'd have known that the dark edgy sounds the Britpop wonders delved into in their later albums was this man's influence? Well, anyone who's listened to his two solo albums since he quit, I'd imagine, but I have to confess I wasn't one of those people.

First of all, it has to be said, the Ritz is an amazing venue. Known best for its spring loaded dancefloor (perfect for disco dancing) the acoustics were crystal clear, you could actually see the sounds being made before your eyes, which sounds silly but doesn't happen very often in gigland. The balcony brought a touch of OC style Bait-shop casuality, and the chilled out, comfortable atmosphere suited nicely.

Graham's bass player opened on acoustic guitar, trading as One Reunion Square, and wasn't that bad. Some nice songs, good guitar-man-ship, but you know how it is with support bands, no one else was paying attention, and he didn't do much to grab mine.

Duels were on second, and were, quite frankly, excellent. Quite unsubtle hints of Pulp, epic pop almost like The Dears except less Britpop influenced than Britpop evolved. Nice sharp suits and a nice strong drummer (in many senses of the phrase). Armed with an album sampler on sale for a quid and a free badge if you signed up for the mailing list, I can now call myself a Duels fan. Would happily go see them headline. Watch out for the singles and the choruses though, not as good as the other songs or the verses respectively.

Mr Coxon himself, well... There were all the 'Bittersweet bundles of misery' that you'd expect from the author of Coffee & TV - nice, lovely, boppy, summer songs to go with his nice, lovely album all about love. However, it was the 1976 punk that got me listening - that dancefloor isn't all that bad for moshing on either as it turns out. The Clash-esque obscurist cd tracks inbetween bands were starting to make a little bit more sense as you began to wonder whether it was Graham's own record collection they chose from. The closing song, not Freakin' Out, or Standing on my Own Again, (fine pop songs though they are) but a visceral, pumping shout-out about how much life sucks and then you die, with squealing, choppy guitars and crowd-surfing goths. And to end it all, a cheeky smile, glasses back on and a shy nod goodbye.

brought to you by your roving rocking reporter, Rachel (who loves alliteration and shall be bringing more gig reviews, comics judgements and the occasional rant, forthwith)

2006-03-27T08:27:00.000+01:00

ARCHIVES

Freeware: Gunroar

Picked up from the old boards: an Issue 1 freeware article that never was...

"Ask a passionate gamer to list some of the finest homebrew developers whose work should be the first to be downloaded by homebrew virgins, and there's a chance that one of the names to drop off their tongue would be Kenta Cho of ABA Games, especially if shooters are the focus of the discussion: The developer has created plenty of polished and exhilerating shooters in the past - TUMIKI Fighters, rRootage and Torus Trooper to name but three - and at the time of writing Gunroar is one of his latest releases: if you hadn't guessed, it's a shooter as well..."

Read the full story here

qazimod

2006-03-20T15:20:00.000Z

GAMES/TECH

Download play: making demographic-chasing child's play

One of the clever things The Sims is able to do in order to guarantee financial success is to theme it's world around a new demographic with every expansion pack. So people are into metal? Fine, release The Sims: Rockin' Out. Everyone's watching - I don't know - American crime dramas on Sky? Time to develop The Sims: Whodunnit? It's effortless, and yet it could become even more effortless with new X360 services that, if Allard is to be believed, stream new content directly to the hard drive whilst the game is being played. Sure, we're not likely to see a Sims on the 360, but something like Tony Hawks could keep up with the kidz by streaming the latest angst-metal to your big white box (for a small fee, I guess), or Epic's US offices could track a US war film's journey to UK shores so that army camo skin downloads for Gears of War are published in time to coincide with the hypothetical film's release. It'd be like releasing lots of cheap expansion packs over short periods of time; perhaps not something people want, but still something that's feasible.

Hell, it could happen to PC owners as well: just look at Valve's Steam service: if it weren't for the downloads being manually activated, they could partake in "chase the demographic" as well. We'd leave Half-Life 2 alone for a few weeks because there's a new series of 24 on, and by the time we return we're foiling terrorists and being paranoid about our co-workers. I just see it being a more likely scenario for the console kids. Maybe there's a future DM feature in this...

qazimod

2006-03-16T22:19:00.000Z

MUSIC REVIEW
By BlinkyBear

MOGWAI, MR. BEAST (2006)
The last couple of Mogwai albums have well and truly established the band's sound. The arrival of a new album therefore brings with it a degree of understanding and not just regarding the quiet/loud dynamic that the band have perfected over the last 10 years. Mr. Beast therefore, is somewhat revelatory, not because it sounds different, but because structurally it is a marked difference. The LP is unusually short, just XX in length which for a Mogwai LP is brief. Very brief. This however, is not a bad thing. Mr. Beast is a refined piece of work, tight, concise and still with the emotional weight that Mogwai punch, Mr. Beast is terrifyingly focused, full of anger, stiring beauty and tight, punchy ideas. In many respects it is Mogwai’s most cohesive work, full of ideas and thoughts, cleverly realised and seemingly effortlessly brilliant.
5/5

2006-03-14T13:13:00.000Z

RANDOM

The games (and music) we play

Idea! We can use the faster publishing of blogs (compared to magazines that take weeks to create and then spiral past their deadlines) to talk about the brilliant media that all you lot are buying. Off to ChartTrack to check out the games!

TOP 40 ENTERTAINMENT SOFTWARE (ALL PRICES), WEEK ENDING 11 March 2006

1. FIFA STREET 2

On second thoughts...I can't think of anything good to say about that. Never mind, what's happening in the world of music? Let's find out from HMV: the winner is...

Oh Christ. No comment.

qazimod

2006-03-11T16:07:00.000Z

ONLINE; Freeware
by Qazimod

Tsubushi (Kenka Bancho)

Some things simply defy explanation - to play is the only way to see.
http://jp.shockwave.com/games/arcade/shooting/tsubushi/play.html

2006-03-10T12:50:00.000Z

ONLINE

METAL GEAR AWESOME!

Disposable loves DeviantArt. Expect to see many a lovely Deviant Artist getting props on this blog as well as the magazine, but today I bring a lovely little link for a Flash movie done by a Deviant. Metal Gear Awesome is a truly funny flash movie that satirese Metal Gear Solid. Featuring some wonderful one liners, some impressively tight jump cuts and some excellent voice work, this gem of a movie will quickly find it's way about the internet, much to the hilarity of all who see it. So get in there first before your mates do in a attempt to look super cool, have a watch and be genuinely suprised at the quality of it.

http://ic1.deviantart.com/fs9/f/2006/053/4/f/metalgeartest.swf

Laters,
BlinkyBear

2006-03-09T14:02:00.001Z

Well hello to you there!
This is a Blog. Yeah, we know, another one.
This one's different though. Honest.
This blog you see, is an offshoot of Disposable Media, the all encompassing, uh, Media magazine. If you're yet to read, take a look at disposablemedia.co.uk We cover all sorts, but mainly VideoGames, Music, Art, Film and Comics. The point of this blog therefore, is to cover things that we just can't in the magazine itself.
So then, expect to find here short nuggets of joy, wisdom and often nonesense about anything we notice and we think is worth telling you about. They'll be a few of us on here, so exepct some differing opinions, but if you like what we do or what we say, have a look at the magazine.

Cheers,
BlinkyBear