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Showing posts from May, 2022

Hellblade Review: A Descent Into Madness

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  Story In an attempt to reclaim the soul of her dead lover (Dillion) from the goddess Hela, Senua - a  Pict warrior, battles her way to Helheim. Along the way she must overcome various trials and defeat otherworldly representations of Northmen while resisting the "Rot" - a black substance that will consume her soul if she does not rescue Dillion in time. Senua finds Dillion sacrificed "Blood Eagle" style and holds onto his head as a vessel for his soul. Hellblade is an ambitious game that attempts to replicate, through it's audio and visuals, what it is like to experience psychosis. Hellblade is stressful to play by design. Everything, including a few strategically placed white lies, such as the Rot spreading with each death , are meant to elicit anxiety in the player; to make the player feel what Senua is going through. The world distorts, cracks, burns and bleeds. Voices fade in and out or encircle Senua, giving voice to her fears and inner thoughts.   The ga

Music to Level Up Your Day: Witcher III

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I don't know much about musical theory, nor am I a musically inclined person. However, I do love to listen to video game soundtracks. Who doesn't? They can be a powerful listening experience in their own right, or be as evocative as the scores composed for film. Each of these posts will feature music tracks from a single game title, or series/franchise in some rare cases. Composer: Marcin Przybyłowicz Singer: Percival, RED Witches North American Release Date: May 2015 Geralt of Rivia, a famed Witcher (monster hunter for hire), sets out in search of his adopted daughter, who is on the run from the otherworldly Wild Hunt. Eventually the two realize that the Hunt will never stop, and so Ciri and Geralt decide to fight the huntsmen at a time and place of their choosing Marcin Przybyłowicz used gadulka, suka, gusli and rebec to accentuate the game's slavic themes. Self taught slavic folk musicians were also employed, but because they couldn't read sheet music, they had to

Code: Realize ~Future Blessings~ Review: Slice of Life

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  Future Blessings is a "fan" disk"; basically additional scenarios and adventures with the cast from the main game. It is not a sequel per se, but you will want to have played Guardian of Rebirth first or the content in Future Blessings will not mean as much to you.   The main draw is a "White Rose" option that contains five "After Stories" - two to three hour long character arcs for each of the original cast members: Arsène Lupin, Abraham Van Helsing, Victor Frankenstein, Impey Barbicane, and Count Saint-Germain. They are self-contained stories that have no common route, choices or multiple endings, so they can be completed in any order. The stories all take place exactly one year after Guardian of Rebirth (the first game) and do a good job of further exploring the characters and their relationship with Cardia: Arsène Lupin: His poker face makes it difficult to express to Cardia how he feels, and Cardia tries to unpack what her father Isaac means t

Music to Level Up Your Day: Monster Hunter World

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I don't know much about musical theory, nor am I a musically inclined person. However, I do love to listen to video game soundtracks. Who doesn't? They can be a powerful listening experience in their own right, or be as evocative as the scores composed for film. Each of these posts will feature music tracks from a single game title, or series/franchise in some rare cases. Composer: Akihiko Narita, Zhenlan Kang North American Release Date: January 2018 A seasoned Hunter travels to the New World as part of the Fifth Fleet to assist the Research Commission there. Of particular interest to the Expedition is the study of Elder Dragons - powerful beasts that can affect entire ecosystems, and why they migrate to the New World every ten years. Driven by the Stars | (Main Theme) Vaal Hazak | (Elder Dragon Theme) Rotten Vale | (Area Theme) Bazelgeuse | (Monster Theme) Wildspire Waste | (Area Theme) Song of Guidance | (Credits Theme) "Every swing of your weap