Top 10 Kind-of-Last Gen Console Games

So, I very often knock on this generation of games for being one of the worst ever, being so COD-clone-centric, for doing a lot of bad and not much good for the industry as a whole. And while I stick by those claims, let's be positive for once. There are some great games that came out this generation, and I want to count down my ten favorite. Keep in mind that it's just games released on 360/PS3/Wii. I also don't own a PS3 or Wii so I haven't played games like Uncharted, Super Mario Galaxy, Heavy Rain, LittleBigPlanet, Red Steel, and the like. Though I plan to some day. Also, this is my FAVORITE. Not particularly the best. Skyrim is a marvelous creation, but I honestly got bored of it after about 20 hours. Anyway, list!

10. Portal 2 - Yeah, when I first played this I thought it'd easily make this list. Portal 2 doubles the already astounding humor that the first game has. It also adds new mechanics and a co-op portion. Unfortunately, I don't own Portal 2 so I've never had the full experience with it. The single player is good fun, but the original and sequel, as far as gameplay, is one of those games I have to be in the thinking mood for. This alone bumps it down a little as most of the others I can pick up at any time. I also feel like the puzzles themselves aren't done quite as well as they were in the original Portal. Some of them are great, but a lot are either insultingly easy or ridiculously hard, and there's no consistency in said difficulty. It just flies around aimlessly. I know it's much longer than the original, but this subtracts a lot from the overall experience. Also, when I rented it, I had no one to play it with, so I haven't tried the awesome-looking co-op, so as a personal experience, it gets no points for that. I love this game, but it's not consistently fun enough as a game to be any higher than it is. Also, Wheatley is the shit, a little moreso even than GLaDOS

9. Fable III - This is often considered the "Dark Horse" of the Fable franchise. I don't know how much this being my first in the series has to do with my fondness for it. I honestly haven't played the first game and while I own Fable II, I've been putting off playing it forever. I was a big fan of the world itself. It felt big without making you trudge for hours to get anywhere. I also enjoyed a lot of the characters, as well as the humor. There's some seriously hilarious dialogue in the game. It's very "British" and sometimes outright rips off Monty Python, which I'm totally alright with, especially when John Cleese is actually in the game. The voice-acting is also expert as some of the most prominent British actors of the last few decades lend their talents to the characters, including the aforementioned John Cleese, Stephen Fry, Naomie Harris,Bernard Hill, Simon Pegg, and even Ben Kingsley. Anyway, the story is honestly on the simple side, you're a hero destined to bring about a revolution in your downtrodden kingdom. It doesn't need to be complex though, as the game does a solid job of creating the desire to create change. Also, you can choose the kind of leader you become through many different means. The combat is fluid and the button scheme is well-done, but in larger battles, it does get repetitive. Overall, it's not the best action-RPG I've played, but it's very enjoyable with a lot of extra content to make it last a while after you purchase it. And you can get it new for under 12 bucks on Amazon now. So yeah, well worth the price of a Starbucks coffee or two.

8. Brutal Legend - You won't see this on many top tens, unfortunately. It's more of a personal-taste pick. I mean they all are, but this caters to a far more specific taste than i think any other on my list. This game combines three things I love: Tim Schafer, Pick of Destiny, and strategy games. Brutal Legend takes place in a sprawling, colorful half-fantasy, half-heavy metal world. As the Jack Black-voiced Eddie Riggs, You lead another rebellion, though this time against a supernaturally-powerful 80's Glam Metal reject played by Judas Priest lead singer, Rob Halford. You're aided by the likes of Lita Ford, Lemmy Kilimister, actually Halford-looking Rob Halford, and Ozzy Osbourne as well as other not rock stars to free the land from oppression, tyranny, and borderline extinction. All the actors do a good job and get some really funny dialogue courtesy of Shafer's legendary writing. The action is a mix of hack-and-slash and real-time strategy. In battles, you move troops and build forts with the goal of taking out the opponent's main hub. But you can also jump in as Eddie and tear through the opposition or do battle with the enemy leader for periods of time. There are also car-chase sequences and battles, as well as mini-games, making sure the game never gets old. Oh, and the soundtrack, so damn good. Some of the best and most under-appreciated artists in metal are represented, and I've found myself just driving around listening to the music.

7. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots - I honestly have only played this game once, and it was a few years ago, so I apologize if my representation isn't completely accurate. As I've stated, I never owned a PS3, but I rented this when I was visiting family for a couple weeks and powered through it while they were out of the house. Anyway, I think this game is just about on par with the first three games in the series. The gameplay is totally polished this time around, the environments look amazing, and are varied. The story, though even a bit more over-the-top than usual, is as epic and grand as ever. It's definitely very different at the same time. As opposed to the usual mid-war espionage, it's more of a post-war, well, espionage. You travel through war-torn and hostile environments. In certain areas, you're just another guy not wearing the right uniform. I think this helps balance the stealth-survival missions a bit more. It's a little more common that you'll have to whip out your gun and thankfully, the aiming is better than past games. The bosses are always the highlight of MGS and they go all out here. I think it's the most solid lineup since the original, and every one is a total mindfuck with a crazy backstory and a unique challenge in the fight itself. Overall, this one stands right with the first three games and is worth the admission at release, yet alone its current price.

6. Saints Row 2 - I love the Saints Row series. The first was a great change of pace from the GTA formula. Simplistic in story, fun, over-the-top action, and astounding humor. Saints Row 2 basically took everything that was great about the first game and made it better. The controls are better the story's better, the gameplay is even more fun, and it's bigger. To avoid spoilers, you're now in a position of power within the gang you joined in the first game. To regain control of the city, you'll do everything from shoot tanks with a rocket launcher from a helicopter, to gunfights with strippers, to participating in a demolition derby. All the characters are more fleshed out, both on your side and the others, making it more satisfying when you take them down. There are also many mini-games strewn about, such as ones involving rescuing hoes from their pimps and running in the street trying to get fucked up as badly as you can by as many vehicles as you can, just to sue the pricks. Overall, Saints Row 2 is one of the most fun experiences in gaming in a long time. I think Saints Row: The Third is great too, but it goes a bit heave on the ridiculous and doesn't strike quite the balance that this one does.

5. Batman: Arkham Asylum - Yep, Arkham ASYLUM, not City. You wanna know why? Well, I'll tell you why!! I haven't really played Arkham City yet. Yeah, it's still on my to-do list. Until then, I honestly can't say it's better. But that's ok, because I love this game. The atmosphere is absolutely perfect. The story is one of Batman's best, and every villain is executed well. Arkham does stealth magnificently, making it simple but not without effort, and non-essential, but beneficial and enjoyable enough to actually do, where a lot of stealth games make it so it's a lot easier to just gun everyone down. Not to mention how satisfying the stealth kills are. That being said however, there are times you have to fight, and luckily the fights are really enjoyable too. They're fast-paced brawls where Batman can leap from opponent to opponent, clearing a crowd in no time at all. It also features a solid, precision counter mechanic and free reign to escape and use bat-stuff against your opponents. The ending is, while fun, kind of stupid from the perspective of consistency within the story, but I don't make nearly as big a deal about it as most people do. It doesn't make the experience any less enjoyable. Also, I'd but Mark Hamill's Joker, especially in this game, against Heath Ledger's any day.

4. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings - Honestly, if I hadn't purchased this more recently and had more time with it, this game would probably be higher, maybe even pushing for number one. Which, if you know me, and you see my number one, you'll know is downright blasphemous. The story of not just your main character, but the world around him is rich and engrossing. The actual world is huge and beautiful, the battles are strategic yet fast and fluid, not to mention difficult as balls, and the voice-acting, dialogue, and musical score are epic, and the game is full of things to do, places to see, people to meet, and enemies to fight. The whole thing is almost perfectly-crafted. The only thing holding it back for me is the fact that I haven't seen half of what there is to see and I have fuller experiences with literally everything else on the list.

3. Grand Theft Auto IV - As much as I love the direction that Volition took the GTA experience in with Saints Row, as far as a full experience, Rockstar definitely made the bigger and better game. The main character, Nico's story is deep and full of turmoil, the city is huge and vibrant, as well as extremely reminiscent of New York City itself, at least from my limited knowledge. The controls are smoother, there's a lot more to do, the characters are more fleshed out, and I honestly think the humor that is there is made even better when contrasted with the often serious tone. The plot takes many twists and turns, and you could honestly play this game forever and never actually finish it. Also, sit down and watch some of the made-up shows they have. They're fucking amazing. It's little details like those that make GTA IV the standout, not just in its genre, but in the entire series for me.

2. Dragon Age: Origins - I absolutely adore BioWare. Pre-Dragon Age II, every RPG they made was pure gold. Baldur's Gate I and II, Neverwinter Nights, Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire, the first Mass Effect, they were deities of Role-Playing Games. I honestly didn't play Origins until about a year and a half after it came out. I can honestly say that was a big mistake. I missed out on one of the best RPG's to come out in a long time, especially one of the best on consoles at least. Dragon Age takes place in a large, medieval-style world of mages, elves, , trolls, dwarves, trolls, dragons, and the many of the other tropes. That's about where the originality ends though. The game follows you and your group of companions as one of the last two surviving members of an organization charged with vanquishing an ancient evil that's threatening to rise again to conquer your country and eventually the world. The world is rich, the characters are unique and the dialogue and moral choices you can make keep the game interesting and new through multiple palythroughs, and the story goes a lot deeper than simply "kill the evil thing and win". Also, I believe this game is the smoothest transition of D&D rules to video games that I've ever seen.

1. Mass Effect 2 - Mass Effect is one of my favorite series' of all time. The only real debate I had for the number one spot was whether it'd be Mass Effect 1 or 2. As much as I love the first, Mass Effect 2 is honestly better in every way. It's bigger, the universe has more life to it, the characters are more fleshed out, you have a bigger cast, the stakes are higher, there are more side missions, higher stakes, and a lot of differences depending on what you did in the first game. All of this makes pretty much no playthrough exactly the same. Which is good, because you're insane if you only play this once. It's honestly the only game this year I played through more than twice, besides the first game. I've played through it about 5 1/2 times and I still love it. I'm still finding new story elements, and still having overall unique experiences. The entire trilogy is an absolute epic in storytelling, not just in gaming but in media as a whole. The entire universe is fleshed out, unique, with infinite possibilities. I'm definitely one of those that hates the ending to Mass Effect 3, but the trilogy as a whole is still more than worth investing your time into , multiple times, just for the journey itself. Mass Effect 2 is easily one of my favorite games of all time.

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Asura's Wrath Review

I know Friday is usually Top 10 Albums day, but I just posted one the other day, and I've been wanting to do this for a few weeks now. Asura's Wrath is a game I played the demo of before it even came out. I nearly shit my pants from all the awesome, but I didn't have the money to actually buy it, and after a while, I kind of forgot about it. So when Gamefly suggested it to me, I thrust it up to number one on my queue. And I have to say, I'm so glad I did.

As much as I knock on this generation of games, deservedly I might add, and as much as I hate what most of the big companies are doing in gaming today, the likes of Capcom being among the worst, I'm pleasantly astounded that they let this game come out and that they promoted it as much as they did. It's an extremely unique venture in gaming, and I'm glad the creators got pretty much free-reign from such a huge publisher to create an experience you won't find in any other game.

The developers, CyberConnect2 are among the more unheralded in gaming today. Responsible for the "cult classic" .hack game series as well as the acclaimed Naruto fighters, as well as almost completely unknown but fairly praised platformer Tail Concerto, and RPG Solatorobo: Red the Hunter, the former of which I've played and enjoyed. Anyway, they're known for high-action, anime-style games, sort of like a mini-Atlus. In this case, they created one of the most beautiful animes I've ever seen with a deep and inspiring story, and fun, interactive gameplay.

The best summary I've been able to conjure so far is that it's an odd combination of Dragon Ball Z, God of War,  and Shadow of the Colossus. In-battle, it's a traditional action-platformer camera, with your character in the middle of all the action, jumping and hacking away at crowds of enemies, with a fairly effective lock-on feature. The boss battle camera angle is similar to their Naruto games, over-the-back, and angled so your character's body doesn't obstruct your view of the environment or your enemy. It's a mix of fast-paced collisions and projectile-firing, mixed in the fray are, don't leave when I say this, quick-time events. The QTE's are actually interesting, they don't make themselves over-complicated, allowing you to enjoy the action itself, but the combinations keep you on your toes enough that you don't end up not interacting at all. I don't love them, but they're done better here than usual. Honestly, the boss battles are more like what Ultimate Tenkaichi should have been.

The graphics are so fucking stunning. It's one of the best looking "animes" I've seen. It's really backed by its over-the-top story and in-game cinematics  The first main boss you fight grows to about three or four times the size of the planet you're on, which is clearly modeled after earth. The story is all about betrayal and taking revenge on beings that, at the beginning of your journey, outclass you by leagues. Yeah, it sounds a good bit like God of War, except you were once one of them, and you have actual attachments to all of the major villains. Back to Dragon Ball Z, imagine Goku when he first fights Vegeta, going against a bunch of Super Saiyan 2's and 3's, and even a 4. Yeah, the gap starts that big. But even with the 8-10 hour length, it progresses well, believably n the context of the world, and it's really satisfying to see Asura grow throughout. Great character development, amazing visuals and action, backed by an amazing soundtrack by Chikayo Fukuda make for an amazing and engrossing world and leaves you begging for more, or for an actual anime series.

All in all, there are negatives about this game, but they're miniscule. The QTE's are well-done, but a bit on the heavy side. the battling is fun but one-dimensional control-wise, and it isn't very long. All of those are minor complaints and don't really water down an amazing experience. Asura's Wrath is one of my favorite games of the soon-dead console generation and is definitely worth at least a rental, if not a purchase at its reduced current price.

                            I'm sorry, but he looks like Marik Ishtar.
                                  He even has his own army of friggin' Steves.



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Xbox One... LMAO

So, I know it's a day late, but the Xbox One was finally announced yesterday. I figured it'd be fair to give a day for more of the info to come out, be confirmed or denied, etc. And I have to say, I'm glad I did. Because holy fucking balls, do I have a lot of ammo. So, let's get started!

First of all, look at that thing. Just look at it. Is that not the ugliest Betamax player you've ever seen? Which is fitting since they're so keen on you watching TV and movies on it instead of, I dunno, playing video games. Anyway, back to the design. It genuinely looks like someone took two Identical, small VCR's, flipped one over, and jammed them together. It's simplistic, but not in a good way. If it didn't have that little "x" at the end, no one would guess it's not an archaic (as far as the technology itself goes) DVD player. Also, I don't know about anyone else, but I think that controller looks uncomfortable. it's basically the original Xbox controller, which anyone agrees was too big, but with the handles extended to unnaturally-fitting proportions.

I honestly think they did this on purpose. They spend most of their reveal show talking about how much TV you can watch and how easily you can access the web. Microsoft has a fetish for creating media hubs. There's nothing wrong with that, but why does it have to be in out video game consoles. DVD players can't play video games, so why do gaming consoles need to play DVDs, Youtube, Skype, stream sporting events and the like. I don't know if you've heard of a thing called cable, or computers. Phones can Skype now, we don't need a "high-tech media system" to do that while we play a video game. Turn your damn computer on and set it down, it's not that inconvenient. And if you want to both play while you Skype, it'd still more accurate, because when you're in the same room, you usually see their side more than their face. So yeah, make a super cable box, don't bother putting a disc drive into it too.

That's the tip of the iceberg though, it gets worse. Let's see. Oh yeah, remember the days when the NES came out and everyone was so happy because they didn't have to input a code and wait for a game to install before playing it? Well, guess what! With the Xbox One, you have to input a code and wait for a game to install before playing it. Sounds like the PC, huh? But wait, there's more. After doing that, if you want to, say, take your game to your friend's house, or play it on the console of the sibling or significant other, or even roommate you share a place, as well as an internet connection with, you have to pay to install said game on their console too, not only that, you have to pay FULL RETAIL PRICE! So if you wanna play on another system, let someone borrow the game, you basically have to rebuy it. Which also means, good luck trading it in or buying it used, because it'll be the same as buying it new. This pretty much kills the used game market for the entire console.

So remember how everyone was afraid the new Xbox would be always online? Well, it's not, and it is. It's not what we expected, at least. The fear was that you'd have to be connected to play the games, online or off, similar to the new SimCity. But no, Microsoft took it one step further. You don't need to be online to play, but the system will force itself onto your connection, even after you turn it off. Searching for and downloading mandatory patches and updates constantly for your games. And if you don't have said updates? You can't play it. What's more, the pre-installed Kinect is always on too. Going Hal-9000 on your ass while you eat, sleep, and bone. All so you can yell "XBOX ON!" "XBOX PLAY CALL OF DUTY: SAME AS THE LAST ONE!" "XBOX ESPN!" XBOX YOUTUBE!" in the middle of your living room to get it to do anything, oh yeah, did I mention have of its functions are locked to the voice sensor?

A few more things real quick. You can't transfer your Marketplace purchases to the One, meaning you have to keep your 360 if you wanna play Super Meat Boy or Banjo-Kazooie. Not only that, no backwards compatibility. There aren't a whole lot of 360 games worth playing again, but it's still a feature that's rather simple nowadays, and is an obvious attempt to keep their old console selling. One more thing. That name is stupid. We have an "Xbox One". It's better than this piece of shit. The only positive things I can honestly say about this thing are that it's the first Xbox actually shaped like a box, and the kinect integrating the infrared sensor into the camera is a good idea. But yeah, that's pretty much it.

In conclusion, as I've said, I will likely not be buying a next-gen console. And if I do, it will NOT be the 360. The closest I plan on coming is the 3DS. And if you want game companies to actually start caring about games and gamers when making their games, or their systems, you won't buy this atrocity either.


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Favorite Albums of 1968

Sorry this one took so long. A lot happening, mostly with people around me has taken up a lot of my time. Some good things, some shit things. So yeah, moving on...

So, 1968 is a year. And music came out in it, and I like some of it, and this is the music stuff that I like. Yeah, list time!

10. Creedence Clearwater Revival - Creedence Clearwater Revival: CCR is one of my first 60's-early 70's loves. Their music is a weird mix of bluegrass, southern rock, and blues that 45 years after their debut, I still haven't heard anywhere else. That being said, most debuts by great bands fall under one of two categories. You have the albums where the band puts all their energy and musical creativity into a masterpiece of an album, or the albums where you can tell the band was still growing as musicians and songwriters, while having a resemblance of their better work, they tend to be more formulaic and less dynamic. Unfortunately "Creedence Clearwater Revival" falls under the latter. You can tell it's CCR, it's got their sound, but all of the songs sound the same and while they sound great, it gets old after a while, making the album as a whole their least appealing and most boring. That being said, I still really enjoy this album. It just doesn't hold up as well as their future work.

9. Iron Butterfly - In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida: Honestly, the title track alone is almost enough to make this list, but the other tracks, all five of them, are good as well. Ranging from prog rock, to some of the earliest Stoner Rock, Iron Butterfly's debut is a hallmark in music history that's solid, unique and innovative throughout, ending in one of rock's most epic and amazing songs. Fans of Kyuss, Clutch, Deftones, Fu Manchu, and even White Zombie and Tool, bow to Iron Butterfly, because without them, I doubt those bands would exist.

8. The Amboy Dukes - Journey to the Center of the Mind: I love me some Ted Nugent. The Amboy Dukes are horribly underrated when people talk about his career. Though not as good as their first album, this is a great follow-up, and it's not 1967 so it was able to slide into the list. But it wasn't just The Nuge that made this band great, vocalist John Drake and rhythm guitarist Steve Farmer are also very underappreciated talents and songwriters that help take the songs to another level along with Ted's obviously great guitar work. This album, as hinted at in its title, is much more jazzy and psychedelic than Nugent's solo work. It's probably the most "laid back" album Ted Nugent would ever be associated with, but it's still a great album well worth your time, for interesting perspective on the wild man's career if nothing else.

7. The Kinks - Village Green Preservation Society: Ah, The Beatles are still going strong. Yeah, this sounds so much like a Beatles album, you'd be justified in confusing the two. There's some Kinks flavor, but you can tell they were trying to ride The Beatles' popularity. There are more mellow tracks, more vocal harmonies, and more instrumental experimentation. Honestly, they pull it off pretty well. I enjoy The Kinks in general, but as a huge Beatles fan, you can't go wrong with sounding like them. Especially if you actually have the talent to do so effectively. That makes it surprising that it never charted on release, only selling approximately 100,000 copies. But it's been highly praised in hindsight and even landed around the middle of  Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Also, that name is pretty awesome.

6. The Zombies - Odessey and Oracle: This is widely considered the shining moment of The Zombies' career. Nines and tens, 4.5 and 5 stars, 100th Greatest Album of All Time according to Rolling Stone. It's experimental, complex and engaging both musically and lyrically, and enjoyable throughout. This is especially impressive when you consider that the album was recorded in a meager and hectic six months. How they sounded so relaxed during this whole thing is beyond me. An amazing album, buuuuuuut I still prefer their self-titled debut.

5. Blue Cheer - Vincebus Eruptum: This is one of the most revolutionary albums ever created in my humble and correct opinion. Blue Cheer established the Metal guitar sound with this album. Every track is heavy and atmospheric. Just listen to the riffs on songs like "Summertime Blues" (classic among classics) and "Doctor Please". There are only six tracks, but they're all jam-packed with musical goodness. Oh yeah, they started that trend of multiple six to seven-minute epic tracks in rock and metal. Also, they kick ass.

4. Cream - Wheels of Fire: If Eric Clapton had an album in the 60's or 70's it's probably going to be on my list for that year. The man is a master of his craft, and it's just amplified when he's surrounded by so much talent. Honestly, this album could have still been #10 or 9 if every track was just "White Room". Easily one of my favorite songs of all time. it's so melodic and chilling, while still energetic, and the metaphorical lyrics are so high, I just love everything about it. But the rest of the album actually measures up surprisingly well. I still wouldn't make your best track ever the album lead, but every track is really good guitar-driven Blues Rock by some of the greatest to ever do it.

3. The Rolling Stones - Beggars Banquet: The beginning of the great Stones albums. I can't say it's their best, as it's a tad on the one-dimensional side compared to some of their later work. Just about every song is a mid-paced, bluesey/acoustic song, full of random instrumentation and laid back vocal melodies, no matter the subject matter. While it loses points for having so little variety, the Stones pull this off so well, it's astounding. Every song is a great listen, and if you're in the mood for the kind of music this album provides, you could listen to the whole thing over and over and still be entranced. That and it has "Sympathy for the Devil" on it. Discussion over.

2. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Electric Ladyland: While I've never been to Electric Ladyland, I sure as balls love their music. This is probably The Experience's greatest work from a technical standpoint. Every song is complex both musically and lyrically and everyone is in the prime of their performing careers. Unfortunately, I didn't grow up with this album as much as Are You Experienced? and for that alone, I think I don't like this one quite as much, but it's still an amazing album that's a clinic in writing music.

1. The Beatles - The Beatles (The White Album): It's rare that a band makes a double album and I end up actually glad they did. Almost every time, what they make turns out to be about half good, and half filler, if that. But as we all know, The Beatles. What about them? Just... The Beatles. They simply don't write bad songs. I think this is my third, maybe fourth favorite Beatles album, but it's still an absolute classic. While every song isn't stellar, every song is really good at the very least. If they released the best songs as a single album, it'd be a masterpiece, but the extra songs are of great enough quality that I'm glad they exist.






Again, sorry that took so long. I shall make an effort to be more consistent. Also, I'm gonna start doing random years. It feels too boring to both the readers, and the creator to be moving at such a slow pace. That and I can talk about all kinds of genres and such. Anyway, look forward to that, probably next Friday-ish, unless I get really bored this weekend. So yea, @SycoMantis1991 on Twitter, Sycotic Sliloquies on Facebook, comment, etc.

Disney Gives EA Exclusive Console Gaming Development for Star Wars. WHY?!

"I felt a great disturbance in the Force... as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened." Quite honestly, Obi-Wan pretty much sums up how I feel about this. I have to admit, I was more on-board with Disney's purchase of the Star Wars franchise. Even moreso after the announcement of a new trilogy, and even moreso than that, after announcing movies outside of the main story being released every year there isn't a new numbered sequel. I was never totally enamored with the idea, but I've been very cautiously optimistic. Not certain they'd do great things, but knowing if anyone could, it'd be Disney. They've done great things with Marvel the last few years, though most of those movies aren't quite as amazing as they're made out to be, but still entertaining, and no one has the resources they do.

My optimism started to wane a few months ago with the announcement of the director for Star Wars: Episode VII, J.J. Abrams. While I love knowing John Williams will be creating the music, and Harrison Ford's always witty and entertaining character both naturally and as Han Solo will return, putting J.J. Abrams at the helm cancels those out for me. I don't think Abrams is a poor director necessarily, I just think he's possibly the most average director on the planet. I've never watched anything he worked on and had an emotional response to it. His movies, as well as his television series' always feel stale and robotic, just going through the motions without doing anything different or even exciting. That's not a movie-making formula that I think works with such a high-fantasy sci-fi, story-driven series like Star Wars in all its endless incarnations has been. But that aside, this isn't about J.J. Abrams, this is about *sighs* Electronic fucking Arts.

Anyone who cares enough about video games, especially Star Wars games, probably already knows why this seems like a horrendous idea. EA is basically the collaborative effort of the most money-hungry, least consumer-concerned blights upon the gaming industry. Voted "Worst Company in America" each of the last two years by consumerist.com and for good reason, EA has established verification codes that go along with their games, disallowing Xbox Live and PSN as well as downloading DLC and even online multiplayer if you didn't buy their games new, as well as creating their own Steam-like service that has been suspected of monitoring users' computer activity. There are also a plethora of  questionable account suspensions and bans including a suspension for posting an Origin troubleshooting link that EA themselves had posted in the past, commenting about teabagging other players after a kill (of course, they are EA forums), and my favorite, posting in a BioWare forum asking "Have you sold your souls to the EA devil?" which they only got mad about because it was clearly an accurate analysis. Have you played Dragon Age II?

Oh, but Origin is far from the worst of their crimes. EA has their ads strewn over every gaming site that just so happens to give their games glowing reviews. They force their developers to push out bare-bones titles frequently and expect us lambs to pay full price every time. Crysis, Battlefield, Army of Two, the crap CoD ripoffs (and you know it's bad when I insult it in comparison to Call of Duty) that are the new Medal of honor games, and the God of War clone, Dante's Inferno. Don't get me started on their sports games. I love sports, and I love sports games, but they've degenerated into nothing but $60 roster updates. It's not worth it. We know it, they know it, but neither will do anything about it.

I haven't even gotten started on their slaughter of some of the only quality developers and franchises lately. They forced Visceral Games to curb the Sci-Fi Survival Horror series Dead Space, and make it a third-person shooter with weak jump scares and imposed a 5 million sale minimum in order to keep the series going (which they really shouldn't anyway at this rate), which of course it failed to meet, partially because a Dead Space game had yet to reach even 4 million, and partially because people knew it'd be a watered-down version of the game they love because EA had their hands in it. It gets worse though. BioWare, yeah, remember them? Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Knights of the Old Republic, Dragon Age, Mass Effect, they were the kings of the Western RPG. They were Squaresoft East, then Electronic Arts bought them. Dragon Age II became a third-person hack n' slasher with no character customization, minimum RPG elements, a claustrophobic "world", ugly environments, and completely copied dungeons. Then the final chapter in this console generation's biggest actual franchise, Mass Effect 3 came, Ashley became a model, the model of a mid-20's "cool guy" was shoe-horned in, and thought the rest of the game was amazing, the ending was farted out in twenty minutes to meet deadlines and ended up being pretty much a nonsensical pile of ass. They destroyed BioWare so wholly, it lead their two founding members, Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka, as well as their master lead writer, Drew Karpyshyn to willingly bail on the company they gave so much of their lives to, leaving one of the great developers in video game history as a shell of their former selves.

These are the people we expect to handle possibly the most beloved media franchise ever established? FUCKING REALLY, DISNEY?!?! Next thing I know, Michael Bay is going to make Episode VIII and Rihanna is gonna make the soundtrack for it! You're marketing geniuses, you do your research, you know EA creates more bloodlust among gamers than all other entities combined, how could you even consider this a good idea? What are you on? Did Sonic Team invade your ranks?! What the balls is wrong with you people?!

Ok, vitriol-laced rant over, WHAT THE FUCK?!, anyway, let's take a look at how this is going to play out.  There are three developers that have been given creative license with the Star Wars franchise under the Excreting Anuses banner. DICE, famous for making Call of Duty: Youcanblowupbuildingsanddrive Edition (aka Battlefield), and Mirror's Edge I guess?, Visceral who created the above average last-gen James Bond games, the above average Godfather games, the pretty good God of War clone Dante's Inferno, and Dead Space, which was big and innovative, but proved Vesceral is totally fine with letting EA run their ideals into the fucking grave. There's also, of course, BioWare, or what's left of it at least. The dull, rotting husk of RPG perfection long-gone. I'm not excited, even BioWare doesn't provide me with any real solace. Ok, there will probably be an RPG, cool, will it be an RPG in more than name? I guess we'll see. And will they get time to actually create their vision? Ha! I doubt it.

What would I like to see? Well, let me preface by saying I expect nothing positive out of this. I suppose Dice is the obvious candidate if we were to see a Star Wars: Battlefront 3, which I would like to see, IF it's not a third-person shooter, which it would almost definitely be. I think the easiest fit for them is another Republic Commando game, or to a lesser extent, a rebooted TIE FIghter-style game, though again, I wouldn't trust any of these. Visceral are the ones I honestly have the most hope for. They have more experience making more kinds of games than the other two. I can see them pulling off a hacker like Force Unleashed but more refined control-wise, and hopefully longer. I could also see a Bounty Hunter type game, almost like 1313 was supposed to be, but a huge, sprawling mix of a faster Dead Space and Assassin's Creed. BioWare, well I think they're still capable of greatness, but I don't have much faith. I'm honestly expecting a watered-down TOR, and I definitely wouldn't mind a KOTOR 3, but with Karpyshyn done, who wrote a lot of the first game, I don't know, unless they can get help from Obsidian like they have to great results in the past, and there are a lot of other things they can do in the RPG realm, taking Expanded Universe games, or tackling unused periods in Star Wars from a similar or maybe even different angle, but whatever it is, it'll probably be a promise-laden, unfinished mess. Sorry BioWare, I love you, but EA's dragging you down, bro.

In short, I hate this move. There are things about it that you can point to and say "that could be nice", but you can say that for pretty much any company. The point is, EA has a history of horrible business practices, pushing out unfinished games, and imposing strict changes on the creative vision of those actually creating the games. EA isn't just hated to be hated, there's perfect reason for it, and there couldn't have been a worse choice for a company to tie Disney's new, huge franchise to. I hope it turns out well, but I don't see it happening in the slightest. Oh well, I'm gonna go play some KOTOR or Jedi Outcast.

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Favorite Albums of 1967

First of all, before we start, I'd like to say one thing... FUCK THIS YEAR!!! 1967 is so good. It's one of those golden years of music. So many good albums, SO MANY GOOD ALBUMS. Bands like Pink Floyd, The Moody Blues, and Velvet Undergorund would have made top fives most other years. I left some amazing albums off this list, and even those at the bottom of the list are classics in my opinion. And don't even get me started on ordering these sons of bitches. Realistically, the top 5, maybe 6 could have been number one many other years and are some of my favorites ever. Alright, now that my tangent is over, let's begin... Hope you're comfortable, because there's gonna be a whole lotta gushin' going on (yeah, that Jerry Lee reference would have worked a lot better in '57 than '67).

10. The Byrds - Younger than Yesterday: You may not think so with the lack of attention they get from me, but I really like The Byrds. The thing is, they put out good album after good album, but outside of one or two exceptions (the two to actually make lists), I've never seen any of their albums as more than pretty damn good. Though not my favorite, this is definitely The Byrds' most solid album track-by-track. It has classic Byrds rock, classic Byrds ballads, and is probably the most musically complex album of their career. As much as this album is great in every sense, it just doesn't have the huge standout Byrds staples like Mr. Tambourine Man did, otherwise it'd be my favorite album by them.

9. The Doors - Strange Days: I can say with a good amount of confidence, that you'll never see these next two lower than they are here. Which is far from a knock on these albums and moreso a testament to how amazing this year was. I thought this would be a lot higher to be honest. Listening to it again though, it's probably the weakest album of The Doors' career. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy every single song on this ablum, but hardly any stand out. "People are Strange", "Love Me Two Times" and "Unhappy Girl" are all great tracks, but otherwise they're mostly just decent Doors songs. You can tell this is the transitional album, between finding their sound on their debut and trying to experiment and expand. It suffers a lot from lack of focus and consistency, if more songs were like the ones I mentioned before, it'd be a clear classic, but as it stands, it's just a great album by a band known for being better than great.

8. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Axis: Bold as Love: OMG YOU PUT JIMI AT NUMBER EIGHT?! This reminds me a lot of Strange Days, really. It's the second album in the same year as a stellar debut, tries too many different things, and ends up being an inconsistent disappointment. This is a genuinely great album from top to bottom, but little really impresses like most of their work. I love tracks like "Spanish Castle Magic", "If 6 was 9", "You Got me Floating" and "Little Wing". With the odd exception, the rest are fairly forgettable compared to most Hendrix songs. The musicianship is great as always, but the songwriting just doesn't excel like on other albums. But when your worst album is the eighth best of 1967, you're still doing something right.

7. The Monkees - Headquarters: I believe this is the first time I've put The Monkees on any of my lists. I do like them, I've just never loved them. Honestly they just take a lot of tropes from other bands and don't pull them off quite as well. I suppose you could say they're the Pearl Jam of 60's rock. Well if that's the case, I suppose this is their "Ten". The only album of theirs that I can say I enjoy every song off of. It's not a hit machine, but it's by far the best collection of songs. "Forget that Girl", "I Can't Get Her off of My Mind", "Mr. Webster", "No Time", "Zilch", are all great, as is the rest of the album. This is proof of how excellent The Monkees were capable of being when they weren't so worried about making another "Daydream Believer" and put equal effort into every single song. I don't think their other albums, though great in parts, come anywhere near this one.

6. Jefferson Airplane - Surrealistic Pillow: This is the one Jefferson Airplane album I love. Every track is a trip (in the literal and drug-related sense) of creative musicianship, deep lyrics, pulsing melodies, and strong, fitting vocals. It's too bad they never lived up to this again, but I can't exactly blame them. This kind of Psychedelic Rock is hard to come by, and even harder to perfect. Every song feels different, and they all go together so well. I can't say from personal experience, but I imagine listening to this while tripping on mushrooms or LSD caused many a brain to suddenly leak white, salty fluids in the late 60's. The true testament to how great this album is, is that it includes classic staples of 60's music like "Somebody to Love" and one of my favorite songs in general, "White Rabbit" and every song matches those in greatness, never feeling like a means to an end, the end being the hit you love, like a lot of albums, especially nowadays, tend to.

5. Cream - Disraeli Gears: I hate this. This album doesn't deserve a 5 spot in any given year. I can't argue when I see it #5 on all-time lists. It's truly an astounding album in every sense. It's a perfect blend of psychadelic, blues, and pure rock. I can't name a standout track this time because they're all great. Clapton, Bruce, and Baker are all at the top of their game and are probably the best set of musicians together at the time, and create a classic among classics. Honestly, if Cream had stayed together longer, they'd probably be considered among the greatest bands ever. But I suppose we wouldn't get Derek & The Dominoes, Blind Faith, or his solo material. So it evens out.

4. Albert King - Born Under a Bad Sign: Albert King may be the most under-appreciated man in Blues. In a decade where Blues was being pushed out the door for Rock n' Roll, Albert King came along with his second studio album and blue the motherfucking doors off. You can tell why this album took 5 years to create. The guitar-work is some of the best of the entire decade. It's skillful, emotional, and perfectly executed. The backing instruments fit the tone of each song perfectly, and King himself just has an awesome voice. He has a rare blend of energy and somberness that excellently conveys the messages of struggle and inner-strength in his lyrics. If you have even the slightest hint of interest in Blues, this album is a necessity.

3. The Doors - The Doors: Be. fore. you. Slip intooooo unnnnconsciousnessss... This album is THE reason the doors are as renowned as they are. It's near-perfection throughout. It goes from haunting blues, to pure rock, to somber and epic Simon & Garfunkel-esque pieces, but somehow, don't ask me how, I'm not a musical genius, but it all ties together so fluidly. The typical rock isntrumentation is great, but I've never heard a keyboard sound so badass. Ray Manzarek is an excellent musician, milking every ounce of emotion possible out of his keyboard, vox continental, and the marxophone, clearly the biggest instrument in music at the time. Every song is unique, every song is a journey, and every song is a trip on its own. This is only triples when you add Jim Morrison's excellent vocal skills. He had an astounding and underappreciated knack for finding the perfect tone to match the sound of the song he was singing over. This is an absolute clinic in songwriting and performance. And again, fuck this year, because I actually didn't even think twice about leaving this out of the top two.

2. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced? I'm legitimately experienced after having heard this album. This is Jimi at his absolute finest. Perfect riffs and solos, soulful singing, and emotional lyrics, if a little heavy on innuendo and metaphors, but he was a stoner among stoners, so that's to be expected. The thing that makes this album borderline perfect though, is the entire band. Jimi is widely considered legendary and for good reason, but have you heard of Mitch Mitchell? Probably not. Just listen to the drum work on "Manic Depression", "Fire", "Red House" or "Hey Joe". The Experience wasn't great just because of Jimi, but because of Mitchell's stellar drumming and Noel Redding (no relation to Otis)'s solid backing bass work. The combination created a masterpiece worthy of being heard by every human being.

1. The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hears Club Band: This album, THIS ALBUM! If this isn't my favorite album of all time, it's definitely up there. I love almost every Beatles album, but aside from maybe Rubber Soul, none are in the same stratosphere as Sgt. Pepper in my opinion. Every track on this album is pure gold. You can tell every member put their heart into this album as I can't find a single flaw in any song. From the musicianship, to the lyrics, to the vocal work, everything is performed with as much excellence as possible. I could keep gushing, but I think you get the point. It's my favorite album of all time from possibly my favorite band ever, released in one of the greatest years in the history of music. If you haven't heard it, you absolutely need to, and I hope you will enjoy the show.



Like always, thanks for reading, hope you liked, feel free to follow on Twitter @SycoMantis1991, comment, follow the blog, or don't, that's cool too. Prick :)

St. Louis Rams Draft Recap

Yes, I love sports too. Feel free to skip this if you don't. I'm a St. Louis Rams fan, random, but I don't care, it'll never change. With that, I'm so glad Jeff Fisher is calling the shots this year. I couldn't stand to watch their drafts the last few years, they were picking guy after guy that I wish I couldn't say I knew wouldn't work out the second their name was called. But last year was so good. I swear they read my mind with each pick. Brockers, Johnson, Givens, Jenkins. JANORIS JENKINS. All these guys were astounding for the Rams last year. So, even with what many consider a weak class this year, I was locked in to every second this year to see what Fisher and the rest of the organization would pull out of their hat. And here are my thoughts, by pick.

Round 1, 8th overall: West Virginia WR, Tavon Austin - I was mildly excited when the Rams traded up eight spots, though a lot of their needs I thought could be addressed with the 16th pick and the 46th that they gave up. They could have still drafted Jarvis Jones, Eric Reid, or even the likes of Le'Veon Bell, Montee Ball, and Arthur Brown with their now gone second round pick. That being said, I'm cautiously excited about Tavon Austin. He has a lot of Percy Harvin in him, without some of the personality issues or injury history. He's lightning-quick, has good hands, and ran under a 4.3 40-Yard dash. If he lives up to the hype, he can be a monster of a playmaker for the Rams. The problem I have is his size. While I don't generally have a problem with small, fast receivers, but the Rams' best receiver right now is a small (though not as small), fast, deep threat. Austin Pettis has emerged as a decent receiver, but he's the only even slightly proven other wide receiver on the team. If Brian Quick and Tavon Austin become the dangerous duo they have the potential to me, with Givens becoming the third option burner, this could be the start of another Greatest Show on turf, but until then, I think it leaves them as a one-dimesional receiving corps.

Round 1, 30th overall: Georgia LB, Alec Ogletree - I was begging my phone (I was listening to the ESPN Radio coverage) to call out this guy when the Rams' pick came up. With most of the top safeties gone, except for Matt Elam, who's a high risk, high reward guy with one really good year in an average conference (though I'd still be satisfied), Ogletree was pretty much the only option in my mind. As a former Safety, he's quick for a linebacker, as well as a great option in running back and tight end coverage. Yet at 242 pounds, he possesses plenty of size and arm length to wrap up and take down a back or screen receiver after reaching them with his elite closing speed. He doesn't have good block shedding skills, but as someone relatively new to the position, that can be taught, especially with the elite pass rushers and defensive coaching around him. With the right coaching and effort he can convert excellently into an elite linebacker with insane versatility. He has areas of concern, but they all relate to his inexperience. If he pans out, St. Louis may have the best front seven in the league for the next decade.

Round 3, 71st overall: USC Safety, T.J. McDonald - Here's the safety I've been asking for. McDonald is a big, physical Safety who also has the speed to cover tight ends effectively. He has solid range and close on the ball, as well as great blitzing and block-shedding ability for his position. Not to mention his stellar ability to go up and fight for the ball in the passing game. He does lack lateral movement and agility, making it difficult to cover the field side-to-side, though he wasn't often used in deep coverage, so he doesn't have a ton of experience working with this immobility. He played a lot of hybrid looks in college, coming up behind the linebacker in pass rushing and coverage of mobile quarterbacks. Though that's not ideal for a safety, I think doing that in college will help a lot in a division with duel-threats like Russell WIlson and Colin Kaepernick at quarterback. The last thing is the leadership abilities and read skills he exemplified t USC, Safety is disappointingly underappreciated as a leadership position and it's always good for your backfield when one comes in being able to accommodate that.

Round 3, 92nd overall: West Virginia WR, Stedman Bailey - I don't love this pick, but it has huge potential to be a steal. He's another short receiver at 5'10". but he had outrageous production at West Virginia. He caught 114 balls for 1,622 yards and 25 touchdowns, as the second-best receiver on the team. He's a good leaper with good body control and route-running skills, who you wouldn't believe is as short as he is when you watch him play. He doesn't have amazing speed though, and many figure he won't amount to much more than a slot receiver in the NFL. But even so, he has the skill set to be elite in that regard. I'm not too excited about the pick, but it's solid and has good potential.

Round 4, 113th overall: Alabama G/C, Barrett Jones - I'm honestly astonished that this guy was the 113th player drafted. He's one of the most versatile and decorated offensive lineman in college football history. He's not physically elite, but he's tenacious, unrelenting, and smart. He can be solid at any position and is a natural-born leader with tons of experience blocking the best defenses in the biggest games in college football. He definitely has bust potential due to his lack of physical dominance, but I think he has much more of a ceiling than most, and at worst, he'll be a solid backup for anyone on the Rams' line for years. Plus, he looks like a smaller version of the big, white dude from Remember the Titans.

Round 5, 149th overall: Miami (FL) CB, Brandon McGee - This may be my inner Hurricanes fan talking, but I really like this pick. I loved what he did in college, one of the most consistent and effective corners during the length of his career. He has great speed, agility and footwork, as well as mid-air movement when going up after the football. He also has good size at 5'11" and 193 pounds to go along with a 4.37 40-yard dash. He tends to get out-physicalled by more bulky receivers (which isn't common in the NFC West outside of Larry Fitzgerald) and loses his balance at times, but his high level of quickness allows him to recover in a hurry. He's a two-year starter who was a team captain in his senior season, with a total of 44 games under his belt. He also played mainly man coverage during college which I think makes him a good fit next to more do-everything back like Finnegan and Jenkins.

Round 5, 160th overall: Vanderbilt RB, Zac Stacy - Well, they finally got a power back in hopes of complimenting Daryl Richardson in the running game. To be honest, I don't know much about this guy. He's a compact, power back at  5'8" and 216 pounds. He was a consistent 1,000-yard rusher on average teams while playing against defenses the likes of Georgia, South Carolina and Florida, all teams touting a great run defense. I think he can be a solid change-of-pace back to take the load off of Richardson and add variety to the offense as a whole.









Overall, I really like this draft. It's a mix of solid talent and high upside, as well as solid fits at every position. White I'm not the biggest fan of the Austin pick, if he pans out, it'll be a steal even so early, especially if Brian Quick becomes anywhere near the next Terrell Owens like Receivers Coach Ray Sherman declared he saw him as after drafting him last year. Imagine Terrell Owens, without the crazy, alongside Percy Harvin, without the injuries. I think Ogletree can be a perfect pick and make the team's front seven one of the best I've seen in a while, McDonald is the solid multi-dimensional Safety that Fisher always uses perfectly, and everyone else is a steal in my opinion and fill pretty much every hole on the team with the best talent available at the time. Even with Seattle and San Francisco in the same division, I can't express how excited I am about the Rams' future.