Author Archive
Review: Alan Wake – 'Cos This is Thriller
May 24th, 2010 by Daniel Casarella
Dark shadows have a way of hiding the truth. For a game as moody and dark as Remedy’s Alan Wake, this could be more the case about the game rather than its proposed story. Alan Wake was announced over two years ago and has been long rumored as Microsoft’s big psychological thriller. Many considered the game’s rich vistas and non-linear plot style a direct competitor to Sony’s thriller Heavy Rain. However Alan Wake doesn’t quite break through to the other side. It plays fine and in many ways is quite competent but it will never escape the shadows of its hype, which is unfortunate because if you take away all preconceived notions, the game is very good. It’s funny how the mind can play tricks on you.
Review: The Black Keys – Brothers
May 19th, 2010 by Daniel Casarella
Listen; The Black Keys are thunderous. For years now Auerbach and Carney have been cultivating this blues-rock flow with somewhat predictable but satisfying offerings. At times the Akron band sounded like they were about to teach ol’ Jack White a lesson or two about what it means to be the best rock duo alive. However its not until this time and this album do I really hear their next big sound. Brothers (nonesuch) is a big blast of blues, soul and rock n’ roll that is unrivaled in modern music. This album’s got balls.
Review: Final Fantasy XIII – A Bustle in Your Hedgerow
March 16th, 2010 by Daniel Casarella
You know how “Stairway to Heaven” builds slowly and then finally ruptures at around 4:20? It’s a great moment and you get swept away with in the ascending momentum of the song. Final Fantasy XIII, like the Zeppelin song, makes you earn your nut. For instance, the game starts you out in the fine tradition of a simple and new battle system. As you progress hour by hour this battle system gets amended and deepens. It’s a great way to make you master each layer of the complex system before you move on. I’ve also heard complaints that the game starts out too linear and doesn’t open up a vast overworld for you to explore right away. Rest assured it does, just not immediately. Final Fantasy XIII builds momentum steadily as long as you can get into the initial groove. Its about earning your quest, not receiving it from the onset.
Review: Bioshock 2 – Déjà Vu of a Wet Dream
February 13th, 2010 by Daniel Casarella
I think everyone’s a bit skeptical when it comes to sequels now-a-days. We’ve all been fooled so many times by promise and fancy-pants marketing schemes that we are reluctant to believe part II can be any good. This is the way I saw Bioshock 2 being developed. You want more Bioshock? Let’s cram in an alternative antagonist, add Modern Warfare-esque multiplayer system and replace Big Daddies with Big Sisters . Why 2K Marin thought the name Big Sister sounded as ambiguously imposing as Big Daddy once did is beyond me. For that matter, how Bioshock 2 turned out to be pretty darn good also escapes me.
Review: Mass Effect 2
February 4th, 2010 by Daniel Casarella
Here’s the problem; Everyone is talking about how Mass Effect 2 is so great. Like the iPad it’s reputation literally preceded its arrival. Take it from me, Mass Effect 2 is a decent game. It may be introducing a lot of novice role-playing-gamers to the genre and that could be why it’s being so celebrated but for veteran RPG fans, this is a light and sometimes boring affair.
Immersed in BioShock 2
January 28th, 2010 by Daniel Casarella
One of the most interesting things about the game Bioshock was that it took everyone who played it into a world they’d never seen before. An underwater former utopia built half a century ago and left to rot in the Atlantic Ocean. On February 9th 2010, BioShock 2 arrives on U.S. shores and I’ve had the unique pleasure of playing the ‘Shock and chewing the fat with the game’s creative director at 2K Marin, Jordan Thomas. His perspective on the game’s development and what it takes to make the sequel as beloved as the original is submerged in BioShock 2’s ability to send you back to the once lost city of Rapture. Read the rest of this entry »
Bayonetta Review: Bad-Ass
January 6th, 2010 by Daniel Casarella
So about 10 years ago this guy named Hideki Kamiya claims to have reinvented the Castlevania style game of the generation yore with Devil May Cry. He actually did, and along came armies of clones, God of War being the most notable. Now he’s back with Bayonetta. The game is much like Devil May Cry on the surface, but it’s soon apparent that this time, Kamiya-san has turned it up to eleven. Here instead of fighting demons you’ll play as the last of the Umbra Witches fighting against armies of angels from Heaven. Yeah, you read that right. You fight God and the legions from Paradise. Sounds fresh right? Well that’s just the beginning.
Rockstar Dates Red Dead Redemption
December 1st, 2009 by Daniel Casarella
Rockstar Games has finally nailed a date to the wall for it’s big-time western sequel, Red Dead Redemption. On April 27th, 2010 we finally get our six-shooters back. The sequel to 2004′s Red Dead Revolver has been a traveling rumor for years. It was known that the open-world western would be using the Euphoria engine from Grand theft Auto IV and would take many of it’s stylistic cues from movies like Nick Cave’s Proposition, The Wild Bunch, and 3:10 to Yuma. Those traveling rumors are all but confirmed with this new trailer. Take a gander at Red Dead’s new dude. His name is John Marston and he looks dirty.
Dylan live at the United Palace Theater
November 19th, 2009 by Daniel Casarella
Besides the seats being filled with grey domes as far as the eyes could see, the venue looked like a byzantine church. It didn’t matter though. I was going to see Dylan. Strangely, I’d actually grown fond of Dylan’s latest quirky single Must Be Santa. It’s so strange that it’s funny. But O.B.D. would have none of that in his set. Instead he posed through some of his modern career and of course some of his classics. Ballad of a Thin Man really seemed to have struck a chord despite Dylan’s now gravelly intonations. He’s got a bit of a Waits thing going on now. Not so much by design but more like that was part of his path all along.
Dylan’s now a slightly grizzled version of his former self. His becoming however, clashes with all the session musicians and drum fills. Plus his stage backdrop somehow evokes Sublime’s 40oz. to Freedom in a very dadrock way. What Dylan may not realize is that he would come off far better with less. He doesn’t need a fucking 5 piece band behind him dressed like bartenders from a night club in the 90’s.
Lets face it though, Dylan can do whatever he wants and nobody should tell him otherwise. If Dylan should chose to tour for the rest of his life dressed in pajamas and stage backdrops that look like tramp stamps from the Jersey shore, that should be his right. His sound still resonates. Remember at one time not too long ago, the whole world pivoted on this man. Dylan may not play the same, sound the same, or feel the same but that’s fine with me. Unlike some younger contemporaries, I’ve always been a fan of Bob Dylan, and I will respect his right to be an artist till his final curtain call.
Review: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Prestige Edition
November 12th, 2009 by Daniel Casarella
GODDAMMIT! Doesn’t anybody give a shit about the rules anymore?! I didn’t watch my buddies die face down in the mud so some fucking digital nobody could just hide in the bushes the whole match and shoot me! Yep, I’ve been playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 all week and I want to tear my eyes out. I’m a veteran of this franchise which saw its newest and most notable release on Tuesday, Nov. 10th. Modern Warfare 2 (which is rated M for MADNESS) is pretty much everything you’d expect it to be. This is a double edged sword. While the first Modern Warfare blew minds for a myriad of reasons, the second can’t really snipe your expectations in the same way. So what it does is walk the straight and narrow and it does that very, very well.
Dan Auerbach/ Justin Townes Earle / Jessica Lea Mayfield – Webster Hall Nov. 11th
November 12th, 2009 by Daniel Casarella
You know how it feels when the warm murmur of the crowd is broken by the first licks of the bass from the band? It’s like getting off for concert goers. It turns out that last night’s show at Webster Hall was all about the foreplay. The night started with the soothing voice of Jessica Lea Mayfield, acoustically hypnotizing us. Justin Townes Earle took stage at about 10 o’clock. His undeniable hanky ramble filled the room as the set paced in and out of his latest record, Midnight at the Movies. It’s easy to forget that Justin is just one dude up there singing his heart out. His Nashville charm pelts the crowd with anecdotes and clean cut appearances but his lyrics, as fast as they come, say all the right things to a crowd who is by that time already holding smoke.
Review: Grand Theft Auto – Episodes from Liberty City
November 5th, 2009 by Daniel Casarella
I’m not going to lie. I run several night clubs owned by Anthony Prince. He can be a bit of a pansy but I’ve made many connections and a lot of paper cleaning up after the guy. You should come to one of my clubs. Depending on the night, I might be working the door or working the floor. Catch me on an off night and I might just have to put you in a box. I’ve also been known to do favors for some very powerful people you know. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not the best hitman-driver-pilot-bodyguard-dancer-base jumper, but I can do all those things and I can make them look like fun. My name is Luis Lopez, and you can find me in The Ballad of Gay Tony, the second of two episodes found on the Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City experience.
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