The end of the world, day one - Live from county radio.

Recovered data for the [Redacted] of February.

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2017 at exactly [Redacted] PM.

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Speaker is [Redacted] Spark.

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Broadcast over Manningtree County radio.

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Begin relay of transmission

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And that was the weather folks, so maybe grab an umbrella on the way out to the corner shop, and I'm sure you could re-arrange that trip up the river Stour to a nicer day, you wouldn't want to get stuck out there like the Mables family last week huh? As a little update on that; they're all doing fine and well, but we'll all mourn and miss the passing of Stuckie; their poor little terrier who sadly couldn't be rescued. 

Now to put your minds at ease. You've all read the papers these last few days and I'm sure you're all chattering in your tea rooms about all that business at the emergency G8 summit. I'd like to calm you by saying that it is not an emergency, those pesky American reporters do like to exaggerate simple news eh? Not like our little town here huh Manningtree? Speaking of which, in more local news; the post office is in it's final stages of renewal, It'll be quite a change from that shoddy little shack we had before. No offense meant Mrs Grantham, you and your team do a splendid job. I'm waiting on a new package from you, we're getting some new microphones in for the studio soon, so I'll be your first customer. I've heard mayor Lee-Lay Flurrie will be opening the place up, its all so exciting. Our little post office is a great testament to the old ways, nor fancy emails, texts or neural transplants for us here thank you very much. Well, thats not strictly true but I use mine for work. Quit laughing Belle, this room is soundproofed but not that well! Uhm. Anyway lets go a music break.

Oh it's great she's still kicking around huh? That was Nicki Minaj's new rap cover of Bach's third suite, aptly titled "I'm bringing sexy Bach". Isn't that something, I bet that's going to be playing in my car this drive home. In other news though, we've had a lot of message in saying I brushed of the G8 summit news, they're saying "since it's a global pandemic shouldn't you be covering it?". Well I'd hardly say its a 'pandemic', that seems a bit extreme, It's just a small disagreement in a high place so sure there's a lot of finger pointing. I guess though since this is my job or something I'll have to cover it though. Ugh. Anyway, the summit is currently met up in the big Washington DC to discuss - 

[Redacted]

- of state. He's in no real danger, this whole thing will blow over in a couple of days, trust me. In other... more interesting... news, we're sorry but the weather forecast has changed. now I know it's never 100% accurate on a good day, but we're getting word through from the MET office that there's a spike in temperature, an increase by at least [Redacted] degrees! Not bad huh? I guess you can plan that afternoon boar trip after all, sorry about any confusion. Word is that there was a problem with the machines, Temperature never rises that fast! Anyway it was a little blip, further apologies listeners.  

Oh, some more breaking news! Freddie's pub down the road, you know The Saints, is offering a free pint on them with every portion of chips brought! Apparently it's in celebration of the good weather, I say good on you Freddie. I think I'll personally pop down later, just as long as I don't get pestered about that damm G8 Summit... Sorry, anyway. Our three parishes here in Manningtree are in fierce competition for the chance to hold this upcoming election's voting station, as they do every year. Last time the grand title was handed to Father Dom, can he claim this prestigious role again? I have never seen any man of god so angry as those three, the competition gets  hotter every time. On the other hand, I personally would suggest the town library as it's recent renovations would be perfect to accommodate voters. It was the latest in the council's renovations until they started doing the post office last week, but it's certainly a fitting building. Did you know that the place used to be the center of operations for Matthew Hopkins, the self appointed witch-finder general back in the 1600's? It's true, apparently he set up shop there after he heard rumors of women communing with the devil around the area. Of course it eventually became a corn exchange, and now its the local library, would you believe that? Learn something every day huh? This turned into a proper history show, lets cut to some more music while I get read up on the latest news shall we?

And we're back, live from Manningtree radio studios, that song was... Uhm, I don't know. Belle chooses the music here, I can never really keep up with what you young folk are into these days. Well if you really want to know you can ask her, Tweet at her on @[Redacted]. 

Alright, after a little research, I feel I can report fully now on the whole Summit thing. I'm going to get this off my shoulders for the last time, then we've got the cooking segment where we bring on a mystery guest from the local area who teaches us how to cook a surprise dish! It's so great, who could forget the time Mr Burham taught us how to make that mouse that had lasting gastric effects that nearly gt our show taken off air? Oh those were good times. To this day I still feel a bit funny when I stand up, but that's all part of the fun. We've got some spoilsport new regulations in that make us trial out all the guest recipes before they teach them to the general public, which ultimately takes the surprise out of it. That's all very well, but 'New regulations' aren't going to get Mr Burham out of prison are they?

All that and more coming up after this totally not boring news segment. Just a hint, Cooking time starts at [Redacted] so you could just make a cup of tea and come back then. Just saying. Don't tune out though, we need that viewer count. Oh! before the news bit, I'd quickly like to de-bunk myths about our show falsely bumping our viewer count. I don't care if that kid found a whole warehouse of radios all set to silent but tuned to our station, that means nothing. It could be just some crazy person, the investigation is ongoing. Some people have pointed fingers at me for my consistent ordering of new radios, thanks for telling everyone Mrs Grantham, but I keep telling you that mine break! A lot! This is a chat show and I can say what I like, consider this case closed. Thank you. My editor is at the door, so I'm sorry to delay the news further but we're going to have to cut to a music break. We'll be right back folks, don't tune out. Please. 

That temperature really is rising huh? MET office says its climbing around the [Redacted] now, now really would be a good time to head down to the river to take a dip. We're getting calls in about the heat, we once again apologize on behalf of the weather guys for telling you all it'd rain.

I take you now onto our much awaited news segment. Because so many people want it. And it'll be great. Anyway, important personalities and leaders from around the world have gathered in Washington DC to discuss the further funding and use of the new improved LHC. That's the Large Hadron Collider  for those of you bumpkins who can identify all 17 types of ornamental grass, but don't know what the London VR domes are. The newer version reaches twice the size of the original, however issues have arisen since a recent incident where [Redacted] was completely [Redacted] due to an manufacturing issue. Questions have arisen around the overall safety of the thing, apparently it could theoretically [Redacted]. That's only an assumption though, honestly if you believed everything you read on the Internet wouldn't you be cowering in fear from a sub-sect of lizard overlords? As I stated earlier, this as all just over-exaggeration to big up the news.   

Well that about rounds up the news for this afternoon folks, sorry to leave you all on such a downer. I'll be switching over to the evening host soon, so for now enjoy our new set piece; classic tracks from 2016, the best of  last years tunes. Thanks for tuning in, same time same place tomorrow, I'll be down at the saints this evening for any questions.
Not about the G8 summit.
Thanks again, keep smiling and enjoy the weather, Manningtree.

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End of first transcript.
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Two days till the end of the world.
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How evolution of co-operative play has changed gamer attitudes.

How evolution of co-operative play has changed gamer attitudes. (For better or for worse)

Let me start off by saying that I will be talking about the jump from physical co-operative play to the online gaming of the modern day consoles. Back in the day if you wanted to play your Mario kart with a friend you'd have to bring your Nintendo DS to their house and connect them together before the red shells and fists started flying, but even further back that to beat up your friend's Charizard you'd have to physically connect your handhelds together with a cable. The evolution of games has ultimately gotten to the point where you can simply talk to your buddies while playing massive online games from the ease of your living room. This is an incredible feat that brings a lot of friends together and even gives you the opportunity to make new friends over long distances, for example I'm in a Destiny clan with a bunch of guys from America, and I've got Irish and Aussie people on my friends list. This freedom comes with a curse however, as it introduces you to the sub-sect of troll gamers who simply want to mess up your game and swear up the chat. I'm not trying to lay into a stereotype here, but from experience these trolls are all younger gamers who simply want to abuse the system. 

Now there's a very simple solution to this: don't play with them. 

However the opening for this kind of experience still exists, if your team is winning in an online PVP match you won't want to leave the game, but imagine if there's a swearing little 13 year old kid who doesn't understand mic volume? I'm not saying this is all the time in online games, but it's rare you'll go a week without encountering some kind of verbal slating, be it in-game chat or message saying "u got pwned".

I'm glad to say the majority of online gamers are helpful and polite, I've got some great memories of teams who all praise each other for doing well, or congratulate you for owning high-level armor. 

Now this brings me onto the comparison to old co-operative play. (A little side not here, I'm discussing home consoles, not arcade machines.) Early-generation home consoles typically did not offer co-op options due to technical limitations .Though consoles from the second generation of video games onward typically had controller ports for two-player games, most systems did not have the computing or graphical power for simultaneous play. The Nintendo 64 (1996, 1997) set the standard for co-operative savvy consoles by being the first to proffer 4 controller ports, a feature that nearly all consoles since have adopted. You could go to a friend's house and hook up you Gamecube controller to their system and have a great time, there was physical contact, much the same with Pokemon games cable connector. Maybe it's the physical presence of your friend being in the same room as you, but I feel that this form of gaming is much more human, as you can see all their reactions to you using Surf on their Charizard, and you'd have to make th effort to meet up and play. From times I've brought an extra controller to a friend's house to play Resident Evil, it somehow feels much more satisfying to play in person. It's a hard to describe feeling, just picture how the Jaeger pilots in Pacific Rim fuse their minds to focus on one thing. (this time it's piloting a robot though). It proves the point that gaming is social, but as a physical representation. For example I keep hosting Super Smash Bros nights at my house, and that hosts 8 players so all my friends can really meet up and have a laugh, I doubt it'd be the same if we all met up online to play. Plus none of them own a WiiU.

The attitude of an online gamer is (generally) more negative than when you're playing with real friends, but thats for obvious reasons. You know your Physical friends better, so when you have arguments about who threw that red shell in Mario kart it's all just jokey fun. On the other hand, I mentioned previously abuse of the system. Online you have the power to say what you want to strangers without consequence, and unfortunately more socially reclusive (or younger) players take this as an opportunity to vent. Now it'd be a lie if I said that physical co-op never induced rage and swearing fits (far too many Mario kart and Smash Bros matches for that) but it's done in earnest, they're your friends and you're allowed to be like that to them. It's friend code. Online players though aren't your actual friends though, imagine going up to someone with a Gameboy in the street, starting a Pokemon battle with them and then swearing like hell at them. Theres a specific gamer etiquette (which also involves mic volume), it's pretty much taboo to insult someone. This can lead to being kicked from the game and further arguments. Physical gaming still holds these kind of tense arguments, but at the end of the day its all fun and games (literally).

That being said, I've had many social occasions when all of my friends and I have been on Halo 4 multiplayer, or making huge cities in Minecraft. True you can play physical split-screen multiplayer on both of them, but it takes the quality down and makes it hard to see, especially if you have 4 players on one screen. This is where online play really benefits the player's experience, however games like Castle Crashers and other side scrolling beat-em-ups work just fine in both worlds. So overall quality and gameplay aside, this discussion really comes down to the main point: ease of access. It takes effort to go to a friends house and connect up a controller, now you can do it all at the touch of a button and a headset. You could say it's lazy, but it makes social gaming much more convenient and time-efficient. You can simply switch on the system and get started without the hassle of the setup, but I almost think that takes the charm out of it. Don't get me wrong, I love online gaming, however I feel theres' a certain nostalgia to meeting up in person and playing some games, If people don't want it why do we still do it? In conclusion, online gaming is still social but not in the old fashioned way. It is far more convenient, but it's shifted physical co-op to a much more special occasion. Now this isn't totally bad, it's just not as common or easy as regular online play.

Why are Pokémon games so good?

 Pokémon

Pokémon is the pinnacle of nostalgia, but it's also a metaphor for growing up. You play as a child discovering a vast world full of fantastical creatures, so you display the most human of human traits by capturing them and forcing them to battle. True there's all that tat about Pokémon being your friends, but at the end of the day there's money intensive and you're just using them to achieve your own goal of becoming the very best like no one ever was.

Getting around that though, there are strong personal connections within the franchise that continue to reel in buyers for every new game, which is amazing considering it's practically the same format every time. So what makes Pokémon so damm good? Personally I think that the main reason is narcissism through ownership. A sense of self-bettering is achieved through collecting multiple things, be it house decorations or battle-ready monsters. It displays a form personal wealth, who owns a Pokémon game and hasn't bragged about catching a legendary? But through this are we beginning to see actual living animals as just trophies or items? It's exactly like how Mike Tyson owns two tigers, he just doesn't make them battle... yet. The tagline "Gotta catch em' all" challenges you to catch all the Pokémon to grant personal satisfaction, something a child can't resist. It taps into our personal childhoods, working with everyone's inner motives of exploration and collection.

The overall quality of these games is nothing to scoff at... even though its the same game over and over. You could argue that every game with a gun that claims to be an first person shooter is exactly the same, but at least there's differences in aesthetic. Halo looks very different to Call of Duty, however Diamond/Pearl/Platinum looks nearly exactly the same as Emerald/Ruby/Sapphire. Arguably the newer generations like Black and white look different as they've been shifted into 3-D, but they're all really the same game. So why are they such good quality!? The story line nearly always follows the theme of collecting all the Pokemon, defeating the evil team of evil guys who are evil, conquering the elite four and catching the legendary(s). This formula is reproduced again and again with occasional slight variations, but it's just so charming and youthful. It taps into a simpler lifestyle with visualized achievable goals all in one big adventure, who wouldn't want that? This is aided by the atmosphere, cutesy visuals and addictive music. Everyone remembers their first battle music, I had mine from Platinum as my ringtone for ages. 

At the end of the day, Pokemon will always hold a special place in any player's heart. Maybe it's the direct challenge, maybe it's nostalgia and maybe it's the bond you form with your virtual death monsters through training them, but the formula for these games is 100% reusable and effective. So what do you think inspires people, both young and old, to keep playing Pokemon? Feel free to leave any comments and I may incorporate them into the post. 

The legend of Zelda - Phantom Hourglass Review

Having only a limited experience of Zelda games (consisting of Majora's Mask and Hyrule Warriors) I wasn't really too sure of what to expect from Phantom Hourglass. I've always preferred the cartoon cell-shaded style of Link, so I have no problem with the look of this charming adventure-on-the-high-seas. I'm going to say right now that so far I've enjoyed nearly everything in this game, that aside there are a few foul hits. I'll get that out the way now by pointing out Link's in-game face. Going from no emotion to full on exaggerated expressions took it's toll on Link, who's face really suffers from the DS graphics. Up close he's horrendously pixelated, not to mention that his trademark blonde fringe is literally just a part of his forehead colored-in yellow. The other characters aren't as affected by this, but that's probably because we have no reference point for them, but we're used to seeing Link looking up to scratch.

However Phantom Hourglass is a prime example of how a game doesn't need top notch graphics to be a good game. Here's what Phantom Hourglass did well; Everything. The characters are compelling, humorous and believable. The movement and combat is comfortable, easy to learn and really adds to the puzzles (for example shooting with the bow and throwing the boomerang). The sailing itself is really innovative, allowing ship customization, epic sea battles with huge monsters and a fun (if really difficult sometimes) mini salvage game in which you direct a claw to the sea floor to look for treasure and more ship parts. The boats in Zelda get a fair bit of hate, but theres a special sense of adventure you get from sailing around to discover new islands, aided by the gorgeous sea music. Seriously you can't get that tune out of your head. 

As I've only got about halfway though the game I can't really say anything about the ending (or the much-anticipated final boss), and I don't want to put out any plot spoilers for those who haven't played it. I will say the the story is charming and witty, with some nice twists, a few you can see coming and a few that make you do a huge double-take at the screen. I mentioned that the characters are great, and they really help move the story along. Linebeck, the ship's captain, is so ridiculous he's borderline realistic, they really got the boastful coward feel perfectly. The banter between him and Celia (Link's current fairy) is pretty damm funny, which is a nice breather/reward for finishing a temple, which can really be tough sometimes. The puzzles are tricky, but not so tricky that they seem impossible. It's a perfect balance, if you get stuck you feel compelled to try again and again, instead of dampened and de-motivated. The Phantom Hourglass acts as a timer for the ocean king's temple, and after defeating new bosses you gain more sand for it that lets you progress further into the depths to find items that aid story progression. I am not good at working under pressure or to a timer (for example freaking out at the ending level of Halo 3 or the opening to Metroid Prime) so the Hourglass' puzzles really add an edge to an otherwise lighthearted game.


Spoiler warning

As in every Zelda there is something creepy and out of place that really messes you up. Take Majora's moon, who the hell said they was an ok thing to put in a game that's aimed for kids!? Phantom Hourglass steps up to the mark with the Cubus sisters. Finally catching up to the Ghost ship, you start searching for Tetra but instead find four stranded sisters below decks, all asking to be reunited with their siblings. They're already pretty creepy, directing you towards traps and trying to make sure you can't kill the Reaplings, but it gets really freaky once they're all together. They begin cackling about killing you, then transform into floating terrifying ghost monsters. They've got those huge staring eyes, likened to Majora's mask, not to mention huge blocky teeth. Freaky stuff, wasn't I just playing with chickens on a grassy island only a few minuets ago!? They lead you to a innovative little boss battle in which you have to knock back the energy balls they shoot at you, while avoiding the lazer beams that the other sisters are throwing out. It's a great challenging fight, which gets consistently more difficult as it progresses. 

So in conclusion, is Phantom Hourglass a good game? I would say yes. It's got a tingling atmosphere of adventure, it really makes you feel like a hero saving and helping people. As someone who loves customization options, I'm compelled to search for more ship parts by talking to every NPC (non playable character) in hope that they'll give me treasure map hints, which in turn gets me more involved in the world. I look forward to completing the game, as I can honestly see myself playing through the whole thing. However I can't really say where it measures up to the other Zelda games, but for a relatively new player it's a great place to start the adventure. 

Destiny - Guardian tracker. (Updated version 2)

WARNING: this is super nerdy and boring. It's just for my own amusement.
This isn't a typical blog post, It's simply a platform for me to upload screenshots depicting the progression of my guardian on Destiny. I may add comments on my gear, suggesting what to use and why, and if I bag any new exotics I'll be sure to write a short piece detailing their pros and cons. Oh, plus this is totally dedicated to my Awoken Warlock, I also have a Hunter and Titan but they're lower level, plus who wouldn't want to be a space wizard!?

Eyes up guardian. 

My level 28 Warlock loadout always consisted of the Sunbreakers. They don't show up on the web preview that I got the screenshots from, but those arm pieces are glowing and on fire in--game. They're probably the best choice of exotic for a Sunsinger class, and I keep meaning to get the upgraded pair. Aside that I was sporting the Mida Multi Tool, which I think was my first exotic from the Vault of Glass, so was using it for the sake of it. Looking back I really dislike that gun, it doesn't suit my playstyle at all, however shoutout to my LV28 Warlock for using The Comedian shotgun, that thing is a beast and I'll still use it with my Titan class sometimes.

After The Dark Below expansion dropped, Everyone's guardians changed dramatically. I don't even have a screenshot from LV30 because I leveled up so fast, due to the easily unlockable vanguard gear. It was satisfying to shoot up from 29 to 31 in a couple of weeks, however it was a little disheartening to see my old beloved gear become redundant so fast. I mentioned that I always used my Sunbreakers before the expansion, but to move on I needed to leave them behind to advance on (donning the Apotheosis Veil instead). I had to use my fully upgraded Hard Light just to do basic damage to the newer buffed enemies, my LV29 Warlock was a constantly changing loadout. 

The coat I'm using here I eventually dismantled, I was never keen on it's aesthetic and I think I only used it to fit in with the higher level guardians. 

Damm straight that coat is the Iron Regalia Vestments. Considering I suck at crucible, my coat is my warlock's prize piece. My problem with Warlocks is that there is a limited variety of coats, and considering they're the main defining feature I figured I needed a badass one. The Vestments are an Iron Banner special reward, so I slaved in the Crucible for non stop to earn that, and was it worth it. Increased shotgun and scout rifle ammo really suit my load-out, and to top that all off it stands out. The beautiful design, the regal color scheme, I could go on for ages about just this damm coat! It's great, I'm proud of it.

As for the rest of the build, I love the arm and leg armor. Warlocks don't usually have super chunky armor plating, so the arms are a really nice feature. Plus the boots look like converse. Space wizard wearing converse. Love it. 

The helmet however, my exotic Obsidian Mind, I am not too keen on. It doesn't fit my Sunsinger sub-class, as it's main perk benefits Voidwalkers. I chose it purely for the aesthetic, and because my only other Dark Below exotic for arms and I don't want to switch out my cool armored ones.

In a game that drastically rewards you for headshots, what could be even better? More rewards for headshots! The Saterienne Rapier is (in my opinion) is the best weapon in the game, dealing out huge fiery explosions and speed reloads for headshots. Imagine you're cornered by a huge pack of enemies. You pinpoint the weakest one, pop that headshot, and are rewarded by their entire body exploding, damaging all the nearby enemies. And if that wasn't enough, you've then got a speed reload buff so you can ready up a full mag to take on the reeling enemies. I will never not use this as a primary, its so worth saving up those crucible points for it.

In my first time playing through the Dark Below's new raid; Crota's End, the raid chest-piece (The Deathsinger's Mantle) dropped for me. Sweet, or so I thought, It looks kinda naff. I really don't like the big spikey hood at the back, it makes my guardian look like a tube from behind. It was terrible perks (for my loadout) and it's main feature is only applicable to the raid, which I've done once and doubt I'll do again soon. To me it really isn't up to scratch with the previous raid coat, The Cuirass of the Hezen Lords.

However I now face one of the hardest choices in video games. Do I equip a piece of gear that I don't like just to be a higher level? The one perk it has is raising my armor and overall level, at the cost of removing my badass Iron Banner coat. Actually nah it's no hard choice. I'd much rather look cooler than the others than be a higher level than them.

Last night I had nothing to do on destiny (oh the problems of having full level gear) so I decided to try level up my Deathsinger's Mantle, you know the coat I said I didn't like. I must say it's growing on me. After shifting up my loadout a bit, it's given me the opportunity to blow the dust off my Pocket Infinity, a gun that honestly needs the extra ammo perk offered by this garb. Switching up the Obsidian Mind with my exotic arms; Claws of Ahamkara, My skill sets are pretty balanced, however a huge focus goes to my strength perk. I'm not totally against this, as equipping certain perks in the Sunsinger sub-class gives me a shield per scorch attack, my only problem is that my grenade skill has suffered a huge cooldown boon. 

I prefer my Crucible helmet too, I think the whole re-model looks good with the Polar Oak shader. (Also note I've kept the Saterienne Rapier as my primary, unaffected by the ammo loss from taking the Vestments off as I've got the same perks on my boots).

Pocket Infinity holds a place in my heart for being the first exotic I earned from a bounty. Theres a heightened sense of pride and achievement for working your way though all the tasks, something you don't experience from randomly winning them. I suppose its more of a challenge to buy them from Xur, as you have to work to win the currency for them, but there's a real adventure in the bounties, especially ones like Super Good Advice, which I'm doing now for a second time because I enjoyed it so much (even though the prize weapon itself is terrible).

When I first got the Pocket Infinity I hated it, due to slow charge speeds and low magazine. However the fully upgraded version is a whole new story, however it's a very situational monster. This clever tool works best on large bosses, good luck hitting anything in a crowd with it. I'm considering upgrading it to 331 damage, but honestly I don't want to go through all the hassle of upgrading again. It's a great little piece that really changes your playstyle, however you'll need a primary you can rely on heavily as the Infinity's use is a perk in specific situations.

Yes it took me a while to get Icebreaker, but was it worth the wait. I know there was a lot of grumbling from the mass of guardians for it being the exotic weapon at Xur for two weeks running, but for someone like me who missed it the first week I'm glad I got the chance to grab it. But on another note, Xur seriously please just sell the Suros Regime again, you'll be rich with Strange Coins. Icebreaker is a beast of a gun, both it's signature perks are unique and useful. You can't reload, but ammo automatically regenerates straight into the magazine (which holds a capacity of 6 rounds) meaning infinite shots! If you, like me, are not great at sniping then you need this gun, you'll literally never run out of ammo. If that wasn't enough the signature perk; Icebreaker, which is like firefly in that it causes victims to explode, but without the need for a precision shot! Again this is great for someone who isn't grand at sniping, but brutal for picking out small enemies in large groups who all explode. This gun is great for those who don't want to switch up their gear for sniper perks, as you don't need buffs to reload speed and ammo because these cannot be changed. All in all its a prize among exotics, especially for those who can't snipe. 

Life Is Strange. (Review)

So this new game came out and it sure is strange... oh god. Ok right anyway there are some really interesting themes in this otherwise average 'multiple choice' game, I thought I'd take a bit of time to write a short review.

Story

It all starts on a dark windy night, tall looming trees and a spooky feel, the protagonist must make their way to safety in a lighthouse.... wait is this Alan Wake. Seriously look up the opening to Alan Wake, the entire intro is ripped exactly. Its not often a game annoys me right from the start, however this can be ignored as the protagonist then wakes up in her photography classroom.

This is Max, a "hipster". She fits all the generic not-so-generic hipster tropes, like being incredibly skinny and carrying round a vintage Polaroid camera and saying words like "amazeballs and "wacko". I'm assuming every Tumblr girl can relate to her immediately, being the cool but not cool outcast she is.

Anyway things get interesting when she discovers she can turn back time. Things keep happening that she can rewind and do better in (for example impress her teacher with the answer that another girl gave), or in the main case she literally saves a girl from being shot. Its a fun unoriginal thing to do, but things get pretty spooky scary when the bully who had the gun gets angry at her for reporting him to principle. A lot of mundane trivial things happen, but the first episode ends when Max is dramatically transported back into the scary nightmare black & white world. 

Gameplay  and mechanics

Having only played a few 'multiple-choice-genre' games (Tales from the borderlands and The wolf among us), I deemed that I enjoyed the style of game. However I was left wondering what would've happened if I had picked the other options... Well in Life Is Strange you can use the handy rewind mechanic that lets you try the scene again. This is a really nifty trick, It lets you correct yourself when you screw up, or replay the scene just to see what happens if you select the other options. However I feel that this removes the pressure element from it, there's no worry about messing up a situation because with a quick tap of the left bumper you can play it all again. It's a real double edged sword of a mechanic. Aside from that, the game play is average. Max controls fluidly, and the graphics are bright and seem to have a slight filter on them. I blame the hipsters. 

Atmosphere

The town and school have a very niche realistic atmosphere to them. Its one of those small American towns that're sunny and friendly. A huge aspect of gaming is atmosphere, and Life is Strange knew this and carried it out perfectly. The graphics are sub-realistic, but still awe inspiring (note the opening scene). What I'm saying is they did good, great even. The dark scary scenes make you feel threatened and confused, and the generic school scenes are comforting in contrast. It's hard to pull off the mundane everyday-life concept without making it boring, but the game radiates a warm homely feeling. 

Portrayal of gender

Now this is the real interesting part. I'll try this in an unbiased manor, I'm merely going to pick up on how the game portrays both genders. 

- Men
Aside the generic dorky anti-hero guy and the teacher who also serves as a creepy love interest, all the men in the game are jerks. There's male NPCs (non playable characters) outside who're generally goofing around or being super stereotypical (for example skateboarding or playing football). However there are even a few who go out of their way to be rude or even violent even though the situation doesn't warrant it. For example after the fire bell rings and Max leaves the toilet to join everyone outside, the security guard gets really up in her face for no reason. Even after choosing the passive speech options he is still aggravated and even a little scary. The principle seems nice at first, until you mention to him that the star student may have a gun. After that he shrugs you off and goes on about the reputation of the school. It's extremely interesting that the developers chose to take such a negative standpoint towards men, considering that most mainstream games promote strong male characters.
The only guy who isn't there to be part of the background is the cleaner and he only shows up to clean things. There's probably some deep message here.

-Women

The women on the other side are all incredibly unique, even the background characters. Outside in the school grounds all the female NPCs are doing interesting and quirky things, like flying a drone or laying in the grass staring at the sky and pondering on deeper questions. They all have a specific purpose that makes them individual, unlike the guys who all group together and can be easily categorized.
I'm in no way saying"oh this is terrible", I think it's an incredible advancement in how video games treat female characters. However in this case they're making a big deal of it, drawing attention to the way they under-sexed the protagonist and super-enhanced all the female NPCs attributes. I'd love to get to the stage in gaming where we don't even discuss portrayal of gender in games, however I feel that Life is Strange took this idea a step in the right direction.

Microsoft's HoloLens and Windows 10.

Microsoft Hololens and Windows 10

After it's ridiculous blunder with the Xbox One, Microsoft woke up from their cocaine-infused slumber and started making useful things again. And boy, did they make a cool thing. Since seeing Star Wars episode 4 (Which is kinda the first one but still) and being awestruck by the "help me obi wan kenobi, you're my only hope" scene, Myself and I'm sure a vast majority of people have lusted after holograms. We want the future, science fiction awesome virtual reality and lightsabers.
Microsoft turned round and was all like "Hey yeah we can do that".
"Maybe not the lightsabers though. Yet..."

HOLOLENS.

Oh my god here it is this is insane. Microsoft's Hololens is nothing like Google Glass for starers. Instead of icons and desktop being projected onto the glass in your vision, Hololens projects actual holograms into the environment around you. Real holograms. You can't touch them physically, and they're only available to the user wearing the headset, but they can interacted with and controlled. For example you could sit down on the couch and project a huge cinema screen hologram on the wall to watch Netflix on.
You can create 3D models of anything you want and send them directly to a 3D printer to be printed into the real world. The software is called (correct me if I'm wrong) Holo Studio, and the sizing and construction of the creation can be controlled via hand movements, interacting with the hologram in real-time.

You can do everything a PC can do and more; watch videos, surf the web, view/upload/store pictures, this kind of tech could be revolutionary.
If that wasn't cool enough, you can also play games like Minecraft in your room. No, Literally in your room, build up a holographic house on your desk as the floor becomes lava, and place torches round your bed to ward off monsters at night. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm glad Microsoft bought Mojang studios. This is a gamer's dream.

WINDOWS 10

You may be thinking now that the Hololens was the coolest thing in this report, and you're kind of right. Mind you, Windows 10 really does have some cool features up it's sleeve, and its the operating system that the Hololens will run off so i guess it's exciting. 

So first, what to a dead goat and Windows internet explorer have in common? 

Everything. They are basically the same thing.

Say goodbye to the old blue E though, the new Microsoft Spartan sets a new standard for online next-generation browsing.

 

Hmmm.. I see what you're doing Microsoft. Cortana? Spartan? Yeah we all know you own Halo, quit bragging about it.

Speaking of Cortana, she's now coming installed in every Microsoft 10+ product, so that means phones and yes, your new Windows 10 PC. You can activated her (like the late Siri) by speaking into your computer's microphone, or trying her name into the search. box. Yeah! The search box is back! There will be dancing in the streets, however Microsoft still likes it's tiles, and they can still be found occasionally.

New features involve being able to save desired sites and view them offline, with all the data taken from the last time you were connected. Oh, plus if your current PC running Windows 7 or 8, you can upgrade to 10 for free after a year! All in all Windows 10 is a smoother, faster service, but what we're really excited about is that it's whats going to power the Hololens.

Oh, by the way what happened to windows 9?

Any comments or questions would be appreciated, and please tell me if I'm wrong on anything, I'm sure everyone is up for finding out all the cool new features. 

 

Passionate about graphics.

Should I open with a hello? I’m never really sure how to open auto-biographical text, so I guess I’ll just delve straight in. When asked to write about what I’m passionate about, the first thing that pops to mind is graphics. Be it comic book, film, concept art, video game or just an advert in the street, it’ll always grab my eye and interest me. I’m sure this is linked back to my childhood, being raised on ‘The Beano’ takes its toll, and implanted a passion for drawing and art. Let’s delve a little deeper, shall we?

 When I was younger I wrote short comics, drawn with a ball point pen on crudely stapled paper, and covered my floor in doodles and drawings. They were all terrible of course, and I’m sure if you ask my parents they could tell you tales of being pestered to read my latest creations. I was in my element, the most prominent character to date being ‘Super Potato’. This vigilante spud took centre stage in these cartoons, fighting the forces of evil who mainly took the form of ‘Skeleton’. Yeah, I know. Not as creative as Super Potato. As I drew more, I began to take inspiration from other artists, for example Chris Riddell, who illustrated ‘The Edge Chronicles’ and other great children’s literature. TV shows like Doctor Who gave me the need to draw hundreds of Daleks, and eventually in my early teens I discovered manga. These Japanese comic books took over my life, and I remember being sucked into the glossy bright colours and crazy stories. Though my fascination with them has been toned down in more recent years, it was probably them that inspired me to take art in GCSE. That, and my love of the video game; ‘Castle Crashers’.

Castle Crashers is a beautifully hand drawn side-scrolling game in which you crash castles. The wacky animations of the colorful knights and the amazing fantasy scenery reeled me in so effectively, I did an art final piece based in the style of the illustrator; Dan Paladin. The iconic thick lines and big square heads of the characters and environments are so suited to my tastes and age group, I think I completed the game within the week. Castle Crashers is very different to the first game I ever played, way back before I even had a console. ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’ for PC was, upon reflection, mediocre. The textures were blurry, and nothing about the art style inspired me to draw anything related to it. I can probably blame my aversion to the Harry Potter series solely upon that game, I still haven’t seen the last film. I suppose I could sue EA games but honestly I think I’d make them look bad and that’s unfair.

Before you get the wrong idea, it’s not all video games. The film ‘9’ by Tim Burton has been a big influence on my art style, especially for the period when I was doing another art final. His spindly drawings with heavy blotchy ink stains really capture the barren harsh reality of the world in which the hessian dolls live, and comes across as really creepy and dark. I did my piece on a giant grasshopper, giving it that same style, and was pleased with the result. This style is very far from my current, which I developed in my IT graphics/multimedia GCSE. I mainly use the bright thick lines from Castle Crashers, but filled with the detail of Tim Burton’s ‘9’. The piece was a lot of fun to do, and in turn fuelled a new passion for IT (combined with graphics, of course). I don’t think I’d be pursuing a career in IT today if it wasn’t for graphics.

The illusion of sanctity

The illusion of sanctity 

“Hook it brick, do ‘ya think I care who you are!?”

“Let us have no more of your gum cabbie, lest I withdraw my payment for this journey” reposts the reverend Obadiah Stain upon demanding his package to be brought down from atop the carriage.

“av’ at it mate, bet you an’ yer’ fine friend won’t be staying long in there either. I’m off” The Cabman grunts, before rudely tossing our expensive leather bag (from good old London herself I’ll tell you) to the muddy road. Turning my ear from the harsh verbal slating the gammy little man was sure soon about to receive, I looked upon the grand old chapel that would become our home.

Taller than it was wide, the blackened crumbling brickwork stretched upwards into a long single spire, cut off abruptly before its climax. It’d obviously been severed harshly by a lightning storm, frequent in these parts I hear, but I couldn’t shake the feeling it had been denied access to reach up into the heavens. The long thin windows reflected the eve’s last light, as the great bell hung passively in its cradle, dead still in the light breeze. It was silent all around.

I followed the Reverend into the possessive embrace of the hall (be it no warmer than the outside), passing among the cornrows of ebony benches hiding faded yellow cushions. Planted beside that tall pulpit shuffled a squat dirty little woman, who regarded us both with an inquisitive stare. There was an air of prejudice about the crone, as if she was constantly in a state of judgement, but being a man of god I decided against bearing ill thoughts against this unfortunate creature. After all, as soon as introductions were set down it was made apparent she was the custodian of the chapel. I took this as a little odd that a lady had been seeing to the running of this place in the absence of a vicar, and as I wandered about the pews I couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to the previous male curator.

After a small measure of drink that night I decided to survey our new home, forced by a lack of company or any form of merriment. Reverend Stain was nowhere to be found, so I thought I may as well converse with the old haybag, to get a better knowledge of the place. On finding her quarters however, I discovered she had also ambled off. Her room was awful queer, full of baby toys and sporting a flaking cot in the corner.  I thought this somewhat strange, as the woman had not mentioned a child, and I had seen none scampering around the place. Feeling a little unsettled, I decided to call in the day and return to my own room. I would ask the custodian about this at a later date. 

I was ripped from the sweet embrace of sleep by a loud banging on the confessional door. All of me grumbled to go back to sleep, par one small voice that questioned who was sharing their deepest darkest secretes at night in the middle of a storm. It couldn’t hurt to see first-hand how vicar Stain dealt with confessions, as I would have to do it myself one day, so I shamefully slunk to the door and tuned my ears above the storm.

“I assure you this is in the strictest confidence, only the almighty may judge you, you have nothing to fear” Such was the Reverend’s voice, soothing and calm. A voice you could trust, the reply however was masked by a noise most strange from down the hall. I could have sworn it was the cry of a child. Leaving the door be, I proceeded to inch my way down the corridor, the crying faint now over the storm. I was lead to the custodian’s room, which was in an awful mess as if the storm itself had thrust its way through. The noise was hardly there now, but with straining I was directed toward the cot. Gathering my wits I strode toward it and peered in.

It was silent all around.

The cot was empty, but I would never forget that sound; the sharpness of the plea that rung through the halls. I did not see my mentor for days, and when I did he lay still on a stone bench covered in nought but a shroud.  The custodian herself had also vanished that night, taking with her all the unanswered questions packed up in her bag, leaving me only with an empty chapel and that awful cry still ringing in my ears.