Strider

Wow, so picked up Strider the other day for like 15CAD, and I've had a blast with it. If you have ever played the originals, there are some nods, but the visuals have been completely modernized and mechanics revamped. It plays much more like Nintendo's Metroid or Chair's Shadow Complex. It's slick, fast, fun.

Skinny Puppy, Weapon

Picked up Weapon a week or so ago and loving the ever-living-bejebus out of it. Right from the get-go Wornin' is simple, fast, and catchy, then moves into Illisit which is more mechanical and followed by Salvo's drum synth. The highlight for me though is Paragun - I just keep finding myself repeating the track! Something about the tinny ping track and its lyrics:

"Sure, this season seems so clean, a filibuster dusting on the cesium leaves, a low grade dose of a rabbit of the sleeve" 

and it just goes on. I have always loved Ogre's lyrics, can't ever seem to get enough.

Only sad I couldn't see them live 18 Feb at Sound Academy :(

TitanFall BETA

TitanFall BETA last weekend was amazing. I have never been a huge Call of Duty or Halo deathmatch fan, so experiencing 6 on 6 streaming death for the first time was novel and fun. The BETA game worked flawlessly, for the most part - barring the occasional lockup on loadout screens and the outage on Sun. I really enjoyed running and gunning, hunting down minions, and the rare triumph of taking down an enemy pilot. Playing with titans is also fun, piloting them, controlling them for point defense or tag-along, and of course taking them out on the opposing team is always a thrill.

From what I hear, a lot of the core mechanics are familiar to Call of Duty fans, with exception of BurnCards - which, even in BETA, made for some stunning mid-combat surprises. Everything from a much needed boost in firepower, to exclusive small fire-arms (eg sniper rifle and LMG) to exclusive titans (eg Ogre and Stryder).

A lot of my friends were playing Attrition (basically team deathmatch), but I found myself playing a lot of Hardpoint Domination. Domination seemed to have the best of all worlds, PvP, PvE, where you can be offensive trying to capture a point or defensive trying to hold one.

I suppose there is so much more that could be said, but suffice to say this is definitely a must-have title. It will be very interesting to see how long it manages to keep my attention given my aversion to random multiplayer matches, but I am very excited by what I've seen!

Front Line Assembly, Echogenetic

Well it's no surprise I'm an FLA fan, but I've been listening to this new album for about 5 months now, 4 of which I have been listening to it nearly straight. Love this new album. I think it is one of their most solid offerings since HardWired. I'm not a huge fan of track 2, Leveled, but from the dancy Killing Grounds, to brooding Blood, sorrowful Exo, plodding Prototype, to the anthem finale Heartquake.

Through and through an awesome outstanding disc.

One of the things I love about FLA in general is their constant experimentation with new sounds and influences. From primitive to electric to metal to hip hop to infusions of dub step in this iteration. While not always successful, they do produce some great gems, and this album is exceptional in that every single track can stand on its own. I love what they've done here.

If you're a fan, or even if you're not, I strongly recommend picking up Echogenetic.

Robocop

The original 1987 Robocop featuring Peter Weller is one of those landmark films of the eighties, and one of my favourite films of all time. While this remake doesn't quite reach the same bar, it far exceeds my cynically set expectations. I don't think the production was quite up-to-snuff, but the cast and performances of Michael Keaton, Gary Oldman, Jennifer Ehle, and of course the inimitable Samuel L. Jackson more than make up for it. Special effects were also top notch, and although rated PG13, some scenes were quite graphic and disturbing - clinical as opposed to violent.

What I think really surprised me most though, were the short and concise dialogues on the perception of fear, free will, control, and thought. While they somewhat side step a few things, the fact these are raised at all is treat.

While not necessarily a "drop what you're doing and go see it now" flick, I do strongly recommend this latest rendition in the franchise.

Dead Rising 3: Day One Edition, DLC

Played through DR3 DLC, Untold Stories of Los Perdidos, episodes 1 and 2. Not much to say, a little value add with new content and collectables. It was interesting to see things from another perspective in the first episode - especially how some of the set pieces (eg military chopper that is firmly planted there in South Almuda) came to be.

If you are DLC-positive, it's worth a pickup, otherwise, not missing very much.