Archive for Feb, 2012

29 Feb

Something something something COMPLETE

Posted by vagrantesque in Misc.

Well, that’s February done.

My seven days of blogging were successful and from here on out I plan to post twice a week. It’s March tomorrow, which means the start of brand new NRL and AFL seasons, the launch of Mass Effect 3 and HUNGER GAMES! Some of the things you can expect from Vagrant Rant over the next little while:

-A new series of articles called “In Defense Of” in which I will attempt to rebutt the haters of a particular entertainment property

-More top ten lists packed with subjective goodness

-Loose, bloggy rants on topics not really related to anything

-Plenty more reviews of movies, albums and games

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25 Feb

Game Review: The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword

Posted by vagrantesque in Games, Wii. Tagged: , , , .

I know it has been three months since the latest Hyrulian adventure was released, but like I said I’m not going to be able to post a whole lot of game reviews near release. I finished Skyward Sword just over a month ago and hey, people are still playing it, so here we go.

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Platform: Wii
Developer: Nintendo
Rating: M
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Golden!

Still going strong after 25 years.

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I’m going to come right out and say it.
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The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is only just behind Majora’s Mask as my favourite Zelda game of all time. Read on to find out why. Continue reading →

24 Feb

Ahead

Posted by vagrantesque in Games, Lists, Movies. Tagged: , , .

I looove lists. Especially top fives/tens. You’ll be seeing a few of them here on Vagrant Rant, starting here. Enjoy : )

Unless the end of the world comes on time according to the Mayan calendar, it is going to be an incredible year for entertainment media. There is just so much to look forward to. I won’t bore you with the album releases I am most looking forward to this year, but here are my top ten most anticipated movies and games of (the rest of) 2012!

MOVIES

10. Looper (Info)
Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis play the same character, but one is trying to kill the other. Sound intriguing? I certainly think so.

9. Snow White and the Huntsman (Trailer)
An epic reimagining of the classic fairytale with more violence and more Chris Hemsworth/Charlize Theron. Looks awesome.

8. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Trailer)
I’m not the world’s biggest Lord of the Rings fan but I actually read The Hobbit, so I’m keen to see how it turns out as a film.

7. The Amazing Spider-Man (Trailer)
Hopefully director Marc Webb can deliver a version of Spider-Man that has its own unique identity. The trailers suggest he will.

6. John Carter (Trailer)
The 100 year-old inspiration for the likes of Star Wars and Avatar finally looks like getting a worthy movie adaptation. Continue reading →

23 Feb

Viva la Vita – Playstation Vita Review

Posted by vagrantesque in Console, Games, PS Vita. Tagged: , , .

Please forgive me for that horrible, horrible pun.

The Playstation Vita launched around the Western world today and I was fortunate enough to be able to pick one up. Not that it was cheap. Not in the slightest.

My wallet...

Day One haul, clockwise from bottom left: Starter Pack, PSVita Wifi Model, Preorder Bonus Box, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Little Deviants, PSN Voucher, Memory Card. My wallet hurts.

Just under $600 all up. Ouch. Let’s get straight to some first impression reviews. Continue reading →

22 Feb

Album Review: PLAYER – Capsule

Posted by vagrantesque in Music. Tagged: , , , , .

My album reviews start with a left-field choice, but one that introduced me to an entire genre all by itself.

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Released: March 2010
Label: Yamaha
Genre: J-pop/Dance
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omgwhatsonhereyes?

…Nup. Can’t explain the logic here.

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TRACK LISTING

1. Stay With You
2. Player
3. I Wish You
4. The Music
5. Factory
6. I Was Wrong
7. Can I Have a Word
8. What Do You Want to Do
9. Hello
10. Love or Lies

Some time in late June, 2010, I was travelling on a long Singapore Airlines flight to South Africa when I decided to pass the time by checking out some of the Eastern music options available on their (awesome) in-flight entertainment system. The first option I chose was PLAYER, a Japanese electro-pop album that was relatively new at the time and that I knew absolutely nothing about. Continue reading →

21 Feb

Summer Movie Round-Up

Posted by vagrantesque in Movies. Tagged: , , .

Last year I watched 35 movies in the cinema as part of my 100 movie project (more on that later). This year, with summer on its last limp legs, I am up to a grand total of eight. With the Oscars less than a week away, it seems as good a time as any to go through them (I won’t be rating them yet though).

The posters pictured below are the properties of their respective studios.
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Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Another year of (hopefully) 100 movies kicked off with several loud bangs thanks to Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. The film does not shy away from pyrotechnics and seems to take delight in framing its explosions in the most ludicrous way possible. The traditionally tame period setting has no effect on this; Ritchie knows what he likes from his films and he runs with that. The banter between his leads Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law is what holds the otherwise confusing narrative together. The supporting cast, especially Noomi Rapace, is underused, although Jared Harris’ criminal mastermind Moriarty is well depicted. One brilliant slo-mo heavy escape sequence in particular stands out from what is ultimately an “alright” movie. Continue reading →

20 Feb

Game Review: Catherine

Posted by vagrantesque in Games, PS3, Xbox 360. Tagged: , , .

This is probably the closest I’m going to get to posting a videogame review at the time of its launch. I usually take quite a while to finish games (if I finish them at all).
I imported Catherine two months ago with a friend and finished it recently. Catherine was released in the USA last July, but was only released here in Australia two days ago.

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Platform: PS3, Xbox 360
Developer: Atlus
Rating: MA15+
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Risque?

The key is to look at the OTHER stuff on the cover. That gives you a better idea of the kind of crazy game you’re in for.

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“The Immoral Beast has appeared. It’s the killer. Do not die.”

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Oh, how these words haunted me while playing through Catherine. As stupidly obvious as they may sound, heeding them is easier said than done when you’re trying to solve devious block puzzles with an oppressive time limit and a grotesque mess of body parts constantly on your case. Make no mistake, Catherine is a very crazy, very difficult game. But it is also a multi-layered experience that rewards persistence and skill by telling a story the likes of which no other mainstream game has ever attempted. Dare I say it is worth a look. Continue reading →

19 Feb

On Reviewing

Posted by vagrantesque in Misc. Tagged: , , , .

We live in a world where entertainment media saturates our lives. Music, movies and videogames make billions of dollars every year and the vast majority of us are contributors to this in some way. As frequent consumers of this media living in financially troubled times, we often turn to the opinions of others to help us make a decision on what to part with our money for. They can make us feel more at ease about our purchasing decisions and, if things go sour, they give us someone to blame.

Stack it up

CDs and DVDs and Blu-Rays oh my!

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Whether the opinions we seek are those of our close friends, professional critics or random people on the street, the end result is some kind of review. From essay-length dissections to that old chestnut of eloquent wisdom, “It’s pretty good”, they can all be useful in their own way.

But because people are all so different from one another, opinions tend to vary quite wildly from person to person. Different experiences and personalities influence the way we react to the things we consume. Yet you might find that Continue reading →

18 Feb

Well, Would You Look at the Date

Posted by vagrantesque in Misc.

Time to kick this thing off for realz.

So here we are, in the middle of February already, the lazy months of the year all but over.

I have been giving lip service about writing an entertainment blog since the start of 2012 and I believe it’s about time to get started.

LEAFY LEAVES!

Shamelessly generic, attractive, thematically apt picture designed to represent starting new things

To make up for lost time I will be going all out on this blog for seven days, posting every day.

What will these posts contain? Follow Vagrant Rant (and click the “what?” tab above) to find out! Just insert your email address into the box on the right and you’ll get all the misdirected insight you could ever dream of right in your inbox!

I’m Ryan, by the way. Nice to have your company. Let’s do this.

1 Feb

Paralysis of Indecision

Posted by vagrantesque in Misc.

So I’m getting my head around how this blogging thing works, but where do I start?

So many things I could write about. Can’t decide what to tackle first…

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I’m going to bed.