14 Apr
Ladies and gentlemen, here we go! Vagrant Rant’s second-ever (maybe annual)
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If you’re getting tired of the way I constantly prattle on about how you should spend your money, you’re in luck, because for the next seven days this site will be hosting some out-of-the-ordinary entertainment media content written by folks other than yours truly.
Please enjoy.
It’s someone else’s turn.
13 Apr
What a time to go to the movies.
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Starring: Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L Jackson
Director: Anthony & Joe Russo (Welcome to Collinwood, You, Me & Dupree)
Rating: M
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My feelings on the first Captain America film were mixed. I thought it had an exciting and well-executed first half that unfortunately turned into a straightforward, by-the-numbers superhero baddie chase by the end. The film failed to make me care about the Captain the way I did about Iron Man or even Thor. The “straight man” shtick that has defined the character throughout his long existence just didn’t resonate with me in that first film, as cool as his promotional scenes/song were, though I know others might have felt differently. Once The Avengers came along, however, I understood his appeal. In the context of a rather dysfunctional superhero team, Cap’s level head and idealistic focus on what needed to be done made him a tangibly purposeful character who redeemed his allies just by being there. So writing him into the corruption-addled centre of what is essentially a 1970s-style political thriller, complete with Robert Redford, is actually a really good idea as it turns out.
11 Apr
After five weeks of being unable to record, the Mega Ultra Blast Cast finally returns with a jam-packed, bumper length episode. We feature more audio giveaways, try to cover over a month’s worth of gaming and movie news, talk about the astounding number of games we’ve been playing, discuss Captain America: The Winter Soldier, dissect the new Super Smash Bros information, ruminate on the future of Final Fantasy, pit Infamous Second Son against Titanfall in the battle of the next-gen exclusives, mock each other’s Trophy progress and much, much more.
If you feel so inclined, go for a run, take a scenic drive or just curl up on the couch and play some games while you listen to the opinions of three Sydneysiders just glad to be back in the studio.
You can play the whole episodes right off this page if that’s what you’re into:
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Or you can go to the Soundcloud site/app and listen from there:
https://soundcloud.com/mega-ultra-blast-cast/mubc-18
(To download and listen offline, follow the link and then click the download tab)
As always if you enjoy what you hear please share the cast with your friends – Until next time!
11 Apr
There are many opinions floating around on and off the internet about the merits (or lack thereof) of Kickstarter, the crowdfunding website designed to help people get their creative ideas off the ground and into the hands of those who wish to benefit from said ideas, by relying on donations from fans. Plenty of projects have failed (some before they get funded, others afterwards – see the OUYA Android game console) while others, like the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset and the recently released Veronica Mars movie, have reached their desired funding goals and then some, really taking off in a big way.
As of now I have only ever donated to two Kickstarter campaigns. One is the multi-platform WayForward videogame Shantae: Half Genie Hero, which looks rad. The other is Zach Braff’s long-awaited (by some) Wish I Was Here, the spiritual successor to his directorial debut film Garden State from 2005. The first teaser trailer for the film just dropped, and it hasn’t yet been sent to any major news outlets, so here it is:
Garden State is one of my all-time favourite movies, as it did a great job of capturing the emotional highs and lows experienced by the average Western twenty-something. Braff promises that Wish I Was Here will do something similar with the thirties, and by the looks of things, he’ll be telling his story in a similarly quirky way this time around. The soundtrack of Garden State won a Grammy award, so I see no reason why Braff’s music choices won’t markedly enhance the onscreen action here as well. It appears, at least, that he still adores The Shins.
Man, I hope this movie is good.
2 Apr
Yes, that last review had an April Fools’ theme. I don’t really play Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster just for the Blitzball and yes, I do realise that reviewing the game without even bringing in the X-2 part is unfair. In truth I’m not very far into the FF X part of the game (not much further than the part when you can first play Blitzball freely, actually) but I am thoroughly enjoying just about every aspect of the experience. The sphere grid is clever, the hands-off weapon system is refreshing and most of the characters are pretty cool. Being able to take an RPG that still features so many unique design elements with me on the go on my PS Vita is a real treat. Based on what I’ve played so far there’s no way I’d give the game just 3.5 out of 5. It seems the game is highly regarded for a reason, and that reason goes beyond the fanboy and fangirl rants I used to hear way back in the day.
But yeah, Blitzball is still awesome.
1 Apr
I’ve been playing a whole lot of this one since it came out in Australia on March 20th.
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Platform: PS3, PSV
Developer: Square Enix
Rating: M
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X-2 is download-only on the Vita version, but you won’t be playing it anyway.
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They have the most annoying goalkeeper I have ever seen, ever, in anything. I just want to take his polygon-encrusted face and slam it into a locker until he decides never to play Blitzball again. Ugh. But the game from which he hails is great fun.
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