22 Apr

Why I Don’t Hate Remakes

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

Time to close out the week with a kendo enthusiast, accomplished D&D dungeon master and manchester expert.

—Written by BrotherMiles—

—Edited/formatted by Vagrantesque—

Good Evening Internet,

Let me start off by thanking Ryan for having me here and allowing me to yell into the aether. Love the work you’re doing here Ryan!

In the spirit of my argument.

In the spirit of my argument.

The thought I want to present to you tonight, Internet, is that remakes of your beloved games don’t have to be evil, nor does the act of undertaking the resurrection of an old franchise constitute a scheme to cut your purse. As long as the developer is using the original as an inspiration rather than a commodity then I am a happy man.

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21 Apr

Vocal Magic

Posted by vagrantesque in Games, Movies.

So we are coming to the end of another Guest Week and here is the well-informed opinion of a man I’ve known for over a decade.

—Written by Opinion_Invalid—

—Edited/formatted by Vagrantesque—

Firstly, a massive thank you to the author of this blog – Ryan (Vagrantesque), for allowing me the opportunity to voice my personal opinions with a top-ten countdown. I have made every effort to ensure that the accuracy of the information in this article is correct, however I cannot vouch for its total reliability. Please note that I have not included every individual release that each of these voice actors have been involved in – I have resolved to simply listing the first/most appropriate film, television show or videogame from which I am familiar with their work…

No. 10 Harry Shearer

Voice of: Seymour Skinner, Montgomery Burns, Waylon Smithers, Ned Flanders, Reverend Lovejoy, and many more (The Simpsons)

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Harry Shearer, of This Is Spinal Tap fame, provides the voice behind a very replete roster of Springfield denizens – largely comprised of the more sophisticated male roles in the popular television series. Hugely impressive is Shearer’s incredibly diverse range of inflections individualised for each particular part, along with the remarkable ability to alternate freely between the dialogue of Mr Burns and Waylon Smithers in a single take of recording. Equally deserving of mention is Dan Castellaneta and Hank Azaria, both of whom dub the voices behind a mind-boggling number of characters in the show.

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20 Apr

The Problem With Today’s Comic Book Films

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

We dive into the second half of Guest Week with an Iranian-born movie/gaming fanatic packing some prior experience writing for entertainment media publications in his home country.

—Written by XVSting—

—Edited/formatted by Vagrantesque—

July 2008. The latest installment of Gotham’s caped crusader was released and unexpectedly, it changed the face of comic book movies forever. The Dark Knight by Christopher Nolan was not only the most appreciated comic book even to this date, but it elevated the comic book genre from cheesy-colorful costumes to award winning dark tales. With extraordinary performances and breathtaking action, The Dark Knight shattered every single barrier and expectation audiences had from a comic book movie. 2008 was also the birth of the first installment of Disney’s fresh cinematic universe that would revolutionise the genre with their masterfully planned strategy. The question is, did titles like 2012’s The Avengers benefit audiences and related movies by creating a new standard, or has their greatness damaged the smaller and solo franchises?  Let’s get started and see how far our beloved and flashy comic book movies have come!

The battle is on.

The battle is on.

While the world didn’t end at 2012, it was definitely a landmark year for comic book movies. As a kid (and I’m positive this was the same for all comic book fans), all I ever wanted was to see a crossover between characters such as Spider-Man and the X-Men together in a movie (Even a small reference would make me happy). Hence the reason why I loved games such as Marvel vs Capcom or Marvel Ultimate Alliance so much – they were one of the few entertainment media sources where fans could experience all those characters together in one picture. As I grew up, and essentially got more informed about the industry, that dream slowly faded away due to the multiply copyright dramas of each character and their respective rights holders.  As much as I love and appreciate the greatness of The Avengers for turning mine and probably all comic book fans’ dream into reality, it has created a set of fresh expectations for viewers and related studios. In short, Avengers was so good, everyone is now taking their own approach to catch up with Disney’s meticulously planned universe. Does that help us to see more extravagant movies with all-star characters? Yes. Has it affected the quality and progress of titles that are following this path? Well… this is where I think comic movies and generally most of the blockbuster trend might be going wrong.

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19 Apr

Single or Multi?

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

Here we have a post from someone who recently entered the wonderful world of game design. You can find a link to her personal blog below.

—Written by Blizz117—

—Edited/formatted by Vagrantesque—

Single or multiplayer video games – which do you prefer?

Is this even a legit question? Well that depends on the person you’re asking I suppose. Just a little background knowledge of me: My area of study is Games Design so this question forms part of a group assignment I’m currently working on. That is why I picked this particular topic to discuss (and also I’m very indecisive on choosing what to talk about so learning stuff from college is awesome sauce). I’ve already written in depth about my group assignment so there is no point in discussing it in further detail here, you can totes read it in my blog (janettewritesaboutstuff.wordpress.com, #shamelesslyselfpromote).

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17 Apr

The Best and Worst Decisions in K-Pop

Posted by vagrantesque in K-Pop, Music. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Day three and we move back into the K-Pop sphere with an article written by one third of the K-Pop dance cover group ZISSPop (check them out on YouTube) who also happens to be my sister.

Also, a quick note: Unfortunately tomorrow I won’t have the means to post anything, so Guest Week will technically go on one day longer this time around.

—Written by Krispy—

—Edited/formatted by Vagrantesque—

Hello, all. I am Krispy, sibling of Vagrantesque. Some of you may know me from ‘ZISSpop’, my K-Pop dance cover group. I have a special interest in both dance and Korean culture, so K-Pop is sort of my forte, given that it includes a generous portion of both. The following article details what – in my opinion – have been some of the best and worst decisions in the Korean Pop Music genre thus far. This includes relevant factors such as fashion, music taste, choreography, skill and group dynamic; not just music. If you know nothing about K-Pop, you probably won’t really know what I’m talking about, but feel free to give it a read anyway.

OK, what?

I tried to choose and rank these objectively (which meant getting rid of all my bias’ and fan-girl conceived opinions). The result was quite a lengthy and detailed analysis of various components within K-Pop. If you do not agree, I hope that you can at least enjoy!

– – – KRISPY DISCLAIMER – – –
The following article represents my opinion only. I am not trying to say that my opinion is the way to go, nor am I trying to claim that mine is the only one that matters, nor that I am the best. Although a lot of the following information is factual, my opinion is not fact. I do welcome your opinions, but please don’t bully me. Ty.

 

The Seven Worst decisions

 

7. Doing a second ‘Growl’ clip.

A collection of EXO’s close ups in the 2nd video for ‘Growl’.

Look, do I want to be that guy who complains about seeing extra EXO footage? No. But it just seems to me that SM’s second rendition of EXO’s Growl was a touch unnecessary. The first video had already gone viral because of how unique it was, with its smooth camera work, its complex choreography and the fact that it was (supposedly) all filmed in one single take. So why would you divert people from that? (Inb4 ‘fan-service’ and ‘for the money’). Don’t get me wrong, I love EXO as much as the next guy (probably a little more than the next guy), but to me they just take the simple first video and jazz it up, add some special effects, put a little more makeup on the blokes and force them to repeat the choreo in front of a snazzy background (and without the 360 degree camera action that made the first video unforgettable!) Call me old fashioned, but I am just a fan of some good dancing, and EXO showed a new level of skill in that first Growl clip that will set them apart from other K-Pop groups for the foreseeable future (even if only for that shot of Kai dropping his hat and then swiftly picking it up and stepping back into the choreo without blinking an eye).

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16 Apr

The Power of the Steam Sale

Posted by vagrantesque in Games, PC.

Day number two. Here’s a friend of mine who has recently followed the light at the end of the Steam-powered tunnel.

—Written by CrAk3rs—

—Edited/formatted by Vagrantesque—

Steam and sales – two words that are burnt into the minds of the lucky people who are part of the glorious PC Master Race, (sorry console kids). The sales are those of legend, creating hysteria, hype and pandemonium, ravaging our wallets of the hard earned cash that we have so long worked for.  But Steam hasn’t always been the go-to marketplace for PC. Believe it or not there once was a time where people were highly critical of the platform.

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15 Apr

On Endings, Or Why Bosses Make the Game

Posted by vagrantesque in Games.

Let’s kick the week off with a writer whose general observation blog partially inspired me to get writing several years ago.

—Written by Soapman—

—Edited/formatted by Vagrantesque—

Games are made and games are ruined by their finale. Rage, for example, is a gloriously fun game, but its finale leaves a bitter taste in the mouth, and I find myself unwilling to play it again, knowing its ending. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, however, despite being one of my least favourite Zelda games, has such a fantastic, frantic, and dramatic finale, that I find myself constantly wanting to play the game again, just to beat the boss. It is therefore the finale, in particular the boss, which I discuss in the following collection of words.

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14 Apr

Guest Week! Again!

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

Ladies and gentlemen, here we go! Vagrant Rant’s second-ever (maybe annual)

GUEST

GUEST

WRITER

WRITER

WEEK!

WEEK!

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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

Movie Review: Captain America – The Winter Soldier

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

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
-◊-◊-◊-◊-

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.

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11 Apr

Mega Ultra Blast Cast Ep.18

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


mubc2

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!

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