20
Dec
Posted by vagrantesque in Best of 2013. Tagged: 2013, Best, intro, ten, top, Year. Leave a Comment
Things have certainly worked out well timing-wise, because this is my 100th blog post for 2013 alone on Vagrant Rant. Hitting that number was one of my new year’s resolutions and to actually keep one of those is huge for me personally. It was only possible thanks to an amazing week of guest posts back in April, an entire month of Zelda countdowns in September and the beginning of a games-and-movies podcast called the Mega Ultra Blast Cast with two of my closest friends, something I had been wanting to do for a very long time. So I have a lot of people to thank, not least of which is you, dear reader, for coming back to this blog and reading my posts! Now let’s do some top tens.
2013 was a truly amazing year for all types of videogames and a wonderful year for film. It was also the first full year I was listening to Korean popular music. The ten (mostly) Top 10 lists that follow reflect my personal experience with these three entertainment mediums. The make-up of the ten lists has changed somewhat, as this year I’ve swapped out three of my 2012 lists (Top 10 Songs, Top 5 Albums and Top 10 Annoying Videogame Experiences) for some different material. Otherwise things will be pretty similar. The first list will appear here in around 24 hours and let’s just say I’m getting the negative stuff out of the way first.
I hope to see you back here then! In the meantime, why not revisit the best of 2012 to remind yourself just how far you’ve come in 12 months?
17
Dec
Posted by vagrantesque in Console, Games, Wii U. Tagged: christmas, Console, holiday, one, option, PlayStation, ps4, Wii U, xbox. 1 Comment
Over the last week or so I have been working feverishly towards getting ten Best of 2013 countdowns up on the site, but before I start I just have to say something…
So the Xbox One and the PS4 are both on Australian shelves now (well, the Xbox One at least – God help you if you’re trying to find a PS4 that isn’t on preorder at the moment). That means they will be on Christmas wishlists and dare I say part of plans for the spending of excess Christmas casual earnings / Christmas gift money. They deserve to be there. They are both very impressive pieces of tech. I like both of them and have thoroughly enjoyed my time with them thus far. I eagerly await the exciting future ahead for both consoles. Games like Titanfall, Infamous: Second Son, Destiny, Watch_Dogs, The Order: 1886 and Final Fantasy XV make me feel lucky to be able to own a next-gen (now current-gen, technically) console right now, with an entertaining future secured. If you are genuinely excited for either console, all power to you – go ahead and jump in. I feel like, if I wanted to, I could leave it at that.
But I would be betraying who I was, where I’ve come from and, heck, where I am now as a gamer, if I neglected to give another mention to the Wii U, Nintendo’s now one-year-old home console. I have been playing just as much of my Wii U of late as I have my PS4/Xbox One, so I feel obliged to point out that yes, there is a third option for you this holiday season if you feel like it’s time for a new console. Here’s why you might find it a decent choice:
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7
Dec
Posted by vagrantesque in Console, Games, PS4, Xbox One. Tagged: aus, comparison, Gaming, gen, generation, impressions, Microsoft, next, one, PlayStation, ps4, xbox. Leave a Comment
Yes, I’m that guy – I had to have both.
Awww, look at them just co-existing harmoniously…
The next generation of gaming is now well and truly here, with the Playstation 4 and the Xbox One joining the 3DS, PS Vita and Wii U in one big dysfunctional gaming family. At the time of writing I have had just over a week with the Playstation 4 and a fortnight with the Xbox One, meaning I am just about ready to talk about what has and hasn’t impressed me about the brand new consoles. I’ve divided things into sub-headings for easy reference. Note that most of these photos were taken very late at night with a combination of caffeine, minimal sleep and of course excitement, so they are a little on the awful side if you look at them too closely.
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4
Dec
Posted by vagrantesque in MUBC. Tagged: 13, 4, blast, cast, episode, mega, MUBC, one, PlayStation, podcast, ps4, thirteen, ultra, xbone, xbox. Leave a Comment
A quick follow-up! Episode 13 of the Mega Ultra Blast Cast returns to the regular podcast room and focuses on the pair of brand new next-gen consoles, the Xbox One and the PS4, which hit Australian shores at the end of last month. Listen and you’ll get our in-depth impressions of the new consoles, our regular segments and three personalised lists of our top ten favourite games of the Xbox 360/Wii/PS3 generation. All this means that it’s a pretty long episode, but it has been a very long time since our last proper recording, so please bear with us.
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 breaching new gaming frontiers.
You can play the whole thing right off this page if that cooks your bacon:
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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-13-next-gen-a-gogo
(Follow the link and then click the download tab)
As always if you enjoy what you hear please share the cast with your friends – Cheers!
28
Nov
Posted by vagrantesque in Movies. Tagged: catching, Film, fire, francis, Games, hunger, jennifer, lawrence, Movie, Review. Leave a Comment
Saw this one the night it came out – so much hype around it! I’ve let it stew for a week to make sure I was giving it fair thought.
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Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson
Director: Francis Lawrence (Constantine, I am Legend)
Rating: M
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After all the excitement that came along with the wonderfully realised film adaptation of the first Hunger Games book (to which I gave a glowing review last year), I find myself in a weird position regarding its sequel. The end-of-year blockbuster has done little to change my opinion that Catching Fire is the weakest of the three chapters in Suzanne Collins‘ young adult novel trilogy story-wise, but Catching Fire the movie is so cleverly made, so effectively acted and so tonally spot-on that I am forced to admit, with some degree of surprise, that it is every bit as good as its predecessor.
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27
Nov
Posted by vagrantesque in MUBC. Tagged: 12, blast, cast, episode, japan, mega, MUBC, podcast, tourist, twelve, ultra. Leave a Comment
It’s all coming together, slowly… Sorry for the massive delay in getting this up.
The Mega Ultra Blast Cast comes to you from Japan, sort of, for Episode Twelve. This episode was recorded at about one in the morning on the third-last day of our Japan trip, over a week ago, from our hotel room while we were consuming alcohol. Shane, Delaney and I discuss our impressions and highlights from the trip, including all our wonderful food and drink experiences, before we move on to discussing our favourite Japanese game franchises. So, so sorry about the poor general quality of this episode.
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 slightly intoxicated opinions of three tired but happy Australian tourists in the land of the rising sun.
You can play the whole thing right off this page if that floats your boat:
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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-12-japanese-drunk-edition
(Follow the link and then click the download tab)
As always if you enjoy what you hear please share the cast with your friends – Cheers!
20
Nov
Posted by vagrantesque in Misc. Tagged: Direct, gentleman, nintendo, PSY, Reaction. Leave a Comment
So if it isn’t already apparent, I should probably take this opportunity to point out that this November has been a pretty barren month for Vagrant Rant. Aside from an all-out assault on my free time by a number of work commitments, there has been one primary reason for this: I have just returned from a 10-day trip to Japan with my Mega Ultra Blast Cast colleagues. And it was awesome.
Just about as soon as I touched down in Sydney once more, however, I had to hit the ground running with even more work commitments, even though there is a veritable feast of content to write about right now. This puts me in a bit of a pickle, as I highly doubt I will be able to cover everything I was planning to around this time of year. Here’s what I would love to do in the next couple of weeks, in a perfect world:
- Write up my many, many thoughts on the excessive quirkiness, wonderful culture of respect and otherworldy efficiency of Japan, based on my brief experience there;
- Write a handful of proper album reviews for the first time in a very long while, potentially focusing on the recently released Linkin Park remix album, two Capsule albums and perhaps more;
- Post a terribly low quality episode of the Mega Ultra Blast Cast that we recorded in our hotel room late in our trip, while a little, erm, under the influence;
- Write a proper review of the much-anticipated Hunger Games sequel, Catching Fire, which releases in Australia very soon and has big shoes to fill;
- Do decent justice to the two next-generation gaming consoles, the Xbox One and the PS4, launching in a matter of days, with some first-up impressions and coverage.
There’s definitely a lot of exciting stuff and I am not terribly optimistic about getting it all done before my Best of 2013 series gets up and running. I will try my best and if even half of it happens | will be a happy man. In the meantime, here is roughly what the rest of my year looks like in terms of movies and games, more or less in order of release:
Need less to say, “I am keen” doesn’t quite cut it here.
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30
Oct
Posted by vagrantesque in 3DS, Games. Tagged: 2ds, 3DS, nintendo, Pokemon, Review, version, x, xerneas, y, yveltal. Leave a Comment
Over the last couple of weeks, every time I thought I was ready to write and complete this review someone online would discover some other new thing within Pokemon X. But now I can finally say I’m ready to post the review having experienced enough of the whole game to make a good fist of everything. This will be a long one. Enjoy.
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Platform: 3DS
Developer: Game Freak
Rating: PG
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Not “X Version”, for some reason. Just “X”.
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Simply X-cellent.
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Pokemon X and its near-identical counterpart Pokemon Y represent several ambitious steps forward for one of Nintendo’s flagship videogame series. The first three-dimensional Pokemon adventure is a stunning audio-visual achievement that makes the 3DS sing and draws smartly from the nostalgia wells of an entire generation. But perhaps most excitingly, the game is the first in the series to admit that Pokemon has transformed beyond its creators’ wildest dreams into an endlessly deep competitive juggernaut over the last decade. The game works very clearly with this in mind, resulting in a wonderful social experience that is also more balanced than the series ever has been. It’s a must-have for most any 3DS owner.
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26
Oct
Posted by vagrantesque in MUBC. Tagged: 11, blast, cast, eleven, episode, mega, MUBC, podcast, Pokemon, ultra, x, y. Leave a Comment
The Mega Ultra Blast Cast FINALLY devotes an episode to discussing Pokemon, specifically the recent worldwide release of Pokemon X and Pokemon Y. We discuss what we like and don’t like about the new games, sealing any story spoilers in their own section. Delaney and I spend most of the episode trying to talk down a fired-up Shane (here’s the link to the blog post he talks about on the cast), but there can be little denying that we all really, really like what this new 3DS generation is doing for the series. We also find time to talk about the excellent movie Gravity and answer a rather deep question about the nature of choice in videogames, submitted by a listener for the first time ever!
If you feel so inclined, go for a run, take a scenic drive or just curl up on the couch and play some Pokeomn while you listen to the biased opinions of a Pokemon hater, a Pokemon lover and someone who just can’t see past Pokemon right now.
You can play the whole thing right off this page if that tickles your fancy:
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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-11
(Follow the link and then click the download tab)
As always if you enjoy what you hear please share the cast with your friends and like our Facebook page. Cheers!
24
Oct
Posted by vagrantesque in Movies. Tagged: alfonso, bullock, clooney, cuaron, Film, george, gravity, Review, sandra. Leave a Comment
I came a bit late to the party on this one, but finally saw it in 3D (not in IMAX, unfortunately) a couple of days ago.
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Starring: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Ed Harris
Director: Alfonso Cuaron (Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban, Children of Men)
Rating: M
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Fans of the Harry Potter film adaptations will likely be familiar with (and grateful for) the talents of Alfonso Cuaron. The visionary Mexican director was responsible for bringing the third chapter of that saga, Prisoner of Azkaban, to the big screen back in 2004. Many film critics are of the opinion that Azkaban is the best in the series (personally, I think only Deathly Hallows Part II trumps it) and it isn’t hard to see why when you watch the film. Since that notable achievement, however, Cuaron has been rather quiet on the feature front, with only his highly praised 2006 effort Children of Men coming out since then. Until now, of course. Now we have Gravity, a visual experience with typically ambitious Cuaron touches (I love that we can say that now). It’s very, very good.
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