Music Video of the Day for 7/13/10

Usher - "There Goes My Baby"

Good thing he decided this song to be the next single. Perhaps a lot of people of getting sick of "oh oh oh oh my gosh" on the radio these days.

Music Roundup for 7/8/10 aka My Top 5 Albums of the Year so far...

We are pretty much halfway through 2010 so far and I haven't much blogging about what I have been listening to or other things regarding music, so I might as well write about my top five albums of the year so far in no particular order.

M.I.A. - /\/\ /\ Y /\

I have been looking forward to this album for a while because I know she brings the crazy and the unorthodox style to the music fold. Also known as Maya, M.I.A.'s new album is as different as you expect from her even though some would say it is not really her strongest effort compared to her previous albums. In my mind, it has been under the radar for a while because of the Lady Gaga takeover and such along with M.I.A. having a baby in the past year as if that Grammy performance of "Swagger Like Us" with Jay-Z, Kanye West, T.I., and Lil' Wayne was any indication. This is pretty new as it is actually out next week, but after a few listens I have enjoying it so far as I always appreciate "Different" things in the world of music today. Current favorites for me so far are "Steppin Up," "XXXO," and "Born Free," which are most of the songs she put out so far before the rest of the album releases.

Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty

In the past week, this is quickly becoming my favorite album of the year. Sometimes you just gotta stick to your roots and your certain sound of music which is what Big Boi did with his new album. He does not need to experiment with other forms of music having an obligatory song for the clubs that is all techno or electronic. This is to me Atlanta hip-hop at its finest as he delivers once again with bangers throughout the album along with collaborations with T.I., Janelle Monae, B.o.B., Jamie Foxx, and more. From beginning to end, it is a banging album with your mix of heavy hip-hop tunes from "Daddy Fat Sax," "Shutterbugg," (the first single off the album and video above), "General Patton," and "Tangerine" featuring T.I. Even the slowed down tracks are great like "Be Still" with Janelle Monae. Of course, all of this makes you wish the Outkast reunion would go down in the future with Andre 3000, but that remains to be seen even though the bonus tracks feature him, which is as close as it gets for it to happen. If you are tired of hip-hop getting all clubby and fancy, Big Boi's latest album sticks to what hip-hop was before it got all techno-y, and that alone makes it one of the best albums of the year and my favorite so far.

Gorillaz - Plastic Beach

The Gorillaz album for me was also another highly anticipated one because I'm a fan of the band. Demon Days further escalated them to the mainstream with "Feel Good Inc." still being played on radios today, but their latest album is also pretty good living up to their unique sound along with bringing back the animated characters in their music videos that consist of continuous storytelling. "Stylo" was a great first single for them along with one of the better yet simple music videos of the year featuring Bruce Willis chasing them down. Some of my personal favorites along with "Stylo" are "Rhinestone Eyes" and "Superfast Jellyfish." More Gorillaz in my mind is a good thing as Plastic Beach is among my favorite albums of the year so far.

Janelle Monae - The ArchAndroid

One of the more impressive albums of the year and also at the top of my list is Janelle Monae's debut album. This came out of nowhere for me as one of the sleepers along the mainstream realm of music, but damn this album is too good. Being a new artist in the game can be tough to make a first impression but Monae has done it big with her breakout song, "Tightrope" featuring Big Boi (video above). Her style of R&B and soul music has been unmatched by anyone else I have listened this year as if she is in her own league from the album's beginning to end. She has been one of those artists to watch for a while and I think she has been worth the hype being a breathe of fresh air to the R&B/Soul game. The album's first half is among the best thing I have heard so far from "Dance or Die," "Faster," and "Locked Inside" in that exact order as it goes to tell she is here to stay in the music world. I actually hope she has a bright future in the music industry as it is rare these days to find new artists that would stick out from the norm delivering musical experiences unlike no other.

LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening

Last, but not least, is LCD Soundsystem's latest album and I do love LCD Soundsystem even though I heard them more on various soundtracks of video games in the day from SSX On Tour (I think), the Burnout franchise, and more. It also has I think the best opening track of the year with "Dance Yrself Clean," an eight minute opus that starts all calm and relaxing, then bam the crazy beats kick in halfway. If only I saw them live at Pomona last month which would of been sweet, but oh well. This is so far the Electro-Rock album of the year for me so far, so if you want your fix that genre of music, you can't do wrong with LCD Soundsystem's latest.

That's it for my top five albums of the year so far. I would likely do an end of the year post with ten in mind like last year as these five would definitely make the top ten. I was thinking of honorable mentions for other albums I have listened to like The Chemical Brothers' latest, Further, and of course perhaps the most anticipated album of the year in many people's minds, which was Drake's Thank Me Later, turned out to be a disappointment for many but I still liked it. Other honorable mentions and recommend to listen to are The Roots's latest, How I Got Over, Reflection Eternal's Revolutions Per Minute, and of course Usher's Raymond vs. Raymond. Of course I do need my clubby music fix here and there as new albums from Lil Jon and Kelis fit that bill for me. There is still the second half of the year of music to experience as I'm looking forward to obviously Kanye's latest, N.E.R.D., and arguably most anticipated of the year now, Daft Punk's soundtrack to Tron Legacy. In the meantime, enjoy my recommendations above.

Music Video of the Day for 7/2/10

Benny Benassi - "Spaceship" feat. Kelis, Jean-Bapiste, & apl.de.ap

Treasure Brings The Pain Once Again... The Sin & Punishment: Star Successor Review

Developer Treasure has a known pedigree of memorable shooters through the years and console generations from Gunstar Heroes, Radiant Silvergun, and Ikaruga. One of their known efforts was only on the Nintendo 64 called Sin & Punishment as it never seen an official release outside Japan until its appearance on the Wii Virtual Console two years ago. Due to the success of the N64 import classic as a download, Nintendo of America decided to bring in the sequel, Sin & Punishment: Star Successor, to other territories beyond Japan on the Wii once again made by Treasure. In Japan, it is known as simply Sin & Punishment 2 and continues the franchise with more shooting goodness and crazy challenge Treasure games have been known for being notoriously difficult. Even though Star Successor is not that bad in terms of difficulty compared to past Treasure games, it is still a hard game and definitely something hardcore shump fans can appreciate especially on the Wii. It turns out to be one of the Wii's better games out this year and a potential sleeper hit.

The story is what you expect out of a Japanese developer with insanity your brain can not comprehend. You play as two characters, Isa and Kachi, as Isa is trying to protect Kachi from the Nebulox. Along the way, you will encounter cutscenes between the two protagonists as the dialogue is as cheesy and weird as you expect out of something from Japan. This story is not going to win any awards as you rather focus on shooting thousands of enemies, surviving the toughest stretches, and encounter epic boss battles. You can select between the two characters at the start of the game as Isa and Kachi have separate gameplay styles of shooting. Isa is focused on manual aiming while Kachi has auto lock-on with her aiming, so separate playthroughs with these characters keeps the experience as fresh as it can through the seven stages that take a few hours to beat.

Unlike the shaky controls that were on the original game, Star Successor with the Wii controls like a dream for a shooter as the Wiimote is used for aiming and firing while the Nunchuk is for evasive maneuvers. Other than the shooting, you can tap the fire button for a melee attack as in the original as well as it works wonders against enemies up close and deflecting enemy fire such as missiles back at them if locked on by the A button. There is a charge shot as a more powerful attack, but differs with Isa and Kachi as Isa is one big shot while Kachi can lock on to multiple enemies at once when charging. The evasive maneuvers become second nature as you progress through the game as it is required to survive the crazy waves of enemies and the numerous boss battles. Timely dash dodges make you feel like a badass of sorts, but it is all about knowing enemy patterns to master evading in this game as it would take dying to learn them and trust me, you will die a lot in this game just like any other Treasure game that came before it. Luckily dying and continuing is not that bad of a penalty since the checkpoint system is pretty generous, but your score will reset to zero for every continue. The shooting does indeed feel satisfying with the Wii controls defeating wave after wave of enemies, but there are definitely difficult roadblocks in your way with the numerous boss battles. It is all in matter of having a wonderfully executed run through the game's seven stages, which doesn't take long to beat. There are three difficulties to choose from before starting as well from easy, normal, and hard as each difficulty does offer tougher enemies, you receive more damage the harder the difficulty, and more boss patterns to memorize. In addition, there is a co-op function in Star Successor, but the second player is just another cursor to fire at the screen rather than playing as the other character. I can see why the decision was made with that since the action is already crazy as is now with one character, but with two it would just make things more chaotic even though it is a little unfortunate co-op feels limited. The only online functionality the game has is leaderboards to keep your scores compare with the best of the world as these will make players stay busy and motivated for perfect runs that makes you wish there was a replay option. Despite that, this is Treasure shooters at their finest keeping your toes and reflexes intact through the game as it is filled with intense moment after another, which makes it one of the more challenging experiences out there to get this year.

There is somewhat a lack of visuals in Star Successor especially with the characters. Isa and Kachi look pretty bland compared to the rest of whatever is going on in the game as if it is early to mid Playstation 2 stuff rather than Wii graphics at this time in its lifespan. However, it is made up with a smooth framerate that rarely slows down, which is an amazing feat considering all the chaos that is going on the screen. The diverse backgrounds are the shining stars when it comes the game's graphics from underground cities, the water tunnel in the second stage, sky fortresses, and the vehicle level at the desert as you travel throughout post-apocalyptic Japan. The soundtrack is also pretty good for a Japanese shooter with tunes that fit the levels, but the English voice acting is lackluster though because of the awkward dialogue. At least there is a Japanese voice action with English subtitles which makes things seem more tolerable.

Sin & Punishment: Star Successor is as hardcore as it gets on the Wii especially being a Treasure game as they once again bring the pain delivering another solid and challenging shooter. The Wii controls do make the game a little easier even though there are other control options with the Classic and Gamecube Controllers if you do not prefer aiming at the screen, but this game is meant for Wii controls out of the gate. It is definitely still a hard game, but finishing all seven stages is very doable with the generous checkpoints even though you still see the game over screen numerous times. Since it is a Japanese shooter, it is not as long as it takes a handful of hours to beat, but shorter if you are able to execute high scoring runs to put on the game's online leaderboards. That alone gets incentive for the game's replay value pushing players to become better as avoiding attacks and thinking of ways to rack up higher scores on the three difficulties. This is truly one of the better games out on Wii to buy now and it could be a potential sleeper hit for the year.

Score = 8.5/10

Pros:

• Controls like a dream for a shooter with the Wiimote + Nunchuk
• This is Treasure at its finest once again with its notorious challenge and delivering intense moments at a breakneck pace
• Generous checkpoint system makes the game a little more easier to beat
• Online leaderboards push for more replay value to rack up higher scores becoming better at the game

Cons:

• The story is a little too crazy for your mind to understand
• Some of the graphics feel a little off especially with the characters
• English voice acting can be atrocious at times
• Way too challenging for the casual players that play Wii Sports and Wii Fit only

Video of the Day for 6/28/10

Oh, just another video of Victor Kim being a sick man...

I Found My New Favorite Game of All-Time... The Super Mario Galaxy 2 Review

I was literally blown away by the first Super Mario Galaxy when it came out in November 2007. It was a Mario game unlike anything else going beyond what Mario 64 and Sunshine brought to the table with the whole galaxy theme along with messing with gravity. I never seen such unbelievable variety in a game ever until the first Galaxy. Nintendo seemed like they can do more with the galaxy concept with Mario, which is why Super Mario Galaxy 2 was announced as a sequel on the Wii. Not only Galaxy 2 exceeds why the first Galaxy started by expanding upon the gravity concept, it also adds a new sense of variety that is unmatched in any other game that is out today. When Nintendo is at the top of their game taking advantage of what they have, they can not be stopped as Galaxy 2 is an example of that. I never thought that the first Galaxy can never be topped in terms of Mario games for me, but Galaxy 2 exceeded my expectations in a big way to a point it is pure perfection.

The simple storyline for Galaxy 2 is what you expect with Princess Peach being kidnapped again by Bowser as it is up to Mario to save the day (I bet you know the drill by now). A Luma gets lost from her mama which allows Mario to do his spin attack that was also in the first game. In some way, Nintendo treated the story this time as if the first Galaxy did not exist with Rosalina around and her hub world to explore, but eventually there are some relations between the two games once you beat it. Galaxy 2 takes the hub world approach in a different way with Spaceship Mario, a "faceship" you travel on chasing Bowser through six worlds that consist of many galaxies you transverse on. Other than stocking up on extra lives, which the game hands out again like candy if you played recent Mario games such as the first Galaxy and New Super Mario Bros. Wii, there is nothing much that Spaceship Mario offers to explore besides talking to new friends you made during your journey. Galaxy 2 does things better by straight up going boom boom through these galaxies at a quicker pace by selecting the galaxy to explore within the given world. You are still getting power stars to progress through the game as well as grand stars against Bowser and Bowser Jr. at the end of each world, but the sequel once again does a good job of allowing players to be beat the game with the minimum requirements, but those who are wiiling to 100% the game will go the extra mile to get all the stars. The fun does not stop there when you are able to get all 120 Stars as a special surprise gets thrown at you at the point the game takes a different turn with a new batch of 120 green stars to collect.

The combat mechanics of Galaxy 2 are pretty much the same as the first game with some new fun additions and power-ups. The spin attack is still Mario's go-to attack by shaking the Wii Remote to take out enemies collecting star bits and coins if he jumps on them. The platforming remains as satisfying as it has been with Mario making death defying jumps at times and also avoiding obstacles that stand in his way. Other than the core combat, some power-ups return from the first game with the bee suit for temporary flight and the fire flower, but the new power-ups are fun to use anytime they were offered in the galaxies. The Rock Suit flashes back to the Goron Suit in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask of rolling in a rock-like ball taking out certain obstacles and enemies. Mario can also hold a drill-like item to drill holes underground to reach new areas in certain galaxies. The Cloud Suit is arguably the best new addition which allows Mario to make cloud-like platforms to hop on even though there is a limit with them. Other than the new power-ups, Mario's dinosaur buddy Yoshi also gets some attention as well in some levels and it actually feels fun to control him around eating enemies, making him go crazy fast, float like a balloon, and illuminate light in certain spots. Yoshi does not feel tacked on as compared to previous Mario games, which is a good thing seeing the green dinosaur being a major factor in Mario's adventures. Luigi is also playable at some point in the game and he controls similar to what he was in the first game if you were able to unlock him in the first game.

The level design is Super Mario Galaxy 2's biggest feat especially when Nintendo is at the top of their game. It is unrivaled compared to games and the variety once again increases tenfold like the first game. Sure, some elements from the first Galaxy return, but you are always doing something new every ten minutes. It is as if they give a tease by messing around with a new item, but they stop focusing on it to move on to something else, which makes the experience more fresh than it should in the first place. At one point, you're riding Yoshi around, then you're flying with a bird that changes the Wii controls up a bit, and revisiting a classic level from a previous game. There is never a dull moment where repetition kicks in as the new ideas keep flowing and flowing at every hour, which is an amazing feat of its own. Also like the first Galaxy, you feel like you can not stop playing because of you wanted to see what is next or what would they throw at you next even though they will tell you to take a break here and there. It makes you wonder how crazy the developers are when they were making these levels by pounding in new idea after new idea. Boss battles are also fun to play even though the similar formula of three hits still works, but the ideas keep flowing to them as well. Sure as in any other Mario game you have played over the years, the frustration of trying to make certain jumps or dealing with the prankster comet challenges, also returning from the first game, will indeed kick in at some point, but luckily the extra lives will come in handy. It also borrows some sense of a Super Guide from New Super Mario Bros. Wii in which they will do the level for you as you end up with a bronze star if you die too much.

The graphics for Galaxy 2 is among the best the Wii can offer so far with lots of variety of backgrounds Mario explores from haunted houses, jungles, space stations, and so on. Sure, there are the obligatory lava, ice, and water levels that appear at points during the game, but the level variety is still out of this world and it makes you say OMG when you see these backgrounds and the amazing level design working together as one. As expected with other Nintendo games, this game performs at a constant 60 frames per second and no obvious glitches. The camera also was handled very well with rare cases of it becoming a problem, which is a good improvement. With the top notch effort Nintendo has done with the graphics on the Wii for Galaxy 2, the same can be said for the music and sound as well. Super Mario Galaxy had one of the best gaming soundtracks in recent memory with an epic mix of orchestral and remixed classic tunes as the sequel is no different continuing the mix. Some of the orchestral pieces are indeed the best I have heard in any game in a while and while the first game gravitated to more Super Mario Bros. 3 tunes, the remixed BGMs borrow from Super Mario World, specifically the Ghost House music reappearing again, and even Super Mario 64. The sound effects remain unchanged for the most part if you played the last game too, but the soundtrack as a whole is nothing but amazing stuff from beginning to end.

I never experienced something as special as Super Mario Galaxy 2 especially in this current generation of consoles. Even though it is a sequel to an amazing game, it still lots of things new to the fold that also caters to the astounding level design. The game is also beautifully paced well that players will be happy with whether if they want to get through the game as fast as they can meeting the 70 star requirement to take down Bowser for the last time or being a true completionist collecting everything in the game from comet coins, green stars which makes the game twice as long for those that are willing to accept the challenge, and more. In addition, Galaxy 2 looks as good as if better than the first game on the Wii and the soundtrack is once again among the best in the business. Nintendo's magic once again delivers as if they never missed a beat through these years with Galaxy 2. It is funny to me that Galaxy 2 is now in a special place in my heart as my new favorite game of all-time, but indeed it is beating an elite group of games I have played over the years. This is something any gamer should not miss on at any cost as you must play this game.

Score = 10/10

Pros:

• Pure perfection as it is Nintendo at its finest once again
• Level design remains unmatched compared to everything else out now
• Soundtrack is among the best in the gaming business today
• A great mix of old and new from past Mario games with the amount of variety offered
• None of the new additions feel as tacked on as Yoshi is actually fun to play as in he appears in certain levels

Cons:

• None at all! My highest recommendation to go out and play this game as soon as possible.

Finally, A Kart Racer That Can Compete... The Modnation Racers Review

Modnation Racers feels like a breathe of fresh air for the kart racing genre that is dominated by the Mario Kart series. It also takes the genre to new heights under the Play, Create, and Share formula made famous by LittleBigPlanet. All the customization elements allow players' imaginations to go through the roof or just attempt to replicate what has been popular in other games from characters, karts, and even the tracks. While it brings some new things to the table, it suffers from lingering flaws from other kart racers, specifically Mario Kart. Other than that, Modnation Racers is a solid start for a new kart racing franchise to stand toe to toe with the rest of the competition.

Modspot is the main hub world for Modnation Racers where you can access single player and multiplayer offerings, look at what is hot in the community in terms of user created mods, karts, and tracks, and the studio itself where your creations can be built. Even if you can drive around to those locations, you can still access those areas just by the pause menu. The single player offerings consist of the career mode, standard races, and time trials. The career mode does have a storyline, but not something to get crazy about even though it gives you a reason why you are racing to get at the top of the ladder. It is pretty much a series of races with optional challenges to complete. You can still perform the minimal requirements in these races to progress in the career, but at some point, you gotta win in order to move on to the series. As similar to other racers like Mario Kart, the computer AI can be ridiculously cheap especially in the later races where winning can be impossible as it takes some crazy amounts of luck to win. This allows for many moments of frustration and numerous race restarts when everything is not going your way, which is why positioning and timing do matter in terms of being successful in this game. The career has five series of races that can be beaten in a matter of hours and of course luck, but the fun doesn't end there.

The core gameplay is pretty simple if you played other kart racers before. There are weapons to get in the item circles from missiles, sonic bombs, thunder bolts, and boosts. These weapons can be saved for upgraded versions when you come across another item circle for more powerful attacks, in which there are three levels. Strategy does get put into consideration when dealing with these weapons in terms of usage of whether to save up for a powerful attack or use them now to hopefully get a quick lead. Usually, the level 3 weapons are pretty useful in the races from a warp that goes beyond what a regular boost can do those a storm of thunderbolts on the racers ahead of you. Also similar to other kart racers are obstacles to avoid as well and big jumps to do tricks for more points and boost meter, also can be gained by drifting as well. Usage of this meter is also crucial to success and it can used to boost and also as a shield against weapon attacks. When these systems all get put in together, Modnation Racers is indeed a solid kart racer, but sometimes it makes you wish there could be more weapons to use other than the normal four.

Even though the racing component of Modnation Racers is solid yet flawed, the creative aspect is where the game truly shines. Pretty much the major parts of the game are customizable from the mods you play as, the kart you drive, and also the tracks. New mods, karts, and tracks can be made in mere minutes thanks to the simple mechanics of customization being offered, but those with a big creative mind can also take their sweet time to make something really cool for the community to see seeing all the timing pay off. Then again, most of the popular customizations that were made are characters you are familiar with from all the famous IPs in existence from other games, movies, television, etc. The majority of the customizations are in fact from these IPs and no wonder there is not any copyright issues yet with any of this stuff like what LittleBigPlanet had to deal with when it came out even though those issues weren't much a problem there either. It does show though that the Play, Create, and Share formula can go beyond than just a platformer with Modnation Racers.

The online component is also another shining element in Modnation Racers as all your creations and others' can be shared and downloadable for everyone to use. There is even a rating system of which are the hottest tracks to drive on even though most of them are for trophy whoring purposes and replications of past games, characters to play as, and so on. The racing part also offers some modes for players to be able to race against from regular races, a five-race series, and time trials. There is also an experience system that combines your racing performance online and your creations into one for a big reputation in the community. For the most part online peformance seems solid pending with your connection, but if you are not online in the Modnation servers, you are missing out on the majority of the whole game. Tracks, karts, and mods can be downloaded in seconds as well.

The major flaw in Modnation Racers is its abysmal load times. It takes a couple of minutes at most to load up a race both offline and online even with the game's mandatory install. Loading up the Modspot is not that bad compared to the races, but it makes you question why would Sony put out a product like this in 2010 with horrendous loading. Other than that, the game performs at a solid framerate with rare cases of slowdown. However, there can be numerous situations where you go off track for no reason at all with no instant get back on the track button unless you're completely off course. Graphically, Modnation Racers looks fine with colorful characters that they give you, but the customizations do make the game way more diverse than it originally was. As for the sound, it is nothing much than just generic tunes despite some decent voice acting with the characters. The commentary can also get a little annoying at times too especially if you have replaying a race over and over again in the career mode.

I still enjoyed my time with Modnation Racers despite its setbacks from the absurd rubberbanding of the cheap A.I. and the long load times. It is great seeing all the creations that the community has made so far as well as feeling satisfied with some online victories. In addition, it is nice to see another kart racer other than Mario Kart make a statement in the genre and also taking it to new heights with all the customizable elements being offered. Online does matter in a game like this, but playing in offline means you are completely missing the whole point of this game. Modnation Racers is off to a solid start to something great if this becomes a franchise as I see a bright future for it since the community seems to be going crazy with all those creations online.

Score = 8/10

Pros:

• Play, Create, Share formula definitely works for a kart racer
• Customizable elements are simple to use, but it does takes time to make something truly remarkable
• The kart racing feels solid with the handling, weapons, and variety of obstacles to avoid
• Online support is fantastic, but pretty much mandatory to enjoy the whole game

Cons:

• Abysmal load times both offline and online
• Computer A.I. even at normal difficulty can be cheap and frustrating especially with the rubberbanding
• More weapons would of been nice
• Sound didn't do much for me and can be annoying at times.