YouTube Spotlight: Nerd³ - Rambolic Recommendations

Daniel Hardcastle is the reason I started the gaming side of this blog and also why I don't blog often. 

As a member of the internet community, I am well versed in the goings on of several YouTube "celebrities". However, I feel that some don't get as much attention as they deserve, and this is why this section has been set up. Obviously, this is only my opinion, but this is my blog and only a recommendation so....there.

While thinking of the first person to choose for a YouTube Spotlight, I was thinking why I started blogging like this and reviewing games in this way, and then it hit me - Nerd³.

For those of you who don't know, Daniel Hardcastle, or Nerd Cubed as he is known on YouTube - is a British game reviewer and vlogger. While that isn't spectacular on YouTube, the way he presents his reviews, his amazing sense of humor and his editing skills make him stand out among the others.

I often refer to him as the Eddie Izzard of game reviewers, as his humor can be dry and rambling but, for me at least, it is always hilarious and entertaining. I first saw Nerd³ when he did a collaboration with Martyn Littlewood (or InTheLittleWood as he is known on YouTube). After that First Great Journey, I was hooked on his charm and sense of humor. 

His work includes Reviews, challenges, vlogs on a Secondary Channel, collaborations with other YouTubers (including his Dad, which are hilarious as well), as well as more serious pieces and rants about current problems. He also used to do Let's Plays and the 13 Ways To Die series on Machinima, which had their own charm and the same anarchic comedic value.
There are very few YouTube comedy reviewers who can keep that comedic edge up to a very high standard, but Dan Hardcastle is one of those people, and he deserves his over 1 million subscribers and probably more.

It's very hard to pick a "best" Nerd Cubed video to try and give a good example of his work, as all of his videos have their own merits. There's not formula in place for one of his videos. Handily, he made a video called "Nerd³ in a Nutshell", which is, well, self explanatory:

So there we have it, I believe you should all go and support Daniel "Nerd³" Hardcastle in every way you can, because quite frankly, there is no one else on YouTube who can provide the regular and hillarious content that he can. Just do it. Enter the Domain of the Nerd³...

Links:

Nerd³ Channel
Nerd³ Second Channel
Nerd³ Twitter
Dad³ Channel

Introducing...Rambolic Recommendations!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am adding yet another idea/section to my blog, namely Rambolic Recommendations.

In this section, I will try and promote people, bands, websites and other such things that I feel is worth your time and sometimes money in supporting or watching. This will be split into four main sections:

1. YouTube Spotlight - Where I suggest a YouTube account that has either inspired me to do something or just made me laugh. This could range from Gaming channels, music videos or just random videos which had amused me.

2. Bands Worth a Damn - This will be where I promote bands and artists which I feel don't get their fair share of praise. I already have at least 3 articles set up for this very subject so they should be coming very soon...maybe

3. PlayItNow - This is where I recommend either a new or retro game which I think people should have a lot of fun with. This may also clash with my game reviews themselves, but it will become clear later which games go into which sections

4. Back The Cause - This is my serious section where I ask you guys to back or support someone or something very close to my heart or that I feel is being neglected. For an example of this, see my last post on the topic of censorship to get an idea.

Although some of these will overlap slightly with the other sections I post about, this will not overshadow any of my other sections. I know I don't post a lot due to work restraints but I will try and keep it up to a few posts a month.

So keep an eye out for my personal favourites and also have a look at my Tumblr page where the shorter of these articles will probably end up exclusively.

But anyway, that's what's been going on here. I have a few reviews going at the moment, both music and retro game wise, so watch out for those and I'll speak to you later.

Good day and Ta Ra...

Please Support TotalBiscuit - Serious Rant

Please share this if you believe TotalBiscuit deserves his money for doing his job.

After watching this and Nerd³ videos on the subject of censorship and YouTube, I feel it is extremely important to let people know how some companies are bending the rules to deceive the public.

TotalBiscuit’s job is to critique games, for better or for worse, and for anyone to say he does not deserve the money or revenue for these videos is quite frankly insulting to him, his fans and to all the budding game reviewers/critics on the internet. His channel is one of the main reasons I ended up setting up a review blog, so to see his channel attacked like this so that a game developer can pull the wool over the consumers’ eyes for longer is atrocious.

Please watch this and Dan’s video (which I’ve linked under the Nerd Cubed name) to make people more aware of what some are trying to do. They’re trying to trick us into believing their game is of a decent standard by slating anyone who opposes that idea.

TotalBiscuit is one of the most insightful and hard working critics on YouTube, and I’d hate for him to curb his show because of such pettiness from a couple of developers. Please watch the video to see what I mean and show your support for him and those who fight against the misuse of censorship.

Thank you. 

This Zombie 'fad' needs to end soon - Gaming Rant

When we say the phrase 'stop flogging a dead horse', most of us will think that it means not to something until it becomes boring, meaningless and just boring. The games industry obviously see this phrase as 'better make another Zombie game'.

As of late, there has been an over saturation of Zombie games and Zombie media. The latest of these being the PS3 exclusive, The Last of Us. Seeing trailers and gameplay, I see nothing spectacular about the game other than it looks like Uncharted: Zombie Edition. Don't get me wrong, Naughty Dog have probably done a great job yet again with graphics and gameplay, but the premise is as old as the some of the Zombies you have to beat to death. I mean, now we probably see more zombie games coming out per year than any other genre, probably because zombies are seemingly able to fit in to any genre with ease. First and Third Person shooters, RTS, DOTA games, you name it there's probably a zombie game dedicated to it.

I know people complain about the lack of innovation that has come into the industry, where the most innovative thing to come into a series is a dog with a flak jacket (have a guess what game that is...), but just because you're a new Intellectual Property, that doesn't meant you NEED to be a zombie game. Obviously there is a lot of good zombie games out there, like Left 4 Dead, Dead Rising, Day Z etc, but that fact is they came out spread out enough for each to stand alone as 'not another zombie game' release. When you look at the release line up and at least 4 of the next 10 games out happen to be about there slow moving sods, you start to grow as tired of them as internet reviewers do of first person shooters.

Another problem I have with these zombie games is the setting. Of course, for these games to really work they need to be set in the 'post-apocalyptic' world. Shambling monstrosities wouldn't look as threatening in an open park on a sunny day, would they? The problem I have is that it's become a device for people who can't be bothered to do research into a historical period. It's like someone in an office once said:
Guy 1: "Hey, let's make a game where you play the role of a normal person during a historically relevant time!"
Guy 2: "That would mean research and effort wouldn't it?"
Guy 1: "Well, of course, yeah. But..."
Guy 2: "POST-APOCALYPSE WORLD!!!"
I know some games need it, but others just make the market seem over saturated, especially when zombies are added.

I would just like to see some new games with different antagonists, the kind that can think and not just stumble at you until you hit them enough. I heard someone recently asking for a come back of Pirates as villains in games, and I think its a good idea. We have a couple of new games coming out with that premise, but maybe not enough. Personally, I would like to see more mundane and realistic things twisted and manipulated into threatening objects of terror. For me, the idea of humans being manipulated to turn against you is far scarier and more threatening than brainless shuffling zombies.

Again, this is only my opinion, but if we carry on abusing the use of zombies in media, it will become even less scary than Vampires and Werewolves have become in recent years...

Green Day: 99 Revolutions Tour at The Emirates Stadium, London - Gig Review

As I stated in my review of Uno, Dos and Tre, Green Day's return to the Emirates Stadium, London is my second live experience with the pop rock giants. However, their visit to Wembley Stadium in 2010 was backed by an excellent album in the form of 21st Century Breakdown, an album I would say was one of Green Day's best. This time, however, things are different. With Billie Joe only recently coming out of rehab and their London gig the first surviving gig from the original tour before his trip there, It was concerning to see how his stage presence would change. Also, with the release of what I feel were three below average albums from the band, this trip to London for me went from sheer excitement to nervous excitement very quickly. The question is now, did Green Day deliver on their only trip to the UK on their tour?

Build Up

As with most gigs I go to, I'm not a fan of heading up on the day and coming home again. Seeing as I live a good 5 to 6 hour coach journey from London, I would probably be massively uncomfortable and tired for the entire gig and for the following days. So instead I travelled up a few days earlier with my girlfriend to enjoy London in some of the few sunny days we've seen so far this year. When it came to the day, the weather was beautiful, I met up with some of my friends who were coming and we head to the Emirates Stadium, home ground of Arsenal Football Club. I have to say, the stadium is mightily impressive. A 60,000 capacity stadium which was quite frankly astonishing to look at. Another nice touch, for a football fan at least, was the ability to walk up and down the tunnel where the players would come out onto the field. So, for a venue, it scored highly.

All Time Low

In all honesty, I've never been a huge fan of All Time Low. They've never really appealed to me. It also didn't help that I missed their first song (the only one I knew, Lost in Stereo) because I was getting Green Day Merch. Although this performance hasn't made me a super fan, they definitely set the right mood and kept the tempo up. As with a lot of opening bands in big gigs like this one, with most of the fans just wanting to see Green Day and go home, they didn't get the reception they deserved. I've always found a problem with bands like All Time Low that, sometimes, they can't deliver on stage as well as they can in the studio. I can happily say that this is not the case with All Time Low. They sounded amazing. I personal highlight for me was seeing them play Somewhere in Neverland, as well as the second half of Lost In Stereo which I actually caught. However, me and my friends ended up nicknaming them 'All Time Fuck', as after almost every song they would exclaim the word, which was funny to start with, but ended up becoming a bit grating by the fourth song. Other than that, they rocked it and set up the crowd for an awesome evening. I should also point out that All Time Low started playing at 5.20pm, which is pretty early for most gigs. This wasn't a bad thing, however, as I will explain later.

[All Time Low's Setlist]

Kaiser Chiefs

For those of you who don't know, the Kaiser Chiefs are a British rock band who have been fleeting in and out of mainstream fame since their first album. They are a strange entity, as they have had some pretty big hits in the UK, and although many people came to see Green Day, there were enough voices in the crowd singing their songs to warrant see why this is the case. Personally, I haven't really followed Kaiser Chiefs' career intently. I can say, though, that their song Never Miss A Beat was the last physical single I ever bought, so it was gratifying to see them open with the hit. Ok, cut a long story short, Kaiser Chiefs were absolutely incredible live! This is something I was not expecting at all. Like I've said, I don't know many of their songs that weren't singles, but their set kept people moving and they just performed superbly. The highlight for me was actually a song I'd never heard before called Kinda Girl You Are, which has been stuck in my head since the gig. If you ever get the chance to see the Kaiser Chiefs live, I would definitely say go for it, you will not be disappointed.

[Kaiser Chiefs' Setlist]

Green Day

The main event. It was at this point that me and my girlfriend backed into the seats, as we couldn't see a thing through the tightly packed crowd. However, this did not ruin the atmosphere at all - in fact, it made it so much more awe inspiring. Remember I said earlier that the gig started relatively early? That is because Green Day play for on average about 2 hours. They put everything into the did and I love them because of that. As soon as I heard them begin to play their opener, 99 Revolutions, all of my worries and qualms about the band melted away and I just basked in the glory of the performance in front of me. It's hard to express in words the stage presence of Billie Joe Armstrong. He just keeps your eyes on him, daring you to look away, because when you do, you'll miss something magical. In all, the entire band were incredible. Tre did his parts perfectly, and Mike was as reliable as ever, while Jason White and the others also didn't miss a beat. You could almost feel the stadium shaking with anticipation when they first came on, and when they started to play their mega hits and even some other, less known songs, the crowd ate it up so well and that energy stayed until the bitter end. A personal highlight for me was Waiting, as I love the album Warning, and as always their rendition of King For A Day brought a smile to everyone's faces. If I had one problem with the whole gig, it was the fact they didn't play Time of Your Life (Good Riddance). I know this was because of curfew restrictions, and Brutal Love ending the set was pretty damn amazing too, but it seemed a staple of Green Day sets and it was just missing. But what am I complaining about? The songs they played were incredible, the atmosphere was electric and it was everything you could have asked for from a Green Day gig and more. Great stadium, great support and as always, the Great Green Day captivate another UK crowd.

[Green Day's Setlist]

To Wrap Up...

Do I really have to wrap up? I mean, it's Green Day, of course they're going to deliver a captivating and frankly incredible performance in front of the UK fans. I was more surprised by the quality of the warm up acts than the quality of Green Day. All Time Low and Kaiser Chiefs really upped the atmosphere ten fold by keeping the crowd on their feet and did their job warming them up for Green Day to knock them down. It was one of the best gigs I've ever been to and, when Green Day come around again, I'll be waiting...(see what I did there?)

Tumblr, Ho!

Yes, I have a Tumblr now.

This is where I'll post more community stuff etc, and also run more opinion type stuff.

My reviews will still stay on here and I'll link what's on Tumblr to here too.

So, here's a link and I shall see you there!

Tumblr

Take care, guys

Save Rock And Roll by Fall Out Boy - Album Review

REVIEW MOVED TO:

https://rambolicrambler.wordpress.com/

¡Uno!, ¡Dos! & ¡Tre! by Green Day - Album Review(s)

REVIEW MOVED TO:

https://rambolicrambler.wordpress.com/

Humans > Animals - Serious Rant

If you live in the United Kingdom, you've probably heard the terrible news of a teenager being killed by four dogs in the Greater Manchester area. Sadly enough, this tragic scenario plays out far too often, with people, primarily young children, being killed by dangerous and viscous dogs. This may sound ridiculous, but why are we letting these dogs remain in our society when they've been known to attack people on a very, very regular basis?

This has brought up an issue that I have held close to my heart for a long time now. Ever since I've been earning money, I have donated to several different charities. The charities I deem most worthy of my hard earned money are Cancer Research, NSPCC and Amnesty International. Every now and again, however, I am approached in the street by a charity worker who is representing an animal charity, such as the RSPCA or WWF. I'm never rude to these people, but I can tell you now that these people will never see one penny of my money. Why you ask? Because I feel that while we still have humans, our own species, being killed, trafficked into sex industries, starving and dying of curable illnesses, then our attentions have to stay focussed on what is important, preserving human life. 

People who donate to animal charities always come up with the same line every time. "The animals can't protect themselves". Variants of this phrase have been used in the official RSPCA advert drives during the Christmas holidays. This line of argument has always irritated me. Leaving aside the whole evolution side of things which, as an argument against a charity is pretty dickish in itself, this argument assumes that all humans can protect themselves from their circumstances. Bullshit. Do you think that a baby in a war-torn part of Africa who is born into illness and suffering can dictate that he does not deserve this treatment? Do you think a young girl who is abused by her parents every day, physically and mentally, can just open her mouth and make it all stop? Yes, it's sad that animals can't tell you when they're being mistreated, but it's unacceptable when human beings are put in that same position, without a voice and in constant pain. You can say that animal cruelty is always caused by humans and that's why we have to protect them. Well guess what? human cruelty is also caused by humans, and I care much more for a week and helpless child being abused than a puppy. Call me an evil man, but I can't sit idly by while I see people like myself living in such poor circumstances just because they happen to have been born in a different country. That's just wrong. 

So I get back to the original point of this piece. while researching, I have found that, since 2005, eight children and five adults have been killed in dog attacks, with hundreds more being injured in that same time period. That's outrageous. Many of the attacks can be narrowed down to a certain number of dog breeds. For example, in the most recent fatality of a fourteen year old girl, it's been suggested that the dogs involved were Mastiffs and Staffordshire Bull Terriers. Two dogs which have been known for violent attacks for year, and even bred to be attack dogs. I know it's unfair to say an entire dog breed is inherently bad because of its breeding, but these dogs are no longer needed for their bred purposes and are now dangerous to have in modern society. The reason there isn't a more stringent set of Dog Ownership Laws in this country? The animal lobby is too powerful and will not allow it. MPs are scared to vote on such bills as they would lose voters. In my opinion, you would either need to bring in dog licences, if not just for these dangerous dogs then all dogs, or just remove dangerous dogs from this country to stop any more attacks on children and adults alike. My dad was attacked by a dog several times, each time getting progressively worse until it became apparent that this dog was unsafe to have in the community any more. On the last attack, the dog threw him over a car bonnet and pounced on him afterwards. If it wasn't for a neighbour in his community which helped lure the dog away, that dog could have serious injured, even killed my father as a child. He followed legal proceedings with his parents after that to have the dog put down for being a threat to people, in which he was successful. You have the right to say he was cruel for that, but my father feared for his life whenever he walked down his street knowing that dog was there. That's not a life anyone wants to lead. Living in constant fear. Nothing should make you feel that way in your life, be it another person or animal. 

I have No Mouth And I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison - Short Story Review

REVIEW MOVED TO:

https://rambolicrambler.wordpress.com/

A Quick Aside...

Hello there,

For those who view my site, thank you very much. I know I haven't had too many view and I don't exactly post regularly due to real life commitments, but the fact that people actually read or view my ramblings is an encouraging thought for any writer.

First thing I wanted to say was feel free to comment on any of my reviews or ramblings. I would love to communicate with the people who read my blog to see what people think or even agree. It's all well and good me venting on here, but the idea of opening a discussion on some of my pieces is a very interesting concept. So, yeah feel free.

Secondly, if you do want to comment on my things or write to me, let me know what you would like the most on here. From views alone, it looks like my reviews of old PS1 games are viewed the most, but I'd like to post more varied content. Baring in mind I will be doing all of these at some point, but I will put more effort into the more popular stuff:

• Game Reviews - I have a couple of games in mind for reviews. One I'm waiting on to arrive which I'm super excited for. I will mostly do Playstation 1 and 2 games in my reviews, but I do own a GameCube, Xbox 360, Wii and Dreamcast (somehow), as well as a lot of Nintendo handhelds. So suggestions would be nice, or else I'll just wallow in nostalgia if not. I will also continue my 'A Non-Gamer's Guide To Gaming' series, in which I take a popular game and try to explain it through the eyes of a gaming idiot.
• Creepypastas - I do write these on the SomeOrdinaryGamers wiki, and I do plan to continue that. Again, I have a few ideas for stories, it's just getting them into a coherent and, most importantly, scary story. I only have one story up at the moment, called Bead Dice Sky, which was my first real attempt. Be gentle.
• Other Reviews - Again, I have some ideas for non-gaming reviews, including album reviews (which this blog actually started off as), movie reviews and short story reviews, one which I will get crackin on after this is posted.
• Rants - The clue's in the name. Just me babbling about things. You know, like a ....blog

If there's anything else you'd like to see on here, my opinion on different things etc, just let me know. I'd be very grateful for feedback on my pieces to help me grow as not only a blogger, but a writer.

That's all from me, guys. I'm not very good at ending posts....so....

Croc: Legend of the Gobbos (PS1) - Game Review

REVIEW MOVED TO:

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I've written a Creepypasta!

Yes! That's right! Not only am I arrogant enough to think you care about my opinion on games and music, but NOW I'm arrogant enough to think you give a shit about my fictional writing!!

All joking aside, I've been a fan of this form of literature for a while, mostly thank to a YouTube channel called Some Ordinary Gamers, which showcase them. Recently, they've set up their own site for posting said Creepypastas, so I've decided to throw my story into the fray.

It's called Bead Dice Sky. Without ruining it, it's about a computing teacher who is sent a hacked game by one of his more mysterious students. It's not based on any specific game, as the game in the creepypasta is actually original.

If you're interested, then go have a look and help me out!

Thanks!

http://someordinarygamers.wikia.com/wiki/Bead_Dice_Sky

A Non-Gamers Guide To: Minecraft

If you own a PC, you've probably already heard of this fairly massive phenomenon. You can't look around YouTube without seeing some kind of Minecraft gameplay. Be it parody, modded or 'vanilla', this simple yet addicting game has pretty much taken over.

The Background

Minecraft was the brain child of a single mind, Markus Persson, although he is better known by his nickname – Notch. There is speculation that his idea had already been made by a group of people and their game, Infiniminer, with the slight difference that this game was basically a blocky Team Deathmatch game, and not much fun at all. So I will disregard this criticism because I can. Mojang developed and published Minecraft in 2009 as an open Alpha and gradual move progression into Beta. It was in this phase that the game gained a massive following, with many prominent YouTubers making their names and reputation publishing videos of this game. Minecraft finally saw a full release in 2011. Since then, it has garnered much praise from gamers and developers alike for making both an interesting adventure and creation game in both single and multiplayer.

My Personal Experience

 I’d like to preface this entire section with the fact that I have only played the Xbox 360 Edition of Minecraft, which I feel is an incredible beginner’s tool for this very immersive game. If you read my League of Legends ‘review’, you will know my computer can barely handle the programs on it at the moment, so I think this game would probably just kill it, so all of this perspective will be from that version.

I had heard a lot about the game being a massive time sink and that they were going to release it as an Xbox Live Arcade game late 2011. I’d never really been too interested in Minecraft videos online up until then, as it was to a game I’d probably never play. However, when I heard of this version, I began to look it up. My favourite part of all the videos I watched was the amazing structures that could be build out of the simple blocks that were given in game. The gameplay itself, if slightly over exaggerated by certain YouTube celebrities, looked very appealing to me. I did take all of this footage I was seeing with a pinch of salt, however, as I did realise it would be different to the launch set up of the Xbox Version, but it was safe to say I was excited for this game to come out.

When it finally arrived, I was both amazed and disappointed at the same time. I was amazed as it was such a good version of the game. I saw my first problem would be the infamous difficult crafting recipies, and contantly having to check back to the Minecraft Wiki to get the information. This was completely taken out in the Xbox version, replacing it with a much simpler system where, if you have the items to make something, you can just click on the icon and it will make it for you. This was very much a beginner’s guide to Minecraft. I appreciated this, being the dim witted man-child I am.

However, this joy was short lived, as I noticed a lot of the things that were in the PC version were left out at launch, most disappointingly for me, the Creative Mode. Yes, you could play on peaceful and build to your heart’s content without mobs, but digging out all your materials when all you want to do is build a castle is arduous and unwanted. Fortunately since then, creative mode has been added, yet, to my knowledge, the End is still unattainable for some reason, although updates are coming very frequently with ‘new’ mobs and blocks every time. As soon as I was able to go into creative mode, I was hooked. I would say that Minecraft is probably the game I have given the most time to since Final Fantasy IX back in the Playstation 1 days.

If you are new to the game, but like to watch YouTube videos of people playing Minecraft, there are certain things you have to realise:

1) Creepers are not as scary as some people lead you to believe – Yes, if your stuff gets blown up that sucks a lot, but it doesn’t make you shit yourself with fear. Think of it like an explosion in any other game, but coming from a walking shrub. I guess if you are scared by slow moving shrubbery then you have every right to scream, but also no right to play a game where it’s basically their mascot.

2) Digging straight down IS a terrible idea – You may think, as I did, that digging straight down will get you to the more valuable ores quicker than a normal staircase. Not the case. Alongside random spawning of said ores, you are also more likely to find a lovely big pool of lava to burn all your materials or a beautiful ravine, which you will be seeing from the inside as you fall towards your death.

3) Minetracks are pointless – unless you’re aiming for a massive build or just want to show off, there’s no reason walking won’t be less costly and more efficient. Seeing how precious iron is on some seeds it seems silly to waste it all on a track.

My Verdict

Minecraft is the very well presented time sink everyone has said it would be on the PC, and playing it on the Xbox only makes it easier, for me at least. Although it’s still not perfect, it’s definitely worth 1200 Microsoft points, and the skins are pretty cool too. The skins go from Banjo to Marcus Fenix and everything Xbox in between. If you’ve plated the PC version already you may come away slightly disappointed, but newcomers to the game will love its simplistic nature and, now that there is a fully functional creative mode, enjoy the building and exploring even more.

Mickey's Wild Adventure (PS1) - Game Review

REVIEW MOVED TO:

https://rambolicrambler.wordpress.com/2015/02/08/mickeys-wild-adventure-ps1-rambolic-reviews/

A Non-Gamers Guide To: League of Legends

I may be very late to this particular band wagon, seeing as this game was actually released in 2009, but I have only really just discovered the strange joy that is League of Legends.

The Background 

For those who don't know the history of the game, allow me to explain briefly. League of Legends is a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) PC game which is inspired by a modded map created for Warcraft III called Defence of the Ancients. You can clearly see the Real Time Strategy breading of this game, as it is all controlled by pointing and clicking toward objectives, then pointing and clicking until you either kill a minion or a rival Champion.

The first thing to draw me to this game, other than the constant references made to it by YouTubers and the like, was the array of Champions you can control. Although this was very much an RTS at heart, in League of Legends you only control 1 unit: Your Chosen Champion. This is probably the strongest part of the game for me. Riot Games have put so much effort into not only making these characters balanced in game and aesthetically pleasing, the amount of effort which has gone into each of the Champions back stories and reasons for being in the League is quite frankly Tolkien-esque.  Each Champion had a lovingly crafter lore which leads to them being chosen to fight on the Fields of Justice, and that detail lead me to look further into this game.

What also astounded me about the game, with all its detail, voice acted characters and beautiful graphics, is that it is free-to-play. With the amount of content in this game that is amazing. If only other games could be so kind.

My Personal Experience 

My first worry I had with the game is that the laptop I have is, to put it bluntly, old and crappy. After seeing many people's videos on YouTube, I thought it would just burn out and never work. This is why I am surprised to say that not only did my trusty laptop not blow up immediately (which is evident while I'm typing this for you), the game also runs relatively smoothly as well. Sure, when there's a lot of shit happening on screen it does tend to chug like a struggling steam engine, but it's not too bad as long as you get out of there with your life.

Once the game was working only one thing disappointed me about the game: That not all Champions are unlocked for you to play at once. I know this is a petty thing to bring up, and also this system does stop people from just choosing the best characters immediately and ransacking every game, but when you've made a list of Champions you want to try out and you find you can't use any of them until you have collected enough IP. The way you unlock these Champions is with Influence Points (IP) which you gain through playing games. A very clever system of progression I feel. The other way to buy these characters is
through Riot Points (RP) which are bought with your real money. RP is also the only way to buy new skins and such for your Champions, also a good way of running a free to play game.

With this knowledge, I went into my first game not knowing what to expect. PvP? Not to start with, are you nuts!? I've seen people play this game before, they'd rip me a new asshole in two minutes. So, with that irrational fear of people killing me in a video game, I went into a Player vs AI game, where bots call kill me instead. As a modern gamer who likes to wade into the action immediately, there's a lot of things you have to learn to Play League of Legends:
1) Just because your character has a sword and is classified as a 'melee' fighter, doesn't mean he will beat others in combat - Do you want to know how many games I played before I got my first Champion kill? Five. Five games of going zero for fifteen made me grateful this wasn't a Team Death Match style of play.
2) When it comes to Fight or Flight, Flight makes a lot more sense - Whenever you die, your respawn time increases, so its better to hang back and replenish your health at the beginning rather than waiting forty seconds to get back into the action.
With these words of wisdom from, well, a noobish idiot, you may survive and do better than I do.

Once I had amassed enough IP to unlock my first owned Champion, I was unsure who to pick. So, obviously, I went for the one who looked both cool and had the coolest looking attacks. This lead me to Fiddlesticks, a scarecrow looking fellow who fires crows at people while holding a bad-ass scythe. This character taught me another important lesson in League of Legends:
3) String together specials is the best way to get mad kills - I found that combining Terrify, which halts the enemy temporarily, with Crowstorm, a whirling avian vortex of death, got me far more Champion kills than mindlessly running in with Garren and twirling with my sword like a ballerina.

My Verdict 

In all, League of Legends is a really fun game to play, and it is a heap more fun with friends or good, friendly team mates. Although the learning curve in the early games is pretty steep and not having your own Champion at the beginning does suck, but after this period its an entertaining game which you are very likely to spend a lot of time playing.

A Non-Gamers Guide To Gaming

This is a new segment I am doing which will look at certain games from the perspective of a 'Non-Gamer'.

I'll clarify that statement. I would class myself as someone who plays games, but not necessarily a 'Gamer'. When I think of someone who classes themselves as a Gamer, I think of someone who uses gaming as their main pass-time, who dedicates themselves to playing, completing and becoming very skilled at such games. I don't see myself, in that light, as a Gamer, but more of a person who enjoys games whenever I can in between working and juggling other things in my life.

For this reason, I don't have as much time to gauge a game on its artistic merit or completion difficulty and bonuses. So my reviews will be more like first impressions and recommendations if possible.

The first review will be up pretty soon, so keep an eye out for it. Until then, have a good weekend

'Les Miserables' - Short Review

So they finally made a film out of the most critically acclaimed musicals of all time. Its not really a question if the musical works as a musical, its now whether the film company managed to do it justice on the big screen.

The reason this is a short review rather than a full one is, well, it's not hard to find a review of this film, so look at one of those if you don't want spoilers etc. This is more of an impressions video from someone who was introduced to the story and most of the songs via this film. (Yes, I am a culture-less pleb, but feel free how you liked Les Mis before it was cool, I love talking to time travellers from the 1800's).

Firstly, I'll talk about a problem many have had about the film: The casting. Let me be the first to say that Russell Crowe did surprisingly well as stern faced police inspector Javert. Although he is not the greatest singer, he pulls the songs off reasonably well and portrays the character very well, if a little stiff at times. Anne Hathaway blew me away with her performance. I had no idea she had such a powerful voice. Her rendition of 'I Dreamed A Dream' was perfect for the feeling of the film. I'm not surprised, however, by how well Hugh Jackman does in the leading role. With a Broadway background, his voice was very well suited to such a task.

The story doesn't need to be talked about, it's Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. If you want more information on the book itself, it's free for the Kindle. Go.

The movie does, at times, seem to move at break-neck speeds, spanning decades and important moments in a few minutes or a song. Then again, this was more of an issue in the musical adaptation itself, and in the movie there are certain filler scenes which make it a lot easier to take in.

Throughout the film, there were some silly moments, but most were relatively loyal to the musical itself. However, one scene sticks in my head in which I laughed out loud in the cinema to the dissaproving looks of those around me. After Letting Valjean go at the end of the film, Javert sings his Soliloquy atop a bridge. Those familiar with the book and/or musical may recognise this moment as 'Javert's Suicide', in which he is torn between upholding the law and trusting the convict to save the life of a revolutionary. This is accurately portrayed in the film, however the part I laughed at is the ridiculous sound effect they decided to put in for when Javert hit the water when jumping off the bridge. It didn't suit the moment. It didn't suit the scene. It didn't suit the movie in any way and ruined the moment in which my favourite character (yes, he is my favourite character) is struck off the cast.

However, the good outweigh the bad, and I would highly recommend this to anyone who is not already singing the praises of the musical. It's a long film, a feature that I am usually opposed to in films such as Transformers and Battleship, but the songs make the long run time enjoyable.

How to Ruin the Film - Think about it like this...

This section I've decided to put after doing some research, I found out that, depending on your view of the events portrayed in the book, Hugo actually made the antagonist and protagonist of Valjean and Javet interchangeable. That means, depending on your view of the events that take place, you can take the side of the character who you believe to be in the right. Obviously, if you choose the Javert side then your story doesn't get too much pay off in the end of the musical, but think of it like this (this will only count for the musical/film, the development may be different in the book).

At the beginning of the play, we are only told by Javert that Valjean is a dangerous criminal, and only have Valjean's words that he stole a loaf of bread to feed his sister's dying son (whom we never hear from again). If you take the legal side of Javert, look at everything that Valjean does as the actions of a pathological liar. He's set free to be on parole, yet never turns up. He is welcomed into the house of a Bishop and steals his belongings. He takes a new name and lies his way into office in Paris. I would go on, but it's more fun if you see the film or musical like this. I found it very enjoyable (in a weird way, admittedly) taking the side of the law and wanting this criminal to be put before the court. Some may say that's a bit sick for what most people see as a tragic hero of literature, but I would say the same for Javet, a man who's tireless preservation of law and order is torn apart by a man who torments him with his stolen freedom and subsequently lead to suicide by his questionable actions.