Thoughts and Aspirations on the MUSE:Resistance album

MUSE:THE RESISTANCE

It's been quite a while since I updated my blog.
But with the release of the new MUSE album (one of my fav. bands...if not my fav.)
I decided it was high time i get my opinion and say out in the open.

Its been a little over 3years since Muse released a new full studio album ( Previous album: Black Holes and Revelations was released on 3 July 2006 in UK )

Was one of those albums you just love from the start and the more you listen the better it gets !
With tracks like Black Holes, Starlight and Invincible that set the stage for another great performance and album from the legendary UK rockers !

14 September 2009 saw the release of their latest addition to a string of allready awesome albums.
This one is called The Resistance, and talks much about Conspiracies, Love and how the people gets controlled by the Governments and everything else.

MUSE also explored a diffrent style and route with this album.Instead of the heavy riffs,insane Guitar solos, all together with the weird, but understanding and meaningfull lyrics, now gets replaced with a more classical feel and sound.

MUSE frontman Matt Bellamy stated that "Muse is always trying to re invent themselves." and this time they decided to go a diffrent route and try a more classical approach.

U can go as far as to say as this is a classical rock journey !

After listening through the whole album, it didin't immediatally shock me in aw. Or take my breath away, while shouting this is how the best band in the World sounds ! Awesome !  (Like with previous albums.) No.....I must say I was a little disappointed.

For as I mentioned this is totally different from their previous work.
But never the less it's a MUSE album and you can be sure of it, that somewhere on it their is bound to be something awesome !!!  Something worth listening.Even if you're not a fan.

I listened to the songs a couple of times more. And will give you my opinion review of each.
Below is the Tracklist.

Tracklist

1.Uprising
2.The Resistance
3.Undeclosed Desires
4.United States of Eurasia + Collateral Damage
5.Guiding Light
6.Unaturual Selection
7.MK Ultra
8.I belong to you
9.Excogenesis Symphony: Pt 1. (Overture)
10.Excogenesis Symphony: Pt.2 (Cross Pllination)
11.Excogenesis Symphony: Pt.3 (Redemption)

Uprising

The first single from the the CD.
And what an opener. Played so much on the radio,and yet never get tired of hearing it.
The lyrics in this song cleary states, Join us ! Join the Resistance ! Say no to the mind control !
"They will not force us, they will not control us ! We will be victorious !!! "
Simply awesome ! and done like only MUSE can.

The Resistance

The piano so classically played and mixed into some MUSE songs, makes it's debut return here.
Before bursting out with "Love is our resistance"  not long after.
A truly uplifting song, and should be one of those timeless classics live. Where "Urpsing" was a track to convince you why to join. The track "Resistance" tells you why.
"Is our secret safe tonight ! Love is our Resistance ! They'll keep us apart and they won't stop breaking us down !"

Undeclosed Desires.
This track sounds a lot like Depeche Mode, and  has Depeche mode R & B sound and feel to it.

United States of Eurasia + Collateral Damage.

The first track to be released on the net.
With a little mix of Lawrence of Arabia, speaks of the joining of Europe and Asia and is inspired by the 1984 Novel.***
One of those tracks you don't immediatally fall in love with.This is one im gonna have to listen to a few times, before I can truly say. I like it !

*** In a pre-release interview featured in the August edition of music magazine Mojo, vocalist and guitarist Matthew Bellamy reveals the song to be inspired by "a book called The Grand Chessboard by Zbigniew Brzezinski," explaining that "Brzezinski has the viewpoint that the Eurasian landmass, ie Europe, Asia and the Middle East, needs to be controlled by America to secure the oil supply."^[6] Bellamy goes on to suggest that the song is also influenced by George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.


Guiding Light

What a song ! Talks about one that strays from the path. " No Guiding light left inside ! "
In this song there is a bit of the return of the frontmans famous solo's. Not as as aggressive as the solo of Invincible or Plug in Baby.
But none the less has a special kind of uniqueness to it that makes you just appreciate it even more, the more you hear it.
A very slow and gentle song, much compared to Blackout, Soldiers Poem and perhaps Starlight, and defininatally one of those "take out the lighters and cellphones" and sway them side to side in the air.

Unnatural Selection
All about a protest, demanding the truth !
Great song  !

MK Ultra

After Uprising the heaviest track on the album. Starts and ends with a huge riff.
More comparable to some of their older work and songs.
"MK Ultra’ continues themes introduced in songs like ‘Ruled By Secrecy’ (‘Absolution’). It may or may not tackle a covert 1950’s CIA mind-control and chemical interrogation research program - depending on who is reading this. "


I belong to you

You van almost feel the precencse of Maroon 5 in this song. Muse attemps a love song for the new Album.
Half way through the song Matt switches over to master the French accent.
But im sorry to say, this is my least favourite song on the album,and songs like Unintended,Sing for Absolution and Starlight
was far better love songs in my opinion. They say " I belong to you." or want to belong to you sooo much better.

The Excogenesis Symphony

WoW ! WoW ! WoW ! Amazing ! Awesome ! Unbelievably good !.....Heck there aint enough words in the English language to describe this 3 part symphonic track.

Ive been waiting to hear this the moment I heard they were planning it and will feature on the new album.

This 3 part track, is the reason I wanted to go buy the album, and the best of all it's composed and put together and arranged by Matt Bellamy himself, and too years to finish.
It can only be described as a 12min classical space rock, apocolyptic journey & return.

And together with the colaboration of the Orchestra, makes this epic piece of musical masterpiece, any classical music lover will love. A piece of music MUSE can be proud of, no other Rock band will equal this.

The Excogenesis Symphony:Pt 1 (Overture)

The start of the symphony.An incredibly dark.....eerie and creepy feel to this track. A sinister piece of music that creates images of an apocolypse in your mind. A desolate warzone ! Call it the rise and fall of Earth. The destruction of a planet.
You can't really hear what Matt sings in this...It just creeps into your heart and boggles your mind right from the start.
I love it !!!

Excogenesis Symphony Pt.2: Cross Pollination

Piano tracks accompany the Overture ands fades over and signifies the start of cross polination.
The journey of leaving the destructive,apocolyptic desolate plane and place created by Overture,
To go and find a new hope, a new beginning. Flawelessly sweeping across the Universe.
Ever seeking, for that litte place we can call home again.
Matt sings: " You must rescue us all."
A plea to an unknown saviour. A call for help.
To escape and seek refuge from all those responsible for bringing chaos & destruction to the planet.

The Excogenesis Symphony Pt3: Redemption

Separated by only a slight pause.
And then the start of the finale of finales.
The planet is gone.Matt singing: "Let's start over again."
A beautifull grand finale to end the symphony & album.
A settlement on a new planet a new start. A message to all.

And to quote a few lines from a fellow fan and reviewer: "With enough conviction that you could be convinced were all to take up our flight sticks and click in place our seatbelts on a spaceship which will take us to a brighter future."

"The whole Excogenesis is incredibly moving ,and if u arnt moved or stirred by it ,you couldent possibly have a soul.
It's staggerlingly beautifull !!! and left me shaken."

Final Thoughts

The Resistance is definitally something diffrent from their previous work. Muse went out & tried something different.
Some will love, others may be a little dissapointed ,and won't put and rate this as the MUSE album to get.
But love or hate this is a truly amazing album, and shows us yet again what truly great musicians MUSE are.
Be it rock, or classical or a collaboration of both.Symphony's or heavy solos and riffs.
The Trio from Devon will never sease to amaze.

I would like to se them return to a more heavilly Origin of Symetry, Absolution style album after this.
Simply loved those, and never get tired of hearing the weird and aspiring lyrics, solo's & riffs, like only Matt Bellamy can.

Im gonna close of by saying, that even if your not a fan.
Go and listen to this and take the journey. There's bound to be a song you will like and if not...just go and listen to the Excogenesis Symphony.
Well done Matt, Dom & Chris on another great album !!!
And well done Matt on the completion of Excogenesis. Truly an epic piece of Musical Masterpiece.
Proves again......Muse is the best band in the World.
Feel sorry for those that fail to see it and not like at least one of their songs !
                                     

                                                                                 

The Windows 7 Experience

So I managed to get my hands on MS latest OS Windows 7 RC 1 (Release Candidate)
This the first true stable release after beta of the new Windows OS, also made freely avaiilbe to download and test.

I guess it is a good idea to release a stable version for testing to the public so they can play with it and provide feedback to Microsoft, on where they can improve and what to change etc,and according to Microsoft this is very near the final code, and only a few changes still needs to be made before it officially appear on the store shelves. It only makes sense that a lot of users will already be sceptical about buying a new Windows after the poor performance and heavy requirements of Vista.

Not to eager to jump on the Windows 7 bandwagon just yet, and still very Clingy to good old XP. And one must also take into consideration the fact that it’s only a “demo” & according to some sites I read it will expire on March 2010 sometime or some even suggest June 2010.

I also stumbled upon an article about Acer, leaking the Windows 7 release date as October this year. http://www.megagames.com/news/html/software/acerleakswindows7releasedate.shtml

You will notice the expiry of the RC / Beta when your PC starts warning you with a message about it Registering and acquiring a legal version or key. And some sites reported a constant restart, of your system until a new legal version is bought and installed or activated. Much the same as with Previous version giving you some time to register and activate Windows, after that time you will be unable to log in, until activated or registered with Microsoft, either by means of Phone or Internet.

So not taking a chance to loose any valuable data, I grabbed a separate old 160GB IDE Drive lying around at work & started Installing Windows 7 onto it.
Installation was blazing fast, you also just like with Vista get to choose which version to install. SATA users and users whishing to run RAID setups will be glad to know that you can now Install the third party driver from a USB Flash disk, and no need for Plugging in a floppy drive or slipstreaming the drivers into a new CD.

I choose to Install the Ultimate version, but just take note that it can take up to12GB’s of free space for Ultimate.

Anyhow like I mentioned, installation was blazingly fast on a Core2Duo, 2GB Ram PC.
I also had no issues or need to Install extra device drivers, all my drivers were pre detected and Installed without any issues.

High end Graphic card users might need to go and download their Windows 7 drivers from manufactures site, for example NVIDIA users should go to NVIDIA’s site and Download the Win 7 GPU drivers.

Ok that being said and Windows 7 now Installed, and booted into Windows.
First impressions are, the look and feel is very much the same as Vista so Vista users will feel right at home & should have no problems getting to use it.

( The taskbar among other things has been tweaked a bit. For a better in depth review of changes feel free to check out Paul Thurrott’s review on Windows 7 (http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/win7_rc.asp)
And for those of us still clinging onto XP. The learning curve & user interface is very user friendly & in a few hours of fiddling around you should also feel right at home and be able to find and work your way around in the new Windows.

Another area where Windows 7 is a big improvement over Vista is it’s speed and the fact that it’s not as resource hungry as Vista used to be. A lot of the complaints from users of XP over Vista was Vista’s steep hardware requirements and high resource usage.

Microsoft has tested it with a Intel 600Mhz Celeron machine running 512MB RAM, and reports indicated that it ran fine, something that would never have been possible with Vista.

For all the XP lovers Microsoft even went as far as building in a Windows XP mode into Windows 7 in the form of a Virtual Machine. Best described as a Windows inside a Windows. Where you can have all the benefits of XP while still running Windows 7.

Perhaps you have programs that can only work in XP. Well no you can run them
Im glad they decided to this and make this feature, cause a lot of the complaints about Vista was the fact that everything had to be the latest versions, and even then there were still cases of incompatibility.

Back to my experience with Windows 7.
Everything ive run so far seemed to run fine & had no issues, slow down, lockups or everything else for that matter. Some programs I installed weren’t of the latest available versions and it worked fine.
Even played Crysis DX10 and saw someone play Fear 2 and it was smooth and no different from running on XP. (Except for the enhanced DX10 visuals)

When with Vista, some people reported slow performance, memory leas issues after a while of playing some games. Overall conclusion was at least a 10% decrease in performance over XP, regardless of the Hardware used.

I never Installed or worked a lot in Vista, but from what ive read & heard many users complained and got infuriated with it Vista.

My conclusion is that although sceptical at first like many of Windows 7, I must say a”Well done to the boys.” at Microsoft, you guys did an excellent job with Windows 7 and in fixing the damage done to Microsoft’s reputation and name as a result of Vista. Well done, it seems we now have a true predecessor to Windows XP.
With all the benefits of latest Hardware, Software and Security support accompanied with the stability XP brought. Windows 7 is everything Vista should have been and more.

I guess the question now is, what is going to happen to Vista when Windows 7 gets officially released?

Some rumours say Windows Vista will still get support and Service Packs and still be available for purchase, others say Windows 7 will replace Vista completely and be known as the next gen Windows, whatever the case well will have to wait and see.

There was mentions of existing Vista users being able to purchase a Windows 7 Upgrade relevant to their Vista package (Basic, Home, Ultimate etc….) at half the full package retail price. Would be a great help and relief for already existing Vista users.

Below is a download link to the official MS site for anyone who wishes to give the new Windows a try.
Please note that it’s about a 2.26 GB Download.

Thanks again for reading, For a more in depth review be sure to check out Paul Thurrott’s site and Windows 7 review at
http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/win7_rc.asp

And also one of my old school friends Blog on his experience and findings on Windows 7, very nice and informative site, and a must subscribe to, for any technology enthusiast.

Links:
http://www.mpieters.com/2009/05/microsofts-new-lease-on-life-windows-7.html
http://www.mpieters.com/2009/04/windows-7-will-have-xp-mode.html

Software news and reviews

Everyone has a pick of their own personal best Software and apps they use to perform various everyday
tasks.

Today im going to be giving u my lowdown and tell u about some of the software i use, i just can go without.
Let me start of by listing the Internet Browsers I use.

Web Browsers

Google Chrome, Mozilla FireFox, Internet Explorer (Kinda obligated, Hehe part of Windows, but rarely use it), Opera, and Safari

I mostly use Chrome now, and must say good job Google, very fast browser and the Incognito mode which adds the function of not leaving any tracks when browsing is very neat.

Only things I dont' like about Google's new Browser is the amount of resources it uses (quite memory intensive ) and also the lack of add-ons, as compared to that of Firefox.

But there are a couple of add-ons available and read on the Net that more might becoming out soon, bringing it on par with Firefox. Firefox still my favorite, but using Chrome the most at the moment.

There are ways of loading custom scripts into Chrome.




Antivirus & Anti Spy ware.
Heck everyone that uses the Internet of have used it before, and owns a PC has become a victim of a virus, or Spy ware.

The tools i use to keep me safe (or at least try) and protect me and get rid of the nasty's are as
follows.

AVG Antivirus
Nod32 Antivirus
Eset Smart Security
Anti Malware (Malwarebytes)
Super Antispyware
Spybot Search and Destroy
Spyware Doctor.
Commodo Firewall

I don't know which Anti virus are truly the best, but I personally use Nod32. And together with a good Firewall like Commodo or Eset Smart Security, you are pretty safe. Takes some time to setup and configure but after it's all done. It really helps keeps those, nasty Trojans, Worms, Virus etc. out.

I also use Antimalware (Malwarebytes) for detecting and removing spyware. Its a very good app. and is also free, and almost gets updated daily.

A good all round protection for your PC can be:

AVG Antivirus Free
Antimalware (Malware Bytes )
Commodo Firewall



All are free and offer very good protection online.

Media Players.

Windows Media Player 10
Windows Media PLayer Classic
VLC PLayer
KM PLayer
GOM PLayer
Klite Codec Packs
Winamp



What can I say I like my Media Players. For codecs I mostly use K-Lite Codec Packs. Provides all needed Codecs for most formats. And as far as players are concerned mostly use Windows Media Player and Media Player Classic.

For everything else that doesn’t play through those, I use VLC Player. But GOM and KM Player are also very good alternatives,

Furthermore for music I use Winamp and to label and Tag Mp3's Mp3 Tag or Tag and Rename.

Imageing Software

Picasa 3
Infranview
ACDSEE 9.0



Iso Software

Alchohol 120%
Magic ISO.
Daemon Tools Lite and Pro
Iso Buster.




CD Burning.



Nero 6.6
CDBurner XP

Defragging

Defraggler
Diskeeper
Paragon Defragger.

Messengers,IM's and notifiers

Skype 4.0
Google Talk
MIRC
Bandwidth Monitor Pro
Gmail Notifier



Compression Tools

WinRar
7 Zip
Winzip



PDF



Adobe Reader 9.0 (Is there any other ???)
PDF 995 (PDF Creator)

Copy Handlers

Super Copier
Love this piece of Software replaces your default Windows copier with Super Copier Interface, very much the same as Total Copy. And with the added option of enqueing files.

Windows tools

Agent Ransack (Alternate Search tool)
Beyond Compare (Compare Directories)
Duplicate Searchers.
Task info (Bit of a improvement on default Windows Task Manager)
HD Tune (Keeps eye on your Hard Drives)
Total Commander

Episode Renamers
TV Rename
Episode Rename

Well that is my most used and pick of the best software. Please feel free to make suggestions and comments

Console Wars

Ok with all the next gen consoles being out now for sometime now I thought id take the time to do my own review and console of choice post.

As you all know and for those who don’t there are 3 main consoles on the market at market. From the three big names in the gaming industry. The consoles are Sony’s Play station 3, Microsoft’s Xbox360 and Nintendo’s Wii.

Now first off you have to ask yourself, what is it you are looking for in an console, and that is mostly gonna depend on the amount of time u spend gaming. Or better yet the level of gamer you are. Either Hardcore or Casual.

Let me firstly say tha all 3 machines are amazing pieces of hardware & craftsmanship & each is unique in their own way.

I’m gonna start off with Sony’s Playstation 3. Many of you might know or even it’s predecessor the PS2. Which if I recall correctly is the most sold console of all time to date. Unfortunately it’s bigger brother the PS3 does not share the same fame and glory yet.

And one of the reasons being it’s a bit pricey compared to other consoles it’s the most expensive of the 3, and will currently set you back about $500 or R5000.

The Hardware specs are as follows: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playstation_3)

But in defense, the PS3 is also the cheapest Blue Ray player (next gen video format)
And capable of storing up to 50GB’s on a Dual Layer disk.

It also supports HD (High Definition) resolution of up to 1900 X 1200 also known as 1080p, but currently most games run in 1280 X 720p, this is the same for Xbox360

This also means and is something to take into consideration, that with your standard TV you won’t be getting out the most of your next gen console if u haven’t got the newer type of HD capable LCD TV’s.
Luckily the prices have dropped significantly over the past few years
.
Anyways back to the console, the controls look and layout stayed the same except for the small motion sensing ability incorporated into the control named sixxasis
To give u an example of what this is, on the PS3 there is an flight sim game called Warhawk and instead of using the analog sticks to control and steer your jet. You can now just titl the control up or down to control the plane.

The PS3 has been critized for not having a wide selection of games available. And the developers constantly moan, cause of the extreme difficulty to develop titles for the console, due to the extreme architecture and and CPU. (The 9 Core Cell Proccessor ) which is the most advanced of all 3 consoles.

But im not going to go into detail with the hardware specs of each console.

So getting back to the titles available. There arnt to may PS3 exclusives available at the moment. And the only one I can think about at the moment is Metal Gear Solid 4.
Who in my opinion is only on PS3 & not on Xbox360 cause of the PS3’s Blue Ray format advantage.

Other than that most titles are available for both PS3 and Xbox360.
Loading times are fairly quick, with the added help of the games content being loaded onto the consoles Hard Drive first, further increasing loading times. (Same goes for Xbox360 )

As far as the GFX are concerned let me say the GFX on PS3 looks amazing and for proof just go check out Metal Gear Solid 4 and Heavenly Sword. Two very impressive titles.
Although some games do suffer from the occasional frame rate issue, its fairly small and all in all they all play nicely, and look incredible.

Conclusion

Controls: Improved Response, Dual Shock 3, Sixxasis. Same as PS2 layout and look. Love this control..
8 /10

Design: Sleek mirror image. Very nice & comfy improved controls. Console might be a tad bit to big to some’s liking, but every thing inside is well worth it

Overall 8/10

GFX: As previously mentioned the gfx are awesome & next gen supporting HDMI 1.3 and HD resolutions of up to 1080p. Does suffer from the occasional frame rate issue. But all in all it’s very crisp and good. Some of the older titles may look washed out. But all the recent ones look amazing.

Overall: 7/10
.

Value for Money: The PS3 is the most expensive of all the consoles. But if u look at what u are getting it’s so much more than a console, it’s an entertainment HUB, and also the cheapest Blue Ray player. U can even hook up your PSP to it, or even join the Folding@Home project via the Internet and help with research. Only down side is the small range of games currently available. And the price tag.

Overall rating of console 8/10




Xbox360



Ok moving on to MS Gaming Console. Although not a fan of the previous Xbox360 (Im more of a Sony Fan boy )

I must say im very impressed at Mircosoft’s next gen addition. Very much the same as PS3 except for the fact the Blue Ray functionality this machine is in my eyes the best value for money if ur truly into gaming consoles and HD gaming.

For all you hardware enthusiast go check out the specs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox360)
The games look amazing & compared to the PS3 there are just minor differences sometimes better, sometimes a bit weaker, but all in all truly amazing.
Also suffers from the occasional frame rate issue, but all in all excellent.

Same as the PS3, HDMI 1.3 and resolutions of up to 1900 X 1200 (1080p)
Although most games run on 1280 X 720 (720p)
The controls of the Xbox I never particularly liked loved the PS3 ones more, but that’s just my opinion. But if u play a lot u will quickly get used to it. And it’s a great improvement over it’s predecessor.

U basically get 3 versions of the Xbox360.
The Core (Arcade), The Pro 60GB, and the Elite Black (120GB)
Another great feature of the Xbox360 is Xbox Live system. Where you can log onto the Internet, create a gamer profile & stay connected with your friends & play games with or against them.
Just create your gamer profile, add some friends & buy some credit & your good to go. Also get access to latest upcoming game trailers etc.

But it doesn’t stop there. You can also use your Xbox360, to stream movies from it.
Just hook up a Fat32, formatted external USB Drive to it & do a bit of Googling for the apps and ur good to go.
And this is also one of the reasons why I say best value for money.
The Xbox360 is also the second best selling console with the Wii being first & PS3 last.

And is also cheapest next gen console supporting HD resolutions. Has a wide range of games available. And because of it’s architecture being much the same as a PC. The games are easier to develop, compared to that of PS3.

Conclusion.

Controls: Very nice looking controls, very responsive & handles well, not as nice to play with than the PS3 one, but if you gotten use to it, it’s a sure winner. Smaller design than bulky original Xbox one.

Design: White or Black (Elite) console. Bit smaller than PS3, and with mountable and removable Hard Drive

GFX: Very much the same as PS3. Some games look better on Xbox360 others better on PS3. All In all the differences are very small & in some cases not even worth mentioning. Also suffers from some frame rate issues in some games. But overall clear & crisp GFX. Supporting HDMI 1.3 and resolutions up to 1080p.

8 /10

Value for money:
As I mentioned before. If ur into next gen gaming and a hardcore gamer then this the console for you. At a very affordable prices (Arcade version selling for about $200 or R2000 ).
The only thing that could let u not consider this console is the fact if ur a PS3 fanboy.

With a wide variety of games available, Xbox live, and the option to stream your own content from external drive.
Gives u more than u pay for. Cheapest next gen offering (taking PC into consideration as well ) Makes this my choice for next gen gaming.

10/10

Nintendo Wii



The Nintendo Wii is an amazing piece of hardware. And is also cheaper overall ( I say overall, cause if u don’t happen to own a HD TV yet. You won’t be needing one. Since the Wii doesn’t support HD resolutions. Nintendo never focused on having the best hardware and relied more on there software to sell there product. This time it’s a bit of both mixed together.

The Wii is also the best selling console of all three. Why is that ?

I’m going to tell you what I think the reason is. Cause of it’s unique control system (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii)

It uses a motion sensing type of control, with only a few buttons for actions etc.
All movements are completely made by doing the appropriate motion. Having played it myself and being a sceptic at first I must say I found this very much fun and enjoyable. Aimed at the younger gamer and mostly a family console, this is truly fun to play with and if ur a hardcore gamer then this machine might disappoint you, but considering it as a secondary console, you can’t go wrong.

Also has a wide range of games available. Controls might take some time to get use to, but all in all once u get the hang of it it’s very fun to play with.
You also get various extra peripherals available for the console, example the Wii nun chucks and a more practical example a tennis racket for tennis.

The purpose of Wii is interaction and doing something different rather than cramming the best tech into a box, and it succeeded in every aspect, so much so that it reached the level of we seeing titles like Wii fit etc, being released.
Home aerobics game with it’s own set of peripherals.

Conclusion:

Controls: Unique control system based on motion sensing technology. One of a kind. And very fun to play with

9/10

Design:
Small and compact design. White mirror finish with blue lights. No hard drive option, does have an SD card slot. As far as I know, no online service like Xbox live.

8/10

GFX:
As I mentioned before, no HD resolution, and this what sets it apart from it’s competitors and labeling it as next gen. GFX looks similar to those of the original Xbox and PS2. In some cases a bit better, but nowhere near as good as Xbox360 or PS3, and Is also why I said, very good to consider as a Secondary console perhaps. Or if u just want to play some games now and then.

Not for the serious or Hard Core gamer. The GFX are still pretty good but not on par with other consoles.

6/10

Value for money:
Being a tad bit more expensive than Xbox360 (Core version) and a bit cheaper than PS3, puts the Wii kind of in the middle. U get one motion sensor control & 5 Wii Sport games bundled in the package. And with no need for HDTV gives this an already High score in the “Value for money.” Area.

Great fun for everyone and has a wide range of games available. Some games are also not as texpensive as the Xbox or PS3 ones . And it’s fun for the whole family. Like I said, hardcore gamers might find the gfx a bit old and games a bit too aimed at the younger gamers. But as Secondary console or for casual gamer, you cant go wrong.

Final Verdict:

My final verdict would be, first decide what what u want in the console. And if you are a hardcore gamer or just a casual gamer, that likes to play every now and then.

In my opinion and as u might have realized while reading through the post.
I lean towards the Xbox360 as my choice of console for now, even though I am a PS3 fan.
For now I will go for the Xbox360 60GB model and later on consider the PS3 or Wii as a secondary console.

When more titles become available for the PS3, and it gets a price cut I might consider getting one. I haven’t got a need for Blue Ray at the moment. And im sure a lot of that space gets wasted (gaming disks)

As for Xbox360 use Dual Layer 8GB DVD Games and it looks very much the same.
Only game I know of that actually used Blue Ray to it’s full capacity was Metal Gear Solid 4, which used all 50GB’s and if u see the game, u can’t help but be amazed.
That game is a true cinematic gaming experience. And is a perfect example of “The Dawn of Cinematic gaming.”
To sum it all up, Xbox360 or PS3 if you are a hardcore gamer. Just make sure you have an HDTV. Or you wont get the most out of it. Xbox360 also for cheapest HD next gen exp.

Wii for secondary console, or if u are, just a casual gamer or want something the whole family can enjoy.

All in all go and try out each of them and then decide or if you are a fan boy stick to your console and brand of choice.
There are plenty of PS3 vs Xbxo360 GFX sites out there with comparisons etc. Just go do a bit of Googling and check them out.

Thank you for reading and I hope this helps u in making a choice if u haven’t already done so.

MUSE HAARP DVD REVIEW

Today im going to be reviewing a DVD, which in my opinion should be in any music lovers collection. There isin't any other words to describe this band, as AWESOME !!!!

And it gives me great honour to review a dvd from one, if not my favourite and best bands in the World.

The members concist of:

Matthew Bellamy – vocals, guitar, piano & keyboards, primary lyricist
Christopher Wolstenholme – bass guitar, vocals, keyboards
Dominic Howard – drums, percussion

MUSE has been classified by many sites as one of the best Progressive Rock bands, with all ready numerous awards and chart topping singles. Matt has also been on numerous lists of best guitarist in the World, and his Riff from the song "Plug in Baby" has been voted as one of the Top 100 best guitar riffs of all time.

He is best known for his insane riffs and solo's and ability to sing very high notes.
In my personal opinion he has one of the best voices in the world.

Some of their best known songs are, "Plug in baby, Time is running out, Unintended, Bliss,Starlight, Super Massive Blackholes, Knights of Cydonia etc."

They also allready have 4 Studio albums released.

# Showbiz (1999)
# Origin of Symmetry (2001)
# Absolution (2003)
# Black Holes and Revelations (2006)


So now that u have little bit of background,onto the DVD.

The HAARP TOUR DVD, was recorded and made from their live show at The Wembley arena in London.

There are a total of 21 Tracks on, ranging from their first album (Showbiz ) right up to their latest Blackholes and Revelations (which is what most of the songs from the DVD are from )
But they did an excellent job of mixing old and new tracks to give an DVD filled with hit after hit.

The show opens with Knights of the Cydonia, followed by one of their greatest hits Hysteria.
and from there on it just keeps on rocking ! From their latest up till one of the classics, "Unintended." All in 5.1 Dolby goodness.

The stage also featured a huge Big screen, which played various video effects and videos, some relating to the currently played song.
For example: The song "Apocalypse please " on the big screen their plays a video of a nuclear bomb and the destruction of earth."

The only thing im dissapointed in a bit, is the fact that some of their songs they did on the show didin't make it onto DVD. And i sincerely hope (And I know im not the only.) that there will be a double disc Special Edition, or extended version at least.

One of the songs, i missed on the DVD was "Sing for Absolution." Which has an awesome music video by the way.Go check it out on You Tube sometime. I saw a vid on You tube and also numerous complaints en fellow fans, asking why didn't it make it onto the DVD ? But being there and just experiencing MUSE, makes a song not on DVD a small price to pay.

The DVD comes at a very special price, R150 for both the DVD and the live CD. A small price to pay for such an awesome bundle. And a must have for every fan.


Full list of Tracks featured on MUSE HAARP TOUR DVD

1. Intro
2. Knights of Cydonia
3. Hysteria
4. Supermassive Black Hole
5. Map of the Problematique
6. Butterflies and Hurricanes
7. Hoodoo
8. Apocalypse
9. Feeling good
10. Invincible
11. Starlight
12. Improvise
13. Time is running out
14. New born
15. Soldiers Poem
16. Unintended
17. Blackout
18. Plug In Baby
19. Stockholm Syndrome
20. Take A Bow

Be sure to check out their official site.

www.muse.mu/

And also there wiki sister site, which features news, updates, gear etc.
http://www.musewiki.org/MuseWiki 

They are already at work on a new album, and it's scheduled for release later this year or early 2010.

To sum it all up, you definitely get more than u pay for ! an awesome DVD and CD, from the start till the very end, never a dull moment and every track and performance even more awesome and great than the previous.

So go out and buy this DVD even if ur not a fan yet, or don't know them....watch the DVD, and by the end I can guarantee you, you would have changed your mind and agree with me and the millions of fans.

Prince of Persia 2008 Review

Today I will be doing the review on another one of my favourite games in the world of gaming.
Namely the latest addition to the popular Prince of Persia series, whom you may have recalled got a total remake and comeback in 2003 with the Sands of Time Trilogy created in co ordination with Ubi Soft and Jordan Mechner (The creator of the Original Prince of Persia )
But its a few years since we last seen or heard any news from the series or the Prince and many thought that that was it, till our suprise Trailers started emerging in late 2007 and early 2008 of a new Prince of Persia , till the final release Desember 08.

Taking on a whole new storyline whis has nothing to do with with the previous predecessors, that and a completely new co - op fighting system and graphical en
gine (running on a modified Assasians Creed Engine )and look, the new Prince of Persia promises to bring on a whole new experience while staying true to it's roots.

That being said, lets continue on to the in depth review of the game.

The game starts of with our hero the prince strolling through the dessert in search of FARAH(his donkey ??? weird since Farah is also the Princess from Sands of Time ) and being caught up in a sand storm, when suddenly finds himself confronted by a girl running away from some guards and bumping into him.

It is this girl later revealed as Elika, whom plays a vital part in revealing the plot and story behind the game.A little further the main storyline becomes clear to you the player, and this not being a very sophisticated and good story as in the Sands of Time it's still fairly good.

The story basically begins with the destroying of the tree of life and releasing the dark lord Ahriman, who encases and releases corruption all over the Kingdom. It's then up to Elika and the Prince to free the land from this Dark Terror by reaching the fertile ground and using Elika's power to restore peace and cleanse the land again. But in order to do that she needs to collect light orbs.

And thus so the quest begins. To get back to Elika, as not much is known at the start of the game, about this mysterious campanion, all is revealed later in the game thorugh somehat funny cutscenes and conversations. Some being very sarcastic of nature.

But when the Prince and Elika ain't chatting there is a lot of work, err or should i say jumping and fighting to do.

And this is another diffrent aspect as to previous versions of the game.

Elika travels along side the Prince and does and goes where ever he does, and another new addition is the fact that the Prince can litterally never die, whenever he should fall of a ledge or slightly miss a jump, thus plumiting to his death, Elika wil be there to save / catch him and thus bringing him to the safety of the nearest platform. With a funny comment sometimes I must add.

Elika is also there in the fights in the game, helping the Prince out with some very crafty co op air combos.But the fighting and combos gets tedious after a while, and the combos and moves are the same all over again, thus when seeing all, every fight later on becomes more of a frustration, and done that seen this effect.

The Prince is also not nearly as agile as its predescessors. And battles are also always one on one, no mutliple enemies.

But with a little work and improvement being done, I believe it can become quite a good system.

The game also takes on a whole new graphic style, leaning towards the more cartoon look, as can be seen in some new games today, a good example would be the new RA 3 from EA, (Also see screenshots.)

The enviroment looks and feels much more alive and vibrant, as opposed to previous versions.

Furthermore the fighting system also got a whole new revamp.

With this new style also comes a whole new way of choosing your game path, the paths are very linear thus enabling you to choose the order in which you want to complete the game, each of the area on your map are marked with special colour markers, showing u which areas are accesible with the accquiring of the diffrent power plates (which I would go into, a bit later. )

After the the successful cleansing of a corrupted land / area, power orbs appear, it is these orbs that give Elika her magical powers and needs to be collected in order to unlock additional power plates to reach previously in accessible areas.

I am not going to go into details about the various powers, as this would very much be a spoiler, all i can tell u is that it's pretty awesome.

Unfortunatally the game lacks the inclusion of the various puzzles as seen in the previous games.

If I recall correctly there is only one true puzzle in the game, and this is towards the end of the game, and isin't very hard to figure out or complete, thus coupled with the never die mode, may give the idea and feel of an to easy game, or maybe it's designed in this way to lure more gamers to this genre and also making it easier and more playable for the younger game.

All in all the new concept, story and design is looking very good, and promises a unique experience ,while staying true to roots of plattforming. The new Prince of Persia certianly aint without it's fair set of bugs and flaws.

A part from the slow and repetitive fighting, the Prince looks more like a Pirate now than a Prince, still talks with an American accent(Mmm Persia, where does Persia fit in ) and constantly makes lame jokes. There are some frame rate issues at times, and the overall game feels much slower that it's previous counterparts.

But putting all the above aside it's still a kick ass game, and an unique new experience.

And well worth buying and adding to your collection.

I played the PC version of the game, but it's also availible on the Xbox360 and PS3 Consoles.

And although I played this on the PC, I played it with a PS2 USB Gamepad, and must say I found it much easier to play with the gamepad than with the native mouse and keyboard.

The System Requirements for the game are a bit more steeper for this release.

Minimum System Requirements

Supported OS: Windows(R) XP/Windows Vista(R)
Processor: Dual core processor 2.6 GHz Intel(R) Pentium(R) D or AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 3800+ (Intel Core(R) 2 Duo 2.2 GHz or AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ or better recommended)
RAM: 1 GB Windows XP/2 GB Windows Vista
Video Card: 256 MB DirectX(R) 10.0–compliant video card or DirectX 9.0–compliant card with Shader Model 3.0 or higher (see supported list)*
Sound Card: DirectX 9.0 or 10.0–compliant sound card (5.1 sound card recommended)
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0 or 10.0 libraries (included on disc)
DVD-ROM: DVD-ROM dual-layer drive
Hard Drive Space: 8 GB
Peripherals Supported: Keyboard, mouse, optional controller (Xbox 360(R) Controller for Windows recommended)

* Supported Video Cards at Time of Release:
ATI(R) RADEON(R) X1600*/1650*-1950/HD 2000/3000 series
NVIDIA GeForce(R) 6800*/7/8/9 series

My scores for the game are as follows:

GFX: 8 / 10 - A new graphical style and look, proves once again that Ubi Soft knows what they are doing.And gives life to a whole new vibrant world filled with rich detail.

Sound: 6/10 - The sounds are generally good, but the game lacks the epic soundtracks and music found in the previous ones.

Gameplay: 8/10 - Same old running,jumping and sliding as in the previous ones,a proven success formula, and with the addition of some new moves and animations with unlocking of powers to use via power plates makes this still a proven success formula.And with a Single player campaing of round about 9 - 12 hrs, it should keep u busy for quite a while.

Replay ability: 5/10 - After the main story there isin't much reason to return to the game, other than unlocking extra skins.

Overall: 7

As metioned before if u are a fan of platformming games and of the Prince of Persia series, you will feel right at home with this game, the controls are also easy to learn and for most part it's a pick up and go game. And promises for a pretty unique experience

Well thats all from me, keep well and Happy Gameing !!!!

The BOX ART




































The All new Graphical Style


Mysterious Elika

FEAR Review

Every now and then, in the gaming world a gaming gem is born and today im going to review just such a gem.

As you have read from the title the games name is FEAR, which in actual facts stands for First Encounter Assault Recon. Its a FPS (First Person Shooter ) game combining sleek graphics, with a twisted and mind boggling story all mixed together with an eerie dark soundtrack and a few very scary moments.

The game was created by Monolith entertainment and published and released in 2005 by Sierra.
Now before reading any further keep in mind the technology available at that time.
And it's in this area where the game truly shines. With some great in game effects like bullet time (those familiar with, Max Payne ) not to mention some great shadow and lighting effects.

For example, when shooting some overhanging lights the light will begin to swing around and the lights shadow will follow the movement creating very realistic shadows. Furthermore when in bullet time and shooting against the walls you can actually see the walls break apart when shooting them, and kinds of debri's just flying in all directions.All this without the need of an complex PhySX card.

The AI in the game is another great achievement and surely one for setting standards for upcoming titles. They mostly operate in squads, and are in constant communication with each other, and for example most of the game is played in dark levels with only a flashlight with limited battery life , to comfort you. You still have to worry about the super soldiers clones (for most of the game the main enemies ) , now don't just think they strafe a little to the left or right, no these guys are equipped with Delta tactics and will comment on your behaviour if provoked.
And as far as possible do all kind of tactical manoeuvres to make sure u don't advance.

To give an example. Lets say ur peaking around the corner and u hear some soldier walkie talkie conversation. And there u see an enemy behind a glass room...you take out your grenade, lob it towards the window and think well there u go, nothing to it...one less enemy....think again as soon as the soldier sees the grenade or hear the glass break, he will either jump roll out the window and get out of harms way or run out the nearest exit, and call for backup...making your life just a tad bit more interesting..

The story is pretty complex and told through telephone conversations and logs hidden throughout the game, which makes it difficult to keep track of what exactly is happening.
I went and downloaded a faq from www.gamefaqs.com where the full story was explained .
Im not going to go into details about it, since it's going to be a spoiler.
But I can tell u this, if love twisted and scary stories u will most likely digg this story as well.

The Single Player campaign isin't very long and can be completed in about 6h, playing on Easy difficulty.There are some great scary moments in the game, from blood dripping from walls and ceiling to the occasional eerie sounds and voices,coupled together with some scary flashbacks.All making this game an unique FPS Horror experience.

The Multiplayer aspect of the game is also alot of fun, and with the added bullet time effects makes for a pretty unique experience.
Since this is an rather old game now the system requirements aint that high.

Below is a link to the official game site, which will tell u the basic System requirements for the game, but to give u an idea of what is needed

PS: These are the recommended specs im gonna give you for playing the game.
Always make sure you have a bit more than the Min. Req. thus ensuring a smooth and LAG free game play experience...

CPU: 3.2 GhZ AMD or Intel P4 CPU.
RAM: 1GB or more.
GFX Card: Geforce 6800 or Ati X800
HDD: 5GB

My summary of the game is as follows:

GFX: 8/10 (Some pretty good effects and GFX for a 2005 game )
Sound: 7/10 (There aint to much music in the game, but the scary sounds and voices blends well together with the overall sound and feel of the game )

Lastibility: 6/10 (Though I doubt you'll go back to the Single player aspect of the game, the Mutliplayer would surely keep u busy for a while. )

An overall of 7/10 for me then...

It truly is a must playing for any FPS fan, and even if you are not it's still worth checking out.
If u love games like Resident Evil and the Silent Hill series, you will feel right at home with this.

This game is also available on the PS3 console.

Be sure to check out the sequel codenamed Project Origin(The name would make a lot more sense once you finished FEAR ) due for release in February
http://www.whatisfear.com/


That's all from me

Happy gaming !!!

Just some of the delighted friends you meet later on in the game !!!