Guitar Hero 5 track list impressions (Stephen)

So Activision released the track list for Guitar Hero 5 and here it is with my bracketed opinions on every track!

· 3 Doors Down - "Kryptonite"(yeah I'm not quite sure what this song is)
· Arctic Monkeys - "Brianstorm"(Arctic Monkeys would be fun to sing, Northern accents :D)
· Blink-182 - "The Rock Show" (it's on my iTunes, yeah it looks like a fun one)
· Dire Straits - "Sultans Of Swing" (of course it's on my iTunes, why hasn't this been on guitar hero before. This song is great and has one of the greatest guitar parts ever, will be super fun to play to and singing like Knopfler will be great)
· Jimmy Eat World - "Bleed American" (ummm what now?)
· Johnny Cash - "Ring Of Fire" (I want to sing this one, NOW!)
· Megadeth - "Sweating Bullets" (YES!!! This song is great, yes it's on my iTunes, this will be the most fun song to sing ever, will be the first one I play... hello me meet the real me)
· Mötley Crüe - "Looks That Kill" (yeah Motley crew not that bothered)
· Muse - "Plug In Baby" (on my iTunes, I love muse, this song is amazing- can't wait)
· Nirvana - "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (iTunes, this one is not very exciting, it's very expected)
· Queen & David Bowie - "Under Pressure" (iTunes, best Queen song, David Bowie is my favourite solo artist and this song is great. I am really looking forward to dueting on this if I can, not so sure about the guitar part though- is there one to speak of really?)
· Stevie Wonder - "Superstition" (Albert likes this guy)
· The Killers - "All The Pretty Faces" (I don't like the Killers!!!!)
· The Raconteurs - "Steady As She Goes" (I know the song, from n E4 advert or something similar, I'm not bothered either way with this one)
· TV On The Radio - "Wolf Like Me" (what is this?)
· A Perfect Circle - "Judith" (what is this one?)
· AFI - "Medicate" (what are these songs?)
· Attack! Attack! UK - "You And Me" (seriously what is this?)
· Band Of Horses - "Cigarettes, Wedding Bands" (Once more, what?)
· Beastie Boys - "Gratitude" (Will be a hell of fun to sing)
· Beck - "Gamma Ray" (He was in Futurama, and therefore must be good although I have never heard him)
· Billy Idol - "Dancing With Myself" (another song which will be super fun to sing)
· Billy Squier - "Lonely Is The Night" (huh?)
· Blur - "Song 2" (not suprisedm will be popular but is a true meh for me, yes it's on iTunes)
· Bob Dylan - "All Along The Watchtower" (yes! iTunes of course, great song)
· Bon Jovi - "You Give Love A Bad Name" (not really a fan but it is on iTunes, would be a fun one all round though)
· Brand New - "Sowing Season (Yeah)" (huh?)
· The Bronx - "Six Days A Week" (is this a cut down version of the Beatles- budum chish!)
· Bush - "Comedown" (this better be George Bush, otherwise... who?)
· Children Of Bodom - "Done With Everything, Die For Nothing"(hehehe Children of Bodom, this will be interesting)
· Coldplay - "In My Place" (I don't like Coldplay and I don't like this song)
· Darker My Love - "Blue Day" (who?)
· Darkest Hour - "Demon(s)" (who?)
· David Bowie - "Fame" (iTunes, I love Bowie and I love this song- it will be great)
· Deep Purple - "Woman From Tokyo ('99 Remix)" (don't know of this song but I like Deep Purple alot and there stuff really suits Guitar Hero play, every part will be great)
· The Derek Trucks Band - "Younk Funk"(WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?)
· The Duke Spirit - "Send A Little Love Token"(That is not a band!)
· Duran Duran - "Hungry Like The Wolf" (hehehe Duran Duran)
· Eagles Of Death Metal - "Wannabe In L.A."(I have heard of this band!)
· Elliott Smith - "L.A." (Activision made this band up)
· Elton John - "Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)" (iTunes, I love Elton John, and love singing along- will be great, but where is the Piano peripheral I want more Elton! This one has a good guitar part though)
· Face To Face - "Disconnected" (not a band)
· Garbage - "Only Happy When It Rains"(made up)
· Gorillaz - "Feel Good Inc." (I know this song, yeah will be a fun singing one, not so sure about other instruments, might be an easy one)
· Gov't Mule - "Streamline Woman" (again, not a band)
· Grand Funk Railroad - "We're An American Band" (you're not an American Band because you are not real!)
· Iggy Pop - "Lust For Life (Live)" (I know of him)
· Iron Maiden - "2 Minutes To Midnight" (iTunes, my faovurite band ever, I've seen this song live and it is amazing. Guitar and drums will of course be fantastic. Also Steve Harris is the best bassist ever and his bass lines are insane, that wil be great. I will be singing this one definately!)
· Jeff Beck - "Scatterbrain (Live)" (I know of him)
· John Mellencamp - "Hurts So Good"(not real)
· Kaiser Chiefs - "Never Miss A Beat" (I'm not a fan but I will sing it for comedy value, the other parts will be a bit dull)
· King Crimson - "21st Century Schizoid Man" (my Dad will love this and it is probably on my iTunes)
· Kings Of Leon - "Sex On Fire" (utter rubbish but I will so sing it just to mock the whiney voices of the Kings of Leon)
· Kiss - "Shout It Out Loud" (they're a fun band for a game like this)
· Love and Rockets - "Mirror People" (there's a futurama episode called Love & Rocket)
· My Morning Jacket - "One Big Holiday" (who?)
· Nirvana - "Lithium (Live)" (the studio version is on iTunes, yeah Nirvana.. not that bothered)
· No Doubt - "Ex-Girlfriend" (there is absolutely no doubt that I don't care about this... see what I did there)
· Peter Frampton - "Do You Feel Like We Do? (Live)" (iTunes, and of course it's the live version. I think every house has 'Frampton Comes Alive' in it somewhere. This will be great and will be great, singing will be AWESOME and guitar will be also)
· The Police - "So Lonely"(Sting impressions, yeaaaah!)
· Public Enemy Featuring Zakk Wylde - "Bring the Noise 20XX" (I like Zakk Wylde)
· Queens Of The Stone Age - "Make It Wit Chu"(I know of them)
· Rammstein – "Du Hast" (GERMAN!!! I'm in)
· The Rolling Stones - "Sympathy For The Devil" (iTunes, will be a great singer and a great guitar, I'm excited about this one)
· Rose Hill Drive - "Sneak Out" (huh?)
· Rush - "The Spirit Of Radio (Live)" (iTunes, yeah it's ok)
· Santana - "No One To Depend On (Live)" (maybe on iTunes and yeah Santana will be great on guitar)
· Scars On Broadway - "They Say" (not real)
· Screaming Trees - "Nearly Lost You" (totally false)
· Smashing Pumpkins - "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" (I know of them)
· Sonic Youth - "Incinerate"(I know of them)
· Spacehog - "In The Meantime" (Who? At least Spacehog is a cool name)
· Sublime - "What I Got" (iTunes, yeah I love me some Sublime, cannot wait)
· Sunny Day Real Estate - "Seven" (huh?)
· T. Rex - "20th Century Boy" (iTunes, will be super great)
· The Sword - "Maiden, Mother & Crone"(?)
· Thin Lizzy - "Jailbreak" (iTunes, will be super super great)
· Thrice - "Deadbolt" (?)
· Tom Petty - "Runnin' Down A Dream" (I know of him)
· Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - "American Girl" (this is the song I know by him, yeah I am going to sing this one!)
· Vampire Weekend - "A-Punk" (???)
· Weezer - "Why Bother?" (I know of them)
· The White Stripes - "Blue Orchid" (NOOOO! I hate the White Stripes)
· Wild Cherry - "Play That Funky Music" (is this the white boy one, if so... can't wait)
· Wolfmother - "Back Round" (I know them, I like WOMAN!!!!)

So that's the setlist... my personalised setlist in no order would be:

Blink-182 - "The Rock Show"

Dire Straits - "Sultans Of Swing"

Megadeth - "Sweating Bullets"

Muse - "Plug In Baby"

Queen & David Bowie - "Under Pressure"

Bob Dylan - "All Along The Watchtower"

David Bowie - "Fame"

Elton John - "Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)"

Iron Maiden - "2 Minutes To Midnight"

Peter Frampton - "Do You Feel Like We Do?

Rammstein – "Du Hast" (because it will be funny!)

The Rolling Stones - "Sympathy For The Devil"

Sublime - "What I Got"

Thin Lizzy - "Jailbreak"

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - "American Girl"

Film Review- Moon (Stephen Gillespie)

The sci-fi genre has changed alot over the years, it's changed from the deep thought provoking sci-fi of the older generation to the CGI explosion fests that mostly grace the silver screen today. The modern sci-fi usually consits of robots punching each other which is of course very intelectually stimulating. Moon is not like this at all and is just simply amazing. It is a iflm which gets just about everything spot on, it may be a film with the feel of the past but it's the kind of film you want to see more of in the future.

The concept of moon is deceptivly simple, it is the future and man kind depends on the moon's resources for their energy needs. This new found energy keeps Earth in a prosperous state but there is a cost, for one man at least. Sam Bell (brilliantly played by Sam Rockwell) is on a three year contract on the moon where he keeps check on all the machinary and apparatus that keeps the energy coming from the moon. The catch here is that Sam Bell is all by himself, alone on the moon for three years. Well not quite alone, he is accompanied by a computer with the voice of Kevin Spacey called GERTY, a computer programmed to service all of Sam's needs. Although sam has GERTY for company he definately suffers deep problems brought about by extreme isolation. His contact with Earth is next to nothing, he cannot establish a signal in order to have a live conversation with Earth but he can send off messages and recieve them back but this is of course limited.

The film relies soley on Sam Rockwell's performance for he plays the only real part in the film, luckily he plays it brilliantly. Every moment of despair, every character flaw and every glimmer of hope is conveyed masterfully making Sam Bell one of the most believable characters in cinema full stop. The film just has a human feel to it which makes this sci-fi moon based film ironically feel very down to Earth. Although Sam's descent into seemingly insane isolation is a delight to watch it is suprising that this happens due to the brilliance of GERTY. Kevin Spacey's voice work manages to set a mood in every scene, the character of GERTY will keep you guessing. At the start there is a definate underlying menace to his lines but you are never quite sure of GERTY's intentions. This makes a computer yet another compelling character, the interplay between the two superb performances of Spacey's voice and Rockwell's acting makes this film compelling throughout. It is a film which is very action light, it focuses more on the old sci-fi idea of a film of ideas not action, yet suspense is kept throughout by an intriguing and brilliant plot which is complimented by a sublime score.

The music sets the scene for the movie perfectly, it is simple yet powerful. The main tune is a shifting motif which changes slightly throughout certain scenes. It can create an atmosphere of despair, hope, joy or deep sadness at any point and is one more perfect layer to this fantastic film. The atmosphere is one of the best bits, it somehow manages to be an American film with the feel of the quaint British film. It mixes powerful emotional scenes with a dash of humour which add to the human feel of the film and of course to the realism.

To summarise this a a must watch. The fact that this film didn't get a full release is a crime to cinema. I cannot remember a better film that I have seen in the cinema and is a refreshing change to mindless sci-fi. This is the debut film for director Duncan Jones (son of David Bowie) and looks like the start of a great career. Everything about Moon is just simply amazing, the feel, the acting, the ideas behind it, the script- even the length. At just over one hour and thirty five minutes this film doesn't drag at all and makes the powerful ending scenes even more effective. This is a film which needs to be experienced in the cinema so go out and see it! It's a refreshing change to see an 'old fashioned' sci-fi film outshine anything else that has come out recently in the genre. This low budget masterpiece is proof that the Michael Bay treatment is not how to make fantastic sci-fi, this may have a retro industrial look but it is totally fitting and makes for one impressive looking movie. Infact I only have on small complaint with this film, swearing, at some points the ammount of F-Bombs chucked around towards the end seems a bit pointless. It saps the brillaint subtletly from the film slightly but that is the only probel. Every other director needs to take a leaf from Duncan Jones because this homage to Sci-fi's past would make the perfect future.

Rating: 5/5- a truly astonishing piece of cinema, truly deserving of every academy award

Stephen- A short dabble with Killzone 2

Once more I am very late to the party, last night was my first real play on Killzone 2. This was a game I was very excited about playing and I can tell you now that I will consider it as a purchase in the future. I really enjoyed the time I spent with it, there were a few problems I found with it to me as a player but still I soldiered on through it because it was just so darn fun! My first problem was that it was really hard, this hardness was brought about by several other factors but for some reason i just found it really difficult. I think the main reason was it took me a while to get a hold of the cover system, the first level is instant death if you stray from cover. Now I quite like this in games, I never used to be a fan but since I was converted to the pop up gameplay of Gears of War I've really enjoyed strategic cover systems. I actually think Killzone's cover system is an improvement on Gears of War because it feels more fluid, the cover system is hidden in the gameplay and doesn't stand out as much as gears. The constant on screen prompts of the Gear's cover system really distance it from the actual game, it's great, and you can do alot more in that than you can in Killzone's but still I prefer Killzone's. It's the suprising simplicity that makes the Killzone system so great, simply duck behind suitable cover and you get to sort out your aim on enemies whilst you are hidden, then fire and you will pop out and hopefully kill them. Really simple and really fun, it has few button presses and just works. The fact you can lean out the side of cover is great also. It's hard to explain really how well this works, you have to experience for yourself. But of course it does have on issue that Gear's doesn't, in Gear's you are guided towards cover in Killzone I found it difficult occasionally to work out what would make suitable cover, without on screen prompts it's harder. However I would argue this makes it more realistic and more immersive.

So back to the difficulty, it's hard. Lots of enemies on the screen at once all shooting at just you, but it never feels like it's the game being cheap. I died alot but always I would ready to go back into the area, the checkpoint system is very forgiving, and try out new ways of taking down enemies. It was always my skill level letting me down never the game being too hard, yes it's hard but it's a welcome challenge. However I had it on the easiest difficulty so you expect it to be easy, towards the end of my play though I felt it getting easier as I was getting used to the game. Once you have got a handle of the controls and the cover the game is just fun and not too hard. The controls were a major problem for me at first, they were very stiff. The controls have a very heavy feel to them and if your used to call of duty, like me, it will take a while to get used to them. But they do give you the feel of a big armoured soldier, who annoyingly has the most pathetic jump ever. So this is a problem that you get used to but the actual controls are quite wierd. This is because they are once more differently set out to Call of Duty, the look down the gun button was not left trigger or something logical like that, it was right thumbstick pressed down. This is where the difficutly came from for me. To be honest I did find the game a bit hard, but that was mostly because I kept pressing the wrong buttons.

Finally the layout was a bit annoying to me. The game felt really linear yet with a huge lack of direction. The linear gameplay was fine and made it a really enjoyable shooter but, this was hampered by confusing commands and a general lack of direction. At many points I was unsure where to or what to do because a troop would shout something and I was not sure what they meant. After a while this became easier because the game is so contrived. Blow that bridge down, how? Well look a random RPG right next to you, the person carrying it luckily died. Kill all the enemies on that building, that will be hard! Well right next to you a turret, awesome. This made the game fun but it all felt a bit too convenient. No real complaint, but still at some points there was a suprising lack of direction. The level layout seems quite odd every now and then, really illogical and that makes it hard to carry out orders.

But overall I really enjoyed this game, it's hard but I reckon if you used to all he different factors it wouldn't be that hard at all and on recruit difficulty it could turn out to be quite easy. So I would really recommend this game so go out and buy it! Keep gaming,

Stephen!

Twitter update #1

We are putting in some good old mouse clicking work to get you guys a pick of great gaming news, so here is a list of people we are currently following on Twitter:

PandemicStudios- creators of one of Stephen's favourite games ever Star Wars Battlefront 2, expecy many Saboteur updates because we are excited for this game.
Sony PlayStation- In Stephen's opinion creator of the greatest gaming system ever, the PS3 which just beats the N64
OnLive Games- Albert is interested in how OnLive is going seeing as it could revolutionise PC gaming, something he is fond of. Imagine how much easier it would be if you could play great games without worrying about hardware configurations- if this works we could see this. (Stephen- Albert obviously hasn't heard of consoles, they've been rocking the you don't need to buy new hardware for every game thing for ages, check one out :P)
Valve- Albert loves CounterStrike and we both agree that Valve are awesome!
NPDgroup- It's good to check what games are selling in America!
Tim Schafer- A gaming legend, this site will keep us amused and we can bring you Brutal Legend news alongside some Monkey Island stuff hopefully
Insomniac games- A strange developer, they are totally 3rd party but only make Playstation games, odd but awesome seeing as Stephen is a PS gamer. We have insomniac to thank for greats such as the Spyro, Ratchet and Clank and Resistance Franchises
Peter Molyneux- This guy iso ne of the great inovative minds of gaming, we can get some good Lionhead news and listen to some crazy ideas
Bioware- The Old Republic! Need I say more, well I need. These people made Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire, Mass Effect and the upcoming Dragon Age
Bethesda Blog- All your news regarding the stupid ammount of Fallout 3 DLC and maybe we might get some Elder Scrolls news... eventually, here's hoping!
Rockstar Games- GTA news, always needed.
Tecmo Games- Ninja Gaiden, Dead or Alice, Rygar and Fatal Frame- not to mention sports games. A good one to check out every now and then!
Codemasters- Great racing games, Colin McRae Rally, TOCA and Race Driver. Also check for Brian Lara Cricket, Lord of the Rings Online, Overlord and Operation Flashpoint
EA- It's EA, they're pretty big you know!
Capcom- Street Figher, Resident Evil, Mega Man, Devil May Cry, Monster hunter, Lost Planet and even more... they are massive!
Ubisoft- Too many games to list, games we are watching out for especially- Assassin's Creed (anything) and Splinter Cell Conviction
Naughty Dog- Famous Crash Bandicoot developer who are now working on the Uncharted series, we will keep you posted on that!
Rare- Stephen loves Rare! Come back to Nintendo Rare, make some good Wii games... PLEASE!
Gamespot and staff- to get some news
IGN- News
Wittertainment- Film news and because Stephen loves Mark Kermode
Stephen Fry- Isn't it Twitter law to follow him?
Waist High View- A friend of Albert
thestephenage- Stephen's Twitter that he has never used
Qi stuff- who doesn't love Qi?