Nope, that’s not a grammatical error up there (although I’m sure there will be plenty to follow) — Moms is the new LP from Portland-based indie-rockers Justin Harris and Danny Seim of Menomena. Moms follows on the heels of Mines, a spectacular effort and one of the best albums of 2010, as well as the (perhaps unsurprising, given the band’s known tension and in-fighting) departure of one-third of the band in Brent Knopf. The question wasn’t so much if the band would continue (according to Danny Seim and Justin Harris, that was never really an issue), so much as if they could keep the momentum that they had built with Friend and Foe and Mines.

Mark of the Ninja is Possibly the Best Side-Scrolling Stealth-Action Platformer Ever Made

I’ve always had a few problems with stealth games. While I enjoy the genre as a whole (I’m pretty sure I’ve owned all of the Splinter Cell games at some point or another), I don’t think I’ve ever played a stealth game where the actual stealth mechanics felt right. Enemies tend to be too savvy or not savvy enough, failing to notice a hulking dude barely concealed in a thin lair of shadow two feet away from them while three green dots glow vibrantly in the “dark” (and hey, if they do notice you, there’s always a hay bale nearby or a cardboard box to slip into). There’s an imperfect science to stealth games in which the player usually ends up having to learn how to work around the wonky nature of the AI instead of actually learning how to be stealthy. All of this makes Mark of the Ninja that much more impressive, as its offering of side-scrolling stealth-action platforming is damn near perfect.

They Bleed Pixels is an Absolute Fucker — You Should Play It

I don’t mean to start a running theme on this blog by only posting about games that are bastard difficult, but I can’t help it. Like I mentioned in the Trials post, I’m drawn to these games. There’s something about a game that’s impossibly challenging yet mechanically precise, a game in which every fault you make is entirely your own, requiring a level of determination and skill (and an Everest-sized mountain of luck) that constantly propels the player forward. It’s addicting — incredibly so — with a cathartic release unlike anything else in video games. And so They Bleed Pixels, the latest outing by Spooky Squid Games, joins the ranks of such “fuck you” titles as Super Meat Boy and I Wanna be the Guy (alright, maybe not that bad).

The Tribulations of Trials Evolution

Note: Much like the Max Payne 3 post, I don’t intend for this to be a review, just some thoughts on the game that have been bouncing around in my head for awhile now. I’m going to omit a few things about the game in the following wall of text, so here they are in short form: the game has multiplayer (online and off, both good), two track editors (regular and pro), filesharing (custom made tracks, which are occasionally incredible), skill games (most of which are silly and fun), and a supercross mode (which isn’t quite as fun as just regular Trials in terms of multiplayer, but is still pretty neat and features four players on screen at once). The game also features “ghosts” of people on your friends list who have already completed a track, allowing you to race their “ghost” and compete against their time. It’s a neat idea, but I found it to be sort of distracting and decided to turn it off at some point. 

Yep, this looks about right.

In the grand tradition that I seem to be starting with these posts, I’m going to talk about a game that’s been out for several months now. That game is Trials Evolution, and if I have one thing to say about this particular game, it’s this: fuck Trials Evolution.

Future of the Left Release Album, World Becomes a More Sarcastic Place

If you’re not sure who Future of the Left are, you should  quickly acquaint yourself with the band’s particularly harsh form of hard rock music by playing the video above. That’s “Sheena is a T-Shirt Salesman,” lead single (?) from the their new LP The Plot Against Common Sense, and man, is it an angry, angry piece of music. All churning guitars and furious, shouted vocals, it’s the kind of song that doesn’t really exist anymore except in the headphones of very particular listeners, although I’ll be careful to check my “too obscure” references so that I might not be labeled a hipster (which might very well be the worst thing one human being can say to another, just short of “cunt”).

Thoughts on Max Payne 3; Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Payne

WARNING: MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD

Dear Livejournal,

Today I – oh wait, um, man. How embarrassing. I guess I’m kind of new to this wordpress thing.

Instead of talking about my day (alright) or my dating life (non-existent) or my emotions (what?), maybe I’ll just jump into the whole reason I started this blog. Maybe it’s time to talk about some video games (or music, or movies, but mostly just video games for now).

I’m going to preface the this post by saying that I think Max Payne 3 is a magnificent game, and the things I’m about to say below this paragraph may seem negative at times, but that’s only because I’m kind of an asshole and I’ve been letting these thoughts ruminate since I finished the game a few days ago. Also, I’m aware that the game came out three or so weeks ago for Xbox 360 and PS3, but I’m more of a PC guy myself. Even so, this is a little late.