Don’t you just love media companies?!
First they take my order, then they lose me in their systems and then don’t bother with me until I phone up and complain.
So they’ll be no definite updates until 2nd of December however if I can jump on a PC this week, I have reviews of Assassin Creed II’s OST and Tori Amos’ Midwinter Graces.
Apologies!
Just a heads up to let you know I am moving to my first flat (bye bye parents!) and that I will have no internet access until the 23rd. Therefore, they’ll probably be no updates during that period and as I’ve been packing, that’s why there’s been a lack of new content!
Moving house is stressful!
See you on the otherside!
Lisa Gerrard has a triple bill release! Firstly, her latest album “The Black Opal” is released digitally on Lisa’s website. Also available on the website now is the soundtrack to “Balibo” and her tour CD with Klaus Schulze “Come Quietly”. The samples for all three sound fantastic and we’ll be picking them up shortly for reviewing and general enjoyment. What a month for music!
Be prepared to be amazed and excited. Brendan Perry’s album “Ark” is completed and ready and due to be released early 2010. Brendan has kindly put together a fantastic video showing behind the scenes footage and beautiful landscape cinematography along with a narrative.
Brendan reveals there are eight tracks, including Crescent and Saffron and you can hear samples of them all. HPM are so excited for this release already, just from the samples we feel right at home with it already.
Vib Ribbon is a PlayStation game (that needs a re-release in my opinion!) from madman Masaya Matsuura who created the Parappa franchise. Demented and genius in equal parts – you play your CD collection to make Vibri blossom into a winged dancer!
The Premise
You are Vibri – a kind of cute 2-D drawn rabbit. You must navigate an obstacle course of loops, pits and jumps that your CD track as generated and make it to the other side. Get it right, Vibri survives. If not, he de-evolves into a limp worm! I kid you not…
The Gameplay
As with most rhythm action games, the gameplay is simple yet tricky. You use four buttons, one assigned to each type of obstacle. The obstacles fly at you down a single wave line and you need to press the buttons at the right time to get over them. The speeds and angles can change and then obstacles combine themselves so you must press two buttons together. The only downside is sometimes it doesn’t always recognise you’ve pressed them together and you lose points and energy. If you get about 20 passes in a row you grow wings. If you get several wrong, you’ll end up with a line that shakes like crazy and eventually de-evolve back to a privative form. You can choose just one track from a CD or if you’re game, you can do the whole album.
The Graphics
These are plain, black and white with 2D single lined drawings. It is a line – no more and no less.
The Sound
The game comes with a couple of tracks from Laugh & Peace but after that its all down to your own CD collection.
The Replay Factor
Again limited to you CD collection and your patience (you will need it) this rhythm action game is fun but is best in short sharp bursts, like taking it in turns for a high score in a group.
The Positives
~Random gameplay
~No two tracks will give you the same game
~Vibri is just so cute for a scribbled character
The Negative
~Long gaming sessions can frustrate, especially if you play an album and it all goes wrong on track 12 of 12…
The Verdict
Vib Ribbon is a fantastic game. Original, stylised and full of raw gameplay that’s ready to burst. It may not appeal to the gun totting crowd with their FPS’ but quite frankly I’d rather be bashing buttons with Vibri screaming at me when I’ve made him fall into a pit by accident anyday.
The title says it all, Assassins Creed’s composer is back for the sequel and with the new game set in the Renaissance era I’d expect to hear a mixture of orchestral rousing themes and neat acoustic tracks too. Capitol Studios have confirmed an orchestra and choir have been used and several A-List musicians too. The soundtrack will be available to download from 16th November.
October saw HPM have three distinct leaders in the race for top spot and despite only being a listen-to-the-samples post, Lisa Gerrard topped the bill for October while we all wait in anticipation for “The Black Opal”. Christoper Tin and Winifred Phillips followed closely behind with their interviews and reviews while Anonymous 4 was quickly catching all three at the end of the month. The top 10 are listed below:
01) Lisa Gerrard (^)
02) Christopher Tin (v)
03) Winifred Phillips (RE)
04) Anonymous 4 (NE)
05) Brendan Perry (-)
06) Imogen Heap (v)
07) Tori Amos (RE)
08) Hiroki Kikuta (v)
09) OverClocked Remix (v)
10) Yasunori Mitsuda (RE)
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Game Reviews
01) Battle Tanks (PS3)
02) Shatter (PS3)
03) .detuned (PS3)
04) Trash Panic (PS3)
05) Numblast (PS3)
