Free To Play Time! FXG reviews- MicroVolts

Well, here is yet another new free to play shooter. However, I feel that this is most definitely one of the best ones I have played. It's a third person shooter with cutesy anime themed characters and very nice cartoon environments that fit in well with the whole cartoon toys theme. 

This game boasts some of the best design I have seen in a game. In a lot of free games the levels are very straightforward with a bunch of newb-tubes to camp at. Also, all of the bright vivid colors are a welcome change from the various shades of brown that most shooters (AAA Titles included) throw in our faces. There is quite a selection of levels, each different in scale. There is a horror house, a chess board, and outside trash hole, a kitchen, and a few other unique level types that fit in really well. One cool thing is the customization options for your character. You earn the usual in game currency to spend in the shops for new weapons and character accessories. Unfortunate, if you don't play a lot you will be screwed with the cheap 7 day rental option. You can buy one permanently, but it is very pricey and you have to play for quite a while before you can afford it. You can buy their Micro-currency with real world money to buy things, but if you do that you can only have the stuff for a maximum of 90 days, after which you have to buy it again. And the 90 day option for most items costs about $6 in cash. A bit pricey, so unless you have a lot of disposable income, you'll have to play the game a lot to actually get the custom stuff. 

The weapons are pretty standard for a shooter; There are an assortment of Machine Guns, Shotguns, Mini-Guns, Sniper Rifles, Melee, Grenade Launcher, and a Missile Launcher. I would recommend you not play with players level 5 and above because you will get totally thrashed if they went out and bought the upgraded weapons. Whenever I encountered a higher level player, I would end up having to try and sneak around and flank him, which is still fun, but if he sees you first, go ahead and say good-bye. 

The game modes are fairly straightforward as well. There is the usual Team Deathmatch, Annihilation, Free For All, and Capture The Flag- here called Capture The Battery. One fairly unique mode (a few games have done it, but it is still fun and accessible) is the Zombie mode, in which one player is picked randomly to be the host zombie and try to infect everyone else. However, I noticed that mostly the zombies end up winning because one hit and you're infected. 

While it is by no means a perfect game, it fills a gaping hole in the shooter market today. FUN. Remember that? The thing we used to have before everyone got obsessed with realism? (Yes I know this line is ripped from Zero Punctuation, but Yahtzee put it better than anyone could have) So I'd have to say this is a really great game, and if you are looking for something a bit different without forking over $50 for a new release from the great game processing machine, go over to the site and download the client. And happy fragging!

 

Fall Out Boy: From best to "Eh, it was pretty good."

Before I start I would like to say for the most part the bands I am doing are all fantastic, and I love all of their albums. Just because an album is on the bottom does not mean it is not worthy of attention.

Numbah 1: Take This To Your Grave "There's A Light On In Chicago, And I Know I Should Be Home."

This is their debut LP, and what a doozy it is. While most of the guitar riffs are power chords, they do it so well that you don't care, and you just sit back and bob your head as Patrick Stump's vocal styling crash down on your ear drums. Not to mention the awesome drum beats laid down by Andy Hurley, who was my very first inspiration when I started drumming.

Favorite Songs:

Grand Theft Autumn\Where Is Your Boy

Saturday

Chicago Is So Two Years Ago

Calm Before The Storm

The Patron Saint Of Liars And Fakes


Number Dos: Infinity On High "Say Your Prayers, But Let The Good Times Roll"

This is their 3rd Studio album, and holds a special place in my heart. See, I used to be very close minded about music. I would make funny of pretty much anything my sister would listen to, and listen to all the stuff my friends liked. I finally got curious about what I was making fun of and sat down to listen to this album. It changed my life.

This album is more into the mainstream than their previous two, which were mainly just pop-punk. This album takes pop-punk, hip-hop, and a bit of the theatrical and blends them together to make one amazingly aural-gasmic experience.

Favorite Songs:

Thriller
I'm Like A Lawyer, The Way I Am Always Trying To Get You Off (Me&You)
Hum Hallelujah
Golden
The (After) Life Of The Party
You're Crashing, But You're No Wave
I've Got All This Ringing In My Ears, But None On My Fingers >>This one is my personal favorite of all my favorites ~_^


Number 3: Folie A Deux "So Boycott Love; Detox Just To Retox"

This album means "A Madness Shared By Two" in french, which was the common phrase used to describe Schizophrenia. And the album does reflect that. After Infinity On High, they decided to take their sound to a completely different level. It does feel a bit odd, though. It has the same astounding lyrics that had become Pete Wentz's trademark, and Patrick Stump's always fantastic vocals; The guitars and Drums, however, seemed a bit off. It kind of sounds like someone put the tracks and put them through several different sound filters and effects pedals. Not at all a bad album, just definitley not the greatest.

Favorite Songs:

Disloyal Order Of Water Buffaloes
Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On A Bad Bet
The (Shipped) Gold Standard
What A Catch, Donnie
Tiffany Blews
w.a.m.s


Numero Quatro: From Under The Cork Tree "I Found The Cure To Growing Older, And You're The Only Place That Feels Like Home"

I might catch a lot of flak for this choice, but while this album is great, it just doesn't have the same effect on me as the others. It was their most successful album, and had quite a few hits that to this day are still played on the radio frequently i.e. Dance, Dance; Sugar, We're Going Down

Like I said, a good album, just not as good as their later work, in my opinion.

Favorite Songs:

Of All The Gin Joints In All The World
Dance, Dance
Nobody Puts Baby In The Corner
7 Minutes In Heaven (Atavan Halen)
I Slept With Someone In Fall Out Boy And All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me
XO

Number Five: Fall Out Boy's Evening Out With Your Girlfriend "Last Night I Saw My World Explode"

This was FOB's first foray into the music scene, and it was a pretty good first attempt. This Mini-LP is missing Andy Hurley, who joined shortly before Take This To Your Grave. In this album, Patrick seems to have yet to find his true vocal potential, and the other members as well. This is a great album for someone who just wants some in your face pop-punk, and it is also a very enjoyable experience for an FOB fan. However, this one is just not up to par with the rest. Maybe it is because the drummer at the time had pretty poor rhythm. :P

Favorite Songs:

Switchblades And Infidelity
Growing Up
Moving Pictures
Parker Lewis Can't Lose (But I'm Gonna Give It My Best Shot)

Honorable Mention: My Heart Will Always Be On The B-Side Of My Tongue EP

This was the EP they made between Take This To Your Grave and From Under The Cork Tree. Just a simple 5 song acoustic EP, but there are some really powerful songs on here. I can't even list my favorites, because all 5 are just fantastic. there is also a Joy Division cover, "Love Will Tear Us Apart" that is really fantastic. If you are a Joy Division fan, let me stop you in your tracks. SHUT THE FUCK UP. Just because a popular band did a cover of a song from a band not most people know of nowadays does not make it shit. It is different form the original, as it should be. Just sit back and enjoy both versions, they both have their place in the musical world.


Side Note: I wanted to add album covers, but it would appear that Blogger doesn't not like me, and wants to makes sure the experience is as difficult as possible. :P

Some stuff in the pipeline

Hello everybody! I am severely pleased to have amassed so many followers in the short time I have had this blog! Here are a few things I am currently writing/editing that will hopefully make it onto the blog this week.

Free To Play FPS Games Roundup
Free To Play MMO Games Roundup
Top 10 Favorite Shooters of All Time
In Retrospect: Top to Bottom favorite albums of Death Cab For Cutie, The Decemberists, and Fall Out Boy

Hope you guys are as anxious to read these as I am to get them finished and up!

An Evening Staring Out At Beauty

So today I went up to Petit Jean State Park. It was an extremely relaxing experience, and I basically sat down on various rocks and stared out across the scenic landscapes and gazed at the beauty of it all.

I had my earbuds in and listened to my MP3 player, mainly softer indie rock and a few more mainstream things, but my main goal was to be as relaxed as possible. I lit up a cigarette and spent hours looking over the trees and the Arkansas river, my mind's maw agape at the majesty of the sights it was taking in.

I am a very outspoken Atheist, and I sometimes hear people ask, "If you don't believe in a creator, how can you really take in the magnificence of the world?" But that is exactly why it is so beautiful to me. Which seems more awesome (and I use that term in the old sense of the word, where you are stunned speechless by the happenings around you), that someone who already knew the concept of beauty and made it accordingly, or that over eons, this all burst out of nothing? The fact that this just so happened to take place is what makes my eyes water and my heart soar. This all came from nothing, and now I get to take in all of the breathtaking scenes.

The following are some pictures taken of me at the park. Yes, I have terrible acne, don't rub it in. :P

On a much less lovely note, I did have a "run-in" with the law while I was there. I went to the side to pee, as human beings tend to have to do on occasion, and out of the corner of my eye I noticed a park ranger's truck stop near my family's car. I zipped up and went out, and he was wearing a cocky sneer on his face. The first words out of his mouth, "Does that look like a bathroom to you, boy?"

The first thing that came to my head was, "Look back about 50 years. Yes, it looks like a fucking bathroom." But, since I did not want to spoil this pleasant evening with a night sitting in a jailhouse because a forest cop got butthurt, I said, "No sir, I'm sorry yaddayaddayadda."

It is completely stupid for him to have done that. Is my urine REALLY going to cause a problem? Say that a child had come over the hill and saw me standing there. I would have been to far away for him/her to make out anything specific, so no harm done there either. This is why I don't care for law enforcement officers. There are some things that they are needed for. Real crime, for example. And a park ranger needs to worry about people messing with wildlife, littering the landscape, etc. I was not doing anything to harm anyone. He saw me and said, "Hey look, someone I can exercise my power over." Fuck him, and fuck all cops who do that.

Well, I think that's it for this post, I have rambled long enough.

My Drumming Skills

So, you probably don't know this, but I am a very musical fellow. It is my life force. The only thing that keeps me from going insane in this crazy world. So, I share with you this video of me drumming.

Moar ponies, you say?

A few people asked for more ponies. And I shall deliver! Here is a little AMV I made a while back, using Winter Wrap Up scenes set to The Decemberists- January Hymn. My two favorite things, MLP and The Decemberists!

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic SMILEYS!

First off, have you not seen the new My Little Pony? WHY? Go to Youtube and look it up, watch and episode, then thank me.

For all of you smart, in the know people; Here are some variations on the popular Awesome Smiley featuring MLP characters!

Note: I made the first one of Twilight Sparkle with the help of a kind Anon on Ponychan. Afterwards, he/she decided to use that as a template and make all of these magnificent smileys! Enjoy!