Weekly Recommendation - Week #012 - The Nostalgic Nineties

WEW WEW WEW! I'm a ghost!

Well that was fucking weird. So, the nineties. The decade I was born in. The decade in which a lot of my nostalgic interests come from, and possibly a lot of your's, dear viewer. But let's be honest. The nineties was overrated. We love it for nostalgic reasons, but in reality, it wasn't that good. What's even worse is how people use the reasoning that because they are a (oh god I'm going to vomit) "nineties kid" (UUUUUAAARGGGHHHH!) they are somehow immediately better than any other person. Shut the fuck up. Here are some actual good things from the nineties.

Starship Troopers - Paul Verhoeven (Film) - Author: Chris

I always felt I was a bit of a rule follower back then. I obeyed laws, I never stepped out of line, and I never watched something I was too young to view. So I actually only watched Starship Troopers about a year ago. Holy shit this film is insane. It's amusing and ultra-violent, and even quite blatantly pokes fun at the whole "military propaganda" thing, which I think is top notch. Would you like to know more? It's a silly film, about blowing up giant space bugs and, more often then not, humans getting eviscerated by said alien space bugs. It is a joy to watch, and I would recommend it to anybody who has a stomach for such violence, or isn't afraid of massive, man eating bugs. Even if you are afraid, this movie may cure that fear. I'm guessing not though.

Gorgeous George - Edwyn Collins (Music) - Author: Chris

Time for more honesty. The popular music of the nineties was atrocious. It was hard looking for something worth while, not because there wasn't much of it, but because my mind was clouded with shit. However, I eventually found something quite spectacular, something that I wouldn't call nostalgic (hey, I can do what I want, it's not like I called this... oh wait), but it is absolutely superb. I've always been a fan of Edwyn Collins, both of his solo stuff and his Orange Juice stuff (which is a fantastic band that I recommend that everyone checks out), but this album is one of his greatest, as it has a good combination of calm stuff and more upbeat stuff, some really clever lyrics, and contains one of my favourite songs, not just by Edwyn, but by anyone, "A Girl Like You." Holy shit that is an addictive song. Also, check out the documentary "Home Again." Edwyn has had some awful events happen in his life, and this thing is truly inspirational.

Castlevania: Symphony of The Night - Konami (Game) - Author: Darren

Castlevania: Symphony of The Night (SoTN) debuted on the PlayStation on 20th March 1997. However, since I was deeply entrenched in my mother's womb, I never had the chance to play it. That changed when it was re-released on XBLA and PSN almost ten years later. It's safe to assume that I've now played it (still not beaten it) and I found it enjoyable. It's tough as dicks. Steel dicks. Enjoyable as hell though.
The game sees you take on the role of Dracula's broody son, Alcuard (fuckin' clever shit). You take it upon yourself to storm Dracula's castle, usually a job for Belmont and Sons, Ltd. This plan goes a tad awry when Death comes and mugs you. Yep, he straight up mugs you, putting you in the classic situation of "get better weapons and shit, you faffy little cunt scrubber". Gameplay of this game is old, but good. Some things let it down just a bit. Things like Alucard's melodrama upon receiving the slightest damage and the fact that he always slashes just higher than you think. He has a sweet forward moonwalk going on though.
Visually and audibly, this game is fantastic. There's a huge variety in enemy types, sizes and palettes as well as some great effects when enemies die or take hits (shout out to Sean Poole). The soundtrack and even the effect noises are great. Most of the music in SoTN is a strange kind of eerie synth or as spine-chilling as Sub Zero.

BONUS CONTENT: A Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin (Book) - Author: Darren

Some people forget that Dragon Tits, I mean Game of Thrones, is based off of a book. Fewer know that it was first published in 1996. What I know is that it's a great book that's well worth the read. The writing is good, I'm sure you know the story and characters are by now. It offers so much history and context, however, that the show can barely compete. For example, in the show, Robert just shows up as an old, fat bastard. In the book, before we even meet
him we hear how fierce a warrior he was and what a great leader he was. That's when we're introduced to him, the old, fat bastard and it's has so much more impact than the show could ever have.
If you haven't seen the show or even if you have, give it a go.

That's it. Piss off.

TGOI Presents: The Woods - A Short Film

Hi everyone, it's Chris, you know, one of the guys who does a lot of the shit on this site. Well did you know I also occasionally make videos? Well I do, and I recently directed and edited my first, I suppose you can call it "real", film, called The Woods.

Now you may be asking, "Why would you advertise this shit on this website?" Well, because it stars the other fucker who runs this site, Darren. So I suppose you could call it a TGOI Film. Hey, now there's a thought...

Please leave feedback either here, on the Facebook page, or on the YouTube video itself. I really want to know what you all think.

Thanks a bunch to everyone who helped out, and to you, you sexy supporter type you!
See you tomorrow,
-Chris

Fabulous Fan Art

She's been at it again. Our friend, Dasha, has produced more fan art. This time based off of our GTA adventures. Check out her art and, as always, expect pilots. [http://lemon-death.deviantart.com/art/TGOI-Pilots-Coloured-483953526]

Weekly Recommendation - Week #011 - So Bad It's Good

Whoa! This weeks theme is stuff so bad, it's good. It's like looking at a car accident, a Michael Bay movie or this very blog. With that in mind, let us take you on a journey, right into the eye of the shit storm. Take my hand. Actually, wait, I need that.

Birdemic: Shock and Terror - James Nguyen (Film) Author: Chris

Wars, disasters and dickheads have been the cause for evil, terror and general badness since time began. However, no prophet, no deity, no living soul could have predicted what was to be unleashed upon this earth in the year 2010. A year that no living person dares to look back upon, out of fear of their minds exploding and their retinas melting. The year of the Birdemic. Whilst many thought such a thing to never be allowed to happen again, copies mysteriously appeared on the internet, waiting for poor, unsuspecting fools to watch its horrifying footage. Panning shots, terrible audio quality, awful special effects, plague-causing writing, a plot that would make a new born baby spit out the words "What the fuck is this shit?!?!?" and the worst/greatest lead character ever to be shat out of a human being's mindhole. Oh for the love of all that is holy on this earth, you should, nay, you HAVE to watch this movie. It can't even be considering a movie. It is an experience, one that should be shared with groups of friends, preferably with some form of mind erasing drug at the ready. If you don't, be prepared, for you will never forget a second of this masterpiece. Also it has a sequel. AND DREDD STILL DOESN'T?!?! WHAT THE FUCKING SHIT IS WRONG WITH THIS EARTH?!?!?

Ima Real 1 - YG (Music) - Author: Darren

Few artists will ever surpass the musical genius of YG, not even YG can top this, his magnum opus. As rap goes, it's shit. Don't get me wrong I enjoy the structure and craftsmanship of a lot of songs but this really is utter wank. Funny wank, I'll give it that. This masterpiece opens strongly with "Ay
Mustard." and only gets more hilarious as he unfurls this which tapestry (and no, I'm not above calling it a rap-estry but Chris'd kill me.) If that's not enough then allow me to spin you a tale, I first encountered this on the GTA 5 soundtrack when Chris said, and I quote, "This is terrible, listen to it." [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLaXExkvUFE]

Ride to Hell: Retribution - Eutechnyx (Game) Author: Chris

You know what? No. I'm not fucking talking about Ride to Hell. You should already know what it is. Play it if you get satisfaction from feasting on heaping piles of shit. Because that is all this fucking game is. If you pay more than £1 for this barrel of cunt, you should stop. Just fucking stop. It's not even on the publisher OR the developer's websites, it's that fucking GROSS. I need to go lie down, leave me alone for a minute.

I hope you enjoy this week's recommendations. I know we DIDN'T. Well a little bit, you know. Some things just are that bad, that they make you want to enter their world. We probably shouldn't though. It's dirty and full of broken glass. Eww.
 -Your least favourite members of TGOI

 

Weekly Recommendation - Week #010 - Recommendations by Others

Sometimes, even the greatest minds need a bit of assistance, not by choice, but by having recommendations flung upon us in conversation. On rarity, we check them out, and in even rarer circumstances, we actually like the stuff that people give us. So here you go, here are our favourites that others have told us to check out.

In the Mouth of Madness - John Carpenter (Movie) Author: Chris
Let it be known how much I love John Carpenter, and how much I have wanted to add one of his films here (god I feel like I've said this already), and now I finally have an excuse. One time, I was rather vocal about my love of John Carpenter, and a copy of In the Mouth of Madness was flung upon me. I then proceeded to watch it. I must say, I was not prepared for what this combination of moving pictures and audio had in store for me. This film is fucking weird, and I absolutely love it. I really don't want to spoil any of it, but this is a recommendation, so I do have to state something that will get your taste buds tingling. It is a horror film, the kind that goes out of its way to fuck with your mind and your perception of the film universe that you see before your retinas. An author goes missing, one that is claimed to be more successful than Steven King, in terms of his horror novels, and our protagonist, an insurance investigator, is tasked with locating him. The main catch is, his novels seem to drive some people insane. Now if that doesn't grab your attention for twisted movies, I don't know what will (well, probably the Saw franchise, but whatever.) This is John Carpenter at his best, not that he ever makes anything less then that in my mind (apart from Ghosts of Mars, that made me bored I must admit.)

By The Way - Red Hot Chili Peppers (Music) - Author: Darren

This was recently recommended to me, as recently as today, in fact. That obviously means super I'm qualified to say how great it is. Featured on their album 'By the Way' released in 2002. I like this, you should give it a listen, it's definately enough to get me into the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Check it out [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hd_D7sa8pYQ]

Divekick - Iron Galaxy Studios (Game) - Author: Darren

Divekick was recommend by our buoys at Achievement Hunter (thanks guys) and I've enjoyed it more that most fighting games I play. Its a brilliant game and a better piece off satire. It manages to point it's finger at The Fresh Prince of Belair, X-Men and Mortal Kombat. The core concept is to dive and kick, the cheese move of fighting games. I would recommend it even if you don't like fighting games, it's easy to pick up and immensely funny. Cheap as oiled up Vietnamese boys who speak not a single word of English.

That's it then. They did our job before our job was our job and we neglected to do our job. Do you think you can do our job, then comment on how much better
you are at our job because it's also our job to reply to your criticism of our job. Hope you enjoyed it, we're not just saying that because its our job.

Fan Art? Fantastic Art!

This piece of fan art was requested during a stream. The request was to draw me, Darren, in your personal dream outfit. This was fulfilled today by our friend, Dasha Kruglyakova [http://lemon-death.deviantart.com/] who's other art you should check out. 

Weekly Recommendation - Week #009 - Guilty Pleasures

Do you feel guilty about liking certain things? Well, you shouldn't. To help you cowards get of your fears, we decided to share stuff that we feel guilty about. You are welcome.

The Transformers: The Movie - Nelson Shin (Movie) Author: Chris
Before any of you start bombarding me with Michael Bay bullshit, I would like to point out that this is for the original 1986 movie. Got that out of your system? Good to hear, now we can move on. *ahem* I, Christopher, absolutely fucking love this movie. To bits. Everything about it is perfect: 80s cartoons, great voice actors, a silly plot, and one of the greatest soundtracks that has ever graced this beautiful earth, featuring Stan Bush's master pieces The Touch and Dare, Weird Al's Dare to be Stupid, and one of my favourite pieces of synthy (are you fucking happy Max?) music ever: Unicron's Melody. Oh and that intro theme. You cannot go wrong with this movie, it will change your life for ever and all time! (On a fun side note, it features Orson Welles in his final acting role, isn't that superb? Secondary fun side note: it is superb.)

Afro Samurai: Resurrection OST - The RZA (Music) Author: Chris
So we here at the TGOI offices take our music very seriously, and we love to dive into exciting new genres, but I feel rap is an area that I'm a bit iffy about. Don't get me wrong, I do like some songs, but some are just samples repeated over and over to some dodgy words. However, this soundtrack is something else. It uses a combination of hip hop rap and traditional Japanese musical instruments to make some really stunning songs. Just by writing that I realise how bizarre that sounds, but it actually works really well, and I'm flat out admitting that this album Is up there with some of my favourites of all time (once again, Talking Heads, your time will come.) You should probably watch the anime that the soundtrack accompanies first, (which I also recommend) but if you just want a unique twist on such a genre, look no further.

Remember Me - Dontnod Entertainment (Game) - Author: Darren
Ok, this may be controversial, It's not your typical guilty pleasure. You see, the reason I feel guilty is the predictable plot and cheesy dialogue. Don't believe me? Here is a list of examples:
1. Convoluted yet predictable plot despite containing more twists than a Rubik's Cube.
2. The actual name of the city (as referred to as characters) is Neo-Paris. Yes. Neo-Paris.
3. It contains fantastic dialogue such as "This Little Red Riding
Hood has a basket full of kick-ass."
4. The main character fluctuates between strong female and whining damsel seemingly at random.
5. Main character is named Nilin.
Now, this is still a recommendation. I believe it's a game full of ambition and a good effort from a small developer. With it's flaws, I feel bad for liking it because I've shat (literally or figuratively? you decide!) on better games for less. This is because of the saving grace, Nilin's arse. I mean, erm, the combat system has a simple but effective build your own combo feature and the memory altering mechanic is fantastic, if under used.

And that is what Darren and I consider guilty pleasures. I hope that by shedding some light on the stranger side of our interests, that maybe we won't have to feel guilty for liking them. Or we could get hung, drawn and quartered for liking weird things. Either works for me I guess.
See you next week!
-The TGOI twats