Sunday, 4 January 2015

Weekly Recommendation - Week #025 - Change the Industry!

You know people who say new year, new me? Don't trust those people, they fill their own heads with lies and then within weeks ultimately fail their so called "achievable goal." "Why am I talking about these people" you may ask? Well because it's still relevant! Also because we are going to recommend some of those pieces of media that completely changed how people create media, for the better. Unlike those "New Year, Same Old Lies" type people, these changes were actually successful and very beneficial for the various industries today. So happy new year to those people! Unless they are dicks in which case we appreciate your contributions to the industry but don't appreciate you. Cheers!

The Godfather: Part II - Francis Ford Coppola (Film) - Author: Chris

Okay let's be honest here, if you haven't seen this film you are a sinner. This is one of the most fantastic films in existence, hands down, no contest, cliché after cliché. But why is now the time to mention it? What is so important about this film? Apart from how fantastic this film is, it was actually the first numbered sequel. Before this there was a few instances of films with different names that were part of the same lore, but this was the first to literally state that is was a second part. So all your Lords of the Rings and you War Stars have this film to thank. The music is superb, Al Pacino gives a top performance, as does Robert de Niro, and it is the perfect continuation from an already perfect first film. If you haven't seen this or the first one, you are, as previously stated, a sinner  and you must cleanse yourself by watching them. The only issue I have with this is that the creation of awful sequels made to cash in on franchises became a popular way of film making, ironically enough, the third Godfather fits into this category perfectly. Seriously, you don't need to watch the third one.

Gorillaz - Gorillaz (Music) - Author: Chris

The idea of a virtual band has been around since about the 1960s, with that damn Alvin and those fucking Chipmunks, but the actual idea of a virtual band did not become a popular until the year 2000, with the unveiling of Gorillaz: a completely animated band that actually produced some fantastic music. Because of this, I'm recommending their first album, entitled "Gorillaz", because originality! But seriously, this is a corker of an album, with each song sounding very different to each other. It feels like at this point they were trying to find their song, and crazily enough, every song is superb. If you are like me, it will take more than one listening to truly start to love this album. This is not an excuse for it maybe being a bit shit, it's just all so different, you really need the time to appreciate each song at a time. I had my favourites, and now the whole album is favourites, not just the singles. Now go my Padawan! Go listen to the album! Wait actually read Darren's bit first! Also I know this isn't Star Wars but I mentioned Star Wars before so I'm going to do it again!

The Secret of Monkey Island - Lucasarts (Game) - Author: Darren

So, I know what you're thinking. It's an odd choice considering it's not their first game. I agree but let me tell you why (or don't). The reason behind it is simple, it revolutionised a lot of their finer systems and mechanics. This is aside from their more forward thinking approach to player friendliness than rivals Seirra.
Onto the actual telling you why it's good bit. The story's tight, the atmosphere is great, the characters are unique and interesting plus the humour and charm set an excellent standard that more games should follow. The HD remake goes above and beyond by adding voice acting, new sounds and a new interface. Essentially, a full remake that incorporates hot-swapping between 'modern' and 'classic' modes. I won't lie, I much prefer the classic interface despite the quality of the visuals and voice acting of the remake. The higher quality does obscure some key items however and the new interface can make some puzzles tremendously difficult. It still receives a recommendation though because of the sheer quality. If you're looking for it, it's The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition.

First one of the year is out the way, next week is something special. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Excitement. Yeah.

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