Review of Chevelle's compililation album "Stray Arrows"

I spent most of Sunday sick in bed, while Em spent most of Sunday clothes shopping with her mom and aunt. A little before 11:00 I received a text from Em that read, "Hey do you want the Chevrolet steat arrows cd?" This was closely followed by a second message that simply said, "Chevelle."

Fortunately I knew what Em had intended to write, and let her know that I wasn't really interested in the compilation (I had assumed it was still marked at the full retail price), and that I'd probably order it online at a later date.

Em's response was, "It's. r10."

Not entirely sure if Em had left a zero off the price, or if Em had come across Chevelle's Stray Arrows on sale for that ridiculously low price, I asked her to pick it up for me anyway. While R100 wouldn't have been the the best bargain, it would still be about a third cheaper.

Upon Em's return she handed me the CD. It was marked as only being R10. As an added bonus, it bore another sticker claiming that the album contained an additional four tracks. I checked the Wikipedia article on the compilation to confirm if this was the expanded tracklist;

Deluxe Version Track list:

1. Jars (from Sci-Fi Crimes 2009)
2. Same Old Trip (from Hats Off to the Bull 2011)
3. Vitamin R (Leading Us Along) (from This Type of Thinking 2004)
4. The Red (from Wonder What's Next 2002)
5. I Get It (from Vena Sera 2007)
6. Face to the Floor (from Hats Off to the Bull 2011)
7. Saferwaters (from Vena Sera 2007)
8. Send the Pain Below (from Wonder What's Next 2002)
9. Sleep Apnea (from Sci-Fi Crimes 2009)
10. The Clincher (from This Type of Thinking 2004)
11. Open/ Point #1 (from Point #1 1999)
12. Envy (from Hats Off to the Bull 2011)
13. Hats off to the Bull (from Hats Off to the Bull 2011)
14. The Meddler (from Hats Off to the Bull 2011)
15. Closure (from Wonder What's Next 2002)
16. Fizgig (previously unreleased)

To my surprise it was. In a previous post I mentioned my relative disappointment with the selection of tracks on the collection, as there were no tracks from Chevelle's first album, and only one track from Vena Sera, while a quarter of the tracks were from the groups most recent album. The addition of the four tracks on the 'deluxe edition' at least partially addressed this, see tracks shown above in orange.

The addition of these tracks makes the compilation a lot more appealing, even to someone like me who already owns most of Chevelle's studio albums. That said, I still would have preferred the inclusion of more b-sides, covers, or live recordings of songs.

Final verdit; Stray Arrows: A collection of favorites is a worthwhile compilation to pick up if you do not own many Chevelle albums. If you have most of the recent/ popular releases, then there is no real reason to get this, unless you find it on the cheap like Em did. Lastly, if you're a die-hard collector who has to own this for Fizgig, the only previously unreleased track, then at least you wont be too disappointed, as Fizgig is a relatively strong offering, but I wouldn't consider it an essential Chevelle track.

A new reason to be afraid of the dark

Apart from Evolve, Techland's Dying Light is the only "next generation" console game I'm looking forward to the release of. The difference though, is that Dying Light will also be getting a "previous gen." release. While the version for older consoles will no doubt lack all the bells and whistles of the next gen. edition, it still looks to offer an interesting gameplay experience. 

While the developers are endorsing this as the game that will make you want to upgrade to a next gen. console, it's the seamless integration the touch control, and voice recognition features that I'm more than a little sceptical about. To me these still come across as gimmicky extra that Sony and Microsoft added on in order to outdo the opposition. As you may have guessed, neither is particularly appealing to me. 

It would be really disappointing if the overall gameplay experience of this first-person, zombie survival horror story were to be let down due to clumsy implementation of these added next gen. features. However if the team at Techland manage to pull it off, I can see Dying Light becoming a popular title, with the obligatory sequel being developed in a few years time.

In terms of the actual story, I really like the idea of the zombies becoming stronger, faster, and more agile after the sun has set. It'll require the player to be able to adapt their playing style in order to survive various situations, dependent on the number of zombies in the area, as well as the amount of ambient light. Depending on how long the in-game day/ night cycle is, as well as whether or not zombies will actively seek out the player at night, could mean that hiding, and waiting out the night might actually be a viable option when you find yourself outnumbered, and alone in the dark. Oh, and during the day, you'll have to contend with other survivors who may pose just as much of a threat as the undead.

If you want to see some of the actual gameplay with developer commentary, then watch IGN's trailer below. I suggest setting the resolution to a minimum of 720p so that you can get an idea of just how detailed the environments are.

Download Bong-Ra's 2013-2014 compilation for free

I downloaded Bong-Ra's 2013-2014 free sampler Annus Horribilus shortly after it's release last year. It has sat, neglected, in my downloads folder since then, until this morning when I was sorting through my downloaded files.

Annus Horribilus is a compilation featuring all of Bong-Ra's releases from 2013, as well as a few previews of tracks and collaborations to be released later this year. If you're into breakcore, drum & bass, or jungle, you should definitely give Annus Horribilus a listen.

Discovering this again this morning has defintely brightened my day. Ironic given the title of the compilation.

The Evolution of Multiplayer

I read about Evolve a few weeks back, and thought it had an interesting gameplay concept. I then pretty much forgot about the game, because it looked to be a multiplayer orientated, "next-generation" exclusive, which put me off. This was mostly due to the fact that I tend not to play online multiplayer games; I haven't even played Call of Duty: Ghosts multiplayer online,* which is what the game is essentially built for. 

Over the weekend however I picked up a postcard advertising Evolve, which showed that the game would be released for PC too. I headed over to the game's website to confirm, and ended up watching the official trailer (below), and the gameplay trailer (here). My interest in the game was instantly rekindled. 

While I'm unlikely to be able to afford the upgrade to the PlayStation 4 any time soon, I may be able to afford  upgrading my PC. Since my PC actually has an internet connection,* it means I'd be able to play online multiplayer too. That is assuming that I wont have to upgrade too many components in my PC. After some additional thought, I figured I could upgrade my PC, plug it into my TV, buy the yet to be confirmed "deluxe edition" of the game, and buy a Windows compatible controller, all for less than the price of a "next gen." console. This would allow me to play Evolve from the comfort of the same couch, and on the same TV, as I would have if I were to buy a PS4.

I may actually buy the controller sooner than the 'July-September 2014' release date of Evolve, so that I can test it out playing my PC copy of Darksiders.

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* My PlayStation 3 lives at my fiancée's house, and she doesn't have an internet connection. We are however looking into getting that amended so that I can play Borderlands and CoD: Ghosts online. I mean so that we can watch YouTube videos together of adorable cats doing cute things.

Batman: Arkham Knight - Trailer

After the relative disappointment* that was last years Batman: Arkham Origins, WB Games and DC Comics have teamed up once again for Batman: Arkham Knight. While the trailer looks pretty spectacular, I was a little perturbed about how soon after Origins it is being released, until I realised this is being developed by Rocksteady Studios. Thankfully Rocksteady Studios is the developer behind the first two titles, and not the last one. The cash-grab prequel was handled by another development team.

Batman: Arkham Knight is set for release on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. Those of us still jamming on "last-gen" consoles will either have to save up for a new console, upgrade our PCs, or give this title a miss. I might just go for the latter, as I still have a healthy backlog of PS3 games to get through, and apart from Evolve, there are no "next-gen" titles enticing enough for me to fork out the cash and upgrade to a PS4.

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* Metacritic scores for the previous Arkham Series games:

The Birds of Satan - Thanks for the line

Taylor Hawkins, the current drummer for Foo Fighters, has a new side project called The Birds of Satan. The first single, Thanks for the line, can be listened to below, and is also available as an instant download if you pre-order the album.

Catch the Throne: Game of Thrones inspired mixtape

To promote the next season of Game of Thrones, HBO will be releasing a rap and reggae infused mixtape on Friday. Titled Catch the Throne, the mixtape will be available as a free download streaming over here. Tracks are said to be inspired by the characters and story lines from the first three seasons of the show, ans will feature samples of the series epic theme tune.

Here's a list of the artists confirmed to be contributing their talents to the project:

Wale, Big Boi, Bodega Bamz, Magazeen, Daddy Yankee, Kilo Kish, Dominik Omega, Common, Snow Tha Product, and Dee Goodz. 

While I haven't even heard of a majority of these artists, I'm sure the mixtape will be an interesting listen once it's been released.

-- Updated 10 March 2014 --

Turns out Catch the Throne wont be a available as a free download from Soundcloud, until 11 March.