If you've heard much from Russian Circles, you know that you either don't like them or you really like them. This album doesn't disappoint, if you are a fan of the genre, and is unique from their other albums in it's own way. Most instrumental bands put out album after album that sound pretty much alike. Although fans of RC know what to expect to a certain extent, each album is fresh and different enough to stand out. Empros is still my favorite but Geneva is up there and has allot to offer.
Years have passed since re-awakened Titans ravaged the earth and crippled humanity to the brink of extinction. Now, humanity is on the brink of annihilation once again, and one of the only safe havens lies on the peninsula of the Lost Realm. This sanctuary, the city of Caldera, is being threatened by the chaotic world around it, with dangerous sea monsters stopping shipments of vital supplies. Realizing that the pirates of the Southern islands know of a way to defeat the creatures, the hero ventures to join their ranks in an attempt to acquire the crucial information and save Caldera before it's too late.Abandon your identity, and prepare to once again become the nameless hero who fought for justice in Risen as the tumult continues in Risen 2: Dark Waters. Sail straight into the deadly seas and seek new hope for humanity in the remote Southern islands. In new island territories, join forces with a band of pirates that holds the key to destroying the monstrous creatures that hold humanity in their claws. As you forge a new path toward vengeance, make every decision as if it were your last — every choice you make impacts the fate of the Lost Realm. Blending the immersive RPG gameplay made famous in the original with heightened interactivity, Dark Waters submerges you in a living, breathing environment, operating on a full day/night cycle and filled with unpredictable changes like dynamic weather patterns, NPCs with daily routines and creature AI with routine behaviors. Explore the open world and all its rum, firearms, nasty tricks and all-new voodoo magic. With this Special Edition, you'll receive the Treasure Isle DLC pack which features an additional island to explore that is packed with new characters and quests with up to eight hours of extra gameplay. Plus, the Special Edition also includes alternate box art and a double-sided poster which are great for any Risen fan. The time for revenge has Risen — can you shift the fate of the world?
Despite the lack of perfection, it is still a really fun game. All of the key action RPG elements that I enjoy are there. There are obvious flaws in graphics and frame rate but that hasn't stopped me from being glued to my PS3 for hours on end playing it. People have complained about the difficulty so I started playing it on 'easy' and have had no problems what-so-ever.
The map system isn't as troubling as others have made it out to be either. I thought it was easy to find the map or find out which person has a map and buy it. It'd be one thing if the mass of all the islands were together but each island is small enough on its own to be easily travelled and searched with or without a map. People just need to learn to use their memory skills and quit expecting games to always show them the way.
The fighting in this game has also been under fire but I remember the first time I played Dragon Age. I thought it was awful but I still enjoyed the game enough to hang in there and was completely glad that I did. I don't expect every game to have fighting that is extremely fluid and I know that some developers just don't focus on that as much as others.
The soundtrack is good as far as the music but some of the creature and character sounds were obviously skipped over in production. For example, you can fight and kill a group of creatures and the sound of said creatures will still linger as if they were still around and alive. Once again, not something that stopped me from enjoying the game.
A couple of the biggest pluses that don't have to do with in-game play are the saving feature and fast travel. You can save anywhere, anytime. I always love that. You can fast travel from any 'found' and marked location on an island and it only takes about a second to get there. No long loading screens! That's a huge plus for me. I should also mention that the submenu is well designed and doesn't require all of your attention but is fun to go through and use.
There's tons of things to do, items to find, skills to upgrade, etc. If you are a fan of action RPGs and don't expect a perfect 10, you will probably enjoy this game. It's cheap enough now that you won't feel robbed by it's flaws. I got it for $16 but I would've paid up to $40 for it, although you can always find it for less than $25. You can definitely get plenty of hours out of it.
This band features members and ex-members of Sky Eats Airplane and the Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza. Although you can hear some influences from those bands, this group is it's own animal. The music is decently original in a genre that is starting to overflow with copycats and every song is memorable. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves the genre.
I enjoy No Consequences' debut album and this is a good step up both in songwriting and production. The only thing I don't like about it is the cardboard digi-pak case. I wish they'd stop making those things because they don't hold up near as well as classic plastic cases. As far as the music though, it's a good solid album.
I love their debut album and I was surprised to like this one even more. Allot of prog-metal bands are starting to sound too alike and these guys are a breath of fresh air. I think the vocal style is what mostly sets them apart for me. I haven't seen them live but if they're half as good live as they are on CD I really hope to have the chance to catch a show.
I found their debut album by mistake and I really enjoyed it. This one is a step up and even more solid than their debut. Good production, great lyrics, and bone-crushing heaviness. I hope these guys stay around for awhile because I get bored with allot of the metalcore bands out there these days and they seem to have it together. Good album from beginning to end.
I have to admit, I was a bit nervous about pre-ordering this CD. I was happy that the Roadrunner Records mess wasn't a set-back and that they were able to find a new home label but I wasn't sure how it would affect their sound, if at all. I'm glad to say that it only seemed to add to their strengths. I'm not a huge fan of their debut album or Pray for Villains but I think that all of their other albums are great and this one lives up to that standard. There's not a bad song on it and the production is as solid as you would hope.
This album has a bit more emphasis on the electronics and less on the metal than their older releases but all the key elements are there to make a good album. They mix it up well enough and blend genres better than allot of other bands that think adding a member with the credit for 'programming' makes them sound unique. Machine's production was great and there's not a bad song on it.
Trent Reznor does a great job of changing his sound enough on each record while still sounding like Nine Inch Nails. I enjoy all NIN albums for different reasons and I'm glad that I don't have to know exactly what I'm going to hear before I even buy the album. He seems to be quite a busy man these days so I'm glad he found time to make this record. I enjoy How To Destroy Angels and the work he has done for movie soundtracks is phenomenal but I was completely excited to hear and buy a new Halo. Thanks, Trent.
This release contains every episode from the first season of the award-winning cable series American Horror Story starring Dylan McDermott and Connie Britton as a pair of new homeowners who discover their new abode contains dark secrets from the past.
It took me a long time to buy this because it was kind of pricey. I finally bought it on sale and I'm glad that I did. It would've been worth full price. I enjoy horror movies, well done or B-rated. This show was very well done and I look forward to watching future seasons. I also enjoyed that the episodes are a bit longer than most shows on FX. I know most of the other shows are comedies and don't need as long to build but I'm glad they didn't clip this one short in order to fit in a 30 minute block.