Shad - TSOL (Review)

9/10

If you're like me, you probably can't go a day without people labelling the latest pop album to enter the charts a 'classic'. If so, you've probably developed a highly cynical attitude towards these so-called 'classics'.
Having that mindset myself, I was pleasantly surprised when I listened to this album and found myself genuinely amazed at the style Shad brings to his music. His intricate wordplay and witty, self-deprecating lyrics are unique in the shallow set of topics people rap about today. Match that with some beats which are pretty fantastic for an album with little major commercial backing and, dare I say it, TSOL becomes a near-classic album.
After a slow, melodic intro, Shad makes his first contribution to the album on 'Rose Garden'. If you've heard his previous albums you'll be expecting some great lyricism, and he delivers here with some well thought out rhymes.
The album continues in this fashion, the only changes being a couple of notable guest features from Ian Kamau and others. While I find Shad's slightly more serious songs, such as the display of his romantic side on 'Telephone' very good, I feel he really hits his peak on the up-tempo battle track 'Yaa I Get It'. Shad is really in his element here, spitting some lines creative enough to make Tha Carter IV look like something a lunatic asylum patient scribbled on his walls (then again, that was my first impression of Tha Carter IV anyway).
But I digress. After 'Yaa I Get It' we come to the back end of the album, and it's fair to say that Shad ends on a high note. After 'Listen', a song about the commercialised, dumbed-down music we hear today, comes 'At The Same Time', a truly brilliant track where Shad poetically describes the hypocritical nature of the modern world.
The album's outro features Shad rapping alone with no beat, more like a spoken word track. Usually I find acapellas dull, but Shad's lyrics are set free with no beat, and truly grasped me.

This album has very few flaws, but I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't point them out. On occasion, Shad seems to try a little to hard to get his metaphors across. He truly is an amazing rapper, but at extremely rare times his lyrics can seem a little laboured - 'We Are The Ones (Resevoir Music) is a perfect example of this. Fortunately, the playfulness of Shad's rapping allowed me to forget about this fairly quickly.

That one flaw aside, this album is pretty much perfect from start to finish. I whole-heartedly recommend TSOL and Shad's other albums to any rap or spoken-word fan who appreciates good lyrics when they hear them.

Below is the video for the first single and my favourite track from TSOL, 'Yaa I Get It'.

Relapse vs. Recovery

Since leaving rehab, Eminem has released two new studio releases, 2009's Relapse and 2010's Recovery. Both recieved great media attention - from fans, longing for the return of everyone's favourite foul-mouthed lyricist, and the media, awaiting dozens of new potential stories about arguably the most controversial celebrity of the past decade. Doubtless, most people were happy with Slim Shady releasing two 70+ minute albums in one year.
What was interesting was the massive difference between the two albums, despite being recorded roughly around the same time. But which was better? Here's my opinion.

Beats:
Relapse wins this hands down. The album is almost entirely produced by Dr. Dre, who in my opinion created some of his best beats to date for the album. From bouncing, West Coast beats on 'My Mom' and 'Crack a Bottle', to the tense horror movie style on 'Stay Wide Awake' and 'Underground', Relapse had me hooked before I even heard the lyrics.
Recovery isn't a complete misfire - it has some decent beats, but most of them pale in comparison to Relapse.

Lyrics:
This is where it gets difficult. Recovery is Eminem's most personal album, but sometimes goes too far and makes the album become dull. Relapse is almost the complete opposite, with Eminem letting his Slim Shady alter ego roam free. Personally this is the Eminem I prefer, but Relapse is a far cry from The Slim Shady LP in terms of lyrical skill. However, since Em's performances on 'Underground', 'Stay Wide Awake' and 'Same Song and Dance' blow Recovery out of the water, my vote on this one goes to Relapse. A lot of people may disagree, but that's just my opinion.

Rapping Technique:
Finally, a win for Recovery! Eminem's rapping technique is better than ever on the album - listen to 'No Love' if you disagree. Relapse has some of Em's finest raps too, but where it comes to flow, Recovery wins easily.

Overall:
As you may have guessed, I personally prefer Relapse. The dark, twisted vibe reminds me of the Eminem of old, and none of the tracks bore me to tears like some from Recovery.

But what do you think? Leave your comment below if you want to.

BATTLEFIELD 1943. Harry's first review!

BATTLEFIELD 1943 REVIEW (Xbox 360)

 8/10


 Hi guys, it's Harry here, giving you a review of Battlefield 1943.

Last year, I pre-ordered Battlefield 3. about a week after it arrived, my Xbox broke, and it no longer recognized that there was a disk inside the damn thing. Since I had just bought Xbox Live for a year, I was determined not to waste it, and I went on the Xbox Live Arcade and purchased Battlefield 1943.

     This game only cost 1200 Microsoft points, and was worth every digital penny. It is an online only, class based first person shooter. Set in the Pacific Theater of World War 2, you play as either and American or Japanese soldier in the air, on the ground or at sea on 3 island maps. 2 of these maps are the scenes of famous historical battles, Iwo Jima, complete with Mount Suribachi and Guadalcanal.
The other map is a long time favourite map of the Battlefield series, Wake Island, which has appeared in a plethora of Battlefield games. It is also available on PS3.
     There is only one game type, which is a bit of a shame, but it is still a lot of fun to play. It plays out as a sort of hybrid of standard Team Deathmatch and domination. Each team starts on an aircraft carrier complete with planes, landing craft and AA guns. The two teams then speed across the water, which by the way looks amazing, and land on the vast island maps. Each island has 5 capture points, and it is your job to capture these for your team. When one team has 3 or more of these objectives, the enemy team's team health bar starts dropping. When this bar gets empty, you lose. You can also drop the health bar by killing enemy players. The capture points can also be spawned in on, as can squadmates.
     At the start of each match you chose from one of 3 classes. Infantry, armed with SMGs, rocket launchers, grenades and a spanner, which can be used to fix or sabotage vehicles, or alternatively used as a melee weapon to bludgeon someone to death with. Classy, right? The rifleman is armed with; you guessed it, a rifle, rifle grenades (noob tube), regular grenades, and a bayonet for close encounters.
And finally, scouts, who have snipers, that have effectively limitless range due to th very small bullet drop, satchel charges, a katana and a pistol. Scouts are my personal favourite as they can easily pick off infantry, and if you can sneak up on them, take out enemy armour with a well placed satchel charge. The only difference in classes between the American and Japanese are cosmetic. The guns look different, as do the attire of the soldiers themselves.
     There are also vehicles, like tanks, boats, planes, and even a bombing run at your disposal. There is also a mode call air superiority, which is a huge dogfight in the sky, where everyone gets a fighter. This is fun, but I recommend practicing flying before you attempt this, as the planes are somewhat tricky to fly. 
     I find this game somewhat cartoon-like, because it has a cartoony art style, a vibrant colour pallet and the soldiers will shout things like "Yeah, headshot!" and "Woohoo!" if they get a successful kill. The graphics are good for a downloadable title, and I particularly liked the water effects. Also, all of the buildings are destructible, and even the ground can be deformed to some extent. This really gives a sense of real, large scale war, and also cuts out the number of camping spots.
     Friend: "There is a camper in that building!"
     Me: *pulls out rocket launcher* "Which building?"
     However, this game is not perfect. It takes so long to spawn that I have been killed by someone, respawned at the next base, only to find that my previous killer has run all the way down to my base and shot me in the face before I could even take one step. This frustrated me heavily, but not as much as the controls. These are the worst bit of a game. If I asked you which button should be used to change weapon, most of you would say Y, or triangle on Playstation. Some of you would have said the directional pad. I bet none of you would have answered RB, or R1. Y is used for MELEE! I have no idea why these awful controls where used, but they are a major flaw. That said, you will eventually get used to them, but starting off I had no idea why on earth this terrible control scheme was used.
     Overall, I give this game 8/10. It is a lot of fun, with an interesting game style, large, destructible maps with diverse environments, and at a reasonable price. However, the controls are horrid, there are a few glitches, and it gets stale after a while. If you are looking for a cheap, online shooter, this is a good choice.

Dead Island - Review (PS3)

Rating: 8/10

After finally seeing the trailer for Dead Island, released last year, I felt like I had to get the game. The trailer tells the heartbreaking story of a family trapped on the fictional island of Banoi when a zombie outbreak begins. This teaser for the full game went viral and was listed in many 'Commercial of the Year' lists.

Naturally, this hyped people up for the game - that was the plan, after all. The only problem is that it seems to advertise something entirely different to what you actually get. The tragic tale of a family fighting for their lives is not featured in the game. Instead, you find yourself choosing from four different characters and fighting through Banoi's resort, city and jungle as you try to escape the island. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy the game, but the trailer is very misleading.

The game itself is no classic, but pretty enjoyable. Decapitating a zombie never gets old. As you progress through the game you begin to think as if you are actually on the island, planning your escapes and choosing between fighting and running. Another good feature is being able to modify weapons; baseball bats with nails in them and machetes that give electric shocks make the dismemberment all the more entertaining.

The first problem for me arrived at the cutscenes. Even though I've been fighting alone, suddenly I have a whole gang talking to me? It was pretty confusing at first, and slightly spoils the continuity of the game. Luckily, I only had one other problem, which was that the graphics take a while to load when you enter a new area.

If you're patient and ready to take a few heavy beatings from zombies, you might find you enjoy Dead Island. If you're looking for the perfect game, this may not be for you.

Here is the acclaimed trailer for Dead Island.