By: Michael Selkirk
For those players that love a good story, with smooth and dynamic combat, or even just something pretty to look at, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has something for everyone. The game has the player take control of Geralt, a mutated human with enhanced senses, metabolism, and physical capabilities. All of these mutations are necessary to be one of the monster hunters known as the Witchers. The story follows Geralt’s quest of searching for his adopted daughter Ciri, who has been missing for over five years, and is now being chased by an incorporeal army known as the Wild Hunt. It is Geralt’s mission to find out why the Wild Hunt is looking for her, where Ciri has gone, and how to help her through this difficult time in their lives. The Witcher 3 is a fantastic game with a world so immersive, it feels as if it could function without the player being there. In other words, the game world feels real, like everyone from the kings to the peasants and soldiers would be able to go about their lives even if the player never stumbles upon them. Just like how other real people will live their lives if you never interact with them. This provides the player with a space to occupy and influence, but it also provides for more intense feelings of uncertainty, and mystery as you play the game. Being a role-playing game, this only benefits the story and the experience of play, because each choice given to the player feels like it has extreme importance; and with multiple different endings, most of your choices will have some impact on which ending you get. To give The Witcher a score, I’d reward it a 9.5/10, as it is nearly perfect with minor or irrelevant bugs that do not take away from the play experience.
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By: Tim Heroux Professional wrestling nowadays isn’t nearly as talked about as it was in the 80s, 90s and even much of the 2000s. Yet, somehow it still manages to be one of the most watched pieces of media on television. With WWE’s Monday night Raw and Friday night SmackDown still drawing in close to, if not, more than two million viewers each, every week. I think a lot of the popularity has gone down mainly due to the fact that everyone knows it’s fake now since the illusion that is kayfabe, which is the act that is put on in wrestling to appear as if it is a real fight and the characters are real people, has become common knowledge. Yet, I think the main reason people watch it is for the stories that can be told.
Throughout a wrestler's career, there is time for them to develop a unique character and personality that fans can relate to or fall in love with. Some of the most popular wrestlers, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, The Undertaker, and CM Punk had all risen to popularity because of the unique persona they had. Each of these characters did what many consider to be the most important part of pro wrestling: they were able to capture the audience and the crowd. This is why so many people watch wrestling and why so many still do. The appeal of it all is finding someone to connect with and root for, just like in every other sport. This is why I urge you to go out there, tune in to any wrestling promotion, and find a character to connect with and root for. Only then, you’ll understand why so many still watch pro wrestling. By: Tim Heroux We Are Not Your Kind is the sixth studio album from metal band Slipknot. With this installment, Slipknot makes a comeback from their previous LP, .5 The Gray Chapter, which was panned by fans and critics alike. Due to the passing of one of their founding members and bassist Paul Gray in 2010, the band had struggled with more than one lineup change leading up to .5 The Gray Chapter, which ultimately hurt the quality of that record. Now that the band have cleaned up and dealt with their personal issues, they have made a triumphant return, proving that they can still be heavy and produce great lyrics.
The first song on the track Unsainted is in classic Slipknot style while also experimenting a little like with the church choir at the beginning of the song. The lyrical quality of their new album especially shows in this song as the lead singer, Corey Taylor, addresses his depression and how religion doesn’t seem to speak to him even though many have seemed to save themselves through it. Another great track on the album is Nero Forte which is just awesome to headbang to. With the main theme of the album being the fact that the band feel like outsiders, it especially shows in the closing song Solway Firth as Corey Taylor sings of being a scapegoat for certain issues in society today as well as being ostracized for it. He ends the track as well as the album with the haunting line, “You want a real smile? I haven’t smiled in years.” Despite how well done many of the songs are on the album, they feel interrupted by the few interludes on it which just throw in a few riffs before moving to the next song. They don’t really do much and are more of an annoyance than anything. Some of the weaker tracks include Spiders which, although it’s a bit more experimental it’s kind of goofy. Despite some small missteps, though, We Are Not Your Kind demonstrates that Slipknot can still produce great metal with heavy lyrics. Which is why I am going to award this album with an eight out of ten. By: Tim Heroux 10 Things I Hate About You, is a 1999 teen, romantic comedy directed by Gil Junger and starrs Heath Ledger, as Patrick Verona, and Julia Stiles, as Kat Stratford. The film starts with Cameron James, played by Joseph-Gordon Levitt, a new student at Padua High School as he pursues a sophomore, Bianca Stratford. Unfortunately, Bianca is attracted to a rich senior, Joey Donner. Another problem he faces is that her strict father has a new rule that forbids Bianca from dating unless her rebellious older sister, Kat, has a boyfriend. Cameron then devises a plan, with his new friend, Michael Eckman, to get Kat a boyfriend. They soon find Patrick Verona, who is a bit of an outsider. The two then try to convince him to go out with Kat. Patrick reluctantly accepts their offer and as he pursues a hard to get, Kat, he soon realizes that he is actually falling for her.
Despite the somewhat convoluted plot, 10 Things I Hate About You, proves that it’s not just another teen movie with some of the unique character archetypes it had, for it’s time. Along with that, many of the teens in the film are a lot more realistic in terms of the age of the actors playing them and the way their dialogue is written. Although the story structure is a cliche at this point in teen rom-coms, the film is still a well-made heartwarming teen flick. With that being said I'm awarding 10 Things I Hate About You with a 7.5 out of ten. By: Tim Heroux After Laughter is the fifth studio album released by former teen rock sensation, Paramore, in 2017. The album is considered to be a new beginning in the band as it strays farther from its roots than ever with their new funky, pop sound. Although many modern rock bands are criticized for their shift to a more pop style, such as Linkin Park and Fall Out Boy, Paramore proves that they aren’t just selling out. With a whole new 80’s pop vibe they show off how they are more than just an emo rock band.
Over the years, Paramore has had a revolving door of band members with a seemingly different lineup after each album release. This is because of much inner turmoil among the band over the years and it hasn’t been more apparent than during the development of After Laughter. In fact, the band almost broke up from all the lineup changes to the legal battles and even cracked friendships. But, because of that, it created the most upbeat sounding record of the group, yet. The first track of the album, Hard Times, perfectly encapsulates the style and state of the band during its development. Although, the optimistic sound of most of the tracks, has it appear as though they are happy songs. If you take a closer look at the lyrics much of it is about the turmoil that had been going on in the band as they were going through hard times. The tracks Rose-Colored Boy and Fake Happy are more examples of the chipper, funky sound mixed with a sad lyrical style. Much of the songs on the album also take inspiration from 80’s pop with the use of synths and guitar synthesizers. On the final track of the album, Tell Me How, Paramore slows down and lead vocalist Hayley Williams sings about lost friendships and being left with whether or not to leave the band. The only real disappointing song on the album is No Friend as the song uses Aaron Weiss, from MewithoutYou, on vocals, yet the group decided to make his voice barely audible, which is a big misstep in what could have been a very good, unique idea for a Paramore song. The album is certainly Paramore’s best and it shows that they are more than just another teen rock band. Which is why I'm awarding After Laughter with a nine out of ten. By: Tim Heroux
By: Tim Heroux F8 is the 8th studio album produced by, one of the most well known and generic metal bands of all time, Five Finger Death Punch. It is considered to be their rebirth, as the band stated, because they have been in a bit of a rut with their previous few albums. That doesn’t necessarily mean this new album may be anything special. Although, F8 is most certainly better than their worst album, Got Your Six, their style continues to have no change in their sound along with the bland lyrics.
Some of the better tracks on the album are Inside Out and Living The Dream. Both of which have really great openings, which almost rival one of their best songs Wrong Side Of Heaven from their 4th studio album The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell, Volume 1. Some of the weaker tracks on the album such as Scar Tissue contain their tired, worn out lyrical style which addresses pain and death with no complexity at all. Throughout the album it becomes more and more apparent that this isn’t much of a rebirth and rather a mediocre return to form from Five Finger Death Punch. Despite all the issues, and the fact that they still only appeal to gym rats and patriots, I’m going to give F8 a six out of ten. By: Tim Heroux
Oldboy is a 2003 South-Korean film, directed by Park Chan-wook, and stars Choi Min-sik who plays Dae-su, a married man known as the town drunk. After being apprehended by the police, he is set free and mysteriously disappears. Dae-su wakes up in what appears to be a hotel room, but is locked in with no means of escape. He does not yet realize at that point that he’s going to be staying there for 15 years. During his time, the only thing he has for entertainment is the TV, and this is how he finds out about the murder of his wife which he is immediatley framed for. After he is finally let out after 15 years he wakes up on a rooftop, dazed and confused. Almost immediately he tries to find out who imprisoned him and why, with the help of a woman he met shortly after named Woo-jin. Oldboy is a fast-paced, masterful revenge movie. It expertfully shows the psychological effects on a man who was kept in solitude. Choi Min-sik gives an amazing performance as he captures a tortured man. The movie takes many twists and turns as Dae-su comes closer to the truth and the finale is truly riveting. With all the heart put into this film I’m going to award it with a ten out of ten. By: Mike Selkirk Tetris was released in the year 1984. It took the world by storm and fueled the gaming industry as well as provided a standard for good game design, even to this day. The game works like this, the player is given random pieces of four blocks that fall to the bottom of the screen. Lines are cleared when the player fills them. Each line gives the player points and as more lines are cleared the pieces fall faster and faster. You lose when the pieces pile up and hit the top of the screen. The controls are simple, the game is easy to learn and even the best players in the world are still learning and practicing, so find a way to play with friends, which won’t be hard because the game is available on almost any device! By: Tim Heroux Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is the finale to the controversial sequel trilogy, directed by J.J. Abrams, who directed the first film of this trilogy, and starring Daisy Ridley as a Rey who is arguably a weak character. This character is where much of the controversy begins. For some backstory, the previous two films in the trilogy were, for the most part, either hated or loved. Much of this stems from the direction of certain characters, like Luke Skywalker. Rey is also no exception, since she is considered by many, a “Mary Sue”, as she appears to be very powerful and just all around great at everything from the get-go. I would agree with this to an extent since her character doesn’t even seem fully developed, even at the conclusion of the trilogy.
The characters aren’t the only “problematic” part of the movie. The plot and villain also arise arguments. The plot itself is rather convoluted as Rey and the gang have to obtain a map to a location where they can then stop Palpatine, the villain. On their way to do so, they encounter more trouble which brings them to more roadblocks and sends them to even more locations to find what they’re looking for. The villain choice is also pretty weak, since he is the same villain from the original Star Wars trilogy. Bringing Palpatine back seemed like a cop-out since he was killed at the end of the original trilogy to end the story. Yet, apparently he was alive the whole time, which just shows that Disney didn’t have a plan going into the new trilogy. That’s not to say there are good things which came about in this film. All of Kylo Ren’s story arc was very fleshed out on top of stellar acting from Adam Driver. Many of the locations used throughout the film also looked wonderful and the set designs were great. Even while trying to ignore the controversy, I’m awarding Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker a six out of ten. |
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