Today I finally had the opportunity to experience the gameplay of Guild Wars 2 and I wasn't disappointed. After making a human, you log into an instanced zone - Shaemoor, where you defend the village from centaurs and then two earth elemental hands. It's a pretty epic start to the game (not as epic as the opening instance of Rift though). After defeating the elemental, it turns out your character was passed out for a couple of days and had had a couple of visitors, including some old friends. Your main quest to to go and see these old friends, however you have the option of doing side quests to increase your karma (kind of the equivalent of WoW's reputation point system) and experience in an area called Queensdale.
On the map there are 'hearts', which you can travel to to help out NPCs. These quests are kind of grindy, but I didn't find them boring. Every so often, events occur where you might have to fight off enemies from an area or escort an NPC. It makes the world feel more 'alive' and exciting. The graphics are nice, with beautiful environments and realistic looking characters and creatures. The map is also marked with points of interest and 'vistas' - places you can travel to on the map to get a more in depth view of the area.
Another interesting feature about the game is that you acquire a different set of skills depending on what sort of weapon you equip. You unlock more abilities for that particular weapon the more you use it.
My thoughts so far: Guild Wars 2 has many things to keep you entertained. You can follow the main story or you can go off and do the side quests, which are pretty addictive, and it's nice not to have to follow a strict linear path. The combat system isn't difficult and the game provides hints for those new to the game. From my experience so far, I would recommend the game, especially if you're looking for a new MMO or RPG to play.
Guild Wars 2 gives you the choice of five races: Asura (small, highly intelligent Yoda-esque beings), Sylvari (elf-esque, plant-like humanoids), Humans, Norn (Viking-like humanoids),and Charr (beast-like humanoids). And eight classes: necromancer, engineer, ranger, thief, elementalist, warrior, mesmer, and guardian.
I chose a female human ranger. The humans actually look pretty decent. The character customization is fantastic. Lots of hair styles to choose from, several body shapes and a decent variety of colouring for hair, eyes, skin, armour, etc. And you can customize each aspect of your characters face. This is something new to me in the mmorpg genre, as I'm a former World of Warcraft player, where the character customization is pretty limited. It's nice to create a reasonably unique looking character, she's pretty sexy looking too.
After you create your character's look, you choose a story background for them. Which apparently will determine which skills, weapons and abilities you'll end up with. You can choose whether your character comes from poverty, middle class or nobility; a personality trait (such as charm or dignity); which god you are blessed by; and what your biggest regret is.
It took me freakin' ages to come up with a name for my character, as all the ones I wanted were taken. I ended up settling with Yulissia (my main WoW character is named Ulysses, so I tried to get something similar). She is middle class, charming, blessed by Melandru - the goddess of earth, nature and growth, and her biggest regret is not recovering her sister's corpse. I chose a Stalker as my pet, which is a leopard-like creature.
After all this it was time to finally start my adventure! But unfortunately I needed to leave once I got into the game! At least I can get straight into it next time I have the opportunity to play. By the way, the server I'm on is Blackgate if you're interested. I hope to play soon!
It's been a while since I last posted, but I'm going to try to get back into the blogosphere. Last night, my good friend and I went to see the recently released Snow White and the Huntsman, directed by Rupert Sanders, starring Charlize Theron, Kristen Stewart and Chris Hemsworth. As you probably figured out, the film is based on the German fairy tale, Snow White. The plot is similar to the original story, with an appropriately darker tone and I guess more 'layers' to the story, for example, the kingdom in which the story takes place is miserable due to Queen Ravenna's (Theron) rule, with its subjects longing for change. Gender would be one of the main themes of this film, with issues to do with women's age and appearance being raised. Ravenna is obsessed with being beautiful and youthful, as she has been taught that this is what women are valued most for (an issue relevant to our own world). Yet at the same time, she refuses to submit to male domination. I thought she was an interesting character and Theron did a wonderful job of portraying her. It is made clear that Ravenna has issues and that she isn't evil for no reason.
I enjoyed the art direction of this film. The creatures were fitting of a fantasy film and seemed reasonably original too. The costuming was good too, in particularly the outfits of Queen Ravenna. I would say the acting in this film was decent. I'm a bit weary of Kristen Stewart's acting as I'm not the biggest fan of her portrayal of Bella in the Twilight saga. However, I think she did alright in this film. Theron was good as always and I think Hemsworth did a good job too. I think he's going to become a pretty big action hero! Looking at the film on a shallow level, there is definitely eye-candy. Hemsworth has that 'manliness' about him and is attractive, Sam Claflin (who plays Snow White's childhood friend, William) is a hottie, Charlize Theron is her usual stunning self, and Kristen Stewart has moments where you stop thinking of her as a teenager (even though she is 22) and think "she is actually quite pretty".
In conclusion, I thought this was an enjoyable film. My friend liked it too, which is worth mentioning because he's reasonably hard to please when it comes to movies. If you are a fan of the fairy tale/fantasy genre, then it is worth a watch. It has action (fight scenes), cool creatures, comic relief, and the 'love' part, which many fairy tales are famous for, barely makes an apparently (some may view this as a bad thing though). It's definitely not a 'girly' film. Snow White and Queen Ravenna are both interesting female characters, which is always something nice to see in a film. The film also contains the important elements from the original tale that you want and expect to see. I would give it a 7/10.
I hope this review was somewhat helpful, despite it being brief. I tried not to give anything anyway!
On Friday the 2nd of March, I went to the Wine Cellar to see The Neo-Kalashnikovs and Myth Of Democracy perform. It was my second time seeing both of these bands and they did not disappoint. It was also my second time attending the Wine Cellar. Another band called Royal Fortune was performing but I unfortunately missed them as I was running late, as per usual. This gig had free entry, which is always a welcome bonus!
I arrived just in time to see The Neo-Kalashnikovs, although I missed their first song as I was getting my Jack Dagnallz (that's how they say 'Daniel's' on Epic Meal Time, therefore, that's how I say it). They played a longer set than when I saw them at the King's Arms, which was good. The set included the single To Russia (go and download it for free now!), and Diamonds. Because of the layout of the Wine Cellar, I had a better view of the band and could watch the drummer, who is actually pretty pro. Turns out that the whole band are siblings, which is pretty cool. I wish my brother could play an instrument! They're a good looking family too. Oh yeah, the bass player remembered his strap this time haha.
Myth Of Democracy were next. I thought that this venue suited them perfectly, seeing as they're a folk punk band. The front man had just been recently married, and it was nice to see a man embracing marriage rather than viewing it as a prison sentence, as we are always shown in popular films/TV. They played a set of reasonable length. I'm a nub and don't really know any of their songs, but the name of their album is Humans Piss Me Off, which I think is a pretty cool title, and is coming out soon. "I swear we'll play something happy soon!" was one of the quotes from the front man, as the large majority of Myth Of Democracy's tracks are political (if you didn't guess by the name), with a critical outlook on the Western World.
The Wine Cellar is a pretty cool venue. It would definitely suit an unplugged set. There are a number of couches for people to sit on as well. I guess this venue is quite intimate, as it is reasonably small and the band don't play on any elevated flooring. There were quite a few older people at this gig (i.e. middle aged), which was quite interesting as generally people in their 20s or 30s make up the majority of the crowd of the gigs I go to. The sound for this gig was quite good. The drums were perfect, however I think the guitar and vocals could have been turned up a bit more.
In conclusion, both of these talented bands put on a good show at a venue which suited them. Hopefully we see some album releases from them both soon!
On Wednesday the 22nd of February I attended goth rockers, The Sisters Of Mercy's first ever show in New Zealand. It was held at the Powerstation, which is actually a really good venue. This night was a big night for famous international bands, as System Of A Down and Roger Waters were also playing. I could have gone to SOAD as my friend had a spare ticket, but I decided on The Sisters Of Mercy. I have only been a fan of The Sisters Of Mercy for about a month, but I have really gotten into them and I would now consider them to be one of my favourite bands. I wish I had gotten into them earlier!
I arrived at the Powerstation at around 8ish pm. There were a reasonable amount of people there. I don't think it was sold out, but definitely enough to fill the venue to a reasonable capacity. I went straight to the merch stand to check out what they had. The vendor was really friendly, probably one of the most friendly vendors I've ever come across. Apparently he worked for Nine Inch Nails back in The Downward Spiral era! (I was wearing my NIN shirt and NIN are my all time favourite band, if you didn't know). I was actually impressed with the merchandise they had to offer, as they had shirts for women and the prices weren't overly ridiculous; $40 for a shirt, which isn't too bad considering they all seem to be $50 these days. My one gripe would be that they didn't have tour dates on the back of any of the shirts. I ended up buying a shirt that references the song Lucretia My Reflection and a wristband. I kinda wish I bought another shirt but there's only so much that money scabbed from Studylink can buy.
Anyway! The opening act appeared on stage at around 8.30 pm. I don't actually know what the proper name for this act was (feel free to enlighten me), but it was a man called Craig who played a solo acoustic set. I thought he was quite good. He was saying how he only just started to play again as he broke his leg and lost inspiration to play guitar for a year. One of his songs was about how the Devil doesn't play drums, but plays guitar. I didn't particularly appreciate this (as I'm a drummer) and now I think about it, wouldn't Satan be able to play anything and everything? Another song topic was about how he treated a previous girlfriend badly (not sure if it's actually about him but I'm assuming so). I thought that it was pretty brave and honest to admit this (if it is non-fiction). Maybe my ex, the Russian Nightmare, could take a leaf out of his book haha.
After Craig had finished, the waiting game began. Sisters came on at about 9.30ish. I had a pretty good standing position - three people from the front. The stage was cloaked in a thick layer of fog, courtesy of the fog machines. They opened with Ribbons, which I was pretty stoked about as it's one of my favourite songs of theirs. Next came Detonation Boulevard, another track from 1990's Vision Thing. I read a review saying that the mix wasn't very good and Andrew Eldritch's voice was buried deep in it, but I thought the sound was fine; I could hear him fine. The live act for The Sisters Of Mercy consists ofMr. Eldritch on vocals, and Chris Catalyst and Ben Christo on guitars. 'Doktor Avalanche' is the software resposible for the keys, drums and bass(?). I think the show would have been way cooler if all of the instruments were performed live. They should employ me to play drums!
They played a mix of songs I knew and didn't know. Being a new fan, I didn't know absolutely everything, unfortunately. But they did perform well known tracks, such as More and Lucretia My Reflection. Eldritch's vocals sounded sexy as (I'd totally do him) and Chris Catalyst was an enthusiastic guitar player (I couldn't really see the other one). The lighting was cool too. There was a nice blood red, which suited the goth rock sound.
The fog machine ended up being quite annoying. It was way over used. Some people have said that this is to prevent people from getting a 'good' look at Eldritch. If this is the case, I don't see why he would feel ashamed about anybody being able to see him. I could actually see him pretty well from where I was standing. He spent quite a lot of time on my side of the stage, which was cool. I found it amusing how he would always have a cigarette in his hand, mostly because the Powerstation is probably a smoke-free area. He doesn't give a fuck though >:D.
The crowd interaction was pretty poor. The only thing that Eldritch said to the crowd the whole time (other than 'thank you') was how they had been in NZ for a week and they had had 'a lovely time', which was said right at the end. They did two encores, which was good (and needed) as their non-encore set was only a little bit longer than an hour.
Other than my two gripes of the fog machine and lack of crowd interaction, I had a really good time and I'm glad I went. I was dancing pretty much the whole time. I hope that I get another chance to see The Sisters Of Mercy in the future (I will know all of the songs!). The Powerstation is actually a really good venue too: good sound, not too big and not too small in size, and good placement of the bar.
Setlist:
Ribbons
Detonation Boulevard
First, Last & Always
Crash & Burn
Logic
This Corrosion
No Time To Cry
Gift That Shines
On The Wire
Arms
Dominion/Mother Russia
Summer
Alice
Anaconda
More
Flood
Something Fast
Vision Thing
Lucretia My Reflection
Instrumental
Temple Of Love
PS. I got one of Chris Catalyst's picks! It's just a green Dunlop one that you could buy from any instrument store, but it will always be special to me and I shall treasure it forever! I also beat a midget, who looked like Greg Proops, at picking it up too. He didn't seem too annoyed that I won this race, as he smiled at me in my triumph.
PPS. A pretty goth guy started to talk to me as I was waiting to be picked up. But of course, my ride arrived just as we were starting to get into the roll of conversation. I should have got his number... I'm such a noob! If you happen to be reading this and happened to have gone to The Sisters Of Mercy and your name is John and you remember talking to a girl called Julia with a NIN t-shirt, PM me! (Ahh I'm so sad).
If you're unfamiliar with The Sisters Of Mercy, be sure to check them out! Especially if you're into your goth rock. You can get a 'five in one' pack of their albums for $20, bargain!
The Sisters Of Mercy - More
Andrew Eldritch is fkn hot in this video! (Just so you know)
On Saturday the 18th of February, I attended Australian band DEAD's Auckland show at the Basement, which was the first time I had been there. It was an all ages show, but surprisingly there weren't many people there. It literally is a basement. There's a small bar/sitting area connected to the basement area, which is where the bands play. The bar area is pretty cool looking, as there's some pretty decent looking art sprayed on to the walls, which gives you something to look at. However, it is small and there aren't many seats, so if heaps of people were there, it could be a bit cramped.
I wasn't the biggest fan of this venue. Being from Christchurch, I didn't rate it as very earthquake friendly; i.e. I wouldn't wanna be in there during one. To be blunt, the sound in this venue was crap. I felt sorry for the bands. I was left confused as to whether this was an actual venue for bands to play live, or something you would hire out, as I'm pretty sure all of the sound equipment belonged to members of the performing bands. There was no sound person either. The mixer belonged to God Bows To Math and there were only two microphones, which were used for vocals and they were a bit dodgy. It was really hard to hear the vocals for all of the bands and one of the mics fucked out for the lead vocalist of DEAD during their performance. It made me wish I was further into my training at MAINZ so I could have helped them out.
Anyway, three-piece god bows to ath were the first band to perform. I would probably categorize them as alternative hard punkish rock. They had a left handed drummer, which was pretty cool and the second night in a row in which I had seen one. He was quite talented too, really good at rudiments/fills. The vocals were hard to hear unfortunately, but the vocalist used a mix of clean and growling vocals. I thought god bows to math were good and I would like to see them live again, at a decent venue with decent sound, such as the King's Arms.
god bows to math links: Official Site | Facebook | Bandcamp
You can download a few of their albums for free from their Bandcamp page. They're actually pretty good and have some amusing song titles such as How To Beat Your Dad At Chess and NZ Post.
Next up were two-piece Mean Girls. They were also an alternative hard punkish rock band, but a bit heavier than God Bows To Math. Their band consisted of a drummer and a bassist. The drummer was really good; he could play really fast and was pro at rudiments. He had quite a small kit (as in not very many toms and cymbals) and an interesting hi-hat, I know there's a particular name for it but I can't recall it right now. The bass player was also the vocalist, and like the previous band, it was really hard to hear the vocals. He played distorted bass in a way in which it sounded like both an electric guitar and a bass (well distorted bass tends to do that...). But I thought it was interesting and I had never seen a two-piece like that before.
Mean Girls links: Facebook | Bandcamp
They have two songs available for free download on their Bandcamp page.
The third and final band to perform were DEAD. They are from Melbourne and also a two-piece; the same make up as Mean Girls. I would place DEAD in the sludge punk genre. The bass player, who is also the vocalist a la Mean Girls, played bass as though it was a guitar. It was distorted and produced a sound that sounded like an electric guitar/bass hybrid (like Mean Girls once again. However, I think DEAD had a more electric guitary sound). The drummer for this band was also talented and he helped out on backing vocals. The lead vocals were growl-esque (I guess you'd call them yelling, sorta Rise Against style but more raw). Like the previous bands, the sound wasn't the greatest. It was hard to hear the vocals and the mic that the lead vocalist was using stopped working. Luckily this was solved as the drummer's vocal mic was working fine, so they swapped.
DEAD links: Official site | Facebook
You can download a live set they did for a radio show for free from their official site.
In conclusion, I don't think this venue did the bands justice. The sound was terrible and it was hard to hear the vocals. There wasn't a very good turn out of people either, which was surprising considering DEAD are an international band and the gig was advertised on Undertheradar. However, the bands persevered without complaining and performed as best they could, which I salute them for. If it were me, I would have been pretty annoyed. I hope to see all of these bands live again at a better venue. Check them out if you're into your hard punk rock.
On Friday the 17th, I returned once again to the King's Arms to watch some local bands. Headlining were prog rockers, Mothra, accompanied by fellow Auckland acts UU., Rule Of Thieves, and Big Punch. As usual, I was running late, so I missed out on seeing UU. (which I'm actually really annoyed about) and arrived part way through Rule Of Thieves' set (glad I didn't fully miss them!).
Rule Of Thieves remind me a lot of Deftones, which is certainly not a bad thing. They are an alternative metal band with a nu metal influence (the good stuff) and surprisingly, there aren't too many bands of this genre lurking around in NZ at the moment. Well... there probably are, I just haven't seen very many of them, as the dominating metal scene in NZ is death metal (in my opinion anyway). Rule Of Thieves are a six-piece, making use of a keyboard, which is always interesting to see in a metal band. The vocals are a mix of clean and growls, and the vocalist is a cutie too. They have an album coming out sometime this year, which I'm looking forward to. I might even pay for it. If you're a fan of bands such as Deftones, A Perfect Circle, early Linkin Park, and other alternative metal from the early 00's, then definitely check out Rule Of Thieves. But anyway, from what I saw of them, they were really good and I recommend them. Hopefully their album will be out soon and they will go on tour to promote it.
Rule Of Thieves links: Official Website | Facebook | Bandcamp
They have a free E.P., titled Silhouettes, available for download, so check that out. (The track Champage is so delightfully Deftones-esque!).
Next up was Mothra. Kinda weird how they played third when they were the headliners. They did this last time I saw them too. Oh well, they're talented as, so they can do whatever they want. Mothra are a three-piece progressive/experimental instrumental rock/metal band. They sound very Tool-esque and I would even go as far to say that I enjoy them more than Tool. They are an instrumental band and it's hard to decide whether vocals would add to their awesomeness or detract from it. The bass is chunky, the guitar effects are cool, and the drums are solid. They all complement each other and you can tell that each musician knows their shit about their weapon of choice. The drummer is amazing (drums are they only instrument I can properly comment about). He makes good use of double kick (i.e. doesn't over use it) and can pump out some awesome tom fills. He's not too bad looking either to add icing to the cake. Needless to say, Mothra put on a great show and they have a very professional manner in my opinion. They even have a band banner! My one gripe about instrumental bands is that it is made harder to remember the titles of the songs. I did catch one name though, which was The Beginning, which has a video coming out for it soon I believe.
Anyway, check Mothra out, especially if you are a Tool fan or a fan of prog rock/metal. Surprisingly, the only music they have out on the internet is a live demo on their Bandcamp page and a few live videos. However, they have an E.P. coming out sometime this year, which is pretty exciting.
The last but not least band to perform were Big Punch, which was another three-piece instrumental band. I think I would classify Big Punch as alternative hard rock. I think their music could be very fitting on Dragon Ball Z *massive grin*. These guys were pretty talented too. The bass player was the fastest slap-bass player I have seen! I was impressed. He looked a bit like Matt off Nip/Tuck lol. The drummer was pretty pro too, and left handed! You don't see very many left handed drummers. For their last song, the front man for Prowler got up and did impromptu vocals for them. Sounded pretty good for him never hearing the song before.
I decided to wear my Tool shirt to this gig and some weird guy started talking to me and making bad Tool puns. Like I went to get a drink of water and he said "I notice you're drinking water, it's like that song Sober" and "Speaking of Stinkfist, this next band are called Big Punch"... Pretty funny now but at the time I was face palming inside my head. However, the guitarist from Mothra, who's a hottie (I believe his name is Hugh), said "nice shirt". Perhaps I should have talked to him. I'm such a chicken when it comes to initiating conversation, especially with attractive people. Although what am I gonna say? "Hi, I'm Julia. DTF?".
In conclusion, this was a really good gig and I'm glad I went, as there was another gig happening at the Whammy Bar that I was tempted by. All of the bands were talented and hopefully we see some more releases from them this year! Especially from Mothra!
