Categories
Author: Crossfire
Categories
Andy Evans box set incoming
Shamelessly cashing in on Christmas this year is long time video master Andy Evans, with his box set of four videos: Chillin, As-if, Straight to Video and This n That.
The box set will be distributed by Power and in shops in a few weeks, and as well as being as close to a video history of British skating from 1997 forward as you are likely to get now that UKVM is gone, it promises some early 90`s treats such as Fungus 1993 section, a Luke McKirdy section from 1994, the 1992 Plan B demo with Way, McKay, Howard and Carroll, and Radlands pro comp from 1993.
Categories
Manchester Orchestra Live
Heaven, London
17th November 2009
Manchester Orchestra are one of those bands you might’ve heard of but haven’t quite got around to checking out yet. Well, check them out quick. Every soul who they’ve played to in their diligent trips to the UK over the past couple of years seems to have been drawn back to the band like a moth to a lightbulb whenever they come back to these shores.The audience at Heaven tonight is rapt and enjoying every second.
The fascinating thing about Manchester Orchestra’s live set is the intense range of dynamics on show. From the softly softly acoustic portions, tackled solo by frontman Andy where you can hear every murmur in the crowd, to the full on intensity and delicious but ear-assaulting jaggedness of their rockier material such as current single ‘Shake It Out’. Keyboardist Chris often takes to his own drumkit (yes, a second in addition to Jeremiah’s regular kit) at poignant louder moments, building the concentration of power in the music to an overwhelming height only to be stripped right back again to its bare bones.
The singles from latest album ‘Mean Everything To Nothing’ are clear standout tracks here with ‘Shake It Out’ and the radio-friendly but emotive ‘I’ve Got Friends’ being surefire crowd pleasers. Having said that, every single track the band bring out is beautifully crafted and executed in the live arena with such aplomb, that you can’t help but be in awe of their talents. They tread the fine line between perfectionism and rocking out without a care in the world so the music sounds free and easy yet tightly observed and flawlessly performed at the same time. The members of Manchester Orchestra are clearly beyond comfortable playing with each other and have developed that sixth sense of understanding what each other is doing that comes when you have played and worked hard in an ensemble for long enough. True brilliance at work.
Winey G
UK Creature skater Carl Wilson joins the injury list this winter alongside Ben Nordberg and others with a broken ankle. Rumours on the vine of grapes say that his ankle could be broken in up to 3 places and snapped just before the Skegness mini ramp jam last weekend. Get well soon Potter, it’s pretty safe to say we will miss you at this year’s Xmas Jam.
Categories
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Nathan Drake gets all the fun – girls, adventure but he never forgoes the treasure…well he’d like you to think that. Like Indiana Jones before him, Nate has a playground-world built around his psyche and in Uncharted 2 that world is a glorious spectacle of exotic locations, gun-play, love triangles and sometimes, double-cross.
Uncharted 2 follows on 2 years after the conclusion of the story in Uncharted Drake’s Fortune. It sees our charming hero travel the continents via a storyline unraveled, in part, as a playable flashback for the first half of the game. This new Drake adventure revolves around an unsolved historical mystery: the doomed voyage home of Marco Polo from China in 1292 and of course, the lure of unclaimed and uncharted treasures.
That being said, the journey the player is taken on, is a bright gem of single-player gaming and it is very, very hard to fault. There is something very charming and fulfilling drawn from the characterization of the cast in Uncharted 2. Both Nolan North(Nathan Drake) and Emily Rose(Elena Fisher) are outstanding in their voice work for the lead characters but the support work from the rest of the cast comes close to matching their master class.
But what of the game play itself? Story alone does not make a videogame ‘essential’ and a peppering of great visuals and game-play action is needed to flavor the whole experience for the player’s delight.
In Uncharted 2 there is nothing but the best elements taken from Uncharted Drake’s Fortune with additions to the existing cover system – you can now blind-fire, unarmed combat – stealth moves and take-downs, and a richer array of varying puzzles to solve – that break up the gun-play and action just enough without spoiling the games pacing. There’s not a better told single-player game, released in 2009, that holds all the elements of a classic videogame adventure together so well as Uncharted 2: Among Thieves does so effortlessly.
Those who love their multiplayer action and looking for a time-out from more militaristic pursuits(see Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2), should be satisfied with an inclusion of co-operative and competitive modes to Uncharted 2. Players are granted a leveling system not dissimilar to that of the Modern Warfare titles, within a variety of game play modes from Gold Rush – a cooperative mode of play where 2–3 players must team up to obtain a treasure, to the standard fare of Death match – featuring two teams of five, with one team acting as heroes and the other as villains.
Congratulations must go to Naughty Dog for developing such a polished but riotously fun game in this the second installment of the Uncharted IP – I do hope there’s at least a third installment to come. It would possibly make Uncharted the best video gaming trilogy and perfect for anyone owning a PS3 in the years to come.
9/10
David Osbon.
Categories
Night Sessions in Finland
Janne Saario’s Micropolis park during night manouevres.
Micropolis Skatepark Night Sessions 2008 from johnny aka 270 Maffia on Vimeo.
Categories
Pascal De Stena
Liking the 360 flip crooked in a line, Pancho old trout:
Categories
Done Video: Kilian Heuberger
Yet more German outrage:
Categories
Black Label’s Peter Raffin
From the Label that spawned a host of imitators, dirty skateboarding:
Categories
New album from The Strokes incoming?
There may well be a new album by The Strokes on the way.
Nikolai Fraiture of the band wrote on his twitter that he and the band’s manager went to look at studios in New York, ready for a recording session in January.
Julian Casablancas, who has recently put out a solo album, also stated that the band were due to get together in January. Watch this space.