Arts – Angelica Wallingford

New Spider-Man video game impresses

Coming off the massive hits at the box office, the folks at Marvel decided to dust off the controller and team up with Insomniac Games and Sony PlayStation to revisit the world of gaming. What could have been an insufferable, generic superhero gaming experience was made into an immersive, nearly flawless game that’s sure to be the textbook superhero game for years to come.

At face value, “Spider-Man” feels like just another chapter in the epic of Peter Parker’s life. Donning his signature blue and red suit, you weave through the streets of New York stopping villains and saving civilians from harm.

What the player gets is an immersive experience that just doesn’t compete with any one of the myriad of “Spider-Man” games, or even films, that have been released over the past two decades.

Where this games succeeds the most, and what most of the games and films in the series failed to do, was capture the essence of what it is to be Spider-Man. It takes off the proverbial spider mask and shows the iconic superhero for who he truly is: a guy trying to balance his life out and do the right thing. On one hand he’s a tough crime fighter taking down New York’s criminal elite; on the other he’s dealing with things that everyone struggles with: love, family, career and mortality.

The game starts with your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, equipped with his signature sassy comebacks and a popular social media account, taking selfies at death-defying heights and mingling with the people of New York, all while keeping the city safe. His day job is working as an assistant for Dr. Otto Octavius, a scientist experiencing a fall from grace due to immense jealousy and guilt from his former friendship with Mayor Norman Osborn.

Other well-known characters from the franchise’s past include Peter’s beloved aunt May, former-Daily-Bugle-editor-turned-conspiracy-theorist-radio-host J. Jonah Jameson and Parker’s love interest Mary Jane Watson, who’s a reporter with a penchant for getting caught in Spider-Man’s web of enemies.

The boss fights are something to behold. They don’t feel like a series of standard ones from past video games. It feels like an actual fight, not a series of code that reacts to a particular attack. While the first major boss fight, featuring an angry and charging Kingpin, was a generic combat tutorial at best, the rest bring an atypical experience, which highlights the game’s fluid combat system.

The momentum doesn’t stop when you move from the fan favorite villains to common street criminals. The way the player moves from villain to villain is an excellent exhibition of flawless fluidity that the game captures so well. This style of combat feels more at home in “Spider-Man” than it did in another stellar superhero gaming classic, “Arkham Knight.” While Batman is just as idolized as Spider-Man, the parkour laced combat moves feel more at home with Spidey than they do with the Dark Knight.

The inclusion of Mr. Negative is a welcome surprise and interesting turn from the usual selection of Spider-Man’s cavalcade of villains. In this incarnation, Mr. Negative, AKA Martin Li, is aiming to take over Kingpin’s territory and using the deadly Devil’s Breath virus to do it. While our web-slinging hero stops him, the effects the virus leaves has consequences felt throughout the rest of the game concluding with an epic rooftop fight against Spider-Man’s mentor-turned-madman Otto Octavius, now known as Doctor Octopus.

Aside from the main missions, sleuthing with MJ and the next incarnation of Spidey, Miles Morales provides a refreshing break from beating up bad guys. Another high point is stripping off the iconic spider suit and playing as Peter Parker, the scientist. The mini games include gene splicing, chemical arrangement and circuit puzzles that range from absurdly easy to so difficult you’re practically close to throwing your controller across the room.

Where the game falls flat, is when it comes to innovating the open-world format. “Spider-Man” utilizes age-old tropes and while they are familiar to anyone who has played any open-world game, they become repetitive fast. The side missions could become monotonous after a while, but they don’t take away from the overall enjoyment of the game.

However, while the open world doesn’t provide any groundbreaking features, it’s the perfect medium to highlight the stellar web-swinging. It’s your main mode of transportation and it’s the best way to navigate from mission to mission around the vast landscape and tall buildings.

Despite its few shortcomings, “Spider-Man” succeeds in providing an in-depth story which immerses the player in every aspect of Peter Parker’s world.. With the fluid combat system, multitude of mission and stellar graphics, this game is well worth picking up the controller for a few hours and swinging through the city.

Originally published in the Daily Aztec in September 2018.

Grammy-winning musician Bill Yeager leads SDSU jazz studies through experience

The generic phrase “be prepared for anything” is often met with a sigh and eye roll from those who hear it. In the case of San Diego State’s Director of Jazz Studies Bill Yeager, it’s the advice he credits for his success as an award-winning musician and a lifelong educator.

Yeager started at SDSU in 1985 after founding and running the Los Angeles Jazz Workshop for 10 years. In just a few short years, he accepted a full-time position and has led the jazz studies program to be one of the most prestigious in the country, including an upcoming trip to Montenegro for Jazz Appreciation Week slated for next semester.

Justin Joyce, an SDSU graduate student and drummer in the jazz ensemble led by Yeager, cites his passion as a driving force behind his students succeeding in the field.

“His constant desire for his students’ success is very apparent,” Joyce said. “There (are) too many ways he’s influenced my life, but every one of them ultimately has improved my sense of awareness, work ethic and enjoyment of life and how music is one of life’s necessities.”

Yeager’s journey to becoming SDSU’s director of jazz studies wasn’t a rocky road filled with bumps and dips; but rather, a winding path of unexpected twists and turns.

“My advice to you is to be prepared for any and all opportunities that are offered to you in life,” Yeager said at SDSU’s 2017 Professional Studies and Fine Arts commencement ceremony. “You don’t always end up doing exactly what you think you will be doing for your life’s work.”

His resume reads like that of a seasoned studio musician rather than an educator. The lifelong trombonist has played in bands for Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, and has been featured on recordings for Ray Charles, various organizations and record companies. He’s also received multiple Grammy nominations, including a win for a record he did with Charles.

Yeager, 66, says it all started in elementary school when he had to pick out an instrument to learn. He started out wanting to play drums as his first choice and the trumpet as his second, but a savvy sales associate convinced him otherwise.

“I think the guy at the music store wanted to sell a trombone and he said that my lips were too big for the trumpet, which, of course, is absurd,” he said. “It was this guy who’s just trying to see a certain product, but that’s how I picked trombone.”

His love of jazz, however, didn’t come until high school. Yeager was a natural at playing classical music, but jazz became an obstacle for him. His high school band director would play him jazz records and have him pay close attention to their characteristics.

“Jazz has come hard for me,” Yeager said. “It was something that I had to really work at. Maybe that’s why I think I’m a good teacher in the jazz area, because I had to really work on it. It didn’t come as natural to me as playing sonatas and concertos.”

After getting acquainted with his new instrument, Yeager took to music like a fish takes to water. According to him, it was music that helped him go from a straight-C student to getting A’s throughout his academic career and creating a positive chance that has stayed with him all his life.

“I got C’s in everything except music and physical education,” Yeager recalls. “Music gave me self-confidence where I didn’t have any.”

Upon graduating high school in 1970, Yeager enrolled in the University of North Texas, which, at the time, had the largest music department and the most prestigious jazz program in the country. He completed his bachelor’s degree in ’74 and his masters of music in ’76, with an emphasis on performance and a minor in conducting and jazz.

While still an undergrad, he started getting jobs in recording studios in Dallas, which at the time was known as the “jingle capital,” Yeager said.

“The studios were run by alumni of the University of Texas, and that’s how I got my foot in the door,” he said. “I’d travel 30 minutes to and from Denton to Dallas for sessions, it helped me tremendously as a musician.”

Prior to founding the Los Angeles Jazz Workshop in ’79, Yeager became the director of instrumental music at Grove School of Music, founded by jazz pianist Dick Grove, whom he was introduced to when Grove did a clinic at the University of Texas. He received the job while playing in a night band conducted by Alf Clausen, best known for his composition work on “The Simpsons.”

“(Clausen) was getting so busy that he didn’t really have time to conduct that band anymore,” Yeager said. “So, Dick (Grove) came to me and said, ‘We’d like you to be the director of the band.’”

Eventually, being the conductor of a jazz band was only one of a multitude of responsibilities he had at the Grove School. Yeager became the conductor of two other bands, founded the Professional Instrumental Music Program and became an instructor.

However, two years into his time at the Grove School, he and Grove had a major disagreement involving repertoire that led them to part ways.

“He would have 30 people write a television excerpt based on, let’s say, ‘Frère Jacques,’ and so, here are my guys paying money to be in this band and they would come to a rehearsal and we’d play 30 versions of ‘Frère Jacques,’” Yeager recalled. “And it was like, you know it’s not fair. That’s not what they came here for. So, we basically had a parting of the ways, and I knew I was right.”

Yeager founded the Los Angeles Jazz Workshop in 1979 so jazz musicians could have the opportunity to showcase their skills rather than play “30 different” TV jingles. In a remarkable move, all 30 musicians from the Grove School moved to Yeager’s rival institution which helped his new endeavor start off with a bang.

Before he knew it, Yeager’s workshop grew at an exponential rate to include instruction in composition and arranging, led by some of the best musicians in Los Angeles.

“I had a complete full band, the very first day,” he said. “And then that grew into two bands, then three. Eventually I had five full 18-piece big bands. That essence of having that number one Grove band 100 percent leave and come with me made it to where I could pay the rent.”

In the meantime, Yeager took up piloting a small plane that once belonged to a dear friend in Los Angeles who suffered a stroke and could not fly alone. During his final years at the Los Angeles Jazz Workshop, he was hired as an instructor at SDSU, commuting back and forth from Los Angeles to San Diego in his Cessna 172 airplane before securing his tenure and settling in Cardiff-By-The-Sea.

“I have become very attached to my SDSU students and totally committed to San Diego State University,” Yeager said in the commencement speech. “The SDSU Jazz Studies program has flourished into becoming one of the best in the country.”

Yeager’s last statement rings true. He has led the Jazz Studies program to a multitude of awards and numerous performances with great jazz musicians such as pianist Matt Hall and students from his Los Angeles Jazz Workshop and Grove School days.

After knowing him for the past six years, Joyce looks back fondly about how Yeager has gone the extra mile, providing more than just instruction to his students.

“To be honest, I’ve never really thought of him as a professor, he has always shown more guidance and advice to just be considered a professor,” Joyce said. “He’ll tell you directly what you need to hear to help you succeed as a professional.”

Yeager has no plans on retiring just yet. He says he wants “at least another five years” at SDSU. After some reflecting, he harkens back to a modified version of his old saying that he told the 2017 PSFA graduating class: “Be prepared for anything, because nobody knows what can happen.”

Originally published in the Daily Aztec in October 2018.

GAMING REVIEW: ‘Sonic Forces’ brings a new twist to an old classic

Following the events of the 16-bit masterpiece “Sonic Mania,” SEGA and Sonic Team have bounced back from a slew of epic 3D failures with “Sonic Forces,” a fun, action packed, multi-console platformer that is one of the best Sonic the Hedgehog games that has been released in recent years.

The plot of “Sonic Forces” sounds like it comes straight from a Sonic fanboy’s fanfiction. After a plethora of attempts the hilariously evil Dr. Eggman has finally taken over the world and it’s up to the resistance, led surprisingly by Knuckles, everyone’s favorite endangered echidna, to stop them and bring peace to the world. Sounds like a somewhat typical “Sonic” game right?

Not necessarily.

The one element “Forces” brings that is unlike other games in the franchise is that Sonic and pals are helped out by a very unusual and unexpected character–you.

The introduction to the player’s custom character, aptly named the Rookie, is rather interesting. After playing through the first level of the game Sonic is captured by Dr. Eggman and his ruthless regime of antagonists from games past, along with new resident bad guy Infinite. Resident tech geek Miles “Tails” Prower tells the rest of the resistance that a new member is joining and that’s when the player is taken to the customization screen.

Adding “you” as the third playable character was a bit of a hit-and-miss. While it’s great that SEGA added this element to the game, at times it feels as if it’s just playing as an off-brand third-world knockoff of Sonic blasting through stages with various accessories. The accessories, called “Wispons,” can make the original character overpowered, which takes the Rookie and turns them into the overpowered MVP of the entire game.

Along with the same ragtag group of fan favorites of games past in the resistance, Classic Sonic comes from his dimension to aid them in their hour of need. For most of the game users play as Classic Sonic, Modern Sonic and the Rookie and face-off against villains that include Zavok from “Sonic Lost World,” masked newcomer Infinite, and perhaps the most unsuccessfully hilarious video game villain of all time, Dr. Eggman.

Then we get to what was one of the biggest teases in the game that sort of delivers: Shadow the Hedgehog. What makes Shadow such a great character, especially in “Forces,” is that players actually get a backstory. The free downloadable content, titled “Episode Shadow,” acts as a prequel for “Forces,” letting the “you” play through three stages of storyline that adds some context to the game.

Ironically, “Episode Shadow” actually provides players with more of a challenge than “Forces” does. Even though the downloadable content is somewhat harder to play than the main game, it’s really fun, especially since this is the first time in several years that the fan favorite has been a playable character in a “Sonic” game.

A highlight of the game is that players get an introduction to “Forces” main antagonist, Infinite, and see what became of Shadow’s closest, albeit reluctant, comrades Rouge the Bat and robot E-123 Omega.

One of the biggest flaws of “Forces” is that there is no epic Shadow vs. Sonic boss fight. Instead players get Shadow defeating a clone of himself that Dr. Eggman created to aid in his world domination. It’s not the worst thing in the world but if SEGA and Sonic Team were going to tease this battle-for-the-ages boss fight then they should have delivered.

The levels are gorgeous to look at. The vibrantly colored Green Hill Zone that was once filled with flora and fauna is now reduced to sand dunes and crumbling structures, which was a nice break from the norm. However, after playing title after title with Green Hill Zone as the first level, it’s time for a shake up from the usual nostalgia and have something a little different to kick off the game.

Most of the stages, including the beautifully designed Metropolis, flow seamlessly from the standard Sonic 2D side scrolling to 3D without making the transition awkward.

Initially, the gameplay is relatively short if players just doing the bare minimum of simply completing the game. However, the addition of SOS missions, daily missions and the thrill of getting trophies, or achievements on XBOX and PC, makes “Forces” prime for long-term replayability, especially after players complete the main storyline.

Completing daily missions is also a great way to get more accessories to deck out one’s custom character to give them more power-ups and generally make them look as cool as possible.

The mechanics of the games are straightforward: complete the stages, 37 total, as fast as one possibly can, pick up rings along the way and defeat the enemies. It’s that simple.

Taking one’s time with stages is fine if the player is new to the series or are obsessively trying to 100 percent the game, but it’s a Sonic the Hedgehog game—the objective is to complete the stage as fast as possible.

His theme song has the lyrics “fastest thing alive” for a reason. An awesome bonus is that depending on how fast one completes a stage, they get ranked with players from all around the world to see how they stack up to other fans playing the game.

Another difference from other titles in the series is that the rings, which are normally used to help players not die during stages, are used as a means to boost one’s score as well as serve the function of not losing a life.

What that means is there is technically no system for how many lives you have with this game and that there is no “game over.” Players can technically can keep playing a stage until they beat it or gather all of the bonuses, although it will affect one’s ending score in a negative light and turn what would have been an S-rank to a C-rank in just a matter of seconds.

Each level has recommended Wispons, items that correspond to various colorful alien power-up from “Sonic Colors,” to use for that particular stage. Its basic function is to help the player find an alternate route, collect rings and other non-essential items. However, even though the Wispons are there for the players use, they are not essential to complete the stage.

Although the game is really fun, it can be heavily automated and repetitive at times. At its core “Sonic Forces” is just like any other “Sonic” game.

Players finish stages, beat down bad guys, collect rings and, spoiler alert, defeat the “A for effort” antagonist Dr. Eggman and Infinite to save what remains of the world from complete destruction. There is also the issue of the stages being really short. There are certain stages where players can really get sucked in, only for it to end a few short moments later.

The boss fights are also hit and miss. With the exception of Zavok and Infinite boss fights the rest of them, particularly the ones with Dr. Eggman, feel somewhat repetitive and like players are rehashing a boss fight from a previous game rather than providing the gamers with a new experience. Then there’s also the issue of not fighting fan favorite villains like Chaos from “Sonic Adventure” or Shadow, which was heavily teased before the game’s release.

Despite “Forces” being just another “Sonic” game, it’s a really entertaining and enjoyable experience that both hardcore Sonic fans and non-Sonic fans would appreciate.

Is it perfect? No, far from it, but it does give players hours upon hours of mind numbing enjoyment that Sonic Team has been lacking with previous titles.

The story, gameplay, soundtrack and characters provide gamers with a visually dynamic and amusing experience that can extend way beyond the main storyline and provide gamers with endless hours of fun.

Originally published in The Daily Aztec in November 2017.

Life behind the screen(writer)

Longtime San Diego City College screenwriting professor Russell Redmond recalls his adventurous life in TV, cinema and education

In the quiet corner of the first floor of the L building, students stagger out into the unusually hot September sun on their last in-class session of Introduction to Screenwriting class. Left behind was a their teacher, longtime San Diego City College professor and screenwriter Russell Redmond.

“Russell is very patient, and you can gather the fact, especially when it comes to the attention given,” Erny Rivera, a student enrolled in Redmond’s online Introduction to Screenwriting class said. “Writing is still a delicate craft, to which Russell helps transform into an artform.”

Underneath Redmond’s casual demeanor lies a fun and energetic man with a passion for all things cinema and storytelling. Sitting behind a small desk in L-108 he began to recall his colorful journey to that lead to his love of film and teaching screenwriting at City; starting with his love of stories.

“I was always interested in storytelling,” Redmond said. “You know, you grow up watching TV as a little kid and you go ‘oh, that looks like fun’ and it seems exciting and so you proceed down that avenue thinking ‘maybe I’ll be interested in that’.”

He recalled going through high school and being in that phase all young men and women go through and figure out what they want to do with their future.

“…You have to decide (and say) ‘well, you know I think I really have a burning desire to get into film’ and of course everybody want to be not only an actor but a film director or someone else,” Redmond said. “I mean they want to do everything… and that was me.”

After graduating high school Redmond left Carlsbad and headed north to attend the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). After he graduated in 1973, Redmond received an offer from his screenwriting teacher, so he packed up and headed to Europe where he wrote for the BBC show “The Old Man’s Blood.”

After his run writing for the show, he moved to the European film capital of Almeria to work on a screenplay about “The Little Prince” author Antoine de Saint-Exupery and work as an extra in Spanish Western films starring Jack Palance and others.

During his stay in Almeria he was approached by director Sergio Corbucci, best known for his Spaghetti Western films and being a protege of Sergio Leone, to star in a film called “The Three Man War.”

“… It’s was a modern World War II movie where there’s three characters: a German, an Italian an Englishman; and it’s set in the desert of Libya but of course we’ll shoot it here in Spain,” Redmond recalled. “There was an interesting plot about it but there was only three characters in it. One of them was going to be Peter O’Toole, the other was Anthony Quinn and the other third one was going to be me.”

Funding for the film eventually fell through, however, before Redmond learned of that he boarded a plane and headed home to the United States where he got an agent and wrote more screenplays. About a year after he returned to the U.S. he dropped out of the film scene and became an illustrator in San Diego and Los Angeles for 10 years.

In the ‘90s Redmond struck up a friendship with City College professor Hope Shaw, whom he and his wife had met while sailing through Mexico working on various projects. Shaw became a great friend and told Redmond that she wanted to retire and if he would be interested in taking on one of her screenwriting classes.

“I said ‘no way, me teach, you’re crazy’ I mean no way I was going to do that,” Redmond said. “I just thought that was the worst Idea and that woman could talk anyone into anything. She was good; and by God she talked me into it and I finally said ok, I’ll do this one class and I went in there and I realized that this isn’t so bad.”

When Shaw died Redmond was asked to teach both sections of the Introduction to Screenwriting class, where he enjoys talking about films with his students.

“You end up talking about stuff that you should be remembering all the time you know you go back to beginning screenwriting and you start talking to kids about characterizations and how you should structure your film and motivations…’” Redmond said. “…you’re really getting in there, in the nitty gritty of the ‘this doesn’t work and that doesn’t work’ so you’re thinking about film structure all the time.”

RTVF department chair Laura Castaneda has worked with Redmond since she started as a part-timer at City College in 2000.

“It’s such an incredible experience (working with him),” Castaneda said. “He’s such an interesting person with an interesting perspective on life.”

Currently, Redmond has a short film out called “El Camino,” based on a true story about an undocumented woman’s journey through rough terrain to get back to the U.S. after visiting her sick father in Mexico, which he released through his production company Work With Me Films and hopes to make a feature film out of it here in San Diego in the near future.

Originally published in City Times, January 2016.

No laughing matter

How a comic book cover pushed the limit and brought a much needed conversation of art to the forefront

Art is something that is subjective. Not everyone is going to like every piece of literature, music, etc., that is out there. Chances are, if you gave a million people the exact same book, it would be interpreted in a million different ways.

Art in whatever form is a beautiful thing. It can invoke emotions such as sadness, happiness and anger. Just because a few people aren’t a fan of someone’s artwork for whatever reason, that doesn’t mean the artist should take their work down or modify it and censor it in any way, shape or form.

On March 13, comic book artist Rafael Albuquequere tweeted out a link to a variant cover for “Batgirl” #41.

The artwork, inspired by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland’s 1988 iconic graphic novel “The Killing Joke,” shows the Joker’s left arm draped over Batgirl’s shoulder gun in hand while his right arm is pointing at a blood smeared smile painted on Batgirl’s frightened face.

The cover just wasn’t drawn up out of thin air. To really understand the cover, you have to understand the history from which the illustration stems from.

The cover pays homage to one of the most iconic “Batman” graphic novels. In a famous scene from “The Killing Joke,” the Joker terrorizes police commissioner James Gordon by going after his daughter, Barbara, AKA Batgirl. The Joker shows up to the Gordons’ door with his trademark smile and shoots Barbara almost immediately, knocks her father out, ties her up, strips her naked and snaps photos of her. To add insult to injury, the Joker plasters the photos in a sick and twisted tunnel of love ride all while Barbara’s father’s eyes are pried open, forcing him to look at his mutilated daughter.

While this particular scene is up for interpretation, most of the fan base agrees that it is not in the Joker’s character to go as far as raping her. However, there are some fans say otherwise.

Some fans took to their social media network of choice to give some feedback and criticize the cover calling it a “trigger warning.” One person commented that it was a “victim being terrorized by their attacker;” others said it was misogynistic and sexist. Other people such as social commentators and people who haven’t picked up a comic book probably in their life jumped on the bandwagon and called for the cover to be axed.

The whole point of the cover wasn’t to invoke this sense of sexual deviancy. The Joker is this menacing, dark, calculating and intelligent villain whose sole purpose is to a get a rise out of Batman and prove to him that they were both cut from the same dark and twisted cloth. The whole point of humiliating Barbara in the ’88 graphic novel the way that he did was to prove to everyone that all it takes is just one bad day to a common man go completely mad, just like he is. It wasn’t some sick rape fantasy that Joker wanted to broadcast to the world.

Barbara Gordon, on the other hand, became one of the most iconic heroines in comic book history — Oracle. Gordon leaves her Batgirl persona and no longer standing at Robin’s side as Batman’s shadow but becoming Batman’s equal, being his eyes and ears of Gotham City while out on missions. Gordon also becomes one of the founders and leaders of another iconic crime fighting team — the Birds of Prey. She could have been another comic book casualty that fades from existence, but she didn’t. She fought her demons and became an icon.

Writer @JennOfHardwire explains the situation perfectly in her article titled “Strength in Vulnerability: #Feminist Reply to @DCCOMICS Batigirl #41 Ignites #ChangeTheCover.”

“You also have to consider that this event in Barbara Gordon’s past helps to show how strong she is in later comics. She was able to move past this traumatic point in her life which reflects her strength of character,” she writes. “The argument that the cover is misogynistic and sexist because Barbara Gordon is being used as a tool robs her of the strong character development that stems from this traumatic event in her history.”

The fact is, just because a minority group of people felt uncomfortable about the cover doesn’t mean that the cover should have changed, variant or not. We live in a free country where we are allowed to express ourselves any way we see fit. Albuquerque was paying homage to one of the greatest graphics novels out there, and he and DC Comics got dragged through the mud because people wanted to read more into it than was actually there and, for the most part, made something out of nothing.

While this change-or-don’t-change-the-cover issue seems relatively small compared to most issues we have today, it does bring up a necessary conversation. Just because something makes some people uncomfortable doesn’t mean that something needs to cease to exist.

Originally published in City Times, April 2015.

Square Enix drops a game-changer with ‘Kingdom Hearts 2.5 HD Remix’

Oh, nostalgia. So long are the days where controllers had wires extending to the console and games weren’t running in high definition. Sometimes gamers yearn for a little nostalgia every now and then. “Kingdom Heart 2.5 HD Remix” is the perfect remedy for any gamer wanting that feeling without having to dust off the old Playstation 2 and all while taking advantage of the glorious HD consoles we have today.

Square Enix’s final mix of the fan favorite series is the perfect blend of the dark undertones of the “Final Fantasy” universe and the colorful world of Disney — all in pristine high definition with added cut scenes, redone musical scores and brand new boss fights that keep players on their toes.

“Kingdom Hearts 2.5 HD ReMix” is broken up into two games — “Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix” and “Birth by Sleep Final Mix” and exclusive high definition cut scenes from the Nintendo DS game “Kingdom Hearts Re:coded.” The final mix versions of both “Kingdom Hearts 2” and “Birth by Sleep” were never released outside of Japan — until now — and it was the best decision that game director Tetsuya Nomura and the folks at Square Enix ever made.

“Kingdom Hearts 2” has always been a really good roleplaying game (RPG) that has always stood the test of time. “Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix” doesn’t fall short to its predecessor and when played on HD consoles like the PS3 or PS4 enhances the experience.

Taking place one year of years after the events of the first “Kingdom Hearts” game, “Kingdom Hearts 2” sees main characters Sora, Donald and Goofy reunited after Sora awakens from basically a coma. This time around the trio are on a mission to find King Mickey and Sora’s best friend Riku, who, after the events of the first game, are both wandering in the Realm of Darkness.

The twists and turns start right as the player begins the game. Instead of playing as the fan favorite and main character Sora, the player starts out playing as a new character named Roxas. There’s more than meets the eye with Roxas, as everything and everyone is not what they seem. The connection between Roxas and Sora runs deeper than just being able to wield the keyblade, which makes playing through the introduction a very interesting — albeit long — experience.

Traveling from one Disney-themed world to another on Chip n’ Dale’s Gummi Ship, Sora and company reunite with characters such as Beast from “Beauty and the Beast” and a grown-up Simba from “The Lion King” from Disney and Leon and Yuffie from the “Final Fantasy” universe.

The mixture of characters may not look good on paper but the roles each one takes on in their respective worlds give Sora, Donald Duck and Goofy an advantage when fighting off enemies and leveling the characters up.

Fighting off enemies such as the Maleficent-controlled Heartless from the first “Kingdom Hearts” game and the newly introduced Nobodies is child’s play compared to the games main antagonists — the infamous Organization XIII. Made up of 13 incredibly powerful Nobodies, the organization members serve as the boss fights for the different worlds in the game.

During specific boss fights if the player’s health gets down to zero then the player has the chance to play as King Mickey and wield the Kingdom Key D, the keyblade of the Realm of Darkness. This moment is one of the few times that dying in a game can actually give you an advantage.

The reason why “Kingdom Hearts 2” is such a timeless play through is that there is a ton of replay ability opportunities including going and collecting items, leveling up to 99 and challenging optional bosses like the ever menacing sephiroth. The “Final Mix” takes that to the next level, especially with the newly added critical mode, which can test even the most veteran of players.

A really cool bonus for fans of the longtime series is two exclusive HD cut scenes from the highly anticipated “Kingdom Hearts 3,” rumored to be released next year.

With the count down to “Kingdom Hearts 3” already in full force, gamers can get both their nostalgic and “Kingdom Hearts” fix by turning on the Playstation and playing through “Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix.” After all, a little nostalgia every now and then never hurt anybody.

Originally published in City Times, December 2014.

Punk’s not dead, it just went pop

Pop punk is a genre that is guaranteed to ruffle some feathers. Some consider it a poser genre that gives “real” punk music a bad name and others see it as the essence and attitude of classic punk rock wrapped up in a nice radio-friendly package. Instead of fighting over it let’s just all sit back and enjoy the music. Here are some of my favorites:

1. New Found Glory – “Radiosurgery”

These guys are pop punk royalty; to have any pop punk playlist without them would be committing musical blasphemy. The challenge with this one was picking a song out of their massive library for this list. “Radiosurgery” is off of their latest album of the same name and has all the elements of an old school NFG song while also giving a nod to their hardcore roots. All in all, this is a near perfect pop punk song. “Radiosurgery” is going on two years old but the Orlando five-piece just released a new song and is planning on heading into the studio next year to record an album. In the mean time, you can check out all of their songs on iTunes.

2. Bayside –“Oliver’s Army”

Bayside is not really considered a pop punk band but its cover of Elvis Costello and the Attractions’ classic song is a perfect example of a pop punk cover done right. In fact, the band’s latest album, “Killing Time,” walks a fine line between both pop punk and the straight up aggressive alternative that it’s known for. Anthony Raneri’s killer vocals combined with the bands slightly up-tempo take on the song take this cover to the next level. In fact, the EP that this song is on is full of cover songs that Bayside has taken to the next level. You can get all of Bayside’s music on iTunes.

3. Knuckle Puck –“Stateside”

Pop punk bands seem to be popping up everywhere these days and most of them pretty much suck. Knuckle Puck, on the other hand, has proven to be one of the most talented bands of any genre that I’ve listened to in a while. “Stateside” is just one of the songs off of their stellar new EP “The Weight That You Buried.” The Chicago four-piece takes pop punk to the next level with their emotionally charged lyrics and aggressive in-your-face melodies. If you’re a fan of bands like The Story So Far then Knuckle Puck will have a place in your iTunes library. You can get all of their music on the band’s Bandcamp page: KnucklePuck.Bandcamp.com.

4. All Time Low –“Somewhere in Neverland”

All Time Low is one of the more popular and “mainstream” pop punk bands out today. Everyone listens to them, which could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how you look at it. “Somewhere in Neverland” is off of the band’s latest release “Don’t Panic” and addresses themes that everyone can relate to: growing up and taking responsibility; all while under the guise of a classic alt love song. Plus, the fact that the song refers to one of the most beloved Disney movies isn’t bad either. You can get this song, along with the entire album on iTunes.

5. Man Overboard –“Where I Left You”

This song is one of the more mellow tracks on this list but don’t let that make you think that Man Overboard is a laid-back sounding band. In fact, if I had to compare them to anything it would be a mixture of old school blink-182, circa the late 1990s/early 2000s and New Found Glory a la “Not Without a Fight.” “Where I Left You” is one of the best songs on the band’s latest album “Heart Attack.” The semi-heavy pop punk sound and really catchy lyrics make for enjoyable listening experience. You can get their music on iTunes and catch them out on tour, with a stop in San Diego on Nov. 15 at the House of Blues.

Originally published in City Times, October 2013.

The 1975’s debut album is what pop music should be

After 11 years and four EPs, The 1975 finally released their long awaited self-titled debut album and it was worth every second of the wait.

The 1975 have been gaining rapid momentum since the release of their first EP “Facedown” in August 2012. Three other EP releases quickly followed titled “Sex,” “Music for Cars” and “IV” respectively. The EPs, while amazing in their own right, provided somewhat of a warning for what their debut album would be like: loud, eclectic and unlike anything you’ve ever heard.

The music on the album is all over the place, jumping from atmospheric experimental tracks like “Talk!” to more straightforward pop tracks like “Girls.” This is all thanks to the bands self-identified “lack of identity.”

Lack of identity has often led to really bad albums but in this case however, it works beautifully. It’s obvious that the band has listened to a lot of music over their 11-years together and that they have learned from it.

Then there are songs like the mellow “Menswear” and the stripped down “Is There Somebody That Can Watch You” that serve as nice breaks from the in your face alt-pop music that permeates through the entire album.

Lyrically, the album could be the poster child for youthful angst. The band provides a witty and catchy commentary that deals with topics such as sex, drugs, love and experimentation. This album touches on so many levels of young adulthood that it could easily have been the soundtrack to your formative years.

The flaws in this album, while albeit minor, are still there. The only thing I didn’t really like was that in “Talk!” the guitar sounds looped and the bass almost gets completely drowned out by the drums during the verses.

All in all, The 1975 have proven that their debut album not only transcends genres but also proves to be that breath of fresh air that music today needs. These are the kind of songs that deserve to be played on the radio and obtain the number one spot on top of the charts.

Other artists should take note because this is what a pop album should be. It should pay homage to the genres that influenced the band but at the same time should stay true to their own style and identity, or lack thereof, in The 1975’s case.

Highlights include the re-recording of the song “Sex,” the two previous EP singles “Chocolate” and “This City,” the intricate and vocally hypnotizing “Robbers,” the experimental “Heart Out” and the two most straightforward pop songs “Settle Down” and “Girls.”

The 1975’s debut album is out now and available on iTunes.

Originally published in City Times, September 2013.

‘Great Gatsby’ soundtrack brings a modern twist to the 1920’s

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year then you should know about Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel “The Great Gatsby.” The film has been out in theaters for about two weeks and has been getting mixed reviews. The soundtrack, however? I guarantee it’s one of the best film soundtracks you will hear this year.

Development for “The Great Gatsby” had been going on for years. The idea of turning it into a Broadway play had even been tossed around, and in 2008 it was confirmed that Baz Luhrmann would be taking over as director. However, when it came to the soundtrack Luhrmann turned to his go-to composer Craig Armstrong and executive music supervisor Anton Monsted. Jay Z signed on as the co-executive producer and spent two years working with Luhrmann and his team to put out one of the best soundtracks that has been used in a Baz Luhrmann film.

The soundtrack as a whole is amazing. The producers managed to address the themes of decadence, love and excess that are in the story. Musically, the album is all over the place. It’s the music of the roaring 20’s with a modern twist. Elements of hip-hop, rock, electronic dance music; jazz and swing are blended together in a way that doesn’t make it sound cheesy or forced together.

One standout track on the album is “Young and Beautiful” by Lana Del Rey. Her vocals are haunting and emotional. The music has a somber sound to it that matches certain scenes in the film perfectly. Another thing that I liked about this song was that the instrumentation was simple and how the instruments were layered in the song. Overall, this song was a perfect fit for the film and one of the best songs on the soundtrack.

I’ll admit “Young and Beautiful” surprised me because I’m not a big Lana Del Rey fan. I thought that her last two releases were boring and frankly, her whole “daddy, hold me, pale, moonlight, Pepsi cola” thing didn’t really reel me in. However, if her next release is anything like “Young and Beautiful” then she will definitely have a place in my iTunes library.

Another standout track is “Over the Love” by Florence + the Machine. This song was written from the perspective of Daisy Buchanan, Jay Gatsby’s longtime crush. There are also mentions of certain things in the novel like the green light that appears on a dock outside of Daisy’s house and the yellow dress she wears. Musically, this song is a baroque pop ballad with hints of soul, which matches Florence Welch’s voice perfectly. The vocals on this song are powerful and emotional. The lyrics were beautifully written and really capture Daisy’s struggle between Gatsby and her husband, Tom. This song was a hit overall and one of the best songs on the soundtrack.

But of course, with the good always come the bad and this soundtrack only really had one thing that was wrong with it. That thing is the Andre 3000 and Beyoncé cover of Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black.” This cover is just wrong on almost all levels. It is hands down the worst song on the album and the worst song that Beyoncé has ever been a part of.

“Back to Black” doesn’t need a down tempo EDM wobble, chopped and screwed beats, and weird vocal arrangements. I understand that they wanted this song to be emotional and reimagine it in a unique way but it just did not work in their favor. Instead, they turned one of Amy Winehouse’s best songs into a pile of emotionless EDM crap.

All the producers would have needed to do was slow down the tempo, slightly rearrange the music and let Beyoncé do her thing without Andre 3000. I can almost guarantee that if the producers did that they would have had one of the best songs on the soundtrack and not have the travesty that is on millions of iPods across the country.

All that being said, this was an excellent soundtrack. Baz Luhrmann has an awesome gift of picking out songs that perfectly fit his movies. Just like the songs from his “Romeo + Juliet” and “Moulin Rouge!” soundtracks, the songs on “The Great Gatsby” soundtrack perfectly enhances the story rather than take away from it. If you were to get any soundtrack from the summer movie season, then I highly recommend this one. You won’t be disappointed.

For even more tracks, check out the deluxe version of the soundtrack which includes an orchestral version of “Young and Beautiful,” a remix of “Over the Love” by SBTRKT and dialogue from the film; including one of Tobey Maguire reciting his lines over a brilliant instrumental.

“The Great Gatsby” is in theaters everywhere and the standard and deluxe versions of the soundtrack are available on iTunes.

Originally published in City Times, May 2013.

Justin Timberlake’s ’20/20 Experience’: Not worth the seven-year wait

After seven long years away from the music industry Justin Timberlake decided it was time to hang up his actors’ hat, slip on a tuxedo and get back in the studio with his longtime collaborators and some new ones, to give us his long awaited new album. Sounds like a recipe for an amazing album right? Well, think again.

In early 2013 Timberlake hinted at a comeback on his Twitter account by releasing a tweet that said “I think I’M READY,” along with a link to a YouTube video of him walking into a studio explaining why he hasn’t released anything in so long. In the video he said that he didn’t want to release anything that he doesn’t love. After months of recording, “The 20/20 Experience” was finally released on March 18. For his newest album, Timberlake took on the role of executive producer and head songwriter.

The main problem I have with the album is that some of the music tracks sounds like a complete rehash of Timbaland’s other work. At times it could feel like your listening to “FutureSex/LoveSounds” or “Shock Value II” rather then Timberlake’s newest release. On top of that, some of the songs, like “Spaceship Coupe,” easily sound like they could be a Robin Thicke song.

Then there are the lyrics. Timberlake is a pretty good songwriter that is responsible for some of the catchiest hooks in pop music. However, some of the lyrics are corny and border on literary porn. The most blatant use of these types of lyrics is the song “Strawberry Bubblegum,” which appears to be a metaphor of some kind for a woman’s vagina. In the song, Timberlake sings the lines “your mouth emotion gets me so high” and “we’re making love like professionals.” Wait a minute: professionals? What does that even mean? No passion with a contractual agreement? No one would want to be apart of that, no matter who was singing it.

Another thing that I didn’t initially like was that most of the songs are extended mixes that are seven to eight minutes long. The perfect example of this is the opening track “Pusher Love Girl.” That song could have ended at the 4-minute fifty-four second mark and be a really strong opener but then the song goes into this remix like breakdown. This however, is a very minor flaw that listeners will get use to after listening to the album a lot.

All those cons being said, this is actually a decent album. It’s not Timberlake’s best release, but it’s far from his worst. The one thing that I absolutely love about this album is that it’s not a straightforward pop album. As soon as I heard of his comeback I thought he was going for a pop sound, like many people did. I was wrong and this was one instance where I’m glad I was. There are influences from all across the musical spectrum. The mixture of old school ‘60s R&B;, ‘70s funk, neo-soul, hip-hop, jazz, pop and much more make this album worth listening to. The album stays away from any of the cliché dubstep bass lines and other EDM musical styles, which is a nice change up since that seems to be the norm for pop artists today. There are also a lot of artistic influences on the album as well, such as Prince, Quincy Jones, and Michael Jackson. The flow on this album is another thing that I liked. It makes going from one track to another almost seamless, even with the typical four-second gap time. His voice is also a major plus. Each song compliments his tenor voice almost perfectly, which makes for pretty sweet ear candy.

Highlights include the first single “Suit & Tie,” the high energy Timbaland produced “Tunnel Vision,” the raw soulful throwback “That Girl,” the Latin influenced track “Let the Groove In,” the minimalist track “Blue Ocean Floor,” and the sweet shout out to his wife “Mirrors.” The worst track on the album has to be “Don’t Hold the Wall.”

Even with its flaws “The 20/20 Experience” has a more mature and grown-up sound then Timberlake’s previous releases, manages to stay true to his artistic aesthetic and makes for an interesting listening experience that his longtime fans will love.

“The 20/20 Experience” is available in stores and on iTunes.

Originally published in City Times, April 2013.