Kanye Kanye Kanye

You know, upon first listening to the song Love Lockdown off of Kanye West's new CD "808s and Heartbreak" I was kind of wary about his new CD. But after giving my full attention to this CD, I must say that is was well worth the listen, and even more so the purchase.

If I haven't said it before I'm a huge Kanye fan, but even being so, this new approach that Kanye is taking in his muscial career had me a bit puzzeled. This CD, according to Kanye, and the album itself, is about Heartbreak, of course, with the recent break up of him and his fiancee Alexis Phifer.

West has stated that he doesnt't care about album sales or critiques, but it's just an album straight from his soul.

With West's intricate use of the 808 drum machine (after which the album is also aptly titled) and the Auto-Tune pitch corrector technology.

West's has personally stated that he loves the machine and uses it on every song on "808s and Heartbreak". West sings a lot on the album, and uses this device, which most people will know from songs by T-Pain, to correct his pitch and give his voice an electronic sound.

So far critiques of the album are either very good or very bad. The Washington Post said that the album is an "information age masterpiece. While on the other hand The New York Times said that West "can't sing, and this is how the album will be ultimately remembered."

I beg to differ, Kanye West can sing on this album, if only from the use of the Auto-Tuner. Almost every song on this album attracts me in some way but particularly the songs Heartless, Amazing (ft. Young Jeezy), See you in my nightmares, and Coldest Winter.

This album, which I think everyone should listen to at least once, is filled with emotion, and even though some people may say that Kanye is emo, I don't see anything wrong with that.

At the very least, Kanye West is going to do exactly what he wants to do, whenever he wants to do it, and fortunately for all of us, that always seems to work out for the best.

(The image above was acquired from Kanye West's blog, and the video below was acquired from Yahoo's Launch.)

VG4: Gears of War 2

Xbox 360 exclusive series Gears of War returned to the scene on Nov. 7 with the release of new game Gears of War 2. Continuing the story six months after the events of the first original.

The story still follows Delta Squad members Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago on their mission to win the war against the subterranean monsters known as the Horde.

The only plot details I really is that the locusts are now sinking major cities on this games planet, known as Sera. So instead of waiting on the locusts to wipe them all out from underneath, Delta Squad and the rest of humanity are taking the fight underground, into the locusts hive.

That's about all I know of the story, I haven't been able to play through much of it, but what I have played through is awe inspiring.

The games graphics are amazing, using the Unreal engine to its advantages to show massive lifelike explosions in the distance or gruesome duel with your chainsaw mounted machine gun that ends in a bloody body explosion.

The games multiplayer is also fantastic (even though I suck at it). The game features 5 v 5 games with different types such as a standard slayer event called warzone, and a great twist on capture the flag where either team has to subdue a rather feisty civilian in the middle of the map and carry him back to the base.

Whether you are playing the game first hand or just someone who like good stories, Gears of War 2 is for you. I seriously believe I could watch someone playing the game and receive just as much enjoyment out of it as I do from playing it.

That does it for this VG entry, stay tuned for my next and possible final entry: Left 4 Dead.

Below is a trailer for Gears of War 2, now keep in mind that these are actual in-game graphics, impressive isn't it? (Acquired from Youtube.com)

VG3: Tom Clancy's Endwar

Tom Clancy has a long history of tactical military video games. Splinter Cell, Rainbow Six, and Ghost Recon being the mainstream video games that most people know about. 

With the release of EndWar, the Tom Clancy video games break into new tactics as they venture into the world of real-time tactics.

Unlike a real-time strategy game, a tactics game is one in which a commander is in control of a real-time battlefield and has to control the simulation of the battle that is going on in the game.

EndWar features voice commands to control the troops, and this feature has been highly praised by reviewers. 

Most of the problems with the game stem from a very "Uninspiring single player campaign," as review website IGN puts it. 

The games massively multiplayer online mode, Theatre of War, however, has received positive reactions. 

I for one, will most likely rent this game to try it out, and I propose that you do the same. For me, Gears of War 2 and Left 4 Dead are on the horizon, so I have to save money for those, and for next time, stay tuned for VG4: Gears of War 2.

VG2: Little Big Planet

Little Big Planet has been talked about for sometime. It is, as my friend put it, "the Mario for Playstation ," and I guess I really can't argue with him. 

Little Big Planet is a puzzle platformer for Playstation 3, and for those of you who don't know what a platformer is, allow me to explain really quickly. A platformer is a game that is characterized by a character jumping to and from suspended and/or moving platforms from one side of a level to another in order to complete the game (Mario maybe?). 

The one thing I noticed about this game are the unbelievable graphics and physics engine. The little sand bag character that you use during the game flops around like he is really being hit, and it looks so funny and cool. The game is typical of a platformer in that it scrolls from side to side. This game is not fully 3d because it only allows you to go from side to side and to three different "depth" levels within the game (Front, middle, and back).

The big thing about this game, considering the story mode can be completed in less than 10 hours, are the world creation options. Little Big Planet allows each and every player to customize their own unique levels, using all sorts of tools and lighting effects to achieve whatever look they would like.

The games creation system is very realistic and physics based. The game features objects that move, and to make a car or some other type of object, the physics have to be perfect, or the object will not act like you want it too.

Creating the levels is not the end though. After creation the levels can be uploaded over Sony's online service and shared with all the other people in the world who own Little Big Planet.

Little Big Planet was recalled before its initial release due to a song that was featured in the game that contained lines from the Qur'an.

Little Big Planet has received very positive reviews from critics and will most likely not be the only game in this series.

Stay tuned, for the next game in the VG series, Tom Clancy's Endwar.

Below is a video review obtained from http://www.gamespot.com.

Christian Metal: Oxymoronic?

Just like the seasons, my music tastes tend to go in cycles. During the spring and the fall I like to jam out to a little classic rock via Led Zeppelin, and during the summer I like to jam to a little Kanye West and some hip-hop, but it is during the winter months I love to listen to metal.

Recently released album, Dreamer, by Christian Metalcore band Haste the Day has got my attention for this winter, and the gettin' is good. Most people don't look at Christianity and immediately think Metallica or the ironically named metal group Lamb of God, but a majority of bands are breaking into this genre of "Christian Metal."

Haste the Day, Norma Jean and As I Lay Dying are just a few of the many bands in this genre. These bands are reaching out to a niche of people that was previously left untapped by the metal market, and kudos to them.

But back to just the metal aspect. Dreamer, by Haste the Day, is a good album, I'm not going to say it is the pinnacle of metal or anything, but it has been keeping my attention for the past week, (It was released a week ago). My favorite track from this album is "Invoke Reform."

So now that I am back in the groove of metal, I had to find more albums, and in my search I did find an excellent metal album that I recommend everyone should check out, and just a disclaimer, this is not a Christian album.

All That Remains' Overcome was released over a month ago, so I know I'm pretty late getting to it, but better late than ever. This album has a great mesh of heavy and light metal that I crave. Being a former piano player, I was taught that the differences between sound volumes in a song allow people to tell the really good parts from the ones that are just leading up to those parts, and this album features that heavily.

The album has great guitar solos and melodic rhythms that have other commuters on the highway wondering why my head is jerking in such a weird manner. The best track on this album, to me, is "A Song for the Hopeless," and is worth a download for any yearning metal fan out there.

VG1: Fallout 3

The last major game released by Bethesda Softworks was The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and that game, released for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, went on to win several game of the year awards in 2004.

Four years later Bethesda is being talked about again as their highly anticipated action role-playing game Fallout 3 will hit shelves on the 28th. Its preview at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, as most people know it, garnered several awards that mostly consisted of "Best of Show". The game took home both Gamespot and IGN's "Best Of" awards.

Fallout 3 takes place in a post-apocalyptic United States in the year 2277. Your character will be assembled from the ground up through the use of several different in game mechanics (ie. as a child you will receive a "You're Special Book" that will let you determine your skill set). After creating your character, you are put into the story of the game.

The story goes as follows: Your (characters) father, voiced by Liam Neeson, wanders out of Vault 101, which is a nuclear fallout shelter that serves Washington D.C., into the vass wasteland that was previously the US. Your job as this character, is to find your father, and meet several different organizations and other interesting characters throughout the course of the game.

This game, which will be released for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC, is the first game in the Fallout game in the series NOT to be released exclusively for a PC. I am not going to say check this one out or anything like that, because any game I talk about in this list is worth checking out and from this point on, will just be implied! Make sure you check out the feature video I included below (acquired from YouTube).

(Next up....... PS3 exclusive, Little Big Planet)

Fall Video Game Lineup Special

Continuing on with the "Year of the Video Game" theme, I will be releasing a feature about an upcoming or recently released video game every other day for the next two weeks or so, (Other features will be included, but this is one you can count on). No video game will be featured today, because I need time to gather information, but starting tomorrow, with Fallout 3, the features will keep-a-flowing. Hopefully you'll enjoy reading this as much as I will enjoy doing the information, so be ready tomorrow, when the first feature hits.