Muse - Drones review

9/10

Muse: Drones album artwork

After what has seemed like the longest three months of my life, Muse have finally released their long awaited seventh studio album, Drones.

The follow up to 2012’s The 2^nd Law, Drones takes the English trio back to an older style, which many fans have been expecting since the release of Black Holes and Revelations in 2006.

Drones is the first proper concept album the band have made. The closest they have come to it before being the three part Exogenesis Symphony at the end of their fifth album The Resistance.

As you may have guessed from the title of the album, it explores the concept of drone warfare and the use of technology in war. However, it also explores the concept of a human being as a drone – someone who can be manipulated and controlled by a higher power.

'Drill Sergeant' and 'Psycho' really hammer these points home. A drill sergeant can be heard shouting “Are you a human drone?” and “Are you a killing machine?” during Psycho, which has a strong riff which the band have been using live for over 15 years.

Songs such as ‘Psycho’, ‘The Handler’ and ‘Reapers’ take Muse back to a heavier and older sound that was described by Matt Bellamy before they started making them album. These three songs have strong riffs and really show the bands ability to strip everything back and create a three-piece sound, with Reapers containing one of the most intricate and impressive guitar parts Bellamy has ever written.

The second half of the album sounds different from the first, with songs such as 'Revolt' being a little more pop like than previous songs. The second half also takes a less stripped back approach to the first, with songs such as ‘The Globalist’ and ‘Aftermath’ using extra parts such as orchestras.

Influences from fellow British band Queen can be heard strongly in songs like ‘Defector’, which has a strong riff and features Matt Bellamy’s falsetto voice frequently.

Despite the second half of the album not being what I expected, I still really like it. It shows how the band are still willing to experiment and change despite some peoples dislike of their previous two albums.

Muse: Drones Deluxe Edition, including: Double Vinyl, CD, DVD and two exclusive artwork prints

I think it’s only fair to give the last word to ten minute long epic ‘The Globalist’. Billed by the band as the sequel to Origin of Symmetry classic ‘Citizen Erased’, the song is a ten-minute epic about the protagonist from the story destroying the world with a nuclear weapon.

The song takes inspiration from so many different such as classical music and this creates a really well rounded song, which showcases the many talents of the band. With one of the heaviest riffs Matt Bellamy has ever played, the song really picks up pace for a frantic middle section, and then slows down again for a calm and strong ending to one of the most impressive the three piece have written to date.   

Some will see Drones as a return of form for Muse after they’re experimentation on The Resistance and The 2^nd Law. However for me, Drones is a continuation of a staggering form that they have continued across all of their albums.

Muse: Psycho review

Teignmouth trio Muse have finally put their fans out of their misery and have released the first single of their upcoming album 'Drones'.

The British rockers have been releasing teasers of the new album on social media over the past couple of months, giving fans a taste of what to expect from their seventh studio album.

At the base of the new song 'Psycho' is a riff that the band have been playing live for over 15 years, and has actually been given it's own name by the fans themselves!

The song really shows the back to basics nature that Matt Bellamy has used to described the style of the forthcoming album. The riff is an incredibly strong one, taking fans back to their earlier albums in a powerful blast of guitar. With some interesting lyrics over the top, 'Psycho' never slows up and keeps fan on their toes throughout!

The lyrics show the fact that Matt Bellamy is still into his conspiracy theories, with lines such as "I'll make you into a super drone, and you will kill on my command" showing the concept album nature of 'Drones'.

It seems fitting that the band should bring out such a strong song in the year of their 20th anniversary, as it really showcases their intention to keep pushing the boundaries of what they can do.
   

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted review

So our favourite group of four animals are back for their third adventure, still attempting to get back to their beloved Central Park Zoo home in New York. However they have a problem. The penguins have run off to Monte Carlo with the plane they have built - the only way that Alex, Marty, Melman and Gloria would be able to leave Africa and return home!

So Alex, Marty, Melman and Gloria then embark on a journey to Monte Carlo, to chase after the penguins and get a ride hone on their plane. While in Monte Carlo they run into a few difficulties while finding the penguins but they finally find a solution to their goal of getting home to New York, or so they think.....

I would give Madagascar 3/5 and worth seeing for any lover of Alex, Marty, Melman and Gloria and also any fan of animated comedy.
Let me know your views in the comments below.

I have been strudders and I hope you have found this review useful and I hope to update you on more media news and reviews soon.

(Picture taken from http://www.movieposterdb.com/poster/35347856)

MUSE: The 2nd Law review

So on October 1^st MUSE’s 6^th studio album The 2nd Law came out and as a big MUSE fan I was very excited to hear what they had to offer. During the summer they released 3 singles from The 2^nd Law – Madness, The 2nd Law: Unsustainable and the official London 2012 song Survival.

Now these three songs are all very different from each other which made me and a lot of other people question what genre the album would be and to be honest it’s a mix of genres.

Songs like Madness, The 2nd Law Unsustainable and Follow Me are dubstep and others are rock which I think is good as it shows that MUSE are changing but are still appealing to many audiences and personally I like this change and hope they carry on with it and carry on with the mix of genres.

As they did in their 5^th studio album The Resistance with the Exogenesis Symphonies, MUSE have put two mainly instrumental songs at the end of The 2^nd law with The 2^nd Law: Unsustainable and The 2^nd Law: Isolated System. These two songs are quite different from each other as Unsustainable is dubstep and Isolated System is electronic. These songs also give us why the album is called The 2^nd Law – it is to do with the 2^nd law of thermodynamics which can be heard being described by the the voiceover in Unsustainable and Isolated System. Also the object on the album cover is a scan of bran activity and is very colourful and similar to the cover of their 5^th studio album The Resistance.

Again MUSE have bought out an album which has redefined themselves again and and they now encompass many genres and as a massive MUSE fan I like this new direction that they are going in.  

Let me know what you think, what your favourite songs are and your views below.

I have been strudders and I hope you have found this review useful and I hope to update you with media news and reviews soon.

The Dark Knight Rises Review

The Dark Knight Rises is one of the most eagerly anticipated films of this summer and it finally landed in cinemas yesterday.
I went to see it yesterday evening and I was not disappointed.

The Dark Knight Rises starts by introducing a new villain, Bane played by Tom Hardy. Bruce Wayne has become a recluse, staying in his mansion and Batman has not been seen in the city for years. As the film progresses Bane slowly breaks through Gotham City's defences and tries to start a revolution that could bring Gotham to it's knees. It transpires that Bane and Batman have a common past and Bane's actions are a real test to see if Batman can rise and if he does still exist. The introduction of Catwoman played by Anne Hathaway into the mix adds more twists and turns into the plot which are unexpected and interesting.  

After a few dastardly acts by Bane, Wayne finds it harder than ever  to resurrect Batman and rise again as he has to save himself and above all save Gotham City. The films follows Bruce's and the community of Gotham's  struggle against a new evil.  


I would give The Dark Knight  Rises 5 out of 5 and a must see for any superhero movie fan or any action fan.

The shootings in Colorado have shocked the world and reignites the debate about whether violence on screen  engenders violence in society.  

Let me know your views below.
I have been strudders and I hope you have found this review useful a and I hope to update you with media news and reviews soon.
       

The Dictator review

Having heard so much about Bruno and Borat from my friends I knew that I had to go and see The Dictator to get a taste of Sacha Baren Cohen's types of films.


The Dictator is about Admiral General Hafez Aladeen who is the dictator of the Republic of Wadiya which is set in North Africa. The film tells the story of Aladeen's reign and the mischief that he gets up to during his reign over Wadiya. One of these problems then becomes is that Aladeen is building nuclear weapons in Wadiya and because of this he has to travel to America to address the United Natoins security council.

As events unfold in America Aladeen finds himself having to do many things that he would not normally do which makes for some hilarious moments throughout the film which you will remember long after seeing the film.

With many hilarious moments in the film I would give this a 5/5 and a must see for comedy fans.

I have been strudders and I hope you have found this review useful and I hope to update you with media news and reviews soon.

Dark Shadows review

With Dark Shadows having a very strong cast of Johhny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Eva Green and Helena Bonham Carter it gives you high expectations and i'm glad to say it doesn't disappoint.


The film tells the story of a vampire called Barnabas Collins played by Johnny Depp who has been freed from being trapped in a coffin for two hundred years and of his return to his ancestral home to find his relatives living in the 1970's. However Collins doesn't realise how much time has gone by since he has been trapped in the coffin which therefore leads to a few problems with his judgement of situations. 
With a few twists and turns in the plot along the way Collinns suddenly finds himself having to do whatever he can to protect his secret of being a vampire and to protect his ancestors business from an arch enemy of his.    


Dark Shadow's is a parody if all of the famous and popular horror and vampire films and this adds to the comedy of the already quite funny situations and comments made. 


I would give Dark Shadows 4/5 and a must see for any horror or vampire fans. 


I have been strudders and I hope you have found this review useful and I hope to update you with media news and reviews soon.

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol review

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol is the 4th Mission Impossible film in the  popular series. It starts with main character Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) being sprung from a Russian prison and offered a top secret assignment - which of course he chooses to accept!

Russian nuclear missile launch codes have been taken from a fellow agent in a failed mission and Hunt and his team have to recover them before they can be used in a act of nuclear war against America. You can expect the usual high octane action car chases, shoot outs and hand to hand combat.

Simon Pegg appears as an agent on his debut field mission and adds much humour to the film. There are some amazing stunts done by Cruise himself. 

Any more will give the plot away but it looks as though there will be a Mission Impossible 5.

I give it 4/5 stars and a must see for any action film fan.

I have been strudders and I hope you have found this review useful and I hope to update you with media news and reviews soon 

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 review

Modern Warfare 3 has been out for some months now and  I'm strudders and i'm back to give you a taster of it and give you the good and the bad about a game that I know I have been incredibly excited to get.

Now for most people the Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer is the most important part of the game so I shall review that first.


Now I think the multiplayer is AMAZING!!


First of all there is a new weapons system. When you gets kills with a weapon that gets you XP and that XP goes towards the rank of your weapon. The higher ranked your weapon is, the more attachments you get for your weapon and this includes a new perk for each weapon. To find out what this entails you will have to pick up the game yourself!!  

With the new introduction of 'Point Streaks' it means that the less skilled players (like me)

can still earn rewards like 'UAV's', 'AC 130's' and 'Predator Missiles'. This is because your 'Point Steak' does not reset when you die if you choose the Support strike package (more on that later.) Also say if you capture a flag in 'Domination' or plant a bomb in 'Demolition' this counts towards your 'Points Streak' because you are rewarded for not only your kills, but your objective gameplay as well. 

In Modern Warfare 3 players get these 'Point Streak' rewards from 'Strike Packages'.

There are 3 types of 'Strike Packages' which are:

Assult

Support

Specialist 

Depending on which type you choose depends on what 'Point Streaks' are available for that class

What is great about these 'Strike Packages' is that you have strike package for each of your classes!! So you can tailor your 'Point Streak' rewards to what weapons you use on your classes.

Personally I think that this is a great idea as I always forget to change my killstreak rewards on other Call Of Duty games when I play different game modes.

The multiplayer has also been refreshed by the introduction of 2 new game modes: 'Kill confirmed' and 'Team Defender'. 'Kill Confirmed' is a game of 'Team Deathmatch' with a twist. you will have to play the game to find out what this big twist is!! 

'Team Defender' is also a game of 'Capture The Flag' with a twist as well so you will have to pick up the game to investigate the twist!!

From what I have played of the campaign so far, the action is intense and as engaging as ever using some of the most famous loactions around the world and plunging them into high octane action and fire fights which will keep you wondering what's around the corner.

And now for the 'Spec Ops' part of Modern Warfare 3.

There are 16 all new fun timed missions to do solo or with a friend to test your combat skills.
 The most interesting edition of 'Spec Ops' in Modern Warfare 3 is 'Survival Mode'. This is the a similar idea to the Nazi Zombies mode that  Treyarch created. I am a big fan of this mode and it adds another so much more to Modern Warfare 3.


All in all in my opinion Modern Warfare 3 is a great game and a must have for any FPS ad Call Of Duty fan.



Thanks for reading this review of Modern Warfare 3 and I hope I have helped you in your decision whether to pick it up or not and I hope to update you soon on media news and reviews
Strudders

Johnny English Reborn: Born again or born to fail? (again)

Following the massive success of the first Johny English film, the second installment with Rowan Atkinson reprising his role as the trouble prone spy Johnny English has come to the Box Office.

English is recalled by MI7 from years of exile after a mission in Mozambique, to undertake a mission which MI7 believe he can only do. This mission takes English on a captivating and interesting set of locations, from the Kowloon to the Alps with the usual mishaps and mistakes a long the way and with the usual array of gadgets at his disposal.

I rate it 4/5 stars and in my opinion it is better than the first one.

Thanks for reading this review of Johnny English Reborn and I hope to update you soon on any media news and reviews
Strudders

FIFA 12 review

The day that all football fans and gamers have been waiting for has arrived. FIFA 12 came out on friday and I am here to tell you the good and the bad about the game.

FIFA 12 is a big step forward for the FIFA franchise with the new player impact engine, new defensive controls and a whole new online mode called Support Your Club.


One of the notable changes in FIFA 12 is the new quick throw system. Basically instead of having a cut scene how how the ball went out of play, now you can take the throw straight away if you players are ready. This adds to the realism because having a cut scene is really just wasting playing time.


The graphics in FIFA 12 are also brilliant. The players and the stadium look stunning and it really does feel like you are a part of the action on the pitch.


As always FIFA 12 is full of game modes such as Kick Off, Tournament mode and Several Manager modes as well as the Be A Pro mode. As always in the FIFA games the modes are very slick with very good looking and easy to use menus.    


The new precision dribbling means that you have even more control over the ball and adds to the total realism of the game.

  

The new tactical defending controls mean that you have off the ball control of players. If the player holds R1 for PS3 and RB for Xbox 360 then another player comes and also helps pressure the opposing player that you are trying to tackle. The advantages of this are that you can hold R1 or RB for a team mate to  tackle the opposing player while you run into a good position. However it can mean that you let the opponent through on goal because it called the last man in the defence.

Now for the most important new feature of FIFA 12. The Player Impact Engine. This has been in development for 2 years by EA and this is how EA aim to make FIFA 12 the most realistic football simulator on the market. And im glad to say that the 2 years have payed off big time. It has made it a whole more realistic and it feels like you really are in control of a player on the pitch. It also makes the injuries that the players suffer a lot more realistic. However it will take a bit of time to get used to the new physics of the game but then that is always the case with a new game with big changes. 

And now for the online part of FIFA 12. The newest edition to the online is Support Your Club. This is a mode which you can influence while you are playing both online and offline. First of all you have to choose which club you want to represent. There is an XP system where you earn XP while playing offline or online for whatever club which goes towards the club you have chosen to support XP count. 
The leagues last for a week and the club with the highest average XP which each individual has contributed to their club wins the league and teams get promoted and relegated like normal football leagues.


So just to clear up. For example say that someone chooses to support Liverpool in Support Your Club. Everything tht player does on FIFA 12 is contributing to Liverpool's total XP online in the league that they are in.




All in all FIFA 12 is an excellent game and, in my opinion is the best football is simulator out there.


Thanks for reading this review of FIFA 12 and I hope to update you soon on media news and reviews
Strudders 


(All pictures are accredited to EA Sports)

Amazon reveals Kindle Fire tablet and new Kindles on US website

There are many companies out there who have entered the fray of competing to produce the best tablet around and rival the biggest one of all, the iPad 2. Now the biggest online retail company in the world, Amazon has joined the fray.


Pre-orders are now available on the US Amazon website from and first things first its cheap at $199 which is a very competitive price. The battery life has been said as 8 hours if you are reading continuously and 7.5 hours of video play back.
Its memory is 8 GB which is decent but I think Amazon will have to release models with higher memory like 16GB to be able compete with the likes of the iPad 2. It's weight is 14.6 ounces which is 413 grams. The screen size is 7" and is made of Gorilla glass. This is a great thing because it means that a Kindle Fire screen will not be scratched by objects like keys. It also has a 3.5mm headphone jack which is standard on tablets these days. It connectivity is Wifi and it also has USB 2.0.

Amazon have also released the details of their new increasingly popular Kindle range, with 3 new models.


The first is the new version of the Kindle. It is 30% lighter than the 1st generation Kindle and has an 18% smaller body but still keeps the 6" screen size and also retains the turn page buttons. It is also at a very decent price to pre order at $79 with a special offer.









The second is the Kindle Touch. As the name suggests Amazon has again got rid of the keyboard and now it has a 6" touch screen. It also has Wifi and there is another version called the Kindle Touch 3G which, as you have probably guessed, has 3G.







Thanks for reading and I hope I can help you update you on media news soon.




All photos credited to amazon.com

Modern Warfare 3: Spec Ops survival mode trailer

Since Modern Wafare 2's release on the 10th November 2009 it is still as popular now as it has ever been. Now a year and a half later Infinity Ward are realeasing trailers for the massively awaited sequel Modern Warfare 3


The latest trailer to be realeased is of gameplay of the SpecOps: Survival mode which is basically Infintiy Ward's version of Nazi Zombies.
I am here to analyse the trailer and give you my opinion on how it is shaping up to be.


The trailer starts off describing what Survivial mode is and how it will work and that it will have its own seperate leaderboard online:

 Something that caught my eye in the following gameplay was in the bottom left corner. There are these progress bars which say Kill streak and Headshot above them. I think that these are challenges that when you complete you get money and the amount of money that you get is to the right of the progress bars. These challenges seem to change as the trailer goes on to 'Quad Kill, Knife Kill, Assists, Rampage' which means that you will have different challenges throughout the game which will present challenges and keep you playing in many different ways.

A very important piece of information is said over the radio in the trailer in the video and this is that survival mode only has 2 players in it.
Personally I'm not sure about Infinity Ward's and Sledgehammer Games decision on this because while having 4 player co-op like in Nazi Zombies is fun and some fans will be unhappy about having only 2 player co-op, this means more action for the 2 players involved.
Let me know in the comments below what you think of this.


Also there is an indication of some of the perks you will be able to purchase and unlock with 3 perks - Extreme Conditioning, Sitrep and Steady Aim which gives an indication of some the perks in the multiplayer as well.


Now of course survival mode would be pretty difficult without thee player being able to get new weapons and weapons attachments. Infinity Ward and Sledgehmmer Games have red glowing outlines of 3 things - a pistol, a grenade and a jet. These 3 outlines are around care packages around the maps. This seems to be how a player will be able to purchase new weapons and equipment and air support like buying guns and equipment of the walls in Nazi Zombies. These packages will make the player have to think about their tactics because the player will need to be constantly upgrading weapons and getting re-supplies.  
































Also guns and equipment are confirmed to be returning by this video.
These are:



Guns: (pistol outline)


USAS 12
M16A4
AK-47
ACR6.8

Equipment:  (grenade outline)
Flashbangs
Frag grenades
C4
Auto turret (sentury gun)

Last Stand




One very interesting part of the trailer was when 'air drop support armoury' was shown.
 This seems to be where you can purchase things like Predator Missiles and Air strikes. 
You can also purchase a 'Delta squad which I reckon is a squad of men which help you survive the waves of enemies. However I am slightly sceptical of this because these Delta squads may just kill all the enemies during a wave and leave the player standing there with nothing to do.
However I shall  withhold my final judgement until the game comes out.
However one thing that I do like the look of is the riot shields squad. I think that this will be a very useful and that they will be a great tool for cover during the combat
Let me know in the comments below what you think of the ideas of the Delta squad and the riot shield squads

One very interesting concept showed in the trailer was attack dogs with explosives. I think that this will be awesome in Spec ops because it means that the attack dogs have even more power.
However I really hope that this is not a kill streak in the multiplayer because I think that it would be too overpowered.
Let me know your views below on this.






And right at the end of the trailer when you think it is all over there is an easter egg and this is a snippet of multiplayer gameplay!!


There are several important revels here.
The first is the Juggernaut POINT STREAK reward. Now this suggests that in Modern Warfare 3 players will gaining point streaks for playing objectives likes capping flags and planting bombs. I believe this is a great idea because some gamers out there are not able to build up good kill streaks but now with the introduction of point streaks people will be rewarded more for playing the objective.
The device used to gain this pint streak by the player seems to be a modern type of Bouncing Betty which we saw in World at War because you can see a small part of it fly up into the air and explode.
Let me know what you think of this new type of equipment in the comments below 


The next thing is the very detailed mini map in the top left corner of the screen. Now in previous Call Of Duty games the mini map has been outlines of buildings and areas. But now with the great detail on the mini map players will be able to move around more tactically and use the detail on the mini map.


The weapon that the player seems to be holding is a machine pistol so this seems to suggest that Infinity Ward is bringing back Shotguns and Machine pistols as secondary weapons which is different to Black Ops.