Tag: music

VOEZ App Game Review

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Coming off the the mess that is Mafia III Rivals last week I thought I should talk about a game that is actually really enjoyable. VOEZ is a game that has quite a decent following of players. There is even an active sub Reddit. It was originally released in Asia with very good reception they decided to port it to the rest of the world

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What is VOEZ? It is a music based rhythm game where you press keys as they fall from the top of the screen to the bottom in sync to the music. Similar to games you have probably played or at least herd of like Rockband and Dance Dance Revolution. Something I noticed and liked right from the start is how absolutely beautifully the app is designed. Other developers need to look at this game and take notes. It has this pleasant melody playing lightly in the background as you open it up. The UI and layout are smartly placed for ease of use and style. The whole app from the loading screen to the gameplay looks beautiful. It’s I game I wouldn’t mind not playing and just watching. There is also some sort of story that seems to be progressing based on how well you play and meeting certain achievements. It’s not something I find myself caring about in this kind of game but from what I can tell it seems to be a pleasant story to unlock.

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VOEZ has a decent amount of tracks that sway more towards Asian pop/techno/happy hardcore/hardstyle type music. If you are looking to jam out to the hottest new Drake track then you are out of luck. I don’t mind it personally, I appreciate all styles of music and the higher bpm tracks in VOEZ make the gameplay come across more intense and enjoyable. There are also slower easier tracks that don’t require as much effort as some of the more focus driven tracks the game offers. The tracks are all given a level. The higher the level the more difficult the track is. Each track falls into 3 different levels at 3 different difficulties for each track. Easy, Hard and Special. Special seem to be the most difficult of the 3. Also don’t forget the difficulty of a track is based on the individual track not an overall system. So all special tracks for instance are not the same level. It’s best for you to find tracks that fall into the difficulty/level that best suits you and work up from there. I find I like hard tracks and I’m at a skill level of about 8–12.

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The game is free to play but you have to pay for the tracks. The currency they use are these bird keys. Each key unlocks one track but I could swear I bought a track that cost me 2 keys once. You are given some keys early on but it kind of ends there. They really want you to pay here and there for tracks. I don’t really like is kind of system for the most part but I get it here. I just wish there was and unlock all tracks option that wasn’t just buying a bunch of keys. Then again this let’s them make more in the long run I guess. I personally don’t find much of this to be a problem since they have implemented a song rotation. Every week another random set of songs will be available to play. And yes I do believe the rotation is random. So you can run into a track you have seen in rotation recently.

To get every single track you would probably have to pay for the top key bundle which is $55 for 55 keys. I personally think it’s a bit steep for a mobile game. That’s pretty much full retail price for a high budget game. I mean the new Doom game is on discount right now for $40. I know they are not similar games but in terms of value I just don’t see the worth of $55 here. That being said I really don’t mind paying for a cheaper bundle just to support the game and and unlock the tracks I like. Personally speaking I don’t like all of the tracks anyways and the rotation still gives you the option to play them all at some point.

Overall I think the games awesome and I highly recommend it. This is the first game I am giving a 5/5 for. Don’t expect many of these, I am usually very hard with my reviews so you got to earn that extra star there to complete the set. I hope other developers have a look at this game and take some notes because they really need it. I also hope that developers of VOEZ continue to support the game and the community stays strong.

Rating: 5/5

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Why Do You Love Violence While Being Pacifists?

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Over the years people have grown more and more attached to violence in media. It has become a day to day fact for life for us. Who gets killed next in Game of Thrones? Don’t tell me I can’t wait to see for myself. Who got bit this week on The Walking Dead? I hope it’s not Rick but man would that be some crazy character development for Carl. Yeah, a son watching his father die to only come back as a monster and then die again is character development now. It’s exciting, it’s entertaining, its violence. Now Im not here to say let’s end it if that’s what you think I’m doing. If you know me even a little you know very well I’m not on the side of the angels. 🙂

The question is why? Why does our society get off on violence? In music, in tv and movies and the good old classic media target, video games. Well, it’s simple. Everyone deep down is a psychopath. Maybe not to the same degree as others but you all have a little bit of the devil in you. The thing that scares you is you like it. You won’t admit it but we both know you like it just a little. Violence being a part of our culture isn’t a new thing actually. It has always been here we just evolved it as we changed our overall views on life. As we slowly became more and more passive and told ourselves things like violence and being mad isn’t a good thing.

Back in the day, we would watch gladiators murder the living shit out of each other to keep the peace, now we watch Spartacus do the same and get off on random boobs that pop up on the show. At least that’s why I watch it. The thing is you can’t admit anymore you are into violence. I’ve even been looked at all side-eyed glare for saying I’m a Mike Tyson fan. I don’t care if Tyson killed a box of puppies on front street, the guy is a living legend. A true monster among men. These same people that don’t like Tyson or boxing or MMA then go home and jerk off to Game of Thrones and Call of Duty and I got to sit there like an ass hole explaining why Mr. Tyson is the greatest.

The pussification of our society is in direct correlation to the amount of violence we encounter in media. You have a problem with someone in school? Don’t kick the kid in the teeth and teach him a lesson he will never forget, no don’t do that. Instead, go tell a teacher who will make both of you apologize for some fucking reason. Someones being a real prick to you? Well don’t do anything, just keep your head down and get on your knees and suck it up. No, I’m fine right here thanks. The passivity of today’s society, the lack of anger is in direct correlation to the amount of violence in everything else. People are too pussy to have a voice or stand up for themselves or each other so they watch super hero’s do it on the big screen while secretly rooting for the bad guy. I’ll be honest, The Joker and Two-Face made a lot more sense to me than Batman did. My respect to the caped crusader but I rather am a dog chasing cars.

All I’m saying is stop being a little fuck about everything. Pacifist will say this is male posturing or an overdeveloped ego. To that, all I got to say is “blow me”. You’re wrong. The fire in your veins and the Devil in your heart isn’t something you have to hide from the world. You should be proud of it, indulge it, feed it. Not with The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones, but by getting off your ass and defending yourself, by not just sitting there with your phone out recording something horrible happen. If you are going to secretly be a bad person then try and do a good thing for yourself or a few others once in your life. Make love not war sure, but if war is looking you in the eye don’t blink, cause you will wake up later feeling like a piece of shit.

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College Street Bar Hopping Review

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Sneaky Dee’s

Sneaky Dee’s is a place me and my friends frequent when we go down to drink on College street. Its usually the bar we end on but we decided to start on it this time because we had a huge craving for Buzz Amber. Buzz Amber is my team’s favorite all-around beer of choice. I secretly still prefer Guinness overall but Buzz Amber is a tie or very close second. We discovered Buzz Amber at Sneaky Dee’s the first time we went drinking on College street. It was the last bar of the night that time and we just asked for something cheap and left it up to the waiter. The moment we tried it we loved it. It’s a very smooth dark beer. Very easy to drink and not notice how drunk you are getting. If any of you are ever at Sneaky Dee’s I highly recommend trying it.

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Mullins

This was the first time we went to Mullins. My friend saw it on the way when were meeting up. We decided to give it a try after Sneaky Dee’s and we loved it. It wasn’t busy and there wasn’t any loud annoying music playing. The whole side of the place was one big window they left open. It was nice having the breeze flow into the bar. The people working there were also very nice. We asked them for what they would recommend as the drink of choice to represent the Mullen. They brought us 2 pints of Guinness. I cant complain. My favorite beer at a really nice comfy open window bar. Will visit again for sure.

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Touche

I’m more of a whiskey, vodka, beer kind of a guy so things like martinis throw me off a bit. But we were trying new things and said what the hell it looks nice so let’s give it a try. We quickly noticed how “dated” the place was which made me and my friend laugh at the situation. We got our seats and went up to the bar and I asked for something that looks good in a picture but isn’t a girl drink. The bartender laughed and thought for a second. She told us that would be a “Caipirinha” which is a Brazilian drink. I and my friend agreed after drinking it that it’s simply an alcoholic lemonade. We liked it but the overall place wasn’t our style. If you are looking for a place to take a date but want to be on the fancy side or you’re a fan of martinis I recommend Touche. If you are not one of these than I would say keep looking.

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Ryoji 

So we are walking and at this point, you have to understand we are pretty drunk. We see Ryoji across the street and decide we should go over. We get inside and see how nice the place is. I mean its very pretty and out of all the places we went to it has the best lighting. As you can probably tell from looking at the pictures. We asked the waiters what they would recommend and they both said different drinks. We said we will get one of each and try it. Now again we were drunk so we forgot to get the names of the drinks written down but we both agreed we liked the drink in the shorter glass more. It had this slightly grassy taste that went down very smooth. The other one was more of a sweet and sour flavor. We didn’t hate it but we wouldn’t order that drink again. Overall great place. We plan to go back there to try the food next time.

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Smokes Poutinerie

Remember how before when we crossed the street to get to Ryoji. Well, we are even drunker now and we are stupid in general. We had completely forgotten we crossed the street. So we continue down the street and start seeing stores we are sure we passed on the opposite side of the street. Now again let me remind you we are very drunk now and also very stupid. We start to talk about how its such a dumb idea to double up the same store on the same street. We go on about how bad of a business idea that is. on the second store we saw that doubled up I got suspicious. One store on the same street doubling up, ok. Two stores on the same street? No somethings not right here. It wasn’t until we hit the 4th store I realized we are walking backward on the opposite side of the street. We walked for a solid 8 to 10 minutes in the wrong direction before I realized we went the wrong way. We couldn’t stop laughing at how dumb the situation was and then had to speed walk all the way to Smokes. -_-

Now that all that’s^ out of the way. Let’s talk about Smokes Poutinerie. What can I say? It’s the best poutine in the city if you ask me. My friends would agree with that statement. What you see photographed down below is the triple pork poutine. Just writing about it now is making me salivate. I think if I was able to without getting fat I would eat this every day. I mean just look at it. Do I need to say anymore? Do yourself a favor and get some poutine at Smokes Poutinerie. Unless you’re a vegetarian. I mean they do have vegetarian options but meh. It’s just not the same.

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Track & Field

I’m going to say right off the bat this place is not my style. Music too loud, drinks were on the more expensive side. The crowd was very young and hipster. I just wasn’t able to feel comfortable there and relax. I felt like I stood out like a sore thumb. That being said. If you are a fan of the whole hipster type stuff than you would like this place. Also if you’re a single guy between 20 and 25 it’s a good place to go since it was filled with girls. Again not my scene but it is someone’s scene. Everyone there seemed to be having a good time. My friend overall didn’t mind it but he really liked the music. The DJ was playing a lot of pretty cool old school music. As a DJ myself I can’t be too impressed about downloading a best of 80s track list and playing it. The good music alone doesn’t validate the place for me. Your results may vary. Oh and we forgot to write the name of the drink we got here as well. It was alright…I wish I can say more but I was pretty drunk by this point and it wasn’t that memorable of a drink, to begin with.

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The Emmet Ray 

We were so drunk by this point I couldn’t function as a photographer. Hence why I don’t have many good pictures of the Emmet Ray here. I was so drunk I knocked my glass of whiskey over on the table and didn’t want it going to waste so I drank it off the table. >:P Yea I was pretty drunk. My beard smelled like Glenfarclas 12yrs for the rest of the night. That being said the Emmet Ray is one of if not my favorite bar on College Street. The live jazz band always playing quality jazz at the back of the place alone is worth a visit. The whiskey selection is simply amazing. Over 230 different kinds of whiskey. If you are a fan of whiskey this is a place you got to go to.

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Back to Sneaky Dee’s

After whiskey at the Emmet Ray, we decided we had to go back to Sneaky Dee’s for one last round of Buzz Amber to close off the night. We did just that. All in all, it was a great night. Would do this again for sure.

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All shots were taken by me using a Sony a6000 with a 35mm Canon FD vintage lens. Lastly a special thanks to my friend Arash for coming along and helping me drink.