Is there even such a thing as a successful console reveal or launch anymore? Between the early price cuts for the 3DS, the paltry sales of the Wii U since it moved its initial 3 million units, Sony's awkward stage presence at the PS4 event - it's nothing but bad news for fledgling gaming systems these days. To be fair, the 3DS has been able to bounce back tremendously with an onslaught of high quality games, and though the Wii U is still stagnant, it seems at least potentially poised to have a stellar E3. The PS4's fate remains to be see, and could go either way. That leaves one machine - the Xbox One.
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Have you heard? Google+ is cool again! Well, I shouldn't get ahead of myself; whether it ever was cool is up for debate, and whether the recent changes to the social network will bolster its popularity in the long haul remains to be seen. Public reaction aside, probably the most exciting aspect of the overhaul is the company's new unified messaging service, previously codenamed Babel and now simply being roped under the Hangouts umbrella. I know my friends may never truly use G+, but that doesn't make me any less stoked about Google finally taking messaging seriously, as well as sprucing up it's little Facebook competitor in general. Here are my five favorite aspects of the new G+ and Google's impressive new messaging initiative.
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It's been some time since I reviewed an anime - I still watch series
pretty frequently, but there haven't been any interesting enough to
write about. Cue Funimation's spring simulcast lineup. The company's
brought two of the best series I've ever seen to the states this season,
and I once more have something to write about. The two series are
completely different in tone and genre, but they both stand out as
possible new classics. We're about five episodes into each, so if you're
looking for a weekly show to get into, I'd recommend diving into either
one.
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An odd album title, yes, but a fitting one. I've talked about Laibach on this site before, and if you know even the littlest bit about the Slovenian industrial juggernaut and the political art collective, NSK, with which they associate, then it's likely quite clear to you that introducing somebody to the Laibach's vast body of work can prove a daunting if not impossible task. That is, if you want them to actually enjoy and understand what they hear. If you just want to make someone think you're weird, or run away screaming about "satanic germans," then by all means, just a pick a Laibach song out of a hat.
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I talk a lot about videogame music here on Uki, and for good reason. Though some game music is great, some is terrible, and countless soundtracks fall somewhere in between, the music in certain games is unique and special solely for the fact that without the game it was made for, it simply would not exist. Why would it? One example that has been recently cycling through my brain's musical merry-go-round are the tracks from the well known, much loved, and totally nostalgic Midway racing series, Cruis'n.
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Readers of this site may have seen Griff's recent post about the new
sequel/spiritual successor/whatever-the-hell-it-is of classic Zelda game
A Link to the Past. While I consider TLoZ my favorite videogame franchise, bar none, I have never played any game in the series released before Ocarina of Time
in entirety. Some people might say that this makes me a "Zelda Noob" or
a "softcore fan." That's their opinion, I'm fine with it. My reasoning
is simple - OoT is the game with the most resonant and emotional
player-to-game experience I had as a child, and that basically laid the
framework for my love of future Zelda games. When I play later games,
I'm basically just trying to relive that experience. I simply don't get
the same feeling playing the 2-D entries in the series.
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Hey all. So the summer movie
season is about to explode on us. There are some great big-budget
blockbusters on the horizon. Marvel and DC are ramping up their filmic
universes. The Star Trek sequel looks incredible, and a whole slew of
new Star Wars content is going to be dropping in the next few years.
That said, here are a few recent trailers that have caught my interest.
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It's true. Though on paper the concept of a bunch of company executives stepping in front of a video camera and talking about stuff doesn't sound all that charming or appealing, I assure you that Nintendo knows how to make these videos work. It's hard to pinpoint, but something about Satoru Iwata's friendly, admittedly somewhat-broken English delivering the latest Nintendo news just warms a longtime fan's heart. This past Wednesday's Direct was no different, and there were a number of interesting news announcements, including a new Pikmin type for Pikmin 3, info about upcoming heavy hitters like Shin Megami Tensei IV and Monster Hunter IV, and the biggest shocker of all... a new Zelda!
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Heyo, it's been a while since my last shameless plug, so I figured it
was high time I bombarded you with stuff I've personally done. This is
another round of music videos I've worked on for Tufts University Television.
I've filmed some, edited some, and I show up in one. There are some
really great bands represented here, and I think the video's are pretty
damn good too (not that I'm biased).
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Everyone loves free things, right? Though oftentimes "free" is a very misleading term that can lead to the exact opposite down the road, the world of computers is frequently a glorious exception. Freeware, or computer software that you can use free of charge (usually offset by looking at advertising or being asked to upgrade to a paid version every so often), becomes more common with each passing year, and there's a load of useful PC software out there that you won't ever have to pay a dime for. Here are five of the most useful (or just my favorite) free PC apps.
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Just recently, I was reminiscing about how much I loved early 2000's Cartoon Network gem Samurai Jack.
Within a week of remembering my ten-year-old self's favorite stoic
warrior, I discovered that Netflix picked up the rights to an entire
slew of Cartoon Network content. This is apparently as big a deal for
other people as it is for me, since four out of the first five entries
under "Popular on Netflix" come from this recent pickup (suck it,
Hulu!). While I will likely dig deeper into this treasure trove of
classic cartoons in the coming months, I was instantly drawn to Samurai Jack.
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Happy Friday! In the interest of starting your weekend off in good mental standing, here are five songs that will hopefully have you in stitches, cause injury from laughing too hard, and then require stitches. Enjoy!
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If you haven't heard yet, there have been a pretty significant death in the family of videogame developers. The murder of legendary videogame studio LucasArts was announced today by the murderer itself, Disney.
Even if you don't know, you can probably guess by the name where
LucasArts hails from. As part of George Lucas' Empire, it was
transferred to Disney along with everything else pertaining to Star
Wars. Apparently, the studio has shifted from an internal development
house to an outside licensing model. Apparently this will be "minimizing
the company's risk while achieving a broader portfolio of quality Star
Wars games."
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This past Sunday night, if you own a TV or a computer with the internet, you were likely doing one of two things. At 9:00, two of television's biggest events of the season occurred simultaneously. On AMC, the third season of the network's incredibly popular Zombie drama The Walking Dead came to a close. On HBO, similarly popular 'sex, swords, and sorcery' sleeper hit Game of Thrones had its season three premiere. Both shows drew record viewers for their respective networks, suggesting that despite the rise of Netflix and Hulu, television still has a place in the hearts of Americans.
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I did it once last September. Then I did it again last November.
I am, of course, talking about dropping some of my favorite Disney
tunes for your nostalgic enjoyment. If you thought that I fit all the
classics in those two sessions, you're wrong. Disney has a veritable
goldmine of amazing tracks from their animated features. Here are five
more to take you back as we start the weekend.
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The Sess strikes back. Legendary videogame reviewer/G4TV personality
Adam Sessler is back in the spotlight. I haven't seen much of the Sess
since my days watching G4 back in High School, so I was pleasantly
surprised when a review by Sessler of Bioshock: Infinite
entered into my life. The review brought back a reminiscent pang of
longing for days long gone - days when you could still turn on the TV
for videogame news and content, when X-Play and Judgment day dominated
the G4 schedule rather than replays of Cops.
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Sometimes a malfunctioning PC's behavior can seem completely inexplicable. Every time you think you've seen it all, you encounter a machine, be it somebody else's or your own, that is so thoroughly riddled with problems that you don't even know where to begin. And even once you've taken care off all the standard problems - viruses, the clutter of temporary files, spyware and malware - the thing still won't run smoothly. What gives? I can't tell you for sure, but I have been messing with something lately that might help your situation. If your computer is still slow to boot or sluggish in general and you know it's not because of viruses or clutter, then you should definitely try messing with the Windows services menu.
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The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston will soon be hosting a seriously
awesome collection of Samurai weapons, armor and artifacts. I've seen
the exhibit before, and I gotta say it's damn impressive. If you are in
the Boston area in the coming months, you should definitely check it
out. In the light of the new exhibit, here are five Samurai-themed TV
shows and movies that you should check out.
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No no... I'm not talking about the arguably-useless-in-some-states level of salary - I'm talking about the song! Yes, the forty-seven second song from goofball rockers They Might Be Giants is pretty hilarious. Most people will know these guys from their sinfully catchy single "Istanbul" off of their 1990, platinum-selling record Flood. Actually, despite its 1990 release date, it only just went platinum in 2009. Still, that's a massive achievement for a creative and quirky ensemble such as this, so congrats to them! I guess good music does sell, even if it takes the better part of two decades.
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Ever get the feeling that videogame music just doesn't have the charm it used to? And charm aside, what about melody? Catchiness? Overall songwriting in general? As much as the epic, Hollywood-esque soundtracks of many modern blockbusters totally eclipse the old-school stuff in size and scope, the music for certain classics simply goes unmatched, their soundtracks resiliently standing the test of time. The Kirby series is known for its upbeat, hummable tunes, and lately I've been getting into the soundtrack from Kirby's Adventure, the second Kirby game every released and the first for the NES. Just check some of this stuff out.
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