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My Top 5 Relaxing Video Games

So, we have all been there. A stressful/tiring day at work/school leaving you feeling awful when you get home and in need of some major relaxation. Over the years I have used games to find such bliss and here is a list of my personal favourites, split into Audio Visual and Gameplay,

5 ). Ty the Tasmanian Tiger

Visual - Ty is lovely to look at. As with the other platformers before and after it, it benefited from a charming cartoon style. Ty’s array of vibrant colour differing in each area remains easy on the eye and fits the atmosphere beautifully. 

Audio - Again, this game does not disappoint. The tracks feature many relaxing and chilled out tunes. In particular, Bridge on the River Ty is a great example. It’s soothing outback strings play in the background as you navigate a lovely area full of pretty scenes. 

Gameplay - This is where it falls down slightly and only enters at number 5. Although there is not much wrong with how it plays, in fact it’s a textbook collectathon platformer, it can’t exactly be described as relaxing. Fighting enemies and traversing obstacles as well as the odd boss or action section make sure you can’t 100% mellow out.

4). Pokemon Pinball

Visual - About as much as you could expect from the GBC. but nonetheless well done. Pokemon are fir cleverly into the game as common points scoring zones in pinball and generally it feels familiar.

Audio - Now, bear with me here. The tracks here are not relaxing by nature. In fact they are slightly grating sometimes. However, the chill-out factor is still present for me personally because of their familiarity. It is homely to hear the tracks I have played so much through the years and makes me feel at ease.

Gameplay - Your standard pinball with only slight deviations. You can try for high scores and really concentrate but that is not by any means necessary. You can still just play laid back and enjoy yourself without worrying about such things and I myself have switched off for a game or two many a time over the years.

3). Pool Paradise

Visual - A slightly disappointing factor in regards to quality, but not let down in how it fits the overall atmosphere and setting. Opponents do not even have models apart from their hands and the overall look is kind of cheap. However, it still achieves the goal of setting a scene. The island is picturesque and peaceful and a lovely place to imagine being.

Audio - The soft range of tracks here are excellent for unwinding. A jukebox plays a variety of different tunes while you play and they all fit to a T. In addition to this, the ambient sounds of birds and the ocean rising and falling add to the general atmosphere and are a nice touch.

Gameplay - It’s pool, what do you expect. You can take time to line up shots and strategise. As you climb the rankings it gets more taxing on the brain but you can just as well bum around on the lower levels for a more calm and less mind intensive experience.

2). Animal Crossing

Visuals - Animal crossing has perfectly fitting visuals. Although it’s not exactly pushing the DSes hardware, it manages to have a certain charm that is almost unmatched on this list.  It’s bright and homely and the character’s and their big heads are kooky and each have their own style.

Audio - There isn't an abundance of different tracks here but that is just fine with me. This is almost enough on it’s own. But it isn't alone. A certain little dog provides funny little tunes sung in the local coffee shop too, which I personally find amusing and relaxing.

Gameplay - Living a peaceful little village with no obligations but the most laid back mortgage in history, surely the most laid back experience possible. Collecting bugs, fishing and beautifying your village and house are all great for unwinding and provide hours of entertainment despite being seemingly mundane.

1). Harvest Moon: It’s a Wonderful Life

Screw the template i’m going wild on this. The number one spot on this list wasn’t even a real contest, I knew it was Harvest Moon instantly. From the moment I first started playing I felt at ease. You are given a farm to manage, which is not particularly taxing, and the rest of your time is yours to do as you see fit. The village you live in is brilliantly done. The most relaxing place in any game I have played, particularly the pond area with it’s beautiful lights and tranquil waters. Accompanying this perfect combination of laid back elements is a wonderfully fitting soundtrack. You can switch between songs with a record player in your house but honestly why would you bother. In your farm you will hear the excellent “Breeze” and elsewhere in the village the lack of music is, for me, just perfect. On entering other homes you will hear other tunes including Romana’s Mansion theme and a certain bar. Overall this game has an outstanding and well crafted atmosphere of pure bliss and is the perfect relaxing video game.

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My Top 5 Pokemon Themes

So when I was pondering my favourite repeated tracks in video games, I gave myself a rule of one per game series. However, that didn't stop my brain from repeatedly going back to Pokemon tracks. So, in honour of the greatness of the OSTs and my love for them, here are my 10 favourite.

5.  Battle! Champion Iris - Pokemon Black & White 2 

My favourite Pokemon game of all time scrapes it’s way onto this list with a brilliant track full of energy and power. What really makes this for me is the powerful syths that are child like and wonderful one moment then awe inspiring and packed with brutality the next. This contrast is a constant theme throughout the song and although I never found the battle particularly challenging I will always remember it for it’s spectacle, in particular this track.

4. Rainbow Cloud - Pokemon Snap

This one is a beauty. One of the prettiest songs in the history of video games for me even. It also earns extra points for how well it fits with the theme of the level. You can feel the wonder and intrigue that would come from seeing such a rare sight as a Mew. Listening to this as you float along trying to snap the rare beast is one of the most perfect endings to a game I can imagine and I will never forget the first time I did so

3. Battle! Trainer - Pokémon Diamond & Pearl

Already been over this one in my other list so I shall quote from there: “Beautifully put together and with an epic feeling, it brings tension in the piano and thoughts of triumphant victory with it’s horns, easily earning it’s place as one of the best tracks in Pokemon history.”

2. Battle! Champion - Pokémon Diamond & Pearl

Diamond and Pearl feature heavily on this list for good reason, i’d personally rate their soundtracks as the best of the whole series. The champion theme is a cherry on top of this delicious cake and what a track it is. I personally found Cynthia to be the hardest champion I had ever faced in Pokemon and yet not once did I tire of this music in our many drawn out battles. Again, the composers utilise the instruments brilliantly in the build up of tension and sense of battle but this time on an altogether more epic scale. It really does do justice to one of the hardest fights I have faced in Pokemon and as such I personally rate it very highly.

1. Battle SIM - Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness

This is an odd one I guess you could say. I almost put this in the other list but seeing as it isn't a necessary part of the game I assumed people wouldn't really get why I chose it as a repeated track. But here it fits in nicely. My favourite Pokemon track of all time is from one of the least mentioned games in the series, Pokemon XD, a Gamecube title in the same style as Colosseum. I find it almost impossible to describe exactly what makes this track better than any other but if I was pushed id have to put it down to the pacey off-beat drums and tension building chimes littered throughout. Many times I have put this on repeat just to have it there in the background while I go about my daily routine. So, there you have it, Battle SIM is the winner and will always hold a place in my heart.

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My Top Albums of each of the last 5 Years

I will admit it, I only started actually purchasing my music as of 5 years ago. Before then it was either pirated or from my brothers and although I’m glad that kept my horizons wide, there is a certain satisfaction i now get from making my own library. So, to celebrate this 5th year of my growing collection of self-bought music, here is a list of the best album of each of the last 5 years (so, 1 per year).

2010

Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty

2010 was a fantastic year for music. I’d even go so far as saying it was the favourite year, music wise, of my life. Gems that just missed out include Vampire Weekend’s “Contra”, Tame Impala’s “Innerspeaker”, LCD Soundsystem’s “This is Happening” and Two Door Cinema’s “Tourist History”, amongst a host of others. However, Big Boi wins out with his incredible comeback and solo debut album. This album is and will forever remain one of my favourites of all time. Highlights such as The Train Part II and Back Up plan shone amongst a whole record full of the former OutKast man’s genius and produce what is a surprisingly well formed hip-hop album. I had no idea what to expect and so was pleasantly surprised to hear incredibly catchy beats along with André’s unmistakable flow. Truly my favourite Album of 2010.

2011

Ghostpoet - Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam

After the joy of 2010, 2011 was a bit of a cool off. While it was by no means a dry year, it doesn't even compare to the previous for me. This isn't to say I didn't greatly enjoy some of it’s offerings though. Kendrick Lamar’s “Section.80″ and Royce Da 5'9"s “Success Is Certain” gave me my Hip-Hop fix of 2011 and it was lovely to have The Street’s Mike Skinner back with his intriguing “Computers and Blues.” Ghostpoet wins out here though for creating a truly enjoyable and chilled album in “Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam”. Full of your everyday in the lyrics, it was a nice change of pace from 2010 and remains a favourite of mine to this day. Not rap and not quite Hip-Hop, it’s fairly difficult for me to place this album, but songs such as the brilliant “Floating” made a beauty of an album well worth listening to.

2012

Frank Ocean - Channel Orange

2012 was a quiet one. Honestly my least favourite of these last five years, I struggled to enjoy a lot of the new releases. Howler’s “America Give Up” and Hot Chip’s brilliant “In Our Heads” prevented it being a complete whitewash, but the true genius was in Frank Ocean’s debut album. For me it was a chilled out album with the odd serious moment but I loved it’s atmosphere and abundance of dark themes along with quite contrasting music. The clash felt strangely right and I greatly enjoyed the ride. “Super Rich Kids” and “Crack Rock” stood out for me this time with their relaxed vibe and generally the album has very few weak moments. This one is probably my most listened to album of the last five years, and for good reason.

2013

Disclosure - Settle

If 2012 was a bit of a decline, 2013 was a true return to form for music releases. It was chock full of brilliant albums including, but not limited to, DJ Rashad’s “Double Cup”, Ducktails’ “The Flower Lane” and James Blake’s “Overgrown”. Disclosure take this year though with their incredible debut “Settle”. I truly consider this to be a masterpiece of electronic music, with their great blend of house and garage that forms a top sound. I'm hesitant to pick out individual tracks because the whole thing is brilliant from start to end, but i will give a special mention to “Grab Her” for it’s catchy rhythm, thumping beat and general bouncy feel. If you haven’t listened to this album, I urge you to try it. I promise you won’t regret it.

2014

Fred V & Grafix - Recognise

I’ll keep it short for this year. Ashamedly, I completely took my eyes off releases for 2014 due to a variety of reasons that I won’t mention here. However, I still want to highlight “Recognise”. I consider this a triumph of an album within what I find to be a generally stale (although admittedly still enjoyable) genre. This is full of well constructed tracks with the usual hype beats and Fred V & Grafix’s unique blend of liquid bass that I find to stand out amongst a lot of other similar artists. In particular, “Major Happy” carved a hole out in my heart and became one of my favourite D&B tracks of all time easily. So, despite my lack of knowledge of the year, I still feel safe in putting this album out there as my favourite. 

2015

Jamie XX - In Colour

Now this was a tricky one. 2015 has been my busiest year of the five purchase wise and I have had to skip some albums I would have surely enjoyed as a result. In what I believe the be the best year since 2010, we have seen a great number of brilliant records released. New releases from A$AP Rocky, The Chemical Brothers, Disclosure, Earl Sweatshirt, Hot Chip, Lupe Fiasco and many more graced us with their presence, blocking out the grey cloud of disappointment that was “Compton”. Despite releasing fairly early in the year, “In Colour” remains my favourite of the year, quite a feat considering how much I loved Tame Impala’s “Currents” more recently. Jamie broke out to release a debut solo album this year and by god it’s good. It is wonderfully built and full of atmosphere and continues to give me tingles every time I hear it. From the beginning with Gosh and Sleep Sound I could tell he had easily matched and surpassed his earlier non-solo work. I could go on but honestly I can’t do it any justice with my lacklustre album descriptions so I will just urge you to go and listen. DO ET.

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My Top 5 Repeated Tracks in Video Games

In a LOT of video games, you will find yourself having to listen to the same music a huge amount of times. These tracks can be great at first but after many plays through a game you are going to be either whistling it everywhere or tearing your hair out every time you think of the tune. These are the former, tracks that, despite being repeated a large amount, remain very enjoyable and I still love to this day.

5.  Battle! Trainer - Pokémon Diamond & Pearl

This one is an obvious choice. A Pokemon battle theme was always going to be in here right? I chose D&P for good reason too. Even disregarding the fact it is one of my favourite Pokemon games and my huge love for it, I would still easily place this as the number 1 battle track. Beautifully put together and with an epic feeling, it brings tension in the piano and thoughts of triumphant victory with it’s horns, easily earning it’s place as one of the best tracks in Pokemon history.

4. Song of the Gentle Breeze - Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life

How could I not include a Harvest Moon track? I DAMN WELL COULDN'T. Yeah.. This one is a beauty. If you have played the Gamecube game I have a feeling this will fill you with a lot of emotion. You hear it a fair amount throughout the game, as I believe it plays on your farm unless you replace the record playing in your room. It fits the game’s atmosphere excellently, providing a real sense of starting fresh in a tranquil village. Relentlessly cheerful and full of life, this one will never get old for me.

3. Hyrule Field -  The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

You will hear this and subsequent remakes of it numerous times while playing Ocarina and Twilight Princess. I had a really hard time choosing which one I wanted on here but Ocarina’s version wins out just on pure nostalgia. Many people have sung this track’s praises before so I will just say one word. ADVENTURE.

2. Survive -  Dragonball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3

Now I guess you didn't see this one coming after those typical choices huh? If, like me, you adore this game, you will no doubt recognise this track. It plays during some character selection screens so no doubt that any fan of the game will have heard it repeatedly. It gets so high on the list for two reasons It’s PREFECT for what it is used for. Building you up for a fight. Very few songs i have heard make me so pumped for a damn video game fight. Secondly, it has that classic guitar and battle hardened drums that make most of the tracks in American versions of Dragonball games shine. Overall a brilliantly made and utilised track and well worth it’s second place here.

1. Wii Sports  - Title Screen

I CANT HELP IT OK. Say what you want about the game and how shallow it is blablabla but this track simply can’t be knocked. You will hear it a lot playing and by god it’s good. Something about it just makes it infinitely repeatable for me. It’s wonderfully upbeat and definitely felt just right for the game. Loading up your Wii for the first time this was most people’s first game and it really delivers on the fresh feeling of playing a new console. I feel like I'm cheating a lot of good games but putting it at number 1 but here it is. DEAL.

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20K

It finally happened, I reached this stupidly high kill number.

We have been through a lot. First bought and named it back in summer 2014 when I started to get back into TF2 pubbing. At the time I was dejected, bombed my A Levels and was desperately searching for work, and TF2 was one of the only things I could rely on for enjoyment aside from drawing. 

Countless hours on 2Fort later, I got asked by my now best online friend Ace if I wanted to play on his new comp team. Hugely flattered, I accepted without even having to think. Some time close to this I hit Hale’s Own on my beauty. great I thought, time to move on to an Aussie. Queue much swapping between more expensive launchers. Some I gave away. Some I just straight up disliked. But the one constant was I always came back to Bowie’s.

From that first Highlander team I moved onto 6v6 as a scout, but I never stopped loving soldier. The jumping and chances for airshots are some of my favourite parts of TF2 and I wasn't about to stop just to practice Scout constantly. As I zoomed past 12k kills I moved on to more comp, coming 3rd in the Archimedes cup after a dismal performance in the semi finals. A few more team hops later, I am now a fully blown Soldier main with 430+ hours on the class and playing for 2 low tier HL teams and a mid 6v6 team. 

So now comes the time for change. I love Bowie’s Inspiration and am kind of proud of it despite it not being that impressive a stat, however...

It’s time for a new challenge.

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My Top 5 3D Sonic Levels

Although it is a huge series now, a lot of people settle on one of the original 3 Sonic games as their favourites (Sonic the Hedgehog - 1991, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - 1992 and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 - 1994) perhaps rightly so as they are surely classics. I however am unashamedly biased towards the 3D Sonic games, as they are what I grew up with and I generally enjoy platforming much more in a 3D environment. These 3D entries are packed full of various stages, each with their own aesthetic, play style and soundtrack. So, here is my top 5 3D Sonic Levels. 

5).  Casinopolis - Sonic Adventure 

What self respecting children's game of the early 2000s would ever release without explicit reference to gambling? In all seriousness, this scrapes it’s way onto the bottom of the list for a very specific reason. Despite it having perhaps one of the most mundane objectives in any sonic level, collecting rings, I will continue to love this level for it’s soundtrack and more importantly it’s heavy NiGHTS referencing. There is a whole pinball game based around Sega’s other well beloved franchise and it honestly just fills me with happiness and nostalgia to hear the theme and be flown around by NiGHTS. The stage also gets bonus points for it’s pleasing, even relaxing atmosphere generating by the music and surroundings.

4). Metal Harbour - Sonic Adventure 2

Right from the beginning guitar, you can just tell this is gonna be a blast. In a level full of different heights and obstacles, the water sparkles (as much as it could on Dreamcast, anyway) and seagulls swoop through a pretty blue sky, creating a very pleasant environment. It plays smoothly and speedily, and being SA2s light speed dash introduction level, there are plenty of dashing shenanigans. To top it all off is flying on a damn rocket and then surfing back down on a blumin’ piece of metal, full of hype with the music rocking along. 

3). Meteor Herd - Sonic Adventure 2

Thought it was only gonna be Sonic levels huh? Bad luck. This particular level is one of Knuckle’s “hunt the emerald pieces.” Now, generally these aren't entirely interesting stages and just break up the flow of sonic levels, but this one is an exception. For starters, the arena in which you are hunting is bloody lovely. Set in space, it is full of crashing meteors and futuristic architecture that give a great feel to the level. The soundtrack is one of my personal favourites, despite some cheesy rap, and really adds something to the general monotony of emerald hunting. Just hope you don’t have one of the more tricky pieces, or you may get tired of the place.

2). Speed Highway - Sonic Adventure

Probably one of the most iconic 3D Levels after Emerald Coast, Speed Highway is a delight. The beginning has plenty of speedy sections before a brief interlude for trickier platforming, but it’s 2/3 in that this level really kicks on. Here you find an excellent section requiring you to dodge pillars and barriers as you speed down a skyscraper, a truly memorable section that is one of my favourite experiences in Sonic game history. The music is also top notch, standing out even among the other gems within SA (UP AND DOWN AND ALL AROUND).

1). Rooftop Run - Sonic Unleashed

This level almost single handedly sold me on the boost mechanic. As it was my first experience playing Sonic in such a way, I was surprised to find it incredibly enjoyable. Although it is full of action, highlights include grinding vertically along rails down buildings, speeding through narrow alleys and (predictably) speeding across multiple rooftops. It may be a blur of speed sometimes, but the environment is gorgeous. Picturesque horizons of blue skies and sea are the backdrop to a level full of charming bleached buildings full of character. The soundtrack adds to the airy, joyful feeling of speeding along these heights with a bouncy track full of energy and happy vibes. It is slightly let down by the ending but overall a very solid level, particularly in a game so heavily criticised. (note: this level was also even more pretty in generations, as shown below.)

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Best Offline FPS Bot Games

Specific title huh? There are always going to be times when for whatever reason you don’t have access to friends or maybe internet for a while. Hell, i remember a time when online was unthinkable in my house, although admittedly i was fairly young. For these times you look to offline games, of course, because doing anything productive would be silly and exercise is for losers. When your friends are out and cant LAN or Online but you still want some multiplayer action, there are still some gems to turn to, if you are willing to play against the COM. So here we have them, 5 fun Offline Bot games ranked by my enjoyment.

5. Medal Of Honour Rising Sun (Gamecube, 2003)

Although i have some issues with weapons and bot behaviour, this earns it’s place at the bottom of the list for good reason. Being able to choose each of the bot’s skill level on either team and select specific types of weapons for each game makes the experience feel different each time despite a limited map pool. My personal favourite plan is to put 2 teams of top ranked bots against each other with Boomsticks, the collection of the most powerful weapons, and stick them on this fuckfest of a map:

The grenade and rocket spam that follows is not only hilarious but fun to play and it’s reasons such as this that despite the awful controls and a considerable drop in fun against bots compared to normal people, that i rank it in my favourites. 

4. Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (PS2, 2005)

I played this against bots much more than with friends so maybe my view is skewed, but i enjoyed myself a lot. The game modes all hold up and the Star Wars universe setting allows for cool weapons and vehicles such as the ioconic old school blasters and the lightning quick speeders.  It stays low on the list however for being the least played game on here, as i never owned it, instead playing on a friend’s copy.

3. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (PC, 2007)

This fusion of the two old dogs brings a cooperative style shooter with vehicles, large battlefields and several classes that all combine to make a great shooter with a fair amount of variety. I unfortunately did not get this game early in it’s life so missed out on the online fun, but nevertheless i had an immense amount of fun offline. The bots can be hilariously dumb in some situations but on the whole they behave normally and work well with you if you try to command them.

It also gets extra points for it’s lovely HUD and generally nice graphics for it’s time, managing to not look horrific even now after 8 years. Overall, this ranks in at 3rd for it’s ability to remain exciting and feel like a MP game even against bots and i personally adore it.

2. XIII (PC 2003)

This game has a dismal single player and has it’s multi player to thank for not being a complete train wreck of a game. Seriously, it is a saving grace that can be a huge amount of fun and i’d heartily recommend it to anyone who can get it working on their machine. 

As you can see, it features a very cartoony style based on comics and this is one of the reasons i think it shines. It just exudes style and fun and doesn't disappoint when you hop in. Although most game modes are fun, where it really shines is in the “The Hunt” in which each player is given a hunting rifle and must shoot other players while simultaneously avoiding the gradually shrinking Reaper. The Reaper sings as he runs along, adding to the hilarity of the whole situation and the combined challenge of dealing with the admittedly baffling bots AND the Reaper, makes for a fun and hectic experience. It was this that caused me such trouble in deciding to put it 1st or 2nd, but it just looses out.

1. Unreal Tournament 3 (PC, 2007)

This got a LOT of flak for deviating from the UT formula and i think undeservedly so. There are plenty of games styled after UT for that fix and UT3 offered a new experience that proved, for me, to be highly enjoyable. As with Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, i have played this online minimally due to issues connecting to servers and as a result spent a lot of time competing with the bots when my brothers were not around. With a variety of classic game modes on offer such as CTF, TDM and DM, you can still deathmatch your little heart out, but when that gets tiresome there is plenty more. Vehicle modes such as Warfare and Vehicle CTF offer a change of pace and the machines themselves are imaginative and fun to use. The manta in particular deserves a mention for it’s very fun premise. As a hovering vehicle, it glides along the ground at quite high speeds with the ability to raise and lower in order to jump over obstacles and crush walking players. The amount of “pancakes” that i have got driving them and how good it feels each time makes it easily my favourite vehicle to play with, and even against, as it challenges you to track ahead with rockets and slow moving plasma shots.

With this available on steam for a very reasonable price these days, i HUGELY recommend giving it at least a try.

So there we have it, WHO NEEDS FRIENDS.

[aprawnsquack-blog]

Sunday Morning

So I sat here not particularly looking forward to a 7.5 hr shift in 45 minutes time, relaxing with a nice game of TF2. Up pops a contract, which I promptly accept and find to be a simple Demoman “kills, melee kills, kills capping objective.” Easy, i thought to myself, and i can get a nice item for my troubles.

On i hop to a quickplay server, with the valve gods serving me up a well populated Powerhouse. Now i will qualify this with one thing, i despise the new Gun Mettle maps, all of them. Suijin is a mess with awful height abuse and just all round terrible map design (BUT PRAWN ITS PRETTY), Powerhouse lasts forever far too often for my liking and Snowplow is just so “meh” it makes me wonder why anyone gave a shit it wasn't introduced earlier. 

Equip time, i go for standard Grenade Launcher for the no doubt endless sentries im about to face on their last point, with the Tide Turner and Eyelander to bag those juicy melee kills. What followed was 20 minutes of tedious nonsense trying to cap their last, not a great start, but hey i got 40 CP so i just accepted it and on we moved to Snowplow.

Quack.

It was about this time that a double unusual wearing Soldier with some clear experience joined the server. Great, i thought, a good challenge for me to hit some air pipes, and for a while that was the case. As my CP steadily rose i was enjoying myself more than i had in a pub for a looong time. However, it was when my team won a round that this fella revealed his true stripes. Immediately he starts raging, cussing out his team and demanding they do this or that. Now, i generally find it really hard to hold my tongue against jerks like this but for now i let him be, im sure he will calm down i thought. But no, he continued with his tirade of nonsense and eventually i just hit him with the calm and i thought helpful “you would have a lot more fun if you took this less seriously im sure.” Of course, this isn’t true for everyone but i felt in this moment he just needed to take a step back and realise his ridiculousness. His response? “suck a twat.” Gave me a right chuckle and i left it at that, he clearly wasn’t worth it. But that brings me to my whole point. What and who are pubs really for in TF2?

It’s a question that is constantly debated over on reddit, with frustrated newer players angry at unusual wearing comp players storming their hang out and those players bemoaning the hate they receive for just playing their favourite game. Personally, as someone with way too much play time, i would obviously side with the latter. I enjoy pubs and sometimes it is hard to hold back when you have a contract to grind out or just want to let off some steam (lel). It is true that playing against better players is a great way to improve, but honestly i think it’s weak reasoning when the opponents are sometimes helpless just due to the nature of Team Fortress and it’s game modes and classes. Therefore i would argue simply that ANY player should be able to play a pub however he likes as long as he treats people with respect and does not get angry at people’s lack of experience or strange play. The fella i met today clearly falls outside of this and it makes me sad people like this will continue to cause friction between the various skill levels in Pubs and generally cause a toxic atmosphere on many servers. 

So, the bit you have obviously all been waiting for. Advanced contract done with cheap melee kills and i get this:

Joy.

[aprawnsquack-blog]

Currents

2 Days ago Tame Impala released their newest studio album, Currents. Last.fm assures me that since then I have listened to songs from the album over 100 times and I have “loved” 6.

To me this is remarkable, as after their last album (which I enjoyed but found to be much weaker than their previous) it is surely understandable that I thought they would never top Innerspeaker, which I completely adore. From the chilled flow of It’s Not Meant To Be, to the popular and intriguing Solitude is Bliss and the epic adventure that is Jeremy’s Storm, Innerspeaker was a masterpiece to my ears. 

After 2 years of adoration for this album came Lonerism and a few disappointingly average tracks among their usual gems. This is not to say it was a disaster, Elephant was a triumph and Why Won’t They Talk to Me outshone anything else on the album. However it wasn’t quite there in comparison and left me feeling like no matter how long Impala made records, they would never beat their early efforts.

Imagine my surprise then when I bought Currents on release to discover the best album I have heard for ages. Full of catchy bass swinging back and forth between serious and airy, it completely shocked me and took it’s place in my heart as Tame Impala’s best album (so far.) Stand-outs include The Moment, with it’s catchy beat and flowing bass and The Less I Know the better, which my friend covered almost immediately here (https://soundcloud.com/jackconandoyle/the-less-i-know-the-better-tame-impala) but overall it feels evil to single out tracks when the whole thing is great from start to finish and is a must listen.