I had a pretty quiet weekend. Stayed in, played some games, even plugged in the Dreamcast and went through a few old titles.
I stumbled across a little game called Limbo on Xbox Live which I thought looked visually interesting. Little did I know it was the critically acclaimed indie game that everyone is talking about right now.
Limbo is set entirely in silhouette from a side-scrolling perspective with beautiful and often graphic animation (if your little guy falls victim to one of the worlds many hazards) – (and he will).
There is no music to speak of, however the subtle sound effects create an atmosphere of eerie dread that is rarely seen in the realm of video games.
The game is short but sweet. I managed to finish it an afternoon, but I was never bored and the game captured my interest from start to finish. Ultimately I’d prefer an experience like this over a longer game where I’m playing through a lot of filler.
I’d overlooked Xbox Live Arcade titles for a while now purely because I hate paying for digital media that isn’t on a disk. This fact remains, but I’m glad I took the leap and downloaded Limbo.
I’ve since downloaded Braid which is making me feel like an idiot due to it’s unique and challenging puzzles and Shadow Complex which I’ve just started and am already enjoying.
I think it’s safe to say that i’ve been missing out by neglecting Xbox Live Arcade.
Music Recommendations: Eminem – Recovery, Tokyo Police Club – Champion.
A bit late I know but I thought I’d talk about the new Eminem album.
For a while now Eminem has seemed removed from his own lyrics, rapping about garbage that more or less seemed to exist solely to shock and offend.
It seemed like he was trying to recapture his “Slim Shady” era glory only to end up sounding like a parody of his former self.
On Recovery Eminem has thrown away the facade. Gone is the accent that plagued most of Relapse and in it’s place a new Em, unlike anything we’ve heard from him before.
I would say this is a return to form, but the truth is Eminem seems to have grown past what we heard on anything prior. He’s obviously been through a lot over the past few years and it’s great to finally hear this in his lyrics.
There’s an honesty and optimism running through Recovery that rarely exists in the ego fueled rap world. I mean how often do you hear a rapper admit that their last two records were garbage and that they fell off?
Recovery, as the title suggests, is about Eminem’s victory over various issues like drug addiction, his best friends murder and the end of his marriage. More importantly for the listener, it’s Eminem’s recovery from a stagnating career. He’s back.
