ctrl+alt+defeat by Dilyan Damyanov

Zero

ctrl+alt+defeat

What can football learn from point-and-click adventures? Sucker Punch Good vs Evil Games:

silent hill bioshock 2 world of warcraft rock band: unplugged resident evil: the darkside chronicles

love magazines. I’ve always wanted to be involved in one. What was stopping me? I guess I just didn’t realise how accessible that has become.

This trial issue is my first foray into magazine publishing. It could prove my last. It seems simple enough from the outset but this could be deceptive. Only trying it out can tell. And that is exactly what I am doing here. If it goes alright, there may be other issues to follow. Or take it as a proof of concept. Are we -- my wife and I -- now so empowered by technology that putting out our very own magazine is within easy reach? The texts in this issue have originally been published on the Split/Screen Co-Op blog. I’ve given them a quick rehash, but you will still notice that they haven’t been written for a magazine. I hope this is no more jarring than all the design and layout crimes I’ve certainly committed in this, my first ever InDesign project. I leave you with our creation now and I hope you enjoy it. Be warned, though: this is not your typical gaming mag. The editor

ctrl+alt+defeat Issue 0

Editor Dilyan Damyanov Design & Layout Dilyan Damyanov Text Dilyan Damyanov Vanya Damyanova Photo/Art americanistadechiapas bazylek100 CarbonNYC cianc DownTown Pictures ElvertBarnes genie espinosa (trouvezlelapin) he(art)geek insane photoholic kurtxio Laenulfean

law_keven Robert Agthe Rossyx spritepirate studiomuku taqumi thefourelements theperplexingparadox US Army Africa welovethedark YusfAli

Cosplay C0G-Graph1x Katsuki-sama Ma0aM

ObscuraVista Yue-Kato

Artwork index Cover 1 Tube at my Feet by CarbonNYC on Flickr Cover 2-1 Butterfly Effect by Rossyx on deviantART 3 Bioshock 2: Great Protector by ObscuraVista on deviantART 4 Zombie Head 2 by welovethedark on Flickr 6(1) Beach Soccer by thefourelements on Flickr 6(2) Gattuso teibolera by americanistadechiapas on Flickr 6(3) Con las chichis patrocinadas by americanistadechiapas on Flickr 7 Soccer.Ft.Ward.Alex.VA.28apr92 by ElvertBarnes on Flickr 8(1) 10.Soccer.SteadPark.WDC.31may06 by ElvertBarnes on Flickr 8(2) La paraguaya festeja el empate by americanistadechiapas on Flickr 8(3) Soccer Match - Natural Fire 10 - United States Army Africa - Uganda - October 2009 by US Army Africa on Flickr 9 SAVE JAPAN II by studiomuku on deviantART 10-11 Good Vs Evil by DownTown Pictures on Flickr 12-13 sucker punch by genie espinosa (trouvezlelapin) on Flickr 13 This will not end well for you by spritepirate on deviantART 14(1) dungeon zoom window by insane photoholic on Flickr 14(2) Inde deus abest by bazylek100 on Flickr 15(1) Have you got a light Boy??? by law_keven on Flickr 15(2) hvar fort dungeon by cianc on Flickr 15(3) entrance to a dungeon? by Laenulfean on Flickr 16 Billar a las diez y diez by kurtxio on Flickr 17 We are not Al-Qaida by YusfAli on deviantART 18(1) hmm headphones... by taqumi on Flickr 18(2) Polarity with Headphones by Robert Agthe on Flickr 18(3) headphones and tangles by he(art)geek on Flickr Cover 3 Silent Hill Nurse Cosplay II by Yue-Kato on deviantART Cover 4 4_0033 by theperplexingparadox on Flickr Disclaimer Every effort has been made to ensure that all artwork used in this issue is licenced under a Creative Commons license that allows its reuse for commercial purposes. Exceptions include the “public service” ads and the cosplay photos. It is assumed that the creators of the ads won’t mind; and the owners of the cosplay photos have authorised the use of their work in our gaming blogs Split/Screen Co-Op and The Gaminator, on which this issue is based. We’re sorry for any mistakes we might have made.

Contents 8 Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles: review 10 Instant replays 14 The gamer’s choice between good and evil 16 Sucker Punch & gaming 18 Dungeon virgin 20 When co-op sucks 22 Listening to music, purposefully

Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles

s plots go, Resident Evil: The Dark Chronicles’ is as delicious as the smelliest of cheeses. It easily puts the best of the franchise’s many incarnations in gaming, film and print in its pocket and shakes a fist at other strong contenders in the so-bad-it’sgood category. Not that you will be playing this game primarily for the story, but it lends a great deal of charm. Few things can beat sharing a WTF laugh with a buddy.

Platform: Wii Genre: On-rails horror shooter Players: Two Buy from: Amazon.com Amazon.co.uk

Throw in some tight controls and a varied, thrilling, fun multiplayer that fosters and rewards co-operation, and you’ll be reasonably entertained. Also, zombies.

Instant replays This article will be about football (soccer). Eventually. But I’d like to start somewhere else: point-and-click adventures.

o you remember the game Discworld Noir? It will not be unexpected if you don’t. The game was released only in Europe and Australia back in 1999 and it hasn’t been patched so newer machines are likely to have trouble playing it. It is one of the most memorable games that I’ve played. The game is a parody of the film noir genre in the same way most of Terry Pratchett’s work is a parody of the fantasy genre. It features a lot of familiar characters and locales from the Discworld series but also introduces new (and quite likeable) ones. I’m not sure what Pratchett’s actual involvement with the project was but the plot and

dialogs, even if not written by himself, captured the charm of the Discworld books quite well. As a game though, it was terrible. The puzzles were absurd and to solve them it was often required that you try and match every single item in your inventory with every other item or with points of interest in the environment, or with notes in your diary. Also, at certain points, a new inventory would be introduced (of smells, of colours, etc), multiplying the available combinations. My wife and I played Discworld Noir in a hot-seat setup over three or four days during a Christmas break in the early

Anger, frustration, disbelief, helplessness. 2000s. We had this ancient dial-up connection at home that worked with pre-paid vouchers and we were all out of minutes for the holidays, so we could not go online and check out a walkthrough. We were alone against the cruelty of Dicworld Noir’s designers. 6

I can’t tell you how many times we rage-quit the game over the course of those few days, swearing we would never boot it up again, only for one of us to return to it a couple of hours later and draw the other one back in. Anger, frustration, disbelief, helplessness. I believe that it was those strong, albeit negative, emotions that made Discworld Noir such a memorable experience. Did we enjoy feeling them? Of course not. But we both seem to have fond memories of that game, nevertheless. I certainly remember it better than other, better de-

signed, games I’ve played since. Which brings me to the actual, non-videogame-related topic of this story: instant video replays. This has been an issue in football lately. It is generally held that they will eliminate the possibility of a referee mistake influencing the outcome of a game and that that is a good thing. FIFA, football’s governing body, has so far been reluctant to introduce them but with elections for FIFA president upcoming, the issue is set to take centre stage. While I have no doubt that instant replays will make football a fairer game, I am very worried about the impact they may have on the beautiful game’s potential to create memorable experiences. The Hand of God goal (see box) scored by Maradona against England in the 1986

FIFA World Cup quarter-final is probably the most controversial goal ever scored and the match itself is one of football’s greatest classics. Would that have been the case if they had instant replays back then? Would Maradona have went on to score the Goal of the Century just four minutes later if his confidence hadn’t been boosted, and England’s diminished, by the first one? There cannot be definitive answers but I feel pretty sure

that this game, not even a final, would have been long forgotten if it weren’t for the controversy created by that legendary handball. Football lore would now be missing one of its most prominent and stirring tales if there were video replays back in 1986. I think inFamous, say, is a much better, but not nearly as memorable, a title as Discworld Noir. I reckon football with instant replays will be a better, but far less emotional, game. (~D)

rgentina v England, played on 22 June 1986, was a football match in the quarter-finals of the 1986 FIFA World Cup at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. The game was a key part in developing the intense football rivalry between the two nations. It was also a match which included two of the most famous goals in football history, both scored by Diego Maradona. His first, after fiftyone minutes, was the Hand of God goal, in which Maradona scored with an illegal, but unpenalised, handball. His second, after fifty-four minutes, saw him dribble past six England players. In 2002 this was voted Goal of the Century by FIFA.com voters. Argentina won the game 2–1 and went on to win the 1986 World Cup with a victory over West Germany in the final. (Wikipedia)

The gamer’s choice between good and evil I have noticed I have a real problem to play an evil character. When I’m faced with a choice between the good guys and the bad guys, I will always choose the former. In most games there is no picking between sides. I just have to decide what class I want to play, which is fine by me. Games like Fable II, though, can give me a headache. I’m finishing the game now and my character has the highest possible level of Pure and Good. I remember a quest about a woman ghost who wanted me to help her take revenge on her boyfriend. I helped her by making him fall in love with me and then breaking up with him, but the stupid man killed himself and I got Evil points. I was totally pissed at Fable II at that point for making me evil. In Champions: Return to Arms there is also a moment when the player has to pick which side to play on — the good or the bad. Even though I’ve replayed it several times in single player and several times in multiplayer with my husband, I have never chosen the dark side. I used to think that being evil in games bothered me, because I somehow related the choices I made in the virtual world to those I could make in the real one. And because I don’t want to hurt or insult people on purpose in reality I would not want to do that in games as well. However, in my favourite shooter games I have “hurt” a lot of enemies without that bothering me too much. So, how does that fit in with the whole “not wanting to be evil” thing?!

Suddenly, it hit me — it was not about me relating the game world to the real one, it was about me wanting to be the Hero of the story. The Hero is always good and helps people — solves their problems, kills the dragon, wins the war or purges the world from some other evil. When I am shooting nazis in Return to Castle Wolfenstein it’s OK and I don’t feel as the evil one, because I play American soldier B.J. Blaskowitz who, alone, faces armies of enemies, zombies and artificially created übersoldiers, so he is a Hero. The same goes for other shooters I’ve played. Especially in games such as Call of Duty, Medal of Honor or Vietcong I’m always put in the position of a good and able soldier, who shoots to kill, but kills for a good reason. That enormous desire to be the good guy in the story originates from the books, I think. Ever since people started writing, they were writing about the Heros of the day. Many stories I’ve read and loved always ended with the good prevailing over the bad. The best two books I have ever read — The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien and It by Stephen King, both tell the story of an epic battle between good and evil and they both end with the good guys beating the bad guys and it is a beating to remember! So, anytime I pick up the controller I want to be the Hero, to beat the evil and save the day. (~V)

genuinely liked the movie Sucker Punch in the most unfanboylike way possible. I found it a deep, thought-provoking piece of cinema that must be lauded by everyone who cares about the quality of how they spend their spare time. To say that I was surprised by the negative reviews it received is an understatement. I was shocked. Try as I may, I can’t get my head around this hostile reception. To me, Sucker Punch was a brilliant movie and I firmly plan to rewatch it multiple times after I buy the inevitable collector’s edition DVD. I thought it was so great that the Michael Bays and Jerry Bruckheimers of this world need to be systematically force-fed it until their brains are washed into accepting that over-the-top action and fantastic visuals can co-exist peacefully with a profound and meaningful narrative. Yet so many people thought so low of Sucker Punch that, as of writing this, Metacritic gives it an aggregate score of 33 (out of 100) and Rotten Tomatoes puts it at 21% on its Tomatometer. Of course, many of those film critics are just stupid and never really stood a chance of ever appreciating a movie like Sucker Punch. But many others count among the most bright and thoughtful minds out there. How come didn’t they get it? One possible reason may be that the movie is too gamelike and the best film critics are best at critiquing films, not games. Indeed, even some of the most prominent game reviewers out there are pretty rubbish at doing a genuine critique of games as works of art. As Eric Swain of The Game Critique blog noted on an only tangentially related subject, we “lack a universal critical language and ability to accurately describe the experience of playing” games. Take a look at this selection of quotes from various Sucker Punch reviews:

Jim Lane, Sacramento News & Review

Chris Tookey, Daily Mail

Lisa Giles-Keddie, Real.com

The movie is as dull as watching somebody else play an incoherent video game; it’s all hot chicks with guns, an elaborately sublimated masturbation fantasy for the kind of adolescent fanboy nerd that the really hot chicks won’t talk to.

(…) it seems to have been made for 15-year-old boys by a sad middle-aged man whose only experience of life is from violent comics, shoot-’em-up video games and online pornography.

(…) Sucker Punch is superficial and erotic visual stimulation, much like the kind of experience some might have when they immerse themselves in a video game to do battle with the enemy.

One of the indisputable flaws of Sucker Punch is its relatively simplistic plot and the way the story is told. It is very difficult to tell someone what the movie is about and not get a reaction along the lines of “wtf, that sounds stupid”. And the way the story is narrated is exactly like in a videogame. It kicks off with an emotional intro to set the stage and then proceeds in the most linear of ways to show you a series of quests, complete with mission briefing at the start and a boss battle at the end. These are punctuated by cutscenes that carry the narrative forward. In typical RPG fashion (Fallout 3, New Vegas, et al), it all ends with a narrator delivering cheesy pseudophilosophical lines about heroes and guardian angels. Yet, as with so many games, I was perfectly willing to shrug off those shortcomings. In the case of the

movie, I think this is justified by the fact that the story, schematic and ill-told as it is, was profoundly meaningful and touching and kept me thinking about what I had seen for a long, long time after the end credits rolled. But this is extremely rarely the case with games. I could probably think of no more than two or three titles that have a story as thought-provoking as Sucker Punch’s. Instead, what keeps me playing is the power of fantasy to make me experience what it feels like to be a character who I will not, want not or cannot be in reality. One of the key messages of Sucker Punch is that fantasy is an immensely empowering tool. In the movie, the protagonist Babydoll uses it as a coping mechanism to deal with serious real-life problems; but it also works in trivial situations like a lazy Sunday afternoon. I always tend to chose playing the paragon of virtue in RPGs. I really want to be a good person in my life, and for a whole lot of reasons (not least my egoism and societal pressure) I can’t possibly be as good as I’d like. Playing an inhumanly humane character helps me tackle the frustrations of a cynical world that sometime seems bent on preventing me from doing the right thing and of my own weaknesses. Growing up, one of my most persistent fantasies was being in a rock band. I actually convinced my parents to buy me a synthesiser when I was 14, and at about 16 I wouldn’t leave home without a set of drumsticks. Together with a couple of friends I even recorded a demo. It was so underground that underground bands will have to dig to reach its level, mostly because I suck in anything music-related. I can’t read notes or chords and I am completely un-

able to play anything that doesn’t ring false. Or, rather, was. Because that all changed when I got my first Guitar Hero set. All of a sudden I was this awesome rocker I’ve so longed to be. And it doesn’t only work with cherished dreams. For instance, I don’t like driving. Traffic makes me misanthropic and for this reason, I don’t own a car. Nor do I have any interest in cars and their engines, tires and various other bits. But if I were ever to be a driver, I would like to be a good one. And, thanks to games such as Need for Speed, I can pretend to be. Now, I’m not saying that this fantasy-fulfilling function of games accounts for all the gaming I do. I cannot explain in such terms why I’m so enamoured by World of Warcraft, for example, nor why I would ever enjoy any kind of shooter or wargame. And platformers and puzzles are genres where this cannot be applied at all. But I am saying that in many cases that is the chief, if not only, reason to like them. So I’ve grown accustomed to their specific deficits and I’m capable of ignoring them completely if there is a compelling reason to do so. Not so with film critics who, being unfamiliar with established videogame tropes and cliches, chose to highlight Sucker Punch’s gamelike shortcomings and fail to see what’s underneath. So if you’re on the fence about seeing the movie, don’t let the critical reception deter you. It’s basically the Ebert vs Games debate all over again: one cannot have a comprehensive opinion on things one does not understand. (~D)

e’re in a dark and small room that seems overcrowded. Are all those people here to join our group? I thought there’d only be five of us. Oh, wait. Some of the

Dungeon virgin A window pops up centre-screen. I hit the join button and it begins.

characters in the room are NPCs. I still can’t tell the difference between them and real “people”. Nobody’s standing still but me and it’s hard to keep track of who is doing what. I anxiously monitor the chat window for a whisper from Maerwo, the only person I know here. But he’s silent. Is there some kind of dungeon etiquette? I decide a greeting couldn’t hurt and venture a shy hi. Nobody answers but two people have said something along the same lines just seconds before me. So that’s three of us feeling friendly. This is not so bad. Somebody with a very long name inquires whether we’re still waiting for Maerwo. Nobody answers that but it appears that we are. I’m too busy trying to orientate myself to realise the potential of doing otherwise: I could have been stuck in a dungeon with four strangers eager to do the thing and be done with it, oblivious to the fact that it is my first time. By the way, how come there are characters with such long names? When I was choosing Indrun’s name I was only allowed

a limited number of letters and no spaces. One of the NPCs has an exclamation mark over his head. Are we supposed to receive a quest before we venture on? I right-click on him just in case. I like the stories that accompany quests, they’re funny. But do I have time to read this now? Is everybody else going to be waiting for me? Anyhow, it’s no use trying to read while simultaneously monitoring the chat window and the other characters for signs of impatience. I jut hit the accept button. Maerwo is finally here and we’re off. I have no idea where we’re going. I just follow the band. We are walking through narrow, stairy hallways whose walls take up most of the screen now. I can’t see anything other than the assess of the characters in

front of me. We stop and there are sounds of battle up ahead. Are we fighting someone? Why are assess so big in the World of Warcraft?! Frantically, I hover with the mouse over the

opening at the end of the hallway but the cursor doesn’t turn into a sword. How am I supposed to engage an enemy? Tab targeting!!! I can’t see what’s happening but my pet bear dashes forward, negotiating a path through the assess and the icons on my action bar indicate I’m in battle. Finally, familiar territory. I’ve gotten pretty good with my shot rotation by now, or so I reckon. It’s over and we move on. Inside the room there are signs of fighting. Dead bodies on the floor. One or two are spraklingly lootable. I go for it. There’s a green item but it would not be looted automatically. I try clicking on it and I’m told this item is still being rolled for. What does this mean? I wish I could ask Maerwo but everything is just so chaotic and disorientating that I can’t remember how one whispers in this game. The group presses on and I must follow. More hallways, more skirmishes hidden from view by behinds. Other than not being able to see what’s what, I begin to feel in control of my actions. I

think I’m doing pretty good. I still can’t get how one loots though. All this time we’ve barely spoken. At least I’ve barely spoken and I haven’t seen any activity in the chat box. Then again, people could have held debates in those first five minutes and I probably wouldn’t have noticed them in my utter confusion. We’re now in a large yard where there are big bad guys. I sic my bear on the one we seem to have engaged currently and remain on the stairs leading down to the yard, shooting from safe distance. He’s dead and the party moves on the next one. So does my aim. Suddenly a figure appears at the base of the stairs. It’s a non-human creature and it doesn’t mean me well.

calm of the purged hallways I can afford a peek at the chat window. Indnur wtf, someone demands to know. Maerwo is curious how I managed to die twice so fast. I really have nothing to tell them other than an ashamed sry. The guy or gal whose character has a very long name says it’s np. The relief. I turn a corner and there they are, my party having come back to fetch my lost ass. I’m grateful but keep a humiliated silence. Apart from the two-deaths embarrassment I feel I’m getting the hang of that dungeoneering business. I grow ever more confident as the party emerges victorious from fights in which I manage to outlive some of the others. I concentrate on figuring out how looting works. I have a vague idea that valuable items are rolled for and that common courtesy asks for one to only participate if one wants the item badly. On one body there’s a piece of chest armour that gives the wearer +5 Agility, my hunter’s primary stat. I want to roll for it, but how? Should I maybe click on the dice icon in the miniature window that opens for that item? Duh! Did I get it? I don’t know, I can’t tell. The rest of the party is hasting away so I run after them. They take a turn and are lost from sight. Where did they go? I take the first door and speed down a flight of stairs right into the hands of a an angry mob. RUN! My bear comes to the rescue and the party emerges from a door on the other side of the hall to finish off all

the baddies. A pet I think, somebody judges. No, I want to shout, I’m desperately trying not to be a huntard, my pet is under constant control. But shame prevents me from admitting that it was me who attracted the mob. The next fight seems very heated and leaves a lot of dead bodies in its wake. I proudly manage to survive it. Are we done yet? Was that the boss of the dungeon? Someone leaves. I decide to leave as well. Hm, leaving doesn’t transport me back to where I was before entering the dungeon. I’m still in it. I can see what party members are chatting about. They are surprised that two have left. I re-join. We find a new member and we move on. There’s a gem on one of the bodies of the mobs we kill in the next room. I use my newly gained knowledge of looting to click on the dice icon and claim it. Little do I understand that this is a mortal sin. I die at the next turn and when I resurrect in the graveyard I’m greeted by news that I’ve been kicked off the party. I decide that they must have become fed up with my n00bish dying-toomuch. At this point I do not suspect the term “loot ninja” even exists. And that was my first dungeon in World of Warcraft. Ten chaotic, nervous, ass-dominated minutes, the complete opposite of social and a total fiasco. How does anyone ever want to do that again? (~D)

I flee but I get stuck in a wall. Darned narrow hallways are my doom. I’m dead. Release your spirit? Later, it will be revealed that I should have waited for the healer to resurrect me. But at this point I don’t even know that’s an option so I send my ghost to the graveyard. My spawning place is just outside the dungeon. I get in and I realise that I’m literally at the entrance and have to find my party. I’m trying to move as quickly as possible but these ass-free hallways don’t look familiar. I’m under attack! Where is my blasted pet?! I forgot to call it when I resurrected! Back to the graveyard then. What are the others doing? In the

When co-op sucks The best thing about gaming is playing and talking with friends about playing. But can the two be combined and function successfully?

es, I know, I know, there are a lot of popular MMORPGs and a lot of other online games played co-operatively by millions of people worldwide. Nevertheless I would argue that multiplayer is not always as satisfying as many people are trying to convince us. I’m speaking from my own experience here. When I get in a multiplayer game with someone, if it is not a versus battle, it does not work very well. Even with my husband, with whom I get along pretty well in every other aspect of our life together, I am able to play only a limited number of games in a co-op. What’s the problem here? Several things come to mind. For one, we often fail to agree on the roles we should play in co-op. A fresh example — we had a great time with The House of the Dead: Overkill on the Wii, but he wanted to make combos and gain points and I just wanted to kill all zombies as quickly as possible, which left us agruing in the end.

Another example — we often play RPGs together, and often argue about looting rights. (I’m usually the one who complains about having been robbed of loot.) Other times the problem stems from the multiplayer mode itself. Most recently my husband and I shared our love for Fable II. He has played and replayed it a year ago and now I was finishing it for the first time. He would hang around and watch while I was playing, and we would discuss different features of the game. So one evening ahead of New Year’s we decided to play together. The co-op in Fable II offers the option to share money and experience and allows a newcomer to join an already started game, which is great. However, Player 2 does not have the same rights in the game as Player 1. In other words, one of the players takes the lead and the other one is just along for the ride. Player 2 cannot interact with townsfolk and merchants, which totally sucks. Another thing that majorly sucks in Fable II‘s co-op mode is the camera

movement — there is none. It just changes the whole perspective. As for things I’ve heard from friends playing World of Warcraft and Call of Duty — they are faced with various challenges: the gathering of a team of players at the same or similar level of experience is difficult as well as the finding of players dedicated to the game enough as to stick to the agreed timeframes. If you have a raid in WoW at 9pm and need 25 players to take part and if 15 of them don’t show it would be a problem. Playing WoW or CoD with friends may result in disagreement over game strategy, tactics and of course the classic “Who is the greatest gamer of the bunch?” As I see it the creating of a functioning game team is a delicate procedure, which could often result in total failure. I don’t think there is a special fault in any of the players for not making things work. In most cases multiplayer co-op is just that — playing and shouting at each other at the same time. Better to solve the whole thing with a nice and bloody Vs battle. In Vs fights (probably the best I’ve ever played have been in Quake III Arena and Tekken) there is no confusion about who should do what — you just aim at the nearest ass and kick away. (~V)

Listening to music, purposefully

hen I was in highschool, I wasn’t a gamer. I never owned a gaming console before the PS2 I got almost toward the end of the system’s lifecylce. Pre-uni, my encounters with PC games were few and far between, and invariably on somebody else’s

or pasted onto unwatched blackboards in empty classrooms. For a while I had lost that. Starting I don’t know when, I for years no longer indulged in the pleasures of making time especially for enjoying music undisturbed. Until Rock Band: Unplugged.

computer. I had two main pastimes back then. One was reading books, the other — listening to music. Never both at the same time, you understand. No, reading would interfere with the serious business that listening to music was. It was not like I was putting on some tunes to run in the background while getting engrossed in fantastic stories, though sometimes I did that too. It was listening to music for listening to music’s sake. Perusing the album cover and booklet. Reading all the names of the songs and all the credits. Committing the lyrics to memory so they could be scribbled on the backs of textbooks

It is not a new game, but I’ve only now come to playing it: and it’s a blast. I almost missed out the other night, having had planned a session of World of Warcraft kiting practice. Luckily, a laggy internet connection meant I was suddenly unengaged in the gaming area and, hey, what better time than this to dust off my wife’s PSP? I’ve played other music games before, who hasn’t. But none of them managed to even come close to how perfectly

Rock Band: Unplugged encapsulates the feeling of being in a room all alone with your favourite music. Even if there’s people around. The Game Heroes and Rock Bands and SingStars for home consoles are all great fun, but they are too social. They’re like enjoying music at a club, with other people. Rock Band: Unplugged is a different story. I put my earphones on and I’m left alone with some of the best tunes I ever remember humming to and some great ones I’ve never heard before (the Rock Band: Unplugged store is terrific.) Nor is it an alternative to just listen to music on my iPod. Without a game to capture my attention, my eyes and hands will be wander-

ing off to check out the TV or that fly on the wall, or the person next to me, or I’ll fall asleep. Rock Band: Unplugged helps me fight off these distractions. It helps me listen to music again. (~D)

personal discoveries

Less Talk More Rokk - Freezepop The Killing Jar - Siouxsie and the Banshees Kryptonite - 3 Doors Down