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Queen of Liars

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Blog Entries posted by Queen of Liars

  1. Queen of Liars
    At last, the unbearable heat has ended and it is raining. The best kind of weather. Well, second best. Nothing beats snow.
     
    Maybe now my brain will function well enough to get some work done
  2. Queen of Liars
    ...forever
     
    So today was my last day of sixth form. It's been an interesting couple of years and I will definitely miss these rather simple, but fun times. I've met some amazing people and had some great experiences and I'm sure that I'll look back with fondness on this time in the future. Ah, how quickly time passes, even when it seems slow in the moment.
     
    To celebrate/mourn, I'll be going to see Judas Priest and Saxon with a few friends tomorrow. This will probably be the last show I'll go to for a while, as I'm foreseeing that I'll neither have the time nor the money once I'm in university. But hey, what better last show than two of the most legendary British Heavy Metal bands of all time?
     
    High school, check; sixth form/college, check; university, here I come.
  3. Queen of Liars
    So, my cat swallowed a sewing needle that my mum left lying around in her room. Fortunately, it got stuck in the cat's throat and didn't enter the digestive system, so it should be alright as the vet removes it overnight. Close call though, hope my mum learns a lesson from that. It's not cool to leave needles lying around whether there are pets or not >.>
     
    On the upside, my book, The New Criminology, arrived today. It's supposed to be an approach towards crime and deviance that combines Marxist and Interactionist approaches, which sounds close to what I think about it, although I lean much more towards Marxism.. Hopefully I can finish it before my Sociology exam so that I can quote it there, as it was a cutting edge piece of work on criminology when it was first published
  6. Queen of Liars
    Gravedigger 2: The gallows-maker, for that frame outlives a thousand tenants.
    Gravedigger 1: I like thy wit well in good faith. The gallows does well, but how does it well? It does well to those that do ill. [...] To't again, come.
    Gravedigger 2: Who builds stronger than a mason, a shipwright, or a carpenter?
    Gravedigger 1: Ay, tell me that, and unyoke.
    [...]
    Gravedigger 2: Mass, I cannot tell.
    Gravedigger 1: Cudgel thy brains no more about it [...] and when you are asked this question next, say a grave-maker. The houses he makes lasts till doomsday.
     
    Gravedigger 1 would have to be my favourite Hamlet character. Witty fellow.
    And yes, studying Hamlet too much will result in randomly quoting it.
  7. Queen of Liars
    So today, roughly two weeks after we handed in our final coursework, he asks us to make sure that the question combinations we picked are allowed by the exam board, because the coursework is being sent off for moderation on Friday.
    Wonder what would have happened if someone actually didn't check that when they first picked their questions and only found out today that they're not allowed to do the two they chose.
  8. Queen of Liars
    ...was as awesome as everyone says it was. Brilliant film, and I'm considering going to see it again.
     
    Although I would have preferred not being shown the trailer for The Dark Knight Rises before the film. I like not having anything spoiled, thanks very much.
  9. Queen of Liars
    Well, handed in my final English and History coursework pieces today, and it feels good to have that done.
    Sadly, no time to relax, got to prepare for exams now.
     
    *Sigh* Can't wait for the summer, although I'll probably spend it being worried about results and whether I'll get into university...
  11. Queen of Liars
    I got a ridiculous amount of work to do for tomorrow and it looks like it will take me the night to do it...
    Well, that's what I get for so foolishly leaving it off until now. At least I have an empty timetable for tomorrow, so I'll just turn up, hand in the work, go home and sleep.
     
    Looks like I'll need some coffee for this one...
  12. Queen of Liars
    Never quite paid attention at how expensive university accommodation can be until I started applying for it for my first choice university today.
    The cheapest self-catered option is £97.86 weekly or £3914.40 annually, as a 40-week contract...
    That's a lot of money for a student ;_;
  13. Queen of Liars
    Since I now have a blog, I thought I might as well start doing occasional short album reviews.
    And since Tragic Idol - the thirteenth album from the founders of Gothic Metal, Paradise Lost - comes out in a week's time, I thought I'd review it's predecessor: 2009's Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us.
     

     
    This was Paradise Lost's twelfth album, and is my favourite by them. It actually also is one of my favourite albums of all time.
    In comparison to their previous albums, it continues the darker and heavier side of Paradise Lost established by 2007's In Requiem, but steps it up a notch, while also taking bits from all of their previous eras of sound and using them as inspiration.
    The opening track, As Horizons End, tells you exactly what you're in for: a melodic, melancholic and atmospheric, yet very heavy and guitar-driven Gothic Metal record. There are a few variations in pace throughout the album, with some slower songs like the title track or In Truth but the whole record flows very well and the mood is never broken.
    Gregor Mackintosh is my favourite guitarist and this album is a great showcase as to why: his songwriting is fantastic. This album is full of great guitar playing with brilliant riffs and and solos, all of which serve to create a powerful melancholic atmosphere, which is something I've always loved Paradise Lost for doing. An epic atmosphere which is further strengthened by Nick Holmes' powerful vocals.
    There is really nothing negative I can say about this album. It pushes all the right buttons for me and I am happy to be a die-hard fan of the band.
    Also worth noting is that I bought the 2 CD limited edition of this album on its release day, which came with three bonus tracks - Cardinal Zero, which is a very strong track that could have easily been on the regular album, and different versions of the title track and Last Regret, with the music performed by the Lost In Prague orchestra. Let me tell you, the orchestra versions are very epic indeed, although I do prefer the originals.
     
    Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us is the fathers of Gothic Metal showing everyone how it's done.
  14. Queen of Liars
    It's time for the bit of history coursework that I've been working on for the past three or so months.
     
    "Assess the view that the policy of National Prohibition created more problems than it solved".
    It may sound like tons of fun, but I assure you that it is not.
     
    I'm gonna need some coffee for this one.
     
     
    ...Someone save me
  16. Queen of Liars

    Dronevil

    By Queen of Liars,

    Finally managed to get my hands on a physical copy of my second favourite Boris album, and it is beautiful.
     

     

     

     
    Boris CDs are always really neat. Makes me feel a lot better about the prices of these Japanese-only ones.
  17. Queen of Liars

    Vinyl

    By Queen of Liars,

    I have now begun my quest to get around 10-15 of my favourite albums on vinyl, to go alongside the CDs.
     
    The first such acquisition is either my second or third favourite album - Das Seelenbrechen by Ihsahn, in lovely limited edition coloured vinyl. Here it is next to the digibook CD version:
     

     

     
    Bloody gorgeous.
  18. Queen of Liars

    Ihsahn

    By Queen of Liars,

    Time for an updated Ihsahn collection post I guess, given the new album:
     

    ^Click for a bigger picture
     
    Starting on the left:
     
    Thou Shalt Suffer, which is essentially the earliest incarnation of Emperor. They originally released one death metal/black metal EP in 1991 - Into the Woods of Belial - before the band split up, with Ihsahn and Samoth forming Emperor immediately afterwards. However, Ihsahn used the name again in 2000 to release his solo album Somnium, this time it being a neoclassical/darkwave/ambient album. Both releases are pictured.
     
    Next up, the legendary Emperor, one of the most influential and well regarded black metal bands in the history of the genre. The releases are:
     
    Emperor/Wrath of the Tyrant (a compilation including the self-titled EP and the first demo)
    In the Nightside Eclipse
    Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk
    IX Equilibrium (Special Edition)
    Prometheus: The Discipline of Fire & Demise
    Scattered Ashes: A Decade of Emperial Wrath
    In the Nightside Eclipse (20th Anniversary Edition)
     
    Following this, we have Peccatum, an avant-garde band which Ihsahn formed with his wife Ihriel (aka Starofash) as Emperor was coming to an end. Here we have:
     
    Strangling from Within
    Amor Fati
    Lost in Reverie
    Oh, My Regrets EP
    The Moribund People EP
     
    Now we get to my favourite of these: Ihsahn's solo work which is what he primarily occupies himself with these days. Included here are:
     
    The Adversary
    angL
    After (Limited Edition)
    Eremita (Limited Edition Digibook)
    Das Seelenbrechen (Limited Edition Digibook)
    Arktis. (Limited Edition Digibook)
     
    Before we get to the stack all the way on the right, let's look at the three at the bottom:
     
    Blood Must Be Shed - a one-of EP by members of Emperor, Satyricon and Dødheimsgard.
    Grimen by Hardingrock - an experimental folk project by Ihsahn and Ihriel, joined by Norwegian folk musician Knut Buen.
    Fjelltronen by Wongraven - the dark folk/ambient/medieval project by Satyr of Satyricon, on which Ihsahn plays the grand piano and synths.
     
    As for the stack on the right, that one is for all the albums Ihsahn has appeared on as a guest:
     
    The Sham Mirrors by Arcturus
    Deconstruction by Devin Townsend Project
    Plains of Oblivion by Jeff Loomis
    Bilateral by Leprous
    Coal by Leprous
    Iter.Viator by Starofash
    Silence in the Snow by Trivium
    Themes from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and *Heck* by Ulver
  19. Queen of Liars

    Arktis.

    By Queen of Liars,

    Finally received my copy of the new Ihsahn album the other day, after there being some delays with the limited editions.
     

     
    An excellent album which was well worth the wait. Not quite as good as his previous three, but I'd still be surprised if it isn't my album of the year.
     
    Perhaps I'll do an updated post of my entire Ihsahn collection later, when I'm not busy listening to Arktis.
  20. Queen of Liars
    10 - Party Hard
     

     
    A fun little stealth game which plays a bit like a top-down Hitman.
    It's 3 AM and you're simply trying to sleep, but the house next door is having an obnoxiously loud party. The most rational course of action is of course to put on a hockey mask and murder everyone at the party, so that's exactly what you do.
     
     
    9 - The Consuming Shadow
     

     
    A procedurally generated, Lovecraftian-themed survival horror game by Ben 'Yahtzee' Croshaw, of Zero Punctuation fame. It's quirky, and more than a bit janky, but it is also very engrossing and enjoyable. The world is being invaded by an ancient evil, and you have 60 hours to figure out exactly which of the evil aspects is invading, how to perform the ritual to banish it, and get to the location in one piece to perform said ritual. Piecing together the evidence and clues is really fun, and all the while there's a lot of tension as both the timer and your sanity tick down, the latter of which causes some very subtle and clever changes as it depletes.
     
     
    8 - Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
     

     
    Certainly a very creative way to do multiplayer. One person looks at a bomb, while the other person (or people) look at the diffusal manual, with neither being able to see the other, and try to diffuse the bomb before it explodes. It's all in how well players can communicate with each other, and gets very tense very quickly. Some of the most fun I've had with a multiplayer game.
     
     
    7 - Sunless Sea
     

     
    Continuing with the Lovecraftian themes, we have Sunless Sea. Rarely do I see a game with such a totally engrossing world. You're the captain of a ship in some sort of Victorian Gothic London setting, and you explore this strange and dark world, trying to not go insane in the process.
    Now, the combat in this game is something I'm not a fan of at all, but its presence on this list regardless is only testament to the incredible world-building and narrative Sunless Sea accomplishes.
     
     
    6 - Crypt of the NecroDancer
     

     
    A challenging, but incredibly enjoyable roguelike rhythm game. Perhaps even the best rhythm I've played.
    In standard roguelike fashion, you explore dungeons and fight various enemies, but have to do everything to the beat of the music, which can lead to some very hectic moments when you try to figure out how to defeat a group of enemies while not missing a beat.
    Of course any rhythm game needs a good soundtrack, and this one sure has an amazing one, courtesy of Danny Baranowsky.
     
     
    5 - Volume
     

     
    I've been looking forward to this one pretty much since it was announced, and was not disappointed. Mike Bithell delivers a fantastic stealth game with this cyberpunk retelling of Robin Hood, and shows that Thomas Was Alone wasn't a fluke.
     
     
    4 - Her Story
     

     
    Very interesting and well executed idea for a game. Without going into spoilers, Her Story provides a gripping narrative, and an engaging way of uncovering it. It really makes you feel like a detective piecing together a mystery.
     
     
    3 - Black Closet
     

     
    Speaking of detectives, we have this game from the developer of Long Live The Queen. Probably best described as a strategy game with a visual novel presentation, Black Closet is a very engaging and unique title. You take on the role of the president of the student council in a highly prestigious school, and are tasked with solving various cases in order to prevent scandals and thus preserve the school's reputation. You command the other five members of the council in your investigations, taking into account their strengths and weaknesses, trying to solve the cases as fast as possible, but not acting too rashly, as the reputation of the council itself is also something you have to worry about, and thus you don't want to go around harassing innocent people.
    Oh, and all the while one of the council members is actually a traitor trying to sabotage you, there's some sort of secret society within the school, and there may be something sinister going on with the teachers you work for, which are all things you might want to look out for.
     
     
    2 - Invisible, Inc.
     

     
    Klei Entertainment deliver once again with this fantastic cyberpunk stealth strategy game. It plays a lot like XCOM: Enemy Unknown, but purely focusing on stealth. You command your agents through the offices of various mega corporations, utilising their unique abilities and tools to remain undetected as you accomplish your objectives. All the while the level of security increases as the corporations realise that someone has infiltrated, so your time is short. You can try to hack and empty that one extra safe, but more guards will arrive by the time you're done. Whether that's worth the risk is up to you.
     
     
    1 - Darkest Dungeon
     

     
    Not only the best game I've played this year, but one which ranks amongst the best games I've played ever.
    So, what is Darkest Dungeon? According to the store page, it "is a challenging gothic roguelike turn-based RPG about the psychological stresses of adventuring". That is indeed what it is, but oh it is also so much more.
    The game has an absolutely gorgeous, yet dark aesthetic, an amazing atmosphere, and probably the best narrator I've ever heard in a game in the form of Wayne June, along with a great soundtrack from Stuart Chatwood (also responsible for the amazing soundtracks to the Prince of Persia games). It has incredibly engaging and challenging gameplay, as you recruit heroes, make your party, and descend into dungeons to fight eldritch monstrosities, using strategy and tactics to overcome their strength.
    And yet, those are not the best parts of Darkest Dungeon. Those would be the quirk and stress mechanics, which I will now gush over. They are just so well implemented and add so much depth to the game, and a rarely seen level of agency possessed by characters.
    So the quirk mechanic is pretty simple. All heroes start with, and then develop additional quirks, some positive, some negative. Some of these merely affect their stats and abilities - a hero might be sickly and thus more susceptible to diseases, or perhaps they're a known cheat and aren't allowed to gamble in the town. That sort of thing. But the really interesting quirks are the more insidious ones. For example, a hero might be a kleptomaniac. And if you had said hero in your party, you might find that some chests are mysteriously rather light on loot. Or sometimes they may just steal the loot for themselves right in front of you before you can collect it, and not even try to hide it. And there's lots of quirks like that.
    Stress on the other hand, is a little more complicated. The mental health of your heroes is a very important part of the game, and to put it simply, as they explore dungeons, their stress levels will rise by various means. Once it gets to a certain point, their resolve will be tested. Sometimes, a hero will overcome the stress and display newfound courage. But more often than not, they will break, and gain an affliction. Apart from stat penalties, afflictions will change how the hero behaves. For example, a hero may become selfish when their resolve breaks, and move back in the formation, putting your other heroes in harm's way. Alternatively, you may try to have the selfish one heal another hero, only to have them refuse and heal themselves instead. One time I had a hero become paranoid after their resolve broke, which at first didn't manifest itself in an obvious way. But then my healer missed an attack, and the paranoid hero muttered something along the lines of "how could she possibly miss...", and from there on they refused to be healed by her, being convinced that the healer was in league with the enemy.
    I could keep going on about how much I love these mechanics, but you get the picture. It's just so cool to see characters have this degree of their own agency.
    So yes, Darkest Dungeon is phenomenal, and is my game of the year.
     
     
     
    So there we go, that's my list. Ended up being all indie games, but hey, they're that good.
    You may also notice that my list doesn't contain a certain indie game which generated a rather large amount of hype and acclaim this year, taking many by surprise with its writing and treatment of player choice. Yes, I'm indeed afraid that HuniePop did very narrowly miss out on being on the list, but you can consider it to be at the 11th spot if it makes you feel better.
  21. Queen of Liars
    Classic Bethesda.
     
     
    Tried all the fixes and whatnot, so I'm just stuck here waiting for them to hopefully fix it, and by the looks of various forums I'm not alone. Thankfully Steam refunds now exist, so I'll be getting one of those if this isn't addressed soon.
     
    Disappointing, but not unexpected. I'm not one to purchase games at release, precisely because of things like this, but Fallout is one of the few exceptions I'm willing to make.
     
    Granted, the game is not looking great, especially for someone whose idea of a perfect Fallout game is New Vegas. From what I've read and seen, a lot of it is dumbed down compared to the previous games, with things like the new dialogue wheel looking especially terrible, along with a smörgåsbord of other issues to give modders a ton of work to do. The story and writing are also apparently typical Bethesda, which is to say they're trash.
    Hopefully once I can actually play it I'll be pleasantly surprised, but I've played enough Bethesda games to not set my expectations too high. Oh well, we'll see.
  22. Queen of Liars

    Happy Halloween

    By Queen of Liars,

    Oh look, an excuse to use my blog.
     
    I do hope everyone's having a nice and appropriately themed Halloween though. It's always a fun time.
     
    I'm enjoying a Halloween playlist, but I've been busy lately so it's a bit more hastily put together than usual. Still, it'll do the job. Might follow it up with some appropriate gaming and/or movie watching later tonight.
  23. Queen of Liars

    Refused

    By Queen of Liars,

    After two weeks of delays, I finally received my limited edition copy of the new Refused album.
    Protip: don't buy stuff from Kings Road Merch. I wouldn't have, since this isn't the first time I had problems with them, but it was the only place you could get the limited edition from.
     
    Anyway, the new Refused album. Freedom. 17 years after releasing what I consider to be the greatest album of all time, The Shape of Punk to Come, Refused have finally returned, and I couldn't be happier. I'm still not over the fact that this album actually exists. For 17 years, a new Refused album seemed like it would never happen. Yet, here it is:
     

     
    Such an excellent album too. It's no TSoPtC of course, but that's fine. Nothing is. And Freedom doesn't try to be anyway. Just like they used to do on their previous albums, Refused drastically changed their sound again, continuing to experiment with new things, while retaining the unmistakable Refused qualities.
     
    I guess it's time to show off my updated Refused collection, which are words I did not think I would get to say:
     

     
    On the left:
     
    This Just Might Be... The Truth
    Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent (limited edition digipak)
    The Shape of Punk to Come (2010 deluxe reissue)
    Freedom (limited edition book)
     
    On the right:
     
    This Album Contains Old Songs and Old Pictures Vol. 1 (Also Known as The EP Compilation)
    This Album Contains Old Songs and Old Pictures Vol. 2 (Also Known as The Demo Compilation)
    The New Noise Theology EP
     
    Hopefully this time around it won't be too long until there's another thing to be added to this collection.
    Long live the New Noise.
  24. Queen of Liars
    After some delays with the official Century Media store, my copy of the new Paradise Lost album finally arrived yesterday:
     

     
    A thing of beauty, and probably my album of the year. Of the announced albums I'm aware of this year, only Refused or Ihsahn have a chance of dethroning it.
     
     
    This also means that it's a good time for a Paradise Lost collection post:
     

    ^Click for a bigger picture
     
    So, the two on the left are:
     
    Drown in Darkness - The Early Demos
    Symbol of Life (Limited edition digipak)
     
    Then the pile in the middle:
     
    Lost Paradise
    Gothic
    Shades of God
    Icon (Limited edition digipak)
    Draconian Times
    One Second (Limited edition digipak)
    Host
    Believe in Nothing
    Paradise Lost (Limited edition digipak)
    In Requiem
    The Anatomy of Melancholy
    Tragic Illusion 25 (The Rarities)
    The Plague Within (Limited edition digibook)
     
    And finally the two on the right:
     
    Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us (Limited edition digibook)
    Tragic Idol (Limited edition box set; signed by the band)
     
    One of my all-time favourite bands, and one of my most valued collections.
  25. Queen of Liars

    Exams Done

    By Queen of Liars,

    Well, I had my last exam on Friday, which went about as poorly as expected. I guess that at least means I haven't had any expectations crushed =P
    Either way, it's a relief to finally have it out of the way and not have to think about it anymore. I was approaching breaking point with stress and anxiety, and it's good to at least have that source of it removed.
     
    And so that's it. My three years of university have passed, and hopefully so have I. Quite the three years, these were. It's interesting to reflect on them and see both how much and how little I've changed. It's definitely going to feel very strange not having university anymore.
     
    For now, I can relax for while, which is really nice. I'll be trying to focus on music this summer, specifically honing my guitar skills, as well as messing around with FL Studio and other software, while I try to set up a good opportunity to move to either Japan or Norway for a while. We'll see how that goes.
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