The Score Issue 1 by Jim Cooper

THIS IS IVY LEAGUE

YOU BETTER NOT BE READING MY COPY OF THE SCORE.

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welcome H

ello and welcome to The Score - a publication dedicated to bringing you the latest and greatest from the worlds of music, film, videogames and literature. Whether we’re discussing the efforts of new artists, old favourites or current darlings, we hope we can encourage you to approach new work and reappraise classics with fresh eyes. While most magazines are news and review-led, we understand that this is not necessarily what our readership want. The internet has enabled us all to read reviews of new work long before magazines can publish their verdicts; so it seems a little pointless to include them in this publication - something that we plan to publish quarterly. Instead, we have decided to concentrate on features, interviews and restrospective articles. We hope you find The Score to be an entertaining, varied and enlightening read. Of course, we all love to read verdicts on the latest releases and argue their merits (or otherwise); therefore, reviews for all the major (and minor) releases we can lay our hands on will appear on our website. Followed, no doubt, by some goodnatured debate on our forum. Head over to www.the-scoremagazine.com to join in the debate yourself and tell us what you think of The Score.

The world of entertainment has always been a fluid one - driven by technology and swept along by trends in society. With this in mind, we also hope to bring you plenty of exclusive, downloadable content on a regular basis; which may take the form of music, film shorts, games or e-books. We kick things off in fine style this issue with some exclusive content from our regular contributor, Mister Fusty, as well as tracks from our cover-featured artists, This Is Ivy league. Make sure you take time to listen to them all - you won’t be sorry! Then, of course, there’s the mag itself. Firstly, our cover piece - an interview with ace psychedelic pop duo This is Ivy League. Chasing after the League like a hungry bear come articles on Michael Mann, Zombies, Batman, Blood Bowl, The Coen Brothers and much more besides. Who says that you can’t always get what you want? Pardon? Mick who? Editor

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Having spent the last few weeks writing, designing, chasing copy, sub-editing and generally turning himself into a nervous wreck, Jim’s having a nice lie down at the moment. At least until Wall•E comes out.

MRFUSTY

MUSICO

The last few weeks have been trialsome for Fusty. Not only is there a continued absence of a new Beach Boys album, but one of his favourite European breweries has gone bust. The horror. THE HORROR!

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Resident Champion of The Beard and Batman lover par excellence, Paul is currently queueing for his Dark Knight tickets, grabbing passers-by and screaming “it’s coming, it’s COMING!”

MATTYJ

GAMEBOY

New lad Matt’s been given something of a baptism by fire, this issue. “Hey Matt, can you write a giant article in, like, an hour or two? Matt? Hello? Matt, are you there?” We promise we won’t do it again. Probably.

GREGM

PATER FAMILIAS

When not telling us all how awesome a zombie invasion would be, Greg’s been playing GTAIV as if his life depended on it. When not doing that, he’s been thinking about GTAIV. Or dreaming about it. Or...

TOML

TABLE-TOPPER

Tom’s obsession with beasties is becoming worrying. Last week we found him poring over an image of something dragged from the sea that appeared to be a hybrid of a cancerous lung and a spider. Er... Tom. Er...

DAVEM

SMOOTHIE

Dave’s our antipodean writer and the subject of our envy. Year round sunshine and ladies in hot pants? Screw you, Dave. Still, he’s coming to Blighty this month for our “summer”. That’ll learn him...

JONH

INQUISITOR

After tackling The Explorers Club, Jon’s next assignment looms large. What to do? Tackle the vagaries of modern pop? An in-depth look at the R’n’B world? Or disappear for weeks in a drunken haze? Guess what...

SOUL MAN

The Score is created exclusively using Apple computers and Adobe Creative Suite 3, because they’re ace and Windows smells of feet.

PAUL

TYRANT

All images, artwork and screenshots are used for review and criticism purposes only and are the property of their respective owners. All copyrights are acknowledged. If we have failed to acknowledge your copyright, please do not hesitate to contact us so that we can rectify the situation. The Score is completely independent and is not related or affiliated to any company mentioned herein.

JIM

DISCLAIMER: Please note that, while every effort is made to ensure that all information presented in this publication is accurate, stuff happens, y’know? Dates and prices change, sometimes the teaboy/researcher cocks things up and occasionally the universe conspires to make us look less than Utterly And Terrifyingly Right In All Respects. If any such instance occurs, we apologise. Please contact us to let us know so that we can ignore you with aplomb. And punch the teaboy.

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courage

This Is Ivy League 08 14

Black Orc Down 14 Mister Fusty 22

Reality in Widescreen 26 The Darkest Knight 32 Zombies! 40 The Explorers Club 48 40

5 of the Best: The Coens 52 How to Shoot Friends and Incinerate People 60 From the Forum 70

Gremill 72

dungeon of

despair

Much will tickle our collective fancies over the coming weeks. Probably not these horrors though.

SPACE CHIMPS

NEW ‘THE CURE’ ALBUM

THE LOVE GURU

CHINESE DEMOCRACY

Whilst the title is wonderfully reminiscent of the timeless Muppets “Pigs In Space” sketches; we have the horrible feeling that Warner Bros. are merely playing on our vaguely concealed love for all things ‘space’ and ‘chimp’.

Now, we love The Cure. They’ve done some wonderful stuff (granted, most of which was released between 1985 and 1994), and their latest volume is due some time in September. Cause for rejoicing, you’d think.

Mike Myers hasn’t had a hit since the Austin Powers franchise hung up its flares (we’re not counting the Shrek franchise as it’s an abomination) and buck teeth.

Honestly, does anyone care anymore?

Cunningly combining two of the best things in existence does not, in all probability, a good videogame make. In fact, from everything we’ve seen of this, it looks as though it’ll be a complete dog’s dinner.

However we can’t get past the fact that grown men getting all emo and dressing like Brandon Lee got a bit creepy a few years ago. Desist, you mascara-loving misanthropes.

Still, we’ll most likely buy it anyway because it features chimps. In space. And we’re idiots. Damn you, Warner Bros., you maniacs. Damn you all to hell!

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After enduring the Love Guru trailer Midgets! ‘Comedy’ accents! Knob gags! - we’re beginning to suspect that this is because he ran out of ideas in 1997. We hope we’re wrong, but when a trailer (the thing that’s supposed to get bums on seats by being representative of the film’s best bits, remember) is this bad, it doesn’t bode well. Looking awesome. Not.

Anyone? Hello?

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Conversely, these beauties have the potential to be more fun than a barrel of monkeys. Monkeys in stetsons.

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RIGHTEOUS KILL

NEW METALLICA ALBUM

WALL•E

FABLE 2

De Niro and Pacino, together again - this time for the whole film, not just for a cup of coffee and a stroll across an airfield. They’re playing a pair of veteran NYC cops on their final case - chasing down a vigilante serial killer - one that may prove they’ve put an innocent man behind bars.

Okay, let’s get this over with right now – we’re aware that the ‘Tall haven’t made a decent metal album (excluding the wondrous live album S&M) for more than a decade.

When it comes to mixing intolerable levels of cuteness with brilliant writing, intelligent humour and stupendous visuals, no-one does it quite like Pixar. Many have tried and failed miserably (hello Barnyard); others have tried and not done too bad (hello Over The Hedge). But no one’s quite recaptured that Pixar magic.

We hate RPGs. We do, however, like the idea of being an unstoppable barabrian death-machine with an axe the size of Texas. Sadly, we object (in the strongest possible terms) to almost everything else that goes along with the genre. Statistics? No. Stupid names made entirely of consonants? You’re having a laugh, right?

Wall•E already appears to be the ultimate expression of that magic. Never before has a trailer and series of teasers actually had us almost in tears with laughter and the sheer beauty of it all. This simply cannot come quickly enough.

Thus it was that we thoroughly enjoyed Fable: a game that took all the good bits from RPGs and wrapped them up with some of the most unintentionally hilarious dialogue in years.

Dealing with themes of revenge, justice, obsession and trust, it sounds like it could be a cracker. Of course, with an unproven director ( Jon Avnet), two stars that haven’t had a genuine dramatic hit in years and taking into account the fact that it also “stars” one Curtis Jackson (aka ‘50 Cent’), it could well prove to be a by-the-numbers bore-a-thon. We remain hopeful, however, that the last vestiges of love for these to thesping giants won’t be rent from our rose-tinted hearts.

However, St. Anger had a few moments of the old glory, even if they were hidden beneath layers of snare and battling riffs. Which is amazing considering it’s tortured and drawn-out ceration. Remember too that, when they’re on fire, no one does metal like these guys. Flames of hope were fanned by a preview of some new material at their Wembley gig last year, which went down a storm. Early reports mention a return to Puppets form and an emphasis on heavy riffs. We reckon this just might be the year that the ‘Tall we all know and love return...

Anyone that doesn’t already love Wall•E clearly has no soul and we don’t want to know them. Just look at him. Altogether now... Awwwwwww.

The sequel is well in hand now. Looking seriously pretty and offering the player a constant canine companion, we can see ourselves losing a mountain of hours to this. And you can still pop people’s heads off with lightning. Which is nice.

THIS IS IVY LEAGUE by Paul & Mister Fusty

his is Ivy League, are Alex Suarez and Ryland Blackinton from Brooklyn, New York. Their sound is not typically modern New York in attitude, theirs is an acoustic reverie more in thrall to 1960’s Simon & Garfunkel or 1980’s bed sit-land England. This is Ivy League contains bright and slightly fey pop tunes similar to bands from the unfairly and awfully named ‘quiet is the new loud’ movement, like Kings of Convenience or Belle and Sebastian. Although their sound is nothing new, they do put their own personality and style on here with breezy, almost bossa nova-esque rhythms and tight harmonies. Their debut album is an addictive, melodious gem with more poppy hooks than we are accustomed to, in these days of trudging through radio airwaves consumed by bands who were influenced by bands who were influenced by Coldplay. This is an album that is unashamedly POP and I mean that in the best possible way. Every track bubbles with wonderful melodies and harmony between Ryland and Alex. ‘London Bridge,’ one of the highlights, is a delightfully catchy song, perhaps the title hinting at their British indie influence. They could almost be a 21st century Pale Fountains, a preppy and cleaner cut Head Brothers. The hint of vintage synths and trumpets makes the sound not just an allacoustic strum und drang.

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The album is brief at less than 40 minutes, but that is no bad thing, as this feels just right; sometimes you wish that more bands would adopt this policy. You are left wanting to start the album again, which is rewarding in itself, as the album gets better with every listen. The Score caught up with Ryland Blackinton to chat about their music and why the could end up being in a league of their own…

How long have you been making music? We read you were involved in Cobra Starship; how did that come about?

consideration, we decided it would be a lot of fun. Since then, we’ve been able to travel all around the world and meet a multitude of interesting characters.”

We’d like to talk a little bit about your influences because there are a lot present in the sound on This Is Ivy League. Simon & Garfunkel are really apparent on some tracks, Brian Wilson’s presence is definitely apparent on some of the instrumental breaks. It has that beautiful 60s/ Mamas and Papas sound or maybe even some Free Design? It’s really rich in that sunshine pop, beautiful melodies and harmonies feeling. What kind of music did you

“I have a lot of distinct memories about listening to The Big Chill soundtrack as a child...” “I started my first band when I was 13 in Massachusetts. Alex and I have known one another since our teens but didn’t start making music together until 2005. About a year after that, one of Alex’s neighbours asked us if we wanted to go out on tour with his old bands lead singer. We got together and talked it over and heard some of his demos. After some

love growing up/now and how did that influence your sound and the kind of music you want to write? “I have lots of distinct memories about listening to The Big Chill soundtrack as a child. Even now, I regard it as one of the best soundtracks ever compiled. Not a bad song on the whole record. My mother played it almost every time we’d drive

“We loved the way they sounded but knew we had to re-record it all.” anywhere. Pet Sounds is another nostalgic record for me and it was a big inspiration for the conception of This is Ivy League’s sound along with Nick Drake and Astrud Gilberto.”

Do you think that it is hard to be recording a style of music that some may find to be deliberately regressive or nostalgic for the sake of nostalgia? Personally, we found it to have that very rare quality of being steeped in the past while not being a slave to it. Slightly similar to Jeff Buckley or Nick Drake in the way that placing the music in time is difficult, in that really good way. It exists on its own terms. “Well, although we never consciously meant to be a revivalist band, we definitely draw influences from bands who made records before 1971 and the result is a retro sound. We’re pretty stuck in the past but I think as long as you are honest about the songs rather than campy, people won’t take you for some lame Stones cover band. Such a fine line, y’know?”

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How about the recording process, did it take you long to complete this album, from the writing of the material to recording to mixing/mastering? “I had written a couple of the songs in 2005 right before getting together with Alex. I didn’t know what to do with them and Alex had a bunch of good ideas and suggestions and we just spent a few weeks writing together. We recorded everything we did right after we wrote it and the result was a bunch of extremely inconsistent recordings. Some of these ended up on our first EP the following year. We loved the way they sounded but knew we had to re-record it all. We would write on our time off from touring with Cobras, which wasn’t very much. At the end of 2007 we had some time off at home and decided to spend it cutting the album. We wrote a few new songs, recorded the drums in one day then vocals and everything else the next two days. It all happened quickly but I wouldn’t change anything about it. We were so excited to be doing it that it flew by. It felt very natural.”

Is it an equal song-writing partnership? How many people play/sing on the album? “We write and perform all the music between the two of us and I write most of the lyrics where Alex does all the percussion. We basically split up playing all the other instruments depending on who was standing closer to it. Our friend Michael Leviton sang and played a bit at the end of “Celebration” as well.” Do you perform live? How did people react to you initially? Do you see yourself more as a live act or a studio band?

“We do perform live although in the past year we have only played a handful of shows due to our involvement with Cobras. We always try to play at least once when we come home and it’s always a lot of fun. Our first few shows were just me and Alex with acoustic guitars. I think this has a certain aesthetic but the more electric we’ve become, the more fun the shows have become for us. We love to play live and we also love to geek out in the studio. I think we regard the two as pretty separate entities because we don’t have the means to recreate all the instrumentation on the record. Lately we’ve been picking up more and more musicians and friends to lend a hand so hopefully we will soon.”

Your music is refreshing in the manner in which it uplifts with its deliciously upbeat melodies and productions-- do you hold listening to music as an integral part of your life? Do you actively try to create music that has a positive emotional/ psychological effect on people?

“in the past few years we have only played a handful of shows due to our involvement with Cobras...”

“I listen to music as often as I can and like lots of other people, I find it therapeutic. We try to write music that makes us happy and that we would like to listen to. Even if a song is about a sad subject, we try to convey it in an uplifting way.”

On a purely practical side of things, it is extremely refreshing to hear an album that is *under* the 40 minute mark. That’s one of my pet peeves, when you have

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74 minute albums which are over half great but then have all this filler thrown on there. Rap/ R&B albums are particular offenders. It really reminds of the Beach Boys “Friends” in how its brevity adds to the overall experience and atmosphere. I’m much more inclined to listen to shorter albums more often too. Was the length of the album consideration of yours? “I love that Record! Well, I think again, this is an issue of time. We had a tight deadline and could only record when our respective roommates were at work so we didn’t have much time to add a lot of fluff. I think this was a good thing. Also, we like the Britpop rule that songs shouldn’t be much longer than three minutes.”

How do you feel about the current state of the Record Industry? General question, we know. With the shutting down of Oink and the suing of that American woman for a quarter of a million dollars; do you feel that the Record Industry is totally out of touch? They are quite possibly punishing those who are “least guilty”, as in the people know the least about the technology and are the most likely to be caught. How do you view illegal downloading? How hard are you finding it to make money off of what you’re doing? ”I do think it’s a bizarre time to be involved in the music industry. People are becoming obsolete as the Internet and digital sharing are opening up huge opportunities for artists. Sooner or later, everyone will embrace the inevitable fact that the Internet is the strongest tool available and

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find a new way to wield it and survive as a musician. We are glad to have people interested enough to download our record. We make enough money at gigs to pay for the rehearsal space and the cab ride home. This is the way it is for most musicians I think.”

What was your favourite album of 2007? What was the best concert you were at last year? What are you currently listening to? “My favourite album of ‘07 was Night Falls Over Kortedala by Jens Lekman. The best show was probably Ratatat at Webster Hall. Lately we’ve been listening to this guy Patrick Cleandenim. I think he lives somewhere nearby, but he writes the most beautiful orchestral pop. A real crooner too. Also lots of Kinks, the new Ratatat single, Beach House and Peter & Gordon.”

Who do you appreciate that is making music today? Is there anyone you’d like to work with, whether a producer or artist? “I think that Ratatat and Hot Chip are writing really unique and intelligent music. I also like the newest Panda Bear record and again, Patrick Cleandenim really blows my mind.”

What are the benefits/detractions from the reduction in cost of recording music? Everybody can pretty much afford to record an album in their house now and put it directly onto the Internet with sites like Myspace for people to hear. Does this make it harder to be heard? Or do the

“Sooner or later everyone will embrace the fact that the Internet is the strongest tool available...”

benefits outweigh the negatives? “That’s hard to say. We made our record with two $100 microphones on our laptops and a lot of our friends make records the same way. I don’t think people really care about high-tech audio quality these days because they’re probably listening to music through cheap computer speakers or headphones. You no longer have to get a record deal and money for a studio in order to be heard and I think this overall accessibility is good thing. People can focus more on the music itself.”

How do you feel about older artists continuing to produce new material? For instance, Brian Wilson is in the midst of finishing his new album “That Lucky Old Sun”, his first completely new work since his 1988 solo album. Many people criticise his choice to continue to record and release material, claiming that he’s lost it and should go home. Do you think that your making music will be a long term goal for you?

“A Coronoa commercial would be ideal!”

“I’m not sure. The thought of being some crumpled dad with a beer belly and a denim shirt covering Shins songs in a bar 30 years down the line is pretty bleak but I think I will continue to do it as long as it fulfils me. I hope it does for a long time. I’m also sort of biased to Brian Wilson.”

“We’re doing some collaborations with friends that will hopefully be available before year’s end and we plan to do some local shows in September.”

Is there anything you want to plug? Where can people buy your stuff? “Well, our LP and EP are both on iTunes now. We’re also very proud to have our friend Hope Gangloff (www.hopegangloff. com) illustrate our album again. She blows my mind.”

Your thoughts on the use of your music in advertising, would you consider it? “Absolutely. I think as long as the product wasn’t something we were opposed to, we’d be thrilled. A Corona commercial would be ideal.”

Rolling Stone and Pitchfork have mentioned you as being an up ‘n’ coming outfit. Has the critical reception to your work surprised you? “We just feel so fortunate to have people enjoy music that we enjoy making so much.”

What are you plans for the future? Are there any concerts or EPs in the pipeline?

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BL ACK Orc n w Do By

Tom powerfist’ Lloyd

Hwere into Warhammer, White

ands up if this sounds familiar: you

Dwarf and other such nerdery as a kid, but stopped playing wargames when you realised that drinking gin until you couldn’t remember where you lived was more fun. Advance a few years and you’ve got a house, a job and a partner (or possibly a

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basement, a stack of grumble mags and no teeth) as well as all sorts of other proper life stuff that leaves little room for buying, painting and playing with little soldier men. Deep down though, you still think the artwork is incredible, you have a sneaking suspicion that you’d actually appreciate the nuances of the game mechanics now, and plus you only just realised what an awesome word ‘powerfist’ is. Wouldn’t it be great if Games Workshop produced a game that didn’t require you to sacrifice vast amounts of time, money and dignity to enjoy? In case you’re yet to be ensnared by the deviously subtle set-up I have just orchestrated, Blood Bowl is exactly that game, and it’s brilliant. Set in a sillier alternate version of the Warhammer universe, Blood Bowl is basically American Football with spiked shoulderpads and awful puns (Orcland Raiders anyone?), whilst the game itself is a turn-based affair, with arguably more in common with strategic grid-based board games than its parent company’s better known output. Originally released in 1987, it has gone through three official editions, and countless rules updates since the release of the last boxed set in 1994. It might just be a coincidence, or maybe nerd attracts nerd, but most of my close (male) friends played the game in our early teens, but amazingly when we all met at university, this was not the first pastime

we mentioned when getting to know each other. Admissions of past Warhammerish tendencies generally come slowly when meeting new people, but in my experience the odds are that once everyone has established that they are in fact well rounded human adults and not social retards, the dark truth usually sneaks out. It only took one casual mention of a D12 (not the band) before it turned out that pretty much everyone used to play a wargame of one sort or another, and we decided to have a go at remembering how to play Blood Bowl . It’s almost a decade later and every week we still try to get together for a game and a couple of beers on a Sunday afternoon. Truth be told we do get the piss taken out of us now and again by our more macho friends that prefer to spend their free time making the lumps of tissue that move their body parts get bigger, or making their cars look and sound ever more ridiculous. But the point I try to make is that we’re not (as one particularly nerdophobic acquaintance so eloquently put it) “playing with stupid monsters that you all pretend are real”. It’s perfectly possible to separate the

game from the geekery and appreciate what I’ve found to be the best blend of depth and accessibility of any board game I have tried. A measured degree of unpredictability ensures that even the worst player in the world has an outside chance of claiming the scalp of an expert, but the level of thought and forward planning needed to play the game well puts it closer to (dare I say it) something like chess. It just happens to be the case that some of our chess pieces have chainsaws and play for teams called Black Orc Down. To the potential new player, Blood Bowl exhibits none of the baggage that looks so off-putting in its plumper cousins, and the barrier to entry is forgivingly low. Whilst affording a Warhammer army might require you to sell your eyeballs on ebay and will generally take the average

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non-autistic human months to paint, a full 16 man Blood Bowl team will set you back maybe forty quid, and can be painted in a weekend. An average match should be done and dusted in a couple of hours, so fitting it into a normal working life is easy – simply watch Commando one less time per week. And fortunately for those of us living in or out of sin, it’s not a game that will take over your entire house, no cupboards full of miniatures and 6’ x 4’ felt covered tables needed here: I store all my teams in a couple of shoe boxes, with the board, counters and dice all fitting in the box my router came in. The design of the game itself is taut, with a wide scope for high level tactics, meticulous planning, and improvised flair. Even a brief summary of the rules would run for pages and pages, but suffice to say the aim of the game is to pass, dodge or bludgeon your way into the end-zone, and prevent the opponent from doing the same. A simple four part statline for each player, combined with two or three skills throws up near limitless variations on positions, roles and formations, with counter tactics for all. You’ll hear experienced players talk about things like caging, chain pushbacks and clock management, and you’ll see opponents pull off audacious

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moves that would never even have occurred to you. Yes, there are dice rolls involved, so the filthy fingers of chance do hover threateningly over every action, but you’ll know that you’re up against a truly skilled player when his bad dice rolls never seem to be too much of a problem, whilst what looked like a simple no-brainer of a move to you just ended up with a turnover touchdown, and cost you the game. For the vast majority of the current player base, the lasting appeal of the game comes from participation in an ongoing league, and a significant proportion of the rules are geared towards team development and progression in a league environment. As players gain skills, and teams start to accrue wins and losses, those names and numbers on your teamsheet start to actually mean something. ‘Thrower number one’ becomes ‘that guy that threw a long bomb into the end zone in the final turn, whilst surrounded by the opposition,

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Simply watch Commando one less time per week...

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to win the grudge match that put you into the cup finals’. I just read that back and I sound like a complete nerd, but screw it, it’s like all those initially exciting but ultimately abortive attempts at starting a league for whatever sport/game/circlejerk that you and your friends play, except it actually works, and it’s awesome. Really awesome. So awesome in fact that Games Workshop practically gave up supporting the game. Good one. For a few years now, Blood Bowl (and the rest of their Specialist Games line) has been left to shrivel in the corner, whilst Games Workshop try and flog ‘New: Yellow Space Marines!’ to anyone and everyone. When the Lord of the Rings hype bubble burst and removed one of their key revenue streams, this situation worsened still further. Finding a boxed copy of Blood Bowl in a Games Workshop nowadays is rarer than finding a shuriken in the back of your dog’s head. Although why you’d want to set foot in one of those hideous adolescent retard bunkers is beyond me anyway. Even worse, earlier this year, it became impossible to buy individual miniatures for the game from their online store, instead forcing you to buy boxed sets that never have quite the right players to field a decent team. Fortunately for those of us that still care, a dedicated core group of fans have helped keep the game alive, developing and playtesting the ongoing rules revisions known as the Living Rule

Book (LRB), running a huge play-by-email network known as FUMBBL, as well as sculpting and distributing new miniatures for new teams and filling in the gaps in the catalogue that GW seem unwilling or unable to fill themselves. I could vent about this unfortunate situation for hours, but the reality is that Games Workshop is a business, and for all the passion present in that company, they have to make business decisions, and refocusing on the core IPs is surely a necessary move for a company rumoured to be in a degree of financial danger. A recent slew of store closures and redundancies is testament to their fragile position. This focus has fed through to the videogames community, with a large number of high-profile Warhammer and 40K titles having been released in the last few years, including the critically acclaimed Dawn of War series, undoubtedly funnelling significant numbers of new players into

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rarer than finding a shuriken in the back of your dog’s head....

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their key money-making franchises. For this reason, the recent announcement of a multi-platform Blood Bowl videogame, currently in development by French studio Cyanide, came as something of a surprise.

counterparts in Games Workshop’s IP, and this alone was enough to raise suspicions regarding the potential of the newly announced game. That, and the fact that Chaos League was a bit rubbish.

Admittedly, my first reaction was one of scepticism. After all, does the world really need a next-gen Mutant League Football? Actually, maybe it does. Mutant League Football was ace. But I digress. There have been a number of attempts at a Blood Bowl inspired videogame in the past that have hardly set the gaming world alight, the most recent being Chaos League, developed by Cyanide themselves in 2004. The story of how Cyanide secured the official license for this upcoming release is linked to murky legal wranglings surrounding certain... similarities between aspects of Chaos League and their

These fears proved to be unfounded as the first details emerged, and it became apparent that these guys seemed to know exactly what they were doing this time round. With real-time and turnbased modes present, Cyanide looks set to please everyone by tailoring their game to suit both the videogaming and boardgaming audiences. For the purists, there is a wholly turn based recreation of the board game, whilst for those looking for more immediate action the real-time mode appears to invisibly slide the stats and dice rolling into a more Maddenlike affair (calling to mind the fusion of

real-time combat and RPG stat based randomisation achieved by Bioware in Mass Effect). A certain amount of tweaking of the game’s fundamentals will be necessary to make this real-time mode stand up alongside similar sports titles, not least the fact that if a game of Blood Bowl was played out at real speed, it would be over in about a minute, but if these adjustments can be made delicately there is no reason to write off this side of the game as a mere distraction. The scope is certainly there to fashion an entertaining, fast paced knockabout sports game that will undoubtedly hold appeal for newcomers, but for the majority of players already aware of the IP, the real meat will be in the turn based mode. If they can nail this part they have a readymade player base ready to snap up their

product; but if they change too much, or make mistakes in their application of the rules, the internerd crucifixion will doubtless be swift and merciless. Further thorough investigation (by which I mean reading the first thread I found on the Cyanide forums) revealed that not only was the game being based as closely as possible on the original rules, they were even using the most up to date version of the LRB, and not only was it going to include online multiplayer, but also the option to run a persistent league. Amongst the guys I regularly play with, this was something of a revelation, as it was looking increasingly likely that due to jobs/ girlfriends, a lot of the group were going to be moving far enough away that our regular games were going to be a thing of the past. Now suddenly it seems that as

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The Dwarfs’ beards aren’t quite bushy enough... long as everyone keeps their Xbox Live subs up (and nobody’s rings a’redden), we can carry on playing the game in a virtually unchanged state, including the vital ingredients that impersonal systems like FUMBBL deprive the game of – conversation and alcohol. As such I’ve got high hopes for this title, and I’m sure I’m not alone amongst fans of the board game in having a little voice in my head going “don’t be shit, don’t be shit, don’t be shit” each time I check out the latest screenshots. The game’s lasting appeal will ultimately rely on how faithfully the game mechanics have been captured (and how well they have been ‘smudged’ into the real time mode), but the side of me that oohs and aahs at pretty paintjobs on miniatures still wants this to be an attractive game. Fortunately, Blood Bowl is looking rather nice. Crysis this is not, and eleven Orcs in funny helmets will never have the same immediate visual impact as a Dreadnought stomping around ripping people in half, but Cyanide have captured the look and feel of the various races and pitches to a tee. On dedicated Blood Bowl forums, the most recent set of screenshots have been well received, the only complaint being that the Dwarfs’ beards aren’t quite bushy enough. Oh noes. Even better, the brand new teaser trailer shows the animation to be characterful and lively, and the grand stadiums that play host to the action and

its associated pageantry have come on leaps and bounds from the lifeless husks shown in early screenshots. A turn-based board game adaptation that’s actually going to be as entertaining to watch as it is to play? Could be… The Score recently had the opportunity to ask a few questions of Antoine, the Project Leader at Cyanide, and his responses demonstrate a good understanding of the target audience, and that the studio are working hard to ensure fans of the board game will get the most accurate adaptation possible. The purpose of making a game (or any product) is, in the end, to sell that game to as many people as you can. Given that Blood Bowl is a niche game within a niche market, how do you plan to simultaneously please (and avoid alienating) both the die-hard Warhammer fans and attract new fans?

And we hope that this humoristic and parodic approach to Heroic Fantasy and the Warhammer universe will attract new fans (and not only to the real-time mode, but also to the turn-based game!). But Blood Bowl is not only a funny, violent, strange little game; it’s also a very deep tactical and strategic game. How have you got around the problem of incorporating the strategic elements of the game into the arcade-style that you’re offering alongside turn-based play? Have compromises had to be made?

game that made it a unique game even in real-time mode. So we had to find real-time equivalences to all skill effects and game mechanics present in the turn based version. Basically, the idea was to be able to take the same team and be able to play it one day turnbased and the other day realtime without having the feeling that it’s not the same balance.

We wanted to keep all the aspects of the original board-

Being a niche game might also been considered an advantage, and an opportunity to create something original and new: a new experience. Of course pleasing the hardcore Warhammer fans is part of our priorities, so we’re trying hard, especially with our beta testers (that are all Blood Bowl board-game fans and experienced players), to provide a game mode that stays as close as possible to the original rules and spirit of the original board game.

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The only real compromise was letting the game take automatic decisions for the player because we wanted to remove all match interruptions (dice choice...) in real-time. One of the big problems with all sports titles is the lack of challenging AI when playing against the computer how are you tackling this thorny issue, or are you assuming that the majority of gamers will only want to play against human opponents? No. AI is one of the great additions of a video game compared to the board game: the ability to play Blood Bowl alone! So we put lot of effort in creating a very efficient AI. Again here, beta testers, being themselves very good players (often much better than us!), helped a lot by defeating our AI and forcing us to keep improving it. While the option is there to play ‘live’ multiplayer matches, many fans will prefer to play turn-based matches. In this case, will both players have to be online at the same time, or will you be offering a PBEM-style system to allow for drawn-out matches? No PBEM system is planned at the moment. There is a Hot-seat mode though, so two people can still play on one computer.

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Can we expect to see new races, armour, characters or other such features as DLC over the coming months? Of course. Depending on the success of the game we would probably release new races, stadiums and more... For many people, personalisation has always been the most appealing aspect of Games Workshop products. With this in mind, will players be able to build and design their own teams, characters, armour and such? You’ll be able to create customized versions of existing races by creating new player types. While building you own roster, you’ll be able to choose your team colour and your team logo (you can even create custom logos). Among the eight races, each player type will have its own unique design, plus some skin (colour or tattoos) and body (horns, teeth...) variants for more visual diversity. Add to that, for each player type, three levels of equipment (represented in 3D) in four categories: that should make your team unique. The other thing fans will demand is OTT violence. How plausible is that in the current climate, and which demographic will you be aiming Blood Bowl at?

Violence is part of Blood Bowl. Hitting on the ground and killing an opponent are part of the gameplay and cannot be removed. It’s not free violence and it’s not called Blood Bowl without a good reason. For me there is no choice here. And if you are asking for the rating: I don’t know yet. I guess it will depend on the country. How about the sponsorship spoofs? Is there any chance of seeing games sponsored by Bloodweiser, McMurty’s or Orcidas? For legal reasons, we won’t go that far. But of course sponsors like the Bugman’s XXXXXX fit right into being part of the game. Are there any plans to keep upto-date with future LRB revisions, perhaps with patches or DLC? (The next rules revision, which includes three new teams, is currently ‘semiofficial’ in that it has been playtested and proven to be balanced, but will have to wait until late next year to be officially sanctioned by Games Workshop) At some point, if a new rulebook is released, that is accepted and played by everyone, from the fans to Games Workshop, then yes we might consider that. How about the derivatives - such as Dungeon Bowl or Street Bowl

- are there any plans for expansion packs or DLC to offer players new scenarios? No plans. That would require a new deal between Cyanide and Games Workshop. My personal opinion is that something like Dungeon Bowl would be awesome! (Having Cyanide working on both Dungeon Party and Blood Bowl is just a coincidence). The choice of PC and 360 as release platforms seems logical; but many may wonder why you’ve chosen to release the game on DS. Why have you made this decision? We felt that with a more stylised look it would perfectly fit on the platform and that a turned based game such as Blood Bowl really had its place on the DS. And of course the stylus is perfect to play a board-game. Has the unique control system of the DS proved to be a challenge? Not really. It’s adapted to the gameplay. How do you plan to implement the system? Will the DS version be a stricter, more tactical game, as opposed to an arcade-action-strategy game? If by “arcade-action” you are referring to the real-time mode, then yes it will be

stricter, just as PC turn based mode is, compared to PC real-time mode. Just as on other platforms, the DS version will be a very close adaptation of the original board-game. Turn based. It’s an unusual kind of game to find on the PSP too. Will this version be a straight port of the PC/360 game, or will it have features unique to the PSP? It will be a straight port of the turn based PC/360 version. So a very strict adaptation. Finally, if you could pick one feature of Blood Bowl to sell it to the unconvinced, what would it be? Being able, with a goblin, to receive the ball, attack a player on the ground, run next to a troll, ask him to throw you to the end-zone, survive to the landing and score a touchdown (in the same action) is something you’ll only see in Blood Bowl! Blood Bowl is currently scheduled for release in Q4 2008 on PC, Xbox 360, DS and PSP, and here’s hoping that Cyanide succeed in bringing a faithful adaptation of this oft-overlooked gem to a wider audience. Who knows, if it sells well enough we might even be able to buy the board game on the high street again… I’m still not going into a Games Workshop though. What if a girl sees me?

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PAUL

misterfusty I

n every issue of The Score, there will be a section focusing on “New Music”. Our aim is to provide just as many introductions to exciting new bands and musicians as we plan to in retrospectives and pieces detailing some of the best musicians from the past. This issue we have an interview with Simon & Garfunkel inspired and soaked in 60s pop harmonies, This is Ivy League; a review of the new Explorer’s Club album and an intriguing look at Melbourne based rap outfits. To start us off, let us meet the man who will be our regular New Music fellow - pop instrumentalist Mister Fusty. Just to make this clear - we are not a nepotism-orientated publication. Prior to our colleague and friend, Mister Fusty,

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deciding to aid us in our search for new music and delicious golden nuggets around the globe, we had intended to explore his music for our debut issue. Mister Fusty has a particular brand of laid back, instrumental/electronic music that appeals to us here at The Score. Rob “Mister Fusty” Gibson has been making music for several years, resulting in two LPs; 2006’s Honest Blundering and last year’s Sparkle Darkly. He has recently finished work on his EP Sprung, released earlier this year.

Sprung is a melodic little beast. Often ambient in nature but always remaining true to its pop sensibilities. This EP definitely marks a new period of

maturation and growth for the Whitley Bay based musician. There is a confidence and growth evident on these six tracks that marks Sprung out as perhaps Fusty’s most consistent work. Most of the tracks present are laid back in nature. Throw in some smooth synths in with a plinky plinky elegance and you have a delightful introduction to the work of Mister Fusty. Sprung is one of those EPs that feel fully fleshed out and ample, even in its brevity. Just over 20 minutes long, it is a melodic and soothing collection of songs. Standout tracks include the beautiful closer Starlight, which is available to download on The Score website, along with a couple of exclusive tracks.

Fusty’s influences are evident here; The High Llamas, Bacharach and Brian Wilson all shine through on Sprung. Mister Fusty is certainly more Bacharach than Kraftwerk; and less Aphex Twin than Wilson. His song The Theme From smacks of John Barry, which was Fusty’s intention.

“…that was a deliberate attempt at an homage of Barry’s 50’s/60’s stuff. It’s a bit spy thriller-esque. I got this drum loop sample and added some reverb and found a 50’s guitar sound and went from there. It sort of evolved into a Barry-esque thing.” Fusty is a product of the digital age, as he admits, “It is liberating in the fact that you can make music so quickly. I can literally pull down a mellotron sound, add some basic drums, maybe come up with a piano line and have something pretty quick. It saves a lot of time, not having to set up equipment”. As his influences suggest, Fusty is very concerned with

making electronic music that is centred on producing melodic and easily accessible pop instrumentals. “(Electronic Music can have it’s own character) especially with some sounds and when there is a slightly mechanised sound but I try not to make my stuff sound too robotic and more organic if possible. Basically I try to make it sound as much like there is a band playing but some tracks I experiment more with the electronic sound.” Fusty began making music over ten years ago when he was in a band with friends, “I was the reluctant drummer, basically because they couldn’t find anyone else. Other than that I have always just messed about at home, usually with a guitar until I finally got a computer and played around with bits of software”.

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“Gradually the software became a lot better so you could turn out decent stuff quite easily. I think the first one which was good (but it was a bit basic) was Making Waves. I think it cost about £30! Now I use mainly FL studio (formally Fruity Loops) and Adobe Audition (formally Cool Edit Pro). The guitars are ‘live,’ i.e. I record them by plugging them in the computer and sometime a bass guitar too. Everything else is sample packs or sounds you get with software, or VST plugin synthesisers. You can use any instrument these days with real sampled sounds.” Fusty’s second album, Sparkle Darkly, saw an evolution in his sound, branching out into a more naturalistic sound. Although retaining a certain element of the bouncy fun-ball that is 2006’s Honest Blundering,

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there was a definite attempt to achieve a “fuller” sound on his second LP. “I got more of a handle on my tools, so to speak, I put more time into it because I wanted it to be right. I spent more time in the mastering polishing off stage on this one because I wanted it to sound better; more professional. The second one I thought about it a bit more and wanted it to sound like a progression of the first; more organic and lush.” Highlights on Sparkle Darkly include the opener All Along the Amstel and the closer Antimacassar with its bouncy synth line that strikes me as the musical equivalent of Totoro’s cheeky/evil smile.

Honest Blundering was originally a concept album set around the magical world of Mister Fusty.

“I was at one point going to create this character called Mister Fusty who lived in a wardrobe. I was interested in creating this whole mystery personality. He would send out his musical missives to the world from his wardrobe that’s why the Honest Blundering’s opening and closing tracks are called The Wardrobe Opens and the Wardrobe Closes. I abandoned that idea because people might think it a bit silly.” With collaborations and a desire to record songs with vocals in mind, Fusty is contemplating his future. “I have a collaboration lined up with a chap called Gaz from The Heavenly Spheres who are a great new band. I think I’ve gone as far as possible with instrumentals. I’m going to try doing more

song based stuff with vocals. I need to get a decent vocal mic (and a decent voice!)” The music as featured on Honest Blundering, Sparkle Darkly and Sprung would definitely fit the bill for translation into all manners of pop ‘n’ stuff. “I’d love to do pop songs with vocals, in a way my stuff is pop, just done without lyrics or a voice.” Conversation eventually turned to the current state of the music industry, a subject which Fusty feels strongly about. “I think the music industry is in a mess. They let technology pass them by and stuck their head in the sand. The way they arrested that guy from Oink, a crack police raid at dawn, like he was some kind of drug dealer was disgraceful. In fact the guy lives less than an hour away from me and

I know that’s a rough area, shouldn’t the cops be busy arresting drug dealers? It was just a big PR stunt. The music industry is just shooting itself in the foot; don’t they know that this will make people look on them badly in the end? Yes, sue your customers, what a great idea! These people are idiots.” The music sharing website Oink was shut down in October of last year when the 24-year old owner of the site was arrested by British police. Many have suspected that the reasoning behind the move was due to the presence of pre-release albums that were available to the 180, 000 members. Oink was not a paying service, instead allowing users to donate to the upkeep of the site. The emphasis on pre-release albums could be seen as a smoke screen perhaps, as the majority of trading on the site was concerned with

rare or out-of-print recordings that were unavailable to purchase. “I think the best model at the moment is eMusic. You pay a reasonable figure a month and then download what you want. It has to be cheap though.You couldn’t have DRM (Digital Rights Management) or shit like that. The trouble with eMusic is that, while it has some good stuff there is an absence of any major label presence. It’s not a massive all-consuming library.” Both Honest Blunderi ng and Sparkle Darkly can be purchased digitally through iTunes, eMusic or, if physical product is your thing, on CDbaby. Sprung can be downloaded for free at Mister Fusty’s website (www.misterfusty.com). Make sure to download the special Score EP featuring Starlight and the new exclusive track Hamburg Parsley, among others.

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REALITY IN

WIDESCREEN by Dave M

It’s incredibly easy, when trying to dissect cinema, to be too clever for your own good. Hell, it’s very easy when making cinema to be too clever for your own good. As with all art, but particularly cinema, the line between saying something profound and cudgelling your audience over the head with the visual equivalent of an Emo poem is very, very thin. Slowly, methodically and with a single-mindedness equivalent to that of most of his protagonists, Michael Mann has built a filmography that plays out like a “How To” of modern American cinema. This is not to say that his films are all perfect; and it’s not to say that he always picks the right story, it’s just that you can be fairly certain he’s told what he’s got as well as humanly possible. The results when all the constituent parts fall into place are generally breathtaking.

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“Did you join Amnesty International, Oxfam, Save The Whales, Greenpeace or something? No. I off one fat Angelino and you throw a hissy fit.” A brief glance through Mann’s biography illuminates much of his work; his life and background making his on-screen choices completely logical, even inevitable. Mann grew up in a tough area of Chicago known as “The Patch.” Of his final year High School class of 365, he was one of just thirteen to go on to College. He later enrolled at London’s International Film School. This combination of “classical” training and the “school of hard knocks” plays out for all to see in many of his films, both in the characters he chooses to portray and in every technical aspect: editing, lighting, cinematography, sound design and score. Neil McCauley (played by DeNiro), the master thief from 1995’s Heat, is the classic example. Based on a real life Chicago villain that Mann’s long time friend, former police officer and technical advisor,

Chuck Adamson, took down in the 1950s, McCauley is driven, practical, deadly. He’s multifaceted, “Classically” trained, as well as street smart. “You see me doin’ thrillseeker liquor store holdups with a ‘Born to Lose’ tattoo on my chest?” No, we do not. In 2004’s Collateral, Tom Cruise plays Vincent, a professional assassin on a one night/five hit assignment in one of Mann’s favourite movie haunts, LA. As with all of Mann’s best films, he’s a fairly complex character; highly intelligent and, in his own eyes, morally ambiguous, but at least not a hypocrite. He encapsulates his world view after ascertaining that Max (Jamie Foxx) is unaware of Rwanda in a tête-à-tête over one of the hits: “Did you join Amnesty International, Oxfam, Save the Whales, Greenpeace or something? No. I off one fat Angelino and you throw a hissy fit.”

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“you’d best have your debating hat on if you’re going to take him to task...”

From a visual standpoint, Collateral is just about Mann’s most overtly allegorical piece of work. Under the bonnet, it’s an ode to the great Westerns: Max’s cab driving out of the depot towards a massive mural of frontier history. Later in the film, we see Max “play” Vincent in a strange Tex-Mex club filled with 10 gallon hats and yet more murals. The scene that plays out could be transposed to any saloon in Western lore: from Tombstone to Dodge City or the dust-blown, twohorse towns of the Texas plains. A strength of nearly all his films is the sense of purpose inherent in each scene, each choice, each camera angle: there’s

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always a reason. Whether you agree with his choices, or like the end result, you get the sense that you’d best have your debating hat on if you’re going to take him to task over any particular aspect of one of his films. Again, Collateral really illustrates this. During one of the many back and forths that play out in the cab, Vincent’s eyes are perfectly framed by mundane text on the glass division between back and front. It’s a handheld shot, as is Mann’s want on many occasions, but precise in its purpose and execution. Vincent is in control and dissecting Max, studying him. Using the architecture of the cab grounds it in

reality. This is why, I’d argue, his best work takes place in LA, Miami, modern cities.

The Last of the Mohicans is far from a bad film – it’s beautifully shot in places – but Mann seems a little lost without a man-made landscape to frame. Shot after shot in Heat, The Insider, Collateral and Miami Vice, we see brilliant use of the architecture and the daily grind, the toings and fro-ings of the great unwashed.

All brilliantly framed, all done in a beautiful cinematic short hand, aiming to get as much information as possible to the audience in as short a time as possible. It’s both incredibly intelligent yet simple, or rather pragmatic, cinema. For example: there is a “macro” shot at the start of the The Insider where Jeffrey Wigand (Russell Crowe) leaves the Phillip Morris offices for the first time. The foyer is ascetically excellent, and used to draw the viewer’s

“It’s both incredibly intelligent yet simple, or rather pragmatic, cinema.”

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“Mann is one or two great films from taking his place amongst the icons of cinema.” eyes to the building security officers, who don’t say anything, but don’t need to, their overbearing stance tells us he’s been fired, and that it’s serious. It seems to me that Mann is one or two great films from taking his rightful place amongst the icons of cinema. His body of work, taken in it’s entirety, is very consistent. His technical prowess is only getting stronger. He’ll come upon another great story or two before he’s done and the results, inevitably, will be spectacular. The Score can’t wait.

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THOUSAND YARD STARES In his last two films, Mann has done an absolutely brilliant job of creating incredible or, more precisely, completely credible, Crime Bosses. In Collateral Javier Bardem (more recently of No Country For Old Men fame) plays Felix, a subtle, charismatic and wholly original gangster. Perhaps even more successfully, in Miami Vice Luis Tosar plays Jesus Montoya, the Columbian drug baron to end all Columbian drug barons. Apart from the brilliantly handled lead-up to actually meeting him, the scene in the back of his SUV where Tubbs and Crockett are finally face to face with him has an aura that I struggle to put into words. One thing I do know - it’s just about the most scared I’ve been in a cinema for a very long time. Both scenes lack overtly confrontational language, or any histrionics at all from any of the players. They just burn, slowly and with great intensity .

MICHAEL MANN – THE ESSENTIALS So, you’ve somehow managed to avoid Michael Mann’s output over the years (where have you been?), but now you’ve seen the error of your ways and want to investigate his back catalogue. But where to start? Our Editor and, alongside Dave M, resident Michael Mann nut, has a few suggestions to help you on your way...

MANHUNTER (1986) Here Mann establishes his calling card - cool, clinical style married with moral complexity. William Peterson is eminently watchable as the tortured detective, while Brian Cox steals the show with his vastly underrated performance as Hannibal Lector. THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS (1992) Some may regard this as a misstep, but there’s little doubt that this adaptation is a cracking tale, told with a tremendous cast, filmed beautifully and possessing one of the finest scores you’ll hear. HEAT (1995)

Mann’s magnum opus - a revisiting of the themes and characters from L.A. Takedown (a TV movie from early in his career) - this showcases Mann at his very best. By turns melancholic, thoughtful, terrifying and thrilling. Not only Mann’s greatest work, but one of the greatest crime movies ever made.

THE INSIDER (1999)

Based on the true story of an un-aired CBS 60 Minutes episode, this slow-burning drama takes us deep into the conflicted, corrupt word of big tobacco. Crowe is a revelation as Jeffrey Wigand, the desperate whistleblower, while Pacino tones down his habit of ACTING WITH VOLUME to present us with a deep, considered tale.

ALI (2001)

Will Smith has never been better, or more perfectly cast, than in this biopic of Cassius Clay (later known as Muhammad Ali, of course) and his monumental rise to the very pinnacle of the sport. Tremendous support, a great script and Mann’s trademark flair with a camera lend the film a true showman’s quality.

COLLATERAL (2004)

Mann again entices a sterling performance from an underrated blockbuster actor. Jamie Foxx’s cabbie may be the film’s heart, but Cruise’s amoral assassin, Vincent, steals the film from under him with a layered, technical and impressively subdued performance in a role that could easily have become a pantomime piece. Superb.

MIAMI VICE (2006)

Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx’s modern interpretations of Crockett and Tubbs are a tremendous success. Critics will say that this movie is the epitome of style over substance (which appears to be missing the point of Miami Vice somewhat), but in reality, this is a tightly scripted movie that improves with each and every viewing.

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THE

DARKEST KNIGHT

Batman has always been one of our favourite comic-book characters; here, with the upcoming The Dark Knght movie in mind, we take a look at the comics and movies that have made him what he is... 032issueONE

PAUL

atman has always been my favourite super-hero. An early love for Tim Burton’s Batman and The Animated Series of the early 90s cemented my appreciation of the atmosphere and mythology that was synonymous with Gotham City. Nothing else seemed to take you on such a dark journey in the guise of an acceptable children’s program. The villains had depth and always pushed the Batman to his limits. Questions of morality and subjectivity were common place in The Animated Series. Sure, it was restrained due to its target audience but it didn’t feel like it. When I finally got the opportunity to indulge my love of the character through his natural habitat - the graphic novel - I took on a whole new level of appreciation for one of most complex and rich literary characters of the 20th Century. He wasn’t sanctimonious like Superman and nothing was quite as simple as it seemed in Gotham City. From Frank Miller’s middle-aged and retired Dark Knight of the future in Dark Knight Returns to the Film Noir style Elseworlds Tale Nine Lives, it was clear to me that the world of Batman was a well as deep and diverse as the cave that spawned his name.

This July, the second instalment in Christopher Nolan’s interpretation of Batman will be hitting cinemas. The Dark Knight is the sequel to 2005’s slowburning success story and re-launch of the franchise, Batman Begins. Nolan managed what no-one else had been able to do successfully; translate the integrity of the comic book to screen with little to no compromise. Re-establishing a credibility that had been decimated with 1997’s Batman & Robin seemed like a task beyond the talents of anyone; Joel Schumacher’s love letter to faecal matter having damaged the franchise to a near critical level. The general public had little to no interest in taking another visit to Gotham City. More to the point though, the studios had no interest in another big screen adaptation of the legend. They had stepped too far into making the characters suitable for a young audience, denying even the smallest element of the brooding vigilante that has been the cornerstone of the character for nearly seventy years.

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w e have s e e n b a t m a n th rough c o u n t l e s s e yes You can imagine the scepticism that faced Nolan when he stated that he had the interpretation that could not only re-boot the franchise into a financially profitable endeavour, but repair the way in which the public at large viewed the character. With a combination of careful casting and a script that drew heavily from some of the seminal comic book versions of the character, Batman Begins would please fans of the source material like never before. Christian Bale brought to the title role an unwavering sense of realism that would be the bridge over which everything innately comic book in nature would pass over; drawing the audience deeper into the world by making the cynic in them believe again.

Batman Begins drew heavily from several important Batman interpretations, not least of which was Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s Year One. Sgt. Gordon (played by Gary Oldman) is particularly rooted in Miller’s vision of a young Jim Gordon. The emphasis on the mob boss Carmine Falcone also came from his introduction in Year One but, more importantly, the integral manner in which the Gotham mobs were utilised in Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s continuation of the Year One world in their masterpiece The Long Halloween. The training sections and the use of Wayne’s mentor Henri Ducard were heavily inspired by Denny O’ Neil and Dick Giordano’s The Man Who Falls, which depicted Bruce Wayne’s early life.

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Henri Ducard was created by (Batman 1989’s screenwriter) Sam Hamm in his 50th Anniversary celebration of the character, Blind Justice. David S. Goyer and Christopher Nolan also seemed to have been heavily influenced by the work of Dennis O’ Neil, as the use of Ra’s al Ghul saw the pair taking directly from many moments in O’Neil’s original run with the villain in the 70s. Most notable is the scene in which Ducard/Ra’s tests Wayne by forcing him to climb high into the mountains where Ra’s is waiting. This takes place during the very first appearance of the character in Batman #232, June 1971. This run, where O’Neil created the villain due to the absence of any villains which truly tested the Batman, is available in graphic novel form as Tales of the Demon and comes highly recommended. The sheer number of interpretations and visions of the Batman are many. In the character’s 70 year history, we have seen Batman through countless writers’ and artists’ eyes and, as such, it is impossible to peg down one specific, definitive version. However, there are definitely traits which are at the very core of the mythology - traits that drive the relative success of

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any given outing. Bill Ramey, owner of the Batman-on-Film website - a 10 year-old online resource for the series - sat down with The Score to discuss his feelings on previous cinematic translations and why he thinks The Dark Knight may very well be the greatest film based on Batman. According to Bill, there are three points that must be adhered to in order for Batman to truly be Batman. “One, he’s driven, you know “The Mission.” Secondly, he doesn’t kill! That’s one of the things about the Burton films that I despised and - to me - saying “He killed back in ‘39!” is not a valid excuse. And three - which I think they are getting away from in the comics - Batman is the real Bruce Wayne. This is what I think that this “BATMAN, RIP” is all about; Bruce getting some happiness.” Tim Burton was the first to take on the franchise in an attempt to provide a “serious” Batman movie that didn’t pander to the camp stereotypes of the 60s TV show. Burton, who had been inspired by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland’s The Killing Joke’s grim take on the saga, pitched the idea to make a film that was as dark as its roots. Taking on screenwriter Sam Hamm, who had a broader knowledge of the character than Burton, to write the screenplay, Burton and Hamm set about creating the first true Batman movie. “I loved Batman 1989, but I wasn’t 100% satisfied after I saw it back then.

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Uh, if you think about it, the entire “Comic Book Movie Genre” was riding on Batman 1989. If there had been no Batman 1989, then there would have been no Batman Begins; no Spider-Man and no X-Men. It’s that important. I’ve said before, Batman 1989 isn’t the best comic book/Batman film, but it is certainly the most important. I think that Tim was trying to make the fans happy and the studio happy, which is a tough act to juggle.” Tim Burton’s Batman saw Michael Keaton take on the cowl with Jack Nicholson providing an iconic performance as the Joker. How does Bill Ramey feel about Jack’s performance now? “Pretty much how I did back then - “Jack Nicholson as The Joker.” He was really good for how that Joker was written. I could nitpick, but what’s the point, ya know? He was good; he’s Jack! And clearly, he was the focus of the film - intentional or not. And he LOVED the part - that was clear in the special features as well. And he’s wearing his little Batman button too!”

Batman 1989 divided fans that saw some of the liberties taken by Burton as flawing the movie beyond repair. Most notable in aggravating the fans was a choice to have the Joker be the one who murdered

t i m w a s trying to mak e t h e f a n s happy an d t h e s t u d i o happy 036issueONE

Bruce Wayne’s parents, linking the two in a very artificial manner. Not only did this fly in the face of one of the most important elements of Batman’s motivation - that the murderer of his parents was a no-name villain - it also ignored the connection that The Joker had with Batman simply because of who they were. Christopher Nolan seems to have nailed this in The Dark Knight, describing The Joker as a “force of nature” and someone who has “no story arc”. There is no origin story this time around. There is no need to qualify The Joker and how he acts. “I say that TDK will present the confrontation between Batman and The Joker as fans have longed for. The mainstream will finally see why this is one of the greatest hero/villain relationships in literature.” The Joker doesn’t need another reason to hate Batman. Batman doesn’t need another reason to hate The Joker. They are on polar opposites of the spectrum. The manner in which Nolan is exploring the theme of “escalation”, in line with the influence of The Long Halloween, for a second time around is going to be one of the most compelling things about this film. Does Batman’s very presence require an antithesis? Is he the cause of all of these “freaks” running amok?

Key to all of this is the man who is playing The Joker. Heath Ledger has manipulated and altered the character into something else entirely. This is not HEATH LEDGER AS THE JOKER; this is, quite simply, THE JOKER. There is always a danger when an actor dies so young, that his last performance on film, released after his death, could be overshadowed by his untimely end. One look at Ledger in any of the ads or TV spots should help to lay this concern to rest. His Joker emerges as a magnetic, electrifying creation that sends shivers to the brain with a simple turn of phrase. Harvey Dent is also getting a complete overhaul. Aaron Eckhart is going to be taking on the District Attorney who falls from grace. Dent is what Nolan calls “the backbone” of the movie. Hopefully, by the end of this movie, Tommy Lee Jones hamming it up in Batman Forever will be the furthest thing from your mind. The only change in casting comes in the form of Rachel Dawes, Bruce Wayne’s childhood friend and love interest. The sublime Maggie Gyllenhaal takes up the role of the Assistant District Attorney in The Dark Knight, which sees Dawes on the arm of Harvey Dent. This presents many possibilities, despite the criticisms levelled at the idea of a “love triangle” situation. For one, if Rachel Dawes was to fill the role of Gilda, Harvey Dent’s wife in this film, she could give an even more tragic edge to the DA’s turn to Two-Face.

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t h i s i s g o i n g t o be somet h i n g v e r y special “I like the dynamic that Harvey doesn’t like Bruce, but is partners with Batman. And why shouldn’t Bruce still have feelings for Rachel? Plus, he obviously has second thoughts on becoming Batman -- so why shouldn’t he have second thoughts about a normal life with Rachel? I said it back when Batman Begins had just been released - If you bring Rachel back, it has to be for a good reason. And not just to kill her off, which they’re making look too obvious, in my opinion.” The Score believes that this will be the greatest film to be based on the Batman mythology and most certainly a contender for film of the year. Every piece of footage that has made itself available to the public shows a maturation of the style and skill that made Batman Begins so successful. There is such a rich diversity in the influences present from some of the greatest comic book writers and artists in the business. Bruce Wayne is living in his apartment as seen in the Batman of the 70s. The Joker is threatening lives over the television as in many stories over the

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years, including a particular favourite of mine, The Laughing Fish/The Sign of the Joker, from Englehart and Wein’s run with the series. Gordon and Dent are having midnight meetings with Batman straight from the pages of The Long Halloween. This is going to be something very special. With all of the media attention surrounding Heath Ledger’s death, there has been talk of an Oscar Nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Bill Ramey thinks that this is a distinct possibility. “I’ve never been excited for a film in my life. Really. And Ledger’s Joker. Oh my god! He’ll get an Oscar nomination, there is no doubt in my mind now.”

The Dark Knight opens in America July 18th with the UK and Europe following on the 25th.

E S S E N T IA L G R A P H I C NOVELS TO PREPARE YOU FOR T H E D A R K KNIGHT. . .

THE LONG HALLOWEEN by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale

DARK VICTORY by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale

THE KILLING JOKE by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland

STRANGE APPARITIONS by by Steve Englehart, Len Wein and Marshall Rogers

THE MAN WHO LAUGHS by Ed Brubaker and Doug Mahnke

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By GREG

hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nothing quite so terrifying to us humans as the thought of being eaten, of the ultimate apex predator and consumer themselves being consumed. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why Jaws was so scary and why cannibalistic serial killers like Jeffrey Dahmer still have the capacity to shock and fascinate the world. 040issueONE

Zombies embody this terror like no other, because what could be more horrifying than being eaten alive by another person? Worse still, a person that you can’t reason with and who won’t even acknowledge you as anything other than lunch… Like being stranded on a desert island with John Prescott and some barbecue sauce, you don’t stand a chance. More than just terrifying though, zombies are just plain cool. They’ve been around for a long time and in the last few years they’ve undergone somewhat of a resurrection (ho-ho!) after the height of their popularity in the 70s and 80s. Shambling back into the mainstream, you can find them dropping putrid chunks of themselves all over popular culture, making horrible moaning sounds and generally stinking up the joint and freaking everyone out all over again. In the first of a three part series taking in movies, games and books, this issue The Score looks at zombie-cinema from its inception and roots in misunderstood Caribbean culture, through to the re-animation of the genre at the hands of the film-makers who grew up with the classics.

e t i h w y l b a r c e i t l s p a x m e “anHianitian voodoo ” e r d n e g e L r e d r called Mu Do you do voodoo? The idea of the living, hungry dead has been around for as long as people have recorded tales told around the campfire. Ancient Mesopotamian poem ‘The Epic of Gilgamesh’ (c.1000-2000BC), which is amongst the first known works of literary fiction, details the threat of the goddess Ishtar to “…knock down the Gates of the Netherworld... And let the dead go up to eat the living”. It’s not exactly Shakespeare, but wouldn’t King Lear have been so much better with flesh-eating ghouls? Today’s idea of the zombie arose first from sensationalist (and plain wrong) Hollywood depictions of the practices and rites of the Haitian Voodoo religion. The 1932 film White Zombie did exactly this, telling the story of a young American woman transformed into a zombie by an inexplicably white Haitian voodoo ‘master’ called Murder Legendre (surely a careerlimiting moniker), played by Bela Lugosi. However in terms of misrepresentation of Caribbean culture, you’d be hard pressed to beat the 1940 film King of the Zombies. Featuring all of the usual nonsense about voodoo rituals, it goes that one step further to suggest (but never actually come out and say) that in fact the Nazis were behind the

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“you’d be h ard presse To notice the d difference in the acting Pre and postzombification”

not a zombie film as we und erstand them today, is an extremely atmospher ic and ambiguous tale of a woman experiencing a culture utterly foreign to her.

whole thing with a sinister Austrian villain, radio chatter in German and allusions to ‘secret agents of European governments’. Mental. However, the early Hollywood images of zombies and voodoo were not entirely rotten, with legendary horror director Jacques Tourneur (who went on to direct Night of the Demon, considered one of the best supernatural horror movies ever made) making I Walked With a Zombie in 1943. Despite its sensationalist title, the films plot borrowed heavily from Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre and is comparatively far more sensitive in its depictions of Caribbean and voodoo rites than many of it contemporaries. It is never really explained whether or not one of the characters is actually a zombie or whether there are other more rational explanations for their condition. The film itself, while

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The infamous Plan 9 From Outer Space (1958) involved the transformation of its characters into zombies, wooden automato ns bent to the desire of a controlling alien invasio n force (which, frankly, is giving the film more cre dit than it deserves). Watching the film, directo r Ed Wood Jnr’s crowing glory, in all honesty you’d be hard-pressed to notice the difference in the acting pre and postzombification.

The Unholy Trilogy

It wasn’t until 1968 though that the modern archetype of the zombie was coined by an angry young Pittsburgh film-maker by the name of George A. Romero. Romero gained his inspiration for Night of the Living De ad from Richard Matheson’s 1954 apocaly ptic classic I Am Legend (itself the recent subject of a disappointing adaptation). “I ripped off the siege” exp lains Romero “and the central idea which I though t was so powerful, that this plague involved the ent ire planet”. Instead of making a movie about what happens at the end of the world, Romero decided to show what might happen at the beginning of the end. Surprisingly however, Rom ero didn’t see Night… as a zombie movie at all. In fact, throughout the early Dead trilogy the wo rd ‘zombie’ is never actually uttered.

“still remain y b d r a d n a t s e th r e h t o l l a h c whi e r a s e l p m a ex judged”

“I never thought of them as zombies. For me, zombies were the slave workers in White Zombie, with Bela Lugosi. I never called them ‘zombies’ in Night…, they were ‘ghouls’ or ‘those things’”. Unlike so many modern horror movies, whose raison d’être is to shock and disgust (although all three films in the original trilogy still have the capacity to do so even today), Romero didn’t see the monsters as the reason for the movie. “They were just the problem driving the characters – it could have been anything,”

Night of the Living Dead and its two immediate sequels, Dawn of the Dead (1978) and Day of the Dead (1985), are

widely considered as the three finest examples of the zombie movie. Blending extreme violence and gore with razor sharp satire and political commentary, the films still remain the standard by which all other examples of the genre are judged.

Dawn of the Dead, in particular, is still held in extremely high regard by both fans of the horror genre and movie-buffs generally. It tells the tale of three survivors, holed up in a Pittsburgh shopping mall, against the backdrop of the ongoing carnage of a zombie-infested America. Made for a frugal $650,000 (50 times more that its predecessor), Dawn… has the look and feel of a film 10 times the

budget and had an estimated world wide gross of a whopping $55 million. It managed this in large part due to the genius of two men. On the one hand, Romero’s vision, inspirational attitude and obsessive work-ethic brought together the cast, crew and people of Pittsburgh in a way that only a local hero could. Pittsburghers were literally dying to be a zombie extra in the film and the large crowd shots were possible only because of the commitment of the people to work for ‘a dollar and a donut’. “It was amazing”, recalls Romero in the making-of documentary The Dead Will Walk, “we had all sorts of people turn up; lawyers,

doctors, librarians – you name it!” This, coupled with the fact that everyone on the production played at least 2 roles, meant that costs were kept rock-bottom. The other man responsible for the success, and infamy, of the film was make-up maverick Tom Savini who was solely responsible for the startling levels of on-screen violence and gore. “George

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“You have to let me eat your

” ! s n i i i i i i i a a braaaaa

called me up and basically said ‘Think of as many ways as you can to kill someone’,” Savini chuckles. A veteran Vietnam War photographer, Savini took what he had experienced on the battlefield and put it up on the screen. Less commercially successful and somewhat overshadowed by its prequel, Day of the Dead remains both Romero and Savini’s favourite of the original trilogy. Claustrophobic, oppressively bleak and with scenes that shock even now, Day… remains the high-point of both men’s careers. The make-up effects, pre-CGI, are still considered some of the greatest and goriest ever designed. One sequence in particular, where one character is dismembered, gutted and eaten alive is astonishing. This realism, Savini remembers in making of documentary The Many Days of the Dead, was helped by some problems with storage of the goat intestines used in the effect shots. “While we were gone, somebody unplugs our refrigerator. For two weeks!”, he laughs

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“You can imagine what it smelled like… it was worse than an autopsy, worse than you can imagine!” Actor Joe Pilato, lying under a pile of putrid goat guts and “As blood, is less amused by the memory, to ed start just I ‘cut’ ted soon as they shou heave,”. of Post Day of the Dead, zombies fell out and a cinem m strea favor both with main with their celluloid master Romero. It was not until 20 years had passed that he would return to the genre that made him, with the disappointing Land of the Dead y in 2005 and non-chronologic sequel Diar . of the Dead in 2008

Pretenders to the Throne

Outside of the canon of Romero films, there have been few within the same period who could match his vision. In 1985, after a disagreement with Romero bie on how to pitch the sequel to the zom the classic, John Russo, co-writer on

original Night of the Living Dead, came up with Return of the Living Dead. Written and directed by Dan O’Bannon (who wrote Alien and Total Recall), the film takes a very different approach to the original trilogy. Played for laughs, with liberal amounts of gore, Return… took a far more ‘splat-stick’ approach, with zombies running, talking (“Send… more…paramedics”) and even putting forward convincing arguments with former girlfriends over lunch – “That’s okay, Darlin’, because I love you, and that’s why you have to let me EAT YOUR BRAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIINS!” The film went on to spawn four sequels of drastically diminishing quality, a statement which may be open to accusations of ‘stating the bleedin’ obvious’. Italian director Lucio Fulci made the phenomenally gore-splattered Zombie

Flesh Eaters (origina lly named Zombi 2 in Europe) in 1979. Zo mbie Flesh Eaters wa s banned in several co untries, including the UK as part of the inf amous video nasty legislation of the 19 80s. The film itself is rem arkably entertaining and deserves viewi ng simply for the audacity of a scene in which an actor playing a zombie ha s an underwater fig ht with a real shark. Su rely pitching that in itself would be enou gh to get any film made. What’s that? You want to make a $70million film ab out the history of paper? Are you serio us? Oh, right, it has a scene in which a zo mbie fights a shark... Green light!

The 1980s saw a veritable plague of zombie movies, none of which even lived up to Fulci’s film, never mind Romero’s. They were all low budget and all had ludicrous titles like Hard Rock Zombies (1985), Raiders of the Living Dead (1986) and Zombie Holocaust (1980) which, in a typically ultra-cynical move, had the undead of Zombi 2 facing off against the still living of Cannibal Holocaust (1979) on a South Pacific island and was made for about £15. However there were a few gems to be found if you looked hard enough. King amongst these was the cult classic Re-Animator (1985), which told the story of a medical student trying to develop a serum to bring the dead back to life. He succeeds (of course) but in the tradition of all mad-scientist movies doesn’t quite get the results he was looking for. Based on the H.P. Lovecraft story of the same name, which at the time was itself a light parody of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Re-Animator delivers some genuinely scary moments, some insanely over the top violence and gore and more than a few laughs along the way. It’s a film that refuses to take itself seriously, evidenced by the groan-worthy title of the surprisingly decent sequel Bride of Re-Animator (1991).

“it’s a film that refuses to take itself seriously”

The New Breed

vie was entirely down to the make another zombie mo d That Romero was able to profitable videogame-base films such as the risible but r. cto dire as d resurgence of the genre in che inally atta movies, to which he was orig Resident Evil (2002-2007) Resident Evil 2 game, and the for l rcia me com a live-action favour of Geordie Romero did, in fact, direct was eventually rejected in but , vie mo l ina orig the wrote a script for eer low. . Talk about an all-time car ‘auteur ’ Paul WS Anderson of the Dead (2004), vies is the hilarious Shaun mo bie zom new the of st edy and Arguably the greate ling the lines between com onsiderable feat of stradd cessful. suc ally tion rna which managed the not inc inte ng uniquely British yet bei e tim e sam the at ile l vision of genuine horror wh faithful to both the origina te homage, it also stayed ntionally nte uni g, vin An affectionate and accura -mo the zombies as slow and ry nta me com ial soc Romero’s movies as amusing shamblers.

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“unless naked, unadulterated terror and eye-gouging is your thing”

ze also saw the The new zombie movie cra te considerably release in 2002 of the qui r (unless naked, less hilarious 28 Days Late eye-gouging unadulterated terror and budget is your thing) and its bigger 2007. While sequel 28 Weeks Later in feature actual strictly speaking they didn’t e-infected zombies (instead having rag tagonists) the living humans as their pro two films owe themes and sub-texts of the visions and ptic much to Romero’s apocaly and a raw ges featured some startling ima atmosphere of fear.

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Also notable was the bigbudget, surprisingly-notrubbish 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead, which replaced Romero’s classic slowmovers with sprinting, shrieking, man-eating banshees. Think of an undead Linford Christie, crossed with the bipedal spawn of an unholy union between baboon and bigcat and you’re nowhere near – but isn’t it a lovely image? The outbreak of zombie cinema still shows no sign of abating, with several major studio films being produced in the near future including the adaptation of Max Brooks superb novel World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, Neil (The Descent) Marshall’s Outpost, Monster

Nation and Autumn, a low budget British film based on the independently produced, free to download David Moody novel. Next issue The Score will take a look at the undead in videogames and sees how the zombie has become a staple of an industry hungry for mainstream acceptance.

YOU THERE!

HALT!

Are you an illustrator ? A writer? ? A A game developer? A film-maker?

musician

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re always on the lookout for new and exciting talent, whether to be promoted within the pages of the magazine, or to become a part of our friendly and lively staff. If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re interested in becoming a part of The Score, please contact jim@the-scoremagazine.com for further details.

NEEDS

YOU!

verybody has moments of radio transcendence. You know, where you’re driving in your car or sitting at your desk or whatever, and a song comes on the radio and for a moment everything stops. Time stops. Its just you and the song, so completely perfect, and for a while - three minutes, if you’re lucky - all is right with the world. Everything’s going to be okay. Now imagine an album made up entirely of those moments and you have Freedom Wind by the Explorers Club. Glorious melodies ring out like clarions. Harmonies stack to the sky. Fantastic, organic-sounding organs, sleigh-bells and guitars chime and toot and warble marvelously, balanced atop hooks that can break your heart from fifty feet. And yeah - there are echoes of bands past, most notably the Beach Boys but also the Association, ELO, and Let It Be-era Beatles, but it adds to the sense of celebration. Its a fist pumper. Listen, and you’ll care.

Troy Photograph © Ian

the

Stains

b u l c s r explore by Jon H

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That suits songwriter/singer/arranger/auteur Jason Brewer just fine. “I wasn’t aiming to do a huge artistic statement. I just thought -- ‘what do people want to hear, or what do I want to hear every day?’ I want to hear something that’s memorable, simple basic little songs that anybody could relate to.” The Charleston, South Carolina songwriter began to formulate the idea of Explorers Club after fronting a series of college bands which, in his words, “weren’t very good.” He started out recording at home, first with “Forever,” a driving pop tune (in mono, yet!) which sounds like the best song that wasn’t on the Beach Boys’ Summer Days (And Summer Nights), and “I Lost My Head,” an organ-and-vocal-driven bit of gorgeousness which could sit comfortably on Smiley Smile.

“we didn’t anticipate how difficult it is to do those kind of vocals live...” “We messed around with different ideas of things to record,” he says. “We tried to do one that was kinda like Paul McCartney and Wings, then maybe a California kind of Association/Phil Spector kind of thing, and it sounded awesome. We got a lot of good reaction from friends.” From there, he started assembling a live band, pulling members from previous bands, neighbors and friends into the mix. But the insanely complex four-and-five-part harmony sound wielded by the Explorers Club didn’t come easy at first. “We had to work on it for a long time,” says Brewer. “There was a lot of sort of sitting down and having 6-hour vocal rehearsals. It was a learning process for me and everybody else in the band...We didn’t anticipate how difficult it is to do those kind of vocals live, unless you have a killer sound system or something, which you often don’t.”

Photograph © Ian Troy Stains

Perhaps predictably, the California-based sound didn’t catch on immediately in Charleston. “What’s cool out here,” he says, “is kind of a bummer. It’s all singer-songwriter-alt-country stuff, like watered-down Ryan Adams or whatever. I love country music, I love newer guys doing oldschool things, but this is more like -- well, the bands out of Charleston have been like Hootie and the Blowfish, with lots of acoustic guitars, and capos everywhere.” Meanwhile, the band started developing a following on the internet (including on Beach Boys and related message boards) and in some of the

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“that sound ha s been missing from the lexico n of music righ t now”

hipper enclaves around the country, like New York and Los Angeles. “There’ve been bands (in California) that have incorporated some of those sounds, but I think what’s attracting people is that there hasn’t been the real thing, trying to carry on that sound from the 60s. If you think about it, what Brian Wilson was doing, or Phil Spector, or bands like the Association or the Mamas and the Papas, they all had that sound. If you take 30 songs by a bunch of different artists from LA from that period, they all have it. That’s what I was shooting for.”

Ah, yes, the Beach Boys connection. Critics and fans alike have pointed out the uncanny resemblance between the Explorers Club sound and that of the Brothers Wilson and Co. Partly homage, of course - Brewer admits it fully - but its partly just love of that California Sound. “Anytime,” he says, “that you get five guys doing five-part harmonies, it’s just gonna sound like the Beach Boys. It’s not an egotistical thing, but I think - y’know, the Beach Boys haven’t made a real record since maybe 1980, and that sound has been missing from the lexicon of music right now, so I figure maybe I can give it a shot - make a record for the fans and such.”

Photograph

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ins

It isn’t just about the Beach Boys, either. There’s a myriad of other influences which color Freedom Wind’s sound. “The title track has kind of a Billy Preston / Beatles feel, or a little bit of the Guess Who,” he explains. “’Don’t Forget The Sun’ has a Beach Boys sound, but has a lot of Bacharach-style changes. And ‘Hold Me Tight’ owes a lot to Smokey Robinson. It’s kind of like all the things I listened to growing up, whether it be Brian Wilson or Paul McCartney or Smokey or even something as far out there as Frank Sinatra, all smashed into one sunny, happy CD.”

Brewer approaches songwriting a number of different ways. “My favorite thing to do,” he says, “is to start with the melody, then build colorful, rich chords behind it. The best songs on the album, the melody came first. But sometimes, I wouldn’t even have a melody done - I’d start by saying ‘I want this feel, I want the song in this specific style.’ With a song like ‘Hold Me Tight,’ for example, I heard the tension of the first chord in my head before I played it. Then I found the chord, started singing, put in the changes, and the whole song, with the exception of the bridge was done in about five minutes.” The album, however, wasn’t just a collection of the band’s favorite live songs. Once they got into the studio, the creativity exploded and Brewer and the group started coming up with stuff spontaneously. “That’s the best way,” Brewer says. “You get creative, you get going, and that’s the best time to lay stuff down. The stuff that’s well thought-out and pined over and worked on - that ends up being some of the worst stuff you do. The spurof-the-moment stuff, that’s always the best stuff, really.” About half the time, the album’s complex arrangements appear in Brewer’s head as he writes the songs. “Sometimes they do, sometimes we end up fleshing them out in practice. A lot of times I kind of arrange stuff down to, y’know, each finite cymbal hit, but once that happens the guys kind of flesh it out and put their own spin on everything. It sort of starts and ends with me, but in between we kind of colour it a bit.” Brewer hopes Freedom Wind acts as a sort of tonic; a cheerful antidote to the depressing music and media that seems part and parcel of our modern age. And indeed it is - it’s a remarkable record, and if you come away from it with any bad feelings left over, all it’ll take is a couple of repeat spins to exorcise pretty much every demon you’ve got. “There’s tons of stuff going on right now in music and movies and normal everyday American life,” he says, “and so much of it is a huge bummer. There’s so much negativity on the airwaves and in every form of media there is. We wanted to make a record that people would resonate with, people that wanted to have, y’know, a joyous listen, and maybe a little magic.”

“we wanted to make a record that people would re sonate with, people that wanted t o have, y’know, a joyous liste n, and maybe a little ma gic” 051

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BEST 5 THE Joel and Ethan Coen are two of modern cinemas greatest visionaries. Known for their crackling scripts, pitch-black humour and stunning visual style, the Coen Brothers could ne ver be accused of making typical Hollywood films. Cutting their teeth on the early productions of close friend and director Sam Raimi (Spiderman), the Coens experienced life on both sides of the creative divide. As assistant editor on horror classic The Evil Dead, Joel saw first hand how the vision of a director could be transferred to the screen with zero interference from a studio, albeit on a shoestring budget. In Raimiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s next project, Crimewave, both brothers (this time as screenwriters) saw how a bigger budget could often mean bigger compromises. So it was, and has ever been thus, that from their debut feature Blood Simple to their recent awards laden adaptation of Cormac McCarthyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bleak and brutal novel No Country for Old Men, the Coen Brothers have become those rarest of filmmakers, those that retain complete artistic freedom over their output. The Score takes a look at five of their best, all of which deserve a place in the collection of every discerning fan of film...

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COENBROTHERS BY

GREGM

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5BEST

BLOOD SIMPLE [1985] T

his, the Coen’s debut feature, was written, directed, produced and edited (under their oft-used pseudonym Roderick Jaynes) by the brothers. It contains many of the signatures and themes that would recur in their work over the next 20 years. Greed and self-interest? Check . Double Crosses? Check. Morally bankrupt grotesques? Check. The film itself centres on the efforts of a Texan bar-owner to prove the infidelity of his wife through the services of a private detective, played by the superbly sweaty and scummy M. Emmet Walsh. One deception, one murder, some gross incompetence and a live-burial later and the film descends into a deadly spiral of misunderstandings that run right down to the final scene.

Looking back at Blood Simple, you’ll see the Coen’s film-making at its most urgent, taut and spartan. Fast forward 22 years to the equally sparse No Country… and you can sense the same no-nonsense attitude flowing from its pores. Taking place in the same state and in the same decade, you half expect Josh Brolin to stagger into the bar that serves as the hub of the chaos in Blood Simple and order a whiskey, neat.

Blood Simple also serves as a showcase for the considerable talents that the Coens would bring to their future movies - stylish directorial and editorial flourishes, a fundamentally simple yet dense plot driven with unstoppable momentum by the events of the film, brilliant writing and some fantastic work by great character actors.

“If you point a gun at someone, you’d better make sure you shoot him; and if you shoot him you’d better make sure he’s dead, because if he isn’t then he’s gonna get up and try to kill you.” 053

5BEST

(1987)

Raising Arizona

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or their sophomore film, the Coens turned out what amounted to a thematic photo-negative of the murder and grim events that punctuated their debut. Sunshine bright with a stellar helping of fantastic and funny dialogue peppered with jaunty slapstick, Raising Arizona is the tale of just how far desperate idiots will go to have children. Nicholas Cage plays small time crook H.I. McDonagh who falls in love with and marries Police photographer Ed (Holly Hunter). Disaster strikes when the couple learn that Ed can’t conceive and the desperate depression of their childless marriage leads them to the kidnapping of one of the ‘Arizona Quints’, born into the wealthy family of local furniture magnate Nathan Arizona. But as with nearly every Coen film, it’s never quite that simple… The Coens whip up such a fury of brilliant characters, whip-crack smart dialogue and laugh out loud visual gags that it’s impossible not to love this film. It showed that the Coens, as film-makers, were as much at ease with farce and pure comedy as they were with betrayal and murder.

“We figured there was too much happiness here for just the two of us, so we figured the next logical step was to have us a critter.” 054issueONE

Raising Arizona is unarguably the Coens most obviously comic and outright funny film. It is filled with laugh out loud moments, from deadpan exchanges of absurd dialogue to one of the greatest ever chase scenes involving dogs, nappies and house to house mayhem. The Coens have never since released such an explosive one-two punch of contrasting films as they did with Blood Simple and Raising Arizona, but as the 1990s began, they would enter their most creative period yet and produce some of their best work.

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MILLER’S CROSSING W

ith their third film, the story of a vicious war raging between rival gangs on the streets of an un-named prohibition era city, the Coens paid tribute to one of their biggest influences, noir maestro Dashiell Hammett. Many elements of the film, including key scenes and whole passages of dialogue, were lifted from his novels Red Harvest and The Glass Key.

Gabriel Byrne leads as Tom Reagan, a belligerent tough-guy and chronic gambler at the epicentre of a storm of violence

5BEST (1990)

mostly of his own doing. It’s Byrne’s best performance and his portrayal of Tom as a moral vacuum - sucking in dupes to be manipulated and tossed aside, leaves you unsure as to whether even he suspected that things would turn out the way they did.

DoP Barry Sonnenfeld) composed Miller’s Crossing like an oil painting. Rich autumnal colours glow from every frame, from the burnished wood and leather of the interiors to the stark, cold light of the key location of the forest in the fall.

Playing Irish mob boss Albert Finney and Italian capo Jon Polito against each other in part to solve his own credit problems, you’re never quite sure just how much intention is behind Byrne’s actions. Even when having his life threatened by the psychotic enforcer ‘The Dane’ (see ‘Unstoppable Evil’) we’re never exactly sure whose side he is on, or even if by the conclusion he cares either way. It’s a masterfully understated performance.

Densely plotted in the best tradition of noir storytelling and brilliantly acted by a superb ensemble cast, Miller’s Crossing demonstrated that the Coens were about more than mere style over substance.

Moving away from the kinetic camera movement of their previous two films, the Coens (assisted by great work from their

“I’m praying to you! Look in your heart! I’m praying to you! Look in your heart!” 055

of the

5BEST FARGO

(1996)

scar beckoned for the brothers in a typically Coen-esque story of desperate people in over their heads and resorting to desperate measures to try and dig their way out of trouble. Jerry Lundegaard (William H Macy) is a small town car salesman in massive debt who organises the kidnapping of his wife. Using two barely competent thugs played by Peter Stormare (psychotic) and Steve Buscemi (kinda’ funny lookin’), he plans to ransom her back to his father-in-law for $1 million – paying off the kidnappers with a fraction of the amount and his debts with the rest.

What seems, on paper, to be a relatively simple plan turns out for the protagonists to be, like so many of the Coen’s movies, a gradually accelerating descent into panic, confusion, betrayal and humour black as night. Lies beget further, bigger and unsustainable lies and violence begets further, more extreme and wholly terminal violence. DIY firearms-based dentistry and creative use of a woodchipper notwithstanding, Fargo manages the trick of being really quite violent and grim without ever making you feel like it’s being overtly nasty. That Fargo manages this feat is largely down to both the writing of the Coens

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and their lead actress Frances McDormand, whose Oscar winning performance as investigating (and heavily pregnant) Police Chief Marge Gunderson is the warm, fuzzy heart of a film that would be as cold and bleak as its setting in any other hands. Relentlessly chasing down the spiralling trail of carnage, McDormands portrayal of Marge is of a woman quite aware of what she sounds and looks like to the casual observer (and who is more than willing to use her physical awkwardness and hick accent

to her own benefit), yet who is underestimated at their peril. The brutal violence, pitch-dark themes and supporting cast of greedy, bad people are expertly juxtaposed with the snowblinding landscapes and the unfailing goodness and humour of Marge. For such a dark film dealing in the basest acts of men, that we leave Fargo feeling that life may not be so bad after all is down to the performance of one woman.

“There’s more to life than a little money, you know. Don’tcha know that? And here ya are, and it’s a beautiful day. Well. I just don’t understand it.”

of the

5BEST The Man Who

Wasn’t There B

(2001)

illy Bob Thorton gives arguably his greatest ever performance as Ed, an unremarkable barber in the California of 1949. His performance, asides from the uber-laconic voice-over, is all facial tics and understated cynicism and is quite astonishing by any standard.

cleaning clothes without water. Trouble is, he lacks the cash to really commit himself and decides to blackmail local business tycoon ‘Big Dave’ Brewster (played with typically menacing good-humour by James Gandolfini) into stumping up the money to save his skin.

As the title suggests, Ed is a man who is adrift in his own life – each day passing in the same unremarkable and uneventful fashion. Uneventful, that is, until Ed unwisely takes it upon himself to inject a little excitement into his life through a combination of blackmail, manslaughter and dry cleaning.

Widely considered by critics to be Joel and Ethans masterpiece, The Man Who Wasn’t There is a truly astonishing work. From the outstanding performances of the cast to the authentic and simply beautiful Oscar nominated black and white cinematography (by the ‘eye of the Coens’ Roger Deakins), it is the film of a collective of artists operating at the peak of their powers.

Sucked into a confidence scam by a passing business-man with an innovative idea, Ed divests himself of his saving to buy into the wonderful brave new world of

It remains the most gripping film involving hairdressing that The Score has ever seen.

“He told them to look not at the facts, but at the meaning of the facts. Then he said the facts had no meaning.” 057

of the

5BEST

unstoppable evil A common theme in their films, we run down the top five embodiments of pure malevolence in the Coen universe...

Anton Chigurh

(No Country for Old Men) Always one step ahead of Tommy Lee Jones and hot on the bleeding heels of Josh Brolin, creative use of a cattle gun makes him one tough hombre that you do not want to cross. Eeeeevil! “I won’t tell you you can save yourself, because you can’t.”

The Dane

(Miller’s Crossing) Memorably played by a hulking J.E. Freeman, Eddie Dane is Italian mob-boss Johnny Caspar’s right hand of doom and the only one who sees through Tom’s duplicitous scheming. Don’t look to him for mercy, you won’t find any in those soulless pits of black he calls eyes. Eeeeevil! “I am gonna send you to a deep, dark place and I am gonna have fun doing it!”

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Karl “Madman” Mundt

Sheriff Cooley

Leonard Smalls

King of the shouting fat-men John Goodman plays titular screenwriter John Turturro’s fellow resident at decrepit Hollywood dive Hotel Earle. Specialising in arson, cop killing and dismemberment he’s the kind of guy that you wouldn’t want to refuse a favour of. Even when it involves the safe-keeping of a suspiciously headsized package.

This demonic Southern lawman may be the big S himself. Hitch-hiking bluesman Tommy gives a fairly accurate description of him when he talks of the deal made at the crossroads that gave him his blistering guitar skills.

A bounty-hunting biker straight from the post-apocalyptic world of Mad Max, Smalls is a pitiless, Harley-riding, cigarchewing, grenade and matching shotguntoting bunny killer.

(Barton Fink)

(O Brother, Where Art Thou?)

Eeeeevil! “The law is a human institution”.

(Raising Arizona)

Eeeeevil! “There’s people…who’ll pay a lot more than $25,000 for a healthy baby”.

Eeeeevil! “Look upon me! I’ll show you the life of the mind!”

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A potted history of the modern FPS by MattyJ. WARNING: Does not contain actual pots.

HOW TO SHOOT

FRIENDS

INCINERATE PEOPLE A

hhh, the FPS. The modern console’s bread and butter. These days a console is practically sold on the strengths of its First Person Shooters (except the Wii, but I guess mums and grannies prefer tennis to massacre). You can’t deny that without Halo, Mi crosoft’s original Xbox would have been dead before it had got going. The 360 had Call of Duty 2, which helped people to see what the next generation could become, and encouraged them to ‘Jump In’. Sony’s PS3, well that had Resistance: Fall of Man, and has been trying to make up for it ever since.

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The bottom line is that people like blowing stuff up, and hurting the bad guys goes a long way too. The current generation of hardware, and the last, have made some big leaps when it came to FPS design. Some games changed the shape of the genre forever more. There are a few games that, even if they didn’t sell a huge amount or get perfect scores, helped to further the genre by doing something a little different. These are games that had exceptional sound, level design, or characterisation. These are titles that even if the core mechanics are basic, the other elements are so significant they manage to enhance them as you are sucked in. This piece will examine a few of the titles from the current and last generation of hardware that fit the criteria, focusing on a particular feature which had either never been done before, was perfected, or has been replicated in other titles since. Halo: Combat Evolved Few titles can be more justified of the title ‘system seller’ or ‘killer app’ than Bungie Studio’s masterpiece. When the game was launched, it broke sales records. It sold alongside more than half of Xbox consoles for two months, and sold faster than any other game of its generation at the time. It has even entered the gaming vernacular, as other shooters are labelled ‘Halo clone’ or ‘Halo Killer’.

It would be very easy to write a great deal about all the things that Halo has done which have been copied and implemented into a wide array of games. However, I am going to focus on something which hadn’t been done before, rather than a refinement of other elements: the energy shield. It’s a very simple design that affects the game play in a massive way. Although Halo still had health packs (removed from its two sequels because Bungie felt trying to find the appropriate places for them and the player searching for them affects the flow of play), the shield system provided a new way of playing. It certainly proved to be great fun; on the easier difficulties I felt invincible, able to run into a room full of the Covenant and destroy them, feeling like the super soldier Master Chief was supposed to be. On the more challenging difficulties, it enables you to tactically approach an area, ducking between cover, picking off the Grunts until you’re just left with the Elites to deal with. It also has a big effect on the multiplayer, as you can have prolonged fire-fights and tactical weapon usage, while trying to find a respite in order to get your shield back. When my brother and I played through the co-op campaign together, it helped to provide many laughs. The moments of: ‘quick, quick my shield is out take him, TAKE HIM!!’ delivering great tension, fun and really adding to the experience.

“the bottom line is that people like blowing things up.”

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Black Criterion’s mission statement for Black was to do for FPS’ what their Burnout series did for racing. Basically, turn the adrenaline dial up to ‘11’, and just have an all out riot of a shooter. They succeeded. What they created was a game that was pure fun to play. Running through an enemy village, destroying buildings, watchtowers, shooting grenades out of the air, it was amazing entertainment.

Black puts great detail on the weapons in the game, attempting to get them to emulate their real world versions; making sure they look, sound and operate in a realistic manner (even if they took a few liberties with some of the gun features). It results in the game getting pretty much perfect the fundamental element of shooters: it feels good to shoot things. Due to the weapons having a lot of time spent on them, they have a lot of weight. While playing, I almost feel as if I have the gun in my hands, which is something that games such as Halo don’t convey as well. Watching your AK47 leave bullet holes in the side of the building was great, and the reload effect was fantastic. This unique feature causes the background to blur, focusing in on the real time reload of the weapon. The first time I saw it in action; I couldn’t help but give a ‘wow’. Black really is excellent fun, and if other developers spent as much

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time as Criterion did on weapon design, videogames would be a better place. It also has the second most satisfying shotgun blast noise after Syndicate. “Gun-porn” indeed. Timesplitters Timesplitters is interesting; in so much as it wasn’t about the single player. It had purposely stripped down missions which boiled down to: run to end of level, pick up item, run back to start. For me, the campaign was a means to an end. This is because the game had a fabulous multiplayer element to it, much better than other games available at the time, and caused the same sort of feelings as crowding around an N64 playing Goldeneye. Although it was still great fun to play, it just meant that I unlocked what was the real meat of the game: the challenges and mapmaker. Everyone loves a good zombie, right? I do, I love them. That’s why Timesplitters will always have that special place in my

“the second most satisfying shotgun blast noise after syndicate...”

heart. It had a challenge where you had to kill fifty zombies in two minutes, with a double barrelled shotgun, in a mansion foyer. I couldn’t ask for more. I have no idea how many times I played through that challenge, both on my own and with my brother, but it was a lot. Making sure you aim correctly so that you take off the head in one shot was brilliant - trying to keep the numbers down before you got overrun, attempting to reach the extra ammo and get back to the safest location before getting trapped, it was magnificent. There were many more challenges, however, all varied and with their own little story. They were also ‘goals’ for each one; such as achieving it in a certain time, for which you were rewarded with a trophy and bonus’. I just like shooting zombies though. Free Radical’s most stunning achievement however, was the mapmaker. Although it was only on the PlayStation 2, and released very early in its lifespan, the editor was incredibly detailed, and allowed the user to create their own scenarios. The editor features a series of pre-made building blocks which can be pieced together in order to construct a level. Beyond this though, the player can set spawn times for enemies, place weapons, change lighting, set times, everything. It enables whole new scenarios to be made, and allows you to set up your perfect map for killing your friends. It extends the life of the shooter far beyond anything else, and keps you playing for months, tinkering with existing set ups and creating whole new ones. It is one of the most pure fun experiences to be had on the Playstation 2.

Metroid Prime Metroid Prime is unique in this article as it is the only game to not actually be classed as a shooter. Instead, Nintendo classify it as a “First Person Adventure”, and it really does deserve that differentiation. There are at least as many, and probably more, puzzle elements to this game as there are shooting ones. The structure is based on the player exploring the world and trying to figure out what happened, and what is going on. This involves switching to a ‘scan’ mode and scouring the various locations around, which reveal the story to you. Interestingly, the story is not forced upon you. If you do not want to, you don’t have to scan any of the story providing parts of the game. On the other hand, you would be missing out on a great deal if you didn’t bother.

Prime remains to this day a very special experience. The reason for this is the sense of isolation that sweeps over you as you wander around the landscape, completely alone. I think that because there are no story cut-scenes as such (the real backstory is all told through text) and there is no vocal at all, it really emphasises that you are on your own. It is just one big, empty, dangerous planet. It’s one of the most immersive and atmospheric games I have played. I often found myself engrossed for hours, trying to get to the next part of the planet and find out what waited for me around the next corner. It also features some of the best looking environments of the entire last generation, and still looks great today in the wake of the High Definition takeover. For me, this game really shows what an underrated gem the Gamecube was.

“for me, this game really shows what an underrated gem the gamecube was.”

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outing; they are fixed, and unable to be created by the player. Prey On to the current generation of hardware and software, and first up is Prey. This title had many nice little touches in it which singles it out from other games. For example, the game’s lead is a Native American. Not a lot of FPS’ take risks with characters; they are far too often limited to cardboard cut out marines, although sometimes this can be no bad thing (see Halo). The first few hours of Prey was, and still is, a jaw-dropping experience. From the few minutes spent in the bar, and finding out you can interact with the jukebox, games machine and well, everything, to the part where it all starts to go wrong, the player is swept off their feet and taken on a ride that doesn’t stop until the end. The first time I played it, I almost couldn’t believe what had been achieved. The visuals were fantastic, as you are taken around the ship – the Earth far beneath you - trying to figure out what the hell is going on and how you are going to get out of this mess.

“they are far too often limited to cardboard cut-out marInes” 064issueONE

The parts which really put a smile on your face when you first encounter them though are the portals. Now, I know some people might think that Valve invented the portal scene, but Prey started development back in 1995, and had portals up and running in 1997. However, this game’s portal technology is slightly different from Valve’s excellent

The impact they had when I first encountered them was immense. There was a box on the floor, which on four visible sides looked perfectly normal. When I circled around to the front, there was not a box texture, but instead some other location, totally different from where I was. Stepping through took you to a completely different part of the ship. This was mind-blowing. It is hard to understand if you haven’t played this game first, and are now familiar with Portal, but back in 2006 it simply took your breath away. My favourite moment is when Tommy steps through a portal to find himself on a ball shaped surface. As I ran across the ball, it revealed the character had actually been shrunk. An enemy runs into the room and upon spotting Tommy, created a portal and popped out on the mini planet. After I had dispatched it, I stepped through the portal it had made. It is then that I saw a box, inside of which was the tiny planet I was just running on. Brilliant. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Modern Warfare is the first title in the CoD series that breaks away from the World War II setting, and is all the better for it. No one could argue that the WWII setting hadn’t been done to death, and was pretty much exhausted. Infinity Ward definitely took the right step when they

decided to update the game’s setting, and in doing so, updated the genre. They are many things to talk about with CoD4. For one, the multiplayer is phenomenal. Featuring a wide range of modes and maps, excellent weapons, and fast paced fun, the multiplayer aspect really adds to the whole experience. Not only this, but there are also the levelling up system, where players get new skills and weapons made available to them as they progress. On January 14th 2008, CoD4 actually knocked Halo 3 off the top spot for the 360’s online game most played, and the two have been jostling at the top ever since. However, I am not going to focus on that aspect, even though it is remarkable. Instead I am going to look at the single player campaign. What Infinity Ward decided to do this time was take all the elements that made the campaigns in their other games great, get rid of the dross and filler, and condense it down into an intensive experience. What they created is one of the best campaign modes to have ever been made, even if it is only around six hours long. In those six hours, however, the team produced first person shooter gaming at its best. The environments are varied, with incredible detail and amazing set pieces. There are many moments when I could hardly believe I was playing a game. The standout moments to me are the missions ‘All Ghillied Up’ and ‘Shock and Awe’. ‘All Ghillied Up’ arrives at just the right time in the game. After spending action packed hours killing all and sundry, along comes this mission where you only kill a couple of bad guys. Reason being? You are in an awesome camouflage suit, and

the objective is to get to your sniper position without being discovered. What follows is one of the most intense, adrenaline fuelled missions I have ever played. There is a moment where you are prone, crawling along a field, when a group of enemy troops walk past you. You have to lie perfectly still in order to make sure they don’t detect you. I found myself actually holding my breath for fear of getting caught out. It is remarkable. The other mission I picked out is astounding but for totally different reasons. It isn’t the game play, it isn’t the graphics, and it isn’t the sound. No, instead it is the story and what happens to the player’s character at the end of the mission, and an event which rarely happens in any media, yet alone gaming. The mission sees the player rescuing an advance unit of troops and getting them to safety, due to a Russian nuclear weapon having been discovered. After a hard fought battle, you get to the troops and start to make your escape, but are delayed as there is pilot pinned down and in need of your aid. After getting him to safety, you jump in the chopper and start to fly away, watching back over the city as the nuke detonates.

“i found myself actually holding my breath for fear of getting caught out.”

‘That was close!’ I thought, ‘true film style escape action there’. Not quite. The helicopter gets caught in the blast. It goes down. Still in control of the character, I crawl out of the chopper and lie there, amidst the screams of my fellow soldiers, and die. I was so shocked by what had happened, by the heroic soldiers not making their daring escape, I almost didn’t believe it. Infinity Ward took a risk so very few people do; they killed of a lead character, just when you

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thought he was safe. It was a master stroke, and a moment that will stay with me through all my years of gaming. Halo 3 It was inevitable that this title would be on the list. Halo 3 was one of the most anticipated games of 2007, and was an incredible success for Microsoft and Bungie. Not only was it a success with regard to sales and the continued online accomplishment, but also because they managed to deliver a satisfying close on an epic game trilogy. There are many things I could talk about, various accomplishments by Bungie and how they succeeded in what they set out to achieve. Forge in particular is a fantastic creation. Although it appears to be just a map editor, it is far more than that. Forge is actually a multiplayer game type. It allows players to create and modify maps on the fly to dynamically change how the game is playing - players able to construct weapons, vehicles and other game objects. This effectively creates a unique map every time you play. It is a brilliant feature, and although naysayers may claim that a map editor is hardly groundbreaking, doing it on the fly during a match, is. However, I will focus on one element that is truly brilliant, and hasn’t been done before. That element is the film recording. I have no idea how Bungie achieved this, but it is an astounding technical feat. During play, the game is recording everything that happens. Not just player data, but an actual video recording of everything that is happening. The player can then enter Theatre mode, and watch back what they

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have done. Bungie even take this further, however. Not content with recording a single level, Halo 3 will record all of your progress throughout the game. It records the entire length of time it takes too, so if you die twenty times then all twenty times will be in the video. I should add that the camera is not restricted to the first person viewpoint either, you have full control over the camera; viewpoint, zoom, speed, everything. Furthermore, you can take stills from the video and then grab them from Bungie’s website. The icing on this incredible cake is that all happens in multiplayer too. It records the entire match, and you can fly the camera around and watch what was happening on the other side of the map from where you were fighting. In addition, you can then save the file, and send it to fellow Halo 3 players on your friends list for them to enjoy. This has allowed for many moments of gloating; such as watching that perfect sniper shot take out your friend, or that exceptional five minutes you took on everyone and killed them all. All of these moments can now be captured. For example, I got shot by a rocket while I was riding pillion on a Mongoose (the game’s interpretation of a quad bike), sending me and the driver barrelling through the air. While I was upside down, I launched a rocket myself, and it impacted on the person who shot me. It was such a brilliant moment, no one would have believed me if I told them. However, now I don’t have to worry about telling them, as I can show them what happened and revel in the glory. What other game offers that? You could expect this on a PC, but to get

“I GOT SHOT BY A ROCKET WHILE RIDING PILLION ON A MONGOOSE.”

it on a console is unbelievable, especially when you consider that the Xbox 360 hard drive is optional. If I try too hard to think about how they did it, it makes my brain hurt. BioShock The year is 1960. Your plane crashes somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. You survive, seemingly the only passenger to do so, and see a large lighthouse in front of you. You swim to it, the water bathed in moonlight. As you climb the steps, you are intrigued as to what a lighthouse is doing in the middle of the sea. An entrance. You cross the threshold and a large statue of a man looms over you, holding a banner with the slogan “No Gods or Kings. Only Man”. You see steps, not leading up, but leading down. As you descend, Bobby Darin begins “Somewhere, beyond the sea, somewhere waiting for me...” What a beginning. In my opinion, one of the greatest beginnings to a game I have ever experienced. BioShock, for me, is the epitome of what a game should be and how it should affect you. As soon as the game begins it draws you in, beckoning you to step into the darkness and find out just what this place called Rapture is. What follows is a master class in how to create a world that really feels like it existed before you entered it. That it is a living, breathing place, far beyond anything you could have imagined. That it has a history, a purpose, and that something terrible has occurred. What 2K Games created is a game where the ‘surface elements’ directly affect and elevate the core mechanics above

everything else. The sound design, art direction and the emotional investment all contribute to the overall product, elevating it to become something which is too often missing from games: an experience. Few titles deserve that description more than BioShock. Firstly, art. It really is art. The environment that you are taken into creates a sense of melancholy; you see the beauty and are amazed at the architecture, but then you see the neglect, destruction, ruin. It creates a feeling of despair; that there was something truly wonderful, and now it has gone. You know something very bad has occurred here, now you just have to find out what. Interestingly, the game creates a wide range of environments, each with a unique style to them, even though basing it in an underwater city could be somewhat constrictive. After all, there couldn’t really be any outside sections, and it would be easy to just create identical apartment blocks time and again. The sound design is second to none. Walking through Rapture really is a treat for the ears. Not just because of the fantastic musical score, made up of genuine music from the era as well as a magnificent orchestral score throughout, but due to the effects and background noises. Entering a dark room and hearing a Splicer’s mad mumblings immediately sets the player on edge, whereas hearing a Big Daddy’s lumbering footsteps and

“somewhere, Beyond the sea, somewhere, waiting for me...”

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whale-like moans can strike fear into your heart. Also, the extra effects such as the vending machines and the P.A. announcements really build up a vision of the city that once was. Most importantly, however, are the audio diaries found throughout Rapture. They tell the story of the city and its downfall through the eyes of those that experienced it as it was happening. The first one you encounter is of a depressed sounding woman; complaining that she is alone on New Year ’s Eve, as she has fallen in love with an unobtainable man and become the “silliest girl in Rapture” showing that, even in the world’s greatest city, people have the same troubles as anywhere else on the planet. The next few seconds on the tape are filled with screaming and gun fire as the woman stutters “What... what happened... I’m bleeding... oh, god... what’s happening...” and shuts off. A poignant reminder of what Rapture has become. All of these elements come together to create a fantastic atmosphere which directly affects the core components of the FPS genre to create a unique title. There is also the emotional investment you make in the game: and I don’t mean the choice of killing or saving the Little Sisters. The player becomes so invested in this world, becoming a part of its very existence that you feel you have to do something to save it. The character of Atlas is brilliantly realised, as is the journey he takes you on. The speeches he makes and the background given to your character are superb, and provide a depth beyond what many titles attempt, and fail, to reach.

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After much consideration... First Person Shooters come in many shapes and sizes. What this piece has attempted to do is showcase a small sample of the large number of shooters that are available for home consoles. Not simply choose a ‘top ten’ list, but single out key features, moments or design choices that raise these above other titles. Games whose characteristics are ones that others strive to achieve, emulate and develop. These days the console shooter market is flooded, it takes something special to stand out from the crowd. On the other hand, some titles become so enamored with trying to find that extra something that they neglect the core elements of the game. A perfect example of this is Haze. It had great potential to stand out from the pack as it appeared it wanted to tackle the complex issues of the nature of soldiers, and how performance enhancing drugs could have an impact. The Nectar system was an attempt to take a different approach and thereby create a more dynamic game. However, it fails to deliver. Not only does the Nectar system not actually provoke the player to create any kind of strategy in its use, the game fails to deliver the basic mechanics of shooters. The missions are dull and repetitive, and the environment is lifeless and devoid of any character. It shows that not only should developers look at new ways to innovate, but they need to understand the basics too. Take BioShock as a case in point. To be honest, the core mechanics are

“they neglect the core elements Of the game...”

WASD FTW. OR SOMETHING... Although this article is focusing on the console shooter, that isn’t to say the PC FPS is a die-ing breed. Arguably the PC market is making more waves than the console shooter, with titles such as Crysis furthering the field. Due to PC’s being able to have a lot more power available to them year on year, the games released can keep pushing boundaries constantly. These titles are still making waves, not only with astounding graphics but other design properties, such as the atmosphere in Doom 3. However, with more people having consoles more than ever, the PC market doesn’t get as much attention as it used to. Some developers still place the PC first, with developers such as Valve releasing its titles on the platform before anywhere else and enjoying a healthy reception. Arguably the online aspect of shooters is still very much the home computer’s domain, with title’s such as Counter Strike: Source still being played by millions. The console hasn’t conquered this market just yet.

fairly rudimentary. However, the rest of the game’s atmosphere manages to raise it above any mediocrity that may sometimes be present to become something that is just outstanding. It is simply a joy to wander around the ruined utopia, encountering all the various people and places, uncovering not only the main story arc, but the many other stories of the people of Rapture. In fact one standout section of BioShock is when the player meets Sander Cohen. “Cohen’s an artist, says some. He’s a Section Eight, says I. I’ve seen all kinds of cutthroats, freaks, and hard cases in my life, but Cohen, he’s a real lunatic, a dyed-in-the-wool psychopath” Atlas tells Jack over the radio. A brilliant set up to your meeting with Rapture’s great artist. The entire encounter with Cohen is spent away from the main storyline, it doesn’t progress the journey directly, just that Cohen decides he is going to play a sick game with you; asking you to kill four people and take their picture for him, then he will provide you with the access to the Bathysphere to take you where you need to go. It is a shining example of how to create atmosphere. It is clear that in the current age of console gaming, where more people than ever have a box under the television, that gamers are coming to expect more from their titles. There has been a natural progression across the last few generations, with ever-improving technology enabling developers to provide more to the consumer. However, it is jarring that some titles are released which get key elements wrong when games ten to fifteen years their

senior and more get it right. It sometimes appears that studios are putting too much emphasis on what really boil down to gimmicks, instead of what should be the focus of a FPS: shooting things. Although this may seem contradictory to some of what has been written here, it should be noted that the games listed in this article have not only provided the aforementioned exemplary design decisions, but their core gameplay was far better than other titles in the field. For example, Black is present due to it getting the key elements absolutely spot on. Essentially the game is a success purely because Criterion spent so much time focusing on what the player spends the vast majority of their time doing: firing guns. Going forward the genre really needs to take a step back and examine what has come before. Too many games make the same mistakes over and over again, failing to understand how to construct a solid frame on which to drape their vision. Some developers, such as Valve, are clearly making leaps forward. It is clear from the reception that the more unique examples of the genre are getting, not only from critics but from the gaming community, that there is really something special to be had in what could be dismissed as a very base genre. With the new generation of hardware, it could be simple to just offer prettier, bigger versions of what has come before. However, it’s clear that there is a lot of potential behind this smoking gun.

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Not Char les

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THE BRILL, THE NEAT AND THE SUBTLY COOL. mr.crayon: Partially inspired by Amelie and mostly as a reponse to Larry’s grump fest thread, post the big and small things that make you happy. When a girl’s ears stick out a bit through some long hair. Seeing my name in Deus Ex. Finding a fiver in the old jean pocket. Facewon: Good Turkish food. Scrap that. Good take-away in general. We currently have about a gazillion awesome burger/kebab and cheap chinese restuarants in Melbourne. I love them all. I’ve been to a couple of “proper” restuarants recently, they let me down immensely. My new pillows. They are huge and I can now avoid using pillow origami (sp?) to make my old shitty pillows a backrest. Watching TV after a post gym shower. The cute as a button chick who helped me with my tickets to the UK. My first capaccino of the day. Gremill: Not so much anymore, what with the advent of new technologies, but making up a mix-tape and then very neatly writing out the tracklist on the inlay card of the tapebox in a good quality pen. Irriducibili: I still have, and use, mix tapes. Got about 300 of them. They smell so pretty.

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WHERE IS THE LINE WITH YOU? Bugul: After a recent listening to Charlie Manson’s album, it occurred to me that a thread like this might be prudent. How do does the personal life of an artist/musician impact your ability to enjoy/appreciate an album/song? Can you, for instance, detach the singer from the song? Would you find it impossible to listen to someone who has a completely opposite view on life than you? Do you actively seek out music that fits your own perception of morality? Gremill: Having heard some of Charles Manson’s ‘songs’, my main reason for not listening to them would be that they were rubbish - however I would also take into account that he is an evil, deranged, psychotic mass-murderer. That said, I would only listen to something by someone of that ilk out of perverted curiosity, and only then if I I wasn’t contributing any cash towards whoever thinks it is morally acceptable to trade on the name of an infamous serial killer. Let’s face it, if he hadn’t carved up Sharon Tate and who knows how many others there wouldn’t be any interest in him. As far as general morals in music go, I must admit that they often do take a back seat when it comes to stuff like drink, drugs etc - they’re part of the rock n roll landscape after all. However when an artist/band does something particularly heinous I find it hard to appreciate them, regardless of how gifted they may be. Queen are a case in point. I’m no fan of their music anyway, but the fact that they played Sun City in South Africa, at the height of apartheid when the rest of the world were boycotting has made me cross the line from indifference to animosity. Jim: Difficult one this. I tend to ignore the lifestyles of artists as they mostly tend to be unhinged, debauched or generally “not nice” in some way or other. If you didn’t listen to music that, say, was created by a drug addict, then you’d pretty much never listen to anything. However, some things can’t be ignored: paedophilia, as mentioned, murder, sexual violence, woman-beating or anti-Christianity schlock (see Marilyn Manson, for instance) would always get me reaching for the “off” switch.

M.NIGHT SHYAMALAN Jim: So, Shyamalan. Few writer-directors divide audiences quite so well. Personally, I love his work. Granted, The Village and Lady In The Water were weak by his standards (though by no means the disasters they were proclaimed to be), but I adore Unbreakable and think that Signs is one of the most terrifying films I’ve ever seen. But his latest movie, The Happening, has taken a critical pasting. So, what do you think? Is he a spent force? Has he always been over-rated? Should he leave the writing to professionals and stick to pointing lenses? And what does this say about his upcoming project, which is being proposed as a trilogy, Avatar: The Last Airbender? MattyJ: I think he is a very accomplished director, and writer. Unbreakable is a fantastic film, and has a striking visual element to it. Sixth Sense came from nowhere at the time, people weren’t expecting it, and as such gained a massive press and following. I still think he has a great visual style, and doesn’t go for the easy route with his film choices which is commendable. I really wanted to see The Happening, it looked interesting. Perhaps he will come back stronger? Facewon: I think he’s pretty terrible, overall. The Sixth Sense was enjoyable, excellent even, on first watch (and second watch, to see how cleverly things are done). I really enjoyed Unbreakable, but I haven’t watched it for years, so it may fall on it’s arse with the reveal already known.

The Village was a good laugh, but, yet again, and more so than the others, once the twist is out, there’s not much left. Signs isn’t the worst film I’ve ever seen, but I know of a couple of people who were amazed by it, maybe the hype got to me. I know the shitty CG alien did. If you’re gonna have a subtle, brief alien appear, get it right, ok? Lady in the whatever is one of the worst films I’ve ever seen. I’m probably not exaggerating. As far as films with half decent casts and a director who hadn’t until that point, made a really bad film, this was awful. Basically, he seems to be a director who relies on the twist waaaay too much. making repeated viewings a bit of a waste. Which probably ties in with my second issue with him: his attempts at “depth,” meaning, etc etc are fairly shallow. Irriducibili: The Happening is the worst thing since Meet the Spartans. Watched it last night. I nearly choked on the bilge.

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spent a lot of my spare time as a youth (actually, far too much to be honest) trying to play what were then known as ‘computer games’. Computer games in the 1980s were played on an actual computer, you see, most of which made the notion of hardware reliability more flexible than a Ukrainian gymnast made of flubber. They were plastic boxes of temperamental

things and anyone who spent any time with them knew them like a close, but very flawed, friend.

those little rituals reverently carried out in order to get that annoying tape-loaded copy of Renegade to work, dammit!

I didn’t really understand how they worked, but I thought I understood why they sometimes didn’t work. Anyone who owned a Spectrum, C64 or Amstrad will have ingrained into their muscle memory

Switching the power off and counting to 32 before switching back on. Typing load commands with the third finger on your left hand. Never looking at the TV screen during loading (expression of studied

nonchalance optional) and, finally, fiddling constantly with the tape heads to get that optimum loading signal as you hunched over the tape-deck like an elderly safe cracker. But it was all worth it once the game had finally loaded, only an hour and a half later. Being able to knee badly drawn gang members in the groin before throwing them in front of a subway train was your reward for such dedication. A world of ultra-violence laid out before you, with the promise of getting to kick the mince out of prostitutes, pimps, bouncers, bikers and dogs. All of which looked rubbish. Compare this dedication to the whining you hear from attention deficit gamers today, moaning because they’ve had to wait the 10 seconds that it takes Super Sci-Fi Karate Torture Porn Gunfight 2: The Deadening to load into their HD-ready wireless gaming WMDs. I still spend a lot of my spare time playing ‘computer games’, although my old C64 has about as much in common with my Xbox 360 as a Lada has with a Bugatti Veyron. This means I spend less time trying to get games to work and more actually playing them, which is great as I have a lot less time to spend doing that, responsibility getting in the way of leisure as it has a tendency to. The Red Ring of Death? Give me a break.

Gremill

RROD? YOU LOT DON’T KNOW YOU’RE BORN

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Greg M is currently sweating over his first Xbox 360 and crosses his fingers before switching it on.

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