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Iryna Ivanova September Cover Model 20 questions with Iryna
Photography by Andrew Gates Makeup & hair by Regina Pacheco
14 All Access
The Latest Albums Reviewed Albums Reviewed: Wiz Khalifa Blacc Hollywood
By Jeremy Weeden
Counting Crows Somewhere Under Wonderland By Silas Valentino
18 All Access Spotlight Artists/Bands Featured:
Royal Blood, U2 & Jeezy
26 Coming Up
Models To Keep An Eye On Featured Models: Raven Lexy San Diego, CA
30 Game On
The Latest Games Reviewed Games Reviewed: NHL 15
By Josh Schilling
By Samuel Wendel
Destiny
20 Live & Loud
34 Game On Spotlight
Rise Against
Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Super Smash Bros & WWE 2K15
On The Cover
This Page
Live Show Reviews Featured Artists/Shows: By Nicolas Bates and Dan Sinclair
Photo by Andrew Gates Make-up & hair by Regina Pacheco
www.RUKUSmag.com
By Jesse Seilhan
Games Featured:
By Jesse Seilhan
Photo by Andrew Gates Make-up & hair by Regina Pacheco
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Shoot. The Messenger. A sleek, lightweight, street-smart satchel that hugs your body, moves with you, and doesn’t cramp your style. Carries a DSLR, 3-4 lenses, laptop and accessories. Removable photo insert lets you convert it quickly from a camera bag to a book bag, school bag, briefcase or general-purpose carryall. Available in small and large sizes to hold laptops up to 15 and 17 inches. Pack what you need. Shoot what you want . Tenba
Messenger.
Available at:
S e e i t f o r y o u r s e l f a t Te n b aT V. c o m www.samys.com
|
800.321.4726
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Andrew Gates Live & Loud Editor
Nicolas Bates All Access Editor
Silas Valentino Games Editor
Jesse Seilhan Art Director
Andrew Gates All Access Contributors
Silas Valentino, Jeremy Weeden & Samuel Wendel Live & Loud Contributors
Nicolas Bates & Dan Sinclair Pit Pass Contributor
Andrew Gates Game On Contributors
Jesse Seilhan & Josh Schilling Contributing Photographers
Andrew Gates & Nicolas Bates Contributing Videographers
Nate Olson & Adrien Delstanche Contributing Make-up Artists
Bioanca Robinson & Regina Pacheco Contributing Hair Stylists
Bioanca Robinson & Regina Pacheco Advertising
Andrew Gates
advertise@RUKUSmag.com Mailing Address
RUKUS MAGAZINE 11304 Chandler Blvd. #6131 North Hollywood, CA 91603
Copyright © 2008-2014 RUKUS MAGAZINE & RUKUSmag.com. All Rights Reserved! September 2014 issue, Volume 6, Number 9. ISSN 2161-4369 (print) ISSN 2161-4377 (online) Visit http://www.RUKUSmag.com for more images and content.
Iryna
Ivanova Photography by Andrew Gates Make-up & hair by Regina Pacheco
I
ryna Ivanova is an international model from Crimea, Russia. At age sixteen her mother married an American and they moved to Tucson, Arizona where she attended the University of Arizona and received her bachelors as well as an MBA. She became a Russian/English translator shortly after graduation. Iryna has also been an MMA ring girl. On a whim she decided to submit her images to Playboy magazine and ended up becoming a Playmate for August 2011. Recently, she has been involved in the marketing of a video game music tribute band called Critical Hit. Iryna is also planning on launching her own business idea which is currently top secret, although it should be introduced to the world sometime in 2015. We’ll be anxiously awaiting the future and what it holds for this vixen.
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20 QUESTIONS 1.What’s your Ethnicity? Caucasian and Russian. 2.What’s your zodiac sign? I am a stubborn Aries. 3.Where are you from originally? I was born in Voronezh Russia and grew up in Feodosiya, Crimea. When I was 16 I moved to the US and attended the University of Arizona. 4.What did you like most about growing up in Feodosiya, Crimea? I loved being able to spend summers on the beach with my friends and go gardening with my grandma to pick up fresh fruits and vegetables. Feodosiya is located on the Black Sea and is a major tourist destination, known for beautiful beaches and people. I was surrounded by my family, including my aunt and uncle. I do not regret moving to the USA, but I do miss my family that still lives back in Russia. 5.What kind of mischief did you get into while growing up? My grandfather would catch fish for dinner and when he wasn’t looking, I would throw them back in the ocean because I felt bad for them...I got in big trouble for that. I also used to play tricks on my grandma while she was cooking dinner by hiding potatoes, carrots and other stuff...yes, hiding potatoes in early 90’s Russia was a big deal. As you can see I was a real wild child. [laugh] 6.What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done? Buying Facebook stock at IPO when everyone else was laughing that it was overvalued... who’s laughing now. 7.What’s your favorite hobby and why? Playing with my tiny doggy Katya and learning about the universe and quantum mechanics. I got hooked on this topic when I learned that electrons can teleport, so maybe humans can eventually teleport too. 8.What’s your guilty pleasure? Vanilla latte with extra sugar and trash TV. 9.Who do you admire and why? My grandmother; she made me who I am today, Chopin; he changed music forever and D.W. Griffith; for inventing fake eye lashes. www.RUKUSmag.com
10.If you could change one thing in the world what would it be and why? I would have my grandmother living here with me in America, she raised me and made me who I am today. And if I could change a second thing, I would eliminate carbon dioxide emissions so our planet doesn’t turn into a desert wasteland one-hundred years from now. 11.What’s one of your personal goals? I would like to become a chessmaster and invent teleportation, but if I can’t make that happen, I’d like to at least open an animal shelter and take care of strays. 12.What do guys compliment you on the most? Most frequently guys compliment me on my profound conversational skills, sophisticated vocabulary and my endless curiosity of understanding the inner workings of the universe, but occasionally they compliment me on my boobs. 13.What’s your favorite body part on yourself? My hypnotic smile, it allows me to walk up to anyone and start a conversation. 14.What do you look for in a guy? I’m a sucker for men in skinny suits, who are well spoken, with a sense of humor and shy. 15.What’s the first thing you notice about a guy? The way he is dressed and his smile, I admire a man in a suit and white smile. 16.What’s your ideal first date? Let’s go to the zoo, it’s a friendly environment where we don’t have to chew in front of each other and worry about eating too much or not enough. Plus, if you are not an animal lover we are wasting our time. 17.What turns you on? Good fashion, intelligence, a great sense of humor and motivated for career achievement. 18.What turns you off? A couch potato, snobby, rude, bad teeth, dependent, boring and narcissistic. 19.What’s your biggest pet peeve? Yellow teeth. 20.Who’s your celebrity crush? Francois Arnaud and the Beckhams. September 2014 • RUKUS
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I’m a sucker for men in skinny suits...
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STATS: Birthday:
April 6
Height:
5’4”
Weight:
105lb
Measurements:
30G-25-35
See more of Iryna at instagram.com/playmateiryna www.RUKUSmag.com
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It’s Dem Boyz Written by Jeremy Weeden
Wiz Khalifa returns to the scene with his 3rd major studio album, Blacc Hollywood. Highly successful in the past, Wiz Khalifa is out to reclaim his spot among rap’s elite and shows he still has what it takes to rule the charts. The album begins with the bass heavy “Hope” featuring Ty Dolla $ign, a likeable song about gold digging women. The next track is the boisterous summer anthem “We Dem Boyz.” This song was the album’s first single and has quickly become a club staple. Things slow down with “Promises,” a smooth R&B track that finds Wiz singing and rapping. He sings about wanting to be caught in the moment and staying in those perfect moments forever. Blacc Hollywood immediately get rowdy again with “KK” featuring Project Pat and Juicy J. The trio rap about smoking good weed over a nice beat on a song that is a future club banger. “House in the Hills” featuring Curren$y is a catchy song with a nice hook. Over a hypnotic, slow-flowing beat Wiz Khalifa raps about the public perception of himself and other rappers with the lyrics. “They try to hold us back, paint a picture of us/Then sell it straight to the public/You young, black, then you thuggin/What they don’t talk about the kid that came from nothing/Who stuck to what he believed in and turned himself into something great/They should use that story to motivate/But instead they’d rather focus on the fact that he’s a pothead.” “Ass Drop” is another hit waiting to happen. The bouncy full beat and Wiz’s off tilter flow vibe perfectly together to create a potential hit single. “Staying Out” is among the lighter material on the album. This song is about partying all night and getting drunk, but it has a nice hook and is the kind of Wiz song that the radio loves. “The Sleaze” is yet another potential single. This song is made for cruising to and bobbing to in the club. Wiz raps “Just got the newest thang, get it with ease/Hopped up out the bed, did it with sleaze/They say I run the game, literally/I’m walking to the bank, get it with sleaze.” “Still Down” features fellow Taylor Gang rapper Chevy Woods and Ty Dolla $ign. Chevy Woods shows he can hang with the established MCs with the lyrics “Yo, tell them niggas we nothin alike/They see us and imitate what they wanna be like/What’s hand and hand to them J’s next day on the flight/Shit where I’m from you out too late then you’re playing with your life.” The “We Dem Boyz” remix is the opposite of the original. This smooth affair featuring Rick Ross, Schoolboy Q and Nas, is quite possibly the best song on the album. Nas shows he still has it and steals the show dropping rhymes like “I shine before all time/I been outside when T La Rock invented rhymes/When dinner time and BBS’s on tinted Saabs was getting robbed/I’m 20 in, still outside don’t ask for it/That parched up from here on, that half-moon is that Nas cut/We been them niggas that’s been them niggas, ask any nigga.” With Blacc Hollywood, Wiz easily reclaims the lane in rap he is known for. Blacc Hollywood has weed anthems, club tracks and a couple of reflective songs to even things out. This formula has worked for Wiz in the past and continues to work here. The potential club and radio tracks ensure we will be hearing Blacc Hollywood for months to come.
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Keepin’ it Simple Written by Silas Valentino
If you begin typing “Big Yellow Taxi” into the Google search bar, Counting Crows-affiliated results are the first to appear. In terms song covers this must constitute as some sort of musical feat, especially since the original was Joni Mitchell. Since enduring the Judas Kiss of scoring a number one mega hit off a debut album—1993’s “Mr. Jones”— the Counting Crows have consistently dodged the pigeon-held title of being a one hit wonder. Their 1999 album This Desert Life is an underappreciated time capsule of a waning decade and their once inescapable “Accidently in Love” was at one time bigger than Jesus himself for some people. Seven albums in arrives Somewhere Under Wonderland, a pleasant record that’s consistent with the Crow’s latest catalogue additions. It’s not flashy, adventurous nor packing heat in the hit song department but it is a dependable Counting Crow’s record. If you’ve come to terms with singer Adam Duritz fake dreads then Somewhere Under Wonderland will serve you well but if you only have a few seconds to spare then this album might as well continue its residency in wonderland. Somewhere Under Wonderland is all over the map—but just in terms of its lyrics. “Keep going till we hit Reno, Nevada/I don’t see it all that much these days” Duritz sings in “Palisades Park then soon after in “Earthquake Driver” he croons “But then I had to go skipping and diving and bouncing back to New York City” before finally “Somehow missed New Mexico/Fell to Earth in Baltimore I know” which begins “Dislocation.” The band revealed they wrote part of this record while on tour last summer and the open road imagery and Americana music style is prevalent throughout. Opening the record is the 8-minute amusement park tribute “Palisades Park.” Similar to the songs that might accompany an old 8-mm film showcasing a fading American attraction, the song begins with a slow yet calming waltz where a piano exchanges notes with a trumpet. After a long minute, Duritz joins the piano with a detailed description of a life currently caught in the rearview. “God of Ocean Tides” plays out like a Grateful Dead song sans psychedelic distractions. Over an acoustic guitar arrangement Duritz laments an early drive out of town into a grey morning full of truck stops, river Gods and “gas stations of the cross.” The album’s centerpiece is “Scarecrow” where honky-tonk guitar leads bash about while the Crow’s background singers add just the right amount of “do do, do do dos” to turn the song into an infectious earworm. The power of Duritz has always been in his ability to yarn words and phrases together to make a modern Norman Rockwell out of his poems. “Riding the subway in a Valium haze/ I need the whites, she gets the blues” and later “All these American boys at the Park N Shop/Selling their memories for a dollar a pop,” Duritz conjures images that show a familiar sounding American life described in his enigmatic perspective. Rounding out the album is the somber “Possibility Days” which highlights each member of the band’s musical ability. Each verse offers an opportunity for the musicians to showcase their craft for making bleak but enduring songs, which is something that the Counting Crows have been perfecting since “Colorblind” graced our ears in Cruel Intentions. These 1990’s Bohos have fully adjusted into adulthood and with that comes a certain level of complacency. They’ve made their hits and they’ve made their art yet there’s nothing discouraging here. The Counting Crows are just playing as they see fit.
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Facebook.com/RoyalBloodUK
Written by Samuel Wendel
Royal Blood, Royal Blood
British rock duo Royal Blood will inevitably be compared to such acts as The White Stripes and similar mainstream blues-indebted rockers. Lead singer Mike Kerr’s disaffected yowl instantly brings to mind echoes of Jack White and the duo’s bluesindebted garage rock is riding the crest of the wave created by The Black Keys’ recent successes. Though they will be compared to these groups, whether they’ll surpass them creatively is up for debate. Royal Blood’s eponymous debut album is full of catchy tracks filled with muscular drumming and heavy riffs that build and crest and repeat. Lead single “Figure it Out” sounds like a polished version of Attack and Release—era Black Keys and the riffs in “Little Monster” sound like a lost Audioslave demo. These guys are clearly wearing their influences on their sleeves—and they do it well—but compared to their predecessors they seem slightly more polished. The hard edges, the fuzz and scratchiness that groups like the Stripes and the Keys so painstakingly added to their work are absent here. Royal Blood are polished and sleek, despite their outward appearance, and there’s no need for them to toil on the small-venue circuit —they’re ready to play stadium shows.
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U2, Songs of Innocence
It’s strange that an album proclaiming its own innocent intent in the title has been so deviously forced upon most people (in form of an exclusive release via iTunes that installed it on people’s computers without their consent). As the latest in the long and storied career of Ireland’s prodigal sons, U2’s 13th studio album is—as expected— workmanlike and expertly crafted, and does not stray far from the sonic palette and tone they perfected into an airtight formula. But that doesn’t detract from anything on this album: its full of big, anthemic choruses, cascading melodies and boilerplate inspirational lyrics that should thrill ardent and causal fans alike. There are moments on Songs to rival anything they’ve done in recent years, like the swagger of lead single “The Miracle (of Joey Ramone),” but despite attempting to brand this a rebirth, if U2 is stirring the pot, they’re doing it with a slotted spoon. With the exception of “Every Breaking Wave,” which sounds like a Coldplay B-side, Songs is U2 flying on autopilot in their Gulfstream G650. Like the mechanism of its promotional release, the new U2 album is akin to an iTunes update: it has a slightly new look, but its basically just the same and you wonder if you truly needed it.
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Jeezy, Seen it All: The Autobiography
Trap veteran Jeezy has seen a lot, but apparently he hasn’t seen anything new in awhile because his latest finds him right in his comfort zone, presenting a familiar and solid product that (as the title suggests) builds on the same themes and tropes he’s goldmined throughout his entire career. But Jeezy still retains a youthful exuberance for someone who’s been in the game for song long, dropping vicious one-liners with aplomb, even mocking his record label, but for the most part he’s retracing his steps. His most noticeable instance of this is “Been Getting Money,” a solid track that deals with one of Jeezy’s favorite pastimes—hustling—and sounds like it was cut and pasted from songs that appeared anywhere from “Tha Streets Iz Watchin” to “The Recession.” Jeezy gets ominous and brooding beats throughout the album from his producers and a handful of excellent contributions from guest appearances most notably from Jay-Z and Rick Ross. Singles “Me Ok “ and “Seen it All” both shine as strong cuts, and there’s other nuggets of quality sprinkled throughout like “No Tears” and the especially forceful “Holy Ghost,” a track which features one of his most intriguing and innovative hooks ever.
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Rise Against Photos by Nicolas Bates Written by Dan Sinclair
Hard to believe that Chicago-born punk rockers Rise Against have been melodically rocking out against the world’s injustices for 15 years now. And they’re back here in Los Angeles for a two-night, sold out stay at the beautiful Wiltern in all of its art deco glory to celebrate the release of their seventh album, The Black Market. Come with me, one and all, to the corner of Wilshire and Western, and I’ll tell you all about it! After shelling out $14 for a beer, your humble writer takes his place among the hot-September-weather sweaty and Rise Against ready. The lights go down, the cheers go up. Singer Tim McIlrath, guitar man Zach Blair, bassist Joe Principe and drummer Brandon Barnes all take their places below the large banner featuring the image torn straight from the cover of The Black Market and a big-ass R-I-S-E sign, shining bright. Rise Against wastes little time and jumps into crowd favorite “Ready to Fall” off of their 2006 album The Sufferer & the Witness. Everyone in attendance screams along as McIlrath jumps up on an amp and Blair and Principe run all over the stage to play. Tim then reminds everyone “We’re Rise Against from Chicago,” before they go right into the 2004 anthem from Siren Song of the Counter Culture, “Give It All.” He does this song without his guitar and it’s probably for the best since this is when he leaves the stage to venture into the crowd and really who needs the extra weight? After Appeal to Reason’s “Re-Education (Through Labor),” the fellas go right back to Sufferer & the Witness for one of their most loved songs, “Behind Closed Doors.” That’s when I notice a sweet family—Mom, Dad and ten-year-old-looking son—smack dab in the middle of mostly 20-something/30-something punk rockers. Son can’t wipe the smile off his face as Mom and Dad rub his shoulder and sing along. A cool, slower version of “Long Forgotten Sons” is next before the crowd assists Tim sing “All because of you” as loud as they can for “The Good Left Undone.” All hands go up in the air as high as they can to put that extra emphasis on “YOU.” Tim asks the crowd, “How many people here have seen Rise Against before?” The answer is many have (including this writer). Then said band plays “Heaven Knows” off of 2003’s indy release Revolutions per Minute. This song is better known as the first Rise Against song ever heard by me. Next up is “I Don’t Want to Be Here Anymore,” which is surprisingly the only song they play off the new album all night. Then it’s the first song off of Endgame, “Help Is on the Way.” Then Tim speaks directly to a young man up in the front named Pablo. “How you doing, my man? You all right?” Turns out Pablo’s big brother brought him both nights to see his favorite band play live. Tim is impressed at how cool Pablo’s older brother is. “I had sisters. They only took me to stuff like Tears for Fears and Depeche Mode.” Then everyone hears, “This is noise...” come from over the speakers and know it’s time for “Chamber the Cartridge.” Everyone chants, “Rise! Rise! Rise!” Dad is really head banging now. Tim swings the mic around like a lasso on “Last Chance Blueprint” and shows off his professionalism as he continues to sing the second chorus to “Prayer of the Refugee” even as one of the sound guys changes his guitar. Much to the delight of the hardcore fans, the band goes all the way back to their first album The Unraveling with “Alive and Well.” Then it’s time for the more recent favorites “Audience of One” and “Make It Stop (September’s Children)” before the set closes with “Satellite.” For the encore, Tim comes out on stage alone with an acoustic guitar. He plays “Hero of War,” which was apparently not played the previous night. Mom and Dad put their arms around each other and sway back and forth. They may actually be enjoying this show more than Son. Tim also does a great version of “Swing Life Away” before leaving stage again. He’s joined by the rest of the band for the second encore where they do a cover of “Teenage Lobotomy” as tribute to the Ramones and then finish the whole show with “Savior.” It’s an amazing version of the song that goes on for at least double the length of the original version and shows off Blair’s skills with some impressive variations on the guitar. At the end of the night, everyone leaves feeling they have properly risen against something, and perhaps, none more than Mom, Dad and Son.
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Raven
Lexy Photography by Andrew Gates Make-up & hair by Bioanca Robinson
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aven Lexy was born in sunny San Diego, California. She is a beautiful blend of Latin and Polynesian. Raven got her first taste of modeling when she was asked to play Cleopatra for Caesars Palace casino. From there she began modeling for calendars, billboards and catalogs. Raven also found herself doing covers and spreads for a variety of men’s magazines. She enjoys dressing up and playing different roles, which also gives way to her acting career. Raven has been in a few indie films one of which won for best horror in the Manhattan Film Festival. She is really flourishing in the indie film market and has a few projects hitting the screen in the coming months, although she’s still got her sights set on a feature film with worldwide distribution. This Gemini is destined to make her dreams come true.
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THE STATS Birthday: June 4 Zodiac Sign: I’m a Gemini. Measurements: 32C-23-33 Height: 5’7” Weight: 110lb Ethnicity: I’m half Latin and half Polynesian. Hometown: San Diego, CA Turn Ons: A lot of things turn me on. I love it when someone wants to just softly kiss me for hours...everywhere. Turn Offs: Rude arrogant people. A major turn off is when people think they are better than others for whatever reason. Ideal first date: My ideal first date would be getting lost in Manhattan. Instead of him trying to get back into my room, he would say, “put on your sneakers, we’re gonna walk this city until the sun comes up.” When I find a guy like that, I won’t be single ever again. Guilty Pleasure: Falling in love. I love the fall; holding hands, special smiles and not having enough of that person. I’m obsessed. Pet Peeves: My biggest pet peeve is when people tell me they are going to do something then they don’t. In business and in personal life it would be so much easier if people only said what they meant. Celebrity Pass: It would be a tie between Angelina Jolie and James Franco.
See more of Raven at instagram.com/ravenlexy
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Missed Goal Written by Josh Schilling
In the two years that I have been writing articles for this magazine, I was surprised to discover that this is my first review of a sports game. It is not because I don’t dig sports games. Far from it, in fact, as I’ve been immersed in the genre for many, many years, and some of my top gaming moments of all time are sports related. So I am happy to step out into batters box, stare down the linebackers, square up my slap shot, and hopefully hit nothing but net. I enjoy hockey, and I have always had a lot of fun playing it on a video game console. I especially loved the mid-90’s NHL’s, and I enjoyed revisiting that style of play with last years’ entry into the EA NHL franchise. Now we have NHL 15, the first hockey game on the next-gen consoles, and my hockey aficionado writing partner here at RUKUS who penned the NHL 14 review was slightly prophetic when he said, “…the lack of a next-gen version whets the appetite for what hockey will look like... Having to build it for both generations will keep it handcuffed for a year or two, but imagining the gritty sport realized in higher-definition…is exciting.” It is exciting now to see NHL 15 detailed on the new consoles, and it is a lot of fun to play, but handcuffed is the operative word here, and this game is not only handcuffed, it is hogtied in the back seat of a cop car. NHL 15 is like the 50th place finisher in the Miss America pageant. It’s beautiful, no doubt, but there’s a lot missing inside, and it completely botched the talent competition. The developers of NHL 15 stripped the hell out this game, taking out many different modes that the hardcore fans of the franchise could not stand to lose. Minor league hockey? Gone! Season Mode? Disappeared! Online team play? Missing! These coupled with a long list of other omissions greatly alienate the traditional fan base that loves this franchise and can’t wait to lace up their virtual skates every year. NHL 15 decided to bank heavily on the overall presentation of a hockey game, and in that aspect, it doesn’t fully disappoint, it just hopes you don’t catch it without makeup in the dressing room. The actual games are a lot of fun, and you get immersed into the NHL with severely upgraded physics, crowd details and the inclusion of the NBC telecast crew that brings a match up to a level that I’ve never experienced. There are a few hiccups here though too, as the announcers get repetitive quickly, and the procedural aspects of a game get buggy at times with awkward animations and questionable scoring. NHL 15 has some fantastic things going for it, but it seems as if it was taken out of the oven way too early. Someone picking up a hockey video game for the first time will not notice that NHL 15 is lacking in many of the things that made the franchise famous. Maybe that was EA’s tactic, introducing a new next-gen audience to a game that looks and sounds like the real deal, and resting on the hopes that a disappointed fan base will rally back with a more fleshed out NHL 16 that brings back all of the nuances that the hardcore hockey fan wants and needs. When you don’t have any competition, I guess you can afford to do that, but that means that you leave the 2015 hockey video game fan alone out on the ice.
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Galaxy Guardian Written by Jesse Seilhan
Few games have the distinction of being the most anticipated of the year. In Destiny’s case, it might be the most anticipated of the past half-decade, as Bungie left their Halo (and Xbox) roots to make a multi-platform shooter that would integrate the social aspect of massively multiplayer online games. Across the board, Destiny nails both of those ideas. The gunplay is still the best in the business, giving that feeling of joy the same way original Halo did back in 2001. That wasn’t the gamble, however, as just about everyone is onboard with another shooter from the Godfathers of modern console shooting. What is up for debate is how well MMO stuff works and is it any good, the answer to which relies heavily on how much you care to invest. Destiny offers three classes (Hunter, Titan, Warlock) that all operate weapons identically. What varies is their specific style of grenade (homing vs fire, for example) and what type of melee attack they have, but the gunplay is the same across the board. Some people prefer realistic shooters to sci-fi arenas, but Bungie can make shooting feel as exhilarating and precise as possible. The things you will be shooting vary quite a bit, as Destiny features four distinct races, each with a hierarchy of enemies that range from pawns and lowlifes to elite generals and elaborate mobs. Figuring out the best tactics to use in dispatching these enemies is the real joy, as each of the game’s four planets offer enough variety to justify switching class powers, weaponry, and gear. Loot is the name of the game, as the single goal of any mission is to get loot drops from fallen enemies or earn rewards for completing a section of the story. Furthermore, loot can be purchased from a swath of vendors on the hubworld, known as The Tower. Gear helps build certain stats, like reducing cooldown of powers or increasing ammo count for specific weapon types. The weapons can have elemental tendencies or cool modifiers, such as picking up any ammo that you shoot or doing more damage when the second half of the clip is fired. Weaponry and gear are tiered from common to exotic, and can be upgraded using various materials strewn across the galaxy and some cash. What might throw some people off is the way the game is structured. While there is a narrative, it is, by all accounts, utterly forgettable and actually annoying, as you cannot skip cutscenes. The voice acting is bad, the character development is non-existent, and the world building is fairly poor. However, those same criticisms apply to games like World of Warcraft and Diablo, which share more in common with Destiny than one might think. This is a social game, one where you make your own story, like that one time you and your buddy and his brother killed three witches using all rockets, or that one PVP match where you were the last person alive and won the whole game. There is enough meat to this game to last you a long time, as long as you are okay with the premise of repeating missions over and over, playing a ton of competitive multiplayer, and teaming up with two to five people to take down some of the more insane challenges Destiny has to offer. If all you want is a light, breezy shooter or something with a good story, pick up Call of Duty or Wolfenstein. But if you want a worthwhile investment and have a few buddies with the same passion as yourself, there isn’t anything better than what Destiny offers.
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Written by Jesse Seilhan
Halo: The Master Chief Collection
Too many games of this new generation of consoles have been crappy HD remakes and ports from inferior technology. While the new Halo collection falls into the same trap, it is trying to do something much more ambitious at the same time. The collection spans four games (Halo 1-4), including the Anniversary Edition of Halo 1. Halo 2 is also being given the full HD treatment, with new graphics, physics, and more. Players can pick playlists that actually span multiple games, playing through missions that string a particular narrative together across the entire Master Chief saga. Over 100 multiplayer maps are available, including all from the original titles and a few remade ones, giving fans of deathmatch, big team battle, CTF, and more, plenty of trash talking material. The game will ship with 4000 gamerscore for you achievement hunters out there, and 343 Industries promises to tie in a bit of the upcoming Halo 5 lore with some content. If that wasn’t enough, the game will ship with beta access to Halo 5 multiplayer, so this really is the best deal in gaming this holiday season.
Super Smash Bros Wii U
For Wii U owners, life hasn’t been too grand. Bayonetta 2 and Hyrule Warriors were a nice appetizer, but most Nintendo fans these days want their classic franchises and they want them now. Luckily for the starving fanbase, Nintendo will feed them the grandest and most ridiculous of meals in Super Smash Bros in November. Bringing back tons of favorite fighters, plus a few new friends, the Wii U version looks to usurp the Gamecube’s reign as top Nintendo fighter. This year’s entry doesn’t add too much to the well-balanced formula, instead removing some of the superfluous material found in the others, like random tripping and the sprawling story mode once found in the series. The four-player brawler will showcase even more nostalgia, in the form of new stages, trophies, and hidden characters, many of which are already out on the 3DS version of the game. Fans of the older versions will be able to buy a copy of the game bundled with a Gamecube controller, still considered by many to be the best way to play, especially in tournament settings. If you have three buddies and a couch, there are few games as fun as Smash Bros and this newest one looks to be the sharpest, fastest, and most complete version yet.
WWE 2k15
Finally, WWE is back where it belongs. After a near-decade’s worth of annual facelifts, the WWE series is going to get the graphical overhaul it deserves. When THQ died and had to give up the wrestling license, 2K stepped in and picked up slack and worked with developers Yukes to integrate some of the great technology that 2K’s basketball series utilizes to deliver a gorgeous videogame. The roster is stacked, with favorites from this generation and before, including, for the first time ever, the man called Sting. The game will feature the classic create-a-wrestler portion, allowing players to design their own digital combatant that will run through the story mode on the road to Wrestlemania. The newest addition is 2K Showcase mode, putting players in the middle of classic rivalries from the Attitude era and more. Already the Triple H-HBK and John Cena-CM Punk battles have been announced, showing that 2K isn’t afraid to touch on potentially sensitive storylines. These will feature documentary-style set-ups that give more weight to each match, so hopefully they will not be one-offs and instead highlight all of the RAWs and PPVs that spanned the entire run. For wrestling fans, there might finally be a definitive wrestling game, as long as 2K can pull off what so few have managed to do before.
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RUKUS • September 2014
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