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Tags: brain, deus ex, mice, mouse, stanford, true blood, university, vampire
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Body and soldering

Tuesday, August 30th, 2011

IT men never looked so good.

I’ve gotten my hands on the latest Deus Ex: Human Revolution, which deals with a not-too-distant future of human body augmentations.

The game itself is the amazing addition to the original game that was loved by so many back when it first came out on PCs in 2000.

These days the types of content created for marketing purposes to sell games, movies and such are becoming more inventive.

Whether it’s great commercials, giveaways, interactive internet games or even a funny video, it’s getting a lot of buzz around upcoming titles, and I for one am a nosy sort when it comes to this.

Looking forward to the game I now hold in my hand (well, was holding in my hand before I had to get back to work), I was watching trailers and trying to get a sense of what I was in for.

Here’s Deus Ex’s cool piece of marketing work with their documentary made surrounding real-life body augmentations, and where we’re heading at in the hopefully-not-as-grim future as the game has portrayed so far:

If you could have an augmentation, what would you get?

Tags: augmentation, cyborg, deus ex, games, human revolution, PC, ps3, video games, xbox 360
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The undead will bleed rainbows

Thursday, August 18th, 2011

She's cute and cutly.

Zombies don’t get enough love. First of all, having your body transformed into a rotting corpse that just won’t go away is no paradise for the confidence.

Secondly, everyone’s always afraid of you. “Oh no, don’t eat my brains” they say as you’re gnawing on their skulls. It’s not your fault. It’s in your unhuman nature.

I’ve given a zombie-themed post a week back about the importance of running away from the undead swarm. Running’s easy. Heck, it’s the first rule in Zombieland (Cardio). But who will give out the love that these monstrosities of Earth don’t seem to be getting any of?

The creative minds of a video game designer and a horror director have come up with a video game that combines a lot of cheek, and a lot of chunks.

Genius horror director James Gunn, well-known for his hilarious film Slither, as well as the similar-to-Kick-Ass-but-so-different Super, has teamed up with Suda 51, responsible for kick-ass games like No More Heroes and Killer7.

So what is this teamwork of horror, comedy and action?

Like a Buffy intro that makes you go “Well how is THAT a secret if everyone’s a zombie?”, this game looks to be something that will not make any sense, but at the same time will probably be extremely fun to play.

A cheerleader, it turns out, is as good at making zombies glitter and sparkle as a vampire’s daylight ‘power’. REMEMBER PEOPLE: SHE’S IN HIGH SCHOOL! Off-limits. Unless you’re a teenager, then by all means.

Tags: horror, james gunn, killer7, lollipop chainsaw, no more heroes, slighter, suda 51, super, Zombies
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I want to play!

Tuesday, June 7th, 2011

This is a long way from Q-Bert.

The Oscars celebrate movies, the Grammys for music, but I look forward to a more lively show. To be more specific, a conference.

The E3 conference in LA is on this week, and it’s a perfect time for people who love all things video games and technology to geek out essentially at the titles that are soon to come out.

At CDWOW, we’re essentially giddy with excitement seeing gameplay footage of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Uncharted 3, Deus Ex 3, Gears of War 3, Battlefield 3, Mass Effect 3 -- Jeez, a bit of a pattern here, right?

I highly recommend you pre-order these games, because they are going to be phenomenal.

What tends to be misunderstood about video games is how they’re more than just an outlet for teenage kids to zone out and not do their homework. They’re artistic, cinematographically crafted pieces of film that help people of all ages zone out.

Take for example the Encharted series. The first game caught the eyes of gamers for its ability to absorb the player into the story. Through motion-capture and terrific voice-acting, they managed to make essentially an interactive movie where you couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next.

So what did the team at Naughty Dog decide to do? Make an awesome sequel. Not only was the main character of Nathan Drake still as charming, witty and bad-ass as he was in the first game, but because technology never stops improving, it was knocked up a massive notch.

So what did the team at Naughty Dog decide to do? Make this:

They even re-created Tomb Raider (which yes, at first I was skeptic of pretty much everything about it).

For gamers out there, your thumbs are going to get pret-ty sore.

That is unless you have Kinect for the Xbox 360, in which case your whole body will be.

See anything you can’t wait to see?

Mass Effect 3

Tags: battlefield 3, call of duty, cod, deus ex, e3, games, gears of war 3, mass effect 3, Modern Warfare, ps3, uncharted 3, xbox 360
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Move like Mike, or lose points

Monday, February 21st, 2011

'Mii'ke

The XBox 360′s Kinect is quite a neat add-on. For those unaware of what it is, essentially two cameras side-by-side capture your image, giving the machine a 3D image of your living room, you included. It can then figure out where you are, where your arms and legs are, and then begin to humiliate you.

It’s amazing for that reason. The Dance Central game made me look like an absolute lunatic with no dance skills – mostly because I don’t.

I had the opportunity to play Michael Jackson: The Experience on the Wii, and although it’s not Kinect, it still made me work up a sweat. And best of all, there was no camera filming my worst.

Then I found out it was coming to Xbox 360 in April.

The reason I enjoyed the Wii version was due to its lack of following the leg work, AKA the dancing part. And now I’ll have to learn the bottom-half of the Thriller dance!

Thinking about dance games, I think the next step is a microphone. I can imagine it now – A video game training young kids to be aspiring pop singers. The great part of it is, they can just make “murrmurrmurr” noises into the mike, instead of singing the lyrics. Just like in real life!

Tags: 360, kinect, Michael Jackson, nintendo, the experience, Wii, Xbox
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Jeopardy, my dear Watson

Wednesday, February 16th, 2011

A hacker in Spain was arrested recently for stealing some very important information from Nintendo. But why would he threaten a company that promotes intelligent gaming machines?

Because machines are taking over. Don’t believe me? We’re in Jeopardy.

No, seriously, we’re in Jeopardy. And so is ‘Watson’, an IBM computer. In Chicago human opponents are against ‘Watson’ in a game of wits. Or, as the computer looks at it, algorithms. See, it doesn’t have that same charm.

The computer gets the questions via text message the same time human opponents are told verbally. It beat a team of Jeopardy champions 24 questions out of 30. It even knew who Church Lady was – Dana Carvey’s famous character on Saturday Night Live (“Well isn’t that special?”).

If computers take over our jobs as general knowledge masters, what will be left of us? I can see it now – sober men sitting around at the pub, unable to answer any questions (even the smartphone cheaters), because Jerk-5000′s getting all the football questions right.

It’s only a matter of time before computers start making us…oh…no…….THE MATRIX! *runs off*

Oh, you cheeky bugger.

Tags: ibm, jeopardy, nintendo, watson
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Our CDWOW sale skips store stampedes

Monday, January 31st, 2011

Thank you, internet, for helping me avoid this.

I think it’s pretty amazing when something you like goes on sale. The heartbeat races. The hands start shaking. You start to think of how quickly you can get said sale item into your house to then enjoy its main purpose for hours and hours.

So think about how it is when everything at CDWOW goes on sale. It’s too big an idea to first comprehend. Blockbuster movies are discounted. That abstract album from that band you love but couldn’t quite bring yourself to pay for got one step closer to affordability. Those multi-disc packages for a director or actor just became even more value for money. What’s even better is pre-orders, which are cheaper to begin with, have gone down even more.

If you haven’t seen it yet, The Social Network was a brilliantly executed film about a computer programmer. Yes, they made a film about Facebook. But it’s hard not to ‘like’ this film (pun intended). Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor was responsible for the film’s soundtrack, and even though a lot of NIN music can be hit-and-miss, the brooding nature of the score gave the movie this extra layer of mystique, which works for the nature of the movie.

It’s also a good time to scoop up TV shows. I had only seen clips of the Sarah Silverman Program, and considering she’s the only speaker from the TED conferences that was later personally condemned by the event organiser afterwards, I was always curious to see more of her material. So when it comes out next week, I’ll be waiting for my brand new series to watch and (hopefully) laugh.

I saw that Fargo has a Blu-Ray release, and I absolutely loved that flick. But all that came to mind when trying to remember that film was snow. Lots of snow. To have high-resolution snow on my TV screen would give me the shivers. Either way, it’s a must-see film.

I’ve also got a few books that I’ve been meaning to scoop up. Don’t let the ‘CD’ in CDWOW fool you. We’ve got a huge array of books on offer. I still haven’t gotten around to reading Superfreakonomics, the sequel to the awesome social economics book Freakonomics.

Is it bad that I also want a copy of The Gruffalo’s Child?

Professor Layton and the Lost Future

Tags: blu-ray, books, CD, cdwow, DVD, facebook, Fargo, Freakonomics, games, sale, sarah silverman, Superfreakonomics, the social network
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Doogs’ games of 2010 to play for 2011

Wednesday, January 5th, 2011

My thumbs haven’t quite healed properly still after having a massive gaming session with Dead Rising 2. Zombie-killing is always fun, but finishing up those games you just haven’t yet becomes a hassle when sequels appear.

And wouldn’t you know it, 2010 was the year of gaming sequels. I had to step up my nerd-self and complete every game I had that was maybe one or two hours away from completion. New Years resolution: ‘TV goes outside’.

That way I can get my vitamin D, and well as my dose of pixelated fun.

With that said, I will now list the five games that I believe made 2010 the best in a while.

Best Games of 2010 – Doogs’ Edition

Mass Effect 2

Mass Effect 2

If you never played the first, you don’t need to in order to enjoy the second. But if you were lucky enough to keep your save game…WOO! Right back in the action, with all the choices you made carrying through. Been mean to someone in the first? Yeah, like an elephant’s memory.

The space-age action RPG shooter starts off with a pretty amazing bang, and it’s fair to say that they did so in order to make newcomers appreciate the massive universe within Mass Effect.

Characters of old and new are as engaging and interesting as the first, and the gameplay was definitely fine-tuned.Big name actors were now on the bill to carry on the story, and players could even get smoochy and freaky with aliens. Not their biggest selling point from the first, considering the “outrageousness” it caused on the news. And they think that was bad…try watching some of the reality TV shows nowadays. Bleh.

Red Dead Redemption

Red Dead Redemption

Fans of Grand Theft Auto got given a tasty alternative from city life by going back in time. An open world Western video game sounds crazy, and I’m sure was almost impossible to pitch.

But John Marston, a former pew-pew outlaw cowboy and also protagonist, manages to keep the good and bad sides of life in the West as lively and entertaining as ever.

Gunfights were a lot of fun to play, and one could only wish a Dirty Harry add-on could just put a pipe on those wanting to relive it (….what? It’s an awesome idea!).

And to be able to play this game multiplayer and have a posse of donkeys put sweet, sweet icing on this spaghetti cake. Mmm…spaghetti cake.

Heavy Rain

Heavy Rain

I’m not lying when I say how amazed I was at this game. The designers of Heavy Rain, Quantic Dream, are known for their previous masterpiece of a storytelling game Fahrenheit (AKA Indigo Prophecy).

With the cinematic power behind the PS3, they delivered something that was pretty dang unique to gaming. Controls weren’t button-mashing, but controller-moving. Shaking, twisting, even doing nothing meant something.

The realism and grit of the story of a serial killer, as well as controlling the four main characters of the story, made Heavy Rain a big thumbs up from me. N

ever was I so glued to the screen, wanting to know what would happen next. The last time I had that reaction to game cinematics was during Metal Gear Solid 4, which felt like watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy twice.

Professor Layton and the Lost Future

The Nintendo DS isn’t a video gaming masterpiece of a machine. Innovative for sure in its infancy, it still hadn’t been given enough attention by developers (other than rushed movie titles). But the first Professor Layton game used this to its advantage, creating a puzzle game that was mind-testing, but not frustrating.

Puzzle-solving Professor Layton and his apprentice Luke are on an investigation which seems to have thrown them in the future, and as strange characters ask you a multitude of questions for stranger tasks like opening doors or not killing you, you get your first real glimpse inside Layton’s past. I loved the anime cinematics, and was sad to run out of puzzles in the end.

Bless you Professor…you made me feel smart once again. And, strangely, make me want to pick up banana peels.

Splinter Cell - Conviction

Splinter Cell – Conviction

This game wasn’t given as much hype as I thought. But given this series seems to have gone long enough, it had the shoulder-shrugging reaction I’ve had with say Lara Croft.

But Sam Fisher’s character has since become even more in-depth, and more aggressive than ever. For a light-treading, sneaking NSA agent, he’s gotten pretty ticked off. Who wouldn’t be after your daughter’s assassination?

Gameplay is really action-packed, and the whole ‘Mark and Execute’ option gives it that feeling that you are indeed an incredibly talented agent who can take down ‘issues’ in a matter of seconds.

Assassin’s Creed II almost took this spot, but then again, I haven’t finished that one either yet so I can’t give fair judgement. I couldn’t listen to half an album and announce it was the best CD ever made, could I? One hit wonders’d love that kind of assessment.

What games have I forgotten, or *shudder* need to finish before the newer one comes out? Oh, I have won Diablo II, so I’m safe for the third.

Tags: 360, cdwow, conviction, ds, games, heavy rain, mass effect 2, nintendo, playstation, professor layton, ps3, red dead redemption, sony, splinter cell, Xbox
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2010 – An end to an explosive decade

Friday, December 31st, 2010

It is at this time of the year when a frenzy of change occurs. People all around the world dedicate themselves to goals that they know they should’ve made months ago, but use the full force of a new year to encourage.

Some donate their old Spice Girls CDs to those unaware of who they are not only for self-healing, but also a social experiment to see if a decade on, “Wannabe” can still be infused into the mind. Torturous, but hey, you’re too busy worrying about going to the gym more. You can’t be held responsible!

2010 was a big year, believe it or not. I have admittedly focused more on the more horrible things that have come out this year, but it was only out of love. Saying that, there were some absolutely amazing movies, games, books and TV shows that came from it too, and next week I will be properly celebrating what I think 2010 should be proud to give to the world.

If you didn’t check out our ‘Top 10′ lists for 2010 done by our awesome staff members Mark (CDs), Shayne (DVDs), Anthea (CDs) and Andy (Games), click here. If you’ve ever made your own ‘Top 10′ list, you would be all-too-familiar with the agonizing time spent trying to organise the numbers to make it just right. Trust me, it’s caused one too many debates about what should be number 4, right down to a character’s wincing in a scene.

Next week will be an in-depth exploration on what made 2010 what it was. Movies, music, games and books will all be discussed, and I encourage ever one of you to shout out your ideas. We love hearing what makes you absolutely absorbed, fascinated, or even at awe of. At CD WOW we love what we do, and what we offer. The great thing about the internet is discussing the best (and worst) of practically everything. It’s a warming piece of news to hear from our customers and break down that barrier that seems to exist nowadays from record stores and game shops.

The last conversation I had at a record store was telling the guy behind the counter, who didn’t know any David Bowie songs, that Vanilla Ice’s ‘Ice Ice Baby’ sampled ‘Under Pressure’, to which he looked at me as if I was on something.

I was. It was rage. And it was also Christmas shopping.

"This is Bowie back to Bowie, I hear you loud and clear man. HOO-YAH MAHN!"

But ask someone in our office about Bowie, and the conversation will no doubt be an in-depth conversation on what was the best time for Bowie, his cameos in film, and why Flight of the Conchords’ version of Bowie has now been infused into our vocal chords come karaoke time.

There are going to be some amazing releases come 2011, and we’ll be there to bring it to you. Jump on to pre-ordering some to get a nice early discount. We love having an open discussion, so please feel free to tell us what you’d love us to add to our catalogue, change about the process, anything! We do listen, and unless the question involves ninjas and pirates (to which there is no answer, only mayhem), we’ll be right on getting it sorted.

2010 is indeed an end to a year, and also a decade. Musical genres have spread out even more than first imagined, and movies are becoming more daring with storytelling than ever before.

With that said, let me be the one to say: Have an absolutely amazing 2011, stick to your resolutions as long you can (or want), and thank you for a fantastic celebration of 2010.

Bonne année!

Tags: 2010, 2011, album, best, CD, cdwow, Flight Of The Conchords, inception, Spice Girls, wow
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On the 10th day of Christmas…

Thursday, December 9th, 2010

"OH MY GAWWWD!"

Christmas fast approaches! It’s one of those seasons that you just can’t miss. The decorations are everywhere: The supermarket, the clothing stores, train stations, even elevators. While the grudge against the need to buy presents for everyone comes first, it should be understood that, yes, Christmas is a time for giving. To everyone. That means you.

You may have bought for mum or dad. The siblings might have already been taken care of. But what about you? Why can’t you help yourself avoid that awkward moment of “Thanks, I needed another one of those,” or “That’s so thoughtful!”?

We’ve been running our ‘10 Days of Christmas’ promotion for…you guessed it, ten days. Well, it’s happening now, depending on when you read this. Or it happened some time ago. I cannot foresee your reading habits, but I can predict.

Nonetheless, I challenge you to finally take a stand this Christmas and buy something for yourself. If you don’t, who will? Well, that’s maybe not an issue, but think of the awkwardness! Imagine knowing you have three brand new CDs waiting for you to rip open from your rushed wrapping.

Bliss.

Hit the homepage to see our ‘Chart CD’ promo for the 9th day. Coming soon (tomorrow), the 10th and final day. What will we offer? You’ll have to find out for yourself!