I got out of work early today and immediately made a beeline to GameStop in the nearby mall for this game. After getting home, I spent an hour… or two (where’d time go!?) with the black hedgehog and his bad attitude. Here’s my review so far.

They weren’t kidding when they said “Good or Evil? You Decide!”… there really are a lot of choices to be made in this game. Looking at the storyline tree within the gameplay menu, there are a total of no less than ten (yipe!) endings. All these endings depend on your choices within the gameplay. Each stage, you can either help out the good, kick it with the bad guys, or stay neutral. The neutral path is just Shadow being his own rebel self, searching for the answers to his lost past. That path is easy compared to the other two. If you want to go the straight and narrow, or be the dark evil one, the requirements for each level are a little steeper. Also, you have a light meter and a dark meter. The more good guys you kill, the more your dark meter fills up. The more bad guys you kill, your light meter fills up. When either meter is full, you’re supercharged for a limited time with a specific light or dark power.

The beginning cinematics are wonderfully created, and breathe new life into the Shadow character since we saw him last in Sonic Adventure 2: Battle. Eyes, mouth, hair and limbs were very expressive in the cut scenes. Shadows voice and mannerisms are deliciously anti-social. I actually found myself loving the moments where Shadow says “I take orders from no-one”. Whoever did the voice acting for Shadow in SA2:B does it in this game and does a great job. The soundtrack is not like the aforementioned game, which was a mix of rock, sugar pop, and rap/r&b. This time it’s all hard rock and metal… the good stuff!

Even though the control scheme took some getting used to, I finally got the hang of most of it. Trying to remember which of the four buttons fire weapons, make Shadow slide and roll, pick up weapons, lift/pull/push things can be a chore. However, it’s a very fun, extremely challenging game. All the levels and choices will keep any gamer busy for days on end. The levels are enough fun to keep going through them trying to find every single item and secret. I don’t know why this game got low ratings from gaming sites like IGN… wait… I know why. They were nit-picking it in comparison to the other games in the Sonic franchise. Message to other reviewers: stop comparing so much!! I know I did, but only the good with the good, not the good with the bad!

All in all, a very enjoyable game! I wouldn’t recommend it for younger than teens, though. It’s a much darker, anti-hero game than the rest of the Sonic games. There’s more violence in this one than the other games (at least there’s no blood!), the main emphasis in the dark objectives is hell bent on eliminating the foolish humans, and Shadow says “Damn!” almost every time he gets hurt! Sure it’s dark and gothic-ish, but so is Sonic’s evil twin Shadow. He is this gamer’s newest and most favored anti-hero!

Sooooooo… I call the courthouse from work on my lunch break. At 11 am, like they said to. The recording says that my jury group needs to show up at 1 pm. I get off lunch at 11:20, with precious time to spare to work with my team for a little bit, and get an overdue monthly report turned in to my regional’s office!! I scrambled as fast as I could, couldn’t get everything I wanted to do done, and took that 45 minute drive to Downtown Phoenix with 30 minutes left! I made it in 35, but couldn’t find the suitable parking garage on the first pass. I was late, of course, but it didn’t matter. I got checked in, was informed they haven’t called my name yet, and sat down for (what I thought would be) a long wait. That was at 1:20 pm. At 2:15, they announced that they didn’t need the rest of us. For that much inconvenience, I was livid!! Oh well… at least I had an interesting view from the fifth floor of the parking garage!

Well, here we are at the vets office. “We” meaning Thommen and myself, here to get the cool green bird a checkup. There is one bird ahead of us so we’re playing the waiting game. I’m hungry and I’m trying not to think about it too much. This is good enough reason to try this blogging-from-a-phone idea. I’ll use this to post my thoughts tomorrow during jury duty selection (fun, fun). Cheers!

(Update: I may not have to go to jury duty! When I called to confirm, they said my group needs to call at 11 am tomorrow for more info. Looks like it’s work as usual for me, since I’d rather be working than stuck in a courthouse! I’ll call on my lunchbreak.)

… ‘Nuff said!

(I’ll post a review on a later date…)

Ok, why make a top 10 album list based on my collection? Why not a top 10 of the albums I think made history at some point or another? Well, I wanted to make it simple, of course! This list is more of my favorite genres of music, not anyone elses. So all you rockers and metalheads out there can either agree or disagree with my personal taste, not that I care that much, but I may glean some insight from others comments on this. I may do some brainstorming later and make a more “historical” list, like the albums I think were most influential to their genres. A project for another time, that’s for sure! This is more of a top 10 of the albums that were most influential in my life and/or the most overplayed. By overplayed, I mean “wore two tapes out and finally bought it on CD” overplayed! Well, here it is:

1) Pyromania - Def Leppard

Hey, what can I say about the Leps? A tape of this album was a Christmas present to me back in ‘86. After the first song, “Rock, Rock (’Till You Drop)”, I knew I’d be listening to this album for years to come. I was right! The songwriting is just timeless, with just enough good-time feeling and attitude without diving into crotch-rock nonsense. Definitely rock of ages! Standout tracks: the aforementioned, Photograph, Too Late For Love, Foolin’, Rock Of Ages
Honorable mention: Def Leppard’s “Hysteria” album… one of the few times in any band’s existence where lightning struck twice.

2) Moving Pictures - Rush

Yes I liked other Rush songs that were on radio back when I was a youngin’, but this is the album that fully converted me into a Rush fan. All the songs are magical, especially “Red Barchetta”, and Neil Peart’s lyrics are timeless poetry. Standout tracks: all of them!

3) Images and Words - Dream Theater

This is probably the only album that, when I heard the first track in a record store, made me nearly scream “Who is this!!? I’ve gotta get this NOW!!”. I got it that day, of course, and not one track disappointed me. From the first track “Pull Me Under” to the last “Learning To Live”, this album captured my full attention. Every minute of music is truly a work of art. Metal intertwined with new age, blues, jazz and classical influences and done in a breathtaking way. Standout tracks: again, all of them!

4) Passion & Warfare - Steve Vai

One of the best rock instrumental albums. Like Eddie Van Halen’s solo “Eruption”, this album made plenty of guitarists look down at their hands in shame. His composition and playing in P & W were a breath of fresh air back when I was in high school listening to the rest of the formulaic 80’s hair bands. And his skills only grew even more with each album since! One of the few guitarists I’ve heard that, IMHO, earns the title of master musician. Standout tracks: Erotic Nightmares, For the Love of God, Blue Powder, Greasy Kid’s Stuff.

5) Operation: MindCrime - Queensrÿche

The first rock “concept album” I had heard of was The Who’s “Tommy”. Well, this is a metal concept album that details the plight of a young man hooked on drugs and being used as a pawn in a wide-ranging conspiracy. The theatric music and lyrics captured my imagination and also made me realize I needed to pay more attention to the world around me. Geoff Tate is still considered one of the best rock singers of his time, and the rest of the musicians in the band did top-notch work on this album. Standout tracks: the first three tracks, Suite Sister Mary, Breaking the Silence, Eyes of a Stranger.
Honorable mention: their “Operation: LiveCrime” album. One of the only live albums I’ve heard that actually sounds better than the studio version!

6) Master of Puppets - Metallica

The album that introduced me to the world of Metallica. From the beginning spanish guitar playing on “Battery” to the full-scale aural assault of “Damage, Inc.”, This album was as complex musically, yet primitive in ferocity, as some classical pieces. Probably why some of these songs translated well into performances with a full orchestra (see S&M). Standout tracks: Battery, Master of Puppets, Disposable Heroes, Orion.
Honorable mention: Metallica’s “Ride the Lightning” album which, while being just as complex, was even more raw than MOP.

7) Surfing With the Alien - Joe Satriani

As a young kid playing guitar during my high school years, this album was a must-have. His publishing moniker, “Strange Beautiful Music”, aptly fits the music. This was actually the first instrumental album I ever listened to, and it influenced my music choices for years. Listening to this album, I had to agree on one thing… Joe is the alien!! And Steve Vai was one of his students! Standout tracks: Surfing With the Alien, Ice Nine, Circles, Lords of Karma.

So Far, So Good… So What! - Megadeth

After the first song, there’s a sound clip of a bomb dropping, then exploding. That’s pretty much the impact that this album had on me. Dave Mustaine wrote some of his most thoughtful lyrics in this one, with intricate rhythm and lead guitar work to match. Indeed, the first song sounds like an orchestral piece, translated into speed metal form. Standout tracks: Into the Lungs of Hell, Mary Jane, In My Darkest Hour.

9) Under Lock and Key - Dokken

Some may think “Dokken!!?”… Well, yes. They only influenced their hair-metal bretheren to write better songs than the usual crotch-rock fare! Plus their guitarist, George Lynch, influenced young aspiring axe-slingers like myself to learn other chord structures other than “the almighty power chord”! While I was in high school, this album had me learning lots of new lead and rhythm techniques while making me forget I had homework to do! Standout tracks: In My Dreams (has the best guitar solo, hands down!!), It’s Not Love, Will the Sun Rise, Don’t Lie to Me.

10) Reckoning Night - Sonata Arctica

The newest musical influence on my life. All I can say to all who read this is please, please, please give this Finnish band an honest listen. Standout tracks: Misplaced, Ain’t Your Fairytale, The Boy Who Wanted to be a Real Puppet, White Pearl Black Oceans, Shamandalie.

Does anyone else have their own personal, definitive top 10 list, album or otherwise? Share it with me!

Wow! This is probably the longest post I’ve ever written! Ok… Time to go to bed now. Cheers!