Century Child

Century Child is undoubtedly my favorite Nightwish album to date. Some argue that the singing range for Tarja (lead singer) has diminished since Wishmaster in 2000, other say Anette (current lead singer for Nightwish as of 2006) does a better job of singing with her new style, but personally I love how Tarja sings in this album. Her voice has a softer edge, and still possesses the same power it did before. This album also marks the debut of Marco Hietala as a band member of Nightwish, male lead vocals and bass guitar player. I also think that in this album, they really nailed the orchestra/heavy metal mix.

Bless the Child starts out with Tarja's operatic, passionate vocals, and leads into a memorable string and guitar duo that sounds enticing. After a short spoken-word intro by Toni Kakko, the song leads into the first verse with Tarja singing to the chorus of metal. Bless the Child is definitely in my top ten Nightwish songs. It demonstrates the perfect balance in sound between orchestral, vocal, and metal.

End of All Hope embodies the rock side of the band. Quick-paced and dramatic, it also holds a place in my top ten. In Dead to the World, Marco's vocals along with Tarja's are passionate, and as a duet they sound full and confident. Ever Dream begins with a beautiful piano intro, which then leads into a dramatic explosion of violin. Slaying the Dreamer is particularly dark, and one of the heaviest songs Nightwish has ever recorded. Heavy guitars followed by Marco's death chanting make this song one of a kind.

Forever Yours and Ocean Souls, in my opinion, seem rather out-of-place. They are slower, more mellow songs. Not to say that they lack talent, but I just felt these two songs fell below the standard in making up this collection of epic songs.

Feel for You starts with a calm base guitar intro. I think this song, along with Dead to the World reveal the best from Marco's voice. Feel for You also has a particularly awesome ending, as the intensity of Tarja's voice is exposed here. Phantom of the Opera is an awesome cover. I think it was a great idea to do a cover of this song! Tarja sings her part beautifully, and Marco achieves singing as sinisterly as the phantom himself. Beauty of the Beast presents an awesome finale that's well worth listening to; orchestra and metal combination are at there finest here, and it concludes with a stanza spoken by Toni, which wraps the album up from the beginning of Bless the Child.

I'd rate this album a 9/10. Definitely worth purchasing! I recommend adopting this Century Child for a lifetime!

Assassin's Creed II Review for Xbox 360

With tremendous success from the game's predecessor, Assassin's Creed, Ubisoft wanted to step it up and see what improvement could be obtained in Assassin's Creed II. With more weapons, armor, and climbing tactics, this game really packs a punch. The developers were interested primarily with evolving the story's plot and improving the combat capabilities as well. Ubisoft took Assassin's Creed II to a whole new level by creating it as a sort of historical fiction. Artist Leonardo De Vinci makes a significant appearance, leader of Florentine Lorenzo de' Medici appears as well, and even Pop Alexander VI contributes to the story. Integration with these historical figures up the game's excitement and authenticity. With a vast array of weapons and attack combos, combat in this game is extraordinary. You can purchase weapons to use, pick up fallen weapons on the ground, or even take weapons from enemies to fight with. Combat abilities include lunging, dodging, blocking, grabbing, countering, and even taunting. Animations for countering have also improved, with more realistic movements and many varieties as well.

In the game you control Desmond Miles during the year 2012, who starts off escaping Abstergo Industries with employee Lucy Stillman. Once you arrive at your new location, you meet several new characters before entering the "Animus", which allows Desmond to recall and relive the memories of his ancestors. Instead of controlling Altaïr ibn La-Ahad from the early 12th century like in the first game, your memories progress to the late 15th century as you control Ezio Auditore da Firenze from Italy. When your father and brothers are murdered, you receive orders to take armor and equipment from a room in your house which turns out to be the Assassin's garments (your father's), and a single sword. Many references to Assassin's Creed are included, such as the Apple of Eden (a Piece of Eden seen in the previous game), a brief reenactment of an endeavor of Altaïr where he can actually be controlled, and many signs left by Subject 16-the test subject from Abstergo just before Desmond-who hacked the Animus and left clues for Desmond strewn throughout Italy.

Gameplay can best be described as open-world. While the game follows a tight story line, it can be interrupted at almost any time so you can complete various sidequests. There is virtually nothing Ezio can't climb! Bounding from rooftop to rooftop, scaling high walls, and leaping from an awning to swing on a post proves best use of environment is mandatory for catching thugs, following officials, and when in pursuit of a time-based mission. Guards are fought frequently, such as in the first game, and with three different kinds of soldiers, it makes attack-and-runs all the more challenging. There are the Agiles, who are best at keeping up with your speed, Brutes who are the strongest fighters, and Seekers who will check hiding places in search of you: no longer can you hide in a bale of hay and simply lose your enemies! Fighting feels a lot like the previous game's combat, but with more abilities. Variety in fighting will cause the enemy to be defeated more easily. But when Ezio is overwhelmingly outnumbered, you can always hit the streets or even dive in water for escape.

Controlling has been nearly perfected. I didn't hardly have a problem with controlling Ezio's various acrobatic movements, which is very important as there are many places where you rely on the accuracy of control. Buttons have been ingeniously formatted to fit practically any free-roaming situation. Holding the right trigger button changes the function of many of the other buttons, thus giving you many ways to maneuver. Blending using a button has been omitted, and the action can now be accomplished by mingling with a select crowd of individuals. I have no complaints about the camera in the game, and am also eager to praise it. With a control stick dedicated to movement of the camera, a first-person perspective option and even a contextual camera at command, the game's viewing is extremely flexible and you should have no problem keeping up with your Assassin's movements.

The game's presentation is fantastic. Ubisoft developed three short movies preceding the release of the game with real actors. This went a long way to develop the background story of the game and adds to its real feel. The graphics are phenomenal, and the voice acting is authentic. Environments look realistic with careful textural detail and convincing lighting and shading qualities. Almost all environmental objects react realistically when touched. The game's music also enhances the game, remaining either pleasant or exciting and never becoming boring or obnoxious.

This game is rated M for Blood, Intense Violence, Sexual Content, and Strong Language. I would say this rating is accurate, as over a dozen occurrences of the F-word appear, as do a few other expletives. Blood and gore are most prominent also, although blood can be turned off in the games options menu. Also, an in-game cutscene hinting at sexuality is brief, but still present. Another negative element in the game is the moral, which is unseen at first, but presents the opinion that any sort of religion is false.

These elements aside, Assassin's Creed II is an excellent game. Crafted with an historical edge and an even more free-world style, this game can easily be rated a 9.3/10. It even possesses decent replay value, as collecting all 100 feathers, piecing together the remaining glyphs and obtaining the rest of the Assassin's tomb seals will keep you going even after the story is finished. For historical interest, a database is provided with information on people, places, and events relevant to the story. The map also reveals areas not yet explored, and various sidequests remain from requested assassinations to city races. If you've played through the game's storyline, you'll probably be saying, "I can't wait for Assassin's Creed III!"

Will you rate Zoodle? (hmm...how about WHAT will you rate Zoodle?) #49

When you browse through the pages of Zoodle, what number sticks in your mind (and no, I'm not referring to our special number nine)? In this confusing world of opinions, we wouldn't want to sway your vote by any means, so we'll not bother to mention our awesome Blogged.com score of 8.0. But of course, who knows? Maybe it was out of 50. Maybe even 100! Ooohh...let's hope not.

In any case, we encourage you to rate Zoodle for yourself. That would just be Hunky-dory. And no, the zoodles don't get to vote. Sorry guys, but wouldn't that be just a little biased? And I don't mean to be mean, but could they even pass as registered voters in the first place...?

Recently we presented our blog to BlogRaters.com. They're a group of blog raters (as the name states) who critque various blogs sent in by email. Once they are reviewed, they post the review on their site.

They have all of their rated blogs organized by category, so if you're trying to find that informative Peronsonal Finance blog to help resolve your financial needs, you've got a one-way trip to their front door with Blog Raters.

Pretty sweet deal.

So again (in case your forgot) feel free to rate Zoodle!

Browser Comparison #48

The official browser comparison is released! Please view it on Project Orange.
Note: each browser is critiqued solely by me and my experience: I installed each and every one of these browsers and tried them out, exploring the various features each one had to offer.

Please see the comparison here.

The results may surprise you...Feel free to comment on this afterward. I'd be interested to see what you think!

Zoodle 2.0 Coming Soon #45

You can expect many interesting additions arriving to the upgraded Zoodle 2.0 very soon. We will be improving the interface, build on our Zoodle-esque atmosphere, and will very soon be directly affiliated with Project Orange (although currently we state we are "the official blog of Project Orange", it isn't quite official yet).

Please see the zoodles working here. Seems like the Zoodle Factory is putting a work crew together.

Yes, I see a new Innovation Proclamation coming up sometime...a web browser comparison/review...and many exciting stories coming up in our future. With multiple authors, who knows where this blog will go.

Cool Snacks #21

Recently, I have taken the liberty of trying different snacky foods. I have found that double-stuffed mint Oreos can be a fantastic addition to any school lunch. You can either eat them yourself, or distribute them among your friends. It's a common yet unique item that can give your lunch a sense of style, even if you have that horribly boring bologna sandwich (not that I have any thing against bologna sandwiches) and those traditional animal crackers. OK...well probably high school is a little too old for animal crackers.

Doritos really have made my day occasionally at school. Their cheesey, salty, and crunchy consistency really create a cohesive combination that can really satisfy your taste buds. Salt and Vinegar chips...oh my! They can add some zaaannng to your lunch at any given time.

But best of all...the sour cream and onion lays! The captivating taste is really limitless. To you wonderfulness chippy chip friends, I give you props!

And to balance it all, a sliced up apple really does some good. It's juiciness is like drinking something...yet the crispness of something edible. Stellar mix if you ask me.

I hope from this day forward, you will treat your school lunch in a new way, adding various cool snacks as you go. Good luck, and bonapatit my friends!