Hello, I'm the Nostalgic Gamer. I remember it so you don't have to. Heh, get the reference? If you don't then click on this: The Nostalgic Critic. The Nostalgic Critic is a guy with glasses that remembers old movies (most of them bad, some of them the epitome of evil because of the direction of one Uwe Boll) and does it in moderately lengthy videos, similar to Yahtzee. You don't know Yahtzee either? Fuck... okay, go here then, dumbass: Zero Punctuation. Differences lie in media outlet and time of the stuff reviewed. Me, I'm a fan of both, so I'm going to combine elements of both (which I kind of already do) and do it from a textual standpoint, inserting videos and pictures throughout to make a point. Sound good? Fantastic. That's the proper format for all preceding posts.

You know, I don't usually do sports. I'm not talking about football or basketball, I love those; I'm talking about football or basketball video games. Why? For that very reason above: if I really want to play football or basketball I can do it myself. On the occasions I DO play sports video games they either come with the system (recalling my Dreamcast) or they're so over-the-top that you couldn't (or shouldn't) do them in life (Blitz: The League). But this is actually a relatively recent phenomena in me, considering I only really started this in the early part of the new millennium. Before that I was playing NBA Live and Madden like everyone else.

The Madden thing... well, if I talked about that already then I talked about it already, I don't like EA Sports for a reason. NBA Live 96 was my favorite basketball game of all time, and I'm not just saying that because it was one of the first I played. I liked it because it was oddly unbalanced. Every time I used the Raptors I could never miss a three pointer. Believe me, I tried, but I never missed one. So I cheated, in a sense, and beat my friends mercilessly. Then, I got another basketball game.

Back in a time when games were 16 bit - and consequently the world made sense - there was a basketball player named Charles Barkley, the latest retired ball player to catch the political bug, that dominated the game. He was the face of the new basketball game known as "Shut Up and Jam", a 2-on-2 street tournament style game featuring a host of people with stats and funky names, exotic locales such as Watts and Brooklyn, and of course Sir Charles, the king of the rebound. There was basic stereotypical hip hop loops for music, Charles telling you to get the damn ball if it was just on the ground, and half of the blocked shots were goaltending violations. I loved it.

Let me tell you something: Barkley Shut Up and Jam had something most basketball games of the time didn't have: stunning realism combined with stunning unrealism. Do you play streetball? I did. There were no fouls or goaltending, no time limits, just playing the damn game until mama called you back for dinner. When you got hit there was nothing pretty about it; you hit the ground hard and you were lying there until you moved. You try to dunk you will get knocked the fuck down if you're a presumptuous little dipshit. You don't fly around the country to play; you go in the backyard or that court down the street. You have funny ass names and you wear your hat backwards. That's streetball. Until NBA Street came along (kinda...) this kind of beautiful game was one in a million, and I still play it today, yes, I still play it, and you know why? Because its fun, like Mystical Ninja (you gotta have an acquired taste for that one...), and until there's another game of that caliber created I give the big middle finger to all other streetball games!

Granted... you may be thinking, "DiZ, you ill informed aphrodisiac, wasn't there a sequel to that game?" To you I respond with this question: you should be ashamed of yourself. We will NOT discuss that awful ass game here... not for many days... DiZ, out!

Here's some knowledge about DiZ: he hates rap sequels. It's a harsh statement, but consider the rap sequels that exist. You have Stillmatic, Illmatic's sequel. You have the Blueprint 2 vs. Blueprint 1. Webbie’s Savage Life vs. Savage Life 2… I know, I’m ashamed I remember those pieces of shit too. Granted, Stillmatic and Blueprint 2 are good albums, but the former doesn't nearly reach the bar of its predecessor and Blueprint 2... well, I always said that for every bad album Jay-Z did he owed me two cars, and I'm debating whether or not he owes me four because Blueprint 2 is a double disc. Not to mention Blueprint 3 is coming out soon (just finished listening to it and I'm mad that I can't hate on it like I wanted, go figure). And we're not even going to TALK about those aforementioned albums that shall not be named ever again... So how do you think I originally felt when I even heard that Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Part 2 was coming out? Indifferent. I love Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, hailing it as a classic, so a sequel can only be slightly worse or significantly worse. That's being mean: it is not likely to be (nearly) as good as the predecessor.

That's me rambling. The Wu-Tang Clan is one of my favorite stables in rap and all its members have impressed me with classic or near classic albums (not counting the various affiliates or satellites associated with the Wu) and Raekwon's opus is probably my second favorite, only after Liquid Swords. That means I've listened to Only Built 4 Cuban Linx religiously in some cases, and I consider some of its tracks perfect. At the same time, there's a change I notice between the two LPs. This change in style is one of the many pleasures of the new album, and we're gonna jump into the review right now so I don't get any more distracted.

Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Part 2 starts off on a high note by continuing exactly where the first left off, with Papa Wu dropping some serious knowledge over a soulful beat before a section of the Wu tears up a J. Dilla (rest in peace) beat with House of Flying Daggers. The emcees don't disappoint and display that same beautifully vicious lyricism that the Wu Tang is known for. As a matter of fact this album as a whole is essentially a Wu Tang album, with every clan member dropping nice verse after nice verse without breaking a sweat; through all of this, however, Raekwon rarely gives up the spotlight, always shining with his partner-in-crime Ghostface Killa. Raekwon enlists a number of producers this time around, not simply relying on the RZA’s masterful productions; in truth he only calls on the RZA for three beats: Black Mozart, New Wu, and Fat Lady Sings. Of the three Black Mozart sounds just like it implies. RZA doesn’t fail to deliver and neither do the lyrical slaughterers. Other production comes from Erick Sermon, Marley Marl, the Alchemist, even Dr. “I’ll drop my album when I get around to it” Dre.

Raekwon maintains his status as the chef throughout the album, never directly leaving the topic of bagging that white too much unless bearing his soul or exerting crazy dominance over competition. To this degree Ason Jones might just be the best track on the album, a tribute and musical memorial to the late great Ol’ Dirty Bastard.

On the occasions (loose meaning) that Raekwon calls on a guest verse (see? I’m referring to those outside of the Wu conglomerate) they rarely fail. Jadakiss and Styles P grace Broken Safety appropriately, not reaching Raekwon’s level (no surprise) but complimenting him well enough. Beanie Sigel stands toe-to-toe with the Chef on the Icewater produced, Blue Raspberry assisted Have Mercy, delivering a verse that only shows once again why he’s a possible legend in the making.

Then again, I said rarely in the previous paragraph. The Dr. Dre produced Catalina is a good enough track, but Lyfe Jennings may not have been the right voice for the hook; Anthony Hamilton would have fit the feel a bit better. Busta Rhymes’ spot on About Me is far from bad, but… there is no but; it’s a good track. Busta didn’t fail to deliver at all, showing once again why he is a possible legend in the making as well.

The album follows the similar concept to the first, coming to a close with the fantastic Mean Streets and the inspiring Kiss the Ring (I don’t know who the hell Scram Jones is but someone get him to do ALL of OB4CL 3). The crack, the bagging, the struggles, the introspection, the overall greatness of the first album IS apparent in the second installment. Here’s the big question: is it as good as Only Built for Cuban Linx? Answer…

OH HELL NAW! Sorry for being so mean about it but we have to be honest. The expanded track listing of OB4CL Pt. 2 alone makes for the mistake of unnecessary filler, even if it is good filler, and Raekwon, who defied my standards of what makes a classic back in 1995, didn’t strike twice. Some of these standards include:

1. You can’t have a classic with too many guests. I gave Raekwon the classic status before because the guests were the Wu Tang clan, and they work almost like a unit so I can’t fault him for those guest appearances. Alternatively, those non-Wu guest appearances are almost orgasmic (Nas on Verbal Intercourse) and very few. OB4CL Pt. 2 doesn’t feature a lot of non-Wu guest appearances, but none of them can properly match up to the standard of Raekwon and the Wu.
2. You can’t have another classic rapping about the same shit. Okay, this one hasn’t really been broken because Raekwon is talking about the same shit on OB4CL 2 that he was on OB4CL 1, if only from a different perspective and from a more wisdomed approach. The intro from Papa Wu (let him and Common’s dad get together and do a poetry album; that would be sweet) was a great way to start it off but when you delve into familiar territory you’re bound to know where you’re going.
3. You can’t copy a formula, only follow it. There are blueprints (not the Jay-Z albums I steadily hate more and more) that a lot of albums follow, and when it comes to sequel albums they don’t usually follow the original blueprint. That usually leads to failure. OB4CL 2 actually does follow the blueprint to a degree though, so what happened?
4. You can’t have ONE introspective track about a/an A)fallen friend, B)female, or C)amazing event. You must have at least two. So I mentioned Ason Jones earlier, one of my favorite tracks on the album. I love the tributes to the Ol’ Dirty Chinese Restaurant (rest in peace) but just one? It’s lonely. You also have Kiss the Ring, the last track and my personal favorite. Imagine sitting in an old fashioned diner and proclaiming to everyone that you’ve just taken over Liberty City. That’s an amazing event. So you have two tracks, so it should be good, right? Not so much. They’re in odd places, those tracks. Kiss the Ring is in a good spot, a great way to epically end the LP, but Ason Jones shouldn’t of been the only track like it was. Leading to the last standard I’m going into…
5. You can’t be a rapper on R&B beats. This isn’t a complaint or anything, just something I’m throwing out. Remember Heaven and Hell? Another exception to the rule of my standards. OB4CL 2 didn’t really have any R&B beats, just some laid backs ones that worked out pretty well.

Woo, this is a hard one to review. I can’t say it’s as good as Cuban Linx 1, but it’s still a great album. I won’t lie; I came into listening to it knowing it wouldn’t be another classic, but I didn’t actually start to review the album until I got rid of that mentality. I knew it would be great but it exceeded my standards (regular standards, not classic standards (some of those standards are just ridiculous)). I’ve been waiting for a good solo Wu release for a minute and this (not counting GZA’s Pro Tools) is a great return to form. Is it a perfect 5 out of 5? Nope. Is it a 4? Nope.

DiZ Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Before this review, a message from me, the DiZ:
I'm back! Damn, I need to stop taking these long ass breaks in between posts. It'll kill what's left of my traffic! I'm working on another review right now too for Raekwon's latest effort, so stayed tuned for that, and my Shadow of the Colossus mega review will be up in due time. I'm out! BLEE!


I'll admit that I wasn't a fan of Kid Cudi until I saw him in concert, and I wasn't really a true fan until long after he made us wait forty minutes for his ass to come out. His performance was good, very good, but oddly enough Kanye West's special appearance is what sent us all over the edge. In any case, Kid Cudi is part of this new wave of hip hop artists, part of the lyrical renaissance taking place with such rappers as Blu, B.o.B., Mickey Factz, Wale, Asher Roth, Cory Gunz and Charles Hamilton (most of the XXL Freshman Class of 2009). He's also part of this new wave that's doing more and more singing along with rapping, a crazy combination I can't blame Kanye for despite wanting to. Go figure.

Kid Cudi is arguably the best to do this in the game right now. He doesn't try to sound like Luther Vandross when he sings and his eternal stoner persona makes for some interesting lyricism for the most part. Man on the Moon: The End of Day is an eclectic mix of his galactic high rapping and marijuana laced singing, often all at once. I dare say that this is one of the most eclectic albums in the world of hip hop since Outkast dropped an LP.

Okay... that's a bit much. You can see that I'm putting a lot on Kid Cudi's shoulders because I can see that he's truly a different artist in hip hop as opposed to half the niggas walking around now. He's not afraid to rap/sing about some crazy out-of-this-world shit and he doesn't shy away from the over-the-top misogynistic tracks that happen to plague the airwaves (at least his are fun to listen to no matter how sexist they make Common sound (yeah, I said it!)). With all that said, let's get into Kid Cudi's major label debut.

This is a true concept album: the LP is divided into five acts, each one having a little excerpt from the narrator, Common. I know I said he sounded sexist earlier but don't worry: he still does. He drops some Def Jam level poetry at the ends of select tracks as intros or outros to the acts. But he never steals Cudi's shine, only makes it better. In fact, right from the get go, with In My Dreams, you get a clue of why Cudi is THE neo-psychedelia rapper, rap/singing about his dreams and life. As a matter of fact, the better way to review this LP is to do it by acts. Let's try that, shall we?

Act 1: The End of the Day

Cudi uses this for his three track intro with Lonnie Lynn Jr's poetry following the first track. We go into Cudi's stoner lyricism and his unique brand of rapping. He combines the elements of singing with his rapping, so much where he appears to be talking more so than rapping, making his style pretty conversational at times. Imagine going to sleep; that's what these tracks feel like in a sense. No sense getting into the tracks, but they almost highlight the fact that Cudi is drifting into his dream land... or nightmare hell...

Act 2: Rise of the Night Terrors

Solo Dolo is a haunting way to start this act. It's perfect: slow and creepy, setting a stage for what seems like a true invasion of the dreamland this nigga is obviously inhabiting and smoking in. Heart of a Lion follows it, and it's almost like a declaration, an escape if you will. This act is something like an escape, trying to get free from the night terrors. Of the acts this is probably my favorite, because it fits the description of the title so well.

Act 3: Taking a Trip (How high is this guy...?)

Day n Nite and Sky Might Fall are fan favorites and some of the tracks that made us love (tolerate for me) Cudi because of their "trip like" quality. You know what I mean? It's kind of like these tracks ARE him walking down the corridors of his mind.

Act 4: Stuck

My least favorite act, but ironically enough it contains some of my favorite tracks. I suppose that's part of the point. Cudi changes up styles a little bit here, especially with his hit single Make Her Say, the nastiest track on the LP (remember I said Common was sexist up here? Here you go) is also the most out of place. It's not stoner rap, just braggadocios sex rap. Granted, it's a great track, but it's out of place, unless "Stuck" was meant to represent that.

Act 5: A New Beginning

Welcome to the end of the album, that's what I think Cudi was trying to tell me with the last two tracks. It was a fun ride and it came to a satisfying end. Cudi was flying away, going higher and higher until he was truly up up and away.

This is a sloppy review because its IMPOSSIBLE to properly review this album with words. You can use a number but a number alone doesn't mean shit. Kid Cudi has crafted THE stoner album of the year, maybe even next year, but that doesn't mean that it's perfect, not by a long shot. Kanye West's production (two tracks: Sky Might Fall and Make Her Say) is welcome but a little strangely placed, despite how well it fits into the grand scheme of things. Also, I'm not really feeling his definition of "rap". I'm not referring to his genre or anything, that's on point, but his half rapping/half singing style is a little lazy at times. Sometimes its straight singing, and while I can't knock the man for singing I can knock it for singing as much as he did.

The other problem comes with the territory of a concept album: if you slip up even once on a concept album there's a chance everything can just be confusing in the future, and Cudi doesn't slip up so much as just fall a little short at times, making the story a little confusing. Common narrates but since he's only around four or five times (excluding his guest verse) sometimes the story can get a little "pushed back" or irrelevant.

Another criticism is Cudi's biggest mistake and showing off all the good tracks already. The fan favorites and "accidental" singles are easily the best tracks on the album, overshadowing at least half of the effort with relative ease. Make Her Say, a true hit, is quite possibly the best track on the album and it overshadows most of it by not even keeping a similar sound to the rest of the album.

That leads to the final bad talk: Make Her Say. It's a great track, but it's just completely out of place on the album. It doesn't share the same feel as the rest of it, and while it's a welcome addition it's also a consistency substraction. Concept albums, like I said, thrive on an album long consistency that Make Her Say interrupted.

So what do I have to say about this album? Shit, I already done said it! What do I give this album on a scale of one to five? A four. That's difficult for me too because I wanted to give this album a higher score, but some minor oversight from previous circumstance keeps it from achieving the greatness I wanted it to have. Man on the Moon: The End of Day is a very impressive debut from a very impressive weed junkie. I'm hoping that his next LP is just as good, no, even better than this one. Kid Cudi, good work.

DiZ Score: 4 out of 5

It ain't often I go back in time to hate on a movie, but I have to today. After going back in time and viewing a number of Phonte's "Movies in a Minute" videos my hatred for this cinematic fiasco came back at full force, as well as memories of lunatic debates I've had with my peers about the film.

Let me get the plot out of the way for those of you that haven't seen it. Will Smith's character is texting on a phone one night while driving and crashes. He kills everybody, literally. So, later in life he calls someone and tells them that he's committing suicide. He spends his life until his stupid suicide (I have a LOT of beef with his suicide; not that he committed it but how it was done) seeking reasonable hosts for his organs after he dies. He does, and sadly he has to involve Rosario Dawson into it. Everybody he finds (seven people to replace the seven he murdered) needs something, organ transplants or whatnot, so when it comes time to off himself Will Smith gets into a pool of ice cold water and -this is where I TOTALLY break out laughing- drops a jellyfish into the tub to kill himself. No lie, he kills himself with a motherfucking jellyfish. After wards his organs (preserved by the ice cold water) are given to the people and they live happy lives. Yay...

I have a LOT of problems with this movie, and only some of them come from my faith. Let's get that one out the way first. Will Smith's (technically Tim Thomas' (seriously, who wrote this bullshit?!)) "redemption though death" ideology is sure to offend a lot of religious faiths and the fact that audience (most of them, not me) got attached to the man only made his self-execution a very devastating event. Tears and wailing and "NO!!!!", most women and a small population of men were shedding tears of fear when they saw Tim Thomas (that name is terrible!) kill himself. For Christians like myself there is immediately a "He's going straight to Hell" thought in the mind (hence why I was laughing hysterically at Timmy's passing) and for other faiths, of which I am no expert, I'm sure there was the thought running through the head. A lot of people are going to claim that his emotional torment overwhelmed his common sense. I agree, because if he was smart he would have spent his life honoring their memory and doing everything he could to make ALL LIVES better, much like Will Smith does in life by just walking down the damn street!

That brings me to another point: Will Smith knows movies. What do I mean by that? He knows what the people want to see or what will make them pour money into theaters, much like Tyler Perry does. Will Smith knew that a sappy lost love story would attract women like Oprah at a Cold Stone Creamery. Will Smith knew that Rosario Dawson's presence would attract the men like the offer of a threesome with Halle Berry, Sanaa Lathan and Free (you'd have love for that). Most importantly, he knew that everyone would flock to the movie for the simple fact that he's Will Smith, and Will Smith equals movie magic, no matter how good (I Am Legend, Men in Black, The Pursuit of Happyness) or how bad (Hancock, Hitch, Men in Black 2, Ali, Wild Wild West) or how mediocre (Independence Day, Enemy of the State) the piece of cinematography happens to be. I respect this skill of Will Smith's like I respect Soulja Boy's skill of knowing what will make him money.

I respect the power of love and responsibility, but Tim Thomas (that name...) did it, in my opinion, wrong. I've asked a lot of people this question: how would you have redeemed yourself if you were in Tim Tho... if you were in the shoes of the guy Will Smith played? To my (lack of) surprise, no one said they would do what Will Smith did. Excuse me, loyal, possible dick riding Will Smith fan, but in what way do you connect to this movie then? You like it from a technical point of view or a story point of view? I can respect it big time from a technical point of view, because I like camerawork. I like timing. I like characters. But I don't like the message this movie is coincidentally giving off. If I killed seven people in a car crash, I'd either be in jail, be dead from the wrath of a family member of one of the deceased, or spending my life atoning for what I've done, not bitching out and killing myself in some self pity moment.

Granted, I can't say I don't borderline see what he was thinking. He wanted to help people. Fair enough. I'm not mad at that. He killed himself to do it. No, that's not a good look, Smith. He gave away seven pounds of his flesh (eight if you assume he screwed Ms. Dawson one night) to save people. Very good intent, very bad method of doing so. Still, my greatest grievance with this piece of shit movie is his method of dying.






















A jellyfish? Seriously? Look, I'm not advocate of suicide, not advocate of any kind of death outside of a natural one, but if you're going to kill yourself then for the love of God, at least do it less "Tony" than this. Poison yourself, shoot yourself, slit your wrist, drown yourself, but here this nigga go, in a tube of ice and water, and a pet jellyfish (no one keeps pet jellyfish) that stings him. Ain't this a bitch? I'm praying that the writer of this movie didn't get inspired by a man that actually killed himself in such an elaborate manner because then I feel a bit bad about laughing hysterically. If not, though, well...

Well, I'm back again. Two posts in one day maybe, it's a burst of energy. Just a few minutes ago I posted my confusion about Black College Football Experience and now I'm moving on to new territory. The man on the left is Andre 3000 and the game to the right is Mass Effect. Both of them are candidates for the greatest of all time in their respective areas. Andre 3-Stacks has always been an eclectic lyricist from Atlanta sporting flawless rhymes and sporadic but brilliant verses on his own. Mass Effect is Bioware's flagship franchise game, away from the confines of Star Wars and George Lucas, but maintaining a space worthy theme. You know what would be sweet? If they added Sun Crushers into Mass Effect. It would be a total bloodbath full of oblivion, but it would be amazing nonetheless.

I bring those two up because I have to give them both credit where credit it due: masterful storytelling. This isn't about Andre 3000 so I won't put the spot light on him, but his storytelling is nearly unparalleled in hip hop, rivaled only by a few and even a few of them are slipping (*cough* Jay-Z *cough*), but Mass Effect, being an RPG, has mastered this art to another extent.

Quick show of hands: who has played the first Mass Effect? My right hand is up right now. Now it's down. There weren't many games the year it came out that I ordered to be delivered to me. Only the best are reserved for that... the best and those I can't afford to go out and get in person. I heard it was of Bioware, those behind Knights of the Old Republic, and played it. I had a heart attack. I'm one of the advocates of "Gaming is Art" so you give me a sexy sci-fi story with memorable characters and truly game affecting decisions and what do you have? One of the greatest stories in gaming.

My character was Sheppard, as all are. I can't remember his first name (it doesn't help that my Xbox is broken and I can't check) but he was a pure soldier. He wasn't tied down with the specifics of electronics and biotic warfare. He was a strategist and a weapon master, using pistols and shotguns, assault rifles and sniper rifles to the fullest, as well as grenades. Before the game he was a punk on the streets of Earth (Detroit I'm assuming) running with gangs until the military caught up with him and straightened him out. He did some stuff and gained a sparkling reputation, being chosen for a mission to a new colony planet. He didn't mess up but he was blamed for it. Then he was chosen for a new mission to save the galaxy with his crew, and even sparked up a romance with one of his crew mates, culminating with sexual intercourse following bouts of attraction and depression brought about by the death of a fellow friend. They saved the galaxy but left to do stuff, and by stuff I mean more saving. That's a terrible synopsis but it's the truth. The story make even sound a bit standard, but I left out a number of details, outside references and clever dialogue, not to mention the thresher maws. Oh, those thresher maws... glad they don't exist, that's all I can say.

What separates this story, however, is the sequel game, aptly titled Mass Effect 2. What's the story behind that one? So far I have no idea. I know that there's a new planet and that there are a few new features but I don't know the story. I saw the ship from the first game getting destroyed but I don't know the story. There is a skeleton tale in the game I'm sure, a basic outline, but outside of that you determine the story. You know how I mentioned Andre 3000 early on? He's a master storyteller. All of his guest verses are stories, be they greatly detailed or somewhat soupy. Example: take his verse from International Player's Anthem. It went...

So, I typed a text to a girl I used to see
Sayin that I chose this cutie pie with whom I wanna be
And I apologize if this message gets you down
Then I CC'd every girl that I'd see see round town and
I hate to see y'all frown but I'd rather see her smiling
Wetness all around me, true, but I'm no island
Peninsula maybe, makes no sense I know, crazy
Give up all this pussy cat that's in my lap no lookin back
Spaceships dont come equipped with rear view mirrors
They dip as quick as they can
The atmosphere is now ripped
I'm so like a Pip, I'm glad its night
So the light from the sun would not burn me on my bum
When I shoot the moon high, jump the broom
Like a preemie out the womb
My partner yellin "Too soon! Don't do it! Reconsider!
Read some litera - ture on the subject
You sure? Fuck it
You know we got your back like chiroprac - tic
If that bitch do you dirty
we'll wipe her ass out as in detergent
Now hurry hurry, go on to the altar
I know you ain't a pimp but pimp remember what I taught ya
Keep your heart 3 stacks, keep your heart
Aye, keep your heart 3 stacks, keep your heart
Man, these girls is smart, 3 stacks, these girls is smart
Play your part
Play your part

That's a story in itself. It gave the entire song a storyline. Mass Effect 2 looks to do the same. Andre's verse laid down a skeleton and let the listener go from there. Bioware laid a skeleton with the first game and now you have to make your own destiny in the new installment. This is a big deal for me because Sheppard can die for good, and Mass Effect is a trilogy.

What? Lose your main character in the game he or she is the main character or? DiZ, you orgasmic chocolate chip, perish the thought! No, I will not. There's a chance he can die. Every choice you make has a consequence and a reward. Do I know anything about these choices? No, but I'm guessing that pushing a man out of a window and thirty stories onto pure concrete isn't a nice thing to do in any respect at all.

The purpose of this post was to give props to the masterful storytelling of Bioware, creators of such games as KOTOR and Jade Empire. Keep up the good work and I'll be sure to be getting Mass Effect 2 when it comes out, word. Peace.

I have no prior bias to any game I play, but I can't help but force myself to keep from that bias when it comes to Nerjyzed Entertainment's past and future debut Black College Football Experience, the first game from their company and the first game to ever feature nothing but HBCUs. As the title goes this is a football game. It combines, at least now it does, football and Rock Band, in that the game before and after half time is pure football and the half time is... a rhythm based mini game compatible with the Rock Band drum peripheral, a nod to the tradition of HBCU bands doing performances at half time. I've seen gameplay footage from both the game released in 2007 and the one to be released on Tuesday and my first impression is a big resounding, "It's aight..."

Let's get this out the way early: I have low expectations for many, maybe even all at this point, football games. When Electronic Arts took the license for themselves I said that it was time to witness the slow descent of football games, and in my opinion I've been dead right. I've seen a decline in quality in the Madden games and I've seen no real change in the NCAA Football games. That 2K games football title featuring all legends and false characters was okay, but it wasn't ESPN NFL 2K5. Midway's Blitz series is always good for a laugh, but its gameplay isn't stern enough and it doesn't come out every year like the EA monsters do. That's good if only because it means they don't recreate the same game each year, but that's just a gripe of mine. Anyway, I saw the gameplay for Black College Football Experience from 2007 and I said, "It's aight..." It looks functional and has a bit of a "Mr. Magoo" visual feel to it (the main attraction looks well enough but the secondary details themselves are lacking, especially the crowd) but that's no reason to down a game. After all, 2K5 did the same... well, Madden did that and... nope, on second thought they didn't.
A big selling point appears to be Doug Williams and the half time mini game. Personally I have no idea who Doug Williams is, but I'm assuming he's a professional (current or retired) that went to an HBCU. I respect that. I suspect the target audience will too. The mini game is an interesting feature too, something I haven't been able to even convince a permanent fault with outside of multiple controls for a single exhibition game, but that's just a pet peeve. Basically it's like the movie Drumline, without the bad acting of Nick Cannon, Leonard Roberts, Orlando Jones, Jason Weaver... you see where I'm going with this. You hit the drum kit in tune with the thing on the screen. What's my big deal with it? The Rock Band drum instrument goes in the color order: red, yellow, blue, green. The game goes: blue, green, yellow, red. Seems like a purely aesthetic thing, right? Maybe not. It's a simple change I'm sure, but I'll let time determine how all that works out. It'll kind of suck doing that kind of mini game on a standard controller.

[Quick sidebar: if I seem a little pissed off right now it's because my Xbox has been out of commission for more than a month now and it has me pretty upset, especially with what I've seen of Mass Effect 2. I'll be touching on that game in a little while myself. Whatever...]

I haven't yet touched on why this post is called "Varied Confusion". When I first heard about this game I said, "Let's hear the racist comments." Of course, those are what I saw. I guess I can kind of anticipate how some people are thinking, but I don't know exactly how to feel about the game in and of itself. On one hand I'm happy that there's a tribute to the black college football experience. Being a student of now two HBCUs and a predominantly black high school I can say that going to a football game is indeed an experience. Then again, having no other kind of college football experience to compare it to I can't say how necessary a game like this is.

Necessity is something I've been on lately. My latest foray into it was with a rapper named Edo G. He did a song in the 90s with Da Bulldogs called "Be a Father to Your Child" and I couldn't help but acknowledge how necessary this song is. The conflict comes with the fact that this song shouldn't have to be necessary. That's why I'm confused with this game. Yes, this game is a tribute to a culture a lot of people will never experience, but that's part of the discrepancy to me: aren't games a method of reaching people of all kinds? Maybe not, but the goal of this game is to appeal to the HBCU crowd. How many HBCU students are going to buy a game they can pretty much watch every week in the fall semester? How many football players for schools like Morehouse or Hampton are inclined to buy a game that showcases them in a generic light (generic meaning no specific mention to specific players outside of Doug Williams, not a crack at the game I have yet to play) and why? If I played football at Morehouse when I was there I would have bought this game only for the purpose of a grudge with another school (probably Tuskegee).

To this same token, however, if I'm following this logic, then the necessity of any kind of college football game is unnecessary. I don't like college football games because A)they all owned by EA and B)EA clones Madden and makes a killing. It's a shameful reason I admit but the third reason was that my college, which was Morehouse, wasn't on them before. Now Morehouse is on an HBCU football game (a moot point since now I'm at Clark Atlanta University) and I can't express total joy because I'm struck with hundreds of questions. I can't put down everything now but I'll be sure to when I give the game a play through. Catch ya later.

[P.S. -- I found out who Doug Williams is. To date he's the only African American quarterback to win a Super Bowl. That's significant and all I guess, but shit... okay, he is kind of a big deal. Super Bowl MVP and he broke a few records. I tip my hat to you, Doug Williams.]

A friend of mine put it rather well when he said that the Holy Trinity of Neo-Soul (D'Angelo, Maxwell and Erykah Badu (I want to say Son, Holy Spirit and Father respectively but don't quote me)) was again in effect when Maxwell's new single, Pretty Wings, dropped. I find myself both agreeing and disagreeing, if only because I think the "divinity" of neo-soul includes the "Prince on ecstasy" voiced Bilal. Regardless, in his review he gave this album a 4 out of 5, citing its length as the main, maybe even sole, reason he didn't give the album a perfect 5. It's not my style to take anyone's word outside of my own when it comes to music so I went to the store and bought the CD (a MAJOR sign of respect from me) and gave it a couple of listens. My assessment? Well...

Maxwell has always been my third favorite neo-soul singer, falling after Bilal at the number two spot and Erykah Badu as the queen for reasons going far beyond the realm of music. He had me sold and nearly claimed the number two spot with the song "Fortunate", off of the Life soundtrack. That song still receives a lot of replay in my musical profiles. I didn't really get into his previous work but I was mad impressed with what I stumbled across. He was always mysterious, considering he wrote his own song and didn't let R. Kelly do it (talking about Fortunate again) and his lyrics bordered between salt-of-the-earth and edge-of-the-galaxy, and sometimes you didn't know just what the hell he was talking about. To me, then and now, that was the essence of neo-soul: multiple meanings in the most lunatic of songs, poetry over soulful beats, courtly love in a desirable manner. The Soulquarians were/are pure neo-soul. Maxwell wasn't a part of that. That's why I'm not as mad as I could be that BLACKsummers'night is disappointing as a neo-soul album.

Hear me out. On a whole I love this album, not as much as I love something like Baduizm or 1st Born Second, but the distinction between those two to this is that those two are neo-soul; BLACKsummers'night is R&B. Maxwell comes out the gate with the guitar-laced Bad Habits and croons about the hardest parts of a relationship and drifts right into Cold, the story about the cold blooded woman we all know. Pretty Wings, my new second favorite Maxwell song, is the same old subject matter but he puts a twist on it and does the song so well I can forgive it. It's just a great song, no more or less.

Help Somebody is interesting in that it's more along the lines of What's Going On? Marvin Gaye in its meaning. Stop the World shares in that distinction too, though its meaning is a little more divided and Maxwell comes across as a little braggadocios. Love You and Fistful of Tears are accidental nods to Keith Sweat; Maxwell isn't exactly begging but he is pleading rather strongly, apologizing to a girl and working towards a second chance. Playing Possum, more so because of the band than the lyrics themselves, hold the silver medal in songs on the album because of how masterfully the trumpet is played. Otherwise he's still in Keith Sweat mode.

The last track is a serious break from the norm; Phoenix Rise is a pure instrumental, a chance for Maxwell's ingenious band to shine. It's a pleasant way to end the album, although the song sounds a bit too electric in the beginning and feels too New Jack Swing for my R&B or neo-soul tastes throughout, but it's still nice.

It sounds like I'm just griping about the album and not giving it any props whatsoever. I give this album a 3.85 out of 5 on a scale of 1 to 5 for two reasons. The first reason is the driving force behind the music, the band. I have no idea who Maxwell tapped for this project (I'd know if I had the CD case nearby but I don't feel like going to the car this late) but on every song they hit it out of the park. It was first notable on Pretty Wings but they really shine, alongside Maxwell's voice that is (Phoenix Rise is their time to do it solo and they do it well) is Fistful of Tears. They aren't just a good match for Maxwell's voice; they're a nearly flawless match.

Reason two for the score is the shift. I said earlier that this wasn't neo-soul; it was R&B. As poetic as Maxwell is the band he can attribute so much positive influence to keeps the sound very R&B and even occasionally electronic. Maxwell himself doesn't vary up his subject matter enough to break the mold exponentially and even if you break down the genres this album falls into (neo-soul, R&B and "funk") its still a bit discombobulated.

When I first heard about the band behind Maxwell's newest venture I thought about my favorite album of all time, Hot Buttered Soul by Isaac Hayes and his band. I say Issac Hayes and his band because they own that album just as much Isaac Hayes did. While it was only four tracks long the band took over 80% of the first track, 80% of the second, 15% of the fourth and they were in total sync, the band and the late great Mr. Hayes, on the epic final track. They were in perfect sync the entire way but when I heard BLACKsummers'night I expected something along the same lines. This is not a criticism so much as an expectation. If anything it bumped my score up from 3.5 to 3.85 because BLACKsummers'night is part one of a trilogy and I have a feeling that blackSUMMERS'night is going to be more of what I wanted and blacksummers'NIGHT will be the new Hot Buttered Soul. I know I'm aiming a bit high here and putting a bit of pressure on Maxwell but he's been pushing for that number two spot of my top neo-soul singers list since Fortunate and by all accounts this LP sound have done the deed.

While he won't dethrone Erykah Badu's fine ass anytime soon he's still carrying the bronze in my book and that's adequate. This album is good, real good, but he switched it up a little too much with a little too much warning. I can't complain, however, because this is the best R&B album I've heard in a long time. I can't wait until next year's blackSUMMERS'night so I can enjoy yet another dose of good music from what my friend calls "part of the Neo-Soul Holy Trinity."

Rating: 3.85 out of 5