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CSS is better for a beginner because it covers more and has better playability. CS2 kind of touches on all the main articulations, but doesn't really cover them that adequately. For example, CS2 has legato but it's very subtle, and there's no control over it. CSS has 3 distinct speeds of legato (which all sound very, VERY good) and it depends on note velocity. CS2 has staccatos and staccatissimos, but no spiccatos. Spiccatos is a really common short for strings in modern popular music, so not the best omission. CSS, on the other hand, has it. CSS also has marcato, which is LEGATO enabled which is FANTASTIC because it means you can do legato phrases with sharp, bite-y playing instead of just the normal lyrical stuff you hear in most libs. It also has a Con Sordino simulation. If you're spending in the ballpark of this range of money you should invest in something really good so you're not left wanting more and spending more later. CS2 was my favorite string lib for a while, and CSS just improves on its spirit by magnitudes. Here's a tone comparison published on SLR: http://www.samplelibraryreview.com/developer-videos/nabeel-ansari-shares-comparison-cinematic-strings-2-vs-cinematic-studio-strings/

I'm just waiting for the entire series and get them all at once. It's gonna be righteous

It's Tales of Phantasia, so I have to participate. c:

Street Fighter 2 Alphabet Souper Edition.

ok, guys, the Pokken soundtrack is amazing, check it out sometime. Some super hype stuff on there. I will be doing a track for sure 100%

I just want to point out that the Switch, with Joycons removed, is the same size as a New 3ds XL.

Ten years of music. I never expected to be involved in this project for ten years. I love that I've had the chance to do this for a full decade. So it is with no regrets that I am stepping back from An OverClocked Christmas and turning the project over to The Coop. While I will still be involved in the website, I will no longer be directing the project. It is my hope that this wonderful project will live on for as long as OverClocked ReMix does. I did not arrive at this decision lightly. But to be honest, I thought it was time to pass the torch. That said, I want to thank everyone who has participated over the years in the project. I especially want to thank The Coop for all of the amazing 8bit art that he's done over the year's, as well as djpretzel for the yearly signal boosts via ReMix posts. I'm so glad to have been part of this project. Thank you all.

What a cool tune. (Seriously)

Nintendo! Crazy idea: offer the tablet by itself (with the joycons, of course). Looking at Nintendo's Buy Now page, there's a list of each component and its price. The dock is listed as $90 US, which is less than a third of the whole price. Now, I don't know exactly what the dock offers aside fro acting as a charging port for the tablet and outputting the display to a HD TV. But if the Switch is supposed to be a console and a portable, surely I can just use the Switch as a portable if I want to. The price would be lower, and it would still work fine as a portable (some of us prefer portable over console, it's true!), and then entry price would be lower... say $250. That's about what the 3DS was on release, and the Switch would be far more powerful, warranting the price. If I want to, I can buy a dock for it later. That only leaves the battery issue, which could be fixed by a proper expanded battery accessory or just grabbing a decent USB rechargeable battery pack. You still get the same everything, just not on a TV... which isn't something that handheld players are necessarily into in the first place.

This does a whole lot on a micro level. I hear these little change-ups here and there that give this a restless energy. That's important because the song doesn't have a particularly strong direction. The little detail work makes up for the lack of strong melodic focus - it almost comes across as a cinematic electronic song in that respect. Ultimately, I enjoyed it. The production isn't as smooth as I would like, pretty focused on the mids and a little grating. This bothered me more than any stiffness in the sequencing, which I heard but thought was intentional (and not an issue). Still, it's passable. With a solid arrangement and production, I see no reason not to pass. It could be a lot stronger, but what's here is still worth hearing. YES

I agree the mix gets a bit noodly, but it never loses focus of the source imo. I think it is pretty creative. I like the sound choices. I do agree that the writing sounds stiff and robotic through most of it, but I'm not having a huge problem with it. I'd like it if the sounds were separated a bit more with eq, stereo separation and reverb techniques, but it's getting the job done. The soundscape sounds a bit flat, it could use a few surprises. Something to work on for next time. I like the 3/4 intro but I'm not a huge fan of the transition at 0:40, I wish that transition had built energy instead of letting it drop. The transition back to 3/4 at 3:42 works a bit better, but could still use an effect like a downward sweep or something to glue the sections together a bit better. This isn't going to be my strongest YES ever, but I do like this track and I think the production is over the bar. Nice work Eino! YES

I can see the all the above mentioned crits, but I think this has a lot of fun energy and is a unique take on UNACTO. I'd say the positives make up for the crits, though I'd definitely suggest Eino apply the crits to his future works, because they are all valid. This one is a pass for me, though it's a bit close. YES

After the 1-minute mark the arrangement gets extremely noodly. There's just a ton of random melodic ideas stepping on each other and not developing at all, while the rhythm section does little or nothing in terms of variation to keep the listener interested. This section is really just a waste of time. The mix is really quite mono for the most part. The pads have some stereo space to them, but the leads really don't, and for a track like this you really want to have a lush and evolving soundscape. On the whole this was a pretty easy call. Way too much noodling, not nearly enough direction and development. NO

I didn't hear the same intensity/levels for every note, so I'm not sure what you mean there. It's awesome dance music. Do the robot. (No, really, play the song to this...) Seriously though, I get the point of the rigid sequencing potentially being taxing, at least for the slower parts (3:53-end), but it ultimately didn't bother me and sounded pretty stylistic, as opposed to failing at humanizing the sound or sounding too dynamically flat. The upbeat stuff especially was nice and stylish. Like Beyonce.

Agreeing with Justin that the intro felt pretty weak to me, and didn't build any excitement. It established the soundscape pretty well, but didn't build anticipation for a breakout main section at all. The sounds are mostly fine, though there isn't much weight to the kick; it feels really tiny to me, and isn't driving the song very well. The synths chosen are nice, but the parts are so incredibly stiff and robotic it's very hard for me to get into any sort of groove due to the completely level subdivision. Nothing feels accented or emphasized, and as such, it's exhausting trying to give the same level of attention to every note. I think the content of the mix is fine, and the length is about right. It's a personalized take on the source, but it is so robotic I can't pass it. Please adjust the velocities so that it has some breathing qualities to it. No, please resubmit

Yeah, I'm definitely digging this take on UNATCO. I was a bit meh on the intro build. The beat work felt a bit plodding and unsupportive of the track until the change around :45. Once it kicks in, though, it's grooving together much more nicely. Nice interplay on the lead synths between the source lead and counterpoint. Very cool modulations on the bassline underneath everything. Reverb was a bit on the heavy side overall, but totally understandable given the 80's synthpop feel here. Reviewing my previous vote on this, you've done fantastic work addressing the issues brought up last time. YES

There's a pop right at the very beginning of the track that needs to be fixed. I liked this piece before, but the way different parts were mixed too evenly in the previous version caused this to lack direction and flow. By making some of the supporting writing stay more in the background where it belonged, the progression of the song made more sense. I say this in a good way, but these revisions almost make me forget anything was ever wrong with the previous version. I thought at times the bassline could have been a bit louder and more prominent, but it's a very delicate thing, and I could easily picture how adjusting the bass could make it overpowering. The dynamic curve was relatively subtle until the slowdown transition at 3:41, so I could see some judges or listeners thinking it was a little flat or overlong until then; that said, I liked the subtle changes in energy and instrumentation for the first two-thirds and didn't feel anything was a dealbreaker there. The final section felt a bit barren, the synths were a bit plain, and the pad-style sounds seemed to muddy the soundscape a bit, but again, it wasn't a big deal and nothing was remotely in danger of being a problem with regards to the standards. Things gradually built up for a solid close. It's a low-key take, but a stylish and personalized take, on an already low-key original. Nice work, Eino. YES