The Orichalcon

This works for me. It is simple, but that's the beauty of it. I don't hear any problem with muddiness, or at least nothing to crucify it over. The source is beautifully modified into this gentle piano piece, reminiscent of Julia's theme in FF8. Realistically, we could reject this and ask the mixer to try again in a few years when he's far more experienced at piano playing. But this is a nice track, staying true to the original while changing the style. I have no problem seeing this posted. YES

Starts off nicely. Was hoping for some of the reversing that happens in the original crystal world track. About a minute in, it sounds kind of Tomb Raiderish. I actually don't mind the fake guitar bend sounds. It reminds me of the early 90s when those weird music formats were around (like *.mod) where the mixers had no choice but to screw around with the samples given to them. It kind of reminds me of the Jazz Jack Rabbit 2 Soundtrack. The mix could certainly use some polishing up. I don't find the samples too thin, though you could build up the more intense areas to heighten the mood you've attempted to convey. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt here for encouragement's sake. I can't see this passing until it's been tidied up a bit. But I think it's good enough to post as is. so it's a YES from me.

Play Freespace and Freespace 2. Freespace itself is a great game that I enjoyed thoroughly, but no game came even close to Freespace in immersing me in the story. Graphics and such still stand up today, even just in the original game. I finished it for the umpteenth time last month.

The guitar is out of tune in some parts. Not very much, but it's abbrasive to listen to. I think there are too many production issues going on here. The instrumentation is poor around 1/4 of the way in with what sounds like a fake guitar playing the arpeggios. The compression is quite bad around this part too as it keeps dampening the entire soundscape leading to this random wavering effect in the volume. The beats unfortunately sound like they were just thrown in to, needless to say, keep the beat. They aren't interesting in themselves. This one needs a lot of work. The mix is conservative, without ever really leaving the realm of playing the arpeggios from the source. There's a fair bit of supporting embellishment. But it's not enough to warrant being called a remix. This is a NO

Haven't played Crisis Core, but really want to. Just can't afford a PSP and the game at the moment. Still hoping for a port somewhere. The soundtrack is really nice, I've listened to it a fair bit, but this track is unknown to me for some reason, even though it's really nice. The remix starts off very similar to the source, with some embellishments and extra percussive elements. I agree that the mix doesn't really start until it's half over. I'm with Vig in that I think this needs more before it's really ready to be passed as a proper remix. Right now it's too conservative with the first half of the mix. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice remix. I just think it needs some more material in it, and from the looks of it I'm not alone. So I'll give it a NO on the proviso that it's resubmitted. (Personal taste: boost the volume a bit.)

Is this one still being voted on? Or are we waiting for something in particular?

Drums are pretty fakey, especially the kick. I'd like to hear a bit of room reverb, on it, just the make them more realistic. They're programmed well, I love the tom rolls as we get into the mix. Synth and guitar arpeggios are nice. The source melody took a bit of listening back and forth to get, since I'm unfamiliar with the game. I think fans would easily be able to recognise it, as I could after a few listens. So the question is whether or not the production is a big enough problem to warrant a rejection. The arrangement is perfect, I don't think anything needs changing. Even the synth pad I think adds a nice nostalgic touch to the mix that I wouldn't change. I'd really like to hear the drum quality touched up, and maybe the mix volume boosted a little. Otherwise I'm happy to let this one go through. It's up to the author and the rest of the panel whether we just put this through now or have it touched up beforehand. I'll give it a YES anyway.

Someone made a comment that this sounds a lot like the Overture in FF8, and it does. Just an interesting note. The source is nice, kind of heroic in a way. As for the remix, the string buildup is nice and thick. The percussion is powerful. It all builds up nicely. The source is abundandtly clear in the mix, no issues there. The gentle break around 1:50 works well. The mix at this point reminds me of the FF12 soundtrack. It shows a good use of strings to supply the main melody, with percussive elements to back it up. This would be a nice mix to actually play in an orchestra. Very nice ending to the mix in the last minute. YES

I like the source, even though I haven't heard it much before. The inclusion of the prelude at the beginning was a nice touch, fit in well with the theme. The production is fine. The guitar might come across as a bit loud to some, but it's nice to my ears as it is the focal point of the mix. I would've liked a boost in the strumming guitar's volume though. The theme is easily recogniseable, and might even be a little too conservative when compared to the source. There's enough reimagination there though to pass this. The ending is kinda sudden, that's my only gripe. It didn't really finish properly, just.. ended. Anyway, This is a YES from me.

Freespace 1 and 2 were both good games for PC. They went relatively un-noticed. Sins of a Solar Empire for PC is a new one that not many people seem to have heard of, in spite of its great reviews. The Worms games (especially Worms 2) As for console games, Revenant Wings on DS was a great game that seems to have passed people by. Professor Layton and the Curious Village/Pandora's Box were both great puzzle games on the DS as well that went relatively unrecognised.

I like the darker logo, looks nice and sleak. I will say that I miss the sidebar, I'm sure it'll just take a bit of getting used to, but I had my routine search through the site planned out nicely with the sidebar. I'd love the forums to be converted to a slightly darker greyscale to go with the logo. That's just personal taste though. Looks great, more professional.

Deadspace contains a lot of horror scenes and elements in the gameplay. Without fail, it's the most gory game I've ever played. It's beyond mature, and frightening enough at times that even as an adult, playing it in the dark gave me the jitters. The saving face of the game is that it is a third-person shooter which makes it feel more like watching a scary movie than like being in the situation yourself. Better to hold off on it, as it does get way over the top. Bioshock is a good middle-ground for fun first-person shooters with a decent storyline. The bodies and people in the game are mutilated, but it's a result of their own insanity and desire to look different rather than any true horror or torture methods. The content is mature as it deals with murder and insanity in a very confronting manner, but it's all done in a clever story-telling manner, meant to give you depth-of-story over shock horror.

I'd prefer Bioshock or Dead Space on the PC tbh. Dead Space would probably work on a console, but it seems like the kind of game you need a mouse for. If you want some light free fun I recommend Saints Row 2 or GTA IV. You'll struggle to find a game that has more customisation and fun than Saints Row 2! Guitar Hero games are always good for having friends around. Got Guitar Hero 5 coming out soon.

What's with all the Healer Stalks hate? I thought the song fit in well with the sewer-style level in Doom. The track had a mellow groove to it that was fun to listen to. Chris' Silent Healer is the darkest track on DQD, which in the long run is what I was after when putting the project together. I had my speakers turned way up when Chris first sent it to me and it shook the windows and walls alike with the driving industrial synths. I will admit that I've listened to Westside Archvile (Chris' other contribution to DQD, which everyone should also check out) far more than this track, but when I'm in the mood for some evil, this is the track I put on in the dark with the speakers up. If you like this track and haven't heard Delta-Q-Delta, go download the album and have a listen. And comment!

Wow, it's rare that I see a movie that's so unique. Documentary? Sci-fi? Action film? It's a little of each. Go see it if you haven't. I can see it getting critical acclaim and being referenced as one of the best unique movies of this generation. Especially given that it's by a relatively new director.

Well that'd definitely make my year.

Still no news on the Follin project?

That first sound effect is a zombie noise, not a cyberdemon. When the zombie first sees you he makes a suprised growl like that. The same growl's heard at 2:17 along with another zombie-surprised sound. Gecko's right though, all the zombie and demon sounds were made from animal noises. I know that the sound an Imp makes when it dies is a llama. And one of the pained cries the zombies make is also a llama, but edited to sound human. The rest of the sound effects were taken from a generic sound pack that was widely used in the 90s. So it's not surprising to hear it elsewhere. You'll come across a lot of the soundeffects in movies, tvshows and even music. I know Rammstein used some of them on their earlier albums. So to summarise, it's not actually taken from doom, it's from a sample soundpack, not unlike the ones we use to make music.

Been a while since I've seen Kadmium on the scene. Since VGMix went down, all my Kadmium mixes went missing and I had no way to get them back. This is MUCH better than the original Asphyxiated Soul which I disliked. The guitar is so much heavier in this, and particularly the vocals are much better. Where they were screechy in the original, they're dark, deep and terrifying in this one. The kick is still very weak, which I've found in all of Kadmium's mixes that I've heard. But it doesn't detract from how enjoyable it is. Now, could we please have Kill the Wabbit on OCReMix, Kadmium? I miss that song more than I miss not having to shave as a kid.

Yeah, I'd have it up the top for my favourite game of 2008. I can't really remember any other games I played brand new from 2008, but Dead Space had a really unique style of gameplay that made it stand out.

Awesome. Hard to determine just how deep the database is at the moment, but it looks like it'll be a fun game!

I struggle to play sim city 4 now after completely building everything in a prior playthrough. It's exciting to play slowly the first couple of times, but now I just want to leap to the endgame when I play and rush through the beginning which results in a poor city. I enjoyed it so much, the soundtrack is wonderful. Especially with Rush Hour.

I'll buy Silver on DS if they actually do remake it. I don't like going back to my gameboy colour now that I have such a beautiful backlit touchscreen device. On to the future! Even if it means delving into the past for remakes.

Saw it last night. SPOILERS! I'm not a trekkie, having only seen Nemesis before. This movie was really terrific. It acts as a good introductory movie to the characters as well. The actors played their parts brilliantly, with the man who played young Spock being a standout for his performance. The cameos by Winona Ryder, Eric Bana, Leonard Nimoy and Jeniffer Morison were a good choice, allowing them to play the background characters and the new cast to step up to be the mains. The actual stylistic choices of the movie were great, J. J. Abrams really knows what he's doing. There were great stylistic shots of the Romulan ship and Enterprise sillhouetted against the sun. The battle animations were great. The sound effects were quite awe-inspiring (The burst as the ships fired into warp speed could be felt right down my spine.) There were some bad parts, mostly to do with the science behind the movie. It was really hard swallowing the blackhole mumbo jumbo, and watching the enterprise escape from a black hole's suction by means of explosives was really cheesy. I'll watch it again though, I'd give it an 8.5/10 if I was really going to review it properly.

Just wanted to say thanks to Dave and Larry for posting this on ANZAC Day. Dunno if it was intentional but it worked out well.