Shinji Mikami’s return to horror was awaited with bated breath. The Evil Within’s announcement felt like a direct response to the gloopy mixture the genre had melted into, but if you plugged it into a heart monitor, what you'd see is a steady thrum with a couple of thrilling spikes in tension that ultimately falls off and wears itself out. But there’s still a lot of heart in here. So let’s break it down alongside the games that preceded it.
*TIME STAMPS* 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:05:24 - A Bad First Impression (The Opening) 00:19:21 - Scrappy Doo (Resource Management) 00:31:37 - Creature Feature (Monster Designs) 00:44:11 - Monster Mash (Combat) 00:56:49 - Layers of Fear (Level Design) 01:08:20 - The Haunting of Victoriano Manor (Surrealism) 01:18:39 - Silent Evil (Audio) 01:29:27 - Krimson City is the worst part of any survival horror game and should have been cut (The game gets bad) 01:38:48 - Road to the Rocket Launcher (The Ending) 01:46:40 - The DLC (The Assignment & The Consequence)
1) James Forest - Storms 2) Stanley Gurvich - Memories 3) Yehezkel Raz - Deep Blue Sea 4) The David Roy Collective - The Old House 5) Yehezkel Raz - Retrospecting 6) James Forest - One Evening in May pt. 6 7) Yehezkel Raz - Oval Window 8) Eldad Zitrin - No Answer 9) Nobou - A New Dawn 10) Nobou - A Moment of Peace
The Evil Within Critique - Horror with HeartMonty Zander2022-10-18 | Visit bestgameprice.net to save money on PC games for free!
Shinji Mikami’s return to horror was awaited with bated breath. The Evil Within’s announcement felt like a direct response to the gloopy mixture the genre had melted into, but if you plugged it into a heart monitor, what you'd see is a steady thrum with a couple of thrilling spikes in tension that ultimately falls off and wears itself out. But there’s still a lot of heart in here. So let’s break it down alongside the games that preceded it.
*TIME STAMPS* 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:05:24 - A Bad First Impression (The Opening) 00:19:21 - Scrappy Doo (Resource Management) 00:31:37 - Creature Feature (Monster Designs) 00:44:11 - Monster Mash (Combat) 00:56:49 - Layers of Fear (Level Design) 01:08:20 - The Haunting of Victoriano Manor (Surrealism) 01:18:39 - Silent Evil (Audio) 01:29:27 - Krimson City is the worst part of any survival horror game and should have been cut (The game gets bad) 01:38:48 - Road to the Rocket Launcher (The Ending) 01:46:40 - The DLC (The Assignment & The Consequence)
1) James Forest - Storms 2) Stanley Gurvich - Memories 3) Yehezkel Raz - Deep Blue Sea 4) The David Roy Collective - The Old House 5) Yehezkel Raz - Retrospecting 6) James Forest - One Evening in May pt. 6 7) Yehezkel Raz - Oval Window 8) Eldad Zitrin - No Answer 9) Nobou - A New Dawn 10) Nobou - A Moment of PeaceI Made My Wife Play Astro BotMonty Zander2024-09-21 | Astro Bot is the breath of fresh air the PS5 needed, but how much can you enjoy it if you don't know Playstation's history? It turns out a lot! This is Noobus Humanus - Astro Bot.
TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Introduction and Rules 01:46 - Part 1: Baddies on Holiday 05:46 - Part 2: A Bit Too Advanced 11:32 - Part 3: Jammy 19:00 - Part 4: An Ape (Who's Trying to Escape) 23:19 - Part 5: Perseverance
PART 2 -Crash Site (Astro Bot OST) -Cooling Springs (Astro Bot OST) -Sola (Astro Bot OST)
PART 3 -Disco Tree (Astro Bot OST) -Disco Tree: Mini Boss Remix (Astro Bot OST) -12-Bar Bot (Astro Bot OST)
PART 4 -Spike Bot (Astro Bot OST) -Bite It (Astro Bot OST) -Memories of Home (Astro Bot OST)
PART 5 -I'm Your GPU (Astro's Playroom OST) -Goal (Astro Bot OST)
#astrobot #astrobotgameplayHellblade: Senuas Sacrifice Critique - Fear UnmaskedMonty Zander2024-09-17 | Check out Manta Sleep here - tinyurl.com/4w6k4c6s and make sure to use MONTYZANDER for 10% off your order!
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is - on the surface – incredibly simple and finds power in that simplicity. But its journey is layered, nuanced, and intimate. When it released in 2017 it was hailed as a technical marvel, but even a cursory look at some of the behind-the-scenes footage its developer – Ninja Theory – released shows a game that’s so much more than its graphics. So let's talk about it.
TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:02:56 - Part 1: The Painted People 00:14:35 - Part 2: Warrior of the Wilds 00:27:17 - Part 3: Trick of the Mind 00:39:58 - Part 4: The Trials of Odin 00:52:53 - Part 5: The Horrors of Hel 01:02:36 - Part 6: The Land of Mist and Fog 01:15:21 - Part 7: Fear Unmasked
MUSIC
INTRO Angel Salazar - Scotland Mountains
PART 1 HillTopTrio - Whole Heap of Little Horses - Instrumental Version Kyle Preston - Inn of the Fermented
PART 2 Israel Wasserman - Just a Dream - Instrumental Version
PART 3 Sun Tailor - It Goes On - No Lead Vocals
PART 4 Aleksey Chistilin - Overcoming the Impossible Daniel Robinson - The Isles
PART 5 Pablo Suarez - Shiver Hellblade Soundtrack - The Tower Hellblade Soundtrack - The Sea of Corpses
PART 6 Lance Conrad - Waiting and Hoping
PART 7 Tadhg Daly - Losing Streak The Hunts - Years
TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Introduction and Rules 01:55 - Part 1: Back to Basics 09:42 - Part 2: Mr Eggman 20:45 - Part 3: Walls 32:35 - Part 4: Donkey and a Deathwish 40:38 - Part 5: Ma Che Cazzo
PART 2 1 - Penny's Big Breakaway OST - Puppet Pioneer 2 - Penny's Big Breakaway OST - Wax Lyricool 3 - Penny's Big Breakaway OST - Maxims and Misfits 4 - Psychonauts OST - The Meat Circus
PART 3 1 - Penny's Big Breakaway OST - Stargazer 2 - Penny's Big Breakaway OST - Palace Sneaktime Swing 3 - Penny's Big Breakaway OST - Sudzsy Swings at the Natural Springs
PART 4 1 - Penny's Big Breakaway OST - Refracting Feelings 2 - Penny's Big Breakaway OST - Bop-It Comet 3 - Penny's Big Breakaway OST - Call me the Yotagonist
PART 5 1 - Jerry's Guitar Bar: When You Wish Upon A Star (Fingerstyle Instrumental Play Thru) - youtube.com/watch?v=5vxcCfZ53r8&t=50s 2 - Penny's Big Breakaway OST - Penny in a Pinch 3 - Mr Runnerholic: When You Wish Upon A Star - Instrumental Rock Cover - Disney's Pinocchio: youtube.com/watch?v=t894hkM6IKc 4 - hikarithunder: [Instrumental Theme] I´ve Got No Strings [Pinocchio] - youtube.com/watch?v=lBVzHYZjSKc
Outro - Licenced by Artlist Chris Mason - Growing Up On MeAlan Wake 2 Critique - Beyond the LakeMonty Zander2024-07-20 | I don't know how to talk about Alan Wake 2.
00:00:00 – Introduction PART 00:05:30– Chapter 1 – The Memory 00:30:58 – Chapter 2 – The Forest 00:56:05 – Chapter 3 – The Weird 01:13:51 – Chapter 4 – The Detective 01:27:55 – Chapter 5 – The City PART 2 01:47:10 – Chapter 6 – The Drowned 02:03:34 – Chapter 7 – The Fear 02:12:01 – Chapter 8 – The Sound 02:23:23 – Chapter 9 – The Champion 02:36:15 – Chapter 10 – The Photographer PART 3 02:54:15 – Chapter 11 – The Echoes 03:06:57 – Chapter 12 – The Seer 03:21:39 – Chapter 13 – The Monster 03:38:26 – Chapter 14 – The Filmmaker 04:00:43 – Chapter 15 – The Show 04:32:58 – Chapter 16 – The Feeling 04:54:41 – Chapter 17 – The Ending
MUSIC INTRO Aviad Cinemanas - ORC Gal Lev – Jasmin
CH 1 Prophecy Playground – Twist Frown Garrett Bevins – Telluride Low Light – Undertow – Instrumental Version Livingrooms – I Want To – Instrumental Version Ben Winwood - Elation
CH 2 Cunningham Manor – Tell it to Jeremiah (Instrumental Version) Ben Winwood – Riviere Straight White Teeth – Better Without You (Instrumental Version)
CH 3 Donavan Ralph & Jayden Wark - Still We Dream of Eden – Worlds Within Petri Alanko – The Clicker
CH 4 Kärtsy Hatakka - Max Payne 1 Theme Kimmo Kajasto - Max Payne 2 Theme Pedro Bromfman - Max Payne 3 Theme Yoton Yo – Petri Alanko We Dream of Eden – Standing on the Shore of a Memory
CH 5 Nadav Cohen – A Dark Place Jon Gegelman – Floating Voices – Piano Version Yehezkel Raz – Reminiscing Yehezkel Raz – Here There
CH 7 Marco Martini – One Day in the Life Petri Alanko – FBC Arrives
CH 8 Michael Ellery – Ideas Paleface – Dark, Twisted and Cruel RAKEL – Follow You Into The Dark Roos + Berg - No One Left to Love JAiMES – Wide Awake Poe – This Road
CH 9 Jameson Nathan Jones – In Measure Lord Donavan and Jayden Wark – Give Alan A Boss
CH 10 Roni Bar Hadas – I Ran All the Way Here EVOE – Two Roads Lazzo – Turbulent Sea
CH 11 Yotam Agam – 6 Sol Petri Alanko - Yoton Yo Yehezkel Raz – Close from Above Tzabutan – El Cognito Nsee – Forsaken
CH 12 Cristof Walters – Polaris Max H. – Serenity
CH 13 Marina Ryan – Your Friends Will Meet Him When You’re Gone (Instrumental) Dan Howell – Long Ride Oakfield – Long Road
CH 14 Marina Ryan – House of Zane Or Chausa – Identify Tristan Barton – The Racer – Piano Version Nick Poss – Blues Bruiser Petri Alanko – Alan Wake 2 (Jukebox Theme) Runar Blesvik – Unsolved DaniHaDani – Secret No 3 Post Scarcity – Saw You at the Corner
CH 15 – NIGHT SPRINGS Randy Sharp – Funky Monkeys Ziv Moran – Monkey Island Eden Barel – Club Supreme Evert Z – Lets Go Bananas Ido Maimon - Marathon Jimit – Astral Dance
CH 16 Michael Shynes – You Are Still the Top – Instrumental Version James Parm – What Good Is It Now – No Lead Vocals Louis Adrien – Hopscotch AlexGrohl – Move Will Van De Crommert – The Gathering – No Percussion Jupiter Sands – Passing Sands Daniel Brown keys – Last Dream Veaceslav Draganov – Fiery Heart Jakub Pietras - Stories
CH 17 Marina Ryan & Monty Zander – Torch Time Idokay – The Cycle Continues Eleven Tales – Welcome to the Real Adrien de la Salle – Droplets Roie Shpigler – Phantom Pain Michael Rehn – At the End of the Forest Donavan Ralph & Jayden Wark - DrownAlan Wake Critique - Beyond InspirationMonty Zander2024-04-15 | Alan Wake is a game that pulls heavily from numerous vibes. Stephen King, In The Mouth of Madness, the Twilight Zone, and Twin Peaks, all chiming out a tune that’s both colourful and monochrome. I loved it back when I played it at launch, I loved it when I bought the remastered edition, and I love it still after wading around in its fiction.
So let's talk about it and its greatest inspirations.
This is a remaster of an old critique with new footage, audio, editing, and a reworked script. The old video is linked here for posterity's sake: youtube.com/watch?v=2bNjkTAhGrc
00:00:00 - An Old Story 00:02:45 - Introduction 00:05:05 - Alan's Inspiration 00:29:36 - Alan Can't Run 00:47:51 - Alan, I'm Scared 01:06:20 - Alan, Are You Okay? 01:22:39 - Alan's World 01:38:44 - Alan, Awake 01:49:15 - Alan, Again 01:59:45 - Alan Wake's American Nightmare
*MUSIC (in order of use)* All Music is licenced by Artlist INTRODUCTION - WEARETHEGOOD: Outlawz - Instrumental Version - Linus Johnsson: Seeing Through Your Eyes - Alon Peretz: Turning Point PART 1 -Petri Alanko: A Writer's Dream -Ben Winwood: Salvatore PART 2 -Roniit: Let Go -Ziv Moran: Together Again PART 3 -Angel Salazar: Clock -Marek Jakubowicz: Dark Rose PART 4 -Aleksey Chistilin: Lighthouse on a Cliff -David James Terry: Cherished Memories -Petri Alanko: The Clicker PART 5 -Ardie Son: Come Back Home PART 6 -Alon Peretz: Tired Eyes PART 7 -Ziggy: Autumn Embrace -Tiko Tiko: Gliding into the Unknown - Instrumental Version PART 8 -Ben Winwood: Advent -Mika Sade: Between Us (Outro Song)
#alanwake #alanwake2Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Critique - Dead WeightMonty Zander2024-04-02 | Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is a game nobody asked for, made in a way nobody wanted. It's cynical, it's boring, and it's disrespectful to its characters and players. Almost every single problem it has - from the empty story to the sludge it calls gameplay - can be blamed on the fact it’s carrying this live-service dead weight on its back.
It should be the killing blow for a kind of game we should have buried years ago, but it looks like it's just the latest attempt in an industry determined to eat itself.
00:00:00 - A 'Brief' History of Live Service Games 00:07:42 - Introduction 00:10:39 - Part 1: Casualties of Tone 00:22:27 - Part 2: A Diluted Justice League 00:35:51 - Part 3: Muting Metropolis 00:53:51 - Part 4: Kill the Riddler 01:04:09 - Part 5: Grapples and Gizmos 01:17:08 - Part 6: Flashy and Feeble 01:42:38 - Part 7: Mosquito Design 02:05:21 - Part 8: Enter Batman 02:23:18 - Part 9: Super Side Missions 02:37:00 - Part 10: How to Lose Friends and Alienate Players 02:55:00 - Part 11: Send in the Clown
*MUSIC (in order of use)* INTRODUCTION - SLPSTRM: Across the Delta PART 1 - Marshall Usinger: Under the Sun PART 2 - Ace: Confluence PART 3 -Ikoliks: Daydream -Yestalgia: August Rains PART 4 -Roni Bar Hadas: Why am I so mad? PART 5 -Beneath the Mountain: Then There Was You PART 6 -Mansij: Reverie -Yuvi Gerstein: Straight to the Bar -Mansij: Blissful PART 7 -The Magnetic Buzz: Don't Let the Summer End -Space Doves: The Beach House -Ziv Grinberg: Learn How to Walk PART 8 -We Dream of Eden: Rooms -Tiko Tiko: Hero -Jane and the Boy: Pieces (Instrumental) PART 9 -Joley: Flight PART 10 -Nobou: Lifelines -BENJA: Libelle PART 11 -Flint: The Living Room -Vikings in Tibet: Dial 2768437 to Wake Up -SLPSTRM: Across the Delta -Arkham Knight OST: I Can't Stop Laughing
#batman #suicidesquad #suicidesquadkillthejusticeleagueBaldurs Gate 3 - Noobus HumanusMonty Zander2024-02-27 | Upgrade your brain with Brilliant's 30-day free trial (and the first 200 people get 20% off an annual plan with this link! - brilliant.org/montyzander
I made my wife play Baldur's Gate 3. She didn’t have any of it spoiled for her before I sat her down, stuck a controller in her hands and asked her to give it a go. It went surprisingly.
TIMESTAMPS 0:00:00 - Introduction and Rules 0:02:40 - Chapter 1: Meet Snow Black 0:17:50 - Chapter 2: Ray of Sunshine 0:28:58 - Chapter 3: Ginger Hitler and the Horny Boar 0:53:01 - Chapter 4: The Great Reset 01:09:23 - Chapter 5: Operation Halsin 01:20:32 - Chapter 6: Glitches and Goblins
Chapter 1 1) Baldur's Gate 3 OST - Bard Dance 2) Guitar Logic - Some Day My Prince Will Come (Cover): youtube.com/watch?v=zl5Snhg63cQ 3) Baldur's Gate 3 OST - Weeping Dawn (City Version) 4) Final Fantasy XVI OST - Battle Theme 5) Final Fantasy XVI OST - The Hideaway 6) Final Fantasy VI OST - Battle Theme 7) Guesthouse - Got It Like That
Chapter 2 1) Final Fantasy XVI OST - Our Terms 2) Final Fantasy VII OST - Let the Battles Begin 3) Final Fantasy VIII OST - Battle Theme 4) Final Fantasy XIV OST - Dance of the Fireflies
Chapter 3 1) Final Fantasy XVI OST - Good Bones 2) Final Fantasy XIV OST - Idyllshire Homestead 3) Final Fantasy IX OST - Battle Theme 4) Final Fantasy XIV OST - Nobility Obliges 5) Final Fantasy Tactics Advance OST - Prison 6) Baldur's Gate 3 OST - Endless Spring 7) Guesthouse - Get Wild
Chapter 4 1) Peter Lynch Music - Teddy Bears' Picnic for Flute Choir: youtube.com/watch?v=tcQsrmLEyDM 2) Final Fantasy 1 OST - Battle Theme 3) Final Fantasy XVI - The Founders Footsteps 4) Final Fantasy XIII - Battle Theme 5) Henry Hall and His Orchestra - The Teddy Bears Picnic (1932) 6) Bad Manners - Teddy Bears Picnic 7) Final Fantasy XIV OST - Sultana Dreaming
Chapter 5 1) Jok Lok - Your Turn To Roll (Instrumental Acoustic Cover): youtube.com/watch?v=iMuheiRMQR0 2) Runescape OST - Goblin Game 3) Final Fantasy XV - Stand Your Ground 4) Gypsy Jazz - Everybody Wants to Be a Cat (Hot Club Du Nax): youtube.com/watch?v=4CIRl-huv6k 5) Guesthouse - Just the Way You Like It
Chapter 6 1) Final Fantasy XV OST - Lestallum Outskirts Theme 2) Final Fantasy IV DS OST - Battle Theme 3) Guesthouse - Anything You Want (No Lead Vocals) 4) Guesthouse - Turn It Up 5) Baldur's Gate 3 OST - Down By The River (Instrumental) 6) Final Fantasy VII Rebirth - Battle Theme 7) Baldur's Gate 3 OST - The Power (Orchestral)
Outro Guesthouse - Lose ControlHow I Make Video EssaysMonty Zander2024-02-12 | Upgrade your brain with Brilliant's 30-day free trial (and the first 200 people get 20% off an annual plan with this link! - brilliant.org/montyzander
To celebrate hitting 100,000 subscribers I figured I'd pull back the curtain, walk through how I make videos and what I use to make them, and answer some questions while I go!
*MUSIC (in order of use)* Licenced by Artlist 1 - Steven Beddall - Slaptastic 2 - Aves - Lets Go 3 - Out of Flux - CHONKLAP 4 - Jimit - Astral Dance 5 - Ziv Moran - Groove it Forward 6 - Wheres LuLu - Does It For Me 7 - Jimit - Shoogie 8 - MILANO - Gotta Keep Goin (Instrumental)
Outro Song Rex Banner - Superman SoulSystem Shock Critique - After the HackMonty Zander2024-01-26 | Upgrade your brain with Brilliant's 30-day free trial (and the first 200 people get 20% off an annual plan with this link! - brilliant.org/montyzander
System Shock's 2023 remake keeps the soul of the game and gives us a damn love letter to what it wanted to be in 1994. It's incredibly faithful, and while it looks fantastic and is more accessible, it retains a lot of the complexity and lack of compromise that I love in the original - and it does all of this without losing sight of the original game’s biggest thematic focus – transhumanism. So let's talk about it.
*MUSIC (in order of use)* Licenced by Artlist 1 - Gumo - Falling (Instrumental Version) 2 - Evgeny Bardyuzha - Lonely Astronaut 3 - Aquartos - Lost City 4 - Lance Conrad - The Future of Medicine 5 - We Dream of Eden - Candle of Consciousness 6 - Ian Post - Dusk (Instrumental Version) 7 - Jon Gegelman - Soft Awakening 8 - Eleven Tales - Vindur 9 - Linus Johnsson - Floating in Dreams 10 - Linus Johnsson - Home 11 - We Dream of Eden - Light Bending 12 - Yehezkel Raz - Interspacing 13 - We Dream of Eden - Outside In 14 - Gumo - Falling
#systemshockremake #systemshockcritiqueThe Games That Made 2023Monty Zander2023-12-03 | Head to: squarespace.com/montyzander to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code MONTYZANDER
The art shown off to celebrate 100K was by @SamanthaSaunderz - she makes awesome video essays so give her some love!
TIMESTAMPS
0:00:00 - Introduction 0:01:16 - Game 1 00:02:18 - Game 2 00:03:16 - Game 3 00:04:50 - Game 4 00:05:43 - Game 5 00:06:50 - Game 6 00:08:12 - Game 7 00:09:05 - Game 8 00:09:52 - Game 9 00:10:48 - Game 10 00:11:43 - Game 11 00:13:05 - Game 12 00:14:14 - Game 13 00:14:54 - Game 14
In the Halls of Gaming History, I believe Survivor will be rightfully punished for the state it released in. But once you move past the bugs and performance issues, what you get is a game that has a grand scope, swashbuckling ideals, is an improvement over its predecessor in almost every measurable way, and almost brings balance to the force.
00:00:00 - Introduction 00:03:58 - 1: Hooked on a Feeling 00:17:04 - 2: Little Things (In a Big World) 00:36:02 - 3: Jedi Knight 00:52:07 - 4: Metroid Toolbox 01:04:18 - 5: Pyloon's Saloon 01:19:28 - 6: One With The Force 01:33:51 - 7: Finding Balance
*FOOTAGE/REFERENCES* 1 - The Empire Strikes Back Review - Alan Jones 2 - Sam Maggs - Jedi: Battle Scars 3 - EA - The Making of Jedi: Fallen Order 4 - Hiro365: Star Wars Jedi Survivor Funny Bugs on PS5 5 - IGN: Cal Kestis Actoor on the evolution of his character 6 - New York Times - Empire Strikes Back Strikes a Bland Note 7 - Starlog #38 - The Empire Strikes Back Review 8 - VGC - Respawn on how Jedi: Survivor expands on Fallen Order in every possible way 9 - The Washington Post - Darth Vader's Surprise Attack 10 - The Guardian - Star Wars: A Force that may be with you indefinitely 11 - IGN: Jedi Survivor Spoilercast with Stig Asmussen - Beyond 804 12 - Animus Drifter - Tour of Jerusalem | Assassin's Creed Parkour Sequence 13 - The Hollywood Reporter - The Empire Strikes Back Review 14 - Skillup - I cannot recommend Star Wars: Jedi Survivor (PC Review) 15 - Kinda Funny Games - Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Spoilercast 16 - Roger Ebert - The Empire Strikes Back Review 17 - Star Wars Celebration - Cal Kestis Actor is OBSESSED with Ponchos 18 - TheWalkthroughMan - Sea of Stars - How to Play Wheels | Wheels Guide 19 - E3 - Star Wars Jedii - Stig Asmussen and Geoff Keighley talk Fallen Order Gameplay 20 - AV Club - We asked a Star Wars Jedi: Survivor dev about its biggest twists, and the joys of killing Stormtroopers
*MUSIC (in order of use)* -Licenced by Artlist- 1 - Star Wars: Jedi Survivor OST - Rambler's Reach 2 - Star Wars: Jedi Survivor OST - A Frontier Welcome 3 - Adrien de la Salle - Particles 4 - Beneath the Mountain - Forest by the Sea 5 - Anthony Vega - Everlasting Light 6 - Beneath the Mountain - Gone 7 - Flint - Experience Sonder 8 - Kyle Preston - Discovering New Lands 9 - Hans Johnson - Overview Effect 10 - Laurel Viioolet - Looking Back From Here 11 - Trevor Kowalski - Katydid 12 - Star Wars: Jedi Survivor OST - Haven 13 - Will Van De Crommert - Dreamstates 14 - Star Wars: Jedi Survivor OST - Brothers 15 - Dark Souls OST - Gwyn Lord of Cinder 16 - Finding My Memories
#jedisurvivorThe Game That Hates GamesMonty Zander2023-11-02 | Head to: squarespace.com/montyzander to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code MONTYZANDER
Fort Solis' worldbuilding isn't as interesting as it thinks it is. Its atmosphere is let down by its insistence that the player trudge through it, rather than eagerly explore. It's a 2 hour game that somehow manages to stretch its length out to 5 because of its painstaking slowness, and that slowness doesn't breed tension, it just breeds boredom. And all of these problems are crystallised by the time its first ten minutes are up.
MUSIC (IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE) 1) Ran Raiten - Orange Sunsets 2) Control: Foundation DLC - Red Glow Tunel Rush 3) Dear Gravity - Empyrean
#fortsolisOuter Wilds - Noobus HumanusMonty Zander2023-10-19 | Head to: squarespace.com/montyzander to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code MONTYZANDER
TIMESTAMPS 0:00:00 - Introduction and Rules 0:02:00 - Part 1: Lift Off 0:07:32 - Part 2: Maiden Voyage 0:12:54 - Part 3: A New Hope 0:19:54 - Part 4: Another Happy Landing
MUSIC (IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE) 1) Outer Wilds - Main Theme 2) The Warp Zone - Star Wars Original Trilogy Acapella Medley (ft. Peter Hollens): youtube.com/watch?v=UtBv0WmlWR4 3) Super Mario Galaxy - To The Gateway 4) Maximizer - Elton John - Rocket Man ( Solo Piano Cover): youtube.com/watch?v=923AXjLJARA 5) Super Mario Galaxy - Into the Galaxy 6) Super Mario Galaxy - Space Junk Galaxy 7) Outer Wilds - End Times 8) Super Mario Galaxy - Luma 9) Super Mario Galaxy - Star Festival 10) Spyro the Dragon 2 - Metropolis 11) Super Mario Galaxy - Observation Dome 12) gitar online - Fly me to the moon instrumental guita cover - youtube.com/watch?v=1bGZ7xy1SNA 13) Super Mario Galaxy 2 - Sky Station Galaxy 14) Super Mario Galaxy 2 - Cosmic Cove Galaxy 15) SlashBib - Main Theme (Outer Wilds) ~ Post-Rock Cover: youtube.com/watch?v=u1Ynl90pyps 16) Beyond the Guitar - Star Wars: A Guitar Medley (Nathan Mills): youtube.com/watch?v=ZXWKPosRFwc
#outerwildsSOMA Critique - Anatomy of the SoulMonty Zander2023-09-12 | SOMA splits the atom of the soul, dissects it, and scatters its questions into the ocean for us to gobble up like guppies. But that scattering isn’t aimless. It’s targeted, specific, and conditions the player to internalise its horror and carry it with them after the credits roll.
00:00:00 - Introduction 00:03:46 - Part 1: Conditioning Fear 00:20:10 - Interlude: Carl Semken 00:28:42 - Part 2: Feast Your Eyes 00:45:15 - Interlude: Robin Bass 00:53:47 - Part 3: Taking the World Seriously 01:06:28 - Interlude: Brandon Wan 01:15:39 - Part 4: What If 01:28:30 - Interlude: Simon-2 01:37:00 - Part 5: The Abyss 01:48:42 - Interlude: The WAU 01:56:45 - Part 6: Eternity Among the Stars
*FOOTAGE/READING LIST* 1 - Leonardo Da Vinci - Drawings & Anatomical Studies 2 - Joseph Anderson - A Critique of SOMA 3 - 80lvl - Frictional Games on Its History & Developing Horror Games 4 - Engadget - SOMA nearly wasn't a horror game and other secrets from Ian Thomas 5 - CG Magazine - Why SOMA could have been better without its enemies 6 - Smithsonian Magazine - Dogs may be more self-aware than experts thought 7 - Thomas Grip - The Five Foundational Pillar's of SOMA's Design Philosophy 8 - MrBtongue - The Shandification of Fallout 9 - Warner Wirth et al - A Process Model of the Formation of Spatial Presence Experiences 10 - John Green - What does it mean to be Human? 11 - Bill Gates - What does it mean to be Human? 12 - SOMA - Recording Water Sounds 13 - Anil Seth - Being You: A New Science of Consciousness 14 - John Locke - An Essay Concerning Human Understanding 15 - GameReactor - SOMA: Aaron Clifford Interview 16 - Jason's Video Game Source - SOMA - Upsilon Shuttle Station: Amy "It Won't Let Me Die" Dialogue Power On Shuttle Station Gameplay 17 - NI Science Festival - Anil Seth presents Being You 18 - Brainspotting (2000) - Derek Parfit on Personal Identity 19 - Samuel Justice - SOMA: Behind the Sound 20 - The Escapist - SOMA (Zero Punctuation) 21 - Visa Kurki - A Theory of Legal Personhood 22 - Dr Sam Parnia - Does consciousness continue after our brain dies? 23 - Adrien Owen - Search for Consciousness 24 - New Zealand's Human River - Whanganui has been granted Legal Status 25 - The Boxer and the Goalkeeper - Andy Martin 26 - Straw Animals - John Gray 27 - A Brief History of the Soul - Stewart Goetz & Charles Taliaferro 28 - I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream - Harlan Ellison 29 - Treatise on Human Nature - David Hume 30 - Soul Machine - George Makari 31 - Carl Jung - Aion
*MUSIC (in order of use)* -Licenced by Artlist- 1 - Yehezkel Raz - Shallow Water 2 - SOMA Soundtrack - End Credits 3 - Yehezkel Raz - After You Came 4 - Yehezkel Raz - Tiding 5 - Adi Goldstein - Shifting Memories 6 - Yehezkel Raz - Finding My Memories (Instrumental) 7 - Stanley Gurvich - Neural Purge 8 - Raz Burg - Star Surfing 9 - Muted - Staring 10 - Eleven Tales - Slow Tides 11 - DJ Taz Rashid - Twilight 12 - Ty Simon - Deep Dive 13 - Jameson Nathan Jones - Time Will Wait for Me 14 - Adi Goldstein - Ocean Voyage 15 - MARLOE. - RecogniseHades - Noobus HumanusMonty Zander2023-07-20 | I made my fiancee play Hades - and the results were surprising.
MUSIC (IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE) 1) Louis Dowdeswell - Go The Distance (Disney's Hercules)| Trumpet Version - youtube.com/watch?v=DYb_F4B-vGk&ab_channel=LouisDowdeswell 2) Hades OST - No Escape 3) Hades OST - Out of Tartarus 4) Hades OST - From Olympus 5) Disney's Hercules Action Game OST - The Big Olive 6) Disney's Hercules Action Game OST - Your Basic D.I.D 7) Disney's Hercules Action Game OST - The Centaur's Forest 8) Hades OST - The Painful Way 9) Disney's Hercules Action Game OST - Options Menu 10) Disney's Hercules Action Game OST - Passwords Menu 11) Riffin 4 Dayz - I Won't Say I'm in Love (Heavy Metal Cover) youtube.com/watch?v=UEW5wURUQwk&ab_channel=Riffin%274Dayz 12) Hades OST - Through Asphodel 13) Disney's Hercules Action Game OST - Main Menu 14) Disney's Hercules Action Game OST - Hero's Gauntlet
#hadesGotham Knights Critique - Shadow of the BatMonty Zander2023-06-23 | I don’t like Gotham Knights.
It’s a brittle, hollow shell, made cynically, written farcically, engineered poorly, and designed not with FUN in mind, but an always-turning grindstone labeled “Player Engagement.” It’s borderline irredeemable. Nothing about the game is engaging, interesting, unique, or even functional. This was WB Montreal’s opportunity to step out of the shadow of the bat. It should have been better than this.
00:00:00 - Introduction 00:07:19 - Cardboard Heroes 00:28:46 - Getting Around 00:42:24 - Fun With Friends 00:53:51 - City of Grind 01:10:23 - Number Go Up 01:24:00 - Three Villains Walk into a Bar 01:39:06 - The One-Two Punch 01:52:05 - Gotham City 02:09:16 - The Court of Owls 02:22:44 - Missing the Point
*SUICIDE SQUAD: KILL THE JUSTICE LEAGUE CRITIQUE - DEAD WEIGHT* youtu.be/TcRP_8UwRrg
1 - Kryptos - Titan 2 - Jimmy Svensson - Dark Blood 3 - Michael FK - Innocence 4 - Ikoliks - Hypnotized 5 - Yehezkel Raz - Nightfall Hymn 6 - Tamuz Dekel - Vapor Fingers 7 - Tamuz Dekel - Blue Being 8 - Master Minded - Deep Dive 9 - Sensitive Detective - Clouds (Instrumental Version) 10 - sero - Air 11 - Flint - Too Many Pixels 12 - DJ Taz Rashid - Morning Light 13 - Borrtex - Rising of the Sun 14 - Buddha Kid - Vacuum 15 - iTMR - Fool for You
#batman #gothamknightsArkham Knight Critique - Legacy of the BatMonty Zander2023-05-20 | Batman: Arkham Knight is about Legacy.
Rocksteady ripped out every system, re-examined every set-piece, redesigned the combat, the stealth, the gadgets, to give them a new lease of life in an open world that is proudly designed to be played, not wander through. The feeling of playing Arkham Knight is very different from the feeling of playing Asylum, City, or Origins.
And that’s not just because of the batmobile.
So let's look at Batman's legend, and the legacy of the game that said goodbye to him.
00:00:00 - Introduction 00:05:36 - Life is Just Death's Opening Act 00:22:29 - i 00:25:15 - Evening the Odds 00:41:17 - ii 00:43:51 - A High-Tech Hero 00:57:05 - iii 00:59:04 - Gallery of Rogues 01:24:32 - iv 01:26:37 - Theatricality and Deception 01:38:40 - v 01:41:27 - A Matter of Family 01:52:32 - vi 01:53:35 - Arkham World 02:08:11 - vii 02:10:08 - Joker 02:24:53 - viii 02:28:00 - Race Car Riddler 02:41:02 - ix 02:44:42 - Beatdown 02:54:07 - x 02:56:56 - The Arkham Knight 03:08:54 - xi 03:11:54 - I Am Batman
*SUICIDE SQUAD: KILL THE JUSTICE LEAGUE CRITIQUE - DEAD WEIGHT* youtu.be/TcRP_8UwRrg
1 - Angry Joe - Arkham Knight Angry Review (Spoilers) 2 - Godzilla Mendoza - Arkham Knight's Disappointing Gameplay 3 - MinnMax - Chat with Dax Ginn, Producer of Arkham Knight - Floor Report E3 2014 4 - Red Carpet News TV - Kevin Conroy Picks His Favourite Batman Video Game 5 - Travis Langley - Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight 6 - Unleash the Enemy - Sefton Hill: "We're Putting Everything into Arkham Knight" 7 - God is a Geek - Batman: Arkham Knight - An Interview with Gaz Deaves 8 - Connected Digital World - Batman Arkham Knight Exclusive Interview with Rocksteady 9 - IGN - The Fire Burns Forever: Reflecting on a legendary Batman saga with writer Grant Morrison 10 - IGN - The New 52 Interviews: Batgirl 11 - Venture Beat - Batman: Arkham Knight - Designing a Proper Gotham City (and what's with the Batmobile?) 12 - Screen Rant - Gotham Knights Must Avoid Batman: Arkham Knight's Worst Mistake 13 - The Comics Journal Library - Frank Miller: The Interviews - 1981-2003 14 - Kotaku - A very excited man tells us all about Arkham Knight 15 - Gamespot - Rocksteady checks in with the guys about Batman: Arkham Knight - Kinda Funny Stage Show E3 2015 16 - Game Informer - Why Arkham Knight is Rocksteady's Last 17 - NeoGame Archive - Batman: Arkham Knight: The Voices of Arkham 18 - Watch Mojo - 10 Weirdest Arkham Knight PC Glitches 19 - Playstation Europe - Arkham Knight Interview with Dax Ginn 20 - Playstation - Batman Arkham Knight Exclusive Interview with Sefton Hill 21 - Holy Batmania (1984 Documentary) 22 - Connected Digital World - Batman Arkham Knight Interview with Gaz from Rocksteady 23 - The Daily Wire - DC made SUperman gay, climate change activist. Readers aren't buying it. 24 -DC - Grant Morrison on Superman No. 1 25 - New York Times - Putting the Caped Crusader on the Couch 26 - ComicVine - Scott Snyder goes in-depth on his plans for Batman in DC's New 52 27 - Late Night with Seth Meyer - Judd Winick was asked to draw a penic at a school assembly 28 - Digital Spy - Warner Brothers just flagged itself for copyright infringement 29 - Crazy Sexy Geeks - Superhero Psychology - Batman 30 - The Arkham Sessions - Psychology of Batman
*MUSIC (in order of use)* All music used is licensed by Artlist.
1 - Tiko Tiko - Hero 2 - Aleksey Chistilin - Campfire 3 - Kashido - Tides of Change 4 - Josh McCausland - Brush Strokes 5 - idokay - Cicada Killer 6 - Diamonds and Ice - Day Dreaming 7 - Ben Winwood - These Moments 8 - Shahead Mostafafar - Colors 9 - Christopher Galavan - Hold Me 10 - Emmanuel Jacob - Kimray 11 - DaniHaDani - Seafis 12 - Ian Post - Skipping (Acoustic) 13 - Kashido - Echoes of the Past 14 - Mattia Vlad Morleo - Between You 15 - Brianna Tam - Bioluminescence 16 - Rob Cawley - Black Flowers 17 - Aquartos - Day 1 18 - Matthias Forster - Prophecy 19 - Simon Osterhold - The End 20 - Kyle Preston - Foreboding 21 - Michele Nobler - Lifetime 22 - Matt Stewart-Evans - Dusk 23 - Ben Winwood - Reminiscence 24 - Jane and The Boy - Pieces - Instrumental 25 - Mattia Vlad Morleo - Between Hands 26 - Jane and The Boy - Pieces
#batman #arkhamknightHitman | Noobus HumanusMonty Zander2023-04-22 | I made my fiancee play Hitman for the first time - and it went how you'd expect.
TIMESTAMPS 0:00:00 - Introduction and Rules 0:01:57 - Confidence is Key 0:07:00 - Kaboom 0:13:26 - I Know the Owner 0:25:19 - Slaughter in Sapienza 0:33:55 - A Clean Slate
MUSIC (IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE) 1) The Spy Who Kicked Me - Rayman Legends 2) Menu Pause Music - Goldeneye 007 3) Nick Poss - Heist 4) Secret Agent T - T Bless & The Professionals 5) James Bond Theme (Acapella) - MayTree 6) The Gangster's Lair (Chase) - Pink Panther: Pinkadelic Pursuit 7) Paris By Rooftops (Bentley) - Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time 8) Action VR Training - Secret Agent Barbie 9) Dive Another Day - Rayman Legends 10) City Battle Theme - Looney Tunes: World of Mayhem 11) Evelyns House - MySims Agents 12) Multiplayer 13 - Goldeneye 007 13) Control - Goldeneye 007 (Remastered) 14) Don't Fear The Reaper: Blue Oyster Cult (Synth Instrumental) - Altered State 15) Snake Eater (Instrumental) - Metal Gear Solid 3 16) Main Titles - Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty 17) Pink Panther Theme - MayTreeBatman: Arkham Origins Critique - Vengeance of the BatMonty Zander2023-04-05 | Batman: Arkham Origins stands on the shoulders of giants. They're not my words, they're the words of its developer - WB Montreal. It's more Batman, Batman with multiplayer, a younger, rawer, hungrier Batman lost in a cloak of vengeance. It has the most interesting character writing in the franchise, some setpieces that are some of Arkham's best, and some really cool ideas. In a vacuum, it's a belter of a video game, but it didn't release in a vacuum. It was pumped out while Warner Bros waited for Rocksteady to finish working on Arkham Knight.
But even if that's the case, it returned Batman to our screens with a vengeance. So let's look at it together.
00:00:00 - Introduction 00:05:49 - A Furious Introduction 00:22:04 - Investigate/Interrogate 00:34:44 - Less is More 00:47:12 - Radio Gaga 01:02:49 - Most Wanted 01:15:27 - Shock and Awesome 01:27:32 - Saving Mister J 01:37:15 - New Bat, Old Tricks 01:45:22 - I Am Vengeance 01:53:24 - Cold, Cold Heart
*SUICIDE SQUAD: KILL THE JUSTICE LEAGUE CRITIQUE - DEAD WEIGHT* youtu.be/TcRP_8UwRrg
*MUSIC (in order of use)* All music used is licensed by Artlist.
1 - Yehezkel Raz - Four on Five 2 - Lance Conrad - Forever Yours 3 - Yonatan Riklis - Melancholia 4 - Yehezkel Raz - Sad Snow 5 - Simon Osterhold - Stormy Clouds 6 - Nsee - Frozen Lake 7 - Nobou - Silent Dreams 8 - Laurel Violet - Afterwards 9 - Dear Gravity - Generations 10 - We Dream of Eden - Domus 11 - Tamir D. Klein - Going out and coming home 12 - Aija Alsina - Collecting Memories
#batmanarkhamorigins #batmanBatman: Arkham City Critique - Breaking the BatMonty Zander2023-02-26 | Batman: Arkham City is a tragedy. But if that's the case, why is it so much fun? Rocksteady didn’t strike gold by accident when they made Arkham Asylum. They mined deep and hard into the history of the Bat to unearth everything that makes him powerful and captivating, and they carried that ethic into the creation of Arkham City. They didn't coast on the acclaim of the first game. If Asylum’s Batman is the mould, City takes every opportunity to break it.
1 - Rob Cawley - Silent Theatre 2 - Nobou - A New Dawn 3 - SPEARFISHER - Blood Meridian 4 - Yehezkal Raz - Emerald 5 - The David Roy Collective - The Old House 6 - Emanuele Errante - Altered Communication 7 - Tamuz Deckel - A Speck in Time 8 - Risian - Oud of this World 9 - Nobou - Autumn Mist 10 - Nobou - Particles 11 - Nobou - Eyes Closed 12 - Michael Vignola - Too Much 13 - Nobou - Sophisticated Nostalgia
The music used during the final boss fight is a remix of the Save Room Theme by @MonoMemory - HUGE fan of their work, and they've done remixes of all the big themes! youtube.com/watch?v=OtJQ5yrWM04&ab_channel=MonoMemory
TIMESTAMPS 0:00:00 - Introduction 00:02:01 - The Original 00:06:46 - Enter the Survival Horror 00:14:15 - Oh! Shotgun! 00:20:49 - Crimson Rage 00:26:22 - Nothing to do With Zombies
MUSIC FROM: 1) Luigi's Mansion 3 - Grand Lobby 1F 2) Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon - E Gadd's Theme 3) Celeste - Scattered and Lost 4) Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon - Gloomy Manor 5) Doki Doki Literature Club - Okay Everyone! (Natsuki) 6) Luigi's Mansion 3 - 3F Hotel Shops 7) Resident Evil Remake - Save Room Theme 8) Mono Memory - Resident Evil Save Room RemixBatman: Arkham Asylum Critique - Finding the BatMonty Zander2023-01-23 | Grab Atlas VPN for just $1.99 a month before the deal expires: get.atlasvpn.com/MontyZander 💥
The 25th of August, 2009, was a dark night for the Batman. But out of Arkham Asylum’s darkness was born a Bat with love, craft, care, and colour injected into his veins and the hearts of his enemies. A pulpy, full-throttle swing into madness where – on repeat playthroughs – you can trace the lines of code Rocksteady lay to find their Batman and give his world a voice.
So let's talk about Arkham Asylum and its inspirations to see how Rocksteady found their Batman, and let us find him right alongside them.
00:00:00 - Introduction 00:05:32 - A Living Comic Book 00:21:24 - i 00:25:07 - Riddle Me This 00:36:47 - ii 00:41:17 - Bam. Pow. Crack. 00:53:37 - iii 00:56:29 - Batvania 01:05:26 - iv 01:08:24 - We Need to Talk About Quincy Sharpe 01:21:24 - v 01:23:51 - World's Greatest Detective 01:33:12 - vi 01:36:54 - Finding the World 01:48:04 - vii 01:50:42 - I Am The Night 01:00:54 - viii 02:02:29 - Context is Everything 02:12:26 - ix 02:14:08 - A Serious House on Serious Earth
*SUICIDE SQUAD: KILL THE JUSTICE LEAGUE CRITIQUE - DEAD WEIGHT* youtu.be/TcRP_8UwRrg
*REFERENCES/FOOTAGE* 1 - Playstation Blog - E3 2009 Arkham Asylum Interview 2 - VideoGamer - Sefton Hill Interview 2009 Arkham Asylum 3 - Fatman on Batman: Special Guest Grant Morrison 4 - RedCarpetTV - Kevin Conroy explains why Batman is Better than Superman 5 - Gamespot - Batman Arkham Asylum Video Interview 6 - The Gamer - Arkham Asylum is still the best Metroidvania 7 - The Guardian - Interview: Batman Arkham Asylum Co-Writer Paul Dini 8 - Batman Arkham Videos - Batman: Arkham Asylum - Behind The Scenes Documentary 9 - Bryan Young - Comic-Con Interview: Game Director Sefton Hill Talks Batman: Arkham Asylum 10 - Reddit - I’m Sefton Hill, Creative Director at Rocksteady Studios, the creators of the Batman: Arkham series of video games. Ask me almost anything! 11 - Video Game JUNKIE - BATMAN Arkham Asylum Batass Stealth Takedowns #1 | Hard, No Detective Mode, Unseen 12 - BAFTAGuru - Batman: Arkham Asylum Audio Director Nick Arundel | Sound Design Mini Masterclass 13 - GamesRadar - GDC 11: Batman: Arkham City interview 14 - Kevin Smith - BATMAN AND PAUL DINI! 15 - Gamasutra - Rocksteady's Hill: Batman's Success Down to not 'overstretching' on game features 16 - Games Radar - Looking Back at Batman: Arkham Asylum 17 - Gamespot - (Arkham City) Sefton Hill DICE 2012 Session
*MUSIC* All music used is licensed by Artlist.
1 - Nobou - Memento 2 - Ardie Son - Raindrops 3 - Lance Conrad - Fortitude 4 - Josh McCausland - A Town Called Dismal 5 - Borrtex - Clean Water Upon You 6 - Be Still the Earth - Tankestrom 7 - Borrtex - Failure Over Regret 8 - Jon Gegelman - Changed 9 - Kevin Graham - A Complicated Situation 10 - Kyle Preston - A Fallen City 11 - Liquid Memoirs - Liminal Spaces 12 - Max H. Empty Room 13 - Michael Vignola - A Glimmer of Hope 14 - Norvik - Waterbed 15 - Noam Zaguri - In a Heartbeat 16 - Red City Hero - Good Day 17 - Shahead Mostafafar - Eternity Clock 18 - Shahead Mostafafar - Into the Next Dimension 19 - We Dream of Eden - The PrecipiceGames That Made 2022Monty Zander2022-12-08 | Visit bestgameprice.net/elden-ring to get Elden Ring (and other games) for 20% off!
The Last Of Us Part 2 is clever, but it's also indulgent. It knows that it's clever and loses some of the first game's understatedness as a result. But when it comes to its first ten minutes, that's not necessarily a bad thing.
The Evil Within 2 learns, polishes, and tightens up the screws as a sequel. It pulls away from homages and recognisable frights, and instead explores the potential inherent in this franchise. Even when it occasionally stumbles, every scream remains a painting.
00:00:00 - Introduction 00:04:02 - A Great First Impression 00:18:12 - Welcome to Union 00:34:24 - Appreciate the Art 00:48:19 - Finding the Fun 01:02:50 - Bottles and Boomsticks 01:15:35 - Psycho Pass 01:31:24 - Earning the Rocket Launcher
Clair De Lune - Claude Debussy (Version from The Evil Within) Serenade for Strings - Pyotr Tchaikovsky (Version from The Evil Within 2)What the hell is happening to the channel?Monty Zander2022-10-29 | Lore Dump 2023 Trailer youtube.com/watch?v=oypAEqOhL8o&t=1s&ab_channel=LoreDump
0:00:00 - Introduction & Rules 0:01:53 - Welcome to Hallownest 0:06:32 - Greg the Explorer 0:18:10 - Getting Frustrated 0:22:09 - The Mighty Zote 0:28:13 - Personal Space
*MUSIC (in order)* 1 - It Takes Two - Main Theme 2 - Hollow Knight - Dung Defender 3 - Cult of the Lamb - Start a Cult 4 - Super Mario Odyssey - Shiveria Town 5 - Hollow Knight - False Knight 6 - Pandora's Bread - False Knight (Metal Cover) 5 - Cult of the Lamb - Lonely Shack 6 - Donkey Kong: Country Returns - Main Theme 7 - Blackbeard the Great - Dung Defender (Acoustic Cover) 8 - Bad Hairline Productions - Dung Defender (Rock Cover)
MUSIC 1) Assaf Ayalon - Lullaby 2) The Last of Us - Choices 3) The Last of Us - Main Theme
MOTION GRAPHIC BY: https://www.instagram.com/icarotkd/?h... Find him on Twitter here: @icarogabriel17
#thelastofus #thelastofuspart1Bioshock Infinite Critique | After the HypeMonty Zander2022-08-12 | Visit bestgameprice.net to compare deals for free and save money on PC games!
This video will please nobody.
Bioshock Infinite's legacy is tainted, but I still love it. It's a messy, slick, limited, deep, well-written, poorly-written game that's as controversial as it was well-reviewed at release. So let’s finish this series of critiques with the most divisive Bioshock.
We covered the whole Bioshock series on Lore Dump - the show where we take someone who hasn't played a game and walk them through the full story: youtu.be/fnGJtl3NguM
BIOSHOCK CRITIQUE | AFTER THE SHRUG https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0w87...
0:00:00 - Introduction 0:05:16 - Hail Columbia 0:22:48 - Elizabeth and the Beast 0:36:32 - The Disney Factor 0:47:18 - Rollercoaster Levels 1:00:22 - In the Weeds 1:16:56 - Red Flags and Lore Dumps 1:31:58 - Blow Em All to Hell 1:50:02 - There's Always a Lighthouse 2:08:04 - Burial at Sea 2:22:30 - I Can't Believe I'm Still Talking about Burial at Sea
MUSIC 1 - Will the Circle Be Unbroken - Beyond the Guitar: youtube.com/watch?v=hknPv_BrZd8 2 - LA Noire OST - Main Theme 3 - LA Noire OST - Noire Clarinet
*All other music is sourced from Artlist*
1 - Roni Bar Hadas - The Biggest Pretender 2 - Lance Conrad - Don't Shoo the Piano Player 3 - Kyle Cox - Happy on My Own 4 - Luc Allieres - Country Rag 5 - Andrea Tonoli - Dark Whisper Lullaby 6 - Ben Winwood - Reunited 7 - Ziv Grinberg - All the Pieces Matter 8 - Itai Argaman - Into the Wild 9 - Yehezkhel Raz - Retrospecting 10 - Stanley Gurvich - Take Me In
#bioshockinfinitecritique #bioshockinfiniteretrospectiveBioshock 2 Critique | After the Kool-AidMonty Zander2022-07-24 | Visit bestgameprice.net to compare deals for free and save money on PC games!
This video is also brought to you by the fact I say “Irrational Games” multiple times in this video when I should say “2K Marin.” I’m never writing three videos at the same time ever again.
It's also brought to you by this statement on The Selfish Gene - because god dammit shut up I am begging you to read more than the cliffnotes of Dawkins before thinking you're an expert: twitter.com/MontyZander/status/1590785075011981312
A critique of Bioshock 2. Where Bioshock 1 lampoons Ayn Rand’s objectivism, Bioshock 2 is inspired by Jim Jones, The People’s Temple, and Collectivism. The game is hyperfocussed on flipping the original Bioshock on its head and looking at the underbelly of the philosophies that crystallised it.
So let's return to Rapture and ask what happens after a group warped by hyper-capitalism finds a new philosophy. What happens after they drink the Kool-Aid?
TIMESTAMPS 0:00:00 - Introduction 0:04:35 - Rapture Reborn 0:17:45 - Hack Shack 0:26:54 - Levelling Down 0:41:48 - Drilling Into Combat 0:54:21 - The Temple of the Bland 01:05:19 - Someone Forgot to Finish Dionysus Park 01:19:45 - The Capitalist Collectivist 01:31:43 - Minerva's Den 01:40:13 - Prisoner of Choice
1: Falconer - Who Goes There? 2: Tony Petersen - 3 O'Clock Blues 3: Tony Petersen - Easy Morning 4: Ikoliks - The Western Wind 5: Mark Grundhoefer - Washed Away 6: Leroy Wild - Monomer 7: Leroy Wild - Arkema 8: Leroy Wild - Diamine 9: Leroy Wild - Crystalline
#bioshock2critique #bioshock2analysisApex Legends | Noobus HumanusMonty Zander2022-06-23 | This video is sponsored by bestgameprice.net - bestgameprice.net - visit their site to save money on PC games for free!
I made my girlfriend play Apex Legends. Well - not my girlfriend anymore - because we're engaged. Yay!
TIMESTAMPS 0:00:00 - Introduction & Rules 0:02:07 - Training Camp 0:07:01 - Jumpmaster Boomerang 0:15:05 - Making Friends 0:24:40 - We Played Together (And It Was Glorious)
#IMadeMyGirlfriendPlayApexLegends #apexlegendsBioshock Critique | After the ShrugMonty Zander2022-06-10 | Visit bestgameprice.net to save money on PC games for free!
Bioshock is – in all but name – a sequel to Atlas Shrugged. It holds up a magnifying glass to John Galt’s utopia, adds a dash of irony and horror, and asks – what happens after the inventors, artists, CEO’s, and billionaires live apart from the rest of the world? What happens after the shrug?
TIMESTAMPS 0:00:00 - Introduction 0:05:14 - Choosing Rapture 0:22:48 - Andrew Buyin' 0:40:56 - Atlas Mugged 0:58:34 - Find Me A Flower 01:11:28 - Art Attack 01:25:17 - Would You Kindly 01:43:04 - Enter Frank Fontaine 01:55:04 - It All Goes Wrong
1 - Kyle Cox - This World 2 - Kyle Cox - Still All Alone 3 - Kyle Cox - Song and Dance 4 - Kyle Cox - Anyway 5 - Kyle Cox - Give it All Up 6 - Kyle Cox - Patiently Waiting 7 - Kyle Cox - No Matter How Far 8 - Wesly Thomas - My Lonely Soul 9 - Oved Pinchover Quintet - Mashu Hazak
#bioshockcritique #bioshockanalysisHow Sifus Opening Sets ExpectationsMonty Zander2022-05-05 | Sifu has the strongest first ten minutes I've experienced so far this year. With the new update and patch out, let's talk about how it sets expectations, teaches us our potential, and effectively sets up a villain in Yang.
MUSIC 1 - Sifu - Martial Mastery 2 - Final Fantasy 14: Stormblood - Kagune (Night Theme)
MOTION GRAPHIC BY: https://www.instagram.com/icarotkd/?h... Find him on Twitter here: @icarogabriel17
#sifu #sifuopening #gameanalysisQuantum Break Critique | Beyond AmbitionMonty Zander2022-04-22 | A commentary, critique, and retrospective of Quantum Break - Remedy's black sheep.
#quantumbreak #remedy #gamecritique
Quantum Break was ambitious, and weird, and fascinating, and very little about it works the way Remedy hoped it would. In hindsight, the combat serves as a tech demo for what Control would later refine. Despite the likability factor of Shawn Ashmore, Jack Joyce is a potato of a protagonist. Despite the game’s visuals being slick and cool, and the machinations of its time travel having eons of potential, the sum of its parts undercut it at almost every turn.
So that’s what we’re going to look at here. Just like a fracture, we’re going to tear Quantum Break apart to see what’s good, what’s bad, and to ask the question – does Remedy’s techno-thriller go beyond its ambitions?
#quantumbreak #gamecritiqueElden Ring | Noobus HumanusMonty Zander2022-03-24 | I made my girlfriend play Elden Ring.
I love Elden Ring, and I've made my partner play through the openings of 7 From Software games. She now knows the basics of this genre, but hasn't played an open-world game before.
So what happens if Elden Ring is your first open-world game?
The original version of this video had a copyright claim placed on it by Materia Music Publishing, so I had to change the music for the final boss fight to a copyright-free version.
TIMESTAMPS 0:00:00 - Introduction & Rules 0:03:14 - Jumping for Joy 0:10:22 - Follow the Animals 0:17:19 - Distractions 0:28:46 - Distractions 2.0 0:37:12 - Having a Bad Time 0:47:56 - Quick Announcements
MEGALOVANIA The original song is not used in this video - the cover, provided by Liberty Music is: youtube.com/watch?v=Qz8hMjq2ARU
The original melody was composed by Toby Fox for UNDERTALE Copyright administrator: Materia Music Publishing Original composer: Toby FoxDemons Souls | Noobus HumanusMonty Zander2022-01-13 | I made my girlfriend play Demon's Souls.
1 - Death's Door OST: Hall of Doors 2 - Deltarune OST: Scarlet Forest 3 - Deltarune OST: Vs Suzie 4 - Deltarune OST: Welcome to the CIty (Alt) 5 - Deltarune OST: Field of Hopes & Dreams 6 - Deltarune OST: Big Shot 7 - Deltarune OST: Acid Tunnel of Love 8 - Undertale OST: Hotel 9 - Undertale OST: Are you sure this is a hotel there wasn't a mint on my pillow 10 - Deltarune OST: Castle Town 11 - NyxTheShield: Castle Town Remix - youtube.com/watch?v=lIv8aBao0L0 12 - Super Smash Bros WiiU OST: Dr Wily Stage 1 & 2
RESIDENT EVIL: VILLAGE CRITIQUE - A FERAL FAIRYTALE youtu.be/83jsvH4t9QUKingdom Hearts 3s Opening and Nostalgia SyndromeMonty Zander2021-12-10 | The ironic thing is this is my favourite Kingdom Hearts game.
MOTION GRAPHIC BY: https://www.instagram.com/icarotkd/?h... Find him on Twitter here: @icarogabriel17Kingdom Hearts 2 and the Importance of QuestionsMonty Zander2021-12-06 | This is the only good Kingdom Hearts game.
MOTION GRAPHIC BY: https://www.instagram.com/icarotkd/?h... Find him on Twitter here: @icarogabriel17Kingdom Hearts Iconic Opening Has a ProblemMonty Zander2021-12-02 | Kingdom Hearts more like Kingdom... Smarts... amirite?
MOTION GRAPHIC BY: https://www.instagram.com/icarotkd/?h... Find him on Twitter here: @icarogabriel17Guardians of the Galaxy Critique | Rock n RollercoasterMonty Zander2021-11-25 | Eidos's Guardians of the Galaxy are my favourite guardians. The galaxy they con their way through is packed with heart and earnestness that makes something as simple as eavesdropping on a conversation between Rocket and Drax the highlight of a play session. The world-building, the aesthetic, the tone, couldn’t be more in-keeping with the vibe of this ramshackle group of lovable criminals.
But it’s far from perfect.
In fact I’d argue that Guardians of the Galaxy is a good game with great writing.
TIME STAMPS 0:00:00 - Introduction 0:07:00 - Starman: Setting the Tone 0:23:21 - Land Down Under: Exploration & Level Design 0:36:09 - We Built This City: Worldbuilding 0:50:00 - We're Not Gonna Take It: The Avengers Dilemma 1:05:22 - Hit Me With Your Best Shot: Combat 1:23:48 - Don't Fear The Reaper: Structure & Choices 1:37:00 - Holding Out For a Hero: Upgrades & Collectables 1:47:29 - The Final Countdown: The Ending
MUSIC (in order of appearance)
1 - We Built This City (A Capella Cover) - Volacity youtube.com/watch?v=YrRDVMYNHCs 2 - Gimme Your Best Shot - provided by Motion Array 3 - 52Hz - R.A.Y Project - provided by Artlist 4 - Safe - Russo Weinberg - provided by Artlist 5 - Your Quiet Breath, Paper Thin - Roseblue - provided by Artlist 6 - Scapes - Gray North - provided by Artlist 7 - More Than We Can Imagine - Some Were At Sea - provided by Artlist 8 - A Song for the Morning - Tony Peterson - provided by Artlist 9 - Ain't Looking Back - Richard Farrell - provided by Artlist 10 - Blessed Midwest - Ben Wagner - provided by Artlist 11 - A Whole and Humble Heart - Campagna - provided by Artlist
TIMESTAMPS The New Rules - 0:00:00 Things Betwixt The River Styx - 0:04:41 The Legend of the Key - 0:09:46 Ballad of the Broken Sword - 0:15:53 Choices, Choices - 0:26:11 Mortal Combat - 0:31:01
MUSIC FROM: Pokemon Snap New OST Rayman Legends OST Unwind Station - No Copyright MusicKena: Bridge of Spirits - In-Depth CritiqueMonty Zander2021-10-19 | Kena: Bridge of Spirits feels like it’s been made just for me. It’s got the collect-a-thon style of a mascot platformer, mixed with the thematic concentration of a Ninja Theory game, and the boss difficulty of a souls-like. Yet somehow, it manages to fuse this all together into an identity all its own. At times the nostalgia feels warm and fuzzy, reminiscent of titles decades old, but more importantly, Ember Lab understands their audience.
The Forgotten City is about a lot of things, and its beauty lies in the fact that what I got from the experience might not be what you get from it. It hinges on the player’s desire to engage with it to its fullest. You can’t pick this game up, put it down, and come back to it a month later. More than any other game I’ve played, it wants you to think about it in-between play sessions, to consider its many interesting characters and the philosophies they practice, to want to eat its central mystery, not just unravel it.
It’s not just “A Timeloop Game,” or A Walking Simulator. It’s an Escape Room the size of a City. Please play this game before watching this video.
TIMESTAMPS 0:00:00 - Introduction 0:05:32 - Always Be Curious 0:17:34 - An Escape City 0:29:59 - The Nature of Man 0:44:01 - The Good Will 0:56:00 - Welcome to the Underground 01:06:06 - Kill God
REFERENCES/CLIPS USED
1 - Curiosity as a Moral Virtue: http://www-personal.umd.umich.edu/~elias/curiosity.pdf 2 - Philosophy Tube: youtube.com/watch?v=fnKQV7o4ucY 3 - The Symposium: youtube.com/watch?v=1aGlyJ6x5AY 4 - "I'm not a Racist, But..." The Moral Quandary of Race - Lawrence Blum 5 - Discourse on the Origins of Inequality - Jean-Jacques Rousseau 6 - Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals - Immanuel Kant 7 - Leviathan, Part I - Thomas Hobbes 8 - GDC Escape Rooms Talk: youtube.com/watch?v=V38KPgEKZQw&t=732s 9 - Assassin's Creed Series: youtube.com/watch?v=KVR5rp6H9Ig&t=144sDark Souls 3 | Noobus HumanusMonty Zander2021-09-20 | I made my girlfriend play Dark Souls 3
TIMESTAMPS 1) 00:00:00 - Introduction & Rules 2) 00:02:55 - Gunning for Gundyr 3) 00:14:15 - "Where Do I Go?" 4) 00:18:27 - The Big Huff and Puff 5) 00:27:50 - The Waiting Game 6) 00:33:53 - "I Did it for the Views"
I love Dark Souls 3.
Not as much as Bloodborne, not as much as Dark Souls 1, but Lothric’s oppressive atmosphere, skulking enemies, and sheer refinement of the Souls formula makes for satisfying, and expressive gameplay every time you boot it up. Its setting, and how it uses the world-building of previous games to strengthen its theme of cycles absolutely blew my mind, and I’m willing to bet I’m not alone.
So, with all this in mind… let’s put this opening to the test. Let’s force a noob, a non-gamer, namely my girlfriend, to sit down and try to tackle Dark Souls 3’s first section, to see if we can answer one question. Noobus Humanus 4: Can my girlfriend make it past Vordt of the Boreal Valley… in Dark Souls 3?
MUSIC 1) Lewis's Theme - What Remains of Edith Finch 2) Lewis's Sailing - What Remains of Edith Finch 3) Sims 4 - Building Theme 4) Sims 4 - Main Theme 5) Sims 4 - Character Creation ThemeHow Spec Ops: The Lines Opening Manipulates YouMonty Zander2021-08-03 | You could have played something else.
Spec Ops: The Line is dressed in the sand, and sheen, and glitz of an abandoned Dubai, but at its core it’s most interested in asking the player a question. Who is responsible for a war crime? Who should bear the brunt? How much social responsibility can we assign to a soldier who pulls the trigger? Or should we turn our anger towards the decision-makers who conditioned them?
It’s the military shooter which ruined military shooters for me – and that’s the most ringing endorsement I can give it. Nothing has compared since. It’s the sort of experience Call of Duty: Modern Warfare wishes it could give its players.
But how exactly does it condition a player to see it as just another generic shooter? What does its framework say about its inspirations? Why is its opening so effective?
Creative Director Sam Lake took what he learned from Alan Wake and Quantum Break, and bounced into a new tone, style, and atmosphere which felt uniquely… him. And whilst Control also embraces its inspirations – namely the SCP Foundation and elements of Twin Peaks Season 3 – there’s a lot more Remedy in here than there was in Max Payne or Alan Wake. If Alan Wake went Beyond Inspiration, Control, arguably, goes even further.
But for all of the great that’s in here, the game avoids being called a Masterpiece because it doesn’t fully embrace its weirdness in a mechanical sense.
At points it sludges through some really trite, and really dull modern game design which holds it back from being a truly unique experience. For a lot of people, I know this was their 2019 Game of the Year, and while it’s not mine, I do think it’s well worth that title. It’s a game of peaks and valleys. What it does well it does incredibly well, but when it’s naff… it’s really naff. There’s a lot of freshness in here, like a day-old pear in a fruit-bowl, but it’s sat alongside apples and oranges which are beginning to go soft.
MUSIC USED Death Stranding OST - Timefall Death Stranding OST - Fragile Alan Wake OST - The Writer's Dream Alan Wake OST - The Clicker Alan Wake OST - Thomas Zane Subnautica OST - Stars and Moon The Turing Test OST - Main Theme
TIMESTAMPS 1) 00:00:00 - Introduction 2) 00:03:11 - The Tutorial 3) 00:13:24 - Hearing The Music 4) 00:20:33 - A Helping Hand 5) 00:26:22 - Grasshopper; Meet Boot
I respect Sekiro. FromSoftware deserves a lot of credit for trying to evolve the Soulsborne format. Offering either stealth or swordplay, it pulls back from the overwhelming choice you get from Dark Souls and Bloodborne’s numbers-heavy character progression, in favour of a smaller array of choices. This demands that the player engage with all of it and get better. The agility which wolf has is a wonder to behold, the world is gorgeous, and vibrant, colourful, despite the rot undercutting its tale.
But how does it stack up compared to Dark Souls and Bloodborne when a new player goes head-to-head with it?
FOOTAGE USED: Lazy Gnome (the Dark Souls 3 jump footage) - youtube.com/watch?v=zYwHPuoZ3OoChannel Update: Noobus Humanus, 10,000 Subscribers and MoreMonty Zander2021-05-31 | A quick channel update from me. Thanks for being here. I Made My Girlfriend Play Dark Souls (again!) is linked below through the Patreon (and it's free for everyone!)