"Well, we're not here to sell cookies..." - Marcus Fenix

Gears Of War is a bit like marmite. You either love it or hate. Or never bothered to give it enough time. And if you're part of the latter group then you're seriously missing out and I'm going to tell you why by talking about Horde 2.0.

Brothers To The End

Gears Of War 3 is the last game in the Gears Of War trilogy (obviously) by Epic Games. It concludes the epic tale that began way back in 2006. Marcus Fenix and his fellow COG Soldiers, Dominic 'Dom' Santiago, Damon Baird and Augustus 'Cole Train' Cole are in the middle of a 14 year war that began on Emergence Day (E-Day) where a race of reptilian and insect looking creatures called the Locust came out of the ground and starting killing all the humans they could lay their grubby hands on. Predictably, things aren't going well for humanity. The Locust are very powerful and vast in number. But we have some muscly dudes that have guns that are also chainsaws! So... yeah! Take... that... scum! Yeah!


Alongside the campaign and the traditional versus mode sits Horde. Horde originally came about in Gears Of War 2. The concept was simple. You fight wave after wave of Locust. After 10 waves the difficulty increases. It continues to increase at wave 20, then 30, then 40 until 50. If you mange to beat wave 50, you win. Fairly simple? Well, you clearly haven't played it.


You can have a team of up to five people. There are weapons on the map and various places to try and hold while the grubs try to kill you. It's all fun and games up to about wave 25 where things start to get really difficult. 
There are various strategies to be played. You can run round the map and kill anything that moves but if you get shot down (but not killed) you'll be hoping someone is brave enough to travel across the map to revive you. The best strategy was always to hold a certain location, cover all entrances and let the enemy come to you.


So Gears Of War 3 came out and the guys at Epic Games noticed how people had been playing the game so they introduced a cash and fortification system in Horde 2.0.


It basically works the same as it's predecessor but with a nice twist. There are various command posts you can purchase throughout the map. Buy one and then you can buy and build fortifications around the map. These include spikes to slow down and injure enemies, decoys to confuse them, turrets you can man, automated guns and mech suits. These are all upgradeable. Spend more money, get better defenses. Weapons and ammo still lay around on the map but you have to purchase these as well. 
So how do you get more money? Easy. Kill and survive. But Horde 2.0 has one more little twist. Rounds 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 are boss waves. Not only do you get the usual Locust attacking you but you also get a nice Locust boss to fight off. This could be a couple of Berzerkers, Reavers, Corpsers or even a Brumak. This made things extremely tough and could halt your game in an instant.


I love these kind of modes.. Left 4 Dead has Survival mode but it's basically just a case of how long you can survive. 30 seconds in and the first Tank could ruin everything.

Tank beats everything!

I always wanted Halo to have a mode like this and then Bungie introduced Firefight in Halo 3: ODST. It was great fun but far too tough. The first few rounds were good but then the skulls kicked in. You could only get health by hitting the enemy, your bullets wouldn't work on shields etc. Once you ran out of lives, that was it. 3 hours down the drain and no achievement. It made the whole thing a bit too punishing.

The ODSTs doing what they best.

They refined it in Halo: Reach but they made it more of an arcade casual game in which you were insanely powerful. Still fun but not something seen as a challenge.

Killtacular!

But Gears Of War has mastered it. It really is just you and your friends against an entire army. At times you feel like you're the best damn COG there ever was. At other times you're panicking like crazy and screaming "Someone help me up! I'm going to die! I'm going to die you bastards!" The guns you're given are powerful enough to take on most enemies. Ammo is scarce enough to make you keep an eye on your ammo counter but not scarce enough that you run out every round.

The best thing is that you feel like a real team. You pick your ground and you stick to it. (I get incredibly possessive over the area I hold, screaming at the Locust "THIS IS MY HOUSE!") You work together. You communicate. You laugh at each other's mistakes but you've got each other's backs. And it's insanely fun.

I managed to get to wave 50 yesterday. But it wasn't easy. I was playing with Jack Purling, Sam Bircham and Ben Goodyear. We played Gears 2 a bit together so we were well versed in Horde and each other's playing styles. After trying several maps we picked this one: Overpass.

Overpass. Where we made our last stand.

On the far side of the map are some stairs. We ran up the stairs and chose the command post underneath the tall roof. This gave us a view of most of the map. Attackers could only reach us by coming up the stairs. We had a turret at the top of the stairs and a turret on the bridge that could turn a full 360 degrees to give us some cover and take out the big guys.


It was tough. We fortified hard, looking after the turrets in particular. The only problem with our spot was that the nearest ammo was on the ground beneath the bridge. So we only went for it occasionally, relying on the in-between wave replenishment and the goods the enemies occasionally left behind with their corpses. We had a few problems. They mostly involved Jack deciding to run downstairs and attack enemies with a cleaver and then getting blown up by Tickers.


But we got to wave 50. We had the usual panic at the start of a boss round.. "What's the boss?" " I don't see the boss, do you see the boss?" "It better not be Berzerkers!" It wasn't. It was a Brumak. 

Brumak: Actual size.

He spawned behind us, just behind the bridge. Sam and I were on the bridge so we focused our fire on the Brumak. Ben and Jack held the stairs, fighting off the rest of the Horde and buying us time to take down the boss. The Brumak is a total monster. It's a massive lizard beast with huge machine guns on it's wrists and a giant rocket launcher on it's back. The key to bringing it down is to take out it's weapon's first. Sam ripped into it with the turret while I focused my fire on it's machine guns. With enough shots from my Lancer, I quickly took out each machine gun. This pissed it off. But then I was out of ammo in my Lancer. Sam's turret ran out of juice too. We took to our pistols, firing everything into the rockets. I got the lucky shot. The rockets blew up and took the son of a bitch with him.


We couldn't believe it. Now all we had to do was mop up the stragglers. But a couple of minutes later Sam shouted over the microphone "THERE'S ANOTHER BRUMAK!" I didn't believe him. We had fought Brumaks before in other boss waves and there had only ever been one per wave. But I turned around and right  where we had killed the first one, another stood in his place. But things were worse this time.


We didn't have the turret anymore. It had been blown up. Ben and Jack had been killed by some other Locust. Although they were dead, they watch the game and spot enemies for us. With their help, Sam and I managed to kill off the remaining troops so that only the Brumak remained.
Where as the other Brumak had decided to stay put and fight us, this one decided to go for a wander. He walked across the map to the bottom of the stairs and decided to fight us there. We kept getting hit by rockets but we fought back. Soon though, we were out of ammo. Following another salvo of rockets Sam was blown to pieces. It was just me. The Brumak obviously thought I was lonely so it started heading up the stairs, taking a flight at a time. I picked up a Scorcher flamethrower but I was dead before I could fire it.


We were gutted. We got so close. So damn close. So we tried again. Straightaway. That's what this game does. It leaves you wanting more even when it's made you it's bitch.


During our next attempt we fought another Brumak. I managed to kill it by shooting a canister on it's back that exploded. The panic in the Brumak's face just before it died gave me such a feeling of satisfaction. But we didn't get much further in that wave. We then caught a break and got a much easier boss and managed to complete the wave. Which was awesome.


But now I'm just hungry for more. It was so much fun. Backs against the wall, just you, your friends and a few rounds of ammo between you and complete annihilation.


I would pay the money for Gears Of War 3 for Horde 2.0 alone. So what are you waiting for?!

"You know the music, time to dance." - Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck (Halo 3: ODST)

As I finish up this blog post it's like a kizillion degress outside so I apologise for any poor grammar/bad spelling/general crappiness. Here goes...

I'm a huge fan of soundtracks and instrumental scores in general. But I have a particular affection for the original music used in video games.

Video game soundtracks now rival the soundtracks of films. The advantage of the video game soundtrack is that the music reacts to how you play the game. Yeah, you get the cut-scenes that are scored more like a film but when you're playing the game, depending on what you're doing and where you are, the music changes and reacts to you. For example in Left 4 Dead everything can be nice and quiet... You're surveying the area with your gun... You see something move. BLAM. You shoot without thinking and your bullet hits a parked car and sets the alarm off. The music kicks in and you know a horde of infected is on it's way to try and make you a member of the Z.I.

A recent blog post by good friend and follow mint Emma-Jane Corsan really got me thinking. She was asking whether it's possible to become emotionally invested in a video game. Although there are lots of factors in this but I think a real key one is music.
Music in a video game is designed to trigger an emotion. That is true of film's too but in a film you're meant to emphasize what the characters are feeling on screen. In a video game the music is meant to get a reaction out of you because you're playing the lead character. It's meant to get you psyched up or scared or excited or sad or angry or whatever. Then you take this emotion and use it to get ready for the next level or to take down that boss who just squashed your best friend.

So. Here are some of my favourite pieces of music in video games.

Firstly, The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time - Hyrule Field: Dawn


Referred to as the greatest game of all time, Ocarina Of Time has a lot to do with music. The clue is in the title. There are many pieces of music that I love in this game but nothing beats this one.

You know that saying, "It's always darkest before the dawn"? Well there was nothing more frustrating that being stuck on Hyrule field during the night. You had to fight endless amounts of Stalchildren and hope that you were heading in the right direction for sanctuary. Or Lon Lon Ranch at least But when you could see the hint of sunlight on the horizon and the first notes of this piece of music played you were reminded that you really are the Hero Of Time.

Left 4 Dead 2 - By The Skin Of Our Teeth

I've touched on Left 4 Dead a little already. The music in Left 4 Dead is astounding. The game uses musical queues which you rely on to survive. There's the short bits of music that let you know a member of the special infected family is around. Then there's the Witch music that intensifies the closer you find yourself to a Witch. And of course there is the Tank music. When that kicks in you find yourself looking around and shooting at anything that moves.
But the piece of music I've chosen is from Left 4 Dead 2 (there is a version in Left 4 Dead one, it's just less southern.) It's called 'By The Skin Of Our Teeth' and the name sums it up really. It plays at the end of each finale when the rescue vehicle/ way out has arrived. When this music starts playing you know it's time to get running or get dying. The feeling of desperation, panic and excitement that comes with this music is insane. Whether you're escaping victorious or getting torn to pieces by a Hunter it seems to suit the mood. Which is saying a lot.

Red Dead Redemption - Triggernomety

I'd happily put down the WHOLE of the Red Dead Redemption soundtrack but I think if I had to pick one track it would 'Triggernometry.' For me it just sums up what a video game set in the Wild West should sound like. They've done an incredible job of keeping it sounding authentic but making it modern as well. Makes me want to buy a horse and catch outlaws. Dead or alive.

Donkey Kong Country - Main Title Theme

My reason for including this one is a bit stranger and will enquire you to listen to the music very carefully...
For Christmas 1993 I wanted the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Megazord...

You know, the original one? Made up of the Dinozords? (Which is a stupid name because two of the Zords weren't Dinosaurs. A Sabertooth Tiger and a Mastodon AREN'T Dinosaurs) Still with me? Whatever. I was cool. Anyway, I wanted one of these so badly. And come Christmas morning I opened my presents to find no Megazord but instead a Super Nintendo. (I know the real cool kids call it a SNES but I've never been one for acronyms). So I was a little disappointed. Sure it came with Super Mario All Stars but could Super Mario defeat Rita Repulsa? Probably. But it wasn't the same.
However, by Boxing Day morning I was hooked and I played at every opportunity. At some point I ended up with Donkey Kong Country which must have been a present because being five or six at the time I couldn't have bought it myself and my parents weren't likely to buy me a video game out of the blue.
One of my favourite times to play video games was in the morning after breakfast and after I was ready for school. I can remember I'd be downstairs in kitchen/dining room which is where the Super Nintendo was and I'd play some Donkey Kong while my Mum was upstairs getting my sister ready.  But just as I'd fired it up I could Mum calling me. So I'd run to the bottom of the stairs to see what she wanted, hoping that she wasn't telling me to turn the game off. But when I shouted for her she would say she didn't call me. I'd then run back to the kitchen and pick up the controller and before I could press anything she would call me again. But again she would say she didn't. It was quite a while later when I finally realised that there was something in the Donkey Kong Country theme tune that sounded like my Mum shouting "ADAM!! AD....AM!!" Though I still don't think she liked me playing on the console before school...

There are a loads more games I could talk about here. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Super Mario World, Fallout 3,  Tomb Raider II etc but I have to reserve a lot of space for Halo.

Those that know me know that I'm a huge Halo fan. I know they aren't considered perfect games like Ocarina Of Time but it was the first game that I experienced that felt like a film. I was hooked from the first time I played it at a friend's house. I'm pretty good at it too. I love the gameplay, the story and I love the music. Martin O'Donnell is a genius and if I ever make a feature film, I'd want him to score it.

He's scored five Halo games. I'm going to pick my favourite track from each one.

Halo: Combat Evolved - Opening Suite

From the first game it has to be the opening suite. Purely because of the choir. That sound sums up Halo and it sounded so different to anything else out there.

Halo 2 - Earth City

This piece of music was originally used in the E3 demo in 2003. The demo was on a dvd that came with an Xbox magazine. I've never watched one game sequence that I wasn't actually playing so many times in my life. It was the way the music built up to this brilliant finale. It got me so incredibly excited. Even though the exact E3 demo didn't make it in to the game this bit of music did.

Halo 3 - Ending. Tribute

Martin O'Donnell has created an incredible and memorable theme tune. Throughout the trilogy he did different things with the piece and this version is my favorite. It perfectly suits the game's finale, a race against time in which the Master Chief and the Arbiter have to make it make back to their ship before Halo and The Ark blows up, taking them with it. There isn't really a lot I can say about this because I think it speaks for itself.  I love the Halo theme. Probably my favourite theme of all time. Ever.


Halo 3: ODST - Finale 

I loved ODST. My favourite things about it (in this order) 1) Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin and Alan Tudyk were in it. 2) The music.


This was Martin O'Donnell's first chance to do something really different with the Halo music. He wasn't tied to the themes from the trilogy. He had a lot to live up to and, in my opinion, he pulled it off. This track shows off all the kinds of themes and styles he managed to cram in to just one small game. And I love the jazz. There just isn't enough jazz in video games these days.


Reach - Epilogue

The soundtrack for Reach is my favourite video game soundtrack. It borrows heavily from the other Halo games but is much more grand and majestic. Martin O'Donnell put everything he had into this one. After all, it's the last Halo game he would be writing the music for. I could have picked so many tracks but I went for this one.

This plays after credits and it sums up the situation perfectly. Let me summarise with some SPOILERS included:

Your entire team has died. They lost their lives protecting the citizens of Reach from the Covenant onslaught. You've perhaps given humanity a chance but there is no saving Reach. You stand alone as the Covenant glasses the planet. This music plays as you stand there watching, knowing your fate. And then the Covenant come to find you. You know you can't fight them all but you try anyway. Besides, Spartans never die. They're just missing in action.

It's as if Martin O'Donnell knew that this piece of music was his signature at the bottom of his piece of art which is the music for Halo. It perfectly displays his talent for scoring music to a situation that needs you to believe you are really in. Bungie need to hang onto this guy. Hollywood is going to be knocking on his door soon.

"Whatever doesn't really happen in life is what I'm interested in." - Joss Whedon

I used to think a blog was just a diary that you put online for the whole world to see. I couldn't see why people would want to read about other people's lives. People can be really dull. But in the last few years I've become surrounded by incredibly creative people. These people put the most incredible amount of effort into the smallest of things. For them it's not about putting their creativity on display for recognition or some sort of pat on the back. It's just something they do naturally because it's part of who they are.

By some sort of bizarre random life event that was triggered by me and a friend dancing around in a living room while being filmed on a mobile phone, I helped form a production company called Cheesemint Productions. It's a group made up of me and some friends and we make films. We've made several short films and a web-series called Unlocked. This is the most significant thing to happen me in my life so far. And it's a mixed bag of goodness. It's great because I get to make films! But it's difficult because I'm surrounded by these stupidly talented people...

Weird analogy time! I see my friend's talents as swords and they are the Master Swordsmen. They wield the swords with the greatest of ease, like it's an extension of their body. They're quick and nimble and are several strikes ahead.
My talent (if I have any) is more like a cricket bat and I'm like a small child. I can't really hold the bat properly and when I eventually manage to pick it up I kind of swing it around, hit a few things (some intentional, some not) and then it gets too heavy so I put it down and do something a bit easier.

So I've started this blog. I'm going to write about what I like. My thoughts and opinions on films, books, tv shows, games, comics, music... anything really. It can all go here. Because maybe if I'm putting pen to paper (or finger to key) more often maybe I'll be able to get my ideas down and make some films that I can be proud of. Because that's all I want to do.

And if you don't know much about Cheesemint already. Watch this video. It was put together by myself and gives a brief history of the group and our films.

Don't think I'm using this blog as an excuse not to actually write any films. I'm in the middle of writing one. It's called Entanglement. More on that soon.