Jason Mraz’s “Yes!” - Solid Album That Lacks Variety

     Jason Mraz has recently released his new album entitled Yes! and while by the title you would believe this album to be an affirmation of some type the album overall does not have the upbeat affirmative feel really at any point throughout the albums 14 tracks. 

      The album begins with a track that ultimately sounds like an Orchestra warming up until you suddenly hear some vocal tracks. Of note this album does use voice tracks and chorus sounds very well throughout. I can only hope live shows actually have live groups and singers to help him out. 

     Jason’s songwriting is a strong suit as only one track I had any issue with was "Love Someone" in which the lyric was referring to the “Heart Beat Beat” and it sounds like “Heart Beep Beep” which is a bit too childish for my likes. 

     The highlights of this album are plentiful, my favorite track being “It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday” which is minimalist in accompaniment (Piano and Vocals), has great lyrics and Jason’s melodies are excellent. If only more tracks were like this one!

     Other good tracks included “Long Drive” which the song mimics the topic (As a long drive that picks up and at the end slows down). The song also includes a fun bridge and good chorus. “Back To The Earth” includes the best line on the album and it’s not even sung:

“Let’s get Jurassic on this Bridge”

     ..Awesome. 

     The remaining tracks while decent kind of just blend into the overall feel that is the laid back sound Jason has produced on this album, it’s not bad, but it also isn’t amazing. 

      Overall this is a good chill album. I think most people who like Jason Mraz will enjoy this album. I hope to see him take some more creative risks in his future work, as overall this album felt “safe” to me. 

“Guacamelee Super Turbo Championship Edition” - Cultural Craziness in this Action Platformer

      Guacamelee is game by Drink Box Studios that was originally released for the PS3 and Vita. In the Super Turbo Championship Edition the game makes it debut to the Xbox side on the Xbox One. The game revolves around playing as Juan and/or Tostada as you try to save El Presidente’s daughter from Carlos Calaca and his band of minions. 

      The first thing you notice right out of the gate is the Mexican cultural influence throughout the game. From the art style to the music to the story. This game is heavily based in Mexican lore and culture. At some points a bit over the top, but overall a unique experience we rarely see in games. 

      The gameplay is heavily combat based and the combination of attack moves you receive also help you to navigate the various platform elements. The boss battles are intense and it may take you a few times to successfully figure out how to beat a specific boss. Notably Carlos Calaca is a very difficult boss fight until you understand his move cycle and signals.  

      There is replay value in the fact that you can collect various items and complete side quests. I was disappointed to see that one of the side quests that really isn’t elaborated at all in the actual plot has a direct correlation to the type of ending you receive. When I beat the game I got a sad ending which to someone like me who is heavily plot motivated was a real downer after coming that far. 

      As another Xbox Live Free Games with Gold this was a good experience to have in contrast with Max: The Curse of Brotherhood. While overall I have to say I enjoyed Max more, this came was certainly more action packed and the cultural aspects added a nice touch that made this game a unique experience. 

“Max: The Curse of Brotherhood” - A Charming and Unique Platformer

      Max: The Curse of Brotherhood is a game developed by Press Play and features the character Max as he travels this strange world trying to save his younger brother Felix, whom he sent to this world with a strange spell book he found. 

      Max is in essence a platformer with some puzzle elements in which you navigate the world dangers using the environment and spells you acquire throughout the game. What I like about this game is that you cannot attack the enemies, you have to use the environment to solve the enemy problem in a variety of unique ways. The levels get progressively more challenging and you have to use your powers in combination in order to make it all the way to the end. 

      There is so much to like about this game, from the art style to the fun and challenging gameplay. Also this game is just about the right amount of time, in the realm of 5-8 hours which for an arcade game seems perfect. Also the game is so well made and polished, I did not really find any flaws with the game. There is also some replay value in the fact that you can go back and get all the eye stalks and all the pieces of the amulet. These additional challenges are available for those who did not feel challenged enough from the levels themselves. 

      The narrative is certainly a more kid-friendly tone but what I’m impressed with is how genuine it all felt. The dialogue really illustrated well the brother relationship between the two characters. The other two characters besides the brothers help to create the child-fantasy story vibe with a good witch and an evil warlock rounding out the cast.

      The game also features slow motion events that made certain moments feel epic and I thought that was a really neat trick to use in a platformer. Finally the game culminates in a neat boss battle in which you do not directly fight the boss, but continue to use your powers to eventually disable and defeat him. 

      Overall this game was a delight to play and having it available for free both last month and this month on Games with Gold for Xbox One makes this game a must play. Everyone should certainly pick this game up and play it for some fun and challenging platforming action. 

“Ultraviolet” EP by Owl City - Some of Adam Young’s Best Work

      The EP Ultraviolet by Owl City was released on June 27th and only has four tracks. The one most people were already familiar with was Beautiful Times and it featured Lindsey Sterling on violin. This EP shows a combination of elements that we have seen across much of Adam Young’s work in side projects and through Owl City. These tracks also show a level of maturity we really haven’t seen combining to form some excellent new tracks. 

      Let’s start with the track that was originally featured as a single “Beautiful Times”. This track seems to be the norm sound from Adam Young, featuring synth pop sounds and effects but also includes the Violin on Lindsey Sterling. The violin however is used sparingly, and is barely considered a feature. Overall the track is ok, but is definitely not the best track of the four.

      Next we have “Up All Night” which immediately reminds me of one of Adam’s side projects Swimming With Dolphins as both the pop sounds and song style sounds very similar. This track is unique for Adam to use under Owl City as it is a bit more upbeat and aggressive than his standard tracks which have a more atmospheric quality. 

      My favorite track of the set, “This Isn’t The End” has some of the best lyrics, songwriting and instrumental use that I have seen him use. This is like a combination of his Sky Sailing work with his deep and personal lyrics combined with his more refined songwriting of Owl City. This is certainly a track you have to listen to multiple times to fully appreciate. It truly shows the maturity in Young’s lyrics and songwriting. 

      The last track is “Wolf Bite” which is like the first track back to more of Owl City’s standard music style. However this along with the previous track I believe shows the direction that he is movie toward. It seems that in his maturity we are moving away from the silliness that some of his previous tracks incorporated (as well as the atmospheric sound quality in both the music and writing) and we are moving toward some direct emotional meaning and connection which I really like and look forward to seeing more of.