@ www theotherpress.ca

Arts

 

Left in the dust

By Angela Espinoza, Arts Editor

I Am Alive has something of a
tiresome history; originally a project
of indie developer Darkworks

in 2008, | Am Alive was handed
over to Ubisoft Shanghai in 2010.
Little information about the game
trickled out, with a number of
delays and release dates following
suit. Eventually, the final Xbox

Live Arcade date of March 7 was
announced via Facebook earlier this
year.

With all that in mind, | Am
Alive wasn’t exactly something
worth living for. As the nameless
protagonist, you return to your
fictional city of Haventon one
year after the cataclysmic Event,
searching for your estranged wife
and daughter.

The gameplay is about as
enticing as the plot. A bar informs
you when you’re low on health

and stamina. The game requires
you to run through ash-ridden

dust clouds and scale dilapidated
buildings, both of which leave you
unreasonably low on stamina. As
for health, finding the means to
save yourself is rare, especially as
youre encouraged to help other
ailing survivors—with your own
health packs. You'll occasionally find
retries, which allow to start over

at a checkpoint after your many
inevitable deaths, but once they’re
all used you'll have to start the level
over.

These annoyances are slightly
uplifted by the graphics, which,
while outdated, reveal an intense
level of art direction. The people
and city of Haventon are painfully
bland, but at least they’re easy on
the eyes.

Give the demo a try, but the
depth and length of | Am Alive is not
worth the price of $15.

 

 

 

Hey Ocean ‘Is’ awesome

HEY OCEAN

 

By Eric Wilkins, Staff Writer

QYOO®

Ithough Hey Ocean seems
Ae have taken an eternity

to release their latest
album, Is, | can guarantee you that
it was well worth the wait! While
the group has deviated slightly
from their original sound, losing
some of their funky quirkiness, the
result remains easy on the ears.
Is carries more of a mainstream
sound than Hey Ocean fans might
be used to, but the Vancouver-
based musicians will continue to
hold a firm position in the hearts
(and iPods) of many.

The album is solid throughout,

with a good variety of sounds

 

going on. Ashleigh Ball delivers
consistently amazing vocals as
usual, and, of course, manages

to work in her ever-present flute.
David Beckingham continues to
prove that he is no mere guitarist,
lending his voice to several songs
on Is, namely “Islands.” Bassist
David Vertesi also makes a vocal
contribution this time around,
dipping into his satisfyingly deep
vocals on “Jolene.”

While “Big Blue Wave” has
made a commercial splash as the
lead single, my personal favourite
is the delightfully jazzy “Bicycle,”
which is reminiscent of the group’s
earlier sound.

All in all, Is is an album that
you won't want to pass up!

 

Take a trip to ‘Nowheresville’

By Angela Espinoza, Arts Editor

OO@

he Ting Tings, an English duo
*[ermprsed of musicians Katie

White and Jules de Martino,
released their sophomore album
Sounds from Nowheresville on March
13. How does the album stand next
to the similarly titled We Started
Nothing (2008)?

Sounds from Nowheresville offers

a great deal of energy on the parts
of both White and de Martino.
There’s electricity between them that
brings each song to life. From the
lead single “Hang It Up” to the soft
buildups of White’s enraged chorus
on “Guggenheim.”

Despite the excitement of the
album though, many of the songs
suffer from playing things too safe.
Not so much technically, as this is
an electro-pop album, but in terms
of the lyrical content, Sounds from
Nowheresville could be played at
a child’s birthday party. What’s
wrong with that? It just seemed
unexpected, considering the skeletal
White and de Martino that appear
on the album’s cover. The songs
“Day to Day” and “Soul Killing” in
particular sound like Radio Disney
gold.

The Ting Tings have nonetheless
put together a fun dance album,
save for a few gentler songs near the
end.