Music Feature: Why does everyone hate Nickelback?

Why does everyone hate Nickelback?

In a nutshell, they don’t.

In 2002, the band were the fastest rising name in rock, with their highly polished blend of hard rock, post-grunge, and alternative rock appealing to the masses. Ranked as one of the most commercially successful bands of the 2000s, they’ve sold more than 50 million albums worldwide and were named as the 2^nd best-selling foreign act in the U.S. behind The Beatles for the 2000s.

With the release of Silver Side Up the band unveiled their biggest and most known hit today, "How You Remind Me" which peaked number 1 on the American and Canadian charts at the same time, as well as making a serious impression in the UK. The Long Road spawned 5 singles, including "Someday" which peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number 1 in the Canadian Singles Chart. All The Right Reasons produced 3 top 10 singles and 5 top 20 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 with songs like "Photograph", "Far Away", and "Rockstar" and The Dark Horse produced eight chart-worthy singles. The band has won numerous awards, including 12 Juno Awards and 28 nominations.

These figures don’t lie, not everyone hates Nickelback. Rather, as with many things, a far smaller group of hipster elitists and critics have somehow managed to fabricate a large scale hate campaign to which the common sheep can latch themselves.

Now, before I continue, I should make clear the point that I’m not some crazy Nickelback fanboy. In fact, as with many bands, I find a lot of their music generic and boring. Furthermore, I fully accept that songs like “Rockstar”, while a huge commercial success, are not exactly musical genius, and a number of their more recent songs have been rightly criticised for being nothing more than a catchy guitar riff spliced with gratuitous references to a bona fide life of strippers, sex, prostitutes, drugs and drinking.

What bothers me is the small minded accusing them of having no musical talent. This is completely untrue; as each band member is a talented musician who really knows their instrument. One of the common criticisms of the band is that their music rarely contains playing that suggests virtuosity, like high tempo technical guitar solos or drum kit dominating, quadruple-kick, drum beats. The truth is though, while these things are all within their abilities, they do not feature in their music because they simply do not need to. The following is an excerpt from an interview that band members Chad Kroeger and Ryan Peake had with the magazine Total Guitar:

Total Guitar: You guys obviously can play your guitars, but there aren't a lot of solos. Do you relate to readers who think TG shouldn't be cover­ing bands like Linkin Park or Blink 182 or...


Chad: "Or Nickelback!"

Total Guitar: Yeah, anyone based primarily on riffs and chords, not soloing.


Ryan: Well, it all boils down to good songs and that's what I like to play, anyhow. I love the guitar and think I have a good deal of proficiency, but I like to play songs, not noodle scales.


Chad: Songs are what sell records, not shredding solos. There aren't that many solos that get stuck in your head, but you will sing a goddamn sham­poo commercial all day if the hook is good enough. We want to write songs that stick in your head like that - but in a good way. [Laughs.]

Ryan: Yeah. We don't want to stick in your head like, "Who let the dogs out", which is stuck there, but you're dying to get it out! Nothing by A, that gets stuck in your head in a good way.


Chad: One other thing: I'll sit down and have a go with any one of those guitar players. I learnt to play by jamming along with Metallica, Megadeth, and Testament records, and I spent hours in my room just playing guitar. I mean, I can finger tap on three different strings at once and lots of other things I don't really use any more. But it all helped me get where I am. I'm glad I started playing stuff that was difficult and with which you couldn't be sloppy. It gave me a good wrist. You cannot play along with any of those bands without having a good right hand. Those fast tempo rhythms riffs are very difficult to play. It's nice to start with some difficult stuff.


Ryan: The first two tab books I ever bought were Master of Puppets and Ride the Lightning, but I was always more into the riffs and incredible rhythm playing than the shredding solos. My right hand goes faster than my left, and I've always been able to figure out my limitations.

Naysayers can deny it all they want, but Nickelback have created a formula that simply works.

Beyond their musical talent and ability to churn out well constructed songs, is the way that they come together in the studio and mastering room; with gloriously thick sounding, multi-layered guitar and vocal parts, deep driving basslines and powerful, dynamic drum beats. The entire mix has been expertly lifted to the limits without introducing the audio-clipping that so many similar artists suffer from in their attempts to create a truly “heavy” sound.

Almost every Nickelback song has this inherent quality and depth of sound that catches me every time. Songs like “Should’ve Listened”, “Never Again”, “Feelin’ Way Too Damn Good”, “Too Bad” and “Savin’ Me” all have bass lines that, when they are introduced in beginning, truly pull everything together and continue to drive on throughout song with considerable force. Furthermore, in the undeniable hit “How You Remind Me”, the mix allows the listener separation of each instrument, highlighting the signature drum fill complete with a lovely sounding rim-shot on the snare. The band really have created a near perfect heavy rock sound.

Overall, while they are not my favourite band, I do really enjoy a lot of Nickelback’s music. They may not be the most creative of bands, but they have truly pushed the boundaries of how much of an influence a rock band can have over an industry that thrives on the arguably pretty terrible, auto-tune enhanced, pop star trash that is consumed by the masses every day.

TL;DR - “Haters gonna hate.”


By Michael Palmer

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Bittersweet Mondays: A Webcomic Series

Confab is proud to present our weekly web-comic series:

Bittersweet Comics

Follow the adventures of Matt, Enmi, Hal and Sean as they battle through a world that many gamers will recognise in an instant.

For previous weeks comics click here

Comic 3: Meet the Team!

Comic 4: Sounds like...

Check back next Monday for the next strips by Bittersweet Comics! 

Story by: Matthew Joy
Drawn by: Enmi Wahlbäck

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Confab Podcast #1: Sexism in Video games

We have been working hard to bring you our first ever podcast, we hope you enjoy listening to it.

This week sees listeners join the Editor, Benjamyn Carron and contributors: Emma-Lee Davidson, Andy Robison, Charlotte Peters and lastly Michael Palmer talk about sexism in the video games industry.

Be sure to check out the article which spawned the topic for this weeks podcast: here



Related media:

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15:40 Soul Calibur Females












16:30 Ivy from Soul Calibur 













By Ben Carron

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Miscellaneous Feature: Sartorial Maturity

Warning: Article Contains Strong Language

Today, I felt ready to enter the world of 'Men's' clothing and peruse the sartorial offerings of John Lewis. If you are a man who is yet to do this, I implore you to try. Never before have I felt such satisfaction as when my fingers brushed the folds of those elegant and crisp shirts, or when they were lost in the sands of cashmere sweaters, soft beyond measure.


I hadn't set foot inside John Lewis properly since I was a child, and back then it seemed like a maze to me. All too often, the gleaming tiles of the store's pathway would lead me past what I sought (a lightsaber for £200, no doubt) and into a labyrinth of dappled light shining through a forest of a thousand different species of lampshade and chopped up by rotating fans made of hickory and ash. Well, today I walked these department streets with vigour and a sense of purpose. I was conveyed to a spot emblazoned with the words 'Men's Department'. And indeed, it was. I was surrounded by men with chiseled jaws clad in a silvery hue. Suddenly, my beloved Topman, with its pounding and simultaneously obscure yet omnipotent soundtrack became a bizarre and naked thing, something I couldn't countenance. These men didn't need the guidance of corporately approved music; they were too content with the succouring bosom of this Victorian department store, too content with their own notions and opinions of life, to be swayed by a garish, neon playlist. Suddenly, my clothes became like skeletons in my closet and I was gripped with an urge to hurl a lit match into the bowels of my wardrobe and slam the door behind it.


I meandered through sturdy mahogany stands of tastefully displayed shirts until I found a belt rack. A symphony of aroma courted my nostrils. It was a truly arresting smell. The belts hung like snakes nailed to a door. I could imagine a burly, knotted man curing the hide of a cow on a tanning rack with the piss of a Geordie, then cutting it into strips; I was taken with the romance of the process and that wonderfully reassuring scent of Europe and of experience. I walked on towards an important assembly of robust sweaters and jumpers, of turtleneck, and of buttoned, and of stitch-sturdy. I imagined a group of apronned and barbered men tying them together and testing their strength by tug-of-war, and the stalwart, steadfast stitching yielding not one inch. I checked the price of one. It was £120 (fuck that!!!!). Fuck that, for now anyway.


I turned on my heel and left without looking back, for I didn't need to. I would return there someday (next Sunday). The world was different to me now, I had tasted the waters of tailoring-manhood and they tasted good. They nourished me against the ghastly clothing of today. I began to notice the number of ridiculous purchases that had been made by decidedly dehydrated men and fathers all across the city. Men with spiky hair, lined faces and pregnant stomachs steamed passed me in tawdry urban-wear. They pushed buggies laden with bags that had things like 'GIO-GOI' and 'G-STAR RAW' and 'LOCK 'N' LOAD' and 'G-FORCE 120MPH' emblazoned across them. Their children clung on for sweet existence (indeed the baby that rendered the buggy a necessity would cling also, for they'd been moved to accommodate a bag full of baseball caps and Allstar trainers). The arse of their jeans would be branded with much the same, as if they were cattle. Their pudgy wives would lumber behind them, smoke issuing from their mouths as they barked things like: "KIEE-RENN, C'MOWN ISS WAY OR YI WINNA GIT ONY SUPPAAAAR. D'YI HEAR MI?". It was clear to me that, had these men sought refuge in the warm embrace of a starched shirt or the creases of 'Prince of Wales' check from a young age, they would not be married to RAW women yielding sons called Jack Jones. And with that, I thought to myself, when my chiseled jaw is clad in a silvery hue, I hope I am married to her that may give me a John Rocha. Rocha John Rocha, if possible.


by Adam S. McIlroy

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Webcomics: Bittersweet Mondays

Confab is proud to present a new weekly web-comic series-

Bittersweet Comics

Follow the adventures of Matt, Enmi, Hal and Sean as they battle through a world that many gamers will recognise in an instant.

Comic 1: Conscription

Comic 2: War awaits

Comic 3: Meet the Team!

Comic 4: Sounds like...

Check back next Monday for the next strips by Bittersweet Comics! 

Story by: Matthew Joy
Drawn by: Enmi Wahlbäck

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Game Feature: Sexism in Horror Video Games (NSFW)

"Of course, they see me as a piece of meat...they're zombies!" - Sexism in Survival Horror & Zombie Games

Gaming in general has been accused of objectifying women pretty much since the introduction of the first female protagonist into arcades. In 1982, Ms Pacman was introduced as ‘the new femme fatale of the game world’ on a poster that features the lady herself, a highly made up ball on legs. While the Pacman games are hardly known for an engaging storyline (or any storyline at all), players of Ms Pacman were treated to a closing scene showing Ms Pacman’s reward for completing her trials, as having a family. The world of gaming has changed colossally since the eighties, now volumes of games of all genres are available for the different home consoles. The perception of women’s roles has also changed, however, sexism is still apparent and perhaps more widely in gaming than in any other medium. Many different genres are guilty of sexism to varying degrees and perhaps one of the worst is the survival horror/zombie game, after fighting games of course. 

Team Ninja's highly sexualised fighter 'Dead or Alive series

While it's debatable whether or not Resident evil created the survival horror genre, there's no arguing it made it popular. At first glance, the Resident Evil series could be said to be one of the lesser offenders. On the surface, the original Resident Evil even seems to be a champion for the cause, allowing players to choose between male or female characters, Chris and Jill. However, after deeper analysis we see that the game is much easier while playing as Jill as she is given two extra item slots in addition to a lockpick, allowing the player to avoid the tedious key collecting required to progress through the Chris game. This is completely independent of the difficulty setting, as you choose that separately before you begin the game. There are two possible occasions in the game whereby Jill can find herself being rescued from danger by the NPC Barry Burton. In one situation a trap is activated and the ceiling starts to descend threatening to squish the player, and the other involves a giant blood-thirsty mutant plant. Meanwhile, in Chris story mode, no one ever comes to his rescue should he find himself in danger. Instead of Barry, Chris' companion for the game is the young Rebecca Chambers, the medic of the Bravo team. She does not engage in combat, merely waiting by her teammate Richard while Chris explores the mansion and requires the player controlling Chris to rescue her at one point in the game.

The prequel, Resident Evil 0, also offers a male/female character choice, though this time in an ongoing manner using the 'partner system' whereby the character not chosen by the player is controlled by the game. This time the pick is between Rebecca of the first game and escaped convict Billy. Rebecca is equally as drippy in this game as she was in the original, coming away with such dialogue gems as 'Don't call me princess' in a high-pitched nasal tone. Resident Evil 4 features the defenceless Ashley following Leon around, having been rescued multiple times by him throughout the game and in the end asking him for some very suggestive 'overtime', and sporting a cleavage heavy bonus costume after beating the game.

Was this really necessary?

The other two female characters, on the other hand, seem to be far less stereotypical. Hunnigan has little to do in the grand scheme of the game but does turn Leon down when he asks for her phone number which is slightly refreshing after Ashley has been pining after him for the whole game. Ada is a far more developed character with a rich back story and more than once through the game she saves Leon's life. In fact, at several points throughout the games she is shown to be cunning and quick-witted, frequently outmanoeuvring her male co-stars. Yet, it is not enough for her to be clever and resourceful. For Resident Evil 4 Ada's outfit was given a more sexualised upgrade, with a high slit in dress and less coverage on her back. Besides Ada though, most of the female characters within the Resident Evil canon are only there concerning men or to play stereotypical roles. Rebecca is looking to recapture Billy; Claire is looking for her brother and along the way mothers Sherry and Jill spend the duration of Resident Evil 1 searching for Chris.

If the lack of independent, fully characterised women in the Resident Evil series is disillusioning, that is nothing compared to the Dead Rising series. Resident Evil could be accused of tokenism and less than fully developed female characters, whereas Dead Rising is filled with blatant, old school sexism. In both Dead Rising 1 and Dead Rising 2: Off the Record, you can gain experience points by taking pictures of various targets which come under the headings of Horror, Outtake, Drama, Brutality and Erotica. To score highly in the Erotica category, protagonist Frank must try and get snaps of scantily clad legs, cleavage and upskirt shots. In the original, survivor Cheryl actually asks Frank to take Erotica pictures of her.

Dead Rising 2's protagonist Chuck is a more respectful character, but the women featured in the game are still generally helpless. Three missions require you to carry next-to-naked women back to the Safe House; one of whom wearing a mermaid costume she won't take off because she isn't wearing any underwear. The main female characters Stacey Forsythe and Rebecca Chang are portrayed as strong intelligent women, at least at the beginning of the story. Off the Record is virtually the same game remade with Frank West of the original, so all the sexism of the photography feature combines with a storyline made even more sexually charged. Rebecca Chang becomes Frank's love interest and requires Frank to come to her rescue at various points throughout the game.

Other games that have stirred up controversy include the likes of Dead Island, which included in its code a skill ever so subtly called 'Feminist Whore' and the newly released Lollipop Chainsaw, whose heroine is a big busted blonde bombshell, who slays zombies in a miniskirt and crop top like a soft-core pornographic Buffy caricature.

No points for guessing who this was marketed towards?

Onechenbara: Bikini Samurai Squad is not unlike Lollipop Chainsaw in that it's a Japanese developed zombie killing game starring a scantily-clad, busty protagonist. However, unlike Lollipop Chainsaw it saw poor reviews due to lacking any real enjoyable or compelling gameplay. In an interesting provoked publicity stunt, the games publisher D3 supplied naked pictures of the main protagonist to world-renown Playboy when requested for their review of the game.

A poor 'by the numbers game' with breasts as the main selling point

There are the likes of the Left 4 Dead games which don't appear to be sexist at all but still suffer from what 'Feminist Frequency' dubs the Smurfette Principle, where the female characters appear in an ensemble of men, special infected included. It could be argued that in the case of Left 4 Dead the vast majority of players are male and so may want to play as male characters. However, although not Zombie games, the protagonists of the Metroid and Portal series are female and these have proved popular regardless of that fact (although in the original Metroid it is not apparent that the character of Samus is a woman until the credits at the end of the game).

Slightly less revealing than the previous image

In light of what is stated above, it could be said that there is a lot of work to do in the portrayal of women in survival horror/zombie games and in gaming more generally. The current female characters are underdeveloped and overly sexualised and this detracts from the authenticity of the scenario. As it is, there are and have been many fantastic zombie games that are hugely entertaining (including most of the games mentioned above) but until there are richer characters of both genders, they will fail to fulfil the potential they have to make a dramatic impact.

By Emma-Lee Davidson
Co-written by guest writers Rhiannon Davidson, Connor Keegan and Sean Keegan.

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Feature: Volunteer away those unemployment blues!

Can't get a job? Then why not volunteer!

I can't count the number of people I know who are currently unemployed, out of education and generally idle in every possible way and that's not an expense at my maths skills either. These people like to complain about their situation: they spam Facebook, Twitter and any other social medium they can get their lazy paws on with tales of woe about their lacklustre lives. "I'm so bored! I wish I had something to DO with my life!" "Someone amuse me, I'm so depressed..." We all know at least one of these people. I was one myself, I'm rather ashamed to say until I realised what an utter buffoon I had been...

Yes, the economy isn't great and it's bloody hard to get a job. Yes, I understand that further education isn't an option for everyone. But there's a solution to the unemployment blues that is so blatantly obvious that it is a testament to my own stupidity that it took me so long to notice it myself.

Volunteering, folks. It doesn't matter which charity you choose, whether you like people, animals or something else entirely - most of these guys desperately need volunteers with flexible schedules and lots of free time. For me, it was a natural choice. Having recently gone from having six cats to having absolutely none, the Cats Protection was both a way to get my cat-fix and something to take my mind off other things. And you know what? It feels amazing. If you won't do it to help out the needy, then do it to make yourself feel good. Yeah, it's a selfish attitude but the charity gets much-needed help and you get out of bed before 1pm on a weekday.

Now I'm sure our readers aren't that selfish. Of course, many of you love people and their furry companions! Why wouldn't you want to make sure some poor abandoned animals have a nice, cosy place to stay while they wait for their forever home? Or maybe you'd rather help run a store that raises money for homeless people? Either way, the opportunities are right there waiting for you to get off your lazy good-for-nothing bum and take them! In this day and age, it's not even hard to get involved. That's right, you don't even have to leave your house (I bet you haven't even showered yet anyway). Most of these charities have websites now, complete with numbers to phone or forms to fill out to get you straight into volunteering. You even have a small amount of choice about what you actually do for them - for example, the Cats Protection need both volunteers to clean out cat pens, and also people to run their charity shops for them. Did you know that, legally, every charity shop needs to have at least two people there to open every day? Think about how hard that is to do when most of the volunteers have day jobs. And if they don't open, they don't sell anything and before long some very needy animals/people start to go without.

If you really still need more encouragement, then consider this: a few weeks of volunteering would look just wonderful on your C.V to potential employers. You never know, it might even help you finally break free of the hell that is unemployment. And if it doesn't, well at least you'll feel darned good about yourself!
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and pick the cat hair off my clothes...

Why not start looking today? 

Third Sector / Do it / Jobs in Charities

 - Charlotte Peters

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Feature: Five reasons why I love Twitter

You are what you Tweet

Twitter (for the few of you who have somehow managed to completely avoid it) is a social networking, micro-blogging site which launched in 2006. It has since become a driving force in making the worlds of television and celebrity culture interactive experiences for the everyday man. Thanks to Twitter, television viewers can engage in live chats about what they are watching with other viewers through the use of the hashtag, or send messages to celebrities who use the service, many of whom will write them back. I have been using the site since 2009 and now the biggest factor in my often more than daily tweets is the smartphone. Since downloading the official Twitter app my time spent reading and posting tweets has soared. There are many many reasons I love Twitter but I've chosen five:

5. Twitter is a great way to share new music or other media and for artists and writers to promote their new work. It was through Twitter I discovered Jane Espenson's (a writer for Buffy the Vampire Slayer) hilarious web series 'Husbands' and Emma Caulfield's (Buffy actress) blog and web series.  It is a great tool for bands and comedians as they can post gigs and links for tickets quickly and easily which all of their followers then have access to. Through 'retweeting' you can share these with your followers or send them directly to people who may be interested.

4. Twitter is a quick and efficient way to hear breaking news. Through the 'trending topics' feature. Everyone who uses Twitter is able to see the most talked about subjects of the day. You can quickly view all the most recent and 'top' tweets on the topic. Some of these topics aren't very interesting, in fact usually on a daily basis fans of Justin Bieber or Lady Gaga have all tweeted something like 'Justin is our Boyfriend' or 'Gaga is Queen of Pop'. However, in cases of big news like natural disasters or elections, Twitter can be the quickest way to hear about it.

3. Twitter allows me to rant as much as I like. As there is a 140 character limit to each tweet it is easy to post a quick remark without giving it much thought. It is equally as easy to post a stream of tweets about how annoying a loud group of schoolgirls are on the bus you just got on to. Anything more than one status a day can be thought of as excessive on Facebook, whereas on Twitter, you are welcome to post as much as you like without anyone giving the volume of your tweets a second thought.

2. Twitter allows me to see what my favourite television actors are getting up to. Now when I say television, I'm probably being too general. It's mainly the cast of Firefly and Buffy that I'm interested in. It really places you at the frontline for news of the people you follow. This probably sounds more creepy than it actually is, but it's nice to see tweets from the likes of Simon Pegg with attached pictures of him and the cast of the newest Star Trek movie, chilling out at a bar after work.  

1. Twitter is a great way to keep entertained while killing time. Now that I have Twitter on my phone, it is my first port of call when I am waiting for a bus or on the bike at the gym, trying to take my mind off moving my legs. I follow BBC news which often links to full articles on their site which offers further time killing material in between comedians' jokes and actors' cute pet pictures. As soon as I get bored I automatically look to my phone to find out what everyone is up to and that the world hasn't ended while I was playing Dead Rising. Most importantly, it is the place I will hear first if Justin Bieber were to be fatally injured in a tragic hairspray accident.

- Emma-Lee Davidson

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Overrated: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

As a long time Zelda fan, last November I eagerly awaited the release of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, unconvinced by the graphics in the screenshots which had been released but with an open mind; I had already been pleasantly surprised by Windwaker's cel-shading despite being initially sceptical. As it turned out, the less than spectacular visuals were one of the more minor objections I had to the game when I came to play it in full. It must be said now that Skyward Sword seems to have had a 'marmite' effect on the vast majority of Zelda fans. Many, perhaps even most, have hailed it as the best in the series, and the game has been met with gushing critical reviews; it scored 93 out of 100 on Metacritic and 10/10 on IGN which labelled it a 'masterpiece'. Some fans have accused it of not 'feeling' like a Zelda game but that it is still 'amazing' (Zelda Universe forums). I have to admit to being slightly baffled at the response to the game after having played it.

The controls have split the opinions of many reviewers. Zelda Universe begins by describing them as 'one of the mixed parts of the game', going on to state that they 'aren't completely horrible but 'just unpolished'. IGN on the other hand, claims that they are 'the purest, most perfect realisation of Nintendo's ambitious goals for motion-controlled gaming. I found myself somewhere in between these two positions. While I found that the controls were innovative and exciting, there were various times when the Nunchuk was unresponsive or had a delayed reaction (particularly during the last fight). The bow, as in Twilight Princess, was remarkably accurate but where the real difference was apparent was in the sword. The Wii Motion Plus allowed Nintendo to finally cash the cheque they wrote with Twilight Princess, creating truly responsive and realistic swordplay.

I don't want to spend too much time talking about the positives of the game (of which there are many) as there are plenty of reviews showing nothing but these positives turning a blind eye to the faults, which to my mind are glaring and numerous. The first of these I would like to address is the graphics. I understand that there were many complaints that the Wii struggled with Twilight Princess's realistic style and so to circumvent these issues Skyward Sword adopted the impressionistic style. As I already mentioned I had seen screenshots of the game prior to playing my own copy and was relatively unimpressed. Official Nintendo Magazine swooned at the sight of them but I just found them to look unclean. When I saw them upon first playing the game I was utterly disappointed. It is by far the most colourful of the games and in the larger areas, where things are far off in the distance it looks much better. However, as I first looked around Link's room, I was in disbelief at what to me just translated as a lack of detail, rather than the artsy, abstract effect that Nintendo seemed to have been aiming for.

After exiting the building there was the usual annoying tutorial to learn the controls, for which I can forgive the developers, despite wistfully looking back at Majora's Mask and its distinct, welcome lack of it. It is here the story begins.

Skyward Sword sets a new, important benchmark for Nintendo. Modern video games have made significant strides in how they present stories to audiences, and it seems as though Nintendo has finally taken notice. At times they are downright captivating with their picturesque settings and powerful drama. The game lacks voice acting as always, but characters' emotions shine through regardless, and the framing of scenes is incredible- (IGN.com)

It was alright. I felt a bit like Mario getting to the castle discovering a bunch of Toads instead of Princess Peach every time Zelda ran off. It has been said that the character development displayed in this game is the best the series has seen so far, which I can only meet with a guffaw. It is true that there is some great character development on display, the problem is that it is limited to one character. Groose is the only Skyloftian who goes through any gradable transformation in the game. He is one of Nintendo's success stories, driving much of the humour in the game and moving from a completely unlikeable jerk to a character you are rooting for. There is a change in the Zelda character of Skyward Sword but I don't think you could go as far as to call it character development. She could be likened to Midna in Twilight Princess in that she seems to go from one extreme to another in a binary fashion. Skyward Zelda is a bit pushy (literally...) and annoying until she gets swept away and as if a switch has been pressed she becomes saintly. The rest of the characters are rather like the island folk in Windwaker. They will say a few different things if you talk to them, but nothing to make you feel as if what you do affects what is going on in any tangible way. In fact, that is only true of some of the Windwaker characters, you can actually matchmake and improve the shop in Windwaker through character interaction, as well as steering Mila away from a life of crime. Both Windwaker and Twilight Princess come much closer to reaching the benchmark set in 2000 by Majora's Mask in terms of character development than Skyward Sword ever does.

Probably the most irritating and 'un-Zelda like' aspect of the game for me was the map. I wouldn't accuse the game in general of being un-Zelda like at all, as it falls back on some old standards of the series (which I will discuss later). The map however was incredibly off-putting. You have the Sky area which consists of Skyloft, the Lumpy Pumpkin and the Thunderhead. Everything else is random rocks, making the flying part of the game feel like a bit of a waste of time. If there had been a couple more settlements or more to do in the sky I think the game would have benefited greatly. The surface world comprises of these three areas that are totally inaccessible from each other while on land. In other words, every time you want to go between areas, you have to go back to the sky world and then fly to the other area. The disjointed nature of the landscape made me feel like I was playing Eternal Sonata rather than a Zelda game. It is suspected that it was the criticism of Twilight Princess as big and empty that led Nintendo to adopt this kind of map, however, I think that the setting of the former felt more realistic and more suited to the adventure genre.

Much had been made of Skyward Sword's attempts to move away from the standard two-part, dungeon to dungeon format of the series prior to the game's release. It is fair to say that it achieved this to some extent. The usual pre-dungeon quests are much lengthier than in any of the previous console Zelda games and correspondingly the dungeons themselves are much shorter. The standard enemies such as Bokoblins and Deku Babas have become much more sophisticated and combat with them is now strategy based. However, when it comes to boss battles many of the old Zelda tactics rear their heads, the most obvious example being Tentalus, whose eye could have been replaced with an 'arrow goes here' sign and it couldn't have been more obvious. Each item you find in a dungeon is, as always in Zelda, used in that dungeon in order to progress. Many of the same weapons appear; it wouldn't be Zelda without the sword, bow and bombs. The bombs do get a bit of an upgrade though, you may roll them across the ground like a bowling ball to varying degrees of success. The bomb-wielding aspect of the controls caused a few hair-pulling, swearing tirades during one boss fight. One fantastic addition, however, is the beetle, which allowed me to check out all corners of the room before deciding what my next move would be.


Overall, Skyward Sword is not a bad game. It can be entertaining in places and has a couple of genius pieces of composition which lend the game personality that its characters often fail to deliver. Had I played it without the expectation that always accompanies a Zelda game I may have been pleasantly surprised. Compared with other hallmarks of the series, however, I feel it fails to match up to their high standards. Although it is visually more colourful than any of the other games, it is less colourful where it really counts and so for me, does not deserve a lot of the high praise it has been awarded from most corners.


- Emma-Lee Davidson

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App Review: Splashtop 2 Remote Desktop

Control your PC from your phone or iPad

App: Splashtop 2 Remote Desktop

Category: Computing

Platform: iOS, Android

Price at time of Review: £1.49/$1.99 iOS- £3.13/$4.99 Android

Size: 20.2 MB iOS/2.87MB Android

Splashtop 2 is a virtual network computing app that allows you to view and control your Mac or Windows computer from your portable device through the internet. There is no shortage of VNC apps on the iOS App Store or Android market but Splashtop 2 is one of the fastest and best remote computing apps available and currently has over 7 million users worldwide.

Features:

* Access all your programs and files with 100% compatibility, including PowerPoint, Keynote, Word, Excel, Outlook, Quicken, IE, Firefox, Safari, and other PC / Mac applications.

* Watch all kinds of videos, including Flash videos (Hulu, AOL Video, Yahoo Video, etc.), DVDs, Media Player, that are only playable on your computer.

* Listen to music in any format on your computer (WMV, Real, WMA, MP3, AAC, etc.)

* Play 3D games (like World of Warcraft, StarCraft, Skyrim and Diablo III) or all the Flash games (like FarmVille, CityVille, Pet Society, Café World, FrontierVille)

* Enjoy the most vibrant experience with Apple Retina display support (when using native resolution)

And with the in-app purchase of Anywhere Access Pack, you can also:

* Connect to your PC or Mac seamlessly from anywhere, including over 3G/4G

* Browse all your content securely across the Internet with the same encryption algorithms and technologies as the biggest banks in the world.

* Establish the fastest and most responsive remote connection with enhanced reliability and self-optimizing network capabilities.

Splashtop 2 is an incredibly easy to use app with an intuitive user-friendly interface. To use it users just have to download the desktop client streamer for free from their website and set up a user account. Finding computers on the same Wifi network is automatic once you are logged in. Accessing your computer from a different internet connection than your home one is not any more difficult either. The requirement to log in with your user account or an IP address and security code will prevent unauthorised access to your computer from other users.


If you're the one family or friends go to when their PC has a problem, one great use of such VNC apps is that you can install them on a family or friend's computer and help them out with problems (if it's not too severe) without needing to leave your home.

As well as using it to view and access your computer remotely, Splashtop 2 allows users to turn their portable device's touchscreen into a track-pad to control the mouse on their computer, which can be handy for those who use their computers as a media centre in their living room.


It also allows you to stream audio through your portable device's speaker (or headphones if you wish) which essentially grants you the ability to stream all of your music and video collection straight to your device. The app streams video smoothly enough to be comfortable to watch and even has an option that will make the stream favour smoothness over sharpness for video playback.

For £1.49 (current sale price) it's an absolute bargain to be able to access and stream content from your computer to your tablet or phone. Splashtop 2 is miles better than most if not all other rival VNC apps on the market and also one of the cheapest. Nothing else I've tried even comes close to the near lawless streaming Splashtop 2 offers. It honestly feels like something out of a Sci-Fi film... 


Forget to turn off or lock your computer, or transfer an ever so important document after you've left the building? Splashtop 2 has you covered.


- Ben Carron

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Game Feature: Zelda Marathon Charity Fundraiser

Gamers raise over $10,000 for children's charity

The Gametoaid Zelda gaming marathon fundraiser finally came to a close Sunday evening/Monday Morning, a staggering 86 hours after its Thursday debut. 


The group of students in Adelaide, Australia hosted and streamed their live Zelda video-game marathon over the weekend. The group raised a GametoAid record-high $10,750 for Child’s Play charity from nearly 500 donations worldwide. 

We first started GameToAid in late 2010. Inspired by groups like ExtraLives.org, we thought it'd be fun to do our own marathon and raise money for a great cause. In every marathon we've run since then, we strive to improve the quality of the stream and make it more smooth and entertaining. I've wanted to do a Zelda marathon for a while, and we finally got around to doing one this time! - -Toby Zerner, GameToAid 

Team Beedle and Team Tingle, named after characters from the game series, played competitively over the course of the marathon, aiming to be the team to finish each title first. Both teams' game screens were streamed live on Twitch TV to viewers across the world. 

The live stream view on Gametoaid.org 

One of the charity marathon's biggest strengths was the high-level interaction with the community. Viewers were able to vote in polls, submit fan art and communicate via the stream's built-in chat service. The group always had a constant view over the chat and regularly responded to questions and comments from the community as well as taking suggestions. There were also contests held where donated prizes were raffled off at random to donors.


Toby Zerner from GameToAid said he was thrilled with the success of the marathon and the level of activity in chat. 
"Everyone in the chat room was extremely encouraging and enthusiastic and it was a truly awesome experience to be a part of." - Toby

GameToAid also implemented a unique donation dependent feature called 'Chance Time' which occurred for every $100 in donations. The 'Chance Time' was a custom made roulette of actions that would randomly select: an individual or group of people involved, an activity and a subject/object. Chance Time resulted in many different occurrences from special challenges like playing blindfolded or result in a team having to act out a famous internet meme. Particular highlights included Team Beedle running around the block, everyone singing about doughnuts, one member eating Vegemite on Weetabix and everyone dancing and singing to Rick Astley's 'Never Gonna Give You Up'.

The final poll on the GametoAid site asked viewers which of the six The Legend of Zelda titles that the group had fought through from start to finish was their favourite to watch. Majora's Mask narrowly beat the marathon finale, Windwaker by just two votes. Had the poll been put up after Team Beedle finished The Windwaker, the results may have differed. Windwaker would have surely earned a few more votes after Team Beedle's player beat the final boss in the game, while blindfolded which also resulted in a few hundred dollars more in donations rolled in and an explosion of enthusiastic cheers in the chat room.

Blindfolded Windwaker final boss battle

IMustConfab's very own Michael Johnson also acted as one of the moderators for live stream's chat. He commented on the marathon's success:

It was so much fun watching the guys play through six different Zelda games plus acting like dorks at the same time. So many laughs and smiles were had from George Rage Quitting to Toby beating Wind Waker blind folded! It's such an amazing thing for them to do for charity and I can't thank them enough. Also this was probably one of the easiest marathons to mod as 99% of the time all the chat members were great. Everyone who donated should be proud of themselves for supporting charity and breaking the previous GametoAid donation record. - Michael (Slurmee)

GametoAid's fan art section was incredibly popular throughout the marathon and resulted in over 500 images over a dozen pages of submitted content from fans, which ranged from hand-drawn pictures to Zelda related internet memes. All fan art submissions were displayed live on the stream for viewers to see shortly after they were approved by GameToAid.

This fundraiser serves as a nice reminder that gaming does, in fact, have its benefits to humanity and is perhaps not as bad for us as many media corporations have made it out to be. It also shows how charitable some people can be, with an average donation amount of $22.36 (£14)
GameToAid expects to hold another gaming charity marathon later in 2012 and encourage interested fans to subscribe to hear about any future updates on their website.

- Ben Carron

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