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"From out of the dark"

From Out Of The Dark

From out of the dark is a collection of 6 songs finished during the infamous Covid lockdown of 2020, drawing musical influences from many different genres and based on different themes close to my heart.

Some with a narrative, others about how I felt a particular junction in life, playing music, writing and recording songs has been a great outlet for me and helped me deal with and express myself in a productive fashion.

With no single genre over the six songs I decided to put them out as From out of the dark, to show how something good can come from the darkness. I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed making them.

I appreciate so much all the friends and family who have helped critique these tracks ready for public consumption. Thanks also to my younger sister, Hannah, for providing her vocal talents and lyric writing on two of the songs.

Please listen below and follow me on all of my social networks using the links above.

Matt x

#Star Wars #DarthMaul: Shadow Hunter mini review

Being only my second journey into the world of Star Wars Literature I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Michael Reaves 'Shadow Hunter'. I'm glad to say I thoroughly enjoyed this story, set immediately before the events of 'The Phantom Menace' I find it incredibly intriguing to delve into the intricately woven back stories behind the six films.

Compared to 'Darth Plagueis', I felt Reaves book was much easier to read and I was through it in a few evenings. The book is made up of 3 points of view, neatly intertwined and finally converging towards the conclusion. These are that of the Sith Apprentice Darth Maul, who's wholly devout to the eradication of the Jedi and pleasing his Sith master; The shady character Lorn Pavan, who has a blackened history with the Jedi; And a Jedi Padowan, Darsha, who is sent to the underbelly of Coruscant as part of her Jedi trials. Nothing seems to go to plan however, and the swapping between perspectives keeps an exciting pace throughout.

The shady, seedy criminal world of Coruscant is portrayed well throughout, full of the scum and villainy we've come to expect from the Star Wars universe. It really is an accomplishment that I was so intent on finishing this book, even though thanks to the films, we already half know how things will turn out before we finish.

#StarWars #DarthPlagueis Mini Review

I am glad this book has come into existence. To find out about the events pre episode 1 was extremely intriguing to me, and more so to discover about the rise of Darth Sidious to Sith Lord.

The book is well crafted, and begins with the accession of Darth Plagueis, a tall and wealthy Muun, from apprentice to Sith Lord, following the murder of his master, Darth Tenebrous.

Darth Plagueis has an obsession with the Midi-Chlorians within all living things, and in particular learning the skill to manipulate them to prolong life, even his own. Whilst experimenting with these force techniques, he discretely manipulates Sidious's rise to political power, from an angst teen on Nabboo to the senate on Coruscant.

I was completely glued to this book and it's revealing story until I had to finally admit that I'd read it all. It does use a multitude of characters, company names and occasionally feels like Luceno was writing with a thesaurus never too far away, which sometimes caused me to re-read sections to make sure I knew who everyone was and what I'd actually read.

I won't talk anymore about the story to avoid spoilers, but I highly recommend this book for anyone with even a vague interest or affection for the Star Wars franchise and the expanded universe. It's a good book in it's own right. The fact it's faithful to the Star Wars universe makes it great. 

#Xenoblade #Wii Impressions




Xenoblade Chronicles…
…is one of the most beautiful games ever. Anyone who believes otherwise is quite simply, nuts. Never mind it’s not in 720p. If anything the choice of hardware just shows how much of an achievement it is, and how much effort the developers monolithsoft have put into getting these astounding results from the wii. You can see from my screenshots (which were taken just using my iPhone camera) how pretty the environments are. There’s occasionally some slowing in the frame rate when battles get hectic and some of the textures did hurt my eyes from time to time, but this is probably more down to me not being able to tear myself away from playing. The voice acting can also be shocking in some places, but most of the time I welcomed it and felt it added to the story. 
Xenoblade is also astonishing value for money. I eventually poured over 90 hours into the game by the time the end credits rolled. In a time when most single player campaigns seem to be getting shorter and shorter, Xenoblade is refreshingly old school in it’s approach and throws in the side-quests left, right and centre, well situated throughout the engaging JRPG story with it’s many twists and turns. If anything the main story can be a little long. There were sometimes when I believed I was just round the corner from completion and uncovering the story in it’s entirety, only to realise I actually had quite a way to go. But this goes to show how good this story is, as I was compelled to keep playing regardless.

The gameplay is kept interesting throughout by a number of features - the battle system is similar to that of Final Fantasy 12; All characters in your team will attack automatically. You then control the positioning of the leader of the party, issuing special commands when you see fit. As such the combat is well paced and the special attacks of all characters are visually impressive. The protagonist, Shulk, is also able to see visions in battle thanks to the power of the cover star - a sword called the Monado. For the most part the visions are well placed, and allow you to change a sequence of events using a variety of techniques to preempt or avoid an enemies attack. Later in the game these visions can get annoying, when all you want to do is get through a battle to see what happens next. But that’s nit picking.  

The voice work during battles is some of the most annoying in the game, and get’s repetitive quickly - especially if you stick to using the same characters regularly. Fortunately, monolithsoft has strived to keep you mixing with the characters by using an affinity system; characters build affinity with each other the more they interact. This in turn unlocks conversation sequences that divulge little bits of the characters back stories and personality. The only way to see all these heart to hearts is to use every combination of team to build affinity between all characters. 

So, beautiful visuals, an engaging story line, an excellent battle system and good longevity. This game is great for the RPG veteran but accessible enough for newcomers too. I thoroughly enjoyed this game and believe it to be the best game on the Wii to date. I’m just glad I finished it before the release of Skyward Sword next week…

Thanks for reading! (originally posted Nov 11th 2011 on my old Tumblr)

#KingdomsOfAmalur #PS3 Impressions



A couple of screenshots taken with my (at the time) 5mp phone camera just to illustrate how beautiful Kingdoms Of Amalur is throughout the adventure. I loved playing this game; a fantasy action RPG where you play the first and only hero to have been resurrected by a device known as the Well Of Souls  before said device is destroyed. I'm a big fan of games like this and immediately comparisons to games like Dragon Age and Skyrim can be made. KOA as you can see is a lot more colourful than said games, and there's a lot more button pressing to execute quick paced real time combos with your choice of the wide variety of weapons on offer. The scale of Amalur is big, though falling short of the expansive lands of Skyrim, yet the unique art style make it a welcome break from the more serious looking offerings. I would highly recommend this game to anyone who's a fan of fantasy RPG's in any capacity, especially now it's been out for a while as it's a steal from most online vendors. Go go go!

Thanks for reading! abbott_56 (Photos originally posted on 20th June 2012 via tumblr)

#GamesIPlayedThisHalfTerm


This is certainly an upside to working for a school. Half term. The workload drops, leaving in its wake a glorious time for respite (code for getting drunk) and recovery from the traditional October man flu (code for hangover). This for me, means getting in some well deserved gaming sessions. Well, why not? A week after being back, here’s what I played over half term…
Dragons Dogma - PS3 
A glorious Monster Hunter-esque game from Capcom. RPG with lots of mythical creatures to slay, and an interesting online character share function. Being able to latch on to larger creatures to continue the onslaught is especially good fun.
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Super Mario 3D Land - 3DS 
Typical Mario 3D outing for our plumber friend, with glorious visuals and interesting use of the 3D. More Mario 64 than Mario Galaxy, which is a good thing for a handheld game. Another solid platformer.
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Legend of Zelda: OOT - 3DS 
Great remake that I didn’t really give the time it deserved through half term. A game I have played many times on the N64, it’s great to see the old girl with this fantastic graphical overhaul on the 3DS. Intrinsic to the genre, OOT is a long game, with long, albeit amazing dungeons - especially with the new look. As such I feel the 3DSXL isn’t really the best platform for it, as my hands aren’t up to the long gaming sessions OOT deserves using the XL. I doubt people playing on a regular 3DS have the same issue, and it is still an amazing game and one that I will of course keep going back to. Much like the original. 
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Dead Or Alive: Dimensions - 3DS 
A really satisfying beat-em-up and an absolute bargain. Less than a £10a from ShopTo DOA:D has some really good examples of the 3D effect and it’s got enough modes to keep you interested far beyond what the price tag suggests! It’s easy enough to string together some good looking combos, but challenging enough when pulling off some of the more tactical and animated moves. Easy to pick up, difficult to master, and perfect for handheld gaming. 
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Counter Strike - Steam
I’ve always been one to keep my gaming console based, and like to keep my computer as a computer. Having been persuaded to give Steam a go by a buddy, I grabbed counterstrike in a legendary Steam sale. I like the fps genre, but I’m not one to play the latest COD for 48 hours straight on release either. I enjoy counterstrike as it’s great to play with mates, and drops or the gumpf that you just don’t need. Everyone knows in this generation, the FPS is all about the multiplayer. Which is pretty much all counterstrike is. Start a game with a few mates and it’ll easily suck away an entire evening. Good stuff. 
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Star Wars, Knights of the old republic - Steam
Yay yay yay yay yay! A good Star Wars game! And it’s an RPG! And it’s by Bioware! And I can play it on my mac! All of these things make me a very happy bunny. It’s a great game, and reminds me in no small part of Dragon Age Origins, which I have also recently played and is also awesome. The battle system is ace, the equipment is ace, it looks fantastic - especially as it was originally released in 2003, and the locations, characters and languages are truly excellent. Less of a review and more me gushing about a Star Wars game, go and play this if you haven’t. Now. 
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Pokemon White 2 - DS
The first direct sequel in the Pokemon series. A polished formulaic Pokemon adventure (or at least so far, i’m about 3 badges in) which looks fantastic and has a few new features to keep it fresh. I’m not really a fan of these features but no doubt they’ll appear to younger fans, such as the movie studio, where we can make our Pokemon and trainer star in short themed movies; and the avenue, a nifty networked row of shops that I haven’t quite fathomed yet - but it seems that networked trainers can be invited to view or setup stalls in your avenue. This might get an edit once i’ve played further - though the rest of the game seems the usual Pokemon affair. Pick a starter, work through gyms to collect badges, bump into some diabolical team, elite four, collect em all. And I like it. It looks much the same as Black/White - stunning. And there seems to be a much lesser feeling of pressure to progress from town to town, and gym to gym, encouraging the player to explore more and take their time. This is a good thing, and hopefully grinding will take more of a back seat as this naturally occurs through exploration of various areas. Anyone who fails to play this, purely because they see it as a kids game, is only losing out on an extremely polished collect-em-up rpg adventure. Shame on them. 
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Thanks for reading! abbott_56 (originally posted November 12 2012)