raycevick

Raycevick's Recommendations: Landslide by Arcane Roots

I've recommended this band previously, specifically Arcane Roots' Heaven & Earth EP which to this day, is one of my favorites to ever be released by any band. Sadly, this Landslide EP ended up being the group's swansong, the last before disbanding.

Originally, I only recommended the lead single, as it is the only song of its type, an epic rock anthem that's just waiting to be the supporter to some trailer for an action spectacle. As the years have passed though, I've come to appreci...

Halo Infinite's Latest News

For those unware, it's been announced (though, perhaps that word gives off the wrong impression)… it's been revealed that Forge nor Campaign Co-op will be available at launch. Now, millions have never made a Forge map in their entire lives, and thousands have never bothered with Halo's co-op modes. So what's the big deal?

Well, like Mods, Forge does have a connection to your enjoyment, even i...

Q&A: August 18th, 2021 (In Spirit)

Griffin Perkins Asks
Thoughts on Splitgate?

I absolutely binged that game... years ago, back when it was first launched in beta and quickly fell aside. It's amusing to see lots of reactions from people be "I thought this game was dead, why are people playing it now?"

I haven't had time to boot it up since the relaunch, but I am curious to get a couple games in, if only to relive the fun experiences I had with that game back when it first launched. Turn...

Raycevick's Recommednations: Sleeping Patterns By Anomie Belle

Now might seem like quite an odd time to suddenly talk about the album in which "How Can I Be Sure" used in Remedy's Alan Wake comes from, but, I'm in the middle of clearing out my albums list on Spotify for being too long.

Sleeping Patterns caught me off guard because despite the previously mentioned song being such a standout, there's a total consistency of quality in the rest of the album that had me listening to it front to back while writing without even noticing.

If you want...

Call of Duty

Look everybody! Evidence that we are in-fact getting a new Call of Duty this year, because it sure as hell doesn't feel like the normal gaming climate. I can't remember a time where I've seen every other first person shooter's core-gameplay except the newest COD, but it's what I'm currently living.

Now, I can't say I'm missing it terribly. One year without Call of Duty would be mighty refreshin...

Q&A: August 12th (Supposed to Be 11th, Sorry)

The Great Leveler Asks
Most underrated YouTuber?

Examined Life of Gaming or MrBtongue, though the latter has a kind of legendary status among the essay community, so, probably the former.

ChaseC Asks
What do you think it would take for Call of Duty to break its one game a year mentality?

Maybe this year? It is bizarre to see Call of Duty just let games like Halo & Battlefield soak up all the attention, but it sh...

Raycevick's Recommendations: Bo Burnham's Inside

I knew of Bo Burnham, but I never sat down and watched one of his special start to finish. Perhaps that only made Inside even more fun to watch. Seeing someone I'm only lightly familiar with make such a relatable portrayal of someone during the pandemic, specifically an artist, was powerful.

So many topics are discussed with such hilarity and nuance it's as remarkable as it is commendable. 

Proud

You've caught me during a quick editing break. This latest video's a long one, so I've been on the editing grind day in and day out, it really is refreshing to do this the way I used to, just laying down clip after clip without Adobe slowing me down. Hopefully, this momentum can continue.

While I'm feeling slightly nostalgic, I guess it's only right to talk about earlier times. Mainly, the firs...

Q&A: August 4th, 2021

Kirby Asks
How many games are in your Steam library, both installed and not?

Hehehehehe...

Sandraincloud90 Asks
What's an aspect of gaming culture that you loved but is practically dead/irrelevant these days?

Could be super snarky and say completed games, but I'll go with the Xbox Live Marketplace. The points...

Raycevick's Recommendations: Lost in Translation

I've been meaning to watch this film for years and finally had the opportunity via a friend who predicted I'd love the movie, because it's sad.

Well, I did! And it is sad, but it's many things, many emotions that Sofia Coppola explores more believably than just about anyone else. Characters are mature, scenes are left to breathe, and the actors charisma and charm is what contrasts the complications they're confronted with.

It's been multiple days, and yet, I still catch myself thi...

Sprint

I can't tell you how many times I've heard people tell me "the game needs sprint."

...Why?

Why of all the mechanics we've had in video-games over four decades is this the thing that people get so hung up on? Why are there millions of people who will consider not touching a game, not because it doesn't have skill-trees, vehicles, wall running, co-op, large-scale multiplayer or story, but because it doesn't have sprint?

Growing up, sprinting ...

Q&A: July 28th, 2021

DaCody Asks
So now that we know "The Act Man" is a golfer... Will you plan a 1v1 to see who is the ultimate golfer?!?

I'll be rusty, but unless he also planned to turn pro as a Teenager, I'm pretty confident.

Kirby (From Smash Melee) Asks
Who's a celebrity that you'd trust with control of your twitter account for twenty-four hours?

Sparky1j

...Actually, that's a bad idea. So... Jonathan Banks, he seems like a ch...

Raycevick's Recommendations: ROUNDS

I know the indie star of the moment is Mini Motorways, but ROUNDS deserves to be in your collection just as much. Made by the madmen at Landfall, makers of Clustertruck and Totally Accurate Battlegrounds, ROUNDS is instantly familiar yet new at the same time.

If you're like me, and tired of games facilitating really boring player abilities and bonuses in the name of game-balance, ROUNDS takes the approach of nothing's overpowered if everything's overpowered.

It's only 1v1 (there i...

Control

"So I've Finally Played… Control" was one of the hardest videos I've ever written which seems bizarre as it is by all means rather basic in its structure. While other video games are mentioned as per usual, the bulk is about Control alone, so I'm not jumping through a dozen games like I am for this current video I'm working on. I'm not building an hour long analysis about its development and 100% of its content ever released like a Years Later video. It wasn't written in an all new pacing m...

Q&A: July 21st, 2021

Sandraincloud90 Asks
What game do you think is the best in the franchise but not your personal favorite?

Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory.

I've always respected the hell out of it, and it's easily got one of the greatest scores of all time, yet vividly remember preferring Splinter Cell: Double Agent. Singapore's effort had more varied locations, missions, and story beats, where for me, too much of Chaos Theory felt the same, and I especially disliked how mu...

Raycevick's Recommendations: Hands Up by Dead Sara

I've kept an eye on Dead Sara after their cover of Nirvana's Heart Shaped Box which I consider to be better than the original with their starring singer. Hands up isn't an album, just currently a single, but it's such a banger...

The production, rhythm, and variety of tones is fantastic, and refreshing to hear after so much mediocre rock being released in recent years.

Here's hoping the next LP can live up to this hype.

Boomer

Modern Military Shooters BEFORE Modern Warfare has done extremely well in its reception and its viewer numbers. According to YT, it's my biggest video in a long while.

It's in this environment I got a phone call from a family member asking something to the effect of "are you going to jump on this?"

"The next one's going to be something similar right?"

This is someone that two years ago, I laid the ground rule of "Don't Come to Me About Youtube" because uploading wouldn't be ...

Just Got My Second COVID Shot

So today's Randomly Mine may be delayed, my apologies.

Q&A: July 14th, 2021

Chase C Asks
Why is it so easy for a game studio to abandon a franchise?

Depends. In the case of Max Payne, not only did Remedy make the deal with Rockstar, Sam Lake has described giving up Max for the future of Remedy has being a great way to leave that character behind. In the case of Deus Ex, it's not the decision of Eidos Montreal, it's the lack of support from their owners to make another.

I'm someone who's both for moving onto new things and cont...

Raycevick's Recommendations: Better Call Saul

I've technically not reached the latest season yet, but even just after watching three of them, Better Call Saul's proved to be yet another masterfully pieced show. The drama is positively tangible, with enough variety in its writing, characters and tone to stop it even becoming dull.

Obviously, I'd recommend it to Breaking Bad fans, but even if you're not, I'd still recommend giving it a chance, as the show's detail and filmmaking remains, but the pacing, subject matter, and characteri...

Bioware Has No Balls

"Bioware Has No Balls" is something a friend said to me recently in conversation, and it was one of those casual statements that stopped me silent for a few seconds as I pondered over it. Felt like the sentence was tangible, textured, as if I could bite into it like a fruit and let my brain run through all of the flavors I tasted.

It was like that because… there might be some truth behind it.

The internet archived a decade ago the "Bioware RPG Cliché Chart." Frankly, the list i...

Q&A: July 7th, 2021

DaCody Asks
What is your favorite hat to wear while playing golf?

Chase C Asks
Do you feel as if Xbox and PC are trying to merge somehow? After the Xbox/Microsoft conference at e3 I felt like Xbox wants all of their customers to go to PC with the game pass available to both systems as well as better cross-play compatibility.

Absolu...

Raycevick's Recommendations: Snatch

I've apparently never recommended the movie I've constantly described as my Star Wars, or if I did it was so long ago I've forgotten... so here we go! Guy Richie's sophomore effort is arguably his best, and regardless, is outrageously funny, witty, and sharply paced. It's the film that opened my eyes to editing, and likely is the reason I booted up iMovie on my Mother's laptop, eventually leading to whatever the hell I'm doing now.

That personal connection makes me undoubtable biased to...

I'm Jealous of Warhammer

And I'll tell you why…

Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer.

Bioware's science fiction Trilogy + One is my favorite fictional universe. I love the planets, races, guns, biotics, tech, conflicts, politics, history, I love all of it! And yet, when it comes to any experiences beyond the core games… there's one option.

Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer wasn't remarkable in any capacity. Progression's obnoxious. Maps are samey. Gunplay's average. Objectives are annoyin...

Q&A: June 30th, 2021

Billy Punton Asks
Do you believe E3 is reaching its twilight years? The existence of Nintendo Direct, State of Play and the pandemic showing that you don't need a massive conference hall to get people excited about upcoming games point to it being inevitable for me.

I thought E3 reached its twilight years several years ago, was honestly surprised to see it return and... kinda undramatically

Juhana Linnavirta Asks
Golf eh? Whats your...