July 2012 Media Thread

RobertLumley

This is the monthly thread for posting media of various types that you've found that you enjoy. I find that exposure to LW ideas makes me less likely to enjoy some entertainment media that is otherwise quite popular, and finding media recommended by LWers is a good way to mitigate this. Post what you're reading, listening to, watching, and your opinion of it. Post recommendations to blogs. Post whatever media you feel like discussing! To see previous recommendations, check out the older threads.

Rules:

Please avoid downvoting recommendations just because you don't personally like the recommended material; remember that liking is a two-place word. If you can point out a specific flaw in a person's recommendation, consider posting a comment to that effect.
If you want to post something that (you know) has been recommended before, but have another recommendation to add, please link to the original, so that the reader has both recommendations.
Please use the comment trees for genres, which I was apparently too dumb to do.
If you have a thread to add, such as a video game thread or an Anime thread, please post it to the Other Media thread for now, and add a poll to the Meta thread asking if it should be a thread every month.

Rules:

Please avoid downvoting recommendations just because you don't personally like the recommended material; remember that liking is a two-place word. If you can point out a specific flaw in a person's recommendation, consider posting a comment to that effect.
If you want to post something that (you know) has been recommended before, but have another recommendation to add, please link to the original, so that the reader has both recommendations.
Please use the comment trees for genres, which I was apparently too dumb to do.
If you have a thread to add, such as a video game thread or an Anime thread, please post it to the Other Media thread for now, and add a poll to the Meta thread asking if it should be a thread every month.

I got the bundle too, mostly to get Bastion. I'm a bit conflicted about it though. It's got a really unique, consistent and beautiful visual style, the dynamic narrator is great use of multimedia, and the soundtrack is moody and good. There's interesting worldbuilding and the writing works.

Then there's the game itself about a guy running around in a maze smashing and blasting shit to pieces and collecting loot. None of the neat stuff really ties into this in any significant way. It's just smash, shoot, kill boss, beat level, with the occasional fancy setpiece like a barge ride. Beyond one or two hints about how to beat specific enemies, even the dynamic narration seemed to have minimal impact for what you try to accomplish during gameplay. It's fun, but the exact same gameplay would fit right in in some utterly tired and horribly written space-marine-must-kill-all-aliens story. So many games succeeding by having a top-notch quality in the non-interactive window dressing feels a bit like if the board game enthusiasts would keep going crazy over things that slightly rehash Monopoly, but come packaged with a really compelling thematic graphic novel.

Maybe I've just been reading too much Keith Burgun, or am cranky because I can code minimal games but can't do music or digital painting.

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July 2012 Media Thread

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July 2012 Media Thread

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