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Day: 3 April 2018

Interview: MØ

Z: We’re backstage at the o2 Ritz with singer-songwriter MØ. How you doing?

M: I’m great, its good to be back in Manchester. I love being here.

Z: So you’re currently on your ‘Straight Till Morning’ tour around the UK and Ireland. What is it you like about performing in the UK?

M: I love the energy here, I feel like there’s always a nice vibe. I feel like every night matters. There’s tension, the best kind of tension. I think when my career started back in 2012 it was kind of out of the UK that it started. I almost feel like I have a bit of history with the UK. So yeah, it feels special.

Z: I know you do the festival circuits. Do you prefer performing at your own concerts or at festivals?

M: I don’t really have a favourite to be honest. It’s always like when you go on a club tour and you’re like “yay!” (she waves her hands) but at the end of it you’re excited for festivals. But then you go into festival season and you’re like “oh I can’t wait to go on a club tour”. Its two different things. With the festival thing, people are on vacation, they’re free, they’re open, they’re drunk. Whereas on club tours it’s more intimate and you can create a more interesting space. So I like both things. Both things have beautiful moments.

Z: You’ve said before that your stage name translates from Danish to ‘maiden’ and ‘virgin’. Obviously this is massively linked to femininity. What are your reasons for choosing this?

M: I did it for several reasons. My grandfather was a painter and he signed his paintings MØ because of the initials of his name, and that’s the same with me, I have the same initials. So it’s there to reference him. But I loved that it had a meaning of MØ which, as you say, is an old Nordic word for not necessarily sexual virginity, but virginity in terms of being pure and a young female.

I think I’ve always seen myself as — maybe immature is not the right word — but very childlike. I think its important to try and maintain that no matter whether you are boy or girl. I happen to be a girl and for me I felt like I could relate to that, to my lyrics.

Z: What does it mean to you to be a woman in the music industry?

M: I think its great. Honestly, I’ve never viewed being male or female as if there should be any difference. I never cared about whether you’re a guy or a girl. I don’t think its important. I don’t give the gender any value. For me, I’m a person in the music industry. I mean, I know there’s a lot of talk about this and obviously I stand for getting more women involved and to kick the asses of the people who are treating anyone in a sexist way. That’s so pathetic.

But for me, being a sexist, in my world is something you do in the stone age. Oh my god its 2018. What the f*** is wrong with you? I almost pity the people that do that because its an old school f***ing d*** move. I don’t have any respect for it. I don’t have anything to say. Gender doesn’t matter. Be whatever the f*** you are or wanna be. And don’t be a f***ing sexist idiot. Sorry for all the swearing!

Z: When you started your career, was it a case of writing a song, performing it, then getting the attention of a label? Or was it a case of putting stuff online and seeing what happens?

M: I think it was a bit of both. I remember putting stuff out on Myspace and Facebook. Then we’d get some label and management reach out. Then we would play shows. It all kind of just happened. Then I got an agent and started doing shows, got signed to the UK label.

Z: Because obviously nowadays it seems like people put things online.

M: It was like that, don’t get me wrong.

Z: When you start writing a song, do you begin with a lyric, a melody or a chord? What comes first?

M: It really depends. It varies from song to song. Sometimes it’s a lyric, a concept. Sometimes it’s the melody, sometimes it’s the beat, a sound, you know. There’s not a clear answer to that.

Z: Recently there’s been a upsurge in Scandinavian pop princesses in the UK charts — artists like Sigrid, Tove Lo, Alma…

M: Alma! I love Alma, she’s the best, she’s the queen.

Z: … and of course you’ve had massive success yourself. Why do you think these girls are doing so well?

M: That’s a really hard question. I think there are amazing artists all over the world. In some places of the world it must be difficult to get things out there. I think over the years there has been a boom in Scandanavian female artists and in music in general. I think the industry has started to be better at pushing it all which is great. I’m so excited for this to happen to other countries as well where you don’t hear a lot of stuff coming out. That’s my answer I guess. I mean not to say there’s nothing special about Scandinavian artists, there totally is. I think there are gems sitting all over the world but some countries are still in the making.

Z: A lot of your fashion and your music has been inspired by the 90s. A lot of Manchester students are very much inspired by the fashion from that era.

M: It’s really something that’s getting hot at the moment. I feel like everywhere, the music, fashion, everything seems like the 90s is having a boom. You can’t escape it, it’s just there.

Z: How does your fashion impact the way we understand your music?

M: No matter what creative platform it is, fashion always comes in waves and seriously right now I think that’s where it’s at. In the 90s I was a big Spice Girls fan and it was a time that influenced me a lot. That was when I decided I wanted to be a musician and so on. I think for me, it was easy to fall back down that road. But I think always with this kind of thing when something comes into fashion, its about mixing it up with the modern landscape and with the future and where you’re at now. It’s more like finding inspiration in it and making it your own.

Z: What was it like dancing with Diplo?

M: It was really fun. He’s an amazing musician obviously but he always has these great ideas. It was his idea to do this synchronised dance. Honestly, it was one of the most fun music videos I’ve ever been on. None of us are dancers, we just thought “let’s do it”. It was lovely.

Z: You dance well together!

M: Thank you. I thought we were great. It was a good day.

Z: I saw you this time last year at the o2 Ritz here in Manchester. What does Manchester mean to you? There’s such a vibrant music scene here. When you come here, how do you feel?

M: I’m not just saying this but I feel like there is a certain energy here. When I’m in Manchester I really want to do well because I feel connected to it in a way. Also because I’ve spent some time here, there are many things I’m doing. I’m meeting all these people, even having off days. So yeah, I think I feel energy here. People are so up for partying here and people want to talk and connect and I really like that.

Z: A lot of our readers are young DJs and musicians. What is your advice to them?

M: I have a couple of things. This is a vague one but really be yourself. Again, its great to find inspiration in everything that surrounds you but never try to copy anything. Always try to be your version of something you like so that its unique and it’s you. For me, that’s what draws me to something. That’s one thing. But then you’ve got to work super hard. And be super nice to people. Never be an asshole. No one cares about an asshole. Be sweet, work hard and be yourself.

Review: Far Cry 5

Many people, I think, saw Far Cry 5 as the game that would rejuvenate the Far Cry series. After the success Assassin’s Creed: Origins had in revising its own tired formula, Far Cry 5 looked set to be a new dawn for another Ubisoft series.

Indeed, many of the signs from the game’s premise suggested as much: the game would take place in mainland America, suggesting a direct social engagement with contemporary issues rather than a typically escapist island fantasy. It was to be the natural maturation of its four younger siblings, taking the action-packed shooter elements of its predecessors and transposing them into a more mature background.

Furthermore, one of the most notable early moments in Far Cry 5 is an active subversion of one of the series’ most maligned conventions: upon climbing my first radio tower, Dutch (one of the game’s many side characters) humorously observed “I know what you’re thinking, and no, I ain’t going to have you climbing towers all over the county for me, so don’t worry!”

Far Cry 5 quickly dashes those hopes. With some ham-fisted exposition and a little suspension of disbelief, Ubisoft’s immediate act is to make Far Cry 5 strictly apolitical and reinstate Hope County, to all intents and purposes, as an island. The outside world is cut off and the possibility of reaching it is explained away, with its borders marked by insurmountable mountains, rivers, or simple ‘you are leaving the mission area’ warnings.

Additionally, Ubisoft are quick to dehumanise the enemy so that gunning down masses of them isn’t problematic. The cult leaders aren’t alluringly charismatic false messiahs (with the exception of the more believable Faith), just characturial evil psychopaths. Their ‘flock’, equally, aren’t misguided, disillusioned outcasts, but also trigger-happy psychopaths or zombies sent into a rabid state by a drug called ‘bliss.’

Faith is the most compelling of relatively weak cast

Once you realise this, Far Cry 5 isn’t necessarily a bad game. It’s not an intelligent game, but one that provides enough action-packed fun and blood-thirsty mayhem minute-to-minute to make sure you’re never bored, but that’s more or less as far as it goes: Far Cry 5 is a great shooter, but its world has little substance and this becomes increasingly erosive on immersion and, consequently, enjoyment.

The basic structure is essentially the same as Assassin’s Creed: Origins. There is a main story, but to progress to the cinematic cutscenes and hand-crafted story missions that constitute this main narrative, you are required to get a number of ‘resistance points’ by doing side quests or missions.

photo:Ubisoft

As in Origins, Ubisoft have moved away from the dull tasks that used to constitute side quests and missions in their typical releases, but there is still plenty of repetition in the periods that intervene the main story. The repeated tasks – taking out outposts, clearing encampments, destroying silos – are basically fun as they involve non-stop, frenetic, and often unpredictable encounters with aggressive enemies.

These kinds of scenes are where Far Cry 5 comes into its own: fast-paced, chaotic fights and emergent gameplay which pitches you, the player, against the many enemies and moving pieces in the game. I experienced many a routine attack on a lone truck become a Rambo-esque scene of mayhem complete with helicopters and road blocks.

The game’s setting is also a point of strength. The Appalachian hills and alpine expanses of Hope County are both visually compelling and deeply satisfying to traverse. Unlike the somewhat limited desert of Origins, Hope County’s size is compensated for by plenty of environmental variety, and the large number of vehicles – ranging from flimsy quad bikes to gun-mounted lorries – mean that getting from A to B is never dull. Plus, you’ll almost always get attacked at least once along the way.

photo:Ubisoft

The missions that Ubisoft have engineered themselves are also strong, with good cinematics, well-crafted environments, and well executed set-pieces. These missions, the ones that are central to the story, are where we also glimpse the potential of the characters and setting Ubisoft are working with, and in these parts characterisation and dialogue come much more to the fore.

Unfortunately, this burgeoning narrative core is too often obscured by an increasing awareness of the game’s status as, well, a game. The very best games immerse you so deeply in the story that you stop thinking of it as a game, and become genuinely invested in the lore. This drives one’s hunger for exploration and maintains interest even in long stretches of inactivity.

Far Cry 5, however, does not quite manage to bury gameplay mechanics deeply enough in narrative. Your followers (NPCs who follow and assist you), for example, never feel believable as characters, as the majority of their identity is based on their perks and how they can aid you in a practical sense. These characters cannot die. Rather, fatal injuries commence a cool down timer which prevents you from using them for a few minutes. This makes them feel not like living, breathing inhabitants who you are fighting to save, but more like weapons or tools to be used to complete a given objective.

photo:Ubisoft

Similarly, the explicitly metered nature of progression makes a world that is meant to unfold in front of you and be emergent feel somewhat mechanical. When you invade the Seed family home, for example, they do not really react. It is only when you destroy an extra silo or two for more resistance points that you trigger an encounter with John Seed.

Essentially, Far Cry lays its own artifice too bare, and this is highly erosive to one’s sense of immersion. This, in turn, lowers the stakes for one’s ambitions of saving Hope County, and consequently compounds the feeling that you are going through the motions by liberating its many areas.

To be fair to Ubisoft, they have tried to sprinkle Hope County with signs of life. Every now and again, you’ll find abandoned huts, little notes, and environments obviously meant to tell a story. This dusting, however, is too diffuse in a map that is absolutely huge.

The two main dynamics in the story, however, are woefully unbelievable. These are the goodies (you and the resistance) and the baddies (the Seeds and the cult). You, the player, are simultaneously hailed as an altruistic saviour of the people whilst the game’s missions take you down a path of immeasurable violence, destruction, and sin. Nick Rye, probably the chattiest of your followers, offers a neat example of how simplistically this question, which has troubled many games, is engaged with, saying, “the only way we’re going to rid of all this violence is with more violence. It’s sad, but it’s what we gotta do.”

The so-called resistance are more of an aggressive militia force, and even the most unassuming civilians don’t bat an eyelid when you ask them to drop their day job to come help them fight. No exaggeration, there’s a priest in a bullet-proof vest who is competent with an assault rifle. He also keeps a handgun in his hollowed out bible.

The cult are arguably even more paradoxical. As a cult, they are completely unbelievable. They shoot anyone and everyone they see, kidnap locals, and leave sinners crucified everywhere as examples of the seven deadly sins.

photo:Ubisoft

It does seem a major narrative oversight that the cult are profoundly unappealing, internally incoherent (I believe murder is also a deadly sin), and completely non-religious. None of the cult members (the Seeds aside) have any moorings in the local community, and this adds to the sense that they are little more than target practice or mannequins for our violent delights.

Far Cry 5’s other major offering is the arcade mode, which acts as its multiplayer mode. In this mode, you can construct your own maps using assets from previous Far Cry games as well as old Assassin’s Creed games, which sounds great and is no doubt part of Ubisoft’s ongoing transformation to a more pro-consumer AAA publisher. The microtransactions system in Far Cry is also largely unobtrusive. Unfortunately, I found somewhat of a No Man’s Sky effect. With no curation or oversight, almost everything looked something like this:

photo:Ubisoft

Arcade mode was also buggy as hell, and the shooting mechanics that felt so assured in the single player felt woefully out of place in a multiplayer game. There is doubtless potential here, but it needs a great deal of polish.

At the end of the day, Far Cry 5 isn’t a bad game. Indeed, most of the stuff you’re doing is fun on a basic level, and Ubisoft have added plenty of quality-of-life additions to make sure you’re never bored and the emergent storytelling makes the sequence of events feel organic.

Unfortunately, however, it’s when you scratch below the surface that Far Cry is really weak. The story is shallow, inconsistent, and does not engage with its own subject matter. This weak story, allied with overly visible game mechanics and mechanical NPCs, chip away at your immersion in the very community that you are meant to be motivated to save. Whilst Ubisoft do just about enough to keep you playing and make the villains just enigmatic enough for you to see the game through, the end result is an ultimately unsatisfying and uninspiring shoot ‘em up.

6/10

Review: A Way Out

Hazelight Studios might not be a name you’ve heard of before, but you certainly will do in the years to come after their recent release, A Way Out. Spoiler alert: I liked this one. A lot.

Hazelight’s debut exhibits a fresh and innovative approach to narrative-driven games with evident experience in its ability to feel like an instant classic with a retro charm on the first playthrough, and this starts with Josef Fares. Once again, whilst Fares might not exactly be a household name, but you might know him as that hero who screamed “fuck the Oscars!” during last year’s Game Awards.

Outside of becoming instant ammunition for numerous memes, the man’s CV is darn impressive: six feature films, several nominations in European cinema and 2013’s Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons — his first foray into gaming and to good reception — and now a new IP with publisher EA.

So how does his newest creation showcase what Hazelight has to offer? Well, first and foremost, it must be stressed that this game is a trip down memory lane in more ways than one, but in the most immediate sense, it is because it takes you back to the summer holidays, staying in over rainy weekends and going around your mate’s after school. I’m talking about couch co-op.

Luckily, if you’re reading this then you’re most likely old enough to remember the days when playing with your friends wasn’t as easy as jumping online, creating a party and pulling an all-nighter: one of you had to actually go there to enjoy multiplayer! Split-screen only! But just because it wasn’t as easy as it is these days, does not mean it wasn’t a time of beauty found in simplest things.

Photo: Hazelight Studios
Photo: Hazelight Studios

‘Couch co-op’, or local multiplayer, was the primary marketing tool for this game: you play as two convicts, Vincent and Leo, as they escape from prison. Each character has their own personality and approach to certain situations, and like the good old days, split-screen seemed the natural choice.

When Fares first gave us a taste of A Way Out, he took the bold step of asserting how this game should be played. Of course, you can choose to play online, but as he stressed so passionately, playing alongside a friend in the comfort of your own home is the best way to enjoy this game, and I tend to agree. There’s nothing like screaming expletives at your partner face-to-face.

When I first picked up the game, there was a short period of adjustment as I realised just how long it had been since I had played a split-screen game. However, once I had acclimatised, the constantly switching and changing screen sizes made it feel like I was playing through a comic book, participating in one panel at a time, whilst my friend acted out the other.

The split-screen made for a high-octane, sweeping experience, busy with visuals during action sequences and with smooth and clever transitions when switching between moments that focus solely on one character, or when the camera widens for both of you to share the same shot. It becomes a narrative device of its own, highlighting the most important moment at any given time.

Photo: Hazelight Studios
Photo: Hazelight Studios

Moreover, the game takes this further and uses the split-screen to play with what your expectations of co-op are. There are many times when, despite being a team who rely on each other, you are instead forced to compete with one another, feeding off the dynamic between Leo and Vincent that starts out less than friendly, and given Fares’ cinematic expertise, it was no surprise that the direction of this game was excellent.

However, there are niggles about this game that my most critical side couldn’t ignore. For instance, an occasionally sticky and cumbersome cover system and fairly rudimentary shooting mechanics, but then again it was never advertised to be the most mechanically intricate or revolutionary game; instead, the focus was always going to be on story and how you interact with it.

Similarly, the puzzle-solving and quick time events, which make up the primary game mechanic, are nothing new or particularly tasking — the exception being a back-to-back climb up a tall shaft that features two meters and plenty of room for rage quits — but they serve the purpose of progressing through what is essentially another narrative-driven game. Whether it is in a crunch-time moment or a comedic mini-games like balancing a wheelchair, they get the job done.

Photo: Hazelight Studios
Photo: Hazelight Studios

Even the length of the first act, the actual prison break itself and the supporting character development therein could have been stretched out, sacrificed instead for Vincent and Leo taking centre stage throughout. But that’s just me wanting more of the game in all honesty; at the end of the day, the game is called A Way Out, so it was a narrative inevitability that they obviously knew they could pace through quite quickly.

Having said that, the portion of the game which you spend observing and plotting your escape from the prison was fun. It takes queues from jail-centric films and television like Shawshank Redemption and Prison Break, and not in an unoriginal or unsatisfying way, but in what that feels like a homage to these pop-culture classics; like they took notes on how to make an equally compelling narrative.

From a graphical standpoint, the game isn’t hugely impressive, but it feels clean and simplistic with plenty of charm in it’s minimalist style. The general gameplay, set-pieces and letter boxed cutscenes all line up perfectly to sustain your immersion throughout, making it feel like you are playing through a Hollywood blockbuster.

All things being considered, the game sucked me in to the very last and could school anyone on how to intertwine a balance of old-school co-op and tried and tested gameplay into a well-crafted and deeply satisfying narrative. Hopefully, Fares and his team at Hazelight can follow the likes of Naughty Dog, Quantic Dream and Hideo Kojima to create a true cinematic video game legacy.

8/10

Cosmo Sheldrake announces debut album ‘The Much Much How How and I’

Cosmo Sheldrake, the prodigiously talented and profoundly unique 27-year- old singer, songwriter, composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist from London, has announced details of his debut album The Much Much How How and I, out Friday 6th April 2018 on Transgressive Records.

The Much Much How How and I was written under the influence of a diverse group of musicians — ranging from The Beatles and The Kinks to Moondog and Stravinsky — and shaped by Sheldrake’s study of anthropology at the University of Sussex, his longstanding interest in ethnomusicology, and a trip to Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

Produced by Cosmo Sheldrake and Matthew Herbert (Bjork, Mica Levi, London Sinfonietta) and recorded at Soup Studios and Cosmo’s basement, the album will be available on limited edition vinyl, CD, and download and is available to pre-order here.

The news is shared alongside the music video for current single ‘Come Along’ — the first to be taken from the record. Discussing the surreal visual accompaniment, Cosmo said the following:

‘The video for Come Along, directed by Josh Allott, explores the experience of both having head lice and being a head louse. Microscopic worlds expand and consume the macroscopic world of the large. Human heads become continents, scalps become landscapes, salons become solar systems. Come along now.’

Cosmo Sheldrake plays Manchester’s Soup Kitchen on 6th April. Tickets are available here.

Manchester students build affordable robotic hand

Using 3D printing to produce a new prosthetic limb, a student group at the University of Manchester could slash the cost of a functional replacement hand for amputees by £57,000.

Their robotic mechanical hand allows wearers to move all the electronic fingers by sensing muscle movements on the user’s arm. Users will be able to perform everyday tasks such as eating with cutlery, typing an essay or even playing a game of ‘rock, paper, scissors’!

The NHS currently performs approximately 6000 limb amputations per year, providing patients with mainly non-automated, cosmetic, plastic limb replacements.

The artificial limb prototype cost the team £307 to produce; this is significantly less than the £25,000-£60,000 cost of similar mechanical limb products on the market, with even the most basic costing £3000. This new cheaper prosthetic means that one day all amputees could receive moving robotic hands.

Group leader Alex Agboola-Dobso said: “Not only do we want to make it affordable, but also want people to actually like the look of it and not be ashamed or embarrassed about using or wearing it.

“Some traditional prosthetics can both look and feel cumbersome, and those that don’t are extremely expensive. We think our design really can make a difference and we will be looking to commercialise the project in the future.”

At this year’s Industry 4.0 summit & Factories of the Future Expo earlier this month, the students won ‘Best New Development’ in the innovation challenge. They defeated four competitor groups at the Manchester-based future of technology event.

Dr Carl Diver, from the School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, said: “We are really delighted for them, it was a great experience for them to pitch their idea in front of a panel of experts and the prize money will help them develop the idea further. This will be a great addition to their CV.”

Alongside leader Agboola-Dobso, the team, who aim to bring the hand to market, are comprised of lead electrical engineer Sebastian Preston-Jensen, lead software engineer Panagiotis Papathanasiou, and mechanical and software engineers Maximillian Rimmer and Shao Hian Liew.

They have also designed an accompanying Android app that allows users to control how the robotic hand is moved via a Bluetooth signal.

Alex added: “The functionality is customised through the phone app, but the muscle sensors provide the control by moving the hand whenever necessary. It is really simple to use.”

The group used a ‘high-quality resin plastic’ 3D printing method to make the product, known as ‘Stereolithographic (SLA) printing.’ In the future, the team hope to use the more efficient ‘Fused Deposition Modelling (FDA)’ printing method.

Dr Diver added: “We are very excited to see what the future holds for this group and their innovative creation.”

Review: The Council – Episode 1, ‘The Mad Ones’

With the resurgent advent of point-and-click or “choose your own adventure” games spearheaded by Telltale Games in the last 5 years, Big Bad Wolf’s debut episodic IP, The Council, is not exactly breaking new ground. It is, however, certainly trying to carve out a new space within an increasingly popular genre that is enjoying a renaissance of sorts, and does so in a way that is unique, whilst still feeling undeniably familiar.

The game is frustrating even from the very first moments, purely because it seems to lack finesse or fails altogether when the most basic things. This starts with the dialogue. Oh, the dialogue.

Despite being a game that is highly-reliant on narrative, everything from the performances of the voice actors, to the contrived script, all of these things put pressure on your immersion. The moment you hear those accents, you are instantly taken out of an otherwise believable and seductive world of mystery, and from then on it is very difficult to force yourself back in.

There are many moments when people don’t just talk in exposition but seem barely capable of holding a believable conversation, and lots of times when sounds or visuals lag and are out of sync with one another. These little things are concerning not merely because it is poor purely from a storytelling perspective, but also because the game isn’t so big or graphically demanding that it should be hard to run smoothly.

However, although it is evident that The Council has some underlying problems — some of which can hopefully be fixed or honed in the coming episodes — it is not all bad, and even though frustration was a constant feature of the experience, there is a lot to praise in this game. Indeed, in many ways, it is precisely because it shows so much promise, and ultimately falls short, that I found it so frustrating.

First of all, the game is visibly very striking — not because it is impressive, but because of the undeniably unique stylisation of the character models. Think Dishonored but less steampunk, with more aristocratic French flamboyance.

Screenshot: GameNewsOfficial YouTube channel
photo: Mancunion

Unlike the instantly recognisable style of Telltale, which adopts the boxier, cel-shaded designs, or Life is Strange’s soft-anime character models, The Council has a much more realistic style, with grainy, macro-skin textures and a palette that ranges from deep dark, blues, reds, and browns, all the way to the more washed-out sepia tones that filter much of the games visuals, especially during cut-scenes, adding an appropriately dated veneer to compliment the game’s cast of historical figures.

However, the way these historical figures were portrayed was one of the main caveats of the game. I was immediately enticed by the notion of the interacting with the likes of George Washington and Napoleon and plunging myself into a world of Illuminati-like groups, but ultimately these characters weren’t used to their full potential.

Screenshot: GamesNewsOfficial YouTube channel

photo: Mancunion

The social interactions were limited, and the character’s underground organisation felt like an afterthought in many of the conversations, almost as if it was only deployed as an excuse to justify why all these guests were present in the first place.

One of the main criticisms levelled at the likes of Telltale games is that there is very little depth to the active role of the player themselves: yes, you may direct the pathway for the narrative to follow, but often the possibilities are fairly limited and the decisions have little impact on the grander scale of what is essentially a more rigid narrative structure.

Very few games offer much variation on that formula. The Council, on the other hand, makes a valiant attempt at trying to take the persistent draw-back of the genre and drag it into the more rewarding realms of a more detailed, RPG-inspired, skill-based affair.

However, as seems to be the common denominator with this title, it feels only like an attempt as opposed to a fully-fledged achievement. Whilst the skill trees are extensive, offering up three main classes: Occultist, Detective, Diplomat — with each of these offering various abilities as well as special talents to enhance and really capitalise on your chosen skill set(s) — the complexity is a bit of a double-edged sword.

It is nice to see the building blocks for real character progression in one of these games, but it feels a bit bogged down in its own intricacies. It is great that the game tries to offer different character builds/classes and skills to enable you to vary your approach, but the capacity to use them is often hamstrung by the slightly frustrating point system therein.

Rather than unlock a skill, you have to earn effort points in order to use them. These can be gained through simply be completing tasks, reading books, or obtaining consumable items such as amber fragments, but you’re likely to be short on these points if you haven’t done enough exploring.

Although one might argue this adds depth and promotes exploration by making you work harder and adding difficulty to many of the social interactions, I couldn’t ignore that I didn’t really feel the benefit over the course of a two-three hour episode and it felt frustrating when I frequently couldn’t use the skills I had chosen to get past a tricky conversation.

Ironically, however, I also had the complete opposite feeling on many other occasions when the dialogue puzzles seemed very routine. Since all the characters have strengths and weaknesses that can be viewed through the games database menu, it seemed a rather simplistic process of mismatching — like being met with a grass-type Pokémon and instantly choosing a fire.

So, how does this first episode, ‘The Mad Ones’, introduce us to this new universe? Well, unfortunately, that pretty much sums up how this first taste of The Council felt. It was an introduction; the embryonic stages of a game that I truly believe has great potential but fell short in what should have been its main objective: truly pulling me into the world so that I couldn’t wait for the next episode.

6/10

Interview: The Wombats

The Wombats have become one of the most influential indie bands since the 2000s , as they’re now four albums down, and have over ten years on the road under their belt. Their albums chart the highs and lows of adolescence and adulthood with flare, humility and honesty and have truly reached an iconic status in the music genre.

Ahead of their second sold out show at the Academy, bassist Tord Knudsen took ten minutes out of his busy schedule to chat to The Mancunion

So, how does it feel to have two sold out nights at the Academy and an upcoming sold out night at Alexandra Palace?

We’re feeling really humbled. To be able to continue playing at this level, to still be The Wombats and for people to still want to come see us live and listen to our music, we feel very privileged, especially ten years on.

Your first album had a lot of post-punk sounds to it, but now on your fourth album there’s a very mature nature to it. How would you say you’ve changed? Has it been a deliberate process or something else entirely?

We kind of wanted to go back to our roots a little bit on this album (Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life). This Modern Glitch and Glitterbug were both quite synthy which we enjoyed doing but you come to a point where you’ve explored a lot of it, and it’s nice to then go back to where we started. We made a conscious decision to try and go back to the bare essentials, not soaked in too much production. We feel like it worked out!

You’ve been together as a band for over ten years now, have you come across the phrase “guitar music is dead” and what do you think about this?

People keep saying that and I think it’s bullshit. I don’t think it’s dying; I think there’s always going to be guitar music around. I live in Oslo at the moment, and there’s a big tropical house movement where kids are growing up wanting to be DJs but it’s the same with bands. It just takes one to inspire the kids to start making that kind of music. I don’t think its accurate to say it’s dying, it just means that it’s not mainstream.

Now four albums down, what would you say is your favourite song that you’ve produced or played live?

I find that an impossible question really. I feel like it’s always the latest work you are proudest of. I can probably pick two from Beautiful People: ‘Cheetah Tongue’ and ‘I Don’t Know Why I Like You But I Do’. I feel like they represent something a bit new for The Wombats. They’re exciting to play live.

Given how much you’ve changed over the years, who would you say your biggest inspiration has been and have you been picking up new inspirations as you’ve progressed as a band?

You always do! Whether it’s music, what’s happening in the world or your experiences that fuel the story for a song. I tend to go back in time to get creative — Glitterbug was very 80s inspired. Now I’ve been getting into more stuff from the 70s. We kind of just pick up on little bits, like psychedelia for example.

What are you listening to at the moment then?

I’ve been getting really into Superorganism, Tame Impala and I really like the new Beck album actually!

Maybe I’ll check that out then! Last question then, what’s your go-to karaoke song?

‘Take On Me’ by a-ha. I played it yesterday on my DJ set and I was made up — people were going mental! I love playing it on the road, it’s my Norwegian pride!

Can you hit those high notes though?

Just! They don’t sound as crystal clear or smooth but I can get there! I do sound like a crow that’s being choked though!

I’m sure you’re not that bad! Thank you very much and good luck tonight!

Live Review: The Wombats

Already boasting a sold-out Academy last week, The Wombats returned for part two of their Manchester take-over, bringing with them all the excitement, flair and charm that they’re so renowned for.

They were in good company too, with support from rising stars Bloxx and fellow Liverpudlians The Night Café helping to warm up the crowd.

For a band that have been performing together for well over a decade now, it’d be fair to suppose that The Wombats might have lost their edge. But this couldn’t be further from the truth.

The trio give it their absolute all, delivering a non-stop barrage of energy and emotion all night long. A particular shout-out goes to bassist Tord Knudsen, who spent the gig relentlessly darting around stage, flinging his bass around as if it were made of paper.

The psychedelic ‘Cheetah Tongue’ kicked the evening off. It was a gentle opener, but one that allowed everyone to psyche themselves up for what was to follow. After that it was the euphoric ‘Give Me A Try’ from third album Glitterbug, ramping up the masses with one of their best songs. There’s just something so infectious about their hybrid synth-guitar sound that means they’re impossible not to dance to.

With such a large catalogue of songs, The Wombats never ran out of ammunition, moving from anthem to anthem. Now with four albums under their belt, it was nice to see they were able to eliminate some of their slower songs from the setlist, keeping the overall energy sky high throughout.

“You probably can’t tell because I’m a pro, but I’ve actually got a cold right now so I need you to sing extra loudly for us” croaked frontman Murph. Everyone in the venue needed no second invitation, and the band launched into the second half of their set. After vanishing for a brief five minutes, they returned and blessed the crowd with four more songs, ending on the fantastic ‘Greek Tragedy’ as balloons rained down on the Academy.

Overall the night was a balanced mix of the old and the new; with unforgettable tunes from their debut (such as the unforgettable ‘Let’s Dance To Joy Division’) and some of their best work from later releases. Alongside stunning new stage visuals — including some dancing wombats during the encore — The Wombats are arguably performing at their peak and show no signs of slowing.