A DISMISSED FUTURE FOR ALL - ALBUM STREAM NOW LIVE!

The full stream of my new album, "A Dismissed Future For All" is now available at http://steescribbles.bandcamp.com/

Also, download options will be available next Thursday with three bonus tracks, on a pay what you want basis (you can even pay ZERO for the lot, and I'll still appreciate it :) 
At the moment, I am in the process of readying the digital distribution of this album amongst iTunes, Amazon, Spotify via Tunecore.

Please share this amongst your peers, and comment what you think. And thank you :)

ALBUM UPDATE #2

Pay what you want, or pay nothing at all, for the new album "A Dismissed Future For All" when you download from Bandcamp from the 16th May until 1st June. Albums downloaded from Bandcamp will have an alternative album art, as well as some other bonus content, as a way of saying thanks. An option to pre-order the album will be available soon, which will bag you even more bonus incentives. After 1st June, the album will be available on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, Google Music, and all those other places.
This will be a digital release for now.
For now, anyway.

Also, one of my friends who works under the musical persona "A-Void" has began to preview his new EP, which can be heard here:



Looking forward to this release, you guys.

A DISMISSED FUTURE FOR ALL: New album details!

I am pleased to announce that my second album "A Dismissed Future For All" will be available from 16th May exclusively on Bandcamp, and then 1st June for iTunes, Amazon, and Spotify. Here is the official track listing:

1. Dark, Cold and Feckless
2. A Dismissed Future For All
3. YAY, Doomsday
4. Hallucinogenics
5. Heart Shaped Replica
6. All Our Role Models Are Dying
7. A Billion Raindrops
8. A Human Sound
9. The World's On Tabloids
10. B-Side To The Soundtrack Of Life

The picture used for the album art was taken at a student fees protest, organized by the student union of Letterkenny Institute Of Technology, and felt like it was appropriate, as it connected to the theme of the album, the fact that the futures of young aspiring people is being dismissed by the government by their unfair treatment against students with rising college fees, and constant delays of the grant, that is required for students to pay rent and other costs of living, which is causing people to drop out due to lack of funds.
It is a mixture of alternative kinds of music, from experimental electronic, to ambient, to instrumental rock. I really hope you enjoy the album when it's completely finished. More info about the album will be revealed in the coming weeks.

Stephen.

PS3 Woes & PS1 Memories

My Playstation's been through a hell of a week, starting with a lengthy format process, 60 hours and 37 minutes to be exact. Yep, Sony has done it again. The 1 terabyte hard drive is incompatible with the system's safe mode tools, and will force the user to format their hard drive, however, after doing so, the system remained slow and kept freezing a lot. So, I had to resort to a lovely FULL FORMAT, which, although was a lifesaver, took donkeys to finish. I started it on 12:03am on Monday morning, and it only finished today at 12:38. But after that, it felt like a brand new system! No freezing, no glitching, nothing. At the moment, it's in a state of rehabilitation, cooling down due to the huge strain put on the hard drive.

Don't get me wrong, I do respect Sony, and I love PlayStation. Ever since I was 7, I've been glued to it. The old phat PlayStation 1 on an old CRT telly, playing Crash Bandicoot, dying repeatedly at the hands of the Rolling Stones level. It was bliss at the time. There was no distractions, no stupid downloadable content, or advertising. Just me, the TV, the PS, and Crash Bandicoot. It's hard to discard the fact that the 90s was one of the greatest gaming eras, with the evolution of console based gaming. Final Fantasy was another big part of my life, starting with the eighth game in the series. I used to find it tough, and spent my days watching my big brother play it like a fucking pro. He was big into the RPG genre, and still is to this day. Getting the PlayStation 1 was a greater experience than getting the PS3, in my honest opinion. While the PS3 had the sleek graphics, network functions and wireless controllers, the original PlayStation had the one thing that is rare in this era of console games: the kind of games you never forget, the kind that allow you to enter the world of the game without restrictions or boundaries. The classic original games that spearheaded the appeal of gaming for generations upon generations. The proper multiplayer games like Team Buddies, or Speed Freaks that bring friends together in the same room instead of locations all around the world.
You just can't beat it.

Game Review - DmC: Devil May Cry

As a long time fan of the Devil May Cry series, I was shocked on Capcom's decision to abandon the original Dante model in favor of a more "Western" character. I dreaded the release of this game for a while, for fear it would ruin the entire series because of Ninja Theory's involvement in the new game.
Never have I been so wrong. The result, is a high octane hack 'n' slash F-bomb ridden masterpiece, under the title DmC: Devil May Cry.

You play as a different, much younger version of Dante, who, unaware of his true powers as a Nephilim (half demon, half angel), spends his days drinking, canoodling with the women, or in this case, being hunted by an alternate twisted parody of the city, known as Limbo, a demon filled hell which hunts and tries to kill Dante in various ways. Armed with Rebellion and Ebony & Ivory, the trademark weapons of our hero as well as a few other surprises, Dante can obliterate demons in countless ways, using button combinations. A word of warning: this is no button masher. Some enemies can only be taken out with Demon weapons while others are shielded and require heavier weapons. Some weapons are more effective than others in terms of location, enemy types, etc.
Demons aren't the only thing Dante has to worry about though. The world of Limbo is alive, and is constantly after Dante, by means of warping the scenery, or creating chaos, in real time. Platforming elements are also a chaotic experience, with the Angel Grab and Demon Grab mixing things up to provide a high octane experience never seen in the series.
The demon "Mundus" makes a return, operating as Kyle Ryder, the ruler of both humans and demons, who uses his demonic powers and CCTV cameras to monitor the city and interrogate Dante on his ventures. Vergil is also back as Dante's twin brother, and leader of The Order, a group of activists against Mundus and his demonic universe. Kat, a psychic medium, who has the power to see Limbo is also introduced in the series.

Long live Dante!

Make no mistake, this game is fantastic. There's some great dialogue, some very intense scenes and some very impressive visuals. Ninja Theory have done justice with its advanced motion capturing, giving realism to the characters. Collectibles like 'keys' and 'lost souls' spice things up even further, allowing some classic exploration stripped from the Devil May Cry DNA. Rather than emphasizing backtracking, DmC focuses on progression. It's all action, all the time. White Orbs earn you upgrade points, while Red Orbs allow the purchase of items. Dante can do tons of stuff simultaneously, giving power to the player. Weapons can be hot switched at any time, allowing for some SSSTYLISH stuff. A on display point system has been introduced to the series to show player how they're beating the shit out of the enemies, and how stylish they are in terms of ass-kicking. The in-game music provided by electronic group NOISIA and industrial group COMBICHRIST makes a treat, especially during the "RUN LIKE SHIT" scenes in Mission 1, (which are aplenty in this game.) The boss fights are entertaining and sometimes funny, as seen with the Succubus' foul mouthed insults, which definitely make a welcome addition to the series.

Like platformers? You'll LOVE this level.

There are some minor gripes, mainly to do with graphical issues. I'm not talking about the 30fps controversy, because it never affected the enjoyment of this game in any way. I'm on about the cut-scenes  which although entertaining, suffer texture loss and even turning some elements into a giant pixelated mess. The difficulty of the bosses is also an issue, where they lack in strength and attacks, even on the highest level of difficulty. Purchasing items can be a challenge, when there is only a couple of orbs lying around each level, leaving the player empty handed with no items to use, and forcing them to collect orbs in previous missions over and over again.

This is a welcome addition to the Devil May Cry series, even with its drastic modifications. The gameplay is fun, the music is fantastic, and the visuals are staggeringly beautiful. Ninja Theory have really pulled it off with Dante's re imagining, contrary to earlier views back in 2010. Watch out for some easter-eggs as a homage to the series, including trophies with quotes from previous DMC games.
JACKPOT.

JUDGEMENT:
Good Bits   
Hours of gameplay  
Impressive story  
Fun platforming action  
Motion capturing is top notch  
Some fantastic music  

Bad Bits       
Bosses are too easy  
Cutscenes can get graphically messy  

Verdict: 
9/10

Right in the Childhood: Adult Swim release long lost Dexter's Lab episode

It's happened.
Unfortunately, it's been bleeped out, so all the F-Bombs are censored.
But still, enjoy!

Free download of A DISMISSED FUTURE FOR ALL!

"A Dismissed Future For All" is now available to download on Bandcamp for the low, low price of FREE. Just click the Download button, and choose your format!

Goodbye Vibedeck, Hello Bandcamp.

Starting from 23rd January, VibeDeck will no longer be offering free services on their sites, as they are switching to a subscription based affair. As a student, I can't afford to pay such and such a month just to keep my music on there, so my account will be shut down.
As a result of this, until the 23rd of January, all discography on the site will be free to download. They've got this new system where they have download credits, at the moment, I have 1000 for some reason, probably as a "thank-you" for sticking with them. I don't blame them to be honest, hosting music costs money and all that, and they have been trying to make money through these extras, but a monthly subscription based plan is just something I can't devote myself to.

Vibedeck page: http://vibedeck.com/steescribbles

In other news, Bandcamp have created a "fans page", thus becoming somewhat of a social network. In the next month or so, I will be transferring my music to their group, and will be using that page as a store. This will take time, however, they're very strict on formats and shit.

If you have signed up for this fans page, you can follow me at: http://bandcamp.com/steescribbles and click the Follow button.
Also, if you haven't liked the SteeScribbles Facebook Music page, you can do so here: http://www.facebook.com/steescribblesMusic
And if you still haven't found my SoundCloud page, look no further! https://soundcloud.com/steescribbles

Things are looking good for this year anyway, been experimenting with Flash, and how I can incorporate this into my music and such. It's all very exciting. :)

S.S

A Dismissed Future For All.

I am proud to announce that I am currently recording new material for the upcoming album "A Dismissed Future For All", which will be released later this year. Here is a sneak peek of the title track. You can also visit my Soundcloud page for some new tracks.

Dark, Cold & Feckless

It's been twenty-one years since a change in the values of life has been detected.
I lost a whole lot of hope today for the way of life.
Things were never this bad.
The crazy cities of the island are at war with one another.
The newspaper headlines telling us everyone and everything will kill us,
While the cold hearted journalists intrude on the lives of damaged folk for their views,
And the modem music rotting the speakers of the stereo, clogging it up with dirty innuendo playing in the background.
As the future soldiers sit on their bottoms armed with the controls, killing off non-existent enemies with non-existent guns, and non-existent morals and family ties,
As the magazines are screaming at us to stop eating and be a cold silhouette of a slender front page tart,
While the television broadcasts sad stories through means of an advertisement,  just to turn the other cheek and go "Fuck them. Look after number one."
It's a dark and dynamic world out there, where change is for the worse, and fairness is the lying word that is spouted by the suits once a day, to keep their integrity and reputation amongst The Legion of Doom in check. It's a world where "New and Improved" is nothing more than a way to destroy the things people love, whilst at the same time, putting a heavier price tag on it. A world where a feckless youth destroy themselves with cheap piss and chemicals with names with countless syllables.
A world I long to dismiss.