After a good two years, I have closed the Random Interaction forum. It was good run this time around but the majority of the last year showed little to no activity at all. And that’s OK really because none of us have any time for it anymore anyway. I appreciate the three of you that stopped by occasionally to check in (namely Robert, Tim & Tom) over the last six months or so. And a big thanks to everyone else involved…
I thought I’d post quickly to express my excitement regarding two new games…
The first is a new version of the classic board game Risk by Avalon Hill called “Godstorm”. I am a huge Risk fan and consider it my all time favorite board game. Although I haven’t played Godstorm yet, I actually own a copy (thanks to my lovely Allison for the birthday gift!!) and can’t wait to dive in and get to reading the manual so we can play ASAP! Here’s the official site.
Second is a PC game I’ve had my eye on for quite some time now. It’s called “Heroes of Annihilated Empires” and is slated to be released via Steam (a game distribution system I whole-heartedly support and love) next week. Check out the site and some screen shots here. Sweet stuff!
I recently purchased reissued versions of two albums I adore; Opeth’s “Ghost Reveries” and Meshuggah’s “Nothing”. 99% of the time when new versions of my favorites come out, I usually take the original versions in and trade them in towards purchase of the reissue. The exception would be if the original is a true collector’s item or has a different track listing, etc. If it just has new packaging and extra stuff, there’s no need for me to have two copies of the same record. With that said, here are my thoughts after trading in my original copies of the above mentioned albums…
This new special edition of the Opeth recording includes a DVD documentary which was a treat to watch. It also includes a 5.1 mix of the album that I look forward to hearing when I have the time to sit and really pay attention. The packaging is awesome and I’m very happy to have this version over the original release.
One of the things I love about the original release of “Nothing” is how unbelievable the drums sound both in the mix and on their own. The drum sound on “Nothing” continues to be what I consider the best metal drum sound ever put to CD. I love Tomas Haake’s sound and playing on this album. Well it turns out that the new version of this CD is considerably different. Not only does it appear to have been completely remastered but also remixed and contains newly recorded guitar parts. Although it sounds incredible and I can hear parts I don’t recall hearing on the original, it is overall drastically different. That drum sound I fell in love with is gone and the drums have also been pushed back further into the mix. I just about spit out my tea upon first listen when the drums came in on the first cut! This new version of “Nothing” should only be purchased by the hard core fans and even then they shouldn’t get rid of their originals. The good news is that the extra stuff is very cool, including the lyrics which were not part of the original, a 3d postcard of the cover and a DVD with live footage and video clips. Lesson learned. I have since repurchased the original version so that I could sleep through the night.
