Manhattan Digest

Album Review: Logos – Cold Mission

Logos: Cold Mission

Similar Artists: Jam City, Rabit, Vangelis, Girl-Unit

Genre: Grime, Pirate-Radio, Post-Apocalyptica, Ambient, Extra-Terrestrial

Label: Keysound

February 28, 2028,

The last time they came it was when I was fast asleep, dreaming of the constellations perhaps, only to be awoken by three disquieting jolts at the front door; the reaction caused a loud, penetrating boom that ricocheted through the dismantled hallways of the apartment building. It was immediately apparent to all of us — these were no ordinary knocks. They came from no neighboring friend asking for food for their young, no friendly door salesman offering household supplies. “Boom! Boom! Boom!” There they were again, this time even more forceful and alarming than they had been before. From outside the boarded up windows I could hear the sounds of police issued nightsticks crashing down on the cold metal handrails leading up to our quarters. Each crack of the whip created a resonating ringing sound that rang into the ether, stinging my ears with their vibrancy. Within seconds the front door swung open, breaking the lock into metallic, crystalline shards. I attempted to get up out of my cot, but my legs wouldn’t budge, for I knew so much as a creak in the bed springs or a tilt in the floorboards would draw me unwanted attention. Instead of running like my mind insisted, I held my breath, listening for the oncoming action… (Why those men were there at that moment I still can’t say for certain — a random search and seize procedure I assume — but what I do know is that they’ll be back, and soon, next time without leaving any scraps.)

Shattering glass, the cocking of a shotgun, and the dreadful ambience of the coming police raids: these are the sounds that have continuously replayed in my head ever since the 2025 uprising. It was three years ago today in fact, where the crisis first began, and that’s why I’m writing this note now. Someone somewhere I’m sure must be celebrating the occasion as they toast their wine and feast on their bread, but for those of us living in one of London’s many abandoned districts — whose outlet for satisfaction lays buried within the rubble of our crumbling city — it’s another reminder of the brutal times we’ve been living in, as well as the ones that lie ahead.

I often find myself craving for the days when us citizens lived out our lives as mindless, meaningless drones — working deliriously for our corruptors without so much as a hint about the struggles we would later have to face. Instead, London has been fragmented into nearly uninhabitable sectors. The unluckiest of us live in a state of constant turmoil, everyone from the young to the old are forced to live in grime-ridden, disease spewing apartment buildings with minimum power/supplies, waiting on our heels for some kind of definable end to arrive. This past year alone, murder rates have risen to an uncountable level, and there are no signs pointing towards an end to any of the violence. Every week, it seems there’s another story about more clan leaders being executed, more of the so-called safe havens being overtaken by a government run district.

Recently, the authorities have started using a newly developed weapon in attempt to slow down some of the more forceful of the rebellion units — or at least this is what we originally thought was happening. You see, the most watchful of us believe there’s something inhuman lurking amongst us. I’ve seen it myself, no more than a few hundred yards away in fact — if only faintly through the dense entrapping fog. Out from this strangely geometric figure emitted a bright, luminescent beam of blue light, instantly enveloping its target in a sort of dome shaped cocoon. Then, the dome slowly hovered around the target until everything, including the geometric being itself, was turned to nothingness. The sound this occurrence makes though — a penetratingly deep, sub bass roar — is enough to cause you to fall to your knees at its utterance. The reverberating echo of the sound forever repeats in your skull, long after the rays of the light have faded into blackness. No carcass, no ashes, and no blood stains are left at the crime scene for the following day’s inspectors, as if all the townspeople had just dreamed the occurrence. This, as well as many of the other rumors all seem to point towards something unmistakably alien among us — some kind of shape-shifting being that only takes on its natural form during the wee hours of the night, a blood thirsting creature working for neither side of the Earth’s equation, and a larger part of the secret that’s still being hidden from us.

Something good is coming though — it seems everyone can sense it — something greater even than hope itself, more indisputable than fact. From the beginning of this month, a gap has begun to open in the sky for a few hours at a time, directly to the north of us. During these brief moments, when I’m able to stare up at the celestial heavens, it all seems so different than how I remember it. Some stars are bigger or wider, others are shifted around and out of place. It’s as if the higher powers of the universe have thrown this foggy blanket on top of us so we wouldn’t notice their godly hands switching the pieces around. Whenever this astronomical reference closes off however, all my thoughts seem to decease before they form into a coherent whole. All patterns become dispersed and drowned out in the cataclysmic atmosphere of the environment. It’s the main reason why I haven’t been able to write this sooner, and why most days I am but a slave to the harsh winter climate, at a loss to process any new information. Lastly, before I forget, I did happen to see something else traveling through the night sky on its last visit — a blazing blue comet, as bright as can be and hurdling towards the Earth.

Track Listing:

1.) Ex 101*

2.) Stasis Jam

3.) Surface Area

4.) Swarming (feat. Rabit)*

5.) Sea Wolf*

6.) Alien Shapes (Feat. Dusk & Blackdown)

7.) Menace

8.) Cold Mission

9.) Night Flight

10.) Wut It Do (Feat. Mumdance)*

11.) Atlanta 96 (Limitless Mix)*

Album Highlight – *

The Singularity – Why You Should Start Paying Attention

by Alex David Jimenez

It is a concept which easily escapes the minds and comprehension of most given the scope of its significance. The singularity is a theoretical and mathematically predicted event set to occur in the near future. What sort of event? Well to put it bluntly, an event which will alter our entire planet and the way we live our lives. The singularity is near. Whether or not you believe it will occur, on some level, it has already started.

The Singularity:

“A future period during which the pace of technological change will be so rapid, its impact so deep, that human life will be irreversibly transformed. Although neither utopian nor dystopian, this epoch will transform the concepts that we rely on to give meaning to our lives, from our business models to the cycle of human life, including death itself.” – Ray Kurzweil

In simpler terms, the singularity is a exponentially based hypothetical which says that the growth of technology, pertaining to the size and capabilities of individual computer processing units, is rising at such a rapid pace that it will surpass human intelligence within this century. Ray Kurzweil, an American author and futurist, is the foremost authority on the singularity, citing many strong evidential theories as to why this is indeed a real event. According to Kurzweil, given the current pace of technology growth (the current pace of technology growth rises more each single hour than it did in its first 90 years of existence combined – see chart), the singularity, which is a “zero point” where the intelligence of the technological world will surpass that of humanity, shall occur in or around the year 2045. Wrap your head around that. Most of you reading this will be alive in the year 2045.

The chart below gives a view of the rising of technological growth. The rise of growth is not a straight line, but indeed curves upward, and will eventually become a straight line. That is the singularity.

Need a little more breakdown and explanation? Watch This Video.

So what does this mean for us? Well, according to futurists, it means a complete change in the way we live our lives. Completely. In the coming years, great advances in science are expected, including graphic and virtual reality advances so pristine that the actual world and the virtual world will be indistinguishable. Kurzweil describes a future society where most of humanity lives in the virtual world most of the time, using it to live out fantasies and escape their lives. Nanorobotics is also expected to emerge, which is a science with endless possibilities. Imagine robots small enough to be injected into your bloodstream to prevent heart attacks, or prevent infections. Imagine robots small enough to eradicate cancer, or kill a cold virus before you even feel symptoms, or gather and burn fat within your body while you sit at your desk. As hard as it is to imagine, it’s being developed right now.

One can easily see how such advancements in technology would be astoundingly good for us as a species. But there are of course negative aspects to the singularity. To begin with, fully self-aware artificial intelligence. It doesn’t take a Terminator film to know that intelligent machines which are potentially billions of times smarter than us is not something that rests so easily in the back of your mind. The year 2045 is when the development of technology is expected to be “taken over” by technology itself, and is expected to thereafter grow at a pace faster than we as humans can even comprehend. In the interest of looking at technology as a series of individual and collaborative machines, we will have in essence created a new species and will have built them with the ability to advance themselves at their own free will.

Kurzweil wrote a fascinating book called “The Singularity is Near” in 2005 in which he actively predicts significant events and milestones in the growth of technology in the coming decades. While the events are certainly not exact (they are predictions based on exponential growth; Kurzweil cannot predict the future), they are in many cases feasible, and as a whole, incredibly overwhelming:

2010

Supercomputers will have the same raw computing power as human brains, though the software to emulate human thinking on those computers does not yet exist. (IBM Sequoia)

Computers will start to disappear as distinct physical objects, meaning many will have nontraditional shapes or will be embedded in clothing and everyday objects.

Full-immersion audio-visual virtual reality will exist.

2010s

The decade in which “Bridge Two”, the revolution in Genetics/Biotechnology, is to reach its peak. During the 2010s, humans will have the means of changing their genes; not just “designer babies” will be feasible, but designer baby boomers through the rejuvenation of all of one’s body’s tissues and organs by transforming one’s skin cells into youthful versions of every other cell type. People will be able to “reprogram” their own biochemistry away from disease and aging, radically extending life expectancy.

Computers become smaller and increasingly integrated into everyday life.

More and more computer devices will be used as miniature web servers, and more will have their resources pooled for computation.

High-quality broadband Internet access will become available almost everywhere.

Eyeglasses that beam images onto the users’ retinas to produce virtual reality will be developed. They will also come with speakers or headphone attachments that will complete the experience with sounds. These eyeglasses will become a new medium for advertising as advertising will be wirelessly transmitted to them as one walks by various business establishments. This was fictionalized in Dennō Coil.

The VR glasses will also have built-in computers featuring “virtual assistant” programs that can help the user with various daily tasks.

Virtual assistants would be capable of multiple functions. One useful function would be real-time language translation in which words spoken in a foreign language would be translated into text that would appear as subtitles to a user wearing the glasses.

Cell phones will be built into clothing and will be able to project sounds directly into the ears of their users.

Advertisements will utilize a new technology whereby two ultrasonic beams can be targeted to intersect at a specific point, delivering a localized sound message that only a single person can hear. This was fictionalized in the films Minority Report and Back to the Future Part II.

2015

By now, it is likely that “clean a house” will be within the capabilities of a household robot.

2018

10¹³ bits (=10 TB) of computer memory—roughly the equivalent of the memory space in a single human brain—will cost $1000.

2020s

The decade in which “Bridge Three”, the revolution in Nanotechnology, is to begin: allowing humans to vastly overcome the inherent limitations of biology, as no matter how much humanity fine-tunes their biology, they will never be as capable otherwise. This decade also marks the revolution in Robotics (Strong AI), as an AI is expected to pass the Turing test by the last year of the decade (2029), meaning it can pass for a human being (though the first A.I. is likely to be the equivalent of an average, educated human). What follows then will be an era of consolidation in which non-biological intelligence will undergo exponential growth (Runaway AI), eventually leading to the extraordinary expansion contemplated by the Singularity, in which human intelligence is multiplied by billions by the mid-2040s.

Early in this decade, humanity will have the requisite hardware to emulate human intelligence within a $1000 personal computer, followed shortly by effective software models of human intelligence toward the middle of the decade: this will be enabled through the continuing exponential growth of brain-scanning technology, which is doubling in bandwidth, temporal and spatial resolution every year, and will be greatly amplified with nanotechnology, allowing us to have a detailed understanding of all the regions of the human brain and to aid in developing human-level machine intelligence by the end of this decade.

Computers less than 100 nm in size will be possible.

As one of their first practical applications, nanomachines are used for medical purposes.

Highly advanced medical nanobots will perform detailed brainscans on live patients.

Accurate computer simulations of the entire human brain will exist due to these hyper-accurate brain scans, and the workings of the brain will be understood.

Nanobots capable of entering the bloodstream to “feed” cells and extract waste will exist (though not necessarily be in wide use) by the end of this decade. They will make the normal mode of human food consumption obsolete.

By the late 2020s, nanotech-based manufacturing will be in widespread use, radically altering the economy as all sorts of products can suddenly be produced for a fraction of their traditional-manufacture costs. The true cost of any product is now the amount it takes to download the design schematics.

By the later part of this decade, virtual reality will be so high-quality that it will be indistinguishable from real reality.

The threat posed by genetically engineered pathogens permanently dissipates by the end of this decade as medical nanobots—infinitely more durable, intelligent and capable than any microorganism—become sufficiently advanced.

The many variations of “Human Body 2.0” (as Kurzweil calls it) are incrementally accumulated into this and the following decade, with each organ and body system having its own course of refinement and development. It ultimately consists of a nano-technological system of nourishment and circulation, obsoleting many internal organs, brain-extension and an improved skeleton.

2023

10¹⁶ calculations per second—roughly the equivalent of one human brain—will cost $1,000.

2025

The most likely year for the debut of advanced nanotechnology.

Some military UAVs and land vehicles will be 100% computer-controlled.

2030s

Mind uploading becomes successful and perfected by the end of this decade as humans become software-based: living out on the Web, projecting bodies whenever they want or need (whether in virtual or real reality), and living indefinitely so long as they maintain their “mind file”. Eventually, all human beings (including those with transbiological 2.0 or 3.0 bodies) will migrate to this postbiological state except for those who wish to remain unenhanced: the transbiological era giving way to the postbiological era.

Nanomachines could be directly inserted into the brain and could interact with brain cells to totally control incoming and outgoing signals. As a result, truly full-immersion virtual reality could be generated without the need for any external equipment. Afferent nerve pathways could be blocked, totally canceling out the “real” world and leaving the user with only the desired virtual experience.

Brain nanobots could also elicit emotional responses from users.

Using brain nanobots, recorded or real-time brain transmissions of a person’s daily life known as “experience beamers” will be available for other people to remotely experience. This is very similar to how the characters in Being John Malkovich were able to enter the mind of Malkovich and see the world through his eyes.

Recreational uses aside, nanomachines in people’s brains will allow them to greatly expand their cognitive, memory and sensory capabilities, to directly interface with computers, and to “telepathically” communicate with other, similarly augmented humans via wireless networks.

The same nanotechnology should also allow people to alter the neural connections within their brains, changing the underlying basis for the person’s intelligence, memories and personality.

The many variations of “Human Body 3.0” are gradually implemented during this and the following decade; It mostly likely lacks a fixed, corporeal form and can alter its shape and external appearance at will via foglet-like nanotechnology.

2040s

People spend most of their time in full-immersion virtual reality (Kurzweil has cited The Matrix as a good example of what the advanced virtual worlds will be like, without the dystopian twist).

Foglets are in use.

Nonbiological intelligence will be billions of times more capable than biological intelligence.

2045: The Singularity

$1000 buys a computer a billion times more intelligent than every human combined. This means that average and even low-end computers are vastly smarter than even highly intelligent, unenhanced humans.

The technological singularity occurs as artificial intelligences surpass human beings as the smartest and most capable life forms on the Earth. Technological development is taken over by the machines, who can think, act and communicate so quickly that normal humans cannot even comprehend what is going on. The machines enter into a “runaway reaction” of self-improvement cycles, with each new generation of A.I.s appearing faster and faster. From this point onwards, technological advancement is explosive, under the control of the machines, and thus cannot be accurately predicted (hence the term “Singularity”).

The Singularity is an extremely disruptive, world-altering event that forever changes the course of human history. The extermination of humanity by violent machines is unlikely (though not impossible) because sharp distinctions between man and machine will no longer exist thanks to the existence of cybernetically enhanced humans and uploaded humans.

Post-2045: “Waking up” the Universe

The physical bottom limit to how small computer transistors (or other equivalent, albeit more effective components, such as memristors integrated into Crossbar latches) can be shrunk is reached. From this moment onwards, computers can only be made more powerful if they are made larger in size.

Because of this, A.I.s convert more and more of the Earth’s matter into engineered, computational substrate capable of supporting more A.I.s. until the whole Earth is one, gigantic computer, except for a few nature reserves set aside on the planetary surface for those humans who decided to remain in their natural state. “MOSH’s” (Mostly Original Substrate Human) who choose to remain purely organic would still possess virtual assistants that will act as their transcendent servants, living in the blurred real world (“foglet-reality”) and being provided with environments and everything they could possibly need as they live out the rest of their normal lives unless they enhance themselves.

At this point, the only possible way to increase the intelligence of the machines any farther is to begin converting all of the matter and energy in the universe into similar massive computers. A.I.s radiate outward from Earth, first into the Solar System and then out into interstellar space, then galaxies in all directions, utilizing starships that are Von Neumann probes with nanobot crews, breaking down whole planets, stars, moons, and meteoroids and reassembling them into computers. This, in effect, “wakes up” the universe as all the inanimate “dumb” matter (rocks, dust, gases, etc.) is converted into structured matter capable of supporting life (albeit synthetic life).

Kurzweil predicts that machines might have the ability to make planet-sized computers by 2099, which underscores how enormously technology will advance after the Singularity.

The process of “waking up” the universe could be completed well before the end of the 22nd century, provided humans are not limited by the speed of light.

With the entire universe made into a giant, highly efficient supercomputer, AI and human hybrids (so integrated that, in truth it is a new category of “life”) would have both supreme intelligence and physical control over the universe. Humanity will still not possess infinite levels of any attributes, as the accelerating change of evolution never reaches an infinite measure (though it moves rapidly in that direction), becoming, as Kurzweil writes, “moving inexorably toward this monotheistic conception of God, though never reaching this ideal”; even with theories such as the holographic universe. The final chapter however notes that, if possible, the ability to create and colonize other universes (and if there is a way to do this, humanity’s vast intelligence is likely to harness it, as with surpassing/bypassing the speed of light) could allow the intelligence of the human/machine civilization to extend indefinitely, akin to a mathematical singularity. If not, then saturating humanity’s own universe will remain their ultimate fate.

– via Wikipedia.org

As members of the current race of humanity, it should be impossible for the occurrence of the singularity or anything like it not to affect and completely change the lives of every living person. As Kurzweil outlines in his writings, a post-singularity world would potentially be life on a completely different planet.

There is much debate as to whether or not this epoch of human life will even occur, or if so, to what extent. But it can be said that the evidence is certainly all around us. Each year cell phones and computers get smaller and thinner. Processing units grow in capacity and shrink in size. Medical breakthroughs are made every day. The theory that technology is certainly growing at a consistently faster pace is anything but a theory. Over 1.4 billion citizens of the planet earth have smartphones. Medicine utilizes more machinery as replacement body parts every year. The fact is, no matter which direction we move as a society, the singularity, or an event like it, is near. What is the best way to prepare? Stay informed, and know what to expect.

Colby Keller- Get To Know Him… Again and Again

by Ryan Shea

Colby Comes To Manhattan Digest 🙂

Anybody that doesn’t find at least one part of Colby Keller a turn on is a freaking fool. Or tool. Or blind. Whatever, just look at him and try not to drool in several areas (hehehehe). Colby has been a personal favorite of mine for a very long time now, mainly because I have read up on him outside of what he does in the industry and he brings a ton of brains and thoughtfulness on top of being an insanely handsome dude. Now being in the business for than a decade, he has expanded his usual repertoire of on camera fun times and translated it into so much more. He hosts a successful series on Youtube called “In Bed With Colby Keller” in which he talks about more than just sex but about life and the experiences that come with it. He also has a very popular blog called “Big Shoe Diaries” which chronicles his inner thoughts and places them very strategically onto each blog that he writes about. He’s also super cool and a really nice guy. So many compliments Colby, SO MANY!

I got the chance to interview Mr. Colby a couple of days ago and got to find out about how he started in this industry, what Big Shoe Diaries is really all about, and why he is hopeful of socialist aliens invading our planets. Swoon. Take a look.

How did you come up with the stage name of Colby Keller?

Colby was given to me by SeanCody.com when I first started. Keller was added later by a Director who thought I was so shy and quiet that I must be related to Helen Keller.

What ultimately made you want to get into the business in the first place?

I needed more money and I was curious to explore some exhibitionist tendencies.

You are one of the few stars that has really made it through a long time in the business with a good reputation still in check. How have you been able to do that?

I’m waiting patiently for my name to tarnish. I don’t profess to know how the PR machine works, but I do attempt to stay true to myself.

What advice do you give to the up and comers in the industry?

Be the kind of performer you want to be. Seek out opportunities that sound fun to you as opposed to taking every job that comes along. Also, be more than just sexy. There are millions of sexy people, but you should use the spotlight to present more of yourself than just your body and your sex. Do more than make sexy face for the camera and flexing your muscles. It doesn’t matter what it is, just do more.

There has been a lot of chit chat regarding mainstream porn stars doing scenes with primarily bareback studios. What are your thoughts on that?

I’ll save my answer to this for the Connie Chung interview.

Sum up your blog “Big Shoe Diaries” in 3 words.

Big. Shoe. Diaries.

Seeing as you are from Baltimore, can you describe to me what the gay scene is like there and is there any room for improvements that you would like to see?

I don’t go to the gay bars often, but the art scene is amazing. There are a lot of talented creatives here making great art and really pulling together to build a community in a city that has seen better days.

Your “In Bed With Colby Keller” series on YouTube is quite popular, so let me ask you a question and you give me an answer similar as to how you do in the videos. What is your best advice to give to a guy who has never bottomed before?

I think the Manhunt “In Bed With Colby Keller” says it all!

What gets you off the best when it comes to what you do as a living?

Professionalism. I like working with directors and actors that maintain professionalism in all aspects, but especially in regards to managing time on a set well.

Do you have a type?

No (lies through teeth).

Outside of the industry, what are your plans going on right now?

I’m headed to Art Basel in South Beach. I’m super excited as it will be my first visit there.

What advice do you give to that guy who is afraid to come out of the closet?

Come out! Just do it. You’ll feel a million times better the moment you do.

What are you hopeful for for the future?

I’m hopeful that socialist aliens will land on our planet in the next ten years to save us from ourselves and show us the error of our ways.

What a fun guy indeed! Want to know more about Colby and his superb awesomness? Check out his Twitter, Facebook and official blog sites for more information!

Many Happy Returns: The Sing-Off

by Michael Tyminski

The Sing-Off: Premeires December 9^th at 9:00 pm on NBC

Since we last saw The Sing-Off: A little over two years has passed between seasons of The Sing-Off, as NBC benched the show for the 2012-13 season in favor of trying to capitalize on breakout show The Voice‘s success, eating The Sing-Off’s fall spot in the rotation to run two seasons a year. This year, NBC brings the show back in it’s original holiday spot running seven episodes over two weeks.

Personally, I was surprised at the benching. The Sing-Off had just stumbled upon the sort of act that seemed incredibly fresh in it’s season three champions: Pentatonix. The five piece outlet had week-in and week-out consistently broken new ground for the a-capella genre with their original and often transcendent takes on classic songs. This has led to multiple successful concert tours, appearances across the dial (they just appeared on Ellen a few weeks ago), and an incredibly strong presence on YouTube garnering thousands of hits with every new video they released.

We also see many of the older faces return, including host Nick Lachey and judges Ben Folds and Sean Stockman. For the third straight season, however, we will see a new judge in the center seat as Jewel replaces Sara Bareilles on the panel.

One area that does however seem much different from two years ago is the landscape for competition shows. With the exception of The Voice, the competition show is starting to die off across the board, with even venerable juggernauts such as Dancing with the Stars and American Idol starting to feel the pain of cutbacks this year. I think the Sing-Off will need to pull some surprisingly strong ratings if it wants to see a fifth season, although the cut back to seven episodes should help the show maintain the high level of competition necessary for the show to succeed.

What I’m Looking Forward To: We’ve had two years of post-Pentatonix simmering. It should be interesting to see what direction this years groups take, as both PTX and Urban Method got as far as they did on ambition as much as execution. The smaller field should also theoretically mean a stronger field, which is essential because The Sing-Off is always a better show when every group is slaying it out there (as opposed to say American Idol, where half the fun is in watching people crash and burn their way through auditions. When you add in the fact the show should get a Voice bump, this is the best chance the show has ever had to vindicate itself in the eyes of viewers.

What Worries Me: Part of what made The Sing-Off work so well was that it knew what it was, and that was that it was the competition show worth watching if you actually were into music (I’m pretty sure every PTX live audience would make for a killer choir group). While part of that was the high caliber of the contestants (they routinely pulled from the best of college with some small time groups as well), a lot of it also came from Bareilles being the perfect mix for the middle seat, bringing not only enthusiasm, but some pointed criticism as need be. Jewel takes over for Bareilles, and until we what she brings to the judges’ table, I’ll fear the Nicole Scherzinger level worst. The other thing that worries me is that we had an insanely strong talent pool for season three (the super group composed of the best of seasons 1 and 2 finished sixth), so obviously a weaker pool will be pretty disappointing.

Sweet Spot at Philip Marie

by Jaime Kohl

You know you are home when you taste the love on the plate. When you walk into John Philip Greco’s second home, Philip Marie, you can feel that homey draw. You can taste the passion of the chef in each perfectly cooked muscle and shrimp that he will present to you. And if you have a palate that leans towards the sweeter side; you will find yourself a new regular spot.

From the opening bite you can taste the sweet tilt of the meal. There was a cornbread that seemed like a cross between a bread and dessert piece. The warm, crumbling cornbread was sweet and grilled with a sweet butter sauce, but the crispy rosemary I truly enjoyed. I just needed more balance, maybe just some white pepper; and maybe something else. But none the less I did not want that level of sweetness to start out a long meal. But the crust on this bread and crisp rosemary was delicious….the rest just not as much.

Chef Grecoo officially opened up the meal with a perfectly balanced salad. Bitter arugula with sweet raisins, cranberries and currents in a warm Israeli couscous and beet salad; all dressed with bright lemon vinaigrette. This was one of the highlights of the meal. Although there was sweetness in the dish everything was brought into balance. The bitter and sour notes sang just as loud as the sweet ones.

Next off was butternut squash soup with breadcrumbs. This bright orange soup was one noted and really in need of some additional flavors. Butternut squash is delicious and naturally very sweet and often needs acid and or bitterness or just something else to bring it together. The breadcrumbs did offer some salt and slight contrast in texture in the first moments that followed the food being presented; but quickly became soggy and quickly got lost.

Now these are a few of my favorite things; bacon, oysters, spinach and goat cheese. The Five Eastern Roasted Oysters with crispy bacon, creamed spinach and goat cheese presented on a bead of pink Himalayan rock salts provided some of the most deliciously flavorful bites. But, if I didn’t see the oysters with my own eyes I would not have known they were there. Now this is a delicious and savory dish; but the main ingredient was hiding at the school dance like a wall flower. I would order this again, but I wouldn’t need the oysters to be there.

I couldn’t resist questioning the Captain Crunch crusted Mediterranean Sea Bass. I was wondering how anyone could keep this dish from turning into an odd dessert, but Chef Greco knew just how to do so. He crusted the branzino fillet with a mixture of captain crunch and panko breadcrumbs. It was served over some fresh tagliatelle with a tahini sauce and grilled fennel. The fennel and tagliatelle are delicious. I happen to love the way that fennel can transform with different heat applications. The grilling left a great char and caramelized some of the sugars in the fennel its self leaving and interesting and beautiful contrast to the sweet and tender fish. Although the tagliatelle and tahini were delicious they did not obtain the same marriage of flavor that some of the other pieces on the dish had. There was just something about the tahini that was not in line with the rest of the plate.

The Tuesday night clam bake. Well this is just dam good. The broth that Chef Greco creates with the chardonnay base is the perfect base to permeate the delicious and fresh seafood. Despite the perfect cook on the shrimp and muscles, the delicious half lobster (with all the major cracking of the shell taken care of) and clams, the broth stole the show. The dish is the Tuesday special costing $18.95, and is served with a baked potato and corn on the cob; it’s a steal. There are nightly specials served and I look forward to trying the rest of them. Be sure to check out the other nightly specials. And this winter there will be a great deal of game meats served as the winter menu arrives.

Dessert was a vanilla pound cake with spiced poached pear, grand marine sauce and fresh dense whipped cream. The pears were delicious as was the sauce but the pound cake was just there as a contrast in texture; which was nice, but honestly not needed. I would have just loved a bowl of those pears and sauce.

Chef Greco sat down with me for a little and shared with me some of his story. Philip Marie is the first restaurant Chef Greco opened, he also is the proud owner of 123 Burger Shot Beer, Bamboo52 Sushi Bar and Lounge and Posh Bar and Lounge. But Philip Marie is he’s first and your first always will have a special piece of your heart; and he proudly wears that piece of his heart on his sleeve as he cooks here. He has a sweet tooth; if you do too, this is where you need to eat. The restaurant opened when John Philip and his wife Suzanne Marie Greco returned from their honeymoon and decided to go all in and sell everything they owned to opened up 16 years ago here in Manhattan; the restaurant turn over capital of the world. But with great effort the husband/wife team opened up their New American restaurant and they have been in the same place (where every other restaurant but one has come and gone) since 1998. This is a quality place that you can feel the warmth from the leadership to the table staff. It was a pleasure dining under Chef Greco’s guidance.

2014 Grammy Nominations- Shockers, Delights and Kendrick!

by Ryan Shea

The 2014 Grammy Nominations were announced live last night in Los Angeles at the annual “Grammy Nominations Special” they do each year, hosted by LL Cool J. They had some pretty off the chain concerts from some of the biggest artists in the world, and it truly set the stage for a great night to come in February. When I read the list of nominees this year, some I expected, some I was somewhat surprised on, and some I was insanely baffled that got left out. Let’s break each category down and see what went right and what went really wrong.

Record Of They Year-

Lorde- “Royals”

Imagine Dragons- “Radioactive”

Robin Thicke Featuring TI & Pharrell Williams- “Blurred Lines”

Daft Punk Featuring Pharrell Williams- “Get Lucky”

Bruno Mars- “Locked Outta Heaven”

In my original prediction blog, I had four out of five right (Hooray for me) with Imagine Dragons as an “Honorable Mention” but definitely a contender. Not surprised by any of these as they were all great nominees. Justin could’ve made this category, but I will delve much further into that on the next one. These five songs were really some of the biggest of the year, each of them representing a different genre of music in my opinion. Lorde on that pop/alternative tip, Imagine Dragons are pure alternative, Robin Thicke as the R&B crooner, Daft Punk bringing in the EDM and Bruno Mars giving us straight soul. This is going to be an interesting category of sorts because I don’t think there really is a clear cut winner here. Moving along.

Album Of The Year-

Sara Bareilles- “The Blessed Unrest”

Daft Punk- “Random Access Memories”

Kendrick Lamar- “Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City”

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis- “The Heist”

Taylor Swift- “Red”

No Justin Timberlake in this category, I am beyond shocked about that. I pegged “The 20/20 Experience” as winning this award beyond easily and I truthfully believe he was the biggest snub of the night. Kind of sad when you have the biggest album of the year and you are left off such a crucial list. I think Sara and Kendrick are the surprising nominees here, in a good way. I thought Bruno Mars was a shoo in as well for “Unorthodox Jukebox” but I am somewhat glad to see him left off this list as I think Sara and Kendrick had stronger showings. Not shocked by Macklemore, Taylor or Kendrick but for the sake of my sanity I pray that Taylor doesn’t win AOTY again because “Red” wasn’t really a strong showing. It was a continuation of her last album, and I hope when she releases her new effort it has a bit of maturity to it. This is a tough one to call right now, but if I had to be personal on this- KENDRICK. Please.

Song Of The Year-

Pink & Nate Ruess- “Just Give Me A Reason”

Bruno Mars- “Locked Outta Heaven”

Katy Perry- “Roar”

Lorde- “Royals”

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Featuring Mary Lambert- “Same Love”

In my original article, I had three out of five right (Pink, Macklemore, Lorde). Katy Perry wasn’t really on my radar, and this was the category I thought Sara Bareilles had a chance at with “Brave”, which Katy insanely ripped off for “Roar”. I actually had Drake in this category for “Hold On We’re Going Home”, a song he didn’t even get nominated for this year. That to me is frustrating, as it is one of the best tracks of 2013, and its the same sentiment I felt two years ago when his song with Rihanna “Take Care” got snubbed as well. This is a pretty standard list, so nothing too surprising. They could’ve given Miley something in the main categories, especially for the teen voters, and “Wrecking Ball” is in fact a very well written song. That being said, “Same Love” has got my vote. The lyrics are incredible and if there is one award Macklemore & Ryan Lewis should win it is this one folks.

Best New Artist-

James Blake

Kacey Musgraves

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Ed Sheeran

Kendrick Lamar

Two out of five in my original predictions, with Macklemore and Kendrick easily getting nominated. The others, I don’t really know how I feel about it. First off, where the heck is Imagine Dragons and Lorde on this? Ed Sheeran has been around for a while, so I don’t get why he is nominated this year and not last year. I am beyond floored that Florida Georgia Line didn’t get ANY nominations, and I thought that they would be the perennial country nominee as well over Kacey, but I am glad to see she got in here. The shocker here is EDM producer James Blake, who is following similar pathways with EDM being recognized in the main categories as Skrillex earned a Best New Artist nod last year. Fun! won this last year, something that I thought was completely shit as it should’ve been Frank Ocean, but this is a pretty strong group across the board. Best New Artist has proven to be an award that is never really cut and dry, and many artists that have won in recent years are the one you least expect (Bon Iver over Nicki Minaj, Esperanza Spalding over Justin Bieber). So James Blake really is the odd one out in this. Macklemore really isn’t a new artist in my opinion because he has been around a lot longer than people think, so once again I would love for Kendrick to take this one home. Country nominees never win this award, so it really comes down to Kendrick and Macklemore in my opinion.

Check out the official Grammy website for all the nominees and keep checking on Manhattan Digest for our official prediction blogs in all the categories for months to come. Congrats to all the nominees, especially Kendrick and my homegirl Kathy Griffin who got a sixth nomination for Best Comedy Album! 🙂

Mob City Is All Sizzle, No Steak

by Michael Tyminski

Mob City: Wednesdays at 9 Eastern on TNT

As we slowly march through December interseason (it isn’t fall, but mid-season hasn’t kicked in yet either), we tend to stumble upon the shortest of new series, often running six episodes or less multiple times a week (more on another of those “event” shows next week). Often these shows run either as a teaser for a full series, though often they exist because they fit the network’s holiday schedule better than running two new weeks of regular prime-time over a period where pre-emptions can be found all over the dial. TNT, however, is taking the opportunity to instead go big, placing a premiere mini-series in the course of the two weeks before Christmas from a big-name showrunner with some top notch guest stars.

Mob City is the brainchild of Frank Darabont, former showrunner of The Walking Dead and is a noir-style show set in the mid-20^th century oasis of LA. Here, an embattled and corrupt police force must square off against Bugsy Siegel’s (Ed Burns) infamous mob group. However, Captain Frank Walker (Neal McDonough) is trying to shine as a beacon of light in the department, ridding it of corruption while making the fight against organized crime his own. The whole story is told through the eyes of Jeff Teague.

Visually, Mob City is very lush, with the sort of cinematic feel that the best of television now provides. In addition to its’ striking visual scenery, the show doesn’t hesitate to bring that same quality to the foreground, as the show does not hesitate to bring the effects to the forefront, including one cool shot where a failing underling is blown straight through the back wall of his church confessional. The more intricate scenes are also slickly shot, as shown in both the opening firefight of the pilot, and the climactic showdown at the end of the pilot.

Unfortunately, while the show is stylistically amazing, the underlying skeleton is weak. The show’s focal point, the detective Jeff Teague is incredibly boring, even by the stoic noir-lead standards. We spend the bulk of the first two episodes circling around the same points (in what had to indicate a burn-off, we see Necky tell a story about Mickey Cohen’s origins only to see the same exact story visualized in the open of the second episode—with maybe 10 minutes of real time passing between the two). The end result is a show that feels incredibly empty at points while belaboring a mystery that we already know about while failing to develop any other real plot lines to accompany it.

The Final Verdict: Mob City creates a wonderful playground and is a grandiose exercise in world building, but it’s all squandered on a slow moving story with not particularly well flashed out characters (in particular, it’s lead). The end result is the sort of show that seems ideal in the background, with one only really focusing on the TV when the guns come out. I’d skip this one, normally this would be the sort of show I’d call wait and see on (because it’s not necessarily bad), but with a six episode run, the lack of any urgency is alarming, and there’s minimal hope a third of the way in that the show is going to improve it’s structural issues.

Theater Review: “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder”

by Ryan Leeds

Before the curtain rose, I was hooked. As is my typical routine, I leafed through the playbill and literally laughed out loud at the custom page titled, “A Gentleman’s Guide to Attending the Theatre”. Among my favorites: “A Gentleman never kicks the seat of the audience member in front of him (unless of course, it’s deserved)”, and “A Gentleman always stands to let other theatergoers seated in his row pass by. Tripping them is optional.” Instantly, my expectations were raised by this cheeky insert and I knew that I would be in store for for a good time. I sorely underestimated just how marvelous a time I would have.

Broadway’s A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder is in a word, brilliant. I hesitate to use that adjective since it is frequently overused for the undeserved. Yet under Darko Tresnjak’s deft directorial hand, Gentleman’s Guide.. can proudly and properly take its’ rightful place among the realm of theatrical brilliance.

This high spirited Victorian-era musical opens with Monty Navarro (Bryce Pinkham), a financially strapped bachelor who learns that his recently deceased mother was a member of the D’Ysquith family, an extremely wealthy clan who tend to thumb their noses at the less fortunate. As Lord Adalbert D’Ysquith (Jefferson Mays) points out in song: “I Don’t Understand the Poor.” For Navarro, that isn’t much of an issue. Lord Adalbert won’t be alive much longer. Neither will the rest of the D’Ysquith family. The cunning Navarro, who is eighth in line to inherit the throne, plans to extinguish each member until he at last, is the successor. While he hacks away at the lineage, you’ll be on the edge of your seats glued to every clever line and rolling in the aisles at each murderous outcome.

There is so much genius rolled into this single show, beginning with Robert L. Freedman’s book and lyrics. Based on the 1949 British film, Kind Hearts and Coronets, Freedman’s book is quick-witted and smart, combining both silly slapstick with high-brow humor. Composer and Co-lyricist Steven Lutvak has graced us with delightfully catchy offerings of Gilbert and Sullivan proportions. With beautiful lush melodies and tuneful patter songs, Lutvak’s music is the best original score heard in quite some time.

Jefferson Mays. Again–sheer brilliance. Mays plays not only one D’Ysquith family member, but all eight–men AND women! How is this possible? It is a feat that must be seen, as mere description does not do it justice. Bryce Pinkham’s gold-digging Navarro oozes more confidence and charm than James Bond at a roulette table. His laissez faire attitude towards murder is disturbing, but is done with such ease, you’ll be grinning from ear to ear. The methods by which the D’Ysquiths are eighty-sixed are comic gold. Let’s just say you may never look at beekeeping in quite the same way. Lisa O’Hare and Lauren Worsham sparkle as two of the love interests (Sibella Hallward and Phoebe D’Ysquith, respectively) . A particularly intricate scene between all three ensues in Act II (“I’ve decided to Marry You”). Stage and screen legend Jane Carr delights as the doting, daffy Miss Shingle and the stiff-upper- lipped ensemble reeks of impeccable propriety.

Aside from taking awhile to generate steam, Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder is a fine-tuned Stradivarius and the best new original musical to hit Broadway in ages. Not since OJ Simpson’s infamous trial bombarded American televisions has romance and murder been so entertaining. I guarantee you’ll have a great time, but if you don’t, remember that this critique is simply my opinion: Please don’t kill me.

“A Gentleman’s Guide To Love and Murder” now playing at the Walter Kerr Theater 219 W. 48^th street (between Broadway and 8^th ave.) Tickets available at the box office, by phone:800-432-7250, or www.telecharge.com

The cast with Bryce Pinkham as Monty Navarro (standing center), Jefferson Mays as Lord Adalbert D'Ysquith (red), and Jane Carr as Miss Shingle (seated) in a scene from "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder" at the Walter Kerr Theater. Photo credit: Joan Marcus. — The cast with Bryce Pinkham as Monty Navarro (standing center), Jefferson Mays as Lord Adalbert D’Ysquith (red), and Jane Carr as Miss Shingle (seated) in a scene from “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” at the Walter Kerr Theater. Photo credit: Joan Marcus.

Album Review: John Talabot – DJ Kicks

by Rio Toro

John Talabot: DJ-Kicks
Similar Artists: Andy Stott
Genre: Deep House, Atmospheric Techno
Label: !K7

Reasons why I should write a review for John Talabot’s DJ-Kicks entry:

I.) With it being the end of 2013, writing this review could act as a good opportunity to reflect on some of the year’s best dance music (Classixx, Disclosure, Gold Panda, Daft Punk).
II.) I could possibly, hopefully, desperately try to convince you that it’s better than Disclosure’s Settle, which it may or may not be.
III.) Writing is a good way to prevent myself from doing more important things, such as cleaning my apartment or buying holiday gifts for my friends/family.
IV.) If I write enough reviews this year, maybe I have a chance of getting hired at a more indie friendly/less queer friendly website that will compensate me with free music, concert tickets and wall posters.
V.) I actually bought this mix, which is more than I can say about most of the music I’ve reviewed this year.

Reasons why I shouldn’t write a review for John Talabot’s DJ-Kicks entry:

I.) I never know who to give credit to in DJ mixes, and this one in particular has an enormous roster of artists, most of whom I’m unfamiliar with.
II.) DJ mixes are almost never as notable as the artist’s full length releases, and as hip as John Talabot is right now, I’m quite certain he won’t release anything as commendable as fin for at least a few more years.
III.) I haven’t listened to this mix that much, and don’t really feel like listening to it anymore either, especially when I could be re-listening to other albums from this year in preparation for my epic year end list (due in the coming weeks).
IV.) I rarely listen to DJ mixes, and when I do, it’s usually only so I can show them to other people, or so I can use them to disassociate myself from the awkwardness of a car ride with a person whom I share no common interests with.
V.) Very few people will read my review anyway, and no matter how good it may turn out, it will never beat out the barebacking article, or any of the other top trending articles on this nonsensical website.

Track Listing:
01.) North Lake – Journey To The Center Of The Sun
02.) Pye Corner Audio – Underneath The Dancefloor
03.) Maps – I Heard Them Say (Andy Stott Remix)*
04.) Pye Corner Audio – Zero Centre
05.) Michael Ozone – Hetrotopia (Young Marco Remix)
06.) Madteo – We Doubt (You Can Make It)
07.) Harmonious Thelonious – The Grasshopper Was The Witness (Elmore Judd & Rowan Park Remix)
08.) Tempel Rytmik – Anagrama*
09.) John Talabot – Without You (DJ-Kicks)*
10.) Axel Boman – Klinsmann
11.) Joaquin Joe Claussell presents Residue Part One – Eno (Melodic Dub)
12.) Bostro Pesopeo & Pional – Bonus Beats
13.) Mara TK – Run (Moodymann Remix)
14.) Alex Burkat – Shower Scene
15.) Mistakes are Okay – Night Watcher*
16.) Unknown – #001
17.) Round – Glass*
18.) Max Mohr – Old Song*
19.) Samo DJ – Tai Po Kau
20.) Motor City Drum Ensemble – Escape To Nowhere*
21.) Paradise’s Deep Groove – Innermind
22.) Abby – Streets (Wraetlic Remix)
23.) DJ Jus-Ed – Turn Of The Century
24.) Genius of Time – Juno Jam
25.) Kron – Silikron (Jürgen Paape Remix)
26.) Talaboman – Sideral*
27.) Pional – It’s All Over (Locked Groove Rendition)

Album Highlight – *

A Month With Three of the Year’s Best Video Games.

by Peter Foy

This is my first writing piece in a while. In fact, it’s been just over three weeks since I made my last contribution to Manhattan Digest, and this lack of output on my end has been a real thorn in my side. I always like to keep active as a writer, and in a timely matter, but for some reason November just hit me with a bad case of writer’s block, and admittedly a little bit of a depression too. I honestly found myself uninterested in going-ons in the world of film and music which is a shock to me as much as it is for you, and I did find myself rapidly looking for a new fix. That new fix turned out to be a retreat into an old past-time of mine: video games!

I’ve often told people that I’m about an eighth of the video gamer that I used to be, but I’ll also be first to admit that the vicarious thrill of of enacting digitized violence in video games can be oh so nourishing (name a video game where your favorite weapon isn’t the shotgun), and it actually felt good to return to this old comfort zone of mine. In this past month I’ve played through The Last of Us, Grand Theft Auto V, and Bioshock Infinite, the three acclaimed games that popular consensus would seem to say are 2013’s most likely Game-of-the-Year candidates. I have to say it was quite an experience to play all of these games, and the order in which I did certainly paved me back to the direction I so desired

The Last of Us

Genre: Third-Person Action – Survival Horror

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Developer: Naughty Dog Software

Systems: PS3

Synopsis: 20 years after a viral outbreak began turning people into raving flesh eaters (call them zombies if you will), an aging survivor named Joel must traverse a disparaged America with a young teenage girl name Ellie, who might carry a cure to the virus inside her.

My Thoughts: While all three of these games turned out to be well worth my time, I’d have to say that this is the one game in the trinity that really, truly lives up to the hype. Granted, I don’t know if I’m the utmost authority on the matter, but in hind sight it would appear that The Last of Us really is an A+, and as close to perfection as modern video games get. It’s a game that’s devoid of a dull moment, but most impressively it tells a very emotional and shocking story, that is only enhanced by the gameplay.

The post-apocalyptic scenario has been done innumerable times over the last few years, that it’s hard to think there is anything more to mine from it. Instead though, The Last of Us makes the genre feel fresh again, by setting the action in the story 20-years after the outbreak hit, and also focusing on a very complex dynamic between it’s two main characters. Taking on the role of Joel, a broken man who has lost everything to this world gone mad, as well as Ellie, a teenage girl that is immune to the virus, we see them form a huge bond over a trek that takes nearly a year. Everything in the story seems so realized, including twists and chapter transgressions that complement your intelligence rather than insult it, to gameplay that is often challenging, never repetitive, and always fun. You really do feel like a survivor in the game, as your ammo and health supplies always run the risk of running out, but the combat is brutal enough to give you the feeling of being a real bad-ass. You really feel the plight of these two characters during their harrowing journey, and it’s also beyond commendable once you realize that your character of Joel may not have the primary objective of saving the world. Dare I even call this game psychologically dense?

Not to give away much, but by the time you reach the ending, your gonna have a hard time believing what you just witnessed (and did). It’s one of the most ballsy endings I’ve ever seen in a video game, and that alone is enough to label Naughty Dog as the best developer of this generation of gaming. While the company found gargantuan success both critically and commercially with it’s Uncharted trilogy, even those games feel amateurish and tame when compared to the The Last of Us. It truly is a game for the ages, and I’m hoping we never see a sequel to it, just so we can preserve it’s legacy in a singular and unaltered form. So if you haven’t guessed, I reallllllllyyyyyy loved this freaking game, and it raised my standards for quality gaming by quite a bit. In a way, it did to video games what The Wire did for me and television.

Grade: A+

Grand Theft Auto V

Genre: Third-person action – sand-box

Publisher: Rockstar Games

Developer: Rockstar North

Systems: PS4, Xbox 360

Synopsis: Three criminals find themselves in circumstances beyond their control, and have to perform a series of heists and robberies together.

My Thoughts: Grand Theft Auto is pretty much the one video game franchise I still regularly follow. Whenever a new entry in the series hits home consoles (as I don’t own any portable systems), I find myself playing the shit out of the goddamn game. My commitment to this series definitely stems from my interest in crime fiction stories, but I also feel that the writing, design, and game mechanics for Grand Theft Auto is always top-notch, and really speaks to the movie lover in me. Thus, I’m not surprised to say that yes I did indeed love the latest entry in this venerable series, and if it’s not my all time favorite Grand Theft Auto game, than it’s pretty damn close.

The series has received most of it’s accolades for giving players so much freedom, and gameplay options. Grand Theft Auto V not only ups the ante by introducing it’s biggest world yet, but by also incorporating plenty of options for how one can go about the story. It was truly an ingenious move on the developers part to make Grand Theft Auto V the first game in the series to give players the ability to switch between three different characters, and even more brilliant to decide the game would have a central focus on heists. All five of the game’s big heist missions (which can all be planned and executed in various ways), are so much fun to play and watch, and the fact that your constantly switching between characters (who all have a different feel to them) really makes players feel like their playing the movie Heat (albeit a cartoony one, that has a much larger body count).

Still, what really kept me coming back to the game was not the gameplay mechanics, but for the writing instead. It’s obvious right from the beginning of the game, that Rockstar is trying to lampoon Hollywood and contemporary America, from the hilarious dialogue, to the R-rated parodies on celebrity life-style, to main character Michael’s constant jabs about how movies are so much better than video games. There’s certainly a lot of ground to cover if the game wants to ridicule our country yet at the same time recognizing it’s appealing stature, so what better venue to do it than in a giant sand-box game that’s modeled off of Los Angelas. It’s hardly subtle in it’s views, but it does it in such an intelligent way, such as giving the game an aesthetic that recalls the 80s, a decade I find to be far more superficial than the one we’re in now. I for one feel that Grand Theft Auto V ‘s social commentary is doing exactly what Harmony Korine’s film Spring Breakers tried to do, by both fantasizing and exposing the rampant excess that exists under America’s candy-coated media-saturated surface. It all adds weight to the game’s main story too, and it makes sense (at least in the games hyper exaggerated world) why these characters are performing these crazy heists and criminal acts. In fact, when you reach the main quest’s finale (which I won’t be spoiling) gamers might want to go for the two “tragic” endings instead, just to see how this crazy pulp-fiction world is able to actually give us some well thought out drama. I blame this game and Breaking Bad for my recently revived interest in crime fiction.

Issues that people have had with the previous entries in the series (virtually indestructible cars, monotonous driving sequences, an occasionally inefficient aiming system) are still more-or-less present here, but in the end it hardly matters. Rockstar knows precisely what their fans want from a Grand Theft Auto title, and this one gives them all that and more.

Grade: A

Bioshock Infinite

Genre: First-Person Shooter

Publisher: 2K Games

Developer: Irrational Games

Systems: Xbox 360, PS3, PC

Synopsis: Set in an alternate version of 1912, a rogue named Booker DeWitt finds himself in immense debt, and his asked by his suitors to travel to the floating city of Columbia, and bring them a young girl named Elizabeth whom is being held captive. Upon rescuing the girl, he discovers that this girl has some truly majestic abilities, and the two work together to hold off the seemingly endless army reserves that the city of Columbia throws their way.

My Thoughts: I’m so glad I saved my play-through of this game for last, and I’ll get to that in just a second. The original Bioshock is one of my favorite games of this generation. It was a highly imaginative game that was often creepy and enigmatic and is almost solely to blame for the bizzaro-retro aesthetic that many games have carried since. Still, it didn’t sacrifice fun gameplay for it’s enticing style, and I might even go as far to say that Bioshock is the most exemplary first person shooter to come out since Goldeneye on the N64. I became excited that this sequel to the game would be taking gamers to a different city, especially after Bioshock 2 failed to impress. Unfortunately, Bioshock: Infinite is the one game of this 2013 trinity that I happened to find disappointing.

My main gribe with the game is that it lives too much in the first one’s shadow, which would be fine, it’s just the game doesn’t really elaborate on things in quite the same was the original Bioshock did. While sure, the story becomes less vague as it goes along, and observant players will discover the special voxophone recordings throughout the game that give more details into the world’s backstory, but we don’t really ever understand why Elizabeth holds such god-like powers (no less why she couldn’t excape on her own!), or how it’s connected to this floating city in the sky. Also, while I knew the ending received a divisive reaction months before I played it, I honestly think it’s one of the most ridiculous conclusions I’ve witnessed in a game in quite some time, if only because it seemed to feel like it was being poetic, while in reality it felt like M. Night Shymalan had directed a Disney film.

Don’t get me wrong though, as there’s still plenty to like in Bioshock. The world is simply a marvel to look at, combat is often fun and visceral, and at times the game has the flourish and sense of humor you’d find in a Terry Gilliam film (i.e. Brazil). I also like that they gave your character a voice in this game, as in the original game you played an unnamed and silent protagonist which worked for that game’s design, but this one definitely needed a change of pace in that regard. It’s also worth noting that I played the game on the normal difficulty setting, and I found it extremely easy, as not only is it impossible to die in the game (a fault I had with Bioshock, admittedly), but the power-ups and upgrades you receive throughout the game are very powerful and often lay waste to enemies quickly. So in essence the game is more a visual rollercoaster than anything else, but then again I can’t think of too many other video games that can present themselves as such, and work in the way this one does.

Grade: B-

Conclusion

I certainly enjoyed my excursion from my daily tv and movie viewing prerogatives, but it also feels like a weight off my shoulders to have played these games to my satisfactory level of completion. As explained previously, I traded in my gamer card for that of a cinephile, and I really don’t think that video games will ever reach the storytelling potential that movies do, but it’s great to see developers are trying so damn hard at it. As you can tell, I feel all three of these games are worth your time and money (a bit more hesitantly for Bioshock: Infinite though), and they all make great Christmas gifts. Hell, if I find myself snowed in during the next few months, I feel I could be giving these games another visit…although movies are more important, right?

The Singularity:

2010

2010s

2015

2018

2020s

2023

2025

2030s

2040s

2045: The Singularity

Post-2045: “Waking up” the Universe

Colby Comes To Manhattan Digest 🙂

Footer