For those of your familiar with World of Warcraft but not the original games, here is what makes WCIII so different from WCI and WCII: while the first two games were all about why Orcs and Humans hate each other, WCIII is why everyone hates each other. It's also about why they shouldn't because, really, considering all the shit the various races went through together in this game, everyone should be BFF by now

This game is also relentlessly sad. Even more so, since it ends on a note of hope that is quickly quashed out by subsequent entires in the series. But all in all it is a challenging game with a beautiful story and a ridiculously engaging cast. Even if nothing good ever happens to any of them.

( The world will end in fire...Collapse )

We can't tell you who we are. Or where we live. It's too risky, and we've got to be careful. Really careful. So we don't trust anyone. Because if they find us . . . well, we just won't let them find us.

The thing you should know is that everyone is in really big trouble. Yeah. ( Even you.Collapse )

This is the first FST I've made. Type Moon's Tsukihime is a visual novel game written by Kinoko Nasu. The game is about Tohno Shiki, an otherwise normal young man who after his biological father's death moves back to the mansion he grew up in. Eventually he encounters a woman named Arcueid Brunestud, a vampire who introduces Shiki to what may very well be what he's meant to do with life.

( Tracklist and DownloadsCollapse )

Behind the cut lie spoilers and speculations.

( This Is All You SeeCollapse )

Angel Sanctuary by Kaori Yuki, is another story about the War between Heaven and Hell. What makes it unique are the characters and the fact that all are them aren't just drool-worthy bishies, but that all of them are well-developed, even characters you see only once in a while (the random lab tech the main character takes hostage comes to mind). The story revolves around reviving Alexiel, one of the two twins of Adam Kadmon, considered to be the first angel.
( A FST for Rosiel: Spoilers Galore!Collapse )

EDIT: Sorry for the spaces just now.

If you stare at the last image for 30 seconds and then look at a neutral surface (like your hand), apparently you see it wriggling and warping.

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This is for surlykitty who requested a Ramayana FST. Personally, I think that the Mahabharata is the more interesting of the two epics, but let's see how this goes!

The Ramayana (The Travels of Rama) is the shorter of the two major Indian epic poems. This makes it a paltry 24,000 verses long, of course! It's a chronicle of the life and adventures of Lord Rama, Prince of Ayodhya. He was born a prince, but for some ridiculous reasons (mostly filial piety) he ends up spending 14 years of his life in the forest with his wife and brother. The major part of the epic involves the abduction of his wife Sita by the ten-headed demon king Ravana, who imprisons her on the island of Sri Lanka. Rama gathers an army of monkeys and bears and invades Lanka, rescues his wife, and returns back home to Ayodhya for a big party.

This story is extremely important in India even to this day; Rama is considered to be an avatar of God and an example of the ideal man and king. In 1988 or so, they made a 78-episode TV miniseries, and whenever an episode was airing, the streets were DEAD. Everyone was either at home or in front of a TV display. I have only the vaguest memories of watching it on TV; I remember that when Rama and Sita met, they conveyed LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT by about five minutes of alternating shots of their faces contorted in silly expressions.

If you want a more detailed summary of the storyline, try Wiki. I'm just hitting the major events as best as I can. There are seven chapters to the story, but most retellings only cover the first six, which basically ends with "and they all lived happily ever after!" The seventh and final chapter, which is sort of an epilogue, is quite a downer and people either don't know about it or furiously deny it. But I'll cover it anyways. Lyrics for most songs are in the song file itself if you use itunes. D:

Most of the songs are by Asian Underground artists.

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LINKS:

Here is a nice, fairly condensed, fairly easy-to-read version of the epic.
Sita Sings The Blues is a giggle; it's an animated version of the Ramayana, told from Sita's point of view, using old jazz tunes.
Arrow of the Blue Skinned God is a fascinating book that retells the Ramayana briefly as well as documents its relevance in modern India. It was written by a reporter, and it's a great read if you're at all interested in Indian mythology.

Hooray, yet another entry in the stream of last-minute FSTs squeaking under the wire! So, let's go with my favorite Metal Gear Solid game: the second one, Sons of Liberty.

Before I played any of the Metal Gear games, I had the vague notion that they were these manly FPS war games where you went around shooting people - you know, kind of like Call of Duty or Medal of Honor or so on. I wasn't terribly interested until I got strong-armed into playing the series, and I was suddenly, violently hooked; the games had plot and humor and quite a bit of delicious philosowankery about nature vs. nurture and the nature of violence and WHAT IS A MAN and so on and so forth.

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty is a game that seems to inspire strong opinions either way. This X-Play clip seems to encapsulate the average fanboy's reaction to the game. (Revenge!) They bitched and moaned that they only got to play Solid Snake for about 1/8th of the game and were "forced" to play as sparkly blond rookie/ninja Raiden. Personally, I loved the game and actually am quite fond of poor Raiden (not because of the sneaking suit - come on, they're ALL wearing skintight suits.)

( cut for meta, meta, and naked cartwheelsCollapse )

( cut for covers and musicCollapse )

[[ ZIP (20 songs, 140 MB) ]] (sorry!)

I know that there's already been a MGS2 fst, but er, hey, this is the second, then! Any thoughts on the game? Or just comment if you download, I don't care. :D