This weekend in the Northside: Yoga by donation at Get Hip Records, Closing Reception for “The Paradise Collection” at Artists Image Resource (AIR), community gatherings in Brighton Heights and Fineview, and Picklesburgh on the Roberto Clemente Bridge!
From 3 to 4 p.m., the library comes to Northview Heights! Meet librarians from the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh behind the high rise for games, crafts, and fun with books. Learn about the Summer Reading Program and sign up for a chance to win prizes. All ages are welcome. More information available on the Carnegie Library website.
Join Barbara of South Hills Power Yoga tonight and every Tuesday and Thursday evening from 7-8 p.m. for Vinyasa Flow. Class price is donation-based: Suggested donations are $10. For more information, check out the Get Hip website or call 412-231-4766.
Mixing jazz standards and original songs, the Yoko Suzuki Trio will play a free show from 8 to 10 p.m. R.S.V.P. on the City of Asylum website.
Did you know the Citiparks Farmer’s Market accepts ACCESS cards? Check it out every Friday from 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. through November at Allegheny Commons Park on the East Common at Cedar Avenue. For more information, head to the Facebook event page.
According to their Facebook page, Tres Lads is “not the type of acoustic band you’d listen to while sipping a latte.” This Pittsburgh-based trio covers songs by Journey, Oasis, Queen, The Beatles, Cheap Trick, Johnny Cash, and more.
From 6 to 10 p.m., celebrate artist Paradise Gray’s birthday and get a final “behind the scenes” look at the result of his resident project at AIR. Paradise Gray is an author, producer, organizer, historian, and founding member of 1Hood Media. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, check out the AIR website and the Facebook event page.
Find bounce houses, fire trucks, free food, a petting zoo, prizes and more at the Bridge City Church Summer Block Party at Bridge City Church in Brighton Heights, 1615 Termon Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15212. Event is from noon to 2 p.m. More information at bridgecitypgh.com.
You’re invited to the Fineview Citizens Council Community Potluck & BBQ on Saturday, July 21, from 1 to 4 p.m. in Fineview Park. Bring the whole family! Last names starting with A-M, bring a side dish. Last names starting with N-Z, bring a dessert. More information provided on the Facebook event page.
Cameron Barnett, winner of the Autumn House Press 2017 Rising Writer Contest, and finalist for the 49th NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Literary Work in Poetry, will read from his poetry collection, The Drowning Boy’s Guide to Water starting at 7 p.m. Event is free. More details on the Facebook page and the City Books website.
The Children’s Museum opens an hour early today for guests with sensory sensitivities to experience “Thomas & Friends: Explore the Rails.” Museum admission price for the day is included in program fee. Space is limited. Follow this link to pre-register.
Travel to the “Destination for All Things Pickled” on the final day of this annual festival. From noon to 6 p.m., enjoy pickle-themed snack food, DIY demonstrations from pickling and canning experts, and pickle juice drinking competitions. Festival is also open on Friday, July 20 and Saturday, July 21 from noon to 10 p.m. More information on the Facebook event page and festival website.
Any time a game has to include the tagline "The Game" after a colon that's at the end of the actual name of the game, I tend to be worried. Usually this means that the game is based on something from another form of media or entertainment, like a show, movie or comic book. This of course usually means that it is a recreation of something in video game form, which if we have learned anything over the years, is usually a really bad thing. Especially when ":The Game" is based off of the latest summer blockbuster movie.
But what happens when ":The Game" is based off of a movie (more indy than blockbuster) that is based off of a comic book? Well, you get Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game, which thankfully, isn't a bad thing in the grand scheme of things. It quite handily strikes down any preconceived notions you may have had about the game prior to playing it, and disproves the notion that every game with the subtitle "The Game" is a throw-away quick money grab disguised as a real video game.
Scott Pilgrim is awesome, and he is awesome in any form he is presented in. Thankfully, everyone playing the game gets to reap the benefits from this truth. Because the game is awesome too, and even more fun to play.
It pays homage to the old school, side-scrolling beat 'em up genre perfectly, but adds its own twists to the style in a way that makes it feel refreshing, interesting, engaging and an absolute blast to play. There are RPG elements thrown in to the mix, with the option of upgrading your abilities to better serve you in battle. And when I say "option," I mean it's an absolute must, as this game gets hard quicker than you would expect. Sure, it is probably designed to be played co-op, with up to three more people, for solo gamers like myself, it's more than just a challenge to struggle your way through the world. While the difficulty is frustrating, it never feels like it lessens the amount of fun I'm having playing the game, which is a true testament to this universe. Fun is fun, no matter how you spin it.
The real star of the show though is the game soundtrack. Now, I'm not usually one to slobber all over a game's soundtrack, as for some reason that stuff gets lost to me when I'm playing games. Good/bad voice acting I'll take note of, but the soundtrack of the game? It's just usually background noise to me, unless of course the game is actually created to harbor the creativity of a music in one way or the other. But in this game, the soundtrack shines through the lack of voice acting and beautiful and creative level design, adding tempo and personality to the flow and play style. It's fun and energetic, and takes you back to a place in gaming where everything was just simple and fun, when games were just games.
Thankfully I was able to put prejudices aside long enough to give this game a shot. While it makes me want to go back and read some Scott Pilgrim comics and watch the movie again, and even see if the soundtrack is available to download from anywhere, the game itself was fun and enjoyable, despite the multiple near-rage quits.