Latest news with #Caz
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Still Wakes the Deep Siren's Rest review – brief DLC hints at stranger things
Siren's Rest delivers more terrifying scares in a bite-sized format, letting you pick back over the base game's chilling events with all-new context. The Chinese Room follows up its BAFTA-winning first-person horror tale with a short but scary expansion that dives even deeper into mysterious territory. Still Wakes the Deep cemented itself as one of 2024's biggest surprises for all the ways it nailed a strong sense of intrigue and horror while trapping you on an oil rig in the North Sea facing a supernatural force. It was linear and mostly guided, sure, but also did well to place you in the shoes of a blue-collar worker and everyday Joe just trying to get home – even presenting some of the most believable Scottish accents in a video game, probably ever. It shouldn't be shocking to learn then that, though a tad short, the new surprise Siren's Rest DLC brilliantly balances similar emotional beats and scares once again, just from a completely new angle. It's been over 10 years since the Beira D mysteriously went down, and you're the diver searching for answers. Getting the obvious out of the way immediately, though playable from the menu right after purchase, Siren's Rest is the type of expansion that demands knowledge of the base game. While set over a decade after the events that put Caz and crew through the worst day of their lives, most of your time is spent picking through them with your comms link and camera, swimming through the Beira D's dilapidated ruins and trying to piece together what happened. It's an interesting approach for developer The Chinese Room to take given how we as the player already know what happened. It means our new main character, Mhairi, spends a lot of time playing catch-up. And yet, the new underwater setting and her much different tone of voice help keep this adventure fresh. I was genuinely taken aback by how much getting to explore familiar locations like the mess hall, cafeteria, and manager's office from this new watery perspective overall felt. Having walked through these halls previously while dodging all manner of eldritch body horrors as Caz, Siren's Rest allowed me to properly digest these locations and appreciate them at a much slower pace. One of my only real complaints with the Still Wakes the Deep base game is just how quickly the crap hits the fan after the story begins which meant being given a brief period to get to know your crewmates before they descend into madness. Oddly it's here, when discovering their bodies and taking pictures of them to give their families on the surface for closure, that I suddenly feel like I know them more. READ MORE: The 10 best Nintendo Switch 2 games you can play right now – must-play titles to try at launch Last breath A lot of this comes down to the great voice performances, which are on par with what already came before. There are only three or four real characters (including yourself) that make up this DLC in total, but every actor does a great job at portraying a great sense of context and, when required, urgency as part of a story that took me just a little over an hour-and-a-half to complete. It's made instantly clear how much of an intelligent, passionate person Mhairi is, which only made me empathise more with her personal reasons for wanting to explore the rig. Siren's Rest doesn't do a lot to shake up the formula too much compared to the base game, although the scenarios you're placed in really do make this more of a 'swimming' simulator as opposed to a walking one The Chinese Room is known for. This means regularly having to swim through tight corridors, tubes, and more in order to reach objectives, gaining speed by using conveniently placed pipes and other ephemera whenever a quick escape through such spaces is necessary. Other than this, the only new mechanic is a cutting tool, which is often needed to remove pathways of rust that have built up on the Beira D in the years since it first went down. Fortunately, though definitely a lot shorter than the base game's 5- to 6-hour runtime, there are a few fleeting moments in Siren's Rest where time isn't working against you and you're afforded to explore. A lot of the time, this results in finding optional collectables or more bodies that may or may not explain what happened to missing members of the main cast from before – all worth it for players who really want to put together the full picture of Beira D's catastrophic events and properly roleplay as Mhairi. Being shorter does mean that the horror is more focused this time around, too, as The Chinese Room smartly plays its cards close to its chest before anything remotely resembling a stealth or action sequence shows up. Overall, I preferred this since it meant I could enjoy an unnerving atmosphere but also still take in the narrative texture the submerged location provides. Siren's Rest serves as an equally mysterious and oftentimes chilling coda to Still Wakes the Deep that brings extra weight and context to that original Beira D disaster. New mechanics like the umbilical cord tether, cutting tool, and swim boost give this shorter, more contained story a slightly different flavour, but much more impactful is the ability to explore previous horrors from a new underwater perspective at a slower yet still terrifying pace. If you're seeking answers, this brief follow-up adventure is well worth a dip. Just don't expect them to be the exact ones you went in seeking.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Why the Evergreen Sound of New York City Hip Hop Will Always Stay True
You simply can't get a party started today without a ready dose of New York hip-hop. The pithy candor of Ice Spice promises an intense, caption-rich anthem. Cash Cobain pushes boundaries with his progressive, nocturnal ballads, and Joey Bada$$ keeps a myriad of international die-hards rocking to his witticisms. Game, bravado, and lyricism get the woofers shaking in a New York minute. What's to thank for this forever bash? Imagine the coolest birthday party: a summer soiree that supplies a phenomenal gift. When the folks at 1520 Sedgewick Ave, in the Western stretches of the Bronx, spent their loose subway fare to party in the first-floor rec room, no one knew they'd kickstart a cultural makeover. Never-ending drum fills pounded from speakers as tall as Dr. J. while an afroed youngster (MC Coke La Rock) enchanted the room with a volley of sure-shot zingers. It's August 11, 1973, and DJ Kool Herc channels the city's nettled energy with a medley of sounds—funk, soul, and Latin bongos—doubled up for maximum groove via two turntables. It was a necessary assault on the senses birthed from dead-zoned blocks filled with disillusioned youth. The sound gave voice to that generation, which hustled from the bricks with a world-sopping hunger. More from Rolling Stone Just the Start: Alex Warren's Real Climb to Hitmaker Status David Shaw and Tarriona 'Tank' Ball Bring the Heat to New Orleans' Musicians on Musicians Event Making Music and Memories in Myrtle Beach Grandmaster Caz, lead MC of the mighty Cold Crush Brothers, lived within walking distance from Sedgewick and couldn't escape chatter about Herc's innovative party. He got a rise from hearing breathless tales about grungy drums pulled from old records dominating the mood and couldn't wait to add his agile lyrics and rhymes to the mix. From his black-and-white composition books to an unforgettable 'Rapper's Delight' verse, Caz brought timeless New York swagger to the forefront. The music met the wordsmith. One of New York hip-hop's famous features in the Eighties were the scathing cadence honed in neighborhood battles where the competition was severe. Plus, the constant boom-bap of blaring ghetto blasters kept the youth on edge. The sounds—banged on various lunchroom tables in New York City high schools—made MCs revel in the dissident joy of being tough, smart-mouthed, and wordy in a town made for larger-than-life slick talkers. Before his galactic debut, Big Daddy Kane mastered his craft in a high school cafeteria, later graced by luminaries like Busta Rhymes. And on Follow the Leader, his infallible sophomore LP, Rakim kept heads nodding and speakers blowing, proclaiming that 'competition is none.' In 1987, the famous battle between Bronx sovereign KRS-One and Queens scrapper MC Shan produced some of rap's most unforgettable disses, anticipating today's timeline-commanding beefs between Kendrick Lamar and Drake. New York not only proved that diss records can be straight-up bangers but also showed how cockiness and competitive drive can keep hip-hop both fun and reviving. That spirit hasn't always prevailed in the Rotten Apple—as the Nineties flourished, platinum singles seemed more beneficial than poignant verses, even as Biggie and Jay-Z became household names. Bad Boy Records pumped out hit after saccharine hit, making New York appear trite and overly materialistic. Still, classics by Gang Starr, Mobb Deep, and Wu kept soulful production and innovative lyrics at the forefront, restoring that vital, faithful appeal. The Diplomats revitalized New York in the early 2000s with emblematic mixtapes conveying their humorous Harlem quirks. And in the 2010s, A$AP Mob blessed the city with a burst of woozy geniality, showing that anyone could tap into their new Gotham mood. Recent Grammy recipients Rapsody and Doechii devoutly display their NY-influenced bona fides. Meanwhile, local icons Nas, Billy Woods, and Ghostface Killah continue dropping heat, securing the Big Apple as an undeniable hot spot. Approximately 50 years in, amidst the concrete slabs and tenements, it feels like only the sky's the limit. { pmcCnx({ settings: { plugins: { pmcAtlasMG: { iabPlcmt: 1, }, pmcCnx: { singleAutoPlay: 'auto' } } }, playerId: "ac5f547a-22e1-4877-8050-448c6e0f365c", mediaId: "ba4b409b-b58f-46fb-9144-d65e44f77333", }).render("connatix_player_ba4b409b-b58f-46fb-9144-d65e44f77333_3"); }); Best of Rolling Stone The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
Scottish Sun
28-05-2025
- Scottish Sun
Stunning Scots beach ‘looks just like Caribbean' with crystal clear waters
It was named in the top 20 best beaches in the world last year SEA FOR YOURSELF Stunning Scots beach 'looks just like Caribbean' with crystal clear waters Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A STUNNING Scots beach that boasts crystal clear waters and miles of white sand has been compared to the Caribbean. Luskentyre, on the Isle of Harris, has received many awards for its beauty including TripAdvisor's Best of the Best Beaches. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 Luskentyre Beach has been compared to the Caribbean Credit: Alamy 4 The picturesque location features shores of white sand and beautiful green-blue water Credit: Getty 4 It's possible to take a stroll along this beach without seeing another soul, making it the ideal secluded retreat Credit: Getty The picturesque location features shores of white sand and beautiful green-blue water. Further adding to Luskentyre's appeal – visitors might expect to have to share the beauty spot with crowds. But it's often possible to take a stroll along this beach without seeing another soul, making it the ideal secluded retreat. The multi-award winning beach boasts spectacular sand dunes and views over the island of Taransay, famous for being the setting of the BBC's Castaway. Nearby activities include hillwalking, cycling and kayaking. Last year, it was named in the top 20 best beaches in the world. One TikTokker named Caz shared a video from her day at Luskentyre Beach - and she was not disappointed. She shared videos from the stunning crystal clear waters, along with the caption: "Scotland? Or the Caribbean?" Many people flocked to the comments and were surprised to learn that the beach is on their doorstep. One person wrote: "The Isle of Harris beaches are incredible! The water is turquoise and the sand is so white." Scotland's number one secret beach revealed Another said: "Love Luskentyre beach, it's gorgeous." A third commented: "Where the hell are you finding beaches like this in Scotland?" And a fourth added: "Are we in the same Scotland?" Experts at Condé Nast Traveler recently compiled a list of the best beaches across the UK - and Luskentyre featured at number 41. Describing the beach, experts at Condé Nast Traveler said: "The Isle of Harris has some of the most evocative landscapes in the Outer Hebrides. "Brooding, somber backdrops, terrains reminiscent of lunar scenes—it has a real sense of isolation. And there are many beaches to be enjoyed, too. "The best is arguably Luskentyre, which has azure-green waters less associated with Scotland than with the Caribbean: clear as crystal, and trimmed by vast white coastline. "Occasionally, wild ponies are spotted grazing along the dunes, but they're not the only nature to be spied: otters, seals, dolphins, eagles, and deer all call Harris home."
Daily Mirror
25-05-2025
- Daily Mirror
The stunning UK beach that 'looks like Caribbean' with crystal blue water
The Caribbean may be out of your budget this year, but if you want a beach break that's a little closer to home, you might want to consider this stunning UK destination If you're looking for a beach getaway on a budget, you might want to consider this UK destination that 'looks like the Caribbean' thanks to its white sand beaches and vibrant blue water. Located on the Isle of Harris in Scotland 's Outer Hebrides, Luskentyre Beach is hailed as one of Europe's most beautiful shorelines. It is one of Harris' largest stretches of coast and also one of the most jaw-dropping shorelines, even earning it a spot among the UK's top beaches as per the TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice Awards. People who live on this remote island are proud to call it home, especially when they can enjoy the beach year-round – often without crowds of tourists. A woman named Caz took to TikTok to show off the beach's beauty in a video, leaving viewers wondering if they're looking at Scotland or a much sunnier destination. "Scotland? Or the Caribbean?" Caz wrote on the video before sharing clips of her and her friends enjoying a day at the beach. The video included shots of them all diving into the crystal-clear water and playing football on the shore. The Isle of Harris has been basking in a spell of good weather, boasting sun-soaked days with warmer temperatures in the run-up to summer. This welcome change has allowed residents to spend time on their beach ahead of the busy tourist season in the peak of summer. The video capturing these sunny scenes garnered over 2.5million views in just three days, prompting some viewers to fantasise about enjoying the beach themselves. However, some remained sceptical about the location of the beach, as they couldn't quite believe it was right on their doorstep. "This is not Scotland," one person said, while another asked: "Where the hell are you finding beaches like this in Scotland." Nevertheless, the doubts were quickly put to rest by several people who had visited Luskentyre themselves. These visitors were quick to share their own experiences of the beautiful beach. "Luv Luskentyre beach it's gorgeous xx," declared one fan, while another added: "Scotland! I live in Scotland and me and family went there at one point! Gorgeous place!" "Just remember, that water is cold enough to send you into shock if you're not careful," said another. Meanwhile someone else chimed in with, "Might look like Caribbean but temp is far from it." According to Hidden Scotland, late spring and summer are the best times to pay a visit to Luskentyre beach. At this time of year you will get the warmest weather, vital for any successful beach day. The 'lingering light' at this time of year also creates beautiful views of the surrounding landscape that are hard to beat.
Daily Record
25-05-2025
- Daily Record
The beautiful Scottish beach that 'looks like Caribbean' with bright blue water
Dreaming of a beach getaway? While the Caribbean may be on your bucket list, you don't need to travel as far as you might think to enjoy crystal blue waters and white sands You don't have to travel far to get a taste of the Caribbean, as a breathtaking Scottish beach boasts similarly stunning white sand and crystal-clear waters. Tucked away on the Isle of Harris in the Outer Hebrides, Luskentyre Beach is often praised as one of Europe's most beautiful stretches of coast. As one of Harris' largest and most jaw-dropping shorelines, it's no surprise that Luskentyre has earned a coveted spot in the TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice Awards as one of the UK's top beaches. Locals are proud to call this island gem their home, and for most of the year, they have the beach almost to themselves. A woman named Caz took to TikTok to show off the beach's beauty in a video, leaving viewers wondering if they're looking at Scotland or a much sunnier destination. "Scotland? Or the Caribbean?" Caz wrote on the video before sharing clips of her and her friends enjoying a day at the beach. The video included shots of them all diving into the crystal-clear water and playing football on the shore. The Isle of Harris has been basking in a spell of good weather, boasting sun-soaked days with warmer temperatures in the run-up to summer. This welcome change has allowed residents to spend time on their beach ahead of the busy tourist season in the peak of summer. The video capturing these sunny scenes garnered over 2.5million views in just three days, prompting some viewers to fantasise about enjoying the beach themselves. However, some remained sceptical about the location of the beach, as they couldn't quite believe it was right on their doorstep. "This is not Scotland," one person said, while another asked: "Where the hell are you finding beaches like this in Scotland." Nevertheless, the doubts were quickly put to rest by several people who had visited Luskentyre themselves. These visitors were quick to share their own experiences of the beautiful beach. "Luv Luskentyre beach it's gorgeous xx," declared one fan, while another added: "Scotland! I live in Scotland and me and family went there at one point! Gorgeous place!" "Just remember, that water is cold enough to send you into shock if you're not careful," said another. Meanwhile someone else chimed in with, "Might look like Caribbean but temp is far from it." According to Hidden Scotland, late spring and summer are the best times to pay a visit to Luskentyre beach. At this time of year you will get the warmest weather, vital for any successful beach day. The 'lingering light' at this time of year also creates beautiful views of the surrounding landscape that are hard to beat.
