Dragon Age: Origins - This is War

blog.javier-carrete.com — 30 Seconds to Mars is an American rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1998. Since 2007, the band has been composed of actor Jared Leto (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, songwriter), Shannon Leto (drums, percussion) and Tomo Milievi (lead guitar, keyboards). Following the departure of Matt Wachter (now of Angels & Airwaves) in 2007, Tim Kelleher became the bassist for the group, performing live only with both Jared and Milievi recording bass for studio recordings, while Braxton Olita (keyboards) was added to the touring lineup in 2009. Previously, the group also featured guitarists Solon Bixler (now of Great Northern) and Kevin Drake. Founded in 1998 by Jared Leto's brother Shannon Leto,30 Seconds to Mars began as a small family project. Matt Wachter later joined the band as bassist and keyboard player. After working with a number of guitarists (as the band's first two guitarists, Kevin Drake and Solon Bixler, left the band due to issues primarily related to touring), the three auditioned Tomo Milievi to round out the band's roster. Jared Leto said the following in an interview regarding the name of the band: "For us, the name 30 Seconds To Mars has little to do with space, the universe or anything like that. It is a name that works on several different levels. Most importantly, it is a good representation of our sound. It's a phrase that is lyrical, suggestive, cinematic, and filled with immediacy. It has some sense of otherness to it. The concept of space is so overwhelming and all encompassing I doubt there is a song written that doesn't fall within it." Shannon Leto said the following in an interview regarding the name of the band: "It represents a lot of things. This professor had a thesis. It was talking about where technology was going; the evolution of man and how that plays a role. A sub-category was 30 Seconds To Mars. It was like the expediential growth of humans. We are literally 30 seconds away from Mars. Everything is right here and right now; everything is just so crazy and fast." According to an interview from Virgin Records, former member Matt Wachter said: "30 seconds to Mars actually comes from a thesis that the band found online that was written by a former Harvard professor. And one of the subsections of the thesis was titled 'thirty seconds to mars' and he goes on to talk about the exponential growth of technology that relates to humans and saying that we are quite literally thirty seconds to mars. What it means to us is, we thought it best described our music, in short." Even though Jared Leto is a Hollywood actor, he prefers not to use this position to promote the band; in fact, he refuses to play at venues if they have used his name to promote the band. To date, 30 Seconds to Mars have released three studio albums 30 Seconds to Mars (2002); A Beautiful Lie (2005); This Is War (2009) and two extended plays AOL Sessions Undercover (2007) and To the Edge of the Earth (2008). A Beautiful Lie earned the group a number of awards and nominations, winning three MTV Europe Music Awards and four Kerrang! Awards among others. This Is War This Is War is the third studio album released through Virgin Records and EMI on December 8, 2009. It peaked at number 18 on the Billboard 200. 30 Seconds to Mars were sued for breach-of-contract by their record label, Virgin Records, in mid-2008. The label sought $30 million in damages, claiming that the band had failed to produce three of the five records they were obligated to deliver under their 1999 contract with the now-defunct Immortal Records. In 2004, Virgin took over the contract. Leto responded to some of the claims in the suit on the band's website and was coerced into dismissing rumors that the group had disbanded. He said the claims were "ridiculously overblown" and "totally unrealistic", before stating "under California law, where we live and signed our deal, one cannot be bound to a contract for more than seven years".30 Seconds to Mars had been contracted for nine years, so the band decided to exercise their "legal right to terminate our old, out-of-date contract, which, according to the law is null and void". After nearly a year of the lawsuit battle, the band announced on April 29, 2009, that the case had been settled. The suit was resolved following a defence based on a contract case involving actress Olivia de Havilland decades before. Leto explained, "The California Appeals Court ruled that no service contract in California is valid after seven years, and it became known as the De Havilland Law after she used it to get out of her contract with Warner Bros." 30 Seconds to Mars then decided to re-sign with EMI (the parent label of Virgin). Leto said the band had "resolved our differences with EMI" and the decision had been made because of "the willingness and enthusiasm by EMI to address our major concerns and issues, (and) the opportunity to return to work with a team so committed and passionate about Thirty Seconds to Mars". He said it was "the most challenging business obstacle that we've ever gone through as a band". Upon completion of the record, Leto spoke of the troubles the band faced whilst working on This Is War; "We spent two years of our lives working on that record, and it was us against the world... There were times that it was overwhelming. Everything that was going on was brutal... It was a case of survival, to tell the truth." Dragon Age: Origins Dragon Age: Origins is a single-player role-playing video game developed by BioWare's Edmonton studio and published by Electronic Arts. It is the first game in the Dragon Age franchise. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in November 2009, and for Mac OS X on December 21, 2009. BioWare has described Dragon Age: Origins as being a "dark heroic fantasy" story told on an epic scale with mature themes. The game is set in Ferelden, one of several countries that makes up the mythical continent of Thedas. The game opens with an animation which details the origins of demonic creatures called the darkspawn, who reside under the surface of Thedas, and who every few hundred years swarm the surface world in a movement known as a Blight. Beginning with the first Blight, Thedas relied on the legendary order of the Grey Wardens to drive the darkspawn back. Dragon Age: Origins begins on the eve of Thedas's fifth Blight. The player begins the game by completing one of the six origin stories corresponding to the race and background of the character he or she created upon choosing a new game; the choices are Human Noble (for Human Warriors or Rogues), Magi (for Elven or Human Mages), Dalish Elf or City Elf (for Elven Warriors or Rogues), Dwarf Commoner or Dwarf Noble (for Dwarven Warrior or Rogue). The origin section introduces the players to the mechanics of the game and the fictional world through a personalized context. The origin story determines the biography of the character and how NPCs react to the player for the rest of the game. For example, elves are often viewed as second class citizens by humans, while mages are treated with suspicion and fear, while the human noble is treated with respect. In every origin story, the player is introduced to Duncan, a Grey Warden who is trying to find recruits to fight the Blight. By the end of his or her origin story, the player's character is selected as a potential Grey Warden, and leaves with Duncan. The player and Duncan journey to a fortress called Ostagar in southern Ferelden, to join Cailan, the king of Ferelden, and Loghain, a legendary general and Calian's father-in-law. The three leaders plan to make a stand against the encroaching darkspawn before the Blight can overwhelm Ferelden. Duncan can sense the influence of an archdemon, a great being hosted in the body of a powerful dragon, which means that this would be the first true Blight in over 400 years. Duncan initiates the player into the Grey Wardens through a dangerous ritual called the Joining. The Joining involves imbibing darkspawn blood, which can either kill a person or imbue him or her with the powerful darkspawn essence known as the Taint. After surviving the Joining, the player, along with another Grey Warden, Alistair, is given the task of lighting a beacon at the top of the fortress which signals Loghain to make a decisive charge with his men. After fighting through many darkspawn, the player lights the beacon. Loghain, upon seeing the signal, inexplicably abandons the battle along with his army. King Cailan and Duncan are quickly overwhelmed by darkspawn, who kill them, massacre Cailan's army, and seize control of Ostagar and southern Ferelden. The player's Warden and Alistair are nearly killed at Ostagar as well, but are saved by Flemeth, a powerful witch who lives in a secluded hermitage with her daughter and apprentice, Morrigan. The player, along with Alistair and Morrigan, decide that in order to stop the Blight from destroying Ferelden, and possibly Thedas, they will need to gather a new army and slay the archdemon. Using ancient Grey Warden treaties, the player's Warden must travel across Ferelden to enlist the aid of the Dalish elves, the dwarves of Orzammar, the Circle of Magi, and Arl Eamon of Redcliffe. Unfortunately, all of these factions are facing problems of their own, which the player must help resolve to secure their allegiances. Meanwhile, Loghain returns to Ferelden's capital city, Denerim, to inform Queen Anora, his daughter, of King Cailan's death. Loghain blames the Grey Wardens for abandoning the battle and betraying Ferelden. While Queen Anora inherits her husband's authority, Loghain quickly declares himself her regent and effectively seizes control of the kingdom. While exploring Ferelden, the player will be presented with the opportunity to partake in numerous side-quests to flesh out the Dragon Age mythology, acquire powerful equipment, and earn experience points. Potential companions with their own special combat specialties and back-stories will also present themselves and offer to join the player's quest. After the player successfully obtains the assistance of all the primary factions, a meeting known as the Landsmeet is called among the nobles of Ferelden. There, the player confronts Loghain and rallies support from the rest of the kingdom to face the darkspawn. The player is also presented with the option of executing Loghain for his crimes or sparing his life. Sparing Loghain causes Alistair to leave the player's party in anger and disgust (if Alistair has already agreed to marry Anora and become king, he will remain in Ferelden and be present at the end of the game, but he will not rejoin the player's party for the final battle). If Loghain is spared, he is forced to undergo the Joining and takes Alistair's place as a Grey Warden. At this point, the player learns that only a Grey Warden can slay the archdemon because of the Taint present in a Grey Warden's body. Killing the archdemon releases the demonic essence within it, which is automatically drawn to the Taint in the Grey Warden who slew it, and effectively kills him or her as well. On the night before the final battle, Morrigan offers the player's Warden a way to slay the archdemon without sacrificing anyone: Morrigan proposes that the player join her in a sexual ritual which would result in her conceiving a child that would also carry the Taint. Once the archdemon dies, its demonic essence would be drawn away from any Grey Warden to safely merge with the unborn child instead. The resulting child would be born a demigod, which she plans to raise on her own. Morrigan admits that this was her true motive for joining the player's campaign all along. The player can commit to the ritual, convince Alistair or Loghain to take part instead, or refuse Morrigan's offer, causing her to leave the party. The next day, the player and the newly assembled army of Ferelden fight their way through the city of Denerim, which is now overrun by the darkspawn. After a lengthy battle against the archdemon on Ferelden's highest tower, the player is given the chance to deliver the killing blow or to let Alistair/Loghain do it. Either way, the archdemon is slain and the rest of the darkspawn army retreats from Denerim, marking the end of the fifth Blight. Unless the player chose to engage in Morrigan's ritual, whoever slew the archdemon also perishes. The story ends with a ceremony attended by the people of Ferelden during which the player and his or her companions are honored for saving the kingdom. The game then presents an epilogue in text and pictures which details the ramifications of the player's in-game choices on the future of Ferelden and the lives of his or her companions. Dragon Age: Origins This is War Music Video Trailer [HD] Developer: Bioware Release: 11/3/2009 Genre: RPG Platform: PC Publisher: EA Website: http://dragonage.bioware.com Dragon Age: Origins is the successor to BioWare critically acclaimed hit, Baldurs Gate. Dragon Age: Origins features deep character customization, role-playing, moral decision making, and tactical party based combat and gritty/mature sub-plots. Music Composer: Jared Leto Performer: Thirty Seconds to Mars BioWare has includedthe song"This Is War"intothe soundtrack of Dragon Age: Origins. The track made its world debut in the game before the release of the album. Steve Schnur, Worldwide Executive of Music and Music Marketing at Electronic Arts described working with 30 Seconds to Mars: "EA has always had a forward-thinking relationship with 30 Seconds to Mars and we are overwhelmed with excitement about the band's involvement and creative contribution to Dragon Age: Origins. This exciting song debut exemplifies our continued commitment to working with great bands that move the needle to where music is going." Jared Leto commented: "We always try to push the envelope both in the entertainment world and the media, and our title track to debut in a game of this caliber is one of the best ways to bring our music to fans around the world. We've come a long way from having to rely solely on radio to approach and engage music fans, and Dragon Age: Origins is the perfect game to do this with." Lirycs A warning to the people The good and the evil This is war To the soldier, the civillian The martyr, the victim This is war It's the moment of truth and the moment to lie The moment to live and the moment to die The moment to fight, the moment to fight, to fight, to fight, to fight To the right, to the left We will fight to the death To the Edge of the Earth It's a brave new world from the last to the first To the right, to the left We will fight to the death To the Edge of the Earth It's a brave new world, It's a brave new world A warning to the prophet To the liar, to the honest This is war To the leader, the pariah, the victim, the Messiah This Is War It's the moment of truth and the moment to lie The moment to live and the moment to die The moment to fight, the moment to fight, to fight, to fight, to fight To the right, to the left We will fight to the death To the Edge of the Earth It's a brave new world from the last to the first To the right, to the left We will fight to the death To the Edge of the Earth It's a brave new world, it's a brave new world, it's a brave new world I do believe in the light, Raise your hands up to the sky The fight is done, war is won, Lift your hands toward the sun Toward the sun, toward the sun, the war is won Fight fight fight fight fight! To the right, to the left We will fight to the death To the Edge of the Earth It's a brave new world from the last to the first To the right, to the left We will fight to the death To the Edge of the Earth It's a brave new world, it's a brave new world, it's a brave new world A brave new world The war is won The war is won A brave new world I believe in nothing, not the end and not the start I believe in nothing, not the earth and not the stars I believe in nothing, not the day and not the dark I believe in nothing, but the beating of our hearts I believe in nothing, 100 suns until we part I believe in nothing, not in satan, not in god I believe in nothing, not in peace and not in war I believe in nothing, but the truth of who we are Sep 28, 2010 View in Crawl 4