A Fourth Opinion

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Publisher: Nintendo

 

Number of players: 1-32 (1-4 online)

 

Rating: T

 

Platform: Nintendo Wii

 

 

Super Smash Bros. Brawl is the third installment in the Nintendo powerhouse series, Super Smash Bros. This version is made for the unique Nintendo Wii and also introduces characters from third party companies including the one-man-army Solid Snake and the fastest hedgehog around…Sonic.

 

Brawl has an improved story mode called “The Subspace Emissary.”  It is rather interesting, being a 2D side scroller. Hearing “2D sidescroller,” you probably don’t have high hopes, but the actual plot is rather exciting.

 

It starts out with Mario and Kirby brawling in an arena when all of a sudden mysterious robots fall from a ship and detonate a bomb.  Throughout the story, these mysterious robots release bombs in different spots on the map.  In addition, you will come across all of the different Nintendo characters and the new third-party ones.  When you defeat these characters they will join you in your quest and will be unlocked in the normal Brawl mode. After you met everyone in story mode, you will eventually come across the final boss Tabu, who is trying to take over the world.

 

Brawl is also the first game in the series to introduce online play. You can play normal brawl or team brawl against random people around the world or against your friends. You can play on any level and as any player when you play online.

 

To conclude, the only flaw is not being allowed to share your created levels online. Everything else is almost flawless which is why I hereby award Super Smash Bros. Brawl the coveted 5-penguin rating.

 

-Kyle Knaus

Fourteen’s the Charm

Artist: R.E.M.

Album: Accelerate 

 

Genre: Alternative

Label: Warner Bros.

 

 

 

Few in the YouTube generation understand the cultural relevance of alternative pioneers, R.E.M.  When they emerged in the early ‘80s, they played a type of music which (at the time) had no name and was played exclusively on college radio.  Successors like Nirvana, Beck and Red Hot Chili Peppers may have swept it into the mainstream, but without the influence of R.E.M. (among the equally great Pixies) alternative would still live deep underground if at all. 

Their first four albums set the standard for hordes of followers and placed them on an untouchable pedestal above all the others.  Twenty-two years and ten albums later, however, we seem to have forgotten that such a grand and influential band ever existed.  They too it seemed wanted to stamp themselves out of history books by releasing a slew of forgetful, sobering and awful albums after the departure of drummer Bill Berry.  Their last studio effort, Around the Sun (2004), had fans scratching their heads as the band abandoned their unapologetic jangle rock for a somber, keyboard-smothered set.  Some wondered if there was any hope for the onward-limping R.E.M.

After the release of Accelerate, their fourteenth album to date, the answer is a resounding “yes!”  Not only does it exhibit a true return to form, but it is also their best since 1986’s unparalleled Life’s Rich Pageant.  Somewhere in their four year absence, they decided to stop exploring new territory and return to what they do best, playing fast and playing well. 

They open with the rigorous, self-absolving “Living Well is the Best Revenge” in which singer Michael Stipe declares that he and the band have entered a new era and will continue despite “the poison [that] spins into the life you’d hoped to live.”  From there it only gets better.  The head bangers are fierce and satisfying and even the ballads are filled with an undeniable energy.

Of course no album is without its issues, but to dwell on them would be to taint one of the best I’ve heard in years.  One complaint I must voice, however, is that Accelerate clocks in at just over thirty minutes.  Just when it gets going, it’s over. 

Repeat listens, however, are greatly rewarded.  Every time there is something new to enjoy, whether musically, lyrically or on some deep psychological level.  Accelerate recalls a time when music fed the soul and not simply the ears.  Whether or not you are a fan of alternative, this is one you can’t afford to miss.

-Anthony Kozlowski

LISTEN TO THIS:

“Living Well is the Best Revenge”

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Publisher: Nintendo

Genre: Fighting

Players: 1-32 (1-4 online)

Rated: T

Platform: Nintendo Wii

        Alex:                 Anthony:                Collin:

    

Collin:

Oh my gosh!  I have the first word!

I have been waiting for this game since 2005 when they first unveiled it at E3.  Scratch that.  I have waited for Brawl since Melee came out in 2001.  I circled my calendar (several times I might add since they kept pushing the release date back) and counted down the days like a kid waiting for his Christmas pony.  Unfortunately it’s a Christmas that only comes once every eight years.  Now, there’s nothing to wait for except Kingdom Hearts 3 and the 24 Movie, but who really cares?  I have Brawl!

In case you were wondering, yes, it’s the best fighting game ever.

Anthony:

While I agree that it’s the best fighting game ever, I’m not quite as ecstatic about Brawl as Collin is.  It is certainly an improvement over Melee, but it doesn’t quite live up to its hype.  I, for one, expected the motion-sensing capabilities of the Wii remote to take a larger role in the control scheme, but as it is, you only shake it to do a smash attack.  I would have liked to see moves based on sweeping arm motions or maybe punches that matched your hand movements, but unfortuantely, Brawl is more of a button-masher than anything.

Alex:

Anthony is completely wrong when it comes to the control scheme.  The GameCube controller is the best match when it comes to completely utilizing the characters’ abilities.  It is a button-masher, but it requires serious skill to master it.

Collin:

Well put, Alex.  Now let’s talk about our favorite aspects of the game.  Several elements have been added to Brawl that are both awesome and cheap at the same time.  First, you have assist trophies, which appear in battle to help you kill the other characters.  They work a lot like the Poke Balls of the previous two games, but are often far more devastating.  Unfortunately, you have to unlock them to use them, but it’s totally worth it. 

However, assist trophies are just mice compared to the colossal-raptor that is the Final Smash.  These multi-colored balls appear in battle more often than they should and grant the user unspeakable power (if they use it right).  Each character has its own unique Final Smash move that unleashes this power on the other characters, resulting in a one-hit KO in some cases.  But as I mentioned before, they are extremely cheap moves (unless I use them of course).

Anthony:

I happen to like the Final Smashes.  They give me an advantage even when the other players are far more skilled than me.

Alex:

Yes, Final Smashes are good.  Let’s talk about the characters now.  Collin?

 

Collin:

Alright, Alex.  Brawl includes many characters from the old skool games, but introduces just as many new faces.  My favorite combatants in this new arsenal include Metaknight (an awesome, sword-wielding, armored Kirby), Captain Olimar (the strange alien with an army of Pikmin) and Toon Link (the cel-shaded Link from The Wind Waker.)

Anthony:

Many of the recurring characters have also been improved.  Link and Ganondorf for instance, are far more powerful (if slower) than they were in Melee and…

Collin:

I wasn’t finished!  Anyway, the old characters are indeed way cooler this time around.  I like Kirby and Pikachu and Captain Falcon and Ganondorf and Link and…

Alex:

Collin, just choose three and let the rest of us talk.

Collin:

And Sonic and Samus and Mario and Luigi.

Alex:

I like Lucas, Ike, Lucario…

Collin:

And Wolf.

Anthony:

Collin!

Collin:

And did I mention that I like Toon Link?  He’s so much better than regular Link.

Anthony:

Alright, this is going nowhere.  Let’s just wrap this up.

Anyway, my second concern with Brawl is the new single player Adventure Mode, titled “The Subspace Emissary.”  While it is probably one of the best side-scrolling action games on the market, it is impossibly long and desparately craves voice acting.

Other than those minute concerns, Brawl is leaps and bounds above the prequels, offering what made the originals classics and throwing in many new features to keep gamers satisfied.

Alex:

One cool addition to the game is the Stage Creator which, as it suggests, allows you to create your own stage.  The possibilities for stages designs are nearly endless because you gain more materials for building them as you progress through other parts of the game.  Some stages can be really cool, but others can be frustrating and annoying.

Collin:

I, for instance, created a stage that I called “The Box.” The top side consists of collapsible blocks which imprison you once you fall through.  Then the fun starts.  Because the blocks only collapse when new items appear, you can max out the damage on someone before killing them (up to 999%).  Then there’s the one I call the “Uber Forest…”

Anthony:

But let’s not talk about that right now.  The point we’re trying make is that Brawl is one of the best Nintendo games ever made and (averaged out) gets a score of 4.6666666…

Collin:

66666666.

 - Alex Hernandez, Anthony Kozlowski

and Collin Sicard

Cloverfield

Rated: PG-13 (for violence, terror and disturbing images)

Featuring: Michael Stahl-David, Lizzy Caplan

Director: Matt Reeves

Genres: Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Thriller

Length: 84 Min.

A Monster Success 

The hype has settled.  Mysterious previews that once plagued us with anticipation and flooded our systems with adrenaline have vanished.  Viral sites leaving clues for rabid fans are losing viewers by the hour.  The theaters themselves have been vacated, making way for films like Jumper and Be Kind Rewind.   

The fireworks that signaled the drop of J.J. Abram’s inventive monster movie into the box office may have vanished long ago, but Cloverfield still left its massive footprint in filmmaking history.  Its concept alone (what if a monster attacked a major city and someone happened to capture it on their Handycam?) is the first semi-fresh idea to come out of Hollywood since its sibling, The Blair Witch Project (1999).  Top that off with imaginative literary choices, realistic characters and flawless effects, and the movie sets a new bar for the monster movie genre. 

Unlike many modern films, Cloverfield succeeds on a small scale first.  Twenty minutes before the mysterious monster (which is wisely kept secret from those who haven’t seen the movie) is mentioned, we are intimately introduced to the main characters.  Here, the filmmakers score their first point by casting Hollywood newcomers to all the lead roles, thereby preventing our perspective from being distorted by star power.  Through the camera lens of twenty-something-year-old Robert Hawkins (Michael Stahl-David) we get a glimpse into the personal lives of his friends and his possible love interest (Odette Yustman), proving that they are flesh and blood human beings and not disposable mannequins.  We are made to care about their fates before their lives are put on the line.  And placing us in the lone perspective of their video camera transforms us into one of them. 

Then, the monster attacks.  And devastatingly so.  Though the creature design seems vaguely familiar, it is certainly a nice alternative to the typical giant gorilla or lizard.  It proceeds to destroy the city formulaically, but unlike most monster movies, Cloverfield decentralizes its beast.  Instead of focusing on its rampage, the film centers on the characters’ struggle to rescue a friend and flee the city with their lives.  Each time one of them is lost, it’s an emotional event for them as well as us. 

Luckily, the terror and adrenaline are balanced out by bits of humor from the cast, especially cameraman, Hud (T.J. Miller).  Even when things look bleak, there are laughs to be had (Example: Someone, when seeing the monster for the first time, shouts, “What is that?!”  Hud responds, “I don’t know.  Something terrible.”) 

Even aspects as miniscule as the irony in Robert’s final statement, “If you’re watching this, then you know more than we do,” elevate Cloverfield to greatness.  All the small things we get, which are usually forgotten in creature features, prove that even special effect extravaganzas can have depth.  Kudos to you, Mr. Abrams! I only wish Hud knew how to hold a camera steadily. 

-Anthony Kozlowski

Archon: The Light and the Dark (1983)

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Genre: Strategy

Players: 1-2

Rating: (none)

Platform: NES 

 

Archon is visually similar to chess, but possesses a number of significant changes.  While the gaming space resembles a chessboard and the various pieces are likewise designed to have various offsetting abilities, when one piece attempts to take another, the removal of the targeted piece is not automatic. Instead, the two pieces are placed into a full-screen ‘combat arena’ and must battle (arcade-style, with the players running their respective pawns) to determine who takes the square. 

Generally (but not always) in combat, a stronger piece will defeat a weaker piece in either defending or capturing a square. It is also possible for the fight to result in a double-kill, in which both pieces are eliminated. This uncertainty adds a level of complexity into the game, since it is not always possible to predict if taking a square will be successful.Different pieces have different abilities in the combat phase including movement, lifespan, weapon damage and attributes. The weapons vary by range, speed, rate-of-fire, and power. For example, the pawn (represented by knights on the ‘light’ side and goblins on the ‘dark’ side) attacks quickly, but has very little strength.  Its weapon, a sword or club, has limited reach and power.  A dragon, on the other hand, is considerably stronger and can attack from a distance, while a golem moves lethargically and fires a slow but powerful boulder.

Some pieces even have special abilities. The Phoenix can turn into a ball of fire, both damaging the enemy and shielding itself from enemy attacks, while the shapeshifter assumes the form and abilities of whatever piece it is up against. 

Each character’s strength is also affected by the color of the square on which the combat occurs, indicated by the checkered pattern of the board. The ‘light’ team is stronger on white squares and during the light cycle on neutral spaces, while the dark strengthens on its own color.

Each side also has a spellcaster piece (the Sorceress for the dark side, the Wizard for the light side) which can cast seven different spells; each spell may be used only once per game by each spellcaster. They are:

Teleport – teleports one of your pieces to any square.

Heal – fully heals one piece.

Shift Time – reverses the light/dark cycle.

Exchange – swaps the board locations of any two pieces.

Summon Elemental – summons one of four elementals randomly to a chosen square to battle an enemy piece — the elemental disappears after the battle.

Revive – returns one of your defeated pieces to the board.

Imprison – prevents the target piece from moving until the light/dark cycle returns to its color. The spells may not be cast on pieces currently sitting on one of the five ‘power points’, which are located at the center of the board and the center of each of the four sides. 

The game is usually won when either an entire team has been destroyed by the opposing player or one of the teams occupies all five power points.  A side may also win by Imprisoning its opponent’s last remaining piece although this is a rare occurrence. If each side has but a single piece, and the two pieces destroy each other in a double-kill, the game ends in a tie.

Though this game contains many complicated elements, they all combine to create the most awesome game I have ever played.  

–Collin Sicard 

Almost “Vicious”

Artist: The Hives

Album: The Black and White Album 

 

Genre: Rock

Label: Interscope

 

Our friends from Sweden are at it again with their fourth studio album, once again bearing their raw, trademark garage rock sound.  Though their 2004 album Tyrannosaurs Hives provided a decent dose of unbridled, unrefined rawk, not since 2000’s Veni Vidi Vicious have the Hives proved their worth as media icons (remember the maniac guitar trip of “Hate to Say I Told You So?”)  Back in their niche seven years later, the Swedish garage-punk players attempt to refine their style and throw in some experiments of their own.

Does this formula work?  Unfortunately, we are left with mixed results.  Those longing for the raw power of Vicious will only find it sporadically, but these brief moments are enough to lift the album above mediocrity.  The tracks “Try It Again” and “Return the Favor” are so rough and so undeniably catchy that you’ll be unable to shake them from your head, while their sonic expertise is never more present than in the daring opening number, “Tick Tick Boom.”  A powerful track that slays the listener within its first stanza, “Tick Tick Boom” carries the audience through undulating riffs and some of the most angst-ridden (yet completely nonsensical) lyrics that the Swedish quintet have ever written. 

After this initial adrenaline rush and the poppy follow-up, “Try It Again,” the Hives seem to have pledged a worthy successor to Vicious, but this impression withers away before long.  They stray into uncharted territory for most of the CD’s fourteen tracks and the results are hit and miss.  “Puppet on a String” involves only piano and a bit of clapping, while “A Stroll Through Hives Manor Corridors” is an entirely instrumental song using only a 1960’s organ and a drum machine.  They even throw in a bit of unwanted do-wop with the ridiculous “Giddy Up!”  The entertainment value is minimal for all three.

Some of their gambles pay off though, especially in the hip-hop flavored “T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S.” featuring Pharrell Williams.  While not as moshpit-worthy as most Hives songs, it is satisfying and danceable. 

Overall, The Black and White Album is a worthy effort by Sweden’s garage rock ambassadors, but we know from history that they are capable of better.  While you’re waiting for the true counterpart of Vicious, however, be sure to catch one of their live shows.  They are without a doubt the true kings of the stage.

 -Anthony Kozlowski

LISTEN TO THIS:

“Tick Tick Boom”

I Am Legend

Rated: PG-13 (for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence)

Featuring: Will Smith

Director: Francis Lawrence

Genres: Action/Adventure, Science Fiction, Thriller, Adaptation and Remake

Length: 100 Min.

Not Quite Legend

  

 We have seen it before, twice in fact.  A post-apocalyptic thriller based on Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel I Am Legend.  After the intense, but dated Last Man on Earth (1964) and the utterly ridiculous Charleton Heston star vehicle Omega Man (1971), the formula strikes no new notes, but filmmaking has come a long way since the last adaptation.

Our first clue that that Hollywood has entered a new era comes with initial shots of a barren New York City landscape.  The metropolis’ concrete valleys are littered with abandoned cars and the streets have been deserted for so long that thick patches of weeds sprout through cracks in the pavement.  The sheer eeriness created by this effect surpasses even horror classics like 28 Days Later, which features all of London as a vacant, litter strewn lot.  Even though we are aware that CGI has been used to create these images, the void seems more real than anything else on screen, except for Will Smith’s performance.

Smith plays scientist Robert Neville, the lone survivor of a man-made plague that has purged the Earth and transformed any survivors into hairless, nocturnal, rage-driven vampires.  Though he only interacts with a dog throughout most of the movie, he boasts a self-sufficiency that pulls the audience into his perspective.  As he navigates the empty canyons of New York hunting for food and capturing mutants, you feel the progression of his loneliness and the slow decay of his sanity.  As he proved with last year’s Pursuit of Happyness, Smith has matured as a powerful and credible actor, and his performance in Legend solidifies this fact.

That said, the film is far from perfect.  Though the CGI is used to create the awe-inspiringly empty, yet claustrophopic setting, it bloats the onscreen animals and mutants.  Special effects are used to create believeable sequences, but when makeup and trained animals can be used to create the same illusion, CGI shatters the movie magic.  As a result of overdependence on CGI, all the infected people look identical and the action sequences seem unnecessarily stylized.

The film’s conclusion also appears to have been slathered on top at the last minute.  When Neville discovers that he is not the only survivor, the pacing shifts from intense and engrossing to hasty and ridiculous.  If another half hour or so were added to explain the logic behind the conclusion, then it would be far more satisfying (I don’t want to say anymore for fear of spoiling the plot).

The climax also suffers from a heap of horror-movie cliches (like hiding in the basement) and a spate of unnecessary action.

Despite these shortcomings though, I Am Legend trumps the competition in this thoroughly disappointing Oscar season.  Whereas The Golden Compass has fallen short of its Lord of the Rings expectations, Will Smith’s performance in Legend definitely merits a Best Actor nod.  Do yourself a favor and see this movie.  What else is there?  Alvin and the Chipmunks?

–Anthony Kozlowski

Medal of Honor Heroes 2

Publisher: EA Games

Genre: First Person Shooter

Players: 32 online

Rated: T

Platform: Nintendo Wii, Sony PSP 

  and       

            Wii                                   PSP

Medal of Honor Heroes 2 is yet another WW2 game made exclusively for the Wii and PSP. Starting with the Wii version, the game runs on a smooth frame rate, but has mediocre character models. The single player is short with easy A.I. With a whopping 32 player online, the multiplayer is obviously the strongest point of this game. In this mode, you can play across 8 different WW2 locations in death match, team death match, and capture the flag variations.

On the PSP, the single player is the same as the Wii, except the graphics are not as good and the character models are even more lacking. The online is just as big, but expect to get more lag than on the Wii.

All in all, this WWII Wii game is better than its rival Call of Duty. The single player suffers from short duration and second-rate character models, but the superb online play compensates, making this an exceptional distraction with excellent value for its price. I hereby reward these game 4 penguins for the Wii and 3 penguins for the PSP. 

–Kyle Knaus

Guitar Hero III

Publishers: Activision, Neversoft, Vicarious Visions (Wii), Budcat Creations (PS2)

Genre: Puzzle/Rhythm

Players: 1-2 (online compatible)

Rated: Teen

Platform: PlayStation 2, XBOX 360, Wii, PC, Mac

 

It does not take a musical prodigy to know that the guitar is the most popular instrument in America.  Almost every band has at least one, college kids play them under every tree on campus, dogs have been trained to play them, even the talentless know how to play an awesome air guitar.  Those who have not been blessed with the gift of rock could once only envy guitarists, but in 2005, Harmonix Music Systems shined some light on these poor souls with the exclusive PS2 release of Guitar Hero.

A highly experimental game in the same rift as Dance Dance Revolution, Guitar Hero boasted a guitar-shaped controller which gamers could use to shred along to classic songs like “Iron Man,” “Smoke on the Water” and “Fat Lip.”  The concept was instantly gobbled up by the public, making the game a huge success.  Seeing their profit margins increase, Harmonix decided to cash in on the idea, producing the sequels Guitar Hero II and Guitar Hero Encore: Rock of the ‘80s.

The fourth effort, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, although unmistakably similar to its predecessors gives its musically challenged gamers something new.  For one, Harmonix took no part in the game’s development, allowing Neversoft to completely take the helm.    The canon of songs also cuts back on covers and uses original pieces to appease the fans.

GHIII is also the first of the series to feature online play, opening the door for players to jam with people across the globe.  To enhance this online experience, Neversoft also introduced Battle Mode, a competition between two players either locally or over network play.  It is similar to GHII’s Pro-Face Off with the addition of Battle Power, which replaces the Career Modes Star Power to sabotage your competitor.  Various power-ups allow the gamer to break one of the opponent’s strings, increase the opponent’s difficulty level and double the opponent’s notes among other things. 

There are also a score of Wii exclusive features including a rumble that activates for Star Power and screw-up sounds produced by the Wii remote.

To simplify things, let’s take a look at Collin’s Quick List:

Pros:
•    Lots of songs
•    Online
•    It’s Difficult
•    Good Multiplayer
•    Addictive Gameplay

Cons:
•    I always lose online.  It pisses me off
•    Not many alternative songs
•    Some songs are repetitive

The pros, however, greatly outweigh the cons, creating possibly one of the most addictive video games on the market.  If you are new to the series or just want to increase your Guitar Hero library, this is the game for you. 

–Anthony Kozlowski & Collin Sicard

Music and Teens

The U.S. weekend magazine polled over 60,000 teens about their music listening habits. 79% said they listen to music while they do their chores, 73% while they are on the computer, and 72% while they do their homework. As you can see, most kids listen to their favorite music a lot!  

Have you ever heard parents or even other people say, “That rock and rap music just has a bad influence on teens.   It only promotes drugs and violence?”   To all those nay-sayers, music does neither for the most part. What music does is determine social groups based on preferences and personality.  

According to the book “The Emerging Generation”, the average teen consumes an average of 6 hours of music a day! I personally fill up my 6 hours with loads of heavy metal, a genre that has been the source of a lot of criticism since its birth in the late ‘80s. Its explicit lyrics have caused a lot of controversy about its affects on teens. A lot of people that listen to heavy metal say that it helps them solve problems and let out their anger, but people that don’t listen to it say that it is only screaming without a purpose.

 In the same way rappers who love their rhythm and rockers who love their riffs, I believe that heavy metal has just as much of a point as any other kinds of music. Your preferences just depend on your personality.

-John Robertson