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(04/05/07 4:00am)
God knows how many hours I spent as a kid playing through "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game" on the NES.\nSure, the graphics and sound sucked compared to the actual arcade game, but in the early '90s it was a damn fine port of an arcade game.\nNow, the arcade game has come to Xbox Live, and without having to be squeezed onto an 8-bit system it's an absolutely perfect translation … at least offline.\nIt's hard to call yourself a real gamer if you haven't played "TMNT" in the arcades before. It's a basic yet extremely enjoyable game. Pick a turtle, and go through a series of sidescrolling levels taking out hundreds of Foot Clan soldiers --and eventually Shredder himself -- to rescue April O'Neill and Master Splinter. One button jumps, one button attacks. It's almost Zen-like in its simplicity, and it's an absolute blast with three other friends … offline.\nThe real draw of this port, in theory, is the ability to go through the game with your friends via Xbox Live. \nIn reality, it's a giant mess as the usually smooth animation is reduced to a slideshow. The music, which let's face it, is really only great as nostalgia, is reduced to, as one person I played with put it, the sounds of "a robot shitting."\nHow "TMNT" has so many problems yet much more complicated modern games such as "Gears of War" do not boggles the mind.\nNot every game suffers such problems, but in my experience online, only about one in 10 Live games had little to no slowdown.\nThe basic game is still as much fun as it was nearly 20 years ago, but the online portion really needs to be patched ASAP to make it run at an acceptable speed. Still, it's only $5 to download an arcade-perfect version of "TMNT" at long last, and offline co-op is just as good as you remember, so it's not a total bust.
(04/05/07 4:00am)
One of the biggest criticisms of Xbox Live Arcade has been that much of the content is either repackaged shareware games or half-assed ports of 20-year-old games at ridiculous prices.\nThose are valid criticisms, too. My ass still hurts from the realization I plopped down five bucks apiece for the whiz-bang high-definition versions of "Frogger" and "Pac-Man," especially in light of the proper remake treatment given to Rare's "Jetpac Refueled."\nReleased on home computers in the '80s, the original "Jetpac" was a simple one-screen game where an astronaut dodged aliens to gather the pieces of his spaceship and then fuel for it to blast off to another planet (that looked exactly the same) and repeat the process.\nIt was simple fun back then, and not a bad bonus game when it was included in 1999's "Donkey Kong 64," but asking gamers today to pay $5 for just that on Xbox Live would be a little much.\nLuckily, Rare wisely-decided to completely remake "Jetpac Refueled" from the ground up with 128 all-new levels and some truly awesome graphics that, while 2-D, show off the power of the 360. \nDevilishly intelligent enemies and the inclusion of power-ups absent from the original almost make this feel more like Xbox Live Arcade favorite "Geometry Wars" than the old "Jetpac," which is included in the download.\nAnd just like "Geometry Wars," this is one very tough game. There are checkpoints you can restart from every few levels, but don't expect to see the last level or get an easy 200 achievement points here unless you seriously brush up on your skills.\nA basic two-player mode where you and another player race against each other to get off each planet rounds out the package. It's decent fun, and runs without lag, but I almost prefer the more in-depth single-player game.\n"Jetpac Refueled" is everything an Xbox Live Arcade game should be. It's got a great nostalgic game here, as well as an awesome remake that stands up well against its competitors, all for the low price of 400 Microsoft Points ($5). Its gameplay stands up well in small doses and in marathon sessions. There's no reason not download this one.
(02/06/07 10:01pm)
The well-funded campus of Princeton University might not be the best example of educational inequality. But it was there that Wendy Kopp first became aware of the disparity in achievement between students who grow up in poorer urban areas and those in other regions.\n"Where you're born has a lot to do with your educational prospects as well as your life prospects," Kopp said. "That doesn't seem right."\nKopp decided to do something about the problem she saw by founding Teach For America, a nonprofit organization that recruits recent college graduates to teach in low-income areas for two years.\nBy fourth grade, many students in urban and rural areas are already three years behind where they should be and only have a 50 percent chance of graduating high school, Kopp said.\nSince 1990 more than 17,000 people have participated in the program, which now encompasses 25 regions, according to the group's Web site.\nCorps members do not need to be certified teachers, but they can instead receive alternative certification if accepted into the program. There are several characteristics the group looks for in new recruits, however.\n"It's a combination of a commitment to ensuring kids have the opportunities they deserve as well as perseverance in the face of challenges," Kopp said.\nSenior Brittany Cohen will begin working at an elementary school in New York City for Teach For America in the fall.\n"I was attracted to Teach for America because of their motto," Cohen said in an e-mail. "I believe in what the organization stands for and I want to be part of the movement to help educational inequality.\nCohen is an education major, but feels she can contribute much more to teaching as a corps member.\n"I have always wanted to teach and I am actually an elementary-special education major but I feel Teach For America is so much more," she said. "I will always have the opportunity to teach but I will not always have the opportunity to help reduce educational inequality."\nThere has been some debate as to just how effective Teach For America teachers are, however. A June 2004 study by Mathematica Policy Research found that while students of corps members score higher in math on average than those receiving instruction by other teachers, there is no significant difference in reading scores.\nKopp said that internal studies have shown Teach For America has a greater impact, however, and because of changes in training corps members she expects future studies will show greater achievement in students.\nKwame Griffith, director of Diversity Initiatives at Teach For America, will be on campus today to discuss the achievement gap and why the number of black, Hispanic and Asian students drops sharply in the transition from K-12 to college and what IU students can do to help.\nThe lecture will be at 12:30 p.m. in the Dogwood Room of the Indiana Memorial Union.
(02/01/07 5:00am)
While the weekly retreads of '80s arcade classics are a fun diversion on Xbox Live Arcade, it's nice to see that the service encourages developers to pump out some good, cheap original games too.\nWhile "Assault Heroes" has some of the best graphics yet for an Arcade game (this could easily be mistaken for an early Xbox 1 title), its gameplay is straight up old school.\nThe left analogue stick controls your vehicle or Rambo-style mercenary. The right analogue stick shoots. And you shoot a lot in this game--from green guys with guns to uh, crazy screaming red guys with guns. And the occasional giant mechanical spider (which might also require a grenade or a nuke).\nI'm not quite sure what the storyline is about or why you're supposed to shoot all these things. I think it has something to do with terrorism, or maybe an argument over a sandwich.\nWhatever the case, I've learned that in situations like this where mechanical spiders are involved, it's better to shoot first and ask questions later.\nThe controls are simple and responsive, which is all that really matters in a game like this. And of course, everything blows up real good too. The accompanying sounds are acceptable, and the few musical tracks don't really get in the way of anything. I found it's better to just jam with a custom soundtrack in the background.\n"Assault Heroes" is just straight up dumb fun, great for marathon gaming sessions with a friend in person or over Xbox Live, or when you have a few minutes to kill between classes.\nAchievements run from the fairly simple "beat the game" to "finish a level without dying once" (not an easy task), giving this game some great replay value.\nHopefully Microsoft will get the message and start giving gamers more software like this on Xbox Live Arcade. This is a game that recognizes its old school roots but presents everything in a shiny new next-gen package. \nFor 800 Microsoft Points ($10), this game is a steal and one of the best yet on the service.
(02/01/07 5:00am)
Spending time with all three next-gen systems only further convinced me that I made the right decision in purchasing an Xbox 360.\nFrankly, it seems like the best bang for your buck.\nAdmittedly, the PS3 version of "Madden 07" did look a tad bit better, but not worth shelling out an additional $100-$200 for the system. Bring out a true killer-app PS3-exclusive in a couple years though that really shows the graphical difference between the two.\nStill, nothing on the PS3 looks as good "Gears of War" on the 360.\nAnd for some weird reason the new Dualshake controller feels kind of flimsy compared to the weightier Xbox 360 wireless controller.\nThe Nintendo Wii was more of a mixed bag than I expected. On the one hand, "Wii Sports" (included with the Wii) is a definite system seller. \nThe few minutes I had in the bowling and home run derby games were some of the most fun I have had playing a piece of software in years. For that experience alone I will be trading in my Gamecube and getting a Wii as soon as I can find one.\nOn the other hand, "Call of Duty 3" was a complete mess. The Wii-mote seemed completely out of whack with what I was trying to do and I couldn't get past one lowly Nazi without taking heavy damage.\nIf this is a sign of how more traditional games are going to work on the Wii, it's a little troubling. At least it looks like Nintendo will continue to put out great first-party games though.\nBut the IDS staff didn't even get to try out the best feature of the Xbox 360 when we gathered together - Xbox Live.\nMicrosoft easily has the best online service. Finding and adding friends is a breeze (if you want to add me, my gamertag is Fryburg84), as is browsing and purchasing new content. On top of that, almost every game takes advantage of Xbox Live, whether it be with a simple leaderboard, full-fledged multiplayer modes or new goodies to download to extend the life of an older game.\nPlus, every premium console comes with a headset for voice communication (which can be a good or a bad thing depending on how well you deal hearing 13-year-olds scream profanity at you for owning them in "Perfect Dark Zero"), and few games I've played have any lag.\nOn top of that, Microsoft has instituted an achievement system that encourages players to squeeze every last ounce of fun out of a game, if for nothing more than online bragging rights.\nXbox Live is literally light-years ahead of the PS3 (which doesn't have nearly enough content to download) and the Wii (which has some great old games to download, but no online multiplayer as of yet).\nAnd while those two services might be free, $7.99 per month or $50 per year is a small price to pay for what Microsoft has to offer.
(02/01/07 3:54am)
Spending time with all three next-gen systems only further convinced me that I made the right decision in purchasing an Xbox 360.\nFrankly, it seems like the best bang for your buck.\nAdmittedly, the PS3 version of "Madden 07" did look a tad bit better, but not worth shelling out an additional $100-$200 for the system. Bring out a true killer-app PS3-exclusive in a couple years though that really shows the graphical difference between the two.\nStill, nothing on the PS3 looks as good "Gears of War" on the 360.\nAnd for some weird reason the new Dualshake controller feels kind of flimsy compared to the weightier Xbox 360 wireless controller.\nThe Nintendo Wii was more of a mixed bag than I expected. On the one hand, "Wii Sports" (included with the Wii) is a definite system seller. \nThe few minutes I had in the bowling and home run derby games were some of the most fun I have had playing a piece of software in years. For that experience alone I will be trading in my Gamecube and getting a Wii as soon as I can find one.\nOn the other hand, "Call of Duty 3" was a complete mess. The Wii-mote seemed completely out of whack with what I was trying to do and I couldn't get past one lowly Nazi without taking heavy damage.\nIf this is a sign of how more traditional games are going to work on the Wii, it's a little troubling. At least it looks like Nintendo will continue to put out great first-party games though.\nBut the IDS staff didn't even get to try out the best feature of the Xbox 360 when we gathered together - Xbox Live.\nMicrosoft easily has the best online service. Finding and adding friends is a breeze (if you want to add me, my gamertag is Fryburg84), as is browsing and purchasing new content. On top of that, almost every game takes advantage of Xbox Live, whether it be with a simple leaderboard, full-fledged multiplayer modes or new goodies to download to extend the life of an older game.\nPlus, every premium console comes with a headset for voice communication (which can be a good or a bad thing depending on how well you deal hearing 13-year-olds scream profanity at you for owning them in "Perfect Dark Zero"), and few games I've played have any lag.\nOn top of that, Microsoft has instituted an achievement system that encourages players to squeeze every last ounce of fun out of a game, if for nothing more than online bragging rights.\nXbox Live is literally light-years ahead of the PS3 (which doesn't have nearly enough content to download) and the Wii (which has some great old games to download, but no online multiplayer as of yet).\nAnd while those two services might be free, $7.99 per month or $50 per year is a small price to pay for what Microsoft has to offer.
(02/01/07 3:36am)
While the weekly retreads of '80s arcade classics are a fun diversion on Xbox Live Arcade, it's nice to see that the service encourages developers to pump out some good, cheap original games too.\nWhile "Assault Heroes" has some of the best graphics yet for an Arcade game (this could easily be mistaken for an early Xbox 1 title), its gameplay is straight up old school.\nThe left analogue stick controls your vehicle or Rambo-style mercenary. The right analogue stick shoots. And you shoot a lot in this game--from green guys with guns to uh, crazy screaming red guys with guns. And the occasional giant mechanical spider (which might also require a grenade or a nuke).\nI'm not quite sure what the storyline is about or why you're supposed to shoot all these things. I think it has something to do with terrorism, or maybe an argument over a sandwich.\nWhatever the case, I've learned that in situations like this where mechanical spiders are involved, it's better to shoot first and ask questions later.\nThe controls are simple and responsive, which is all that really matters in a game like this. And of course, everything blows up real good too. The accompanying sounds are acceptable, and the few musical tracks don't really get in the way of anything. I found it's better to just jam with a custom soundtrack in the background.\n"Assault Heroes" is just straight up dumb fun, great for marathon gaming sessions with a friend in person or over Xbox Live, or when you have a few minutes to kill between classes.\nAchievements run from the fairly simple "beat the game" to "finish a level without dying once" (not an easy task), giving this game some great replay value.\nHopefully Microsoft will get the message and start giving gamers more software like this on Xbox Live Arcade. This is a game that recognizes its old school roots but presents everything in a shiny new next-gen package. \nFor 800 Microsoft Points ($10), this game is a steal and one of the best yet on the service.
(01/18/07 5:00am)
It took more than a year, but finally Xbox 360's killer app has arrived.\n"Gears of War" is the first truly "next-gen" game, something that could not possibly have been done on older consoles and will make your jaw drop the first time you see it in action.\nThe game plays like a strategic third person shooter, which means that tactics are more important than going in all guns blazing.\nYou will have to move methodically from cover to cover if you wish to eliminate the cunning Locust horde. \nLuckily, simple and intuitive controls ensure a fun experience under heavy fire.\nOn top of that, Epic went the extra mile to put in some truly great, innovative weapons such as the Hammer of Dawn, which directs an overhead satellite to fry enemies on the ground.\nEven the basic assault rifle has been upgraded with a chainsaw on the end, making for some of the greatest fatalities this side of "Mortal Kombat." With the aid of cutting edge, nearly lifelike graphics, "Gears" takes ultra-violence to brand new heights.\nAs satisfying as using these weapons in the single-player campaign is, it's even more satisfying taking the game online and chain-sawing someone on the other side of the world. \nRight now there's only a few team vs. team multiplayer modes, but they're easily the best thing on Xbox Live right now. Sorry, "Halo 2."\nMuch has been written about the game's jaw-dropping looks, and it is hard to look at other games the same way after playing "Gears of War," it looks so damn good even on an old standard-definition TV set. \nAfter seeing it in action with no slow down there are no more excuses for developers to pump out games with "shiny" characters that move like robots.\nSound is another high point in the game, with an orchestrated soundtrack worthy of a big budget action flick, that provides smooth atmospheric pieces during the lulls, and some great fight themes during the chaotic firefights.\nThe voice acting is top notch to, thanks in large part to the main character being voiced by the same guy who did Bender on "Futurama." Bite my shiny metal ass, indeed.\nThe only bad thing I can say about "Gears" it is that it is almost unforgivingly difficult, but it's so much fun that you won't care if you have to redo the same area 10 times over sometimes. This is not just a must-buy game. This is the reason to buy an Xbox 360.
(01/18/07 12:45am)
It took more than a year, but finally Xbox 360's killer app has arrived.\n"Gears of War" is the first truly "next-gen" game, something that could not possibly have been done on older consoles and will make your jaw drop the first time you see it in action.\nThe game plays like a strategic third person shooter, which means that tactics are more important than going in all guns blazing.\nYou will have to move methodically from cover to cover if you wish to eliminate the cunning Locust horde. \nLuckily, simple and intuitive controls ensure a fun experience under heavy fire.\nOn top of that, Epic went the extra mile to put in some truly great, innovative weapons such as the Hammer of Dawn, which directs an overhead satellite to fry enemies on the ground.\nEven the basic assault rifle has been upgraded with a chainsaw on the end, making for some of the greatest fatalities this side of "Mortal Kombat." With the aid of cutting edge, nearly lifelike graphics, "Gears" takes ultra-violence to brand new heights.\nAs satisfying as using these weapons in the single-player campaign is, it's even more satisfying taking the game online and chain-sawing someone on the other side of the world. \nRight now there's only a few team vs. team multiplayer modes, but they're easily the best thing on Xbox Live right now. Sorry, "Halo 2."\nMuch has been written about the game's jaw-dropping looks, and it is hard to look at other games the same way after playing "Gears of War," it looks so damn good even on an old standard-definition TV set. \nAfter seeing it in action with no slow down there are no more excuses for developers to pump out games with "shiny" characters that move like robots.\nSound is another high point in the game, with an orchestrated soundtrack worthy of a big budget action flick, that provides smooth atmospheric pieces during the lulls, and some great fight themes during the chaotic firefights.\nThe voice acting is top notch to, thanks in large part to the main character being voiced by the same guy who did Bender on "Futurama." Bite my shiny metal ass, indeed.\nThe only bad thing I can say about "Gears" it is that it is almost unforgivingly difficult, but it's so much fun that you won't care if you have to redo the same area 10 times over sometimes. This is not just a must-buy game. This is the reason to buy an Xbox 360.
(01/12/07 8:25pm)
Hell has frozen over. Sylvester Stallone has defied the gods and nature to make a sixth installment in the long-running "Rocky" film series, and even more shocking, it's a pretty good movie.\nIn "Rocky Balboa," everyone's favorite boxing underdog has finally retired to a quiet life in his home of Philadelphia. Instead of running up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Rocky is much more content running his restaurant and regaling patrons with stories of his legendary career.\nOf course, "Rocky: The Golden Years" would make for a pretty crappy (if not unintentionally hilarious) movie, and it's not long before he starts to get the urge to get back into the ring. At first, he's just looking for a few exhibition fights, but it isn't long before the handlers of untested current champ Mason "The Line" Dixon come calling for a fight to put over the unpopular Dixon.\nThe beauty of "Rocky Balboa" is that Stallone gets the joke. He's old. The mere mention of a new Rocky movie has been a joke for almost 20 years now. They're practically running out of Roman numerals.\nBut instead of denying that idea and trying to play a younger character, Stallone embraces the older, more wizened Rocky, a character who now is not just fighting for pride but for the respect of his adult son, who feels like he still lives in his famous father's shadow.\nThough "Rocky Balboa" treads new ground for the character, it also sticks to a pretty traditional formula. You will see the aging boxer punch slabs of meat, run through the streets of Philadelphia and flashback to important conversations during the final boxing match as "Gonna Fly Now" periodically wails in the background. Sure, we've seen all this (five times before, in fact), but it still feels as inspirational as the 1976 film that started it all, and Stallone looks to be in damn good shape for a guy pushing 60.\nI, too, initially laughed at the idea of a new Rocky movie, but it appears that Stallone will have the last laugh on his critics by putting together an incredibly entertaining and believable sequel.\nSupposedly the final bell tolls for Rocky in this movie, but dare I say that by the time the credits were done rolling, I was kind of hoping for a "Rocky VII"
(01/12/07 5:00am)
Hell has frozen over. Sylvester Stallone has defied the gods and nature to make a sixth installment in the long-running "Rocky" film series, and even more shocking, it's a pretty good movie.\nIn "Rocky Balboa," everyone's favorite boxing underdog has finally retired to a quiet life in his home of Philadelphia. Instead of running up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Rocky is much more content running his restaurant and regaling patrons with stories of his legendary career.\nOf course, "Rocky: The Golden Years" would make for a pretty crappy (if not unintentionally hilarious) movie, and it's not long before he starts to get the urge to get back into the ring. At first, he's just looking for a few exhibition fights, but it isn't long before the handlers of untested current champ Mason "The Line" Dixon come calling for a fight to put over the unpopular Dixon.\nThe beauty of "Rocky Balboa" is that Stallone gets the joke. He's old. The mere mention of a new Rocky movie has been a joke for almost 20 years now. They're practically running out of Roman numerals.\nBut instead of denying that idea and trying to play a younger character, Stallone embraces the older, more wizened Rocky, a character who now is not just fighting for pride but for the respect of his adult son, who feels like he still lives in his famous father's shadow.\nThough "Rocky Balboa" treads new ground for the character, it also sticks to a pretty traditional formula. You will see the aging boxer punch slabs of meat, run through the streets of Philadelphia and flashback to important conversations during the final boxing match as "Gonna Fly Now" periodically wails in the background. Sure, we've seen all this (five times before, in fact), but it still feels as inspirational as the 1976 film that started it all, and Stallone looks to be in damn good shape for a guy pushing 60.\nI, too, initially laughed at the idea of a new Rocky movie, but it appears that Stallone will have the last laugh on his critics by putting together an incredibly entertaining and believable sequel.\nSupposedly the final bell tolls for Rocky in this movie, but dare I say that by the time the credits were done rolling, I was kind of hoping for a "Rocky VII"
(12/08/06 7:54pm)
Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. \nCase in point: The three Burger King-inspired video games on sale for $3.99 each with the purchase of a value meal at participating restaurants.\nEach of the games features a variety of soulless corporate characters for you to play as, including the always creepy King, Whopper Jr. and super model Brooke Burke.\n"Sneak King" is easily the worst of the bunch (quite an accomplishment), and the most terrifying video game since "Resident Evil."\nYou play as The King, complete with perfectly rendered never changing smile, as he wanders around such areas as a construction yard and a random neighborhood surprising people with artery-clogging Burger King goodness.\nThe more surprised people are the more points you score, and the more points you score, the more you die a little bit inside.\nIt's kind of like "Metal Gear Solid," if "Metal Gear Solid" sucked, and instead of shooting terrorists, Snake threw hamburgers at them with a dumb grin on his face.\n"Pocketbike Racer" features the aforementioned cast of Burger King rejects racing miniature motorcycles on a variety of inspired courses, including, and I swear I'm not making this up, the Burger King parking lot.\nIn theory, a "Mario Kart" clone featuring The King and his pals on bikes for a few bucks doesn't sound too bad, but when you quickly come to the realization that the controls were made to emulate the feeling of a Burger King extra value meal sliding down your digestive tract, the appeal quickly wears off.\n"Big Bumpin'" is the least offensive of these three horrible games, featuring some decent last man standing action with bumper cars and a genuinely fun hockey game that can be played over Xbox Live.\nIf you ever see these games sitting on your friend's shelf, they're worth putting in for a few minutes to gawk and say, "My God, someone actually thought this was a good idea!" and then laugh at your friend for buying such garbage, but otherwise they're not worth the effort, even at the bargain price of $3.99 each. You really do get what you pay for.
(12/08/06 5:00am)
Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. \nCase in point: The three Burger King-inspired video games on sale for $3.99 each with the purchase of a value meal at participating restaurants.\nEach of the games features a variety of soulless corporate characters for you to play as, including the always creepy King, Whopper Jr. and super model Brooke Burke.\n"Sneak King" is easily the worst of the bunch (quite an accomplishment), and the most terrifying video game since "Resident Evil."\nYou play as The King, complete with perfectly rendered never changing smile, as he wanders around such areas as a construction yard and a random neighborhood surprising people with artery-clogging Burger King goodness.\nThe more surprised people are the more points you score, and the more points you score, the more you die a little bit inside.\nIt's kind of like "Metal Gear Solid," if "Metal Gear Solid" sucked, and instead of shooting terrorists, Snake threw hamburgers at them with a dumb grin on his face.\n"Pocketbike Racer" features the aforementioned cast of Burger King rejects racing miniature motorcycles on a variety of inspired courses, including, and I swear I'm not making this up, the Burger King parking lot.\nIn theory, a "Mario Kart" clone featuring The King and his pals on bikes for a few bucks doesn't sound too bad, but when you quickly come to the realization that the controls were made to emulate the feeling of a Burger King extra value meal sliding down your digestive tract, the appeal quickly wears off.\n"Big Bumpin'" is the least offensive of these three horrible games, featuring some decent last man standing action with bumper cars and a genuinely fun hockey game that can be played over Xbox Live.\nIf you ever see these games sitting on your friend's shelf, they're worth putting in for a few minutes to gawk and say, "My God, someone actually thought this was a good idea!" and then laugh at your friend for buying such garbage, but otherwise they're not worth the effort, even at the bargain price of $3.99 each. You really do get what you pay for.
(12/07/06 5:13am)
Girls Inc. of Monroe County will hold its annual Holiday Hoopla event this Saturday at the Fountain Square Mall.\nFor $5, guests will be able to check out the kids-only boutique, a hot pancake breakfast and a 1 p.m. showing of the animated movie "The Polar Express" at The Cinemat, among other activities at the all-day event, said Amanda Smith, development intern for Girls Inc.\nKids will also be able to get their pictures taken with Santa.\nThe event is expected bring in about $7,000, which will allow the group to continue providing local youngsters with after-school activities, field trips and scholarships, Smith said.\nStory times are scheduled throughout the morning at Howard's Bookstore.\nLive entertainment will be provided by Jack Carpenter, Beth Garfinkle, Kaia and others.\nMore than 600 girls in Monroe County take advantage of the Girls Inc.'s services, according to its Web site.\n"We provide educational, semi-structured activities for girls ages 5 to 18 from all over our community," said Lucy Berger, a center-based programs specialist for Girls Inc.\nAll of the group's volunteers are IU students on work-study, and often faculty members from departments such as chemistry come in to show off science experiments, she said.\nFor tickets or more information call 336-7313.
(11/29/06 10:43pm)
When I first saw the trailer for the latest James Bond movie "Casino Royale," I was more than a little bit skeptical. The generic action scenes and Chris Cornell theme didn't exactly fill me with confidence.\nAnd Bond was blonde. I mean, they could blow $150 million on another Bond movie but somehow couldn't squeeze $10 into the budget for a bottle of black hair dye?\nBut just five minutes into "Casino Royale," all my doubts evaporated. Daniel Craig is now the definitive James Bond, a calculated spy and general smooth operator both at the card table and in the bedroom.\nThe plot revolves around a multi-million dollar poker showdown between Bond and terrorist banker Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), a mathematical genius who cries blood. In typical fashion, there are enough twists, turns and betrayals to keep things interesting to the end.\nUnlike past portrayal's of the iconic character, Craig's Bond isn't very cocky; in fact, he comes off as a little cold, which fits in with the much darker tone of the film. \nLongtime fans will be shocked by the sheer brutality used to torture Bond later in the film, a far cry from the ornate and slightly goofy shark and laser-engineered death traps featured in past films in the series.\nLe Chiffre even remarks about how ridiculous such devices are, just one of the many smart allusions in the script to past flicks.\nIf I have one complaint, it's that this new, darker Bond almost takes itself too seriously. I don't think anyone wants to see return to some of the campier Bond movies of the '70s and '80s, but would it have killed the filmmakers to add a scene for John Cleese's gadget-making Q character seen in the past couple movies?\nIt's a small complaint for such a tightly written story, however, and hopefully something which will be rectified in the inevitable sequels featuring Craig (who has signed on to star for at least two more sequels).\n"Casino Royale" is easily the best James Bond movie since 1995's "Goldeneye" and one of the best-- period-- in the four-decade old series. But on top of that, it's just an all-around great film that just about any action fan should be able to watch and enjoy.
(11/29/06 5:00am)
When I first saw the trailer for the latest James Bond movie "Casino Royale," I was more than a little bit skeptical. The generic action scenes and Chris Cornell theme didn't exactly fill me with confidence.\nAnd Bond was blonde. I mean, they could blow $150 million on another Bond movie but somehow couldn't squeeze $10 into the budget for a bottle of black hair dye?\nBut just five minutes into "Casino Royale," all my doubts evaporated. Daniel Craig is now the definitive James Bond, a calculated spy and general smooth operator both at the card table and in the bedroom.\nThe plot revolves around a multi-million dollar poker showdown between Bond and terrorist banker Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), a mathematical genius who cries blood. In typical fashion, there are enough twists, turns and betrayals to keep things interesting to the end.\nUnlike past portrayal's of the iconic character, Craig's Bond isn't very cocky; in fact, he comes off as a little cold, which fits in with the much darker tone of the film. \nLongtime fans will be shocked by the sheer brutality used to torture Bond later in the film, a far cry from the ornate and slightly goofy shark and laser-engineered death traps featured in past films in the series.\nLe Chiffre even remarks about how ridiculous such devices are, just one of the many smart allusions in the script to past flicks.\nIf I have one complaint, it's that this new, darker Bond almost takes itself too seriously. I don't think anyone wants to see return to some of the campier Bond movies of the '70s and '80s, but would it have killed the filmmakers to add a scene for John Cleese's gadget-making Q character seen in the past couple movies?\nIt's a small complaint for such a tightly written story, however, and hopefully something which will be rectified in the inevitable sequels featuring Craig (who has signed on to star for at least two more sequels).\n"Casino Royale" is easily the best James Bond movie since 1995's "Goldeneye" and one of the best-- period-- in the four-decade old series. But on top of that, it's just an all-around great film that just about any action fan should be able to watch and enjoy.
(11/28/06 3:31am)
With control of the House of Representatives and the Senate in the hands of Democrats for the first time since 1994, Hoosier Congressmen have begun plotting a new course for the country.\nRepresentative-elect Baron Hill, D-9th, plans to introduce legislation in the first few weeks of the next session that will overhaul the House Ethics Committee.\nHill has called for a new committee to be made up of former members of Congress rather than sitting members as is now the case, which he says will free the committee from the influence of lobbyists and other special interests.\n"It's picking up support," he said. "A lot of other members of the House are liking the idea."\nThe 110th Congress will mark Hill's fourth term in the House. Hill served as the district's representative from 1998 until 2004 when he was defeated by Rep. Mike Sodrel, by fewer than 1,500 votes.\nHill and Sodrel faced off again this year in one of the closest congressional races in the country, which Hill won with 49 percent of the vote.\nHill's seniority will carry over to this term despite his two-year absence from the House.\n"That means you get a quicker choice for office selection and better options for what committees you want to serve on," he said.\nHe said he will seek a position on the Commerce and Energy Committee to investigate energy independence.\nIn addition, Hill said he will support initiatives the Democratic leadership plans to address in the first 100 hours of Congress.\nReportedly, in those first few days of the new session, Democrats, under the leadership of Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, will seek to pass legislation which reduces the influences of lobbyists, enacts the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour and lower the interest rates on student loans.\nKatie Nee, spokeswoman for representative-elect Joe Donnelly, D-2nd, said he doesn't plan to introduce any new pieces of legislation immediately but will support most of the ideas the Democrats have already put forth, especially Medicare reform.\n"Washington is not working for the people right now," Nee said. "It's putting special interests first."\nDonnelly, along with Hill and representative-elect Brad Ellsworth, D-8th, made up three of the 29 seats Democrats gained in the Nov. 7 midterm election.\nEllsworth's campaign manager Jay Howser would not discuss any legislation Ellsworth is planning on introducing or committees he might serve on but said Ellsworth was aware of the local and federal concerns voters had brought to him during the course of the campaign and planned to address them.\n"The agenda of the party is clear," Howser said. "We're going to work to raise the minimum wage and make sure American jobs stay in America. There's a whole host of stuff on the agenda to talk about in the coming weeks"
(11/16/06 5:00am)
Let me start my review of "Need for Speed Carbon" by saying there is nothing particularly bad about it.\nYes, the FMV cutscenes are ridiculously cheesy and completely unnecessary, but they're also easily skipped over and don't really get in the way of things.\nThe tuning and street racing is solid, but that is also my biggest complaint: There's very little difference between the racing in this game and that of "Need for Speed Underground" which came out three years ago.\nDrag racing is out but it's been replaced with tight "canyon duel" races with bosses and extremely finicky drift races (which were actually the easiest part of the past few "Need for Speed" games). The trade-off is negligible. Canyon races are a decent addition to the series while the new drift courses will have you pulling your hair out as much as the most frustrating drag races.\nAlso new to this edition is the use of a partner during races who will give you speed boosts or take out other racers. Sometimes, this comes in handy, but a lot of the time, he's not really necessary or rarely, gets in the way.\nMuch like the rest of the game, the neon-heavy graphics (which are little above average for a 360 game) and hip-hop soundtrack are what we've come to expect from the series, and little more. None of the songs will have you hitting the mute button, but they won't exactly have you tapping your toes either.\nOverall, the few new features in "Need for Speed Carbon" make it feel more like an expansion pack than a new game, but since it's building on an already great formula that's not as bad as you might think.\nIf you're a big fan of the NFS series like me or never played one before, this is an addicting title. Otherwise you might want to wait for a price drop or next year's inevitable sequel.
(11/16/06 4:28am)
Let me start my review of "Need for Speed Carbon" by saying there is nothing particularly bad about it.\nYes, the FMV cutscenes are ridiculously cheesy and completely unnecessary, but they're also easily skipped over and don't really get in the way of things.\nThe tuning and street racing is solid, but that is also my biggest complaint: There's very little difference between the racing in this game and that of "Need for Speed Underground" which came out three years ago.\nDrag racing is out but it's been replaced with tight "canyon duel" races with bosses and extremely finicky drift races (which were actually the easiest part of the past few "Need for Speed" games). The trade-off is negligible. Canyon races are a decent addition to the series while the new drift courses will have you pulling your hair out as much as the most frustrating drag races.\nAlso new to this edition is the use of a partner during races who will give you speed boosts or take out other racers. Sometimes, this comes in handy, but a lot of the time, he's not really necessary or rarely, gets in the way.\nMuch like the rest of the game, the neon-heavy graphics (which are little above average for a 360 game) and hip-hop soundtrack are what we've come to expect from the series, and little more. None of the songs will have you hitting the mute button, but they won't exactly have you tapping your toes either.\nOverall, the few new features in "Need for Speed Carbon" make it feel more like an expansion pack than a new game, but since it's building on an already great formula that's not as bad as you might think.\nIf you're a big fan of the NFS series like me or never played one before, this is an addicting title. Otherwise you might want to wait for a price drop or next year's inevitable sequel.
(11/13/06 3:54am)
A representative from Microsoft came to campus Friday to provide a sneak peek of the software giant's latest game programming tool.\nMicrosoft XNA Game Studio Express will make it easier for aspiring designers to make homemade programs because a lot of the coding is already available in the Express program. \nThe final version will be available to download for free before the end of the year, but there is an annual $99 charge in order to get the games to run on an Xbox 360.\n"This is nothing revolutionary in terms of technology," said Krishna Kumar, a Microsoft academic developer. "The biggest advantage is that it lets amateur programmers target a hitherto closed platform."\nDuring a 90-minute presentation at the School of Informatics, Kumar showed how he could create a basic grassland to explore or a highly detailed gun that could be rotated around the screen with a few clicks.\nAs long as the content is original, programmers will be able to sell their games online or possibly even through Microsoft's downloadable Xbox Live Arcade service if they become popular enough, he said.\n"We're hoping to see smaller games for the whole audience," Kumar said. "We're looking for everything from little kids' games that help them with counting."\nIf the games are highly successful, they could be ported to other consoles as well since all rights remain with the creator, which pleased sophomore Scott Gill.\n"If you have a lot of success with it, I'd hope you would be able to port it to other systems," he said.\nThe software has a lot of academic potential as well. The program could be used in some IU classes next year. Other universities plan to use it for 3-D modeling of complex structures such as DNA, Kumar said.\nR.J. Smith, an Informatics graduate student and a graduate of the video game programming school Digipen, said the software is a good way to get young people interested in game design, but it's not for the inexperienced.\n"To really use XNA, you have to learn how to program," he said. "You have to be able to do math and have the logic. You need to be able to think like a programmer."\nSmith also took issue with the wide-open framework of XNA on Windows, which could allow hackers to plant viruses in community programs.\nNo such problems should exist with the Xbox 360 version.\n"I worry about the Windows component not requiring a signature or being secured," Smith said. "Other programs, like Java, run in a sandbox (a security measure in the Java development environment) in the so other programs can't get on to your hard disk."\nMore information and a free beta version of XNA is available at http://msdn.microsoft.com/directx/xna/.