Longform

N3 battles with the best

By C. Warner Sills and Chris Freiberg · Wednesday, Aug. 30,2006 10:43 p.m.

Ninety-Nine Nights is not a complex game. About 90 percent of the gameplay is just pressing "X" repeatedly. Every now and then you might press "Y." About once a level you hit "B." Repeat that a few dozen times and you beat the game. But what N3 lacks in depth it makes up for in style. Every new press of the "X" button or combo with "Y" unleashes a giant slash of your melee weapon that sends literally hundreds of orcs and goblins flying that's just as exciting to see the 100th time as it was the first time.

Lackluster performance

By C. Warner Sills and Chris Freiberg · Wednesday, Aug. 30,2006 10:43 p.m.

For what it is, Madden 07 is a solid football game, but EA's sophomore outing on the 360 falls well-short of what it could be. In terms of pure play mechanics, 07 is as solid, challenging and addictive as any other Madden. Take more than about three seconds to throw after the snap and you're almost guaranteed to get laid out in the turf. And if you think about throwing before your receiver's open, it's going to be another interception for the defense.

A Rebel's Magnificent Waltz

By C. Warner Sills · Wednesday, Aug. 30,2006 10:43 p.m.

If you're a band at the epoch of success how do you follow up what is often considered one of the best rock albums ever made? For The Clash, whose epic 1979 double LP, London Calling, is to this day one of the best selling and most renowned albums to ever spin the answer was simple. Go beyond grandiose.

Danity's debut album: "Manufacturing" success

By C. Warner Sills and Ryan Corazza · Wednesday, Aug. 30,2006 10:43 p.m.

Danity Kane are inherently formulaic. Diddy's handpicked, burgeoning five-member all girl group of MTV "Making the Band 3" stardom are one part Pussycat Dolls (spectacular looking women), one part Paris Hilton (get the hottest producers to make your tracks) and one part Ashlee Simpson (MTV reality show giving your debut CD all kinds of exposure before it drops.) These are all ingredients in the recipe for commercial music success these days, no doubt. Diddy's choice in sticking to this formula seems to be working.

Paris is burning

By C. Warner Sills and John Barnett · Wednesday, Aug. 30,2006 10:43 p.m.

The only way to fairly critique Paris Hilton's debut album is to assume that there is no such person as Paris Hilton. Paris had about as much to do with the writing, recording, and production of her debut LP as Brian Jones had to do with the writing, recording, and production of the Stones' "Let it Bleed," which is not too damn much. She's there. You can hear (a reasonably vocoded facsimile of) her voice on each track, but her presence is about as heavily sensed as that faint fecal stench on a freshly cleaned toilet. No, Paris is not to blame for the relative disaster that is "Paris." Her songwriters, producers, and record label are.

Not a Petty classic

By C. Warner Sills and Matt Dollinger · Wednesday, Aug. 30,2006 10:43 p.m.

Tom Petty is one of those artists that I have become associated with solely due to the fact that my parents listened to him. Having said this, I'm not a Tom Petty fan per se. I respect him as a musician and acknowledge his great talent. Thus, this is a bit of a stretch for me to review something like this. But I'm not one to dismiss an album based on the fact that it's not something I regularly listen to. Well, on to the review.

Idlewild helps hip-hop evolve

By C. Warner Sills and Christopher Green · Wednesday, Aug. 30,2006 10:42 p.m.

Dead Prez once rapped in a studio somewhere, "All ya'll records sound the same. I'm sick of that fake thug, R&B-rap scenario, all day on the radio, same scenes in the video, monotonous material…" But ya'll didn't hear Dead Prez right. But, OutKast did. So much is clear with the new release of their album "Idlewild." Don't be thrown off by the flowery title and the Vaudeville themed CD -- OutKast is real hip-hop. OutKast has long been proven to be one of hip-hop's kings with albums such as "Stankonia" and "The Love Below/Speakerboxxx." But their latest album, and by far most unique album, truly epitomizes what hip-hop is about.

Another bad teen movie

By C. Warner Sills and Michael Mellini · Wednesday, Aug. 30,2006 10:42 p.m.

Hillary Duff, what the hell? Why do you keep agreeing to do these crappy movies? You left Disney and deprived us from witnessing Lizzie McGuire's high school years so you wouldn't be branded as a teen star. But since then you've done nothing but these bad kid movies! But the blame for "Material Girls" can't all be put on Hilary, and while it sucks, it really is nothing more than a watchable bad movie.

'Beer' not worth chugging

By Chris Wisner and compiled by Chris Wisner · Wednesday, Aug. 30,2006 10:42 p.m.

After watching the likes of "Club Dread" and now "Beerfest," I'm beginning to wonder if the guys in Broken Lizard were nothing more than a one-trick pony thanks to "Super Troopers." After the death of their grandfather, the Wolfhouse brothers Jan and Todd (Paul Soter and Erik Stolhanske respectively) head to glorious Munich to scatter his ashes in his homeland in the midst of the almighty Oktoberfest. Plenty of beer is consumed and a riot breaks out forcing the brothers into the German streets before one of their grandfather's old buddies whisks them off to the appropriately titled "Beerfest" -- the Olympics of beer-drinking competitions. The Germans smash all competition then smash the Wolfhouses' pride by saying their grandfather was nothing more than a thieving bastard while grandma was just a village whore.

'Invincible' fumbles the ball

By C. Warner Sills and Ty Schrock · Wednesday, Aug. 30,2006 10:42 p.m.

Underdog sports movies are a dime a dozen in Hollywood. While some are better than others, they almost always contain the same uplifting scenario: The unlikely team or individual showing us that if you stay true to your dreams and work hard, sometimes the impossible can happen. In recent years, Disney has made an art of this formula with such solid fare as "Remember the Titans," "The Rookie" and "Miracle," all well-made and well-acted films that went beyond the standard Cinderella sports story. Their latest release in this genre, "Invincible" is mostly a continuation of that success despite clinging to some of the usual clichés.

Gadgets, gizmos, widgets and whatchamacallits

By C. Warner Sills and Bryan Lufkin · Wednesday, Aug. 30,2006 10:28 p.m.

"Say goodbye to the bulky expensive stereo and wall of CDs.

Pimp my room

By C. Warner Sills and Bryan Lufkin · Wednesday, Aug. 30,2006 10:18 p.m.

What's the difference between today's college students and college students 30 years ago?

Fall Film Preview

By C. Warner Sills and Associated Press · Wednesday, Aug. 30,2006 10:16 p.m.

LOS ANGELES -- Hollywood may wish it had kept a great ape, a lion, a witch or a wizard in the bullpen for this fall, whose movie lineup has just two really familiar names: James Bond and Santa Claus.

The stuff they didn't tell you at Orientation

By Zack Teibloom · Wednesday, Aug. 30,2006 10:02 p.m.

Welcome back, freshmen. There's a whole 80 page magazine called Orienter on campus to help you through your first year, but at WEEKEND we'll give it to you in a nutshell.

Excise police bust 107 during Welcome Week

By Mike McElroy · Wednesday, Aug. 30,2006 2 p.m.

Indiana State Excise Police issued about 100 alcohol-related citations in Bloomington last week as IU students arrived back to campus for Welcome Week.

13 is the optimist's number

By Alyson Brodsy and Andrew Shaffer · Wednesday, Aug. 30,2006 1:24 a.m.

IU football coach Terry Hoeppner has never had it so bad.

It's a small world

By Kristi Oloffson · Wednesday, Aug. 30,2006 1:24 a.m.

The sound of banging drums and cymbals reverberated through IU's nearly packed auditorium as six Korean musicians came through to the stage. The crowd, composed mainly of freshmen, was there for CultureFest, IU's annual celebration of culture and diversity on campus. The Korean Samulnori Drummers played sitting cross-legged while a Korean toddler danced and clapped with the dynamics of the music, making audience members in the first few rows laugh for much of the song. "They were so talented I didn't want them to stop," said sophomore transfer student Whitney Biber.

Job fair offers 'one-stop shopping'

By Kristi Oloffson · Wednesday, Aug. 30,2006 1:23 a.m.

The Princeton Review may have made IU notorious for being the No. 4 school where students (almost) never study, but Friday afternoon's job fair suggested that it might be because they are working.

Latino, GLBT students welcomed

By Whitney Mitchell · Wednesday, Aug. 30,2006 1:23 a.m.

Last Friday, IU's Latino culture center La Casa and the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transsexual Student Support Services paired up to kick off the school year with their sixth annual open house.

New students pitch in for inaugural service day

By Kasey Hawrysz · Wednesday, Aug. 30,2006 1:23 a.m.

Though most freshmen have only been in Bloomington for a few days, many have already pitched in to make their new home a better place. Welcome Week's first-ever New Student Service Day drew 228 participants volunteering at 22 different charities across Bloomington Saturday morning.