The J-TAC (Stephenville, Tex.), Vol. 186, No. 04, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 18, 2010 Page: 5 of 8
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Entertainment
February 18,2010
THEJTAC.COM
PAGE 5
Drive, jump
and shoot
A Blaster Master: Overdrive review
By KENNETH
BRISENDINE
Staff Writer
Blaster Master for the
Nintendo Entertainment System
was one of my favorite NES games.
In it, players drive a jumping,
shooting car beneath the surface of
the earth to fight mutant animals.
One of my favorite things about the
game was the ability to leave the car
(named S.O.P.H.I.A.). Blaster Mas-
ter: Overdrive for the Nintendo Wii
keeps all these things, adding en-
hanced graphics and a much needed
save feature.
While in S.O.P.H.I.A.,
players progress through the game
in the standard side-scrolling plat-
former style. When playing as
Alex (the driver), players can enter
doorways which take them to areas
where the game is played from a
top-down perspective. The save
points are located in these areas, as
well as smaller monsters more on
par with Alex's small stature.
The original Blaster Mas-
ter was incredibly difficult and
often frustrating. Overdrive is not
quite as difficult as the original, but
players should not expect the type
of hand-holding found in modern
games. The save feature keeps play-
ers from wanting to kill their Wii
when their character dies, although
the save points can be spaced very
far apart and a death can set players
back 20-30 minutes.
Overdrive is a non-linear
platfonner, meaning players will
have to backtrack to previous lev-
els and use the upgrades gained
throughout the game to find new ar-
eas. This can become a little tedious
if running back and forth too much,
or downright infuriating when a
player is unable to find where to go
next.
The most disappointing
aspect of Overdrive is the lack of
support for any controllers other
than the basic Wii remote turned
on it's side like an NES controller.
Although the developers have men-
tioned a patch to allow other con-
trollers, it has yet to materialize.
All-in-all, Blaster Master:
Overdrive is faithful to the original,
and adds some much needed spruc-
ing up. However, I do have to won-
der how much of a place it has in
today's game market. Fans of clas-
sic platfonners will likely get a kick
out of Overdrive; while players
more accustomed to modern games
will become frustrated and prob-
ably bored. I give Blaster Master:
Overdrive a B-. It is a niche game,
and it is far from perfect, but it is an
above average platfonner.
TODAY WE CAU&HT UP WITH SCARLETT
JOHANSSON, WHO IS FILMING A
MOVIE ABOUT OIL ON LOCATION IN THE
OIL RICH NATION OF TEBBOESTAHN.
BV HEHS1EJH BPISEHSJIHE
SOON ALL OF TERRdR5TAHN'5
OIL ANI7 SCARLETT JOHANSSON
WILL BELONG TO IT1E!
WHAT APE THOSE
I LIKE
shut \t.
ARE NOW
HE PROPERTV OF
THE mURPERBOTS!
FORGET ABOUT
THE COOLER
UER5I0N OF
PANE COOK
CALL A
HUSBAN^.^
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Wolfman's howl better than the bite
By SHAWN HUGHES
Staff Writer
Benicio Del Toro (Sin City, 21 Grams) teams up with An-
thony Hopkins {Silence of the Lambs, Meet Joe Black) and Emily
Blunt {The Devil Wears Prada, Charlie Wilson s War) in the re-
telling of the classic film and novel The Wolf in an. While visually
the film stands up to other retellings of horror story classics such
as Francis Ford Coppola's creations of Bram Stoker's Dracula,
this film still has areas that needed improvement. The story is en-
tertaining throughout, but the method of telling it has areas that
could have been stronger.
The film opens with Lawerence Talbot's (Del Toro)
brother being murdered by a wolfman. Lawerence returns to the
home he tried to escape in hopes of finding what happened to his
brother. Hopkins plays the role of Lawerence's distant father, Sir
John Talbot, whom seems strangely unbothered by the death of
his son and eager to have Lawerence back after sending him away
at boyhood. Lawerence promises his brother's former fiancee,
Gwen Conliffe (Blunt), that he will find out exactly what killed
his brother. He begins by questioning the gypsy band that lived
near the village, who were accused of bringing hardships to the
locals.
While at the gypsy camp, the group was attacked by
a werewolf that killed numerous people and bit Lawerence. He
heals remarkably and rapidly and even gains more strength and
better senses. However, the village begins to grow suspicious of
him after the legend of werewolves begins to spread through the
area. Those around him quickly hate him as he is blamed for the
violence and deaths of the people in the area. As he searches for
answers, he finds more terrifying responses than he had prepared
himsel f to uncover.
The acting in this film is not always on par with what is
desired as Blunt and Del Toro fail to truly grasp the emotions in
many scenes and often appear truly withdrawn and uncaring about
the dramatic scenes unfolding. The film attempts so many shock
factors aimed to incite fear in the audience that the actual script
and story line are overshadowed, and writing intended to keep the
audience on the edge of their seat was poorly done. The film con-
stantly features Del Toro's character seeing flashes of the wolfman
jumping into the scene, which aims to show the character's dive
into madness, but instead only takes away from the psychologi-
cal fear of the monster. In films such as Dracula, The Wolfman,
The Mummy and Frankenstein, the monsters are not meant to con-
stantly to create fear. Instead fear is caused by the apprehension
of only seeing the monster when it strikes, and by watching the
insanity set in among other characters of the fi lm.
The Wolfman is entertaining, but it could have been im-
proved and made in a better way. I give it a 3 out of 5 rating, and
am disappointed in what it could have been.
Fat Tuesday celej)r;
■jJ '-«■
rs hit the streets
The origin ofMardi Gras traditlfans uwovered
By JESSICA RICHARDSON
Staff Writer
A tfh
MdfccM Gras is widely celebrated through-
out the |WArid. Millions of people travel to New
Orleans" Galveston and other cities to participate in
annil^f celebrations and traditional festivities such as
paj^cfces, balls and feasts. Currently, people dress up
in (tolorfiil and crazy costumes, catch beads and dou-
bloons and dance in the streets in celebration, but the
history behind this extravagant holiday shows that
the fffason and method of celebrating has changed
drastig^Jly over the yean
"According to infoplease.com, Mardi Gras
means "fat Tuesday" and traditionally is the last
day for French Roman Catholics to indulge before
lent. The actual-'OTiginsifef the holiday can be traced
back to ancient Rome. While trSiKiional^.a Euro-^
pean Christian holiday, it now has becomte a day for
people all over the world to forget their problems
and just have fun. American Mardi Gras has been
celebrated in New Orleans since the 1700s, when the
French settlers arrived.
Today, all types of people of all religions
celebrate the holiday in many different ways. There
are, of course, traditional parades and cefe rations
such as the original ISHFw Orleans Mardi fT*as, but
many peopte" felsu go to music festivals. 3©me people
throw parties at their houses and othersjjo to mid-
night movie showings.
Junior Candace Caldwell said t^al, she and
her friends go to Galveston for Mardi Gra&
"It is full of people in amazing costifines,
lots of colors and different beads. Every onf fe happy
and enjoying themselves and it is a fami' r" event
during the day," Caldwell said. She added that the
parade was her favorite part.
No matter how you celebrate Mardi Gras,
the important part is to have fu*i and be safe. There
are many sources on the ntarnet that list tips and
locations for a fun and^afe experience. This year's
Mardi Gras may be dfrer, but
if yqu pj a« on vising one
)5the main locations next
year such, as New Orleans, you
should start planning it in
August to assure a place
to stay, reservations at
restaurants and travel
arrangements. You may
even decide to start plan-
ning your costume now.
Source: mardigrasoutlet.com
Source: tarleton.edu
Organization of the Week
Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow
Purpose: ACT is a national organization for college stu-
dents who are majoring in agricultural communications or
those who have interest in the field. The Tarleton organiza-
tion strives to improve their members'portfolios, increase
their experience and open networking opportunities.
— . VOTE
Here comes the Judge.... of the Peace Repilbl ie fill
JEFF "Chili" ALEXANDER
For
Justice of the Peace Pet 1,3,4
Early Voting
Now - Friday Feb 26 S am - 5 pm
or Sunday Feb 21 1 pm - 4 pm
at the Courthouse
Election Day
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■,twll+> Atauodir, Tewlmt
1309 [ nr Lwnnd !!■' [ltvrnvill* TX
Tuesday March ■
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at Precinct Voting Locations
Committed to the community; a canidate that cares
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The J-TAC (Stephenville, Tex.), Vol. 186, No. 04, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 18, 2010, newspaper, February 18, 2010; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth429321/m1/5/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Tarleton State University.