Friday, October 29, 2004
Festive ideas
for Halloween
By Aaron J. Amendola
Staff Writer
October 31: Halloween. Every other day on
the calendar is just a normal day but this par
ticular day is not. It’s the only day that we’re
actually encouraged to be someone we’re not,
sometimes forking over money just to immerse
ourselves in different personalities. Strangers
lurking in doorways willingly give children can
dies and other treats. Instead of watching regu
lar shows and movies, many people submit
themselves to gory films filled with horror and
grim tales.
Free candy? Horror movies? Costumes? Count
So what is everyone doing for Halloween this
year? Like every other year, there’s plenty to do
and tons of places to go, you just need to know
where to look. For starters, there are a few good
scary movies out in time. “The Grudge,” star
ing Sarah Michelle Geller and Bill Pullman,
stands as the token horror flick for the holiday.
Meanwhile, “Saw” (which opens in theatres to
day) provides more of a gross-out, creepy, se
rial killer type of horror film, if you prefer that
type. Don’t think you’re interested in either of
them? You could always rent a classic like “Evil
Dead” or take a selection from Freddy Krueger
or the Friday the 13' h series. If you’re feeling
really brave, try watching “The Exorcist” with
all the lights off alone in the middle of your
room. Never makes for a bad time.
Feel like getting out of the dorms instead?
Never fear, while this is still Erie, there are
plenty of places to go. If you’re feeling adven
turous, you could always travel to one of the
haunted corn mazes or ghost houses. One of the
more popular ones is Borecky’s, just about 25
minutes away. Borecky’s, located in Fairview,
costs only $lO and lets you investigate over 40
rooms and locations all while being scared out
of your wits.
Some students take matters into their own
hands when it comes to ghouls and ghosts. Ed
Falk and a squad of Almy Hall residents took it
upon themselves to inspect an eerie old bridge
with ghost detection equipment.
“We went to a bridge that was haunted by the
ghost of a donkey,” says Falk 03 ME. “We have
no shame. We make no claims that ghosts exist,
we are merely researchers investigating paran
ormal phenomenon.”
Have a story idea? E-mail us at
behrendbeacon@aol.com
Mrie lIKOADW/IY Series presents
styMNT Lira
HECTOR CASANOVA/KRT
Costumes are the favorite part of Halloween
for people of all ages.
Its expeditions like Falk’s that really make
Halloween a great excuse to have fun.
“Several unidentifiable orbs and objects in
captured photographs leave our team hopeful of
something out in those woods,” says fellow
Almy Hall ghost explorer, Tom Zimjewski 03.
Interested in capturing a ghost with your own
two eyes? All the bookstores in the area carry
"Ghosts of Erie County” by Stephanie Wincik
and assorted other books that hold all the re
ported strange tales that pop up in the district.
Why not research a ghost story and go find out
for yourself if it is real?
In the end, every activity boils down to one
thing: costumes. From the very start, Oct. 31 has
been all about the costumes. This year’s most
popular outfits are Spider-Man for guys and fair
ies or devils for girls. Who says you need to limit
your options to store bought ensembles? Plenty
of great ideas are out there ripe for the picking!
“Why not go as something just crazy? Like a
pimp with an ax?” says Jesse Stimpson 01. There
are tons of original ideas out there. Mix and
match costumes to come up with an idea all your
own. There are plenty of combinations.
So what will your Halloween bring you this
year? Tricks or treats? It’s only a few days away
and time is running out.
Third time charm for
'Grand Theft Auto'
By Jeff Smen
staff writer
It’s the game where stealing a sweet ride is a
good thing. It’s the game where beating up people
on the street to steal their money is ok as the cops
don’t see you. It’s the game your mom doesn’t
want you to buy because it’s your Christmas
present. It’s “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas,”
and it’s available now.
“Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” is the third
game in the series on the Playstation2 and defi
nitely the best game of the series. The game takes
place in 1992 in an area known as San Andreas.
San Andreas itself consists of three cities, Los
Santos (Los Angeles), San Fierro (San Francisco)
and Las Venturas ( Las Vegas).
Carl “CJ” Johnson is the main character in San
Andreas. CJ has lived in Liberty City for the last
five years, but must return home after his mother
is murdered. CJ immediately gets caught up in
the gang warfare and all hell breaks loose. The
game of course plays like previous GTA games,
gamers can choose to do the missions, or just go
around, beat up and steal cars.
Remember how in previous games, jumping in
water was bad, not anymore. CJ can swim, being
able to go underwater and swim on the surface.
CJ can now go to the gym to work out, making
him stronger and raising his stamina allowing him
to run longer. CJ can also buy different clothes,
get his hair cut, jump over walls to avoid cops
and spray paint graffiti. Eating food is also re
quired, otherwise CJ will become more tired more
often and lose muscle.
Stats play a big role in San Andreas. CJ has to
level up in order to play certain missions and thus
play through the game. Your stats are fat, stamina,
respect, lung capacity, sex appeal and muscle.
While these stats do help you in the game, they
Matchbox Players present spook of a show
By Kara Schmiemann
On Sunday, Halloween night, save some time and
energy and come visit McGarvey Commons at 8 p.m.
until 10 p.m. The Matchbox Players will be sponsor
ing an improv night to thrill and entertain. It is guar
anteed to be a howling good time. What is it, you
ask?
“Halloween improv is just our typical improv show
that we have every Friday night, only it is on Hallow
een, and we will have Halloween themed movie dub
games and such,” said President of Matchbox Play
ers, Steven O’Donnell. “For those who don’t know
what improv is, it is like 'Whose Line is it Anyway’
but there are no real actors. The audience entertains
the audience.”
Naturally, all are welcome to show up at any time
and come and go as you please. Like always, improv
night is free. Those are words all of us Behrend stu
dents can appreciate.
There is nothing better than laughter, and not to
mention free food and Halloween treats. Who can
turn that down? Well, maybe if your stomach is al
ready turning from Halloween candy, you can!
To start the night off right, we have our own
Behrend Beacon staff writer, Aaron Amendola, host
ing the improv night
DOWNTOWN
APARTMENTS
AVAILABLE !
staff writer
•I
erioia
OH COi
STARTING AT $299 PLRSON
FURNISHED APARTMENTS
♦Great Rates *Located Downtown
♦Spacious Apartments * Across from campus
♦Free Cable TV *Fitness Center on site
♦Friendly Management ’Study Lounge
ALL OF THIS FOUND IN #1 LOCATION
Sign now
and he
entered At these prices they
to win a are going fast, so
Y ears stop by and reserve
j rec yours today!
Rent:
814-231-9000
Hww.meridianoncollcgeiivenue.com
The Behrend Beacon |ll
never really become an annoyance and to raise
your stats is never that hard. There is also driv
ing, flying and bike skill which helps control these
vehicles.
Now that the game has three cities, games can
also pull off missions in the country side. Well,
there aren’t as many as these missions, these mis
sions are still really fun. There are even special
vehicles that can be found in the country side,
like an ATV off-road quad, plows and lots more.
The pedal bike, which is new to the series, is also
a ton of fun to play with, even just to do stunts.
Of course all of the cars are back from the previ
ous game and the ability to play a plane or heli
copter.
The graphics in the game are solid, and about
as good as the previous games. Rockstar North,
who made the game, have a few extra details like
if it’s a hot day, the screen will become slightly
wavy indicating it’s hot, or if you’re going fast in
a car, the game pulls a Need for Speed-like feel,
where all the buildings go by real fast. The game
has no loadings except at the beginning, so gamers
will never be delayed in between cities.
The controls are slightly better then the previ
ous games. The aiming system is now similar to
that of “Manhunt,” where you press a button and
a square comes over the cop/person you want to
shoot. The voice acting is top notch with appear
ances from people like Samual L Jackson and Ice
T.
So, is San Andreas really worth the money? Yes.
This game is by far one of the best of the Christ
mas season, may even be game of the year, but it
might have it’s hands full with “Halo 2,” and
“Metroid Prime: Echo.” Beating the missions is
only half of the game. There are a ton of extra
mini games that gamers can play, like pool and
gambling. This game is worth buying, or at the
least a renting.
“I hope to introduce a couple new games to comple
ment die old staples the Matchbox Players have played
every improv night,” said Amendola.
Don’t foiget, when you show up, please be dressed
in style. Be dressed in your most creative costume be
cause there will be an all too entertaining Halloween
costume contest. Remember, creativity is key since that
is what you will be judged on. How can you go wrong
when you will get a prize, which will unfortunately
remain a surprise until Sunday?
This particular improv promises to be unique in that
this would be the first Halloween Improv for Behrend.
Let’s recap; you get food, candy, music, games, fun,
laughter and prizes for free with a cool Halloween
theme.
“It’s fun to be crazy for two hours while other people
are being crazy too,” said Louise Van Mook, DUS 01.
It’s an opportunity for upperclassmen who have al
ready participated in improv nights to step in and do
what they do, and for new comers to see what it’s all
about!
“When I went to the Friday improv nights, the
Matchbox Players involved everyone in the crowd,”
said Morgan Hansen, CENBD 05. “It is funny but not
exactly like the television show because you learn a
good deal about the art of improv, not just the enter
tainment aspect.”
avenu
Stop by and visit os .
Special office hours call for details