Friday, November 19, 2004 4 Snake Eater ’ will swallow gamers whole By Jeff Smen staff writer It has been three years since the re lease of “Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty,” but the wait was well worth it. The Metal Gear series has been around since 1987, and like a fine wine, the se ries only becomes better with age. “Metal Gear Solid 3” isn’t a direct se quel, but instead is actually a prequel of all the other Metal Gear games. The game takes place in the Soviet Jungle during 1964 also in time of the Cold War. Unlike the previous Metal Gear Solid games, this game doesn’t take place in a military base the whole time, instead you actually live in the jungle. So if you live in the jungle, how do you find rations or health? Snake must kill and eat animals. Rats, snakes, croco diles, whatever it takes to stay alive. Finding and animals isn’t that hard and usually as long as you keep your stamina up, Snake will be fine. By the way, if you’ve ever played a Metal Gear Solid, you remember the radar system; it doesn’t exist in this game. Snake can still call and talk to his commander via radio to receive advice or save the game, but you’re going to need good instincts to know when and what direction the en- emy is approaching. New to the game is the cure system. If Snake is shot and a bullet is inside of him or he may fall from a high cliff, he will be affected by the results. If this hap pens to Snake, all the gamer needs to do is go into the cure system, remove the bullet, and apply some band-aids. Gamers can apply the cure system any time, whether in the middle of a boss fight or just walking in the jungle. Also new to the game is the camou flage system. In the last games, if Snake is spotted by the enemy, he just hides somewhere and waits until the time limit ran down. Now Snake has camouflage he has to wear in order to blend in with the environment. Depending on where Snake is hiding there will be a small percentage in the upper right hand comer. If the percent age is low, Snake can be easily seen. If the percentage is high, there are better odds he won’t be spotted. Gamers can also download different camouflage pat- FCC needs to watch networks more closely Commentary by Greg Nardine contributing writer Have you ever been laying in bed try ing to sleep and the next thing you know, a fly has some how managed to first, get into your house, second, into your room, and third, found a way to land on your face constantly awakening you. Come on I know it has happened to you. Well that is what I am feeling like right now. That fly has been around since the last Super Bowl halftime show. The FCC what a great organization, they get pressured into more decisions than Jeff Garcia. And let me tell you the Steelers did a great job of providing that pressure. Back to the famous halftime show and how “inappropriate” it was. It is very unlikely that all the networks were notified, “Janet Jackson will be ex posing her breast approximately 12 min utes into the halftime performance of the Super 80w1...” Are you serious? I ac tually feel bad for these people. I find it so amusing to hear about all these com plaints the FCC receives for things such as this, a live television broadcast of a sporting event. All these “PTA Moms” call up their local networks complaining about how they just saw a breast or someone just said a four letter word and want to know how they could let that happen on-air at 9 p.m. while young children are watch ing. This is mind boggling for two reasons. First, would you actually call and com plain; and two, that you actually caught the tenth of a second glimpse of it. Ohhhh I forgot you saw it on the super duper slow motion replay that you had saved for your viewing pleasure on your TiVo. Ok my mistake. I don’t hear you com plaining that the shows you love watch- terns using the PS2 network capabilities. Using the jungle’s surrounding will play a key role in this game. But the main reason any gamers plays a Metal Gear Solid game is for the storyline. This game is no exception. While the first part of the game does have lengthy dialogue, and it does take some time for the average gamer to get into the story, once gamers get into the story, they’ll be in. Snake’s mission takes place during the Cuban missile crisis, where Snake is forced to go in and save a brilliant Rus sian weapons specialist who has devel oped a weapon that will shift the Cold War in who ever has it in their hands. But if you’re a gamer who’s ever played a Metal Gear Solid game, you know the mission objective is never that easy and Snake usually has to take on some kind of Metal Gear project. Along the way you meet characters like The Boss, who was your mentor, Ocelot Revolver, which fans will remember from the previous games, and Colonial Volgin, a mad man and the villain of the game. The amount of detail in “Metal Gear Solid 3” is amazing. The game is very realistic with Snake being able to do things like collect poisonous snakes and fling them at enemies, or shot a bee hive to attack enemies in the area. The cut scenes in the game are really well de- tailed and the graphics in the game are about the same as they were in the last game. The voice acting is well done and the music is just great to listen to. While the game doesn’t feature a tu torial, it’s always fun to try the short mini game known as Snake vs. Monkey mode. In this mode Snake must go around and capture the monkeys of Ape Escape using special stun guns. The game is quiet fun and becomes harder with each new round. So if you’re a fan of the series, owing this game is a must. But if you’re new to the whole Metal Gear Solid series, it might just be worth a rental to see if you enjoy the feel of the game. Some gmaers simply won’t enjoy the game due the large amounts of dialogue. “Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater” will easily be one of the top PS2 games of the year, and it defmatley be a game to be remembered. ing from about 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. are air ing. Why would you? Is this your fa vorite time of day to relax and watch the tube? Again it is just way over your kids head. That brings me to why I wrote this ar ticle in the first place. It happened on “Monday Night Football” this past week. ABC very methodically advertised their latest hit series “Desperate Housewives” in the intro. I must say I enjoyed it very much and any young adult male or fe male for that matter that didn’t, well you better go to the bathroom just one more time. It starred Terrell Owens and a cast member from “Desperate” in the Eagles Locker Room begging him for attention before the game. No big deal. Or wait yes it was a big deal. She was only wear ing a towel. How terrible. I am sure your child has never seen a person of the op posite sex in a towel. But wait it gets worse. She actually dropped her towel (Gasps all around). How could they? Well, the shot was of about one quar ter of her legs and all you see is a towel hitting the ground and her jumping on Terrell. I start laughing thinking I just witnessed the best intro to MNFI have ever seen. That was until I woke up in the morning hearing how terrible it was. I couldn’t believe once again that fa mous FCC would be investigating the airing because it had received complaints about it being inappropriate for a young audience at 9 p.m. A young audience should not be up at 9 o’clock at night first of all. Secondly, if they could un derstand the intro then they already know what is behind all of the little fuzzy boxes they flashed up on the woman’s breast and they know what “Eddie” was truly trying to do and what it truly means. STUDINT i.j/1 Ruminations on College Life I have no idea how to do laundry. No, no, not like I have some idea but just don't know how much fabric softener to use, I mean I have no idea how to do laundry. I just had this vi sion that there would be some cute chick in the laundry room every time I went there who would show me how to do it. Dreams die hard, but I have no underwear. Campus is really a communist so ciety. I own nothing, it all belongs to the university. 1 have no money, it’s all my parents. My meals are served in little square portions at one brick building only during certain hours of the day! Is this college or the Soviet Union? I love the concept of the dining hall. Because before you get to cam pus for the first time and you're de ciding which meal plan to sign up for, older kids will always say the same thing: "The food is terrible but it's more of a social thing for fresh men." So we know going in that the food sucks! It's like we're saying, "Hey mom, I'm going away to col lege but I don't really know anyone. So, could you throw me a few thou sand dollars? It's for peanut butter ‘After the Sunset’ does not please audiences Knight Kidder Newspapers (KRT) Early in "After the Sunset," the characters refer to Hitchcock's clas sic caper movie "To Catch a Thief.” Big mistake, since "Thief' is fizzy, funny and sexy, and "After the Sun set" is not. Pierce Brosnan plays a jewel thief, witty things while committing victim in fact, when doesn’t he play a jewel less crimes. But the "After the Sunset" thief? He has retired to theßaha- script is not as clever - you'll guess the mas along with an accomplice/lover, twist immediately -or as amusing as who is played by Salma Hayek's the best caper movies ("Out of Sight," breasts. Brosnan discovers that with George Clooney and Jennifer lounging on a beach in paradise, sip- Lopez, is a great recent example, and ping rum drinks on the lanai of his "To Catch a Thief and "Charade” are fabulous heme, is dull, so when one classics). Lead a Charm bracelets once served as jingle-jangle reminders to vote for John F. Kennedy. Passed out to constituents, they dangled photos, busts or the names of John and Jacqueline Kennedy and their children, according to the book "Charmed Bracelets" (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $19.95). Another carried a scroll with Kennedy's call to "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." As we've already witnessed this year, campaigns have lost that fairy-tale charm. But charm bracelets are back, as big as they've been since the days of Kennedy Camelot. From vintage kitschy versions to Tiffany's übiquitous sterling-silver icons to designer incarnations fetching thousands of dollars, each manages to freeze a moment or two in a fast-paced time. "It's a scrapbook for your wrist,” said flea-market expert Barri Leiner of Chi cago, who with Marie Moss has started an all-vintage jewelry collection called M&B Vintage. They can assemble bracelets immortalizing bridesmaids, babies, hobbies, trips. "It's an instant heirloom," Leiner said, "and a wonderful collectible to pass down." Charm bracelets were the "archetypal accessory" of the 19505, "Charmed Bracelets" author Tracey Zabar writes, perfect with the three-quarter "bracelet By Aaron Karo (KRT) By Wendy Donahue Chicago Tribune (KRT) and jelly sandwiches and some friends." Are you good with names? 1 for get them as soon as I hear them. Might as well not tell me at all! I have no idea what anyone's names are except my own, the kids I went to high school with, and that one hot girl who I have never spoken to but stalk from afar. My friend Dan, like me, has no idea how to do laundry. One day, he's out of underwear, the girl down the hall won't do it for him anymore and he's desperate. So he decides to give it a try. He goes down to laundry room in the basement of the dorm and tries to figure it out. He puts his clothes in the machine, puts the de- tergent in, puts some quarters in, but the thing is not working. He tries ev erything but it's just not happening. Completely bewildered, he sees a little red help button right next to the machine and presses it. Unfortu nately, it was the emergency alarm. Sirens in the dorm start blaring, red lights are flashing everywhere, cops are on the scene in minutes and my friend has to sneak back to his room amid all this chaos wearing only a towel. He never did his own laundry again. From 'Ruminations on College of the world's biggest diamonds, a rock the size of a cream cheese wonton, rolls in on a cruise ship, even the pres ence of a dogged FBI investigator (Woody Harrelson) can't deter him from scoping it out. This is the sort of elegant silliness I am usually drawn to, movies where ev eryone is pretty, well-dressed and has superior muscle tone, and they say charming life BONNIE TRAFELET/KRT Charm bracelets are once again popular in the US. Pictured above is a single charm bracelet. sleeves" of the decade In those days, the achievements of homemakers or husbands orbited some wrists, Lucille Ball's bracelet celebrated Desi Amaz's musical career. Many par ents bought bracelets at the birth of a daughter and attached a new charm each year. Teen bracelets swayed with Beatles idols, Betty Crocker accom plishments or "mad-money" boxes to stow a dollar in case a date went awry. Then the feminist era began. The Behrend Beacon | Ruminations Aaron Karo talks about his experi ences at college in his book, Rumi nations on College Life Life' by Aaron Karo. Copyright © 2002 by Aaron Karo. Reprinted by permission of Fireside, an Imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc., NY. (Aaron Karo, 25, is a New York City-based comedian and author of the book "Ruminations on College Life." His excerpts run every other week. For more on Karo, check out www.AaronKaro.com.) Compared to those stylish films, "Af ter the Sunset" is bland and nearly personality-free. And the scavenger hunt it takes us on, which should keep pulling the wool over eyes in fresh ways, builds to an unconvincing ro mantic finale that is completely at odds with everything else the movie has mid us. “AFTER THE SUNSET’ 2 stars Directed by: Brett Ratner Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Salma Hayek, Woody Harrelson Rated; PG-13, for brief, strong lan guage, sexual situations ami violence SHOULD YOU GO? You could do better at die video store. The golden age of charm bracelets was over. Not only did these nostalgic baubles clash with fringed jackets and free love, Zabar writes, they created an occupa tional hazard in typewriter keys as women entered the workforce. "Now, we've come full circle," Zabar writes, venturing that a new generation craves irrevocably personal items in an impersonal world. "Charm bracelets are hot again." KRT PHOTO
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