I The Behrend Beacon
"Top Five Childhood Sport Movies"
By Ryan P. Gallagher
Little Giants
Rookie of the Year
The Mighty Ducks
The Sandlot
Cool Runnings
"Top Five Rockumentaries"
By Chris LaFuria
Gimme Shelter
Monterey Pop
I'm Trying to Break Your Heart
2.. No Direction Home
1. The Last Waltz
o conflict here
By Pat Webster
managing editor
paw 1750 psu edu
The year is 1989. The Soviet Union nears collapse as economic
and social problems cause popular unrest. There is an opportunity for
change.
That change never comes. Instead of perestroika and glasnost,
Gorbachev and Yeltsin, hardline communist factions remain in con
trol of the Soviet government. The Soy iet Union decides to end the
Cold War by turning it hot and invading Europe. and delivering a
political knockout to NATO. The United States rushes its forces into
Europe to repel the Soviet attack, and succeeds in slowing it down.
In a move that no one but the most paranoid sees coming, the
Soviet Union launches a surprise attack against the west coast, cap
turing Seattle and sending the American population into a panic.
Welcome to World in Conflict, an amazingly realistic "what-if"
look at what might have been for PC and Xbox 360. Developed by
Massive Entertainment (Ground Control series) and published by
Sierra Entertainment (Police Quest, Lords of the Realm, Half Life),
World in Conflict forges ahead in the development of the "Real-Time
Tactics" genre they first experimented with to great success in
Ground Control. Whereas in real-time strategy games often there is
a great deal of time spent on base-building and resource gathering
activities, this game focuses entirely on small-group unit control.
Controls are relatively easy to pick up: the WASD keys move the
camera while the mouse controls orientation, unit selection and com
mands. Anyone who has played Ground Control will immediately
feel right at home, and they should. About 20 percent of the program
comes directly from Ground Control 2.
The single-player campaign is very well done. Your character, a
Lieutenant Parker, finds himself in Seattle as the Soviets invade.
Throughout the game, you are in control of a small group of forces as
the greater battle rages around you. While you have your own objec-
A Quick Look:
inside new films..
By
Ryan P. Gallagher &
Matt Schwabenbauer
[J_DEI if I I Li
rjr
The Heartbreak Kid
Directors: The Farrelly Brothers
Ben Stiller stars in his first leading role in quite a while in this new com
edy which has movie buffs talking already. While some are looking at this
as just another cliche, comedic chick flick, others see it as another window
for Stiller to steal the spotlight as an unpredictable, comedic actor.
The Farrelly Brothers take on the role of director as a team, a familiar
role for the brothers, and will most likely satisfy audiences with a decent
film. The questionable part is- will this be another dumb, chick flick with
a pointless story, supported by a sole actor trying to make the movie hap
pen, or will this actually be a legitimate comedy?
Only time will tell, however, if you are a true Stiller fan, make your way
out to see this flick.
Release date: Oct. 5, 2007
1111111111111
: World in Conflict is awesome
Just one of many graphic shots from World in Conflict.
tives, you'll find that everything you do affects everything else going
on around you. While you could just go about your business and
work toward your objectives, you'll find the game can be much more
immersive
Say you notice a group of allied forces locked in battle with a group
of Soviets. Things happen if you decide to involve yourself in their
battle. By helping them, its possible that they'll help you take your
objective, or they may now progress through the level independently
Professor Profile:
Who is Mark Steensland?
ly woke up during a showing of Rosemary's Baby he
had gone to see with his parents. After catching a just Mark Steensland is a professor in the communication dep
a glimpse, he was hooked- plus his birthday fell on tartment, but his true passion is filmmaking
the same date in which Rosemary's baby was due in
the film; coincidence? That started it all.
After receiving his bachelor's degree at UC Santa
Barbara, he worked in many different fields, including
video distribution, substitute teaching, working on vari
ous jobs in Hollywood, and a lot of free-lance produc
tion. It wasn't until 2001 when he became a full time
professor at the Diablo Valley College in California.
After this he moved on to become the assistant professor
for the division of Communications at the Vanguard
University of Southern California, where he taught and
worked with the student newspaper. Four more years
passed and Steensland decided he needed some changing
seasons in his life, and headed eastbound. Destination
Penn State Behrend
Since 2005, Steensland has received all the respect he
can get from his students and fellow professors, and
doesn't ,rogret his change of scenery. He admits that the
move wasn't solely for him and his career, but just as
much for his wire aid three young children, who he likes
to incorporate into many of his projects.
Students are more than pleased with his exceptional
teaching and willingness to help with any type of prob
lem. "I've had Mark Steensland for a number of classes,
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Postal
Director and co-writer: Uwe 801 l
Opening Sept 28, Director Uwe Boll's Postal is sure to stir some controversy.
Being based on the video game of the same name, this is going to be a gory
film. With trailers poking fun at the Sept 11 terrorist attacks, Postal is a movie
that is aiming to offend its viewers.
It's hard to have hope for Boll's vision, considering some of his best-known
movies are House of the Dead and Bloodßayne. Unless 801 l can turn around his
reputation with Postal, this is most likely going to be a film that you laugh at
instead of laughing with.
Release Date: Oct. 12, 2007
ri -r-Tri
r±,
and no matter what class it is, I love it. I don't know if
it's the way he teaches it, or if we just share the same
interests, but I never find myself missing his classes,"
commented Behrend student Andy McLachlan, who has
been a student of Steenslands' for m er a year.
In addition to his work at the unix ersity. Steensland
avidly continues to write, direct, produce, and edit films.
He says there isn't once particular part of the process that
he shares a passion for more than the others, he just loxes
the art of filmmaking as a whole. He is the s ice president
of the Erie Horror Festival and loves what he does there.
Also, Steensland's latest film. DEADO /7. has been
selected to screen at this year's TERROR FILM FESTI
VAL, taking place in Philadelphia. PA. from Oct. 16 - 21.
Whether Steensland is in the middle of a lecture on the
mass media, or spending time with his loving family. he
will never lose his passion for filmmaking. From his
childhood love of Batman, to his role as a father to his
kids and a husband to his wife, and to his supportive stu
dents, Mark Steensland is living his life to the fullest. and
catching the memorable moments on film. For more
information on the works of Mark Steensland. visit
marksteensland.com.
and help you down the line by taking out sonic enemy artillery
or...nothing may happen. It's these kinds of real battle decisions that
you have to make that makes the game more than it could have been.
Then there is tactical aid. As you destroy enemy units, take objec
tives, hold fortifications, and several other kinds of actions, vou earn
points that can be used to call in assistance from off-screen in a sim
ilar way as Command & Conquer: Generals, only much improved.
There is a plethora of options available once you accumulate or
receive enough points, from something as simple as a request for aer
ial reconnaissance all the way up to a tactical nuclear weapon deliv
ered by cruise missile. Proper use of tactical aids can mean the dif
ference between victory and defeat.
While the single-player is highly enjoyable, it's the multiplayer that
truly becomes addictive. Most strategy/tactics games start everyone
out with basically the same options and units. Not so in World in
Conflict. Instead, every player picks one of four types of combat
roles: Infantry, Armor, Air, or Support. They then fulfill that role in
the greater battle being fought between 8-16 players. This makes
teamwork the most important part of a multiplayer game as you truly
depend on your teammates and no one player can win on their own.
Players can use quick hotkeys to request assistance from other play
ers ("I need infantry support at this position") and the game includes
integrated VOIP so anyone with a headset can communicate by
speech. I played both against and on the same side as an actual Army
unit, and the possibilities that I've seen for team cooperation are both
ridiculous and incredible. All the options available to you in single
player, like tactical aids, are also available in multiplayer.
I haven't been this excited about a computer game in quite some
time, and it is entirely likely that this might be the only thing I play
until Star Craft II comes out. Besides some mildly annoying glitches
that will likely be fixed with the first patch, World in Conflict gets an
A- for dynamic gameplay, addictive multiplayer and tactical nuclear
weapons.
Friday, September 28, 2007