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CD Review
By DEVINIQUE MURRAY
Staff Reporter
DVMI 1 2©PSU.EDU
Undisputed queen of hip-hop and
R&B soul singer Mary J. Blige tops
the charts with her new album, The
Breakthrough. This album is great,
quite simply, it's a must have.
The hip-hop and R&B soul singer
has released eight albums over
thirteen years and, every time
she releases an album it is better
than the last. While lots of fans
and listeners know her for her
low tempo melodies and her sad
dramatic lyrics, the album The
Breakthrough is totally different.
When Blige announced that she
was over her drug addiction and
alcohol problems and that she
was through with her abusive
relationships, lots of R&B listeners
lost faith in her ability. Blige had
been singing about these problems
since she arrived on the R&B
scene back in 1992. Many listeners
thought that the singer would not
be the same unless she was singing
about these former problems.
Did she prove some, listeners
wrong? Yes, indeed. The
Breakthrough album concentrates
on the positive aspects in the life of
Mary J Blige. She sings about her
new life that includes her newly wed
husband and drug free life. Not oily
does Blige show offl},er y,05415,0,11,, i
this album, but also shows that her
struggles are over.
Blige delivers an important
message through her strongly
written lyrics. In track seven on the
album, Take Me As I Am, Blige lets
fans know that she is through with
being the person that everybody
else wants her to be. Mary J Blige
also has numerous other songs on
her album including her number
one single, Be Without You, Enough
Cryin, and MJB Da MVP featuring
rapper 50cent. The album also
features rapper Jay-Z - the newly
found president of Def Jam records
- singer Brook Valentine, Raphael
Saadiq, Dave Young and U 2.
The queen also works with some of
the hottest producers in the business
including Bryan Michael, Rodney
Jerkins, Jimmy Jam, and Terry
Lewis. Your R&B cd collection will
definitely be missing without Mary
J. Blige's must-buy album, The
Breakthrough.
Billboard.com's
New CD Releases
January 24, 2006
Yellowcard
Lights and Sound
This follow-up has "Album That
Proves We Have Grown" written all
over it, but here is the thing: they
have.
The Greatest
Cat Power
Recorded in Memphis with a
who's who of Memphis session
veterans such as Al Green guitarist
Mabon "Teenie" Hodges, the
album is highlighted by jaunty,
NTERTAINMENT
Shake things up at Shakey's
By MICHAEL ALBRIGHT
Staff Reporter
MBAI33CPPSU.EDU
Shakey's? What's Shakey's?
Shakey's is probably the best local
hotspot you've never heard of It's
also a horrible name for a barbershop,
but more importantly it's a stop
worthy of adding to your weekend
routine.
Located at 312 Mill St. in Hershey,
about fifteen minutes from the PSH
campus, stands Shakey's Sports
Bar. It's described as "No soap
operas, only sports," by manager
Nancy Kegerreis and billed as a
"Meetin', Eatin', Greetin' kind of
place." Celebrating its twelfth year
of operation this July, Shakey's has
quite a history under its belt.
The foundation for the club was
laid in 1950 by John Martini who,
appropriately, dubbed the budding
venue Martini's. However, the club
would undergo several name changes
over the next 44 years.
Names such as Martini's, King
Johns Tavern, and The Mill Street
Inn would grace the locale until July
1, 1994 when retired Hershey Bears
goalie Marc "Shakey" D'amour
breathed new life into the scene.
Since then Shakey's has grown to be
the unofficial home of the Hershey
Bears hockey team, and the rest is,
as they say, history.
At first sight it would seem that the
old adage "Don't judge a book by its
cover" was penned specifically with
Shakey's in mind. From the exterior,
Shakeys appears to be an ordinary,
commonplace bar with the traditional
markings of an ordinary watering
hole. Plain signs, dark windows and
By USA STONE
Staff Reporter
LCSTONE©GMAILCOM
Rejoice geeks, nerds, and
weirdoes of the campus! We have
successfully infiltrated the campus
newspaper, and shall henceforth
have our views made public. No
longer shall we be the voiceless, sun
deprived denizens of the corners.
Now we are the rather quiet, sun
avoiding, corner-lurking folk with an
article in the newspaper. Say hello to
the new Geek Corner, where I shall
endeavor to bring you news on topics
that relate to that geeky little world
inside your head.
For this first issue I decided to go
big. We are going to be reviewing
some of the popular Massively
Multiplayer Online Role Playing
Games (MMORPGs) on the market.
First up, as I am sure many of you
expected, is World of Warcraft, or
as it is know by addictees World of
Warcrack. WoW is one of the biggest
online games out there today.
It was my first MMORPG, so I am
probably a bit prejudiced, but even
so, most folks who have played agree
the interface and graphics on WoW
are nothing to take lightly.
WoW is home to one of the most
massive environments I have ever
encountered, meaning that you
are rarely without somewhere to
explore. Along with these areas there
are also numerous quests designed to
keep players amused and frustrated.
Unfortunately, after reaching the
maximum level, one of the
Picture courtesy of WoridofWercreft com
WOW is a large program and it only gets
more memory intensive.
Photo by MICHAEL ALBRIGHT/ The Capital limes
Shakey's hosts many events including televised sporting events, live local
bands and comedians, pool tournaments, and DJs.
glowing red neon signs peer from the
inside out.
However, as you walk inside you
are greeted with the 30 person
wraparound bar, with wraparound flat
screen televisions to match. Round,
four person tables adorn the rest of
the area immediately surrounding
the bar within earshot of the Internet
Jukebox that is becoming a staple of
modern nightspots, putting millions
of songs at your fingertips.
To your left you are offered a wide
array of videogames in the game
room, the main focus, of course,
being the famed bar attraction Golden
Tee with a live internet connection,
allowing you to rub your score in
the face of not only your friends
but anyone in the world with a few
seek Corner
only things left to do is "instance
raids" for gear. Mind you, this isn't
entirely the case.
There is an impressive player vs.
player system set up and several
"resource grinding" quests in place,
but common opinion is that even
those get redundant after a while.
As for crafting, WoWhas an adequate
system, but many MMORPGs out
there have much more detailed and
involving systems.
Questing is a major part of any
game and WoW is not an exception to
this rule. I have to admit though the
questing in WoW leaves something
to be desired.
Personally, I never feel like I have
really accomplished anything when I
turn in a quest. Some of the quests
are long strings with some sweet
rewards at the end but, as for plot, it
just isn't there. The quests just aren't
as engrossing as some of the other
games I have tried.
I will warn you, on the topic of system
resources, success at WoW is not to be
had with third-rate computer systems
or shoddy Internet connections.
WoW is a large program and with
the numerous patches, it is only
growing more memory intensive.
As for lag, I will refer you to a
common saying among my playing
friends: "The three things most likely
to kill you in a large raid are the
tanks losing agro (which translates
from WoW speak roughly to "control
of the monster"), the priests running
out of mans, or either one of them
lagging out." A good graphics card
of RAM are also
WoW.
game play, WoW is
initely not designed
the lone wolf
foists. At higher
levels, players are
;xpected to form
Lrge groups and
into special areas
:d "instances".
This is one of the
only ways to get a hold
of high-end gear for the most
quarters and a golf addiction.
To your right the dance floor, with
its checkered black and white floor
and colorful lighting, seduces you
to find a dance partner as quickly as
you can.
Overlooking the mingling masses
is the stage with speakers so
enormous they must have been
bought secondhand at an Aerosmith
garage sale. However, if one is able
to make it across the dance floor
with their shyness still in tact, they
will find themselves ascending onto
the balcony.
The balcony is home to several
more tables and, just incase
there wasn't enough in-house
entertainment to keep you busy
already, two pool tables.
part, so if you don't play well with
others, my recommendation would
be to consider another game. As far
as understandability goes, the system
Blizzard uses is very workable once
you have played for a while.
So, overall, I would say that World of
Warcraft is definitely worth a try for just
about anybody. It is far from perfect,
but Blizzard definitely puts some effort
into their game, and the new Burning
Crusade expansion promises to make
things interesting in the WoW universe
Next up for
review is the
City of Heroes
(CoH) and
City of Villains
(CoV). These
are two games
that are designed
around the same
storyline
CoH you design
and play one of
the good guys,
going about
Photo courtesy of EverGluest2 com
The questing in EverQuest2 is on the generic end but,
in crafting, this game excels.
doing good
deeds, saving
damsels, and
the usual
In CoV you, basically, do the
opposite: evil deeds, kidnapping
said damsels, and stealing candy
from babies. These games allow
players to express themselves in all
new ways.
Whether you want to unleash your
spandex-wearing, brightly colored
inner hero, or give in to that leather
clad, angsty evil-doer in your soul,
you can do it in these games and do
it in style.
Both of these games are home to
the best character creation system
I have ever seen, period. The
character creation engine allows
you to select everything from body
type, to face, hair, costume, and
coloring. Then there are "mutant
features", auras, capes, and other
bells and whistles you may want to
add to your little alter ego. It took
me an hour to get my character just
the way I wanted it.
THE CAPITAL TIMES January 23, 2006
Of course, keeping in sports
bar tradition, Shakey's displays
numerous sports jerseys and
sports themed decor on the
walls, as well as several massive
flat screens filling just about
every corner available, making
it impossible to miss the game
wherever you choose to sit,
stand, or fall.
Shakey's offers a wide variety
of food and drinks. With 12 of
the most popular brews on tap,
both domestic and imported,
and a mountain of wines and
liquors stacked behind the
bar, the staff can only dare
customers to name a drink they
can't make.
Shakeys food menu also has
all the favorites covered, such
as subs, pizza, and wings. Six
and twelve pack carryouts are
also available.
During the week, Shakey's hosts
many special events such as televised
sporting events, live local bands, and
comedians.
During the NFL season, you can
catch your favorite professional games
on the DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket
network, and of course Monday Night
Football, both drawing crowds that
teeter on the edge of the 500-person
building capacity.
While Shakey's boasts a notable
selection of sports games they are
also home to local bands every
Friday night and occasionally
Saturdays as well.
Tuesdays see the local pool
tournament and Wednesdays give the
dance floor a workout, as a live hip
hop DJ is in house.
Depending on the type of character
you build, you can either be the
ultimate team player or go forth and
save/destroy your own city.
You can also adjust your difficulty
level, allowing for more options in
this area. The control system isn't
quite what WoW has, but it is not a
handicap by any means.
The environments for these two
games aren't anywhere near as large
as what WoW has. While there are
always people on the street ready to
attack you, the environment doesn't
really interact with you too much so,
if you enjoy that sort of thing, these
definitely aren't the games for you.
There is one thing that can make
up for that, though. Once you join or
form a super group, you can make
your own base. The perfect lair of
evil is yours to build if you can get
the recognition to afford it.
The system resources necessary for
these games are moderate. Space is
something to take into consideration
you shouldn't have to delete anything
to make room for the patches. A
moderate Internet connection is
necessary, but I haven't had too many
issues with lag for these games.
The graphics are not overly
intensive and RAM requirements
are possible so, if you are looking
for a game to play on a slightly older
system, I personally have had good
luck with these games. Overall, these
Weekly food and drink specials are
also offered. Monday's patrons can
enjoy .25-cent wings from 8 p.m.
until 10 p.m. and one would be foolish
to pass up the "3/$1.00" tacos on
Tuesdays along with .25-cent wings,
again from 8 p.m. until 10 p.m.
Shakey's Sports Bar is open daily
from 11:30 a.m. until 1:30 a.m.,
leaving you no excuse to not check
it out. Whether it's football, hockey,
live rock bands or live hip-hop music
that fuels your craving to get out and
about, Shakeys offers entertainment
for all.
So, next time you take a much
needed study break or are just plain
bored and conclude that surely you
must have visited all the quality
hotspots in the area alreardy, head
over to Shakeys Sports Bar for a
guaranteed night of fun.
The Capital Times is looking for
suggestions for the Hot Spot section
If you are interested or have ideas,
e-mail us at captimes@psu.edu or
drop some snail mail in the sug
gestion box in front of the Capital
Times office
games are excellent ones to kill some
time and have some fun with.
Finally, the last review of popular and
well-known MMORPG's is Ever Quest
(EQ) and Ever Quest II (EQ2). These
members of the Ever Crack family
have been around for quite a while,
and have numerous die-hard fans as
well as foaming-at-the-mouth haters.
They both host massive
environments, sometimes large
enough that days could pass
without encountering others. Game
play is interesting. It took a bit of
adjusting for me to successfully
begin understanding and using the
interfaces to their full advantage.
Questing seemed somewhat
generic to me but, in crafting, both
of these games excelled, with EQ2
taking the proverbial cake. I have
.never before encountered such
an engrossing system. It makes
everything from wearable items
to furniture and trying to get the
materials needed was maddening in
the soul consuming, I-didn't-sleep
for-36-hours kind of way.
System resources were moderate,
taking reasonable amounts of
memory, graphics card power, and
RAM. I would not dare try either
game on anything less than a cable
modem, however.
Lag equates to a level 5 rabbit (in
the newbie zone) killing you off.
That's a slight exaggeration but
you get the idea. Overall, these are
games that I am not sure I could get
into quite as much as some of the
other MMORPG's available, but I
can definitely understand why some
people enjoy playing them.
The games above are just a few
examples of the MMORPG's out
there today. Others such as Guild
Wars, Star Wars Galaxy, The
Chronicles of Spellborn, Horizons,
Dark Age of Camelot, and Hero's
Journey are other online games that
also enjoy devoted followings.
So I leave you with a taste of what
is possible and a reminder that you
have to pay tuition as well as the
monthly fees for most games.