April 16, 2007 By KRIS AUMILLER Staff Reporter KRASOIB@PSU.EDU Blades of Glory Before I get into anything, I would like to state how much I despise Jon Heder. He was a one - hit wonder with Napoleon Dynamite and has done nothing but ruin what could be seen as decent movies since then. I almost didn’t see Blades of Glory just due to the fact that he was in it. However, my love for Will Ferrell’s humor and trying to woo a first date with dinner and a movie took me to Regal 14 to see it. 1 swallowed my pride and willingly gave Jon Heder one more chance to impress me. It did help however that 1 went on opening night, so I got to see the movie with a few “spaceship people.’’ The film is about two rival male figure skaters, Chazz Michael PS2's last TMN By OLVER EISLER Staff Reporter OPESOOO@PSU.EDU Welcome back gamers! In this issue, we will examine TMNT , the latest videogame incarnation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise that follows alongside the new movie of the same name. For those of you who spent your childhoods living under a rock, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a team of four genetically mutated turtles who were trained in the ways of ninjitsu by their Sensei, a mutated rat named Splinter. Emerging every night from their home in the sewers of Manhattan, the TMNT protect New York City from a wide array of villains, from mobsters and robots to monsters and aliens. Yet amongst all this chaos, they always find time to chow down a slice of pizza! TMNT the videogame takes the turtles into a darker, grittier world. Whether facing abusive officials in Need ettra CASH before summer? <b Michaels (Ferrell) and Jimmy Mac Elroy (Heder), who get into a fight during the medal ceremony at the Olympics, are stripped of their medals and become banned from male figure skating. After that, a male stalker fan of MacElory’s find a loophole in the rules that would allow him to compete in pairs skating. When Mac Elroy is looking for a partner, he runs into Michaels and they get into a fight after a few choice words. Mac Elro y’s old Coach (Craig T. Nelson) is watching the news and sees the two fight. He watches closely as they display “perfect” form for partners skating, as they throw each other around. He gets the wild idea to put the two rivals together so that they can return to the top of the skating world. Blades is your typical Ferrell/ Vaughn/Stiller comedy. Ferrell leads and has quotable punch lines (Such as, when Michaels runs into Mac Elroy and says, “You still look like a 15- year-old girl, but not hot), he has a big name co-star with him (Heder), and then there is an out of place actor who fills a big role, which happens to be “Coach” Craig T. Nelson. The actors all work well together and have Central America or the murderous gangsters of New York, the turtles have their amphibian hands full throughout the game’s sixteen levels. Each turtle has his own unique style of fighting. For example, Michelangelo is fast, but doesn’t have much range, while Donatello is slow, but his range is incredible and very useful for clearing obstacles at a distance. Each turtle also has his own special move, such as Raphael’s ability to climb walls with his Sais. The graphics are a definite strong point for this game. Using the PS2’s abilities to its limits, the ' game developers managed to get the dying console to produce one of the finest visual gems of its career. The whole game looks like it has been ripped out of the movie theater and transferred to your home console; and as a matter of fact, that is exactly what was done at some points, where cut-scenes from the movie were seamlessly integrated into the game. The extras in this game are terrific. If you are dedicated and want to The Capitol Diner is hiring! Part-time positions available for: THE CAPITAL TIMES m A Full and - Hosts - Food Runners nothing in common. They don’t look like they belong on the same screen at the same time, but they seem to make it work. 1 was impressed with the ice skating factor of the movie. Obviously, the actors did not do ALL of their own skating. However, in the parts where you can definitely see it is them the whole time, 1 was shocked that they could actually skate. Ferrell and Heder have some serious grace in the “training sessions.” This is a hysterical movie. Jon Heder scored on his last chance with me. He had his gross/painful comedy moment that I respect him for (Like taking a paintball to the groin in School for Scoundrels), and he didn’t have as many punch lines. Therefore, he didn’t bother me as much this time around. It ranks, in my mind, as my favorite comedy since Anchorman. If you love Will Ferrell, this is definitely a movie that you have to see. RATING: 4 out of 5. I can’t give it a 5 out of 5 because it isn’t quite Old School funny. ©Clt)@(g>o T release power unlock all 208 coins in the game, then you will have to play through each level over and over again until you get a perfect score. You can use these coins to purchase various in-game bonus rewards such as: artwork, video trailers, challenge modes and special modes (big-head mode is absolutely hilarious!). The game also keeps track of several stats, including total time played, enemies killed, total number of times you have fallen to your doom, and even some odd ones such as total airtime All of the above makes it feel as ifthe game developers making, which is always pleasing to is nothing special, but it isn’t bad Who didn’t love the turtles as a kid? 1 had every action figure they designed from 1988-1992. I owned every home video tape that came out. I know I went as a homemade (not store bought, 1 didn’t mess around) Raphael for Halloween three years in a row. With my plastic Sais and muscles sewn into my costume (1 was scrawny), 1 was geared to rock the foot clan and get free candy. Whether you were a Raphael, Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, or even an April O’Neil fan growing up, everyone at Penn State knows of or watched the turtles. Thev were the icon cartoon of our generation and have been around for 23 years First of all, at least this w (sn’t the “real life” actors in suits turtle movies. They started as a cartoon and it’s good to see they are still a actually cared about what they were The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are not only popular on the silver screen. This movie-based video game for the Playstation 2 is now available in stores and closely follows the movie plot. ITS TMNT Apply Within... 800 Eisenhower Blvd Harrisburg, PA 17111 cartoon. However, the characters in this movie are awfully out of proportion. Where are my steroid freak turtles that look like they work out 12 hours a day? They’re scrawny! Where is a person that isn’t broad shouldered and has bigger than a 20 inch waist? TMNT picks up from the old storyline of the “human” turtles. The Shredder is gone, and the whole team sensed that they were built on is all but gone. Leonardo went to train in Central America, Raphael got sick of waiting around for Leo and started a career in being a vigilante, Donatello became a tech nerd, and Michelangelo is essentially Bozo the Clown. Max Winters, a strange rich guy, hires April O’Neil to help him find an ancient relic. April takes the opportunity so she can try and find all of her old friends and reunite them as a team once again. When they all come back to New York, and with the help of Jason look alike Casey Jones, they try to figure out what Winters really wants to do with this relic. The CGI makes the turtles what they should be. The fighting is as hits the a true fan. The sound in this game (717) 939-2279 “real” as it should be with some mutated freaks kicking each other around. They aren’t restrained martial artists in rubber suits. They are, dare I say it, “lean, mean fightin’ machines” (RIP John Candy). The choreographed fighting is clean and quick. In my opinion, I was impressed that they kept the personalities as they were meant to be. Leo remains elegant, Raph is still a bad ass, Donny is a genius, and Mikey is, well, Mikey. They didn’t soften up the turtles I grew up with for the younger generation. It was impressive. It was clean. It even held up some of my childhood memories, but it wasn’t for me. I walked out of the theatre only satisfied with the popcorn and coke I paid $lO for. RATING: 2 out of 5. One for making a new turtle movie, one for kind of keeping it the same, but I can’t give it anything more. shelves either. Unlike a great deal of movie based games, TMNTs voices are indistinguishable from their movie counterparts. Speaking of which, it should be noted that, as is often the case with movie-based games, there are major differences between the game’s story and the movie’s story. According to the game’s lead developer, “While the general story is the same, the game deviates from the movie, and adds in a lot of things that aren’t in the movie, and omits things that are.” Overall, however, the game stays true to the movie, and certainty to'the spirit of' the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It is not perfect, but it is a great game. So, whether you rent it or buy it, make sure that you find time at some point to experience this final gift of the PS2 to the TMNT franchise. )to courlesty of
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