Newspaper Page Text
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Wednesday,October 19,2005
GAME ON
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erikwaters@bellsouth7net
This week:
“Twisted Metal:
Head-On”
Many games have
attempted to mimic
the formula that makes
the “Twisted Metal”
series so great. Copycat
games such as “Rogue
Trip,” “Vigilante 8”
and “Motor Mayhem”
simply try slapping
some weapons onto
a vehicle and letting
gamers loose in a
huge area against
other-equally equipped •
opponents.
Grace to play Venom, Church to play Sandman
By Shann Mehrotra
Staff Writer
artorhemnnahs@
gmail.com
At the end of the
last Spider-Man movie,
audiences saw Harry
Osborn looking down
the mantle of the Green
Goblin, Mary Jane had
hooked up with Peter and
was looking happy but
also sad in the window
as Peter swung away to
Danny Elfman’s music.
Spider-Man 3 is in the
works and Elfman has left
the project over differences
with Sam Raimi, though
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However, this type
of reasoning doesn’t
necessarily make these
games “Twisted Metal”
caliber.
In the new Sony PSP
game “Twisted Metal:
Head On” gamers
can choose between
ten wickedly twisted
drivers and the souped
up death machines they
happen to drive.
Every car handles
differently depending on
the size and weight. Each
character inside their
automobile has his or
her (or its) own personal
look and persona during
the game.
Take Sweet Tooth for
example. He’s a crazed
serial-killer clown that
gets his jollies by driving
around in an ice cream
truck of doom blasting
missiles at opponents.
Some people might
label Sweet Tooth as an
evil villian.
On the other hand,
the character Outlaw is
simply a down-to-earth,
law-abiding police
officer in an extremely
details are not very clear at
the moment.
What is known and
most interesting is the
casting. Topher Grace of
“That ‘7os Show” and
Thomas Haden Church
of “Sideways” fame have
been cast as villains, but
which ones?
The world of Raimi
has had villains in some
plausible reality to a certain
extent. Possible characters
such as the symbionts,
Venom and Carnage,
would be totally out of the
realm of the Spider-Man
movie saga.
Fans should also not
altered squad car.
The other
selectable characters
range anywhere from
upstanding citizen to
babbling psychopath.
No matter what
woodwork these
characters crawled out
of, they all have one
thing on their mind:
winning the Twisted
Metal tournament.
Much like every
other “Twisted Metal”
game ever made, a
mysterious man named
Calypso has promised
to grant a single wish
to the winner of the
tournament.
Not just any silly
wish like a really a good
cheeseburger.
The winner gets
the power to exact
revenge on a wrongdoer
of the past, bring back
deceased loved ones or
even a chance to redo a
past mistake.
Winning the Twisted
Metal toumamet is no
easy task. Gamers start
in a relatively small
arena against a couple of
hopeful winners and as
they progress further in
the game they’ll end up
in vast arenas with more
and more opponents all
gunning for Calypso’s
one wish.
The concept of the
game is simple: kill or
be killed. Much like an
ancient Roman gladiator
match, random weapons
forget that Raimi
has said he does not
have an outright
love for the Venom
character. Though
he could be outright
lying about that.
While
promoting the film
“Elizabethtown”
Kirsten Dunst may
have let the secret
villains slip.
She said: “We
have really great
people though as
the villains in this
film, Thomas Haden
Church and Topher Grace
Venom and Sandman.”
are spread throughout
arenas to use.
As gamers drive
across a weapon, such
as missiles or napalm,
it will attach itself to
the car and become
available for immediate
use. These weapons can
be used to destroy all the
enemy cars in a level,
thus winning the round.
As gamers progress
in rounds, the number
of cars will increase
steadily until finally the
game is won, or players
are sent home crying to
their mommies.
“Twisted Metal”
Head-On” is an insanely
fun game, especially
since it can be played
on the go with the Sony
PSP, but it does suffer
from a few minor set
backs.
The biggest problem
is the floaty controls with
the PSP’s analog stick.
The PSP analog
stick is nothing like the
Play Station’s as it is
much looser and lacks
the resistance
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Photo courtesy of walkerboystudios.com
Rumor has It Spider-Man will be taking on
Venom In Spider-Man 3.
Dunst was later
corrected that she had the
villains swapped and she
the controller analog
stick has. This makes the
car a bit more difficult to
control in tight turns or
close combat situations.
The silver lining is
that gamers can use the
D-pad instead to control
their car if they feel
uncomfortable with the
analog stick.
The next biggest
flaw that comes to mind
is the lack of any sort of
depth. The game can
get a bit repetitive and
mindless after a
few hours with A
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said: “It’s the other
way around. You’re
right”
Venom is a
symbiont which
fused originally
with Spider-Man
and later fused
with angry reporter
Eddie Brock.
The origin of the
symbiont suit varies
depending on story
lines. As the name
implies, Sandman
is a man who can
turn into sand. Both
characters are very
un-Raimi-like Villains.
What’s interesting is
Young artists exhibited
By Erika Toney
Staff Writer
adida2l73l @ aol.com
Young artists from
local elementary, middle
and high schools will soon
be given the opportunity
to showcase their artwork
at the University of West
Georgia.
The Department of
Art and the College of
Education are sponsoring a
opportunity for these young
artists to be profiled. Every
artist who submits work
for the exhibition will be
presented a certificate at a
reception in their honor for
their participation.
Six especially talented
students will walk away
with SSO purchase awards.
All the work submitted will
a lie ID cut (georgiati
shcx)t at other cars. The
addition of some mini
games or such would
have been a nice break
in the action.
Overall “Twisted
Metal: Head On” only
furthers the point that
this series is the best
at vehicular combat.
While it can get a bit
monotonous after a
while, the action is
intense and fun.
All that, plus the fact
that it’s portable and can
be played during those
long class breaks
SBnakes this game all
the better.
with a slight modification
of the Venom story line,
one could make the
character all the better. By
having him as an opposite
of Spider-Man, one could
replicate the choices of
Peter and further show
what makes Peter a hero.
Of course since
trilogies are all the rage, no
superhero movie has had
made three good movies in
a row.
With various people
leaving the project, like
Elfman and some key
special effects guys, one
has to wonder, can Raimi
do the impossible?
be juried in the art show
and two students from
each category will receive
their award along with a
complementary ribbon.
The six pieces
purchased will be on
display in the main hallway
of the Education Center 4
Students who wish to
enter the show may drop
off their work in the Deans
office of the Education
Building on Thursday, Oct.
20 or Friday, Oct. 21. The
artwork will be on display
from Oct. 24 through Dec.
2. There will be a reception
in the Education Center,
Sunday, Nov. 13,' from 3
p.m. until 5 p.m.
For additional
questions please call the
art department at (678)
839-6521.