10 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, March 10, 2000
ARTS
Sega skates to the cup
' 'TTYY
MoShav Band brings.
Israeli sound to Rick's
wim iatest i
Well well well, if it isn't the first
Dreamcast sports game that can be
played by a non-genrephile: Hockey
was a pretty good bet for that honor;
the game deals more or less with a
single plane of play. In spite of
"NHL2K"'s superb 3-D graphics, it
is played essentially in only two
dimensions, unlike basketball which
has that irritating dependence on
mathematical concepts like 'arcs' or
football with its abstract play palling
system and hordes of players.
There are automatic formations to
be chosen in "NHL2K," but these are
lnuited to a handful of offensive and
Grade: A-
NHL2K
Dreamcast
Sega
Reviewed by
Daily Arts Writer
Ted Watts
"NFL2K"'s steep
defensive strate-
gies and are not
as confusing to
the new player.
" N H L 2 K "'s
biggest asset is
the relative ease
of use, no ques-
tion about it.
Those frustrat-
ed by
"NBA2K" and
learning curve
NHL2e
NtiLgame
for the worse. There are only a
handful of modes of play and mini-
mal ways to alter play. Sure, you
have options that would've been
unheard of five years ago, like the
ability to trade players and change
the face of the National Hockey
League, but the nice extras like cre-
ating different basketball players
found in "NBA2K" are not to be
found here.
And while the graphics of the
game are very good, they somehow
fall short of the level found in its
brethren. To be fair, this may be a
function of the look of hockey. Like
football, players' faces are largely
obscured by helmets, limiting the
possibility for individualization of
players. Additionally, the white ice
creates a completely different aes-
thetic for the game field than bas-
ketball and football with their more
closely defined palettes. The rink
creates a lot of burn, and it cheap-
ens the look in a way that probably
can't be avoided without sacrificing
the realism that is the hallmark of
the Dreamcast sports titles. There
are problems that are not endemic
to the game, however, like the cam-
era angles often lag behind where
your controlled player is. Unfortu-
nately that's true in lots of sports
games.
The MoShav
Band
Rick's
Sunday at 9 p.m.
By Christopher Cousino
Daily Arts Editor
Sponsored by the American Move-
ment for Israel-Hamagshamim and Hil-
lel, The MoShav Band takes center
stage Sunday night at Rick's American
Cafe to perform a special campus show,
featuring a variety of music including
folk rock and
Grateful Dead
jcovers as well as
Israeli and
Hebrew sounds.
Originally
born in Israel, the
five members of
the MoShav
Band now reside
in Los Angeles,
Calif. However,
the Band main-
tains much of
their cultural
roots playing
sity options. "People will learn a little
about Israel and hopefully peak interest
in studying abroad in Israel as well,"
said Hillel staff member Anne Leavitt.
Leavitt stressed that the concert i
open to all students and non-students as
both Hillel and AMI "wanted to bring
an Israeli group that all students would
appreciate."
"We want to open as many eyes on
campus to Israeli culture as possible,"
said Bimholtz. Since the MoShav Band
has a wide range of of modern folk and
rock material, AMI hopes to draw a
diverse crowd to the concert.
"They appeal to a lot of different
types of people," said Birnholtz, "They
have a hippie aspect." She refers ti
MoShav's influences by late '60s and
early '70s folk rock of the Grateful
Dead, Bob Dylan and Neil Young. Sun-
day's concert will also include a line-up
of Israeli music. "They'll do covers of
very popular Israeli musicians," said
Birnholtz.
After playing in the Israeli club
scene, the MoShav Band came to
America two years ago to tour with
stop in East Lansing. After completing
another tour, the MoShav Band
returned home to Los Angeles.
Sunday's concert should be an
interesting blend of music styles
and culture. Their music, Birnholtz
said, is "definitely spiritual."
should not be deterred by the letter
number combination at the end of
the title.
The game also differs from its
siblings in the amount of extras it
offers. Unfortunately it has changed
When it gets down to brass skates,
though, "NHL2K" handles really well.
Sure, it's hard to figure out how to get a
digitized puck past that bloody goalie,
but that's what makes it a game. The
important thing is that a player can fig-
ure out how to do it with a minimal
knowledge of the control systems of
other games. The manual tells you what
buttons to press for a slap shot and a
wrist shot, and that's most of what you
need to know. There are more buttons,
but they're a lot more intuitive than in
the related sports titles.
Sure, hockey isn't as glamorous
as basketball or football, but as it
turns out, it's the easier game to
play on the Dreamcast.
many traditional Hebrew songs.
Sunday's concert, however, is neither
religiously nor politically oriented.
"The main deal is to bring Israeli cul-
ture to Ann Arbor," said LSA senior
and AMI Melanie Birnholtz.
Tables set up at the concert by Hillel
will feature information on Israel, avail-
able student programs such as study
abroad, travel abroad and other Univer-
I
New
"Mario Party 2"':
Iunsurprisingly simil
cult classic prede
n _. _ - I .
'Mario' sequel solid fun
ga m p ay ies p 1 ay is/$
Jar to that of its y./a
;cessor, "Mario
Party, and like its predecessor,
"Mario Party 2" is strictly a multi
player game. Do not buy "MP2" if
you expect to always be playing
alone. The basic objective in both
games is to become the "MP" Super
Star and this is accomplished by
moving around a game board, rolling
a die to determine how far, and try-
ing to collect more coins and stars
you know that little voice
inside that says "I can't"?
this summer,
Grade: A-
Mario Party 2
Nintendo 64
Nintendo/
Hudson Soft
Reviewed by
D7aily Arts Writer
Eduardo Baraf
than the other
players, but if
only it was this
simple. During
each round of
play there are a
multitude 'of
ItemIIs
anid
strange occur-
rences that
either benefit or
hurt you as a
player. Most are
[cush
Bring your "can-do" attitude to Camp Challenge. Where
you'll get paid to learn how to become a leader and acquire
skills that'll help you meet the challenges you'll face in your
career. Apply today at the Army ROTC department, with no
obligation. Before that voice tells you to take a vacation.
Iti
as simple as spaces that give or take
coins for you. But some offer bigger
prices, like the Boo space, which
allows you to steal coins and the
more valuable stars from your oppo-
nents, or the Bowser space, which
can do anything from equally distrib-
uting all of the coins players have or
charging you exorbitant prices for
useless items, can dramatically alter
who is in the lead and who is in last
place.
However, this is not what the orig-
inal "MP" is known for and nor is it
what "MP2" will be known for;
rather, it's their maddening mini-
games. After each round, depending
on the combination of squares all the
player are on, the game switches to a
huge variety of mini games (64 in
all). Some of these games are 1 vs 3,
some 2 vs. 2, while the majority are
4 player free-for-aills. In these games
the players compete in all manners
for coins. The list is long but some
favorites are: "Bumper Balls," where
all players are balancing on balls and
try to ram each other off a small
plateau; "Shell Shocked," which is a
tank based frag fest ala "Battle
Tanx" by 3DO where everyone is
trying to destroy each other; and
"Speed Hockey," which is similar to
pong where players try to get a
bouncing puck into the other team's
net.
In terms of graphic and sound,
ARMY ROTC Unlike any other college course you can take.
1
:[H
I
Il
r
I
"MP2," while in no way spectacular,
is more than functional and often
surprises you with clever remakes of
familiar mini games. The board
game graphics are mainly 2D with a
little 3D here and there, but t
mini-games are all 3D, which gives
the game a strong niche look. On the
sound side of things the music is
pretty generic: Upbeat and happy -
this is one of those games that is
great to play while listening to other
more engaging music on your stereo.
Many argue that "Mario Party 2"
with only subtle differences - such
as players in themed costumes, item
buying during the game, and more
mini-games- should be consideui
"Mario Party I" rather than a fif
fledged sequel. And from this logic
many print and online sites discour-
age consumers from buying "MP2"
if they already own the original.
Despite its similarity to "Mario
Party," "Mario Party 2" offers more
than enough new features, hidden
secrets and extras to warrant it's pur-
chase. In fact, the only thing hold
this from a straight A is just that slif
feeling you get when you love some-
thing and just want more. I don't think
it would have been very hard for Nin-
tendo and Hudson to forgo the Mario
restriction and add some other mascots
such as Bomberman and Link. It also
would have been an improvement if the
characters had individual traits or skills
that would allow players to pick charac-
ters that help their play style and of
course there always could be m.
mini-games.
Overall, "Mario Party 2" is a top-
notch game that will hopefully get a
huge overhaul for its unconfirmed
Dolphin appearance.
1
rdi
I
8:00pm THE ENGLISH CONCERT Brandenburg Concertos* sponsored by UMS. The finest ensemble.of its kind.
10:30pm MARGO HALSTED, carillon The Bells of Burton Tower ring out the Brandenburgs and ring in Bach.
11:00pm MARIMBA ENSEMBLE, Michael Udow, Director Mellow mallets, in groups and solos.
12:00am VIOLIN SONATAS AND PARTITA S A rare opportunity to hear the complete violin books in three concerts.
1:00am JAZZ.COMBO .J arrngned byAndy:Thompson. Also, Christian Jmboden2.guitarist, JB ch-ba.sed az!
2.O0am DIGITAL MUS1C ENSEMBLE, Ghriian Matjias, Director Bach synthesized as you have never heard it before.
3:0am _JOHN BRKALL ::, CHISTOPHER LEES, JEREMY TARRANT, organiss The Ki ng ofInstruents.
4Oam JEE-HYE BAEK, pianist The monument: Goldberg Variations
SONACKINCHU MARK:RICH ULI BEIRRAMICHAEL:ELSBERNDorgist Moregreat rga n sei.
60am LOGAN SKELTON, pianist Piano pieces popular in Bach's day and ours.
: ,LN nA:r :A.TA& :fnig Shippsand Kntr. ecvnd hItallment f th ee.
8.O0am CHAMBER MUSIC FOLLOWED BYFELENA TSAI, HARPSICHORD Purity, imaginati n, brilliance,;:
:.::: 0Oam::.LIOUIS NA GEL *. pixris :Aa a;rra of the-kexboard gi, ant's greatest works..
10: 00am WIND ENSEMBLE , Jmes Taa conductor
11:00 am FRED A HERS ETH",: mezzo-soprano Favorite Arias from Bi aih Cantatas
12:00pm VIOLIN SONAITAS AND PAR TITAS The complete Partitas and Sonatas:conclude.
12:45am MARGO HALT AND LAN CHA|NG, Carillon More Bach for Burton's Bells.
1:00pm A|MY NPOTE, flut & ARTHUR GREENE, piano. Michiga prrfessoand former futist of the Atlanta Symphony and
Faculty Pianist, illuminate Bach.
2:00pm YIZHAK SC OTTEN, LOUIS NA GEL, AMY KESSLER, JtSTN BRUNS, & UNIV GHAMBER RA
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