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 > ' I IIL.A . - . .. ./...11