Wednesday October 20, 2004 arts. michigandaily. com artseditor@michigandaily.com e tSig 9A ... . . ..... ... . ..... .. . . . . .................... -- - - - . . ... . . . . ... . ............ ........................... --.4 Har Mars act grows old on m ei By Amos Barshad Daily Arts Writer Sean Tillman, aka Har Mar Super- star, had a choice to make. After 2000's self-titled debut and 2002's You Can Feel Me firmly established his shtick, Tillman was at a crossroads. People had always laughed along with his act - a short, stocky white guy in ridiculous outfits singing oversexed funk songs. Of course, the act worked 'Hot Shots' golf series still swinging With a cast of colorful characters aid a range of courses to match, "Hot Shots Golf Fore!" attempts to bring a refreshing breath of vitality to the static game of golf While its atmosphere and rich gameplay achieve this admirable goal, the quirkiness of the char- adtets overpowers and detracts from the over- all presentation Hot Shots Initially much of Golf Fore! "Fore!" is locked,2 unavailable for play SCEA until the gamer works, through several match, es and attains enough points and skills to unlock these special features .This mate rial ranges fran the mundane. such as ground images and outfits, to the>excepdtal such as new courses, new characters and an improved selection of clubs. As the game unfolds, TFore!" presents itself as a tr on tender in the sports-game genre. Behind the cartoonish appearance lies a golf game with realistic ge play, dynamic camera work and anl immense amount $f supplemental material, such as the unique miniature golf mini-game and the par3 cb* lenge. Online play has even been added to this installment, allowing golfers to challege players across the globe ononeiof"Fore! s" If beautifully rendered l8-hole courss Despite its dynamic s etationthe developers seemedtopush t" eop bit too far. The character's inamevoice acting is supposed to add an air otgoohess and bolster his or her personality bet they become annoying y repetitve, turning the characters into tiresome soundbies bef ' the gamer has even finished he first rvund Their antics suc aite E s ctyxng after she loses a hole - are amnusig atflrst but grow irritating far too quickly There fore, the most disappointig part of the game becomes the characters themselves a huge part of the experience - which makes o pleting a round with them a chore rather than an enjoable endeavo& Clap Hanz, the developer of tore has an innovative and colorful approach to the standard golf game tFore is aurprsgy deep game, one that can be 4pprmadjedfrom a different way each time t' picked p, and, with anabilityf chrats to g n skill wit experience, aloms fr lets of rlayablily However, its frustratigqi kp it fro being a truly enjoyablewexperiene ** ...gson Robens It's all In the hips. It's all in the hips. FORE-PLAY. 'TIGER, WDS' TEES OFF AGAIN TO GREAT SUCCESS because Tillman seemed to take himself seriously. Over the course of two albums, it was also diffi- cult to ignore that Tillman's voice wasn't all that bad. Har Mar Superstar The Handler Record Collection After all, he had By Adam Rottent Daily Arts Editor )erg ~ 4 tr Nothing screams excitement like videogame golf. But with "Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005," EA Sports seems to have finally captured the nuances of the sport and combined them with written tunes for Jennifer Lopez and Kelly Osbourne. Could he tone down the cheeziness and make a truly funky record? Maybe, but The Handler isn't it. From the first song to last, the album sounds like a collection of tracks left over from the Justified recording ses- sion. Tillmann's voice is shown to be adequate here, but not capable of carry- ing any true depth of emotion. Only a few songs on the record can be outright labeled as jokes, including "D.U.I.," Har Mar's poetic and inspired treat- ment of an issue plaguing millions of young people across our nation: drunk dialing. Meanwhile, "Body Request" sounds like the song that helps the nerds win the talent show the end of the "Revenge of the Nerds," it's corny '80s synth-pop to the core. Most of the album dabbles in the "you know I'm being ironic even though nothing in the music suggests it" type of humor, which only makes it more annoying. When so much of your selling point is the visual aspect, what's really the purpose of making a record? Taking that into consideration, criti- cizing this guy feels a little pointless. Even though he has toned down the blatancy of the persona on this record, Har Mar Superstar is still a joke, albeit one that's getting progressively stale. The problem is, and the reason why he should be up for review, that the guy doesn't really write jokes, like his musical-comedian counterparts Tena- cious D. His music is all a part of the act and straddling the line between the ridiculousness of it all and the straight face he keeps is the essence of the act. On The Handler, Tillman fails to pull it off. While the idea of seeing Har Mar live, gyrating and surely grat- ing, might still be appealing to some, there's no need for more recorded out- put from this guy. enough entertainment value to make the mundane appear electrifying. While the real Tiger Woods is mired in a slump, "Tiger 2005" shows no sign of slowing down. Players familiar with "Tiger 2004" will feel right at home with this latest installment. Gainers Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005 PS2, Xbox and GameCube EA Sports no longer use the user to feel more attuned to the actual sport, as the motion of the stick mimics the motion of the club. The game mechanics are worth noting because of the depth and fun found in the many modes of play. Golf fans will notice that they can play a variety of styles of the sport - like match play, skins or best ball - as well as by standard rules. These alternate forms of golf are best saved for multiplayer, since most rely heavily on the response of the opponent. PGA Tour mode is akin to the dynasty mode found in EA Sports' other marquee titles. In PGA Tour, players take a created golfer through the ranks of the PGA, earning money to unlock legends, new apparel and more courses. The big enhancement to "Tiger 2005" is "Tigerproofing." This entails a degree of cus- tomization in which the gamer can now make the courses tougher by adding obstacles ud decreasing the sizes of fairways and greens. The only way to earn the ability to Tigerproof a course is through the PGA tour mode. Although the gameplay itself is nearly flaw- less, the roster leaves a lot to be desired. While players would expect a full assortment of pros, what is available is a disappointing array of just 15 players. And beyond Tiger himself and Vijay Singh, most of the big names - Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson, for example - are nowhere to be found. The golfers present, however, are near-perfect renderings of the actual players. The inclusion of real courses adds to the authenticity and realism of "Tiger 2005." From Pebble Beach to St. Andrews, many of the hall- mark settings from the professional tour are replicated flawlessly. And with Tigerproofing, the courses can change and become significant- ly harder for more advanced gamers. As a simulation of professional golf, few titles can match "Tiger 2005" in either game- play or sheer options. It features tons of replay- ability via its unlockable content, deep PGA Tour mode and competitive multiplayer. Even though the roster leads a lot to be desired, this is still the best golf game on the market. tried and true system of timing button presses on power meters. Instead, players use the ana- log stick in a fashion similar to the "Golden Tee" arcade series. This addition enables the Gere,J-Lo misstep in 'Dance' remake By Zach Borden Daily Arts Writer What an October it's been so far. In just a matter of days, moviegoers have been blessed with not one, but two hor- rid English-language remakes. The disastrous "Taxi" (inspired by a popular franchise from France) went way off the road for many film- goers, and now, Miramax's "Shall We Dance?" can't keep time. Based on the charming 1996 Japanese film of the same name, Rich- Shall We Dance? At Showcase and Quality 16 Miramax ballroom dancing lessons at the studio. The dancing actually satisfies the fam- ily man, but his curiosity about Paulina, who gives private lessons, remains. As John hides what he's doing from his family, his wife Beverly (Susan Saran- don) becomes suspicious that he may be having an affair. John's life and new hobby seemingly intertwine, mak- ing his life more complex than he was anticipating. Surprisingly, the new version of "Shall We Dance?" stays pretty true to the original when it comes to the plot, but much of the context is lost. What made the Japanese version so fascinat- ing is that it offered commentary on how Japanese society views intimacy, and how it was shameful for a man to dance in that society. The remake obviously can't offer the same cultural views, and it does not offer anything that can really compensate for it. Each film achieves drastically different emotional impacts. Director Peter Chelsom, best known for helming Miramax's fluffy romance "Serendipity," creates a pretty uneven mess. The film is often weighed down by unnecessary moments that are supposed to be inspiring but turn out insipid, and he drenches the film in cli- che melodrama (the Paulina flashback sequences are overly corny). Some of the blame should also be placed on screenwriter Audrey Wells, who sup- plies the cheesy lines and stretches out the plot too much. Most odd is that for a movie in which dancing is integral to the overall story, the dance sequences are mainly unin- teresting. The editing during these scenes is sloppy, and camera move- ment is static - it's hard for the audi- ence to really get a sense of the action and the passion coming alive on the dance floor. Gere comes across as likable and affable, but for the most part he sleep- walks through the movie. When it comes to Jennifer Lopez, it is hard to tell what is worse: her flat, one-dimen- sional character or her stale dialogue that sounds as if is being read off cue cards. Susan Sarandon is more-than- ard Gere plays John Clark - a bored and unhappy lawyer going through some kind of mid-life crisis. While on the train one night, he passes a dance studio and sees the lonely Paulina (Jen- nifer Lopez) looking out into the mist. Intrigued, John decides to sign up for I'm sorry I'm so old, it's genetics. decent as Gere's wife, and Stanley Tucci provides some of the film's few laughs as an eccentric, closeted dancer. There is nothing wrong with reinter- preting or retelling certain stories, but comparisons with what came before are inevitable. If this Americanized version of "Shall We Dance?" has anything to teach - along with many other high-profile remakes in recent years - it's that it is always better to stick with the original.