,tbrThursday October 2, 2004 arts. michigandaily. com artspage@michigandaily.com RTS s 44 8A 'Crimes' exposes environmental is sue 40 By Steve Cotner Daily Arts Writer The Kennedys have always been a family of surprising sensitivity. It was John Kennedy who stood on the steps of the Michigan Union and announced the Peace Corps. His brother Bobby gave as keen a speech when he said the national spirit is not to be found in the Gross National Product. In their footsteps, Rob- ert F. Kennedy Jr. has dedicated his life 0 ALL XBOx LIVE SUPP( By Jared Newman Daily Arts Writer Coureyof Tonight's W, Deathmatch YK xhas been RT, NE ETUE AK.EEP:NW Trained out. THINGS KONSIDEREDJ A~RT, NEW FEATURES MAKE DECEPTION' WORTHWHILE to the environment, and his new book "Crimes Against Nature" comes at a defining moment in the planet's history. Kennedy's tone is urgent because he believes he is expos- Crimes Against Nature By Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Harper Collins I At this point, discussing "Mortal Kombat's" rich his- tory seems about as unnecessary as spelling the word "Continue" with a "K," but it'd be a lie to say that the familiarity doesn't play a role in the series' success. Indeed, seeing Baraka's spiky teeth and Scorpion's yellow battle suit in "Mortal Kombat: Decep- Mortal tion" is like returning home. Kombat: The one thing that so many Deception people know and love about the P2, dXbox series are Fatalities, the match- ad ending killing moves used to Midway humiliate opponents and offend parents. In "Deception," they're as creative as they are gory: Kabal can spin his opponent in a tornado and drive a hook through the twirling victim, sending little pieces everywhere. Darrius uses a less fancy approach - ripping the opponents' arms off and using them to slap away the head. As a defense, potential vic- tims with fast fingers can execute a Hara Kiri, a self- destructing Fatality, to save face. Fortunately, there's gameplay beyond the blood and guts (a heavily debated issue in earlier installments). For fighting game purists, there are plenty of combos to memorize. For series purists, the game still feels like "Mortal Kombat," eschewing senseless button- mashing and instead placing an emphasis on using the right moves at the right times. Players can go far by knowing when to sidestep, when to throw and when to launch an ice ball. The inclusion of two bare-hand- ed fighting styles and one weapon for each character means that there's a lot to learn, and that no single move will lead to success. Therefore, the novices will become easily separated from the experts - a problem for matches with casu- al-gamer friends, but a huge plus for online Kombat. The first thing that one will notice when playing on Xbox Live - aside from nonexistent lag - is that the average human opponent is pretty deadly. This is a good thing because gamers can add worthy foes to their friends list, hone their skills offline and return later for a rematch. The motivation to keep improv- ing for the sake of worldwide dominance adds replay value that extends far beyond any single-player or local two-player experience. That's not to say that the single-player aspect is lacking. Aside from standard arcade fighting, the Konquest mode that debuted in "MK: Deadly Alli- ance" has returned. Konquest stars Shujinko, an aspir- ing martial artist who makes "MK" history through his alliance with a mysterious elder god. Part tutorial and part adventure, Konquest mode allows players to unlock hundreds of bonuses like soundtracks, secret characters and costumes. There are other gameplay modes as well. Chess Kombat pits two teams of players against each other on a chessboard with the goal of defeating the king, or "Leader." Puzzle Kombat is a "Columns"-style puzzle game set in the MK universe. It's hard to ask for more with all that has been included, but a more compre- hensive Practice mode where players could actually spar against a target that moves or fights back would have been nice. As long as complaints are being made, it also would have been nice to see cinematics instead of still frames with text upon completing the arcade mode. Admittedly, fighting game fans that don't have online support or a good buddy to fight with won't have much keep them interested. Online gamers, however, shouldn't miss "Deception," especially if they have a soft spot for Sub-Zero, excessive gore and words that start with "K." ing the misdeeds of the worst environmental administration ever. The Bush administration's environ- mental reversals come as the "triumphant outcome" of a three-decade campaign by pollution-based profiteers to repeal the victories of Earth Day 1970. According to the book this history developed under the influence of green-sounding industry front groups like Wise Use, which whis- pered into Reagan's ear a straightforward message: "Our goal is to destroy, to eradi- cate the environmental movement." The Bush administration's history in the White House is obscured by double- speak, but the effects are clear. "Healthy Forests" has meant destructive logging of old-growth forests, "Clear Skies" has meant repealing key provisions of the Clean Air Act, "reforming" regulations has meant weakening them, and "thin- ning" has meant clear-cutting. Contrary to even the most conservative values, this administration has sacrificed public interest to corporate cronyism. Kennedy writes, "You show me a polluter and I'll show you a subsidy." The author's defense of environmental- ism comes from a perspective that should sit well with Americans: "Free-market capitalism is the best thing that could hap- pen to our environment, our economy, our country." Kennedy writes that the envi- ronment is suffering, not because of capi- talism, but because of an oligarchy of fat cats who use political clout to escape the discipline of the free market. Put simply, "corporate capitalists don't want free mar- kets, they want dependable profits, and their surest route is to crush the competi- tion by controlling the government." Even when he delves into the thick his- tory of environmental policies, Kennedy's writing is lucid and purposeful. He draws not only on a rich knowledge through his work with the National Resources Defense Council, Hudson Riverkeeper and Water- keeper Alliance, but also on the personal experiences that have instilled in him a love for nature. He writes of taking his boys hiking, fishing, and canoeing in the Adirondack Mountains, and of enjoying birding as a young boy, watching the per- egrine falcons nest on the old post office building on Washington's Pennsylvania Avenue. "They were the fastest birds in the world. As a young falconer, I loved to watch their vertical stoops to pick pigeons from the air in front of the White House." Now, the peregrines have been poisoned out of existence by DDT, and a quarter of the lakes in the Adirondacks are sterile from acid rain. Three of his boys have bad asthma and struggle to breathe on bad-air days. Kennedy tells his audience what he has lost, knowing that readers can find a parallel in their own lives, and hoping that they might fight to save what is left. 0 RPG offers hack-and-slash action- _. 4n $7with costume /$10 without 18+ Doors @ 9 30 ? iU., Oct. 3l.1smmamamaammasmsos RUTS NUTRU. 2 SNgAJ C E IEE flUI U E , $8 t Under 21 $9 19+ Dears @ 8:3Q f Wj e :1 ip n im a n uumms $8 Cover 18+ Dears @ 9:30 - r REPECT-E F PH - ICEE. tM1UD TRU By Forest Casey Daily Arts Writer What is the first thing that springs to mind when the average videogamer thinks about the role-playing genre? Is it the nearly endless play length? The dense, menu- driven style of combat? The sometimes indistinguish- able, fantastical stories? In an attempt to appeal to the hoards of recreational gamers who play shorter titles with more button-mashing action, many developers of traditional RPGs have broken the mold, creating more Demon action-oriented games. Stone The opening stage of the new "For- PS2 and Xbox gotten Realms" title "Demon Stone"Atr is the most blatant example of this Atar new style. Without any training stage, video introduction or explanation of the controls, "Demon Stone" throws the player straight into the heat of battle. Two evil armies of incalculable numbers are fighting one another for control of the land of Damara; the player leads a team of three warriors to destroy these warriors. Nor- mally, with no explanation of controls, this task would be impossible, but with "Demon Stone," all the player needs to do is press one button repeatedly as it is hack-and-slash at its most basic. Thankfully, the game changes course after this first level. Not only do more fighting combinations open up, but the ability to customize characters develops between lev- els. Of course, fitting with the larger theme of the action RPG, these customization screens can be skipped with the new "Auto Buy" option. Another action feature of "Demon Stone" is the option to change characters during battle. Each team has a fast Rogue, a powerful spellcaster and an average warrior, this feature lends a new dynamic to the hacking and slashing. The graphics of "Demon Stone" are impressive - not up to par with Xbox's "Fable" - but quite sufficient for the underpowered PS2. In-game movies are on par with Courtesy 0ofAtari Cold blooded. those of any good RPG and supplement the larger story- line, which gets interesting when the three main characters unwittingly unleash two demons who are trapped in stone, as the title would suggest. Players generally prefer a shorter game. Though larger masses of gamers buy games that don't have any kind of turn-based menu.system, there are many gamers who care for intricate fantasy stories with hard-to-pronounce names. These gamers, and anyone who enjoys pure action escap- ism, will enjoy "Demon Stone." 5 $3 adv.1$l6 day of 18+ Ooomt@ 9:30 cce , u.p~~ Surferosa brings poor pop stateside fails to preserve any charm in their songs. The sexual innuendo on "Ger- man Socks" reaches almost unbear- able heights with its kitschy lyrics: "You forgot to buy me a new pair of socks / I want to hit it hit it / I want to touch it touch it / I can touch your butt and then you can say goodbye" The lyrics are bad enough to make even the most patient indie-rocker question their motives for purchas- iniz this nabm. boards and benign lyrical content. Lead singer Mar- SUrferosa iann sings with I .-n.al awl "~h'No ~I