2B - Thursday, March 13, 2008
CALEND4 )A R
The Daily Arts guide to
upcoming events
Today 3.13.08
Looks Given/Looks Taken
- Jewish Urban
Photographers
8 a.m.
At the Institute for Humanities
Exhibition Space
Free
Penny W. Stamps
Distinguished Visitors
Series - Julie Mehretu
5 p.m.
At the Michigan Theatre
Free
Tomorrow 3.14.08
Dance Mix 2008
7:30 p.m.
At The Power Center
Advance: $10, At the Door: $12
Kenny White
8 p.m.
At The Ark
Free
Saturday 3.15.08
Stearns Lecture: Digital
Buddha: A Multi-media
Concert of Korean Komungo
- Jin Hi Kim
2 p.m.
At the Britton Recital Hall in the E.V.
Moore Building
Free
THE BANG!
9:30 p.m.
At the Blind Pig
$8/21+, $11/18+
Enchanting Ruin Art
Exhibit: Tintern Abbey and
Romantic Tourism in Wales
10a.m.
At the Harlan Hatcher Grad Library, 7th
Floor
Free
Sunday 3.16.08
Richter: The Enigma Film
Showing
3 p.m.
At the Michigan Theatre
$25 at the door
Mike Doughty's Band
9 p.r.
At The Ark
$20
Please send all press releases
and event information to
artspage@michigandaily.com.

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

REDUCTIVE REASONING
Picking one and one apart.

.

'TECMO BOWL' (1989)

Sub stance
over style

TRAILER REVIEWS
"THE STRANGER"
UNIVERSAL
Release date: May 30, 2008
Apparently "The Strangers" is a movie in which Liv Tyler
('Armageddon") spends the entire running time being ter-
rorized by masked assailants. This could be agood or bad
thing, depending on the outcome. Whatever you may think of
rocker-brat Tyler, the trailer for this upcoming horror flick is
undeniably tense and effective. It'll be interesting to see how
the film can stand alongside its obvious blueprint, the recently
released French horror film "They." Let's just hope the trailer
hasn't spoiled all the creepy stuff.
BRANDON CONRADIS
cOURTESY OF UNIVERSAL
"WANTED"
UNIVERSAL.
Release date: June 27, 2008
It's nice to know that in between humanitarian missions
and her work as a goodwill ambassador, Angelina Jolie still
has the time to make a crappy action movie. And when I say
"crappy," I mean it in the most loving, good-natured way
possible. "Wanted" looks fun, with its CGI explosions, car
chases and shootouts. And with solid actors likeJames McA-
voy ("Atonement") and Morgan Freeman ("Se7en") lending
support, it's hard to see how this film could be a bust.
BRANDON CONRADIS

By LLOYD H. CARGO
Daily Arts Writer
People tell me "Tecmo Super
Bowl" for Sega Genesis is way
better than "Tecmo Bowl" for
Nintendo. I haven't played the
former, but I don't care - it's
simply not possible to create a
more perfect arcade football
game.
This is not a game of skill or
football realism; "Tecmo" is like
a game of chess, with perfect
pixilated passes and some leg-
endary quirks. There's Bo Jack-
son's unreal speed, Lawrence
Taylor's unparalleled kick-
blocking skills and Herschel
Walker's infuriating ability to
shed tacklers. There are only 12
teams, nine players per side and
four plays. Guess the same play
as the offense and you'll blow up
your opponent's line and cover
all its receivers.
There is some skill involved.
Reading routes and knowing
when receivers break takes
repetition, but since one game
takes only 15 minutes, you can
be pretty much up to speed in an
hour. All you really need to do is
get inside your opponent's head.
Will it be a run or a pass? In fact,
the hardest part might be pick-
ing a team.
Debate is open about which
team is the best, but the top tier
is clear as day: San Francisco,
Chicago, New York and Dal-
las. San Fran has Joe Montana,
Jerry Rice and a speedy defend-
er in Ronnie Lott. Chicago can't
match Montana's firepower, but
Mike Singletary and the rest of
the team's defense is stifling.
The same goes for New York
and Lawrence Taylor. Dallas is a
bit of a dark horse, but Herschel
Walker is a monster.
A good match-up is crucial
if you're going head-to-head
with a buddy - but against the
computer it doesn't always mat-

ter. For the purpose of putting
off a few papers, pissing off my
girlfriend and, uh, journalis-
tic integrity, I decided to buy a
couple bottles of wine and tryto
beat a season in one sitting.
I chose San Francisco, partly
because I like the fact that the
team has three passing plays
and partly because I find its
uniforms aesthetically pleas-
ing.
Playing a whole season might
take only a few hours, but the
Perfection in a
pixelated
game of
pigskin
frustration might take years
off your life. Passes that were
completed in week 1 are all of
a sudden interceptions in the
divisional round of the playoffs.
As the season wears on, your
players get slower and slower,
and the computer seems to get
faster. Since when is Kevin
Mack ripping off80-yard touch-
down runs?
Maybe it's just the Protocolo
wine, but no football video game
will ever be quite as satisfy-
ing as "Tecmo." Certainly, none
will be as timeless - do you ever
play "Madden 2003" anymore?
That's the nature of simulations
and reality, at least compared
to arcade games, because you'll
never be able to match reality on
a plasma. You're only as good as
your latest bit rate. With "Tecmo
Bowl," graphics, processing
power, stats ... none of it matters.
What does matter is that you can
play it fast, simple and fun - for
now, and forever.

DO YOU LOVE
OLD GAMES AS
MUCH AS US?
WRITE FOR ARTS
For an application, e-mail
gaerig@michigandaily.com

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