2B - Thursday, March 12, 2009 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 2B - Thursday, March 12, 2009 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom 4 Today 3.12.09 500 Years of American Grapes and Wines: A Remarkable Journey 1p.m. At the Wiam Clements Library Free Penny W. Stamps Lecture: Richard Saul Wurman 5 p.m. At the Michigan Theater Free Lecture: Reginald Gibbons 5 P.M. At RackhamAuditorium Free Frank's Picks Film Series: The Garden of the Finzi Contini 7 p.m. At Graduate Library Gallery Freee Tomorrow 3.13.09 MUSKET Presents "Kiss of the Spider Woman" 8 p.m. At the Power Center Free The Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma a p.m At Hill Auditorium Saturday 3.14.09 Asia Library Exhibit of Treasures 2 p.m. At the Graduate Library Galery Free Stearns Lecture: Kunqu; A Biographical Introduction to Classical Chinese Opera 2 p.m. At Angell Hall, Aud. A Free The Ragbirds 8 p.m. At the Ark Women's Glee Club with Special Guest the Cornell University Choir 8 p.m. At the Walgreen Drama Center Free Sunday 3.15.09 Gemini 1 p.m. At the Ark $10 Playfest 09: "Why Boys and Girls Can Never Be Friends" and "Real Perfect" 2 p.r.y At the Walgreen Drama Center Free Please send all press releases and event information to arts a michigandaly.com. ONLINE GAMES OF THE WEEK KNUCKLEHEADS Two noticeably angry metal heads, one purple and one green, swing each other around on a chain through a dark, demon- ic world. Color-coded platforms, villains and giant fireballs force you to put your heads together properly to pass obstacles and eventually reach the end of the level. The controls can get weird when you're hanging upside down, but the game is still well worth it. Find it at: http:// tinyurl.com/5857m9 PLANET RUNNER In an homage to the best of the worst old arcade games, this is a simple jaunt through a green grid plagued by spiked poles, bouncing circles and large chasms of death. As the planet runner, you will jump, dodge, shoot and maneuver your way through the obstacles, collecting power-ups along the way to help you fend off the evil minions and fight the boss at each world's end. Find it at: http://tinyurl.com/bkngdv H s "y High ive. A notable Ann Arborite gives five answers to a curious question. Forest Juziuk Manager, Wazoo Records What are the five bands that will break out in 2009? Thank You: Difficult to describe, Thank You's songs are a kind of controlled chaos of Farfisa organ, guitar and drums - trulyunlike anything else. Mi Ami: A dance band that's more dub than disco, Mi Ami toured and self- released several limited edition 12" EPs way before putting out a full-length on Touch & Go/Quarterstick. Abe Vigoda: Born of the same all-ages L.A. scene as 2008 breakout No Age, Abe Vigoda's shoegazey punk is subtle but tasty. Emeralds: This Midwest three-piece transcended from a lo-fi noise band into purveyors of beautiful and strangely accessible synthed-out drone. Tyvek: It doesn't matter how many times they practice or how many shows they play, Tyvek will always be beautifully loose basement damage. 4 4 TRAILER REVIEW PUBLIC ENEMIES UNIVERSAL Recessions always bring out thebest in gangsters. Michael Mann's Depression-era "Public Enemies" looks to evoke a "Bonny and Clyde"-like vibe. It asks the audience to root for the bad guy (Johnny Depp as John Dillinger) robbing all the stuck-upbanks and ogle his hotgirl- friend (Oscar-winning Marion Coutillard). Then again, with Christian Bale - the Batman himself - hot on Depp's trail, maybe pickinga side won't be as easy as it seems. Here's hoping Mann can dig a little deeper than summer movie tommy-gun-firing mania. ANDREW LAPIN g'RISTAR' (1995 A clas. By JACK PORTER Daily Arts Writer Like stars, video game consoles have pre- dictable lifespans. And they usually burn out slowly, hanging on to life years after they've been outshone by their peers. Sega Genesis faded faster than most. Its legacy is embodied in Sonic the Hedgehog, a video gamze hero who saved his furry friends from the grips of cyborg slavery. Though the sys- tem and its mascot enjoyed rock-star levels of success from 1990 to 1993, rival platform Super Nintendo boasted better hardware and amassed a superior game library. Even in the face of certain defeat in the "console wars," Sega continued to produce more games. "Ristar" - the system's last hurrah - arrived in 1995. While "Ristar" wasn't the last game released for the Genesis, it was the last great one. Its title is ironic in a way, suggesting that the console's "rising star" (the main charac- ) SEGA GENESIS sic from the last days of Genesis ter is also star-shaped) was rapidly falling. Such great games are testament to the condi- tions of a system's twilight days. At the time, there were technical limitations and the sys- tem's profit potential had been exhausted. In this dire situation, some developers might have reckoned that they had nothing to lose, and went on to create the masterpiece they had always dreamed about. If anything about "Ristar" is forgettable, it's the vanilla storyline. The evil space pirate Greedy (seriously) has enslaved all the lead- ers of the planets in Ristar's solar system, and it's up to the titular hero to save the day. Our hero's superpower is simply a pair of stretchy arms, but they're surprisingly versatile. He can grab items, climb walls, head-butt baddies and swing his body to and fro. Much of the game's pleasure is found in acrobatics, and the levels are chock full of objects to ride, climb, swing and vault on. So if Sonic's adventures provide pinball thrills, then "Ristar" captures the childlike joy of playground romps. Superficially, the game's levels are just riffs on tired video game aesthetics: spooky forests, water-logged temples, frozen moun- tains and volcanic wastelands. Planet Under- Colorful graphics and fun gameplay make 'Ristar' a gem. tow's flooded dungeons are filled with devious traps and mini-boss battles. Frigid planet Freon features slippery jumping seg- ments and a snowball fight. Yet Planet Sonata is the most intriguing, with rhythm-based obstacles and puzzles based around deliver- ing metronomes to songbirds. Each world's bosses are equally impressive, with their complex attack patterns and whimsical designs. Planet Scorch's guard- ian is a mechanical mole that fires his claws, bur- rows underground and even engages Ristar while the two plummet down a rocky abyss. And that's just one of eight planets. While the game's ideas are fresh enough on their own, the graphics and music bring the title to life. Genesis was often criticized for its limited range of colors, but the psy- chedelic palette of "Ristar" is still stunning today. From soft lavenders to neon greens and earthen oranges, the game's environ- ments pulse with life. Enemy designs are dis- tinctive, drawing inspiration from real-life armored animals like lobsters, hermit crabs and armadillos. The soundtrack is even more creative, blending funk, electronica and hip hop. Song "Crying World" joins eerie pitch- bending wails to watery synth chords and bare break-beats. Fittingly, Ristar can swim through the air in the level. Throughout the game, musical and visual themes are woven together. The story of Sega Genesis is written into "Ristar" through its ornate pixel art. Ristar himself was based on the same prototype character as Sonic the Hedgehog, and thus could be thought of as a distorted image of the Genesis's mascot - a new symbol for changing times in the industry. Sonic sym- bolized an environmental activist, echoing progressive ideas of the time. Ristar repre- sented something more localized: Sega's own anxiety about its impending doom. Bursting with creativity, color and ambition, "Ristar" is a glibly optimistic work of game art. Gen- esis didn't fade out with a whimper; it went out with a bang. 4 I 4 - UARTS 250 - "CREATIVE PROCESS" AN INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIO-LECTURE COURSE In residency at the Abbey of Pontlevoy, F S May 18 - June 12, 2009 Four Weeks/Four Credits Satisfies the LSA Creative Expression Requirement you are interested, please contact Mary Schmidt, maryanna@umich.edu, for more information Making creativity an integral part of students' lives and work. .j- EARTH Learn more now; www.artsonearth.orgstudents This course is supported by the University of Michigan's Multidisciplinary Learning and TmTeachingtInitiative I 4