6A = Wednesday, December 3, 2014

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

6A - Wednesday, December 3, 2014 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom

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'Ruby and Sapphire'
still evokes childhood

WARNER BROS.
He's watching that Bruno Mars video. Let's be real.
'TheGood Wife' -has
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i CBS drama Girls"), arrested under
charges of helping associates
ore season break of drug dealer Lemond Bishop
(Mike Colter, "Ringer") break
ByALEXINTNER the law, fights to avoid being
Daily Arts Writer convicted.
Over the course of the
he Good Wife" is a great season, the show has mined
. It takes risks with some strong material from
lization rarely seen on Alicia's campaign, most of
(and on it involving her interactions
dcast B+ with Frank Prady (David Hyde
ision The Good Pierce, "Frasier"); however, the
eneral). . main campaign storyline in this
ever, viie episode serves as an example
Midseason of why the arc has been weak
s are Finale overall. The mid-season
ptible Sundaysat finale has Alicia dealing with
issteps, 9:00 p.m. controversy surrounding a note
cially CBS where she jokingly threatened
they to kill one of her daughter's
been on the air a long teachers. While the reference
This season the show was funny the first time, it
done a lot right, but one lost quite a bit of its humor
storyline has been a when repeated throughout
alculation so far, so much the episode. The overall plot
at it brought down what has contained many silly and
otherwise a great mid- ridiculous moments like this,
n finale. which is why the campaign
e first half of season six story never clicked.
Ihe Gopd Wife" focused Thankfully the show was
arily on two arcs. In able to rely on Cary's thrilling
Alicia Florrick (Julianna arc, reinvigorating what would
ulies,"ER")is runningfor otherwise be a pretty flimsy
osition of State's Attorney episode. After a dramatic
linois in order to unseat launch of this exciting arc in
corrupt James Castro the premiere,' the series has
ed by Michael Cerveris, taken a slow build to develop

the story, allowing the tension
to layer, and it all pays off
beautifully in this episode.
The show has gotten a lot from
the Lemon Bishop character
this season and it all built
marvelously to the scene with
Cary and Bishop in his kitchen,
wrought with suspense and,
featuring fantastic acting by
Czuchry and Colter.
"The Good Wife" 's cast
has been its saving grace this
season; no matter how terrible
the stories involving the
campaign are, there is always
that cast. Given how well the
show uses the New York City
pool of actors, it's like watching
a Broadway play each week. By
bringing in people like Pierce,
Taye Diggs ("Private Practice")
and Steven Pasquale ("Do No
Harm"), the casting directors
have built a supporting
repertory bursting with talent,
increasing the potency of even
the writers' worst ideas.
Ultimately, that's going to be
the thing that saves this show
from completely collapsing.
Even when there are misfires,
the series will always have
something to make it worth
watching. With the depth of
its ensemble and the quality of
stories past, it should be able to
move on from its problematic
political storyline into
something better.

By JACOB RICH their core gameplay. "OR/AS"
DailyArts Writer uses the same game engine
as 2013's "Pokemon X and
I'll never forget the way my Y," and has many of the same
old "Pokemon Ruby" cartridge positive and negative visual and
glinted in the sunlight as I gameplay features that those
accidentally games did.,Like in "X and Y,"
dropped it on A- the game's overworld, as well
a Medford, as each Pokemon battle, are
Mass. Pokemon now rendered with 3D visuals
sidewalk. Omega as opposed to 2D sprites.'
The spring However, the framerate still
of 2003 was and Alpha chugs noticeably during battle
the last one Sapphire sequences. "X and Y" 's bottom
I would screen mini-games "Pokemon-
spend taking Game Freak Amie" and "Super Training" are
day-trips Nintendo also carried over, and they're
to Boston and Pokemon just as forgettable here.
with my Company Player movement, though,
parents, and has improved from "X and Y,"
to me, eight-year-old Jacob, replacing the slippery roller
that translucent "Pokemon skates found in the updated
Ruby" cartridge may as well installments with an updated
have been worth as much version of the much more
as the precious jewel in its manageable running shoes from
namesake. I remember hurriedly "Ruby and Sapphire."
sticking the cartridge back in I had forgotten how clever
my purple Game Boy Advance some of the writing is in these
and scurrying into my mom's games. "OR/AS" allowed me
Mercury Tracer - eager as ever to relive some of my favorite
to lose myself in the world of dialogue moments in Nintendo
Pokemon. history, like speaking to the
11 years later, we're graced overly philosophical little kid
with remakes of these classic staring into his reflection in the
"Ruby" and "Sapphire" games: water in Petalburg City, and
Game Freak's "Pokdmon Omega the opportunity you're given to
Ruby" and "Alpha Sapphire." convince a house full of trend-
It's been quite the treat to step followers in Dewford Town
back into the world of Hoenn that a random item from your
and relive these masterful role- inventory is the "hot new thing."
playing experiences. (I convinced them that "Zinc
For the most part, "Omega Parties" were what all the cool
Ruby" and "Alpha Sapphire"are kids were doing).
excellent remakes that update The entirely rearranged
the visuals and peripheral soundtrack is decidedly the best
features of their predecessors of the three "Pokemon" remakes
while faithfully maintaining so far. Each new arrangement

is faithful to the the original
game's classic soundtrack while
providing more complex and
interesting instrumentation
than the original's simplistic
retro sound and over-reliance on
trumpet MIDI.
Like the original "Ruby and
Sapphire" games, there are
minor differences between the
two versions. As with every set
of Pokemon releases, you'll need
to collaborate with someone
who has the other version to be
able to capture each variety of
Pokemon. The central villain is
also different in each version,
but the story remains largely
unchanged between the two.
Without giving spoilers,
the late-game and post-game
have received some brand-
new features, including a very
cool new method of travel and
a couple-hour long post-game
quest that's one of the most
interestingstorylines"Pokemon"
has come up with in a longtime.
These are both rather tangential
to the core experience, but were
fun, inoffensive diversions to the
already excellent core game.
These new endgame additions
may not be enough to justify
the purchase for those already
overly familiar with "Ruby and
Sapphire," but for those looking
to relive excellent childhood
memories with a fresh coat
of paint, picking up "Omega
Ruby" or "Alpha Sapphire" is a
no-brainer.
"Pokemon Omega Ruby" and
'Alpha Sapphire" were reviewed
using post-launch digital
download copies provided by
Nintendo.

Allure of small venues

$ySOPfIIAKAUJ MAN
DailyArts Writer
There are few greater
joys in life than discovering
cheap concert tickets for

Call: #734-418-4115
Email: dallydisplay gmaiLcom U EPLYMN

RELEASE DATE- Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Los Angeles Tim
Edited by Rich
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your favorite artist. tush of
emotions washes over you -
excitement, obviously; fear
that the tickets have already
sold out and slight confusion as
to how all your musical dreams
could come true for just a little
more than what you spent
on your last late night trip to
Pizza House.
You look tp the location,
finding that, as per usual,
with cheaper tickets come
smaller venues. This may
deter some show-goers, but
not me. There is something far
more interesting about being
cramped into a space that feels
like the size of a dorm room
than attending an arena show
where binoculars are usually
needed to even catch a glimpse
of the performer's elbow.
Last year, I saw Kanye West
perform atthe Palace ofAuburn
Hills on his Yeezus tour.
While being in the presence
of a "god" was incredible, the
ticket price was not. Paying
nearly $200 for concert tickets
seems outrageous. Though
my seats were floor level and
close enough to the stage to see
every ridiculous detail, it still
was not as powerful had the
venue not been so large. After
this experience, I decided to
lay off the arena tours for a
while. Sorry, Yeezy.
My adventures in this
change in scenery comes a
different concert experience,
though some things remain
unchanged. Some would think
that in venues fit for smaller
audiences, people would not be
as eager to push towards the
stage or cluster together - they
are wrong. Just because the
furthest away you can possibly
be from the stage is a whopping
15 feet does not mean that
people, myself included, will
not try to slowly inch their way
to the front. Most don't see this
eagerness as overly aggressive
or obnoxious; everyone just
wants an up close experience.
The ability to see musicians,
and artists of any kind
really, up close makes the
performance seem so much
more honest. They become
real people in our eyes, rather
than just a voice or an album
cover you have seen and
heard hundreds of times. The

performers present themselves
just as they are, without using
distance to cloud or deceive
audiences. The quainter the
setting, the more you are able
to notice little quirks and even
flaws - hey, the guitarist is
sweating! I sweat, too! I bet
you would never be able to see
Beyonce sweating at one of her
shows.
With a smaller crowd
comes an expectation of
audience decorum. More low-
key shows are not the place to
make your most killer fashion
statement or to try violently
elbowing your way to the front
of the crowd. It's best to wear
something comfy-casual, go
with the flow. I have found
that these "rules" are followed
most of the time - but not
always. I had the unfortunate
experience of attending a Man
Overboard show with about
50 other people, only to be
pressed up against a tall girl
wearing an oversized, fuzzy
wool coat and heels for the
majority of the main act. Don't
be that girl. Please.
Up close
performances
are more honest.
But for the most part,
these shows create a sense of
community among audience
members. There is something
to be said for a group of
strangers making the trek to
a slightly sketchy club/bar/
basement for the exact same
reason - to hear some great
music. Though arenas house
thousands of people, it is
much easier to connect with
those around you when with a
smaller group of people. Even
little things like singing along
to the same song create bonds
we aren't even aware of. Arenas
are impressive, but small
venues leave impressions. It is
undeniably impactful to be in
an intimate space surrounded
by those who also appreciate
the art that you love, all the
while only feet away from
favorite artists.

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