Verge

V ER GE THE VERGE FACTOR

VOLUME II

UNION J

ISSUE 7

UCC

EXPRESS

Why did the Grinch steal Ch ristma s?

VERGE

FORTNIGHTLY FAVOURITE 4 Joyeux Noël

Words: Ellen Desmond, Entertainment Editor

The Grinch hated Christmas, the whole Christmas season. Oh, please don’t ask why, no one quite knows the reason. The Whos down in Whoville are all joyfully celebrating at this time of year, but they often forget two important things about Christmas cheer.

The first being that Christmas can be very difficult for a lot of people.

Dr Seuss’ Grinch was lonely and isolated; so he couldn’t bear to see the Whos ignorant celebrations. Likewise, in the real world, Christmas can be very much a “within” community affair. Don’t be so harsh to judge those who don’t celebrate, or aren’t invited to celebrate Christmas. It’s also a very cold time of year, and while we’re all hoping for a white Christmas there are homeless people and animals, or old people, or very poor people, unable to escape the low temperatures and are suffering as a result. There’s a lot you can do to help “grow their hearts” like the Whos did with the Grinch. There’s a big push this time of year with charities for these kinds of people, all you have to do is keep an eye out.

It’s not just physical suffering though. Christmas can be an extremely difficult time for those who aren’t in a happy place. Christmas can be a bit of salt in the wound and anyone could feel like the people around them have ceased to notice their sadness exists. But Christmas can also be a great time to help others; one just has to do it with a bit of respect.

The second thing is that Christmas has become an extremely expensive time. It’s no longer centred around one day of expense either; there are Christmas parties, Santa’s many grottos need to be visited, dinners and balls to attend, work nights out, outfits to buy, food to prepare for guests, no doubt you owe peers about 15 different types of drinks… This leads to a lot of stress and pressure for many, even those who are allegedly “well off.” It’s easy to get caught up in the moment and forget what the season is meant to be about. Even if you’re not religious in anyway, it’s still an amazing time of year once you approach the festivities with a bit of empathy and “goodwill to all men.” Take the season as a time to relax, get back in touch with friends and look out for one another. Cheering someone up or doing a good deed is the best clichéd gift of them all and while I’ll be fairly downtrodden for a day if I wake up with nothing under the tree; I’ll probably remember for the rest of my life a random act or kindness.

I can admit I was once a Grinch. I can recall when I shed my Grinch-y cloak. I was the average S.H.A.R.E collector on Patrick’s Street; doing it for the fun and to help raise a bit of money. In one of many instances, I looked eagerly at a passer-by, hoping to get some donations. She declined but I kept up my pasted-on smile, said my “thanks anyway!” wished herall the best and a “Merry Christmas!” About a half an hour later the woman returned and told me she had made it halfway home when the guilt got to her. She had come back, just to tell me my smile was the brightest thing she’s seen on the worst day of her life and would I please pray for her and keep her in my thoughts because she really needed an angel this Christmas. It was beyond melodramatic, and I was probably really awkward turtle about it all. But I’ve always kept my promise and thought of that woman because she taught me a very important lesson. I’m renowned for being a sap but I wasn’t always.

“Maybe Christmas,” the Grinch thought, “doesn’t come from a store.

Maybe Christmas… perhaps… means a little bit more.”

So before calling someone “A Grinch” maybe pause to wonder why they are choosing to act in that way. He’s a mean one, Mr Grinch… or is he?

The Father Christmas Letters

2013

-Robert

@theCircleGuy

-Eoghan

@EoghanLyng

J.R.R. Tolkien is very in this season. We have a two page spread based on Tolkien later in this issue to emphasis his innate sexiness.

Tolkien`s magic did not reserve itself solely to dwarves and hobbits; he also churned out a Christmas parable or two. This collection (published posthumously in 1976) of letters Tolkien wrote to his children every Christmas is a touching read. It`s collections like these that prove what Christmas is all about. It`s not about lavish dinners or stables laid out conveniently for pregnant women, it`s about warmth and humanity and love. Nancy Williams of The New York Times hit the nail on the head when he said that “Father Christmas lives. And never more merrily than in these pages”. A timeless work, it`s a far better read than the clichéd garbage of A Christmas Carol or The Night Before Christmas. I enjoyed this classic. I ho-ho-ho-hope you do too!

Michael Bublé –Christmas

-Meadhbh

@meadhbh_crowley

I’m not a huge Christmas song person, if you have ever been to my house you’d know why. From the moment it’s socially acceptable to play Christmas songs, my mother would pull out probably one of my favourite CDs which would include the 50s stars such as Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland to mention but a few. I never really thought that anyone could compare to the legends that made my Christmases as a child, but Michael Bublé’s album Christmas is one of my favourites of all time. I’ve secretly have been listening to it before November had even started. With his quintessential Bublé air, I personally think the best song is ‘White Christmas’ but to be honest he could probably sing a shopping list and thousands of women would flock from near and far to hear him sing.

Batman – Arkham Origins

EDITORIAL TEAM

Entertainment Editor: Ellen Desmond

03

Christmastime is here again, and what better to talk about here than a Christmas movie? Now some of you are thinking of It’s A Wonderful Life, The Santa Clause or even Die Hard, but one of my favourite Christmas movies is Joyeux Noël. It’s about the Christmas during WWI when soldiers on both sides laid down their arms and came together to celebrate, only to go back to the mayhem of war the next day. A real-life story, told in an idealistic light, that’s definitely worth a watch if you haven’t seen it. Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori...

Music Editor: Méadhbh Crowley

Arts & Literature Editor: Eoghan Lyng

Film & TV Editor: Robert O’ Sullivan

Gaming Editor: Brian Conmy

Design: Cathal O’ Gara

-Brian

@aerach71

I got to try Batman Arkham Origins this week and quickly lost track of how many times it crashed. Apart from the number of crashes, my time with the game also featured a large number of graphical bugs and other issues the previous games didn’t seem to feature. Although done on a shorter timeframe and from a studio that hadn’t worked on the series before, the sheer number of issues with the title are still disappointing.

I’m really hoping for Rocksteady’s next Batman game, which they’re surely working on, to not just fix these issues but also to take the game in a new direction like what happened between Arkham Asylum and Arkham City.

@ellen_desmond

2 VERGE EDIT

DECEMBER

CONTRIBUTOR LIST

Cathal Dennehy

Darragh Murphy

Robert Byrne

David Coleman

Evan Ring

Aaron Elbel

Michael Stack

David Coen

Aoife Gleeson

Austin Dowling

Kevin Galvin

Nicki Hayes

Verge's

Entertainment Advent Calendar

learn off all the lyrics in preparation.

Make sure to find a pal to duet with you To begin your entertainment pilgrimage to in Penneys too. Acting it out will go down the 25th, adding Step into Christmas to a really well with stressed shoppers.

Spotify playlist will surely have you well on your way to a festive spirit. This catchy and 9th - Santa Baby upbeat tune will have you in the good books You’re probably going out tonight and if of all your stressed out classmates, as you so be prepared to hear a lot of Santa Baby sing it to them just before an exam. You’d be and All I Want For Christmas Is You. By be crazy not to oblige Elton by stepping into prepared I mean having your regrettable Christmas with him, as he put it himself dance moves at the ready and singling out “the admission’s free.” a complete stranger from your class to melodramatically serenade with the latter.

3rd - Charles Dickens’ This will ensure that in the New Year you will have a new friend to sit with in lectures.

A Christmas Carol The best way to procrastinate studying is always to start reading a really random 12th - The Nightmare Before book that has absolutely nothing to do with Christmas any of your subjects. As this book is written We all have the Jack Skellington hoody by someone who is dead now, the words at the back of our wardrobes and what may be too big for some people to handle. better time to whip it out than when you’re Luckily there is also a Muppet’s Christmas having a day on the couch after last night’s Carol version available and when I bought celebrations. Be sure to sing along and it, it came with reusable stickers! tweet about fond memories of skateboards and standing on Paul Street being an emo.

Just like you tweeted last year “and the year 5th - Elf There’s never a bad time to watch Elf, be before that and the year before that.” it August or December. Buddy taught us many things, such as to never eat the 13th - Michael Bublé's Christmas yellow snow but most importantly that if This is really one for the car and no doubt you bounce your way through life with you’re going to be driving home for blind optimism you will eventually Christmas needing something to make everyone love you. Let listen to along the way. This this be your attitude this is one that you will hear so Christmas. This movie much over the Christmas is also worth a watch if holidays, whether you you feel like squealing want to or not. You with excitement upon most likely will be so realisation that one of saturated with this the main characters is album that you won’t Zooey Deschanel with even get sick of it, you blond hair. will just become immune.

1st - Elton John's Step Into Christmas

6th - Elf Yourself

This is more of a warning than anything else. Don’t “elf yourself ”. You have to have something better to do and no doubt an embarrassing relative will be making one of you soon to post on your Facebook page, in all its glory, for all your friends to watch.

15th - The Father Ted Christmas Special

This is one for group viewing, who doesn’t love Father Ted? Perfect to put on if there are visitors round and you are struggling to make awkward conversation; this will be one for everyone to bond over! It will most 7th - Grandma Got Run Over By a likely be played on loop on countless channels Reindeer Both the film and song are spectacular, anyway. despite the misleadingly poor grammar in the title. Your own grandmother, or 17th - Live Aid's reindeer, will really appreciate this one; Do They Know so gather them round for a bit of festive It's Christmas? banter-ful wittiness.

Just in case you start to get too

chipper or festive, this one will bring you back to earth. It’s catchy and highlights the This will be playing repeatedly while you’re important fact that Christmas is among the doing your shopping so don’t worry about hardest times of year for those suffering. downloading it but you should definitely It might inspire you to do a good deed,

8th - Fairytale of New York

or just sing along, whichever floats your Christmassy boat.

19th - The Santa Claus, The Santa Claus 2 and The Santa Claus 3 It’s not Christmas until you’ve reminisced over this old classic, and the sequel…and the other sequel. Tim Allen’s face became a type of religious iconography for many of us growing up. If you finished watching the trilogy before your reading to end the worshipping, don’t forget he also stars in Christmas With The Kranks. Time for a movie night? I think so.

20th - The Little Match Girl

Assuming you haven’t finished the other books you’ve previously started, now is a great time to add to the unending list of unfinished novels. This little story is a heart wrencher, and another meaningful reminder that one shouldn’t get carried away with the holiday marketing schemes or take for granted the house waiting for you tonight, but instead keep an eye out for those suffering, out there in the cold.

21st - Santa Tracker App

This game is available to download for most androids and all iPhones. You’re more than likely far too old to enjoy it after the first use but it will distract your annoying little cousins at family parties, just make sure they don’t break your phone.

23rd - Mickey's Once Upon A Christmas

If you’re starting to feel too old and left out of the holiday excitement, switch off for a while for a Disney binge; it’s the only thing for it.

24th - The Sims Christmas Party Pack

By now you are probably starting to hate your family a little bit.

Relatives keep calling over and you have to keep smiling and “gasping” at unexpected gifts and giving people awkward hugs. It’s the perfect time to lock yourself alone in your room and create a fake version of your family…and then destroy them. The Sims is great for this because it requires no remorse and you can torture them to extreme lengths but no one will ever know. It will make you love them more tomorrow and if not you can always fake a smile by imagining them being abducted

by Sim aliens. Don’t forget to build a wall in front of the shower to properly piss them off.

25th - RTÉ

Half of us don’t watch this channel all year round and then suddenly on Christmas day RTÉ has pride of place in all Irish homes. You have plenty of DVDs along with the option of streaming movies yet, you and your’s will blissfully suffer through whatever movies RTÉ has 22nd - The Podge and managed to regurgitate for this festive Rodge Christmas Specials Spare a moment for the poor soul who is day. It will most likely be The Great going to be receiving Podge and Rodge Escape or Willy Wonka. slippers this Christmas. There really are worse gifts than socks.

VERGE ENTERTAINMENT 3

Film & TV Verge has asked you, the students of UCC, what your favourite films were to watch at Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanza or whatever it is you celebrate at this...incredibly fecking cold time of year.

UCC’s in front of the fire favourites

A Muppet’s Christmas Carol - Cathal Dennehy role by an actual T-Rex. T-Rex appeared in the crime-drama series that’s set in a dark and gritty

Black Christmas - David Coleman

First, let me admit that Black Christmas is far from a conventional choice for a favourite Christmas movie, and I’ll probably get a few weird looks for picking it. As a self-confessed horror aficionado, I feel its importance in the history of cinema is too often overlooked. The plot (to the extent that there is one) revolves around a college sorority house in the lead-up to Christmas, where the girls receive a series of prank calls which soon becomes murder. If this just sounds like every slasher movie ever made, that’s because it is, except Black Christmas got there first. Arriving in 1974, it took its cue from films like Psycho and set the foundation for a whole new genre, a design perfected by Halloween shortly after.

Warning: avoid the remake!

Jurassic Park - Michael Stack

Jurassic Park was, and remains to be, a cinematic masterpiece. It’s also notorious for being the first film to use real dinosaurs in its production. Considered to be the first Hollywood Blockbuster, Steven Spielberg

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sequel, but not the three-quel, which according London that, once watched, clearly outshines to rumours was due to disagreements about his in a world full of C-rated crime related dramas.

Yes, I’m looking at you CSI. Having begun salary. the series, you instantly become absorbed into Another Earth - Austin Dowling the world of John Luther, a man plagued by So it’s not a Christmas film, that much is true, his inner demons who must constantly battle but it really is the best time of year to watch it. his morality and his sense of what’s right and It won’t placate your wintry angst as well as what’s wrong. With each new terrifying and Christmas festivities, but Cahill’s harmonising disturbing case introduced, we become more of gentle sci-fi with dark, brooding drama will and more intrigued by this mysterious genius. help you reflect for the year to come. A cerebral Idris Elba’s best performance yet. soundtrack by ‘Fall on your Sword’ narrates a sombre and desolate psychological landscape Santa Claus Conquers the Martians - David Coen in which fascinating concepts grow. The slow At the time of writing, it is the 25th and considered plot is championed by the Anniversary of the ground-breaking cult TV uneasy relationship between the two leads, series Mystery Science Theatre 3000, or MST3K building to an unforgettable, jaw-lowering for short. You probably know the show best climax. Another Earth will open your mind and for the iconic image of 3 silhouettes in the show you that, sometimes, ‘You’re better off corner of the screen; pointing at whatever doing it yourself’. And if you don’t believe me, crappy movie they happen to be watching.

One of the best episodes of MST3K focused watch the trailer. around this...thing. The children of Mars are Cool Runnings - R.B. O’Sullivan crying out for something like Santa, so the Feel the rhythm, feel the rhyme, come on adults of Mars steal Santa and bring him to now, it’s Christmastime! Cool Runnings! Yes, their planet. Santa immediately begins his Cool Runnings is my favourite movie to watch slave-sweatshop on Mars. Some Martians this time every year. While having absolutely disagree with Santa, so they try to kill him. nothing to do with this most festive of seasons, Some other things happen; I think Santa it just has that feel-good factor. A combination becomes a drug dealer at one point. You of likeable characters, Disney cheese, a darling certainly feel like you might’ve been drugged fish-out-of-water story, lots of snow and a light prior to watching. dusting of near-racism makes Cool Runnings a delicious Christmas cake of awesome. The Gremlins - Evan Ring fact that it’s based on a true story is amazing, Whatever you do this wintertime, do NOT although a lot of the facts were omitted from feed your pets after midnight. Especially the film. For example, did you know that the not any leftovers, it’s probably not good for Jamaicans actually won the Gold in 1988, them. Gremlins, surprisingly, actually is a but were stripped of the medals when it was Christmas movie. Parents buy their son Billy a magical creature called a Mogwai, which they call Gizmo. There are three simple rules about keeping a Mogwai: you cannot let them get wet, you cannot let them go into the sunlight and you cannot feed them after midnight. If you don’t obey these simple rules, evil creatures called Gremlins are born discovered that John Candy installed rockets from the sweet Mogwai, breaking their aura. on the back of the sled. He wasn’t their coach, Gremlins is a dark comedy, which makes he was just there. Cheating bastard… for an interesting contrast between the evil antics of the Gremlins and the bourgeois Luther - Darragh Murphy What better way to spend your Christmas celebration of Christmas. I have a hipsterholidays than starting a brand new series? And esque contrarian opinion in that I much what better a series to start than Luther? A prefer the sequel.

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Christmas is an ideal time to sit down and watch as many movies as possible, so a lot of varied movies have entered people’s Christmas rituals and traditions. For me, there’s no beating what is my personal favourite version of what is THE quintessential Christmas story, A Muppet’s Christmas Carol. This has got to be one of the most festive films I’ve ever seen, and it never fails to fill me with that wonderful fuzzy Christmas feeling. Boasting classic songs, Michael Caine on top form and plenty of the typically insane Muppet humour; I can’t wait to sit down and enjoy this classic come Christmas Eve!

A combination of likeable characters, Disney cheese, a darling fish-out-of-water story, lots of snow and a light dusting of near-racism

asked James Cameron to invent a time machine to go back to the Jurassic-era, to film the creatures live. The fact this evaded most production taxes was purely coincidental.

Open auditions were held for the part of the main antagonist, the tyrannosaurus rex, with Meryl Streep just barely being beaten to the

4 VERGE FILM

Monty Python’s PRESENT: Holy Flying Reunion Words: Rob O’ Sullivan It’s... Monty Python’s Holy Flying Reunion. Recently, the legendary comedy troupe announced that they would reunite for the first time in 33 years. Prior to the official announcement, speculation was rampant: what form would this reunion take on? Would it be a TV series? A film? What?

Well, we weren’t kept waiting: The Pythons ride again, in the form of a live show! Well, almost. In 1989, Python Graham Chapman passed away due to complications from his tonsil and spinal cancer. Accordingly, the show is being called “Monty Python Live (Mostly),” taking the form of a single show in the O2 in London.

In the press conference announcing the show, the question was repeatedly asked about whether or not they would take the show beyond the one appearance. Eric Idle, playing the role of John Cleese at the conference, said they would think about it if they filled out the O2 on that one night. The initial show sold out in 43.5 seconds. At the time of writing, they had added another 4 dates, all of which had sold out in a similar fashion. So the possibility of more dates, possibly outside of the greater London area, looks good. They have confirmed that the London show will be filmed, and as Idle put itthey’ll be “flogging that later on.”

Specific questions were asked of the Pythons. They have confirmed the likelihood of new material, but they won’t abandon the classics. “People really want to see the old hits, but we don’t want to

‘

It looks to be a fantastic follow-up

Words: Rob O’ Sullivan

Things to watch out for over the Christmas break: do them in a predictable way. The main danger we have is that the audience know the scripts better than we do” said Cleese about the content of the set. Don’t expect any silly walks, however, as Cleese has cited his artificial hip and knee (and his advanced age) for reasons the sketch will not be seen again.

There are definitely more live shows on the cards, but what about the other media the Python’s dominated with their...well, pythonesque brand of humour? The idea of a comedy record is incredibly dated, so dated that it wasn’t mentioned at all, so that’s doubtful (if some of you are wondering what a record is, yeah. It’s that outdated).

One person asked about the possibility of a new television series. The BBC still hold onto the rights for the broadcast of Monty Python in Britain and a few other countries, hence the lack of repeats of Monty Python (especially the sometimes forgotten series, Flying Circus) on television. Michael Palin mentioned that they had planned a followup to their 1975 film, Holy Grail, where the Pythons play Crusaders who get lost on the way to the Holy Land. However, Cleese pointed out how difficult the writing process for a film is; they’d all have to be in one room together for a few months; a rather abridged schedule from Terry Gilliam about his year ahead proved how impossible this would be.

The remaining Pythons have not ruled out an appearance from Chapman, saying “We’ve told him when we’re going on. If there is a God, he’ll show up.” Having been raised on Flying Circus, I honestly cannot wait. Here’s hoping for an Irish show.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

The Ashes Boxing Day Test

The Doctor Who Christmas Special

Jools Holland’s Hootenanny

In Cinemas, 13th of December.

Okay, so technically this is happening during reading week, not the Christmas break, but I’ll allow it. The second part of Peter Jackson’s three-part series of film adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s 1937 novel, The Hobbit. The story directly continues on from where last year’s An Unexpected Journey leaves off, with Bilbo, Gandalf and the Dwarves continuing their quest. With Stephen Fry and Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays the eponymous role of Smaug, added to the cast, it looks to be a fantastic follow-up to last year’s film, and a great set-up to next year’s.

BBC 1, 25th of December.

Following on from a fantastic 50th Anniversary celebration (which not only includes the incredibly well-done Special Feature-length episode, but also the fantastic Docudrama An Adventure In Space In Time, which is a must-watch) anticipation is high for the Christmas special of the longrunning sci-fi show, as actor Matt Smith will be leaving the coveted role to the wonderful Peter Capaldi, who many of you may know as swearing spin-doctor Malcolm Tucker from the show The Thick of It. I won’t spoil the 50th Anniversary episode, but I will note that there are implications from it that make this possibly the most interesting Christmas special in years.

Sky Sports 2, 26th of December.

No, this is not an errant sports article; just indulge me for a while. The Ashes is probably the most dramatic, interesting rivalry in sport. Having dominated in the last Ashes series, England brutally lost the first test in Brisbane. The Boxing Day Test, the 4th Test in the series, is almost always the deciding test. With the Aussie fans, players and press getting nasty in the last match, it tees up this Ashes series to be an incredibly fascinating battle between the leather and willow. All this for a glorified egg-cup.

Actor Matt Smith will be leaving the coveted role to the wonderful Peter Capaldi

BBC 2, 31st of December.

What better way to ring in the New Year than with some fantastic music? I’m not the biggest fan of Jools Holland, but you cannot contest his ability to get some fantastic bands and artists onto his regular show, never mind the New Year’s Special. No line-up had been announced at the time of writing, but what is certain is that it will be eclectic and wonderful. Jools (or his producers at least) always seems to find a great balance of our favourite stars, some indie greats and some international influence.

VERGE FILM 5

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J

Music Editor Méadhbh Crowley chats to one of the biggest boybands in the UK and Ireland, Union J harder, we had a much shorter space of time but we didn’t have time to worry about it, we just had to get on and get over it”.

This work ethic proved very useful when they got to the live shows, which as Jaymi describes isn’t all film premiers and singing on a Saturday night.

“The British public see what, an hour every Saturday? But we were in rehearsals 7 days a week. When you get through on a Sunday, you go home, go to sleep and then get up at 6 the next morning, choose your song, choose what outfits you’re going to wear, what the stage is going to look like.

Then you go and record the song and record it over and over again, practice with the cameras and just practice all week.” The boys eventually finished a very impressive 4th in the competition, and went on to get a record deal with Sony Music. When asked if they wish they were in James Arthur’s place, Jaymi answered “I think we won in our eyes, we got a massive record deal with Sony which is what the prize is so we are definitely winners”.

For every young band the fans are important and for Union J this is no exception. During my research I found that the “J Cats”, as they are known in the fandom, are one of the most dedicated bunches of fans out there. They even have Facebook pages, YouTube videos and, most frighteningly of all, fanfiction dedicated to the band. When I ask Jaymi about their fanfiction, he merely chuckles which leads me to believe he’s read a few on Tumblr. “Tend not to read much” he told Verge,“…they’re crazy!! I think fanfiction is for the fans”. Their fans have been amazingly supportive since day one, and it’s no wonder the band spares so much time for them with follow sprees and impromptu Q&As on twitter. Jaymi comments “without them [the fans] we wouldn’t be here, it’s as simple as that.

They are everything and are literally the only reason we are here”.

The band recently released their debut self-titled album Union J, which features singles such as ‘Carry You’ and ‘Beautiful Life’ but, strangely enough, also features a cover of Demi Lovato’s ‘Skyscraper.’

Jaymi explains that “it was actually our winner’s single we recorded on semi-final week, so we felt it would only be right if we put it on the album so our fans hear it”. The album is full of sing-a-long songs which is very impressive for a band that has only been around for little over a year. I then got around to the touchy subject of song writing and if the band were like many boybands today, oblivious to the art of song writing.

“We weren’t overly involved in this one as it was the first one and we wanted to get the best people in to do it, but we have started to write album two and are writing our own songs for it, we just wanted to get the best people in first so we could learn from them and make the next one even better”.

This year has not only been a great success musically but also for the career of Union J as they were invited by Selena Gomez to perform as her opening act in Spain. “She’s amazing” Jaymi said,“…such a great performer, really accommodating, a really lovely girl and it was so nice to be asked and to do a gig in a different country”.

Similarly they also have visited Ireland a few weeks ago to perform at the Cheerios’ Childline Concert and expressed their love for the Irish audience.

“Irish crowds are definitely the best, definitely the loudest. When we were doing The X Factor Tour the Irish dates were the best, they were epic and memorable”.

1. Whose famous riff did One Direction allegedly copy in their song “Best Song Ever”?

2. "Don't you worry child" is performed

by Swedish House Mafia and features what other artist?

3. Which female artist topped the Forbes Rich List 2013?

4. Who won the Mercury Music Prize in September?

5. Ariana Grande and Mika released what song in early 2013?

6. What scooped the award for best British Single at the 2013 BRIT Awards?

7. Bruce Springsteen played how many dates on the island of Ireland on his recent “Wrecking Ball” Tour?

8. Name the two Macklemore singles which have stayed the longest in the Irish charts.

9. Where is the Irish band Kodaline from?

10. Who recently covered “Summer Time Sadness” in BCC Radio 1’s Live Lounge?

Union J will play the O2 Dublin on the 14th of January and tickets are priced at €36.50, their album is out now and their new single Loving You Is Easy release date has yet to be confirmed.

Wo rd s : M é

O n e Direction’s new album Midnight M emories recently leaked across the inter net causing fans to flu rry and leaving 1D ’s Niall Horan saying “th at’s annoying”. Ha ving gotten a legal copy from th e record label, I ca n honestly say it is majorly different fro m the previous alb ums Up All Night and Take Me Hom e. Midnight Memor ies has lost that ov produced “pop-y so erly und” and has a bit of a grown up edge it, showing not on to ly can the boys sin g but they can also as the majority of write the album was writt en by Louis Tomlin The best songs ar son. e arguably Story of My Life and Don’ Forget Where You t Belong, where they truly show that they have outgrown W hat Makes You Be autiful and Gotta Be You. The high light of the album for me was that every member actu ally got to sing ra ther than it all being led by Ha rry and Liam, with the other lads just bein g the “Nicky and Kian” in the backgr ound.

ley row hC hb ad

A

s I patiently wait for my call to be put through from the Sony offices, a blind panic starts to come over me as I try to keep my cool and remember it’s only a phone interview and that no one can see me. I’m greeted by the Geordie accent which says “Méadhbh Crowley from the UCC Express Ireland, you are now connected to Jaymi Hensley from Union J”.

I start the interview by explaining what UCC is and that Graham Norton and Mrs Dursley went here. This made Jaymi get slightly excited; increasing so when told this was his first interview that didn’t have an A3 poster of him in the middle fold. I first asked what advice he had for anyone pursuing music, which he replied “if you are serious about music, do it, if it’s your passion don’t give up. The music industry is a tough place but whatever avenue you take is the right one for you, as long as you have the perseverance to succeed that’s all that matters”.

2012 was a great year for The X Factor, with talent over-flowing from the auditions right up to the live shows; it brought us amazing artists such as our previous cover boy James Arthur and Verge favourite Lucy Spraggan. But the story of how Union J came to fruition was an interesting one, having been booted off the show at bootcamp both Triple J (Jaymi, Josh Cuthbert and JJ Hamblett) and George Shelley where offered the chance to form a new band and audition for their place in the live shows. Speaking to Jaymi, he says that it was a complete shock when they were brought to judge’s houses and when Louis Walsh arrived at Josh’s house that faithful day they knew their lives would change forever.

The boys were given the task of forming a band and trying to get the all-important chemistry right in a very short space of time, which would have proven a daunting experience to any professional group, but as Jaymi says “it definitely made us work

Test your knowledge of the music of 2013

1.The Who –Baba O’Reilly, 2. John Martin, 3. Madonna, 4. James Blake, 5. Popular, 6. Adele- Skyfall, 7. 5 dates, 8. Same Love and Can’t Hold Us, 9. Swords, Co. Dublin, 10. Miley Cyrus

LOVING UNION J IS EASY

The Ultimate

?

e Music Quiz 2013 Pearl Jam’s Lightning Bolt Can you finish these lyrics:

1. This is the last time I’m asking you this, Put my name at ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

2. We clawed, we chained our _____ __ ____ 3. You're nobody 'til somebody loves you,S'a cold heart, when _____ ___ ____

4. May our hearts be full like our drinks tonight,May we sing and dance 'til __ ____ ____ ____

5. My lover's got humour, She's the giggle at a _______ 6. But I've got high hopes, it takes me back __ ____ ___ _______

7. I said 'Can I take you home with me? 'She said '____ ___ ____ _____ _______!'

8. You hear my voice, you hear that sound, Like thunder ________ _____ ____ ____

9. And I sure would like some sweet company, And I'm leaving tomorrow, ___ ___ ___ ___

10. Here we go again, another drink I'm caving in, Stupid words keep falling ____ __ ___

Words: Robert Byrne

Crafting a stunning debut album is perhaps the epitome of the doubleedged sword. On one hand you have your moment of glory, while one the other every subsequent offering will be compared to the original. In 1991, Pearl Jam’s debut album Ten was released to critical acclaim; its visceral songwriting resulted in a work of abrading emotion unheard of in the alternative rock circles of the time. For Pearl Jam, Ten placed a curse that has yet to be lifted and now, ten albums into their lengthy decline there is every sense that their latest offering is an absolute stinker.

From the outset it is clear that Pearl Jam are immune to current trends; a lack of electronica and an apparent return to their punk roots may seem like commercial suicide, but at times it does pay dividends. Mind Your Manners’ caged youth and tight percussion section sees Pearl Jam at their most immediate since Vitalogy, while the invigorating My Fathers Son, with its chugging bass line, evokes the grandiose mysticism of Garden.

Nevertheless, Lightning Bolt is not all crunching powerchords and vented anger; Sirens see’s the band thread a more emotional path where

1. The top of your list, 2. Hearts in vain, 3. Nobody holds you, 4. We lose our minds, 5. Funeral, 6.To when we started, 7.Never in your wildest dreams, 8.Gonna shake the ground, 9.What do you say, 10. From my mouth

The National play the capital

Kevin Galvin reviews The National’s November gig in Dublin

F

ollowing their sell-out show at the Marquee in June, The National returned to the nation’s capital and swapped the more intimate Olympia for the much larger O2 in the latest of an epic tour of their newest album Trouble Will Find Me. The tour, which began in April, has already taken in 74 dates across four continents and underlines the band’s reputation of one of the hardest working in the industry at the moment.

Preceding the Cincinnati quintet was This is the Kit, a four-piece folk band from Bristol. Their easy to listen to, melodic style provided an excellent backdrop to a venue which was filling up at a remarkable rate. Two Wooden Spoons provided the highlight, with lead singer Kate Stables showing a perfect example of how whistling can work perfectly in a song, the warm applause following their performance was well deserved as the crowd geared up for the main event.

By the time the lights were dimmed, the vast majority of the 14,500 capacity venue was filled, with the floor packed with standing fans. The group burst into their set with Don’t Swallow the Cap from the new album, and followed it with I Should Live In Salt as lead singer Matt Berninger and the crowd began to warm up on a wet Sunday evening.

Berninger was clearly suffering the effects of such a long tour, and struggled over the opening few songs, though his own and the band’s energy carried the gig forward as he began to find his voice. Rumours go that the lead singer drinks a bottle of wine before every show, and had gone through another pint before screaming through the third song Secret Meeting and telling himself to calm down.

The National is a somewhat different animal when they take to the stage.

While the albums are clean and sharp, the Brooklyn-based band uses their live performances to cut loose. Nowhere is this more apparent in their gigs than at the climax of Squalor Victoria, where guitars screech and trumpets rise to Berninger’s roar of the outro followed by an even louder response by the crowd after the final note is played.

The crowd were then treated to a song over ten years old, Available, which dates right back to their second album Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers,

a rare Eddie Vedder falsetto and gentle acoustic fretwork combine to produce a genuinely heartfelt ballad.

So could this be? Could this be the Pearl Jam record that banishes the curse of Ten? Not a chance.

Lightning Bolt’s closing half resembles a ponderous mess of discarded B-sides from music past.

Infallible’s criminal lyricism 'keep on locking your doors/ keep on building your floors' screams Nickelback at their most compliant, while Swallowed Whole comes across as little more than a poorly rehashed Led Zeppelin throw away. The closing trio of tracks draws from a variety of nondescript influences, creating a sound alien from their trademark grunge roots. It seems that opening roar has faded into a whimper...

On paper, Lightning Bolt is the perfect alternative rock album for 2013; it opens with a pair of intense rockers, has a generous helping of mid-tempo radio friendly numbers and closes with some soft folk balladry. However, in reality Lightning Bolt finds Pearl Jam with the cruise control switched firmly on, it is too inconstant, too wandering and too generic to stand up against the bands earlier distinctive sound.

Yes, it has its moments of youthful genius, but you just wish they would last longer.

released less than a year after the band played to a mere twenty people at the Triskel Arts Centre. This time, however, it was in front of an adoring 12,000 at the biggest purpose music venue in the country. As Berninger and the crowd sang back the last few lines of Slow Show “You know I’ve dreamed about you...I’ve missed you for 29 years”, one really got a sense of how far the band has comr since that day in December 2002.

When Berninger threw his pint glass up into the air and kicked it on the volley, he and the crowd were now over an hour into a gig which showed no signs of stopping - much like the Cork gig in June in which the band played no fewer than 24 songs in the end. After explaining the idea behind new song Pink Rabbits (‘Strawberry milk and vodka, you have to try it, it’s awful!’) the band played it with an atmosphere that left neck hairs standing, following it up with England which set the scene perfectly for the run-in. Another rare gem About Today of the band’s 2004 EP Cherry Tree provided hard-core fans with something to cherish, while Fake Empire brought together the huge crowd for a gentle sing along before the band left the stage. Anyone who has been to a National gig before knows that they leave the best until the encore and will have scoffed at the few who started to leave the massive venue, only to rush back in upon hearing the opening lines of Humiliation, one of the last songs off the new album.

They most certainly did justice to one of my favourites of The National’s songs, building up to a dramatic climax (once again, not heard on the album), with the tone changing, and Berninger screaming “HUMILIATION” at the top of his lungs in a final bitter hurrah. Mr November saw the lead man stride into the adoring crowd (passing by the fan he had given a bottle of wine earlier) and belt out the huge chorus, while during Terrible Love he collected a number of signs from the crowd to add to what must be a massive collection.

The lead singer joined his band for the perfect end to a fantastic gig. Guitarist Bryce Dessinerand his brother Aaron swapped electric for acoustic as they closed the same way they did in the Marquee. The near 14,000 crowd joined voices to sing out a stripped down version of Vanderlye Crybaby Geeks. A truly remarkable end to what was an unforgettable gig. Despite the fatigue The National battled on and delivered a gig which saw the huge attendance stand in sincere awe and appreciation. The National might have had a slow rise to fame, but in an age where bands come and go as often as Tour de France winners, this Brooklyn band are set to enjoy their time at the top for a long time to come.

CELEB PLAYLIST This week’s playlist comes from Spin 103.8 DJ Nikki Hayes

Eminem - Survival of the Fittest Passenger - Holes Katy Perry - Roar Ellie Goulding - Burn One Republic - Counting Stars The Original Rudeboys - Dublin Days Klangkarussell -Sonnetanz Macklemore - Same Love Lady GaGa - Applause Listen to this playlist at :

S i n g l e o f t h e We e k Paper Planes - Can’t Sleep Recently, UCC based band Paper Planes released their debut single Can’t Sleep.

It’s a catchy up tempo track that gives off reminders of early Two Door Cinema Club or Snow Patrol. Overall, it’s pretty amazing and free to download on the band’s mediafire.

A l b u m o f t h e We e k Andre Rieu- Music of the Night Rieu is famed for his exceptional violin playing and also his world tours with his orchestra of over100 musicians. His new album is inspired by the atmosphere of night time and he recreates well known tunes such as La Vie en Rose, On My Own and Grüßmirmein Wien. It’s a great album to listen to while relaxing at Christmas.

A r t i s t o f t h e We e k Eminem This week, renowned rapper Eminem broke a record previously held only

by The Beatles when he became the first lead artist to score four Top 20 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 since The Beatles did so in 1964.

This was mainly thanks to Berzerk, Rap God, Survival and his No. 3 hit The Monster featuring Rihanna. Slim Shady has matched a feat not seen in nearly 50 years of chart history.

VERGE MUSIC 7

J.R.R. Tolkien: The Road Goes Ever On In anticipation of the upcoming The Hobbit film, and the approaching sixtieth anniversary of The Fellowship of The Ring, Eoghan Lyng takes a look at the man who created the myth.

Was his the work that launched a thousand ships? Whatever the faustian connotations of that sentence, J.R. R Tolkien`s influence is one that cannot be sniffed at. Think about it, Tolkien reinvigorated the fantasy genre; turning it into the popular form read about and cherished on a daily basis. Constantly imitated, endlessly parodied, no substantial fantasy text has yet rivalled the brilliance of The Hobbit or The Lord of The Rings since the latter`s publication in 1955.

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892-1973) was born in South Africa. Following his father`s death from rheumatic fever when Tolkien was three years old, he moved back permanently to England with his mother Mabel and brother Hilary. An astute learner from an early age, reports have indicated that Tolkien spent much of his youth reading and drawing landscapes.

With an excellent reading ability aged four as well as a penchant for Latin, Tolkien`s early linguistic skills would serve him well when conjugating many of the languages of his great creatures.

Surprising for a man of his generation, Tolkien did not instantly enlist after the outbreak of The Great War, but continued his education in Oxford University (where he later taught), achieving a first class honour in 1915.

It is believed that he began constructing his self -created poetic language Qenya, a fictional form inspired by the rhythmic qualities of the Finnish language. Eventually Tolkien set off to fight, before he was hospitalised in November 1916. Devastated by the death of many of his comrades in action, Tolkien began to extrapolate his writing to a greater degree during this time, conceiving many ideas that featured in The Book of Lost Tales (many of these stories also appeared in Tolkien`s magnum opus The Silmarillion). It was at this point that Tolkien`s writing truly began to take off and he wrote and published all types of media from this time onwards.

Although it was his Middle Earth novels that brought him his greatest fame, some of his earlier works are just as stimulating a read as his fantasy novels. His great lecture “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics” is rightfully regarded as one of the better lectures written about the great epic. Ignoring the fundamental concepts that previous writers used to proclaim the poem as a piece of Anglo-Saxon History, Tolkien argued that the more fantastic elements of the plot (such as the hero`s battles with Grendel and The Dragon) were essential to the narrative. This paper is a compelling read and while some parts of the essay may veer too far out of the field (his point that the Dragon of the text is one of the great heroes of literature is a little bit daft), his points are well argued and articulated. Certainly, the

8 VERGE ARTS & LITERATURE

late, great Seamus Heaney (who wrote what is arguably the best known translation of the poem) held this lecture with great admiration.

It is rumoured that American poet W.H. Auden wrote to Tolkien to tell him how brilliant the lecture was; "I don't think that I have ever told you what an unforgettable experience it was for me as an undergraduate, hearing you recite Beowulf. The voice was the voice of Gandalf!"

Other fascinating works he wrote about included the Arthurian preambles Sir Gawain and The Green Knight and The Fall of Arthur.

Openly vocal about his anti-fascist views (pertinent during the early nineteen thirties) and devout Catholic beliefs (it is said that he felt a great disappointment when artistic peer C.S. Lewis chose the beliefs of an Anglican church over a Roman Catholic one), Tolkien`s thoughts and reasoning’s were that of a true intellectual. But all these thoughts would shrink in comparison to his children`s book written about a creature looking for an adventure.

The Hobbit (1937) won worldwide acclaim with its preambles about a hobbit on his quests with an army of dwarves. Heavily inspired by the works of William Morris, Tolkien wove a tale of danger and intrigue. Written in straight prose, the book is a cajoling read.

“The Riddles in The Dark” chapter, based on Gollum and Bilbo Baggins, is certainly one of the tensest scenes ever committed to page.

Endlessly parodied and rivalled, no author has managed to conceive a scene of such linguistic conviction that matches Tolkien.

A worldwide smash, Tolkien was begged for a sequel. The writing process was a long and introverted one, but The Lord of The Rings was fully published in1955. Comprising of three sections The Fellowship of The Ring (1954), The Two Towers (1955) and The Return of The King(1955), the books proved a much finer representation of Tolkien`s Legendarium(name given to his fictional universe) than The Hobbit. With four radio adaptations, two film versions and a musical all in the public eye, it is easy to forget the power behind Tolkien`s writing. Beautiful in language, aesthetic in its description, the books are a tantalising view into a fantasy world.

Tolkien died in 1973, two years after the death of his beloved wife Edith. They are buried at Wolvercote Cemetery, Oxford, the county they lived in for most of their adult lives. Their son Christopher has overseen the excavation of many his father`s work, including Tolkien`s greatest piece The Silmarillion. A great philologist, a fine orator and fantasy revivalist, J.R.R. Tolkien must be the high fantasy writer by which all others are judged!

Words: Aaron Elbel

One article to bind them all...

Alright, so everyone may be into Game of Thrones at the moment, but a lot of those people are LOTR fans who’ve grown up a bit and found themselves a new fix of magic and murder. If you’re one of those people, or just want to be the life and soul of the fellowship, then here, freshly forged from the fires of the Express, are a few fun facts about Tolkien and his books.

Tolkien made up Elven.

Yup, decades before speaking your own made up language was the preserve of Star Trek nerds rather than the criminally insane, Tolkien had assembled a fully functional, totally made up, language of his own. His Elven ‘Qenya Lexicon’ was based mainly on Finnish, but also Greek and Latin. In fact, he seems to have enjoyed this so much that went so far as to create several more, and even wrote in one of his letters that it was the stories that arose from the language rather than the other way around.

Viking Poetry. Wait - what?

The Vikings may have a reputation for being axe-murdering maniacs but The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug will be did you know they also had a softer released in cinemas on December 13th 2013. side? Well, sort of. Tolkien was a keen

student of Old Norse and read quite a bit of the Viking Sagas and their Poetic Edda. A lot of characters and ideas from these actually found their way into his work. Most of the dwarven names in The Hobbit come from the Viking poem The Prophecy of the Seeress.

Thorin means ‘Darer’ and even Frodo’s name comes from the Old Norse Froði, meaning peace. And let’s not forget the similarities between the Viking god Odin and a certain single, smouldering eyed menace from LOTR.

Is that a ring in your pocket or...?

You get where I’m going with the title there. It wasn’t just a few names that Tolkien borrowed from the Old Norse, but also the entire ‘Riddles in the Dark’ scene from The Hobbit. The whole incident is similar to ‘neck-riddles’ in Old Norse, where the loser would lose his head if he lost the riddle. In fact, the Viking god Loki once tried to outwit the others by pointing out that they couldn’t take his head without harming his neck, which wasn’t really fair. So the gods tied him up with his own entrails and dripped acid in his eyes until the end of time instead. #winning, I think not.

UCCDramat’s Look Back In Anger Review: Greg Gorman

Eeensy Weensy spider

An Unexpected Doodle

I think it’s fair to say that neither The Hobbit nor The Return of the King are good movies for arachnophobes.

A popular theory is that Tolkien included so many eight legged nasties in his books because of the fact that he was bitten by a tarantula while growing up in South Africa. As it turns out though, in interviews he claimed to have forgotten that incident and instead put spiders in his stories to terrify his children. Little did he know that decades later his books would be put to film where those spiders could scare the bejaysus out of the rest of us.

It wasn’t all fiery doom and gloom for Tolkien around exam time. While scribbling in the margins, most people tend to draw the art equivalent of a hung-over Picasso on a bad day.

Tolkien doodled The Hobbit. Well, not all of it, but it’s famously said that while correcting an exam paper he idly wrote something on a blank page: ‘In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit.’

“You shall not pass!”

We’re all familiar with seeing the meme with the Balrog scene from the Fellowship of the Ring around exam times. But did you know that Tolkien actually served as the external examiner for the then University College Galway from 1949 – 1959?

Incidentally, this means that he may have had a hand in correcting papers from UCC as well! Makes you wonder what kind of papers he was correcting when he thought up that scene. Speaking of which...

The simaliairal-, silmarillli- ...

And just a final note on The Silmarillion. The general rule of thumb with The Silmarillion is that if you can’t pronounce the title, it’s probably best not to open the book. The names only get harder - like Ainulindalë and Ilúvatar. And Brushetta (alright, not invented by Tolkien but by pretending that it comes from the Silmarillion it makes me feel better about not being able to pronounce it).

Ed. note: Neither of these articles could have been written without the kind assistance of Dr Tom Birkett and Dr Kenneth Rooney, both of the University College College Cork English Dept. As Bilbo Baggins would say, “May the hair on their toes never fall out”.

John Osborne`s play had a peculiar effect on the 1950’s audience due to the timing of its release – as the original kitchen sink screamer that fearlessly spilled the multitudes of frustrations of the working class onto the audience. While impossible to recreate the original effect of the play, we are still left with the impact of human frustration in an inhuman world. Jimmy Porter lives a stagnant life which bears the emotions and indignation of a battlefield. The wounded Jimmy passes a great deal of time wounding his wife Alison for her passivity, meek manners and upper-class background and shares a similar treatment for his friend Cliff for his working class ignorance. It is through Jimmy’s character, with its stand up performance by Niall Morrissey, that we are confronted with the absurdity of our everyday behaviour, the deadness in the culturally habitual and the passivity in our peace -seeking indecision. The play’s goal can be summarised in Jimmy’s invitation to play a game.

“Why don’t we have a little game?" he begins, "Let’s pretend we’re human."

The stage setting of the 1950’s apartment effectively captured the feeling of claustrophobic oppression, which was pressed upon everyone due to Jimmy’s unrelenting rants. His presence is marked throughout in subtle ways, even when he is off-set. Either there is a strong fear of his reprimand or whenever a scene when women only are speaking, he denies them the right to simply speak, they must overcome his cacophonous trumpeting. No character is free from Jimmy; all are pinned to some forceful action in some attempt of freedom, Jimmy forces unto them to suffer the indignation of everyday life and tries to rise them to face societal problems with vitality by presenting himself as the problem. However instead of daring to face him, most flee the battlefield.

This changes briefly with the disposition of Alison’s best friend Helena, who meets Jimmy’s fire with her own.

It seems that later she meets the same fate as all (the audience included) who runs into Jimmy’s unbounding rage and unending pontifications, to be worn down only and unprovoked. He realizes what this world of dead ideas and moribund custom is doing to him and to those he loves. It is his desire to awaken them to feelings, to being truly and vibrantly alive.

While the play successfully asks the questions that are forgotten, it is not without its faults, I felt the play lacked innovation and was a bit stale as it was without much relevance to contemporary issues. While the feelings of indignation were fresh, the setting, the topic of discussion and the society it choose were similar but dated. Another issue was the change fromanimated dynamic body language which ranged from throwing objects and scuffles, to mute and nearly inanimate when Jimmy began one of his many rants. It had a very unnatural feeling and took away from the usual slick feel that the play had with animated characters that aimed to portray the main issue of the play – life. Rather than portraying a withdrawal of life, an absence of life was illustrated.

Despite these problems the play still carried across the raw feeling of indignation through the strong cast that each; in their individual moments each displayed a raw moment of transformation, a taste of life that was often forced upon them by Jimmy – who nurtured the flame of the working class within himself and with it, forced others to feel the warmth, the heat and the burn that life should offer.

VERGE ARTS & LITERATURE 9

Back from the dead?

G N I GAM

Brian Conmy discusses the possible resurgence of the Wii U

The Future of Handheld Gaming Aoife Gleeson (@Bloopbubble) considers the place of handhelds in the new generation For many years now we've been hearing the same thing: dedicated handheld consoles are dying. The lacklustre sales of the Vita and the 3DS's tepid life as compared to its predecessor, the DS Lite, have backed up this claim. Now, facing into a new console generation, it's time to reassess the situation: what does the future hold for handheld gaming?

With the PS4's release fast approaching, one of the key features touted by the machine is the Remote Play ability of the Vita. The Vita's always had a difficult life, being declared dead on arrival by its detractors at its release and being referred to similarly ever since. However, Sony has not given up, like many others have, releasing a slow stream of high quality games. The PS+ service’s free games are also highly beneficial to Vita owners, making it possible to never buy a game but still get great use out of the console. The cross-buy feature was also fantastic, allowing you to get a Vita version bundled with some PS3 games, letting you take your game and your progress on the go.

whole point of the console like the WiiU, makes it that much more appealing). The PS4 also requires PS+ to play online, which may entice some to buy a Vita; seeing all the free games sitting in their downloads.

Sony has missed an opportunity in not making a bundle of the PS4 and the Vita, perhaps wanting to keep all price points under those of the Xbox One. If they had marketed it correctly, €500 for two consoles for the price of one (One being the Xbox) could have sold gangbusters, even if it did cut the price of the Vita in half, which is currently €200 for a Wi-Fi/3G model. Some Vitas sold is better than none.

The future of the 3DS is also uncertain, with interest waxing and waning. Nintendo has managed to keep an erratic stream of quality games coming, like Pokemon X and Y and The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, but Nintendo seems adrift at the moment. With the failing WiiU, the perplexing 2DS and their non-presence at E3 this year they seem to be falling out of the race.

The prevalent reason people give for this general decline of dedicated handhelds is the rise of smartphones and tablets as gaming devices. Anyone who has played Infinity Blade or

Nintendo has managed to keep an erratic stream of quality games coming... but seems adrift at the moment However, despite all these great features the Vita remains decidedly a highly niche product. Sony's challenge now is to make the Vita a necessity for any PS4 owner. Remote Play is a fantastic feature, with some reviews surprisingly reporting that some games (like Assassin's Creed IV) look even better condensed on the sharp OLED screen than on the new console. Once fully connected, lag is minimal - as long as you don't leave the room. Never again will you have to stop your game for someone else to watch TV. It's continued beautifully right there in your hands (it being just a feature, instead of the

10 VERGE GAMING

I don’t own a Wii U. I know nobody else who does. With every passing month though, I see at least one title come to the console that I really would love to try. This month sees Super Mario 3d World, a name so generic and similar to so many other games I had to look it up to be sure, which achieved rapturous critical acclaim. Obviously it may seem another Mario game but when every review pains itself to point out that it’s so much more I start to sit up and take notice.

With the release of the next gen the Wii U is an outlier.

The Xbox One in its first week in the UK will outsell the Wii U in its lifetime sales thus far and while this should embarrass Nintendo they still seem quietly content to release games slowly and gain an audience piece by piece.

Even with the price point that seems unreasonable in comparison to the PS4 and Xbox One those looking for a new console this holiday season may be tempted to pick up the Nintendo alternative with an existing backlog of game and wait out the next gen for a price drop or title that grabs their interest.

While the Wii U will never be the success the Wii ultimately was in sales terms it’s likely to carve out a niche of its own, even if its life cycle is cut short by Nintendo. At least it’s doing something different to its competition. So keep an eye out this holiday season, we may see a stronger Nintendo coming into 2014 than we did in 2013, a year I’m sure Nintendo will be quick to try and forget. the slew of great games on the iPad can attest to the quality.

More and more it's being proven that iOS, Android etc. are not just casual platforms. Playing Bastion or Limbo quickly shows you that you can get some of the same great experiences as on consoles. Many of the hardcore would still say that the lack of buttons renders anything on the platform a shallow experience, but this takes a narrow and uncreative view of game design. The point is also about to be made moot anyway since the new GameCase for the iPad, a case that slips over the iPad and provides you with all the necessary buttons for the controller experience, is going on sale in the New Year. The Vita and the 3DS should be quaking in their boots right about now.

Despite the stiff competition, the dedicated handheld isn't quite ready to give up the fight yet. Sometimes companies can make the greatest bounds with a product when it's facing death and we're seeing that right now with the Vita. The future is uncertain, but hopeful. Long live the handheld.

Brian Conmy discusses the most important games of 2013

GAMES OF THE YEAR THE LAST OF US Perhaps the most obvious entry to this list, The Last of Us was always expected to be a great game but the near perfect score it has on Metacritic coupled with it’s incredible sales levels for an exclusive game was a surprise to most of us. The perfect coupling of welldeveloped characters, with a strong setting which all added together to create one of the best stories ever told in an AAA game.

Sure to be a strong contender on every gaming media’s best of year list The Last of Us is an amazing game in a year of amazing games.

Important because: a new standard for story driven games to live by

dota 2

DOTA 2 the PC exclusive MOBA is one of the biggest games in the world along with its MOBA companion League of Legends. Released this year by Steam it’s entirely free to play and items that can be paid for are entirely unnecessary, the game is based off a mod to Warcraft 3 and is now one of the leading entries in the eSports field. Fun and free to play, there’s no reason not to try DOTA 2 apart from its steep learning curve for new players.

After a few rounds with someone to show you the ropes though the game is addicting and with the number of people streaming on Twitch at any given time you can pick up tips from more seasoned players very easily

Surely the indie darling of the year Gone Home features a person walking around a house in first person trying to figure out where everyone is, by looking at objects and figuring out the family’s history.

An atmospheric and well thought out game, questions have arisen as to whether the game would have received as much praise if it didn’t cover LGBT themes but regardless the amount of discussion round the game since its release has been extraordinary and likely will be for a number of years to come. Even if I didn’t personally take to it and think it’s too small to justify its price point

BEYOND:TWO SOULS

Ni No Kuni Wrath of the White Witch

Important because: signals the sad lack of JRPG style games being released and the craving for more

GONE HOME

Important because: proves that games can discuss difficult topics and still gain an audience

Important because: continuation of the success of MOBA’s and teaching a new way to monetise and advertise games with Twitch

The biggest RPG release of the year Ni No Kuni was quite a disappointment to some despite receiving critical acclaim. Personally I found the game very shallow and similar to Final Fantasy 13 in the ways it basically plays itself in some aspects.

I honestly believe had the game not had Studio Ghibli art it would have received no attention and passed by without much fanfare. Most people enjoyed its Pokémon elements and art, two areas it did do well but ultimately too small to make up for such a passive combat system

2013 has undoubtedly been an important year in gaming. Not just including the release of new hardware which brings on the next generation we had a number of high profile and critically acclaimed games. This list may not include the best games of the year, rather I’d like to discuss what I see as being the most important games. Here goes!

I didn’t like this game. Not at all.The inclusion of big name actors and expensive motion capture performances just don’t make up for how poor and nonsensical the script here was and uneven pacing and tone marred the entire experience.

As someone who enjoyed Heavy Rain and was excited for the possibilities of this follow up I am left wondering about one aspect of the game: its choice system. Beyond featured invisible choices that branched so strangely and in such a way we haven’t seen before I’m left to wonder what other developers could do with the same strategy

Important because: a new take on how choices can affect gameplay and story development

CANDY CRUSH

Although released in the end of 2012 for mobile the game exploded this year and has seemed to replace Angry Birds as the shorthand for popular mobile game.

Obviously, I don’t need to discuss what this game is, with over a billion downloads this FREE game is higher grossing than most big name AAA games this year. With the success of Candy Crush you can surely expect to see the model repeated but how many other games can emulate this success is questionable as mobile and tablet gaming is seeing a race to the bottom currently, there is simply too much content being released without a platform that allows for better promotion and awareness of the content.

Important because: proves that mobile and free to play games are here to stay

VERGE GAMING 11

A full journey planner is available on our website www.buseireann.ie

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Expressway Services From Cork To: Galway:

(Sunday to Saturday): 0725, 0825, 0925, 1025, 1125, 1225, 1325,1425, 1525, 1625, 1725, 1825

Limerick/Shannon Airport:

(Sunday to Saturday): 0725, 0825, 0925, 1025, 1125, 1225, 1325, 1425, 1525, 1625, 1725, 1825, 1925, 2055

Killarney/Tralee:(Pick up U.C.C & C.U.H.)

(Mon to Sat): 0830, 1000, 1130, 1230, 1330, 1430, 1530, 1630, 1730, 1900, 2030 (Sunday): 1030, 1230, 1330, 1430, 1530, 1630, 1730, 1900, 2030

Dungarvan/Waterford:

(Mon to Sat): 0840, 0940, 1040, 1140, 1240, 1340, 1440, 1540, 1640, 1740, 1840, 1940, 2040 (Sunday): 0940, 1040, 1240, 1340, 1440, 1540, 1640, 1740, 1840, 2040

Dublin(serving Fermoy, Mitchelstown, Cahir, Cashel, Dublin, Dublin Airport): (Sunday to Saturday): 0800, 1000, 1200, 1400, 1600, 1800

GObé (Cork to Dublin/Dublin Airport Direct): (Sunday to Saturday): 0230, 0430, 0630, 0830, 1030, 1230, 1430, 1630, 1830

For further information please contact:

Bus Éireann Travel Centre, Cork: 021 4508188

All above services depart from Bus Station, Parnell Place, Cork.

Shuttle service operates from Gaol Cross(U.C.C) to Bus Station on Fridays @ 1210, 1310, 1410, 1510