DayOldStubble the Magazine
NEWS & REVIEWS FOR THE REFINED GEEK
ISSUE 5 / $10.80 | www.dayoldstubble.com
GEEK'S GUIDE TO EARTH DAY Geek's Shall Inherit the Earth
KID ICARUS: UPRISING Adjustable Difficulty's Effect On Relatability
DAVE'S TOY CHEST 1984 Super Powers Collection
WINDOWS 8 CONSUMER PREVIEW Microsoft's Latest OS Reviewed
ANIME PUNCH: REVOLUTICON Not Your Conventional Convention
HIGHLIGHTS:
D12 Academy, Bugger Off, Telepath RPG: Servants of God Review, Mass Effect 3 Review, The Booby Hatch, Movie Reviews and more...
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DayOldStubble
from the Editor...
Only a few bumps left then smooth sailing ahead. Since we first started DayOldStubble the Magazine back in December of 2011 we have seen the publication grow with each issue, albeit with a few bumps along the way.
DayOldStubble 1122 21st Street, Manistee, MI, 49660 T: (978) 432-9653 www.DayOldStubble.com MAGAZINE TEAM Editor / Jason Carrick Deputy Editor / James Detzler Game Editor / Aaron DeKuiper Comic Editor / Dave Norton Indie Editor / Shea Kimbrough Managing & Web Editor / Jason Carrick Copy Editor / Studio6: Diana Six & Wayne Bialik Copy Editor / Laura Moore Staff Photographer / James Detzler Production Assistants / Gretchen Carrick & Linda Detzler
With our fifth issue we now have five feature writers and have begun a mutual relationship with the fine folks at The Analytical Couch Potato to feature a new guest writer every month. We have also seen the amount of stories that we offer increase each month, all available for free and with out any advertisements. I personally think we have a solid publication available for our readers and believe it is time we start offering what many have been asking for.
CONTRIBUTORS Aaron Dekuiper/ Dave Norton / Shea Kimbrough THE ANALYTICAL COUCH POTATO Guest Writer / Chalkey Horenstein All rights reserved www.theanalyticalcouchpotato.com
Starting with our May issue, DayOldStubble the Magazine will be available as a digital and print subscription as well as available for single issue purchase as well. For those that love our content but can't commit to a years subscription at the time, even though we feel our rates are quite reasonable, we are still going to offer a free version that will only be able to be read from a desktop PC.
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Check out all the details on page 2 showing all the goodies you get with each subscription level and if you have any comments or questions, contact me personally at komodojay@dayoldstubble.com.
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Jason Carrick
INTERNATIONAL DayOldStubble is available for licensing. Contact the international department to discuss partnership opportunities. Head of International Licensing / Jason Carrick T: (978) 432-9653 E: info@dayoldstubble.com SUBSCRIPTIONS For subscription enquiries email: info@dayoldstubble.com Head of Subscriptions / Jason Carrick T (978) 432-9653 12 Issue Subscription US / $72.00 12 Issue Digital Subscription / $15.00 CIRCULATION Head of Circulation / Jason Carrick T: (978) 432-9653 PRODUCTION Production Director / James Detzler T: (978) 432-9653 PRINTING & DISTRIBUTION Printed by / HP MagCloud, W: MagCloud.com Distributed by / DayOldStubble, W: www.dayoldstubble.com DISCLAIMER The publisher cannot accept responsibility for any unsolicited material lost or damaged in the post. All text and layout is the copyright of DayOldStubble. Nothing in this magazine may be reproduced in whole or part without the written permission of the publisher. All copyrights are recognised and used specifically for the purpose of critic and review. Although the magazine has endeavoured to ensure all information is correct at time of print, prices and availability may change. This magazine is fully independent and not affiliated in any way with the companies mentioned herein. Copyright Š 2012 DayOldStubble ISSN 1234-5678
Editor in Chief
meet the TEAM...
James Detzler
Aaron DeKuiper Dave Norton
Shea Kimbrough
Co-Editor/Founder James, aka The Great Detzby, is a man shrouded in mystery.The one thing people do know is..... in the event of a zombie apocalypse, find him.
Game Reviews Aaron knows what cell block Princess Leia's is in, why Chapel is the single most powerful Dominion card, and where to find the hatch from Lost in World of Warcraft. Ah, geekiness...
Indie Insider "As the selfproclaimed "sexiest geek alive," Shea studied Archaeology and Film at The University of North Alabama. Now a proud father, Lion King is currently his favorite film."
Comic Fanatic Dayman. Fighter of the Nightman. Champion of the Sun. You're a master of karate and friendship for everyone.
>>Have your say about anything geek @ www.dayoldstubble.com and you could be featured in the magazine << April 2012 | DayOldStubble | 3
Contents >> 6
INBOX
44
IT’S TIME FOR OUR READERS TO HAVE THEIR SAY...
12 TECHNOLOGY 12
The New iPad Is Here
13
The Future Of Shopping
14 26
Just Don't Call It iPad 3
A Virtual Store Front Revisited
Ubuntu 12.04 Preview
Can This Distro Measure Up
Windows 8 Consumer Preview
We review the latest OS
44
BeOS
Flashback: An Operating System ahead of its time.
Smuggler's Run
PS2 Flashback Review
38
Upcoming Releases
39
We Bought A Zoo
39
The Muppets
40 42 43
Our Top Picks DVD Review DVD Review
Hunger Games
Does The Movie Match The Book
The Cabin In The Woods
A Horror Film Like No Other
46
Mac N Cheese Break
47
The Booby Hatch
Mass Effect 3
8
NEWS
Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Dave takes a look at Kenner's 1984 Super Powers Collection.
Battle Royale
34 36
20 DAVE'S TOY CHEST
The Japanese version of Hunger Games reviewed
45
Adobe AIR
16 FEATURES
38 MOVIE REVIEWS
34 Game Reviews Telepath RPG: Servants of God
DayOldStubble | Issue 5 | April 2012
Wrestling Geek
Breaking Kayfabe
22 BUGGER OFF
When a Super Hero and Villain change places you get two great comics.
In Defense Of Remakes
Exclusive Comic
INDUSTRY GOSSIP, OPINION AND RUMORS
24 D12 ACADEMY
The D12 Academy is back with the game Axis & Allies 1942. Learn how to play and dominate your friends.
9
INSTAGRAM CAPTURED
Facebook purchases Instagram for $1 Billion to keep Twitter from acquiring it.
10 GOTTA HAVE
THE GUIDE TO ALL THE GEEK STUFF YOU’LL EVER NEED
8
PC & TABLET SALES
Android, iPad, and laptop sales expected to rise this coming year.
4 | DayOldStubble | April 2012
9
MACS GET INFECTED
The Flashback trojan takes a bite out of Apple's security and infects 600,000 Macs.
16 Geeks Guide to Earth Day GOING GREEN ISN"T JUST FOR HIPPIES ANYMORE
28 ANIME PUNCH REVOLUTICON
32 KID ICARUS UPRISING
THIS ISN"T YOUR NORMAL CONVENTION
OUR FEATURED GUEST COLUMN April 2012 | DayOldStubble | 5
>>HAVE YOUR SAY@ Www.dayoldstubble.com AND GET YOURSELF ONTO THESE PAGES <<
INBOX>>
IT’S TIME FOR OUR READERS TO HAVE THEIR SAY... How to catch up with old friends?
Get In Touch We really want to hear from you. Email your questions, comments, tips, or complaints to us at:
info@ dayoldstubble.com Also contact us on
@DayOldStubble
www.facebook.com/ TheDayOldStubble
WINNER OF THE MONTH
Grace Thames
Congratulations are in order folks.
This past month I moved away from my two best friends. We also have another friend that moved away years ago. So now there are four of us spread across three different states and we all want to be able to see each other when we talk. We use Skype but it only allows us to have one-on-one conversations. Is there a way we can all be video chatting at the same time. I really do miss seeing them and the things they are up to.
What’s his prize you ask? Well he won a brand spanking new copy of Telepath RPG:Servants of God for his computer. Give him a round of applause. Patience, patience, I know you want to know what we will be giving away this upcoming month. Alright I guess we can do it now.
You are in luck. First I want you all to go and sign up for a gmail account if you don’t already have one. Once you have that, you are going to want to set up a Google+ page. After you have completed this add your friends to your circle and you start what is called a Hangout. The icon for it should be along the left-hand side while in Google+. This allows multiple to video chat together. It even allows for someone to post up a YouTube video and everyone can watch it simultaneously. You can even share documents and work on editing them together.
Windows Phone App? Luke Stable Are there many apps available for Windows Phone 7? There are now well over 500,000 apps for Windows Phone including those from all the big names like Facebook and Twitter. More are added every day. 6 | DayOldStubble | April 2012
Chris Baron is the winner of this month’s giveaway.
Tell them what’s up for grabs this time Allen!
Win a Year Subscription to DayOldStubble Simply complete the "Caption This" from page 2 and be entered to win a digital subscription to DayOldStubble, worth $15. Get the latest issue of DayOldStubble the Magazine delivered right to your inbox every month all for entering a simple contest.
What is NTFS? Will Thomas I want to switch back from Linux to Windows 7, but the Windows 7 install disk tells me I have to convert the drive to NTFS. Is this safe? Converting the drive to NTFS will wipe all existing data on the drive, so make sure you're backed up first. Then let Windows convert the drive and restore Windows 7 to your PC.
How do mobile users protect their phone? A recent survey found more than 85 percent of users had no way of tracking a lost or stolen phone, 60 percent don't use a PIN or passcode and 74 percent don't regularly backup their contacts or information.
Questions on rural Internet connectivity. Tiffany Welch My husband is actually considering getting a laptop and some sort of wireless internet to go with it. I looked into different options but do not understand all the tech lingo to be able to explain to him. We live a rural area, so we have limited options. I was told we should be able to get 3G with an Air card or a phone with a hot spot. We read that 4G is 10X faster than 3G, but is not an option where we live. Is 3G considerably fast? What does that actually mean? When we had dial up it was like 12 Kb/ sec. Does that mean its 3G per second? A) 3G is going to be considerably faster than dial-up with one caveat; how good your connection is. A solid 3G connection should show you a speed of at least 800 Kbs. This speed of course varies on how close you are to a strong tower and which wireless carrier you are with. If you are close to a tower or towers then the 3G connection is going to be fast and stable. But if you are a distance from a good signal than the speed will reduce and could be hit and miss depending on how strong the signal is. It is not uncommon for 3G speeds to drop into the 2G range once you get away from a cellular tower, but still you should be getting at least an 80 Kbs connection which will be faster than dial-up. Would you recommend the air card or a phone with a hot spot? I think I would prefer the phone because I heard it would power other Wi Fi devices. We have a Wii and Im considering getting Netflix. It would be nice to connect the laptop and Wii at the same time. A) I would recommend the phone if you are in need of one and want to share with multiple devices. Depending on which cellular carrier you go with you could also look at getting a mobile HotSpot to power multiple devices. These are a small cellular device that strictly connects to the Internet and allows you to share that connection with multiple devices. One advantage of a mobile HotSpot is that the cost to tether, connect multiple devices, is included in the monthly charge. With most cell phones
there is an additional fee per month to allow tethering of multiple devices.
Questions & Answers>>
As far as Netflix goes, trying to watch movies over 3G even with a good connection would probably not look that good on a larger screen. A 3G connection and Netflix normally looks decent, with a strong connection, no larger than in a tablet (iPad) size. Netflix also uses a lot of data and most plans even though they say Unlimited, like Sprint, still have some sort of cap where they either slow down your speed or charge extra if you use too much.
Q) What will the name of the next Android be?
Do wireless cards work when moving? We would like to use the laptop in the car when we are traveling. A) Mobile HotSpots, 3G cards, and phones will work in a moving vehicle. Once again the speed of your Internet will depend on the signal of the towers you are closest to. Do you know if we are using the phone as a hot spot, if it will still function as a phone too (calls in, calls out, etc)? A) That depends on the cellular provider. Currently only AT&T & T-Mobile phones let you do both Voice and Data at the same time. All others are only one at a time. If a person calls in while you are connected to the Internet the call will go right to email. This is where the mobile HotSpots come in. They allow you to be on in Internet and not interfer with phone calls since it is a separate device. What do service plans mean when they say Data is 3G or 5G? Would we use a lot of data if we did get Netflix? A) I am not sure what the 3G and 5G is unless this is in reference to 3 Gigs of Data and 5 Gigs of Data. This is how much data you are allowed to use in a month. Once that is used, you either have to pay for more or wait until the next month for it to renew. If you want to use Netflix you will use a lot of Data and I would not recommend using it with a 3G Data Plan. If you had a 5 Gigabyte monthly limit and take an average streaming size of about 500MB for one hour of video, you could essentially only watch 10 hours of streaming video before your data for the month was used up.
A) It's a little too early to talk about the next Android - version 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is still rolling out - but it looks like Android 5.0 will be named Jelly Bean. Just like 4.0 it will be for both tablets and smartphones.
Q) Are ultrabooks the new netbooks? A) Netbooks are cheaper and slower laptop PCs for basic tasks. Ultrabooks are at the other end of the scale - pricey and powerful ultraportable PCs.
Q) Should my mobile be quadcore? A) The short answer is no, as most smartphones are perfectly capable with single or dualcore processors. Quadcores will be common place soon enough.
Q) Should I go for Intels Core i3 or Core i5 processor? A) For most purposes Core i3 will be absolutely fine. Core i5 adds a little extra power to speed up tasks like photo and video editing, and playing games.
April 2012 | DayOldStubble | 7
NEWS
Thinking of buying a new PC? There's never been a better time to hit the shops. Laptop prices are very competitive due to a dip in PC sales late last year. This was partly caused by the global economic downturn, but also by falling sales of netbooks as shoppers turn to tablets such as the Apple iPad and Samsung Galaxy Tab instead. Lenovo was one company that bucked the trend, with a 23 per cent growth in the last quarter of 2011. Apple also announced a rise in sales, with 5.2 million Macs and 15.43 million iPads being sold during the same period. Meanwhile, Android-based devices are expected to soar in popularity this year, with some experts predicting that as many Android devices as PCs will be sold during 2012. However, it's hardly as if the PC death knell is chiming. Even though sales declined slightly, 92 million PCs were still
>> INDUSTRY GOSSIP >> OPINIONS & RUMORS
PC AND TABLET SALES SET TO SOAR >> Android, iPad, and laptop sales expected to rise. sold worldwide in the last quarter of 2011 and PC sales are expected to grow during the remainder of the year, boosted by the release of Windows 8. Microsoft's chief executive Steve Ballmer has promised that "every Windows 7 PC will be ready for Windows 8 on day one", so there won't be any problem upgrading your system.
The only note of caution comes from the hard disk industry, with analyst Gartner warning that the October 2011 floods in Thailand will have an impact on PC sales this year. Many hard drive manufacturers were forced to suspend production until the water receded, causing prices to rise.
KINECTED THINKING
END OF LIFE
Prototype Asus laptops have been spotted with Windows 8 and a built-in Kinect sensor. Microsoft recently announced the Xbox tech was coming to PCs. The sensor was built in at the top of the screen.
Only 2 more years left and the Microsoft will no longer update Windows XP. The aging but widely used OS is set to expire on April 8th, 2014.
8 | DayOldStubble | April 2012
>>for Geek news as it happens visit www.dayoldstubble.com // 24 hours a day
INSTAGRAM CAPTURED
A MASS MAC INFECTION
FACEBOOK'S ACQUISITION WORTH $1 BILLION
THE FLASHBACK TROJAN TAKES A BITE
Facebook has announced that it was acquiring Instagram, the popular shutterbug app that enhances digital snapshots or dolls them up with throwback charm.
Apple's Mac platform has long been promoted as safer than the competition, but as Mac sales and market share grow, it's become a bigger target.
The deal is reportedly worth about $1 billion, and was likely done to keep Facebook's competitor, Twitter from making their own deal for Instagram. Especially as Twitter is the current place where the most Instagram posts can be found. While the exact details have yet to be announced this purchase does make investors curious as to what Facebook was thinking.
Recently the Flashback Trojan, a gnarly piece of malware designed to steal personal information by masquerading as very mainstream browser plug-ins, infected as many as 600,000 Macs. While Apple has released a removal tool and fixed the hole that allowed Flashback in, if you have OS X 10.5 or later you are going to have to do a manual search and removal to keep your system safe.
INSIDEINDUSTRY
what the experts say...
Less than one percent of US Internet surfers now use Internet Explorer 6. Rather than lamenting this fact, Microsoft celebrated it. Why? Because it means more people are using the newer Internet Explorer 9 web browser. The US now joins the likes of Austria, Poland, Sweden, Denmark,
NEW GOOGLE TABLET Even after its failed attempt at a connected smart device Google is back at it and reports state that they could be looking to launch a 7" tablet later this summer running Ice Cream Sandwich and costing $200.
Finland and Norway with under 1 percent of users, while in the UK usage remains around 1.4 percent and in China its still at 25 percent. Only 8 percent of us want to haggle for a better broadband deal when our contracts run out.
A recent report shows consumers believe that switching broadband deals and providers is more of a hassle than other utilities like mobile phone contracts and Cable TV. But those that do haggle for a better deal end up saving a lot of money.
KINDLE FIRE SALE The Amazon Kindle Fire racked up over 6 million sales over 2011 and a recent update has given it new features like full screen browsing. They even offered refurbished models for an extra $30 off at the end of March.
April 2012| DayOldStubble | 9
GOTTAHAVE>> THE GUIDE TO ALL THE GEEK STUFF YOUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;LL EVER NEED
The New Apple iPad The all new Apple iPad may not seem like much has changed at first glance but when you look at the screen and see the amazing graphics you will realize what has been improved. Featuring an A5X PROCESSOR with quad-core graphics drives four times the pixel power of the original iPad. The biggest change is the new RETINA DISPLAY with a resolution of 2048x1536 pixel resolution at 264 pixel per inch (ppi) instead of the 1024x768 pixel resolution at 132 ppi on the iPad 2. Also improved is the 5MP REAR CAMERA with auto focus, tap focus and face detection for still images and video capture at 1080P at 30frames per second. 4G LTE for faster data transfer is also welcome addition for users with access to the faster network. Available in 16, 32 and 64GB with WiFi and WiFi +4G. www.apple.com PRICE: $499 and Up
Plantronics M50 If you are always on the phone, the Plantronics M50 Bluetooth headset might be able to help out. Not only will it free up your hands with great wireless call performance, it also has a long battery life that can last for days of use. http://www.plantronics.com
RATING:
Roccat Isku Hunt your enemy instead of hunting for keys. The Roccat Isku has illuminated backlit keys with adjustable brightness levels, plus 36 programmable macros located near the perennial WASD region for easy accessibility. www.roccat.org
PRICE: $35
RATING:
10 | DayOldStubble | April 2012
PRICE: $95
RATING:
GOTTAHAVE>>
Intervallo Compact Foosball Table If you love the classic game of foosball but find yourself short on space then the new Intervallo Compact Foosball Coffee Table from Teckell might be just your thing.
feet for leveling the table. Teams are cut down to spread across four rows of players, 2 on each side, including the goalie.The only downside seems to be the price.
The tables legs and handles are constructed of wood, with a diamond shape case in low iron crystal glass along with adjustable
www.teckell.com PRICE: Too High RATING:
Pebble E-Paper Watch Currently the Pebble E-Paper Watch is the highest ever Kickstarter at almost $4 million in pledges. The Pebble is infinitely customizable, with beautiful downloadable watchfaces and useful internet-connected apps.
Pebble connects to iPhone and Android smartphones using Bluetooth, alerting you with a silent vibration to incoming calls, emails and messages. www.getpebble.com PRICE: $99
RATING:
CordCruncher Headphones Another great Kickstarter project worth a check. The CordCruncher Headphones are the solution to a tangled mess of plastic. Outfitted with high-quality earbuds, the CordCruncher Headphone's elastic sleeve allows you to customize your listening experience, giving you complete control of your cord length.
Adjust it anywhere from 16 inches to 3.5 feet. Finish up at the gym, crunch the earbuds, and toss them into your bag for the next useâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;all tangle-free, every single time! www.cordcruncher.com PRICE: $20
RATING:
N-Control Avenger If your getting dominated by the competition at FPS games on the Xbox and PS3, take a look at the Avenger. Designed to give gamers a competitive edge during frantic FPS games. The Avenger is an add-on that snaps easily onto your Xbox 360 or PS3 controller. Carefully placed levers let you access buttons with a mere twitch of your finger, letting you access
actions like reloading, rapid fire and melee quicker and easier. Get one today and take control of your competition. www.avengercontroller.com
PRICE: $49.99 RATING:
April 2012 | DayOldStubble | 11
>> Technology
THE NEW iPAD IS HERE
JUST DON'T CALL IT iPAD 3
We Take A Look At The New iPad and Explain Why Both Old And New Are A Good Buy
The much awaited RETINA DISPLAY has finally landed on the new iPad. This new screen has a resolution of 2048x1536 pixel resolution at 264 pixel per inch (ppi) instead of the 1024x768 pixel resolution at 132 ppi on the iPad 2. This means the graphics as well as the text look much sharper and crisper.
The new iPad gets a A5X PROCESSOR over the A5 in the iPad 2. This new chip has quad-core graphics that drives four times the pixel power of the iPad 2 while delivering the same smooth and fluid performance to the four graphics processors in this system on a chip.
4G LTE for faster data transfer is a welcome addition for users with access to the faster network. While this is an additional feature, reliable 4G is still not readily available for everyone.
So should you get the iPad 2 or the NEW iPAD?
During the launch of the new iPad, Apple made it clear that the company was not coming out with a smaller version of the tablet to compete with Amazon's Kindle Fire. Instead, Apple has slashed the prices on all iPad 2 models. But this has only added to the confusion among buyers about whether to buy the iPad 2 or the new iPad. Here are our reasons we favor both.
Well, the NEW iPAD offers a better experience...
If you are someone who doesn't upgrade your hardware every year, it makes sense to go for the "new iPad". The significant changes over the existing iPad are good enough to justify the price difference. Also looking at the increasing lifespan of the existing iPad, it is likely that Apple will not discontinue the new iPad when it comes up with a fourth tablet, perhaps in 2013. Thanks to the enhanced processor, display and 10 hours of battery life, the new iPad will offer a much better experience for heavy games and applications. 12 | DayOldStubble | April 2012
The front-facing camera with VGA resolution for FaceTime remains the same. But the new iPad takes a leap with the 5MP REAR CAMERA with auto focus, tap focus and face detection for still images and video capture at 1080P at 30frames per second. The iPad 2 lags behind with a mere 1MP rear camera.
Even with the new power draining features, Apple has once again managed to maintain the 10 HOUR BATTERY LIFE on W-Fi and 9 hours over cellular networks for the new iPad. Exactly what we get on the existing iPad 2.
... but the iPAD 2 costs so much lesser now
After the $100 price cut, the iPad 2 16GB Wi-Fi retails for $399, while the new iPad is $499. It makes sense to go for the iPad 2 if you really want to save the $100 or use it for accessories for your iPad like cases and keyboards. While Apple will discontinue the iPad 2 in 2013 it will likely extend software support. So, you won't be losing out on much. Even though the new iPad has a better processor, the iPad 2 has a dual-core processor which is good enough for heavy graphics gaming and apps. By: Jason Carrick
Technology <<
THE FUTURE OF SHOPPING? The World's First Virtual Store Is Open For Business In South Korea
A new revolution of shopping experience has begun with the launch of the "Homeplus Smart Virtual Store” at Seolleung subway station in Seoul, Korea. These virtual shopping stores are now dubbed as the “fourth generation retail store” because customers can now use their smartphones and scan QR codes via a mobile app to purchase daily items on-the-go.
”Consumers will be able to order and get delivery of 35,000 products, ranging from milk, egg, pasta sauce, gochujang [Korean red pepper paste], tissues and digital cameras, by simply pulling out their smartphones and scanning the QR [Quick Response] or barcodes of products shown in the subway station with the Homeplus app," Lee said.
Homeplus, South Korea’s second largest discount retail chain (owned by Samsung and Tesco), is offering 500 items including food, electronics, office supplies and toiletries at its "store" at Seolleung station in the south of the city. Seven pillars and six platform screen doors have been plastered with images of life-size store shelves filled with goods -- such as milk, apples, a bag of rice or school backpacks -- which each carry a small barcode. Shoppers download a related application on their smartphone and make purchases by taking photos of the barcodes.
"Products will be delivered at a time chosen by consumers, and delivery fees will range from 1,000 won ($0.88) to 4,000 won ($3.53) depending on the hour of the day." Sunny Jung, an official at Homeplus told the Korea JoongAng Daily. "A Homeplus store close to a customer's address will deliver the products. Each store will make deliveries every two hours for a total of 10 times a day."
Suppose you are on the way to office and suddenly remember that you need to stock up on some items for the party that evening. And guess what, you don't have time enough to go to the store to pick up the items. All you have to do is to simply scan each item's barcode with the Homeplus app, and you would find them delivered to your doorstep by evening! At the press conference before the launch, Home-plus CEO Lee Seunghan said discount store chains must respond to rapidly changing consumer habits and behavior, and a new kind of virtual store will cater to skyrocketing smartphone users in Korea.
Lee said he has been searching for ways to link smartphones and Homeplus stores since 2003, when the number of smartphone users began to spike in Korea. According to Homeplus smartphone users said they use their mobile phones the most on commutes in subways and buses. They chose Seolleung station for its trial store because over 200,000 commuters use it every day. "When we first launched the Homeplus app in February, which directly links to the Homeplus online shopping mall, we recorded only 9 million won ($879) in sales through the app per week,” said Kim an official at Homeplus,. "But 650,000 people downloaded the app as of July and we see about 30 million won ($26,380) in sales per week now.”
Koreans have a unique characteristic to quickly rotate their tech products. They have a fascination with the new and abandon what is considered old or out-of-date. They are really interested in converging and cramming many different functions into a single gadget and mixing technologies to find novel ways to complete ordinary tasks. So the idea of mixing virtual storefronts with real products seemed to be almost a no brainer. Looking at the busy lives of today, virtual stores are indeed a very good initiative. More of it will certainly help out with the space and money factors as well. While presently a first attempt, if things work out well and people seem to be loving it, then it won’t be too long before the concept goes viral and the entire planet gets infected with the "virtual store" thing. Things seem to be far fetched for the United States but who knows, even large box retailers of today could soon come up with their own versions of virtual stores in the years to come! Especially if you look deep into the positive sides of it. If you think about it, doesn't it seem inefficient for supermarkets to store their groceries in several different stores? Doesn't it seem like they could save a lot of money, and be more environmentally friendly if they stored everything in one central location? Just think, no more pushing a heavy cart, emptying that cart at the register, loading up the car or unloading the car.... All of those things would become inconveniences of the past. By: Jason Carrick
April 2012 | DayOldStubble | 13
pREVIEW
Ubuntu 12.04 LTS
Linux
PREVIEW: UBUNTU 12.04 We Take A Peek At Canonical's Precise Pangolin Set to Release April 26th As a Linux user who would love to be able to use a machine dedicated solely to some flavor of Linux but can’t due to the duties of producing this magazine as well as other graphic design related jobs, I am left to dabble in each new release hoping that I might one day find my mystical distro.
OS Info: Format: Ubuntu Linux Developer: Canonical Price: Free Download Release Candidate: April 19th Release Date: April 26th Website: Ubuntu.com
This month we are eagerly awaiting the release of Ubuntu’s Precise Pangolin 12.04, the next LTS version of Ubuntu. Set to release on April 26th they are currently finishing up the second round of Beta testing and are putting the Release Candidate out to the wild on April 19th. This is the fourth major Long Term Support (LTS) release and the first featuring the Unity desktop: LTS. While the rank-and-file Ubuntu users may have already made the leap to Unity, many of Canonical's actual customers have likely been waiting for the LTS release before taking the leap in full. While most Ubuntu users have likely either made their peace with Unity or else moved on to another distro or desktop, this will be the first time corporate users get a peek at the new interface.
Below: A screenshot showing off the refined Ubuntu Software Center.
While Ubuntu 12.04 is full of great refinements it is still not meeting my needs and unfortunately I am disappointed with the direction Ubuntu is going.
As with previous LTS releases, the emphasis in Ubuntu 12.04 is not on new features or must-have upgrades, but on stability, polish and support for those who deploy Ubuntu on a larger scale. In each release you'll find a number of small tweaks designed to polish up Unity and get it ready for the real world. This time though Ubuntu isn’t just getting polished it is also gaining a new Ubuntu "remix" dubbed Ubuntu Business Desktop Remix. The Business Remix is aimed squarely at the corporate market and strips out features like the 14 | DayOldStubble | April 2012
Above: The install of Ubuntu 12.04 finishing up its Live Install showing the features of Ubuntu One.
Above: The Ubuntu 12.04 Unity panel showing a search for applications sorted by the type "Customization".
Left: A screenshot of the Ubuntu 12.04 LTS desktop showing the Unity panel and the Pangolin themed wallpaper.
Just what is a Pangolin?
Pangolins are often called “scaly anteaters,” and are covered in tough, overlapping scales. They are burrowing mammals that eat ants and termites using an extraordinarily long, sticky tongue, and are able to quickly roll themselves up into a tight ball when threatened, much like an armadillo. Eight different pangolin species can be found across Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Poaching for illegal wildlife trade and habitat loss have made these incredible creatures one of the most endangered groups of mammals in the world.
Rhythmbox music player and the various games included in a standard Ubuntu package. Instead, Business Remix users will get VMWare View – meaning there's an EULA – OpenJDK 6 and other business workflow software. The Business Remix is not for the standard user and Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth was careful to state that Ubuntu isn't creating its own version of the Red Hat/Fedora arrangement but is just trying to offer more to its customers. In this release Unity is slightly more refined, and in a few cases, more flexible interface. There is a new set of fonts coming with a variety of weights to give Unity a more unified look. Also welcomed is the new option to hide the Launcher, revealing it only when your mouse rolls over the specified area of the screen. The Ubuntu Software Center has also been tweaked with some nice new features like an opt-in
"Recommendations" feature for suggestions based on what you download. The Software Center now also offers multiple screenshots for applications, giving the user more information about software. While Ubuntu 12.04 is full of great refinements it is still not meeting my needs and unfortunately I am disappointed with the direction Ubuntu is going. Despite being easier to use and more hardware compatible than ever, Ubuntu’s ease of use has spilled into the pool of oversimplification where the user interface gets in the way of using the computer. Ubuntu 10.10 and most previous versions were superb. But Unity, along with several other design issues, changed everything. I like to see innovation, but when my older Ubuntu saves time and performs better with fewer hassles then the newer versions, something went wrong along the way.
One thing Ubuntu 12.04 forces you to do is to install additional programs just to tweak the system and make it usable. Useful programs, like Synaptic, have been tossed. It seems as if you must re-learn what you already know in order to accomplish the same tasks. While I am all for learning new techniques, if they are more time-consuming than what I am using now, then what’s the point? I like Ubuntu, and it’s a good operating system, but it is becoming less of a system I can recommend to new Linux users and less of a system that I want to use for myself. Lets hope the the final release of Ubuntu 12.04 LTS may solve some of my issues, but if things continue to regress it may be time to search for a new distro of choice. By: Jason Carrick
RATING
85%
Still a great OS but is quickly loosing ground
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>> GEEK LIFE
GEEK'S GUIDE TO EARTH DAY GOING GREEN ISN'T JUST FOR HIPPIES ANYMORE.
What is Earth Day?
An infographic showing
Earth Day is the largest, most widely celebrated international environmental event. Earth Day helps celebrate Earthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unique place in the universe. Founded by Senator Gaylord Nelson, formerly of Wisconsin, Earth Day was first celebrated on April 22, 1970 in the United States. Across the United States, 20 million people participated in the first Earth Day. On March 21, 1971, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General U Thant made Earth Day an international celebration. In 1990, the first official International Earth Day was celebrated. About 200 million people from 141 nations took part in a celebration of environmental conservation. Above: The first Earth Day poster from 1970 which features the now famous quote from the comic character Pogo.
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GEEK LIFE << Earth Day is just around the corner, April 22nd, to be exact. While we may be geeks, we still like to do a lot of the same things non-geeks do, just with a bit of a geeky spin to them. Sure our sense of normality may be skewed just a tad but that doesn't mean we aren't concerned about our planet. Besides it was classic Science Fiction writers who made us all aware of the harmful affects us humans could have on our planet, thus forcing us to "seek out new worlds and civilizations." So we want to do our part for Earth Day, too. After all, Earth’s the only planet we’ve got — for the time being, anyway. So just why is it important for us geeks to be concerned? Mainly because of our fascination with technology and everything that is new and shiny. We demand, no crave, the newest and best of everything, hardly giving time for what we have to be used to its full potential. The problem is that technology demands a certain level of exploitation when it comes to the environment. Metal alloys that are building blocks of tech devices are harnessed from the earth’s bounty. One of the most important components that any business, whether IT or non-tech, is energy. This is the food that fuels day-to-day operations. But there is no such thing as an unlimited resource, and our use of natural resources shouldn’t be a one-way street.
the amount of energy used in each Google search
One way we can help curb our CO2 impact on the planet is to limit our Google searches. According to Google, each search uses roughly 0.0003 kWh of energy, or 1 kJ. The human body uses 8000 kJ a day of energy from food, so a Google search will use about the equivalent of 10 seconds of human energy. In relation to automobile use, a Google search creates 0.2 grams of CO2 emissions, that’s not a whole lot considering driving one mile produces the same amount of emissions as 1000s of Google searches. So if you willing to sacrifice you daily drives or seak out alternative means of transportation, you can feel good about sitting inside and searching Google all day. Earth Day was started back on April 22nd, 1970, when 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment in massive coast-to-coast rallies. The idea behind Earth Day came from founder Gaylord Nelson after witnessing the impact of the 1969 massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. Since then Earth Day has evolved into a global phenomenon that brings everyone together to think about the Earth’s needs and what we can do to help. But what exactly is it that we geeks can do? Unfortunately computers and technology are a major part of our daily lives and the manufacturing and use of these items are also a major contributor to our waste stream and energy consumption. Take a moment to read the tips below to help reduce your impact on the environment (and save some cash in the process!).
April 2012 | DayOldStubble | 17
>> GEEK LIFE While this setup may look sweet, it could potentially be a drain to the environment
Reduce Energy Consumption
1) Did you know that approximately 40% of the energy used for home electronics is consumed while these devices are turned off or idling? When not in use for extended periods, switch your computer OFF and unplug it. Despite popular belief, powering your computer on and off daily will not harm your computer. 2) Configure your power saving options for energy savings when your computer is temporarily not in use. For example, set your computer to put your monitor to sleep, spin down your hard drives. 3) If you’re going to use a screen saver, use a blank (black) screen – animated screen savers just consume more electricity. 4) Don’t forget your EXTRAS! Turn off your power-hungry printer, speakers, monitor, and any other hardware that is sucking up energy when not being used.
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Reduce Paper Waste
1) First and foremost, ask yourself: Do I really need to print this? While some paper gets recycled, it is still the largest component of the waste stream that ends up in landfills. Do Earth a favor by saving trees. 2) If you are printing from the web, there are several easy to use tools that will help you remove stuff like ads and images before printing, which saves ink and paper. Here are a few: Aardvark (firefox extension), GreenPrint (also works with Office) and PrintWhatYouLike. 3) If you have a bunch of onesided print-outs that you no longer need, contribute them to the scrap paper box located on the counter of the library service desk. Use both sides of paper before recycling.
Reuse and Recycle Hardware
1) Before purchasing a new computer, consider upgrading hardware in your current machine. Some extra memory or a new hard drive may be all you need to restore life to your current system.
Above: Regardless of current myths, leaving your computers and gadgets on all the time is actually more harmful then turning it on and off.
Right: A screen grab showing how GreenPrint works to save ink and paper.
Green printing
While we all use technology daily, we still tend to print things way too much. By using companies like GreenPrint, Aardvark, or PrintWhatYouLike you can still print what you need but save some trees at the same time. While each technology is different they all function around one main premise, to strip unwanted items like graphic ads from the web, unwanted graphics, or unneeded text. This can not only save paper over time but money on ink as well. Check each one out and find the one that works best for you.
GEEK LIFE << Right: While Solar Power is not for everyone, a set of panels on your roof will allow you to take advantage of all the free energy Mother Nature offers daily.
Above: Who says you can't save money and be environmentally friendly all while getting the latest tech gadgets? With the Nest programmable thermostat you can.
Right: The Belkin BG10800004 with remote control helps eliminate "Phantom Power".
2) As time goes by, your machine may suffer from software bloat. All the updates, installing of software, applications running in the background that you don’t really need clog up your machine up and slow down its performance, which in turn increases electricity consumption. Consider doing a reinstallation of Windows and your software. A lean machine will sip less electricity and perform much better.
computers and technology are a major part of our daily lives and the manufacturing and use of these items are also a major contributor to our waste stream and energy consumption. required to gather the recyclable materials, separate them, and do the actual recycling. So why not be a true geek and find a new way to reuse them. With a little creativity, a pair of scissors, some paint and some glue, and you can create some nifty terrain for a miniatures campaign, or maybe work into a custom display for your prized action figures.
3) When you do replace your computer, donate or recycle it. 4) Better yet recycle cardboard, cans, and bottles as game terrain. While you may already recycle we're sure the efforts are only somewhat effective due to the resources
Below: The Black 7 Decker Leak Detector doubles as a new gadget while allowing you to search your home for drafty leaks.
Conserve around the house
1) Install a programmable thermostat in your home. It’s really simple, not that expensive, and is pretty well guaranteed to save energy, and to reduce your utility bills drastically. While getting the programming just right to keep your family comfortable can be a hassle, the chance to do some experimentation has never made us turn away from anything. 2) Buy and use an energy-saving surge protector / power strip. These devices act like regular old surge protectors, but with an added feature to help eliminate “phantom power” waste. “Phantom power” is the little bit of power many devices draw even when they’re switched off. Go for
extra geek points and get the Belkin BG108000-04 with a remote control. 3) Install solar panels on your roof. Of course this will only work if you get a decent amount of sun. Solar energy can really reduce the amount of electricity you draw from your utility company. The only downside is that solar panels aren’t quite efficient enough yet so you’re unlikely to see a drastic difference (especially in winter). But then again why let perfectly good energy going to waste? 4) Find and fix air leaks in your home. Houses, especially older houses, tend to have a lot of little air leaks. While one leak isn’t too bad, a lot can be a huge energy drain. If you’re looking for an excuse to get a new gadget then this one serves a double whammy. With a Black & Decker Leak Detector, you can use a piece of technology to help save some money. By following just a few of these tips every day, we can all help make an impact on our Earth. By: Jason Carrick
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>> COLLECTIBLES
DAVE'S TOY CHEST
KENNER PRODUCTS 1984 SUPER POWERS COLLECTION COLLECTABLE INFO Company: KENNER PRODUCTS Licensed From: DC Comics Released: 1984-1986 THE KNOWLEDGE Each figured included and individual comic for the first two series. After the third series in 1986 the collection ended without releasing series four, five, and six as planned.
If you were to ask any boy that grew up in the eighties what was their favorite toy to play with when they were younger you would hear things like Star Wars, He-Man, G.I. Joe, and Transformers. All of those toy lines were something special to me as well BUT nothing, in my humble opinion, will ever beat THE GREATEST TOY LINE EVER PRODUCED! (Echo). Ladies and gentlemen I give you The Super Powers Collection. Back in 1984 Kenner Products obtained the license to produce figures based on DC Comics superheroes. Up until this point boys like me that loved superheroes could only play with Mego dolls that trust me you would catch SO much shit from your father. What are you doing playing with Barbie dolls? (God, some of my childhood really sucked ass!) Anyway, what made this particular toy line so special was the vast array of figures that they made. Most of these figures were based on designs by comic book legends Jack Kirby and George Perez. Sure you had Superman and Batman but you also had a Hawkman, Red Tornado, Dr. Fate, Plastic Man,……….. figures that had never even been attempted to be made before. Each figure came
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with its own action feature and a collector mini comic that made it even better. The first wave of figures released in 1984 had several of your top tier characters --- Aquaman, Batman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Robin, Wonder Woman, Superman, Brainiac, The Joker, The Penguin, and Lex Luthor. Along with those figures 3 vehicles (The Supermobile, The Lex Soar 7, and The Batmobile) and the Hall Of Justice Playset were made available. Wave 2, released in 1985, had several figures that had never been made to that point and also had a New Gods motif. Dr. Fate, Firestorm, Green Arrow, Martian Manhunter, Red Tornado, Clark Kent, Darkseid, DeSaad, Kalibak, Mantis, Parademon, and Steppenwolf along with 4 vehicles (The Darkseid Destroyer, The Delta
Above: Each figure came complete with its own mini comic.
COLLECTIBLES << Probe One, The Justice Jogger, and The Kalibak Boulder Bomber). Wave 3, released in 1986, was the Holy Grail of the line. With figures like Cyborg (which was and is still is the most sought after figure in the line), Cyclotron, Golden Pharaoh, Mr. Miracle, Orion, Plastic Man, Samurai, Shazam, Mr. Freeze, and Tyr and the hardest to get vehicle in the ENTIRE collection --- The Batcopter!
Above: The original packaging still intact, showing the detail put into each card and highlighting the mini comic.
Above: Kenner's first wave of Super Heroes included Green Lantern, The Flash, Batman, Robin, Hawkman, Superman Auquaman, and Wonder Woman.
what made this particular toy line so special was the vast array of figures
Above: Kenner's first wave of Super Villians included Lex Luthor, Braniac, The Penguin, and The Joker.
Le im is fro
Unfortunately you have to take the good with the bad. The good was like I said earlier that comic geeks were getting to play with figures that had never been produced before. However, because most of these figures a lot of people weren’t familiar with wave 3 didn’t sell very well and forced Kenner to stop producing figures. Over the years facts have trickled out Above: The original ad for the new Super Powers showing that Kenner Collection that appeared in most comics. had plans for at least 3 more waves of figures, vehicles, and playsets. (Go to toyotter.com. Anyway The Super Power Collection, to Toy historian Jason Geyer has put a lot of me, was the greatest toy line EVER! My time and effort into bringing us the collector parents should have written to Kenner pictures and information about these lines! on a daily basis thanking them because I THANK YOU JASON!) Can you imagine if The played with those figures SO MUCH when Super Powers Collection included Man-Bat, I was younger that I never bothered them El Dorado, Blue Devil, Bizarro, The Creeper, for anything. I know that I’ll be out voted Metallo, Supergirl, Kid Flash, Black Vulcan, by you other collectors out there but that’s Obsidian, and Deathstroke The Terminator? what made this line so special to me. (Just to name a few). On several packages Everyone else played with Star Wars figures of figures and vehicles you can see a or G.I. Joe figures. But when a crime was picture of a playset called the Darkseid committed and you needed a super hero Tower Of Darkness. However, it was on the job they would always call me! I never released. What a kick in the nuts! still have my Robin figure from when I was a kid and it is a treasure that I will Let’s fast forward to today. If you are never get rid of. I hope that this particular familiar with the DC Universe Classics article brought back special memories for toy line you will see that they have used you like it did for me. Thanks for reading’. the old Super Powers line as a template Next month we will cover another great and has MASS-PRODUCED your favorite eighties toy line….. He-Man and the figures. Some of these figures you know, Masters of the Universe. See you in 30! some you wouldn’t know. All I can say is By: dave norton that with the disappointment I received when the Super Powers line died it went away with the emergence of the DC Universe Classics line. Ah sweet justice! Sometimes you just have to be patient.
April 2012 | DayOldStubble | 21
>> COMICS
BUGGER OFF! I'M READIN' COMICS Boom! Comics Latest Twist Involves A Super Hero and Villian Changing Places By: Dave Norton
COMIC INFO Publisher: Boom! Comics Schedule: Monthly Publication: April 2009 - Present Writer: Mark Waid Artists: Peter Krause Diego Barreto Eduardo Barreto Issues: 35
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What do you do when the world’s greatest hero suddenly snaps and starts destroying everything he swore to protect? That’s the question that award winning writer Mark Waid asked readers back in April of 2009. Published by Boom! Comics Irredeemable is the story of The Plutonian, the protector of Sky City, who has fallen from grace. The reader witnesses the Plutonian hunting down his former brethren from the super group the Paradigm. The Hornet, the Plutonian’s former ally, and his entire family are murdered in a scene most grotesque…..and that’s just the beginning! Frantically the remaining members of the Paradigm: Scylla, Cary, Volt, Qubit, Gil, and Kaiden, seek answers on what could make the greatest hero among them turn evil by communicating with their former teammate and former Plutonian sidekick Samsara. Problems occur when Samsara has trouble remembering things about their past. Here’s where thing get rrrrreeeaaaaaaalllllll freakin’ creepy! The reason why Samsara can’t remember is because he was lobotomized and murdered by none other than the Plutonian! The Paradigm were so desperate for information on stopping the Plutonian that they actually resurrected the dead, briefly, for help! After striking out with the Samsara debacle the Paradigm’s member Kaidan seeks out Alana Patel, a woman who was known to be the Plutonian’s girlfriend at one time. Alana shares the story about how she met the Plutonian. She explained how caring and romantic he was and how worried she would get when he would go up against his arch nemesis Modeus. They would spend countless hours in each other’s company. Their lives couldn’t be any more perfect. She then told Kaidan about a coworker named Dan Hartigan who revealed himself to be none other than the Plutonian! Feeling betrayed by his lying for several months Alana reveals to the other workers that Dan Hartigan
is actually the Plutonian. Enraged with her stupidity the Plutonian intimidates his coworkers telling them that their very lives are in so much danger now that they know his secret identity. His enemies would stop at nothing to find out that bit of information. It’s later revealed all of his ex-coworkers are now deceased --apparently from suicides. Unfortunately Alana is a dead end…..for now. The only other place that the Paradigm can find answers might be with the Plutonian’s archrival Modeus. The question is where is he and will he help the Paradigm defeat the Plutonian? Do the other villains try to capitalize on this? What does a released virus have to do will all of this? What does the magical candle do? Who is Orian the Demon? How does NATO handle this superhuman threat? What happened to Singapore? Is Samsara really alive? Can Kaidan’s new found power help? Who are the Vespan? Can anyone or anything stop the Plutonian? Mark Waid has truly outdone himself on this masterpiece. If you thought his work on Kingdom Come or Empire was dark --guess again. Irredeemable is the biggest what if story ever. Comic readers have always wondered what it would be like if Superman or Thor just went ape shit and started destroying everyone and everything without giving a care. That kind of power and blood lust are a lethal combination. That my friends is what Mr. Waid has done here. He has made a perfect storm of evil. Some of the acts that Mr. Waid has the Plutonian commit are deliciously heinous. The only question left is: How does Mark Waid top this story? Well…..
COMICS <<
What do you do when the world’s worst villain is forced to see the light and fights for every man, woman, and child with his last dying breath?
COMIC INFO Publisher: Boom! Comics Schedule: Monthly Publication: Dec. 2009 - Present Writer: Mark Waid Artists: Horacio Domingues Marcio Takara Damian Couceiro Issues: 28
The Trash Bin
That’s the question award winning writer Mark Waid asked readers back in December 2009. Published by Boom! Comics Incorruptible is the story of Max Damage --- a super villain who transforms himself into a superhero. The reader is taken on a roller coaster ride here. Our story begins with Max Damage’s gang, leaderless, trying to rob a diamond exchange. They are forced to stop when the experience a roadblock orchestrated by Lieutenant Armadale. When one of the gang members pulls out a high-tech weapon and fires it at the roadblock, a dark silhouette comes from out of the shadows and deflects the blast. Why it’s none other than Max Damage! Max stops his old gang from doing much harm, saves the life of a police officer, and leaves with Lieutenant Armadale. Once Max and Armadale return to Max’s old hideout the reader learns that it was Max that led the police to apprehend his old gang. Max then burns 4.2 million dollars that he had stashed away there because it was “dirty money” and casts away his former lover/sidekick “jailbait“. We then get to see why this ex cold-asice killer wants to reform. It seems that Max Damage was there that day in Sky City when the world’s greatest hero, the Plutonian, snapped…..and he was scared shitless! What’s scarier is what Max was doing there in the first place. Sky City was the headquarters for the Center For Disease Control. Because of Max’s power he doesn’t have the ability to feel, taste, and smell. What better way to make people pay for taking for granted these feelings than breaking into the CDC and finding the deadliest airborne virus it contained and unleashing it on society. Before he could unleash the virus the Plutonian arrived and murdered over 3 million people in a manner that would make the Devil himself scared! Realizing that a God was releasing
Hell on Earth Max decided to do something about it. Max knew that the world needed a new hero. However, before he can take care of the Plutonian he has a few of his former colleagues to round up first. Questions: What does Plutonian’s ex-girlfriend Alana Patel have to do with all of this? What is this mysterious structure that Max is building? What is the villain St. Lucifer doing? What is the significance of Coalville? What does Max’s origin have to do with the Plutonian? Who is the Wolf Boy? Are those the Vespan? What happened to Armadale? Just when you think that Mark Waid couldn’t top Irredeemable he comes up with Incorruptible. Waid’s character Damage, who was as sick, twisted, and demented as the Plutonian is now, powerful climb to become the hero that the world so desperately needs is astounding. The reader can actually feel how badly Max Damage is trying. This story is FULL of emotion. It’s so easy to be evil but it takes a true champion to be a hero. Who needs the Plutonian when we have Max Damage! I can honestly say that when these 2 stories end I will be quite upset. Its been a wonderful 3 year ride. True that there have been a few dull and confusing moments along the way but pound for pound these 2 books are up there with the likes of “The Dark Knight Returns” and “Watchmen”. Mr. Waid is a true evil genius and I personally can’t wait to see what he comes up with next. Next month kiddies we will cover one of the greatest reads in the last 25 years.....Alex Ross, Mark Waid, and DC Comics present KINGDOM COME!
DC Comics New 52 Captain Atom. I’ve tried. Lord knows I’ve tried to read this book. I’m one of the biggest Captain Atom fans in the world. I’ve liked him since his days in Justice League International. (Bwaaa-haaa-haaa!) What they have done with this character in the New 52 universe is confusing! I’m sorry DC but this title is OFFICIALLY MUNSONED!
April 2012 | DayOldStubble | 23
D12 Academy Axis & Allies 1942
Board Games
D12 Academy
An in-depth study on a different board game each monthâ&#x20AC;Ś increase your strategic knowledge and/or decide if itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s worth a purchase. Game Info: Name: Axis & Allies 1942 Designer: Larry Harris, Jr. Artist: Leon Cortez Publisher: Avalon Hill (Hasbro) Published: 2009 Players: 2 â&#x2C6;&#x2019; 5 Playing Time: 180 minutes Ages: 12 and up Category: Wargame, World War II
World At War
Originally designed by Larry Harris and published by Nova Game Designs in 1981, the game was republished by the Milton Bradley Company in 1984 as part of the Gamemaster Series of board games.
What It Is
The world is at war! Can you ensure liberty wins out- or rewrite history with a more grim palette? Axis and Allies is a simplified wargame, pitting players on one side or the other in an epic recreation of World War II. Its 1984 release by Milton Bradley was mass marketed and sold in a wider variety of stores than most strategy games at the time, generating considerable popularity and visibility. Subsequently, the game has been revised and re-released in ten versions, each with their own distinct differences. For the purposes of this article the core game and mechanics will be concentrated on, with Axis & Allies: 1942 Edition being the physical game version referred to where necessary. Up to 5 people can play most versions of A&A, with each taking on the role of a major power. Smaller nations are either rolled up with larger ones or represented as neutral, with each territory worth currency based on it's value (militarily, economically, and population-wise) and there are always a wide array of units available to purchase. Values of attack, defense, movement, and other powers vary by unit type, so what types will most help your forces at any given time is a continual question. Three versions of the game- Guadalcanal, D-Day, and Battle of the Bulge- focus on specific important battles from the
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way, and have the most significant differences in setup/ gameplay. Among the other core versions there also exist huge boxes that depict either the European or Pacific theater with gigantic boards and more detailed rosters of nations involved, including Italy, China, and others. Additionally, these two games can be combined to create an epic map measuring almost 2.5 x 6 feet in total, for the most knock-down, drag-out World War II experience ever!
How It Plays
Axis & Allies was often the strategy game players graduated to after playing RISK in their youth, and that transition isn't a difficult one. Controlling key areas on the map allows you to generate more resources, which in turn gives you more options on the offensive. The addition of multiple different unit types instead of the generic "armies" ensures the game isn't just about building up the largest pile to march over everything in it's path. Conditions at the start of the game simulate a strategically critical state of World War II with units positioned (mostly realistically, but some unrealistically for balance) in many of the territories, ensuring that combat will be brutal and widespread from Turn 1.
How To Dominate Your Friends
The first key lesson in Axis & Allies is that the game is a battle of attrition. You will lose units and territories on every turn, and the key is not so much trying to prevent those losses as it is making your opponent’s losses hurt worse than yours do. Look for opportunities to take out expensive units left vulnerable. Always make sure your planes have piles of fodder defenders with them. Be ready to sacrifice assets when the odds are against you in that area, and hit your enemies only when you have the clear upper hand.
Be ready to sacrifice assets when the odds are against you in that area, and hit your enemies only when you have the clear upper hand. It May Be For You If…
This is a long game- expect a full play session to last 3-4 hours easily, and longer in some versions. A&A is best for a group size where each person controls just one nation, lending a sense of nationalism and pride to your efforts and preventing any one player from being able to influence too much of the game by themselves. It also works well if your group is interested generally in wargame concepts, but hesitant to dive full-on into a true wargame like Advanced Squad Leader. Be prepared for dice to play a large role as well- even a well planned game can be swung entirely when a crucial battle arrives and your opponent keeps rolling boxcars.
Players who appreciate their games having a self-balancing component will likely dislike Axis & Allies. Like many American strategy games, the stronger you get just makes it easier to get even stronger still, and there comes a moment in every game when someone realizes that they have no real chance anymore to win...but the actual finish is an agonizingly slow grind away. Lastly, it is not advised to mix player skill levels within a game of A&A... if newcomers are present, try to find time beforehand for their veteran teammates to do some training. It's entirely too easy (especially in the older versions) to make big mistakes as early as Turn 1 that will cripple your chances of winning before you have barely gotten started.
Above: The common appearance of the gaming space while trying to dominate and picking your best path for victory.
if you like this 7 Wonders Repos Production
A game featuring ancient wonders and skillful building.
Axis & Allies celebrated it’s 25th Anniversary in August of 2009 with a new and updated edition of it’s original classic game. Axis & Allies 1942 utilizes the updated rules established in the Anniversary Edition as well as newly sculpted playing pieces and the addition of Cruiser class ships forever changing the naval line-up.
Another key A&A tactic is managing the counterattack. Wherever possible, set up trapsterritories with a small number of defenders, with a more powerful force in striking distance further back. When your opponent moves in, you’ll be primed to strike back immediately. Games between experienced players often develop into trench warfare, with both sides leaving traps adjacent to each other and daring the other person to blink first. A&A is also a game where you can go in prepared, and the more you can, the better. Every version begins with a static board arrangement of territories and unit deployment, so you will know what Turn 1 looks like before you even start the game. Every nation in each version has one or a few “typical” first turns that most players will mimic for maximum advantage. Know what your opponents will start out trying to do, and be prepared for that. After a couple turns the board devolves into unpredictable chaos as dice rolls make it impossible to know where things will stand…but before then you can set yourself up in a strong position to be on good footing for the long haul. By: Aaron Dekuiper
April 2012 | DayOldStubble | 25
>> FEATURE REVIEW
WINDOWS 8
CONSUMER PREVIEW
MICROSOFT''S LATEST OS GEARS UP FOR TABLETS AND THE PC
With fresh additions and feature revamps, Windows takes another step towards a smarter, more user-friendly and more attractive OS. When we previewed the Consumer Preview version of Windows 8 last month, it really seemed like a mixed bag of emotions. We were thrilled of most of the updated OS, but there were bits that we didn't like. Overall, you can see how the Redmond based company is trying to move to touch-based devices. It is a move in the right direction, but we are wondering how the people will perceive it.
Design
Windows 8 starts with discarding the round Start button while still keeping the Metro-style Start Up screen, which has five patterns and nine background colors to choose from. Consumer Preview is updated, especially the look of the Developer Preview. Switching between applications gets more fun with more ways and effects, and there are readied changes for networking, 26 | DayOldStubble | April 2012
power management, security, file copying, hardware support and many other features. Windows 8 also introduces the first real Metro apps and the Windows Store for those wanting to use third party apps from real app developers.
Interface
While the Metro interface looks pretty much the same, its functions and features are all powered up. Users can already pin Explorer and their photos, notes, appointments, email, libraries and friends to the interface. They can also enjoy enhanced touch gestures, a new Metro tile for the desktop, and a fresh new look for the charm bar, Start, Share, Devices, Search and Settings. Navigation and playing with items and folders become more fun and convenient with the new enabled effects and motion capabilities. Swiping and scrolling through the mouse are speeded up, Semantic zoom is enabled, and dragging actions
are upped with further functions such as in creating new groups for files, opening new apps and putting apps into the vertical pane of thumbnails. The resizeable touch keyboard also has an improved layout, with automatic spelling corrections and predictive text for faster typing. The letters are divided into the two sides of the screen, easily reachable by both thumbs. A numeric keyboard has been added in the middle for easier PIN or password entry.
Metro Apps
Included in the Consumer Preview for easy access are basic app needs: email, messaging, calendar, contacts, social networking, photos and an app to access SkyDrive. Other available apps are Bing Map apps, music and video catalogues by Zune, weather apps, finance apps and a gaming section branded by X-boxâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;all labeled as previews. As theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not yet the final apps to
FEATURE REVIEW << ISSUES FOR WINDOWS 8 Here's a look at the items that will determine whether Windows 8 marks the end of the big bang Microsoft release: •
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Windows 8 may be too jarring for consumers. Windows 8 has a lot of interesting features. The Metro interface is well received. The problem: That interface is also swell on the Windows Phone platform. However, Windows Phone has little traction in the marketplace. Windows 8 may be like a movie that gets critical acclaim but doesn't fare well at the box office. Keep that movie analogy in your mind as you peruse a bevy of reviews or play with Windows 8 yourself. Consumers may get a lot more mileage from Windows 7. Windows is a fine OS. In fact, Windows 7 could become just like Windows XP--an US that just keeps going and going with consumers. Given the uptake of Windows 7 an upgrade to Windows 8 is no slam dunk. The tablet promise may not be realized. Windows 8’s big theme is unifying the tablet and desktop. But it's unclear whether Windows tablets will be a hit. If Windows 8 tablets don't become popular -- at least No. 2 in market share to Apple's iPad -Microsoft will be tethered to the PC. Wallet share isn't infinite. Windows 8 fates more computing competition than ever before. Ultrabook or Macbook Air? iPad vs. laptop? Do you buy a PC or tablet? There's only so much consumer expendable income to be had. Given this financial reality, a Windows 8 laptop may compete directly with the iPad 3 in the future.
Above: The round Start button is now gone but you can still get to it by bumping your mouse along the right side of the screen in either the top or bottom corners. Doing this gives you the option of selecting Search, Share, Start, Devices, and Settings. Of course you can still get to the Start Menu by using the Windows key on the keyboard or ctrl+esc keyboard shortcut but the quick click of the icon is gone.
be made available for Windows 8, they offer similar experience but far less features.
Desktop
As should be expected of a newer version, Windows 8 addresses consumer complaints on Windows 7 and plays up on its strongest points. However, it also removes the Start menu that Windows users had been accustomed to from its earliest versions. But if you try hovering the mouse over the familiar left hand corner, you will be able to see an array of running Metro apps as thumbnails and switch to another running app. You can access your most used desktop tools (such as the Task Manager, Search, Run, Explorer, Control Panel, Device Manager, Disk Manager, Power Options and Event Viewer) by right-clicking the same left-hand corner and opening the menu. There are also more ways to switch from one app or folder to another, so you can go and choose at least one that works best for you.
Desktop Apps
The desktop still has the built-in apps that users have always known: Notepad, Wordpad, Paint, Control Panel, Windows Media Player and Media Center, Sticky Notes, and many others. The ribbon reveals hidden Explorer features and offers contextsensitive functions to save the trouble of going to the Control Panel to do them. Above: The main emphasis of Windows 8 and the Metro UI is for the tablet computers. But with competitors like Apple and Android Microsoft may have a battle ahead.
accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Flickr) allows you to manage your various account in one convenient go. You automatically get your messages, contacts and calendar, and your content from your social network accounts are automatically redirected to your Windows Live page (Facebook and Flickr photos go to the Photos app, Facebook friends go to the People App, and so on).
PEEKING IN
On the surface, Windows 8 will be another big release for Microsoft. However, a lot has changed. There are no guarantees that Windows 8 will be a hit on tablets. The PC has been minimized in developed markets by the iPad and a bevy of mobile devices that increasingly can take on more computing tasks. In emerging markets, it possible that the PC won't be the primary computing device. That reality is why Microsoft's Windows 8 is about mobile as much as it is the PC. Ultimately, the Windows 8 launch reception will be a total guessing game. Windows 8 may be Microsoft's most important operating system in years, but consumer success isn't guaranteed by any stretch. By: jason Carrick
Social Networking and Connecting with People
Signing up with Windows Live and connecting it to your social networking April 2012 | DayOldStubble | 27
>> FEATURE
ANIME PUNCH: REVOLUTICON
Not your conventional convention, but then again that's why it's a Revoluticon By: james Detzler
Conventions. There are all types. Some of the business ones are more work-centric, focusing on learning new skills and making new contacts. Other big conventions come across as more of a huge bazaar of products, and there are even some that simply are a way to meet celebrities. Big conventions such as San Diego Comic Con, PAX, and Wizard World conventions are mainly to celebrate the industry and attend panels by well known names to just be in the presence of the people we have come to respect on paper and the screen. We are also hoping to catch a hint at something new coming from our favorite actors, developers, directors, and artists. There is still one more type of convention though. The one made for the fans by fans. These conventions usually end up having a party-like atmosphere. They are the conventions that continue to help the animation, comic book, sci-fi, and movie industries grow. Smaller fandriven conventions are the ones that celebrate us, the people who love comics, movies, and video games. a cosplay Naruto
Anime Punch understands that. The conventions they host are always about breaking the mold. From their flagship convention, Armageddicon to Fieldcon and even their newest ventures, Shootcon and Revoluticon, they strive to be like no other convention out there. They bring the experience of college and apply it to what they love, anime. During the day they host fun and exciting panels hosted by professors, industry veterans, and grad students. This doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean they end up feeling like lectures. Quite the opposite, they try to promote discussion amongst the group as much as possible. At night they party and have fun just being together with other like- minded fans. If you read our February issue then you may remember I attended Ohayocon. While I was there is where I first found out about Anime Punch and their unique brand of awesomeness. I promised
The conventions that they host are always about breaking the mold 28 | DayOldStubble | April 2012
Below: A common sight at the video game room as it was often filled with those playing any number of games with friends.
myself that I would attend their upcoming convention, Revoluticon, on March 16-18. This is a brand new convention for them. Typically APâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s conventions focus on only one thing, anime. Revoluticon is the complete opposite of that. The focus was heavily on things not related to anime. You name it; video games, scifi, manga, zombies, and even board games, they covered it all. Being that this was a new adventure for them it had a much smaller attendance than normal but it allowed for a sense of camaraderie that made this The game room was packed with games and camaraderie
FEATURE <<
Who is Anime Punch?
Anime Punch is an organization based in central Ohio that is commited to bringing conventions that are both unique and dedicated towards the fans of anime. Starting in 2005 with their flagship convention, Armageddicon, they have since grown to include three more interesting conventions. Their second oldest being the LARP based Fieldcon where participants create their costumes and then experience the outdoors while in cosplay the whole weekend. Their two most recent events are Shootcon and Revoluticon, the latter convention focusing on everything non-anime, and the first being a weekend celebrating things that go bang. Anime Punch does stop there though. They also host a weekly Nerd Night, and a monthly lecture at OSU.
Left: The participants in the costume contest pose for the cameras after the show.
There were also rooms dedicated to classic board games as well
A Cosplay Phineas and Ferb
the favorite convention that some attendees had ever attended. Focusing on the attendees is something that Anime Punch does extremely well. Instead of spending the registration fees on the guest attendees like a lot of other conventions do, they love to put the money back into making the convention the best experience possible. From offering sushi on Friday night to handing out free drink tickets all weekend, it was evident that AP loves its patrons. The also put together an awesome group of volunteers. All of them were attentive to reasonable complaints and requests throughout the weekend fixing issues as promptly as possible. This was certainly a convention that could have handled many more people than attended. The list of panels and events that Anime Punch put together was impressive. It certainly was not one to scoff at, featuring one main activity room, three panel rooms, pool and bar
events, one classic board game room, multiple game tournament rooms, and one large video game room that even included a Neo-Geo game cabinet. From the academic side of things their guests included Lawrence Eng, Patrick Drazen, and Kay Clopton while also including Custodians of Otakudom, +2 Comedy, The Fishnet Mafia, Analytical Couch Potato, and OSU Quidditch from the fandom side. They also featured nerdcore rap duo, 2d6 as Saturdayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s musical guests. You can be sure that AP set out to make sure everyone was well entertained. Their main event room was where all the kinetic energy happened. They presented their own twist on Whose Line Is It Anyway, Hollywood Squares, and The Dating Game, plus a variety of other hilarious events like Hentai Olympics, Triforce Challenge and Wario Ware. The panel held discussion ranging from the academic, Philosophy in Video Games and Actual Science in Fiction amongst many others, to the fun and informative, Losing Weight
April 2012 | DayOldStubble | 29
>> FEATURE the Otaku Way and Chatroulette Smarts leading the pack this time. In case this wasn’t enough you They also held events in the pool like Blitzball and Swimsuit Cosplay, even Quidditch. On Saturday night 2d6 got the party started with an awesome nerdcore rap concert and directly following their performance they cleared all the chairs and turned the main event room into an epic rave room. People were getting lost in the music all the way until three in the morning. Don’t think the party ended there though folks. Anime Punch made sure they had reserved a section of rooms to use as party rooms. People could specifically ask for these rooms if they were willing to host a shindig and basically people went from room to room experiencing different parties and getting crazy. Saturday night certainly made sure that Revoluticon was convention to remember. Sunday hosted a few panels but it was basically a day to recoup, get packed up and head home. I know personally my time spent at Revoluticon was well worth it and not just for the fun aspect. I also got the chance to speak with Analytical Couch Potato, one of the guest who hosted about 5 of the
panels during the weekend. They are a internet publication with the goal of proving that video games, movies, and television can be just as literary as literature. Basically bringing the culture back to pop culture. I was impressed with how they handled the room during their panels. No matter how much discussion was going on in the room, they were always in control of what was going on. Which if I had to have one negative about the whole weekend is where some of the other panelist failed. ACP proved to have a very intellectual approach to their viewpoints and presented them in a way that allowed people to understand what they were trying to convey. Luckily I made a connection with some of the members of this group and we have begun what I hope is a long and fruitful collaboration with them. Beginning with this issue, you will find an article from one of their writers being featured monthly. If you haven’t read it yet go do so, also give them a like on FB and check out their website, www.theanalyticalcouchpotato.com, for more of their incredible insight. I also made friends with Sarah Goodwin from With a Grain of Salt. Along with her friend Erin, they create awesome designs for t-shirts Left: A live DJ was on hand to get the party movie for the Saturday night rave.
Right: Attendees didn't break costume while getting busy with the beats.
Right: An example of both cosplayers and regular Revoluticon attendees mixing it up on the dance floor.
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Above: Attendees getting down on the dance floor during on of the many parties held Saturday night.
FEATURE << Right: Chalkey Horenstein from The Analytical Couch Potato presenting the panel on The Necessary Use and Conventions of Loss in Video Games . Far Right: The entire group from The Analytical Couch Potato hamming it up for the camera.
and buttons. They currently have three lines, Fairy Tale Haiku, Clever Chic, and Oddly Literal which all have designs that will make you think and laugh at the same time. Check them out on FB and their website, www.cafepress.com/wagos, and show them some support.
Only come to an Anime Punch convention if you are ready to have an awesome time
Let’s wrap up this little jaunt into convention culture. First a disclaimer: Revoluticon, or any Anime Punch convention for that matter, is not for everyone. Only come to an AP convention if you are ready to have an awesome time. Make sure you are not “that guy”(or “that gal”) and no I do not need to explain that any more, you know what I mean. Be prepared to make friends. Do not come to an AP event if you are anti-social, you will not enjoy it. With its small attendance number and impressive list of events, you couldn’t help but talk to your fellow convention-goers. Revoluticon 2012 was indeed an experience I shall never forget, and I hope you go next year so I can have the opportunity to make friends with you as well.
April 2012 | DayOldStubble | 31
Guest Writer The Analytical Couch Potato Video Game
Kid Icarus: Uprising And Adjustable Difficulty's Effect On Relatability Much like any show or movie, a video game's plot loses a significant portion of its cathartic value if the player cannot sympathize with the main character. And in a game like Kid Icarus: Uprising, the first installment of the series in over twenty years, the main character still has some developing to do. In the NES and Game Boy iterations, Pit was more or less a pawn for Lady Palutena's wishes, with few independent thoughts of his own — and still is. So what can the game developers do to make this character relatable and likeable? On the surface, there is an ample supply of witty dialogue, metafiction humor, and jokes that mean different things for adults versus children, among other things to at the very least endear us to Pit. But one of the more fascinating ways a player becomes relatable to Pit is through adjustable difficulty levels, which give players a seemingly direct line of understanding regarding Pit's struggles. Pit's biggest emotional struggle is coping with just how much he risks his life for Lady Palutena, and while he doesn't ever regret his decisions, he is often reminded just how much he does for her, and how many times he nearly dies for her sake (though they admit through meta-fiction jokes here and there that he's actually dying and coming back to life when the player fails).
Time and time again the player is reminded of just how much Pit does for Palutena — first through Dark Pit accusing him of being a sheep herded by Palutena, then through various bosses [names spared to avoid minor spoilers] — and so right from the get go the player is at an understanding that Pit regularly risks his life for his goddess, and has consistently done so for the last twenty something years. Pit could die at any time. In any game with a lot of action, the developers hit a dilemma:
Above: The plucky angel named Pit, who is a servant to the Goddess of Light, Lady Palutena, and the main protagonist.
make the game too easy, and loses its emotional drive. The player disconnects from Pit's struggles, and doesn't cheer when he cheers, nor does the player cry when he suffers. The player feels nothing when Pit barely makes it out of a scene alive. But, on the other hand, make the game too hard, and the player will take longer to complete a challenge than Pit does in the Skyworld timeline — and while Pit's struggles are understood, the plot loses some understanding. Taking too long to finish one level risks the player forgetting what the point of that level was, and where the characters are going and what they are doing — especially in a game like Uprising, in which every level has the same layout of aerial assault followed by land platforming and shooting. But in Uprising, the player has the option to change the difficulty level at will, for every level. And considering the game will most likely have a polarized mix of fans well past their late twenties and small children just learning of Pit
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Icarus game as well as the hardcore gamer that actually managed to beat one. This, in a way, could be interpreted as the developers trying to remind fans of both hardcore and casual fashions that they are equally valuable to them.
risk an incorrect guess, the developers let the player decide just how hard it should be. No one will ever have to play something too hard or easy for their threshold of enjoyment.
In uprising the player has the option to change the difficulty level at will, for every level
And with that comes the slow but ever progressive balancing act that is natural to a player, to find that perfect harmony of just challenging enough to be interesting but not enough to make you stop having fun out of frustration. When this happens, especially by our hand, we're not just making the game more fun; we're making the story something we understand just a little bit more.
for the first time, the developers would have an uphill battle in trying to make a game universally challenging yet completable for all target audiences. So, rather than
Of course, it's worth noting that game developers did not consider this as a feature solely to make us sympathize for Pit. The other two games in the series, Kid Icarus and Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters both came from an era where games were, generally speaking, a little less forgiving. With limitations in memory, graphics, and sound, players found fewer explanations for how things worked, and much less direction on where to go â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and not to mention these games was genuinely more difficult, albeit just as simple if not simpler in terms of gameplay. To make games more accessible to a wider audience, the rise of elements like the casual gamer have come about; to sell more, game developers almost assume players don't have the time they did to hardcore game like they did in the past. A self-adjusted difficulty setting allows the game to be accessible to both the casual gamer who has never played a Kid
It is also worth mentioning other character traits make Pit relatable to others. For the younger audiences, he is quirky and absurdly dim-witted, making him a fun person to be around and guide through saving the world. For older audiences, he is occasionally profound in his comments to other gods or goddesses (though many deities discredit him as unoriginal, having only learned his intelligent ideas from Palutena). And more than anything, his undying faith in Palutena's goodness, even when she does something Pit doesn't agree with, makes him somewhat endearing. So in the end, adjustable difficulty is just one way the character becomes relatable, and this relatability is just one reason the feature exists. But much like the way video games are already the combination of two or more sources of entertainment, these little ways the game weaves its elements with each other just makes everything more fascinating, and often more effective. And much like a movie or book, the ability to make something serve more than one purpose is all the more credit and testimony to the intricacy of the developers' design. Chalkey Horenstein, the Editor-In-Chief of The Analytical Couch Potato, is out to prove that video games, as well as other forms of entertainment like movies and television, can be just as literary as literature. Outside of The ACP, his writing and/or editing has also appeared in The Record (Detroit, MI), Spare Change News (Boston, MA), The Westford Eagle (Westford, MA), The Artful Dodge (Wooster, OH), Real Change (Seattle, WA), and Die JerusalŃ&#x2018;mmer (Germany), among others. He is a simple man with simple pleasures, like Pokemon, morning jogs, filk, and swing dancing. April 2012 | DayOldStubble | 33
REVIEW Telepath rpg: sog adobe air
Telepath RPG: Servants of God Sinister Design's Latest RPG By: Aaron Dekuiper
Game Info: Format: Adobe AIR Other Formats: PC, Mac, Linux Developer: Craig Stern Publisher: Sinister Design Country Origin: United States Price: $24.95 Release Date: Out Now No. Players: 1 Website: SinisterDesign.net
As you read in our last issue, Telepath RpPG: Servants of God (TSoG) is one of the PC games we’ve been following lately. With another month’s worth of time to delve into all that Ravinale and its surroundings have to offer, what have we found? Read on! TSoG is a quality game, even if it doesn’t have a big ad campaign. As head of indie game studio Sinister Design, Craig Stern developed TSoG mostly single-handedly, but you shouldn’t dismiss it as “just another Flash game.” If you go in expecting Bejeweled or Yeti Games, you’ll quickly find out just how deep and engaging a game can be- regardless of platform. In Telepath RPG: Servants of God you play Duvalier, the son of senators who are wrongly imprisoned by The Cult, an ultra-religious group that has taken control of your home city of
Ravinale. You’ll break out of prison with an old friend, join his ragtag resistance group, recruit others to the cause, and eventually march back on Ravinale in an attempt to free it from tyranny and oppression. While the story early on will remind you of classic RPG’s like Final Fantasy, TSoG opens up once you get around halfway through with a less linear structure. Explore everywhere and recruit a large team or just breeze through the main quests, you decide. When it comes time for combat, TSoG presents you with a gridbased battle map and characters with specific movement and action ranges. It’s tactical strategy at its best, and clearly harkens back to all-time great games like Shining Force or Final Fantasy Tactics. You’re rewarded for carefully planning your moves and turns, and seldom do you feel a battle went against you because of luck. Plan wisely and
it's tactical strategy at its best, and clearly harkens back to all-time great games like shining force of final fantasy tactics 34 | DayOldStubble | April 2012
you will succeed- it’s very satisfying even after dozens of combats.
Below: Each character in your team is only allowed a set amount of moves each. So make sure to use them wiselty.
One key element of your combat ability in TSoG is your main character’s Personality score. While not entirely new, this aspect of your stats gives you the ability to truly play the game how you wish- the higher your Personality score, the more allies you can field in each battle (From four min to eight max). Having a bigger squad is a tremendous asset, especially in later battles, but the tradeoff is that every point you put into Personality, is a point not put into Duvalier’s core attack and defense.
Get your revolution off to a great footing with these quick tips!
Above: One of the first challenges after escaping the dungeon involves talking to a spirit named Luca.
Do you go the Warrior route, creating a beast of a hero who can stand up to any opponent but only has a few friends at his back? Or do you go the quiet leader type, weaker in a fight but surrounded by devoted allies? In most games the points you spend in areas like Intelligence, Charisma, etc, usually get you things like extra skill-ups better merchant prices. Few games allow you to avoid the no-brainer Warrior path so thoroughly and yet still field a very strong battle force.
butchered again. After multiple tries I apparently slipped in unmolested, but there was no indication what the odds were of either result. It makes sense that the city would be guarded against members of the resistance and I don’t mind that one bit- but tell me that in game terms, warn me of the danger. It could be as simple as a party member popping up with dialogue when you try to enter the city, maybe giving a vague assessment of the odds you’ll actually be attacked if you proceed.
Though this is an indie game, production values are very enjoyable. The graphics are clean and descriptive, most of the main characters feature voice acting, and the music is a complete delight. It compliments the mood of battles and dungeons perfectly, and is well worth listening to even outside your game session. Conversations are lengthy (in a good way) and complex, with characters expressing emotions and fears in a way that feels like real life much more than most games.
In the end, Telepath RPG: Servants of God is a quality title that provides considerable depth and a rewarding experience. I found myself addicted to the strategic battles, and moved to thoughtful consideration by many of the dialogue trees. The game can last you a dozen hours or more easily if you explore all the nooks and crannies, and if you’re a fan of RPG’s or tactical combat it should definitely get some attention the next time you need something new.
My biggest complaint with TSoG, is that the game doesn’t seem to hold your hand enough. As odd as that may sound at first, there were many times I felt a little lost or lacking information on what my options were. One great example occurred early on when I first returned to Ravinale after exploring the map- a squad of vastly superior guards was waiting and easily slaughtered my team. Reload, try to enter again,
RATING
80%
Definitely worth a purchase
Pros: Addictive tactical combat, lovingly-crafted characters and conversation trees, considerable amount of length and depth that will surprise you. Well worth the price and an experience that will keep your attention for weeks if you let it. Cons: Could use a strategy guide- too often you encounter frustration from a lack of in-game details and/or direction. I shouldn’t have to go consult a wiki to figure out how to get through a dungeon.
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Once you can move freely about Ravinale make sure you thoroughly explore the city. You can acquire a new ally, an orb, and some gold before you even leave town
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As soon as you can save up 1000 gold head to Somnus and seek out Gloomling the shadowling. Offer to help him get rid of the pests in his basement, they’re actually allies you can recruit for a small fee and are some of the strongest party members you’ll get. Combats will be noticeably easier for awhile after they join up!
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Don’t neglect powering up Arman the thief. Midway through the game he has an important role to play by himself, and it will be much easier if he has the Leap ability
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Throughout the game, the librarian in Ravinale can give you the location of four crypts. Be fanatical in exploring them whenever you get the chance- each one is a great source of loot to make your party stronger
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Crypt 4 is an enormous dungeon and one of the biggest challenges in the game. You should probably draw a map as you go, but your ultimate goal is the room 21 north and 8 west of where you entered
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When they ask if you’re really sure before heading off to take down Hellion the shadowling, make sure you are! The successive battles there are the toughest outside the finale of the main quest. Once you can survive those, you’re ready for the endgame.
April 2012 | DayOldStubble | 35
REVIEW
Mass effect 3
ps3, Xbox 360, pc
Mass Effect 3
THE EPIC SERIES COMES TO AN END WITH A CONTROVERSIAL ENDING Game Info: Format: PS3 / Xbox 360 / PC Developer: BioWare Publisher: Electronic Arts Price: $39.99 Release Date: Out Now No. Players: 1-4
War has finally arrived. After two games worth of running around making friends and solving all the trifling problems of people across the galaxy, Commander Shepard now comes face to face with the Reaper invasion. As Mass Effect 3 opens, Earth falls under attack and Shepard is forced to flee the planet to gather allies for a counterstrike. Be prepared for a more grim, gritty chapter in the franchise, as the war encompasses the entirety of the game this time around. Bioware has taken what they learned on the first two Mass Effect games and used that experience to craft a fuller, more polished entry this time around. Combat is fiercer and more visceral. Missions and sidequests are plentiful to the point of being almost overwhelming at times. Dozens of familiar faces make appearances in large and small roles alike. Character progression is more interesting than in ME2, without being as over-detailed as in ME1.
Right Top: The Reapers who invaded Earth are looking for you. Right Middle: Battle your way towards your goal of uniting the galaxy and saving Earth. Right Bottom: It is up to you and your squad to save Earth.
The biggest part of a game like this, at this point in the franchise, is the story. You've been through hell and back with two casts of characters already, and this is the chapter where all those plotlines culminate and pay off. Truly caring about what happens to these characters is pretty rare in a video game, but trust me when I say that if you have favorites from the earlier games, you will feel an honest emotional tug to see what part they play this time around- and if they survive. Some of them won’t. Building on your previous games of course, all the various friends Shepard has made will only be around for ME3 if they survived your story to this point. But there's
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Let Your Voice Be Heard
war assets. Either way you choose to play (or, more likely, a hybrid of both) works fine and yields a similar result.
Never let it be said that your opinion wouldn’t matter! Fan feedback about the ending has been so vocal- and upset- since ME3 came out that Bioware recently announced plans for new DLC to “expand and clarify” the end of the game. While listening to fans and actually taking action based on feedback in this manner is nearly unheard of among gaming, keep your enthusiasm in check for now. Adding in additional material to the existing ending is a tall order and it’s entirely possible that whatever they do come up with may still leave fans unsatisfied. But it’s an opportunity…
For all its greatness, Mass Effect 3 is not a perfect game. Most importantly, be forewarned that the ending may leave you disappointed. No spoilers, and each person will have their own opinion on it, but there is already a large and vocal subset of the ME fan community unhappy and up in arms over how things wind up this time around. See for yourself, but don't be surprised if all those people aren't worked up for at least a little good reason.
Right: As with previous versions of Mass Effect Commander Shepard can also be played as a female lead.
Another glaring flaw is the Journal, where your mission data is stored. For whatever reason, this time around most side missions do not update as you go through them. Get ready to make notes on a pad of paper of where you’re at on each quest, or otherwise you’ll certainly lose track of at least a few of them. This seems like a simple fix that Bioware could easily update with a DLC patch, but nothing has been forthcoming yet.
more- other decisions such as if someone was loyal at the end of ME2 can mean the difference between them walking out of a fray or perishing. For example, one key plot moment results in death of a familiar face dying…and the only way to save them is IF a certain other character died earlier on, AND you took a specific path through a side mission in a previous game, AND you navigate through conversations with the exact right choices in ME3. Complex is the most epic, awesome way. Mass Effect 3 introduces multiplayer to the franchise, but it happily is a nice addition that lives up the Bioware's promise that
it wouldn’t feel forced upon you. Participating in multiplayer raises your "Galactic Readiness" level, which starts out at 50% and at that point effectively halves the impact of all the war assets you'll be acquiring throughout the single player campaign. The more time you spend on multiplayer sessions, the higher your readiness and thus the less time you'll have to spend scanning every damned planet known to man to get enough assets. If you're antisocial though and would rather not play multiplayer at all, you don't have to. Your readiness will just stay parked at 50%, and you can easily get your army prepared enough for the endgame by searching out all those
Above: The Reapers, who have invaded Earth, are destroying London is this cut scene.
Ultimately, if you’ve been a fan of the Mass Effect series thus far you should have a great run with this finale chapter. Just seeing all those familiar faces again and watching plotlines wrap up is great fun, and even if the end may be shaky the bulk of the game is extremely fulfilling. It’s hard to ask for more from a game than this one provides, especially with all the expectations you’ll likely have going in.
RATING if you like this Gears of War 3 Epic Games
95%
An epic finale to a great series
Pros: Epic finale of a great series, refinements have been made to nearly everything, cameos from more old friends than you’re likely to remember. Cons: Journal leaves a lot to be desired. Ending may leave you disappointed.
Reviewed: Issue 1 / 90%
April 2012 | DayOldStubble | 37
>> UPCOMING RELEASES
Upcoming Theatrical Releases To Watch For
DVD Releases Worth Checking Out
Cabin in the Woods April 13th, 2012
Tyrannosaur April 3rd, 2012
This horror film is like not other scary movie out there. This is a movie that deftly pays homage to past films while creating something fresh.
A beautiful story about two people who become intertwined in one anotherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lives, and the consequences.
Think Like A Man April 20th, 2012 Four guys have been being played by their women. Best revenge is to turn the tables on them.
The Double Hour April 3rd,2012 Much like Italian food, this Italian noir film is robust, full of flavor and leaves you wanting more.
Safe April 27th, 2012
Shame April 17th, 2012
Jason Statham doles out the hits in another brawl-fest. This time to save a child math prodigy.
A manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s well-groomed private life, including his sex addiction, goes haywire after his sister comes to visit.
Pirates! Band of Misfits April 27th, 2012
The Divide April 17th, 2012
Claymation is back with this little jaunt on the high seas feature a bumbling Captain and his crew as he tries to attain the coveted Pirate of the Year Award.
Eight strangers deal with hysteria after they seek refuge from the fallout of a devastating bomb that strikes the city.
The Raven April 27th, 2012
The Guard April 3rd, 2012
John Cusack brings Edgar Allan Poe to life as a consultant to the police when a killer starts using his stories as blueprints for his murders.
A straight-laced FBI agent and a crass small-town cop must work past their differences to solve a crime steeped in blackmail, drugs, and murder.
38 | DayOldStubble | April 2012
DVD REVIEW <<
WE BOUGHT A ZOO
THIS MOVIE EPITOMIZES THE SAYING "LIFE IS A ZOO" By: Shea Kimbrough
DVD INFO
Cameron Crowe is one of, if not my favorite director. I know, I know. I probably just lost ever bit of “cool-points” I’ve accumulated over the past 25 years, but it’s true. I love his work. It’s in the way that he captures moments that make me wish that I was there, sharing that particular space in time with the characters he has molded.
Format: BLU-RAY Combo Rated: PG Run Time: 124 Minutes Release Date: April 3, 2012
His latest film, We Bought a Zoo is a little lighter than his previous works (Elizabethtown, Almost Famous, Vanilla Sky, etc.), but it’s still as driven. The story follows Benjamin Mee (Matt Damon), who has recently just lost his wife. As he is trying to find his new identity without her, as well as a fresh start for his children, Benjamin decides it’s best to relocate. At first the thought of owning this home, this zoo is out of the question but he quickly says “why not?”
The love interest, or lack-there-of, shared by Benjamin and Kelly is awkward at moments. Even the love story shared by his son, Dylan (Colin Ford) and Lily (Elle Fanning) had me uncomfortably cringing in my seat. I’m not sure, but maybe this was due to his divorce from his ex-wife, Nancy Wilson. Who knows. It wasn’t all bad, though. The story that Benjamin shares of his late wife is extremely touching and inspiring, really.
Upon moving to the zoo, the Mee family is met by the staff led by head keeper, Kelly (Scarlet Johansson). Immediately they are faced with many struggles, financial problems and a deadline they must meet in order to have the zoo running in time for the season. Most everyone is in this for better or worse so they give it their all coming together when it counts.
If I hadn’t lost all my “cool-points” earlier, I probably will now. I cried like a little girl throughout the entire movie. Maybe it was the butter from the popcorn in my eye, but I think it was the father in me. I saw Benjamin and his daughter Rosie, who was fantastically played by Maggie Elizabeth Jones, and I think it reminded me of my daughter. The relationship portrayed by Damon and Jones is really one of the strongest points in the film.
Another strong part of the movie, like every other Cameron Crow film, is the soundtrack. The soundtrack consisted mostly of songs by Jónsi, the lead singer of one of my favorite bands, Sigur Rós (who also had a few songs on the soundtrack). Every note fit extremely well within each scene and it really made a beautiful aspect of the film You don’t have to guess what happens, and how the ending turns out, but that’s okay. You don’t always need to be shocked or surprised. Every now and then it’s nice to know what’s going to be laid out in front of you and be okay with it. I think that ultimately that is what this film is about: no matter what happens in your life, make the best out of it and just be okay with it.
RATING
This one's worth watching with your family
THE MUPPETS
KERMIT, FOZZIE, AND THE GANG ARE BACK AT IT ONE MORE TIME By: james detzler
DVD INFO
It is hard to do a movie that is fresh but Format: still has that nostalgic feeling of memories BLU-RAY Combo past. The Muppets movie that came out in Rated: theaters back on Nov. 23, 2011 finally came PG out on DVD on March 20. I had to pick this Run Time: one up since I missed it in theaters and I was 103 Minutes a big fan of the Muppet show back in the Release Date: day and even their movies. The movie starts March 20th, 2012 out with a bang introducing new characters and even a new Muppet then kind of slows down as it begins to explain the plot of the story. While it was all stuff that was required the movie seemed to drag at this point, even into the beginning of rounding up all the old Muppets. Once the whole gang was together though, it was the same magic I loved watching growing
up. The musical numbers were funny, fresh, and still paid homage to the past. The heartwarming feeling you get while watching this movie makes it perfect for the whole family. I highly recommend picking this gem up and I bet after you finish you will be wondering when they will bring the Muppets back again to primetime.
RATING
Almost makes you wish they were back on TV
April 2012 | DayOldStubble | 39
REVIEW
Battle Royale
INDIE
Battle Royale
HOW DOES THIS JAPANESE VERSION OF TEENS FIGHTING TO THE DEATH RATE? By: Shea Kimbrough
movie Info: Production year: 2000 Rated: R Runtime: 114 mins Director: Kinji Fukasaku Cast: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Taro Yamamoto, Chiaki Kuriyama, Kou Shibasaki, Masanobu Ando, Takeshi Kitano Based On:
Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
On March 20, 2012 I, Shea Kimbrough, embarked on a long and treacherous journey. The destination: Best Buy. First, I traveled 53 miles south to Huntsville, AL to the closest blue-faced retail store. I ran in like there was a horde of starving Left 4 Dead zombies right on my tail. All I Found there was pure disappointment; they didn’t have it. I was furious and I felt lost, but I had three options; I could go 90 minutes south to Birmingham, AL, 50 minutes west to Florence, AL, or 95 minutes north to Franklin, TN. When turned on my car and started driving out of the parking lot, I had decided to head west to Florence. But, a thought crossed my mind. “If Huntsville didn’t have what I was looking for, why would a much smaller Best Buy have what I was desperately needing?” So, I did an illegal maneuver and got into the lane that would take me north to Franklin, TN. An hour
and thirty-five minutes later, I was walking into my second store of the day. I searched and searched the BluRay section but alas, it wasn’t there either. I was not about to go home without what I have been waiting so long for. Thanks to the terrible Nashville, TN rush hour traffic, a trip that should have only taken me 20 minutes ended taking me over an hour. I didn’t care, I had faith. Surely the largest electronic and entertainment retailer (excluding amazon.com) would have what I so desperately coveted. Slowly, I walked through the sliding double doors to the largest Best Buy within 300 miles of my home. I didn’t bother with looking myself. I just found the closest employee and told them what I was looking for. They checked the computer and turned around facing me. The needy look on my face probably
this movie has it all: blood, guts, decapitation and Japanese school girls... 40 | DayOldStubble | April 2012
Above: Two of the Japanese junior high students race for their lives after a bloody attack.
Below: The group of 42 students getting prepared for their ultimate test.
resembled that of Puss from PussIn-Boots and the Shrek series. The poor girl had to give me the news... they didn’t have it. I quickly went from the sweet, innocent Puss, to the HULK. I was fuming as I told the young lady how disappointed I was that Best Buy didn’t carry the 4-disc BluRay Complete Collection of Battle Royale and how they should be ashamed of themselves for calling themselves a real store. She apologized, but it wasn’t enough. My heart was broken.
happen. Thankfully, though, Anchor Bay released the Complete Collection which is actually fine by me.
American distributors. It took this film ten years to get released in a DVD or BluRay format in America.
I believe the release date of this collection was perfect. The following Friday, March 23, 2012, The Hunger Games released in theaters. I’m sure there’s a 16 year-old girl out there who would claw my eyes out if she read this; but, The Hunger Games literally sucks in comparison to Battle Royale. Now, they are two completely different films with different tones, but they are also very similar.
It actually makes me a little concerned that we pay writers thousands, if not millions of dollars sitting in a room coming up with new ways to kill and torture people in the Saws and Hostels, but a beautiful film like this is balked at, banned and refused a release.
Battle Royale, based off the 1999 novel of the same name, follows a group of 42 junior high students who are taken to a deserted island and forced to fight to the death. A struggling Japan with a crippling Economy and a starving population, has blamed all of their problems on their youth. The children have become so unruly in their eyes, that the adults and “big-wigs” decide that it is better for the population and the country if they thin out the anarchic youth.
On the drive home, I had Siri (who hates me, by the way) attempt to order me the collection from Amazon. She couldn’t so I had to pull over and do it myself. It’s not all bad, though, by ordering from Amazon, I saved 20 bucks and got it two days later. You’re probably asking yourself “why did this guy just write all of that?” But that story is the only way I can put into words just how much I love this film. I have been waiting for years for a Criterion Collection BluRay release, but knew it would never
The result is the BR Act. It states the once a year a class of junior high students will compete in a competition. A competition that pits child against child, friend against friend, lover against lover. Each child is given provisions, some much better than others, that will aid them throughout the battle. Seems simple enough, but there’s more. Each child is equipped with a tamper-proof collar fitted around their neck. Throughout the day, parts of the island will become “hotzones”. If you’re within one of the zones during the time it’s designated hot; “boom” the collar will go off, decapitating you. If that’s not enough, there’s a time limit. If after three days there is no declared winner, all necklaces will explode, making sure that there is one declared winner. In his final film, the director, Kinji Fukasaku (The Yakuza Papers, Sympathy for the Underdog), pulls off what most filmmakers have always strove for: creating a beautiful, emotionally charged thrill-ride. It’s a shame that this film received so much opposition from
The sequel, Battle Royale: Requiem, was started by Kinji, but he was only abel to shoot one scene before falling ill and ultimately passing away due to Pancreatic Cancer. Requiem isn’t bad; it’s actually nice to see what the repercussions of the first film produce, but it pales in comparison to the original. Still, to have it in a collection with two different versions of the first is an awesome treat. The Complete Collection contains the director’s-cut of the film; the original theatrical release; the sequel Battle Royale: Requiem; and a DVD disc containing: The Making of Battle Royale; TV Spot: Tarantino Version; Basketball Scene Rehearsals; Tokyo International Film Festival 2000; Special Edition TV Spot; Original Theatrical Trailer; Battle Royale Documentary; Special Effects Comparison Featurette; Filming OnSet; Behind-The-Scenes Featurette; Audition & Rehearsal Footage; Instructional Video: Birthday Version, Battle Royale Press Conference. I ordered Battle Royale: The Complete Collection BluRay for $32, which is a steal in my opinion. I would easily pay 80 bucks for it. However, if you’ve never seen it, or just not that interested in having the whole set, you can now buy, thanks to Anchor Bay, the DVD or BluRay of Battle Royale for around fifteen dollars from Amazon. Personally, I believe that everyone should see this film at least twice. I mean, this movie has it all: blood, guts, decapitation and Japanese school girls... what more could you want?
RATING
This one's definitely worth a purchase
April 2012 | DayOldStubble | 41
REVIEW
hunger games
Movie
Hunger Games
Die Hard Readers Beware By: James Detzler
First there was Harry Potter. Twilight then came along and took teenage movie fandom to a whole nother level. Now we have The Hunger Games, first book in a series by the same name written by Suzanne Collins. Since I have not attended midnight premieres of any of the Twilight movies, in fact I have only seen two of them entirely, I can not compare how their opening nights. I will say this. I live in a fairly average sized town that even on regular friday nights can have a hard time selling out entire theater rooms. On Thursday I went and bought my ticket in the afternoon, and I was already placed into the third theater they opened for that night. I would predict that they definitely opened a fourth and quite possibly a fifth theater. I can only fathom what major city multiplexes had to deal with on that night. Enough of the release night, you want to know what I thought of it, right? Well too bad, you’re going to get it anyways. Book adaptations can be hard. Personally being a avid reader of Harry Potter from day one I was slightly disappointed in the movies and the fact that they could not include every little detail that made the book so wonderful. I grew to realize that unless I wanted to sit through a 4 hour movie, which I probably would, there was no way possible. The Hunger Games did not suffer this problem. Sadly it suffered from an entirely different one. The book is written mainly from the viewpoint of being in the mind of Katniss Everdeen, our protagonist. This means that unless there was a constant, or even semiconstant, narration throughout the movie you may not pick up all the little nuances that went through her head. As good as the acting was between all of the cast, there is only so much that can be conveyed through actions and dialogue. This is where I find the biggest fault with this movie. Now on to my little nitpicking section. Personally I believe origin of where she acquired the mockingjay pin, the logo that is emblazoned across all the merchandise, is incredibly important. In the movie they completely change this backstory and I feel it takes some of the weight away from its semblance. Secondly, I do not feel the gap between classes was given its due diligence. 42 | DayOldStubble | April 2012
Movie Info: Production year: 2012 Rating: PG-13 Runtime: 142 mins Director: Gary Ross Cast: Alexander Ludwig,
Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) is forced back into the game after trying to forge her own path
Elizabeth Banks, Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hucherson, Liam Hemsworth, Stanley Tucci, Wes Bentley, Woody Harrelson
Below: Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth) discuss strategy while Clove (Isabelle Fuhrman), Cato (Alexander Ludwig), Marvel (Jack Quaid) and Glimmer (Leven Rambin) are in training.
This is more of a set design issue as well as a story issue. They were able to eat all this highly rich food without any repercussions to their dietary tracts was trivial but another building block upon which to show the divide between the rich and the poor. On top of this I felt that the set pieces for all of the citadel were incredibly spartan. It did not give me the same sense of extravagance that I garnered from the book. My last issue is with the entire skipping of little story about the Avox girl. This was critical in showing how brutal the government was, not just in the Hunger Games themselves, but also as military power. Aside from these deviations from the book, I won’t even get into the really trivial stuff, the movie on a whole was good. The story had good pacing. The acting was good, not great but good. If I had to give five stars to anyone I would give the praise to Elizabeth Banks and Stanley Tucci for their incredible transformative performances. The bloodshed was probably more than needed for small children but for the age group that this book was intended, it was acceptable. On a whole, the movie is not a bad movie. Though as a book companion piece, I think it failed. Maybe I hold adaptation movies to a higher standard because I want to feel the same watching the movie as I did reading the book. Either way this is a movie that if you want to feel included in all the buzz surrounding it you should go see. Although for those of you that read the book, you can’t say I didn’t warn you.
Rating Break Down Acting: 1 Star
While no performance stood up and said look at me, there was also none that fell flat on its face. Plot: 1/2 Star I can’t give a whole lot of credit to the plot to an adaptation. It is basically plug and play. Cinematography: 1 Star Well-handled camera work that made every scene fresh with all the angles used. Script/Dialogue: 1/2 Star Once again since it’s an adaptation, a poorly handled one at that, I can’t give full credit for this. Book Adaptation: 1/2 Star This was a failed attempt at a book adaptation. It was a good movie, but not a book companion.
RATING
REVIEW
The Cabin In The Woods
The cabin in the woods
movie
A Horror Film Like No Other By: James Detzler
To be honest, my second film review was going to be on American Reunion. That all changed when I went to see Cabin in the Woods on April 14. Quickly I must point out that if you have not seen any of the trailers for this movie, do not see them before attending this movie. No they will not ruin the movie. Some small plot twists and other moments in the film will be though. That being said, this is not your typical horror film. You might even say that it’s not scary. It certainly does have its share of jumps and surprises though and that is what makes this movie so delightful. Other movies have tried parodying horror films in the past to mixed success. Cabin in the Woods does a spectacular job of paying respect to past horror films while also messing around with the usual tropes that are contained in a typical horror film. Most noticeably I noticed Evil Dead, Friday the 13th, Hellraiser, IT, The Strangers, zombie movies, and even creature films getting their due. If you are a horror fan, this movie may very well be one of your top five films for the year. I know for me it certainly is. From the very Tarantino-esque start to the “Wow, I had no idea this film was headed in that direction” end, this movie is top-notch. From the very beginning you get a sense that not everything is as it seems. Throughout the movie you are fed little snippets and clues to what really might be the secret behind the Cabin in the Woods. These scenes commonly are the most hilarious parts of this movie as well. To me it added both a sense of disconnection from the main action while also explaining more of the bigger picture. They were scenes that if not carefully scripted and acted would have ultimately caused this film to impale itself upon a garden rake.
Movie Info:
Curt (Chris Hemsworth), Holden (Jesse Williams), Jules (Anna Hutchison), Marty (Fran Kranz) and Dana (Kristen Connolly) realize they are in for more then they bargained
Production year: 2012 Rating: R Runtime: 95 mins Directors: Drew Goddard Cast: Anna Hutchison, Bradley Whitford, Brian White, Chris Hemsworth, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams, Kristen Connolly, Richard Jenkins
You will leave the theater feeling like you have never watched another Horror film like this one
For me to go into anymore detail may potentially ruin moments of the film for you. I can only say that you will leave the theater feeling like you have never watched another horror film like this one. I implore you to not seek out the trailers and see this movie with fresh eyes, as well as an open mind.
Below: Holden (Jesse Williams) and Dana (Kristen Connolly) can't believe what is happening to them.
RATING
Engaging, funny, frightening and ingenious
Rating Break Down Acting: 1 Star
Even those these roles were run-of-the-mill horror archetypes, they played them to a T.
Below: Dana (Kristen Connolly) tries to escape her fate during a fight.
Plot: 1 Star The plot is the highlight of this movie. What made this movie so absolutely amazing was its plot. Cinematography: 1 Star There was nothing spectacular when it comes to the way this movie was filmed, but it was certainly done the right way. Dialogue: 1 Star This was the cheese to the plots wine. Without both of these parts being top-notch, this movie would have failed. Innovativeness: 1 Star Take everything you know about horror movies, toss them in a blender and you’ll get this movie. Sure some parts will be familiar, but the way it is presented is what makes this movie delicious.
April 2012 | DayOldStubble | 43
>> FLASHBACK
BeOS
THE OPERATING SYSTEM THAT NEVER CAME TO BE. TECH INFO Operating System: BeOS Platform: Originally PowerPC but moved to Intel Release Date: October 1995 THE KNOWLEDGE While BeOS has been purchased by Palm the ideas behind it are alive in the community funded Haiku OS at haiku-os.org
You may not have heard of this particular operating system, but in the early 90's, BeOS was a promising OS specifically written for personal computers to take advantage of modern hardware such as symmetric multiprocessing. Designed with the basic principles of creating a user interface that's clean and uncluttered, BeOS was positioned mainly as a multimedia platform which was set out to rival the likes of Mac OS and Microsoft Windows. Initially created for PowerPC based computers, the first Be system ran on Apple's Power PC and the company, Be Inc., hoped that Apple would eventually license BeOS as a replacement for its aging Macintosh System OS.
Above: A typical screenshot of BeOS showing all the processes it could run at once without slowing down your computer.
Be Inc, CEO, a former Apple executive Jean-Louis Gassee, wanted $200 million for the OS but Apple was unwilling to pay that. instead they purchased NeXTSTEP for $429 million, and ultimately brought Apple's Co-Founder Steve Jobs back into Apple. BeOS continued to struggle to find a foot hold and was finally sold to Palm for $11 million in 2001. By: Jason Carrick
mountains, jump off a waterfall and hardly lose acceleration. Most missions find you trying to pick up or drop off illegal merchandise, or performing a race across the realistic terrain.
Smuggler's Run STUNNING VISUALS AND HUGE MAPS SHOWED OFF THE PS2 GAME INFO Format: Sony Playstation 2 Developer: Rockstar Release Date: 2000
While the PS2 era may not seem that long ago, within another year those games will enter the “two console generation’s back” phase. Yikes! Smuggler’s Run was one of the first “grab your attention” PS2 games. Stunning visuals and huge maps combined to show off what the new system could do, and the gameplay was a good mix of arcade principles and console polish. Avoid the police, smash into your friends, figure out new shortcuts across
44 | DayOldStubble | April 2012
Unfortunately, this is a good game of yesteryear that hasn’t held up too well in the last decade-plus. It’s not that it’s a bad game now…just limited. Missions fall into a very few basic types, and the small number of vehicles you can drive handle only a little bit different from one another. Enemy AI is almost entirely built on the rule that they drive the direction you are steering, which devolves strategy into mostly looking for trees that you can zip by close enough to in order to snag your pursuers on when they follow your path. Not a bad experience now, but not something that’s going to hold your attention long with how complex and satisfying as games have become over the course of the last generation. It could easily entertain you and a friend for a couple hours…but don’t expect a full weekend from it. By: aaron dekuiper
WRESTLING GEEK: BREAKING KAYFABE
Wrestling <<
Wrestlemania XXVIII Brings Out The Best At The End Of An Era
The end of the era?
Any wrestling fan knows what this time of year is --- Wrestlemania time! If you were lucky enough to have seen Wrestlemania XXVIII you will truly understand what we are about to talk about. For the better part of 20 years my favorite wrestler, next to Ric Flair, is The Undertaker! Every year at Wrestlemania The Undertaker’s match is one of the highlights of the evening. Going undefeated at Wrestlemania is unheard of. Now, we all know --- or maybe you don’t know --that the matches are predetermined (I know, it took me a while to deal with it, too!) but having an undefeated streak at Wrestlemania is like winning 20 consecutive Stanley Cups without losing one game! Unfortunately, after 20 years The Undertaker isn’t the same man that he used to be. Mark Calaway is in the twilight of his career. He hadn’t competed in a WWE ring in over a year. (A true sign that the wrestler is winding down.) When Wrestlemania came around again I knew that it was only a matter of time before The Undertaker would make his presence known. After defeating HHH at Wrestlemania XXVII The Undertaker had to be carried out of the ring on a stretcher. It was the worst “beating” of his career. (Hence the reason why he was gone from WWE for a year). I knew that changes were coming. Which leads us to Wrestlemania XXVIII.
The Undertaker appeared and challenged HHH to a rematch. At first HHH declined but after some prompting he accepted --- but only in the world renowned match HELL IN A CELL! This match gained more attention when it was announced that HHH’s best friend Shawn Michaels would be the special guest referee. (On a side note at Wrestlemania XXVI The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels had a match that if Michaels lost he would have to retire. Guess who lost?) It definitely looked like the deck was stacked against The Undertaker. Long story short The Undertaker won the match that was dubbed THE END OF AN ERA. But it’s what happened after the match is what truly touched me. These 3 men, who have been a part of the business for more than 20 years each, who have fought through injuries and heartache, embraced one another in a move very rarely seen in wrestling. It is called breaking character or breaking kayfabe and it is a MAJOR no no in the world of Vince McMahon. Seeing as how these 3 men were so important to the rise in popularity of the WWE in the 1990s and how they followed orders to the letter it was truly a great moment for the wrestling fan. To date, and there might be someone out there that can tell me otherwise, The Undertaker has never publicly broken character. Even at Ric Flair’s retirement Mr. Calaway still stayed in The Undertaker character.
It is inevitable that all of us will get older in life. However, when we watch TV or movies we somehow think that those actors don’t age like we do, like they are superhuman and the regular rules of life don’t involve them. Time has caught up to Mark Calaway/The Undertaker. I don’t know how much longer that he plans on wrestling but surely it can’t be much longer. If you are a fan of his rejoice in the fact that you were able to see over 20 years of him at his best. Whether it was his character, his entrance, or the music The Undertaker is one of the best character wrestlers of ALL TIME! (Go ahead argue with me --- YOU’LL LOSE!) I just wanted to use this public forum to thank Mr. Calaway for what he has done for us, the wrestling fans, for 20 plus years. Shoot us an email and let us know what you think. Did you like the PPV? What was your favorite match? What is you favorite Undertaker moment? Do you even like The Undertaker? Thank you for taking the time to read this article. Next month will get back into the rasslin’ talk the right way. We will discuss opinions on what WWE and Impact Wrestling can do to make their product better. SO WHATTCHA GONNA DO BROTHER WHEN THE 42” MULLET GOES WILD ON YOU? By: dave norton
April 2012 | DayOldStubble | 45
>> MAC N CHEESE
MAC N CHEESE BREAK DETZ TAKES A STAND ON REMAKES AND REASON BEHIND THEM
IN DEFENSE OF REMAKES Take a moment and think about the last time a movie actually scared you. I mean really scared you. It haunted your thoughts for the next week or two, made you not want to see another horror film for a long time. Now if you a child reading this it could’ve been in the last year, heck just last week, but for us adult and even teenagers, standard horror films do not scare us. Personally I have a hard time remembering the last time a movie frightened me. The closest film that comes to mind would be The Strangers. Mainly because it was based off true story, and the antagonists looked like they could live in my neighborhood, albeit without the masks. I started thinking about this thought after seeing Cabin in the Woods so I discussed with one of my good friends who also saw it, and the point was brought up that it wasn’t scary. I can not deny this statement, particularly if you are 18 or older. Teenage years is where you start to lose your fear of unnatural things. Sure there is still the fleeting thought of a serial killer in your pitch black basement now and again, well with me there is at least. Heck I even plan out how I am going to survive a zombie apocalypse. I swear one day all my friends will appreciate my forethought. Back to the point though, our discussion carried on and remakes were brought up. The fact being that none of them are scary and don’t have the same feel to them as the old ones did. I made sure to point out that we weren’t little kids anymore. That stuff of course isn’t going to scare us. It is completely unfair for any one person to compare a remake to the original, specifically horror films. There is absolutely no way the film is going to have the same impact on an adult as it does to a kid. Because let’s face it, no matter if our parents let us see it or we somehow sneaked into one the shows, we have all seen films that were rated for above our age. You can go and watch the same movie and while it may not scare you like it did back then, that memory comes back of how you felt while watching it. If you go to a remake of that the movie that follows the original story to the letter, uses the exact same locations, and just changed up the actors it will still feel like an entirely different movie. It will not be enough to trigger those same emotional responses that happened as a child. Let me bring up an example. In 2010, the remake of Nightmare on Elm Street came out. Now this was a horror series I had no experience except from what I read online and Freddy vs. Jason. So I decided to watch the original film the day before the new film was released and then see that one. In my honest opinion, Freddy was a joke in the original movie. He wasn’t even creepy scary like Pennywise, he was just a straight up clown. Really? Extendo-arms in the alleyway just to justify his signature scraping of his claws? The remake made Freddy into something more human; someone who would induce tangible fear if you came across him in reallife. Point blank, the remake of Nightmare on Elm Street was scarier for me as an adult than the original. I am not saying the remakes are amazing films. I am just saying they are not necessarily worse films than their originals, because in reality those films were certainly not the cream of the crop back in their heydey either. They did exactly what the remakes are doing, providing an escape from everyday life and maybe scaring us a little from the surprises..
Detz All Folks!!
-James Detzler
Deputy Editor
46 | DayOldStubble | April 2012
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April 2012 | DayOldStubble | 47
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