OVER THE EDGE NEWSPAPER. NOVEMBER 22, 2006 SAHEARL (SHR HAAKON SULLIVAN STAFF WRITER After Final Fantasy was released in 1987 for the Famicom in Japan, the gam- ing industry would never be the same, It created a large following of fans, which resulted in many sequels spanning over many systems such as the Nintendo, Super Nintendo, and Playstation. With the release of Final Fantasy XII, it not only redefines the image of Final Fan- tasy, but it also represents the end of the Playstation 2 era. ‘The stoty is set in the setting of Ivalice or, to be more exact, the setting of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. The city state of Dalmasca is ravaged byzwar due. te. the invasion of its northerly neighbor the Archadian Empire. The story is deep and mysterious, giving the player only small tidbits of information throughout the game and allowing the player to in- terpret the information given to them. ‘The story is a major factor in what will keep you hitched, as well as the interest- ing characters. “With the. release of the PS3 and Wii this month, it can be seen thar this is the last great game for the soon to be obsolete sixth genera- tion consoles (Xbox, PS2, Gamecube, and Dreamcast) and it should be seen as a great end for a great console era. One major difference that any-Final _ Fantasy fan will notice is that the com- bat has gone from the turn based ATB system to a fast paced real time ATB sys- tem similar to any Massively Multiplayer Online RPG you can find today. To:sum up this system, you tell your character to attack the target and that character will attack that target.with a certain charge up period between attacks until it is de- feated. As well;you can cast spells; use items, skills, and quickenings (basically this game's version of a limit break, over- drive, etc,), Before battle; what you-can do as well is set up your party compan- ions AI with the unique Gambit system. ARTS & CULTURE This will make or break your party as it is difficult to juggle all the commands ‘by yourself in the heat of battle. The method of powering up your characters is also made unique by using the License system. Each character gets License Points (LP) alongside the stan- dard experience points. With these LPs, you would go a‘checkerboard” of hidden licenses and purchase them which allow that certain character to use specific types of weapons, spells, quickenings, augments, and techniks. This means that you can customize each charactet’s role in the party from being the spell- caster to being the powerhouse. The musical score in the game match- es up to the epic music hosted in the past Final Fantasy games. Some-tunes will stick in your head and will greatly enhance the experience. The voice overs are a bit grainy because of the high data compression, but you get used to it really fast. The graphics of the game pushes the Playstation 2 hardware to the limit, making this game the best looking game for the PS2. Final Fantasy XII is a great game for any who loves a game with a good story ot any who loves the Final Fantasy series on general. With the release of the PS3 and Wii this month, it can be seen that this is the last great game for the soon to be obsolete sixth generation consoles (Xbox, PS2, Gamecube, and Dream- cast) and it should be seen as a great end for a-great console era. Powers and Gloria a Powerful Piece TABATHA LUNDHOLM ARTS EDITOR The newest play to come from The- atre North West, Powers and Gloria is a comedic take on an elderly gentleman being nursed back to life by a young mother. The funny paft is that the man is a grumpy millionaire, and'the woman _ is a single mother with 4 a quick tongue and a love for Shania Twain. ‘The play, written by Keith Roulston, stars BC actors Allen Zinyk, Bill Mc- Fadden, Louisa Jojic, and Corey Turner. * You may recognize this line-up from the other Theatre North West play, Leading Ladies, which they all star in. Directed by Ted Price, this hilarious and touch- ing piece speaks to many people about the ideas of companionship and money, family and paintings. A. golden script rings this perform- ance, accompanied by skilled actors, and the lines are just amazing, “A Tale of Two Cities, what's that? Some sort of travel book?” Gloria asks Powers just before almost touching a very expensive work of art. The idea that a lower class worker, who's the ideal for the difference between knowledge and intelligence, can come into a home and completely be blown away by things that some other people take for granted is a light into the mind of Powers. The human interactions between the four actots is immensely touching, and you Hl notice that as the play progresses, Gloria's clothing becornes mote cop- servative and professional, after constant reminders by a very old- fashioned Pow- ets. ‘There are many things that make this play worth checking out: the- highly amusing butlers that change the flowers between scenes, Darryl’s quest for some “lanch,’ and the precious and forbidden painting, Each scene has its own charm in the sense that everyone in the play seems to want to be there, and the.acting flows very nicely. Louisa Jojic, who is terrific at play- ing the sweet, if not slightly flighty girl whose heart is in the right place (see Au- drey in Leading Ladies for another ex- ample of this loveable character), takes this'role with a very nice air of affection and stubbornness. Along side acting vet- eran Bill McFadden who plays Duncan in Leading Ladies, who takes his part with an amazing roar, a perfect limp, and a great understanding of his charac- ter. Both work very well with each other, feeding into the art of theatre and giving the audience a reason to scratch their heads over just who is the good guy, and who is the bad one. a Powers and Gloria is playing “from November 12th to December 6th at | Theatre North West in the Parkhill Centre. Also be sure to check out the upcoming children’s rendition of Shake- speares Twelfth Night on the last Mon- day of November and the first Monday of December at Theatre North West. teens Menke bas Hien TYLER CLARKE PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Matt Mays has returned, after last year's hard-rocking “Matt Mays and El Torpedo.’ This time around hes pack- ing songs even more Neil Young-esque than previously released. Track 2, “The Past” is a perfect example of this. If not for Mays’ voice I would have assumed. this was a Neil Young song. “Heroin,’ located at track 8, is another great ex- ample of a Neil Young song that isn't a Neil Young song. The title track, and first single of this | album, “When. the Angels Make Con- tact,” is different than the rest of the album, so it would be best to not judge it based on this, This is Buck 65's only appearance on the album, as the rest of it is back to Matt Mays basics, with his brand of country-flavoured hard rock, The only downside to this album is the fact that it a soundtrack to a movie by Matt Mays that was apparently never completed, due to budget problems. Judging the movie based entirely on the trailer available on the official website http://www.whentheangelsmakecon- tact.com/ it is a truly terrible looking movie, Despite the questionable quality of the movie, the CD shines through, though would have been better if it werent a soundtrack. ‘There are only a few audio clips from the movie in this CD, and only a couple of movie-themed-instrumentals. Re- gardless of the lack of movie-themed sections of the album, where they do ap- pear they slow it down, negatively affect- ing the overall quality of the album. Despite the downsides of the movie- soundtrack side of this album, overall it is an extremely pleasurable listen, with no songs that would be considered genuinely bad, though some are’ medi- ocre, at worst. Kristen Hatt's lead vocals on the groovy bass-heavy “Under My Senses’ is a welcome addition to the var- ied sound on this album. Although it is back to basics for Mays, there is a more finely polished aspect to this'album that strengthens it more than his previous albums. The Poverty Plainsmen and David Lee MITCH GRANT PHOTOGRAPHER/ JOURNALIST As The Poverty Plainsmen, this years Canadian Country Music Award’s In- dependent Group of the Year, took the stage, the Party Crowd was already more then Loco, What followed was a night that started out with a very modern, upbeat country feel, and by the time the main act was done, this critic was won- dering if the band was confused whether they were a rock group or a classic coun- try group. The Poverty Plainsmen being the opening act had the privilege of warm- ing the audience up. A task they were more then up to. Playing a few tunes from their new CD Lap of Luxury, a few of their older songs, and paying tribute to Keith Urban, Uncle Kracker, The Eagles, and Big and Rich, the Pov- erty Plainsmen had the vast majority of the atidience up on the floor and dan- cing away for the better part of a hour anda half with a steady mix of upbeat country. Their charisma and energy was quite impressive as they showed how they have managed to stay together for almost twenty years now. After being given a short intermission, | the “main act’, David Lee Murphy, took | the stage and to my surprise as well as Murphy me of ly audience afound me, gave what was viewed as a less the satisfac- tory performance. For approximately an hour and a half, David Lee and his band played through many of his classic tunes, however many were accompanied by an overpowered, 8 minute guitar solo, that quickly got old and seamed to be- long more in a BT‘O, Stones or Zepplin song then the classic country tunes that they were playing, Accompanied ‘by errors in their bal- ances, making it painful to listen to the solos, even from the stands, as well as uncountable feedback issues, the part of the show many |had been looking forward too, quickly lost its appeal. All was not lost however, as showmanship, energy, and charisma saved the night for David Lee, with the crowd dancing and singing along until the end of the de- manded encore. In the end, the concert balanced itself out, with The Poverty. Plainsmen making up for where David Lee Murphy lacked in proper sound checks and audio/technical expertise, While I might not recommend a David Lee Murphy concert any time soon, I would highly recommend check- ing out the Poverty Plainsmen at your next possible convenience.