September 29, 2004

es

Splinter Cell Pandora
Tomorrow

>> Ubisoft 2004

The second -in Ubisoft’s hugely
successful Splinter Cell series,
Pandora Tomorrow places you in
the character of Sam Fisher, a top
secret spy working for the US gov-
ernment. As Sam, you sneak into
secure installations the world over
to uncover a nefarious terrorist
plot. Stealth is a necessary skill in
Pandora Tomorrow. It’s often
advisable to sneak past enemies
rather than killing them outright.
Furthermore, the use of lethal
force will sometimes be forbidden,
so you will only have the choice of
sneaking past bad guys or sneak-
ing up behind them and knocking
them unconscious.

Whether you kill or merely
unconsciously bad guys, it will be
very important that you hide the
bodies in a dark corner, lest their
buddies find them and start hunt-
ing you down.

Pandora Tomorrow is a damn
sexy looking game. Textures and
lighting are very well done, while
also contributing to the gameplay.
You make more noise moving on
tile than on carpet, and are quite
exposed when not hidden in shad-
ow. Some animations are not quite

‘up to par, however. Pandora
Tomorrow also sounds really
good.

Possibly the coolest part of
Pandora Tomorrow is the multi-
player, wherein two one team of
spies try to steal or destroy some
important object, while another
team of mercenaries try to stop the
spies from completing their objec-
tives. The spies are built to stealth-
ily achieve their objectives, while
the mercenaries are built to hunt
down and kill spies.

Game Review

Thief:
Deadly Shadows

>> Eidos 2004

The third in the Thief series,
Deadly Shadows once again
places you in the character of
Garrett, a cynical, self-interested
thief in a well-realized medieval
world. Garrett spends his time
sneaking into the homes of the
nobility, robbing them blind, and
sneaking back out.

Deadly Shadows has some nice
eye candy, and some of it has an
actual effect on gameplay.
Shadows and lighting are definite
high points. Some guards carry

torches around during their

patrols, and objects in the world
cast realistic shadows as they pass
by. On the other hand, the ragdoll
physics tend to result in some
strange poses as bodies drop.
Also, the guards in the game are
animated rather jerkily.

Sound is also generally good.
Important dialogue in the game is
well done, but there does not seem
to be enough speech for the
guards, as they will often repeat
lines. In between missions, you
can explore The City, the teeming
metropolis in which the game is
set. While in the city, you can
break into houses, pick pockets,
sell loot, and buy more gear.
Meanwhile, you'll have to avoid
the city watch, who will attack
you on sight.

Unfortunately, levels in the
game are divided into a number of
smaller pieces, and time freezes
when you cross into a different
area, so if you barely escape into a
loading area, any pursuing guards
will still be swinging when you
come back. :

Three Lines Free:

>> A joke would be the last this God ever said

>> visit NUGGS.com

>> To the girl guides: thanks for saying hi

>> Kirk and Spock sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G _

>> “Riker is tenting again.... | hate these jump suits”
Barkley

14
SEPTEMBER 29, 2004

Manga Review

Culdcept —

Shinya Kaneko
>> Tokyopop 2004

Hey kids! This week, we will &
take a look at Culdcept. a |
manga based on the PS2 and ~
Dreamcast games of the same
name. Culdcept tells the story of
Najaran, a young apprentice
Cepter. Cepters are people who
happen to be able to use ancient
magical cards that came from
the Book of Creation. If anyone
were able to gather all these
cards into one place, then he or
she would be able to reassemble
the book, and would thus have
the power of the gods.

That being said, it seems that
Culdcept is another attempt to 4%
market a product using manga
or anime to make the product
look cool. The art is very nice,
and an attempt at a storyline
was made, but far too much
emphasis is placed on the card
game aspect of the story. In
order to find information on the ‘
Black Cepters, a group who
uses the cards of the Culdcept
for great evil. Najaran must bat-
tle opponents in a tournament
in a desert city.’ Far too much of
the space in the book is used to
tell the story of the tournament.

This book is fine of you don’t

something a bit more origirial,
however, I recommend looking
for a different series.

>> Dana

mitid the bia-
tant promotion. of a video game
that you may or may not have
played. If you’re looking for

CD Review

Icon of Coil

Machines are Us
>> Metropolis 2004

Metropolis has done it again
folks, and by “it”, I mean
“released an album from a band
that sounds just like every other
band on the Metropolis label”.
Icon of Coil’s Trinity is
yet another example of dark
German-influenced electronica,
with all the pretentious vocals
and cheesy synth riffs that one
has come to expect from the |
genre. The album is rather }
generic, with the only surprise ;
being that the second track |
sounded strangely similar to a
song produced by the Chemical
Brothers. After that one shock
of realization, the album lapsed
into the familiar pattern of silly
lyrics, predictable transitions,
and standard industry beats.
There are catchy bits, ~~
but they are not enough to blend of bad European-industri-
redeem this CD. Of course, if al-style lyrics and standard
you are into European electro- trance sounds. The vocals are in
pop, the album is well per- tune, the beats never falter, and
formed. It is an interesting the synthesizer brings every-

thing together into one glorious
whole. It just happens to sound
like many other acts out on the
market.

>> Dana