NOVEMBER 5 2003 | Cutrure 23 r: Game Review Game Ove Need For Speed Hot Pursuit 2 By Brad Pranghall Hot Pursuit 2 is all about rac- ing through picturesque locals in exotic cars while evading police pursuit. Well, not all about that, there is also chasing exotic cars through picturesque locals as the police “The graphics are hella good, as well. The courses are very beautiful to behold, with well animated water and detailed sur- roundings.” Hot Pursuit 2 features 12 nice- ly varied courses in 4 locales, as well as a whole shwack load of hot cars (I can’t be bothered to count), including police versions of some. As an added bonus, there are 4 variations of each course, which makes for 48 dif- ferent races. The graphics are hella good, as well. The courses are very beau- tiful to behold, with well animat- ed water and detailed surround- ings. Tires kick up dust on dirt side paths. The cars themselves are nicely modeled, and take fairly realistic damage. The sound is also very good, with a surprisingly varied soundtrack, songs. There is still some generic techno, but this is broken up by recognizable licensed music. The cars seem to have a very natural and realistic feeling han- dling, although the arcadey physics model allows for some crazy crashes. Hot Pursuit 2 is nearly perfect. The cops have some weird behaviors, such as parking in the middle of the road, and spotting speeders through hills, and there are occasional clipping prob- lems, notably with the police helicopter, which sometimes flies through the ground. Overall, Hot Pursuit 2 has some issues but is still quite good. I give it 9.5 out of 10. Freedom Force: Two Opinions “| ask gamers to look past any bias they may have towards US Patriotism because if you don’t, you're going to miss out on a great game.” By Walter McFarlane Communists invade New York and the only thing standing in their way is Chris Stone, the leader of an underground group freedom fighters trying to liber- ate The Big Apple from the Soviet invasion. The game is Freedom Fighters by EA Games and it is a third person shooter. I ask gamers to look past any bias they may have towards US Patriotism because if you don’t, you're going to miss out on a great game. The graphics are excellent; the music is good, the action is non-stop, and the controls are easy to use. Levels are well designed and contain both easy routs that bypass enemy troops as well-as strategic positions that grant you an advantage over your foes. Goals include bombing strategic targets, rallying troops and freeing prisoners. Getting to the goals is half of the game while clearing out the areas so you can complete the goals is the other half. One of the good things about this game is that you don’t have to perform these tasks alone. A charisma based system allows you to recruit up to twelve warriors to aid you in your assaults. Despite this, this game does tend to build upon the concept of the one man army. Your allies will help but your average amount of kills will be higher then any one of theirs. The oddest part of this game is the changing of the flags that allow you to beat the level. Still, this is an excellent game. It is fun to play and will give gamers hours of enjoyment. This game proves that one man defending his home is worth about 30,000 trained soldiers. I give it 8 out of 10 “The plot sounds pretty cheesy, but it suits Freedom Force perfectly. The whole game is very tongue-in-cheek. It takes 60's comic books and twists the material around. “ By Brad Pranghall An alien warlord, Lord Dominion, has dumped canisters of a mysterious substance called Energy X all over the world as part of his plan to conquer the planet earth by creating legions of powerful villains. Fortunately, a traitor steals some Energy X, scheming to save the planet earth by creating a group of super- heroes to foil Lord Dominion’s plan. This group is -the Freedom Force. The plot, sounds pretty cheesy, but it.suits Freedom Force perfectly. The while game is. very tongue-in-cheek. It takes 60’s comic books and twists the material around, while doing it all justice and not seeming like a parody. Freedom Force features a number of widely var- ied missions, which occur throughout Patriot City, and feature fully interactive destructible environ- ments. Your heroes can uproot lampposts to. use as clubs, throw cars, even collapse buildings. However, wanton destruction of the city means that you will gain less prestige points for completing the mission. Prestige points can later be used to recruit new heroes, including ones that you create using the included tools. The individual heroes also gain expe- rience points, which can be used to level up old pow- ers, as well as gain new ones. Overall, Freedom Force is an incredible game. I don’t know what else to say, besides that you owe it to yourself to try it. I give it 10 out of 10. CFUR and the Art of Handshaking “AS a fundraising effort, CFUR is proud to announce The CFUR Handshaker, a musical event featuring some of the best in local talent” By Christopher Earl When shaking the hand of a new acquain- tance in the event of an introduction, ordi- narily you must: 1. Make eye contact. 2. Grip the acquaintance’s hand tightly with your own. 3. Initiate the handshake with a firm, steady up-and-down motion. 4. Release the hand when an appropriate greeting has been completed. However, in the case of a handshake initi- ated by a not-for-profit organization like CFUR, a handshake - or rather a handshak- er - the process is a little less rigid, a little less formal. As a matter of fact, the process of handshaking in this sort of arena = or rather, community centre - is a hell of a lot of fun. Perhaps an explanation is in order. As a fundraising effort, CFUR is proud to announce The CFUR Handshaker, a musical event featuring some of the best in local tal- ent: We Killed Him, Floored, Opus Dei, Veritas, Raghu Lokanathan, and Downtown Dave Routley. These musicians have donat- ed their time and talent to help ensure CFUR’s continuing growth as Prince George’s only community radio station by raising funds and awareness. But they can- not do it alone. They need an audience. You can help by purchasing your $7 ticket at Electron Sound; Growlies, Books & Company, Ruins Board Shop, the CNC Student Association office, or CFUR and telling everyone you know to do the same - but do it soon. These tickets will not be around for long. Then you can go to St. Michaels on the evening of November 14th, check out the bar, shake some hands, and show support for both CFUR Radio and the local music scene. And, if you consider yourself at all cool, remember this: absence equals ridicule. What: The CFUR Handshaker Where: St. Michaels, 1505 5th Ave (5th and Victoria) When: Doors open 7:30pm Friday November 14