Saying goodbye to one of wrestling`s greatest: Rowdy Roddy Piper

B6
LEISURE
August 20, 2015
www.FortHoodSentinel.com
Photos courtesy of http://playdead.com/limbo/media
BY CHRIS HAWKES
Commentary
I hate to admit I really don’t
play very many independent
games. And in truth, I really don’t
enjoy very
many puzzleplatformers
either. Yet,
I’ve heard so
many great
things about
“Limbo,”
developed by
Playdead, I
had to give it a shot.
Gamers control a boy who
wakes up in the forest. From there
it’s up to you to figure out what to
do. There is no tutorial, no narrative, no instructions about what
you need to do or where you need
to go. You are just a boy, stuck in
a dark, gloomy, eerie black-andwhite world, apparently searching
for a way out.
The game itself, while it appears
to possess the same elements of
other 2D sidescrollers, quickly
reveals that it is much, much
more than that. The game is presented completely in black and
white and incorporates a unforgettable, spooky art style that will
only add to your anxiety as you
attempt to guide the child protagonist through the game. Subtle
lighting effects such as the boy’s
glowing eyes and glowing worms,
which attach themselves to you at
one point in the game, add to the
ambience.
After a few minutes of playing,
it’s obvious that the forest is no
safe haven. After figuring out that
my avatar only had two skills –
grabbing stuff and jumping – I
confidently and quite recklessly
ran over a bear trap that snapped
the kid’s head off. Another time,
while running up a hill, I found
myself in a very “Indiana Jones”
kind of predicament as a giant
boulder startled me and menaced
me down a hill. Unfortunately,
Indiana Jones and I shared different fates as the boulder squashed
me unforgivably. Next time
though, I made sure to jump.
Though dying is a huge part
of the game – it happens slightly
less than playing a “Borderlands”
game – it feels more like a lesson
than a chore. Never did I feel
frustrated by my death, rather I
was more motivated to figure out
the puzzle, get past the obstacle,
defeat one of the very obscure
foes and move on to the next
area. Respawns occur frequently,
without penalty and very close to
the place you were defeated, so it
never feels like a chore repeating
your steps.
And the deaths, though sometimes creepy and violent, just
encourage you to move forward.
There’s a great sense of accomplishment after you finish a challenge or defeat a foe.
For example, early on a giant
spider blocks your progress. If you
get too close, it impales you with
one of its giant legs. Backtracking a little bit reveals a few bear
traps lying on the ground. By
dragging them over to where the
stabby spider dwells you discover
the way forward. Trick the spider
to lash at you, but hit the traps.
After losing three legs to your tactics, the spider decides enough’s
enough and retreats temporarily.
Later, he returns to torment you
further, growing a few legs lighter
after the altercation. After jumping on a stick, and as a result
hitting him with a rolling stone,
he is down to one leg, yet still
defiantly attacks you. So the boy
rips his remaining leg off, rolls his
body to a pit of spikes and uses
it as a platform to reach the next
area.
Throughout his journey, the
boy won’t come across very many
bad guys. There just aren’t that
many enemies in the game. By no
means is this a bad thing though.
When you do see enemies,
whether they are giant beasts or a
trio of spooky pillagers, it evokes
shock and panic. It makes the
encounters more memorable and
the victories bittersweet.
THURSDAY
Minions 3D, PG), 1 p.m., (1*)
Minions, PG, 4 p.m., (1*)
MAX, PG 7 p.m., (1*)
FRIDAY
Trainwreak, R, 7 p.m., (2*)
SATURDAY
Ant-Man 3D, PG-13, 4 p.m., (2)
Ted 2, R, 4:30 p.m., (2*)
SUNDAY
Minions, PG, 1 p.m., (2*)
Ant-Man, PG-13, 4 p.m., (2*)
TED, R, 7 p.m., (2*)
MONDAY
Closed
TUESDAY
Closed
WEDNESDAY
Trainwreak (R) 1900 2*
Saying goodbye to one of wrestling’s greatest: Rowdy Roddy Piper
BY CHRIS HAWKES
Commentary
A few weeks ago, I was saddened
to learn that Rowdy Roddy Piper,
my favorite wrestler of all time,
passed away at the age of 61.
I wasn’t completely shocked by
the news, but as an avid fan of
fake wrestling, I soon realized how
much the man who never forgot to
bring his kilt to the ring entertained
me, as well as many of my friends.
As kids, my brothers and I initially saw Piper as the supreme villain.
The bad guy destined to be body
slammed by Hulk Hogan before
the traditional, match-winning, leg
drop.
But as I got older and started
to realize how wrestling worked I
started to appreciate Piper’s contributions more and actually started
rooting for him.
Back in those days, things were
much less scripted. There were
times where wrestlers could
actually improvise.
Hot Rod’s Piper’s
Pit began as a
segment
to
hype up feuds
between
wrestlers
and feature
others
audiences
might
not be familiar with. Piper’s success as an interviewer (and top heel
in the industry) stemmed from his
spontaneity and unpredictably on
the mic and his ability to make
the other guy look a million times
better, regardless of what happened
during the segment.
The prime example involved poor
Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka and an
infamous coconut. After inciting an
altercation, as Piper made famous,
things grew heated between Snuka
and the Rowdy one. Unscripted and
completely improvised Piper decided
to pick up the
closest foreign
object (enter
the coconut)
and smash
it
across
Snuka’s
head. As the
fruit flew
to pieces following the
impact,
and a
Photos courtesy of www.facebook.com/realroddypiper
very surprised Superfly wobbled to
back to stability. Piper made a b-line
straight to his dressing room, locked
the door and hid (in real life) until
tension dissipated.
Throughout his life, Piper did
a great many things and was a
vital part of building buzz around
WrestleMania III’s historic match
up between Hulk Hogan and
Andre the Giant.
Continuously over the
years, I watched him,
laughed with him and
thoroughly enjoyed every
time the man picked up a
microphone.
His comedic ramblings and silly
antics have also been accompanied
with a quick wit and an innate
ability to take advantage of every
potential punchline thrown his
way.
Though not a Dwayne “The
Rock” Johnson at the box office,
he did have some time on the big
screen. Most of us remember the
line he uttered as an ad lib on the
set of “They Live;” one that writer
and director John Carpenter liked
so much he decided to keep it in
the film.
“I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass ... and I’m all
out of bubblegum,” Piper warned
in the film.
Recently, he played Da’ Maniac
on a pair episodes of “It’s Always
Sunny in Philadelphia.” Both
made me crack up every time Piper
appeared on screen and I recommend them to any Hot Rod fan.
Finally, my brother Greg and
my friend John Crowley did an
amazing job of not ruining a pretty
major spoiler in the game “Saints’
Row IV” for me. Heed this as your
final warning to look away if you
don’t want to know.
Near the end of the game, Keith
David and Piper reenact their
famous fight scene from “They
Live” frame by frame. Only this
time, Piper’s character is decked
out like the wrestler he portrayed
on TV. After finishing the mission,
Rowdy Roddy Piper joins your
group and he can accompany you
as a non-playable companion. And
some of the comments the character
makes are just as hilarious as watching Piper himself.
If you want to know more about
Rowdy Roddy Piper or the impact
he has made on the wrestling business, I highly recommend picking
up the WWE documentary film
“WWE: Born to Controversy –
The Roddy Piper Story.” Also, for
those on the WWE Network, the
special is available if you search for
“Piper.”