generator - Marist Clubs and Organizations

generator - Marist Clubs and Organizations

Generator
magazine
April 2013
Generator Staff
President, Editor-in-Chief
John Paul Welsh
Vice President, Literature Editor
Sophia Todeasa
Video Games Editor
Joe Corato
Secretary, Television Editor
Rebecca Murphy
Treasurer, Movies Editor
Andrea Capobianco
Faculty Advisor
Dr. Richard Grinnell
Fashion Editor
Gina Rose Sirico
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Music Editor
Rob Whitaker
Table of Contents
TELEVISION
FASHION
This Season’s Hottest Trend: Gravity Falls Review, p. 7
A Disney Channel cartoon that’s mature, dark,
Stripes, p. 8
and wonderul
A sneak peek into this season’s striking new
style
... By Erika Thompson
... By Sophia Todeasa
VIDEO GAMES AND
TECHNOLOGY
LITERATURE
Another One Bites the Dust: Brutal Doom Review, p. 11-12
An exciting new mod for an old classic
Batman Edition, p. 10
The beloved Batman comic franchise kills off ... By David Zeppieri
another Robin, and we’re not gonna take it
Crysis 3 Review, p. 9
anymore
The newest game in the Crysis series exceeds
... By Joseph Kuhn
the expectations set by its predecessors
... By Joe Corato
MISC.
Alumni Networking Event,
p. 13-14
Playstation 4 Preview, p. 6
The latest details about the exciting new gaming system from Sony
Communications students meet up with alumni ... by Joe Corato
in New York City
Pokémon Retrospective, p. 5
... By Gina Rose Sirico
A look back at the last few Pokémon games,
MOVIES
and an excited look to the future of the franchise
Argo’s Big Win, p. 4
Did Argo deserve its success at the 2013 Acad- ... By John Paul Welsh
emy Awards? Even if it did, is it a good thing
that it won?
PHOTO CONTRIBUTIONS
... By Joseph Kuhn
Front and Back Covers: John Paul Welsh
SPORTS
Page 3: basketballphoto.com
Michael Jordan Tribute, p. 3 Pages 3, 4, 6, 8, 10: various users on Flickr
A sentimental retrospective of the sports legend,Pages 11, 12: David Zeppieri
Pages 13, 14: Al Nowak from On Location
recently turned 50
Studios
... By Lucas Scharf
2
A Celebration of Michael Jordan
By Lucas Scharf
In the spring of 2003, I remember tuning
into ESPN one day to see that they were
running a replay of an old basketball game.
Even though I was only nine years old at
the time, I was able to make out that two
participating teams were the Bulls and the
Jazz. I started watching in the middle of
the second quarter and gradually became
sucked in by the back-and-forth struggle
between two teams, and the relatively high
level of play that only continued to get better as the game wore on.
It didn’t take me long to realize that there
was one player on the Bulls who was really good. And I mean scary good – he was
making almost every shot from the floor
despite a pained look in his eyes. When
there were a few seconds left, number 23
had possession of the ball. He had been
on fire the whole game, so I fully expected him to take the final shot. But instead,
he passed it to number 25, who took the
shot and scored. Marv Albert’s ecstatic
commentary in the seconds that followed
is perhaps something that will always be a
part of my memory.
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There was little time for a newcomer to
the Michael Jordan fan club, because he retired not long after. However, I was lucky
enough to have a neighbor whose dad was
a huge fan of the Chicago Bulls, and he had
recorded every single championship game
in which Jordan had played. There were
34 of them in total, so I was able to watch
the games over a long period of time. I
always thought that there was something
about his playing style that made him so
much more fun to watch than any other
player. However, as passionate of a fan of
#23 as I once was, I am now only a casual
fan of the NBA at best.
A few weeks ago, almost 10 years to
the date after I first saw Jordan in action, I
tuned in to ESPN once again and found that
they were running a montage of Jordan’s
career in celebration of the superstar’s
50th birthday. I felt a rush of nostalgia
pass through me as I fondly remembered
the nights where I would stay up late with
my friends and watch the very same games
that were being summarized in the birthday
highlight reel. After about a five minute
Top: Photo by Steve Lipofsky on basketballphoto.com
Left: Photo by Jason H. Smith on Flickr
Right: Photo by jmassel on Flickr
documentary on the first three-peat, the
anchors eventually reached Game 6 of the
1996 NBA finals. Just as I had witnessed
nearly a decade ago, Steve Kerr sunk a
17-footer off a pass from #23 to put the
Bulls up by two. Then I watched as Scottie
Pippen stole the inbounds pass and rolled it
to Tony Kucoc, who then iced the victory
for the Bulls.
Congratulations on turning 50, Michael.
You are an inspiration to me and so many
others. Do you think it’s too late for a third
comeback?
Argo’s Big Win
One of the most satisfying and disappointing moments
in recent Oscar history
By Joseph Kuhn
If you had to describe the Academy of
motion pictures arts and sciences in a single word your best choice would be predicable. For all the secrecy, all the suspense
all the “buzz” generated during the Oscar
season the results of the ceremony are rarely ever a surprise. In fact, the academy has
been awarding the same types of movies
over and over since 1932. At least that’s
the case when it comes to the main event,
the Best Picture category.
Every year without fail the grand prize is
awarded to a historical drama, a romantic
drama, a regular drama, a dramatic character study or some combination thereof.
This is barely an exaggeration. In the past
20 years, 12 of the best picture winners
have been drama films, seven of them were
historical and three of them were about
someone with a disability. There have also
been three romantic drama wins as well as
two wins for films where racism was a major theme of the movie. Are you starting to
see a pattern? The best picture category by
all rights should be renamed the “best movie about a serious/depressing/artsy/mature/
subject. It has gotten to the point where
there is now a clear punch list for making a
best picture winner, a sort of blue print for
making an Oscar winning movie.
Emotionally crippled/depressed protagonist trying to reconnect with the world?
Check. Story about a character who has
to overcome a disability/adversity in order
to succeed at something? Check. Accurate
historical background featuring elaborate
costumes and authentic dialogue, preferably takes place in the mid to early 20th
century? Check. Not animated, comedic,
original, or, god forbid, even vaguely resembling science fiction? Check.
This year’s best picture winner is almost a perfect example of the punch list
in action. The main protagonist of Argo is
separated from his wife and struggles with
raising his son while living in a different
state. The movie is set in the 70s and features language, costumes and technology
appropriate for the era. The movie focus
on tense dramatic situations as it recalls the
story of the Iranian Hostage crisis. The film
even takes the blueprint an extra step farther by telling a story that glamorizes Hollywood and shows its role in saving patriotic Americans from an awful fate. Literally
every take in this movie is kissing major
academy butt. This movie is a perfect case
study for every stereotype about the biases
present in the Academy Awards. And yet...
it still deserved to win. Argo is good! Argo
was really, really good! Probably the best
movie that was made all year!
Argo features brilliant actors, is well
written and expertly directed, and emotionally appeals to its audience the way a
lot of other movies can’t. Sitting down to
watch the flick is a truly satisfying and exciting experience. And the fact that the film
managed to grab the big prize without also
netting the best director award (poor Ben
Affleck wasn’t even nominated) makes its
accomplishment even more impressive;
fewer than 10 other films in the history of
cinema have managed to achieve the same
feat. After Affleck’s brutal snubbing it was
truly gratifying to see the director take the
stage with his crew and claim his rightful prize. Too often the academy decides
to award movies that really don’t deserve
the title (I’m looking at you, Shakespeare
in Love) but this year they really did make
the right choice. And yet, the film clearly
appeals to almost every single preference
the Oscar voters have. I sincerely doubt it
was the filmmakers’ intention but Argo is
almost a perfect piece of Oscar bait. The
academy is just rewarding the same kind of
movie again!
So that’s the dilemma. Argo is a wonderful movie that obviously deserved this
highest honor. But it also the living embodiment of everything that is wrong with
the Oscar system. It is a movie that proves
almost every stereotype about the academy
to be woefully true. Whether or not to be
happy for the movie is, for me, a genuine
paradox.
Photo by Intemporelle | Erin Lassahn Photography on Flickr
4
Pokémon: Still Catching ‘em All
By John Paul Welsh
Pokémon is one of the universal constants in this world. Everybody knows
about it, mostly everybody loves it, and
it’s one of the most consistently successful
series of video games of all time. The past
three years have been particularly important for the franchise, with the release of
Black and White versions, followed by the
first pair of direct-sequel games, Black 2
and White 2, and the recent announcement
of Pokémon X and Y, the first games in
Generation 6 and the first to be native to
the Nintendo 3DS.
Personally, I grew up with the first two
generations, Red and Blue version and
Gold and Silver version. These games
took up entirely too much of my childhood, and I had such a fondness for them
that I completely ignored Generations
3 and 4 (Ruby, Sapphire, Diamond, and
Pearl). I was wary of getting involved
in newer versions of the game because,
in my mind, nothing could live up to the
perfection of Gen 2, which was always
my favorite set of Pokémon games. But
when the Gen 2 remakes, HeartGold and
SoulSilver, came out, I decided to get back
into actively playing Pokémon. Since this
was a more technically advanced version
of my favorite games in the series, I needed to try them out. They were, in a word,
fantastic.
These games single-handedly brought
me back into the Pokémon fold, so when
Black and White were released in May of
2011 I decided to by myself the first new
game in about ten years. Honestly, Generation 5 blew my mind. It was designed
to be a fair introduction for new players,
so they forced the player to build a team
and complete the primary storyline with
only brand-new Pokémon species, which I
thought was an amazing idea. It made me
reevaluate the ways I wanted to build my
team (instead of just throwing in a Dragonite as soon as I found one and destroying
the rest of the gym leaders), and I thought
the story in Black and White was the
best in the series. Sure, some of the new
species were pretty dumb, but Gen 5 was a
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huge success in my eyes.
Black 2 and White 2 took what made
its predecessors good and improved it
again. Now, the player can find Pokémon
from any generation right out of the gate,
giving us back the dynamic we got used to
starting with Gold and Silver. By making
it set in the same region of the Pokémon
world, it hearkens back to Gen 2 where the
player gets to visit Kanto after beating the
story in Johto. Some things are familiar
and some have changed, and it is really
satisfying to learn more about Unova in
the frame of a new game.
Now, it is confirmed that Pokémon X
and Y will be released in October 2013.
These games will be the first series from
Generation 6, and will feature three-dimensional graphics on the Nintendo 3DS.
This is a huge change for the franchise,
because by now everybody has taken for
granted the flat and mostly immobile appearance of gameplay. The trailer features
unique camera angles and much more
dynamic battle animations, and it looks
really great.
As of this writing, there is news of six
new Pokémon: the starters, the legendaries, and a new Eevee evolution. So far,
there is not much confirmed news about
new game mechanics, but seeing as the series is named after genetic chromosomes, I
would not be surprised if Pokémon breeding were taken to a whole new level in
Pokémon X and Y. Since Eevee evolves
in unique ways (using an evolutionary
stone, making it happy during a certain
part of the day, or leveling it up in a
certain part of the Pokémon world), some
have speculated that the new Eeveelution,
Sylveon, which is of unknown type, will
be obtained by a brand-new gameplay
concept. If so, then Generation 6 promises
to bring a massive amount of changes to
the franchise.
It is clear that the past few years have
seen Pokémon reach a new level of success. Generation 5 felt like Game Freak,
the masthead company for the franchise,
found a new breath of life and was able to
make something more than just another
Pokémon game. Black and White began
a trend of relentless innovation that was
continued with its sequels, and they seem
to show no signs of stopping. The gaps
between these three sets of games have
been almost non-existent, proving that
Game Freak has been working extraordinarily hard on how to make the most
beloved series of video games even better.
It is natural to look forward with
excitement in the realm of Pokémon, but
it is also important to look back at what
the series has done. These games have
proven to be outstandingly successful
and universally adored. Take what you
will from Generation 5, but in the grand
scheme of things, it represented a new
direction for Pokémon. Instead of simply
adding new species and making the game
prettier to look at, Black and White and
their sequels revamped the idea of what
a Pokémon game should be. Pokémon X
and Y promise to be an even more wondrous achievement. Therefore, I salute
the Pokémon franchise for its impressive
amount of creativity and innovation over
the past few years, and I wish them many
more years of entertaining us and making
us love Pokémon.
The Playstation 4 is Coming!
By Joe Corato
On February 22, Sony held a press
conference in New York City promising to show the future of the Playstation
brand. In the weeks leading up to the
event, there was much speculation about
what was going to be announced. Was it
going to be a redesigned PS Vita? Was it
going to be a new game? Or could it be…
just maybe…possibly, the Playstation 4.
SPOILERS: it was the PS4. They showed
a lot of mind-bogglingly awesome stuff
at the conference, ranging from the new
controller, a new Killzone game, and other
works in progress that made me very, very
excited.
Back in 2005 when the current console
generation started, the industry made a
huge leap: the transition from standard
definition to high definition graphics and
sound. That was essentially the main selling point for these consoles. So, does that
mean that the PS4 is even higher definition? Well…no. What these consoles will
allow for is exponentially greater graphical detail, lighting effects, and physics.
Moreover, I read in another article from
outside the conference that the PS4 is
capable of running games at 240 frames
per second. That’s simply disgusting. So
much so, in fact, that our eyes can’t even
process how smooth it is. The maximum
frame rate the human eye can process is
hard to determine, but most people agree
that 60 FPS is about the maximum. But is
four times that number really necessary?
Although the console is capable of 240
FPS, we probably won’t ever see games
with that frame rate. What that means,
instead, is that the console is incredibly
powerful. Being able to run anything at
that speed requires some serious hardware,
which, according to Sony, the PS4 does
indeed have. The PS4 will pack an 8-core
AMD Jaguar processor, 8 GB GDDR5
RAM (the fastest kind), and a beefed up
AMD 7650 HD graphics card, or at least
that’s what I’ve heard. In fact, Sony didn’t
even show the physical console at the
conference. Regardless, the potential for
this console is huge, and I can’t wait to see
what it brings.
Sony also boasted a whole range of new
features for the console. These included
social network integration, video capturing
from the console itself with instantaneous
YouTube upload capabilities, and even
Photo by Alan Klim on Flickr
game streaming from GaiKai, a new game
streaming company that streams games
like Netflix streams movies. The new
controller is similar in appearance to its
predecessors, but it’s basically just a thinner, more responsive version of the PS3
controller, with added built-in Playstation
move functionality. They didn’t say much
more about it at the conference.
Other than demoing some games that
are still being developed and giving
a glimpse of the new controller, Sony
didn’t show much else. However, there’s
a reason for that. This conference was
most likely an attempt to create a hypestorm for the PS4 weeks before Microsoft decides to get up off their asses and
announce the next Xbox console. Sony
wet our appetites with the snippets from
this conference, but will most likely give
a full blown demo, including a look at the
box and its pricing (something they didn’t
even mention at the conference) at E3 in a
few months.
6
Falling in Love with Gravity Falls
By: Sophia Todeasa
We’ve all seen some really good kid
shows, and we’ve all encountered some
really, REALLY bad kid shows. Unfortunately, Disney Channel seems to produce
the latter kind, not really escaping their
safe, dumbed-down, cliché model of the
standard daytime children’s show. (The
exception being Phineas and Ferb, a superbly smart show that I am not going to
review in this article). However, last summer Disney released a new show seemed
to be geared towards an older crowd, aired
in a later time slot and full of fast-paced
dialogue and subtle references. The show
quickly became one of my favorite things
on television, and I thought that I had finally outgrown Disney Channel. I was proven
wrong by this new show, Gravity Falls, created by Alex Hirsch, who previously had
written for The Marvelous Misadventures
of Flapjack, another show that makes you
wonder how this became a cartoon made
for children. And Gravity Falls definitely does not feel dumbed down or cheesy
or anything else that is typical of a show
aired on Disney Channel. It has an intriguing story arc, lovable characters, amazing
animation, and a cheeky sense of humor.
Yet to finish its first season, I can only hope
that the show is picked up for the next and
many more seasons to come.
The series follows a set of twins, Dipper and Mabel Pines, over the course of
their summer staying with their Grunkle
(great-uncle) Stan in Gravity Falls, Oregon.
This grumpy old miser (complete with eye
patch and fez) owns the Mystery Shack, a
tourist trap filled with phony attractions,
ironically juxtaposed with the true bizarre
happenings all around the town. During
their stay they encounter paranormal happenings and secret conspiracies hidden
within the little town. You might compare
the show to Scooby Doo meets Twin Peaks,
with an element of the X-Files thrown in.
And yet it’s a children’s cartoon. The series
revels in the supernatural and is unafraid
of depicting real danger and frightening
monsters. It all begins when Dipper Pines
finds a mysterious book in the woods that
is a guide to all the unusual creatures that
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can be found in Gravity Falls. The symbol
on the front of the book is a six fingered
hand embossed with the number three. This
book warns the reader of a danger within
Gravity Falls, which launches an investigative spirit in the twins. The appearance
of another book later on in the hands of a
rival, Lil’ Gideon, labeled with the number
two establishes it as part of a set, which
raises the question of what the first book in
the series has to offer.
Other little mysteries solve themselves
as the series progresses and you can’t help
but be stunned at the cohesiveness of the
whole. The appearance of woodpeckers
throughout the show culminates in an important plot device for one of the conspiracies that the children uncover. Then, the
presence of an unexplained character in
the background of several scenes since the
beginning of the show is explained by a
time traveler trying to fix time anomalies.
The presence of all these little clues and
background subplots make viewing fun for
those who like to speculate and figure out
the little mysteries along the way. There is
already an incredible following of theorist
fans that propose new hypotheses about the
show with each new episode. The best part
is how the writers feed into the mystery
of it all. Each show ends with an encoded
message with hints about the show, including a message that suggests that there are
more secret and sinister details about the
kids’ beloved Grunkle Stan than meets the
eye. On the whole, it’s a very smart show
with careful plotting and witty dialogue.
The jokes range from stupid to subtle, with
everything in between. The show has referenced Twin Peaks and the movie Spirited Away in ways that are obvious to those
who have seen the referenced works and
yet does not detract from the enjoyment of
those who haven’t.
Sure, the show is funny and exciting,
but what really nabs me as a viewer are
the character development and strong relationships seen throughout the series. The
show is really about a family, in the most
nontraditional sense of the word. The relationship between the twins is precious
and believable. They have their sibling
squabbles but they also have a fun, playful
relationship that show how much they respect each other. Their Grunkle Stan is the
perfect example of the inattentive guardian,
which is needed in a show where young
people wander around and get in trouble,
yet there is an interesting relationship there
as well of an old man that needs and enjoys
the love of his young charges. My personal favorite character in the series is Mabel
Pines, the sister twin of the duo. Her character is superbly written. She is portrayed
as a silly, scatterbrained, girly sister that
wears big fluffy sweaters and is boy crazy,
and this is all true of her character, but she
proves to have an inner strength and sense
of self-worth, as well as a way of viewing
the world that is indispensable to the twins
more than once. She escapes the trope of
the ditzy adolescent girl without sacrificing
any of the spunk and fun that makes her
character so lovable. I think that this can
be lost in a lot of shows that feature young
female characters. The interaction between
the characters is the foundation of the show
and a basis for all the fun adventures they
get to have. In a town like Gravity Falls that
has so many weird occurrences and strange
happenstances, there is a need for strong
relationships and characters. I recommend
this show to anyone and everyone—I’ve
been showing it to every single one of my
friends since I found out about it. Now I
extend the courtesy to you.
This Season’s Hottest Trend: Stripes
By: Erika Thompson
If there was one trend seen at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week this year, it was
stripes. On every runway, there were thin
stripes, thick stripes, horizontal stripes and
vertical ones. The stripes came in a variety
of colors and fabrics.
Oscar De La Renta’s looks included a
stunning striped ball gown, while Tommy
Hilfiger decided his stripes were better
suited in a doubled breasted pantsuit! Just
because these looks were featured on couture runways doesn’t mean it is impossible
for any woman to incorporate them into
their own wardrobe. Stripes are essential in
preppy closets, as well as funky ones; it’s
all about what the wearer pairs the stripes
with!
Do you believe that horizontal stripes
make a body look larger? It’s actually a
false claim. Successfully wearing stripes
is all about wearing an appropriate cut for
one’s body type, buying the right size, and
wearing the right weight of stripes.
Stripes can actually be one of the more
slimming patterns in women’s fashion.
Vertical stripes elongate a body because of
their length, while horizontal stripes have
the potential to slim the body down. Any
woman trying to add a few inches to her
frame should focus on incorporating horizontal stripes into their everyday outfits.
Meanwhile, wearing a horizontally striped
shirt that is too small will make the wearer
look heavier than they really are. To avoid
this, a woman should try to focus on stripes
that are on the thicker side that hug her in
all the right places. This can make her look
about a size smaller than she really is! Focus on the cut of the garment as well as the
weight of the stripes, and you can have a
very successful striped look.
Now, how exactly does a woman add
these trendy stripes into an everyday look?
Simple. A striped blouse or tee shirt goes
great with a dark wash pair of jeans, solid
loafers, and a fabulous necklace. Depending on the weather, a blazer or scarf can be
added, and the loafers can be substituted
out for boots. Feeling daring? Try a striped
dress for a more formal occasion with heels
that complement the color you are wearing.
The key to wearing stripes is confidence.
The only way to pull off a bold print is to
be bold.
Photos by CastawayVintage on Flickr
8
Crysis 3: Maximum Awesome
By Joe Corato
If you’ve ever played a Crysis game, you
know that the series is known for two main
principles. The first is the game’s absolutely stunning visuals. The first Crysis was
released back in 2008, and believe it or not,
it looks better than some games from today
by leaps and bounds. Now, in 2013, Crysis
3 sets a new benchmark for the industry in
terms of graphical fidelity and color depth.
Besides the stupidly good visuals, Crysis has always been known for giving the
player the ability to choose how they will
engage a combat situation. Whether it’s
using your light-refracting cloak on your
Nanosuit (more on that later), or going in
guns blazing using your suit’s armor mode,
or even a combination of the two, you get
to choose.
Let’s talk story. Crysis has never really ever been known for its story, but
it has been known for its set pieces. Set
pieces, for those of you who don’t know,
are usually large pieces of the environment that go boom or get destroyed, and
usually occur during scripted events or cut
scenes. As I was saying, Crysis 1’s story
was… eh. Crysis 2’s story was… a little
less eh. Crysis 3’s story, while not the most
innovative thing in the world, manages to
create some legitimately interesting drama
and emotion, making it much better than its
predecessors.
The story isn’t exactly cliché, but it isn’t
too original either. The main character,
Prophet, is tasked with two things: eradicating the C.E.L.L. mercenary group, and
defeating the Alpha Ceph, the leader of the
alien enemy from the series. CELL is trying
to use Ceph technology to enslave the population of New York City. Prophet doesn’t
like that at all, so he uses his brand-spanking new compound bow to shove pointy
projectiles into their faces. Ceph don’t
like humans, so they shoot at Prophet and
the CELL with shiny blue lasers. The first
two Crysis games had lengthy campaigns
for the genre, each taking 10 or more hours
to complete. Crysis 3 clocks in at about
6 hours, depending on the difficulty setting, but despite the shorter runtime, what
you’re doing for those 6 hours is a lot of
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fun, and is well worth the playthrough.
The emotion in the story, surprisingly,
doesn’t come from the ongoing battle between man and alien. Instead, most of the
emotion comes from Prophet’s partner,
Psycho. Psycho was your partner in Crysis
1, and sported a Nanosuit just like yours.
Recently, however, he was “peeled,” as
the game refers to it, from his suit. The
emotional arc Psycho follows is one of a
man, once essentially superhuman, being
reduced to nothing more than your run of
the mill solider. At first he is angry at the
world for it, but then he comes to accept
it, and realizes that being human is what
separates him from the Ceph. It’s slightly heartfelt throughout the game, and it’s a
welcomed addition to the series’ history of
less-than-great storytelling.
I guess now would be a good time to
explain what a Nanosuit is. The Nanosuit
is a totally badass piece of futuristic military technology. It’s a sleek suit of armor
that is essentially bound to your body by
your own skin. It sends “nanites,” microscopic organisms that enhance your body’s
core functions, blazing through the user’s
veins. This makes healing wounds much
faster, among other things. The more fun,
less squishy parts of the suit come from
its combat abilities. It allows the user to
run incredibly fast, deflect bullets, absorb
the energy of an explosion, jump off of tall
objects without taking falling damage, and
go invisible. Remember when I said badass? Anyway, the suit uses pseudo-muscle fibers on the outside to make all of the
physical stuff happen. The cloak isn’t really explained, rather than it just refracts light
around the suit, making it appear invisible,
but isn’t that good enough? It is for me!
Combat in Crysis 3, as it has been from
the beginning of the series, is very fun, and
above all, satisfying as hell. Hunting your
enemies with the cloak and sneaking up on
them to literally turn their head all the way
around to break their neck is a crunchy, satisfying kill. Pinning an enemy to a wall by
shooting his head with an arrow is equally
crunchy. Using armor mode to laugh in the
face of a grenade-launcher wielding giant
alien is also very satisfying. So I guess
what I’m trying to say is that Crysis 3 is
crunchy and satisfying.
Along with the suit’s powers, the gun
mechanics are great as well. Every gun
has a unique recoil pattern, making each
one feel different. It actually feels like
you’re firing a weapon, rather than a BB
gun like in Call of Duty games. Moreover,
you can customize your weapon on the fly.
With the press of a button, Prophet holds
the gun sideways, allowing you to see all
the attachments you have available for that
weapon. You can choose any attachment at
any time, allow your gun to perfectly fit the
combat situation you’re in.
Finally, Crysis 3 has multiplayer, and
while very similar to most shooter games,
it is still very fun. It plays like Battlefield
on the surface, but draws added depth from
the use of the Nanosuit at any time during
play. It can get a little frustrating, though,
as many players end up camping corners in
cloak mode only to pop out and stealth-kill
you. Admittedly, the game induced any a
rage quit on my part, but that’s probably
because I suck at the game.
All in all, Crysis 3 is a streamlined version of Crysis 2, with more attention to
its roots in Crysis 1. The combat is fluid,
satisfying, and most importantly, crunchy.
For the first time in the series (in my opinion), the story is enjoyable, and the multiplayer is more robust than it ever has been.
If you need a break from the Call of Duty
grind, pick this one up. And if you’re a fan
of the Crysis series, you probably have it
already. Either way, you’ll enjoy this one.
Pick it up. 9/10.
Another One Bites the Dust:
The Third Death of Robin
By Joseph Kuhn
Anyone who is familiar with Batman
(which is everyone on the planet worth
talking to) is probably familiar with his
sidekick Robin, the boy teen wonder. Anyone familiar with Robin would
identify him as that kid in pixie boots
and bright colored spandex who follows
Batman around, generating some weird
pedophilia vibes that make some people
uncomfortable. Anyone with a deeper
understanding of the character, or the
comics from which he springs, will tell
you that Robin is actually a pretty cool
character, and his existence is not nearly
as creepy or homoerotic as it would seem
at first glance. Anyone with a slightly
more in depth knowledge of the comics
(a sweaty nerd) will tell you that Robin is
not actually one character, but a costumed
identity taken on by 5 different, distinct
characters. Anyone with a slightly more
in depth knowledge of comics, and a fondness for statistics, will tell you that these
teenagers, and in some cases small children, face a mortality rate of 60%. To put
that in perspective, you would have better
odds of surviving the assault on Omaha
beach than on surviving a tour of duty as
Batman’s sidekick. Damn.
The latest victim of this senseless
carnage was Batman’s actual biological
son, Damien Wayne. He was beaten to
death by an evil clone of himself, technically rendering his cause of death suicide.
His predecessors have been crowbarred
to death by an angry clown and shot dead
by a mafia don (Mr. Jason Todd and Miss
Stephaney Brown respectively). It’s turning into somewhat of a recurring motif in
the Batman lore.
While the death of a character should
come across as shocking most of
these stories come off as shallow and
manipulative, Jason being the notable
exception. Everyone familiar with the
medium knows that the superhero nether
world has a revolving door, no comic character (expect Uncle Ben) stays dead for
long. But even so character death can be
Photo by kevin dooley on Flickr
deep and meaningful (see the “death” of
superman arc). But this is defiantly not
the case with the Robins. These poor souls
seem to exist as cannon fodder to be thrown
to the hounds every time a writer wants to
characterize Batman as a darker, more brutal hero fueled by grief. In death, the Robins can highlight Batman’s edgy side. The
problem is they kill him/her too often and
at all the wrong times! Aside from the
original death of the family arc, the stories
involving dead sidekicks come off as hollow stunts designed to push more books.
It’s also now coincidence that the victims
always seem to be characters that don’t sell
as well (D.C. actually let its fans vote on
whether or not poor Mr. Todd would pull
through).
To sum it up, killing Batman’s beloved
sidekicks has become an easy way to move
merchandise and clear out disliked characters (because why waste effort trying to
write them better?). This most recent case
is especially upsetting because Damien
represented something we see very rarely
in comics nowadays, growth! Damien was
a character who went from a dickish conniving assassin to a virtuous hero. He grew
and changed over the course of seven years
of publication the way that so few characters do. He also forced his father: the Goddamned Batman, to change and develop. The dude was a father now, who knows
how that could have made him grow and
become more interesting? We, the readers,
sure don’t. And we won’t until they finally
resurrect one of my personal favorite teen
wonders.
10
Retrogaming Review: Brutal Doom
By David Zeppieri
It’s been nearly thirteen years since id
Software released the revolutionary first
person shooter, Doom, upon an unwitting
world, changing the gaming world with its
action-packed gameplay and innovative
design. It speaks volumes for it that the
Doom series still maintains a sizable cult
following even to this day.
Doom has attracted a large modding
community ever since its release, with
thousands of level packs and modifications
released since 1994. Although there have
been many great levels and mods over the
years, one recent mod has caused a great
deal of excitement (and controversy) within the Doom community: Brutal Doom.
Brutal Doom is the work of modder,
Sgt_Mark_IV, who has also been aided by
a small team of talented individuals. This
mod for Doom and Doom II replaces all of
the original weaponry with a redesigned,
high-power arsenal; all of the weapons remain powerful and useful, even up against
powerful enemies late in the game. As the
name suggests, it also adds an incredible
amount of explosive carnage, with firefights leaving walls splattered in varying
shades of crimson, and hallways filled with
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the limbs and peices of slain hellspawn.
While violence mods and weapon replacements are nothing new to the Doom
community, this mod goes above and beyond by changing and updating the gameplay for a modern audience. It now plays
faster, with demons moving at alarming
speed and attacking with higher frequency
and greater power than before. The weapon changes also force the player to use different tactics when clearing demonic foes
out of deserted military bases, as there is
no single weapon that outclasses the others
(the BFG-9000 notwithstanding).
Other small changes have added up
to create a unique atmosphere and play
style. Liquid pools—such as water or
toxic waste—now look much better than
they did back in the nineties, with realistic
splashing when waded through. Torches,
floodlights, and barrels of nuclear waste
now glow appropriately, and trees can be
set aflame by enemies’ plasma attacks (or
even felled with the chainsaw). Plus, the
invisibility sphere powerup has been replaced by hostage space marines. When
freed, your comrades in arms will fight the
demonic menace alongside you, equipped
with random weaponry. While the artificial
intelligence for them could use some improvement, it’s still a nice addition.
One of the major additions in Brutal
Doom is added carnage when using the
Berzerker Pack. In the original Doom, this
powerup turns the player’s fists into harbingers of destruction, atomizing low-level foes in only one or two punches. While
that is still the case in Brutal Doom, there
is now an option to perform Mortal Kombat-style fatalities on vanquished demons,
earning the mod’s title. The game camera
shifts to a third-person view to show the
intrepid space marine literally rip enemies
in half, and other such pleasant scenes of
carnage.
Much of the revised gameplay was inspired by a now-infamous comic book
based on the original Doom games, which
featured a plotline consisting entirely of a
lone, potentially steroid-abusing space marine uttering insane one-liners to himself
while massacring the forces of evil. Classic lines such as “Who’s a man and a half?
I’m a man and a half!” and “You are huge!
That means you have huge guts! Rip and
tear!” are among countless other random
Previous Page: You’d better have
the guts to back it up if you flip off
the Cyberdemon.
Left: Snipe enemies using the new
battle rifle’s iron sights.
Below: Perform Mortal Kombat-style fatalities using the Berzerker Pack.
Screenshots by David Zeppieri
one-liners and taunts that the player can
chose to shout by the press of a key during
gameplay, further adding to the ridiculous,
over-the-top nature of the mod.
Plus, by (rather appropriately) pressing
the “F” key, the player can at any time flipoff the forces of hell, all while shouting
obscenities. This is actually quite useful,
as it allows the player to lure demons into
traps… or, of course, to taunt downed foes.
But, watch out if you decide to flip-off big
bads, such as the Cyberdemon or Mancubus; they’ll become enraged and fight you
harder and faster than before!
In short, Brutal Doom adds a great deal
of new gameplay (and brutal violence) to
an all-time classic computer game. Those
familiar with Doom may appreciate the
many changes and additions, and first time
players will be sure to be impressed by how
much work has been put into revamping a
game older than some of our peers.
If you want to check out Brutal Doom,
first get a copy of Doom or Doom II (available from Steam for about five dollars each,
or from Amazon as a collector’s pack), install it, and then download either GZDoom
or Zandronum. These programs allow
Doom to be played on a modern computer,
and add greater functionally as well. Then,
download the mod from moddb.com/mods/
brutal-doom, and follow the tips on how
to get it running. You’ll soon be well on
your way to a Doom experience unlike any
you’ve had before!
12
Marist Alumni Networking Conference 2013
By Gina Rose Sirico
On Monday, February 11, Communication students had the opportunity to network with Marist alumni in NYC. This
event was financed by the Mary Louise
Bopp Communication Internship Fund,
created by the late Prof. Mary Louise Bopp,
who taught at Marist in the late 1980s, following a long career in NYC.
The networking event was hosted by the
Communication Internship Department at
the offices of Taylor, a marketing communications company, which is located in the
Empire State Building.
“I thought this event was the best one
yet (we’ve run three in NYC) in terms of
energy, engagement and participation. The
students were very active and the alumni
never took a break – a sign that things were
humming and everyone was engaged,”
Prof. Gerry McNulty, Director of Communication & Media Arts Internships, said.
The turnout for this year’s event was 34
students and 13 alumni.
The alumni sat at tables designated by
industry (TV, Sports Comm, PR, and Advertising) and the students had the opportunity to mingle with them. The event was
structured so that every 15 minutes or so
students would switch tables to get in as
much networking as possible.
McNulty and Deborah Porter, the internship coordinators, began planning this networking event immediately after last year’s
event.
“We review the exit surveys done by students and collect comments from the alumni guest speakers. We distill that into two
or three key suggestions for improving the
next year’s event,” McNulty said.
The Communication Advisory Board
came to campus over the summer and discussed plans for the event with McNulty
and Porter.
“Fast forward to November, when we
picked up on making arrangements for the
bus, caterer and began drawing up a list
of potential guest speakers. The Advisory
Board gets the first invitation to participate,
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Photos courtesy of Al Nowak from On Location Studios
and then we send invitations in December
to additional alums. By late January, everything was in place,” McNulty said.
The bus full of students was a little late
arriving to the city due to fog and city traffic. Besides that, McNulty said he thought
the event went very well.
“The networking event was perfect because it was a great way to meet very accomplished professionals, while still staying in the comfort of our wonderful Marist
family,” Kelsey Odom, a senior Journalism
major, said.
Odom’s advice for younger students is
to attend these networking events, and to
be yourself.
“All of those people we met were in our
position once too and there’s no sense in
trying to act like you have all the answers.
This event was to our benefit, so use it to
the fullest advantage and ask any and all
questions,” Odom said.
One of the alums, Kristen Spirko, ’09,
is an Account Executive at Taylor and is
currently enrolled in the Marist Integrated
Marketing Communications Graduate Program (expected to graduate summer 2014).
Spirko was pleased with the turnout of
the event and how prepared the students
were.
“I’m always impressed by Marist students, and this was no exception. Students
came prepared with printed resumes and
business cards, and most importantly, lots
of questions. You could really appreci-
ate the strength of the internship program
at Marist in speaking with these students,
who were eager, professional and enthusiastic about the opportunity,” Spirko said.
Spirko said that networking is very important in communications fields, especially for college graduates.
“Marist has a really unique alumni network that is so important to tap into. It is
great that Marist is guiding students in
making these connections, and it is the responsibility of those in attendance to follow-up with alumni to build the relationship further,” Spirko said.
After collecting anonymous surveys
from the participating students, McNulty
said that most of them found the event to
be very helpful.
“We received a grumble or two about the
late bus, but most alumni said they thought
the students were serious and well-prepared. Most students said they connected directly with specific alum and plan to
stay in touch – and that’s what we want,”
McNulty said.
Networking events like this one will occur annually.
Spirko’s advice that she gave to students
at the event was:
“1. Create your elevator pitch; be able
to market yourself in 30-seconds or less.
Sometimes that’s all the time you’ll have.
2. Create a professional profile to bring
on informational interviews: The top half
should be an abbreviated resume, and the
bottom half should be a list of companies/
agencies you are interested in working for.
Present that, along with your full resume,
at informational interviews to give a better idea of the industries you’re interested
in and prompt introductions to additional
professionals. I learned this tip from Marist
alum, Stan Phelps, and it works like a
charm!
3. Use LinkedIn: If you see a job post
online that you’re interested in, check to
see if you have any LinkedIn connections.
Chances are you do, and then you can ask
your closest connection to do a formal introduction. This opens up the opportunity
to submit your resume through a current
employee, which is likely to get much
more attention that one sent along with a
hundred others online.”
Personally, I find networking events the
perfect opportunity to introduce myself
face-to-face with alumni who I admire. I
keep in touch with all of my connections
because you never know when one of them
might think of you when a position opens,
or who else they can introduce you to.
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Thanks for Reading!
Generator Staff