Geeks & gamers
Peter Utsey Emerald
Hot pink suits and prostitutes:
My vice is roaming an ’80s city
i nave a new ravonte radio station.
This radio station plays cheesy ’80s
hits like “(I Just) Died in Your Arms
Tonight” by Gutting Grew and REO
Speedwagon’s classic “Keep on Loving
You.” The disc jockey is Fernando, a
Latin lover who likes to talk about the
girls he picked up at the club last
night. One of the station’s many
taglines is “Emotion: Where we give it
to you 24/7, not just once a month.”
The station is Emotion 98.3. Be
fore you turn that radio dial, just a
word of warning. You won’t find Emo
tion in Eugene. Only in Vice City.
That’s my vice, right there. Vice City.
“Grand Theft Auto: Vice City,” to
be exact. For those of you who
haven’t been there (damn tourists),
“Vice City” is the most expansive
video game city on the planet. And I
spend far too much time there.
Vice City technically isn’t Miami,
but it is, with parts of “Miami Vice”
and “Scarface” thrown in.
Heavy on the “Miami Vice.”
Sure, the game is a shoot-em-up.
You start out as a mob underling and
work your way through a rags-to-rich
es plot, performing various “tasks” for
the bosses. And at any time you can
take a break and just cruise around,
flipping radio stations on the Ferrari
like vehicle
you’ve just car
jacked.
But the best
thing about
“Vice City” is
the ‘80s. These
aren’t the ‘80s
we all know,
with ponytails
on the side and
leg-warmers.
This is the
Decade of
Decadence, in
all its wonderful
splendor. You blast Blondie from the
stereo as you romp around the city,
running into cars, knocking over fire
hydrants and, yes, shooting random
things. You meet drug lords who wear
pink suits and dance in clubs with
more neon lights than a carnival. You
jack police cars and tanks, helicop
ters and speedboats.
And somehow, the destruction
and mayhem seem almost normal.
Peter
Hockaday
Two minutes for
crosschecking
G mon, this is the ‘80s! The decade
of conspicuous consumption! So
what if you bust a few hoods along
the way? You’re playing Twisted Sis
ter on the radio!
That is the best thing about this
installment of GTA. Past incarna
tions have been set in seedy, grungy,
present-day cities that were almost
too realistic. “Vice City” is a delight,
a simultaneously sinister and sweet
place that includes everything from
a golf course (where you can jack
golfers and take their carts), to vast
malls and an adult film studio.
Maybe that’s why “Vice City,”
which came out in early November
last year, was named the game of the
year by publications from Entertain
ment Weekly to Playstation Magazine.
It takes me back full-circle to
Emotion. One of the taglines from
the station is “Remember: Too much
emotion is a always a good thing.”
Ditto on the Vice City.
Contact the sports editor
atpeterhockaday@dailyemerald.com.
His views do not necessarily represent
those of the Emerald.
Esteem
continued from page 4B
dark,” Martin said. “(Men) restrain
what they are to be somebody else.”
Harms said he does not talk about
his problems to many people be
cause he cares too much about what
others think of him.
“I put up a facade most of the
time,” he said. “Even though I don’t
feel great about how I look most of
the time, I pretend.”
Hanawahine said while men in
the 21st century face more pressure
to show their feminine side, they
still have to be masculine. Davies
said gay men usually have an easier
time dealing with masculinity and
confidence problems, but society
does not let them escape the prob
lems altogether.
“Gay men have been able ... to
resist some of the pressures that
heterosexual men have,” he said.
“(But) it’s hard to discard social
expectations.”
Men react to self-confidence and
self-image problems differently.
Harms said he exercises regularly
to stay in shape and feel produc
tive, while Martin said it’s better
for men to relieve depression by
crying and getting it out of their
systems than to get angry.
Hanawahine, Douglas and Davies
suggested that no matter what
someone does, a man should ex
press what he is feeling
to someone.
The goal of the Men’s Center, lo
cated in 20 EMU, is to get men in
volved in taking care of themselves
both physically and mentally —
which Hanawahine said will be the
most difficult part.
Contact the reporter
atromangokhman@dailyemerald.com.
Games
continued from page 6B
“It’s the only time I get where
people leave me alone and don’t
bother me,” she said. “It’s mind
less entertainment.”
Brandt and Marge both said they
are able to balance game-play and
day-to-day obligations relatively
well. However, other individuals say
their video game hobbies turned
into addictions that overshadowed
the rest of their lives.
A 2001 Wired magazine article
referred to these people as “game
junkies,” and pointed out several
online communities offering “treat
ment,” including EverQuest-Wid
ows, a Yahoo! group currently
boasting more than 3,000 mem
bers. The article also recounts the
woeful tale of software writer
Reuben Logsdon, who said the
game “Civilization” controlled his
life for seven years.
Clinical psychologist Maressa
Hecht Orzack founded and coordi
nated Computer Addiction Ser
vices at McLean Hospital in Massa
chusetts, where she helps treat
people dependent on their comput
ers or video games. Her Web site,
www.computeraddiction.com, lists
symptoms of the malady, treating
the dependence as seriously as any
drug addiction.
Brandt said that despite the hours
he puts into playing, “Halo” is not
an addiction.
“I don’t consider myself a gaming
geek by any means,” he said. “To
me, it’s just fun.”
It might be arguable whether ad
diction is possible, but video games’
popularity is undeniable. No matter
which level players are on — sore
eyes and shaky hands, simply
stress-free, or somewhere in be
tween — millions are getting in on
the action.
Contact the Pulse editor
atjacquelynlewis@dailyemerald.com.
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