'Doom 3' hails gaming's future,
promises to enthrall users
'Doom 3' continues the
legacy of the original
groundbreaking game
GERRY WACHOVSKY
DAILY FORTY-NINER
(CALIFORNIA STATE U.-LONG BEACH)
(U-WIRE) LONG BEACH, Calif. —
For hardcore gamers like myself, it is al
ways exciting to get my hands on a
game I have been anticipating for
coundess months. It is especially excit
ing when that game is one that will no
doubt revolutionize not only the first
person shooter genre, but the entire
-gaming
GAME indn
REVIEW "Doom
- 3" is set
to do just
that.
In 1993 id Software released the
first inception of what would be
come one of the most groundbreak
ing series of all time. The original
"Doom" threw gamers into a
nightmarish world populated by
demons and hell spawn of the
creepiest proportions, and it always
seemed that there was never enough
ammo to hold back the oncoming
hordes. Now, fast-forward to present
time, and what could very well be
the gaming moment of the year.
As soon as you insert the first of
three install discs in your CD-ROM
drive, you know you are about to
embark on one hell of a ride. The sys
tem requirements are quite steep,
and the game is extremely hardware
intensive, so if your computer is lack
ing in the power department, expect
to play the game in substantially low
detail. If there was ever a time to up
grade, the time is now.
The game starts off by introducing
you to its graphical prowess. In the
first level, which doubles as a pseudo
training level, you report for duty as a
marine at a Mars research complex
owned by the Union Aerospace Cor
poration. You can almost feel the en
vironment moving around you, and
you speak to several other marines
whose facial animations are nothing
short of mind-blowing.
SUNSET
continued from page 8
going on at the table next to you in a
cafe. The conversation begins like
any would between two people
'meeting again for the first time,' with
discussions about what has been
happening in each other's lives.
These lead to extended riffs about
jobs, politics, religion and other bits
of small talk that slowly develop into
a description of each character's per
sonality. Hawke and Delpy so inhab
it these characters that it almost does
n't feel like acting at all, rather just
two people talking to you.
The interplay between the charac
ters is a pleasure to watch, as the
conversation rolls and loops
through a variety of subjects, central
of which is their own relationship
and the reasons they didn't see each
other after the first meeting. The
"what could have been" question
hangs over them with every sen
tence, and it is obvious the two
share a deep connection despite the
short time they have spent together.
As things develop, what we see of
the impact of that first meeting is ex
panded. All of their relationships af
terward were, in a way, changed by it.
Jesse's book is even a fictionalized ac
count of the meeting, while Celine
has never been able to connect with
anyone the same way since. Their cur
rent meeting becomes a catharsis for
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the two of them, allowing them to
discuss the problems with their oth
er relationships in context of how
that first meeting defined them.
None of this is presented outright
in the film, but is rather revealed
through a slow unfolding, with the
conversation expanding the defini
tion of the characters. It hardly mat
ters whether one has seen the origi
nal film, because "Before Sunset"
re-creates Jesse and Celine from the
ground up. Because the events of
the first film are discussed in depth,
no lack of knowledge about the
original's plot will keep anyone
from enjoying or understanding the
events depicted here.
The film ends on an ambiguous
note— just like the first— leaving us
once again unsure of the future re
lationship of the two characters. I'm
not giving anything away by saying
this, because it becomes obvious
through the film that a definitive
ending isn't likely. It ends instead
like most human relationships, in
complete and with many loose
ends untied. For those curious as to
the future of these two, the film an
swers the question at the very begin
ning when Jesse explains to a group
of reporters about the ending of his
book, that the fate of the characters
depends on your perspective.
"Before Sunset" will open this
Friday at the Bijou Art Cinemas.
rya nnyburg@dai lyemera ld.com
— poppiV—
^ "The Land East"
Traditional
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Dinner
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992 Willamette
Eugene, Or 97401
343-9661
When the portal to hell is finally
opened, you won't believe what you
see. The world is suddenly trans
formed into a nightmare, as the walk
ing dead and various other
creations lurk around every darkened
comer. The dynamic lighting in this
game is absolutely phenomenal;
when you shine your flashlight into a
darkened room, the shadows and
light react as they would in the real
world. Monsters glisten with slime
and decay, and if you have never been
scared playing a game, you will here.
The game's interface is easy to navi
gate through and is designed flawlessly.
Through the course of the game, you
download information in the form of
e-mail, videos and voice notes to your
in-game personal digital assistant, in
formation that is important to not
only the story but also your survival.
"Doom 3" is a gaming experience
unlike anything that I have ever experi
enced and if you are a gamer who loves
enthralling game-play and storytelling,
you have got to check it out. This game
is set to have the same effect on gaming
that butter had for sliced bread. The fu
ture of computer gaming has arrived.
'Refused' shines
in recently released
'EP Compilation'
The Swedish band broke
up in the 90s, but not
before leaving its mark
TRAVIS PETERSEN
THE STUDENT LIFE
(WASHINGTON U.-ST. LOUIS)
(U-WIRE) ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Refused
was one of the most influential bands
of the '90s, making a classic album,
"The Shape of Punk to Come," before
D ]; \ ;r r^r reer path was that it
KIWI never got its due,
with bands like At
the Drive In and the Mars Volta crib
bing huge elements of the band's
sound and getting credit for the inno
vation. Refused's new "EP Compila
tion," collecting much of the group's
hard-to-find work on one disc, is a fur
ther document of the band's influence
and authority.
imploding at the end
of the decade. The re
sult of the group's ca
Refused began as a straight-edge
hardcore band, and the last half of the
disc is dedicated to songs in that vein.
The first half of the disc, made mostly
right before the band broke up, is
where the innovation lies. The album
opens with "New Noise," a perfect mix
of hardcore and electronic elements,
with a huge amount of anger. "Poetry
Written in Gasoline" is a long, epic
track, something the Mars Volta would
try without quite reaching the same
poly-rhythmic, distorted success.
As the album continues, "Refused
are f-kin dead" is an intricate, dance
able instrumental. "Jag Ater Inte Mina
Vanner," the only song sung in the
band's native Swedish, is a strange,
haunting anthem.
The members of Refused have gone
on to form other bands, most notably
the (International) Noise Conspiracy,
but they have yet to replicate the inno
vation of their work as displayed on this
collection. Hopefully one day they will
no longer refuse to be a band anymore.
NPR
continued from page 7
Although it was not approved, she said
stories like that are what the station
needs to bring in new listeners.
"Young reporters doing young top
ics, at some point, should be trusted
to recognize a good story," Dornfeld
said. "We have a tendency to pass a
trend's prime."
It couldn't hurt to have a hip-hop
or indie rock program either, she said.
But attracting a younger audience
doesn't mean that NPR should
compete with mainstream pop radio
stations, Dornfeld said, adding that
NPR has its own niche.
"The goal for KLCC has been to
represent underrepresented people,
art and music," Dornfeld said. But,
she doesn't agree that rap is already
represented fairly. As a fan of hip-hop
and rap music, she said far too much
of the mainstream rap on private ra
dio isn't very diverse.
Dornfeld said getting into public
radio as a paid position is fairly diffi
cult and sometimes requires years of
volunteer work. Even though public
radio requires a great deal of sacrifice,
she says she doesn't understand why
more people don't volunteer.
"It's like a free journalism school,"
she said.
She has spent time in public radio
stations in Anchorage and Seattle, as
well as a stint as a newspaper re
porter for The Anchorage Press,
before coming to KLCC as a volun
teer more than one year ago.
KLCC is working on moving into a
new building in downtown Eugene in
a few years, Domfeld said. The new lo
cation will be updated and more spa
cious. Until then, Domfeld seems quite
at home in her tiny record-lined studio.
Michael A. Booth is a freelance
reporter for the Emerald.
NYBURG
continued from page 7
takes tmicho dinero to keep things running, which means
dealing with advertising. Advertisers spook like a flock of
paranoid sparrows at the hint of anything new that might
drive viewers away, so advertising-funded media tend to be
pretty mundane. It should come as no surprise that some
of the best programming on television comes from sub
scription-funded channels like HBO and Showtime.
Sometimes a brilliantly offensive show like "South
Park" can sneak onto the air, but only under particular
circumstances. If the channel in question is trying to
change its image or is simply desperate for program
ming, it will be more willing to take chances. Two of the
most consistently inventive and creative shows on televi
sion in the 1990s— "The Simpsons" and "Mystery Sci
ence Theater 3000"— came into national prominence
because of a drought of original programming on Fox
and the Comedy Channel (the original name of Come
dy Central before it merged with Viacom's Ha! channel).
The problem with a closed system is that such shake-ups
tend to be the sole source of truly original programming.
What you get instead is either variations on a once-success
ful formula or incestuous amplification. The latter is a mil
itary term referring to decision-making that doesn't accept
outside opinions. What you get is a group of people agree
ing endlessly with each other until the leadership thinks it
couldn't possibly be wrong. In television (and the major
studio film industry for that matter), you end up with peo
ple who haven't left Beverly Hills in 20 years thinking they
know what will go over with the general public.
Other media have varying degrees of these problems. I
tend to find that the more open a medium is, the better off
it will be, because it can move and flow with the times. But
the trick is in prying open the system in the first place.
ryannYburg@dailyemerald.com
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