The engaging, frustrating world of XCOM: Enemy Unknown

By Marc Thompson,
Contributor

a 2a Ze fa &*

t takes a lot of guts

to re-release a game
that’s regarded as one of
the best PC games of all
time. It also takes a lot of
talent to do as fantastic
ajob as Firaxis and 2K
Games have done here.

In XCOM: Enemy

Unknown, players
control a multi-national
task force designed to
deal with a sudden alien
threat in the near future.
The game is divided into
two modes: strategic

and turn-based. In the
strategic portion of
the game, you control
XCOM HQ, allocating
your limited resources to
defend the entire globe
while researching new
technologies to fight
the alien menace. In
the turn-based tactical
mode, you control the
actions of your elite
squad of soldiers against
a wide variety of aliens.
This is no FPS; careful
tactics, flanking, and use
of special weapons are
absolutely required if you
want any of your soldiers
to live. Your troops are
anything but bulletproof,
unlike your enemy scum.
As time goes on, your

troops will get better
gear and pick up new
skills for as long as they
last—which may be
shorter than you think.
This game is both
highly engaging and
highly challenging.
You'll likely find yourself
screaming “NO!!!”
at least once when
something goes horribly
wrong. I recommend it
to strategy game fans
who want a challenge,
and wholeheartedly for
fans of the original. Just
remember to breathe
when your entire team
gets gunned down
by a cyberdisk.

 

 

Polley defines her craft with ‘Stories We Tell’

By Angela Espinoza,
Arts Editor

Oocec

cL Sarah Polley’s latest
endeavor, the Canadian
darling challenges herself
by switching from fic-
tion to documentary.

But the real challenge

for Polley lies in the fact
that her film, Stories We

 

Tell, is actually a doc
that, amongst other
things, examines who
her biological father is.
Staging the man who
raised her, Michael Polley,
in front of two cameras,
Michael narrates the film
with a poetic flow written
by Sarah—in the character
of Michael. Through a
number of interviews
with her four half-siblings,
family friends, and three

of the four men that could
be her father, we get a
very personal, endearing,
if not damaged look into
this particular generation
of the “Polley” family.

At the heart of the
story though, the doc is
really about how different
people can recount the
same story; what bits and
pieces meant more to
some friends and family,
and what didn’t to others.

Diane fondly as a loveable,
excitable actress who just
wanted to find something

One sibling might recount
abuse, while another,
growing up in the same

household, has their resembling true love.
mind on other matters. Sweet, beautifully
While the subject of shot, and at times heart-

Sarah’s father is internal to
the story, it’s her mother,
the long since passed
Diane, who truly steals
the show. Affairs or no
affairs, her siblings, prob-
able fathers, and family
friends all remember

breaking, Stories We Teil
is a Canadian doc for the
history books, and pos-
sibly Sarah’s best film yet.

 

 

‘The Walking Dead walks back into our hearts

By Sophie Isbister,
Staff Writer

OOOO

t’s October, which means

it’s finally time for
AMC’s The Walking Dead
to shamble its gory brand
of zombie apocalypse
drama onto our television
screens. Sunday funday is
back, this time with less
train wreck-Shane (Jon
Bernthal) and more hair.

Episode one of season
three starts approximately
seven months after the
end of season two in
television time, which
is easily deduced by the
cast’s ‘90s grunge-inspired
hairdos, and of course
Lori’s (Sarah Wayne Callies)
massive baby bump.
Morale is understandably
low amongst our group
of straggling heroes, who
have been cleverly evading
walkers through the
cunning use of maps and
their own tasty brain meat.

There’s been a lot of off-
screen world building, and
through some exposition
early on in the episode we
learn more about the horde
mentality of the walkers.
The gang is confident in
their slaying skills, Carol
(Melissa McBride) has
become “a good shot,” and
everyone’s hero Sheriff
McSexy Rick Grimes
(Andrew Lincoln) seems
to have outfitted his pistol

with a MacGyvered silencer.

Andrea (Laurie Holden)
is still separated from the

group, but has bonded
with the latest addition to
the talented ensemble cast,
comic book fan-favourite
Michonne (Danai Gurira)
and her pet walkers-on-
chains.

Episode one brings the
gore and suspense, along
with exciting new plot
developments (fortress,
anyone?) and only a little
bit of the ponderous pace
that plagued the first
half of season two. If you
were staying away from
The Walking Dead for that

 

reason, I’d recommend
catching up and tuning
in to season three. If the

premiere is any indication,
this season is going to be all
about action.

7