Culture December 4, 2002 Saint Nick Hogg’s Game Buyer Guide* Well it’s that time of year again, when the malls crowd up and the patron saint of capitalism, St. Nick, is busy jogging the economy. Well, that also means you have a lot of stuff to buy from now until December, and most likely you've got a gamer to shop for. Now if you're shopping for a gamer, you probably fall into one these categories: You think Pong will make a major comeback this year. You still haven't figured out that Princess is in another Castle. Last time someone made fun of your console system you wrote a 14-page dis- sertation using only six different words. You wonder why anyone needs video http://otherpress.douglas.bc.ca Nick Hogg OP Gamester games when there's Risk. You wonder why you can’ find any fun- nels in the stores this year. Even if you are a more educated con- sumer, you still probably need some help navigating the vast sea of games for this winter holiday. There are currently three major console systems fighting for your market share, along with one portable system, and a dying grey box. This takes us to our first major system, in order of size. Nintendo Game Cube. Well, this year the tiny cube has a good selection of stuff for all us consumers and quite a bit of choice—with several noteworthy games any gamer will be happy to see under a tree. Sonic Collection consists of seven Sonic the Hedgehog games from the Sega Genesis, perfectly emulated for the cube. It may not be cutting edge, but the Sonic games are still fun. Resident Evil O is basically another Resident Evil game, where you must keep the world safe from an evil corporation that keeps making zombies. I remember on the PSX that Resident Evil had a shod- dy control scheme and pre-rendered back- grounds, oh wait that hasn't changed, well at least it’s pretty to look at. Mario Party 4, because what's a party without Mario? Well, it’s still a party, but without all those fun mini games, or a Princess that can't go five minutes without being kidnapped. Next we move onto my system of choice, the PS2. And why is this system my favorite for the year? Basically, it has the games I want—it’s as simple as that. Shinobi, as you might have heard, is indeed back. Along with his ninja cool- ness factor and his new red scarf, he also brought frustrating old-school gaming with him. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2, you've got to love a game based on racing through city streets avoiding cops. Moral issues aside, this a solid racing game, and if youre dead set against breaking the law, you can always be the police and take down these delinquent street racers. Wild Arms 3 is what I think is one of the best RPGs out for the PS2 to date; it’s a creative original and I can’t stop playing it. In my books any game that has dragons that can turn into to jet fighters is an instant classic. Finally we move to the Microsoft X- Box, the console system that comfortably seats five adults—well, almost. The box has some decent titles out now that will induce some people to buy the system. Mech Assault; its Mech Warrior on a console, and as you may have noticed I’m a fan of robots. After playing this, it was hard to pry my hands from the control Metal Gear Solid Substance, it’s the ga| we should have gotten two years ago. Sons of Liberty for the PS2, except time you no longer have to play half game with some no-name character, you get 350 VR missions, which will k anyone without an attention span oc pied for hours. As for major developments, that sho give you a general idea. What if you're a budget, you ask? No problem, there a lot of solid classics out there that impress any gamer. Three recent additi to the PS2 Greatest Hit list are Metal Solid: Sons of Liberty, Silent Hill 2, Devil May Cry, whether you prefer to tle terrorists, battle creepy atmosph demons, or just be a half-demon wit big sword. As well, there are quite a good PSX RPGs that still need a g home: Lunar, Final Fantasy VII, Fi Fantasy Tactics, Ledged of Dragoon, an course Star Ocean: The Second Story. T are all great RPGs, but Star Ocean is pr ably one of the finest RPGs ever, I d think I can say enough good things ab it. Hopefully I’ve cleared the fog a littl the video game department. Enjoy, don’t forget to take a break from gam to spend time with your friends and f. ilies over the holidays! Toga, loga Dawn-Louise McLeod OP Contributor Alana and Karla Photo by Devon Lewis When I saw the posters all over DC for a Toga Party, I was excited. This was more than just another pub night. For starters they offered pasta and chili for a buck. I went online and checked out Toga Boy Ron Turner's site . He seems to have cornered the market on toga instructions; all searches in Google led to his site. Toga parties must be hugely popular, as Toga Boy gets 50,000 visitors a day wanting to know how to dress appropriately for an event unheard of prior to 1978. In that year, National Lampoon's first film Animal House and John Belushi’s performance in it put toga parties on the map of cultural norms. Since then, toga parties have been de rigueur in North American post-secondary institutions. Dont leave college without attending one. So there I was on Thursday morning, with numerous assignments and a final exam looming over my head, hold- ing a diaphanous length of ecru-coloured curtain and smiling in smug satisfaction as I read TB’s instructions: “Do not use a sheet. Let me repeat. Do not use a sheet.” Besides, you need six yards for a toga, and that’s longer than any sheets I own. And a toga with flowers all over just wasn't about to cut it. I was one step ahead of the game. Into my backpack went my toga-to-be, a vintage rhine- stone brooch that belonged to my grandma, and a pair of sandals. I was going to check out this party in style! Though I might be alone—I'd emailed out a message to not one but two list servs, and nobody responded. The DC Toga Party was hosted by the Sign Language Interpreters’ program’s First-Year students to fund a retreat. A worthy cause. I went up to the Student Union lounge around 5:30 and was impressed that, not only had everyone donned togas, but the band was already playing and delicious vegetarian chili was being served. Frie people were sitting around, and at my request a nice-lo ing man helped me wrap and pin my toga. Then I ha Public Relations class to go to—good thing our instru is not stodgy. According to Toga Boy, women tend to want their t on the attractive side, whereas men just want to look, I quote, as “dufus” as possible. Not difficult for guys, n ly. Anyhow, that was true of the approach taken at the Toga Party, except for one fellow who put all the wom togas to shame. Not only did he eventually take the p (a beer glass containing a gift certificate for a real, free too) for Best Male Toga in the contest, he could have Best Female Toga as well. Yeah, I entered the contest. We had to “line up” and winner was judged according to the cheerometer. It laughably demeaning, but what the heck. From the ch I got (mostly from the OP table—thanks!), I was prob a close runner-up for the prize, despite my ivy-wrap black beret. Enough so that I was quite uncomfortabl the contest continued and the DJ stressed that the p was “a real tattoo—on the butt!” he chortled. I was gr. ful when a slim young thing in a fashionable red toga cheered to the winners’ podium, particularly as I did relish having the OP’s logo emblazoned—on my b Our office manager said he would have whistled lo had he known what the prize was. Great. Anyhow, it was a good party. The band wasn't so | that we couldn't talk, it was a gentle crowd, and fun had by all. Though I didn’t see too many people d; ing—then again, how could you—the fluorescent li over the band remained on throughout the entire p reminding us that this was, after all, a college functio