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THE WICHITAN Oct. 17, 2007
New Releases MUSIC: “Here I Am,” Eve; “Chase This Light,” Jimmy Eat World; “A Classic Christmas,” Toby Keith; “The Art of Love and War,” Angie Stone; “Free Life,” Dan Wilson; “It’s A Wonderful Christmas,” Michael W. Smith; “Chrome Dreams II,” Neil Young; “Oblivion With Bells,” Underword. (Yeah ... it’s a lame week for music, y’all.) DVD: “Transformers,” “A Mighty Heart,” “The Reaping,” “The Hoax,” “My Best Friend,” “Crazy Love,” “The Invisible,” “Lights in the Dusk.” (Not spectacular for movies, either ... ) BOOKS: “The Intellectual Devotional: American History,” David S. Kidder and Noah D. Oppenheim; “Become a Better You,” Joel Osteen; “Schulz and Peanuts: A Biography,” David Michaelis; “The Almost Moon,” Alice Sebold; “War and Peace (New Translation),” Leo Tolstoy; “Harry Potter Box Set,” J.K. Rowling; “The Conscience of a Liberal,” Paul Krugman; “Think BIG and Kick Ass in Business and Life,” Donald Trump and Bill Zanker; “Musicophilia: Takes of Music and the Brain,” Oliver Sacks; “What’s So Great About Christianity,” Dinesh D’Souza; “The Abstinence Teacher,” Tom Perrotta; “The Politically Correct Guide to the Bible,” Robert J. Hutchinson; “Bloodfever,” Karen Marie Moning; “The Rest is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century,” Alex Ross; “Star Wars: A Pop-Up Guide to the Galaxy,” Matthew Reinhart; “Dark Mission: The Secret History of NASA,” Richard C. Hoagland and Mike Bara. ( ... Better. Books, the saviors of civilization!) VIDEO GAMES: “Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground,” PS3, X360, PS2, Wii, DS; “Heroes of Might and Magic V: Tribes of the East,” PC; “Fury,” PC; “Beautiful Katamari,” X360; “Victorious Boxers: Revolution,” Wii; “Dawn of Magic,” PC; “Crash of the Titans,” PSP; “The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Game of the Year Edition,” PS3; “Spider-Man 3,” PSP; “Mercury Meltdown Revolution,” Wii; “SWAT: Target Liberty,” PSP; “Guilty Gear XX Accent Core,” Wii; “Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe,” X360; “Every Extend Extra Extreme,” X360.
Books for the Troops Books-a-Million has a program allowing visitors to its Web site (www.booksamillion.com) to select and buy books for members of the U.S. Armed Forces serving overseas. Shoppers select books from a list. Once a week BAM addresses and sends the books to the soldiers. Unit commanders distribute the books to the individuals in their units. Buyers pay no shipping charges on the books they buy. A wide variety of popular, in-stock books at available for purchase, including fiction, biography, business, history, political science, religion and self-help.
Golden Jubilee The Dallas Opera is celebrating its 50th anniversary with the 2007-2008 season. This season’s theme is “Death by Diva.” Productions begin in November with Verdi’s “Macbeth,” Lehar’s “The Merry Widow,” Strauss’ “Salome,” Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess” and Puccini’s “Tosca.” For more information, go to www.dallasopera.org.
Entertainment
PSP ‘Tactics’ is perfect KONNIE SEWELL ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
If we have the opportunity, my brothers and I will sit around and play any of the original “Mario” games nearly all day long. When we do this, it’s all about the nostalgia and gameplay. But other games don’t have it so easy. It seems to me that more than any other genre of video games, RPGs are the most dependent on graphics. There are many RPGs and SRPGs out there that have great gameplay and storylines, but these qualities don’t seem to make up for poor graphics with many gamers, and that’s a shame. So it is with the original “Final Fantasy Tactics” for the PlayStation. Completely overshadowed by “Final Fantasy VII” when it was originally released 10 years ago, this game has become a hallowed favorite among many fans. Now re-released on the PSP, older fans can experience the game a second time with oodles of goodies thrown in, and newcomers can experience this masterpiece for the first time. Plot-wise, it’s a deep and dark tale about politics, class war and religious turmoil that was badly tangled and flayed by a terrible translation. At times, it was nigh impossible to comprehend. But the PSP brings with it a fabulous new translation. It’s quite often poetic, not to mention a whole lot easier to follow. The story follows the story of Ramza Beoulve. A naïve aristocrat in the beginning of the story, he is overshadowed by his two older brothers. Because Ramza is only their half-brother, the result of his father’s affair with a courtesan, he feels out of place. He is closest to his little sister Alma, who is his full sister, and Delita Heiral, a commoner his father had taken under his wing. Starting out as friends, Delita begins to see he cannot walk the same path as Ramza. Though Ramza is a good person and friend, neither of them will be able to overcome the class differences between them. They meet a year later, both of them changed. They are both caught up in the War of the Lions. The war is a fight over the succession to the throne between the queen’s brother
Dashboard Confessional, bottom, performed in Dallas Wednesday, Oct. 10 with Augustana, top. Photos are the reporter’s own.
and the late king’s cousin. As time goes along, many others become involved, including noble and peasant factions, a princess and the church. Eventually it’s revealed that the manipulators in this story are being manipulated, who are in turn also being manipulated. Delita emerges as a dynamic, Machiavellian character. He wants to change the world for the better, but unfortunately he believes in taking the doctrine of “the ends justify the means” to the extreme. He is, unquestionably, one of the best villains in the series, better than everyone’s beloved Sephiroth (yes, that’s right, I went there. Kiss my ass, fanboys.) New cel-shaded cut-scenes are gorgeous to see and are voiced by a wonderful cast. The musical score is as great as it ever was, continually epic-sounding despite the small size of the PSP. There is also a new twoplayer mode if you are so inclined.
Gameplay itself is the same, a cross between playing a game of chess and being a DM. Two new job classes have been added, the Dark Knight and the Onion Knight. All the hidden characters are still available, as well as two new additions to the cast, including Balthier from “Final Fantasy XII.” It’s especially a treat to see Balthier make an appearance, as it links the past Ivalice of “Final Fantasy XII” (which takes place hundreds of years before “The War of the Lions,” and where an all-important character is only just beginning to stir up trouble) with the future one of “Tactics.” The only thing that I can complain about is the load times, but once you get used to it, it’s bearable. In the end, “Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions” is perfect, completely justifying the purchase of a PSP if you don’t already own one.
Christian singer connects with many LAUREN WOOD STAFF REPORTER
I personally am not a huge fan of Christian music. I’ve heard a few songs here and there, but it is not my first choice when it comes to music. So when assigned the task of seeing local Christian artist Jay Burnam, I wasn’t too thrilled, but was willing to try something new. He performed Thursday at the Mustangs for Christ building. I had never even been in that building before, so I expected lots of weird looks and questionable faces. Instead I got a warm welcome and conversed pleasantly with the people there until Burnam performed. Burnam’s voice is very mellow and soothing. He plays mainly acoustic guitar, but occasionally will be accompanied by other musicians. It wasn’t bubbly or catchy, it flowed well and was peaceful. He is a Christian singer so
naturally there were songs about God, but he also sings about girls. Lots and lots of girls. Which was nice, considering everyone who listens might not have been crazy about Christian music. Burnam was very friendly in that between every song he managed to make me laugh with his commentary. There was only a small crowd of us there, but all the same Jay didn’t care and just played as if he was just playing for you individually. He connected with the audience and for me personally, it was a good experience. Luckily there will be a few more chances of seeing him perform. Oct. 19 he will perform at First Baptist Coffee House at 10 p.m. and also Oct. 26 at South Weeks Park at 8 p.m.
Frontman Carrabba brings down house COURTNEY FOREMAN STAFF REPORTER Being at the Dashboard Confessional concert last Wednesday was one of the most intimate concert experiences of my life. Lead singer Chris Carrabba acted more like a friend than a big music star. Letting the fans sing most of the songs and thanking the crowd for inviting him to play made him seen very humble. For the entire two-and-a-halfhour set, Chris played acoustically and truly connected with the crowd. Playing classic Dashboard songs such as “Vindicated,” “Hands Down” and “Remember To Breathe,” Chris truly gave Dashboard Confessional fans an experience to take home with them. I have been to many other concerts and never have I felt like the band on stage took as much notice
to their fans as Dashboard did. As Chris told funny stories and thanked the crowd for “being the most loyal fan base he has ever seen,” I truly think Dashboard Confessional connected with their fans more than other bands do today. The opening acts were the John Ralston Band and Augustana. Nick Eberhardt, guitarist of the John Ralston Band, said: “If you can win people over in a city like Dallas, you can win over anybody” when asked what he loved about touring in the Dallas area. Overall, if you can catch Dashboard Confessional on tour this fall I would highly recommend it. Dashboard Confessional is currently on tour with the John Ralston Band and Augustana. Dashboard Confessional just released their latest album “The Shade of Poison Trees,” and it’s in stores everywhere.
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