THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG TUESDAY, JUNE. 1ST, 2021
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UAA to return to on-
Hitbox Impressions:
campus instruction
Mass Effect
for Fall 2021
Legendary Edition
Dave Bronson elected mayor of Anchorage By Jake Dye arts@thenorthernlight.org
Dave Bronson was elected mayor of Anchorage in a runoff election held on May 11, 2021. Bronson took 50.66% of the vote, defeating his opponent, Forrest Dunbar, by 1,193 votes. Only 38.36% of registered voters turned out. Bronson will take office on Jul. 1. During the transition period, ongoing until Bronson takes office, he and his transition team will work with the current Mayor: Austin Quinn-Davidson. Bronson campaigned on removing all restrictions relating to the COVID-19 pandemic and using state and federal funds to stimulate local businesses that were affected by those restrictions. He also targeted homelessness, promising specifically not to ever use hockey rinks to house the homeless, seeking instead to partner with faith-based organizations for housing, and declared that the homeless will be “removed” from parks, businesses, and streets. Bronson has also stated a desire to intensify police presence in Anchorage. He promised to cut spending within the municipal government and not to implement a sales tax. The mayor-elect has not yet made public his stances on education, climate change, public transportation and clean
energy. Larry Baker, an Anchorage businessman and former Anchorage assemblyman, and Craig Campbell, head of the Alaska National Guard and former lieutenant governor were named to Bronson’s transition team. Bronson’s transition plan was released publicly on May 17, describing five teams dedicated to establishing action plans for policy, economic recovery, organizational structure, budget and public safety. Stated objectives are to identify policies to change, take action to revitalize downtown Anchorage and encourage tourism, restructure the municipal government and reduce roles within it, review and adjust the current budget and develop plans to give resources to the Anchorage police and reduce homelessness. Dunbar conceded the race May 21, stating in a Facebook post “it is clear that Dave Bronson will be Anchorage’s next mayor” In his concession statement, Dunbar went on to attack Bronson for lying about the COVID-19 pandemic and called out the Bronson campaign for casting doubt on the election despite winning it, suggesting that this may be the beginning
PHOTO COURTESY OF DAVE BRONSON
Dave Bronson will be the next mayor of the Municipality of Anchorage
of an attempt to repeal Anchorage’s Vote By Mail system. Dunbar also expressed concern that Bronson would appoint political extremists as heads of departments. After losing the mayoral election, Dunbar will remain in his Anchorage Assembly seat, and he promises to continue to serve the community. The mayor of the Municipality of Anchorage is the chief executive of the
city. The mayor of Anchorage is responsible for appointing individuals to various positions within the municipal government. These positions include heads of municipal agencies, including the police and fire departments. The mayor also proposes the budget, signs bills passed by the assembly and oversees the day-to-day operation of Anchorage.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MARC LESTER AND ANCHORAGE DAILY NEWS
Bronson is pictured here with his transition team: Craig Campbell on the left, and Larry Baker on the right.
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Sean Parnell named UAA’s new Chancellor By Jake Dye arts@thenorthernlight.org
Sean Parnell was announced as the new chancellor for the University of Alaska Anchorage by Interim President Pat Pitney in a press release on May 12. Parnell will succeed Interim Chancellor Bruce Shultz on Jun. 12, 2021. In the press release, Pitney explains her decision, citing Parnell’s “passion for our mission, his deep commitment to Alaska, and his desire for all Alaskans to have access to higher education.” Pitney also stated that Parnell received strong support both from the search committee as well as from UAA students. She stated that Parnell has an understanding of the issues facing UAA, and believes that he can lead UAA in the effort to stabilize the university’s budget. The search for a new chancellor began with the departure of the previous UAA Chancellor, Cathy Sandeen, in January. Parnell was one of 8 finalist candidates named Apr. 8, and the final decision was made by Pitney and a search committee following a series of forums in April. Parnell said of his new position: “I am honored to be appointed as chancellor of such a dynamic university and I am committed to UAA, the UA System and to Alaskans.” He pledged to “move UAA forward as Alaska’s engine for workforce development and creative innovation.” Parnell moved to Anchorage with his family in 1973 at the age of 10. He graduated from East Anchorage High School before attending university for law in Washington. Parnell is currently an attorney in Anchorage, with 25 years of active practice. Parnell was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives between 1992
PHOTO COURTESY OF UAA
and 1996, then the Alaska Senate from 1996-2000. In 2006 he was elected Lieutenant Governor of Alaska, then assumed the role of Governor in 2009 with the resignation of Sarah Palin before being elected to the role in 2010, which he held until losing reelection in 2014. During Parnell’s time as governor, he was involved with the creation of the Alaska Performance Scholarship, which offers a significant quantity of financial aid to Alaska residents who graduate from Alaska high schools and attend college or technical education in Alaska.
Sean Parnell will begin work as UAA’s Chancellor on June 12th.
There are many leadership positions in universities; chancellors, presidents, provosts, deans and directors. It can get understandably confusing trying to figure out what these leaders are responsible for. The chancellor of a university, in this case the University of Alaska Anchorage, is the leader of the university. Both UAA and UAF have Chancellors who lead their specific universities, and both chancellors report to the greater University of Alaska President, currently Interim President Pat Pitney.
Day-to-day responsibilities of the Chancellor are more opaque, doubtless, it’s a life of meetings and emails, as the chancellor oversees the entire university, including student affairs, administrative services, academic affairs, university advancement, research, athletics, diversity, and outreach. Parnell will be the face of the university, with the opportunity to shape its future in the face of budget cuts, a continuing pandemic and an ever-changing, volatile world.
PHOTO COURTESY OF ANCHORAGE DAILY NEWS
Parnell has considerable experience in both law and elected office.
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University of Alaska Anchorage to return to on-campus instruction for Fall 2021 By Jake Dye arts@thenorthernlight.org
The University of Alaska Anchorage will return to primarily in-person instruction for the Fall 2021 semester. Interim Chancellor Bruce Shultz announced the plan to return to on-site operation May 18. University employees will return to campus in May, ahead of the opening of campus to students Aug. 2. A few days after the announcement, on May 24, University of Alaska interim President Pat Pitney announced that all vaccinated individuals will no longer be required to wear masks on UAA campus. This is consistent with updated Center for Disease Control masking guidelines released May 16. Mask requirements will remain in place for all individuals on university property who are not vaccinated. Masks will be required for all individuals
using campus public transportation. Currently, students who will be living on-campus are required to either receive a COVID test or complete a two week self-quarantine ahead of the start of fall classes on Aug. 23. There is no indication at this time that these policies are being considered for revision ahead of the start of the fall semester. Those still looking for a COVID-19 Vaccine can visit https://anchoragecovidvaccine.org/ for information about where and which vaccines are available in their area. A hotline is available on the website for help signing up for an appointment or just to answer questions, and resources are available to get a free Uber or Lyft ride to and from a vaccination site. Sites offering walk-ins are also indicated.
PHOTO COURTESY OF LOREN HOLMES AND ANCHORAGE DAILY NEWS
All of UAA campus will be open for students during the Fall Semester, and masks will not be required for students who have been vaccinated.
PHOTO COURTESY OF UAA
Bruce Shultz is the Interim Chancellor of UAA, until June 12 when Sean Parnell will step into the role of Chancellor.
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Media headlines and highlights in June 2021 Video Game Highlights
By Jake Dye arts@thenorthernlight.org
Stonefly - June 1 “Stonefly” is described by indie developer Flight School Studio as “a chill and tranquil action-adventure game about self-discovery, legacy, and belonging.” Players build and customize their own mech before going on adventures in a beautiful wilderness, fighting bugs. Notably, players do not kill the bugs they encounter, simply knocking them aside. The game looks stylish and low impact, promising a coming of age story for its protagonist, an inventor named Annika. The world is colorful, the bugs are cute, and the developers promise a wide range of abilities, allowing players to customize their mech to suit their playstyle. “Stonefly” will be available on all consoles and PC. Loki - June 9 Earlier this year Marvel Studios’ “WandaVision” and “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” both released exclusively on Disney+. Both were spectacular. “Loki” seems poised to keep that momentum, while also potentially getting weirder than anything else we’ve seen from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A buddy comedy starring Tom Hiddleston as an alternate universe variant of Loki and Owen Wilson as a time cop, the two will be diving through time correcting broken timelines. Hiddleston has always stolen the show as Loki since the character’s first introduction in 2011’s “Thor,” and seeing a whole lot more of him is a pretty big selling point for the show on its own. Perhaps most interesting will be seeing how this series affects the greater universe, introducing the Time Variance
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE VERGE
Loki involves time travel, and it looks like it will probably get pretty weird. I consider that a plus.
Authority and building out the new Loki Variant who was only briefly introduced in 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame.”
In the Heights - June 11 Based on the other musical by LinManuel Miranda, the creator and star of “Hamilton,” “In the Heights’ is easily one of the most exciting films coming out this summer. Hollywood doesn’t make nearly enough musicals, but the music and the dancing featured in this film’s trailers look incredible, innovative, and triumphant. The film has been screening to press for weeks, and reviews have been almost universally positive, and the film currently holds a 99% on Rotten Tomatoes. “In the Heights” follows Usnavi, a young man with big dreams in Washington Heights, a largely Dominican neighborhood in New York City. The film will be available both in theatres and streaming on HBO Max. Movie Highlights
“The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” releases Jun. 4 in theatres and on HBO Max. This is the first release from The Conjuring Universe in nearly two years. So far, the mainline “Conjuring” films, following Ed and Lorraine Warren, have been very good, with a surprising amount of heart. “The Devil Made Me Do It” changes up the formula, moving away from a single haunted house to a much broader horror experience, centered on a court case where the defendant pled demonic possession. “Luca,” releasing Jun. 18th, is the latest from Pixar Studios, hot off 2020’s successes in “Onward” and “Soul.” Unfortunately, Disney has chosen to eschew a theatrical release for the film, and it will only be available via Disney+. The film follows two boys going on adventures in a small Italian town. The boys are also sea monsters, who transform if they get wet. Pixar films are probably the safest bet in entertainment, as even their worst films are great movies, while their best are industry-defining masterpieces. “F9,” releasing Jun. 25 exclusively in theatres, is the ninth entry in the “Fast and Furious” franchise. Being the ninth film, it needs little introduction. There will be cars, they will go fast, it will be very exciting. Trailers seem to suggest they may go to space, that would be pretty cool. Television Highlights Paramount+ is reviving “iCarly,” the Nickelodeon teen sitcom about a group of kids making a web show in their brother’s attic. Most of the cast is back, nine years later, they rebuilt the set, and it streams exclusively on Paramount+ on Jun. 17.
PHOTO COURTESY OF VANITY FAIR
“In The Heights” looks triumphant and bright, and some of the musical set pieces shown off in the trailer look really fun.
“Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade” releases Jun. 10, exclusively for PlayStation 5, and while it mostly just makes the original very pretty game even prettier, it also includes a brand new story expansion about the great ninja Yuffie. It’s more “Final Fantasy VII Remake,” and that’s great news. “Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart” is the first game that we’ll see really show off the power and abilities of the new game consoles. Exclusive to PlayStation 5, the game uses the speed of the solid-state drive to load radically different environments almost instantly, allowing players to hop between dimensions live in gameplay without loading screens. It’s also probably the best-looking game we’ve seen to date. The only problem is that with console shortages persisting, lots of players may find themselves unable to get their hands on this game. Streaming Highlights Disney+ adds “Raya and the Last Dragon” to its general membership, previously only available in theatres or through $30 Premium Access. “Raya,” Disney Animation’s latest, is a masterpiece, definitely worth a watch. Ongoing series “Star Wars: The Bad Batch” and “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” continue to receive weekly episodes. Netflix has a quiet month, bringing two “Sailor Moon” movies, as well as a second season for 2020’s “Lupin” Hulu brings a second season for both “Love, Victor” and “DAVE,” as well as television premieres like “America’s Got Talent” and “MasterChef.” Lots of movies come to the platform as well, including “The Blair Witch Project,” “Slumdog Millionaire” and “Weekend at Bernie’s.” Paramount+ boasts a “mountain of movies” coming this month, with 1000 titles set to be added, though there doesn’t seem to be a list available of exactly which movies these are. Reportedly, this will include big names like “Sonic the Hedgehog,” “Mission Impossible” and “Rocketman.” Mark Wahlberg’s latest film, “Infinite,” also releases exclusively on the platform Jun. 10. HBO Max adds “The Conjuring 2,” just in time for its sequel, as well as “Shazam!,” the Robert Downey Jr. “Sherlock Holmes,” “Clueless,” and all eight “Harry Potter” films. Peacock adds “Ghostbusters” and “Ghostbusters II,” ahead of “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” this Nov.
PHOTO COURTESY OF STEAM
“Stonefly” has a pretty cel-shaded art style. The bugs are designed specifically to not look creepy and crawly.
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PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series may remain scarce until 2022 By Jake Dye arts@thenorthernlight.org
The next generation of console gaming began with the launch of the Xbox Series X|S on Nov. 10, and the PlayStation 5 on Nov. 12. Six months after launch, it isn’t possible to walk into a store and purchase one and restocks at online retailers last mere minutes. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has slowed manufacturing, and a global shortage of semiconductors, a key component of computer chips, a key component of just about everything, has led to difficulties acquiring the parts to produce enough consoles to meet demand. Another contributing factor is the overwhelming demand for the new consoles, which are outpacing sales of their predecessors as gaming has become increasingly popular, entering the mainstream more and more in recent years. Trey Feagin-Walden, a criminal justice major at UAA, spoke to me about his efforts to get both a new PlayStation 5 and an Xbox Series X. After coming up short during the preorder window, he’s spent the last six months following restocktwitter accounts, people like @Wario64 who tweet as soon as an online retailer puts consoles up for sale. Still, FeaginWalden hasn’t been able to secure either of the machines, and he blames scalpers, who purchase as many units as possible to resell them for profit. It’s hard for actual people to compete with the sophisticated bot programs that many scalpers use that can instantly add consoles to their cart, fill in the billing and shipping info, and place the order. At the time of writing, PlayStations and Xboxes are being sold on eBay for $700900, far above the $500 MSRP. Scalping is not illegal, though there have been laws proposed in some European countries to combat the issue. Scalping also isn’t the cause of the shortage, it’s merely an exacerbating factor to the preexisting scarcity due to the manufacturing woes. It is, however, absolutely frustrating for consumers to constantly fail to secure consoles, sometimes at the last step with one in the cart, only to see countless units being resold for staggering prices. Console shortages are expected to persist until into 2022, with Sony’s chief financial officer Hiroki Totoki saying “I don’t think demand is calming down this year and even if we secure a lot more devices and produce many more units of the PlayStation 5 next year, our supply wouldn’t be able to catch up with demand,” in a recent interview with
PHOTO COURTEYS OF XBOX
Bloomberg. These ongoing manufacturing woes are rooted in the global semiconductor shortage, as countless industries vie for the components that are available. Computer chips are used in countless products on the market these days, from cars, appliances, toys, consoles and more. The shortage of semiconductors and computer chips is due to both manufacturing slowdowns during the pandemic and a failure to adjust to shifting demand. Further complicating the situation is an effort by China to stockpile expensive chips in response to sanctions by America. President Joe Biden used an executive order in April to investigate the semiconductor shortage and has since requested that Congress include funding for the industry in budget legislation. President Biden also identified computer chips as infrastructure, saying “These chips… batteries, broadband, its all infrastructure. We need to build the infrastructure of today and not repair the
While the larger and more powerful Xbox Series X is almost impossible to find, the smaller, cheaper, Xbox Series S has been known to remain in stock for up to 30 minutes.
one of yesterday.” Despite efforts from the top of the American government, these shortages are expected to continue until 2022. Bitcoin miners use powerful graphics processors to mine for the cryptocurrency, and as these have also become more scarce, some miners have turned to the new game consoles to cannibalize for their graphic processing units. Eugene Ye, an international studies major at UAA spoke to me about how desperate his friends have become for the powerful components describing a friend who traded his car for NVidia 3080 graphic processors, “The only way for him to source two 3080s was to trade BMW to this kid that hoarded like 10.” Ye also said he knows people who bought multiple Xbox Series X with no intention to run games, just to tear out the graphics processors for bitcoin mining. The supply of new game consoles is failing to meet demand and is expected
to continue to fail to meet the demand for another year. It’s worth noting, however, that demand is at an unprecedented high. Sony and Microsoft both revealed that their new consoles are outpacing sales of their predecessors, in a global pandemic and a global parts shortage. Sony revealed that the PlayStation 5 is outpacing PlayStation 4 sales in the same window by over 200,000, and is expected to continue this trend through the next year. The PlayStation 4 is currently the fourth highest-selling game console of all time. The Xbox Series X|S is similarly outpacing the Xbox One. Video games are becoming increasingly mainstream, especially during the pandemic, when sales of games and consoles soared. The narrative seems to be too focused on the failure of console manufacturers to meet demand, and not on just how astronomical that demand has become.
PHOTO COURTESY OF JACK DYE
A sign posted on a display case in Walmart in Kenai says that PS5s and Xbox Series consoles will not be sold in store, directing customers to their website.
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Hitbox Impressions: Mass Effect Legendary Edition - Still my favorite game on the citadel By Jake Dye arts@thenorthernlight.org
PHOTO COURTESY OF PCMAG
Returning to the “Mass Effect” trilogy nearly ten years after its conclusion means reuniting with the diverse crew of the starship Normandy.
The “Mass Effect” trilogy was originally released between Nov. 2007 and Mar. 2012. I didn’t play through the series for the first time until 2013. Despite jumping on to the franchise a little late at the time, “Mass Effect” almost immediately rose to prominence as one of my favorite games. I was drawn in by its stunningly realized world and compelling characters. After concluding the franchise, I joined many other fans, hungry for more. Unfortunately, 2017’s “Mass Effect: Andromeda,” which sought to begin a new story in the universe, failed to meet expectations. Expansions and sequels were scrapped and the series laid dormant for several years. “Mass Effect Legendary Edition” is a remaster of all three original “Mass Effect” games; “Mass Effect,” “Mass Effect 2” and “Mass Effect 3.” The remaster improves visuals across all three games, it improves the character creation tool across all three games, and it overhauls the gameplay of the now quite dated 2007 original. It also features lots of quality of life improvements and other minor changes to camera angles and one character’s design that I won’t detail for spoiler concerns, but which are welcome. “Mass Effect” puts players in control of their own Commander Shepard, who can be male or female, with a customizable appearance, as well as a chosen background. My Shepard is male, he has brown hair and a stubbly beard. He was born a spacer, spending most of his life aboard starships as humanity expanded across the galaxy. He led a squad of Alli-
ance soldiers and held the line during the Skyllian Blitz against overwhelming odds. He is adept, exposed to element zero in the womb, and can now control mass effect fields to exert cool magical powers. My Shepard could have been a woman, a hacker who grew up in the slums on earth and was the lone survivor of a tragedy on the planet Akuze. My Shepard could have been someone else still. The Shepard I created as I began the first “Mass Effect” for the first time in eight years will stick with me as I make my way back through the whole trilogy. His appearance, his decisions, and his relationships with other characters will carry from one game to the next. The importing of saves from game to game was revolutionary at the time, allowing for cohesive storytelling in a way unique to the medium of video games, but no one else has ever tried to do it. So far, I’ve played around fifteen hours in the remastered first game. I estimate I’m around halfway through, and I plan to complete all three games again. Returning to the series I’m constantly reminded why I love it, how unique it is to this day, but I’m also seeing plenty of spots where it certainly shows its age. The first Mass Effect does a remarkable job of establishing a massive science fiction world without drowning the player in too much exposition. Taking place only thirty years after first contact, humanity is struggling to adjust to life in a galactic community. The game tackles racism and xenophobia from its first moments, introducing many unique alien species, each
with their own fully developed culture. All of these species and cultures come together in a massive space station called the citadel, where a group of representatives from only three of the many species govern the galaxy. Gameplay in the “Mass Effect” franchise is in many ways secondary to its story and characters, more so than other games. There’s a whole lot of talking in this game, as players use a dialogue wheel to make decisions and decide the morality of their Shepard. The morality system suffers in how rigidly binary it is, as players generally have to commit to being good or bad early and stick to that choice or risk having morality stats too low to make important decisions later on. The shooting and driving feel a lot better than they did before, but they were never a focus of mine when I initially played the game. The trilogy overall follows Commander Shepard, who discovers a warning that portends of an ancient race of synthetic beings coming to exterminate all intelligent life in the galaxy. It details Shepard’s efforts to combat the nebulous threat, building relationships and allies with people across all species leading up to a thrilling climax in “Mass Effect 3.” Every choice the player makes carries from game to game, and while there are only three primary final endings to the trilogy, characters and details turn back up in interesting ways from game to game. In the first game, Commander Shepard is named a Spectre by the Citadel council, a kind of space cop who is given
absolutely unlimited jurisdiction to act on their own initiative to preserve peace and balance in the galaxy. A game about becoming a super cool space cop who can do whatever they want with absolutely no oversight hits different in a modern lens during an ongoing reckoning with the role of police in our society. There is also a problematic portrayal of autism in one of the optional storylines in “Mass Effect 2.” Despite a few instances of aged concepts and portrayals, which shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise in a 14-year-old game, “Mass Effect” totally holds up. The universe is still masterfully crafted, and the characters are still among my favorite in gaming. Newcomers to the franchise will never find a better time to jump on. BioWare announced in December that “Mass Effect will return for a fifth entry that returns to at least one of the characters who played a major role in all three original trilogy games. I’d advise any newcomers to stick out some growing pains in the first game, skipping side content to get through it faster if they really need to, but the later games in the franchise build so much on the foundation of the first game, and then rewards players who complete the trilogy, that it’s definitely worth the effort.
PHOTO COURTESY OF EA
The Legendary Edition completely overhauls the lighting and atmosphere of the first “Mass Effect.” Now with Abrams style lens flare!
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Hitbox Review: Resident Evil Village - Could have used more vampires pared to the more actionheavy latter half of the arts@thenorthernlight.org game. The castle harkens back to the original “ResiRelease Date: May 7, 2021 dent Evil” games, where Developer: Capcom the player has to navigate Platforms: PlayStation 5 a large space while solving [Played], PlayStation 4, puzzles, conserving scarce Xbox Series X|S, Xbox resources, and facing off One, PC, Stadia with enemies that are better avoided than confrontThe “Resident Evil” ed. The house in the woods franchise has experiremoves Ethan’s weapons mented with almost every entirely, for an incredible variety of horror during closed horror experience, its 25 year history. Early completely devoid of comentries were classic zombat. bie horror stories, which I felt later sections, evolved into globe-trotting which were more focused adventures where heroes on action, were weaker fought mutated bioweapcompared to the game’s ons, which evolved into very strong opening. GunPHOTO COURTESY OF PC GAMER cannibals from Louisiana. Lady Dimetrescu and her daughters were featured heavily in promotional material, but are condoned off to only a single section of the final game. Fortunately, ning down hordes of mon“Resident Evil Village,” its a pretty good section. strous lycan with an arsenal the eighth mainline entry in of weapons and nearly limitmay find themselves alienated despite a ning to raise a newborn daughter, Rose. the franchise, brings players less ammunition is a very difto a European village infested with were- brief recap video at the start of the game. Monsters steal the child. Ethan has to ferent experience than racing down a caswolves, overlooked by a castle ruled by The recap is short, and not quite sufficient descend into the village and its surround- tle hallway pursued by one of Dimetresat relaying everything from the previous ing areas to endure new horrors and res- cu’s daughters, hoping the next left turn vampires. “Village,” stylized with the roman entry. Ultimately, the biggest draw of the cue his daughter, while Mia is benched isn’t a dead end. There were still plenty numeral VIII in the “Vill,” is a direct game is its horror experience, and all of very early on. of surprises and scares to be found, but I As far as protagonists go, Ethan is was disappointed that the answer always sequel to 2017s “Resident Evil 7: bio- the scares and setpieces function perfectvery bland, severely lacking in charac- seemed to be more bullets. ter traits, development, and even a face Throughout the game, the player can despite headlining two full games. For- upgrade their weapons as well as some tunately the other characters and vil- of Ethan’s stats by visiting the Duke, a lains of “Village” pick up the slack. Chris traveling merchant intended as a homRedfield, one of the protagonists of the age to the iconic “Resident Evil 4” meroriginal 1996 “Resident Evil” appears chant. Players can obtain money from throughout the game, well-acted and defeated monsters or by selling treasures wearing a very dashing peacoat. to the Duke, which can be spent on weapThe content of “Resident Evil Village” on modifications. Stats are upgraded by is cleanly segmented into different dis- trading meat from chickens, fish, and crete sections surrounding each of its five pigs found around the village. main villains. The village itself becomes The Duke is generally characterized in almost a hub for Ethan, where he can an interesting way, a kind man amused by restock before striking out and taking on and helpful to Ethan. I enjoyed the role he one of the big threats. Ethan returns from played in the story, especially the game’s each of these encounters with new tools finale. Unfortunately, the Duke reads as and keys that allow him to explore more a problematic caricature of obesity, his of the village for treasure and resources belly hanging bellow his shirt, with ambilike medicine and ammunition. ent voice lines like “food is life,” and of To save Rose, Ethan has to contend course the method of upgrading stats by with Mother Miranda and her four mon- bringing him food. strous children. Each of the five villains Taken as a whole, “Resident Evil Vilis interesting, and their sections are sur- lage” is a very strong big-budget horror prisingly distinct. Lady Dimetrescu was experience. As a long-time fan of the featured heavily in the game’s marketing, series, I would have appreciated more PHOTO COURTEYS OF CNET where Capcom made a splash revealing development given to the larger story of Chris Redfield, the main character of Resident Evil 1 and 5 returns, and is effectively the only connective tissue her staggering height, nearly 10 feet tall. the franchise, though there were some between this game and the greater franchise. He also looks real good in that pea coat. The vampiric lady of the castle isn’t as interesting details sprinkled throughhazard,” a first for a franchise in which ly fine even without knowledge of previ- large of a presence within the game as out and a post-credit scene that teases a the trailers might have suggested, but she potentially very different ninth chapter entries are generally pretty far removed ous events. from one another. While references to the Three years after Ethan Winters saved certainly makes an impression. to the series. The game also has a fairThe first two locations Ethan visits, ly short run-time, taking me fewer than larger history of the franchise were few his girlfriend Mia from the Baker family and far between, I was surprised just how in Louisiana, the two have been moved Dimetrescu’s castle and a mysterious nine hours to finish. Players looking to frequently the events of the last game by the government to an unspecified house in the woods, are spectacular, much start their summer off right with a quality were mentioned, and total newcomers location in Europe, where they are begin- more horror-focused experiences com- horror experience need to look no farther. By Jake Dye
PHOTO COURTESY OF EUROGAMER
The world of Resident Evil Village is beautifully realized by Capcom’s proprietary RE Engine. Unfortunately, the monsters are too.
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L E T T E RS A N D CO R R E C T I O N S P O L I C Y The Northern Light encourages readers to express their views in the newspaper. The Northern Light reserves the right to reject or publish any submission, online or in print. Letters to the editor can be submitted to editor@thenorthernlight.org. The maximum length for a letter to the editor is 250 words, and 150 words for letters specifically endorsing candidates for federal, local, or university office. A letter to the editor is written by someone who does not have authoritative knowledge on the subject they are discussing. Contributors are restricted to one published letter to the editor per month. Opinion pieces can be submitted to editor@thenorthernlight.org. The maximum length for a contributor’s opinion piece is 450 words. Contributors are restricted to one published opinion piece per month. Opinion pieces written by staff of The Northern Light are limited to 800 words. An opinion piece that is published in The Northern Light should be written by someone who has authoritative knowledge on the subject they are discussing. Letters and opinion pieces are subject to editing for grammar, accuracy, length and clarity. All letters and opinion pieces must include names, major and/or group affiliation and contact information for verification purposes. The Northern Light will not publish anonymous letters or pseudonyms. Requests for corrections can be sent to editor@thenorthernlight.org. Print publication is subject to accuracy and available space. All corrections are posted online with the original story at www.thenorthernlight.org. The deadline for submissions is the Friday before publication at noon, no exceptions. The Northern Light newsroom is located on the first floor of the Student Union Room 118.