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Entertainment
Swift falls short of fearless meganMASON
editor-in-chief
With peppy beats and witty lyrics, Taylor Swift has taken the music industry by storm since her self-titled album release in 2006. Continually at the top of the charts with heart-tuggers like “Love Story” and “Fifteen”, Swift has also mastered the realm of break-up songs with “Should’ve Said No” and “Picture to Burn”. Her much anticipated album, Speak Now, hit the shelves October 25th, and led fans along with the earlier released single “Mine”. Unfortunately, the rest of her album falls just short of good. It seems Swift is reminiscing, if not regretting, her actions and therefore spends much of her time telling the audience to “Never Grow Up”. In fact, she dedicates two entire songs to this cause, along with several lines in the majority of the rest of her songs. And long gone is the Swift that can laugh about crazy exes and tell them off with her jaunty prose. This album beholds a Swift who would much rather be on the playground at recess than face her new life as an adult.
Join the Brotherhood
parkerANDERSEN
entertainment editor
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Set in the 16th Century in different cities in Italy, you play as Ezio Auditore da Firenze, the same assassin from Assassin’s Creed II. The gameplay mechanics are the same easy to use controls from the previous Assassin’s Creed titles. This notorious free-running game has added a few free-running aspects, none of which are game changing, but are fun and easy ways to help get you around the world faster. The two biggest additions to Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood are the new multiplayer modes and, in single player, the ability to control the Assassin Brotherhood. There are a total of 4 modes available in multiplayer, with a mix of free for all and team based games. Although there is a very limited amount of characters to choose from in multiplayer it does not take away from the gameplay. The multiplayer is always competitive, and when the timer begins to tick down the last seconds of a match, the players throw the stealth aspect away and rush to get a few more points before the end of the game. The single player half of the game will take about 12 to 16 hours to complete, depending on the players’ skill and whether or not they do side missions. Playing as Ezio, you now control the Brotherhood. Which means as you take out certain military leaders, citizens that you help will want to join you. When you have recruits, you can send them on missions or have them on stand-by just in case you need them to help you in battle. The story is not as in depth as the previous titles but the cut scenes, involving progression of the story, are actually important. It seems that the developers wanted to cut down to a basic and simple story and concentrate on letting the player do what they want to. The scenery in Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood is absolutely beautiful. It may not look exactly like old Italy, but the cities and towns you go through seem like an actual city you may have seen during the 16th century. Some parts of towns were in shambles due to war, some citizens begging for money and others just doing daily chores such as sweeping or carrying packages back to their homes. The major cities are under heavy military control and the lower class is widely separated from the upper class. loy m .co ng alk
Overall9/10
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Single Player- 9.5/10 Multiplayer- 8/10 Gameplay (overall)9/10 Graphics9.5/10
And forget country, Taylor’s left behind her modest roots as the girl in “Tim McGraw” and headed for weak rock, if at best “pop-ified” folk. With solemn beats that all sound relatively the same, and for that matter songs that generally have the same theme, Swift’s album is a mash-up of music that says: don’t grow up, being an adult isn’t fun and love is a lost cause but I guess I’m willing to try. Thankfully, the star made up for what the music itself lacked with her clever words. Once again, she has proved photo credit: hitfix.com
herself a lyrical genius -- coating her songs with hidden meanings, subtle jabs at former love interests and a certain level of comedic value. For die-hard Swift fans, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but the entire album combined can’t compare to even half of her songs from “Fearless” and there are but a couple of songs worth listening to, let alone buying. For those of you who are willing to give it a shot, despite the initial disappointment, check out “Speak Now”, “Better Than Revenge” and for the softer side “Haunted” or “Enchanted”. Perhaps one too many tough relationships (inevitably always ending in a song) and the harsh reality that indeed we do not live in a fairytale has finally taken it’s toll on Swift. With this disappointing followup to two wonderful albums, Swift may have finally crumbled under the pressure of being “Hollywood’s Country It Girl.” 2.5/5 Stars
Good Reads for the Holidays kellyPETTIT
staff writer
This new series phenoma, The Millennium Trilogy by the Swedish author Stieg Larsson, has now swept the United States. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, is the first instalment in the series. The novel starts with Mikael Blomkvist, a journalist who is investigating a case about a murder with the help of a rather interesting character, Lisbeth Salander. It is a whirl wind of a story, blending murder-mystery with love, adventure, thrill, and also a little financial interest. The Washington Post stated that “[The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo] was for readers looking for an intelligent, ingeniously plotted, and utterly engrossing thriller.” photo credit: hollywood. com Just as interesting as the books themselves, is how they were published. Sadly, in November of 2004, Larsson passed away before he saw any of his novels on the shelves. It was not until after he passed that the three novels in The Millennium Trilogy, were published in 2005, 2006, and 2007. It is ironic because he was considered to be the 2nd best author worldwide in 2008, but unfortunately he was never aware of the remarkable and esteemed admiration he has now. Even though there
will not be any more books released in this series, all readers should experience the first three marvelous treasures that Larsson was able to leave us behind. Graceling by Kristin Cashore. This epic young adult fantasy will take readers into a world with seven kingdoms and rare Graceling citizens, which have a supernatural affinity toward a specific skill, called a grace. The novel is told through the perspective of Katsa, a 17 year old girl with the grace to kill, but without the desire to. After years of being forced to use her gift for the benefit of her uncle, King Randa, photo credit: bscreview.com she escapes with the help of a new friend, Prince Po. Together they journey through the kingdom on a mission of their own where they each will discover more about themselves and each other than they had ever known before. Graceling has earned countless awards including making the New York Times and Publishers Weekly best seller lists. Graceling has also made this years 2010-2011 Sunshine State Young Readers Award list. Cashore’s debut novel is an essential for both avid readers and anyone who’s looking for a story packed with action, adventure, romance and a tint of magic.