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page 2
Holiday Reviews
\from the British
Isles
page 4
The Goodie Bag
The home of the puzzles^
poems, inspirations, and
comics.
Vol. 67, No. 4
Circulation 2,200
The Compass,
Elizabeth City State University's award-winning student newspaper
^niversity Players *
^^Purlie^^: Read the
Ueview.
page 8
Elizabeth City, NC
December 12,2002
mSM CHRISTMAS AND CONGRATULATIONS DECEMBER GRADUATES!
LET THE GAMES BEGIN, AGAIN? ECSU SURPLUS STATION
Damion Lewis
No matter what video game system
you own, tliis holiday season has games
galore on all major platforms, for all types
of gamers.
It’s that time again. You know Christ
mas is coming when you can’t turn the
television without seeing a new toy
commercial, home video release, or
better yet video games. The 2002 Holiday
season has set the stage for what ap
pears to be an upcoming war between
tlie three top video game systems,
Microsoft’s X-Box, Nintendo’s
GameCube, and Sony’s Playstation 2.
What does this mean for video game
fans? It means that we get to enjoy the
fruits of their labor, as each system has a
host of new games that will be struggling
for our cash during the holiday season.
Up first we have Microsoft’s X-Box,
perhaps the system with the most poten
tial, but lacking any killer applications to
set it above the pack. In its second year,
X-Box owners have seen a somewhat
slow trickle of software but the holiday
season has brought more games yet few
system exclusives. For the action fan,
Konami’s Metal Gear Solid 2 Substance
is second to none, with over 100 new VR
Missions, a new character swap system,
and an exclusive Snakes Tale addition,
makes the already perfect Metal Gear
Solid 2 even more perfect (hence Sub
stance). Even if you’ve checked out this
PS2 Blockbuster last year, it’s more than
worth a second look. For the sports fan
all the majors including Madden, Sega’s
NFL/NBA 2k sehes are all on X-Box and
sport the best (but not significantly better)
graphics of the three consoles. Don’t
forget about the new X-Box Live feature
that allows gamers to play various games
online, while voice chatting with their
opponents. Unfortunately X-Box Live is
broadband only and will set you back
about $50. It does allow gamers unlimited
playtime for 1 year on all supported
games, which really isn’t a bad deal. And
for platformer fans (Mario, Sonic, etc)
check out the revolutionary Blinx the
Time Sweeper, a game, which allows
players to control time in many inventive
and unusual ways. Finally, the X-Box has
a few fighting games for fighting fanatics
to checkout—don’t miss Mortal Kombat
Deadly Alliance or the Dreamcast refu-
966, Marvel vs Capcom 2, as well as the
PS2 port of Capcom vs SNK.
While Microsoft has gone for style,
Nintendo has settled with substance this
holiday season. The release of Metroid
Prime will probably remind all old school
gamers of their playing of the original
Metroid on the NES. As A first-person-
shooter, Metroid rocks. Game play allows
total emersions in the environment, the
likes of which Goldeneye fans will enjoy.
Nintendo is also pushing their highly
innovative Super Mario Sunshine, which
many consider as the platformer’s
platformer. Another Gamecube exclusive
comes in the form of the new Resident Evil
0 from Capcom. The game, which acts as
a prequel to the original offers more of the
same survival horror game play while
adding a new 2 person control feature,
allowing players to control two players
simultaneously. For this season it seems
that exclusivity is the key for Nintendo
fans.
The current king and the mainstream
player, Sony, has created a holiday library
for any and every type of gamer. The
biggest release is the follow-up to last
years controversial smash Grand Theft
Auto III. Grand Theft Auto Vice City is a
new game centered in the 80’s, a shades
memory of Miami Vice (i.e. Vice City). This
free roaming action title allows players
total freedom to rob, vandalize, while
working to complete missions for the mob,
ala the Soprano’s. Rockstar games has
also included many authentic shades of
the 80’s including over 30 real songs that
play during the game on the various radio
stations. Also, on the action track comes
Sega’s Shinobi, Sony’s Ratchet and Clank,
Tecmo’s Rygar, and Konami’s updated
classic Contra Shattered Soldier. Don’t
forget about fighters, because Sony is
unsurpassed in this category, with games
including Tekken 4, Virtua Fighter 4,
Marvel Vs Capcom 2, Mortal Kombat
Deadly Alliance, and even X-Men Next
Dimension. Sony seems to have every
thing for every type of gamer, something
that can’t be said for the competition. Not
to be outdone in the online department,
Sony has released its own online adapter
that allows game play on narrowband (dial
up) or broadband (DSL, Cable) access at
no additional cost, you are however re
quired to have your own internet service
provider.
This holiday season there’s no reason
for any gamer to go without and there are
games still to come.
SERVES STUDENTS
Anthony Griffin
This past June, ECSU
founded a place to sell and distrib
ute their old and unwanted office
equipment. The store is owned by
Mr. Hercules Cole. The hours are
from 10am to 3pm on Tuesday and
Thursday. The store sells surplus
office computers, office furniture,
keyboards, and computer mice.
According to Mr. Cole, the store
has quite a few regular customers;
some are students.
“Most of our customers come
looking for parts to computers, such
as a keyboard, or a mouse,” Cole
said.
The merchandise is sold at a
discount price. The money the store
makes Is recycled back to the Univer
sity. According to Mr. Cole, business
is growing and the store has even
been advertised In the Dally Ad
vance.
NEVER TOO LATE TO START OVER
KerryAnn Cummings
klc9b^ hotmall.com
Even though the elevator is
broken in Johnson Hall, Alton
Bunch still finds a way to reach to
the top. Bunch, a non-traditional
student studying Business Admin
istration, is a 53-year-old junior
from Ahoskie, North Carolina who
plans on graduating fall 2003. He
has five sisters and two brothers.
During the break, he stays with his
mother.
From 1967-1971, Alton Bunch
had the opportunity to see the •
world when he was In the Air
Force. He went to three continents:
Australia, Europe, and Asia. He
also visited eight to ten countries
and 25 of the 50 states in the U.S.
“These years were the good
times because I got the opportunity
to see the world and I will never
forget that experience,” said
Bunch.
In 1974-1976, Bunch attended
Fayetteville State University but
later dropped out and decided to
work. He worked at Bertie County
School for one year as a teacher’s
assistant.
“The reason why I left college
was because my friend was the
principal and offered me a job
there,” said Bunch.
During 1981-1983, he worked
for Farmer Home Agency for two
years being a farm management
counselor and he also worked at
Red Apple for three years as man
ager.
Years flew by one day and
Alton Bunch woke up asking him
self where the years had gone. He
then realized that it was time for
him to get back In school.
“Education Is very Important and
without it, you’re nothing and you
wouldn’t be able to reach your poten
tial,” said Bunch.
Bunch lives in Mitchell Lewis.
He enjoys talking with the students
and hanging out in the lobby watch
ing television. Bunch was given the
nickname “Old Skool” by some fellow
students. “I enjoy the nickname, It
makes me feel young,” said Bunch.
Bunch does not have a roommate
and enjoys not having one. It gives
him the opportunity to study and to
stay focused.
“College is not difficult as long as
you study and go to classes and pay
attention. It’s no problem,” said
Bunch.
He also has school sprit he Is a
Viking basketball fan and plans on
attending all the home games and
away games, if it Is possible. During
his free time, Bunch enjoys going
downtown and also the Water Front
to relax.
Overall, he has enjoyed this
semester but cannot wait until the
Christmas break. He says Christmas
has changed from when he was
growing up. It was more religion.
Now, it is more a festival. Bunch feels
Christmas Is the birth of Christ, a new
beginning for mankind and the begin
ning of salvation.
One important message Alton
Bunch had during this Interview Is
that school is very Important for
young people and to not take educa
tion for granted.
After graduation Bunch plans on
teaching. Right now, Alton Bunch Is
still taking that elevator ride up to his
success up to the top.
•
Metroid Prime for Nintendo GameCube Grand Theft Auto Vice City for Playstation 2
Photo Courtesy of http://gamespot.com Photo Courtesy of http://shopping.ya oo.com