A Night At the Movies...

As you all know, summer is coming up and we here at the Luckie Street Tribune would like to give you a little insight into the best movies to look for when the time comes.

First, I'd like to submit going back in time to review a classic film, Disney's Toy Story. Granted, you've seen the film before, but I have a feeling you'll never see it the same way again -- and isn't that just like watching it for the first time?



Now to the main edition, the heart of the story. We all remember just a few months ago when the "Miracle on the Hudson" took place and captured our hearts, we'll get ready for the feature film. According to sources, Christian Bale has signed on to play the leading role. Here is a quick trailer.



I bet you're dying to see that film.

Gaming on a Budget:Playstation 2

The PlayStation2 was released in the United States Fall of the year 2000 and over the past 9 years has become the greatest selling video game console of all time. Given the the success of the PlayStation2, Sony has official lowered the price of the PlayStation2 to $99, which is a great price for anyone that does not have this console.The main reason why this would be a great purchase for a person just getting into video games is its large catalog of games. Which is much stronger catalog with a wide variety of genres then the current gaming king the Nintendo Wii.Here are some of the best games that should be on the top of the list for anyone who does or does not have a PlayStation2.

Ratchet And Clank series

An action platformer created by Insomniac Games one of the most consistent developers in the video game industry.Stars series heroes Ratchet the rodent that wields a a wrench as a weapon and Clank the sarcastic robot. These games are just plan fun with well written funny dialogue. Ratchet And Clank is a great platformer and shooter with hundreds of well imagined guns to spread destruction around the galaxy.

Sly Cooper Series

I have already expressed Sly Cooper as one of my favorite games of all time. But the whole Sly Cooper series brings back old school platforming with modern gameplay mechanics that led to a great experience.Also Sly Cooper and his friends are great characters and is a game that can be played by people of all ages.

Ico

Simply a work of art and many people think ICO is one of the greatest games of all time. Immersion was one of the big things in ICO with its simplistic gameplay and great presentation.Its hard to describe ICObut, if you can find it ICO is a experience that you will not regret.

Shadow of the Colossus

The spiritual sequel to ICO developed by the same developers of ICO. The protagonist with the help of his horse travel around the world to kill 16 colossi to save the life of a girl. The cool thing about Shadow of the Colossus is the only enemies you have to face are the colossi which plays like a puzzle game were you have to find the weak points to defeat them.Its a great game and like Ico it is a beautiful game and shows that games can be art.

God of War series

God of War puts all the conventions of Greek mythology and turns it on its head. You play Kratos and his attempts to revenge his families death and deals with the consequences of his actions. Its one of the best action games with awesome weapons,characters and epic boss battles. Simply God of War series makes you fell like a bada**.

Grand theft Auto III, Vice City, San Andreas

If you have been living underneath a rock Grand Theft Auto series has been one of the top selling games of the past decade and one of the most controversial.It is the definitive sandbox game. Were you can go anywhere and do what you want,it might have a few flaws here in there but since Grand Theft Auto series has so much variety it can be easily ignored.

Metal Gear Solid 2:Sons of Liberty, Metal Gear Solid 3 :Snake Eater

Developed by Hideo Kojima one of the best developers in the world, Metal Gear Solid is a Stealth Action game that has cooled heroes in gaming Solid Snake.Also is famous for its stealth games play, truly amazing cinematic cut scenes and one of the most complex story lines in gaming. The two things that standout in the Metal Gear solid series is the fell of being in a movie and unique boss fights.If you want to have a game that makes you think and don't mind cut scenes Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3 will be up your alley.

EA Sports and 2K Sports

The two juggernauts of sports gaming from Madden Series, Tiger Woods Golf and NHL series are all great games in the EA catalog.For the 2k series NFL
2K5 is one of the best football games of all time,also great are the NBA 2K,NHL 2K and MLB 2K series.EA sports still releases new sports games on the PlayStation2 so if you don't have a modern console this might be a good way to get your sports fix.


I could go on for awhile so I decided to just list a few other games based on genres. For people who want to start playing video games or just want to checkout games they might have missed.

Role playing game-RPG's
Final Fantasy X,XII
Persona 4

Action
Devil May Cry 1 and 3(avoid two like the plague!)
Zone of the Enders 2
Mercenaries

Shooter
Black
TimeSplitters series
Freedom Fighters
Twisted Metal:Black

Adventure

Okami
Yakuza Series
Bully
Prince of Persia Series
Jak and Dexter Series
Silent Hill 2,3
Resident Evil 4
Psychonauts

Music

Rock Band 1,2
Guitar Hero 2, Metallica
Rez
Amplitude
Frequency


Fighter

Tekken 5
Soul Caliber 2,3
Smackdown vs.Raw 2006
Virtual Fighter 4
RAD
Mortal Kombat Series

Sport And Racing

Gran Turismo 4
Burnout 3,4
SSX tricky
Need For Speed Hot pursuit,Underground Series
Midnight Club 3
NCAA Football
Tony Hawk Pro skater 3,4 and Underground
NBA Street

These are just a few of the games some are easy to find some are not. Games such as REZ and ICO Have a high resell value.

Things On the Horizon

Over the Past weekend Rafael and I saw a play called Experimental,written and directed by Justin Smith.It's one of those plays that you have to see to believe. We will be posting the play on Luckie Street Tribune with are first audio discussion with Rafael ,Justin and I to give our thoughts on Experiemental. This update should be up in a few days but we will keep you posted on the details.

Retro Games- Sly Cooper

Long over due, I give you my review of Sly Cooper and the Thieves Raccoonus. Sly Cooper and the Thieves Raccoonus was developed by Sucker Punch and was released in 2002. Sly Cooper revolves around a Raccoon by the name Sly Cooper and his two allies, Bentley a Turtle that is a technology wiz and bumbling idiot with a heart of gold named Murray. Sly Cooper does not give a complex plot but its simplicity is one of Sly Coopers strong points since this game is meant to be played by people of all ages. In short, Sly Cooper comes from a long linage of thieves that have passed down their craft from generation to generation in a book titled the Thieves Raccoonus. With the Thieves Raccoons stolen by the Fiendish Five when Sly Cooper was a child, he vowed to bring back the book to its rightful owners. Think of this as Hannah Barbara version of Kill Bill minus the several thousand gallons of blood. In order to get revenge Sly must retrieve all five parts of the Thieves Raccoonus. Since Sly is a thief he is chased throughout the world by detective Carmelita Fox as well.

It’s been little over six years since I originally played this game yet it has aged very well. The graphics in this game uses cell shading which was one of the hot things at the time, but this style has died down in recent years. Sucker Punch was one of the developers to use cell shading graphics to their success. The game is colorful and makes you fell that you are in a cartoon, yet still has that cool look to it. Each chapter of Sly Cooper is presented with still animation intro sequences were Sly explains were they are going and what villain Sly must face. The presentation is great and Sucker Punch really wanted to give the player the felling that they are a part of a cartoon. I really thought Sly Cooper was going to show its age when compared to the games of today, but holds its own and the cell shading design choice is perfect. The animation works well and fills smooth and moves very well.

In the sound department, the voice acting is good and does its job. Sly Cooper is a brash, sarcastic character and the voice actor achieves it very well; especially dialogue between Sly and Carmelita throughout the game. The Music is okay but not mind blowing; it has good ambient sounds but does not rock the boat to much. The real winner in the sound department is Sucker Punch, as they made every sound fit the Sly Cooper universe. From Sly’s sneaking footsteps to the sounds of water and fire it was able to suck me in to the game even more then I had expected. The first time I heard the sneaking noises that Sly makes when he is behind an enemy made me laugh because it felt like an old Looney Tunes episode. It’s hard to explain, but little touches in a game can go a long way in my book.

Before this game came out I was not really into platforms since Super Mario World back on the SNES. Sly Cooper was able to get me back into this genre of games. The controls are simple which helps make the game accessible and fun. Overall, it’s a simple game to operate. Sly has a one button melee attack, a special move button, a contact specific button and since this is a platformer, a jump button. The game works similar to old school games were one hit equals death for most enemies for Sly, but the use of the special horseshoe allows Sly to be able take damage once or twice before death. When I was playing, I thought it would be a breeze to go through the game but I found myself dying a lot mainly eventually due to human error on my part. I would try to rush and make careless mistakes but was eventually able to get through it. Similar to other 3D platformers, the camera can be cumbersome which led to a few deaths, but overall it works well and can be easily adjusted. Throughout the game, you can collect clues scattered throughout the level which allows the character to upgrade special abilities. This is important because it give Sly Cooper more shelf life. Since the game can be beaten in less then ten hours, I found my self wanting to stay in the level and find clues. It was very rewarding to find all the special items in the level and crack the code to new abilities, but it was also frustrating to find 29 out of 30 clues throughout the level and search for that last clue that cannot be found. The level design in Sly Cooper and gameplay is spot on. There are five overarching levels and mini-levels inside each location. These mini-levels will run the gamut from straight platforming to mini-games; my favorite being the arena battles and boss battles that all have their distinct differences and are fun and challenging. The pacing of the game is perfect, especially towards the end were the game mixes all the different gameplay mechanics into the final stage.

Overall Sly Cooper and The Thieves Raccoonus is a must play for anyone that still has a Playstation 2.I would also like to mention to give the two sequels a try as well. Sucker Punch should be commended for their efforts in bringing back the nostalgia of old platformers and introducing modern gameplay mechanics into the fold. Also Sly Cooper still looks good even after six years. Let’s hope that Sucker Punch can do as good of a job on their new game Infamous.