Entertainment - Non Fiction

On this month's entertainment section, we have three different articles for your reading pleasure and/or horror. We start off with RICHMAN99 's take on the console wars following the release of both the Sony Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii. On that note, we would like to remind you to watch out for raging fan boys; if you see one, do not panic, just slowly walk away and scare them off with sunlight. Next, we have jamie6441 's website review of Retro Junk. Now, we can have a way to look back at our past and realize what total idiots we were! =D Finally, Dark Light A 's review of Rome: Total War. Now that Medieval has come out, it's perfect for people with not too much cash to spare. Get ready for January's Non-Fiction Entertainment!

-Dark Light A

Sony Playstation 3 versus Nintendo Wii - By: Richman99

(Credits to Wikipedia for the pictures.)

Playstation 3
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is one of the biggest system releases for 2006. Costing 500 to 600 dollars, this mega system sure has caused gamers world-wide to their nearest gaming stores to own this console. The PS3 was released on November 11th in Japan and on the 17th of November in North America. The PS3 is scheduled to release on March of 2007 in Europe and Australia. It seems like Europe and Australia still have to wait a long time to get their hands on the PS3.

During the first week of the launch of the PS3, incredibly, the PS3, which was being sold for 500 to 600 dollars in stores, was seen to be selling for over $2.3 thousand on eBay! Many people that were buying the system on the first day slept outside of the store thinking of how much extra cash they could get if they sell it on eBay. The launch in Japan went well, during the first 24 hours of it's launch in Japan, the PS3 sold over 80,000 consoles. The PS3 has also created many problems during it's first week on the market, including robberies, gunshots, injuries, death, and more. They were caused due to some who thought only of the PS3 and not of what would happen to themselves and others.

As of December 6th, Japan has been said to have sold over 150 thousand PS3 systems, which is an awesome number.

Nintendo Wii
As mentioned earlier, the PlayStation 3 had sold 150 thousand units. The Nintendo Wii has sold over 1 million units already (December 6th) even though it was released two days later than the PS3 in America.

The Wii had not created as many issues as the PlayStation 3 had caused. Not as many problems such as gunshots, death, or other issues were created due to the release.

Many people think the PS3 is better than the Wii since they think the Wii has terrible graphics and the remote is too small. Others however, think the Wii will be one of the best systems ever realeased due to its sleek look and awesome gameplay!

PS3 and Wii Reviews by Sal's Members

I asked a few Sal's members for what they think of these two systems:

Only Me395: Personally, the Wii is taking control of the gaming market, because it has way better gameplay. The graphics may not be as good as the other 2 systems, but what Nintendo cares about, is how fun the game is.

Zed doomstar: I see the Wii more as a party gadget. When you're having friends over nothing is more fun than too play a quick Wii game.

If you are a hardcore gamer though, you could sink away in a world of almost reality gaming for hours with the PS3.

Lethal: I love how people say that the Wii is "taking control" because it has sold more, well if you would actually think about the current state of everything you would understand that:

1) There are more Wiis on sale that PS3s.
2) The Wii has gone on sale in Europe when the PS3 hasn't.

I rarely see Wii fanboys take those things into account...

As I've always said, the Wii is a very simple thing for developers to understand, therefore more games can be released at an early stage, whereas the actual ability of the PS3 is still unknown...in time the PS3 will be home of the greatest, most realistic games ever known.

PS3 is the way to go.

Vincent: The Wii is the way to go. First of all people go for the PS3 because they think it will be awesome. When the Xbox360 came out half of the people returned it. It isn't worth getting a PS3 unless you're serious about it, but its good to wait to see if any good games come out for it. Now I'm not knocking the PS3 but I personally would go with the Wii because Nintendo has always made some good games and two games that are the reason im getting the Wii is the Zelda game, Twilight Princess and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Its all a personal choice.

Epic: It's all preference. The Ps3 is the power house console with really good graphics. The Wii is the less powerful and lower quality graphics with some great gameplay.

So, it comes down to around three things.

How much money you have at your disposal.

If you prefer gameplay over graphics or graphics over gameplay.

If you prefer shooters and sport games over RPG and adventure games.

Wii: Good gameplay, lower quality graphics. Good online use. Rpg and adventure games. Awesome controller. Cheap price.

PS3: Ok gameplay, good graphics. Shooter, fighting, and sport games. Very expensive.

RICHMAN99: I think that the Nintendo Wii will be better. The Wii has awesome games and a super cool controller. The gameplay is fantastic and when you start playing it, you just don't want to stop! The Wii is so fun. The PS3 has awesome graphics and gameplay that isn't as good as the Wii. So, if you had to decided whether to buy Wii or a Ps3, I suggest going for the Wii UNLESS you have mad money in your pockets and if you like graphics, fighting,sports,and shooting games better than adventure and RPG games!

Overall Summary of the Systems:
Wii: Unique and great gameplay, lower quality graphics. Revolutionary controller. Cheaper price. Good online use. Traditional Nintendo type "kidish" games, but also has the traditional Xbox or Playstation type games.

PS3: Good gameplay, amazing and unique graphics that will blow you away. More expensive. Good online use. Traditional Xbox or PlayStation games.

Final Thoughts
It's really your opinion and your choice of games. If you like to play a certain type of game, then you choose the certain console.They are both revolutionary. Good luck on your choice, and you know what they say... 'If you can't choose one, buy both!' ( )

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Website Spotlight - Retro Junk - By: Jamie6441

Hey ever have a conversation with friends or family about what you remember in the past? I bet you have! Well this site is great from reliving those times. Why? Well retro junk divides its site into TV shows, Commercials and Movies. Once you click on one of them you then go into the era whether it be 70s,80s, or 90s. I browsed the 90s Section and found a lot of TV shows I used to love and they even do TV blocks such as The Saturday morning block of cartoons "One Saturday Morning"



After you have click on the show name you are then brought to its own page with displays when it aired, a summary, and then the intro(most of them). You can download the intro so it helps you remember the theme songs and the intro and it helps bring back memories.. Also if the intro had a song it displays lyrics. If you have signed up for the site and are a registered member this site can work like Wikipedia and you can edit the information displayed to profile more info on the show.




Not to mention you are allowed to comment on the show as well as read comments. The movie Section is the same thing it just doesn't have any type of video. Then there are the commercials which can be fun to watch and some people actually discuss the meaning of these commercials. For some extra bits and pieces they have a search engine and forums. Something else that is good is at the top of the page of every page there is a little box that displays a quote from a show, movie, or commercial and then there is a the link to its page. Since its randomly generated this can act as a choose random button and you can keep clicking on that to you find something.

<- -Lol I wonder what the captain was doing.

It's really interesting to look into your past and all the things you remember. I'd recommend telling your friends especially the ones you known a long time as did I you will have a lot of fun talking about it.

Rome: Total War - By: Dark Light A

Rome: Total War

Rome: Total War
Developer-Creative Assembly
Publisher-Activision
Genre-Historic Strategy
Release Date-September 22, 2004 (US)
ESRB Rating-T


With Medieval II: Total War coming out so soon, people tend to forget about the piece of gaming heaven that is Rome: Total War. If your computer is a steaming pile of [onions] or you pay for everything in small bills, then now's the perfect time to get Rome. You can find it at a fairly cheap price of only twenty dollars in most places, and your computer doesn't need to be totally up-to-date.

Now, let's move on to the game itself. There are various different modes to play. Firstly, there's the “Imperial Campaign”, which is the best done; you lead your faction to glory (or death) on a strategic map similar to the style of Civilization, then duke it out on a battle map like any other real time strategy game. Also, the game includes a “Historical Battle” mode, in which you can play one of many pre-designed actual historical battles, and a “Custom Battle” mode you set up a battle-map fight yourself. There are also multiplayer online or LAN modes for custom battles, and special historical battles.

The campaign mode starts off with only three Roman factions unlocked-the Julii, Brutii, and Scipii, and each faction is meant to represent a different family positioned on the Italian peninsula. You begin controlling one of these families and owning a few cities, generals, and troops. There is one city per province on the campaign map, and the ultimate objective is to control fifty, which is most of the map. The management of the cities and provinces is wonderfully both simplistic and detailed; the cities are easy enough to manage for beginners, yet veterans can appreciate the more detailed aspects. You can construct buildings that will provide income, happiness, order, or train various troops with the appropriate buildings present. Taxes are also an issue, as a source of income, but also disapproval; as Romans, you may also hold games or races to gain approval. Your faction has a family tree, in which your entire family is portrayed, including the leader and heir, while male family members become your generals at their coming-of-age, the female members may be married off to obtain a male general. All your family members can die by age, random events, or death in battle. Troops can be trained at your cities and sent to conquer far off lands to fulfill your ambitions by attacking or setting siege to cities to capture the provinces they are in. If you have no generals to lead them, a captain with minimal command skills is chosen instead. Management will eventually become a delicate balance between economy and military, with costs of maintaining troops, and earning money with taxes or trade. Apart from the enemies around you, you'll have to deal with the Senate, who will give you missions to do, and you must keep them pleased. If you gain enough support from the people, or lose enough from the Senate, a civil war will ignite, thrusting you into a battle for Rome and survival. If you emerge victorious, you can continue your conquests in the far off lands. Agents like spies, assassins, or diplomats can also be used to gain you control and wealth.

Using tactics, force, diplomacy, and money, you can gain control over the fifty provinces for victory. Upon winning, eight other factions are unlocked for play in the campaign modes, and each faction plays differently from others, with unique units, buildings, and specialties. The main problem with the campaign is diplomacy, because it seems the AI has a “kill everything that's not wearing our colors” policy. Even with alliances, trade rights, or generally friendly actions, it's likely they will backstab you at some point. Despite that, the campaign is well done and worth the game's price alone.

The battle map is a much different experience from the campaign map. It's a break from the micromanagement and diplomacy, and lets you get down and dirty in the roughness of combat. Tactics are emphasized in this game, and without them, you will lose. You can see the absolute carnage of battle in intense cavalry charges, phalanx lines, and raining arrows. This is where Rome: Total War really shines because of its attention to detail and tactics. That concentration on tactics is what sets it apart from other strategy games; a prime example of this detail is charging cavalry into a phalanx-the cavalry is utterly slaughtered with few losses to the phalanx, but, if the cavalry charges from a flank, the phalanx unit is completely destroyed.


For a bit more mileage, there are historical and custom battles, which are both on the battle map. There is a list of real battles from which you can choose one to fight. Custom battles allow you to set the conditions like troop types, the battlegrounds, or settlement.

With all these factors considered, Rome: Total War is perfect for the hardcore gamer who's half-broke and has a computer as old as himself. Rome: Total War gets a 9/10.

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