By Kim Ossi
McClatchy-Tribune (MCT)
No need to splurge on a pair of $500-plus Lanvin sneakers, seen on the likes of First Lady Michelle Obama this spring. With the new Keds by Loomstate line, you can show off designer kicks at a reasonable price and be good to the earth at the same time.

Keds, which launched the first sneaker in 1916, has joined forces with Barneys New York and eco fashion house Loomstate to create a unique “green” designer collection of shoes.

Based on the Keds classic “Champion” style, the Keds by Loomstate collection includes five prints, each of which the company says has 100-percent organic uppers and linings, nickel-free eyelets and 100-percent recycled insole boards. To further reduce the environmental impact of the new line, Keds will be taking recycled shoeboxes and repurposing them as boxes for the Loomstate collection.

It also should be noted that a percentage of the proceeds from the shoes will be donated to The Organic Exchange, which aims expand organic agriculture.

The shoes are $75 per pair and will be at select Barneys locations and online at www.barneys.com this month.
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(c) 2009, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (www.mctcampus.com)

By Justin Hoeger
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)

“MadWorld” is as intense an M-rated video game as one is likely to come across, especially for the Wii.

With just four colors — black, white, red and the occasional yellowish orange — the striking graphics manage to get a lot done. The Wii can’t produce the hyper-detailed visuals of, say, a “Gears of War” or a “Killzone 2,” but hyper-stylized gets much better mileage.

The look calls to mind Frank Miller’s “Sin City” graphic novels, and so does the violence. This one is not remotely for younger players, a relative rarity on the family-friendly Wii.

Don’t be fooled by the comic-book look of the cover art — this game is intensely violent and gory, and the color contrast of all that red splashed against the otherwise stark look makes it stand out all the more.

There’s nothing really special here from a game-play standpoint; this is a brawler with occasional motion-control inputs, not unlike “No More Heroes.” The game plays well, though the control relies a bit much on arm-tiring swings of the Wii Remote. The camera can be a bit finicky, too.

But the look is striking — it’s easily the most visually interesting game for the Wii lately — and the ultra-violence will certainly attract some players while turning others off.

Players control Jack — “Just Jack,” he says, but the game manual gives his last name away — a hulking dude who has a mechanical forearm with a retractable chainsaw built in, and he doesn’t use it to trim hedges.

Jack arrives on the quarantined Jefferson Island (standing in for Manhattan), which has been cut off from the rest of the world and made into the staging point for the sadistic BloodWatch Games, a deadly contest with shadowy sponsors and an enormous cash prize that may not be the only reason Jack is involved.

Blood sport is pretty common subject matter for games: “Manhunt,” “No More Heroes” and the “Mortal Kombat” series are all variations on the theme. And like those titles, “MadWorld” is over-the-top extreme.

The game rewards Jack for killing the endless waves of thugs who attack him, but it grants him a higher score if he does so creatively.

With the running commentary of two smart-aleck announcers detailing every action, “MadWorld” starts to feel almost like a parody of the violence it presents, but not quite.

Cutting a foe in half with a chainsaw or throwing him into a spiked wall earns points; pinning his arms with a tire, impaling him on a street sign and then throwing the whole mess into a trash bin earns more. And those are just a few of the environmental hazards Jack can employ against his enemies.

Earning enough points in a stage unlocks successive bonuses, such as supplementary weapons, extra lives and eventually a chance to take on the level’s boss.

Each level also contains at least one death trap, an elaborate device that Jack can play something of a minigame with — as in trying to score as many kills using it as possible under a time limit. The first level presents a giant turbine; later levels offer up a speeding train; and a huge, spiked dartboard awards points for every enemy Jack can stick to it.
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MADWORLD
PUBLISHER: Sega
SYSTEM: Nintendo Wii
PRICE: $49.99
AGE RATING: Mature
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© 2009, The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, Calif.).
Visit The Sacramento Bee online at http://www.sacbee.com/
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

By Doug Hoagland
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)

FRESNO, Calif. — First they click. Then they party.

Hundreds of teens in the Fresno area log on to MySpace every weekend to read party invitations posted for all to see. They then flock to houses, warehouses and fields for music, dancing — and other things parents might not be happy about.

“We don’t look for it. It’s just there coming at us,” said Miguel, 19, who started looking for parties on MySpace when he was 16. He declined to give his last name. “What else is there to do but party hardy and shake my fanny all night?”

Some party organizers present themselves as ambitious entrepreneurs supplying a service and making an honest buck. Authorities, however, worry about the potential for violence and fire hazards at overcrowded parties. And residents near party sites fret about their neighborhoods being overrun by loud, out-of-control teens.

Internet party notices are the 21st century equivalent of fliers stapled to telephone poles and bulletin boards. However, there’s one huge difference.

MySpace, a wildly popular social networking Web site, is reported to have more than 100 million monthly active users. Throw in text messages — available to anyone with a cell phone — and digital devices can with dizzying speed summon people to party.

Up to 1,000 young people recently showed up for a party in a warehouse near downtown Fresno that could hold 179 safely. Someone was charging an $8 admission at the door. Two rival gang members argued, and gunfire erupted, police said. No one was injured. However, 20 to 30 Fresno cops had to flock to the site to handle a boisterous crowd that spilled onto streets.

That party was advertised on MySpace, said Brice Marsh, manager of two Bay Area rap artists, Turfeazy and Young D, who performed at the party.

“With MySpace, you can put a flier right into someone’s living room where their other friends are into the same music, and it’s going to spread the word from there,” Marsh said.

Organizers use computers to generate flashy — and some would say offensive — notices about parties. For example, “Slutty Saturday!” was the headline on a MySpace invitation to a Feb. 21 party in Fresno. The party advertised having beer (“3Kegz”) and other alcohol described as “Likker.” The notice also used crude terms for male and female anatomy to refer to men and women. Admission for men was $3; women got in free.
The MySpace notices don’t give the locations for parties, but provide a telephone number to call for directions.

Organizers post the notices in MySpace’s bulletin section and on their MySpace pages, effectively sending notices to a network of MySpace “friends” — people they may or may not have met, who in turn send it to their friends, and so on.

“The power of word of mouth is multiplied by thousands when it comes to MySpace and text messaging,” said Fresno musician Eric Rose, who performs under “~E.ROSE~.”

Rose has not forsaken face-to-face communication, and he regularly passes out fliers at clubs about his upcoming gigs, including an April 17 appearance at the Fulton Mall restaurant Milano. However, he said, “None of that compares to the mecca that is MySpace.”

Partygoers aren’t the only ones making the digital journey to the Web site, though. Police go there, too.
Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said after the warehouse party that his department monitors MySpace and other Internet sites to shut down some parties before violence occurs. But police miss some. Deputy Chief Robert Nevarez said: “It’s just a vast network, and it’s impossible to be able to monitor it completely.”
Party organizers know what police are doing, and at least one organizer said it’s caused him to rely more on text messaging.

“MySpace is burnt,” said an organizer who identified himself as Paul Gonzales, 26, of Fresno. “A lot of cops are hitting our parties. We’re going to be one step ahead of them. They can’t find your text messages.”
That point underscores how many of the parties advertised on MySpace have an underground status, with organizers trying to operate out of the view of authorities. They generally don’t get the permits that the city requires of anyone holding a party open to the public, Nevarez said.

Both police and fire officials say the unregulated parties can be dangerous.

“We know that gang members often surf the Internet, and when rival gang members show up at the same location, it’s a recipe for disaster,” Nevarez said. “Things get heated and the next thing you know, you have a fight that turns ugly fast.”

People do shoot guns at parties, but it’s not always because one person wants to harm another, said Anthony Huerta, 19, of Fresno, who works parties as a DJ known as “DJ Bashed.”

“Shooting is our way of saying, ‘Everybody leave,’ ” Huerta said.

Fire officials worry about party organizers allowing too many people into too-small spaces.

“Yeah, that sometimes happens,” said a party organizer named Ike, who wouldn’t give his last name because he fears the authorities will try to find him. He said he has crammed partygoers into buildings, but he worries about doing it.

Buildings without adequate fire exits, emergency signs showing those exits and clearly marked exit pathways pose “extreme hazards” should a fire break out, said Fresno Fire Department spokesman Ken Shockley.

Homeowners also can feel their safety is threatened when hundreds of young adults — alerted by a MySpace notice — show up in their neighborhood for a party. That happened about 11:30 p.m. on a recent Friday in west-central Fresno. A party was held at a vacant house looked after by a young caretaker, neighbors said.
As teens parked cars along the street, a vehicle recklessly was spinning circles in a nearby church parking lot. Two teens from Kerman standing under a tree in front of the house said they learned about the party through a text message.

A resident in her 60s, who didn’t want her name published because she fears retaliation by teens at the party, said she felt “very vulnerable” as the crowd showed up in her neighborhood.

Police broke up the party.

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© 2009, The Fresno Bee (Fresno, Calif.).
Visit The Fresno Bee online at http://www.fresnobee.com/
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

By Aaron Sagers
(MCT)

Facebook is dead! Long live Facebook? Depending on your point of view, the social networking site is either experiencing growing pains or is ready for a tombstone that reads, “Here lies Facebook, 2004-2009, the beloved son of Friendster and MySpace, and father of Twitter.”

Personally, I love it. I’m an original Facebooker who joined when the site still had “the” in its domain name, but it was less than two years ago that I switched to it as my primary social scene on the Internet. Now, it always inhabits a tab on my browser and eats up my phone’s data plan.

Still, I recently thought Facebook’s end might be nigh but I’m not so sure anymore. Facebook definitely has an expiration date in this temporary tech-phenom world but I don’t think its demise is imminent.

An early morning run on the Internet reveals a healthy mix of positive and not-so-positive news stories about the site. On one hand, an American Facebook friend saved a teen from suicide in England, and “silver surfers” (that means senior citizens, not the heralds of Galactus) are quickly catching on to the movement. On the other, Facebook is testing out a “credit” system where users can pay for points to distribute among friends in comments, or to buy virtual gifts with; potential employers, schools and universities are becoming “profile police” and keeping an eye on student pages.

And perhaps you’ve heard something about new Terms of Service and an unpopular redesign?

The first, the much blogged-about TOS debacle, began on Feb. 15 when Consumerist.com broke the story over the new Facebook policy that said, to quote the consumer rights blog, “We Can Do Anything We Want With Your Content. Forever.” Following a Benjamin Linus-worthy “Trust us, we’re looking out for you” retort by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, the site has allowed users to contribute suggestions to a new TOS that they can then vote on between April 16 and April 23. Assuming at least 30 percent of the registered users, that’s about 60 million people, vote for the new policy, it will be adopted.

Meanwhile, the other issue, which garnered more uproar than the privacy and content ownership one, is all about the look of Facebook. Launched a couple weeks back, the redesign more closely resembles that young whippersnapper micro-blogging service Twitter. Based on the many anti-redesign Facebook groups that make liberal use of the word “suck,” it would seem more than a few folks are peeved about the new look.
However, the Wolverine berserker rage that set in amongst Facebook users over the TOS, the redesign and even the Beacon advertising program (that reveals user purchases from external Web sites to the world) may exactly be what will ensure Facebook’s survival — for now.

The protesters are using the site itself as a forum for joining mobs and gathering pitchforks instead of just packing up and moving on, and they’re shouting because Facebook makers are listening. You don’t need Tyra to know a key to a long-lasting relationship is two-way communication, and even if the mob is angry, it’s still a lot of people the site can keep around by updating and adapting to.

Contrast that with Facebook’s progenitors, Friendster and MySpace. There never seemed to be as vocal a community opposing or supporting changes made to those. Instead of users fighting to keep the sites alive, I remember a “last one who leaves turn out the lights” mope-away with Friendster, and MySpace is largely serving as a user billboard with a forwarding address to people’s Facebook accounts.

Additionally, Facebook manages to improve on the warm fuzzies of nostalgia-driven reunions that MySpace began. Instead of simply finding a chum from the old neighborhood, friending them and never speaking with them beyond the first “What have you been up to the last 15 years” e-mail, Facebook’s status updates allows you to re-connect and stay connected without actually chatting much. A brief comment about their plans to go see “Watchmen” goes a long way. Actually, the update feeds are the best form of keeping-in-touch mass e-mail that are personal without being too, well, personalized.

Also, while Mark Zuckerberg and company shouldn’t break into a happy-ending “Slumdog Millionaire” dance number just yet, I don’t think they have much to fear from Twitter. The perception I’m getting is that the second-to-second tweets appeal to media talking heads, “I’m hip, I’m cool” politicians, bored celebrities and their hyping publicists. Twitter may lure some away, but I doubt there will be a mass migration from Facebook to Twitter.

Twitter may have even skipped a generation. Amongst the 20-something crowd, probably the earliest of early adopters, and those of us who like to update their status — a lot — our words aren’t so precious to make Twitter worthwhile. Meanwhile, time is.

Other than nude pictures and bad poetry, few things last forever — even online. But don’t measure that generic Facebook silhouette guy for a blue funeral suit just yet. Even when they’re peeving members, the social networking site is doing right. So, for the moment at least, “Facebook is…” going to be just fine.

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© 2009, Aaron Sagers.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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What do you think about Facebooks’ new Terms of Service? Should Facebook be able to do whatever they want with your content?

By Chris Borrelli, Steve Johnson, Kevin Pang
Chicago Tribune
(MCT)

So you’re giving up Facebook for Lent. That a Web site has become a vice worth sacrificing shows how we humans have devolved into double-clicking automatons. Well, good for you, because the first step towards recovery is admitting you have a problem.

Judging from the online groups created in recent days, a number of users are Facebook fasting for the next 40 days (“Better than giving up a more significant vice like drinking, smoking, staying out late, etc.,” said one member of the online group “Giving Up Facebook for Lent”). And you have decided to be among the flock.

We will tell you now that temptation will avail itself. It’s hard, we know, to not post that cute picture of cats eating cheeseburgers. But fight the urge. Use this guide as an inspiration.

• Give a real gift to someone you really want to give it to. Much better than “virtual coffee” or any of the other Facebook tchotchkies.
• Watch “Tron.” Consider the fate that awaits those who stare too long at a computer.
• Try playing real Scrabble—the version with the tactile game board and wooden tiles.
• Poke people. Actually poke them. Then walk away without saying why you poked them.
• Write down the last five things you did. Wait ten minutes. Read the list. Ask yourself if you give a &%$#.
• Join an actual group—the Shriners, for example. Resign 40 days later.
• Develop a real-world O.C.D. problem—wash your hands a lot, wash your hands a lot, wash your hands a lot Instead of posting pictures, organize the ones you’ve already taken.
• In the grander scheme of things, do you really need to know “My favorite color is blue” is one of 25 random things about Julie, your middle school algebra classmate?
• Join Twitter. It’s like Facebook for people with short attention … ooh! Shiny object!

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© 2009, Chicago Tribune.
Visit the Chicago Tribune on the Internet at http://www.chicagotribune.com/
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (www.mctcampus.com.

By Denise Neil
McClatchy Newspapers
(MCT)

Thanks to US Weekly and Perez Hilton, we already know how celebrities spend much of their free time.

Trips to Ibiza. Afternoon Starbucks runs. Red carpet mugging. Weather-inappropriate Ugg wearing.

But now, thanks to the most wonderful invention of the 21st century — Twitter.com — we’re also privy to the fascinating ways celebrities spend the rest of their free time and the fascinating thoughts they’re having while they spend it.

Quick recap: Twitter.com is a micro-blogging site that allows users to update friends and strangers in 140 characters or fewer about what they’re doing or thinking. They can update as often as they want and say whatever they want. Their “followers” can read the updates, and they can read the updates of those they follow back.

Lots of celebrities are on Twitter, and more seem to join every day. Many appear to be doing the actual tweeting themselves, though in some cases it’s hard to tell whether the celebrity or the celebrity’s publicist is the actual creator of the post.

Most tweeting celebs are so-far B- to C-level. Actor Wil Wheaton. Comedian Paul F. Tompkins (of VH-1’s “Best Week Ever” fame). MC Hammer. Cook Paula Deen.

Some are decidedly more A-list. Dave Matthews. Britney Spears. Shaquille O’Neal.

Their approaches vary. Comedian Paula Poundstone tends to tweet hilarious one-liners and promote her latest CDs and appearances. Matthews’ stream is more of a series of one-word replies to his friends.

Among the most active celebrities in the Twitterverse, though, are Ashton Kutcher and wife Demi Moore.
Both update regularly and appear to be totally intoxicated by the magic of Twitter. Neither is able to compose very clear or compelling 140-character thoughts.

Kutcher (whose Twitter name is aplusk) spends most of his time updating followers on his reading list, posting links, trashing the paparazzi, imploring magazines to write about positive life-force energy instead of him, and reflecting on his goals for self-actualization.

A recent example:
“had a wonderful evening of self reflection. I got a lot of work to do to be the version of me I want to be. love + light aplusk.”

Moore, who tweets as mrskutcher and uses an avatar of herself as a glasses-wearing youngster, tends to offer a tad more insight into what she’s actually doing.

Flying home from the Super Bowl. Planning a birthday dinner for her youngest daughter. Letting her hubby pluck an errant nose hair.

She also struggles with her iPhone keypad and wholeheartedly rejects punctuation and capital letters. She is, thus, often incoherent.

A recent example:
“it is a similar idea and we could think of it as our last by why wait…do I seem in an odd space or is this making sense? woohoo it’s thur!”

Twitter just keeps growing in value. Not only is it a place to make friends and get up-to-date information, but now it’s also the one place where regular folks can go to connect with—and feel in some way superior to—rich and famous celebrities.

Woohoo!
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What are you and your friends talking about at the watercooler? E-mail Denise Neil at dneil@wichitaeagle.com.
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© 2009, The Wichita Eagle (Wichita, Kan.).
Visit the Eagle on the World Wide Web at http://www.wichitaeagle.com/
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (www.mctcampus.com.
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By Jon Bream
Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
(MCT)

Amy Winehouse grabbed more Grammys. Leona Lewis spent more time at No. 1. And Duffy and Adele garnered tons more press coverage.

But Estelle has a few things those other hit-making British songbirds don’t: At 29, she’s at least four years older and more experienced; she’s the only one who moved to the United States, and she’s the only one equally skilled at rapping.

“With my music, I don’t have to stay in one lane. One day I’m in Motown, and the next day I’m in reggae,” said Estelle, who won a Grammy with Kanye West for best sung/rap collaboration for the smash “American Boy.”

Her persona is like her music—a combination of contrasts. In her mind, Estelle has crafted an alter ego for the stage: “Audrey Pepa,” a hybrid of elegant actress Audrey Hepburn and streetwise rapper Pepa (of ’80s-’90s duo Salt N Pepa).

“It’s someone who looks cute and is together but would give you a fat eye in a minute,” said Estelle.

Her style influences are disco queen Grace Jones and 1960s icon Edie Sedgwick and her musical heroes are Mary J. Blige and Ella Fitzgerald. “I like to go as far different—and as far appropriate—as I want to go. Some days I might be wearing a little dress, and some days I might be wearing something with wings on it and be confusing.”

Who knows what Estelle will wear at any given tour stop? One thing for sure is she will sing “American Boy,” which almost didn’t make it on to “Shine,” her second album and first with John Legend’s Homeschool label.
When she recorded it, she thought it might end up as a B side to a single.

“We wrote it as a joke,” she said. “I played it for John Legend and he said, ‘I think this is a hit.’ I was like ‘Please don’t put it out.’ I’m ashamed to say anything to him again. It did surprise me. It was cheeky, it was fun, it was nothing serious. And here we are.”

Estelle seems to have a way with luck. Take, for instance, how she met Kanye West. She just happened to be outside Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles in Los Angeles when the rap superstar was inside eating. She introduced herself and he, in turn, introduced her to Legend, who happened to be with him. They invited her back to the studio for a recording session and she became the first artist on Legend’s new label. She calls it “destiny.”

After signing with Legend, Estelle moved to New York simply out of convenience. For her album, she worked with various producers, including Wyclef Jean, Swizz Beatz, Jack Splash and will.i.am in Miami, New York, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Los Angeles.

One of the best albums of 2008, “Shine” is a seamless blend of soul, hip-hop and reggae, filled with samples (George Michael’s “Faith,” Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ “I Put a Spell on You,” Bob Marley’s “So Much Things to Say”). Not only does the album showcase Estelle’s wide and deep talents, but she shines onstage, too.

Estelle is focused and hard-working, she says. “A bit of a control freak, sometimes to my detriment. But you have to be in this business,” she said by phone from New York as she was about to attend a Fashion Week photo shoot.

The ever-ambitious Estelle had her heart set on winning the Grammy for song of the year for “American Boy”—”just because the sheer amount of work we did promoting that song. We whupped ass in almost every country in the world, either physically or on the satellite or the video somewhere and performed the hell out of that song. I really wanted to win with that, but my second thought with that was if you’re going to lose, at least lose to Coldplay.”

Estelle thinks timing had something to do with the success of her song, which hit the airwaves when Barack Obama’s campaign was in full force. “After (President) Bush not doing so many great things for the country, it was like we need people to like America again,” she said. “So it was like a Brit girl saying ‘America is OK.’ People were into it.”

Has that Brit girl found herself an American boy?

“I have,” she said succinctly. “And he has absolutely nothing to do with what I’m doing.”

Estelle has begun work on her next album. She promises that the new disc will rock. “I like the feeling of going out there and completely spazzing,” she said. “Right now, the direction is Coldplay, Marvin Gaye.”

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© 2009, Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
Visit the Star Tribune Web edition on the World Wide Web at http://www.startribune.com
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (www.mctcampus.com).

By Scott Duke Harris
San Jose Mercury News
(MCT)

SAN JOSE, Calif.—Facebook, angling to turn a recent user rebellion to its own advantage, called upon the users themselves Thursday to help formulate what has been portrayed a kind of “bill of rights” to govern the social networking giant.

The proposed “Facebook Principles” cover such topics as the “freedom to share and connect,” “fundamental equality” and “ownership and control of information.” Facebook users, now numbering 175 million around the world, are being invited to review, comment on and ultimately vote on the proposals in “a virtual Town Hall” over the next 30 days.

“This is really a move we’re making because we trust our users,” Facebook founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said. “If we have a good, open dialog, we feel this will strengthen the community and strengthen trust and loyalty.”

Facebook devotees quickly responded to the invitation for commentary, and privacy advocates applauded Facebook’s move.

“We think it’s good news,” said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

Facebook backtracked on a revision to its terms of service last week after a group of users protested the changes and EPIC prepared a complaint it intended to file with the Federal Trade Commission.
It was especially important, Rotenberg said, that Facebook’s draft principles declared “people should own their own information.”

“That’s really the heart of it,” Rotenberg said. “I don’t think privacy issues are going to be easily solved, but I think it is important for Facebook to say Facebook users own and control their information.”

Facebook’s action, Rotenberg said, could have a broad impact on business practices on the Web: “It’s the most active online community in the world, and what Facebook does has a very big impact on lots and lots of services.”

Facebook makes money through advertising and sale of digital gifts, but it is exploring new revenue sources.

Suspicions about Facebook’s intentions arose in recent weeks after it published a revision in its terms of service. The actual intent, Facebook executives said, was to streamline the document and minimize legalese. But “mistakes” made by Facebook led to “confusion,” Zuckerberg said.

In an interview with the San Jose Mercury News, Zuckerberg suggested that the controversy accelerated an initiative already brewing within the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company. “What we announced today isn’t really in response to last week. It’s something we’ve actually discussed for a while,” Zuckerberg said.

Without the controversy, “we probably would have phased it in over time,” he added. “This is a pretty unique opportunity where people care deeply about the governance of the site. Now is a perfect opportunity to roll something like this out and get a real dialog about the issues.”

Promoting “openness and transparency” is at the core of Facebook’s mission, Zuckerberg said. “Openness and transparency, instead of just being an end state, has to be a process in how we get there.”
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© 2009, San Jose Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.).
Visit MercuryNews.com, the World Wide Web site of the Mercury News, at http://www.mercurynews.com.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (www.mctcampus.com.

By John Ewoldt
Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
(MCT)
The game of Monopoly has been reinvented. Again. The new edition, called “Here & Now: The World Edition,” is cashless. Each player uses a debit card to pay deposits and withdrawals. Pass “Go” even once and you collect $2 million. The iron, dog and cannon have been replaced by a pretzel, koala and soccer ball, among other icons. One landing on Montreal (the new Boardwalk) or Belgrade (the new North Carolina Avenue) with a hotel and you’re probably out of the game.

Unfortunately, Parker Brothers’ new version still seems out of touch with today’s economic realities. A gander at the Community Chest and Chance cards includes collecting $250,000 profit from a Parisian fashion boutique and a travel company netting $2 million in sales for the lucky draws. Get real. Today’s economy calls for thrift-store chic and “staycations.” Let’s go back to the spirit of Charles Darrow, who created the original Monopoly back in 1934 when he was unemployed during the depths of the Great Depression, but with a smack of snark for a modern edge. Which cards might Lady Luck show us today when we land on Chance?

Your identity is stolen. Pay $750 in out-of-pocket expenses to restore your tarnished good name.
You “forgot” to pay the water bill. Pay shutoff and reconnection fee of $108.

Your car is towed during a snow emergency after you pass out drinking cranberry Manhattans. Pay $172.

You sell your Precious Moments and baseball card collections on eBay to raise cash. Collect $1,000.

Congratulations: Your kid can’t cut it at the private college. State school it is. Save $10,000.

Take a ride on light rail. Unfortunately, you can’t figure out how to pay the fare so you’re busted for nonpayment. Pay $180.

There’s an election error in your favor. Advance to the U.S. Senate to collect a $169,300 annual salary and lucrative health benefits.

You win $1,000 on the slots, but can’t quit while you’re ahead. Pay $500 from your cash advance account.

You adopt simple living techniques and abandon Needless Markup and Whole Paycheck for thrift stores and low-cost grocers. Collect $2,000.

Bad news, good news. Your adult son moves back in. You collect $2,000 of the $6,000 he owes you before he’s tapped out.

Pick 5 pays off. You match four of five numbers. Collect $500.

Your home value plummets 30 percent. Your property taxes decline 2 percent. Save $50.

Electricity usage has increased thanks to sales of plug-in cars. Your Xcel Energy stock pays a dividend of $250.

Your pessimism pays off. You profit $2,000 on a short sale of your favorite retail stock.

The city decides that your street needs repaving. Cough up your share of the potholes, $1,500.

You’re fired as chairman of the board. Collect $2 million from each player for your golden parachute.

Monopoly game over. The game of Life begins.
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© 2009, Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
Visit the Star Tribune Web edition on the World Wide Web at http://www.startribune.com
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (www.mctcampus.com).
_____

By Justin Hoeger
McClatchy Newspapers
(MCT)

As the release of the prequel “Star Ocean: The Last Hope” draws near, Square Enix continues its revival of the series with “Star Ocean: Second Evolution,” an enhanced re-release of the second game, which was the first released in the United States.

The game hasn’t seen nearly the overhaul that the recent American debut of “Star Ocean: First Departure” was given, but it didn’t need one.

The game play is very similar to “First Departure.” The semi-real-time battle system, the skills, specialties and super-specialties, the symbology magic, the item creation and private actions in towns—in which characters wander off and tend to their own affairs instead of staying in a group—are all present. Gamers who liked the first game will find much to enjoy here while those who didn’t, won’t.

But “Second Evolution” has gained voice acting in place of the plain text that accompanies its lengthy exposition sequences. And in addition to the video already in the game, some new animated segments, playable characters and other goodies have been added.

The story picks up 20 years after “First Departure,” with the Earth Federation’s Ronyx Kenny (a hero of the first game) supervising his son Claude, a Federation ensign, on his first planetary mission. As Claude is investigating a strange energy field, he’s suddenly transported to a different planet, one unknown to him or the father and shipmates he left behind.

Awakening in a forest, he quickly rescues a local girl named Rena from an ape monster, and with her begins to figure out this new world and his place in it while he hopes for a rescue.

Actually, that’s just one way to play the game; “Second Evolution” offers the choice of Claude or Rena as the main character at the outset, though both choices have them journey together.

Events are largely the same from both perspectives, but players will see different aspects of them unfold.
Choose Rena and the beginning of the tale is quite different, as the events above are not seen. Instead, Claude simply arrives to save the day, and she takes him for a prophesied warrior who wields a Sword of Light and will save the world from the mysterious Sorcery Globe that is wreaking havoc across the land.
Another early scene involves Rena being kidnapped by a deranged suitor. Playing as Claude allows the player to break through to where she’s being held, while playing as Rena follows her adventures leading up to the moment Claude arrives.

The story isn’t the only thing that varies between the two characters. Certain allies can only be gained if one or the other characters is chosen, and other characters are exclusive of each other.
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STAR OCEAN: SECOND EVOLUTION
PUBLISHER: Square Enix
SYSTEM: Sony PSP
PRICE: $39.99
AGE RATING: Teen
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Justin Hoeger: jhoeger@thetribunenews.com
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© 2009, The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, Calif.).
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