Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is the largest media launch of all time, say the numbers from Amazon, Activision and Gamestop but is it the best game of all time?  Short answer no, long answer, it comes pretty close.

        People around the world have been talking about it, people in this country have been pre-ordering it by the millions and people at J-town even camped out for the midnight launch, but is it worth the hype?

        Let’s first start with single player, which somehow feels broken compared at the last game. For one, you can beat it before you can finish heating a Lunchable, clocking it at a measly four hours on the Harden difficulty. It feels empty… no character motivation is explained and when major revelations occur, the game tries so hard to make you care, but in the end the only way to understand the storyline is the watch the load screens… yes, the load screen. Oh and lastly, this wouldn’t be a review if I didn’t mention the controversial airport scene. Remember how the Mass Effect scene was over exaggerated by the media? Believe me, this scene is as bad as it sounds. You take the point of view of a terrorist, massacring everyone in an airport that isn’t Russian and let me tell you, this has to be the most brutal scene in video game history. I don’t think it should be banned by any means, but be warned, it will press the buttons on some, no pun intended.

            But in reality, most people are buying this game for multiplayer and even though it isn’t a radical departure rather than a refinement of what already worked, it still feels new and fresh. The big selling point in the customizability and my biggest concern about this before the game came out is that it would it be unbalanced, but I’m glad to say no, it isn’t. There are tons of perks and weapons that all cancel out each other, allowing experimentation to play a big role. And because of this, I guarantee you will be playing this game well into next year or at least until Halo: Reach comes out.

        Last but not least, there’s Spec Ops mode, which is a cut and paste of levels you can play cooperatively. I wouldn’t call this a “horde mode clone” because it does everything I wish “horde mode” did. It offers multiple objectives while occasionally assigning different jobs to both players to make them really feel like they are  part of a unit instead of a bunch gamers eating pizza and soda. It’s fun and I suggest getting or kidnapping a friend to play with you… you both won’t regret it.   

           All in all, Modern Warfare 2 is worth the hype but because of the shortness of the single player, I will only recommend this to people who have access to online services. If you don’t, this game may not be worth sixty dollars.

  

   Now where do you go when you want to laugh? Do you watch the poorly written new episodes of Family Guy? Do you watch one of the many unfunny movies stinking up the market or do you watch a generally hilarious show who happily parades the fact that it’s rated TV-MA every five seconds it’s on FX even though the harshest thing they show is glass breaking on some guy’s helmet.

Yes, I’m talking about Always Sunny In Philadelphia.

            Now, I am a guy of first impressions. If you say something dumb, I’m probably not going to like you.  Likewise, with show’s having a long and redundant titles emits so much originality it’s enough to make Capital Hill politicians cooperate with each other instead of debate the public option revel  … . Sorry, I’m going on a tangent. What I’m trying to painfully say is that this is a good show… not good… it’s great.

            The premise of the show revolves around five people in a bar who get into the most ridiculous situations. Not very original, but it’s the humor of the show that grabs my attention. Most of the major laughs derive from the hilarious drunken conversations they have on subjects ranging from “Who will win if a scorpion and a rat get into a fight?” to “Do lawyers still participate in duals?” The conversations have the style of The Office, but they are much more ridiculous and way off topic.  It’s the randomness of it all that makes it all the more funny; what Family Guy used to be before the writers’ strike treaded upon it.

            I particularly enjoy every episode’s introduction where it starts off like a normal day in the bar until something ridiculous happens, but before it could play out, the title of the episode protrudes the entire screen and happy old-fashion TV show sitcom music invades your ears. The strange thing is that after episode thirty it stays effective for a few laughs and gets the audience engaged and excited about its content.

            The first, second and third seasons were amazing; however, the fourth season contracted Family Guy syndrome and started to tapper off. But unlike Family Guy, the first five episodes of the fifth season are really good…dare I say better than the first three seasons.

            Always Sunny in Philadelphia is back in its stride and I wholly recommend this show for anyone who wants to laugh. However, if you’re more the adventurous type whose sole purpose is to torment yourself, I recommend a Transformers 2 DVD coming to your local discount bin on October 20.

Mr. Curtis checking dress code

As you have probably noticed, rules and regulations at J’town High School have gotten progressively stricter over the past few years. Not JCYC-strict, but tougher than they used to be according to those who have been around for several years. Only allowing ten unexcused absences, stricter consequences for disobeying the rules, a score of new cameras, a crackdown on hall passes for aides, and having to write a mandatory statement about the rules before signing it are just a few of the changes students may have noticed.

Laying Down The Law

Most of the new restrictions seem to be subtle but numerous. For example, the school buses are required to drive in single file to one place before letting the students off. After exiting from the bus, you will be enthusiastically met by one of the new assistant principals and several other security guards who won’t hesitate to remind you your shirt tail isn’t tucked in. Mr. Pollio also seems adamant about implementing the non-negotiable punishments, like cursing at a teacher.

What Students Think

The reactions to these new regulations are interesting amongst the students. This reporter asked several people, typically seniors and juniors because they’ve been here the longest, the same question, “What do you think about the new guidelines… obsessive or helpful?” Many really didn’t care, while others seemed not to know what to think about them. Senior Alexis Lurry simply responded, “I’m not sure.” She doesn’t think new rules will affect her that much, but only time will tell. Others seemed to be quite content with the rules like Steven Delancey, saying that they are not “…overly ridiculous…”

All in all, the student reactions were very surprising. Normally in any organization, including our federal government, any time there’s a crackdowns in regulations there’s some sort of public outcry, but here at J’town, we don’t seem to be that bothered by the stringent rules. A few students that normally get in trouble (not naming any names) seem only mildly concerned.

What Teachers Think

The teachers were asked the same question as the students. There was a common trend amongst the answers received. The teachers showed some passion in explaining their approval of the new crackdowns, instead of giving the typical textbook response. A math teacher, Ms. Squier, stated, “I think they’re here for us to succeed” while expressing that more rules could only help. “There are ways to avoid it…,” says Squier, implying that the rules aren’t too strict and that it would be possible to avoid the consequences.

A computer teacher, Ms. Jaworski said what several other teachers and school counselors collectively agree upon. “It mimics the real world.” Teachers are worried that when students go out into the real world, they’ll be blindsided by reality and figure out that the real world is much different than the environment they’ve been exposed to for the first eighteen years of their lives.

Even more fascinating, this might show a fundamental change throughout JCPS. While focusing on CATS scores and grades are still important, schools seem to be focusing on behavior more than they used to, possibly because of behavior problems last year, or perhaps a renovation of old behavior protocols. In trying to explore this, many teachers seemed to agree with the latter. After living with the same rules for years, sometimes they need to be updated.

Summing it all up

In conclusion, the teachers obviously seemed to appreciate these new regulations while students seemed to be a bit indifferent. Most appeared to be fine with them, while many more just don’t know yet how it will affect them. Only time will tell, but until then, there are new rules at J’town. This reporter doesn’t know about you, but he would much rather avoid going to “The Wood Shop”.