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THE GAMECOCK ♦ Friday, November 14, 2003 - 5 THEY SAID IT EUJNlAVjl UO INDIANA JONES: “Snakes — why did Story ideas? Questions? Comments? • ^ ^ave t0 *3e snakes? E-mail us at gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com --- The best things come in threes on the silver screen rBY AARON MAHEFFEY 3AMECOCK In American culture, there is an undeniable recurrence of ^B--. the number three. From something as simple as the Three Stooges to the Christian Holy Trinity, the third positive nu- V ^ meral appears again and again and again. H It may be no surprise, then, that this is especially evident in American cinema. Few movies are nearly as memorable V as those that come in threes. For the past 30 years, the word B “trilogy” has been associated with the most outstanding ■ movies of the time. From Indiana Jones’ episodic quests to ■ the recently concluded epic of The Matrix, it becomes evi- I dent that the third time quite-literally is the charm in the' ] movie business. There have been only a handful of truly successful movie trilogies, and the greater half of them have been action movies — not surprisingly, because that genre makes the most use of I cliffhangers, necessitating the production of sequels. Such has I been the case with the “Back to the Future” series, the “Star Wars” I trilogy, the “Matrix” trilogy and the soon-to-be-concluded “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, which all tell a complete story in three sequential chapters. Some, how ever, such as the Indiana Jones and Terminator movies, contain independent stories that ^k are only correlated by way of similar characters and elements. But the series that make it to the third installments are often remembered as classics. The first of such popular trilogies is the original “Star Wars” series. Beginning in 1977 with “A New Hope” and concluding in 1983 with “Return of the Jedi,” these movies are among the most memorable science-fiction adventures of all time. What makes these movies great, particularly in comparison — or contrast — with the Star Wars prequels, remains the skill that went into making them. George Lucas led the production, to be sure, but a large team of skilled writers and artists also contributed. It includes the musical efforts of award-winning compos er John Williams, the un forgettable performance of voice actor and puppeteer Frank Oz and a collection of famed British thespians, including Alec Guinness, Peter Cushing, Anthony Daniels and Ian McDiarmid. What made these films so enjoyable was the development of their characters. In the first movie, “A New Hope” (1977), we are introduced to Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, '^B Princess Leia, Darth Vader and others. Each independent character relates to the greater ^ story. One of the other most popular trilogies is Indiana Jones: tnree maepenaent movies Douna together by their archetypal hero and title character. Beginning in 1981, “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” which wasn’t originally titled “Indiana Jones and...,” the series included one poorly re- V ceived prequel, “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” (1984), and a far more charismatic se- V quel, “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” (1989). These movies were written to capture the feel ■ of the Depression-era movies, necessitating their setting in the 1930s. The movies, ■ under the skills of award-winning director Steven Spielberg, perfectly recapture 1 the sheer fun and thrill of the old romantic hero. As another George Lucas creation, the series has a lot in common with the “Star Wars” trilogy on the production level. For instance, the primary ac i tor, Harrison Ford, and the musical director, John Williams, again show L their abilities. Experienced actors including John Rhys Davies, Denholm I Elliot and even Sean Connery appear. While the first and the third are undeniable classics, the second film, a ■ prequel, although enjoyable, is less appreciable than the others. The prob I lem is that outside of Jones, himself, there is nothing to connect it to. the i other movies. Whereas the first movie introduces us to Indiana Jones and I his adventurous life, it also presents Sallah the Egyptian and Marcus Brody i the museum curator and brings a sense of some human normality to the 1 life of the archeologist, referring to the scene at his home. These elements con- m tinue into the sequel, “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” in which Brody M in particular has a more active role in the movie as comic relief. The prequel, ^k however, does not include any of these elements. AI The most recent trilogy to come to completion is “The Matrix. ” Beginning ^k in 1999 with the title film, the trilogy introduced us to the concept of the ^k computer-generated false reality in which the human race is impris oned by a race of sentient machines. This trilogy — while the source of great entertainment and even a little philosophi ^ cal intrigue — has its failings. The problem here ^^k ^^^^♦NI0VIES,SEEPAGE6 2003 American Music Awards Nominees Bringing the industry’s top-selling artists together for an evening of music and a bit of likely headline-making mayhem, the 31st ‘ annual American Music Awards ceremony takes place this Sunday at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Pop or Rock ‘n’ Roll FAVORITE MALE ARTIST Clay Aiken Kid Rock John Mayer Justin Timberlake Staff prediction: John Mayer FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST Celine Dion Avril Lavigne Jennifer Lopez Staff prediction: Jennifer Lopez FAVORITE ALBUM “Fallen” (Evanescence) “Come Away With Me” (Norah 1 Jones) ■ “Cocky” (Kid Rock) “Justified” (Justin Timberlake) Staff prediction: “Fallen" (Evanescence) Rap/Hip-Hop FAVORITE ALBUM “Under Construction” (Missy Elliott) "GetRich0rDieTryin’(50 Cent) “Dutty Rock” (Sean Paul) “8 Mile” (Soundtrack) Staff prediction: “Get Rich or DieTryin’” (50 Cent) Country Music FAVORITE ALBUM “Unleashed” (Toby Keith) “Tim McGraw & The Dancehall Doctors" (Tim McGraw) “Melt" (Rascal Flatts) “Up!” (Shania Twain) Staff prediction: “Melt” (Rascal Flatts) Fan’s Choice Award 50 Cent Beyonce Clay Aiken Matchbox Twenty Tim McGraw Justin Timberiake Staff prediction: Justin Timberiake YOU CAN STILL ROCK THE VOTE - GO TO: http://abc.go.com/primetime/ama/fa nschoice.html COMPILED AND WRITTEN BY MEG MOORE/THE GAMECOCK VIDEO GAME REVIEW ‘Rebel Strike’puts players in the cockpit y “STARS WARS: REBEL STRIKE” GameCube ★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆ BY BEN ANGSTADT THE GAMECOCK A long time ago in a galaxy not so far away, an epic trilogy of films was made, one that didn’t rely on excessive computer ef fects, contrived plots or annoying supporting characters. These films, the original “Star Wars” trilogy, have since been a favorite of fans everywhere. With “Star Wars Rogue Squadron: Rebel Strike,” game developer Factor 5 has once again brought the “Star Wars” saga off of the big screen and pulled gamers right inside. “Rebel Strike,” the third game in the series and the second for the Nintendo GameCube, takes a slightly different approach to the “Star Wars” world than its predecessors. Just like the rest of the Rogue Squadron series, “Rebel Strike” allows players to enter the cock pit of the most famous vehicles from the “Star Wars” universe. However, rather than pulling missions straight from the movies, like most of the games be fore it, the majority of “Rebel Strike’s” missions take place in between the major events of the “Star Wars” triloev. The game features a larger number of missions than either of the earlier “Rogue Squadron” games. Plus, it offers players the chance to play as either “Star Wars” staple Luke Skywalker or Rebel pilot Wedge Antilles, who each have a completely different set of missions through the game. Returning are the famous spacecraft from the previous games, such as the X-Wing and Snowspeeder. Along with the classics come new craft for the player to control, including Imperial Walkers and the TIE Hunter, an original fighter creat ed just for the game. In addition to these are hidden craft straight out of “Star Wars” Episodes I and II. But the biggest change in “Rebel Strike” is the new on-foot missions that make up about half of the game. Between space flights, Luke and Wedge run around tak ing on the likes of Battle Droids and Imperial Storm troopers. In a series that has relied sole ly on space flight until now, it seems surprising that so much of the game is played on foot. Surprising and unfortunate, the overall game play suffers on such missions, which make gamers rely on the general strategy of simply mashing buttons and which utilize camera angles that are among the worst of any con temporary game. But “Rebel Strike” makes up for the disappointing on-foot missions with its stellar multiplayer mode. The dogfight, race and walker battle modes are certainly entertaining, but the cooperative mode is what really makes the game. “Rebel Strike” includes every single-play er mission from “Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader” but allows two players to fly the missions The latest installment in the Rogue Squadron series combines in-flight action with on-the-ground missions. together. Rounding out the extras included on the disc are a behind-the scenes docu mentary, au dio commen taries and ful ly playable versions of the 1980s arcade classics “Star Wars Arcade” and “The Empire Strikes Back,’’-which the game-makers say provided the ultimate inspi ration for the “Rogue Squadron” series’ style. With top-notch flight missions and great multiplayer extras, “Rebel Strike” gives “Star Wars” fans the opportunity to enter the trilogy like never before. It pro vides fresh material from the “Star Wars” universe that succeeds just as much as the prequel trilogy has failed. Comments on this story?E-mail ga mecockmixeditor&Jiotma il.com