Home   |  Issues  |  The Daily Star Home | Thursday, July 17, 2003

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PC Game Review

STAR TREK ELITE FORCE II

The story revolves around the discovery of what appears to be an insectlike alien race, which has ravaged a Federation starship as well as a nearby space colony. Picard sends Munro and his colleagues to check it out. They eventually discover the nature of this threat, as well as who or what is actually behind it. Elite Force II's single-player campaign is of average length for a shooter, but it packs in plenty of variety, keeps you headed in the right direction, and is loaded with scripted sequences and surprises similar to numerous other shooters ranging from Medal of Honor: Allied Assault all the way back to Half-Life.
Elite Force II does pack in some of its own unique twists. It's got some pretty decent boss battles in it, as well as some sequences where you'll need to defend certain characters or lead them to safety. You'll also need to use your tricorder to scan for walls with weak structural integrity (you can blast them open), for hidden energy signatures, and for sources of gas leaks. The tricorder also comes into play in some puzzle-solving sequences where Munro will essentially need to hack certain systems. There are two basic variants of the tricorder puzzles, one that makes you match frequencies and another that makes you connect a circuit by rotating pieces around--this plays a bit like the classic LucasArts puzzle game Pipe Dream. The puzzles do seem a bit contrived, especially in the midst of all the shooting, but they successfully vary the pacing of the missions and sometimes effectively create tension.
Judged solely as a shooter, Elite Force II is good but not without some noticeable and pretty typical problems. The game's AI, for both friends and foes, often leaves much to be desired. You'll fight alongside other members of the hazard team, who will often run straight into your line of fire and get shot in the back, but they won't mind, and they can't actually get killed except at certain key points. The squad-based combat just doesn't look very good, which seems to partly explain why Munro will take every opportunity to split off from his group and get the job done all by himself. Meanwhile, your enemies' evasive maneuvers largely consist of dodging from side to side, which is about the extent of their intelligence. They'll typically come running at you while shooting. Actually, since you'll be fighting bugs more than anything else, and fighting them in some cramped corridors at that, Elite Force II can often seem almost more like a game based on Aliens than on Star Trek, not that that's necessarily a bad thing.
The game also provides a good amount of fan service for Star Trek aficionados. Between combat missions, you'll typically get to wander about the Enterprise and eavesdrop on conversations and such. You'll get to test new weapons in holodeck simulations, and you'll get to choose different dialogue options when speaking to certain key characters. Missions tend to have numerous hidden areas and secrets that you can go out of your way to find if you wish, and by collecting the secret items you can unlock a number of new multiplayer maps. So while Elite Force II's single-player mode isn't particularly long, it does pack in a good amount of content, and it rarely loses steam, except maybe briefly during a later sequence where you're stuck wandering through some bug-infested sewers.


Just like its predecessor, Elite Force II uses the Quake III engine, which has actually aged gracefully over the past several years. Though the game doesn't look incredible by the high standards of the genre, it looks better than previous Star Trek games, and features convincing environments and effects, crisp textures, and fairly detailed character models. The levels can seem a bit small, as transitional loading sequences will seem to come up fairly often as you blast your way through missions or even as you wander the Enterprise, but Elite Force II's graphics certainly get the job done. Likewise for the sound, as the various weapon effects and the voice acting are in line with what you'd expect from a Star Trek game. During battle, hazard team members and some enemies will repeat the same lines too often, which can be distracting.
Elite Force II was developed by a different studio than the one that did the original game, but it stays true to the spirit and style of its predecessor, making it another well-done Star Trek game. Like the first Elite Force, the game packs enough pure action to make it appealing to those who like first-person shooters in general, and it's got plenty of Star Trek science fiction in it for those more interested in the source material. That makes it readily recommendable to those who fall into either category, and especially to those who fall into both.


Black Eyes

A Cool Exposure Feature

In 1995 'Black-Eyes' launched their first album, produced by Touch Audio, under the title 'Dhushor Mrittikay Raktim Ava'. Their second album under the title 'Kotota Shukhe Achho' produced by Prime Audio in the year 1999. After a long four years gap, this year 2003, they have published their third album under the title of 'Chander Buri'.
'Black-Eyes' are mainly a soft-rock band and very naturally they have emphasized on soft, romantic and melodious songs, along with a few social-aware songs too. This album was an attempt of metaphorically expressing dreams of some group of young people. Rasel Habib wrote the title song. Tarun wrote the next number, which is quite poetic in nature and expression and the presentation is very much soft rock in trend. Guitar played a major role in this number which can certainly draw someone's attention. And their co-called 'social-awareness' song 'Nesha birodhi santan gori' written by Shamim Mashreki, where the main message is presente quite clearly. Likewise, the next two numbers are capable of drawing its listeners as well, which are written by, Mamun Khan and Bappi Khan.

The first track of side-b 'smitir aagoon' is written by Nibhritachary. This number is totally a romantic song. The instrumental chord-progression is as usual. It should at-least be liked by group of teens that suffers from nostalgia. This track has a well-balanced patchwork of drumming and guitar. Next songs are written by, 'Nirob prahar' (Mamun Khan), 'Hai garbini' (Kamran Khan), 'Mukhosher aubhishap' (Niaz A. Angshu), and 'Nakkhattrer daak' written by Dehlavi. And Rasel Habib wrote the last track. 'Black-Eyes' has gradually improved from their previous albums, in their presentations, compositions, playing instruments and definitely in lyrics.
In a recent interview, bandleader Suja Islam said, "Band Music means a natural flow of teen spirit. Since 90's, we had gone through Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Aero-smith, Guns & Roses, Scorpions etc. and we were very much influenced by them. There's a time comes when you come out of your old folk taste and start to listen some modern music. So did we.
But listeners in our country are basically fond of melodious tracks. So if it is melodious and you have something to say in a soft and trendy way, people normally accepts that. When asked, what do they think of this current trend of 'so-called alternative rock' which at present gained a bit of popularity, they commented, "we think this sort of music is for a limited number of listeners. As a race, we are very romantic in nature and basically melody loving people in context of music. So it will always remain so. No one can just simply change it over-night, just by doing some personally biased and liked format, by introducing it in our taste for music. In contrast to that, the trend of soft-melodious rock will gain more popularity and spread through. And commercial songs are nothing so significant except the fact that it brings you money. We mainly give importance on a good lyric first, then comes tune and composition and at least presentation, because it's a total teamwork, isn't it?"
When asked why you guys are in music rather than doing any traditional business? Their answer was," At first we have to be satisfied with what we are doing, and then through our music we want to build some awareness among our listeners. We believe that, music is a very strong media to communicate mass people. About the senior musicians, their comments are, "Most of them has done a lot for the enrichment of our music, and we believe, they are doing quite well, still going strong. And in our coming days, we are planning to perform in open-air concerts and as well as in indoor concerts too."
What is their future plan besides these? They answered," Doing some more and bettermusic and staying alive in or listeners' heart. We don't want our listeners to jump into a conclusion after listening our tracks." When asked what would you guys do if you have to give-up music, their honesty answer was "If someone asks us to give it up, we think we will simply die, the joy of living will simply wither away." What makes you annoyed mostly? And they said "Any form of social discrimination. If we could, we would have stopped all sorts of social injustices that take place now a day. But it can be solve by us along."


Saatronga Saatjon - A band mix album of Tamal with difference

When there's a vacuum created by the so-called remix albums, everyone's enlighten and hopeful for a new mixed album "Saatronga Saatjon." Even among the show-biz people the album has been able to draw their attention. Seven popular singers of today's music arena have performed in this album. Popular singer Pothik Nabi says, "I've sings two songs which is very beautiful with good lyrics and tune." Pantho Kanai has sung two songs. He says, "there is a song of rain that will take your breath away. Sanjib Chowdhury of Dalchut says "I normally do not perform in mixed albums but in this case the tune attracted me, so I've performed. Likely expectation for the other co-stars Partho, Sumon. Duray, and Tamal. With twelve songs holding this album has been tuned and composed by Tamal, who has started his music career through the Band "Tirthok." For the past ten years Tamal has played keyboards and piano in many bands, mix and solo albums. Of many blockbuster albums Tamal was the magician. Although 'Saatronga Saatjon' is Tamal's first mix album as a music director, but he has also his debut album "Telephone" which was able to attract listeners of-course. In this 'Saatronga Saatjon' most of the songs (nine) written by famous column writer and journalist Ahsan Kabir and one song blend from the poem of Palash Mahbub. Other songs written by Golam Murshed, Tarik Mahmud and Srabon. This album is released by G-series and marketed by Gitanjoly.

On 11 July (Friday), opening ceremony of "Saatronga Saatjon" will be held at Fantasy Kingdom. From the evening you can catch the seven those popular singers at Fantasy Kingdom. You also wondering that you might collect autograph, photo of them by buying CD. Another great offer from G-series that if you bye one CD you will get a VCD (music video) free. The final attraction is the live performance of those singers, which will be started from 8 PM and music lovers you can head banging with them. So will you miss it?


Jack Nicholson

Actor, screenwriter, producer, director. Born John Joseph Nicholson, on April 22, 1937, in Neptune, New Jersey. After graduating from high school in New Jersey at age 17, Nicholson moved to Los Angeles, where he got a job as an office boy at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) film studio. He made his film debut in the 1958 thriller The Cry Baby Killer, produced by cult filmmaker Roger Corman.
Over the next decade, Nicholson would appear in a string of low-budget B-movies, ranging from horror films (1960's The Little Shop of Horrors, 1963's The Raven, and 1963's The Terror, all directed by Corman) to Westerns (1966's The Shooting). He also began a short-lived screenwriting career, penning the scripts for the political thriller Thunder Island (1963) as well as two of his starring features, including Ride the Whirlwind (1966) and Flight to Fury. In 1968, he co-wrote and co-produced (with Bob Rafelson) Head, a comedic fantasy romp starring the boyish pop band The Monkees.
During the 1970s, Nicholson attained A-list status in Hollywood, making a number of very different films and continuing to elude definition with an array of complex performances. In 1971, he appeared opposite Candice Bergen in the Mike Nichols-directed drama Carnal Knowledge; he also starred in Rafelson's crime drama The King of Marvin Gardens (1972) and earned his second Best Actor Oscar nod for The Last Detail (1973). His star rose even higher in 1974 with his starring role as Los Angeles private detective Jake Gittes in Roman Polanski's acclaimed film noir Chinatown, written by Robert Towne and co-starring Faye Dunaway and John Huston. The film netted Nicholson his third nomination for Best Actor and elevated him from an acclaimed cult favorite to one of America's most well-known actors.
By that time, Nicholson had begun a romantic relationship with Huston's daughter, Anjelica, an actress and the third generation of a famous Hollywood family. They soon become one of the most prominent couples in Hollywood, endlessly scrutinized by the media and seen as the perfect blend of class, talent, and cool.
Nicholson finally took home Oscar gold in 1975 for his portrayal of mental patient Randle McMurphy in Milos Forman's acclaimed drama One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. In addition to Nicholson's Best Actor statue, the film scored four other major awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (Louise Fletcher), and Best Adapted Screenplay. The film marked the high point of Nicholson's career during the 1970s. He went on to make several poorly received films in the latter half of the decade, including the 1976 Western The Missouri Breaks, co-starring Marlon Brando, and a film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's final novel, The Last Tycoon (1976), starring Robert De Niro.


Nicholson kicked off the 1980s with a manic, sometimes terrifying performance as a novelist driven insane in Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation of Stephen King's novel The Shining. Aside from such critical disappointments as The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981) and The Witches of Eastwick (1987), co-starring Cher, Susan Sarandon, and Michelle Pfeiffer, Nicholson won enormous acclaim throughout the next 10 years. He earned an Oscar nomination for his supporting role in Reds (1981), starring Warren Beatty (who also wrote and directed the film) and Diane Keaton. In 1983, Nicholson took home his second Academy Award, this time for Best Supporting Actor, for his portrayal of the womanizing ex-astronaut Garrett Breedlove in Terms of Endearment, starring Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger. He garnered two more Oscar nods for Best Actor for Prizzi's Honor (1985) and Ironweed, co-starring Meryl Streep. Other films included Heartburn, also with Streep, and Broadcast News, starring Albert Brooks, William Hurt, and Holly Hunter.
In 1989, a gleefully wicked Nicholson appeared as The Joker in Tim Burton's blockbuster hit Batman, co-starring Michael Keaton and Kim Basinger. Nicholson's merchandising deal for the movie reportedly helped net him close to $50 million. The next year, Nicholson had considerably less success with The Two Jakes, a sequel to Chinatown that he produced, directed, and starred in alongside Harvey Keitel and Meg Tilly.
After working for a total of only two weeks on the set of A Few Good Men (1992), Nicholson scored an Oscar nomination for his supporting role as the menacing Marine colonel Nathan Jessup. His buzz far eclipsed that of the film's heavy-hitting stars, Tom Cruise and Demi Moore. That same year, Nicholson starred as teamster leader Jimmy Hoffa in Hoffa, directed by Danny DeVito. He later reteamed with Michelle Pfeiffer in the thriller Wolf (1994) and starred with Anjelica Huston in Sean Penn's little-seen directorial debut, The Crossing Guard (1995).
The 1997 comedy-drama As Good As It Gets marked a major resurgence for Nicholson, whose performances many critics thought had begun to seem like a caricature of his earlier roles. The film, written and directed by James L. Brooks (Terms of Endearment), starred Nicholson as the obsessive-compulsive novelist Melvin Udall, an immensely unlikable man who is forced to come to terms with his own faults while falling in love with a long-suffering waitress and single mother, played by Helen Hunt. Both Nicholson and Hunt won Academy Awards for their performances, bringing the total number of Nicholson's Oscars to threewith 11 nominations, he trails only Katharine Hepburn and Streep, who both have 12.
In 2000, Nicholson starred in The Pledge, his second collaboration with actor-director Penn. Two years later, Nicholson became an Oscar contender once again for his tour-de-force role in Alexander Payne's About Schmidt. He earned a Golden Globe for his portrayal of a man forced to deal with an ambiguous future as he faces retirement. In 2003, he starred opposite Adam Sandler in the hit comedy Anger Management.
Aside from his impressive acting career, Nicholson has also made headlines for the goings-on in his personal life. In 1974, after researching a cover story on the actor for Time, a reporter informed Nicholson that the woman he had thought was his mother (the late Ethel May Nicholson) was actually his grandmother. His mother, June Nicholson, was the person he had known as his older sister; she had died of cervical cancer in the early 1960s, at the age of 43.
Nicholson has also repeatedly made news on account of lawsuits filed against him. In 1996, he was sued for breach of contract by former lover Susan Anspach (his costar in Five Easy Pieces), with whom he allegedly had a son, Caleb. Automobile accidents in 1994 and 1999 both resulted in legal action against Nicholson; after the 1994 incident, he was charged with misdemeanour and assault after using a golf club to smash the windshield of a car whose driver he believed had cut him off.
His tumultuous 17-year relationship with Huston ended in 1989, when she learned he had fathered a child with Rebecca Broussard, a former waitress who appeared in The Two Jakes. Nicholson and Broussard's on-again-off-again romance lasted until the late 1990s and produced two children, Lorraine and Raymond. Nicholson has another daughter, Jennifer, from his four-year-long marriage to the actress Sandra Knight during the 1960s. In 1999, Nicholson began dating Lara Flynn Boyle, an actress best known to audiences from her role on the popular television show The Practice.
Nicholson lives on an estate in Los Angeles.

 

 

 

 

Bangladeshi Websites

Solitary Sniper

Not so long ago I had written a report mentioning some Bangladeshi websites. I hope you took some time visiting them and also that you did like them. I also promised to write again if I found some more websites like the ones that I had mentioned earlier. And now, just then you thought it was safe to open RS again, I am back with more deshi web news ! If you did visit the websites I mentioned the last time around, I hope you will also give a shot at the websites that I feature today. If you did not check out those sites mentioned earlier, I strongly recommend you do so. The sites really are not all that bad, and they do give you a chance of getting into a forum and exchange views with other people in the country, something that few other sites can do.
Anyway, let's get down to the facts. www.colorsofbangladesh.com is a monthly e-magazine. The organizers of the website call it an event magazine. Such magazines are rather common in other parts of the world but this is the first of its kind in Bangladesh. The organizers plan on presenting this website just like a monthly magazine and will include all sorts of information and articles that paper magazines feature. In addition to that, the magazine will include regular columns directed towards foreigners who are planning on visiting Bangladesh places to stay in, places to visit, entertainment, trends, fashions and stuff like that. The site is neat in terms of graphics and presentation.
Probably the most popular among Bangladeshi websites are those that deal with music or even offer download of Bengali songs. One of the most popular among such sites is www.ganerbhubon.net. They have an MP3 download section that offers not only band songs but also classics, folk songs and even Tagore and Nazrul songs. They also have the facility to listen to songs online, although it is probably not an option for the people of Bangladesh. Besides the music sections, they also have e-cards, music videos, song lyrics, artist profiles, Bengali ring tones for your cell phone and the facility to send Bengali SMS. As you can see, there is something in this site for everyone.
I guess that will be all for today. Wasn't very big was it? I am afraid that is an indication of the dearth of Bangladeshi sites that can be mentioned as being worth a visit. Nevertheless, it is evident that the number of Bangladeshi sites are increasing day by day. Although many of them follow what is essentially the same pattern, it is still a positive sign. Here's hoping that the number of websites designed and managed by our own people keeps increasing and that we get to see more and more different types of websites.


Waltzing the Web

By Synergie

Howdy folks! Summer vacations have kicked in for everybody. Exams are over and afterwards… there's nothing to do?! Well, what happened to that r-e-a-l-l-y long list that you scribbled up in your mind of ' "to do's" after exam'? I remember my list consisted of installing XP. Actually, it was on my list last year too, but I simply never got around to it. Well, now instead of remorse, I'm quite glad I didn't. Why?
A TOUCH ON MICROSOFT XP:
It's because Microsoft has admitted that its Windows XP1 service pack causes some programs to function drastically slower (up to 10 times slower). The programs the memory management glitch affects are those that repeatedly swap large sums of memory data. As one would expect, there is a fix for this problem, however it is not so easy to get as Microsoft wants concerned users to first contact its Product Support Services, as system testing may be needed. Unless there are very noticeable slowdowns Microsoft recommends users to wait for SP2 for a full fix. But can such a small glitch compare to the other amenities that XP provides. No way! My grapes are still sour.
DESKTOP THEMES:
There's this great site I came across the other day that displays an assortment of cool and cute screensavers you can download. The site is-
http://themes.tucows.com/
You'll surely want to look at this site because it has a frame for Matrix Reloaded. Here are two other sites where you can get more desktop treats:
http://www.cdxpo.com/
http://www.a1b2c3.com/free/
DICTIONARIES:
www.cup.cam.ac.uk/elt/dictionary
This Cambridge University site has five English dictionaries including English, American English, Idioms, Phrasal Verbs and a Learners dictionary…all free! And another thing, this stuff is really good.
FOR CHARITY: www.mandopolis.com
Its true that being charitable is expensive. There have been so many times when you wished you could let those soft corners of your heart flow out in the form of pennies. Well, surprisingly here's a way of giving money to charity at no costs to you. A little disbelieving? Then check out how it's possible. For every e-card you send to the mandopolis.com site, their sponsor sends 2p's to the charity you choose. So simple but so considerate. So send a card and show those people in need that you really care.
Well guys, that'll be all for today. See ya next week. Until then, live life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 
 

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