Uptown

22 October 25, 2012 UPTOWN Why bother? movies diversions Dishonoured offers plenty of choice and creativity but little to actually care about Gaming Guide Mel Stefaniuk ★★★ Dishonored Developed by Arkane Studios Published by Bethesda Softworks Rating:M Available nowfor the 360, PS3&PC Empress/magical assassin/dull-as- nails Corvo — whose name rivals only Torgo from Manos: The Hands daughter of the character you're sworn to protect is kidnapped and you're preparing to get her back, a character looks you straight in the eye and says, "She must mean a lot to you."It's asmallmoment but a key one, meant to trigger the emotional response that will drive your motiva- tion to guide your character through the entire game. Unfortunately, the words land with about the same impact as if someone had just asked you about the weather. Playing as the protector of the Early on in Dishonored, after the of Fate as the most brilliantly awful moniker of all time—you find your- self facing the titular predicament of being dishonoured after you're framed for the Empress' murder by power-hungry associates trying to steal the throne for themselves. Cor- vo isn't meant to be a temporary host as much as he's supposed to be you incarnate, a mute avatar whose actions are determined by how you play the game.If you seek vengeance through bloodshed on those who wronged you, the game's narrative takes a tone as dark as Corvo's behav- iour. If you play the game without killing a single soul, the repercus- sions of your actions on the tone of the story aremuch more positive. But therein lies the rub; Corvo game, therefore, are the most mech- anical of elements. The architecture of this Victorian-era city, for one example, is designed impeccably, allowing for multiple routes through each mission. The wide variety of mystical powers your character obtains is anotherexample, although these feelout of placeandcompletely her daughter which painted your relationship with them in only the broadest strokes—but rather, Corvo, an artificial character who holds all of the investment in the story. The distinction between first- and third- person storytelling is so muddled, it robs you of having any attachment to the events unfolding around you. All that's left to draw you into the arbitrary in the game's universe due to the disassociated nature of the narrative. Still, they allow for cool abilities such as possession, teleport- ation and—obviously—the power to summon a pack of man-eating rats. play around in, and the game excels when it's emphasizing choice and creativity in the ways you seek ven- geance. However, the botched nar- rative robs this freedom of any real meaning.Howcan your choicesmat- ter when your investment in this world is non-existent? Dishonored is a fun sandbox to Deadly Premonition, the polarizing Bits&Bytes survival horror game/campy Twin Peaks rip-off, will finally have its cult status affirmed with the release of Deadly Premonition: Director's Cut, a PS3-exclusive release due out in the first quarter of 2013. It promises updated graphics and controls, as well as new content which hopeful- ly strikes the same balance between genius and awfulness as the original game. tell the difference between Mario and Sonic. Teenage torment, then and now Amanda Todd's suicide prompts a reflection on cruelty and compassion Love Bites Sasha is a cypher made to be personified by your actions yet the game still treats him as his own unique char- acter with his own emotions and motivations. This creates a discon- nect between you and your avatar instead of the natural symbiosis the game is aiming for. When that character looks at you and says, "She mustmeana lot to you,"he's not ask- ing you — you've only had a single scene with both the Empress and A Classified Deadline Mondays 11:00 am Community Notices ........................100 Automotive ........................................200 Children ...............................................300 Merchandise.......................................400 Community Services ............500/600 Education/Employment ...............700 Real Estate ..........................................800 Recreation/Travel ............................900 Personals ...........................................1000 TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD: Email classifieds@canstarnews.com Phone (204) 697-7050 Fax (204) 953-4300 Please include name, address and phone number In person 1355 Mountain Ave Mon-Fri 8:30-4:30 pm Mail Canstar Community News Limited 1355 Mountain Ave,Wpg MB R2X 3B6 Payment When placing and ad, please remember: Check your ad the first day it appears, in the event of an error, please notify us immediately as we are responsible only for the first incorrect insertion. To ensure the integrity of our newspapers we reserve the right to reclassify, edit or refuse your ad. Canstar Community News Limited is careful to screen, to the best of our abilities, for inaccurate or misleading ads, however, consumers are advised to contact the Better Business Bureau at 989-9010 regarding concerns over particular ads placed by a business. Career Training Personal OSBORNE CENTRE TREAT YOURSELF CALL 786-1772 Personal 1003 Acupuncture &Massage 328 King St. Unit C M-S 11-7 504-9084 Sun 12-6 MISS J'AIMIE MASSAGE 293-5440 RELAXATION F/T Program. Student Loan Avail. www.TopActingSchool.ca Want To Be A Working Actor? 1003 702 more anxious I would have been with access to an international social forum on which to vol- untarily offer up my fragile self- image for demolition. There is no doubt in my mind that I would have been involved in the follow- ing activities had the Internet been available to me as a young teenage girl: 1. Being taunted mercilessly on a social-networking site for behaving like a weirdo 2. Bullying someone online for for how I felt than the alien that inhabits Edgar the farmer in the film Men in Black. Always slightly out of my skin, simmering with rage and fear. I remember (actual- ly, it's more appropriate to say I can never forget) approaching a small group of popular girls in school with this hot item: "My cousin has some playing I'd met in a chat room I have no better description being more of a loser than me 3. Showing my tits to a stranger to Billy Joel inmybedroom. I lived in terror of being exposed as a los- er. This terror manifested as look- at-me-just-please-look-at-me bra- vado. I became what I can only describe as a blooser — a bully loser. I walked the line between evil and less evil. I felt worthless. I tried to find worth the only way I knew how: by putting other children down and sucking up to those above me. I can only imagine how much t 12 years old, I was a bed- wetting, bucktoothed papergirl who lip-synched the cruel things people said and did to me, but I'll tell you what sits with me harder: the cruel things I did to other kids. I will never forget the pain I inflicted on a girl named Janet when I told her, with gleeful facetious- ness, in front of another group of girls I was trying desperately to impress, that she should be a way Amanda Todd was, I think I would have killed myself, too. This type of exposure, coupled with perpetual threats of more and more, forever, seems insur- mountable. It's the teen version of waterboarding. The difference is there is no way out.No amount of confessing or dignified silence will appease your tormentors.The only way out of this is to attempt to turn the attention elsewhere — to find another vessel for the bullying. I have not forgotten some of me for the first half of Grade 7. I became"the actual act" girl. These days, my gaffe probably would have earned me a brutal Face- book page, a zingy hashtag and undoubtedly some artfully photo- shopped pictures of my head on the body of a woman engaged in "the actual act." And who knows what else would have ensued when the witch hunt moved into full swing? Probably that guy I showed my tits to on the Duncan Yo-Yo lovers forum would have contributed an actual photo of my budding chest to the fray. If I had been persecuted the cards with people having sex on them." Followed by this natty little turn of phrase which I had rehearsed, eyebrow cocked, in front of my mirror the previous night: "The actual act." That was pretty much it for deliver newspapers, I write for them. I show strangers my tits for money and art. I soak my bed but now I do it with menopaus- al sweat. I lip sync to k.d. lang in my bedroom. What do I know? I know that whenever I've been mean in my life, even as a form of self-protection, it stays with me like a splinter inmyheart. It feeds a beast that I now know is fear —a beast that is only quieted by compassion, no matter how hard I fight with it. I still wrestle with being compassionate to those who have hurt or frustrated me. In the heat of the moment, being gentle feels like losing. When you have been a loser, losing is some- thing you fight hard against. When I get anxious I do this: www.thewildernessdowntown. com. It reminds me that everyone the potential to turn into peace and love in an almost magical way, cruelty is only ever repaid by cruelty. Either someone is cruel back or you have to live with the misery of your callous actions. Lessons you learn from it will always be accompanied by a sharp remembrance of the hor- rible moment. Thirty-two years later, I don't knows what loneliness feels like. It reminds me of the beautiful solidarity that can happen online and not the ugly malice that makes children want to die of shame. Questions? Comments? Contact Sasha at pouledeluxe@yahoo.com. model. I will never forget the sad- ness and humiliation on her face. Ever. My best and most humane moments will never erase that awful scene. Unlike kindness, which has PS3,PC);Need For Speed:MostWanted (360, PS3, PC, Vita); Lego Lord of the Rings (360, PS3,PC, Wii, Vita, DS). Mel Stefaniuk is a writer who can Oct. 30 — Assassin's Creed 3 (360, Upcoming Releases www.uptownmag.com classifieds

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