Tuesday, November 8, 201 1 I TechNews RYAN KAMPHU IS ae @tech newsiit.com 5 ‘Batman: Year One' ‘Ceremonials' falls flat By Erik Johnson STAFF WRITER Batman: Year One is a newly released film in the DC Comics Animated Universe (DCAU) and joins the ranks of Gotham Knight, Under the Red Hood, and many other mature animated titles from DC These made for DVD animated films have been consistently great and consistently superior to the animated films that the competing Marvel comics has released (excluding, perhaps, Hulk vs Wolverine) Year One is a retelling of the story arc of the same name by comics legend Frank Miller When released, Miller’s reimagining of Batman rocked the comics world It was gritty, nasty, and dark , and people loved it Year One became a highly influential work and aspects of it can be seen in many pieces of Batman media including Christopher Nolan’s recent Batman blockbusters This animated release of Year One is true to the comic, nearly panel for panel This is good, since comic fans are easily upset if a reimagining “defiles” their favorite work or heroI However, the panel for panel retelling is almost a little boring , if one were to read the comic and see the film in close proximity, there’d be little difference Considering the quality and significance of the original story arc, it’s still a really enjoyable film, there’s just nothing particularly new That’s not to say that the DCAU Year One is without merit It’s really well animated, and the animation brings the art of the comic to life, creating a really stark and brooding atmosphere The film features a star studded voice cast as well Eliza Dushku voices Catwoman, but perhaps most significant is Bryan Cranston’s performance as Commissioner Jim Gordon Cranston, known for his performances in Breaking Bad and Malcolm in the Middle, is fantastic as always Overall, this is definitely a film worth checking out, particularly if one isn’t familiar with the source Either way, Batman; Year One, is a tasteful and faithful rendering of the original plot am By Ryan Kamphuis A&E EDITOR Most people have heard Florence + the Machine at some point, even if they didn’t realize it The band, led by frontwoman Florence Welch, has enjoyed lots of mainstream success after the release of their 2009 album, “Lungs," with some of their songs being featured on popular TV shows such as “Gossip Girl,’ ' “Skins: ' and “Community" Florence + the Machine just released their sophomore effort, “C eremonials," in the US on November II Resisting pressure from her producers and record label, Welch worked to maintain her artistic integrity with “Ceremonials,” attempting to make a better version of “Lungs" as opposed to working with American pop music writers to create a new direction for her band When listening to “Ceremonials,” it is evident that Welch achieved her vision of improving upon “Lungsi” The hooks, overpowering vocals, and soulful style that made Florence + the Machine achieve fame are back in full force onthis new album It’s actually too much for me The strength of Welch as a singer is her ability to belt out almost anything, but that’s all she does with “Ceremonialsf' The album seems to be one long scream, as Welch belts each song Nothing is slow, nothing is reserved There are no ballads, onlyloud beltingi That seems to be what people want to hear, though, as any singer who can hold a high note for a few seconds is lauded as one of the best The album has its high points The track “Shake It Out" is a rocking anthem that oozes adrenaline and driver It’s exciting and fires up anyone listening to it The problem is that while “Shake It Out" is one of the best tracks on the album, that’s not because it is different from the rest of the tracks on the albumiit merely takes the formula that the rest of the songs on the album follow and does it with a little more zeal Ultimately, “Ceremonials” is only good in small doses It is easy to admire the strength of songs lyrics and the power of Welch’s voice when you onlylisten to a few tracks But, if you ever try to listen to “Ceremonials” as a whole, it loses all of its good qualities and eventually degenerates into track after track of shrill singing lndieRoyale website brings alternative packages to gamers By Erik Johnson STAFF WRITER Distribution of indie games using alternative pricing schemes has become quite popular in the last couple years Perhaps most widely known is the Humble Indie Bundle, which has facilitated the reareleases of many quality games at “pay what you like" pricingi Now, a new site, lndieRoyale (wwwiindieroyalei com) is doing something similar Opening with the “Launch Bundle" (which contains AIRIEISI Extinction Agenda, Gemini Rue, Sanctum, and Ninbus), lndieRoyale operates on a pricing model that differs even from the newly popular “pay what you like" Users of lndieRoyale participate in sales sensitive pricingI A bundle begins with a cheap price, in this case $199 and as copies are sold, the price of the bundle increasesI Users that beat the average price get a special thank you, and users that meet certainpricing benchmarks actually lower the price by a penny each time they pay more The purchased games are made available via direct download, as well as the optionto tie them to digital distribution services Steam and the indie/mod friendly Desurai Only time will tell how successful lndieRoyale is , hopefully users contribute and support the indie gaming sceneI Master of Science Financial Engineering The MSFE Program at the University of Illinois announces in—state scholarships. 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