JackCentral

These days, video games are often anything but. The medium has evolved from an experience defined solely by gameplay into a thematic vehicle that values storytelling, audio and visual ambiance. Games now provide their audiences with a truly unique form of media by blending storytelling with interactivity.
However, despite this growth and evolution, the true nature of games is still fervently debated.
One of the biggest debates regarding this issue is whether or not games can be…

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With finals around the corner, things can become pretty stressful. Before all-nighters, group projects and final exams leave you feeling exhausted and in much need of entertainment, you might want to check out National Lampoon’s Web site for some refreshing videos.
National Lampoon is known for their hilarious movies and other comedic forms of entertainment. The Web site, http://nationallampoon.com, features videos parodying everyone from Britney Spears to Michael Vick. In one video, a rather large man…

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We come to the end of a long and winding semester. I hope somewhere in our scholarly travels this semester I have convinced you to crack open a friendly book. I look forward to summer because, well, that is when I finally get time to read, because, well, I am tremendous dork.
Hopefully, you too are looking forward to a little one-on-one time with a paged friend. I find summer a great time to indulge in…

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Black Orchid is a local, four-piece metal outfit characterized by harsh vocals, detuned guitars and primal beats. With influences ranging from Lamb of God to the Deftones, the group’s aggressive live show often prompts audience members to flail about in a whirl of moshing and run-your-friends-over circle pits.
The band consists of Matt Babcock (vocals/bass), Ryan Smith (guitar/drums), Steven Haigh (guitar) and Ryan Buckley (drums). Together, the quartet has played around the Flagstaff area, including shows…

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For the past 11 years the Northern Arizona Book Festival has promoted literature and literacy in northern Arizona through readings by local and visiting authors, and by hosting writing workshops and writing-related panels.
The festival continued to regale Flagstaff with exciting readings by distinctive writers, and this year’s festival, held on Friday, April 25 and Saturday, April 26, was no exception.
Guest authors at this year’s festival included Dorothy Allison and Tim Seibles.
Dorothy Allison, author of Bastard…

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“A man goes to the movies. The critic must be honest enough to admit that he is that man.” — Robert Warshow, The Immediate Experience
As a film critic, I watch a lot of movies. I have a collection of about 300 movie tickets since Spider-Man came out in 2001. That’s approximately $2,550 spent for some 600 hours of movie watching in a theater. This doesn’t take into account my weekly DVD rentals and purchases, repeat…

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And so it is: the shorter story. No love, no glory. I could just have Damien Rice provide the narrative for all that I mean to say in this, my final segment of “CheekShots,” but to be quite real with you, I am too talky a person to give up any chance for blab. Therefore, let’s have a straight-up, old-timey s***-shooting fest – one last one for the road.
Fortunately, this is a fine time for…

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Flagstaff, prepare to be rocked. Twenty-one local bands will be bringing their best to the stage for “Battle Royale,” the largest Battle of Bands ever held in this area.
Shan Dan Horan of ShanDan Studios is the mastermind behind this summer’s battle.
“Everyone complains that there’s not that much to do in Flagstaff,” Horan said. “I figured summer was starting, let’s have something huge happen.”
The bands will hit the stage, bringing their best rhythms and jams, in…

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This Saturday, Jeremy Credo of Flag Gamers and Daniel Dean helped organize a Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock tournament hosted by Arizona Music Pro (AMP), off of Route 66.
“I really wanted to tap into the enormous popularity of the Guitar Hero video game and try to transfer some of that excitement into an event that would expose these gamers to the realm of playing a real guitar,” said Lance Roederer, owner of AMP.
All sorts…

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The last time writer/director George Gallo was in Flagstaff, he was at a bar.
It was during the filming of his 1988 script, Midnight Run. He recalled, “I was with one of the actors, John Ashton. We were getting all tanked up in a bar right across the street from the train station. I was catching an overnight train home to L.A. I didn’t want to fly home, and I figured I’d just get drunk and…

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