A soldier's story

@ Rroken Ground by Jack
Hodgins, McClelland &
Stewart, 339 Pages,
$29.99,

THEY fought to survive
the battles of World War I
and rerurned home expect-
ing gratitude from a gov-
ernment that had asked so
much of them.

For some the promise of a
new beginning on Vancouver
Island was the chance to get
back to the simple lite many
had fost. What they found
Were parcels of land covered
in “stumps saller than any
nian” adand that rejected
their auempts co cultivate it.

In Broken Ground, Jack
Hodgins tells a story of one
such soldier's setrlement.
The catalyst for much of the
action is Wyatt Taylor who
rode into their midst one day
on horseback, having come
all the way from Owen
Sound in Ontario. Taylor is
the spark for much of the
action, from his unrequited
love for one woinan to his
skill with dynamite, fie arous-
es curiosity in everyone.
Hodgins slowly draws us into
their lives using the view-
points of numerous charac-
ters to paint a full portrait of
the setrlement.

VIDEO GAMES =

Flashy remake
of a classic

Playstation: Asteroids
(Activision)

The original less-is-more
concept is still there, cleverly
hidden by this new-age “more
is more” concept of gameplay.
It suffers a whole lot of terribly
trifling wveaks, There are a
variety of ships but you only
need one with so basic a
premise. There are gooty
power-ups which floac by
every few seconds and give
players an opportunity to go
smart-bomb-crazy many times
per screen, which takes no skill
at all. Both shicld and hyper-
space-escape are available,
though shields absorb rather
than deflect and rarely allow
you to carcen skillfully offa
boulder at full thrust so clever
and skillful evasion tactics
aren’t possible. Hyperspace
still sucks. Bummer. And final-
ly, with all the colourful tire-
power and nicely rendered
explosions and what-not, you
can’t sec the trees for the for-
est of flashy fireworks.

Suill, it's Asteroids. 1 love
Asteroids. I can’t hate this
game in spite of my better
judgment. It’s an overworked,
frivolous, flashy remake of a
classic game renowned for its
marvelous simplicity. Oh well.
It’s still Asteronds, OK rental.
Great purchase.

Who says cheaters never
win?

Asteroids. Play through
level 15 of the first mission
and a green vector-beam-like
asteroid appears. Destroy it to
unJock the hidden “classic”
version of Asteroids.

— Shaun Contin

Top Rentals:

1. Zelda: Ocarina of Time
(N64)

2. Tomb Raider HI (PSX/PC)
3. Thief: The Dark Project
(PC)

4. Railroad Tycoon I (PC)

5, Carmageddon [i (PC)
Sponsored by: InterAction
Computer Entertainment, 120
Ease 3rd St., North Van.,

amww.gameaction.com>.

Just as their country ficed
the horrors of a World War,
so did this community fee a
disaster of such enormity that
no lite would be unaffected.
Their story is one tall of
bravery, detear, hope and
travedy.

— Terry Peters

4a Coals

: Hi Potency 3
B Complex

y isa. 8 Cape ule

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een ene eianieni

Friday, January 15, 1999 — North Shore News — 15

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