Tears, screams, and rumors. Yes, Bravo’s popular reality show, Vanderpump Rules returned on Monday, Nov. 7 for its fifth season, and certainly without a shortage of drama. I’m typically a fan of reality shows; I find the scripted drama of “reality” to be entertaining, which is a quintessential quality of this series. However, the first episode was a mere disappointment, as looks the rest of the season.
From 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 4, MU’s college radio station, WMCX, celebrated national College Radio Day.
Indie survival games are an excellent option for consumers, particularly in terms of affordability; however, with the recent No Man’s Sky debacle, some might be feeling a little wary of the indie games market. No Man’s Sky, and indie/survival title, turned out to be an excellent example of all that’s wrong with the indie games market; the game was incredibly overpriced, it released in an under-developed state, and it employed deceptive marketing strategies. Steam has actually changed its store policy as a result of No Man’s Sky; there is a new rule that screenshots must represent footage captured in-game. Despite the disaster that was No Man’s Sky, consumers should not allow themselves to be turned off of the indie market by a single game. There are a number of other titles that offer both affordable prices and immersive gameplay of survival sims.
Anyone who’s ever played the board game Risk would understand the basic premise of Civilization VI gameplay, and that of 4X strategy games in general. Civilization VI (or Civ VI) is the latest entry in the Civilization series of videogames. Like its predecessors, it belongs to the 4X subgenre of strategy games. In a 4X strategy game, the player is put in charge of a faction which they control through turn-based gameplay. Typically the goal of this is advancement/development of the faction despite competition from other factions. In the case of Civilization VI, players control a nation, like America or India, as a historical figure/leader, such as Teddy Roosevelt or Gandhi. What sets Civ VI and most other 4X games apart from Risk is the amount of overlapping in-game systems, which add complexity to the title.
Since the birth of rap and hip-hop, hyper-masculinity has been a constant trend, bleeding through the majority of songs under the genre. But in 2016, several rappers are starting to go against the gender norms that the culture of rap and hip-hop has created.
The Center for the Arts at Monmouth University has announced that tickets are now on sale for an Nov. 13 concert featuring the one of the greatest bands in Country music, Grammy winners Shenandoah, hosted in Pollak Theatre. Part of the 2016-2017 Performing Arts Series, the 7 p.m. concert is one of several fall events presented under a special partnership between the University and the L.A.-based Grammy Museum.
Fifty years ago, Bob Dylan released his album Blonde on Blonde, and it’s still just as epic today. So, on Tuesday, Oct. 25, the University’s Record Club celebrated this anniversary and hosted its second album review of the year at 7:30 in Pollak Theatre.
Monmouth seems to be the home of many talented students, and I had a chance to talk with sophomore and music industry student, Tyler Robinson, also known by his stage name “Teddy,” who has become a popular musician amongst the students of the University. He’s performed at several campus events and will be performing at the school pep rally Oct. 28.
“If it was possible for me to feel anything, I would totally be sobbing right now,” said Chanel #3 (Billie Lourd), which unfortunately reflects my attitude towards this season of FOX’s Scream Queens.
Mobile games, such as ones on cell phones, have somewhat of a bad reputation, and in my opinion, largely deserve it. Mobile games are plagued by the pay-to-win business model that typically results in the death of PC or console games. Unfortunately, this model has somehow managed to thrive on mobile devices. What exactly pay-to-win is and why it should be avoided is something that every mobile gamer needs know. If you know what to look out for it is quite possible to enjoy quality games on your cellphone, specifically iPhones, even if the deck is stacked against you.