lifestyles

Once in a while we get a pretty good video game crop. We'll have about three months when all the fancy blockbuster titles will come out, and you only buy one of them because you are a college student and software costs outrageous amounts of money unless it is older than you are, in which case the graphics probably amount to colored bricks powered by the ghosts of dead development studios.

Luckily for you, though, I have entirely too much free time and have decided to do a round-up of the most important games released this season. They are not important based on any kind of issue like "whether or not you will have fun playing them" or anything good like that, but rather because nerds have a surprising habit of latching onto things that they have no firsthand experience with and cling to it like it's the life-raft that will prevent them from dying. Here’s the scoop on the three most hyped games of "that period of winter right before December" 2009.

"Dragon Age: Origins" is the newest Bioware release, whose voice actor cast is made up of B-rated sci-fi movie actors and half the cast of the "Lord of the Rings" movie. Being a Bioware release, you can expect it to have the exact same characters as everything else Bioware/Black Isle has ever made. If you've played "Knights of the Old Republic," "Jade Empire," "Baldur's Gate" or "Planescape: Torment" you already know everyone that will accompany you on your journey, and if you've played KOTOR you've probably heard the voice actors already too.

It's also like every other Bioware game in that it's an incredibly good game that's fun to play and will suck your life away as you sit at the edge of your seat wondering what is going to happen next. Fox news went crazy criticizing Bioware’s last game, “Mass Effect” for it’s homosexual options and if this game isn't on Fox News being criticized for supporting homosexuality then I’m pretty sure Rupert Murdoch is actually in torpor.

I don't watch network TV, but apparently the rest of you have been subjected to ad after ad with advertising "Borderlands." This was hyped up because it was supposed to be the "done right" version 2008's "Hellgate: London" which was the exact same thing only the developers managed to scam thousands of people out of 300-dollar "lifetime subscriptions" that lasted an entire month before they sold the whole thing to Korean gaming companies and went on to get real jobs. "Borderlands" does a good job at delivering on the promise "Hellgate" offered.

Unfortunately, "Borderlands," which is meant to be played co-operatively, somehow managed to make it so only eight or so people out of the thousands that bought it could actually host a game over the Internet. This means that if you get the PC version, you have to sell your soul to some company like Gameranger or Gamespy Comrade in order to even play with other people. Furthermore, if you have the Xbox 360 version people with modded Xboxes can hack your savegames and fixing it voids your warranty. This is unfortunate because the game has an incredible art style and an excellent sound-track.

Finally, "The Void" was also released. It's by a Russian company called bitComposer, who made the critically-acclaimed arthouse game "Pathologic," which was known for being soul-cripplingly depressing and confusing. "The Void" is supposed to be an even more imaginative arthouse horror game, but there's not quite any horror, unless you are scared of painting naked women in bright colors.

The background is all black and bleak looking, and the "brothers" that hunt you down look like "Silent Hill's" Pyramid head done by people experimenting with Poser, but by the time they reach you they aren't frightening at all because you've spent the last hour painting six of their sisters’ naked bodies for reasons which are almost impossible to figure out due to the translation issues. If you like sipping cappuccino in coffee shops and talking about beat poetry then you would probably try to talk about this game, and I would hate you for it.

Those who visit the Columbus downtown area this holiday season will witness more lights, hear more drums marching in a parade and smell more cider.

Columbus is hoping to draw more people into the downtown area with the Wassail Fest and the Christmas Tree Lighting.

“There is a whole lot going on downtown [on Dec. 4],” Main Street Columbus Director Amber Brislin said. “Last year, we had over 1,000 people on the streets over the night, watching the Christmas Tree Lighting and visiting the local businesses during Wassail Fest. I’m hopeful we’ll get more this year.”

Last year, the two events were put on the same night and that will be continued this year. On Dec. 4, from 5 to 8 p.m., the 6th annual Wassail Fest will take over the local businesses, restaurants and bars. The Christmas Tree Lighting will take place at 6 p.m. during Wassail Fest at the Tennessee Williams Welcome Center.

Wassail Fest is a competition between the downtown businesses to see who can produce the best wassail, a spicy fruit cider. Participants will each receive scorecards, and if they score eight business’s cider, they are eligible to win a door prize. “The Front Door won last year,” Brislin said. “This year, with new businesses participating, like Huck’s, I feel like it is open.”

James Tsismanakis, executive director of the Columbus Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the Welcome Center will have fire pits and live music on the porch during this event.

The Christmas Tree Lighting centers around a 40-foot tall pine tree lit with over 1,000 lights, and there will also be entertainment, including the First United Methodist Church 40-member children’s choir. “They always put you into the Christmas spirit,” Brislin said.

On campus, the MUW Theater Department is gearing up for “A Christmas Pudding.” The play, by David Birney, will be performed, free to the public, on Dec. 3 and 4 at 7:30 p.m. at Cromwell. “The event vaguely resembles a program of Lessons and Carols,” Debra Atkinson, director of Choral Activities, said. “However, instead of the scripture readings that appear in a traditional Lessons and Carols service, there will be readings from some of the world's most famous authors that relate to Christmas and the holiday season interspersed with a beautiful selection of Christmas carols.”

Performers will be the MUW Chamber Choir and actors from campus will read the poetry, by authors such as Dickenson, Twain and Dickens.

The Columbus Arts Council is putting on a new event; Deck the Halls, which is a wreath auction and décor competition. Bidding and judging will take place from Dec. 1 to 4 and will culminate at the Wassail Fest at 7:45 p.m.

Rachel Hurt, executive director of the Columbus Arts Council, said the council gave 20 wreaths to interior designers, florists, gift shops, artists and others in the area. LINK’d Young Professionals selected businesses to compete in the décor competition. “Opening bids have not yet been determined,” Hurt said, “but we plan on having an event that is appealing and affordable to everyone.”

A Classical Ballet Holiday Gala is being hosted at Rent Auditorium at 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 6. The Saint Petersburg Classic Ballet Theater of Marina Medvetskaya will perform dances from Act II of “The Nutcracker” and two original pieces. “The Columbus Girls Choir will be singing holiday selections during intermission,” Hurt said. “It is sure to be an exciting event, and a fabulous way to kick off the holiday season.”

On Monday Dec. 7, downtown will be packed with over 100 floats, including several from the W, for the annual Christmas Parade. Tsismanakis said he and his children enjoyed it last year. “[The parade] is huge,” Tsismanakis said. “We are going to be in it for the first time. We are entering an English double decker bus, which will be used for tours. We’ll unveil it at the parade.”

Bethlehem will also be recreated at First Baptist Church’s parking lot, located at 202 7th Street North. Christmas Festival is an interactive village, with historically accurate food, costumes and 17 booths. “Come, register for the Roman census, and we will give you tokens that you pay your taxes with,” Bobby Sanderson, Minister of Music, said. “It is a very family friendly event and there will be interactive things for children: see the blacksmith making things, see pottery being made and merchants selling different trinkets at each booth.”

“If you want to find it, just look for the star on the steeple,” he added.

After winning the Mississippi Main Street Association’s “Best Special New Event” in the state, the New Year’s Eve Block Party is returning for a second year. The event costs $10, but promotions from the downtown restaurants and bars are available to anyone who has the party’s wristband. The event even features a ball drop at midnight, and Glenn Machine Works is building the ball this year.

Also at the New Year’s Eve Block Party will be a drawing for a cruise for two, which will be given away at midnight. “You would spend $10 to buy a raffle ticket to win that prize,” Brislin said. “We are the only town in the state that has a block party on New Years.

Brislin encourages everyone to come out and support the events of interest. “They are free, community, events that help make Columbus what it is,” Brislin said. “Come out and jump start your Christmas season.”