Top 'Captain' will win a trip to London

Top 'Captain' will wina trip to London
Dedicated and talented video game players may just find themselves winging their way to jolly old England. The gamer with the highest score after the nationwide "Flying Legion Air Combat Challenge" tournament will win an all-expense paid trip to the London premiere of "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow."
The PC game is based on the "Sky Captain" film by writer-director Kerry Conran. Set in an alternate future reality, "Sky Captain" centers on the titular ace aviator Joseph Sullivan (Jude Law) who, with the help of reporter Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow), attempts to foil the evil Dr. Totenkopf's scheme to destroy the earth.
To enter the contest -- which runs till Sept. 13 -- gamers must first download the game from www.skycaptain.com.
Players will pilot a P-40 Warhawk through three levels, navigating through New York City streets and fighting off giant robots, the evil Flying Wings and mechanized aquatic creatures. The pilot with the best overall score -- achieved with the fastest time and most enemies killed or damaged -- will win the UK trip.
"Sky Captain," which also stars Giovanni Ribisi and Angelina Jolie, will open nationwide Sept. 17.
'Karaoke 2': You'veheard this one before
"Karaoke Revolution Volume 2" falls into that category of games that make you look (and in this case, sound) like a complete idiot. But you'll soon be having enough fun that you'll forget you're belting out "I Will Survive" in front of company.
Like the original, the second volume of "Karaoke" (Konami for PlayStation 2, rated E) asks you to sing along with a variety of songs while it tracks your rhythm and pitch. The 35-song catalog is all over the place in style, from Britney Spears to Kiss to Sting (though none seem to be performed by the original artists).
This game features the ability to sing both long and short versions of some songs, a quick play feature to jump right into the tunes, some new animated people and backgrounds to look at and a new medley mode that strings five songs together.
That last one is harder than it sounds, and for people without perfect pitch, hitting every note on any song -- even though the game doesn't care how high or deep your voice is on any tune -- can be a challenge.
Volume 2 offers a few more modes, some different graphics and a new collection of songs to sing, but it doesn't offer any truly significant improvements over the original.
Quote/Unquote
"I ask a lot of questions that most people would not ask. They would figure it out in their heads before they ask it." -- Singer Jessica Simpson, in J-14 magazine.
"A girlfriend took me to get a facial once. It was weird to have a person pushing on your skin for an hour. I suffered for a week with little red marks." -- Actor Jake Gyllenhaal ("The Day After Tomorrow & quot;), explaining a pet peeve, in TeenPeople.
"For 'Racing Stripes,' I got to film in South Africa for five months and ride a zebra and racehorses. My whole family and I got to go on a safari for a few days, and it was fabulous."-- Actress Hayden Panettiere ("Raising Helen"), describing her favorite filming location, in TeenPeople.
Site offers a previewof football video game
In the not-too-distant past, the world of football video games was divided between Electronic Arts' invincible Madden franchise and everyone else. The comparison wasn't even close; EA mopped the floor with the pretenders. But then in 2000, a true rival appeared on the scene, a game unafraid of Madden's genre-leading might. Year after year, the challenger began chipping away at mighty Madden until at last it stands toe to toe with the giant. In its latest form, ESPN NFL 2K5 is the only thing standing between Madden and total market domination. To see what this sports franchise brings to the battle, check out ESPN Videogames (www.espnvideogames.com).
ESPN Videogames features everything you need to know about this upstart challenger. Preview dozens of screen shots from live game play.
Rock band at High Pointe
Echo student ministries will present local rock band Gates Called Beautiful, with guest speaker Konan Stephens, at High Pointe Church, 5716 Struthers Road, Sunday at 6 p.m. Admission is free for pupils in grades seven through 12. There will be prizes.