Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • Page 60

Tempo i 8 Section 5 Chicago Tribune, Thursday, January 29, 1998' NW Screens Great addition for PlayStation VIDEO CHARTS VIDEO GAMES Final Fantasy Tactics "Beat Girl" offers thrills in the great tradition of "untamed youth" films. The cast includes Oliver Reed (left), an uncredited actress, Gillian Hills, Adam Faith. By Peter Bartholow Special to the Tribune Final Fantasy Tactics for Sony PlayStation ($50) is the first of many Final Fantasy spinoffs to arrive in the U.S. Developed by Quest, the team responsible for the strategy classic Ogre Battle, Tactics is an amazing addition to Squaresoft's most cherished series. Boiled down, Tactics is Final Fantasy for the control freak.

In battle, players guide each soldier individually, strategically positioning them and choosing their attacks. Between fights, players customize their army with 15 character classes and an enormous arsenal of spells, attack techniques and materiel. The level of detail is so great that the most experienced players will feel overwhelmed at times. Final Fantasy Tactics is definitely not for the gamer looking for a quick kick; strategy gaming veterans probably will log in excess of 50 hours before completing this addictive quest. Players command the hero of The beat Resident Evil 2 a chilling winner Lion Wars and must help his army save the world from an evil empire that plans to enslave the world using ancient magic.

Due to the game's strategic nature, Tactics' story is far more political than that of previous Final Fantasy games but still retains the powerful magic and villains that helped the series become so popular. Aesthetically, Tactics is on par with its more traditional cousin, Final Fantasy 7. A visual smorgasbord, Tactics sports lushly textured 3-D terrain, smoothly animated Anime-style characters and cruelly entrancing spell effects. Final Fantasy Tactics is the kind of life-devouring game the PlayStation needed and mostly went without for its first two years on the market. Think you're up to the challenge? Suitable for ages 13 and up.

Overall: gameplay; sound: graphics: VIDEO GAMES Resident Evil 2 disc game twice, once as Clair and once as Leon. Decisions made in one game will affect the way the game is played with the other character. For example, if Leon chooses not to pick up an hidden object, Clair will be able to use it. Otherwise, she may not have access to it. All hidden items will be in different locations in the second game and more of the story will be revealed.

Impressive graphics and a compelling storyline give Resident Evil 2 an interactive horror film look. Augmenting the realism, characters limp, stumble and cringe from wounds, making it much more difficult for them to flee lurking mutant monsters. It is refreshing to see that Capcom, the creative force behind the Resident Evil series, devoted extra effort to creating a new gaming experience most gamers won't want to miss. Nagiko (Vivian Wu, left) and the caligrapher in Peter Greenaway's "The Pillow Book." Jan. 29-Feb.

4 new releases Reviews by Michael Wilmington (release dates are subject to change) Branded to Kill Tokyo Drifter Two from Japanese crime director Seijun Suzuki: "Branded" is his 1967 yakuza noir masterpiece about dueling hit men. "Drifter" is a high-style gangster thriller. (Home Vision) No MPAA rating Confidential Report Mr. Arkadin The preferred longer version of one of director-writer-star Orson Welles' most fascinating and neglected films: his 1955 thriller about international intrigue and politics. (Home Vision) No MPAA rating Excess Baggage Awful Alicia Silverstone comedy about love on the run between nasty rich girl and her accidental kidnapper (Benicio De! Toro).

(Columbia TriStar) PG-13 Gang Related Vi James Belushi and Tupac Shakur in a crooked cop movie with a convoluted, tricked up script. (Orion) G.I. Jane Vi Ludicrous Demi Moore star vehicle: Dynamic Demi goes through SEALs training, then on a commando raid in Libya. A losing battle for director Ridley Scott. (Buena Vista) Hercules Vi Packed with Olympian delights, snapping with wisecracks, this is one of the funniest of all recent Disney cartoon features.

(Buena Vista) The Pillow Book yI Another elaborate and provocative aesthetic game from Britain's Peter Greenaway: calligraphy, eroticism and murder. (Columbia TriStar) NC-17 Also available this week Double Suicide (Home Vision) The Fencing Master (New Yorker) Fish Soup (Facets) Gang Boys (Spectrum Films) High Crusade PG-13 (Raven Releasing) Odd Obsession (Home Vision) Oriane Vi (Facets) Wild Horses (New Yorker) Compiled by Heather M. Lajewski By Michael McGehee Tribune Staff Writer Dark times have once again fallen on Raccoon City. After experiencing a biomedical disaster that turned hundreds of people at a nearby research facility into blood-thirsty zombies, a new, more deadly virus has been released in the city. So the story begins in Resident Evil 2 (Sony PlayStation, $60), the sequel to the groundbreaking megahit Resident Evil.

Players piust unravel the mysteries surrounding the virus release and the conspiracy to keep the incident a secret. This time, investigating the gruesome events are Clair Redfield, who has come to the city to find her missing brother, and rookie cop Leon Kennedy. Starting out with only a pistol, the characters must look for survivors while searching for new weapons and hidden passageways. To understand what caused the contamination of Raccoon City, players need to complete the two- the groove of a nation Cliff Richard stars as Bongo Herbert in "Expresso Bongo." ON VIDEO "Expresso Bongo" "Beat Girl" daughter and art student. She's "the crazy one," who hangs out with beatniks (described as "a gimmick from Americahopeless and and sneaks out at night to a subterranean jazz club.

When she learns that her hated new French stepmother was once a stripper, Jennifer flirts with joining the performers at the local grindhouse (whose routines earned this "Continental" version of the film, never before seen in the U.S., the British equivalent of an rating). The offbeat casting includes Hammer Studios horror film legend Christopher Lee, Oliver Reed, and another British rock fave, Adam Faith, who states, "Only squares know where to go." Bongo" and "Beat Girl" retail for $24.95. To order call 800-562-3330. 54" Computer Desk Surge Protettor CPU Tower Space WMc Kevboard In Stock Light Finish Oak Hutch Top '299" Oak 2 Drawer File 199" Oak 3 Piece Wall Unit Holds up to 35" TV Tap storage and later lights Over all size Corner units not included in price It I I I Teen Vintage films capture By Donald Liebenson Special to the Tribune From the golden era of teenage exploitation films comes two vintage Brit beat classics, "Expresso Bongo" and "Beat Girl," available on the Kino on Video label. They've got rock royalty, "daddy-o" dialogue and strippers.

And you can dance to them. "Expresso Bongo" (1959) is Britain's answer to "Sweet Smell of Success," with Laurence Harvey in the Tony Curtis role as an ingratiating two-bit manager who sees pompadoured rocker Bert Rudge (Cliff Richard) as his ticket to the big time, but not before changing his name to "Bongo" Herbert It's fast-talking Harvey's show all the way. He gets this hard-boiled script's best riffs, such as, "It's a bastard world and I'm a fully paid member," and "The whole world loves a big agent, but a small one's anybody's whore." For rock aficionados, however, "Bongo" is of note for Richard, Britian's first king of pop who this year move over, Rolling Stones celebrates his 40th anniversary in show business. Richard, who was knighted two years ago, is largely unheralded in this country. But he and his band, the Shadows (who back Richard in the film's coffeehouse scenes), were an influence on the likes of Pete Townsend and Eric Clapton.

That Richard never broke through in the U.S. was a cautionary tale for John Lennon when The Beatles first pondered a tour here. "Beat Girl" (1960), also known as "Wild for Kicks," offers more illicit thrills in the great tradition of "untamed youth" films. Gillian Hills (later featured in Michelangelo Antonioni's stars as Jennifer, a sullen millionaire's Extra rK'- t- Itr' StOCK" i v' Rte. 22 uTy rw 5 wP This is Vcur Chance to See the Latest Florida Lifestyle Hrends! Considering making Florida living a part of your future? Then don't miss the Florida Lifestyle Expo.

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