The James Logan Courier

By Billy O'Keefe
McClatchy-Tribune (MCT)

If selling games is a race, then "The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena" is a 100-meter sprinter with an eight-second head start. In a move that hopefully becomes a trend, developers Starbreeze and Tigon have included a remastered copy of "Athena's" prequel, "Escape From Butcher Bay," as bonus content.

"Bay" was incredible enough to command $50 on its own five years ago, and its approach to first-person stealth still feels fresh in its 2009 incarnation. Tigon and Starbreeze took an oft-inaccessible genre and made it immersive and exciting by nailing the control scheme and devising some ingenious means of communicating your ability to hide and remain hidden. It didn't hurt that the game's storyline and characters were more engaging than those found in the "Riddick" movie released around the same time.

By Dana Hull
San Jose Mercury News (MCT)

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Mike Maietta was eating lunch when he got a text message from his mom.

"Notre Dame," it said. "Big envelope!"

Mike, a senior in high school, whooped for joy. The big envelope meant the storied Catholic university in South Bend, Ind., had offered him a coveted slot in its Class of 2013. But the $51,300 annual price tag is a formidable obstacle. So Mike and his parents are considering offers from several other colleges and calculating the costs Cost of college, economic woes have high school seniors weighing options tuition, housing, holiday trips home.

By Jean Patteson
The Orlando Sentinel (MCT)

ORLANDO, Fla. — Forget dresses, ballrooms and music.

When it came to planning the prom at Mount Dora High School this year, "the first thing I thought about was the recession," said Marilyn Orr, the junior-class sponsor.

"I thought, we need to make this prom affordable."

By Corinne Reilly
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)

BAGHDAD — When Maysoon Kadhim began working on her master's thesis at Baghdad University two years ago, she braced for the challenge. After all, her paper's subject is Shakespeare, whose prose can perplex even native English speakers.

Kadhim, of course, grew up with Arabic.

As she proofread her final draft days before it was due, however, she said her biggest frustrations have nothing to do with language.

Instead, they have come from trying to get her hands on the right books.

By David Ranii
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)

RALEIGH, N.C. — A North Carolina company that plans to release a video game about one of the Iraq war's bloodiest battles is running into a buzzsaw of criticism.

The game, "Six Days in Fallujah," is being made with the help of Marines who fought in the battle, and its defenders say it provides a history lesson about what Atomic Games president Peter Tamte has described as "the largest urban military assault in about half a century."

But it has hit a nerve because U.S. soldiers are still dying in Iraq — on Friday, five soldiers were killed in the deadliest attack in a year. The controversy raises questions about the line that divides art and entertainment; books and movies about the Iraq war haven't aroused similar protests.

By Jessika Robinson, Courier Staff Writer

Growing out your fingernails can be hard work especially if you play sports, or do ceramics.

Some nails split and break easily. Researchers often say that it is because of a lack of calcium in one's diet. Others say that it is a lack of protein. Whatever the cause, maybe there are a few solutions to nail breaking problems.