Batman: Arkham City is the story of Bruce Wayne, or Batman, as he is attempting to stop the Arkham City project. Arkham City is in the center of Gotham City where criminals are taken. It is also used as a political torture zone by Dr. Strange for big political figures that he wants arrested--most of which did not even do anything.  Bruce Wayne becomes one of these people.

Oswald Cobblepot's, also known as Penguin, original plan was to torture Batman. When Penguin's fists get ready, little sparks appeared above his head. That means you hit the “Y” button to counter. Batman breaks his hand and then Penguin’s minions start to attack. Long story short, you escape and reach the top of a building to get Batman’s bat suit. When you get suited up, the game really begins, as you are able to roam freely about the city.

The game starts with one main quest, but as you progress, you gain more and more side quests. There are training missions, timed traveling (you will understand if you have played it), and Riddle missions. All of these are optional, but they give you experience to level up.

You can also earn experience for doing anything the game sees as productive. This includes collecting Riddler trophies, fighting enemies, doing quests, and more. When you gain a level, you earn one skill point to use on gadgets, your suit, Catwoman's suit, and fighting skills. You can learn to disarm enemies with weapons, or give your suit more of a defense. You can sometimes earn new, faster ways to kill enemies.

Riddler trophies are all around Arkham City. When I am saying that they are all around the city, I really mean everywhere. They are in alleys, on rooftops, in buildings, and sometimes they are in the water. Some are as easy as stepping on a pad and walking over to the trophy, while some involve jumping from wall to wall perfectly, then landing it without any breaks or use of the grapple hook. There is one thing that makes getting all of these trophies easier and that is the ability to hold left button (LB) to map out the locations of the trophies. The problem is, if you just run by all of them and just quickly map them, there are going to be hundreds on your map--and I am not exaggerating. I have seen what it looks like. When you open your Waytech (technology that Batman uses to hold or gather information) map, you will see a bunch of question marks, which are the markers for the trophies, appear at once on your map.

Although the game's main character is Batman, it also features Catwoman. There are four episodes where you are able to control her. There are also some Riddler trophies that require Catwoman’s abilities to pick up. Her controls are slightly different, but they are basically the same. There are still the strike and counterstrike attacks, but the way she fights, moves, and tools she is able to use are different.

Batman: Arkham City is a long game, filled with even more than is written here. The game’s graphics are fantastic and better than many other games I have seen. Since you need strategy in this game, it also makes it pretty difficult, especially on "Hard" difficulty.

The game is worth getting and is very enjoyable even to those who might not be DC Comic fans.

Clash of the Classes was an event put on by Middle School ASB. It was part of Homecoming Week, and was made up of different activities that seventh and eighth grade students competed against each other in.

Each day of the week had its own activity. On Monday, it started with a couples cake eating contest. Tuesday was a musical chairs scavenger hunt in which students had to find lunch items. Wednesday was the “buddy walkers” activity, followed by exercise contests on Thursday. The week came to a close with a huge tug-of-war contest on Friday. Every participant earned Spirit Points for their second period class.

Middle School ASB has created a system of “Spirit Points” this year to try to get students excited about school activities. Spirit Points are awarded when students participate in school events such as dances, fundraisers, and lunchtime activities.

When students earn Spirit Points, they are taken to the student’s second period class and added to the class total of points. At the end of each semester, the class with the most Spirit Points wins a “pig-out” pizza party.

Middle School ASB hopes that Spirit Points will promote more student participation in all school activities. James Barton, grade 8, said, “I think more students will participate because then they get a party.” Elaie Mo, grade 7, said, “More people will participate because winning the contest comes with lots of advantages like getting out of class, a pizza party, and getting to have fun with friends.”

It seems that the Spirit Points incentive is already working. Mrs. Krenik’s class, the current leader, already has 195 Spirit Points.

The fall quarter brought CMMS its first sports of the year.

The seventh grade boys’ volleyball season just ended, and while they did not win any games, the team seemed to have put in much effort at games and practices.

The eighth grade boys’ season continues as they enter playoffs.

Captain Mason Tofuga said, “We worked hard even though we only won one game, and we hope to do well in playoffs.”

The seventh and eighth grade girls’ basketball teams also struggled during games this season, but nonetheless enjoyed their seasons. Haylee Jack, a member of the eighth grade team said, “My favorite thing about basketball is that we get to work with our coaches and have fun at practice.”