Well, What Do You Know?

I will be taking a break from my series for today. Remember my old post about the one-to-one laptop initiative in Lisbon Public School? Well, after reading Lisbon's school paper, The Lion's Roar, I can see some students share my criticism. One student, Cameron Sizer, wrote an article with things in it such as how the computers could cause one to actually to do worse in a class; because apparently they are prone to random crashes causing the computer to shut down, destroying unsaved work. Another student, Taylor Sprosten, discussed how the students were often getting on other sites such as Youtube, Skype, and Facebook.; often when they weren't supposed to. Of course, the students still like the laptops, and believe they are positives out way the negatives. Perhaps they are right. I don't know. What I do know is that the whole project was over hyped, and didn't meet everyone expectations.

Tech Series, Part One: Advise For Novice Gamers

Now let us say that you just entered the gaming world. You might of received a system for a gift, or you found a great deal at a garage sale. Or perhaps you want to spend quality time (yeah, right) with a sibling or friend. It doesn't matter, It doesn't matter, I have advise, and you need it.

First off, gaming is NOT limited to shooting at unending hordes of lifeless zombies. I'm not a big fan of M games by the way, so this series will be written with that perspective. There are tons of genres of games: Action, Adventure, Strategy, Sports, RPG, Shooter, Puzzle, etc. Quite a few games appeal to casual gamers, especially sports and puzzle games. Now a sport game is pretty straightforward, but what about puzzle games? There are a plethora of unique puzzle games. Like scribblenauts, where you can type (basically) ANY word and it will appear so you can use it in puzzles.Yes, that is correct, any word. So monkeys, swords, monsters, jetpacks , dragons, small kitchen appliances, they are all there. And then there is interactive storybooks, like Hotel Dusk: Room 215. This particular game plays like a extremely indepth mystery novel. Or maybe you would like a game from the Professor Layton series. Professor Layton games have you solve many, many, different types of brainteasers utilizing the ds's touchscreen, with a refreshing European  influence to boot.

Except if you read a exceptional review about it, never buy games made from movies, especially disney movies. Why? Because the game is an afterthought. A companion to the movie. They don't devote the time and effort necessary to make a good game. Now, there are exceptions to this rule, such as many star wars games. Now think why this is different, the games were made because of the movies, sure, but they didn't have to hurry it up so the game came out at the same time as the movie. Occasionally it goes both ways with terrible television shows/movies made from a game. Ever heard of the The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! ? I hope not...

Also, never buy games on impulse. Always check a review sit like IGN or Gamespot. Once you have confirmed that you want the game, check out a online auction site like eBay. You can often get a very good deal if you buy a game without the case or instructions. Just watch out that if it is a disc that it doesn't have scratches that might cause it not to work.

 Next time I will continue the series with a short look at a few video game systems.

New Series!

Hey, I'm going to start a new series! It will feature two areas of my expertise: Video games and the Internet. Now before you rush off before you can say "geek", this will hopefully be able to help almost anyone. I will probably cover such topics such as How To Be Cool Online, Advice For Novice Gamers, and The Decline Of Free Online Gaming Sites.

I am definitely not hardcore, and I might know some things more than others, but beginners might find out a new thing or two. It also at times might be boring,  but I will do my best to avoid that.