Some of you may remember the good ole days of video gaming, where when you got stuck you grabbed your big brother or called your best friend over to help. The two of you would sit down and with countless hours of work you finished the level in a blaze of glory.
If that wasn't an option, or if you were the bookish sort, you could pick up a stand alone strategy guide or the walk through in a gaming magazine. With awesome cutting edge screen caps and dazzlingly 90's clip art, you page turned your way to victory.
We have a lot more options these days. Now that many of the beloved print options are no longer available (with the exception of official strategy guides), we have at our disposal countless forums, websites dedicated to every aspect of the game, and Let's play and walk through videos on YouTube.
Some would argue that gaming is now too easy, that all of the easy one man options have taken away from the cooperative in-person spirit of gaming. Others would argue that this has freed us from our ignorance, that now we can experience every hidden area and bonus dialogue ourselves.
I'd like to hear from you, the modern gamers: Is it okay to use YouTube videos and forum walkthroughs to get through games when you're stuck, or is it better to fight the good fight on your own with a buddy by your side? Leave your answers in the comments.
7/17/2013
7/06/2013
Teen Book Review: Anne of the Island
Hi there! Here's another awesome book review from a Teen Volunteer over at the Green Valley Library:
Anne of the Island
Anne of the Island is part of a series by L.M. Montgomery about the life of an orphan girl named Anne. This book tells of Anne’s adventures as she goes to college at Redmonds College in Kingsport, Canada. She meets a new friend named Phil who comes from a wealthy family and they become good friends. Anne is proposed to by two men to whom she is not well acquainted and are not her ideal. She begins to feel discouraged as romance proves to be far from her social life. Her childhood chum, Gilbert, acts a little more friendly than she prefers, and she worries that he will ruin their friendship. During her final years at Redmonds, Anne and her friends rent a cottage style home named Patty’s Place. They love the dear old place. The girls study hard and receive many high honors and scholarships in their studies. Eventually, Anne meets Roy Gardner, a charming, intelligent, and handsome young man that matches Anne’s romantic ideal to a T. She is instantly swept away by the beautiful flowers and poems he gives to her, but there is always something missing. Anne’s mind always wanders back to Gil, her chum from Prince Edward Island. Gil had proposed to Anne only shortly before she met Roy. Anne refused Gil, and the decision slightly haunted her as she began to see the emptiness in Roy’s perfect prose and watched Gilbert and his girlfriend Christina at all the social events. When Roy finally proposes to Anne, she is forced to refuse him, as she bitterly realizes that her heart belongs to Gil all along. As college ends, Anne returns to her home at Green Gables and Gil asks her to go for one of their old time rambles in the woods. She joyfully agrees and they take a walk to Hester’s Garden, one of Anne’s favorite spots on the island. They pronounce their love for each other and work out all their misunderstandings.
I love the Anne of Green Gables series. The main character, Anne, is refreshing and sees the world through a rare perspective. Her endearing character allows her to make friends easily. Her chum, Gilbert, is the ideal man, as he is intelligent, handsome, and faithful to Anne. This book was everything that I had hoped it would be, however it brings mixed feelings, as one must come to realize that real life is not always a fairytale.
Thanks for the great review Courtney!
7/03/2013
Wednesday Comic Corner
Humans are pretty fascinated with the concept of the post apocalyptic world. The entire zombie genre, much of the media featuring aliens, and post war settings often depict well known locations and/or the entire planet as being in a state of decay.
Features of the decaying facades are often depicted as ominous and foreboding, like the recently released Last of Us, but they can also have a sort of tragic beauty to them, such as the city of Rapture in Bioshock.
What I have for you all today is a collection of pictures of locations in varying states of decay. Decide what they depict yourself: unsettling horror or atypical tranquility.
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