Category Archives: Video games

Extra Life 2012

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Another update to the wonderful (busy) month of October!

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First off, I hate when schedules collide. Today is officially the kick off to the Extra Life gaming marathons (which is simply the coolest charity drive out there). The ultimate goal is to raise funds for your local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital – and participate in a 24hr gaming marathon.

Unfortunately, Young Drivers’ weekend class bumped the possibility of participating in a straight marathon of gaming. Which isn’t all bad, as I desperately need assistance in my driving skills and knowledge simply to earn some confidence behind the wheel. (It’s working so far!).

So while I may not be putting in 24 hours of gaming today, I will be putting in some gaming hours this week to complete the ‘marathon’ aspect of this fantastic event.

It may be a little late to join in this year. But please consider supporting an extra-lifer you know, or visiting my fund raising page, and supporting a great cause. Even if you are simply sharing a link to the Charity’s website… Extra life still needs your support!

The extra life community is amazing and I am looking forward to next year already.. I hope you will consider joining the cause as well.

Overall I am excited for both events this weekend – driving and gaming – they mix well… Right?! :0)


Ps. I am at roughly 61% of my goal as I am writing this post. My goal is to raise $200 for Sick Kids hospital by November 1st (at the very latest). This is super exciting & I am proud to be a part of it!

pps. Check out Extra-life.org for the latest fundraising news!

Lone Survivor: The Game I May Never Finish

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Thanks to the Humble Bundle V -which you should take a look at- I now own quite the collection of indie games  Lone Survivor is one of those titles, but I have only been able to play around 30 minutes of this game. I hold this love and hate relationship with most survival horror games. Although I am a huge fan of what developers may be trying to achieve in this genre, such as ”Alan Wake,” “Silent Hill,” or most recently “Lone Survivor.” I must wonder how many of us who purchase these games will actually complete them. I am one of the few who have purchased, rented, or borrowed these titles and have never finished the basic story line of any horror survival video game.

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Don’t let the cute pixels fool you: this game may haunt you.

Kind of a sad pattern in most of my gaming life. I will be the first person to tell you Alan Wake is a very good game, if you can get past your fear of your own shadow. Silent Hill? Awesome. If you play it in the light of day. Horror Movies? May be a piece of cake – if I have all the windows open and sun is shining.

I have come to conclusion that while the game achieves a great level of psychological horror, I may just be scaring myself for the 80% of time I am playing.  I can totally watch my friends play these games sitting in the dark. It’s the fear of having to control the decisions of the character and where the game is leading to.  I cannot help to become absorbed in what is going on, making it very easy for the game to frighten the living daylights out of me.

I first observed this when I realized I was afraid of leaving my own bedroom. Shortly after this thought I realized that I would have to leave the house to participate escaping this town and facing the fighting horrific 2D monsters. I am that uncomfortable with terrified of this game. To be perfectly honest I have turned down the volume entirely and put on a rather sunshine filled television show in the background while playing. Even with the help of cartoons I am still nervous scared-out-of-my-mind to even begin the story-line.

Perhaps it is more of embracing the spooky factor of this game, and the rush of emotions the fear may bring, that will bring a closing to my first full survivor horror game play.  After close to twenty years of playing games it is about time I give this genre another chance. I’m not sure how this round of game play will effect my future horror gaming experience, but I sure hope I can make it out my survivor’s door tonight (or maybe tomorrow morning – in daylight). One small step at a time.

Bag It!: Time Waster of the Week

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Milk on Eggs = not always a smart move.

I love apps. It seems like every week I have a new one, and just like the previous app I was playing it will keep me up into the wee hours of the night. This week it is “Bag It!” by Hidden Variable Studios. The best part about this app is it makes bagging groceries fun. The sad (and perhaps ironic) part about this app is that thanks to my current job, I am bagging way too many items in one day.

Bag it! starts out pretty simple. If you know your groceries, have ever purchased groceries in the past, or have worked in groceries/retail you will know the basics. Packing heaviest to lightest will always be your best move.

Important tip: never put the milk on top of your precious eggs! Bad bagging-ju-ju.

The first level will ask you to pack the items in the most effective and safe manner possible. Later on you will be asked to challenge yourself a little more and pack multiple bags without breaking any items. The medals you can earn will also add to the replay value of each world. I went back to a few levels in order to earn some extras – most of which seem to be related to not breaking things, packing in the most effective way, or creating combos with matching items.

Packing items can also get a little dull. When you really want to let off some steam the second world allows you to crush items with bigger/heavier items. That row of five egg cartons? Drop a melon on it. Let havok run wild. I’m not sure how you are keeping customers after this challenge, but for some reason the customers love it and keep coming back. This really highlights how hilarious the app can be and re-enforcers the idea of protecting the egg cartons.

If breaking things isn’t your style there are additional levels featuring a puzzle mode. The puzzle mode can be challenging in it’s own way. You start off with a bag half packed, and are required to neatly add the final items. The trick is you cannot break any of the products, and will be limited in the space you have to shift things around.

This is one of the coolest casual puzzle/arcade games I have played in awhile. It certainly provides a unique twist on things and challenges your packing skills. You may just land yourself a job at your local supermarket after perfecting your skills. Just don’t shake Frankin’ Fizzy around too much.

BONUS Tip: You can Break the Melon by dropping it a few times on it’s side.

Week Four: I run with Zombies

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Abel Township

Recently I have found I really enjoy running. Not just for the fitness benefits and how I have 10x the energy I did before; but also for the spiritual side of it. Running is my time, I am alone with my thoughts and it helps clear my head. Three times a week I get to just run, there is no worry about work, my next essay, and how I am going to fit it all together. I think this is as close as I get to experiencing true freedom each week.

Thanks to the famous “Couch to 5k” program, I can now run six minutes in a row. Six minutes.

Let me repeat this once more… six minutes !??!!

That is just mind blowing. To come from a point where I was struggling to run thirty seconds to a minute, I can now run six minutes with a good pace. To say that I a proud of myself would be the understatement of the year. I sleep better, eat better, feel better, and look a little better.

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My Town: Must. Keep. Building.

I always was confused with the idea of how people could run for such a long period of time. I understood the training side of things, and building your mileage, but I could not phantom being alone without distraction for that long. With or without a good set of tunes, you are still alone in your thoughts.

One thing that has really helped with that struggle is a delightful little app called “Zombies, run!” The idea is pretty simple, but the execution is near flawless. Unlike other running game apps there is a clear story (which I won’t reveal – too many spoilers in the first few minutes!) that is told between your music tracks; you build the town with supplies you collect on your runs; you can turn on zombie chases for interval running; and the story just keeps building a mystery.

I. love. this. app.  It honestly makes the run fly right by. The most frustrating part of it all could be the fact that I can’t continue after the mission! By the time we make it back to base, I am already tired and ready to call it quits. Later on when I can run for longer periods of time, I will totally be happy. Very happy and running from zombies for longer periods of time.

For now I hope to keep running with this app in hand. I don’t plug into it every run (sometimes I simply forget to turn it on), but when I do need that extra kick to keep running it really improves the motivation.

My Favorite Iphone Apps This Week

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I edited my photo further using ColorSplash - nifty.

1.) ColorSplash: This photo App is fabulous if you are looking to dabble in Photo Editing. You can remove the entire colour of a photo, and use your finger to swipe/rub the colour back into the image. It allows a ton of freedom in your colour editing, and you can even switch it up and swipe in the Grey to a Colour image. Easy to use, and you can make some gorgeous images this way.

2.) AppAdvice + AppsGoneFree:This is two fold, because it’s one awesome website running two apps. This is my number one go-to resource for everything App related. AppAdvice publishes news related to Apps & the iDevices, along with reviews and handy App lists to expand your library. AppsGoneFree is a resource updated Daily listing Free Apps rated 3 stars or more; no more random free apps, these are some of the true gems of the App store for the day. I highly recommend this set if you are looking to expand your App library.

3.) Thumb: There is something about this app, it’s not the most exciting idea I have ever heard of – once you start though, it’s hard to put it down. Users post an idea, and the population of Thumb will “thump up” or “thumb down” to answer, and even add comments to provide additional help. Weird. But in some strange way it is awesome.

4.) Angry Birds: Probably the most highly recommend app out there, Angry birds is well worth a look. I credit this game often for introducing many in my circle of friends to gaming. The game is fun, the story is basic (but still outlines the reason for flinging birds across the sky), and the different birds do add another element to the puzzles later on. I still play this App weekly, and there are additional versions of Angry birds now available. If you haven’t checked it out by now, download the Lite version and give it a whirl.

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Sims Medieval: Looking for Quests

5.) The Sims Medieval: I’ve been playing “The Sims” for years now. I still love playing the home wrecker, building lavish homes, and marrying for money. That is just part of what makes Sims hilarious to play. The Sims Medieval is more of the same, with some cool twists. While this App isn’t as developed as the Computer version (which I also really enjoy), the Sims Medieval idea of “quests” does translate well to the iPhone. It’s a fun game to pick up and play for an afternoon, I actually think I prefer the Medieval version on the iPhone over the others.