Game Review: Mario Kart Wii

Now I know this game is getting older a couple years now but its still a great game and as of now still the most recent addition to Mario Kart.I have always been a huge fan of Mario and this was just a must play. This is a very addicting game and is great for parties and other arge grouping of people. The controls are easy enough for older and younger folks. I recently played it agan after many months of not playing it and I had a ton of fun. Just like any other Mario Game it provides hours upon hours of entertainment. I greatly recommend for those of you with a Wii still to go out and pick it up. After playing Mario Kart at a friends house I was inspired to buy a Wii again to play all of my Mario favorites over again! If your looking for a Wii game and dont have Mario Kart then you must be out yo' mind! Thanks for reading and stay tuned

Game Hardware Review: Kinect

I recently got a chance to play with Microsofts’s Kinect for the Xbox 360. I was playing Fruit Ninja and I was having the best time. The new technology is fascinating and culptivating as well as very fun. The space needed to play is quite big but maybe clearing up a little space once in a while cant hurt. The quickness to the reactions and speed of the person who was playing was scarily acurate. The graphics were stunning as well and werent a dissapointment at all. The only downside at the moment is that there is not many good games that are worth your money out for the Kinect at the monet. I dont suggest buying a Kinect for a few months. Xbox 360 will be the main system for the next few years and the Kinect the newest technology on the most up to date sytem so by no mean is Kinect going away. Many companies are working on games at the monet and Unless you want be playing Fruit Ninja 24/7 for another year or so I would highly recomend holding of for maybe even next Christmas. Hope I helped and thanks for reading!

Game Review: Dirt Three

Dirt 3 is a very fun addicting racing game. The graphics are beautiful and the sounds are amazing as well. The controls dont only feel realistic but they’re very fun on their own. The menu after being redesigned every Dirt game seems to finally be right as it looks very nice and HDified. Their are a lot more cars than Dirt 2 but their still is a lack of customizationability but in all honesty I dont thin the Dirt series needs any customization. Also there are many different fun modes along with multiplayer, Dirt Tour and other fun arcade type game modes. The gameplay is very easy at least on the easy level which shouldnt really be a suprise for a racing game and unlinke many other games the beginning of the singleplayer modes are very action packed with a lot of things unlocking and becoming available.

I dont think this game is very much money anymore and I definatley suggest buying this if you have the itch to play a racing game. I’d rate Dirt 3 at 9/10.

Game Review: Sonic Generations

Sonic Generations is a cool game. I have played Sonic games ever since I was a very young kid and have liked them, sorta. The fast gameplay and nonstop moving can get on my nerves a bit but is indefinably unique and fun to those who are new to Sonic. Kids I think definatley love this game for its bright colors and simple concepts. It is very fast paced and kid friendly making it a great choice for a Holiday present this year. It should drop fairly soon to about $45, also, so this makes it a great gift. For any more hardcore gamer that hasnt ever really been in to Sonic, however, Sonic Generations isnt the greatest. Especially around when there are so many more games coming out I dont suggest buying Sonic. I’d rate this game 8/10 because it mixes classic with the old and is unique completley to any other game.

Book Review: Of Beetles and Angels

To be suddenly traumatized by racial discrimination, language barriers, economic hardships, and just plain confusion over a new culture and to be told to treat intolerant people equal isn’t as easy as walk in the park as Mawi Asgedom describes in his novel Of Beetles and Angels.  This novel fits every aspect of all culture novels; Mawi goes from Ethiopia, Sudan, then to a small apartment in Wheaton Illinois, a Chicago suburb. In all those places he was faced with issues that either made his family leave or just want to leave. Mawi’s adventure started in Ethiopia where even though, his father being well respected, was forced to leave due to war practically just outside their front door every day. Not having much options the family of five went to Sudan for three years where they lived in a refugee camp.  After applying for relocation to the United States, Mawi and his family were helped by the World Relief Organization, a Christian group that helps people from every corner of the world to resettle in America. Mawi goes through racial discrimination in America and goes through some mischievous things but still remembers his dream to go to Harvard and the hard work he knows it’s going to take to get there. Through many, many disadvantages in his young life, Mawi eventually does get a full scholarship to Harvard on his happiest day of his life. After death, extremely hard studying, and other tribulations, Mawi fulfills his dreams in a truly inspiring and motivating book for people of all ages.

                Being an auto biography the protagonist himself tells the story in a first person point of view. First person point of view is the point of view in which the reader knows the thoughts, ideas, and feelings of the speaker and only can know actions of other supporting characters. To easily distinguish first person point of view the reader will see words such as “I”, “me”, “my”, “our”, “we” and so on. This story was very well written and said in the first person point of view. Mawi Asgedom being the protagonist and the person in the center of all the feelings it is crucial to know his thoughts, feelings, and ideas as the reader does as he explains his heartwarming story.  The reader should have no reason to think Mawi is an unreliable narrator, he seems to be very competent, intelligent and not too overwhelmed by emotions such as his mother was throughout the story.

The story takes place in three countries Ethiopia, Sudan, and the United States; the time period it takes place in is from 1980 to 1999. Setting is extremely important information for a reader because it helps the reader understand actions, thoughts, ideas, and feeling characters have. Setting can also help with the just general understanding of a story, as well. Knowing the time period for this novel is especially important for the reader because the reader has to understand that there was wars going on in Ethiopia and Sudan at the time. “ A small dusty village of straw-and-mud adobe homes” Is how Mawi describes the area he lived in in Sudan on the first page of the novel. So living conditions already aren’t the greatest and at the time Sudan was going through a civil war in the south and after failed political and economic investments in the 70’s , they’re going through a deep valley of economic crisis. World Relief were angels at this time for the Asgedom family and relocated them to Wheaton, Illinois of America. The living conditions in Wheaton were better than the families conditions in Sudan but still not great. They lived in hotel that Mr. Asgedom didn’t want to leave in fear of being attacked out of racial intolerance. The family lived on welfare which is an accurate description of the lack of money the family had. Mawi’s father struggled to find jobs and was very strict making conditions a bit harder for Mawi. The mood of this novel is hopeful. The reader can assume after going through many hardships and pulling himself out of them, Mawi and his family can endure anything to get they’re dreams. This leaves the reader feeling hopeful throughout the story for Mawi and the rest of the Asgedom family. Even after Tewolde’s death by drunk drivers the reader feels hopeful still for Mawi Asgedom. The story gives realization to the reader that they can be hopeful, as well, at any time in their lives as they were for Mawi during his life story.

            Characters in books can always set examples for the reader and sometimes they can be respectable examples and sometimes not so respectable. Mawi Asgedom is a very, very determined young African male who fills his dream through hope and belief. Mawi can be considered as a round and a flat character. The reader can find Mawi to be round because of ho in the beginning of the novel he was young and didn’t have much understanding of the world and by the end of the novel he plowed through almost all problems life can possible throw at you and he succeeded in meeting his dreams of getting a scholarship to Harvard University. Intelligent, successful, hardworking, battered, and strong-minded are all great words to accurately depict the character traits Mawi expresses in this novel. Mawi’s father was very strict in America probably from being new and not used to the culture. Mawi’s brother Tewolde was his best friend in the story as they damage properties, steal, and go through school. Mawi’s mom and sister don’t play much of any roles in the novel possibly due to a more housewife type culture from Ethiopia. Mawi’s experimental and curious trait led himself and his brother to some minor trouble growing up. Such as when the two stole candy or when they destroyed street signs, getting their father in trouble. The families economic situation really was the main cause of Mawi’s troubles no one person or animal can be blamed for the majority of his tribulations. Mawi’s motive in his story  was to prove that he could be successful and go to Harvard to the general public or possibly to his readers of his soon to come books. He wanted to put hope in other people’s eyes with his hard work and or help people gifted with wealth and better opportunities to see the other poverty stricken walk of life. The story is filled with mostly flat characters the only pronounced round character is Mawi, other supporting characters could really go either way. However, that raises the level of how much of a determined person Mawi was. The reader can see that even though people around Mawi didn’t change and weren’t determined he still pulled through and proved to those people that they should’ve had hope and that things can get done from even the deep hole that he grew up in.

            Mawi was confronted with an extreme amount of conflicts and that’s what makes this story and many other stories as inspiring as they are because without conflict there is no story. Conflict is the problems the protagonist has against other people, things, the world, economic problems and issues, and him or herself that slow them down to their goals. First Mawi is confronted with war at a very early age and is forced to move from Ethiopia to Sudan and from Sudan to “Amerikha” as they called the United States. Once in the United States he runs in to poverty, racial discrimination, and problems at school and around school. There may not be so much of a central conflict in this story as much as there is dozens of small conflicts that Mawi goes through. The death of Tewolde was a large conflict being the first death of a loved one Mawi has gone through. However this large emotional setback only motivated Mawi more to get to Harvard. At first the conflicts in the story were minor setbacks and were quite frustrating for the reader and most likely for Mawi. Even as the story progressed and the conflicts seemed to get worse and worse, however, they almost more like adventurous and interesting because the reader begins to think and believe that Mawi can endure any problems he comes across. Throughout the rising action the reader doesn’t feel tension as much as frustration.

            The theme in a story is the author’s commentary on human nature or human beings and their predicaments in a diverse world. In Of Beetles and Angels the theme is, how people can be thrown at things in life and manage through them in tough times such as Mawi did. Also that how people will go through hard times and it won’t be easy and some people will have harder times than others but it is almost always possible to get through it. The climax of the story when Tewolde gets killed is a great example of how yea Mawi was hit hard emotionally but he still pulled through and exceeded his dreams. Mawi throughout the story was dynamic and definitely expressed the theme. Mawi more matured than changed, however and that is because of the theme of the novel and the conflicts he went through. The author Mawi, wants the readers to know that they can do whatever he did because everything’s possible. He wants the reader to know that even from as tough conditions like he came from you can still do whatever you want.

            Everything in this novel including characters, plot, setting and everything else was so well put together that its impossible to choose my favorite part. I wouldn’t be able to change this story considering its nonfiction. This book really helped me realize how I could do anything I want and so can everybody else, because nobody could’ve come from worse conditions than Mawi did. This novel really gave me true inspiration. Everything about this book is great and a reason to read it especially the plot and the characters that you can get to know and relate to that go through the hardships in the story. Id rate this novel an eight out of ten. It was a wonderful heartwarming story that drew me in and I really couldn’t put it down once I got through about halfway in the story. I found the beginning of the book to be a bit of a drag and not action packed but I think that of a lot of books so that doesn’t mean much.. I’d recommend this book to anybody of any age because there is characters that people of all walks of life can most likely relate to. I hope many people read this book and can get inspired from it such as I did.

Book Review: 1984

1984 is a great book so far. I have just gotten to the third book in the novel and its starting to become very interesting. It was kind of slow to get in to the action and suspense and when it did seem to be getting good somebody close dies. Its starting to get uninteresting in the book again. I guess I really just seek action in anything I read but for anybody I think itd get slow after all the talk of action. The main character Winston is just starting to rebel against his cult that he lives in and he is joining others in his beliefs. He is a very skeptical character who doesnt like to take action which leads to the very little amount of dialouge and action in the book. I do plan on having a full book review along with a full report in a few weeks at the most and thats what I suggest reading for a better understanding. Stay Tuned!!

Game Review: Super Mario Galaxy

Now this isnt a very new game anymore but in my opinion now that its dropped in price is a must have for Wii owners. It brings the traditional Mario gaming back with a nice touch of new graphics controls gameplay and features. To old Mario fans its very fun and in no way ruins the old original Mario games but enhances it. And for kids new to the Mario series its a nice simple game that is very fun and needs no prior knowledge to anything. It brings in a good mixture of the Wiis sensors and motion control while keeping the regular stick movement and A for jump controls that everybody loves. I ighly suggest buying this game for your Wii very soon. Thanks for reading and stay tuned!!

Game Review: GTA IV

Grand Theft Auto is a great game. The online has kept me occupied for months upon months because there is soo much you can do. There is team deathmatch, free roam, co-op missions and much more. The singleplayer is spectacular as well. The epic car chases and shoot outs are endless and the thrilling campaign takes about 3 full days too finish. Meaning to say that you would be able if you played constantly for 72 hours you would be able to beat the singleplayer. Which is great for such a game. Frankly though the game is getting a bit outdated and the new game you should keep your eyes open for is Saints Row 3. But GTA IV is a greap tie over till the new games come out. Thanks for reading and stay tuned!

Game Review: Borderlands

Borderlands is a great game. The endless fun as kept me playing with my friends for a couple years now. There is actually 17 million guns in the game. Thats not an exageration there actually is over 17 million. Which that just keeps the mystery and fun going as your looking for a better gun. I stopped playing because many people where modding guns and it just became very cheap. Borderlands Game Of The Year addition is definatley worth it because there is soo much wonderful DLC. I highly recommend buying this game even if its just for single player. There is a second one coming out in the series but thats not till the end of 2012 so Borderlands one can definatley get you hyped for the second installment in a great series!

App Review: Fruit Ninja

Fruit Ninja has almost turned in to much of a classic as Angry Birds and that is rightfully so. Fruit Ninja is very simple which is perfect for a mobile game. The graphics are well rounded and the animations are realistic and very nice looking. The soundtrack for Fruit Ninja is oustanding and very fitting as well. It makes the game realaxing and at the same time fun and exciting. Slicing fruit open can be a real stress reliever which is very nice to have on your phone. Halfbrick Studios is constantly making updates and adding very cool new features also which adds some supense and fun to see what else may be unlockable. The unlockables are very nice and they add a nice level of customization to a game that seems that customization would not be in sight. I would rate this game a 8/10 and I highly suggest buying it for the low price of $1.27!!