Author: frog3

App Review: Civilization Revolution

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Hello. As anyone who goes to OVS knows, gaming has been banned in the dorms. There is a grayish area however (More of a ignorable area). iPhone Apps, more specifically iPhone Games can be amazing.

The game we will be looking at today is Civilization Revolution, an IOS spin off of the critically acclaimed Civilization series.

In Civilization Revolution you are given an open goal, build a civilization and mold it into a world dominating empire. One of the standout features in this game is the variation in victory. There are four ways to win Civilization Revolution; you must achieve a Technological victory, a Domination Victory, an Economic Victory, or a Cultural Victory.

Upon starting a new game the player must choose a leader for their nation, selectable leaders are drawn from great (sometimes bad) rulers from history. These leaders are not drawn from any one-time period but are as varied as Abraham Lincoln to Cleopatra. The leader you chose effects which city you start in and also gives you a unique ability.

After selecting your leader you are dropped onto a randomly generated continent. You are given one warrior and a city (what you are given varies with difficulty). You are then free to research the basics of civilizations such as writing or pottery (Yes I know the game starts rather slow). As you research more technologies, new technologies become available at a extremely fast rate. It will not take much time (or skill) to be begin researching advanced technologies such as gunpowder or flight. You must choose your research carefully, not necessarily because of the in game time limit, but because of the threats of other nations.

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App Review: Dungeon Village

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Hello. As anyone who goes to OVS knows gaming has been banned in the dorms. There is a grayish area however (More of a ignorable area). iPhone Apps, more specifically iPhone Games can be amazing.

At 1ST Dungeon Village may seem like a Gameboy era Final Fantasy or Zelda game. In reality it is an entertaining bastardization of the Sims.

In Dungeon Village your job is to build a town that will host typical RPG Adventurers: knights, archers, merchants, or mages. You are given some gold, one adventurer and a quick tutorial before you are left to your own devices. In spite of its low graphics the game does have some complexity.

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App Review: Puppet Wars

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ede Hello. As anyone who goes to OVS knows gaming has been banned in the dorms. There is a grayish area however (More of a ignorable area). iPhone Apps, more specifically iPhone Games can be amazing.

The one that I have been obsessed with of late is Puppet Wars Episode 1. For everyone who likes First Person Shooters but can no longer enjoy them this is the solution for you.

Puppet Wars is like this. You are a janitor, a survivor of the Puppet Apocalypse. Your old job was cleaning toilets at a Puppet TV Station; your new job is killing Puppets.

At level one the puppets are weak, stupid, and purple. As the levels get more difficult the variety of the puppets increase. Before you know it your fighting: agile yellow puppets, invisible Ninja Puppets, purple puppets that throw heat-seeking chickens,

and (my favorite) red puppets that pop out of trashcans and throw tomatoes at you. After a while you will encounter your first boss, a troll-like monster puppet.

The weapons in Puppet Wars are divided into two categories, Melee and Firearms. At level one you are given a pistol and a mop. The pistol and the mop are effective at 1st but they are soon rendered obsolete by the increasing difficultly of the game. As you progress through the levels you begin unlocking new and more powerful weapons. Some of these weapons are (of course) quite ridiculous. The most over the top weapons in Episode 1 are the Plunger-Crossbow and the Mystic Sword (mystic sword= OP).
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Weapons are not the only things that help you in your quest to kill every puppet that moves. Puppet Wars has added perks giving you a wider ranger of abilities and tactics. My favorite perk is the Invisible cape, it not only renders you invisible for a limited time but it also confuses the puppets.

Unlocking weapons and perks is not very hard; buying them is the real challenge. After you unlock a weapon or perk you must buy the unlocked item from the Workshop (a type of armory) by using the in-game currency. On death each puppet you kills drop a yellow star, tougher enemies drop a large yellow star. These Yellow Stars when picked up give you money that can be used to upgrade your arsenal.

This is one of the most engaging apps on Apples App Store. Good Graphics, easy gameplay, and a smooth on screen d-pad makes this game a must buy for app and FPS lovers (minor annoyance; there is no reload button).

Does America really need all of its power?

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America has had a varied history. Originally one of the least organized countries in existence, America would become the most powerful country in the world. America’s modern history has been influenced by the modern world in which we live. America’s Power would not come without sacrifice, as power always has its price.

After World War II America’s leaders took the Monroe Doctrine to the extremes, in short they decided to become the Worlds Police Force. America would spend the latter part of the 20th century embroiled in a decades long Cold War. America’s main goal during this time was to stop communism and spread democracy.

America’s top leaders believed that if every country was Democratic then warfare as mankind knows it would cease to exist. Accomplishing this (extremely improbable) goal would require the US to stay several steps ahead of their enemies. As we all know this requires vast amounts of money.

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Why Romney, Why?

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Why is it that people vote for politicians who really don’t care about them? I am of course speaking of the “charismatic” Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney.

Romney has distanced himself from the average American several times. The most recent remarks, in my opinion, have been catastrophic. He said, “There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what… [M]y job is not to worry about those people.”

He is proclaiming that he does not care about 47% of America, that is almost half of the nation.

If that is what he said and most certainly what he believes then why are people, the average American still voting for him. I mean most of Romney’s voter base may call most of the attacks on him Liberal propaganda. In this case however the attacks are exactly what he said and yet Conservatives have attempted to defend him in the wake of this public relations nightmare.

I understand party loyalty but to follow a man who does not care about you, the average, is ridiculous.
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“Ribbit”

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A tadpole swims around in a pond.

It wonders where its mother has gone.

Eventually the tadpole forgets.

The tadpole grows legs and begins to kick.

The tail stops growing and gets very short.

The tadpole tastes air and pines for more.

Soon enough the tadpoles arms are there.

Where they will take her she knows not where.

The tail is now but a nub.

The gills now seem like a dud.

She climbs onto land without gills

And begins to hop into the hills.

She has eggs and lays them in the pond.

They will wonder where their mother has gone.

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Americans stop blaming Islam

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Americans are not known for being culturally sensitive or even having the slightest bit of knowledge about the world outside of America. This can be seen whenever the media begins focusing on Muslim Extremists. Since 911 Americans (in general) have had a backward view of all Muslims. This majority believes (incorrectly) that all Muslims are extremist and that their goal is to destroy western civilization.

The media of course does not help Americans get past their arrogant ways, this can be seen in the violence that has occurred at American embassies in the Middle East. In the wake of the destruction of the US Consulate in Libya wherefour Americans where killed, the US has been shutting down embassy’s in other Islamic countries. In Syria the American embassy has been closed and all non-essential personnel (we can assume the essential personnel are soldiers and spies) have been recalled back to America. Other embassies in these “danger” zones are sure to follow suit. There has already been reports of the US Embassy in Lebanon destroying classified documents in case of a breach.
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Not only have these events attacks damaged Americans perception of Muslims but the US leaving these countries only lengthens the road to understanding and peace.

Israel and its nuclear problem with Iran

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It is commonly known that the US and her allies believe that Iran is enriching Uranium in order to build nuclear weapons. The US and to a extent the Obama Administration has been criticized for refusing to take a hard stance against Iran’s Nuclear Program.

The most vocal of these critics is Israel whose proximity to Iran puts Israel in an extremely precarious position. Israel and Iran are mortal enemies; Israel believes (knows) that if Iran develops nuclear weapons it would plunge the region into total war.

Israel has not let Iran’s nuclear research continued unmolested. Peaceful resolutions are almost out of the question, Israel has given up on diplomacy and outside parties, they now deal with the Iranian Nuclear Program in a much more direct way.

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Several Iranian scientist have been assassinated the most memorable of which have been Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan. On January 11th, 2012 two unknown assailants on motorcycles attached a magnetic bomb to the side of Roshan’s car, the motorcyclist sped away and the bomb detonated moments later.

Iran has blamed Israel and believe that the United States may have been involve in the attacks. Whether this assassination will lead to peace or more violence remains to be seen.

The US and its difficulties leaving Afganistan.

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https://i0.wp.com/www.justicewithpeace.org/files/u1/ObamaHope.jpg

As many of us know, President Obama has made strides to end the unpopular war in Afghanistan. The US military wishes to transition Afghanistan from a US defended country into an Afghan defended country. The US military’s plan to pull out of Afghanistan by 2014 has reached several snags.

For one there is concern that the former Taliban regime will return as US forces prepare to leave the country. This issue in recent weeks has become a more prevalent problem. On August 12th, 2012 a man disguised as an Afghan police officer opened fired on afghan policemen and US Marines. It is believed that this man was affiliated with the Taliban.

This prompted General John Allen to issue an order that all US soldiers must carry loaded weapons on military bases in Afghanistan. These recent events have only served to weaken US-Afghanistan relations.

https://i0.wp.com/afghanappealfund.org.uk/images/afghanchildren1.JPG

Athletes Vs. Technicalities

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Sports were not always so complicated. Sports use to be simple, the best man/woman would win. Now-a-days virtually every sport is bogged down with rules and technicalities.

Just several weeks ago a technicality “controversy” made headlines. a female golfer by the name of  Caroline Inglis lost a title. The reason for losing her title, failing to fill out her scorecard correctly. She wrote a 68 on her card instead of the correct score of 69. Although she would have won without altering her score she was disqualified and forfeited the championship.

I find this extremely unfair to the athletes. An athlete should win if they are the best not lose because of arbitrary rules.
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