Entry 10- The End Of The Video Game Opinions

 Why Invest So Much Time In Video Games

Hello everyone and welcome back to the blog! Today we are back on to video game opinions but I thought we would shift focus from specific video games to a more general approach of why we invest our time into video games. Reminder that this is our last blog together! So I hope you all enjoy our last one together and I hope it's the best one yet!

Society Switch Up

    In todays day and age it's hard to find anyone that doesn't play games and there is a reason for that. I know before we talked about how games can harm the population and the bad wrap they get but over the last few years the rapport has completely shifted. Gaming is such a huge part of our society now, its how most people relax, meet new people, have a challenge, and entertainment. Society has switched up from calling them problems to seeing how much of a benefit they have on our everyday lives. Not only do they improve our lives with entertainment recently studies have been coming out how gaming positively helps improve physchological health. Sciencedaily talks about how a study done in 2024 by Osaka University did a study and found video games do improve mental health and life satisfaction. Its crazy in a matter of a few years how society completely changed how we all view video games, now in a positive way. 

The Feeling Is Like Nothing You Can Imagine

Video games give such an emotional response in people that its insane how different it is from movies or TV shows its a feeling like nothing I have ever felt before. Whether that's from winning a game and the joy you get from that, the rage you get from loosing a game, or even when you have the feeling of sadness when a major or even minor character dies. I can remember recently I have been re-playing Spiderman PS4 and spoiler but when you finally beat Doc Ock and you get the cure but it has to be synthesized so you can save Aunt May and she dies in front of Peter man that breaks my heart everytime. When you play with your friends and you finally get past that level you guys have been doing for the last week and everyone starts screaming and yelling because of how hyped up on adraniline they are is just a few examples of the emotions you get while playing these games. Whether its multiplayer games and enjoying with your friends or a single player game where some major character development happens its gives you emotions you don't feel normally just because you have been on a journey with either your friends or this character your playing as and its awesome. 

For The Love of The Game

Everyone has their own favorite genre based on a number of different things but everyone who plays games usually has nothing but nice things to say about them and how much they love them. It isn't random why people choose the genre they do it usually satisfies certain types of needs. Each genre has a completely different emotional payoff and that's why people choose that genre but they always try to talk other to join that genre. For most gamers like myself we tend to do a mix of genres just because there is so much variety out there in the gaming industry now there is something for everyone. Games don't just entertain they will reflect on who a person is emotionally, and even how we think. Pubmed did a study where they got 420 gamer and found how much the genre of game they choose and how much it really reflects on personality. Its really interesting to know why people choose certain type of games but like previously stated all gamers will say is about how good their genre they choose is. 

    The End Of It All

Its really crazy to think how much video games have impacted us as a society recently not just in our own country, but all around the world. Video games bring us together as a society and bring out emotions that sometimes we have never experienced before. Video games are a huge part of this generation and it will greatly affect how they grow up, so I hope if I did not persuade any of you to get into video games that I educated you enough to know about them. I also hope for some of you that were iffy about getting into video games or have just scratched the surface of them and my many other blogs change your mind! Its crazy to think that this is our last blog together but I hope I was good enough for some of you to keep coming back and follow along for my blogs. I want to thank you all for the support and remember this is not a goodbye but a see you next time. Until then sayonara, adios, and goodbye! 

Entry 9- Comic Strip Food

 Junk Food Over Healthy Food 

    Hello to all my lovely readers out there! Today we have something a little different. I was tasked with finding something about food that had deeper meaning and I found a comic strip that perfectly sums up todays society and eating habits. Hopefully you guys enjoy something different than our normal topic and next week we will be on our regular topic so enjoy this until next week!

                                                       

Deeper Meaning

    As a society our eating habits are horrible. We constantly would prefer junk food or as some people would say better tasting food over healthy alternatives. This comic perfectly sums that up we would rather eat chips over something like broccoli that has tons of nutrients and gives you energy. In the comic the broccoli saying how it gives you all these good things for your body while the chips just make the hunger go away and yet we still choose the chips. I know I am guilty of this as well but I am trying to eat healthier. I feel like yes it's ok to enjoy some chips and other things once in a while at moderation, but we all should be eating way more healthy foods like fruits and vegetables over this crap we call junk food. Just because it tastes good does not in any way shape or form mean you should sit there and eat a whole bunch of that stuff. 

Why Do This To Your Body

    I still will never understand why we do this to our body's. We wonder why everyone in America is so overweight and we get made fun of by other countries for this. Is it really such a crazy concept to have self control and eat in moderation at least when eating junk food? I wish everyone would just eat fruits and vegetables and eat junk food as a reward on weekends. We wonder why we get made fun of for this when we have people that sit on their butts and eat whole bags of chips in one sitting. 

Ending 

     I know this weeks is a short blog but I really didn't know what else to talk about from this comic strip. I talked about the main points I got from it but if anyone else has any comments on it I would love to hear! Hopefully for some of you this is a little eye opening and makes you think twice about eating so much chips and grab a healthy alternative. Have a great week everyone and I'll see you for our last blog together next week! See ya later! 

Entry 8- The Hot New Game On The Market

The Awesome New Game Arc Raiders!

  Hello everyone and welcome back to our regular scheduled program of my video game opinions! This week's blog is about the brand new game that has taken over the gaming industry called Arc Raiders! Arc Raiders is a third person extraction shooter game that came out October 30th of this year and its popularity recently has been on an extreme rise. It took a little bit after the game came out but this game has drawn a lot of attention over the last month and for good reason. We will be doing a little in depth review of this game for this week's blog so I hope you enjoy it. 

Extraction Shooter Finally Done Right

    First let me explain what an extraction shooter is, it is a video game genre where you raid a map, pickup loot, and extract all while other players are doing the same and can end you and take your loot. This game does it unlike any other though. They have computer AI robots that will also try to hunt you and let me tell you those robots are no joke, sometimes even harder than real players. On the website Destructoid they say its the most player friendly extraction shooter that is accessible with a game play loop that doesn't feel too hardcore or sweaty. This game has finally gotten this genre right. A lot of other games like this don't feel as fresh and nuanced to play but this one finally got it right. 

Visuals and Replayability

Using top of the line Unreal Engine 5 this game is a marvel to look at. The way the map changes and just how alive they make everything feel is top notch. With the natural look of a wasteland while also having the apocalyptic retro futuristic style that the game has it's unlike any game I have played or seen. The replayability of this game is what makes it feel so fresh. Every match is different and the loot is changing constantly so you never know what your gonna get. With the addition of players and CPU every time you load in to a new maps it makes it feel almost like a movie. You never know what your gonna get with this game and that unpredictability is what makes this game so replayable and enjoyable. 

No Game is Perfect

    Like most games Arc Raiders has a few flaws. The game once you get to a certain point feels extremely grindy. You almost have to play for 3 hours or so just to get some good loot that you actually need. The game also feels extremely unbalanced at times and is unrelenting to solo players. The game almost feels like it makes you have a squad or team and you better make sure you can talk to those people because oh boy if you cant good luck. The only other issue I would say is that the game itself is new and the longevity of it seems like we don't know how long this honeymoon phase as some would like to call it will last. Gamerant in their review said that there is concern that the game play loop might get repetitive, making this game maybe a new hot game at this moment. One things for sure though that if they can find a way to add even more to this game and keep people coming back for more this game has a huge and bright future ahead of itself. 

Go Get This Game!

Arc Raiders gives that bold and ambitious game that we have been looking for. Every gamer wants that brand new game that actually gives them excitement and enjoyment and this game is it. It for sure has flaws like every other game but with this game, the good outweigh the flaws by a large amount. If you and your friends are looking for a game that gives those movie moments and just pure joy this is it. It's finally a game where you feel every emotion while playing and once you extract with your loot there is no better feeling. I hope to see you all out on the map so I can take your loot! Until next time, I hope you enjoyed this weeks topic and go get the game! See you all next week! 

    

Entry 7- Rethinking What I'm Eating

 Freshest Movie Out There

 Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog! I'm glad you decided to come back and read what I have for you all today. For this week's blog I was tasked with watching the movie "Fresh: Sustainable Food Production in America" and giving my opinion and some analysis on this movie. First off I just want to say wow what an eye opener of a movie. I thought I had a decent understanding about what I was eating and where it came from but wow was I wrong. This film peeled back the curtain on the food industry and was a big eye opener for me. It made me think not about what I'm eating on an everyday basis but also about the system that delivers and produces our food. 

Initial Thoughts and Examples

    After watching this movie I had one question running through my mind. How did we let our food system get this bad? The scary part about that as well is this movie was made in 2009 and I know it got probably ten times worse. The film introduces us to farmers like Joel Salatin and Russ Kremer who were both on different sides of food production. Joel uses open fields to raise his animals instead of warehouses and actually lets his herbivores be herbivores and not introduce them to cannibalism. Russ, who did change his ways after a really bad infection in his leg, who was raising his pigs in an unhealthy environment for them and switched things up after he almost lost his life due to him having an injury from his pigs. Yes there were more farmers in the movie but those were the main two I took away from the most. This movie is meant to be educational but in reality it's a huge wake up call.

The Purpose-The Audience-The Tone

    The purpose of this movie is very clear: to expose industrial agriculture and to persuade the audience to find better alternatives. This film is unlike any other food film I have seen where it doesn't rely just on shock value but instead shows everyday people and farmers that realized how bad the industrial food industry really is and how its destroying nutrients in our food we eat everyday. The audience is everyday people like myself and you reading this right now! It truly feels like the film is talking directly to you, the consumer! The tone is very optimistic and outright about how bad the industrial industry really is. The film encourages you to be curious and aware of what food you are eating. It makes you think twice the next time you put something in your cart at the grocery store. 

Why Should We Care and Why Does It Matter

    We should care because as a society we have relied so much on convenience and just being flat out lazy. This film reminds us that the cost of convenience in our food equals the cost of our health, values, and environment. Yes its easier to not know where our food comes from but easier does not mean its better. Ignorance has made us comfortable with the way our food is now but with knowledge of the industrial food industries it makes us accountable. We should always care about what we put in our body, I mean wouldn't you? You also have to think about what this also affects when you buy industrial like our farmers, environment, and future generations. 

A Tiny Little Wrap Up

    After watching this movie I will never look at groceries the same. Now will I change not entirely. Its hard to completely change what you're eating and buying especially when the non industrial food is so expensive. I will be looking at what I'm buying a different way and maybe get some things that will change the way I eat especially meat and eggs. It really made me think about the way the farmers market this food and how much effort goes into it just to be outdone by the larger companies that don't care what you're eating rather just looking for money. Thank you for taking the time to read this blog and I hope you all make more conscious decisions when going to the grocery store next time. Until next week have a great week and go get some better food in your belly!

Entry-6: Console VS Console

 The Great War

    Hello and welcome back to my blog we are now 6 blogs in and if you have enjoyed them so far please leave a comment. Today we talk about the greatest gaming rivalry in todays market. The rivalry between Xbox and PlayStation has been happening for over 20 years now. The powerhouses in the console gaming industry have been battling over who is the superior console every time a new console comes out. We are now at the PS5 and Xbox Series X, and now common gamers have been wondering since the consoles came out which is better? 

Hardware|Performance|Backwards Compatibility

    Both consoles have incredible specs, and according to Techradar comparison the PS5 has 8-core AMD Zen 2 CPU at 3.5GHz and a GPU delivering ~10.28 TFLOPs. Xbox Series X has 1 TB NVMe SSD, which is a slightly more powerful GPU than the PS5. What does this mean for loading times, and for raw power. For loading times the PS5 has the edge cause of its custom IO system and SSD, and in raw power Xbox Series X has the upper hand in things like teraflops. If it were to come down to it the Xbox Series X has the edge in hardware and performance but the PS5 is not very far behind at all. Backwards compatibility Xbox does best as well as they have many more older titles from previous generations that you can go back and play, while PS5 has very limited selection in that market. Winner for this round: Xbox.

Game Exclusives|Services|Market Performance

    The thing that usually makes gamers choose the console is game exclusivity, or in other words what game can I get on this console that I can't get anywhere else. Well PS5 has a never ending cycle of exclusive games like God Of War, Marvels Spiderman 2, Horizon Zero Dawn, and The Last Of Us. While Xbox's approach lately has been to maximize profits as there games have not sold well, so what used to be their exclusive games now are on all consoles (yes including PS5). Each console as well has their own subscription services, for PlayStation it's PlaySation Plus, and for Xbox its Xbox Game Pass. With PlayStation Plus you get free games every month as well as some other games that are apart of the service, but with Xbox Game Pass you can have basically any game that has a deal with Xbox sometimes its even brand new games just as they come out like Call Of Duty. You can even have Game Pass on PC, so really you can play a long list of games for $20 a month. Now when it comes to market performance its a little lop sided the PS5 has sold about 80 million units, while the Xbox Series X has only sold about 30 million units. Winner for this round: PS5.

The Bottom Line

    Now ultimately its your choice of what console you want but to me it seems like PS5 is the way to go. There really is no winner here they both do things extremely well, but PS5 has so much more to offer. Why buy an Xbox when they don't have anything to show for it. They clearly only care about money and no longer care about consoles because if they did they wouldn't be putting their biggest games on PS5 like Forza, Halo, Indiana Jones, and many more. Both gaming systems offer gaming at a high level but its really your choice and what you prefer in a console. Hopefully this helps anyone deciding on a console that is right for them. Anyways hope you enjoyed my blog this week and see you next week and happy gaming!

Entry 5: Spicy Tongue

 Flame That Keeps Burning

    Welcome back to my blog. Today's topic is a little bit different and let's see if you can guess what I'm talking about. When I open the case and you hear the click, you get a tiny bit of anticipation of what's coming. Inside the case a small little red oval that has that shimmer and shine to it. Turn the case over and take one out just to feel the grittiness of the sugar coating. Then looking at it almost as if it looks dangerous with the red evil-looking presence. 

Sensation

I throw it fiercely into my mouth and on my tongue, I taste sweet and simple. Then it hits like an NFL linebacker with the heat and numb-like tingling sensation on my tongue and taste buds. A steady flame is almost biting the sun. Tongue tingling, lips burning, and all the while each breath you take feels as if you're having that sweet cooling heat sensation. Each crunch adds a new wave of warmth up to the nose, clearing out the sinuses and clearing your head. 

"Campfire"

    With each chomp its not the chill of winter, but the comfort of a campfire. Just like when your too close to a campfire the burn that is smooth but hurts at the same time.  That makes the memories of laughing, family, and cold nights all gathered around that campfire, come rushing back. Something about the heat with each chomp it demands attention just like a campfire. 

The End

    As the heat fades away the sweetness returns, but just a little heat still lingers like the last bit of coals in a dying fire. The warmth will linger as long as the chewing persists and like memories, it refuses to leave. It's almost ironic that something so small can stay with you long after it's gone. Thank you for reading my blog this week I had a pretty hard time with this one but as always have a good week and I will see you next time. Let me know in the comments if you know what I'm talking about in my blog. 

Entry 4-The Return Of A Gaming Great

Battlefield is BACK!

    Hello everyone and welcome back to my video game opinions! I hope you all have been doing well. Today, we are here to talk about the return of video game legend in Battlefield 6. Battlefield used to be the primary competitor to Call of Duty but for the past 10 years or so, the Battlefield game series has not been the same. If you have been a fan of the series then you know it has its ups and downs, but with Battlefield 6 it seems and feels like EA and DICE have gotten it right again. From the amazing visuals to the massive, chaotic multiplayer matches, this game feels like a return to glory and fans are noticing 

Back To Formula

    The first thing that long time Battlefield players will love is how it plays and feels like the older titles in the series Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4. Gamesradar+ has said that Battlefield 6 “is a clear successor to Battlefield 3 and 4". In that article they also talk about how the modern setting, gunplay, and the movement are built from the ground up. Another way of saying this is that they didn't just recreate the old formula that made them so well loved and known, they refined it. Every match feels like organized chaos, like it should, the guns, the vehicles, and the buildings being torn apart gives Battlefield 6 the spark that the previous titles have been missing. The cinematic action is what Battlefield was known for and Battlefield 6 nailed it. 

Sound-Destruction-Portal

    I touched on the guns and destruction a little but I would like to get into more detail with that, also the new innovative 'Portal' mode. Every gun has weight to it, the sounds that the guns make and how close they sound to the real thing rivals any game and is by far top tier in the series. The way a sniper shot just misses you and you hear the whizzing of a bullet flying by your head. It is amazing how well they get the sound design to do that. When an explosion happens right next to you and it gets super loud and shakes your screen it's unlike any game you could ever experience. The Guardian put in their review, Battlefield 6 delivers “operatic, ear-shattering, all-encompassing warfare.” EA and DICE, the publishers, also implemented an all new destruction feature unlike any previous Battlefield game. Buildings crumbling realistically, debris flying through the air plus at your face, and it all happens dynamically through unscripted moments. It makes every match feel alive and different, its completely unpredictable and is what true fans were waiting for from a new Battlefield game. The new addition they added to the game this year is Portal. Portal is a sandbox of all types of different things you can do and create new maps with it. Now obviously it has its limitations but its a community driven new mode that some members of the community have already made some old Battlefield 4 maps out of it. The new portal mode has elevated the experience even more than anyone thought was possible.

 

For The Fans

    Battlefield 6 didn't reinvent the wheel, all it did was re-imagine and perfect it. EA and DICE listened to constant fan feedback on the previous games and knew that they had to get this series back in the right direction. They knew that this game had to be made for the fans and not just greed anymore. I believe they have done that with the sound design, the new Portal mode, the destruction, and getting back to the basics of what made Battlefield so popular. So if your looking for a new game to try out or you were a fan of the series and haven't gone back in a while, now is the perfect time to start up your console or PC and buy this game. If you have been waiting for Battlefield to be great again, now is the time to get back into it. Thank you for reading my blog and I hope you have a wonderful week. See you all next time.