Prelim: This is the first game I'm going to review, it may seem like a strange one, but I feel like reviewing it. I hope to review more games generally on the unique and different side. If you have any games you'd like for me to review, drop me a line or comment on the blog. Note: I am doing this for personal pleasure, not under any endorsement or prompt from the developers or third-parties.

Game Name: FizzBall
Developer: Grubby Games
Publisher: Garage Games
Released: November 2006

Little did I know when I decided to write a review for FizzBall that the publisher is none other than GarageGames. I should have figured as much though. To give a little bit of intro, GarageGames has been at the forefront of technolgies designed to aid the development and abilities of games and their developers. They've come out with numerous engines (notably the "Torque" engine). What I warmly know them as is the big guys. My #1 all-time favorite game is called Orbz, which was also published thanks to Garage Games (you may recognize it as being on Shockwave.com for sale at one time). The developers for that game were different, but the idea is still the same: to produce stunning games through simplistic gameplay.

FizzBall is not your run-of-the-mill game. It is very 2-D perspective and is drawn up slightly cartoonish, but simply looks that way. The story deals with a professor faced with a problem. All the animals are hungry and they are complaining (or something like that-yes they can talk). I soon began to wonder whether A) PETA was behind this or B)PETA was suing this. The game involves the professor shooting out a "FizzBall" which with enough space will trap *ahem* I mean "rescue" the animals to bring them to a safe environment, the "sanctuary", to eat.

The gameplay is quite simplistic, and it much in tune with the ol' brick/breakout/pong/any other classic game of that type. It can get quite complicated though, with fences, barrels, boxes, etc blocking the way. The biggest thing I love about the game is the capabilities for children. While I feel it's points are a little bit cheesy and upfront, a child would find it fun and would try to *avoid the pollution* in real life too. You may have to play the game to get the full effect.

Overall, it is one of the best games I've seen in a long time. With it's unique gameplay, simplistic but rich graphics, and unbeatable charm, FizzBall will all but fizzle out....speaking of cheesy.

Sum Up:
Pros: Great for Family, Simplistic Gameplay, Lots of Animals
Cons: Cheesy, Slightly Liberal, Addicting

Anyway, this was my first review, I know, it stinks, and I'm not going to edit it just yet (once I do you will no longer see this bottom piece and it'll do the game justice.) Please tell me what you think and try out the game, I highly recommend it or else I take my FizzBall at you!

Grubby Games
Garage Games
FizzBall Demo Downoad
Extranneous:
21-6 Productions (Orbz Developer) Orbz 2 (Orbz Online)

I've been getting into research...now with one and a half College English Research courses under my belt, I've been pondering what I could be interested in researching on my own accord (on my own, free of any time constraints and during the summer no doubt). I believe I've decided to focus my efforts on the one place I know most about, Internet/Computers. Computers being my passion, I know that there can be a fine line between usage and obsession. I hope to delve into the psychological aspects (while not really dealing much with an erudite development) and the physical aspects as well as, with my own experience, the reasons why there is that initial draw to the computer versus human-human interaction and how it can turn to addiction. This decision is at a time when I'm quite in control of my computer usage and I have heavily diluted it's addicting properties (the Lenten season). I shall end this post with a couple questions, I would enjoy any responses you all might have, and I shall open up comments to everyone: Could the world survive without computers? If it could, would it be a better place, or one of worse proportions?

PS: I really don't like asking "what if" questions, but for research purposes, it is somewhat necessary. Again, your thoughts are quite welcomed.

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Reel Lyfe.  Black & White.  FyreFox vs. Intarweb Xploder.

Opera. Whether its a story sung with much vibrato or an internet browser that strings with much ease, the word is often strongly associated with passion, intensity, and drama. For the longest time, I was a huge fan of Fyrefox, but, while I still admire the initiative and drive of the Mozilla Foundation to provide a better browser for the better of the people, I recently found myself in a hazy maze of amazing features and pure delights.

The Opera browser, while not open-source, has an abundance of features. Many of the features of tabbed browsing, keystrokes, history are far advanced over those of Fyrefox, let alone the Intarweb Xploder. Rather than explain my reasons for enjoying the Opera browser, I believe that any users should decide for themselves what browser they use. I won't claim that every website works better with Opera, Fyrefox, or the Intarweb Xploder. However, I will say this, for every person that accesses the internet, it is their choice what they wish to use, regardless of whether they 'know better' or are 'ignorant fanboys'. The internet, imaging the world, is a diverse place made up of diverse people. If we start to push one idea over another, we're no better off than we were before. While I do not recommend the Intarweb Xploder, I rightly cannot say it is a horrible piece of junk either.

On that note, I believe the best way to sum it all up would be with this statement to all of those who are fervently rooting for the 'underdog' Fyrefox, as I once did: Get a life and just freakin' browse the web.

Get the Intarweb Xploder
Get Fyrefox
Get Opera