Video Game Review, Call of Duty Modern Warfare

COD4 is a first person shooter set in modern places where warfare is brought into close combat.  Throughout the campaign, the gamer, plays an average private called “Private McTavish” also known as “Soap”.  The story requires the gamer to test his/ her skills at all positions of warfare.  There are various levels that require the gamer to run and gun, a very offensive, risky and quick battle tactic, probably using a sub machine gun.  In other levels stealth is used, with an M4 Carbine, red dot, silencer and night vision goggles.  These levels require the gamer to be sneaky and silently take out outposts with a few men in them.  There are also levels that require the gamer to cover his men as they advance on the battlefield, weave their way through buildings and eventually win the battle against the Taliban.  Not all levels require a lot of close combat and many kills.  There are a couple levels in which staying back a silently sniping.  Having played the campaign, having the variety of the different levels it is very entertaining to play because it is always changing and the gamer never knows what gun he will be given at the beginning of a level.  There are also 4 different difficulty levels that allow the gamer to set it to his gaming capability. 

 

The game doesn’t stop at just the campaign, Call of Duty 4 also has a fantastic online game play.  With the only play your have your own character and you level up.  Once you get to level 55 you can choose to stay there and try to achieve the golden guns or prestige.  There are ten prestiges and once you finish each one you get a new symbol which allows other player to recognize you as a more advance gamer.  A gold cross is the tenth symbol which makes you a feared gamer to play against.  The part I like most about the online play is the camouflage that any gamer can acquire for all of his guns.  Once 25 headshots are accomplished with any given gun digital camouflage is given to you.  It is a black and white pattern.  There is also blue tiger and red tiger, given to a gamer at 75 and 150 headshots with a gun.  If any of the camouflages are acquired they don’t help the gamer’s player in any way but it is more for looking cool and respect.  There are 5 different categories of guns that a gamer is allowed to choose from, Assault rifles, sub machine guns, light machine guns, shotguns, and sniper rifles.  There are many guns in each of the categories and if red tiger is achieved for all the guns in a category a golden gun is achieved.  This means that a gamer has accomplished one of the most difficult tasks in the online play.  This also looks very cool and a lot of respect is associated with this achievement.  Each time a gamer is killed a “kill cam” is shown, this shows you who killed you and what weapon they used.  This is how a gamer can tell if their opponent has a tiger or golden gun.  The concept of camouflage is very cool and the variety of guns is also a huge asset to the game.  The online play is a lot of fun and definitely scores high on the game rankings. 

 

 

Aaron Carr 

Camp X Book Report

Camp x:  Eric Walters

Aaron Carr

 

            Throughout the novel “Camp X” George and Jack get themselves into a whole lot of trouble because of their curiosity.  The book takes place in Whitby, Ontario in 1943. It is mid summer and their father is at war fighting the Nazi army.  As they running around in the local fields around their house the stumbled upon what looked like an army base.  When they first saw the base they were very curious and explored for a bit.  While they were snooping around thy were caught by one of the guards.  Seeing as though the base was a secret and was not suppose to be known about by the general public the boys were severely punished.  Once they are released from their grounding they are obviously curious being 12 and 14 so they go back.  As they sneak around more and more they get to learn about the place better and they soon figure out that it is a top secret Canadian spy camp. 

 

            The author of the novel used suspense very very well in this novel.  When the boys were creeping around the camp I felt like I was in a third person view of them.  I could sense all the danger that they could and it was so real.  He also would drag out all the smallest details and describe the area very well.  Mr. Walters also went into great detail about the boys and how they felt about their punishment and such.  Being a similar age to these boys I was able to feel for them and I was able to relate.  With the amount of detail and my knowledge of being that age I was able to feel the same way as the boys and I could share the same feelings.  This made the book very interesting to read and allowed me to be much more involved as a reader and therefore kept me turning the pages.

 

            “I’m ok… I smashed up my hands, but I’m ok,… I think, but there is no way I can get up.  He rolled back and forth on his back.” Pg 187

In this little blurb about the book the reader can tell many things.  Obviously something has gone wrong and someone got hurt.  This also brings suspense, questions are asked by the reader.  What happened?, is he ok?, how will they get you? And what is going to happen next?  This makes the reader want to continue and find out what happens next. 

“I pulled one knob and the windshield wipers sprung to life.  Desperatly I grabbed another knob and the lights came on.” Pg 219

            The detail in this passage used to describe the windshield wipers is very descriptive.  The second sentence starts with desperately.  This makes the reader think that they are being chased or something.  They are in a hurry so they want to leave quickly.  Again suspense is raised and the reader’s attention is captured and glued to the book.

Fan Letter to Darren Shan

Lord Loss: It’s In the Blood

Darren Shan

 

Dear Mr. Shan.

 

            Your book “Lord Loss: It’s In the Blood” was a fantastic read and kept me turning the pages and I couldn’t stop reading.  Your idea of using such a sophisticated game, chess, and incorporating that with another dimension and magic was a phenomenal idea.  The fact that these monsters with snakes coming out of their heart and maggot filling their heads playing chess against humans was a great idea.  When the final chess match with the 5 chess boards and Lord Loss playing Dervish and then Grubbs taking on the two demons was exhilarating to read. 

            At the start of the book when Grubbs family was obsessed with chess and their whole family played and they were very intense about it I started to wonder what was going on.  As the book continued and when Grubbs parents and Gret, his sister challenged Lord Loss and lost that really caught my attention and glued me to the book.  The detail that you went into for when Grubbs first saw his destroyed house and dead family members was incredible and it painted a very vivid picture in my head.  When he moved in with Dervish I thought the excitement of the book was over and it was just going to be a dull book from there on out.  Once chess was brought back into my view I was excited to see if Grubbs was going to avenge his fallen family members with Dervish.  Once the final fight got set up and underway I couldn’t stop reading until the book was over.  Even after I finished the book I was itching to see what was going to happen in the next book. 

            The amount of detail and originality that went into writing this book was amazing and I really enjoyed reading this book and I would definitely recommend it to all of my friends.

 

Sincerely Aaron Carr

The Tin Roof Blowdown- James Lee

Mr. Baylor is a wealthy man that lives in new Orleans before hurrican Katrina hit and destroyed most of New Orleans.  He lives in one of the houses that did not get wrecked by the storm and that night he sleeps happily in his bed.  That same night thugs are outside raiding other houses with crowbars and they are destroying what has not been already destroyed.  As Otis Baylor watches this and remembers when the same gang raped his daughter in past years.  He is upset and goes outside and opens fire at the men, showing that he is very strong minded and fearless. He is also a very smart man.  He is able to get away with the murder of that man because he said he was defending his property.  He uses his knowledge of law to get out of this tight situation that he got he got himself into. 

 

            Throughtout the novel there where various hints that were dropped for “Dave Robicheaux” the sheriff and detective of the novel.  Throughout the book he has to go through the destroyed, gang filled, and violent streets to find those who raided the houses, raped Mr. Baylor’s daughter, and who high jacked a rescue boat.  After the high jacking the got a hidden gangster fortune and left.  As he goes threw the streets he has to talk to many people who give him little clues about where they think that the men are staying and where they are.  He has to talk to many rough people like drug addicts, gangsters, and homeless people.  As the whole city is a dump it is very hard to find physical evidence so he has to use witnesses to track down the men that did the crime.

 

“What kind of people put flower vases in every room in a house before a hurricane.”  This is a passage earlier in the book when Mr. Otis is watching the gang members raid a house.  I found this interesting because he seems very calm and he is almost criticizing the owners of the house which is kind of comical.  “The bottles neck as is was airlocked under the cork, the splash it made as it was released again and pored over the ice.”  I thought this passage was intriguing because it is amazing how much detail he put into the book.  He went down to the smallest detail that is possible to describe the drink that he is having.  It is fantastic writing and it caught my attention.  “Sidney pushed him into the alley and kicked him so hard in the buttocks that Bertrand felt like glass had been shoved up his rectum.”  I found this quote slightly humorous because when someone gets kicked in the butt I can think of some funny thoughts.  Also the simile that is provided is also slightly comical.  It is also a metaphor for Bertrand has to pick it up.  The kick in the butt physically has an obvious meaning, but metaphorically it means that he has to smarten up. 

 

Aaron Carr

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey is a story of nonconformity as humankind struggles against the ruling powers that control society. Its narration, by a ten-year Oregon psychiatric patient Chief Bromden, chronicles the subordinate lives of fellow mental patients, focusing much of the attention on the newly instated Randle McMurphy. Bromden notes McMurphy’s radical behaviour and oppositional nature, particularly towards the strict and controlling Nurse Ratched, as well as his ability to stimulate rebellion among other patients in the ward. At first both McMurphy and Nurse Ratched willingly engage in conflict by trying to overthrow each other ‘s power. Eventually, however, McMurphy realizes that he is fighting a losing battle as Nurse Ratched and her staff determines the patients’ ultimate fate. McMurphy attempts to alter his behaviour by complying with Nurse Ratched’s requests only to discover that his unique makeup will not allow him to do so. As a result McMurphy falls prey to Ratched’s victimization as she has him lobotomized; thereby; confining him to a vegetative state. In this way, control is maintained and reinforced by authorities in positions of power.

McMurphy opposing nature lends support to his authenticity as a developing character. At first he appears as a rebellious figure who not only acts as he wishes, but causes others to do so as well. His typical, ongoing disobedient behaviour enables him to resist being controlled by others, particularly Nurse Ratched. Although through stong effort to blend into the status quo, McMurphy gives in by natural nature and attempts to kill Nurse Ratched. After this affair Nurse Ratched lays down the law by giving McMurphy a lobotomized. Destroying his rightful mind of thinking.

Throughout “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” there were various quotes that appealed to me and those that were meaning full. When McMurphy initially comes to the hospital he quickly lays down the law saying he is number one man. I thought this was meaning full because he took what he wanted without questions and that’s respectable. Also when he organized the fishing trip, it gave those men their manhood back by being free and realing in fish by themselves and no one to tell them what to do. I also like this scene because of the freedom they got and how they were show life outside the hospital.