Social Networking Gets Educational With Edmodo

My university uses Blackboard to keep the students and teachers connected. It does a pretty good job for what it does, but it does not invite communication between teachers and students. Edmodo seems to change that by mixing in social networking with education.

Edmodo allows students to interact with each other as they would with their friends and family on Facebook and Twitter. You just create a free account and the magic happens. Teachers can create groups where students can message them and get class materials.

It also works the other way around. Teachers can find useful items to enhance their classes and also interact with other teachers on the network.

To sign up is free, all you need is a group code from your teacher and you will be on your way to a new form of education.

Tools I Use: Screenshot Apps

For all the blogging and posting I do online, I often need a photo that I can't take with a camera.  I may need a picture of some software running on my computer for a tutorial or for a blog post like this. Here is a list of the ones I use when I need a screenshot.


Awesome Screenshot

Ever needed not only a screenshot, but an annotated screenshot? Awesome Screenshot lets you not only take screenshots of a selected portion of your Web page, the visible part of it, or even the whole page, but allows you to write and draw on it. Say you want to point out something within the image, just create a pointer or a shape to highlight something of interest. You can event place text.  

Download Awesome Screenshot is currently available as a browser extension for Google Chrome and Safari. Firefox should receive a version in the near future.  

LightShot

Need something that gets the job done? LightShot does the trick and fairly well. You just select the portion of the screen you want as a screenshot and that's it. You have the option to upload it online, save it or edit it. If you choose to edit it, LightShot takes you to its custom online photo editor so you can make your edits and be on your way.

LightShot is available as a Firefox add-on, Chrome extension, Internet Explorer add-on, and desktop application and you can download it here.

Screenpresso 

A favorite app of mine because it works so well at what it does. You can create shortcuts for on the fly screenshots. Don't want to install it? You can use Screenpresso right the minute it finishes downloading, no install required. The need to save shots onto your hard drive is nonexistant with Screenpresso; it has its own memory bank to story your screenshot history. Email, edit, and share your screenshots with your friends, family, and co-workers. 

Download Screenpresso and give it a try. 

    

Robo Review: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is a unique title in the Castlevania series. It is different because it has all the things that made Castlevania titles the classics they are today, but does not entirely play itself out as a part of the series.

The game includes old elements, like numerous weapons that can hack your enemies and integrate with the world around you, intriguing puzzles that are rewarding, and deep characters that could hold a place in your library of interesting people. Also, I forgot to mention there are ferocious demons waiting for you in every damn section waiting to rip heroes apart.

The story in this game is actually told in a very fluid way and the voice acting is pretty good to say the least. Patrick Stewart lends his vocals to the story as the narrator and friend of Gabriel, the hero of the story. Really, who wouldn’t want to spend three minutes listening to the gripping tales between every level told by the enchanting Patrick Stewart? Nobody. The classic battle of light vs. darkness is slurred as things are not always as they seem. The game also focuses towards the tragic take on love as Gabriel looks for the killer of his beloved wife and childhood sweet-heart, Marie. While also completing the dangerous task of killing all three of the retched Lords of Shadow before they decay the world even more than they’ve already done. For the technical people, like myself, who want to keep track of how many levels they are going through, there are ten chapters with sub-chapters within each. The game is two disks long and it has to be said, this game takes time and patience to master, even on the easiest difficulty.

The combat is reminiscent of God of War and Shadow of the Colossus, but unlike the story, the game play outside of hacking and slashing foes, has a pace I could not keep up with. As with most of the Castlevania games, Gabriele starts off with a special whip contained within a large crucifix.  It can be upgraded to suit a new fighting style or help advance within the story. Combos can be bought and upgraded by points earned either from completing different puzzles or finishing a chapter and sub-chapter. Just hitting the close and range attack buttons are not going to get you anywhere though; combining the shadow and light magic earned early within the game add to the formula and the fun. With the light magic, Gabriele can attack foes and gain health back at the same time. Where as the shadow magic increases attack damage and has its own unique combos. Other tools for beating demons and other mystical creatures to death can be found throughout the game, after or before defeating a special boss at the end of each level.

 A majority of the game relies on quick button presses, which I frown upon seeing it as a lazy part of the development. But there are other bosses who are quite unique, they are known as the Titans. These titans and other large creatures add some change to the dynamics of bosses in this game, because you need to find a way onto them and hitting their weakest points without falling off. It adds a sense of vertigo and space when fighting them, because of their enormous size and power. Gabriele can also mount beasts he defeats within the game. They can be used as weapons or used to platform to places Gabriele cannot normally reach.

The platforming, puzzle-solving and adventuring aspect of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow are quite fun, but a bit linear and fast-paced. When roaming around the world hunting down mighty demons, Gabriele tends to move at a very fast pace. Stopping, actually felt like I was breaking the flow of the game, but at the same time it gave me a chance to look at the beautiful scenery and find all the collectibles.

The collectibles range from health and magic upgrades to scrolls held by dead soldiers. These scrolls, give some small side story as to who these deceased warriors were and why their bodies lie lifeless in the world. They also give hints as to other collectibles and are something fun to read, even if they are not as well written as witty poetry. The puzzles are quite clever, but nothing gamers haven’t already seen before. They can be as simple as a fetch quest, to the more complex ones like reflecting a stream of magical light to the several mirrors in order for it to hit the right target and get Gabriele on his way. The scrolls held by dead soldiers can also hold hints towards these puzzles, but at the cost of losing experience earned from completing the puzzles on your own.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadows sets itself apart from the rest of the Castlevania series by giving gamers fresh characters with a good, well-told story and exciting, finger-twitching combat. The puzzles are well thought out, the adventuring is fun, and the scenery is beautiful if you stop to take a gander. LoS is an engaging experience and one truly worth investing in. If not for the moments, then do it for Patrick Stewart.      

Robo Review: Halo Reach

Halo: Reach is, by far, the best Halo experience to have been released on the Xbox platform. Halo reach is a top nominee for game of the year with seriously beefed up graphics, great first person game play, and a story which has some serious emotional weight to it.

Bungie created a whole universe with Halo: Halo Reach adds to the story with a view of what went down before the events of Halo: Combat Evolved. It tells the tale of Noble Team and their struggle to save humanity from the gloom of the Covenant, an evil race of aliens bent on wiping humans from the face of the galaxy. It’s not a spoiler to say that this game is a prequel. And most people who read the Halo novels know that Noble Team does not succeed in their mission and Reach is lost forever. Still, it is a quality story and something that should be examined. How Noble Team, the last few of the super-soldiers known as Spartans, lost the fight to the covenant and how the infamous Master Chief’s tale began.

The campaign is as you’d expect from a Halo game. On easy, you’ll be blasting the hell out of Covenant scum for 10 missions. On legendary, you’d be wishing you never held that controller you almost slammed on the floor. The difficulty doesn’t let down for anything, and on harder difficulties, the enemies seem almost psychic as to your whereabouts.

The difficulty may be the same, but some of the new features may be exactly what Halo fans have been wanting. There are now assassinations. Instead of a regular one hit assassinations to the back of the head, if the player holds the melee button long enough behind an opponent, an assassination that takes about a few seconds happens. You can’t move during the motion, but it one cool way to catch enemies off-guard. This feature is available to Spartans and the Covenant during multiplayer.

There also small tweaks to the game like switching different bullet types on certain weapons like the brand new Saber, which is a very different flying vehicle we haven’t seen in a Halo game yet, but it’s only available for one short level, which is really saddening seeing as it is one of the most fun levels in the game. All the levels in the game are places where you’d want to be, not like Halo 3 or Halo 2 where some levels just went on for way too long.

The biggest change to Halo: Reach is that you are not Master Chief. Instead, you play as Noble 6, the newest recruit to the Noble Team. He can be customized to the players liking, from armor variations, color, emblems and even gender. Master Chief was a one-liner spitting, bad-ass soldier of few words. Noble 6 is a Spartan trained to kill, but also trained to follow orders and get the job done.

Halo multiplayer has also stayed the same, with a few new modes and tweaks. The new invasion mode has Spartans vs. Elites in a battle for protect and destroy. Forge mode, the map creation tool integrated into Halo 3 has been beefed up to allow new maps to be created for custom multiplayer mayhem. Co-Op has stayed in for the campaign and a future update will allow for more options in that area including online Co-Op.

Firefight mode from Halo: ODST has been added to the mix and has become exactly what it should have been. It has many more levels to play on and enough customization to leave players shooting unlimited rounds from a rocket launcher for hours or playing for an unlimited amount of time seeing who can kill the most covenant. 

Halo: Reach may be one of the last Halo games Bungie will make, and even if that may be as sad as the knowledge that the story ends on a rough note, it is still one of the most enjoyable experience Bungie has ever pushed out.

My collection of Pokémon cards. 

My Nintendo DS Lite is Dead

I found out today my Nintendo DS Lite is busted. What is a man to do?

I don't know how it happened. I took it out of my bag two days ago so I could play Dragon Quest IX. When I tried to turn it on nothing happened. I was worried and distressed. This DS belonged to my brother. He had upgraded to the Nintendo DSI XL, so I kindly took the "piece of junk" off his hands. I had a DS before, but there was no game really interesting enough to keep me foucsed, so I got rid of it. Now, with Dragon Quest IX, I was having more fun on it then ever.

I tried to charge it, but my charger didn't work on it. The light would flicker for less than a second and then darkness. I attempted to use my roommate's charger, and that failed too. Maybe it's the battery. I could reapir it. I've been meaning to do that for sometime now. Maybe it's best I just leave it alone and invest in a new DS. The 3DS looks pretty cool from what I've seen. Just hope it doesn't hurt my eyes with its 3D-ness without 3D glasses.

R.I.P my Nintendo DS Lite.

Zombies, Zombies and More Zombies!

Photo Credit: IGN

I purchased Dead Rising 2: Case Zero before class on Friday. I love killing zombies after a day of hard work.

I had played quite a few hours of Dead Rising when the Xbox first released. I enjoyed it more for the achievements and the game play, but It never got me hooked like Resident Evil had on the Playstation. I liked the fact that I could literally grab anything from the giant mall you were contained in and use it as a weapon. I could grab a register, blender, YOUR MOMMA...okay, not your momma. That would be pretty funny though, wouldn't it?

As I was saying, anything in the world could be used for your advantage. Case Zero continues with that and adds one more feature that had be jumping in my seat. Combinations!

The player can grab certain items and combine them to create weapons of mass awesomeness. The first creation  of zombie-killing glory was a baseball bat with nails. Once you create your weapon you obtain a card which reveals of picture of the weapon and its uses. There are two different kinds of cards which deal different effect depending on the card given. I then created a bucket with drills attached to it. That was the highlight of my Zombie-beating session.

The 3 hour game starts with the new main character, Chuck, driving into the small town of Still Creak with his ill daughter. She had been bitten previously before the game and the whole game is centered with you and your daughter attempting to leave the zombie-ridden wasteland. The world has been taken over by the undead and Zombrex is the new drug everyone is clambering for or its lights out for the infected.

The game is worth the five dollar price tag on Xbox Live. All the levels gained in Case Zero can be exported into a save from Dead Rising 2 which will be released on September 28.

This title is worth a look at, or should I say, this is a game worth sinking your teeth into!

Maybe? No? Okay....ZOMBIES!