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The Bird is the Word: Sophisticated Schoolyard Shenanigans

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Oreos: The Wonder-Filled Cookies

February 2, 2022 by szachik@pvs.org Leave a Comment

This week Ani Madanyan gives us her ratings on the well-known cookies, Oreos. Oreos come in more variations than most of us can identify. She tells us which of these Oreo cookies are the best and which ones to avoid. – Editor Abigail Horwitt

By Chef Ani

Oreos are the best snack. Either dip them in milk, or eat a whole family pack alone by yourself. Either way, they’re delicious. But, which flavor is the best? All of them are extremely tasty, but today we’ll find one that stands out. Don’t get offended, these are my opinions, and if you disagree over this very important issue, talk about it in the comments. After writing this blog, I ate 17 Oreos…. needless to say, talking about Oreos makes you hungry for Oreos.

The Original Oreo

I can eat a whole family pack of these. They’re so light and packed with flavor. I personally love these so much, and I would say that you could never get tired of them. Either dip them in milk, or if you’re lactose-intolerant like me, just eat them plain.

Overall, I give original Oreos a 9.5/10.

The Golden Oreo

These are super tasty as well. Instead of a chocolate cookie, it tastes almost like a graham cracker/sugar cookie. I wouldn’t say these are my favorite. They’re too sweet, but sometimes I go through a Golden Oreo phase where I eat 20 of them in one sitting.

Overall, I give Golden Oreos a 7/10.


Dark Chocolate Oreos

These are my least favorite Oreo cookies. I personally hate dark chocolate because it’s too bitter. The dark chocolate with the chocolate cookie is way too much chocolate, and it’s also way too bitter. This cookie deserves to be locked up in prison. It tastes bland and bitter, and not even milk can fix it.

Overall, 3/10.

Oreo Cakesters

These are the BEST Oreos ever. They are more like cake than cookie, but they are so fluffy, and they taste like cookies-and-cream milkshake. This is the best Oreo ever invented. This is definitely my favorite.

Overall, I give Oreo Cakesters a 10/10.

These are just a few of the flavors. Out of all flavors, I would still pick the Oreo Cakesters. They’re soft and delicious. These cookies are HEAVEN. Although the Original Oreos and the Oreo Cakesters were almost a tie, I had to go with the fluffy Oreo masterpiece–Oreo Cakesters. Oreo Cakesters were discontinued for TEN YEARS, but, thankfully, they are back in 2022. That’s how we know it’s going to be a good year!

Filed Under: Food, Op-Ed Tagged With: Ani Madanyan, Oreos: The Wonder-Filled Cookie

Why I Think Special K is a Great Cereal (and why no one else’s opinion is valid)

February 2, 2022 by szachik@pvs.org 1 Comment

Cereal is a very special part of American culture. It is, in fact, a subject hotly debated by the blog staff. Two weeks ago, Cereal Enthusiast Abigail Horwitt listed her top cereals. Blogger Levi Kassinove takes issue with her selection and its glaring omission: Special K. 

By Levi Kassinove, Cereal Connoisseur

Special K is an American brand of breakfast cereal that’s manufactured by Kellog’s. Its ingredients include rice (47%), wholewheat (37%), sugar, barley (5%), malted barley flour, salt, and a few other random chemicals (Kellog’s). According to Abby Walthausen for Yahoo News, “The original Special K was the culmination of a lifelong goal of W.K. Kellogg. . . . It was to be his uber cornflakes but the final recipe, with enough protein, vitamins, and minerals to survive by, was not complete until 1955, four years after Kellogg’s death.” Today, Kellogg’s advertises their cereal as low-fat, as a cereal that helps people lose weight. One person on Quora vouched for this cereal, saying that “it’s not a miracle food, but it’s healthy enough” (Quora). I will tell you right now that while this may be true for the original variation, the other subspecies of Special K are not healthy. I’m talking about the Special K Brown Sugar Cinnamon cereal, the Special K Red Berries cereal, and the Special K Chocolatey Delight Chocolatey cereal (All Cereal Varieties). Unfortunately, contrary to these deliciously unhealthy cereal names, the label of a “diet cereal” often connotes that it has a terrible flavor. With Special K, only the people who are open minded enough to try this diet cereal, with no preconceived notions, will have their eyes opened to the possibilities of Special K. The cereal has evolved since its introduction in the 1950s into a hidden gem of a breakfast. 

I can go on and on about WHY this cereal is so good. No, really, I will. In their “Red Berries” genre, the strawberries are masterfully freeze-dried. The strawberries, along with the other red berries I have yet to identify, get masterfully rehydrated upon contact with milk. Let me show you a picture of this cereal. Maybe it will be the catalyst for expanding that splinter in your mind–the one that’s saying you shouldn’t be such a picky cereal eater. 

I’d say that anyone (Jesse Denyer) who can’t get past the idea that this cereal is “only for old people” is just a drone who chooses to live in utter ignorance. In 2009, 75% of Americans said that they stay away from diet-friendly cereal because they think it’ll taste bad. Did I make up that statistic? Yes. Just give it a chance! Eat the cereal. 

*Disclaimer: The opinions of Levi are his own and do not represent the opinions of thebirdonfire.org; nor can we vouch for his statistics.

Filed Under: Food, Op-Ed Tagged With: Levi Kassinove, Why I Think Special K is a Great Cereal

rory gilmore

May 31, 2019 by szachik@pvs.org Leave a Comment

By Makena Behnke

as you may or may not know, i’m a big fan of the show Gilmore Girls. i always come back to this show when i’m in a tv drought. i relate to a majority of this show, and i think everyone should watch it. since i’m a big fan, i obviously have some strong opinions about the characters’ choices. today we’re going to talk about Rory Gilmore’s (one of the main characters) boyfriends in order of worst to best. she only has three long-term boyfriends in this series, so this’ll be a short post. this post contains a fair amount of spoilers so come back when you’re finished watching. if you don’t care about spoilers, enjoy.

3. Dean Forester:

yes, he’s super cute & dreamy in the beginning, but near the middle/end, he turns sour. he was a good first boyfriend because he really loved her, but once Rory grew up and changed a bit, he didn’t know what to do and freaked. he’s always jealous and super possessive of Rory. newsflash buddy, 14 phone messages in 20 minutes is too much! also there was a whole “i love you” situation where he got mad then dumped her. terrible dude, really. he’s also a cheater! not on Rory, but on his wife. (that was Rory’s decision too, but Dean is the married one here). he also married his rebound while he was still in love with Rory, and that’s just wrong. he’s just a real jerk. he had some good qualities at first; he was sweet and caring, but that faded as soon as Rory figured out who she was and what she wanted out of life. just cuz Dean wanted the 50s housewife life who made dinner and perfect casseroles and cleaned all day doesn’t mean Rory had to conform to that and throw out her dreams. her constant back and forth with Dean throughout the show is really irritating, but it keeps the audience on their toes i guess.

2. Logan Huntzberger:

i really appreciate his sense of adventure and his rich-boy-rebelling attitude. he starts out kinda weird and rude then gradually improves into a pretty great boyfriend. he’s quite charming, but sometimes he comes off as an entitled rich boy who complains about his daddy. Rory and Logan are also genuine friends; their personalities really clicked. he really knows how to win Rory’s heart, and they really do make a cute couple. i’d be really happy if they ended up together; he’s a keeper for sure. i have to say, paying a coffee cart to follow Rory around because he did something wrong is a smart move. i don’t have a lot to say about him– i like him.

1. Jess Mariano:

i can’t really express my love for him. he’s just such a great boyfriend for Rory. in the beginning, he was definitely a risk seeing as he was the “bad boy” and he crashed her car, but i think this was the best relationship. they had similar taste in music, and they both loved books so much. and once they were together, he really loved her and treated her really well for a good portion of their relationship. also, their on-stage chemistry was probably the best because the actors actually dated in real life. the Jess relationship era was really a rollercoaster, but an enjoyable one with quippy comments and the perfect amount of attitude and band shirts. i have to say, he definitely needed to mature because during some points, he was just a teen boy who messed up his life, including the Rory portion of it. later on in the series, he reappears, fully mature and ready to be the best boyfriend he could possibly be. and then, he pops up again, ready to convince Rory to make some good life choices during her low period. he did get her tickets to see The Distillers, a good move on his part.

Editor: Hannah Hall

Filed Under: Entertainment, Op-Ed, Uncategorized Tagged With: Makena Behnke, rory gilmore

These Songs are Actually Pretty Good

May 22, 2019 by szachik@pvs.org Leave a Comment

By James Zheng, a surprise music critic blogger

Music, as a part of our daily life, has always accompanied us whenever we need it. And, according to what I have seen so far about what people usually listen to around me, it’s normally either rap music or pop music. I’ve included plenty of unknown songs worth recommending in this post; you might recognize them; maybe not. Let’s find out.

Overall, I categorized them by genre to give you a brief preview of each.

Rock Music

  • Simple Plan the band. Recommendation for their songs: Holding On and Take My Hand. Simple Plan is from Canada. I would consider them as derived from punk rock. I have listened to each of their albums; I am obsessed with their unique style; this style is second to none. They do not generate the conventional idea of rock that makes a very noisy track. They don’t do much heavy metal sound; instead, they have a very cheerful track style. And, before they put the sound of electric guitar in, they usually have a fantastic melody mixed with piano and bass. All of their songs are amazing.
  • Daughtry the band. Recommendation for their songs: It’s Not Over and Over You. Daughtry is from America, and they are more popular than Simple Plan. Their style is a little bit hard to define because they keep changing it in each album. The unique thing about Daughtry is probably the lead vocalist’s–Chris Daughtry’s–wild singing style. You feel like he is yelling, but in fact he is not. He just puts his emotion fully into the song as few people do.

Instrumental Music

  • String For a Queen by ELYZA/Xan. Speaking of instrumental music, String For a Queen is my favorite ever song. The beat keeps rising and falling, it is really unpredictable. In another words, you don’t know what’s coming next, but you are expecting something more, and eventually the better thing than the expectation comes. The String For a Queen has a really dreamlike beat which more sounds like a fantasy motif. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OK075fzsDCM
  • Blue by Xeuphoria. Blue has a very tranquil beat. When you are nervous or restless, try to listen to this song and it could help a lot to calm your mind down and make you fall into the enjoyment of this quiet melody.

Electronic Music

  • Demons (Original Mix) by Paris Blohm.
  • Wolves by Selena Gomez, Marshmello.
  • I am not sure if electronic music is popular in America. I think that it is a huge improvement from traditional instrumental music. Initially electronic music was played without lyrics, but to further innovate and make it more exceptional, a DJ (Disc Jockey) decides to add the singing part in to make it better.

Popular Music

  • What Are Words by Chris Medina. This song has a touching story behind it. The incentive for Chris to write this song is due to an accident that happened to his wife. His wife got severely injured and needed a large amount of money to pay for the therapy bill. Chris decided to participate in the show American Idol and strove to get the reward so that he could pay for his wife’s medical bill. Although he was eliminated, the song left an intense impression. The track consists of piano and violin, which is a simple combination of sounds. But he has a great voice and captivating emotion in the song.
  • Color Blind by Matt B. Matt remixed an instrumental song called River Flows in You, and then made Color Blind. Matt has an unexpectedly unique voice; his singing style is quite natural and casual. And the whole rhythm of the song is really relaxing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BInjDfGMUlM

Anime Theme Music

  • Call of Silence by Gemie. Call of Silence is a interlude song within the anime called Attack On Titan 2nd Season. It is more likely to be a character song. The whole song is in English without a singing accent; you can understand the lyrics clearly.  
  • Red Swan by YOSHIKI/HYDE. Red Swan is the theme song for Attack On Titan 3rd Season, and most of the lyrics are in English. It is a light rock song fused with the sound of piano.

If you listen to music a lot and have not yet known these songs, I strongly suggest you to get know them. You might step into a new musical realm.

Filed Under: Culture, Entertainment, Making Daily Life More Interesting, Music, Op-Ed, Review Tagged With: James Zheng

How to Make the Transition to Adulthood: Using the Catcher in the Rye as an Example of What Not to Do

May 16, 2019 by szachik@pvs.org Leave a Comment

By Holden Hartle, who takes his namesake from Holden Caulfield

This spring break, I took a trip to the East Coast in which I traversed Massachusetts and Rhode Island completely by myself. Everything from transportation to food was accounted for by me. It’s scary, needless to say. But I had a friend during this time, Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye.

I had never read the book before, despite it being the book I was named after, and I couldn’t have read it at a better time.

The book follows Holden, a sixteen year old who has just been kicked out of yet another prestigious school because he is unmotivated to complete his schoolwork. The angsty teen only passed one class at Pencey, his English class, and this was because he had read all of the books in previous years. His struggles in school stem from his hatred for adults. All adults with few exception are “phonies.” His teachers are no exception.

Because Holden is the narrator, and a pretty snarky one, you have to take everything he says with a grain of salt. He will state that a certain adult is a phony, but as the reader, you have to ask yourself why he would say something like that. Is a character actually a phony, or is he just a phony through the eyes of Holden? My brief background in AP Psychology tells me that Holden is displacing his fear of adulthood onto all adults, instead of accepting the transition.

The book gets it title from Holden describing his fantasy of being a “catcher in the rye” to his younger sister, Phoebe. He explains the scenario in which he is in a rye field with his back facing a cliff with a sheer drop off. In this field, children are running towards the cliff, and Holden is picking them up, and placing them further away from the edge.

Pretty weird fantasy, right? Not when you understand the consciousness of Holden.

To me, the bottom of the cliff is adulthood, and these children are conforming to what society wants; they are making the jump to become adults. Holden is desperately trying to keep these children in their current state, but he can’t save everyone. The reader learns that Holden has almost a quixotic factor to him. He has the idea that he can save everyone, but obviously this isn’t the case.

Towards the end of the book, Holden is watching Phoebe on a carousel. Holden cries happy tears as he watches Phoebe going round-and-round, stagnant in her childhood. She isn’t headed in a straight line to adulthood, she is stuck in her childhood, and that makes Holden happy.

So what does this have to do with you? Well, don’t be like Holden. The inevitable tide of adulthood is coming, and you can’t stop it, no matter how hard you or Holden try. So adjust. Humans are amazing at adapting to new social environments. Whether you are going to college or getting your first job, you can adjust to that new environment. If you completely immerse yourself, you mold yourself to match that situation. Holden couldn’t adapt; thus he clung to childhood with all of his being. This ultimately was his downfall. Don’t be like Holden.

Editor: AJ Patencio

Filed Under: Advice, Fiction, Op-Ed Tagged With: Holden Hartle, How to Make the Transition to Adulthood: Using the Catcher in the Rye as an Example of What Not to Do

Monster Prom 2!… Well, Almost

May 10, 2019 by szachik@pvs.org Leave a Comment

By Dayton Kennard

Hello readers! If you can remember, a while back I did a post on Monster Prom, a dating sim that’s also a competitive multiplayer game entirely about romancing monsters who are probably too old to be in high school but are anyways. The game developer, Beautiful Glitch, made a wonderful and unique take on the classic dating sim and continued to bring more intriguing and outlandish adventures to their fans through seasonal updates, as well as new downloadable content. But just this week, they’ve done something many fans have been eagerly awaiting…

Beautiful Glitch has officially released their KickStarter for Monster Prom 2: Holiday Season!*

Where is KickStarter? Who is KickStarter? Why is KickStarter? Kickstarter.com is a website that allows content creators to raise money for a project through “pledges” of money from interested people in exchange for rewards for their loyalty! Beautiful Glitch used KickStarter to fund their first game (Monster Prom), and are now using it for funding their second game (Monster Prom 2)!

While they only released the KickStarter for Monster Prom 2 this week, they surpassed their funding goal in nearly one hour; they went on to raise over $100,000 in about 12 hours, and now have raised over 400% of their original goal in just about 24 hours! This is likely due to the tempting rewards they have made for their backers, including (but not limited to) dakimakuras, custom characters, polaroids, and even a trip to Barcelona, Spain!

While it’s not even been a week since its launch, the Monster Prom KickStarter is already surpassing expectations rapidly, and seems to continue growing daily!

Editor: Luke Langlois

*https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/corintio/monster-prom-2-holiday-season

Filed Under: Entertainment, Op-Ed, Technology, Video Games Tagged With: Dayton Kennard, Monster Prom 2!... Well

A philosophical paradox–Are there truths?

May 9, 2019 by szachik@pvs.org 1 Comment

James, when he took his turn as the weekly editor, assigned everyone the task of writing to the theme Philosophy. Now, it’s his turn to weigh in.

By James Zheng

Generally, during our everyday life, the following questions of “really?” or “is that true?” appear in a usual conversation in response to crazy facts. People always  respond to those questions with something like, “I just know…,” or “Yeah, because I heard it from….” When you ask these questions, you normally accept the ideas given by others or online sources. But, should you believe these ideas? Are they true?

Regarding philosophy, some people say that the nature of philosophy is making a simple fact sound ridiculously complex. I would not disagree with that because philosophical questions make things sound entirely different and new. In my mind, philosophy is a way of comprehending our lives better and extracting the essence of everything.

But, as the study and discussion around philosophy develops, more questions arrive that are nearly impossible to answer. “Are there truths?” is one of these questions. Well, what is a truth? Going by the explanation from Google, truth is “the quality or state of being true.” Before going into this too deeply, there is one important factor I must mention called common knowledge. This type of knowledge is that of the majority and can be anything. Common knowledge can be things like humans need oxygen to be alive or Washington D.C. is the capital of the United States. Most of what we call common knowledge has also been verified as much as possible, like the idea that there are seven days in a week. We often define that kind of stuff as the truth. But, in philosophy, truth is not just simply a fact authorized by the public or a widespread claim. On the contrary, truth is more of a correct understanding of objective things and their laws. Currently, I think science is probably one of the most essential displays of truth.

In my mind, there must be more truths. Our thought and cognition is constituted by truths. The way that we can think is based on vast amounts of truth. If there is no truth, our ideas and thoughts would collapse because truth is the basis of our thinking. In other words, our thoughts are based on cardinal truths. Here is one example: when you are saying, “I want to eat something,” you are realizing the truth that you are hungry and you have the aspiration to eat, which sounds more like logic, but they are quite similar. Critically speaking, even in the circumstance that I say there is no truth, I have already accepted the truth that “there is no truth.” And, what are some examples of a truth? I would say that nature itself is a representation of truth. Nature represents two of the most reasonable phenomena, time and life. I cannot question the authenticity of these two things. It is not because I do not want to. I simply could not.

Still, in the philosophical region, I ask myself why philosophers bring up incomprehensible questions. It may due to the conflicts they had with their religious beliefs or they feel questionable about the world. Perhaps they were suddenly inspired by something. To not make this post too tedious, I found some interesting responses from a forum in regards to the question “Is there truth?”

  • “Absolute truth is incognizable in terms of a human being’s low compelling perspective. At most, human beings can only exclude a handful of things that are absolutely not truths.” – Blogger Liu Yang
  • “The truth is that I know that I know nothing at all.” – Blogger Passenger
  • “The truth that is said by my girlfriend is the only truth I know.” – Blogger YIIYG
  • “Dongfeng Ballistic Missile, Julang Submarine-Launched Missile, Tsar Bomba” – Blogger Xiang Long Deng Dai ing
  • “Love” – Blogger I Think You Lost Your Mind
  • “Truth is a described fact that is not contrary to objective facts such as the following things:

People will die if they don’t eat.

Nothing lasts forever.

Even the universe will perish. All things existing in the universe will naturally disappear.” – Blogger Ye Ban You Ren

  • “The world is always changing, changing is always definite, eternity is relative.” – Blogger Guang Ming Lei Luo

I still insist on my opinion of saying there must be truth. But, this post is not telling you to follow my idea or make some simple things sound really complicated. I personally just think that this question is interesting to explore. Is there such a thing as truth? If you are interested, please show me what you think about this question/paradox in the comments!

Editor: Luke Langlois

Filed Under: Op-Ed, Philosophy Tagged With: A philosophical paradox-Are there truths?, James Zheng

Holden Rants About a Topic Does Anyone Still Read This Title Part 5

April 18, 2019 by szachik@pvs.org Leave a Comment

What is Gaming Disorder?

By Holden Hartle, who has played video games

In our pursuit this week of everything gaming, Holden uncovers a surprising disorder.

Image result for gaming disorder

I’ll be completely honest, I didn’t think this was real when I first heard about it. But, it’s a real mental disorder that the World Health Organization (WHO) added to the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) and that the American Psychology Association (APA) added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-V) .

What does Gaming Disorder look like? Some of the symptoms according to psychiatry.org include, “preoccupation with gaming, withdrawal symptoms when gaming is taken away (sadness, anxiety, irritability), inability to reduce playing, unsuccessful attempts to quit gaming,  and the use of gaming to relieve negative moods, such as guilt or hopelessness.” These are the same symptoms that someone might go through if they were addicted to a drug of some sort, i.e. the inability to stop and the feelings of sadness and anxiety when it is taken away from you.

Now, if you’re an incessant gamer like me, these symptoms scare you. But fear not, only a very small portion of the population actually has the disorder. The criteria is very specific and needs to last for a certain amount of time in order for someone to be diagnosed. A case study in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction states that, ”The diagnosis of IGD is not easy,” and, “[Gaming disorder’s] psychological, social, and health consequences require further study.” The study goes on to explain that little research has been done into the effectiveness of the various types of treatments of Gaming Disorder and which treatment is best.

Another case study, this time from Yale, explains that the dopamine boost in a cocaine addict’s system after a hit is the same dopamine boost from someone who has Gaming Disorder. Furthermore, when a video game addict plays video games, he has conditioned his hypothalamus to reward him every time he plays video games. This makes sense when you consider the fact that a video game addict goes through similar withdrawals to that of a drug addict. When he isn’t playing video games, his body feels empty without the constant string of dopamine flowing through his system

To remind you, a very very very small percentage of the population actually has Gaming Disorder. The screening process is very scrupulous in order for a psychologist to actually diagnose someone. If you feel like you may have this disorder, however, contact your local psychologist, and they may be able to help.

Video Game Editor: AJ Patencio

Filed Under: Advice, Holden Hartle, Op-Ed, Science, Technology, Video Games Tagged With: Holden Hartle, Holden Rants About a Topic Does Anyone Still Read This Title Part 5

Mario v. King Boo? which Boo are you?

April 8, 2019 by szachik@pvs.org Leave a Comment

By Makena Behnke

Makena responds to Editor AJ’s Theme of the Week: Video Games.

i am not a video gamer, and my video game knowledge does not extend much further than Mario Kart and Undertale (and my knowledge on that is very limited). Mario Kart is simple, fun, and it lets out my urge to game. i think we all have our favorite characters that are unspokenly ours every time we play; i switch between a handful of characters, but some people will only play as [insert character here]. this list of characters stems from a mix of Mario Kart 8 and normal Mario Kart. i present to you my top five and bottom five Mario Kart characters (not that i only play as these five, but they are my favorites.)

top five:

  • King Boo– the ruler of the Paranormal Dimension, and leader of the Boos and ghosts. need i say more?
  • Bowser– this hardcore turtle-thing does not put up with any funny business. great for bumping little characters out of the way on your way to the top of the leaderboard. he’s not that fast, but he’s Bowser, so it’s fine.
  • Mario– why disregard a classic character like Mario? he’s such a happy little guy.
  • Shy Guy– i like playing as pink or black Shy Guy; the color gives him more character. he’s a pretty zippy character since he’s kind of small in size.
  • Koopa Troopa– i find him pretty fast, and he seems like a nice dude with his sweet smile. plus, his shell comes in red and green.

bottom five:

  • Gold & Silver Mario– i have issues with this specific version of Mario. why do we need a metallic version of him? he just looks weird to me.
  • Pink Gold Peach– i don’t really like Peach to begin with, but i certainly don’t like Pink Gold Peach. i have never once played as Pink Gold Peach, and i don’t intend to play as her in the future.
  • Wendy– is she a baby? how old is she? what is her purpose? needless to say, i don’t play as her.
  • Ludwig– with his cool hair, he’s got kind of a cool look going on, but along with Wendy, i don’t like his character. he doesn’t have much purpose.
  • Lakitu– this specific character is the one that lifts you back on to the course when you drive off the track in Mario Kart…. i have encountered him too many times to not bear ill will against him. i don’t like him because i only see him when i’m losing.

Video Games Editor: AJ Patencio

Filed Under: driving dirt roads, Entertainment, Media, Op-Ed, Technology, Video Games Tagged With: Makena Behnke, Mario v. King Boo? which Boo are you?

A Review of “This War of Mine”–Those Behind the War

April 5, 2019 by szachik@pvs.org 1 Comment

By James Zheng, Blogger & Gaming Critic

Are games just games? Are games just for entertainment? That’s what I used to think. But now I have a completely different answer ever since I found This War of Mine. People say that you can see the nature of yourself when you are playing games because your mind is fully involved in the gaming. This War of Mine (TWOM) is a reflection of yourself.

TWOM was developed and published by 11 Bit Studios, a game company located in Poland. It’s not a commonly known gaming company, and currently they have just reached about 100 employees, but this game was released five years ago. It was quickly nominated as the Game of the Year on Steam. I was impressed by this small but growing company.

Game critic Johnny Durn writes, “For soldiers, war is about victory. For us, war is about getting through.” TWOM is a realistic survival game. In this game, the background is set during a period of war, and you get to select a group of people to control in order to survive as long as you can in a shelter. Depending on the group, each character will have different abilities or professions–such as runner, scavenger, chief, etc., which determines their advantages and disadvantages. There are two time periods in the game. During the daytime, you get to organize everything in your shelter and make some useful tools. The most necessary thing to prepare is food for everyone, as well as making sure everyone has enough rest. During the night, characters have three actions to take: scavenge, sleep, or guard.

So, that’s a brief description of the gameplay. But why do I say TWOM is a reflection of yourself? Well… this game is really close to reality. Everything that could happen during a time of war in real life could happen in this game, but since most of us have never experienced a life in war, TWOM will give you a fresh taste of that.

More like a test of morality and humanity, this game exposes everything about war and tries its best to make the player become a part of it. In the game, your psychological state becomes the essential element. Many factors could lead to the collapse of your character’s psychological state; for example, they could become sad. When a player does not deal with this emotion properly, it will lead to negative actions and obstacles. For example, if a survivor steals private items from other shelters or kills someone, it could greatly affect their psychological state. But, here is something that could happen: food and medicines are important in this game, and they are extremely rare, so a player has to use them scrupulously. If the player is in a difficult survival situation and facing the choice to steal in order to save a teammate or kill someone in order to rob their shelter to keep your own shelter running, will you still adhere to your morality and humanity? Whether you choose to or not, your teammates will blame you for many reasons (survivors could start a quarrel or fight), and suddenly this builds pressure on you. However, there is never a right choice in this game since it’s a war after all, and you are either doing this for yourself or your team and you have to take the ultimate risk and pray for a good result.

The difficulty of this game is intermediate. Most of the time it depends on how many survivors you’re managing. Different from the common survival game, This War of Mine can really stress the player out because resources are so limited. A situation could become destitute any time, and there is always a dilemma in making decisions.

I STRONGLY suggest that you do not look at any walk-through to help you conquer this game. I want you to feel this game by yourself, completely. In the whole process of the game, you will learn many things that you could never learn from other games. It’s going to be a crucible for any player. The game borrows the words of Ernest Hemingway as its theme:

In the modern war, you will just die like a dog for no good reason.

Editor: AJ Patencio

Sources Reference: https://www.zhihu.com/question/26834036/answer/34292120

Filed Under: Entertainment, Op-Ed, Review, The World, Video Games, Visual Arts Tagged With: James Zheng

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About

We are the Palm Valley Firebirds of Rancho Mirage, California. Join us in our endeavors. Venture through the school year with us, perusing the artwork of our students, community, and staff. Our goal is to share the poems, stories, drawings and photographs, essays and parodies that come out of our school. Welcome aboard!