Oregon Trail

Oregon Trail

Obsession Level: Always THE Best Day in Computer Class!

I frankly hated computer class when I was younger.  Of course this was back when computers were fairly new to us.  There was no mouse, that would come later, so everything about them was restricted to the keyboard.  You can forget about "graphics" since giant pixelated pictures were what you got at best.  In fact, thinking back on it now it really seems strange that technology hasn't always been what it is today.  It makes me feel a little old when I think about that.  

In our computer classes in Elementary school, the normal agenda was typing.  Everything was about learning to type correctly.  There was some cat, Paws or something, that taught typing.  The program was boring.  I also remember much later having the Mavis Beacon teaches typing or something along the lines of that.  

There were also delightful days, though when we were allowed to play a game.  I remember the teacher had these big boxes full of games on floppy discs and you could select one to play.  She had a few copies of the classics like Carmen Sandiego and Oregon Trail.  I'd always rush to get Oregon Trail because I thought it was the best game ever!

Some years later, when we actually had a home computer, my mother brought home a game for me and my best friend.  We were so excited that we couldn't stand it.  It was Oregon Trail II!

Oregon Trail II was a lot like Oregon Trail the original in concept.  Now, though, it had graphics, and they were pretty.  We also had the use of our mouse.  Now I realize it wasn't an extremely impressive game in comparison to some of the games we have now, but we loved it.

I don't know if it was the game itself that we liked so much or the ability to put our friends and family on the game and make up scenarios about what was "really" happening along the Oregon Trail...We spent many nights just playing it over and over again.  I think we actually made it to Oregon a time or two.

Since I've gotten older I played the game once or twice on my own.  I realize, though, that without my best friend there the magic of the game is lost.  

I think it's sad that with all the games that have been produced throughout the years, future generations won't know the joy of deciding when to go hunt for meat and how to cure dysentery on a pixelated trip to Oregon.   

Song Pop

Song Pop

Obsession Level: Why Won't You Play Me Back NOW?!?

I'm pretty sure that just about anyone who has found the internet has also found Facebook and knows that it offers a wide variety of games for anyone looking to blow a couple of minutes/hours/days of their life.  I also know that many people won't admit to playing these games, insisting that they never play (and would never waste their precious time that way, being the EXTREMELY productive citizens that they are).  I call bull on that one, especially since many of them don't even realize that you can see in a variety of ways what games your friends are playing.  

Now I have admittedly sampled a wide variety of Facebook games in the past few days.  I've been on a sort of semi-vacation and have been giving my brain a well deserved rest from the taxing work that I normally do.  This means that I have attempted to entertain myself with the most mindless things possible...imagine solitaire marathons and you'll understand what I'm saying.  I could write reviews of many of the games on Facebook at this point, but that may come later.  Today we're just going to talk about one: Song Pop.

I love music.  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE music.  I like many different kinds of music, some more than others.  My tastes typically go for older rock music (50's, 60's, 70's, 80's rock), country music (let's say from the 90's back), love songs (from already mentioned eras), and especially it focuses on artists that I am a fan of.  My lack of contemporary music knowledge does not come from a distaste for the music, rather it comes from seriously not having had the time in the past three years to listen to the radio.  It also comes, I admit, from stockpiling music I do like on my IPOD (named Elton) and then just plugging that in while I'm in the car.  I do that because I know I'll like most of what is on there (yes there are things on there that I'm like "What in the world is this?!) and because I can change songs quickly.  I'm an impatient person and I hardly ever make it through an entire song.  

All that being said, I think this game is so much fun.  It's positively addicting.  I like the challenge of seeing how well I know music.  I also like getting to hear snippets from songs that I have never heard before because they come from categories that I have little to no knowledge of (think Contemporary Rap).  There are, however, some tweaks that I would make if they let me change the app a little (and we all know that things would run much better in this world if everyone got my opinion on how to do things).

1.  I hate that you only get to choose between three categories to challenge someone.  If I have a bunch of different lists, then I'd like to be able to choose between all of the ones I own.

2.  I hate that each challenge is only 5 songs.  It's too much fun to limit you to 5 songs.  I think 10 would be way better.  

3.  The waiting for your friends to play back is excruciating.  It makes you kind of like a crazy person because you're sitting there, staring at this stupid game and wondering what in the world your friends are doing that they're not playing back.  You lose all sense of the fact that people have a life.  It's really bad.

4.  I think that they should have a "play alone" option.  This option would let people like me just sit there and play themselves.  It wouldn't be like winning challenges, rather it would be a separate option that would allow you to "beat your own high score".  It would also allow for endless play for someone who has decided to spend their entire day doing completely useless activities instead of making them go in search of other games or explore other obsessions.  I think it would be a nice little addition.

So there you have it, my first game review.  I recommend Song Pop to anyone who likes music, but I warn you that you may turn into a totally obsessed person and you may start to become annoyed at your friends for taking too long to feed your obsession.  If you'll excuse me, now I have a challenge to go take care of!  LOL