Thing's I've learned in my class

1. Write blog posts liek you're talking to people. it makes them easier to read.
2. stick on topic while posting
3. Sometimes websites change their layout and you need to improvise
4. Even with step by step instructions, things can be frustrating
5. managing a website is easy, but still takes time
6. I like reviewing video games
7. Varying the types of posts makes thing more interesting
8. google factors in your outbound links to give you traffic
9. there are tons of free third party software products for businesses
10. the Google main page is more than a search bar
11. Putting up ads on your websites is really easy, and they update themselves
12. I never knew where the little ad boxes came from that are posted by Chitika
13. Posting 3-4 times a week is easier than I thought
14. Paypal is difficult

Cube World

     It looks like Minecraft, it feels like Minecraft, and it's an adventure game. The exploration is similar to the Minecraft way. Just pick a direction and take off. Find your first town and you can branch off from there. It's not super dangerous at night like Minecraft, so you're free to wander around whenever you want. Combat is about as innovative as Minecraft, though. The only difference is that there are different classes. The wizard starts with a fire vortex that you can make a quick or extended version of. The warrior can use two weapons or a giant one. I haven't seen any of the other classes. Combat is rather brutal, though. When you hit something you don't knock them away. They keep moving towards you and you basically sit there and beat the crap out of each other. It's difficult at level one, and eventually you can get a pet that makes things much easier. They'll take most of the hits. Almost every animal is trainable. Some are better at combat, some you can ride, some do both.

     It has the feel of Minecraft, but your main objective is combat instead of just survival as far as I can tell. There are tons of different landscapes, and the maps are generated endlessly. You input a seed, but that is basically a way to share your world with your friends. If you see anything on the horizon, you can get to it and climb it. Trees, mountains, far off islands are all reachable. It's funny just to think of the concept of this game as it would compare to any other fantasy RPG. Right now my friends are guarding each other from squirrels.

     I'd advise you give it a shot. It's downloadable at https://picroma.com/cubeworld.


                             Single player:  5.5/10.0                          Multiplayer 8.0/10.0

Evoland

     I never really played much of the RPG games that have become classic. Final Fantasy and some of the original Legend of Zelda games are a few I've missed out on. Some of you will think it's blasphemy, and to an extent it is. My lack of playing them doesn't mean all the references in Evoland go right over my head. The game is available for $10 on Steam, and takes a trip through the classic RPG adventure games. The display also updates and evolves as you get further and it goes from looking like an original Gameboy to somewhere in the Final Fantasy 7 region. It's a short game, but worth every penny if you really enjoyed the Zelda and Final Fantasy games. My buddy Nathan recommended it to me, and he has played through all the older RPG's.

     The game story isn't especially deep and I beat it in a few hours. You can go back through and collect all the stars, but Unless you're really into the original RPG's, it won't really be something you're into. If you liked them, look into the game and give it a shot. If you haven't played through the classic RPG's, then it's probably not for you.

http://evoland.shirogames.com/

              Single player: 6.0/10.0                                  Multiplayer: N/A

Marvel Heroes

     I usually like MMO games, and I am a huge comic book fan. Why would I not like Marvel Heroes? As it turns out, it's harder to find a reason that I would consider playing this game. The game play has all been done before, and the worst part is that the game removes the uniqueness of playing a certain hero. You get to pick one of a class like normal in MMO's. The bad part is that you're not unique. You can be Captain America, Wolverine, Iron Man, etc. However, you won't be the only one, which takes away from being a hero. How is an entire team of Hulks fair? It's not fun. If you were to actually be one of those heroes, then it would feel like you're in the Marvel Universe. As far as I'm concerned, if you want to play as a super hero or super villain, you're better off playing DC Universe Online or City of Heroes. DC Universe allows for more customization, and you feel like a unique hero with your own theme, powers, and fighting style. You get to choose everything down to the colors of your tights.

     The worst part of the game is that it's the most espensive free to play to date. To try all the characters and skins, you have to spend almost $200 on downloadable content. They're on sale on Steam now and cost more than a brand new game.

     This feels like a last grab by developers to try and milk some cash from the Avengers pop culture craze. Don't bother with this one.


               Single Player: 4.0/10.0                     Multiplayer: 5.0/10.0

Vindictus

     I haven't fully immersed myself in this game yet, but it's a refreshing action pace for an MMO, and I really like it. I've put in quite a few hours with Vindictus. It's free to play, and I haven't maxed out my character yet, but I've been told that you need to spend real money to buy elixirs to be top tier in damage meters for raids. I haven't spent a dime on the game, and I've had a good time so far. I've mostly played with friends and my brother, but I've had some experience with the online community, and so far they're much more mature than your average LFG chat spammer. The one thing I do have against the game is that quest drops from bosses don't always drop and you have to replay the whole mission. Especially if you're going through with other people. There are five character classes with different play styles. I've spent the most time with Kai who is a ranger class. There are also two dual wield fighters, Vella plays a more counterattack style than Lan who just tries to shred things. Fiona has a sword and shield and is able to just block the best attacks in the game. Karok is a half giant looking monster of a character with a pillar or a cestus and is fun to play and just to have in the group. He has some boss clash interactions where they lock horns and he throws them around. It is advised that you have one in your group at all times.

     The level up process is fairly slow and you have to replay some content for experience to unlock further content. However, if you join a guild you get extra experience which, if done early enough, should be enough to keep you ahead of the curve.

     Every class has its own strengths and weaknesses, and the developers are releasing new content. They recently gave Kai a Van Helsing-esque repeating crossbow that offers a different playstyle and new stats to maximize. The game is really fun, free, has some really awesome boss fights later on in the game that I've only seen in videos. The developers are pushing to release new end-game content. Every class has two weapon styles or more, so you technically get two available play styles for each character. If you're looking for a new MMO to get into, this is the one.

http://vindictus.nexon.net/

                     Single player: 6.5/10                           Multiplayer: 9.0/10

Warframe

     Warframe is a game available on Steam. You play as one member of a cyber ninja race known as the Tenno. The game is set in a sci fi future with three different enemy factions, loads of different weapons, and a completely customizable mod system for weapons. The game plays sort of like Halo and Ninja Gaiden combined. Maybe more like Mount & Blade combat than Ninja Gaiden. You always have a power suit, a melee weapon, a primary, and a secondary weapon. You have tons of choices as far as weapon and mod types, so you can customize any of your weapons and your suit to fit your play style. Suits have four slots for abilities, and no suit can have the same abilities installed as any other suit. They're all unique and the most obvious way to change your preferred style of play. The Wiki is extremely helpful, providing stats, descriptions, and crafting recipes for new gear.

     Each mission starts out like a game of splinter cell. You have successfully infiltrated an enemy compound, and they are unaware. As long as they remain this way, you can sneak attack for silent kills, use the longbow because it is also silent, or just bust out your shotgun and wreck up the place. All of the suits are good in their own way. Some offer durability, some do area fire damage, one offers mind control possibilities.

     One of the best things about this game is that the developers are so in touch with the community. they host live stream Q & A's and take direction from the community. they have implemented several ideas, and they are loved for it. They even went so far as to let you be able to recieve special mission updates through your twitter feed.

     The clan system is newly implemented and you can also level up your profile and all of your weapons. You have to grind for everything, but that's what people seem to want to do. The content is replayable, and randomized except for survival missions, and it's a good time with friends. Some warframes are better in groups such as the trinity and rhino, and playing with friends always makes things better.

A link to the warframe homepage can be found here: https://warframe.com/

                                   Single player: 7.0/10                   Multiplayer 9.0/10

Sanctum 2

     Sanctum 2 is a new twist on tower defense. I spent quite a bit of time in the computer lab in Jr. High school playing games like Bloons tower defense, and nowadays the majority of tower defense games are apps for your smartphone. I also spent some time playing the different variations between Warcraft 3 and Starcraft 2 custom maps. I hadn’t played in a while, but it’s not really something you forget. The twist here is that you’re also a player on the map, and you run around and build towers in down time. Then when the wave starts you have two guns that you use to help suppress the waves. There are 4 different characters, and they all have their own specialty. The multiplayer is insane. You can customize load outs to try different strategies. The game was developed with lots of interaction from the community, and it has really come together well.

     The game is customizable to meet the level of challenge or strategy you want. There are lots of towers and perks you can use to specialize your gameplay. Four character classes, different perks, and the multitude of towers to choose from keeps a lot of variation in the game. The genre blend is the first iteration of its kind, and it feels good. Get a few friends together, throw in on the bundle pack, and have at it. The shooter part feels like borderlands, and the tower defense feels like you’d expect it does. Getting what you expect is something that is refreshing. There are even a few twists to keep you guessing.

Here is a link to the Sanctum 2 homepage.

          Single player: 6.5/10                                                    Multiplayer: 8.5/10