Mario-Online Tournament
Come and compete to be one of the representatives in the multi-library Mario Kart Online Tournament!!!!! We start on Saturday Nov. 14 at 2:00 and go to 4:00 pm. The winners of this event will return to compete on Sunday Nov. 15 from 2 – 4 pm.

• 11/14/2009 at 2:00 PM: ImaginOn: The Joe & Joan Martin Center Learn More
• 11/15/2009 at 2:00 PM: ImaginOn: The Joe & Joan Martin Center Learn More

Jade Dynasty

Jade Dynasty is the lastest free-to-play MMORPG from Perfect World Entertainment. PWE became famous for its first free-to-play MMO offering, Perfect World International. Perfect World International has often been called the “World of Warcraft” from China because of the similarity in fantasy setting, races and classes. But Jade Dynasty is a little different. Yes it has 5 classes/factions that fill roles similar to other MMOs but it is in a Chinese martial arts fantasy setting.

First released in China, it was released in the US in May 2009. It is based on the Internet novel, Zhu Xian.  The game has been so popular that Perfect World International is already beta testing Zhu Xian 2 in China. Many are calling Xhu Xian 2 a cross between World of Warcraft and Aion. There are two “good” factions: Jadeon (mage) and Skysong (healer) and three “evil” factions: Vim (tank), Lupin (assassin), and Modo (warlock). But all factions are united to fight a common enemy. Unique to Jade Dynasty, all classes get to fight with a pet and every class gets an esper. An esper is very handy in that it is like having your very own macro bot so you don’t have to do so many repetitive keyboard commands while fighting. You can set an esper up to do the attack chains you want, what kinds of mobs you want to attack, what kind of loot you want to pick up and even purchase healing and spirit potions as a batteries for it so that it automatically heals your health and boosts your spirit when you are running low. Everyone can craft their armor and equipment and boost its stats. You can even upgrade your espers. The mounts in the game are some of the most beautiful I have seen and there are even flying swords and other flying mounts in the game.

Jade Dynasty makes is money by micro-transactions. There are things you can buy in the marketplace that will make leveling your character easier but they are not absolutely necessary to play. There are also fancy costumes you can buy if you want a flashy outfit. Be sure to read the forums and check out the wiki to get the most out of your character. If you don’t like how you allocated skill points to your character, it is very expensive to get a reallocation.

This game is great for casual and hardcore players. There are both PvE and PvP servers and the graphics are just phenominal.  So if you have WoW burnout and you would just like to have a fun game to play around in, give Jade Dynasty a try. It’s certainly worth checking out!

Mario Kart Online Gaming
On 10/3/09 from 2-4 pm The Spangler Room will host an online Wii Mario Kart competition with another library/kids in Detroit, Michigan!!!! If you are interested call 704-416-4630.

• 10/3/2009 at 2:00 PM: ImaginOn: The Joe & Joan Martin Center Learn More

The day it came out I cruised over Game Stop and picked up my prepaid copy of Beatles Rock Band. I was excited about getting my hands on this game. I was twelve when John Lennon died and I had no idea who the Beatles were. All that week the local music stations played nothing but Beatles songs and I’ve been a fan ever since. I remember getting their albums in the record format from the Traverse City, MI public library and recording them onto audio cassettes at home. I thought this would be a perfect match of game and content. My main complaint with Rock Band is that I don’t like half the songs. With the Beatles Rock Band I knew there wouldn’t be a single song on there I didn’t love.

The initial impression you’ll get of this game will come from the opening cinematic. It’s quick animated trip through the band’s career. It opens with an image of Liverpool’s port and rooftops and descends to the Cavern Club where a young Fab Four are finishing a show. Then they hop a plane for the states and appear on Ed Sullivan, play in front of 30,000 screaming maniacs at Shea Stadium and then go all crazy psychedelic. The fantastic animation and the inspired sound editing really set you up for the coming experience. I generally don’t watch opening cinematics more than once and I’ve viewed this one several times now.

The gameplay is pretty much the same and the other Rock Band games with one nice small change and one major change.

On drums the overdrive mode, now called Beatlemania, is activated by hitting the green pad instead of going into a drum fill. I like this change because the drum fills to me were distracting if I was on another instrument. It broke up the rhythm of the song which defeats the purpose of playing Rock Band.

The three-part harmony vocals are way beyond fun. You haven’t really played this game until you’ve had a room of six people playing with three on vocals, a bassist, a guitarist and a drummer. I read an early preview of this game from someone who had played it at an trade show and he commented how, unlike in previous Rock Bands, you won’t have to worry about someone wanting to do vocals and I have found that to be true. People love to sing Beatles’ songs, especially with the three part harmony. I don’t know if I’ve had a gaming experience close to this much fun. Maybe on the original Halo when four of us shared a television, that was pretty close to the full house experience of Beatles Rock Band.

I wasn’t aware of how intricate the three-party harmony feature of the game would be. I initially though it would be merely some background singing and this goes way beyond that. The vocal harmonies on many Beatles song are not just beautiful but intricate. The game allows you to completely recreate every vocal part in some songs. Consider how the background vocals and lead vocal in “All You Need is Love” intertwine and you have an idea of how fun singing is in this game.

The only negative I found in this game is the same complaint I have with the other Rock Band games. I don’t like the difficulty levels, especially on drums. Drumming on easy to me is too easy and medium is way too hard. I probably need to practice but it would be nice to have a level for drumming right between medium and easy. Called it Expert Easy.

The videos and the environments are spectacular. Six different environments have been created: the Cavern Club; The Ed Sullivan Show; live in Budokan, Japan; the rooftop concert and the Abbey Road studios with dreamscapes for their later songs. You’ll find yourself bowing out now and then while others play so you can watch the videos.

If you like the Rock Band franchise and are even remotely interested in the music of the Beatles you will enjoy this game. I can’t say much about the career mode because I have only played that for about an hour but it does have a nice flow as far as I’ve gotten. But, when you have some friends over and you break this game out, your party will be a success.

Detriot vs. Charlotte

Online Gaming with other Libraries
Super Smash Brothers Brawl FTW! ImaginOn vs. Detroit Public Library.

• 10/17/2009 at 3:00 PM: ImaginOn: The Joe & Joan Martin Center Learn More

SSB Brawl

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Mini Tourney
Who will be the last player standing? Test your skills in a SSBB tournament on the Wii. For teens in 6th-12th grades only.

• 10/8/2009 at 5:30 PM: Cornelius Learn More

MartioKart

Mario Cart Online Tournament for Tweens
On 9/12/09 from 2-4 pm The Spangler Tween Area will host an online Wii Mario Kart competition with another library/kids in Ann Arbor, Michigan!!!! If you are interested call 704-416-4630 to make a reservation and be between 8-12 years old.

• 9/12/2009 at 2:00 PM: ImaginOn: The Joe & Joan Martin Center Learn More

Last year we had a system-wide Madden tournament at 8 branches with a final at the Main Library. It went over real well. This year we don’t have the budget to purchase the current version of the game (which I bought and have been enjoying). Since we won’t have the current version of the game I wonder if it would be worth it to have a tournament this year. Madden players really want to use current rosters and players, that is one of the draws of the game. So, I am not sure if we should put the effort into setting up a tournament if it won’t be popular. I’m thinking I could do a couple of individual events and use my personal copy of the game. Any thoughts?

Last month, teen Rebecca, taught Game Maker, to a group of youth at ImaginOn. Here are some of the games they created:

Avery
Thomas
Jeremy

Look for more classes sometime in August at ImaginOn.

Detroit vs. Charlotte

Online Gaming with other Libraries
Super Smash Brothers Brawl FTW! ImaginOn vs. Detroit Public Library.

• 8/15/2009 at 3:00 PM: ImaginOn: The Joe & Joan Martin Center    Learn More