Media Review: Games

Duck Hunt

Summary

       

       Developed and published by Nintendo, it was first released in Japan on April 21, 1984. It was later released on October 18, 1985 in North America and on August 15, 1987 in Europe. Duck Hunt is a hunting game in which the objective is for the player to successfully shoot a minimum number of targets with a NES Zapper light gun. The player uses it by aiming and firing at the screen, in order to advance to the next round. If not accomplished… game over. The game has three different modes to choose from. In "Game A" and "Game B", the targets are flying ducks in a woodland area, and in "Game C" the targets are clay pigeons that are fired away from the player's perspective into the distance. In "Game A", one duck will appear on the screen at a time while in "Game B" two ducks will appear at a time. "Game A" allows a second player to control the movement of the flying ducks by using a regular NES controller. 

Characters

       Duck hunt includes a nameless, non-playable hunting dog (often referred to by the media as the "Duck Hunt Dog" or the "Laughing Dog"), which retrieves the fallen ducks. It is quite famous for laughing at the player whenever the player fails to shoot any of the ducks on screen. Because of this, many players want to be able to shoot the dog as well. The Laughing Dog is known as "one of the most annoying video game characters ever" by countless gaming critics and journalists. Although the Laughing dog seems to be the main character, we cannot forget the about ducks.

Best parts

       All in all, the game was very good. However the part that truly stands out to me is that the Duck Hunt goes on forever! In most video games now a days, the most common problem is that once you have beaten all of the levels, you have to find a new game to play. However, this retro game can go on and on until you grow tired of it (which in my case is never).

Worst parts

       Although I am extremely fond of this game, I must admit that my least favourite part of the entire game is The Laughing Dog. When you are shooting a duck and accidentally miss, “man’s best friend” comes out and laughs at you! So much for moral support!This gets obviously gets very annoying, especially if you have poor aim.

My opinion

       Duck Hunt is defiantly one of my favourite games. Although the dog really knows how to annoy you, this old fashioned-game is a really fun and cool way to pass time, and play while with friends. I personally enjoy playing this classic game and highly recommend it for people who own an "ancient" Nintendo gaming console! 

Rating

       

       Out of 10, I rate Duck Hunt a 9. If it weren't for The Laughing Dog, the game would be a solid 10! However the hound really does get on every ones nerves with its hysterical laughing!

Media review: Print.

                                       Official Report of Debates (Hansard)
                                        (Thursday December 11th 2014)




Main Idea:

    

     Hansard is the traditional name for the transcripts of Parliamentary Debates in Britain and other Commonwealth countries (including Canada). In Ontario, no official record of the debates was produced before 1944. The debates were recorded in newspapers. The provincial archives clipped and collected these reports in a series of scrapbooks until 1953. The provincial parliament prints the reports as well as posts them on the Parliamentary website, with records since April 21, 1981 to present sittings. Today the Hansard reporter sits at the back of the Chamber. This Particular Hansard was recorded on December 11^th 2014 (my last day as a page as well as the last day that the House sat before the winter break).

Summary:

The day that this debate was recorded (December 11^th 2014), energy policies, government accountability, infrastructure funding, air-rail link, coroner’s inquest, health care, public transit, water quality and Aboriginal programs and services were discussed during question period. This was followed by two votes and then introduction of visitors. During introduction of visitors, MPP’s introduce any guests that have come to watch the debates in the chamber. These guests can be anyone from the public or visiting officials. Often times the parents of pages will come see the action in the chamber. Since I was Page Captain on that particular day, my MPP, Yvan Baker introduced my brother and father that had come visit me in the Chamber. Next, Ministers would make statements on anything they wanted to share with the legislature, for example Ms. Peggy Sattler discussed the Mississauga Transitway, while Mr. Steve Clark discussed Christmas tree lighting. Later, motions on Sexual Violence and Harassment were discussed. Then, Ministers shared notable events and happenings going on in their Ministries. Finally, petitions from MPP’s riding were introduced. On December 11^th 2014, the House adjourned early. As it was the last day of serving for the pages and of course the MPP’s, many warm seasons greetings were exchanged between members and Legislative assistants, like pages.

Characters:

All of the Members of the Provincial Parliament, and Legislative assistance were involved. They all played some sort of a role during the debates in the chamber. For example: Hon. Dave Levac (Speaker), Deborah Deller (Clerk), Hon. Kathleen Wynn, Hon. Liz Sandals (Minister of Education), Andrea Horwath (Leader of the third party), Hon. Bob Chiarelli (Minister of Energy), etc.

Best Parts:

     Although all of the debates going on in the Chamber were extremely interesting (from what I did understand), I believe that the best parts were during Introduction of Guests when my brother and father were introduced, Question Period when all of the Members were quarrelling and finally, Petitions. When a member has a petition, he/she will stand up and a page will go and stand behind them. When the Member has finished reading the petition Legislature, they give it to the page and say “I will give this petition to page _____ to take down to the Clerks”. I really enjoyed reading the part of the Hansard record when Todd Smith said “I agree with this. I’ll send it to the table with page Maja”.

Worst Parts:

     As I really enjoyed reading over the record, I cannot really say that there were terrible parts. However, I could say that I disliked the use of large words used by the MPP’s, as I am a little too young to understand some of them. Other than that there is nothing that I would change (its not like it really can be changed).

Rating:

     Out of 10 I rate this print 10/10. Although some words were a bit more difficult to understand, I can only expand my vocabulary from hearing so many serious, word filled speeches and debates. On the other hand, what I did understand happened to be extremely interesting.