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Earth Day

G'day people Teller here presenting you with the Earth Day news blog. Now, before I start showing you all the stuff this blog has to offer I suppose I better put some insight on what Earth Day actually is.

Earth Day is an annual event held world wide where we appreciate the beauty of the world as we know it. Not the pollution and money-hungry industries, I meant about our natural environment. It's now currently celebrated in over 175 countries and is ran globally by the Earth Day Network. Numerous communities also celebrate Earth Week, a time where people get off their computers at some staff and go outside, doing activities. (Sounds fun, I know.)

That being said, I present to you all, stuff.

Pure Review - A TST Compilation

File:Pure-re.png

A Racing Game? No! Players race with ATVs across the world, pulling off incredible stunts at extreme heights! Just hear me out, you won't regret it!

Pure is a game that was released on July 25th 2009, it would go unnoticed for many years even though many reviewers called it one of the greatest racing games of its time. So why did it go unnoticed? Not enough advertising? The thought of it being a racing game? Or was it the flaws of the game? Well, we'll see.

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ATV Customization & Characters - The Garage

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ATV Customization

File:Pure - ATV Showing.jpg

Designing your own ATV is a great experience in the world of Pure considering there are 60,000 combinations of ATV's that can designed which is very impressive. Choosing not only the colors, engines and even handles but also the logos and stickers to place on your newly designed ATV. Down below is a gallery of ATVs that have been designed, they may seem similar but they're have differences on the inside and out.

-Gallery Here-

As you progress through the main portion of the game known as the World Tour Mode new parts will become unlocked. Parts that you'll need to progress throughout the game such as an A-Class Engine that you'll require in the big leagues. That's the good with the ATV Customization, what about the bad?

The bad thing is, no matter how hard you try, you'll never perfect the ATV to a certain standard which will make the last stages of World Tour Mode a pain for you when it comes down to the three game types; freestyle, sprint and race. But even though there are 60,000 combinations in Pure I felt as though it was lacking.

The Characters

File:Characters - Pure.jpg

I felt the characters were rather developed for a racing game which is a good thing considering there's only 6 to play as. (Not including the Add-Ons) But before I continue much further, I'd prefer it if you saw the characters also.

• Jay Mendes

"Jay hails from New Mexico. The son of a famous 70’s rock singer, he’s always gotten what he wants, living a life of luxury from an early age and relying on his father’s wealth for income. He spends his free time messing around with quads and jamming with his band. Jay sees the Tour as the perfect platform for promoting his musical career, though deep down he harbors a burning desire to prove his worth by becoming the Pure champion."

• Rosa Juarez

"Growing up in Ensenada, Baja, CA, Rosa's earliest memory is of sitting on her father's shoulders watching the Baja 1000. She worked three jobs to buy her own quad and immediately entered the professional circuit. She displayed a natural talent for the sport thanks to her aggressive driving style, trick skill and unrelenting determination. Buoyed by her success in the Nationals, she believes the Pure Tour will be a walk in the park."

• Suzi Andrews

"Suzi is one of the most kindhearted and likeable competitors on the tour. While she may lack her older brother's natural talent, she more than makes up for it with her fierce determination and exhaustive work ethic. Enjoying a friendly rivalry with Todd, Suzi aims to become not only the number one rider in the Andrews family, but, of course, the best rider on the Pure Tour."

• Takeshi Yukio

"Tokyo-born Takeshi is the definition of natural talent. After just two years riding quads he won the gold medal at the Asian Extreme Games, dominating the competition like no other rider before or since. A livewire with a reputation for playing the joker, Takeshi is one of the tour's most popular and talented competitors."

• Clayton Wade

"Born in London, Clayton moved to San Diego with his family when he was 15. Shortly after arriving in the U.S., he fell in love with action sports – surfing, snowboarding, skateboarding and riding quads. Although he came to the sport comparatively late, he quickly adapted to life among his fellow competitors and instantly displayed a natural ability. Now, Clayton seeks to put his ample potential to the test against the best in the business."

• Todd Andrews

"Todd grew up in Orange County, California. He's spent the last 10 years focusing every spare second on honing his riding skills on the track his father built for him and his younger sister Suzi. He's One of the most naturally gifted riders on the tour, but Todd’s only obstacle to superstardom is his fiercely competitive rivalry with his sister."

These are the 6 characters and their biographies which goes to show how much Racing games have strayed from the boring "race because you can" style. Which personally, I love so much. Their designs were very well put and they look almost life-like once in a game. Which is the purpose of it all, you want to play. Though, it's not all good I'm afraid. The customization was lacking very much and not enough features that could've been put in were, they were well thought out themselves but something did not seem right with their stories individually.

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The Garage Rating

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Overall, the graphics were great in this certain aspect of the game, the many customization options you can utilize for your ATV makes it all the better, though the inability to perfect your vehicle was really a let-down. The characters were well made and the biographies go to show you how far the "racing" genre of gaming could go. Though, I doubt that they'll stick to that premise. The characters, though well thought out, were not perfected as much as I would've liked them to be and the customization could've been expanded. Overall, fairly good. 8.7/10.

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The World Tour

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Sources

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Destructoid.com

Note: Now, you all may be thinking, why show this Review? I've actually had it stored up for awhile, and considering as it takes place in great outdoor environments. I'd consider that a good enough reason to post it in an Earth Day blog.

What Can I Do? - An Earth Day Tale

The little boy walked dejectedly down the cracked sidewalk. His backpack was heavy and his feet were slow. He stayed to his path, pausing every now and then only to pick out a new can or wad of paper to kick as he went along his way. His heart felt as heavy as his backpack as he opened the door to his house and went inside.

His mother was in the kitchen, taking brownies out of the oven. She smiled as she turned around but stopped when she saw his face. "Tyler, what happened? Is everything okay?" "Nothing is okay, mom. Nothing will ever be okay again." He stood in the middle of the kitchen as his mother came over to the kitchen table. "Sounds like you had a rough day, Tyler. Is there anything I can do to help?" "That's just the thing, Mom. We can't help. There's nothing we can do." He sat down at the table and put his head in his hands. His mother sat down and waited a moment until Tyler began to speak again.

"Today, in science, the teacher was talking about Earth Day and the environment. Earth Day is supposed to be a day when every person promises to do something to help take care of our world. Mrs. Green was telling us how many companies are not careful about how they get rid of their industrial waste. She said that our world is getting dirtier and that many animals and plants are dying. She wants us to think of something we can do to help and I thought all the way home and there is nothing I can do. I can't stop the companies from polluting our air and water and I can't save all of the animals! There is not anything that I can do to make a difference."

His mother sat for a minute, thinking. "You sound like this really concerns you and that you have put a lot of thought into it, Tyler." Tyler nodded. "Let me tell you a story that your grandfather told me. I don't know where he heard it, but I think that it might help you think about your problem in a different way." She began, "one morning a man was walking down a beach that was covered in dying starfish. The tide the night before had been especially strong and thousands of starfish had been washed up on shore, too far up for them to make it back into the water by themselves. The man shook his head as he trudged along thinking what a shame it was that all of those starfish would die on the beach.

He came upon a boy who was throwing starfish back into the ocean as fast as he could. He was out of breath and it was obvious that he had been at this task for a while. "Son," the man said, "you might as well quit. There are thousands of them. They are washed up all over the beach as far as you can see. There is no way you can make any sort of a difference." The boy did not even pause in what he was doing. He kept bending and throwing but as he did, he spoke to the man, "I can make a difference to this one, and this one, and this one." And the man thought, and he knew the boy was right. He began to help return the animals to their home, smiling at how life's biggest lessons sometimes came from the smallest people."

Tyler stared intently at his mother. "But he did make a difference, didn't he? To every starfish that he threw back in?" His mother nodded, smiling. He sat for a moment, thinking about what his mother had said. "So, what it means is that even though I can't change everything, I can make a big difference by doing the little things that matter?" "That," she said, sliding him the plate of brownies, "is exactly what I am saying." Tyler grinned and took a brownie from the plate. "That gives me an idea." His mother smiled even bigger and said, "I kind of thought that it might."

The next morning on the way to school, his feet hardly touched the ground. He told his teacher the story of the starfish and his idea. Mrs. Green thought it was a great idea, and decided to let Tyler share the story and his idea with the class. Everyone got to work immediately, cutting out the large green leaves.

On Earth Day, there was an assembly and everyone in the community was invited. Many of those gathered were startled to see the large brown tree trunk affixed to the auditorium wall. They sat, puzzled, and waited for the program to begin. A boy, dressed up to look like a man, walked across a stage filled with starfish. The play went on as Tyler and his class told the story taking place. When it was over the audience applauded as Tyler stood at the podium.

"We were all thinking, and it was frustrating because we didn't think that we could do anything. The problems seemed too big for us to do anything about them. But we decided that together, even the little things we do could add up to mean a lot to our world." The kids began passing out the green leaves and pens to the audience. "We want every person to think of one thing they can do that could make a difference to our world. Even if it seems like something small, it will matter."

The audience began writing, and soon the tree was covered with the green leaves. Tyler and his class read many of them as they attached them to the tree. "I will walk to work." "I will use both sides of my paper to save trees." "I will have my pet neutered so there won't be any puppies born that won't have a home." "I will plant a tree every year." "I will start recycling my newspapers." Tyler thought, and bent to write his promise on the leaf. Soon, the tree was beautiful and green and covered with the Earth Day promises. People were laughing and talking as they left, thinking of what they had promised to do.

When the dismissal bell rang, Tyler got his backpack and began the short walk home. As he reached the sidewalk, he pulled an old grocery bag from his backpack. He began picking up the trash as he made his way home, instead of kicking it . He smiled all the way, thinking of the difference they would make.

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Source: Right Here

More Earth Day Tales

Some of these Earth Day tales contain abit "too much" story and would've also stuffed up the layout of this blog. So I've decided I'll link them to you and see if it may peak your interest.

An Earth Day Tale adapted from Charles Dicken's "A Christmas Carol"

More here

Nature Gallery

Gallery Here