Ravin April 2012 Times - Riverfield Country Day School

Retro Game Review: Super Mario
By Addison Standley
8TH GRADE
W
hen Super
Mario Bros. was
released on the
Nintendo Entertainment
System in 1985, gamers
everywhere were blown
away by this astonishing
achievement of a game.
This game has not only
stood the test of time for
the past 25 years, but is
also one of the greatest
games of all time.
The premise for the
game is quite simple:
Mario (and his brother
Luigi if you are doing multiplayer)
travel throughout
the Mushroom Kingdom
and battle monsters in
order to save Princess
Toadstool from the main
villain Bowser. It’s a simplistic
story, but it’s an
endearing one at that. Everything
about this game is
as close to perfection as
video games get. The controls
are responsive and
precise, the environments
are beautiful and detailed
(for its time), and the enemies
and music are memorable.
Koji Kondo created
some of the most memorable
tunes in gaming just
through some simple
bleeps and boops.
Secret wormholes to
later worlds can be found
by doing specific actions,
such as pressing down in a
wormhole, or breaking
some bricks in a ceiling to
get to a ledge. Even now,
it’s always fun to explore
the world and try to dis-
PHOTO: THESTUDENTROOM.CO.UK
cover new rooms or levels.
Super Mario Bros. is
one of the best games of all
PHOTO: EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG
Sprite vs. 7Up:
A blind taste test
O
n March 5 we had a
taste test in the
Middle School
Commons after lunch to
see which type of drink
people really liked better:
Sprite or 7Up.
I randomly asked
twelve students (two boys
and two girls from each of
6th, 7th, and 8th grades) to
volunteer for the taste test.
First, we asked them which
drink they thought they
preferred. Then we had
them drink samples of
both drinks from identical,
unmarked cups. They had
no way of knowing which
sample was their “preferred”
drink. After they
time, and should be preserved
and remembered
for generations to come.
had tasted both samples, we
asked them which one they
liked best and recorded the
results.
Interestingly, five of the
12 people tested did NOT
pick the drink they thought
they preferred. That’s almost
half! In addition, a majority
of the girls (5 of 6) thought
Sprite tasted better, while a
majority of the boys (4 of 6)
picked 7Up. Girls commented
that the Sprite sample
was “bubblier” and had a
stronger flavor, while the
boys said that 7Up was
“smoother.”
Which drink do you like
better? Maybe you should
try the other one again!
8 RAVIN’ TIMES April 2012