I absolutely love a good indie game with a GREAT back story for its development, which you can read in the paragraph below. Evoland is my new happy place. It takes me from my first pixel gaming experiences back in the day, like Zelda, Mario, Final Fantasy and even Pong, to full blown modern graphics all by earning it with rewards. It is easy to play getting more complicated along the way, continuously fun to play and has very addictive gameplay. All things I look for in a game, no matter what the genre. 

"Evoland is a game and a story. The story of action adventure gaming as seen in the Zelda or Final Fantasy series, starting with the early age of action RPGs, when a few pixels were enough to make us dream for hours. New players will discover a bit of video game history and a very fun gameplay, and veterans will also enjoy a host of references to legendary titles scattered along the game. Evoland Classic was originally created by Nicolas Cannasse for a Ludum Dare competition in about 30 hours. Turns out the game won the first place (out of around 1400 games) and quickly reached over 300 000 players within a couple of months. With such a great feedback from our community and given our love for the original concept, we decided that Shiro Games should work on a bigger and more refined version of the game.
The game will enhance and continue the story started in Evoland Classic, taking you further along the history of action adventure gaming, adding collectible items, new monsters and bosses, and more importantly new play styles and full 3D environments!"-Evoland Website

Here are reviews found on Steam, where you can get this game for a mere $10.00 for hours of amusement.

“If You Like Final Fantasy Or Zelda, You Need To Play Evoland”
Kotaku

“Evoland is a fascinating study of the adventure game genre, and surprisingly funny at the same time.”
Wired

“Evoland's elements form a love letter to some of the most venerated games in their respective genres, and it's surprising just how well the shifting gameplay types work together”
Destructoid

“Evoland is a fantastic advert for indie gaming. It's creative, unique, highly entertaining and wonderfully nostalgic. This is a must-play.”
eGamer

This photo is self explanatory as stated above. You start the game out in a beautifully black and white retro world, unlocking colors, dimensions and graphics along the way, and eventually you have a full blown weapons, chests to open along the way, and a monster boss filled game plus so much more. 


Below is a short video trailer with gameplay. There are 3 options to purchase the game through Shiro Games, all for $10.00. Steam offers it, Gog.com offers it and you can buy it direct for your PC from Shiro Games using PayPal. 

Down to the nitty-gritty. You can play the original game free on their website within the browser. Be very aware, this is not the version that is available now, it is the game built in 30 hours that caught on and lead to the upgrades. You can support them by adding a Like on their Facebook page and getting this small indie company and their developers more attention that they so deserve. That is free and easy enough, right? You can also follow them on Twitter if you wish. I have found a simple retweet can help many great causes and/or help bring attention to things that you enjoy. 

Now shew! Go support something worthwhile, affordable, awesome and full of addictive fun for all ages! 

This is a surprising low number. Honestly, I do not think people are being properly lead to FEMA in all disaster struck areas, but specifically in rural areas, especially after the second round of tornadoes and floods. I personally feel from being on-sight and reading, that 95% of funding, donations, food, medical care and volunteers have been focused in Moore, then OKC and many small rural areas are just in wait, including farms. This needs to be looked into. I think I will inquire into this ASAP. It's just a feeling from doing this kind of work for a long period of time. 

Thoughts?

http://www.ok.gov/triton/modules/newsroom/newsroom_article.php?id=275&article_id=12078

Over 10 1/2 hours in 104 degree weather and humidity at 96% were spent raising money at the Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium for the "Toby Keith Twister Relief Concert". I'm sure it was around 118 degrees in the stadium without a single breeze to be caught.

Before I go any further, you can donate $10.00 by texting REBUILD to 52000. This was used at this concert and ALL funds go to the tornado victims. 
Or you can go here and see more ways to donate: http://www.aidmatrixnetwork.org/SCMPublicPortal/states.aspx?ST=Oklahoma
If YOU need help: http://www.ok.gov/okstrong/Need_Assistance/index.html

Other guests were Willie Nelson, Sammy Hagar, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Mel Tillis, Ronnie Dunn, John Anderson, Wade Hayes and a satellite performance from Oklahoma native Carrie Underwood. They brought out people like Bob Stoops, the current OU football coach and brought in Barry Switzer, the previously GAWD coach who took on the Dallas Cowboys later, and whom I spent many a night with in bars with along with his current team back in my pre-med college days, to introduce musicians. Along with the introducers were the Mayor of Moore, Glen Lewis and the always sporting flannel and jean wearing female governor, Mary Fallin. She impressed me so much through this natural disaster that it would literally take another blog to go through it all. I will say this: she was there from day one, helping, cleaning, talking, hugging, and giving.....in jeans and flannel like the rest of us.

Straight up, the crowds were passing out from heat exhaustion by hours 2 and 3. We could barely stand and I mean that. Then--Sammy Hagar STOLE the show. I really didn't know any of their music except Willie Nelson and I was never a fan of Van Hagar, or Sammy, but after he got on stage, in front of 80,000 country-western fans and he got everyone standing and screaming, I instantly became a Hagar Groupie. It was almost a miracle because they had to set up med centers at every section with water and oxygen a few hours after a light bulb went off. And honestly, you can ask the people that passed out from heat or those puking drunks, it was STILL amazing to be there and witness this community gathering.


It was held at this stadium, outside, to get the most people in. Nothing in Oklahoma could hold enough, so this concert went down in history as the largest concert venue in the history of Oklahoma ever. 


ALL money raised, every single penny, goes directly to Oklahomans hit by the tornado. Not only the ticket money, but the teeshirt money and donations they asked for in between sets of musicians. They also had interviews and motorcycle and car giveaways for those desperately in need, from Toby Kieth.


About Toby Kieth, I have a new found respect for this fellow, and not because my brother was his body guard for so many years. It is because he GIVES BACK. Everywhere. To everyone. When everyone wouldn't go or stopped going overseas to perform for our troops, he still remains valiant in giving them some relief from war to this day. He also has a foundation for children with cancer in which 100% of the funds go to those kids. Toby made a joke about doing a yearly Twister relief concert for Oklahoma 3 months before tornado season so we wouldn't have to suffer again. 


Cheers to you, Toby Keith, I raise my "red solo cup" to you. 

Note: The top stadium photo is the work of my trusty iPhone. The Sammy Hagar photo is stolen from the web from the same concert. I would love to credit the actual source, but it's on every news site and blog.