Warlock-

There is a very fine line between campy and crappy. The way in which the cheerful and cheerful "Yaaaarrr" of Pirates of Black Cove entertains to have fun to be worthy of shrinking is forgivable, but a strong personality does not save this sunken ship from a game of its numerous shortcomings. The slow adventure on the high seas and the boring and simplistic game detract from a presentation that would otherwise be charming and struggling to stay afloat under its own uncomfortable circumference. In a nutshell: the looting through the beautiful, shimmering waters of Black Cove should be much more fun than it is. With the option of three exaggerated pirates protagonists, to overthrow the captain of his ship to undertake a life of piracy makes things have a good start. Lying in the middle of the map of the islands of the ocean, sail from one side to another, performing missions in the sea and land for the three pirate factions of the game. There is a lot of loot to chase, tasks to be tackled, villages to plunder and places to explore. It's an exciting prospect, except that the scope of the game is much more limited than it seems at first, which makes the replay that quickly gets even more disappointing. Exploring the tropical island waters offers some gorgeous sightseeing opportunities as you pass by lush islands and gaze deep into the blue depths. Sadly, that's all you can do at times, since getting where you need to go is painfully slow process. Even at top speed, it can take minutes of straight sailing to travel between mission hotspots. Waylaying passing vessels - a prime pirate pursuit - only offers a meager amount of amusement too. Ship-to-ship combat boils down to you and your adversary circling around one another and exchanging cannon fire until your foe hits the sea floor. Most enemy vessels are too easy to beat, and the repetitive ocean battles lack much punch. The going does not get any better on land. A large number of Black Cove missions to send your small band of no-goodnicks on island assaults to destroy specific buildings, capture key characters, and cause mayhem. These plodding affairs play out in a very similar fashion each time. Starting from the beachhead, you'll send your main hero and any accompanying rabble you've hired on a slow trek inland. Though there are small pockets of opposition along the way, in almost every case I plowed through them with relative ease, reached my objective marker, and battled my way back to the shore. Moving around is slow and tedious, and the trek back to your ship after the mission is done is a real slog. Any traditional real-time strategy elements found in these encounters are sparse at best. Most island battles are overcome by selecting all of your troops and hurling them at a particular foe until it's mauled, and trying to do much else hinders your effectiveness in combat. Instead of being able to select and manage individual units, you can only direct particular groupings of units. And the limited unit types (minor variations on melee, ranged, heavy artillery) do not add much to the gameplay. There's surprisingly little room for strategic variation or direction, which feels like a real misstep in a RTS title. A smattering of light RPG elements pop-up subtly throughout the game. Completing missions gains you favor with pirate factions, opening up new tasks to tackle, and you'll also earn experience, letting you pick new skills for your smarmy hero every few levels. These minor nuances add a little extra flavor and purpose to the repetitive task of plodding back and forth across the same islands. You can also unlock a few structures on each pirate factions base area for producing new units, and some buildings allow item crafting when you've foraged the right components. It's going to be tough, but I promise, at the beginning of this review, to try and resist the urge to blurt out overused, inaccurate, and stereotypical pirate slang. Excuse me-! Avast ye, matey! Shiver me timbers! Up to date! Scrub the poop deck, ye landlubber, or ye'll be walkin 'the plank to Davy Jones's Locker! Arrrrr! YAAARRRRRRRR !!! Okay, I think I'm done. Polly want a cracker? Okay, now I'm REALLY done. Lo prometo. Pirates have always been a po[CENSORED]r group of individuals, especially to children, but thanks in part to Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise, pirates are not only cool and relevant, but characters like Johnny Depp's role as Captain Jack Sparrow are part of today's pop culture. But you do not have to only get your piratey goodness from the likes of Disney or from Pirates of the Caribbean-themed games and merchandise, or from franchises featuring Secrets and Monkeys. Say "ahoy" to Pirates of Black Cove. The pirate-themed PC strategy game is published by Paradox and developed by Nitro Games. First off, the game is really pretty. If you have a decent PC, you'll definitely want to pump up the resolution and details. The water effects are particularly well-done. The visual style is reminiscent of a highly detailed Monkey Island game, in that it's cartoonish enough, but not overly so. The characters you'll meet and control have slightly exaggerated caricatures and features. The game's tone is more on the light and whimsical side of piracy (Pirates of the Caribbean and Monkey Island, again) and less on the darker and more serious side of the history book pirates. Pirates of Black Cove is split off into two different modes of gameplay: water and land-based exploration and action. The first mode is ship-based warfare. It's you versus an assortment of ships and be creatures. While Paradox has been known to be involved with some pretty detailed strategy and simulator games, Pirates of Black Cove is lighter on the strategy, and heavier on the action. The boat is controlled using the WASD keys on your keyboard. Special attacks can be used by pressing the space bar, can canons for the sides of the ship by pressing the left and right arrow keys. It does take some time to get adjusted to the controls, so steering to ship take some thinking ahead. Destroying an enemy (or civilian) ship will result in gold or other treasure. The second mode is ground-based combat, represented with an isometric view, and looks reminiscent of rogue games like Dungeon Siege or Torchlight, but the controls are identical to real-time strategy games like StarCraft II. You left click to select your character (or you can draw a box around multiple character). Right-clicking on the screen will move you to the location or perform an action. The path-finding, choosing where you want your character to go, seemed to work, and I never had to micromanage my character's movement as I walked from the starting point to their destination. If you lose track of your pirate, you can double-click their portrait in the upper-right corner to immediately center them on the screen. There are stores to visit to purchase items, upgrade or buy new ships, and with enough coin you can construct buildings. In both modes, objectives are clearly labeled with arrow markers off-screen to help direct you where to go if you're lost. Items of interest in the world are marked with a trail or sparkles or shimmering rays of light to help identify them. Like most PC games, you can also save and load games at any time by visiting the main menu. As mentioned earlier, the game is rather lighthearted, but sometimes it is silly, ridiculous, and rather stupid. As an example, the pirate characters that you can choose from at the beginning are called "Walker de Planc", "Jolie Roger", and "Longshot Jack". Okay that last one sounded some legit, but the other two were almost too embarrassing for me to select. The game's dialogue is a bit wordy, and conversations can not be skipped past (or at least I was not able to figure out how to after pressing every possible key and mouse button). This is a great deal, as some people enjoy a game and writing work - and Pirates of Black Cove certainly have a good personality - but others may want to just skip to the mission details and get on with the game. I do it in Torchlight and Borderlands all the time, that a game you need without the need to see all of the story's details. In consecutive playthroughs, I can see the inability to skip conversations as being more of a hindrance. The Verdict Aside from its uninspired combat and limited scope, Pirates of Black Cove is an endearing game at times. I wanted to love it, and kept diving back in hoping that something would click. It didn & # Array; t. The hokey character dialogue and D-list voice acting grew on me, and the vibrant views in the sprawling world map & # Array; s oceanic terrain are beautiful. It & # Array; s too bad so many other areas of the game sputter and flop like a beached whale. This pirating RTS adventure hints at depth and promise but just doesn & # Array; t deliver. ADDED

Healthy diet, physical and intellectual exercise and sleep control, recommendations on World Health Day World Health Day is an excellent occasion to remember the benefits of a lifestyle and habits that favor a better physical and psychological well-being. Specialists of the Hospitalario Quirón Group offer some recommendations aimed at improving our daily life. Its main advice is to lead a healthy existence, which combines physical exercise, a balanced diet and attention to the signals that our body sends us, because it will contribute to "regenerate the state of health and increase the quality of day to day " Although stress is one of the great evils of our time, it is linked to the human being from the beginning of its existence. To control it and improve our emotional and physical health, it is convenient to do without the stimulating substances (coffee, alcohol, tobacco), to practice physical exercise, to sleep well, to enjoy relaxing music, to breathe in a calm way and to eat well, reducing fats, sugar and salt. In addition, it is shown that people with greater intellectual activity are better protected against brain deterioration, even in the case of suffering, for example, Alzheimer's. How to stimulate our mind so that it is active? Professionals advise: avoid routine and passive activities such as watching television; cultivate hobbies such as gardening, DIY, painting or music; read and write daily; learn to play an instrument or dare with a language to delay our neuronal aging; make hobbies or participate in strategy and table games or video games; take part in artistic, cultural and intellectual activities, such as visiting museums, exhibitions or attending conferences; and complete exercises specifically designed to improve memory, attention and other mental functions. On the other hand, contrary to what one might think, the dream has a vital function. In addition, getting enough sleep and a good quality sleep is essential for a healthy day to day life. Doing it little or badly influences negatively, since it increases the risk of suffering some diseases (cardiovascular, infectious, metabolic, etc.), besides causing fatigue, drowsiness, memory problems, depression, etc. Likewise, it is "vital" to help our body recover the water it loses through urine, sweat or breath. We must drink about two liters a day and consume foods rich in it, such as fruits and vegetables. Finally, bad dietary habits, lack of sports activity and stress aggravate back pain, so common among the po[CENSORED]tion and cause of sick leave. "There is no better prevention than keeping our vital tone, both physical and psychosocial, high: being physically active and moving away from sedentary lifestyle and overweight." It is important that the sport adapts to age and enhances the abdominal and thoracolumbar muscles and flexibility. only 10 minutes a day of exercise is enough to prevent pain, as long as it is not done in an abusive manner or causes discomfort, "the specialists of Quirón recommend.

"20 years were enough," said opposition leader Juan Guaidó, quoted in a statement from the National Assembly, without directly mentioning Nicolás Maduro. Venezuela opposition leader Juan Guaido said Saturday that the government of President Nicolas Maduro will come to an end in 2019, after ensuring that the opposition will remain on the streets, days after the last talks in Norway that ended without agreements. Guaidó insisted that he keeps all the options on the table in response to the economic and humanitarian crisis that affects the South American country and that has pressured the migration of millions of Venezuelans and affected neighboring countries. "This did not start in 2019, but it will end in 2019. Let the regime decide if they go out for good or if they go out for bad (...) 20 years were enough," said Guaidó, quoted in a statement from the National Assembly, without mentioning Maduro directly. "The time has come to cast the rest because there are no magic solutions," the president of the Congress also added, in a massive ceremony with his followers in the western state of Barinas, the birthplace of the late President Hugo Chávez. The Ministry of Communication did not immediately respond to a request for comments. Norway, mediator between the envoys of the Government and the opposition of Venezuela, said in the week that there was "disposition" to look for a solution to the current political crisis, after a second round of conversations. Guaidó, in January invoked articles of the Constitution to proclaim himself president in charge for considering the Venezuelan president illegitimate. But, Maduro calls Guaidó a "puppet" that with the support of the United States seeks to remove him from power. The political crisis flared up on April 30, when Guaidó, along with some military, opposition and demonstrators, called on the armed forces to ignore Maduro, considered by his critics illegitimate in his position for having been re-elected in questioned elections.

When it first released in 2011, L.A. Noire was an anomaly; its facial capture tech was an innovative showcase of animation, and it's focus on slower-paced interrogation puzzles widely contrasted the big-budget shooters of the time. Six years later, the game has surprisingly managed to make its way onto Switch. While a few sacrifices were made in performance and graphical fidelity to get L.A. Noire running, the ambitious spirit of this stylistic 1940s-era detective adventure remains. THE. Noire's main 21 cases are all present, including all of its DLC cases. As budding LAPD detective Cole Phelps, you spend the bulk of your time gathering evidence, interrogating suspects, and making accusations. Phelps is a fascinating, yet morally flawed, character whose checkered past is compelling to see unfold as the story goes on. The cases you solve remain interesting and well-paced, balancing slower, more meticulous investigative moments with brief shootouts and vehicular / on-foot chases. On Switch, the game controls as well as on previous generation consoles, especially when playing docked with a Pro Controller. It also offers motion and touch controls, which are welcome additions that make L.A. Noire feel more involved Motion controls allow you to use the right Joy-con to control the camera and physically mani[CENSORED]te objects you pick up, while touch controls command Phelps where to go and what to investigate by simply tapping the screen. However, both control schemes do not feel as functional as playing with a traditional gamepad setup. While L.A. Noire's story and varied pacing are some of its most exceptional aspects, where it is truly shines is in its interrogation sequences. Armed with your intellect and the wealth of evidence you collect during your investigations, questioning suspects and seeing through their facial ticks to expose their secrets lead to many of the game's most tense and captivating moments. The facial animations hold up well, displaying a level of realism that's still impressive. And with top-notch performances from its facial capture actors, interrogations are just as absorbing and believable. In a subtle change from the original, interrogation options have been changed from "Truth," "Doubt," and "Lie" to "Good Cop," "Bad Cop," and "Accuse." The new naming scheme helps to give you a better understanding of Cole's behavior towards suspect's testimony, which was difficult to gauge in the original. The renewed context is particularly useful when suspect is playing coy, where it makes sense that using the more forceful "Bad Cop" approach would root out more information. However, the new terminology is not perfect. There are situations where it is not specific enough; this is apparent when responding with "Good Cop", where the option seems to lean more towards believing the suspect rather than following proper police protocol. Despite this occasional issue, interrogations are consistently rewarding, often requiring critical thinking and sharp judgment to complete perfectly. THE. Noire's finer qualities are maintained, but its remarkable shortcomings also persist. Movement is a bit clunky during shootouts, and there is plenty of useless filler objects to sift through during crime scene investigations. But the most glaring issue lies in the game's recreation of 1940s-era Los Angeles, which is authentic but does not offer much to do outside of main missions and random street crime activities. New hidden collectables in the form of books and records have been added to the Switch version to encourage exploration, but it's not made clear that these items exist These issues do not take much to detract from the experience at large, especially considering how well the game runs and how good it looks. Visuals are reminiscent of the original version, only sporting new jagged edges, fluctuating textures, and noticeably weaker draw distances and dynamic lighting effects in some instances. However, these issues are less apparent when playing the undocked game, where it runs and looks the best. On the other hand, frame rate maintains a steady 30 frames per second, only drastically dipping when surrounded by multiple NPCs or vehicles while on foot. Though, it's not a deal breaker, seeing as the game consistently performs well during the moments where it matters, like during investigations, interrogations, and car chases. Even considering L.A. Noire's age, it's a wonder that the game can be played on Switch. While nowhere near as technically striking as seeing Doom run on the console, there's still something special playing about what was once such an ambitious game on last-generation consoles in the palm of your hand. And the game lends itself well to the platform; the bite-sized length of missions makes it a great fit for playing on the go. If sharper visuals and higher frame rate are huge factors in your enjoyment, then you're better off playing L.A. Noire on PS4 and Xbox One, which sport added bells and whistles that elevate the game's performance. But if you're charmed by the idea of experiencing it portably, then L.A. Noire on Switch comes recommended. It may not be the best under pressure, but it's well worth replaying or experiencing for the first time on Nintendo's convertible console. L.A Noire is different. It's not like most video games developed by Rockstar. You do not play the outlaw running wild, free to kill, steal, and cause destruction. You're a cop. A good cop at that, determined to restore order to the violent streets of 1940s Los Angeles. L.A Noire's not like most games. Sure, there are car chases, gunfights, and a point-tally to judge the quality of your police justice, but it's a slow-paced, meditative experience. The focus is not on how good you are at scoring headshots with a pistol but instead your ability to read a suspect's face and determine if he or she is telling the truth, holding something back, or flat out lying. Using a brand new technology called MotionScan, L.A. Noire delivers pure performances from a talented group of actors. Every wrinkle, twitch, downward glance, grimace, and hard swallow is from an actor playing a part, not an animator mani[CENSORED]ting things from behind the scenes. It's a striking, sometimes unnerving effect certain to help push video games closer to true cinematic experiences. It's easy to fall into old video game habits like checking your phone while listening to a line of dialogue, but you're setting yourself up for failure. The actors' tells are in their faces, their posture, their eyes are rarely revealed in what they say. This is where L.A. Noire shines The interrogations are like lengthy dialogue scenes you'd see in an RPG - but they're captivating. This is the core of L.A. Noire and that core is very good. You're a detective, so you're going to scour crime scenes searching for clues. And when you question witnesses, you have to think less like a gamer and more like a sleuth. It's not easy. In fact, it's often a real challenge to judge the trustworthiness of a witness' statement. The line between "doubt" and "lie" is very narrow. Though L.A. Noire's hero, Cole Phelps, is regarded as one of the best case men ever, I still managed to falsely accuse dozens of suspects, who were actually forthcoming, and used the wrong clue to try and catch killers in lies. After every question, selected from Phelps' trusty notebook, you get a response from the suspect. Then you must choose to believe, doubt, or accuse them of lying. Get it right and you can open them up and get more clues. Get it wrong, and they offer less. The better you do over the course of a case, the more you will understand the suspect's motivations. The worse you do, the tougher it is to get at the truth, but there's no possibility of failure in any conversation. THE. Noire will not abruptly end if you fail to catch a killer's lie or miss an important clue. The bad guy only gets away if it's pre-determined in the story. The only game over screen comes from dying or allowing to fleeing suspect to escape. This makes you less of a real detective and more of a page turner, destined to always reach the next chapter so long as you make a choice - any choice. THE. Noire is not all about badgering people, though. This is still an open-world game. You're free to deviate from a case, explore faithfully recreated 1947 Los Angeles, and tackle more action-oriented missions. No, you can not run wild like in Grand Theft Auto (you're a cop, accept it), but there are some other things to do. Forty "unassigned cases" come in as calls on the radio. These are not random; they're single-scene missions where you'll stop at bank robbery, chase down to bat-wielding lunatic, or shadow to crook to your hideout. A few other distractions can be had - finding all of the famous L.A. locations and discovering more than a dozen hidden cars - which earn you points towards leveling up your rank. New ranks mean new clothes, hidden car locations, and intuition points (which can be spent to reveal clues and narrow choices when interrogating suspect). This is the "game" portion of L.A. Noire, the part built for those who are not ready to release their old needs as gamers. And maybe Rockstar is struggling to release that same hold. I like going about town, but L.A. Noire would have been stronger with greater focus on the experience and less concern for including traditional game elements. Each time I start getting immersed in the world, I'm reminded "you're playing a game" with unnecessary text popping up on the screen or a score tallying my lie-detecting ability. There are moments when L.A. Noire comes together brilliantly, when the threads from multiple cases lead to a darker ringleader. But more often, things are perhaps too true to real police work repetitive, redundant, and unsurprising. Despite having 21 cases, some of which can take more than an hour to complete, L.A. Noire drags at times because it recycles the same drama. Ten cases in, I knew what to expect. I come to a crime scene and search for some clues that then open one or two new locations in L.A. to investigate. From there, I know I'll end up chasing someone on foot through the back-alleys of the city or through the streets in my car. All this leads to a final interview with a suspect in the police station interview room, where even screwing up completely still leads to an arrest. I might think the guy's innocent, but except on rare occasions, I'm just going through the motions and have no control over the end result. When L.A. Noire breaks free from the formula, it can be stunning. A great example comes at the end of Phelps' time on the Homicide desk, when you are freed from the usual case work and instead have to solve riddles that leads you to landmarks across Los Angeles. The end of the homicide desk is refreshing, startling, different, and necessary to hold interest in what is a series of the same song and dance. Even with its redundancies, L.A. Noire is still entertaining. Normally, I'd say a game like this, "great voice acting," but with its amazing new technology, L.A. Noire has great performances. It's more than just the voice, it's the wayisms, the way someone's mouth, after telling a lie, the unease of a wrongdoer being grilled in the box. There have been games with graphics far superior to L.A. Noire's, with a level of fidelity that makes the world seem more real than what's outside your door. But I've never seen Adam's apples move when people talk or throat muscles tense when someone almost says too much. It's fascinating to watch a sort of hybrid between an action game and an episode of Law & Order. With that gift of having detailed, human faces, Rockstar and developer Team Bondi have the vehicle to deliver an incredibly emotional and engaging story. THE. Noire falls short, though. Despite great performances, some killer dialogue, and one of my favorite game soundtracks in years, L.A. Noire left me cold. Cole Phelps begins as a paragon of the LAPD, but his true past is revealed. If hero or pariah, I just never liked him that much because his story is told at times haphazardly. There is an omniscient narrator in the early missions of L.A. Noire who disappears halfway through and never returns. Cole has a wife he almost never talks about until the plot needs a complication to Phelps' pristine image. There's a confounding "twist" with three cases left that changes the focus of the story and left me scratching my head. L.A Noire has issues, but it's also a bold and unique take on games as entertainment. The core gameplay mechanics work - no issues with driving, chasing perps across town, taking cover, shooting people, figuring out what to do next, or understanding how to interrogate suspect. The various elements never come together at the same time to create something spectacular, but there are a lot of good things going on. Some will love L.A. Noire for being different and others are going to find the slower pace to deal-breaker. Crime is Always Black & White Click here for more of IGN's L.A. Noire coverage. The Verdict I struggle with L.A. Noire, because at times I love it, yet it has some remarkable flaws. As a noir fan, I find moments that really get me grinning. There are certain cases that draw me in and side characters who eat up the scene. But it never adds up - amazing pieces that do not remove amount to an incredible game. At the same time, no one's ever played a game like this before. And unless there's a sequel, I doubt anyone will again for some time. Credit Rockstar for taking a huge risk, for succeeding in many areas, and for offering something fresh and different. THE. Noire may not reach the emotional heights of a game like Heavy Rain, but it's something everyone must try out. It reaches high and almost succeeds as a brilliant new type of video game narrative. ADDED

Do you know your Azeroth from your Azkaban? Your Frostwolf Clan from your direwolf guardian? Your Elwynn Forest from your Council of Elrond? If you picked out the above Harry Potter, Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings comparisons from those of Warcraft, the RTS and MMORPG franchise now making his movie debut, congratulations: you're already ahead of the game, and no doubt a large chunk of the audience that director Duncan Jones (Moon, Source Code) and his team are targeting with this latest fantasy franchise. And it puts you at a considerable advantage when it comes to one of the unlikely challenges when trying to realize, and orienting newcomers around, to long-established, complex fantasy world. J.K. Rowling, George R.R. Martin and J.R.R. Tolkien were able to build up their mythologies over many books (and their screen adaptations across several hours of viewing), Jones and co have the unenviable task of cramming to rambling, diffuse gaming multiverse into a stand-alone, two-hour-and- change epic and still lay the ground for potential sequels. No easy task when cited named Ironforge and Stormwind might distract you with thoughts of 1970s heavy metal bands that help you focus on a brand new lore of the rings. What's refreshing about Warcraft, though, that's the inevitable information dump - in a nutshell, warrior orcs from dying world Draenor find a magical gateway into peaceful Azeroth and come up against its human (and dwarf and elf) inhabitants - the emphasis from the very beginning is on its character. Indeed, some may overlook just how bold to move it is to kick off proceedings with an orc couple, Frostwolf leader Durotan (Toby Kebbell) and Draca (Anna Galvin), prospective parents worrying about the fate of their clan and their newborn. You do not get much more, well, human, that that. And only after their journey begins to meet the current people, chief among them Lothar (Vikings' Travis Fimmel), right-hand man to benevolent King Llane (Dominic Cooper). Naturally the kingdom is disturbed to find signs of unwanted visitors, particularly those bearing the hallmarks of The 'Fel' - dark (well, green) magic that warps its users as much as its victims and surroundings - a magic that ruthless orc chieftain Gul 'dan (Daniel Wu) wields to seize Azeroth for his own. Scoff at these strange names all you want - because Luke Skywalker or Albus Dumbledore sound so much cooler - but it's not the quality of geographical visualization or creature characterization that weighs Warcraft down at first, it's the sheer quantity. We have not even touched on Azeroth's tricksy Guardian (i.e. wizard) Medivh (Ben Foster), sorcerer's apprentice Khadgar (Ben Schnetzer), half-orc slave Garona (Paula Patton) and half a dozen more key players. Attempts to keep everyone in play and to develop meaningful connections initially seem to be defeating Jones and co-screenwriter Charles Leavitt. Additional factors like too much rumbling, echoey orc dialogue being difficult to understand, or the pristine, digital Azeroth views looking too like a theme park version of its land rather than a lived-in world, do not help make the fantasy feel real either . Slowly but surely, however, Warcraft shapeshifts from to CG-heavy experience you're watching to one you're actually immersed within. Other tech specs are suitably state-of-the-art: the orcs in particular move with impressively real heft and expressiveness and Game of Thrones composer Ramin Djawadi underscores the action with rousing, tribal rhythms. Like Christopher Nolan, Duncan Jones has gone from cerebral genre hit to slick thriller to major franchise opportunity, and he directs the combat scenes with assuredness, without ever reaching the rarefied heights Peter Jackson or James Cameron. But Jones' real strength, and you imagine, his overall priority, is more personal than technical. The story - cribbed from the 1994 real-time strategy Warcraft: Orcs & Humans - is pretty simple at heart, but the heart - teeming with frayed connections between parents and children, separated lovers, betrayed friends - beats ever stronger. The plot even does what Tolkien / Jackson conspicuously skimped on (give or take the odd Boromir), which is to genuinely raise the stakes by killing off seemingly key characters. As a result, the climactic face-offs and cliff-hangers have far more dramatic weight than you might have imagined. "Game over" truly means something here. Classic is Blizzard's attempt to bring back the spirit of its early glory days. That's not because of its suffering, but because of the land of Azeroth and how people play around in it has changed so much in the 15 years since launch. That said, a part of the charm included a few "bugs" or "features" that even more experienced players may have forgotten about. It looks like Blizzard anticipated a bit of head-scratching over it from beta players, and clarified things in a post forum, first reported by Eurogamer. "As we've discussed before, the nature of WoW Classic sometimes invokes different memories for different players, and this leads to certain misconceptions for some about what is not working as intended," Blizzard wrote. Some standouts include "feared players and NPCs run fast" and "standing on top of other players while facing away allows spells and attacks to be used." Some of the "bugs / features" show just how much World of Warcraft has changed, enough to warrant an official return to its original state for dedicated fans. Previously, players were only able to play to "vanilla" version of World of Warcraft on illegal custom servers that aimed to emulate the experience. You can find the full list Blizzard has provided below: Tauren's hitboxes and their melee reach is slightly larger than other races. Being critically struck while using / sit to sit does not cause abilities like Enrage, Blood Craze, and Reckoning to activate. Using the "Automatic Quest Tracking" option does not auto-track newly accepted quests. (It instead will start to track an existing quest eleven progress towards an objective is started.) Warrior health Regeneration is working at the expected rate. Quests objectives and points of interests are not tracked on the map or minimap. Completed quests are marked on the minimap with a dot. (and not to "?") Feared players and NPCs run fast. Standing on top of other players while facing away allows spells and attacks to be used. Creature respawn rates are much slower than in Battle for Azeroth. NPCs which offer multiple quests may inconsistently display them as a dot "!" On the available quests list. They were inconsistent in 1.12, and we've reproduced the exact inconsistency they had back then. Quests that are too low level for do not show up as a "!" In the game world. Available quests do not display a "!" On the minimap. On level up, the message: "Your skill in Protection increased to 15" was added in 1.12.1, and we're intending to keep that. World of Warcraft Classic is available on August 27. Make sure to check out the beautiful statue that comes with the 15th anniversary edition. Classic will be released for PC and Mac on August 27, 2019, and that a collector's edition with a statue of Ragnaros will be released that celebrates WoW's 15-year anniversary. On August 27, players will be able to return to Azeroth as it was during the Drums of War update (patch 1.12) and will have the honor of once again being able to assemble a 40-player raid to take on the fiery hazards of Molten Core; fight for their faction in the ongoing world PvP struggle between Southshore and Tarren Mill; muster a realm-wide war effort to open the gates of Ahn'Qiraj; and much more. " Following its release, WoW Classic will receive updates over multiple phases that will be released in a similar fashion to the original order and all of this and more will be included with existing World of Warcraft subscriptions at no additional cost. Beginning on May 15, certain WoW players will be invited to "participate in a small-scale, focused closed beta test, helping ensure WoW Classic nails its goal of authenticity." Additionally, there will be certain stress tests from May through July that will allow players to jump back into their memories of how Azeroth once was. Alongside the WoW Classic announcement is the news that World of Warcraft will be getting to 15-year anniversary collector's edition which includes a statue of Ragnaros, Onyxia Pin, map of Azeroth mouse pad, art prints, Alabaster Stonetalon mount for the Alliance, and the Alabaster Thunderwing mount for the Horde. The collector's edition will be released on October 8, 2019 for $ 99.99 USD and can be pre-ordered from the Blizzard Gear store now. World of Warcraft Classic was first revealed during the BlizzCon 2017 keynote with the mission, according to Blizzard, to "reproduce the game experience that we all enjoyed from the original classic WoW without the launch experience." Finnally MMOs are a strange beast. They are designed to make you play as much as possible, yet addictiveness does not always equal fun. In the field of pyschology, there are several kinds of rewards systems, and the one that seems to be the most successful is the random reward introduced at a random time. Sometimes you click the button, and nothing happens. Sometimes you click and get the food pellet. It's this mechanism that is the slots in Vegas, and when you walk away empty, as is statistically inevitable over a long stretch of time, you tell yourself that the overall value was the experience itself, since you come away with nothing tangible. MMOs take away your time and they never deliver a discreet conclusion. I played a ton of Dark Age of Camelot shortly after it launched, and I find myself reminded of it negatively every day that I play World of Warcraft. To discuss the differences in favor of WoW would be an article in itself, but I'll try to keep to the main points. First, let's talk about The Grind. In a traditional persistent online RPG, you advance your character by killing an endless string of monsters, and by doing "FedEx" quests where you get some money and / or experience points by delivering an arbitrary item from Point A to Point B. As your character advances, his or her progress begins to slow. It takes longer and longer to get to the next level, because you need more and more experience points each time, but the experience returned from monsters and deliveries does not scale accordingly. Yet you feel compelled to continue because at Level X you get a really cool spell or other ability that's supposed to make the game more "fun." The second part of the grind is "downtime," the amount of time it takes to recover from each monster (or "mob") encounter. When I played DAOC, it took every ounce of my resources to defeat an enemy that would give me respectable experience. Then I would sit down and wait while my energy bars slowly refilled. Then you would have to wait awhile for the next batch of monsters to spawn again, and you'd be competing against other players and "camping" this same spot all day long. Now, imagine an MMO where your experience is a string of quests where you're rewarded with a cool item, recipe, or a decent amount of pocket money. A game where the grind is virtually eliminated - a game where downtime is relatively nonexistent, where enemies respawn rapidly and dynamically according to how many players are in the local area; where you can use a healing spell, or bandage yourself, or eat some food, or all three, before diving right back in again. Your character's death does not result in the loss of many hours of experience, or one of your items, or any money (although there is item decay, so whatever you have equipped currently takes at 10% durability hit). When you die, you resurrect as a ghost who moves quickly, runs on water, and can not be harmed on its way back to its body. You can also have a player resurrect you in a matter of moments, even after you have entered a ghost form. This is a game that understands Fun. WoW has been described widely as a "newbie-friendly" game, but after playing since the closed beta phase that started back in Spring of this year, I can honestly say that WoW is friendly to everybody. Everything from the colorful art style to the endearing player animations, to the countless quirks of personality makes WoW an inviting experience. Blizzard's passion for gaming is infectious, and its sense of humor disarming. Still, the relatively low number of polygons will not help WoW in the long run, as strong as the art style is. People's hands are particularly blocky, and each gender has one body type, making a mage as beefy as a warrior, which looks a little silly. You can make an argument for a barrel-chested Merlin making the player feel heroic, but I would like more options for character customization. The other big MMOs offer an order of magnitude more here, and the lack of differentiation makes people look a little too similar to one another. Variety is a good thing, especially when you put so much time in the game and see countless other players in a single session. Thankfully, the environments do not suffer this, and they also transition smoothly, with no loading times. Yes, you read that right. Entering the underground train puts you in an instance, but flying from one end of the continent to another will not require staring dully at a single progress bar as it is painfully from one side to the other. The game also starts up impressively fast, probably thanks to the low complexity of the objects and character models. Like I said before, there's a lot of waiting around in this game. At any rate, each zone has a distinct character, almost as if a completely different art team worked on each one, and they may have. At the same time, the transitions are never jarring. As you fly from, say, Ironforge to the Wetlands, you'll descend down to snowy mountain, gradually making your way down to the green and brown marshes full of crocolisks (six-legged crocodiles), gnolls, and many other beasties. You can still definitely feel when you are moving into a new area, so they must have done a lot of work on getting this balance just right. The Verdict In a time when too many bloated movie blockbusters feel like they're impersonal video games, it's heartening to see that an actual game can be transformed into an authentically involving movie. Yes, it suffers from an overcrowded mythology, occasional clunkiness, a few iffy casting choices (Fimmel's Lothar in particular) and will not attain Avatar box-office or Game of Thrones-level awards; But there is a genuine sense of striving to get inside what made the Warcraft games beloved by 100 million participants, whether playing as human or orc, and tapping into what makes fantasy feel so personal, so real. Game on. ADDED

The apple is one of the favorite fruits of many people given its flavor and versatility, since you can consume apple juice, or desserts and salads. In addition, it also contributes great benefits to your health. This food gives us proteins and vitamins C and E. Likewise, it also gives us important doses of iron and potassium, essential for the proper functioning of our body. According to the nutritionist and teacher of the Cesar Vallejo University (UCV), Ernesto Huapaya, apple water has the following benefits: 1. REJUVENATE YOUR SKIN Thanks to its high content of vitamin C, apple juice takes care and rejuvenates the skin. It also contains vitamin E, which is an antioxidant element that allows proper functioning of cells. In this way, it provides a firming effect, allowing you to have a smooth and healthy skin. 2. CARE FOR YOUR HEART On the one hand, apple water tones the heart muscle. Histidine (another of its components) acts as a hypotensive, which stabilizes blood pressure. On the other hand, indirectly, apple water prevents the accumulation of cholesterol in the liver and preventing it from passing into the bloodstream. This is how it protects your entire cardiovascular system. 3. STRENGTHEN YOUR MUSCLES A single apple provides the daily dose of potassium (the main element for the proper functioning of muscles and nerves). In a similar way, apple water favors the formation of muscle mass, transforming the carbohydrates it contains into energy. 4. PREVENTS PAIN IN JOINTS Muscle aches may decrease with regular intake of apple water. Thanks to its high content of antioxidants prevents toxins accumulate in the joints. Therefore, drinking this water is ideal for people suffering from arthritis, rheumatism or older adults. 5. AVOID HEMORRHAGES When there is a lack of vitamin K in the body increases the risk of experiencing abnormal bleeding due to injuries, surgical procedures or diseases. 6. REDUCE YOUR WEIGHT The ideal to achieve a weight reduction is to prepare your water with green apples, since a single contains 80 calories and a high fiber content which prevents feeling hungry for a long time. It is recommended to drink apple water in the morning and fasting. If you want to lose weight, this drink will regulate your glucose levels and speed up your metabolism. 7. REVITALIZE YOUR MIND The potassium, magnesium and phosphorus contained in apple water make it possible to overcome fatigue and physical and mental fatigue. On the other hand, vitamin B12 that is also present in this juice is an ideal component to fight against insomnia and nervous states. 8. COMBAT BREATHING DISEASES If you have asthma, cough or some other respiratory disease, try the apple juice. Thanks to its high content of vitamin C it will relieve your lungs and increase your defenses.

The polarization in Venezuela is expressed in the streets, after a round of dialogue in Norway ended this week without an agreement between Nicolás Maduro and Juan Guaidó. Two days before the conclusion of a negotiation round in Norway to end the crisis in Venezuela without agreement, the validity or otherwise of the initiative promoted by Oslo continues to be something to talk about within the South American country. Apparently, the negotiation of Norway is not the favorite of many of those who oppose the president in dispute Nicolás Maduro, who for a long time do not have dialogue as an option and in reality what they want is their immediate exit from power. Others, however, say that "a frank and open dialogue" is the way to leave behind the serious crisis. Those who oppose, allege that Maduro often used dialogue to delay his presence in Miraflores and continue to impede democracy, progress and freedom in Venezuela. "Everything that is happening in Norway is a great farce to buy time and use that time to refine their defensive strategies and to annihilate the democratic forces that are here and that we do not fall into that dynamic that is for me of defeat (... ) and this country is not going to give up, "the well-known opposition Maria Corina Machado told the Voice of America on Friday. He also said that he knows that the "hemispheric allies are not going to give up". It seemed an allusion to countries like the United States and Peru, which have not ruled out the Oslo initiative, but have asked for "caution", citing similar concerns to which the government in charge of Juan Guaidó exposes. Other deputies to the National Assembly of Venezuela, which Guaidó also leads, have not ruled it out, but they did downplay the Oslo dialogue. Deputy Angel Medina, for example, told the Voice of America on Friday that "Oslo is not the only option (for dialogue)", but he admitted that they will continue using any space "to get out of the crisis". In that regard, he welcomed the meeting of the Lima Group and the International Contact Group that will take place next Monday in New York. "All options for rescuing Venezuela's democracy and freedom are on the table, the only option that is not viable is to surrender, we will not renounce our intention to freely and sovereignly choose the future of our country," he wrote. On his Twitter account the second vice president of the National Assembly, who headed the delegation of Guaidó in Oslo. Maduro is not an option The exit to the crisis happens, say the majority of those that support the mandate of Guaidó, by the disappearance of Maduro of the Venezuelan political scene. However, Maduro retains control over the military high command and state institutions in the country. He has even said that he will advance the legislative elections, something unknown to the government of Guaidó, the United States and the more than 50 countries that support the transition in Venezuela. "Nicolás Maduro can not summon anything, nor can he be a candidate for anything (...) he is being investigated for crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court," said María Corina Machado. "They will not hand over power if there is no firm position," he said. On the street opinions are divided A survey carried out in the streets of Venezuela showed that the polarization in the country does not subside. And it is not now, the divisions were clear from the time of the late President Hugo Chávez, who provoked extreme positions since he came to power in 1999. With so many years in between, his political heir continues to arouse mixed reactions. "We have arrived at a climate where we must find a solution, the negotiations are completely exhausted, I do not think any of the factors are willing to give in," said Venezuelan youngster Neiudi Contreras to the Voice of America. "(The dialogue) is as I always say, more of the same," said a young Neiruska Guerra. "They reach a dialogue, an agreement between them, and really those affected are us as citizens and they do not see beyond." And on the opposite side, others like Ridi Ramírez, who said: "The best solution in the country is frank and open dialogue for the solution of the country's political problems."

Extreme sports games died in the mid-2000s. They were a relic of last generation's ideals, a fleeting memory of joy that developers could not capture again. Then SSX rose from the dead in the most spectacular fashion, like Lazarus busting at 1080 nosegrab. For the fifth canon installment in the SSX series (the Wii's SSX Blur does not count, apparently), EA Canada went all out in every aspect, bringing back familiar faces for their most epic adventure yet. Not that SSX needed a riveting story to get you into the idea of snowboarding around the world, but the plot revolves around team SSX trying to conquer the nine Deadly Descents (the most dangerous mountains in the world). Problem is, one of their former team members, Griff, claims he's going to do it first. Oh hell no. So it's a race to beat the douchey prettyboy to the mountains. Whether you're carving through broken sections of the Great Wall of China, or leaping off of nuclear reactors, SSX never fails to excite. Every mountain range exudes an awesomely unique vibe, playing off the region's features. It takes skill and well-timed jumps to dodge the broken aircraft and steep, deadly cliffs of Patagonia. Grinding along Alaska's pipelines turns to normal snowboarding track into a rollercoaster. Every area in SSX provides an amazing, exhilarating ride. Even the "love it or hate it", like the dark mazes of Africa or the icy deathtraps in Siberia, are breathtaking trips. The core of SSX has, since Tricky at least, been about pulling incredible, over the top tricks, and this SSX has that in abundance. Both the stick and button controls work extremely well, allowing you to pull off dozens of tricks in a row with complete ease. The real skill comes in keeping that combo up, an absolutely crucial strategy for getting those high scores (which generally lie in the 15-20 million point range). For the SSX enthusiasts, the classic controls are available too, though they seem more like favor to fans than something you'd like to play with for some of the more difficult tracks. Hitting the same tracks in a Race event, instead of a trick run, can change your entire strategy of the course, forcing you to find the fastest lines instead of the biggest air. And every course features multiple branching paths, hidden tunnels, and dangerous canyons, requiring expert precision to get those best scores. And sometimes just to survive. SSX's newest component, the Survive It courses, test your ability to not eat it and die. Each of the nine mountain ranges feature Deadly Descent, a mountain that is dangerous that you need special gear to even ride it. It's here where things like the wingsuit come into play. While the other featured gear is nowhere near as exciting as the wingsuit (oh sweet, I get a headlamp ?!), all of the current Survive It events try to kill you in the most exciting ways possible. Giant avalanches try and swallow you up, freezing cold temperatures and lack of oxygen will suck the life from you, jagged rocks and trees threaten to crush your bones. So yeah, no sweat. Throughout the entire game, RiderNet keeps track of your progress. Anyone who has played the last few Need for Speed games will recognize RiderNet as an Autolog-inspired online resource. From the second you load up SSX, RiderNet alerts you about what your friends are doing. Any scores posted or collectibles acquired pop up, and the game sets challenges for you based on your friend's scores. Multiplayer in SSX comes in the form of Global Events, a constantly updating series of challenges open to everyone in the world (or just you and your buds). EA has challenges going all the time, and you can just drop in and try and post a high score or fast time. As you're racing along a course, other players doing the same show up alongside you in a crazy simultaneous event. For some, the lack of traditional multiplayer is a problem, but with the custom events that let you invite only your friends, you can get near that experience. Plus the Global Events and RiderNet combine to open up multiplayer in a much broader and more modern way that allows you to play SSX at your own speed and on your schedule, while still maintaining that competitive edge with your friends. What's a snowboarding game without a soundtrack, right? SSX goes hard with a lot of drum and bass from The Qemists. Skrillex provides the obligatory dubstep madness. Noisia's uptempo electronica is rad. Bands like Foster the People and The Naked and Famous represent the whiteboy rock contingent. And it's all accented by a Pretty Lights remix of Run-DMC's "It's Tricky" whenever you get your combo up. But what really makes the soundtrack so cool is that SSX auto remixes the songs as you race, and this works when you load your own music into the game as well. It's the risk-versus-reward element of tricking that makes it so exciting. When you catch big air, you want to trick as long as you can to maximize your boost (and your points, if it's a trick event), but if you hold it for just an instant too long, you wipe out when you hit the ground, and all your tricking was for naught. Do you do simple ground tricks to maintain your combo and keep building up your multiplier score? Or do you play it safe and stop tricking to cash in the combo with your current multiplier? It's a balance you need to get to the best times and highest scores, and it's so rewarding to stick the landing after pulling off an especially risky trick combination. The thrill of such moments is enhanced by the great sound design. The eclectic soundtrack includes shimmering pop, funky R & B, and electronic pulsating, and when you leap from a mountain to catch big air, the music fades, as if it emanates from the surface down below. When you hit the ground, it kicks back in at full strength. If you've tricked enough to fill up your boost meter, the music gets remixed into Run-DMC's "It's Tricky," which reprises its significant role from SSX Tricky in this game. Being in the "tricky" state also means you have unlimited boost while it lasts, and you can do ubertricks, which are worth more points. Score enough points in this mode and you get access to even wilder super ubertricks. The relationship between the game's adapting music and your actions gives your landings a satisfying sonic impact that complements the physical one. Satellite surveys of the real-world mountain regions in SSX were used in forming the terrain, but clearly the hands of humankind have molded these environments to make them not only traversable but also conducive to high speeds and big trick opportunities. The end results are exceptional; numerous viable routes and intertwining pathways make the environments feel organic, which makes you feel like you're pioneering your own way down these slopes. Your helicopter pilot surveys the terrain from overhead and sometimes provides warnings about upcoming hazards or suggestions about which route to take, not entirely unlike a co-driver in a rally racing game informing you of upcoming turns. These tips can be quite helpful - particularly until you've done a lot of time to learn its ins and outs for yourself - but if you find the pilot's chatter distracting, you can always turn it off. A few deadly descents require you to make active use of new equipment; the coolest example is Patagonia's Fitz Roy, where you need to use a wingsuit to glide through the windy air and over some chasms. Some of the deadly descents work better than others; the freezing cold of the shadows on Antarctica's Mount Slaughter is a thrilling threat to avoid, while the constant encroachment of the tunnel vision brought on by oxygen deprivation on Mt. Everest is more of an annoyance. But on the whole, these challenging runs are a great way to close your time in each region in the World Tour, and they're a great place for multiplayer competition as well. The World Tour is a good way to familiarize yourself with the environments and mechanics of SSX, but the action really heats up in the robust multiplayer modes. The Explore mode lets you aim for medal targets and compete against times and scores set by friends on any of the dozens of runs around the game's globe. The performances of your friends here show up as ghosts, and the ghosts leave glowing trails in their wakes, which look cool and are quite useful. If a rival of your charts a particular speedy and efficient path through a run, for instance, you can see the route he or she took. Deadly descent events here challenge you and your friends to see who can travel the farthest; When you make it to the bottom of a run, you're sent right back up to the top via helicopter to continue racking up distance. The other multiplayer option is Global Events, which are competitions that have set time limits; They might last for a day or a week, and tens of thousands of players can compete in them. Depending on how your performance stacks up against other entrants, you're placed in a bracket - diamond, gold, platinum, and so on - and the higher your bracket, the more credits you earn when the event comes to a close. SSX constantly keeps you updated on pertinent happenings in both the Explore and Global Events modes, informing you when a friend shatters your time in a certain race or when your performance no longer qualifies for a certain bracket. And it makes it easy to jump right back to one of those events to try to improve your performance. Additionally, if you're in Explore or Global Events, you can plant geotags in any spot you can reach, and they can be collected by other players. You want to make these as difficult to nab as possible, because the longer a geotag you plant goes uncollected, the more credits you earn. You might be inspired to approach to completely differently than you would in the hopes of planting a geotag in a hard-to-reach spot or grabbing one you can see but can not figure out how to collect. With so many runs to conquer and so many ways to compete, it can be hard to walk away from SSX. Still, the absence of a traditional simultaneous multiplayer mode is conspicuous. You can create a global event that's limited to just friends or friends of friends, but there's no option to create an event that places you and your friends at the starting line simultaneously. You might see your friends on the slopes in a global event, but without a coordinated start, it does not matter who actually crosses the finish line first; it matters who takes the least time to get there. You can always create a party and chat with friends as you hang out on the slopes, but it's still disappointing that the game does not have a built-in option for simultaneous social competition. What do you do with the credits you earn for performing well across the game's various modes? Well, lots of things in the game cost credits. New gear for your characters - better boards or outfits that provide perks like a bonus to your trick multiplier - costs credits. Accessing many runs in Explore mode costs credits. Entering many global events costs credits. And it's conceivable that you might end up in a situation where you have to choose between doing some events you do not want to earn credits, or just shelling out current money to acquire them. Yes, you can purchase them with cash. You're never forced to spend money, but the game may tempt you at times with a sweet new snowboard or other alluring item, and the monetization of credits makes the whole thing feel a bit tawdry. But when you're actually on the slopes, the action is so good that you can lose yourself in the moment, joyously tricking and speeding your way down some of the most majestic mountains in the world. Whether you want to relax and carve some sweet powder in the Rockies or you prefer to grueling a struggle against the terrain and the elements, SSX have you covered. It improves on its storied predecessors in every way, with outstanding tracks, intuitive controls, amazing visuals, a diverse assortment of challenges, and fantastic multiplayer options that may have you competing with your friends or the world for a long time to come. The Verdict SSX is the video game this generation has been missing. The feeble attempts of other, lesser snowboarding games to capture the adrenaline fueled excitement of SSX don & # Array; t compare at all. This is what happens when you don & # Array; t just put the game out every year, but spend your time crafting it, creating the ultimate experience. SSX redefines snowboarding games, raises the bar for the genre, then backflips over it. ADDED SHORT GAMEPLAY!

Sports Party brings the sun, sea, and sports right to your fingertips! Whether at home or on the go, challenge your family and friends to Frisbee, Jet Ski, Basketball, Golf, Skateboarding, and Beach Tennis to claim victory! Enjoy Frisbee, Jet Ski, Basketball, Golf, Skateboarding, and Beach Tennis! Play each sport your way with various modes and controls for endless fun. Fully customize your avatar! New items will be unlocked as you progress! Easy-to-pick-up controls make this game fun for everyone, from kids to grandparents. Have fun wherever you go! Whether battling with four players using Nintendo Switch ™ motion control, taking on a friend, or just playing on your own. Once upon a time, recreational sports games with motion controls were all the rage. A decade ago, when the Wii was at the height of its mainstream po[CENSORED]rity, there was a glut of forgettable and downright terrible games that somehow turned to Wii Remote from a social experience into an exercise in unresponsive torture. Sports Party was one such abysmal box tick, so can its similarly-named reboot on Nintendo Switch make good using the far more accurate gyros contained within the Switch Joy-Con? Once again, Sports Party (the 2018 edition) whisks you off to a sunny resort where you can participate in all manner of sporting events. Fancy a game of Beach Tennis or Frisbee on hot sands? How about a race around the cove on some Jet Skis? Perhaps a downhill competition on your Skateboard as you slalom through some cartoonish streets? With a much-improved set of disciplines to choose from - six in total, to be exact - Ubisoft's own take on the Wii Sports formula already has one up on its decade-old ancestor. Much like its predecessor, Sports Party is very much a local multiplayer experience, with no support for online play. However, there is the option to play the whole thing on your own with some AI participants should you find yourself at a loss when it comes to friends. You can access all six disciplines - Golf, Beach Tennis, Basketball, Skateboarding, Frisbee and Jet Ski - right from the off with a series of customizable avatars to choose from. You can customize each one of your heart's content, with new shoes, clothes and accessories periodically unlocked as you level up (this is a Ubisoft game, of course there are XP bars) and by completing simple in-game milestones, such as winning a race or hitting a certain number of targets in a single game. You can play almost all of the game's modes in handheld mode, but the real selling point here is how Sports Party makes the most of Switch Joy-Con gyro controls. In fact, some of these games - Beach Tennis, in particular - are automated to such an extent that using the analog sticks and the face buttons alone renders them barely playable. Instead, you and your friends can split some Joy-Con and use your HD Rumbling controller to perform in-game actions. So you can swing your arm to serve and return shots in Beach Tennis, or tilt to single Joy-Con to turn corners while riding your Jet Ski. Skateboarding works really well when played in this way, as does target practice in Frisbee, and both are likely to be po[CENSORED]r choices should this title make its way into your couch-play rotation. Annoyingly, you can not play a traditional 2v2 game of Basketball using motion controls, but you can play at 3-Point Contest should you need to swish the net take you. It's not going to challenge the likes of NBA 2K19 (or NBA 2K Playgrounds 2, for that matter), but it's fun and competent recreation of on-court action. Considering the lack of golfing simulators on Nintendo Switch, it's great to have a way to take to the fairway on Ninety's current generation of hardware, even if it's a very shallow offering. You can play in three, six and nine-hole variants and there are nice little touches to help less experienced players - such as being able to test your swing prior to striking the ball - but there's too little variety when it comes to courses, and the different clubs feel largely the same. Of course, this is not a proper simulator of any sports on offer, and it is not trying to be - but it typifies the issue that robs Sports Party of any real long-term investment. Yes, there are some new courses to unlock and plenty of extra items for personalizing your avatar, but it does not take long to discover just how shallow each one is. They're fun for a while, and each one does a decent job of turning their given sporting discipline into an arcade-style outing, but unless these simplistic iterations really grab you and your friends, there's nothing here to keep playing in the long -term The Verdict While it's great to see Ubisoft finally giving Nintendo Switch a platform exclusive, it's frustrating that it has to come in the form of a competent yet throwaway party game. Having said that, superior hardware and far more accurate motion controls make this the best Sports Party instalment yet, so if you're looking for a new addition to your local multiplayer setup this Joy-Con-happy collection of simplified sports should tickle your fancy, in-between rounds of Super Mario Party, of course. However, there's an almost crippling lack of depth to each discipline that anyone hoping for more than a casual party experience will be sadly disappointed. ADDED

This May 30 is the National Potato Day, a tuber that offers many nutrients for the health of people. In that sense, the Nutrition Program of the Municipality of Miraflores wants to share the benefits of this food. 1. It helps prevent cancer, diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases, because it contains an antioxidant protein called patatin, which combats the free radicals responsible for causing these diseases. 2. Delays cellular aging, because it contains antioxidants. 3. Most of its nutrients are in the shell, so it is recommended to eat it with it. 4. The potato does not produce weight gain and that belief is a myth. 5. The best way to know if a potato is ripe rubbing it with the fingertips. If doing so does not peel, it means that it is ready for consumption. 6. The preparation and consumption of potatoes with ingredients of high fat content increases the caloric value of the dish. "The potato provides vitamin C. Consuming a potato with peel, we will obtain half of the daily dose that is needed of this vitamin and, apart, provides fiber, vitamin A, B, B2, B6, B11, H and K. It also contains potassium, magnesium, zinc, phosphorus, iron and antioxidants that delay cellular aging, "said the nutritionist of the Miraflorina community, Gabriela León. On the other hand, the nutritionist said that when buying potatoes should follow some recommendations, such as preventing the shell is green, because this color indicates that has been in contact with light.

Oil operations are seen outside a building of Venezuela's state oil company, PDVSA, in Caracas, Venezuela. A businessman accused of bribing executives of Venezuela's parastatal oil company pleaded guilty on Wednesday to an alleged plot of bribes worth billions of dollars. José Manuel González Testino pleaded guilty to three counts, including one of a criminal association to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the federal attorney's office in Houston said. Prosecutors say Gonzalez paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to managers representing the oil company owned by the Venezuelan government, PDVSA, and its Houston-based subsidiary, in order to win bids. Gonzalez, 49, has Venezuelan and American nationalities and resides in Miami. His sentencing hearing was scheduled for August 28. Prosecutors say that 21 people have been charged in the case and Gonzalez is the 16th to plead guilty.

When students from DigiPen showed off their project Narbacular Drop to a room full of Valve personell, they probably did not expect that they would not be hired, but given a budget to expand that idea into something as special as we see with Portal. It's quirky, clever, polished, and presented with a spark of a subtly evil mood that it's hard to enjoy the quick romp through Aperture Laboratories. The problem is that it is so quick. Players wanting to get their money's worth. The main problem with the game is that it's so short. While what's there can be satisfying, we shot through the first 15 levels of the game in about 30 minutes with the last four taking up a bit over an hour. We really wish those first 15 missions had been squished into a couple of quick missions to teach the basics and then had the following 17 missions really up the ante. We know they can do it after playing some of their sadistic advanced versions of six of the levels from the game that (in most cases) are much more difficult than the originals. We would have liked to have seen more of that throughout the game rather than the very long string of basic tutorial type levels. The story is best left unspoiled (mostly because saying anything might give what little there is) but it is like a short story from a novelist. It's a piece of a bigger puzzle and one that while tiny is certainly entertaining as it goes. There are little clues here and there hinting at what you, an older Asian woman, are doing in Aperture Labs and even more clues on how this relates to the Half-Life universe. Any and all information you'll receive in the experience comes from the computerized voice that you've likely heard in the trailers and previews. It's that voice that gives the game such personality. Some of the lines and jokes it cracks are synthetically deadpan and all the funnier for it. By the time you puzzle your way through all 19 challenges, you'll miss the strange disembodied companion you've had for the last couple of hours. It's not just the one computer voice that's so fun. The sound design, while minimal, is great. Turrets say stuff like "I do not hate you" after you drop them on their heads while the same muzak plays any time you wander past a clock radio. There's also something uniquely and strangely satisfying about the thoomp of the portal gun. You're not shooting at anyone or necessarily shooting a gun that requires the powerful sound, but this particular gun sound is pleasant and almost comforting in its quality. While the main game is short, Portal does not only finish with one of the best credits songs ever created. After the story is done new challenge levels are unlocked. These extras are six levels that you've already played. The difference is that they have new challenges associated with them. You'll have to see if you can complete the puzzles in a certain amount of time, a minimum number of footsteps, or using only a certain number of portals. These challenges are really interesting because they make puzzles that were somewhat simple to figure out in a different way. You'll learn that the obvious way is definitely not the shortest and you'll bust your brain and become obsessive trying to figure out the best possible method. Finally, those same six challenges come in "advanced" mode which means they have been re-worked to be more difficult. And they are much, much more difficult. Not necessarily for being able to figure out the problems (though there are some brain benders) but for the increased need for timing and coordination that was not necessarily an issue without the changes to the level. There's a lot more dying and a lot more frustration, but also a sense of satisfaction when they're complete. The idea behind Portal ends being being more brilliant than Portal itself. Regardless, we definitely had a lot of fun with what is there and appreciate the level of polish and thought that went into the presentation. We're definitely interested to see where Half-Life 2: Episode Three goes now that we've seen what the portal gun is capable of and how everything in Half-Life and this new character really fit together. We definitely recommend getting this with the Orange Box package rather than on its own. You're probably here to read about Portal, Valve's first-person puzzle game about opening rifts in space to cross uncrossable obstacle courses. It's designed around one simple but mind-expanding idea: you can shoot a hole in any wall, and then another one somewhere else, and if you walk into one you'll come out of the other. Fire them side by side and you'll walk straight back into the room you just left. Fire them on the floor and ceiling and you'll fall through the same room at terminal velocity forever. The game grips you by the wrist and leads you briskly past the befuddling basics of these rifts, straight to the good stuff. Within a few short levels you are using orthogonal portals to translate your gravitational potential into lateral velocity and flinging yourself exhilaratingly over turrets and lethal slime. By cleverly lead your eye to the correct - yet patently impossible - solution, it swiftly teaches you to dazzling roster of lunatic tricks. Portal is a magnificent puzzle game. The titillating wrongness of every solution and the wonky thinking required to get there make you feel like a space-folding genius, and yet you'll almost never get stuck. Soon you've learned so many ways to pervert the forces and spaces in any room that you can throw yourself through them, like a futuristic Prince of Persia with abilities more unlikely and wondrous by far. The Verdict For 20 dollars, it may be a little pricey for what & # Array; s there, but we certainly will not tell anybody not to buy Portal. We recommend picking this one up with the full Orange Box because it & # Array; s hard to say no to another peek into this awesome universe and it does fit together with Episode Two. ADDED

Apple cider vinegar or cider vinegar (as it is also called) is a product that is commonly used in salads. And surely you have asked yourself what else it is useful for, for that reason, in this note we will share your other functions. Its preparation is achieved through the fermentation of apple juice, which with the use of yeast and bacteria causes the sugar to become alcohol and this becomes vinegar. Next, we tell you about the wonderful benefits of apple cider vinegar so you can start to include it in your lifestyle: 1. THROAT PAIN Mix equally warm water and apple cider vinegar to gargle at the first sign of discomfort in the throat, repeat every hour of the day. 2. ENERGY INCREASE Taking a bottle of water with a splash of cider vinegar will give your body the energy it needs, due to the potassium and enzymes it contains. 3. DIGESTIVE AID If you suffer from digestion problems, you only need to combine the vinegar with water to help settle the stomach. Thanks to its antibiotic and antibacterial power they make you feel better. 4. THINKING OR BURNS THROUGH THE SUN ON THE SKIN Simply apply apple cider vinegar on the affected area to soothe the burning. It also works with insect bites.

CARACAS - At least two shipping lines raised tariffs in May to transport goods from the United States to Venezuela, following the limitations on the shipment of air cargo imposed by the Donald Trump government, according to three industry sources and two documents. The US Department of Transportation banned direct flights between the United States and Venezuela on May 15, arguing that conditions in the oil country do not guarantee the safety of crews and airplanes. Although the US authorities did not object to the operations that are made by sea, two global shipping companies, Hamburg Süd and King Ocean Servicies, apply new tariffs to the cargo that leaves from the United States to Venezuelan ports, according to documents seen by Reuters. The shipments have an additional surcharge of $ 1,200 per container from May 15, according to the press releases. None of the companies responded to Reuters requests to confirm the information. "Shipping companies have increased the cost of their services because of the risk of coming to Venezuela with sanctions (from the United States)," said a local business source, who asked to remain anonymous. "Now an additional surcharge would be added," he added. Since May, only direct shipments of merchandise between the United States and Venezuela would be by sea. In the midst of the restrictions, some companies that provide door-to-door services consulted have begun to send the cargo by air, calling in Colombia, but with higher tariffs. "The measure has two readings: they want to take advantage of the situation or they want to avoid reaching Venezuela," said a source who operates in Venezuelan ports familiar with the order of shipping companies to increase tariffs. DHL said in a statement on Friday that although it continues to provide services in the country, the local unit that moves cargo from the United States has suspended air and sea transport operations. In 2016, shipping lines charged for transporting goods to Venezuela up to three times more than other countries in South America because of the risks associated with that operation, according to rates seen by Reuters.

I've been wondering for a while what kinds of games kids who grew up playing Minecraft and Roblox would go on to make for themselves. This is a generation that has been immersed in modding culture and open objectives since I could grasp a mouse, and I'm fascinated to see how that might have formed new attitudes to games in general. One particular answer is Unturned [official site], a free-to-play Day-Glo take on DayZ. Made by a Canadian school student, it's just come out of Early Access, where it attracted nearly 25 million players. But was that because it's free, or is there more to uncover in Unturned? Here's wot I think. I've bled to death, been shot and been battered with a spade. I've been mauled by zombies too, of course. I've probably been mauled by zombies the most. I've committed suicide. I've failed to crane, starved, frozen, fallen in spikes and I was punched to death in the black of night. What I am trying to say is: I'm very bad at Unturned. Also, I'm trying to say that you should not take Unturned's looks at face value. Unturned is brutal, deep and detailed. There is an enormous amount of money and deal with when you play, a natural product of Unturned's nature as a survival game. It is, after all, directly inspired by DayZ, and you have grown up right alongside the likes of Rust. It's been around for as long as Rust, having first launched in Early Access in July 2014, and developer Nelson Sexton has constantly added new features to it ever since. Not one of them is original. From DayZ eat streets and camps haunted by zombies, loot to help you survive and the need to manage hunger and thirst stats, not to mention the social aspect of sharing the world with other players who want to help or kill you. Also from DayZ are bullet drop, crafting, body damage hit zones, drivable vehicles, item durability, and susceptibility to sickness. From Rust, meanwhile, eat base building and starting each spawn naked (well, genital-less, and only if you're wearing cosmetic clothes) and XP and leveling (a system which Rust dumped at the end of last year). So the loop of spawning, carefully looting to find gear and supplies, gathering XP from kills, chopping down trees and other activities, and building based on keep to your stuff, is all here, and it's well implemented. Compared to DayZ, Unturned turns up the gear drops to fair bit, so you're more likely to find good guns and useful stuff quickly. Still, it's vital to know the maps if you want to do well, understanding where the zombie po[CENSORED]tions are dense and sparse, knowing where the most useful gear is, such as night-vision goggles, tends to spawn. It's also a good idea to learn how to build your base in such a way that players can not easily steal your stuff. Gear is focused and has clearly defined uses. Clothes reduces damage to parts of your body, but they're most valuable for the inventory space they grant. If you can survive more than 20 minutes or so, you'll find even the pockets of your Firefighter Bottom, Fishing Top and Dufflebag bursting, with no space for the fishing rod and flashlight you just found. And yet fishing is a good source of food and the darkness and length of the night makes flashlights a necessity, so you're always having to make choices over what to grab and leave behind, while always watching your back. And it's fine that Unturned is not very original! It's a remake of a Roblox remake of DayZ, and anyway, Unturned is still very distinct. Those chunky, childish looks are the tentpole for a playful wink at the genre's traditional grit and grossness. For one thing, it's the only game I'm aware of that's ever featured at a level set on Prince Edward Island. PEI was for a long time Unturned's only official map, but it's now the smallest of a stable of maps that encompass Washington State, the Yukon, Hawaii, Germany, and Russia. In PEI by day, the sun always shines in a blue sky set with white clouds that look like PlayDoh. Birds sing, the grass is green. Trees gently sway. While DayZ's quiet and sense of solitude was always slightly threatening, walking through many of Unturned levels is almost bucolic. Every time I spawn on PEI beach, I'm struck by how much it feels like - what the hell - Proteus? Not that it's high-minded, obviously. When you hit a zombie, blood splatters against every nearby surface so brightly that it looks like you had a cheery paint fight. The combat itself is functional. Guns do not have the sense of pinpoint Weapon-precision that underscores DayZ, and without all the smoke and particle effects that accompany most realism-based games they can feel a little weedy. It's also often difficult to get a sense of where you're hitting, despite bodies having hit regions. But there's plenty of feedback with all the blood flying and ragdolls sent cartwheeling. Melee weapons can also be felt indistinct, partly because it is difficult to gauge distances in Unturned. I often found myself flailing at mid-air, a frustration when it takes a shade longer than you'd like before most melee weapons are ready to strike again. There's little strategy to melee, too, and most fights against zombies are a case of running backwards, repeatedly slowing to let the zombie into range, hitting them, and using the moment for which they're stunned to make them trail behind again. Melee, therefore, is best practiced when you are in full control, preferably having sneaked up and using a heavy attack. While every level depicts the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse, Unturned's Robloxian 3D art style makes it fun. And yes, it is an art style. Eleven on its wavelength I realized how consistently it is applied, and how much character Unturned extracts from polygonal assemblages of boxes and cylinders in primary colors. There's a destroyed military convoy on one of the roads in Washington, with crashed jeeps, wandering zombie soldiers and good loot, and being rendered in fat shaded polygons makes it a friendly sight. Melee weapons can also be felt indistinct, partly because it is difficult to gauge distances in Unturned. I often found myself flailing at mid-air, a frustration when it takes a shade longer than you'd like before most melee weapons are ready to strike again. There's little strategy to melee, too, and most fights against zombies are a case of running backwards, repeatedly slowing to let the zombie into range, hitting them, and using the moment for which they're stunned to make them trail behind again. Melee, therefore, is best practiced when you are in full control, preferably having sneaked up and using a heavy attack. While every level depicts the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse, Unturned's Robloxian 3D art style makes it fun. And yes, it is an art style. Eleven on its wavelength I realized how consistently it is applied, and how much character Unturned extracts from polygonal assemblages of boxes and cylinders in primary colors. There's a destroyed military convoy on one of the roads in Washington, with crashed jeeps, wandering zombie soldiers and good loot, and being rendered in fat shaded polygons makes it a friendly sight. And then there's the general attitude of other players. This is a game played by kids, and that seems to mean that everyone is out to kill everyone else. Sure, that led to some great tense times, such as when in the Seattle area on the Washington map I found someone had barricaded themselves into the top of a tall crane and was sniping across the entire city. I sneaked through zombie-infested back alleys and into an office building and managed to take them out after a long, long-range battle. But in almost every encounter I missed the ghost of the early-DayZ frisson of will they, will not they? The only times in Unturned when the trigger was first I was spawned next to another fresh and we both knew we had no weapons or anything to steal (and even then I got punched to death a couple of times). Perhaps that's just because of the servers I played on, but I suspect it's more to do with, to lesser degree, attitudes set by its breezy style, and, more importantly, its price. So, yeah, let's talk about free. You can play Unturned for absolutely nothing and have a good time and see everything. But if you pay £ 3.99 (US $ 4.99) for the Permanent Gold Upgrade, you get various gaudy cosmetic things for your character, including gold trousers and greater beard choice, and extra character slots. But the main attraction is probably access to premium 'Golden' servers, which are just a little less Wild West-y, and grant bigger XP rewards so you level faster. You may also like ... Wot I Think: Observation Observation places in the non-existence shoes of space station AI. It's clever, but it's also astoundingly dumb. That's a great price for a large and still-growing game. Unturned is stuffed full of features and details, and it all works very well. It's a good game, and it's bursting with value. But it often feels that it's a game that's looking at value first, trying to be everything to everyone, instead of creating its own niche. It's cartoon fun and hardcore survival at once, and that means it does not have something like the brutally-weirdness single-minded Rust, or the hardcore realism of DayZ. With the choice between these games, Unturned feels to me just too breezy and hard to justify investing myself in. And, you know, like so much about Unturned, that's fine! Most of its players do not have that choice, whether because of money or age restrictions. And for a first commercial game by a developer who was 16 when he launched it into Early Access, and has constantly honed it ever since, Unturned is an extraordinary achievement. I guess what I'm wondering now is what, armed with all this experience and skill, Nelson Sexton will do next.

Long before Blizzard had an empire; back before they could shut down to city in Korea with a mere trailer; before there was even a Warcraft, let alone a world, there was Silicon & Synapse. The small, independent studio snuck up on us seemingly from nowhere with one of the best puzzle games the Super Nintendo would see. No one really knew what to make of The Lost Vikings, but it was clear that these guys were on something. At a glance, this seems to be a typical platform like the many that littered the SNES and Genesis back in the early '90s. Sure, the premise is interesting enough to make it stand out: A small party of Vikings is abducted by an alien emperor building to menagerie, and the three Norsemen escape and battle through time and space to get home. But this is not really the platformer it is disguised as. It is much closer to The Humans, a puzzle game that had just hit Amiga computers a few months earlier. You can rotate between the different characters, and it is only through using each of their unique abilities that you can reach the end. They are not very complete characters on their own. Erik the Swift can run, jump, and smash with his head, but without any means of attack, he makes for easy prey. Baleog the Fierce can shoot arrows swing his sword, but with no jumping ability, there are a lot of areas he can not go. Olaf the Stout rounds out the party, carrying a giant shield that block shots or make for a makeshift platform. It's only through working together that anything is possible. The design is not completely revolutionary, but it is certainly different, and unlike The Humans, it is able to preserve the playability and pacing of an action game, while keeping the challenge squarely focused on puzzling. Execution is rarely the issue. If you know how to beat a level, it was just a matter of keeping your plan straight. Organizing your movements can be a challenge, but your reflexes are seldom tried. It helped that the trio have a personality too. The colorful style and far-out story of a lot to sell gamers in this world, and the variety of outlandish settings, ranging from ancient Egypt to alien worlds, makes you really want to see what was in store next. Unfortunately the forced jokes and tired quips between stages are not nearly as entertaining as I remembered them, but the slapstick quality of the animation is even better. Even the soundtrack is oddly anachronistic, with a cheesy hip-hop infused theme, and more funk than should be allowed in a game with a main character named Olaf. Last November at Blizzcon it was announced there would be a new unit for the upcoming Heroes of the Storm MOBA. Their names are Baleog, Olaf, and Erik the Swift. For newer Blizzard fans, these characters may be unknown, but for those of growing up in the 16-bit era these characters are collectively known as The Lost Vikings. The Lost Vikings was the one of the first original titles developed by Blizzard, then called Silicon & Synapse. The game is described as a puzzle / platformer title but that does not quite describe the gameplay. You play as all three vikings each with a unique ability. Baleog can attack each enemy with a sword and bow, Olaf has a shield to defend from attacks and slow your fall, and Erik the swift can fast, jump, and smash certain walls with his head. Each section of the levels requires you to use each viking's ability to get to and from point A to point B. You can switch between each viking with the L and R buttons, and in order to finish the level you need to get all three vikings to the exit The story has a level of depth literature fanatics will go bananas over. One day all three of the vikings were out hunting and then aliens came along and captured them to put them on their species display. The aliens, or "Croutonians," do a terrible job keeping the vikings in their ship and you warp around from world to world trying to get home. The level design has a bit of variety to it. You'll fight cavemen, dinosaurs, pharaohs, scorpions, and more through caves, pyramids, volcanoes, spaceships, and other odd places for Norsemen. Each level is basically just different colored platforms but you'll climb trees, ladders, and even inflate your vikings to get past some of the sections. The Lost Vikings requires a level of patience beyond what you would expect from a 16-bit era platformer. It has a dynamic I'm surprised it was not used much in games to follow. The only other game I can compare it to the Mario Bros foot game in Game & Watch Gallery 3 for Game Boy Color. It's a silly comparison considering that it was basically Tapper if you had two bartenders. I did not remember how well I did renting this as a kid, but I'm guessing I did not get anywhere near as far as I did this play through. The game requires a lot of trial and error to figure out the puzzles and even the platforming works that way in the later levels. There's no way to look through the entirety of the level so each section went something like this: Move Olaf the shield guy forward, move everyone else to a little bit, kill the enemies, run into a section you can not see past, die, realize how you were supposed to do it, start over and try again. It's extra frustrating because for some reason the level does not end when one of your vikings dies, but if you reach the end of the level with one or two of them left you end up at the continue screen anyway. During the pyramid levels you climb trees to get across quicksand. I did not know this, however, I spent a few long-winded attempts by using Erik the jumping Norwegian to try and find the item or bridge to unlock. Eventually, I figured out the climbing thing. You can get to the top of the tree and simply move forward to land across the quicksand ... theoretically. This did not work the first few tries and I eventually figured it out by chance. Basically, if you mess up even a little you have to start all over and it takes a lot of deep breaths to move forward. The Lost Vikings makes up for its frustration with a lot of ambition. For the limitations presented by that era it certainly set itself apart. The puzzles are more challenging to execute than to figure out which is somehow rewarding. Racking your brain is one thing and hacking and slashing is another. This settles in its own comfort zone where you're not doing too much of either. The Lost Vikings has a lot of personality but it feels pretty dated. It's like a streamlined version of Lemmings if Lemmings took elements from Ghouls and Ghosts. There are tons of levels to play through and the passwords are simple enough that you can remember them and get back to where you were. I played the game on the SNES but if you can hunt it down the Sega Genesis version has five more levels. The Lost Vikings can be a lot of fun and will definitely show you how Blizzard became known for their world-building and strategy games. The visuals are charming in a cartoony sense and the music is great despite being one track per world. It would take a bit of nostalgia to really want to play through this title but considering it's free on Battle.net now you can check out a great start to a legendary developer. The Verdict The Lost Vikings did not break the rules, and it did not open the floodgates for waves of imitators. It was not the high-water mark for a budding genre, and it did not set new sales records. There's no denying that Blizzard went on to bigger, better, and more important things, and it's not surprising that they've left the Vikings far behind them. Still, this was the moment when we stood up and took notice; where Blizzard came into their own. It is smart, stylish, and different, and those are the same qualities we still look for today. ADDED

There are times I want to be sad, when I'd rather be alone, quietly thinking about my life, or hugging a loved one to forget about the day's trouble. Child of Light embraces that melancholy beautifully and its various elements cultivate a doleful mood. From the overgrown foliage threatening to overtake the neglected environments to the tired inhabitants wasting away their days, there's a somber tone that permeates this storybook adventure. I was struck by that desperation in the whimsical poetry of the dialogue; Conversations are constructed with overtly meticulous rhymes that betray the bewilderment building below the surface. And the docile piano melody made my heart all the heavier. Child of Light is a lovely adventure, a journey as remarkable as it is uncommon, that left me grappling with my own sadness. I was not accepting of Child of Light at first. The delicate artistic style is so immediately inviting that I had imagined a world opening before that I would want to exist in. That's because I had mistaken color for happiness. Child of Light is not about fleeting joy, and so, when the sorrowful tone endured as I ventured on, I struggled to find my bearings. I waited for a lightheartedness that never arrived, was fought against the energy that Child of Light was putting forth. But as I pushed deeper inside of this dreamlike world, I stopped resisting and opened up to the game. Child of Light is difficult in ways that I have not expected, and is incredibly effective if you allow it to work its magic. Child of Light is a lovely adventure, a journey as remarkable as it is uncommon, that left me grappling with my own sadness. It's in the earliest moments that the game reveals its true nature. A story told through stained-glass imagery shows the protagonist Aurora's inseparable relationship with her father, and tells of their bond was torn asunder. One night, she rested her head upon a pillow, and never awakened when a new day dawned. Her father, the eleven proud king, was beside himself with grief, choosing to spend his days awash in tears rather than care for his kingdom and the want of his po[CENSORED]ce. He was a lost man. Lost, too, was Aurora, who awakened not in her own bed, but in a place she did not recognize. It's a story about fear and betrayal, hopelessness and fortitude, in which every citizen you meet seeks shelter in Aurora's loving arms. Her plight to fight for both her own freedom and her companions' is one we've seen before, though that does not detract from the feelings it conjures. Aurora joins up with a jester who has lost touch with her brother, a rodent who craves monetary wealth, and a gnome whose people have been cursed with an avian disease. But it's a firefly who proves to be the steadiest friend. Igniculus floats alongside you as you explore the creaking trees and abandoned homes you drift past on your way to this land from the misery that it's drowning in. Always with advice on his lips, he can also light the passageway through dark caves and collect that your human hands can not wrest open. When Aurora sets out to this foreign world - barefoot, weaponless, and utterly alone - she clambers upon rocky outcrops as she winds her way through labyrinthine caverns. Slowly but determinedly, Aurora uses ingenuity to scavenge for scraps of treasure, and I felt at one with the environment as I charted a course onward. After reaching her first destination, Aurora was imbued with flight, and the tactile pleasure of forging unknown paths vanished. Once airborne, you can not run and jump as long as you could, instead floating dreamily through air thick with fog and rain. The kinetic freedom of flight rises and quickly falls away as you continually find your path barred. Thorns rein you in, waterfalls and wales push you away, and those restrictions echo the themes of imprisonment. You're not free; you're trapped and scared and desperate to return home, and those aerial barriers further those feelings. Enjoy flight when you can. There are treasure chests and hidden passages for those with an inquisitive disposition, and when you are able to break free from the chains corralling you in place, the landscape is too beautiful to not admire. But such appreciation is fleeting. There are enemies lurking - creatures that should have no qualms about your presence if you drift too close to them. They patrol in the open, marching from side to side along high plateaus or hovering menacingly in dark caverns. You can avoid them if you wish - fly down another path or wait until they turn their backs on you - but Aurora is not one to walk away from a confrontation. She wields a sword almost too heavy for her to carry, and you have her heart set only on her freedom, so she does not run away from the monsters that stand before her. She longs to fight, relishes in it, and her friends readily join her, eager to damage the foul beasts who roam about their home. It's in the combat that the sadness that permeates the rest of Child of Light is momentarily halted. The music loses its solemnity as it suddenly becomes fierce, and the characters forget their aching problems for a moment while they focus on the threats that stand before them. Wolves and boars growl their displeasure, flaming birds and ethereal horses bar your path, and you stare them down like only a true warrior can. Although your party balloons as you trudge deeper into this desperate land, only two can fight at one time, while the others swap in when their fists are needed and back out once their energy is spent. It's a frenetic system in which you're continually juggling your party, tapping a healer when you need a boost, matching elemental attacks against your shifty opponents, and finding ways for everyone to contribute. The energy of these encounters leads to fast-paced excitement that's lacking from the rest of the adventure. That's not to downplay how affecting the quiet moments, but rather to show how sharp the contrast is. When you're fighting, you're so invested in an immediate threat that you're not longer saddened by the dire world around you. And it's a freeing feeling that exists only because of how different it is from the rest of the adventure. Part of that rush comes from how smartly time is used. Though fights play out in a turn-based manner, you and your opponents race to perform attacks as quickly as you can. Cast to get a boost, or hover Igniculus over an enemy to slow it down. Interrupt an attack, and you can infuriate an enemy, cause it to retaliate with anger or cower from frustration. If you're inattentive, your hard work can blow up in your face, so you have to act with exactitude and think on your toes. The challenge of these encounters is expertly balanced. Against tougher foes, I always felt out of my element. Would this be the fight where I finally met my end? I would scrape and claw, desperately casting spells while fending off the unceasing threat. My attacks would be interrupted, my characters infected by curses, and yet I pressed on. I would drown enemies in water, blind them with sunlight, and never relent for even a second. I never did lose a battle. Child of Light did a wonderful job of pushing me hard, forcing me to fight with speed and accuracy, without ever becoming overwhelming. When I won, I would pause for a few moments to take in what I had accomplished. It's a great feeling to come out on top. And though I would invariably level up from such victories, I was not drawn to better stats or new powers. It was winning that was infectious. It was embracing the moments of respite amid to be of sorrow and despair. Child of Light is a remarkable adventure. I would have thought that was true during the first couple of hours given that my expectations of what kind of game this was shattered when reality showed its face. But once I accepted the sadness that is so intertwined with every element, I grew so much closer to Child of Light. It's easy to heap praise on the combat because it's so interesting and engaging, and it's certainly a high point in this adventure. That's not what makes Child of Light stand out, though. Rather, it's how confident it is in its own feelings of woe. There are so many games willing to explore that dull ache that I became mesmerized by Aurora's journey, even when I needed to step away from her plight while I regained my composure. Child of Light is a wonderfully realized, somber adventure, and I could not be happier that such a game exists. Editor's note: It has been more than four years since Child of Light first hit consoles. The somber tone that permeates the adventure still resonates deeply, using its delicate visuals and wistful music to capture the feeling of melancholy that still feels incredibly rare. The passage of time has not undermined the sadness that makes this game so welcoming because there is still nothing like Child of Light. The transition to the Switch has not hurt the experience in the slightest. Whether it is docked or in handheld, the beautiful artistic design shines through and the controls are smooth regardless of which controller you use. Because this is the Ultimate Edition, there are bonus features that were not included in the original release. A couple of alternate skins for the protagonist are available from the onset along with a few items, one additional skill, and a new mission. It's still the quiet adventure that is the main draw, though, and if you've ever experienced experienced Princess Aurora's adventure or simply want to revisit this dreamlike world, Child of Light is just as great as it was years ago. SWITCH:

I remember the first Unravel more for its adorable protagonist and lush setting than as a puzzle platformer. But Unravel 2 goes a long way to change that, tabling to more accomplished, and at times demanding, platforming experience with puzzles to match. The most immediately-noticeable change is the addition of a second playable Yarny. The entire story mode can still be tackled alone, however, and I did so without ever feeling at a better disadvantage. When playing alone, Unravel Two allows you to quickly enter both, Yarnys to create a single multi-colored character, meaning platforming sections only have to be tackled once, thankfully. It's an elegant little mechanic that works well, even if the image of its spliced beings is ever so slightly harrowing. That said, there are a couple of sections that I can imagine being slightly easier or more elegant with a partner, but it never felt mandatory. Yarny's abilities have carried over from the original. He / she / it can swing across gaps, rappel down walls, ascend cliff faces, lasso distant objects and, by tying knots, create bridges, pulleys, and trampolines. There are no major new skills to single out, but the addition of a second. For instance, either character can now function as a moveable anchor point, allowing the other Yarny to rappel, ascend, or swing across otherwise impassable gaps. At its best, it feels like you're mountaineering through the undergrowth. Playing alone, this allows for some satisfying character switching, as I navigated hazards and inched my way through levels. But in co-op, this mechanic takes on a new dimension - it makes the experience more stressful and much funnier. Since a button must be held for Yarn to anchor his fellow explorer, and sometimes must be released at just the right moment for a jump to be made, it's essential players coordinate their actions. Otherwise, speaking from bitter experience, you'll see Yarny crash into the ground or smash against a wall, repeatedly. It takes a little getting used to two players, but it is never fiddly, simply requiring good communication and timing. The best puzzles involve looping around objects, creating additional anchor points, but in a way that never tangles up and stops you from moving on. You need to think and plan ahead. Sometimes you also have to create multiple temporary bridges to move objects around that can help you climb higher. There's a decent amount of variety. Ideas are used again, but are elaborated upon in interesting ways. I found the core story puzzles challenging without ever being stumped. And even if you get stuck, the sequel is added to pretty robust hint system to help out. Platforming is also improved. Yarny feels more responsive, and it's a good thing, too, since there are more sections that demand precision control. Occasionally, like the original, there are sequences that have an element of trial-and-error - you must fail to figure out how to proceed, no matter how finely-tuned your reactions. The core story is unfolded in seven 20-30 minute levels, which take Yarny once again through verdant forests and slightly more grim urban settings. Behind Yarny, in the background of levels, an ambiguous story plays out with shadowy manifestations of past events. From what I can infer, Yarny's retracing the journey of two teenagers who escape from a care home and go on an adventure that leads them into danger. It's pretty opaque, and while it occasionally adds atmosphere, I'm not really sure what it adds. It's much less emotionally involving than seeing Yarny in the foreground being chased by sinister ember creatures or a deranged chicken. Levels are simply beautiful. Yarny's tiny stature, and the clever use of forced perspective and photorealistic environments, makes you pay attention to the little details. It's like looking at nature through a macro lens - whether it's the spongy moss Yarny has to wade through the puddles that feels like swimming pools, every texture feels more detailed and engrossing seen from his perspective. Outside of the core story, there are 20 additional Challenge levels, which are a fantastic addition to the game. Afternoon missions, hidden areas open up within the Lighthouse hub world, containing a handful of additional levels. Each one has a difficulty rating of one to three spikes, which probably gives you a flavor of what they have in store. These are exceptionally fiendish challenges, ranging from Super Meat Boy-style platforming gauntlets, which take dozens of attempts to master. to head-scratching self-contained puzzles. I've spent up to 30 minutes getting it figuratively - and literally - tangled working out some of these problems. You really are the flexing their design skills in these levels, and they're a big reason why Unravel Two surpasses the original. However, unlike the core game, some of these challenges will definitely benefit from having a second player. Completing these ordeals not only nets you pride but customisation options for your Yarnys, allowing you to change their shape, eyes, and color. If video games have taught us anything over the years, it's that adventures are always better when undertaken with a friend. Experiencing a challenging mission for the first time. Overcoming a boss with hard-fought teamwork. Solving a puzzle at the exact same moment. Co-op can often give us some of gaming's most meaningful moments. That sentiment must have been in the mind of Swedish developer Coldwood Interactive when it began working on the sequel to heartfelt platformer Unravel, because it really shows. Unravel Two is very much an iterative sequel. That's not meant to be negative, but rather that its developer knows what the first game was so charming and simply doubles down on those unique qualities. Once again, you control a miniature woollen hero called Yarny, who travels to a 2.5D adventure using his own yarn-based string to swing across gaps, pull down objects to reveal new paths and scale seemingly insurmountable heights. You'll still be using picture frames as gateways to new levels, only now there are new memories to explore. This time, however, is joined by a blue-colored friend, leading to levels filled with environmental and platforming puzzles that call for the two woollen pals to work together. Much like the first game, Unravel Two's story avoids being overly explicit, instead using simple and often metaphorical themes to guide you through a whole host of levels inspired by the Swedish countryside and a variety of local inner-city. With composers Frida Johansson and Henrik Oja returning to the score, you're left with a gaming experience that rarely rushes or stresses you. It's a chilled and charming puzzle-platformer willing to tell stories of sadness and joy at its own pace. In that way, it's similar to the sedate cooperative world of Journey. With the ability to control two different Yarnys this time around, something as simple as reaching a new platform requires you to deploy a constant use of teamwork. Both characters are connected by their yarn, so while you can still swing using your string, you can also use one another as an anchor point to reach seemingly unreachable platforms across far greater distances. So eleven one player has reached said high point, the other can use their position to ascend to cliff face by climbing their own yarn to the very top. You can once again use your yarn to fashion to bridge or trampoline between two points, and you can now increase the height of each jump by doubling up your yarn. It's designed in such a way that many of Unravel Two's platforming puzzles can be beaten by a single player, so if you are playing cooperatively with a younger or less experienced pal, one of you can reach the required point on screen while the other uses your position as a handy anchor point to join you. As the game progresses and you move through each chapter, that need for tandem problem-solving increases, but every time you crack how to move to a certain piece of scenery out of the way or use your yarn as to makeshift bridge or trampoline, the sense of achievement becomes the most potent because you achieved it together. It should be noted that while it is being sold on the enjoyment of its local co-op, Unravel Two is brilliant fun from beginning to end when played on your own. You can only move one character at a time - enabling you to place on one's weight, or to create a lift by leaping over a hook - but you just need to have 'X' when both are next to one another to combine them together into one multi-colored Yarny. There are benefits and drawbacks to playing solo or co-op - for instance, getting your swings in sync when trying to leap between swing points can be a challenge in co-op, while solving certain puzzles takes a little longer in single-player - but both remain solid ways to play in their own right. Despite taking an extra nine months of development, Unravel Two proves to be well worth the wait. A visual downgrade is certainly in effect - as you'd probably expect, given that this is one of the most aesthetically pleasing home console games of E3 2018 running on Nintendo Switch - so you'll notice the occasional bit of blurring in the background , rasterized assets here and there and the odd bit of interactive landscape disappearing as soon as its role in an environmental puzzle has been played out. Coldwood Interactive has smoothly used trick it to get Unravel Two running smoothly on Switch's hardware, and it has pulled it off. Loading times can sometimes overstay their welcome and some of the game's amazingly gorgeous dynamically-lit moments do some of their visual magic, but Unravel Two is still a beautiful game to play on Nintendo hardware. Even with two players attempting to solve multiple parts of a puzzle while swinging about the shop, we never experienced a single second of framerate reduction or slowdown. It's another confident reminder that Switch has the potential to run so many different types of game when they're given the right amount of time, care and optimization. The Verdict While its core story, Unravel Two improves upon the original in every other respect. The platforming is more responsive and demanding, while the puzzles are far more inventive and satisfying to solve, which is largely due to the excellent implementation of a second character and co-op. It still works as a single adventure, but is far more enjoyable if played with a partner. And despite its oh-so-cute appearance, the generous helping of brilliant Challenge levels that Unravel Two has really been made by a talented group of Scandinavian sadists BETTER EXPLAINED

I do not know about you, but as an older gamer, I remember living under the threat of nuclear annihilation. Aside from the continual worry of uneasy U.S./Soviet peace breaking down into armed conflict, there was the overriding fear of World War III, one whose end could result in widespread destruction by nuclear weapons. The ensuing destruction and fallout would devastate the planet for many years, forcing a radical change to civilization as we know it. Now, imagine that a nuclear war did break out, but instead of nuclear winter, the sheer power of the nukes knocked Earth out of it's natural alignment, putting it on an inevitable crash course with the Sun. Topware and SSI posed this scenario with Earth 2150, a Real-Time Strategy title that challenged players not to conquer the world by defeating your enemies, but to escape from it, saving humanity in the process. Two years and two titles later, Strategy First and Reality Pump have taken up the reigns, presenting the third game in the series with Earth 2150: Lost Souls. So, without further ado, here's a very, very quick plot summary of the first two games for those of you who have not played them. In the near future, Earth has descended into political and economic chaos. Seeking to escape the turmoil on the planet, a company called the Lunar Corporation (LC) takes over NASA's functions and establishes orbiting cities, as well as bases on the moon. Focusing on their attention upon research and development, the LC makes strides in technology, becoming a scientifically advanced group. Recreating society in these extreme regions proves difficult, but possible, and shortly thereafter, the LC cuts its ties with Earth, becoming wholly self-sufficient. While the LC practices its techno-isolationism in space, anarchy reigns on the planet, tumbling governments and financial institutions. Out of the rubble come two global factions: the United Civilized States (UCS) in the West and the Eurasian Dynasty (ED) in the East. The UCS relies on computers and robots to do their work, ranging from day to day life to the highest forms of government. Consequently, the citizens of the UCS quickly become decadent and lazy. Running counter to this lethargic lifestyle is the working proletariat of the ED, whose deep-seated roots in the masses have fostered a massive work ethic. Inevitably, these two political ideologies came into conflict, leading to a nuclear deployment of weapons in a massive world war. Shortly after a massive battle at the North Pole, LC scientists discovered that the UCS and ED's skirmish managed to negatively affect the Earth's natural orbit, putting it in a direct crash course with the sun. Obviously, this sends the governments of the three factions into the panic, as the leaders realize that Earth will be burned to ash, and the moon will be dragged with it, captive by the planet's gravity. The most immediate solution to the problem seems to be obvious: spaceships will have to be built, and Mars, our closest neighbor, will have to be forcibly colonized. However, this undertaking would require a massive amount of resources, one that would seem to be almost a global effort in the making. Rather than work together as a species, the three factions descended into petty squabbling and eventual open warfare as time quickly ticked away. In Lost Souls, the end of the world is nigh, with a rather tragic end in sight. Spaceships have indeed been launched to Mars, and a colonization of the Red Planet has taken effect. However, due to government officials seeking to save their own skins, a large number of the po[CENSORED]tion has been left behind on Earth, condemned to die. These "Lost Souls," as they're known, come from all three factions, but feel a certain amount of understandable hatred towards their brethren for leaving them to suffer. Hastily, each side attempts to gather enough materials for a second wave of spaceships before the world is destroyed as well as to create an army to destroy their enemies on Earth, but also take revenge on their former comrades for deserting them. A typical facet of RTS games, army creation and resource gathering is expected for players to progress and survive through each level. However, Lost Souls' most touted features actually revitalizes these concepts. For example, most strategy titles provide you with units that serve specific functions. Tanks attack ground units, plans attack air units, and harvesters continually need protection. Like other strategy titles, each faction has units that reflect its personal ideologies and equipment. The ED, with its industrial approach, has a very definite Eastern European military feel to its units. As a team, they still field tanks modeled after 20th century weapons. The UCS 'dependence upon robots and machines provides them with a robotic army. Featuring bipedal and spider-like tanks, the sheer size of their armies tower over their opponents. Finally, the LC's technological advantage provides most of its units with antigravity capability, allowing them more maneuverability and evasion to attacks. Plus, their weapons are some of the most unconventional of the three sides. However, Lost Souls gives you the opportunity to change this stale formula by giving you the ability to design your own units, that circumventing traditional pre-established troops. To start the process, you choose a chassis from a land, or air unit and then attach additional weapons and equipment. Fully designing a unit only takes a few button presses, yet it gives you the ability to tailor your troops to your specific attack style. For example, mechanics or other repair units in most games are weakened and non-aggressive, often requiring shepherding in the field of battle. In Lost Souls, you can equip your mechanics with machine guns, shields, or other offensive and defensive capabilities to protect them against enemy attack. If you discover a design that you like or is particularly effective, you can save that specification for mass production in a factory. Additionally, you will have the option to improve upon these components by performing research into a specific field. With Lost Souls, you're no longer confined to predetermined research trees or prerequisites. As soon as you have gained access to a specific technology or piece of equipment, you can begin studying and improving your new gear immediately. Depending on the enemies you'll face, you'll need to do this often. The majority of weapons break down into one of two categories: energy and ballistics. Energy weapons include lasers and beam weapons, and pack remove a punch against most materials. However, they can be deflected by equipped or shields, greatly decreasing their damage. To penetrate this protection, ballistic weapons such as machine guns or rockets can be fired, which pack significantly less power but are unaffected by any safeguards except very strong armor. Needless to say, discovering exactly what kind of weapon your opponent favors and preparing a sufficient response is a necessary tactic for survival. Speaking of tactics, the game allows you to perform quite a few unorthodox attack strategies. You can capture enemy units with your mechanics, turning them against their former comrades. Of course, this is always a dangerous maneuver, one that can quite easily get your troops killed. A safer means of deception is painting your units with the colors of the enemy in an attempt to have them infiltrate your opponent's ranks unnoticed. A successful attempt will allow you the ability to wreak havoc through their ranks. For some players, to sneak attack is the way to go. Well, you can take advantage of this in one of two ways. The first way is by utilizing the changing elements and time of day. The steadily advancing movement towards the Sun creates chaotic weather patterns on Earth, causing massive storms, blizzards, or other conditions during the day and night. This weather can obscure vision on the field of battle, for both the player and the computer, but can be used in sneak attacks. For example, most units automatically turn their lights on at night. By turning an advancing platoon's lights off and slowly approaching to base during a heavy rainfall, you can strike the enemy and inflict a lot of damage before being detected. If this direct approach over land seems too direct and obvious, you can tunnel into an enemy base, establishing a subterranean entrance right behind their defenses to cause destruction on vital structures. In fact, a breach of any kind can catastrophic, because buildings can sustain incidental damage from stray bullets, rockets or lasers. If properly planned, an invading force can place their foe's structures in front of any incoming attacks, acting as impromptu shields as they press their attack. Inevitably, if it's attacking enemies or repelling invaders, Lost Souls will force even the most battle-hardened veteran of RTS titles to completely rethink their tactics. The largest and most important way is by ammunition constraints. In most RTS games, units have an unlimited supply of ammo with which to assault and destroy your rivals. Obviously, this is an unrealistic facet of warfare. Lost Souls forces to recognize this by placing an ammo limit on each weapon. Once exhausted, your units will have to be re-supplied by friendly units or face becoming a smoking pile of rubble. The other massive change to the genre is the restricted number of resources for each level. Each mission has a finite number of exploitable assets that players can use for base construction and unit production. This correlates to the plundering of natural products for the first wave of spaceships and steadily decreasing distance from the sun. In effect, it enforces a certain amount of conservation upon the player, because you can (and in some cases, need to) transfer credits and units from base to base to have a fighting chance within some missions. See, once expended, the player has to either make with what they have, acquire the enemy's resources, or perish. Obviously, the preservation of credits restricts the number of en masse strike forces that you will launch, forcing you to strategically plan out the best way to assault a position. Regardless of these innovations on the RTS formula, Lost Souls comes across more like an expansion pack than a completely new game. There are no new units to be found within the game, no new factions to fight, no graphical improvements or sound augmentations. In fact, with the exception of the set of missions for each group, you would have played the Moon Project or the original Earth 2150. Maybe this is the reason why a majority of the competition you'll face online prefers to play the Moon Project instead of Lost Souls. They're not missing anything, and they know it. While the game does feature the solid camera controls from the previous two games, it also features the clunky control panels and pathfinding issues from its predecessors. This can be a major problem when dealing with a large-scale attack from the computer. Enemy AI within the game is quite good, and the difficulty of Lost Souls is rather high. Many times, you'll find units driving past targets, getting confused and attacking enemies they deem more important, or following enemies into rather blatant death traps without a second thought. Computer controlled enemies, on the other hand, perform concerted attacks with ruthless efficiency. It does not help that the same old intro movies and tutorials have been included, meaning that if you've been playing this game for a while, you're not really missing anything. On second thought, it's a plus that the tutorial has been included, because the written documentation for this game really sucks. Weighing in at a paltry 26 pages that describes the barest basics for the game without describing units or other aspects of the game, it is simply enough information for the game, especially for newcomers to the series. Even experienced players may be forced to re-examine the tutorial to jog their memory of what units are and what buildings perform what functions, because you will not receive any explicit ideas with Lost Souls. Veterans of Earth 2150 will probably be disappointed in the lack of pressure associated with the inevitable end of the world as well. In the original, there was a set time limit of 180 days to complete all of your missions before the world came to an end. If you consider that The Moon Project ran parallel to the time period of the first game, there should be even greater pressure to escape the planet before it burned. However, there is no timer and no immediate threat to destruction. Save mission imposed limits, making the eventual goal of escaping the planet seems more lackadaisical than frantic. Plus, you'll frequently discover that you're not sure of how to proceed in a mission because of a lack of information. No information equals quickly mounting frustration. Graphically, Lost Souls still looks rather nice, but the engine is quickly becoming outdated. This is immediately noticeable if you zoom in on units, as you will detect the aliasing flaws and sharp, blocky polygonal shapes of the units. 3D landscapes are decently represented, with plenty of mountains, valleys, and bodies of water within the environment. As I said before, the weather plays a major role within gameplay and strategy, and the weather effects manage to pull off a major graphical coup with its detail and depth. Rainfall will obscure your view of units and buildings, making it very hard to see what's going on. Similarly, everyone who's playing an RTS has got used to the concept of "fog of war," but this is one of the few games where the fog is so thick that it can be used as an additional weapon. However, one of the coolest aspects of the first title was that the landscape and the weather changed as the game progressed, displaying the impending disaster. Somehow, in the transition from the first title to the third, this exhibition of pandemonium on the planet has been lost. You'll also be able to discern the direction of the wind by blown smoke, which billows and floats naturally from power plants. Buildings and vehicles are nicely animated as well, with individual articulation between different parts. Doors slide open, siphons pump up and down and turrets swivel. Lighting is also well handled, as turning vehicle lights on or off can have a dramatic tactical effect on play. Combat is nicely done, with great reflections displayed from shields reflecting laser beams. Individual rockets are also tracked as they streak across the screen towards their intended target. In fact, the engine does an amazing job of tracking every laser, every rocket, and every attacking unit without a hint of visible slowdown. Even better are the explosions and scattering of flaming debris from buildings and eliminated enemies. Music is still as dynamic as it has been in the two previous games. As a matter of fact, it's the exact same soundtrack, without any new arrangements or pieces of music. However, it does feature a shifting score, moving from fast paced techno to hard-edged guitar solos to sweeping orchestral arrangements, one that sets a nice backdrop for in-game action. Sound effects, such as the building of bridges or tunneling of passageways come across with a mechanized, industrial tone, while explosions and weapons fire sounds appropriate. The largest fault found within the game, one that has plagued the Earth 2150 series since its inception, are the voices, which come across in a very cheesy delivery. Whether it's the canned production of the robots of the UCS, the overenthusiastic voices of the LC or the heavily accented sound of the ED, they could've been produced better with more variations to unit speech and text delivery. The Verdict If you noticed, I did not really speak too much about the online component of Lost Souls. Earth 2150 has had a thriving online community, ever since the original game launched Earthnet and it's subsequent successor, Moonnet for The Moon Project. I've been doing a lot of talking to players online and in messages about Lost Souls, trying to gauge their opinion as to why so few of them play the latest game in the series. Remove a few of them from the title, but a majority of them did not see a difference in the two games and prefer the older title to the newer. You know something, in many ways, they're right. While Lost Souls does add to the storyline of the series, attempting to extend the premise of the Earth's last days, there's absolutely no innovation or new features to make this game stand out. Like I said earlier, the game comes across more as an expansion pack than a standalone game, and probably works better in conception as such than the third title in the series. Hardcore players will probably pick this title up as a matter of course, but those to the game might want to pick up the original or The Moon Project, mainly because there is more documentation and information explaining how to play in those two games than Lost Souls . Do not get me wrong, though. While it's starting to show its age, it still manages to deliver a thoroughly enjoyable playing experience. Lost Souls still has a lot of merits. It still features the classic gameplay that Earth 2150 founded, that of a genuine strategic experience with an interesting premise and a rock-solid gaming engine. It also introduces creative spins on the RTS genre, many of which will hopefully be taken and built upon by following games. Next Review: About