[MC]Ronin[MC]

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Premiere date: April 27, 2010 Genre: Sports Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PSP, Wii, iOS, Java Platform, Micro Edition Modes: Single player game, Multiplayer game Series: FIFA, FIFA World Cup video games Developers: EA Canada, HB Studios Once every four years, EA Sports gets to put out a licensed World Cup game in addition to its regular FIFA offerings. This year, 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa is arriving in stores just six months after the release of the superb FIFA Soccer 10, so predictably it doesn't represent a major leap forward over that game. Some noticeable improvements have been made on the field, though, and while you won't find the same wealth of gameplay modes on offer here as in a regular FIFA release, there are plenty of options to keep you entertained while you're waiting for the next World Cup match to kick off and when you want to relive or rewrite the tournament once it's over. Unlike FIFA 10, which features both club and international teams from all over the world, 2010 FIFA World Cup offers only international teams. You won't be left wanting, though, because while only 32 teams get to play in the finals, the game features no fewer than 199 of the squads that entered the tournament's qualification process. If you choose to jump straight into the finals in World Cup mode, you only get to play with the teams that are taking part in this year's finals in South Africa, but if you choose to play through the qualification games beforehand, you can attempt to change the fortunes of any team in the game. You can choose to play a number of friendly matches in between qualification rounds, which makes the whole process take a lot longer than it needs to, but those games at least give you an opportunity to experiment with different formations and tactics just as real managers do. Leading a low-ranked team to its first-ever finals appearance is very satisfying, and playing with those teams is a much different experience than taking control of big names like Brazil, Italy, or England. Regardless of which team you take control of, 2010 FIFA World Cup plays an entertaining and realistic game of soccer. Players are even more physical than their FIFA 10 counterparts, and it's not uncommon to see them tussling for control of the ball or just getting in each other's way. Every player on the field, as well as the referee, now has real physical presence at all times, and when they come into contact with each other or with the ball, the results are invariably believable. Players who are on the floor need to be avoided because you can't simply run through them; the referee will do his best to avoid the ball but will occasionally get hit by it; fouls are committed by players who have so much momentum that they can't avoid colliding with each other; and when the referee books one of your players for a particularly egregious tackle, the slow-motion replay generally leaves no doubt that his decision was warranted. In regular play, you get to control every outfield player on your team, switching semiautomatically to whoever is closest to the ball. The controls are extremely responsive, and customization options include different button layouts, assistance settings for specific actions (passes, shots, crosses), and a simple two-button setup for newcomers to the series. The regular controls employ every button, both analog sticks, and even the D pad if you want to alter tactics on the fly, and there are plenty of actions that require you to press one button while holding down another. With the two-button setup, though, you just have one button for passing and pressing (the function changes according to whether you're in possession of the ball or not) and a second for shooting and sliding tackles. These controls don't afford you anything like the level of control of the regular setups, but they definitely make the game more accessible, and using them is a good way to get comfortable with the basics before you inevitably feel the need to use the "proper" controls. Another, more challenging way to ease into 2010 FIFA World Cup is to check out the Captain Your Country mode. Like FIFA 10's Be a Pro option, this mode puts you in control of just a single player. You can choose to play as one of the thousands of pros featured in the game, create a new player from scratch, or even import your created player from FIFA 10, which is a nice touch. You then pick a country that you want to play for, and you must earn your spot in the first team by participating in B-team friendlies and the like in the months leading up to the World Cup finals. As one player on a team of 11, you're required not to chase the ball all over the field, but rather to play your chosen position realistically. Small chevrons at your player's feet point toward the area of the field that your player should be in anytime you stray from it, and a rating from 1 to 10 that appears onscreen at all times lets you know how well you're doing in the manager's eyes. If you miss a pass or unleash a shot that's off target, you might see your rating drop, but if you send in a cross that one of your strikers gets on the end of or make a crucial tackle, it goes up. Even while keeping an eye on your player and on the ball (which is still the camera's focus), it's difficult not to obsess over your individual rating. It appears alongside those of three teammates (who can be controlled by other players) and is much better than the less-precise system that served the same purpose in FIFA 10. Inevitably, there will be times when your teammates in Captain Your Country mode frustrate you, but there are also times that you get to feel like part of a well-oiled machine as you make runs off the ball, call for passes and through balls, and try to beat or participate in offside traps. If you make captain, you also get to change tactics and set piece takers, as well as tell the goalie when to rush out and when to stay on his line, which makes you feel like you have added responsibilities much as you would wearing the captain's armband for real. Sadly, while Captain Your Country offers a fun and lasting challenge, it's not without its faults, both on and off the field. On the field, the main problem is that it's all too easy to call for a pass or through ball a split second after the impressive AI has already sent the ball your way. When this happens, the button you just pressed causes you to preload a first-touch pass or through ball of your own rather than call for the ball, which often results in your giving away possession needlessly. Off the field, the messages that you get concerning your team status are wildly inconsistent, especially where the captaincy is concerned. You might average a hat trick a match as team captain throughout much of the qualifying process and then only scrape into the World Cup squad as a reserve, for example. Furthermore, whereas real managers generally don't like the captain's armband to move around too much, those in 2010 FIFA World Cup don't like any player to hang onto it for more than a few matches in succession. That's completely unrealistic, and it's frustrating to put in a man-of-the-match performance as captain and then lose the armband for the next game--especially when it doesn't even go to the player you've previously been told is in contention for the role. Another disappointing aspect of Captain Your Country mode is that even though it supports up to four players, there's no option to play it online. Playing with friends locally is a lot of fun, but it's also a big enough time commitment that getting everyone together to play through the entire competition might be tough. The options that you do get for online play are limited. Other than playing head-to-head matches against friends, ranked opponents, and players that you find via the lobby system, your only option is to participate in the Online World Cup. Here, you choose a country to represent and then you earn points for that country by beating random opponents in a makeshift tournament structure that includes both group and knockout stages. The most interesting thing about this mode is that you don't have to play with the country that you're representing, and you're actually encouraged to use weaker teams because winning matches with them earns you a lot more points. When the action is lag-free and you're getting live updates from other players' matches that are relevant to your tournament progression, the Online World Cup mode can be thrilling and tense in the same way that watching your real-life team compete is. All too often though, matches suffer from just enough lag to throw off the timing of your button presses and to make controls feel less responsive. This is a more prevalent problem on the PlayStation 3 than it is on the Xbox 360 in our experience, and it can be incredibly frustrating--especially if you're awarded a penalty and are trying to stop the neat new composure gauge that moves from left to right dead in the middle so that your shot doesn't miss. Other online features of 2010 FIFA World Cup include regular squad updates that are already in effect, a currently empty store for downloadable content, and the promise of a Story of the Finals mode that will challenge you to complete objectives in scenarios based on the events of this year's tournament. A similar Story of Qualifying mode is already included in the game and offers 45 different scenarios, each with three different objectives attached. For example, you can take control of France in the 28th minute of their November 2008 qualifying game against Romania after they've gone two-nil down, and your three objectives are to avoid defeat, to win, and to concede no more goals. In some scenarios you control an entire team, while in others you control a single player. Either way they're enjoyable challenges, and given how many different scenarios and objectives you're presented with (not to mention all of the different teams you play with), there's plenty of variety. Earn enough points by completing objectives, and you can unlock scenarios from the 2006 World Cup--a tantalizing tease for the 2010 scenarios that are coming soon. It will be interesting to see if the commentary team of Clive Tyldesley and Andy Townsend reprise their roles with match-specific commentary in the upcoming 2010 scenarios, because hearing the duo talk in detail about what the scenarios mean for each team's qualification chances really adds a great deal to the Story of Qualifying mode. Tyldesley and Townsend's work elsewhere in 2010 FIFA World Cup is also impressive and is certainly superior to that of FIFA 10's pairing of Martin Tyler and Andy Gray. Rather than sounding like two guys who recorded their lines in isolation, their commentary sounds like it's coming from a booth at the stadium, and while it's occasionally repetitive, it's also detailed, well delivered, and--outside of the Captain Your Country mode, where they get as confused about team captaincy as the managers--almost always accurate. 2010 FIFA World Cup's visuals are every bit as impressive as other aspects of the game. The South African stadiums look spectacular, and while some of the players appear to have been training for the tournament in the uncanny valley, most are easily recognizable, and all are incredibly well animated. The broadcast-style camera cuts to shots of the managers, and player close-ups happen a little too frequently on the default settings, but they're authentic, and there's an option to turn them off so they're really not a problem. If you're excited for the tournament that's kicking off in June, you're sure to have a lot of fun with 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa. There are some lengthy load times in between matches, and it doesn't offer the same breadth of content that FIFA 10 does, but it improves upon that game in enough ways that you should consider adding it to your collection even if you already own that game. The finals in South Africa last for only a month, but this game will keep you entertained at least until the inevitable release of FIFA Soccer 11.

Name Game: The Talos Principle Price: 39,99€-5,99€ The Discount Rate: -85% Link Store:Steam Offer Ends Up After : The offer ends on January 27

Premiere Date: December 11, 2014 Developer: Croteam Genre: Puzzle Game Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, Linux, Mac OS, MacOS Writers: Tom Jubert, Jonas Kyratzes Publishers: Croteam, Devolver Digital SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Windows MINIMUM: OS: Windows 7 Processor: Dual-core 2.0 GHz Memory: 2 GB memory Graphics: DirectX 11 class GPU with 1GB VRAM (nVidia GeForce 480 GTX, AMD Radeon HD 5870) DirectX: Version 9.0c Storage space: 5 GB available space RECOMMENDED: OS: Windows 7 64-bit Processor: Quad-core 3.0 GHz Memory: 4 GB memory Graphics Card: AMD RX 480 or NVIDIA GTX 970 DirectX: Version 9.0c Storage space: 8 GB available space The Talos Principle, much as its name suggests, is a thinker's game. (No, it doesn't have anything to do with the man-god of Skyrim.) Barely a second goes by when it doesn't encourage you to either stretch the limits of your mind with some brutally tough but rewarding puzzles or to consider the nature of humanity and the conundrums of empiricist philosophy. It's a game I found myself thinking about more often the longer I'm away from it, and I'm surprised that it's the non-puzzle elements that stick with me the most. This disconnect saddens me. While developer Croteam handles both elements well, they don't complement each other as well as they probably should. It's a fun puzzler — marvelous, even. It doesn't introduce any nifty, novel gimmicks of its own in the vein of Portal's portal gun, but it positively nails using conventional elements like blocks, signal jammers, laser connections, motion-recording devices, and even turrets to complete each puzzle. It eases you into the tough parts (perhaps too gently, as the going is a tad too easy early on), but in time it reaches a pitch of near-orchestral magnitude. Want a real challenge? Go for the puzzles that reward stars. The Talos Principle's first-person perspective puzzles differ from Portal's with their emphasis on deliberate thinking rather than action and speed. In one puzzle alone, I used to block to disable a force field by setting it on a trigger, after which I took a jammer to disable the fan that was blowing me back down one particular corridor. I stripped the head off the disabled fan, then used a laser connector to trigger another pair of doorways by shooting out three beams. I then doubly disabled one of the open force fields with the jammer, and then popped a new cube on a spring before another fan, which sent the cube flying over the wall into the next room with another trigger. I then reconfigured my jammers and connectors to work my way back to the cube, dumped it on the trigger panel, and claimed the tetromino that was my goal. Whew. Such moments feel like completing the Triforce in a Zelda game, and this was just one puzzle out of around 120. It happens often, and Talos Principle maintains that essential "Aha!" factor for hours, partly because there are so many gadgets to toy with and combine in interesting ways, although some repetition slips in by the end. The narrating voice overhead here is Elohim (essentially Hebrew for "god"), and he's basically just around to tell you that you'll gain everlasting life if you finish all the puzzles, create a sense of forbidden mystery around a big central tower, and suggest the entire world around you is a sham. And hitting "H" for a third-person perspective reveals a big surprise of who you’re playing as. And that's where the philosophy comes in. Running parallel to the puzzle focus is my personal quest to discover who and what I really am and whether I'm actually a "person," explored through little terminals dot each subzone that beep and boop, begging for interaction. I gained insight from listening to audio logs and reading e-mails from the designers of your world contain everything from inane song lyrics to reflections on an important garbage dump/archaeological site. It explores concepts of humanity and being through quotes by writers like John Milton, William Blake, and others. At times, it even adds to the mystery by letting you partake in surveys testing your humanity, but which seem to be administered by a real person. The Talos Principle asks us to ask ourselves old philosophical questions dating back to Socrates, but by the same token, they're not that hard to grasp. (Some of the sources may also be B.S. created for the story itself.) If there's one thing I don't like about it, it's that the terminal forced me to choose from preset responses most of the time, instead of typing in my own. We've seen stuff like this in The Stanley Parable as well, although with more humor and sometimes to better effect. Here, we almost never have a chance to laugh. But The Talos Principle brings its own appeal, chiefly in the form of (easily readable) QR codes with messages from robots, yammering about the glory of Elohim, or how hard this or that puzzle is. (We should be able to leave some of our own messages for others to read this way — somewhat Dark Souls style — after launch.) But the puzzling stands just fine on its own, although the lore enriches it and delivers different endings depending on your choices and actions. Even in opening new zones and items, The Talos Principle maintains this devotion to brain teasers. Collecting Tetris-style tetrominos unlocks new zones, new gadgets to use with the puzzles, and eventually that mysterious tower. Once a full set's collected, you line them up much as you would in Tetris at various interface panels before key doors, and those get just as challenging as the puzzles at times. I once sat at a panel for 15 minutes just trying to get the pieces to fit. Opening those doors is a treat, particularly if you're the sort who's already given to studying the peripatetic philosophy spouted throughout The Talos Principle. There's the Roman ruins level, with its obvious debts to Pompeii, Hadrian's Villa, and the Roman forum. There's the ancient Egyptian level, with its nods to the Oxyrhynchus archaeological site at the core of all this, and there's a medieval level with obvious nods to early France. Even the fantastic creeps in other zones, such as in the tower itself, which seems to hold up the world like Stephen King's Dark Tower. Don't look too closely, and at times these views seem almost realistic, partly because the developers scanned real objects and settings before adding them in. It's void of all animal life, though, aside for tracks for birds you never see, which only adds to the mysteries hiding in the puzzle walls. Verdict The Talos Principle is a good world to get lost in. The strong, heady philosophical focus isn't as integrated into the puzzles as it initially suggested, but for those of you who like to flex your minds by action rather than heavy reading or contemplation, the puzzle sections deliver just as well. Much like Portal, The Talos Principle makes you feel smart just by playing it, as the bulk of the puzzles hit that sweet spot between too easy and near-impossible.

Tesla is already the second most expensive car company in the world Americans overtake Volkswagen in market cap, jumping the $ 100 billion mark for the first time About two weeks ago, the news was that Tesla's market capitalization was higher than the sum of the market capitalization of General Motors and Ford. During this period, Tesla's stock price jumped more than $ 10 billion to reach yesterday, when the company's shares reached nearly $ 600. The result of all this is that for the first time Tesla's market capitalization jumped above the $ 100 billion threshold. At its peak, it was around $ 107 billion, ending at $ 102 billion at the end of the day. Volkswagen with its $ 99 billion leader with double the market capitalization remains Toyota, whose stock price is about $ 200 billion. If you open the link you will see that of the top 25 companies in the industry, only four show growth in their market capitalization, while all others are in the red sector. Tesla is more expensive than Ford and GM combined The news is especially important for Ilon Musk, as it can trigger a plan to receive bonuses that could turn him into the richest man on the planet. At first, market capitalization must remain above the $ 100 billion threshold for half a year to receive the first of 12 tranches under its bonus program. In 2018, Musk presented to investors its development plan for the company, which many (probably) many analysts laughed at. He then pledged to make Tesla a $ 600 billion market capitalization. According to him, each subsequent $ 50 billion increase in market capitalization will give Musk 1.69 million shares, which to date are about $ 1 billion. If Tesla reaches $ 600 billion, Musk would own about 30% of the company at that time, which would mean a share of about $ 195 billion, making it the richest man on the planet. It is still very far from that goal at the moment, but two years ago it seemed even farther away, the first of the obstacles already seems to be achieved (and achievable)

Will Europe become a desert? One third of the Earth's surface is at risk of drying up due to climate change and its effects are becoming visible in unexpected parts of the Mediterranean, Central and Eastern Europe. One of the lesser-known aspects of global warming is the change in the soil of the planet. Desertification (or so-called desertification) has been threatening Mediterranean countries such as Spain and Greece for some time, but now it also affects some unexpected parts of Europe, such as Hungary, says Monika Lakatos, a Hungarian meteorologist, quoted by the BGNES. 13 are European countries at risk of desertification. Scientists predict a climate disaster for Europe "The negative effects of climate change can be seen on extreme rainfall. Due to increased evaporation, some regions of the planet will become drier, while others will be at greater risk of flooding," says Lakatos. In the Kiskunság National Park an abandoned dried up water basin is a memory of a lake that was here years ago. The water meters deep gave fishermen a livelihood. Today, one of the old villas near it is still standing, with a boat waiting on the dry shores. Water levels have dropped by more than 6 meters in recent decades in the area. And despite widespread belief, planting more trees is not necessarily the best solution for saving soil in this region. Solt Bakronagi is responsible for climate protection at Kiskunság National Park: The world's fauna and flora are endangered "Many studies agree that tree planting increases evaporation and lowers water levels. It also contributes to drying out." Climate change potentially changes one third of the earth's surface and puts food supplies at risk of about 1 billion people worldwide.

Two days more non-smoking leave offered by VMRO The bill has already been tabled in the National Assembly and is under discussion Two days of paid annual leave for non-smokers at work are offered with changes to the VMRO Labor Code, United Saints' United Patriots MP Alexander Sidi told reporters in parliament. He specified that the bill for amendment had already been tabled in the National Assembly and was intended to supplement the total ban on smoking in public places. Sidi explained that workers who smoke go outside the work premises and get an unregulated rest every hour or two. In his words, this puts discriminatory conditions on other non-smoking workers. "In this way, we believe that non-smokers who are conscientious in their jobs are entitled to additional leave of up to two days," the MP explained. The bill is yet to be discussed by the National Tripartite Cooperation Council. Andrei Slabakov: They are short of 2 non-smokers days "I am delighted with VMRO's proposal. It's been a long time to do something for non-smokers. These are extremely fragile and vulnerable creatures. Two days seem like a little. I think they need at least a week. ". This was commented today by MEP Andrei Slabakov in the Plus-minus program on NOVA. "We are ready to work for non-smokers. I even think they should retire at the age of 40 before the miners because they are really tired. Imagine how many books on healthy living they have read," the MEP said. "They also have to survive in some way. Obviously, we are terribly poisoned and obstructed a lot, and they deserve their vacation," Slabakov added.

Premiere Date: April 15, 2014 Developer: EA Canada Series: FIFA World Cup video games Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 Modes: Single player game, Multiplayer game Publishers: Electronics Arts, EA Sports It doesn’t take long to appreciate what perfect partners the modern FIFA games and the World Cup are. EA Sports has always managed to capture the sense of occasion of a big event, and while in its annual releases its flashy presentation can at times feel excessive - albeit an accurate approximation of contemporary TV coverage - here it only adds to the grandeur and ceremony of a global sporting event. Though there are tweaks to FIFA’s core mechanics, it’s the presentation that makes 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil a souvenir piece worth bringing home. You’ll see tickertape celebrations, flashy idents and low camera swoops over authentically rendered stadia before games, while goals and key events during matches prompt cutaway shots to gaudily garbed fans in the stands, or celebrating among thronging crowds watching on giant screens across the world. Its vibrant presentation carries over into the oversaturated colours - during evening matches the pitch is bathed in a vivid orange glow, while encounters earlier in the day see the brightness slider nudged upwards. Fittingly, for a tournament taking place in a country with a temperate climate, it feels that much warmer. Even in the menus, daubed in splashes of tropical colour, it manages to capture the electric atmosphere of a tournament that’s capable of attracting the attention of even casual observers. As the competition begins, plenty who claim not to care about international football will find themselves inexorably drawn into its orbit. In many ways that fits with the target audience - the players who may not be invested enough in the sport at a domestic level to buy the annual editions of FIFA, but wish to enhance the experience of watching the tournament, to replay matches that have just finished to get a different outcome, for the empowering sensation of having rewritten history. It’s this audience EA Sports needs to cater to most, and as such there are problems with its approach here. That’s because FIFA has evolved a great deal since 2010’s World Cup tie-in, and anyone expecting to jump in after four years away will face a bit of a culture shock. Though few would argue that it hasn’t made considerable strides in most areas, the more authentic physics and animation make for a less immediately intuitive and responsive game of football. It does feel a little quicker than FIFA 14, if only in the speed of transitions between receiving the ball and advancing with it, while shots seem to travel at greater velocity - but for better and worse, those who’ve played this season’s game will instantly be in familiar territory. Fundamentally, it remains the same game, though it benefits from a number of adjustments. Penalty taking has been simplified - a sop to novices, no doubt, though a sensible change – while ’keepers have more options to distract opponents during their run-up. You can now adjust set-piece tactics to put more pressure on the goalie, or guide runners to the near post for flick-ons, though the results are inconsistent. Elsewhere, it offers a rather exaggerated riposte to fan complaints. Headers are no longer overpowered, if only because crosses are so frequently intercepted, often by defenders leaping over the back of your strikers with absolute impunity. Lofted through-balls now require pinpoint accuracy – you’ll underhit them more often than not, though at full power they’ll sail harmlessly through to the keeper. Causing a minor problem to solve a major one is a strange tactic, but too good to no good still represents an improvement of sorts. Rather than focusing exclusively on the tournament itself, you’re now able to guide a team through qualification. Whichever mode you choose, you’ll get to take part in training drills to boost your players’ stats. Some of these mirror the pre-match challenges most FIFA players will be accustomed to, but others are new. Their appeal is fleeting, however - after a while you’ll be itching to simply savour the pageantry of the big games - though they’re essential in the Captain Your Country mode. While the scoring system here is still bound to an arcane set of rules, it’s a rush to race your team-mates to the coveted armband, those incremental upgrades meaning more when you’re an individual chasing glory. Another welcome inclusion is EA Talk Radio, which gives you a choice of two presenting duos who’ll chat about the tournament and the sport in general while you’re navigating the menus. It’s like idly listening to a football-themed podcast, and helps cement that feeling of excitement, that you’re taking part in an event everyone is talking about. As a game with a naturally brief shelf life - let’s face it, you’re not going to find many online opponents come August - 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil could easily have been a rush job, hurried out of the door to capitalise on the anticipation for this summer’s festival of football. Yet while lingering mechanical problems remain, this is a surprisingly accomplished tie-in. Its fuse may burn shorter than most, but between June and July its flame will be dazzling. Verdict 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil might feel like a step back to anyone coming from the next-gen versions of FIFA 14, but for those who haven’t yet upgraded, it represents an improvement on the annual release. Meanwhile, fans looking to cheer their team on this summer will get a kick out of the sizzling carnival atmosphere it generates.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS MINIMUM: Requires 64 bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 7 64bit Processor: Intel Core i7-4770 @ 3.4 GHz or AMD Ryzen 5 1300X @ 3.5 GHz Memory: 16 GB memory Graphics Card: Nvidia GPU GeForce 970 GTX (4GB VRAM), AMD RX560 (4GB VRAM) DirectX: Version 11 Network: Broadband Internet connection Storage space: 70 GB available space Additional notes: SSD strongly recommended. The game contains EAC anti-cheat technology. RECOMMENDED: Requires 64 bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 10 64bit Processor: i7-6700K @ 4.0 GHz, AMD Ryzen 5 2600X @ 3.6 GHz Memory: 16 GB memory Graphics Card: Nvidia GPU GeForce 1080 TI GTX (11GB VRAM), AMD Vega 64 (8GB VRAM) DirectX: Version 11 Network: Broadband Internet connection Storage space: 70 GB available space Additional notes: SSD strongly recommended. The game contains EAC anti-cheat technology. Grandpa has passed down his old farm to you. Help nurture it back to life in the new Homestead mode for Heat. Homestead is a new Single Player mode, in which you build an amazing farm by day, and go to sleep at night. It was inspired by games such as Harvest Moon and Stardew Valley, but we wanted to take it in a different direction, mixing in many survival elements. You can pick from 10 different scenarios. Each scenario has a different starting homestead, starting equipment, and some have special conditions. The game saves when you sleep at night, you can load up old saves, and it supports full admin commands. Heat Survive the wilderness, build a home, raise a family, and expand your territory. Gain power as President, deliver justice as Sheriff, fight for your tribe as Chief, or show some southern hospitality as Governor. Begin your new life in 19th century America. Heat is an online multiplayer survival mode for up to 40 players. Environment There are 20 unique biomes in Heat spread out over a 67km2 world, each with its own sub-biomes to explore. We developed a unique way to create dense forest floors which requires players to clear the land in order to build. Explore vast and diverse landscapes ranging from the cold mountainous peaks to the tropical seashores, and from the harsh deserts to the muggy swamplands. Built from the roots up using real-world photogrammetric data, experience next generation graphics in both variety and detail. Stockpiles and Shipping Bin We introduce a new concept in stockpiles. Heavy goods require physical space for storage, so while you can still store light goods in your small containers, wood, stone, ore, and other heavy materials must be stored in large stockpiles. This gives players a visual representation of their goods, and since stockpiles take up space, thought must also go into defending them. Each player also can craft a stash container which accepts a mix of light and heavy goods to help get them started, but these come with limited slots. Players may also build shipping bins. These can be placed in your base and you may sell harvested, crafted, and farmed goods in them for in-game currency. Shipping bins also come with a catalog with which you may order items using your hard earned in-game currency. Farming and Cooking Get farm-ready with the hoe, watering can, sprinklers, and scythe. Each tool has its own set of tiers, and there are a variety of crops that may be planted. Fertilizers are also an important consideration for the aspiring farmer. Once your crops have matured, harvest them and bring them to the cooking stations in order to produce a wide range of food types. You may also decide to sell your crops in your shipping bin and buy more seed for your farming operation. Building & Crafting Construct your new home - From a quick hobo shack, a rustic cabin deep in the woods, a refined mansion, or a giant fortress. Craft and place walls, floors, doors, windows, furniture, and other fixtures individually by your own design. Process goods with sawmills, tanneries, smelters and other workstations. These materials will aid in crafting at various workstations and purchasing blueprints. Protect your establishment with well-placed cannons and strategically planned fortifications using massive rampart building sections. Mounts, Livestock & Wildlife The landscape is po[CENSORED]ted by a variety of American wildlife, all of which can be hunted - assuming you are not hunted yourself. But they can also be tamed, whether as livestock or as a beloved pet. You may ride tamed horses, as well as other animals - even bears! Survival Gather and hunt for food to keep yourself strong. Collect a variety of raw materials from nature for use in crafting, building and refinement. Once you have the basics of sticks and stones down, you may begin your journey towards establishing yourself as an industrious and powerful colony or even President of the United States. There will be struggles and fallbacks along the way. Your character may be killed and robbed, where everything he or she has equipped is taken. Your property may be broken into and looted by a gang of raiders lead by other players. But with plenty of resources and defensive tactics at your disposal, raiders will be in for a serious fight. Go Forth and Multiply Start a family with other players or NPCs. Players can give birth to a newborn. The newborn grows to become a baby, the baby then grows up to be a child, the child eventually becomes an adult. A second option is to adopt from an orphanage by purchasing a baby basket in the shipping catalog. The baby will be inside the basket delivered to you. Adoption is very expensive, but provides a guaranteed outcome. Your children are a mix of the visual DNA of the two parents. Babies, children, and adults will need to feed and stay hydrated. Once your kids become adults you can equip them with outfits, gear, and weapons. They can help protect you when you are online. Road Building Build roads in the game or create pads around your base using the rake tool. Players may build roads using a variety of materials ranging from wood chips, dirt, sand, gravel, pavement and more. Players may also place freshly cut lawn for a well-kept look. Seats of Power As President, you own the Whitehouse, a section of land south of the monument, one intern, a golden gun, and two secret service NPCs. You also get to set and collect a President’s land tax. Players may also become the Sheriff, Chief, or Governor. Each are given their own areas, items, and NPCs. Combat & Capture On your adventures you'll encounter other players who may or may not be friendly. Likewise, you may not be so friendly either given these tactics at your disposal: - Fill 'em full of lead with plenty of handguns, rifles, shotguns and other firearms to craft. - Take the more silent approach with bows and javelins that will leave your foes looking like a pin cushion. - Get up in their face with melee instruments, or beat them down with some good old blunt force. - Capture, restrain, and put them into your interrogation dungeon with its various contraptions. - Messily dismember with a well-placed strike or shotgun blast. - Blow them to smithereens with artillery cannon fire and TNT. - Experience the thrill of vigilante justice from either a first or third person perspective. Character Customization Choose your gender and tune your appearance to your liking, including variations in skin tone, height and girth, the shape of facial features, hair or lack thereof, and voice tone.

Welcome

The days of the ICE in Austria are coming to an end An end date has not yet been given, but the new government's measures are eloquent. It will begin with the "killing" of ICE in all public procurement by 2027. The new Austrian federal government is formulating a series of targets to dramatically reduce CO2 emissions in its transport sector. The Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) coalition and the Greens are asking the public authorities to buy only vehicles that do not emit any CO2 emissions from 2022. Another major challenge for them is focusing on subsidies for the electrification of official fleets, taxis, rental cars, shared vehicles, public transport, and private cars. The Government's 2020-2024 program states that the public sector should set a good example. For example, it should create binding guidelines to "make standard zero-emission public-sector procurement as soon as possible - possibly as early as 2022" (except for special vehicles, emergency vehicles and Army vehicles). On the other hand, the purchase of ICE cars should be an exception - "and it must be justified". From 2027, the program also states the goal of completely suspending new registrations of combustion engines in public procurement. Lifelong maintenance costs ("TCO / Total Cost of Ownership") will form the basis of the procurement process, including the consideration of environmental and health benefits. Coalition partners want to continue subsidizing electric buses, hydrogen buses, including infrastructure and charging stations. The purchase of electric and fuel cell vehicles should also continue to be encouraged through subsidies for private customers. The current purchase subsidy amounts to EUR 3,000 for electric vehicles up to EUR 50,000 (private) and up to EUR 60,000 (companies, municipalities and associations). Plug-in hybrids and electric cars with the so-called range extender (ICE) receive a subsidy of € 1,500. Diesel plug-in hybrids do not receive one. In addition, the new leadership intends to continue the # mision2030 program launched by the previous government. It seeks to create legislation to encourage "new registrations of taxis, rental cars and shared zero-emission vehicles" from 2025. By 2027, shared parking spaces for public parking lots will offer only fleet operators of clean electric vehicles. Car sharing service providers, call buses, taxis and shared taxis can expect to receive subsidies for converting their fleets to CO2 neutral. Finally, Austria aims to participate in a pan-European research and innovation project to accelerate the electrification of transport. In December, the European Commission approved state aid worth a total of € 3.2 billion for this project. To date, seven EU Member States are participating: Belgium, Germany, Finland, France, Italy, Poland and Sweden.

Bulgaria among the best countries in the world, that's why Our country climbed into this year's ranking Bulgaria ranks 58th among 80 countries in the world, according to the US News and World Report's annual U.S. News Ranks 2020 Best Countries ranking. In the ranking of 2020 our country climbs from 67th place in 2019. The fifth edition of the Global Survey shows long-standing concerns about inequality, technology and climate change - and a rapid decline in world confidence in the US. Overall ranking of the best countries measures global performance by various indicators. Switzerland, Canada, Japan, Germany and Australia are in the top spot. The UK and US are ranked sixth and seventh respectively. Sweden and the Netherlands are eighth and ninth, with Norway top ten. The Balkan region also ranks Greece (27th), Turkey (35th), Croatia (44), Romania (54), Slovenia (56), Serbia (72). For the ranking of Bulgaria in the position in question, the publication cites several reasons, focusing on the factors that it believes are crucial for our country. "Situated in the southeastern part of the Balkans, Bulgaria connects Europe and Asia. Its location has made it an invasion of the past, but it also helps it develop a rich culture - the country is the birthplace of the Cyrillic alphabet," said the analysis accompanying the arrangement. According to the information, "The World Bank classifies Bulgaria as an above-average income country". "Bulgaria has a well-educated workforce, but is considered to be the poorest nation in the European Union. The challenges it faces are problems with corruption and organized crime," the publication continues with our country and continues: "Bulgaria defines itself as a secular state that guarantees freedom of religious expression." Within the ranking, several separate indicators are classified as an additional ranking. These include, for example, the "opportunity for fun and adventure", according to which we rank 52nd; "public climate" (32nd place), which includes criteria such as respect for property rights, gender equality, environmental concerns, human rights, religious freedom; "business opportunity" (47th place); "quality of life" (35th place).

The young Syrian director who started a new life in Bulgaria How Ricardo falls into our country and what motivates him to continue after the horror of war A gray city in Syria. But this nuance is not synonymous with boredom, on the contrary. For Ricardo Ibrahim, this is the color that shows neutrality. It shows a society driven by a common conscience. "It was like a dream. Very controversial and incompatible. It is as if someone has erased much of your memory. The whole childhood and teenage experience is gone. You start your life again at the age of 21. New society, new people, new rules, new language. " Ricardo Ibrahim Syria has become a real living wound. A live-action tragedy before the eyes of the world. A tragedy that some fail to escape. Others flee their country, bearing the painful memory of it. And over time, they learn to live with it. "There are very few tall buildings in the city where I was born. Most are up to 3 floors and the old town is famous for its black stones and red roof tiles. A very nice contrast between black and red, ”recalls Ricardo, saying:“ Yes, the city was gray, but 30 km outside it started to get greener and more beautiful. We spent all summer on the mountain, where we have a house next to the forest. These mountains are covered with snow up to two meters in winter. There is also a river where we used to gather to drink, sing and play music almost every night. " Although in this paradise, life was not easy. And there were rules of survival: "Syria was like a socialist state. Very totalitarian. But people knew how to maneuver. Absolutely everything exists on this part of the Earth. What made the place nicer was the people. They are very different, but they are driven by a common conscience. " In those years, he hardly imagined that he would have to start his life again. In those days, he longed for art, and more specifically, cinema. "I love art because it's an alternative way of asking questions and answering without words," Ricardo says. It was this love that led him to Lebanon, where he studied directing. "In the beginning I went to Lebanon to study and then the war in Syria began. Who had a different opinion from the state propaganda was punished - used as a lesson to others. Crossing the border was a success, but getting back is very dangerous, "recalls Ricardo as he leaves home. It came to Bulgaria 6 years ago. And it does not hide that the beginning was very difficult. "To find a job, or friends, or my environment. Surviving without language ... "are some of the challenges Ricardo faced at the beginning. However, it gradually began to integrate. "Little by little, I began to see the similarities between Bulgaria and Syria, and I became calmer." Ricardo summarizes what makes the two countries close: "The new generation in both countries is much smarter than the old, ready to ask new questions and not accepts the packed truths. The new generation is learning without a teacher. " Ricardo senses that he is coping when he finds a job and begins his Bulgarian language lessons. He is grateful to his Bulgarian language teacher, who has helped him a lot. She finds inspiration in everyday situations: “When I am learning something new, or when I am playing. I love going to training with my team in ultra light frisbee. " He wants to feel more stable so he can help the people around him. One last look back We return to the childhood of Ricardo, who had a life in which all the doors were open. "I had a noisy childhood full of life and people around. The doors did not lock. There were always guests and almost every night there was an event. Singing, playing, movies, literature ... at home or with friends, "he remembers Homs. They call the city "the capital of the Syrian revolution." Ricardo mentions an interesting fact: “There are only 7 mosques and 7 churches in my neighborhood. St. Mchk. Julian Emeski, near the church where Our Lady left her belt, "the young director tells us. He adds bitterness that although there are so many symbols of faith in the place, nothing has saved them from falling bombs. But all this is behind him. Today, he is making his first steps in directing. He tells us, "Happiness in me is not about place. The difficulties are related to the place. But as long as I can still keep up with the pace that suits me, then I'm happy. "

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Premiere date: November 20, 2000 Series: James Bond Developer: Eutechnyx Limited Publisher: Electronics Arts Genre: Racing Video Game Platforms: PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Dreamcast Over the years, the James Bond movies have provided the movie-going public with a glimpse into the life of a playboy superspy - the gadgets, the espionage, the fast women, and the faster cars. While the Bond movies have been turned into games countless times, none of the games have provided the focus of 007 Racing. EA's latest Bond game centers on 007's vehicular endeavors, giving you a heavily armed and armored car and a laundry list of objectives. While the game sounds like an interesting and excellent idea, in execution, it struggles in too many areas to warrant a recommendation. The game lets you drive various Bond cars that have appeared throughout his movie exploits, such as the Aston Martin DB5, BMW 750, BMW Z8, Lotus Esprit, and BMW Z3. Each car handles slightly differently, though none of them handle particularly well. Each car can be outfitted with different items, such as rockets, missiles, machine guns, shields, smoke screens, and oil slicks. Only one item can be equipped at a time, and you automatically switch to an item when you pick it up. This leads to problems when you're trying to line up a rocket shot and accidentally run over a new weapon - you're forced to cycle through the weapons one at a time, wasting precious seconds. The weapon troubles don't stop there. Your rockets are side-mounted, alternating fire from the left and right sides of your car. If you don't keep track of exactly which side of your car is the next to fire, lining up even midrange rocket shots is needlessly difficult. A set of crosshairs would have been a big help here. Add the aiming difficulties to the sluggish nature of the game's various vehicles, and you've got a recipe for frustration. Even when traveling at high speeds, the cars can't whip around fast enough for you to line up an accurate shot. Since taking an extra second or two to line up a shot usually leads to the cars getting too close to your car, you'll end up damaging yourself with the close explosions. The game has a couple of two-player modes: a standard deathmatch mode and a pass-the-bomb mode. Neither mode is particularly entertaining, because the game doesn't have the solid arcade-style control of your average car combat game. 007 Racing looks decent but definitely fails to impress. There's a lot of texture warping, and most of the game's textures look extremely muddy. It's easy to forgive these flaws when you're driving at high speeds, but considering you spend quite a bit of the game moving at average or low speeds, you have plenty of time to marvel at the game's subpar graphics. The sound has its plusses and minuses as well. The Pierce Brosnan sound-alike does an admirable job of imitating the big-screen 007, and most of the game's voices are well done. However, the in-mission chidings from Q are extremely repetitive and frequent enough to make you want to simply turn the game's sound off altogether. The music, however, delivers a decent soundtrack of tunes appropriate for the Bond universe. The game's varied mission objectives occasionally give it a Driver-like feel, but the clunky control issues really manage to take you out of the game. The heavily modified Need for Speed engine is great for the fast action, fast driving missions, but the slower-paced, more combat-heavy levels suffer from the game's rough control. Overall, 007 Racing isn't polished enough to fill the needs of objective-based driving game fans. Fans of these types of games would be better served by Driver 2.

Premiere Date: October 16, 2012 Series: James Bond Developer: Eurocom Engin: IW engine Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii U Publisher: Activision Blizzard, Activision Eurocom's 007 Legends is a game about falling. We see it in the way the opening minutes feature Daniel Craig's James Bond plummeting into a river after a friendly sniper accidentally shoots him off a speeding train, and we experience it in the way this latest installment in the long-running franchise reveals a fall from the innovations of 1997's GoldenEye 007 to Legends' tired mimicry of Call of Duty's core gunplay. This is a game that gets to run with Bond's legacy from half a century of cinema and yet stumbles on its face everywhere it should have broken into a sprint. It trips over shoddy AI and laughable stealth mechanics, it slips on boring boss fights and near-absent exposition, and while it benefits from decent multiplayer and challenge modes, these diversions never allow Legends to pick itself back up. It's a shame, since 007 Legends has some rich source material to work with. Legends' patchwork story draws from iconic films such as Goldfinger, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, License to Kill, Die Another Day, and Moonraker, but with Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan, and other famous agents swapped out for the dour mug of Daniel Craig, pitifully voiced by Timothy Watson. Some iconic moments lurk about the carnage (including Goldfinger's famed "I expect you to die" speech while a laser threatens Bond's privates), but they feel forcibly stuffed into the humdrum, repetitive levels and their mediocre gunplay. True, there are flashes of fun, such as a firefight outside the gates of Fort Knox, but it doesn't take long to realize that every level invariably involves sending Bond into a famous enemy's lair with guns blazing, using his often anachronistic smartphone to hack or capture data with tedious minigames, and then capping off the level with a quick-time fistfight against the likes of Oddjob or Franz Sanchez. That's not to say that Eurocom doesn't make a few attempts to add some variety to the gameplay, but they're halfhearted at best, and taken together, they easily constitute the game's worst moments. It's most apparent in Legends' simple stealth mechanics, which consist of little more than crouching and walking quietly, and the failure of the concept becomes all too apparent as soon as you off a thug and realize that you can't do anything with his body. Therefore, the stealth sequences play as though on a timer, with Bond picking off as many enemies as he can with a silenced weapon or his one-hit melee punches before a patrolling guard stumbles across one of the bodies. In most cases, in other words, you're probably better off just going in with guns blazing anyway. The only complication is that 007 Legends includes mandatory stealth sequences that strip Bond of usable weapons and end in instant failure if he's seen by any guard. That might not be such a bad idea, were it not for the fact that Bond has no way to peek around corners (although he can peek over ledges, provided you can get the prompt to work). Yet at least with the stealth mechanics, there's still a dash of skill involved. That's why it's so disappointing that the aforementioned fisticuffs are so bland; you can likely go through every one the campaign throws at you without ever seeing an enemy get a hit in. In theory, at least, the ability to use your controller's trigger to avoid incoming blows renders these fights a bit more complex than the average quick-time event, but the prompts to pummel your opponent with the analog sticks last long enough that you're not likely to miss in the first place. Even the most challenging sequences last less than half a minute. Repeat this scenario for five hours, and you've experienced 007 Legends' campaign. It's an unfulfilling slog, particularly since levels spend little to no time on exposition out of an apparent conviction that Legends' players have seen all the movies anyway, and it's made all the worse by the way the action comes to a dead halt after the Moonraker level. It won't always be thus--the idea is to release the Skyfall episode as downloadable content around the time of the film's theatrical release in early November--but Legends gives you little reason to look forward to capping off this hodgepodge saga. The visuals look as dated as some of the early Bond movies, the enemy AI sometimes runs into walls or fires directly into obstacles, and the frame rate occasionally dives into what feels like the single digits. If 007 Legends has any redeeming quality, it's in its multiplayer mode. Gone is the tiresome stealthy gameplay of the campaign; instead, this mode has 12 arenas for 8 to 12 players that focus on such Bond-themed objectives as killing enemy players with Goldfinger's golden gun or retrieving data from a downed spy plane, all while capering around as iconic Bond personalities. It's a pity, then, that there's no one around. Only a week after Legends' release, the servers are consistently empty, which makes the return of the beloved four-player split-screen mode from GoldenEye 007: Reloaded all the more worthwhile. Decent, too, is Legends' Challenge mode with its specific objectives, which adds some meaning and urgency to campaign levels that were too dull in their own right. To say that 007 Legends is a disappointment is to be kind, especially after Eurocom's commendable efforts with last year's GoldenEye 007: Reloaded. Legends could have been a memorable release that reminds us why we've loved Ian Fleming's famous spy for more than 50 years, but somehow it manages to earn its place as what may be the most lackluster Bond game to date. Missed opportunities cower in every corner, ranging from an irreverence toward the subject matter in the disjointed story to the absence of familiar voices, and the gameplay feels like it started life as an amateur Bond-themed Call of Duty mod. The options offered by the multiplayer and challenge modes might entice some of the most devoted Bond fans, but for the majority of players, this seemingly rushed world won't be enough.

Grid 2 is a racing video game developed and published by Codemasters for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Xbox One, through backwards compatibility. This is the eighth game in the TOCA series. On September 25, 2014, Feral Interactive released Reloaded Edition for OS X. As of August 2019 Premiere Date: May 27, 2013 Engin: Ego Series: TOCA Modes: Single player game, Multiplayer game Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS Developers: Codemasters, Codemasters Racing It’s been five long years since Race Driver: Grid. With the Dirt series and the F1 license sucking all the oxygen out of Codemasters HQ ever since, until recently it seemed the fire for a follow-up had gone out. It would’ve been a shame, considering you can trace the lineage of the series back to 1997’s TOCA Touring Car Championship. Fortunately, Codemasters seems to agree, unleashing Grid 2 from the paddock just in time for the final few laps of this generation. Grid 2 is a confident, aggressive, good-looking racer that boasts a level of focus last year’s Dirt: Showdown didn’t have. It’s well executed and easily the measure of the award-winning original in all but a couple of areas. However, missteps with how it approaches its track content will harm its long-term appeal, and further shedding of its sim-based roots will continue to alienate fans of the racing games Codemasters made back in the late ’90s and early 2000s. Grid 2’s handling has a foot on each side of the fence; grippy, with a good sense of weight – particularly under heavy braking – but honed to emphasise drifting. It’s a one-size-fits-all model, with no driving aids, but it still clings to one or two of its sim-like characteristics. While the handling errs towards the arcade end of the spectrum, the tight courses and mechanical damage still conspire to keep players thinking two corners ahead at all times. Flashback returns to help you undo a nasty write-off or a blown tyre, but it’s a limited-use device. Like Grid before it, Grid 2 takes a few dozen recognisable cars, decks them out in fake racing liveries, and sets them loose against one another across the world. The difference here is that there’s somewhat of a story thread holding it all together. It’s territory Codemasters has dabbled in before, but never this credibly. For Grid 2, Codemasters has invented a fictional global racing league: “World Series Racing” (WSR). It’s the brainchild of a cashed-up petrol head who wants to take WSR from grassroots club level to a world-dominating motorsport, and you are his first star. You’ll need to race in a variety of disciplines against other racing clubs across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia to attract them, and their fans, to the WSR for this to happen. WSR is a great device because it’s really nothing more than an explanation that services the gameplay. All you get is a little clip once or twice a season giving you some context into your own surging fanbase, and an ESPN-branded glimpse into the rise and rise of WSR, but it’s just enough to tie all the racing you’re doing together and give you a sense of momentum through the career mode you wouldn’t get from a simple progress bar. It’s no substitute for the days Codemasters racing games were filled with real-world racing competitions from all over the globe, but overall there is a believable authenticity to the otherwise fake WSR that is absent in most of the racers that opt for fictional leagues over proper ones, and Grid 2 benefits noticeably. The WSR features a host of different racing disciplines. Point-to-point blasts across the countryside are thrilling, and Codemasters’ rally heritage is clear in them. The traditional track racing on purpose-built circuits is arguably where Grid 2 shines brightest; it’d be quite nice if there were more of it. Touge and drifting also feature, although the latter requires a deft touch to have much fun. Tweaks to the rulesets also allow for fairly standard elimination-based contests, checkpoint races, and time attacks. It’s LiveRoutes, where the corners and paths change dynamically as you race around a city, that feel like the new races Grid 2 is betting the farm on but in practice they’re a little too chaotic as the route changes on-the-fly and sudden hairpins are introduced violently to your face. You’ll also be hit with a variety of bespoke challenges as each series progresses, like timed laps to win new cars, endurance challenges (which, at around only five or six minutes, honestly stretch the meaning of 'endurance' somewhat) and overtaking challenges. The overtaking challenges are actually quite addictive; each lumbering 4X4 you pass adds to a multiplier that resets the second you nudge one, graze a wall, or go off track. They’re good fun. You can create your own races by toggling all the available locations and race settings but there’s a pretty stingy lap limit which dulls the appeal. It’s strange you can't make lengthier races. What’s more strange, however, is the shift away from tuning options. Codemasters has moved the focus on performance upgrades to a segregated multiplayer mode. Multiplayer in Grid 2 has its own progression system and its own garage, and you can’t share cars between the two. The multiplayer racing itself is serviceable enough, and it’s certainly lively, but I don’t think the game has enough truly unique courses to keep people playing indefinitely. In fact, Grid 2's course design in general commits the same sin as the last few years of Codemasters racers: the road tracks start to blend into one another thanks to too many repeated segments, and there probably aren’t enough real circuits to stop most people from getting itchy feet and moving on. By the time the WSR enters its fourth and fifth seasons, the fanfare of evening prime time does little to disguise the fact you’re still racing on the same tracks and track segments as before. Licensing hurdles aside, it’s odd Grid 2 doesn’t feature more tracks considering all the complete F1 tracks Codemasters would have tucked away on a server somewhere. A hankering for some of the courses currently being bogarted by Codemasters' F1 series aside, there’s a lot to like about how Grid 2 looks. The cars aren’t quite on the same rung as those of genre peers like Forza 4, or Gran Turismo 5’s premium models, but they are crisp and well-detailed. Bodies gleam and light glints off polished fenders. While some of the locations are a little drab (the overcast Hong Kong ones are some of the worst offenders) they’re certainly never less than competent. However, it’s the little flourishes that help most. Leaves whipped up by the wind that drift across the track. The razor-sharp reflections on your bonnet as you pierce through Parisian streets. The fireworks that light up the sky during night races. A squirrel darting across a rural street. (You can’t hit it, incidentally.) It’s worth noting, however, that the much-discussed absence of an interior view means Grid 2 has no equally detail-lavished interiors to showcase. Codemasters maintains only five per cent of players tend to use the view. It’s my preference, but bonnet-cam is a sufficient compromise. Finally, Codemasters has done an exceptional job with the audio. There’s a pleasing rawness to the engines, and the sound of the tyres thumping across different surfaces doesn’t go unnoticed. The music that kicks in during pivotal moments is also a nice touch. Likewise the menus are elegant, and the smattering of video vignettes are well produced. Verdict Last year’s Dirt Showdown never really knew what it was. Grid 2 does. Its continued shift away from its sim pedigree will still disappoint those of us who fondly recall the Race Driver games of old, but it still a great, modern package. A well-curated car list, a great sense of speed, and a well-thought out career mode combine in a racer that is a lot of fun to play through. ALL CHARACTERISTICS Gaming Categories Games for computers and consoles Xbox 360 Games Publishers Codemasters PEGI description Online PEGI rating 7+ Genre Racing Dolby Digital audio Release year 2013 Release Month May Number of players 1-2 Online Multiplayer 2-12 Metacritic Rating 80 Xbox 360 Controller Developer of Codemasters XBOX360 platform Edition Standard Language: English

The BMW M is more successful than the Mercedes-AMG The two brands are only separated by 3693 sales, but still in favor of "M". Mercedes has won the title of best-selling luxury brand in the world for the fourth consecutive year. For BMW, there was little consolation that its sports division was ahead of that of its big competitor. Last year was the best in the history of BMW M GmbH. The Bavarian sports division has managed to market 135,829 vehicles, an increase of 32.2% over 2018. This has led the company to call itself "the most successful manufacturer in the dynamic / highly dynamic sports car segment" . It should be mentioned here that Porsche sold 280,000 cars last year, but apparently the Bavarians have been able to find a way to give new meaning to the term "most successful." The difference with AMG is only a few thousand, as the Mercedes sports division sold 132,136 units (the most in history), up 11.8%. Here again, the largest markets are the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom. BMW M GmbH boss Markus Flash boasts: "We are proud of the fact that we were able to achieve market leadership in the dynamic / high-dynamic vehicle segment for the first time in the company's nearly 50-year history." The largest market for M-branded vehicles was the United States, where 44,442 units were launched. In Germany, 26 110 models were delivered and in the UK 17 688 units. Switzerland is the country where BMW's M-models were the most over conventional Bavarians - as much as 22% of all BMWs sold in 2019. The M division enters 2020 with the new X5 M and X6 M joining the M8 Gran Coupe and M2 CS. Later in the year we will see the new M3 and M4. It is expected that the last two models will offer more than 508 hp, the figure may be higher than the 517 hp generated by the X3 M and X4 M.