[MC]Ronin[MC]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Sheiled is an improved remake of the 1991 arcade game, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time, which itself is a sequel to the original Tinenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game. Both original arcade games were made by Konami. Premiere Date: August 5, 2009 Series: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Developer: Ubisoft Singapore Publisher: Ubisoft Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 Genres: Side-scrolling, Beat 'em up It wasn’t hard to fall in love with Konami’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time when you were eight years old. The brawler allowed you to pick your bipedal turtle of choice and smash through a few memorable locales plucked from the television series. But eight-year-olds can also fall in love with Twinkies and Power Rangers. Most twenty-somethings leave those silly feelings behind. Ubisoft Singapore recently repurposed the arcade title for Xbox LIVE Arcade. It features new visuals, a new engine, and various other special goodies in the vein of most downloadable special editions. I played it. That is all I will say here. Hit the break for the review. Konami unleashed the original game in arcades in 1991. It was a quarter-sucker, a basic brawler with cheap enemies possessing nonsensical and unbreakable looping attacks. Hot in arcades and on the television, the property was ported to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1992. Serious changes were made -- new enemies were created and the nasty sewer level was tacked on as a bonus -- but it more or less resembled the memorable arcade title. Flash forward to now, the year 2009. The title has made another platform hop, this time reborn as a downloadable title for Xbox LIVE Arcade (and PSN in November). It’s not a port by our definition, but you could argue that it is. Ubisoft Singapore repurposed the arcade version, creating a new 3D engine and adding visual touches, as well as fresh sound and attack animations. The original release is still alive in this version, which causes a bit of hesitancy on my part to call this a true “remake.” It’s more like a “Special Edition” -- a playable homage to the original. The re-shelling is a sore spot. This is a side-scrolling brawler, pointlessly re-tooled with a 3D engine. Its nature demands that it adheres to 2D, and it does despite the ability to attack in eight directions. Enemies still plod toward you in straight lines, but now it’s across invisible planes. There’s a measure of frustration associated with this. It’s occasionally hard to ascertain which plane enemies are attacking from. It becomes even more confusing when four turtles clot the screen along multiple planes. The combat is mundane and without nuance. There are four attacks: a basic melee, a special (basic) melee, an aerial melee, and a sliding melee. With the exception of the special attack, everything is activated with the press of a single button. Unlike Fable II, the basic button smashing does nothing for the game. There aren’t any combinations or special depression activations. There are, however, flourishes. You can grab an enemy by his ankles and smash him into the ground or throw him into the television screen, but these are random occurrences. This, coupled with the lack of even a basic combo, makes for a stale experience of the mindless variety. Bosses don’t break the monotony, as they require almost no thought to bring down. The most advanced strategy you can use in the game is the jump attack, and let’s face it, the fact that a boss is flying is a big [CENSORED] clue to use an aerial attack. One bright spot is the presentation. The two cut-scenes are wretched, but the actual game looks great. The turtles have a stylized appearance, almost akin to the new Ninja Turtles cartoon, while the environments are detailed and emit a warm, light-hearted vibe that fits the tone of the game. The enhanced music and sound effects are nice touches, although, it would have been great if there were more dialogue lines than, “Ouch my toe (or nose)!” A special lashing is required for the Sewer Surfin’ level. There’s a reason it was tacked on in the SNES version of the game. It’s very arcadey, seemingly designed to snatch quarters. While you surf atop icky green ooze, a gamut of environmental obstacles -- soldiers, red sewer urchins (or whatever), and swinging gates -- present themselves in unavoidable instances. Response to the obstacles is difficult because the turtles move like they’re underwater, pushing against an invisible current. But the kicker is that whenever an obstacle knocks a turtle down, he can get whacked by another (and then another) while stuck in the recovery animation. This happens with bosses as well, and it’s endlessly frustrating. Like most brawlers, this game is at its best when played with three other people over Xbox LIVE or locally. Enemies receive a bit of a health boost and bosses receive a fascinatingly larger one as a party gets larger. The looping attacks of bosses spoil the fun. More health means more time spent on getting caught up in a whirlwind of terrible. Not good. There are no continues. A set number of lives is dictated by the difficulty level. This can be a bit of a bummer when playing with pals. Watching is not playing, but the good (and bad news) is that the game is short. I was able to beat it in less than 30 minutes on the easiest difficulty and within 45 with friends on the average setting. I don’t have an intimate connection with the source material, but memories did flood back to me in waves as I jumped from level to level. Unfortunately, nostalgia doesn’t operate in this game’s favor: it’s too faithful to the original. The broken levels, mundane combat, meager play options, and short play time are factors that dwarf the delicious presentation and whatever fond memories you may have. If you’re a Turtles fan, just remember the good times. There’s no reason to try to rekindle them with this.

Premiere Date: August 20, 2019 Developer: 4A Games Publisher: Deep Silver Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS MINIMUM: OS: Windows 7/8/10 Processor: Intel Core i5-4440 or equivalent Memory: 8 GB memory Graphics Card: GeForce GTX 670 / GeForce GTX 1050 / AMD Radeon HD 7870 DirectX: Version 11 Storage space: 59 MB available space Sound Card: DirectX Compatible Sound Card RECOMMENDED: OS: Windows 10 Processor: Intel Core i7-4770k or equivalent Memory: 8 GB memory Graphics Card: GeForce GTX 1070 / GeForce RTX 2060 / AMD RX VEGA 56 DirectX: Version 12 Storage space: 59 MB available space Sound Card: DirectX Compatible Sound Card DESCRIPTION OF ADULT CONTENT The developers describe the content as follows: This downloadable content may include content that is not appropriate for all ages, or may be inappropriate for job browsing: Frequent violence or bloodshed, General adult content Earlier this year, 4A Games’ Metro series took an ambitious step forward, as it shed the linear, claustrophobic nature of the first two beloved games in the series, and attempted to deliver something more vast and open. It was a move that mostly paid off, and Metro Exodus was yet another excellent entry in the series. But while the more open-ended sections of the game were mostly well done and added plenty to the experience, Exodus was still at its best when it was delivering its linear set-piece moments. The shooter’s first expansion, The Two Colonels, goes all-in on that linearity, shedding the base game’s semi-open world trappings to go back to the series’ roots in what feels like a love letter to fans- but it doesn’t leverage its linear nature as well as the series has done in the past. There’s nothing offensively bad about The Two Colonels – in fact, in the storytelling department, it’s pretty much toe-to-toe with the base game, and even better in some ways – but all said and done, it’s a thoroughly unremarkable expansion. "There’s nothing offensively bad about The Two Colonels – in fact, in the storytelling department, it’s pretty much toe-to-toe with the base game, and even better in some ways – but all said and done, it’s a thoroughly unremarkable expansion." Storytelling is where The Two Colonels is at its best. The actual story told here is solid enough, if nothing special, but it’s the way it’s told that makes it so special. The Two Colonels acts as a side story running alongside a particular section of Exodus and as a collection of flashbacks at the same time. Colonel Miller heads into the depths of the Novosibirsk metro with Kirill – a character you’ll remember from the base game – providing support over the radio as the colonel looks to retrieve some green stuff for his ailing daughter. But the bulk of the DLC takes place in the past, with this being used as a framing device to tell another story. That story is that of Colonel Khlebniko, Kirill’s father, and the story of how this particular metro settlement tore itself apart when things went south. The Two Colonels draws some interesting parallels between Miller and Khlebniko, and does so without ever resorting to heavy-handed techniques. While doing so, it juggles a few other important plot points, such as the relationship between Khlebniko and Kirill, and the way the leadership of the metro deals with a civil uprising when the situation turns dire, and the morally troublesome situations that leads to. The Two Colonels successfully delivers on all fronts as far as the storytelling is concerned. The voice acting is still a bit spotty, but I expect that’s something Metro fans have grown used to by now, and honestly, it doesn’t affect the experience that much. The relationship between Khlebniko and his son is developed very well, and The Two Colonels also handles the uncomfortable nature of the metro’s leadership resorting to authoritarian methods and militaristic force against its civilian po[CENSORED]tion with surprising deftness. What also elevates the storytelling is the fact that the main playable protagonist, Colonel Khlebniko, is not mute, unlike series protagonist Artyom. Having an actual character – and one that’s developed and written pretty well – as the leading man does wonders for the story, and just drives the point that Artyom’s unwillingness to speak in the main games is unnecessary even further. "Having an actual character – and one that’s developed and written pretty well – as the leading man does wonders for the story, and just drives the point that Artyom’s unwillingness to speak in the main games is unnecessary even further." If The Two Colonels were being judged solely on the merits of its storytelling, this would be a much more positive review. Unfortunately, in other areas, the DLC falls short. The most obvious flaw working against it is its length- at just two (or three, at most) hours long, there’s not a lot of content here, and it ends far too quickly. There simply isn’t enough time to allow players to actually immerse themselves in any gameplay aspects. The other big issue is, the gameplay aspects are nothing to write home about. On paper, the biggest thing The Two Colonels has going for it is its return to linearity. Its claustrophobic and grimy environments are something series fans will be very happy to see. But unlike Metro 2033 and Metro: Last Light, The Two Colonels doesn’t use that claustrophobia very well. The horror vibes are noticeably absent, and in their absence, what’s left behind – the trademark heavy movement, the methodical gameplay, and the quieter moments – end up feeling like a slog. The first major chunk of the DLC sees players heading into the tunnels to burn away an infestation of slime and huge, mutated worms, but there’s no urgency and threat of danger here. Some worms occasionally attack you, but a huge portion of this section sees you doing nothing but walking through extremely linear corridors, burning stuff on the walls with your flamethrower, and occasionally doing other stuff like turning off valves or cranking your weapon. Even the exploration and crafting mechanics are heavily pared back, which means there isn’t much to do in this section, and what’s there is, frankly, a little boring. "The horror vibes are noticeably absent, and in their absence, what’s left behind – the trademark heavy movement, the methodical gameplay, and the quieter moments – end up feeling like a slog." Things do pick up in the second half, which is a lot more action-packed, but none of it lasts long enough to make any kind of an impact. There’s also the fact that, like the base game, The Two Colonels’ shooting isn’t the best, so to have an important chunk of the DLC be more action-oriented instead of horror-oriented in spite of the claustrophobic environments feels like an incongruous choice. The poor usage of linear, underground environments just feels like a major missed opportunity all around. By the time The Two Colonels ended, it had done very little for me. I enjoyed the story and the way it was told, and going into it with prior knowledge from the base game of what happens to the metro settlement made for a tragic tale. Sadly, actually playing through the DLC was boring at worst, and completely unremarkable at worst, not to mention the fact that it was over far too quickly for any of it to make any sort of impact. Fans of the series and the base game will probably enjoy what’s on offer here, but even so, I wouldn’t recommend The Two Colonels with much enthusiasm.

Premiere Date: May 21, 2019 Genre: Action-adventure game Developer: Fallen Tree Games Publisher: Curve Digital Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows The original Grand Theft Auto is responsible for an awful lot. At the time of its release, its ultraviolent, top-down shenanigans caused outrage and even got it banned in several countries, highly censored in others. But its po[CENSORED]rity set the games industry up for life, helping to prove that games weren’t just for kids, and that they could push against convention and challenge the norm like no other medium. It also inspired, and has continued to inspire with each iteration. The latest game to crib from the series is isometric crime sim American Fugitive, which eschews the modern 3rd-person stylings already homaged to death by Saints Row and others, and instead cribs heavily from the original King of Controversy. Only, now it’s not controversial any more. In fact, it’s barely worth raising an eyebrow to in 2019. Your character, Will Riley, is framed for the murder of his father in the first 20 seconds of the game. You know he didn’t do it, but no one else does, and so it’s straight to jail, no passing GO and no $200. What’s slightly weird is that you’re presented with apparent narrative choices throughout, which do absolutely nothing, such as whether to wake Will’s wife or sneak out when he receives the call from his father. The events play out the same regardless. Anyway, Will is on the run. After the world’s easiest prison break (you literally jump the fence and escape through a sewer pipe) he’s out in the world and must set about proving that he’s innocent of murder by breaking almost every law there is. Including murder. Luckily the protagonist’s best friend owns a salvage yard, which makes up for him being an unlikeable Redneck douchebag who is clearly a liability where discretion is concerned. By the golden grace of undeserved fortune, his salvage business turns out to be the best ticket to finding the Truth (at least at to begin with), as the first thing he has Will do as a freshly-escaped convict with limited time to avenge the murder of his father and clear his name, is steal a car. Then murder a dude, then steal a cop car, then… Well you get it. The fact that your character literally has no life skills beyond stealing cars and threatening people means you’ve no choice but to just do it, and that’s the most irritating thing: American Fugitive pretends there’s a choice involved, but there isn’t. You can avoid collateral damage until you have to kill a bunch of people just because your buddy is in a family feud with them. You can choose to be nice to people or not in dialogue, but it ultimately makes no difference. In the original GTA, which this draws almost all of its inspiration from, if you get blown up or arrested, you’re led to believe you paid the hospital fees or the bail money and that’s that. You’ll suspend your disbelief for the rest. In this, though, that makes no sense. Because as a fugitive you can’t make bail and you have no money to pay anything, so when you’re cornered by the cops they just shoot you (it even says WASTED in big letters when it happens) and you respawn back at the nearest sewer pipe with zero equipment. It’s a weird kind of reset and just feels frustrating given how easy it is to die or fail a mission. Controlling cars can be a little unruly; they slide all over the road, skid easily and take an age to stop even with the handbrake. Conversely, stealing them is easy, but every single one is alarmed. The worst thing is that because the screen is so close, you can’t see what’s ahead of you, whether it’s a corner, a dead-end, or a park bench full of civilians who you’re about to plough through and quadruple your Wanted starts. Most of the time when the police are after you, you’re better off bailing and going on foot. This way you can crouch, hide in bushes and slip between obstacles to break line of sight with your pursuers. One thing that works pretty well is the house-breaking. You can break into pretty much every building you see, although there are some with secure locks that you simply can’t get into without the right key. Sometimes you might just use a rock to smash a window (which you can peak in first to check the coast is clear), or maybe you’ll jimmy the backdoor. You might even lurk in the shadows for the homeowner to walk past and then beat them half to death to take the doorkey. If you break in and someone is there and you have a gun, you can hold them up and rob them (as you can in shops); if you have rope, you can restrain them. Sadly you can’t see any of this happening, as each building is presented as a top-down collection of featureless black shapes that you move an icon back and forth between and hit A to search. You can find all sorts of things from important documents that highlight points of interest on the map, to items you can pawn, weapons, food or money. Sometimes you’ll be careless and you’ll be detected, in which case you’ll have to hurry before the police come, and actions like searching will speed up the timer. If you’re spotted committing a crime and are reported, you’ll need to ditch your car (or take it to the spray shop – yes, it really is that much of a “homage”) and change your clothes. In this instance, anything will do, and a yellow summer dress will somehow render Will invisible to the authorities. 6-foot Will and his strawberry blond beard attract nary so much as an inappropriate hat-tip when he strolls around this sleepy, 1980s town. Right. Admittedly, these things add an element of excitement to breaking and entering, and as with all the crimes you’re forced to commit, you’ll always weigh up the pros and cons first. That being said, pros and cons don’t matter much because you have no choice but to commit crimes, either for the story or for the money you need to level up your skills. The skill tree is quite large and every time you complete a mission or find a specific secret, you’ll unlock an upgrade point to improve things like stamina (Will can only run a few steps before he’s out of breath otherwise), inventory space, starting equipment and housebreaking techniques. Unfortunately you need money as well as these points, and money isn’t all that easy to come by, at least in the early few hours. There’s no denying that American Fugitive is reminiscent of the original top-down crime-spree simulator, but the house-breaking, stealth and sneakery also help to create its own atmosphere. I’m not 100% sold on Will’s motivations here, and the set-up is a little clichéd, but the gameplay is just about enough to make up for the lack of likeable characters or compelling development. If you’re not looking for anything particularly original, American Fugitive is a decent adventure with enough good ideas and atmosphere to keep you interested.

Turkey lowers bank fees 8 times The commission for opening and managing an account falls The Turkish government has lowered the fees and commissions that banks can collect from their customers. The news was announced by the Turkish Central Bank and a banking regulator in our southeast neighbor, Reuters reports. According to new regulations issued by the Turkish Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency, published in the State Gazette of the country, the bank commissions that private clients pay for opening and managing accounts are also eliminated. The maximum fee for electronically transferring money through an ATM is fixed at 2 pounds, while up to 17 pounds. The fee for such an operation through an ATM of a bank other than the one where the user's account is is reduced from 67 to 5 pounds. The announced measures will reduce from 20 to 16 the different fees that banks can charge their corporate clients. Turkish Finance Minister Berat Albayrak has announced that the upper limit on the fee that banks charge to their customers for electronically transferring money from 850 to 100 Turkish pounds will also be lowered. "With every step we take, we continue to prioritize protecting our citizens' interests and reducing their costs," Albairak wrote on Twitter. Apart from the Turkish central bank, they announced that the number of fees that banks can charge their private customers for their various products and services is reduced from 2400 to 51. The fees in question are paid for four categories of products and services - loans, foreign trade, funds management and means of payment. The central bank explains that the declines are caused by a sharp rise in consumer complaints, which have increased as the Turkish lira weakened against the dollar and the euro. According to the regulator's statement under the current arrangements, commissions are far from the international average and can lead to excessive customer billing. The reduced rates are effective March 1 this year.

Which zodiac signs are the richest people in the world Most are the billionaire representatives of the Libra zodiac sign Billionaires are obviously born under happy stars. The accumulation of conditions such as those of the richest people in the world is the result of many factors. But often the main reason for success is the intervention of fate. In the video from Channel 7's Best of VBOX7, see what are the richest zodiac signs. Twins The number of billionaires who are the twin Zodiac sign in the world is 15. Among them are Reuters owner David Thomson and James Walton, who is the heir to the largest Walmart retail chain in the world. Scorpio The number of billionaires who are the Scorpio zodiac sign in the world is 16. Among them are Steve Jobs' widow, Lorin Jobs, and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. The lion The number of billionaires who are the zodiac sign Leo in the world is 20. Among them are the chairman of the computer technology corporation "Oracle" - Larry Ellison and gambling tycoon Sheldon Adelson. Taurus The number of billionaires who are the Taurus zodiac sign in the world is 20. Among them is Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Crab The number of billionaires who are the Cancer Zodiac sign in the world is 20. Among them is Tesla founder Ilon Musk. Fish The number of billionaires who are the Pisces zodiac sign in the world is 22. Among them is media tycoon Rupert Murdoch. Libra Most are the billionaire representatives of the Libra zodiac sign. They are 27, including fashion designer Ralph Lauren.

Painted hanger for the hallway Instead of the standard hanger, you can create one that resembles tree twigs. Draw a tree on a plane and attach the hooks to the suspension. For an even more enjoyable effect, if you have a mirror in the hallway, paint the frame in the same color as the hanger to make the two pieces flush with one another. The hanger can be whatever height you want, but it is best if it is the height of a human fight. Materials needed: - plywood or MDF board - ruler - a pencil - model knife - paint tape - paint in the desired color - paint brush - furniture hooks or wooden dowels Instructions: 1. Cut a surface of desired size from a plywood or MDF board. If the surface is any other color, apply 2 coats of white paint on it so you can paint the pattern on it. Allow the paint to dry and outline with a ruler and pencil the twigs of the tree in one half of the plane. You can customize the size and shape of your choice. 2. Cover with paint strips that do not want to be painted by following the contours of the pattern. All exposed parts will be colored, so work carefully. With a dummy knife, remove any residue from the tape. 3. Using a round paint brush, apply the paint to exposed parts of the plywood or MDF board. Allow it to dry slightly and apply another coat of paint to achieve a more intense color. 4. Allow the paint to dry slightly and remove the paint tape from the board very carefully. Allow the paint to dry completely. You can apply a layer of colorless polyurethane compound to protect the paint from damage. 5. Mark the points at which you will mount the suspension hooks. Drill with a drill and secure 1 wooden dowel with a little glue. You can apply a little brown paint on the hooks before mounting them. If you want, you can make a mirror frame of the same plywood or MDF board, paint it in the same color and put them side by side. Hang the hanger on the wall with screws, rest it on the wall or mount a wooden stand in the back.

Ape Out is a rhythm game developed by Gabe Cuzzillo and published by Devolver Digital. The game was released for Microsoft Windows and Nintendo Switch on February 28, 2019. Premiere date: February 28, 2019 Engin: Unity Genre: Beat 'em up Publisher: Devolver Digital Programmers: Bennett Foddy, Matt Boch, Gabe Kuzzilo Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, MacOS, Mac OS Ape Out is Hotline Miami on an intense diet of bananas and Buddy Rich records; a top-down simian splatterfest set to a superb soundtrack of jazzy drums and crashing cymbals, bundled into an extremely elegant and cool package. Blending elements of old-timey film and vinyl with a sharp, bold 2D aesthetic and bucketloads of blood, Ape Out is striking to look at and properly addictive to play. The premise is simple: The apes are in, and they need to be out. That’s where we come in, steering these simians to an exciting escape through four short but regularly tough chapters, plus a fun epilogue with a slight twist. The location might be a shady research lab or a labyrinthine container ship and its nearby port, but the objective is constant: sprint to the exit, smash anything you can, and slaughter everyone in the way. The controls are simple, too, a perfect match for Ape Out’s striking, minimalist art style. Outside of movement, there are just two actions in Ape Out – shove and grab. Shoving enemies will send them sailing until they drop to their deaths, smash into pulp against a wall, or slam into another person, liquefying both in a bloody explosion. Shove is also how the apes blow through plate glass and pound their way through some doors. The grab, meanwhile, is useful for procuring human shields, making use of their panicked trigger fingers to blast their comrades and to direct where exactly to throw your victims for maximum devastation. The occasional steel door will also need to be wrenched from its hinges. These two moves were all I needed to feel like a big hairy piledriver of primate rage, flinging hapless humans around as though they’re weightless. So yes, Ape Out is uncomplicated. But that doesn’t mean it’s a pushover. Chimpin’ Ain’t Easy At its default difficulty, Ape Out is a steady challenge that I knocked out across a couple of afternoons. There were a couple of late levels that caused me some strife and bogged me down with what felt like a disproportionate amount of do-overs but, overall, I found it a fair and fun contest. Except for explosions, apes can survive two hits before dying to a third, so you can generally afford a mistake or two. Also, enemies don’t fire the millisecond you become visible to them; the apes have a small window to charge or dart back into cover. It’s very satisfying peeling back the banana peel-like layers of what’s possible in Ape Out, despite the fact it only requires two buttons. “ Ape Out’s levels are largely procedurally generated, save for some key bottlenecks that remain the same regardless of the rest of the level changing around it. Layouts are generally just a grab-bag of same-same rooms, hallways, and wide-open spaces cobbled together in slightly different ways, but there’s enough variation that it’s an effective way to make every area feel dangerous, regardless of how many times it’s been played. There’s no one quick or safe route through a level. There are, however, a few fun scripted blitzes through hallways and corridors of enemy-filled elevators that everybody will encounter, and I would’ve liked to experience more of these memorable moments I could pin on a piece of specific, deliberate piece of level design. One thing I particularly admire about Ape Out is how tactics and takedown methods only reveal themselves via trial-and-error, or by accidentally stumbling into them on the first go. Factors like how many times the different sorts of enemies will fire their weapons after being grabbed, or which ones will run if you chase them and which ones will stand their ground can be cleverly exploited and countered once you know their habits. These tricks revealed themselves to me over time in a satisfying way: I discovered almost instantly I could turn enemies into a red stain by slamming open a container door if they were standing near, but I’d played for hours before I realised I could throw back bombs. It’s very satisfying peeling back the banana peel-like layers of what’s possible in Ape Out, despite the fact it only requires two buttons. Aped Crusader Arcade Mode ramps up the difficulty considerably, adding a strict time limit to each level and sending you right back to the beginning of the whole chapter if and when your ape is killed. There’s also a harder setting for the standard game which speeds up enemies and adds a lot more of them. It’s noticeably trickier and I had to play it at a slower pace than the standard difficulty, taking more care not to charge into areas I could be swamped in. I like Ape Out at its regular difficulty more, though, because I think the pace is better. Everything going on in the background is a freestyle drum solo timed with your actions and the atmosphere it creates is brilliant. “ I also like the way Ape Out’s huge walls stretch all the way out of screen, looming high over the vibrant orange apes and bright-red blood splatters, adding depth along the Z-axis and obscuring the level ahead. It adds a layer of pressure you don’t necessarily get in other top-down games like Hotline Miami or The Hong Kong Massacre, where you can see into upcoming rooms and spaces and prepare to deal with enemies who can’t see you yet. I like everything about the presentation, to be honest, from the cue marks that flicker in the right-hand upper corner at the halfway point in each chapter, like I have some kind of personal projectionist changing film reels in the background for me, to the way the level names burst onto the screen in time with the music. And the music? God, it’s good. Each of the chapters has its own drumming style and tempo, which ramps up dynamically as the pace of your rampage increases, and the death of every enemy is punctuated with a cymbal smash or some kind of atonal squeak subbing in as a desperate scream before they explode. Everything going on in the background is a freestyle drum solo timed with your actions and the atmosphere it creates is brilliant. Verdict Ape Out is an intoxicating fusion of percussion and destruction that oozes style from every angle. Its procedurally built levels tend to blend into one another a bit but its bloody rampages are filled with nuance. Beneath the simple controls is depth that’s kept me returning for days after successfully completing the epilogue. Gorgeous and compulsive, if this ’50s-inspired, jazz-fueled jaunt is the future of gorilla warfare, the team behind Ape Out can make a monkey out of me anytime.

Little Misfortune is a 2019 dark fantasy adventure video camera, developed and published by the independent Swedish studio Killmonday games. Premiere Date: April 22, 2019 Developer: Killmonday Games Genre: Adventure game Engin: Unity Publisher: Killmonday Games Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Android, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, iOS, Linux, MacOS, Mac OS SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Windows MINIMUM: Requires 64 bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 7 64-bit or higher Processor: Intel (R) Core (TM) i5-6300U CPU @ 2.5 GHz Memory: 8 GB memory Graphics Card: Intel (R) HD Graphics 520 Storage space: 8 GB available space Additional Notes: Please be aware that this game is designed with 16: 9 in mind. RECOMMENDED: Requires 64 bit processor and operating system Little Misfortune is the second game from Swedish developers, Killmonday Games, and comes after their hugely po[CENSORED]r and successful first game, Fran Bow, which I have not completed. But don't worry, because even though these games do take place within the same universe, they are separate games. However, if you have played Fran Bow, you might get a little extra kick out of it. Where to begin with this game, then? I have mixed feelings about it to be honest. In fact, I don't really know how to feel about it. It is definitely a good game, and if you like weird and strange games that mess with your mind and emotions, then you're definitely going to like it. And I DO like it. I want to be clear about that. So, we control Misfortune Ramirez Hernandez, an 8 year old girl, living in her little town, with her parents, her toys, and her glitter. One day, as she sits glittering things up, she starts to hear a voice inside her head. Mr. Voice, as she aptly names the owner, asks her if she wants to play a game. At the end of this game, is a prize. Eternal Happiness. Something which is sorely needed in the life of Misfortune. Not just for her, but for her mommy as well. And maybe her dad too, although maybe not. That is a complex situation, which you'll learn more about. Just be careful - if you have any experience of an unhappy childhood, then you might be overcome with a strong sense of familiarity, and it might not be easy for you. Anyway... Misfortune of course accepts the challenge of the game, and so off we go out into the wilderness of the town surrounding our home, on a peculiar little adventure, looking for a fox, whom we've named Benjamin. Who is Benjamin? We don't know. He's a fox. We like him. He's pretty. And dashing. And… our friend? Not sure. Our mind is messed with. Gotta keep your wits about you. Gotta be aware. As we go, we run into all kinds of different things and situations. We meet other animals. Some seem nice and wholesome. Others seem bad and degenerate. There's not much interaction, but that's ok. We have Mr. Voice in our head, guiding us, providing us with insight, leading us down the road to Eternal Happiness, whatever that is. Misfortune has a LOT to say, and I mean a LOT. And this is great because she is obviously the best thing about the game. She is voiced by Killmonday's Natalia Martinsson (artist and co-writer/designer), who does an absolutely fantastic job. Seriously, this is some of the best voice work I've ever listened to in any game. It's up there. I cannot fault it in any way. It is perfect. Without this voice, the game would not even be half of what it is. It's vital! The only other prominent voice is that off Mr. Voice himself, and he is also top-notch. He sounds British. And very narratory. Like he's talking over a child's edutainment film. And it works very well. I can't praise this voice work enough. I don't want to say too much else about the game, and its story, because I don't want to spoil even the tiniest thing. I think you just need to play it. It's the kind of game that is going to mean different things to different people. But what I can say is that there is a definite exploration of a troubled childhood. Misfortune is not happy. Her home life is not good. She's alone. She loses herself in her imagination. And she talks about it all with an innocence and a naivety that only a child could, and would, have. She doesn't really get it. She knows things are wrong. But she doesn't know why. And out in the wider world - the real world - where things are dark and scary - she talks about that in the same way. It's alien to her, but familiar too. She understands things but without the actual ability to understand or process them. So everything is all "Yay!" and "Sparkly!" and "Happy!" It is both adorable and sad at the same time. That's all I can really say about it. That's all I want to say about it. You have to get in there yourself and feel it. And feel you will. You might even… nope, that's all I can say. Why do I have mixed feelings? Well, not for any really negative reason. As I say, I like this game a lot, but I can't help but wish that it had delved just a little deeper into the emotional turmoil of a child in trouble. A child lost in a world too big and real for them. Striving to find answers. Being conflicted. Trying to reason whether this thing they're doing is right, or wrong. Is it going to solve their problems, or make them worse? What IS happiness anyway? How can we even know, if we don't even feel like we've ever experienced it? We are presented with all manner of questions and thoughts like this - which is why I like it - but, I just have that little nagging sense that we could have gone just a bit deeper. Gameplay wise, this is not your typical point-and-click adventure. We don't have an inventory, and there aren't any real puzzles to solve. What we do get are some little mini-game type things that we need to partake in, to help us on our way, and these are quite fun. The game actually bills itself as an "Interactive Story," and I think this description fits it perfectly. One prominent feature is that of making choices. And as we're told, there is no right or wrong, there are just consequences. And there ARE consequences. So try to think about things a little before you decide which way to go. You can always play through again and make different choices, which probably would be a good idea, just to absorb every single piece of the game, to get that full appreciation. How does the game look and sound? Fantastic! The art is atmospheric - dark and cheery in all the right places. And there are some really cool animated cinematics which really bring things to life. The music is composed by Isak Martinsson, and it's very good. There are some full on stand out tracks for the animations and certain scenes, and some more quiet background tracks for the general gameplay. All in all, there's nothing to complain about in these regards. Before you start playing, you can mess with some options. There are separate volume controls for speech, sound effects and music, a range of resolutions, and some other simple things, to allow you to get things just how you need them. You can replay the cinematic cutscenes from the main menu, which is always a nice feature. And finally, you can take another look through the collectible dolls that you find throughout the game, if you want to ponder on their philosophical meanings some more. All in all, this is a great little game. It's kind of short at only 4 hours, but importantly, it doesn't feel too short, so you won't be left hanging. Killmonday continues to show they have a good grasp of narrative story telling within the gaming medium, and I look forward to anything and everything that they put out in the future.

The European version of the Ford Mustang Mach-E promises up to 600 km At a fast-charging station, the model takes about 10 minutes to recharge a 90-mile battery. Ford will launch as many as 18 new electrified vehicles in Europe by the end of next year, with the attack being led by Mach-E, the brand's first clean electric vehicle. Introduced at the Go Electric event, held in London, the European version of the model features tuned for European roads and driving style, steering, steering, ESC and four-wheel drive. - Equipped with a large battery (98.8 kWh capacity) and rear axle drive only, the European Mustang Mach-E will offer 600 km of WLTP cycle. The company says that 85% of pre-orders (though their number has not been revealed) are for the larger battery model. The standard has a capacity of 75.7 kWh. More details will be available during the Geneva Motor Show in early March, where the general public will be able to see Mach-E. If you are lucky to get into one of IONITY's 150 kW charging stations, the Mustang Mach-E will take about 10 minutes to charge the battery for about 90 km. Ford is among the core members (along with BMW, Daimler and VW Group) and IONITY. The consortium is building 400 fast-core stations in key locations across Europe. The Mustang Mach-E relies on a serious technological arsenal, including online updates for the next-generation SYNC infotainment system. It is handled through the huge 15.5 "TV. Interesting is the artificial intelligence, which must study the habits and preferences of the owner in order to adjust the functions according to them. In the US, the model is available in five versions, with a starting price of $ 43,895 (before taxes and fees). The base model has a rear-wheel drive, 75.7 kWh battery, 190 kW power and a range of up to 370 km.

Why is it so important to drink water? Water is a symbol of life and longevity. As a vital necessity, it is second only to oxygen. Our body needs water to function properly. One cannot exist without water for more than a few days, while without food he can live for weeks or even months. However, we take it for granted, without thinking of its innumerable useful qualities. According to scientists, water is a natural antioxidant for the human body. It is important not only for the functioning of all organs and systems, but also for the activation of its defenses. In addition, it actively participates in metabolism, maintains body temperature, carries oxygen and nutrients to all cells of the body, cleanses the body of toxins. water It transports nutrients and extracts waste from our cells. Helps the body break down stored fat. Therefore, the less water we drink, the greater the risk of fat accumulation. It speeds up metabolism, cleanses cells, satiates hunger and tones. How Much Water Is It Beneficial To Drink? Water helps muscles to function normally as they are made up of 70% water and are directly dependent on the quantities we consume.

Virtual Reality met a mother with her dead daughter Some say the video is touching, but others see it as exploitation The reunion between a mother and her dead daughter via virtual reality on South Korean television has become an online hit, Frans reported. The footage began with the girl - who died of leukemia in 2016 - appearing behind a pile of firewood in a park, as if playing hide and seek. "Mom, where was she?" She asks. "I miss you so much. Did I miss you?" With tears streaming down her face, Zhang Li Sung reached out to her, emotion-filled. "I missed Yeon," she said to her computer-generated six-year-old daughter, her hands moving to caress her hair. But in the real world, Zhang stood in front of a cold green screen, wearing virtual reality headphones and touch-sensitive gloves, with a locket on her neck holding her daughter's ashes. Sometimes the camera was passed on to Zhang's wife and their three surviving children, rubbing their tears. Many viewers offered Zhang their sympathy and supported the innovative concept. "My mother passed away unexpectedly two years ago and I wish I could meet her through virtual reality," said one. But Park Sang Hong media expert said the documentary was an exploitation of personal pain. It took eight months of filming and programming to create the virtual Yeon, but the makers of the documentary insist that the broadcast is intended to "comfort the family" and not to promote virtual reality in South Korea. The technology presented "a new way to keep loved ones in our memory," one of the producers told reporters. Zhang herself - who has tattooed on her daughter's name and date of birth - hopes the program will "comfort" others who have lost loved ones. "Although it was very short ... I was really happy at the moment," she wrote on the blog. During the broadcast, the two sat down at a table to celebrate Nai Yeon's missing birthdays, singing "Happy Birthday" together. Before blowing the candles, Yon wished her mother would stop crying.

Spirits The Slavic spirits are provisionally called all the supernatural beings who, according to the Slavs, inhabit the surrounding world. The Slavs themselves most often call these beings demons, which in pre-Christian times denotes absolutely all spirits, demons, etc., regardless of their functions and character (good or evil). In essence, they are different from the gods. The gods are omnipotent, they embody the basic characteristics of nature or of human nature and social life, and can accordingly direct, model everything on the World Tree - life, death, love, marriage, birth, disease, fertility, misery, strength, weakness , rains, droughts, earthquakes, light, darkness, heat, cold, etc. All of their actions give rise to some concern for humanity or nature, no matter how it manifests itself in this particular case - as a benefit or as harm. Care here is not necessarily in the interest of man, it is not only aimed at his well-being, but somehow has a definite lasting focus on maintaining a basic universal principle. Much more elemental, inferior, and powerless are all demons, spirits, souls, and other supernatural creatures. True, they have one or the other magical possibilities, but these possibilities are in a rather narrow field and are used to achieve a very minor effect, which is more a projection of the instantaneous whim of the creature than a manifestation of a purposeful pursuit of anything. it was. In addition, the supernatural beings listed below are subordinate to the gods themselves, though to a lesser extent than humans. They are not so vitally dependent on divine favor, but are compelled to obey it in order not to be subjected to "heavenly punishment" and it is their punishment that distinguishes them from divine powers, which are generally unpunishable. And if the gods are mostly subject to religious beliefs and reverence, then the other supernatural beings are subject only to mythology and superstition. Therefore, people are only afraid of them, as they fear beasts and diseases, while they treat gods with awe, respect, and even love. BANNY - the spirit that inhabits the bathroom. Not much is known about him. BREGINI - female spirits inhabiting the banks of rivers and lakes. They are believed to be abducting children. WINGS - Spirits inhabiting marshes. If a person gets very close to a marsh, the marshmallows can suddenly pop out of the mud and drag it to the bottom, drowning it. VILLAS, SAMOVILI - beautiful female forest spirits, related to the self-models, with human appearance and large wings. The villas live in hard-to-reach high mountain forests, where everyone takes care of a forest animal, tree, flower, shrub or mountain stream, jealously protecting it, mainly from human damage. These beauties are particularly fond of deer that they can talk to but are quite malicious to humans. They tend to divert them from their forests, and in this pursuit they often poison the streams. They have extensive knowledge of nature and herbs, and if one manages to eavesdrop on their gatherings after sunset, they can learn how to treat a particular plant or whereabouts of hidden treasure, as well as many other secrets about the world. WATERS - Spirits, masters of rivers, streams and springs. The guide is the lord of the mermaids. It often harms people. WILD PEOPLE, FOREST PEOPLE - wild women and men, humanoid demons, all covered with dark fur inhabiting the dense mountain forests. If a person unwittingly approaches the den where their children are left, they scream at him and tear him apart. HOUSEHOLD - Spirit of the deceased ancestor or forefather of the family He is so attached to the home and his heirs alive that after his death he remains to live in the family home, to watch and care for future generations. His main concern is maintaining the family fire, which is why he lives in the hearth or furnace, the stove. The Slavs especially honor the brownie, set aside food from festive meals and leave it near the hearth to feed it. Before each new endeavor, the family prepares a special "housekeeping visit", invites relatives, and together asks questions and prayers for a blessing to the spirit, and then walks. It is believed that once the help of the brownie is requested, things will go well. When they move to a new home, the hostess picks up live coals from the old hearth, takes them to the new home, and asks the home spirit to settle there. The brownie sometimes hurts, sometimes it helps the owners, depending on whether they are respectful of him or his mood. It is especially important that the host does the job well and does not leave him hungry. When he wants food, he hits the rooms at night while people sleep. If they do not pay attention to them, the housekeeper turns away from them, and illnesses and misfortunes reach them. HOUSEHOLD, HOUSEHOLD - female domestic spirit, homeowner's partner. Another name for Kikimora. WELDER - the spirit that inhabits the yard of the house, guarding gardens, barns, hens and other ancillary buildings near the house. FIREBIRD - a mythological supernatural bird with multicolored feathers shining like fire. The Firebird inhabits the crown of the World Tree and is the herald of divine will, as it has the ability to migrate between the world of the gods of Law and the world of men. The magic bird also protects the fruit of life - the golden apple that grows on the branches of the Tree. JIVA-JUDA - Judah, a self-serving servant of the Goddess of Life and Creation Living, where her name comes from. A dragon - a huge fire-breathing monster like a dragon. The serpent is a higher evil power, the messenger of darkness, who seeks to destroy the established by divine law - Truth. Serpents do horrific evils that often call into question the survival of entire village families. They cause droughts by tapping rivers, drying up lakes, or destroying rainstorms and hailstorms, causing mass famine. The first enemy of the serpent is the god Perun - the supreme master. He pursues the dragons and engages in combat with them, always winning after a long and dangerous struggle, during which fears and storms erupt. KARACONJULI - Night Spirits. They appear in the form of low crooked people, with a large nose, bulging eyes, and a body covered with fur that wander the roads after midnight. They often sit at intersections and talk up late passengers, asking riddles or asking for services. If a person treats them with kindness and good will, karakondzhulas can help him or her, otherwise they cause him harm. According to some beliefs, they sit at the crossroads, because there are usually gallows, and the Karakondzhuls are meant to keep the spirits of the hanged from coming out of dead bodies. KIKIMORA - a domestic feminine spirit, often identified with Domnitsa. Quite in the dualistic contrasting spirit of the Slavic faith, the kikimora simultaneously helps and harms the people, and traditionally everything depends on them. Thus, if the housewife keeps her house diligent, the kikimora will do the housework for the next night, breathe in the pleasure and peaceful sleep of the children, but if the hostess is careless, lazy, the kikimora will groan from dusk until dawn, pull her hair to the children, he will wake them up in the middle of the night and scare them, he will deliberately hurt, mess up and dirty, so that the little work done will go brazen. Probably the image of the kikimora initially arises as an embodiment of the spirit of a deceased older housewife from the same home. Here the home bears not so much the importance of a house, but of a collection of people - close relatives who live under one roof. When the grandmother, the oldest housewife, the founder of the clan dies, her heirs assume that her spirit remains in the house. She is so attached and attached to him that, even after her death, she carries on her homework, continues to watch over the order like a kikimora, moaning and wickedly forcing her heirs to do their jobs conscientiously. KRAVESMORT - an evil spirit that sows plague and other contagion among rural flocks. It is most commonly seen as a black cow and mixed with cattle to do its destructive work. At night, cowmasters roam the roads, transformed into black cats or mutilated dogs, and sometimes even appear as the skeleton of a cow. The Slavs chase a craving with various rituals in which they kill suspicious animals in their flocks or burn them alive. The "suspicious" animal is defined as follows: in the evening they guard the cattle of the whole village in one barn, keep it until dawn, and at dawn take it out of the barn. Farmers begin to recognize their animals, and those who remain unrecognized are targeted for deaths and are burned. CROPS - evil spirits (from the old Bulgarian crown - plague) - carriers of the plague and all deadly diseases. They appear as ordinary people and their breath sows contagion. Another time they spit in rivers, lakes and wells and infect the water, causing mass epidemics and dying out of entire villages. KURDUSHI - small demons, helpers of wizards and witches. When devoting themselves to such people, devotees count them as Kurds, summoned and submissive spirits to assist in their magical pursuits. The Kurds are usually those who, at the behest of their master, collect bat wings, frog eyes, fingers of pendulums, strands of maidens, and any personal effects through which or over which magic will be exerted. LESNIK - forest spirit, master of forests. In general, it is predisposed to humans, as long as they do not provoke it, do not disturb the order in the forest and do not harm it. Most often, the lessee will appear as an old man with a long green beard and will try to strike a casual conversation to check whether his interlocutor is polite enough, well-mannered, well-intentioned, and honors ghosts and deities. In the course of the conversation, he will gradually reveal his essence, becoming a petite weak old man with a strange image and cunning tone, and finally he will either advise the passenger on crossing the forest safely, or guide him if he is lost, or he will fool him if it doesn't cause him more harm, depending on the conversation. Sometimes a lesion can point the wrong way and seeing that his passenger has fully trusted, following the wrong direction, to "straighten" the roads so that they all lead to the right destination. LESNITSA, LESOVITSA - partner in the forest. It is mentioned quite rarely and probably has a local character, only in some Slavic tribes. LOWERS - forest spirits hovering around forest meadows. MORA-JUDA - Judas, a self-serving servant of the goddess of death and winter Mora, where her name comes from. DREAMS - unclean, bad dead, inanimate. Generally all evil spirits of dead people. The souls of people who have died unnatural deaths (killed, suicidal, accident victims) or who have committed grave crimes and who have committed great sins that are not allowed into the world of the dead and remain in Java (our world). Here they constantly suffer and turn into evil spirits - vampires, werewolves, etc., who go out at night and torment, harass and kill people. Some seas carry their heads and stand OVINNIK - a spirit that inhabits barns, barns, hens and other farm buildings. It is similar to the janitor. If the cog is sympathetic, he watches over the grain, the straw, the stored foods, and they are kept well, and the domestic animals provide plenty of milk, many eggs. Otherwise, the stock is destroyed by moisture, mold and pests, and the cattle are sick and do not carry good breeding. OPOYTS - a bloodsucker taking the form of a leech that nestles under a person's skin and sucks his blood. Tumors cause rabies. they can be implanted in the person whose blood they sucked. POLEVIK - Polish spirits that sometimes interfere with agricultural work and sometimes help the harvesters. The Slavs respect them because they often squeal and hiss when they feel the deadly female spirit of Poludnitsa approaching, warning people working in the field. POLUDNICA - A fierce Polish spirit with the appearance of a beautiful young woman in a pure white linen shirt. The all-white garment among the Slavs is a symbol of mourning, and in this sense of death. Noon comes from "semi" and "day", which supports the belief that it only appears at noon, in the middle of the day, which is considered as dangerous and unfavorable as midnight by day. These two times of the day and night are called "bedtime" and in it people stay at home, so that they do not get bad word, do not take lessons and not be met by evil forces that harm them, because in All demons and curses are activated at midnight. One particularly powerful demon is the midday one, along with her sister-in-law, the midnight nightmare. MIDNIGHT - an evil female spirit with the appearance of an old woman in a pure white garment - sister to the noon. It wanders at "dead time" - from midnight to dawn - when all evil forces go out and the roads become tangled and "crucified", ie. lead in the wrong direction. The midnights often stand at the crossroads, along with the karakondzhuls, and if they meet a person, they cause him all the harm. ROROG - an evil invisible spirit, flying with the winds. When the whirlwind twists, the bursts spit out evil spells, disease, quarrels, hatred, and pain in the wind. MUSIC - female aquatic spirits sitting on the banks of rivers. When they cut their hair, it causes flooding. If their skin dries, they die forever. Usually, mermaids become the souls of drowned girls, killed and thrown into the river or dragged underwater by Vodnik. He is their master, but they secretly hate him and sometimes help people to confuse his plans. SAMODIVES - beautiful female forest spirits with a purely human appearance, akin to the villas. Every night, they gather in the same clearing in the most remote dense forests called the "chorea", where they dance barefoot magic magic all night, dressed in pure white long linen shirts, perhaps paying homage to the gods. During the dance, they barely touch the ground with steps, and the trampling magic herbs convey a strong healing odor. Because of this, sick people who gather enough courage go to spend the night by the fire, and are treated by the self-styled people unusually favorably, while in most cases they are too ill-treated and cause a lot of harm. Quite naked, the amphibians often ride large deer with golden horns, which are their favorite. If a hunter kills such a deer during the hunt, his patron retaliates against the hunter by blinding him or sending him an illness, followed by certain death. No one can help such patients, and if they dare to appear in the fire place, the local samodives immediately recognize them and kill them with deadly screams. The modifiers have a hard time resisting the beautiful young men they help as much as they can - turning into white horses and carrying them where they want, and even giving them three white horse hair. In time, if he gets into trouble, the man can light one of the hairs, causing the corresponding samodiva to appear and pull him out of the situation. The Samodives are afraid of the sunlight and because of separation, everyone quickly leaves the fire and hides in the forest clearings, so there is no danger of an unpleasant encounter with them during the day. SIMARGAL - A griffin-like dog with huge golden wings. It is associated with the solar cult, with soil, agriculture and fertility. Protects arable land and watches over cereals. In his role as guardian, Simargal is also perceived as a blasphemer of the law, bearer of retribution and punishment. It is quite possible that it would have been embodied in another Slavic deity and as such brought into the pantheon from the outside, which would otherwise have been a very unjustified action. It is one of the most obscure Slavic mythological images, probably borrowed from the northern Iranian Sarmatian tribes, who especially worship the mighty spirit of Simurgh, the helper of the sun, the guardian of the harvest. THALASAMS - evil spirits characteristic of Bulgarian folklore, dwelling houses and abandoned buildings. During the day, they hide in the attic, in the cellar or in the outbuildings of the yard. Somewhere, they are perceived as the spirits of the "inanimate" - the dead from the grave. The wandering spirits seek peace, shelter, and when they find a suitable home, it can be hard to get them out of there. On the contrary, goblins do their best to drive away the people in whose house they have settled. According to Bulgarian beliefs, in order to get rid of the thalasso, the owner of the home must call him to a pre-prepared table and tell him that they are celebrating a wedding. Sweet as he stands on the table, one has to stand up and say that it is time to go to the wedding party, and then take the thalassas to a remote hut in the forest (there were many such shelters for hunters, shepherds and loggers at the time). When they reach the designated hut, the man opens the door, invites the thalasso inside, leaves him some food and knits the yarn and says, "Yeah, wait here, I'll find the wedding guests to bring them in" slammed the door outside. Thalassos are believed to be home-grown and cannot handle unfinished homework and needlework. They are immediately taken to fix everything that is scattered or spoiled, so that the ball of tangled thread captures their attention for a long time. However, it is dangerous, wandering through the forest, to enter another's huts, because if a thalass is left there, it will leave with it. JUDA, JUDA-SAMOVILA - an evil female spirit with a human appearance, a relative of the villas and the self-styled. It inhabits forests and mountains and is especially po[CENSORED]r with the Bulgarian Slavs. The Jews have great magical abilities, dealing with herbs and poisoning. Sometimes they appear to young men and charm them with their beauty, thinking of marrying them. If a man marries a Jew, he abducts his soul into the world of the dead, and his body disintegrates. To protect themselves from the Jews, men wear girdles and basil sewn to their belts that repel evil spirits. Jurata - a female aquatic spirit inhabiting the coast and shallows. JAVINA - an evil spirit akin to a vampire. It appears from the blood of a murdered man forty days after the murder, and wanders through those places at night for as long as the killed man has to live under normal circumstances. Wandering, the spirit screams, jingles, cracks, creates great commotion, in the meantime

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Happy birthday !

Interesting premieres of MV Agusta, Benelli and KYMCO at Moto Expo 2020 Senaks Ltd. is one of the most active in the Bulgarian motorcycle market. Through its Motopoint moto division, Senax is a representative of leading brands in the industry - MV Agusta, Benelli, KYMCO and Quadro. The first three brands will premiere at the Moto Expo 2020. The traditional Moto Expo 2020 exhibition for the second year in a row will be held in the renovated Asiks Arena (former Festivalna Hall) from March 20 to 24, 2020. It is organized by the Association of Automobile Manufacturers and their Authorized Representatives in Bulgaria (AAP) together with the approved its long-time partner - Expo Tim Ltd. Senax's Motopoint booth will be 216 square meters in area. Visitors will be able to see several premieres on it. MV Agusta - The legendary brand MV Agusta will make three premieres this year. All three new machines were already unveiled at the EICMA 2019 in Milan in November. One is the Rush 1000 Beast Mode, which immediately became a fan cult after its premiere. With the phenomenal 212hp, this work of art by Varese overturned the concept of Necid. The engine is 4 cylinders, 4 stroke, 16 valves, 8 injectors, with a volume of 998 cubic cm. The power of the unit is actually two - 153 kW (208 hp) at 13 000 rpm and 156 kW (212 hp). .) at 13,600 rpm. The maximum torque is 116.5 Nm at 11 000 rpm. The engine weighs 186 kg and has 8-speed traction control, 4 engine tuning cards, an electronic two-way hook shifter. The Ohlins EC electronic damper has manual and automatic operation. The TFT dashboard features a 5-inch color display, cruise control, Bluetooth, GPS and an MVride navigation app. There are motor, Launch Control and more settings. The other premiere is the Brutale 1000 RR, which has the same 4-cylinder, one-liter engine. The maximum power is 153 kW or 208 hp. at 13,000 rpm. and a torque of 116.5 Nm at 11,000 rpm. Top speed is over 300 km / h. The weight is 186 kg. The third premiere of Varese is the Superveloce 800. It was designed to mark the 75th anniversary of the brand. Thanks to him, MV Agusta won the Lombardy's Design Excellence Award. With its unique style, the Superveloce 800 is shaped by the concept of "Motorcycle Art" and continues to support the fashion for motorcycle design. This award is one of the best ways to celebrate the 75th anniversary. For the neo-classic Superveloce 800 motorcycle, as with all MV products, the design approach focuses primarily on performance, allowing the function to determine the shape, the oldest tradition of MV Agusta. Currently, the Superveloce 800 is a candidate for the prestigious Compasso d'Oro 2020 Award from the ADI Foundation. It aims to support the spread of the design culture, its heritage, to promote an ethic of sustainability and quality. The engine is 3-cylinder, 4-stroke, with 12 valves, 6 injectors and a volume of 789 cc. Its power is 148 hp. at 13,000 rpm. The maximum torque is 88 Nm at 10 600 rpm. Top speed is 240 km / h. The machine weighs 173 kg. Benelli - Another legendary brand - Benelli has premieres for Bulgaria and a new color scheme (Flash Green) in small cubes. The Benelli 752 S with ABS has a modern design with sporty and captivating lines. It is a nukid capable of capturing at first sight. The engine is 2-cylinder, 4-stroke, water-cooled and 754 cubic meters, 4 valves for double-camshaft (DOHC) cylinders. Power is 56 kW (76.2 hp) at 8500 rpm. The maximum torque is 67 Nm at 6500 rpm. Benelli is reaffirming its classic line with the Imperiale 400, a replica of the Benelli-MotoBi historic range made in the 1950s. The engine is single-cylinder, 4-stroke, air-cooled and a volume of 373 cubic cm. Its power is 15.5 kW at 8500 rpm, and mass. 29 Nm at 6500 rpm. Also presented will be the new Flash Green color scheme for the BN125, TORNADO NAKED 125, BN251 and 302 S. Models as well as the facelift of the TRK502 and TRK502X models. KYMCO - KYMCO will have 2 premieres. The po[CENSORED]r Agility brand model grows to the Agility 300i R16 ABS. The scooter becomes even more practical and technological as it enters the upper segment. The scooter is definitely comfortable in town. But the Kymco Agility 300i R16 ABS is perfect for those traveling the ring or highway as well. The boot beneath the seat collects two full face helmets and the tunnel-equipped platform offers comfortable and ample space to put your feet in a natural position. The Kymco Agility 300i R16 ABS comes standard with the futuristic Kymco Noodoe Information System. This is a personal technology assistant that allows you to connect the scooter to your smartphone, eliminating any rider distraction. The Agility 300i ABS is always perfectly recognizable thanks to the Full Led lighting system. It guarantees maximum visibility for the driver. It is a true glowing signature of the scooter both during the day and the day

The owner of the chosen office in Vratsa: Cashiers are instructed to keep their lives Speculation has emerged that they are complicit in the robbery as they do not resist thieves Two masked and armed men attacked a cash center in Vratsa and robbed him. It happened around 7pm. The room had just left the last customers and the cashiers were talking to each other. One of the attackers opened the door and, with a knife in his hand, asked to be given the money. The other remained guarded outside. They put the money in a nylon envelope and fled in an unknown direction. The robbers enter the office. They turn to one of the cashiers and ask for the money. The criminals were extremely rude. "At 7.13pm, two masked men invade, threaten one cashier with a knife and demand money. 3988 BGN are missing from the cashier. 4 security cameras have captured them, ”says office owner Ivaylo Ivanov. Speculation has emerged that the cashiers are complicit in the robbery, as they do not resist the thieves. The owner flatly denied such claims. "Cashiers are instructed, should such a thing happen, to protect their health and life. This is how they are instructed when getting started. Both are quite upset. One came to work, looking half-tired and tired. There was a very large police resource. Officers worked here until late last night. I guess they will be captured, they do not look like professional thieves to me, ”Ivanov thinks.

Today celebrates everyone whose names mean "good word" and "life" Happy holiday to all who have a name day today February 13 is celebrated on St. Evlogue, Archbishop of Alexandria. He was pious and devoted to the faith of Christ. He lived during the time of Emperor Heraclius (7th century). The name Evlogi means "good word", "praise". It comes from the Greek eu which means "good" and logos - "word". On this day more St. Rev. Martinian and St. Reverend Zoya and Fotinia. The Rev. Martinian was a native of Caesarea Palestine. The name Zoya does mean "life". She was a Byzantine empress and martyr, whose memory is honored on February 13. At the age of 18, Martinian retired to a mountain in Cappadocia and spent 25 years in fasting, vigil, prayer, and fighting many temptations. When a woman came to tempt him and saw that he would fall into sin with her, he jumped barefoot into the fire and stood there until all lust was killed in him. When other temptations appeared to him, he escaped on a lonely cliff in the middle of the sea to escape from the temptation. In God's providence, the dolphin welcomed him and carried him ashore on his back. Then Martinian decided to stay nowhere permanently but constantly to travel. In two years, he traversed 164 cities, preaching and teaching the people everywhere. He finally arrived in Athens, where he remembered in 422. Name day is celebrated today by the people named Evlogi, Evlogii, Zoya.

Name Game: BalloonBoyBob Price: 8,88€-5,32€ The Discount Rate: -40% Link Store:Steam Offer Ends Up After : The offer ends on February 16 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS MINIMUM: OS: Windows 7 or later Processor: intel x86 family, 2Ghz Memory: 1 GB memory Graphics Card: opengl 2.0 supported graphics card

Everspace is a 3D space arrow player with scammer-like and non-linear story elements created by Rockfish Games. Premiere Date: September 14, 2016 Designer: Hans-Christian Kuehl Engin: Unreal Engine Developer: ROCKFISH Games Genre: Roguelike Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows, Linux, Mac OS SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Windows MINIMUM: OS: 32/64-bit Windows 7 / 8.1 / 10 Processor: Intel CPU Core i3 Memory: 4 GB memory Graphics Card: Nvidia GTX 480 / AMD Radeon HD 5870 DirectX: Version 10 Storage space: 12 GB available space Additional notes: VR Support is optional RECOMMENDED: OS: 32/64-bit Windows 7 / 8.1 / 10 Processor: Intel CPU Core i5 Memory: 8 GB memory Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce GTX 770 / AMD Radeon R9 280X DirectX: Version 11 Storage space: 12 GB available space Additional notes: VR Support is optional Everspace is a space flight sim action adventure, set in a fictional universe. Being a mid range title, it’s a safe bet to assume that many who pay for entry will be pleasantly surprised with Everspace. It has a layer of hamminess that initially feels a little jarring as we hear its arcade-like sound effects and a kind of music that subtly throws back to the old school bullet hell shooters. After space flight found in Battlefront II or the more serious stylings of Elite: Dangerous, Everspace runs the risk of existing in the wrong time in videogames’ timeline. Despite this, it pulls through and stands up firmly on its own as a strong title. INTRO A few years ago, I was introduced to The Cosmos, presented by Neil deGrasse Tyson. It was an incredibly easy show to watch, if a little patronising to its viewers. Although what it did have in abundance was spectacle. It was the kind of show that begged for a 4K viewing as Neil whizzed us around the universe in his fictional spaceship. The cosmos as he depicted it, was a place of visual splendour. Vast views of high definition planets, colourful rings around them and everything bathed in the light of a nearby star. Everspace is very similar to Neil’s cosmos in all its colourful glory. Although, its visuals are not all it has going for it. A fiendishly addictive gameplay loop props up the Everspace experience wonderfully, even if it does sometimes ask a lot from the player. Everspace released around this time last year for the PC and now enjoys a port to PS4. STORY In Everspace, we’ll play as a cocky yet confused pilot with amnesia. The further we push through each sector of the galaxy, more will be revealed about the pilot’s past as his memories return to him. One of his earlier realisations is that he is in fact, a clone of his “original” – a man who seemingly did terrible things. The pilot’s talkative A.I computer sidekick makes a point of how it’s hardly a surprise that a majority of those he encounters want to kill him. Frustrated and confused, the pilot pushes on through a post war universe to find answers about his “original” and clear his name. When all is said and done, Everspace’s story is a fairly simple fare and shouldn’t be the reason we play it. Although, the universe of Everspace hints at faction rivalries and the kind of politics one would expect as the dust settles after a furious war between between mankind and the Okkar. This sets the stage for plenty of intriguing, non-essential discoveries to be found in the many shipwrecks floating adrift. It’s important to bear in mind that Everspace was developed by just twelve people and when we see the end result, that in itself is quite impressive. This game originally released on PC after a successful Kickstarter project and when it did, RockFish Studio was still working out how to deliver a story. The end result has been a kind of comic book set of images with backing dialogue and conversations with the ship computer. Don’t expect high end cutscenes or amazing voice over work. While Everspace’s story is nothing to write to home about, it does give the events within it an important anchor to take place from. Otherwise, Everspace would be a meaningless grind. A fun grind, all the same. GAMEPLAY Where the story may be lacking in substance, Everspace’s gameplay most certainly is not. After a long day at work, sitting down to play Everspace may have been a bit of a mistake. In hindsight I was not mentally equipped at the time to deal with Everspace’s many upgrade options or complicated ship controls. To make matters worse, the tutorial was lengthy (as it rightly should be) but didn’t really sink in to my 9-5 addled brain. That was my fault. What it really means is that it’s honestly impressive how much depth has been poured into Everspace’s gameplay, almost making it a kind of flight sim RPG. No one weapon is better or worse than the last. It’ll just have attributes that demand an understanding to be used effectively. Some rockets may only damage enemy shields; some may bypass shields and punch straight through to the hull with lower damage. On top of this, Everspace has a wide array of customisable ships. Each have a long list of base attributes. Each can be unlocked and upgraded over time. Cue the player grind. It’s an in-game system that cleverly encourages a long and bountiful road of gameplay yet to come. In a lot of Everspace’s marketing material, we’re told that “death is just the beginning.” What this really means is that each time you load up Everspace, it’s all about travelling as far through space as you can before getting outgunned by the increasing pressure from enemy ships. After your ship explodes, it’s back to the hanger to use your ground out resources and credits to apply to upgrades, helping you to push that much further next time around. It’s a little like a free form wave survival. Each area is called a sector, with several sub-levels within it, offering varying levels of challenge. It’s up to the player to choose what kind of route to take through a sector. They’ll need to take into consideration their current ship capabilities and wrestle with their own greed for the better loot in tougher areas. It’s a fantastically addictive formula. A kind of “I can do better next time” attitude that is instilled in the player. Despite this, it comes off as a little jarring to start with as we may push all the way to Sector 5 only to die and end up back to square one with a better ship. That’s right – if you want to unlock every part of Everspace’s story, you’ll need to get from one end of it to the other in one session. The kind of player smarts that Everspace demands in achieving this makes it a pretty difficult game. It doesn’t take long for Okkar fleets to ambush you en masse, overwhelming you with a barrage of green and blue lasers from every direction. Each area we go to will have a kind of invisible timer before these fleets turn up, ramping up the pressure to constantly find fuel and disable jump suppressors in time to move on to the next area. Personally, I welcomed the challenge in forward planning Everspace demanded of me. Other players may not take so kindly to this kind of setup. In this way, as I much as I applaud the smart gameplay loop RockFish has implemented, Everspace may become a victim of its own success. For some players, there will be a question of just how long they’re prepared to be booted back to square one for the one hundredth time before giving up for good. To help them stick with the push, Everspace boasts a very flexible ship loadout. There’s no need to wait for death to equip new things on your ship. Enemy weapons can be harvested after combat if, luckily, one drops. The player can switch weapons out on the fly or if they have enough loot, can build new ones mid-level. It’s a lot of flexibility that certainly takes some getting used to and compliments a kind of gadgets system to give the pilot an edge. This may be a temporary ship disabling EMP blast or an override to turn enemy turrets against one another. After climbing the steep learning curve from the outset, the player will have a grasp on acceleration in space, ship manoeuvres and combining their primary and secondary weapons with gadgets to become a truly capable pilot. It takes a while. Getting there can be frustrating as I discovered some thing were possible only by directly going to the controls mapping in the options. Once you’re there however, you have a satisfying flight experience ahead of you. Everspace’s gameplay loop may be confusing to some when starting out. The narrative kicks off to get us started then won’t make another appearance until the pilot beats his last distance limit. In that way, Everspace’s story moves forward solely on the progress of the player grind. It can be a little jarring but the moment to moment gameplay, that being – fight, exploration, looting, discovery, move on – is very satisfying. Once the player has a grip on Everspace’s initial learning curve, they’ll be in for the long haul. GRAPHICS & SOUND Like Neil deGrasse Tyson’s The Cosmos, Everspace is a pretty set of space related environs to look at it. It’s for that reason alone, I’m sure the devs popped in a photo mode (some of the shots you see in this review are thanks to that). With the aforementioned grindy gameplay loop, these massive explorable skyboxes would run the risk of getting stale through force of repetition. Thankfully, this is not the case with Everspace. Every run will reward your eyes with some kind of spacey variation. Asteroid fields, offset by the blue light of a distant star. Perhaps you’ll explore post war wreckage above the ring of planet or avoid interstellar lightning that pulsates red and white (I know, dumb. But it looks great). The trusty ol’ Unreal 4 Engine has done right by RockFish and it’ll do right by your eyes too. This being a port to PS4 however, there are a few performance issues when things get a little too flashy for Eversapace’s own good. Fun as Everspace is; wicked fast as its load times are – it suffers from god awful frame rate drops. Those evil Okkar fleets that drop in on you after so long in each area? It’s like they’re fleets of system killers, here to gobble up your frame rate. That’s a heck of a lot of ships flying about and a heck of lot lasers. While that may be sweet fodder for the photo mode, live gameplay suffers so badly that you’ll want to fly away from the action just to be able to claw back a frame rate that lets you fight back. The soundscape of Everspace is an interesting one. To start with, I had mistakenly judged its soundtrack as cheap trash. Complimented in trashiness yet further by the old school plinky plonky noises of collecting things. An arcade style you’d expect to hear at an arcade box in a bowling alley somewhere. In this sentiment, I was most certainly mistaken. The more I played through Everspace, the more I realised how its music and overall sound effects complimented the game’s roots. Everspace is a true underdog rising from the ashes kind of development story and as I played on, I understood the sound design of this game reflect that. It knows it’s a mid-range game, at mid-range price and owns a kind of arcade feel, despite its deep RPG elements. It’s a kind of contrast that just works. The more I played, the more I realised just how much music was on offer, here. The further through space I pushed, the more I’d discover delightful melodies ranging from poignant piano work, to nu age synths, to mad action guitar blasts. Students of all things music tech, be sure to plug in some earphones and enjoy that bass warmth. CONCLUSION Everspace is fun and addictive. By that fact alone, it serves its purpose as an entertainment product. It now stands proudly alongside the likes of Echo and Hellblade as a mid range game, dressed in AAA clothes. The gameplay loop will absolutely keep you invested in the game, what to do next and how you want to prioritise your upgrades for the next big push through space. Frankly, the story is secondary at this rate as Everspace plays more on that grind hunger all gamers have within them. Get past that initial janky learning curve and you’ll spend a lot of time while not playing Everspace, thinking about Everspace. Thinking about what you’ll do next to push onto the next part of the soundtrack and the next beautiful segment of space RockFish had waiting for you all that time.

Premiere Date: October 9, 2018 Developer: Interactive Fate Publisher: Iceberg Interactive Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Linux, Mac OS SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS MINIMUM: Requires 64 bit processor and operating system OS: Microsoft Windows 7, 8, 10 - 64 bit Processor: Intel Core i3 or equivalent Memory: 4 GB memory Graphics Card: Intel HD4400 or dedicated DX11 GPU (1280x720) DirectX: Version 11 Storage space: 600 MB available space RECOMMENDED: Requires 64 bit processor and operating system OS: Microsoft Windows 10 - 64 bit Processor: Intel Core i5 or equivalent Memory: 8 GB memory Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce 1050 (1920x1080) DirectX: Version 11 Storage space: 600 MB available space Additional notes: Large screen highly recommended (24 "or better) From the writer of “Teleglitch: Die More Edition” comes Shortest Trip to Earth, a roguelike spaceship simulator featuring exploration, ship management, game-influencing decision-making and real-time tactical battles. Onboard combat against hostile intruders is a messy business Explore a detailed and deadly universe Embark on a perilous journey through a procedurally generated universe and explore massive space sectors crawling with exotic lifeforms. Engage in action-packed tactical combat against hostile ships, boarding parties and inter-dimensional space monsters. Each ship comes with its own strengths and weaknesses Master the art of survival by customising your ship with modular components and perks. Choose from a range of spaceships and manage life within your vessel - from crew, pets and drones to ship modules and weapons. Shape your journey through hundreds of multiple-choice events, featuring unique hand-drawn illustrations. A selection of crew types Shortest Trip to Earth features unforgiving permadeath, but you can unlock perks to increase the odds of survival on your next run. Key Features Master the art of survival in unexplored space! Explore a procedurally generated universe, packed with content Collect resources, craft modules & upgrade your ship Epic real-time tactical space battles Onboard combat, featuring hostile intruders, drones and battle-hardened pets 500+ ship modules, a variety of ship weapons and nukes 30+ unique crew weapons 50+ types of crew, drones & combat pets Hundreds of random events with unique illustrations and outcomes Every ship starts with a cat Shortest Trip to Earth sees you stranded deep in space, forced to barter, scavenge and fight your way back home. How does this top-down strategy roguelite fare? Combat is a simple but frantic affair. Tasked with traversing 10 sectors of procedurally generated space, you initially get to pick one of a number of ship designs as well as customise your start by picking from a selection of perks, some specific to the ship you choose, along with naming your crew. Once in the game proper you are presented with a star map showing local points of interest. These could be planets, debris or enemy areas and visiting the non-hostile options will generally trigger events that either award resources or cause you to lose them, whereas entering a hostile zone or otherwise encountering an enemy ship will start a battle. Travelling from point to point as you work your way to the next sector! Resource management is key in Shortest Trip to Earth; you have a number of different resources, metals (usually used for repairing your ship), synthetics (usually used for repairing ship modules), organics (used to feed and heal active crew) and more like explosives, exotics and credits. Keeping track of which modules require which resource as well as what ways you have of obtaining each is critical as you can obtain modules which will convert one to another. As well as resources, you have your crew to keep on top of. Each member has a variety of skills, from bridge management to shield and warp skill and even gardening, you’ll want as much competence as you can. Robots and pets can even help here and it’s not unusual to have the ships feline companion to be the most skilled at piloting your ragtag group home. When multiple ships get involved it gets a little hairy! Then you have battles, where your all important module choices and crew micro-management plays out. Each ship has a number of slots for a variety of modules, from cryopods (for crew to sleep in and not use up your food supply whilst travelling) and hydroponics (to grow food so when you forget to send your crew to cryo they don’t all starve) to DIY nuke launchers. How you lay these out and choose to power them can make all the difference when ordering folk between them. Battles themselves are mostly static affairs with you choosing where to fire and hoping things go where you want. Targeting specific subsystems or aiming more generally is important but it gets more involved once enemy boarding parties arrive. Shortest Trip then almost feels like an RTS as you try to micromanage the crew you have that can actually aim to fend off the invading force. Events range wildly from razing planets to the ground and making friends. Traversing the system uses up fuel but so does warping to the next system as you work your way to the end of each sector. This forces you to weigh up exploration over progression as it’s very easy to get stranded without enough fuel to progress. If this happens you can trigger an SOS beacon but you might not get a friendly response. As you warp from system to system you are constantly trying to balance upgrading your ship, levelling up your crew and trying to keep your resources in check and it’s a lot to keep on top of. The game is most definitely not easy, and unfortunately the interface doesn’t really help out. Some elements like levelling up or even selecting crew can be more tedious than they should be, requiring more clicks than necessary. But in general it’s very good about informing you about how modules work or what resources do with tooltips on everything. At first glance, Shortest Trip to Earth appears reminiscent of something akin to FTL: Faster Than Light and that’s not a bad initial comparison but Shortest Trip has a lot going on to differentiate itself from that title. The complexity of resources, modules and crew and how they all interact makes it a lot more involved than FTL, the difficulty can feel really brutal at times too. If you are hankering for a space roguelite in that vein however you’ll probably find a lot to like about Shortest Trip to Earth, just be prepared for a difficult journey ahead and be ready to take orders from your feline captain!

Programmer: Sergey Noskov Publisher: Sergey Noskov Platform: Microsoft Windows SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS MINIMUM: OS: Windows XP / 7 Processor: Intel Dual-Core 2.4 GHz Memory: 2 GB memory Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 275, GeForce GT DirectX: Version 9.0 Storage space: 720 MB available space RECOMMENDED: OS: Windows 7/10 Processor: Quad Core Processor Memory: 3 GB memory Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960, GTX 970 DirectX: Version 10 Storage space: 720 MB available space It’s difficult not to compare 7th Sector to other puzzle platforming games like Inside and Little Nightmares. These comparisons are only ever going to be positive, with both being held in very high esteem. 7th Sector rightfully stands tall alongside the other successful entries in the genre. The primary strength of games like 7th Sector is mystery, and 7th Sector definitely has an abundance. The moment the game starts, you instantly have questions. 7th Sector begins with a silhouette of a man inside of a static screen. After you push out through the power leads around you, the objective is to keep moving forward, in the form of an electronic spark. As you continue to progress over the four or so hours of story, you switch from controlling the spark to taking control of other electronic objects, ranging from a BB-8-style ball to a flying drone. For the most part, everything you take control of feels right, even for the puzzles. The one exception is a little earlier in the game, when a puzzle requires the player to possess a small remote control car. For whatever reason, the car is the only thing in the game that can go deeper into the stage, not adhering to the restriction of being 2D. At best it feels completely counter-intuitive. Variety is the biggest strength of the puzzles faced throughout 7th Sector’s story. None of them feel boring or repetitive — obviously there are puzzles that appear more than once, but they never feel stale. Despite their variety, some of the puzzles do feel quite obtuse. 7th Sector doesn’t have any tutorials or guidance, something not particularly uncommon with this style of game, but it can stand in the way of progressing. With some of the puzzles, it’s not immediately clear what the objective is, and they also become increasingly difficult — especially, if like me, you haven’t done any maths for about 10 years, because maths is somewhat the foundation of 7th Sector’s puzzles. The maths-based puzzles are also different on each playthrough, meaning that you can’t be cheeky and search the solutions. One of the most impressive aspects of 7th Sector is how the puzzles adapt to the mobility of whatever you are in control of during that stage of the game, keeping the puzzles fresh. If you’ve ever seen a Blade Runner film then you will immediately recognise the aesthetic of 7th Sector. It’s such a recognisable and distinctive world, which is testament to how good of a job developer, Sergey Noskov, did with capturing the essence of the genre. The minute details in the world as you progress are fascinating. 7th Sector is environmental storytelling done right, without sacrificing any of the mystery that you can expect from this style of game. No part of the background looks out of place, while also consistently adding to the story of this world. It doesn’t take long to realise that there is some kind of issue developing between humanity and their relationship with the machines that dominate the background. An uprising is apparently imminent and you have a front row seat to it kicking off. Not only is it fascinating to watch the world as it transcends into chaos, but it’s also stunning. The bright neon lights stand out against the bleak misery of a downtrodden and oppressed society. The atmosphere that’s built, despite not being completely original, is so cohesive and convincing because every aspect of the game is working towards that goal. Along with the visuals, the sound design of the game — the effects and the accompanying music — does a perfect job in aiding the game’s creative direction. The way it all works together further solidifies how well designed the world is. The only problem with the sound effects in the game is that, on the really difficult puzzles, the sounds can get repetitive and very disorientating, however if you’re good at puzzles then this is a moot point. 7th Sector definitely isn’t for everyone, even if the world that’s been built is a reason in itself to visit this game. It’s fascinating to watch events bigger than yourself unfold behind you, as you keep pushing forward through beautiful landscapes and a futuristic metropolis. The puzzles can often be difficult, which isn’t a criticism, but sometimes it simply isn’t clear what your objective is. The game is also lacking in other content or collectables. It isn’t usually a draw for this kind of game, but other than the odd puzzle to get some concept art there isn’t much else offer.

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