Destrix

Eldritch horrors and beastly abominations have become quite po[CENSORED]r in games lately, which is an odd thing to say. Games like Bloodborne were the catalyst, but there has also been a number of Cthulhu-inspired titles over the last couple of years too. It’s clear that Shockwork Games are fans of the ol’ beasties and unspeakable horrors, as Alder’s Blood is based entirely around these things. God is dead. Turns out that humans killed Him. His corpse is somewhere out in the wilds, corruption pouring from it, spreading chaos and horror throughout the land. His death also brought about the creation of Hunters, a not-quite-human breed of monster hunters and banishers of evil. Alder’s Blood puts you in the boots of Duke, at least for its tutorial, as he nears the end of his quest to find God’s body. It teaches you the basics of its turn-based gameplay, which is heavily focused on stealth. You need to use foliage to your advantage, keeping you hidden from sight, but not necessarily from smell. In the top left of the screen, a compass will tell you the direction of the wind, as well as a scent trail emanating from each character. This changes with each turn and if a monster catches a whiff of your presence, it will investigate and you better hope that you’ve moved far enough away to remain undiscovered. The tutorial acts as a playable intro, nicely showing off the mechanics of the turn-based gameplay while introducing players to its dark, unforgiving world. Duke’s reward for reaching the end of the tutorial mission is haunting, a vision of torment and horror, all told in an impressive display of 2D animation. There aren’t many animated scenes in Alder’s Blood, instead choosing to tell its story using text and almost comic panel-like images, but its story and world are full of intrigue and mystery. It’s relentlessly bleak, mind. This bleakness is carried over into the gameplay, and not always for the better. Alder’s Blood is a tough, unforgiving game right from the very beginning. The turn-based missions are filled with harsh challenges, with no way of knowing which way the wind will go next. In a game so heavily stealth-based, it feels unfair when you’ve evaded an area’s monsters only for the wind to change and suddenly you’re spotted and forced into combat. There are even enemies that completely ignore the rules set out at the start, seeing you no matter which way they’re supposedly facing. On one mission I was ambushed by horrific, Cthulhu-looking beasts that would spot me anywhere, then proceeded to kill each of my Hunters in one hit. Running isn’t an option either, because if you’re spotted it cancels out your move and instantly gives the enemy an attack opportunity. It didn’t feel fair. Honestly, Alder’s Blood is such a relentlessly tough game that it borders on the ridiculous. There’s no real reason for it either, there are ways to paint the picture of a cruel world that don’t involve punishing the player at every turn. Even when you aren’t on missions, you have to manage your camp and crew of Hunters. Everything you do consumes food, which you need to scavenge or buy on your travels, but if you camp on the road you might be ambushed by monsters. It makes sense, of course, but it’s just one more layer of difficulty in an already over-the-top harsh game. The problem with Hunters is that their exile blood makes them susceptible to Corruption. This means that they can be driven mad by the taint of the darkness spreading through the land, with their levels rising throughout your quest. There is no way to reduce the corruption, which leads to a Hunter snapping and instantly dying. You can sacrifice them before that happens, to bolster a lower-level Hunter, but that just means you’ll still have to replace them and money isn’t exactly in abundance to bring in fresh meat. There are simply too many systems to manage in Alder’s Blood. Keeping track of Hunter status, making sure your camp is adequately stocked and guarded, managing relations with the world’s various factions, crafting, and that’s before you even get into the actual missions. It’s a confusing and frustrating experience, even more so because there is a genuinely good game underneath it all. When you finally beat that mission without being seen, or you scrape through a tough battle, it conjures memories of XCOM: Enemy Unknown. It’s also quite the looker. Its beautiful 2D artwork and impressive animation reminded me of both The Banner Saga and Thunder Lotus Games’ Sundered, especially the latter’s strange and eerie creature design. Character designs are a mix of Hugh Jackman’s Van Helsing movie, FromSoftware’s modern classic Bloodborne, and Deadwood. There’s certainly a frontier vibe, with the duster coats and long rifles, that just works in Shockwork Games’ world of monsters and corruption. There are plenty of great enemy designs too, from the lupines typical of the genre, to the more deadly eldritch monstrosities that do their very best to eviscerate your Hunters.

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Tools Up! has its fair share of finicky quality of life issues, but ultimately succeeds in providing fun and often chaotic party co-op action. While online multiplayer has reigned supreme since it came into existence, the past couple of years have seen a resurgence in po[CENSORED]rity for the couch co-op genre. Tools Up!, from developer The Knights of Unity, is the latest addition to the genre that tests players’ renovation and teamwork skills in the goofiest ways possible. Tools Up! has its fair share of finicky quality of life issues, but ultimately succeeds in providing fun and often chaotic party co-op action. While Tools Up! has a single-player campaign, it thrives as a couch co-op. This was made abundantly clear in the materials provided for this review. As such, I decided to jump right into the local multiplayer action with my two nephews. As the first level loaded up, we familiarized ourselves with the controls shown on the loading screen. From there, it was basically the wild, wild west. The countdown timer started, and we were left to figure out on our own exactly what we were supposed to do. It took a good half hour before we had a solid grasp on what was required of us and how to go about getting it done. Speaking from my own experiences, game mechanics are fairly easy to pick up without needing to go through an in-depth tutorial. Our initial entry into Tools Up!, on the other hand, would have benefitted greatly from an in-game tutorial. The game build used for this review will receive a Day One patch that will include “significant improvements to the UI and tutorial,” which will be a great asset for new players. After all, once players grasp the concepts of Tools Up!, that’s when the real fun begins. Players are part of a construction crew tasked with renovating various houses. The crew must work together to get all of the work completed before time runs out. Work includes everything from painting walls to laying carpet, with demolition and clean-up playing a major role as well. Players can grab and throw items to help (or hinder) the team, and can even grab and throw other players. Time limits are based on the number of players, but don’t think for a second that it’s easier with more people. If anything, having more people on the crew (up to four total) makes it even crazier. Each level is comprised of multiple rooms, most of which require some sort of work. Items such as paint and buckets used for mixing cement can be found scattered throughout the level, which when knocked over, creates a mess that needs to be cleaned up. The more accidents that happen - with chances of accidents increasing with each player added - the more likely it is that you won’t be completing the level in time. During my playthrough, we found that we couldn’t afford a single slip-up, which added to the chaos, frustration, yelling, and, ultimately, the laughter that took place even when we failed. A Fun Fixer-Upper Unfortunately, some of the slip-ups were due to the mechanics being a little too touchy. In order to work on the rooms, players need to interact with the highlighted spaces they are looking at. All too often, nothing would happen when clicking on a highlighted space, wasting precious seconds, or our characters would inadvertently grab an item (or another player) that was in the highlighted space. These were more frustrating than they were game-breaking, and we were able to adjust our gameplay to work with the touchiness. Hopefully, the Day One patch will address these issues. Tools Up! isn’t necessarily groundbreaking as a party co-op title. However, even with its issues, there’s a lot of fun couch co-op to be had (and fun extras to enjoy in the late-game). Hopefully, the Day One patch will fix the game’s bugs and provide players with a more accessible tutorial. If that happens, you can consider Tools Up! as another option when you and your friends are debating which party game to play on a Friday night.

NEWS18 » LIFESTYLE1-MIN READ Harry Styles Sells Merchandise to Raise Funds For Covid-19 Relief The T-shirt is available as part of Styles' official merchandise collection on his website, benefitting the World Health Organization's COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. IANSUpdated:April 8, 2020, 6:53 PM ISTfacebookTwitter Pocket Harry Styles Sells Merchandise to Raise Funds For Covid-19 ReliefFile photo of Harry Styles. (Image: Getty) Singer Harry Styles will be selling merchandise such as T-shirts to raise funds for the fight against the spread of the COVID-19. Styles unveiled the design on April 7, with a T-shirt featuring a special message for people. The white T-shirt features black text printed in capital letters, with the front reading: "Stay Home. Stay Safe. Protect Each Other." "This T-shirt fights COVID-19. Treat people with kindness," it continues on the back. In a statement, Styles re-iterates the need for social distancing, writing: "In times like these, it is more important than ever to remember the power of people. If you are able to help, please donate where you can. 100% of the profits of this t-shirt will go towards fighting COVID-19." "Stay home, self-isolate, and protect each other. TPWK (Treat people with kindness)." The T-shirt is available as part of Styles' official merchandise collection on his website and retails at $26, benefitting the World Health Organization's COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund

Thousands of UK motorists have won the first stage of a High Court action against Volkswagen over the installation of emissions cheating devices in its diesel vehicles. It follows a preliminary hearing in December, when the court was asked whether software installed in the cars was a "defeat device" under EU rules. In a judgement on Monday, Mr Justice Waksman ruled that it was. Volkswagen said it was "disappointed" and said may appeal the decision. A spokesperson for the German carmaker said: "To be clear, today's decision does not determine liability or any issues of causation or loss for any of the causes of action claimed. These remain to be determined by the court as the case continues." The case being heard at the High Court is the latest in a global storm of litigation facing VW. So far, the group has paid out €30bn (£26bn) worldwide. About 90,000 motorists in England and Wales have brought action against VW as well as Audi, Seat and Skoda, which are also owned by Volkswagen Group. They are seeking compensation in a case which could be the largest consumer action in English legal history. The so-called "dieselgate" scandal broke in September 2015. The use of defeat devices meant that Volkswagen's cars were certified as conforming to EU pollution standards. But, in reality, the vehicles were emitting up to 40 times the legally permitted amount of nitrogen dioxide. he German carmaker admitted that 11 million vehicles worldwide, including almost 1.2 million in the UK, were affected. Since then, senior bosses including chief executive Martin Winterkorn have stepped down, while some have been charged with criminal offences in Germany and the US. 'Completely irrelevant' The High Court ruling applies not only to VW cars, but also to those manufactured by Audi, Seat and Skoda. Mr Justice Waksman described some of Volkswagen’s arguments that the vehicles did not contain defeat devices as “completely irrelevant”, “hopeless” and “highly flawed”.

However, the Professional Footballers' Association said such a cut could harm the NHS, adding players were "mindful of their social responsibilities". Speaking to BBC Sport earlier on Wednesday, former England striker and Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer said it should be up to the players to decide the best way to help. Premier League football has been postponed until at least 30 April because of the spread of coronavirus. Clubs have announced a number of measures to support fans and the local communities. What has been the reaction? The chief executive of NHS Charities Together thanked the players for their "fantastic" initiative. "It sends an amazing message of support to the NHS staff and volunteers working so tirelessly to save lives," Ellie Orton said. Manchester United and England forward Marcus Rashford said it had been tough to get to this stage. "I think there has been plenty of occasions, for me personally, where we've tried to help but we've not helped in the best way possible," Rashford told BT Sport. "You can get some backlash from that. We wanted to take our time with the decision. "We want to help in the best way possible and getting money to the right places is a massive thing."

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As of Monday, 286 inmates and 331 staffers in New York City's jails have tested positive for the coronavirus. Coronavirus wreaks havoc in US black communities The outbreak in New York City's jail system is one of the worst at correctional facilities throughout the US, just as New York state leads the country in both total Covid-19 cases and deaths since the virus reached the US. What did Mr Cuomo say? The governor disclosed that New York, which has been the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in the US, saw its highest number of fatalities in a 24 hour period between Monday and Tuesday. The change came after the state had seen two days of slowing infection rates and fewer deaths. However, the governor said the three day average for cases had fallen. However, he warned that New Yorkers must continue to follow health guidelines to socially distance and stay indoors. "We need to vigorously maintain it. Lives depend on it," he said. He asked New Yorkers to avoid large gatherings as religious holidays Passover and Easter approach. What is happening with New York prisons? Mr Cuomo has so far ordered the release of at least 1,100 prisoners. Responding to questions on Tuesday, an aide to the governor said the state was "continuing to evaluate" the situation in New York's jails in relation to the virus. Tyson, of New York's Bronx borough, was the first inmate to die of Covid-19 at Rikers Island, one of New York's largest prisons. Following reports of Tyson's death, the Legal Aid Society in a statement decried Mr Cuomo's failure to release those who are "especially vulnerable" to the virus. "This tragedy would have been entirely avoidable if only Governor Cuomo had directed [Department of Corrections and Community Supervision] to act decisively from the outset of this epidemic," said Tina Luongo, the attorney in charge of criminal defence at the Legal Aid Society on Monday. "It is time for the governor to employ the full breadth of those powers and to act without delay to avoid further catastrophe." Tyson had been in custody since 28 February for violating a 2017 parole order, a technical error akin to missing curfew or failure to report an address change. In a lawsuit filed by the Legal Aid Society last week, Tyson was among 100 detainees held for parole violations that the organisation had identified for release. He had been identified as "high risk" for his age and unspecified health conditions. Several jurisdictions have released prisoners due to Covid-19 risk, but the application has been uneven. Attorney General William Barr has also directed the US Bureau of Prisons to expand the group of federal inmates eligible for early release.

Gomez shared the cover art for the 'Rare' Deluxe Album, featuring a profile shot of the singer with the Rare tattoo on her neck. "The deluxe version of 'Rare', featuring Boyfriend, She and Souvenir, is out April 9th," Gomez wrote. "You can pre-save it now and learn more about how to donate to the PLUS1 COVID-19 Fund in my bio," she said. She also added another image, which featured a more detailed note about her song Boyfriend and the new album. "Many of you know how excited I've been to release a song called Boyfriend," Gomez began. "It's a lighthearted song about falling down and getting back up time and time again in love, but also knowing that you don't need anyone other than yourself to be happy," she added. She also shared that the song was written, "long before our current crisis", adding: "In the context of today, I want to be clear that a boyfriend is nowhere near the top of my list of priorities." "Just like the rest of the world, I'm praying for safety, unity and recovery during this pandemic. Because of that, I'm personally donating to the Plus 1 COVID-19 Relief Fund as well as donating $1 from every order in my official store to the fund starting now," she said. The standard edition of 'Rare' was released in early January. Recently, Gomez also revealed that she is battling bipolar disorder and said that learning about her disorder took the fear away. "I think that we are better when we tell the truth and, so, this is my truth. Last year, I was suffering mentally and emotionally, and I wasn't able to stay all that kept together. I wasn't able to hold a smile or to keep things normal. It felt like all of my pain and my anxiety washed over me all at once and it was one of the scariest moments of my life," she said. The singer added: "(I was) terrified, obviously, because the veil was lifted, but relieved that I finally had the knowledge of why I had suffered for so many years with depression and anxiety. After a year of a lot of intense work... I am happier, I am healthier, and I am in control of my emotions and thoughts more than I've ever been. So, I'm very happy about that."

He is currently in Lebanon after jumping bail in Japan. He said in response to the lawsuit: "Nissan's manoeuvres continue: this complaint is made public on the eve of the Japanese group's financial results. "We note that after months of announcing damages of 35 billion yen, Nissan is now claiming 10 at the moment. Mr Ghosn's lawyers will react on the merits of the case once the content of the claim has been brought to their attention." Nissan said it expects the amount claimed in damages to "increase in future" as it seeks to recover fines it expects to have to pay to regulators because of Mr Ghosn's alleged misconduct. The company also said that it may pursue separate legal action over what it called "groundless and defamatory" remarks made by Mr Ghosn in a news conference he held in Beirut. At the conference, Mr Ghosn said: "My unimaginable ordeal is the result of a handful of unscrupulous, vindictive individuals." How did Carlos Ghosn escape from Japan? Ghosn's lawyers hit back at Nissan fraud claims Carlos Ghosn: The fall of the god of cars He was facing criminal charges for allegedly understating his annual salary and misusing company funds, before he fled Tokyo in December. Nissan has also accused Mr Ghosn of misusing the company's money for overseas events. The events included a party at the Palace of Versailles, France, and trips to Rio de Janeiro carnivals. He denies charges of financial wrongdoing in Japan, claiming the country's justice system is "rigged". Mr Ghosn, who has an estimated net worth of $120m (£91m), was one of the most powerful figures in the global car industry until his arrest in November 2018. The scandal has thrown into doubt the future of Nissan's alliance with Renault and Mitsubishi.

Strategy games have always had a strong presence on the gaming market across all platforms, from the classics like Age of Empires, Starcraft, and Warcraft III to the more recent Starcraft 2 or mobile titles like Clash Royale. The Tactical RPG genre, on the other hand, doesn’t always receive the love it deserves. Turns out, however, that Shieldwall Chronicles: Swords of the North – a new game of this genre from a small developer – is actually pretty solid. The first thing that draws you in is the story. You will play as the leader of a group of mercenaries hired to protect a caravan on its way to the northern realms. During this seemingly simple mission, your party is pulled into a much bigger conflict that threatens to destabilize the established order. It’s not exactly what you’d call revolutionary, but it is still enjoyable nonetheless, and all of the characters are well-developed. Furthermore, the story splits into multiple branches depending on your decisions, making you want to replay the game again with different choices after the first playthrough. Many games have tried this and ended up empty and repetitive, but Shieldwall Chronicles really manages to pull it off. It’s pretty easy to grasp a hold of the basic mechanics, as everything is introduced in a helpful tutorial. The actual gameplay, though, is a bit more complicated. For starter, the sheer number of characters in your roster can already be quite intimidating: 15 unique classes, each with its own abilities, backstory, and each is useful in different situations. On top of that, there are subtle mechanics that aren’t covered in the tutorial. While the campaign of Shieldwall is a solid 30-hour one by itself, the game is designed to last well beyond that. To fully explore the party composition, you’re going to need another 20 hours or so. All this builds up to the question that everyone is probably wondering: Is the gameplay fun? The answer is a definite yes. Depending on the difficulty you choose to play on, the turn-based combat is either insanely hard or incredibly simple. Of course, higher difficulty levels are going to demand a decent amount of strategic planning every turn. The game gives players two options when it comes to combat systems: Simple or complex. In the Simple mode, you only consume action points to perform characters skills and abilities from magic items. At the beginning of a battle, each character starts with a full pool of action points and recovers a random amount anywhere between 1 and his/her maximum after every turn. If you play in the Complex mode, you always regain max action points at the beginning of each turn. However, every action from attacks to movement and skills will consume them. The Simple option is definitely friendlier towards new players, as you don’t have to choose between attacking or using skills or moving around. The only thing you need to take into consideration is whether it is more efficient to use a skill this turn or the next. The Complex mode, though, will allow you to attack more if you stay stationary or move further if you are willing to sacrifice damage in that turn. iOS is actually not Shieldwall Chronicles’ first platform. That honor belongs to Steam. Still, the developers have done a good job with this port… as long as you play it on an iPad. The game is playable on iPhones, and it even supports cloud saving (for iOS devices only) for you to easily switch between phone and tablet, but it is not suited for a smaller device. The UI has too many details for a small screen. As mentioned, it is playable, but definitely not advised. If you can, you should always try to play on an iPad – any iPad will suffice. All in all, Shieldwall Chronicles is a very solid game. It does need a bit of work to be sure, especially on the whole small screen thing, but it is still a very well-made and fun game. Clearly, a lot of effort has been put into this. In a market where games are made for consumption and consumption alone, it is nice to see a genuinely quality title created by someone who really cares.

Coronavirus has now infected more than one million people worldwide, but its impact extends far beyond just those who have had it. Even the frequency of use of the word "unprecedented" is unprecedented at the moment. According to Google Trends it's been used three times more over the last two weeks than the highest point recorded previously. As governments around the world have enacted new measures and given official advice, we take a look at the impact that it's had on people and the world around them. How the world shut down The approaches to dealing with coronavirus across the world have been wide-ranging to say the least. In Colombia the days that you're allowed to leave the house depend on the number of your national ID card; in Serbia a designated dog-walking hour was introduced; and in Belarus the president has gone against medical advice, recommending vodka and saunas as a way to stay safe. Some of the more common approaches have seen governments issue recommendations on social distancing for part or all of the country, while others have acted to restrict all non-essential internal movement. The latter is often called a lockdown. When the virus was first identified in China in late 2019, lockdown seemed extreme.

In order to help create a vaccine for the novel coronavirus, pop diva Madonna has pledged to support the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The 61-year-old singer released a statement on her official website on Friday, saying she was "impressed" by the foundation, owned by the business magnate-philanthropist, which is working towards funding seven different research labs to find a cure for COVID-19. "I'm joining the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation effort to find a drug that will prevent or treat COVID-19. We need this to protect our health workers, the most vulnerable, and all of our friends and families." "I'm talking about this: I am so impressed by the work of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator's urgent efforts to find new or existing drugs that could effectively prevent or treat the disease," Madonna said. "Harnessing the strength and knowledge of the research community, the Accelerator's critical scientific progress will inform how we end this pandemic and prevent future impact from the virus. I send enormous gratitude and strength to the courageous first responders, medical professionals and scientists who are protecting our communities, those suffering and our most vulnerable," she further said in the statement. The announcement comes a fortnight after Madonna called the coronavirus a "great equaliser". The music icon had said the virus doesn't discriminate between rich and poor. "That's the thing about COVID-1. It doesn't care about how rich you are, how famous you are, how funny you are, how smart you are, where you live, how old you are, what amazing stories you can tell," she said. The singer had to cancel two of her concerts in Paris due to the ongoing pandemic.

Tesla has been ordered to temporarily halt preparations for a car factory in Germany after environmentalists won a court injunction on Sunday. The electric carmaker had been clearing forest land near the capital, Berlin, ahead of building its first European car and battery plant. The court emphasised the injunction was temporary and subject to further hearings, probably this week. Protesters say the factory is a threat to local wildlife and water supplies. To much fanfare, Tesla's boss Elon Musk announced plans last November to build a European facility known as a "gigafactory" in Grünheide, in the eastern state of Brandenburg. But the factory has become a flashpoint between environmentalists and Germany's pro-business Christian Democrat and Free Democrat parties, who fear the issue could damage the country's image as a place to do business. Is Tesla really worth $150bn? Tesla starts work on huge new China plant Musk expects 'robotaxis' to start in US next year The dispute highlights the risks for the US carmaker, which has not been officially granted permission to build the factory. Tesla was, however, granted permission by Germany's environment ministry to begin site preparations "at its own risk". This has involved clearing about 91 hectares (225 acres) of forest and the felling of thousands of trees - something that outraged an alliance of environmentalists called the Green League. In a statement on Sunday, the court representing the Berlin and Brandenburg region cautioned: "It should not be assumed that the motion seeking legal protection brought by the Green League lacks any chance of succeeding." Tesla bought almost 300 hectares (the size of more than 400 football pitches) in Grünheide from the state of Brandenburg to build the factory, which is scheduled to open in 2021. Tesla has ambitions to produce up to 500,000 cars a year at the factory, employing about 12,000 people. But the company is in a race to get production up and running as Germany's big motor manufacturers are investing heavily in new electric car technology. According to local media reports, Tesla has promised to relocate colonies of forest ants, reptiles and bats, and is working with conservationists. Last month, authorities defused seven Second World War bombs discovered at the site. Tesla currently has two Gigafactories in the US and one in Shanghai, China.

“One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4” is the fourth game in the series of “One Piece” inspired games in the “Warriors” franchise. The previous three games had already covered the bulk of the story arcs, plus some fanfiction of their own, but “Pirate Warriors 4” again throws you back to the Alabasta Arc, and moves forward through the time skip into the current events of the manga. However, the game has a habit of skipping big chunks of the story, and remedies this by providing cinematic cutscene synopses of what transpired. However, if you thought they’d put in the actual important details, you’d be wrong. Even in the story arcs the game does actively cover, pretty much every vital story detail is removed for absolutely no reason. And this doesn’t keep to skimping on story details, this extends as far as removing innumerable characters from the narrative as well. For example, following the tutorial mission, the first cinematic opens up and brings us back to Luffy’s childhood and his meeting with the pirate “Red Haired” Shanks. As Shanks is saying farewell to Luffy, giving him the iconic straw hat, the player can see the many copy-pasted background characters you fight through in the game as crew members for Shanks, the same character models used in the first “Pirate Warriors” game. Those filler models wouldn’t be an issue if the developers actually took the time to put in the real members of Shank’s crew. These characters are not a mystery. We’ve known who they are since the very first chapter of “One Piece.” Lucky Roo, Ben Beckman, Yassop… all of these characters don’t even exist in the game, the latter of which being Ussop’s father. All they had to do was stand there. They didn’t need to move, and they didn’t need to talk. They just should have been in the background. And later, in the Marineford arc, where we got the legendary scene of Shanks appearing with his crew behind him in the manga, “Pirate Warriors 4” instead gave us Shanks alone with the fodder enemy models as his crew. Seriously? Moving on into the story, all the Number Agents of the Baroque Work criminal organization have been stripped from the story, save for Mr. 2 and Mr. 1, meaning we didn’t even get to see Nami, Ussop, or Chopper in their iconic fights during that arc. And to my greatest dismay, Carue the duck was omitted, despite being a vital piece to the outcome of that story arc, and a temporary member of the straw hat crew just like Vivi. Helmeppo, Jewelry Bonney, “Mad Monk” Urouge, Scratchmen Apoo, eleven of Whitebeards division commanders and all the captains of his allied fleet, every member of Blackbeard’s crew besides Burgess, most of Luffy’s grand fleet, none of these characters even appear in stagnant cutscene images, and the list goes on and on. Finally, to add to the list of sins, the game takes entire cutscenes from the previous games and reuses them here. I’m serious. I checked. People who’ve played the previous installments are going to notice some striking similarities, and the graphics aren’t too much in these cutscenes either. To be fair, if it covers the same story arc, it should have the same cutscenes in general, but what they did was they took what they’ve already done and just pasted back into this game and re-sold it to the player. That goes for some cutscenes, the fodder character models, etc. On the other hand, the characters that do show up tend to have pretty well made 3D models (except for the crying animation. The tears actually look terrible), and I generally didn’t have any problems with the maps and characters in game. While the combat was just mashing buttons and had little to no depth to it, as a “One Piece” fan it’s a fun experience to run around using the various abilities at the characters’ disposal. However, detail again seems to be the biggest hindrance to this game. It’s in the story, it’s in the characters and it’s in the combat too. Moving through the story of the game, we started off in Alabasa, a relatively early story arc. So you would think that abilities characters develop later wouldn’t show up until later, right? Wrong! The developers actually gave Zoro access to his ranged attack, the 32 Pound Hawk Cannon, right of the bat as his charged attack, despite this not being something he develops until Skypiea. Secondly, one of Luffy’s basic attack combos involves his use of the Gomu-Gomu no Fuusen, a technique he doesn’t actively employ in basic combat in the manga. Otherwise, there are a number of other things thrown into the game, such as Ussop being able to put people to sleep somehow, but all those are minor things to make those characters more combat viable in-game. What I’m trying to get at is, there is very little attention to detail across the game. There are things I like though. For one, the title screen camera shifts it’s view around the Straw Hats’ ship, be it the Going Merry or the Thousand Sunny, as the player advances through the game, showing off different members of the crew. And the models in all these scenes really do look good. Furthermore, from the hub of the title screen, the player is able to navigate through glossary pages, the game’s soundtrack, a gallery of models and images, and all of the game’s cutscenes. You can also choose from a number of game modes, from the Dramatic Log, the Free Log, and the Treasure Log, all together resulting in a large amounts of maps and scenarios to play in with a big cast of playable fighters. The game even offers online play where you can fight against other players, adding to the fun of running around as your favorite characters, destroying buildings and plowing through endless masses of fodder characters. And for the most part, once you have your characters at their full abilities, they are generally faithful to their canon counterparts, complete with customizable special-move sets and different combo attacks. You can even change the clothes your character is wearing if you’ve unlocked different sets for them from across the series. I mean, running across Sabaody Archipelago as Trafalgar Law and stealing peoples’ hearts, but dressed in a Dynasty Warriors outfit, is pretty cool. When I first turned on the game and loaded into the tutorial mission, I was stoked at using all the powers of Luffy and going head to head against Big Mom and Kaido. It’s a cool feeling to say the least. Despite that, the spectacle of the game really does fall flat on its face when everything that makes “One Piece” great gets stripped away from it. As far as a game adaptation goes, I don’t think “Pirate Warriors 4” does a great job, but it isn’t terrible either. If you’re a fan of “One Piece” you’ll probably get enjoyment out of the game, more so online or in the Free Log. But as far as the Dramatic Log is concerned, its generally not the fighting that fans cite when talking about how good “One Piece” is, it’s in the writing. “Pirate Warriors 4” throws good storytelling to the wind. I’d really only recommend this game to people who are already fans of “One Piece” and know the story going in. Furthermore, it’s very possible fans of the series won’t get too much enjoyment out of the game due to its simplistic button mashing.

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Conspiracy theories claiming 5G technology helps transmit coronavirus have been condemned by the scientific community. Videos have been shared on social media showing mobile phone masts on fire in Birmingham and Merseyside - along with the claims. The posts have been shared on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram - including by verified accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers. But scientists say the idea of a connection between Covid-19 and 5G is "complete rubbish" and biologically impossible. The conspiracy theories have been branded "the worst kind of fake news" by NHS England Medical Director Stephen Powis. Conspiracy theory Many of those sharing the post are pushing a conspiracy theory falsely claiming that 5G - which is used in mobile phone networks and relies on signals carried by radio waves - is somehow responsible for coronavirus. These theories appear to have first emerged via Facebook posts in late January, around the same time the first cases were recorded in the US. They appear to fall broadly in to two camps: One claims 5G can suppress the immune system, thus making people more susceptible to catching the virus. The other suggests the virus can somehow be transmitted through the use of 5G technology. Both these notions are "complete rubbish," says Dr Simon Clarke, associate professor in cellular microbiology at the University of Reading. "The idea that 5G lowers your immune system doesn't stand up to scrutiny," Dr Clarke says. "Your immune system can be dipped by all sorts of thing - by being tired one day, or not having a good diet. Those fluctuations aren't huge but can make you more susceptible to catching viruses." While very strong radio waves can cause heating, 5G is nowhere near strong enough to heat people up enough to have any meaningful effect. "Radio waves can disrupt your physiology as they heat you up, meaning your immune system can't function. But [the energy levels from] 5G radio waves are tiny and they are nowhere near strong enough to affect the immune system. There have been lots of studies on this."

Veteran musician Elton John has launched a USD 1 million coronavirus emergency fund to protect individuals with HIV. The 73-year-old singer will be making the donation through his Elton John Aids Foundation. "Today, I'm proud to announce that my Foundation @EJAF is launching a USD 1million COVID-19 Emergency Fund to make sure that our frontline partners can respond to the effects of COVID-19 on HIV care for the most marginalised communities around the world." "Now and always, I'm committed to not leave anyone affected by HIV behind." "Sending love to all of our Foundation's partners, grantees, supporters, frontline workers and members of our community during this time," John said in a video posted on Twitter. Earlier this week, the singer also hosted a coronavirus relief concert Fox Presents the iHeart Living Room Concert for America. The event featured Billie Eilish, Mariah Carey, Backstreet Boys, Sam Smith, Shawn Mendes, Camila Cabello, Dave Grohl and Alicia Keys performing from their homes

Vauxhall's parent company will shut all of its European manufacturing plants due to fears over the coronavirus. PSA Group said plants at Ellesmere Port and Luton will close this week and will remain shut until at least 27 March. In a statement, the firm said it had seen a "significant" drop in demand and disruption to supply chains. Other manufacturers such as Ford and Nissan have already suspended work at factories in Spain and Italy due to the coronavirus outbreak. Fiat Chrysler has said it will suspend production at the majority of its European factories for the same period. PSA Group, which also owns Peugeot, Citroen and Opel, said staff at its UK plants would continue to be paid during the shutdown. Coronavirus crisis The Vauxhall plant in Luton builds the Vivaro van and employs more than 1,000 people. Another 1,500 others work at Ellesmere Port building the Vauxhall Astra. They are two of the 15 manufacturing sites currently operated by PSA Group across Europe. Other sites are located in Germany, Spain, Portugal, Poland and Slovakia. The company has been badly affected by the coronavirus pandemic, which has affected the supply of parts. It is also causing a significant drop in demand, particularly in Italy, which is one of the worst-hit areas in Europe. The firm says it wants to protect its workers, with serious cases of the virus having been found close to some of its production sites.

POD is a 90s post-apocalyptic futuristic racing PC game. Remember when there was loads of these futuristic racing games back in the day? You’ve got your wipEouts, your F-Zeroes and among them all you’ve got this classic from Ubisoft, POD. The reason I remember POD so well is that we got this game free with our first family PC. Read my POD PC review below. When the Pentium 2 PC processor came out, a big deal was being made over its MMX technology. My parents bought a Pentium 2 PC 1997 and it came with a bunch of bundled PC games, optimised for these MMX processors. Among them was this futuristic PC racing game by Ubisoft, POD. Mate, this game. It blew my mind. I remember thinking it was the coolest thing. Crisp 3D graphics, CD quality sound and music; it had it all. I played that game for hours and hours with a Logitech Wingman joystick of all things. The worst part about POD though, is that because it was so optimised for MMX processors it basically didn’t work on anything else. Since my parents scrapped that Pentium 2 PC years ago, I never managed to play POD again. One of the reasons I built my MMX Pentium 3 retro gaming PC was because I wanted to run POD. I’ve kept the original CD-ROM all these long years, waiting for this opportunity. If like me you have a physical version of the game, there’s a minefield of PC patches. There is a 3DFX patch for your 3D accelerators (In fact, POD is one of the first PC games to support 3DFX). POD 1997 can run in 800×600 with a regisrty fix, but it’s otherwise locked to 640×480 as seen in the screenshots. The GOG.com PC version of POD Gold is also locked to 640×480 but is all patched up ready to play. The story is pretty bonk, but then again driving games don’t need a story. POD is set on the planet Io. Some miners dug down into the deep and OH MY GOD they unleashed an ancient evil. It’s – I dunno – a big all-consuming virus that’s taking over the entire planet and killing everything. So everybody gets on ships to leave the planet behind. But there’s eight people left, and there’s only one seat left on the last ship leaving. So they do the only sensible thing imaginable in that situation and they have a death race by modifying and adapting mining equipment into SUPER AWESOME RACE CARS. Seven people will be left to their doom while one lives to race another day I guess. The cars themselves are excellent. All weird shapes and grungey textures. Each car’s specs can be modified and customised by the player which I like. So essentially you choose the car you think looks the coolest, you don’t have to trade off. Set the speed / acceleration to your preference then get racing! You choose one of your eight cars (12 iirc in POD Gold), you go through all the fifteen courses. The courses are all absolutely bananas. They’re brilliant. These post apocalyptic, almost Mad Max-esque tracks are all built around the themes of abandoned cities or ruined mines etc. Fitting to the silly backstory, and a detail that’s probably better-realised than it really needed to be. The courses are pretty detailed for a 1997 PC game and they’re all tied together with this great 90s grungey aesthetic that 12-year old me just loved. Oh, there is also a giant spiders nest though, which I have no idea about. The game plays out in a very typical racing game fashion. First place gets 8 points, second place gets 7 points; all the way down to 8th place who gets one point. After 15 races whoever’s got the highest score is the one who gets on the shuttle. Quality. Physics was a bit of a novel concept in 1997 and so Ubisoft are clearly trying to show off here. Heavier cars stick to the road like glue but lighter cars skate around corners as if they’re driving on glass. The cars lose LOADS of momentum going uphill, but they don’t half put some mustard on it when they’re going downdale. Hitting two cars together causes them to rattle off one another like snooker balls which can be pain in the arse or a massive bonus depending on which car benefits from that inertia. On the higher difficulty levels the cars will even take damage, with a damage model dividing up sections of the car. The physics calculations even go toward how much damage is dealt out. Not a big deal now, but for 1997 it’s worth mentioning. But in a way, by adding in the damage model I feel that Ubisoft needn’t have bothered with all the physics stuff if they didn’t want you to be banging into each other. One thing of note is the game had online multiplayer. In 1997. Don’t think servers are still up but you can do local split screen too which is really rare for PC games. POD is still a really fun PC racing game. For me there’s a lot of nostalgia attached, but objectively it’s up there with the best arcade racers on a retro PC. Arcade racing PC games are always fun and it’s a genre we don’t see too much of. I love a bit of Killer Loop, I love a bit of Rollcage and it’s nice to have some extra variety on that racing retro PC game front. I’ve got quite a lot of these 90s futuristic racing PC games so I’ll be doing a bit of a rundown or a best of at some point because this is a wicked genre, man. The reason I started Second Wind reviews is to talk about old PC games that you can play on both new and old machines, to give them a Second Wind yourself. POD is available on GOG for less than a fiver so for the price of a pint in a London pub you’re getting something that will last longer and almost certainly be more fun. Cheers! Screenshots for this POD PC game review were taken from the GOG.com product page and from oldpcgaming.net

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Quarantining can be boring if not utilised in a creative and productive way. DJ Chetas, Zaeden, Shaan, Arjun Kanungo, Millind Gaba and other singers and musicians will be hosting a live concert on social media to entertain fans during the quarantine period. Akasa, Gurnazar, Barbie Maan, Mickey Singh, Akanksha and Stebin Ben will also be part of the music concert on Instagram tomorrow, April 4, 2020. The concert will begin at 12pm and end at midnight. "The idea behind this is to bring some weekend music vibe for the people and helps them rejuvenate. They will be coming LIVE on Instagram via Damn Fam's official handle. They will also interact with Damn Fam members for a while. Our thought is to spread positivity during these tough time. The LIVE will happen from 12 PM to 12 AM," said a spokesperson for Damn Fam, who is organising the concert. Musicians the world over have taken to making music from their homes and reaching out to their listeners via the internet. While everyone is locked up at home in order to save themselves from the deadly coronavirus, musicians are attempting to spread positivity and keep their spirits high through their performances. Many Indian singers and composers have been using social media to organise live concerts from their homes to entertain fans in this period.