#Sissa

Game Information Initial release date: November 1, 2019 Developers: Infuse Studio, Infuse Studio, LLC Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows Publishers: Infuse Studio, LLC, Merge Games Stop me if you’ve heard this one. The world is in danger and only a mystical four-legged canid can clear nature from corruption and make things right. Spirit of the North definitely shouldn’t be confused with Okami though, nor should it be accused of ripping it off. But I couldn’t help but be reminded of Capcom’s Zelda-like throughout my time playing. While it doesn’t do much new and isn’t as satisfying as I was hoping, fans of peaceful, nature-centric puzzle games might find enough reason to give the game a try. You play as a nameless fox in Spirit of the North. There’s not a single line of dialogue in the game, but once you get past the main menu, you won’t even find any writing. This makes the game feel focused and organic in a way similar to Fumito Ueda games like Ico, but without all the unique and/or bizarre mechanics. Spirit of the North is fairly nice to look at, too. It mostly focuses on natural settings, with snowy fields, wide-open grassy areas, and ruins painted red by the corruption falling from the sky. The game’s story beats focus on the fox meeting a spirit fox and setting off to eliminate spots of corruption to purge it entirely. The corruption is red and the fox’s spirit powers are blue, meaning you’re going to see a lot of really familiar color-coding in the environment. It’s pretty generic, but it gets the job done. Spirit of the North starts fairly weakly and mostly just has the fox walking forward through linear environments before meeting the spirit fox. Shortly after, a series of events unfolds where the fox gets enlisted in the fight against corruption and gains the ability to absorb spirit power from flowers and statues. The fox only needs to walk above a glowing blue flower and bark, and the flower’s energy will course through it and cover its body with runes. In the beginning, the fox can only run and jump, though. As Spirit of the North progresses, you get access to additional spirit abilities, such as being able to temporarily control the spirit fox, charge a powerful bark to dispel corruption, and dash forward with a burst of speed. The way general progression works is that you’re dropped into an area and need to move on, which is usually accomplished by getting spirit energy from a flower and then transferring it to a statue, which acts as a switch. These can shift something in the environment, including opening pathways and raising or lowering water levels. Therefore, most of the game is just looking for flowers and powering up statues, which isn’t particularly interesting. There’s also a fair amount of platforming, but the controls are wonky. It’s difficult to be precise as the fox’s movements aren’t quite specific or weighty enough to accurately land where you want much of the time. Complicating matters is the often downright poor collision detection. There were many times where I failed to land a jump or had to reorient myself simply because the fox wouldn’t be able to transfer onto surfaces properly. There’s also the fact that the fox is strangely slow. It can run, but it’s only for a bizarrely short amount of time. While holding the run button, it’ll run for about six seconds before it runs out of stamina and then requires another five or six seconds before it can run again. I’m far from an expert on foxes, but this is ridiculous. Foxes can often run about 30-45 miles per hour and have excellent stamina, so it’s weird as hell to play as one that has the endurance of a middle-aged human survival-horror character. I understand the gameplay reasons behind this, as mobility in Spirit of the North greatly increases with proper use of spirit dashes. But you get that quite late in the game, so you’re going to be moving suspiciously slow during the vast majority of the experience. Add to that the fact that the areas can get very large, and it becomes a chore to play. Early on, areas are mostly compact, but later on, some areas are huge. And needlessly so, as they appear to just exist for you to slowly walk through and add nothing to the game. But the worst part is the very last section, which has you wandering in a giant area without giving you the slightest hint of what you’re supposed to be doing. You need to be following something, but the only things that point you in the right direction are statues that you can bark at that sort of show you the way. This area is much larger than it needs to be and is almost totally devoid of puzzles. Just like the first part of the game, you’re mostly just walking around, only with confusing level design. Spirit of the North is not a difficult game by any means. However, some abilities are used so infrequently that you may forget you have them. I got stuck for a while by a raging river, only to realize that the fox’s spirit walk allowed me to walk on water. I think I’d done that just a single time before, and I’d simply forgotten about it. Towards the end, I also completely forgot that the fox could take spirit energy from statues after having deposited it to begin with. Spirit of the North offers decent length and will likely take most people about seven hours to get through. There are also collectibles in the form of finding staves and delivering them to corpses, and I found these to be difficult to locate. Searching for them can certainly add a good amount of playtime if you’re so inclined. Overall, I had a decent time with the game and enjoyed the atmosphere and some of the puzzles, but it never really did anything that wowed me or made me truly glad I played it. System Requirements MINIMUM: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 10 - 64Bit Processor: Intel Core i5-4460 or equivalent Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 or equivalent DirectX: Version 11 Storage: 4 GB available space Sound Card: Onboard soundcard RECOMMENDED: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system

Name Of game: Dead Cells Price: $19.99 USD Link Store: https://store.steampowered.com/app/588650/Dead_Cells/ Offer Ends In: 40 hours System Requirements MINIMUM: OS: Windows 7+ Processor: Intel i5+ Memory: 2 GB RAM Graphics: Nvidia 450 GTS / Radeon HD 5750 or better Storage: 500 MB available space Additional Notes: DirectX 9.1+ or OpenGL 3.2+ RECOMMENDED: OS: Windows 7+ Processor: Intel i5+ Memory: 4 GB RAM Graphics: Nvidia GTX 460 / Radeon HD 7800 or better Storage: 500 MB available space Additional Notes: DirectX 9.1+ or OpenGL 3.2+

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the advice in Scotland remains "stay at home" First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has stressed the "stay at home" message remains in place in Scotland after Boris Johnson announced his "conditional plan" to reopen society. During his statement, the prime minister urged people to "stay alert, control the virus and save lives". But Ms Sturgeon said there should be a "simpler" message and that people in Scotland should still stay at home. The once-a-day exercise limit will be removed in Scotland from Monday. But Ms Sturgeon said people must still stay close to home and emphasised the move does not extend to picnics, sunbathing or barbeques. During his address on Sunday evening, Mr Johnson said people in England who could not work from home should return to the workplace - but avoid public transport. The first minister stressed that the advice to businesses in Scotland had not changed. "I am not, at this stage, asking anybody who is not working to go back to work, although we have said we are looking, with priority, at the construction sector, the retail sector and the manufacturing sector," she told BBC Scotland. She said different parts of the UK were at different stages of the infection curve, and that the "all-important R number" was thought to be higher north of the border. Ms Sturgeon also said the prime minister should have stressed "more strongly" that most of the changes he referred to in his speech applied to England. "When he talks about things like border control, he is talking for the whole UK, but really all of us have a duty right now to be as clear as possible and, having watched the prime minister, I think there is still some room for some simpler messages," she said. Ms Sturgeon said the Scottish government was being "deliberately cautious" and was taking "baby steps". And she added: "If you change the message from stay at home to something vaguer then you don't give clear messages to the public." We are now getting two quite different messages as a result of the announcement by the prime minister and the response from the first minister. Businesses deciding whether to go back to work in construction or manufacturing are being encouraged to do so south of the border. However, you're being pretty strongly discouraged if it's not essential work north of the border. That's going to lead to employers having different expectations of their staff depending on where that employer is based. Employers are looking for answers about how much money will be available and for how long. The furlough system has been absolutely essential to avoiding redundancies soaring. In Scotland, around 370,000 jobs are estimated to have stayed on the payroll rather than becoming redundant. So what's going to happen to that once the money stops as it is currently scheduled to do at the end of June? The first minister had earlier said that she had first learned about the UK government's new slogan in the Sunday papers and admitted: "I do not know what 'Stay Alert' means." Ms Sturgeon accepted the need for other parts of the UK to move at different speeds, based on scientific evidence and said she is committed to the closest possible cooperation. But she added: "We should not be reading of each other's plans for the first time in newspapers and decisions that are taken for one nation only, for good evidence based reasons, should not be presented as if they apply UK-wide. "Clarity of message is paramount if we expect all of you to know what we are asking of you and as leaders we have a duty to deliver that clarity to those that we are accountable to, not to confuse it. "To that end I have asked the UK government not to deploy their 'stay alert' advertising campaign in Scotland." Ms Sturgeon added that the message in Scotland is not "stay at home if you can" but rather "stay at home full stop". She was speaking after latest figures show the number of deaths has increased by 10 to 1,587, while the number of positive cases is now 13,486. The first minister said the new guidelines governing exercise in Scotland were not a "licence to meet up in groups" at parks or beaches. She also emphasised the ongoing need for people to maintain social distancing and not mix with other households. Guidelines concerning the range of outdoor activities, reopening garden centres and the resumption of some outdoor work will also be considered in the coming days. The Scottish government will also be speaking to councils about the prospect of re-opening waste and recycling centres. The first minister said an update on these developments will be issued next weekend.

Initial release date: August 16, 2017 Tripwire Interactive Series: Killing Floor Publisher: Tripwire Interactive Platforms: PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows this sci-fi horror, created by Tripwire Interactive, hit some VR platforms earlier this year. But this title coming to PlayStation VR (PSVR) is such a big deal because Incursion is a VR exclusive, which means the scares are new and the action is so much more intense. Perhaps more important, we know that Incursion came to PlayStation VR as a complete game, unlike other platforms. In November of 2017, the game received a few more updates including Hard Mode for the campaign, a Holdout Mode for how long you can survive, a new Katana weapon for the Holdout mode. Options for smooth rotation and a good amount of bug fixes were also included in this update. Here I'll go over all of these updates, as well as the overall review of the game. So, if you're interested in trying out Killing Floor Incursion for the PSVR, read on below and get your Zed on! Controls At the start of the game, they ask you if you are right or left handed, and I really appreciated that optional setting. Another thing that got them loads of points from me was the ability to turn on an option for playing when sitting down. This was particularly awesome because not too many horror games are accessible to someone who might not be able to stand. Movement and control buttons The smooth rotation turning option was just a little too slow and definitely took some getting used to, but I've never been a fan of click turning because it always makes me feel nausous. There's no option to change the speed of the turning, but hopefully, one will be included in the next update. Other than that "Free movement", which is the ability to walk or run, really made the game feel real. When it comes to horror VR games I appreciate being able to actually run from the enemies because teleportation movement makes me feel like I'm cheating. When I'm playing a horror game being able to teleport behind my enemy just makes it too easy to play. Gameflow from pre-set controls I appreciated being able to set my holster to my chest or my waist. Being a short person I have it set to my chest, but it's going to register at my waist anyway, so these types of customizations can really make an impact on gameplay. There is also an option to store things on your back, but there were more times than not where I would just end up throwing an object behind me. The best way to avoid this is to hover your hand over your back for a moment before you let go. There was also a "Control scanning" option that worked in two different ways. You could send your little robot friend out to find something (via an option in the menu) or turn on your control scanning. This is an interesting mechanic that lights up items that are near you and illuminating objects that you can collect or interact with. Now let's talk about melee options. There are melee weapons for you to fight with should you run out of bullets. Then, much to my amusement, if you run out of bullets and don't have any knives you can use the butt of your gun or the severed limb of a zombie. That's right, you can beat zombies to death with the bloody side of their own limbs. Phenomenal. The overall visuals were rather dark, but not in a murky or cloudy sense. This made everything an extra level of creepy and I loved every minute of it. The background sounds also get an A+ from me. Hearing the owls, bugs and other general forest noises added a level of immersion that made it feel that much more real. Heck, you can even hear the sounds of people dying and zombies groaning even if you're nowhere near a spawn for combat. They did an extraordinary job making me feel like I was in a real live zombie stimulation. The last thing I want to goob about is how great their zombies looked. You can see the amount of detail that went into them all the way from movement to rotting flesh festering as they walked. While there were zombies who looked similar there were enough varieties to make it feel like a true horde. Also, spider zombies. Nope. Not even once. 10/10, terrifying every time. The beginning of the game gives you plenty of time to learn the mechanics and gather things before throwing you into the fire. This is pretty important for horror games, so be confident in knowing you'll be able to get those controls down packed before you experience your first zombie. To top it all off, the controls are actually fairly easy to use. This, combined with the Move Controllers great design, made learning go smoothly. And then there was Emma. Emma Rose is the voice in your headset. While I appreciate a character who is there to explain the mechanics and what you need to do, the way she is presented wasn't the best. She reminded me all too much of Navi from Legend of Zelda, and not in a good way. The first time she explained how to do something, or what I needed to do, it was okay. But, if you take too long she will continue to ping you with notifications. There are already arrows in your field of vision that show you where to go, so some of the things she said were all but pointless. This got annoying very fast as I'm a player who likes to fully experience my surroundings and take my time to figure things out before moving forward. With her constantly nagging in my head I felt rushed and, ultimately, pretty annoyed. With the new updates, they have now added a "Hard Mode" for the campaign. This gives you less ammo and health as well as more power Zed with different abilities. So, if you're looking for a challenge or to be scared out of your pants, you should check it out! Holdout Mode Holdout Mode is an amazing option where you can see just how long you can survive against a horde in a set location that you get to choose. After you complete a level in the campaign mode, that level will be available to play in Hold Out mode. Here you will only start with a pistol and a knife, but don't worry. There are better equipment and powerups you can collect on the way. This mode isn't just killing zombies. There are also puzzles, locks and full maps for you to explore and discover. Your scores are marked on the leaderboards so there is a very real competition to get the best score among your VR peers! SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS MINIMUM: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 8 or newer Processor: Intel i3-6100 / AMD FX4350 or greater Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 960 / AMD Radeon R9 290 or greater RECOMMENDED: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 10 Processor: Intel i5-4590 equivalent or greater Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 970 / AMD Radeon RX 480 equivalent or greater

Game information Initial release date: January 23, 2015 Engine: Unity Genre: Survival game Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Macintosh operating systems, Linux Developers: Beam Team Games, Fun Labs, Beam Team IP Pty. Ltd. Publishers: Beam Team Games, Beam Team IP Pty. Ltd. Whenever a new survival crafting game pops up, I have the same thought: aren't we tired of these yet? The mix of scrounging, crafting, cooking, eating, hunting, being hunted, and dying? Breaking trees into logs and logs into sticks and sticks into tools while managing health and hunger and thirst and exploring a procedurally generated world... haven't we done that? Like, a lot? Stranded Deep was released on Steam Early Access on Friday, January 23rd, and at the time I played it, it was sitting at number three on the Steam Top Sellers list. Clearly, many of us aren't tired of survival crafting games yet, or maybe we're just all hoping to find one that's doing things a little differently. This one certainly doesn't start differently. Just like The Forest, Stranded Deep begins with a plane crash. Unlike The Forest, the island you wind up stranded on is tiny and not inhabited by naked cannibals, though sharks—the naked cannibals of the deep—patrol the waters offshore. Once you've paddled to land, you begin gathering sticks and stones to make axes and hammers, chop down trees for firewood and shelter, and search for foods such as potato plants, fish (hunted with a spear), and crabs. There's no HUD: to see your stats you can glance at your wristwatch which shows your health, hunger, and thirst. Crafting isn't done in an inventory pane but on the ground in front of you, similar to another Early Access game, TUG. Drop stuff into a pile and an icon notifies you if something can be crafted. This method is a bit more realistic than a crafting window, I suppose, but it comes at the cost of convenience, and coupled with the lengthier act of going through your inventory and manually dropping items on the ground just to find out if you can make something, I'm not sure it's entirely worth it. The procedurally generated islands of Stranded Deep are small and nondescript. There are shipwrecks as well, sometimes beneath the waves, sometimes right on the island, usually with a few lockers and crates to search. Once I found a highly useful machete, another time I came away with a flare gun. I found part of an engine and an empty jerry can, hinting that there may be ways build more complex watercraft. Cooking is tricky in that you need to physically hold your food in the campfire for a certain period of time, and after doing it a dozen times I still don't know how long that is. I let the sizzling sounds recycle and replay several times and 'crab' never became 'cooked crab.' I ate several; sometimes I got sick, sometimes I didn't. Consuming three fish was fine, but a fourth made me vomit and break out in a rash. As usual, much more emphasis is put on food than water, which always feels backwards to me. In reality, lack of water will kill you long before lack of food will, and like most games of this sort, the food meter in Stranded Deep is the priority because it depletes so quickly. The biggest problems come with traveling to new islands. In all my games, I had to leave my starter island soon after arriving due to lack of usable materials, specifically stones. Since stones are used for so many different things like axes, hammers, spears, and firepits (which allow you to leave something cooking in the fire rather than holding it there), I found myself constantly in need of more. There were very few to be found, and there's currently no way to bash boulders into stones, so you can't make your own. So, I paddled my raft towards the nearest island, which doesn't really work the way it should. The map is broken into small zones (a visible white line drawn through the water is hard to miss) and entering a new zone seems to re-render everything. The nearby island I was headed for suddenly appeared much further away, and two more islands suddenly appeared that seemed just as distant. As I drew closer and paddled through more zones, other islands abruptly appeared in other directions, even behind me. By the time I reached the island I was headed for, I couldn't even tell which island I'd left. This feels like a big problem. If the open world lacks consistency, establishing a home base and finding it again later is going to be annoyingly difficult. With such a tiny inventory (eight slots that can only hold stacks of four) you're often forced to leave some gear behind at your base while venturing out. Another problem with travel is related to the raft itself. After my third island, the raft became stuck in the water and would only spin in circles when I paddled, and even dragging it to a new spot wouldn't get it to move when I started paddling. I eventually climbed off and built a raft out of logs, but when paddling it into a new zone it abruptly vanished, leaving me to swim the rest of the way. This happened again after leaving the next island on yet another crafted raft, only this time it happened in the middle of the night and I was plopped into the water next to a great white shark that chewed me to bits. Most of my deaths came as the results of bugs. You will automatically climb trees if you walk near them, meaning that while rushing around I often found myself climbing halfway up a tree trunk without intending to, leading to a couple of nasty falls at low health. Climbing into a shipwreck on one island, I dropped through a hatch into the hull and couldn't climb back out, forcing me to abandon what had been a fruitful start. I expect bugs like this in an alpha, and I expect they'll eventually be fixed. This is just a warning to potential early adopters that there are many. Despite all the bugs and the annoyances of ocean travel, it's still an attractive world to inhabit for a few hours and I'd be interested in returning once the major issues have been addressed. In games like this I tend to initially enjoy the busywork of gathering resources and building shelters, but if there's not much more added soon I can see it getting old in a hurry. At this early stage I can't really see anything that sets Stranded Deep apart from other survival crafting games, except that you won't be attacked by cannibals, animals, or monsters while trying to build your shack. I'm not sure that's enough, though, and I hope it finds a few more ways to stand out System Requirements MINIMUM: OS: Windows Vista or higher Processor: 1.8GHz Intel dual-core and above Memory: 4 GB RAM Graphics: Intel HD5500 and later. Minimum 512MB VRAM. Pixel Shader 3.0 support. Deferred lighting support (most 2005 and later cards support deferred lighting) DirectX: Version 9.0c Storage: 1 GB available space RECOMMENDED: OS: Windows 7 or higher Memory: 4 GB RAM Graphics: NVIDIA GTX600 or ATI HD7000 series with 2GB VRAM DirectX: Version 9.0c Storage: 1 GB available space

Much of the illegal logging takes place on the lands of indigenous tribes Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rainforest rose sharply last month as the country prepared to send troops to try to curb illegal logging and mining. Brazil's space research agency said the area destroyed in April was 64% bigger than in the same period last year. In the first four months of 2020, destruction of the forest by illegal loggers and ranchers rose 55%, it said. Environmentalists say President Jair Bolsonaro's policies and rhetoric encourage illegal activity. Mr Bolsonaro denies this. Earlier this week he authorised the deployment of armed forces to the region. The Amazon rainforest is a vital carbon store that slows down the pace of global warming. -Indigenous group takes on mining giant -Old enemies unite to save their land -'We won't accept the destruction of our rights' Brazil's National Institute of Space Research (Inpe) said that more than 405 sq km (156 sq miles) of the Amazon had been deforested last month compared with 248 sq km in April last year. Between January and April, a total of 1,202 sq km was wiped out, it said. Conservation groups said that, since the coronavirus outbreak began, fewer government enforcement agents had been deployed. Brazil has been one of the worst-affected countries in South America, with 141,000 cases and nearly 10,000 deaths. Government agents discovered this illegal gold mine in the heart of the rainforest "The pandemic has not helped because there are apparently less agents out there and illegal loggers obviously don't care about the virus in remote areas of the Amazon," said Paulo Barreto, senior researcher for the non-profit conservation group Imazon. Environmental enforcement agency Ibama said it was scaling back field agents in other at-risk areas but not in the Amazon. Deforestation in the region has soared since President Bolsonaro took office last year. He has argued that more farming and mining in protected areas of the forest are the only way to lift the region out of poverty. Mr Bolsonaro's environmental policies have been widely condemned but he has rejected the criticism, saying Brazil remains an example for conservation. He has criticised Ibama for what he described as excessive fines. His first year in office saw a sharp drop in financial penalties being imposed for environmental violations. At the same time, the agency remains underfunded and understaffed.

Game information Initial release date: August 29, 2018 Genre: Survival game Developers: CREEPY JAR S.A, Forever Entertainment S. A. Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows Publishers: CREEPY JAR S.A, Forever Entertainment S. A. Day 4 in the jungle: I’ve adopted a diary format, as to cleverly convey basic information about the game I’m reviewing in a thematic way. Today, as I neared the summit of moss-slicked ridge on the outskirts of a fuggy mangrove swamp, I encountered what can only be described as a discovery that will shake the very foundations of ornithology. A flock of brilliantly coloured birds, flying in a such a way as to spell out: “Green Hell is a first person survival game set in the Amazon rainforest. You play amnesiac American anthropologist Jake Higgins, as he attempts to brave nature, build shelters, hunt and fight, find his missing wife, and avoid eating so many poisonous mushrooms that he craps himself to death.” Truly, we are but mewling babes in the face of nature’s many undiscovered permutations. Alright, enough of that. So: survival in Green Hell means micromanagement. You’ll be monitoring your vitals with the help of two nicely diegetic UI elements. First, there’s a watch which triples up as a compass and a macronutrient tracker. The tracker has colour-coded quadrants for proteins, carbs, fats, and hydration, all of which are gained in different quantities from scarfing various foods. Let any macro fall too low, and you’ll suffer health penalties. Hydration, naturally, tends to deplete quicker than the other three. Also, the watch is quite swish, I suppose, if you’re the sort of person who owns an Elon Musk body pillow that tracks how many times you scream in your sleep. The second UI menu is a sort of quartered vitruvian man icon where you can inspect both your arms and legs, twisting them around to check for leeches, bites, and other wounds you get for being rubbish at nature. Leeches tend to latch onto you when you walk through water, and slowly drain your sanity meter, an effect I was not aware leeches had, so you’ll need to manually pluck them off. You can restore your sanity by doing opulent, coddled things like eating canned cheese and sleeping on real beds, but if it gets too low, you’ll hear disparaging voices and the screen will go black and white. Nuanced! A snake bite might inject you with fever and slow acting poison which, depending on the difficulty level, will possibly kill you unless treated with a medicinal bandage. Need I also remind you that this, mate, is the jungle, not one your millennial ‘Boots’ shops, so you’ll need to be craft both the bandage and the medicine from the appropriate plants. So, what we’ve got here is a system that simulates the consequences of horrible illness through a tactile UI. Or, if you prefer, ludonarrative dysentery. Not only is it tangible and cogent but, if you’re like me, and get squeamish about the way arm bones move, really uncomfortable. This diegetic UI job extends to your inventory, where you’ll open a backpack that has its own compartments for sticks, weapons, herbs, food, and ropes. It’s just one example of an overall attention to detail that makes performing even the most mundane actions far more enjoyable than they should be. One of the best things about the crafting system is the multiple uses some objects have, and probably the best example of this is the humble (but secretly arrogant ) coconut. Wild coconuts have a green shell you’ll need to hit with something to open. After you’ve cracked it, a world of coco-possibilities await you. You can drink the coconut water, open the coconut, either eat the flesh raw or cook it, use the empty coconut shells as makeshift bowls to collect rainwater or make soup in, or tie a rope around the coconut to make a flask. Many other items are similarly versatile, although crafting recipes often tend to strike a balance between intuitive real-world solutions and slightly obtuse adventure-game logic. I recommend consulting a handy crafting guide. I did, and I’m a better man for it. So, between the variety of illnesses and wounds, the constant hunt for nutrients, and the occasional wild animal or tribesperson attack, there’s about 10 squillion ways to get deaded at any one time. With the genre, I find the tension of survival mechanics can sometimes act as a smokescreen – everything feels exciting and interesting because you’re under threat, but remove these harsh mechanical consequences, and the world often lacks coherence or beauty or any real sense of place. Among Green Hell’s many custom difficulty settings, there’s an option to play with survival mechanics switched off entirely, so you’re free to just explore the jungle and build settlements. To me, this indicates confidence on Creepy Jar’s part that the environment — and in story mode, the, um, story — is worth experiencing on its own terms. It’s actually a well-placed confidence. Green Hell’s Rain Forest is lush, and vibrant, and all the other words people usually use to describe very nice trees. The wildlife, in particular, is a real highlight. It’s always a treat to have the endless green pierced by flashes of brilliant colour from an animal visitor. All ur jungle faves r here. There’s armadillos! (Crunchy on the outside, devious criminal rats on the inside.) Tree frogs! (Colorful and chewy, like slimey skittles.) Tapir! (What? I hardly even know ‘ir!) The law of the jungle goes thusly: If you can see it, and you can hit it with a rock on a stick until it stops moving, you can cook and eat it. You can even make armour from armadillo carapace or gather rainwater in a tortoise shell. Then, when you’ve wiped the last specks of tasty tapir grease from your chin, you can craft a spear from its bones and use it to kill the tapir’s children, just like in that Lion King song, I assume. But then what about the story mode? It took me about fifteen hours on the slightly easier than normal custom difficulty I used. (As John Walker — RPS in peace — pointed out in his preview, the nutrition demands the game makes of you on its default setting are a bit much, but easy mode removes them entirely, which is no fun. Custom is the way to go for a first run, I think.) Story progress is structured to segment areas and objectives as to provide discrete pockets of open, survival gameplay strung together with more linear story sections which can, nonetheless, often be finished in different ways. The environment itself strikes a nice balance between areas that feel handcrafted to guide the player, and areas that may well also be handcrafted but feel wild and unpredictable. You could, if you wanted, ignore the objectives completely and just live in the first camp you build. Me, I like having objectives other than ‘stay alive’ because I already do that every day, and it is, quite frankly, a massive hassle. The plot is presented well. The voice acting is good. There’s some ayahuasca trip cutscenes that are beautiful and dramatic. It’s reminiscent of a smarter, more human, more grounded Far Cry, one written by and for people that have a frame of reference that extends beyond other video games, and also people that aren’t afraid to explicitly condemn their shitty protagonist when necessary. There’s a clear love for flora and fauna and wildlife and anthropology instead of aggressive pud-tugging over different types of assault rifle. What surprised me most was how it manages to transcend the pulp exploitation aesthetic a game called Green Hell might suggest. Mostly. If you’ve seen the Steam trailer, you’ve seen that the game features whooping, bounding, aggressive tribes painted up like skeletons. Reviews editor and Roman Ouija board meddler Nate pointed me in the direction of a 1940’s Vincent Price film of the same name, and a more recent Eli Roth with some superficial similarities. I won’t lie, I went in expecting some bullshit. Half joking, half praying for the possibility of a ‘white phosphorous moment’ that subverted the “poor white rich guy gets lost in the spooky jungle with scary savages” it seemed to be going for. Well, it’s only got one of those, hasn’t it? It’s still a bit silly, and a bit one dimensional, but yes, it does at least flirt with postcolonial theory, about white people sticking their Ray-Bans where they don’t belong. Overall, I think it’s still too focused on ‘what white people think about tribal society’ than ‘what tribal society thinks’, and yes, since the game’s advertising still relies on ‘spooky savages’ they could fairly be accused of having their capybara and eating it. But hey. It’s not an absolute shitshow. As well as the story mode, there’s yer survival mode, and a variety of challenges like ‘build a really snazzy village’ or ‘get your radio back from the tribe’, which let you spend time focusing on things like crafting, building, and combat. Aside from the plot, I’d say most of what held my attention about Green Hell was how dazzlingly beautiful and technically impressive it was, but the more traditional survival elements are all solid enough that I look forward to playing more. So, it turns out that the jungle does indeed got fun, games, and whatever you may need, providing what you need has a very strong stick component. System Requirements : MINIMUM: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 7/8/10 64-bit Processor: 3.2 GHz Dual Core Processor Memory: 4 GB RAM Graphics: GeForce GTX 660, Radeon RX 460 or equivalent with 2 GB of video RAM DirectX: Version 11 Storage: 8 GB available space Sound Card: DirectX compatible RECOMMENDED: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 7/8/10 64-bit Processor: 3.2 GHz Dual Core Processor Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: GeForce 970, Radeon RX 580 or equivalent with 4GB of video RAM DirectX: Version 11 Storage: 8 GB available space Sound Card: DirectX compatible

A woman who accuses Democratic White House candidate Joe Biden of sexually assaulting her 27 years ago has called on him to quit the presidential race. In an interview, Tara Reade urged Mr Biden to "please step forward and be held accountable". She added: "You should not be running on character for the president of the United States." Mr Biden, who is set to challenge President Donald Trump in November has denied Ms Reade's accusation. The former vice-president is running against Donald Trump What is the allegation? Ms Reade, now 56, worked as a staff assistant to Mr Biden from 1992-93 when he was a senator for the US state of Delaware. She has said that in 1993 he forced her against a wall and put his hands under her shirt and skirt, penetrating her with a finger, after she delivered him his gym bag. "I remember him saying, first, as he was doing it 'Do you want to go somewhere else?' and then him saying to me, when I pulled away... he said 'Come on man, I heard you liked me,'" Ms Reade told podcast host Katie Halper in March. "That phrase stayed with me." -What’s behind the Biden sexual harassment allegation -Third White House run for 'Middle Class Joe' -Joe Biden, the touchy-feely politician What did Ms Reade say in the new interview? In a clip from the interview released on Thursday, Ms Reade was asked by host Megyn Kelly if she wanted Mr Biden to withdraw from the race. In a clip from the interview released on Thursday, Ms Reade was asked by host Megyn Kelly if she wanted Mr Biden to withdraw from the race. "I wish he would, but he won't, but I wish he would," she said. "That's how I feel emotionally." Ms Reade offered to take a lie detector test about her claim, on condition that Mr Biden do so also. "I will take one if Joe Biden takes one," she said. Ms Reade continued: "His campaign is taking this position that they want all women to be able to speak safely. I have not experienced that." She said that she had received a death threat after Biden supporters accused her without evidence of being a Russian agent. "It's been stunning how - some of his surrogates with the blue checks [verified identities] - you know, his surrogates have been saying really horrible things about me and to me on social media," said Ms Reade. "He hasn't himself, but there is a measure of hypocrisy with the campaign saying it's been safe - it's not been safe. "All of my social media has been hacked, all of my personal information has been dragged through. "Every person that maybe has a gripe against me, maybe an ex-boyfriend or an ex-landlord or whatever it is has been able to have a platform rather than me." How did Biden's campaign respond? Biden campaign communications director Kate Bedingfield said in a statement after the interview aired that Ms Reade's story contained "inconsistencies". "Women must receive the benefit of the doubt," said the statement. "They must be able to come forward and share their stories without fear of retribution or harm - and we all have a responsibility to ensure that. "At the same time, we can never sacrifice the truth. And the truth is that these allegations are false and that the material that has been presented to back them up, under scrutiny, keeps proving their falsity." Mr Biden, who is the Democratic party's presumptive presidential nominee, broke his silence on the matter a week ago, appearing on a morning television show to brand the allegations "false". What other latest developments are there? A court document from 1996 shows Ms Reade's ex-husband describing "a problem she was having at work regarding sexual harassment, in US Senator Joe Biden's office", according to the San Luis Obispo Tribune. The file obtained by the California newspaper appears to be the only document from the time that might describe Ms Reade's allegation. Theodore Dronen, her then-husband, penned the court memo during a divorce battle. Mr Dronen wrote that his wife had told him she "eventually struck a deal with the chief of staff of the Senator's office and left her position," the Tribune reported. "It was obvious that this event had a very traumatic effect on [Reade], and that she is still sensitive and effected [sic] by it today," he continued. Ms Reade's brother, a former neighbour and a former colleaguehave all said they heard her describe the accusation against her boss after the alleged incident. And her mother appears to have called a CNN show about the claim back in 1993. High-powered Manhattan lawyer Douglas Wigdor said in a statement that he is representing Ms Reade. He has represented alleged sexual assault victims of jailed Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. Could the allegations hurt Biden? Some Republicans are seizing on the Reade accusation to portray Democrats as hypocrites who only defend women when claims of wrongdoing are aimed at conservatives. Mr Trump himself has faced a barrage of sexual misconduct allegations, which he also denies. He once boasted of grabbing women by the genitals. However, the Democrats have much more strongly championed the #MeToo movement, which backs women who make accusations of sexual assault and calls for their stories to be heard. Women are a core constituency for the party, traditionally giving more votes to Democratic candidates than Republicans. Some liberal women have said they believe Tara Reade but will vote for Mr Biden anyway because they view Mr Trump as much worse. November's presidential election will be the first of the #MeToo era, and Mr Biden has framed it as a "battle for the soul of America".

Abigail and her brother wanted to give coffee-drinkers a reusable option when it came to cups The BBC's weekly The Boss series profiles different business leaders from around the world. This week we speakto Abigail Forsyth, founder and managing director ofreusable cup business KeepCup. When Abigail Forsyth first came up with the idea of making and selling reusable coffee cups, one of the first designers she approached to help was utterly dismissive. "He said to me that it was the stupidest idea he had ever seen," remembers Abigail. Things didn't improve when she then went to one potential manufacturer."He said to me 'this is just a cup. There's heaps of things that have been made by people [that are] much cleverer and more useful than what you've done, [and they didn't sell]'." The cups come in a multitude of sizes and colours This was in 2008 in Melbourne, Australia. Abigail and her brother Jamie had come up with the idea for KeepCup because they were increasingly horrified by the billions of single-use coffee cups that end up in landfill every year. They knew first hand just how bad the situation was, because they had spent the previous 10 years running a small chain of coffee shops. And so they were determined to try to do something about it. Rather than being upset or deterred by the initial negativity they faced, Abigail says it made them determined to work as hard as possible to make the business a success. "It was a real wake-up call," says the 48-year-old. Fast forward to today, and KeepCup has now sold more than 10 million cups around the world. The company estimates that this has prevented some eight billion disposable ones going into rubbish bins. Billions of single-use coffee cups are binned every year around the world Born in Glasgow, but raised in Melbourne, Abigail initially trained to be a lawyer. After working as solicitor for four years from 1994 she then quit to join the cafe business. When the siblings started working on initial designs for the first plastic KeepCups, Abigail says that it was Jamie who insisted that it had to be a desirable product, with lots of bright colours. "Jamie was always saying its got to be sexy, and I was probably more along the lines of it's got to be sustainable, " she says. With the first batch of cups produced by early 2009, they officially launched the product at a design fair in Melbourne. Abigail says the cups were an immediate hit, and they sold 1,000 in the space of six hours. Abigail and her brother previously ran a chain of coffee shops "At that first design market it was all about the design," she says. "People were saying 'I don't even know what it is, but I want one'. "It quickly became apparent that people would buy it and want to use it, because they liked the colour, or the design, or what it said about them as a coffee drinker. "And the behaviour change would just follow because you like using the product - rather than doing something because it's a worthwhile thing to do but it's a bit inconvenient." With the cups available in different sizes, from 120ml for espressos up to 474ml for large iced coffees or smoothies, KeepCup started selling both to cafes and direct to consumers via its website. It also sells to corporate clients, which include Australian airline Qantas, and the Bank of England. Manufacturing is done in the UK and Australia Sales have grown steadily over the years, thanks to positive word of mouth, and attending trade shows. The firm's annual revenues are now reported to be more than 8m Australian dollars ($5m; £4m). Growth has all been organic, with the company not needing any outside investors. In 2014 Abigail bought out her brother, who now runs lunchbox business BeetBox. To back up its environmental credentials, all KeepCup's manufacturing is completed locally in its two main markets - Australia and the UK. This is to avoid the pollution that would have otherwise been produced from shipping them from China or some other country with lower manufacturing costs. All its packaging is made from either recycled or Forest Stewardship Certified cardboard and paper. Meanwhile, its main offices in Melbourne and London are both solar powered, and the firm now donates 1% of its revenues to environmental projects after signing up to theglobal 1% For The Planet scheme. Paul Klymenko, chief executive of Australian environmental group Planet Ark, says that "for over a decade KeepCup have been pioneers in durable and reusable products which contribute to the creation of a circular economy". He adds that the company has "created products which people enjoy using time after time, minimising waste and reducing the need for virgin resources such as trees". Back at KeepCup, Abigail says the business has been "severely affected" by the continuing Covid-19 pandemic. While most coffee shops in its main markets remain closed, others are refusing to accept reusable cups. "Reuse can, and does, continue," she says. "For added precaution some cafes are now dosing from one cup to another or washing reusables prior to filling. "[And] many of our customers have been in touch asking us to continue to advocate against single-use, highlighting that single-use does not equal sterile." Coffee shop closures have hit KeepCup's sales She adds that KeepCup users should always keep their cups clean and dry when not in use. Looking behind coronavirus, Abigail says she wants KeepCup to be seen as the business "that kick-started the demise of the disposable cup". She adds: "People have always said 'how can you have a business with just one product, a cup?'. But I think it's like the gateway drug, it opens the conversation around sustainability and waste, and frees people up to take it further in their own lives, however they choose."

Game information Initial release date: April 22, 2020 Developer: Andromeda Entertainment Publisher: Andromeda Entertainment Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS, Macintosh operating systems With present global circumstances encouraging everyone to stay safely glued to their video games rather than enjoy the sun outside, there’s really no further excuse to leave your VR headset amassing dust in the corner of your room on a hot day. And given the collective stress the world is under right now, a meditative VR experience is just what the doctor ordered – especially for those still reeling from the exhilaration of Half-Life: Alyx. Self-touted as “the first video game measured to produce altered states of consciousness,” SoundSelf: A Technodelic is a meditation app – playable both “flat” and in VR – which completed its Kickstarter funding over 7 years ago, and is now finally available for all to play. I say “play,” but it’s worth emphasising that SoundSelf is one of the VR medium’s many exploratory hybrids of game and app; there are no conventional goals, beyond simply completing whatever timed meditation period you set for yourself. After the calming voice of “Sophia” guides the user through the initial breathing exercises, SoundSelf’s major hook unveils itself, with participants encouraged to use their own voices to mani[CENSORED]te the on-screen visuals and in turn guide them into the heavens. As you’re hurled into a kaleidoscopic world of shapes and sounds, your own humming, vocalisations, and even your own breathing will influence precisely what your eyes and ears are witness to. It’s a neat concept for sure, and one which sporadically, fleetingly impresses in its trippiness, yet for the most part SoundSelf’s thorough lack of content and inconsistent presentation make it feel rather half-baked. As an anxiety sufferer, the game’s soothing introduction disappointingly gives way to a relatively unremarkable core experience which doesn’t offer much beyond some fairly rudimentary visual modulation. Hearing your own voice filtered through synthesizers is at least a neat trick, but both the sound and visuals feel lacking compared to many other VR meditation apps; I too often felt like I was just staring at a decent Windows Media Player-esque screensaver. Basic functionality can also be mildly frustrating; moving your head more than a few inches is an easy way to trigger a fade to black, and the overall lack of features is a certain fatal flaw. The main menu should accommodate at least some basic customisation options such as filters or other choices of music, not to mention the ability to disable the pre-lightshow preambles. But the prevailing sentiment is that SoundSelf only sometimes relaxed me, and often quite the opposite; there were instances where the droning music played as vaguely ominous, immediately placing me in the head-space of a David Lynch movie rather than anything close to a positively transcendent experience. As it stands, this feels like a tech demo, a free or budget app rather than a game that, astoundingly, retails for £24.95 on Steam. While there will certainly be those who connect with SoundSelf’s mindful journey into one’s own consciousness, it’s ultimately just too blatantly piecemeal to suffice – or justify that incredibly high price tag. System Requirements MINIMUM: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 10 Processor: Intel i5 2500 equivalent or better Memory: 6 GB RAM Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 460 equivalent or better Storage: 3 GB available space Additional Notes: Microphone and Headphones Required RECOMMENDED: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 10 Processor: Intel i5-4590 equivalent or better Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: NVidia GTX 970 equivalent or better Storage: 3 GB available space Additional Notes: Microphone and Headphones Required

Ruth Bader Ginsburg is the court's most senior liberal justice, and her health is closely watched US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has taken part in legal arguments from her hospital bed, just a day after she was admitted with a gallbladder condition. Ms Ginsburg, 87, participated in two cases shortly after receiving non-surgical treatment for an infection. A court spokeswoman earlier said she was "resting comfortably" at Baltimore's Johns Hopkins Hospital. Ms Ginsburg is expected to stay in hospital until Thursday. As the court's most senior liberal justice, her health is closely watched. She has received hospital treatment a number of times in recent years, but has returned swiftly to work on each occasion. -Why half of America panics when this woman falls ill -Meet the Supremes - the judges on the top US court -Why is the US top court so important? Supreme Court justices serve for life or until they choose to retire, and supporters have expressed concern that if anything were to happen to Ms Ginsburg then a more conservative judge might replace her. President Donald Trump has appointed two judges since taking office, and the current court is seen to have a 5-4 conservative majority in most cases. Ms Ginsburg was treated for an inflammatory condition of the gallbladder known as acute cholecystitis on Tuesday afternoon, court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said. Ms Ginsburg has become an icon for US liberals in recent years The court's justices heard oral arguments by telephone on Wednesday due to the coronavirus outbreak. They considered a case relating to the Affordable Care Act and another relating to federal law on automated calls. Ms Ginsburg's voice was reported to be weaker than normal, but picked up as the proceedings went on. She posed lengthy questions during the first case, which concerned a requirement that employers cover birth control in their health insurance plans. President Donald Trump's administration changed this law in 2017 and allowed employers to obtain a religious exemption, but this has been challenged in the courts. "You have just tossed entirely to the wind what Congress thought was essential, that women be provided these services with no hassle [at] no cost to them," Ms Ginsburg told the Trump administration's lawyer on Wednesday. Social media users pointed out that at one point in the call the sound of a flushing toilet could be heard, suggesting the dangers of teleconferencing can also affect America's highest court. Ms Ginsburg is the oldest sitting justice on the Supreme Court, and has suffered a number of recent health scares. Last November, she was taken to hospital after suffering chills and a fever. In August, she was treated for a cancerous tumour on her pancreas. She received treatment for colon cancer in 1999, and pancreatic cancer in 2009. And in December 2018, she had surgery to remove two cancerous nodules from her lung. She has also suffered fractured ribs from falls. Ms Ginsburg was nominated by President Bill Clinton in 1993 - becoming the second woman ever to join the Supreme Court. In recent years, she has been the subject of a biopic, On the Basis of Sex, a documentary, and a bestselling book called Notorious RBG. She has refused to retire from her role, once saying in an interview: "As long as I can do the job full steam, I will be here."

Game Information Initial release date: April 21, 2020 Developer: Arclight Creations Publisher: Klabater Platforms: PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Linux I’ve always been a big fan of the disaster movie or those many ‘against all odds’ type of films and books – you know the drill, something terrible happens like a plane crashing onto a desert island or a cruise ship sinking in the middle of the ocean. It is these tales which bring together groups of very different people, put together in order to work as a team and survive. Help Will Come Tomorrow comes with the same principles, but it delivers something much more grittier then the usual Towering Inferno template. Surviving here is a much longer and harder prospect, so wrap up warm as it’s about to get very cold. I’ve played a lot of survival games over the course of the last year or so and I’m fast getting used to partaking in endless human misery and how to eat plant roots. In Help Will Come Tomorrow – which is set in Russia in 1917 at the dawn of the Russian Revolution – a group of strangers are found traveling across Siberia on a train. There is an accident, caused by a bunch of revolters hijacking the train, and four individuals find themselves stranded; alone and cold in the Siberian wilderness. How they survive next is up to you. There are three different difficulty settings found in Help Will Come Tomorrow, yet I would encourage you to choose the lowest first because this is hard enough as it is. Once you start the game you find yourself in control of the four survivors, and it is you who will determine whether they live or die. These are randomly sourced from the train survivors at the start of each game, and so you may start with a working-class cook, a captain of the guard, a member of the aristocracy, or a revolutionary worker perhaps. Each member will have an interesting backstory that you will discover throughout the playthrough and these are pretty great tales, full of very good dialogue and narrative. The four characters start in a clearing in some woods, with each having three action points to spend per day. You will firstly and most importantly build a fire, which is done by clearing the snow away and getting a character or two to build it. That would take one action point, for example. Then you could build a shelter, or a makeshift workshop to craft tools like a knife or shovel. Or a quarantine area if someone gets sick and you need to separate them from the group to stop the spread of disease. But then you’ll also need to consider what would happen if you get attacked, and how to stop wild animals being attracted by the fire. Well, it’s obvious that keeping the fire low will avoid attention, but then you suffer the risk of dying from the cold, harsh environment. There are so many decisions to make and so little time to make them in Help Will Come Tomorrow. After each action is used, you’ll play out the end of the day, allowing the characters to talk through the night to build relationships – or destroy them – with dialogue trees and stories of past lives being told Throughout your time you’ll be needing resources; that is a gimme, and will keep everyone alive. You can get these by clearing snow away or laying snares for tiny creatures for food. But you can also send a small party out on exhibitions looking for resources. These journeys could well be risky, seeing some possibly killed or lost, but the rewards might just be worth it; items and much-needed resources come to the fore. Alongside all these, there are narrative events you will find on these sorties, giving much-needed exposition about the events going on around you; they work brilliantly in providing a break from the grind. Visually and Help Will Come Tomorrow has a serious animated tone and design that reminds me of The Banner Saga. It works well and the character animation is extremely well-drawn with a good attention to detail. The menus can however feel cluttered at times and that’s to do with the sheer amount of information on offer. The locations are bleak but great, with some lovely static artwork on offer in the narrative sections, while soundtrack-wise the game plays a constant background offering that is full of passion and drama. Help Will Come Tomorrow on platforms is most definitely one of those games that survival enthusiasts should try. The options available and the reliance on stats and daily tasks while balancing the needs and traits of your characters is a constant tension and some will relish in the challenge. For me, I adore the artwork, the writing and the setting, but the controls are sometimes a little troublesome; clicking through on the wrong thing on the menus causes plenty of confusion. When the game settles down though and you get used to what it brings, then it comes into its own with exploration elements and a whole host of wonderful stories. It’s certainly a good, solid survival game but I do worry about it coming across as too complicated for newcomers to the genre. System Requirements MINIMUM: OS: Windows 7 SP1 / 8.1 / 10 Processor: 3.0 GHz Dual-Core - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 / Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Memory: 2 GB RAM Graphics: 1 GB VRAM, DirectX® 10 Compatible DirectX: Version 9.0c Storage: 2 GB available space RECOMMENDED: OS: Windows 7 SP1 / 8.1 / 10 Processor: 3.1 GHZ DUAL-CORE, INTEL® CORE I3 Memory: 4 GB RAM Graphics: 2 GB VRAM, DirectX® 10 Compatible DirectX: Version 1 Storage: 2 GB available space

Title: Warhammer Underworlds: Online Initial release date: January 28, 2020 Developer: Steel Sky Productions Publishers: Steel Sky Productions, Steel Sky Productions Pty. Ltd Skirmish Deck Building Gets Competitive Warhammer Underworlds Online is a digital reflection of the po[CENSORED]r deckbuilding, tabletop skirmish game from Games Workshop. WUO is simple to play, but with a lot of complexity and hybrid elements. There's a huge amount of depth and tactics around every facet, from initial deck creation, to board and objective placement and then managing the limited actions and dice odds, all building towards the perfection of finding the balance of deck-creation and game knowledge that will find you victory. But we'll get to that. Spiteclaw makes a break through the Farstriders line. To play Warhammer Underworlds Online, players pick from a set of pre-selected warriors, known as a Warband. On release, the core game gives you access to 6 different warbands, and more will be available through DLC at a later date. The tabletop version of Warhammer Underworlds has 8 warbands a season (and is currently in season 3), so there's a lot of future expansion for WUO. Each warband comes with a different number of fighters. Some, like the Farstriders and Steelhearts Champions, are hard-hitting and tough, but there are only 3 of them. The Sepulchral Guard are slow and relentless, coming in a squad of 7 warriors who can be resurrected if they fall. Ironskull's Boyz and Magore's Fiends are aggressive, combat warbands that come with 4 warriors each and Spiteclaw's Swarm are 5 fast and deadly ratmen. Each warband comes with a pre-made deck to get you straight into the action after working through the tutorial. It's a good idea to use these decks to get used to how each group plays before looking to build your own deck. Each faction also has very different skill levels. Ironskull's Boyz and Magore's Fiends are beginner-friendly due to their single-minded aggressive play. Steelhearts Champions and the Farstriders are the most forgiving due to their toughness and only having 3 warriors to worry about makes them simple to pilot. Spiteclaw's Swarm and the Sepulchral Guard, due to their fragility, a larger number of warriors and complex abilities, have a much higher learning curve and are very unforgiving of mistakes. An alternative paint scheme for Magore's Fiends. The central part of the gameplay for WUO is 3 turns of 4 alternating actions for both players. During your activation, 1 of your fighters can carry out an action. Actions include moving, attacking, or carrying out a special action for a fighter, like Spiteclaw who can bring his fighters that have been taken out back onto the board. There are also 2 types of cards that are used during the game. Power cards are used for bonus effects like giving your fighters bonuses to attack or defense or giving them permanent upgrades and Objective cards, which are scored to earn glory points, which is how you win. Players have a total of 12 actions in each game. This limited number of actions means that every action counts, and what makes action sequencing so important. This, combined with deck-building and dice odds knowledge, is what makes WUO so competitive. Deeper skill comes from board and objective placement at the start of the game, and that comes from knowledge of each faction, and their deck types and aims. We cover all the different elements of Warhammer Underworlds Online, from board placement to deck building in our Guide, so we won't go into too much detail here and the above is just to stress that it's not a game that players will be experts at overnight. Magore and Severin battle, leader to leader Warhammer Underworlds Online is, in essence, very simple to play, especially over the tabletop version as most of the complexity is done by the game engine. This leads to a false sense of simplicity with WUO. Most of my experience with the tabletop version, and the skill I have developed, has come from defeats. Games can still be won, even after all of your fighters have been taken out, depending on your deck build, and it's impossible to experience this unless you see games through to the end. A large percentage of our Warhammer Underworlds Online experience involves players conceding in the first or second round, after a fighter has been taken out, or they fail a dice key dice roll. In online card games, if the match reaches a point that it's unwinnable, or the result is clear, it's easy to concede in order to get the next game going. In Warhammer Underworlds, entering the last round with a huge glory difference between you and your opponent, you will know from your final 3 cards if you can win, then conceding seems like a logical choice, but there's still a lot to learn in the final round. You can still get a look at your opponent's deck and also look to where you can improve your own. What cards would be useful in the current board state and how could you turn it to a win in future if you were to edit your deck? The WUO roll-off prior to deployment. WUO captures everything from the tabletop version and graphically it's got a huge amount going for it. The animations for the warriors, the different color options for each warband and the visuals for the boards and the surrounding landscape capture the theme and feel of Warhammer Underworlds perfectly. However, it's currently let down by the online experience. Due to the length of time for games and small numbers of players at certain times, you can be waiting in match-making for a while. After you've taken the time to set up the boards and deploy your fighters, if your opponent concedes during the first turn because a roll didn't go their way, it can be extremely frustrating. It would be impossible to penalize players for conceding, it could just put them off playing more games further reducing the player-base. As the number of players grows and more ranked play is possible (players concede less when their ranking is at state) then this will be less and less of an issue, but at the moment, it dominates most of the experience. It is possible to challenge friends, and this is the best way to play currently, especially as the standard for the tabletop Warhammer Underworlds is best of 3, as games can be hampered by bad card draws. Best of 3 also allows you to learn from the first match against the same opponent, improving your board and objective placement for the next games Deck editing in WUO. There are limited card options for deckbuilding currently. Universal card drops are going to happen periodically, increasing the card choice and deck options for each warband, but for the moment it feels very restrictive. There's not much variation between deck builds, so it's hard to deviate deck builds beyond objective-hold or aggressive attack. This was the same in the first year of the physical version, where the limited cards didn't give much variety and it will get better as more cards are released. One area where the digital version trumps the physical is in the buy-in. In the physical version, to be competitive, you need to buy all the current and previous season's warbands to get access to all of the cards that are available for play. Buying the products new can cost around $300. This is because universal cards are released inside each faction pack, forcing you to buy all of the warbands if you wanted access to the cards. WUO isn't like that, and you will only need to buy the warbands you want to play after the core game, as everyone has access to all the currently released universal cards. If you only want to play one of the 6 warbands included in the core release, then you'll never have to buy a DLC. Trying out new warbands is very rewarding, so if you do play and enjoy, then the $6.99 price tag for future factions is great value, especially as you can take a look at all the guides and content for the physical warbands, to see if they interest you before you buy. Fighter deployment in WUO. Warhammer Underworlds Online is a perfect digital representation of the tabletop game. While the current card pool feels restrictive for the veteran tabletop player, more cards are coming and just like during Season 1 of Warhammer Underworlds Shadespire, this will improve. Where the issues are currently is that the tactical nature of it isn't apparent on the first play, and players conceding early isn't ideal for either player, as no-one gets to learn. As more players join, the player base will settle and ranked play will match you against equally ranked players, the whole experience will improve. For the moment, if you're not challenge matching friends directly, then you could be in for a bumpy ride in friendly and ranked play. The tabletop version is certainly Editor's Choice worthy, but the current online experience and card pool make WUO a lesser experience. System Requirements MINIMUM: OS: 64-bit Windows 7, 64-bit Windows 8 (8.1) or 64-bit Windows 10 Processor: Intel Core i5-2300 @ 2.80 GHz / AMD FX-4350 @ 4.2 GHz Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 or AMD Radeon HD 5870 DirectX: Version 11 Network: Broadband Internet connection Storage: 10 GB available space

Today the world has released a new toll The number of new infections in the Corona virus has reached 3 and a half million, in light of the terrible increase in the United States of America, with more than one million infections, 69 thousand deaths, and 157,807 recovering from the epidemic, in the absence of preventive measures. Again, if the precaution is reduced, the virus will resume a wave of infections and deaths

Game Information Initial release date: October 26, 2015 Designer: Julian Gollop Engine: Unity Genre: Tactical role-playing game Developers: Snapshot Games, Gollop Games Platforms: Android, Microsoft Windows, Linux, Macintosh operating systems Chaos Reborn can be frustrating, often baffling, and sometimes even noticeably unfair. That isn't to say that it's a bad game. In fact, it's a pretty good one. However, Chaos Reborn is not a game for everyone. It isn't going to break any sales records, and it's likely to disappoint some of those who buy it. On the other hand, there's plenty of people out there who love fighting against frustration, welcome bafflement, and who can get over seemingly unfair mechanics. These people will be delighted to add it to their collections. Created by Julian Gollop, the designer who brought us the original XCOM, Chaos Reborn takes place in a netherworld where the last remaining wizards repeatedly battle each other in a variety of hexagonally-arranged locations. Combat is turn-based, and initially seems to be familiar point and click fare, typical of turn-based strategy games. Chaos Reborn has one or two tricks up its sleeves though. It has plenty of features that distinguish it from the crowd. Whether you love them or hate them is all a matter of taste. Reviewing Chaos Reborn has us slightly conflicted. It is well presented, full of interesting mechanics, and we never disliked anything about our time playing. Unfortunately the same can be said of the negatives, the story is non-existent, the arenas all start to feel similar after a time, the interesting mechanics can cause endless frustration, and we never really loved anything about our experience either. Aesthetically everything is pleasing. The creature and character designs stray away from typical fantasy clichés. Colour is used to represent different affiliations and different laws (the conditions that either weaken or strengthen certain magic). The environments feel suitably alien and suitably magical. Chaos Reborn has solid foundations, good tutorials and a decent amount of content. However, it can be irritatingly merciless as you attempt to master its system. One match may seem totally unfair only for the next to seem perfectly balanced. It's not a consistent experience. Although it initially appears to be more like a card game akin to Magic: The Gathering, the gameplay is very different. It makes us think of a mix between chess and poker. Like chess the main objective is to keep your king (or wizard in this case) safe while attempting to destroy your opponent's wizard. Like poker there is a considerable amount of luck that can negate the tactics of even the most skilled player. Also like poker, there's opportunities to bluff. Two, three or four wizards square off against each other in any game. Randomly distributed magic abilities are given at the start and are represented by cards that a player selects when they want to attempt to use them. Spells vary from attacking summons, buffs, offensive magic spells, and environment altering conjurations. There's some nice variety in the methods of combat. As well as summoning creatures, such as skeletons, lions, vampires, hydras and manticores, and sending them into battle, you can cast buffs on your own wizard that can raise attack or defence, and have him mount a creature and charge into the fight himself. Of course if your wizard falls, you lose the game, so it may be wiser to keep him out of harm's way. For a more defensive approach you can litter the arena with traps, including paralysing gooey blobs, or death-dealing trees. During each turn players can move around the arena, cast one spell and issue commands to previously summoned creatures. You can do this in any order, allowing for some tactical thinking and risk evaluation. Some spells will only work if you have a clear line-of-sight toward your target, but the same is true of your enemy, so it might be better not lingering in such dangerous positions. Moving, positioning, anticipating and maximising the effectiveness of your casting can be vital to winning, but then again so can something else. Something we're still unsure we like the significance of: luck. While all good games have elements of luck in them, in Chaos Reborn luck is an integral part, one that can single-handedly dictate the outcome of the contest. All summons and the wizards themselves can fall with a single hit. While each creature and ability has certain stats, these really only exist to alter the hit percentage chance. Your hellhound may dominate in stats but one lucky random roll of the dice could see your painfully summoned monster downed by an opponent's weakest summon. I write 'painfully summoned' because each spell has a chance of not working. The percentage is higher for better summons, making summoning them a high-risk strategy because if your summon fails you essentially sacrifice a turn, allowing your opponent a chance to take control of the contest. It's possible to 'bluff' by using an illusion spell which works 100% of the time, but can be easily negated by the enemy guessing that the creature isn't real. The counter is called 'disillusion', and if used successfully it removes your summon from the battlefield and lets your opponent continue their turn. Cast disillusion wrongly (something we're quite prone to doing) and the result is the same as a failed summon, your turn is over The luck variance is enormously high. This is where opinion about Chaos Reborn will be most divided. There is so much uncertainty that players must constantly be prepared to react to new situations, and be prepared to lose any contest. Every turn is a gamble, sometimes it goes wrong and you lose, sometimes you deserve to fail only to come out on top. Some will love the cruel twist of fate that's integral to the game, others will hate it. Gamblers will celebrate the unpredictability. More cautious souls, will be left frustrated and bewildered when their meticulous game plan falls apart because their opponent succeeds in casting three low-chance summons in a row. We almost wept when our strongest unit had the enemy wizard cornered only to miss an 80% hit and be dispatched the very next turn In single-player the importance of luck can be particularly galling as it's easy to feel that the same rules don't apply to the AI and the game is simply rigged to beat you. The best experience is found in the multiplayer. Here each and every player is definitely governed by the same cruel twists of fate. In multiplayer out-witting and deceiving your opponent seems much more natural than it does against AI. There's a certain joy in watching the wizard across from you squander their turn as they believe your high-level summon to be an illusion. There's twisted satisfaction in a rat taking down an elephant. Of course the same suffering that's so enjoyable to inflict on others will also be inflicted upon you - several times over. It's a bit like everybody taking turns to kick each other in the balls, and taking great delight in doing so. The most po[CENSORED]r online mode is the live match-ups. These allow each player limited time to complete a turn. Match-ups are normally over quickly but can stretch beyond 30 minutes under some circumstances. More leisurely players can enjoy asynchronous match-ups. Asynchronous games are played over days or even weeks. You can be involved in up to 20 different asynchronous matches at the same time. Players are never forced to rush into a move and it's ideal for busy people without much time to commit to online gaming. To add variety you can also decide if players are allowed to choose equipment before the match or if everyone competes using a standard load-out. There's also leagues and tournaments run by the community, should you be feeling extra competitive. There's not much similar out there that compares to Chaos Reborn. It's a peculiar mix of turn-based mechanics sprinkled with a smattering of strategy and a large dollop of luck. There's a constant necessity to consider risk and reward, players must learn which moves are smart and which ones are not. There's also the possibility that sometimes you could be playing the best you ever have only to have the cards suddenly fall the other way, sending you crashing down to the losers table through little fault of your own. Before spending any money potential purchasers should strongly consider if they will enjoy the blend of tactics and chance offered in Chaos Reborn. Players who thrive on precision may want to steer clear, but those of you out there who don't mind a little unpredictability and who don't feel cheated when luck leaves them hanging will probably find a lot to like. System Requirements MINIMUM: OS: Windows XP or later Processor: SSE2 instruction set support, or better Memory: 2 GB RAM Graphics: DX9 (shader model 3) or later DirectX: Version 9.0 Network: Broadband Internet connection Storage: 2 GB available space

Initial release date: June 22, 2018 Developers: Krish Shrikumar, Vismaya Limited Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Linux, Macintosh operating systemsVismaya Limited Publishers: Vismaya Limited, Vismaya The modern world is a demanding and uncertain place, both on the personal and the global level. Any news site (or a quick scroll through social media) will tell you as much. At a time when people worldwide are experiencing record levels of stress and anxiety, meditation might not seem like much help; it certainly won’t fix any of the underlying problems. On the other hand, meditation has been shown to reduce stress, help combat depression and anxiety, improve length and quality of sleep, and even relieve physical pain. Unfortunately, many people feel that they don’t have the time for meditation, the interest to try it out, or both. That’s where Playne comes in. ¨ Your Playne starts out barren, but that can change. Meditation With A Plot Playne encourages you to meditate by involving you in a story. You wake up in a different dimension called a Playne (go figure) where time has completely stopped. The sun hasn’t moved, plants haven’t grown, nothing at all has changed in as long as anyone can remember. Your objective is to fix that, and in the process learn about the world and about yourself The world is connected to your mind, and vice-versa. Change in one of them will cause change in the other. Therefore, you are able to change the world by focusing inward and concentrating on your own mental growth - in other words, by meditating. The changes start out small; after your first meditation, you’ll just notice that the sun is setting. However, if you keep coming back and meditating consistently, your Playne will keep growing to mirror the personal growth you’re experiencing On that note, Playne is a very pretty game. I normally don’t think that graphics should make or break a game, but the actual gameplay here - if you could even call it that - is pretty bare-bones. It’s quite satisfying to watch your Playne grow and develop; it’s almost like cultivating a garden, and I don’t think it would have worked without the graphical and artistic quality that’s on display here Ah yes, the first question you ask when woken up in a strange new world with a talking fox: "Do I have to?" How To Get Started Playne is intended for people who have little to no experience with meditation. Immediately upon waking up you’ll meet Fox, who is your guide and storyteller. After the typical, “Who are you, where am I?” conversation, he will guide you through your first meditation. This is where the gameplay, such as it is, begins. Playne is designed to teach what’s called Mindfulness Meditation, a technique where you clear your mind of all thoughts and try to just exist in the moment. It does this with two simple tools: A breathing guide and your mouse. When you are in a meditation in Playne there will be a circle on your screen that expands and contracts. All you have to do is match your breathing to that circle, and click your mouse whenever a stray thought crosses your mind. That’s it; that’s how you play. Don’t get discouraged if it seems like you’re clicking your mouse nearly constantly at first - not thinking about anything isn’t something we do very often, and it’s harder than it sounds. Over time you should see those stray thoughts becoming less and less. The game keeps track of how often and how long you meditate, as well as how many “thoughts” you have during your sessions. If you meditate regularly your Playne will continue to grow, and you’ll also unlock new pieces of the story. Eventually you will learn how the world got to be the way that it is, who you are, how you got there, and your connection to the world. Once you complete the story you’ll unlock Evolve Mode, which is very similar to the story mode except that you are able to walk around and explore an open world while trying to collect seeds and grow a new forest. Wandering the wilderness is its own form of meditation. Game Or Gamification? I am usually the first to call BS when someone tries to haul out that old, “It’s not a real game!” argument. However, I had to take a step back and think about whether Playne really could be considered a game. It certainly uses elements of games: It has a story, it requires some interaction from the player, and it regularly gives you shiny rewards to keep your monkey-brain happy. However, you don’t really “play” Playne in any traditional sense, and the goal is not to have fun, exactly. The core gameplay loop is going into those meditations, then returning to your Playne to see what’s changed and to get the next part of the story, if it’s available. Even the meditations don’t actually require any player interaction - the game itself advises you to close your eyes once you get a comfortable breathing rhythm going, and clicking when you have a thought is only a suggestion, not a requirement. While going through the story I sometimes caught myself wondering whether I could really call this a game, or whether it was more of a glorified meditation app. In the end, I realized that it really doesn’t matter. Playne is a way to help people learn how to meditate and get in the habit of doing it regularly. It’s actually proving pretty difficult to do a traditional review here; as with your stray thoughts in mindfulness meditation, the best way to approach Playne is to take it for what it is without worrying or analyzing. This is exactly what it sets out to be, no more and no less. A Different Approach To Meditation There are any number of meditation aids out there: Books, free and paid apps, YouTube videos, etc. What makes Playne interesting is that it uses gaming conventions and reward systems to encourage you to keep coming back. Instead of just giving you a notification that says, “Hey, it’s time to meditate now!” it lets you watch your world grow and evolve as long as you use the program regularly. At only $9.99, Playne may be worth your attention if you’re interested in meditation but haven’t been able to stick with a program in the past. Between the story and the growing world Playne offers incentives, not just reminders, which can be effective for people who might lose interest otherwise. As I try to come to a conclusion, I can only reiterate that Playne is exactly what it is supposed to be, nothing more and nothing less. It's refreshing in a way - there are no massive promises here, just a tool and an interesting take on a personal practice. For some, that might be exactly what they need. System Requirements MINIMUM: OS: Windows 7 64-bit, 8.1 64-bit or Windows 10 64-bit Processor: Intel core i3-2100T @ 2.5GHz/AMD FX 6100, or better Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650Ti 2GB, AMD Radeon HD 7750 2GB DirectX: Version 11 Storage: 2 GB available space RECOMMENDED: OS: Windows 7 64-bit, 8.1 64-bit or Windows 10 64-bit Processor: Intel Core i5 3570K; AMD Ryzen 3 1300x or equivalent Memory: 16 GB RAM Graphics: Nvidia GTX 960; AMD R9 290 or equivalent DirectX: Version 11 Storage: 2 GB available space

Game Information Developer: Byterunners Game Studio Platform: Microsoft Windows Publisher: Movie Games Playway Abbreviate it: DDS When you are a law abiding citizen, the thought of dealing drugs, and the world that it exists in is usually frowned upon. I personally don’t agree with drug use, and have a strong opinion of those people that peddle the stuff to make a profit at the expense and misery of others. That being said, the world of playing computer games has to be understood to be a made up and fantasy land, and if we all took it too seriously, and followed the action in real life we’d all be running around stealing cars and murdering people like we were taking part in the latest episode of GTA. So if you have ever wondered what would it be like to live in the dark and shady world of a drug dealer, constantly looking over your shoulder, and fearing that the police will chase you and incarcerate you, then wonder no longer. If you own a PC, Byterunners Game studio has made these thoughts a reality with their title Drug Dealer Simulator (DDS) I am going to start by explaining that the full version of the game is not yet released. This review will be based on the Beta demo that is available to everyone for free from the Steam store. As such I can only reflect my views on its current build, and my opinion may not be accurate or relevant by the time the full game is available. Whenever I try a Beta version game I set my expectations accordingly, I understand that there will likely be a number of glitches, I’m also more than prepared for the game to run badly, and potentially crash. I really was pleased that most of these things never occurred. Now I’m certainly not going to say that the game is ready for release, it’s not quite there yet. The game mechanics require a little tweaking, a few bugs were present, and it just needs a little polishing to make it ready for sale. Overall though I have played games that are currently available that are in much worse state than this, so it’s good to see that the developers are working through the issues before cashing in on their project. The main bugs I saw were NPC’s who were stuck in walls, floating in the air and one was running around in a circle. This issue didn’t break the game, nor did it impact on any of the gameplay, it made me chuckle, but it stopped it from feeling polished and made it feel less real, what is a simulator game if it’s not realistic? The premise of the game really is in the title, your aim is to start as a low level drug pusher and build your empire up while still under the watchful eye of the cartel. Your drug supply comes exclusively from one source and it is your responsibility to find clients to sell it to. As the game progresses, you must expand by tagging relevant areas and tempting people with free samples. You control the price of your product per gram, and you also have the option to sell pure gear, or use your drug lab to mix in whatever household item you can get your hands on. In a game where reputation is everything, you must balance profit and drug purity very carefully, no one wants to deal with the guy who sells rubbish. Alongside the selling, communication is important. As this is most definitely illegal activity a specialist network is required, “Shady Comm” allows you to safely talk to your supplier, and take orders. It forms the backbone of the game and fortunately was straight forward and easy to follow In its current build the world map is limited to a small area, glimpses of what could be are shown and the game looks like it will be pleasantly expansive. Navigating the local slum is challenging to begin with, but once you familiarise yourself with your surroundings you’ll be cutting through alleys to avoid the police who constantly patrol and are observing suspicious behaviour. A full map is available at a click of a button, but no minimap is utilised, meaning that you are constantly stopping the action to understand where your next task is located. I also found that no marker system or location pin can be placed, this also made it more confusing than necessary, and I feel this would be a small addition that would make a big impact on how the title plays I’m in a fortunate position that my laptop was able to play DDS on the highest setting, this made for a smooth experience with very little in the way of frame rate drops. The environment is detailed, realistic and well defined. As I wandered through the streets it felt very much like a Hollywood depicted slum, graffiti, burning tyre piles and seedy deals being completed in darkened corners. Byterunners Game studio has done a great job of replicating a complex scene into a playable world. If they maintain this high standard of visual content for the full game release, then the finished product is going to an absolute visual treat and extremely enjoyable to explore At the moment the audio is lacking and is certainly the weakest element. Almost all action is played to silence, the deals have no speech audio, everything is delivered through text, footstep sounds are not present when walking and running, after you have exerted yourself, and your stamina is spent there is no fighting for breath, it’s just business as usual. The lack of quality audio makes the game feel empty, it’s a real chance for the developers to add; suspense, drama and tension to their story, but they have failed to do so. I hope that this is the final part of their jigsaw that they are working on. If the game is released as it is, then I believe a lot of people will be disappointed . The game handles extremely well with a mouse and keyboard, being an almost exclusively console player I struggled at times to get to grips with the key locations, and I would have liked the opportunity to be able to use a controller, maybe this is something that will be added at a later date. I believe that my issues are down to my experiences and nothing to do with how the game is set up, so I know that I will be in the minority of the player base who encounters this problem. A few minor issues were apparent throughout my short 3 hour demo playthrough. I’ve covered the majority so far, but 2 that I haven’t mentioned are, the mobile phone in your inventory doesn’t allow you to read messages, and mission markers on the map can suddenly disappear. These really are minor points, and should be ironed out before release, ultimately the game was relatively trouble free, and one of the best Beta games that I’ve experienced in a long time, the concept is great, and the delivery of missions and miscellaneous tasks was interesting and well thought-out. It’s always going to be hard to make a recommendation on whether a game is worth purchasing when you only get a small taste of how it’s going to look. Based on its current build, and how much I enjoyed playing DDS I’d say it’s certainly going to be worth a punt, with the demo available to everyone on Steam don’t just take my word for it, download it and give it a go. Can you leave behind your safe and legal life to experience the darker side of society? Will you be able to build up your drug empire whilst staying on the right side of the Cartel and the police? Only time will tell