Home » Football » You May Have Russell Wilson Rookie Cards, But Do You Have His First Card?
You May Have Russell Wilson Rookie Cards, But Do You Have His First Card?
Coming out of spring training, there's a lot of buzz around the Seattle Seahawks and their rookie quarterback, Russell Wilson. Since being named the team's starting QB, Russell Wilson rookie cards have soared on the secondary market. He's now in the top tier of the 2012 rookie class, behind Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III.
Over the course of the season, collectors will have a chance to collect more than 30 Russell Wilson rookie cards. But did you know his first licensed cards came out nearly two years ago? He had cards in 2010 Bowman Draft Baseball.
Wilson is also an excellent baseball player. He was drafted out of high school by the Baltimore Orioles in the 41st round in 2008. After going to college, Wilson was picked once again, this time in 2010 by the Colorado Rockies. This time he moved up to the fourth round. Wilson made his way to Class A Asheville in 2011, making a less-than-stellar showing at second base. He hit just .228 with three home runs. That winter, Wilson abandoned baseball to focus on football. He led the Wisconsin Badgers for the 2011 NCAA season.
Wilson has several cards in 2010 Bowman Draft, all of which are listed below. These cards will likely be a novelty, similar to Michael Jordan and Danny Ainge baseball cards. Should Wilson have an excellent career, his baseball cards will hold some value, but never as much as his football cards.


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Part 1 is online here http://www.republibot.com/content/original-fiction-dog-days-part-1 and this is part 2:
Beauchamp woke up to find himself on earth, hallucinating that a dog was looking at him with the somewhat confused expression dogs sometimes get when they're contemplating deep matters. He was disoriented, and confused, flat on his back, but he had to be on earth because the gravity was much heavier than on Mars, and he could smell plants in the air. How the hell did I get back here?, he wondered, how long have I been out? What…oh, yeah, the aliens in the dome…what the hell?
"Arrre you allrrright?" the dog asked. Its voice was entirely inhuman, but it seemed so perfectly what you'd expect a dog to sound like if it could talk that the oddness of it washed right over him for a moment. "I'm fine," he said and raised an arm, then another one. "Well, that can't be right – after all those months in low-and-no gravity, I should be weak as a kitten…wait a minute, did you just…uhm…speak?"
"Yes," the dog replied.
"Well, now I know I'm hallucinating," he said, "Excepting the gravity, of course that's weird." He looked at the dog's head, hovering over him, looking pretty much like you'd expect a large dog – in this case, a black lab – to look, if you were holding it upright – big head, simple, non-expressive face, unusually soulful eyes, thick neck, narrow shoulders and thin arms, or more properly thin forelegs. He uncontrollably started laughing, and giggled out "Speak, boy, speak."
"Cerrrtainly. What would you like me to speak about?"
"Must be a suit malfunction. I must be going giddy on bad air in the suit, that would explain everything excepting the gravity."
"What is it about ourrr grrravity that concerrrns you?"
"Well – do you mind if I sit up?"
"Please, if you feel able,"
"Yeah, I am – obviously I'm hallucinating because first I saw aliens under a big dumb 50s science fiction movie dome on Mars, and then I crashed I think, and now I'm talking to a dog, but I seem oddly unconcerned that I'm probably suffocating or getting anoxia or whatever…" Here he grunted, and swung around on what seemed to be a doctor's examination table, and was suddenly overcome with dizziness, "…whoa. That was weird."
"Interrresting. You arrr dizzy, yes?"
"Yes," his face flushed red, "If I had any food in me, I think I'd have hurled right there." Sitting up, Beauchamp leaned forward to brace himself on his arms, his hands on the end of table.
"The otherrrs experrrienced similarrr disorrrientation upon arrrival," the dog said, then turned to the side and barked some orders – literally barked – at another dog Beauchamp hadn't noticed thus far in the corner of the room, then turned his attention back to the human, "The doctorrr has not had the opporrrtunity to inspect any of you in detail, but we believe yourrr species to be highly susceptible to corrrolis forrrce. The otherrrs seem to be adjusting rrrapidly, howeverrr. It may be easierrr forrr you if you trrry to avoid turrrning yourrr head."
Beauchamp didn't really hear any of this, however. He was gazing down, fixing his eyes on his dangling feet, trying not to throw up, then he noticed the dog's leg next to his – well, that makes sense, he's a dog standing up in my hallucination, so obviously I'd see this but…where's the other leg? His eyes darted around, frantically, realizing there was no other dog's leg to be seen. Instead, there was simply one large furry foot, or paw, oddly symmetrical, with a big toe on either side, and three smaller ones in the middle. The lone ankle was easily as big as a man's – much larger than a dog would normally have – that attached to a leg that tapered up to its hips. From there up, it looked more or less like a normal, largish dog, but from the hips down it looked almost like a seal modified to live on land.
He turned his head to look at the other dog in the corner, and felt nausea rush over him again. Both were identical except for coloring. Both of them were naked, excepting a white vest with lots of overstuffed pockets the one in the corner was wearing. He felt his attention focusing, his pulse racing, the urge to flight or fight rising within him, and moved to get up.
"I can not rrread yourrr exprrression, I apologize. Do you trrruly believe yourrrself to be hallucinating?"
"I did," Beauchamp said in a breathless voice that even he couldn't quite hear. He said it again, "I did." He sidled forward over the edge of the table, feeling his feet on the floor. The upright dog-alien moved towards him, raised a paw and placed it gently on his forearm. Its touch was surprisingly gentle, startlingly so.
"It might be best forrr you to rrremain herrre until yourrr shipmates can be summoned."
Beauchamp reached over with his left hand and touched the alien's paw, pulled it away from his arm and looked at it – a four-fingered hand, black with short fur on the back of the paw and fingers, and something like normal dog leather underneath. There was a short, stubby, but obviously manicured nail poking out of the blunt end of the fingers. He tried to turn the paw over at the wrist to see the bottom, but the dog made a whimpering sound, and yanked it away. Beauchamp felt his urge to run or lash out surge at the sudden movement.
"It doesn't bend that way, sorrry," the dog said, "Herrre, try this," and held his forearm straight up-and-down so Beauchamp could see the bottom of it. There was a dewclaw-like thumb sticking out of the wrist, well below the palm, long and unnaturally thin. Beachamp reached out to touch it, and the dog picked exactly the wrong moment to demonstrate how he could use it to make a very strong vice grip with each of his fingers. Flicking the long, bony worm around like that startled the human, who immediately dropped into a crouch, then lunged forward with his shoulder into a tackle. The dog was heavier than it looked, but lighter than a man. Beauchamp – acting entirely on reflex – misjudged the force he'd need, and both of them ended up toppling over.
The dog made a sound halfway between a canine whimper and a human groan, the other dog made something that was comedically close to a surprised 'yipe', then a growl. Beauchamp cut and ran, but something was wrong, his balance was off. As he moved down the perfectly-square hallway that seemed to be the only way out of the room, he kept leaning to the right, listing against the wall. He was nauseous. He'd run three steps, fall against the wall without meaning to do so, then fall against it again. He ran for what seemed like ten minutes, never quite finding the end of the oddly-twisting hallway, always moving to his left whenever a fork in the path appeared for no reason other than his body kept falling to the right like he had a clubfoot on that side.
He turned a corner and saw a dog-alien, same shape as the others, but larger, very nearly man-sized, and wearing what was obviously armor. It didn't advance on him, just blocked his way. He backtracked away from the thing, and ran down another fork for a minute or two, eventually finding his way blocked by another…well, call it what it obviously is: a guard dog. Three different corridors and three different large guard dogs blocking his way, but not behaving in any way more threatening than that. The chase, such as it was, went on for a half an hour or so.
His pulse began to slacken, his breathing calmed, the blind xenophobic panic in his mind left by degrees. He ducked down a corridor he'd already been down once – the guard dog was further towards the entrance than he'd been before. He tried another one, just in time to see one of the dogs moving forward, and interesting loping movement, it went down on all threes, coiled its hind leg underneath it, made a casual lunging move forward and landed on all threes again, then coiled its hind leg beneath it and moved along again. It was surprisingly graceful.
A voice came over some kind of alien PA system, the voice of the black lab-looking one he'd been talking to before, "My grrrandmother wishes to know why you werrre so concerrrned about the grrravity when you thought this was a hallucination? You may speak in a converrrsational voice, I will be able to hearrr your rrreply."
"Have you ever had any kind of hallucination?" Beauchamp said to the air, still walking along and trying to find a free way out of there.
"I have. Your brain misinterprets stuff, or just openly makes it up, but I've never felt gravity to be different than it really was."
"Interrresting. Is this univerrrsal among humans, or unique to you?" the "K" sound in 'Unique' was oddly pronounced.
Beauchamp paused, "To tell you the truth, I don't know. I assume it's mostly universal, but guess it could be just me."
"And because the grrravity is differrrent than the worrrld we found you on, and differrrent than yourrr homeworld, you feel disorrriented?"
"Well, yeah," he said, moving forward more casually now, "I'd assumed I was on earth when I woke up, but the gravity was all wrong…" he turned a corner and saw what was obviously natural light coming through a doorway, with the silhouette of a dog backlit in it. It spoke, and Beauchamp wasn't at all surprised that it was the one he'd tackled earlier.
"You arrre not on earrrth, norrr arrre you on the otherrr planet, obviously," it said.
Beauchamp stepped forward, "Then where the hell am I?"
"Come forrrwarrrd and see" it said. He stepped through the door…and very nearly blacked out. He was on the side of a hill in what looked to be a very large meadow stretching for miles in all directions, literally as far as the eye could see, filled with plants that were obviously alien but just as obviously plants, a stream, a lake in the distance, a large suspension bridge. Above the meadow on either side were two vast swaths of nighttime sky, replete with stars. Above them were very long, skinny rectangles of plants, streams, lakes, and buildings looking down on him. Between these was a final swath of nighttime sky.
"You arrre on ourrr ship, obviously," the dog said.
"Maybe I should lay down for a moment" Beauchamp said a full minute after he'd abruptly laid down on his back. He couldn't figure out how the massive strips of land above him weren't falling on him, he couldn't escape the obviously massive scope of this ship or world or whatever the hell it was.
"You arrre calmerrr now, yes?" the dog said after a long pause.
"Yes," Beauchamp replied, "I'm sorry, you just kind of freaked me out back there. Did I hurt you?"
The dog made an indescribable noise that later turned out to be their equivalent of laughter, "You should be embarrrassed by how little you hurrrt me, actually." Another long pause.
"You certainly contained that situation well, I'm surprised you were able to…you know…bring me down without fighting or shooting me or whatever it is you…uhm…people…do."
"Yes, we have grrreat experrrience with hearrrding things."
Universe 1

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Jonathan Harshman Winters III (Dayton (Ohio), 11 de novembro de 1925 - Montecito, 11 de abril de 2013) foi um comediante e ator americano.

Tornou-se popular no programa da ABC 'Mork and Mindy', a partir de 1981. Antes, na década de 1950, entrou em shows populares como 'And Here's the Show' ou 'The NBC Comedy Hour'. Em 1991, Winters foi premiado com o Emmy de melhor ator secundário pelo seu desempenho no seriado Davis Rules.

Além da presença em comédias, deu ainda a voz a personagens de desenhados animados, nomeadamente 'Os Smurfs'. É célebre seu personagem Lennie Pike em It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.

Ligações externas

Nascidos em 1925
Mortos em 2013
Humoristas dos Estados Unidos
Atores dos Estados Unidos
Veteranos da Segunda Guerra Mundial dos Estados Unidos
Emmy do Primetime de melhor ator secundário em série de comédia
Alunos do Kenyon College

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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PM to inaugurate Kartarpur corridor checkpost, participate in public programme
Saturday 09 November, 2019 | 11:37 AM READ MALAYALAM VERSION
DERA BABA NANAK: In a few hours from now, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the passenger terminal building of the Kartarpur Corridor which will connect the Dera Baba Nanak in India's Punjab with Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur in Narowal district of Pakistan's Punjab province.
He will flag off the first batch of over 500 Indian pilgrims that will travel to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib through the Kartarpur Corridor which is being thrown open on the occasion of 550th birth anniversary of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev.
The prime minister will inaugurate passenger terminal building, also known as Integrated Check Post, where pilgrims will get clearance to travel through the newly-built 4.5 km-long Corridor.
The Corridor connects Dera Baba Nanak with Darbar Sahib -- also called Kartarpur Sahib -- the last resting place of Guru Nanak Dev, in Narowal district in Pakistan.
Before the inauguration ceremony, Modi will pay obeisance at Ber Sahib Gurudwara at Sultanpur Lodhi, a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office said on Friday. He will later participate in a public programme at Dera Baba Nanak.
The inauguration of the ICP check post will facilitate Indian pilgrims to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib.
India had signed an agreement with the neighbouring nation on October 24 on the modalities for operationalisation of the corridor at ''Zero Point'' of the international boundary at Dera Baba Nanak, the statement said.
The first batch of pilgrims includes former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Akal Takht jathedar Harpreet Singh, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, former CM Parkash Singh Badal, Sukhbir Singh Badal, Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Navjot Singh Sidhu. SGPC members and all the 117 MLAs and MPs from Punjab including ministers are also part of the ''jatha''.
Punjab Minister Tript Rajinder Singh said that all members of first batch have been asked to reach by 10 am.
The state-of-the-art passenger terminal building, its design inspired by ''Khanda'' which a symbol of faith in Sikh community, has been constructed on 18 acres of land.
The building has been constructed on 15 acres of land. The fully airconditioned building, akin to an airport, has over 50 immigration counters for facilitating about 5,000 pilgrims a day.
It has all the necessary public amenities such as kiosks, washrooms, childcare, first aid medical facilities, prayer room and snacks counters inside the main building.
The project was executed by central government agency -- Land Ports Authority of India.
On November 22, 2018, the Union Cabinet had passed a resolution to celebrate the historic occasion of 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev in a "grand and befitting manner", throughout the country and across the globe.
The Cabinet had also approved the building and development of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor from Dera Baba Nanak to the international boundary, to facilitate pilgrims from India to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, round the year, in a smooth and easy manner.
The national flag has been hoisted at the site on a 300-ft-tall post.
Meanwhile, the five-day festival on the occasion of 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev began in Dera Baba Nanak and Sultanpur Lodhi on Friday and will conclude on November 12.
The prime minister will be presented a ''siropa'' (robe of honour) by Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee for participating in the celebrations, former SGPC chief Jagir Kaur, who is in charge of celebrations, said.
general CAA to fulfill old promises to religious minorities in neighbouring countries: Modi
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said his government brought in the Citizenship
general Pinarayi Vijayan writes to PM Modi, seeks airlifting of Indians from Wuhan
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to arrange
general PM Modi greets nation on 71st Republic Day
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday extended his greetings to the people on
general BJP will scale newer heights during Nadda's presidency: Modi
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday congratulated J P Nadda on his election
general 'People of Kerala committed a mistake by voting for Rahul Gandhi', historian Ramachandra Guha opens up about his controversial remark
NEW DELHI: Historian Ramachandra Guha on Sunday came up with an explanation regarding his remark
general 'Justice Clock' to be set up at Kerala High Court
KOCHI: The Kerala High Court will soon have its own 'Justice Clock'. The Justice Clock,
general BJP to conduct 5000 rallies in 20 days ahead of Delhi Elections
NEW DELHI: As the Delhi elections are fast approaching, the Bharatiya Janata Party is planning
general Chhattisgarh CM hints at conflict between PM Modi and Amit Shah over CAA, NRC
RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Friday said that there is a "conflict" between
general People of Kerala committed mistake by voting for Rahul Gandhi: Ramachandra Guha
KOZHIKODE: Noted historian Ramachandra Guha on Friday lashed out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
general PM hails valour, professionalism of Army after it escorts pregnant woman to hospital in valley
SRINAGAR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday hailed the valour and professionalism of the Chinar
general Ramakrishna Mission members upset with Modi's political speech at Belur Math
BELUR: A certain section of members of the Ramakrishna Mission has expressed dissatisfaction over Prime
TAGS: KARTARPUR, KARTARPUR CORRIDOR, KARTARPUR INAUGURAL, PRIME MINISTER INDIA, PM NARENDRA MODI, NARENDRA MODI, INDIA PAKISTAN
Case filed against Shaheen Educational Institute over anti-CAA school drama portraying PM Modi in 'bad light'


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The following is the full tutorial for this basket. Enjoy!


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I am endlessly fascinated by the gaming phenomenon wherein the absolute drudgery of the work world is somehow turned into compelling experiences. People will pay to drive trains, power-wash walls, and even unpack boxes in their free time, all because there are developers out there who understand how to make engrossing gameplay from things we hate to do in our real lives. Hardspace: Shipbreaker is an interesting entry in this field, and not because of its sci-fi trappings. While pulling ships apart and moving up the ranks of cutters is plenty more fun than you ever thought possible, it's the story holding your work shifts together that threatens to spoil that fun.
The LYNX Corporation is ever modern executive's wet dream: an interstellar conglomerate that dominates the salvage industry with their EverWork technology, which makes their workers immortal. It's perfect for those tough jobs like ripping a hot reactor out of its casing raw, and it allows LYNX to stick their employees with a billion dollars of debt to work off, all in rentals and fees for joining the EverWork program. You just so happen to be the newest mark to sign on with LYNX, faced with a lifetime of salvaging starships to pay off the debt you incurred by daring to find a job. Fortunately, you've got some terribly helpful (and chatty) co-workers to help you learn the ropes, navigate the perils of shipbreaking, and maybe, just maybe, improve working conditions ever so slightly.
You're here to break ships, of course, and I'm here to tell you that breaking ships is an absolute joy. Every job drops you into a work bay orbiting the Earth, alongside some kind of craft to be reduced to its component parts. Ships contain three kinds of materials, which must be separated out and deposited in the right parts of the bay. To do that, you're armed with a multi-purpose grappling beam and a modular cutting tool, enough to chop hulls into chunks, rip consoles and lights off the walls, and send salvage pinballing off the walls of your work bay. The game features a pretty impressive segmentation system for cutting surfaces and objects apart, though in truth you'll usually be severing cut points and pulling pieces away, rather than blendering the entire ship. Your scanner will help you locate these key cut points, as well as valuable components, specialized ship systems, and more.
The first few ships you break will be small and simple, really just boxes with engines that you cut apart, tear out the computery bits, and feed the hull into the processors. However, as you rank up by hitting salvage goals, you'll start getting more complicated ships with more complicated components. You'll have to contend with reactors, fuel lines, electrical systems, coolant, and the real killer, explosive decompression. Progress through the game will echo the real-world mastery of challenging professions in a very gratifying way, as you go from sweating bullets over yanking a reactor to popping them like candy later in your career. Mistakes can be costly, though, as explosions can junk valuable components and blow large chunks of hull into tiny bits that are a pain to clean up. You'll want to salvage every bit you can from every ship, because hitting your salvage goals will reward you with upgrade tokens for your gear, and rank increases that let you access larger, more valuable ships. Midway through the game, you'll also get another meta-progression system tied to the story that I found especially compelling, because it added a nice scavenger-hunting element.
I guess we'd better talk about the story, now that it's come up. Hardspace traces your career with the LYNX Corporation, starting with the crushing debt they saddle new employees with and your introduction to your fellow shipbreakers. Each salvage station is only manned by one person, so all of your interactions with others will be over the radio. They'll be one-way conversations, too, because you happen to be a mute, agency-free protagonist. This is the crux of my problem with the story, because it obviously delves into workplace abuses and corporate culture that is more relevant than ever in the modern world. I fully support the message and themes of Hardspace: Shipbreaker, but the way they're conveyed honestly makes the story more of an annoyance than anything.
As you work your shifts, your comrades will radio in before, during, and after to let you know how they're doing, what they're thinking about, and what's going on across the company. Obviously the tone takes some turns as LYNX cracks down on its employees and some start pushing back, but you experience this all entirely passively. As talk of forming a union and taking collective action against your oppressors happens, you're just dragged along for the ride like you're on some Marxist Disneyland ride (as if that could ever exist!). Unions are powerful, essential drivers of worker's rights, and the efforts to form them are some of the scariest, most challenging decisions their members ever face. But in this game, it just happens around you. There are no choices to make, no hard bargains to face, you just wake up every day and do your little salvage dance, and the world changes outside your window. It makes the whole thing feel pointless, especially because it sits in this awkward place between satire and straight commentary. The writing is too silly and outlandish for real drama, but not clever enough to match the humor found in other games like Void Bastards and Going Under.
Is the story enough to drag the game down? No, unless you're one of these bizarre degenerates who absolutely relishes the taste of corporate boot. I found myself more and more annoyed by the dialog interludes the further I got into the game, but a big part of that was because I just wanted to get back to the shipbreaking. Also, the story does get a point for setting up a ridiculously fun final mission that I was not expecting. Really, though, you're going to be here for the gameplay, which hits a wonderful mix of zen and stressful as you come to understand how each new ship needs to be torn down. And there are even race and free play modes for folks who want more or less stress, so as long as the concept sounds fun to you, you'll have a way to enjoy it fully. Hardspace: Shipbreaker is a true gem with its unique and thoughtful gameplay, even if the details don't quite live up to their promise.
Did you enjoy this review? I certainly hope so, and I certainly hope you'll check out more of them at https://goldplatedgames.com/ or on my curation page!
Publicada el 2 de septiembre de 2022.
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I have a unique perspective on the XCOM series, and that's mainly because this was my first XCOM. I was too young to appreciate UFO Defense or Terror from the Deep when they came out, but the bright colors and detailed environments of Apocalypse were enough to draw my adolescent attentions. It certainly helped that I could skip the traditional turn-based action for real-time chaos, blasting aliens and burning down buildings on an unprecedented scale for the time. After more than two decades, I've finally notched a win in the war against trans-dimensional aliens, and I can say for sure now that as much as I love this hidden gem in the series, it can be a tough sell for newcomers.
It's 2084, and humanity has predictably ♥♥♥♥♥♥ the Earth into a state of uninhabitability, save for a walled city called Mega Primus. The scrappy survivors have turned the city into a high-tech paradise, just in time for interdimensional invaders to drop out of the sky and ruin the party. In response, the government reinstates the XCOM organization, and tasks you with addressing the alien threat. This means hiring and training staff, sending out squads to sweep the city and respond to invader sightings, defend the city's airspace against UFOs, and eventually learn enough about the aliens to strike back at the source. It's a winding and bloody road to victory, but with a little luck and perseverance, you can ensure a future for those fortunate few who remain on this blighted Earth.
Apocalypse is the true successor to UFO Defense, with Terror from the Deep being made by a different team as a stopgap sequel. The ideas here were big, from the detailed and complex cityscape to the wealth of tactical options. The aliens are unlike anything seen elsewhere in the XCOM series, past or present, and the reveal of their true nature remains one of the best twists in the entire franchise. The art style is a bright, bombastic, and frankly insane art deco mess capped off with fleshy, horrific aliens. Most notable, however, is the presence of real-time combat. Of the main strategic XCOM games, Apocalypse is the only one with the option to play every mission in real-time as opposed to the traditional turn-based mode. It's a dramatic design shift, and one that contributed mightily to Apocalypse's troubled development, but it's also a huge reason why I enjoy this one so much more than the others.
Real-time tactical missions on the scale that they are presented here, are harrowing, chaotic affairs. You can bring up to 36 heavily-armed agents, and the aliens have no compunctions about throwing dozens of dangerous beings at you. The maps themselves can be nine stories tall, with complex floors, overlooks, hallways, and structures like fuel tanks and entire spaceships. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, is destructible, so don't be surprised if you set off a chain reaction that destroys an entire building with a single grenade. You have some helpful functions to manage your squads, such as behaviors and shot types and stances, but honestly everything is going to come down to positioning your agents and praying their reactions will be good enough to handle the horror that comes through the next door.
You can, of course, play missions in traditional turn-based mode. However, the sprawling maps and huge firefights of Apocalypse make this a time-consuming and tedious prospect. More importantly, real-time battles with XCOM's signature brutality are just fun. They're fun in a way that no other XCOM is, especially as the dynamic difficulty of the game shifts the tide against you in the midgame and has you facing seemingly impossible odds, only to come out bloody and battered on the other side. The tug-of-war between you and the aliens in this game is real, and it doesn't come from missing 95% shot chances. Apocalypse gives you just enough time in the first week or two to find your feet, learn how to outfit agents and run missions, before slamming you with advanced alien tech and tactics in the midgame. Only by capturing live aliens and equipment can you turn the tide, and become a nigh-unstoppable juggernaut by the endgame.
This is both a blessing and a curse to this game, and probably my biggest complaint about it. Apocalypse has a very real pacing issue that doesn't really become apparent until you've essentially beaten the aliens in the last quarter of the game. At that point, without spoiling anything, you still have a lot of missions to get through, despite being absolutely dominant with your tech. Additionally, these special endgame missions are absolute slogs, on painfully open maps where long sight lines are going to cost you agents, no matter how prepared you are. As much as I love this game and its quirks, the tedious finale kept me from ever completing a full playthrough for literal decades. Since we're complaining, I might as well mention that this game definitely feels its age, and managing a large and sprawling organization like XCOM through an early 90s interface can be a real pain, especially with the complex logistics modeled into the game.
So, that leaves us with a very conditional recommendation. I love XCOM Apocalypse, and I fully believe any fan of any XCOM owes it to themselves to give it a try. Real-time strategy fans should also give it a look, or really anyone who enjoys tactical chaos. But it's a dated game, and can be very, very painful to complete once you reach the endgame. Honestly, for the price there's no reason not to pick it up, with the understanding that it might drag too much to finish. You'll still get the exquisite experience of naming and outfitting agents, sending them into a cluttered arms factory, and accidentally leveling the entire building with a misplaced rocket. That's the real magic of XCOM Apocalypse, the magic that got me into this series all those years ago, and the magic that deserves to be remembered by fans both new and old.
Publicada el 19 de agosto de 2022.
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If you spend enough time on Steam (and you do, because you found this review), you're going to run across more and more games clearly inspired by others. It's completely understandable, as most game developers are inspired to take up their art by deeply effecting games. Some devs forge their own paths, while others build on and iterate with the concepts that first inspired them. I get the impression that it's easy for a lot of players to get hung up on "copies" and "rip-offs", but I don't ask much of a game inspired by others to stand on its own. This is a lot of words to say that yes, this is a game that closely follows in the footsteps of Hollow Knight, but brings enough of its own magic to absolutely be worth your time.
The land of Arcadia has surely seen better days, overrun as it is with decaying machinery and corrupted robots. Something has infected the mechanical denizens of this place, and there are few left with clear enough minds to remain peaceful. It's into this conflict that our hero is dropped, a rotund little robot with a sharp blade and silent bearing. On the course of his adventure, he'll explore different regions of this forgotten facility, uncover the history of a ruined world, and reveal the identity of the corrupting force behind the chaos. Of course, that also involves turning up a bunch of useful new powers for scooting around and bopping foes, as well as meeting some new and often mysterious friends tucked away in the corners of Arcadia.
"Unknown hero exploring a ruined land" is not exactly an original hook, especially for a metroidvania, but the presentation of Arcadia helps push thoughts of Dark Souls and Hollow Knight from the mind. The warm, detailed pixel art does a lot to lend Haiku its own appeal, and it suits the mechanical shapes and debris that make up the world. Everything from the enemies to the backgrounds are lovingly animated, too, so it feels like a place genuinely inhabited by its electronic denizens. I will say, though, that the further you get into the game, the more similarities you will find between this and Hollow Knight. There are two areas that feel just short of direct lifts, and while I don't think that should really bother anyone, I know it will, so this is me warning you up front.
Combat and the power progression are sure to be familiar as well, but again they have their own quirks that help the game stand on its own. Your robot has a great big circuit board with super sharp edges, and swings it in a wonderfully complete arc that can sometimes hit enemies behind you. You'll get a few other upgrades that can do damage, but this isn't really a game about builds; you're going to be doing the majority of your work with that improvised sword, and fortunately its enormous swing makes that pretty fun. Upgrade chips can be slotted into…you, I guess, that modify the way your blade and other abilities work. And those other abilities, while not packing any real surprises, are a logical and satisfying progression that will have you feeling far more mobile and capable by the end of the game.
The only other really notable element of Haiku is its difficulty, or lack thereof. A lot of modern metroidvanias lean hard on brutal balance or combat and end up being very Soulsian struggles to get through. Haiku is pretty much the opposite, a chill, undemanding adventure that leaves you plenty of room to make mistakes. That's not to say there's no challenge, as a few of the bosses around the end of the game definitely put me through some paces. But for the most part, you'll be first-trying bosses and platforming all over Arcadia without much fuss. This does bring me to maybe my one real complaint about the game, which is that the fast travel system, incredibly charming as it is, isn't laid out very conveniently for getting around the world. It's a minor complaint, to be sure, but it'll be more relevant if you're particularly interested in 100%ing this one.
For me, Haiku ends up being a satisfying, low-key platformer that fits in well between more demanding games. The story is solid, with a few neat twists to throw your way as you work out more and more secrets. Even without that, though, it's a compelling little world to explore and map out. The pixel art really does so much to make this one inviting, so if the art style really isn't doing it for you, you might not get hooked quite as strongly as I was. Hopefully the similarities to Hollow Knight and other games won't be a hang-up either, because there really is a lot of charm to be found here. Haiku doesn't break any new ground for metroidvanias, but it treads a comfortable, satisfying path that I'm certainly glad I took.
Publicada el 20 de julio de 2022.
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I can't really imagine trying to balance a roguelike. More than any other genre, roguelikes live and die on the razor's edge of difficulty. Too easy, and people blow through it in a few runs. Too hard, and frustration claims most of your would-be player base. It took me awhile to come around to the balance struck in Serious Sam: Tormental. There are some choices here that I wouldn't have made, and some mechanics that weren't immediately apparent despite how important they were. Still, it's solid enough to take more than a few hours from me, and I will admit that every time I came close to frustration, I discovered something that kept me going. If you're down for that kind of rollercoaster, read on.
I'll give Tormental credit for somehow having one of the more unique premises for a Serious Sam game. Somehow, Sam "Serious" Stone has been transported into the mind of the mighty Mental himself, and must fight his way through the memories and imaginings of his arch-nemesis to reach the secrets locked away in his vile psyche. All sorts of nightmare beasts roam the imagined halls, along with strange new weapons and powers for Sam to claim as his own. But there are also unexpected allies to find here, other figments of twisted imagination that will provide guidance, clues, or challenges that will help our boy gain the power and knowledge he needs to beat Mental from the inside out.
There are certainly clever elements to the presentation that bear out from the concept. Everything has a cartoonish, dreamlike quality to it, especially the enemies which feel more like simple ideas of enemies rather than direct pulls from the other games in the series. Mental has "moods", which translate into unique difficulty modifiers for each area that you can manipulate to get the challenge you want. The meta-progression also takes on a new dimension as you hunt keys to clear the big mental block at the center of Mental's psyche, and this is done by far more than just beating runs. You even get some clever twists on existing characters, like the strange robotic presence that Mental envisions Netrisca as being.
Beyond that, Tormental is exactly the kind of run-and-gun top-down romp popularized by Nuclear Throne and Enter the Gungeon. Sam enters a dungeon that is a short, linear sequence of randomized rooms, he kills all the monsters, hoovers up all the loot, beats the boss, and moves on to the next. "Linear" is an important factor here, as there is none of the exploration or multiple routes that you might expect from a game in this style. You'll find loot, keys, chests, shops, and some unique rewards behind locked doors, but it's still very much a straight shot through to the boss. Weapons are another departure from both top-down roguelikes and other Serious Samses. Your main gun is a pea-shooter with unlimited ammo (unless you opt for a mood that changes that), and you earn modifiers to it like rapid fire or ricochets by beating the bosses. Other weapons like shotguns and grenade launchers are secondary weapons, which you can have many of but only equip one at a time, and their ammo is very limited.
It's the mechanics where this game really sets itself apart, and as I've already illustrated it does so in mixed ways. Bombs are a big part of the game though you cannot place them yourself. They appear in almost every room, and they can be swatted around with your melee weapon to blow up enemies. Even some of the perks you pick up affect bombs directly. Your dodge roll is HUGELY important, as dodge rolling through weakened enemies is a "brutal" kill that nets you bonus items. It's never really emphasized just how important it is, but the economy of the entire game is balanced around you brutal killing most of your foes for extra health and keys. This is also where I can mention the less forgiving aspects of the design, like the absolutely absurd amount of damage many of the most common attacks do, and the fact that pickups vanish a few seconds after they appear. I particularly hate that last one, because it means not only do you have to do a careful dance of death to survive each room, you have to do it as close to the foes you're killing as possible, and ALSO be near the exit when the last one dies, because bonus items will spawn there for only a few moments.
In the end, I definitely enjoy Serious Sam: Tormental, but every run I have to question some of the decisions that went into it. The vanishing rewards are the most common one, but I've also lost too many runs only because I tried to Brutal kill everything and the chaos of battle meant I took contact damage and died while doing so. Outside of spotty mechanics, though, it's a perfectly solid roguelike shooter, and I do appreciate the unique hook and meta-progression. It looks and sounds great as well, even if some fights get a little cluttered with bulky enemies and bullet-hell-style attacks. If you're ready for a steep learning curve and need something different from the current crop of roguelikes, I'd say give this one a serious try.
Publicada el 20 de junio de 2022.
What makes a perfect sequel? If you ask me (and you implicitly did because you're reading this), I consider a perfect sequel one that takes everything the previous game did and builds on it in some way. It doesn't miss any of what made the original good, whether that be in game design, balance, aesthetic, or feel, and only adds more on top of that rock-solid base. There are great sequels that don't do this, of course, and instead choose to go far afield and make something bold and new that still relates to its roots. But we're not talking about those games, because SteamWorld Dig 2 is what I call a perfect sequel. Everything that the first SteamWorld Dig did, this one does bigger and better, and then goes on to do even more that I never would have expected.
It's been a spell since trusty ol' Rusty disappeared down in the mines, last seen locked in combat with the deadly Vectron. Dorothy, the local shopkeep's daughter, knows he's still ticking out there somewhere, and has embarked on a rugged quest to find our wayward hero. The trail leads to an old trading town, perched atop another mine full of beasts and secrets, and we all know what our new heroine has to do there. Digging down through the layers of history, Dorothy discovers forgotten realms and ruins that hold the key to finding Rusty and understanding the strange earthquakes rattling the town. Along the way she'll find plenty of valuable ores and gems, exactly what she needs to trade for upgrades to keep her tunneling ever further down. But this journey will take her beyond the confines of mine shafts and caverns, and into the clutches of some unexpected foes.
The premise of SteamWorld Dig 2 is definitely similar to the first, with a vast underground world to mine goodies from for the upgrades to mine even deeper. However, the scope of this one is so much greater than the three discrete zones you had to explore in the original. In fact, the tutorial area in 2 already promises a game that will stretch far and wide, with how unexpected it is and also the bits of lore it sprinkles in up front. This is a far more open game, with more creative areas to explore and more to do in each of them, with loads of optional caves and secret alcoves to reveal through clever use of your powers. Even when I made it to the endgame, there were still a load of collectibles and upgrades tucked away in places I never would have suspected.
Your powers and upgrades are a huge part of why this open design works so well. Honestly, this is one of the most fun and transformative arsenals I've ever seen in a metroidvania. The difference in capabilities between the start of the game and the end is monumental, and there were no less than three points where I was absolutely gobsmacked that the developers saw fit to give me a certain upgrade. You end up with so much more mobility and so many more options for pathfinding in SteamWorld Dig 2 compared to the first, yet every upgrade feels like a logical progression and fits perfectly into the game's pacing. The addition of a fully parallel trait system on top of the powers and upgrades from the first is huge, allowing you to swap in new conveniences and capabilities for each of the abilities that you get. And the challenges are designed to push your understanding of these gifts, making them more challenging than before even as your character becomes far more powerful than in the original game.
The gameplay systems aren't the only parts that got massive upgrades, either. SteamWorld Dig 2 is a gorgeous game, with wonderfully hand-drawn characters, lush environments brimming with color, superb visual effects, and rich sound design. Just running around the world and poking at things is a warm, inviting experience, and makes scouring for secrets more fun that you would ever expect. The story, unsurprisingly, is also a big step up from the first game, with a lot more twists and turns and an ending that I absolutely did not see coming. It's also a significantly longer game, easily twice as big if not more, and they've packed every bit of the experience with something to see, do, or collect.
It's the easiest recommendation in the world to say that, if you enjoyed the first SteamWorld Dig, then you're guaranteed to love SteamWorld Dig 2. But even if you skipped the first one, this is a masterpiece of game design. The balance of mining, upgrading, exploring, and progressing is just about perfect, with no low points or frustrations. The new powers and traits flesh out the core gameplay in fantastic ways, and the improved presentation makes this one a joy to play through. I'm a big metroidvania fan to begin with, but SteamWorld Dig 2 has quickly become one of my favorites in the genre, with a sense of depth and freedom that few can match.
I'm old enough to remember the purported death of point-and-click adventures, and full-motion video games in particular, so it's been a real joy to see their resurgence in the 21st century. FMV games have made a surprising comeback, no doubt buoyed by cult hits like Contradiction and Her Story. But before these, in fact, there was another return to FMV glory happening. The old Tex Murphy saga had been left hanging back in the 90s, but through the magic of Kickstarter, everyone's favorite hard-boiled post-apocalyptic gumshoe would be brought back for one last case. That's Tesla Effect, and while it captures so much of the charm and character that made these games classics in the first place, it also stumbles hard in some of its efforts to modernize and innovate.
Tex Murphy is our eponymous private investigator, holed up in a historic district of post-war San Francisco in the 2050s. He's got a heart of gold but his head's seen better days, because he can't quite recall the last seven years of his life. Familiar faces in the neighborhood recall him turning dark and callous, a far sight from the classic quippy, charming Tex that's just come around. It turns out that Tex's amnesia is wrapped up in a century-old mystery, encompassing Nikola Tesla, secret societies, a lost treasure, and more than a few figures from past games. With help from the locals (at varying levels of enthusiasm), some eagle-eyed searching, and some real leaps of logic, Tex might just unravel a conspiracy that threatens the entire world.
Let's get the obvious out of the way: this is, first and foremost, a game for Tex Murphy fans. Right from Tex's office, there are conspicuous references to previous games and cases, going so far as to play actual clips from the original games when you examine them. The actors who played the original characters reprise their roles here, and immediately become the stars of the show through some genuinely funny writing and a massive amount of charm. Even without having the background of the previous games, I fell in love with all of these characters, Tex chief among them. He's an incredibly earnest main character, snarking constantly but doing so with plenty of heart so as to never become too tedious or sour about it. The dialogue and cutscene-heavy portions of the game are absolutely the highlights, and the introduction of new characters is always a thrill.
Where Tesla Effect goes wrong is in how it wanders away from the strength of its characters. The main gameplay here is not traditional pointing and clicking as you might expect, but rather a first-person adventure. Tex has the run of his neighborhood and a few supporting locations, wandering around freely to examine anything that falls within his cursor's purview. Most characters do not appear as 3D models in the game, and their dialogue scenes are triggered by activating doors or entering rooms. Early on, you're mostly running around from one establishment to the next, testing dialogue options on characters and following up on leads and lines of inquiry. Between these FMV scenes, you'll go hunting for items hidden around the environment and do some old-school item combining and using to solve mostly simple puzzles. Later in the game, though, the dialogue scenes become fewer and further between, and the first-person scavenger hunts start to take up the bulk of your time.
It was honestly dramatic to me how quickly Tesla Effect fell from my graces. I was 100% on board with this one for the first two-thirds or so, cackling madly at the high-quality yet cheesy FMVs and wracking my brain to turn up the items I needed. Things take a bit of a turn around the halfway mark, as you head off to a puzzle and item-hunt-heavy building with very little dialogue to break things up, but the payoff is worth it. From Night 8, though, the game swerves hard into that puzzling and item hunting, and never really recovers. The tone of the game goes from goofy noir to this weird solitary horror, Tex stops quipping so much, and lots of things start showing up to randomly kill you. I don't know if the budget for the actors ran out, or if the ending was rushed, or what could have happened, but the last third of the game becomes a tedious slog, culminating in a finale that doesn't really wrap much up and has some truly perplexing elements.
I don't think Tesla Effect is a bad game, per se. I also don't think it's one that's only for Tex Murphy fans, because I came in cold and had a grand old time, at least at first. But it's a game that falls off hard by the end, and your enjoyment of it is going to hinge mightily on how much issue you take with that. For me, I'm still happy with the time I spent with the characters, and the old-school puzzling that got me to that break point near the end. I'd be lying if I said I was satisfied with the ending, but I'd also be lying if I said it ruined the game for me. Really, FMV games are such a precious, charming commodity that it's hard to fault one even if it is as uneven as this. As long as you know what you're getting into, I think you'll come around to our good buddy Tex.
Publicada el 8 de junio de 2022.
There's a genre I love that maybe exists, where you mine minerals and gems and sell them to get upgrades to mine deeper and greedier until you uncover some terrible secret. This might be a little too specific for a proper genre, but the original Flash game Motherload and its Steam sequel Super Motherload are enough to give this style of game a special place in my heart. Despite this, I slept on SteamWorld Dig for the longest time, even after enjoying the charming tactics of SteamWorld Quest. But I've corrected this oversight, and I can say that the dusty caves and lost laboratories of this robotic world are a fine cornerstone of whatever this kind of game is called.
Rusty has inherited his uncle Joe's mine, a hole in the middle of the desert with a ramshackle robot town clustered around it. Strange things have been happening here as of late, with all manner of unexplained noises and unpleasant beasts rising up from the winding shafts. With the backing of the townsfolk, Rusty must plumb the depths of the mine, uncovering powers and secrets that lead him ever further into the dark underbelly of the world. But expeditions like this are not cheap to mount, and he'll need to bring back whatever precious materials he finds underground to sell for the upgrades that let him venture further. As the mine gives way to ruins and stranger places, Rusty will close in on the great secret his uncle uncovered, something he'll have to face head-on.
The core of SteamWorld Dig is essentially that of Motherload, descending into the mine, mining out minerals, and bringing them to the surface to sell. That coin you earn goes into upgrading your pickaxe, lamp, and other powers to open the way deeper underground. As you descend, you'll have tactical concerns like how to approach dormant enemies, how to mine around crushing rocks and other hazards, and how to reach valuables in awkward places. Charting a clear path down that you can take back up is important, especially since fall damage is something you'll need to look out for. On the bright side, Steamworld Dig is generous with shortcuts back up to the surface, so it's unlikely you'll ever be very far from a way back home.
This would probably be enough for me, but Steamworld Dig takes the formula one step further by introducing entirely new tools and powers as you progress. Tied into the story of the mystery mine are upgrade stations that offer you new capabilities for mining and maneuvering. New powers are put to the test in clever challenges for bonus resources, making them feel more like rewards than simple keys to access the next step of your journey. I won't spoil any of them but there were a few that opened up the mine in ways I didn't expect, and really made a difference in how I approached the later areas. You'll be able to upgrade these as well, using a mix of money from selling mineral findings and orbs obtained from the trickier challenges tucked away on the fringes of your descent.
Above ground, the town expands as you dig ever deeper, and the colorful, steam-powered denizens will offer helpful lore to fill in some of the gaps of the tale. It's easy to get into a comfortable cycle of mining, selling, upgrading, and exploring, and before the simple formula has a chance to wear out its welcome, it ends. Steamworld Dig is only about 3-4 hours long, depending on how quick you can descend through the mine, and for me that's a fine length for what this game offers you. The bright, colorful graphics and solid sound design make it a pleasant journey the whole way through, and there are no unexpected difficulty spikes or pain points in the design at all. If you want a dash of metroidvania with your mining, this charming, compact game will absolutely fit the bill.
If you're keeping count, this is the fourth version of The First and Second Encounters you can get on Steam, after HD, Classic, and Fusion. I've talked about the quality of the HD versions, the improvements they got from being included in Fusion, and the interesting differences between them and Classic which keep the originals relevant. So where does that leave Revolution, a fan-touchup of Classic? Well, if you absolutely must play the originals, this is a fine way to do it. You get a few graphical and system improvements, on top of some extra fan-made content. I wouldn't really consider that last bit much of a draw, honestly, but whether or not you appreciate the new maps and weapons, it's more of the classic Serious Sam action you know and love.
To be specific, Revolution is a 64-bit sourceport of Serious Engine 1, combining TFE and TSE in one neat little package (and without the reprehensible Legend of the Beast DLC). It seems the aim here was to modernize the original Serious Sam adventures without giving them the full HD makeover, so these versions look and play very similar to Classic, but with modern graphical options and a cleaner UI. After playing the opening bits of both Encounters, I can definitely say this is an improvement over the Classic releases in subtle ways. The most apparent fixes are properly-scaling UI and better textures, of course, but the whole package runs notably better, too. All the strangely-moody atmosphere of TFE and cluttered landscapes of TSE are recreated here in an engine better suited to modern gaming.
However, there are some key differences here from the Classic and also HD versions. You get a whole new fan-made episode called Bright Island to play through, wherein Sam has been Timelocked out of time itself, and landed on some appropriately fanciful islands. These maps have a great deal of style and variety to them, but also tend to be overly massive, to the point of sometimes hitching the game. I also saw a fair bit of lighting weirdness, usually with full-bright or full-dark surfaces, that I didn't see in the base game so I assume they're map-making errors. And while the battles have some welcome variety to them, some are just not very well-designed. These devs like to surround the player but don't always give enough space for that to work, so be prepared for Kleer or kamikazes to spawn in right on top of you at times. I even had a few moments of confusion and frustration when enemies would spawn inside the floor or walls, making them impossible to cross of my kill list.
Revolution doesn't stop there, though. There are a few new weapons like a plasma gun, which is a lot like the laser cannon except the shots explode and it has a brutal shotgun alt-fire. I found these to be welcome additions in the Bright Island episode, but they also got worked into the original games as secrets. It's not bad or anything, but if you're a stickler for the unchanged original experience, this isn't the version for you. You've also got a new survival mode to try out if you just need walls of enemies to mow down, and who doesn't need that in their Serious Sam? Ultimately though, if you're not here for the fan episode (and I am not), there's not much reason to recommend this one. HD is still the best way to experience The First and Second Encounters, and aside from quality-of-life improvements and some random new guns, this isn't so different from the perfectly okay Classics. But hey, you get this free with the Classics anyway, so why not, right?
Okay, I will admit, I did not expect a Serious Sam spin-off like this. Top-down shooter? Natural fit. Platformer? Easy peasy. But an infinite runner? And you don't even play as Sam? Now that's unexpected, and after screaming and exploding my way through it, I can say it's not unwelcome, either. Kamikaze Attack makes the most of its unusual premise, and offers you enough ways to run around and blow things up to keep you occupied for a few hours. It's mostly the goofy style and the high-speed action that sell this one, and I'm here to tell you that both are extremely solid for what you're getting here.
The exploding cat's already out of the bag; you don't play as our boy Sam in this one, you play as a headless kamikaze! Each of the 40 levels has you chasing after Sam, dodging or kicking obstacles and ordnance on your way to give him a nice, big, incendiary hug. Your double jump is the most obvious way to avoid danger but you can also kick, and continue to kick as you hold the button, which destroys or knocks away stuff in your path. This will very quickly build a rage meter though, and if it maxes out, you explode in a shower of untamed fury and meat. The gameplay, then, is balancing out kicking and dodging to survive the level and hopefully complete the bonus objective, which is usually smashing barriers or juggling bombs or the like.
Infinite runners live and die on their controls, and the two-button system in Kamikaze Attack is more than up to the challenge. Kicking resets your double jump, so you have a ridiculous amount of freedom to sail through the air on your way to explode Serious Sam. This translates into some awesome combo potential when you can chain kick a dozen missiles away or keep four bombs going from the start of the level to the end. It's also a very loose game in terms of challenge. You have multiple lives to get through each short stage, and any time you lose one, a random 1-up pickup will almost surely appear ahead. I didn't have to retry a single level to beat it, and in the endless mode, I almost had to try to die after approaching a million points banked. I don't know if the difficulty scales so gradually that I didn't notice, or if there's just no difficulty scaling at all, but this is not a game you're ever bound to get frustrated with.
You can pick some different heads for your headless kamikaze (sacrilege, I know), and they confer different bonuses that can help you manage your rage or speed, but I never really bothered with them. The 40 stages spread across two areas were fine as they were, getting longer and more complex with their obstacles as I went. It's almost a shame that slowing down is considered a bonus or power-up, because you can get up to absolutely absurd speeds and that's when the game is the most fun. Again, this isn't going to be a huge diversion or time sink for anyone, Serious Sam fans included, but it has just the right amount of charm and the right balance of challenge and chaos to entertain for as long as you want to explode people.
Publicada el 27 de mayo de 2022.
There are truly few things as gratifying as a well put-together metroidvania. The persistent popularity of the ancient Metroids and Castlevanias from which this awkward moniker was taken should be testament to that, but so many recent indie attempts have been just as captivating, if not moreso. Astalon definitely deserves a place among these modern adventures, with its gorgeous, detailed pixel art and creative upgrades. It's got plenty of interesting design decisions that set it apart from others of its ilk, too, though not all of them may have been the best ideas. Still, there's so much good about Astalon that I couldn't help but dip into its bonus modes, even after taking the time to 100% the main game, and that's something I don't normally do.
Astalon Episode II (it's doing a Star Wars thing, you didn't miss anything) chronicles the adventures of Algus the mage, Kyuli the archer, and Arias the knight. In their post-apocalyptic world, the ancient ruins of those that came before are re-emerging, and a nearby tower has poisoned the water of our plucky party's village. Together, these would-be heroes climb the tower to uncover the secrets of this blight. Inside they'll find all manner of grim creatures serving the gorgons, great stone beasts sealed within. They'll need a host of powers to overcome the challenges before them, and not all of these powers will come from mortal sources.
One immediate draw of this game is the many unique hooks it has for its story and structure. I had to mention the gorgons because they're a new and creative adversarial force for a game like this, rather than vampires or demons or evil AIs. The continue and upgrade systems are also tied into a neat story element that gets introduced almost immediately; your buddy Algus has a deal with Epimetheus, the Titan of Death, who refuses to let the party die until the bargain is complete. He'll even grant you new powers in exchange for the souls you hoover up while exploring the tower, what a guy! But really, it's these elements along with the exciting discoveries you make as you ascend that helps Astalon stand out from other metroidvanias.
If you've played more than a few metroidvanias, I'm sure you've had that moment where you got a new power and it changed your very perception of the game world. Games like Hollow Knight and Axiom Verge do this, and I was pleased to see Astalon do it several times to great effect. There's one particular power I got that I was not expecting at all, and it felt like it opened up the game in so many ways. It also helps that there are a vast array of secrets to find as you ascend the tower, none of them particularly torturous to find but some of them impressively expansive. This is a game that's a pleasure to explore, especially if you're keeping up with your character upgrades to ensure you can dispatch enemies quickly and efficiently. The combat in Astalon is thankfully quite good, and offers you several approaches to battle that are sure to include something that you'll find fun.
I will say there are parts of this game that don't quite live up to the others, and the big one for me is the map. Metroidvanias live and die on their map designs, because if you hate trying to get around the world, you're going to run out of steam real fast. Astalon doesn't have a bad map, and like I said, some of the secrets are really quite interesting to uncover. However, this is one of those games where the map might show three exits out of a room, but only two of those are connected. The tower is intensely maze-like, and several sections of it don't connect like you'd expect they would. If you've ever played the middle child of Castlevania on the Gameboy Advance, Harmony of Dissonance, Astalon has a lot in common with the twisting castle there.
It's also worth mentioning that the health system is a bit unusual, and while I won't spoil it, I will say that it can be hard to recover from heavy losses. Coupled with the proliferation of traps like spikes in this game, I can see health being a frustration for some, though ultimately it never was for me. I was having too much fun teasing out the tower's secrets for any of these complaints to really bother me, and I think that'll be the case for most people who give Astalon a chance. It took me about a dozen hours to 100% complete a normal playthrough, and that opened up a whole host of bonus modes, included a New Game + that actually mixes up the map a little. With solid gameplay, unique hooks, and a gorgeous presentation, I can definitely recommend Astalon to anyone needing a new cursed tower to explore.
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Map Your Neighborhood: A user-access controlled environment for groups like neighborhood emergency and block watch teams.
Recreational Trails: Route mapping for trails (e.g. walk, bike, horse) with the ability for crowd-sourcing the trail network and routes.
Resource versus Need: A generic map service that allows for the entry of resource and/or need points.
Thematic Project: A generic map service for thematic projects (e.g. stewardship) with crowd-sourcing capabilities.


Stir the vanilla bean and seeds into the sugar and 1/3 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool completely.
In each of two 10-ounce glasses, stir together 1 1/2 tablespoons syrup and 1/2 cup milk. Fill the glass with seltzer. Give it a stir and taste it before adding all the seltzer -- you want to be sure it doesn't get too dilute.
I am worried about the cooked milk taste in boiling milk for 3 minutes.
A quick caudle ( bringing to just a simmer and then turning off the heat) of the milk with a short steeping time while it cools will keep the milk from getting the sugary lactic taste. Plus boiling milk may break it.
it looks like you actually make a vanilla sugar syrup (with water) and then add that, once cooled, to cold milk. no cooking of the milk.
Ha!!! This is certainly not the recipe the lunch counters in the Bronx & Manhattan used for vanilla egg creams. I love it!!!


text:
Technoculture, Art and Games (TAG) is an interdisciplinary centre for research/ creation in game studies and design, digital culture and interactive art
Meet TAG
TAGazine
Research & Creation
Studying at TAG
GAMERella 2014
Mark November 8-9th in your calendars, because TAG's GAMERella is happening again this year! Just like last year, GAMERella is inviting self-identified women and gender non conforming game makers, as well as anyone who feels they haven't had a chance to make a (video or board) game in a city ruled by industry giants. TAG welcomes everyone, not just women, to join them in November and change the scene of indie game-making. This year New York based Code Liberation is joining us with a remote location at NYU Game Center. In addition to Montreal and New York you can also join us online on our Twitch channel.
Why a Girl Game Jam?
Although the number of women game developers is growing, we haven't yet reached an equal proportion to that of men. It seems many are still intimidated by the atmosphere and have a hard time going to events like jams, where people gather for a short period of time to make small, innovative games. GAMERella was conceived to prove that game jams are the safest, most exciting environments in which to create games for the first time. Everyone experiments, learning and sharing skills with others. It is a place to improve a craft, try out risky and unconventional game design ideas, meet other developers, and above all, have fun. GAMERella offers the opportunity to meet more women and gender-non conforming people (as well as men who support women) interested in game development. The organizers wish not only to encourage more women and first-time game jammers to join in on the excitement, but also to celebrate the representation of women in the videogame community.
For those unsure of what skills they might contribute, three workshops involving the use of free or almost-free software will be held at Concordia University in preparation for the event.
Besides making an awesome game, participating in GAMERella will allow you to gain valuable experience and meet industry professionals.
Theme?
This year's theme is "Boss Up" – a fitting theme to commend the rise of women in the industry.
Keynote?
It's official: the jam will fantastic keynote speaker will be Kara Stone. She is a feminist game-maker whose art focuses on gendered perspectives of affect and emotion – but is much more fun than it sounds.
SIGN UP AT http://gamerella2014.eventbrite.ca
Workshops?
The organizers of GAMERella wish to help any doubtful participants discover their hidden game-making talents. As a result, TAG has created three workshops involving the use of free or almost-free software, to be held at Concordia University in preparation for the event. The material in these workshops cover game design, audio and visual art.
Dates and more info on the workshops: https://tag.hexagram.ca/events/gamerella-workshops-2/
When is the JAM?
November 8th – 9th
Begins at 10am Saturday, ends at 7pm Sunday
MONTREAL:
Concordia University, Engineering and Visual Arts Building
1515 Ste Catherine St. W.,
EV 11.725 Lounge
Not in Montreal? Worry not!
NEW YORK based Code Liberation will be hosting GAMERella at NYU Game Center. Code Liberation offers free development workshops and events in order to facilitate the creation of indie game titles by women.
To sign up to the NYC location and for more info please click here.
Unfortunately, we are unable to provide equipment for jammers to use at the event, so please be sure to bring your own computers or game making tools.
Saturday November 8th
10h: Check-in and socializing
10h30: Opening remarks
11h30: Group formation
12h: Work begins!
22h: GAMERella closes for the night. Get some rest or continue working from home, it's up to you! (But we recommend you get some shut-eye!)Sunday November 9th
10h-15h: Work, work, work!
15h: Last-minute debugging, update, commit.
16h: Deadline. Give yourselves a pat on the back! Friends and fans arrive.
16h-17h: Playtest and celebrate!
Unlimited coffee, tea!
Power and internet access
3D printer for those board game makers
Chairs and desks (more important than you would think)
Mentors from the gaming industry for informed feedback
Pre-jam workshops
GAMERella is affiliated with the Critical Hit Collaboratory. Anyone interested in applying for the 2014 Critical Hit Collaboratory is strongly encouraged to participate in TAG Game Jams like GAMERella.
Sign up here until November 7th: https://gamerella2014.eventbrite.ca/
Do I need to sign up with a team or can I come alone?
You can sign up with a team already formed, but you can also come solo and join a team while you're here. We'll have a team building session for anyone who hasn't yet found a team. We also ask people who have formed their team before the event to consider adding a first-time jammer to the mix. If you have a team but are missing someone with a particular skill set, don't worry, you will meet that person at the jam!
How many people per team?
There is no required number, but we suggest you stick to 2 or 4. Anything above 4 or 5 per team is not recommended as it can get a little chaotic. You can also make a game by yourself, if you're up to the challenge! Join the GAMERella workshops to broaden your skill set.
I have a team and a game idea. Can I start now?
The rules for most game jams are as follows: if the theme is not secret (true in this case–the theme is Boss Up), you may begin thinking of how you would like to approach making your game. However, you are not allowed to bring in any existing content. All assets of your game must be original, made from the start of the jam. You may use a pre-existing library, however, and if you do not have a sound person on the team, generally it is okay to include pre-existing sound which you have the rights to use.
I'm not available the whole weekend–can I just come by and check it out?
Yes! Come on by and see what people are up to! But try not to disturb their workflow…
TAG is dedicated to fostering a safe-space environment at all events: this means creating a space where all people, of any orientation, gender identity, and race, are respected and accepted. Harassment is not tolerated.
Harassment includes offensive verbal comments — related to gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, religion, language, or otherwise — sexual images in public spaces, deliberate intimidation, stalking, following, harassing photography or recording, sustained disruption of talks or other events, inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual attention. Participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately.
If a participant engages in harassing behavior, TAG staff may take any action they deem appropriate, including warning the offender or expulsion from meetups, conferences, and other TAG-run events. No refunds will be offered in the case of expulsion from a paid event.
If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact an organizer. Organizers or volunteers will be happy to help participants contact venue security or local law enforcement, provide escorts, or otherwise assist those experiencing harassment to feel safe for the duration of the events. We value your attendance.
[Local law enforcement] [Emergency] 911 [local] 514 848-3717 – Dial 1 for urgent situations
[Local sexual assault hot line] 514 398-8500 sacomss.org
[Local emergency and non-emergency medical] 911
[Local taxi company] Taxi Diamond 514 273-6331
Attendance at TAG and Concordia University venues and social events implies that the participants agree to, and will abide by, these rules.
***Note for safe/anonymous reports of harassment***
We believe people should feel safe in reporting issues of harassment and have set up an independently-managed, anonymous, mixed-gender group of ombudspeople who can be contacted to report incidents of harassment, including those involving event organizers and volunteers themselves. Your privacy is of utmost importance and will be protected when contacting our ombudspeople.
They can be reached at: tag.coordinator at concordia.ca
The text for this policy is adapted from http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/wiki/Conference_anti-harassment
TAG Lab, Concordia University
1455 De Maisonneuve Blvd. West, EV11.435 Montreal, Quebec, Canada, h5G 1M8
tag.coordinator@concordia.ca
© Copyright 2020 | Technoculture, Art and Games | All Rights Reserved


The Goal: To serve and connect humanity by establishing a legacy of healthy, conscious breathing.
The Vision: One billion people will breathe together synchronously by November 11, 2012.
The Method: To share techniques for daily, optimal breathing and enable global, synchronous breathing through DoAsOne.com.
This entry was posted in English, Existentialism, Society and tagged Breathing, Meditating on March 9, 2011 by Csaba.
Following yesterdays post, here is another issue I found with XAMPP and Tikiwiki.
Synopsis: After installation of Tikiwiki 6.1 on a Vista machine using XAMPP Lite 1.7.3, The Tikiwiki groupware logo on top and bottom of the page were not displayed. When I tried to access the image through the browser (localhost/xampp/tiki-[version]/img/tiki/Tiki_WCG.png) I got a Server Error 500.
Workaround: This is definitely not a solution, but once again it is the .htaccess file that is screwing things up. Once it is removed from the localhost/xampp/tiki-[version]/img folder then the logos are displayed properly.
This entry was posted in Codes, English and tagged htaccess, logo, TikiWiki, xampp on January 19, 2011 by Csaba.
Specifics: The Tiki installer launch and I could enter all details about the database but when i clicked on the blue Install button I ended up with a Server Error 500.
Issues: You may need to put the .htaccess file back after the installation for security and functionality reasons – haven't tried this though.
This entry was posted in Codes, English and tagged error 500, htaccess, TikiWiki, xampp on January 18, 2011 by Csaba.
NOTE: I made a hughe translational error. It is supposed to be a quarter of a million and NOT 4 million as my original translation said. The error has been corrected below! Mea Culpa!!!
A report by Hungarian Financial Supervisory Authority claims that a quarter million mortgage payers are in trouble. I have translated an article form a Hungarian news site on this topic.
Many people won't be able to pay their debts on time even after re-negotiating their mortgages and the upcoming school-start will make life difficult for a number of families.
A quarter million mortgages are in trouble according to the Hungarian Financial Supervisory Authority. This is the number of people who are late with their payments. Almost 100 000 of them are more than three months late with their mortgage payments. The financial institutions have already re-negotiated 130 000 mortgages but many will remain unable to pay on time even after the re-negotiations. The HFSA report warns about the significant weakening of the Hungarian Forint against the Swiss Franc in the second quarter which may lead to an increase in defaults.
The troubles of the debtors is somewhat lessened by the fact that the President has signed a law about legal enforcement whereby there will not be any forced evictions until April 15, 2010. Unfortunately the school-start will make things more difficult and even those who were able to pay on time this far may experience difficulties in August and September. A long term solution for them would be if they were able to convert their CHF debts to HUF using a favorable exchange rate.
According to our analysis, a conversion of the debts using a 170-180 CHF/HUF exchange rate would lead to a stabilization of the situation – says Mariann Lénárd, the head of the Victims of Bank Loans Union to Híradó [Hungarian News Chanel – transl. note].
Following the trends of previous years, the Hungarian banks are making significant profits – over ten billion HUF during the first quarter of this year. According to experts, these profits were not made on loans, but on government securities. The banks will be able to close the second quarter with profits as well although these profits are expected to be smaller since the weakening HUF exchange rate will increase their losses from loans.
This entry was posted in Economics, English and tagged default, Financial Crisis, Hungary, mortgages on August 11, 2010 by Csaba.
The world bank opens up a special site with a Data Catalog which provides download access to over 2,000 indicators from World Bank data sources.
The World Bank's Open Data initiative is intended to provide all users with access to World Bank data. The data catalog is a listing of available World Bank data sources. This listing will continue to be updated as additional data resources are added. These resources include databases, pre-formatted tables and reports. Each of the listings includes a description of the data source and a direct link to that source. Where possible, the databases are linked directly to a selection screen to allow users to select the countries, indicators, and years they would like to search. Those search results can be exported in different formats. Users can also choose to download the entire database directly from the catalog.
This entry was posted in Economics, English, Society and tagged Database, Economics, World Bank on April 22, 2010 by Csaba.


The Gulf of Mexico oil slick is headed for your favorite seafood place at about the same pace as it is the Gulf coastline.
Wholesalers and restaurateurs have already seen a jump in oyster prices and predict shrimp and certain Gulf-specific fish such as amberjack, Spanish mackerel and mullet could soon follow. The cost of shucked oyster meat jumped 10 percent on Friday, and half-shell oysters were up 9 percent on Tuesday from the week before.
Federal authorities began closing oil-affected portions of the Gulf of Mexico to commercial fishing on Sunday. The closure area boundary reaches from the southeastern tip of Louisiana to the waters off Florida's Pensacola Bay.
Gulf waters produce 40 percent of the fish harvested in the continental United States, according to National Fisheries Institute statistics. Yet the abundance of imported seafood – which accounts for 80 percent of the seafood consumed in the U.S. – should prevent prices from soaring, said Ray Clark of Live Oak Restaurant Group, which includes local seafood haunts Tubby's, Fiddlers and River House Seafood.
Live Oak buys only domestic shrimp and purchases a year's worth each winter during the season, Clark said. He won't shop for shrimp again until late fall, by which time the Gulf will – presumably – be open again. Market price for shrimp rose approximately 10 cents Tuesday.
The oil slick has prompted local shrimpers to be prepared for high demand this season, which opens in a few weeks.
Oyster-lovers will be those most impacted by the closures in the Gulf, Ambos said. Savannah gets 75 percent of its oysters from the region, although demand is heaviest in the fall and winter and drops off significantly each June.
"If this happened in September or November, it would be crazy," Ambos said.
Oyster producers from other areas, including the Chesapeake Bay, have inquired about providing oysters locally. Savannah wholesalers and restaurants also get oysters from local beds as well as those in Bluffton, S.C. and in North Carolina.
Prices on other items in the seafood case could also creep up as consumers buy substitutes for products in short supply, Live Oak's Clark said.
Read the original article from Savannah Now here.
© Ambos Seafoods, LLC 2019 All rights reserved. Site by Andrea Nordstrom.


text:
Fentanyl Deaths Among Children Under 14 On the Rise: Families Against Fentanyl
"In just two years, synthetic opioid (fentanyl) deaths among children ages 1 to 4 more than tripled, and increased four fold among infants less than one, and children ages 5 to 14. "
Biden to Visit Southern Border for First Time
American Faith - January 8, 2023
Biden travels to US-Mexico border to discuss migration, opioid trafficking, and meet with officials, non-profits, and religious groups; later attends North American leaders summit with Mexico and Canada to address immigration.
106,699 Drug Overdose Deaths in 2021: CDC
American Faith - December 24, 2022
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report noting overdose deaths increased 14% in 2021, for a total of 106,699 deaths.
Are Lab-Grown Foods a Threat to the Health of the American People?
The Epoch Times - December 17, 2022
Now that companies promoting lab-based dairy and lab-grown foods are getting FDA approval, it's time to have an uncomfortable but important discussion about the push to reinvent the American diet.
Time To Put Politics Aside and Treat Fentanyl Crisis as a Clear and Present Danger
The Washington Times - November 6, 2022
What the U.S. must do to tackle the problem.
Federally Funded 'Humanized Mouse Core' at UCLA Transplanted Fetal Tissue Into Mice
MRC - November 2, 2022
A federally funded "Humanized Mouse Core" at the University of California-Los Angeles created "humanized mice" by transplanting human fetal tissue into the mice.
Fentanyl Strikes the West Coast, Killing Thousands
Newsmax - October 31, 2022
The powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl that is fueling the unprecedented rise in drug-related deaths across California and other states is now targeting America's youth. The drug is said to be 50 times more potent than heroin.
Less Than 1 in 100 Million Chance COVID Has Natural Origin: New Study
Study concludes it's highly likely that the virus originated in a laboratory.
New Study Blames COVID on NIH, University of North Carolina — Finds Fauci and Baric's Fingerprints on Pandemic Bug
American Faith - October 22, 2022
Critics have long questioned why the National Institutes of Health would fund experiments by University of North Carolina of Chapel Hill professor Ralph Baric...
Twitter Censors Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo's COVID Vax Guidance
Twitter temporarily removed a post from Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo recommending against mRNA coronavirus vaccinations for men under 40.


text:
<?php namespace Pingpong\Oembed;

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Facade;

/**
 * Class Oembed
 *
 * @package Pingpong\Oembed\Facades
 * @author  Pingpong Labs <pingpong.labs@gmail.com>
 * @author  Gravitano <gravitano16@gmail.com>
 * @license https://github.com/pingpong-labs/oembed/blob/master/LICENSE MIT
 */
class Oembed extends Facade {

    /**
     * Get the registered name of the component.
     *
     * @return string
     */
    protected static function getFacadeAccessor()
    {
        return 'oembed';
    }

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


← Chat With The Developers!
A lot of you probably noticed the "Featured Maps" option after selecting "New Game" from within Wrack. A lot of you also probably noticed upon selecting it that there was nothing there, and moved on never to check it again. Sadface.
Well, great news! We're now featuring a map through this system. It's called Grange by Blarget2, and it's a short E1M2-themed map that should prove to be both fun and challenging!
Also, it looks better than the stock maps.
What's great is that you can play this from inside Wrack itself! By selecting "Featured Maps" after selecting "New Game", Wrack will present you with a list of maps that we're featuring and allow you to download it and play it RIGHT NOW! No annoying hassles of having to deal with file sharing sites or unzipping to proper folders or anything like that!
It's quite a nice system that we hope to do more with. One thing we'll almost certainly do is expand Time Attack and Score Attack to work with featured maps as well. Being able to have community-wide races on featured maps should be epic fun!
One Response to At Last! A Featured Map!


text:
Nicholas Fondacaro
News Analyst
WHO Now Says COVID Rarely Spreads Asymptomatically, CBS/NBC Ignore
June 8th, 2020 11:19 PM
Back in April, CBS and NBC threw a fit because President Trump had decided to cut off U.S. tax dollars from flowing to the World Health Organization (WHO), citing their kowtowing to China. They defended the organization as critical to fighting the coronavirus. But, on Monday, the WHO announced that the virus was very rarely transmitted via asymptomatic patients. Due to what was a mystery of who was a carrier, health officials ensured governments and business sunk the global economy, destroying lives. Now that it seemed as though we did all that for nothing, CBS and NBC were nowhere to be seen.
But to their credit, ABC's World News Tonight did cover the WHO's new announcement thanks to correspondent and weekend anchor Tom Llamas.
"And tonight, new, important guidance from the WHO they're now saying it is rare for asymptomatic patients carrying COVID-19 to spread the deadly disease," Llamas reported. "They say the focus should be on people showing symptoms, to quarantine them, and isolate their contacts."
Instead of reporting on this revelation from the organization they feverishly defended from Trump, CBS Evening News and NBC Nightly News touted how their city, New York was finally reopening. NBC even wasted time with a segment dedicated to promoting the radical idea of defunding and abolishing police departments.
And there was no reason for NBC to skip the WHO's announcement since their sister network, CNBC had written up a report on it.
"Coronavirus patients without symptoms aren't driving the spread of the virus, World Health Organization officials said Monday, casting doubt on concerns by some researchers that the disease could be difficult to contain due to asymptomatic infections," wrote CNBC's William Feuer and Noah Higgins-Dunn.
The CNBC report included an interesting quote from Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, who oversees WHO's emerging diseases and zoonosis unit, suggesting global contact tracers were not seeing asymptomatic spread:
"We have a number of reports from countries who are doing very detailed contact tracing," she said. "They're following asymptomatic cases. They're following contacts. And they're not finding secondary transmission onward. It's very rare."
Van Kerkhove also noted that while asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic transmission could possibly happen, they were rare.
On top of being the only broadcast network reporter to cover the WHO's new revelation, Llamas also covered new evidence that suggested that China was dealing with the virus as early as October of last year.
After pointing out that recently released satellite photos showed as much as a 90 percent increase in Wuhan hospital parking, Llamas noted: "Researchers say they can't prove this increased activity is due to COVID-19, but they also found internet searches in Wuhan for the terms 'Diarrhea' and 'Cough' spiking in October, two symptoms of the coronavirus."
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
ABC's World News Tonight
6:44:29 p.m. Eastern
DAVID MUIR: And tonight here, an investigation now revealing that the virus may have struck China months before they let on. Tonight, right here, you will see the satellite images, you'll also see what the people of China were searching for online as early as October. Here's Tom llamas.
[Cuts to video]
TOM LLAMAS: Tonight, signs the threat from coronavirus is not over. Cases on the rise in 20 states. 1,500 new cases, a record, reported in Arizona on Friday, two weeks after reopening. Texas open for more than a month, seeing a steep increase in new patient admissions. Now, nearly 2,000 hospitalized. Deaths in this country now surpassing 110,000. Kaiser Health News and The Guardian reporting nearly 600 of the victims were U.S. health care workers.
And now, new evidence the virus may have been sweeping through Wuhan nearly three months before Chinese health officials told the world. These satellite photos show various Wuhan hospitals from October. Those red dots, cars packing the parking lots. This is Hubei Women and Children Hospital in October 2018. 393 cars. A year later, 714.
Satellite photos, mirror images, October 2018, October 2019 and you see the number of cars skyrocket.
JOHN BROWNSTEIN (Harvard Medical School/Boston's Children's Hospital): So, much greater and greater than any other sort of time period we had looked at.
LLAMAS: At Tongji Medical Center, 112 cars in 2018 compared to 214 a year later, a 90 percent increase.
BROWNSTEIN: More cars to a hospital, the hospital's busier. Likely because maybe something's happening in the community, an infection is growing and people have to see a doctor.
LLAMAS: Researchers say they can't prove this increased activity is due to COVID-19, but they also found internet searches in Wuhan for the terms "Diarrhea" and "Cough" spiking in October, two symptoms of the coronavirus.
ABC spoke with multiple infectious disease experts who told us there is almost always a delay in identifying and then reporting an outbreak. China has adamantly maintained they reported the outbreak in a timely fashion.
[Cuts back to live]
And tonight, new, important guidance from the WHO they're now saying it is rare for asymptomatic patients carrying COVID-19 to spread the deadly disease. They say the focus should be on people showing symptoms, to quarantine them, and isolate their contacts. David?
MUIR: Tom Llamas with us live in New York tonight. Tom, thank you.
Bias by Omission
Tom Llamas
Ignoring Massive Protests, ABC Blames COVID Spike on Reopening
ABC, NBC Blame Reopening for COVID Spikes, Not Protests and Riots
Fox's Chris Wallace Asks: Why the Double Standard on COVID & Protests?
NBC Scoffs at Fact Cops Getting Targeted, Downplay Cop Shot in Face
Ignoring a Black Conservative: ABC, NBC Skip Sen. Scott's Reform Bill
Bolton Book Prompts CBS to Push Schiff for New Impeachment Charges