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February 11, 2015 by Indie Gamer Chick Leave a comment
I don't like review scores. To me, they don't effectively tell the full story of a game's quality. It would be like reading Moby-Dick, turning to the first page and discovering that the entirety of the text is "Call me Ishmael. So um, like, whales and stuff. Man against nature. Revenge is silly and fruitless. The end!" That would leave something to be desired, don't you think? Even if you had a sort of idea of the point the author intended to make, maybe the deeper understanding of why they were making that point is lost.
Plus, numbers can lie. Take a game like Grand Theft Auto 4. If forced at gunpoint to give it scores, I would give it high marks in every category, but then the ultimate, final score would be on the low side. At least for me, because I found GTA 4 to be pretty boring. There's a lot of games that could fit the "marvelously produced, technically impressive but boring for inexplicable reasons" bill. Once you reach that point, aren't review scores kind of irrelevant? Who cares if the game gets a 10 out of 10 in graphics if the game is no fun? Isn't the entertainment value of a game the only thing that matters?
Look at Sportsball by TOO DX. Here's a game that I have almost nothing positive to say about it. It's ugly. It (might) control awful. The characters are horribly imbalanced. The arenas lack variety. It used the bathroom and didn't wash its hands. It is a terribly made game. I'm about to say a lot of terrible things about it.
But I'll be damned if it's not one of the most fun party games on Wii U, indie or otherwise. So, before you go any further, please note that Sportsball is really a lot of fun and probably worth your money. Is that clear? Good. Because the rest of this review could get ugly. The last time something this good got beaten this badly, it came back from the dead three days later.
Nope, none of this will make sense. You have to see it in motion to get it.
Sportsball is essentially the classic Williams game Joust (right down to guys riding giant birds), only you're trying to kill each-other. When you do (called a tackle here because it sounds sporty, I guess), the victim drops a ball that bounces around. You have to bonk the ball around until you get it into a goal. If someone on a different team touches it, it becomes their color and scores a point for them if it goes into the net. There's no limit to the amount of balls that can be loose and bouncing around at any time. It's a nice idea that could be exceptionally fun. And it is! But it does so many things wrong. It reminds me of an awkward teenager asking his girlfriend how much he could get away with and still have her love him. "Would you love me even if I was blind?" "Yes!" "If I lost both arms and both legs?" "Yes!" "If I was caught at the back of the school bus smoking crack and having sex with a dog?" "You know, that one I'm going to have to think about. What kind of dog?"
First off, I want to offer congratulations to TOO DX for giving their game the most uninspired name in gaming history. You have guys riding giant birds, trying to kill each-other in order to turn them into glowing egg-ball-things that you then have to smack into a goal. Some pretty wild imagery there, and SPORTSBALL is the best they could come up with? I mean, I guess there's a ball and it's a sport-like thing, so Sportsball is technically accurate. But really? Let me ask TOO DX this: how far do you think Nintendo would have made it if they had named Super Mario Bros. "Platform Jump"? How far would Square had made it if they had named Final Fantasy "RPG Select Attack from Menu"? There is not a single soul on this planet who is going to be inspired to check out what this game is about when they see "Sportsball" in the eShop. Not even sports fans. It's a generic, thoughtless name that seemingly screams "BORING!" into your ear with bullhorn. So lazy and worthless that I feel some sort of celebratory gesture is in order, like dunking your heads in a toilet and giving you a swirly.
By the way, TOO DX is hardly alone in being guilty of this. You need to treat the names of your work like the first line of advertising. If a name fails to catch a player's attention, holding their interest long enough to find out if it's a good game or not becomes tougher.
As for the gameplay, well, it's fun. Really fun, in fact. This is Joust, if Joust had a versus mode. The controls looseness depends on the character you select, but ultimately everything handles like Joust or Balloon Fight. If you detest those games (and many people do), Sportsball is probably not for you. There's a single-player training mode that I didn't bother to play. Sportsball is designed with 2 to 4 players in mind, and that's what I focused on. Playing with guests aged 8 to 65, we first noticed that we couldn't see the game's floor. I checked a trailer of the game to see if they had even bothered drawing a floor. They did. We tried to go to the menu to adjust the screen, but that wasn't an option. Awesome. So, depending on your screen, part of the action might be cut off. "So you can't see your character's feet. No biggie, right?" Yea, actually, it is a problem. The floor might have holes in it, where if you or the ball fall through it, they pop out from the top of the screen. This could have been useful for forming strategy, but since we couldn't see it, we couldn't use it. Yes, we could go to the Wii U menu to adjust it, but we shouldn't have to. Other games offer it as an option, usually upon booting it up. Adjustable viewing area is essential for modern console gaming and its omission here, especially when the edges of the screen contain important gameplay mechanics, is inexcusable.
In space, nobody can hear you flap.
Also, there's something in the options menu that says "Flap Mode" but no explanation is given at all as to what that is. A little pop up explaining what you're about to turn on or off would have been nice. This is an example of developers forgetting that not everyone has spent the last X amount of months with their lives centered around their game. I'm sure to them "Flap Mode" needed no explanation. This is another common annoying problem with gaming in general, and not just indies. Menu options of game-specific features should have clarity as to what they adjust. When they don't, it's annoying.
The biggest problem with Sportsball is character balance. There's four teams, each with four selectable characters. Each character is rated on a 1 to 5 scale in four stats: Attacking, flying, control, and speed. That's fine, but there's a couple of characters who have an overwhelming stat advantage over others. This led to everyone trying to claim dibs on using a character from the pink team called Rhea. She had a 4 in attack, flying, and control, plus a 3 in speed. Only one other character had nothing below 3, Rooster on the red team, who had one point less than Rhea in control. We ended up unanimously voting to ban Rhea, and then Rooster after that. Both were just too overpowered with no tradeoff unless you're one of those guys who thinks you'll catch the gay from using a pink character. Meanwhile, I once accidentally picked a large green team character called Gigantoraptor. This character is so worthless that I wonder if it's the bi-product of a drunken dare. It has a 1 out of 5 in flying, which is essentially like painting a gigantic bullseye on it. This is a game where you can only kill people by getting above them and dropping down on them. Really, ALL characters should have had the same ability to fly and maneuver, with only their speed and attack-dive speed/distance for stats, or how hard a ball bounces off them when they bump into it. The low flyers give up too much and there's never really a reason why you would want to. If this game was any more imbalanced, Nintendo would reskin it with their characters and call it a Smash Bros title.
Sportsball isn't a pretty game to look at. The graphics look flash-based. Old, bland, boring, hand-drawn in a bad way. There's several different locations for matches, but in total there's only three backdrops, none of which are exciting. The whole experience playing and reviewing this has been one of the most bizarre I've experienced since starting this blog. Not since Random the Dungeon have I liked a game so much that seemingly does nothing right. Sportsball is a bad game. But it's fun. Everyone who came over to play it wants to play it the next time they come over. It's not even ironically fun, like watching a bad movie. The fun is completely genuine. It made me wonder, what if? What if more care had been put into it? What if the characters were more balanced?
What's even more odd is that, you would think the more chaotic Sportsball gets, the more fun it would be. After all, who has time to notice all the broken aspects when the action is utterly insane? But that's not the case, either. Including myself, we had seven people rotating in and out of the matches. For the first hour, we focused on four-player matches and had a pretty good time. We were laughing, and high-fiving each-other, and cheering, and screaming. Nobody was bored, not even those watching. Until we got to a mode where each "tackle" results in five balls at once spawning. This leads to a lot of chaos, and actually wasn't fun at all. All focus and strategy went out the window in favor of a glorified garbage cleanup. Then I said that I had to test the one on one mode where the first player to score five goals wins. As it turns out, this was the highlight of the entire day. We spent the next couple hours playing this, winner-stays-on style. It's unusual for an indie built around four-player action to excel when less than the envisioned amount of players are involved, but it doesn't surprise me that Sportsball does. Nothing about it has been conventional.
I'm really happy that Sportsball exists. Now when people ask "why don't you have review scores?" I have a perfect example of a game that would be unfairly blistered if review scores were used. Sportsball can't stand on its gameplay merits. It doesn't have any. It's fun despite itself, in a way that review scores could never fully explain. And although I've just essentially boiled its creators in oil with one complaint after another, fun doesn't usually happen accidentally in gaming. TOO DX is solely responsible for the hours of fun me and friends and family had with it. Although we fought over who got to be which character, whined about the lack of variety in stages or the absurdity of the locations (why does South Africa's stage take place on the International Space Station? The hell?), or made fun of the name (even the eight-year-old made fun of the name!), there wasn't one frown in the house. Everyone walked away happy. Everyone wanted to know when we're playing again. That counts for a lot in my book. Sportsball needs a lot of work. A lot. I'm guessing not too much time was spent play testing and balancing it. But if what's here is a proof-of-concept and a tease of its potential, what it could end up being is something transcendent. Sporstball is a bad game. But it's a fun game, and fun is all that should matter when it comes to gaming.
Sportsball was developed by TOO DX
Point of Sale: Nintendo eShop
$9.99 said a German Shepard in the making of this review.
Sportsball is Chick-Approved and ranked on the Indie Gamer Chick Leaderboard.
Filed under Nintendo eShop Reviews Tagged with bad good games or good bad games either way sportsball is hella fun, Balloon Fight, eShop, eshop games, eshop indies, Gaming, i'm sure there's an elaborate backstory for why it's called sportsball but i don't care the name sucks, Indie Game Reviews, Indie Games, Joust, Nintendo eShop, Nintendo indies, sportsball, sportsball wii u, Wii U Indies
January 21, 2015 by Indie Gamer Chick 12 Comments
I've never been one to get caught up in hype. Do so and you might as well pencil "feeling disappointed" into your evening schedule. I usually try to avoid it at all costs, but you fuckers just couldn't stop raving about Shovel Knight, to the tune of more requests than I've gotten for any-other game. The press seemed to just further egg it on when every publication in existence (I think even Runner's World got in on the action) nominated it for Game of the Year. So fine. After using a leaf-blower to remove the fourteen pounds of dust my Wii U had accumulated since the last time I used it, I fired up what was sure to be the most overrated game I had played in a while.
A few days later, as the credits rolled and a final cut-scene caused an actual tear to roll down my cheek, I have to suck it up and admit you all were right. And I hate it when you are. It makes you all so smug.
And the winner of the laziest caption goes to………. me! For this. "Talk about a hot head!" Thank you, everyone. First off, I would like to thank the writers of NBC sitcoms. It was your uninspired dribble that made me the hack I am today. I would like to thank my family, none of whom are remotely funny. You set a good example for me. To the writers of South Park, thank you for teaching me the skills to run a joke into the ground, sort of like I'm doing right now. And finally, Brian, the love of my life. Thank you so much for being utterly devoid of humor. We did it baby! Top of the world!
Paying tribute to Capcom-style NES games from days of yore, Shovel Knight casts you as a guy named.. well.. Shovel Knight. His main-squeeze Shield Knight is turned evil and he has to go try to save her. God, I hate it when that happens. This one time, Jehovah's Witnesses came to my house, and I had to go on a daring quest to the liquor store and back just to save my father. Anyway, Shovel Knight's main luring point initially seems to be its 8-bit coat of paint. As a child of the PlayStation era, that works about as well on me as tofu does for catching cannibals. Without nostalgia factoring in, Shovel Knight needed to have some truly exceptional gameplay (it does) to keep my attention (it did).
Shovel Knight's play control is undoubtedly its strongest point. While most people raved about the graphics, story, bosses, writing, etc, the first thing that caught my attention was the stuff that it wasn't doing. Like causing me to die cheap deaths. The jumping felt damn near perfect. Not too heavy. Not too loose. It's not quite "Goldilocks" as sometimes landing and going into an attack felt unresponsive, not to mention the pogo stick stuff occasionally feels awkward, but it's still very well done. Shovel Knight should really be an example for anyone else attempting to make these kinds of games. If the controls had been sloppy, I wouldn't have been able to appreciate all the other stuff that people have been raving about. It would have all been irrelevant, because the game would have been no good.
The level design gets high marks too. Shovel Knight does the Duck Tales / Mega Man stuff here, with each stage having a unique theme and accompanying booby traps. This was another thing that made me certain the hype train must have had it all wrong. Fire stages, air stages, castle stages, and the ever dreaded ice stages all were present, because of course they were. Shovel Knight is a love letter to games of yesteryear. The same games that created these clichés I've come to loath. But somehow, it works here. Barely a stage went by that didn't in some way make me nod my head with the slightest hint of a smile, as if to say "okay, I didn't expect that twist. It worked!" Now, in my case, thanks to the Epilepsy Thing, I had to hand off the controller for large portions of the castle stage, which I'm told was not the most exciting of levels, but I highly doubt that one stage would have soured my views on the game as a whole. There's just no way. Everything here is just too inspired.
Well, fine, the bosses aren't really that inspired. In fact, thanks to the fact that you can carry two full health + magic refills with you, the bosses are too damn easy. It was only the final one that had any sort of learning curve to it. Thanks to the refills, I could just ignore boring shit like pattern recognition and strategy in favor of just mashing the attack button until one of us was dead. And it was never me who died.
Sure, there's an ice level, which meant I still had to regretfully roofie the developers and drop them off in a Turkish prison for a few months, because rules are rules. But, of all the ice levels I've ever played, this one was the least, how do I say it? Ice–level-ish. In fact, I think I died less on that stage than any of the other back levels. It sort of makes the tantrum I threw when the stage was revealed (took three state troopers to take me down) seem kind of childish in retrospect. If it seems like I'm making too big a deal about a single level, it's because the way they handled this tired (so very, very tired) gaming cliché defies convention in such a rousingly successfully way that I just want to give the developers a big hug. You know, as soon as the embassy files the proper paperwork to free them.
Shovel Knight dresses NES, but it sure as hell doesn't rub your face in it. There's no lives. Instead, you drop money you've accumulated and have a chance to retrieve it, Dark Souls style. Had it not been for this, yea, Shovel Knight probably would have been more maddening. Some people like that, though. You can even decide how much you want to challenge yourself on the fly. There are checkpoints sprinkled liberally through-out, but you can choose to break those if you wish for a cash reward. Once broken, they don't work anymore. Being a coward, the only time I ever broke one was when I figured out the mechanic the first time. Maybe I would have been more tempted to do so if any of the checkpoints had something more meaningful jammed in them. I feel an opportunity was missed to put some nice collectible stuff in the checkpoints immediately preceding boss fights. A new music sheet? Some kind of key to a bonus stage? That would have made me ponder breaking it. A $500 gem would not, especially when there's a very abusable mini-game in the town that, if you put enough time into it, can easily slow-grind an unlimited supply of money your way.
Also, I hate how Shovel Knight does that Legend of Zelda "hey look, there's a spot on the wall! I wouldn't hit that spot with your weapon if I were you. There's most CERTAINLY no hidden stuff behind it! Pay no attention to my knowing smirk and shifty eyes!" thing. Yea, it's a classic game tribute, and classic games did that kind of stuff. Classic games also had slowdown if too many moving objects were on-screen at once. Shovel Knight doesn't do that. Classic games had lives. Shovel Knight didn't do that either. Why not take this opportunity to say "you know what? We're going to do time in a Turkish Prison for the ice stage as is. Isn't that cliché enough?" and made hidden rooms, you know, ACTUALLY HIDDEN, God forbid.
This was the only stage that I really died on. And it wasn't actually the stage that got me, but my attempts at retrieving the money I had dropped from my previous stumbles. After choking away over $10,000 in my rescue efforts, I decided maybe this is one I should just suck up and walk away from. And I did. Another $5,000 later at least.
As for the graphics. Not being someone who feels the teeny tiniest bit of nostalgia (and outright rejects retro-gaming elitism as the lowest form of gaming snobbery), I do have to tip my hat to the developers here. Shovel Knight is beautiful. I've seen a lot of 8-bit stuff and can take it or leave it. Here, all enemies, platforms, items, traps, and characters look distinctive and well conceived. And it's only because everything else in Shovel Knight is so damn good that I could sit back and appreciate what Yacht Club Games accomplished here. Artistically, I mean. What makes it so special is that so many gamers of the 8-Bit era dreamed of making games that looked like this. Very, very few actually pull it off. Shovel Knight is probably one of the rarest of all breeds: just look at it. If this didn't exceed the wildest dreams its creators had as little kids while playing their NESs, I would ask them what on Earth gave them the right to be so ambitious at such a young age. Who knows, maybe they did, the arrogant little shits.
You know, I honestly can't believe what Shovel Knight did for me, as a gamer. As a fan of indies. If you had told me 1048 days ago, as I wiped the tears from eyes while the credits to Journey rolled, that the game that would eventually replace it as my pick for the single greatest indie game I've ever played would be an NES inspired 2D action adventure game, I would have said "there is no way." But it has happened. I didn't even realize it right away. I didn't realize it as I wiped a tear off my cheek during the final cut scene. I didn't realize it when I sat back and started to quietly reflect on what I had just finished. No, I realized it while I was writing this review. When I finished Journey, there was a lot of stuff I didn't find that I do want to go back and discover some day. But I can wait for that. With Shovel Knight? A game that took me roughly three times as long to finish as Journey? I actually had to go back for more right away. There's so much more content than I could have ever wanted, or even needed, and in a game that never once let me down from an entertainment perspective, that's almost humbling. That alone proves the sentence I'm about to say is unquestionably true: Shovel Knight is the greatest independent video game I've ever played. And I don't even have to wait for a sequel to go back for more.
Shovel Knight was developed by Yacht Club Games
Point of Sale: Wii U, 3DS, Steam
$14.99 had friends point out that it's not cool to be on a first-name basis with your state troopers in the making of this review.
Shovel Knight is Chick-Approved and ranked on the Indie Gamer Chick Leaderboard. Duh.
Filed under Nintendo eShop Reviews, PC Reviews Tagged with 3DS eShop, 3DS Indies, eShop, Nintendo indies, Shovel Knight, Shovel Knight 3DS, Shovel Knight Steam, Shovel Knight Wii U, Steam Indies, There now you fuckers can't whine that the #1 game on the leaderboard isn't really an indie, Wii U eShop, Wii U Indies
Bit.Trip Presents Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien
March 5, 2013 by Indie Gamer Chick 3 Comments
First off, I have to ask what is up with that name? Or Wii U eShop names in general it would seem. When I picked up Bit.Trip Runner 2, I also picked up a title on sale called "Mighty Switch Force! Hyper Drive Edition." If one didn't know better, they would think the eShop was compensating for a lack of girth. The Wii U has only been out for a little while, but it the gap between releases that have looked like something I would want to play has been demoralizing. And no, I wasn't interested in The Cave. Thank God for my lack of interest. I didn't buy it on Wii U and now I get it free this month on PlayStation Plus. Life is sweet. Probably would have been sweeter if I had held out for the PSN version of Bit.Trip 2 and gotten the 20% discount.
In case you haven't noticed, I'm stalling my announcement that I haven't actually played any games in the Bit.Trip series. Yea, yea, I know. What can I say? They're billed as "rhythm games." Not exactly my favorite genre. The whole Caribbean Beats thing seems to have skipped a generation. Possibly two generations if my parents are any indication. I'm honestly not sure if what they do is considered dancing or some new form of mixed martial arts where the object is to break your opponent's foot. As it turns out, you don't really need have a song in your heart to enjoy Bit.Trip Runner 2. Weird that they would market it that way. You would think they wouldn't want to turn off people who couldn't possible give a shit less about rhythm games.
Don't worry, a little Lyclear will take care of that.
The idea is you're Commander Video, a dude running in a straight line, collecting gold bars and avoiding enemies. All stages have a set musical beat, but I typically played Runner 2 muted and I still had a pretty good time with it. Relying completely on visual cues, I was still able to play the fairly well. It helps that the controls are responsive and the graphics are mostly clear. There are some times that enemies seem to bleed into the background. Playing on a big screen doesn't help, either. Having your television on is completely unnecessary. It's yet another Wii U game that tethers you to your living room for no fucking reason at all. If only Nintendo had put out a cheaper, more portable gaming console with a similar button layout. I know, keep dreaming the dream, Catherine.
Every single complaint I have about Bit.Trip is tied to how shitty the Wii U Game Pad is. I know Nintendo fanboys are still trying to convince themselves that something good might come from this mess, but come on guys. This console is an unmitigated piece of shit. I'll ignore how slow it is, or how menus have load times, or how fucking cumbersome the controller is. Why is the button layout for Bit.Trip 2 so random? B is the jump button. That's just weird. And it gets annoying too. Everyone always reaches for the jump button to navigate menus. Of course, B is typically "exit menu." Bit.Trip runner chose not to be different here. Thus, after beating a level, I would inevitably push the wrong button and exit out of the level select screen. A quick survey of people who bought this confirms that EVERYONE did it at least a few times. Perhaps this is some social experiment where the guys at Gaijin Games are trying to make the entire gaming populace act like morons. Too late guys! Microsoft already did that. They called it Xbox Live.
Seriously though, the layout is just not comfortable early on. You do get used to it, I suppose. Of course, they say people who get their arms blown off get used to that eventually too. It doesn't mean I'm going to play chicken with a live grenade. Ignoring all that bullshit, the levels are well designed and the difficulty seems pretty well paced. Bit.Trip 2 gives you a lot of different moves to memorize and perform. I figured it would be too much to juggle. It's not. In fact, I was so successful at adapting that I would sometimes, rarely, finish a stage on my first try without dying. Not a huge accomplishment for most, granted. For me? I felt world conqueringly amazing.
Then I would press the wrong button and exit the stage select screen. Those moments never last.
I thought this was a screenshot of Adventure Island when I first saw it. No joke.
So yea, I recommend Bit.Trip Runner 2. It's fun, and it's as good an excuse as any to prevent dust from collecting on your shiny new Nintendo console. My biggest complaint about Bit.Trip is that Wii U is the wrong machine for it. I never wanted to play more than thirty minutes of Bit.Trip at a time before walking away. Not in a bad way. I just noticed after extended play-sessions that the amount of fucking up I was doing would climb dramatically. I finished it in short bursts and enjoyed the game much more thoroughly. I even tried to replay some of the levels to get perfect scores. Games like this are perfectly tailored for portable devices. There's really no reason why I should have been shackled to a fifteen-foot radius around my television set. The 3DS is right fucking there, and Bit.Trip doesn't seem so graphically intensive that it just had to be done on a state of the art console like the Wii U. And no, I couldn't type the end of that last sentence with a straight face.
Bit.Trip Presents Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien was developed by Gaijin Games
$14.99 is proud of Gaijin Games for resisting the urge to have a stage set to the tune of the theme from Chariots of Fire in the making of this review.
Bit.Trip Runner 2 is Chick Approved. Stay tuned tomorrow for my review of the off-brand, generic XBLIG version, Voxel Runner.
Filed under Nintendo eShop Reviews Tagged with Bit.Trip, Bit.Trip Presents Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien, Bit.Trip Runner 2, eShop, Nintendo eShop, Nintendo eShop Review, Wii U, Wii U Review
Little Inferno
UPDATE: Little Inferno's default price now seems to be $9.99. For that reason, I'm bumping up my enthusiasm to recommend it to "moderately decent." I also bumped it 30 spots up the Leaderboard. Yes, $5 does make a difference.
Looking for the solution to the four things you need to burn? I posted them under the trailer below.
Tis the season of gifts. Or, if you want to be a killjoy, the season to burn toys in a fireplace. That's the idea behind Little Inferno, an independent game for the Wii U. It's by the guys behind World of Goo, which was probably the best digital-download game on the original Wii. But World of Goo got by on being a quirky, addictive physics-puzzler. Little Inferno, on the other hand, feels like the type of time-sink you would find on the iPhone market. In fact, there are lots mechanical issues with Little Inferno that make me think it started life as a micro transaction-oriented mobile game, like Doodle God for arsonists. Only such games typically cost $1 or less and make their money by nickle-and-diming you to speed up the gameplay. Little Inferno charges you $15 upfront, and keeps the action nice-and-slow.
Good fun for the whole family.
There is a bit of a story here. You're a kid that lives in a snowy world. You receive an Inferno Entertainment Center. With it, you place toys in it and then burn them. Once you burn a toy, it spits out more money than you paid for it. You then hit a catalog to order more shit to burn. While you're doing this, you get a barrage of messages from a creepy neighbor girl who asks you to send her gifts. There's a few twists and turns along the way, one of which genuinely made me feel bad. But the plot goes way too far. Once you finish all the catalogs, an obnoxious ending unfolds over the course of the next twenty-plus minutes. I've heard it described as "bold" or "social commentary" or the ever-dreaded "art!" And of course, art here is meant to mean "criticism proof." As always, art is in the eye of the beholder, and while I held Little Inferno, my eyes started to get a bit droopy while I watched the ending. It didn't feel connected to the game. I had someone tell me that Little Inferno actually gives you visual clues as to what is really going on, but the visual style kind of masks those clues unless you're outright looking for them. And besides, the gameplay is downright hypnotic, and after a while any and all interruptions were about as well received as a fart to the mouth would be.
The gameplay itself is really too simplistic for its own good. Yet, it's still oddly addictive. Beating the game only requires you to purchase and burn each item in the catalog once. Things are kept fresh by a having a list of 99 combos that you have to figure out on your own. It sounds neater than it is. Achieving a combo is done by buying each item, putting them in the fire together, and burning them together. For example, you might see a combo listed as "Movie Night." To clear this, you have to buy an ear of corn (which of course turns into popcorn when you burn it) and a television set. Unfortunately, this is about as deep as it gets. Although some of the items have moving parts or unique sequences while they burn, you never have to create a Rube-Goldberg-style setup to get a combo. Despite having a sophisticated physics engine, it's not really put to use here. It's like one of those douchebags that buys a Lamborghini and then keeps it in his garage without ever driving it.
And getting those combos can be fucking agonizing because the game has needless item-refill times. When you purchase an item, you have to wait for it to be "delivered" to you. This can take quite a while. You can erase the time by spending stamps, but they spawn infrequently and combos generally don't spit out enough of them. This is annoying, but what's REALLY annoying is then the shop takes time to restock the item. I'll give you an example: Combo #73 requires you to burn one of those spring-loaded snakes in a canister with a thing of protein powder. The powder requires you to wait two minutes for it to be delivered. BUT, the very next combo requires the protein powder and a statue of a guy doing an Atlas pose. This means you have to wait at least three minutes before attempting each combo. This isn't a phone game, assholes. I think you meant it to be one, but these wait times are ridiculous. Especially when you consider we're playing on a game machine that's battery life is shorter than the average Lord of the Rings movie.
Weird part is, this is exactly how my abuela Maritza died.
To be clear, there's something undeniably fun about Little Inferno. I think. I mean, with time sinks such as this, it's tough to tell. But the story is ruined by some boneheaded twists that take it from potentially a dark, macabre tale into a bullshit deep introspective journey of growing up. I would love the game more if not for two things. #1, it shouldn't have been on the Wii U. There's no need for it to be on the Wii U. The game can be played entirely on the Wii U gamepad, but this type of game lends itself more to "knock out a few minutes while waiting for the cashier to get a price check on a gallon of milk" sessions. Not being tethered to a game console. And, #2, it's too fucking expensive. $15 for this? Yea, it's on sale right now for $10, but that only lasts for a few more days. And by the way, idiot that I am, I got this sucker on my first trip to the eShop and never actually played it until now, after Brian left for his vacation. Stupid, stupid me, I paid the full price for it, and it's not even close to worth it. It's not even worth the $10 sales price. $5 seems like a good price. $1 on iPhone and not a penny more. Maybe that's really the gag here: the biggest thing you burn with Little Inferno is your own money.
Little Inferno was developed by Tomorrow Corporation
$14.99 said this was like Toy Story meets the Spanish Inquisition in the making of this review.
Sigh, can't believe I'm saying this, but overpriced as heck Little Inferno is Chick Approved on the grounds that I had fun with it. Only Xbox Live Indie Games get ranked on the Indie Gamer Chick Leaderboard. By the way, remove the "I can't believe I'm saying this, but overpriced as heck" part if the price is $10. And if they ever drop it to $5, you can remove the "Sigh" too.
The four items you need to burn are the magnet, the firefly jar, the exterminator, and the sunglasses. You're welcome.
Filed under Nintendo eShop Reviews Tagged with eShop, Gaming, Indie Games, Little Inferno, Nintendo eShop, Nintendo Wii U, Wii, Wii U, Wii U eShop, World of Goo


Bernie Sanders' record-setting 24-hour haul.
Bernie Sanders' small-donor network is unrivaled in the Democratic field.
Bernie Sanders kicked off his 2020 presidential campaign with a fundraising bang, raising a staggering $5.9 million from more than 223,000 donors in the first 24 hours after his official launch Tuesday. According to his campaign, that works out to an average donation of, you guessed it, $27.
As I explained last month, there's no authoritative record book for campaign launches. Candidates don't always announce their first-day hauls, and few professional observers paid close attention to such totals in the pre-internet days, when donating to a politician involved much more than a few clicks. The Great 24-Hour Fundraising Primary does not award any delegates. That said, Bernie's figures are mind-blowing and suggest that support for the only democratic socialist in the race still runs deep among the grass-roots left.
Bernie's 2020 start also appears to be a record for the number of individual donations on the first day of a campaign—nearly six times the 38,000 donors Harris claimed in her first 24 hours, which gave her an average donation of $37. If Harris' insta-fundraising was evidence of her entry into the top tier of the Democratic field, then Sanders' haul is proof he never left.
Small-donor dollars will play a major role in the 2020 nomination, particularly as Democrats swear off corporate PAC money and continue to rail against the megadonors. Candidates will also use these kind of arbitrarily time-limited hauls—pegged to a campaign launch or some other specific event, be it a debate performance or a Trump attack—as modern day "money bombs" to garner free media attention and to show their base's strength. There are more tangible benefits, as well. Such networks serve as a near-renewable resource that a candidate can continue to tap until his supporters either can't afford to give any more or they reach their maximum contribution limit of $2,700, whichever comes first. A campaign can solicit small donations in good times and bad. Meanwhile, candidates who rely on big-dollar checks need to do more than send out an email blast when they have bills to pay. They need staff to find new donors, either through online outreach, by working the phones, or by holding traditional fundraisers, all of which take time and money.
This 24-hour total is yet more evidence that Sanders is by far the best positioned in the Democratic field to take advantage of these new fundraising dynamics. Many of Bernie's rivals have followed the policy path he set out in 2016 with his insurgent challenge to Clinton, but none can claim to have the same small-donor strength that he does. When the New York Times recently looked at six years of federal election filings from ActBlue, the Democratic Party's dominant donation-processing platform, they found 2.1 million people had donated online to Sanders during that time period, 87 percent of which gave exclusively to him. His lead on the field is so big that his donor base is the size of all the other potential Democratic hopefuls combined. Beto O'Rourke was in a distant second with a comparatively scant 743,000 donors, 72 percent of which gave only to him. Elizabeth Warren came in third with 343,000 online donors (40 percent exclusive), followed by Kirsten Gillibrand with 272,000 donors (52 percent exclusive), and Kamala Harris with 239,000 (47 percent exclusive). A past donation doesn't guarantee a future one, but Sanders won't have to work nearly as hard as his rivals to find people who are friendly to his cause and willing to prove it with a few bucks.
Small-dollar donations can't buy the nomination. Sanders raised more than $200 million in increments of $200 or less in the 2016 cycle, and yet Clinton's nomination was never really in doubt. But all those small-dollar donations can combine to buy a candidate more time in the race. If these first-day figures tell us anything, then, it's that of all the potential hurdles Bernie faces in 2020, money won't be one of them.


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Beneath a Steel Sky Trivia (Amiga)
Discuss Review + Want + Have Contribute
Promo Art
Ad Blurb
Rating Systems
Buy/Trade
[144 more | add cover]
Virgin Interactive Entertainment (Europe) Ltd.
Revolution Software Ltd.
Beneath a Steel Sky
Also For
Amiga CD32, DOS, iPhone, Linux, Macintosh, Windows | Combined View
3rd-person (Other)
Graphic adventure, Puzzle elements
Point and select
Cyberpunk / dark sci-fi, Oceania
Beneath a Steel Sky appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.
Amiga version
Programmers of the Amiga version left the following information in the main "exe" file. The information describes big problems the programmers had with deficient Amiga hardware when developing the game:
At the beginning the programmers were happy and did rejoice at their task, for the Amiga before them did shineth and was full of promise. But then they did look closer and did see'th the awful truth; it's floppies were tiny and sloweth (rareth was its hard drive). And so small was it's memory that did at first appear large; queereth also was its configuration(s). Then they did findeth another Amiga, and this was slightly different from the first. Then a third, and this was different again. All different, but not really better, for all were pseudo backward compatible. But, eventually, it did come to pass that Steel Sky was implemented on a 1meg os-legal CBM Amiga. And the programmers looked and saw that it was indeed a miracle. But they were not joyous and instead did weep for nobody knew just what had been done.
CD-ROM release
Beneath a Steel Sky was also released on CDROM featuring full speech.
A comic book drawn by Dave Gibbons was included in the box in the original release version of the game and served as an introduction to the game. As of 2000, the comic book can be read online at Revolution's website.
Development and release
Beneath a Steel Sky was originally started for Mirrorsoft, back in 1991. When the game was entering its final stages, Robert Maxwell, Mirrorsoft's owner died in a yachting accident, and the powerhouse publisher went bottom-up in December of that year. The result was that the game was put on the back burner for a while.
In March 1992, Revolution approached Virgin and asked the publishers if they wanted to take Underworld, as it was called then, as well as Lure of the Temptress. This was agreed on the provision that Revolution used the Virtual Theatre 2 system - an update of the original Virtual Theatre engine used in Lure of the Temptress. Underworld became Beneath a Steel Sky after the launch of Ultima Underworld.
It took about £40,000 to make the game, a huge amount for the company at that time, but the game sold extremely well at retail, managing between 3-400,000 copies, almost all of which were from Europe.
Freeware release
As for Aug 02, 2003, Beneath a Steel Sky became officially freeware. The creators of ScummVM, a gaming interface written to make old adventure games playable on modern operating systems (only when you own the original software) asked developer Revolution if they were allowed to take a look at the source code to be able to fully support the game in their interface. They got more than they expected when Revolution made the full game (CD version with music and speech) available to everyone.
GOG.com release
The GOG.com release uses the cross-platform virtual machine ScummVM to make the game available for Windows users.
Swears and nudity
The little robot Joey during the game say Bull S**t which was a very big deal at the time. It also has pictures of women's breasts in the plastic surgery room.
Amiga Joker
Issue 02/1995 – #2 Best Adventure in 1994 (Readers' Vote)
PC Powerplay (Germany)
Issue 06/2005 - #1 Likeable Secondary Character (for Joey)
Information also contributed by B.L. Stryker, game nostalgia, Matthew Bailey, Roger Wilco, Sciere, Swordmaster and Xoleras
Contributed by Baxter (41) on Nov 05, 1999. [revised by : FatherJack (62719), Patrick Bregger (280917) and theclue (172)]. -- edit trivia
"Sonic Boom!"

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Need Some New Baby Food Ideas? Try Some Of These!
I didn't like tomatoes, broccoli, avocados, and a variety of other things as a kid, which is kind of ironic now that I'm a vegetarian and love all of them. I hope my daughter will enjoy a variety of foods as well, so it's been fun to come up with new mixes and see… Continue reading Need Some New Baby Food Ideas? Try Some Of These!


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As Secretary DeVos Invites States to Test Boundaries of Education Law, Murray, Scott Urge Her to Follow the Law
Yesterday Secretary DeVos urged states to test the boundaries of the Every Student Succeeds Act
Murray, Scott urge DeVos to implement ESSA as Congress intended, to only approve plans that comply with all federal guardrails
(Washington, D.C.) – Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Representative Bobby Scott (D-VA), ranking member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce sent a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos urging her to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) as Congress intended, and only approve state plans that meet all of the law's provisions. In an interview yesterday, Secretary DeVos urged states to "really push and go up to the line, test how far it takes to go over it" in regards to their state plan submissions.
"We are concerned that inconsistent feedback and a lack of enforcement of the law's equity-focused provisions will hinder states' ability to identify and address persistent achievement gaps, harming our nation's most vulnerable students," wrote the Members of Congress.
Sixteen states and the District of Columbia submitted ESSA plans to the Department in April and May. While the Department provided feedback to states missing certain provisions of the law in their plans, the Department then approved state plans that do not comply with all of the law's federally-required guardrails. As the rest of states submit their plans for today's deadline, Senator Murray and Representative Scott reminded Secretary DeVos she must follow the law to ensure no students fall through the cracks.
Full letter below and a PDF can be found HERE.
The Honorable Betsy DeVos
Dear Secretary DeVos:
The bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) empowered states with the flexibility to design statewide accountability systems to improve public education, so long as those systems comply with the law's equity requirements. It is the responsibility of the Department of Education ("Department") to ensure compliance with these equity provisions designed to provide all children a high-quality, public education.
Sixteen states and the District of Columbia submitted ESSA plans to the Department in April and May 2017. The Department provided each state with feedback outlining areas of non-compliance prior to plan approval. As of today, fourteen state plans have been approved. While the Department's feedback correctly noted many statutory violations that resulted in some necessary revisions to state plans, we believe the Department missed other statutory violations in its feedback and, thus, states did not address these violations in their revised plans. We are concerned that inconsistent feedback and a lack of enforcement of the law's equity-focused provisions will hinder states' ability to identify and address persistent achievement gaps, harming our nation's most vulnerable students.
As the Department turns to the second plan submission window, we remind you that it is your statutory obligation to only approve plans that meet all the law's requirements. While the below list of such requirements is not exhaustive, it includes critical equity requirements that must be upheld to ensure faithful implementation of the law.
Select Every Student Succeeds Act Statutory Requirements:
Annual reading and math assessments: States must annually assess all students in grades 3-8 and once in high school on reading and math on statewide assessments.
Sec. 1111(b)(2)(B)(v)(I)
Science assessments: States must test students once in grades 3-5, grades 6-9, and grades 10-12 in science on statewide assessments.
Sec. 1111(b)(2)(B)(v)(II)
Every student must count: States must test at least 95% of all students and 95% of students in each subgroup each year to ensure every student is included in the accountability system, and must factor whether schools meet this requirement into their accountability systems.
Sec. 1111(c)(4)(E)
Disaggregate by subgroups: States must disaggregate information by each subgroup of students, including each major racial and ethnic subgroup, students who are economically disadvantaged, children with disabilities, English proficiency status, gender, and migrant status. States cannot combine these subgroups together for reporting or for use in the statewide accountability system.
Sec. 1111(b)(2)(B)(xi), Sec. 1111(c)(2)
Minimum number of students: States must set a statistically sound n-size, or minimum number of students in a subgroup, so that students can be included in the accountability system without identifying personal information.
Sec. 1111(c)(3)
Long-term and interim goals: States must set ambitious goals for all students and for each subgroup of students based on the academic indicators, including academic assessment proficiency, the other academic indicator for elementary or middle schools, English learner progress, and high school graduation rates. States must also include measures of interim progress to assess whether or not students are on track to meet the state's goals.
Sec. 1111(c)(4)(A)
At least four indicators: Each state is required to develop an accountability system that includes at least four indicators for elementary and middle schools and at least four indicators for high schools (Sec. 1111(c)(4)(B)):
Elementary and middle schools: (1) academic achievement as measured by the annual statewide reading and math assessments required under 1111(b)(2), (2) another academic indicator which may be student growth, (3) English language proficiency, and (4) one or more measures of school quality or student success.
High schools: (1) academic achievement as measured by the annual statewide reading and math assessments required under 1111(b)(2), (2) graduation rate, (3) English language proficiency, and (4) one or more measures of school quality or student success.
Subgroup performance: Each of the indicators must measure the performance of all students and each subgroup of students. This means that any indicator used must allow for disaggregation by student subgroup.
Sec. 1111(c)(4)(C), Sec. 1111(c)(4)(C)(iii)
School quality or student success: The other academic indicator and the indicator(s) of school quality or student success must show meaningful differentiation in school performance – meaning a state cannot use an indicator or indicators(s) on which all students perform well or relatively similar. Indicator(s) of school quality or student success must be valid, reliable, comparable, and statewide.
Sec. 1111(c)(4)(B)(v)(I)
Academic achievement: The first indicator—academic achievement—must include measures of proficiency in reading and math, as measured by the statewide annual assessments.
Sec. 1111(c)(4)(B)(i)
Student growth or other academic indicator: States must select an indicator for elementary schools and secondary schools that are not high schools that measures student growth or another valid, reliable, and statewide academic indicator.
Sec. 1111(c)(4)(B)(ii)
Graduation Rate: High schools in the state must use graduation rate as an indicator. This includes the four-year adjusted cohort rate and, if determined by the state, an extended-year cohort graduation rate.
Sec. 1111(c)(4)(B)(iii)
English language proficiency: All schools must assess progress in achieving English language proficiency for English learners. This is required for all schools in which there is an English learner subgroup, and is based on the English language proficiency assessments selected by the State. If a state decides to exempt recently arrived English learners, it must be done within the requirements of a comprehensive, statewide system, as required by ESSA.
Sec. 1111(c)(4)(B)(iv), Sec. 1111(b)(3)
Identification of schools needing improvement: The law requires States to establish accountability systems that are based on all the indicators required by federal law and that assess the performance of all students and each individual group of students. These systems are used to determine schools that need more help getting all students and each subgroup of students to meet the ambitious long-term goals established by each state.
Sec. 1111(c)(4)(D), Sec. 1111(d)(3)(A)(i)
Three groups of schools: States are required to identify three groups of schools:
Comprehensive support and improvement –not less than the lowest-performing 5% of all schools and all public high schools failing to graduate one third or more of their students, Sec. 1111(d)(1)
Targeted support and improvement – any school with one or more consistently underperforming subgroup, Sec. 1111(c)(4)(C), Sec. 1111(d)(2)(B)
Additional targeted support – schools in which any subgroup of students, on its own, is performing at the level of the lowest-performing 5% of schools, Sec 1111(d)(2)(C)
Improvement Plan: Once a school is identified for supports, it must implement an improvement plan that uses evidence-based interventions and takes meaningful steps towards improving achievement for the school as a whole or a specific subgroup of students.
Sec. 1111(d)(1)(B-C), Sec. 1111(d)(2)(B), Sec. 8101(21)
Other Plan Provisions
Improving School Conditions: States must also take steps toward reducing disparities and improving school conditions as part of their state plan. This includes making sure minority and low-income students have equitable access to well-trained teachers; providing supports to improve educational stability for students in foster care; providing supports to students to ensure effective transitions to middle and high schools; reducing bullying and harassment; and reducing harmful discipline practices such as suspension, expulsion, seclusion, and restraint.
Sec. 1111(g)
While the Department's state plan review and approval process thus far has failed to adequately address all of the above-listed requirements, we urge careful scrutiny of compliance with these requirements moving forward. We remain concerned with the quality and integrity of plan components addressing educational equity, and we will continue to exercise our constitutional duty to conduct oversight and closely monitor the plan approval process.


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D-VICE PROMOTE
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NEWS SENATOR
NEWS KOZIOL
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This year, KOZIOL brand surprises not only with unique forms. Focused on the new mission, the manufacturer launched the Organic collection – a series of articles made of cellulose based material, 100% recyclable, safe for health and the environment. Articles made of biometerial are also extremely durable in use and are suitable for washing in dishwashers. The collection includes dishes, cutlery, lamps, bags, lunch boxes and water bottles.
It's so simple. With one click you take the set of cutlery apart, with the other you fold it into one compact object! Inspired by the Japanese carpentry art set, in which the elements are perfectly matched to each other, you can always have with you. Compact, lightweight and exceptionally durable cutlery from Koziol, it will prove itself during travels, hiking, bivouacs, barbecues, as an attachment to a lunch box or as a necessity for every backpack, bags and handbags of eating with their own cutlery lovers.
Light to go
Take the light with you. Place it next to the child's bed, take it to the tent, under the table with toys, for safety to the basement, to the garden, creating a mood or to a desk to illuminate the space. Adjust its intensity in a three-degree scale, ideally to the needs of the moment and enjoy the continuous 14 hours of light. The Light To Go Organic lamp, made of recyclable cellulose-based material, is charged via a USB cable, and the power bank included in it can be used at any time to power the smartphone.
Eiei
Surprise egg? Instead of toys, sweets, or yolks, it hides spices in its shells. The functional salt & pepper shaker by Koziol is the idea of a London designer Cair Young, who fascinates in Japanese sashimono woodwork, folding and combining things in an intelligent and aesthetic way. A game of geometry, symmetry and humor, the culmination of which is always a surprising project. The artist's last inspiration, the egg – a mysterious object, just like the real one, reveals his "I" only after opening. Stable, easy to fill and undeniably unique EIEI.
Skeye Bio
The latest Senator pen is a combination of good design with the mission of environment protection and a response to the needs of the advertising market. Made of PLA plastic (polylactic acid) acquired from sugar cane, is available in 10 colors.
Reliable twist mechanics, large capacity refill, big clip and biological properties make of it an attractive medium for advertising, and everyday use item. Skeye – third, alongside Nature Plus and Super Hit Bio – biodegradable model from the German manufacturer.
ARVENT
One of five the five new metal writing accessories in the SENATOR offer. The pen is covered with a velvet to the touch, matt varnish, set with shiny ornaments in the form of the tip, clip and switch, which are chromed, it is exceptionally elegant. Subdued colors emphasize the chic and class of the brand.
The new NOTEBOOKS line by Senator is a collection of notebooks in A5 and A6 format. Each is equipped with a pen holder, clear paper sheets and an insert with lines and a grid if you need them. Covers, regardless of whether they are hard, covered with texture, soft or ecological – made of FSC paper – they are stiff and suitable for printing.
An interesting feature of the offer is a pen case, combined with a wide rubber in 7 colors to choose from, which matched to the color of the brand, will give the notebook an individual character.
A metal mug with an old-school character, but in an elegant version. Stainless steel covered with a shiny white enamel, topped with a silver edge. The mug is also available in the PIC version, designed for sublimation printing.
Timebox-Evo Pixel Speaker
Inspired by pixel graphics, built for high-quality sound, the new PIXEL speaker can be customized to suit your needs. It allows you to upload the displayed graphics and company's jingle. It allows you to control the screen with a high-quality application, where you can also play games, decide on music, create and share graphics in a pixel community, search the database, and even mix music. Share fun and promote your brand in a unique way.
Positive Vibration 2 Wireless
Positive Vibration 2.0 are stylish earphones with large 40 mm dynamic drivers that provide excellent sound and comfortable ear pads with a design that ensures long-lasting listening to music without feeling tired. Built-in rechargeable battery provides up to 12 hours of continuous music playback, sent via Bluetooth 4.2 from your smartphone within 15 meters.
The 40 mm drivers provides a clean, deep and warm sound, and the hands-free system allows you to answer your phone and use headphones while talking, suppressing the sounds of the surroundings. The unique design and beautiful finish of certified wood, recycled aluminum and Rewind fabric reminds you of the brand's mission.
Bob Marley, a world icon of reggae culture, is the creator of timeless music, but also the creator of the unique philosophy of living in harmony with nature.
House of Marley is a legacy of the artist, whose founders (children and grandchildren) remain faithful to these values, creating unique musical equipment with a wonderful design, made of natural, organic or biodegradable materials.
The company supports the global forest reconstruction movement through OneTreePlanet.org. When you buy House of Marley products, you help plant trees.
"We are just a bunch od rebels
We say, live like there's no tomorrow. Have more balls than most and let the rebel in you never die.
So turn the music up and live a little bit louder with Fresh 'n Rebel audio!"
We make products for those who share a genuine love for fun, freedom and beautiful things. We offer fashionable and stylish designed products for mobile phones, tablets and notebooks. For people who want to surround themselves with beautiful things. Our products are real eye-catchers!
All our products are durable and meet the latest fashion and interior trends. Choose your favourite colour and blend in or pop out!
TCL is well-known in America as the fastest growing TV brand. However, their offer is not just TVs. TCL is also a manufacturer of headphones, soudbars and applications. In recent years, he has invested as much as 20 billion dollars in development and a modern factory.
Headphones from the ELIT collection, which are in our catalog, as the name suggests, is a Premium series. It guarantees deep bass, crystal faithfulness and a clean sound without any impurities and noises. Both options, wired and wireless, allow you to enjoy Hi-Res sound. TCL is ergonomics, design and technology that guarantees the highest quality of reproduced sounds.
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tel. + 48 68 322 33 44
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We're working on it. When the zone is opened, we will inform you about it.
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Już wkrótce strefa zostanie otwarta. Poinformujemy Cię o tym!


The USDA forecast of 650,000 tons now appears to be way over the mark, with the harvest well underway and in some places getting close to completion. The revised expected yield based on information from packers would suggest approx 592,500 tons.
The shipment report for September was released by the walnut board last week. Substantially down – 24,206 tons compare to 50,288 last September. This is mostly down to the lateness of the crop. Walnut receipts were 102,498 as of September 30th compared to 228,318 tons in the previous September. The October report will be more informative, which will show a full months of shipping compared to the prior year.
Latest estimates suggest that the 2017 Greek Currants crop total 16,000mt, with no carry over from the 2016 crop. 2016 crop was estimated to total 19,000mt, plus a carryover of 4,000mt from the 2015 crop. So total supply of Greek Currants this season, is around 7,000mt lower than the previous season, which has led to the sharp rise in raw material prices, in recent weeks. Most of the major growing regions, have reported reduced yield, including Messinia, Pyrgos/Amalias and Zante (- 40%), compared to last season, and the reduction in Aeghion (Vostizza), is estimated at 20%.
Some growers remain reluctant to sell as they believe that due to the reduced crop, prices will continue to rise, even though they are obliged to agree contracts to sell their currants by the end of November, in order to qualify for their subsidy.
In view of the reduction in supply, it presently looks certain that the 2017 crop will sell out far in advance of the next crop, in September 2018. Therefore, any reduction in raw material prices before the final quarter of 2018, appears very unlikely.
The Almond Board of California has released the September Almond Position Report with shipments of +190.5 million pounds compared to last year of +201.5 million pounds for a decrease of 5.4%.
Shipments were expected to be close to last year's record number, however, with the lateness of the harvest this year very few loads of pollinators were shipped out in September.
CARRY OUT: The Carry out from 2016 is 398.6 million pounds.
YEAR TO DATE SHIPMENTS: +359 million pounds compared to 371 million pounds last year for a decrease of 3.3% percent.
CROP RECEIPTS: Now at 844 million pounds down 14.8% from last year 1.011 billion pounds. The late harvest has contributed to the slowness in which almonds have been received.
HARVEST: The harvest continues up and down the state. Nonpareils have all been received. Pollinators are continuing to be received. Quality is not as ideal as the past few years. This season we are having higher levels of insect damage/serious damage. These higher levels of damage are slowing down the pace of processing and packing. Most varieties are reporting a higher levels of doubles as well making it more difficult to produce Extra #1 and Supreme grades. Color of Nonpareil is lighter than last year. Sizes for Nonpareil are predominantly in the range of 23/25 to 27/30.
SEPTEMBER SALES: New Sales during the month of September were at +235 million pounds!! Combining the carry out with the new crop, the industry is now at +41.5% sold.
OCTOBER: Our look for the October shipment will be very strong with industry experts predicting shipments similar to up 10% over last year! Most packers are fully booked for October and many are full for November at this time. If you have demand, please plan on 4 to 6 weeks for the earliest shipments to be made.
Hazelnuts The Turkish Hazelnut market remains remarkably stable at 18.5 TL. Volumes arriving satisfy demand, farmers and stock holders are not willing to discount further having seen the TMO's improving performance.
It would seem that at current levels all players (other than short sellers) seem happy.
This would seem a good time to look at your forward requirements.
As growers complete their harvest, other tasks become an immediate focus. Critical post-harvest irrigation, soil amendment and fertiliser applications begin almost immediately after the harvesters leave the orchards. Older, lower producing orchards are being removed even as new plantings using potted trees are being planted, and lands are being prepared for planting with bare-root trees during the coming winter.
Market appears quite firm at the moment, now we are on the pick season and it will be unlikely that we will see lower prices in the near future.We have some good positions on natural almonds and processed almonds and would welcome your enquiries.


A regular user of Microsoft PowerPoint presentation might know the difference between PPT and PPTX file extensions but not everyone. The difference between PPT and PPTX became an issue in 2007 as before that all the presentations were saved as default PPT format. But many other presentation tools didn't support this format, so Microsoft changed the default setting for saving the file in the new version of Office released in 2007.
The X at the last of PPTX extension stands for XML (Extensible Markup Language) and thus PPTX is considered as an open source file extension i.e. the file can be viewed on other platforms without changing its format.
Why there is a need to convert PPTX to PDF file? Because for viewing a PPTX file one needs specific software which will support the extension but PDF format is a universal file extension that is more accessible on any device. Moreover, in PPTX user will have to go to slide to slide to view what's next or start presentation but in PDF just scrolling up and down is enough to see the file. Lastly, PDF files are much smaller in size making it easier to send them via emails easy and fast.
Here are some of the best offline and online PPTX to PDF file converter listed.
This online converter supports conversion for over 1200 formats which is more than what some other site supports. Converting speed will depend on the size of the file. For converting PPTX to PDF just upload the file from the computer or enter the URL. Then, choose the format you want to convert into and enter your email address in the next box to receive the converted file. Lastly, click Convert to start converting. The maximum file size is 50 MB.
Other than conversion, this online platform offers some other impressive features which can be used to modify the PDF files. The features include merging, editing, unlocking, etc. of the PDF file(s). For converting, more than one file can be uploaded at once but the size of one file shouldn't exceed 50 MB and size of combined files shouldn't exceed 100 MB.
Click on the select file to upload the required file from the computer or drag and drop the file there. There are some options provided to choose the final output look of the converted file. Click on Convert to start the process. After conversion, the file is automatically downloaded.
Pick the file you want to convert from the PC or copy and paste the link to the download page. It will automatically detect the extension of the archive, and the user will only have to choose the output format. There is an option for sending the download link to the converted file to your email. After the conversion is over the site will ask you to go to the download page from where one can download the converted file.
This online conversion tool supports many other PowerPoint file types such as POTX (Microsoft Office PowerPoint Template), PPSX (Microsoft PowerPoint Slide Show), etc. along with PPTX. To upload the file click the select file option and then the convert now to start the conversion. Time of transformation will depend on the size of the archive. After, either choose to view the converted document in the browser or download it.
The online supports uploading of more than one file at once and gives the user the option to upload from computer or paste URL. More than 500 file formats can be converted into PDF on this site. Maximum file size for the new and free user is 10 MB and for members is approx 1 GB. The converted file will be automatically deleted from the site's server after one day.
This software is an excellent tool for viewing and editing documents. But many users don't know that it also has a feature for converting Word, Excel and PowerPoint files into PDF files which make this software a multitasking platform. Another plus point is its ability to compress the size of the converted PDF file without reducing the quality.
To start the conversion, open the required PPTX file and choose the option Export to PDF from the unique options menu present at the top. Then select the location where the file will be saved and click ok to start the conversion. There is an extra option for saving the file with an encryption i.e. password to protect the data. All in all, this is a pretty amazing app which a user must have.
This app was developed by Word-Pdf-Convert Software Inc. and is designed specifically for the purpose of converting PowerPoint presentation into Pdf files. It supports PPT, PPTX and PPTM formats. All the configuration options are present in the main window itself, thus making it easy for the new user to learn the process. The user can also add multiple files at once to start the conversion and choose between different customization options before starting the conversion.
It is a very compatible software for a fast conversion process but at times in some cases take longer than expected. Choose the language between Chinese and English after installing the product. The user interface is very much perceptive and easy to use. There are many options available such as resize and merge for the outlook of the final document. Just select the file to convert and start conversion for getting the final result i.e. Pdf file.
This app supports many more features other than the simple conversion process. First of all, it is very easy to use. Secondly, it saves the hyperlinks present in the PowerPoint after converting it into Pdf which many other converters don't support. It also provides encryption of two different types depending on the choice of the user.
To start the conversion, add the PowerPoint file to the converting panel, then select the output saving folder. Click on the convert button to launch the process. All other features can be explored after downloading the app.
One platform to create, edit, replace, encrypt and convert PDF files, this software provides it all. Shortcut buttons are available for easy access and usage of the app. It supports conversion of almost any document into Pdf format and to edit it accordingly. Select convert option from the top menu bar and select or drag the PPTX file you want to convert into the given space. Then click on the CreatePDF button at the right bottom corner of the screen to start the conversion. The saved file will be available after the end of the process.


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New Analysis Highlights Urgent Need for Alzheimer's Disease Drug Development
Even with an estimated 44 million people living with Alzheimer s disease (AD), relatively few new AD drugs are in development. Additionally, the failure rate for AD drug development is 99.6 percent from the years 2002 to 2012 and the number of AD drugs has been declining since 2009. In a new analysis published today, researchers say there is an urgent need to increase the number of agents entering the AD drug development pipeline.
Pipeline for therapeutics is small; 99.6 percent of drug attempts fail
The number of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) is going up. But few drugs are in development to treat it – while the number of available drugs is decreasing.
In a new analysis published today, researchers say there is an urgent need to increase the number of agents entering the AD drug development pipeline in order to increase the chances of some drugs making successful progress toward new therapy treatments.
The analysis, by researchers at the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, is the first analysis of clinical trials for AD. Results appear today in the journal Alzheimer's Research & Therapy.
The comprehensive look at all clinical trials under way shows:
• Relatively few AD drugs are in development.
• The failure rate for AD drug development is 99.6 percent from the years 2002 to 2012.
• The number of AD drugs has been declining since 2009.
"With an estimated 44 million people living worldwide with the condition, the study shows that the Alzheimer's disease drug development ecosystem needs more support, given the magnitude of the problem." says Jeffrey L. Cummings, MD, ScD, Director of the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health.
Dr. Cummings led a team of researchers who constructed a comprehensive analysis to examine all AD clinical trials since 2002. The team used the advanced search mechanisms of ClinicalTrials.gov, a government website that records all ongoing clinical trials.
"Our goal was to examine historical trends to help understand why Alzheimer's disease treatment development efforts so often fail," Dr. Cummings says.
The team of researchers included Kate Zhong, M.D., Senior Director of Clinical Research and Development at the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, and Touro University medical student Travis Morstorf.
The team analyzed completed and on-going trials, as well as currently active compounds.
"The results of this analysis gave us insight into longitudinal trends in drug development," Dr. Zhong says. "What we found was that the investment in AD drugs and therapies is relatively low compared to the challenge posed by the disease. The pipeline is almost dry."
The analysis illustrates the high failure rate of compounds and the need for a constant supply of new drugs or a higher focus on repurposing, which can be assessed for efficacy in treating AD, the researchers say.
AD is more expensive to the U.S. economy than cardiovascular disease or cancer. The system of AD drugs must be supported, grown and coordinated to improve the success rate and development of new therapies, the research team says.
The researchers note the need for more repositioning studies, which involve studying an already-approved drug in a new use or condition. This would accelerate the drug development process and reduce the need to constantly invent new drugs.
One example of this is a landmark Phase IIa clinical trial to find out if bexarotene, a drug that is FDA-approved to treat skin cancer, can remove protein build-up in the brains of AD patients, as it did in a recent animal study. Researchers at the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health are leading this study.
For more information about clinical trials or the various programs available at Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, visit ClevelandClinic.org/BrainHealthTrials or call 855.LOU.RUVO.
Jul. 3, 2014 / Neurosciences / Research
Tags: alzheimers disease (AD), brain health, research, treatment
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Consult QD - Neurosciences
The neurosciences field is changing rapidly, and so are all of our practices. Clinicians and researchers from Cleveland Clinic's Neurological Institute discuss the latest advances in patient care, research, and technology — specifically for healthcare professionals.
Get the latest news and research from Cleveland Clinic's Neurological Institute.


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Paul Muni gives another classic performance in this wonderful fantasy about a notorious gangster who is murdered by a double-crossing partner. While in Hell, he makes a deal with the Devil, played with relish by Claude Rains, to return to earth. Muni plans to take the place of a candidate for governor, who happens to be a dead ringer for his spectral self, which enables him to revenge his premature demise while helping Satan recruit new souls with his new powerful governor status. Things backfire however, when the innate goodness of the real governor gradually starts to affect his replacement, turning Muni into a force for good in such a way even his Satanic Majesty doesn't expect.
Label: VCI ENTERTAINMENT
Angel On My Shoulder (2pc) (W/Dvd) / (4k)
Artist: Angel On My Shoulder


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Events that Drive Competitive Edge
and Connections
Knowledge, Networking
and Relationships
Momentum proudly develops events that attract the best and brightest minds who come together to share their knowledge and connect with the individuals that matter most. We are here to ensure your career always stays in motion, gaining the energy it needs to tackle any challenge and capitalize on every.
Momentum proudly develops events that attract the best and brightest minds who come together to share.
Benjamin Greenzweig
Ben has 20+ years of B2B event experience, made his first sale when he was 5, has run two half marathons, is a long-suffering Mets fan which he is convinced only breeds strong character and unwavering resolve, got engaged on the stage of a country music concert, is originally from the New York City area and currently resides in Westchester County with his wife Casey, his three children, Max, Molly & Shea and loyal family dogs Shelby and Ty.
Bryon Main
Another 20+ year industry veteran, Bryon, a conference producer by trade got his career in this industry started at the Institure for International Research. He co-founded ExL Events when he was 27 years old and grew that company to be the industry leader for conferences for the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry. After being aquired by Questex, Bryon joined Momentum as a co-owner, on a mission refine internal processes and technology, and connect people through live events and unique experiences across industries and topics.
Shari Gelfand
VP, Marketing
Shari is an accomplished marketing leader with 20+ years experience in the B2B event industry. Her passion in marketing began at the Institute for International Research, then ExL Events and now continues at Momentum. She loves spending time with her family and traveling in her spare time.
Marni Edelhart
VP, Content and Experience
Marnina ("Marni") Edelhart is Vice President of Content & Engagement at Momentum Events. Marni joined the Momentum team as Director of Content & Experience in the spring of 2015. After 10+ years of event production experience, Marni has developed the cross-industry, multi-vertical relationships that foster exciting conversations and inspire innovation.
Danielle Gonzalez
Director, Global Sales
is the Director of Sales at Momentum Events. For over six years, she has focused exclusively on sponsorship sales and assisting in the development of strategic partnerships with Fortune 500 corporate clients, law and consulting partners. Outside of work you can find Danielle hiking or enjoying wine country in upstate New York with her husband, Juan, and son, Luca.
In Memory Of Matt Godson
In 2012 Matt left the American Conference Institute to launch Momentum Consulting and Momentum Events.
Born in London, Matt Godson studied Economics at Manchester University before joining Baker Tilly Accountants. Matt joined the Events Team at the Business Design Centre in London in 1994 launching, leading and supporting several high-profile conference and exhibitions including IDW, ART, and London Music Week.
In 1997 Matt joined the London Telecoms event team at the Institute for International Research producing more than 120 annual events globally in the Telecoms, Technology and Broadcasting sectors. Transferring to the New York offices of IIR in late 2000 and promoted to Regional Marketing Director, Matt launched IIRs Large Scale Event initiative with the highly successful Pharmaceutical Marketing Congress, CRM Focus, Design and Culture, Prepaid Markets Expo, In Building, CDMA World Congress and many more.
In 2004 Matt joined the American Conference Institute as Head of Marketing and assumed responsibility for the US and European Marketing Operations in 2007. Matt was an accomplished trainer and public speaker having presented at industry conferences in the US, UK and Europe.
On July 31 2017, Matt passed away after a quick battle with gliomatosis cerebri, an extremely rare brain cancer. He was one day shy of his 45th birthday. Matt is survived by his wife, fashion designer Emily Shalant and his sons Charlie & Giles.
A beloved husband, father, son, brother, friend and partner, his legacy will live on, preserved by the countless lives he touched, the people he made better, the ideas he created and the vision that helped form Momentum.
"And we may never meet again, so shed your skin and let's get started, and you will throw your arms around me."
Diversity and Inclusion Commitment
Momentum's "What's Next" ideology goes beyond the content at the conferences we produce to the individual experience at each event and our commitment to ensure that all attendees feel welcome and represented. Momentum proudly prioritizes diversity and inclusion across all aspects of our event development process, from the speakers we invite to the topics we choose to address. When you attend a Momentum event you will feel our unique difference in the candid conversations, engaged community and transformative learning that rely on the simultaneously inspiring and respectful environment we create.


Hey, we all get confused sometimes.
Here's some answers to some of the basics about vaping.
An electronic cigarette (eCig) is simply a device that houses a rechargeable lithium ion battery which powers a heating element. The heating element vaporizes "eliquid" (also known as "eJuice"), that the user then inhales. The inhaled vapor closely resembles the feel and appearance of smoke, with none of the staining or unpleasant smells caused by combustion.
It really is very similar to a regular (or "analog") cigarette without all of the deadly chemicals, tar and second hand smoke. You're also not going to start any fires with an electronic cigarette!
Although most commonly known as electronic cigarettes or eCigs, many people call these devices "personal vaporizers", "personal inhalers" and even "technofoggers"! I really like that last one.
Which Flavors Should I Choose?
E-juice flavors are subjective. What is sweet to one, may not be to another. Everyone's taste buds are different; this is just part of the experience. And the same flavor may taste different at different points in time. There are a lot of variables to this, but this is especially true for individuals who stop smoking.
Also note that most freshly-made e-juices (such as ours) improve after a week or two of "steeping." This is especially true for darker flavors such as chocolate and tobacco, but some fruit flavors will do this too. You can begin vaping any e-Juice right away, but be aware that a flavor that seems "pretty good" or "moderate" today will likely be awesome or robust in a few weeks.
Before vaping for the first time, many people think they want to stick to tobacco or tobacco menthol flavors, since that's what they're accustomed to. But the truth is, when anxious smokers say "Oh, this cigarette tastes so good," they're not really talking about the actual taste – they're talking about the nicotine fix and what that puff of smoke does for them. Tobacco smoke in and of itself does not taste good, and that's why many people smoke menthols – to mask the taste. Very few people find they want to use only tobacco or menthol flavors, and there doesn't seem to be any trend of menthol smokers preferring menthol or mint flavors. The large majority of vapers actually find the taste of tobacco (menthol or otherwise) down-right disgusting once they start vaping.
Unless you SERIOUSLY adore the taste of tobacco smoke, you'll definitely want to try some of our other flavors. Some tobacco flavors are pleasant on occasion, especially for pipe or cigar smokers. Some might be more like actual tobacco than tobacco smoke, which can be very enjoyable for some, but an unexpected experience for others.
We do sell a few basic tobacco flavors, but most of our tobacco juices are blended with other flavors to enhance them. But with SO many different flavors to choose from, why restrict yourself to the tobacco smoke mindset? Be adventurous… Come on in to sample our delicious fruit, sweets, beverage or signature flavors for yourself!