Posts

Among those developers that chose the higher road is Starbreeze, developers behind the recently released Syndicate remake, a game we found surprisingly solid despite flying relatively low under the radar. Before the game released, Starbreeze themselves released a file online that was presumed to be a pirated version of Syndicate, but was in fact a job listing in disguise. After cracking through the file, hackers found, instead of any of the cyber punk universe of Syndicate, an offer to cross enemy lines and work for the same company whose cash flow they are circumventing....

In remarks delivered Tuesday and sent to Newsweek by the Syrian permanent mission to the United Nations, representative Bashar al-Jaafari told the U.N. Security Council that “the U.S. occupation forces, in full view of the United Nations and the international community, took a new step to plunder Syria’s natural resources, including Syrian oil and gas” through the recent establishment of a company called “Crescent Delta Energy.” This firm, “with the sponsorship and support of the US Administration, has entered into a contract with the so-called ‘Syrian Democratic Forces/SDF’ militia, an agent of the US occupation forces in northeastern Syria, with the aim of stealing Syrian oil and depriving the Syrian state and Syrian people of the basic revenues necessary to improve the humanitarian situation, provide for livelihood needs and reconstruction,” he added....

Shastri took India to unprecedented heights after taking over as the full-time coach in 2017. From beating Australia twice in their backyard to dominating the Test rankings for 42 months, the team has achieved great things. In a video shared by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Ravi Shastri lauded the current squad as one of the best teams to have played the game. Under Ravi Shastri, India have won 118 games out of 183 matches across formats....

Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami conceded 25 runs in the first three overs of the Namibia innings and did not look too threatening. Although Bumrah did pick up a wicket in his second over, India were able to put pressure on the Gerhard Erasmus-led side only when the spinners were introduced into the attack. While reviewing India’s bowling performance in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra was slightly dismayed by their tactics with the new ball....

Tailbone pain can vary from person to person. For some people, it’s a faint, throbbing pain. Others have severe, sharp pain that can radiate to other areas. The pain can be disabling. This article discusses the causes, treatment, and prevention of tailbone pain. It also discusses how this pain is diagnosed, and when you should see a doctor. Where Tailbone Pain Is Felt An injured tailbone will cause pain in the area just above the top of your buttocks at the base of your spine....

The 1997 Oscars (though the video mistakenly lists the year as 1996), directed by Louis J. Horvitz, saw awards going to such films as The English Patient, The English Patient, The English Patient, and Jerry Maguire. The latter film’s honor featured a particularly memorable acceptance speech from Cuba Gooding Jr. as he took the Best Supporting Actor award, and it may surprise some people to know that it didn’t just happen that way on its own....

Glaser’s point was clear: these days a business person’s heaven is a few hundred thousand–or, better yet, a few million–customers sending you fat monthly contributions. Especially when you’re selling something that (unlike a publication printed on dead trees) is almost as cheap to send to a zillion people as it is to distribute to a few dozen. No wonder that one of the mantras at Agenda–which, in the midst of a very rough patch in the industry, was severely depopulated–was Subscriptions and Services....

The technology in question deals with an advance in facial animation. L.A. Noire reportedly will be sporting 1:1 lip sync (a really big deal in video games), actual emotion in characters’ eyes, and highly detailed skin. Is it possible that Team Bondi has overcome the Uncanny Valley problem? Seems unlikely, but Tim Clark of Official PlayStation Magazine was a believer in the potential of the tech after watching a demo:...

Some of the biggest deals that have come out of the industry in the past few years have included the previously mentioned acquisition of ZeniMax Media and Bethesda by Microsoft that was priced at $8.1 billion and Tencent’s recent purchase of Supercell that priced out at around $8.6 billion. Take-Two’s new deal with Zynga will eclipse both by nearly $4 billion more, making it the biggest game acquisition in history and one of the biggest ever in any media....

Take-Two Interactive referred to a “new title from one of 2K’s biggest franchises” in a recent fiscal report. Already, there’s been plenty of speculation as to what this project might be. We know that it’s not one of 2K’s staple yearly titles in the WWE 2K and NBA 2K franchises, as those were discussed separately. The going theory is that there’s a new BioShock or Borderlands game coming, given that those are the two biggest franchises associated with the studio....

Sachin Tendulkar was tearing the Australian bowling attack apart. Two centuries in one week and suddenly India was a better place to live in than usual! I clearly remember; I was in the 4th standard and there were smiles everywhere, not a care in the world for anyone for a brief period of time. It seemed to me as if every care that we Indians had at that time, were being carried by the Australian bowling attack instead; and that man Tendulkar gave us a few hours of pure unbridled joy, of the sort that generally evades every middle class Indian man for a very long period of time, in working hard and earning bread for himself and his family....

With the game about to return to relevance, now is a good time to take stock of what exactly Tales of Arise is. Arise is an action-RPG in the same vein as the Tales games before it, placing a high value on player skill while also being accessible to people who just want to experience the story. Arise is adopting a new framing that makes it look more like a wide-open Devil May Cry, with the protagonists fighting monsters directly on the world map....

That character writing is on particular display this time around. Skits in Tales of Arise have been revamped, and a whole lot of them have been hidden in the new camping system for players to unlock and enjoy at their leisure. Thanks to that, the main party spends plenty of time interacting and getting to know each other and the world around them. They all gradually conform to different relationships, but probably the most compelling of these is between the game’s main protagonists, Alphen and Shionne....

In the most recent trailer for Tales of Arise, Bandai Namco revealed a number of new and returning side activities that players can take part in. Fishing, farming, camping, and sidequests will all make an appearance and much like previous Tales games, they emphasize the interactions between party members. RELATED: Tales of Arise Trailer Shows Camping, Cooking, Fishing, and More How Skits Set Tales Games Apart Since first appearing in Tales of Destiny, skits have become a staple of the Tales series as a way for party members to engage in conversation or idle banter with one another....

Fits Like a Glove: Don’t judge a Book by its IQ So maybe his ’linguistic inadequacies’ have made him ’the butt of many jokes.’ But that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll lead badly. ‘Some of the best rulers in the world were poorly educated but had sharp minds.’ (The Statesman, India) Playing Dumb Gets Results He’s ‘so stupid it’s clever.’ While Bush gives the world ’the giggles,’ his cabinet can make significant changes without anyone’s noticing....

The Berlusconi family’s Fininvest holding company, which owns AC Milan, started exclusive talks with the Chinese consortium at the beginning of May to try to inject new capital into a club which has failed to win a major competition in the past five years. “The deadline for the negotiations has been postponed to at least June 30,” the source told Reuters. The exclusive period of the talks was previously scheduled to expire on June 20....

The victory and six points renewed Tamil Nadu’s hopes after the team had logged only five points from four matches prior to the Kerala game. They are now at fifth place in the standings with 11 points. Kerala are second in the group on 13 points behind Madhya Pradesh (18). Needing 369 to win their third match, Kerala were bowled out for 217 despite half-centuries from Sanju Samson (91) and Sijomon Joseph (55)....

Abraham registered his brace on the brink of halftime after Nathan Dyer had helped himself with a pair of his own with Noor Hushin scoring the Magpies’ only goal of the night. Further strikes from Kyle Naughton, Wayne Routledge, Tom Carroll and Daniel James sealed an emphatic victory for Carlos Carvalhal’s resurgent side. Much of the pre-match talks had centred on his young striker, whom prior to his 18th-minute goal had failed to hit the target in 825 minutes....

Outspoken owner Mark Cuban made that clear Sunday night before his team broke an eight-game losing streak to “improve” to 3-13. Here’s how the Mavs will approach the season, divined from three quotes from Cuban (via ESPN.com): On the outside noise and how bad can translate into good but not great: “Haters gonna hate. We think that you always compete. If you’re competing when the league is better, like it is this year, if you don’t do well, you’ll be in a position to get a good pick....