#especially you spl here are all the feels <3

[aemiron-main]

Who Is Edward Creel? If You’re Confused About Him, Read This Post

So, I’ve been seeing a lot of people asking about Edward Creel and who he is and what the hell people are talking about with him, so I figured I’d make a big general post about Edward. You can skip to the end for a bulletpoint TLDR summary.

Where Did Edward Come From?

I originally noticed him here, in the Indianapolis Gazette article about the Creel murders, and made an initial post about his name just being a reference to the idea of Vecna using Eddie/Edward Munson as a corpse puppet.

However, as I went through more of the Indianapolis Gazette, I realized that this goes WAY, WAY beyond “corpse puppet Eddie,” references, and rather than “Edward Creel being a reference to Edward Munson,” it’s actually the other way around, and Edward Munson is a reference to Edward Creel and has multiple lines that reinforce the idea of Edward being Vecna rather than Henry.

Here is a large post about some of the timeline differences, and it’s a post that’s been sitting in my drafts for a LONG time and is what initially prompted me to look further into the multiple timeline stuff/the concrete differences between Edward’s timeline and Henry’s timeline.

As far as “where did Edward come from in-universe?” goes though, THAT is a much more complicated question, one that I’m still trying to answer.

Who Is Edward Creel?

So, who IS Edward? Well, I very much think that Edward is Vecna, and here’s why:

1.) I talked in this post about the parallels between ST and Jekyll and Hyde, specifically regarding Henry Creel and Edward Creel versus Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde, and how Jekyll and Hyde and ST tie into Carl Jung’s theory of the shadow. I would recommend reading that post for a solid intro into the idea that Edward is Vecna and the relationship between Edward and Henry and Edward being Henry’s “shadow self”.

2.) Eddie/Edward Munson is literally Vecna in the DND game- just like how Edward Creel is actually Vecna, they’re meant to parallel eachother.

3.) All of the name weirdness where there’s that whole scene with Robin and the Hawkins gang being uncle to figure out what to call Vecna (Vecna or Henry or 001), and how even though the supposed plot twist was that Henry was Vecna, it’s actually that 001 was Vecna, and we don’t know for sure if Henry is 001 due to the Edward weirdness, and all of the continued debate about names after the supposed plot twist/reveal tells me that we still aren’t done learning about who Vecna actually is. Especially since at the end of S4, Will just talks about “him,” and how he can still feel him, and doesn’t name him. You’d think if Vecna was Henry, they’d throw in a reference to Henry there, and that in general, they’d draw a stronger link between Henry and Vecna rather than drawing that link between 001 and Vecna, which is what they’ve done.

4.) There's some other reasons too, but I'm still finishing up the analysis posts for those.

How Is Edward Creel Connected To Henry Creel?

So, this is a question that ties into the question of “where did Edward Creel come from in-universe?”, and as such, is also a difficult question to answer. However, right now, these are the main theories about where Edward came from and how he’s connected to Henry (none of these are in any particular order, like 1.) isn’t the top theory or anything):

1.) Edward was split off or cloned from Henry in Hawkins Lab as part of Brenner’s attempts to recreate Henry, and then something happened with timeline and time travel weirdness, and Edward ended up with his whole own timeline where he grew up in the Creel house instead of being cloned/born in a lab.

2.) Edward and Henry are eachother’s naturally-occurring equivalents from different timelines, and one or both of them and/or the lab were messing with time and ended up swapping timelines/temporal displacement stuff.

3.) Henry and Edward were born as actual brothers in the same timeline but something happened with timelines splitting and they ended up in different timelines.

How Is Edward Connected To Timeline and Time Travel Weirdness?

So, I already talked about this post where I compare Edward’s timeline with Henry’s timeline and all of the drastic differences, but it goes beyond just different timelines, because we have all that imagery of Henry/Edward turning back a clock with his mind, and all of the general timeline weirdness/time travel imagery in ST, in addition to Vecna’s clock imagery.

I’m still figuring out exactly what happened and how he’s connected to Henry and timeline weirdness, but there’s definitely a big connection there, especially considering birthdaygate and the fact that in Edward’s timeline, the Creel murders happened on Will’s birthday.

Transcription of The Indianapolis Gazette Article Involving Edward

So, this is just a transcription of the article relating to the Creels, not all of the articles in the page (although I AM finishing up analysis posts of those articles).

Paper Title: Indianapolis Gazette

Publication Date: Thursday, March 26th, 1959. (MIGHT say 1958, but most likely 1959)

Article Title: 3 Dead as Police Probe Grisly Scene

Subtitle: Bodies Left Mutilated, Eyeless, Creel Defiant

Column 1:

Bulletin

"Local family man, Victor Creel, murdered his wife and two small children Saturday night.

The bodies were discovered early Sunday morning after Creel was found wandering aimlessly along the side of Highway 49, South of Hawkins.

Deputy John Snow from Hawkins Police Department intercepted Creel and made the discovery upon returning him home. The bodies of three persons have been found inside the home of a 35-year-old Town of Hawkins Roane County family man. Law enforcement officers searching Sundary Morning for signs of foul play found the bodies of Virginia Creel, Edward Creel, and Alice Creel strewn about the foyer of the house, six miles from downtown Hawkins.

Sherif fJack Kaulfield of Roane County and Director Larry Peacefield of the State of Indiana Crime Laboratory kept newsmen from the site Sunday.

Roane County Dist. Atty. ParkerJones said today that Creel had broken his silence that he "might of" killed the victims and admitted to being present when the victims died. Shortly after 11 o'clock, this morning, Creel was taken from the jails at Hawkins by Jack-" (article cuts off)

Column 2

"Officers who had been at the scene said these things were among those found at the Creels' home: The eyeless, mutilated body of Mrs Creel, "butchered, like you would clean a deer," according to one law enforcement officer. The mangled and eyeless bodies of the two young children- Virginia and Edward- laid deflated and bent on the floor of the foyer. Creel at first told authorities he knew nothing about the things that occurred at his house. He is decribed as 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighing about 158 (?) pounds, with light skin, light brown hair, and "appearing slight and unable to perform basic motor functions"- a condition likely brought on as a result of the psychological consequences of committing the murders, said head psychiatrist at Pennhurst Asylum, Alexis McMurry. Creel was known around town for his generosity and the Creel Family was regularly seen at Sunday Mass at St. Phillip's Catholic Church on Sundays. Which has led many locals to wonder what led Creel to commit such ghastly acts. A veteran from the second world war, VIctor Creel served two tours of duty in Europe and returned home a hero. After moving to-" (article cuts off)

Caption Under Photo

House of Horror

Here is the house in which the Creels lived for the last two years where authorities found the remains of Alice, Edward, and Virginia Creel- Victor Creel's wife, son, and daugther- Early SUnday in what police are calling "the most grisly set of murders the town of Hawkins has ever seen"

What Is Edward’s Timeline/Thw Indianapolis Gazette Timeline?

Here’s the key events and info that you should know if you’re interested in Edward’s timeline/the Indianapolis Gazette timeline:

Edward moved to Hawkins in 1957 and lived there for two years.

Edward’s father is Victor Creel, and his Victor is 35 years old as of 1958.

Edward’s mother is Alice Creel, and her age is not listed.

Edward’s sister is Virginia Creel, and her age is not listed.

The Creel Murders happened on March 21st, 1959 in Edward’s timeline.

How are Connie Frazier and Alice Creel and Mike Wheeler and Eleven Connected To The Edward Timeline?

Remember how I mentioned that Edward’s mother is named Alice, NOT Virginia (unlike Henry, whose mother is Virginia)? Well, that’s who “Mother Alice,” is (if you’ve seen me using that name on my blog), and I also think that she’s Connie Frazier.

I originally posted here about Connie being Henry’s sister, Alice, prior to the realization of how she connected to the Edward timeline, but then that turned into the realization that Connie is more likely Edward’s mother, Alice, rather than Henry’s sister, Alice. I’d recommend reading that post, so I’m not going to retype it all here, but the name “Alice,” plays repeatedly in the song “White Rabbit,” when Connie is on screen. I’ve got more Connie posts here and here. Mother Alice’s death in the Hawkins Middle School hallway in S1 even parallels Daughter/Sister Alice’s death at the Creel house in 1959.

In this post, I talk further about Connie being Mother Alice, but I also talk about something/someone else in that post- Karen Wheeler.

I think that Karen Wheeler is Sister Virginia/Virginia Creel from another timeline (the Edward timeline). I’ve got more posts about Karen being Daughter Virginia and Virginia-Karen parallels here, here, here, and here.

As well, @henrysglock has a bunch of great posts about how Eleven ties into this, as Eleven is likely Edward’s daughter in one timeline (daughter in the sense that he’s her biological father due to Brenner trying to recreate Henry/Edward).

However, if Eleven is Edward’s daughter in the Edward timeline, and Karen Wheeler is Edward’s sister in the Edward timeline, then doesn’t that make Mike and Eleven blood cousins? Yes.

I posted here, here, here, and here, about Edward Timeline Victor being Karen/Daughter Virginia’s father and therefore being Nancy, Holly, and Mike’s grandfather.

Summary

So, here’s the current main thoughts to know about Edward Creel:

He was originally found here, in the Indianapolis Gazette.

He is very, very likely Vecna, rather than Henry Creel being Vecna.

He has a timeline that is different from Henry Creel’s timeline.

Even in the definition of a timeline as “a series of dates,” and setting time travel/multiple timeline weirdness aside (even though he IS very much involved with that) his series of dates is canonically, indisputably, different from Henry’s, thus, literally different timelines even in the most basic sense.

His mother is Alice Creel and his sister is Virginia Creel, the opposite of Henry’s mother and sister.

The Indianapolis Gazette DOES NOT mention Henry Creel at ALL. ONLY Edward and mentions him repeatedly as being Victor Creel’s son.

Edward’s father is still Victor Creel, but his Victor is younger than Henry’s Victor, as Edward’s Victor was 35 in 1959 and Henry’s Victor was 40 in 1959.

Edward Creel lived in Hawkins for two years, and moved there in 1957.

In Edward’s timeline, the Creel murders happened on the night of March 21st and were discovered on the morning of the 22nd (Will’s birthday), whereas the murders happened on the night of March 25th in Henry’s timeline.

Edward Creel’s body was supposedly found with his eyes gouged out (whereas Henry slipped into a coma after 7 days and did not lose his eyes), however, in both Henry and Edward’s case, there is ALWAYS the possibility of the lab creating fake bodies, which is what I think happened, especially since we see the same State Troopers involved with Will’s fake body arresting Victor.

Edward’s sister and mother also likely survived, which is where we get into more speculation, because I have the initial post here about Connie Frazier being Alice Creel and then a post here about Connie Frazier being Edward’s Mother/Mother Alice/Alice Creel from another timeline and about Karen Wheeler being Edward’s sisters/Sister Virginia/Virginia Creel from another timeline.

I’m still figuring out exactly how Edward and Henry are related, if they’re a.) just eachother from naturally-occurring alternate timelines, if they’re b.) twin brothers from the same timeline but separated into different timelines scientifically or supernaturally or c.) Edward being Henry’s clone as a result of Brenner trying to recreate Henry in a lab or split off from Henry, or vice versa, and then Edward getting to live at the Creel house/experience the Creel murders via timeline weirdness even though he was “born” in the lab.

There’s also a solid chance that there’s multiple Henries (possibly even three or four, for example) and one Edward, or multiple Edwards and multiple Henries etc etc, because there seems to be multiple timelines happening, and also there’s multiple different Henries/Edwards during NINA, all with different blood splatters on their jumpsuits, and all with completely different, changing child corpses during their massacre sequences.

There is a “Richard Brenner”, listed in the S1 final episode article about Will’s vanishing, and Edward and his timeline is likely connected to Richard Brenner rather than Martin Brenner, or Henry is connected to Richard and Edward to Martin, I’m still figuring that out.

Some of the S1 scenes, specifically the ones involving Connie Frazier, seem to be occurring in the Edward Timeline (or one of the Edward timelines/the Indianapolis Gazette timeline), because if Connie Frazier is Mother Alice Creel, then she exists in the Edward timeline, so when we see her, we’re seeing Edward’s timeline. Unless, of course, she got mixed up into another timeline, which is always an option.

I’m suspicious that Edward was watching the Creel family from the void or from another timeline (see: Will’s “True Sight”/however he was able to see the alphabet on the Byers’ wall from the UD in s1 and was “trapped in the walls”/in the Byers’ house) and that Edward is what Victor was “sensing,” in the attic, much like Billy sensing/seeing El in the void in s3 and Mike seemingly sensing El in the void in s2. Will being “trapped in the walls,” of the Byers’ house is likely going to come back with Edward and Henry in S5 and Edward being “in the walls,”/watching the Creels from the void or from another timeline.

One of the “Henries” monologuing to El during the massacre is very very likely Edward

Regarding what I said about Mother Alice being Connie Frazier and Daughter Virginia being Karen Wheeler in the Edward timeline, that would make Victor Creel the grandfather of Mike, Holly, and Nancy, and would make Connie Frazier their grandmother.

And if El is Edward’s daughter from the lab and Brenner trying to recreate him, then that would mean that Mike and El are blood cousins in the Edward timeline.

List of My Posts About Edward

Here’s a current list of my posts about Edward, and I’m finish up a new pinned post/directory that’ll have a continuously updating list of links to my posts about him! (here is the link to the edward pinned post section)

Who The Fuck Is Edward Creel? Original Discovery of Edward Creel Post (x)

Edward Creel is Vecna and Henry Creel is Innocent: The First Shadow, Edward Creel, Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde, and Carl Jung’s Theory of the Shadow (x)

Initial Post About The Creel Murders Happening On Will’s Birthday In The Edward Timeline (x)

NOTE: I use “Henry” in this post because this was before I connected it to Edward being a separate person, so just swap “Henry” for Vecna, but the Indianapolis Gazette IS the Edward timeline.

Confirming That The Creel Murders Happened On Will’s Birthday In The Edward Timeline (x)

NOTE: Same as the other post, use “Henry” in this post because this was before I connected it to Edward being a separate person, so just swap “Henry” for Vecna, but the Indianapolis Gazette IS the Edward timeline.

The Creels’ Disappearing Door and Magic, Colour-Changing Wallpaper (x)

Birthdaygate and When Did The Henry-Edward Split Happen And Was Edward Watching The Creel Family From The Void Or Via True Sight From Another Timeline? (x)

Edward Creel and the Lost Brother (x)

Edward Creel is Totally Vecna- Eddie’s DND Scene (x)

Edward Munson and Henry Creel and Being Blamed For Murder (x)

Revisiting The “If We Just Go Based On Henry’s Monologue, We Would Have No Clue Alice Even Existed Until The End And He Never Mentions Her By Name” Post With The Context Of Edward (x)

The First Shadow: Shadow(s) of The Past and LOTR (x)

The Shadows of The Past Have a Very Long Reach (x)

The First Shadow: Demons In Your Past (x)

Edward Being Bolded On The S4 Movie Board (x)

You’re Not A Child vs I’m Not A Dog And Henry Or Edward Being “Not A Child” (x)

Edward and Henry and 001 vs 000 (x)

Henry’s Colour-Changing Socks (x)

I Don’t Know What That Thing Is But It’s Not My Son- Victor, Henry, Edward, and Vecna (x)

Why Are We Seeing Through The Eyes of Someone The Same Height As Henry So Often? And Why Did Henry Look Up At The Camera? (x)

How Does Timeline Theory Stuff Tie Into Other Events In ST and How Does It Tie Into The Themes of ST and How Are The Duffers Going To Pull It Off Without Blindsiding the GA? (x)

Something Was Wrong With Me Vs What Is Wrong With My Boy (x)

Lost In The Darkness vs Hiding In The Darkness vs Hiding In The Shadows vs Good At Hiding (x)

Is Sam Owens Edward’s Father/Victor Creel From Another Timeline? (x)

“Well, my hair was buzzed and i didnt have these sweet old tatties yet”- Another Eddie Munson vs Edward Creel Parallel (x)

Just Move Your Date This One Time: Edward and Moving Dates (x)

All Your Theories About It Are Wrong, Because I’ve Seen One and Fought One: Edward Creel is Vecna/001 (ft Which One Is It?) (x)

The Lab IDs That Kali Dumped Out Vs Edward and Henry (x)

Edward Creel and the Criticism of Eddie Munson Being a Pointless Character (x)

Henward’s Plinko Reflection (x)

Henward Standing Like Alice Vs Standing Like Young Henward (x)

That’s The One: Will and 001 and Edward Creel (x)

I’m Eleven, You Long Haired Freak (x)

Edward, Eddie, and Straitjackets (x)

Joseph Quinn and Jamie Bower Doing Press Together, ST5, and Edward Creel/Vecna Using Eddie Munson as a Flesh Puppet So That Jamie Is Freed Up To Play Henry Creel (x)

Reblog of Stav’s Post Regarding Edward Creel, Eddie Munson, Reefer Rick, Richard Brenner, and Will’s Vanishing vs Eddie Hiding Parallels and Eddie Being Mistaken For Rick (x)

Eddie The Banished vs Edward Creel and Eddie’s Death Scene vs Edward Creel/001 Getting Sent To Superhell (x)

#stranger things #edward creel #henry creel #st creel timeline weirdness #byler

[shijiujun]

Just A Few More Notes on MXTX EN Official Translations

SO...

1. Yes, MXTX IS getting money from this set of publications! However, as reminded from a friend in the industry, Seven Seas’ FAQ says rights holders and not MXTX herself, and it’s likely the contract was made with JJWXC so... we can only trust their word that money DOES go back to MXTX. Not casting any doubt, it’s just what it is based on what we can see on the FAQ page

2. ALL translators across all three books are fan translators that have been hired to do the job properly. This does include Suika and Pengie for TGCF and others for MDZS and SVSSS - So for all of you who shitted on fan translators, fan translators are making it happen for yall right now

3. ALL of them will be uncensored

4. Yes, there’ll be hard and soft copies! I KNOW that the EN copies are definitely way more expensive than those who can read Chinese and buy Chinese original versions are used to but there’ll be soft copies which should be cheaper - And hey if you want freebies and all that stuff, you can still buy the cheaper Chinese copies hahahaha

5. Any fan translations of these three books are NOW illegal basically, for real, since there are official ones coming up - I do feel sorry for proper actual respectful fan translators who were taking on MDZS and SVSSS who were doing re-translations and now have to stop etc.

6. SevenSeas will decide whether or not to do further translations of other popular danmeis based on this pre-order so do support if you can

7. Suika found SevenSeas to publish at least TGCF from what I can see from her tweets, so she made it work. With plenty of help of course, but she really, really made it work, even while people were hating on her during the entire translations and buying drama. Now you really can support so no more excuses!

8. What I said about there being no impetus for EN translations: This wouldn’t have been possible if Suika and other translators didn’t push hard for this, and if SevenSeas wasn’t willing to listen to the fan translators, and also give MXTX a proper cut of the profits. What I’m saying is that EN-speaking fandom now, in an economic sense, SHOULD be profitable for authors to want to have their books licensed in EN, and have proper and great translators we’ve seen doing proper work. I’m happy to be wrong definitely, if more EN official translations pop up from SevenSeas, but like I said, this was a concerted effort based on mutual respect on all parties, and we don’t get that very often, so now’s the time to support.

9. And am I ever so glad to say that once again MTL etc. really cannot compare to actual, proper translations, and I’m so happy for Suika and the other translators that they’re now ACTUAL translators and wannabe “I learnt Chinese for 6 months or 1 year and now will translate this terribly difficult novel because I am Smart” and everyone who’s given them trouble can now really shut up, because Suika really made it happen (along with many others yes!). She be all action and talk, I love that

10. Will there still be problems? YES, I think there will be. Despite everything going on official right now, we can all probably agree that troublemakers in the EN-speaking or international fandoms still exist. There’ll always be issues. Especially with new people joining in on the fun now that these super viral and hot titles are available in English, yes we can expect a lot more stupid questions and stupid people coming up. I don’t deny that overall it’s a huge thing, but as always, fandom is fandom, and with new entrants coming in? We definitely have a hell of a ride on our hands

11. Should you take the EN translations as honest gospel and it being THE one translation? I mean not in the sense of publishing or creating fan translations but if any people who speak CN and EN have different takes on translations in terms of expression I’d say those are equally valid and correct. I expect people might go “oh but the official translation version” blah blah but... language is nuanced. Although these translators for the books are the best there are out there, language can still be interpreted or expressed differently in translations! So yep, don’t go accusing smaller translators or content creators for “wrong translations” especially when they speak and lived Chinese all their lives thanks

12. The purest form of the content is still the Chinese version - I’m not being a wet blanket here, but the most, most original form of it is definitely the Chinese version, and things ARE still lost in translation regardless, so personally I of course still prefer the CN versions for all

13. Will novels like 2ha and SPL get official translations? I’d say it might be a bit hard for 2ha because there’re already so many haters in the EN-only speaking fandom for all the “immoral” stuff so yeah. SPL maybe? I honestly think Priest is not that interested in having EN translations for her books tbh unless the money is really boomz, so that one is up there for anyone’s guess as well. 

14. In the meantime, Via Lactea does have licensed books for smaller danmei prints so do support them as well!!!

#mdzs #svsss #tgcf #mxtx #mxtx en print #AHHHHHHHHH

[mediabasedlife]

A Look Back At...The Last Generation (2013-2020)

I’d like to start this off by thanking those who encouraged me to write this article, my friends and family who encouraged me to rekindle this project despite my own trepidation. I hope its quality lives up to those lofty expectations.

     Say what you will about the hobby, gaming is in many ways the gift that keeps on giving. Every year there are hundreds, if not thousands of new offerings for every brand of player out there. And wouldn't you know it, there's a fairly significant portion of that library that are actually pretty good. Now, people will argue ad infinitum about what games are the best, or what consoles, or even which generation trumps the rest. This diversity of opinion is what has allowed gaming discussion to thrive just as potently as the medium which it encapsulates. Like any opinion, all of this is especially subjective; great games have been coming out pretty much every year since gaming began, a trend that seems like it will continue as long as gaming itself continues to thrive. While some may argue, I would say the latest generation thrived especially well. Ignoring the Wii-U, since I never owned one, and skirting around handhelds, the latest generation spanned the life of the Xbox One, the PlayStation 4, and technically, the Nintendo Switch. And through their seven-year life [switch notwithstanding], we saw the release of some truly excellent games - from top budget AAA titles to humble indie offerings. Now, in 2020, while we as a community are taking our first steps into the new generation of gaming, I think it fair to take pause, gaze back, and remember some of the games that made the latest generation so memorable for so many.

2013

    2013 marked the start of the last-gen, with the release of both the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4. Both consoles were built to shepherd out their predecessors, marking leaps in visual fidelity and infrastructure that would empower them to become the monoliths of gaming that they hoped to be. I won't say that both consoles had an equally vibrant launch, but they both tried to put their best foot forward. While the Xbox was busy desperately trying to become the multimedia center for your living room, Sony kicked off the next generation in style, releasing a whole seven days earlier than its competitor. With the Xbox not far behind, both consoles brought a suite of new, shiny games to play. Well, in theory, anyway. I'm not here to speak of the quality of the launch lineups of either console, but what I can do is list off the game that stood out, and why it made it onto my list.

-Assassin's Creed Black Flag      Black Flag actually saw its initial release on the PS3 and Xbox 360 almost a month prior to the soon to be current generation, but with both new consoles came a second release, one that came equipped with all the bells and whistles you'd expect from what was then a next-gen game. It doesn't look good for my list to start things off on a technicality, but this game is worth it. Black Flag remains one of my top three Assassin's Creed Games, which is saying a lot considering the sheer scale of the franchise. Fresh off the love it or hate it Assassin's Creed III, Black Flag looked to take a revitalized approach to the franchise formula, playing off of fan feedback, expanding upon what fans loved from AC3, and adding in new activities and a broader, fresher open world to explore. In it, you play as Edward Kenway, a charming rogue of a pirate who kicks the game off by stealing the identity of a defected Assassin. Expecting nothing more than riches and glory, his masquerade instead goes quickly sour, thrusting Edward into the conspiracy filled, secretive world of the Assassin and Templar conflict. What makes this story stand out is how different Edward was as a protagonist, seeing him acting largely indifferent to the traditional formula the assassin's creed games had followed thus far. The game's setting also helped it immensely; the game plays more like a pirate simulator, seeing players sail the Caribbean searching out treasures and fame, gathering a sturdy ship and a hearty crew, engaging in thrilling naval battles, and basking in the warm glow of the sun-drenched sands that define the game's many islands. Along the way, you interact with a bevy of historical or mythical figures, such as Blackbeard, Captain Kidd, Calico Jack, and many more. All of this came together to create an immensely satisfying game, a standout amidst its peers and predecessors, and an experience that still stands the test of time despite the numerous sequels it has received.

2014

    2014 was the year the new generation really started to pick up. The consoles had begun to get their footing, truly ushering in the next wave of quality games and proving their value to the players. Several critically acclaimed games got their start here or saw revitalized releases on the current generation of consoles. However, there were a few strays, games that elected to release on the prior consoles first and foremost, games that wouldn't see new-gen ports for some time, and others that never did, but still merited recognition and praise. But how many will make it onto my list? Well, you'll just have to read on.

-Titanfall     Titanfall was, for me, the first game on the Xbox One that truly cemented it as a worthy purchase. It was a melting pot of ideas and innovation that I immediately fell in love with. Built with an always-online principle, Titanfall sees players engaging in a pseudo-campaign of multiple, looping competitive matches. On the surface, you could easily glance Titanfall's way and see nothing remarkable. Another first-person shooter in a sea of competitors, all of whom had far more clout at the time. But what set Titanfall apart from the start was its dedication to movement, satisfying and fast-paced gunplay, and especially, robots. See, Titanfall's whole gimmick is this; players take on the role of Pilots, better than average soldiers of the far future who are deployed in times of conflict as superior ground troops, but more importantly, heavy artillery. As pilots perform well on the battlefield, they can call in the titular Titanfall, summoning their respective Titan to the fray. Titans are large, deadly mechs that can be piloted by the player to give them a distinct advantage in battle. What this translates to in gameplay is simple; as players make their way through matches, they build up a meter which when filled allows them to call down a massive robot to wreak havoc. Every player can do this, usually multiple times a match if they're good enough. Titans are fast, tough, and lethal, and fun as hell to control. But what kept the game balanced was the fact that titans weren't invincible. All players came equipped with anti-titan weaponry, alongside their usual loadout of rifles or handguns. This meant that anyone could take a titan down if they were savvy. The titans, coupled with the frantic movement and satisfying shooting, made Titanfall a one of a kind game. It's fitting, then, that the inevitable sequel would go on to improve on it in virtually every way, but that'll have to wait for later.

-Diablo 3     I will admit to not having played this in its initial release window, in fact, some years would pass before I finally picked it up on console during a sale. And though my time with it was quite belated, I would still consider it to be a genuinely fun game, one worthy of being on this list. In Diablo 3, players choose between seven classes; Wizard, Monk, Necromancer, Witch Doctor, Demon Hunter, Barbarian, or Crusader. From there, they are thrust into the demon-plagued land of Sanctuary, beginning their adventure in the town of New Tristram. Each class has a different backstory and a slightly different narrative throughout, but the core throughline is thus; you are sent to the village to investigate reports of a falling star, only to be swept up in a fight against hell and heaven itself for the fate of the world. In terms of game difficulty, the game sports an impressive twenty difficulty tiers; easy, normal, hard, master, and then sixteen levels of torment. Should players want an even greater challenge, there's also hardcore mode, which starts you off with permadeath: you get one life, no exceptions. Die, and the character is gone for good. Overall, I would say that Diablo's biggest strength is in its gameplay loop; Diablo plays like a top-down, hack and slash role-playing game, with players exploring the various levels in search of loot all the while battling hordes of enemies and leveling up, earning new abilities and skills that players can swap out to create their ideal builds. The core gameplay loop, while simple, is wildly addictive, with a massive loot pool to chase in an effort to grow ever stronger. Each class plays differently, but all of them are easy to learn. Diablo also supports local and online multiplayer, making it a great game to play with friends or family.

-Sunset Overdrive     Sunset Overdrive is a game I've previously covered on this blog before. In fact, I'd say I did such a good job that if you want to read about it, go read that article. But if you'd rather not click away, let me give you the TL;DR. Sunset overdrive is a satirical open world game made by Insomniac in which you play as a cocky and comedic hero out to save their city from a bogus energy drink that caused a pseudo-zombie outbreak. It's built around movement, with the player grinding on rails and running on walls and doing everything they can to stay mobile while gunning down the mutated enemies and exploring the environment. It's funny and feels great to play while being hampered by an underwhelming character creator and suite of customization options, but still manages to come out on top as an immensely satisfying game.

-Destiny     Destiny is the brainchild of one Bungie studios, the original creators of Halo, the next game on this list. Fresh off their amicable split from Microsoft, Bungie did what they did best; develop a truly great FPS. But this time, they added a twist; Destiny is equal parts Shooter, Looter, and MMO. It took these three core ingredients and mixed them together with gusto, delivering an immensely entertaining game that felt incredible to play both alone or with your friends. The story of destiny is a long one, but can be summarized simply; Some years in the future, Humanity met and allied with an alien being known as the Traveller, an alliance that heralded massive technological and social leaps, ushering in the new Golden Age of humanity. Unfortunately, the Traveller's natural enemies, The Darkness, attacked the solar system, destroying much, and whittling down the last survivors to a single safe city. In response, the Traveller created Guardians, reanimated protectors infused with the Traveller's power, tasked with defending the earth and all its colonies from the encroaching forces of evil that threaten this dwindling peace. Resurrected by a ghost, an emissary of the Traveller, you play as one of these Guardians; taking on the role of either the agile Hunter, the cosmically magical Warlock, or the strong and stalwart Titan. From there, you could either progress alone or join up with friends to take on the challenges of the solar system, pushing back the forces of darkness. Although lacking in longevity in its first outing, destiny was quickly expanded and iterated upon, turning it from an already impressive game to a true powerhouse and pillar of its genre.

-Halo: The Master Chief Collection     I won't pretend this started off as a flawless, perfect compilation of prior Halo games. But I love Halo, and I loved playing these games again, so it makes the list. Especially after all of the improvements and subsequent additions 343 made to the collection post-launch. On release, it featured Halo CE, Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo 4, but has since gone on to include Halo 3: ODST and Halo Reach as well. If you're unfamiliar, Halo is a staple franchise in the Xbox lineup, and the master chief collection sought to unify all of the prior releases under one umbrella for the newest console. Halo is a sci-fi FPS franchise, largely following the saga of the titular Master Chief Petty Officer, John-117. John, or Master Chief as he is more commonly called, is a Spartan; a supersoldier of the future, who fights to protect humanity from an alien collective dubbed The Covenant. In the first game, Master Chief crash lands on an alien ringworld known as Halo, which later turns out to be an ancient superweapon created to exterminate all sentient life in the galaxy. Subsequent games only build the stakes from there, seeing John stave off one intergalactic threat after another in a franchise that continues to satisfy time and again. What the Master Chief Collection does is bundle everything up in one convenient package, while simultaneously offering tweaks and improvements to complement the technological advancements of the new consoles. It offers local and online multiplayer, both for its story and its competitive modes. Overall, even with the flawed beginnings, I would consider The master chief collection a must-have for Xbox players.

-Grand Theft Auto V     Ah yes, GTAV, the game that refuses to die. Technically, this game released on the Xbox 360 and ps3, but it's been put on the PS4/XBO and now even the PS5 and the latest Xboxes too. I won't be surprised if this game gets ported to the consoles that come after that, too, in seven or so years. This game just won't quit. But that's also a testament to the dedication of its player base and the overall quality of the game itself. GTAV is an irreverent, biting joy of a game, replete with humor and charisma. It was, and remains, the latest in Rockstar's open-world crime franchise, in which players take on the role of not one, but three separate characters trying to make their way through life in Los Santos California; Michael, a retired crook stuck in the witness protection system, Michael's former, quite deranged partner Trevor, and rounding out the cast is Franklin, a street-savvy up and comer. Together they go about committing numerous heists, shady deals, and more than a few moments of mayhem in their quest for glory. Its secondary selling point was a robust and open-ended online mode, where players could create their own character and participate in myriad activities with and against their friends and strangers for fame, money, and clout. This is the mode that has kept GTA going in the years since its release, and it is the mode that has seen the most improvements and updates as well. I spent a not inconsiderable amount of time in it myself, but it was always the story of Michael, Trevor, and Franklin that drew me in overall.

-Tales from the Borderlands     Tales from the Borderlands is the only Telltale game I'm putting in this whole list. Not for lack of quality on the other games' parts, but simply because this one has to be my favorite. For those unfamiliar, Borderlands is a series of FPS games that take place far in the future on the fringes of space; the titular Borderlands. It follows a revolving door of ragtag Vault Hunters, people who go in search of mythical, alien "vaults" that are rumored to contain vast amounts of treasure. They are incredibly popular, addicting looter shooters that match satisfying gunplay with beautiful cell-shaded graphics, topped off with charming and funny characters and not too shabby storytelling. Telltale games, on the other hand, are traditional point and click adventure games, released in episodic formats and usually broken down into seasons. They focus on storytelling first and foremost, showcasing incredibly compelling narratives influenced by player choice. You'd think, then, that these two dichotomous formats wouldn't pair well together at all, but Tales from the Borderlands proves that sentiment is wildly false. Tales from the borderlands took what was great about previous telltale games, and matched it perfectly to an original tale set in the Borderlands universe. It weaves an incredibly compelling narrative, filled with equal parts humor and feeling, and manages to tell one of the best Borderlands stories to date.

2015

    I don't have a lot to say about 2015. The new generation was still going strong and saw some truly excellent games grace its shelves, many of whom are going to appear below.

-Bloodborne    2015 kicked off incredibly strong with Bloodborne, the latest instant classic from the studio behind the equally popular Dark Souls franchise. Bloodborne melds the skill-oriented, punishing combat and exploration heavy maps of the Souls games with an eldritch, psychological atmosphere, a match so perfect it went together like peanut butter and chocolate. To espouse the story of Bloodborne would be an effort in itself, but  I shall do my best to summarize it; Shirking the more medieval settings of the Souls games before it, Bloodborne sees players navigating the victorian gothic town of Yarnham, a city plagued by beasts and monsters. It is these monsters you are tasked with dispatching, taking on the role of a Hunter of Beasts, sent to cleanse the town of that which ails it. But not is all as it seems, and the beasts may not be the only monsters Yarnham has to offer. Outside of its interpretive yet incredibly strong narrative, Bloodborne offered equally polished gameplay, iterating on the previously mentioned combat from prior dark souls games to create a punishing yet wildly satisfying gameplay loop that was easy to learn yet hard to master. Bloodborne forced players to always be on their guard but gave them no shield or barrier with which to do so, believing that offense was the greatest defense, making success hinge on your willingness to fight and your skill in surviving the nightmares that Yarnham had to offer. A melding of horror, action, and exploration, Bloodborne was a true success, cementing itself for years to come as a top tier action-RPG, and saw countless fans that remain dedicated to it to this day.

-The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt     I'm going to be blunt; This is one of my favorite games of the last generation. It is a top tier RPG, made up of an incredibly charming cast of characters, a beautiful open world, and a thrilling, fantastical narrative that all come together to make one of the best games to release in the last seven years. Though a sequel to not only two prior games, but also a long line of books, The Witcher 3 was surprisingly friendly to newcomers, of which I was one at the time. Despite its pedigree, I felt right at home in the world of the Witcher, quickly picking up on what I had missed in its long and storied life. The Witcher 3 puts players in the role of Geralt of Rivia, the titular Witcher, a magically enhanced human tasked with routing out monsters that threaten the world of man. This time around, Geralt is searching for his ward, Ciri, as he navigates a world fraught with monsters and men in equal measure. what starts as a simple search for a missing friend quickly blossoms into an adventure for the fate of the world itself. Though a fantasy RPG at its heart, the witcher manages to tell some particularly grounded and human stories, and this game is no exception. One moment will see you stalking a beast out in the wild, the next will see you navigating political intrigue in the courts of royalty. But it all flows together to create one of the best RPGs I've ever played, and one that earned a not inconsiderable amount of well-deserved praise when it first debuted back in 2015.

-Assassin's Creed Syndicate     Hot off the heels of the muddied AC Unity, Syndicate was the last proper Assassin's Creed game before the franchise would experience a massive genre and gameplay shift in its next entry. Where Unity saw too much focus on graphics and not enough care anywhere else, Syndicate finely balances all of its parts to create an impressive experience overall. This time around, players get to visit London, at the tail end of its industrial revolution. Out goes flintlocks and swords, in came steam and steel. This entry sees players in the role of both Evie and Jacob Frye, siblings fresh off their induction into the Assassin Brotherhood, tasked with dispatching justice on their Templar foes across London. The setting isn't the only big change for this game, as Syndicate saw an overhaul in both visual quality, scale, and gameplay. London feels lived large and lived in, with plenty of ground to explore and streets filled with people going about their day-to-day. Missions are split between Jacob and Evie both, with some allowing you to pick and choose and others forcing you into the shoes of one or the other as they work together to clean up the city. It innovated on the traditional gameplay loop, with this game having you going from borough to borough, toppling its templar leaders and expanding your sphere of influence with the aid of historical figures like Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, and Nikola Tesla. These famous faces are not the only people lending the Fryes their helping hand, as Syndicate also put the Fryes in charge of their own street gang, a ragtag group of brawlers and scouts that would come to their aid at the press of a button. Most times, conquering a borough involved you and your gang scrapping it out with those of the templar order, dusting knuckles to see who got the final say in the control of the area. This may seem at odds with the traditionally stealth-oriented approach prior games focused on, but that side of the game was not neglected either. Assassination missions saw fine-tuning and innovation as well, with players able to plan out and partake in uniquely tailored kills that matched the locale and personality of their target, from disguising yourself as a scientific cadaver to kill a corrupt doctor to allying with a guard and feigning capture to infiltrate and kill a target in the Tower of London. The game saw improvements out of combat as well, with Syndicate receiving a large overhaul in its parkour movement and general navigation. The Frye twins come equipped with a grappling hook that allows for speedy travel across London's many rooftops, while ground travel was made all the more expedient with the inclusion of horse-drawn carriages. The general parkour itself was also tuned, allowing for freer player movement and tighter directional control. All of this to say, Syndicate saw some truly welcomed improvements, iterating on the legacy and creating a lasting impression that stands up as one of the better games of the franchise.

-Star Wars Battlefront     While I've spoken of a Battlefront on this blog before, this is not that same game. Rather, this is Battlefront 2015, a soft reboot to the previous Battlefront line of games for the new generation of consoles. This Star Wars Battlefront was helmed and developed by Dice, famed for the Battlefield franchise, a line of competent and entertaining military-focused first-person shooters. They were known for solid campaigns, but more importantly, massive scale competitive multiplayer modes. This pedigree is shown heavily in Battlefront, with the game sporting 64 players competitive multiplayer, with teams taking on the roles of either the empire or the rebellion as they fight their way through maps taken straight from the star wars universe, from the snowy plains of Hoth to the immense forests of Endor and everywhere in between. The game was replete with game modes and had the ability to be played in either first or third person. Players were given access to a modest selection of in-universe weaponry, and could even take the role of recognizable star wars heroes on occasion. Visually, the game was stunning, with incredibly faithful and detailed recreations from everything to weapons to the maps themselves. It felt like a genuine passion project, built from the ground up by competent developers and made for fans and first-timers alike. Battlefront, much like many games on this list, has since been usurped by a sequel but remains an incredibly competent shooter and a genuinely fun game to play.

2016

    While 2015 saw the release of some truly impressive games, 2016 was a genuine powerhouse of a year. It saw the rise to prominence of Virtual Reality, through the oculus rift and the PlayStation VR. 2016 also saw the first re-released console of the current generation, in the form of the Playstation 4 Pro, a trend that Xbox would follow as well, seeing the release of 2016's Xbox One S, and in 2017, the Xbox One X. These were touted as faster, better performing, better-looking consoles than their base model predecessors, offering several enhancements to graphical fidelity and console performance, running games even better than they already did. And with these new consoles came an all-star suite of excellent games, a multitude of instant classics from big-name studios and fresh indie developers alike. Many of the games that released this year are ones I've individually covered before, but they still deserve their spot in this article. So without further ado, here are some of the most noteworthy games of 2016.

-Oxenfree     Where Bloodborne was the standout hit that kicked off 2015, Oxenfree did the exact same thing for 2016. Developed by the California based indie team at Night School Studios, Oxenfree is a supernaturally infused, slice of life adventure game that follows Alex, a witty, rebellious, soon to be high school graduate as she makes her way to the fictional Edwards Island, accompanied by her best friend Ren and new stepbrother Jonah. This small group of friends is meeting up with what they assume will be a large group to have a weekend bash, But what was supposed to be a boisterous weekend party turns out to just be two extra guests; Clarissa, a fellow student who has ties to Alex, and Nona, a mild-mannered girl who just so happens to be Ren's current crush. Their modest get together quickly goes south when Alex uses a small handheld radio to tune into a weird signal emanating from the island, unleashing the spirits of a sunken military submarine, long since lost at sea. These wayward souls possess one of the kids and scatter the rest across the island, forcing Alex to uncover the mystery of their death and find a way to save her friends and escape the island. The game wears its inspirations on its sleeve, taking queues from classic ghost stories as much as it does retro coming of age stories, but it adapts these ideas masterfully. As for how it plays, Oxenfree is a side scrolling point and click adventure game, built around exploration and dialogue rather than complex game mechanics. It explores the interpersonal relationships between all the characters as much as it explores the haunted nature of the island itself. It easily shifts between these disparate tones, with a story filled with as many supernatural spooks as sarcastic teenage banter, seamlessly integrating player choice into the mix to create a truly excellent narrative. Oxenfree also features a high amount of replayability, with player choice going on to influence which of the game's many endings, as well as touting a new game plus mode that adds an extra smattering of content for your subsequent playthroughs. Oxenfree was a gift that kept on giving, more than earning its spot on this list.

-Firewatch     Firewatch is the first of several 2016 games I've previously written about, and while my opinion of it may have not been the highest initially, ruminating on it since has led me to a new appreciation of the time I spent with it. I would recommend reading my original review, but the short summary is thus; you play as Henry, a man on the run from his troubles who takes a job in the Shoshone national forest, keeping an eye on the wildlife and ensuring nothing is amiss. Your companion through the game is Delilah, a voice through your walkie talkie, somebody else who has taken the same job as you over in one of the adjacent watchtowers. Throughout the game you explore the forest, keeping the area safe while exploring the mysteries of the area you now inhabit, all the while developing a friendly relationship with Delilah as you go. It's a simple, but satisfying first-person adventure game, with an emotionally charged but comedic narrative about one man's journey to get lost and find himself.

-Stardew Valley     Stardew Valley is a retro-inspired simulator game about a down and out office worker who inherits their grandfather's farm in the titular Stardew Valley. They leave their mundane life behind and embark on a new journey in rural life, building up the farm from a rundown, untamed field into a bustling agricultural powerhouse, all the while making friends and forming bonds with the locals that you meet along the way. Stardew plays like a dream and features a stunning pixellated art style that complements its easygoing nature. Stardew is a game you can get lost in with ease, featuring an incredibly satisfying gameplay loop; It's a charmingly simple sim, one that encourages players to make their own way and their own choices, with a multitude of different ways to spend each in-game day. You're encouraged to play the game at your own pace, experiencing its range of content as it comes, rather than being railroaded into any one path for progression. It's a game that encourages exploration, diversity, and freedom, one that never really ends. Stardew made waves when it first came out for being such an open-ended, friendly experience, and it has since gone on to be heavily expanded upon by its developer, seeing releases on even more platforms and accruing even more fans along the way. It's a game that's easy to love and hard to put down, a comfort food game that makes you want to revisit it time and again.

-Titanfall 2     Where the original Titanfall was an excellent Xbox exclusive, Titanfall 2 bloomed the franchise into a multiplatform powerhouse. While it kept the excellent multiplayer modes, Titanfall 2's biggest change was the inclusion of a proper single-player story, and it's this inclusion that sees Titanfall 2 earn a place on my list. Titanfall 2's campaign is short, but sweet, seeing players take on the role of Jack Cooper, a pilot in training under the mentorship of an experienced soldier named Lastimosa. Unfortunately, on their first field mission, Lastimosa is killed, forcing Jack to embrace his future role as Pilot in an effort to survive and keep Lastimosa's experimental Titan out of enemy hands. This Titan, given the codename BT, is unique among Titans in that it can freely equip the various titan weapons and abilities, while simultaneously having an expanded AI that allows it to perform better in combat than its contemporaries. Together, Jack and BT make their way through the Frontier, coming into conflict with the varied enemy forces that they were originally sent in to stop. The campaign is brief, but what it lacks in lengths it makes up for in entertainment; the banter between Jack and BT makes for some great dialogue, and the campaign is perfectly built around the shooting and movement tech that made the first Titanfall so distinct, creating a series of levels that are just as built around gunfights as they are around precise first-person platforming. The game's environments are also beautiful to look at, varying from gritty industrial complexes to lush jungle environments that are as nice to look at as they are to maneuver through. Accompanying the stellar story mode is the recurring suite of multiplayer offerings, all of which have been upgraded and improved upon to complement the innovations of the sequel. Where Titanfall was good, Titanfall 2 is great, and it's a continual shame the series hasn't been given more time to shine.

-The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Special Edition     This is another game that I've previously covered on my blog, and it's also another technicality. See, Skyrim technically released back in 2011 but saw so many re-releases in the years afterward that at this point the only device that doesn't natively play it are phones. With this particular re-release, Bethesda sought to give console players the same quality of life changes that PC players had been seeing for years, namely graphical improvements, stability patches, and most importantly, player-created content. Skyrim had developed a bustling and dedicated community of creators in its years since release, all of whom had made countless mods for the game that ranged anywhere from simple tweaks to full-on expansion sized stories, and the special edition release marked the first time Xbox and Playstation fans could get their hands on this library of unique content. It created a situation where the already hefty game could be made all the more robust with fan contributions. Don't like the music? Download one of the unique music packs somebody put together. Want any number of pop culture-inspired items? Looking for some new quests to spice up this five-year-old game? It's all there and more.

-Watch Dogs 2     You might be wondering why I've put Watch Dogs 2 on this list while its predecessor is nowhere to be found. While the first Watch Dogs was a middling revenge story that happened to incorporate some neat hacking based features, Watch Dogs 2 is where the franchise really found itself. It follows the story of one Marcus Holloway, a bright and witty young man who's been framed for a crime he didn't commit by a faulty surveillance network that monitors the city of Los Angeles in a pseudo-dystopic future not so removed from our own. So Marcus does what he does best, hacks into the network and removes himself from it entirely, embarking on a campaign to take the whole system down with the help of white hat hacker collective Deadsec. What sets this game apart from its predecessor is the charisma of its cast and the far more varied ways in which you can use the game's technology to your advantage. Hijack cameras, remote control vehicles, manipulate streetlights, the world of Watch Dogs 2 is yours to manipulate all at the press of a button. And if hacking doesn't get you where you need to be, Marcus has some skills of his own; he's particularly skilled at parkour and quite handy at non-lethally dispatching foes with a weapon of his own design, a billiard ball attached to a bungee cord. And if playing non-lethally isn't your thing, you can also accumulate quite the arsenal of homemade weaponry, all 3D printed from the base of your hacker collective. Watch Dogs 2 is a game about a group of people trying to take down a corrupt system using whatever means they can. It's a witty, satirical, but surprisingly grounded story told across a beautiful open-world recreation of Los Angeles, one that drew me in far more than its predecessor ever managed to do.

2017

    2017 might not have had the same pedigree of games as its predecessor, but it did see the belated release of the latest current-gen console; The Nintendo Switch. A revolutionary step up from the Wii and Wii U, The Switch took the gaming world by storm thanks to its ability to seamlessly transition from a home console playing on your TV to a handheld console able to go with you anywhere. The Switch remains a staple of the console market to this day, easily standing tall next to the Playstation and Xbox consoles both new and old. Aside from the Switch, there was still a healthy collection of games for people to enjoy, some of which will be highlighted below.

-Night in the Woods     Night in the Woods marks yet another game I've personally reviewed, and also stands proud as one of my absolute favorites of this generation. A humble offering from indie studio Infinite Fall, it was a gorgeously animated sidescroller of an adventure game that followed college dropout Mae Borowski as she returns to her small home town of Possum Springs to rekindle old friendships and reconnect with her family. Despite its anthropomorphic cast, it tells a genuinely human story, one that perfectly reflected what it feels like to revisit old haunts; how things can be so familiar yet change so much, seamlessly blending an emotionally charged narrative with a dark, suspenseful hometown mystery. Night in the Woods remains an absolutely incredible game to experience, showcasing themes like mental illness, sexuality, and identity through the lens of youthful wit and clever, dry sarcasm. I haven't played many truly perfect games, but Night in the Woods came damned close to being one.

-Kingdom Hearts 1.5/2.5     Ah yes, another collection of re-releases. Kingdom Hearts technically started back on the PS2, with the release of Kingdom Hearts 1. From there it blossomed into an incredibly diverse and lengthy franchise that saw releases on consoles and handhelds alike, from the PS2 to the Gameboy Advance. What these re-releases did was bundle all of the Kingdom Hearts games into one complete package, and tossed them all onto the PlayStation 4. It created a cohesive collection for this storied saga and presented it all in an easy to follow order that anyone could pick up and work through. Both games also offered the previously exclusive Final Mix content to the west for the first time, expanding on the already hefty games with more difficulty options, more enemies, more story content, and more challenges to keep the fun going and going. But what is Kingdom Hearts, I hear some people ask. Kingdom hearts is a series of action RPGs that follow the adventures of heroes known as Keyblade Wielders as they fight against the forces of darkness that threaten the worlds beyond. They play great, feature an especially enjoyable cast of characters, and tells a heartwarming story of good and evil. A joint project between Square Enix and Disney, Kingdom Hearts features an abundance of Disney characters and worlds, crossing over with various Square Enix properties in this epic struggle against light and dark. That's the easiest summary of the story by far, as delving any deeper would almost certainly confuse the casual reader, but let me say this; The Kingdom Hearts games are fantastic, well worth the time, and with these remastered collections, more approachable than ever.

-Nier Automata     Nier Automata is a tough game to talk about in-depth, on account of just how easy it is to spoil for people who haven't experienced it. But it was also one of my favorite games of 2017, so I'll do my best to give it its due. Nier Automata is somewhat of a hybrid game; it blends so many genres together but somehow manages to do each one of them justice. Equal parts open world, action RPG, Bullet Hell, and more, Nier Automata takes place in the far, far future, in the ruins of earth. Humanity has long since abandoned the planet and sought shelter on the moon, entrusting a group of humanoid androids to defend the planet from an encroaching alien threat. The story follows several of these androids; 2B, 9S, and A2, as they wander the ruins of humanity and fight back against the robot foes that the aliens use as soldiers. It tells an amazing story that all but demands subsequent replays to get the full breadth of its narrative weight across, with each subsequent playthrough seen through the eyes of one of the other characters. Equal parts sci-fi story and humanist breakdown, Nier Automata is a deconstructive, philosophical pondering wrapped in the guise of an anime action game. That's not to say it doesn't wear the disguise well; Nier Automata plays like a dream, with stylish combat and an accompanying score that makes for easy listening both in and out of the game. It's another must-play, especially with the remake/remaster of its predecessor soon to release in 2021.

-Persona 5/Persona 5 Royal     Persona 5 is an absolute joy of an RPG. It's slick, stylish, has a superb soundtrack, and tells a top tier story to boot. You take the role of a down-and-out high school kid who's been forced to transfer from his hometown in the countryside to Tokyo, thanks to a bogus police incident. Labeled a criminal and looked down on by the adults of his new school, the protagonist goes about bettering himself, raising his grades, and making the most of his new life in a new city. He forms bonds and relationships with the people around him, making fast friends with many of his classmates and even some chill adults along the way. Oh, he can also use a supernatural phone app to dive into the corrupted hearts of society, utilizing a special power to battle the evils that lie within and force them to change their ways and confess their deeds. Herein lies the dichotomy of the Persona 5; Much like the other Persona games that preceded it, the story it tells is a hybrid of supernatural mystery and coming of age drama, blending mundane highschool life with a fantasy adventure. It is equal parts life simulator and stylish role-playing game, as you and your friends do their best to repair a broken system using the fantastical powers they've been imbued with. These powers are the titular Persona, powerful creatures that embody the sides of ourselves we keep hidden behind the masks of society. These personas allow one to do battle with the shadows that lurk within these corrupted hearts, creatures that take on myriad forms inspired by religion and myth. Wielding this power, they embark on a journey of social reform, fighting a revolving door of less than scrupulous individuals that all culminating in a battle to change society itself. In spite of its overtly fantastical elements, the story it tells is decidedly grounded and surprisingly relatable; at its core, Persona 5 is about a collective of disenfranchised individuals trying their best to make it through life and change things for the better, a story that was and remains especially poignant and a welcomed escapist fantasy to fall into time and again.

-Slime Rancher     Slime Rancher is an adorable simulator game and one I've praised before on my blog. It blends first-person shooter elements with the farming simulator genre, tasking players to manage and explore a planet on the fringes of space that's almost entirely populated by a race of creatures known as Slime. Slimes come in a varied selection of types and sizes, but all of them have one universal similarity; they all produce a resource known as a Plort that you can trade to an intergalactic trade center for currency, which in turn allows you to upgrade your slime farm and expand into new territories. The gameplay loop is nothing but fun, with each new expansion bringing in new species of slime that you can wrangle and combine to make hybrids that in turn create more valuable plorts. As you make your way through the planet, you start uncovering logs left behind by your farm's prior owner, that weave a narrative of love and loss, a story that drives you forward in your quest if only to see how it concludes. You're not alone in this quest, though, as you have your slimes for company as well as several long-distance conversations via the computer in your home between friends and fellow farmers alike. Subsequent game updates have only expanded upon the experience, seeing new opportunities for trade, daily activities, and more, making an already invigorating and enjoyable game all the more so.

-Destiny 2     It's no secret that Destiny 2 had a complicated launch window. Many fans felt that Destiny 2 left too much of what made its predecessor great on the cutting room floor, electing instead to reset the player base back to zero and tell a brand new story. While I missed some of what Destiny 2 left behind, I was still somebody who found a lot of joy in Destiny 2, as evidenced by the thousand-plus hour count it tells me I've poured into it since its 2017 release. The game has also seen countless improvements and additions in the years since its release, adopting a new seasonal model and even going free to play after a point. Most recently, Destiny 2 saw the release of Beyond Light, the first in a new trilogy of expansions that hopes to continue the game forward over the next few years. So, while it might have had a rough start, it still remains destiny at its core, making it one of the best shooters on the market, coupled with a satisfying loot hunt and a rewarding structure that continues to keep its fans coming back for more. That alone lands it in my list of games for 2017, and the generation as a whole.

-The Sims 4    Though this game technically saw the light of day back in 2014, I didn't end up playing it until its console release here in 2017. Thus, I place it here. There isn't a lot of complication with Sims 4. If you're at all familiar with its predecessors, you know exactly what to expect. An engaging simulator game, in which you craft an individual or family and set them on the path of life, influencing them as they go or leaving them to their own fates so as to see what happens. You tailor their looks, personality, aesthetic...it's a premier example of micromanagement as entertainment. This installment shirked some of the advancements made by its predecessor but still manages to be a robust and enjoyable game all on its own, made all the better by continued additional content releases in the years since its premiere. It's a game that keeps on giving and seems primed to continue doing so for some time yet.

2018

    2018 saw the release of some genuinely top-shelf games, with the Switch continuing to establish itself against its contemporaries, while the Playstation continued to add excellent exclusives to its lineup.

-Far Cry 5     The Far Cry games have always been known for being competent shooters with large open worlds, and this one is no exception. Shirking the usual foreign locales, Far Cry 5 takes place a lot closer to home, seeing players cleaning up the rural backwoods of Montana, taking place in the fictional Hope County. In it, you play as a rookie cop sent in to apprehend an evangelical doomsday cultist; John Seed, The Father. This arrest quickly goes south, leaving you as the last lawman willing to stand up to the Seed family and free Hope County from their grasp. To do so, you systematically break the hold of his lieutenants, dismantling their bases of operations and taking down his associates in a slow climb to face him once more. Along the way you make friends and allies out of the locals, people with a similar drive to rise up and clean up their county. As far as the gameplay, Far Cry 5 is a mix of FPS and RPG elements, with a rudimentary character customization system and plenty of powerful guns to acquire. You level up and earn skills that augment your preferred style of play, be it stealthy or over the top, all in your pursuit of justice. Augmenting this quest is the world it takes place in, with players exploring lush forests, vibrant fields, and the general detritus of rural America. Hope county feels real, with looks to match, despite its farcical tone and over the top gameplay. All of this came together to make a Far Cry that felt fresh and fun, a genuine step forward for the franchise.

-God of War     Prior games in the God of War series were not known for subtlety, nuance, or humanity. Rather, they were violent hack and slash games that featured the titular God of War, Kratos, seeking and exacting bloody revenge on the greek pantheon for their slights against him and his family. They were by no means bad games, but they weren't what I would consider masterpieces either. Then, we were given God of War (2017). This soft reboot/Sequel for the franchise saw Kratos embarking on a distinctly more grounded story than its predecessors, navigating the perils of fatherhood while on a journey to deliver his late wife's ashes in the world of the Norse Pantheon. He is joined by his son, Atreus, a bright but rebellious young boy who seeks only to prove his worth to the gruff and distant Kratos. This more human story is accompanied by a more grounded approach to combat and gameplay; while it retains the emphasis on action, it feels more deliberate than prior entries, shifting the combat style from the hack and slash nature to a more measured approach, with players needing to conserve stamina and plan their attacks lest they get easily overwhelmed. The game also incorporates a more open world structure than its predecessors, seeing Kratos and his son freely traversing their environment, unlocking shortcuts, and finding means to double back on past areas in a level progression that feels more like a Souls game than the God of Wars of old. All of this came together to make a game that felt genuinely innovative, a fresh new direction for a pre-established franchise that was as welcoming to newcomers as it was to prior fans.

-Donut County     Donut County is a silly, short indie puzzle game in which you play as a mischievous raccoon delivering "donuts" to the unsuspecting populous around him. These donuts are, in fact, large sinkholes that expand as they eat different objects, eventually growing to swallow the entirety of the lot they were sent to. The core gameplay lies in this concept, with you controlling the various sinkholes from level to level, figuring out the order in which to consume the various objects on each map in order to grow in size. As the game progresses you unlock various upgrades to these sinkholes, like the ability to spit things out of them, adding new layers to the simple puzzles the game encapsulates. It isn't a terribly long game, as already said, only taking an hour or two to finish, but it cemented itself as a charming indie game amidst a sea of big-name titles.

-Marvel's Spider-Man     Developed by Insomniac, previously mentioned in the Sunset Overdrive excerpt, Marvel's Spider-Man is a rare example of a genuinely amazing superhero game. In it, players take on the role of Peter Parker, a Spider-Man who has already established himself as the hero we know and love, but one that still has room to grow and learn. What starts off as a triumphant takedown of one Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin, soon blossoms into a complicated web that involves a shady group known as the Demons that Spider-Man must stop from wreaking havoc on the city. But the game isn't just about the Heroics of Spider-Man; The Game showcases the best aspects of Peter's character, splitting the game equally between his time as Spider-Man and his normal life as Peter Parker, a scientist working under the apprenticeship of one Otto Octavius, while simultaneously working with his Aunt May at the local Homeless Shelter and trying to rekindle his forlorn relationship with Mary Jane. All of this unfurls simultaneously, weaving a web that melds incredible movement with fast and stylish combat, stellar characters, and a heartwarming tale, cementing itself not only as a great game but also as one of the best Spider-Man stories out there.

-The Missing: JJ Macfield and the Island of Memories     The Missing is a heartfelt, down to earth story told through the lens of a grisly but goofy premise. In it, you play as the titular JJ Macfield, a young girl who goes on a trip with her close friend Emily to a remote island off the coast of Maine. What is supposed to be a fun excursion takes a turn for the worse, as Emily goes missing, leaving JJ to track her down. Unfortunately, this quest quickly leads JJ to her death...but not for long. Resurrected by a bolt of lightning, JJ gains the ability to remove various parts of her body, as the island quickly goes from an idyllic wonderland to a psychedelic nightmare. Undeterred, JJ uses her newfound ability to traverse the island, ever searching for her lost friend. The Missing might sound like a horror game on paper, but it uses these macabre themes to tell a distinctly grounded story about dealing with personal identity and navigating a hostile and unfamiliar world, culminating in a heartbreakingly bittersweet twist that I won't spoil here. This is all to say; the Missing is an excellent game. It's a joy to play, despite its harrowing content, and it manages to convey its themes in a way that feels genuine and meaningful, telling a story that's still relevant to this day.

-Super Smash Brothers Ultimate     Smash games have always been good, and Ultimate more than earns its moniker. This is the Ultimate Smash game; iterating on its predecessors without changing anything for the worst, Ultimate is an unabashed love letter to the series as a whole, incorporating every character and every map from every prior game all in one upgraded package. If you don't know what Smash is, let me explain; Nintendo is known for a lot of fantastic first-party titles, from Mario to Kirby to Metroid, and countless others. Smash takes all of these well-loved characters, throws them in an arena, and has them fight for supremacy. Debuting on the Nintendo 64, Smash has seen one major game release for every Nintendo console since, culminating in Smash Ultimate on the Nintendo Switch. As earlier stated, it features an absolutely enormous roster of playable characters, featuring every fighter from the previous games and several new additions for good measure. This roster was only further expanded with the release of the fighter passes, seeing an additional eleven fighters across the two that have thus far been released, ranging from surprise hits like Persona 5's Joker to fan favorites like Banjo and Kazooie. While not featuring a traditional story mode, Ultimate makes good use of its characters in a suite of different game modes that can be played both alone or with friends, online or locally. It's a fantastic party game and an equally praiseworthy fighter, rewarding skilled play but catering to casual players and newcomers alike.

2019

    2019 marked the slowdown for the current generation, shadowed by the whispers of a new age of consoles. This made for a simple year for games, but one no less stacked with noteworthy games and worthwhile experiences.

-Kingdom Hearts 3     After years of waiting, 2019 finally saw the release of Kingdom Hearts 3. The wait might have been long, but the game delivered on the hype, simultaneously closing out the narrative arc that had begun so long ago with Kingdom Hearts 1 and beginning a new chapter for fans to look forward to. In service of this goal, Kingdom Hearts 3 wrapped up the majority of dangling storylines from all the previous games, while still leaving a handful of mysteries to chase into the future of the franchise. It featured a new suite of Disney worlds to explore, and incorporated Pixar properties for the first time in franchise history. The new content accompanied refined and polished gameplay mechanics and a complete visual overhaul, while still retaining the heart and soul that defined the games thus far. It all came together well enough but was later expanded upon through the release of Re: Mind, the game's beefy expansion that rebalanced gameplay and added in hours of new story content to better cap off the story. All told, Kingdom Hearts 3 was another great game, building on a legacy that seems like it will continue well into the future.

-Devil May Cry 5     For those not in the know, Devil May Cry is a series of games that follow the life of Dante, a half-demon sword for hire as he does his best to kill monsters and eat pizza. It's a franchise known for skillful, precise, stylish combat mixed with goofy, over the top stories, usually involving Dante and his associates contending with the fallout of his family, the demon king Sparda and his brother Vergil. While not a flawless franchise, it saw several excellent releases over the years, but then went depressingly dormant. Devil May Cry 5 was the perpetual waiting game, but 2019 saw it finally come out, accompanied by mass acclaim and praise. it really seemed like all the years of waiting were well rewarded. DMCV features three playable characters; Nero, a fellow demon hunter first introduced in Devil May Cry 4, Dante, the series' staple protagonist, and lastly the mysterious V, a newly introduced character for this game. Together the three were tasked with working together to take down the demonic Qliphoth and its master, Urizen, an immensely powerful demon lord. The game looks gorgeous, marking the first time the games have looked truly next-gen. Accompanying this boost in visual fidelity is the franchise's staple; combat was finely tuned to be more stylish than ever, with each character having a variety of tricks at their disposal to dispatch the demon hoard that stood between them and Urizen. Devil May Cry was back, and it was better than ever.

-Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night     Bloodstained is the spiritual successor to the Castlevania series, helmed by its most prominent contributor Koji Igarashi. Starting its life as nothing more than a simple Kickstarter, it blew through its funding goal and a few years later saw its release on the current generation of consoles.  It's not a particularly complicated game, but it is particularly fun, with it adapting many of the staples that made Castlevania so great. As a spiritual successor to Castlevania, the games play very similarly; both are side scrolling hack and slash games that take place in fantastical gothic castles, and both see protagonists with varied combat and magical aptitude on their quest to take down the castle's owner. In the case of Castlevania, that owner is Dracula, but in the case of Bloodstained, players are tasked with defeating Gebel, an alchemically modified human known as a Shardbinder. You play as another one of these Shardbinders, Miriam. Miriam and Gebel are the lone survivors of an alchemical experiment that gave them the ability to wield a power called shards, crystalline embodiments of demonic essence. The narrative is simple, but the gameplay is where it shines; as players progress through Gebel's castle, you can accumulate more and more shards, all of which give Miriam access to new abilities, abilities that go on to aid her in her continued exploration. This creates a very satisfying loop; explore the castle, collect shards, unlock more of the castle to explore. Augmenting her shards are a suite of craftable and upgradeable weaponry, a selection of melee and firearms that allows players to diversify their preferred playstyle and experiment with what works best in any given situation. Subsequent content additions have added even more to the game, in the form of new modes, difficulties, and playable characters, adding to the replayability and longevity of what was already an excellent experience. Despite starting from simple roots, Bloodstained rose up and became something all on its own, paying homage to its inspirations while cementing a name for itself as a new staple of the genre.

-Catherine Full Body     While originally releasing in 2011, 2019 saw an expanded re-release complete with new characters, new stages, and hours of extra story content. At its core, Catherine and its Full Body re-release are unique gems in the gaming world. One part puzzle game, one part dating simulator, it blends the complicated world of relationships with macabre block puzzles, all the while weaving a beautiful tapestry about one man's quest for love. In it, you take the role of Vincent Brooks, an unambitious 30-something simply going through the motions of life. He has a steady relationship and a stable job, a group of colorful and enthusiastic friends, but it's clear from the start just how much he's stagnated. His current girlfriend, Katherine, is starting to ask the big questions; marriage, children, their future. Unable to parse these ideas, he loses himself in his time at the local bar with his pals, shooting the shit and getting sloshed. That is, until, a new flame suddenly appears; the seductive temptress Catherine. One thing leads to another, and it comes to pass that they spend the night together...maybe. This is where the game's narrative really kicks off, with Vincent having to navigate the day to day, attempting to reconcile his long-time love with his possible new fling. This story is juxtaposed against the game's core gameplay loop, which sees Vincent forced to climb the deadly tower of babel each night in his dreams. To do this, players must stack blocks and avoid the perils and traps that each stage presents, making a mad dash to the top of the tower before the bottom collapses in on itself and Vincent plummets to his doom. For you see, this isn't an ordinary dream; if you die on the tower, you die in real life, making this desperate ascent a race for his very life. Each stage of the tower represents the game's various core themes, and each gets more and more complicated as the game progresses. In the interim of these climbs, players are set about answering multiple-choice inquiries that influence the direction of Vincent's relationships, with each answer adjusting a conspicuous morality meter that eventually comes to determine which of the 8 endings you could attain. With Full Body, this number was increased to 13, to adjust for the inclusion of a new paramour; Rin, a mysterious piano player that sets up shop in Vincent's favorite bar. Both Catherine and its Full Body re-release are excellent games, but I was especially smitten with the layers of extra content and story that Full Body brought to the table, additions that made Full Body one of my favorite games of 2019.

-Untitled Goose Game     Untitled goose game is a simple premise on paper; players take on the role of an ornery, mischievous goose as it wreaks havoc through a small English town. Equal parts puzzle and stealth game, the goose has a laundry list of tasks it seeks to complete, from stealing hats off people's heads to infiltrating the local pub. It's not a long game by any means, but it has a ton of replayability in the form of additional tasks and challenges that only present themselves after your first playthrough. These range from time-based completions to additional bouts of mischief and all of them are incredibly satisfying to chase down. Untitled Goose Game has a quaint, painterly art style that compliments the charming simplicity of the game's premise, accompanied by a dynamic, classically-toned score that rises and falls in prominence as you go about your goosely business. All said Untitled Goose Game is a genuine treat, a brief but whimsical game that's just about having fun and goofing around.

2020

    It's no secret that 2020 has been a rough year for a lot of folks. Between a pandemic, political controversy, and general drudgery, it's a year that feels like it can't end soon enough. But in spite of it all, 2020 was also a fantastic year for games. Serving as the last hurrah for the Xbox One and Playstation 4, we saw the release of some truly excellent stories that kept players going through the long months of an otherwise mediocre year.

-Animal Crossing: New Horizons     Releasing right at the start of widespread quarantine, New Horizons supplied people with something they couldn't easily do in their own lives; escape. Animal Crossing New Horizons is the perfect escapist fantasy for the year it released in, seeing players partaking in an island getaway in the hopes of colonizing and forming an idyllic town on an untamed paradise.  At their core, the animal crossing games are simple simulators. You create your character by selecting a few presets; hair, eyes, skin color, and then you're let free to explore your new locale. With this latest release, that locale is the aforementioned island, a small paradise in the sea dotted by trees and rivers, accented by flowers and weeds. You start your life on this new Island with a handful of other residents; the Nook Family, the proprietors of this island venture, and two random villagers who are looking to make a life on this island the same as you. Things start small, with everyone working together to set up tents and create a bonfire and find some food for a welcome party. Afterward, the game synchronizes itself to your console's date and time and sets you off on your way. Unlike other simulators on this list, Animal Crossing is a unique breed, running concurrently to the real world, continuously progressing in real-time. Flowers grow, trees produce fruit, and each day is a new adventure. It follows the general turn of the seasons for your respective hemisphere, celebrating holidays and alternating available activities with each passing day. As for what you can do yourself, the opportunities are legion; you can catch bugs, go fishing, search for fossils, chat up your villagers, visit other islands, and much more. As you progress, more ventures open their doors to you; catch enough bugs and fish, and you can elect to have a museum built to showcase your finds. Collect enough resources, and you can build new furniture and create plots of land that encourage more villagers to come and move to your island. Everything you do is in service of continued growth, but also serves just as simple fun, a charming, easygoing distraction from the concerns of the day-to-day.

-Final Fantasy VII Remake     The Final Fantasy franchise is a long and storied one, replete with highs and lows. One such high was 1997's Final Fantasy 7, a game that quickly cemented itself as a fan favorite and an absolute classic. Now, in 2020, FF7 is back...sort of. See, FF7 Remake is the first in a line of games that will eventually go on to tell the entirety of the original FF7's story, which means that this release is only the first portion of a much larger narrative. Adapting what was originally the first few hours of the original game, FF7 Remake expands upon the opening section of its predecessor, simultaneously remaking the old content for modern audiences and adding in new aspects for old fans. FF7 Remake improves upon the original in practically every way, serving as a genuine remake that still manages to retain what made that original game so memorable and important to fans. The game might be new, but the heart is the same; FF7 Remake follows the story of Cloud Strife, an ex SOLDIER turned mercenary hired by an eclectic group known as Avalanche to dismantle a local power plant that's poisoning the planet. What starts as a well-intentioned but extreme case of eco-terrorism quickly explodes (pun intended) into a much larger story that sees Cloud and Avalanche bringing the fight straight to the corrupt Shinra Corporation and beyond, culminating in a battle against fate itself. Because this remake only covers a portion of what will go on to be a much larger narrative, it only scratches the surface of what makes the original FF7 so great, but it does so with gusto; the game plays and looks better than ever, bringing with it a heartfelt and compelling narrative that keeps you hooked the whole way through.

-Minecraft Dungeons     Minecraft Dungeons takes the charming, voxel visuals and world of Minecraft and melds them seamlessly with a charming, easygoing dungeon crawler that's approachable for casual and experienced gamers alike. Where Minecraft is an open-ended sandbox game about building and exploring a blocky world, Minecraft Dungeons sees a collective of heroes on a quest to defeat the evil Illager, a powerful sorcerer whose armies have been sweeping the land leaving destruction in their wake. It's not a very complicated story about good and evil, but it doesn't have to be; Minecraft Dungeons prioritizes it's simple and easy to master gameplay first and foremost. You collect loot, battle recognizable Minecraft enemies, and progress through a litany of stages on your way to fight the big bad. It's not very long but encourages you to play it time and again, collecting better gear and trying your hand at the many difficulty levels for additional challenges. It's not the best looking or the best playing game that released this year, but it had heart and made for a short and entertaining way to pass the time.

-Ghost of Tsushima    Ghost of Tsushima isn't a game to scoff at. One of the best looking games of the generation, this PS4 exclusive is one part historical timepiece, one part action-adventure, and one part stealth game. It follows the story of Jin Sakai, a samurai and one of the last survivors of the Mongol invasion of his home island of Tsushima, Japan. Left to die, he is found and nursed back to health by a wayward thief who teaches Jin the art of stealth and subterfuge, seeing him off on his quest for bloody revenge on the Mongol invaders that have encroached upon his homeland. To do this, he must first build up a fighting force of equal minded, skilled warriors, all while dismantling the various camps and operations the Mongols have set up in the absence of the defeated Samurai army. Jin can approach this in one of two ways; relying on his prowess as a formidable Samurai, Jin can challenge the many enemies in the game to flashy yet precise sword combat, or he can utilize the recently learned skills of stealth, infiltrating their encampments and silently picking the Mongols off one by one. There's no wrong answer to how you choose to play, although it takes some time for Jin to accept his new roles as both Samurai and assassin. Both methods of play feel equally as stellar, too; Combat in this game is incredibly polished, finely tuned swordplay that focuses on timing and well-planned strikes to dispatch your foes with ease, while the stealth feels tense and requires a distinctly tactical approach, planning your routes and cleverly dispatching foes so as to not raise suspicion. But the game isn't just about taking out your enemies. Ghost of Tsushima boasts one of the most beautiful open worlds I've ever experienced, a vibrant and gorgeous landscape dotted with myriad activities and side quests for you to explore and enjoy. One moment, you could be doing battle with a wayward group of Mongols or bandits, while the next could see you tracking a friendly fox to a shrine, composing a haiku in the shadow of a large tree, or recuperating your strength at a small hot spring while you ruminate on your adventures thus far. Ghost of Tsushima is an incredibly varied game, alternating between intense highs and calming lows, all coming together to become one of the best games of the last generation.

-Spiritfarer     While I have not finished this game, it more than deserves recognition on this list. In it, you play as Stella, a young girl who takes over as the ferryman for the River Styx once Charon retires to the afterlife, tasked with providing for the wayward souls who live on the river as you ferry them to their final rest. To do this, Stella must collect various resources and build up her ship, outfitting it with living spaces and various commodities tailored to her current passengers. These aforementioned passengers will, in turn, begin to open up to Stella, tasking her with making certain foods or visiting different locales, all in an effort to give these wayward souls a proper farewell on their trip to the afterlife. Spiritfarer is a simple simulator game about resource management and exploration that showcases a lovely, genuinely heartfelt story about love and loss, one that will put a smile on your face as easily as it brings a tear to your eye.

     And with that, I close out this hefty list, closing out the last generation. This compendium hardly scratches the surface of the last seven years' library, but hopefully, I did a good enough job remembering some of the games that made this last generation so great. There are a lot of games that I've still yet to play, resting in wait in my backlog for the time they get pulled out and given their due, but for now, this concludes my walk down memory lane. The last generation saw some excellent additions to the vast and ever-expanding library of video game history. Here's hoping the next several years can say the same. The start of the new consoles is off to a very promising start; in the last month or so alone we've seen excellent releases from both indie and big-name developers, fresh takes on old franchises, and new IPs alike. So, here's to the Last Generation, here's to the Next Generation, and here's to gaming overall; may it continue to thrive for years to come.

#A Look Back #Gaming #Game Review

[kuningannasansa]

A musketeers rewatch (that nobody asked for) 1x04

(warning: not always complimentary towards all characters, especially not aramis, anne and athos. dont like, don’t read)

We start with Louis being a prat and in this instance I love it! 

Richelieu is wearing his red robes over the hideous black outfit. I wish it was just the robes. 

Athos wonders what’s wrong with Aramis and Porthos says “have you forgotten about the massacre at Savoy?”. This is clumsy exposition. Realistically Athos the character would not have forgotten but I guess the viewers need to know. 

“A strategically important pimple” - Lmao! Who says Armand hasn’t got a sense of humour! 

This marks the beginning of these strangely depopulated court scenes. I do wish they had been able to afford more extras!

The Duke’s name is Victor... idk how I feel about that

The conversation between Marsac and Aramis is very well written, the exposition feels natural and also Aramis handles the situation quite well.

Now the Duke is mad and everyone is trying to calm him down. Treville points out that they should wait for the facts and Anne says that the shot could have hit any one of them, they are family and should stick together. This is why I liked her back in season 1! She was clever, had some political acumen and was good at playing her role as queen (women being seen as the gentler sex whose job it was to calm mens anger) while still maneuvering and getting her own way. 

It is funny thou, how everyone else is making good points and Richelieu is pacing around in a panic not saying anything at first, not even responding to Victor’s insults. And when he does speak he miscalculates and angers the duke. He is brilliant when given time to think and consider, but not always quick on his feet lol (as pointed out by @tatzelwyrm in her wonderful fic Reformation, which I really must remember to review cause I fucking loved it).   

Louis calls the duke a pomous arse and Richelieu points out that France needs Savoy, but his face says he agrees xD

There’s definitely some sexual tension between Aramis and Marsac. Or maybe I’m just a shameless slasher... 

“If this gets me hanged, I’m going to take it very personally” - lol, I do love musketeers humour!

The scene between my dear grand deceiver and his bluff honest man of action is SO GOOD!! The dialogue, the delivery, the acting in general!

Richelieu’s room is ridiculously large and empty thou xD 

“Death in battle is one thing, but your world of back alley stabbings and murder disgusts me” - that seems to be the show’s morality in a nutshell and I don’t like it. Whether you’re killed by Milady’s dagger between the ribs or a musketeer sword, you end up no less dead. Sometimes secret assassinations are necessary, that’s why countries have spy agencies. And while yes, in battle you can see your opponent coming and have a good chance to deny him, I am convinced that a big part of why killing in battle is seen as more honourable is that it is the more traditionally masculine option. Also, it is an option most easily accessible to able bodied men. Everyone else can’t always afford to “fight fair”. 

“Not everything I do is pleasant, but it is all necessary.” - well, that’s not true either. Not all.

Richelieu panics again and wants to move the prisoner but Treville says a transfer would only attract attention and Richelieu is like “yeah, you’re probably right” lol. Poor cardinal, he’s trying to run the whole country alone but he needs advisors just like anyone else would to make the best decisions. If he would just admit it, his life would be a lot easier! 

Dartagnan gets all jealous and territorial over Constance. I know it’s meant to indicate their true love, but I’ve never found that shit charming. 

Aramis ties Marsac up. This is making me horny now. 

“I’ve thought of you many times” - omg, I gotta see if there’s fic of them!

Constance finds out that Marsac is a criminal and instead of kicking him out, she kicks D’artagnan out! Bless!

Okay, so the Duke’s men killed the 20 musketeers because the Duke thought that they had come to kill him and put his son on the throne. And Treville told him where to find them through Cluzet (spl?). But actually it was all a distraction to kidnap Cluzet. Noting this down, cause I don’t remember the plot anymore.

PORTHOS DEFENDING TREVILLE!!  <3

And Richelieu just couldn’t resist going to see his prisoner! 

And Cluzet worked for the Duke officially but was actually a Spanish spy! Okay, that makes sense. I wondered why they kidnapped him lol.

Richelieu is gloating now. He should have stayed away from there. 

“Total solitude, unlimited time to reflect... I almost envy you.” - oh Armand! You will learn in the Spanish prison :(

(yes, in this house the Spanish prison AU is canon)

Porthos: “this is the captain we’re talking about” Aramis: “which is why we owe it to him to clear his name” - damn, that’s a good argument! I like Aramis in this episode! That’s probably why I remember liking him a lot when season 1 first aired...

“If it is true, what then?” - @donnaimmaculata made an excellent point about that here: https://donnaimmaculata.tumblr.com/post/109300936446/aramis-was-actually-at-his-smartest-in-this

Louis playing swords with Louis Amadeus is so cute!! And the kid is a more gracious loser than Louis is a winner xD

“I don’t want protection, I want to be treated as an equal.” - that’s a good Constance line, much more feminist than that nonsense about the duchess later in the episode

And D'artagnan apologizes and promises not to lie to her again. Mentioning that cause his respect for her boundaries and acknowledging when he makes a mistake goes totally out the window in season two.

The duke: “Have you captured the man who tried to kill me?” Richelieu: “We should not be distracted by minor issues.” - what is wrong with him this episode?? he is not being at all diplomatic

The duke challenges Athos to a duel and Treville is so cool and quietly confident while Richelieu frets.  

And Treville smirks at his evident distress xD

Treville gets mad at Athos for humiliating the duke. He could have defeated him in a way that left him his dignity, apparently. But Porthos says he would have cut his head off, so Treville should consider himself lucky, really. 

Porthos is very good at spying!

Treville’s filing of documents is “meticulous”, apparently. Sorry, but that does NOT sound like him!

“I will never believe the captain is a traitor” - that’s noble of you Athos. Maybe you could have extended the same courtesy to your wife?

The confrontation with Treville is so angsty and well acted and tense! This is the show at it’s best, dealing with a serious issue and giving it the weight it deserves. I love!

It’s kind of sad seeing how in love the duke is with his wife! I hope he never finds out she’s a spy lol xD

Now Marsac tries to rape Constance. Was that really necessary? Like, really, why?? We understand he is an antagonist, there is no need to make him cartoonishly evil, especially by using violence against women. 

I don’t know what his friend being a seezy rapist says about Aramis thou...

Dart to the rescue, yawn!

I do love how we are led to believe they’re gonna kiss and then she goes “teach me how to shoot” xD

“Honour? There’s no word in the language more likely to cause stupidity and inconvenience” - lmaoo, Richelieu I feel you

“You think I won’t have you arrested? That you’re above the normal rules of soldiering?” - Yesss Treville, have him arrested! You will save everyone a lot of grief down the road!

Aramis punches Treville in the face! LOL! xD

Aramis and Marsac argue how to handle Treville (Marsac wants to assassinate him) and Aramis just cradles his face!

And then Marsac punches aramis in the face and knocks him out cold! LOL! xD

I love how the duke is actually objectively right in this episode. Imperialist France is meddling in the affairs of another sovereign state. The weak suffer what they must. And the musketeers are not on the side of good by helping the King and Richelieu conceal Cluzet. They follow their orders and work for the state, but the state is, well, not always nice. Just pointing that out...

The duchess looks so cool and beautiful riding into the garrison in that yellow dress with her cloak flapping in the wind!

“You traitor!” Cluzet says to the duchess. Pot calling the kettle black

“Not your average duchess then” - I don’t like this line! It sort of implies that an average duchess without fighting skills is somehow lesser and plays into a long pattern in television when women are only valued when they have “masculine” skills. But I do love her character a lot! More on that here: https://kuningannasansa.tumblr.com/post/100754198434/a-duchess-of-savoy-appreciation-post

Richelieu’s FACE when he sees D'artagnan as the guard! xD

But I wonder what his plan was? What if the musketeers had not shown up to save his ass?

“Paris has a number of excellent places of correction, if you’d like a tour of them all?” - aawwww, sassy cardinal! 

He even gives Dartagnan a look of acknowledgement. As well he should! The Cluzet switch was brilliant and funny!

Now Marsac is going to kill Treville, but Aramis stops him, saying there should be a court martial. Well done Aramis, keeping your head! Also, justice! It does exist! 

This is another very well acted emotional scene!

Aramis shoots Marsac, choosing Treville over him. It’s sad and tragic and wonderful television!

“I love my husband, very much” - I like their relationship

Lmaooo now Richelieu is already plotting the Duke’s murder xD  

Wet Aramis at Marsac’s grave is hot!

In conclusion, there were some things I didn’t like, but all in all this was a very good episode!

Red Guards killed in the line of duty: none

Women fridged: also none! this really was a good one guys!

Best dressed: Constance

#the musketeers #bbc musketeers #cardinal richelieu #captain treville #trevilieu #constance bonacieux #milady de winter #musketeers rewatch

[kopzone]

This Is for Liverpool by Andy Robertson 

I need to start with a confession. Not many things bug me, but if there’s one thing that does, it’s the idea that my story is a football fairy tale.

I know when people say I’m some sort of Cinderella Man that it’s meant as a compliment. I appreciate that, but to be totally honest, it doesn’t feel like one, because it isn’t true.

No magic wands have been waved in my direction, I didn’t win some kind of lottery to land a spot on one of the biggest clubs in the world. The reason why I’m a Liverpool player is the same reason why I’m captain of my country: I’ve worked my bollocks off to get where I am, and by doing that, I’ve been able to make the most of whatever talent I have.

Why does this matter? In truth, it doesn’t matter to me as an individual. It probably doesn’t matter to my family, either. It only matters because there are God knows how many little Andy Robertsons out there. Kids who are struggling to convince people that their talent deserves an opportunity. Kids who just need a break to get to wherever they deserve to be.

Kids who might give up if they start believing that only a fairy tale can save them.

I’ve never wanted to be a poster boy, but if I’m going to be a poster boy for anything, it should be this ― if you don’t give up, and if you carry on believing in yourself when others are doubting you, you canmake it. You can show that you are good enough.

Now I’ve got two kids of my own, that message is more important than ever. I don’t want them to think that their dad got a lucky break. I need them to understand that whatever potential they have can only be fulfilled if they put their minds to it. Fairy tales? That’s bedtime stuff.

One of the best things about football is that there are loads of people like me. Most players get to the top because they are so driven. The Liverpool team that I’m a part of has no shortage of players like that.

Take Virgil van Dijk, for example, the best centre back in the world. How many coaches and scouts looked at him and thought he wasn’t destined for the top? He’ll tell you himself that there were plenty

.Mo Salah, one of the best finishers in the game today, was once discarded as not being good enough for a top Premier League side.

Jordan Henderson must have lost count of the times he has had his ability questioned – although never by anyone who has been fortunate enough to work with him – and here he is on the brink of captaining Liverpool in a second successive Champions League final.

I could go on and on, I really could. If these were all fairy tales, we’d have more than Hans Christian Andersen. They’re not, though. They are all examples of hard work and commitment making the difference.

The same applies to us as a team and to Liverpool as a club. We are where we are because of our work ethic and our belief that pretty much anything is possible. That’s the reason we were able to come back from 3–0 down against a great Barcelona team. We didn’t wait for fate to play its hand and hope that it would go in our favour, we forced fate to go our way and not even Lionel Messi, the best player I have ever set eyes on, could stop that.

Maybe there were those outside Liverpool who didn’t believe we would make it to the final. To be fair to them, they had more than enough reasons, especially after we had our arses kicked in the Nou Camp. There was something about that first leg, though, that gave us belief. We had seen enough to know that we could compete against Barcelona. The problem was that all of the decisive moments had gone against us, and we knew that with Anfield behind us, that momentum could be reversed.

If I was a sympathetic type, I’d probably feel sorry for opposition players coming to Anfield on European nights. What they’re up against is almost unfair. That intoxicating mix of history, passion and unshakable belief is a hell of an advantage to have, and that’s why Liverpool have beaten the odds on many occasions, and that’s why our supporters turn up convinced that the seemingly impossible is possible. They’ve seen it before, so why shouldn’t they expect it?

We knew that we had a chance when we were in the dressing room waiting to run out. We knew that the manager believed in us because he had told us. We knew that the supporters believed in us because we could hear them. My God, we could hear them. And, probably most important of all, we knew that we believed in ourselves and in each other.

That’s why when Divock scored in the seventh minute, I didn’t just believe. I knew. I knew what was coming — what Anfield was going to create. I hope that doesn’t sound disrespectful in any way, because I couldn’t have more respect for Barcelona, but on that night it wasn’t about them. It was about us. We were fired up by the fans and our hunger was on another level.

It hadn’t been easy to feel like that in the minutes after Messi had worked his magic in the first leg. At that stage, we felt flat, which was probably unavoidable. Although we were in Barcelona, Madrid couldn’t have felt further away. Then the manager came into the dressing room, bouncing and wearing his trademark massive smile.

“Boys, boys, boys!” he says, “We are not the best team in the world. Now you know that. Maybe they are! Who cares? Who cares! We can still beat the best team in the world. Let’s go again.”

It might have taken me a second, or maybe the entire flight back to Liverpool to believe him, but in hindsight that was the moment that changed everything for us. In football, everyone always talks about belief. Every team says they had it after a comeback. But that’s not the case at every club. It’s just not. The manager, he starts it all. He lights the touch paper and then Anfield does what it does.

I remember in the warmup, the place was jumping. It felt like everyone was on top of us, so God knows what it was like for the Barcelona lads. When Div scored so early, you could just see it in their eyes. The fans went insane. I couldn’t hear a thing. I just remember looking at Hendo, Milly and Virgil — those boys barely cracked a smile.

They just waved their arms at the crowd, as if to say, “We’re gonna go again.”

I suppose that night will go down in history. Anybody who loves this club will remember where they were, and who they were watching with. For me personally, what made it even more special was where I had come from to get there. I knew how hard it had been and I knew how, if I had listened to others, I wouldn’t have made it anywhere near Anfield that night — except maybe as a fan who wanted to understand what all the fuss was about.

I had grown up going to Celtic Park with Mum, Dad and my brother. We had four season tickets. My brother and I had Henrik Larsson posters everywhere. Legend. Absolute legend. I even had green wallpaper. Celtic was a part of our family. That’s just the way it was and the way it still is. I joined the youth team as a wee lad, just bombing around the pitch pretending I was at Celtic Park.

At the start, I actually played up top for a bit. Dad even paid me two quid a goal. I think I made £75 one season — unlike now, when I’d probably end up owing him money, seeing as I’m not exactly Salah in the scoring stakes. Over time, I found my way into midfield, and in my last season with Celtic I bounced between the middle and left side quite a bit. They’d brought in a new technical director that year and apparently I just wasn’t in the plans for whatever reason.

At my end-of-year interview, the coaches let me know they wouldn’t be bringing me back. I was 15. One year away from getting a pro contract. One year from being a proper Celtic player. But it was over, just like that, and it hurt like hell.

Mum hated to see us cry. Still does. But she saw me shed more than a few tears that day. I remember she grabbed me a takeout curry from my favourite place to try to cheer me up. It was midweek, too. I almost never got midweek curry. I couldn’t even eat much of that. That’s how she knew how bad I was hurting.

It was just gutting, but thankfully my family really had my back. They let me keep chasing my dream, even when it might have felt unrealistic to keep going. We decided to give it another go at Queens Park in 2010. Bit of a smaller club in Glasgow, to say the least. Life was different there. I was making six quid a night. It was a working-class type of club, and most players were coming from jobs they worked during the day. It was no different for me.

I did all sorts of jobs to scrape by. I got set up with landscaping gigs, I cleaned up after the first team, and I even worked down at Hampden Park during Scotland matches. My parents told me if I didn’t start to find my game that year, it’d probably be best to start looking at Uni options. So I just put everything I had into getting better every day. That was real work, real pressure.

People always ask me about the pressure of playing for Liverpool. And it’s there, trust me, I feel it. But there’s that pressure, and then there’s the pressure of playing for your life — knowing that if you can’t figure it out, you have to give up on everything you love. That’s the harshest pressure I’ve ever felt. And in that situation, I began to truly believe in myself — maybe for the first time in my life. I didn’t really have another choice.

Dundee United approached me a few years later, and that allowed me to train every day while making enough money that I didn’t need the side gigs. But I think in the end it was good for me to see what people deal with day to day, outside of the bubble of football. When I got the chance to play in the Premier League with Hull City in 2014, I had lived a lot of real life. My ambitions were always to be a solid SPL player. When I was landscaping and emptying the bins, I didn’t think I’d ever be playing Champions League football, especially for Liverpool.

It’s funny, actually … a few clubs called when I was in preseason with Hull in 2017, but I wasn’t really that interested. My missus was pregnant, and we were in the process of getting everything ready for our big arrival — that was our top priority, like any expectant parents.

Then I heard Liverpool wanted me.

Liverpool.

When you hear Liverpool want you, you call your agent back in about five seconds. I couldn’t sign the contract fast enough, to be honest.

I got a dose of reality pretty quickly, though. The medical took two days, and it was brutal. My diet was weird because the medical staff had to do so many tests to make sure I was fit and was going to stay fit. After I passed those tests, I had to go to Melwood to do a lactate test. I was running it with Danny Ings, and after a few laps around the pitch, I felt something going on with my stomach. I knew things were going to get bad, but what can you do? I just kept running. A few minutes later, I’m on my knees, puking my guts out on the Melwood pitch.

This hallowed ground. This place where all these legends have trained. King Kenny. Rushie. Stevie Gerrard. And here I am, some wee lad from Glasgow, spewing up in front of the Liverpool medical staff.

If first appearances count, God knows what they thought about me.

The next day, I met the manager and I heard his laugh from a mile away. He’d obviously heard about my test. I turn around and he’s walking toward me, rubbing his belly and pointing at me. The staff behind him are having a laugh, too.

Then he gave me a big hug. After that, I relaxed a bit.

The whole squad made me feel welcome that week, but honestly, it took a really long time for it to sink in that I was a Liverpool player. I wore the red shirt. I wore the club tracksuit everywhere we went. I was wearing it around the house. But I still didn’t feel like a Liverpool player.

I was in and out of the lineup for quite a few months. And the system we play is so complex, I was working so hard in training to learn it all, to understand what the manager wanted from his fullbacks. When I wouldn’t see my name on the teamsheet, my belief in myself started to dip. It did. But all my experiences in life, and the tough times I went through at Celtic and Queens Park, it taught me to be patient.

So I would just come back to training every day and try to catch the manager’s eye by working harder than everyone else. Eventually, he noticed. I think he was just waiting for me to get it — to feel like a Liverpool player and have that confidence. And when I slotted into the lineup, I was ready.

Our supporters have been incredible to me since I got here. And last year they really carried us all the way to the final whistle and beyond in Kiev. That night was hard, and I don’t think you ever really get over a match like that. You just live with it. That night, I remember the silence in our dressing room, I remember the painful flight home. And I remember hearing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” after the final whistle.

The supporters still sang their hearts out, and that sticks with you.

We got back to Melwood at four in the morning, and the manager gave us all a hug and told us how proud he was of our team. And he also told us that we’d be back. Somehow, after a very long road … after being down 0–3 to bloody Barcelona … he was right.

We are back.

It’s not lost on any of us what this opportunity means. This has been an incredible season, full of so many ups and downs and emotional moments. But for me, it’s also been a chance to take a step back and see the full picture. From being released by Celtic and sobbing over my curry, to making six quid a night grinding away in Scotland, to signing for Liverpool and putting on that red tracksuit, barely believing it.

It feels good to have another crack at this final. Nobody deserves it more than our supporters, who have backed us through the good times and the heartbreak. But like us, they will know that we are up against a top side in Spurs. Mauricio Pochettino and his players will be just as determined as we are to do something special in a final like this.

The thing that matters most is that our fate is in our hands. We know that. And if there’s one thing I can guarantee about this team, about this group of players, it’s that we will stop at nothing to try to make our supporters’ dream come true.

If that does happen, it won’t be a fairy tale.

It’ll be because we deserve it.

#andy robertson #lfc #liverpool fc #long post

[caraudiologic]

Best Car Competition Subwoofer Reviews

Some people are happy with fairly modest subwoofers because they aren’t looking for much more than to fill out the low-end and feel a little extra bump in their music… but we are not those people.

If you’re someone who isn’t happy with just a little extra bass, or having to listen to your music at a reasonable volume, then you’re in the right place. There’s nothing reasonable or practical about any of the following subwoofers and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

If your idea of a good time is to cruise down the road with absolutely devastating bass that rattles your entire existence, or to park up at a show and rattle the eardrums of anyone who dares to get close, then you’re in for a very good time with the following selection of the best car competition subwoofers.

Now, don’t get the wrong idea, these aren’t only for people who want to enter competitions, and popping in one of these is just one piece of the puzzle if you do decide to compete. These subs are for anyone who wants super loud, super high-quality bass and doesn’t mind investing in the type of audio gear that is required to take full advantage of everything that these subs can do.

Editor’s Choice Competiton Sub

It’s the largest subwoofer that we’re featuring, it can move an incredible amount of air and the bass from this thing is unmistakable

If you’re looking for something as loud and over the top as possible, slap in a couple of these because this is exactly what you’re looking for

READ FULL REVIEW >>>

Check It Out

Best Car Competition Subwoofers Of 2019

1. Orion HCCA154 :

What else can we really say about this monster of a subwoofer from Orion? It’s serious business. This isn’t “your first sub”, this is for people who have been around the block a few times and just haven’t been able to scratch that itch for bass.

This subwoofer gets very loud, very deep, and it’s going to take up the better part of your truck. We have a hunch that you’re happy to give up the space for something like this.

See Price On Amazon >>>

Let’s start this off with a subwoofer that is, by all definitions, absolutely bonkers. This monster subwoofer doesn’t doesn’t just turn heads, it shatters them. It’s difficult to appreciate just how beefy this 15 inch, 90 pound subwoofer really is until you see it in person.

The Orion HCCA154 is not for the faint of heart, none of the subs on this list are. Picture an extra large pizza, and that’s how big this thing is. This is a building block for an insane car audio setup, but even if you’re only planning on using one subwoofer, this one will still be the craziest subwoofer that 99.9% of people that get into your car have ever heard.

This sub can handle 2000w RMS and 4000w max. You’re going to need a solid amplifier in place to power this beastly subwoofer, but thankfully there are a ton of powerful monoblocks that are suitable choices, and they aren’t as expensive as you might think… but anyone looking for a competition-grade 15” subwoofer probably isn’t worried about being as frugal as possible, so make sure you get yourself a proper amplifier and don’t cut corners in that department.

It’s wired up with dual 4 ohm voice coils, so make sure your amp is compatible, and make sure you wire it in correctly – you don’t want to risk damaging this thing!

It’s the largest subwoofer that we’re featuring, it can move an incredible amount of air and the bass from this thing is unmistakable

If you’re looking for something as loud and over the top as possible, slap in a couple of these because this is exactly what you’re looking for

It’s over the top for most people, but this subwoofer isn’t really meant for most people

It’s not easy to install, this thing is massive and super heavy, so it’s not a bad idea to have a little help

Check Latest Price

2. DS18 HOOL12.2D Hooligan

The Hooligan is like the schoolyard bully of subwoofers, it’s not here to make friends. It’s here to disturb the peace. The Hooligan can handle 4000w RMS and 6000w max power, and it does it with a bad attitude.

See Price On Amazon >>>

If the Orion 15” sounds like overkill for the car audio installation that you’ve got in mind, but you still want some SERIOUS bass that can get LOUD, DEEP, and can suck up an incredible amount of power, we hope you get a chance to hear this subwoofer from DS18. The Hooligan series is no joke. It’s available in dual 1, dual 2, and dual 4 ohm configurations so make sure you’re ordering the one that suits your amplifier and wiring plans.

You’ll want to ensure you wire it in a way that gives you optimal power from your amp, because at 4000w RMS this subwoofer is very hungry. The max that this subwoofer is rated for is 6000w. It’s super heavy, and will require an enclosure with reinforcements and supports.

If we told you that this subwoofer wasn’t capable of causing serious havoc on your block, and that you’ll be making some enemies out of your neighbors if you don’t turn it down when you’re getting home at night, we would be liars. Not only will everyone else on the road be able to hear your music, even people with subwoofers of their own will have their bass drowned out with yours. This is not a subwoofer for shy people. That’s probably why they call it the Hooligan.

It’s not the biggest subwoofer out there, but it sure sounds like it almost could be

This aggressively loud and hostile subwoofer is exactly what you’re looking for if you want obnoxious, disruptive, and unapologetic bass

It’s also somewhat difficult to install if you don’t have help, and once again make sure you know what you’re doing to secure it, you don’t want this thing rolling around back there

If you like your neighbors, the feeling won’t be mutual once you install this subwoofer

Check Latest Price

3. Skar Audio ZVX-12v2 :

The ZXV-12 from Skar Audio can hang with the best of them, and hold its own in terms of both SQ and SPL. It may not be the loudest sub on this list, but it sounds fantastic, it bumps at a serious level, and you won’t have to take out a second mortgage to afford it.

Granted, there are some even less expensive options coming up, but this one fills in the middle-ground perfect for people who want something that’s clearly on the next level but also isn’t totally overkill, either.

See Price On Amazon >>>

What we love about this subwoofer from Skar Audio is that it makes competition gear more accessible for consumers who want something way above average, but don’t want to spend a fortune on it. In this case, you can even grab a couple of these, or if you’re still looking for something larger, they also have some excellent 15” and even 18” models available.  

Whichever size you go with, Skar Audio’s got you covered when your goal is loud, deep, heavy-hitting bass. For this price, and for how well it’s made, this sub has no business getting as loud and staying as clear as it does.

Value isn’t everyone’s top priority when it comes to choosing gear, but this subwoofer offers a ridiculous level of value. It’s far above the entry-level types of subs, and it can hang with the best of them, even if it’s a conscious step down from some of the very top-tier options we’ve looked at.

With an RMS rating of 1500w (max 3000w), it’s not as demanding as some of the other subs we’ve looked at, but it can still hurl around some serious air. It weighs in right around 50lbs, so you’ll need a strong enclosure, and this also speaks to the build quality. Sometimes, when you see impressive subwoofers at lower prices, it’s because they’ve cut-corners in one way or another, but that’s not the case here.

This subwoofer from Skar Audio offers very impressive value for the price

It’s right up there with a lot of the best subwoofers we’ve seen, when you factor in everything this one is tough to beat

The lower power rating means it’s not going to hit the same levels as some of the bigger and more powerful subs

Check Latest Price

4. Pioneer TSW311D4 :

A budget-minded option for someone who wants an impressive subwoofer, without coming near the point of diminishing returns.

It’s all value here, but it comes at the cost of performance. This is a humble subwoofer, and it’ll serve you well as long as your expectations are in check.

See Price On Amazon >>>

We often view Pioneer as a brand that delivers great quality in the entry to mid tiers, but can also hit it out of the park in their high-end product lines. In this case, this subwoofer falls somewhere in the middle of the pack. It’s far above the entry-level 12 inch subwoofers out there, but it’s also a notch or two below some of the heavy-hitter we’ve featured today.

We’re included this one to serve as an option for someone who wants to straddle the upper-echelon of bass, but is just putting together their first or second system, doesn’t want to have to overhaul their electrical system to power it, and is okay with not having the absolute best.

This is still a more-than-capable subwoofer, but it would be dishonest to pretend that it’s on the same tier as something like the Hooligan or the Orion that we featured above. If the Pioneer TSW311 is in your budget, you won’t be disappointed with the bass it delivers, but if you’re looking for incredible sound quality and earth-shaking bass, this isn’t going to be on the same level as the others.

Affordable price tag makes it accessible for any budget or build

Plenty of power output for all 5 channels at 2 or 4 ohms

Crisp sound quality thanks to built-in equalization technology

It’s a step down from most of the true competition-tier subs on this list

Grille is not included

Only rated for 400w RMS

Check Latest Price

5. Power Acoustik MOFO :

A good way to fill in the low-end of your sound system without breaking the bank, especially if you want some size and power, the MOFO is a good option.

You’ll need to buy or build an enclosure for it, and you’ll be thrilled with the overall performance and value you get from this sub. We don’t mean to make it sound like it’s a full-on budget option, this sub can definitely hang and you get a lot for the price.

See Price On Amazon >>>

This subwoofer is here specifically for people who see something like the Pioneer TSW311, but wish they could push a lot more power to it. As such, it’s going to get louder, it’s going to hit harder, but it’s not necessarily going to have better overall sound quality if you’re listening at more reasonable volumes.

Between the MOFO and the Pioneer, we are featuring two more entry-level choices when we’re talking about “competition subwoofers”, even if these last couple are more meant for personal use rather than trying to impress enthusiasts or to break SPL records.

This is the lightest subwoofer we’ve looked at today, coming in at just over 25 pounds. Weight doesn’t always tell the whole story, but it does start to paint the picture. When you’re getting a big 12 inch subwoofer that can handle 1350w RMS at such a lower price, obviously there are going to have to be certain sacrifices in other areas. Alternatively, taking the Pioneer for example again, the sacrifice in that case comes to the RMS rating being only 400w.

With this one, you get quite a lot more wattage, but you lose out a bit in clarity and overall sound quality. There’s always going to be a trade-off whether it’s cost, power, build quality, audio quality, something else, or a combination of those to varying degrees.

Offers up tons of power at a super reasonable price

It’s not quite as well-made as the other more expensive options on this list, which is the sacrifice you’ll have to make to get everything else that this subwoofer delivers on

Check Latest Price

The post Best Car Competition Subwoofer Reviews appeared first on Car Audio Logic.

[shinyquagsire23]

Nintendo Switch Kernel Patching and Emulation - Achieving Maximum Modification Flexibility with Minimal Replacement

Ever since shofEL2 was released earlier this year it's been interesting to watch how different custom firmwares have tackled the prospect of modifying Nintendo's firmware for both homebrew and piracy applications, and as someone who hasn't really had much stake in that race I feel like it's interesting to watch how different solutions tackle different problems, but at the same time since I do have a stake in a few places (namely, Smash Bros modding, vulnerability hunting, personal projects) I ended up in a situation where I needed to sort of 'set up camp' with Nintendo's Horizon microkernel and have a comfortable working environment for modification.

Binary Patching is Weird, and Horizon makes it weirder.

Probably the biggest difficulty in Switch development I would say is iteration time, followed by a general difficulty in actually modifying anything; even just booting modified core services (ie filesystem management, service management, spl which talks to the EL0 TrustZone SPL [commonly misnomered as the security processer liaison...?], the boot service which shows boot logos and battery indications, ...) requires, at a minimum, reimplementing Nintendo's package1 implementation which boots TrustZone and patches for TrustZone to disable signatures on those services and kernel. Beyond the core services, modifying executables loaded from eMMC requires either patching Loader, patching FS, reimplementing Loader, or something else.

Unfortunately with binary patching there generally isn't a silver bullet for things, generally speaking the three methods of modifications are userland replacement, userland patching, and kernel patching. The first two are currently used for Atmosphere, but the solution I felt would be the most robust and extensible for the Nintendo Switch was kernel patching. Here's a quick rundown on the pros and cons for each method:

Userland Replacement

 - Requires rewriting an entire functionally identical executable - Often not feasible for larger services such as FS - Can easily break between firmware updates, especially if new functionality is added or services split. This makes it difficult to maintain when the OS is in active development. - Added processes can potentially leave detectable differences in execution (different PIDs, different order of init, etc) + Easier to add functionality, since you control all code + Can operate easily on multiple firmwares + Can serve as an open-source reference for closed-source code

Userland Patching

- Adding additional code and functionality can be difficult, since expanding/adding code pages isn't always feasible without good control of Loader - Finding good, searchable signatures can often be difficult - Can easily break between firmware updates, especially if functionality or compilers are tweaked + With good signatures, can withstand firmware updates which add functionality + Often has less maintenance between updates when functionality does change; patching is usually easier than writing new code + Harder to detect unless the application checks itself or others check patched applications

Kernel Patching

- Greater chance of literally anything going wrong (concurrency, cache issues, ...), harder to debug than userland - Minimal (formerly no) tooling for emulating the kernel, vs userland where Mephisto, yuzu, etc can offer assistance - Can easily break between firmware updates, and is more difficult (but not impossible) to develop a one-size-fits-all-versions patch since kernel objects change often - Easier to have adverse performance impacts with syscall hooks + Harder to detect modifications from userland; userland cannot read kernel and checking if kernel has tampered with execution state can be trickier + Updating kernel object structures can take less time than updating several rewritten services, since changes are generally only added/removed fields + Direct access to kernel objects makes more direct alterations easier (permission modification, handle injection, handle object swapping). + Direct access to hardware registers allows for UART printf regardless of initialization state and without IPC + Hooking for specific IPC commands avoids issues with userland functionality changes, and in most cases IPC commands moving to different IDs only disables functionality vs creating an unbootable system.

mooooooo, a barebones Tegra X1 emulator for Horizon

Obviously the largest hangup with kernel patching is debugging, the Switch has RAM to spare (unlike 3DS) and setting up an intercept for userland exceptions isn't impossible to do by trial and error using SMC panics/UART and a lot of patience, but for ease of use and future research I really, really wanted an emulator to experiment with the Switch kernel. I ended up building a quick-n-dirty emulator in Unicorn, and with a few processes it works rather well but it still struggles with loading Nintendo's core processes currently, but for a small and contained test environment (two processes talking to each other and kernel patches watching them), I would say I had reached my goal and it was enough to at least be able to work quickly and sanely on my intercept.

For the most part, the Switch Horizon microkernel doesn't actually use much of the Tegra MMIO; it uses some of the more obvious ARM components like GIC for interrupts, and it also has a large initialization sequence for the memory controller, but as long as interrupts are functional, timers work, MC returns some correct values and SMC return values are all correct, it boots into userland without issue.

I actually found that emulating multiple cores in Unicorn actually isn't all that difficult, provided you're using a compiled language where uc_mem_map_ptr works. Rather than messing with threads, I opted for a round-robin scheduling scheme where I run each Unicorn instance for a set number of instructions, with memory being mapped and unmapped from the running core so that any cached data gets written out before the next core has its turn. A lot of modifications/cherry-picking to Unicorn did have to be made in order to properly support interrupts, certain coprocessor registers (ie core indexes), translation tables (for uc_mem_read/uc_mem_write, vaddr->paddr translation, and just in general there were some odd issues).

Patching Horizon for Syscall MiTM

With a decent environment for modifying kernel, the next issue really just became actually bootstrapping an SVC intercept. Figuring out where exception vectors are located isn't difficult with the emulator handy, but really the issue becomes

1. Extra code has to be loaded and copied by TrustZone, along with kernel 2. New code needs to be placed in a safe location and then given memory mappings 3. Existing code needs to be modified with hooks pointing to the new code

To guide the kernel towards salvation I ended up hooking just before translation table addresses are written into coprocessor registers. This way, the payload can allocate pages and copy code from less-safe soon-to-be-condemned .bss memory for the bulk of the SVC interception code, set up those pages in the translation tables, and then patch the ARM64 SVC handler to actually jump to the new mapping. For ease of development, the mapping is given a constant address along with any hardware registers which it needs to access, as opposed to being randomized like the rest of the kernel.

In the end, patched the kernel executes as follows:

Since hashtagblessed is able to map UART, CAR and PINMUX registers into translation tables, getting communication from the right Joy-Con rail using existing BPMP-based drivers was fairly straightforward, and even without any source code to reference there's a fairly basic driver in TrustZone. Between the transition from emulation to hardware however, I had kept an SMC to print information to the console, but I ultimately ended up using UART even in emulation. On hardware, I got by using UART-B (the right Joy-Con railed) for a while, but had to switch to UART-A (internal UART lines for debugging) due to GPIO issues once HOS tried to initialize Joy-Con.

Identifying IPC Packets, Accurate Results With Simple Tools

With therainsdowninafrica loaded, hooked in and blessed, the next step is actually being able to identify specific IPC requests sent through svcSendSyncRequest, and doing this requires getting our hands dirty with kernel objects. Userland is able to utilize different kernel objects indirectly through the use of handles and system calls. Each KProcess has a handle table which maps handles to the underlying object structures, so translating handles to KObjects is simply a matter of checking the table for a given handle passed to a syscall. To access the current KProcess object which has the handle table, we can use the per-core context stored in register X18 as of 5.0.0 (prior to Horizon implementing ASLR, it was stored in a hardcoded address per-CPU) and the handle table can be accessed through the current KProcess object. Printf debugging was extremely useful while figuring out exactly how KProcess has its fields laid out since the structure changed slightly between versions, and with a bit of reversing added in it's not particularly difficult to figure out exactly where the KProcessHandleTable is at how handles are translated into objects.

Probably the most useful fields in KProcess/KThread, in our case, are the process name and title ID, the handle table, and the active thread's local storage, where all IPC packets are read from and written to. To give a quick overview on how Switch IPC generally works, services are able to register a named port to wait for communications on which can be connected to by other processes via svcConnectToNamedPort. In practice, Nintendo only uses globally-accessible named ports for their service manager, `sm:`. On a successful call to svcConnectToNamedPort, processes recieve a KClientSession handle for sm: which allows those processes to send IPC requests to the service manager to either register/unregister/connect to 'private' named ports managed by the service manager, with sm checking whether the requesting process actually has access to said service.

From a practicality standpoint, since so much communication relies on IPC the most obvious mechanism to establish is a system for hooking requests going into specific named ports, both globally accessible ones such as sm: and private ones provided by sm itself. This kinda leads into why it's important to have access to the underlying KClientSession objects as opposed to trying to track handles; mapping out exactly which KProcess' handles go to what, while also tracking where handles might be copied and moved to is an almost impossible task, however mapping specific KClientSessions to specific handlers avoids the handle copying/moving issue since the KClientSession object pointer does not change in those cases.

Additionally, many interfaces aren't actually accessible from either svcConnectToNamedPort nor sm, as is the case with fsp-srv which gives out IFileSystem handles for different storage mediums. However, by providing a generic means for mapping KClientSession objects to specific intercept handlers, you can set up a chain of handlers registering handlers. For example, intercepting a specific eMMC partition's IFile's commands would involve setting up a handler for the sm global port, and then from that handler setting up a handler for any returned fsp-srv handles, and then from the fsp-srv handler checking for the OpenBisFileSystem command for a specific partition to hook the IFileSystem to a handler, which can have its OpenFile command hooked to hook any outgoing IFile handles to a specific handler for IFiles from that eMMC partition. From that point all incoming and outgoing data from that IFile's KClientSession can be modified and tweaked.

Finally, in order to prevent issues with KProcess handle tables being exhausted, Nintendo provided virtual handle system implemented in userland for services which manage large amounts of sessions. Effectively, a central KClientSession is able to give out multiple virtual handles (with virtual handles given out by virtual interfaces) only accessible through that KClientSession handle. As such, a process can take a service such as fsp-srv and with a single handle can manage hundreds of virtual interfaces and sub-interfaces, easing handle table pressure on both the client and server ends. These handles can be accommodated for by watching for KClientSession->virtual handle conversion, and then keeping mappings for KClientSession-virtual ID pairs. And again, since copied/moved KClientSessions keep their same pointer, in the event that somehow the central handle and a bunch of domain IDs were copied to another process, they would still function correctly.

Tying it All Together

Let's take a look at what it would take to boot homebrew via hbloader utilizing only SVC interception. The key interface of interest is fsp-ldr, which offers command 0 OpenCodeFileSystem taking a TID argument and an NCA path. From a userland replacement standpoint, booting homebrew involves redirecting the returned IFileSystem to be one from the SD card rather than one from fsp-ldr, since Loader (the process accessing fsp-ldr) doesn't really do any authentication on NSOs/NPDMs, only FS does. From a kernel standpoint, we just need to watch for an IPC packet sent to fsp-ldr for that command, hook the resulting handle, and then for each OpenFile request check if an SD card file can better override it. From there, swap handles and now Loader is reading from an IFile on the SD card rather than an NCA.

Taking a few steps back, there's obviously a few things to keep in mind: Loader never actually accesses the SD card, in fact it doesn't even ask for a fsp-srv handle. Since it is a builtin service it has permissions for everything, but the issue still remains of actually making sure handles can be gotten and swapped in. As it turns out, however, calling SVC handlers from SVCs is more than possible, so if Loader sends a request to sm asking for fsp-ldr, we can send out a request for fsp-srv, initialize it, and then send out the original request without Loader even knowing.

Interestingly, the first thing Loader does with its fsp-ldr handle is it converts it into a virtual domain handle, so that all OpenCodeFileSystem handles are virtual handles. This does make working with it a little more tricky since the code filesystem and code files all operate under the same KClientSession object, but it was an issue which needed resolving anyhow. For SD card IFile sessions, it also means that we have to convert them to virtual handles and then swap both the file KClientSession handle and the file virtual handle ID, while also watching for their virtual ID to close so that we can close our handles at the same time and avoid leakage.

A few other tricks are required to properly emulate the SD redirection experience: swapping in handles isn't the only concern, it's also important to ensure that if the SD card *doesn't* have a file then that error should be returned instead, and if the SD card has a file which doesn't exist in the original IFileSystem, we still need a file handle to replace. To accomodate for this, the original FileOpen request is altered to always open "/main" and if the SD card errors, that virtual handle is closed, and otherwise the SD handles are swapped in.

The end result is, of course, the homebrew launcher being accessible off boot from the album applet:

Other Potential Thoughts for Kernel Stuff

* Process patching is as easy as hooking svcUnmapProcessMemory and patching the memory before it's unmapped from Loader. Same goes for NROs but with different SVCs, all .text ultimately passes through kernel. * Reply spoofing. IPC requests can simply return without ever calling the SVC, by having kernel write in a reply it wants the process to see. * SVC additions. I'm not personally a fan of this because it starts to introduce ABIs specific to the custom firmware, but it's possible. One of the things I'm not personally a fan of with Luma3DS was that they added a bunch of system calls in order to access things which, quite frankly, were better left managed in kernel. The kernel patches for fs_mitm also violate this. Userland processes shouldn't be messing with handle information and translation tables, i m o. That's hacky. * Virtual services and handles. Since the intercept is able to spoof anything and everything a userland process knows, it can provide fake handles which can map to a service which lies entirely in kernel space. * IPC augmentation: Since any IPC request can be hooked, it can be possible to insert requests inbetween expected ones. One interesting application might be watching for outgoing HID requests and then, on the fly, translating these requests to the protocol of another controller which also operates using HID. * IPC forwarding: similar to augmentation, packets can be forwarded to a userland process to be better handled. Unfortunately, kernel presents a lot of concurrency issues which can get really weird, especially since calling SVC handlers can schedule more threads that will run through the same code. * As currently implemented, A32 SVCs are not hooked, however this is really more an issue if you want to hook outgoing requests from A32 games like MK8, since services such as Loader will generally only operate in a 64-bit mode.

Source

Horizon emulator, https://github.com/shinyquagsire23/moooooooo

therainsdowninafrica, https://github.com/shinyquagsire23/therainsdowninafrica

#NintendoSwitch #hacking #Horizon #UART-AMoreLikeUARTbAeAmirite

[celticnoise]

If we sign David Turnbull this week for £3 million, it will take our transfer outlay for this window to a sexy £14 million without even taking into account the fee we would have had to pay for Elyounoussi, and all this before the club brings in the central defender we’ve been looking for.

All in all, it looks set to be a mammoth one for Celtic … the biggest, maybe, since Martin O’Neill was at the club, and all of it net spend at the moment.

Right now, it feels significant. But we always wonder how significant and in what way?

Ask someone about the prospect of us spending £15 million upwards and they’ll tell you Celtic would only do that if we stood to recoup £30 million in fees. That gets alarm bells ringing when you consider that Eddie would probably command that staggering sum.

It makes one wonder what the rest of this window might hold for us … and not in a good way.

But there are other saleable assets of course, such as Ryan Christie, Callum McGregor and Kris Ajer, who would all comfortably fetch eight figures and then some. Indeed, all three of those guys would get Dembele style money … £20 million or thereabouts.

The thing is, there’s no sign that any of these guys would be allowed to leave.

The only one who might head off into the sunset in this window is Ajer, because he’s not on a long team deal like the rest of them and, in my view, is probably not of the calibre you’d expect if you were a club paying a whopping fee like those which have been touted for him.

The way I see it, a central defender worth that kind of money would be wasted in the SPL anyway; I would have no problem with the club accepting somewhere between £15 million and £20 million for Ajer if the offer came in, as long as his replacement was lined up … a stretch of course considering we’ve yet to get one central defender in yet.

But we could replace Kris Ajer for half that, and still get a footballer who would walk into any team in this league. This is why I would be quite ambivalent about it if he moved on … provided, as I say, we got that replacement in and right quick.

McGregor and Christie would be harder to replace. Callum because he’s the best midfielder in the country on his day, and Christie because he is a hard working machine who’s got good feet, can score goals, covers every blade of grass and is only going to improve.

To let go of either player, they’d need to want to go and badly enough that those at the club felt it better not to keep them around. I cannot believe that of McGregor, and have serious doubts that Ryan Christie would be banging that drum behind the scenes.

That boy was born to play for Celtic, and he waited for his chance like few others.

His moment is now, and he’s going to be part of the folklore here.

Questions about who might go to pay for all this seem even more valid in light of the global health crisis and the stark need for teams to make cuts. We’ve accepted the reality in this in a way the club across the city hasn’t. If we fail to make the Champions League Groups, then I’d say something does have to give and someone’s going to have to go.

But that, too, might be part of the calculus here. Maybe, for once, we’re gambling big for the big reward, and not just the Champions League, of course. Can you even imagine the merchandising opportunities to celebrate the securing of the ten?

I know people inside Celtic are eagerly anticipating them.

I think that’s part of the calculation, and so too is this; we know that next summer, if we’ve won it, that we can dismantle much of this team, and allow the likes of Eddie and Ajer and Christie to go if that’s what they want, with the prize already secure, and do a radical rebuilding job for the next phase of the club’s dominance.

In short, we could take a one-season hit, to get over this line, knowing that next summer we can sell some of the big names and do a rebuilding job.

No-one at Celtic will want to give up a league title, and especially not to that bunch across the city, but I think ten could collapse them like a house of cards.

That would afford us an unprecedented opportunity to seal our top spot in this country for another decade at least. Next summer will almost certainly see tremendous upheaval and change at both clubs … but we’d be financially strong whilst they’d be staggeringly weak, and that would tell in the respective strengths of the playing squads.

So perhaps we are going to take this one on the chin, to put ten in a row in the bank, and then to work on the squad plans for next season having taken some major changes into account. Maybe we just reckon on having a better chance of those Champions League Groups if we push the boat out now and take our shot, rather than being passive about it.

And perhaps a top player has already agreed a move and so we know how all this is being paid for. That’s possible, of course it is. But I don’t know how that could have been done without the media being aware of it and without some obvious signs …

I mean, if you were a suspicious person you could point to Ajer’s being dropped, for example, and take it a sign, but I don’t think that one stands up when you look at it. This just doesn’t feel like a Morelos type situation, not with a player who is a model of professionalism.

Either way, when we do land our central defender – and more and more it looks like it’ll be Duffy coming in – we can evaluate where we are and how things stand. Rogic will almost certainly leave in this window, and if we can £5 million that will pay for some of this, although by no means all of the business that’s been transacted.

I have to be honest and say that I’m pleasantly surprised that we’ve spent big in this window, and on the kind of quality which can go straight into the first team.

Not for us, this season, with projects or punts. The three we’ve brought in are first team footballers.

Duffy would walk into this side. Turnbull will be no bit-part player either, but a regular starter.

Something has definitely changed in the way we’re doing things, and it might even have started last year with the deals for Forster, Abd Elhamed and Jullien … straightforward first eleven footballers. I suspect we didn’t realise what we had on our hands with Frimpong, and we probably thought Bolingoli would do us a turn on the left … which is why he cost £3 million.

That proves only that mistakes will be made from time to time – no strategy is perfect, after all, and it won’t be bad performances that end Boli’s time at Celtic, it’ll be his stunning breach of health protocols, from which there’s no way back.

But this is surely a better way to do business than taking punts on potential all the time, a system which has paid some dividends but also left us the likes of Bayo, Eboue, Shved and others going back to the likes of Balde, Pukki, Rasmussen and the rest.

We’ve brought in a lot of money over the years, but we’ve squandered a lot of it as well.

That’s definitely something that has focussed a lot of minds at Celtic Park in the last wee while, and has resulted in Nick Hammond doing a major re-organisation behind the scenes. It’s a general stepping up of the game in terms of scouting and everything else.

Notice, too, the focus on undervalued assets in England such Elyounoussi, Forster, Ajeti and now Duffy. Couple that with Turnbull and, last season, the signing Greg Taylor … there’s a focus on the UK which we haven’t seen at this club in a long time, which isn’t to say we won’t pick up premium players from other locales … France remains a strong scouting ground, and we went to Greece this season in order to find our first choice goalkeeper.

I’m only surprised we haven’t better utilised the Bosman market … that might be a recognition that the kind of players who can visibly improve our squad will command astronomical wages as a result of being freebies, and it might be the reason we’ve been put off.

The overall trend seems positive, to me, and if the board has decided to spend big in this window it’s because this is the window in which to do it, with everything that’s at stake in this special, special season. The suspicion that it will be paid for with a top class departure is a reasonable fear to have, but there’s no indication that it’s justified.

Even if it proves to be, you have to look at the overall strength of the squad and where it stands when the window shuts … and at the moment, we’ve let go some fringe footballers whose injury profiles didn’t justify new deals and those we’ve brought have been of a high quality.

Turnbull will give the midfield an extra dimension as Ajeti has up front, we know what we’re getting with Elyounoussi and Barkas should be solid and dependable. Duffy would be a major upgrade at central defence. Few would argue that we look weaker overall, and those who would are wrong because it’s clear that we’ll have improved where it matters.

So right now, I’m pleased with it all … there’s something developing, and you can see that.

If we’re all a little bit antsy about the time it’s taking to sign a centre back, I’m sure we all recognise that if it’s Duffy or someone of that calibre that it will have been worth taking the time on to get it right … the only other question will be as to whether someone’s going.

And that, I’m afraid, we’re just going to have to wait and see … and trust in those at the club who will have clearly taken it into account with the spending thus far.

Because if someone had told me at the start of this window that we’d be heading, by late August, with over a month to go, for a net spend of £14 million, with everything that’s going on in the world, I’ve have told them they were absolutely nuts.

Yet here we are. Here we stand.

It’s fair to say, I’m pleasantly surprised.

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The post Has Celtic's Quest For Ten In A Row Pushed Our Club On To A Summer Of Big Spending? first appeared on The Celtic Blog.

https://ift.tt/32owyd4

#CelticNoise #Celtic #CelticFC #TheCelticBlog #News

[droneseco]

RØDE VideoMic NTG On-Camera Shotgun Microphone Review

Our verdict of the RØDE VideoMic NTG: The RØDE VideoMic NTG is lightweight, versatile, and filled with useful features. The ease of use and broadcast-grade audio quality makes this a great tool for all professionals.1010

If you’re looking for a high-end recording mic that is reasonably priced, and small enough for you to carry around, look no further. As the dominating shotgun mic producer, RØDE has just created one of the most versatile mics ever.

Combining the signature broadcast-quality sound of the NTG shotgun mic and creating a compact version that can be used in most devices people own, the RØDE VideoMic NTG is definitely a mic worth trying.

With some brand-new features that standard shotgun mics have been lacking, to the small details which make this mic so easy to use, here’s why I think the RØDE VideoMic NTG will soon become the go-to mic for all different types of content creators.

RØDE VideoMic NTG: Specifications

Acoustic Principle: Pressure Gradient Electret Condenser

Polar Pattern: Super-cardioid

Frequency Range: 20Hz-20kHz

Frequency Response: 35Hz-18kHz ± 3dB

Output Impedance: 10 ohm

Signal to Noise Ratio: 79dBA

Dynamic Range: 105dB SPL (A-weighted, as per IEC651)

Equivalent Noise: 15dB SPL (A-weighted, as per IEC651)

Sensitivity: -26dB re 1V/Pa (50mV @ 94dB SPL) ± 1dB @ 1kHz

Input SPL at 1% THD: 120dB SPL

High Pass Filter Frequency: 75Hz, 150Hz

Battery Life: over 30 hours

Battery Capacity: 350mAh

Output Connection: 3.5mm auto-sensing, USB-C

Bit Depth: 24 bit

Sample Rate: 48kHz

Weight: 3.31 ounces (94 grams)

Diameter: 0.85 inches (21.6 millimetres)

Length: 6.73 inches (171 millimetres)

What’s In The Box?

In addition to the VideoMic NTG Microphone, it also comes with:

SM7-R Camera Mount

Foam Windshield

SC10 Cable

USB Cable (USB-A to USB-C)

RØDE VideoMic NTG: Build Quality and Design

When I first held the RØDE VideoMic NTG in my hands, I was pleasantly surprised. The weight distribution in the mic itself felt very even, and the body felt nice and solid. It definitely felt high quality, as you’d expect from a body built from “rugged aerospace-grade aluminum”.

The two main buttons on the mic are responsive and have a good feel to them when pressed. The gain knob is smooth when you adjust it, and has quite a nice amount of resistance so that it won’t change if you happen to accidentally knock or brush it. Overall, it seems that a lot of thought has been put into the design, and I believe that it will stand the test of heavy use, through all different scenarios.

Setting Up The Mic

The RØDE VideoMic NTG is actually quite straightforward to use and self-explanatory if you have some basic experience using audio gear. Straight out of the box, the mic is already sitting on the SM7-R mount, with the windshield on. All you need to do is connect it to your DSLR and it’s ready to go!

First, let’s talk about some of this mic’s exciting features. It has an auto-sensing 3.5mm output that interacts seamlessly with both cameras and mobile devices, and will auto-detect whether it’s plugged into a TRS or a TRRS input. Just plug it straight into your mobile devices, tablets, or cameras that accept a 3.5mm input, and it will work right away.

For the streamers and podcasters, the VideoMic NTG also comes with a USB-C output that allows you to connect it to desktops or laptops via USB-A, and it should be detected as an external mic.

Features and Usability

The RØDE VideoMic NTG has some built-in settings that you can adjust on the fly. It comes with 2 high pass filters (at 75Hz and 150Hz), a high-frequency boost (that you might like to enable when the windshield is on), a pad at -20db, and the option to use a safety channel (that will record in stereo with one channel at -20db). On the mic itself is also a dB peak warning light to alert you if your audio source is too loud.

One of my favourite features is actually the unique infinitely variable gain control that is situated at the back of the mic. It is an active control that allows you to deliver anything from mic level signal, all the way to a headphone level output. This results in cleaner audio and also a highly improved signal-to-noise ratio, all done on the mic before it even hits your recording device!

Some other handy features include a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that provides over 30 hours of battery life, and only takes 2 hours to fully charge from empty. It can be charged via USB-C which allows continuous recording with a power bank.

The auto-power feature can also be quite helpful – it switches the mic on or off based on the state of your camera, and works as long as your camera delivers plug-in power. This also works if you are using the microphone in USB audio mode.

Audio Quality: How Does The RØDE VideoMic NTG Hold Up?

As you would expect from a RØDE product, it lives up to its name.

I did a few quick tests and was very happy with the results, at a few different distances in a controlled environment, without changing any settings, I recorded my voice at 3, 10, and 20 feet.

There was clarity and a nice depth to the voice when I was 3 feet away (such as in an interview or streaming distance). For the time it took to set it up and calibrate the microphone – which was probably under a minute – it was pretty close to studio standard and hard to fault!

Sure, you could edit it in post-production and make it sound exactly the way you want it, especially if doing video type projects. But even if it’s just recorded directly for live stream or podcasts, I’m sure your audience will be pleased with the quality.

If your subject happens to be at further or varying distances, and you don’t have the luxury of calibrating the gain settings for each scenario (especially in moving scenes), I found that digitally increasing volume and enhancing the audio waves in an editor was actually pretty simple.

Just turning up the gain and equalizing out the noisy frequencies produced audio that I was quite happy with, and I don’t think many people would even be able to tell the difference!

I also happened to have its predecessor – the RØDE NTG-2 (which is built for broadcast and used by many professionals around the world), so I actually did a quick comparison. And to my surprise, the quality was similar.

So it was great to see that they’ve managed to maintain that audio quality in the smaller form factor of the VideoMic NTG, making it so much more versatile and convenient.

RØDE VideoMic NTG: Final Thoughts

The RØDE VideoMic NTG is the perfect tool for filmmakers, podcasters, or just content producers who want a multipurpose mic handy for whenever the need arises.

At $249 for a broadcast-quality mic, with more than 30 hours battery life, the flexibility to be used with most cameras and mobile devices, while also being small enough to fit into almost any bag, the RØDE VideoMic NTG is a great mic to help anyone from amateurs to professionals increase the quality of their work.

RØDE has kept to their high standards, as anyone who has used their products should be used to. For those new to their line of gear, this would be a great time to give them a shot!

Read the full article: RØDE VideoMic NTG On-Camera Shotgun Microphone Review

RØDE VideoMic NTG On-Camera Shotgun Microphone Review published first on http://droneseco.tumblr.com/

[grassroutes]

RØDE VideoMic NTG On-Camera Shotgun Microphone Review

Our verdict of the RØDE VideoMic NTG: The RØDE VideoMic NTG is lightweight, versatile, and filled with useful features. The ease of use and broadcast-grade audio quality makes this a great tool for all professionals.1010

If you’re looking for a high-end recording mic that is reasonably priced, and small enough for you to carry around, look no further. As the dominating shotgun mic producer, RØDE has just created one of the most versatile mics ever.

Combining the signature broadcast-quality sound of the NTG shotgun mic and creating a compact version that can be used in most devices people own, the RØDE VideoMic NTG is definitely a mic worth trying.

With some brand-new features that standard shotgun mics have been lacking, to the small details which make this mic so easy to use, here’s why I think the RØDE VideoMic NTG will soon become the go-to mic for all different types of content creators.

RØDE VideoMic NTG: Specifications

Acoustic Principle: Pressure Gradient Electret Condenser

Polar Pattern: Super-cardioid

Frequency Range: 20Hz-20kHz

Frequency Response: 35Hz-18kHz ± 3dB

Output Impedance: 10 ohm

Signal to Noise Ratio: 79dBA

Dynamic Range: 105dB SPL (A-weighted, as per IEC651)

Equivalent Noise: 15dB SPL (A-weighted, as per IEC651)

Sensitivity: -26dB re 1V/Pa (50mV @ 94dB SPL) ± 1dB @ 1kHz

Input SPL at 1% THD: 120dB SPL

High Pass Filter Frequency: 75Hz, 150Hz

Battery Life: over 30 hours

Battery Capacity: 350mAh

Output Connection: 3.5mm auto-sensing, USB-C

Bit Depth: 24 bit

Sample Rate: 48kHz

Weight: 3.31 ounces (94 grams)

Diameter: 0.85 inches (21.6 millimetres)

Length: 6.73 inches (171 millimetres)

What’s In The Box?

In addition to the VideoMic NTG Microphone, it also comes with:

SM7-R Camera Mount

Foam Windshield

SC10 Cable

USB Cable (USB-A to USB-C)

RØDE VideoMic NTG: Build Quality and Design

When I first held the RØDE VideoMic NTG in my hands, I was pleasantly surprised. The weight distribution in the mic itself felt very even, and the body felt nice and solid. It definitely felt high quality, as you’d expect from a body built from “rugged aerospace-grade aluminum”.

The two main buttons on the mic are responsive and have a good feel to them when pressed. The gain knob is smooth when you adjust it, and has quite a nice amount of resistance so that it won’t change if you happen to accidentally knock or brush it. Overall, it seems that a lot of thought has been put into the design, and I believe that it will stand the test of heavy use, through all different scenarios.

Setting Up The Mic

The RØDE VideoMic NTG is actually quite straightforward to use and self-explanatory if you have some basic experience using audio gear. Straight out of the box, the mic is already sitting on the SM7-R mount, with the windshield on. All you need to do is connect it to your DSLR and it’s ready to go!

First, let’s talk about some of this mic’s exciting features. It has an auto-sensing 3.5mm output that interacts seamlessly with both cameras and mobile devices, and will auto-detect whether it’s plugged into a TRS or a TRRS input. Just plug it straight into your mobile devices, tablets, or cameras that accept a 3.5mm input, and it will work right away.

For the streamers and podcasters, the VideoMic NTG also comes with a USB-C output that allows you to connect it to desktops or laptops via USB-A, and it should be detected as an external mic.

Features and Usability

The RØDE VideoMic NTG has some built-in settings that you can adjust on the fly. It comes with 2 high pass filters (at 75Hz and 150Hz), a high-frequency boost (that you might like to enable when the windshield is on), a pad at -20db, and the option to use a safety channel (that will record in stereo with one channel at -20db). On the mic itself is also a dB peak warning light to alert you if your audio source is too loud.

One of my favourite features is actually the unique infinitely variable gain control that is situated at the back of the mic. It is an active control that allows you to deliver anything from mic level signal, all the way to a headphone level output. This results in cleaner audio and also a highly improved signal-to-noise ratio, all done on the mic before it even hits your recording device!

Some other handy features include a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that provides over 30 hours of battery life, and only takes 2 hours to fully charge from empty. It can be charged via USB-C which allows continuous recording with a power bank.

The auto-power feature can also be quite helpful – it switches the mic on or off based on the state of your camera, and works as long as your camera delivers plug-in power. This also works if you are using the microphone in USB audio mode.

Audio Quality: How Does The RØDE VideoMic NTG Hold Up?

As you would expect from a RØDE product, it lives up to its name.

I did a few quick tests and was very happy with the results, at a few different distances in a controlled environment, without changing any settings, I recorded my voice at 3, 10, and 20 feet.

There was clarity and a nice depth to the voice when I was 3 feet away (such as in an interview or streaming distance). For the time it took to set it up and calibrate the microphone – which was probably under a minute – it was pretty close to studio standard and hard to fault!

Sure, you could edit it in post-production and make it sound exactly the way you want it, especially if doing video type projects. But even if it’s just recorded directly for live stream or podcasts, I’m sure your audience will be pleased with the quality.

If your subject happens to be at further or varying distances, and you don’t have the luxury of calibrating the gain settings for each scenario (especially in moving scenes), I found that digitally increasing volume and enhancing the audio waves in an editor was actually pretty simple.

Just turning up the gain and equalizing out the noisy frequencies produced audio that I was quite happy with, and I don’t think many people would even be able to tell the difference!

I also happened to have its predecessor – the RØDE NTG-2 (which is built for broadcast and used by many professionals around the world), so I actually did a quick comparison. And to my surprise, the quality was similar.

So it was great to see that they’ve managed to maintain that audio quality in the smaller form factor of the VideoMic NTG, making it so much more versatile and convenient.

RØDE VideoMic NTG: Final Thoughts

The RØDE VideoMic NTG is the perfect tool for filmmakers, podcasters, or just content producers who want a multipurpose mic handy for whenever the need arises.

At $249 for a broadcast-quality mic, with more than 30 hours battery life, the flexibility to be used with most cameras and mobile devices, while also being small enough to fit into almost any bag, the RØDE VideoMic NTG is a great mic to help anyone from amateurs to professionals increase the quality of their work.

RØDE has kept to their high standards, as anyone who has used their products should be used to. For those new to their line of gear, this would be a great time to give them a shot!

Read the full article: RØDE VideoMic NTG On-Camera Shotgun Microphone Review

RØDE VideoMic NTG On-Camera Shotgun Microphone Review posted first on grassroutespage.blogspot.com

[goldeagleprice]

Letters to the Editor (April 16, 2019)

(Image courtesy www.usscouts.org)

Boy Scout seeks advice

I just completed the coin collecting merit badge for the Boy Scouts of America and I wanted to learn more.

First, how do you find really old coins? How do you find the find really valuable coins?

I’m working on the state quarters, and I was wondering if you had any tips on how to find them.

Carter Sisam Address withheld

  First 2019 coins in Mich.

I just received my first 2019 coins in change. They came from a fast food restaurant in Ann Arbor, Mich. – two 2019-D Lincoln cents.

Dick Vail Address withheld

  Indian Head cent finds

Today I found my second Indian Head cent of the year. This one is an 1890. It is a very nice sample with just nice wear. My first was an 1881 and that one is very nice also. I feel great about having two Indians in two months.

Bob Atwater Conway, S.C.

  To slab or not to slab?

Remember what it was like to actually hold coins in your hand? To be able to look at them from every possible angle and not have your view obstructed by a thick chunk of plastic? Remember when coins were so beautiful they were a sight to behold?

Remember when you knew your coin was the best of the best, until CSI, NCIS, ATV, ACDC, DPS, DPl, DMPL, RSS, DMV, PFRVPF, SP,SPL, SDNY, FBI, CIA, NBC, CBS, TBS, IRS, and a gazillion other attributions made your once best-of-the-best coin relegated to 26th in line?

Ah, yes, to feel the weight of an old Morgan, or a brand new Silver Eagle, in the palm of your hand, those were the days when collectors were collectors and hobbyists, not “oldmismatists,” investors, enthusiasts, and flippers. And don’t get me started on graders!

How about getting a slabbed and perfect 70 coin, supposedly gone over by three humans to achieve that number, only to look at it from a foot away and see a clear flaw at 2 o’clock next to JFK’s head? This has happened to me more than I care to mention.

Yes, I have within my collection over 100 coins slabbed and graded perfect 70s, but I prefer my loose and ungraded coins to have and to hold, til inflation ruins everything.

Steve McGowan Algonac, Mich.

  ‘Hot Lips’ dime in change

I checked my dimes that I got in change from the store today and got a 1976-D “Hot Lips” dime!

Edward Guzik Address withheld

  ‘P’ cents in Mass.

Just a note to let you know I received my first 2019 Philadelphia cent coins during the weeks of Feb. 25 to Mar. 2 at Dunkins in Bellingham, Ma. A total of eight coins in three days.

Alan Caldwell Brockton, Mass.

  Ocala put on quite a show

The Ocala Coin Club (www.ocalacoinclub.com) held their 36th Annual Coin Show on Feb. 7-9 at the Motel 6 Conference Center in Ocala, Fla. A special thanks to Chairman Rich Selvar, Club President Mark Trout, and the officers and members for providing a table for the American Numismatic Association (www.money.org).

Our location was right next to one of the registration tables. This helped us sign up or renew 12 members for the Association. Thanks to Dealer Harry Eck, from Crystal River, Fla., for making a $25 501© (3) donation to ANA for the shipment of the coin show kit. For visitors who stopped by our table, we answered questions regarding numismatics and also gave out some free stock certificates and other items.

Through excellent advertising locally and nationally, the three-day event brought in 832 visitors. Besides the advertising, 500 or more post cards are also sent out to the previous year’s attendees.

The sold-out bourse featured 60 dealers at 50 tables. We talked to several dealers who had a table, and they said they were kept busy throughout the show and sales were very good. Security for the show was excellent, and no problems were reported.

Everyone who attends has free admission, and they also receive a special elongate and wooden money especially made for this event. Hourly silver door prizes were also given out (everyone received a ticket when they registered). Any young collector who entered received a free bag of coins. A literature table was also set up, and coin publications (along with other information) was passed out for free. An all-gold raffle was also held.

The food vendor had free coffee for the workers up until 10:00 a.m. The food they serve is always great and reasonably priced. The club had over 30 members assisting at registration and raffle sales. Many of them helped with set up and breakdown. The club is a 50+ year member of the ANA and is a member of the Florida United Numismatists (www.funtopics.com).

We look forward to next year’s Ocala Coin Club show, which is already sold out, and will be held in this same location on Feb. 6-8, 2020.

John and Nancy Wilson ANA National Volunteers

  Holder obscures curved coin

Received 2019-P Apollo 11 50th Anniversary $1, NGC-PF-70, today. The NGC “FOOTPRINT” White Core Holder is quite disappointing.

The reverse of the coin is partially obscured. Turning the coin every which way, trying to read “E. Pluribus Unum” and “United States of America” is nearly impossible. Unlike the PF-70 half that has a gap around the coin, the dollar is flush to the edge of the core.

NGC should’ve kept the same holder as utilized on the 2014 curved Baseball coins. I expect better from NGC.

Steve McGowan Algonac, Mich.

  Delaware Innovation date

Is the Delaware Innovation coin supposed to be released this spring?

Josh Address withheld

Editor’s Note: The U.S. Mint has not yet announced a release date for the 2019 American Innovation dollar for Delaware.

  Innovation dollar unwanted

I have been a subscriber of Numismatic News for a number of years. May I put in my “two cents” worth of input on the very truthful letter of Mr. Bill Tuttle of Cleveland, Ohio? He hit the nail on the head!

The United States is the greatest country in this world with the largest mint, the best talented engravers and designers, yet we fail to realize that many, many people and a load of collectors do not want another small “junk dollar” coin that will again fill our vaults for many years to come, unused. The latest looks like an unfinished design, very poor!

Where is the Citizens Commission on Coinage with their input to the Treasury? If there was competition in the world, it would certainly win two awards: pure ugly in design and a useless coin of the realm that the majority of us will never circulate. Stop the Innovation dollar now, and save us taxpayers a ton of dollars!

Dominic J. Valentino Philadelphia, Pa.

  Letter offers humor

Thanks for printing [the letter of] Dan Bubalo from Brainerd, Minn. (Mar. 5 issue of Numismatic News). I hope everyone saw the humor in your letter.

Gary Wernersbach Zimmerman, Minn.

  This article was originally printed in Numismatic News. >> Subscribe today.

  If you like what you’ve read here, we invite you to visit our online bookstore to learn more about Coins Magazine.

Learn more >>>

The post Letters to the Editor (April 16, 2019) appeared first on Numismatic News.

#Precious Metals

[shijiujun]

i feel kinda bad for shl cos all the fans of hyx and spl are blaming shl since their dramas are being delayed :(

LMAO I really don’t get that altho i can see that the timing might be a little back to back, and i’m not a SHL-only stan by any measure but:

For HYX especially,

Firstly it was already having problems since the end of last year with censorship and review. This is mostly due to the reason that 2ha is a pretty big fandom and is the cult fave in the danmei industry - what this means is that there are three types of fans basically right, (1) Normal fans who love the novel + show (2) Those who fanatically love the novel in some extreme ways haha (3) Those who hate it and/or are HYX-onlys - so you get it all in a bag. 

The first type of fans is definitely the easier ones to deal with, but unfortunately in big fandoms you get a lot of (2) and (3). It’s not something that’s exclusive only to 2ha/HYX but because it’s a cult fave, and a controversial one at that, problems definitely arise.

(2) are the ones who head down to the filming scenes, take photos and footage despite crew telling ppl not to do it, not to sneak around filming sites and definitely not to leak photos or footage. They do it anyway. Yeah sure of course it’s a couple of photos every few weeks or a tiny video every few weeks but word gets out. They’re inevitably hurting the show and the fandom with their actions, because shit trends on Weibo really fast, and the censorship committee (not just for the film industry or shows) is always lurking on the site to catch any sign of you know, hate speech for the country etc. and more. Not related, but the point is that social media is watched very closely. It’s not a myth or an exaggeration, you really just got to be careful, and HYX is a show that, despite not having been broadcasted, has consistently trended on Weibo over the last few months. Not always because of leaks, but yeah, HYX is in everyone’s faces. Fans themselves put a fucking huge spotlight on the show BEFORE we even have any content at all, and of course this isn’t enough to like create huge trouble for the show but then we have-

(3), which I believe creates the most trouble - the thing is 2ha and meatbun who wrote the book, has a long line of haters and antis, way before HYX came into the picture. I shall not go into details of how I’ve seen some big accounts on Tumblr here spit vitriol at the book without even reading it just based on the content/trigger warnings and playing the morality card (and I think most ppl who’ve followed me for a while know just what I think about that). Like this was way before any footage or leaks or even HYX being a thing came about - as a cult fave it has its share of haters, and this share is a huge. There are those who get off on their moral high grounds XD and I think especially these ones are the most troublesome, all they have to do is report that HYX is immoral, bad for culture etc. etc. hahaha and yeah the censorship team is always ready to step in on reports, especially on BL stuff.

And of course the larger part is the change in censorship processes - honestly even way before SHL came out in end Feb, HYX was no closer to getting passed by the review committee than it is now. Maybe yes, SHL scenes may be now used as reference for comparison but seriously? People are deluding themselves if they thought pre-SHL HYX was going through the review process smoothly and only hit roadblocks after. I mean, we’ve all seen the leaks, some of them are truly like god-tier scenes that may be hard to explain away. It’s not like they can repackage the script especially because they have to submit everything to the review committee.

I mentioned this in a post yesterday but how SHL passed reviews is due to the fact that they didn’t have to submit a full script. They only had to submit a partial script, and that makes a world of difference. Basically a team, under these requirements, can repackage the script to include the more het looking parts even I feel, and of course some heavy misdirection by the team, it could work. Now that you have to put an entire script up for scrutiny.. I mean, it’s hard. This is just a game of probability.

And the last reason I think is still Tencent. Honestly, I’ve never seen a huge ass MNC like this handle a show this terribly.

1. No control over leaks - This is honestly the dumbest shit to do

2. Terrible crisis management response time - When fans leak footage, it’s standard and practical business sense to control it IMMEDIATELY. They shouldn’t just leave it up to the crew to put up notices and as the company that owns the rights to the show, it’s up to them to possibly threaten legal action as well. Basically a sterner stance would have helped a lot, but Tencent is a motherfucker of a company who only cares about free marketing and publicity without any considerations over impact to the show itself 

3. Terrible at communicating with fans - Seriously, I’ve never seen a company or team that’s been this bad at confirming delays etc. and providing updates about a show. I understand that it’s mostly due to them not wanting to affect the review process or create more chaos within the fandom but lmao Tencent allowed the hype to build so much and then goes absolutely silent at crazy rumours. I mean we had to find out about a delay from Cai Bao, their cat mascot, like??? In a really veiled and poetic message that didn’t outright say the word ‘delay’ like damn these ppl have a lot of time

As for SPL,

Lol we don’t know anything about this show. We don’t know if they took out or left in the Yifu part that would supposedly make it less gay or whatever, we don’t know anything about how gay it should have been or could have, so this one might be a tad more ridiculous. I mean none of us have seen any good leaks, and we haven’t seen any of the script, we got ZERO idea about this. Maybe they really went hard on the bromance, how would any of us know hahaha so all the more it’s like people have zero basis to go on, to say that it’s because of SHL. Seriously, everyone’s shooting in the dark.

Technically if laws didn’t change last Feb, I think SPL/WIK should have been passed in the same way as SHL did, but it’s just inopportune time for them.

===

- So tl:dr HYX already had tons of problems, that I doubt were going to go away just because SHL didn’t air, honestly. For SPL, it’s really hard to tell what failed the review, because none of us know what’s going on in the script.

No one cared about SHL, even I only realized the show was airing on the day itself and then made a rec post after I watched the first 4 eps. And if it truly was anything to do with SHL, I’m telling you that the first thing the censorship committee will do is basically shut SHL down, get Youku to take it off sites etc. until it’s reviewed again etc. etc. That hasn’t happened yet, at least not before HYX and SPL were stalled.

===

ALSO!! Don’t have to feel sorry for SHl fans hahaha I’m telling ya a lot of us definitely weren’t OG SHL or TYK fans, seriously! All the bigger accounts I see on Twitter are a combination of CQL/SHL or MXTX/SHL, SPL/SHL and I am personally 2HA/HYX/SHL. The fight is all out on Twitter HAHAHAHA but it’s not that bad, we’ve all got practice. Seriously WHO ACTUALLY is an SHL only stan I’ve honestly not seen much?! HAHAHA the point is we’re all yelling on behalf of SHL as a cross fandom fan, easier for us to do so as well. We’re talking about 2ha/HYX/SPL/Priest dedicated accounts that delved deep into SHL championing for no-nonsense in the space hahaha

#asks #shl #hyx #spl #and while i've never worked for the chinese film industry #i was in film and production #so i half know what i'm talking about #and i did ask a friend who works in a chinese film company #and yep ;/ #if you need to know how disastrous big companies are #tencent is a prime example

[satyaganga-competition-clas-blog]

An Interview With Bio Faculty Rista mam By: Harimohan Kaushik | SPL for SSC Students. In this video, we are going to tell u how to overcome the fear which generally students have while preparing for any competitive exams And what should be the systematic manner of studying especially science portion for Gs ► 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴/𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗨𝘀 - 9911119407 / 8 अगर आप हमारे YOUTUBE चैनल को SUBSCRIBE नहीं किया है तो अभी सब्सक्राइब करे और वीडियो का अपडेट तुरंत पाये और अपने सुझाव हमें हमारे SOCIAL LINK पे दे सकते है A new channel which is committed to help those who are helpless to get govt. jobs. Popular video of our channel (Links of videos) :- 1. Contract Farming act 2018 | formalization of Indian agriculture sector - Current Affairs 2018:- https://youtu.be/ix-TkIoim90. 2.What is skeletal system in Hindi | Biology Gk (कंकाल तंत्र ) For SSC, UPPCS, Police, Railway Exam:- https://youtu.be/NdlT0wo9Kc8 3.पदोन्नति में आरक्षण | Reservation for SC/ST in promotion, Quota in promotion | current affairs 20188 ✔ :- https://youtu.be/4HWlR3MkfC8 4. Is taj mahal turning Yellow and Green? Current Affairs 2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEyhi... 5. Time Managment Made Easy IAS / UPSC in Hindi: https://youtu.be/Amdy9qAxX9I 6. Very Important Vocabulary Words I ENGLISH | ALL COMPETITIVE EXAMS I Daily Vocab I by.: Mohan Kaushik:. https://youtu.be/9F4Aac6WgsA 7. Ranthambore Fort History in Hindi I Important Facts for Rajasthani PCS I rpsc 2018-19: https://youtu.be/7bhuLb_4-dY 8. Forts of Rajasthan Gk I Chittorgarh Fort History in Hindi I IMPORTANT TOPIC OF RAJASTHAN - PSC, SSC: https://youtu.be/slRZtwKB3yk 9. UPSC की तैयारी कब शुरू की जाये I career scope I कैसे बने आईएएस अफसर I By.: Harimohan sir: https://youtu.be/VrgSNa3WYXg 10 Brahmos Missile gktoday I सबसे खतरनाक हथियार I mission upsc 2019 I satyaganga: https://youtu.be/qWBzEeT_okU 11 New Law For Rape Victim In India I current affair I बलातकार की ताजा खबर by Santosh sir I satyaganga: https://youtu.be/JYBn7fEljjc 12 How to Read Newspaper? - UPSC CSE 2018 2019 Preparation I online classes for upsc I satyaganga ✔ : https://youtu.be/ANkdTi4K5_Q 13 General Studies की तैयारी कैसे करे by.: Harimohan sir | SSC CHSL & Other Competitive Exams 2019 ✔ : https://youtu.be/9Idw4hVaO8o ISIS I UPSC History Lecture From Harimohan Sir I INTERNATIONAL RELATION UPSC I Current Affairs 2018 https://youtu.be/KBbyFdNUlrc . contact us only on whatsapp. [phone] Join us telegram group. https://t.me/satyaganga Connect with us our Facebook page:- http://bit.ly/2SsYczP Thank you so much everyone who has watched our videos.Please leave a LIKE, SHARE with your friends and if you feel like being Awesome...Click here to SUBSCRIBE for Regular Updates...

#IFTTT #YouTube #SatyaGanga competition classes #An Interview With Bio Faculty Rista mam By: Harimoha

[chris-short-blog1]

Today we did a mic shoot out. I had Kyle Blazek in the studio recording playing an easy guitar lick to compare and contrast some of the microphones we have here in Studio F at Capital University. We recorded a Montana acoustic guitar with 4 different microphones.

When researching different ways to mic acoustic guitars (articles found at bottom of page), I found a nice article talking about good mic placement. We utilized this strategy in the studio by placing the mic in the junction between the instrument's neck and body. Another article I found to be helpful was an article by Sweetwater on good techniques to record acoustic guitars with. The suggestions in this article were for mostly microphones that we didn't have at the moment, but it was a very interesting read! It described different ways to use multiple microphones at once to get a certain sound you are looking for. One of the biggest take aways was Richard Chyck (Rush, Dream Theater, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Skillet) talking about how having a nice guitar that is played often is one of the keys to getting good guitar tone.

The four microphones we used in the shootout were the SM57, SM7b, Royer 122, and the MD 421. A SM57 is a dynamic, cardioid microphone, it is good on just about anything. The SM7b is also a dynamic, cardioid microphone. This mic is typically good for spoken dialog, but great for singing and the occasional guitar as well. The Royer 122 is world's first phantom powered, active ribbon microphone. It is designed for high SPL applications, such as on guitar amps, drums, brass and vocals, as well as strings, acoustic guitars and pianos. The last microphone we used was the MD421. The 421 is a dynamic, cardioid microphone that is great picking up low end. It is good for toms, kick, electric guitar amps and more.

The MD421 how more low end than any of the other mics I feel like. You can here more of a warm tone with not a whole ton of high end, but still enough that it sounds natural. The Royer 122 also had a surprisingly good amount of low end as well but more of a bit of sizzle on the high end. You can really hear all the high and low characteristics of the guitar with the Royer. It also brings out more of the attack on the picking of the guitar. The SM57 sounded the most neutral when it came to high and low end. It gave a good amount of both, it had a really “full” sound.  The SM7b gave more of a mid-rangey tone. The low and high end didn't seem as present which is now why I can see that it is a good microphone for voiceover and radio talk shows.

In my opinion, the order which I rank the microphones with 1 being the best and 4 the least, I would say

          1. MD421

          2. SM57

          3. Royer122

          4. SM7b.

I like the 421 the best because I feel like it packs the most punch. I think you can tell off the example that this microphone is capable of capturing a good amount of frequencies especially with guitar. I chose the SM7b as the last because I feel like it isn't the best when recording a guitar. I think it sounds a bit dull and unexciting. I was on edge which to put the 57 and 122 but I rank those about the same and my opinion would change depending on the situation. The 57 is an extremely dependable microphone and the Royer is something you have to be especially careful with because of the ribbon. Either way, these are all amazing microphones and this was a great shootout!

https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/acoustic-guitar-recording-techniques-pros/

https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/recording-acoustic-guitar

#SoundCloud #music #Chris Short Audio

[newstwitter-blog]

New Post has been published on News Twitter

New Post has been published on http://www.news-twitter.com/2017/03/01/bbc-early-warning-signs-of-heart-attacks-being-missed-3/

BBC: Early warning signs of heart attacks 'being missed'

Image copyright SPL

Early warning signs may have been missed in up to one in six people who died of a heart attack in English hospitals, a study suggests.

All heart attack admissions and deaths between 2006 and 2010 were analysed.

Imperial College London researchers found 16% of those who died had been admitted to hospital in the previous 28 days. Some had warning signs like chest pain.

The British Heart Foundation has called the research “concerning”.

The study authors from the School of Public Health at Imperial College say more research is “urgently needed”.

I’m a nurse and I didn’t realise

Alison Fillingham, 49, was at work when she felt a deep ache in her neck and collarbone. She continued her rounds as a homecare nurse before phoning a colleague to ask for advice when the pain didn’t go away.

An ambulance was called and a panic attack was diagnosed. But blood tests later in hospital showed that Alison had had a heart attack.

“I’ve been a nurse for 24 years but I didn’t think it was anything to do with my heart. My symptoms were not typical. You expect central chest pain. You think of people clutching their chest but it wasn’t like that at all.”

And she says there was no urgency about the care she received from paramedics. “If my heart attack hadn’t been picked up in hospital, the artery would have blocked completely and I wouldn’t be here now.”

Last year, Alison, from Lancashire, had coronary artery bypass surgery and is now feeling “fabulous” after taking a few months off before returning to work.

She says: “I was a healthy, active person. I was swimming, hiking and doing yoga three times a week – and now I’m running about again.”

The research, published in the Lancet, looked at the hospital records of all 135,950 deaths in England due to heart attacks over the four-year period.

The records showed whether the person had been admitted to hospital in the previous four weeks and whether signs of a heart attack were recorded as the primary reason for the hospital admission, a secondary reason or not recorded at all.

The data showed 21,677 of the patients had no mention of heart attack symptoms in their hospital records.

Lead author Dr Perviz Asaria said: “Doctors are very good at treating heart attacks when they are the main cause of admission, but we don’t do very well treating secondary heart attacks or at picking up subtle signs which might point to a heart attack death in the near future.”

Heart attack symptoms

Chest pain – a sensation of pressure, tightness or squeezing in the centre of the chest

Pain in other parts of the body – it can feel as if the pain is travelling from the chest to the arms (usually the left arm is affected, but it can affect both arms), jaw, neck, back and abdomen

Feeling lightheaded or dizzy

Sweating

Shortness of breath

Feeling sick (nausea) or being sick (vomiting)

Overwhelming sense of anxiety (similar to having a panic attack)

Coughing or wheezing

Although the chest pain is often severe, some people may only experience minor pain, similar to indigestion. In some cases, there may not be any chest pain at all, especially in women, elderly people and people with diabetes.

Source: NHS

The report authors say symptoms, such as fainting, shortness of breath and chest pain, were apparent up to a month before death in some patients.

But they point out doctors may not have been alert to the possibility that these signalled an approaching fatal heart attack because there was no obvious damage to the heart at the time.

Prof Majid Ezzati, who also worked on the study, said: “We cannot yet say why these signs are being missed, which is why more detailed research must be conducted to make recommendations for change.

“This might include updated guidance for healthcare professionals, changes in clinical culture, or allowing doctors more time to examine patients and look at their previous records.”

Prof Jeremy Pearson, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation, said: “This study shows that large numbers of people who die of a heart attack have visited hospital in the month before, but have not been diagnosed with heart disease.

“This failure to detect warning signs is concerning and these results should prompt doctors to be more vigilant, reducing the chance that symptoms are missed, ultimately saving more lives.”

A spokesman for the Royal College of Physicians said: “The treatment of heart attacks is one of the success stories of modern medicine but this paper is an important reminder that there are still areas where we can improve care.

“While many heart attacks present with classical pain in the chest in people who smoke and have other risk factors for heart disease, many heart attacks don’t present this way and in people not obviously at high risk.

“The challenge is to accurately and speedily diagnose all these patients so that they can be offered best care. Education of the public, of GPs, paramedics and Emergency Department doctors is essential if we are to improve even further the care we offer to patients having a heart attack.”

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Letters to the Editor (April 16, 2019)

(Image courtesy www.usscouts.org)

Boy Scout seeks advice

I just completed the coin collecting merit badge for the Boy Scouts of America and I wanted to learn more.

First, how do you find really old coins? How do you find the find really valuable coins?

I’m working on the state quarters, and I was wondering if you had any tips on how to find them.

Carter Sisam Address withheld

  First 2019 coins in Mich.

I just received my first 2019 coins in change. They came from a fast food restaurant in Ann Arbor, Mich. – two 2019-D Lincoln cents.

Dick Vail Address withheld

  Indian Head cent finds

Today I found my second Indian Head cent of the year. This one is an 1890. It is a very nice sample with just nice wear. My first was an 1881 and that one is very nice also. I feel great about having two Indians in two months.

Bob Atwater Conway, S.C.

  To slab or not to slab?

Remember what it was like to actually hold coins in your hand? To be able to look at them from every possible angle and not have your view obstructed by a thick chunk of plastic? Remember when coins were so beautiful they were a sight to behold?

Remember when you knew your coin was the best of the best, until CSI, NCIS, ATV, ACDC, DPS, DPl, DMPL, RSS, DMV, PFRVPF, SP,SPL, SDNY, FBI, CIA, NBC, CBS, TBS, IRS, and a gazillion other attributions made your once best-of-the-best coin relegated to 26th in line?

Ah, yes, to feel the weight of an old Morgan, or a brand new Silver Eagle, in the palm of your hand, those were the days when collectors were collectors and hobbyists, not “oldmismatists,” investors, enthusiasts, and flippers. And don’t get me started on graders!

How about getting a slabbed and perfect 70 coin, supposedly gone over by three humans to achieve that number, only to look at it from a foot away and see a clear flaw at 2 o’clock next to JFK’s head? This has happened to me more than I care to mention.

Yes, I have within my collection over 100 coins slabbed and graded perfect 70s, but I prefer my loose and ungraded coins to have and to hold, til inflation ruins everything.

Steve McGowan Algonac, Mich.

  ‘Hot Lips’ dime in change

I checked my dimes that I got in change from the store today and got a 1976-D “Hot Lips” dime!

Edward Guzik Address withheld

  ‘P’ cents in Mass.

Just a note to let you know I received my first 2019 Philadelphia cent coins during the weeks of Feb. 25 to Mar. 2 at Dunkins in Bellingham, Ma. A total of eight coins in three days.

Alan Caldwell Brockton, Mass.

  Ocala put on quite a show

The Ocala Coin Club (www.ocalacoinclub.com) held their 36th Annual Coin Show on Feb. 7-9 at the Motel 6 Conference Center in Ocala, Fla. A special thanks to Chairman Rich Selvar, Club President Mark Trout, and the officers and members for providing a table for the American Numismatic Association (www.money.org).

Our location was right next to one of the registration tables. This helped us sign up or renew 12 members for the Association. Thanks to Dealer Harry Eck, from Crystal River, Fla., for making a $25 501© (3) donation to ANA for the shipment of the coin show kit. For visitors who stopped by our table, we answered questions regarding numismatics and also gave out some free stock certificates and other items.

Through excellent advertising locally and nationally, the three-day event brought in 832 visitors. Besides the advertising, 500 or more post cards are also sent out to the previous year’s attendees.

The sold-out bourse featured 60 dealers at 50 tables. We talked to several dealers who had a table, and they said they were kept busy throughout the show and sales were very good. Security for the show was excellent, and no problems were reported.

Everyone who attends has free admission, and they also receive a special elongate and wooden money especially made for this event. Hourly silver door prizes were also given out (everyone received a ticket when they registered). Any young collector who entered received a free bag of coins. A literature table was also set up, and coin publications (along with other information) was passed out for free. An all-gold raffle was also held.

The food vendor had free coffee for the workers up until 10:00 a.m. The food they serve is always great and reasonably priced. The club had over 30 members assisting at registration and raffle sales. Many of them helped with set up and breakdown. The club is a 50+ year member of the ANA and is a member of the Florida United Numismatists (www.funtopics.com).

We look forward to next year’s Ocala Coin Club show, which is already sold out, and will be held in this same location on Feb. 6-8, 2020.

John and Nancy Wilson ANA National Volunteers

  Holder obscures curved coin

Received 2019-P Apollo 11 50th Anniversary $1, NGC-PF-70, today. The NGC “FOOTPRINT” White Core Holder is quite disappointing.

The reverse of the coin is partially obscured. Turning the coin every which way, trying to read “E. Pluribus Unum” and “United States of America” is nearly impossible. Unlike the PF-70 half that has a gap around the coin, the dollar is flush to the edge of the core.

NGC should’ve kept the same holder as utilized on the 2014 curved Baseball coins. I expect better from NGC.

Steve McGowan Algonac, Mich.

  Delaware Innovation date

Is the Delaware Innovation coin supposed to be released this spring?

Josh Address withheld

Editor’s Note: The U.S. Mint has not yet announced a release date for the 2019 American Innovation dollar for Delaware.

  Innovation dollar unwanted

I have been a subscriber of Numismatic News for a number of years. May I put in my “two cents” worth of input on the very truthful letter of Mr. Bill Tuttle of Cleveland, Ohio? He hit the nail on the head!

The United States is the greatest country in this world with the largest mint, the best talented engravers and designers, yet we fail to realize that many, many people and a load of collectors do not want another small “junk dollar” coin that will again fill our vaults for many years to come, unused. The latest looks like an unfinished design, very poor!

Where is the Citizens Commission on Coinage with their input to the Treasury? If there was competition in the world, it would certainly win two awards: pure ugly in design and a useless coin of the realm that the majority of us will never circulate. Stop the Innovation dollar now, and save us taxpayers a ton of dollars!

Dominic J. Valentino Philadelphia, Pa.

  Letter offers humor

Thanks for printing [the letter of] Dan Bubalo from Brainerd, Minn. (Mar. 5 issue of Numismatic News). I hope everyone saw the humor in your letter.

Gary Wernersbach Zimmerman, Minn.

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