Each has their own voice, and each has their own secrets. The dialogue is all well-written, funny, and sincere: from Alex’s tentative friendship with her new step-brother Jonas to her semi-awkward non-relationship with party member Nona, the characters all feel genuine. Most of the time while you’re exploring, however, you’ll be conversing with Alex’s friends. ![]() If you decide to backtrack and scour the island for hidden clues about its history (which the game entices you to do as you near its conclusion), you’ll sometimes be walking without any talking, which can be a bit tedious. There’s no particular pleasure or displeasure in traversal–Alex’s walking speed is a trifle slow for my tastes, which I understand is to allow for conversation while you’re walking–but Edwards Island is a well-crafted, haunting joy to explore. In fact, with the exception of the beach near the start of the game, you can never really go “off the path.” The game’s thrust is entirely linear, and it’s always clear where you’re meant to go next. There aren’t really “puzzles,” in the traditional adventure game sense, and there’s no inventory besides your trusty radio, which you can pull out at any time and dial as you walk (and talk, even). Oxenfree is simple to play, as traversal and conversation form 90% of the game’s operation (a snide individual might brand it a “walking and talking simulator”). I’m thinking about playing it again after this review goes up. I went to bed thinking about it, and I woke up thinking about it, not just because I had to review it but because I had a hard time thinking of anything else. It didn’t occur to me until after I’d finished the game that it binds you to a single save file because I felt compelled to finish the entire adventure in one feverish four-hour stretch. I don’t want to reveal the ways in which the spookiness unfolds, because Oxenfree is a mystery and a thriller and much of the joy is in discovering the many secrets of the island, as well as hanging out with the game’s characters, all of whom are wonderfully three-dimensional. ![]() The only tools that Alex and company have for investigating the distressing powers at play on Edwards Island are their wits and a pocket radio. Also, the island is a hotbed of paranormal phenomena. ![]() Oxenfree is the first outing from new studio Night School, and it tells the story of teenaged Alex and her friends, who take the last ferry out to an island in the Pacific Northwest for a night of revelry only to discover that nobody has showed up. Sometimes all I would hear would be sounds–big, deep, Hollywood-special-effects-post-production noises, like I’d accidentally dialed into some cosmic frequency and I could hear the colossal sound of the planets grinding away in their orbits. ![]() But sometimes, when the theater showed horror double-features in the hottest days of summer, I’d tune into the station and just hear screams. Sometimes I’d get a few moments of swelling, orchestral score. Whenever I drove by the theater at night, I’d always tune my dial in to that frequency to catch snippets of audio from whatever was playing on the screen, which was situated deep in the woods, out of view. It didn’t have car-side speakers–you had to tune your car’s radio to a short-range FM station. When I was growing up in rural Ohio, there was a drive-in movie theater some ten minutes from my house.
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![]() China invited US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to visit Beijing this month, and he was scheduled to meet Xi – whose normal practice is to meet only heads of government. US intelligence sources tell me there has been a clear realisation in Beijing that it needs to build bridges. ![]() More significantly, China has been making modest efforts to try to reset relations with the US. We’ve seen that in its attitude to Australia, which has at the very least toned down. So, the spy balloon fiasco has come at a time when the Chinese leadership has realised it’s foreign policy has gone off-piste and that it needs a reset. This has huge implications, not just for day-to-day technological production in China, but for China’s capacity to keep up with the US, Japan and Europe in developing new technologies, particularly in the field of artificial intelligence. In the medium term, this could be a significant problem for China’s economy – although there will be a price to pay in the West for setting up alternative supply chains.Īdd to that producers of high-end chips such as the Dutch firm ASML have implemented a ban on supplies to China, and American allies such as Japan and Taiwan are diverting supplies away from China. Defining itself as a strategic ally of a rogue state like Putin’s Russia is a very uncomfortable place to be.Īdd to that the economy: countries around the world are trying to reduce their dependence on supply chains from China, and clearly this has implications for investment in China and economic growth. Three weeks later, Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.Ĭhinese Communist Party leaders have always argued that their foreign policy is based on the concept of non-interference in the internal affairs of another country, and Putin’s activities in Ukraine have done nothing but cause China embarrassment. Few will forget the absurd agreement between presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping in February last year that there were “no limits” to their partnership. European powers such as Britain and France are enthusiastically contributing to the US and its allies’ balance of power strategy in the Indo-Pacific. This has led to the evolution of the Quad, AUKUS and, most recently, the decision by Manila to allow US forces to return to the Philippines. The argument that the Indo-Pacific region needs a proper balance of power has strongly resonated not just throughout the region, but throughout the world.Įxtreme expressions of abuse and denigration towards China will, in the end, achieve nothing. It’s arrogance towards its neighbours in the South China Sea, it’s disregard for Hong Kong’s constitution, the extreme wolf-warrior diplomacy, and the mishandling of the COVID-19 issue as well as bellicose threats towards Taiwan have rallied US allies to America’s side. It’s one thing to spy on another country – and all significant countries do a fair bit of that – but it’s another thing to be caught.įor a country which has a reputation for rational if undemocratic governance, China has made an extraordinary catalogue of foreign policy mistakes in recent years. It can also quite easily gather intelligence from agents on the ground in the US.Ī slow-moving surveillance balloon may have some advantages, not least that it can stay over a particular location for a relatively long time compared with a satellite, but the downside risks of using techniques such as surveillance balloons are clear. How could China have imagined the Americans wouldn’t detect a surveillance balloon and not only shoot it down but make it a political and diplomatic issue? APĪfter all, China has the second-largest number of satellites of any country on earth, and clearly uses some of them to monitor locations of interest in the US. ![]() What is the upside for China in taking such a reckless risk? Or, put another way, the incident has aroused huge antipathy towards China in the US and left those who want to promote coexistence looking for somewhere to hide. How could they have imagined the Americans wouldn’t detect a surveillance balloon and not only shoot it down but make a political and diplomatic issue over it? To send surveillance balloons over the United States at a height of 50,000 to 60,000 feet is just silly. Chinese foreign policy seems to lurch from one disaster to another. ![]() ![]() The ability to create a member of the Klingon Empire like a Gorn or an Orion becomes only available after reaching level 6 (of 50) as a member of the Federation. ![]() Now the current game date is 2409 and war rages in the Alpha Quadrant with the Federation fighting against the Klingons, an again-strong Dominion, the Borg and several other enemies.Īt the start of the game, the player creates a Federation character and can choose from nine different races including Trill, Andorian and Vulcan. In 2399 the band snaps and the Khitomer Accords, the sole reason for 106 years of peace, are broken. With the Romulans being crippled and even at the point of extinction, the Klingons seize the opportunity in 2382 and start conquering the Romulan sector, leading to a strained relationship with the Federation. The game takes place 30 years after the events in the movie Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) and builds upon the destruction of the Romulan homeworld Romulus portrayed at the beginning of Star Trek (2009). ROCKSMITH® 2014 EDITION – REMASTERED (Issue identified*)ĭRAGON QUEST BUILDERS™ (Issue identified*)ĭRAGON QUEST XI: Echoes of an Elusive AgeĮA SPORTS™ FIFA 17 Standard Edition (Issue identified*)Įarth Defense Force 4.Star Trek Online is a MMORPG set in the Star Trek universe. PlayStation®VR Worlds (Issue identified*)ĭevinity: Original Sin - Enhanced Editionĭigimon Story: Cyber Sleuth - Hacker's Memory NARUTO STORM 4 : Road to Boruto Expansion (Issue identified*)Ĭall of Duty®: Ghosts (Issue identified*)ĭARK SOULS™ II: Scholar of the First Sin (Issue identified*) NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: Ultimate Ninja STORM Trilogy (Issue identified*) NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: Ultimate Ninja STORM 4 (Issue identified*) We recommend that if you want to change back to a previous online ID, do so as soon as possible, because it may affect content, game progress, and functionality associated with your new online ID.Īssassin's Creed® IV Black Flag™ (Issue identified*)Ītelier Lydie & Suelle ~The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings~ Please be aware that changing back to a previous online ID may not fix all issues (for example, you may not recover all, or any, lost content, progress, and functionality). If you experience any issues, you can change back to a previous online ID without charge by following our "Resolve Online ID issues" guide below. You may have permanent game issues as a result of the online ID change that cannot be fixed with a revert back to your old online ID.Īfter changing your online ID, please check all your games immediately for data loss or disruption to gameplay. Your previous online ID(s) may remain visible to you and other players in some places. Parts of those games might not function properly, both online and offline. You may lose your progress within those games, including game saved data, leaderboard data, and progress toward trophies. You may lose access to content (including paid-for content) that you've acquired for those games, including content like add-ons and virtual currency. These games are also listed separately in the ‘Games with issue identified' list below. These games are identified on the Games List by (Issues Identified*). ![]() For some game titles, settings may be recovered if you sign out and then sign back in to the game. Certain game settings may be initialized to their default state (audio setting, controller setting, etc).Linking accounts again may restore the original linkage. User accounts on PlayStation may be unlinked from game accounts.For some game titles, the online ID will automatically update if you sign out and then sign back in to the game or when various gameplay activities are performed after sign-in. Previous online ID(s) may remain visible to you and other players, or the online ID is no longer visible in some areas in a game title (in-game rankings, leaderboards, etc).Games which have been tested and were found to have one or more of the following known issues which we did not consider critical to the gameplay experience but which you should review to consider how important they are to you: Throughput is very similar to bandwidth, in that it is a measurement of the amount of data that passes from one point to another within a certain amount of time. During certain times of peak traffic, you may experience slower speeds. ISP’s commonly advertise the best case scenario bandwidth when showing the speeds offered in their internet plans.įor example, if a provider lists a download speed of 25 Mbps, this figure is based on the full capacity (bandwidth) of the company’s network. You can think of bandwidth as the total capacity a given network has in terms of data. No currently operating consumer networks utilize this measurement. Faster connections are measured this way. The most common unit of measurement for modern internet connections. Only the slowest connections are measured this way. ![]() Transfer rates are commonly described using a bits-per-second measurement. This can be done through the internet, or locally, such as transferring photos between a flash drive and your computer’s local storage. Simply put, transfer rate refers to how quickly data is transferred between two or more devices. There are 1 billion bytes in a Gigabyte (GB). There are 1 million bytes in a Megabyte (MB). Since bits are such a small unit of measurement, it makes more sense to use bytes when discussing file sizes.įor example, there are 1,000 bytes in a single Kilobyte (KB). There are 1 billion bits in a Gigabit (Gb).Ī byte is a common unit of measurement for determining how large a particular piece of data is. There are 1 million bits in a Megabit (Mb). These are the ones and zeroes that make up binary code.įor reference, there are 1,000 bits in a single Kilobit (Kb). Speed Test Terms: How To Understand Your Results Bitsīits are foundational units of measurement for digital data. Streaming multiple TV shows or movies at the same time (especially 4K media) and downloading large files are both examples of activities that require higher download speeds than average. Almost all activities require a certain amount of download speed, so this is the main number you’ll want to pay attention to when deciding how much internet speed you need. Download Speedĭownload speed refers to how quickly your connection can retrieve data from a website or server online. Some do, however, including Skype and other video chat services, online gaming, and large cloud storage applications like Dropbox and Google Drive. In short, most activities online do not require high upload speeds. This number is often not the one heavily advertised by service providers online, and this is on purpose. Upload speed refers to how quickly your connection can send something (data, in this case) from your device to the wider internet. In order to better understand your internet speed test, it is vital to know the difference between upload speed and download speed. Understanding Your Internet Speed Test Results The speeds advertised by internet providers are based on the speed you get with a device wired directly to the router using an ethernet cable. Keep in mind that using WiFi tends to reduce performance. This will often solve the issue, but not always. If you test your connection multiple times and find that you aren’t getting what you’re paying for, we recommend reaching out to your ISP for help. Running our internet speed test is the best way to determine if your provider is actually holding up their end of the bargain. Then there’s the flipside you may be paying for speeds you’re not actually getting. ![]() Based on the information above, if you find that your internet speeds are higher than needed, we’d recommend reaching out to your ISP (Internet Service Provider) and switching to a lower-cost plan. You may be paying for more speed than you actually need, and these additional fees could be costing you month after month. ![]() For one, it could potentially save you some money. Of course, this is not something that is limited to Korea. In fact, they’ll probably talk more because you’re different. Here’s one clear example relating to physical appearance even if a woman doesn’t buy into Korea’s strict standards of “physically attractive,” she still has to attach a photo to job applications, in which case she might find herself rejected simply due to the fact that she’s not pretty enough, even though her qualifications might be equivalent (or superior) to other applicants’.Įven if you manage to remove yourself from the paradigm, and manage to live your life as you wish, people will still talk. The judgments of Korean society are particularly harsh, not only because they rely on such superficial and specific factors, but also because you can shrug off these expectations and still have them affect you. ![]() ![]() ![]() The song itself reminds me of Wetter’s song “ The Other Way,” which also lashes out at society’s expectations. Writer(s): Quintin Saffold, Erika Lockhart, Carl Mitchell, Samuel LindleyLyrics powered by don’t know whether this is a request or not! I finished translating it yesterday, but before I got a chance to upload it, a request came in! I’m mostly just glad that these translations are useful and I’m getting better at predicting what people will want. I′m callin' ya daddy, daddy Can you be my daddy, daddy I need a daddy, daddy Won′t you be my daddy, daddy Come and make it rain down on me Come and make it rain down on me Now come and kick it with the Twista Black Caddy, Mack Daddy with a hoe up in the back seat With the '97 pimp flow gotta feelin' when you smokin′ When I flip it to a track speed? Talkin′ about a beautiful figure astonishin' as Greek mythology Body be just like a girl in uh, what′s that movie? Never mind, let me enter your atmosphere As you enter my world and lemme touch that booty I can't believe that your momma that cold Her daughter got such an astonishin′ soul, you need a modelin' role Still a playa know you got it when you climbin′ from the bottom To the top of that pole 'cause you can pop and control Your fatty's so accurate when I′m smackin′ it It's makin′ me say what I gotta do to get with that? When it come to makin' it rain, I can get it wet When it come to cuttin′ the monkey, I can get it wet You gone see me to ya baby, you need a better man Here come the politics, I'ma be your weatherman ′Cause every time I'm lookin' up and I see more ass I′ma constantly see rain in the forecast This a way, that a way, I′m flickin' 5, 000 ones Or whatever you wanna call it It′s a celebration, you the champion, here's the fetti confetti Come on and get drunk with the money hauler You done been good but you can do better I done been wet but I can get wetter Come and make it rain down on me You done been good but you can do better I done been wet but I can get wetter Come and make it rain down on me But when I′m not for the feminine And everybody that perceive with the hatred I'ma teach them a lesson, I take shots of adrenaline ′Cause that's the way I receive immunization against the recession I got the muscle off my hustle and flow money An entrepreneur with ways to get more money So don't be trippin′ whenever you see me throw money Huh, it′s just a little bit of show money But if you want me to get it wet another ways Then I'ma have to beat it up the first time I play with you girl Touch your ears and your neck and play with your pearls Then I reach up in your pants and play with you pearl When I lay you down you ain′t gotta be frontin' or fakin′ On me baby 'cause I know it takes the right touch I ain′t stoppin' 'til you wet up the covers Because I gotta keep on fuckin′ ′til I see a lot of white stuff Now you got me excited I can't hold it I′m feelin' it comin′ I'm ′bout to let off an explosion Let it ride when I see you I'm makin' and shakin′ When I touch your body you catchin′ convulsions That's when I know I′m doin' what I′m supposed to You chose me, I chose you Don't think I can get it wet? I told you Come and let the Twist rain down on you You done been good but you can do better I done been wet but I can get wetter Come and make it rain down on me You done been good but you can do better I done been wet but I can get wetter Come and make it rain down on me I′m callin' ya daddy, daddy Can you be my daddy, daddy? I need a daddy, daddy Won't you be my daddy, daddy? Come and make it rain down on me Come and make it rain down on me |