T he Dance, Dance Revolution series, which challenges energetic dancers to tap their toes on a dance mat to the beat of popular music, has been solid gold for Konami. Numerous DDR titles exist and a new one with a different array of tunes seems to come out every few months.
Newest on the scene is Hottest Party, the first DDR game to boogie onto the Nintendo Wii's virtual dance floor. Unlike other versions of the game, the Wii waltz requires players to move their hands as well as their feet to match the visual clues that pop up on the screen. But it doesn't add much to the experience because the Wii's motion-sensitive controllers are used to capture only basic left and right movements.
The single-player Groove Circuit mode plops a competitor in a series of discos where they must outperform computer dancers to advance. Workout mode encourages gamers to - horror of horrors - break a sweat by dancing until a certain number of calories are burned.
R acing games typically fall in three camps - arcade, simulation and those like the Project Gotham series that try to straddle the line between the two.
Unlike strict sims, which only reward speed, PG races typically encourage style points (called kudos). Sliding around a corner, for example, can pause the clock during a time trial. Kudos points can also be used to unlock more vehicles and tracks.
The most noticeable addition to PGR4 is motorcycles, which race side-by-side with cars and are tough to beat. Though initially a bit more difficult to control, the combination of instant acceleration and easy kudos from popping wheelies make them feel a bit overpowered, especially since they aren't as easy to send careening into a wall when they go buzzing by.
Also new are four beautifully rendered cities - St Petersburg, Quebec City, Shanghai and Macau. These cities feature more hills than the five locations returning from 2005's PGR3 - London, Las Vegas, Tokyo, New York and Germany's tricky Nurburgring track.
Weather - rain, sleet, snow - can affect traction, forcing a more cautious approach. Fog is particularly nasty when it obscures turns and other drivers. Graphically, there's not a slicker looking racing title. It's not just the fantastic cars - the meticulously crafted cities and adoring roadside fans are equally impressive.
Dungeons & Dragons fans speak in reverent tones when discussing the critically acclaimed role-playing titles Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights.
Mask of the Betrayer, an expansion pack for 2006's Neverwinter Nights 2, is more of the same, and that's a good thing. Instead of beginning the adventure as a combat dummy, players can start a new character at level 18 or import their high-level character from NWN 2.
The level cap has been increased to 30, meaning players will eventually have godlike powers at their disposal as they go toe-to-toe with an evil sect known as the Red Wizards of Thay. This is not a game for the uninitiated as the addition of numerous spells, feats, races and classes have the potential to bewilder anyone unaccustomed to the D&D rule set. Familiar annoyances remain, including the camera angle, which, despite new options, feels awkward. And the graphics, while often glorious, can be so blinding when spells start exploding it's hard to keep track of the action. The darker tone of "Betrayer" is realized through a new game mechanic - a spirit meter, which forces players to choose between suppressing a hunger for souls or feasting on them.
A compilation featuring the three-part Half-Life 2 canon, The Orange Box should be called The Orange Treasure Chest by first-person shooter fans.
Half-Life 2, released in 2004 and named Game of the Year by more than 30 publications, was far enough ahead of its time that it's still one of the better action games available. Also stuffed on the single disc is Episode One, a relatively short sequel; and, for the first time on the Xbox 360, Episode Two, an expansion pack as extensive as many stand-alone games. If that's not enough, The Orange Box also includes Portal, a mind-bending puzzle game that could double as an IQ test, and Team Fortress 2, an online multiplayer fragfest that is the addiction of thousands. For the uninitiated, the award-winning series pits crowbar-wielding research scientist Gordon Freeman against a race of beings from another dimension that has enslaved humanity.- NY Times news service
As mega K-pop group BTS returns to the stage after a hiatus of more than three years, one major market is conspicuously missing from its 12-month world tour: China. The omission of one of the group’s biggest fan bases comes as no surprise. In fact, just the opposite would have been huge news. China has blocked most South Korean entertainment since 2016 under an unofficial ban that also restricts movies and the country’s popular TV dramas. For some Chinese, that means flying to Seoul to see their favorite groups perform — as many were expected to do for three shows opening
A recent report from the Environmental Management Administration of the Ministry of Environment highlights a perennial problem: illegal dumping of construction waste. In Taoyuan’s Yangmei District (楊梅) and Hsinchu’s Longtan District (龍潭) criminals leased 10,000 square meters of farmland, saying they were going to engage in horticulture. They then accepted between 40,000 and 50,000 cubic meters of construction waste from sites in northern Taiwan, charging less than the going rate for disposal, and dumped the waste concrete, tile, metal and glass onto the leased land. Taoyuan District prosecutors charged 33 individuals from seven companies with numerous violations of the law. This
Taiwan’s semiconductor industry consumes electricity at rates that would strain most national grids. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) alone accounted for more than 9 percent, or 2,590 megawatts (MW), of the nation’s power demand last year. The factories that produce chips for the world’s phones and servers run around the clock. They cannot tolerate blackouts. Yet Taiwan imports 97 percent of its energy, with liquefied natural gas reserves measured in days. Underground, Taiwan has options. Studies from National Taiwan University estimate recoverable geothermal resources at more than 33,000 MW. Current installed capacity stands below 10 MW. OBSTACLES Despite Taiwan’s significant geothermal potential, the
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chair Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) returned from her trip to meet People’s Republic of China (PRC) dictator Xi Jinping (習近平) bearing “a gift” for the people of Taiwan: 10 measures the PRC proposed to “facilitate the peaceful development of cross-strait relations.” “China on Sunday unveiled 10 new incentive measures for Taiwan,” wrote Reuters, wrongly. The PRC’s longstanding habit with Taiwan relations is to repackage already extant or once-existing policies and declare that they are “new.” The list forwarded by Cheng reflects that practice. NEW MEASURES? Note the first item: establishing regular communication mechanisms between the Chinese Communist Party
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