I have so many things I want to say about this subject, but I know quite a few people who stream. I guess I will just say nothing...



See more: Video Fames

Koei Tecmo announced that global sales, physical and retail, have surpassed a total of a million in latest milestone. To celebrate, they’re giving away a “Golden Nioh Armor” for the players.

Read Nioh Surpasses 1 Million In Global Sales, Celebrates With “Golden Nioh Armor” on Siliconera!

Horizon Zero Dawn, Nioh, and more Triple-A console titles are getting a fairly large $25 eGift Card bonus when you buy them through Dell.

Read Horizon Zero Dawn, Nioh Gets $25 Bonus at Dell on Siliconera!

My youngest daughter is really into Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo for her Nintendo 2DS. Technically she just owns the regular copy of Animal Crossing: New Leaf, but with the update they are the same game... I think. My oldest lost her copy of New Leaf and bought a new copy with Welcome amiibo pre-installed. I honestly doubt there is any difference. Never played either version, so I wouldn't know.



See more: The Mayor’s Back in Town

These t-shirts were sold at 45's rally. pic.twitter.com/5aa2kZHym4

— PlatoLivestoResist (@INTPNews) February 19, 2017

(more…)

by Ned Lannamann

Did you all see the thing on the TV today? Yeah. That. It was confusing, bizarre, surreal, and totally disconnected from truth, logic, science, and human values.

Here's a thing that was on TV last night, and it's all of those things, too, but in a GOOD way! Bob Odenkirk went on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and this weird bit of comic brilliance ensued. I promise, it's just the sort of ridiculous thing you need right now.

This plays like a lost Mr. Show sketch, and that's just about the highest praise I can give anything.

Odenkirk's new movie Girlfriend's Day just went up this week on Netflix, and his excellent show Better Call Saul—which still astonishes me how good it is—kicks off the third season on AMC on April 10. Meanwhile, Colbert has recently overtaken Jimmy Fallon in the ratings, which is good news for Colbert, and bad news if you like twerps in suits lobbing softball questions to presidential psychopaths then amiably mussing up their hair.

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by Elinor Jones

ARE YOU A PUSSY? NO! FIST FIGHT TIME. FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! PUNCH! FIGHT! NO PUSSIES ALLOWED. OKAY? LET’S FUCK SOME SHIT UP!

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL! TEACHER CHARLIE DAY = PUSSY. OKAY? WHITE GUY. TWEED. TEACHER ICE CUBE = MAD. WHAT?! YES. STUDENT PRANKS. MAYBE FRIENDS? PRINCIPAL IS ANGRY AND INEFFECTIVE. SWEAR WORDS. LOUD NOISES. PUNCHY PUNCHY, BITCHES!

New Comic: The Dickballs’ Advocate

Between an impressive cosplay scene and massive fan art community, few outside of Guerrilla Games’ could imagine the instant popularity of Horizon Zero Dawn‘s heroine straight out of the gate.

Aloy’s rise has been incredible to observe, given that for most of the world she didn’t even exist until June 2015. It’s a testament to her excellent design (something Horizon Zero Dawn is lavished with on a whole) — but like many iconic characters, there’s a distinct feeling that Aloy wasn’t so much created as she was discovered.

“In the initial concept art there was this young hunter with red hair,” says John Gonzales, Lead Narrative Designer. “And in one particular image she’s seated on a hillside looking out at this valley which has these ancient ruins… it seemed like she stepped out of the concept art and said ‘I’m going to be the lead character in this game'”.

Laying the Foundation of an Icon

Integration between character, narrative, and gameplay is something vital to any story driven title. But Guerrilla didn’t just have the creative muses pushing the charismatic hunter to the fore — it also had a valuable and fundamental game design trick up its sleeve: the three pillars of what Horizon is about.

“Aloy was the first,” explains Mathijs de Jonge, Game Director. “Then she had to contrast against the other two: beautiful, lush nature, and the machines. It was really important to make the whole thing feel coherent and deliver a unique experience to the player.

“At the beginning of the project we didn’t exactly know what the rules of the world would be, so between these pillars, Aloy had to be a very agile and fluid character, and the combat mechanics and stealth system had to be tight.”

Giving Voice

So, with the environment and scenario set, and Aloy’s visual presence emerging, there was another vital aspect in crafting the heroine’s personality — her voice. Enter BAFTA and Emmy nominated actress Ashly Burch. “We were especially fortunate to find Ashly,” says John. “Her voice transmits the three qualities we needed for Aloy.

“First is her incredible toughness and grit, that feeling of someone of substance and someone you wouldn’t want to mess with. Then there’s an intelligence and articulate wit that’s realized in Ashly’s voice. And finally there’s an underlying vulnerability and woundedness based on Aloy’s experiences growing up as an outcast, being out in the wild.

“Aloy is somebody who couldn’t help but dream of being accepted and belonging to a community, but at the same time hating that same community for the treatment she’s experienced — there’s that conflict in herself about wanting to belong. And those are complexities that we as writers tried hard to understand, and to write it in subtle ways — but it wouldn’t work if we didn’t find an actress who could pull that off.”

Character and Consequence

Of course, even with all of these important elements, there’s still one part which is vital to forging Aloy’s steely personality — you. The narrative driven flashpoints let you define Aloy by choosing her reaction to particular events. Essentially, you’re emoting through her, which can affect certain elements by the end of the game. So, choose wisely…

One of the first flashpoints is deciding how to react to Bast, a young boy who injuries Aloy with a rock during her formative years as an outcast. You can decide whether to retaliate with your own stone, discard your primitive missile, or disarm Bast from throwing another rock.

And although Guerrilla has noted that most people seem to go for the last option, the team was not so quick to turn the other cheek.

“When it came to Bast, the thing which came most naturally to me was to whip the rock back at his head,” laughs John.

Managing Director, Hermen Hulst, agrees: “I’ve tried all the choices Aloy has to make through the game, but I admit I disliked the young Bast so much that I was actually harsh on him!” he chuckles. “I accepted the consequences of my actions!”

While not the main antagonist of the story, there’s clearly an important role for Bast which will be revealed as you play. And appropriately, just as Aloy is immediately likeable, Bast’s nasty qualities help create a classic contrast to heighten her charm, as noted by Art Director Jan-Bart van Beek: “When my girlfriend played that part of the game she immediately said that Bast was like Malfoy from the Harry Potter books,” he laughs. “I didn’t realize, but then said that I can kinda see that! There’s something instantly dislikeable about him.”

A Tribe Called Aloy

Regardless of how you define Aloy against characters like Bast, it’s clear that she will remain one of the main things most players will take away from Horizon Zero Dawn. Which is a remarkable achievement for a new property, and something Guerrilla is especially proud of.

“We focused really hard on creating the best possible character we could,” says John. “We never thought that it would be a selling point that we’re having a female protagonist, we thought it would be more a selling point that you’re being the best possible person and character to play as in this world. People who have played the game so far seem to really enjoy being Aloy.”

And being Aloy is definitely something people want to be, as proved by the growing number of them attending conventions, eagerly awaiting the game’s launch and exploring Guerrilla Games’ studio, waving and chatting to the team who created her.

“Things like the cosplayers gives us this feeling that Aloy is a character that people really want to become,” smiles John. “There’s something about her that they find in terms of visual design, abilities, and story that they want to immerse themselves in. That’s really exciting and inspiring.”

New Comic: Astrometer

PlayStation Plus 1 year membership is on sale for 25 percent off at Groupon for a limited time to $44.99.

Read PlayStation Plus 1 Year Limited Time 25% off at Groupon on Siliconera!

Brick Burger in Pasig, Philippines sells hamburgers on buns molded to look like giant (non-interlocking) (alas) 2X2 Lego bricks, in multiple colors. (more…)

Today, Team Ninja’s glorious action epic Nioh lands on PS4. Fans of Bloodborne and Ninja Gaiden should take note: this is a demanding, tense action-RPG that pits you against hordes of samurai, assassins, and demonic Yokai.

In honor of the game’s launch today, the PlayStation team amassed some useful tips that should help you hit the ground running. Read on to learn more, and if you’ve picked up a copy of the game, offer your own tips in the comments below!

• Embrace death. You will die. It’s okay. It happens to everyone. If you find yourself hitting a wall, try exploring a different area. Eventually you should be able to level up, grow stronger, and push onward.
• Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Engaging multiple enemies is possible, but risky. But if you find yourself dying in the same area to multiple opponents, try luring them apart one at a time with rocks or arrows.
• Stealth can pay off. You’ll encounter many enemies on patrol routes in Nioh. With caution and a little planning, you may be able to avoid unnecessary fighting.
• Master stance switching. All weapons have three stances: high, medium, and low. Certain stances can be more valuable at different points in battle. For example, try using a powerful high stance attack to land an opening blow, then switching to faster mid- or low-stance attacks to keep your enemy off-balance.
• Alter your fighting stance to suit the encounter. Wind-up times take longer and strike harder in a high stance. If you find yourself battling a quick enemy, a low or mid stance will make these encounters more favorable.
• Experiment with different weapons. Once you find a weapon you like, it’s logical to invest in it. But don’t neglect the vast arsenal at your disposal, especially in your quick-swap slot. Different weapons are better suited to different situations, depending on the enemy and environment.
• The katana is a good beginner’s choice. Team Ninja recommends starting with the katana, which offers a good balance between offense and defense. To unlock the katana’s true potential, practice smoothly changing stances while attacking.

• Don’t forget to lock on. In battle, it’s usually smart to lock onto your target using R3. This has the added benefit of revealing your enemy’s health and Ki gauge, useful information that can affect your strategy.
• Learn to evade. Tap the X button to evade enemy attacks. This is particularly important if you see a powerful wind-up attack coming; even if you block it, your Ki gauge will be devastated.
• Explore the Guardian Spirits. Guardian Spirits are familiars that can unlock new benefits or assist your battles in different ways. They also enable a Living Weapon, a powerful attack that you can enable by pressing Triangle and Circle when the meter in the upper-left hand corner flashes.
• Block attacks! Blocking can be vital to your survival — hold L1 to defend against incoming attacks. But be warned: you’ll regenerate Ki more slowly while defending, and each blocked attack will reduce your Ki.
• Be fluid with your movement. Dodging in aggressively and striking, then dodging away is an excellent technique. Be aware of your surroundings and don’t be afraid to take your time in larger encounters.
• Master the Ki Pulse. Ki is a resource that fuels your attacks, dodges, and evasive maneuvers, but it’s also the secret to the essential Ki Pulse technique, vital for fighting Yokai. There are two main cues to help you find your Ki Pulse timing: your Ki bar, and the blue orbs that surround William. Look for the depleted section of the Ki Bar to fill with blue, then tap R1 to trigger the Ki Pulse. Or, look for the blue Ki around you to reach its maximum point. Play around with your combos to find the timing that works best for you — you’ll thank us later.
• How to fight Yokai. Yokai, Nioh’s dangerous demonic foes, emit an aura called “Yokai Realm” that slows down your Ki regeneration and makes you more vulnerable to incoming attacks. Activate a Ki Pulse while inside the aura to purify yourself, then send your foe hurling back to the underworld.
• Grappling is good. When your enemy’s Ki is depleted, your targeting reticle will turn red. Press Triangle to initiate a powerful grapple that inflicts significant damage.
• In long-range combat, aim for the head. If you haven’t alerted a distant group of enemies, take your time and get that crucial opening headshot using your projectile weapon. If the blow knocks off the helmet of an enemy, try to re-acquire the shot and fire again for massive damage.

• Secrets of the Spirit Stones. Spirit Stones do more than just provide you with more Amrita (aka currency). They also charge up your Guardian Spirit. Don’t go head to head against those bosses alone!
• Respect the environment. The world of Nioh is filled with death, but it is also filled with opportunity. Pay attention to the various opportunities that lie within the many paths before you. Some of them may aid your journey in ways which are not immediately revealed.
• Armored soldiers are dangerous but rewarding. First-time players would do well to avoid the deadly armored soldiers, most of which are stationed off the beaten path. Once you master Nioh’s play style, try taking them on for a chance to earn high-performance equipment and unlock shortcuts.
• Beware the Revenants. The spirits of those who fell before you can drop some excellent rewards: Ochoko cups for summoning in other players in online play, and in some cases high-level purple gear. But be cautious: these optional encounters tend to be extremely difficult.

• Pray for Elixirs. Elixirs replenish some of your health. If you’re headed for a boss fight and completely out, run back to the nearest shrine and you’ll automatically gain a free Elixir! However, you’ll also resurrect every defeated enemy. With a little luck, you’ll make it back to the boss in one piece…
• Spirit is an important stat, even for strength-based characters. Spirit affects your overall magic power, but it also affects your spirit bond with your Guardian as well as extends the power of your Living Weapon. The passive stat boosts that accompany a greater bond with your Guardian are extremely useful — take advantage of it!
• Help the Kodama to gain an edge. Kodama are small, cute NPCs. If you manage to guide them back to a nearby shrine, they’ll offer you a powerful blessing that will increase the drop rates of various items for a time. These blessings can be lifesavers during some missions, so use them situationally and often.
• It can pay to sacrifice a good weapon to the Soul Forge. Consuming a higher attack-value weapon in the Soul Forge to upgrade a lower strength weapon with great prefixes can be extremely helpful, especially when dealing with elemental enemies.
• Sometimes it pays to take a break. It happens to all of us: during a tough encounter, frustration takes hold and caution gives way to reckless tactics. Trying another area or simply taking a break can help you see the encounter from another perspective.

A wild hog, known to local Forest Grove, Oregon law enforcement as "Piggy Smalls" has been apprehended.

Via Oregon Live:

On Friday, the Forest Grove Police Department announced on Facebook they had finally apprehended a troublesome potbelly pig.

According to the post, the pig, known as "Piggy Smalls" (alias "Notorious") had "allegedly been harassing residents in the Hawthorne neighborhood of Forest Grove over the last several months."

He was ultimately captured at a little before 1 p.m. "by a joint task force of the FGPD Code Enforcement Officer and a representative of Home Sweet Home Properties."

Fire Emblem Heroes offers mobile Marth today ⊟

The free-to-play mobile strategy game is out on both iOS and Android today, and looks very cute.

Fight battles customized for touch screens and on-the-go gameplay. Summon characters from across the Fire Emblem universe. Develop your Heroes’ skills and take them to new heights.

With Animal Crossing recently delayed, you might have some time to check this out!

PREORDER FE Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, FE Warriors for Switch/New 3DS

It's been nearly a year since a U.S. federal judge originally ordered Apple to help the FBI hack into an iPhone owned by Syed Farook, one of the shooters in the December 2015 attacks in San Bernardino. As we learned in the months after the initial court order -- which Apple continually opposed -- the FBI enlisted the help of Israeli mobile software developer Cellebrite to open up the iPhone 5c in question.

Now a hacker has reportedly stolen and publicly released a cache of Cellebrite's most sensitive data, including its tools used to hack into older iPhones, as well as Android and BlackBerry smartphones (via Motherboard). Techniques that the firm uses to open "newer iPhones" were not included in the public posting, but it's also not clear exactly which models of iPhone are considered "older." Farook's iPhone 5c, which launched in 2013, is likely in that category.


Apple's main stance against the court order last year was its fear that creating such an operating system that bypassed the iPhone's basic security features -- essentially creating a "master key" for all iOS devices -- would set a "dangerous precedent" for the future of encryption and security. The bypass could also potentially make its way into the public and affect hundreds of millions of Apple customers, with Apple CEO Tim Cook claiming that the software the FBI wanted to use to force open Farook's iPhone was "the equivalent of cancer."

As pointed out by Motherboard, the newly leaked tools "demonstrate that those worries were justified." According to the hacker in question who shared Cellebrite's tools on Pastebin, the purpose behind the leak was to highlight the importance of the inevitability that any brute force tools aimed at bypassing encryption software "will make it out" into the public.

"The debate around backdoors is not going to go away, rather, its is almost certainly going to get more intense as we lurch toward a more authoritarian society," the hacker told Motherboard in an online chat.

"It's important to demonstrate that when you create these tools, they will make it out. History should make that clear," they continued.

Back in January the same hacker stole 900GB of sensitive Cellebrite data, but according to a Cellebrite spokesperson, only its customers' "basic contact information" had been put at risk. Delving into the cache of information, it was proven that the breach had uncovered much more detailed "customer information, databases, and a vast amount of technical data regarding Cellebrite's products."

In a README file posted alongside the more recent data dump on Pastebin, the hacker in question left a message directly addressing the FBI: "@FBI Be careful in what you wish for."

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.


Discuss this article in our forums

40-year-old Andrew Wardle was born without a penis, but after 100 surgeries he now has one. Now, comes a two-week waiting period during which he will have a persistent erection. After that, his doctors will grant him permission to have sex with his girlfriend.

From Vice:

Wardle's new penis was created using skin, muscle, and nerve grafts from his arms and fitted with cylinders that fill with fluid when pumped from a small sac installed in his ball sac, which is how he'll get an erection. However, doctors will have to go in and essentially turn the rig on, a process that will leave Wardle in the hospital for three days and give him an boner that will last two long weeks.

On Wednesday, Wardle told the hosts of British television show This Morning that he'll spend those two weeks inside so as not to show the world the rocket that will be in his pocket. Speaking of which, he also told the hosts he did not get to select the size of his new member, which seems like a major oversight in the way bionic phalluses are constructed.

Once the robo-cock is switched on and his two-week erection dies down, Wardle will be able to have sex with his girlfriend, Fedra Fabian, for the first time. She revealed on the show that the two had been dating for nine months before she found out about his condition and she read about it in the newspaper. "I didn't know how to react to it," she said.

Dragon Quest VIII looks and runs well on the Nintendo 3DS, with various adjustments that make a classic more convenient.

Read Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King Has Aged Well on Siliconera!

(source)

All Dark Souls III will have the opportunity to explore The Ringed City, the last add-on, on March 28, 2017. Europe and Japan will be getting a game of the year edition, called Dark Souls III: The Fire Fades, in April.

Read Dark Souls III’s The Ringed City Opens March 28, Fire Fades April 21 on Siliconera!

I know a lot of people, who are less than tech-savvy, that would believe this comic is true.



See more: IT Magic

Fire Emblem Warriors will come to the New Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Switch in fall 2017. A new preview trailer shows Chrom cutting through enemies.

Read Fire Emblem Warriors Heading To Nintendo Switch And New Nintendo 3DS on Siliconera!

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, a remake of Fire Emblem Gaiden, is headed to the Nintendo 3DS.

Read Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows Of Valentia Heading To Nintendo 3DS on Siliconera!

Nintendo announced Fire Emblem Heroes, the series' first smartphone game features a bunch of familiar faces and elements, made to fit on the mobile screen.

Read Fire Emblem Heroes Announced For Smartphone, Android Version Launches February 2 on Siliconera!

The next installment in the extraordinary lecture/reading series features Hugo-winning environmentalist author Kim Stanley Robinson and prolific historical novelist Cecelia Holland: $10 donation at the door, no one turned away for lack of funds. (Images: AllyUnion, CC-BY-SA; Other Change of Hobbit)

We’re now only three weeks away from releasing Nioh on PS4 and we can’t wait to get it into your hands. We hope you’ve all been steeling yourself for the tough battles ahead!

In case you’ve missed it, Nioh is an intricate action RPG built around deep combat. Inspired by Japanese history and legendary samurai, Nioh will see you step into the shoes of our protagonist William as he faces off against other warriors and supernatural creatures in a gruelling quest set in 16th century Japan.

You’ll need real mettle and resolve to push through Nioh’s gruelling encounters, but fear not — to prepare you for the launch on February 7, we’ve arranged one last chance for you to get some practice in.

The Last Chance Trial will be running this weekend, January 21 and 22, giving you a chance to sample an expanded version of what we showed at PlayStation Experience in December. Download the trial from PlayStation Store today so you can pre-load and get started as soon as the Last Chance Trial activates on January 21.

For those who have the skill to make it through the Last Chance Trial, a number of extra rewards for the final game await you. Beating the Main Mission will net you the Ogress Headgear, whereas completing the Twilight Mission will give you a last chance to secure the Mark of the Conqueror and Mark of the Strong from last year’s Alpha and Beta.

To access the Ogress Headgear in the final game, you will need to keep your save data from the Last Chance Trial so don’t delete it until launch! For Mark of the Conqueror and Mark of the Strong, you will be prompted to download DLC that you’ll also need to keep on your PS4 until launch. In-game, visit shrines to receive these “Boons” and reap the rewards!

Best of luck, warriors!

The book parodies the Worlds of Power series of video game novels, having a young heroine get sucked into an NES-era version of Dark Souls.

Read Souls Of Darkness Is A Worlds Of Power Book About Dark Souls on Siliconera!