Another Blizzard team has unionized.
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Forbes
43 minutes ago
- Forbes
‘TOAPLAN Arcade Collection Vol 1 & 2' Switch Review: Shmup Excellence
Back in the 80s and 90s, TOAPLAN was one of the top arcade shmup developers in Japan, and these two game collections certainly do justice to that. These two collections are split across 8 games apiece, with Volume 1 containing Flying Shark, Fire Shark, Tiger Heli, Twin Cobra, Out Zone, Fix Eight, Batsugun, and Dogyuun, and Volume 2 including Zero Wing, Hell Fire, Slap Fight, Grind Stormer, Truxton, Truxton 2, Vimana, and Twin Hawk. In addition to local co-op play on some of these games, you also get the different arcade variants released around the world, as well as the Japanese originals. The follow-on console ports of these arcade games are sadly not included, as this is meant as a purely arcade game collection. That aside, TOAPLAN's history was a bumpy one, but it birthed multiple game studios after its closure, most notably that of Cave. This is noteworthy, as much of the 'bullet hell' debauchery Cave became known for is seen in many of these earlier games, which makes this collection fascinating in a historical sense. The other two major additions here are Hellfire and Zero Wing. While the latter is known for its legendarily terrible English localization, both of these were highly innovative horizontal scrolling shmups for their time. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder Hellfire afforded various ways for your ship to fire its ordinance, something that later games like Radiant Silvergun utilized. However, for its time, it was quite a shocking evolution. Zero Wing also had some fascinating elements, namely the tractor beam you could use to grapple enemies to the front of your ship and use as a shield. Again, this was later adopted as a major feature in games like G-Darius. The other great thing about these classic TOAPLAN shmups was that they just looked gorgeous and paved the way for some of the prettiest 2D pixel art games ever created. So this collection has a lot to offer to people, not only those new to shmups, but also veterans who miss playing some of the classics of the genre. As for various quality of life features, you have a rewind option and save states as well as a lot of other customization options, and all the games run very smoothly on the Switch. Overall, TOAPLAN Arcade Collection Vol 1 & 2 covers the heyday of TOAPLAN's arcade shmup output. It's also a comprehensive collection, including the international variants for each of these classic arcade games. Although I suspect Zero Wing's appalling localization will still be a draw for some of the old school fans. TOAPLAN Arcade Collection Vol 1 & Vol 2 Platform: Switch (Reviewed), PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S Developer: Bitwave Games Publisher: Clear River Games Released: 14th August 2025 Price: $34.99 (Each) Score: 8/10 Disclosure: Clear River Games sent me copies of these games for the purposes of this review. Follow me on X, Facebook and YouTube. I also manage Mecha Damashii and am currently featured in the Giant Robots exhibition currently touring Japan.
CNN
2 hours ago
- CNN
Donald Trump celebrates pantheon Trump-approved Kennedy Center honorees
Donald Trump People in entertainment MusicFacebookTweetLink Follow Everyone likes to share their taste. Donald Trump is just like us, except he also has tanks. On Wednesday, the president returned to the Kennedy Center to make announcements about this year's honorees, showing off his vision for the arts institution that would fulfill the goal he promised earlier this year: to 'reflect the brightest STARS on its stage from all across our Nation.' Trump is eager to leave his imprint on America not just through participating in legislation and budgeting but by changing what culture we recognize and celebrate and teach, across American museums, universities and beyond. For colleges, he is brokering deals where he promises to withhold funding until the schools pay the government for various misdeeds he says they have committed, thereby earning a clean slate for some period of time. For DC, he brought in the FBI, military and tanks. For the Kennedy Center, it was even easier: he simply appointed a board that would name him as chairman. 'It's going to be a big evening,' Trump said, about the upcoming Kennedy Center awards evening. 'I've been asked to host,' he said, adding that he'd declined, but that the board had insisted. 'Next year we'll honor Trump.' His 'STARS' turned out to be: George Strait, the record-setting country recording artist. Also, Michael Crawford, 'one of the greatest talents I've ever actually seen,' Trump said. He waxed rapturous about Crawford's roles in the theater, most notably in 'The Phantom of the Opera.' Trump gave a big lead up to an 'action movie icon and a friend of mine, a very unique man,' Trump said. That was Sylvester Stallone. 'He was very honored to be honored.' Gloria Gaynor, singer of the great American gay anthem 'I Will Survive,' also made the list — 'an unbelievable song,' Trump said. 'One of those few that get better every time you hear it.' Ivana Trump agreed — this was the song, she wrote in her memoir, 'Raising Trump,' that she listened to in court with headphones during her divorce trial from Trump. Also making the list: the legendary makeup-forward rock band KISS. The president's love of culture has always been deep if narrow and has often turned to disco. A Spotify playlist of his 2020 campaign presidential rally songs brings together artists as diverse yet clustered together as Elton John, the Village People and Bachman-Turner Overdrive. That playlist also includes the Rolling Stones, who are among the many artists who have objected to Trump's endorsement of or use of their music. Trump clearly adores the song 'Macho Man' and the brassiest of show tunes. This is the president who once allegedly had a fellow around to play him the song 'Memory' from Cats whenever he was too upset. The experience of seeing 'Cats' is what Trump recalled, with great passion, in a meeting with Kennedy Center trustees in March, during which he pledged to bring Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals back to our nation's capital. One funny thing about 'Memory,' that show's most famous song, is that it's famous because of Betty Buckley's performance, which Trump says he remembers with great detail. Buckley herself says she built that performance from following around women who were homeless. In doing so, she had a realization. She explained to the New Yorker: 'I began to follow homeless people—women my age, women who were like me—trying literally to interpret them. I was playing it pathetically—but what I saw instead on the streets were women really trying to hold on to their dignity, so their self-presentation was all dignity and grace.' After announcing the honorees, the president offered some thoughts of his own about homeless people. As part of his plan to make Washington 'beautiful'—now that he has taken over the city's police department and dispatched federal officers and the National Guard — Trump said, 'We're going to have to remove the tents and the people that are living in our parks.' 'They're saying 'he's a dictator,'' Trump said of critics of his current approach to governance. 'Instead of saying 'he's a dictator,' they should say 'We're going to join him.'' The president promised more intervention in cities beyond D.C., including Los Angeles, Chicago and New York: 'Our whole country is going to be so different.' 'I don't want to call a national emergency,' he said, 'but if I have to I will.'
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Felicity Expands Global Footprint with Singapore Office
Invests $1 Million To Build A Strategic Team Globally To Accelerate Growth BANGALORE, India, Aug. 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Felicity, an AI enabled game-tech company known globally for publishing high performing gaming titles, recently announced its expansion to Singapore with Felicity Labs Pte. Ltd. The company will focus on upcoming acquisitions and operations in the region with an aim to target 2X growth by March 2026. With the Singapore entity established as its new Southeast Asia (SEA) headquarters, Felicity is poised to double its scale in the region through expanded studio partnerships and targeted growth initiatives. The new entity will play a pivotal role in increasing the regional user base to over 2 million, with a strategic focus on high-growth markets such as Vietnam and Thailand. This regional structure strengthens Felicity's access to one of the world's fastest-growing game development ecosystems, enabling deeper collaboration with developers and creators, having already established a strong gamer base in the US. The new move also positions the company to better serve a rapidly diversifying user base, supporting its broader goal of achieving 2x global growth. Felicity will also invest $1 million over the next 12–18 months towards building a robust leadership team, expanding its talent pool, and deepening market penetration across APAC. With presence in India, Türkiye, and now Singapore, the company aims to further acquire IP's, expand talent and player base in new geographies with senior strategic leads focused on product innovation and cross-border partnerships, as well as the formation of a regional developer network. Felicity has successfully raised a total of $3.7 million across two funding rounds, marking a strong start to its global journey. The company secured $700K in its pre-seed round and recently closed a $3M seed round led by 3one4 Capital, MIXI Global, and T-Accelerate Capital. Says Anurag Choudhary, Founder & CEO of Felicity, "APAC is home to 1.5 billion gamers and a $70B market becoming one of the fastest growing regions globally and we see this as a pivotal opportunity to build the future of gaming in the region. This expansion with Singapore, will strengthen our ability to engage with local talent, partners, and communities in a region that has immense potential and is at the forefront of gaming innovation." View original content: SOURCE Felicity
