Latest news with #Hiss
Boston Globe
11 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Today in History: May 31, the Tulsa Race Massacre begins
In 1889, over 2,200 people in Johnstown, Pa., died when the South Fork Dam collapsed, sending 20 million tons of water rushing through the town. Advertisement In 1921, a two-day massacre erupted in Tulsa, Okla., as white mobs began looting and burning the affluent Black district of Greenwood over reports a Black man had assaulted a white woman in an elevator. Though the exact number remains unknown, as many as 300 Black Tulsans were killed during the riot. In 1949, former State Department official and accused spy Alger Hiss went on trial in New York, charged with perjury. The trial ended with a hung jury, but Hiss was convicted in a second trial. In 1970, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck the Ancash region of Peru; the quake, combined with the landslide it triggered, killed an estimated 67,000 people. In 1977, the 800-mile-long Trans-Alaska oil pipeline was completed after three years of construction. In 2005, Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein confirmed a Vanity Fair magazine report naming former FBI official W. Mark Felt as the Watergate scandal informant previously known only as 'Deep Throat.' Advertisement In 2009, Millvina Dean, the last survivor of the 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic, died in Hampshire, England at 97. In 2014, Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, the only American soldier held prisoner in Afghanistan, was freed by the Taliban in exchange for five Afghan detainees from the US prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. (Bergdahl, who had gone missing in June 2009, later pleaded guilty to endangering his comrades by walking away from his post in Afghanistan. His sentence included a dishonorable discharge, a reduction in rank, and a fine, but no prison time.) In 2019, a longtime city employee opened fire in a municipal building in Virginia Beach, Va., killing 12 people on three floors before police shot and killed him. Officials said DeWayne Craddock had resigned by email hours before the shooting.
India.com
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- India.com
Meet actress who was known for her bold attitude, had a failed marriage, faced casting couch, heroes asked her to…, she is now…
Meet actress who was known for her bold attitude, had a failed marriage, faced casting couch, heroes asked her to…, she is now… In the glitzy and glamorous industry of showbiz, where people are obsessed with vanity, people do judge the book by its cover. Superficial appearance, boldness often grab the eyeballs of the audience and raise some celebrities to fame. One such star grabbed headlines not just for her films but also for her bold on-screen performance. Hailed as one of the hottest actresses of Bollywood, she has an unapologetic attitude and outspoken nature, which sometimes also landed her in many controversies. The person we are talking about is none other than Mallika Sherawat. She made her debut in the film industry with the film Jeena Sirf Merre Liye in the year 2002. However, the movie that rose her to fame was the film Khwahish and Murder . Soon her fearless performance made her a fan favourite, and she became a household name. Coming from a small village of Moth in Hisar, Mallika was born as Reema Lamba. Belonging to a conservative family, who weren't happy with Sherwat decision of coming to Bollywood, she proved them wrong them wrong and came a long way in her career as she even made her mark globally when she appeared alongside Jackie Chan in the film Myth (2005) and then in the Hollywood film Hiss in the year 2010. Besides getting the much needed attention in Bollywood, Maliaka's life hasn't been smooth sailing. In an interview, she openly revealed about facing harassment, casting couch, and being typecast. 'There were so many accusations and judgments on me. If you wear short skirts, kiss on screen, then you're a fallen woman with no morals. Men tend to take liberties with you. This happened with me too,' she shared, opening up about how male co-stars would try to take her liberty, misbehave with her, 'Why can't you be intimate with me? You can do it on screen, what's the problem in doing that with me in private?.' When she refused to give in to their demands, she was sidelined from the industry. Despite facing such challenges, Mallika hasn't shied away from holding her ground and speaking her truth. Being away from the limelight for years, she tried to make her comeback with Raaj Shaandilyaa's Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video, alongside Rajkummar Rao and Triptii Dimri, which was released on October 11, 2024. Speaking of her personal life, Sherawat married in 1997 in a hush-hush to a Delhi-based pilot, Karan Sing. She kept her marriage a secret to not hamper her Bollywood career. However, the wedding only lasted for a year. The Murder actress now lives a luxurious life in LA. Her tale speaks about courage, boldness, and determination and also shows that for setback, there is a bigger and larger comeback.
Forbes
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
As A Parent, I'm Excited To Play Remedy's FBC: Firebreak This Week
Father sits in home office with his six-month-old Photo by Jens Büttner/picture alliance via Getty ... More Images) This week, Remedy is hosting a closed technical test for FBC: Firebreak—their next release slated to come out on June 17th. Remedy has been upfront about the fact that Firebreak was made for parents, by parents, and is designed to respect your time. Firebreak is a three-player co-op, first-person-shooter set in the Control universe. In the game, you and two teammates work your way through sections of the Oldest House (essentially the headquarters for the paranormal branch of the federal government) and have to eliminate Hiss (essentially zombies) who have overrun the place. While there have been some early complaints about the way the game's guns handle, overall, the buzz has been extremely positive. Online multiplayer is not a genre I typically play. Part of this is just personal preference. I love the solitary quiet of walking through a beautiful RPG world. I also love playing local multiplayer with my partner. But part of my hesitation about online multiplayer is also practical: my friend group is rarely online at the same time, and I appreciate the ability to dip in and out of a game quickly. If my toddler wakes up unexpectedly, or something at work has to be dealt with right away, I need games that allow me to walk away, without ruining someone else's good 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 However, my love for the Remedy extended universe—the quirky sense of humor, powerful storytelling, and clever world and level designs—have pulled me into the Firebreak hype. That said, it sounds like Remedy intentionally designed Firebreak to appeal to players who are wary of certain coop conventions, including never ending cycles of season passes, loot crates, and long play sessions. It also sounds like Remedy intentionally designed Firebreak for parents. In an interview with VGC's Jordan Middler, Firebreak's lead designer Anssi Hyytiäinen, emphasized that the game was made 'by middle-aged dads for middle-aged dads.' Hyytiäinen explains that this shaped the game's design, 'we wanted to make the game easy to pick up.' I'm not a middle-aged dad, I'm a middle-aged mom, but I am excited to see games that take seriously the ways that the real-world shapes play and are respectful of the different needs and lifestyles of players out there. This attention to multiple play styles and player experiences, is one of the reasons I fell in love with both Alan Wake 2 and Control. Remedy's focus on short, meaningful play sessions is in line with what many parents are looking for—including the 87% percent of moms who game and represent a growing slice of the gaming marketplace. The decision to allow short play sessions is also wise in light of shifting age demographics. The video game market has been diversifying rapidly over the last several years. In 2024, the biggest age demographic of gamers in the US were people aged 30 to 39 years. Remedy's decision to make a coop FPS game that respects your time is good news for everyone. The fact that you can play short missions is a bonus not just for moms, but for anyone who has commitments that might interrupt play sessions: e.g., being an on-call nurse, caregiving for an elderly parent, working multiple jobs, etc. I'm looking forward to seeing how Remedy's design focus translates into my play experience this week and I am excited to provide a deeper dive into Firebreak after it comes out on June 17th.
Engadget
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Engadget
'FBC: Firebreak' preview: Controlled chaos
A successful co-op shooter feels like a bottomless tub of popcorn, hot and smothered in golden butter, built for bite-sized consumption and impossible to resist. Smooth mechanics and a satisfying, repeatable loop should draw you in for one more bite, one more round, over and over again. FBC: Firebreak , Remedy Entertainment's co-op shooter set in the universe of Control , almost hits these marks. It just needs a little more salt. Remedy is a AA studio best known for crafting single-player games like Alan Wake and Control , which feature Lynchian mysteries and hellish twists, and Firebreak is the studio's first attempt at crafting an online, cooperative, first-person shooter. Firebreak supports up to three players at a time, and it pits your team against hordes of otherworldly Hiss monsters in the bowels of The Oldest House, the headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Control. The building was locked up with a bunch of Hiss inside at the end of Control , and Firebreak takes place six years later. You're a government employee who's volunteered to eradicate the Hiss in The Oldest House — or try to, at least — and you're sent inside with some improvised weapons, no extra training and a hearty pat on the back. We broke down the specifics of Firebreak 's gameplay loop and upgrade cycles after the developer walkthrough in March, but here are the basics: Before the match begins, each player gets to select one of three Crisis Kits, loadouts designed with specific playstyles in mind. Crisis Kits come with a tool and an item each. The Jump Kit is based around electricity and it has the Electro-Kinectic Charge Impactor, a portable jackhammer kind of device with a conductive metal plate on the end, capable of slamming into enemies or propelling yourself into the air. It also has the BOOMbox, which plays music to attract enemies before exploding. The Fix Kit gives you a big wrench that's able to repair machinery and stagger Hiss, and it also includes a turret that you have to smack with the wrench to assemble. The Splash Kit is for all the water signs out there — it features the Crank-Operated Fluidic Injector, an industrial water cannon that can extinguish fires and soak enemies so they're primed for extra damage, plus a Humidifier, which sprays healing water in a wide area. The game is broken down by Jobs, which are essentially custom-built missions in specific regions of The Oldest House. All Jobs have three zones, but otherwise each one has a unique objective, crisis, and environment. After selecting a Job, you get to customize your run by setting the Threat Level and Clearance Level — Threat Level determines combat difficulty and the number of rewards up for grabs, while Clearance Level sets the number of zones you have to clear and the type of rewards. I spent roughly two and a half hours playing Firebreak with two strangers who quickly became the best Hiss-fighting friends I've ever had, and we messed around with three different Jobs, and various combinations of Threat and Clearance levels. I stuck with one loadout, the Fix Kit with the big wrench, and was able to purchase upgrades to add the turret, grenades, upgraded guns and an exploding piggy bank accessory to my loadout. The piggy bank slots into the wrench and creates a thunderous AOE tornado when you hit Hiss with it. While I don't fully understand the science at play with the pig, I immensely enjoy slamming it into monsters. We ran through three Jobs — Hot Fix, Ground Control and Paper Chase. Hot fix is an industrial level where you have to repair giant fans and eventually fill up barrels with fuel before sending them down a zipline. In Ground Control, you shoot these nasty, wriggling pustules that look like giant botfly larvae to retrieve radioactive leech pearls and throw them in a mining cart. Paper Chase features an office filled with sentient sticky notes, and you have to shoot them off the walls and floors before they consume you or turn into big yellow monsters. Throughout all of these tasks, waves of Hiss appear, demanding your attention and gunfire. There are ammo refill stations and healing showers positioned around the maps, though their positions change with each tweak to the Threat and Clearance levels. You'll also have to repair some of the environmental features in order to fully take advantage of them — for instance, the shower initially spews out cold water, which can freeze players while they're trying to heal, but you can send in someone with the Fix Kit (me!) to quickly mend the hot water. This, and fixing the ammo station, were generally the first two things my teammates and I did in each run. And then, chaos. While each Job has its own goal, there's a shared cadence to the missions, with moments of calm preparation and exploration violently interrupted by hordes of Hiss. Out of the pistol, shotgun and submachine gun, the SMG was my weapon of choice, and it tore through groups of enemies, spurred along by my teammates' fire and, every now and then, a grenade. Ammo and health were constant considerations, but it was easy enough to note the locations of refill stations and showers, and or to ask my Splash Kit teammate to throw some healing water my way. Firebreak does a great job of rewarding teams that stick together — you get an extra shield when you're near your friends, and a bright visual cue accompanies this bonus, consistently reminding you to stay as a group. Of course, friendly fire is also a thing in this game, and errant explosions and bullets brought down everyone on my team a few times. We laughed and revived our way through it, but this highlighted my main issue with the game: It's often difficult to discern where any attack is coming from, making it tricky to reposition or avoid damage. Overall, I craved a bit more feedback. Firing the SMG was effective, but it also felt imprecise, and this vibe extended to the rest of the gameplay. Gathering ammo, collecting currency, healing, repairing things, using special abilities, taking damage and identifying objectives — all of these actions could be clarified and made more tactile. Remedy isn't exactly known for its gunplay , but some small tweaks could make the core experience in Firebreak far more coherent. While we played the most rounds of Paper Chase, Ground Control was my favorite level, featuring wide-open spaces for fighting Hiss and a clear objective in shooting all those gross pustules. The clarity in Ground Control was refreshing, especially when compared with the slight but constant confusion hovering over the rest of the experience. Once we all unlocked our special abilities, Firebreak really started to flow. Even when we weren't exactly sure where to go or what to do, my teammates and I grouped up and stood against the Hiss, healing each other, laying down crowd control and, in my case, smashing piggy banks in enemies' faces. We laughed, we strategized, we accidentally shot each other and we screamed, 'Where the hell is the safe room?' into our headsets. We had a fabulous time. And this is the highest praise I can lay at Firebreak 's feet: I spent nearly three hours playing Firebreak with two strangers and it felt like the most natural thing in the world. When our session ended, I wanted to keep playing. Though there's room to clarify some mechanics and add feedback to some functions, Firebreak lays a solid foundation for the modern Left 4 Dead of our collective dreams. I know that's an outdated reference, but I'm also confident I'm not the only one who's still chasing the high of the Left 4 Dead series — it was a running point of comparison among my Firebreak crew. All of the issues I have with Firebreak can be fine-tuned before the game launches this summer, and I have faith in Remedy to do so. Firebreak is poised to be a thoughtful and focused entry in the co-op shooter genre, and it's already an inviting extension of Remedy's darkest and silliest sensibilities. FBC: Firebreak is due to hit the Epic Games Store, Steam, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on June 17 for $50. It's coming to the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog and Xbox Game Pass day-one.
The Verge
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Verge
With FBC: Firebreak, Remedy wants to tell a different kind of story
Finnish studio Remedy is best known for its single-player action games, like the survival horror of Alan Wake and the supernatural thriller Control. With FBC: Firebreak, the developer is going in a different direction. It's the studio's first multiplayer release: a three-player co-op shooter set in the universe of Control. But while it won't have the more traditional cinematic storytelling the studio has become known for, that doesn't mean Remedy is abandoning its narrative roots. Instead, it is trying to explore them in a new genre. 'This game actually has quite a bit of narrative design thinking in it, especially because there is not a lot of room for direct storytelling,' says game director Mike Kayatta. Firebreak is set a few years after the events of Control, after which a building known as the Oldest House — the NYC headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Control, a government organization that investigates the supernatural — was sealed off to prevent a deadly force called the Hiss from getting out. But there were still people inside. While many of them were FBC bureaucrats and office workers, Firebreak follows members of the titular emergency unit, who serve as the first responders keeping everyone else (relatively) safe. That means venturing out into the Oldest House to fix machinery, eradicate the Hiss, and investigate other paranormal situations. Also, there are a lot of sticky notes, and you have to shower quite a bit. I was able to play through a few missions of Firebreak at Remedy's offices, and the game feels very different from the studio's previous work. It's a first-person shooter that relies heavily on cooperation. In each mission, you and two other players are let loose in the Oldest House to complete specific goals; in one of them, we had to repair the machinery that controlled the building's ventilation, and in another we had to clear away a growing wave of sticky notes that covered every surface. In some cases, the missions had multiple layers to them. After clearing out the sticky notes, for instance, we eventually fought our way to a gigantic boss monster made of even more stickies. In some ways, Firebreak seems like a traditional multiplayer shooter. You can equip different types of guns, toss grenades, and you're often up against hordes of the Hiss, which behave a lot like swarming zombies. As you progress, you earn currency to put toward upgrading your gear, and you can purchase new skins and sprays like in Fortnite. Each player also has to select a 'crisis kit,' which includes both special abilities — like letting you jump high in the air — as well as specific tools. One has a wrench for repairing machines, while another has a hose for putting out fires. In my brief experience, the game's structure necessitated coordination. You can't just run into the Oldest House, guns blazing, and expect to survive. Over voice chat, my team was constantly yelling directions and warnings at each other, giving a heads up that a fresh wave of Hiss was coming or sending the person with the right tool to repair something. Often, these repairs were life-or-death necessities. Scattered around each level were facilities to refill your ammo or shower (which removes status ailments and also replenishes your health), but they often lacked power, meaning you couldn't get bullets or health until you got them up and running. It was a chaotic mess (in a good way), but as with Control, what struck me most about Firebreak was the world itself. It's just so delightfully weird, infusing a bland office space with a sinister tone. Office cubicles become cover in shootouts, while those sticky notes are like an invasive species, smothering everything — including you, if you can't make it to a shower in time. Unlike Control, however, Firebreak is reliant almost entirely on its world to tell the story. There are no cutscenes to watch or audio logs to uncover. Instead, you sort out what's happening by being in this place, and both listening to the little bits of chatter between characters and observing the state of the Oldest House. Or you can try to suss it out anyways, but I'm still not sure why a giant rubber duck started following me in one level. Kayatta likens this storytelling technique to hearing stories from firefighters in the field. 'We're not telling a beginning to end story,' he explains. 'A lot of that is because the people inside the game are talking to themselves, and they're filling that narrative space for us.' The decision was made in part so as not to interrupt a bunch of friends playing together, letting you and your co-op partners fill in the space with your own chatter. But the structure is also designed to help Firebreak work for two audiences simultaneously: Control fans and newcomers. 'The important thing for us is that if you played Control, you signed up for a single-player, exploration, character- and story-focused experience,' Kayatta says. 'It was super important that we didn't say, 'Ha ha, curve ball, now you need to go find two friends and play a cooperative game that is a totally different genre from a different perspective.' That feels terrible. Those people need to be protected so that they can go from Control 1 to Control 2 and experience the journey that we promised them. And we are absolutely going to make that happen. On the other hand, we also want this to be rewarding and fulfilling for them [if they do play Firebreak ].' Meanwhile, he says that 'then you have what we hope is a large audience who actually has never played Control … we wanted to make sure that they could understand the world and didn't feel the constant pressure to go back and play Control.' That means a balancing act between having enough narrative to be interesting to new players and feel distinctly Remedy, but without so much direct storytelling that Firebreak becomes required reading for anyone waiting to jump into Control 's sequel. And if you do want to dig further into things like the Hiss or what an Altered Item is, you can always play the original Control or dig into a Wiki (or maybe one day watch a movie or show). When it comes to how much you want to dig into Firebreak 's narrative, Kayatta says that they 'want it to be up to you.' No matter which way you look at it, Firebreak is a big departure for Remedy. It's a new genre, an expansion into multiplayer, and the studio's first self-published game as it attempts to take more ownership of its own franchises. It's an opportunity to expand in a new direction while still attempting to stay true to what a Remedy game is. 'Forever we have had these very controlled single-player experiences, and we will continue to do that,' Kayatta says. 'But we ask the question with Firebreak: what is it like to share one of those spaces with your friends?'
