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This just in: new Indiana Jones is woke because Indy has a female sidekick (like in all Indy movies/games) and you punch NAzis in the face

Well SAA seem all but useless, Iran may not see the point in putting good money after bad. HTS leader went on CNN, said the right things. https://edition.cnn.com/2024/12/06/middleeast/syria-rebel-forces-hayat-tahrir-al-sham-al-jolani-intl-latam/index.html Wonder when Israel will annex, sorry Blue Team doesn't do that, I mean increase their security zone

I am not sure if easier is the best word - more fair, that's for sure. DS2 (similar to Elden Ring) suffered IMO from a lot of cheap bullcrap. I didn't think DS2 was too hard, I just thought it was full of "gotcha" moments. DS3 went back to telegraphing its intent and when it it jump at you, it was rarely with intent to kill. But there is still, of course, an element of player experience in the genre. The combat model is pretty simple really, as far as player involvement is concerned so skill acquired in one game tend to transfer to another. Speaking of which - I might be burned out of Soulslike as well - that or I just didn't like recent releases. I used quite a few summons in Lies of P - I just didn't feel bosses were worth learning. I am also somewhat stuck in Erdtree - though I think it has more to do with how unreadable enemy attacks are. I am at the final boss - I learned his first phase and am chipping at this 2nd phase. There is so much visual noise that I don't see another option than to die over and over again, and try to learn and memorise proper dodge timings. But I don't think it is entirely me. I did enjoy some parts of Erdtree immensily. Some bosses as well - not as much as DS3, but still. I find a lot of the bosses to be artificial difficult though. Killing you through attacks to which proper defense is unclear, a lot of charge attacks which timings have to be memorised, similar looking attacks with different wind up times to trip you up. I don't know I feel Elden Ring was too much - it overstayed it's welcome, and DLC had far too much repeat for my taste as well.

I don't know/care about "woke" but sometimes I'm a little tired of all the constant "female protagonist" games (when you can't choose) in a lot of the games - well, at least re: those that aren't purposefully otp machismo-action/godofwar/military/whatever fantasy. I just sometimes (well, ok, often) don't want female protagonists. I weirdly don't relate most of the time, or don't like many female VA's, perhaps why any "gaming imbalance" never bothered me in the first place. What I've always wanted is a kind of equal numerical balance of all the tropes/issues/genres/hoohaa of the moment. So there's plenty of options/styles etc. all around, all the time. Which I know is unrealistic to expect, and it never happens - always swings one way or the other to extremes as trends. Ah well. I was considering wasting money on the Indy game out of curiosity re: performance on my aging rig - plus he's a non-otp-machismo male protagonist - but after skimming through a few ppl playing it, it looks ... kinda boring. I mean if one really wanted an Indy game to capture an Indy feel, it looks good for that - I just mean, for my gameplay tastes. I might still waste money on it tho, could be false viewing impression. Not paying the early-access price hike tho.

Fate of Atlantis Fists path best path!

I just remembered that a few years ago I've read Under the Wire by Paul Conroy. It tells the story of him and Marie Colvin (war journalists) in Homs, back when Syrian government and Russia were cracking down on the city. What they describe is pretty much the same that happened in Ukraine -- just relentless artillery fire, leveling the city meter by meter every day until everything is flattened. This, honestly, is really the only thing that Russia is capable of doing. Everything else in their military is useless. Take away the artillery and they are incapable of doing anything. And as we can see now, the only thing holding Assad's regime up was the Russian support. It's almost funny to see how fast it crumbles- if it just wouldn't be for all the civilian suffering at the same time.

Interesting to see where this one goes (the war)... Israel and Turkey has both ganged up on Syria by the looks of it. IDF killing Iranian backed militia leaders and infrastructure, Turkey backing the HTS, because a Taliban style government in Baghdad gives an old Islamist like Erdogan wet dreams, hence the Turkish army providing safe places and logistical support for HTS. I wouldn't be surprised if some western leaders also were cheering for HTS, despite being acknowledge and classified as a terrorist organization... The Syrian people seems to be less enthusiastic though, and the opposition to Assad... the Syrian people are "secular" by Middle Eastern standards and Assad seems to be the lesser of two evils (according to the BBC) https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgpdpgz4kdo "It is too soon to write the Assad regime off. It has a core of genuine support. Some Syrians see it as the least bad option – better than the jihadists who came to dominate the rebellion. But if other anti-Assad groups – and there are many – rise up, his regime will once again be in mortal danger." I don't see the Kurdish forces allying themselves with Erdogans goons either, leaving out probably the second strongest faction (after the regular Turkish army currently camped inside Syrias borders, because internationally recognized borders only counts when its convenient for the powers that be, otherwise to be ignored) I wonder how the Israeli people are feeling about helping an Islamist terror group to power in Syria?

i'm not aware of any guides, but it's relatively easy to sneak past the first island. i did so in my ultimate run (put it at 2x speed and skip like the first 10 minutes or so): i'm sure other ultimate video runs (if you can find them) will also feature sneaking on the first island, because it's frankly not worth the risk or the time to take on some of the big unnecessary fights. edit: if it's just a matter of being unenjoyable at low level, there's a berath's blessing that starts you off at level 4, have you given that a try?

I'd be a little surprised if DeSantis accepts the post. Governor of a large state such as Florida is a stepping stone to a future Presidential run. Defense Secretary is a stepping stone to being DJT's lap dog, and a future date with bus tires.

If they don't understand it, why is it an issue, that's the thing. Really, they should sell anti Woke DLC that removes whatever Woke is this week. Might as well monetize the fragility

Thanks to term limits, DeSantis is out of the governor's mansion in Florida in 2026 regardless, so what is theoretically a 4 year position in the cabinet might look attractive...