![]() You need to love football and you need to enjoy slapstick, banana peel comedy. To enjoy this film you really need two things. Of course, while visiting the NFL, Shane falls in love with the head cheerleader (Brooke Langton) who never dates players (except of course this once).All this is merely a mundane excuse for a raucous and silly comedy that has some sidesplitting moments. The quarterback, Shane Falco (Keanu Reeves), once had a promising career, but he fell apart psychologically when his team was pummeled in a college bowl game and he was labeled a player that folds in the big game. Our heroes are low on ability but high on desire and peculiarity. The NFL is having a players strike and scabs are called in to finish the season. "Despite the fact that this film is a totally unoriginal and predictable retread of a dozen "losers to winners" sports stories, it is so hysterically funny that I didn't even care. Maybe football isn't as wimpy as I thought. When faced with a choice between an all-pro prima donna and "their guy", they make the right choice. I think the sumo wrestler qualifies for the latter. Some of the laughs are just chuckles and a few are great big belly laughs. This is not going to go down as one of the great comedies of all time. ![]() It is about laughs and it is about heart. That is not what the movie is about, though. That pretty well sums it up and it follows, I think, all of the standard cliches. Some scab players are hired to play in the pros in the place of the "real players". I AM QUALIFIED, however to pass judgement on what entertains me. I am not qualified to pass judgement on how good the football sequences in this movie. I was one of those guys who figured that football was for those poor souls who couldn't make it in the band. "For the record, I don't know a lot about football. Find your gift you have been given and act on it, this is the true attitude "replacement" we need and this film shows us how to get it." The world doesn't let you or want you to know that greatness is within your grasp, this is why it beats you down. I will not give away the ending but Hackman's voice over after the game, clinches it, I paraphrase: "All men once they have touched greatness in their lives are changed forever".AND THIS IS THE POINT! Just once, do something great in your life! Go all out and let yourself know that you can do it, once you know this you will be changed forever. You are not really sure how the film will end at this point, the team follows the leadership of Reeves but are losing under the arrogant vet. What I like was how just before the final game that would decide whether they go to the play-offs or not, Reeves gets canned by front-office politics in favor of the arrogant Joe Theismann-type "all pro" quarterback who is afraid he will lose his job. The football action scenes are the best yet to grace movie screens, you feel like you are in shoulder pads/helmet again. Along the way, Reeves meets a sexy head cheerleader and there is a nice romance where she begins to believe in him, too. Later he instructs his Quarterback, in the hour of decision, the leader wants the ball in his hands. He tells him flat out he wants to see the man and the ability come together because it will be wonderful to see or words to that effect, his belief in the REALITY that Reeves can deliver are stupendous. His talks with Keanu Reeves' charachter, reveal a candor and leadership style you should really consider. ![]() He believes in them as human beings, not just as football players, that if they can get a "second chance" they will shine. Hackman's Coach knows that the men he wants to be his replacements are great, he is frustrated that life hasn't shown them that and he wants to set them up for success, not failure. First, we don't need to watch any more tragedies on film, we need to see something that inspires us to overcome, and this film delivers: I'm surprised its considered a comedy! Hackman should get an oscar for this film because his narration and actions drive the film and create yet another complex character from the mind of the master. I will even place this film in the all-time greats like "Pride of the Yankees" and "The Natural". "As shocking as it may be, when you think about it, the football movies of the past, to include Oliver Stone's excellent but dark, "On Any Given Sunday" simply do not match this film.
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![]() We publish various Docker Mods to enable additional functionality within the containers. Uid=1000(dockeruser) gid=1000(dockergroup) groups=1000(dockergroup) Docker Mods You can set any environment variable from a file by using a special prepend FILE_. Set the URL you will use to access the web frontendĬontains all relevant configuration files.Įnvironment variables from files (Docker secrets) Setting to 0 will only allow you to connect to specified hosts (See Application Setup) Set to 1 to allow you to connect to any server. Specify a timezone to use, see this list. For example, -p 8080:80 would expose port 80 from inside the container to be accessible from the host's IP on port 8080 outside the container. These parameters are separated by a colon and indicate : respectively. docker-compose (recommended, click here for more info)Ĭontainer images are configured using parameters passed at runtime (such as those above). Here are some example snippets to help you get started creating a container. We support all of the official environment variables for configuration as well as directly editing the config files.įor more information check out the phpmyadmin documentation. This image uses nginx, in contrast to the official images which offer fpm-only or Apache variants. The architectures supported by this image are: Architecture Simply pulling lscr.io/linuxserver/phpmyadmin:latest should retrieve the correct image for your arch, but you can also pull specific arch images via tags. More information is available from docker here and our announcement here. We utilise the docker manifest for multi-platform awareness. phpMyAdmin supports a wide range of operations on MySQL and MariaDB. Phpmyadmin is a free software tool written in PHP, intended to handle the administration of MySQL over the Web. Open Collective - please consider helping us by either donating or contributing to our budget.GitHub - view the source for all of our repositories.Fleet - an online web interface which displays all of our maintained images.Discourse - post on our community forum.Discord - realtime support / chat with the community and the team.Blog - all the things you can do with our containers including How-To guides, opinions and much more!. ![]() weekly base OS updates with common layers across the entire LinuxServer.io ecosystem to minimise space usage, down time and bandwidth.# because the Docker network create the route as a DNS server.The LinuxServer.io team brings you another container release featuring: # PMA_HOST is the IP or domain of the MySQL server, so we can use the MySQL container name as the domain Leave a comment if you found it useful, or just to share your thoughts! version: "3.8"Ĭommand: -default-authentication-plugin=mysql_native_password I increased the UPLOAD_LIMIT so you can restore also big backup files (up to 2GB).This means also that you can start/shutdown the server without losing your data. The subfolder /data/ is required, and the database data will be mounted/bound here.In my specific case this was not a security problem. A improved step could be to use an environment file and remove it from the. Change the password as fit best to you.I used Docker Desktop on Windows, WSL2 and Linux containers.The default user is “root” and use the password specified in MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD. Navigate to to access the phpMyAdmin web interface.Run it using docker-compose up -d and stop it using docker-compose down. So my final solution is this docker-compose.yml file. yml file in GIT, and everyone can replicate my setup. So I found that was the right job for docker compose, that allows to create multi-container app. His solution was great and worked fine, but it required multiple docker run commands and to create a network, which I found difficult to script. I followed the great post wrote by Luiz Felipe F M Costa “How to install MySQL and phpMyAdmin with Docker” to get up and running the basic idea. So I thought Docker could have been a good fit. That annoyed me a bit, because it was a one-time job and then I will have my machine dirty. So the idea was to spin a local Mysql instance and install a GUI to navigate through the data. Some months ago I needed to restore a sensitive database to run some import scripts. ![]() Time to focus on what they refer to as "electro powerpop/punk". The members look like they can't decide if they're scene kids or neon-clad hipster wannabes. Just watching one of their revolting videos will make you hate this band. ![]() You should start praying that they never worm their way into your eardrums, but if you work in an environment where the local radio stations are playing in the background, this may be unavoidable and soon. What's even scarier is that this band is actually starting to build a fairly large fanbase around these parts. It takes serious skill to create a band that consists of every cliché in modern music - excessive autotune, repetitive synthpop beats, overusing the words "whoa" and "yeah" at every opportunity, flaunting money/women in their videos and basically acting like obnoxious douchenozzles. Somehow, These Kids Wear Crowns manage to outsuck them. You can thank this show for gems like Abandon All Ships! and Stereos, two of the worst bands I've heard in recent memory. If you just wet yourself, proceed to hit the "Back" button before you read any more of this review.Īs I said, the band recently won the last season of MuchMusic's "Disband", which is a show that gives unsigned bands around Canada the chance to play a song in front of a panel of corporate music judges. Take the ***tiest autotuned powerpop band you can think of and imagine something even worse. This is nothing short of an abomination of music. Don't think that I'm happy about that fact, either. Being that I live fairly close to Chilliwack, British Columbia, I have heard more about Disband's most recent winners than perhaps anyone on this website. Most people here have probably never heard of These Kids Wear Crowns. ![]() If you thought Stereos was bad.oh boy, this is a worse one, ladies and gents. Review Summary: Scraping the bottom of the rainbow-spattered barrel. Overall, project management software benefits businesses by tracking the progress of projects, campaigns, resources, allocation, and tasks across an organization. The main goal of this entire process is to complete projects efficiently while producing quality results. The project management life cycle is divided into 5 phases: initiating, planning, executing, monitoring/controlling, and closing. The project is then managed through the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements. So what is project management exactly? A project is defined by the Project Management Institute as a temporary, unique undertaking that has “specific set of operations designed to accomplish a singular goal,” and often involves diverse groups working together. In fact, PWC found that 77% of high-performing teams use project management software. Over the last decade, however, modern project management technology has brought these principles into the everyday workplace. ![]() The concept of project management has been around since the early 20th century with the introduction of Henry Gantt’s Gantt charts. With the help of a great project management software, you can revolutionize the way your team works together and manages their workload. It may seem hard to maximize productivity with so many people working remotely or shifting to a hybrid work model, but it’s actually more attainable than ever before. You’re organized, crossing items off your to-do list regularly with the help of a project management software, and leaving the office (or closing your laptop in your living room) before 5:00 PM. Start exploring and collect armor pieces, interesting weapons or unique items. The DeathSpank universe is filled by humorous characters, enemies that try to annihilate you and colorful locations. What’s more, you can convince a friend to grab a controller (must be active before you start the game) and assist you in this quest as your valiant sidekick. The game’s hero, DeathSpank, has been searching for an artifact called The Artifact for a long time: now he is close to actually finding it and you must help him complete the task. ![]() * Third party drivers are required to play this game using Xbox 360 controllers.DeathSpank is a hilarious role playing game for macOS designed to keep you entertained by proposing amusing situations and a funny dialogue. Was originally created with a controller. * To play with a controller, the controller must be active before you start the game. Video Card: ATI Radeon x1900 or better / NVIDIA 8600M or better The same goes for the Spooky Fountain and the bucket." In such cases, you need to be able to right-click on the object. Example: "I keep clicking the bowl and nothing happens. If you are having problems interacting with objects to use them, please ensure you have turned on right-mouse clicking in system mouse preferences. ★ Find and Collect Hundreds of Weapons, Unique Items, and Armor Pieces – Collect hundreds of weapons, armor pieces, and unique items (have you ever collected unicorn poop, or used a chicken launcher?) during your heroic journey and use them to customize your character’s abilities and inventory. ![]() ★ Explore a Massive World – The world of DeathSpank is massive and full of tons of unique and hilarious characters, dangerous foes, diverse landscapes, and chickens.lots of chickens. Local co-op requires a controller for the second player. ★ Two-Player Local “Sidekick” Co-op – Recruit a friend to fight by your side as your heroic sidekick and work your way together through hellacious dungeons and a mysterious land. ★ The Epic Humor of Ron Gilbert – Ron Gilbert brings his hilarious brand of witty humor and ridiculous dialog to a whole new genre in one of the most epic stories ever told involving a hero and his quest to find The Artifact. (DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue, the second installment of DeathSpank's hilarious adventure is also available on the Windows App Store) But what is The Artifact and what evil tyrant seeks to steal it and how are he and DeathSpank related? ![]() DeathSpank has long searched for a powerful artifact called.The Artifact.įorged by unknown hands for unknown purposes some unknown time in the past, The Artifact is now within DeathSpank’s reach. "8.5/10 DeathSpank really shines.It's also one of the better-looking and most polished titles in the digital space" Destructoidįor uncounted years, DeathSpank has been a Dispenser of Justice, a Vanquisher of Evil, and a Hero to the Downtrodden. If you like sweet loot, hacking things to death, looking at beautiful landscapes and laughing at good writing, you might want to pick up DeathSpank” IGN "9/10 If you like action RPGs and things that are funny, buy this game. "9/10 DeathSpank does nothing but please" Wired ¿Qué hace DeathSpank De? ★★★★★ Great Games for the Holidays Sale ★★★★★ĭeathSpank got selected as Microsoft's Windows Store Best Games of 2011 award. Descargar para MacOS - servidor 1 -> 3,99 €. ![]() When you add in a solid brass knob and easy 1-2-3 installation process, you can understand why these mailbox doors are so popular. Big Dicks Brick Mailboxes, Collinsville, Illinois. Choose from our wide selection of Round Top, Flat Top or Triangle Top brick mailboxes. Wall thickness is between 5 and 8ml in thickness and are finished with a 5 Year UV electrostatic powder coating. Brick mailboxes beautify and enhance the value of your property. They are manufactured using heavy duty sand cast aluminum. These doors are available in 6”, 8” and jumbo sizes. A standard 6” or 8” door will fit most mailboxes. They also have jumbo doors available.Ĭast aluminum brick mailbox doors are equally stylish and attractive and will improve the appearance and functionality of any existing mailbox. Betterbox Mailbox specializes in the manufacture of exquisite mailboxes, including brick mailbox doors. When that happens, you have several choices, including a stylish and durable brick mailbox door. Brick Mailbox Replacement Doors from Better Box Mailboxes A Better Box Mailboxes brick mailbox replacement door can restore and enhance the appearance your brick, stone or stucco mailbox. Doors are often the first component to fail or go missing. Not only will your new brick mailbox door enhance the appearance of your mailbox, it will also never rust or rot.Ī well-maintained eye catching brick, stone or stucco mailbox has always been a beautiful addition to your property. They manufacture high quality cast aluminum brick mailbox doors with UV electrostatic powder coated finish. Corner Of Cedarbridge Ave & Brick Blvd In The Towne Hall Shoppes by Carrabbas. Better Mailbox can restore the appearance of your mailbox with replacement brick mailbox doors. Something as small as a missing or damaged door can detract from the appearance and functionality of your brick mailbox and your property. So why not have a mailbox that will enhance the overall appearance and curb appeal of your property? Betterbox Mailbox manufactures and sells stylish and eye-catching mailboxes all over the USA. Your mailbox is quite a prominent feature on your property. If you would like to speak to a contractor or get a quote just fill out our quick contact form and someone will get back to you right away.A Better Box Mailboxes brick mailbox replacement door can restore and enhance the appearance your brick, stone or stucco mailbox.īetterbox Mailbox specializes in the manufacture of exquisite mailboxes, including brick mailbox doors. So, if you're thinking about adding a brick mailbox to your home, be sure to contact a qualified brick contractor today. Furthermore, they will be able to advise you on the best type of brick and mortar for your particular project. That also means that calling a brick masonry contractor will set you back a few hundred dollars. A qualified brick contractor will have the experience and expertise to ensure that your brick mailbox is installed correctly and looks great. As opposed to a tin mailbox, brick masonry needs to be embedded into the thick concrete foundation to last for a long time, which means that it should withstand the elements like an earthquake or storm. That's why it's always best to leave brick mailbox installation to the professionals. Homeowners realize that a custom brick or stone mailbox allows their. Without the proper tools and knowledge, it is easy to make mistakes that will result in an unsightly or even dangerous brick mailbox. Masonry style mailboxes stand out among the standard wood stick and post mounted options. However, installing a brick mailbox can be a challenging DIY project. *Contact Us For a Brick Mailbox Service QuoteĪ brick mailbox can add curb appeal to any home while also providing a practical way to receive mail. If you need brick mailbox service in the Tuscaloosa area allow our contractors to help you. In 1913, parcel post was introduced, which meant mailboxes needed to be bigger to accommodate parcels. Get Professional Brick Mailbox Service: Tuscaloosa This stated mailboxes must be made of galvanized metal in order to protect mail from the weather and that they should measure approximately 6 inches by 8 inches by 16 inches. A brick mailbox is one of the many options that you can choose when building a mailbox, and this type of mailbox, when compared to other materials. ![]() 276( Macri ).) In addition, Civil Code section 1788.2, subdivisions (c) and (g) define the term “debt collector” as including a natural person, and Business and Professions Code section 6125 allows individuals to represent themselves in court. Such arrangements are legal in collection cases and do not create an attorney-client relationship between the assignor and the assignee. Fink's agreement to split with Stone Center any recovery he obtained in prosecuting those claims did not undermine the validity of the assignment of legal title to those claims. Stone Center absolutely and completely transferred all of its rights to its claims against S & E, and thus legal title to them, to Fink. The trial court found the assignment agreement violated Business and Professions Code section 6125, which prohibits the unauthorized practice of law.Īpplying California assignment law, we disagree with the trial court's analysis of the legal effect of the assignment agreement and reverse the judgment as to S & E only. The court explained the agreement did not constitute a valid assignment of claims, but a joint venture whereby Stone Center provided the causes of action and Fink provided legal representation of their venture. In a thorough statement of decision issued after the trial court granted S & E's motion for judgment under Code of Civil Procedure section 631.8, the court found Stone Center and Fink's assignment agreement to be void against public policy. Acting in propria persona, Fink filed a complaint against S & E and others, as the assignee of Stone Center Corporation's (Stone Center) claims against them and litigated those claims through a bench trial. Plaintiff David Fink appeals after judgment was entered in favor of, inter alia, defendant S & E Stone, Inc. Krane & Smith and Marc Smith, Encino, for Defendants and Respondents. ![]() (Visit the Download Help page for more info. The interactive puzzles are also available individually for download.Ībout the Downloadable Option The downloadable version contains all the components the print version would, but in electronic format. Musical Concepts Crosswords is a must for your music classroom! This wonderful resource is clever, educational, reproducible, and fun for all. Sunday crossword puzzles for March 19, 2023. They provide website code for users like The Lansing Journal to publish their interactive crosswords. Perfect for remote or online-based learning! is the largest supplier of free crossword puzzles on the web, publishing 15 grids daily from an archive of more 100,000. Your students can solve the puzzles on their computers or devices and then electronically submit the completed puzzles and quiz back to you for grading. There are 12 puzzles in all covering the following concepts: Tempo, Rhythm, Key Signatures, Time Signatures, Instruments Of The Orchestra, Dynamics, Melody/Harmony, Musical Periods, Musical Forms/Works, Modes, Articulations, and Intervals.Īlso interactive! With the downloadable or Convenience Combo Kit version of the book, you will also receive the puzzles and quiz in an interactive PDF format. There's even a comprehensive quiz at the end of the book. Casual interactive puzzles are fun, light and great for those who want to. Or maybe youre a beginner when it comes to crossword puzzles in general. No pencil or eraser required Best Daily Quick Crossword. Its a unique way of thinking that takes a bit of training. The best free online crossword is brand new, every day. After they have read the material, they can test their knowledge by solving the adjoining crossword puzzle. New York Times Crossword is on of the best crosswords that you can play every. Crosswords challenge your memory and quick thinking skills. Solve Boatload Puzzles 40,000 free online crossword puzzles below. Inside, your students will find brief, easy-to-understand information about a certain musical concept or topic. Boatload Puzzles is the home of the worlds largest supply of crossword puzzles. This new reproducible book is a great resource for all things relating to music. Each week, crossword editor Caleb Madison takes a deep dive into what makes his favorite entry in that weeks puzzles so. ![]() The information and activities are the best, I use them all the time :) Jodie Wynne Assistant in Nursing. Patricks Day Crosswords Ireland St Patricks Day 8744 46. There are 40 crosswords for you to enjoy. Heres a crossword puzzle to help you celebrate St. Best Cryptic Crossword by Orlando These puzzles have previously been published in The Guardian. We noticed that you are using an ad blocker. Musical Concepts Crosswordsby Karl HitzemannĬrossword Puzzles Featuring Musical Terms & Concepts Combine both with this free online crossword puzzle game, no downloads necessary BEST. ![]() The best place to load this is in /etc/modules. To aceive this the module ipt_log must be loaded. Here is the current switches.1 Using Firewall Builder (fwbuilder) Configuring openwrt Install packages In order to use firewall builder on an openwrt router you will need to install the following packages # install packages for fwbuilder ipkg install ip ipkg install iptables-mod-extra ipkg install iptables-utils Note: kmod-ipt-extra will also be installed, iptables-mod-extra is dependant on it Load logging module Firewall builder needs the capability to perform logging from within iptables. Instead of typing the entire ssh script, how can I call a script for the iptables commends? How can I change the default switch to “on”? When HA starts the switch default is set to “off”. Instead of retyping the MAC address to users, can I create a runtime data array of MAC addresses? Running the script using the runtime variables would simplify the management of clients and the scripts. I want to take the script to the next levels: The workaround is to use iptables -I to insert all rules, so the HA script will togle the preexisting rules with REJECT or ACCEPT. If there are no rules the switch will not work. NOTE: the iptables -R switch replaces existing rules. This allows you to execute commands on the router by doing ssh command. Once you have done the key exchange, HASS will be able to log into the router without a password. I don’t use DD-WRT, so I can’t help with the specifics of that. This would normally be done by a shared-key exchange. In order for this to work, however, you will need to authenticate the connection. What you probably mean to do is have HASS shell into your router to execute the commands.Ĭommand_on: "ssh iptables -R grp_10 1 -p tcp -m mac -mac-source E0:C7:AA:ZZ:YY:XX -j ACCEPT & iptables -R grp_10 2 -p tcp -m mac -mac-source E0:C7:AA:ZZ:YY:XX -j ACCEPT" (and my apologies if you realized this, and I misunderstood!) Unless you have a script on your machine with that name, that is why your switch is failing. So your switch as is will try to run a program called “COMMAND LINE”, then it will wait for it to exit (that is what the & does), and then run the iptables commands on your local machine. Thank is the “COMMAND LINE &” in your switch a placeholder for something else? In a command line switch, anything in the quotes on the command_on and command_off line gets executed. My switches.yaml file so far looks line this: SwitchesĬommand_off: “COMMAND LINE & iptables -R grp_10 1 -p tcp -m mac -mac-source E0:C7:AA:ZZ:YY:XX -j REJECT & iptables -R grp_10 2 -p tcp -m mac -mac-source E0:C7:AA:ZZ:YY:XX -j REJECT"Ĭommand_on: “COMMAND LINE & iptables -R grp_10 1 -p tcp -m mac -mac-source E0:C7:AA:ZZ:YY:XX -j ACCEPT & iptables -R grp_10 2 -p tcp -m mac -mac-source E0:C7:AA:ZZ:YY:XX -j ACCEPT""Ĭan you perhaps point me to a sample code that I could use for this project? Any other suggestions will be appreciated. Iptables -R grp_10 2 -p tcp -m mac -mac-source E0:C7:AA:ZZ:YY:XX -j ACCEPT Iptables -R grp_10 1 -p tcp -m mac -mac-source E0:C7:AA:ZZ:YY:XX -j ACCEPT Iptables -R grp_10 2 -p tcp -m mac -mac-source E0:C7:AA:ZZ:YY:XX -j REJECT Iptables -R grp_10 1 -p tcp -m mac -mac-source E0:C7:AA:ZZ:YY:XX -j REJECT The scripts below are working when I am logged on to the router as root over SSH and Telnet sessions. In concept, the router firewall rules will reject or accept traffic from a specific MAC address. What I can’t find is a sample for the command line syntax to send the commands to the router over ssh, telnet or perhaps other protocol. At this time the HA is running, and I have a switch set for sending commands. This is to enable “privilege access” to the internet. I want to use HA to control the internet access with a simple flick of a switch. ![]() 3, Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine - the latter of which was met by mixed critical reaction. ![]() The funny thing is, for its few flaws - a sometimes-troublesome camera and unpredictable framerate, not to mention some of the worst secondary character designs we've seen - Sunshine was still a remarkable game. In fact, as far as platformers go, it was unequaled on GameCube. And yet, as a follow-up to Mario 64, which simultaneously brought Mario to the third dimension and revolutionized the genre, it felt anticlimactic. Some gamers compared Mario 64 to the original Super Mario Bros. and Sunshine to Super Mario Bros 2, a sequel that, while very good, wasn't everything it could've been. Well, if that's the case, let us humbly submit Super Mario Galaxy as Wii's very own version of Super Mario Bros. Just as these classics were the pinnacles of 2D platforming in their respective eras, so is Mario's trek through space and beyond the pinnacle of three-dimensional run-and-jump gameplay. Galaxy would seem to be the odd duck of Nintendo's 3D Mario trilogy. Both Sunshine and Mario 64 before it took place on land and water and not within the depths of space. But when you really compare and contrast the three games, you quickly discover that Galaxy and not Sunshine has more in common with the Nintendo 64 classic. It's not just some gimmicky marketing term designed to boost sales - Galaxy really does feel like the "spiritual sequel' to Mario 64. Take, for example, the setting and characters. In Sunshine, Mario journeyed to Isle Delfino and met up with the very lame Pianta, big-nosed characters whose heads sprouted trees (don't ask because we don't know). Save for more traditional (and rare) bonus stages, the majority of levels in the GCN game featured an island motif and many of the places and faces from the Mushroom Kingdom were nowhere to be found. Although Mario does indeed soar over planets and floats between stars, he also visits locales seemingly ripped directly from previous outings. You will see recognizable characters, levels, upgrades and challenges, yes, but you will also jump, swing, glide, and fly your way through an overwhelming amount of completely new scenarios and objectives. It is a marriage of old and new - a theme that extends beyond presentation and into the gameplay mechanics - but we'll get to that. Mario's new platformer romp was created by Nintendo's EAD Tokyo studio, whose first project was DK Jungle Beat, a critically acclaimed flop. (If you haven't yet played it, please reconsider because it's both innovative and pretty.) The developer's attention to detail is well represented by Galaxy. The title begins with a predictable, but thankfully brief storybook introduction and jumps you immediately into a gorgeous re-imagining of the Mushroom Kingdom at night. The Toads are all celebrating a great festival when long-time nemesis Bowser and his fleet appear in the sky above and wage war on the landscape. Before Mario can rescue the princess, her castle is literally ripped from the ground - she still in it - and whisked away into outer space the Italian plumber sent falling back toward the atmosphere. In direct contrast to Sunshine, whose opening cinematic actually featured a sleep-inducing pre-rendered Mario idle animation, of all things, the intro sequence in Galaxy uses the game engine alone and it's far more dazzling. In fact, from the start, Galaxy is the first title that really shows off what Wii can do. As Mario dodges oncoming fireballs, the landscape deforms before him, particles explode in every direction, a nearby lake reflects and refracts light, smoke billows from ruined houses, and lighting effects illuminate the foreground. All of these visual effects are complemented by some truly outstanding art and choreography. The production values powering this latest platformer are exceptionally high. To quote Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, you will say wow. Mario eventually comes to the game's hub world, which is more or less a giant spaceship equipped with several rooms, all of them doorways to different galaxies. |