My mom had me nine months after my grandmother died I was a sorrow baby. She was 42 and my siblings were all teenagers by the time I was born. Now I'm in my 40s and losing my mom to dementia and I get why she had me. My mother's own mother had died nine months earlier and, in an attempt to feel something other than her intense grief, my mother accidentally got pregnant with me. Now I was on deck to enter the world and heal her broken heart. No pressure.It was mid July and the city of New York was aching for a thunderstorm. My mother told me she sat outside, hot, sticky, and eight months pregnant. She had a nip of cold beer in one hand and a salty pretzel rod in the other. She was 42 years old.She called me her 'sorrow baby'My parents already had four teenage children when they found out I would be making my big debut. Reactions ranged from horrified teen disgust at the thought of sexually active parents, to nervous tears and indignation, to the pumped up excitement of one of my brothers who ironically would end up sharing a birthday with me, just 17 years apart.The transition from her mother's death to my life was nearly instantaneous as if my grandmother and I could have high-fived each other as we passed through the veil. I was due on my grandmother's birthday, but was born a week late. Regardless, my mom forever linked us together, like there was some invisible soul thread we shared. True or not, my mom always made that connection. The circumstances of my conception also led my maudlin Irish mother to affectionately refer to me as her "sorrow baby" because out of that deep sorrow somehow came joy.A whole family existed before I joined itI grew up in a house with six full grown adults. It's like a complete and total family existed before I hit the scene. This of course technically made me "the baby" of the family on paper, but if you took a closer look, "precocious only child" was a more apt representation. My siblings and I were very close, but we did not have what you'd call a traditional sibling dynamic. I figured out how to entertain myself (and everyone else in the room). I realized quickly that when I made adults laugh, I got to be part of the crew. I gained a wild perspective on how to read people and keep them happy which some might call empathy, but I'm pretty sure was my survival mechanism. I got my parents to myself for the most part; which my siblings never let me forget. They'd teasingly call me the "rich kid" and in a way, I was. My parents had disposable income and more time to spend with me. I'd go on their middle-aged dates with them; leaf-peeping Sunday drives in the Catskills, bandshell concerts to see ultra hip Barbershop Quartets, watching "Murder, She Wrote" in earnest I was a little old soul in OshKosh-B'gosh overalls.She said I kept her youngThe best times were when mom and I were home alone. She'd put on her old records and we'd sing and dance around the table listening to Elvis, Johnny Cash, and The Clancy Brothers. "You keep me young," she would say with her easy smile.We'd get ice cream at Barbara's Candy World and she'd tease me because she knew I'd order the same thing, Vanilla with rainbow sprinkles. Mom would get a Rocky Road that somehow always ended up all over her and we'd crack up laughing in the same big cackle.Now I'm the same age my mother was when she had me and while my mom is still alive, we are losing her to dementia. I have never experienced a pain so cruel. I was always acutely aware of the fact my mom was older than everyone else's (I was so excited in 2nd grade when she'd won a contest, "oldest mom in the class!"). In that way, I knew I'd lose my mom earlier than my friends would lose theirs, but I thought for this reason, I'd be prepared. Ever the perfectionist, I thought I could get a headstart on grieving by recognizing its inevitability, but I realize now there is nothing that can prepare you for this kind of loss.The idea of a "sorrow baby" is starting to make a lot of sense, in some iteration anyway; a puppy, a screenplay, a thousand homemade cakes, whatever. I don't know what it's like to have a child, but I do know I am feeling that same grief in losing the mother I knew. I understand these feelings need to go somewhere. I realize it's not so much that you need that baby to fill you, but that you have so much love you still need to give.

Koyaana Redstar, a vintage luxury handbag expert, swears by resale handbags.She said she bought a Chanel Boy bag for $2050 in 2015 and sold it for $2000 in 2024.Taking good care of a bag is essential in making sure it retains its value, she said.This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Koyaana Redstar, the head of luxury buying at Luxe Du Jour, an online luxury boutique for vintage designer handbags. It has been edited for length and clarity.I've worked for Rebag, The RealReal, and other vintage consignment stores, and I have 20 years of experience in the resale industry.I swear by resale, just because your return on investment is always going to be higher if you buy resale and sell resale, versus buying at retail price and then selling it off.Here's a fun bit of girl math. In 2015, I bought a new medium, studded Chanel Boy bag. In the years I owned it, I wore it at least six times a month and that's a conservative estimate. I paid $2,050 for it in 2015 at Rebag, a luxury resale company.I loved that bag and took good care of it, but I sold it this year for $2,000 to supplement the funds I needed for my wedding. A black leather Chanel Boy handbag. Edward Berthelot/Getty Images All in, you could say I basically paid $50 to own it for eight years.To me, buying this bag was a hundred percent worth it and a great deal.How to take care of luxury bags An employee repairing an old Louis Vuitton bag in Paris, France. MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP via Getty Images Preserving a bag's condition and caring for it is what helps it retain its value.My biggest tip is to always store the handbag in climate-controlled environments that are not too cold and have moderate humidity.Always remember that most pieces are made of leather, which is really just skin. Heat and humidity make it wither. You also don't want the bag to be too wet because mold could grow.Just make sure you clean the piece with a leather moisturizer or just a fabric cleaner.But don't buy designer handbags just to resell them Luxury handbags from Bottega Veneta and Hermes. Jeremy Moeller/Getty Images My advice, however, is not to buy bags just to sell them. I give that same advice to consigners who come to me after shopping at Herms or Chanel and want to sell their bags.When we quote them prices below retail, they say that they want to make what they paid for it.The truth is, reselling bags also takes into consideration the demand for an item. I can't guarantee that I'll be able to help customers make a profit.So, I always tell people, "Buy something you like, for you. Don't do it to resell it."At the end of the day, investing in a bag you don't like is a gamble. You want to build up a collection because you like the pieces because they speak to you, and because they complement your personal style.

The COP29 conference the latest round of international climate change talks, held this year in Baku, Azerbaijan pushed past its Friday deadline and ended over the weekend with a new commitment to raise $300 billion a year by 2035 to help developing countries cope with the effects of warming and transition to cleaner energy. In a year of geopolitical fragmentation, people doubted that Azerbaijan could deliver. They doubted that everyone could agree, said COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev during the conference. They were wrong on both counts.Yet despite the host countrys optimistic read on the summits conclusion, many delegates and activists were furious with what they saw as a meager investment. Yes, the new commitment is triple the current climate finance agreement of $100 billion per year. But wealthy countries were already two years behind in meeting that original goal, and the new target is still far short of the firm $1.3 trillion that developing countries have campaigned for years to secure. It is sad that after months of negotiations, they have waited till the last official day of COP to table a dismal figure, leaving no sufficient time for deliberations amongst parties, and to make it worse, the figure is shockingly too low, said Rohey John Manjang, environment minister for the West African nation Gambia, in a statement.The negotiations also once again failed to reach an accord on reducing consumption of fossil fuels that are contributing to the warming of the planet. The climate talks echoed the COP28 meeting last year in the United Arab Emirates in that they were again held in a country whose economy depends on oil. Azerbaijan gets two-thirds of its revenue from oil and gas production, and a COP host was once again accused of using the proceedings to forge fossil fuel export deals. COP29 was also one of the most well-attended climate meetings, with 66,000 registrants, though its down from the record 80,000 attendees at last years talks. Like 2023, this years negotiations concluded near the end of whats likely to be the hottest year on record. COP29 faced additional complications. After a plateau and hopes of a decline, global greenhouse gas emissions are rising again and are likely to continue climbing. To meet the target of the Paris climate agreement to limit warming this century to less than 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 degrees Celsius) above pre-Industrial levels, humanity would have to cut emissions by more than half by 2030. According to a survey of scientists who contributed to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, most now think this goal is out of reach. With the US presidential election of Donald Trump, the worlds second-largest greenhouse gas emitter is also likely to back out of the Paris agreement altogether. Trump would be fulfilling a campaign promise after President Joe Biden brought the US back, following Trumps withdrawal during his first term. Trump also wants to expand fossil fuel production and may cut incentives for clean technologies like electric vehicles.Behind all this, the urgency to address climate change has only grown. 2024 has been a year of major disasters like heat waves, hurricanes, coral bleaching, flooding, and wildfires, events whose raw ingredients are poised to become more powerful in a warming world. These disasters are already having major economic effects. And further changes to the climate are likely to have some of their most acute effects rising sea levels, more extreme rainfall, extraordinary heat waves on the countries that contributed least to the problem. But as the US steps back, other countries like China are preparing to step up. A smaller role for the US, and a bigger part for ChinaThe COP29 conference began after the US election, so the US negotiators were still part of Bidens team, and they worked to nail down as much as they could before he leaves office in January. They highlighted how the US has made the single-largest clean energy investment in the world through the Inflation Reduction Act. US negotiators noted that the US is contributing $11 billion to the pool of international climate financing, exceeding its share of the promised $100 billion pool funded by wealthy countries. The US also emphasized its goal of tripling its nuclear energy compared to 2020 levels by 2050 and made progress in ratcheting down emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas thats about 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide when it comes to trapping heat in the atmosphere. Biden himself, though, didnt attend the talks. He was instead at the G20 summit in Brazil, where he visited the Amazon rainforest and pledged an additional $50 million to protect it.Biden acknowledged that his successor wants to undo many of his climate initiatives, but noted in a statement that many cities and states will pick up the mantle on climate change, and many aspects of the transition to cleaner energy sources are unstoppable. Solar energys growth continues to defy forecasts, wind energy is competitive with fossil fuels in some markets, and EVs are getting more popular around the world. While some may seek to deny or delay the clean energy revolution thats underway in America and around the world, nobody can reverse it nobody, Biden said. Yet under Biden, the US has also reached record high levels of oil and gas production and maintained tariffs on Chinese clean energy products like solar panels and electric vehicles. Even with the pause on new liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, the US is on track to double LNG exports by 2030. Trump wants to impose even more tariffs on China, which would further raise the prices of imported EVs and make many of the essential components of clean energy systems, like batteries and steel, more expensive. But as the US steps back from the international stage on climate change, China is gearing up to fill the void, emphasizing a willingness to work with other countries. China sent nearly 1,000 delegates to COP29. It already reigns supreme in solar energy, wind power, batteries, and electric vehicles, both for its domestic consumption and for exports, and its hungry for new customers.China, the worlds largest greenhouse gas emitter, will likely see a drop in carbon dioxide output this year, but its not clear whether this trend will continue. Like the US, China is experiencing growing energy demands from its tech sector, particularly from technologies like artificial intelligence.The next round of climate talks is scheduled for 2025 in Belm, Brazil, where countries are supposed to come to the table with even more ambitious goals for curbing their greenhouse gases. But setting even tougher targets doesnt mean much if countries are breaking their existing promises and emissions continue to rise. I had hoped for a more ambitious outcome on both finance and mitigation to meet the great challenge we face, said UN Secretary-General Antnio Guterres in a statement. I appeal to governments to see this agreement as a foundation and build on it.Youve read 1 article in the last monthHere at Vox, we're unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country.Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change.We rely on readers like you join us.Swati SharmaVox Editor-in-ChiefSee More:

On the Money is a monthly advice column. If you want advice on spending, saving, or investing or any of the complicated emotions that may come up as you prepare to make big financial decisions you can submit your question on this form. Here, we answer two questions asked by Vox readers, which have been edited and condensed.I have a personal adviser that I pay to manage my investment portfolio but Im not sure whether I should continue paying this adviser. My investments are with Vanguard because of its low ETF fees. I have a total of four ETFs: VTI, VXUS, BND and BNDX. These ETFs are spread out between three accounts. My wife and I each have a Roth IRA, and we also have a taxable brokerage account. Two of the ETFs are in each account. Should I continue paying my Vanguard advisor to manage this portfolio? Dear Advised,The portfolio your adviser created for you is extremely well balanced. Its also extremely diversified, in the sense that it includes an enormous variety of individual investments within four larger categories. You and your wife are currently invested in four exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that are designed to track broad segments of the market:VTI: the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETFVXUS: the Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETFBND: the Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund ETFBNDX: the Vanguard Total International Bond Index Fund ETFIn other words, you are invested in four ETFs that are made up of many, many smaller investments within the indices listed above total stock, total international stock, total bond, and total international bond. Since youre effectively invested in everything, your portfolio is likely to increase in value as long as the market itself doesnt crash. This kind of investment strategy is designed to get you through the ups and downs of the market without a lot of risk, especially because Im assuming your adviser is gradually adjusting the ratio of stocks to bonds as you and your wife approach retirement. Stocks offer greater growth potential than bonds but come with greater volatility, so a good investment adviser will slowly shift more of your investments over to bonds as you age. (Since bonds are less volatile, a bond-heavy portfolio should lose less of its value if the market drops before or during your retirement years.)That said, a target-date retirement fund does exactly the same thing, and you dont need to pay an adviser for that. Should you combine finances with your partner?How to cope with inflation and lifestyle creepHow are you supposed to start investing?Do you have questions related to personal finance? Submit them here.Vanguard personal advisers offer additional services beyond portfolio rebalancing, including guidance on how to withdraw money during retirement and strategies on how to manage the taxes associated with investments, so you may have the opportunity to get more out of your advisor than you would out of a target-date fund. Its also worth noting that your typical target-date retirement fund is likely to come with a higher expense ratio than a Vanguard ETF, costing you more money over time. VFIFX, for example, which is Vanguards target-date retirement fund for people planning to retire between 2048 and 2052, has an expense ratio of 0.08 percent. Your VTI ETF only has an expense ratio of 0.03 percent, which means that less of your money goes towards administering the fund.Im not suggesting that you drop your adviser and transfer all of your investments into a target-date retirement fund. Im not a professional investment advisor myself, which means I cannot provide specific investment advice plus, I have an extremely limited knowledge of your situation. However, I can suggest that you talk to your adviser about the full range of services they offer and ask yourself whether you are interested in taking advantage of those services.If you decide youd rather manage your investments on your own, you could always keep your current portfolio as-is and rebalance it yourself, adjusting the percentage of stocks to bonds every few years. If you are planning to retire in 2050, for example, you can take a look at Vanguards VFIFX glidepath and literally replicate it with your own ETFs. At age 40, for example, VFIFX puts roughly 55 percent of your investments in stocks, 35 percent in international stocks, 8 percent in bonds, and 2 percent in international bonds. By the time you reach age 65, VFIFX has adjusted your investments to include 30 percent stocks, 20 percent international stocks, 25 percent bonds, 15 percent international bonds, and the remaining 10 percent in short-term TIPS, which are inflation-protected securities.If that sounds too confusing, or if you arent sure whether you have enough time to schedule and track regular portfolio reallocations, you may want to just stick with your current adviser. Its also worth noting that a good investment adviser may be able to keep you from making impulsive decisions, such as selling during a temporary downturn and may also be able to advise you on other financial issues such as how much to withdraw during retirement. They may even be able to help you with estate planning, if thats important to you and your wife. Feel free to ask your advisor what you can expect over the next few decades, and use that response to help you decide whether or not to maintain the relationship.No matter what you decide to do next, your current portfolio puts you in a great place to get started.Youve read 1 article in the last monthHere at Vox, we're unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country.Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change.We rely on readers like you join us.Swati SharmaVox Editor-in-ChiefSee More:

'Gotta unbox 'em all' it seems, as Pokemon grabs yet another world record, this time for a marathon 24 hour unboxing stream for its latest card game set, Surging Sparks

Call of Duty players will have to make two big purchases costing around 50 to get the latest version of the Replacer skin, and fans really aren't happy about it

Segas movie plans make no sense without this important first stepMichael BeckwithPublished November 26, 2024 1:00am There are at least six Sega movie projects in the works (Sega/Metro)Films based on Sega Mega Drive classics like Streets Of Rage and Shinobi could be the best news retro gaming fans have had in decades.Video game movies are nothing new, but the idea that they could actually be good is. Thanks to box office success stories like The Super Mario Bros Movie and Uncharted (not to mention The Last Of Us and Fallout on TV), game companies are more eager than ever to partner with Hollywood and leverage their IPs as a means of boosting sales and making some extra money.Its a perfectly fine strategy and audiences have often enjoyed seeing their favourite games turned into genuinely good films. The days of video game movies being universally embarrassing seem to be over, even if Borderlands makes clear theyre not gone forever.The success stories appear to have emboldened game companies into rummaging down the sofa in search of anything they can mould into a potential blockbuster, regardless of whether it makes any sense to. Sega, in particular, is going overboard with its movie projects at the moment, even though very few of its classic properties have a coherent story.What Sega movies are coming out soon?Currently riding high with its live action Sonic The Hedgehog movies (with a third due in December), Sega has plans for no less than six movie adaptations in the near future. Not for any of its current titles, but for long-dormant IPs from the 90s: Streets Of Rage, The House Of The Dead, Space Channel 5, Shinobi, Comix Zone, and Eternal Champions.At the risk of sounding mean, who is talking about Comix Zone or Eternal Champions nowadays? Even Space Channel 5, arguably the most famous of those six, isnt all that relevant in the 2020s, with Ulalas role as the face of Sega rhythm games taken over by virtual pop star Hatsune Miku.Wed be remiss not to acknowledge the 2020s have seen a Streets Of Rage revival in Streets Of Rage 4 and a House Of The Dead remake. But the former, while successful, has hardly turned Streets Of Rage into a household name and the latter simply wasnt very good.No doubt Sega intends to capitalise on its big retro video game revivals. At The Game Awards 2023, Sega teased new entries for a range of once-forgotten franchises. However, only two of those Streets Of Rage and Shinobi are confirmed to be getting movies.So far, Sega has no plans to make a Comix Zone sequel or remake Eternal Champions (an obscure Mega Drive fighting game that few people liked even at the time), so theres not even any cross-promotions to fully take advantage of with a movie. Are you excited about all these Sega movies? (Picture: Sega)It all seems very random and risky when you remember these old IPs dont exactly offer much of a story framework for a film. The 80s and 90s were a time when stories werent at the forefront for a lot of games (barring exceptions like Final Fantasy) and were simply excuses to justify why youre running through levels.Sega does at least seem aware of this. In this VGC interview, the companys global head of transmedia, Justin Scarpone (who was an executive at Disney for 17 years), acknowledges the challenges the company faces in marketing these movie projects to both nostalgic fans and the younger generation.If we try to reinvent these IPs, how do we connect?, he said. Which platforms and how do we evolve the lure for these IPs that are lesser known, frankly speaking? And how do we connect with new generations?The answer seems to be by telling a good enough story, with Scarpone using Shinobi as an example of a game thats extremely light on lore and characterisation.There are some episodic or, lets say, iconic moments in the old franchise games that we can call out in the movie script or in the reboot of the game. But I think we have to do a lot more because games in 2025 or 2026, the level of storytelling and gameplay has just obviously evolved tremendously. If were too careful, I think well under-deliver, creatively speaking.Why are so many video game movies bad?On one hand, something like Shinobi offers a degree of freedom when it comes to narrative. Its original story and protagonist, Joe Musashi, are so ill-defined that they can be fleshed out without contradicting anything.However, this lack of narrative also means players all have their own preconceptions of the tone of the game and Joe as a character. Unlike Sonic or Kazuma Kiryu, theres no agreed foundation to draw on, meaning any personality Joe gets, or story hes given, can easily anger certain purists for contradicting the Shinobi that exists in their heads.Of course, movie adaptations not being true to their source material is hardly anything new, for video games or anything else, but its interesting that despite being a critical and commercial flop, 2K claims that the Borderlands movie still caused an increase in game sales even though there hadnt been a new one out in years.This explains why video game movies almost never have an official tie-in, as publishers merely license out the property but dont put their money or reputation on the line, in the event that its a flop or a laughing stock (or both, in the case of Borderlands).But Segas situation is different. People are still playing Borderlands games and Borderlands 4 was recently announced. Nobody has thought about Eternal Champions and the rest in 30 years, so unless the movie is a massive hit Sega get nothing out of the deal except the initial licensing fee.What retro games is Sega going to reboot?Theres a very good chance that, on some level at least, Sega is simply taking Hollywood investors money and not asking any questions, since video game movies are hot at the moment and movie execs are clearly looking to sign up whatever they can get their hands on. After all, a Space Channel 5 movie doesnt make any less sense than Pac-Man, Days Gone, Bendy And The Ink Machine, or Just Dance.More TrendingBut if Sega want any long-term benefit out of the deal the sensible thing would be to make new games based on these franchises, which would not only rejuvenate their back catalogue which has laid dormant for more than 20 years now but also create new story elements for the movies to adapt.The original Shinobi didnt have a memorable story but the new one could be different. However, even then its difficult to understand why games as unloved and unremarkable as Comix Zone and Eternal Champions are being fast-tracked ahead of Sega games like Phantasy Star and Panzer Dragoon, which already have a story and remain popular today.Hollywood clearly has it in mind that where superheroes dominated cinema in the 2010s, video games can do so in the 2020s and beyond but comic books are a storytelling medium and, in general, 90s and early 2000s video games were not.The best-case scenario for this problem is for publishers to revive their older games with modern storytelling techniques and get them ready for adaptation that way. The worst-case scenario is that the eventual Eternal Champions movie is an authentic adaptation of the original game and ends up making Borderlands look like a cinematic classic.Emailgamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below,follow us on Twitter, andsign-up to our newsletter.To submit Inbox letters and Readers Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use ourSubmit Stuff page here.For more stories like this,check our Gaming page.GameCentralExclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy

Its probably best to try and hide a bit better than that (Rebellion)It might not be Sniper Elite 6 but Rebellions latest game is looking to add a suite of new online options and multiple player characters.Rebellions World War 2 era Sniper Elite franchise is one of the gaming worlds hardy perennials. The first Sniper Elite game was released in 2005, nearly 20 years ago, and its most recent iteration, Sniper Elite 5, came out in 2022 so Rebellion hasnt exactly been shy about keeping its momentum going over that period, even with Atomfall coming up as well.You wont have to wait long for another instalment of its distinctive third person Nazi elimination action either. Sniper Elite: Resistance will be one of the first new releases of 2025 and while its not a numbered sequel it is doing its best to evolve the concept in more subtle ways.In the grand tradition of long-running franchises, Sniper Elite: Resistance will be a mid-cycle game Sniper Elite 5.5, if you like. We had the chance to play it, via the game-streaming service Parsec for an hour. But before jumping in, producer Lauren Davidson explained what Sniper Elite: Resistance is all about and what new features it contains.Resistance is intended as a standalone addition to the Sniper Elite canon, with a full length single-player campaign. Rather than series stalwart Karl Fairburne, it puts you in control of Harry Hawker, a British Special Operations Executive agent (who has had a co-op supporting role in some previous Sniper Elite games).Davidson also teased a new mode for the franchise, entitled Propaganda, which will centre on finding propaganda posters hidden around the levels. Once you find one you will then be able to step through it and play as a French Resistance operative, in a series of missions that have time-sensitive objectives.Davidson added that the series Axis Invasion online mode will return, allowing you to step into other players campaigns as an Axis sniper. Plus, the game will have a competitive 16-player online mode as well as a three-player co-op Survival mode, in which you and two others will be able to take on waves of enemies.Our hands-on playthrough was a demo consisting of the third level of Resistances campaign. Unfortunately, since it was an early demo, it lacked the checkpointing that would be in the final game, so once we died, we had to restart the level. Without further ado, we jumped in, playing via Parsec on a gaming laptop, but using an Xbox Series X controller rather than keyboard and mouse.A briefing screen delivered in typically authentic 1940s newsreel style provided a hint as to Sniper Elite: Resistances overarching storyline: Harry Hawkers mission to find out more about a legendary new weapon being developed by the Nazis, dubbed a Wunderwaffe, and supposedly so powerful that it could end the war.In the demo level, Harry finds himself in Fourviere, a district of the French city Lyon, where unusual activity pertaining to said weapon had been sighted by the local Resistance. A large number of Gestapo officers have set up a base in the Hotel Terminus, while unusual amounts of traffic in the nearby train station suggested something was also going on there.Harrys brief is to gather intel in the Gestapos offices and inspect the Hotel Terminuss basement, and to scope out the train station. Hes told that Resistance operatives investigating the train station have disappeared from contact, bringing about an optional mission to re-establish contact or find out what had happened to them. Its not just Indiana Jones that hates these guys (Rebellion)Harry starts at one of the highest points of Fourviere, overlooking a patch of grassland and a major city square, in which much Nazi activity can be perceived. It swiftly becomes obvious that Resistance will be the best-looking Sniper Elite game yet; its visuals are super crisp and the environmental and level design shows an impressive amount of verticality (always welcome in a sniping game).As is the convention for a Sniper Elite game, Hawker is equipped with a pistol, sniper rifle, and an assault rifle as well as a grenade, a full-health-restoring medical kit, some bandages, and objects such as bottles that can be thrown to cause distractions.Different ammo types can be equipped for each weapon, such as armour-piercing, although at the start of the mission, he only has standard ammo. Looting dead enemies and finding supply drops throughout the course of the level is key to building up a more diverse loadout and some of the Nazis killed also yield some interesting weaponry.Gameplay-wise, Sniper Elite: Resistance is comfortingly familiar. Reaching instantly for the sniper rifle, we targeted a lone Nazi infantryman and hit the right bumper to hold our breath, at which point, time slowed down slightly, the targeting reticule turned red, and our successful shot launched the deliciously lurid x-ray killcam, following our bullets trajectory as it ripped through his body.Sniper Elites famously rigorous enemy AI soon pitched into action. In the square opposite, we took out some long-distance targets, divided between infantrymen and leather-jacketed Gestapo operatives. A lorry full of enemies pulled up and we explored the possibility of environmental kills, planting enough shots into its engine to cause it to explode.Enemies took cover, necessitating some patience while we waited for them to raise their heads slightly. We also managed to take some out while they were on the move, earning a ribbon (which contribute to upgrading Harry Hawkers attributes in the full game, as opposed to the demo we were playing) for achieving five sniper rifle kills in 60 seconds.Having cleared the initial area, we started to move towards our twin objectives of the Hotel Terminus and the train station. On the way was a marked resistance safe house, which had clearly been compromised, since it contained Gestapo operatives rather than resistance fighters who had to be taken out at close range with the assault rifle.As we moved through Fourviere, more elements of the familiar Sniper Elite gameplay became evident. Hawker has a powerful melee takedown, which can be used to either kill or incapacitate, and generators can be turned on to mask any movement noise you might make. If you cant be bothered to hide bodies, you can booby trap them instead with grenades. Alarms are everywhere, which can be taken out by sniping or disabling them manually once you take out the enemies around them.More TrendingThe level was long, had several stages and was enjoyably involving. As is typical for the franchise, the gameplay is rigorous and challenging if you make a wrong move youll be swamped by reinforcements. Scuttling around to escape last-known positions is vital; luckily, it was always possible to find a new place to hide and snipe, as long as you keep your bearings.In other words, Sniper Elite: Resistances gameplay was exactly what you would expect from a new instalment of the franchise, and the gunplay felt as polished, smooth and perfectly fettled as ever. Sadly, we didnt manage to find a Propaganda mission, but those should add even more variety to the single-player gameplay.From what we saw, Sniper Elite: Resistance will offer exactly what you would expect from a Sniper Elite game, albeit with the best visuals yet seen in the franchise, an even greater stamp of authenticity, and a rollicking Second World War plot. Its not Sniper Elite 6 but it is the next best thing.Formats: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PCPrice: 54.99Publisher: RebellionDeveloper: RebellionRelease Date: 30th January 2025Age Rating: 16 You dont only snipe (Rebellion)Emailgamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below,follow us on Twitter, andsign-up to our newsletter.To submit Inbox letters and Readers Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use ourSubmit Stuff page here.For more stories like this,check our Gaming page.GameCentralExclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy

Scientists are racing to find out

As we learned late last week, the beloved Muppet*Vision 3D attraction at Walt Disney World has been confirmed to be a part of the closures to make way for Pixars Monsters Inc. land slated for the Disney Parks super-charged expansion in the works. Then, over the weekend, it was officially announced that Muppets Courtyard, the home of the Muppet*Vision 3D, will be demolished without any third-act efforts from the Muppets to save their theaterthough Henson nerds have expressed how much like a Muppet movie it would be to make a last stand. But as things are often subject to big changes at Walt Disney World, its the end of an era for the cherished cinematic 3D chaos of Muppet*Vision. What makes it all the more bittersweet is that it was the last Muppets project to be helmed by their creator Jim Henson. It features timeless animatronic work (Statler and Waldorf heckling along on the balcony, a walk-around Sweetums) as part of the show.In a statement on Instagram, the Jim Henson company shared the following: Jim Hensons final project was Muppet*Vision 3D, now regarded as a true theme park classic. Innovation was always Jim Hensons north star, and his trailblazing career led him to a unique challenge: a truly immersive Muppet experience where audiences are part of the happy chaos of the iconic Muppet Show. Originally debuting in 1991, Muppet*Vision 3D combined 3D technology with real-world practical effects, alongside animatronic and live Muppet characters. The result was a one-of-a-kind Jim Henson experience, and an unforgettable capstone to Jims magnificent career. As we learn of the shows upcoming closure in its current form at Disneys Hollywood Studios, we look forward to Muppet*Vision 3Ds next act. Image: Sabina Graves, io9/Gizmodo Muppets Courtyard featured the whimsy and wonder of walking around the set of a Muppet production backlot, with statues of Miss Piggy aboundinglike the Ms. Liberty fountain, which we hope just gets re-homed at the Muppets new place of residence (more on that below). At least we wont miss the truly atrocious (yet somehow cult-beloved) slice house PizzeRizzo.While the Monsters Inc. Monstropolis will take up the space as its currently occupied, the Muppets wont be going far at least. In fact, they will play the starring role in the re-imagining of the Rock n Roller Coaster (currently headlined by Aerosmith) at Hollywood Studios. This news came along with the announcement of Muppet*Vision 3Ds closure. Its a little concerning, given that pairing the iconic family franchise with one of the parks most hardcore coasters could alienate introducing the Muppets to children; that was easier when it was baked into Muppet*Vision as a gateway to get them interested in The Muppet Show and spin-off movies on Disney+.Heres hoping that perhaps Rock n Roller Coaster gets new ride track akin to the interactive level of Epcots Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind but maybe just a tad bit more family friendlyand that could indeed be what Disney Imagineering has in mind, and not just giving it a new coat of paint. Lets see them go all in Muppet-ifying it with a lot of Electric Mayhem. Image: Disney Experiences Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.