January 2024 – Page 840 – Safir News Agency

2024: Marking your calendars for the best games

admin Jan 1, 2024 0

After a non-stop number of hits in 2023, what promise does 2024 hold?

Published Date – 03:51 PM, Sun – 31 December 23

2024: Marking your calendars for the best games

2023 was fantastic for games and players. I wouldn’t be surprised if many of us have a significantly sized backlog of games we wish to play. Two games I’m eager to return to and spend more time on are Alan Wake 2 (I get easily scared) and Baldur’s Gate 3 (there’s just so much more to explore). There are a few more games I wish I could replay at leisure.

However, as 2024 unfolds, we’re bound to encounter numerous new experiences to try and master as we discover new favorites.

Games from major studios and franchises will be available right from January as the first new Prince of Persia in years launches on January 15. Early glimpses reveal it to be a survival platformer. If it is anything like the Ori franchise, we might begin the year on a high note.

The five games that I am most excited about in 2024 are:

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II (Microsoft exclusive: Series X/S, and PC): Promised since the reveal of the Series X in 2019, the successor to Senua’s horror-filled survival journey is set to launch in 2024. The game’s promotional material showcases a hauntingly beautiful Iceland, promising players an experience of ‘fear and fury’ accompanied by haunting, bone chilling music.

Senua’s survival in this second journey, which looks to be more challenging than the first, is an experience we must all endure together to survive. This one is for those that crave fear in their games.

Rise of the Ronin (March 22, 2024 – PS5 exclusive): Three years after the remarkable success of Ghost of Tsushima, a new open-world Japanese Action RPG emerges from the Sony stable. Team Ninja’s game is set in 19th century Japan and is set at a time of civil strife, Western invasion, and rampant chaos, the game promises players a dynamic narrative paired with a robust and user-friendly combat system.

Promotional material shows an almost complete game with all the requisite elements for a successful action RPG, however, only time will tell how the game will fare. Luckily, March isn’t too far away.

Avowed (Microsoft exclusive: Series X/S, and PC):Taking place in the world of Eora (the same realm as Pillars of Eternity), Avowed is Obsidian’s latest offering into the first-person Action RPG genre, following their successful streak with titles like 2019’s The Outer Worlds and 2022’s Pentiment.

Should Obsidian manage to conjure magic for a third time with Avowed, this game will undoubtedly be a must-try. By the time it launches (exact date unclear), we might just be finishing our nth playthrough of Baldur’s Gate 3, don’t you think?

Skull and Bones (February 13, 2024 – PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC) – There’s finally a launch date in sight for Skull and Bones! Initially announced in 2017, it’s been a long seven years for fans eagerly anticipating the pirate combat elements reminiscent of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag. Despite years of waiting and numerous delays, the promise of online virtual naval combat still holds strong.

If Ubisoft meets the current launch timeline and delivers a nuanced combat system with seamless matchmaking and online battles, there’s nothing stopping us from donning virtual eyepatches and acquiring cutlasses. Parrots optional, eh?

Star Wars Outlaws (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC)–An open world Star Wars, need I say more? Set between the cinematic events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, – Outlaws promises a unique story, an expansive galaxy, and spaceflight for its players. With the success of EA’s journey with Cal Kestis, could Ubisoft enter the fray and make “A Galaxy far far away” the best place for open world experiences? I really hope so!

These are my picks for 2024. However, only the future can tell us which ones of these will be worth the wait as the year rolls on. Till then we all have our backlogs to get back to.

Here are the Top 10 points in this big story:

With the successful launch of XPoSAT or the X-ray Polarimeter Satellite, at 9.10 am , India will become the second country after the US to have an ‘observatory’ to study black holes. The new mission comes on the heels of India’s successful moon mission Chandrayaan.
Using X-ray photons and their polarisation, XPoSAT will help study the radiation from near black holes and neutron stars. It carries two payloads namely POLIX (Polarimeter Instrument in X-rays) and XSPECT (X-ray Spectroscopy and Timing).
The satellite will measure polarisation of X-rays in the energy band 8-30keV emanating from about 50 potential cosmic sources through Thomson Scattering by POLIX payload.
It will carry out long term spectral and temporal studies of cosmic X-ray sources. It will also carry out polarisation and spectroscopic measurements of X-ray emissions from cosmic sources through POLIX and XSPECT payloads..
When stars run out of fuel and ‘die’, they collapse under their own gravity and leave behind black holes or neutron stars.
Black holes have the highest gravitational force in the universe and neutron stars have the highest densities.
Gathering more information on this, the mission will help unravel the mysteries of the ultra-extreme environments in space.
The XPoSat satellite cost around Rs 250 crore (approximately $30 million) while the NASA IXPE – which is on a similar mission since 2021 — required an outlay of $188 million.
The Indian satellite is expected to last more than five years compared to the two-year life span of the NASA IXPE,
The XPoSAT mission will see the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle or PSLV — undertake its 60th flight. Besides the 469-kg XPoSAT, the 260-tonne PSLV will lift off with 10 experiments.

Opinion: 2024 Is Poised To Be A Year Of Renewal, And Let Us Celebrate That

admin Jan 1, 2024 0

According to The Economist‘s calculations, over four billion people in 76 countries are set to cast their votes in 2024 to elect governments. It states that populous countries like Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Pakistan, Russia, and the United States will have elections in 2024.

This is a remarkable coincidence, but the team at The Economist seems less enthused. They observe: “More people will vote in 2024 than in any previous year. But this great march to the ballot box does not necessarily mean an explosion of democracy.” Instead of embracing the convergence of this global democratic carnival, the magazine opines that “2024 will be stressful for those who care about liberal democracy.”

Democratic renewal of the kind we have not seen before

While I admire the audacity of some intelligent individuals sitting in a London office and offering their insights to the world, my humility reminds me not to dismiss the collective wisdom of a staggering four billion people. It is not my place to question the innate intelligence of voters. They have the right to make their choices, and who are we to challenge their preferences in the name of a flawed construct called “flawed democracies”.

To me, an election is about engagement. It involves the pledges that parties make to voters, recognizing the importance of people at its core. It signifies a transition from the old to the new and a renewal of commitments, government structures, policy frameworks, and the engagement between people and government.

While some may have the audacity to despair at such a large-scale renewal, I do not share that sentiment. I wholeheartedly support the celebration of democratic renewal in 2024 on an unprecedented scale, and that is precisely the kind of optimism I eagerly anticipate as we await the arrival of the New Year.

In India, we are gearing up for the largest event of all-the Lok Sabha elections scheduled for April-May 2024. Additionally, key states such as Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, and possibly Jammu & Kashmir will hold elections. Regardless of the outcome (current indications suggest a one-sided election in favour of the Modi regime in New Delhi), India will move one step closer to its dream of achieving a $30 trillion economy.

Interest rate cuts across the world

A year marked by numerous elections will also witness another record, one not seen in 14 years. According to The Wall Street Journal, “With inflation crumbling around the globe, Bank of America strategists project 152 global central bank rate cuts next year, the most since 2009.”

Interest rates cuts in 152 countries! This prospect is enough to bring a smile to even the most pessimistic observers of the economy. It is no wonder that Goldman Sachs is confidently asserting that the global economy will perform better in 2024 than many expect, with India retaining its title as the fastest-growing large economy.

Amidst the prevailing optimism fuelled by the grand-scale democratic renewal and declining credit costs worldwide, a note of caution emerges as the impact of climate change becomes increasingly evident in our lives. June of this year was the warmest on record, and some days in July recorded the highest temperatures ever. Dire predictions loom for 2024-it is projected to be even hotter than 2023, with global temperatures expected to surpass 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Furious climate change nightmare unfolding

The significance of the 1.5-degree Celsius target cannot be overstated; repeated breaches will have catastrophic consequences. If such breaches occur in the coming years, we must be prepared to bear a heavy price. The other side of this challenge is the significant investment in green technology and the raw materials that power it, a process already underway worldwide and poised to accelerate. This offers a silver lining amidst the chaos induced by climate change, which continues to unfold at frequent intervals across the globe.

What is heartening is the kind of decisive stand India has taken on this count. Even as India and many other developing countries have gone the extra mile on green transition, what is worrying is vacillation and double-speak by the developed countries. Hope better sense prevails in 2024.

When I look at the key events of 2024, I am more optimistic than ever because we are better equipped to handle challenges coming our way. While occasional geopolitical flare-ups may occur, the global system has developed a remarkable capacity to contain them locally.

As I bid farewell to the year that marked a period of recovery after the pandemic-induced hardships, I am confident that the year ahead will be one of renewal and consolidation.

The year 2023 started on a sombre note in India. There was a sense of gloom with geo-political tensions and spiking inflation. The end, however, has been the exact opposite of that. There is an unprecedented consensus on a ‘we will do it’ theme. Regardless of the challenges ahead, there is a seamless flow of collective energy ever eager for a big leap.

Let us all pledge to be at the forefront of democratic renewal and the resulting advancements. And let us all celebrate the impending India moment.

Wishing you all a very happy new year.

(Sanjay Pugalia is the CEO & Editor-in-Chief, AMG Media Network)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author.