Castle

A castle (from Latin: castellum) is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble. This is distinct from a palace, which is not fortified; from a fortress, which was not always a residence for nobility; and from a fortified settlement, which was a public defence – though there are many similarities among these types of construction. Usage of the term has varied over time and has been applied to structures as diverse as hill forts and country houses. Over the approximately 900 years that castles were built, they took on a great many forms with many different features, although some, such as curtain walls and arrowslits, were commonplace.

A European innovation, castles originated in the 9th and 10th centuries, after the fall of the Carolingian Empire resulted in its territory being divided among individual lords and princes. These nobles built castles to control the area immediately surrounding them, and were both offensive and defensive structures; they provided a base from which raids could be launched as well as protection from enemies. Although their military origins are often emphasised in castle studies, the structures also served as centres of administration and symbols of power. Urban castles were used to control the local populace and important travel routes, and rural castles were often situated near features that were integral to life in the community, such as mills and fertile land.

Evil

Evil, in a general context, is the absence or opposite of that which is ascribed as being good. Often, evil is used to denote profound immorality. In certain religious contexts, evil has been described as a supernatural force. Definitions of evil vary, as does the analysis of its motives. However, elements that are commonly associated with evil involve unbalanced behavior involving expediency, selfishness, ignorance, or neglect.

In cultures with an Abrahamic religious influence, evil is usually perceived as the dualistic antagonistic opposite of good, in which good should prevail and evil should be defeated. In cultures with Buddhist spiritual influence, both good and evil are perceived as part of an antagonistic duality that itself must be overcome through achieving Śūnyatā meaning emptiness in the sense of recognition of good and evil being two opposing principles but not a reality, emptying the duality of them, and achieving a oneness.

The philosophical question of whether morality is absolute, relative, or illusory leads to questions about the nature of evil, with views falling into one of four opposed camps: moral absolutism, amoralism, moral relativism, and moral universalism.

Shank 2

Shank 2 is a sequel to a 2D side-scrolling action beat 'em up video game Shank by Klei Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts. It was announced on September 27, 2011 and released on February 7, 2012 for the PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Windows, and on February 8, 2012 for the Xbox 360. Shank 2 features a new multiplayer survival mode, updated combat mechanics, and new weapons. Shank 2 does not feature the cooperative story mode which appears in the previous installment, instead offering a two-player survival mode.

Plot

After the death of cartel leader Cesar at the end of the first game, Shank's homeland has been engulfed by warfare as various factions attempt to take control. General Magnus has emerged victorious, and his militia now rules with an iron fist. They have overthrown the government and Magnus has declared himself President, taking over much of the cartel's criminal activities.

The rebellion against the militia is being led by Shank's old mentor, Elena. At the game's opening she is kidnapped by the militia's forces; unbeknownst to the majority of the population, Magnus is gravely ill, and he needs a heart transplant if he is to survive. He intends to take Elena's heart, a process which will kill her. Shank must fight his way through Magnus's army in order to rescue his mentor and once more overthrow a despot.

Cut the Rope

Cut the Rope is a series of physics-based puzzle video games developed by the Russian entertainment company ZeptoLab for several platforms and devices. It consists of the original Cut the Rope (2010) published by Chillingo, Cut the Rope: Holiday Gift (2010), Cut the Rope: Experiments (2011), Cut the Rope: Time Travel (2013), Cut the Rope 2 (2013 iOS; 2014 Android), My Om Nom (2014 iOS; 2015 Android), and Cut the Rope: Magic (2015).

The objective of the Cut the Rope games is to feed candy to a little green creature named Om Nom while collecting stars. As of May 2015, Cut the Rope games have been downloaded more than 600 million times.

Gameplay

In each level, the candy hangs by one or several of the titular ropes which the player must cut with a swipe of their finger using the device's touchscreen. Using various objects such as floating bubbles and bellows, the candy must also be manipulated around obstacles to get to Om Nom's mouth. Each level takes place in a box, and there are different boxes (such as the cardboard box, the fabric box, and the foil box). More boxes will be added soon.

Angry Birds

Angry Birds is a video game franchise created by Finnish computer game developer Rovio Entertainment. Inspired by Crush the Castle, the first game in the series was initially released in December 2009 for Apple iOS. As of October 2010, 12 million copies of the game were purchased from App Store. The company then released ports of the game for other touchscreen smartphone operating systems, including Android, Symbian and Windows Phone. The franchise has since been expanded to include video game console and PC ports.

Angry Birds has been praised for its successful combination of fun gameplay, comical style, and low price. Its popularity led to many spin-offs, versions of Angry Birds being created for PCs and gaming consoles, a market for merchandise featuring its characters, a televised cartoon series, and an upcoming feature film. In January 2014 there had been over two billion downloads across all platforms, including both regular and special editions: as of July 2015, the series’ games have been downloaded more than three billion times collectively, making it the most downloaded freemium game series of all time. The original Angry Birds has been called "one of the most mainstream games out right now", "one of the great runaway hits of 2010", and "the largest mobile app success the world has seen so far".An animated feature film based on the series will be released by Columbia Pictures on May 20, 2016, and the first main-series sequel, Angry Birds 2, was released on July 30, 2015.