Author: dpugh007

Rhode Island state representative Robert Nardolillo has proposed legislation in the Ocean State that seeks to add an extra tax on violent video games. In a news release this week, the Republican lawmaker said the funds from this tax would go towards mental health and counselling resources. This legislation would put an additional 10 percent sales tax on video games sold in Rhode Island that carry an M-for-Mature or higher rating from the ESRB.

Rhode Island’s sales tax rate is 7 percent, meaning $60 games actually cost $64.20. With the extra 10 percent, an M-rated game like Grand Theft Auto V would cost $70.20. That’s a good amount extra. Nardolillo says the revenue from this tax would be put into a “special account” to be dispersed to school districts for the purposes of funding counselling, mental health programs, and “other conflict resolution activities.”

“Our goal is to make every school in Rhode Island a safe and calm place for students to learn,” Nardolillo said in a news release. “By offering children resources to manage their aggression today, we can ensure a more peaceful tomorrow.”

Nardolillo’s proposed legislation comes just days after the horrific high school shooting in Parkland, Florida. In the wake of the tragedy, President Trump said he’s heard people say “the level of violence in video games is really shaping young people’s thoughts.”

Nardolillo went on to say, without citing any specific study or data, that “there is evidence that children exposed to violent video games at a young age tend to act more aggressively than those who are not.” He added: “This bill would give schools the additional resources needed to help students deal with that aggression in a positive way.”

Some argue there is assuredly a link between playing violent video games and increased levels of aggressive behaviour, while others maintain that games themselves don’t cause violence, but are rather one prominent risk factor for violent real-world behaviour.

This is not the first time a politician has called for an excise tax on specific video games. After the Sandy Hook shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, a lawmaker from the state proposed a similar tax in 2013. Also that year, a state representative from Missouri proposed a sales tax on games rated M and above. In both cases, the funds would have gone towards mental health programs. However, the bills never became law.

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Prolific video game performance actor Troy Baker has joined the cast of Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding, along with Emily O’Brien, another well known actor that has been featured in a number of big games.

O’Brien made the announcement on Instagram by posting a picture of herself with Baker and Norman Reedus, who has already been confirmed as one of the main characters in Death Stranding. “Honored to be working alongside these two fine lads on Hideo Kojima’s new project Death Stranding,” reads the caption. “I’m a lucky gal ;)”

O’Brien’s recent credits include Days Gone, which is in development at Sony’s Bend Studios, Arkane Studios’ Dishonored: Death of the Outsider, Telltale’s Batman: The Enemy Within and Guardians of the Galaxy series’, and World of Final Fantasy.

Baker, meanwhile, is reprising the role of Joel for Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part II, and most recently voiced Talion in Middle-earth: Shadow of War, Sam Drake in Uncharted 4 and The Lost Legacy, and is Batman/Bruce Wayne in Telltale’s series based on DC’s Dark Knight.

As of yet there hasn’t been a confirmed Death Stranding release date, but Kojima hinted that it might launch in 2018. It also stars Mads Mikkelson (Hannibal), director Guillermo Del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, The Shape of Water) and Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead).

The last Death Stranding trailer was 8-minutes long and, although it’s very exciting, creates a whole bunch of new questions, which is pretty standard for Kojima’s titles. In April, Kojima spoke a little about the game, explaining why he wanted Norman Reedus to be naked in the game’s first trailer. We’ve also since learned why its fog looks so nice.

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If you were watching TV in 2004, chances are you or someone else you knew was completely and utterly obsessed with Lost. ABC’s drama series took the world by storm, creating a passionate fanbase that took to the internet to discuss each episode and theorize about what it all means.

In 2018 that might not sound like anything special, but it’s important to note that this was the very first show to capture the hearts and minds of TV audiences living in the internet age. It wasn’t easy to congregate on places like Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube because, well, they didn’t exist in any meaningful way.

But part of being a Lost fan was engaging with others, and it was undoubtedly a show that gave its audience plenty of material to work with. Lost was filled with characters to love–and hate–mysteries to consider, and wild twists that shocked us. Regardless of whether you love it or hate it, the fact that it was a cultural phenomenon is undeniable.

And now, it’s available to stream in its entirety on Hulu. To celebrate its arrival on the streaming service we decided to put together a video looking back at what made Lost so unique. If you’d like to read instead of watch, you can check out our gallery on the 8 Ways Lost Changed TV.

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Nintendo has released a free update for Super Mario Odyssey, bringing a new mini-game called “Balloon World” to the critically acclaimed Nintendo Switch title. Along with the new mode, there’s also two new filters to use when taking screenshots in the Snapshot Mode.

Balloon World becomes available once the main game is completed and, to get started, players need to find Luigi in each Kingdom and talk to him. Balloon World’s “Hide It” mode lets you hide balloons within stages that other players race to find. Conversely, “Find It” mode let’s you track down other balloons hidden by players from across the globe.

“Whether players are hiding balloons or finding them, their Rank will go up based on their score,” Nintendo explains in a press release. “While playing Balloon World, the atmosphere will change for each kingdom: for example, players will see it rain in New Donk City during the day and watch the sunset in Tostarena.”

Also in the update are “a range of new outfits”, including The Sunshine, Musician, and Knight Armor outfits, all of which become available in the shop after the main story is finished. The two new Snapshot filters, meanwhile, are Coin and Neon.

In GameSpot’s Super Mario Odyssey review the game was awarded a 10, and GameSpot voted it the third best game of 2017. It was a great year for Nintendo overall, with Switch becoming the fastest selling console in the US, and Super Mario Odyssey taking the top slot of Amazon’s best-selling games of the year.

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