September 2022

The final part of the Golden Slumber narrative in Genshin Impact Version 3.1 has a few trials that players must finish for the latest World Quest. But, if you are having difficulty with this particular task, we’ll show you how to complete the Dreams Beneath the Searing Sand quest, including several tips and tricks about the puzzles within the Khaj-Nisut.

Dreams Beneath the Searing Sand Quest in Genshin Impact

The Dreams Beneath the Searing Sand storyline is the last chapter of the Golden Slumber World Quest in Genshin Impact. At the beginning of this mission, players will fight groups of Eremites and travel to Khaj-Nisut, where they must participate in three trials.

Were you fortunate enough to make it down to EGX London this year? It was a weekend ago now, and, if you ask me, there was a nice vibe around the place. It was nice to be back playing games together relatively unimpeded by the pandemic, and the show is feeling much more like its old self again. But what caught our eye there?

That's what I'm talking to my two Weekly guests Martin Robinson and Liv Ngan about today. What did Liv think of Wo Long, did Martin like Street Fighter 6, and why was everyone talking about new card game Wildfrost?

Elsewhere in today's show, I catch us up on some of the reviews we've missed while we've been away - sorry for the gap in our programming, but I've had some time off - before getting onto the hot topic of the week: the FIFA 23 review. It's the final FIFA-branded game, and there's a lot to both like, and loathe, about it.

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At this year's Gamescom I got hands-on with Bytten Studio's Cassette Beasts, an upcoming monster-taming open world RPG in the vein of Pokémon, which is far more interesting to me than the basic concept of Pokémon. That's because you're able to fuse together any monsters you 'catch', but moreso because it's a monster collectathon where you become the monster, essentially fusing yourself with bomb dogs and hermit crabs with traffic cone-homes.

I like the way the game does away with the overdone shonen story of wanting to become the very best there ever was, and instead puts the spotlight on its cast of characters and the relationships you form with your buds. It's looking mighty promising.

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If you've ever wondered what the 1987 film Running Man might look like as a turn-based tactics game (see also last year's Netflix sensation Squid Game, if the Running Man reference doesn't quite do it for you), then Homicidal All-Stars probably comes pretty close. It's the debut game from Artificer, a new studio formed by a bunch of ex-CreativeForge devs who worked on the first Hard West and Phantom Doctrine, and it centres on a woman called Scarlett who finds herself competing in the deadly TV show that gives the game its name. Like Running Man, Squid Game and all those other 'deadly games' you know and love, Homicidal All-Stars is about folks who down on their luck fighting for their lives, where their only consolation prize in these dystopian bloodbaths is not getting pulped at the end of it.

Visitors to the upcoming Gundam Metaverse will be able to talk with interactive AI characters. The Gundam Conference Autumn 2022 stream featured the debut of an AI character named Mellow Neige. The character wearing Haro-themed headband and necklace will appear in the Metaverse to discuss Gundam-related topics with the community via chats with a voice tone that feels close to a real human.

Shortly after Mellow’s introduction video which starts at the 12:04 mark, Bandai Namco’s Chief Gundam Officer Kouji Fujiwara revealed more details about the AI character. The company will fill Mellow’s database with knowledge about the Gundam franchise and the Gunpla kits. When the Metaverse goes live, the AI will learn more from the community’s responses. Mellow will not have a gender due to being an AI. At the end of the introduction video, Mellow hinted that the Metaverse may have more AI characters available.

Cyberpunk 2077 players are requesting its developer CD Projekt makes save files from Stadia available on the cloud.

The lengthy RPG has been available on Google's Stadia platform, but now that's shutting down, players will no longer have access to their save files without cloud support.

However, it seems players may have found a work around.

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Skateboarding is hard. Really damn hard. The journey to mastery is one counted in years - or even decades.

Landing a kickflip while moving along? Sure, today there are wildly more complex tricks out there, but it's still a tremendous achievement. It takes hours of investment and a deep resilience to failure to get there. But the moment you pop the board high, flick it with a foot just enough to spin once beneath you, and successfully commit to the landing, the reward is immense. It's not an achievement recompensed in any kind of currency like score. Rather, to succeed is more than enough of a payoff.

That is the mindset that has clearly founded the design of Session: Skate Sim. Certainly, it is not as hard as real skateboarding, but this is a game that is profoundly challenging, and one that makes you think like a skateboarder. The clue is in the name. Developer creā-ture Studios has strived to deliver a skateboarding simulator. In doing so, they've built something that does a remarkable job of capturing the essence of real skating; even if that approach sometimes comes at the expense of what makes for a consistently enjoyable video game. To deconstruct what that means, the conversation inevitably starts with an iconic series.

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Hello! Welcome back to our regular feature where we write a little bit about some of the games we've found ourselves playing over the last few days. This time: unhelpful foliage, musical scores, and Disney magic.

If you fancy catching up on some of the older editions of What We've Been Playing, here's our archive.

I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a game as pretty as Horizon Forbidden West. The environments feel unreal in their beauty, while the details and textures on character models and clothing are incredible. All this stunning work does mean any imperfections are very distracting though - can someone please explain why Aloy’s hair is seemingly made of wool?

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Some console reveals just hit different. I remember queuing around the sun-drenched, weed-stench streets by San Francisco's Moscone Centre to get into GDC 2019's big Stadia show, the crazy rumours that spin up in the line for events like these - maybe it was the effect of that heavy smoke in the air, but someone told me Google had paid Sega big money to get a new OutRun as an exclusive, and I was somehow convinced - soon punctured by the bizarre reality.

Outside the hall, in an ominous show of forbearance as well as an example of how ill-conceived some of Google's ideas were, was assembled some of video game's most famous failures, with four plinths displaying a Dreamcast, Nintendo's Powerglove and Atari's ET with the final display left empty with a simple 'Coming Soon' for the soon-to-be-announced Stadia. Amidst all the bluster that would follow, it was the one thing from that event that would ring true.

It's easy to be cynical about Stadia, and there was plenty of scepticism going around at the time of its reveal. Google's track record with product launches is spotty at best, with a rich history of big ideas being introduced before being tossed aside out of apparent boredom. The level of investment with Stadia, though, was simply bonkers. Millions was paid out to secure big blockbusters like Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Red Dead Redemption 2 and Cyberpunk 2077, while exclusives were secured from such talented studios as Q-Games, Splash Damage and Tequila Works. It felt, for a short while, that Google was taking this all very seriously - and how exciting it was to have a genuine new player in the game.

Twitch is testing a feature where viewers can pay up to $100 to highlight a message in chat.

Elevated Chat, as it's known, is currently a limited time experiment for four weeks only available for select streamers.

It allows viewers to pay to "elevate" their message in chat, either pinned to the top of chat or at the bottom of the video player. Varying payment amounts allows for various amounts of time for elevation.

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The Bayonetta physical edition on Switch will now be released "in the first half of October" in the UK, exclusively via the My Nintendo Store.

The game was originally set for release today, but this news has been tweeted out by Nintendo UK and its European counterparts.

"We are now aiming to release the physical edition of Bayonetta in the first half of October, exclusively on My Nintendo Store," it reads. "Please stay tuned for more info. We apologise for any inconvenience caused."

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A former Nintendo employee who was fired from the company less than a month after asking the company about its views on unionisation has spoken out, and disputed Nintendo's own narrative that they were fired for an entirely separate reason - a breach of confidentiality.

Quality assurance tester Mackenzie Clifton has spoken publicly to Axios about their departure from Nintendo of America, and revealed both the question on unionisation they asked, as well as the "confidential information" they were accused of leaking.

During a January company Q&A with Nintendo of America boss Doug Bowser, Clifton says they submitted the following question: "What does NoA think about the unionisation trend in QA in the games industry as of late?"

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Following the sudden announcement of Stadia's shutdown yesterday, players are hoping for one last update to the controller's firmware.

Currently, the Stadia controller can only be used through Stadia, which itself is only compatible with a limited number of devices.

In the Stadia announcement FAQ, it is stated that "most hardware purchases... made directly from Google will not need to be returned", including Stadia controllers.

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Developers still hard at work on Google Stadia projects have been expressing their shock and frustration at the cloud gaming service's impending shutdown.

Google's announcement yesterday that it would shutter Stadia completely in January 2023 came as a complete surprise, all have said - even those with upcoming projects set to arrive in November.

What will happen to those games is now unclear, as Google has already moved to close the Stadia store - making new releases unsellable.

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Transparency alert: EGX is run by Eurogamer owner ReedPop.

There was a nice buzz about EGX London this past weekend, a whiff of positivity about it, at people being back together, relatively unimpeded by the pandemic and playing games together again. EGX felt much more like its old self. And many of us were there, walking the halls, hosting quizzes (thank you if you came to one), and playing games.

And what games there were: big ones, small ones, old ones, new ones. One of the most eye-catching instalments was a pool table with an enormously warped corner, curving up into the air, and which made playing it feel completely different to normal. Amazing what one simple change can do.

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Microsoft Flight Simulator is enhancing its version of the planet’s second largest country for World Update 11. Canada is benefitting from the Flight Sim devs fancy scanning tech for the free update, which is live in game now. Glide over coasts, cities, and mountains while watching the trailer below.

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Blizzard have revealed that the next expansion for World Of Warcraft, Dragonflight, will launch on November 28th. Dragonflight hits at 11pm GMT/3pm PST, and 12am CET on November 29th. The expansion opens up the Dragon Isles region, which is populated by dragonkind, as you might expect from the name. Mount your favourite flying lizard and watch the trailer below.

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Toho, the company behind the upcoming Spy x Family musical, has revealed the cast members that will play Loid and Yor Forger. The announcement comes with images of the cast in their respective outfits. Other cast members, including those that will play Yuri Briar and Anya Forger, will appear at a later date. The Spy x Family musical will begin performing in March 2023. [Thanks, Famitsu!]

Two actors will each play Yor and Loid Forger, with actors changing depending on the performance date. Playing Loid are actors Win Morisaki and Hiroki Suzuki. Playing Yor are actors Fuka Yuzuki and Mirei Sasaki. Furthermore, Yuri Briar will also have two actors playing the role. However, the company is still looking for a child actor to play the role of Anya Forger.

Toho announced the Spy x Family musical back in April 2022. The description of the musical indicates that it will follow the setting of the original manga, though it's still unclear where the musical plans to end its own story. In March 2023, the musical will hold performances at the Imperial Theatre in Tokyo, Japan, followed by performances in Hyogo prefecture in April, and Fukuoka prefecture in May.

You can take a look at all four cast members in the images below:

[gallery columns="4" link="file" ids="936535,936536,936537,936538"]

Hocus Pocus 2, the sequel to the cult classic movie Hocus Pocus, has just started streaming on Disney+. However, just because this sequel was only released today doesn’t mean it is too early to talk about a third movie, which Hocus Pocus 2 clearly sets up. So, this is your guide on whether or not there will be a Hocus Pocus 3 and how Hocus Pocus 2 has set up a potential sequel.

Warning: Spoilers for Hocus Pocus 2 will follow.

Will There Be a Hocus Pocus 3?

First of all, there has been no confirmation on whether or not there are plans to do a Hocus Pocus 3. Nevertheless, the writers of Hocus Pocus 2 undoubtedly have ideas on what to do if there will be a third film, given that there are a few things in the sequel that set up a potential third movie.

A clear way that Hocus Pocus 3 may do this is instead of having the Sanderson Sisters be the main villain; the film will instead have the enigmatic Mother Witch, who was portrayed by Hannah Waddingham in the sequel’s opening, as the antagonist. This is further evidenced by how in the opening, it is shown that she transforms into a crow, and there was indeed a crow in the final moments of Hocus Pocus 2, hinting that she is still around. Not to mention, Winifred gets a bit of redemption in the movie’s climax, so it would make her character arc pointless if she reverted to being a full-on villain again.

Perhaps Hocus Pocus 3 will explore the Sanderson Sisters being pulled in two different directions, one towards Becca, Izzy, and Cassie, and the other towards the woman who gave them their powers. It could be an exciting way to take the next movie.

In the present video game space, it can be quite hard to find new ideas from well-established genres. After all, it is much easier for players to get into something more familiar in terms of systems and gameplay ideas, even if the cry for more original content gets ever louder. In Systemic Reaction’s Ravenbound, there is a nice balance there in terms of giving players what they know and love about roguelites, as well as adding something new in terms of deck-building and cards.

Following an earlier preview of Ravenbound, we finally had the chance to get some hands-on time for ourselves, as well as find out more about the game from Creative Director, Emil Kraftling.

The universe of Hocus Pocus is being explored once again with a sequel to the cult classic film. The sequel features numerous callbacks, including another performance by the wicked sisters. So, what song is it that the Sanderson Sisters perform in Hocus Pocus 2? Well, Twinfinite has the answer for you.

Warning: Spoilers for Hocus Pocus 2 are below.

Hocus Pocus 2 Sanderson Sisters Song Name

In Hocus Pocus 2, the Sanderson Sisters perform the Blondie song, “One Way or Another.” An iconic moment from the original movie is when the sisters perform “I Put a Spell on You,” so it makes perfect sense for the sequel to try to recreate the magic of this performance.

Also, like the original, the song does have story value. In the original Hocus Pocus, the sisters performed a chant during the music in order to mind control all of the adults in Salem to stay out of their way in capturing more children. In the sequel, the sisters perform the exact same chant, this time it is in an effort to have the townspeople locate the mayor of Salem, Jefry Traske. So, while having the Sandersons perform “One Way or Another” is another way to reference the original, it also does serve a role in the story as the lyrics literally describe the witches’ goal in the scene.

That is everything you need to know about what song the Sanderson Sisters perform in Hocus Pocus 2. Keep an eye on Twinfinite for even more coverage of the sequel, which is currently streaming on Disney+, and be sure to read our review, which can be found here.

2022 is a great year to be an RPG fan, particularly of Japanese games. The holiday season is usually crowded with new game releases, but this year Square Enix appears to be releasing games like it’s Christmas all year round. With so many out already, and so many more to come, are SE’s profligate ways good or bad for…

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At this point, there’s little excuse for someone not to have at least heard about NieR: Automata. Since the game blew up as one of the biggest cult hits of the last console generation, the title has received plenty of cameo content in other titles and a slew of ports to other consoles. For better or worse, it’ll likely see even more crossovers and ports too, as there’s next to no sign of the game losing its following anytime soon.

This, however, leaves the Nintendo Switch port in an awkward position. Releasing more than five years after the title originally released, there’s only so much that it can offer which would make it worth buying on top of or instead of other ports. Likewise, most people who would play it but haven’t yet at least know of the title and what it’s about, meaning they’ve probably experienced most of the game’s themes and key moments through osmosis or even other media.

That was the mindset I went into the port with. After spending some time with it though, I can safely say that the Switch port of NieR: Automata has plenty to offer to gamers who still haven’t hopped on the bandwagon and need an excuse to finally play the game.

It’s time to face reality; Strikes in Destiny 2 serve little to no purpose. Outside of obtaining a weekly pinnacle loot drop after completing three of them, there is no other incentive to run the activity. This is in stark contrast to Destiny 1, in which Strikes were arguably the most played activity in the game at the time. It’s time to discuss what happened and how a feature from Destiny 1 could make Strikes worth playing again in Destiny 2.

Strikes have gone through several changes over the years throughout both Destiny 1 and 2. The activity was a great place to increase your light level and earn more legendary weapons in the first game. Later, a feature called Strike-Specific Loot introduced in the Taken King DLC enhanced it further, and saw percentages of players running the activity skyrocket.

Strike-Specific loot was exactly as it sounded: unique loot drops for “nearly” every Strike in the game. This included weapons and even armor pieces for each class in the game. A prime example was one of the most beloved Strike-Specific loot drops, the Imago Loop Hand Cannon from the Undying Mind Strike. This particular weapon would cause thousands of players to run the activity repeatedly to obtain one.

A Shonen anime wouldn’t be the same without a least one crush-related storyline, and Jujutsu Kaisen is no exception. Given that it’s a movie though, there’s only so much time it can commit to this endeavor, and the plot thread is left dangling by the film’s end as a result. You may have noticed this fact, and as a result, you’ve been left asking yourself: Is Maki in love with Yuta in Jujutsu Kaisen 0, or did the feelings pass after the events of the film?

Fortunately for you, we’ve got an answer for you.

Is Maki in Love With Yuta in Jujutsu Kaisen 0? Answered

The short answer is that yes, Maki does have feelings for Yuta in Jujutsu Kaisen 0.

This is mostly because Yuta treats her like an actual person, as opposed to her family who treats her like a powerless mistake. Where they chide and dismiss her due to her not having any Cursed Energy or Cursed Techniques, Yuta applauds her for going after her dream despite these hurdles and admits to wanting to be as strong as she is. He’s also been there to help her whenever she’s in a pinch, resulting in her feelings growing over time and remaining intact up to the current arc of the series.

This is why Panda mentions in Jujutsu Kaisen Season 1 that Maki’s harsher side softens whenever Yuta is brought up. She still has feelings for him even though they haven’t seen each other while Yuta is off training in Africa with Miguel, and is likely looking forward to seeing him again at some point in the future.

Saying that the lore of the Jujutsu Kaisen universe is dense would be an understatement. There is a slew of characters who are host to different backstories, complicated relationships the series’ factions, and powers that have strict rules on how they’re used or how they work. Satoru Gojo is one such character, and if you’re like a lot of people, one oft-ignored aspect of his design has you wondering: Why does Satoru Gojo wear a blindfold in Jujutsu Kaisen?

We were asking ourselves the same question, and after doing some research, we have an answer for you.

Why Does Satoru Gojo Cover His Eyes in Jujutsu Kaisen? Answered

To put it as plainly as possible, Satoru Gojo wears a blindfold in Jujutsu Kaisen as a safety precaution for others against his cursed technique Limitless.

Tied to his eyes, the Limitless Cursed Technique causes anyone he makes direct eye contact with to be caught in its space-warping effect. This could make them unable to move anywhere close to him, or unable to move at all if enough of the technique’s power is used. It can also crush a person if the Technique is given enough Cursed Energy to work with, and Gojo is hailed as having an exceptional amount of Cursed Energy multiple times in the series.

This, however, is where the problem lies. While Gojo has a seeming mastery of the technique and more than enough energy to use it with dangerous precision, it’s anyone’s guess how difficult it is to control. If he were to lose control of the ability, it could slaughter his allies or several thousand people in the instant before Gojo was able to force the technique back under his command.

Sometimes, you look forward to a game's release and it's very disappointing. Sometimes, it comes out and it's... fine. Kinda good, even. Only once does the game come out and it's fuckin’ SPIDERHECK WOOOO!

Imagine Nidhogg, cross it with Webbed, give it solid single player options, and throw in one of the sickest game soundtracks I've ever heard. I'd hoped Spiderheck would merely be as fun as it looks. It instead consumed me. Neverjam have united my love for Webbed with my love for chaos, and it's more glorious than I dared to hope.

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Out now in early access, Slime Rancher 2 is the highly anticipated sequel to Monomi Park’s charming farming sim. Beatrix LeBeau has packed up her slime-wrangling gear and has crossed the Slime Sear to Rainbow Island, a new land packed with new mysteries and new slimes.

As a seasoned slime wrangler myself, I was excited to dive head-first into this new, colourful world. Review code didn't arrive until launch day unfortunately, but all week I've been vibrating with anticipation. After spending a handful of hours frolicking with slimes and skipping around Rainbow Island, though, that early dazzle is starting to wear off. Monomi Park’s sequel feels a little too familiar to its predecessor in its early game, and it's put a major downer on my goo-hoovering adventures.

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December’s a month known for its white-haired, bearded men in weird outfits and hats, so it seems a fitting time of year for Slitherine Games to launch their remake of 4X strategy classic Master Of Magic. Slitherine are referring to their take on Master Of Magic as a re-imagining rather than a remake or reboot, saying they’ve tried to be “faithful to the original in spirit and mood”. You’ll be able to Gandalf it up from December 13th.

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Out Of Hands is a fairly "does what it says on the tin" title for this, a game where you play a dude who dreams he is made entirely out of hands every night. It also operates as a decent joke, because rather than being out of hands, he, if anything, has too many. So full marks for the name. The game itself is kind of a deckbuilder but not really, and though it also describes itself as a thriller, I can't say my heart rate was raised. In fact, behind the (admittedly very cool) visual style there seems to be a pretty run-of-the-mill "a girl I liked is no longer in my life and I'm pretty cut up about that" story. I guess in the full game it might turn out she was murdered, or she mudered the main character, or the main character murdered her - just, some kind of murder, maybe?

But in the four demo levels I played recently, it seemed like a pretty normal breakup. I was really excited to give it a go, but in the preview I didn't find the contrast between a face made of squirming hands and the well trodden women-be-leavin' plot to be particularly affective or evocative. The squirming hands are cool, though.

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JETT: The Far Shore is set to receive a new free campaign expansion in early 2023.

Called Given Time, the campaign will take place three years after the events of the main game.

The sci-fi game from developer Superbrothers A/V was released a year ago on PlayStation consoles and PC, but if you're yet to play it a demo will be available as part of Steam's Next Fest from 3rd October.

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Dragon Age developer BioWare has shared a few new snippets from the upcoming and long-awaited Dreadwolf, in the form of a few fresh codex entries.

These tidbits are not meant to tease any particular storyline from Dreadwolf, but are included in a blog post detailing how BioWare's writing team works together to build Dragon Age's expansive world.

The first codex entry presented here comes from a character's diary - someone who, if we had to guess, is likely one of your new companions.

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The Pokémon and Ed Sheeran collaboration that was teased last week will actually be featured within upcoming games Violet and Scarlet.

The song, titled Celestial, was released yesterday and its music video features Sheeran going about his daily life as his Pokémon pals join him from a hand-drawn and animated universe.

Upon its release, both Pokémon and Sheeran revealed the song will be featured in Nintendo's upcoming titles.

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With the news of Google shutting down Stadia comes a major question: what games might we lose?

There weren't many exclusive games available on the streaming service, but with game preservation continuing to be a hot topic, there are a number of games at risk unless they're ported to other platforms.

Yesterday Google announced the end of Stadia, its cloud-based streaming service. Despite ambitions of creating exclusive games, in 2021 its internal studios were closed leaving third-party developers to provide the games.

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The Steam Deck, Valve’s mini PC, is a wonderful gaming device with plenty of excellent titles to choose from. But as a straight-up handheld computer, the Deck isn’t too shabby for non-gaming computing needs. Whether it’s using the Deck as a dockable desktop computer, a portable coding station, or even a tool for game…

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Few thought Google’s troubled streaming service, Stadia, might ever become a dominant player in the gaming industry, but almost no one expected it to shut down so abruptly, including the company’s own employees. Stadia VP Phil Harrison, fast becoming the grim reaper of new gaming initiatives, informed staff of the…

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