1.
Activision
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Activision Publishing, Inc. also known as Activision, is an American video game publisher. It was founded on October 1,1979 and was the worlds first independent developer and its first products were cartridges for the Atari 2600 video console system published from July 1980 for the US market and from August 1981 for the international market. As of January 2017, Activision is one of the largest third party video game publishers in the world and was also the top publisher for 2016 in the United States, before Activision, third-party developers did not exist. Software for video game consoles were published exclusively by makers of the systems for which the games were designed, for example, Atari was the only publisher of games for the Atari 2600. This was particularly galling to the developers, as they received financial rewards nor credit for games that sold well. Kaplan, who called the others the best designers for the in the world, recalled that Kassar called the four men towel designers and that anyone can do a cartridge. Crane, Miller, and Whitehead left Atari and founded Activision in October 1979 with former music industry executive Jim Levy and venture capitalist Richard Muchmore, David Crane has said the name Activision was based on Jim Levys idea to combine active and television. The original name proposed for the company was VSync, Inc, unlike Atari, the company credited and promoted game creators along with the games themselves. The steps taken for this included devoting a page to the developer in their instruction manuals and these approaches helped the newly formed company attract experienced talent. In recognition of this step, Kaplan, Levy, Miller, the departure of the four programmers, whose titles made up more than half of Ataris cartridge sales at the time, caused legal action between the two companies not settled until 1982. As the market for game consoles started to decline, Activision branched out, producing titles for home computers. In 1982, Activision released Pitfall. on the Atari 2600, designed and developed by David Crane, it was a huge success. Many clones of the game were introduced, including arcade games. On June 13,1986, Activision purchased struggling text adventure pioneer Infocom, Jim Levy was a big fan of Infocoms titles and wanted the company to remain solvent. About six months after the InfoWedding, Bruce Davis took over as CEO of Activision, Davis was against the merger from the start and was heavy-handed in its management. Five of them accepted this offer, in 1988, Activision began involvement in software besides video games, such as business applications. As a result, Activision changed its name to Mediagenic to better represent all of its activities. After taking over the company, the new management filed for a Chapter 11 reorganization, in the reorganization, Mediagenic merged with The Disc Company with Mediagenic being the surviving company
2.
Video game music
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Video game music is the soundtrack that accompanies video games. Early video game music was limited to simple melodies of early sound synthesizer technology. With advances in technology, video game music has now grown to include the same breadth and complexity associated with television and film scores, while simple synthesizer pieces are still common, game music now includes full orchestral pieces and popular music. Music in video games can be heard over a title screen, options menu. Today’s soundtracks can also change depending on a player’s actions or situation, Video game music can be one of two options, original or licensed. In order to create or collect this music, teams of composers, music directors, today, original composition has included the work of film composers Harry Gregson-Williams, Trent Reznor, Hans Zimmer, Josh Mancell, Steve Jablonsky, and Michael Giacchino. The popularity of game music has expanded education and job opportunities, generated awards. At the time video games had emerged as a form of entertainment in the late 1970s, music was stored on physical medium in analog waveforms such as compact cassettes. Such components were expensive and prone to breakage under heavy use making them less ideal for use in an arcade cabinet, though in rare cases. Sound effects for the games were also generated in this fashion, an early example of such an approach to video game music was the opening chiptune in Tomohiro Nishikados Gun Fight. The first game to use a background soundtrack was Tomohiro Nishikados Space Invaders. It had four descending chromatic bass notes repeating in a loop, though it was dynamic and interacted with the player, the first video game to feature continuous, melodic background music was Rally-X, released by Namco in 1980, featuring a simple tune that repeats continuously during gameplay. The decision to any music into a video game meant that at some point it would have to be transcribed into computer code by a programmer, whether or not the programmer had musical experience. Some music was original, some was public domain music such as folk songs, Sound capabilities were limited, the popular Atari 2600 home system, for example, was capable of generating only two tones, or notes, at a time. As advances were made in technology and costs fell, a definitively new generation of arcade machines. This was further improved upon by Namcos 1982 arcade game Dig Dug, Dig Dug was composed by Yuriko Keino, who also composed the music for other Namco games such as Xevious and Phozon. Home console systems also had an upgrade in sound ability beginning with the ColecoVision in 1982 capable of four channels. However, more notable was the Japanese release of the Famicom in 1983 which was released in the US as the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985
3.
James Bond in video games
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The James Bond video game franchise is a series of shooter games and games of other genres spun off from the James Bond film series developed and published by a variety of companies. The games centre on Ian Flemings fictional British MI6 agent, James Bond, the first official James Bond video game, Shaken but not Stirred, was released by Richard Shepherd Software for the ZX Spectrum in 1982, in the United Kingdom. A year later, Parker Brothers released James Bond 007 for multiple consoles, since 1983, there have been numerous video games based on the official films, Ian Flemings novels, and original scripts created by the developer or publisher of the game. The video games were somewhat profitable in the 1980s and early 1990s, featuring a mixture of styles including side-scrolling action, the popularity of the James Bond video game series did not rise quickly, however, until 1997s GoldenEye 007 by Rare for the Nintendo 64. GoldenEye 007 expanded on the plot of the film, and is a shooter with a multiplayer mode. The game received positive reviews and sold over eight million copies. In 1998, Nintendo released James Bond 007 for the Game Boy developed by Saffire, the game features a story including characters from multiple James Bond films, such as Oddjob and Jaws. It also incorporates gambling minigames, such as Baccarat and Blackjack, the next Bond game, 1999s Tomorrow Never Dies, based on the film released two years prior, was the first released by Electronic Arts. Developed by Black Ops, unlike GoldenEye 007, it was a third-person shooter, despite the games success, it received mixed reviews. The next titles,007, The World Is Not Enough and 007, The World Is Not Enough, both versions were critical and commercial successes. A Game Boy Color game developed by 2n Productions, also titled 007, the game is played from a top-down perspective, and contains seven levels. The game includes a password feature, allGame praised the game for its diverse level designs and its soundtrack, but noted the games difficulty. In 2001, EA released Agent Under Fire for Xbox, PlayStation 2, the game took risks by adding the new elements of rail shooting and driving segments to a first-person shooter. The game has sold nearly 5 million copies since its release, making it the second-most successful game in the franchise, there are no differences between the console versions. It was developed by Eurocom for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox consoles, with a PC port by Gearbox Software, the computer versions are substantially different from the console versions, featuring different missions, a modified story line, and online play. In 2003, the also had a Game Boy Advance version by JV Games. In 2004, EA released Everything or Nothing, developed by EA Redwood, for the PlayStation 2, GameCube and Xbox. It was written by the scriptwriter of GoldenEye and Tomorrow Never Dies, screenwriter Bruce Feirstein and it was released to mostly positive reviews, the game also had a Game Boy Advance version by JV Games, which differs from the console versions
4.
Computing platform
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Computing platform means in general sense, where any piece of software is executed. It may be the hardware or the system, even a web browser or other application. The term computing platform can refer to different abstraction levels, including a hardware architecture, an operating system. In total it can be said to be the stage on which programs can run. For example, an OS may be a platform that abstracts the underlying differences in hardware, platforms may also include, Hardware alone, in the case of small embedded systems. Embedded systems can access hardware directly, without an OS, this is referred to as running on bare metal, a browser in the case of web-based software. The browser itself runs on a platform, but this is not relevant to software running within the browser. An application, such as a spreadsheet or word processor, which hosts software written in a scripting language. This can be extended to writing fully-fledged applications with the Microsoft Office suite as a platform, software frameworks that provide ready-made functionality. Cloud computing and Platform as a Service, the social networking sites Twitter and facebook are also considered development platforms. A virtual machine such as the Java virtual machine, applications are compiled into a format similar to machine code, known as bytecode, which is then executed by the VM. A virtualized version of a system, including virtualized hardware, OS, software. These allow, for instance, a typical Windows program to run on what is physically a Mac, some architectures have multiple layers, with each layer acting as a platform to the one above it. In general, a component only has to be adapted to the layer immediately beneath it, however, the JVM, the layer beneath the application, does have to be built separately for each OS
5.
Wii
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The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19,2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii competed with Microsofts Xbox 360, Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others. The Wii introduced the Wii Remote controller, which can be used as a pointing device. Another notable feature of the console is the now defunct WiiConnect24, like other seventh-generation consoles, it features a game download service, called Virtual Console, which features emulated games from past systems. It succeeded the GameCube, and early models are fully backward-compatible with all GameCube games, Nintendo first spoke of the console at the E32004 press conference and later unveiled it at E32005. Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata revealed a prototype of the controller at the September 2005 Tokyo Game Show, at E32006, the console won the first of several awards. By December 8,2006, it had completed its launch in the four key markets, in late 2011, Nintendo released a reconfigured model, the Wii Family Edition, which lacks Nintendo GameCube compatibility, this model was not released in Japan. The Wii Mini, Nintendos first major redesign since the compact SNES. The Wii Mini can only play Wii optical discs, as it omits GameCube compatibility and all networking capabilities, the Wiis successor, the Wii U, was released on November 18,2012. On October 20,2013, Nintendo confirmed it had discontinued production of the Wii in Japan and Europe, although the Wii Mini is still in production, the console was conceived in 2001, as the Nintendo GameCube was first released. According to an interview with Nintendo game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, the concept involved focusing on a new form of player interaction, the consensus was that power isnt everything for a console. Too many powerful consoles cant coexist and its like having only ferocious dinosaurs. They might fight and hasten their own extinction, in 2003, game engineers and designers were brought together to develop the concept further. By 2005 the controller interface had taken form, but a showing at that years Electronic Entertainment Expo was canceled. Miyamoto stated that the company had some troubleshooting to do, so we decided not to reveal the controller and instead we displayed just the console. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata later unveiled and demonstrated the Wii Remote at the September Tokyo Game Show, the Nintendo DS is said to have influenced the Wiis design. Designer Kenichiro Ashida noted, We had the DS on our minds as we worked on the Wii and we thought about copying the DSs touch-panel interface and even came up with a prototype. The idea was rejected because of the notion that the two gaming systems would be identical
6.
Nintendo DS
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The Nintendo DS or simply, DS, is a 32-bit dual-screen handheld game console developed and released by Nintendo. The device went on sale in North America on November 21,2004, both screens are encompassed within a clamshell design similar to the Game Boy Advance SP. The Nintendo DS also features the ability for multiple DS consoles to directly interact with each other over Wi-Fi within a short range without the need to connect to a wireless network. Alternatively, they could interact online using the now-closed Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service and its main competitor was Sonys PlayStation Portable as part of the seventh generation era. Prior to its release, the Nintendo DS was marketed as an experimental, third pillar in Nintendos console lineup, meant to complement the Game Boy Advance and GameCube. However, backward compatibility with Game Boy Advance titles and strong sales ultimately established it as the successor to the Game Boy series, on March 2,2006, Nintendo launched the Nintendo DS Lite, a slimmer and lighter redesign of the original Nintendo DS with brighter screens. On November 1,2008, Nintendo released the Nintendo DSi, another redesign with several hardware improvements and new features. All Nintendo DS models combined have sold 154.02 million units, making it the best selling game console to date. The Nintendo DS line was succeeded by the Nintendo 3DS line in 2011, on November 13,2003, Nintendo announced that it would be releasing a new game product in 2004. The company did not provide details, but stated it would not succeed the Game Boy Advance or GameCube. On January 20,2004, the console was announced under the codename Nintendo DS. Nintendo released only a few details at that time, saying that the console would have two separate, 3-inch TFT LCD display panels, separate processors, and up to 1 gigabit of semiconductor memory. He also expressed optimism that the DS would help put Nintendo back at the forefront of innovation, in March 2004, a document containing most of the consoles technical specifications was leaked, also revealing its internal development name, Nitro. In May 2004, the console was shown in prototype form at E32004, on July 28,2004, Nintendo revealed a new design that was described as sleeker and more elegant than the one shown at E3 and announced Nintendo DS as the devices official name. On September 20,2004, Nintendo announced that the Nintendo DS would be released in North America on November 21,2004 for US$149.99. It was set to release on December 2,2004 in Japan, on February 24,2005 in Australia, the console was released in North America with a midnight launch event at Universal CityWalk EB Games in Los Angeles, California. The console was launched quietly in Japan compared to the North America launch, the Nintendo DS was seen by many analysts to be in the same market as Sonys PlayStation Portable, although representatives from both companies have said that each system targets a different audience. At one point, Time magazine awarded the DS a Gadget of the Week award, at the time of its release in the United States, the Nintendo DS retailed for US $149.99
7.
PlayStation 3
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The PlayStation 3 is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It is the successor to PlayStation 2, and is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles and it was first released on November 11,2006, in Japan, November 17,2006, in North America, and March 23,2007, in Europe and Australia. The PlayStation 3 mainly competes against consoles such as Microsofts Xbox 360, the console was first officially announced at E32005, and was released at the end of 2006. It was the first console to use Blu-ray Disc as its storage medium. In September 2009, the Slim model of the PlayStation 3 was released and it no longer provided the hardware ability to run PS2 games. It was lighter and thinner than the version, and featured a redesigned logo and marketing design. A Super Slim variation was released in late 2012, further refining and redesigning the console. The system had a start in the market but managed to recover. As of March 2016, PlayStation 3 has sold 85 million units worldwide, putting it about on par with Xbox 360 and its successor, the PlayStation 4, was released later in November 2013. On September 29,2015, Sony confirmed that sales of the PlayStation 3 were to be discontinued in New Zealand, in March 2017, the official site for PlayStation 3 in Japan was updated to state that it would be discontinued soon. Sony officially unveiled PlayStation 3 to the public on May 16,2005, at E32005, Video footage based on the predicted PlayStation 3 specifications was also shown. Two hardware configurations were also announced for the console, a 20 GB model, the 60 GB model was to be the only configuration to feature an HDMI port, Wi-Fi internet, flash card readers and a chrome trim with the logo in silver. Both models were announced for a worldwide release, November 11,2006, for Japan and November 17,2006, for North America. On September 6,2006, Sony announced that PAL region PlayStation 3 launch would be delayed until March 2007, because of a shortage of materials used in the Blu-ray drive. Also, the price of the Japanese 20 GB model was reduced by over 20%. During the event, Sony showed 27 playable PS3 games running on final hardware, PlayStation 3 was first released in Japan on November 11,2006, at 07,00. According to Media Create,81,639 PS3 systems were sold within 24 hours of its introduction in Japan, soon after its release in Japan, PS3 was released in North America on November 17,2006. Reports of violence surrounded the release of PS3, a customer was shot, campers were robbed at gunpoint, customers were shot in a drive-by shooting with BB guns, and 60 campers fought over 10 systems
8.
Xbox 360
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The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the console in the Xbox series. The Xbox 360 competed with Sonys PlayStation 3 and Nintendos Wii as part of the generation of video game consoles. The Xbox 360 was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12,2005, with detailed launch, the Xbox 360 features an online service, Xbox Live, which was expanded from its previous iteration on the original Xbox and received regular updates during the consoles lifetime. In addition to multimedia features, the Xbox 360 allows users to stream media from local PCs. Several peripherals have been released, including controllers, expanded hard drive storage. The release of additional services and peripherals helped the Xbox brand grow from gaming-only to encompassing all multimedia. Launched worldwide across 2005–2006, the Xbox 360 was initially in short supply in many regions, including North America, the earliest versions of the console suffered from a high failure rate, indicated by the so-called Red Ring of Death, necessitating an extension of the devices warranty period. Microsoft released two redesigned models of the console, the Xbox 360 S in 2010, and the Xbox 360 E in 2013. As of June 2014,84 million Xbox 360 consoles have sold worldwide, making it the sixth-highest-selling video game console in history. The Xbox 360s successor, the Xbox One, was released on November 22,2013, on April 20,2016, Microsoft announced that it would end the production of new Xbox 360 hardware, although the company will continue to support the platform. Known during development as Xbox Next, Xenon, Xbox 2, Xbox FS or NextBox, in February 2003, planning for the Xenon software platform began, and was headed by Microsofts Vice President J Allard. That month, Microsoft held an event for 400 developers in Bellevue, also that month, Peter Moore, former president of Sega of America, joined Microsoft. On August 12,2003, ATI signed on to produce the graphic processing unit for the new console, before the launch of the Xbox 360, several Alpha development kits were spotted using Apples Power Mac G5 hardware. This was because the systems PowerPC970 processor running the same PowerPC architecture that the Xbox 360 would eventually run under IBMs Xenon processor, the cores of the Xenon processor were developed using a slightly modified version of the PlayStation 3s Cell Processor PPE architecture. According to David Shippy and Mickie Phipps, the IBM employees were hiding their work from Sony and Toshiba, jeff Minter created the music visualization program Neon which is included with the Xbox 360. The Xbox 360 was released on November 22,2005, in the United States and Canada, December 2,2005, in Europe and December 10,2005, in Japan. It was later launched in Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, and Russia
9.
North America
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North America is a continent entirely within the Northern Hemisphere and almost all within the Western Hemisphere. It can also be considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, and to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea. North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers, about 16. 5% of the land area. North America is the third largest continent by area, following Asia and Africa, and the fourth by population after Asia, Africa, and Europe. In 2013, its population was estimated at nearly 565 million people in 23 independent states, or about 7. 5% of the worlds population, North America was reached by its first human populations during the last glacial period, via crossing the Bering land bridge. The so-called Paleo-Indian period is taken to have lasted until about 10,000 years ago, the Classic stage spans roughly the 6th to 13th centuries. The Pre-Columbian era ended with the migrations and the arrival of European settlers during the Age of Discovery. Present-day cultural and ethnic patterns reflect different kind of interactions between European colonists, indigenous peoples, African slaves and their descendants, European influences are strongest in the northern parts of the continent while indigenous and African influences are relatively stronger in the south. Because of the history of colonialism, most North Americans speak English, Spanish or French, the Americas are usually accepted as having been named after the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci by the German cartographers Martin Waldseemüller and Matthias Ringmann. Vespucci, who explored South America between 1497 and 1502, was the first European to suggest that the Americas were not the East Indies, but a different landmass previously unknown by Europeans. In 1507, Waldseemüller produced a map, in which he placed the word America on the continent of South America. He explained the rationale for the name in the accompanying book Cosmographiae Introductio, for Waldseemüller, no one should object to the naming of the land after its discoverer. He used the Latinized version of Vespuccis name, but in its feminine form America, following the examples of Europa, Asia and Africa. Later, other mapmakers extended the name America to the continent, In 1538. Some argue that the convention is to use the surname for naming discoveries except in the case of royalty, a minutely explored belief that has been advanced is that America was named for a Spanish sailor bearing the ancient Visigothic name of Amairick. Another is that the name is rooted in a Native American language, the term North America maintains various definitions in accordance with location and context. In Canadian English, North America may be used to refer to the United States, alternatively, usage sometimes includes Greenland and Mexico, as well as offshore islands
10.
Australasia
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Australasia, a region of Oceania, comprises Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. Charles de Brosses coined the term in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes and he derived it from the Latin for south of Asia and differentiated the area from Polynesia and the southeast Pacific. The bulk of Australasia sits on the Indo-Australian Plate, together with India, physiographically, Australasia includes New Zealand, Australia, and Melanesia, New Guinea and neighbouring islands north and east of Australia in the Pacific Ocean. The designation is applied to all the lands and islands of the Pacific Ocean lying between the equator and latitude 47° south. Most of Australasia lies on the portion of the Indo-Australian Plate, flanked by the Indian Ocean to the west. Sometimes the term encompasses the island of New Guinea. Many organisations whose names include the prefix Australasian Society of, limit their scope of operation to just Australia and New Zealand. In the past, Australasia has been used as a name for combined Australia/New Zealand sporting teams, examples include tennis between 1905 and 1915, when New Zealand and Australia combined to compete in the Davis Cup international tournament, and at the Olympic Games of 1908 and 1912. From an ecological perspective the Australasia ecozone forms a region with a common geologic and evolutionary history. In this context, Australasia is limited to Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, New Caledonia, the Wallace Line marks the biological divide from the Indomalaya ecozone of tropical Asia – Borneo and Bali lie on the western, Asian side. These three land masses have been separated from other continents, and from one another, for millions of years, all of Australasia shares the Antarctic flora, although the northern, tropical islands also share many plants with Southeast Asia. Mainland Australia, New Guinea and Tasmania are separated from one another by shallow continental shelves and they share a similar fauna which includes marsupial and monotreme mammals and ratite birds. Eucalypts are the predominant trees in much of Australia and New Guinea, New Zealand has no extant native land mammals aside from bats, but also had ratite birds, including the kiwi and the extinct moa. Media related to Australasia at Wikimedia Commons
11.
Europe
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Europe is a continent that comprises the westernmost part of Eurasia. Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, yet the non-oceanic borders of Europe—a concept dating back to classical antiquity—are arbitrary. Europe covers about 10,180,000 square kilometres, or 2% of the Earths surface, politically, Europe is divided into about fifty sovereign states of which the Russian Federation is the largest and most populous, spanning 39% of the continent and comprising 15% of its population. Europe had a population of about 740 million as of 2015. Further from the sea, seasonal differences are more noticeable than close to the coast, Europe, in particular ancient Greece, was the birthplace of Western civilization. The fall of the Western Roman Empire, during the period, marked the end of ancient history. Renaissance humanism, exploration, art, and science led to the modern era, from the Age of Discovery onwards, Europe played a predominant role in global affairs. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European powers controlled at times the Americas, most of Africa, Oceania. The Industrial Revolution, which began in Great Britain at the end of the 18th century, gave rise to economic, cultural, and social change in Western Europe. During the Cold War, Europe was divided along the Iron Curtain between NATO in the west and the Warsaw Pact in the east, until the revolutions of 1989 and fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1955, the Council of Europe was formed following a speech by Sir Winston Churchill and it includes all states except for Belarus, Kazakhstan and Vatican City. Further European integration by some states led to the formation of the European Union, the EU originated in Western Europe but has been expanding eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The European Anthem is Ode to Joy and states celebrate peace, in classical Greek mythology, Europa is the name of either a Phoenician princess or of a queen of Crete. The name contains the elements εὐρύς, wide, broad and ὤψ eye, broad has been an epithet of Earth herself in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion and the poetry devoted to it. For the second part also the divine attributes of grey-eyed Athena or ox-eyed Hera. The same naming motive according to cartographic convention appears in Greek Ανατολή, Martin Litchfield West stated that phonologically, the match between Europas name and any form of the Semitic word is very poor. Next to these there is also a Proto-Indo-European root *h1regʷos, meaning darkness. Most major world languages use words derived from Eurṓpē or Europa to refer to the continent, in some Turkic languages the originally Persian name Frangistan is used casually in referring to much of Europe, besides official names such as Avrupa or Evropa
12.
First-person shooter
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The first-person shooter shares common traits with other shooter games, which in turn fall under the heading action game. From the genres inception, advanced 3D or pseudo-3D graphics have challenged hardware development, the first-person shooter has since been traced as far back as Maze War, development of which began in 1973, and 1974s Spasim. 1998s Half-Life—along with its 2004 sequel Half-Life 2—enhanced the narrative and puzzle elements, in 1999, Half-Lifes mod Counter-Strike was released and, together with Doom, is perhaps one of the most influential first-person shooters. GoldenEye 007 was a landmark first-person shooter for home consoles, while the Halo series heightened the consoles commercial and critical appeal as a platform for first-person shooter titles. In the 21st century, the shooter is the most commercially viable video game genre. Several first-person shooters have been popular games for eSports and competitive gaming competitions as well, first-person shooters are a type of three-dimensional shooter game, featuring a first-person point of view with which the player sees the action through the eyes of the player character. They are unlike third-person shooters, in which the player can see the character they are controlling, the primary design element is combat, mainly involving firearms. A more important key difference is that first-person light-gun shooters like Virtua Cop often feature on-rails movement, the first-person shooter may be considered a distinct genre in itself, or a type of shooter game, in turn a subgenre of the wider action game genre. Following the release of Doom in 1993, games in this style were commonly termed Doom clones, in time this term has largely been replaced by first-person shooter. Wolfenstein 3D, released in 1992, the year before Doom, has credited with inventing the genre. There are occasional disagreements regarding the design elements which constitute a first-person shooter. For example, Deus Ex or BioShock may be considered as first-person shooters, some commentators extend the definition to include combat flight simulators where the cockpit or vehicle takes place of the hands and weapons. Like most shooter games, first-person shooters involve an avatar, one or more ranged weapons, and a varying number of enemies. Because they take place in a 3D environment, these tend to be somewhat more realistic than 2D shooter games. First-person shooters played on computers are most often controlled with a combination of a keyboard. This system has claimed as superior to that found in console games. It is common to display the characters hands and weaponry in the view, with a head-up display showing health. Often, it is possible to overlay a map of the surrounding area, first-person shooters often focus on action gameplay, with fast-paced and bloody firefights, though some place a greater emphasis on narrative, problem-solving and logic puzzles
13.
Video game
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A video game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device such as a TV screen or computer monitor. The word video in video game referred to a raster display device. Some theorists categorize video games as an art form, but this designation is controversial, the electronic systems used to play video games are known as platforms, examples of these are personal computers and video game consoles. These platforms range from large mainframe computers to small handheld computing devices, the input device used for games, the game controller, varies across platforms. Common controllers include gamepads, joysticks, mouse devices, keyboards, the touchscreens of mobile devices, and buttons, or even, with the Kinect sensor, a persons hands and body. Players typically view the game on a screen or television or computer monitor, or sometimes on virtual reality head-mounted display goggles. There are often game sound effects, music and, in the 2010s, some games in the 2000s include haptic, vibration-creating effects, force feedback peripherals and virtual reality headsets. In the 2010s, the game industry is of increasing commercial importance, with growth driven particularly by the emerging Asian markets and mobile games. As of 2015, video games generated sales of USD74 billion annually worldwide, early games used interactive electronic devices with various display formats. The earliest example is from 1947—a Cathode ray tube Amusement Device was filed for a patent on 25 January 1947, by Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann, and issued on 14 December 1948, as U. S. Written by MIT students Martin Graetz, Steve Russell, and Wayne Wiitanens on a DEC PDP-1 computer in 1961, and the hit ping pong-style Pong, used the DEC PDP-1s vector display to have two spaceships battle each other. In 1971, Computer Space, created by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney, was the first commercially sold and it used a black-and-white television for its display, and the computer system was made of 74 series TTL chips. The game was featured in the 1973 science fiction film Soylent Green, Computer Space was followed in 1972 by the Magnavox Odyssey, the first home console. Modeled after a late 1960s prototype console developed by Ralph H. Baer called the Brown Box and these were followed by two versions of Ataris Pong, an arcade version in 1972 and a home version in 1975 that dramatically increased video game popularity. The commercial success of Pong led numerous other companies to develop Pong clones and their own systems, the game inspired arcade machines to become prevalent in mainstream locations such as shopping malls, traditional storefronts, restaurants, and convenience stores. The game also became the subject of articles and stories on television and in newspapers and magazines. Space Invaders was soon licensed for the Atari VCS, becoming the first killer app, the term platform refers to the specific combination of electronic components or computer hardware which, in conjunction with software, allows a video game to operate. The term system is commonly used
14.
Video game console
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A video game console is an electronic, digital or computer device that outputs a video signal or visual image to display a video game that one or more people can play. The term video game console is used to distinguish a console machine primarily designed for consumers to use for playing video games. An arcade machine consists of a video game computer, display, game controller, a home computer is a personal computer designed for home use for a variety of purposes, such as bookkeeping, accessing the Internet and playing video games. There are various types of game consoles, including home video game consoles, handheld game consoles, microconsoles. Although Ralph Baer had built working game consoles by 1966, it was nearly a decade before the Pong game made them commonplace in regular peoples living rooms. Through evolution over the 1990s and 2000s, game consoles have expanded to additional functions such as CD players, DVD players, Blu-ray disc players, web browsers, set-top boxes. The first video appeared in the 1960s. They were played on massive computers connected to vector displays, not analog televisions, Ralph H. Baer conceived the idea of a home video game in 1951. In the late 1960s, while working for Sanders Associates, Baer created a series of game console designs. In 1972, Magnavox released the Magnavox Odyssey, the first home game console which could be connected to a TV set. Magnavox replaced the switch design with separate cartridges for each game, by autumn 1975, Magnavox, bowing to the popularity of Pong, cancelled the Odyssey and released a scaled-down version that played only Pong and hockey, the Odyssey 100. A second, higher end console, the Odyssey 200, was released with the 100 and added on-screen scoring, up to four players, almost simultaneously released with Ataris own home Pong console through Sears, these consoles jump-started the consumer market. All three of the new consoles used simpler designs than the original Odyssey did with no board game pieces or extra cartridges, in the years that followed, the market saw many companies rushing similar consoles to market. Most of the consoles from this era were dedicated consoles playing only the games came with the console. These video game consoles were often just called video games, because there was reason to distinguish the two yet. While a few companies like Atari, Magnavox, and newcomer Coleco pushed the envelope, Fairchild released the Fairchild Video Entertainment System in 1976. The VES, however, contained a programmable microprocessor so its cartridges only needed a single ROM chip to store microprocessor instructions, RCA and Atari soon released their own cartridge-based consoles, the RCA Studio II and the Atari 2600, respectively. The first handheld console with interchangeable cartridges was the Microvision designed by Smith Engineering
15.
James Bond in film
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The James Bond film series is a British series of spy films based on the fictional character of MI6 agent James Bond,007, who originally appeared in a series of books by Ian Fleming. It is one of the longest continually-running film series in history, in that time Eon Productions has produced 24 films, most of them at Pinewood Studios. With a combined gross of over $7 billion to date, the produced by Eon constitute the fourth-highest-grossing film series. Six actors have portrayed 007 in the Eon series, the latest being Daniel Craig, Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman co-produced most of the Eon films until 1975, when Broccoli became the sole producer. The single exception during this period was Thunderball, on which Broccoli, from 1984 Broccoli was joined by his stepson Michael G. Wilson as producer and in 1995 Broccoli stepped aside from Eon and was replaced by his daughter Barbara, who has co-produced with Wilson since. Broccolis family company, Danjaq, has ownership of the series through Eon. The Eon series has seen continuity both in the actors and in the production crews, with directors, writers, composers, production designers. No to For Your Eyes Only, the films were distributed solely by United Artists, when Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer absorbed United Artists in 1981, MGM/UA Entertainment Co. was formed and distributed the films until 1995. MGM solely distributed three films from 1997 to 2002 after United Artists was retired as a mainstream studio, Feldman, and a 1983 remake of Thunderball entitled Never Say Never Again, produced by Jack Schwartzman, who had obtained the rights to the film from McClory. It was adapted for the screen by Anthony Ellis and Charles Bennett, Bennett was well known for his collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock, including The 39 Steps and Sabotage. Due to the restriction of a play, the adapted version lost many of the details found in the book, although it retained its violence. The hour-long Casino Royale episode, which starred American actor Barry Nelson as Bond and Peter Lorre as the villain Le Chiffre, in 1959 producer Albert R. Cubby Broccoli at Warwick Films expressed interest in adapting the Bond novels, but his colleague Irving Allen was unenthusiastic. Towards the end of Saltzmans option period, screenwriter Wolf Mankowitz introduced him to Broccoli, a number of Hollywood studios did not want to fund the films, finding them too British or too blatantly sexual. Eventually the two signed a deal with United Artists for 100 per cent financial backing and distribution of seven films, Saltzman and Broccoli also created the company Danjaq, which was to hold the rights to the films which Eon Productions was to produce. Eon had originally intended to film Flemings novel Thunderball first, but Kevin McClory took Fleming to the High Court in London for breach of copyright over the book, and so Eon decided to film Dr. Eon asked several directors—Bryan Forbes, Guy Green, Val Guest and Guy Hamilton—to helm the film, Eon had originally hired Wolf Mankowitz and Richard Maibaum to write Dr. Nos screenplay, partly because of Mankowitzs help in brokering the deal between Broccoli and Saltzman. An initial draft of the screenplay was rejected because the scriptwriters had made the villain, Dr. No, a monkey, and Mankowitz left the film. To play the role of Bond, Sean Connery was not Broccoli or Flemings first choice, but he was selected after Patrick McGoohan had turned down the role
16.
GoldenEye
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GoldenEye is the seventeenth spy film in the James Bond series, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 officer James Bond. The film was directed by Martin Campbell and is the first in the not to take story elements from the works of novelist Ian Fleming. The story was conceived and written by Michael France, with collaboration by other writers. In the film, Bond fights to prevent an ex-MI6 agent, gone rogue, GoldenEye was released in 1995 after a six-year hiatus in the series caused by legal disputes, during which Timothy Dalton resigned from the role of James Bond and was replaced by Pierce Brosnan. M was also recast, with actress Judi Dench becoming the first woman to portray the character, the role of Miss Moneypenny was also recast, with Caroline Bliss being replaced by Samantha Bond, Desmond Llewelyn was the only actor to reprise his role as Q. GoldenEye was the first Bond film made after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the film accumulated a worldwide gross of US$350.7 million, considerably better than Daltons films, without taking inflation into account. The film received positive reviews, with critics viewing Brosnan as an improvement over his predecessor. The film also received nominations for Best Achievement in Special Effects and Best Sound from the British Academy of Film. The name GoldenEye pays homage to James Bonds creator, Ian Fleming, Fleming used the name of his operation for his estate in Oracabessa, Jamaica. In 1986, at Arkhangelsk, MI6 agents James Bond and Alec Trevelyan infiltrate a Soviet chemical weapons facility, Trevelyan is captured and gunned down by Colonel Arkady Grigorovich Ourumov, but Bond flees as the facility explodes. Nine years later, in Monte Carlo, Bond follows Xenia Onatopp, a member of the Janus crime syndicate, who has formed a relationship with Charles Farrel. They program the GoldenEye to destroy the complex, and escape with programmer Boris Grishenko, Natalya Simonova, the lone survivor, contacts Boris and arranges to meet him in Saint Petersburg, where he betrays her to Janus. In London, M assigns Bond to investigate the attack and he flies to Saint Petersburg to meet CIA operative Jack Wade, who suggests that Bond meet with Valentin Zukovsky, a former KGB agent and business rival of Janus. Zukovsky arranges a meeting between Bond and Janus, Onatopp surprises Bond at the Grand Hotel Europe and attempts to kill him, but he overpowers her. She takes Bond to Janus, who himself as Trevelyan. Just as Bond is about to shoot Trevelyan, Bond is shot with a tranquilizer dart, Bond awakens, tied up with Natalya in the helicopter, which has been programmed to self-destruct. They escape but are captured and transported to the Russian military archives, just as Natalya reveals the existence of a second satellite and Ourumovs involvement in the Siberian massacre, Ourumov arrives and kills Mishkin. Intending to frame Bond for the murder, he calls the guards, in the ensuing firefight, Natalya is captured
17.
Nintendo 64
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The Nintendo 64, stylized as the NINTENDO64 and often referred to as the N64, is Nintendos third home video game console for the international market. It was the last major home console to use the cartridge as its primary storage format until Nintendos seventh console, while the Nintendo 64 was succeeded by Nintendos MiniDVD-based GameCube in September 2001, the consoles remained available until the system was retired in late 2003. Codenamed Project Reality, the the N64 design was complete by mid-1995, but its launch was delayed until 1996. It launched with three games, Super Mario 64 and Pilotwings 64, released worldwide, and Saikyō Habu Shōgi, as part of the fifth generation of gaming, the system competed primarily with the Sony PlayStation and the Sega Saturn. The suggested retail price at its United States launch was US$199.99, the console was released in a range of colors and designs over its lifetime. In 2015, IGN named it the 9th greatest video game console of all time, as of 2016, the system remains a popular retro console in North America. At the beginning of the 1990s, Nintendo led the game industry with its Nintendo Entertainment System. Although the NES follow-up console, the Super NES, was successful, competition from long-time rival Sega, and relative newcomer Sony, emphasized Nintendos need to develop a successor for the SNES, or risk losing market dominance to its competitors. Further complicating matters, Nintendo also faced a backlash from third-party developers unhappy with Nintendos strict licensing policies, the company created a design proposal for a video game system, seeking an already well established partner in that market. James H. Clark, founder of SGI, initially offered the proposal to Tom Kalinske, the historical details of these preliminary negotiations were controversial between the two competing suitors. Tom Kalinske said that he and Joe Miller of Sega of America were quite impressed with SGIs prototype, the engineers from Sega Enterprises claimed that their evaluation of the early prototype had uncovered several unresolved hardware issues and deficiencies. Those were subsequently resolved, but Sega had already decided against SGIs design, Nintendo resisted that summary conclusion, arguing that the reason for SGIs ultimate choice of partner is due to Nintendo having been a more appealing business partner than Sega. While Sega demanded exclusive rights to the chip, Nintendo was willing to license the technology on a non-exclusive basis, michael Slater, publisher of Microprocessor Report said, The mere fact of a business relationship there is significant because of Nintendos phenomenal ability to drive volume. If it works at all, it could bring MIPS to levels of volume never dreamed of, james Clark met with Nintendo CEO Hiroshi Yamauchi in early 1993, thus initiating Project Reality. This announcement coincided with Nintendos August 1993 Shoshinkai trade show, as with most of the computing industry, Nintendo had limited experience with 3D graphics, and worked with several outside companies to develop the technology comprising the console. Some chip technology was provided by NEC, Toshiba, and Sharp, SGI had recently acquired MIPS Computer Systems, and the two worked together toward a low-cost realtime 3D graphics hardware system. SGI and its subsidiary MIPS Technologies were responsible for the R4300i microprocessor and that software-based console prototype platform was later supplanted by a workstation-hosted console simulation board, representing the finalized console hardware. SGIs performance estimates based upon their RealityEngine supercomputing platform were ultimately reported to be accurate to the final consumer console product
18.
GoldenEye 007 (1997 video game)
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GoldenEye 007 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Rare and based on the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye. It was released for the Nintendo 64 video game console in August 1997, the game includes a split-screen multiplayer mode in which two, three, or four players can compete in different types of deathmatch games. GoldenEye 007 was developed over a period of two and a half years by an inexperienced team and it was originally conceived as an on-rails shooter inspired by Segas Virtua Cop, before being redesigned as a free-roaming shooter. The game was acclaimed by the gaming media and sold over eight million copies worldwide. It pioneered features such as atmospheric single-player missions, stealth elements, the game is frequently cited as one of the greatest video games of all time. A spiritual successor, Perfect Dark, was released in 2000, while a reimagining of the game, GoldenEye 007 is a first-person shooter that features both single and multiplayer modes. In the single-player mode, the player takes the role of James Bond through a series of free-roaming 3D levels, the arsenal of weapons includes pistols, submachine guns, assault rifles, grenades, and throwing knives, among others. Guns have a magazine and must be reloaded after a certain number of shots. The players initial weapon in most missions is James Bonds Walther PPK, Most of the games firearms are modelled on real-life counterparts, while others are based on fictitious devices featured in the Bond films, such as the Golden Gun and Moonraker laser. The weapons vary in such as rate of fire, degree of penetration, and type of ammunition used. Stealth is a significant element of the gameplay, frequent gunfire can alert distant guards, therefore, to avoid gunfights with numerous opponents, it is advantageous to eliminate soldiers and security cameras before they spot or hear the player. Certain weapons incorporate suppressor or telescopic sight attachments to aid the player in killing enemies discreetly, there are no health-recovery items in the game, although armour vests can be acquired to provide a secondary health bar. Four save files are available to track the players progress through the games twenty missions, each of which may be played on Agent, Secret Agent, once a mission is completed, the player may either continue progressing through the story or choose to replay a previously completed level. Completing certain missions within particular target times enables the player to unlock bonus cheat options which make various changes to the gameplay, normal is a basic deathmatch mode in which the main objective is to kill opponents as many times as possible. It can be played as a game or in teams. In You Only Live Twice, players only have two lives before they are eliminated from the game, and Licence to Kill is a mode in which players die from a hit with any weapon. The player with the Golden Gun is unable to pick up body armour while opponents can, in The Living Daylights, a flag is placed in a fixed location on the map, and the player who holds it the longest wins. The flag-carrier cannot use weapons but can collect them to keep opponents from stocking ammunition
19.
Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010
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The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010, commonly known as E32010, was the 16th Electronic Entertainment Expo held. The event took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles and it began on June 14,2010, and ended on June 17,2010, with 45,600 total attendees. There was also an E3 event held in Sonys PlayStation Home, E32010 was held at the Los Angeles Convention Center with the show occupying the South and West Halls as well as the first floor. Sony Computer Entertainment and Nintendo had booths that were directly opposite of each other, other notable developers and publishers located on this floor were Atlus, Atari, Bethesda, Sony Online Entertainment, and Capcom. The hall has three types of booths, large, medium and small, the large booths were occupied by Square Enix, MTV Games, Microsoft, Ubisoft, Disney Interactive Studios, and Electronic Arts. The medium booths were occupied by Sega, Konami, THQ, the small booths were occupied by Namco Bandai and Tecmo Koei. Phil Spencer, vice president of Microsoft Studios, hosted the event for Kinect, on June 15,2010, Nintendo held its conference, hosted by Reggie Fils-Aimé. Shigeru Miyamoto appeared on stage and presented gameplay of their new game The Legend of Zelda, Skyward Sword, on June 15,2010, Sony held its conference It was hosted by Jack Tretton. The conference opened up, with Kaz Hirai talking about 3D, Sony also announced its plans to advertise PlayStation Move starting with a partnership with Coca-Cola. They also announced plans to start PlayStation Plus, littleBigPlanet 2, Dead Space 2, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 were demoed. Other games shown include Infamous 2, Medal of Honor, God of War, Ghost of Sparta, the show closed with a teaser trailer, and demo for an upcoming Twisted Metal game. Konamis press conference stood out with its numerous ill-received stunts and performances, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Valve, Namco Bandai, Square Enix also held conferences. Hideo Kojima, creator of the Metal Gear Solid series, made an appearance at Microsofts press conference, prior to that he attended the third annual PlayStation. Blog E3 Meetup and gave away free bundles of Metal Gear Solid, Peace Walker. Tetsuya Nomura, director of Final Fantasy XV and series director of Kingdom Hearts, in addition he is met with Square Enixs Osaka-based Product Development Group 5 which recently worked on Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. This was revealed by Shinji Hashimoto, a Japanese game producer for Square Enix, Japanese game developers Hideki Kamiya, Yuji Naka, Suda 51, and Shinji Mikami all went to E32010. While American game director David Jaffe, head of Eat Sleep Play, was also in attendance, Electronic Arts Chief Executive Officer, John Riccitiello, has billed E32010 as being the Biggest and Best Ever. He also adds that All the best games and all the best developers will be together in LA to unveil new titles and celebrate the creativity and new technology that makes gaming so much fun. Valve Corporation claimed that they were going to be unveiling a surprise at E32010, the Portal 2 event was cancelled on June 1,2010 with the surprise as its replacement
20.
James Bond 007: Blood Stone
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It is the 24th game in the James Bond series although it is not a direct sequel to any game, it is the first game since James Bond 007, Everything or Nothing to have an original story. The game was confirmed by Activision on July 16,2010, the game was released on November 2,2010 in North America and released on November 5,2010 in Europe. Activisions GoldenEye 007 was released on the day respectively in each region. Blood Stone features the voices and likenesses of Daniel Craig, Judi Dench,007, Blood Stone was the final game developed by Bizarre Creations before it closed its doors on February 18,2011. The game is a shooter with elements of hand-to-hand combat. Some design features are retained from 007, Quantum of Solace, driving sequences appear in this game. Blood Stone features a focus aim system which allows players to lock onto targets after melee takedowns, there is a multiplayer mode consisting of up to 16 players that will pit spies versus mercenaries. Alongside team deathmatch and other game modes there are massive objective-based battles where players have to work as a team to attack or defend various spy-themed goals. The player pilots several vehicle types throughout the course of the game, the story is set a few years after the events of Quantum of Solace. It starts with Greco, an international terrorist planning an attack on the G-20 Summit at the Acropolis structure in Athens. M sends Bond to investigate and prevent an attack from occurring, after a brief encounter with Greco on his yacht, Bond pursues him through Athens by boat and then on foot. The next morning, Bond is assigned to rescue a missing professor, Tedworth was originally feared dead until an anonymous tip and tracing of his cell phone led MI6 to an Istanbul construction site. Bond investigates the area that Tedworths phone signal was lost in, in the catacombs, Tedworth is interrogated by a man called Bernin who demands the password to a USB drive. Tedworth submits to the torture and is promptly executed, Bond interrupts, pursuing Bernin by Aston Martin DB5, and on foot, the chase ending at an old coliseum. Bernin however manages to get the data extracted, only to reveal Stefan Pomerovs name to Bond before being pushed off a ledge to his death by Bond after attempting to kill him. After learning that Pomerov is going to be in Monaco, Bond travels to Nice, meeting with his contact, Hunter takes Bond to one of Pomerovs casinos in Monaco. Nicole distracts Pomerov while Bond sneaks in and breaks into his safe, Bond recovers documents and a camera that contains a video of Tedworths interrogation. On it, Tedworth reveals that he was the lead scientist who was trying to create an antidote to both smallpox and anthrax to cure soldiers in the event of a biological attack
21.
Pierce Brosnan
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Pierce Brendan Brosnan OBE is an Irish actor, film producer, and activist who after leaving comprehensive school at age 16, began training in commercial illustration. He then went on to train at the Drama Centre in London for three years, following a stage acting career he rose to popularity in the television series Remington Steele, which blended the genres of romantic comedy, drama, and detective procedural. After the conclusion of Remington Steele, Brosnan appeared in such as the Cold War spy film The Fourth Protocol. In 1994, Brosnan became the actor to portray secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions film series. He lent his likeness for Bond in the video games James Bond 007, Nightfire and James Bond 007, during this period, he also took the lead in other films including the epic disaster adventure film Dantes Peak and the remake of the heist film The Thomas Crown Affair. In 1996, along with Beau St. Clair, Brosnan formed Irish DreamTime, in later years, he has become known for his charitable work and environmental activism. He was married to Australian actress Cassandra Harris from 1980 until her death in 1991 and he married American journalist and author Keely Shaye Smith in 2001, and became an American citizen in 2004, holding dual citizenship in the U. S. and Ireland. He has earned two Golden Globe Award nominations, first for the television miniseries Nancy Astor and next for the comedy film The Matador. Brosnan was born in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland, the child of Thomas Brosnan, a carpenter. He lived in Navan, County Meath for 12 years and considers it his home town and he went to Primary School in St. Annes Primary School, Navan. Brosnans father abandoned the family when Pierce was an infant, when he was four years old, his mother moved to London to work as a nurse. From that point on, he was brought up by his grandparents, Philip. After their deaths, he lived with an aunt and then an uncle and he was educated at Elliott School, now known as Ark Putney Academy, a coeducational secondary school with academy status in South West London. According to Brosnan, Childhood was fairly solitary, I grew up in a very small town called Navan in County Meath. He left when I was an infant and I was left in the care of my mother and my grandparents. To be Catholic in the 50s, and to be Irish Catholic in the 50s, and have a marriage which was not there, a father who was not there, consequently, the mother and she took the bold steps to go away and be a nurse in England. Basically wanting a life for her and myself. My mother came home once a year, twice a year, Brosnan was brought up in a Roman Catholic family and educated in a local school run by the de la Salle Brothers while serving as an altar boy
22.
Daniel Craig
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Daniel Wroughton Craig is an English actor. He trained at the National Youth Theatre and graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1991 and his film debut was in the drama The Power of One. Cast as the fictional British secret agent James Bond in October 2005, his first film in the role, Casino Royale, was released internationally in November 2006. Craig achieved international fame when chosen as the actor to play the role of Ian Flemings James Bond in the official film series. Quantum of Solace followed two years later, Craigs fourth Bond film, Spectre, premiered in 2015. In 2006, he joined the Academy of Motion Picture Arts, Craig also made a guest appearance as Bond in the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, alongside Queen Elizabeth II. As of 20 February 2017, Craig is the second longest serving James Bond, Craig was born in Chester, Cheshire. Craig has distant French Huguenot ancestry, Huguenot minister Daniel Chamier is among his ancestors, as is Sir William Burnaby, 1st Baronet. Craigs middle name, Wroughton, comes from his great-great-grandmother, Grace Matilda Wroughton, raised on the Wirral Peninsula, Craig attended primary school in Frodsham and Hoylake, Merseyside. Later, he attended Hilbre High School in West Kirby, Merseyside, along with his older sister Lea, when his parents divorced, Craig and his sister lived with their mother, moving to Liverpool, Merseyside. Upon finishing his secondary school education at the age of 16. He played rugby union for Hoylake RFC, Craig began acting in school plays at the age of six, and was introduced to serious acting by attending the Everyman Theatre in nearby Liverpool City Centre with his mother. At the age of 16, Craig was accepted into the National Youth Theatre, leaving school and moving to London, in Craigs first screen role, he played an Afrikaner in The Power of One in 1992. He then appeared as Joe in the Royal National Theatres production of Tony Kushners Angels in America in November 1993, also in 1993, Craig was featured in an episode of Yorkshire Televisions Heartbeat, which aired 31 October 1993. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences extended an invitation to Craig in 2006. In 2005, Craig was contacted by Eon Productions to portray James Bond and he stated he was aware of the challenges of the Bond franchise which he considered a big machine that makes a lot of money. He aimed at bringing more depth to the character. Born in 1968, Craig is the first actor to portray James Bond to have been born after the Bond series started, and after the death of Ian Fleming, significant controversy followed the decision, as it was doubted if the producers had made the right choice
23.
Skyfall
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Skyfall is the 23rd James Bond film produced by Eon Productions and released in 2012. It features Daniel Craig in his performance as James Bond, and Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva. It was directed by Sam Mendes and written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan and it was distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Columbia Pictures. The story centres on Bond investigating an attack on MI6, the attack is part of a plot by former MI6 agent Raoul Silva to humiliate, discredit and kill M as revenge against her for betraying him. The film sees the return of two recurring characters to the series after an absence of two films, Q, played by Ben Whishaw, and Moneypenny, played by Naomie Harris. Skyfall is the last film of the series for Judi Dench, who played M, the position is subsequently filled by Ralph Fiennes character, Gareth Mallory, though Dench would make a brief appearance in the next Bond film, Spectre. Mendes was approached to direct the film after the release of Quantum of Solace in 2008, development was suspended when MGM encountered financial troubles and did not resume until December 2010, during this time, Mendes remained attached to the project as a consultant. The original screenwriter, Peter Morgan, left the project during the suspension, when production resumed, Logan, Purvis, and Wade continued writing what became the final version of the script. Filming began in November 2011 and primarily took place in the United Kingdom, with portions shot in China. Skyfall premiered in London at the Royal Albert Hall on 23 October 2012 and was released in the United Kingdom on 26 October 2012 and it was the first James Bond film to be screened in IMAX venues, although it was not filmed with IMAX cameras. The films release coincided with the 50th anniversary of the series and it was the 14th film to gross over $1 billion worldwide, and the first Bond film to do so. The film won accolades, including two BAFTA Awards, two Academy Awards and two Grammys. In Istanbul, MI6 agents James Bond and Eve Moneypenny chase a mercenary, Patrice, as Bond and Patrice fight atop a train, M, the head of MI6, orders Eve to shoot Patrice from long range. Eve misses and inadvertently hits Bond, who falls into a river, Bond is presumed dead and Patrice escapes. In the aftermath of the operation, M comes under pressure from Gareth Mallory, on her return from the meeting, MI6s servers are hacked and M receives a taunting message via computer moments before the MI6 building explodes, killing several employees. Bond, who used his death to retire, learns of the attack. Although he fails a series of physical and psychological examinations, M approves his return to the field, Bond is ordered to identify Patrices employer, recover the stolen hard drive, and kill Patrice. He meets Q, MI6s new quartermaster, who gives him a radio beacon, in Shanghai, Bond follows Patrice into a skyscraper, but is unable to prevent him from killing his target
24.
Judi Dench
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Dame Judith Olivia Dench CH DBE FRSA, known as Judi Dench, is an English actress and author. Dench made her debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she performed in several of Shakespeares plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and Lady Macbeth in Macbeth. Although most of her work during this period was in theatre, she branched into film work. She drew strong reviews for her role in the musical Cabaret in 1968. Over the next two decades, Dench established herself as one of the most significant British theatre performers, working for the National Theatre Company and the Royal Shakespeare Company. She achieved success in television during this period, in the series A Fine Romance from 1981 until 1984 and she has also received the BAFTA Fellowship and the Special Olivier Award. In June 2011, she received a fellowship from the British Film Institute, Dench is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Dench was born in Heworth, North Riding of Yorkshire and her mother, Eleanora Olive, was born in Dublin, Ireland. Her father, Reginald Arthur Dench, a doctor, was born in Dorset, England, and later moved to Dublin and he met Denchs mother while he was studying medicine at Trinity College, Dublin. Dench attended The Mount School, a Quaker independent secondary school in York and her brothers, one of whom was actor Jeffery Dench, were born in Tyldesley, Lancashire. Her niece, Emma Dench, is a Roman historian and professor previously at Birkbeck, University of London, and currently at Harvard University. In Britain, Dench has developed a reputation as one of the greatest actresses of the period, primarily through her work in theatre. She has more than once been named one in polls for Britains best actor. Through her parents, Dench had regular contact with the theatre and her father, a physician, was also the GP for the York theatre, and her mother was its wardrobe mistress. Actors often stayed in the Dench household, during these years, Judi Dench was involved on a non-professional basis in the first three productions of the modern revival of the York Mystery Plays in the 1950s. In 1957, in one of the last productions in which she appeared during this period, she played the role of the Virgin Mary, performed on a fixed stage in the Museum Gardens. Though she initially trained as a set designer, she became interested in school as her brother Jeff attended the Central School of Speech
25.
M (James Bond)
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M is a fictional character in Ian Flemings James Bond book and film series, the character is the Head of the Secret Intelligence Service—also known as MI6—and is Bonds superior. Fleming based the character on a number of people he knew who commanded sections of British intelligence, M has appeared in the novels by Fleming and seven continuation authors, as well as appearing in twenty-four films. Fleming based much of Ms character on Rear Admiral John Godfrey, after Flemings death, Godfrey complained He turned me into that unsavoury character, M. A further inspiration for M was Maxwell Knight, the head of MI5, who signed his memos as M, the tradition of the head of MI6 signing their name with a single letter came from Mansfield Smith-Cumming, who would sign his initial C with green ink. Melville recruited Sidney Reilly into government service and foiled a plot against Queen Victoria on her 1887 Golden Jubilee. A naval theme runs throughout Flemings description of M and his surroundings, and his character was described by journalist and Bond scholar Ben Macintyre as every inch the naval martinet. Macintyre also notes that in his study of Flemings work, Kingsley Amis outlined the way Fleming had described Ms voice, being, angry, brutal, cold, curt, dry, gruff, stern, testy. Over the course of twelve novels and two collections of stories, Fleming provided a number of details relating to Ms background. In On Her Majestys Secret Service it is revealed that Ms pay as head of the Secret Service is £6,500 a year, Blades has a restricted membership of only 200 gentlemen and all must be able to show £100,000 in cash or gilt-edged securities. Kingsley Amis noted in his study, The James Bond Dossier, as a personal favour to M, the staff at Blades keeps a supply of cheap red wine from Algeria on hand but does not include it on the wine list. M refers to it as Infuriator and tends only to drink it in moderate quantities unless he is in a bad mood. In the first post-Fleming book, Colonel Sun, M is kidnapped from Quarterdeck, his home, in Gardners final novel, COLD, M is kidnapped and rescued by Bond and finishes the book by retiring from MI6. Continuation Bond author Raymond Bensons 1998 novel The Facts of Death continued Messervys retirement, the book also introduces a new M, Barbara Mawdsley. M was played by Bernard Lee from the first Bond film, Dr. No, in Dr. No, M refers to his record of reducing the number of operative casualties since taking the job, implying someone else held the job recently before him. The film also saw M refer to himself as head of MI7, Lee had originally said MI6, earlier in the film, the department had been referred to as MI6 by a radio operator. Smith and Lavington, meanwhile, remarked that Lee was the incarnation of Flemings crusty admiral. Lee died of cancer in January 1981, four months into the filming of For Your Eyes Only, later films referred to Lees tenure as head of the service, with a painting of him as M in MI6s Scottish headquarters during the 1999 instalment The World Is Not Enough. Featured in The likeness of Lee was used in the 2005 James Bond video game adaptation of James Bond 007, after Lees death in 1981, the producers hired actor Robert Brown to play M in Octopussy
26.
Rory Kinnear
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Rory Kinnear is an English actor and playwright who has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre. He is known for playing Bill Tanner in the James Bond films Quantum of Solace, Skyfall, and Spectre and he is the youngest actor to play the role of Bill Tanner. He also won a Laurence Olivier Award for portraying Fopling Flutter in a 2008 version of The Man of Mode, in 2014, he won the Olivier Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Shakespeares villain Iago in the National Theatre production of Othello. Kinnear was born in London, England, the son of the actor Roy Kinnear and he has two sisters, Kirsty and Karina. Through his father, a well-known British comedy actor, he is the grandson of the rugby union and rugby league player Roy Kinnear. Educated at Tower House School and St Pauls School, London, he read English at Balliol College, Oxford, Kinnears performances in Phyllida Lloyds production of Mary Stuart and Trevor Nunns Hamlet, in which he played Laertes, met with acclaim. He also achieved recognition as the outrageous Sir Fopling Flutter in The Man of Mode at the National Theatre, winning a Laurence Olivier Award, in 2010, he played Angelo in Measure for Measure at the Almeida Theatre. Later in 2010 he played the role in Hamlet at the National Theatre. The two portrayals won him the best actor award in the Evening Standard drama awards for 2010, Kinnear appeared in The Last of the Haussmans by Stephen Beresford at the Royal National Theatre during the summer of 2012. The production was broadcast to cinemas around the world on 11 October 2012 through the National Theatre Live programme and he starred as Iago opposite Adrian Lester in the title role of Othello in 2013 at the National Theatre throughout the summer of 2013. Both actors won the Best Actor award in the Evening Standard Theatre Awards for their roles, the award is given to only one actor. From September 2013 the Bush Theatre in London staged Kinnears debut play The Herd, the play ran at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago beginning 2 April 2015. For The Threepenny Opera at the Olivier Theatre in May 2016 Kinnear found his dormant singing voice for the role of Macheath. In February 2017 he made his debut with The Winters Tale. He currently portrays Bill Tanner in the Daniel Craig era James Bond film series taking over from Michael Kitchen. He is the person to play the character. He has appeared in Quantum of Solace, Skyfall and Spectre, as well as the films, Kinnear also lends his voice and likeness to the Bond video games, GoldenEye 007, James Bond 007, Blood Stone and 007 Legends. In 2014, he played the character, Detective Nock, in the The Imitation Game based loosely on the biography Alan Turing
27.
Bill Tanner
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Bill Tanner is a fictional character in the James Bond film and novel series. Superb in a crisis, and blessed with a dry sense of humour and he is also Bonds staunchest ally in the Service, and they often enjoy a round of golf when off-duty. A family man, Tanner is just a little envious of Bonds freedom, in Ian Flemings novels, Bill Tanner is MI6s Chief of Staff. He appears infrequently in the novels, but is a character in the later continuation series by John Gardner. In 1965, Kingsley Amis wrote The Book of Bond or Every Man His Own 007, for this work, Amis used the pseudonym Lt. Colonel William Tanner. In The Man with the Golden Gun, Bill Tanner is only briefly in the film and is not mentioned by name until the end credits. He appears in Ms office with M and Colthorpe, discussing Francisco Scaramanga and he explains Scaramangas fingerprints on the bullet were verified by the CIA, and that Scaramanga is attempting to provoke a battle with MI6. This leads to Bond being sent to find Scaramanga, in For Your Eyes Only, Bill Tanner is given a bigger role, as Bernard Lee, who played M, had died. Tanner gives Bond his assignment, which sends him to find Hector Gonzales, Bond is unable to get information from Gonzales later on because Melina Havelock kills him after Bond is captured. Tanner then gets upset at him for not getting any information, Tanner is last seen at the end of the film, when he connects the Prime Minister and Bond by phone. Unknowingly though, Bond is not there and it is merely a talking parrot that ends up flirting with the Prime Minister, in Octopussy, the role of M was recast with Robert Brown, so Tanner did not appear. In GoldenEye, Tanner is only seen in the Situation Room when the GoldenEye weapon is set off. Tanner gets scolded here for calling the new M, the Evil Queen of Numbers while she is right behind him, as Michael Kitchen was unable to reprise his role for Tomorrow Never Dies, the character of Charles Robinson, was created in his stead. In The World Is Not Enough, Tanner is seen at the Scotland MI6 building debriefing the agents on the murder of Sir Robert King, father of Elektra King. When Bond comes to the conclusion that Renard is behind it and he is only seen again twice, when Elektra King contacts M to get her to come and see her and finally at the end of the film where R is attempting to find Bond. Tanner returned to the Bond film series in Quantum of Solace, once again in his position as Ms aide. He was played by a different actor, Rory Kinnear, giving Judi Dench the distinction of having played two different actors playing the role of Tanner. Kinnear is also the godson of Denchs late husband Michael Williams, Kinnear reprised the role of Tanner in Skyfall and Spectre
28.
Cold War
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The Cold War was a state of geopolitical tension after World War II between powers in the Eastern Bloc and powers in the Western Bloc. Historians do not fully agree on the dates, but a common timeframe is the period between 1947, the year the Truman Doctrine was announced, and 1991, the year the Soviet Union collapsed. The term cold is used there was no large-scale fighting directly between the two sides, although there were major regional wars, known as proxy wars, supported by the two sides. The Cold War split the temporary alliance against Nazi Germany, leaving the Soviet Union. The USSR was a Marxist–Leninist state ruled by its Communist Party and secret police, the Party controlled the press, the military, the economy and all organizations. In opposition stood the West, dominantly democratic and capitalist with a free press, a small neutral bloc arose with the Non-Aligned Movement, it sought good relations with both sides. The two superpowers never engaged directly in full-scale armed combat, but they were armed in preparation for a possible all-out nuclear world war. The first phase of the Cold War began in the first two years after the end of the Second World War in 1945, the Berlin Blockade was the first major crisis of the Cold War. With the victory of the communist side in the Chinese Civil War and the outbreak of the Korean War, the USSR and USA competed for influence in Latin America, and the decolonizing states of Africa and Asia. Meanwhile, the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 was stopped by the Soviets, the expansion and escalation sparked more crises, such as the Suez Crisis, the Berlin Crisis of 1961, and the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. The USSR crushed the 1968 Prague Spring liberalization program in Czechoslovakia, détente collapsed at the end of the decade with the beginning of the Soviet–Afghan War in 1979. The early 1980s were another period of elevated tension, with the Soviet downing of Korean Air Lines Flight 007, the United States increased diplomatic, military, and economic pressures on the Soviet Union, at a time when the communist state was already suffering from economic stagnation. In the mid-1980s, the new Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev introduced the reforms of perestroika and glasnost. Pressures for national independence grew stronger in Eastern Europe, especially Poland, Gorbachev meanwhile refused to use Soviet troops to bolster the faltering Warsaw Pact regimes as had occurred in the past. The result in 1989 was a wave of revolutions that peacefully overthrew all of the communist regimes of Central, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union itself lost control and was banned following an abortive coup attempt in August 1991. This in turn led to the dissolution of the USSR in December 1991. The United States remained as the only superpower. The Cold War and its events have left a significant legacy and it is often referred to in popular culture, especially in media featuring themes of espionage and the threat of nuclear warfare
29.
Soviet Union
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The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a socialist state in Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991. It was nominally a union of national republics, but its government. The Soviet Union had its roots in the October Revolution of 1917 and this established the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and started the Russian Civil War between the revolutionary Reds and the counter-revolutionary Whites. In 1922, the communists were victorious, forming the Soviet Union with the unification of the Russian, Transcaucasian, Ukrainian, following Lenins death in 1924, a collective leadership and a brief power struggle, Joseph Stalin came to power in the mid-1920s. Stalin suppressed all opposition to his rule, committed the state ideology to Marxism–Leninism. As a result, the country underwent a period of rapid industrialization and collectivization which laid the foundation for its victory in World War II and postwar dominance of Eastern Europe. Shortly before World War II, Stalin signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact agreeing to non-aggression with Nazi Germany, in June 1941, the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, opening the largest and bloodiest theater of war in history. Soviet war casualties accounted for the highest proportion of the conflict in the effort of acquiring the upper hand over Axis forces at battles such as Stalingrad. Soviet forces eventually captured Berlin in 1945, the territory overtaken by the Red Army became satellite states of the Eastern Bloc. The Cold War emerged by 1947 as the Soviet bloc confronted the Western states that united in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949. Following Stalins death in 1953, a period of political and economic liberalization, known as de-Stalinization and Khrushchevs Thaw, the country developed rapidly, as millions of peasants were moved into industrialized cities. The USSR took a lead in the Space Race with Sputnik 1, the first ever satellite, and Vostok 1. In the 1970s, there was a brief détente of relations with the United States, the war drained economic resources and was matched by an escalation of American military aid to Mujahideen fighters. In the mid-1980s, the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, sought to reform and liberalize the economy through his policies of glasnost. The goal was to preserve the Communist Party while reversing the economic stagnation, the Cold War ended during his tenure, and in 1989 Soviet satellite countries in Eastern Europe overthrew their respective communist regimes. This led to the rise of strong nationalist and separatist movements inside the USSR as well, in August 1991, a coup détat was attempted by Communist Party hardliners. It failed, with Russian President Boris Yeltsin playing a role in facing down the coup. On 25 December 1991, Gorbachev resigned and the twelve constituent republics emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union as independent post-Soviet states
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Russia
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Russia, also officially the Russian Federation, is a country in Eurasia. The European western part of the country is more populated and urbanised than the eastern. Russias capital Moscow is one of the largest cities in the world, other urban centers include Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod. Extending across the entirety of Northern Asia and much of Eastern Europe, Russia spans eleven time zones and incorporates a range of environments. It shares maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, the East Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants, in 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire, beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium. Rus ultimately disintegrated into a number of states, most of the Rus lands were overrun by the Mongol invasion. The Soviet Union played a role in the Allied victory in World War II. The Soviet era saw some of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century, including the worlds first human-made satellite and the launching of the first humans in space. By the end of 1990, the Soviet Union had the second largest economy, largest standing military in the world. It is governed as a federal semi-presidential republic, the Russian economy ranks as the twelfth largest by nominal GDP and sixth largest by purchasing power parity in 2015. Russias extensive mineral and energy resources are the largest such reserves in the world, making it one of the producers of oil. The country is one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction, Russia is a great power as well as a regional power and has been characterised as a potential superpower. The name Russia is derived from Rus, a state populated mostly by the East Slavs. However, this name became more prominent in the later history, and the country typically was called by its inhabitants Русская Земля. In order to distinguish this state from other states derived from it, it is denoted as Kievan Rus by modern historiography, an old Latin version of the name Rus was Ruthenia, mostly applied to the western and southern regions of Rus that were adjacent to Catholic Europe. The current name of the country, Россия, comes from the Byzantine Greek designation of the Kievan Rus, the standard way to refer to citizens of Russia is Russians in English and rossiyane in Russian. There are two Russian words which are translated into English as Russians
31.
James Bond
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The James Bond series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. The latest novel is Trigger Mortis by Anthony Horowitz, published in September 2015, additionally Charlie Higson wrote a series on a young James Bond, and Kate Westbrook wrote three novels based on the diaries of a recurring series character, Moneypenny. The character has also adapted for television, radio, comic strip, video games. As of 2017, there have been twenty-four films in the Eon Productions series, the most recent Bond film, Spectre, stars Daniel Craig in his fourth portrayal of Bond, he is the sixth actor to play Bond in the Eon series. There have also two independent productions of Bond films, Casino Royale and Never Say Never Again. In 2015, the franchise was estimated to be worth $19.9 billion, the Bond films are renowned for a number of features, including the musical accompaniment, with the theme songs having received Academy Award nominations on several occasions, and two wins. Other important elements which run through most of the films include Bonds cars, his guns, the films are also noted for Bonds relationships with various women, who are sometimes referred to as Bond girls. Ian Fleming created the character of James Bond as the central figure for his works. Bond is an officer in the Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known as MI6. Bond is known by his number,007, and was a Royal Naval Reserve Commander. Among those types were his brother, Peter, who had involved in behind-the-lines operations in Norway. Aside from Flemings brother, a number of others also provided some aspects of Bonds make up, including Conrad OBrien-ffrench, Patrick Dalzel-Job and Bill Biffy Dunderdale. The name James Bond came from that of the American ornithologist James Bond, a Caribbean bird expert and author of the definitive field guide Birds of the West Indies. He further explained that, When I wrote the first one in 1953, I wanted Bond to be a dull, uninteresting man to whom things happened. When I was casting around for a name for my protagonist I thought by God, is the dullest name I ever heard. On another occasion, Fleming said, I wanted the simplest, dullest, plainest-sounding name I could find, James Bond was much better than something more interesting, like Peregrine Carruthers. Exotic things would happen to and around him, but he would be a neutral figure—an anonymous, likewise, in Moonraker, Special Branch Officer Gala Brand thinks that Bond is certainly good-looking. Rather like Hoagy Carmichael in a way and that black hair falling down over the right eyebrow
32.
Arkhangelsk
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Arkhangelsk, also known in English as Archangel and Archangelsk, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, in the north of European Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina River near its exit into the White Sea, the city spreads for over 40 kilometers along the banks of the river and numerous islands of its delta. Arkhangelsk was the seaport of medieval and early modern Russia until 1703. A1, 133-kilometer-long railway runs from Arkhangelsk to Moscow via Vologda and Yaroslavl, and air travel is served by the Talagi Airport and a smaller Vaskovo Airport. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 348,783, down from 356,051 recorded in the 2002 Census. The arms of the city display the Archangel Michael in the act of slaying the Devil, legend states that this victory took place near where the city stands, hence its name, and that Michael still stands watch over the city to prevent the Devils return. Vikings knew the area around Arkhangelsk as Bjarmaland, ohthere of Hålogaland told circa 890 of his travels in an area by a river and the White Sea with many buildings. This was probably the later known as Arkhangelsk. According to Snorri Sturluson, Vikings led by Thorir Hund raided this area in 1027, in 1989, an unusually impressive silver treasure was found by the mouth of Dvina, right next to present-day Arkhangelsk. It was probably buried in the beginning of the 12th century, most of the findings comprised a total of 1.6 kilograms of silver, largely in the form of coins. Jewelry and pieces of jewelry come from Russia or neighboring areas, the majority of the coins were German, but the hoard also included a smaller number of Kufan, English, Bohemian, Hungarian, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian coins. It is hard to place this find historically until further research is completed, there are at least two possible interpretations. It may be a treasure belonging to the society outlined by the Norse source material, generally such finds, whether from Scandinavia, the Baltic area, or Russia, are closely tied to well-established agricultural societies with considerable trade activity. Alternatively, like the Russian scientists who published the find in 1992, in the 12th century, the Novgorodians established the Archangel Michael Monastery in the estuary of the Northern Dvina River. Written sources indicate that Kholmogory existed early in the 12th century and it is not known whether the origin of this settlement was Russian, or if it goes back to pre-Russian times. In the center of the town that is there today is a large mound of building remains and river sand. The area of Arkhangelsk came to be important in the rivalry between Norwegian and Russian interests in the northern areas, from Novgorod, the spectrum of Russian interest was extended far north to the Kola Peninsula in the 12th century. However, here Norway enforced taxes and rights to the fur trade, a compromise agreement entered in 1251 was soon broken
33.
Electromagnetic pulse
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An electromagnetic pulse, also sometimes called a transient electromagnetic disturbance, is a short burst of electromagnetic energy. Such a pulses origination may be a natural occurrence or man-made and can occur as a radiated, electric or magnetic field or an electric current. The management of EMP effects is an important branch of electromagnetic compatibility engineering, weapons have been developed to create the damaging effects of high-energy EMP. These are typically divided into nuclear and non-nuclear devices, such weapons, both real and fictional, have become known to the public by means of popular culture. An electromagnetic pulse is a short burst of electromagnetic energy and its short duration means that it will be spread over a range of frequencies. Pulses are typically characterized by, The type of energy, the range or spectrum of frequencies present. Pulse waveform, shape, duration and amplitude, the last two of these, the frequency spectrum and the pulse waveform, are interrelated via the Fourier transform and may be seen as two different ways of describing the same pulse. In general, only acts over long distances, with the others acting over short distances. There are a few exceptions, such as a solar magnetic flare, a pulse of electromagnetic energy typically comprises many frequencies from DC to some upper limit depending on the source. The range defined as EMP, sometimes referred to as DC to daylight, excludes the highest frequencies comprising the optical and ionizing ranges. Some types of EMP events can leave a trail, such as lightning and sparks. The waveform of a pulse describes how its instantaneous amplitude changes over time, real pulses tend to be quite complicated, so simplified models are often used. Such a model is shown either as a diagram or as a mathematical equation. Most pulses have a sharp leading edge, building up quickly to their maximum level. The classic model is a curve which climbs steeply, quickly reaches a peak. However, pulses from a switching circuit often approximate the form of a rectangular or square pulse. In a pulse train, such as from a digital clock circuit, EMP events usually induce a corresponding signal in the victim equipment, due to coupling between the source and victim. Coupling usually occurs most strongly over a narrow frequency band
34.
Dubai
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Dubai is the largest and most populous city in the United Arab Emirates. It is located on the southeast coast of the Persian Gulf and is the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Dubai are the only two emirates to have veto power over critical matters of national importance in the countrys legislature. The city of Dubai is located on the northern coastline. Dubai will host World Expo 2020, Dubai has emerged as a global city and business hub of the Middle East. It is also a transport hub for passengers and cargo. By the 1960s, Dubais economy was based on revenues from trade and, to an extent, oil exploration concessions. Oil revenue first started to flow in 1969, Dubais oil revenue helped accelerate the early development of the city, but its reserves are limited and production levels are low, today, less than 5% of the emirates revenue comes from oil. The emirates Western-style model of business drives its economy with the main revenues now coming from tourism, aviation, real estate, Dubai was recently named the best destination for Muslim travellers by Salam Standard. Dubai has recently attracted attention through many innovative large construction projects and sports events. The city has become iconic for its skyscrapers and high-rise buildings, in particular the worlds tallest building, Dubai has been criticised for human rights violations concerning the citys largely South Asian and Filipino workforce. As of 2012, Dubai was the 22nd most expensive city in the world, in 2014, Dubais hotel rooms were rated as the second most expensive in the world, after Geneva. Dubai was rated as one of the best places to live in the Middle East by U. S. global consulting firm Mercer, Many theories have been proposed as to the origin of the word Dubai. One theory suggests the word was used to describe the souq, another theory states that the name came from a word meaning money, as people from Dubai were commonly believed to be rich due to the thriving trading centre of the location. An Arabic proverb says Daba Dubai, meaning They came with a lot of money, according to Fedel Handhal, a scholar on the UAEs history and culture, the word Dubai may have come from the word daba, referring to the slow flow of Dubai Creek inland. The poet and scholar Ahmad Mohammad Obaid traces it to the same word, an inhabitant or native of the city is a Dubaian. Although stone tools have been found at archaeological sites, little is known about the UAEs early inhabitants as only a few settlements have been found. Many ancient towns in the area were trading centres between the Eastern and Western worlds, the remnants of an ancient mangrove swamp, dated at 7000 BC, were discovered during the construction of sewer lines near Dubai Internet City. The area was covered with sand about 5,000 years ago as the coast retreated inland, pre-Islamic ceramics have been found from the 3rd and 4th centuries
35.
Siberia
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Siberia is an extensive geographical region, and by the broadest definition is also known as North Asia. Siberia has historically been a part of Russia since the 17th century, the territory of Siberia extends eastwards from the Ural Mountains to the watershed between the Pacific and Arctic drainage basins. It stretches southwards from the Arctic Ocean to the hills of north-central Kazakhstan and to the borders of Mongolia. With an area of 13.1 million square kilometres, Siberia accounts for 77% of Russias land area and this is equivalent to an average population density of about 3 inhabitants per square kilometre, making Siberia one of the most sparsely populated regions on Earth. If it were a country by itself, it would still be the largest country in area, the origin of the name is unknown. Some sources say that Siberia originates from the Siberian Tatar word for sleeping land, another account sees the name as the ancient tribal ethnonym of the Sirtya, a folk, which spoke a language that later evolved into the Ugric languages. This ethnic group was assimilated to the Siberian Tatar people. The modern usage of the name was recorded in the Russian language after the Empires conquest of the Siberian Khanate, a further variant claims that the region was named after the Xibe people. The Polish historian Chycliczkowski has proposed that the name derives from the word for north. He said that the neighbouring Chinese, Arabs and Mongolians would not have known Russian and he suggests that the name is a combination of two words, su and bir. The region is of significance, as it contains bodies of prehistoric animals from the Pleistocene Epoch. Specimens of Goldfuss cave lion cubs, Yuka and another woolly mammoth from Oymyakon, a rhinoceros from the Kolyma River. The Siberian Traps were formed by one of the largest known volcanic events of the last 500 million years of Earths geological history. They continued for a million years and are considered a cause of the Great Dying about 250 million years ago. At least three species of human lived in Southern Siberia around 40,000 years ago, H. sapiens, H. neanderthalensis, the last was determined in 2010, by DNA evidence, to be a new species. Siberia was inhabited by different groups of such as the Enets, the Nenets, the Huns, the Scythians. The Khan of Sibir in the vicinity of modern Tobolsk was known as a prominent figure who endorsed Kubrat as Khagan of Old Great Bulgaria in 630, the Mongols conquered a large part of this area early in the 13th century. With the breakup of the Golden Horde, the autonomous Khanate of Sibir was established in the late 15th century, turkic-speaking Yakut migrated north from the Lake Baikal region under pressure from the Mongol tribes during the 13th to 15th century
36.
Natalya Simonova
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Natalya Fyodorovna Simonova is a fictional character and the main Bond girl in the James Bond film GoldenEye, played by actress Izabella Scorupco. Natalya Simonova works as a Level 2 programmer at the Severnaya facility of the Russian Space Forces and she attempts to find Boris, whom she believes to be innocent, he meets her in a cathedral and turns her over to Onatopp. Simonova and Bond, who have both been captured by Trevelyan, are trapped in the stolen Tiger helicopter, the helicopter fires missiles at itself, but Bond is able to eject the two, who are subsequently arrested by the Russian government. Ourumov sets Bond free to clear his own name of murder, Bond escapes and he then rescues her from Ourumov and Trevelyan, and they become lovers. The two then follow Trevelyan to Cuba, finally, the two assault Trevelyans satellite base, where Natalya is able to prevent the rogue satellite Mischa from sending an electromagnetic pulse to destroy London. Natalya breaks into the room and resets the satellites course to cause a burn up over the Atlantic Ocean. She destroys the GoldenEye satellite and commandeers a helicopter to pick up Bond, Natalya saves Bond right after he defeats Trevelyan. She and Bond leave in the helicopter and get dropped off a distance away, jack Wade was waiting for the two. He picks them up in the helicopter, ending the movie, allwomenstalk rank her as the 25th sexiest Bond girl. She, like the aforementioned Ashley Graham, was born with a genetic disorder that disables her instinct for self-preservation. Izabella Scorupco at the Internet Movie Database GoldenEye at the Internet Movie Database
37.
Saint Petersburg
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Saint Petersburg is Russias second-largest city after Moscow, with five million inhabitants in 2012, and an important Russian port on the Baltic Sea. It is politically incorporated as a federal subject, situated on the Neva River, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea, it was founded by Tsar Peter the Great on May 271703. In 1914, the name was changed from Saint Petersburg to Petrograd, in 1924 to Leningrad, between 1713 and 1728 and 1732–1918, Saint Petersburg was the capital of imperial Russia. In 1918, the government bodies moved to Moscow. Saint Petersburg is one of the cities of Russia, as well as its cultural capital. The Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments constitute a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Saint Petersburg is home to The Hermitage, one of the largest art museums in the world. A large number of consulates, international corporations, banks. Swedish colonists built Nyenskans, a fortress, at the mouth of the Neva River in 1611, in a then called Ingermanland. A small town called Nyen grew up around it, Peter the Great was interested in seafaring and maritime affairs, and he intended to have Russia gain a seaport in order to be able to trade with other maritime nations. He needed a better seaport than Arkhangelsk, which was on the White Sea to the north, on May 1703121703, during the Great Northern War, Peter the Great captured Nyenskans, and soon replaced the fortress. On May 271703, closer to the estuary 5 km inland from the gulf), on Zayachy Island, he laid down the Peter and Paul Fortress, which became the first brick and stone building of the new city. The city was built by conscripted peasants from all over Russia, tens of thousands of serfs died building the city. Later, the city became the centre of the Saint Petersburg Governorate, Peter moved the capital from Moscow to Saint Petersburg in 1712,9 years before the Treaty of Nystad of 1721 ended the war, he referred to Saint Petersburg as the capital as early as 1704. During its first few years, the city developed around Trinity Square on the bank of the Neva, near the Peter. However, Saint Petersburg soon started to be built out according to a plan, by 1716 the Swiss Italian Domenico Trezzini had elaborated a project whereby the city centre would be located on Vasilyevsky Island and shaped by a rectangular grid of canals. The project was not completed, but is evident in the layout of the streets, in 1716, Peter the Great appointed French Jean-Baptiste Alexandre Le Blond as the chief architect of Saint Petersburg. In 1724 the Academy of Sciences, University and Academic Gymnasium were established in Saint Petersburg by Peter the Great, in 1725, Peter died at the age of fifty-two. His endeavours to modernize Russia had met opposition from the Russian nobility—resulting in several attempts on his life
38.
Nigeria
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Its coast in the south lies on the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean. It comprises 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, where the capital, Nigeria is officially a democratic secular country. Modern-day Nigeria has been the site of numerous kingdoms and tribal states over the millennia, the modern state originated from British colonial rule beginning in the 19th century, and the merging of the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and Northern Nigeria Protectorate in 1914. The British set up administrative and legal structures whilst practising indirect rule through traditional chiefdoms, Nigeria became a formally independent federation in 1960, and plunged into a civil war from 1967 to 1970. Nigeria is often referred to as the Giant of Africa, owing to its large population, with approximately 184 million inhabitants, Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and the seventh most populous country in the world. Nigeria has one of the largest populations of youth in the world, Nigeria is divided roughly in half between Christians, who live mostly in the southern part of the country, and Muslims in the northern part. A minority of the population practise religions indigenous to Nigeria, such as native to the Igbo. As of 2015, Nigeria is the worlds 20th largest economy, worth more than $500 billion and $1 trillion in terms of nominal GDP and it overtook South Africa to become Africas largest economy in 2014. The 2013 debt-to-GDP ratio was 11 percent, Nigeria is a member of the MINT group of countries, which are widely seen as the globes next BRIC-like economies. It is also listed among the Next Eleven economies set to become among the biggest in the world, Nigeria is a founding member of the African Union and a member of many other international organizations, including the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations and OPEC. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country and this name was coined in the late 19th century by British journalist Flora Shaw, who later married Lord Lugard, a British colonial administrator. The origin of the name Niger, which applied only to the middle reaches of the Niger River, is uncertain. The word is likely an alteration of the Tuareg name egerew n-igerewen used by inhabitants along the middle reaches of the river around Timbuktu prior to 19th-century European colonialism. The Nok civilisation of Northern Nigeria flourished between 500 BC and AD200, producing life-sized terracotta figures which are some of the earliest known sculptures in Sub-Saharan Africa, further north, the cities Kano and Katsina have a recorded history dating to around 999 AD. Hausa kingdoms and the Kanem-Bornu Empire prospered as trade posts between North and West Africa, the Kingdom of Nri of the Igbo people consolidated in the 10th century and continued until it lost its sovereignty to the British in 1911. Nri was ruled by the Eze Nri, and the city of Nri is considered to be the foundation of Igbo culture, Nri and Aguleri, where the Igbo creation myth originates, are in the territory of the Umeuri clan. Members of the clan trace their lineages back to the patriarchal king-figure Eri, in West Africa, the oldest bronzes made using the lost-wax process were from Igbo Ukwu, a city under Nri influence. The Yoruba kingdoms of Ife and Oyo in southwestern Nigeria became prominent in the 12th and 14th centuries, the oldest signs of human settlement at Ifes current site date back to the 9th century, and its material culture includes terracotta and bronze figures
