I personally never use sponsored links for the above reason, and I have found that US links also appear occasionally even though I did a search within “pages from the UK”. This seems rather pointless, especially when shopping around for a product. The initial introduction of Google paved the way for a better user experience when it comes to web searching. Now, it seems the cacophony created from money grabbing shouts louder than the voice of usability and relevance.


Goodbye…
It is with some sadness that we say farewell to 3D Realms. During my teens, I grew up on games such as Wolfenstein 3D and Duke Nukem. To see a company such as 3D Realms go under after so many years seems such a waste. The game I do remember other than Duke was Rise of the Triad; back then 3D Realms were more widely known as Apogee Software. The multiplayer element was great fun, splattering someone’s innards with one shot always made me chuckle.

However, Apogee/3D Realms are best known for the Duke Nukem franchise. Duke Nukem 3D in particular caused some controversy in terms of game content. Apparently, it is unhealthy for the common populace to be exposed to things such as prostitutes, violent sexual themes and sadistic humour. The game was banned in several countries, but my thoughts on this topic is this; it is a game not reality. If the player cannot distinguish between the two and attempt to re-enact morally unethical elements from a game, then they are beyond hope to begin with.

Unfortunately, with the demise of 3D Realms, the same may befall the completion of Duke Nukem Forever. If you have been monitoring this game, it has been in development hell for the past decade or so. According to an ex-3D Realms employee, the game was in the final stages before the company axe. So near yet so far, the fate of DNF looks grim and I do not hold much hope. Coincidentally, I love how the acronym for DNF also means Did Not Finish…

They have put it down to human error, at least they owned up to it. It’s a shame I wasn’t around when it happened, could have done some rather amusing print screens. Maybe this little stunt can be utilised instead of the Great Firewall of China, since the Chinese want to prevent their citizens from accessing most if not all websites anyway. The Internet is unhealthy you know.