Technologies

15 Years Ago, Super Mario Galaxy Kicked Off a New Golden Age for the Series

Mario’s dazzling Wii adventure changed the course of the franchise.

Mario has been such an omnipresent figure that it’s difficult to imagine video games without him, but even the iconic plumber hit a rough patch in the early 2000s, during the turbulent days of the GameCube. His sole platforming adventure for the system, Super Mario Sunshine, would end up being a critical and commercial disappointment by series standards, ultimately failing to improve console sales. With even Mario unable to reverse the GameCube’s fortunes, it seemed as though the plumber’s best days were behind him – until he made a spectacular rebound on Nintendo’s next console.

Five years after Super Mario Sunshine, Mario returned in a cosmic new adventure: Super Mario Galaxy, a bold and imaginative platformer that would kickstart a new golden age for the storied mascot. Leaving behind the candy-colored hills and plains of the Mushroom Kingdom, Super Mario Galaxy flung the intrepid plumber across the very cosmos, breathing new life into the series with its wildly creative level designs and sheer playfulness.

From the outset, Galaxy pares back many of the excesses that marred its predecessor, resulting in a much more tightly orchestrated adventure. Gone are the sandbox stages that dominated Super Mario Sunshine; instead, Galaxy whisks players through a series of decidedly linear challenges, evoking the straightforward platforming of Mario’s earliest adventures. Though some stages offer a degree of exploration, Mario seldom has time to catch his breath in Galaxy; nearly every challenge is a relentless forward race to the goal, with myriad surprises, distractions and mini-objectives to overcome en route to that destination.

What gives Galaxy its enduring freshness is its variety. Each stage is packed with a dizzying array of ideas. Mario could scamper around a small planetoid chasing collectables, slingshot himself between floating chunks of rock using rubbery globs of web, and navigate platforms that assemble themselves out of space debris – all within the span of a single level. Moreover, the game world unfurls at a much brisker pace than other Mario titles. New stages open up after every few stars collected, keeping the adventure consistently engaging and surprising.

Players and critics responded positively to Galaxy’s hyperactive daringness. The game would go on to sell almost 13 million copies on Wii, making it the series’ best-selling 3D installment at the time. But its legacy is its playful approach to level design, which would serve as the template for all 3D Mario games moving forward.

Super Mario Galaxy 2, released three years later, further built on this foundation with a wealth of new gameplay ideas. Super Mario 3D Land and its sequel, Super Mario 3D World, married Galaxy’s freewheeling spirit with more traditional level designs, blurring the line between the series’ 2D and 3D lineages. Even Super Mario Odyssey, which embraced the open sandbox style that Mario 64 and Sunshine pioneered, interspersed its sprawling stages with a bevy of linear challenges that would feel right at home in either Galaxy game.

Each successive Mario adventure was a critical and commercial success, moving multiple millions of copies and earning near-universal praise from fans and reviewers – a far cry from the tepid reception Sunshine received back in 2002. Even now, 15 years on, Super Mario Galaxy holds up as one of the plumber’s most dazzling adventures. Though other Mario games may have since leapfrogged it, Galaxy will always be responsible for kicking off a veritable renaissance for the series.

Technologies

Tinder Users Must Start Logging In With Their Faces, Starting Nationwide

The social app now has new US requirements including face identification to help quell longstanding problems with catfishing and more.

US Tinder users will find a new feature when they open up the dating app starting Wednesday: A mandatory Face Check on their phones will be required before they can log into their profiles.

The Face Check step will begin with a new request to record a video of your face, a more casual version of setting up Apple’s Face ID login. Tinder will then run checks comparing your face data to your current profile pics and automatically create a small face badge for your profile. We already know how it works, because Tinder has already launched the feature in Canada and California before the full US rollout.

The technology, powered by FaceTec, will keep biometric data of the user’s face in encrypted form but discard the scanning video for privacy. Tinder will be able to use the face data to detect duplicate accounts, in an effort to cut down on fake profiles and identity theft.

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Tinder’s facial recognition rollout is also made to prevent catfishing, or people pretending to be someone else on Tinder to scam or blackmail them. But that also points to a deeper problem on the rise in dating apps — a growing number of bots, many controlled by AI, are designed to glean personal information or fool users into scammy subscriptions, among other problems.

Tinder’s working against these bots on several fronts, including this Face Check push as well as ID Check, which requires a government-issued ID and other types of photo verification.

The dating app also recently released a feature in June to enable double-dating with your friends, which Tinder reports is especially popular with Gen Z users. If you’re worried about the latest hazards on Tinder, we have guide to safety practices.

A representative for Tinder did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Thursday, Oct. 23

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Oct. 23.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Like some weather, memories and I.P.A.s
Answer: HAZY

5A clue: Statement that’s self-evidently true
Answer: AXIOM

7A clue: Civic automaker
Answer: HONDA

8A clue: What fear leads to, as Yoda told a young Anakin
Answer: ANGER

9A clue: Foxlike
Answer: SLY

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Verbal «lol»
Answer: HAHA

2D clue: Brain signal transmitter
Answer: AXON

3D clue: Hits with a witty comeback
Answer: ZINGS

4D clue: Sing at the top of a mountain, maybe
Answer: YODEL

6D clue: Name of the famous «Queen of Scots»
Answer: MARY

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 23 #599

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Oct. 23, No. 599.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle might be Halloween-themed, as the answers are all rather dangerous. Some of them are a bit tough to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Please don’t eat me!

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Remember Mr. Yuk?

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

POND, NOON, NODE, BALE, SOCK, LOVE, LOCK, MOCK, LEER, REEL, GLOVE, DAIS, LEAN, LEAD, REEL

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers: