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Today's featured article Pathways into Darkness is a first-person adventure video game developed and published by Bungie Software Products Corporation (now Bungie) in 1993, exclusively for Apple Macintosh personal computers. Players assume the role of a Special Forces soldier who must stop a powerful, godlike being from awakening and destroying the world. Players solve puzzles and defeat enemies to unlock parts of a pyramid where the god sleeps; the game's ending changes depending on player actions. Pathways began as a sequel to Bungie's Minotaur: The Labyrinths of Crete, before the developers created an original story. Jason Jones (pictured) programmed the game, while his friend Colin Brent developed the environments and creatures. The game features three-dimensional texture mapped graphics and stereo sound on supported Macintosh models. Pathways was critically acclaimed and won a host of awards; it was also Bungie's first major commercial success, enabling the two-man team of Jason Jones and Alex Seropian to move into a Chicago office and begin paying staff. (more...) Recently featured: Chew Stoke – German women's national football team – Liberty Head nickel Did you know... From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that Emilius (pictured) and his sons Priam and Plenipotentiary were all winners of the Derby Stakes when they were three years old? ... that Novo Sancti Petri in Chiclana de la Frontera contains a golf course designed by Severiano Ballesteros? ... that Pres Mull was one of the first Distinguished Alumni of Appalachian State University? ... that athletes from 17 of the 21 competing NPCs won at least one medal in the 1964 Summer Paralympics? ... that the Autolib' scheme plans to make 3,000 electric cars available to the Parisian public for rental by late 2012? ... that "Missing My Baby" was one of the first songs to be played on radio stations after Selena was murdered? ... that BJ Birdy, the first mascot of the Toronto Blue Jays, also starred in a Toronto Star comic strip created by the mascot's performer?

In the news More than 70 people are killed in crowd violence following a football match in Port Said, Egypt. Queen Elizabeth II annuls Fred Goodwin's knighthood due to his role in The Royal Bank of Scotland's near-collapse. In tennis, Victoria Azarenka (pictured) and Novak Djokovic win the women's and men's singles titles, respectively, at the Australian Open. The European Men's Handball Championship concludes with Denmark defeating Serbia in the final. The European Union and 22 member nations sign the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, resulting in the resignation of the treaty's rapporteur and protests across Poland. On this day... February 3: Setsubun in Japan; Four Chaplains' Day in the United States 1488 – Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias landed in Mossel Bay, becoming the first known European to have sailed around the Cape of Good Hope and the southern tip of Africa. 1781 – American Revolutionary War: British forces captured the Dutch island of Sint Eustatius with only two shots fired. 1813 – Argentine War of Independence: José de San Martín and his Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers gained a largely symbolic victory against a royalist army in the Battle of San Lorenzo (pictured). 1967 – Ronald Ryan became the last person to be legally executed in Australia, sparking public protests across the country. 1998 – A United States Marines Corps EA-6B Prowler inadvertently severed a cable supporting a gondola of an aerial tramway in Cavalese, Italy, sending 20 people plummeting to their deaths. More anniversaries: February 2 – February 3 – February 4 It is now February 3, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture The Pink Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium acaule) is an orchid native to eastern North America. This widespread species can be found in a wide variety of environments, from coastal plains, to pine barrens, to mountaintops. It is the provincial flower of Prince Edward Island, Canada. Photo: Sasata Recently featured: Black Kite – Niobium crystals and cube – Autofluorescence in tissue paper

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