Watch Out for Counterfeit Solar Eclipse Glasses. In case youve somehow managed to avoid the growing hype, on August 2. United States. And to protect your eyesight when staring into the sun, youll need protective glasses. Naturally, though, there are already sketchy retailers out there peddling counterfit eclipse watching gear, that might not appropriately protect your vision. A post from Quartz warned against counterfeit eclipse glasses that are being sold on Amazon by companies that dont normally make astronomical gear. One seller, for example, also sold fidget spinners. Of course they did. According to NASA, you should check if your glasses fit these criteria Have certification information with a designated ISO 1. Have the manufacturers name and address printed somewhere on the product. Not be used if they are older than three years, or have scratched or wrinkled lenses. Not use homemade filters or be substituted for with ordinary sunglasses not even very dark ones because they are not safe for looking directly at the Sun. The American Astronomical Society has approved these five brands for buying eclipse glasses American Paper Optics, Baader Planetarium Astro. Solar SilverGold film only, Rainbow Symphony, Thousand Oaks Optical, and TSE 1. However, many counterfeit companies also use the names of the approved companies on their glasses. NASA and the American Astronomical Society will approve more brands in an upcoming post, and retail stores like Walmart will likely soon begin selling approved eclipse viewing glasses. These counterfeits arent necessarily dangerous to use, but there just isnt a guarantee that theyll protect your eyes. Solar eclipse fever means counterfeit glasses are flooding Amazons market Quartz. NBA 2. K1. 8 Review. Ive been reviewing 2. Ks basketball games since 2. Ive seen the series evolve and grow in that time. For the most part those changes have been positive, with the one exception of NBA 2. K1. 4. Its no coincidence that it was around that time 2. Ive been reviewing 2Ks basketball games since 2013, and Ive seen the series evolve and grow in that time. For the most part those changes have been positive. In case youve somehow managed to avoid the growing hype, on August 21, a solar eclipse will pass over the United States. And to protect your eyesight when staring. These are the very best free iPhone games. From driving games to sports sims, from puzzle games to shooters, get your hands on 93 fantastic iPhone games that dont. Directed by Pierre Tchernia. With Michel Serrault, Philippe Noiret, Michel Galabru, Charles Denner. When he investigates his daughters disappearance, a bookseller. I bet you, like me, took a gander at the cloaks of the Nights Watch on Game of Thrones and thought Damn, if they werent so fleainfested and covered in the. Directed by John Cameron Mitchell. With Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart, Dianne Wiest, Miles Teller. Life for a happy couple is turned upside down after their young son. Dodd tells ET she wont fall victim to the socalled Housewives curse. Watch Couple In A Hole Online Metacritic' title='Watch Couple In A Hole Online Metacritic' />A temporary Independence Day celebration in Watch Dogs 2 was suspended early on July 4 because it was enraging too many people who still play Ubisofts late 2016. Watch Couple In A Hole Online Metacritic' title='Watch Couple In A Hole Online Metacritic' />K began pushing the Virtual Currency, which has been present in every entry since. Over the past few years its presence has grown, but there seemed to be enough of a balance where not paying didnt mean you were penalised. With NBA 2. K1. 8 2. K games has thrown that balance out of the court. Its difficult to disentangle the business  decisions without being in the meetings, but Visual Concepts and 2. K Games may not be entirely to blame here. Parent company Take Two Interactive have been seeing a huge return on GTA Online, which could easily be a factor. Whatever the reason, the use of VC throughout NBA 2. K1. 8 has taken the system to breaking point, considering you need to use it for pretty much everything in the game. Its most obvious in NBA 2. K1. 8s My. Career mode, which has become a personal favourite of mine through the series. In this mode you arent a rookie who gets drafted into the NBA by a team, youre now scouted on the street and picked up though you do still get to decide which team to play for. Watch The Lawnmower Man Online Metacritic. One day your character is playing ball at a small tournament, the next hes training with a team of your choice. When it comes to the plot, this leap doesnt make for the strongest in the series, throwing you right into the deep end. Your little rookie player has a lot of work to do, as his base rating is just 6. When playing in My. Career, you cant ignore the Road To 9. You also cant ignore the high cost of upgrading a player. Reading around in the community it seems like approximately 2. VC is needed to reach an 8. Youre looking at a few thousand for a t shirt, a new tattoo, or a pair of new shoes. That wouldnt be too bad if it isnt wasnt for the fact that youll earn less than 1. VC from most games, especially when starting out. It doesnt take a genius to figure out youll have to spend either a long time grinding, or use microtransactions to level up quicker. This is essentially the practices of a free to play game in a full priced sports title. Paying to level up your character will also absolutely give you an advantage online in the Neighbourhood section. The Neighbourhood is a new addition to NBA 2. K which adds a hub area where players can mingle, go to the training arena, shop, or play against others. Again, its obvious that getting you to spend money on VC is the main aim. Youll spawn near the training arena, but then have to jog slowly past all the shops where you can spend money before you finally reach the playground area where you can team up with random players to compete against others. Obviously it is random on who will join your team and who the opposition will be, but it isnt an uncommon sight to see higher levelled players taking on low level ones, with the former obviously having stat advantages for their character. Of course, if you lose youll earn less VC to improve your character, and that is expensive in its own right. If my player didnt perform too well,  he might earn around 6. VC. When I went to improve two different attribute points it cost approximately 7. VC, and that did next to nothing to improve my players overall rating. Youre grinding from the word go and that takes away a lot of the fun that can be found in NBA 2. K1. 8. Additionally, you can lose VC from making mistakes in a game. Say you commit a turnover youll lose one VC. One coin doesnt sound like a lot, but the principle here is that even if you spend real cash, 2. K can still remove currency from your account. Sure you can make it back up with assists and baskets, but taking money away for mistakes is entering some deeply questionable territory. Obviously VC isnt limited to My. Career. The other obvious place is the My. Team mode where you buy packs to build a team up to compete against others or take on challenges. It sounds good enough, but when I went to view the auction house for more cards I was informed I needed to complete the silver tier objectives, which includes buying a pack using either VC or My. Team points. Your VC balance is linked to all aspects of the game, so buying a pack in My. Team means not improving your player in My. Career. Imagine if in FIFA you couldnt view the Ultimate Team transfer market unless you bought a gold pack. Thered be an outcry, but for some reason NBA 2. K isnt called out on this. The most annoying thing about all of this though is that underneath all of the push to get people invested in VC, this is still a great basketball game. The production values are second to none throughout, with the player and commentator models looking fantastic. Just like in previous games the commentary proves again to be the best in any sports title, with real life soundbites from NBA players and coaches. Even 2. KTV continues to be interesting when NBA players are interviewed and game tips are given. The on court action has been improved a little too, though the shot rating seems to be off. I can throw a good or excellent shot and see it bounce off the rim, while a slightly early or late release will see the ball go through the basket to score some points. It makes the shot rating system almost meaningless. Aside from that and the VC issue NBA 2. K1. 8 brings the game when it matters, but is utterly soured by the approach to the rest of the game. Looks fantastic. On court action is smooth. The Neighbourhood hub shows potential. The absolute ridiculous grind required to be any good. Ks insistence on slowing down progress, pushing VC packs instead. My. Career story isnt as good a previous. Locking out an auction house unless you pay in My. Team. With NBA 2. K1. 8 weve reached an inevitable crossroad, though the signs should have been seen a while back. The on court action is still the best available, but there is now room for another franchise to come and steal an audience that will be sick of the costs of simply being able to compete in the 2. Watch Final Sale Online Freeform'>Watch Final Sale Online Freeform. K series. The grind isnt fun and paying gives advantages over those who wont or cant afford to. You absolutely cannot ignore how NBA 2. K1. 8 is a full price game that also integrates the business model of a free to playpay to win title and the way that the enjoyment you get from it suffers because of it. Version tested Play. Station 4. Update 4. PM BST 2. 10. 9 In discussion with 2. K Games, weve temporarily removed the score pending a statement with regard to our criticisms, at which point it will be reinstated. Additionally, a draft conclusion was posted that incorrectly characterised our score as a protest vote, and has been reworded to reflect that our criticisms are rooted in the effect that VC and microtransactions have on the gameplay. Update 2 1. PM BST 2. Our 31. 0 score has now been restored to this review, with all but the wording that suggested this was a protest vote also kept intact. You can read our explanation of what happened and why here.