Darius

Darius may refer to:

People

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Other kings, princes and politicians:

Surname

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Art, entertainment, and media

Fictional entities

Games

Darius (video game)

Darius (ダライアス, Daraiasu) is a shoot 'em up arcade game released by Taito in 1986. It is the first game in the Darius series. It is known for using a unique three-screen arcade cabinet setup, non-linear level design and multiple endings.

A port by Softek and The Edge was released for the Amiga and Atari ST titled Darius+. An expanded port by Bits Laboratory and NEC was released for the PC Engine's Super CD-ROM² titled Super Darius (スーパーダライアス, Sūpā Daraiasu). Another expanded port was made for the PC Engine itself, titled Darius Plus (ダライアス・プラス, Daraiasu Purasu), which is similar to the Amiga and Atari ST title. A boss rush version of Darius Plus was released under the name Darius Alpha (ダライアス・アルファ, Daraiasu Arufa).

Gameplay

Darius is a two-dimensional horizontally scrolling shoot 'em up set in a fictional future. Uniquely among shoot 'em ups, the game's screen is three times wider than conventional size, and the arcade cabinet uses an arrangement of three screens to accommodate it. The player controls an ornate fighter spacecraft, named the Silver Hawk, and must navigate through scrolling terrain while battling a variety of fighter craft, ground vehicles, turrets, and other obstacles throughout the game's stages (referred to as zones in the game). The ship's arsenal consists of forward-firing missiles, aerial bombs and a protective force field, all of which can be upgraded by power-ups (in the form of large, colored orbs) that are dropped by specially-colored enemies throughout the game's zones. When the player reaches the end of a zone, a boss appears, which must be defeated to proceed. Once the boss of a zone is destroyed, the player is given a choice of which zone to play next via a branching path. While there are 28 zones in total, only seven can be played in a single run.

Darius (series)

Darius (ダライアス, Daraiasu) is the name of a series of shoot 'em up video games developed and published by Taito. The first game was released alongside similar works such as R-Type and Gradius; even then, the series' claims to fame included atypical background music, many different levels via branching paths, and unusual bosses (spaceships based on various fish or crustaceans).

List of games in the series

Arcade releases

Ash (near Salway)

Coordinates: 50°46′N 2°46′W / 50.76°N 02.76°W / 50.76; -02.76

Ash is a hamlet approximately 0.6 miles (1 km) east of the village of Salway, Dorset, England.

References

Ash (deity)

Ash was the ancient Egyptian god of oases, as well as the vineyards of the western Nile Delta and thus was viewed as a benign deity. Flinders Petrie in his 1923 expedition to the Saqqara (also spelt Sakkara) found several references to Ash in Old Kingdom wine jar seals: "I am refreshed by this Ash" was a common inscription.

In particular, he was identified by the Ancient Egyptians as the god of the Libu and Tinhu tribes, known as the "people of the oasis". Consequently Ash was known as the "lord of Libya", the western border areas occupied by the Libu and Tinhu tribes, corresponds roughly with the area of modern Libya. It is also possible that he was worshiped in Ombos, as their original chief deity.

In Egyptian mythology, as god of the oases, Ash was associated with Set, who was originally god of the desert, and was seen as protector of the Sahara. The first known reference to Ash dates to the Protodynastic Period, but by the late 2nd Dynasty, his importance had grown, and he was seen as protector of the royal estates, since the related god Set, in Lower Egypt, was regarded as the patron deity of royalty itself. Ash's importance was such that he was mentioned even until the 26th Dynasty.

Ash (Alien)

Ash is a fictional character in the movie Alien, who was portrayed by actor Ian Holm, who, although known in the U.K. as a stage actor, was at the time unknown to American audiences. Ash serves as the secondary antagonist of the first film. The character is the science officer of the Nostromo, who breaks quarantine by allowing Kane, a member of the crew, back on board after he has been infected by an alien life form. It is later discovered that Ash is not human at all, as he appears, but is in fact a Hyperdyne Systems 120-A/2android, who is acting upon secret orders to bring back the alien lifeform and to consider the crew "expendable".

Character development

At the beginning of the film, Ash is depicted as quiet and logical, greatly adherent to company regulations. However, he breaks quarantine protocol (disobeying Ripley, the ship's ranking officer, in the process) and allows the infected Kane aboard the ship, seemingly out of compassion, and is later seen marveling at the creature attached to him. At one point, Ash assaults Ripley, attempting to kill her by forcing a rolled-up pornographic magazine down her throat. But it is Ash himself who is killed, as two other crew members arrive and rescue Ripley. He is struck over the head twice with a canister, the first time causing him to malfunction and the second decapitating him. When even that fails to kill him, he's electrocuted with a cattle prod.