Wikipedia:Main Page history/2012 April 13

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Today's featured article
Turok: Dinosaur Hunter is a first-person shooter video game developed by Iguana Entertainment and published by Acclaim for the Nintendo 64 console and personal computer platforms. It was released in 1997 in North America and Europe. Turok is an adaptation of the Acclaim Comics comic book series of the same name. The player controls a Native American warrior, Turok, who must stop the evil Campaigner from conquering the universe with an ancient and powerful weapon. As Acclaim's first exclusive title for the Nintendo 64, Turok was part of a strategy to develop games internally and license merchandise; Acclaim acquired the rights to Turok when it purchased Acclaim Comics (né Valiant) in 1994. Suffering from cash flow problems and falling sales, Turok became Acclaim's best hope for a financial turnaround. Iguana pushed the Nintendo 64's graphics capabilities to its limits, and were forced to compress or cut elements to fit the game on its 8-megabyte cartridge. Bugs delayed the game's release from holiday 1996 to 1997. Critical reception of Turok was highly positive. Becoming one of the most popular games for the console on release, Turok won praise for its graphics and evolution of the genre. Complaints centered on graphical slowdowns caused by multiple enemies appearing onscreen and occasionally awkward controls. The game sold 1.5 million copies and boosted sales of the Nintendo 64. Turok spawned a video game franchise that includes six sequels. (more...) Recently featured: Everglades National Park – Black Francis – Sideshow Bob Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that if an Abbott's Booby (juvenile pictured) falls to the ground, it will starve unless it can catch the wind and take off again? ... that Texas' Ranch to Market Road 187 appears in the 2011 film Seven Days in Utopia as the road where actor Lucas Black wrecks his car? ... that Japanese comedian Neko Hiroshi was nominated by the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia to compete for Cambodia at the 2012 Summer Olympics? ... that the newly elected President of Senegal Macky Sall appointed the technocrat and banker Abdoul Mbaye as prime minister? ... that baseball player Josh Edgin won the Pennsylvania state championship in wrestling, finishing fourth in the national championship? ... that Deonar is one of India's oldest and largest waste dumping grounds? ... that at its extreme, serfdom in Poland required a peasant to work eight days a week for his feudal lord? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
The ruling Saenuri Party, led by Park Geun-hye (pictured), retains its majority in the South Korean legislative election. An 8.6-magnitude earthquake strikes 430 km (270 mi) off the coast of Indonesia, initially prompting tsunami warnings across the Indian Ocean. American golfer Bubba Watson wins the Masters Tournament. Joyce Banda is sworn in as the President of Malawi, following the death of Bingu wa Mutharika. An avalanche strikes a Pakistan Army base in Siachen, burying at least 135 people in snow. Mali's National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad claims military victory and declares the independence of the state of Azawad. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
April 13: Visakhi (Sikhism); Tamil New Year (2012) 1742 – Messiah, an oratorio by Baroque composer George Frideric Handel (pictured), premiered in Dublin. 1873 – In the wake of a disputed election for local offices in Colfax, Louisiana, US, armed white supremacists overpowered freedmen and the African American state militia trying to control the parish courthouse, killing over 100 of them. 1953 – The CIA began Project MKULTRA, an illegal, covert human research program into mind control. 1956 – The Vietnamese National Army captured Ba Cut, military commander of the Hoa Hao religious sect, which ran a de facto state in southern Vietnam in opposition to Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem. 1984 – Indian forces launched Operation Meghdoot, a preemptive attack on the disputed Siachen Glacier region of Kashmir, triggering a military conflict with Pakistan. 1997 – In golf, twenty-one-year-old Tiger Woods became the youngest player to win the U.S. Masters, breaking the tournament's record for the lowest four-round score (270 strokes, 18 under par). More anniversaries: April 12 – April 13 – April 14 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now April 13, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

A photomontage showing an MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter assigned to the "Dragon Whales" of Helicopter Combat Support Squadron Eight engaged in vertical replenishment, a method of supply of seaborne vessels. Here, it can be seen flying between USS Harry S. Truman and the Military Sealift Command ammunition ship USNS Mount Baker carrying a load of bombs.

Photo: John L. Beeman, United States Navy

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