A Double Liveblog of Sonic Unleashed

Part 12: Big Trouble in Little Chun-nan

Well, we're stocked up on lives, so let's kick off a new page and jump straight into the action!

Music: "Dragon Road - Night"; by Kenichi Tokoi. Very much awesome.

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Night Stage 3 - Dragon Road

• Act 1 - The Floating Shrine

If you like platforming, then you're in for a treat today. The first part of this level takes place in a long corridor, littered with walls you can destroy for some various goodies. I feel sorry for the people who have to fix this stuff. This stage also introduces us to a couple new enemies— Little Rexes (who are only annoying in swarms), and a red variation of the basic Nightmare. We then cross a bunch of bridges, and end off in front of a large structure; I believe this is the eponymous shrine. By the way, make sure to take the right entrance first: you'll need to open the upper door before you can reach the Goal Ring.

• RESULT: S Rank; three Sun Medals.
• UPGRADES: Larger health meter.
• ITEMS OBTAINED: Movie 13, Illustrations 81 & 84.

• Act 2 - Rising Dragon Falls

From what I've heard, this particular level is Love It or Hate It. Personally, I love it— it's very platforming-oriented, and said platforming is really well designed. The shtick here is, the later half of the stage comprises of a massive waterfall, with various rocks and poles jutting out. The goal is to reach the very top, and make sure not to fall back down. It likely depends on how good you are with the Werehog— you can control him well, this stage is really fun; you can't, this stage is really bad. Again, I'm certainly the former.

• RESULT: S Rank; three Sun Medals.
• UPGRADES: More attack power. Killing things, yay!
• ITEMS OBTAINED" Illustrations 27, 68, & 78; Movie 6

• Act 3 - Path to Darkness

For the record, this stage is why I was so keen to collect those 1-Ups. Compared to the first two acts, this particular level requires utmost caution, lest you go sailing over the edge. Most of this level is essentially the Great Wall of China Chun-nan, and while it provides a nice view, it's somewhat dilapidated and very precarious. This is especially true for the last battle, which takes place atop various high platforms.

Music: "Vs. Titan & Big Mother"; by Kenichi Tokoi. It gets really good near the end, but it probably won't last that long in-game.

We're also given a proper introduction to our first night mini-boss: the Titan. It's somewhat powerful, and likes to knock you around, but there's a simple strategy to defeating it: presuming you have Unleashed mode at the ready, use it, go up to the Titan, and air-combo the shit out of him. Hopefully, it'll do the trick.

• RESULT: S Rank; three Sun Medals.
• ITEMS OBTAINED: Movie 7; Illustrations 53 & 82; Soundtrack 19; yet another tablet fragment.

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So, that's the end of this part. We'll see what happens ne— wait. What? We have to fight a boss now? Oh, fine then.

Music: "Boss Battle - Night"; by Hideaki Kobayashi. I like how this one throws in a riff from a Sonic Riders: ZG track. By the way, is it "Hideki" or "Hideaki"?

• Boss 2 - Dark Gaia Phoenix

Yes, upon finishing the stage, Werehog and co. are suddenly ambushed by a large bird-thing. It happens to be on fire, so conventional methods are out the window. Instead, you need to throw barrels of water at it, thus forcing it to return to the center to recharge— this happens to be the precise time to wail on it. Lather, rinse, QTE, repeat. Given enough practice, this boss is an absolute pushover. Otherwise, you might get knocked around quite a bit; and the camera will not help you. There's also something annoying about this fight: there are only two ranks. Miss the S-rank mark by a millisecond, and it's an instant C-rank for you. Huzzah.

• RESULT: S Rank; one Sun Medal
• UPGRADES: Larger Unleashed gauge.

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Oh hey, it's the elder dude that we were supposed to look for. Yay? Sure enough, now he assembles our tablet fragments, giving us access to a boss that we just fought. Nuts to that; let's restore another Chaos Emerald— this time, it's the red one. Progress! And... another cutscene! Jeez! It's explained that the bird we just fought was meant to guard the temple, but went berserk when the emeralds were drained. It's actually rather pretty. By the way, why does Chip offer the bird chocolate? That stuff's toxic to birds. And then, why does the phoenix take it anyway?

Music: "Cutscene - Eggman's Idea"; actually by Hideaki Kobayashi this time.

But we're not done yet. Time for yet another cutscene. I'm not really complaining, since this is one of the best scenes in the game. There are no words for it, just... have a look.

Sorry about the quality; I'll see if I can find a better link eventually.

And with that, I am out of here. Goodbye, and see you next time.

edited 11th Aug '10 11:43:19 PM by Blueeyedrat

Part 13: Utterly Forked

Don't mind this part being a few hours later than usual. That's just me being lazy.

Well, after that last unnecessarily long part, let's head back to Spaghettionia, to learn where we're headed next. As it turns out, our next destinations are Spagonia and Chun-nan. Aka, where we just were. An old man in Spagonia gives us a Sun Tablet, which could be used to open up another level, but let's check Chun-nan first— I've got a hunch that something's up there as well.

Music: "Chun-nan - Day"; by Kenichi Tokoi. Meh— it's a good song, just a little too upbeat for my tastes, compared to the night version.

By the way, did you know that a little kid in the village had Soundtrack 40 in his pocket? I'd ask how it got there, and how the record hasn't been crushed yet, but I'd rather not question it. Anyway, we talk to some more people, and get... another Sun Tablet.

This again? Yep, we've stumbled over another split. Since I have no idea which stage to tackle first, I could theoretically end this episode right here. However, we haven't actually done much. I can't leave off like this, so... mission time!

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Windmill Isle (Day)

• Gather rings at top speed!

Yep, it's another one of these. It takes place in the first segment of Act 2, and you need 100 rings. That's pretty much all there is to it; I don't think there are any items to find here.

Cool Edge (Day)

• Time Attack! Race for the goal!

It's another mission involving those checkpoints. This time, it's the bobsled portion. This one might give you trouble if you miss enough checkpoints. I actually cut it a little close, myself— only 5 seconds left.

• ITEMS OBTAINED: Document 11.

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Well, I guess that's all I can do for now. Now, I'll let you guys decide, once again, where I'm heading next: Spagonia (Day) or Chun-nan (Day).

edited 12th Aug '10 5:29:26 PM by Blueeyedrat

I apologize for the recent lack of updates on my part; for the past few days, I've been working on a research paper that I have to turn in by Saturday. Expect an update on that day.

Experience has taught me to investigate anything that glows.

'Tis alright. Coincidentally, Saturday will probably be my last daily update— after that, I'll slow down just a notch. Perhaps that can give you some time to catch up?

I'd recommend Chun-nan. Sure, there's a fair amount of water to fall into, but the scenery is beautiful, and there are a few different and interesting paths to explore. Plus, when you're done with both of them, the professor will probably want to talk to you; doing Spagonia second will save a minute or two.

Part 14: Re-Oriented

The viewer hath spoken! Yes, singular. It looks like we're heading back to Chun-nan next. We're in for a treat— this level is awesome; the music, the scenery, everything. Shall we begin?

Music: "Dragon Road - Day"; by Kenichi Tokoi. I. Freaking. Love. This song. The best day theme, if not the absolute best song in the game.

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Day Stage 3 - Dragon Road

• Go for the goal ring!

This stage is actually somewhat of an interesting case. There are several extra paths that use various techniques you haven't been taught yet, like the Lightspeed Dash or (if you went here instead of Spagonia) the Wall Jump. It's also an area where you can't collect every item in one go— near the beginning, the path splits into three routes— two of them have a capsule. This level is actually somewhat of a challenge— most of it is over water, and some areas will throw spears at you. It seems like you should've taken on Spagonia first, despite a certain factor that will come into play later that makes this appear to be the canon order. All in all, a really fun stage. No dragons, though. Strange...

• RESULT: S Rank; three Moon Medals. This, despite the fact that I died twice.
• ITEMS OBTAINED: Illustrations 2 & 12.

• Collect rings at top speed!

200 rings? That sounds like a bit much for this point in the game. Well, the path is littered with rings, and most of these missions will let you loop back to pick up more. You can't go all the way back, though— if you don't collect enough rings by a certain point, then you're basically screwed.

• Don't break anything along the way!

Heh. Oddly enough, this one isn't quite as difficult as Holoska. Most of the pots are placed near the walls, so as long as you take it slowly and stay near the middle, you should be fine.

• ITEMS OBTAINED: Yet another tablet fragment.

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Well, that was neat. Next time, we'll hit up Spagon— actually, we won't. I have a little something special planned for next time. See ya!

edited 13th Aug '10 3:07:58 PM by Blueeyedrat

Part 15: Progress Report

This is somewhat of a special occasion, as Part 15 happens to fall on the exact date I actually turn 15. Happy birthday to me~ To celebrate, I figured we should take a breather, and check out all the cool stuff we've gathered so far in the story. Seeing as we've already been through 3 day levels and 3 night levels, our gallery should be well-stocked by now. Let's hear the oh-so-pretty "shving" of unlocked items, and have ourselves a look.

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ART - A neat little gallery of concept art.

• Enemy Art
  • 2 - Aero-Cannon. "These flying blue baddies launch missles at you through the air." Pricks.
  • 4 - Interceptor. "A massive foe from the narrow alleys of Apotos Village." Wimp.
  • 12 - Egg Flame. "A touch from these foes can burn anything to smoldering ash." We've only seen one of these so far (in Dragon Road Day, right where this item capsule is), but we'll encounter more of them later.
  • 15 - Dark Bat Sniper. "This souped-up Dark Bat opens fire from above." Yeah, well, you can fuck off.
  • 20 - Dark Master. "These wizards are easily recognized for their pointy blue hats." Friggin' wizards.
  • 23 - Nightmare. "The lowest of the low, Nightmares are the quintessential chump baddies." Heh, chumps.
  • 24 - Deep Nightmare. "Powered-up versions of the Nightmares: a little bit bigger, a little bit stronger." "Still just as pathetic."
  • 26 - Little Rex. "These guys will chase you like a dog runs down the mail truck." Admittedly, they're almost kinda cute.
  • 27 - Dark Fright. "The sheer numbers of these creeps make them a pain to deal with." I still call them Magikarps.
• Stage Art
  • 2 - "Windmill Isle 2 - The Sun-Bleached Pathway". I would so use this as a desktop background.
  • 4 - "Windmill Isle 3 - The White Tower's Great Bell". For the record, most of the stage art consists of copious amounts of Scenery Porn.
  • 5 - "Cool Edge 1 - Daytime Panorama". Case in point.
  • 10 - "Rooftop Run 3 (Day)". The rooftops here are actually somewhat red, when they're more orange or brownish in-game.
  • 25 - "Chun-nan Village (Night)". Nicely lit little town, isn't it?
  • 29 - "Movie Still 2 - Crashing Surf". Aka, the "obligatory shoop-da-whoop-reference laser". The movie stills are more like storyboard images, rather than actual frames from any of the cutscenes.
  • 35 - "Professor Pickle's Lab". Complete with the man Dan himself.
• Villager Art - Most NPCs in the game have their own page of concept art, which is nice. No two people share the same model, and they're all very Pixar-esque.
  • 1 - Apotos Village - Alexis
  • 2 - Apotos Village - Lambros
  • 3 - Apotos Village - Eric
  • 4 - Apotos Village - Gregorios
  • 5 - Mazuri Village - Kwami
  • 7 - Mazuri Village - Kofi
  • 10 - Holoska Village - Jari-Thure
  • 15 - Spagonia Village - Otto
  • 16 - Spagonia Village - Denise
  • 18 - Chun-nan Village - Useless NPC Shuifon
  • 19 - Chun-nan Village - Zonshen
  • 21 - Chun-nan Village - Hualin

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MUSIC - The game's incredibly awesome soundtrack. Is there anything else to say?

• 4 - Day Stage - Windmill Isle
• 5 - Day Stage - Cool Edge
• 6 - Day Stage - Rooftop Run (Not providing a link, 'cause we haven't gone there yet. I'll give it a proper introduction when we actually take on that level.)
• 13 - Night Stage - Intro: Windmill Isle (By the way, the 6-to-8 second intros for the night levels are given their own seperate tracks in the OST. I find this amusing.)
• 14 - Night Stage - Windmill Isle
• 19 - Night Stage - Intro: Dragon Road
• 31 - Village - Gaia Gate
• 33 - Village - Apotos - Night
• 39 - Village - Spagonia - Night
• 40 - Village - Chun-nan - Day
• 41 - Village - Chun-nan - Night
• 42 - Jingle - Stage Clear

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MOVIES - Cutscenes.

• 1 - The Werehog's Fall
• 2 - Chip and the Chocolate Sundae
• 3 - The First Night
• 4 - Tails in Trouble!
• 5 - The Kidnapped Professor (And a whole pack o' robots!)
• 6 - A Daring Rescue
• 7 - The Gaia Manuscripts (Rrrrrr...)
• 12 - A Case of Mistaken Identity
• 13 - Amy's Shake-up

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SECRET DOCUMENTS - Now, I'm actually not gonna bother with these. They're pretty much hints for the game, ranging from using various moves, to where you can find various items capsules; most of which you'd likely have already found. I will, however, let you know that I have documents 1, 3, 9, 11, 17, 20, 21, and 22.

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TOTAL COUNT:

• 28 Illustrations
• 12 Music Tracks
• 10 Movies
• 8 Secret Documents
• 58 items in total.

Did you enjoy this little side trip? Even if you didn't, we'll actually be taking on Rooftop Run next time, so that's something for you to look forward to. Stay tuned!

edited 14th Aug '10 8:50:50 PM by Blueeyedrat

Looks like you've got a pretty nice stockpile of items so far. I did notice that you're missing the Apotos - Day music, though. No big deal, though, especially since clearing the day and night versions of an area allows you to change what time of day it is. Interesting, though it's only useful when you're looking for those songs, or if you're the kind of gamer who just has to hear every word of dialogue in the game.

Anyways, keep up the good work, and happy B-Day!

I'm planning to work on another part tonight; we're in the middle of a heat wave, and upstairs (where our Wii is) is too hot in the afternoon. >_<

Part 16: Back to Business

Sorry for the delays. I've been real busy lately— actually, I haven't. I've just been procrastinating.

Anyway, it's now time to go for the Spagonia day stage, which we probably should've gone to before Chun-nan. But whatever.

Music: "Rooftop Run - Day"; by Tomoya Ohtani. Widely regarded as one of the best songs in the game, and here it is in all its glory.

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Day Stage 4 - Rooftop Run

• Go for the goal ring!

This stage is ludricrously fun. It has all sorts of paths and places to go, and you can boost your cares away. However, there are a few items that are somewhat off the beaten path, such as a capsule hidden behind a pile of boxes, or accessed via a barely noticeable rail. The end of the stage pits you against an Aero Chaser. It flies around, shoots rockets and lasers, and can't really be beaten— just run to the end. In the HD version, they tend to appear in groups of 3. Overall, a pretty damn good level. By the way, did I mention that I Quick Stepped out of the path of an item at the very last stretch of the level? Yeah.

• RESULT: A Rank; two Moon Medals.
• ITEMS OBTAINED: Document 7, Illustration 37.

• Collect rings at top speed!

Your basic 200-rings mission. Nothing that special, except there's an area you can only access with the Lightspeed Dash, which you still haven't been taught how to do yet.

• ITEMS OBTAINED: A tablet fragment, if you can call that an item.

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Now all that's left to do is see the Professor. We'll deal with that next time, but there's something I want to show you before I go. After completing Rooftop Run Day, you unlock a couple of missions. One of them... is a tutorial. For the Wall Jump. Which you've probably used a few times already.

...

WHAT IS THE POINT

edited 18th Aug '10 12:07:55 PM by Blueeyedrat

Part 17: Insert Obligatory 'Deviled Egg' Pun Here

It's been a while since we've had a boss, hasn't it? Well, first things first— stuff to collect. It was brought to my attention after Part 15 that I was too lazy to go and grab some records from the NPCs. We have plenty of time, so let's deal with that. (By the way, whenever you've beaten a world, you can switch between day and night at will. I CONTROL THE SUN AND MOON. I AM YOUR GOD. So, an old man in Apotos gives us Soundtrack 32. (And a secret mission, to boot!) A young man in Mazuri has AAAAAAAANGST during the night, but an older man gave us Soundtrack 35 for answering a question. (I actually chose the wrong answer first, just to see what he'd say.) A woman at the village shop gave us Soundtrack 34. (Free of charge, I'm assuming— we never actually get to buy anything in the SD version, anywhere.) A young girl in Holoska gave us Soundtrack 36, while a different girl in Spagonia gave us #38. Nice people. Speaking of Spagonia, we've got shit to do here; let's get on with it. By the way, what is it with old men being able to put together tablet pieces? Without further ado: Boss!

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Boss 3 - Egg Devil Ray
It's another daytime boss. This one is actually rather enjoyable— not too easy, but not too cheap. Oddly enough, this particular mech resembles a fish more than any type of ray— perhaps Eggman needs to do a little more research? Ah well, I guess "Devil Ray" invokes Rule of Cool here. Surrounding the actual machine is several smaller turrets, which will fire lasers. After trying to laser you for a while, the Devil Ray's shield will go down and you can score a hit on it. The battle will sometimes transition to a 2D section, or a 3D top-down view that vaguely resembles a Bullet Hell.

• RESULT: S Rank; one Moon Medal.

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Here's another question for you— why do we always end off having to go visit Professor Pickle? Oh, who cares.

edited 22nd Aug '10 5:50:24 PM by Blueeyedrat

Okay, I'll try... *ahem*

Paprayka, anyone?

edited 23rd Aug '10 10:50:51 AM by Nyperold

How — and when — do you tell a philosophy it's adopted? What do you do when it wants to meet its birth adherents?

Part 18: The Long, Icy Road

So, according to the Professor, our next destination is Holoska. We head over there, talk to some people, and get ourselves a Moon Tablet. On to business!

Music: "Cool Edge - Night"; by Fumie Kumatani. Love it. Probably the second best night theme in the game.

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Night Stage 4 - Cool Edge

• Act 1 - The Aurora Snowfields

I'm rather fond of Cool Edge Night. The music is awesome, the scenery is amazing, and the levels feature a lot of platforming. That being said, this act actually had the last Sun Medal I collected my first time through— I forgot to clear it when we rented the game, and that Force medal eluded me for a while afterward. Here, we're given a proper introduction to the Egg Blizzard (a cousin of the Egg Typhoon). They appeared during the Day level, but only for a short time. We also meet an SD-version-exclusive enemy: the Spike. Contrary to its name, it's not spiky, and it's actually rather round. They function as Action Bombs for you to throw. As for the actual level, there's also a section featuring giant snowballs, and let me tell you: if you're not careful to avoid them, you will be raped. All in all, just collect as much stuff as you can and go for the goal.

• RESULT: S Rank; three Sun Medals.
• ITEMS OBTAINED: Illustrations 19, 34, & 35.

• Act 2 - Ice Floe

This is likely the most platform-intensive level in the whole game. It can be a bit precarious at times, but if you're good at controlling the Werehog, you should be fine. If you're not? You will despise this level. With a passion.

• RESULT: S Rank; three Sun Medals.
• ITEMS OBTAINED: Illustrations 18, 72, & 75; Movie 8.

• Act 3 - The Temple of Ice

Why does this level remind me of a Zelda dungeon? Anyway, this temple has a lot of doors and switches, as well as various obstacles. Overall, it's not too hard, but there is one room that's an utter pain: You need three keys, but one of them is up on a higher level, where you need to cross thin ice platforms to reach it. This would be all fine and dandy, except there are Dark Bat Snipers gunning for you, with the intent to knock you off of the platforms. What's worse, you may end up falling off while trying to take them out! I'd recommend a midair attack. After beating that and the rest of the level, you're pitted against a pair of Darknuts Dark Titans. There are also Spikes in the room, but they're more for annoyance.

• RESULT: S Rank; three Sun Medals.
• UPGRADES: Larger health meter.
• ITEMS OBTAINED: Illustrations 13, 39, & 83; Movie 14. And a tablet piece.

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Back to the professor, then? Typical.

edited 28th Aug '10 3:24:23 PM by Blueeyedrat

Ice physics, bottomless pits, and Goddamned Bats...a trifecta of platforming game annoyances if there ever was one. I remember scraping through Ice Floe with only a single life left, and I'd obtained as many of those life-ups from the temples that I could. Still, the satisfaction you get after perservering through a tough level feels quite marvelous. Excellent job so far; don't give up anytime soon!

And I don't plan to. Thanks!

By the way, mind if I share a little tidbit? The main reason this last part was called "The Long, Icy Road" is 'cause, at the time, I thought the level went straight into the bossfight afterward, like in Chun-nan. Silly me.

edited 29th Aug '10 4:56:03 PM by Blueeyedrat

Well, I just got home after my first full day of 10th grade. I was planning to make a new episode, but something came up: we finally got Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing. So... yeah, looks like Dark Moray will have to wait a little longer.

I just had a three-day weekend, but I'm too laaaaaazy. And unmotivated. Sorry. >_<

Part 19: Back with— Well, Not Much of a Vengeance

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISE!

Well, it's been a while. Two months? To be honest, I forget where we left off.

...?

Oh, that's right: a boss.

...

SON OF A—

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• Boss 4 - Dark Moray

So, upon reaching the core of the ice world, our Werehog friend stumbles into a wide chamber, where the aforementioned eel-thing is conviently thawed out and awakened. Let's do this!

This particular fight has two phases— destroying the shield around the center platform, and then going for the boss itself. Taking out the shield requires destroying various generator-like structures around it. Up until the third 'wave', the Moray shouldn't give you any trouble— you only need to worry about the flunkies guarding the outer platform. Once you've brought down the shield, here's where things get a little tricky. The boss will try to hit you with SHOOP DA WOOP ice breath, ice bombs, and general flailing around like a madman. Hitting it a few times will cause it to drop canisters which can be used to freeze it. They aren't required, but they're a massive help. Take out enough of his health, and he sends you to the outer arena and regenerates the shield. Repeat the procedure twice more, with more enemies to deal with each time. A WINNER IS YOU.

• RESULT: S Rank; one Sun Medal.

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We restore the Light Blue emerald, and that's enough for now. Not much of a way to kick things off again, but I'll take it. See you next time!

edited 24th Oct '10 4:16:25 PM by Blueeyedrat

Oh, how I loathed this boss. After all those annoying ice physics, the last thing I needed was something that could freeze me just long enough to be overwhelmed and lose. I was capable of taking out the next Werehog boss in one try, but this one...ugh.

And two months isn't so bad. I've been meaning to reactivate my own blog for almost a year now, and yet I've never found the time to do so...

By this rate, it'll have been another two months since an update. >_< See you guys in December, I guess.

Yeah, I should be able to start updating again by Mid-December.

I have final exams coming up and, [[Disproportionate Attention more importantly, my Xbox 360 has finally RROD'd on me. This time, I'll just pick up an Xbox 360 Slim when I get the money.

Experience has taught me to investigate anything that glows.