Thursday, August 26, 2021

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Palantir glitch allegedly granted some FBI staff unauthorized access to a crypto hacker's data

Posted: 26 Aug 2021 03:49 AM PDT

Peter Thiel's AI company Palantir, whose clients have included the CIA and US immigration agency ICE, is back in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. A new report claims a glitch in its secretive software program used by the FBI allowed unauthorized personnel to access private data for more than a year. According to The New York Post, the mishap was revealed in a letter by prosecutors in the Manhattan federal court case against accused hacker Virgil Griffith. Palantir denied the claims in a statement and said the fault was caused by the FBI's incorrect use of the software.

Griffith was arrested in 2019 for allegedly providing North Korea with information on how cryptocurrency and blockchain tech could help it to evade US sanctions. The incident in question revolves around the alleged hacker's social media data, obtained through a federal search warrant in March 2020. According to the letter, the Twitter and Facebook information was uploaded to Palantir's program through the default settings, effectively allowing unauthorized FBI employees to access it.

Between May 2020 to August 2021, the material was accessed four times by three analysts and an agent. The FBI case agent assigned to Griffith's case was alerted to the issue by a colleague earlier this month, according to the letter. Those who accessed the info reportedly told prosecutors that they did not recall using it in their investigations.

"An FBI analyst, in the course of conducting a separate investigation, had identified communications between the defendant and the subject of that other investigation by means of searches on the Platform that accessed the Search Warrant Returns," the letter noted.

Palantir is trying to distance itself from the issue. "There was no glitch in the software," it told The New York Post in a statement, adding that the "customer" did not follow the "rigorous protocols established to protect search warrant returns."

Amid increasing growth, the last thing Palantir needs is a major PR crisis involving flaws in its software. Since going public last fall, the company has seen its revenues surge, though it's operational losses are also increasing. Palantir's customers now span government agencies, tech stalwarts like IBM and even mining group Rio Tinto. Plus, it's working with commercial space companies to manage a meta-constellation of 237 satellites.

Niantic reinstates at least one of Pokémon Go’s COVID-era tweaks

Posted: 26 Aug 2021 02:45 AM PDT

Niantic, the developer behind Pokémon Go, has announced that it will reinstate the wider access distance for players interacting with Pokéstops and Gyms. In a tweet, the company said that the radius would return to 80 meters from "now on," after saying that the distance would be reduced back to its pre-pandemic size.

Go is, after all, a game designed to get folks out and about, which isn't a great idea when there's a global respiratory pandemic knocking around. That's why, as COVID-19 began to bite, Niantic made interaction distances much longer, to discourage groups from crowding in public areas.

In addition, the company also made Remote Raid battles, and Adventure Sync work much more effectively from home, given the number of people who had to isolate. The normal calendar of real-world events were moved online, too, and many of the store deals were slashed in cost.

As Polygon reports, Niantic's flip-flop here was prompted by social media protests after some of these changes were reversed. The company engaged in dialog with players, with a change in policy planned for September 1st, with players asking for better regard for safety and accessibility.

Google's YouTube Music app for Wear OS only works with Samsung's upcoming smartwatches

Posted: 26 Aug 2021 02:04 AM PDT

Google's YouTube Music app for Wear OS is now live, a few months after the tech giant promised to release one for the platform. That certainly sounds like great news for users who've been waiting for it after Google retired Play Music for Wear OS in 2020. The bad news is, as noted by 9to5Google, it only currently works on Google's Wear OS 3 platform. Samsung's Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic wearables, which will be available on August 27th, will be the only devices that will be running the OS in the foreseeable future. 

The company killed off the Play Music app for Wear OS watches back in August 2020, weeks before it completely shut the service down in favor of YouTube Music. It quickly released a YouTube Music app for the Apple Watch, but Wear OS users have had to wait for their turn. And, based on what we know now, they may have to continue waiting, unless they're set to get Samsung's new smartwatches tomorrow. In comparison, Spotify's Wear OS app works even on older smartwatches and can be used to stream and download music.

In addition to extremely limited compatibility, the app can't actually be used to stream music. According to 9to5Google's hands-on experience, users will only be able to download tracks on the app. Further, the phone must be plugged in to be able to download anything. For those not bothered by all those limitations and will soon have access to a Galaxy Watch 4, the app is now available on Google Play.

‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’ wants you to know it’s okay to like ‘Voyager’

Posted: 26 Aug 2021 12:00 AM PDT

This article contains mild spoilers for season two, episode three of 'Star Trek: Lower Decks.'

This week's episode of Lower Decks, "We'll Always Have Tom Paris," manages to squeeze two references into its title: a season one The Next Generation installment called "We'll Always Have Paris," and the name of a main cast member of Star Trek: Voyager, Lieutenant Tom Eugene Paris. But aside from that clever bit of wordplay, the title also carries a deeper meaning: That as much as we'd like to forget about the more embarrassing moments of the Star Trek franchise, they still happened and they weren't all bad. Even, and especially, Voyager.

CBS

Viewer reactions to Voyager have been rather polarized over the course of the 26 years since it premiered. Back in the '90s, many fans were excited to have a "real" Star Trek show again, one that took place on a ship that was constantly exploring, unlike the comparatively stationary political drama of Deep Space Nine. But clunky writing soured many people's opinion on Voyager, and toward the end of its run the show was known more for Seven of Nine's skintight outfits and its slate of guest stars of the week, including Jason Alexander and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

After the show went off the air, the franchise stopped moving forward in its timeline, choosing to explore Starfleet's founding in Enterprise and rebooting the entire universe completely with the 2009 Star Trek movie. While fans were thrown a bone with a brief cameo by Admiral Kathryn Janeway in the last TNG-era film, Nemesis, Voyager would essentially disappear from the Star Trek canon until the appearance of Seven of Nine in episode four of Picard.

Trae Patton

For fans of The Next Generation, Picard had its upsides: We got to see Troi and Riker as a family, and Data got a better sendoff into the afterlife. But for fans of Voyager, it was anything but positive, with the death of a supporting character and a rather grim existence for fan-favorite Seven of Nine.

Star Trek: Lower Decks rolls back the clock a little bit, as it takes place a year after the events of Nemesis, making it our first real view of the Star Trek universe's immediate future after TNG, DS9 and Voyager. The Dominion War is over, Romulus is under a new regime and the crew of the USS Voyager are basically celebrities after seven years spent in the Delta Quadrant; Picard takes place nearly twenty years later, when the luster would have been gone.

Matt Kennedy

Here everything is just shiny and new and worthy of commemorative plates — a bit of a weird thing to exist in a post-scarcity culture, but this is a comedy series, after all. And in this week's B-plot, Brad Boimler is looking to get one of his plates signed by a special guest to the USS Cerritos: Tom Paris. Or, as Brad refers to the former Voyager crew member, "Creator of Fairhaven, Captain Proton himself" as well as the first human to break the transwarp barrier. Straight off, that's a reference to three of the goofiest, oddball and some say worst episodes of Star Trek: Voyager. And just in case you forgot what was so bad about the last one, Mariner asks "is he still a salamander?," because that is a thing that happened in the episode "Threshold."

Undeterred (and perhaps even encouraged) by the weirdness, Boimler is all hyped to meet his hero. Even after the ship's system doesn't recognize him and won't let him through any doors, he takes to the Jefferies tubes to make his way to the bridge to meet Lt. Paris.

In a way, it feels like a metaphor for how the fandom feels about Star Trek: Voyager now. While everyone admits it had a lot of dumb moments, those actually made it more endearing. The famous line "there's coffee in that nebula" would inspire astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti to bring a replica uniform with her and wear it on a mission back in 2015:

And who can forget the infamous "Tuvix" episode, where crew members Tuvok and Neelix were merged into one being thanks to a transporter accident? Though the resulting individual was healthy and happy, the decision was made to force him to split back into his component persons, inspiring the recent internet rallying cry "Janeway murdered Tuvix." Even Janeway actor Kate Mulgrew entered the debate, responding to a tweet from Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. When you've got politicians involved it's not really a fandom in-joke anymore.

Maybe it's time to give Voyager a bit more credit. It's not as good as TNG or DS9, but it still has its fair share of fans. I remember a time when it seemed like it was constantly running on Spike TV (now the Paramount Network), as opposed to Deep Space Nine, which is seldom rerun due to its serialized nature. Last year I sat down and rewatched the entire Star Trek franchise, including Voyager, and saw quite a few episodes I had missed the first time. I found myself enjoying some of it, cringing just as often, and eventually remembering why I had stopped watching the show for a while back when it aired. In general, I feel like the show's biggest problem was missed potential, like the way the conflict between the Starfleet and Maquis crew members was quickly smoothed over, how it underutilized many of its cast, and why on earth did Harry Kim never get promoted.

CBS

However, it's not the job of Lower Decks to explain or redeem Voyager. Boimler and Tom Paris are only the B-plot here, with the main drive of the episode being Tendi and Mariner's mission to pick up a package for Doctor T'Ana as well as Rutherford's quest to find out how a certain dead officer is alive again. The episode just asks us to consider what it would be like to be a Starfleet officer and hear about all of Voyager's adventures in the Delta Quadrant. Weird and goofy? Yes. But honestly, they're also pretty cool.

Ten federal agencies are expanding their use of facial recognition

Posted: 26 Aug 2021 12:00 AM PDT

The Government Accountability Office has revealed in a new report that 10 federal agencies are planning to expand their use of facial recognition. In a survey involving 24 federal agencies on their use of facial recognition technology, the Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, Interior, Justice, State, Treasury and Veterans Affairs departments told GAO that they're planning to use facial recognition in more areas through fiscal year 2023. 

As The Washington Post notes, most agencies already use facial recognition to give their personnel access to their phones and computers. However, there's a growing number of agencies using it to investigate crime and to track people. The Department of Agriculture apparently wants to monitor the live feeds at its facilities and scan for individuals in the watch list. Another agency wants to use it to automate identity verification for travelers at airports. 

The agencies are planning this expansion despite the strengthening pushback against facial recognition systems. They're still far from being perfectly accurate, especially when identifying women and POCs, and have led to false arrests in the past. In Detroit, their use led to the wrongful arrest of two men last year, both of whom are Black. The states of Massachusetts, Maine and Virginia banned law enforcement from using facial recognition. At the same time, several cities across the US, including Portland, Oregon, had also restricted their use. GAO's report noted, however, that "recent advancements in facial recognition technology have increased its accuracy and its usage."

Ten of GAO's respondents have also revealed they've been involved in the research and development of facial recognition tech. For instance, they're looking into the technology's ability to identify individuals wearing masks and to detect image manipulation. In addition, several agencies, including the Justice Department, the Air Force and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, admitted to using Clearview AI. Clearview has been under fire for scraping people's images from social networks over the past years without the companies' knowledge or consent to build its database. As of last year, the system, which can identify people in real time, was reportedly in use by 600 police departments across the US, including the FBI and DHS.

A year later, we now know more about Facebook's Project Aria AR glasses

Posted: 25 Aug 2021 08:01 PM PDT

To say that Facebook's Project Aria AR glasses were never meant for consumers would be an understatement. Facebook does not even consider them a prototype. And they are not, and may never be, available for purchase. Rather, Facebook has always described them as a way for its employees to study and test augmented reality tech. 

Though Facebook's announcement at the time made clear the company's intentions, it was light on details about how the glasses would actually work. Now, nearly a year after the initial launch, a series of regulatory documents are giving us a belated first peek inside. In a user manual first reported by Protocol, we learn that this specific device goes by the codename Gemini EVT, with EVT being an abbreviation for "engineering valuation test." 

As you might expect, given the stated purpose of the device, there is no visual AR component. Meaning, there's no built-in display for viewing 3D image overlays. Again, the glasses in their early form really do exist just for this small team of engineers to collect data.

Not that you can buy one but if you could, the glasses would also support prescription lenses, the manual reveals.

Additionally, the manual indicates there's a proximity sensor on the inner temple, along with four cameras that can capture both video and still photos. Interestingly, Facebook used the same camera sensors here that it did on the Oculus Quest 2 headset, our review of which we published the same day in September last year that Facebook announced Project Aria. Given the timing, it may just be those sensors were the most readily available to Facebook.

Also inside is a Qualcomm chipset, with a modified version of Android powering the software experience. Charging happens via a USB cable, which attached magnetically to the glasses.

The user experience seems simple, as far as we can tell. There are shutter and power buttons, plus a mute switch that "toggles privacy mode on/off." When a recording is in progress, a series of LEDs help passerby understand that the camera is on. Meanwhile, there's a companion iOS app called Ariane that handles the basics: device setup, scanning for WiFi networks, showing the battery status and uploading what data the sensors have collected. It's unclear, however, if there is also an Android version of the app that exists, or is in the works. Again, not that you'd be able to download it either way.

Microsoft is killing its Office app on Chromebooks

Posted: 25 Aug 2021 06:55 PM PDT

We're not sure who or how many people use Microsoft Office on a Chromebook but if that's you, you're in for a downgraded experience. Microsoft will soon kill its Office app for Android on Chrome OS, the company confirmed Wednesday to About Chromebooks. The app will leave the Google Play Store on September 18th, at which point users will need to sign in through the web via Office.com or Outlook.com. As 9to5Google notes, the Office app will still be available on Android phones, even as it vanishes from Chrome OS.

Though signing in via the web app should work in a pinch, it's clearly an inferior experience to what the Android app has offered until now, not to mention what Google's G Suite can do on its native Google-controlled platform. In particular, be warned that the web app offers almost no offline access, something users have enjoyed on the Google Play Store version. 

It's unclear why Microsoft is making this change, except that the company described the move in a statement to About Chromebooks as an "effort to provide the most optimized experience for Chrome OS/Chromebook customers." Whatever the intention, this is likely to give Chromebook users another reason to give the G Suite a try, if they haven't already. Or hey, perhaps they'll ditch their Chromebooks and download the Android app on Windows 11.

Facebook is reportedly mulling a commission to advise on elections

Posted: 25 Aug 2021 04:52 PM PDT

Facebook is considering forming a commission to advise on thorny issues related to global elections, according to a report Wednesday from The New York Times. The company has begun to approach academics and policy experts, who The Times says could potentially weigh in on issues ranging from political ads to election misinformation. What's more, it is not just US elections where a commission could find itself weighing complicated election issues; the commission would also likely have a mandate to weigh in on closely watched elections in Hungary, Germany, Brazil and the Philippines.

Facebook declined to comment.

On its face, the commission sounds a lot like Facebook's Oversight Board, an independent panel of journalists, academics and activists often described as a "Supreme Court" that's tasked with reviewing Facebook's policies. The Oversight Board is perhaps best known for upholding Facebook's decision to ban Donald Trump, though since its formation last year it has also agreed to weigh in on doxing; hate speech; how politicians at large should be treated; content moderation in coup-torn Myanmar; moderation by algorithms; and the appropriate treatment of satire content.

But though the makeup of the election commission sounds like the Oversight Board — and could similarly let Facebook side-step ownership of controversial decisions — there could be an important difference, according to The Times. Whereas the Oversight Board weighs in on decisions that Facebook has already made (much like the Supreme Court considers contested court rulings), the election commission would have the latitude to proactively offer advice, even on matters where Facebook had not yet taken a public stance.

If Facebook goes ahead with outsourcing election-related decisions to an advisory committee, it would be a departure from its previous attempts to counter election misinformation, which have been largely reactive, and almost always imperfect. Even after a temporary ban on political ads ahead of the 2020 US election, some ads were still showing as active in Facebook's ad library. Facebook last year also endeavored to label ads from politically connected publications, and earlier this year moved to show users less political content altogether.

Though Facebook reportedly hopes to launch the commission ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, The Times also describes the outreach as preliminary, with no guarantee that Facebook will move forward on this.

Google and Microsoft will invest $30 billion in cybersecurity over the next five years

Posted: 25 Aug 2021 04:12 PM PDT

Following a meeting with President Joe Biden today, Google and Microsoft promised to invest a total of $30 billion in cybersecurity advancements over the next five years. Google pledged $10 billion, while Microsoft pledged $20 billion. 

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said on Twitter that $150 million of that money will be used to expand Microsoft's training network and help US government agencies upgrade their digital security systems. The White House described that particular investment as follows: "Microsoft ... will immediately make available $150 million in technical services to help federal, state, and local governments with upgrading security protection, and will expand partnerships with community colleges and non-profits for cybersecurity training."

Google, meanwhile, will focus on extending the zero-trust security model, securing the software supply chain, building out open-source security, and offering more training opportunities to Americans. Specifically, Google said it will help 100,000 Americans over the next three years earn Google Career Certificates in cybersecurity fields.

Today, President Biden met with technology companies and cybersecurity thought leaders to discuss threats like the recent SolarWinds attack and how the US can better defend its digital systems. In addition to Google and Microsoft's financial infusion, Apple will establish new, widespread supply-chain protocols in the name of tighter security, and Amazon will offer its internal cybersecurity training to the public at no charge. Other organizations, including IBM, Girls Who Code and Code.org, made plans to expand cybersecurity defenses across government, society and industry.

It was unclear what would actually shake out of today's White House cybersecurity meeting, and $30 billion (and then some) certainly isn't a bad place to start.

Watch Gamescom's Opening Night Live 2021 in under 18 minutes

Posted: 25 Aug 2021 03:52 PM PDT

Well, some of us need a nap. Gamescom's Opening Night Live 2021 event kicked off at 2pm ET today, and what ensued was a rapid-fire parade of game trailers and teasers. It was quite an eclectic selection, too, including a new Saints Row game, Lego Star Wars, a turn-based RPG, kung-fu battles, dinosaur building, something called a "season 0 beta," and confirmed launch dates for Halo Infinite and Horizon Forbidden West. Oh, and there was some hardware as well — always a good time. The Engadget staff is admittedly feeling some whiplash, but for our readers this means there's almost surely something for everyone. Check out the highlights in the (relatively) brief video below.

Audio-Technica's latest budget headphones look decent for $59 cans

Posted: 25 Aug 2021 02:50 PM PDT

Audio-Technica has pulled back the curtain on its latest set of budget headphones. The $59 ATH-S220BT offers a decent set of features for the price, including a battery life that offers up to 60 hours of use on a single charge, according to the company. You'll be able to add up to 3.5 hours of listening time with just 10 minutes of USB-C charging, Audio-Technica says.

The Bluetooth 5.0 headphones have 40mm drivers, which, Audio-Technica claims, deliver low-latency audio. You can also plug them in using an included 3.5mm cable, which has an in-line mic and controls.

The ATH-S220BT can connect to two Bluetooth devices simultaneously for fast switching between tasks. There's a built-in microphone, earcup controls and Google Fast Pair support for Android devices. Along with Siri and Google Assistant compatibility, there's a "voice guidance" function, which can provide info on the current battery level, pairing status and more.

Audio-Technica ATH-S220BT
Audio-Technica

Although the headphones lack higher-end features such as active noise cancellation, they seem worth a look if you're in the market for a budget set, even if the audio quality turns out to be just fine (Audio-Technica says they deliver "excellent sound quality"). They're lightweight too, at just 6.3 ounces or 180 grams.

The ATH-S220BT is available now in a number of color options. You can pick them up in black with dark-gray accents, navy with beige earpads and headband or white with a black trim.

Instagram is testing ‘interest search’ to make results more intuitive

Posted: 25 Aug 2021 02:50 PM PDT

Instagram is working on making its search function more intuitive. The app is experimenting with changes that allow users to search for content based on topics rather than account names or hashtags.

Up until now, Instagram's search has been fairly rudimentary. Typing "kittens" into the search bar would turn up results for specific accounts or hashtags, for example, but you'd have to jump around different pages to actually find kitten content. But with the update, searching for topical content on Instagram will be more like Pinterest, with a grid of photos and videos related to that topic.

"We've been experimenting with what we are internally calling interest search," Instagram head Adam Mosseri said in a video posted to Twitter. He added that the new search results are available for "a range of topics and a range of languages" but that Instagram is still "working to expand" the feature. For now, users can browse the new results by looking for search terms that have a magnifying glass next to them.

Instagram has teased other major updates to its search features in recent months. The app is also working on a visual search feature that would allow users to find products using the in-app camera, though the company hasn't shared additional details.

The first crewless electric cargo ship begins its maiden voyage this year

Posted: 25 Aug 2021 02:19 PM PDT

Autonomous cargo hauling won't be limited to a handful of trucks and aircraft. As CNNreports, Yara International now expects to sail the first autonomous, fully electric cargo ship in Norway by the end of 2021. The Yara Birkeland will travel from Herøya to Brevik with only three remote control centers keeping watch over the journey.

Yara first developed the concept in 2017 and had planned to set sail in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the trip. It's not the first crewless ship of any kind to venture forth (a Finnish ferry launched in 2018), but it is the first all-electric model.

It's a slow vessel with a 13-knot top speed from its two 900kW propulsion systems (container ships typically travel at 16 to 25 knots), and it's safe to say the giant 7MWh battery will take a while to charge. However, Yara believes it will be worthwhile for the environmental gains. The firm estimated the Yara Birkeland would replace about 40,000 truck trips per year, dramatically reducing CO2 and nitrous oxide emissions in a country that already relies heavily on hydroelectric power. The ship could also alleviate traffic congestion on land, not to mention keep humans out of danger (albeit at the possible expense of jobs).

It may still be a long while before you see autonomous cargo haulers making trips elsewhere. Even if range isn't an issue, docks are — it would be harder for a self-sailing ship to navigate a busy port like Durban or Shanghai. There are also legal issues. Different countries have their own rules for the sea. As with self-driving cars, there's also the matter of liability. Who's to blame if an autonomous ship runs aground? While it's easy to see a day when autonomous electric ships are commonplace, that day likely isn't close at hand.

Sifu's slick kung fu battles arrive on PlayStation and PC February 22nd

Posted: 25 Aug 2021 01:40 PM PDT

Sifu has been on our radar for a while, but until now, it hasn't been clear when exactly we'd get our hands on the kung fu action title. During Gamescom's Opening Night Live event, Sloclap announced a release date for the game: February 22nd, 2022. The Absolver studio initially planned to ship Sifu this year, but it pushed the game back to early 2022 to avoid overworking the team or compromising on quality.

Sloclap revealed the release date at the end of the latest gameplay trailer. The clip shows the protagonist fighting a bunch of goons in locations including a rooftop, an art gallery and a firelit alleyway. Unlike the last trailer, the latest preview doesn't focus on one of Sifu's most intriguing mechanics: your character is a bit older every time they respawn after dying.

Pre-orders are now open for Sifu, which is coming to PlayStation 4, PS5 and Epic Games Store. If you lock in the $40 standard edition now, you'll receive a special avatar pack and an exclusive cinematic pack for the photo mode. If you pre-order the $50 special edition, you'll get those bonuses, as well as a digital art book, a copy of the soundtrack and 48 hours of early access before the official release date.

YouTube has removed 1 million videos for dangerous COVID-19 misinformation

Posted: 25 Aug 2021 01:10 PM PDT

YouTube has removed 1 million videos for dangerous COVID-19 misinformation since February 2020, according to YouTube's Chief Product Officer Neal Mahon.

Mahon shared the statistic in a blog post outlining how the company approaches. misinformation on its platform. "Misinformation has moved from the marginal to the mainstream," he wrote. "No longer contained to the sealed-off worlds of Holocaust deniers or 9-11 truthers, it now stretches into every facet of society, sometimes tearing through communities with blistering speed."

At the same time, the Youtube executive argued that "bad content" accounts for only a small percentage of YouTube content overall. "Bad content represents only a tiny percentage of the billions of videos on YouTube (about .16-.18% of total views turn out to be content that violates our policies)," Mahon wrote. He added that YouTube removes almost 10 million videos each quarter, "the majority of which don't even reach 10 views."

Facebook recently made a similar argument about content on its platform. The social network published a report last week that claimed that the most popular posts are memes and other non-political content. And, faced with criticism over its handling of COVID-19 and vaccine misinformation, the company has argued that vaccine misinformation isn't representative of the kind of content most users see.

Both Facebook and YouTube have come under particular scrutiny for their policies around health misinformation during the pandemic. Both platforms have well over a billion users, which means that even a small fraction of content can have a far-reaching impact. And both platforms have so far declined to disclose details about how vaccine and health misinformation spreads or how many users are encountering it. Mahon also said that removing misinformation is only one aspect of the company's approach. YouTube is also working on "ratcheting up information from trusted sources and reducing the spread of videos with harmful misinformation."

'Jurassic World Evolution 2' brings dino world-building to PC and consoles November 9th

Posted: 25 Aug 2021 12:40 PM PDT

Jurassic World Evolution 2, the next installment in everyone's favorite dinosaur-based park-management franchise, is heading to Xbox One, Xbox Series X and S, PlayStation 4, PS5 and PC on November 9th. Pre-orders are open now, and buying the game early will net players three vehicle skins inspired by the 1997 film, The Lost World: Jurassic Park.

Jurassic World Evolution 2 allows players to build, manage and mess around in a world of Spielberg-inspired dinosaurs. There are four modes: campaign, chaos theory, challenge and sandbox. Campaign mode takes players through a narrative arc set after the events of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, the 2018 movie. Chaos theory presents classic moments from the film franchise, but with a twist, playing out "what if" scenarios. Challenge is the mode for folks who want to test their dino-rearing skills, while sandbox is the creative way to play.

Jurassic Wold Evolution 2 is made by Frontier Developments, the studio that handled the 2018 game Jurassic World Evolution.

'Horizon Forbidden West' comes to PS4 and PS5 on February 18th, 2022

Posted: 25 Aug 2021 12:39 PM PDT

The rumors of a Horizon Forbidden West delay were true, although the wait won't be as long as you might think. Guerilla has revealed that Forbidden West will be released on February 18th, 2022 for both PS4 and PS5 owners, with pre-orders starting on September 2nd. The developer previously promised a free upgrade to the PS5 version if you have to continue Aloy's journey on the older console.

The open-world adventure was originally slated to arrive in holiday 2021. However, the COVID-19 pandemic "hugely impacted" development, Guerilla said. Like many game creators, the team had to rethink its work strategy while also trying to maintain a "healthy" work-life balance.

If you can't wait that long, you'll still have a reason to revisit Horizon Zero Dawn. Guerilla has released a free Enhanced Performance Patch for the earlier game that gives PS5 players a "targeted" 60FPS. This won't suddenly drag the game into the next-gen console era, but the improved frame rate should make it that much easier to dodge charging robots and line up bow shots.

Portal shooter 'Splitgate' launches Season 0, a bigger, better beta

Posted: 25 Aug 2021 12:38 PM PDT

Splitgate, an FPS that combines the best of classic Quake multiplayer and Portal, is an unlikely shooter success story. It reached an astounding 10 million downloads during its open beta last month, when it made its way to consoles and unveiled cross-platform play. And to celebrate that success, today developer 1047 Games launched its next beta phase: Season 0. 

"In the span of a month, our servers went from supporting 4,000 players at once to 175,000 players!" Splitgate creator and 1047 Games CEO Ian Proulx wrote on the PlayStation blog. "All in all, our servers had some growing pains, so we had to implement short-term solutions to prevent back-end crashes."

Given the influx of new users, Proulx says he chose to delay the game's official launch and extend the beta phase. Existing players can expect a slew of new content in Season 0, including Karman Station, a new map, as well as a new Infection gameplay mode. There's also a Season 0 Battle Pass and plenty of new gear to pick up. They have to support a free-to-play game somehow, right? 

After spending more than 10 hours in the previous Splitgate beta, it's easy to see why the game has caught on so quickly. It combines solid shooter mechanics with something entirely new: The ability to place portals around the map, which you can use to teleport or take out enemies. If anything, it's a welcome respite from the flood of Battle Royale titles on the market. 

While Splitgate doesn't have an official launch date yet, the beta is pretty stable in my experience. Proulx says 1047 Games is also work on a map editor, as well as additional maps, weapons and other items in the future.

'Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga' will arrive in spring 2022

Posted: 25 Aug 2021 12:22 PM PDT

We haven't heard much about Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga since TT Games delayed it indefinitely back in April. At Gamescom's Opening Night Live event, the studio and publisher Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment showed off a new trailer that embraces the series' trademark irreverent humor, in-jokes and sleek visuals. 

There are a bunch of nods to famous scenes from the Star Wars movies (the game adapts all nine entries in the Skywalker saga). Along with X-wing battles and lightsaber duels with the likes of Darth Vader and Darth Maul, you'll see moments like Rey flipping over Kylo Ren's TIE fighter. The game includes 20 unlockable planets you can travel between and more than 300 playable characters.

While there's no firm release date as yet, the game should arrive in spring 2022 on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC.

This is the first game in the Lego Star Wars series since 2016, when TT Games Legofied Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It marks the first time that the studio has adapted The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. Warner Bros. initially planned to release Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga in 2020, and then in spring 2021, but TT Games needed "more time" to finish it.

'Marvel's Midnight Suns' is a turn-based RPG from the creators of XCOM

Posted: 25 Aug 2021 12:12 PM PDT

The next Marvel superhero game is reaching deeper into the comic books' back catalog. XCOM developer Firaxis has unveiledMarvel's Midnight Suns, a turn-based role-playing game based on the Midnight Sons team from 1990s crossover issues. The modern take has you play a new Marvel co-created superhero, The Hunter, as she fights the Mother of Demons, Lilith. Your character will have help from Midnight Sons members like Blade, Ghost Rider and Wolverine as well as Avengers mainstays like Captain America and Iron Man.

The title reaches PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch and Windows PCs in March 2022. A gameplay presentation is due on September 1st.

In case you're wondering: no, this won't just be an XCOM game with capes. Game lead Jake Solomon told Polygon in an interview that Midnight Suns shares "zero mechanics" with the XCOM series. You'll play missions with up to three other heroes as you develop The Hunter's powers. When you're not in combat, an open-world area will help you form bonds with fellow heroes. And instead of the paranoia and fear that drive XCOM, you're rolling into battle with confidence — there's no permanent character death, for starters.

This is something of a gamble when many Marvel appearances have involved more conventional brawlers and fighting games. Firaxis has a strong track record, however, and dipping into the Midnight Sons catalog draw in both long-time Marvel fans as well as those who don't want to rehash the brand's most familiar stories.

Special-edition 'Halo Infinite' Xbox Series X and controller arrive on November 15th

Posted: 25 Aug 2021 12:02 PM PDT

Alongside the Halo Infinite release date, Microsoft made a couple of other Halo-related announcements at Gamescom's Opening Night Live event. To mark the 20th anniversary of the series, the company is releasing a limited-edition Xbox Series X and Elite Series 2 Controller decked out in Halo-themed looks.

The console features dark metallic paneling with iridium gold accents, as well as a star pattern. The bundled-in controller has an iridium gold 20-year mark on the rear. Best of all, you'll hear custom Halo-themed sounds when you switch the console on and off. 

Pre-orders are open for this special-edition Xbox Series X, which will be available on November 15th. It costs $550, which is $50 more than the standard Series X, but it comes with a copy of Halo Infinite. You'll be able to play the game on December 8th.

Also arriving on November 15th is the Halo Infinite Limited Edition Elite Series 2 controller. The matte metallic green look is inspired by Master Chief's armor and it boasts an iridium gold D-pad. The controller comes with a custom carrying case, laser-etched charging dock and swappable components. You'll also be able to adjust the tension of the thumbstick using a special tool. If you pick up this controller, you'll also receive an exclusive Halo Elite controller weapon charm to use in your Halo Infinite multiplayer games.

Pre-orders are open for the Elite Series 2 controller, which costs $200.

In addition, Microsoft revealed a Halo Infinite-inspired Razer Kaira Pro headset and Seagate Game Drive. The latter will be available in October, costing $100 for the 2TB version and $160 for the 5TB model.

Halo Infinite Special Edition Seagate Game Drive for Xbox
Seagate/Microsoft

'Halo Infinite' is launching on December 8th

Posted: 25 Aug 2021 11:32 AM PDT

After a year-long delay, Halo Infinite will arrive on December 8th. Developer 343 Industries confirmed the timing during Gamescom's Opening Night Live event today. However, this date was leaked just hours before the show started.

Italian gadget site Aggiornamenti Lumia first noticed that the game's Microsoft Store listing was updated with the new date in some regions, and sources tell The Verge that it's correct. Microsoft is likely saving the big reveal for today's Gamescom Opening Night live event, which kicks off at 2PM Eastern. It's just a shame it had to be left out of the company's fairly uneventful Xbox Gamescom presentation.

343 Industries announced last week that Halo Infinite won't be launching with campaign co-op or Forge mode, which allows players to create and play custom maps. But if it means that the developer can ship a more polished single player campaign and competitive multiplayer modes on time, it may be worth the trade-off. Halo Infinite multiplayer betas also kicked off last month, and so far the general consensus seems to be positive.

It's hard to overstate how important Halo Infinite will be for Microsoft. It was originally meant to be one of the big draws for the Xbox Series X and S last year. Its delay left the company without a major exclusive release, while Sony had several for the PlayStation 5 post-launch.

Update 2:33PM ET: Added confirmation of the release date and a new multiplayer trailer.

Saints Row gets a gritty reboot set in the 'weird west'

Posted: 25 Aug 2021 11:06 AM PDT

Saints Row, the class-clown of GTA-esque open-world sandbox games, is no more. In its place is Saints Row, a reboot of the series with a back-to-basics focus on ground-level crime and violence. In the seven years since Gat out of Hell was released (we're not counting Agents of Mayhem), the world has moved on, and so too must Saints Row.

Welcome to the Weird West

Image from Saints Row (2022)
Deep Silver / Volition

The new game is called Saints Row (which we're told has no subtitle, despite the repeated use of the "Self Made" tagline even on the box art), and is set in Santo Ileso (Spanish speakers, does that pun work for you?), a stand in for America's Four Corners region which the developers are calling the "weird west." There are Route 66 signs scattered across the landscape and the desert that surrounds the city, with its patchy grass and tall mesas, looks a lot like Arizona. The neon-strewn casino district (El Dorado) seems to be inspired by those found in Albuquerque. And the financial area, at least from the trailers (and to my British eyes) seems to have been pulled from downtown Santa Fe.

Santo Ileso is made up of nine individual districts with each one designed to use a different traversal method. Running and driving will work best in some regions, while players are encouraged to fly a wingsuit off the top of the financial district's skyscrapers to cover long distances. Or you can steal a VTOL-equipped craft and just make merry havoc all over the city as you go. The game was built in a brand new, as-yet unannounced engine and these new environments are designed to take advantage of the power that next-gen consoles — if we can still call them that — can offer.

The developers say that Saints Row's focus is, at least early in the game, going to focus on the material concerns of its young crew. These disaffected millennials turn to crime to, for instance, put food on their table, feel part of a community and pay off their student loans. Chief creative officer Jim Boone says that it's, broadly, a "contemporary" millennial "power fantasy." It's only later that the game's focus switches to the sort of empire-building that, in the previous series, eventually saw your character becoming president.

Cover art for Saints Row (2022)
Deep Silver / Volition

As the game progresses, players can buy property and businesses which opens up new game modes and levels. You can choose where to put those businesses, too, like putting a garbage collection site in the middle of the financial district. The choices you make here will, for instance, engender resistance if you start putting toxic waste next to wherever the one percenters live and work. And, as you take over more of the city, the bigger your power base will grow.

The storyline sees your ragtag quartet encounter three distinct gangs, each of which owns a chunk of Santo Ileso. The Panteros, for instance, are a bunch of muscle-car enthusiasts who try to use their superior strength to defeat you in combat. Marshall Defense Industries, meanwhile, is a local weapons developer with its own mercenary army equipped with a range of sci-fi weapons and superior marksmanship. Then there are the Idols, a group of Kawaii Cyberpunk Anarchists wearing light-up cat ear helmets who overwhelm you with numbers in a fight.

Meet the new boss

Images of the Saints Row cast
Deep Silver / Volition

As far as we know, references to Steelport, the 3rd Street Saints, Johnny Gat, Kenzie and anything else from the prior series are gone. Or, at least, will be relegated to the odd, deeply buried easter egg for die-hard fans to root out while they're immersed in this new world. In their place is a trio of characters that work to support your player's unnamed and customizable protagonist.

There's Eli (pictured, 2nd from right), an MBA student who works as the team's planner, speaking in the language of startups, investment and business. Then there's Neenah (pictured, right), the team's driver, who had aspirations of becoming an anthropologist but got sucked into working as a mechanic for Los Panteros. Rounding out the quartet (of which you are the fourth member) is Kevin (pictured, left), a topless thrill-seeking DJ who, like his fellow Idols, loves wearing a Kawaii Cyberpunk helmet and wreaking havoc.

The player character is, as before, infinitely customizable — although it's not clear how broad those options are. Deep Silver says that you'll have access to the "most advanced suite" of customization tools ever seen in an open-world game.

One of the questions raised in the roundtable with the game's developers was that of cultural appropriation. The six people made available for interview were all middle-aged white men, creating a game set in a region where a significant proportion of the population is Latinx or Hispanic. Creative director Jim Boone said that diversity was important, and there was an explicit focus on making the team producing the game as diverse as the characters in it.

Inspiration

Images taken from promotional material for 'Saints Row' (2022)
Deep Silver / Volition

In terms of what we can expect from the new title, Boone said that some of the major inspirations for this film came from the cinema. He cited three titles: John Wick, Baby Driver and Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbes and Shaw as key influences. From the first, you will be able to spot some of the brutality in the combat and some of the melee takedown moves are cribbed from the film's action sequences. The experience of driving has been pulled from the second, while the third's penchant for over-the-top action helped provide a baseline for how stunts would work in the new game.

There will also be a broad degree of Fast and Furious-inspired vehicle customization in which every playable ride can be fixed up. The desert that surrounds Santo Ileso, for instance, has plenty of rough terrain that can be used to crest dunes and chase or evade your enemies. Consequently, players can even jury-rig the game's garbage truck as a heavy-duty off-road vehicle.

Playing together

Images taken from promotional material for 'Saints Row' (2022)
Deep Silver / Volition

Saints Row is coming to the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox One and, for PC gamers, the Epic Games Store. The developers said that cross-platform co-op will be available from the start, and you can play the entire campaign through "untethered co-op play." One thing that was mentioned was the ability to "prank" your co-op partner, stymying their progress in order to advance your own.

The elephant in the room

Images taken from promotional material for 'Saints Row' (2022)
Deep Silver / Volition

There are more than a few reasons why Volition chose to make Saints Row, rather than Saints Row V. Boone said that the classic series of games were very much "of [their] time," with tastes and attitudes having moved on. And it can't have helped that the company's last attempt at a reboot, Agents of Mayhem, received lukewarm reviews and poor sales, forcing Volition to make layoffs in its wake.

Lead mission designer Jeremy Bernstein added that the original story, by the end of Gat out of Hell, had burned through all of its narrative runway. When your player protagonist has conquered Earth, ascended to Godhood and escaped hell, there's not much you can do to top it. Bernstein compared the problem to the James Bond movies circa Moonraker, saying that once you've done James Bond In Space, the gritty realism of For Your Eyes Only is one hell of a tonal shift.

But is it still fun?

Images taken from promotional material for 'Saints Row' (2022)
Deep Silver / Volition

The team wanted to assure us that while the juvenilia that marked the previous series was gone, the irreverence would remain. Bernstein said that it would be pretty much impossible to make a "grimdark Saints Row game" for obvious reasons. And while the developers didn't elaborate much on silly weapons, like the Penetrator (Saints Row The Third's infamous Dildo Lance) and the Dubstep Gun (from Saints Row IV), they said one or two had made their way into the title. You'll also, once again, be able to ragdoll yourself into traffic under the auspices of committing insurance fraud.

If I have a concern, it's that I always found Saints Row a more enjoyable franchise than GTA because of the emphasis on fun. The challenges soon became repetitive, but the breadth of ways in which you could complete a mission (and the fun weapons) helped smooth the edges. The emphasis here, so far, has been on the difference between the new game and its predecessors, with less discussion on how fun it all is. Maybe that's just savvy marketing, and the new title will be just as fun and silly as franchise diehards are hoping. But it's something that I'd like to see more of, or else I'd get the feeling that the title may lose the one thing people are so desperate for it to have.

Saints Row is scheduled to launch on February 25th, 2022 for current and next-generation consoles.

Marvel’s ‘What If…?’ turns grim in its third episode with mixed results

Posted: 25 Aug 2021 11:00 AM PDT

This post contains major spoilers for episode three of What If…?

After two fun, zippy stories that focused on the idea of swapping one character for another, What If…? pivots to a darker outcome in its third installment. This time, the entire Avengers slate is wiped clean, with Nick Fury left to sort out the mess. It's a nod to the animated series' comic inspiration, plus a sign that the show isn't willing to settle into a routine.

The original comic book, also called What If?, often see-sawed between silly and serious scenarios, like what would happen if Spider-Man had joined the Fantastic Four, Gwen Stacy had lived or if Dazzler became Galactus' herald. With no need to follow continuity, the creative teams of each issue in the anthology were free to take the story wherever they wanted, often in dark turns that ultimately illustrated why the original timeline was the best.

Marvel's What If?
Marvel Studios

However, the What If…?Disney+ series has taken the opposite tack, showcasing one scenario where things are largely the same level of good and bad (for Captain Carter) and another where events went decidedly better (unless you're Peter Quill). It's likely the creators didn't want to immediately scare away casual viewers with anything too grim, keeping the stories as light and breezy as their cinematic inspirations.

The third episode doesn't just change this course by featuring a more pessimistic scenario, however, it also steps away from telling us upfront why things are like this. The first two episodes had Uatu explicitly pointing out the moment of divergence. This time around, we know something is different — the prospective Avengers are being murdered — but exactly how and why is a mystery.

The Watcher
Marvel Studios

It actually makes for a more interesting show because rather than playing a half-hour game of "spot the difference," we become engaged in speculation about why this is happening. We know things would be vastly altered if Tony Stark or Bruce Banner dies, but now we get to play detective, plumbing our knowledge of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for suspects and motives. Instead of a straight-up adventure tale, this episode was a murder mystery.

Whether it's a successful mystery, I'm not entirely sure. Hank Pym is not someone I had considered as a suspect, even with his distaste for SHIELD and the Starks in the main timeline. The point of divergence turns out to be Hope Pym joining SHIELD and being killed on a mission, which leaves Hank alone and bitter. Why he chooses to kill five uninvolved strangers in an attempt to hurt Nick Fury is murky at best. I'd originally pegged the murder of the Avengers as a Hydra plot, which would have actually help shore up the retcon from Captain America and the Winter Soldier of SHIELD being taken over by Hydra — it's rarely explored why Hydra let the Avengers get as far as they did in the main timeline, rather than strangling that potential opposition in its cradle.

Ultimately, the point of the episode is to set the viewer up for even darker stories to come — at least one future story is focused on zombies, a nod to the rather successful line of "Marvel Zombies" comics from over a decade ago. It also does some tidying up for the main continuity as well, reminding the viewers that three of the early MCU films took place in the same week, and that Loki is stilla jerk. It may not be essential viewing, but What If…? is certainly a useful footnote.

Google brings Smart Replies to comments in Docs

Posted: 25 Aug 2021 10:30 AM PDT

Google is bringing its handy Smart Replies to Google Docs comments in the coming days. You'll see suggested responses just underneath the reply box in comment threads. You can still type your own comments or edit a suggested one, but opting for a Smart Reply could save you a little time if Google proposes one that does the trick. 

Smart Reply will be enabled for all Docs users by default, though you can switch it off through the Preferences section of the Tools menu. The feature is only available in English for now.

Google has added the AI-powered Smart Reply and Smart Compose features to several of its products over the past few years, perhaps most notably in Gmail. Since January, those who add comments in Docs have been able to use Smart Compose and autocorrect, so Google is effectively completing the circle here.

Google Docs Smart Replies in comments
Google

Smart Replies might not always have that personal touch, but they often get the job done since Google takes context into account when it offers suggestions. They might also help you avoid lashing out when someone proposes cutting a perfect joke from your document — not that I'm speaking from personal experience or anything. 

Companies using a Rapid Release Workspace domain should start seeing the feature over the next couple of weeks. Google plans to roll it out to everyone starting on September 13th.
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