PS2J 267 News – Single Player

Free games

  • Epic – Free until the 22nd

    • Hyper Light Drifter

      • Hyper Light Drifter is an action adventure RPG in the vein of the best 16­bit classics, with modernized mechanics and designs on a much grander scale.

    • Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden

      • Mankind has been eradicated by climate change, nuclear war, and pandemics. Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden is a tactical adventure game combining turn-based combat with real-time exploration, story, stealth, and strategy.

From Open Media email

  • The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) just announced they’re slashing the wholesale rates that small internet service providers (ISPs) pay for access to the networks of large ISPs like Bell, Telus or Shaw.1-3
  • This is a huge win for Internet users across Canada. It will increase competition with more small ISPs able to enter the market, and lead to cheaper home Internet options for customers.4
  • It’s no secret that Canadians have been paying too much for their Internet for way too long, and today’s decision is proof that Big Telecom has been holding the market hostage, gouging smaller providers for years.
  • These new rates bring us one step closer to seeing more affordable Internet available through a wider choice of providers.

Huawei is researching 6G networks

  • Huawei has been a leader in the 5G network field
    • And will be investing over $17 billion into research and development of the next spectrum
  • At the Ottawa Research and Development Centre, it has begun the early stages of 6G
    • And is planning on using Canadian researchers to develop the next-generation of wireless systems
  • Song Zhang, vice-president of research strategy and partnership in Canada, said:
    • “5G is very new, and looking at 6G is part of the so-called 5G evolution.”
  • Huawei claims it has 50 5G commercial contracts
    • Has shipped more than 150,000 base stations
    • And plans to ship 350,000 more this year
  • I am concerned with the effective range of a 6G spectrum
    • There are so many difficulties with having 5G accessible in cities, because the wavelength has trouble penetrating most surfaces, it may be a possibility to have 6G, but not practical.

To paraphrase “Whoops, our bad” from the Kremlin this month

  • The was an apparent explosion of a nuclear-powered cruise missile during a test
    • A statement made says that accidents happen and they are far ahead in the development of advanced weapons
  • The spokesperson declined to confirm that the recent deaths of at least five nuclear specialists were related, during a jet propulsion system test
    • An official state of mourning was declared in the Russian city of Sarov
  • The spokesperson said that only an expert on the matter could speak on it, but did say:
    • “Accidents, unfortunately, happen. They are tragedies. But in this particular case, it is important for us to remember those heroes who lost their lives in this accident.”
  • The local authorities reported a brief increase in radiation immediately after the incident
    • The Russian Defence Ministry said the levels were normal
  • Asked about the conflicting reports, the spokesperson said:
    • “I have nothing to add beyond what I stated. … I can just assure you that in such a situation all the competent agencies do everything to assure the safety of the citizens of the Russian Federation is fully provided.”

Teaser trailer and call for help on a massive Skyrim mod

  • The TESRenewal modding group is working on bringing Oblivion into Skyrim.
    • They are completely volunteer-based
  • They have done a lot since the work on the mod started in 2012
    • They have made a teaser trailer to show everything they have been able to make with the support of everyone involved.
    • The video description is calling for help
      • 3D and Coding people
      • Concept artists
      • CK modders
      • and Texture artists are listed as needed
  • They have nearly completed the exterior world map
    • There is the application of critters, plants, weapons and armour to make the world feel alive
    • They now have wild animals and monsters in the wild
    • Quests are a thing as well! But they need to do a lot more debugging to make everything smoother.’
  • If you’re interested in helping, or just checking it out

A new Star Wars board game I want to check out!

Star Wars: Outer Rim

  • 1 to 4 players
  • 120 to 180 minute play time
  • Moderately easy game according to Board Game Geek
    • Thematic type of game
    • Categories: Adventure, Exploration, Movie theme, SciFi, Space Exploration
    • Mechanisms: Card Drafting, Dice Rolling, Modular Board, Pick-up and Deliver, Trading, Variable player powers
  • Game description:
    • In Outer Rim, you take on the role of an underworld denizen, setting out to make your mark on the galaxy. You’ll travel the outer rim in your personal ship, hire legendary Star Wars characters to join your crew, and try to become the most famous (or infamous) outlaw in the galaxy!
    • But it won’t be easy since the warring factions of the galaxy roam the outer rim, hunting down the scum that have proven to be a thorn in their side, and other scoundrels looking to make their mark see you as the perfect target to bring down to bolster their own reputation. Do you have what it takes to survive in the outer rim and become a living legend?
    • In more detail, a game of Outer Rim takes place over a series of turns that sees players taking dangerous jobs, tracking down bounties, upgrading their ship, and more, all in service of gaining more and more fame. Regardless of the path you take to get there, your goal is to gain ten fame, which can come from a variety of sources, such as completing your character’s personal goal, collecting on bounties and jobs, delivering illegal cargo, taking down patrols from the various factions struggling over the galaxy, and enjoying the finer things in life by purchasing luxury items with your hard-earned credits.
    • While the path to victory may be different for scoundrels finding their way in the Outer Rim, everyone starts from the bottom with a simple starship. Your player board not only tracks your fame progress, but also contains slots for your ship, your character card, gear, reputation, modifications, jobs, and bounties.
  • Defiantly one I want to play in a game cafe before purchase.
    • It looks like it has a lot of components that would a lot to lug around for a game night

Tid Bits

  • Hat in Time has a reveal trailer for the Switch. Releases October 18th this year.
  • Overwatch role queue is live on console was well as the release of Sigma on all platforms
  • The long-awaited Minecraft Super Duper Graphics pack for Xbox One X has been cancelled due to being too technically demanding
 

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PS2J 262 News – Minty Fresh

Free games

  • Epic

    • Limbo

      • 2010
      • Black and white stylized puzzle platformer with a wonderful dark, eerie atmosphere, praised as an excellent example of video games as an art form
 

Update to last week’s story about the Zoom video conferencing vulnerability

  • It looks like many of Zoom’s partner apps, like RingCentral and Zhumu, have similar problems that allow attackers easy access to laptop cameras and microphones, so this week Apple released another silent security patch to block the vulnerability
  • Also, I’ve done a bit of research and if you’re concerned about Apple’s ability to run these kind of security updates you can block them in System Preferences > Software Update > Advanced by unchecking “Install system data files and security updates”
  • Right now I’m happy that Apple notifies the press when they release these patches, but in a perfect world they’d be visibly included in your updates list
 

Lifehacker is urging users to update their Logitech wireless dongles immediately

  • A few years ago, hackers discovered they could take control of computers by exploiting a vulnerability in Logitech wireless dongles- the piece you plug in to your computer to connect to wireless mice and keyboards
  • Patches were released to fix this all the way back in 2016, but there was no recall and even new devices rolling out of the factory today may be at risk
  • If you use any wireless Logitech devices, make sure you visit the Logitech support website and download/run the latest firmware update files as soon as possible to fix the loopholes
    • You’ll need to re-sync your devices to the dongle afterward, but the added (or, you know, extant) security is well worth the time
 

Facebook is apparently being fined $5B by the FTC for their role in the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal

  • The original scandal is related to the 2016 US election, where Cambridge Analytica collected info on tens of millions of Facebook users without consent to create targeted political ads
  • The data collection came from an app that claimed to be a survey for academic use, but in reality it gathered information on not just the people taking the survey but also their friends
  • The problem here is that the fine is laughable when it comes to Facebook’s revenue
    • It’s the largest fine in FTC history, but they had $15B in revenue in the last 3 months, and $22B in profit last year
    • Facebook’s stock price actually went up after this fine was announced
  • End of the day it’s a start, but slap a zero on the end of it and then we’ll talk
 

In somewhat related news, Facebook is vigorously over-defending itself against a lawsuit brought by the attorney general of the District of Colombia

  • The lawsuit is related to the same Cambridge Analytica scandal and says that is was a violation of DC consumer protection law
  • Facebook’s response to it denies “each and every allegation” in the lawsuit, including pieces that aren’t so much allegations as they are just basic statements of fact.
  • For example, paragraph 11 says “To begin using the Facebook website, a consumer first creates a Facebook account. The consumer can then add other Facebook consumers as “friends” and by accumulating Facebook friends, the consumer builds a social network on the Facebook website.”
    • Facebook’s response was that they deny the allegations in paragraph 11
  • They’ve also denied pieces that they’ve publicly admitted to in the past, leaving many people wondering just what’s going on with this defense strategy
 

Police are warning the public about a new scam targeting iPhone users

  • Scammers are using social media to recruit victims by promising payments in exchange for becoming a game tester
  • Users are asked to log in to a particular Apple ID on their iPhone, then the scammers will activate Lost Mode on the device, locking the victim’s phone and extorting payments before promising to unlock it afterward
  • The worst part is that you need the Apple ID’s password to remove it from your device, so if they changed it after locking your phone then you remain at their mercy
  • Anyone that’s been hit by this scam should get help from Apple at getsupport.apple.com
 

Space fact of the day, featuring the male ego, bought to you by Mary Robinette Kowal

  • Author of the Lady Astronaut books Alan, recommended back in 242
  • To facilitate going to the bathroom, NASA developed a sheath kind of like a condom that came in small, medium, and large.
  • Every man said they needed a large, even when they didn’t which led to some messy situations
  • So they re-branded the sheaths to Extra-large, Immense, and Unbelievable
 

Tidbits

  • A US law firm is looking at opening a class action lawsuit regarding the Nintendo Switch and Joy-Con controller drift
  • Marvel’s Spider-Man is officially now the best-selling superhero video game of all time, beating both Arkham Knight and Arkham City
    • It’s doubly impressive considering the Batman games were on multiple platforms, whereas Spider-Man was a PS4 exclusive
  • Nintendo’s announced an invisible upgrade to the Switch coming this August, offering up to 2.5 hours longer battery life
    • The gains are likely achieved using a similar processing upgrade that is included in the Switch Lite
  • There was a cool announcement made at the Comic-Con 20th anniversary Batman Beyond panel
    • They’re releasing a blu ray HD remaster of the full series, including the Return of the Joker movie, coming this October
  • Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi has officially been signed for a fourth Thor movie
    • No details yet, but I’m excited
 

Alan recommends Spinderella

  • A solid board game for ages 6+ that I’ve only ever played with a group of 20 or 30-somethings
  • You try to get your three ants to the end of the board, but depending on dice rolls other players can move the hanging spiders around to try and grab your pieces and send them back to the start

 

Literally Misleading

Game – Small business owner deals with the sins of his father while his life is becoming a living hell!
 
If you have a Literally Misleading Description, message Josh directly on our Discord, or Twitter @fushigiyami

For more content, Patreon supports get access to upcoming ideas and more!

A huge thanks to Zane, for believing in us for so long.
And thanks to all our ‘fanily’ that support us.
And if you want to support us too, its as easy as clicking this link!
 
We are a proud member of the Alberta Podcast Network powered by ATB
 
And talk to us in the comments!
 
 
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A Facebook Page exists as well.

PS2J 231 News – Choose Your Own Lawsuit

Netflix has a fun update that flew under our radar. Bungie breaks free from EA. This week’s bad description, might be too easy. Alan gave a movie a shot when he expected the worst.

I want to not have to use ‘fans’. Cause they are the friends we haven’t met yet, and friends are just the family you aren’t born to. That logic, I’m going to refer to our listeners as ‘fanily’

Netflix has a cool little update!

Bojack twitter posted an update

  • Unflattering pic

You can change your profile pic to be a character from many other Netflix exclusives

  • Bojack
  • Big Mouth
  • Stranger Things
  • Orange is the New Black
  • Defenders
  • Total of 25 different categories
    • Including “The Classics” which is the updated original pics

Choose Your Own Adventure publisher suing Netflix over Bandersnatch 

  • Bandersnatch is really interesting! 
    • Choose your own adventure show
    • Part of the Black Mirror universe/collection? 
  • Thanks to Alaina for telling me to check it out!

Sonic Crash Course Board Game 

BoardGameGook Details

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • 30 – 45 min playtime
  • Weight 2/5
  • Designed by Sean Mcdonald
    • Train Heist (2013) 6.7 on BGG
  • Published by IDW
    • Machi Koro

Best review is based on the Kotaku Review

  • Review written by Luke Plunkett
  • Pick your miniature!
    • Sonic
    • Tails
    • Knuckles
    • or Eggman
  • Gameplay has players building the track as they move forward
    • Items appear to give players a boost
    • Almost like Mario Kart
    • Spikes and enemies can also pop up on the track
  • I am interesting in playing it at a cafe
    • The theme looks on point
  • The concern is variety
    • The variety of track pieces seem lacking
    • Luke suggests a board game called Battle Racers, for a more in-depth race experience

Reminder- The Wii Shop Channel is closing on January 30th!

  • Make sure you’ve purchased and downloaded anything you wanted and put it on the consoles you like, because everything from re-downloading to the Wii System Transfer Tool will be shut down

Update: The Twitter account for the Westworld mobile game we talked about last week has announced that it has been removed from app stores effective immediately, and it will officially be closed on April 16th. In-app purchases have been disabled, and any users with in-game currency left over should spend it before things are shut down

  • It looks like the “amicable solution” here was for WB to completely bail on the entire product

Big news from Bungie- after 8 years they’ve officially cut ties with Activision

  • It seems like things came to a head after Activision expressed disappointment with the new Destiny expansion during an earnings call, basically complaining that it was too focused on end-game players and how they want to “drive stronger engagement and in-game revenue generation”
    • Many were worried that this was a signal the micro-transactions would go back to how bad they were when Destiny 2 first launched, with a lot of content locked away behind dollar signs
  • Bungie released a statement thanking Activision for their partnership, and announced that the publishing rights to Destiny will go with Bungie when they leave
  • Looks like even though they’re working on new projects the Destiny community can still look forward to content and support while Bungie self-publishes their content
  • That said, it’ll be interesting to see how the game evolves- Activision likely wasn’t behind all of the problems with Destiny, but if nothing else this will mean the game stays more true to a single company’s vision. Time will tell what that vision is like

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is in the news this week after its director apologized for forcing characters into a heterosexual marriage

  • The game has previously been hailed as a step forward, in which you can play as a man or a woman (a series first) and, though you’re presented with a potential partner of the opposite sex, you can choose to pursue same-sex romance options (or just run around and not romance anybody, as you prefer)
  • Unfortunately the latest DLC pack, Legacy of the First Blade, breaks that thread and has your character getting married and pumping out a kid
  • It may seem like it’s not a big deal but these kinds of games have players building up a personal story for the characters and how they interact, and this kind of sudden jarring change removes a whole layer of immersion for many players
    • A lot of fans feel that it’s entirely at odds with how the main character is developed leading up to that point, with little to no motivation for the sudden personality switch
  • According to creative director Jonathan Dumont the intention was that it was a child to carry on your bloodline to the lineage of assassins shown elsewhere in the series, and to let players choose between a utilitarian view of continuing your legacy or forming an actual romantic relationship, but the clarity and motivation was poorly executed
    • There are no plans to change the current DLC, but he’s said that future chapters will be mindful of how they missed the mark

Apparently EA just can’t get enough hate as it is, so they’ve gone ahead and cancelled yet another Star Wars game

  • This one has a bit of a history- it started at Visceral Games, and would have been a linear action-adventure game directed by Amy Hennig, the same woman that directed the Uncharted franchise
  • Then EA closed Visceral back in 2017, and rebooted the game at EA Vancouver into something open-world with the excuse that single-player linear games are dead
    • Thank you Spider-Man and God of War for proving them oh so very wrong
  • There are rumours that this one (where you would play as a scoundrel or bounty hunter exploring various open-world planets and working with different factions) was cancelled because it wouldn’t come out soon enough, which seems like a weird reason to keep rebooting projects
    • Apparently they might be starting work on another smaller-scale Star Wars title, but people aren’t holding on to much hope that it will amount to anything
    • For me, hope for a good SW game from EA died with 1313
  • On the plus side, Respawn’s Jedi: Fallen Order is still slated for a fall 2019 release. So that’s something

Interesting legal news from the US- federal judge Kanis Westmore has ruled that FaceID and TouchID can’t be compelled by law enforcement

  • Ruling basically applies the same rights against self-incrimination to biometrics that previously applied only to passcodes
  • Westmore wrote: “If a person cannot be compelled to provide a passcode because it is testimonial communication, a person cannot be compelled to provide one’s finger, thumb, iris, face, or other biometric feature to unlock that same device. The undersigned finds that a biometric feature is analogous to the 20 nonverbal, physiological responses elicited during a polygraph test, which are used to determine guilt or innocence, and are considered testimonial.”
  • This could still be overturned, and there are already cases where judges have allowed authorities to compel biometric phone unlocks in the past, but it shows that the legal system is slowly catching up with modern tech
  • In the meantime, just a quick reminder since I’m a paranoid guy, if you restart your phone or bring up the emergency screen on an iPhone by hitting the power button 5 times quickly it will disable TouchID and FaceID, and force a passcode unlock which has always been protected

Tidbits

  • Netflix is being sued over their interactive movie Black Mirror: Bandersnatch
    • Apparently they’ve been in negotiations with Chooseco, a publishing company specializing in children’s books, over the Choose Your Own Adventure trademark for years but never actually gained permission to use it
    • Chooseco is suing for $25M in damages, saying Bandersnatch benefits from association with the Choose Your Own Adventure series without actually getting the license to use the name
  • The final season of Game of Thrones will be coming on April 14th, and they released a teaser on YouTube to get the hype-train rolling!
  • PlayStation VR has released its third digital “demo disc”, featuring superstars like Moss, Thumper, Superhot VR, and Astro Bot Rescue Mission
  • There’s an interesting theory going around that Facebook’s ’10 Year Challenge’ could be a way to train facial recognition on age progression
    • Rather than having to comb through user photos, they’re having clean, simple, helpfully labelled sets of photos that they could use to teach computers what people are likely to look like as they get older

Titans mini-review

  • Pretty solid, once they got “fuck Batman” out of their system
  • Took the characters in interesting directions, and gets you invested right before the evil season finale cliffhanger

Recommend Venom (2018)

  • I was expecting some mindless action, but I found myself caring about the plot and characters
  • The symbiote’s characterization is a little sudden, but it felt fresh and interesting
  • Solid superhero movie even for people that don’t like Spider-Man

PS2J 216 History – Fallout

Interplay Interactive started with intentions of making a sequel to Wasteland. Instead, they went in a new direction and created a whole new world. When they couldn’t afford to continue on their own, it only grew larger after they ended up selling the rights to Bethesda Softworks. It’s time to leave the vault and learn the history of the Fallout games.

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PS2J 144 – 108 Inches, 3 Frames Per Second

No Man’s Sky gets the update we all expected the basic features to be. Linus Tech Yips built an insanely large monitor for a gaming rig. Josh recommends a 2 player board game, Alan suggests a fun Nintendo franchise.

 

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PS2J 103 – Unfair Zelda

Alan and Josh talk about a general experience with The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild. Then Josh reviews a board game he received as a backer on a Kickstarter Campaign.

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PS2J 63 – iPhone 7, Unattainable, Unexploding

iPhone 7 is now available to no one! New Edmonton arena is bonkers on beer prices. Alan suggests you play one of his favourite board games and Josh had an interaction with another podcast and thinks you should check them out!
 
Want to buy a copy of Betrayal At House On The Hill?
Why not check out a really cool service where boardgames are brought to you! Apt To Game, is a company in Alberta that offers free deliveries to people in Edmonton and Calgary! If you decide to check them out, you will also be supporting us at no additional cost to you! So why not give it a shot and support them and us.
Betrayal from Apt To Game
Or use this link to buy it on Amazon. It is another way to show your support to the podcast!
Betrayal from Amazon.ca
 
Follow Josh on BoardGameGeek

 

Extra Life 2016

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Click on a face to donate.
For the $1000 for PS2J Goal
Josh plays Batman: Arkham Asylum – Max Difficulty
Alan plays Dark Souls 3 – Deprived run

 

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