PS2J 339 News – Karts Over Boards

March 19, 2021
Tagged as: 2021, 2d, 4:3, abzu, action, adaptive trigger, Adventure, advertising, AI, Alan, aloy, analog sticks, ancient, app tracking transparency, Apple, arid, art book, astro bot, backup, beetle, Bethesda, Boba Fett, bow, Braid, bullet hell, buy-out, bytedance, cable, caid, caravan of courage, cellular, charm, China, china advertising id, Clone Wars, co-op, Comics, complete edition, computer, controller, couch party edition, crew, database, DC, developer, dexter’s lab, digital, Disney Plus, DLC, Dreamcast, enter the gungeon, Epic Games, ewoks, exception, exploration, Facebook, fallout 76, financial times, First Person, flower, Free Games, friends, frozen wilds, Gamestop, genndy tartakovsky, Government, gradius, grip, hacker, haptic feedback, hbo max, holiday special, horizon zero dawn, idfa, illusion, imax, information, Instagram, Internet, invasive, iOS, Josh, Journey, Justice League, knuckle, LAN, Legend Of Zelda, logic, machine, moss, mouse, Multiplayer, music, myst, Netflix, oculus touch, official, open-world, optica, paper beast, PC, pcloud, Phone, photo, pilot, platform, platformer, play at home, Playstation, pounding, Privacy, procedural, ps+, PS2, PS4, ps5, PSVR, puzzle, quill, rail, redwall, rescue mission, rez, rez infinite, rhythm, rogers, roguelike, role-playing, RPG, Samurai Jack, secret, sharing, Shaw, shoot ’em up, Shooter, side scrolling, sneaky, snyder cut, social, Sony, Space, spatial, spear, Star Wars, subnautica, survival, swimsanity, synesthesia, table, techno, the battle for endor, the fall, the new responders, the story of the faithful wookie, the witness, third person, thumper, tiktok, tracking, trippy, Twitch, two of them, underwater, verify, versus, warning, YouTube, zack snyder

Free Games

Twitch
- Swimsanity – Couch Party Edition
  - 2020
  - Multiplayer 2D underwater shoot-em-up with co-op and versus game modes, and both online and local play. It’s like Gradius in the ocean with your friends
- Optica
  - 2018
  - Puzzle game of logic and illusion with a basic geometric design, that has you putting your spatial thinking to the test with everything from curious shapes to optical illusions
Epic Games
- The Fall
  - 2014
  - Action-adventure side-scrolling platform game where you play Arid, an artificial intelligence installed in an advanced combat space suit, as you explore a decaying industrial facility in search of medical attention for the suit’s injured pilot
Sony Play at Home 2021
- Free for everyone who owns a PS4 or PS5, not just PS+ subscribers
- March 25
  - ABZU
    - 2016
    - From the art director of Journey and Flower, ABZÛ is a wordless underwater adventure that evokes the dream of diving, taking you on a journey through the ruins of an ancient civilization.
  - Enter the Gungeon
    - 2016
    - Roguelike bullet hell with procedurally generated levels, following four adventurers with different special abilities as they descend into the Gungeon to find a gun to kill their past
  - Rez Infinite
    - 2016
    - An expanded release of the musical rail shooter originally released on the Dreamcast and PS2, it has you following a hacker’s journey into a malfunctioning AI system in a way that tries to create a sense of synesthesia
  - Subnautica
    - 2018
    - Open world survival action-adventure game that drops you on an alien planet covered with water where you have to build, survive, and uncover the secrets buried under the waves
  - The Witness
    - 2016
    - First person puzzle exploration game, a la Myst, developed by the creator of Braid
  - PSVR
    - Astro Bot Rescue Mission
      - 2018
      - Third person platformer with a ton of charm that has you exploring 5 different worlds to rescue your lost crew
    - Moss
      - 2018
      - Adventure game that feels like a mix between Redwall and The Legend of Zelda, that transports you to a fantasy land to help a young mouse named Quill defeat a fire-breathing snake and save her uncle
    - Thumper
      - 2016
      - Rhythm game that has you guiding a beetle-like creature along a set of rails and through different obstacles, all to trippy visuals and the beat of pounding techno
    - Paper Beast
      - 2020
      - First person adventure game where you explore a large ecosystem made up of various digital life forms originating from lost internet code
- April 19
  - Horizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition
    - 2017
    - Open world action RPG that follows Aloy, a young hunter in a world overrun by machines, who sets out with her bow and spear to uncover her past
    - The Complete Edition comes with the full game, the Frozen Wilds expansion, a digital art book, a PS4 dynamic theme, and bonus weapons, outfits, and resources

A state-backed group in China wants to get around App Tracking Transparency and track app users with a controversial new “China Advertising ID”, or CAID

There’s currently a feature on iPhones that’s a little sneaky where developers can store text information in your keychain and access it across any of your devices
- The really sneaky piece that’s just ripe for abuse comes in where these objects are not only accessible from any of the developer’s apps (not just the one that stored it), but they’re also not cleaned up when you delete an app
  - So for example if you installed Instagram and deleted it, then installed Facebook, Facebook would be able to identify that you’re the same person
  - And the worst part about this is it applies to things like advertising or authentication code, so if you have an app that uses Google for ads or Facebook for logins then it can read and write that same information shared by all apps by those specific developers
Well in response to Apple giving users control over who can track them by official means, it sounds like Chinese companies may be working with the China Advertising Association to use this information to build a database of users for tracking purposes
ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, released an 11-page guide to app developers that was obtained by the Financial Times, suggesting that advertisers “can use the CAID as a substitute if the user’s IDFA is unavailable”
Apple has denied that they would be granting any exceptions to the new tracking rules, saying that apps found to disregard a user’s choice would be rejected, and one person familiar with the situation said that Apple would be able to detect which apps use the CAID and potentially block them.
- Unfortunately if this takes off it could be Apple vs the Chinese government, and if the majority of apps in China start using the CAID it could lead to some serious repercussions
Yang Congan, the chief executive of a Beijing-based data privacy company, suggested that CAID had been designed to get around Apple’s rules because it might not “uniquely” identify users, but that’s sophistry at best and an outright lie at worst
I think the best way forward to be to rethink how exactly apps from the same developer can access data on your account, and give users more control over that piece as well. The feature may have been designed with the intention of streamlining the user experience and letting developers recover sessions or logins, but using it to smuggle data across apps should be a clear violation of developer agreements

Sony’s unveiled the planned controller for their next generation of PSVR, and it looks pretty slick

The controller looks like an evolution of the latest Oculus Touch, but they’ve put the tracking ring a little further back around your hand and wrist
- It looks like it’ll be pretty well balanced, though after having third-party knuckle grips for my Oculus I can definitely see wanting them here, too
They’ll also have adaptive triggers on both sides, haptic feedback, finger detection, and analog sticks on both controllers
- With modern VR those analog sticks wouldn’t be worth mentioning, but coming from the previous PSVR they’re a big improvement

This Week In Gaming History

March 13 – 2012 – Yakuza: Dead Souls – PlayStation 3 (United States)

The district of Kamurocho has survived gang violence, terrorist bombings, and open mafia war, but the latest threat may be the one that finally destroys the district for good: a zombie apocalypse.
- As the city burns four men search for answers: Shun Akiyama, the enigmatic moneylender from Yakuza 4; Goro Majima, Leader of the Tojo clan’s Majima family; Ryuji Gouda, exiled former-chairman of the Omi Alliance and antagonist of Yakuza 2; and the Dragon of Dojima, Kazuma Kiryu.
Yakuza: Dead Souls is the sequel to Yakuza 4, taking place one year afterwards but with a decidedly more fantastic premise.
- The game also has a radically new combat engine, as the living dead can easily shrug off kicks and punches.
- Each character can equip up to four weapons at a time, from pistols with unlimited ammunition to wide-spread shotguns, powerful anti-armor rifles, and incendiary grenades.
- While inside the quarantined areas of Kamurocho the player can be swarmed by zombies at any time, with more than twenty attacking at once.
- In addition to zombies they will also face mutants, such as the quick and agile Monkeyboy or the zombie-summoning Cry Baby, who are stronger and will require different tactics.
- Even more dangerous Prototypes will appear as bosses during the storyline.
Like previous Yakuza games sidestories are often available between story missions.
- The quarantine has disrupted many people’s lives, and they need help getting back into the infected areas to save someone or finish some business.
- A new feature to Dead Souls are Perfect Partners, as some of these people in need will permanently join the protagonists, entering the quarantine when called and leveling up and gaining new abilities alongside them.
- Most of the minigames of previous Yakuza games, such as dining, hostess bars, batting cages, crane machines, and more are all present.
- The coliseum does not return, but in its place is the Subterreania, a randomly generated dungeon filled with enemies that rewards the player the deeper they go.

March 14 – 1986 – Night Fire – DOS

As artillery games are wont to do, Night Fire sticks each player into the stuffy interior of a tank, placed somewhere on a randomly generated terrain, and pits the participants (2 to 8 of them) against one another in a merry free-for-all of ballistic abandon.
- The objective? stay alive, and prevent your opponents from doing the same by feeding them carefully-measured portions of flaming death.
Each player in turn can either move or shoot – moving is useful for improving tactical positions (and avoiding an untimely demise when enemy shells start getting too close).
- For shooting, the barrel angle and shell velocity can be modified as needed.
- Presiding over the battle is the full moon, which provides more than ambiance: it helpfully displays on its disc two gauges, indicating air friction and the wind’s speed and direction, which also have to be taken into account.
Josh played this, if not a very faithful recreation of it.

March 15 – 1997 – Snowboard Kids – Nintendo 64 (North America)

A racing game where you control one of five cutesy snowboarders competing against each other.
- Being a snowboarding game, each track is a downhill slalom with a ski lift at the bottom which takes you back to the start for however many laps a track has.
The tracks are varied, the first few taking place on snowy mountainsides, while the latter taking you to wackier locales such as grassy countryside, a desert and a theme park.
- The money collected on the course or won at the end of the race can be spent to buy better boards, which differ in stats, or to collect items/weapons while racing.
- There are also stunts that can be performed while racing which earn money as well, and certain parts of each course encourage the player to do so.
Other modes include stunt mode, shoot mode and speed mode, all focusing on a particular part of the gameplay from the main game, and a multiplayer mode where up to 4 players can race each other.
- There are also unlockables for dedicated players.

March 16 – 2010 – Metro 2033 – Windows, Xbox 360

Plot:
- In the year 2013 almost all of humanity was wiped out as a result of a devastating war, and Earth’s surface became a nuclear wasteland.
  - The few survivors in Moscow retreated to the city’s subway tunnels.
  - But even underground, human society continued to develop in predictable ways.
  - Factions were formed, and stations and entire lines were occupied by ideologically opposed groups of people.
  - War continued on a much smaller scale, adding to the difficulty of living under nearly impossible conditions, fearing the dark subway tunnels which harbored terrifying creatures.
- Artyom was born a few days before the apocalypse, but raised in the underground.
  - Up until now he had never left the relative safety of the Exhibition, the northernmost station in the Moscow metro, where he lived together with his stepfather.
  - However, everything changes when a soldier called Hunter arrives at the station, warning its inhabitants about a group of mysterious creatures known as the Dark Ones.
  - When Artyom realizes that Hunter will never return from his mission, he decides to travel through the tunnels to the central Polis station and get help there.
Metro 2033 is a first-person shooter with survival horror elements, based on the Russian book of the same name by Dmitry Glukhovsky.
- Most of the game takes place underground, but several times Artyom will have to venture outside, into the perpetual nuclear winter.
- Game progression is fairly linear, though areas may be explored more thoroughly for items and ammunition.
- Setpieces include a few on-rails sequences, missions that involve defending a location from an onslaught of monsters, and others.
- A few stages can be completed in a stealthy fashion.
Mutants and hostile humans are the enemies of the game; Artyom can use a variety of weapons to deal with them, including AK-47, sniper rifle, automatic shotgun, and others.
- The player can only carry a sidearm and two primary weapons at the same time.
- Dynamite sticks and knives complete the set.
- All weapons come in different variations with scopes, silencer and other upgrades attached.
- While the upgrades cannot be bought individually, already upgraded weapons can be purchased at shops in the stations in exchange for the old weapon and powerful military-grade ammunition, the only currency in the game.
- If Artyom is hit, he slowly regenerates his health automatically; however, medikits are available to instantly heal him and increase the regeneration rate for a few seconds.
When traveling on the surface or through poisoned areas, Artyom needs to equip his gas mask in order to survive.
- The filter of the gas mask wears down as it is being used (indicated by Artyom’s special watch and his heavier breathing) and can even be damaged in melee fights, straining the filter even more.
- Other tools available to Artyom are a pair of night vision goggles, a flashlight, a light-meter, a lighter, his journal with a compass, and a charging device.
- The latter is required to manually recharge the flashlight and the night vision goggles once their energy gets low.
- The light-meter, on the other hand, helps Artyom to determine if he is hidden in the shadows, helping him to avoid some dangers.
Other environmental hazards include seeking anomalies and strange, sometimes deadly visions.
- These visions play a role in the game’s plot, and also serve as moral judgment of Artyom’s behavior, along with his actions during certain situations involving hostile human organizations.
- Depending on these choices, the game will reach one of the two available endings.

March 17 – 1995 – Descent – DOS

Plot:
- The Post-Terran Minerals Corporation (PTMC) digs up minerals on all nine planets of the solar system, employing humans and robots to do its job.
  - Unfortunately, the mining robots are now being controlled by a hacker, and have taken the human workers hostage.
  - The PTMC has tried to get the robots back under their control, but communication with the mining stations has been lost.
  - In desperation, the PTMC modifies a Pyro-GX ship for combat and hires a mercenary, codenamed “Material Defender”, to fly it.
  - The mission is to destroy the infected mines and rescue human hostages, destroying any hostile robot that gets in the way.
Descent is a 3D first-person game that puts the player at the controls of the Pyro-GX spaceship.
- Descent is notable in that the player travels through various interior locations (mines) but can do so in 720 degrees of movement.
  - The ship however only moves forward and backward in any of the directions it is facing.
  - The ship is able to use a variety of weapons scattered as power-ups throughout each level.
  - They include: standard lasers, the Vulcan Cannon (a chaingun-like weapon), the Spreadfire Cannon (a rapidly firing, shotgun-like energy weapon), the Plasma Cannon (a rapidly firing energy weapon more suited for medium-range combat), and the Fusion Cannon (fires a ball of energy that’s more powerful the longer it is charged it up, but could destroy the ship).
  - All of these weapons, except for the Vulcan Cannon, use the ship’s energy supply.
  - The Pyro-PX is also capable of firing regular concussion missiles, homing missiles, proximity bombs (sits in the sky, then explodes when something gets close to it), smart missiles (more powerful homing missiles that fire out homing energy balls upon impact with their target), and Mega Missiles (the ultimate weapons of mass destruction).
The goal of each level is to locate and destroy the mine’s reactor.
- Once completed, there are only 45 seconds to find the escape hatch to get out of the mine before it explodes.
- As progress is made through the game, the AI will adapt to player’s strategies and attempt to prevent the player from reaching the goals.
This was the first 3D game Josh can remember playing.

March 18 – 1992 – Minesweeper – Windows 3.x

Minesweeper is a puzzle game in which the player is presented with a board filled with mines, without knowing what fields they occupy.
- When the player clicks on a field a number appears on it, indicating how many mines are located in the fields nearest to it.
- The player then clicks on other fields, trying to avoid mines.
- If the player makes a mistake, the mine will explode and the game is over.
- The game features three difficulty levels, distinguished by the size of the board – the bigger the board, the higher the difficulty level.

March 19 – 2007 – Tetris Evolution – Xbox 360

Tetris Evolution is one of the many officially-licensed Tetris games. The game features seven game modes, several of which return from Tetris Worlds.
- Marathon – Standard, timeless Tetris, where the goal is to clear as many lines as possible.
- Ultra – Try to earn as many points as possible in a timed game.
- Cascade – Clearing lines can cause placed pieces to fall, potentially clearing more lines for big points.
- Race – Clear a set number of lines as quickly as possible.
- Score – Reach a designated score as quickly as possible.
- Hotline – Clearing specific highlighted lines will earn bonus points.
- Go Low – The lower the stack is, the more points are gained from clearing a line.
Also included are both local multiplayer and online play over Xbox Live for up to four players.
- There are also a variety backgrounds and BGM to choose from.

Tidbits

Fallout 76 role-playing group The New Responders is making an in-game procedural drama, bringing in other members of the community to join the story and solve the mystery
- Episodes are broadcast weekly live on Twitch and then archived afterwards on YouTube
Genndy Tartakovsky’s Clone Wars cartoon is finally coming to Disney Plus on April 2nd, along with other Star Wars side-projects like Caravan of Courage and The Story of the Faithful Wookie
- Though it’s no longer canon to the Star Wars universe, the series of shorts from the mind that brought us Dexter’s Lab and Samurai Jack is just fantastic and very much worth watching
The Snyder Cut of the Justice League movie is out today on HBO Max, so we’ll have to see if doubling the length of movie can make it into a better one
- Don’t adjust your TV when you’re watching though- the whole film is shown in a 4:3 display ratio, because Snyder wanted it fully IMAX-ready
Part of the ongoing GameStop stock saga has seen the leak of new GameStop Social spaces, including mini LAN centres and tables for card and board games (presumably once it’s safe to do so)
- If these kinds of things come to EB Games north of the border as well, along with the new push to digital and same-day delivery, this could be a renaissance for the video game retailer
Photo backup service and self-professed online privacy experts pCloud have apparently run an analysis of Apple’s app privacy labels and determined that Instagram and Facebook are “the most invasive apps” when it comes to third party data
- Surprising no-one
Rogers Communications is apparently looking to buy out Shaw, becoming Canada’s second-largest cellular and cable provider
- Canada already has some of the world’s highest costs for cell phone and internet plans, and the $26B plan probably wouldn’t improve the situation
Netflix is reportedly testing a new feature that will show warnings to anyone allegedly sharing their login with someone outside of their home
- The warning pops up asking you to verify their access through a code texted to their phone, but so far there haven’t been any repercussions to just clicking “Verify later”

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PS2J 336 News – Junk Mail to Win

February 26, 2021
Tagged as: 2020, 4K, action, Adventure, Alan, amp, Anime, anthem, app store, Apple, Australia, back into the ashes, breed, Bungie, cancelled, CD Projekt Red, cinematic universe, class-action, companions, controller, covid, creature, Cyberpunk 2077, damages, delay, doom eternal, Dragon Age, dualsense, Epic Games, exploration, Facebook, final fantasy xiv, first riddle, founder, FPS, frames per second, Free Games, from the ashes, funimation, gmail, Google, Government, hack, haptic, Harry Potter, headset, hello games, hmd, id software, information, infrastructure, Internet, iOS, Josh, Journey, label, Law, Link, Marvel, Mass Effect, mcu, motion, nathan drake collection, news, next, No Mans Sky, patch, pay, permadeath, phoenix, play at home, Playstation, premier, preorder, Privacy, professor layton, ps+, PS4, PS4 Pro, ps5, PSVR, puzzle, Ratchet and Clank, Red Dead Redemption 2, resolution, roguelike, RPG, scarlet witch, Sci-Fi, science fiction, sean murray, Shooter, Sony, source code, spoilers, stadia, steamship, Streaming<, sunless sea, survival, the academy, third person, tracking, train, triggers, Twitch, Twitter, Uncharted, underwater, vision, VR, wakanim, wanda maximoff, wandavision, website, Xbox One X

Free Games

Twitch
- The Academy: First Riddle
  - 2020
  - Adventure puzzle game along the lines of the Professor Layton series, with modernized Harry Potter style aesthetics
Epic Games
- Sunless Sea
  - 2015
  - Survival / exploration RPG with roguelike elements that has you piloting an underwater steamship as a captain whose background, ambitions, and victory conditions are customizable, but you have to contend with procedurally generated maps and permadeath
Bonus round: Sony’s announced the return of their Play At Home program, kicking off four months of Playstation offers on March 1st
- First introduced last April when they gave away Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection and Journey to everyone, not just PS+ members
- This time around we’ll see Ratchet and Clank (PS4) for free during the month of March
  - 2016
  - Reimagining of the original PS2 game, a third person science fiction action adventure shooter with a lot of weird, over the top weapons, solid writing, and great gameplay
- And then on March 25th they’ll be offering an extended free trial of the Funimation and Wakanim anime streaming services
- Those are just the first couple of perks, so we’ll make sure to give you updates as we see them

Australia’s working on a law that would require any site linking to a news publication to pay for the privilege

Going pretty hard against the principles of the open internet, from what I understand the proposed law would require sites like Google and Facebook to pay news sites for the ability to host links to them
- Keep in mind, this is just linking. Google’s AMP pages and other ways of getting around ad revenue aside, vanilla links are the backbone of the internet
The most bonkers part of this law is that news sites could create their own Facebook pages, link to their news sites, and then charge Facebook for the link
I can’t imagine this law getting passed in its current form, but Google has already started making deals to pay for the links and though Facebook initially fought back (yay Facebook, is a phrase I never thought I’d say), they walked their position back and started quietly making deals too

There’s a proposed class action lawsuit in play alleging that Google lied about Stadia’s capabilities in order to lock in subscribers

The suit claims that, when it was first announced in 2019 Google, Bungie, and id Software misled gamers by claiming that the cloud-based gaming service was more powerful than the Xbox One X and the PS4 Pro combined, and that every game on Stadia would be playable at 4k resolutions
Directly prior to launch Google apparently quietly walked back those claims, particularly for people with slower internet connections
- Apparently there was even a Twitter announcement about Red Dead Redemption 2 specifying that users didn’t need high speed internet for 4k/60fps, which was later deleted
- The suit says that because of the earlier inflated specs Google was able to lock in a large customer base through preorders for its subscription service, essentially hooking gamers into being beta testers before the later free release in 2020
The plaintiff is seeking monetary damages for current and former Stadia subscribers, as well as a court order requiring Google to publicly display the resolution and FPS of each game they sell on Stadia

Sony’s announced some details on their next-generation VR headset, and it sounds pretty slick

They’ll be bringing features from their excellent DualSense controller to the new motion controllers
It will apparently connect to the PS5 using a single cord
They say it will have an enhanced field of view, tracking, input, and resolution
But it won’t be out any time this year
My thoughts
- Haptic triggers would be really cool in VR, and better tracking would be a godsend for the platform after they used the old PS3 technology in the first gen, but the freedom of wireless VR is a hard perk to give up. They’re going to have to work hard to make it worthwhile

Everyone hoping for Anthem to join the ranks of No Man’s Sky and Final Fantasy XIV and rise from its ashes can now stop holding their breath- it’s officially cancelled

Bioware released a statement this week letting everyone know that they’ve stopped development work on Anthem NEXT, citing the additional pressures of 2020 impacting their productivity and preventing them from doing everything they had planned
- Honestly though, it just seems like they bit off more than they could chew and they’re cutting their losses on Anthem. It had a ton of potential, but I’m sure their other titles are just a higher priority based on the amount of money they can pull in.
Anthem’s current live service is still up and running, but the improvements that have been teased won’t be released to the general public while the developers focus instead on the next Dragon Age and Mass Effect titles

This Week In Gaming History

February 20 – 2003 – Train Tracking – Windows

Train Tracking is a game about one of Britain’s more bizarre past-times, Trainspotting.
- You start the game with only an overhead view of the station and a list of serial numbers.
- The point of the game is to check them off as the matching train passes through.
- For each Day (Day is the name for a level in this game, there’s totally 29) you play the number of serials and tracks to view increase.
- There is a time limit for this and if you fail three times it’s game over.
There’s over 2500 random train stations, with five settings (Country, Town and City Stations, Industrial Depots and Express Bonus Rounds) meaning that each round will different from the other.
- The game has the typical British weather condition of rain, snow and lightning.

February 21 – 2017 – Halo Wars 2 – Xbox One, Windows

Halo Wars 2 is a real-time strategy game based on the Halo universe and it is the sequel to the 2009 Halo Wars.
- Players use Spartans, Warthogs and other classic Halo units in order to battle the enemy.
- A single-player campaign and online multiplayer battles are available.
- The campaign consists of twelve missions and can also be played cooperatively.
- Typical mission objectives include surviving waves of enemies, defending structuring and capturing specific targets.
- There are also various side objectives.
- Many missions involve leading Spartan supersoldier units as well.
The game once again relies on two factions and is now set in the year 2559.
- On the one hand there is the human faction United Nations Space Command (UNSC) and on the other a new alien faction called the Banished, replacing the Covenant from the first game.
- Both factions have leader units with special abilities tied to a cooldown period.
- These abilities can mass heal or do a lot of damage in a short time.
- In multiplayer there are multiple game modes for up to six players online or bots.

February 22 – 1996 – Johnny Bazookatone – PlayStation, Sega Saturn, 3DO, DOS

The original guitar hero with the Elvis attitude and purple hair pompadour, Johnny Bazookatone, has been imprisoned in the year 2050 in Sin Sin Prison by El Diablo, the Lord of the Underworld, who is jealous of his talent and kidnaps other musical legends as well in this 3D side-scrolling platformer.
- Johnny’s guitar Anita has been taken from him and he sets out to escape and vanquish foes on his way to be reunited with Anita.
He can perform moves such as 360-degree spin jumps, and hover jumps among others, while using his bazooka guitar as a weapon.
- When powered up, it can emit a special sonic blast that fries anything within hearing range.
- As you make your way through the demonic levels such as Hotel Demonique, Hell’s Kitchen, and Mr. Diablo’s fiery Penthouse, you can acquire more weapons, power-ups and find secret passages that lead to bonus levels.
- The game’s soundtrack includes the title track contributed by Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora and Tico Torres.

February 23 – 1995 – Mario’s Game Gallery – DOS, Macintosh, Windows

The game is a collection of board games, in which you play with Mario.
- The Mario, of Super Mario fame.
- He talks to you, playing Checkers, Go Fish, Dominoes, Backgammon, Yacht.
- Most of games can be played for Yoshis or Koopas – tribes of animals.

February 24 – 2015 – Dragon Ball: Xenoverse – PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One

DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE revisits famous battles from the series through your custom Avatar, who fights alongside Trunks and many other characters.
- Will the strength of this partnership be enough to intervene in fights and restore the Dragon Ball timeline we know?
- New features include the mysterious Toki Toki City, new gameplay mechanics, new character animations and many other amazing features to be unveiled soon!

February 25 – 2002 – Circus Maximus – PS2, Xbox

Circus Maximus is a racing game that takes place in ancient Rome, and as such you’ll be racing chariots around various tracks, including the famed Colliseum.
You’ll be in control of both the driver and your partner, the warrior, whose job is to attack the other racers to make them fall over.
Chariots are controlled by whipping horses and trying to balance an on-screen meter that keeps your chariot balanced while taking turns fast.
There are four different race modes available; Training, which gives you the basics on how to play, Arcade, which is your standard race, Multiplayer, which lets you face off against three friends (or foes), and Career, which tracks your progress over a period of time.
There are seven different environments and 19 tracks, all set throughout the Roman Empire.
Each course is littered with obstacles, power ups, weapons, and special moves, designed to give you an edge in combat.

February 26 – 2008 – Turning Point: Fall of Liberty – PS3, Windows, Xbox 360

Winston Churchill was struck by a taxicab in 1931.
- What if he had died and without his leadership, Britain fell to the Nazis along with the rest of Europe?
Turning Point: Fall of Liberty is an alternate-history first-person shooter in which the player takes the role of a New York construction worker named Dan Carson in 1953, when the German Reich invades and occupies the American East Coast.
- He joins the National Guard troops trying to put up a defensive perimeter around subway and railway systems so civilians can escape.
Many advanced WWII weapons appear, including some that were under research, and some that never appeared.
- There are super-heavy tanks such as the Panzerkampfwagen VIII Maus and Landkreuzer P. 1000 Ratte, and also the Nachteule troop-transport zeppelin, the Flugzeugträger aircraft-carrier zeppelin, as well as various advanced jet fighters and bombers, all used by the German invasion force.
- Multiplayer is available in standard deathmatch and team deathmatch modes on 4 maps, with Nazi soldiers versus the American Resistance to a maximum of 8 players.

Tidbits

No Man’s Sky: Companions is yet another free update for the game, bringing us the ability to adopt, train, and breed creatures, on top of improvements to the UI and load times
Google’s finally started updating their iOS apps, updating the App Store listings with the new required privacy information
- There aren’t any real surprises, but when you see in writing that your email client is gathering information about your purchases and location I can see people starting to look for alternatives
CD Projekt Red has officially delayed the release of the anticipated patch 1.2 for Cyberpunk 2077, after the cyber attack we reported on a couple weeks ago wreaked havoc on their infrastructure
- The patch, set to include numerous fixes and quality improvements, is now being aimed at the second half of March

Mini-review

If you’re not watching WandaVision already, you should be
- Starring Scarlet Witch and Vision from the MCU
Completely unexpected but the pilot was charming and the plot got its hooks into me early
If you like the MCU at all you need to be watching

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PS2J 320 News – Gritty Humans and Pretty Anime Folk

October 2, 2020
Tagged as: 4K, 5g, 8-bit, abandoned, action, Adventure, Alan, always home cam, Amazon, antitrust, apocalypse, apology, app store, Apple, apple tv+, autonomous, brawler, breach, butcher’s cut, CD Projekt Red, Chromecast, co-op, Comedy, Comic, compromised, con, contract, court, covid-19, crafting, crunch, Cyberpunk 2077, dark secrets, dead age, developer, dishonest, Disney, DLC, doctor, drone, EA, Egypt, epic, Epic Games, exploration, Facebook, farmville, Festival, First Person, Flash, flight stick, Fortnite, Free Games, game pass, games with gold, Google, Google Home, google play, google tv, guess, Hardware, hearing, heist, Horror, hotas, immersion, iOS, jay and silent bob, Josh, judge, jury, keylogger, kick, killer, lament, Las Vegas, Lawsuit, layers of fear, London, los angeles, magic, mall brawl, mansion, mask, Microsoft, miles morales, movie, multuplayer, mythology, need for speed, nest audio, Netflix, nintendo, painter, parkour, password, payback, payment, pedal, permadeath, pikuniku, Pixel, Playstation, point and click, precautions, ps plus, ps+, ps5, psychological, push, puzzle, quake 3, quickstop, racing, remaster, Retro, reuse, roll, RPG, security, security recommendations, seum, sidescrolling, silver chains, skullface, slasher, slayaway camp, social distancing, Sony, spanish flu, speedrunners from hell, speedrunning, sphinx & the cursed mummy, Spider-Man, squadrons, stadia, Star Wars, story, Streaming<, super meat boy, surf world series, surfing, swing, Switch, the book of unwritten tales 2, third person, threat, throttle, tony hawk, Turn Based, tutankhamen, twitch prime, vampire, vampyr, victorian, voxel, VR, XBox, Xbox Live, YouTube, yvonne gonzalez rogers, Zombie

Free games

Xbox Gold
- The Book of Unwritten Tales 2
  - 2015
  - A comedy point and click adventure game that has you switching between four different protagonists that has you working against a magical force that’s turning beasts into puppies and castles into dollhouses
- Slayaway Camp: Butcher’s Cut
  - 2016
  - A killer puzzle game where you control Skullface, a psycho slasher bent on slaughtering camp counselors at the title campground. Slide an adorable voxel murderer around hundreds of isometric puzzle levels to squash, flay, and decapitate hapless victims in this darkly comic homage to 80s horror.
- Sphinx & the Cursed Mummy
  - 2003
  - Third person action adventure game inspired by the mythology of ancient Egypt where you play both the demi-god Sphinx and the undead mummy Tutankhamen in a combination of combat and puzzle-solving
Ps plus
- Need for Speed: Payback
  - 2017
  - Racing game set in an open-world fictional version of Las Vegas, focused on action driving with three different playable characters working together to pull of action movie like sequences and heists
- Vampyr
  - 2018
  - Action RPG set in Spanish Flu era London where you play Jonathan Reid, a doctor turned vampire torn between the Hippocratic Oath and his newfound bloodthirsty nature
Twitch
- SEUM: Speedrunners from Hell
  - 2016
  - A first-person speedrunning parkour game that plays like a combination Quake 3 and Super Meat Boy with a focus on quick action and reflexes
- Dead Age
  - 2016
  - A zombie apocalypse RPG with turn-based combat and permadeath that has you managing survivors, crafting materials, and making tough choices to defend your camp against the undead
- Surf World Series
  - 2017
  - A single or multiplayer surfing trick game that looks like Tony Hawk on the water
- Layers of Fear
  - 2016
  - A psychological horror game where you control a disturbed painter trying to complete his magnum opus as he navigates through a victorian mansion, with disturbing secrets about the painter being discovered
- Silver Chains
  - 2019
  - First-person horror game with a focus on story and exploration, where you search for clues in an abandoned manor to unravel the truth about the terrible events that occurred
- Jay and Silent Bob: Mall Brawl
  - 2020
  - Retro 8-bit sidescrolling brawler that has Jay and Silent Bob battling their way out of the mall and back to the Quickstop
- Darkside Detective
  - 2017
  - Point and click mystery game that has you solving the dangerous and confusing cases of Twin Lakes, with everything from flesh-hungry tentacles to mafioso zombies in the mix
Epic Games
- Pikuniku
  - 2019
  - Puzzle adventure game that has you getting through levels and solving puzzles by kicking and pushing objects, swinging from your legs, or curling up and rolling around. The game is focused on single player but also has local co-op specific levels

Epic Games vs Apple updates

During a hearing this week with both companies, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers criticized Epic’s decision to breach their contract with Apple in the first place by offering their custom payment system in an attempt to avoid App Store fees
- Apparently Epic claimed that it didn’t pose a security threat to Apple because they’re a well-established company and partner
- Judge Gonzalez Rogers reportedly told Epic “You did something, you lied about it by omission, by not being forthcoming. That’s the security issue. That’s the security issue!” and “There are a lot of people in the public who consider you guys heroes for what you guys did, but it’s still not honest.”
- She was also not particularly persuaded by Epic’s arguments that Apple was violating antitrust law, or that they harmed Epic’s ability to distribute Fortnite through the App Store
  - “Walled gardens have existed for decades,” said the judge. “Nintendo has had a walled garden. Sony has had a walled garden. Microsoft has had a walled garden. What Apple’s doing is not much different… It’s hard to ignore the economics of the industry, which is what you’re asking me to do.”
  - “The 30% of what you complain seems to be the industry rate, right? Steam charges 30%. Microsoft: 30% … If you go to consoles: PlayStation, Xbox Nintendo all charged 30%. Physical stores: GameStop, Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart all charge 30%. Apple and Google charged 30%. It’s all 30%, and you just want to gloss over it. You don’t want to address it,”
  - Epic’s Bornstein says alternatives to the smartphone have their own constraints. “For example you can’t play an Xbox when you are, you know, on a bus.”
  - YGR: “You can’t play, but you can play on a Switch.”
We’re still waiting for a decision on whether Fortnite will be allowed back on the App Store temporarily, but Judge Gonzalez Rogers did recommend that the case be taken to a jury trial in July to settle the issues permanently

iOS security recommendations

Settings > Passwords > Security Recommendations
Breaks down all your saved passwords that may need to be changed based on priority, and includes info on whether they’re easily guessed, reused, or if they’ve been included in a previous data breach
It also gives you a link right to the affected site if you want to go ahead and change the password
Thanks to that I’ve tightened up my password security on a lot of different sites
One thing to note here is that the current conspiracy theory going around on Facebook, saying that iOS 14 widgets are acting as key loggers and stealing passwords, is completely false
- Apparently part of the fuel for this is that people are getting notifications after upgrading that their passwords were involved in a breach- this is just because the notifications are new. The breaches are old.

Google announced a bunch of new stuff this week at their hardware event, including a new streaming service client

Not a streaming service itself, but Google TV is a client for Chromecast that shows content from services like Netflix and Disney+, alongside Google Play and YouTube videos
They also announced
- a new standalone Chromecast model that comes with a remote control for $50USD, so you can use Google TV without streaming content from your phone
  - Unfortunately Stadia was left out in the cold here- you can get it going with a bit of fiddling, but there’s no native support
- a 5G enabled Pixel 5 with somewhat underwhelming specs but a 90hz screen and IPX8 waterproofing that will set you back $700USD
- another 5G phone, the Pixel 4A 5G, that’s basically an upgraded Pixel 4A XL and working as a budget version of the Pixel 5 without the fancy display and waterproofing and a $500USD pricetag
- and a new Nest Audio speaker that we don’t have a lot of details on yet, but looks like a Google Home and a Google Home Max had a child and is apparently 75% louder than the Google Home it’s replacing

The new Spider-Man: Miles Morales game for the PS5 exists in a weird spot for a sequel, working almost like reverse DLC

You can get the game on the PS5, and if you want to play the remastered version of the PS4 Spider-Man you can either get the Miles Morales Ultimate Edition or buy the remaster from within the Miles Morales game
It’s apparently a full next-gen remaster with overhauled environments, ray-traced reflections and shadows, new skies and weather, a brand new face model for Peter Parker, 3D audio, instant loading, and a more powerful photo mode
Unfortunately all of this comes at a price- the trophy list will be separate from the original PS4 release, so trophy hunters are stuck starting from scratch

This Day in Gaming History

September 26 – 1995 – Command & Conquer – DOS

Command & Conquer develops ideas from Westwood’s previous game Dune 2, forming a real-time strategy (RTS) game.
- The control system involves selecting units with the mouse and then directing them, while the opponents make their moves without waiting for a “turn” to end.
The game focuses on a war between two organizations, The Brotherhood of Nod and the Global Defense Initiative.
- The player can take control of either side for more than 15 missions. Both have different units and structures, including artillery, tanks and light infantry.
In most missions, a base needs to be built first in order to build new units and structures.
- Most important are the harvesters, which collect Tiberium and deliver it to a refinery, where it’s converted into money, thus funding the construction of a base and an army.
The game also features FMV mission briefings and victory cutscenes.

September 27 – 2004 – Dream Works’ Shark Tale – GameCube, PS2, Xbox

Shark Tale is inspired by the movie of the same name and follows the adventures of Oscar, a blue-streaked cleaner wrasse fish.
- Oscar seems to have got himself into a bit of trouble as he needs to earn money to pay off a loan shark.
The game consists of over 25 chapters with each chapter having three missions to perform.
- The three missions are broken into a regular one, a bonus one, and an elite one.
- Completing missions earn Oscar fame points which affect his fame rating.
- Also, depending on how well Oscar performs missions will determine how much money he earns to pay off his debt.
- Missions are varied including things like escaping a shark, erasing graffiti, and a dancing segment.

September 28 – 1995 – Mario Clash – Virtual Boy – Japan

This game is essentially a single-player sequel to Mario Bros.
- While the Super Mario Advance games would later contain a graphically-enhanced version of Mario Bros., Mario Clash contains many more additions and changes to gameplay.
As before, the goal is to clear a screen of enemies and move on to the next level.
- However, rather than doing this by flipping an enemy upside-down from underneath and kicking them away, you throw shells at them.
- Also, taking advantage of Virtual Boy’s added depth, there is a front area and a back area which can be traveled to and from using pipes.
- Shells can also be thrown at enemies on the other depth area.

September 29 – 1996 – Super Mario 64 – N64 – North America

Mario is invited to Peach’s castle, but when he arrives Peach is nowhere to be seen.
- He soon learns from Toad that Bowser has once again kidnapped her.
- The Koopa King has also put a spell on her castle, imprisoning her subjects.
- So it is up to Mario to break the spell and rescue Peach.
Super Mario 64 is the first Mario game done entirely with 3D graphics.
- The core gameplay is similar to previous platform installments, focusing on jumping, avoiding obstacles and defeating enemies.
- Levels can be explored without time limits.
- Stars must be collected in order to unlock new areas, eventually gaining access to various parts of Bowser’s castle.
- Defeating Bowser on each floor procures keys necessary to unlock big doors and enter other floors, which contain more areas.
Mario has more moves at his disposal in this installment.
- Besides running and jumping, he can now walk, crouch, crawl, climb, and punch enemies.
- Double and triple jumps, long jumps, wall jumps and backflips can be executed as well.
- Swimming underwater now depletes Mario’s oxygen level.
- Items must be picked up and carried in some instances in order to solve puzzles.
Power-ups include the Wing Cap, which allows Mario to fly; the Metal Cap, which protects him from damage (including environmental hazards such as poisonous gas); and the Vanish Cap, which makes Mario ethereal, allowing him to walk through certain obstacles (such as wire mesh). Mario can also enter cannons and be shot from them; combining this with the flying ability grants access to high areas.

September 30 – 1997 – Postal – Windows/Mac

You’ve just gone off the deep end, and in your deeply demented mind, you’ve decided that this little peaceful town no longer needs peace and quiet.
- You gather your arsenal as you plan your next move…
Postal is best described as a three-quarter view isometric shooter with a disturbing theme.
- Instead of shooting at demons, monsters, bad guys and terrorists, your targets are typical citizens like a high school marching band, ordinary pedestrians, and even Santa Claus!
- You are provided with an arsenal of diverse weapons to choose from, ranging from good old fashioned guns to flame throwers.

October 1 – 2015 – The Beginner’s Guide – Windows, Mac, Linux

Probably a first, The Beginner’s Guide is presented as a guided tour through the work of another developer, named Coda.
- This developer is real and created numerous experimental small games using the Source engine from 2008 to 2011, the year in which he stopped developing games altogether.
The player is guided through this list of small games by the voice of Davey Wreden, the actual director of the game and co-designer and co-writer of The Stanley Parable.
- Similar to that game, The Beginner’s Guide can be considered a game about game design and about how players interact with games and, in a way, communicate with game developers.

October 2 – 1997 – Castlevania: Symphony of the Night – PlayStation – North America

Symphony of the Night is a direct sequel to Rondo of Blood.
- Unlike the previous installments of the series, the game is set in a castle which the player can explore freely with many different paths, although often items in certain areas need to be found that will allow passage to others.
- The action-based gameplay incorporates now strong RPG elements.
- The hero receives experience points for defeating enemies, gains levels and becomes more powerful.
- There is also money to be found in the game, and various accessories to buy. In a separate screen, players need to equip attack weapons, shields and other items.
- Magic plays an important role, as well as secondary weapons and a large amount of “special moves” that are executed similar to advanced one-on-one fighting games.

Tidbits

After 11 years in operation, FarmVille is officially shutting down at the end of the year
- The developer cited the end of support for Adobe Flash and an unwillingness to migrate to a new platform as the main causes
Los Angeles Comic-Con is moving forward with an in-person event in December, making it one of the first Southern California festivals to do so since the March shutdown
- Precautions they’ll be taking include doubling their floorspace, spreading out activities across their own halls, splitting each day into five-hour sessions with deep cleaning between, cutting ticket sales, and live-streaming all guests and main panels for an optional virtual experience
- It sounds like they’re trying, but I’d still be really hesitant to buy tickets
Apple and Microsoft are working together a bit more than usual now, with the Apple TV app soon becoming available on the Xbox
- Content will include Apple TV+ subscriptions, which could save some money for people that have been eyeing up an Apple TV 4k box
- This could also be a good sign for Game Pass, if the two companies can improve their collaboration and get eachother’s streaming services on their hardware
As part of Amazon’s announcements last week that flew under the radar, they also introduced a drone camera for inside your home
- The Always Home Cam will set you back $250 and is a fully autonomous drone that can fly around and show your any room in your house
CD Projekt Red is drawing fire this week after doubling back on their commitment to avoiding mandatory crunch time for Cyberpunk 2077
- Studio Head Adam Badowski released a statement lamenting this decision and how necessary it is, and promising 10% of the company’s 2020 profit to the team, but this will likely make people think twice before taking him at his word again
Star Wars Squadrons has launched to a lot of praise, especially for its multiplayer, including the fact that a day-one patch has implemented full support for flight stick, throttle, and pedal assemblies. Combined with VR, the immersion sounds awesome

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Thank you for your continued support Karen, we may not be podcasting today without your drive to make a podcasting community in Alberta. Listen to her and her daughter on Thats A Thing?!

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PS2J 318 News – OOPS! All Events

September 18, 2020
Tagged as: 2020, Adventure, air, AirPods, Alan, algorithm, america, anti-cheat, app store, Apple, apple one, Apple Watch, Arcade, backward compatibility, ban, band, beijing, big yeetus, biometrics, birthdate, block, blood oxygen, borderlands 3, brain, bridge constructor, chaos, China, covid, deathloop, dedsec, demake, Demons Souls, developer, disk, dynamic head tracking, emulator, engine, engineer, epic, Epic Games, european, Facebook, Fall Guys, Family, family setup, firmware, fitness, football manager, Fortnite, fragmentation, framerate, Free, Free Games, Gamecube, games, God Of War, Government, guidelines, hacker, head strap, headset, iCloud, ign, india, Indie, individual, information, iOS, ipad, iPadOS, ipd, iPhone, Josh, launch, lcd, legal name, license, loop, Microsoft, mile morales, mount sinai, music, N64, news, next-gen, nintendo 64, Oculus, oled, one x, open-world, oracle, pencil, performance, physics, pip, platformer, Playstation, playstation plus collection, popularity, powers, pr, pre-order, premier, Prince of Persia, Privacy, Pro, ps+, PS2, PS3, PS4, ps5, psychic, publicity, puzzle, qube 2, quest, quest 2, Ragnarok, remake, remix, reskin, reuters, sale, sands of time, scribble, se, series s, series x, simulation, sleep, snapdragon, Sony, spatial audio, Spider-Man, Star Trek, stick it to the man, Streaming<, subscription, Super Mario 3D All Stars, surfer, Switch, ticktok, time flies, touchid, Traffic, treasury, Trump, TV, twitch prime, Ubisoft, united states, unreal, Update, us, USB, USB C, valve index, vo2 max, wall adaptor, watch dogs 2, watchface, widget, Wii, wireless, XBox, xcloud, xr2, zuckerberg

Free games

Twitch Prime
- Q.U.B.E. 2
  - 2018
  - Sequel to the original Quick Understanding of Block Extrusion, and a physics-based puzzle game, interacting with specific blocks in the world to solve puzzles and make it to the end of each level
- Bridge Constructor
  - 2011
  - Physics-based simulation puzzle game that has you working with different gaps, materials, and cost limitations to make bridges that can support different combinations of traffic
Epic Games
- Football Manager 2020
  - 2019
  - European football-management simulation game offering playable teams in 53 different countries across 5 continents
- Stick It To The Man!
  - 2013
  - Indie adventure platformer that puts you in the role of Ray, a hard hat tester that suffered a bizarre accident and woke up with a giant pink spaghetti arm sticking out of his brain. With his awesome new powers he can read minds and change the world with stickers but he’s on the run for a crime he didn’t commit.
- Watch Dogs 2
  - 2016
  - Action adventure open world game where you play a hacker trying to take down the city’s advanced surveillance system, completing missions in a variety of ways in increase the follower count of your group DedSec

Apple- Time Flies event

No iPhone announcement after all, so we can likely look forward to that in October
Apple Watch
- New initiative from Mount Sinai health system, where researchers are using Watch data to research COVID
- WatchOS 7 will track VO2 Max, the volume of oxygen you consume when exercising at max capacity, a good indicator of fitness and overall health
  - Notification if it drops to low levels
- Series 6
  - Blue aluminum, gold stainless steel, graphite stainless steel, and PRODUCT(RED)
  - Blood oxygen
    - 15 seconds to measure, takes periodic readings including while you sleep
    - Helpful indicator of respiratory and cardiac health
  - Fancy dual-core processor
  - Improved always-on display
  - New always-on altimeter
  - New watchfaces
    - GMT shows multiple timezones
    - Count-up lets you track elapsed time
    - Chronograph pro has multiple time scales
    - Typograph give you custom styles focusing on large numbers
  - New stretchable one-piece loop band, in both solid and an attractive braided silicon
- Family Setup
  - One iphone can set up multiple watches, for kids or other people without their own phone
  - Includes location notifications and movement tracking
- Apple Watch SE
  - Uses slightly older chips (still twice as fast as the series 3) along with the fancy new display
  - Same accelerometer, gyro, compass, and altimeter as the 6, but no ECG or blood oxygen
- New lineup starts at:
  - Series 3 $199
  - SE $279
  - Series 6 $399
Officially removing the USB wall adapter from the Apple Watch, marketing it as an environmental initiative
Apple Fitness +
- Fitness service with trainers and music (integrated with Apple Music if you want to save a playlist)
- Workout videos shown on your TV along with biometrics from your watch
- Launching with yoga, cycling, dance, treadmill, strength, core, hiit, rowing, and meditation
- New workouts every week, with different levels and recommended workouts
- Three month free trial, and will be available before the end of the year
- $9.99/month, $79.99/year
Apple One
- iCloud storage
- Music
- TV+
- Arcade
- News+
- Fitness+
- Individual plan- $14.95
  - Includes Music, TV+, Arcade, 50GB storage
  - $19.95 for family access
- Premier- $29.95
  - Adds News+ and Fitness+, along with 2TB storage
iPadOS 14
- Better Pencil integration with automatic writing-to-text
- Scribble lets you handwrite in any text field
iPad
- New 8th gen base model is getting the A12 chip from the XS and the iPad Air
  - Also works with Apple Pencil
  - Smart connector for the fancy Apple smart and magic keyboards
  - Starts at $329 ($299 for education)
- Air
  - Redesigned, more similar to the iPad Pro
  - USB-C, rounded corners, smaller bezels, and the smart connector
  - New colours including rose gold, green, and sky blue
  - TouchID integrated into the power button
  - No FaceID or TrueDepth camera
  - Brand new 6 core processor, 40% faster than the previous model
  - This all brings the Air ($599) close to parity with the Pro ($799), especially if you don’t want FaceID
New software for iPads, iPhones, Watches, and AppleTV’s all hit this week, with no mention of macOS
- All kinds of fanciness that we’ve talked about previously including home screen widgets and better sleep tracking, along with picture-in-picture video
  - They’ve added an App Library, so iPhone users don’t need to have every app installed available on one of their homescreen pages
  - Not to mention additional options with Shortcuts and Automations that Reddit immediately took to to make their iPhones moan when power cords are plugged in
- They’ve also released a new firmware for AirPods Pro that adds spatial audio and dynamic head tracking, so when paired with iOS14 supported audio will always sound like it’s anchored to your device

Sony’s announced more details on the PS5, and we’ve got some highlights

Pricing of the disk-version of the PS5 matches the Xbox Series X at $499USD, and the diskless model is $399
- That’s a good chunk more than the Series S’s $299, but considering you get the same specs rather than a pared down version it makes sense- the PS5 blows the Series S out of the water, spec-wise
- You could even look at it like they’re coming in at $100 less than the Series X, with an optional upgrade to include a disk drive
Demon’s Souls Remake looks amazing, with everything rebuilt from the original art, sound, music, and feel along with fancy new haptic feedback
- You can still see the trailer mirrored on other sites like IGN, but Sony had to pull the original because it mistakenly said it was coming to other consoles and PC
- This alone might sell me a PS5
Spider-Man Miles Morales looks pretty solid
Hogwarts Legacy could be the open world Harry Potter game we’ve been waiting for
Deathloop looks like a lot of fun, especially for fans of the Groundhog Day genre
God of War Ragnarok was revealed, and after the last title in the series is yet another reason to buy a PS5
Playstation Plus Collection
- It feels like conceptually they’re trying to compete with GamePass, and they might get there eventually, but right now it’s mainly a selection of excellent PS4 games that all PS+ subscribers can play on the PS5 at launch for no additional cost
  - God of War
  - Bloodborne
  - Monster Hunter World
  - Final Fantasy XV
  - Mortal Kombat X
  - Fallout 4
  - Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
  - Ratchet & Clank
  - Days Gone
  - Until Dawn
  - Detroit: Become Human
  - Battlefield 1
  - Infamous: Second Son
  - Batman: Arkham Knight
  - The Last Guardian
  - The Last of Us: Remastered
  - Persona 5
  - Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
Pre-orders are available now, with launch on November 12th in North America, Japan, Australia, NZ, and SK, and the 19th everywhere else

Facebook has announced the Oculus Quest 2- the new king of VR, if you don’t mind Zuckerberg’s ever-tightening fist

It’s kind of ridiculous how good the headset is, especially for its price and the fact that it’s wireless
$299USD gets you a thinner, lighter Quest with higher resolution with 50% more pixels per eye
- And for $100 more you can get 256GB of storage, which you might end up needing if games start really using the increased pixel-count. The base model only getting 64GB of storage is nearly criminal nowadays
- It actually just edges out the Valve Index when it comes to resolution, and that one goes for $1000
- It’s using LCD instead of OLED though, so expect blacks to look less black, and the field of view is a fair bit narrower than the Index so you’re locked to only 90 degrees
- They’ve also increased the framerate from 72hz to 90hz, but currently that’s only supported on the main menus
Another change is the IPD adjustment, to set the distance between your eyes
- The Quest had a slider for a range of measurements, but the Quest 2 only has three set positions that Facebook says accommodates between 68mm and 58mm
The base head strap is even more basic than the Quest’s, more matching the Oculus Go, but they’re handling it a lot better with first party peripherals
- You can get alternate face linings, protective lenses, a higher-quality Elite Strap, and even better an amped up Elite Strap with an additional battery to help counterbalance
Facebook definitely hasn’t skimped on the processor though, going from one that was midrange even at launch to a top of the line Snapdragon XR2 that is more than twice as fast
They’ve also improved the battery life on the slightly redesigned controllers, while at the same time making them a little bigger to be almost a hybrid between the original Oculus controllers and the first gen Quest
But now where it gets ugly
- The Quest 2 will be the first piece of Oculus hardware that requires a Facebook account to run
  - This combined with the low price reminds me of the adage “If you get something for free, you might be the product being sold”
- And on top of that, Facebook has said that if you link your Oculus account to a Facebook account that violates their rules, like not using your real name or birthdate, your account could be completely disabled and you might lose access to any games or content you’ve already paid for
  - In many cases Facebook has asked for an unredacted picture of a user’s driver’s license to be sent in to verify that information, but it seems ridiculous that they have any business getting all that information just so I can play VR games. Beyond billing info they have no use for my personal info, besides to sell it to someone else
All that said, if you’re okay with what Facebook does and want what is unfortunately one of the best VR headsets available, you can pick yours up on October 13

The App Store slapfight continues

Court documents in the Epic vs Apple lawsuit show Apple saying that Epic Games can’t re-apply to their developer program for at least one year
- Epic is trying to overturn that ban, but assuming no changes it’s unlikely we’ll see Fortnite back on iOS before summer 2021
Apple also seems to be accusing Epic of using this whole situation as a publicity stunt
- Apparently compared to October 2019, July 2020 had seen interest in Fortnite decrease by nearly 70%, and this mess that Epic Games has invented for themselves is an attempt to boost their own reputation
- They also deny that Epic is losing huge amounts of money, saying that though Epic says iOS is their biggest platform based on number of users only 10% of consumers play regularly on iPhone, and that according to Epic’s own disclosures Apple is the smallest piece of the pie when it comes to revenue
- An excellent quote from Apple’s filing:
  - Epic started a fire, and poured gasoline on it, and now asks this Court for emergency assistance in putting it out, even though Epic can do so itself in an instant by simply adhering to the contractual terms that have profitably governed its relationship with Apple for years. This Court was right when it previously ruled that “‘self-inflicted wounds are not irreparable injury.’”
In addition to that, a new filing today from Mark Grimm, a Game Developer Manager at Apple, highlighted the lengths to which Apple went to accommodate Epic in recent years
- Apparently engineers on both sides remained in near-constant contact for the last two years to make sure Fortnite could run smoothly at all times and across a variety of devices, including substantial engineering support to help it to run on older iPhones
- Grimm also wrote about the amount of hardware and software resources shared, saying that they’ve even coached Epic about unreleased iOS tech and even sent engineers to their HQ to help get them up to speed, on top of Apple optimizing their iOS and Mac systems to improve the performance of Unreal Engine
A separate filing from Mike Schmid, Apple’s Head of Games Business Development, added even more background
- Apparently Epic threatened on multiple occasions to essentially hold Fortnite hostage, threatening to release updates on competing platforms first and even in some cases said they would terminate their relationship with Apple and remove their games from the App Store, if Apple didn’t comply with demands
- This reportedly got to the point where Apple staff in Australia were brought in to the Epic relationship team, to provide 24 hour coverage
- On top of all that, Schmid says they even worked closely with Epic to allow in-game features that were not previously allowed, such as gifting within apps, by amending App Store Guidelines
- “This example,” Schmid writes, “demonstrates Apple’s attentiveness to the developer community, including the needs of developers like Epic, which in this instance made a request that Apple could accommodate on terms that would apply equally to all developers, large and small, and that would at the same time adequately ensure user safety and security.”
It almost seems like Epic got so used to Apple giving them whatever they demanded that they threw a tantrum when told they couldn’t have their own App Store on iPhone, but we’ll have to see how the Epic Games team responds to the latest filings
I agree that the App Store has some room to evolve, but Epic really shot themselves in the foot repeatedly here

In a new interview with IGN, Xbox director of program management Jason Ronald gave some more detail on the differences between the Series S and X

Apparently the core capabilities between the two consoles are basically the same, so the primary difference will be resolution- 1440p on the S and 4k on the X
- Even though theoretically the Series S could have performance somewhat comparable to the One X, it will not apply any of the One X specific enhancements for better framerates or 4k resolutions
- Backwards-compatible titles could benefit from improved texture filtering and other bits and bobs though, so the Series S isn’t completely left out in the cold
They’re leaving a lot up to developers though, like whether to allow ray tracing, increase the framerate, or even try for 4k on the S
The goal is apparently not to have exclusive titles on the X, but rather to get lower-res options for the S
And as an added bonus, game file sizes could be around 30% smaller for the S if developers stick to 1440p textures
It will likely still lead to some fragmentation but hopefully not as much as previously thought

Apple’s made some changes that are kind of good news for game streaming services, but with a BIIG asterisk

They’ve announced updates to their App Store review guidelines introducing new rules for things like Microsoft xCloud
- They’re allowed, which is great, but apparently all of the games included in the subscription need to be downloaded directly from the App Store…?
- From the looks of it, all 150+ xCloud games would need to hit the App Store separately, with updates going through the full review process and all in-app purchases going through Apple
- They’re allowed to have a catalog app to help users sign up and find games, but all games must have their own App Store product page
All said and done, this feels like a PR move so Apple can say they’re not blocking streaming game services while at the same time making the way forward as torturous as possible, when really it should work as smoothly as Netflix or YouTube

Ubisoft’s Prince of Persia: Sands of Time remake leaked, and it looked rough, so they released the reveal trailer, which also looks rough

With a high nostalgia factor you’d think this would be a priority, but it was seemingly shunted off to Ubisoft India
- While I can understand that studio being excited to sink their teeth into potentially one of the biggest AAA games developed in the country, doing it for the first time with a remake of something this high-profile could have been a misstep
Honestly, I think they would have been better off just upscaling the original assets. It definitely doesn’t look like a game from 2020
- Reddit user Bolt_995 put it well: “This is a PS2 game remade to look like a PS3 game on a PS4 and the release date is set during the launch window of the PS5”

The saga of TikTok continues, with Beijing opposing the sale that the US is dead set on forcing

According to Reuters the Chinese government would rather see the video app shut down in the US instead
Oracle is trying to get around that by becoming their “trusted tech partner”, not their owner, but the exact details have yet to be hashed out
- From the sounds of it Oracle would house data from US TikTok users on its own servers, to hopefully alleviate security concerns
The US Treasury Secretary also floated the idea of them opening a TikTok Global HQ in the US and creating 20,000 jobs, but who knows what kind of basis that has in reality if any
Yet to be seen is:
- If this deal will satisfy Trump’s government
- If it will satisfy the Chinese government
- What will happen to TikTok’s fancy algorithm, likely the driving force behind any offer, with China saying it’s off the table

This Week In Gaming History

September 12 – 2002 – Battlefield 1942 – Windows

Battlefield 1942 is a massive online multiplayer shooter roughly based on World War II, but with emphasis on balance and fun.
- Join armed forces of United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Germany or Russia, and battle up to 63 of your friends online.
- Have access to up to twenty different authentic weapons. Control any of the 30+ vehicles over land, on water, or in air.
- Combat takes place in four theaters; South Pacific, North Africa, and Eastern and Western Europe.
- Have epic battles with up to 64 players on the same map, or hone your skills in single-player mode against AI bots.

September 13 – 2003 – Star Trek: The Neutral Zone – Windows

Star Trek: The Neutral Zone is a free, simple deathmatch game where players (and bots, named after characters from the Star Trek series, but unlicensed) choose a ship to destroy others in order to reach the frag limit.
- There is a variety of ships available with their graphics taken from Star Trek: Bridge Commander and possibly a few of its mods.
- But apart from the visuals, they do not differ in any way. All of them are armed with phasers and photon torpedoes, with the colour of phasers chosen by the player in the options menu.
- Occasionally, certain power-ups appear on the map.
Up to two players can play on the same computer, and a TCP/IP multiplayer mode is available.
On Moby Games, the site I reference, this was the only game released this day on 2003.

September 14 – 1994 – Math Blaster: In Search of Spot – Genesis

The Genesis release was the one release that was confirmed to a firm date
A follow-up to the original Math Blaster! games, Math Blaster: In Search of Spot is an educational title with arcade elements designed to help students learn maths while having fun.
The game allows students to practice basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division skills in addition to fractions, decimals, percents, estimation, and number patterns.
- The subjects can be practiced separately or together in review. Six levels of difficulty are provided.
- Like the previous titles, the game also includes an editor to create new problem sets (present in the PC version only).
Math Blaster’s friend and assistant, Spot, is kidnapped by the evil Trash Alien at the beginning of the game.
- The Galactic Commander gives Math Blaster the mission to follow the Trash Alien to his home planet and rescue Spot.
The game starts with a complete mission (story mode).
- The mission consists of a series of four (three in the console versions) math activities (mini-games) strung together with cut-scenes. The activities can also be played separately, for practice or for score.
The activities you can do are:
- Trash Zapper – Solve equations to gain tractor beam power, then use the tractor beam to collect space trash.
- Number Recycler (PC version only) – Create equations by pushing around columns of numbers and operators. Correct equations allow you to turn the trash you collected into fuel.
- Cave Runner – Use Math Blaster’s jet pack to fly through a cave. He has a number on his chest, and it must be arithmetically between the numbers on each side of an opening in order for him to pass through. Droplets of water falling from above can change this number by performing an operation on it. There are also gems which can be collected for bonus points, and in higher levels, monsters appear that can knock Math Blaster down.
- Math Blaster – The Trash Alien’s spaceship displays an equation, and the four portholes serve as multiple-choice answers. Use the jet pack to fly into the correct portholes while avoiding floating trash and energy blasts from the ship. Bonus gems also appear at random, and after five problems a bonus round occurs where players get a chance to collect as many gems as they can within a time limit.
Upon finishing the complete mission, the player is presented with a certificate that can be printed out (PC version only). Their final score is also added to a high score board for their account.

September 15 – 1990 – The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – DOS

A good example of the difference a little multimedia can do, the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes plays like a textmode proof-of-concept of the better-known Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective.
- The basic investigative elements remain the same: managing time dashing to various locations around Olde London Towne in search of clues, but here instead of successfully receiving them as video clips you often get cryptic encoded messages in “fill-in-the-blank” form, intended in total to spell out, some directly and some through phonetic wordplay, the name of the killer, the method they used, and their motive for committing the crime.
- Characters from the original tales including Dr. Watson, Mrs. Baker and Inspector Lestrade help to establish the flavour of literary canon as you investigate all-new crimes (some user-contributed!)

September 16 – 1998 – Fuck Quest – DOS

This is a parody of the Sierra-style games like Space Quest, King’s Quest, etc. Similar interface, sounds, and graphics.
This is a small game that’ll make people who have played the Sierra games laugh, although I don’t think anybody else will understand the point.
- Probably R-Rated because of not-so-subtle sexual content. Can be finished quickly.
The art appears to be done in a single pass on MS Paint
- Includes level design, like The House Of Porn, which is a pair of breasts.
Has an average score of 1.4 out of 5

September 17 – 2002 – Kelly Slater’s Pro Surfer – GameCube, PS2, XBox

You know Tony Hawk, Matt Hoffman but now it’s Kelly Slater’s Pro sport game
Do you like to surf? Have you ever imagined surfing at different remote locations around the world? Well, Kelly Slater takes you around the world on his boat to surf some of the more famous beaches. With a control scheme similar to all the other Activision O2 brand games, it’s easy to jump into the game and surf.
Game Play Modes:
- Infinite Time – With no clock, no objectives, and nobody around, this gives you the best opportunity to just enjoy the surf.
- High Score – With 3 minutes, how high of a score can you get?
- Icon Challenge – See how many icons you can collect and how high of a score you can get before time runs out.
- Career Mode – Select a surfer and journey around the world to surf the best waves on the best beaches. As you progress you will unlock new beaches, new surf boards, and new tricks which will be usable in all the other modes of play.
- Multiplayer Modes:
- Push – Two players surf simultaneously in an attempt to “push” the split screen towards their opponent’s half of the screen. As you score points the screen gets pushed more. The winner is decided once one player is pushed from the screen.
- Head to Head – Similar to Push but the screen is stationary and the winner is the person with the highest points when the time runs out.
- Time Attack – Players take turns to achieve the most points possible. The more points you get the less time is alloted to your opponent.
The Pros in the game: Kelly Slater, Lisa Andersen, Tom Carroll, Tom Curren, Nathan Fletcher, Donavon Frankenreiter, Bruce Irons, Rob Machado, Kalani Robb, and some other secret characters.
- Secret characters which I looked up!
  - Tony Hawk
  - Travis Pastrana – A extreme Motorsport athlete
  - “Tiki God”
  - “Surfreak”
The beaches in the game: Sebastian, Trestles, Mavericks, Antarctica, Jaws, Pipeline, Teahupoo, Bells, Curren’s Point, Kirra, G-Land, J-Bay, Mundaka, Cortez Bank, and perhaps some other tucked-away hide-aways.
The PS2 version of the game also includes a playable demo of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4.

September 18 – 2018 – Nintendo Switch Online service – Switch

The Nintendo Switch was formally announced in January 2017, with its release on March 3, 2017.
- Nintendo stated in its pre-release announcements that the system would eventually require purchase of a paid “online service”, but that they would be available to all users at no charge until the service launched.
- Features announced included a companion smartphone app, as well as access to a free Nintendo Entertainment System game per-month. The service was initially planned for late 2017.
- By June 2017, Nintendo pushed back the service’s release until 2018, but did establish the pricing plans for the service, with an average annual price of US$20, depending on region.
- Then-Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé explained that the delays were to ensure that the service was “world-class”, and had enough of its announced functionality available on-launch to justify its cost.
- Nintendo aimed for a lower price point in comparison to PlayStation Plus and Xbox Live Gold, as the service does not include the same range of features as these subscription services provide.
- Then-Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima stated that the price point was a subject of importance in designing the Switch’s online services, and that regardless of what competitors were doing, “it’s a matter of getting our content to the consumer at a price point that would make them happy, and then we’re willing to look at what else we can do going forward.”
A Nintendo Direct two days before the release detailed the full set of features that would be part of the Online service, including a larger and persistent library of NES games for subscribers, as well as cloud save support.
The 20 games at launch were:
- Balloon Fight
- Baseball
- Donkey Kong
- Double Dragon
- Dr. Mario
- Excitebike
- Ghosts’n Goblins
- Gradius
- Ice Climber
- Ice Hockey
- The Legend of Zelda
- Mario Bros.
- Pro Wrestling
- River City Ransom
- Soccer
- Super Mario Bros.
- Super Mario Bros. 3
- Tecmo Bowl
- Tennis
- Yoshi, A puzzle game

Tidbits

Borderlands 3 has joined the growing number of games that are releasing free updates to next-gen consoles for anyone playing it on the current generation
- They’re also adding 3 and 4 player split screen, as well as 4k 60fps single player
Super Mario 3D All Stars has leaked onto the internet, showing that all the games are just emulated and upsampled versions with no real tweaks
- On the plus side, the fact that there are now internal Nintendo emulators for Wii, GameCube, and N64 games on the Switch could mean there are more classics coming
Fall Guys has released a mid-season update increasing the chaos and the fun
- They’ve amped up the anti-cheat, added extra random obstacles to familiar levels, and thrown in Big Yeetus- a large hammer that can launch you to victory or hilarious defeat

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PS2J 316 News – Super Money Printing Bros

September 4, 2020
Tagged as: 13.7, 19:17, 20, 30%, 360, 3D land, 7:17 pm, action, action adventure, Activision, agent, aimbot, Alan, alex winter, algorithm, Alien, all stars, alphabet, app store, Apple, Arcade, arkham, arma 2, Art, Artificial Intelligence, autonauts, battle royale, battlegrounds, bill and ted, blackmilk, brainiac, brawler, Call Of Duty, captain boomerang, cheat, China, colonize, colours, combat, come together, contact tracing, content bundles, court, crash bandicoot, crusader kings 3, cryptic studios, de blob 2, deadshot, Destiny 2, effie, epic, Epic Games, export, exposure notification, face the music, Facebook, fee, fight, First Person, for you, forced, forcefields, forsaken, Fortnite, Free Games, FTL, Gamepass, games with gold, gddr6x, goofball, Government, hack, Harley Quinn, home, Home Tour, impulsion, into the breach, iOS, ipad, iPhone, island, Isometric, John Wick, joint ops, Josh, keanu reeves, keys, kill the justice league, king shark, lady astronaut of mars, Lawsuit, Logan, lootboxes, magic, Mario Kart, mary robinette kowal, mech, mech city brawl, metropolis, Microsoft, mis-advertising, MMO, mod, modules, mp46, multicultural, Multiplayer, music, navy, neverwinter, nintendo, nintendo switch online, nvidia, Online, open-world, oracle, outcast, overreach, Override, people, physics, platform, playerunknown, Playstation, preston, ps+, PS4, PUBG, pubg mobile, puma, pumped bmx pro, puzzle, random, Ratchet and Clank, Reality, Red Dead Redemption, relentless moon, resident evil 7, retcon, Rocket League, rocksteady, RPG, RTX, sale, seal, second contact, shadowkeep, ships, Shooter, softbank, Sony, Space, speed, star trek online, stealth update, sticks, stones, story, street fighter v, stunt, Suicide Squad, Super Mario, Super Mario 3D All Stars, Super Mario Bros 35, Super Mario Galaxy, tears, tech company, the calculating stars, the division, the fated sky, The Gathering, the matrix, third person, tiktok, tiny troopers, tom clancy, tournament, trick, Turn Based, twin stick, Twitch, united states, universe, Unreal Engine, Update, us, voltron, wallhack, walmart, warzone, wayback machine, Xbox Live, xbox live gold, Xbox One

Free Games

Xbox One
- Override: Mech City Brawl
  - 2018
  - Gigantic robot mech brawler with single player and Voltron-style 2-4 player co-op, where every mech has special moves and skills, and you can fight in arenas around the world
- Tom Clancy’s The Division
  - 2016
  - Online-only action RPG / third person shooter where you play a special agent tasked with helping rebuild Manhattan and combat criminal activity after a viral outbreak. It has a combination of shared and instanced areas that have co-op and pvp multiplayer, in addition to missions and a story that you can run on your own
- de Blob 2
  - 2014
  - Platform puzzle game originally for the Xbox 360 that has you jumping around, mixing colours and bringing life to the cityscape. There’s also a basic two-player mode similar to Super Mario Galaxy
- Gamepass
  - We don’t normally mention new games on Gamepass, but this month some new highlights include Resident Evil 7, Crusader Kings 3, and Destiny 2 with the Shadowkeep and Forsaken expansions
  - Unfortunately Red Dead Redemption 2 is leaving on September 7th
PS4
- Street Fighter V
  - 2016
  - Fighting game similar to the other 2D style Street Fighter titles, it initially released without a story mode and only had a basic roster meant for tournament style gameplay until updates in 2018 and 2020 added in single-player modes and additional fighters
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
  - 2017
  - One of the original battle royale titles, it started life as a mod for ARMA 2 but evolved into a standalone title where you and 99 other players are dropped on to an island with the clothes on your back, and need to gather resources and take down the other players on a shrinking map
Epic Games
- Into the Breach
  - 2018
  - Control powerful mechs from the future to defeat an alien threat. Each attempt to save the world presents a new randomly generated challenge in this isometric turn-based strategy game from the makers of FTL.
Twitch
- Pumped BMX Pro
  - 2019
  - Promoted as a BMX trickathon, it has you mastering 60 different levels and over 200 challenges while pulling off as many stunts as possible
- Effie
  - 2020
  - 3D action adventure game that combines combat, platforming, and puzzles with the exploration of a large, expanded world where you live a unique fantasy adventure in the style of Crash Bandicoot or Ratchet and Clank
- Impulsion
  - 2018
  - First person platformer designed to play with your nerves and reflexes, that has you making your way through 25 levels by manipulating physics and shooting forcefields to speed up or slow down
- Outcast – Second Contact
  - 2017 remake of the 1999 adventure game of the year and cult classic, Outcast
  - Third or first person open world shooter where you play an ex Navy SEAL stranded on an alien world trying to get home
- Tiny Troopers: Joint Ops
  - 2014
  - Arcade-style twin stick shooter that has your tiny troopers battling evil adversaries from around the world with a multitude of weapons and specialties
- Autonauts
  - 2019
    - Travel the universe and colonize uninhabited planets, starting with sticks and stones and going all the way up to art, space travel, and intergalactic export

Updates

Apple has officially terminated Epic Games’ account on its App Store, a move that won’t affect Unreal Engine but it does mean that users can no longer download Fortnite or other Epic titles for their iDevices
- Anyone that’s already downloaded the app can still play, but can no longer make ingame purchases
- This comes down as, despite the court’s recommendation that Epic comply with App Store guidelines while the case moves forward, they’ve instead repeatedly submitted Fortnite updates with the direct payment option in question intact
While Epic continues to cry foul to its users about updates now being blocked, Apple has been promoting another big battle royale title PUBG Mobile for iOS users, which is great timing as the game is also free this month on PS+
It seems like Facebook is trying to get their foot in the door when it comes to the Epic vs Apple payment fees conversation
- Facebook has a new feature that lets users buy tickets for online events. Unfortunately since online events count as digital content, they’re subject to the standard 30% fee
- Facebook tried to include wording on these purchases to say “Apple takes 30% of this purchase”, but according to Apple that’s irrelevant information and they blocked the update that would have added that wording
  - It probably falls under the usual terms and conditions that prevent developers from talking about other payment options from within iOS apps
- Google devices were reportedly supposed to get a message saying “Facebook doesn’t take a fee from this purchase”, which makes the warning on iPhones seem really targeted, but that message doesn’t show up on the Android version either
- Between showing the planned screens then publicizing the difference, it seems like Facebook is playing the same blame game as Epic in trying to get attention by breaking the rules and crying foul when they’re enforced

Cryptic Studios is under fire this week for “mis-advertising” content packs for Star Trek Online, something that Reddit users are saying is a common trend for the publisher

Apparently on multiple occasions they’ve announced content bundles that include ships, modules, and keys for lootchests, but then when the actual pack is released people purchase it to find things like the keys completely missing
The worst part of that is all of the blogs and advertising material have been stealth-updated to remove any mention of the missing rewards, leaving only services like the Internet Wayback Machine with proof of the change
- Once they were called out loudly enough they honoured the missing content for people that had purchased prior to the revision, but anyone working off of old information is left out in the cold
According to some users, they’ve historically done the very same thing in free to play titles like Neverwinter, and each time they just apologized and moved on
This is apparently the same studio working on the Magic: The Gathering MMO slated for a 2021 release, but with this kind of track record it’s hard not to be worried

The US government is getting even more involved with the forced sale of TikTok, now forcing some companies to back down in their offers

Apparently Walmart was set to make an offer to be the majority owner, teamed with with Alphabet and Softbank to invest in minority stakes, but the United States government apparently said they wanted a tech company to buy it instead
- Why they get a say is beyond me, but I guess they could move forward with the ban anyway if people don’t listen?
From the sounds of it Walmart is interested in getting into TikTok’s e-commerce and payments business, so since they were blocked they instead are teaming up as a minority shareholder with Microsoft taking the lead
- Alphabet couldn’t take the lead of Walmart’s original plans because of a potential antitrust investigation due to its ownership of YouTube
It looks like now the two options for TikTok are Microsoft/Walmart or Oracle, but though a deal was set to be made already China has now made a change to its export controls list to cover TikTok’s recommendation algorithm, which means that thanks to TikTok’s “For You” page the Chinese government will now get a say in whether the sale goes through

Apple’s release the new iOS 13.7, and once you’ve got that installed you’ll be able to easily see if your area supports COVID-19 exposure notifications

The update has new options under Settings > Exposure Notifications (just below Emergency SOS), which include showing you if your area has an official contact tracing app and, if not, gives you a switch to be alerted once one is available
Just a reminder that these apps are secure, battery-friendly, and become a lot more effective in keeping people safe if everyone’s using them

Mario 35th Anniversary Direct

Game and Watch: Super Mario Bros.

A throwback to the old Game and Watch handhelds that Nintendo used to make
- This version has a bright colour screen
- You can play the entirety of Super Mario Bros
- There are also mini games that put Mario in the place of Mr. Game And Watch
- The clock function is very animated, more than just a static clock to watch
- Limited Production, Available November 13th

Super Mario World + Bowser’s Fury

Super Mario 3D World and all the fun and frustration it included is coming to Switch
As well as new content titled Bowser’s Fury
- Only shown in a brief teaser with a dark giant spiky cat bell powerup, on a rainy beach in a storm with purple lightning
Slated to release February 12th, 2021

Super Mario Bros. 35

In the vein of Tetris 99, this is Super Mario Battle Royal!
- Exclusive and free for Switch Online Members
You play original Super Mario Bros in the center of the screen
- In the UI around you, are 34 other people, racing to play Mario Bros faster than you
To attack other players, you defeat enemies as normal, and it sends them off to another player’s queue
- In your queue, you see that as you progress in the level, desaturated enemies are waiting to spawn in your path
- Everyone is racing against the clock, which you get more time by defeating enemies
- And like Tetris 99, you can target opponents by Lowest time, Most Coins, people attacking you and random
- And it seems like coins, not sure if they are acquired the same as in game, or some sort of bonus
  - And it appears you can buy a power-up for 20 of these coins.
Available October 1st
- Will be playable until March 31st, 2021

Mario Kart Live: Home Tour

OMG Mario Kart in real life!
This is an augmented reality game
- You purchase a Mario Kart RC Kart
  - Mario and Luigi seem available first
  - Looks like a traditional Kart, but if it had a large scoop for the engine, behind the racer, that has a camera
- These karts must come with a kit to make 4 arches
  - You start by driving your kart through the arches, painting the track behind you
  - When you connect to the track, it paints the width of the arches to make a race track
The commercial shows 2 kids playing on the same track
- On the Switch, an augmented reality race shows other digital characters racing with the 2 RC karts
October 16th, 2020

Nintendo Rewards for limited pins!

Everyone with a My Nintendo Account can complete Super Mario related missions
You may recieve cool rewards
- Including a Pin set of 10 Mario’s from games ranging from 1985 to 2020
- Will release in 2 waves, US and Canada Only
- September 3rd to March 31st 2021

Mario Kart Tour Event!

Special appearances of Mario and Donkey Kong Junior from the original Super Mario Kart for SNES
- September 8th, 2020, 11PM PST

Limited merchandise

Historical Super Mario items and special 35th Anniversary items
- Only at the Nintendo New York store
- And store.nintendo.com
- Starting in October

Mario Maker 2 Course

A special 35th Anniversary Ninji’s Speed Run course
- November 2020

Super Smash Bros Online Tournament

Limited to Super Mario franchise characters
- Stages and Items
Later this year

Splatoon Splat Fest

Which Power-up would you prefer?
- Super Size from a Mushroom
- Invincibility from a Super Star
- A My Nintendo reward item of a Mushroom and Super Star that got inked
  - To release closer to the SplatFest
  - Physical SplatFest shirts available online, now
January 2021

Animal Crossing

Super Mario themed furniture
- March 2021

And Licensed Super Mario products!

Puma Sneakers
- September 4th
BlackMilk Clothing
- October 5th
Mario Monopoly and Jenga
- Now
Mario Doll
- Now
Lego
- Lego Mario course
- Lego NES with Retro TV

Super Mario All Stars

Coming to the Super NES collection on Switch
- Updated to fit Widescreen tvs!

Super Mario 3D All Stars

Super Mario 64, Sunshine and Galaxy in one game
- Also has a music player, like Smash Ultimate
Limited physical release
- September 18th

This Day in Gaming History

August 29 – 2013 – Game Dev Tycoon – Windows

”Game Dev Tycoon” is a business simulator game where you control a game company.
- The game starts in the garage as many single video games developer did in the 80s.
- As you release successful games, more genres, employees and options are unlocked.
- As time progresses consoles and home computers are unlocked, but often using silly fictional names like PlaySystem and grPhone.
- The game is inspired by Game Dev Story in both name and gameplay.
This is a game I really enjoy and like to go back to from time to time
- Some of the achievements are for naming your Studio or Games based on real companies or releases.
- And some powerful characters you can hire are references to big game developers

August 30 – 2002 – Go! Go! Beckham! Adventure On Soccer Island – Game Boy Advance – United Kingdom Only

It’s football with a unique twist.
- David Beckham is called on to save Soccer Island from the evil Mister Woe, who has taken over the island by turning all of the animals into monsters.
- Not only that, he’s stealing all of the important items for himself.
Using David Beckham’s football skills, you must guide your hero through each level, kicking enemies and doors down with your football to the end of each level.
- Knock down the locks during the game to unlock the exit door and kick your ball through to complete it.
- Boss characters then require special attacks with your football to defeat them.

August 31 – 1997 – Final Fantasy 7 – Playstation

The seventh installment of the Final Fantasy series takes place in a post-modern, steampunk, sci-fi world where high technology reigns and where robots and bio-engineered mutants co-exist with humans and dragons.
To my surprise, the site I source for a lot of these games, Moby Games, had Final Fantasy 7’s North American release as the only game for August 31st, 1997

September 1 – 1984 – Klondike Solitare – DOS

A mouse-only game for DOS, Klondike Solitaire is a simulation of its namesake.
- Using the mouse to click cards, you move cards of alternate suits onto each other in an effort to move them off the tableau.
- Cheating is technically allowed, but doing so will get you “yelled at” by the program.
Felt this would be appropriate, as basically anyone to be stuck on a computer without an internet connection, has played solitaire
- And this may the first Klondike Solitare

September 2 – 2014 – The Sims 4 – Origin Windows

The Sims 4 is the fourth main game in the real-time life simulation / management series. Just like the previous games one or more custom characters are created through Create-a-Sim to live in a house designed by the player.
- As their lives unfold based on the environment, relationships and specific traits, the player gets to manage the life, needs to organize activities, attend to needs, and react to moods, with non-linear gameplay and no direct control.
I’ve been way into it again, as I bought Get Famous on a sale, before the latest expansion Eco Lifestyle came out.
- I reviewed that I really like the social media, and fame meter. As well as the Acting career
- And Eco Lifestyle added Ladders, as well as ways to produce your own water and power.
  - Which you can sell back to the grid for a profit.
If the fanily found it interesting, I was considering making Alan and I, and doing a Twitch stream.

September 3 – 1998 – Hong Pong – DOS

Hong Pong is a Pong variant set in five different war zones (including one hidden) and with tanks instead of paddles.
- Played with two tanks, one on each side of the screen, players need to prevent a spinning nuke from touching their side of the screen, while shooting missiles at the opponent or forcing the nuke to hit his side.
- In the middle of the screen different kinds of vehicles pass and these hurt the player when touched. It is also possible to activate a shield to block the incoming missiles, but while it is up firing is disabled.

September 4 – 1998 – Dune 2000 – Windows

Dune 2000 is a remake of the classic Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty, updated for Windows.
- In this real-time strategy game, you can play one of the three houses: the noble Atreides, the insidious Ordos, or the evil Harkonnen.
- Each has different sets of units and tactics while maintaining an overall balance.
- The Atreides have air superiority and rely on their honor and alliance with planet natives, the Fremen.
- The Ordos rely on guerrilla tactics and superior technology, as well as mercenaries.
- The Harkonnen just go brutal, with no care for lives of their own troops or destruction, as long as they are victorious.
This game made me fall in love with the Dune franchise
- If you are interested in playing it again, I recommend OpenRA
- OpenRA is a project that recreates and modernizes the classic Command & Conquer real time strategy games.
- Relive the original Command and Conquer, C&C: Red Alert, and Dune 2000
- https://www.openra.net

Tidbits

Shout out to Bullfrog, thanks for saying you’ll give us a shot after our ad on Remember the Game.
- We really like Adams podcast, and we are blown away by his glowing review of us!
- Thanks to all our fanily, and welcome to anyone joining us from Remember the Game!

Good news for Rocket League players, once the game hits their free to play launch (we covered all the details in episode 310) you’ll no longer need PS+ or Nintendo Switch Online to play multiplayer
- Unfortunately it looks like Xbox Live Gold is still needed if you want to play on Xbox One
If you’re about to buy a new graphics card you’ll want to press pause until you check out nVidia’s new RTX 30 series
- The new hardware includes all sorts of fanciness like a brand new faster kind of memory (GDDR6X), low latency and high framerates even at 4k and 8k resolutions, and all kinds of ray-tracing beauty
- According to the specs released so far, even the entry level model 3070 beats the two year old 2080ti at less than half its current price
Rocksteady’s upcoming Suicide Squad game, subtitled Kill The Justice League, looks like it could be pretty good
- Featuring Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, and King Shark in a Metropolis being menaced by Brainiac and a presumably mind-controlled Justice League, set in the Arkham game universe
Call of Duty Warzone players will be happy to hear that Activision is suing one of the top websites where players can purchase cheats and hacks for the game, like aimbots and wallhacks (xray vision)
- The lawsuit has forced the site in question to remove all Call of Duty content, leaving people that have previously paid for the cheats with nothing to show for it
  - Some are hoping for refunds, but the fact that people actively cheating at games are now out actual money is kind of delicious

Mini-reviews

The Relentless Moon by Mary Robinette Kowal
- Perspective change threw me at first, but I was glad I recently re-read the other books because this takes place at the same time as The Fated Sky
- Another great addition to the Lady Astronaut of Mars series, and as well written as it was well studied
Bill and Ted Face the Music
- It felt like a lot of what we need right now in the world- a story about people coming together and celebrating eachother, with great acting from a lot of fantastic people, and a subtle reminder about how multicultural music has always been with so many roots in black culture, along with an ending that had me in tears
- After serious movies from The Matrix to John Wick, it’s always good to see what a goofball Keanu Reeves can be

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Thank you Zane, a powerful man and a super hero dad. He’s one of the best #BeLikeZane

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Tag: ps+

Free Games

Twitch

Swimsanity – Couch Party Edition

Optica

Epic Games

The Fall

Sony Play at Home 2021

March 25

ABZU

Enter the Gungeon

Rez Infinite

Subnautica

The Witness

PSVR

Astro Bot Rescue Mission

Moss

Thumper

Paper Beast

April 19

Horizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition

A state-backed group in China wants to get around App Tracking Transparency and track app users with a controversial new “China Advertising ID”, or CAID

Sony’s unveiled the planned controller for their next generation of PSVR, and it looks pretty slick

This Week In Gaming History

March 13 – 2012 – Yakuza: Dead Souls – PlayStation 3 (United States)

March 14 – 1986 – Night Fire – DOS

March 15 – 1997 – Snowboard Kids – Nintendo 64 (North America)

March 16 – 2010 – Metro 2033 – Windows, Xbox 360

March 17 – 1995 – Descent – DOS

March 18 – 1992 – Minesweeper – Windows 3.x

March 19 – 2007 – Tetris Evolution – Xbox 360

Tidbits

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

Free Games

Twitch

The Academy: First Riddle

Epic Games

Sunless Sea

Bonus round: Sony’s announced the return of their Play At Home program, kicking off four months of Playstation offers on March 1st

Australia’s working on a law that would require any site linking to a news publication to pay for the privilege

There’s a proposed class action lawsuit in play alleging that Google lied about Stadia’s capabilities in order to lock in subscribers

Sony’s announced some details on their next-generation VR headset, and it sounds pretty slick

Everyone hoping for Anthem to join the ranks of No Man’s Sky and Final Fantasy XIV and rise from its ashes can now stop holding their breath- it’s officially cancelled

This Week In Gaming History

February 20 – 2003 – Train Tracking – Windows

February 21 – 2017 – Halo Wars 2 – Xbox One, Windows

February 22 – 1996 – Johnny Bazookatone – PlayStation, Sega Saturn, 3DO, DOS

February 23 – 1995 – Mario’s Game Gallery – DOS, Macintosh, Windows

February 24 – 2015 – Dragon Ball: Xenoverse – PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One

February 25 – 2002 – Circus Maximus – PS2, Xbox

February 26 – 2008 – Turning Point: Fall of Liberty – PS3, Windows, Xbox 360

Tidbits

Mini-review

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

Free games

Xbox Gold

The Book of Unwritten Tales 2

Slayaway Camp: Butcher’s Cut

Sphinx & the Cursed Mummy

Ps plus

Need for Speed: Payback

Vampyr

Twitch

SEUM: Speedrunners from Hell

Dead Age

Surf World Series

Layers of Fear

Silver Chains

Jay and Silent Bob: Mall Brawl

Darkside Detective

Epic Games

Pikuniku

Epic Games vs Apple updates

iOS security recommendations

Google announced a bunch of new stuff this week at their hardware event, including a new streaming service client

The new Spider-Man: Miles Morales game for the PS5 exists in a weird spot for a sequel, working almost like reverse DLC

This Day in Gaming History

September 26 – 1995 – Command & Conquer – DOS

September 27 – 2004 – Dream Works’ Shark Tale – GameCube, PS2, Xbox

September 28 – 1995 – Mario Clash – Virtual Boy – Japan