Co-op adventure game ‘It Takes Two’ hits Switch on November 4th

It Takes Two was a breakout hit when it came out in 2021, and now the cooperative adventure game is coming to a fresh platform. It Takes Two is due to hit Switch on November 4th for $40, and pre-orders are open today. The game will take advantage of the Friend’s Pass feature from developer Hazelight and publisher EA, unlocking co-op play even if one person doesn’t own the game.

It Takes Two is a distinctly two-player experience, and on Switch it’ll be playable three ways: in couch co-op mode, with two Switches over a local wireless network, or with a friend online. It’s not playable cross-platform. The Friend’s Pass feature is already a thing for PC and console versions of It Takes Two, and it allows someone who doesn’t own the game to play with someone who does.

The Switch port was handled by Turn Me Up Games, the studio that brought Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and the Borderlands: Legendary Collection to Nintendo’s latest console.

It Takes Two is also getting the silver-screen treatment, though its storyline is arguably the most distressing part of the game. Amazon Studios is adapting it into a movie, with The Rock rumored as a potential star.

 

Facebook is trying to be Discord with ‘Community Chats’

Meta is introducing a new way for Facebook’s nearly 3 billion users to connect with one another. In the coming weeks, the company plans to expand the availability of Community Chats, a feature that will allow Facebook and Messenger groups to organize discussions around their favorite topics. On top of the usual text conversations, Community Chats will support audio and video channels and allow admins to broadcast messages to their groups.

Since Meta envisions you using Community Chats to communicate with people outside of your immediate social circle, admins will have access to a handful of moderation tools to ensure conversations stay civil. An “Admin Assist” feature will allow them to create a list of words and phrases they want the platform to automatically flag and take action against. Admins also have the power to block, mute and suspend individuals who don’t play by their community’s rules. They can also host admin-only chats where they can talk privately with their moderation team. 

If all of this sounds familiar, it’s because Meta is effectively replicating how Discord works. On Discord, you can join Community Servers that are organized around a single game or interest, and it’s even possible for admins to create multiple sub-channels for people to discuss specific aspects of their interest, much like Meta will allow Community Chats users to do. Even the moderation tools are reminiscent of features Discord has released in recent months to combat trolls.

 

VW’s ID.Buzz electric van combines nostalgia and technology

We’ve waited a long time for this one. The Volkswagen ID.Buzz was unveiled way back in 2017. Now it’s here and ready to drive. Except it’s not exactly “here.” It’ll launch in Europe this year and make its way to the United States in 2023. That means that, while we did have an opportunity to drive the long-awaited EV, it was the European model rather than the longer van that’ll arrive in the US.

Still, as far as hype vehicles go, the ID.Buzz is up there with the Ford Bronco for folks looking for an electric alternative to the automotive-nostalgia trend. During our drive we found the ID.Buzz to be as advertised and a proper van that just so happens to be powered by electricity and a desire to reclaim yesteryear. Just don’t ask about price, range, or the actual length of the upcoming US version. Watch the video above for the full story.

 

Watch nearly 8 minutes of ‘Bayonetta 3’ gameplay in a new trailer

Bayonetta 3 is primed to be a stylish, neon-splattered action title, and Nintendo has the gameplay trailer to prove it. Today the studio dropped nearly eight minutes of Bayonetta 3 gameplay footage on YouTube, showcasing Bayonetta’s Witch Time, Demon Masquerade and summoning abilities, and how other characters will play. 

The game pits Bayonetta and her cohorts — a witch-in-training called Viola, the Umbra Witch Jeanne and a journalist named Luka — against an army of man-made bioweapons called Homonculi. Each character brings their own flair to the fight; Viola, for instance, can call upon a giant, maniacal Cheshire cat to help her take down massive monsters.

The Demon Masquerade feature allows Bayonetta to channel the abilities of various animals, including a moth, spider and scorpion. There’s also a new accessory called Immortal Marionette that adds a one-button input mechanic for combos and defense moves to any difficulty setting in the game. 

Bayonetta 3 is set to hit Switch on October 28th.

 

Peloton’s connected Bike rentals are now available across 48 states

Peloton is expanding a rental program for its Bike and Bike+ fitness equipment. Now, anyone in the contiguous US (sorry, Alaska and Hawaii) can try one of the connected exercise bikes at home without having to shell out at least $1,445. The company started testing the program in select markets earlier this year. It’s worth noting that the rentals may still not be available in some remote locations.

A Bike rental costs $89 per month, while Bike+ costs $119 per month. You’ll need to pay a $150 setup fee as well. Both options include an All Access Membership, which features Peloton’s swathe of live and on-demand fitness classes. You can return the equipment for free at any time. After 12 months, you’ll be able to buy the Bike or Bike+ at a reduced rate ($895 and $1,595, respectively).

News of broader availability of the rental program comes after it emerged that two of Peloton’s co-founders are departing the company. As CNBC notes, John Foley is stepping down as executive chairman. Karen Boone will take over as the chair of the board. Chief legal officer Hisao Kushi, another co-founder, is leaving and will be replaced by Tammy Albarrán, Uber’s chief deputy general counsel.

Additionally, chief commercial officer Kevin Cornils, who joined Peloton in 2018, will move on later this month amid a broader organizational shakeup. Chief strategy officer Dion Sanders will take on many of Cornils’ duties in a new role as chief emerging business officer.

These executive changes are the latest developments in a turbulent year for Peloton as CEO Barry McCarthy tries to resolve the company’s woes. Just as McCarthy took over the position from Foley earlier this year, Peloton laid off around 2,800 workers. In July, Peloton let go around 570 employees in Taiwan amid a shift away from in-house manufacturing, and last month, the company cut another 784 jobs in the distribution and customer service departments. It will rely on third-party companies for deliveries.

Whether McCarthy’s ambitious plan to steady the Peloton ship pays off remains to be seen. It’s been a rough year financially for the company to say the least. McCarthy told shareholders last month that, despite incurring an operating loss of $1.2 billion last quarter, he sees “significant progress driving our comeback and Peloton’s long-term resilience.”

McCarthy said this week that Peloton would start selling its products in some brick-and-mortar stores after announcing the closure of many of the company’s own retail locations. It recently listed its equipment on Amazon for the first time. McCarthy also mused on making it easier for people to access third-party content on Peloton’s displays, something that’s already possible to do by jailbreaking the device.

 

Twitter whistleblower says company had Chinese agent on payroll

During a hearing with the Senate Judiciary Committee, Twitter’s former security chief turned whistleblower, Peiter Zatko, shed new light on his claims that the company’s lax security practices harmed U.S. national security. Among the new allegations was that the company had a Chinese agent working for the country’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) on its payroll.

During his opening statement, Sen. Chuck Grassley stated that “the FBI notified Twitter of at least one Chinese agent in the company.” In the public version of his whistleblower complaint, Zatko stated he had been warned that the company was employing “one or more” people who were “working on behalf of another particular foreign intelligence agency.” But the version of the complaint made public, parts of which were redacted, didn’t specify what country the FBI was referring to.

In his testimony, Zatko confirmed the company had been warned about the presence of Chinese agents. “This was made aware to me maybe a week before I was summarily dismissed,” Zatko said. “I had been told because the corporate security/physical security team had been contacted and told that there was at least one agent of the MSS, which is one of China’s intelligence services on the payroll inside Twitter.”

Zatko also raised concerns about the presence of foreign agents from other countries, including India, which he said “forced” Twitter to hire government agents. 

Notably, Zatko’s disclosures are not the first time Twitter has had to contend with the presence of unregistered foreign agents on its payroll. A former Twitter worker was recently convicted of acting as an agent for Saudi Arabia. Prosecutors alleged the man was paid to turn over sensitive information about dissidents.

Zatko alleged that the danger posed by foreign agents was even greater due to a litany of factors: the vast amount of data the platform collects and its lack of insight into that data, as well as the broad and largely unfettered access Twitter’s engineers have to it. “It’s not far-fetched to say that an employee inside the company could take over the accounts of all of the senators in this room,” Zatko said. 

The hearing is likely to amp up the pressure on Twitter, which has so far declined to address Zatko’s claims in detail. Senator Grassley said that the committee had also invited CEO Parag Agrawal to testify at the hearing but that he had “refused to appear.”

“He rejected this committee’s invitation to appear by claiming that it would jeopardize Twitter’s ongoing litigation Mr. Musk,” Grassley said, referring to the company’s legal battle with Elon Musk over his $44 billion acquisition of the company. “Protecting Americans from foreign influence is more important than Twitter’s civil litigation in Delaware. If these allegations are true, I don’t see how Mr. Agrawal can maintain his position at Twitter going forward.”

 

‘The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’ lands on Switch May 12th, 2023

The sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is called Tears of the Kingdom and it’s due to hit Switch on May 12th, 2023. Nintendo revealed the release date, name and a short teaser for the game during today’s Direct showcase. The studio says Tears of the Kingdom will travel into the skies beyond Hyrule, to an expanded world among the clouds.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild debuted in 2017, the same day the Switch came to market. It was a huge critical and commercial success, and the sequel has been hotly anticipated since. The new game was originally announced with a release window in 2022, but in March, Nintendo delayed it into spring 2023.

It wasn’t the only major game to be pushed out of 2022. A handful of titles from big publishers, including Starfield, Redfall, Hogwarts Legacy and Forspoken, were delayed into 2023 this year.

 

‘GoldenEye 007’ is coming to Nintendo Switch Online’s Expansion Pack with online play

You’ll soon have a way to play one of the most beloved Nintendo 64 games on your Switch without having to jailbreak the console. During today’s Nintendo Direct, it emerged that GoldenEye 007 is coming to the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack service. What’s more, you’ll be able to hop into the iconic multiplayer mode with your friends through online play. Nintendo didn’t say when the first-person shooter will arrive on Switch, other than to say it’s “coming soon.” In the meantime, you can check out a new documentary about the game.

On top of that, GoldenEye 007 is coming to Xbox Game Pass. Rare says the game has been “faithfully recreated for Xbox consoles.” It will feature split-screen local multiplayer, achievements, 4K resolution and a seemingly smoother framerate. In fairness, it would be tough to have a lower framerate than the N64 version.

Nintendo also revealed a bunch of other N64 titles that it will gradually add to the Expansion Pack service. Pilotwings 64, Mario Party and Mario Party 2 will all be available later this year. In 2023, Mario Party 3, Pokémon Stadium, Pokémon Stadium 2, 1080 Snowboarding and Excitebike 64 will join the lineup.

Ready up for your objective, secret agents. Nintendo 64’s GoldenEye 007 is coming soon to Nintendo Switch for #NintendoSwitchOnline + Expansion Pack members, now with online play! pic.twitter.com/pXNzpDW7Ud

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) September 13, 2022

 

What we bought: How the Blue Yeti Nano finally earned a spot on my desk

Despite primarily working from home for years before the pandemic hit, I hadn’t thought too much about my WFH setup before 2020. I went as far as investing in a solid monitor, mostly because I was sick of squinting at a 13-inch laptop screen for eight hours each day. It actually wasn’t until earlier this year that I decided to upgrade my workspace in a meaningful way.

I chalk this up to being someone who constantly talks themselves out of buying things. I’m a fairly frugal person, but I have no problem buying things that I know will make a big impact on my day-to-day life. So, I invested in a good pair of ANC headphones when I could snag them on sale; a full-sized mechanical keyboard for a more comfortable (and more fun) typing experience and the Blue Yeti Nano microphone for increasingly more frequent video calls.

I’ll admit the Yeti Nano was probably the lowest priority item out of those three things, despite being a long-time favorite in the microphone space. However, it’s proven to be a smart investment, mostly because I have more video meetings now than ever. In pre-pandemic times, I had maybe one video conference per week, and that was during the busiest of times. But now, for many reasons ranging from the wide acceptance of remote work and the progression of my own career, I typically have a number of video calls each day. And I believe in putting my best face (and voice) forward as much as possible: I try to turn my Logitech Streamcam on for most every video call I take and I wanted the quality of my voice to match that of my video feed.

Valentina Palladino / Engadget

The Yeti Nano mic delivers on this in a fantastic fashion. In my initial messing around after I unboxed the thing, I could immediately hear the difference in my audio when I recorded a few test samples in Audacity. My voice sounded clearer and stronger and the audio lacked the subtly fuzzy quality that I typically hear when I use my laptop’s microphone.

The Yeti Nano supports cardioid and omnidirectional polar patterns, but I usually keep mine on the former since I’m the only one using it on the daily. However, I like the fact that I have the option to start a roundtable podcast in the future without needing to spend more money on a better mic. I also like that the Yeti Nano will come in handy during the few times a year I get to be a guest on the Engadget podcast. Previously for those occasions, I would use an external mic that I acquired years ago, but it didn’t come with a sturdy base like the Yeti Nano. It would be a struggle to get that mic in the right position on my desk for optimal podcast performance, and I don’t anticipate the same struggle with the Yeti Nano.

I have known for a while how popular Blue microphones are with budding podcasters, game streamers, remote workers and the like, so the brand was the first I turned to when I went looking for an upgrade. Out of the many devices in the company’s lineup, I ultimately decided to buy the Yeti Nano in part because of its design. It’s just compact enough to sit on my standing desk converter next to my monitor without obscuring the screen too much, and it’s still in a great spot for video calls. Initially I waffled between the Nano and the full-sized Yeti, but I ultimately decided that the few extra bells and whistles that come with the latter – namely stereo and bidirectional modes – weren’t necessary for my regular use. I was also able to pick up the Yeti Nano while it was on sale at Amazon, so instead of spending $100, I only dropped $80 on it. That means I can put a few extra dollars toward the next piece of tech that I decide will make my desk setup even more functional.

 

‘Fire Emblem Engage’ is coming to Switch on January 20th

Today’s Nintendo Direct kicked off with a bang, with the reveal of a new, mainline Fire Emblem game. You won’t have to wait too long to get your hands on Fire Emblem Engage either. It’s coming to Nintendo Switch on January 20th. 

A thousand years after four kingdoms and heroes from further afield worked together to imprison a Fell Dragon, this so-called great evil is poised to re-emerge. Your task is to collect Emblem Rings that are scattered across the world in order to bring peace to the Continent of Elyos.

Along with the announcement, Nintendo offered a first look at gameplay. Fire Emblem Engage appears to have grid-based, real-time strategy elements, along with turn-based battles and open-world exploration. The game will feature a new cast of customizable characters, though you’ll be able to summon heroes such as Marth (who’s making his return to the Fire Emblem series) and Celica in your quest. 

You can pre-order Fire Emblem Engage now from the Nintendo eShop. A physical Divine Edition with a steelbook and art case will be available too.

Become the Divine Dragon and save the continent of Elyos!

Summon valiant heroes like Marth & Celica alongside a new cast of characters and engage in turn-based, tactical combat against a great evil in this new Fire Emblem story. #FireEmblem Engage launches on 1/20/23! pic.twitter.com/qQ8MMAH8Od

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) September 13, 2022

 

Generated by Feedzy
Exit mobile version