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The Evil Within will be free next week on the Epic Games Store. The nearly decade-old title is a survival horror game from Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami, who left Bethesda earlier this year. The game will be free to claim on Epic from October 19 to 26.

The game puts you in the shoes of Detective Sebastian Castellanos as he finds himself sucked into a macabre world full of nightmarish monsters and traps. The Evil Within’s action unfolds in a third-person perspective as Castellanos uses stealth and whatever weapons and resources he can scrap together to unravel the mystery of his environment and the villainous Ruvik. The highly intelligent antagonist toes the line between madman and tortured soul as he helms the STEM machine, a complex device that can link human minds together in a virtual world.

Although some players and reviewers chided the title’s uneven plot and archetypal (sometimes bordering on generic) enemies, it could be seen as something of a modern cult classic for horror fans and Mikami devotees. You can add the game (typically $20 these days) to your account for free next week in the Epic Games Store.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/early-ps4-classic-the-evil-within-will-be-free-on-the-epic-games-store-next-week-195626397.html?src=rss 

Several weeks after Nintendo revealed Charles Martinet will no longer voice Mario, the company has confirmed the identity of the actor who’ll play its most famous character for the foreseeable future. Kevin Afghani is the new voice of Mario Mario and Luigi Mario in Nintendo’s games.

“Incredibly proud to have voiced Mario and Luigi in Super Mario Bros. Wonder,” Afghani, who was perhaps best known until now as the voice of Arnold in Genshin Impact, wrote on X. “Thanks to Nintendo for inviting me into the Flower Kingdom!” Nintendo confirmed to Polygon that Afghani is voicing the characters and will have the honor of being the first actor to portray Elephant Mario.

Fans noticed something different with Mario’s voice when the first trailer for Super Mario Bros. Wonder, which arrives on October 20, emerged over the summer. They noticed a difference in Wario’s voice in a WarioWare: Move It! clip too. It’s not yet clear who’s playing Mario’s arch-rival in that game.

Martinet, who is 67, was the man behind Mario’s “wahoo!” and “here we go!” exclamations for well over two decades in games and since 1991 at trade shows. He’s played several other characters in the Mario-verse during that time, including Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Baby Luigi and Baby Mario.

But whether it was Martinet’s decision or Nintendo’s, it was evidently time for a change. Martinet will continue to work with Nintendo as a “Mario Ambassador,” which will see him “continue to travel the world sharing the joy of Mario.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nintendo-confirms-mario-and-luigis-new-voice-actor-201406168.html?src=rss 

One of the biggest unanswered questions regarding Microsoft’s $67.8 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard concerned the role of Bobby Kotick at the company. Now that the deal is finally complete and the publisher is officially a part of Microsoft, the future of the Activision Blizzard CEO is a little clearer.

In a memo to employees, Kotick wrote that he is “fully committed to helping with the transition.” He’ll remain at the helm “through the end of 2023” and he’ll report to Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer. “We both look forward to working together on a smooth integration for our teams and players,” Kotick wrote.

Kotick is widely expected to step down from the role he has held for over three decades as soon as January 1, though Activision Blizzard has declined to confirm an exact date for his departure. In any case, his contract runs until April.

Other changes are expected at the top of Activision Blizzard. In his own memo to the publisher’s staff, Spencer wrote that “we will share more updates on our new organizational structure in the coming months.”

Kotick shaped his company into a financially successful enterprise after leading a group of investors to buy Mediagenic for a bargain-basement price in 1991. He restructured the company and restored its previous name of Activision. In 2008, following a string of successful games, acquisitions and investments, Kotick engineered a merger with the games division of Vivendi, which owned Blizzard.

However, Kotick’s stewardship of the company has long been a controversial one. As far back as 2010, Kotaku called him “the most hated man in video games,” partly because of the perception that Kotick places a heavy focus on monetizing Activision Blizzard’s games as much as possible. That’s not to mention his reported treatment of employees at his various companies.

Over the last few years, observers have been paying more attention to Activision Blizzard’s culture under Kotick. In 2021, the California Civil Rights Department, sued the company, alleging that it fostered a culture where discrimination and widespread harassment were rife. Later that year, a report by The Wall Street Journal indicated that Kotick had long been aware of sexual misconduct and assault allegations at Activision Blizzard, and that he neglected to share some of those (or details about settlements that were agreed with alleged victims) with the board.

The report led to many Activision Blizzard workers walking out and demanding Kotick’s resignation. The following year, months after Microsoft made its blockbuster bid for Activision Blizzard, the publisher’s shareholders voted to let Kotick keep his board seat.

In fact, the turmoil over Activision Blizzard’s toxic workplace culture (and resulting pressure on the company that sent its stock tumbling) was what prompted Microsoft to buy the company. Kotick had claimed that Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV delays resulted in a fall of the stock price. But workers pushed back on those assertions.

Overwatch producer Tracy Kennedy claimed in early 2022 that Kotick pushed “random projects” onto the development team. Kennedy said the team worked overtime only to see those projects canceled and that “entire teams are turning over” and blaming Kotick.

It’s not only at Activision where Kotick has spurred controversy. In 2007, the flight attendant of a private jet he was co-owner of sued him. The attendant alleged that, after she informed the plane’s other owner that the pilot had sexually harassed her, Kotick fired her. The case resulted in a $200,000 settlement for the flight attendant.

Kotick has long been one of the highest-paid CEOs in North America and he’s not exactly going to be retiring with only a nice watch to show for his time at Activision Blizzard. A report last year suggested that he stood to make $375.3 million from the sale to Microsoft. He’s also expected to receive a golden parachute payment of $14.6 million when he departs.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/bobby-kotick-will-remain-activision-blizzard-ceo-until-the-end-of-2023-184419538.html?src=rss 

The world of ants is a mysterious one, as we’re still learning new stuff about the most populous insect on Earth. Soon we’ll be able to get a more hands-on approach with everyone’s favorite picnic-ruiners, thanks to the forthcoming insect sim Empire of the Ants. The game’s based on the hit sci-fi book series and has you controlling a heroic ant to protect your massive colony.

Publisher Microids and developer Tower Five just dropped a trailer and these are perhaps the most photorealistic ants ever seen in a video game. As a matter of fact, the whole trailer’s teeming with eye candy, which makes sense given the title was built using Epic Games’ powerful Unreal Engine 5. Plus it’s not just one or two ants on screen, as in-game footage shows hundreds of the little buggers doing their thing, complete with a photorealistic forest down to the pebbles and dirt on the floor.

As for gameplay, the devs liken it to a real-time strategy title, with some 3rd-person adventuring peppered throughout. The makers say that “strategy planning, exploration, combat skills, but most of all, setting up local wildlife alliances will be necessary to survive the many challenges awaiting.”

The developers tout scalable difficulty levels to suit players of varying skill, a day-night cycle and gameplay that changes depending on the season. Each season will present players with different attributes, adding some light RPG elements, impacting “speed, resistance, buffs and more,” according to an email sent to Engadget.

There’s no release date yet, other than sometime in 2024, but the game’s coming to both PC and unnamed consoles (likely PS5 and Xbox S/X.) Publisher Microids previously released a smaller-scale adaptation of Empire of the Ants, back in 2000. Developers Tower Five previously worked on the strategy game Lornsword Winter Chronicles and the ill-fated 2020 remake of XIII.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/this-gorgeous-looking-game-lets-you-control-a-colony-of-photorealistic-ants-191034408.html?src=rss 

The Biden administration has selected the recipients of its funding for the seven regional “hydrogen hubs,” or clean hydrogen producers. All regions will receive funds from a $7 billion investment made available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The hubs are collectively expected to produce more than three million metric tons of clean hydrogen per year and help put the US on track to produce 50 million metric tons of clean hydrogen fuel by 2050.

The initiative is a crucial step towards achieving President Biden’s goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. But it is also expected to bolster the economy, creating thousands of jobs for the states involved in the project. Collectively, the hubs will create more than 300,000 direct jobs.

The seven hubs named include: the Mid-Atlantic Hydrogen Hub, Appalachian Hydrogen Hub, the California Hydrogen Hub, the Gulf Coast Hydrogen Hub, Heartland Hydrogen Hub, Midwest Hydrogen Hub and the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub. Some regions that applied for the hub program together through the Department of Energy will require cross-state collaboration. For example, the Mid-Atlantic Hydrogen Hub is made up of Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey.

The Biden administration said that it expects two-thirds of total project investments will be associated with green (electrolysis based) production. The hydrogen hubs are expected to eliminate 25 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions through its projects—which the Biden administration likens to the annual emissions of over 5.5 million gasoline-powered cars. The hubs will focus on offsetting and creating alternatives to heavy-duty transportation, chemical, steel and cement manufacturing.

This program is just one part of the Biden administration’s efforts to slow climate change and make a lasting impact on the nation’s carbon footprint. The White House has previously pushed similar initiatives, including an executive order that requires half of all new vehicles sold in 2030 to have some form of zero-emissions driving and its plans to allocate billions in funding to decarbonize the country’s power grid by 2035.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/biden-administration-announces-first-recipients-of-7-billion-hydrogen-hub-program-165640048.html?src=rss 

It’s hard to imagine that anyone in the world was demanding a hybrid Corvette, but those crazy engineers at Chevrolet went and did it anyway. Meet the 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray, but if you’re already angry at the concept, you shouldn’t be.

The hybrid drive here isn’t to raise the efficiency of perhaps America’s most iconic sports car. Oh no. It’s only here to make it faster. 0 to 60 in 2.5 seconds and a quarter-mile in 10.5 fast. The electric motor up front adds 160 horsepower to the 495 that comes from the LT2 V8 in the back. Yes, it can be driven for a few miles emissions-free, but more important is how it boosts acceleration.

It helps the handling, too. The Stingray is a notorious understeerer on the track. The E-Ray does too, but give it a little throttle and that magic front electric motor pulls the nose right around and through. It’s a delight, and so is the E-Ray – a $104,295 delight. It definitely comes at a premium over the base Stingray, but those looking for the ultimate all-round, all-season ‘Vette have a new choice. Watch the video below for our full impressions.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/chevys-first-hybrid-corvette-isnt-what-you-think-it-is-171111642.html?src=rss