For nearly 10 years I have written about science and technology and I’ve been an early adopter of new tech for much longer. As a teenager in the mid-1990s I annoyed the hell out of my family by jamming up the phone line for hours with a dial-up modem; connecting to bulletin board communities all over the country.When I started writing professionally about technology in 2016 I was all for our seemingly inevitable transhumanist future. When the chip is ready I want it immediately stuck in my head, I remember saying proudly in our busy office. Why not improve ourselves where we can?Since then, my general view on technology has dramatically shifted. Watching a growing class of super-billionaires erode the democratizing nature of technology by maintaining corporate controls over what we use and how we use it has fundamentally changed my personal relationship with technology. Seeing deeply disturbing philosophical stances like longtermism, effective altruism, and singulartarianism envelop the minds of those rich, powerful men controlling the world has only further entrenched inequality.A recent Black Mirror episode really rammed home the perils we face by having technology so controlled by capitalist interests. A sick woman is given a brain implant connected to a cloud server to keep her alive. The system is managed through a subscription service where the user pays for monthly access to the cognitive abilities managed by the implant. As time passes, that subscription cost gets more and more expensive - and well, it’s Black Mirror, so you can imagine where things end up. Titled 'Common People', the episode is from series 7 of Black MirrorNetflix The enshittification of our digital world has been impossible to ignore. You’re not imagining things, Google Search is getting worse.But until the emergence of AI (or, as we’ll discuss later, language learning models that pretend to look and sound like an artificial intelligence) I’ve never been truly concerned about a technological innovation, in and of itself.A recent article looked at how generative AI tech such as ChatGPT is being used by university students. The piece was authored by a tech admin at New York University and it’s filled with striking insights into how AI is shaking the foundations of educational institutions.Not unsurprisingly, students are using ChatGPT for everything from summarizing complex texts to completely writing essays from scratch. But one of the reflections quoted in the article immediately jumped out at me.When a student was asked why they relied on generative AI so much when putting work together they responded, “You’re asking me to go from point A to point B, why wouldn’t I use a car to get there?”My first response was, of course, why wouldn’t you? It made complete sense.For a second.And then I thought, hang on, what is being lost by speeding from point A to point B in a car? What if the quickest way from point A to point B wasn't the best way to get there?Depositphotos Let’s further the analogy. You need to go to the grocery store. It’s a 10-minute walk away but a three-minute drive. Why wouldn’t you drive?Well, the only benefit of driving is saving time. That’s inarguable. You’ll be back home and cooking up your dinner before the person on foot even gets to the grocery store.Congratulations. You saved yourself about 20 minutes. In a world where efficiency trumps everything this is the best choice. Use that extra 20 minutes in your day wisely.But what are the benefits of not driving, taking the extra time, and walking?First, you have environmental benefits. Not using a car unnecessarily; spewing emissions into the air, either directly from combustion or indirectly for those with electric cars.Secondly, you have health benefits from the little bit of exercise you get by walking. Our stationary lives are quite literally killing us so a 20-minute walk a day is likely to be incredibly positive for your health.But there are also more abstract benefits to be gained by walking this short trip from A to B.Walking connects us to our neighborhood. It slows things down. Helps us better understand the community and environment we are living in. A recent study summarized the benefits of walking around your neighborhood, suggesting the practice leads to greater social connectedness and reduced feelings of isolation.So what are we losing when we use a car to get from point A to point B? Potentially a great deal.But let’s move out of abstraction and into the real world.An article in the Columbia Journalism Review asked nearly 20 news media professionals how they were integrating AI into their personal workflow. The responses were wildly varied. Some journalists refused to use AI for anything more than superficial interview transcription, while others use it broadly, to edit text, answer research questions, summarize large bodies of science text, or search massive troves of data for salient bits of information.In general, the line almost all those media professionals shared was they would never explicitly use AI to write their articles. But for some, almost every other stage of the creative process in developing a story was fair game for AI assistance.I found this a little horrifying. Farming out certain creative development processes to AI felt not only ethically wrong but also like key cognitive stages were being lost, skipped over, considered unimportant.I’ve never considered myself to be an extraordinarily creative person. I don’t feel like I come up with new or original ideas when I work. Instead, I see myself more as a compiler. I enjoy finding connections between seemingly disparate things. Linking ideas and using those pieces as building blocks to create my own work. As a writer and journalist I see this process as the whole point.A good example of this is a story I published in late 2023 investigating the relationship between long Covid and psychedelics. The story began earlier in the year when I read an intriguing study linking long Covid with serotonin abnormalities in the gut. Being interested in the science of psychedelics, and knowing that psychedelics very much influence serotonin receptors, I wondered if there could be some kind of link between these two seemingly disparate topics.The idea sat in the back of my mind for several months, until I came across a person who told me they had been actively treating their own long Covid symptoms with a variety of psychedelic remedies. After an expansive and fascinating interview I started diving into different studies looking to understand how certain psychedelics affect the body, and whether there could be any associations with long Covid treatments.Eventually I stumbled across a few compelling associations. It took weeks of reading different scientific studies, speaking to various researchers, and thinking about how several discordant threads could be somehow linked.Could AI have assisted me in the process of developing this story?No. Because ultimately, the story comprised an assortment of novel associations that I drew between disparate ideas all encapsulated within the frame of a person’s subjective experience.And it is this idea of novelty that is key to understanding why modern AI technology is not actually intelligence but a simulation of intelligence. LLMs are a sophisticated language imitator, delivering responses that resemble what they think a response would look likeDepositphotos ChatGPT, and all the assorted clones that have emerged over the last couple of years, are a form of technology called LLMs (large language models). At the risk of enraging those who actually work in this mind-bendingly complex field, I’m going to dangerously over-simplify how these things work.It’s important to know that when you ask a system like ChatGPT a question it doesn’t understand what you are asking it. The response these systems generate to any prompt is simply a simulation of what it computes a response would look like based on a massive dataset.So if I were to ask the system a random question like, “What color are cats?”, the system would scrape the world’s trove of information on cats and colors to create a response that mirrors the way most pre-existing text talks about cats and colors. The system builds its response word by word, creating something that reads coherently to us, by establishing a probability for what word should follow each prior word. It’s not thinking, it’s imitating.What these generative AI systems are spitting out are word salad amalgams of what it thinks the response to your prompt should look like, based on training from millions of books and webpages that have been previously published.Setting aside for a moment the accuracy of the responses these systems deliver, I am more interested (or concerned) with the cognitive stages that this technology allows us to skip past.For thousands of years we have used technology to improve our ability to manage highly complex tasks. The idea is called cognitive offloading, and it’s as simple as writing something down on a notepad or saving a contact number on your smartphone. There are pros and cons to cognitive offloading, and scientists have been digging into the phenomenon for years.As long as we have been doing it, there have been people criticizing the practice. The legendary Greek philosopher Socrates was notorious for his skepticism around the written word. He believed knowledge emerged through a dialectical process so writing itself was reductive. He even went so far as to suggest (according to his student Plato, who did write things down) that writing makes us dumber. “For this invention will produce forgetfulness in the minds of those who learn to use it, because they will not practice their memory. Their trust in writing, produced by external characters which are no part of themselves, will discourage the use of their own memory within them. You have invented an elixir not of memory, but of reminding; and you offer your pupils the appearance of wisdom, not true wisdom, for they will read many things without instruction and will therefore seem to know many things, when they are for the most part ignorant and hard to get along with, since they are not wise, but only appear wise.” Wrote Plato, quoting Socrates Almost every technological advancement in human history can be seen to be accompanied by someone suggesting it will be damaging. Calculators have destroyed our ability to properly do math. GPS has corrupted our spatial memory. Typewriters killed handwriting. Computer word processors killed typewriters. Video killed the radio star.And what have we lost? Well, zooming in on writing, for example, a 2020 study claimed brain activity is greater when a note is handwritten as opposed to being typed on a keyboard. And then a 2021 study suggested memory retention is better when using a pen and paper versus a stylus and tablet. So there are certainly trade-offs whenever we choose to use a technological tool to offload a cognitive task.There’s an oft-told story about gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson. It may be apocryphal but it certainly is meaningful. He once said he sat down and typed out the entirety of The Great Gatsby, word for word. According to Thompson, he wanted to know what it felt like to write a great novel. Thompson was infamous for writing everything on typewriters, even when computers emerged in the 1990sPublic Domain I don’t want to get all wishy-washy here, but these are the brass tacks we are ultimately falling on. What does it feel like to think? What does it feel like to be creative? What does it feel like to understand something?A recent interview with Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, reveals how deeply AI has infiltrated his life and work. Not only does Nadella utilize nearly a dozen different custom-designed AI agents to manage every part of his workflow – from summarizing emails to managing his schedule – but he also uses AI to get through podcasts quickly on his way to work. Instead of actually listening to the podcasts he has transcripts uploaded to an AI assistant who he then chats to about the information while commuting.Why listen to the podcast when you can get the gist through a summary? Why read a book when you can listen to the audio version at X2 speed? Or better yet, watch the movie? Or just read a Wikipedia entry. Or get AI to summarize the wikipedia entry.I’m not here to judge anyone on the way they choose to use technology. Do what you want with ChatGPT. But for a moment consider what you may be skipping over by racing from point A to point B.Sure, you can give ChatGPT a set of increasingly detailed prompts; adding complexity to its summary of a scientific journal or a podcast, but at what point do the prompts get so granular that you may as well read the journal entry itself? If you get generative AI to skim and summarize something, what is it missing? If something was worth being written then surely it is worth being read?If there is a more succinct way to say something then maybe we should say it more succinctly.In a magnificent article for The New Yorker, Ted Chiang perfectly summed up the deep contradiction at the heart of modern generative AI systems. He argues language, and writing, is fundamentally about communication. If we write an email to someone we can expect the person at the other end to receive those words and consider them with some kind of thought or attention. But modern AI systems (or these simulations of intelligence) are erasing our ability to think, consider, and write. Where does it all end? For Chiang it's pretty dystopian feedback loop of dialectical slop. “We are entering an era where someone might use a large language model to generate a document out of a bulleted list, and send it to a person who will use a large language model to condense that document into a bulleted list. Can anyone seriously argue that this is an improvement?” Ted Chiang

After more than two decades, Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny is back! First released in 2002 as a sequel to the critically acclaimed Onimusha: Warlords, this game expands on the original’s exhilarating Sengoku-era adventure by introducing a new story and protagonist — Jubei Yagyu, a samurai on a quest for revenge. 10 years after the events of Onimusha: Warlords, the demonic Nobunaga Oda’s strength has been restored, and his sights are set on conquering Japan, starting with Yagyu Village. When Jubei, returns to find his home in ruins, he sets out to bring Nobunaga to justice. On his quest, Jubei meets four individuals who can ally with and aid him on his journey. Give these allies various gifts to strengthen your affinity with them, have them help you in battle, and steer your adventure to different endings. There are many ways to obtain gifts, including buying them in shops, receiving them from other allies, and by finding them hidden throughout the game. Choose wisely which gifts you give to which ally, as they all have their own preferences. Giving enough of the right gifts to the right ally may even unlock them as a playable character for a portion of the game. We asked some of Capcom’s staff to choose their favorite gift reactions. Keep an eye out for them as you play the game! Ekei Ankokuji is a Buddhist priest, but he loves money, booze, and women, living a life of debauchery. You might think arts and entertainment wouldn’t be his style, but if you give him a huqin or folding fan, for example, he’ll promise to enchant you with a dance, with a wide smile. Magoichi Saiga is chief of the Kishu Saiga Gun Team. Fearless and keen of mind, he has a passion for books. He sounds like the type of guy to appreciate a good history book, but if you give him one by itself, he’ll let you know he’d rather read them all at once. Perhaps it would be best to wait to have a complete set of books before gifting them to him… The youngest ally, Kotaro Fuma, is a ninja serving the Hojo clan in the Kanto region. Gift him something old-fashioned like a Tengu mask, and he’ll swiftly respond that it’s for old people, forcing Jubei to quietly take it back. Oyu is a mysterious woman clad in Western armor. Though she fights alongside Jubei, she often comes off as shady – and not just when she’s apprehensive about your gift choices, in this case, after she’s been gifted The Art of War. Sometimes, giving certain gifts in just the right order will change your ally’s response. Producer Kosuke Tanaka’s favorite reaction happens when you give raw fish and wasabi to Magoichi. Lastly, for Director Motohide Eshiro’s favorite reaction: Some gifts touch on sore subjects, and for Ekei, that would be any gift relating to hair. Try giving Ekei something like a comb or hair oil, and this is how he’ll respond. There are many more items to collect and reactions to discover in Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny. Experiment with different gifts and combinations, and reclaim your destiny in the newly remastered Onimusha 2, out now for Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny CAPCOM CO., LTD. ☆☆☆☆☆ 39 ★★★★★ $29.99 Get it now Reclaim your destiny. Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny returns with HD graphics and modernised controls to perform issen critical counter attacks and intense swordplay. Play as Jubei Yagyu and make your way through feudal Japan with your allies. This game has additional language support adapted from the original script. Additional features include: – New Gallery mode with over 100 sketches by the game's character designer, Keita Amemiya. – New digital soundtrack selection with all 43 tracks from the original soundtrack of Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny. – Hell mode difficulty. – The Man in Black, Team Oni, and Puzzle Phantom Realm mini games will be available to play at the very beginning. – Auto-save feature and easy weapon switch for improved playability. You can also get a special outfit for Jubei if you have save data from Onimusha: Warlords. To switch Jubei's outfit select Special Features → Jubei's Outfit and select between Normal and Special from the title-screen menu. This will only alter the appearance. Your status will be the same as the armour you equip in-game. This content is also a part of the Onimusha bundle. (Aquire this bundle before June 30, 2025, to receive a limited-time bonus!) ©CAPCOM ONIMUSHA is a trademark and/or registered trademark of CAPCOM CO., LTD and/or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or other countries. Onimusha 1+2 Pack CAPCOM CO., LTD. ☆☆☆☆☆ 7 ★★★★★ $38.99 Get it now Experience the origins of the classic samurai series remastered in high-definition! The first two Onimusha games are now available in 16:9 widescreen format with additional gameplay enhancements such as modernised controls. Onimusha: Warlords The first game in the series features popular actor Takeshi Kaneshiro as both the voice and face model of main character Samanosuke Akechi. Play as Samanosuke as he battles the Demons armed with the Oni Gauntlet bestowed to him by the Oni clan. Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny Jubei Yagyu returns in this sequel. Voiced by Yusaku Matsuda, Jubei will forge new alliances as he sets out on a quest of revenge with awakened powers of the Oni. *Games also available separately. Please be careful not to obtain the same product twice. You can also get a special outfit for Jubei if you have save data from Onimusha: Warlords. To switch Jubei's outfit select Special Features → Jubei's Outfit and select between Normal and Special from the title-screen menu. This will only alter the appearance. Your status will be the same as the armour you equip in-game. ——————————— Get the Onimusha 2: Orchestra Album Selection Pack limited-time bonus when you obtain the pack before June 30th, 2025, 23:59. Track List: – Truth Of Brave ~Warring mix~ – Truth Of Resolution ~Oyu's Theme~ – Truth Of Edge ~Magoichi's Theme~ – Truth Of Loyalty ~Ekei's Theme~ – Truth Of Desire ~Kotaro's Theme~ *Select Special Features → Gallery → Original Soundtrack to access these tracks from the title-screen menu. Also, get this pack of items to use in-game: – Herb x3 – Medicine x2 – Secret Medicine x1 – Special Magic Liquid x2 – Perfect Medicine x1 – Talisman x1 – Red Soul x10,000 Please note that this content can only be used in Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny. The content will appear after meeting Takajo in the early game. If you have already met Takajo, the content will appear when you select "Load Game". The content listed in the DLC may become available separately at a later date. Character Samanosuke Akechi by ©Amuse/Fu Long Production, ©CAPCOM CO., LTD. 2001, 2018 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Guest Creator:Takeshi Kaneshiro ©CAPCOM ONIMUSHA is a trademark and/or registered trademark of CAPCOM CO., LTD and/or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or other countries.

Last year, Polished Games' top-down 2D survival roguelite Be My Horde introduced players to Moriana, a necromancer--or necromancess, if you prefer--who can make the dead serve as her army. She's the villain of her own story, so it shouldn't be too surprising that Moriana is heading to Hell in the game's newest update. If anything, that's bad news for demons, because Moriana might be taking over Hell one circle at a time.The name of update is "Welcome to Hell," and it adds the Hell level, which may be Moriana's biggest challenge to date. As seen in the newly released trailer below, Moriana's travels through Hell will bring her face-to-face with the Devil himself. That video also offers a more in-depth look at what awaits in Hell. Moriana and her undead minions will have to battle new enemies and survive the severe hazards of the underworld. Fire tornadoes, lava ponds, and explosive volcanoes all stand between Moriana and her destiny.As you may have noticed, Moriana's powers thrive on death, and she can turn every fallen enemy into one of her new warriors. There's no entrance test for this army. If Moriana can kill it, it's her's to command, even if it's just an exploding sheep. However, Moriana is not invincible and she can be defeated in battle. But she always returns with a vengeance.Continue Reading at GameSpot

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games here Contents hide Following a rough launch, GSC Game World’s Stalker 2: Heart of Chonobyl has received a host of major updates. While still not quite there yet, the open-world game has been massively improved by patches that re-introduce A-Life, improve weapon handling and much more. As part of the game’s substantial Q2 2025 roadmap, GSC Game World promised that official mod tools would release for the open-world game. While the tools haven’t released at the time of writing, the developer has explained that the tools will release “soon”. Stalker 2 Mod Tools are almost here Responding to fans on Discord, GSC Game World confirmed that the official Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl mod tools are currently in the “final stages” of preparation before being released to the public. “SDK Beta is on final preparations and we are ready to start it very soon,” GSC responded to fans when asked about the game’s official mod tools. The arrival of the SDK will allow fans to create much more extensive mods for Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl. While mods like Stalker Infintiy already offer much different gameplay styles, these tools will allow easier implementation of new areas, weapons, enemies and much more. When mod support is added to the game, players will also be able to download mods directly from inside the game. Mods will also be downloadable on Xbox Series consoles. The original trilogy is also getting more support Alongside the release of Stalker 2 mod tools, GSC also confirmed that it will be releasing detailed documentation to assist modding for the recent Stalker: Legends of the Zone Trilogy Enhanced Edition remasters. While the remasters have released to very negative reception, largely due to the removal of original assets, the addition of Steam Workshop support does make the trilogy attractive to modders. In order to support the modding community, the team will release documentation to help modders understand how the games work. “We are preparing the modding guide for Steam Workshop,” GSC explained. “It is already possible to modify most of things on Steam, and hopefully [the] modding guide will help.” GSC is also not finished with both the Legends of the Zone Trilogy remasters or Stalker 2. With continued patches in the works for the original games, the remasters should hopefully get much better. Additionally, a number of expansions are in the works for the sequel that will offer “fresh perspectives” on the zone. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl Platform(s): PC, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series S/X, Xbox Series X Genre(s): Action, Adventure, RPG, Shooter, Survival Horror Subscribe to our newsletters! By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime. Share

Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo LifeI’m absolutely terrified of roller coasters. The lack of control you have, the speed, high heights, twists and turns - all this makes for something I’ve never been able to convince myself is worth the thrill. It was easy to get over my fear of flying in aeroplanes as there’s always something exciting and extraordinarily worthwhile waiting for me on the other side of the flight. Some things in life I would just never be able to do without flying far away in a plane. However, with roller coasters I couldn't say the same, until now. 'Mine Cart Madness' opened to the public at Universal Studios Japan in Osaka at the tail end of 2024, and is also now in the States at Universal Epic Universe in Orlando, Florida. I’ve visited the smaller version of Super Nintendo World located at Universal in Hollywood, CA, a few times, and managed to ride their Mario Kart ride, Bowser’s Challenge, as well. Lots of Kong, but still needs more Dixie The MK ride is essentially a light-gun game with a heavy Augmented Reality element which forces you to wear 'goggles' making it hard to appreciate the physical environment you're riding through. You can take the 'goggles' off, but you lose the entire point of the ride in doing so, and the animatronic set pieces and environmental elements aren't all that exciting on their own. The game can be confusing at first and, for being a ride themed around a video game that traditionally encourages you to race fast, it's quite slow, too. Images: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life However, almost none of this can be said about the new Donkey Kong Country ride. I’m a much bigger DK fan than I am Mario, and even though this new Mine Cart ride is pitched as a more traditional roller coaster that sometimes even claims to go off the rails, my curiosity and love for the series had me clamouring to see what it had to offer. I’m thrilled to say it didn’t disappoint, even though it proved to be quite a bumpy ride at times. The queue for Mine Cart Madness takes you through a temple that reminded me most of Millstone Mayhem and Temple Tempest from the original Super Nintendo game. Most of the line is indoors or at least covered and was kept quite cool thanks to air conditioning, also featuring some themed water fountains if you need a drink. Here you’ll also find a few touchpoints for the Power Band that will net you digital collectibles if you’re using the Universal mobile app. The line is fairly simple with not much to see, aside from a surprising appearance from Cranky Kong and Squawks the parrot. Both are completely animatronic and fully voiced and bicker back and forth at each other. Not only do they help pass the time in line, they help lay down the story and what you can expect to see on the ride. Even though I had no one waiting in front of me, I stood here for quite a while and just listened to them chat, like a couple of good pals catching up after a long time apart. Images: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life Once it came time for me to sit down in my mine cart, I could feel my heart sink into my stomach as I remembered seeing the ride from the ground floor of the park and it going much, much faster than all of the other Nintendo-themed rides created up to this point. I was honestly pretty scared, but my love for the Kongs apparently knows no bounds, and it helped that I had a few pals with me (thanks, Brian from IGN and Marcus from Game Informer for keeping me calm!). The ride itself only lasts a few minutes, so I’ll refrain from spoiling too much as I really think if you’re going to do this, you should go in knowing as little as possible. Things really do go off the rails in some surprising and shocking ways, though. So much so that at one specific point on the ride, I thought it truly was the end for us. If you’ve seen the blueprints or caught the video of Miyamoto taking a tour of the park in Japan, you’ll likely have heard about the ride's big hook. If you've played a mine cart level in DKC, you'll know that platforming is very much a thing even in the mine cart, and that’s replicated here. Mine Cart Madness, never goes upside down (thankfully), but it takes you up and down some steep slopes and twists and turns every now and again, mimicking the feeling of flying off the rails and landing safely back on them. The jumps themselves didn’t feel as pronounced as I was expecting, as it seems to work more as a trick of the eye than your cart being hurled in the air. Honestly, that’s probably a good thing. Also, if you want a more authentic and adventurous experience, sit in one of the front seats if you can. Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life You’ll also meet a few of your favourite DKC buddies, and this alone kept me coming back to Mine Cart Madness for multiple rides. These animatronic set pieces make this ride a lot more fun than the Mario Kart ride to revisit, as it's so exciting to see these chimpanzees in action. There are more than just chimps to see, though, so if you're only familiar with the more recent Country games, there will be more surprises in store. For me, the ride was made even better at night as yellow and blue neon lights add a comforting glow to the experience. You’ll rush through a few indoor sections which make it feel like a dark ride at times too. There’s so much to look at that not once did I feel like I saw everything; if you swing your head around at different points, you may catch a nice glimpse of the park, a dainty splash of a rushing waterfall, or even a few adventurous Pikmin that broken away from the pack. This may just be a kink to be worked out, but every now and then I felt the ride could get quite bumpy. After exiting my mine cart, I heard other riders talk about how unexpectedly bumpy it was for them, too. I can’t imagine barreling down a mine shaft in a rusty rock wagon would be the most comfortable thing in real life, so maybe it’s just all a part of the experience. Something worth noting, though, no doubt. Images: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life What might be a downside for some is the fact that there’s no game element to this ride whatsoever. For me though, this was a huge win. Seeing the detail and quality in these animatronics, even just for a few short moments, is something I'll remember for a long, long time. It sounds silly, but this made me feel closer to the world of Donkey Kong Country than ever before - the Mario Kart ride didn’t leave this big of an impression. It's a huge step up in overall production and an experience I hope every diehard DKC fan can have in their life. As a member of the press, I was pretty much obliged to try it, but I think I finally understand the thrill people are chasing when they willingly choose to ride a roller coaster. If Nintendo and Universal decide to make their next ride even more intense, I hope I’ll be ready for it. Even if it had a name like 'Funky’s Crash Course.' Travel costs for this trip and early access to the park were provided by Universal. Let's use the Lens of Truth Share:0 1 Zion's been crafting videos and photos with our team for over half a decade now. While you'll usually find Zion playing RPGs, platformers, and adventure games, anything with a good story is sure to be right up his alley. For an on brand example: MOTHER 3 may not be recognized much by the Western side of Nintendo, but he still found a way to play it anyways and hopes it makes it way to the West officially so others can enjoy it more easily. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment... Related Articles Shigeru Miyamoto Explains Why Donkey Kong Has Been Redesigned You want expressive? You got it Talking Point: The Switch 2 Pre-Order Situation Sucks, But Can Nintendo Do Anything About It? 503sier said than done Random: Miyamoto Can't Talk About Switch 2, Talks About Switch 2 Anyway I do what I want, bruv! Nintendo Partners With Samsung To Produce Main Chips For Switch 2 Samsung has also "pushed" for an OLED refresh, it's claimed

Artificial intelligence has sent demand for electricity skyrocketing in the U.S. after years of virtually zero growth. That has sent Big Tech companies scrambling to secure generating capacity for their data centers. For many, that has meant turning to nuclear fission. The power source has been experiencing a resurgence in the last few years following decades of plant closures. (Fission, used in all current nuclear plants, is distinct from fusion, the still-experimental approach to getting power from atoms that, while attracting investors, has yet to produce more electricity than it consumes.) For tech companies, part of the appeal of fission is a stable, predictable source of power that flows 24/7, giving their data centers the potential to run computing loads whenever they require it.  But another part of the appeal lies in new reactor designs that promise to overcome the shortcomings of existing nuclear power plants. Where old power plants were built around massive reactors that could generate over 1 gigawatt of electricity, new small modular reactor (SMR) designs see multiple modules deployed alongside each other to meet a range of needs.  SMRs rely on mass manufacturing to bring costs down, but to date, no one has built one in the U.S. Still, that hasn’t kept Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft away from the table. They’ve either signed agreements to buy power from nuclear startups or invested in them directly — or both. Here are the nuclear fission startups backed by Big Tech. Kairos Power Kairos Power received a vote of confidence from Google when the search giant promised to buy around 500 megawatts of electricity by 2035, with the first reactor targeted to come online by 2030. Techcrunch event Join us at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot for our leading AI industry event with speakers from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Cohere. For a limited time, tickets are just $292 for an entire day of expert talks, workshops, and potent networking. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you’ve built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | June 5 REGISTER NOW The company’s small modular reactors rely on molten fluoride salt for cooling and to transport heat to a steam turbine. The salt’s high boiling point means that the coolant doesn’t need to be kept at high pressure, which should improve operating safety. The reactors contain fuel pebbles coated in carbon and ceramic shells, which should be strong enough to withstand a meltdown. The Alameda-based startup has received a $629 million award from the U.S. government, including $303 million from the Department of Energy. In November 2024, Kairos received approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to commence construction on two reactors in Tennessee. At 35 megawatts, the test units will be smaller than Kairos’ eventual commercial reactors, which are expected to generate 75 megawatts each. Oklo Oklo is another SMR company targeting the data center world — no surprise given that it was backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who also took the nuclear startup public via a reverse merger with his special purpose acquisition vehicle, AltC, in July 2023. Altman served as chairman of Oklo until April, when he stepped down as OpenAI began negotiating with Oklo for an energy supply agreement. DCVC, Draper Associates, and Peter Thiel’s Mithril Capital Management are among the startup’s previous investors. Cooled by liquid metal, Oklo’s reactor is based on an existing U.S. Department of Energy design that’s intended to reduce the amount of nuclear waste that results from regular operations. Still, Oklo’s path hasn’t been a smooth one. The company’s first license application was denied in January 2022. Oklo has said it will resubmit the application sometime in 2025. But that hasn’t stopped the company from landing a deal to supply data center operator Switch with 12 gigawatts by 2044. Saltfoss Like Kairos, Saltfoss, formerly known as Seaborg, also wants to build SMRs cooled by molten salt. But unlike Kairos and others, it envisions placing two to eight of them on a ship to create what it calls a Power Barge. The startup has raised nearly $60 million, including a $6 million seed round that included investments from Bill Gates, Peter Thiel, and Unity co-founder David Helgason, according to PitchBook. Satlfoss has an agreement with Samsung Heavy Industries to build the ships and the Satlfoss-designed reactors. TerraPower Founded by Bill Gates, TerraPower is building a larger reactor, called Natrium, which is cooled by liquid sodium and features molten salt energy storage. The company broke ground on the first power plant in June 2024 in Wyoming. The Natrium design calls for the reactor to generate 345 megawatts of electricity. That’s smaller than other new nuclear plants today but larger than most SMR designs.  But Natrium has a trick up its sleeve with its molten salt heat storage system. Since nuclear reactors operate best at a steady state, the Natrium reactor can continue breaking atoms when demand is low, and the extra energy is stored as heat in a vat of molten salt, which can be drawn upon later to generate electricity. Investors include Gates’ Cascade Investment fund, Khosla Ventures, CRV, and ArcelorMittal. X-Energy X-Energy landed a hefty $700 million Series C-1 last year led by Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund. At the same time, the SMR startup announced two development agreements that would see the deployment of 300 megawatts of new nuclear generating capacity in the Pacific Northwest and Virginia. The company’s high-temperature, gas-cooled reactors buck recent trends in the U.S. and Europe, where the design has been shunned in favor of other approaches. The company’s Xe-100 reactor is expected to generate 80 megawatts of electricity. Helium gas flows through the reactor’s 200,000 billiard ball-sized fuel “pebbles,” absorbing heat to spin a steam turbine. 

If you're seeking the absolute best of the best in PC gaming performance, look no further. As part of its Memorial Day Sale, Dell has dropped the price of its flagship Alienware Area-51 prebuilt gaming PC, equipped with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card, for the lowest price I've seen. This particular model normally retails for $5,499.99, but a new $600 instant discount drops it to $4,899.99 with free shipping. The RTX 5090 is undisputedly the most powerful graphics card on the market and is pretty much impossible to find for under $3,000 by itself.Memorial Day Deal: Alienware Area-51 RTX 5090 Gaming PCNew ReleaseAlienware Area-51 Intel Core Ultra 9 285K RTX 5090 Gaming PC (32GB/2TB)This Alienware Area-51 gaming PC configuration drops to $4,899.99 after a $600 off instant discount. Specs include an Intel Core Ultra 9 285K processor, 32GB of DDR5-6400MHz RAM, and 2TB SSD storage. The Core Ultra 9 285K is Intel's latest flagship CPU and offers stellar workstation and gaming performance. It's not quite the performance uplift we wanted from the i9-14900K, but it's still the best all-around CPU that Intel has on offer. The processor is cooled by a massive 360mm all-in-one liquid cooler, and the system is powered by a 1,500W Platinum power supply.New for 2025: The Alienware Area-51 ChassisDell unveiled the new Alienware Area-51 gaming PC at CES 2025. The chassis looks similar to the 2024 R16 system with aesthetic and cooling redesigns and updated components. The I/O panel is positioned at the top of the case instead of the front, and the tempered glass window now spans the entire side panel instead of just a smaller cutout. As a result, the side panel vents are gone, and instead air intakes are located at the bottom as well as the front of the case. Alienware is now pushing a positive airflow design (more intake than exhaust airflow), which means a less dusty interior. The internal components have been refreshed with a new motherboard, faster RAM, and more powerful power supply to accommodate the new generation of CPUs and GPUs.The RTX 5090 Is the Most Powerful Graphics Card EverThe Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 has emerged as the most powerful consumer GPU on the market. Although Nvidia has prioritized software updates, AI features, and DLSS 4 technology to improve gameplay performance, the 5090 still boasts an impressive 25%-30% uplift over the RTX 4090 in terms of pure hardware-based raster performance. The 5090 also has more (32GB vs. 24GB) and faster (GDDR7 vs. GDDR6) VRAM compared to the 4090. This GPU is extremely difficult to find at retail price and is currently selling for $3,500-$4,000 on eBay.Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 FE Review by Jackie Thomas"The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 has officially taken the performance crown from the RTX 4090, but with less force than previous generations. When it comes to traditional non-AI gaming performance, the RTX 5090 provides one of the smallest generational uplifts in recent memory. However, in games that support it, DLSS 4 really does deliver huge performance gains – you just have to make your peace with the fact that 75% of the frames are generated with AI."More Alienware Prebuilt Gaming PC DealsAlienware Aurora R16 Intel Core Ultra 7 265F RTX 5080 Gaming PC (16GB/1TB)$2,349.99 at AlienwareAlienware Aurora R16 Intel Core Ultra 9 285K RTX 5080 Gaming PC (32GB/2TB)New ReleaseAlienware Area-51 Intel Core Ultra 9 285K RTX 5090 Gaming PC (32GB/2TB)Alienware Aurora R16 Intel Core Ultra 7 265F RTX 5070 Gaming PC$1,849.99 at AlienwareAlienware Aurora R16 Intel Core Ultra 9 285KF RTX 5070 Gaming PC (32GB/2TB)New for 2025Alienware Area-51 Intel Core Ultra 7 265 RTX 5080 Gaming PC (32GB/1TB)Alienware Aurora R16 Intel Core Ultra 9 285K RTX 5080 Gaming PC (64GB/2TB)Alienware Aurora R16 Intel Core Ultra 9 285K RTX 5080 Gaming PC (64GB/4TB)Why Should You Trust IGN's Deals Team?IGN's deals team has a combined 30+ years of experience finding the best discounts in gaming, tech, and just about every other category. We don't try to trick our readers into buying things they don't need at prices that aren't worth buying something at. Our ultimate goal is to surface the best possible deals from brands we trust and our editorial team has personal experience with. You can check out our deals standards here for more information on our process, or keep up with the latest deals we find on IGN's Deals account on Twitter.Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.

Ta journée type: 🔸 60% - Création de campagnes hebdomadaires pour tes clients 🔹 20% - Mise en place et amélioration des automations (SMS & Email) pour tes clients 🔹 20% - Reporting des performances de tes clientsJe m’occuperai de combien de marques ? Entre 3 à 4 marques, en binôme !J’aurai de la liberté dans mon travail ? On accueille la créativité à bras ouverts ! Du moment que l’ADN de la marque est respectée, on est à fond pour l’originalité !Pour ce qui est des horaires de travail : Tu organises ton temps de travail comme tu veux ! L’important, c’est de faire rêver nos clients avec tes emails ! 😎Conditions de travail : ⚠️ 2 POSSIBILITÉS ⚠️ Un contrat en CDI en Andorre OU la possibilité de travailler en freelance, en full remote, de partout dans le monde 🌎

Tech Delivery robot autonomously lifts, transports heavy cargo Versatile robot autonomously walks, rolls, lifts for deliveries across any terrain Published May 26, 2025 6:00am EDT close 'CyberGuy': Delivery robot autonomously lifts, transports heavy cargo Tech expert Kurt Knutsson discusses LEVA, the autonomous robot that walks, rolls and lifts 187 pounds of cargo for all-terrain deliveries. Autonomous delivery robots are already starting to change the way goods move around cities and warehouses, but most still need humans to load and unload their cargo. That's where LEVA comes in. Developed by engineers and designers from ETH Zurich and other Swiss universities, LEVA is a robot that can not only navigate tricky environments but also lift and carry heavy boxes all on its own, making deliveries smoother and more efficient. Delivery robot (LEVA) (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)What makes LEVA different?Most delivery robots either roll on wheels or walk on legs, but LEVA combines both. It has four legs, and each leg ends with a motorized, steerable wheel. This means on smooth surfaces like sidewalks, LEVA can roll quickly and efficiently, almost like a little car. When it encounters stairs, curbs or rough ground, it locks its wheels and walks or climbs like a four-legged animal. This unique design lets LEVA handle both flat urban streets and uneven terrain with ease. Delivery robot (LEVA) (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)How LEVA sees and moves aroundLEVA uses a mix of GPS, lidar sensors and five cameras placed around its body to understand its surroundings. These tools help it navigate city streets or indoor hallways while avoiding obstacles. One camera even looks downward to help LEVA line itself up perfectly when it's time to pick up or drop off cargo. Delivery robot (LEVA) (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)The big deal: Loading and unloading itselfWhat really sets LEVA apart is its ability to load and unload cargo boxes without any human help. It spots a standard cargo box, moves right over it, lowers itself by bending its legs and then locks onto the box using powered hooks underneath its body. After securing the box, LEVA lifts itself back up and carries the load to its destination. It can handle boxes weighing up to 187 pounds, which is pretty impressive for a robot of its size. Delivery robot’s wheels (LEVA) (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)LEVA's specsLEVA is about 4 feet long and 2.5 feet wide, with an adjustable height between 2 and 3 feet. It weighs around 187 pounds and can carry the same amount of cargo. Thanks to its wheels and legs, it can move smoothly on flat surfaces, climb stairs and handle rough terrain. Its sensors and cameras give it a sharp sense of where it is and what's around it. Delivery robot (LEVA) (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Where could you see LEVA in action?LEVA's flexibility makes it useful in many places. It could deliver packages right to your doorstep, even if you live in a building with stairs. Farmers might use it to move supplies across fields. On construction sites, it could carry tools and materials over uneven ground. It might even assist in emergency situations by bringing supplies through rubble or rough terrain. Delivery robot (LEVA) (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)What does this mean for you?For folks like us, LEVA could mean faster, more reliable deliveries, especially in tricky urban areas where stairs and curbs often slow things down. For businesses, it means cutting down on the need for manual labor to load and unload heavy items, which can reduce injuries and lower costs.It also means deliveries and material handling could happen around the clock without breaks, boosting efficiency. In industries like farming, construction and emergency response, LEVA's ability to get through tough terrain while carrying heavy loads could make a big difference in how quickly and safely supplies get where they need to go. Delivery robot (LEVA) (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)What's next for LEVA?The first LEVA prototype has shown it can do a lot, but there's still work to be done. The team is improving its energy use, making it better at climbing stairs, and enhancing its ability to operate fully on its own. The goal is to have LEVA become a reliable part of automated delivery systems that work smoothly in real-world settings. Delivery robot (LEVA) (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Kurt's key takeawaysLEVA blends the best of wheels and legs with the unique ability to load and unload itself. This makes it a promising tool for industries that need robots to be flexible, strong and smart. As LEVA continues to develop, it could change the way deliveries and material transport happen, making them faster, safer and more efficient for everyone.How much would you trust a robot to handle your valuable or fragile shipments without human supervision? Let us know by writing us atCyberguy.com/Contact.For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter.Follow Kurt on his social channels:Answers to the most-asked CyberGuy questions:New from Kurt:Copyright 2025 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved. Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on "FOX & Friends." Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

Texas could become the next US state to lay down the law with social media platforms. A Texas bill that would ban social media use for anyone under 18 recently moved past the Senate committee and is due for a vote in front of the Texas State Senate. The bill has until the state's legislative session comes to an end on June 2, leaving roughly a week for it to be approved by both the Senate and the governor.Earlier this year, the bill passed the House committee stage and was later voted in favor of by the state's House of Representatives. If made into law, the bill would force social media platforms to verify the age of anyone setting up an account, much like how Texas passed legislation requiring websites hosting porn to implement an age verification system. On top of that, Texas' social media ban proposes to let parents delete their child's social media account, allowing the platforms 10 days to comply with the request or face a fine from the state's attorney general.Texas isn't the only governing body interested in restricting social media access. Last year, Florida's governor, Ron DeSantis, signed into law a bill that outright bans anyone under 14 from using social media and requires 14- and 15-year-olds to get parental consent to make an account or use an existing account. Notably, Texas' proposed law is much stricter than that.On a larger scale, the US Senate introduced a bill to ban social media platforms for anyone under 13 in April 2024. After being stuck in the committee stage, Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) recently made comments that signal a potential second attempt at getting this passed.