• Apple CEO Tim Cook to attend Trumps inauguration next week
    9to5mac.com
    Earlier this month, Apple CEO Tim Cook donated $1 million to President-elect Donald Trumps inauguration. Now, Bloomberg reports that Cook is set to attend Trumps inauguration next week. Many big tech companies, including Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, have donated to Trumps inauguration. Of note is that Tim Cooks donation is being made personally to Trumps inauguration fund. Apple as a company has not donated. In addition to Cook, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Amazons Jeff Bezos will attend Trumps inauguration next week. Telsas Elon Musk will also (unsurprisingly) be in attendance. The president-elect has also met privately with a number of executives at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, including Cook. Bloomberg says that Trumps inauguration fund has raised $200 million, shattering previous records. Inauguration Day is on January 20 in Washington, D.C and the event kicks off at 12 p.m. ET. Add 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel
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  • Kardashians Slammed for Using Way More Than Their Fair Share of Water, Then Griping About City's Fire Response
    futurism.com
    "Must be weighing very heavy on you knowing you contributed to this."Wasting WaterInternet personality and socialite Khloe Kardashian has come under fire after criticizing Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass for cutting the city's fire department's budget after wasting an egregious amount of water herself.In an Instagram story last week, Kardashian responded to a December video of LA Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley telling local Fox affiliate Fox11 that the budget cuts impacted firefighters' abilities to fight the devastating wildfires hammering the area for over a week now."I stand by YOU Chief Crowley!!!!" Kardashian wrote, as quoted by BuzzFeed. "You spoke the truth and you had tears in your eyes because I can tell you didnt even want to say that but it was THE TRUTH.""Thank you for being honest," she added. "Mayor Bass, you are a joke!!!!"But the internet's reaction to her lashing out was swift, with netizens quickly pointing out her and her family's astronomical water usage a glaring double standard, highlighting the uber-wealthy's well-documented disregard for limits imposed to prevent a disaster, while the less privileged are left with devastation in the wake of the wildfires."They are the reason the city has no water for the common people but have the nerve to criticize the mayor smh," wrote one X-formerly-Twitter user.Sit DownIn 2022, Kardashian's sister Kim Kardashian was accused of violating drought restrictions, going over the limit by a whopping 232,000 gallons, as the LA Times reported at the time. Khloe Kardashian's home in the hills behind Santa Monica also went over the limit by an astonishing 101,000 gallons.In a sense, the discourse is symbolic; Bass has claimed that previous water reductions were unrelated to the ongoing wildfire emergency."I think if you go back and look at the reductions that have been made, there were no reductions that would have impacted the situation we were dealing with over the last couple of days," she told reporters on January 9.In an apparent attempt to side with firefighters, Khloe Kardashian published a formally-written statement on X on Friday, saying that she wanted to "take a moment to express my deepest gratitude and admiration for all of you who have been working tirelessly over the past few days to combat the fires in California.""Thank you for your bravery, for your sacrifices, and for your steadfast dedication," she wrote.The comment section, however, has since been filled with screenshots of reports about her and her family's egregious water wastage."Must be weighing very heavy on you knowing you contributed to this," one user wrote. "Girl take a hiatus... It is time; there is no walking back this."Share This Article
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  • Lazarus Group Targets Web3 Developers with Fake LinkedIn Profiles in Operation 99
    thehackernews.com
    The North Korea-linked Lazarus Group has been attributed to a new cyber attack campaign dubbed Operation 99 that targeted software developers looking for freelance Web3 and cryptocurrency work to deliver malware."The campaign begins with fake recruiters, posing on platforms like LinkedIn, luring developers with project tests and code reviews," Ryan Sherstobitoff, senior vice president of Threat Research and Intelligence at SecurityScorecard, said in a new report published today."Once a victim takes the bait, they're directed to clone a malicious GitLab repository seemingly harmless, but packed with disaster. The cloned code connects to command-and-control (C2) servers, embedding malware into the victim's environment."Victims of the campaign have been identified across the globe, with a significant concentration recorded in Italy. A lesser number of impacted victims are located in Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Pakistan, the Philippines, the U.K., and the U.S.The cybersecurity company said the campaign, which it discovered on January 9, 2025, builds on job-themed tactics previously observed in Lazarus attacks, such as Operation Dream Job (aka NukeSped), to particularly focus on targeting developers in Web3 and cryptocurrency fields.What makes Operation 99 unique is that it entices developers with coding projects as part of an elaborate recruitment scheme that involves crafting deceptive LinkedIn profiles, which are then used to direct them to rogue GitLab repositories. The end goal of the attacks is to deploy data-stealing implants that are capable of extracting source code, secrets, cryptocurrency wallet keys, and other sensitive data from development environments.These include Main5346 and its variant Main99, which serves as a downloader for three additional payloads -Payload99/73 (and its functionally similar Payload5346), which collects system data (e.g., files and clipboard content), terminate web browser processes, executes arbitrary, and establishes a persistent connection to the C2 serverBrow99/73, which steals data from web browsers to facilitate credential theftMCLIP, which monitors and exfiltrates keyboard and clipboard activity in real-time"By compromising developer accounts, attackers not only exfiltrate intellectual property but also gain access to cryptocurrency wallets, enabling direct financial theft," the company said. "The targeted theft of private and secret keys could lead to millions in stolen digital assets, furthering the Lazarus Group's financial goals."The malware architecture adopts a modular design and is flexible, and capable of working across Windows, macOS, and Linux operating systems. It also serves to highlight the ever-evolving and adaptable nature of nation-state cyber threats."For North Korea, hacking is a revenue generating lifeline," Sherstobitoff said. "The Lazarus Group has consistently funneled stolen cryptocurrency to fuel the regime's ambitions, amassing staggering sums. With Web3 and cryptocurrency industries booming, Operation 99 zeroes in on these high-growth sectors."Found this article interesting? Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn to read more exclusive content we post.
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  • Daredevil: Born Again Trailer Reveals Series Premiere Date
    screencrush.com
    In this case, Daredevil really isBorn Again.For a while, it looked like the latest version of Marvels Man Without Fear was lost to limbo, after Marvels deal with Netflix expired, and all of their joint TV series includingDaredevilstarring Charlie Cox and Vincent DOnofrio were ended after just a handful of seasons.But then Cox and DOnofrio began appearing in Marvel Cinematic Universe films and shows likeSpider-Man: No Way Home,Hawkeye, andEcho.Now both are back as Daredevil and Kingpin in their first Disney+ series,Daredevil: Born Again.After some delays, the series is set to finally premiere on streaming later this spring.You can watch the full trailer for the series which also features the return of Jon Bernthal as the Punisher from his own Netflix Marvel series below:READ MORE: Every Marvel Disney+ Series, RankedWhile Born Againis being made by a new creative team, it looksstylistically similar to the NetflixDaredevilshow, with intense action sequences and a lot of dark, moody lighting. Production on thenew series began in early 2023, but afterseveral episodes were shotthe originalhead writers were let go by Marvel and a new creative team was brought in. (The season of the show was also cut back from a planned 18 episodes down to just nine installments to start.)Well have to see whether the final show bears any signs of the creative overhaul behind the scenes. Here is the new series official synopsis:In Daredevil: Born Again, Murdock, a blind lawyer with heightened abilities, is fighting for justice through his bustling law firm, while former mob boss Wilson Fisk (Vincent DOnofrio) pursues his own political endeavors in New York. When their past identities begin to emerge, both men find themselves on an inevitable collision course.Daredevil: Born Again premieres on Disney+ on at 9PM ET.Sign up for Disney+ here.Get our free mobile appGreat Disney+ Movies You Might Have MissedThese excellent films are all waiting to be discovered on Disney+.
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  • Close: Senior Software Engineer - Frontend/React - USA Only (100% Remote)
    weworkremotely.com
    Time zones: EST (UTC -5), CST (UTC -6), MST (UTC -7), PST (UTC -8), AKST (UTC -9), HST (UTC -10)About UsClose is a bootstrapped, profitable, 100% remote, ~100 person team of thoughtful individuals who value autonomy and impact. Were eager to make a product our customers fall in love with over and over again.We small scaling businesses. Since 2013, weve been building a CRM that focuses on better communication, without the hassle of manual data entry or a complex UI. We are out to supercharge sales productivity with the most modern, thoughtfully all-in-one, AI-powered, and communication-focused CRM.Our apps frontend is a single-page TypeScript web app mostly written in React (originally built with Backbone.js). Our mobile app is built using React Native. We bundle with Vite and target only modern browsers. We test with Vitest, React Testing Library, Playwright, and Chromatic (VRT). Our UI updates in near real-time and is styled via CSS modules and takes advantage of fun technologies like Websockets and WebRTC.We care about performance (e.g. route-based code splitting or skeleton UI), maintainability, and testability of our frontend code. Our product development process is inspired by Shape Up. We sweat the UI/UX details and work collaboratively with the Product team throughout the design process. This means diving into lo-fi wireframes, and communicating continuously when those ideas are brought to life using Figma and code (Storybook).Our frontend app is built on top of our REST API & GraphQL endpoints. Our backend tech stack consists of Python/Flask, MongoDB, Postgres, Elasticsearch, and Redis. We run our services in Docker on AWS.We open sourcing our code and ideas on our GitHub and on The Making of Close, our behind-the-scenes Product & Engineering blog. Check our projects such as react-custom-scroller, use-infinite-scroll, use-abortable-effect, and smart-tooltip-delay or insights from our day-to-day work on such as Under the Hood: Developing Close's AI-Powered Call Assistant, Cutting our Lead page LCP by half, and Highlights From a Complex Downshift.js Refactor.About the RoleYou would be joining one of our six cross-functional product development teams. These include the CRM, Admin & Onboarding, Conversations, Messaging & Scheduling, Automations & Integrations and Data Insights teams. You will be working with other frontend engineers as well as backend engineers, product managers, designers and other teams here at Close.Come help us with projects like...Conceiving, designing, building, and launching new user-facing featuresImplementing new AI features to turbocharge our customers daily tasksWorking with Twilio's API, WebSockets, and WebRTC to improve our calling and SMS featuresBuilding user-facing analytics features that provide actionable insights based on sales activity dataEnhancing our web app with real-time updates powered by GraphQL SubscriptionsImproving real-time collaboration user experienceLeveraging the latest AI LLMs from providers like OpenAI, Groq and AssemblyAIExpanding our frontend GraphQL usageExtending our React component libraryAbout YouWe're looking for an experienced full-time Frontend Software Engineer to join our engineering team. Someone who has a solid understanding of web technologies and wants to help design, implement, and launch major user-facing features.Youre comfortable working in a fast-paced environment with a small and talented team where you're supported in your efforts to grow professionally. You are able to manage your time well, communicate effectively and collaborate in a fully distributed team.Senior 1 & 2 level candidates should have 5+ years experience building modern frontend single page applications in JavaScript, HTML, and CSS, with at least 3 years of that experience using React.Staff level candidates should have 8+ years of experience.Mid-level candidates should have ~3 years of similar experience and be eager to level up with the right opportunity.You should have significant experience designing, debugging, and optimizing frontend applications to make them fast and reliable. You have significant experience with REST APIs and thoroughly understand HTTP requests. You have experience participating in code reviews and providing overall code quality suggestions to help maintain the structure and quality of the codebase.You should have great product sense and be able to think through user experience issues before diving into the code, and you exhibit a love for great UI.You care about the craftsmanship of the code and systems you produce.You are located in the USA (lower 48 timezones).Bonus points if you have...Experience implementing real-time (e.g. websockets, polling, etc.) web appsExperience working with GraphQL endpointsUtilized AI LLMs from providers like OpenAI, Groq and AssemblyAI in a production web appAn eye for design and experience with Figma, Sketch, Abstract, Photoshop, or similarLed small project teams building and launching featuresContributed open source code (core or plugins) for a popular frontend framework such as React, Vue, or AngularBuilt B2B SaaS productsExperience with sales or sales tools
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  • ILM Earns Two BAFTA Nominations for Gladiator II and Wicked
    www.ilm.com
    ILM visual effects supervisors are honored in the Special Visual Effects Category.Today, BAFTA announced their 2025 nominees of which two Industrial Light & Magic productions received nominations in the Special Visual Effects category. Gladiator IIWicked were each nominated alongside Better Man, Dune: Part Two, and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.Congratulations to production visual effects supervisor Mark BakowskiGladiator II, and to production visual effects supervisor Pablo Helman and ILM visual effects supervisor Anthony Smith for Wicked. And congratulations to everyone at ILM who contributed to these incredible films.The EE BAFTA Film Awards ceremony will be held at the Southbank Centres Royal Festival Hall in central London, and broadcast onClick here for a complete list of the BAFTA nominations.
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  • Surprise Call of Duty Double XP Week Starts Now in Black Ops 6
    www.cnet.com
    The new zombies map isn't the only killer surprise to come from 2025's 115 Day. Black Ops 6 players can return to slaying zombies (or their fellow man) for six days of double XP action, as developer Treyarch has announced the newest double XP week will run from Wednesday, Jan. 15 to Tuesday, Jan. 21.Anyone playing Black Ops 6 will have a universal double player XP, double weapon XP, double battle pass XP and double Gobblegum earn rate applied to their account during the event -- what Treyarch is calling the "quad feed" of double XP weeks. The double battle pass XP boost will help any players lagging behind eke out the last few tiers they need before Black Ops 6 Season 2 begins on Tuesday, Jan. 28.The latest double XP week has already started in Black Ops 6, which meansyou'll earn double XP in any multiplayer match or Zombies game you play right now.The Squid Game crossover event is also still running as part of the Black Ops 6 season 1 content cycle, so players can take advantage of the double XP weekend to level up the new Cleaver melee weapon or try to earn some of the new Power Keg and Time Out Gobblegums added to zombies earlier this season.Here's everything you need to know about this double XP weekend.When does the Double XP Week start in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6? During the event, players will benefit from double player and weapon XP and a double Gobblegum drop rate. ActivisionThis double XP week was scheduled to drop on Wednesday, Jan. 15, at 1 p.m. ET.Not sure when the double XP week went live for you? Here's when this event started in your time zone:ET:Jan. 15 at 1 p.m.CT:Jan. 15 at 12 p.m.MT:Jan. 15 at 11 a.m.PT:Jan. 15 at 10 a.m.It's worth starting your game ahead of your gaming session, if possible -- as with every Black Ops 6 patch, the update is going to require you to download new content and restart the application.While this patch only adds double XP, it's still worth prepping your game before you sit down to play. A much larger upcoming patch will include The Tomb, the next zombies map to continue the Dark Aether saga.When does the Double XP Week end in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6?The double XP week runs for six days, ending on Tuesday, Jan. 21. Your double XP tokens will once again unlock after this time.Here's when the double XP week will end in your time zone:ET:Jan. 21 at 1 p.m.CT:Jan. 21 at 12 p.m.MT:Jan. 21 at 11 a.m.PT:Jan. 21 at 10 a.m.Does Call of Duty Warzone have double XP this week? Warzone players will also be able to earn double player XP and double weapon XP during the event. ActivisionCall of Duty Warzone has a double XP week running in tandem with Black Ops 6. That means Warzone players will also be able to benefit from the double player XP and double weapon XP.New players have a chance to level up the weapons they unlock from the new and improved Warzone Armory, and returning players can continue unlocking new attachments for the suite of Black Ops 6 weaponry added to Warzone.Black Ops 6 double XP FAQs Is there double battle pass XP this weekend? No, there isn't any double battle pass XP this weekend. This double XP weekend, gamers can earn double player XP, double weapon XP and double Gobblegums in the Zombies game mode. What happens to double XP tokens during double XP weekend? You can't use your double XP tokens during double XP weekend. They are locked for the duration of the event, and any double XP time you have left on your account is frozen until the double XP weekend ends. CNET has a full guide on Black Ops 6 double XP tokens here.
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  • Does Fact-Checking Work on Social Media?
    www.scientificamerican.com
    January 15, 20254 min readDoes Fact-Checking Work? Heres What the Science SaysCommunication and misinformation researchers reveal the value of fact-checking, where perceived biases come from and what Metas decision could meanBy David Adam & Nature magazine Meta plans to scrap its third-party fact-checking programme in favour of X-like community notes. PA Images/Alamy Stock PhotoIt is said that a lie can fly halfway around the world while the truth is getting its boots on. That trek to challenge online falsehoods and misinformation got a little harder this week, when Facebooks parent company Meta announced plans to scrap the platforms fact-checking programme, which was set up in 2016 and pays independent groups to verify selected articles and posts.The company said that the move was to counter fact checkers political bias and censorship. Experts, like everyone else, have their own biases and perspectives. This showed up in the choices some made about what to fact-check and how, Metas chief global-affairs officer Joel Kaplan wrote on 7 January.Nature spoke to communication and misinformation researchers about the value of fact-checking, where perceived biases come from and what Metas decision could mean.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Positive influenceIn terms of helping to convince people that information is true and trustworthy, fact-checking does work, says Sander van der Linden, a social psychologist at the University of Cambridge, UK, who acted as an unpaid adviser on Facebooks fact-checking programme in 2022. Studies provide very consistent evidence that fact-checking does at least partially reduce misperceptions about false claims.For example, a 2019 meta-analysis of the effectiveness of fact-checking in more than 20,000 people found a significantly positive overall influence on political beliefs.Ideally, wed want people to not form misperceptions in the first place, adds van der Linden. But if we have to work with the fact that people are already exposed, then reducing it is almost as good as it as its going to get.Fact-checking is less effective when an issue is polarized, says Jay Van Bavel, a psychologist at New York University in New York City. If youre fact-checking something around Brexit in the UK or the election in United States, thats where fact-checks dont work very well, he says. In part thats because people who are partisans dont want to believe things that make their party look bad.But even when fact-checks dont seem to change peoples minds on contentious issues, they can still be helpful, says Alexios Mantzarlis, a former fact checker who directs the Security, Trust, and Safety Initiative at Cornell Tech in New York City.On Facebook, articles and posts deemed false by fact checkers are currently flagged with a warning. They are also shown to fewer users by the platforms suggestion algorithms, Mantzarlis says, and people are more likely to ignore flagged content than to read and share it.Flagging posts as problematic could also have knock-on effects on other users that are not captured by studies of the effectiveness of fact-checks, says Kate Starbird, a computer scientist at the University of Washington in Seattle. Measuring the direct effect of labels on user beliefs and actions is different from measuring the broader effects of having those fact-checks in the information ecosystem, she adds.More misinformation, more red flagsRegarding Metas claims of bias among fact-checkers, Van Bavel agrees that misinformation from the political right does get fact-checked and flagged as problematic on Facebook and other platforms more often than does misinformation from the left. But he offers a simple explanation.Its largely because the conservative misinformation is the stuff that is being spread more, he says. When one party, at least in the United States, is spreading most of the misinformation, its going to look like fact-checks are biased because theyre getting called out way more.There are data to support this. A study published in Nature last year showed that, although politically conservative people on X, formerly Twitter, were more likely to be suspended from the platform than were liberals, they were also more likely to share information from news sites that were judged as low quality by a representative group of laypeople.If you wanted to know whether a person is exposed to misinformation online, knowing if theyre politically conservative is your best predictor of that, says Gordon Pennycook, a psychologist at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, who worked on that analysis.Implementation mattersMetas chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has said that in place of third-party fact-checking, Facebook could adopt a system similar to the community notes used by X, in which corrections and context are crowdsourced from users and added to posts.Research shows that those systems can also work to correct misinformation, up to a point. The way its been implemented on X actually doesnt work very well, says van der Linden. He points to an analysis done last year that found the community notes on X were often added to problematic posts too late to reduce engagement, because they came after false claims had already spread widely. X vice-president of product Keith Coleman told Reuters last year that community notes maintains a high bar to make notes effective and maintain trust.Crowdsourcing is a useful solution, but in practice it very much depends on how its implemented, van der Linden adds. Replacing fact checking with community notes just seems like it would make things a lot worse.This article is reproduced with permission and was first published on January 10, 2025.
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  • Donkey Kong Country Returns HD: a solid Switch port with some unexpected failings
    www.eurogamer.net
    Donkey Kong Country Returns HD: a solid Switch port with some unexpected failingsA tasteful remaster with technical chops - yet the Wii original is better in some respects.Image credit: Nintendo Face-off by John Linneman Senior Staff Writer, Digital Foundry Published on Jan. 15, 2025 Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is the latest in a series of comebacks for DK, bringing the original Wii-era adventure back for the Nintendo Switch as the platform sails into the sunset. It's an interesting project too, as Nintendo handed the reigns to Forever Entertainment, who then rebuilt the whole thing to run in the Unity Engine.The Return of Kong Returns is a certainly a choice but there is some logic here - the more enjoyable DKC Tropical Freeze already exists on Switch, so bringing over the Wii game means you can experience both of Retro Studios' Kong adventures in one place. This was their first non-Metroid Prime game, released back in 2010, and was quite a pivot given the difference in genres. I personally enjoyed the game back then, but its controls felt a little lacking compared to the Super NES titles and the soundtrack felt like a bit of a cheap imitation of the originals. Three years later, the game was ported to Nintendo 3DS, necessitating a change from 60fps to 30fps gameplay, with the port handled by Excite Truck developer Monster Games.Here's the full Digital Foundry review for Donkey Kong Country Returns HD. Watch on YouTubeFor the current port to Switch, I was a bit nervous about the game's prospects given Forever's track record, which includes slightly sub-par remakes of Panzer Dragoon and The House of the Dead. However, I shouldn't have worried - this is fundamentally the best work to come out of Forever Entertainment to date. The remastering is tastefully done, the new textures generally look excellent and it feels authentic to the original. Furthermore, as a Unity game on Switch, the resolution and frame-rate are surprisingly solid, especially given how poorly Forever's previous Switch games performed, but there are some unexpected flaws as well.Let's start with the opening FMV. This has been massively improved and might even have been completely remade if the original assets still existed. This may seem like a minor thing, but the handling of video assets usually reveals a lot about the quality of a conversion. When little attention is paid to FMV quality, it usually indicates that corners have been cut, at least in my experience. Thankfully, that's not the case here. To see this content please enable targeting cookies. In-game first impressions are also positive, with the remaster remaining true to the original visual design. The focus here is on new textures, modified effects and updated character models, with the underlying scene geometry remaining largely unchanged. The new textures are much sharper, holding up well at the higher resolution - 1080p in docked mode and 720p in portable mode - and image quality is reasonable. I like the new sky textures here and I'm glad they sharpened up the background scenery to avoid a low-res look. Rain and water rendering are also improved substantially. The closer you look though, the more you start to spot some oddities. Visual effects that were missing in the original trailer have been implemented and improved, but there are still small hiccups - the dust clouds kicked up while pounding the DK symbol are reduced, and the animation of the barrel breaking as DK shoots out of it is a bit sloppy. You might not notice stuff like this while just playing through, but you probably would notice the missing sunset in stage three, the less glowy floating KONG letters, and simplified shadows on the intro to the first boss fight. These sorts of nips and tucks are throughout, and while these are minor changes, it still feels weird to see a game released on a vastly more powerful system with fewer effects and details. The remaster carries over the visual design of the original, with greater detail in both cutscenes and gameplay. | Image credit: Digital FoundryIf this was the extent of the changes, I'd be more likely to shrug and just roll with it as the end result is still pretty good, but there are two other issues. First, loading times. These aren't too bad, but they're nearly twice as long as they were on the Wii version running from a disc. Sure, asset sizes have increased, but this still feels like a big step back. Second is the frame-rate. It's important to note that we've seen Unity games running at 1080p 60fps on Switch - including Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair with better visuals - but most Unity releases tend to run with performance hiccups or at lower resolutions, so 1080p 60fps is still worth celebrating. But the Wii version of this game basically runs flawlessly, so the few areas of slowdown stick out. The fact that this game runs worse than its more technically advanced sequel doesn't sit right with me.That's what makes this game so tricky to discuss. On the surface, Forever did a better job here than anything else in their back catalogue, but it still falls short of what Retro Studios did with their Switch ports, and at this price, compromise shouldn't be required. There are a few weird optimisations here - such as the simplified shadows in this cutscene and the missing sun in this level. | Image credit: Digital FoundryOn top of all that, while the game is perfectly fine, I think it's the least interesting game Retro Studios has made to date. It's very by-the-numbers; the controls and trajectory feels a lot less satisfying than classic DKC games and the level design is repetitive compared to Tropical Freeze. The biggest sin has to be the music though, which frankly I did not enjoy thanks to some fairly sedate tunes and poor instrumentation in some of the remastered tracks. So what's the takeaway here? The reality is that this release is both good and disappointing at the same time. The remastering efforts are largely successful, but the areas where it falls short feel less acceptable when considering the age of the original. When you consider the technical precision one expects from a proper Retro Studios game, it's arguably even more disappointing. If you hunger for DKC Returns and haven't played it yet, it's a good version of the game and one that lets you play without the controller shaking antics of the Wii version. If you're already au fait with the title, there are more exciting retro remakes to spend your time with.
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  • Helldivers 2 CEO wants the new movie to kill as many A-List actors as possible yes, please
    www.videogamer.com
    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 hereSonys upcoming Helldivers movie is happening, as well as a Horizon movie for some reason. While developer Arrowhead Game Studios doesnt have final say on anything that happens in the upcoming film, they do have one big wish: to kill as many A-List actors as possible.Helldivers movie should kill A-List actorsIn a discussion on the games official Discord server, players begged Arrowhead Game Studios to make sure that there will be no Chris Pratt in the upcoming film adaptation. After starring in the Mario movieas well as The Garfield Movie for some reasongamers want Pratt to be kept away from their favourite games.Nevertheless, Arrowhead CEO Shams Jorjani wouldnt be against Chris Pratt and other A-List celebrities starring in the upcoming Helldivers adaptation. However, the CEO also wants every single A-lister to perish in the most horrendous ways within the flick.Were all hoping for as many A-List actors as possible, Jorjani told fans. As long as they all get killed violently immediately.With the average lifespan of every Helldiver lasting just two minutes after landing on their first dive, there is a lot of space for popular Hollywood celebrities to be horrifically murdered by Automatons, Termanids and Illuminate. The Rock bursting out of his pod only to be squashed by a Factory Strider? Well, his contract wouldnt allow it, but it would be pretty entertaining.For more Helldivers 2 coverage, read about the one restriction that Arrowhead wishes to enforce on future crossover content as well as what went wrong with its original Killzone collaboration. Additionally, read about the all-new update that finally addresses an issue that was driving everyone nuts or how one of the games most iconic strategems used to cause everyone to lag.Helldivers 2Platform(s):PC, PlayStation 5Genre(s):Action, Shooter, Third Person8VideoGamerSubscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share
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