Freedom Wars Remastered feels out of place in this current era. Originally released for the PlayStation Vita in 2014, published by Sony Interactive Entertainment with Japan Studio aiding development, its an action RPG tuned to the handheld market. The operations well-suited for bite-sized sessions, the straightforward hack-and-slash combat it wouldnt be out of place next to the likes of Monster Hunter Portable 3rd from the PSP era.Over a decade later, Freedom Wars returns in remastered form, yet the landscape is utterly different. Mobile has overtaken handheld gaming, and several action RPGs boast massive open worlds and stellar production values. The closest comparison would probably be Monster Hunter Rise on the Nintendo Switch, and that experience translates to current-gen consoles without much trouble. Even if its more streamlined comparatively, does Dimps classic still hold some modicum of appeal today?"The other off-putting aspect is the new English voice-acting for Percy Propa (the mascot of the committee running your Panopticon) and your Accessory, an android monitoring your every move who can assist in combat."The answer will doubtless vary. If you remember the original and feverishly waited for it to return, then Freedom Wars Remastered may speak to you (on console, but more on that later). Those curious about all the fuss will discover an action RPG of highs, lows, and antiquated albeit intriguing design.Set in the far future, where humanitys resources have dried up and every little thing is a crime, you control a Sinner whos committed the ultimate offense: Being born. Countries have ceased to exist theres only the Panopticons competing against each other for what little remains.The story begins in the middle of an operation, where your character has lost their memories, and a mysterious individual named Aries M. appears to tease a pivotal event. Its back to square one afterwards, packed into a nondescript cell, adding to your nearly one million-year-long sentence for even walking more than five steps.Theres honestly a lot to take in, and Freedom Wars writing sometimes does it no favors due to some long-winded dialogue. The other off-putting aspect is the new English voice-acting for Percy Propa (the mascot of the committee running your Panopticon) and your Accessory, an android monitoring your every move who can assist in combat. Their dialogue sounds like its been generated by a text-to-speech program, perhaps meant to match the Japanese voice-acting from the PS Vita version but sounding much worse. The performance by actual humans is decent, though some characters like Mattias sound a bit low at times."However, the loop devolves into entering a mission, slaying enemies, gathering resources, customizing and improving your loadout, and repeat."Nevertheless, the world-building is fascinating, as you earn Entitlement Points from completing missions and donating materials. Some resources are outside your level at first only by qualifying and passing the CODE Exams are you permitted to keep them. The same goes for earning other privileges, like the right to wander outside your cell, sprint and even get some distance from your Accessory.Learning more about citizens, those with rights above the Sinners, and encountering rival Panopticon members is one thing, as you must tussle with the mysterious Abductors. Even with its idiosyncracies, the overall pacing of the story is pretty quick, and its not long before you encounter Beatrice, and things really get going.Though theres a lot of info from the outset, the overall gameplay will be familiar enough to fans of action RPG hunting games. You have different weapon types, with melee and ranged options available (which can be improved with Modules). You also have different Thorns tools that serve as grapples but can also immobilize enemies, boost your teams defense, and even heal when charged up. Their main purpose will be to attach to the Abductors, and either topple them or sever parts with enough button mashing. During combat, you can issue commands, instructing your Accessory to perform necessary tasks (which I found somewhat finicky at times).However, the loop devolves into entering a mission, slaying enemies, gathering resources, customizing and improving your loadout, and repeat. Higher CODE Levels grant tougher missions but the variety is sorely lacking. Also, between flat desert plains and a few ruined cityscapes with structures to grapple to, the environments dont serve to mix up the gameplay."Even as you work through the story and unravel the worlds happenings, its not long before the gameplay starts to feel overly repetitive."The Abductors can be intriguing since you can break off different parts and collect them. Some objectives may also require rescuing citizens from their grasp, which means targeting their central pod. If an Abductor has a shield, grappling onto those components and severing them is key.You may even blow up certain parts like missile launchers to deprive an Abductor of its more lethal weapons, but thats more or less it. Most other times, youll alternate between heavy and light attacks to execute simple combos, fire from a distance, execute a grapple strike and maybe chuck a grenade or two. I would have liked to be able to set the camera back farther.Transitioning between different attack functions isnt the most fluid, though its not a lost cause. Its somewhat surprising how responsive the combat can feel. Shredding through an Abductors armor can feel satisfying, and newer options, like animation cancelling by activating Thorns, certainly add more nuance.If only there was a greater variety in enemies or more mission types (how do so many citizens end up needing to be rescued anyway?). Even as you work through the story and unravel the worlds happenings, its not long before the gameplay starts to feel overly repetitive. Nevertheless, for those who can get into it, there are enough upgrades and unlocks to keep you playing for dozens of hours."If this is really the first step towards reviving the series, Im keen to see what the team can achieve with more contemporary mechanics and design."Aside from quality-of-life features like Module Synthesis and a higher difficulty in Deadly Sinner mode, the other defining aspect of Freedom Wars Remastered is the visuals. While it sticks to the same anime-esque aesthetic with the listless color palette befitting a future of surveillance and despair, the 4K resolution and 60 frames per second performance make a significant difference. The details are crisp, and on PlayStation 5, I didnt encounter any performance issues (which is reportedly not the same story on PC, so beware if youre looking to get it on Steam).Again, the visual fidelity isnt going to compete with your Wuthering Waves or Zenless Zone Zeroes, but its a unique atmosphere, unlike so many other titles. Oppressive, yet oddly jubilant, perhaps in part thanks to the soundtrack. The mix of orchestration and edgy rock feels just right, lending some much-needed gravitas to the overall presentation.On the surface, Freedom Wars Remastered doesnt seem like it aspires to much more than simply bringing the classic to current-gen platforms. That itself is noteworthy, and the quality of life features are appreciated, though I can see action RPG connoisseurs rightfully demanding more, even at this budget price point. If this is really the first step towards reviving the series, Im keen to see what the team can achieve with more contemporary mechanics and design. For now, this is a remaster that will be most appreciated by long-time fans, best experienced on PS5.This game was reviewed on PlayStation 5.

At long last, Nintendo has finally officially announced the Switch 2, and though we havent yet seen any official game announcements for it yet, the rumour mill is also churning in full force. The last several weeks and months have built up a long list of titles both first- and third-party that are rumoured to be in the works for the Switch 2, and here, were going to go through a few of them. Before you ask, no, were not includingMario Kart 9,given the fact that thats basically already been officially confirmed. We will, however, be starting off with another rather obvious first pickNEXT 3D MARIOSuper Mario Whatever the Heck its Calledis very likely going to occupy the same space for the Switch 2 thatSuper Mario Odysseydid for the Switch.Mario Kart 9is looking like a lock to be the big first-party game that launches alongside the console, which means its taking up thatBreath of the Wildslot- which means the next 3DMarioplatformer is likely to launch a few months down the road, just asOdysseydid during the Switchs launch window. With eight years having passed since the series last mainline 3D release, this one looks all but guaranteed (or as close as it can be with Nintendo involved).

The Ontario Science Centre. Photo by James Brittain, Courtesy Moriyama Teshima ArchitectsThis post is coauthored by Sandford Borins, Professor of Public Management Emeritus at the University of Toronto, with Elsa Lam, Editor of Canadian Architect, so we refer to ourselves jointly in the plural and individually in the third person.Sir Humphrey Appleby, the fictional senior public servant in the iconic satireYes Ministerknew that one of the best ways to hide embarrassing information was to bury it under reams of anodyne memoranda. Infrastructure Ontario seems to have learned that lesson well. When it released its 78-page business case for modernizing the Ontario Science Centre (OSC) in November 2023, thelast of 333 pages of appendicescontained an excerpt from a Powerpoint deck contrasting the cost of operating the OSC in its original Don Mills location with a temporary location while a new facility is being constructed at Ontario Place. The deck was authored by public servants in Infrastructure Ontario and the Ministry of Tourism, Culture, and Sport and was presented to the office of Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma.When the Ford Government made its surprise announcement to shutter the Don Mills location on June 21, 2024, we both re-read the business case and its appendices to see if there was anything there that would shed light on the decision. We both suspected that the decision had been in the works for quite some time, and that the discovery of problems with the concrete roofing in the original buildings was merely a pretext.The Powerpoint deck on page 333 of the appendices referred to Option 1A, so there were at least two other options (1B and 2) under consideration when the business case was being written in 2022 and 2023. We both filed Freedom of Information (FoI) requests for the entire Powerpoint deck, Ms. Lam on July 29, 2024 and Professor Borins on August 21, 2024. During the fall, we both asked FoI officers about our requests, and received polite but unhelpful replies. On October 10, Ms. Lam was told Please be advised that we are still processing your access request. On November 8, Professor Borins was told, we are still processing your file and hope to complete it soon and on November 19 we sincerely apologize for the delay and are hoping to complete your file as soon as we can.We both concluded that this polite language was masking an unwillingness to provide the deck and we filed appeals on the grounds of deemed refusal, Ms. Lam on November 21, and Professor Borins on November 29. We were told the appeals were to be handled by an expedited process and were given to the Expedited Team, with a Case Lead no less. When Ms. Lam followed up with the appeals office in mid-December, she was told that A case lead has not yet been assigned, but upon assignment, you will be contacted. As of mid-January, we have both heard nothing more.This should be a very simple request to respond to. We are asking for a Powerpoint deck one computer file. If officials who prepared the file dont want to release the entire file, they could redact portions of it. Professor Borins on two occasions asked for Excel spreadsheets containing responses to the Ontario Governments online budget consultations also a single computer file and he received them within a month, the time frame by which the government is required to respond to FoI requests.We suspect something more is going on in this case. Both of us have been critics of the decision to close the original Science Centre and move it to Ontario Place and of the plans for Ontario Place, and have written about them in our blogs. Here is a link toMr. Borins most recent piece and another link toMs. Lams home page. We have also been interviewed by the media. We think the Ford Government, which isalmost certain to call an electionand which likely considers itself vulnerable on its decisions about the OSC and Ontario Place, wants to deny its critics information that can be used in the campaign. We think that the ever-polite FoI officers are acting under orders from Minister Surmas office, Cabinet office, or the Premiers Office. For that reason, we are not naming them.Freedom of Information can be a potent tool to hold government to account. But when government does not want to be held to account, the best course of action is to delay. The release of a grossly redacted file or an outright refusal would indicate that the government has something to hide. Delay allows it to hide even that. Sir Humphrey Appleby would approve. Franz Kafka would not be surprised. The people of Ontario should be outraged.The post Ontarios Kafkaesque Freedom of Information Regime appeared first on Canadian Architect.

UBM TechWeb unveiled the 39th edition of the Game Developers Conference (GDC) that will take place from March17 to to March 21 in SF.Read More

The 2025 GDC survey revealed the impact of industry-wide layoffs in 2024 where one of every 11 game developers lost a job.Read More

Bohemia Interactive's revenue jumps 34% this financial year to $60.8mCo-founder and CFO says "the year 2024 exceeded all our expectations" News by Vikki Blake Contributor Published on Jan. 21, 2025 Bohemia Interactive's revenue has jumped by 34% this financial year to $60.8m.In a statement, co-founder and CFO Slavomr Pavlček said "the year 2024 exceeded all our expectations," primarily attributing its boost to DayZ expansion, Frostline.The team also released Arma Reforger on PS5, Vigor on PC, and Ylands on Nintendo Switch. Arma 3 players also received two new DLC packs.99% of the largest Czech game studio's "4.85m copies of games and DLC" came from sales overseas across PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox systems, but Bohemia stopped short of disaggregating that figure further.42% of all sales were made in the US, followed by the UK and Germany at 7% and 6% of the market share, respectively. There has also been "significant growth" in Ukraine and in Brazil."The latest expansion DayZ Frostline, which has won the hearts of gamers around the world, has been a great success," Pavlček said."And the real blockbuster was the military simulator Arma Reforger on PlayStation 5, where it currently has no competition in its genre. In addition, player interest continues to grow on all platforms, even at the beginning of 2025."Arma 2 has sold over 47m units in 15 years.

BFI invests another 2m in UK's independent screen sectorFireblade Software, Hazimation, Hyper Luminal, Keelworks, and Wired Productions all secured funding News by Vikki Blake Contributor Published on Jan. 21, 2025 The BFI has made 26 new awards as part of its 2.15m ($2.65m) investment in the UK's independent screen sector, which includes video games.Financed through the UK government's Department for Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS), the financial awards aim to help British firms "achieve new business partnerships, enhance their profile and reach in the global marketplace, and increase revenue generation through export and international expansion."Awards - which range from 50,000 ($61.6K) to 200,000 ($246K) - reportedly generate 22 of net benefit for every 1 of UK Global Screen Fund given.Successfully securing funding this round are Fireblade Software, Hazimation, Hyper Luminal, Keelworks, and Wired Productions. For some, the applications were made to secure funding for new roles like programmers and production staff, whilst others were awarded grants to hire business development support."The UKs independent screen sector has such a wealth of talent and ambition and it is fantastic to see this latest batch of business development awards supporting a breadth of companies and strategies, all focused on international growth and success in the global marketplace," said Denitsa Yordanova, BFI head of UK Global Screen Fund and International Funds.

Justin Carter, Contributing EditorJanuary 21, 20252 Min ReadImage via LocalThunk.At a GlanceLocalThunk hopes players enjoy Balatro and put the attention for their game toward other indies out there.After a "pretty wild last few weeks," LocalThunk revealed Balatro has sold 5 million copies.The roguelike deckbuilder's become increasingly popular since its launch last February on PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch. By mid-December, it'd sold 3.5 million units after coming to mobile that fall, and racked up end-of-year nominations and wins at various outlets and organizations.Balatro's Game Awards boostLocalThunk specifically credited interest from the game's nomination in various categories at the 2024 Game Awards, and hoped players have "an amazing time with it!" The game won Best Indie, Best Mobile, and Best Debut Indie at the event.In the months since its launch, LocalThunk has also pulled back the curtain on how the game was made, and what it originally looked like in an earlier state.Balatro's success hasn't been without its setbacks. Weeks after its launch, it was delisted from various countries after it'd been mis-rated by the European ratings board, PEGI. At the time, the board believed the game endorsed gambling, something LocalThunk and publisher PlayStack said they'd repeatedly told the board was untrue. The creator has also explicitly ensured the game cannot be licensed into a gambling title, now or after his death.As of last month, PEGI rated the game 18+ (or "adults only"), a move LocalThunk could only describe as "comedy. Since PEGI gave us an 18+ rating for having evil playing cards maybe I should add microtransactions/loot boxes/real gambling to lower that rating to 3+ like EA Sports FC."Despite this, LocalThunk is appreciative of those who've put time into Balatro, and suggested those players "try to make [playing indie games] a habit! There's some amazing stuff out there!"About the AuthorJustin CarterContributing Editor, GameDeveloper.comA Kansas City, MO native, Justin Carter has written for numerous sites including IGN, Polygon, and SyFy Wire. In addition to Game Developer, his writing can be found at io9 over on Gizmodo. Don't ask him about how much gum he's had, because the answer will be more than he's willing to admit.See more from Justin CarterDaily news, dev blogs, and stories from Game Developer straight to your inboxStay UpdatedYou May Also Like

Justin Carter, Contributing EditorJanuary 21, 20251 Min ReadImage via Owlcat Games.At a GlanceWith Rogue Trader's success, Owlcat hopes to 'bring more stories to the endless universe of Warhammer 40K.'Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader has sold 1 million copies.Developer Owlcat Games revealed the milestone today, which comes over a year after the game's release on Windows, Mac, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. "This was no easy task, but you have succeeded, Lord Captains," wrote Owlcat.For some comparison, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous from the same studio sold over 1 million copies in early 2023. That game first released on PC in 2021, then came to last-gen consoles the following year.In a statement, Owlcat's studio head Oleg Shpilchevskiy said Trader's performance "is a sign for us that we, as developers, are working in the right direction. Together with the fantastic team at Warhammer, we were able to create the RPG of our dreams... and we will do our best to bring more stories to the endless universe of Warhammer 40,000."More Warhammer 40K is on the horizonThe Rogue Trader news comes days after Pullup Entertainment revealed Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II reached 6 million unique players. In its recent financial report, the publisher noted the "exceptional performance" of Saber Interactive's action-shooter.Despite Space Marine II not being on any subscription service, Pullup has repeatedly touted its player numbers in lieu of sales. A month after its September 2024 release, the game was Pullup's best game launch ever, and "among the best-selling titles on major platforms" by the end of 2024.Warhammer owner Games Workshop has already committed itself to more Warhammer titles, including an MMO in the works at Jackalyptic Games. As of last December, the tabletop series is also being adapted into a TV show for Prime Video starring former Superman and Witcher Henry Cavill.About the AuthorJustin CarterContributing Editor, GameDeveloper.comA Kansas City, MO native, Justin Carter has written for numerous sites including IGN, Polygon, and SyFy Wire. In addition to Game Developer, his writing can be found at io9 over on Gizmodo. Don't ask him about how much gum he's had, because the answer will be more than he's willing to admit.See more from Justin CarterDaily news, dev blogs, and stories from Game Developer straight to your inboxStay UpdatedYou May Also Like

Apple continues to make it easier to use your iPhone with your Mac using the Continuity feature. Introduced with macOS Ventura, Continuity lets you use your iPhone as a webcam for your Mac. It also offers a universal clipboard across devices, call and text syncing, AirPlay streaming and now, the ability to mirror your iPhones display on the screen attached to your Mac.If youve got an iPhone running iOS 18 or later and a Mac with Apple silicon or the T2 security chip running macOS Sequoia 15 or later, then you can use iPhone mirroring. Its exactly what it sounds like: a real-time copy of your mobile display on your computer display, which you can also interact with. Mirroring means you can check apps and messages while leaving your phone in your pocket or drawer and of course, you have the advantage of keyboard and mouse (or trackpad) control, too.Heres how to set it up. I tried it on an iPhone 15 Pro Max running iOS 18.2.1 and a M1 MacBook Pro running macOS Sequoia 15.2.Getting started with iPhone mirroringBesides the software requirements weve already mentioned (iOS 18 and macOS 15), there are a few more checks to carry out to make this work. Both the iPhone and Mac need to be signed in to the same Apple account, and the account needs to have two-factor authentication enabled.Everything that happens on your iPhone is mirrored on macOS. Screenshot: AppleBoth devices need to have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi turned on, and your iPhone needs to be locked and close to your Mac. It doesnt matter if either device is being charged, and the feature works regardless of whether your iPhone is in StandBy mode. The Mac mustnt be sharing its internet connection using Sidecar or AirPlay.Meet all of those fairly straightforward conditions, and iPhone mirroring is ready to go.Look for an iPhone Mirroring button on the macOS dock, which looks like a small iPhone. Click this, and the connection should be established though the first time you use iPhone mirroring, youll be asked to authenticate the connection via Face ID, Touch ID, or your PIN on the iPhone.Move the cursor on your Mac just above the mirrored iPhone screen to get a border. You can click and drag this border to reposition the iPhone display.Use the window border to move the mirrored iPhone display around. Screenshot: AppleIn the top-right corner, there are icons for going back to the homescreen (the grid of squares) and app switching (the series of rectangles), where recent apps can be found.Anything you do on the Mac will apply the action on your iPhone, so you can open up apps, browse the web, change iOS settings, reply to messages, and whatever else. Any audio playing on your iPhone will be routed through your Mac speakers.Using your iPhone from your MacYou might find it takes some time to get used to operating your iPhone with a trackpad (or mouse) and a keyboard its all clicking and dragging rather than tapping and swiping. Clicking is the equivalent of tapping, and clicking and dragging is the equivalent of swiping.Audio from your iPhone will come through on your Mac. Screenshot: AppleThere are some keyboard shortcuts that can help.Cmd + 1 takes you to the homescreen. Cmd + 2 takes you to the app switcher. Cmd + 3 launches Spotlight search (you can also swipe up from the bottom of any homescreen to get to Spotlight).Open the View menu on the menu bar at the top to change the size of the mirrored iPhone display: you can choose from Large, Actual Size, and Smaller.You can access Spotlight search on your mirrored iPhone. Screenshot: AppleYou can also drag and drop items from your iPhone to your Mac and vice versa. For example, try opening the Photos app on your mirrored iPhone, then drag an image out to the macOS desktop or drag an image from Safari on the desktop to Mail on mobile.Youve got options when it comes to how iPhone notifications are managed during mirroring. By default, iPhone notifications turn into Mac notifications and show up in the top-right corner of the macOS interface and clearing notifications on your Mac also clears them on your iPhone. You can change this:On macOS, open the Apple menu then System Settings.Choose Notifications.Select Allow notifications from iPhone.Use the Allow notifications from iPhone and Play sounds for notifications from iPhone toggle switches to change how alerts are handled.There are also toggle switches for individual apps on the same screen, so you can allow notifications from certain apps (such as WhatsApp) but not others (such as Uber).You can manage iPhone notifications from your Mac. Screenshot: AppleTo control future connections:Open the iPhone Mirroring menu at the top of the screenon macOS with the iPhone display active, then choose Settings.The next dialog box lets you automatically connect these devices in the future or ask for authentication each time.You can also break the connection by clicking Revoke Access, which means itll need to be established again from the start in the future.To stop iPhone mirroring, either close down the iPhone Mirroring app (via the red close button in the top-left corner or the iPhone Mirroring menu) or unlock your iPhone.