Apex Legends try it for free (EA)The Thursday letters page is concerned AI is not being used to help developers, as a reader takes issue with Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophets name.To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.ukPlay now, pay laterIm a little surprised that Marvel Rivals is doing so well as I havent found it to be much fun. Maybe Im just not getting it, but it seemed too random and unbalanced to me. For my mind the best free shooter is still Apex Legends. The characters and world are kind of bland, but I find its the best action by far and the one that sells itself the most on just being a good game.Call Of Duty: Warzone is too tame for my tastes and Fortnite has always had bad gunplay, as far as Im concerned. I do keep meaning to try Warframe though, if anyone could recommend it?It does feel wrong to complain about any of them though, as Id say they were all very high quality for something thats free. I know they have to be if they want to get you addicted and spending money but 20 years ago, I wouldve never imagined that the most popular games in the world would all be free.DweebleNo problemoI think the thing I hate most about all this AI stuff is the pretence that its for any reason other than being able to lay off even more people. As usual for techbros its a solution in search of a problem and the only benefit is to greedy CEOs who want to buy an extra yacht and the easiest way to do that is to sack a few hundred more people.Im wiling to bet AI doesnt speed up making games at all. Its like a sponge, theyll just realise they can do even more in the five or so years. Nobodys going to go back to make a whole game in just a year or two, even though they should.The minute that happens then sure, Ill be all for AI. But none of this is about improving anything for anyone but the shareholders and execs. Voice actors have been on strike for seven months so far, because of all this. We just dont realise it because the games that will be affected arent yet. So when all the new games in 2026 have creepy AI voices instead of real people youll know why.CranstonWorst job in the worldI honestly cant believe this news about Marvel Rivals. It becomes a mega hit and then they just dump the creators and do all the updates from China, now the games set-up? A company can be as heartless as it wants but whod ever work for NetEase now, knowing what they do to you even if everything works out?Never mind that, whod be a video game developer at all? 1 in 10 have lost their jobs in the last couple of years and now with all this AI nonsense from Xbox that number is only going to go up. I remember when making games seemed like it must be the coolest job in the world, but now it seems like a nightmare where neither the publisher or the general public appreciate you.The guy talking about bloat in the comments section of that story should be ashamed of themselves. Ive never seen any fandom have such contempt for the people that make the things they enjoy. Im surprised they didnt offer up a death threat while they were about it.RonsonEmail your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.ukLost FactionsI cant help thinking that the obvious compromise for Naughty Dog cancelling The Last Of Us Online is adding Factions to the remake of The Last Of Us Part 1. It was pretty shameful that it wasnt included in the first place, because now neither of the games have a multiplayer mode on PlayStation 5.It always makes me laugh when companies talk about game preservation and its not the old ones were losing, its the new ones. Factions basically doesnt exist now, unless theres a fan server somewhere, and what about Concord? Millions of dollars to make and now its as if it never even happened.I dont expect anyone to do anything about it but there should be a law against it. Although I see Parliament already said no to that, so publishers are free to do whatever they want.ZeissTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a webbrowser thatsupports HTML5videoUp NextSwitch Extra LiteThe Switch 2 might be the first Nintendo console I havent bought at launch since the GameCube. Nothing announced so far has me excited for the launch.One thing that might tempt me though would be a cheaper non-portable version. My Switch stays permanently tucked away under my desk and I always use a Pro Controller rather than the Joy-Cons. A mini version of the console with no screen, battery or Joy-Cons would suit me fine.JulianHWhats in a nameI know bad names, especially for indie games, is a bit of a pet peeve for GC and I cant help thinking Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is one of the worst Ive ever heard in quite a while. I remember when the name leaked and everything thought it must be some low budget Japanese role-playing game or something. And then it turns out to be a mega budget Naughty Dog game.And then the trailer didnt have anything about prophets or heretics and the tone seemed to be some kind of flippant Guardians Of The Galaxy style knock-off. Except afterwards Naughty Dog said it was about religion and faith? I dont know who wouldve guessed that from the trailer.We know virtually nothing about the game and yet I already have a bad feeling about it. I guess maybe Sony are out of practice with game reveals, given how few of them they do now, but this one seemed to do nothing but damage.I cant say the one for Saros was very good either, some guy going on about dying on a beach is all I got. Returnal wasnt exactly a big seller so Im not sure how many non-fans that managed to excite. Not many if all the complaining about it being a bad State of Play are any sign (I thought it was pretty good, overall).I do agree with many that there seems a sickness almost to the games industry at the moment. Nothing is happening, everyone seems off their game, and nobody is happy. We really need the Switch 2 and GTA 6 as soon as possible.FalcoConstant consolidationSo now Niantic is being bought out as well? Theres going to be like three companies involved in gaming by the time we get to the next generation and that barely seems like an exaggeration.Not that Ive played Pokmon Go since it first came out but when even a game that big isnt self-sustaining youve got to wonder what the point is. Although it probably didnt help constantly remaking the same game but with a different licence on top. I had never heard of that Pikmin game before.LumpyPS: I do realise that $3.5 billion is a pretty good booby prize.The wasted generationWeve heard from other developers, I think Rocksteady was one of them, that its often the developers ideas to do these live service games, even if their hearts dont seem to be in it. I never understood that before but this explanation from the ex-Sony guy, of them just wanting to get ahead of an even worse idea, makes a lot of sense.I couldnt say whether it was Jim Ryans idea or not, but it seems pretty obvious now that he or someone else made it clear that live service games were the future for Sony and that everyone needs to get on board. Which set them on the road to Concord.Unfortunately, Helldivers 2 means theyll never give up entirely but Im hoping the Saros reveal, and hopefully more to come, means were finally getting back to some kind of balance. Theyve wasted a whole generation of this U-turn though and they should feel very lucky that theyre not being punished for it, because Microsoft us even more clueless.If Sony thinks theyll just reset the clock with the PlayStation 6 though Im not sure. If Microsoft can leverage AI and streaming to their advantage, you could be looking at a phoenix from the flames situation.Although, if either of them get their act together again can we just have some slow and steady competence at some point? Instead of this wild shooting from the hip stuff that never works out.GambolInbox also-ransLife Is Strange is 10 years old already? Yikes. Life is short more like.TrexnI hope these Tony Hawks remasters (remakes, whatever) are the Underground games. 3 and 4 were just worse versions of the first two and Im not sure anyone has any real nostalgia for them. Underground was great though.Rosau20More TrendingEmail your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.ukThe small printNew Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Readers Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.You can also leave your comments below and dont forget to follow us on Twitter.ArrowMORE: Games Inbox: When will Fallout 5 be released?GameCentralSign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy

While the jury is still out on whether or not Marvel is back after the mixed reception of the not-so-brave and not-so-new Captain America film, things are continuing on the upswing in the animation department. Marvel Animations latest romp, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, has been must-watch weekly television on Disney+. This is saying a lot since its been vying for comic book fans attention by streaming against the likes of Prime Videos Invincible season three. Amid the long-standing discourse over whether superhero fatigue is real or not, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man has been a reminder that there are still good stories to tell, even if theyre not entirely new. With a season in the history books and two more on the horizon, heres everything we fanciedand everything we werent too hot onabout the show. Liked: The banger opening theme Regardless of our pending reservations about Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, its opening theme is catchy as hell. While its not passing the corporate-engineered rap allegations sonically, its been a fun time humming along to it week to week. It also doesnt hurt that the opening title sequence flexes the most captivating imagery in the show while neatly dovetailing into a unique comic book-style cover for every episode.Liked: The tone Marvel Animation Despite its cel-shaded look, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Manfelt pitched toward a slightly older audience than recent cartoons featuring (or starring) the character. Sometimes it was the swears peppered throughout episodes; other times, it made clear in no uncertain terms that characters were getting killed or extremely hurt. Its a small thing, but it helped make the show feel like its own thing tonally, and hopefully means itll grow up alongside its cast in future seasons. Liked: The compelling Spider-friends drama Marvel Animation The shows onset made it feel like Peter Parker would be navigating a grating rut with his best friend Nico Minoru and new best friend Harry Osborn. To our surprise, the show didnt dish out the typical drama that often comes with hiding secret identities. Instead, it offered a layered serving of drama that touched on the trio butting heads over preconceived notions about their economic differencesand the hurt that comes with being the last person to be let in on a secret. It also succeeded in weaving believable conflict between the trio while having them act like people you could envision yourself watching a movie and gossiping with.Liked: It told an actual small-scale Spider-Man story Marvel Animation As soon as Spider-Man got slotted into the MCU, Peter Parker was fast-tracked into world-ending conflict after world-ending conflict. Hes up to the task of handling his own alongside the Avengers, but its become the bane of many a Spider-Man fans existence to see Parker become Iron Man Jr., with nano-machine technology and other gizmos manufactured by the billionaire philanthropist being the focal point of the hero in place of his own genius. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man acted as a re-do of the MCU by taking a stab at his introduction into the universe while keeping the overall stakes to a more personal, impactful level. Peter gets to figure out the kind of hero he wants to be while gaining a reputation with the everyday folks he saves. If things inevitably escalate to more catastrophic levels, the show has already established its footing as a grounded Spider-Man tale. Its not a big ask but its a welcome change of pace given the multiversal direction the MCU is heading toward. Liked: Scorpion Marvel Animation Mac Gargan is a Spider-Man villain who pops up pretty regularly, but it still felt like he needed the right arena to really let him shine. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Manmay be the big break ol Scorpions been waiting for; reimagining him as a gang leader looking to muscle in on the One-Tenths turf gives him a different energyit immediately makes him threatening to the non-superpowered characters like Lonnie. When he gets his suit and cuts through his enemies, he becomes a pretty effective baddie, and provides more tension in a way the shows earlier villains didnt.Liked: Norman Osborn Marvel Animation The live-action Spider-Man movies havent touched the Green Goblin since Willem Dafoe first got harassed by his own mask back in 2002, but the characters been a key part of Peters growth into a hero throughout animation. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is clearly having fun making him Peters surrogate dad in a similar way to Tony Stark in the MCU movies, but with a more skeptical stance on how helpful Norman truly is. Seeing Norman try to subtly twist Peter for his own ends or mold him into the son he really wants makes for some of the meatiest character moments for them both. And being voiced by Colman Domingo doesnt hurt, either. Didnt Like: Peters spider-quips Marvel Animation It takes a lot of skill to craft a character whose quips annoy his adversaries without splash-damaging viewers in the process, and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man never quite nailed it. While its easy to chalk Peters half-baked quips with him still getting a handle on the whole hero thing, its not like the show wasnt making Peter a funny guy whenever he was barely keeping his identity under wraps from his friends or bemoaning the challenges of balancing an internship and school life. Any time Peter fought any bad guy in the show, it felt like he rattled off a volley of low-hanging fruit of quips, hoping one of them would land. Unfortunately, Parkers pulled punches hit their mark more often than his comedic chops.Didnt like: The animation took some getting used to Marvel Animation Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Mans 3D animation style didnt quite please the eye as well as the animation seen on X-Men 97or Marvels What If? There is a charm to watching a show that looks like a feature-length video game cutscene, but there are also moments where characters in wide shots stood like cardboard cutoutsand a lot of the action sequences in the show failed to live up to the wow factor of the shows opening sequence. Its not a bad-looking show, but its not exactly spectacular-looking either. Hopefully, subsequent seasons will get more juice by sprucing up the look. Didnt like: All the MCU creep Marvel Animation Much of the charm of the 90s Spider-Man cartoon is that it gave fans time to get to know Parker before other heroes made cameos, introducing their respective quirks into Spider-Mans world. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man adopted a backward-forward approach to the 90s shows modus operandi by positioning Spider-Man as the small fish in the MCU, just like the movies, and it kinda sucked to watch. While some cheeky appearances like Charlie Coxs Daredevil created interesting dynamics on screen, the shows dogmatic attempt to recreate Phase Three of the MCU as the backdrop of the entire story did more to service referential moments to the good old days than service the Spider-Man show. Despite its name, the show desperately wants to expand its lens to the grander MCU, making Parker sometimes feel like a bit player in the first season of his new show.Its too short Marvel Animation For the most part, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man juggled its characters well, and it did feel like time was passing with each episode. But the shows release structure didnt entirely take this into account: while weeks have passed in-show for Peter and friends, it can feel jarring for the audience to hop from one episode to the next and see relationships have fractured or grown in sizable ways. This is especially true of Lonnies arc with the One-Tenth, where he feels trapped into joining them one week and treats them like theyre his new best friends the next. You can watch all 10 episodes of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man on Disney+. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency claims to be fighting the scourge of government waste and fraud and, this week, DOGE claimed that it had already saved taxpayers tens of billions of dollars. However, in an ironic twist, it would appear that the claims being made by Musk and DOGE about their own activities appear to be, themselves, fraudulent. Despite recently claiming that it had already saved Americans $55 billion, the information on DOGEs website only accounts for $16 billion, onlookers have noted. Worse, about half of those savings appear to have been attributable to an accounting error. Indeed, amongst the so-called savings that DOGE recently posted about on its site was an alleged $8 billion contract for a diversity program being operated by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. However, the New York Times has now reported that the actual cost of the program was $8 million. In other words, it was a thousand times smaller than DOGE had initially claimed it was. The DOGE website was subsequently edited several times, in a series of comical, floundering changes, that sought to correct the recordbut only after the discrepancy was reported by the press. It appears that the original error may not have been DOGEs, as the federal contracting database in which the diversity program appeared originally listed it as an $8 billion program. However, a savvy observer would have known this was an error, given the fact that most government agencies have budgets that are nearly equivalent to such a figure. DOGE appears to have duplicated the error on its site, before repeatedly editing the information. The New York Times breaks down DOGEs subsequent website edits like so: The DOGE website initially included a screenshot from the federal contracting database showing that the contracts value was $8 million, even as the DOGE site listed $8 billion in savings. On Tuesday night, around the time this article was published, DOGE removed the screenshot that showed the mismatch, but continued to claim $8 billion in savings. It added a link to the original, outdated version of the contract worth $8 billion. By Wednesday morning, DOGE had updated its list to show $8 million in savings, though it did not acknowledge the error or explain how it might affect its calculation of total money saved, which remained unchanged. A loss of $8 billion in savings would represent nearly 15 percent of the total savings claimed by DOGE. Even the $8 million is an upper bound on the amount saved by canceling the contract. Since $2.5 million had already been spent on the contract, according to data on USAspending.gov, that suggests that canceling it saved $5.5 million at most. From this, it seems sorta safe to assume that the people running DOGE are either deceptive con artists or morons or both. Indeed, this isnt the first time something like this has happened. Other questionable claims have been made by Musk and DOGE on a routine and ongoing basis, many of which have been easily debunked. Bloomberg notes that while DOGE has promised to upload its work in a digestible and fully transparent manner with clear assumptions, consistent with applicable rules and regulations, their work has been largely shrouded in secrecy and its less-than-optimal accounting raises questions about the reliability of their self-reporting and their level of accountability. In recent weeks, some legal attacks have attempted to slow DOGEs rampage through the federal government, though many of those efforts have run into roadblocks. Last week, 14 state attorneys general sued the White House, alleging that Trump had violated the Constitution by appointing Musk. The litigation asked for a restraining order against DOGE to limit the initiatives destructive scope. However, on Tuesday, federal judge Tanya Chutkan made the decision not to issue the order, claiming thatfor some reasonMusks mass firing of civil servants and hun-like behavior vis-a-vis federal databases did not rise to the legal definition of irreparable harm that such an order required. This, despite the fact that the backers of the new administration have openly stated that irreparable harm is exactly what they intend to inflict upon the government.That said, while Chutkan has denied the restraining order, AGs attached to the case remain optimistic and say they feel good about it overall. The casewhich is ongoingpresents the opportunity to legally investigate what the government is doing with DOGE, they say, and the probe could ultimately reveal whether Trump has violated the constitution via Musks appointment. Musks fingerprints are all over DOGE. Many staffers have previously worked for Musk or his companies, and Musk and Trump have both openly stated that Musk is responsible for leading the initiative. Despite this, White House lawyers recently made the outrageous claim that Musk is not actually in charge of DOGE. Indeed, as part of the legal defense against the state AGs lawsuit, government attorneys claimed that Musk is simply advising the president as a special government employee. Musk has no actual authority to make government decisions himself, Joshua Fisher, director of the White House Office of Administration, recently claimed.If it is true that Musk is an SGE, it would mean that he is beholden to some laws and regulations that its not clear hes following. David Dayden, of The American Prospect, recently made the point that SGEs are only allowed to work a total of 130 days a year, which would mean that Musk would have to leave government by May 30th. Of course, there always seems to be a loophole that allows the Trump administration to get its way. More recently, Musk has begun talking about a DOGE dividend, which he claims would allow DOGE to send the money that the organization has saved directly to the American public. Such gestures seem to suggest that Musk and others running the administration view the American public as a moronic rabble that can be easily manipulated via the spectacle of free money. The proposal is also somewhat reminiscent of Musks legally questionable payments to petition signers during the presidential election. Americans cheering Musks destruction of the government in the name of efficiency likely have a limited understanding of what the government does or how it contributes to the truly efficient operation of the country. This sarcastic tweet sorta says it all:

Welcome to Episode 1 of This Week in Unreal a show about Unreal Engine, Game Dev, and Virtual Production news.0:00 - Start0:30 - Epic MegaGrants Updated!https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/megagrants 2:17 - Unreal Fest 2024 Videoshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFh55hufyDM&amp ;amp;list=PLZlv_N0_O1gb0rxbHfn2t--7jO2gADVNT2:40 - Verse Evangelisthttps://www.epicgames.com/site/en-US/careers/jobs/5436198004 3:42 - CDPR Hiring in Bostonhttps://x.com/CDPROJEKTRED/status/18922627342401372724:36 - Riot MMO Hiring5:04 - Bridge Makes Me Sad6:07 - Marvel Rivals6:55 - Fortnite Shoes7:36 - Metahuman Gamehttps://x.com/SeparuhGames/status/18897094408965039578:22 - CamOpSim BSC Expo9:19 - Snapping Blueprints10:46 - ZBrush iPad ZModeller11:57 - Outro

Nature, Published online: 19 February 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00527-zThe tech giant aims to make topological quantum computers that will reach useful scales faster than competing technologies.

Nature, Published online: 19 February 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-024-08267-2Sequence clustering confounds AlphaFold2

Avowed in filled with treasure maps that can lead you to unique and powerful loot, if you can the location shown on the map. In Galawain's Tusks you can acquire the My Loyal Shield treasure map by purchasing it from Eberk at the Southern Warden Tower, located in the western part of The Sallow Steppe. With the treasure map in hand, you can set out to find the loot in Galawain's Tusks.Where to find My Loyal Shield treasureThe treasure can be found in a set of ruins south of Outcast Tower Camp.The My Loyal Shield treasure can be found in a small set of ruins in the far western part of Twinedwood, south of the Outcast Tower Camp. The ruins are right next to the lava river. To climb up to them, start from the south and wrap around the western side of the building.The hidden door can be opened with the switch on the table.Once up in the ruins, there is a table in the center of the room, with a switch on the side of it. Hit the switch to open a door, which can be found by following the power cord. Head inside the door to reach the lower floor of the ruins, where a chest containing the Time's Tarnish, a legendary quality shield, can be found.Continue Reading at GameSpot

For months, HBO has been very vague about the Season 2 premiere date for The Last of Us. At the beginning of January, the company revealed that Season 2 will be coming this April, but declined to put a specific date on it. Now, the premium cable channel has finally announced that The Last of Us Season 2 will arrive on Sunday, April 13.A few weeks prior to this announcement, fans accurately predicted that April 13 was the most likely release date since it will arrive one week after the third season finale of The White Lotus. Season 2 will pick up five years after the events of Season 1, and begin the adaptation of The Last of Us Part II that will span multiple seasons.When Season 2 begins, Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) are emotionally estranged over the choices the former made during the previous season finale. This season will introduce viewers to Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), a young woman who will have a profound impact on the story going forward. Isabela Merced is also joining the cast as Dina, alongside Young Mazino as Jesse, Ariela Barer as Mel, Tati Gabrielle as Nora, Spencer Lord as Owen, and Danny Ramirez as Manny, Jeffrey Wright is reprising his role from the game as Isaac.Continue Reading at GameSpot

Disney Dreamlight Valley has tons of adorable characters you can hang out with. As players restore the magical valley, they can befriend those characters and complete their friendship quests. One of these characters is Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King from The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Horror games put players and characters in hopeless situations, confronting them with such horrifying visuals and situations that they may lose hope of ever escaping with their sanity and any optimism they had intact, or even doubt their odds of survival. It may be a more realistic reading of their situation, but it doesn't make it any more nihilistic.