The filmmakers Netflix documentary has the feel of a paranoid thriller as it examines the possible connections between the Manson family and the covert operations of the CIA and FBI in the 1960s.

With creative control of the franchise shifting after six decades, 007 needs clever, suspenseful storytelling not just gadgets and frenetic action

To the Moon Intuitive Machines second attempt to land on the Moon also went sideways "I would like to get more data before we can determine the orientation." Eric Berger Mar 6, 2025 7:56 pm | 37 A view from the Athena lander as it neared the surface of the Moon. Credit: Intuitive Machines A view from the Athena lander as it neared the surface of the Moon. Credit: Intuitive Machines Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreInside a small control room, during the middle of the day on Thursday local time in Texas, about a dozen white-knuckled engineers at a space startup named Intuitive Machines started to get worried. Their spacecraft, a lander named Athena, was beginning its final descent down to the lunar surface.A little more than a year had passed since the company's first attempt to land on the Moon with a similarly built vehicle, Odysseus. Due to problems with that spacecraft's laser rangefinder, it skidded into the Moon's surface and toppled over.So engineers at Intuitive Machines had checked, and re-checked the laser-based altimeters on Athena. When the lander got down within about 30 km of the lunar surface, they tested the rangefinders again. Worryingly, there was some noise in the readings as the laser bounced off the Moon. However, the engineers had reason to believe that, maybe, the readings would improve as the spacecraft got nearer to the surface."Our hope was that the signal to noise would improve as we got closer to the Moon," said Tim Crain, chief technology officer for Intuitive Machines, speaking to reporters afterward.It didn't. The noise remained. And so, to some extent, Athena went down to the Moon blind. The spacecraft's propulsion system, based on liquid oxygen and methane, and designed in-house, worked beautifully. But in the final moments, the spacecraft did not quite know where it was relative to the surface.Probably lying on its sideBeyond that, Crain and the rest of the company, including its chief executive Steve Altemus, could not precisely say what happened. After Athena landed, the engineers in mission control could talk to the spacecraft, and they were able to generate some power from its solar arrays. But precisely where it was, or how it lay on the ground, they could not say a few hours later.Based on a reading from an inertial measurement unit inside the vehicle, most likely Athena is lying on its side. This is the same fate Odysseus met last year, when it skidded into the Moon, broke a leg, and toppled over."I would like to get a picture," Altemus said. "I would like to get more data before we can determine the orientation."NASA, and several other companies, had packed a lot of interesting payloads onto the lander. The mission was designed to last, nominally, for a couple of weeks while solar energy was available. However, due to its present orientation, Athena is not receiving full power. This will limit activities in the coming days.It does seem that Athena landed relatively near its target, the Mons Mouton area of the Moon, further south than any lander has set down on the Moon. This flat-topped mountain, which towers above the surrounding area, is about 100 miles from the lunar south pole.One key question is whether the spacecraft's primary mission, the PRIME-1 experiment with an ice drill to sample any ice that lies below the surface, will be able to function. NASA officials were non-committal during a news conference when asked Thursday if this drill could still be deployed.Successes and challengesThe space agency's chief of science, Nicola Fox, sought to put a positive spin on the sideways landing of the Intuitive Machines spacecraft. She noted that there are, at present, two US spacecraft landed on the Moon and active. There is Athena, and the Firefly Aerospace-built Blue Ghost lander that touched down four days ago."This is a community," Fox said. "We all share in each other's successes. And we all empathize with each other's challenges."NASA deserves credit for funding risky missions like that undertaken by Intuitive Machines and Firefly. Heretofore only government-led missions from the United States, Soviet Union, China, and India have successfully made a soft landing on the Moon. But it still must be difficult to accept that a second Intuitive Machines lander was felled by a problem with the same instrument, its altimeter.Look, this stuff is really hard. And it's even more difficult for a publicly traded company like Intuitive Machines. The company's stock opened trading at $13.65 on Thursday, and closed at $11.26. In after hours trading, it sunk to about $8.Eric BergerSenior Space EditorEric BergerSenior Space Editor Eric Berger is the senior space editor at Ars Technica, covering everything from astronomy to private space to NASA policy, and author of two books: Liftoff, about the rise of SpaceX; and Reentry, on the development of the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon. A certified meteorologist, Eric lives in Houston. 37 Comments

The IM-2 mission in low lunar orbitIntuitive MachinesIntuitive Machines Athena lander has made it to the moon, but it seems to have fallen over. The lander is still working, but it is not yet clear which parts of its mission it will still be able to accomplish.The spacecraft launched onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASAs Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Cape Canaveral, Florida on 27 February. It landed on 6 March, but the landing wasnt entirely successful and its precise location or orientation on the lunar surface is still unclear.We dont believe were in the correct attitude on the surface of the moon, yet again, said Intuitive Machines CEO Stephen Altemus in a press conference shortly after the landing. This is a similar result to the companys last attempt to land on the moon: the Odysseus spacecraft. It marked first time that a private firm had landed a spacecraft on the lunar surface, but it tipped over onto its side and was not able to send back much data.AdvertisementAthena has a variety of scientific instruments, but perhaps the most important of these is The Regolith and Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrain (TRIDENT), a NASA experiment designed to drill up to a metre through the lunar soil. It is intended to take samples from underground and analyse their contents, looking for water ice and other chemical compounds.This experiment marks a significant milestone, as it will be the first robotic drilling activity conducted in the moons south pole region, said Jacqueline Quinn at KSC in a 25 February press conference. If TRIDENT does still work, its a crucial step towards understanding and harnessing lunar resources to support future exploration, she said.As part of the IM-2 mission, Athena carried several rovers with it to the moon. One of them, nicknamed Grace after computer scientist and mathematician Grace Hopper, is designed to jump around the surface unlike any rover that has come before it, firing small boosters to jump up to 100 metres into the air and travel a distance of around 200 meters. Grace is intended to explore the moons strange, permanently shadowed craters.Voyage across the galaxy and beyond with our space newsletter every month.Sign up to newsletterAthenas operators have been able to send the craft commands and turn it and its scientific payloads on and off, and downlink some data back to Earth. The solar panels are also functioning to charge up the landers electronics. That seems to be good news, but the team is still working to figure out which of the instruments will be able to accomplish some of their scientific goals, said Altemus.This is part of a broader push for increased exploration in the moon, partly in preparation for planned human missions over the course of the next decade. Firefly Aerospaces Blue Ghost lander just made it to the moon on 2 March, and the Resilience lander from Japanese company ispace is en route.Topics:

Serena WilliamsSerena Williams and her family attended the 2024 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony. Karwai Tang/WireImage/Getty Images Serena Williams was a dominating force during her 27-year professional tennis career, winning 23 Grand Slam singles titles and four Olympic gold medals.Among her accomplishments is winning the 2017 Australian Open while pregnant with her and Alexis Ohanian's first child. Their daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., arrived in 2017.Williams has discussed her experience navigating motherhood on several occasions, including a 2018 op-ed with CNN, in which Williams said she almost died giving birth to her daughter. Williams delivered Olympia through an emergency C-Section and experienced complications afterward."When I finally made it home to my family, I had to spend the first six weeks of motherhood in bed," she wrote.During a 2018 interview with Time, Williams recounted juggling motherhood while trying to jump back into her career. She told the outlet she breastfed her daughter for eight months, which became a point of contention with her former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, who asked she stop nursing."It's absolutely hard to take from a guy," Williams said. "He's not a woman, he doesn't understand that connection, that the best time of the day for me was when I tried to feed her. I've spent my whole life making everyone happy, just servicing it seems like everyone. And this is something I wanted to do."Williams told the outlet she later chose to stop breastfeeding, saying, "I looked at Olympia, and I was like, 'Listen, Mommy needs to get her body back, so Mommy's going to stop now.' We had a really good conversation. We talked it out."Williams made a quick return to the tennis court, playing in an exhibit match in Abu Dhabi just four months after giving birth but losing to Jelena Ostapenko, according to People. However, she went on to win other matches and the 2020 ASB Classic.Williams officially retired in 2022 and welcomed her second daughter Adira River Ohanian with her husband the following year.Victoria AzarenkaVictoria Azarenka spent time with her son, Leo, during a tournament in 2024. Foto Olimpik/NurPhoto via Getty Images Victoria Azarenka is a notable figure in professional women's tennis, winning the Australian Open in 2012 and 2013 in addition to scoring two Olympic medals.Azarenka and her former boyfriend, Billy McKeague, welcomed a son named Leo in 2016. She announced her pregnancy with an X post that July, saying she was "truly inspired by female athletes who return to the very top of their sport after having children, and I plan to do exactly that."She returned to the court in 2017 and won her first match back, according to BBC. Two years later, the Belarusian athlete told the outlet that she thought getting pregnant would end her career."I was scared, it wasn't easy," she told the outlet. "I knew I was going to come back, but my first thought was, 'Oh my god, I'm never going to play tennis again.'"However, said she felt "stronger" after giving birth."I'm sure a lot of women won't be able to relate to me, but I felt so much better after (the pregnancy)," she said. "I felt so much stronger physically, and my body became so much better. I felt like my body finally matured into being a woman."Azarenka has publicly pushed for parental benefits for Women's Tennis Association players. She and Serena Williams were among those who campaigned to protect the rankings of players who go on maternity leave. The association updated its policies in 2019 about rankings and maternity leave.She later advocated for maternity pay for Women's Tennis Association members in a 2024 interview with BBC Sports."There's a lot more that has to change, and I hope that we are on the right track to do it," Azarenka told the outlet. "I think the important part is to change the financial part of maternity leave. I think that would be a huge win for women in general, so I hope we find the resources to be able to do that. I think that would be incredible."Azarenka said players with lower rankings could benefit from such a policy."I have, I'm guessing, more financial security than some players who may be outside the top 100 and maybe have the same desires and ambitions to have a child and continue to do their job," she said.Naomi OsakaNaomi Osaka gave birth to her daughter, Shai, in 2023. Robert Prange/Getty Images Naomi Osaka was among the wave of Gen Z female tennis players who gained prominence on the international stage. In 2019, she became the first Asian player to be world No. 1 after winning the Australian Open.Osaka announced she would take a temporary break from professional tennis in 2023, saying she and rapper Cordae were expecting a child."One thing I'm looking forward to is for my kid to watch one of my matches and tell someone, 'That's my mom,'" she wrote in a statement on X.The former couple welcomed their daughter, Shai, that year.She remained adamant about returning to professional tennis in 2024 but told Glamour her comeback wasn't without struggles."Having a baby completely destroys your pelvic floor," Osaka told Glamour in 2024. "I was shocked because I couldn't get up out of my bed. I had to roll sideways, and it was a really long process because, for me, my immediate way of thinking is: To rebuild this, I have to do a lot of sit-ups. And I learned that that's totally not what you're supposed to do. You're supposed to do deep pelvic-floor work."Osaka told Glamour that was one of the reasons she began training just 15 days after giving birth. She also decided not to breastfeed her daughter because of Serena Williams."I watched Serena's documentary, and I saw her pumping before she went onto the court to play a match," she said. "I was thinking to myself, This might not be the path for me."Osaka vocally supported parental pay for Women's Tennis Association players during a 2024 interview with the BBC."I think it would definitely be life-changing, and I feel like having a kid shouldn't feel like a punishment," she said. "For most female athletes, I think there's a discussion that your career's going to change dramatically or going to finish because you have a kid, so just appreciating them more and giving more options is something that is very necessary."Taylor TownsendTaylor Townsend attended the National Bank Open in August 2024. Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images Taylor Townsend is a two-time Doubles Grand Slam champion, which includes a title at the 2025 Australian Open.Townsend told Essence that she welcomed her son AJ in 2021 after learning of her pregnancy the prior year. The news came as a shock to Townsend, who told the outlet she didn't want children."One of the things that was shocking was I didn't want kids because I have spent my whole entire life playing tennis. I've been playing tennis since I was four," she said in January.Townsend said she underwent a C-section during delivery, which affected her recovery and journey back to the tennis court."And when I finally got to the place where I could be active, moving my body, the core strengthening was the most important," she said. "But to be honest, I'm still in a place where I'm still working on that, and my core is still not a hundred percent because of the damage that was done with the C-section."Townsend said the C-section process was "traumatic" for her body."So it is just something that I'm going to constantly have to work on basically for the rest of my life because it's something that was just so traumatic for the body," Townsend said. "So, it's a work in progress. It's definitely not anything that's just a one-time thing, but a lot of sit-ups, a lot of crunches, a lot of planks, all the things."Townsend told the outlet that in the past, women who had children typically retired from their careers."And now I feel like we're in a place and in a time where women are having the ability to come back and play into their later years. I've even been playing my best tennis later in my career," she said.Tatjana MariaTatjana Maria attended the 2023 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix with her husband and children. Robert Prange/Getty Images Tatjana Maria has won three singles titles and collected nearly $6 million during her professional tennis career.Maria is married to and shares two daughters with Charles Edouard Maria, who also serves as her coach. Charlotte was born in 2013, while Cecilia arrived in 2021, according to Sky News.During a 2022 interview with the Women's Tennis Association, Maria reflected on taking maternity leave twice. She told the association she honed new skills during her first maternity leave and returned to the court four months after giving birth to Charlotte.However, things were different the second time around."Maria says that the major difference coming back the second time was that she made no fundamental changes to her game, consequently didn't practice as much and therefore found it harder to get back in shape," the association said.Maria jumped back into her career three months after giving birth to Cecilia. She's currently ranked 87th in the Women's Tennis Association."I'm kind of proud of myself to reach this point again," Maria said. "When you start coming back after a child, you never know how it will go. I have to say, I have been really lucky with my body. I am not really the person who is injured a lot, so I hope it stays like this. I can play a lot, and I like to play a lot."

2025-03-07T01:21:02Z Read in app The author realized that now that her daughter is a teen, she's not the one who knows her the best. Courtesy of the author This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.Have an account? Parenting my teen wasn't hard until I realized I wasn't ready to let her go.I got weirdly clingy and was afraid I'd push her away.Refocusing on myself helped me look forward to the future and a new version of our relationship.When my daughter was an adorably cheeky toddler, it seemed every older person I encountered told me, "Wait 'til she's a teen!" before sharing some teenager-related horror story. I hated all the negativity and refused to believe that a difficult parent-teen connection was inevitable. I worked hard to maintain a healthy relationship, and at 17, my daughter rarely rolls her eyes at me. She still likes to hang out, has a kind boyfriend and an amazing group of friends, and is rocking high school.I wasn't prepared for the realization that hit me as I waved goodnight to her boyfriend a couple of months ago; I no longer know her best. Instead of sharing her secrets with me, she shares them with him or her besties in the group chat. While she's living her best life, I am coming to terms with the fact that this amazing human is spreading her wings, and my job is to stand back, watch her soar, and be a steady, soft place if she needs to crash land.I was surprised by my reaction to her growing independenceHaving a graduate degree in psychology, I understood this was a normal, healthy part of adolescent individuation, the process that allows teens to fully develop their sense of self and become functioning adults. But nothing prepared me for the messiness of my own emotions. I was horrified to find myself peppering her with questions, barging in on her conversations, and feeling hurt when her dad knew something I didn't. My sadness had me holding on tighter when I was supposed to be letting go."The feeling of grief is sometimes surprising to people because they don't see it as grief," explained my neighbor Carla Corral, a licensed clinical psychologist whose oldest daughter is a sophomore in college. "We're not losing somebody, right, to death or illness or the abrupt end of a relationship, but it's grief."I didn't like the way my grief had me inserting myself into my daughter's life. I felt needy, clingy, and decidedly not cool. I didn't want to push her away or make her feel she needed to care for my feelings. It was time to get hold of myself.I had to change my behavior or risk pushing her awayI thought back to how exciting life was when I was her age and how eager and capable I felt. Shifting away from my current point of view as a concerned mom helped me see how smart, responsible, and prepared my daughter is. I also turned my attention back on myself and my dreams for the future. I grew up dancing, so I joined a tap class. It's great exercise and so much fun. Instead of gifts for Christmas, I gave my friends a breakfast or lunch date to prioritize connecting one-on-one.I started journaling again to dump my worries on the page instead of on my daughter. This helped me see some of my concerns as ridiculous and others as important points to discuss before she leaves. I keep reminding myself my job as a parent is shifting, but it's not over. Making my life more about me again allowed those clingy behaviors to fade away, and when they occasionally pop up, I take a deep breath and focus on something I enjoy.While I soak up the time I have with her including family movie nights, a spring break trip to visit her top choice university, and long conversations while walking the dog I'm building a list of things I want to do after she starts college, like visiting friends, volunteering for a local land trust and joining my husband for some of his work travel. I remind myself I've loved every stage of being a mom, even with the challenges, and I trust I will enjoy parenting a young adult. The part of my job that involved driving her around and making sure her homework was turned in may be done, but I know there are wonderful times ahead for both of us, together and apart.

It seems reasonable to imagine well see more of Mario Kart 9 (YouTube)The Friday letters page is convinced there will be a The Last Of Us Part 3, as one reader celebrates a good year in gaming for 2025 so far.To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.ukReasonable expectationsIm starting to worry that the Nintendo Switch 2 is being hyped up a bit too much at this point, with all these sales predictions and people cryogenically freezing themselves until April 2.I think, as with anything, we need to set more reasonable expectations, so that were pleasantly surprised rather than horribly disappointed. I wouldnt be surprised if Nintendo still held back some secrets about the console and didnt announce the release date and/or price.And while theyll have to show some games, we may not get more than two or three from Nintendo themselves shown off in any detail, and one of those is probably Metroid Prime 4. I know its exciting, but I dont want to be reading about how disappointed people were in the reveal for months after, because they thought there were going to be a dozen new games and whatever else.ZeissNo changeSo now that Microsoft has owned Activision Blizzard for a while, is there anything that has actually changed? I certainly cant see anything, even been a keen gamer that checks the news every day, etc.Activision hasnt said anything about making any new games other than Call Of Duty and neither publisher has talked about bringing back old retro franchises. So I guess Phil Spencers T-shirts werent a hint about anything.They did layoff a bunch of people, so I guess that was something that changed, but basically all that talk of making the company better and expanding what it does was just said to get the deal through. I know I shouldnt be surprised but I am disappointed.BentleyBig box rentalAn interesting idea by Sony, to start renting out PlayStation 5 consoles, to the point where Im not sure why they didnt think of it before. Too much hassle I guess and actually, thinking about it, Im not sure I want to play a console thats been in a dozen different homes already, especially if Im the one Sony blames when it inevitably breaks down.Given how fragile the PlayStation 5 is (Ive never seen a PS5 Pro) I wouldnt want to be putting that in a parcel to post off, or however theyre distributing these things.Overall, its still a good idea but it kind of underlines the fact that consoles are just too expensive for a lot of people and, especially in difficult times, not the sort of thing theyre going to drop several hundred pounds on.GiffordEmail your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.ukThe Last Of Us PartyI do not believe for one second that Sony is not going to make a third The Last Of Us game. Maybe Naughty Dog wont make it, and Id be surprised if Neil Druckmann did, but theres no way theyre going to end one of their most famous franchises when theres still story threads they can follow-up and a major TV show providing free advertising.I dont want it. Im still not convinced there shouldve been a second game, but the problem with movies and games nowadays is that nothing can ever end. No story can come to a conclusion, no character ever stays dead, and nothing is immune from a reboot. And The Last Of Us hasnt even got to that stage yet.At least we can be confident there wont be a The Last Of Us Kart or some other dumb spin-off but thats about it, Im afraid.GloinGet wreckedI may be a few years late, but I need to give some love to Wreckfest. I managed to pick it up quite cheaply and its scratched an itch that hasnt been scratched since the Destruction Derby/Burnout days.The physics are amazing and the races are a lot of fun. I just finished a race with 7% health and only three of the 24 cars actually finished the race, as the others got wrecked from criss-cross sections, all whilst having the biggest smile on my face whilst doing so.I urge any racing game lovers out there to give it a try if you havent already.Anyways, Im off to do a destruction derby match with a school busAdam_Lion_23 (gamertag/PSN ID)GC: It is very good and a sequel was announced last year, although it doesnt have a release year yet.All or nothingI have no doubt that Take-Two is going to charge 100 for GTA 6. Why would they not? They know most people will pay it and you can make a good argument that its worth it, or at least that it provides good value for money. But that doesnt stop it from being a ridiculous amount of money to pay for a video game.As has been said recently, games used to be 40. You could get budget games for that less too and during sales you could pick up three or more games for 50. Nowadays thatll only get me the DLC I need to buy to make the base game complete.Even if you think GTA 6 is a special case and worth the price thats not going to stop Call Of Duty and EA Sports FC and all the other microtransaction heavy games charging the same amount you know, the ones that are the least justified to charge more.Its going to create such a huge range of prices, from 10 or so for an indie game up to 100 for triple-As I dont know what thats going to do for non-gamers perception of whats going on. Are they going to think that they only proper games are the ones that are either free or 100?GooseGTA 2.5Regarding Halmans email on what PlayStation games Id like to see bought back, I wouldve loved to see Urban Chaos.I know it wasnt a Sony game, but it did appear on the PS1 (and PC).I know the game was a bit janky but I liked it enough.It was GTA 3 before GTA 3.LeighDappaGC: It was ahead of its time in a lot of ways, but the flaws were significant and it was a major flop. Developer Mucky Foot Productions went bust in 2003 and since it was originally published by Eidos its hard to know who owns it now. Probably Embracer Group or possibly still Square Enix.Glass half fullNice review of Split Fiction, I think it was obvious this was going to be a banger but its nice for a hyped game from a respected studio to deliver. I have to say that despite the doom and gloom around the industry right now, some of it deserved when it comes to job losses and those worrying sales figures, good games are still dropping with surprising regularity.2025 has gotten off to a flyer and I cant think of another year where by early March weve had three bona fide Game of the Year contenders. Those being Split Fiction, Monster Hunter Wilds, and Kingdom Come Deliverance 2. All three would have likely been up for last years top prize at The Game Awards, based on reviews.I took a look down the Metacritic for the year and across the board its been a strong start. For big releases weve also had new entries in the Like A Dragon, Civilization, Dynasty Warriors, Two Point, and Sniper Elite franchises. Original releases from well-respected studios in Avowed and Lost Records: Bloom & Rage.Strong remasters in Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, and Virtua Fighter 5 (lets not forget Jedi Power Battles or maybe we should). Also a few sequels to beloved indie titles like Citizen Sleeper 2, Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders (surprised GC didnt pick that up for review given the last game), Ender Magnolia, Rift Of The Necrodancer, and Tales Of Iron 2. With more big names like Doom still expected pre-summer.I appreciate when people complain that there arent any games what they really mean isnt literally that Its that they miss the more exclusive tent pole releases, particularly from PlayStation studios or Nintendos A-team. But lets get real, there are still more high quality games being released than the average person would ever have time to play, even without time sink live services.MarcInbox also-ransThat foldable Nintendo Switch from Samsung is really neat. I dont think Im the first to say that one of the more obvious problems with the Nintendo Switch 2 is that its huge and not very portable at all none of these new devices tend to be.BootlesI think itd be fun if Capcom did some sort of Kingdom Hearts/Super Mario RPG style game with all their old franchises in it. Something funny that can celebrate them all, especially the ones that probably will never get a reboot no matter how much Monster Hunter money comes in.CooperMore 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.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

The 10 best couch co-op video games you can play todayGameCentralPublished March 7, 2025 1:00amUpdated March 7, 2025 1:00am Split Fiction new this month but there are many other great co-op games available (EA)As Split Fiction proves to be just as good as It Takes Two, GameCentral recommends the best co-op games to play at home with friends and family.When we interviewed It Takes Two and Split Fiction director Joseph Fares a few weeks ago we asked why, given the huge success of the former, nobody else was copying him. Not only are there no clones of his particular brand of split screen action but theres never been much attempt to copy the Lego movie games either, despite multiple different entries proving to be massively successful.Instead, couch co-op games in general are becoming increasingly rare and while co-op itself is still relatively common, particularly in online shooters, the number of new games which you can sit and play with a friend (or enemy) on the same couch decreases every year.Thats why youll find most of the games on this list, which is in no particular order, are relatively old; although weve made a point to ensure all are playable natively on at least one console from the PlayStation 4 era. Not all of them are built purely around the idea of couch co-op (Fares games can be played online, without the other person having to own a copy, and most of these games have a single-player mode) but in each case playing together is the prime appeal.Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker SagaStarting all the way back in 2005 on the PlayStation 2, the original Lego Star Wars game spawned a series of over 20 different titles, based on everything from Batman to Marvel to The Lord Of The Rings. At one point, new games were being released every single year but the output has slowed to a crawl since then, with 2022s The Skywalker Saga being the only recent entry (although a new Harry Potter title is rumoured).Thats okay though, because this is one of the best entries in the series and so stuffed full of content it manages to adapt all nine mainline films into one game. It takes its couch co-op seriously, with no online options, but thats fine because the simple gameplay is far better with someone else sitting by your side and its accessible enough that almost anyone can play it, no matter their age or gaming experience.Resident Evil: Revelations 2Resident Evil 5 is more famous as the series big experiment with co-op gameplay (Resident Evil 6 has even more options but its a considerably less entertaining game) but 2015s Resident Evil: Revelations 2 gets unfairly overlooked in large part because it was originally sold episodically. Its a genuinely good game, with no caveats, and the co-op puzzle and combat design is excellent.The story campaign is split up into two teams: Claire Redfield and Barry Burtons daughter Moira, and Barry himself and mysterious new character Natalia. Moria and Natalia cant use guns, and only have limited combat abilities, but between the four they all have different skills that leads to some clever teamwork-based puzzles. Unlike Resident Evil 5 and 6 the games even relatively scary at times, if you and your co-op partner are talking it seriously or amusingly camp if youre not.Overcooked 2A lot of the best couch co-op games are also party games, which ever since the end of the Wii era have also become increasingly rare. Many bigger publishers and developers tend to look down on the concept but Overcooked, by indie team Ghost Town Games, is just about as much fun as two (or three or four) people can have together, while playing a video game.All youre doing is making recipes in a restaurant collecting ingredients, preparing meals, washing dishes, and the like but this takes place in increasingly fantastical locations, so that youre having to throw dishes at each other across lava flows or between moving vehicles. Overclocked was so popular it spawned a whole line of copycats, of which Moving Out 2 is easily the best, but the All You Can Eat edition of Overcooked is the best place to start, as it includes both the original games and some extra content.Diablo 4Even more so than Overcooked, Diablo is practically a genre in its own right. Technically, its an action role-player, but while its always had some co-op features they werent really brought to the fore, and didnt become offline options, until Diablo 3 and the series push onto consoles. Although theres enough loot, weapons, armour, and magic abilities to fill out a dozen other role-players the core gameplay of Diablo is very simple, as you grind your way through dungeons, fighting and looting everything in your path.Since the basic gameplay is so easy to copy the franchise is a favourite source of inspiration for indie developers, but 2012s Torchlight 2 is still probably the best alternative, especially as its more family friendly and not encumbered by developer Blizzards po-faced storytelling. Its considerably more popular than Torchlight 3, to the point where it got new Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch versions in 2019.Super Mario Bros. WonderNintendo has plenty of co-op games to its name but its approach to the concept tends to be on a case-by-case basis, with no one franchise specialising in it. Most of the modern 2D Super Mario games have it though, with the superb Super Mario Bros. Wonder allowing up to four people to play at once and cleverly accommodating many people of different skill levels, with various special abilities and options.The isometric Super Mario 3D World is another good one, while most of the Kirby and Donkey Kong Country games also have couch co-op options. Its not just platform games though, as the co-op in Luigis Mansion 3 is a lot of fun too, for a more puzzle-based game, while the Super Mario Party series owes its long-running success to people both competing and co-operating in teams, while playing dozens of different mini-games.Portal 2One of the oldest games on this list, many people seem to forget that Portal 2 has a whole separate co-op campaign made for two players. Its not just a bunch of new levels either, as it has its own characters (the robots Atlas and P-Body) and story, set after the events of the single-player mode; theres also the Peer Review DLC that continues on beyond even that.Although the gameplay is essentially the same as the single-player, with the use of both portals and gels, all the maps and puzzles are completely different. Despite the games fame the only native version on a current console is the Portal: Companion Collection on Nintendo Switch, which includes both Portal 1 and 2. The Xbox 360 version works via backwards compatibility on modern Xbox consoles but, sadly, theres no easy way to get it on PlayStation 4 or 5.Lovers In A Dangerous SpacetimeNot the most famous game on this list but definitely one of the best and certainly the only one whose name is inspired by a Bruce Cockburn song. The game puts you and up to three friends in charge of a large, spherical spaceship that takes up most of the middle of the screen. You each control a crewmember but there are always more control stations and jobs to do than there are people, so you all have to run around the ship to take command of the engines, weapons, shields, and other equipment.The gleeful chaos of running around in a panic, trying to get things done while yelling instructions to your fellow players, is reminiscent of Overcooked et al. but its all presented in a completely different context, as you explore the galaxy trying to save cute fluffy animals. Strangely, developer Asteroid Base has never made anything else, despite the original game coming out in 2015 and them still seeming to be in business which is a shame.Halo: The Master Chief CollectionThere are many reasons why Halo Infinite never managed to fully resurrect the fortunes of the series but prime amongst them is the fact that, despite early promises to do so, it never got around to adding a campaign co-op mode which for many was one of the big appeals of the original Halo games. In fact, the option was so popular that many other shooters started to add campaign co-op as well, most obviously Gears Of War (which is rumoured to be getting a multiformat remaster collection soon).It now seems only a matter of time before Halo turns up on PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2 and its already rumoured that it will do so via a new remake of the original Halo: Combat Evolved. Thats bound to have local co-op, but for now Halo: The Master Chief Collection on Xbox One and PC already does, in what is the definitive co-op experience in a first person shooter.Snipperclips PlusAnother lesser known title but this Nintendo Switch launch game is both a great couch co-op game and an excellent illustration of why the Switchs tabletop mode is such a useful gimmick, especially when youve got instant access to two fully-featured controllers.There are a few different modes in Snipperclips but the main one has you controlling two weirdly shaped characters who can snip bits off the other player by rotating their body, so that when its shape is removed from the other character it helps solve the on-screen puzzle.More TrendingThe simplest of these is merely fitting into an outlined shape but other times you have to make bowl-like shapes to catch a ball or a sharp point to pop a bunch of balloons. Like any good puzzle game it all makes instant sense when youre playing it, even if it sounds impenetrably odd when you explain it.Split FictionAs weve shown, there are lots of different types of couch co-op games, but none are quite the same as those made by Joseph Fares Hazelight Studios. Their first game, A Way Out, was a bit of a mixed bag but It Takes Two is a fantastic co-op game.Split Fiction is not a sequel, but it does work in a similar way, with a proper story campaign, just like a normal game, but where youre competing in a dizzying array of different game types across both sci-fi and fantasy worlds.The mixture of genres in Split Fiction is even more impressive than its predecessor, as it switches from platform game to dual stick shooter to puzzle game to racer and everything else in-between. And yet, somehow, its never confusing and all the different gameplay styles have at least a certain amount of depth. Since it cant be played on your own this is one game you absolutely need to play with someone else. Split Fiction two can play at once (EA)Emailgamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below,follow us on Twitter, andsign-up to our newsletter.To submit Inbox letters and Readers Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use ourSubmit Stuff page here.For more stories like this,check our Gaming page.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

The opening two episodes ofDaredevil: Born Again set the stage for another explosive tussle between Matt Murdock and Wilson Fiskbut before we even got to all that, the new Marvel streaming show kicked off with one hell of an opening. Heavens Half Hour begins with a shocking attack by none other than Bullseye, who fatally shoots Foggy Nelson as he and Karen Page are leaving Josies Bar, having slaughtered a bunch of other bystanders while fighting Daredevil and seemingly assassinating one of Foggys clients. Its the inciting incident of the whole series, one that sees Matt give up being Daredevil for over a year, and for Karen to leave him and New York alike for a life of her own in San Francisco. But its also one that fans are now suddenly scrambling to find a way out of and they think that may have found it in the address of Matt, Foggy, and Karens law firm. Nelson, Murdock, and Pages AddressMight Be a Comics Clue Marvel Studios Established formally at the very end of the NetflixDaredevil series,we briefly see Nelson, Murdock, and Pages address in the opening episode ofBorn Again: while we dont see the street itself, we do see its housed at number 468. As of writing, across eight volumes between 1964 and 2025 there have been 680 issues ofDaredevil. Although Marvel has reset the counter on issues multiple times over the course of those volumes, whenDaredevil was going to pass 500 issues in 2009 the company reverted to legacy issue numbering.Its a trend that returned again, interestingly, starting in November 2017 withDaredevil #595the beginning of the Mayor Fisk arc by Charles Soule, Stefano Landini, Matt Milla, and Clayton Cowles that Born Again is currently adapting in its first season. Anyway, what does all that number crunching have to do with it? Well, it means thatDaredevil #468 (by Ed Brubaker, David Aja, Frank DArmata, and Cory Petit) was published in August 2006 as Daredevil #88, telling an interstitial story between arcs titled The Secret Life of Foggy Nelson. A story about how Foggy had actually escaped being murdered, and was now in witness protection.How Did Foggy Cheat Death in the Comics? Marvel Comics The Secret Life of Foggy Nelson comes at a turning point in a majorstoryline in Daredevil. During the events of the prior arc, The Devil in Cell Block D, Matt Murdock had been put on trial by the FBI, accused of a series of crimes that linked him to being the alter ego of the vigilante Daredevil. Through an array of surreptitious, underhanded deals, Matt is sent to Rykers Island (the name used for the actual Rikers Island in Marvel Comics continuity) to be detained as a potential flight risk, in a long-winded attempt to have Matt either prove that hes Daredevil in an attempt to survive, or have him killed by the other inmates, which eventually include the Kingpin, also arrested for his many crimes in the process.. With Foggy acting as defense in the case, during a visit he makes to Matt at Rykers hes led to an encounter with some inmates by a corrupt guard, alongside private investigator Dakota North, where Foggy is ultimately stabbed in the gut. While the reader and Matt alike are lead to believe that Foggy has indeed been killed for a few issues, Daredevil #468 revealed that, while on the operating table, Foggy made a deal with the FBI to enter witness protection as Everett Williams, in an attempt to keep him safe while they investigated his attempted murder. Through a complex number of loops, Matt eventually manages to get out of prison during a riot with the help of the Punisher, is effectively exonerated in the process due to corroboration from Rykers warden and public evidence of Daredevil remaining in operation while Matt was held without bail (in actually Danny Rand, the Iron Fist, wearing one of Matts spare costumes, and inadvertently hired by a lawyer with connections to Foggys death). He then flees to Europe to try and track down connections to Foggys killer.After evenmore complex shenanigans, Matt eventually uncovers that it was Vanessa Fiskdying of a terminal illness and seeking revenge on both Murdock and her husband alikethat was behind the faking of Foggys death, offering him one final deal. In exchange for getting Fisk exonerated, she will destroy evidence of Matts operations across Europe as Daredevil, further strengthening his defense against the FBI charges. Although he initially refuses, Vanessa destroys the pictures anyway, dying days after Matt returns to the U.S. with the charges against him dropped, and discovering for himself that Foggy was alive all along, establishing a new law firm together once more with Foggys assistant Becky Blake as their partner. Could Foggy Have Really Survived in Daredevil: Born Again? Marvel Studios For as perfect an opportunity as this particular Easter egg might play out as, there is a pretty significant difference in the way The Devil in Cell Block D and Heavens Half Hour portrayed Foggys deaths: the latter is much more explicit in presenting that Foggy dies from his wounds at the scene. In the comics, the moment of Foggys death is much more vague. At the end of the issue hes attacked,Daredevil #82 (legacy issue #462), Matt can still hear Foggys heartbeat with his extrasensory abilities, and although the following issue then cuts to his funeral, we eventually learn in passing dialogue from Dakota that Foggy had appeared to stabilize in the ambulance that recovered him from Rykers. Theres enough vagueness in how its framed for the shock reveal six issues down the line to still come together.Born Again leavesvery little room for vagueness in its own rendition of Foggys death. Both Karen, by Foggys side, and Matt, using his senses from up on the rooftops above, experience the moment Foggy bleeds out, and although we dont see much of the medical response to the scene in the aftermath, it certainly doesnt look like theres any attempts to stabilize him. Beyond the 468 number as a potential allusion to the comics, Born Again seems to be pretty adamant that Foggy is really gone. That may change, of course, as the season progresses. Its not like there havent been supernatural ways to cheat death in eitherDaredevils history on Netflix or in the MCU as it exists now, thatBorn Again is part of. There are plenty of ways that even a really certain death could be undone, even if doesnt play out as exactly as the switcheroo in The Secret Life of Foggy Nelson did. For now though, we dont really have a lot of evidence pointing to a way out for poor Foggy in the MCU, beyond a number and a fleeting dream. 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.

The affects of a meteorites impact should not be underestimated. The discovery of the worlds oldest known crater caused by a meteorite could change how we think about the origins of life on Earth as well as how the planet was shaped.A team of Curtin University researchers found the crater while investigating rock layers in the North Pole Dome in western Australia. There they found signs that a major meteorite impact affected the area 3.5 billion years ago, the team reported in the journal Nature Communications.The discovery, which is over a billion years older than the previously known similarly created crater, could challenge previous assumptions about our planets ancient history.This is by far the oldest known crater ever found on Earth, Tim Johnson, a member of the Curtin team and an author of the study, said in a press release.A Massive Meteorite What gave them a clue that a meteorite had struck the area? They found distinctive rock formations there called shatter cones, which only form from the intense impact of a meteorite strike. They identified those features about 25 miles west of Marble Bar in the Western Australias Pilbara region. The scientists estimated that the meteorite must have slammed into the site at more than 22,000 miles per hour. The impact would have created a crater over 60 miles wide and almost certainly sent debris flying into the air.Origins of Earth That massive impact could have played a role in jump-starting life. Impact craters can create microbe-friendly environments like hot-water pools. It may even have played a role in pushing around parts of the Earths crust. That could have played an early role in creating continents, and perhaps reshaping land by releasing magma to the surface.We know large impacts were common in the early solar system from looking at the Moon, Johnson said. Until now, the absence of any truly ancient craters means they are largely ignored by geologists. This study provides a crucial piece of the puzzle of Earth's impact history and suggests there may be many other ancient craters that could be discovered over time.In this case, the word impact can take on multiple meanings.Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:Nature Communications. A Paleoarchaean impact crater in the Pilbara Craton, Western AustraliaBefore joining Discover Magazine, Paul Smaglik spent over 20 years as a science journalist, specializing in U.S. life science policy and global scientific career issues. He began his career in newspapers, but switched to scientific magazines. His work has appeared in publications including Science News, Science, Nature, and Scientific American.