Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid review
Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid review
Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid: Two-minute review
(Image credit: Future / James Holland)
I don’t know that I’ve ever been as confused by a laptop as I have by the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid. It takes the 2-in-1 concept to a whole new level – one that not many have probably asked for. It’s a powerful laptop, by Ultrabook standards, with a screen that can be pulled off and used as a tablet. To make things even more interesting (see also: confusing), you can press a button to use the Android OS without removing the tablet, essentially interacting with the Android tablet portion as if it was an Android laptop. AND, there’s a few hybrid functions that work across both devices in a way that a separately purchased laptop and tablet just couldn’t.
Confused yet? Hopefully, you won’t be by the end of this review. But, to be fair, while the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 has the bona fides to compare favorably to both the best 2-in-1 laptops and the best Android tablets, it’s not a product that’s right for everyone.
Its unique form factor is most ideal for those that like working specifically in the Windows and Android ecosystems. So, if your tablet needs are met by something made by Apple, this is not going to be for you unless you want to transition over to Android.
That said, it’s a cool concept for those that work in both those operating systems. And, as long as Lenovo keeps the price “discounted,” it’s worth it. Even if it’s not perfectly implemented – there’s no headphone jack on the tablet (the ports are somewhat sparse in general) and the mechanism to dock the tablet back on the hybrid base station is a bit tricky. It’s unique, as both the Windows and Android portions of the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid equation are powerful, and it has a vibrant, sharp 14-inch screen. Plus, it comes with a stylus and it’s kind of cool to type something up (say, maybe this article) on the hybrid station with a monitor while keeping YouTube open for some distraction and procrastination on the tablet.
Confused still?
Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid: Price and availability
(Image credit: Future / James Holland)
How much does it cost? Starting at $2,040.44 / £1,399.99 (about AU$2,710.00)
When is it available? Available now
Where can you get it? Available in the US and ***
Considering how unusual the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid is and the fact that it not only offers two separate devices that can be used together or separately but two different operating systems, its listed price of $2,040.44 / £1,399.99 is not that bad. It’s what Lenovo advertised when we first covered this device.
What’s so frustrating is that, for a time, especially when I first looked at the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus gen 5 Hybrid, it was listed at a much higher price, specifically $3,518.00 / £2,199.98 (about AU$4,260). Those prices are still listed as the “estimated value,” which is, frankly, insane.
First, you can get a quality Android tablet and computer for that original $2,000 price. Second, the fact that it’s shown as a discounted price means that Lenovo could potentially remove the discount from time to time to sell at the higher price tag.
Now, at the current, “discounted” price, it’s still plenty pricey, but it’s not a hard sell. If you were to get a Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Plus with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage – the same as the one that the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid comes with – you would spend $1199.99, not to mention you would have a smaller 12.4-inch screen. Of course, ******* isn’t always better with tablets as too big can be unwieldy.
Getting something equivalent to the Windows side of the Lenovo in a laptop with an Intel Core Ultra 7 CPU, 32GB of RAM, and an 1TB SSD, not to mention that the screen (which is also the tablet) is an OLED panel with a 2.8K resolution, is going to cost at least $1,000 if not more.
Assuming that Lenovo really keeps the price at around its current discounted price, it’s worth it if you rely on Android tablets and Windows PCs and want something capable on both fronts for work.
It’s worth noting that it also comes with the Lenovo Tab Pen Plus and an easel stand for the tablet. Unfortunately, it’s not currently available in Australia.
Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid: Specs
The Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid only comes in one configuration. The base, which houses the Windows-related components, comes with a powerful Intel Core Ultra 7 155H CPU and Intel Arc integrated graphics. While there are no RAM and SSD customizations, at least Lenovo offers up a good amount with 32GB and 1TB, respectively.
The tablet is also suitably souped up with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ mobile CPU, 12GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. That’s on par with the most powerful Android tablets on the market right now.
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Header Cell – Column 0
Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid laptop configuration
Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid tablet configuration
Header Cell – Column 3
Price:
$2,040.44 / £1,399.99 (about AU$2,710.00)
$2,040.44 / £1,399.99 (about AU$2,710.00)
Row 0 – Cell 3
CPU:
Intel Core Ultra 7 155H
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+
Row 1 – Cell 3
Graphics:
Intel Arc Integrated
Qualcomm Adreno
Row 2 – Cell 3
RAM:
32GB LPDDRX5
12GB LPDDR5X
Row 3 – Cell 3
Screen:
NA
14″ 2.8K (2880 x 1800) OLED touchscreen
Row 4 – Cell 3
Storage:
1TB SSD
256GB UFX 3.1
Row 5 – Cell 3
Ports:
2x USB-C Thunderbolt 4, 1x 3.5mm audio jack
USB-C
Row 6 – Cell 3
Wireless:
Wi-Fi 6E / BlueTooth 5.3
Wi-Fi 6E / BlueTooth 5.3
Row 7 – Cell 3
Camera:
NA
Front: 1080p FHD & infrared (IR)Rear: 13MP autofocus & 5MP wide with flash
Row 8 – Cell 3
Weight:
0.97kg / 2.14lbs
0.78kg / 1.73lbs
Row 9 – Cell 3
Dimensions:
9.4mm x 313.5mm x 234.5mm / 0.37″ x 12.3″ x 9.2″
6.6mm x 313.5mm x 224mm / 0.26″ x 12.3″ x 8.8″
Row 10 – Cell 3
Likewise, there are no customizations on the exterior either. At least you get a sharp 14-inch OLED panel with a 2.8K (2880 x 1800) resolution and 100% DCI-P3 color coverage, though at 60Hz. It’s also available just in the one standard aluminum gray that most sleek laptops come in.
Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid: Design
Limited ports including no headphone jack on tablet
Screen can be removed to use separately as a tablet, while base still works as a Windows machine
Comes with an accurate and sensitive stylus
When the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid is in its standard laptop mode with the screen attached, it’s surprisingly normal looking. In fact, it’s a bit thick when closed as the hybrid station is a little over a third of an inch thick and the screen is just under a third. It almost looks a little dated if you’re not looking closely.
If you do look closely however, you’ll start to see the differences. For one, the keyboard has its own button to switch between Windows and Android operating systems – something you won’t find anywhere else. In fact, there’s a whole hybrid system that I’ll discuss in performance.
(Image credit: Future / James Holland)
You’ll see the large vents on the sides of the hybrid station as well as the single USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports on each side, not to mention a mic/headphone jack on the left side. The tablet itself just has a USB-C port that’s hidden when attached to the hybrid station – there’s unfortunately no headphone jack on it, even if you can connect a pair via Bluetooth.
You’ll probably notice, like I did, that the display is quite stiff. It’s so stiff, in fact, that I thought I was going to break it the first time I tried to close it (I didn’t). This is in stark contrast to many 2-in-1 laptops, where the hinge is a little too loose so the screen sometimes sags, all in the name of making it easy to fold into one of the other modes.
Image 1 of 3
(Image credit: Future / James Holland)
(Image credit: Future / James Holland)
(Image credit: Future / James Holland)
Where it really sets itself apart is when you pull the display off the base. When removed, the hybrid station can still be used as a Windows machine – you just need to plug it into a monitor via one of the USB-C ports.
The keyboard is fine enough to use and the trackpad is accurate enough that no matter how you’re using this computer, you won’t feel the need to grab an external anything. I won’t say that they’re the best I’ve used on a laptop, but they do the job and don’t seem to have any noticeable shortcomings.
The tablet itself is a bit bulky as you’re still holding what’s basically a 14-inch screen, though it is a sharp one with a 2.8k resolution and a 100% DCI-P3. That’s good enough for some editing work. Plus, as a touch-screen, it’s very accurate.
Besides its large size, which can be a boon for some and cumbersome for others, the only other issue is the fact that it has just one USB-C port and no input jack for headphones, even if you can connect to it via Bluetooth. At least it has four 1-watt speakers (the hybrid station has an additional two 2-watt ones for a total of six speakers in regular laptop mode).
This package does come with an easel stand and stylus to make it a bit easier to use. A quick note on the stylus, which is the Lenovo Tab Pen Plus. It’s very accurate as well as sensitive, since it has “4,096 levels of pressure and tilt detection,” not to mention the fact that it has very palm rejection. Lastly, the stylus can magnetically clip onto the back or side of this device.
Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid: Performance
Both devices are powerful in their own right
Cross-integration between devices is unique
Can be used as an Android laptop
Whether you use it as a laptop, tablet, or some kind of in-between cross-pollinated system, the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid is fairly powerful.
The hybrid station houses all the internal components related to the Windows portion of the experience, with an Intel Core Ultra 155H CPU, 32GB of RAM and 1 TB of solid state storage. Some discrete graphics would have taken this even further, but as it is, it can handle everything this side of video games and video editing. I was able to open 15 tabs, including four streaming videos on YouTube, without any slowdown in loading or even switching between tabs. I was even able to do some light gaming, but nothing all that taxing. It is powerful enough to do some photo editing.
Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid: Benchmarks
3DMark: Fire Strike: 7798; Time Spy: NA; Port Royal: 1584
GeekBench 6.3 1702 (single-core); 10693 (multi-core)
PCMark10: 6826
Handbrake 1.8.1: 3:52
CrossMark: Overall: 1629 Productivity: 1559 Creativity: 1822 Responsiveness: 1328
PC Mark 10 Battery Test (Office): 9:55
PC Mark 10 Battery Test (Video): 5:43
The tablet with its Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ mobile CPU, 12GB RAM, and 256 SSD of storage is pretty powerful for an Android tablet. It has no problem playing demanding games like Real Racing. Opening a bunch of tabs in Chrome (I stopped at ten) is speedy. Really, it can handle anything you could ask of an Android tablet. It even has a 1080p front-facing and 13MP back-facing camera. The front facing camera can be used with Windows for video conferencing and the like. It also has a physical shutter – always a nice touch.
Being able to use the hybrid base station and Android tablet as two devices is pretty cool, but what truly elevates the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid past just owning a Windows and Android device purchased separately – beyond the fact that they combine like a Transformer – is how the two devices still integrate on a software level.
The main way that they interact is through the Hybrid Folder that they share. You can put files of all sorts in there and they will sync to the other device, whether they’re physically attached or not.
Image 1 of 3
(Image credit: Future / James Holland)
(Image credit: Future / James Holland)
(Image credit: Future / James Holland)
There’s also Hybrid Stream, which requires the tablet to be used as the only monitor, that lets you open a window to interact with the Android OS, while still using the Windows OS. It does run at a very slight delay, but is a cool way to access some Android-specific features without having to grab a second monitor to keep toiling away in the land of Bill Gates and Paul Allen.
Freestyle is an app that takes this cross-platform integration in a different direction, allowing you to mirror or extend your display, if you’re using an external one, to the tablet, basically turning into a second monitor. It’s pretty cool, though extending the display is a bit laggy. The app also allows you to share files directly between the two devices if you don’t want to go the Hybrid folder route, as well as stream apps from one device to the other. Of course, the screen mirroring and extension is probably the most important functionality with this app.
Another way to use the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid is by pressing the Insert button, which also functions as a way to switch between the two operating systems without pulling out the screen, meaning that you can essentially use this device as an Android laptop. And it works fairly seamlessly for navigating as long as you’re not launching apps that need you to hold the tablet in your hand, such as a video game where you’re tilting the screen.
As mentioned before, there are a lot of speakers built into this device so that the hybrid station and the tablet can both emit sound. On their own, they do the job but are fairly thin. When used as a laptop, the Lenovo will use all six speakers. It’s not an audiophile experience by any means, but it’s much louder and fuller than you generally get with laptops. There’s still a small amount of hollowness, probably due to the fact that all the speakers are pretty small.
Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid: Battery life
Up to ten hours of battery life in hybrid station
Tablet has about eight hours of battery life
The battery life on the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid is not going to wow anyone. But considering the unique form factor on display here, getting ten hours of use is pretty good, not to mention that the tablet itself can go eight. That said, it only got about ten hours in the PC Mark10 Office Battery test. In the PC Mark 10 Battery Test focusing on video, the results were five hours and 43 minutes. Depending on how you use it, you might not get a full day’s worth of battery without charging back up.
Since it can be charged via USB-C, it can charge back up relatively quickly. It’s worth noting that the tablet will keep itself charged up when docked to the hybrid station.
Should I buy the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid?
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Attributes
Notes
Rating
Value
It’s a decent value if you can get it at its current “discounted” price. It’s not worth it at MSRP.
4 / 5
Design
The two-devices-in-one form factor is really unique, though it could use more ports, particularly a headphone jack on the tablet.
4 / 5
Performance
Both the hybrid station and tablet have plenty of power for most people’s needs. Plus, they integrate in a couple unique ways.
4.5 / 5
Battery life
The battery life is good enough, though you won’t make it through a full day of work without some charging.
4 / 5
Average rating
This really unique device is really interesting, but it fits a need that not many people have. Plus, the price is a bit of a turn off.
4 / 5
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
Also Consider
If our Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid review has you considering other options, here are two laptops to consider…
How I tested the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid
Tested for four weeks
Used it for work, gaming, and streaming
Tested the hybrid features
I used the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid for four weeks, doing some light gaming, watching some online content, and working on it. I used it in its various forms, whether as a laptop, tablet, Android laptop, or attached to an external monitor. I spent some time with its features as well, most notably the hybrid ones that are unique to this device.
The Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid is an interesting machine as it’s for a very select group of people who use Windows laptops and Android tablets and are looking for a way to invest in one machine that can cover both needs.
I’ve spent the last few years reviewing tech gear for gaming and otherwise, where I’ve gotten a feel for what to look for and how to put a piece of kit through its paces to see whether it’s worth the recommendation.
First reviewed February 2025
For more Lenovo devices, we’ve reviewed and rounded up the best Lenovo ThinkPad laptops.
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Doctors fear health fallout from nuclear energy plans
Doctors fear health fallout from nuclear energy plans
Doctors have warned of no “safe” level of radiation from a proposed network of nuclear reactors as battlelines are drawn for the federal election.
Similar to other nuclear-powered nations, Australians living within a certain radius of a reactor would need to be issued potassium iodide tablets for use in a radiation emergency, a nuclear briefing has learned.
“The only reason that everyone in that radius is given that is because they might need it,” Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy Josh Wilson told a nuclear briefing on Tuesday.
If anyone comes to buy your house, the proximity of a reactor will be noted on the land titles register, and insurers will not cover nuclear accidents, he said.
The warning came as doctors fronted parliament to warn of long-term health risks for workers and surrounding communities, particularly children.
Evidence included a meta-data analysis of occupational and environmental exposure that accumulated data on more than seven million people.
It found living within 30km of a reactor increased overall ******* risk by five per cent, with thyroid ******* increasing by 14 per cent and leukaemia by nine per cent.
A separate study of workers in the nuclear industry in France, the United Kingdom and the United States analysed results from more than 300,000 people who were monitored for over 30 years.
Finding not only increased ******* rates but surprisingly increased rates of heart attacks and strokes, it found impacts at low doses were larger than previously thought.
“There is no ‘safe’ lower dose of radiation. The science is clear. All exposure adds to long-term health risks,” vice-president of the Medical Association for Prevention of War Dr Margaret Beavis said.
Nationals MP David Gillespie, who practised medicine for more than two decades before entering parliament, refuted the data, saying it was “controversial”.
“Nuclear power plants don’t emit radiation,” he told the briefing.
It was also “incorrect” to suggest Australia did not have a regulatory system for nuclear safety, Dr Gillespie said.
Under the coalition’s nuclear energy blueprint, seven reactors would be built across five states to replace ageing coal-fired power plants with more gas-fired plants to provide baseload power in the interim.
“Zero-emissions nuclear plants” are a key part of the Nationals’ election pitch to regions where coal plants are already closing, while Labor is pressing ahead with the transition to renewable energy backed up by big batteries.
Public Health Association of Australia spokesman Dr Peter Tait said the idea that the nuclear industry was free of greenhouse gas emissions was a “furphy”, given the construction and uranium supply chain involved.
Emissions would rise threefold under the nuclear plan due to increased coal and gas use, he warned, with the first plant not due to come online until the late 2030s.
From a public health perspective, Australians can’t afford that delay, Dr Tait said.
Executive director of Doctors for the Environment Dr Kate Wylie said prolonging the dependency on fossil fuels would mean more Australians would be affected by their known health risks, including increased rates of asthma.
Nuclear energy would also put communities at risk during the next drought, when reactors would be first in line for scarce water, Dr Wylie said.
“The ethical thing to do is to choose the least water-intensive energy source, which are wind and solar,” she said.
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South of Midnight knows exactly what it wants to be and is better for it
South of Midnight knows exactly what it wants to be and is better for it
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Reverse engineering
Weaving into battle
Deconstructing Southern gothic
If all goes according to plan, Xbox has a big 2025 ahead of it. Obsidian will kick things off with Avowed next week, Doom: The Dark Ages is bound to be a hit, and Ninja Gaiden 4 will give a classic series the revival it deserves. All of that is happening in just the first few months of the year, with heavy hitters like Fable and Gear of War E-Day still to come. The most exciting game in Xbox’s lineup might be its smallest, though: South of Midnight.
The latest game from We Happy Few studio Compulsion Games left a big impression during last month’s Xbox Developer Direct. The action-adventure game takes players to the American deep south, which is brought to life with a striking art style inspired by stop-motion animation. That’s the kind of detail that’s bound to catch eyes, but it left me wondering what it would actually feel like.
Now that I’ve played a full chapter, I have a much clearer picture of South of Midnight beyond its aesthetic. Hardly anything feels out of place, as every system, set piece, and locale connects back to a clear and humble artistic vision. It’s a bit of a rarity for a modern game of its size: a tightly crafted adventure that’s laser focused on being exactly what it wants to be.
Reverse engineering
My demo takes me through South of Midnight’s third chapter. At that point in the story, a hurricane has already washed over the small town of Prospero. Playing as Hazel, I’m left to sort through the wreckage as I move through an eerily serene swamp baking in the Southern sun. What’s refreshing to learn right off the bat is that South of Midnight doesn’t burden players with an overwhelmingly large map. This is a classically linear adventure game, a decision that works entirely in its favor.
This doesn’t feel like a world composed of repeated assets to create the illusion of scale. Every corner of Prospero feels delicately handcrafted. When I walk into a dilapidated house, I’m taken aback by how much it feels like a real space. There’s a molding mattress nestled under a stairwell, family photos on the wall, even a quilt loosely draped over a banister. In these cramped spaces, I can feel their old owners trying to solve their storage needs with barely any space to work with.
Compulsion Games
There’s an authenticity there that goes beyond aesthetic. What sticks out to me most during my playthrough is the foreclosure signs on houses and notes tacked to doors from a shady company forcibly reclaiming houses in a land grab. I can feel the economic struggle of the community in those details. All of that is by design, as Writer and Narrative Director Zaire Lanier tells me in an interview.
“Prospero is a small town, and a lot of small towns in America — north, south, east, west — do have those kinds of problems,” Lanier tells Digital Trends. “They don’t have resources. People move away and don’t come back. But they’re still places that matter to people, and places that have a culture and history. The way we have Hazel interacting with those things, she’s emphatic. She’ll be mad that your house got foreclosed for you! But we also have glimpses of community. You’ll go into a house and see pictures of families or leftover quilts. Even though the world is kind of empty because of the hurricane, we populate it to make it feel lived in. This was someone’s home and it had to be left behind because of a natural disaster.”
That’s all brought to life thanks to South of Midnight’s distinct art style, which mimics physical stop-motion animation. I’ve appreciated what I’ve seen in trailers, but it’s even more impressive up close and in motion. Early in the chapter, I meet a giant catfish who’s in need of help. As I get close to the screen, I can see the attention paid to his construction. He’s a patchwork of textures, as if he was knitted into existence with fabrics salvaged around town. Though everything here is a 3D model, characters look like they were crafted by hand.
Compulsion Games
That look came from research. The team was inspired by fellow Canadians Clyde Henry Productions, an animation studio that Compulsion tapped to create a handmade intro cinematic for the game. Compulsion studied Clyde Henry’s work closely, reverse engineering the physical models used in its own films to convincingly mirror them in 3D. Art Director Whitney Clayton explains that the process inspired its artists to break out of their usual habits and take notes from a different medium’s nuances.
“There’s a lot of questions that came up that we didn’t realize would be questions,” Clayton tells Digital Trends. “If this existed in real life, what would the scale be? Because the scale next to a human will determine the size of a knit on somebody, or the amount of detail one could put into something by hand. It brought up a lot of questions of what checkboxes do the artist need to always consider when they’re making a prop. And by the time we got to the third or fourth prop, they started to internalize it.”
Weaving into battle
It doesn’t take long for me to grasp the straightforward gameplay loop. I walk through the bayou, occasionally poking around for collectible Floofs hidden behind little platforming segments squirreled away in optional paths. I have a double jump, air dash, and glide to help me get around, and I learn to wall run on billboards and hanging quilts midway through the chapter. All of my movements feel fluid, despite South of Midnight boldly opting to replicate a filmic “animating on twos” look (everything is still running at 60 frames per second under that, and picky players can disable the frame trick).
As I explore, I also get a feel for Hazel’s weaving powers, which play into both exploration and combat. For the former, I can use magical threads to construct platforms, break down debris in my path, and yank fallen scraps of metal off the ground to find hidden Floofs.
Those powers mostly come into play during battles against dark creatures, called Haints. These happen in set arenas placed on my path. When I walk into one, the environment closes in around me and I have to wipe out a few creatures to purify my way forward. Like everything else in South of Midnight, the combat system isn’t a mechanically heavy hodgepodge of ideas. Every single tool needs to be used in battle, from basic attacks to Hazel’s primary weave power. Failing to use those is a recipe for disaster. I almost got wiped out in my very first fight because I didn’t heed the developers’ early warnings to utilize my dodge roll.
Compulsion Games
Haints hit like a truck and Hazel doesn’t have a healing flash to drink out of. Instead, each arena only has one healing aura that can be picked up if she needs it. Otherwise, the only way Hazel heals is when she takes down an enemy’s health and then unravels them, granting her a bit of health. It’s South of Midnight’s wholesome version of Doom’s finishers. Once I understood the flow, it was easy to find the rhythm of battles. It’s a game of careful healing resource management, as I always wanted to know when I could push the advantage on an already weakened enemy if I took a hit and needed a quick heal. That makes for some surprisingly tense fights where it feels like I’m fighting down to the wire.
Aside from slashing, Hazel has a few weaving powers at her disposal. One yanks an enemy towards me while another repels them, two tools that are crucial in letting me manage enemy spacing when I get crowded. Another power lets me temporarily web an enemy up in thread, perfect for shutting down an incoming attack and quickly pushing the momentum to burn down a health bar in a pinch. The spell-casting system calls Hogwarts Legacy to mind, but it pulls more depth out of much fewer options.
If there’s any worry I have about the full game, it’s that these fights seem like they could get old fast. I was tossed into a handful of battles throughout the chapter and each felt more or less the same. I only faced off against a few enemy types, from a bug-spewing hive to hulking Haint whose projectiles I could send back with the right timing. I get the sense that Compulsion is being conservative with how much it peppers battles in so as not to stretch its concise system too thin, though I’m hoping there’s a little more to basic enemy variety in later chapters.
Hazel does have more tools that I’ve yet to see, though. There’s a whole skill tree that augments each weaving power and gives Hazel a few extra tricks. During my demo, I’d unlock the ability to perform a ground slam attack. Later in the game, she also gets a raggedy doll companion named Crouton who can mind control an enemy and sic it against another. Hopefully there’s enough in the tree to evolve later fights.
Deconstructing Southern gothic
Any combat nitpicks don’t feel like they’ll be terribly significant in the grand scheme of South of Midnight. More than anything, its appeal is in its narrative so far. It’s a story forged from film and literary influences, telling a magical realist tale in the vein of Big Fish (in fact, that’s the name of Chapter 3). Compulsion drew from a wide range of Southern gothic art history to build a world that fit into that storytelling tradition.
“I read Alice Walker, Toni Moirrson. I reread Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. I watched Eve’s Bayou, which is a fantastic movie,” Lanier says. “And this isn’t Southern gothic, but I rewatched Spike Lee’s Crooklyn. It’s one of my favorite movies. The mother daughter relationship is a loose framework and I really like how it’s handled. We pulled from a lot of different things. I felt more pulled to some of the ****** ones to create that air of authenticity. What does ****** Southern gothic look like, specifically for Hazel?”
A mood that’s a bit contemplative, macabre, and symbolic.
That research comes out in the writing. While there’s an overarching narrative, Chapter 3 houses its own narrative arc that almost reads like a short myth. The chapter has me freeing my catfish pal from the Benjy Tree. I don’t know what that means at first, but I unravel that mystery as the chapter progresses. It builds to a dark revelation about a deadly spat between brothers, turning one into a living tree that I eventually need to climb in a climactic platforming segment. That segment is soundtracked by a full-on musical number, as the other brother sings what happened from his perspective. It’s a dark fairytale, but one born out of a grounded pain that runs through Prospero’s roots.
For Clayton, the goal wasn’t to copy scenes from books and movies. Rather, it was to dig into the genre and figure out how it’s built. It’s not so dissimilar to the way the art team took apart Clyde Henry’s models to reverse engineer them into video game assets.
“There’s a deconstructing of what the visual tropes of Southern gothic are,” Clayton says. “There’s this feeling of being trapped in time because these stories are usually in some way timeless. They’re usually set in a small, quiet place and everything is condensed in that place. There’s an overarching narrative, but then you have these very intimate stories that follow along with that. You kind of feel like the world stands still a bit. There’s the decaying architecture, the hanging moss on the live oaks. It all makes for a mood that’s a bit contemplative, macabre, and symbolic.”
All of this careful work shows in the final product, at least in the snippet I played. From evocative sound and visuals to a sub story that feels like it was ripped from local legend, South of Midnight looks to be accomplishing exactly what Compulsion set out to do. No more, no less. That’s refreshing in an age of bloated games that try too hard to be everything for everyone. This feels more sustainable by comparison: a focused vision that’s appropriately scoped around an audience that approaches games as artworks with perspectives, rather than seeing them as something to consume and ***** out. I know which group I fall into.
South of Midnight launches on April 9 for Xbox Series X/S and PC.
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Senate Democrats want answers on Trump federal employee buyout offer
Senate Democrats want answers on Trump federal employee buyout offer
By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Two Democratic senators on Tuesday said they had asked the White House for key details about the Trump administration’s financial incentive offer to about 2 million federal workers to quit their jobs.
Senator Gary Peters, top Democrat on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and Richard Blumenthal, lead Democrat on an investigations subcommittee, said the “promises made to federal workers in this program contravene existing law” and “will contribute untold amounts to government waste and inefficiency.”
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They want detailed weekly data on how many workers have sought to take part by agency and how agencies will function without those workers.
The administration has offered to allow federal workers to keep regular pay and benefits through September 30 – and even take outside employment – while no longer having to perform federal duties in exchange for agreeing to resign.
The White House Office of Personnel Management declined to comment on Tuesday, referring to a memo it issued last week defending the legality of the program.
The senators cited a report that the Internal Revenue Service told employees who had opted into the program that they would need to work through May 15 because they are “essential” to this year’s tax filing season.
The senators also sought details on the number of employees excluded from the deferred resignation program.
The White House – after first offering the program to air traffic controllers and federal airport security officers – later said public safety workers are ineligible.
Unions have urged their members not to accept the buyout offer – saying the Trump administration cannot be trusted to honor it – but more than 65,000 federal employees had signed up for the buyouts as of Monday, according to a White House official.
Current spending laws expire on March 14 and there is no guarantee that salaries would be funded beyond that point, the senators noted.
On Monday, a U.S. judge maintained his block on the deferred retirement offer.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Marguerita Choy)
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GTA 6 Boss Discusses Long Wait And How AI Won’t Replace “Creative Genius” Of Humans
GTA 6 Boss Discusses Long Wait And How AI Won’t Replace “Creative Genius” Of Humans
Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick has commented on the long wait for Grand Theft Auto VI and spoke out against the idea that artificial intelligence technologies will surpass the “creative genius” that is only possible from humans. In an interview, Zelnick said the wait for GTA 6 has been so long in part because developer Rockstar Games is seeking “perfection.”
“What Rockstar Games puts into all of their titles is a desire for creative perfection, which is why it takes a long time and why it’s complex. We don’t claim success until it occurs,” Zelnick told CNBC.
GTA 5 was released all the way back in 2013 and has been released across three generations of console platforms, in addition to PC. In total, it’s sold more than 210 million copies. Zelnick said GTA 5 has been the “standard bearer” at Take-Two and the video game industry overall in terms of sales success.
“Grand Theft Auto 6? What can I say? There is enormous anticipation inside our company and in the marketplace as a whole. We couldn’t be more excited,” he said.
After years of development, GTA 6 is set for release in Fall 2025 across PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Zelnick recently admitted the game could be delayed, but for now, it remains on track for release this year. Before this, Zelnick said he understands that fans are frustrated over the long wait for GTA 6.
As for his comments on AI, Zelnick said Take-Two’s teams have been using digital tools since the earliest days of video game development, going on to say that the video game industry is known to be an innovator in this area. He said he expects that to continue with new AI technologies, but he also made it clear that AI cannot replace a human when it comes to creativity.
“The genius is human. The tools may be digital, but the creative genius is human,” he said. “We believe in protecting and paying human beings. We believe we ought to pay for their work if it’s replicated by AI after the work is done. We don’t think it’s the right thing to do to ask someone to perform once, use their work over and over again, and not pay for it. We don’t think that’s right.”
Before this, Zelnick said artificial intelligence as a term makes no sense because machines do not learn–humans do. “Those are convenient ways to explain to human beings what looks like magic. The bottom line is that these are digital tools and we’ve used digital tools forever,” he said. “I have no doubt that what is considered AI today will help make our business more efficient and help us do better work, but it won’t reduce employment.”
In other news, Zelnick recently discussed how a big game like GTA 6 could help lift console sales.
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Kanye West's Yeezy Website Shuts Down After Selling Swastika T-Shirt as Shopify Says Rapper 'Violated Our Terms' – PEOPLE
Kanye West's Yeezy Website Shuts Down After Selling Swastika T-Shirt as Shopify Says Rapper 'Violated Our Terms' – PEOPLE
Kanye West’s Yeezy Website Shuts Down After Selling Swastika T-Shirt as Shopify Says Rapper ‘Violated Our Terms’ PEOPLEYe Advertised Website Selling T-Shirts With Swastikas in Super Bowl Commercial The New York TimesKanye West’s Bizarre Super Bowl Ad: Shot on an iPhone While Sitting in a Dentist Chair VarietyKanye West’s Fashion Brand Yeezy Has Website Shut Down After Reducing Stock to Nazi T-shirt Hollywood Reporter
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Mimi the Cat: Meow Together Review | TheXboxHub
Mimi the Cat: Meow Together Review | TheXboxHub
Review – Mimi the Cat: Meow Together puts its own spin on Sokoban and does an alright job of delivering a bit of a challenge.
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What is a honeypot? How it protects against cyberattacks
What is a honeypot? How it protects against cyberattacks
What is a honeypot?
A honeypot is a network-attached system set up as a decoy to lure cyber attackers and detect, deflect and study hacking attempts to gain unauthorized access to information systems. The function of a honeypot is to represent itself on the internet as a potential target for attackers — usually, a server or other high-value asset — and to gather information and notify defenders of any attempts to access the honeypot by unauthorized users.
Honeypot systems often use hardened operating systems (OSes) where extra security measures have been taken to minimize their exposure to threats. They are usually configured so they appear to offer attackers exploitable vulnerabilities. For example, a honeypot system might appear to respond to Server Message Block (SMB) protocol requests used by the WannaCry ransomware attack and represent itself as an enterprise database server storing consumer information.
Large enterprises and companies involved in cybersecurity research are common users of honeypots to identify and defend against attacks from advanced persistent threat (APT) actors. Honeypots are an important tool that large organizations use to mount an active defense against attackers or for cybersecurity researchers who want to learn more about the tools and techniques attackers use.
The cost of maintaining a honeypot can be high, in part because of the specialized skills required to implement and administer a system that appears to expose an organization’s network resources, while still preventing attackers from gaining access to any production systems.
Honeypots are placed at a point in the network where they appear vulnerable and undefended, but they are actually isolated and monitored.
How do honeypots work?
Generally, a honeypot operation consists of a computer, applications and data that simulate the behavior of a real system that would be attractive to attackers, such as a financial system, internet of things (IoT) devices, or a public utility or transportation network. It appears as part of a network but is actually isolated and closely monitored. Because there is no reason for legitimate users to access a honeypot, any attempts to communicate with it are considered hostile.
Honeypots are often placed in a demilitarized zone (DMZ) on the network. That approach keeps it isolated from the main production network, while still being a part of it. In the DMZ, a honeypot can be monitored from a distance while attackers access it, minimizing the risk of the main network being breached.
Honeypots may also be put outside the external firewall, facing the internet, to detect attempts to enter the internal network. The exact placement of the honeypot varies depending on how elaborate it is, the traffic it aims to attract and how close it is to sensitive resources inside the corporate network. No matter the placement, it will always have some degree of isolation from the production environment.
Viewing and logging activity in the honeypot provides insight into the level and types of threats a network infrastructure faces while distracting attackers from assets of real value. Cybercriminals can ******* honeypots and use them against the organization deploying them. Cybercriminals have also been known to use honeypots to gather intelligence about researchers or organizations, act as decoys and spread misinformation.
Virtual machines (VMs) are often used to host honeypots. That way, if they are compromised by malware, for example, the honeypot can be quickly restored. Two or more honeypots on a network form a honeynet, while a honey farm is a centralized collection of honeypots and analysis tools.
Both open source and commercial offerings are available to help with deploying and administering honeypots. Products include standalone honeypot systems, as well as honeypots packaged with other security software and marketed as deception technology. GitHub has an extensive list of honeypot software that can help beginners get an idea of how honeypots are used.
What are honeypots used for?
Honeypots are used to capture information from unauthorized intruders that are tricked into accessing them because they appear to be a legitimate part of the network. Security teams deploy these traps as part of their network defense strategy. Honeypots are also used to research the behavior of cyber attackers and the ways they interact with networks.
Spam traps are also similar to honeypots. They are email addresses or other network functions set up to attract spam web traffic. Spam traps are used in Project Honey Pot, which is a web-based network of honeypots embedded in website software. Its purpose is to harvest and collect the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, email addresses and related information on spammers so web administrators can minimize the amount of spam on their sites. The group’s findings are used for research as well and by law enforcement to combat unsolicited bulk mailing offenses.
Honeypots aren’t always used as a security measure. Anyone can use them for network reconnaissance, including hackers. For instance, a Wi-Fi Pineapple lets users create a Wi-Fi honeypot. Wi-Fi Pineapples are relatively cheap because consumer devices are used to create a fake Wi-Fi network that mimics a real one in the vicinity. Unsuspecting individuals mistakenly connect to the fake Wi-Fi network, and the honeypot operator can then monitor their traffic. Wi-Fi Pineapples also have legitimate uses, such as for penetration testing (pen testing), where ethical — or white hat — hackers are hired to identify vulnerabilities in a network.
Types of honeypots
Based on design and deployment, there are two main types of honeypots: production and research.
Research honeypots perform close analysis of hacker activity and aim to discover how hackers develop and progress in order to learn how to better protect systems against them. Data placed in a honeypot with unique identifying properties can also help analysts track stolen data and identify connections between different participants in an attack.
Production honeypots are usually deployed inside production networks alongside production servers; the honeypot acts as a decoy, drawing intruders away from the production network as part of the intrusion detection system (IDS). A production honeypot is designed to appear as a real part of the production network and contains information to attract and occupy hackers to tie up their time and resources. This approach ultimately gives administrators time to assess the threat level and mitigate any vulnerabilities in their actual production systems.
Honeypots can be classified as pure, high-interaction or low-interaction:
Pure honeypots are full-fledged production systems that monitor a honeypot’s link to the network. They are the most complex and difficult to maintain, but they also appear most realistic to attackers, complete with mock confidential files and user information.
High-interaction honeypots imitate the activities of the production systems, hosting a variety of services and capturing extensive information. The goal of a high-interaction honeypot is to entice an attacker to gain root — or administrator-level — access to the server and then monitor the attacker’s activity.
Low-interaction honeypots simulate the most common attack vectors on the network: the ones services attackers frequently request. Therefore, they are less risky and easier to maintain. They do not point malicious users to the root system. The downside of this type of honeypot is that it is more likely to look fake to an attacker. Low-interaction honeypots are good for detecting attacks from bots and malware. Honeyd is an open source virtual low-interaction honeypot.
Honeypots can be used to mimic several types of networks and technologies. A few examples are the following:
There are several types of specialized honeypot technologies, such as the following:
Malware honeypots. These are honeypots that mimic malware attack vectors — places that malware attacks and replicates.
Spam honeypots. These can detect the methods of spammers, monitor their activity and block spam.
Database honeypots. These create decoy databases to mislead attackers using methods that are sometimes missed by firewalls, like Structured Query Language (SQL) injections.
Client honeypots. These actively seek out malicious servers behind client attacks instead of passively waiting for connections. They use virtualization to establish themselves on the server and watch for suspicious modifications to the honeypot.
Benefits and risks of honeypots
Honeypots provide significant benefits, but they also come with disadvantages and risks.
Benefits
Real data collection. Honeypots collect data from actual attacks and other unauthorized activities, providing analysts with a rich source of useful information.
Fewer false positives. Ordinary cybersecurity detection technologies generate alerts that can include a significant volume of false positives, but a honeypot reduces the number of false positives because there is no reason for legitimate users to access the honeypot.
Cost-effectiveness. Honeypots can be good investments because they only interact with malicious activities and do not require high-performance resources to process large volumes of network traffic looking for attacks.
Encryption circumvention. Honeypots capture malicious activity, even if an attacker is using encryption.
Disadvantages
Limited data. Honeypots only collect information when an attack occurs. Zero attempts to access the honeypot means there is no data to analyze.
Isolated network. Malicious traffic that has been captured is only collected when an attack targets the honeypot network; if attackers suspect a network is a honeypot, they will avoid it.
Distinguishable. Honeypots are often distinguishable from legitimate production systems, which means experienced hackers can often differentiate a production system from a honeypot system using system fingerprinting techniques.
Put production systems at risk. Although they are isolated from the real network, they do eventually connect in some way to enable administrators to collect the information they contain. A high-interaction honeypot is generally considered riskier than a low-interaction one because it aims to entice hackers to gain root access.
Overall, honeypots help researchers understand threats in network systems, but production honeypots should not be a replacement for a standard IDS. If a honeypot is not configured correctly, it can be used to gain access to real production systems or as a launchpad for attacks against other target systems.
Honeynet
A honeynet consists of two or more honeypots on a network. Having an interconnected network of honeypots can be useful. It enables organizations to track how an attacker interacts with one resource or network point, and it also monitors how an intruder moves among points on the network and interacts with multiple points at one time. The goal is to get hackers to believe that they have successfully breached the network, so having more fake network destinations makes the setup more convincing.
A honeynet creates an alternative network to lure in hackers. The honeywall directs intruders toward the honeypot instances where they can be monitored and controlled.
The term deception technology has been used to describe the more complex implementations of honeypots and honeynets, often packaged with other technology, such as next-generation firewalls (NGFWs), IDSes and secure web gateways. Deception technology includes automated features that let a honeypot respond in real time to potential attackers.
Cyber threats continue to evolve, and honeypots can help organizations keep up with the ever-changing threat landscape. Even though it’s impossible to predict and prevent every attack, honeypots provide useful information to ensure an organization is prepared and are perhaps the best way to catch an attacker in the act. They are a good place for cybersecurity professionals to gather information as well.
Learn more about responding to cyber threats in our ultimate guide to cybersecurity incident response.
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Labour suspends 11 councillors during WhatsApp group probe
Labour suspends 11 councillors during WhatsApp group probe
BBC
Labour has suspended eleven councillors in Greater Manchester as part of an investigation into a WhatsApp group where offensive messages were shared.
Labour suspended Burnley MP Oliver Ryan on Tuesday over his membership of the group.
He followed Andrew Gwynne, who was also sacked as a health minister, in losing the Labour whip.
A Labour Party spokesperson said: “As part of our WhatsApp group investigation, a group of councillors have been administratively suspended from the Labour Party.
“As soon as this group was brought to our attention, a thorough investigation was launched in line with the Labour Party’s rules and procedures and this process is ongoing.
“Swift action will always be taken where individuals are found to have breached the high standards expected of them as Labour Party members.”
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.
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27 religious groups sue Trump administration to protect houses of worship from immigration arrests
27 religious groups sue Trump administration to protect houses of worship from immigration arrests
More than two-dozen Christian and Jewish groups representing millions of Americans — ranging from the Episcopal Church and the Union for Reform Judaism to the Mennonites and Unitarian Universalists — filed a federal court lawsuit Tuesday challenging a Trump administration move giving immigration agents more leeway to make arrests at houses of worship.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, contends that the new policy is spreading fear of raids, thus lowering attendance at worship services and other valuable church programs. The result, says the suit, infringes on the groups’ religious freedom — namely their ability to minister to migrants, including those in the United States illegally.
“We have immigrants, refugees, people who are documented and undocumented,” said the Most Rev. Sean Rowe, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church.
“We cannot worship freely if some of us are living in fear,” he told The Associated Press. “By joining this lawsuit, we’re seeking the ability to gather and fully practice our faith, to follow Jesus’ command to love our neighbors as ourselves.”
The new lawsuit echoes and expands on some of the arguments made in a similar lawsuit filed Jan. 27 by five Quaker congregations and later joined by the Cooperative ******** Fellowship and a Sikh temple. It is currently pending in U.S. District Court in Maryland.
There was no immediate Trump administration response to the new lawsuit, which names the Department of Homeland Security and its immigration enforcement agencies as defendants. However, a memorandum filed Friday by the Department of Justice, opposing the thrust of the Quaker lawsuit, outlined arguments that may also apply to the new lawsuit.
In essence, the memo contended that the plaintiffs’ request to block the new enforcement policy is based on speculation of hypothetical future harm — and thus is insufficient grounds for issuing an injunction.
The memo said that immigration enforcement affecting houses of worship had been permitted for decades, and the new policy announced in January simply said that field agents — using “common sense” and “discretion” — could now conduct such operations without pre-approval from a supervisor.
One part of that memo might not apply to the new lawsuit, as it argued the Quakers and their fellow plaintiffs have no basis for seeking a nationwide injunction against the revised enforcement policy.
“Any relief in this case should be tailored solely to the named plaintiffs,” said the DOJ memo, contending that any injunction should not apply to other religious organizations.
Jean-Michel Gisnel cries out while praying with other congregants at the First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield, Sunday, January 26, 2025, in Springfield, Ohio.
Luis Andres Henao / AP
Who are the plaintiffs in the lawsuit?
The plaintiffs in the new lawsuit represent a vastly larger swath of American worshippers — including more than 1 million followers of Reform Judaism, the estimated 1.5 million Episcopalians in 6,700 congregations nationwide, nearly 1.1 million members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and the estimated 1.5 million active members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church — the country’s oldest predominantly ****** denomination.
Among the other plaintiffs are the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), with more than 3,000 congregations; the Church of the Brethren, with more than 780 congregations; the Convención Bautista Hispana de Texas, encompassing about 1,100 Hispanic ******** churches; the Friends General Conference, an association of regional Quaker organizations; the Mennonite Church USA, with about 50,000 members; the Unitarian Universalist Association, with more than 1,000 congregations; the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, with more than 500 U.S. congregations; and regional branches of the United Methodist Church and the United Church of Christ.
“The massive scale of the suit will be hard for them to ignore,” said Kelsi Corkran, a lawyer with the Georgetown University Law Center’s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection who is lead counsel for the lawsuit.
The plaintiffs joined the suit, she said, “because their scripture, teaching, and traditions offer irrefutable unanimity on their religious obligation to embrace and serve the refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants in their midst without regard to documentation or legal status.”
Prior to the recent Trump administration change, Corkran said immigration agents generally needed a judicial warrant or other special authorization to conduct operations at houses of worship and other “sensitive locations” such as schools and hospitals.
“Now it’s go anywhere, any time,” she told the AP. “Now they have broad authority to swoop in — they’ve made it very clear they’ll get every undocumented person.”
She cited a recent incident in which a Honduran man was arrested outside his family’s Atlanta-area church while a service was being held inside.
The lawsuit includes details from some of the plaintiffs as to how their operations might be affected. The Union for Reform Judaism and the Mennonites, among others, said many of their synagogues and churches host on-site foodbanks, meal programs, homeless shelters and other support services for undocumented people who might now be fearful of participating.
One of the plaintiffs is the Latino Christian National Network, which seeks to bring together Latino leaders with different traditions and values to collaborate on pressing social issues. The network’s president is the Rev. Carlos Malavé, a pastor of two churches in Virginia, who described to the AP what network members are observing.
“There is deep-seated fear and distrust of our government,” he said. “People fear going to the store, they are avoiding going to church. … The churches are increasingly doing online services because people fear for the well-being of their families.”
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which leads the nation’s largest denomination, did not join the lawsuit, though it has criticized Mr. Trump’s migration crackdown. On Tuesday, Pope Francis issued a major rebuke of the deportation plan, warning that the forceful removal of people purely because of their ******** status deprives them of their inherent dignity and “will end badly.”
Many conservative faith leaders and legal experts across the U.S. do not share concerns about the new arrest policy.
“Places of worship are for worship and are not sanctuaries for ******** activity or for harboring people engaged in ******** activity,” said Mat Staver, founder of the conservative Christian legal organization Liberty Counsel.
“Fugitives or criminals are not immune from the law merely because they enter a place of worship,” he said via email. “This is not a matter of religious freedom. There is no right to openly violate the law and disobey law enforcement.”
Professor Cathleen Kaveny, who teaches in the theology department and law school at Boston College, questioned whether the plaintiffs would prevail with the religious freedom argument, but suggested the administration might be unwise to disregard a traditional view of houses of worship as places of sanctuary for vulnerable people.
“These buildings are different — almost like embassies,” she said. “I think of churches as belonging to an eternal country.”
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Trump FBI pick Kash Patel accused of directing staff purge as nominee
Trump FBI pick Kash Patel accused of directing staff purge as nominee
Kash Patel, U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee to be director of the FBI, looks on as he testifies before a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 30, 2025.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, was accused Tuesday of personally directing an “ongoing purge” of civil servants at the agency before being confirmed by the Senate.
In a letter to the Justice Department’s internal watchdog, Sen. ***** Durbin, D-Ill., wrote that he had “received highly credible information from multiple sources,” who described Patel’s alleged involvement in the personnel decisions.
“This alleged misconduct is beyond the pale and must be investigated immediately,” wrote Durbin, the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, in the letter to Inspector General Michael Horowitz.
“It is unacceptable for a nominee with no current role in government, much less at the FBI, to personally direct unjustified and potentially ******** adverse employment actions against senior career FBI leadership and other dedicated, nonpartisan law enforcement officers,” the senator wrote.
Trump nominated Patel, a loyalist who has called for rooting out anti-Trump “conspirators” in the government and the media, on Nov. 30.
Patel has not yet been confirmed by the Senate; the Judiciary Committee is expected to vote Thursday on whether to advance his nomination.
“If these allegations are true,” wrote Durbin, then Patel “may have perjured himself” at his recent Senate confirmation hearing.
The White House and the FBI did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment on Durbin’s letter, which was first reported by The New York Times.
Durbin’s sources alleged Patel has been receiving internal FBI information from a member of a newly established unit called the Director’s Advisory Team.
Patel then allegedly “provides direction” to White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, who relays it to top Trump officials, including acting deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, Durbin wrote.
Patel’s relationships with people running the FBI in an acting capacity were previously reported by NBC News.
Durbin’s subsequent allegation that Patel may have perjured himself before the Senate stems from an exchange Patel had with Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., during his confirmation hearing before the Judiciary panel on Jan. 30.
“Are you aware of any plans or discussions to punish in any way, including termination, FBI agents or personnel associated with Trump investigations?” Booker asked Patel.
The nominee replied that he was “not aware.”
Patel also claimed that he did not know “what’s going on right now over there, but I’m committed to you, senator, and your colleagues that I will honor the internal review process of the FBI.”
“All FBI employees will be protected against political retribution,” Patel told the senators, while downplaying some of his other controversial past remarks.
Read more CNBC politics coverage
Patel’s remarks came as the Trump administration was pushing out several top FBI officials and federal prosecutors, including some who were involved in prosecuting those involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
The events at DOJ have opened a “leadership and experience vacuum” that has “made Americans less safe,” Durbin wrote to Horowitz.
“The ramifications of removing senior leaders and threatening the removal of thousands of other FBI agents are particularly disastrous,” he added.
“The urgency of this matter cannot be overstated,” wrote Durbin.
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RTX 5090 meltdown woes spark flashbacks to RTX 4090 fire hazards
RTX 5090 meltdown woes spark flashbacks to RTX 4090 fire hazards
Nvidia’s RTX 5090 is facing early concerns as reports of melting 16-pin power connectors have emerged, evoking memories of the infamous RTX 4090 connector failures. Two separate incidents have surfaced, both pointing to potential issues with the GPU’s power delivery system, despite Nvidia’s efforts to prevent such problems with its updated 12V-2×6 connector standard.
According to The Verge, the first reported incident involved an RTX 5090 user on Reddit who noticed a burning smell while playing Battlefield 5, leading them to inspect their system. Upon closer examination, they discovered that their power cable had melted on both ends—where it connected to the graphics card and where it plugged into the power supply unit (PSU).
It’s worth mentioning that they were using an unofficial third party cable from Moddiy, instead of the one provided with the GPU. The manufacturer has claimed that it follows the updated 12V-2×6 design, complies with ATX 3.0 and PCIe 5.0 standards, and supports up to 600W. Additionally, the user stated that they had been using the same power cable for over two years with their RTX 4090 FE without any issues. They also ensured that the cable was securely connected, confirming it clicked into place.
What’s interesting here is that Nvidia has already moved to the updated 12V-2×6 connector standard, which was supposed to reduce the risk of overheating and ensure better contact between the pins. However, backward compatibility with older 12VHPWR cables may be contributing to continued failures, as not all third-party cables may fully adhere to the revised specifications.
The second incident comes from Spanish YouTuber Toro Tocho who went through a similar experience with burnt connectors on both the GPU and PSU ends using an RTX 5090 Founders Edition. The affected user was using an FSP Hydro Ti PRO 1000W PSU along with a standard 16-pin PCIe 5.0 cable bundled with the power supply.
Both incidents suggest that power connector issues are still a concern, despite Nvidia’s revisions. The first case hints at compatibility risks with third-party cables, while the second case highlights potential high power draw beyond expected limits. Nvidia has yet to issue an official statement, leaving users to double-check their power connections and monitor their hardware for signs of overheating. Whether these are isolated incidents or the start of a wider problem remains to be seen, but for now, RTX 5090 owners might want to keep a fire extinguisher nearby—just in case.
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Game Pass Subscribers Can Grab South Of Midnight’s Premium Upgrade, And Early Access, At A Steep Discount
Game Pass Subscribers Can Grab South Of Midnight’s Premium Upgrade, And Early Access, At A Steep Discount
Xbox is offering South of Midnight’s premium edition upgrade, which includes early access and a range of other extras, at a discount for Game Pass subscribers, though there’s a small catch. The discount is only available for two of the subscription service’s tiers–Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass, which cost $20 per month and $12 per month, respectively.
Core and Standard Game Pass members will have to pay full price for the premium edition or upgrade their subscription. This deal only applies to the Xbox and Windows versions of South of Midnight. If you want to play on Steam instead, you’ll have to pay full price there as well.
With the discount, you can get South of Midnight’s premium edition upgrade for $10. The premium version normally costs $49.99, and it comes with:
Early access beginning April 3, 2025
Digital artbook
A digital version of South of Midnight’s soundtrack
The Boo-Hag Comic book by Louisiana artist Rob Guillory
Songs & Tales of South of Midnight music video
Weaving Hazel’s Journey documentary
South of Midnight’s standard edition launches on April 8, 2025, and will be available then for free for Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers.
Xbox offers similar discounts with the premium upgrades for most of its first-party games, including Avowed. The company also offers a $1 PC Game Pass trial that lasts for 14 days after the initial purchase, so you can get South of Midnight’s standard version for free or upgrade to the premium edition for $10 during that *******.
South of Midnight is Compulsion Game’s first project since launching the award-winning narrative game We Happy Few in 2018 and the studio’s first under Microsoft ownership. It’s an adventure game steeped in folklore and follows Hazel, a young woman living in Lousiana, as she tries healing the wounds of the seen and unseen worlds after a natural disaster. Check out our South of Midnight preview if you’re keen to learn more.
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Ceasefire ‘will end’ if ****** does not return hostages by Saturday, Netanyahu says – CNN
Ceasefire ‘will end’ if ****** does not return hostages by Saturday, Netanyahu says – CNN
Ceasefire ‘will end’ if ****** does not return hostages by Saturday, Netanyahu says CNNNetanyahu: Israel will resume Gaza war if hostages not freed Saturday AxiosIsrael’s Security Cabinet Meets as Pressure on ****** Cease-Fire Rises The New York TimesIsraeli cabinet backs Trump’s demand for ****** to release all hostages by Saturday deadline Fox News
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Delta Force’s delayed ****** Hawk Down co-op campaign dated
Delta Force’s delayed ****** Hawk Down co-op campaign dated
Tencent will launch Delta Force’s delayed ****** Hawk Down campaign on February 21, 2025.
Like the game’s free-to-play multiplayer component, which launched in December, the campaign will initially be available on PC only.
Delta Force is in development at Call of Duty Mobile and Honor of Kings maker Timi, with PlayStation and Xbox versions “coming soon” and a mobile release also planned.
Playable solo or co-op, the game’s campaign mode was originally due to launch in January before a dely. It’s based on both the Ridley Scott movie ****** Hawk Down and the classic Delta Force series campaign.
“Get ready to step into the boots of an elite Delta Force operator and relive one of the most iconic military operations, where a straightforward capture operation turns into an impossible extraction,” reads an official description.
Speaking to VGC last year, publishing director Jessica Zhang said she’ll judge the game to be a success or not based on “player satisfaction”.
“The sentiment in our community. The whole team is always checking comments on social and on YouTube, to my huge dismay,” she said.
“We’re not super focused on revenue, it’s not a factor we take into consideration. We feel that if we establish a good rapport with our community, we feel the player will be the best judge of that.”
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These leaked GPU prototypes make the RTX 5090 look like a toy
These leaked GPU prototypes make the RTX 5090 look like a toy
Nvidia’s best graphics cards are notorious for being power-hungry beasts, but some freshly leaked prototypes show that the company had much ******* plans. Various engineering samples surfaced on the Chiphell forums, including a prototype of the RTX 4090 with not one, not two, but four 16-pin power connectors. Will such designs ever see the light of day?
The leaker shared pictures of board prototypes going all the way back to the GTX 10 series, with the latest GPU being the RTX 4090. However, the leaker claims that the RTX 5090 was also prototyped with up to four power connectors, although such a card wasn’t among the pictured boards.
Still, let’s be real: Four 16-pin power connectors is a pretty insane number. Looking at the AD102 prototype, which corresponds to the RTX 4090 model, we’re seeing those four 16-pin connectors alongside a 45-phase power delivery. One 12VHPWR connector means a maximum 600-watt power consumption, so using four of those would’ve brought that figure up to 2,400 watts. That’s more than even the most high-end gaming PC consumes right now, and more than any power supply could possibly handle.
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A prototype like this implies that Nvidia may have tried to dream (much) *******, which links up with various whispers of a possible Titan GPU. Such a card, which many leakers claim was actually made for the Ada Lovelace lineup and then never used, would’ve ramped up both the overall specs and the power consumption.
Chiphell
Would the RTX 4090 (or 5090) Titan use four 12VHPWR connectors, though? No way. The most we’ve ever seen in a consumer GPU were overclocked variants of Nvidia’s flagships, made by the company’s board partners, which sported two. It’s hard to imagine any GPU requiring that much power, nor would it be viable. We’ve heard of many cases of the 12VHPWR burning up — even in the RTX 5090 — so adding three more is hardly practical.
Older GPU models were featured too, with slightly less extreme power configurations. The Ampere generation was well represented: There was the GA102 Ampere board with four 8-pin connectors, but also the GA104 with three. Ampere cards ended up using 12-pin connectors outside of the prototype stage, but clearly, Nvidia was toying around with different designs too.
Keep in mind that we can’t take these prototypes at face value. They look legitimate, but they didn’t come directly from Nvidia. Still, assuming these are all real, it’s interesting to see that Nvidia may have tried to create a 2,400-watt GPU. Good thing those plans never came to fruition.
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Obsidian’s Game Is Still an Elder Scrolls-Killer If They Have Done 3 Things Right
Obsidian’s Game Is Still an Elder Scrolls-Killer If They Have Done 3 Things Right
For gamers who are looking for their next RPG fantasy world to dive into, Avowed is right around the corner. It’s a title that’s associated with the studio that gave us classics such as Fallout New Vegas and Star Wars: Knights of Old Republic, so the hype is understandable.
Avowed is one of the most anticipated titles. (Image via Microsoft)
Developer Obsidian Entertainment and publisher Microsoft have recently confirmed the game’s full size and storage requirements. While the size of the game might seem quite low, it doesn’t matter as long as the game nails down three critical aspects that would allow it to become the Elder Scrolls killer.
Avowed‘s small game size shouldn’t be an issue
Now that Avowed‘s early access ******* for pre-orders is on the horizon, Obsidian has finally allowed preloading for the game. The downloads confirm that the full size of the RPG on launch will be about 74.77 GB.
Gamers who have an active Game Pass subscription and those who have pre-ordered the game on other digital stores can start downloading the game files, which will be unlocked once they are ready to play.
Avowed game size is about 74 GB.
For comparison: The Outer Worlds is 54 GB, Grounded is 12 GB. pic.twitter.com/iezTqQtxrD
— Klobrille (@klobrille) February 10, 2025
Let’s be honest, 74 GB seems quite low for this generation of games. Games such as Black Myth: Wukong and Call of Duty ****** Ops 6 require more than 100+ GB of storage, and things get worse once you factor in the additional DLCs.
However, the game’s small storage size doesn’t mean that it would be lacking a punch as long as it gets a few things right. One of them is efficient asset management. The download size is probably low because of optimization textures, models, and animations to prevent any kind of unnecessary bloating that’s a trend in most of the games these days.
A lot of games these days have huge file sizes due to the inclusion of pre-rendered cutscenes. If Obsidian hasn’t taken that route and instead decided to use in-game rendering for storytelling in Avowed, it would have probably saved a lot of space.
Lastly, Avowed has a stylized art style, which means that it doesn’t have ultra high-resolution textures that we’re used to seeing in games such as Red Dead Redemption 2 and Forbidden West. While ultra-high resolution graphics look great, they can push file sizes past 150 GB.
Avowed won’t have one crucial feature on launch
Avowed needs New Game Plus. (Image via Microsoft)
The wait for Obsidian’s Avowed is finally coming to a close, as the title is all set to release on February 18th. So far, from what we have seen through trailers, the game looks to be a thrilling extension of the Pillars of Eternity franchise.
However, it seems like the game won’t launch with a feature that has become a staple in the industry. In an interview with MinnMax, Obsidian Entertainment revealed that the Avowed won’t launch with a New Game Plus mode, and there are no plans to add this feature to the game.
It’s quite a shame to see this common RPG feature to be missing from the Obsidian title. A lack of New Game Plus could end up hurting Avowed‘s replayability, as it’s designed to be enjoyed for a course of multiple playthroughs.
This makes the absence of New Game Plus quite more restrictive than it initially might seem. Let’s hope Obsidian can reconsider this decision in the future and finally bring the feature in future updates.
With that said, are you excited about Avowed? Let us know in the comments below.
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Giants’ mentor impressed with new stadium facilities
Giants’ mentor impressed with new stadium facilities
Giants men’s coach Lennon Smartt sees wide-ranging community benefits from the $14.8 million stadium.
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Trump says Treasury Secretary Bessent is going to Ukraine as U.S. has ‘little to show’ for aid sent
Trump says Treasury Secretary Bessent is going to Ukraine as U.S. has ‘little to show’ for aid sent
U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent speaks, at the White House, in Washington, U.S. February 3, 2025.
Elizabeth Frantz | Reuters
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will head to Ukraine for discussions about the war with Russia, U.S. President Donald Trump announced Tuesday.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social that Bessent will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and suggested the two leaders could discuss pathways to ending the conflict.
“This War MUST and WILL END SOON — Too much Death and Destruction,” Trump said in the post. “The U.S. has spent BILLIONS of Dollars Globally, with little to show. WHEN AMERICA IS STRONG, THE WORLD IS AT PEACE.”
Bloomberg News previously reported that Bessent would travel to Kyiv. The Bloomberg report said that discussions could involve giving the U.S. access to mineral reserves in return for continued aid.
In an interview that aired Monday, Trump told Fox News that he wanted “the equivalent of like $500 billion worth of rare earth” from Ukraine. Zelenskyy has indicated openness to a deal around strategic minerals.
The future of U.S. support for Ukraine’s fight against Russia became clouded by Trump’s victory in November. Some of Trump’s high-profile supporters have been critical of U.S. spending on the war, and Trump has said he could end the war in “24 hours.” Trump has also threatened new sanctions on Russia if they do not agree to end the war.
The president’s interest in finding new ways for the U.S. to access critical minerals appears to extend beyond Ukraine, as Trump has also floated the idea of the acquiring resource-rich Greenland from Denmark.
Bessent, a former hedge fund executive, was confirmed as head of the Treasury last month, one week after Trump’s inauguration. Bessent told Senators during his confirmation hearing that he believed the sanctions on Russia under the Biden administration were not strong enough.
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AMD kills ‘Golden Rabbit Edition’ GRE branding, renames it ‘Great Radeon Edition’
AMD kills ‘Golden Rabbit Edition’ GRE branding, renames it ‘Great Radeon Edition’
AMD’s upcoming RX 7650 GRE graphics card for the ******** market has a new name for fans of redundancy. The “GRE” badge now officially stands for “Great Radeon Edition” per ******** news hub NetEase. To use its full name, the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE (Great Radeon Edition) is expected to launch in China this month.
AMD debuted the “GRE” badge for its China-specific GPU SKUs in 2023, starting with the RX 7900 GRE. The “Golden Rabbit Edition” badge coincided with the traditional Year of the Rabbit, seeking to better connect with ******** gamers. The GRE badge has since made it to the Western market, with the RX 7900 GRE launching in the US in 2024 and competing with the best graphics cards.
Thanks to its price-for-performance margins, the 9700 GRE is a seriously compelling card, though AMD’s other GRE release, the RX 6750 GRE, was more disappointing. As a rebrand of Navi 22 to dump oversupply, the 6750 GRE became a midrange contender in China but not one that moved impressively. The upcoming RX 7650 GRE is not expected to be as exciting or dull as its GRE predecessors and is likely to stay in China for the duration of its lifespan.
The RX 7650 GRE is equipped with AMD’s Navi 33 chip, the same used in the RX 7600 and 7600 XT cards. The 7650 GRE does feel like a direct middle-man for the 7600 and 7600 XT, inheriting their 32 compute units and 128-bit memory bus. With a boost clock of 2,695MHz over the 7600’s 2,625MHZ and a 5W TDP gain, the GRE feels like a better-tuned 7600. AMD elected to keep the 7650 GRE at 8GB VRAM rather than stepping it up to 16GB on the XT.
AMD’s choice to keep the GRE badge around even as the Year of the Snake begins is a good sign for AMD’s fans in the ******** market. As clunky as “Great Radeon” feels, the ******** market now has a dedicated title for its unique releases. GRE cards seem to be succeeding; the 6750 GRE has seen new variants as recently as November as AMD’s premier midrange option in the country even a year later. Of course, whether you read this as AMD supporting a beloved SKU or a last-ditch effort to clear out four-year-old Navi 22 inventory is up to the reader.
The RX 7650 GRE will launch for 2,049 Yuan, roughly $280. This is no discount over the RX 7600, which holds a similar MSRP in China. Breaking the GRE tradition of offering a discount over previously launched similar cards, the 7650 GRE likely seeks instead to become a 7600 XT replacement. We would be surprised if the 7650 GRE sees American shores, though the 9700 GRE going worldwide last year was also a shock.
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Hellblade 2 could be released for PS5 ‘pretty soon’, it’s claimed
Hellblade 2 could be released for PS5 ‘pretty soon’, it’s claimed
Microsoft is reportedly bringing Hellblade 2 to PlayStation 5, and it could do so sooner rather than later.
That’s according to Windows Central executive editor Jez Corden, who mentioned Microsoft’s plans for Ninja Theory’s game on X on Tuesday.
Sony today announced plans to hold a 40-minute State of Play presentation on Wednesday, which will focus on upcoming PS5 games.
“Hellblade 2 time maybe? :)”, Corden wrote in response to the State of Play news.
On the subject of whether the game will be released for Sony’s console at some point, he added: “Not if, ‘when!’ and when is pretty soon from what I’ve been hearing.”
Xbox announced last February plans to bring a wave of games to PlayStation and Nintendo Switch, in what appeared to be a significant change of strategy, starting with Pentiment, Hi-Fi Rush, Sea of Thieves and Grounded.
Later, Microsoft announced Doom: The Dark Ages for Xbox Series X/S, PC, and PS5, and confirmed that a PS5 version of its Indiana Jones game will be released this spring.
Forza Horizon 5 will also be released for PS5 this spring, Microsoft announced last month. And just last week, Xbox revealed plans to bring Age of Mythology: Retold and Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition to Sony’s console this year too.
Last November, Microsoft’s gaming CEO Phil Spencer reiterated that the company won’t rule out any first-party Xbox game potentially coming to rival platforms such as PlayStation and Nintendo in the future.
Matt Booty, Microsoft’s president of game content and studios, also told Variety in December: “We are very much making the [exclusivity and windowing] decisions on a game by game basis. And each of our studios is in a little bit of a different position.
“There’s also the production timeline on a game, so the decision on spacing comes there first. We want to make sure there’s a great experience for our Xbox players, and then the gap between [when it becomes available on PlayStation] is as much a production decision as it is anything else.”
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Trump says Treasury Secretary Bessent is going to Ukraine as U.S. has ‘little to show’ for aid sent
Trump says Treasury Secretary Bessent is going to Ukraine as U.S. has ‘little to show’ for aid sent
U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent speaks, at the White House, in Washington, U.S. February 3, 2025.
Elizabeth Frantz | Reuters
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will head to Ukraine for discussions about the war with Russia, U.S. President Donald Trump announced Tuesday.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social that Bessent will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and suggested the two leaders could discuss pathways to ending the conflict.
“This War MUST and WILL END SOON — Too much Death and Destruction,” Trump said in the post. “The U.S. has spent BILLIONS of Dollars Globally, with little to show. WHEN AMERICA IS STRONG, THE WORLD IS AT PEACE.”
Bloomberg News previously reported that Bessent would travel to Kyiv. The Bloomberg report said that discussions could involve giving the U.S. access to mineral reserves in return for continued aid.
In an interview that aired Monday, Trump told Fox News that he wanted “the equivalent of like $500 billion worth of rare earth” from Ukraine. Zelenskyy has indicated openness to a deal around strategic minerals.
The future of U.S. support for Ukraine’s fight against Russia became clouded by Trump’s victory in November. Some of Trump’s high-profile supporters have been critical of U.S. spending on the war, and Trump has said he could end the war in “24 hours.” Trump has also threatened new sanctions on Russia if they do not agree to end the war.
The president’s interest in finding new ways for the U.S. to access critical minerals appears to extend beyond Ukraine, as Trump has also floated the idea of the acquiring resource-rich Greenland from Denmark.
Bessent, a former hedge fund executive, was confirmed as head of the Treasury last month, one week after Trump’s inauguration. Bessent told Senators during his confirmation hearing that he believed the sanctions on Russia under the Biden administration were not strong enough.
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The ‘snow moon,’ 2025’s second full moon, peaks this week – The Washington Post
The ‘snow moon,’ 2025’s second full moon, peaks this week – The Washington Post
The ‘snow moon,’ 2025’s second full moon, peaks this week The Washington PostSee February’s full snow moon and the last of the planetary parade CNNHow to See February’s Snow Moon TIMEWhat is the snow moon? Here’s when and how to see February’s full moon rise in US USA TODAYThat star next to the Snow Moon? That’s Regulus, the ‘little king’ and one of the brightest stars in the night sky Sky at Night Magazine
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After Space Marine 2 Success, We Were Told a Space Marine 1 Remaster Is Possible Under 1 Condition
After Space Marine 2 Success, We Were Told a Space Marine 1 Remaster Is Possible Under 1 Condition
It’s been months since the release of Warhammer 40k: Space Marine 2, and the game has continued to grow as both Saber Interactive and the community explore the title. The title has managed to raise the bar for the entire Warhammer 40k franchise.
Space Marine 2 is making waves in the gaming community. (Image via Focus Entertainment)
Space Marine 2 tells us a branching-off story from the original 2011 game. Saber Interactive wasn’t the mind behind the original Space Marine 1, as it was developed by Relic Entertainment. However, the studio isn’t afraid of giving it the remake treatment as long as it meets one special requirement.
Space Marine 2‘s success could lead to a Space Marine 1 remaster
Right before the release of Space Marine 2, Saber Interactive’s Creative Director, Oliver Hollis-Leick, sat down with Prankster101 and opened up about the development of Space Marine 2. Hollis-Leick also talked about his love for the franchise and how he’s always been a fan of the Warhammer 40k.
Since it’s been more than a decade since the release of Space Marine 1, and even games such as the original Red Dead Redemption have been given the remake treatment, Hollis-Leick was asked if Saber would also give a remake to the original title. While he wasn’t sure if or when it would happen, he suggested it all comes down on demand.
In terms of a remaster? I don’t know about that right now. I mean, I’m not sure. I couldn’t answer it… It’s going to depend on demand and it’s going to depend on a lot of factors, but I don’t know about that right now.
Space Marine 2 was one of the biggest success stories of 2024 and brought millions of new players into the Warhammer 40k franchise. As these players enjoyed the game, they also dived back to the original Space Marine to experience the battlefield where it all kicked off.
However, one playthrough of the original game will immediately make one realize that it’s in dire need of a remaster. While the game’s visuals and gameplay aren’t bad, it doesn’t hold up against modern-day day games.
Saber could take on the project and retain the title’s core features while upgrading graphics, controls, and enemy AI to bring them to modern standards.
Gamers have been demanding a remaster for a while now, and it’s time for Saber to listen to the community.
Space Marine 2 has a brand-new update
Space Marine 2‘s latest update brings tons of new additions. (Image via Focus Entertainment)
While Space Marine 2 is based on the dreaded live-service formula, the game isn’t like its competitors, as Saber actually puts efforts into bringing worthwhile content for GAMERS. The game’s latest update has shaken things up in major ways.
The Battle Barge has been treated with a brand-new expansion. Called “The Datavault,” gamers now finish a number of Ordeals in Campaign, Operations, and Eternal War mode that will help unlock a variety of rewards such as armor parts and weapon skins.
There’s also a new Tech-Priest workshop, which can be found in the Armory, where gamers can exchange their armor data to get higher-tier versions or sell them outright. The game’s new Extremis-tier enemy type, the Biovores, comes in the update as well and will be present in all operations.
We also have a new Salamander champion pack available for the Sniper Class and a new cosmetic armor set that’s inspired by the Raven Guard. In addition to these changes, we have tons of balance changes.
With that said, would you like to see a Space Marine 1 remaster? Let us know in the comments below.
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