‘Returnal’ gets a free co-op mode on March 22nd

Sony’s State of Play livestream today was short on major news, but there was one surprising nugget: Returnal is getting a beefy update on March 22nd. Returnal: Ascension adds co-op capabilities and a new survival mode to the game, and it’ll be completely free. 

Returnal is a PlayStation 5 exclusive developed by Housemarque. It’s a roguelike shooter where players are trapped in a time loop on a hostile alien planet, and it gets a lot of things right, including massive enemies and a punishing reward system. As a PS5 exclusive, Returnal makes good use of the DualSense controller’s haptics and Sony’s 3D audio tech.

Ascension will be Returnal‘s 3.0 update. The game’s 2.0 update in October 2021 added photo mode and a suspension option that allowed players to save their progress mid-run, but only under certain conditions. It is a roguelike, after all.

平面や円筒形の素材に対して創造性を解き放つ。 4軸レーザー彫刻/切断機「Two Trees TS3」

4軸レーザー彫刻/切断機「Two Trees TS3」は、よくあるレーザー彫刻機と異なり、LD + FAC + C-Lensテクノロジーを採用し、より精細・精確で、強力な出力を実現しており、より正確でよりクリーンなエッジでの加工が可能です。 また、平面だけでなく円筒形の表面にも彫刻＆カットが可能で、安全性と機能性の両面で最新の機能を備えており、個人はもちろんワークショップやクラフトスペース等に最適です。 レーザー彫刻機「Two Trees TS3」の特長 1. 最高彫刻速度10,000mm/min …

Capcom’s ‘Exoprimal’ isn’t ‘Dino Crisis’ and that’s OK

Just when you thought video games were getting too serious comes Capcom with Exoprimal, an entirely new IP that will see you and your friends facing off endless waves of dinosaurs that fall from the sky. 

In an absolutely bananas trailer the publisher showed off during Sony’s State of Play presentation on Wednesday, we saw a game that looks like a mix of Anthem, Dino Crisis and Dynasty Warriors. Exoprimal is both a co-op and competitive game. In the game’s main mode, Dino Survival, you’ll team up with four other players to take on hordes of dinosaurs and an opposing team of five players. If you’ve played Destiny 2‘s Gambit mode, the setup will sound familiar. Each exosuit features a different suite of abilities, and you’ll need to work as a team to defeat both the cold- and warm-blooded killers out for your neck. Capcom said it plans to release Exoprimal in 2023 on PlayStation 4 and PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Steam.

California can once again set its own emissions rules, EPA says

California can now set its own emission standards under the Clean Air Act, the EPA announced today. The decision puts an end to a feud that began when automakers pushed the Trump administration to revisit fuel efficiency rules, which eventually led the former president to revoke California’s waiver to declare its own standards in 2019. California is known for pushing stricter emissions requirements than the federal government, standards which have also been adopted by 16 other states and Washington, D.C. 

“Today we proudly reaffirm California’s longstanding authority to lead in addressing pollution from cars and trucks,” EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said in a statement. “Our partnership with states to confront the climate crisis has never been more important. With today’s action, we reinstate an approach that for years has helped advance clean technologies and cut air pollution for people not just in California, but for the U.S. as a whole.”

The EPA also confirmed that other states can once again adopt California’s standards. As the LA Times reports, the EPA decision means that California can continue with its plan to ban sales of gasoline vehicles by 2035. In January, Governor Gavin Newsom announced a $10 billion plan to accelerate EV adoption, with a focus on making EVs more accessible for low-income consumers, building out more charging infrastructure and electrifying the state’s fleet of vehicles.

Judge rules voting machine maker Smartmatic can proceed with its lawsuit against Fox News

A judge has ruled that voting machine manufacturer Smartmatic can proceed with a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News and Rudy Giuliani. The company has accused them and others of making false claims that it rigged votes in favor of Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.

Fox News parent Fox Corp, anchor Maria Bartiromo, former anchor Lou Dobbs, The Five host Jeanine Pirro and ex-Donald Trump lawyer Sidney Powell all tried to have Smartmatic’s claims against them dismissed. Justice David Cohen of New York State Supreme Court dismissed the claims against Pirro and Powell, though rejected the bids from Fox Corp, Bartiromo and Dobbs.

Smartmatic claimed Fox News made up a story about helping Biden to steal the presidency from Trump to boost ratings. A lawyer for the company said Fox News caused “catastrophic damage” to Smartmatic’s business and reputation, according to Reuters.

Cohen ruled that Fox News “turned a blind eye to a litany of outrageous claims about [Smartmatic], unprecedented in the history of American elections, so inherently improbable that it evinced a reckless disregard for the truth.” He also said Giuliani accused Smartmatic of rigging elections in Venezuela and claimed it engaged in “old tricks” in the presidential election, which provided grounds for Smartmatic to proceed with some of its claims against the former Trump lawyer.

Fox News called Smartmatic’s claims “baseless,” adding that it’s “gratified that Judge Cohen dismissed Smartmatic’s claims against Jeanine Pirro.” It plans to appeal Cohen’s ruling “immediately,” and counterclaim for fees and costs to “prevent the full-blown assault on the First Amendment” that it perceives the lawsuit to be.

In December, a judge dismissed an attempt by Fox News to toss out a lawsuit by another voting machine maker. Dominion Voting Systems has accused Fox News of defamation in its $1.6 billion suit.

Update 3/10 11:24AM ET: Added more context regarding Fox News’ statement.

Sony halts PlayStation hardware and software sales in Russia

Sony is joining Microsoft in stopping Russian sales following the country’s invasion of Ukraine. CNBCreports Sony has halted all PlayStation hardware and software sales in Russia, and has cut access to the digital PlayStation Store. The company called for “peace in Ukraine” and said it would donate $2 million to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees as well as Save the Children.

The decision comes a week after Ukraine Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov called on Microsoft and Sony to block Russian players, and a few days after Microsoft stopped all sales in the country. Nintendo put its Russian eShop in “maintenance mode,” but that may have been due to a payment service freezing processing for purchases made using rubles.

Numerous Western game developers have stopped selling their work in Russia, including Ubisoft, Take-Two, CD Projekt Red, EA, Activision Blizzard and Epic. However, Sony’s move might be the most damaging yet. Russian gamers will have a much harder time expanding their game libraries, and they can forget about buying the already-elusive PlayStation 5. Sony may feel the sting when it dominates Russian console sales (according to IDC data), but there might not be much practical choice when there’s so much industry pressure to take a stand on the Ukraine war.

‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ trailer teases Pike’s stint on the Enterprise

Today is a good day for sci-fi and space fantasy lovers. Paramount+ has shared a teaser trailer for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, its offshoot of Discovery. The video provides a brief but telling glimpse of Captain Christopher Pike’s tenure aboard the USS Enterprise, including his return to service and (what else?) the worlds his crew will see. There’s a clear attempt to recreate the wonder you might have felt watching early Star Trek as you encountered new aliens and planets for the first time.

There isn’t much to see of the cast beyond Pike (Anson Mount), but you’ll see Ethan Peck return as Spock while Rebecca Romijn once again serves as Number One. Celia Rose Gooding plays Uhura, Jess Bush will assume the role of Nurse Chapel and Babs Olusanmokun is Doctor M’Benga.

Strange New Worlds premieres in May. As indicated, the show’s appeal may come as much from its format as its focus on the Enterprise. Unlike Discovery and Picard, SNW is expected to rely more on the single-episode storylines that defined the original series and much of the pre-streaming Star Trek franchise. Whether or not it reproduces those glory days is another matter, but Paramount+ at least appears to know its target audience.