‘Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed’ is a 4v1 co-op game that lets you play as a ghost

A new Ghostbusters game has been revealed and it’s set to land later this year. Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is a four vs. one multiplayer title from IllFonic, the studio behind Friday the 13th: The Game and Predator: Hunting Grounds. If you’re familiar with those two games or Dead by Daylight, the basic premise of Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed will feel familiar.

Four players will team up as the Ghostbusters. You’ll use the PKE Meter to detect a ghost and take them on with the Proton Pack, Particle Thrower and Ghost Trap. You’ll need to subdue the ghost before they make a museum, prison, hotel or other public location too haunted.

On the flip side, as you may have surmised, the fifth player will control the ghost. You can fly and teleport between rifts. The ghost can possess objects and summon minions. They are also able to slime and stun the Ghostbusters so they can continue their haunting ways.

In the Ghostbusters’ firehouse, you’ll be able to customize your ghost or Ghostbuster, upgrade their abilities and equipment and practice firing the Particle Thrower. Two of the original Ghostbusters reprise their roles. You’ll get missions from Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson) and receive wisdom from Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) at his occult bookstore.

If you don’t feel like playing online (or don’t have a PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live Gold membership to do that), you can play as a solo ghost or Ghostbuster with AI taking on the other roles. For everyone else, there’s cross-platform multiplayer support across PC, PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is scheduled to arrive toward the end of 2022.

【GREEN FUNDING】先週の支援額ランキング BEST5（2021.3.14-3.20）

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Sony confirms VRR will arrive on PS5 in the coming months

Variable refresh rate (VRR) is coming to the PlayStation 5 in the “coming months,” Sony announced. If you have an HDMI 2.1-compatible TV or PC monitor, it will dynamically sync the refresh rate of the display to the PS5 console’s graphical output, Sony explained in a blog post. The feature is long overdue, as VRR has been available on the Xbox Series X and Series S consoles since they debuted. 

As you’re no doubt aware, VRR helps minimize visual artifacts like screen tearing. “Gameplay in many PS5 titles feels smoother as scenes render instantly, graphics look crisper, and input lag is reduced,” Sony explained. “Previously released PS5 games can be fully optimized for VRR through a game patch and future games may include VRR support at launch.”

Sony confirms VRR is coming to PS5 in the coming months
Sony

You’ll also be able to apply VRR to PS5 games that don’t support it, something that “may improve video quality for some games,” Sony said. The results may vary depending on the TV and game you’re playing, it added.

Sony only recently unlocked VRR on its HDMI 2.1-equipped TVs in the US and Europe. The PS5 offers 4K at 120Hz, but it’s arguably not as well implemented as the Xbox Series X/S consoles. 

Sony didn’t specify an exact date for the VRR patch, but will share more details as the feature gets closer to release. In the meantime, the latest PS5 release includes a few other new features. That includes the ability to test drive a Voice Command feature that lets you control media playback or find open games, apps and settings; join open or closed parties through the PS App; and enable a dark mode on PS Remote Play. All of those are rolling out later today.

YouTube makes thousands of TV show episodes available to stream for free

For the first time, YouTube is letting users in the US stream thousands of free, ad-supported TV shows like Hell’s Kitchen, Heartland and Unsolved Mysteries, it announced. That will put it into competition with OTA (over-the-air) TV and streaming services with ad tiers including Peacock, the Roku Channel, Tubi and others. 

YouTube will offer around 4,000 free TV episodes on top of the 1,500 movies already available. This month, it added a raft of new movie titles including Gone in Sixty Seconds, Runaway Bride and Legally Blonde, now available to stream for free (in the USA only) with ads.

With the new TV offerings, YouTube is no doubt hoping to keep American users glued to its platform. Having dozens of episodes from multiple series will allow users to binge like they do on Netflix and other platforms, though most of the content on offer is not what you’d call prestige TV. One of its biggest rivals in that regard is Roku TV, which had a very public dispute with YouTube that was only recently resolved.

Until last year, YouTube had been trying to fill content holes with its own programming via YouTube Originals. Earlier in 2022, however, it announced that it was largely abandoning those ambitions and would focus strictly on its Black Voices and YouTube Kids Funds. The program had some success with shows like Cobra Kai, but didn’t pose much of a threat to services like Amazon Prime Video and Netflix. 

Google Photos makes it easier to import and organize your pics

Over the next few weeks, Google is rolling out new features for the Photos app that could make the daunting task of organizing shots you’ve taken over the years feel more achievable. To start with, the tech giant is updating the app’s layout so that you can display groups of photos as a grid or a list that you can filter by type, namely albums, shared albums, favorites and on-device folders. Then, at the bottom menu, you’ll find a new “import photos” section that will help you transfer photos from other services, such as Facebook and iCloud. 

The new feature will also make easier to copy files from a camera, as well as to digitize old images and videos. Plus, it has a function to help you scan physical images with your phone. If you’re on Android, you’ll find more defined sections marked as partner sharing, shared albums and conversations under the sharing tab starting this week, as well. The sections will make their way to the iOS app in the near future.

Another update that could make organizing your images much more doable is the option to exclude your own device folder from backups. If you have a Pixel or another Android device that saves screenshots in that folder, that means you don’t have to wade through snapshots of random things you found online or of bank and other payment transactions. 

Google will soon add a shortcut for screenshots at the top of the main photo grid to take you right to them in case you choose not to back up your device folder. And soon, you’ll also see a carousel of contextual suggestions to copy text, crop and search using Google Lens whenever you view a screenshot.