Some Cybertruck buyers who were scheduled to receive their new trucks this week have been told they’ll have to wait a little while longer as the company addresses a safety issue with the windshield wiper motor. Tesla hasn’t publicly confirmed any such problems or issued an official recall, but numerous commenters on the Cybertruck Owners Club forum and Reddit said they were notified that deliveries have been halted and their pickup dates were pushed back a week.
This follows reports from Cybertruck owners who have said that the windshield wiper failed on them, in somecases almost immediately after the truck was picked up. Tesla previously had to pause Cybertruck deliveries this spring, when it issued a recall over faulty accelerator pedals that could get stuck. The problem affected around 3,878 Cybertruck vehicles. In this case, the fix was fairly simple (installing a rivet) and deliveries resumed soon after.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybertruck-buyers-say-theyve-been-told-deliveries-are-paused-due-windshield-wiper-problems-173804018.html?src=rss
The US military used fake social media accounts to spread propaganda that was designed to discredit China’s COVID-19 vaccine in the Philippines during the height of the pandemic, according to a bombshell report from Reuters. The anti-vax campaign ran from spring 2020 until mid-2021, and was intended to “counter what [the Pentagon] perceived as China’s growing influence in the Philippines,” the publication found in its investigation. The Philippines saw low vaccination rates through 2021 even months after China’s Sinovac vaccine arrived in the area, and recorded nearly 50,000 COVID deaths by November of that year.
In one example of the US’s anti-vax messaging cited by Reuters, an account in 2020 tweeted, “COVID came from China and the VACCINE also came from China, don’t trust China!” The campaign also pushed the narrative that China’s vaccines were “haram” — or forbidden under Islamic law — because of a pig derivative in the ingredients.
Former military officials who spoke with Reuters said the Pentagon had propaganda accounts on X, Facebook and Instagram, and was warned in late 2020 by Facebook executives that the accounts had been identified and were acting in violation of the platform’s policies. Some of these accounts, however, ultimately weren’t taken down after the Pentagon said it would stop using them for its anti-vax campaign. Reuters notified X of at least 300 accounts it found during its investigation that appeared to be part of the operation. These were determined to be bots and removed.
According to Reuters, the campaign was launched after the Chinese government made unfounded claims that the COVID-19’s spread could be traced back to the US. In a statement to the publication, a Pentagon spokesperson brought up China’s disinformation campaign, and said the military “uses a variety of platforms, including social media, to counter those malign influence attacks aimed at the U.S., allies, and partners.”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/us-military-reportedly-used-social-media-to-spread-anti-vax-propaganda-in-the-philippines-160357361.html?src=rss
Andrea Baroni’s Halfway to Dawn is unbelievably bleak for a game you can play from start to finish in about 10 minutes. I mean that as a compliment; it’s the best horror experience I’ve had on the Playdate yet.
As someone who tends to gravitate towards all things spooky, one of the things I’ve been most interested in as I explore what’s out there for Playdate is seeing how developers will make horror work for the weird little handheld. Halfway to Dawn takes a blended approach: in the first half, it’s a text-based narrative game where you’re scavenging for resources and readying yourself for the long night ahead; in the second, it’s an all-out fight for your life against an onslaught of eldritch creatures.
Halfway to Dawn wastes no time in setting a mood of desolation and impending doom, beginning with dialogue from our protagonist about feeling “as lifeless as these scattered remains of humanity” in a city overtaken by some unnamed terror. During the narrative portion of the game, you must choose among different locations to visit — the mall, pharmacy, gun store and a house — so you can hopefully find things like first aid kits, guns, ammo and traps. But there’s no telling whether each of these trips will be successful.
Andrea Baroni/Cyberleaf Studio
You might find a box of shotgun shells but never get your hands on a shotgun to actually use them. You might even get hurt while scavenging. There is also the option to rest, which will fill up your health bar (while you’ll start with full health on Easy mode, Hard will start you with two out of the six health points already depleted). But an hour will pass after each selection, and you have to stay conscious of the time. The clock starts at 6PM, and once it strikes 1AM, you’ll be forced to go out and defend yourself against the monsters until dawn.
At this point, the game becomes a top-down shooter — and depending on how you fared with resources, a pretty challenging one at that. Monsters will be closing in on you from all sides, some of them harder to take down than others, and you can only replenish ammo and first aid kits from your finite supply at set breaks marking the passage of one hour. If you run out before then, you’ll have no choice but to try and fight off the monsters with a knife, which you can swing using the crank. That’s about as effective as you’d think it is.
Halfway to Dawn is a very, very short game, but it really had me sweating on some runs. It’s a fun one to keep coming back to, since the randomness of resource collection makes for a different experience each time. And the tension of it all is perfectly rounded out by a synth-heavy soundtrack (available on Bandcamp), which could be right out of an ‘80s B-horror movie. If creepy is your thing, this is definitely a game to check out. Halfway to Dawn is on the Playdate Catalog and itch.io for $5.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/halfway-to-dawn-is-a-surprisingly-tense-bite-sized-survival-horror-game-for-playdate-220033899.html?src=rss
Xbox’s Summer Games Showcase on Sunday brought a nice little surprise amidst all the expected news: the announcement of a new Life is Strange game, Life is Strange: Double Exposure. The game, which sees the return of its original protagonist Max Caulfield, will be released on October 29 for Xbox Series X/S, PC and PlayStation 5. Anyone dying to get their hands on it a little earlier, though, can pre-order the Ultimate Edition, which will grant them access to Chapters 1 and 2 on October 15. A Nintendo Switch release appears to be coming later, as well.
Life is Strange: Double Exposure picks up years after the events of the first game. Now, Max has found her friend Safi murdered and tries to use her powers of time manipulation to go back and save her — but things go awry. It’s a “full-on murder-mystery, with a supernatural twist” in which Max will have to bounce between parallel timelines to stop the killer.
Catch up on all of the news from Summer Game Fest 2024 right here!
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/were-officially-getting-another-life-is-strange-game-this-fall-193230167.html?src=rss
After years of teasing its arrival, Xbox has finally announced a release window for the upcoming Fable reboot. The game is slated to hit Xbox Series X/S and PC in 2025, and will be available on Xbox Game Pass from day one. The company dropped a new trailer during the Xbox Games Showcase on Sunday. Fable, which is being developed by Playground Games, was first announced with a teaser back in 2020.
Xbox is billing it as “a new beginning” for the series. The new Fable focuses on a washed-up ex-hero named Humphry, who we see in the latest trailer. He’ll be “forced out of retirement when a mysterious figure from his past threatens Albion's very existence.” In our last glimpse at the game, released during last year’s Summer Game Fest, we were introduced to a character named Dave, who is voiced by Richard Ayoade. The new trailer gives us a bit more of a look at some in-game footage and doubles down on the offbeat tone of the previous teasers.
We'll still have to wait a while for it to actually be released, but at least now there's a timeframe we can cling to.
Catch up on all of the news from Summer Game Fest 2024 right here!
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/xboxs-fable-reboot-will-come-to-xbox-series-xs-and-pc-next-year-181914674.html?src=rss
Paramount+ just dropped the full trailer for its upcoming animated TMNT series, Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and it looks like a lot of fun. The show, a spinoff of last year’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, will see a slew of actors from the movie return to their roles, including Micah Abbey as Donatello, Shamon Brown Jr. as Michelangelo, Nicolas Cantu as Leonardo, Brady Noon as Raphael and Ayo Edebiri as April O’Neil. It’s scheduled to be released on the streaming platform August 9.
In Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the brothers find themselves up against the villain Bishop (now depicted as a woman), who should be familiar to longtime fans of the franchise. After becoming separated by Bishop, they’ll have to stand on their own until they find each other to fight together again. The show will get 12 episodes, which will be available exclusively on Paramount+.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-new-2d-animated-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-show-hits-paramount-on-august-9-163555708.html?src=rss
You can get the new Beats Solo 4 over-hear headphones with two years of AppleCare+ for $80 off thanks to a limited-time deal running on Amazon right now. The Solo 4 headphones were released just this past April and normally go for about $230 with the AppleCare+ bundle. Under the current 34 percent discount, they’re only $150. The deal applies to all three colors of the Solo 4: Cloud Pink, Matte Black and Slate Blue.
The Beats Solo 4 headphones brought significant improvements under the hood compared to earlier models, but stuck to the same familiar design externally. They’re touted to get about 50 hours of battery life on a charge without Spatial Audio on, and 45 hours with the feature enabled — but they managed to last much longer than that in our review, hitting 63 hours with Spatial Audio. Sound quality got a major boost as well. The Solo 4 headphones reflect “a more even-handed tuning,” according to Engadget’s Billy Steele, and don’t suffer from “the overly bass-heavy EQ that dominated the sound on [Beats'] early headphones.”
With the Solo 4, the company also switched to a USB-C charging port, following in Apple’s footsteps. They’re capable of lossless audio when using a wired connection. These headphones don’t offer active noise cancellation, but Beats has implemented a noise-learning algorithm and added beam-forming MEMS microphones for improved call quality.
The Beats Solo 4s aren’t the only headphones on sale right now. Amazon is also running a really good deal on the Beats Studio Pro (without AppleCare+). This model is nearly half off, bringing the price down to just $180 from the usual $350.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-beats-solo-4-headphones-with-applecare-are-on-sale-for-150-144447183.html?src=rss
Some Anker and Soundcore products are being recalled due to a manufacturing defect that could cause fires. Anker issued a recall for its 321 Power Bank (PowerCore 5K, A1112) this week, saying, “The lithium-ion battery in the affected power banks can overheat, potentially causing melting of plastic components, smoke and fire hazards.” Its audio brand, Soundcore, issued a recall for its A3102 Speaker in Black as well.
The company has apparently started notifying customers who may own one of the affected devices via email, but you can double check the serial numbers — which are printed on the bottom of each device — using the above links to be sure. Anker says the issue applies only to a small number of devices manufactured between March and April of 2023. Also affected is a workplace conferencing device, the AnkerWork A3302 speakerphone, according to a press release. If you have one of these devices, the company advises you immediately stop using it and dispose of it properly at a facility that takes lithium batteries.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/popular-anker-power-bank-and-soundcore-speaker-recalled-over-potential-fire-risk-200637850.html?src=rss
I cannot think of a game from recent times that I’ve tried more aggressively to get my friends into than Cult of the Lamb. Maybe this is the whole cult mindset talking, but something about it all just begs to be enjoyed with a pal. I’m clearly not the only one who feels this way — fans have been asking the developers for months to add a multiplayer option so they can fight side-by-side with their friends. And now, it’s actually happening. Cult of the Lamb publisher Devolver Digital has announced an upcoming free update called “Unholy Alliance” that adds local co-op to the game along with a new playable character: The Goat.
“Unholy Alliance” will be available to download August 12 for PC, PS5 and PS4, Xbox Series S/X and Nintendo Switch. With the update, you’ll be able to take on the full campaign with the help of a second player. Per the announcement notes, “The Lamb and the Goat can swap weapons, deal extra damage when fighting back-to-back, or deal a critical hit if their attacks are in sync.” There will be multiplayer versions of knucklebones and the fishing minigame, too. Unfortunately for anyone who was hoping for online co-op, though, this unholy alliance is local only, and the developers have so far said there aren’t plans to bring it online.
ANNOUNCING UNHOLY ALLIANCE 🎉
Our next Free Major Content Update! 🌟
Play Cult of the Lamb with you and a friend with LOCAL CO-OP! 🎮👫
Have no friends because everyone hates you? 😗 boooo Well, that's okay because there is much, much more in this update for you too. pic.twitter.com/dOpPUpVAx2
The team behind this game has been really good about keeping it fresh with free updates that actually build on the story and acknowledge fans’ feedback — hello, we got the sex update — and it’s nice to see that continue some two years after its release. If you can’t make the most of the co-op, there will be perks in “Unholy Alliance” for solo players too, including “a heap of new powers and abilities to play with.” The update will also bring “new tarot cards, relics, buildings, fleeces, follower traits, follower quests, and other secrets to discover.”
Catch up on all of the news from Summer Game Fest 2024 right here!
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cult-of-the-lamb-is-finally-getting-a-co-op-mode-but-its-local-only-180715026.html?src=rss
The first gameplay trailer for Neva is out and, wow, I cannot wait to play this one. Neva, from Gris developer Nomada Studio, is an action-adventure game that follows the story of a woman named Alba and a horned wolf cub that has become her companion in a decaying world. While it appears thematically and artistically similar to Gris, the new trailer shows Neva will have a fair amount of combat, unlike its predecessor. And it looks absolutely stunning.
Publisher Devolver Digital released the latest look at Neva during Summer Game Fest. It doesn’t have a firm release date just yet, but it’s slated to come out this year. Neva will be available for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC. Prepare for an emotional experience.
Nomada’s first title, Gris (2018), is the kind of game that really sticks with you after you’ve finished it. I cried at the end of it all (which I promise is not as regular a thing as it would seem now that I’ve written about crying over a game twice in the span of a week). Neva seems like it has the potential to be just as impactful — or more, because now there’s a dog involved. It doesn’t hurt that the promotional art is giving some serious Princess Mononoke vibes.
Catch up on all of the news from Summer Game Fest 2024 right here!
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/theres-now-a-gameplay-trailer-for-neva-the-upcoming-title-from-the-makers-of-gris-152743695.html?src=rss