Amazon Prime has released the official trailer for Like A Dragon: Yakuza, its live action adaptation of the action-adventure Sega game franchise mostly revolving around the yakuza Kazuma Kiryu. Unlike the teaser Amazon dropped in July, the trailer features a voiceover by Kiryu's actor Ryoma Takeuchi, as well as voice dialogues by other cast members. The series is set across two intersecting timelines in 1995 and 2005 in the fictional town of Kamurocho, which is based on Tokyo's Kabukicho.
It will cover the events of the first Yakuza game, with some changes to the story. Based on Amazon's own description of the series, it will show Kiryu and his friends Nishiki, Yumi and Miho plan a heist at an arcade that's apparently under the control of a powerful yakuza organization called the Dojima Family. Like in the game, Kiryu was imprisoned for 10 years and returned to Kamurocho in 2005 when he was released after finding out that his friends needed his help.
The trailer gives us a glimpse of how the show's story will unfold, as well as of the franchise's beloved characters, including Nishiki and fan favorite Goro Majima. It shows a chaotic Kamurocho with gangsters on bikes, gun fights, fist fights and explosions. The trailer also introduces us to a shadowy figure called the Demon of Shinjuku, who's going around killing people in the district.
Amazon is making the first three episodes of Like A Dragon: Yakuza available for streaming starting on October 24. The last three episodes will come out on October 31.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/watch-the-full-trailer-for-amazons-live-action-yakuza-adaptation-123027590.html?src=rss
What qualifies a video game as “depressing?” The most obvious answer is that game you simply cannot beat no matter how hard you try, but that’s not what we’re talking about here. Instead, we’re looking at games that just have a pall over them, whether it’s directly from story beats or a more subtle vibe given off by the visuals, music or activities the player has to participate in.
The games on this list don’t have a lot in common on the surface — there are big-budget action thrillers, smaller independent titles and at least one visual novel / deck-building game. But they can all put you in a somber mood, if that’s what you're looking for. Next time the rain is pouring down and you’re feeling a bit of melancholy, we have options to keep you company.
It was a messy Monday if you were a Verizon customer or wanted some PS5 gaming in the evening. First, Verizon mobile customers reported outages across the US on Monday. At around 9:30AM ET, hundreds of thousands of users flagged problems with their mobile service on Downdetector. Reports spiked at almost 105,000 at 11:20AM. Issues included the inability to send texts and a lack of cellular service outright. The issue centered on the East Coast and Midwest. The carrier hasn’t elaborated on what caused the issue. The FCC said it was “working to determine the cause and extent of these service disruptions.”
Hours later, the PlayStation Network experienced serious issues, kicking people off their matches and crashing online games worldwide. (Yes, that’s even bigger than the Midwest and East Coast.) Users couldn’t sign in on the PS5, PS4, PS Vita and PS3 or perform account maintenance on the web either. Streaming functionality was also knocked offline. Services came back online in the early hours of October. We’re also checking with Sony about the cause.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) fined Cruise, GM’s self-driving vehicle division, $1.5 million. The penalty was imposed for omitting key details from an October 2023 accident when one of the company’s autonomous vehicles struck and dragged a San Francisco pedestrian. Cruise is being fined for initially submitting incomplete reports, but it’s worse than that. Executives initially played a video of the accident during October 3 meetings with the San Francisco mayor’s office, NHTSA, DMV and other officials. However, the video stream was “hampered by internet connectivity issues” that concealed the part where the vehicle dragged the victim. Executives, who the report stated knew about the dragging, also failed to verbally mention that crucial detail.
The NHTSA wants Cruise to file a corrective action plan, along with others covering its total number of vehicles, miles traveled and whether they operated without a driver. It also has to summarize software updates that affect operations and more. Finally, Cruise will also have to meet with the NHTSA quarterly to discuss and review those reports.
It claims Samsung's Auto Blocker makes it difficult to install its app store.
Epic loves a courtroom battle. Its next challenger is Samsung — and Google. (Yes, Epic already won an antitrust lawsuit against Google last December, which found Google held an illegal monopoly on app distribution and in-app billing services.) Epic Games is claiming Samsung’s Auto Blocker feature is making it difficult for users to install the Epic Games Store on the latest Samsung devices. This is because Samsung now activates Auto Blocker, which only allows app installs from the Google Play Store and Samsung Galaxy Store, by default. To be honest, it’s pretty laborious to switch off. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney even suggests Google and Samsung are working together, though he admits there’s no concrete evidence for this claim.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-verizon-and-playstations-network-separately-hit-by-outages-110420743.html?src=rss
The first of twoSea of Stars content updates for the next year has an official release date. The free Dawn of Equinox, which adds a co-op mode, new combat and other features, arrives on November 12 on all platforms.
Announced in March, Dawn of Equinox adds new game modes and mechanics for our favorite lunar-solar heroes, Valere and Zale. It includes a new local co-op mode that lets you and up to two friends play the entire game together. Each player has independent movement when traversing the world (as long as you stay within the screen’s confines), and there’s a new co-op Timed Hits feature that turns one of the core game’s mechanics into a group effort.
Sabotage Studio
The update also includes Combat 2.0, which adds some fun wrinkles to Sea of Stars’ battles. Mystery Locks adds a new challenge to unlock enemies’ spells the first time you face them. (A corresponding “Reveal” action will appear in some of your party’s special skills.) Combo points also remain after battles, which should open the door to some epic beat-downs on your opening moves in subsequent standoffs. In addition, developer Sabotage Studio says it’s put effort into rebalancing the entire game to reflect the new mechanics and incorporate player feedback.
Other changes include a more action-oriented prologue that ditches the old flashback structure, a bonus cinematic and a relic (game mode) designed for speedrunners. There will also be three difficulty options when starting the game. Finally, it enhances the game’s secret-tracking parrot and adds a French Canadian translation, “for Quebec’s finest Solstice Warriors.”
The new features in Dawn of Equinox will also apply in the upcoming Throes of the Watchmaker DLC. That content will add an all-new storyline next spring in what Sabotage Studio describes as “an encore to Sea of Stars’ original adventure” (perhaps before a full-fledged sequel?). The DLC will send Valere and Zale into a “magical miniature clockwork world threatened by a cursed carnival,” forcing the heroes to adapt their sun and moon magic to the mysterious environment.
Sabotage Studio
Sea of Stars was one of 2023’s biggest surprises, garnering grassroots praise and taking home the hardware for Best Indie Game at last year’s Game Awards. Engadget’s Lawrence Bonk praised the game’s Chrono Trigger vibes earlier this year, calling out its gorgeous pixel art and an overworld map that pays proper tribute to its ’90s RPG inspirations.
Sea of Stars is available now on all major platforms: PC, Switch, PS5/4, Xbox One Series X/S and Xbox One (including on Game Pass). The full game costs $35, and both big upcoming content updates will be added for free.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/sea-of-stars-free-dawn-of-equinox-update-arrives-in-november-164023516.html?src=rss
Some users may know that Epic Games, the developer of Fortnite, has had its own app store for a while now, the Epic Games Store. The company also won an antitrust lawsuit against Google last December that found Google held an illegal monopoly on app distribution and in-app billing services for Android devices. Despite that win, it seems that Epic’s court war has only begun. Epic Games is now suing Google again, but it also named Samsung in the lawsuit as a defendant. This time, its sights are trained on Samsung’s Auto Blocker feature.
In the latest lawsuit, Epic Games is claiming that Samsung’s Auto Blocker feature is making it difficult for users to install the Epic Games Store on the latest Samsung devices. This is because Samsung now activates Auto Blocker, which only allows app installs from the Google Play Store and Samsung Galaxy Store, by default and prevents third-party app installation unless you disable the function. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney is even suggesting that Google and Samsung are working together, though he admits there’s no concrete evidence for this claim.
The Verge’s Sean Hollister put these claims to the test and discovered that his Samsung smartphone did prevent him from installing Epic Games Store, but it wasn’t so simple. There were no instructions on how to deactivate Auto Blocker. He then searched “turn off auto blocker” in the search bar, which yielded results but required jumping through several screens.
Besides winning against Google and legally proving that Google had a monopoly over Android app sharing, Epic Games also won a lawsuit against Apple. Apple had refused to let Epic Games launch its app store on iOS devices, but the EU forced Apple’s hand. However, Apple is still resisting and claims that its acceptance is only temporary.
How Google and Samsung will respond remains to be seen, but it’s possible that both companies will resist and claim they aren’t making it difficult to install the Epic Games Store. Once again, we’ll likely be waiting for the legal system to sort things out.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/epic-is-suing-google-and-samsung-for-making-it-too-hard-to-download-fortnite-142846819.html?src=rss
Football Manager 25 is finally on its way, with Sports Interactive confirming the news and announcing a release date. The game will arrive for PC, Mac, Xbox and PS5 on November 26, just in time for some Thanksgiving gameplay. At the same time, FM25 Mobile is launching exclusively on Netflix, while FM25 Touch should come to Nintendo Switch on December 3.
FM25 comes with two big updates: a switch to the Unity engine (everywhere except mobile) and women's football (or soccer, depending on where you're reading this from) arriving into the same world as the men's teams. Sega-owned SI first announced the development of women's games in 2021, claiming it would take a while to do in order to provide the same depth as the men's ones. Last year, it confirmed women's teams would be in FM25.
In a statement, Sports Interactive Studio Director Miles Jacobson said, "The world gets to see two of our multi-year projects come to fruition: the switch to the Unity engine and the introduction of Women's Football. It gives us a real sense of achievement to begin sharing our hard work with you and we're really looking forward to showing you more of the game in the weeks before the game's release."
Right now, anyone who pre-orders FM25 for PC or Mac from a SEGA-approved digital retailer will get 10 percent off. SI will announce pre-orders for Xbox and PS5 editions later.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/football-manager-25-is-out-on-november-26-140032348.html?src=rss
Walkabout Mini Golf has been filled with players ever since it launched around the same time as the Meta Quest 2. Now the multiplayer mini-golf game is making the jump to iOS devices.
The developer Mighty Coconut is currently beta testing its mobile mini-golf game Walkabout Mini Golf: Pocket Editionand plans to release a full version on the App Store on October 10.
The Pocket version may be on mobile devices but the miniature version of the mini-golf game isn’t straying away from its virtual interface. The iOS Walkabout game can be played in two different modes: “Touch-to-Putt” mode in which you use the touch screen to tap and drag your shot and “Swing-to-Putt” mode in which you hold your iPhone like a putter and take your swing the same way you would in the VR version.
Walkabout Mini Golf is one of the most popular multiplayer VR games for the Meta Quest series. The virtual mini-golf game has an extensive series of stylized courses including some based on movies, TV shows and games like Jim Henson’s Labyrinth, the puzzle game Myst and the animated clay characters Wallace & Gromit. Mighty Coconut also designed a golf course with the immersive art company Meow Wolf and a series of courses based on the works of Jules Verne.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/vr-hit-walkabout-mini-golf-is-getting-a-mobile-edition-214918605.html?src=rss
Fujifilm’s original GFX100S was a popular alternative to the GFX100, as it offered the same picture quality in a slimmer body at a much lower price. It did have some flaws, though, most notably its autofocus that didn’t always keep up with the subject. In a similar vein, the company recently released the $5,000 GFX100S II as a smaller and cheaper alternative to the $7,500 flagship GFX100 II. It looks much the same as before, but has an updated sensor, processor, autofocus and more.
Both cameras are clearly aimed at pros, but is the GFX100 II worth the extra $2,500, or is the S model fine for most?
Body
At 1.9 pounds, the GFX100S II weighs an ounce less than its predecessor and its body's design and controls are nearly the same. As before, it comes with a mode dial and focus selector switch, dual control dials, drive select buttons and a quick menu. On top is a small, always-on display that shows settings, simulated mode dials and a histogram. That way, you can see all your key settings when shooting at hip level.
It feels a lot more like a mirrorless than a classic medium format camera. It handles well, but after spending time with both models, I prefer the GFX100 II’s larger body and extra controls, even though it's five ounces heavier.
Steve Dent for Engadget
The rear 3.2-inch, 2.36-million-dot-display is unchanged, tilting up, down and to the right, but it doesn't flip out. However, Fujifilm boosted the viewfinder’s resolution to 5.76 million dots, so it’s noticeably sharper than the last model’s 3.69-million-dot EVF.
The GFX100S II includes dual SD UHS-II card slots but lacks a high-speed CFexpress port like the GFX100 II. Though it uses the same battery as before, it can now shoot 540 photos on a charge, up from 530. Other features include USB-C, mic and headphone ports, along with a micro HDMI connection. A new feature is USB-SSD connectivity that allows for faster burst shooting and ProRes video capture.
Performance
Steve Dent for Engadget
The GFX100S II does shoot faster than its predecessor at up to 7 fps compared to 5 fps in mechanical shutter mode. Without a fast CFexpress card, though, you can only capture about 30 compressed RAW frames before the buffer fills. There’s also a slight image quality penalty as the camera downshifts from 16- to 14-bit RAW images when shooting bursts. Fortunately, most of the frames are likely to be sharp thanks to some big autofocus improvements. Even with the faster burst speeds, I noticed a large boost in the percentage of sharp photos when shooting quick moving subjects.
The AF improvements don’t end there. AI face and eye tracking is smarter and more accurate, meaning your subject's eye and not their eyelash is more likely to be in focus — something that’s critical with 100 megapixels of resolution. Fujifilm also introduced new subject tracking modes for animals, birds, automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, airplanes and trains.
In-body stabilization also gets an upgrade, with eight stops in shake reduction compared to six before. That allows you to capture dimly lit scenes or blur movement at shutter speeds as low as a half second, without the need for a tripod. As with the previous model, rolling shutter distortion is a real problem with this camera in electronic mode, so neither you nor your subject can move much when using it. Otherwise, you’ll get some nasty skewing that will ruin your photo.
Image quality
For pro photographers who can afford it, the GFX100S II offers unmatched image quality. The 100-megapixel sensor delivers pin-sharp photos and 16-bit RAW pixel depth that delivers 14 stops of dynamic range, beating most other mirrorless cameras. That means you can shoot in very dark, bright or contrasty conditions and retain detail in all parts of the photo.
Fujifilm’s color science is ideal for portrait work, with accurate and pleasing skin tones. The level of detail means prints can be blown up to very large sizes, nearly 40 x 30 inches at 300 pixels per inch (PPI). The resolution and precision color rendering also makes it ideal for landscape photography, art archival work and more.
The outstanding RAW quality lets photographers perform detailed post-production work without hurting image quality, even on shots not exposed correctly. In low-light, you’ll start to see a fair amount of noise above ISO 8000 or so. However, a lot of that grain disappears when you shrink those 100-megapixel images down to a more reasonable size.
Nathanael Charpentier for Engadget
At the same time, JPEG images are outstanding straight out of the camera. Like other Fuji models, the GFX100S II comes with an array of film simulations, from the new Reala Ace to Velvia, Acros and others. Most pro photographers like to tweak their images, but many may shoot both RAW and JPEG with film simulations so they can show their clients something right away and make detailed adjustments later on.
Video
Unlike the more expensive GFX100 II, video is a weak point with this camera. Resolution is limited to 4K 10-bit, and while there’s no cropping, there’s considerable pixel binning that reduces sharpness. You can capture 10-bit 4:2:2 ProRes video at up to 30fps, though that entails hooking up an SSD drive. There aren’t really any slo-mo modes, as both 4K and 1080p recording are limited to 60fps.
While video lacks the sharpness seen on other mirrorless cameras like the Sony A1, color rendering is excellent. You can also improve dynamic range by shooting in Fujifilm’s FLog or FLog2 modes and applying a LUT later on in post.
Rolling shutter in video mode is reduced compared to photos because of the pixel binning, but you still need to be careful not to move the camera too much to avoid excessive wobble and skewing. The in-body stabilization is only effective for handheld shooting without much movement. If you try to walk while vlogging, you’ll see some severe jolts. All told, I’d say the Fujifilm GFX100S II is mostly a photo camera, with video available for emergency use only.
Wrap-up
Steve Dent for Engadget
The $5,000 Fujifilm GFX100S II gives professionals outstanding picture quality at a significantly reduced price over the $7,500 flagship GFX100 II. It even goes beyond what buyers might expect by offering fairly quick burst shooting with autofocus that’s much more reliable than on the original GFX100S. Video isn’t a strong point, but that won’t be important for its target market.
The GFX100S II is also the cheapest camera in the mainstream medium format space, with its primary competition being either the GFX100 II or Hasselblad’s $8,200 X2D100C. I’d highly recommend it for portraits and other types of shooting where detail is key. However, burst speeds and autofocus still aren’t quite good enough in fast moving scenarios.
Those who need more speed and reliability for things like weddings or live events would be better off with high-resolution full-frame models like the $3,700 Nikon Z8, $6,500 Sony A1 or Canon’s new $4,300 EOS R5 II.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cameras/fujifilm-gfx100s-ii-review-outstanding-performance-at-a-reduced-price-153020497.html?src=rss
In a surprise 30-minute event today that could have been an email, Samsung unveiled new additions to its portfolio of devices this year, including the Galaxy S24 FE and the Galaxy Watch FE LTE. The highlight of today's news has to be the new Galaxy Tab S10 tablets, though, since they've long been regarded as the best premium Android tablets around. The Galaxy Tab S10+ and Tab S10 Ultra start at $1,000 and $1,200 respectively (the same price as the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max) and are available for pre-order today before they retail on October 3.
With the Tab S10 series, Samsung proclaims it has brought its Galaxy AI to the category, thus making AI available for all. Features introduced on its flagship S24 phones earlier this year like Circle to Search and Sketch to Image are now supported on the tablets, and those that worked with the S Pen on the S24 Ultra, like Handwriting Assist and Note Assist, are here too. I spent some time with the new hardware and, though it's too early to tell if these updates work well, I can still say these are probably going to remain the best Android tablets around.
When I picked up a Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra at Samsung's event today, I once again marveled at how thin and light it was, despite having already experienced the same feelings with all of Samsung's previous tablets. To recap, the Tab S10 Ultra has a 14.6-inch screen, while the Tab S10+ comes in at 12.4 inches. Both these AMOLED panels have anti-reflective finishes, and the devices are rated IP68 for durability, despite being so satisfyingly slim. They feel like blades you could potentially use to slice very soft sponge cakes with.
I was able to pick up a Tab S10 Ultra with very little effort or muscle strain, and though it's usually difficult to maneuver such a wide screen, the fact that I could easily wield it with one hand made things easier.
Cherlynn Low for Engadget
There's not much that's changed compared to the Galaxy Tab S9, other than that the S10 series uses MediaTek's Dimensity 9300+ processors, instead of Qualcomm's Snapdragon chips. I'm not convinced that these chips have the power or energy efficiency to multitask or execute AI tasks efficiently, but that's not something I can determine at a hands-on event.
Samsung's AMOLED panels remain vibrant and bright, providing excellent media consumption experiences. It was hard to gauge how effective the anti-reflective treatment was under the harsh lights set up for the event, but for the most part I found things easy to see.
And though I didn't linger too long on any of the Galaxy AI features on the Tab S10 series, I can tell you I've had fun playing with the very same tools on the S24 flagships we've reviewed throughout the year. Whether it's the S24 Ultra with an S Pen or the Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6, Samsung's slate of hardware this year have all received the Galaxy AI suite of writing and photo editing tools. We've already had time to ruminate how useful any of these things really are in the real world, and in general our impressions have been a resounding "meh."
I have been impressed with how Sketch to Image has been able to transform crappy drawings of animals into realistic looking beasts in photos, and Circle to Search is a Google tool that makes it easier to look up items by drawing a ring around them. Many of the other Galaxy AI features, like most generative AI tools today, are only moderately helpful.
We'll need to spend more time with the Tab S10 Ultra, Tab S10+, Galaxy S24 FE and even the Galaxy Watch FE LTE to determine if they're worth spending your money on. But for now, I have to admit that it's nice to see Samsung roll out all its Galaxy AI features across its lineup, resulting in a sense of cohesion and parity even in its lower cost offerings. Apple Intelligence, meanwhile, will require an iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Pro, and won't work if you only have an iPhone 15. It's clear we're deep into the generative AI age, and will not be able to avoid them much longer, especially now that they're getting more prevalent across the Android ecosystem.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/galaxy-tab-s10-ultra-hands-on-ai-arrives-on-samsungs-premium-android-tablet-171105485.html?src=rss
StarCraft: Remastered and StarCraft II: Campaign Collection are coming to PC Game Pass, as announced by Xbox at Tokyo Game Show. Both titles will be available on November 5 to anyone with a PC Game Pass or Game Pass Ultimate subscription.
The multiplayer components of both games are already free-to-play on PCs, but this will allow people to experience the single-player campaigns. Starcraft II: Campaign Collection, for instance, includes over 70 missions pulled from all of the various DLC, like Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm, among others.
StarCraft: Remasteredadds some modern goodies to the original game, like 4K visuals, enhanced audio and newly-designed leaderboards. This update has been floating around since 2017, but Game Pass availability should introduce the iconic 1998 real-time strategy (RTS) title to a new audience.
Despite getting a bit long in the tooth, both games still have active multiplayer communities. This also holds true in the world of professional competitive gaming. Many credit StarCraft II, which released back in 2010, with assisting in the rise of live streaming.
This isn’t the only Blizzard-centric news to come out of Tokyo Game Show. Overwatch 2 is getting (probably very expensive) skins based on the anime My Hero Academia. This promotion goes from October 17 to 30.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/starcraft-remastered-and-starcraft-ii-are-coming-to-pc-game-pass-170133814.html?src=rss