A few weeks ago, Krafton announced the return of the banned PUBG Mobile as Battlegrounds Mobile India, a region-specific variant explicitly tailored for Indian users. The pre-registration process began May 18 on Google Play Store.
But even as the company has indicated that an iOS version of the game is in the making, pressure is being brought to bear upon the Indian government to ban the launch of Battlegrounds Mobile India on the grounds that it is just PUBG in a new avatar.
But first things first. The developers of the game have already indicated that once Battlegrounds Mobile India's Androind version is out, its iOS avatar will soon follow suit.
As of now, there is no official word on the launch date of Battlegrounds Mobile India. As we said, its pre-registration is now live on Play Store. Those doing so stand to get additional benefits and extra rewards.
The developers while hinting that the game will be made available for Apple users, too, have not mentioned any date for pre-registration on the App Store. But it is also said that Apple users may have no pre-registration process and will be allowed to download the game directly after its launch.
Krafton recently replied to various queries about the game in the support section of the official website of Battlegrounds Mobile India.
But the company is so far silent on the new chorus for its ban.
Indian parliamentarians go for the jugular
Late last week, former Union Minister and current Arunachal Pradesh MLA Ninong Ering has shot off a letter to Prime Minister Modi, seeking a ban on Battlegrounds Mobile India. Arunachal Pradesh, for the record, is the border State of India where Indian and Chinese troops waged a low-intensity battle last year, triggering a host of belligerent events and bans between the two countries,
In his letter, Ering said Battlegrounds Mobile India is just the relaunch of PUBG Mobile. "The terms and conditions of the Google Play Store listing of Battlegrounds Mobile India mention the term ‘PUBG Mobile’", he claimed.
He further alleged that Krafton India has employed workers from Tencent, the Chinese company that was the main investor of PUBG Mobile India.
The baton was then picked up by seasoned politician and MP Abhishek Singhvi, who alleged that Battlegrounds Mobile India’s release allows Tencent’s re-entry into the Indian gaming market.
Both the politicos said that the 'comeback' of Tencent would be a security risk for India.
Want to know about the latest happenings in tech? Follow TechRadar India on Twitter, Facebookand Instagram!
from TechRadar - All the latest technology news https://ift.tt/3yyI3hG
Tinder is probably the most widely used dating application across the globe. Since it is a platform that helps people find a partner and spread love if offensive or harassing messages are sent using its messaging option, it beats the purpose.
Hence going forward Tinder will prompt users with an “Are you sure?” to stop and rethink before sending a potentially offending message to someone. The dating platform uses AI to help detect harassing and harmful messages thus prevent untoward incidents.
The company claims that this alert message, “Are you sure?” has already been able to reduce messages sent in inappropriate language by over 10 per cent in early testing and that is indeed a positive sign. However, as AI improves over the period and continues to involve, Tinder should be able to stop more such messages.
"The early results from these features show us that intervention done the right way can be really meaningful in changing behaviour and building a community where everyone feels like they can be themselves," said Tracey Breeden, Head of Safety and Social Advocacy for Match Group.
AYS or “Are you sure?” is one of many such security features that Tinder has. It joins the “Does This Bother You?" feature that is a proactive alert that helps users who might have received a message containing harmful language. Together both these features are supposed to make Tinder a bit safer.
Apart from Tinder social media platforms like YouTube and Instagram have got a similar system in place to alert users before posting offensive comments. In March, Instagram said that in a bid to fight bullying and harassment, it added a feature that would allow users to block or restrict multiple accounts from the comments section of their posts.
YouTube on the other hand had introduced several features to support diverse communities. To encourage healthy and respectful interactions, it also plans to empower the YouTuber’s with a new filter that would flag inappropriate comments and hold them for review.
The best FPS games put you in the heart of the action and that's probably part of the reason why first-person shooters have been one of the most popular gaming genres for decades.
When you’re experiencing everything from the perspective of your character, there’s an immersion and excitement that’s hard to replicate in games that keep you at a distance.
If the immersive thrill of the first-person shooter is what you’re after, then we can help you find the best FPS games 2021 has to offer. Right now, there’s a wide range of games in this genre to jump into head-first. Whether you’re looking for single-player shooters with worlds that you can lose yourself in, or frenetic, competitive online multiplayers then there’s something for you.
So, keep reading for our picks of the best FPS games you can play right now on console and PC.
Best PS4 games: the most essential PlayStation 4 releases
If id Software’s compelling reboot of the Doom franchise in 2016 wasn’t enough of a riveting success, Doom Eternal doubles down on its pristine systems and satisfying shooting, drafting in platforming to make the combat more fluid, a rogue’s gallery of deadly bosses and an engrossing storyline.
Among the best FPS games today, Doom Eternal eschews the horror elements found in Doom 3 and proceeds at a blistering pace, focusing on the gore and intricate animations that let you pound demons into a fine red mist with unbeatable flair. Better yet, your chaotic escapades will be soundtracked by Mick Gordon’s exquisite electro-metal offerings, designed to inject you with adrenaline and dress your palms with sweat.
Platforms available: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Stadia
Far Cry 5
(Image credit: Ubisoft)
Rather than going full post-apocalyptic like many of the top titles these days, Far Cry 5 sticks close to the franchise’s theme of man vs man in the fifth installation to its main series. Not completely forgoing the popular end-of-the-world premise, however, this 2018 game has you battling doomsday cult Eden’s Gate, which has been tormenting the good folks of Hope County, Wisconsin.
Of course, while you’re not exactly battling zombies or aliens here, there’s plenty of action to be had on foot, muscle cars, ATVs and even crop dusters, with heavy artillery at your disposal. After all, cult leader Joseph Seed and his group of fanatics aren’t quite as easy to defeat as they look. In fact, you might even recruit guns or fangs for hire or play in a two-person co-op mode.
With an interesting backstory, flying vehicles to commandeer and challenging puzzles to solve, Far Cry 5 is among the best FPS games you can play today.
Platforms available: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Titanfall 2
(Image credit: EA / Respawn Entertainment)
Titanfall 2 is one of the best FPS games around, there’s no denying it. Building on the already excellent Titanfall, this sequel combines fluid, fun movement with satisfying gunplay to create a game that's always dynamic and never dull.
We deemed Titanfall 2 a must-play game in our review, saying that, with it, "the series has risen to the upper echelon of futuristic war shooters." Even better, it’s great fun whether you’re going solo in its genuinely excellent single-player campaign or going big in its multiplayer. Titanfall 2 was crowned one of our best games of the generation for a reason. It’s a first-person shooter experience that just shouldn’t be missed.
Platforms available: PS4, Xbox One and PC
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
(Image credit: Valve)
If you’re very serious about accuracy and competition in games, then Counter-Strike: Global Offensive may be the game for you. Given its status as a great breeding ground for esports professionals, Global Offensive demands a level of skill and tactical knowhow that is far beyond the more casual shooters in this list and will certainly test your limits as an FPS player.
Even if you’re not trying to be the next Shroud, squadding up with your friends, learning the maps and concocting stealthy hero moments, unravelling an enemy team’s composition with clever wall bangs and grenades is deeply satisfying, and something to try if you’re bored of the mainstream shooters that constantly coddle the player.
One of the most important and influential shooters ever made – and among the best FPS games in history, Halo completely changed the landscape of the genre and gave many developers a new bar to surpass when it came to shooter campaigns and online multiplayer. Luckily for those of you who may have clung to the PlayStation side of the aisle for the past two decades, Halo: The Master Chief Collection is now available on PC via Steam as well as Xbox One.
They’re effortless to return to and hold up extremely well thanks to a series of dedicated ports and remasters from 343 Industries. The co-op campaign that spans the collection and tells the tale of Master Chief’s odyssey is particularly exciting and full of fun challenges and set pieces to work through in good company.
Platforms available: Xbox One and PC
Half-Life 2
(Image credit: Valve Corporation)
Speaking of influential games, Valve’s Half-Life 2 came out in 2004 and revolutionized the shooter as we knew it. With a dynamic physics system that is still hard to top, a surreal setting and a suite of unforgettable characters, Half-Life 2 delivers an adventure that demands to be played if you’ve got any desires to understand many of the shooter games that have launched to acclaim over the past two decades.
The game doesn’t show any signs of wear even 16 years after its release, which is testament to the success of its fundamental aspects. Follow Freeman into one of the best shooter campaigns ever crafted.
Platforms available: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC
Superhot
(Image credit: SUPERHOT Team)
An excellent FPS and an antidote to most modern shooters, Superhot is an indie puzzle piece where time moves when you move. This means that careful manoeuvering and precision shots are of utmost importance, and the game consistently lobs intricate combat arenas at the player to test their reaction speed and the finer points of their FPS skills. This is all wrapped up in a simple but effective art style and an unexpectedly engrossing campaign which is far too good to spoil.
If you’re lucky enough to own a virtual reality headset, you can check out Superhot VR, which ups the immersion and expertly transposes this puzzle shooter gem into the virtual realm.
Platforms available: Oculus Quest, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC
Apex Legends
(Image credit: Respawn Entertainment)
If the speed and polish offered by the Titanfall series appeals to you, then Apex Legends could well be the FPS battle royale for you.
Coming from Titanfall developer, Respawn Entertainment, Apex Legends is an FPS battle royale that really lets you move. Like other battle royales, Apex Legends sees you work with your squad to be the last team standing but it really stands apart with its excellent gunplay, great map design and fantastic cast of characters. Since its launch, Apex Legends has been an innovator in its genre and it’s continually growing with Respawn’s updates.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare / Call of Duty: Warzone
(Image credit: Infinity Ward)
If you’re not looking for something as serious as Counter-Strike but want a game that is still systematically satisfying and tons of fun to play with friends, you can’t go wrong with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, which is a reinvention of the 2009 classic Call of Duty 4.
Call of Duty has dominated the shooter space for decades now and there’s a good reason why. It still feels great to play and is very accessible as far as the popular modern shooters go. Even better, Modern Warfare recently added a free battle royale mode known as Warzone that has quickly become a tremendous success. In any event, playing some or all of this shooter package is worth your while, especially if you’re into military shooters with fancy perks, attachments, vehicles and more.
A key talking point in the initial discussions about whether games “could be art,” Bioshock launched in 2007 to critical acclaim, creating a peanut butter and chocolate combination of an immersive simulator (think Thief, Deus Ex) with a focused campaign full of survival horror elements and surreal characters.
Most importantly, it delivered a gripping political tale that will act as a sufficiently mind-bending chaser to the safe and boring campaigns often tacked on to most modern shooter games. Just make sure you play the Remastered edition… and save all of those Little Sisters, you monster!
Platforms available: PS4, PC, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch
Left 4 Dead 2
(Image credit: Valve)
By now, it should be fairly clear that Valve knows how to make FPS games, and zombie horde shooter Left 4 Dead 2 is testament to the studio’s ability to consistently reinvent aspects of the shooter genre. In this exciting gem from 2009, that holds up effortlessly today, you push through carefully crafted gauntlet maps whilst an AI director places new zombie types, hordes and items to challenge teams of four in a procedural fashion.
Every round is unpredictable and full to the brim with a special kind of chaos, one that is only exacerbated in Versus mode, where teams of four can face off against each other, swapping each round to play as the zombies and the humans. It’s a deliciously clever game bursting with smart systems that are well worth getting the gang together for.
Platforms available: PC and Xbox 360
Overwatch
(Image credit: Blizzard)
Contrary to popular belief, Overwatch isn't a MOBA. It is, however, a colorful, competitively focused first-person shooter from Blizzard featuring different classes incorporated across a variety of different heroes. Pitting two teams of six players against one another, Overwatch is all about teamwork and cooperation with their respective squads. That said, you'll want to make sure a healthy balance of offensive and defensive characters is secured if you ultimately seek survival.
After all, you wouldn't want to be demolished by the opposing team just because you have too many healers and not enough tanks or vice versa.
Platforms available: PS4, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch
Rainbow Siege Siege
(Image credit: Ubisoft)
Rainbow Six Siege isn't just a technical marvel, it's an ongoing tactical endeavor. Like a handful of other titles on this list, Siege is about teamwork. Without it, it's your standard deathmatch shooter, save some impressively realistic destructible environments.
Acting on the goal of either defending or challenging objectives, the five-on-five online co-op game is certainly no Call of Duty. Instead of running around swiftly across maps, dodging bullets and taking headshots, characters are given abilities and limited resources, such as wall reinforcements, barbed wire, traps, and explosives, to overthrow and denounce victory over the opposing team.
Platforms available: PS4, Xbox One and PC (confirmed for PS5 and Xbox Series X)
Destiny 2
(Image credit: Bungie)
As you'd expect from the creators of Halo, Destiny 2 features world-class shooting with a variety of increasingly exotic, collectable guns. The game's been around for so long, now, that it's amalgamated an absolute ton of content, including five story campaigns of varying length and quality across many different worlds. The seasonal content fluctuates wildly in quality, with the player base's perception of the game shifting all the time as a result, but there are potentially hundreds of hours of shooting to enjoy here if you get into it.
Just note that the loading times on consoles now are extremely long, making us all the more excited for the SSDs that'll come with both the PS5 and Xbox Series X.
Apple's iOS 14.5 is still new, but we're already looking ahead to the buzzy features we've found in the iOS 14.6 beta, and some rumored additions. Plus, here's how to download the public beta now.
Looking for the best fitness games in 2021 that will help you achieve your fitness goals? Then you’ve come to the right place.
The best fitness games are those that get you up on your feet and moving around by making exercise fun. So, whether you’re looking to become the fittest you’ve ever been or you just want to start moving a little more than you have been, our list might just have something for you.
In 2021, there’s a wide range of fitness games available, so it’s easier than ever to find an activity that appeals you. If running just isn’t your thing, then you might pick up a game that lets you work up a sweat by channeling your inner dancing queen. Not into that either? Well, you could always throw a few punches in a virtual boxing class. Not only that, you’ll find you can access these games on a range of platforms. Regardless of whether you’re kitted out with a high-end VR headset or you’re just looking to make the most out of your mobile phone, there’s a fitness game out there.
If you don’t see anything in our picks of the best fitness games that appeals at the moment, do check back in the future as we will update this list when there are new releases worth your attention. Without further ado, here are the best fitness games to help you break a sweat and raise your heart rate in 2021.
Ring Fit Adventure is marketed as a game first and exercise second, but it'll certainly put you through your paces.
The action-RPG game sees you squatting, crunching and downward-dogging your way to success, as you set out on a quest to defeat a hench, bodybuilding dragon called Dragaux. And that's just the story mode, there are also plenty of mini-games and individual workouts to focus on specific parts of your body.
In order to play Ring Fit Adventure, you need the Ring Fit device (like a pilates ring), but this handily comes packaged with the game.
If you don't want to shell out for Ring Fit Adventure then Nintendo Fitness Boxing could be a good alternative. The Switch game offers you workouts overseen by a virtual trainer, where you use your Joy-Con motion controllers to perform punches and dodging maneuvers, with the difficulty increasing gradually over time.
The game uses your weight and height to estimate your fitness age and calorie burn, setting the routine, length and intensity of these workouts based on this, however these can be adjusted if you're not happy. It's a great workout for those who want a fairly-straightforward boxing workout without all the bells and whistles.
Platforms: Nintendo Switch
Peripherals needed: None
Beat Saber
(Image credit: Beat Games)
Beat Saber isn't marketed as a fitness game - but it sure should be. The VR rhythm game sees you ducking and dodging while swinging your arms to slice the blocks flying your way - all to some amazing tunes. It's one of the best VR games on the market for a reason.
The beauty of Beat Saber is that you don't really notice the physical exertion you're putting into it because it's so much fun - but you'll certainly feel it tomorrow.
Platforms: PS4 and PC
Peripherals needed: Supported VR headset required. Tracked Motion Controllers also required - these depend on platform you're playing on.
Zumba: Burn It Up
(Image credit: Kuju)
Yet another fitness game offering from Nintendo, Zumba: Burn It Up is the newest addition to the Zumba video game series. Burn It Up essentially offers you a private Zumba lesson in your home, with 30 high-energy classes to get your heart-pumping and some great tunes for you to shake your hips to.
It's an official Zumba product that features real-life instructors, so you know it's legit. Plus, you can get up to three friends to join you for the tortur- sorry, fun.
Now, we know what you're going to say: "Wii Fit is old". Well, actually, we've included some older fitness games on this list because you may want to drag your old consoles out of the closet, brush off the dust and get your fill of exercise - without having to pay out for the latest game and its peripherals.
Wii Fit Plus is the enhanced version of Wii Fit, offering Wii Fit's original games alongside a bunch of 'new' games that help you work on aerobics, strength, balance and yoga. You can play these games, create your own fitness regimes or take part in specialized routines - and what's more, there are some multiplayer activities that allow you to play (and workout) with friends.
Wii Fit Plus is a classic and, even if you don't already have one, you can pick up a Wii Fit Balance Board for pretty cheap nowadays.
Platforms: Wii
Peripherals needed: Wii Balance Board
Wii Sports
(Image credit: Nintendo)
Ok so, Wii Sports isn't exactly on the same level as the likes of Zumba when it comes to getting you moving- but it's still a fitness game. Wii Sports offers five sports to play: baseball, bowling, tennis, golf and boxing. You use your Wii remote to mimic the actions you would do if you were actually taking part in the sport.
In addition, there are training and fitness modes available that monitor players' progress. Plus, you don't have to play alone! All the activities are available to play multiplayer so you can beat your pal at tennis without having to step on the court.
Platforms: Wii
Peripherals needed: None
Just Dance 2020
(Image credit: Ubisoft)
Prefer to get your exercise through the medium of dance? Then Just Dance 2020 is just the ticket. The most recent addition in long-running dance series includes tunes from artists such as Billie Eilish, Lil Nas X and Ariana Grande that will keep you grooving for hours on end - and building up one heck of a sweat.
You don't even need motion controls or a console camera necessarily, as downloading the Just Dance Controller app will allow you to track all your moves through your smartphone. Smart.
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Wii (surprisingly), PS4, Xbox One and Stadia
Peripherals needed: PS Move and PlayStation Camera, Xbox Kinect, or Just Dance Controller app
Knockout League
(Image credit: Grab Games)
Another VR fitness game that will put you through your paces, Knockout League is an arcade-style boxing game that sees you immersing yourself in the fight. The game uses 1:1 tracking of your head and hands, so you'll need to make sure you duck and dodge every punch that comes your way - while landing some of your own.
But it's not all that serious, some of your competitors are a tad.. out of the ordinary. So expect to go mano a mano with a moustached octopus, pirate and many more wacky fighters.
Platforms: PS4 and PC
Peripherals needed: Supported VR headset required. Tracked Motion Controllers also required – these depend on platform you're playing on.
BoxVR is a bit like Beat Saber meets Fitness Boxing. It's described as a "VR workout app" and offers rhythm-inspired boxing workouts that see you hitting marks while ducking and dodging obstacles.
BoxVR offers a range of workouts from short three-minute bursts up to 20 minute+ endurance workouts, which are sure to give you a heart-pumping cardio workout. Plus, workouts are regularly updated to stop things from getting stale.
Platforms: PS4 and PC
Peripherals needed: Supported VR headset required. Tracked Motion Controllers also required - these depend on platform you're playing on.
Another oldie, but Sports Champions 2 is essentially Sony's version of Wii Sports. The fitness game allows you to take part in six activities: skiing, tennis, boxing, golf, bowling, and archery. Again similarly to the Wii, you use PlayStation Move controller to mimic the actions of each sport.
Platforms: PS3
Peripherals needed: PlayStation Move and PlayStation Camera
The iPad Pro 2021 augments the already niche-dominating iPad Pro 2020 in several ways, including expanding the RAM up to 16GB and the storage up to 2TB, both likely attractive to the tablet power users who had favored the top-tier devices. But implementing the M1 chipset – quite literally the same silicon powering the latest MacBook Pro, Mac Mini, and iMac models – could dramatically expand what the newest iPad Pros are capable of.
We haven’t heard anything official about what the silicon can do for first-party apps, let alone any changes coming to iPadOS. But we have talked to third-party developers of big apps to discuss what doors the M1 chipset opens up for them – and by extension, how they’ll take the iPad Pro 2021 beyond the capabilities of its predecessors.
Plugging a desktop chipset into a tablet raises big questions: how much does that bring software built for the latter closer to parity with the former? How many more features can you include? What can users do that they couldn’t before?
As expected, app developers are still limited by tablet interfaces and operating systems, but those seem like the only obstacles – the desktop computer silicon and bumped-up specs may have quietly eliminated the performance limitations that have kept iPad Pro apps from being abbreviated versions of their desktop counterparts.
Read on for what app developers predict they’ll be able to do thanks to the Apple-built M1.
(Image credit: Apple)
Adobe: a whole suite to improve
It’s no secret that Adobe has a close relationship with Apple. Product launch events often name-check the former’s apps and software, teasing how much more capable new devices and computers are at handling Adobe’s performance-hungry suite of creative and editing programs.
Naturally, Adobe is excited about what the M1 chipset has to offer the tablet versions of its software. To put it simply: they’re approaching parity with the desktop versions and reaching a ceiling of what iPadOS and the touch interface can allow.
“Let’s use Lightroom as an example: Lightroom on the iPad is capable of doing about 95%-plus of the things you could do on a desktop,” Adobe Director of Product Management Bryan O’Neal Hughes told TechRadar in a video interview. “What it really differs in is the form factor fits in your camera bag.”
Adobe has been making mobile apps on Apple’s devices for a decade, which ramped up with the release of the first iPad Pro in 2015 – a higher-performance tablet capable of enhanced on-the-go media editing using Adobe’s suite, which has come to define a segment of the tablet’s userbase. But the M1-powered iPad Pro 2021 is just as much of a seismic shift according to Hughes.
“Faster input is going to mean that your files from Lightroom or going into Photoshop, they’re going to transfer faster, to move into the device faster,” Hughes said. Given his background in photography, moving images around is one of the pitfalls of working on multiple platforms. Or, as he puts it: “Being able to move my images into an iPad, that’s awesome. Having to think about moving my images out of an iPad, that’s not so awesome.”
The new iPad Pro’s higher specs ceiling helps here, too, with a 2TB storage cap (available for a pricey upgrade) simply reducing the need to move media around so much. But importing or exporting or uploading media to the cloud while on the go is faster with the iPad Pro’s 5G connectivity (when you can get a signal). The Super Retina XDR display packed with miniLEDs, only available on the 12.9-inch model, is obviously great for visual creatives and project editing with its broader color and brightness range.
(Image credit: Apple)
But the M1 chip is the cornerstone. Adobe software was showcased during Apple’s Spring Forward event in April, showcasing the chipset’s effect in making the company’s editing tools faster at every step.
“The software is just getting out of the way, and I think the last piece of that is the Apple neural engine which of course is unique to the M1 chipset, and we’re starting to really leverage that to do local machine learning operations like ‘select subject’ in Photoshop which historically was a very manual operation.”
The machine learning on the M1 also refines selections, masking, and compositing – what Photoshop classically does better than other software, per Hughes – with a fidelity that rivals what can be done on the desktop Photoshop thanks to the new Apple silicon. Unlike on older iPad Pros, using Photoshop on the new tablets removes layer limits and dramatically speeds up operations; and in an unprecedented improvement on the desktop version, the iPad Pro 2021 Photoshop doesn’t have modal dialogues – you’re always live, because the memory is faster.
The biggest issue restraining Adobe apps is that iPadOS’ memory access permissions are more restrictive than on desktop, meaning while the iPad Pro 2021 can rival PCs with up to 16GB of RAM, tablet apps can’t use the RAM as effectively. Adobe is continually advocating to pry away more RAM for foreground and background operations – currently their software can ‘soak up’ 3.5 to 5GB of RAM, Hughes said, but unlike desktop computing, apps aren’t allowed nearly as much ‘background’ processing.
The built-in advantages over desktop software, of course, are that the iPad Pro is portable and gives access to the Apple Pencil and other peripherals, and empowering it with the M1 chipset brings the tablet apps more up to par. This isn’t to say Adobe is done finding new ways to harness the new M1-powered iPad Pro 2021 – the company is working on bringing more native support for the 12.9-inch Super Retina XDR display, for instance, and there are updates planned that bring another M1-specific feature to the tablet and more for drawing and painting app Fresco.
“Here’s the goal: for [the apps] to be so fast and so fluid that the software gets out of the way so if you watch a creative that’s really in their flow, they’re not getting mired in progress bars and spinning beach balls and all that stuff,” Hughes said. “They’re just moving. In the benchmark data, these machines and these chips are so fast that things that we use to have to wait for we’re just not waiting or them anymore.”
Larian: gaming on console quality and beyond with Divinity: Original Sin 2
Recently, Larian – makers of Baldur’s Gate 3, which is still in early access – launched an iPad Pro version of its award-winning game, Divinity: Original Sin 2. The game isn’t an abridged port – all of its 100-hour story, gameplay, lauded writing, and mechanics made the jump to the tablet version thanks to years of development.
Larian only learned about the M1 chip-packing iPad Pro 2021 models weeks before the new tablets launched in April (the studio was building the game for the iPad Pro 2018 and 2020), according to Director of Publishing Michael Douse, but they were able to ramp up the existing game’s 30fps running speed to a smooth 60fps. That’s the only benefit to playing the game on the new tablet, but the future is promising now that the studio can build games for Mac and iPad Pro with essentially the same hardware.
“We now know that there is a mobile chip that matches our ambitions,” Douse told TechRadar over the phone. “We can take these 100-hour RPGs on the go without having to nerf textures or shadows; we literally didn’t have to nerf anything at all.”
Larian has converted their four-year-old game to a tablet version with all content intact and visuals that are nearly on par with the desktop version’s maximum graphics settings. Divinity: Original Sin 2 on iPad Pro is a feat – Douse doesn’t think any other game of its length or visual complexity has made it to tablets – and with the M1 chipset, he believes the tablet can push pixels to get graphics and performance somewhere between last-gen (Xbox One, PS4) and latest-gen (Xbox Series X, PS5) consoles.
(Image credit: Future)
The question, then, isn’t whether Larian can bring its games to the iPad Pro, but if consumers will make it worth their while. Douse admits this is an experiment: “Do players want this experience? Because generally these things are driven by player demand. It’s not ‘if you build it they will come,’ but more ‘if you build it will they come?”
Sales and player demand will determine whether Baldur’s Gate 3 comes to iPad Pro in the same way, but a lot of the hard work transferring the game’s engine and understanding the tablet’s GPU-harnessing Metal architecture was done in developing Divinity: Original Sin 2’s iPad version. Larian worked with Saint Petersburg-based studio Elveril, which built the MacBook version of Baldur’s Gate 3, to transition Divinity: Original Sin 2 to iPad Pro, and received guidance from Apple engineers as well, so it has all the pieces in place to release another console quality-level tablet game.
Part of the work is simply convincing gamers that the iPad Pro versions are on parity with their console and desktop counterparts, which takes fighting the prevailing narrative that games are ported to mobile in often compromised state at the end of their lifespans to eke out more sales. While we found the iPad Pro version of Divinity: Original Sin 2’s touch interface to be serviceable but cumbersome (controller and mouse + keyboard alternatives bypass this entirely), the game itself is perfectly preserved from the original desktop version.
To Douse, this opens the door to a new gaming experience that hasn’t been possible before the M1 chipset – and it’s more exciting than streaming a top-tier gaming experience through your tablet, say.
“I think that ARM technology [like in the M1 chipset] is far more exciting than cloud technology right now,” Douse said. “Because if I can take an offline experience that looks like a PS4 game on a plane, on a device that has a 20-hour battery with a sharp HDR 1000-nit brightness screen, that’s a lot better to me than being tied down to something else offline. It’s really interesting watching this technology grow and how it kind of shapes the way not only what games people play, but what games they demand on these devices.”
(Image credit: Apple)
iPad Pro M1 advantages...for those who can buy it
How many consumers will actually benefit from the M1 chipset is another question. The iPad Pro line has been traditionally pricey – as expensive as some mid-range laptops – and the same is true with the 2021 model. The 11-inch model starts at $799 / £749 / AU$1,199 for 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, the most affordable model. The 12.9-inch version starts at $1,099 / £999 / AU$1,649 for 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, while at its absolute highest spec (16GB of RAM and 2TB storage), the tablet costs $2,199 / £1,999 / AU$3,299 (or higher with the cellular version) – as much as a speedy gaming laptop or a reasonably kitted-out desktop computer.
Granted, even the lowest-priced iPad Pro 2021 configuration packs an M1 chipset, meaning consumers picking up any of this year’s top-tier tablets will get to experience how developers are retooling their apps to harness Apple’s new silicon. Given how much pricier all of these slates are than the still-powerful iPad Air 2020 or basic iPads, these will still be the tools of specialist creators, and developers will have to weigh their efforts against the minimal population of M1-powered iPad Pro units in the wild – which is effectively starting from zero.
That population will ramp up over the years, and while iPads are reportedly impacted by persisting chip shortages across the hardware industry, one in ten iPads shipped this year will be an M1-series iPad Pro, predicts analyst firm Counterpoint Research. By next year, that rate is expected to improve to one in five.
To appeal to the new iPad Pro buyers – a mix of creatives using Adobe (and Adobe-like) apps, media editors on the go needing powerful portable equipment, and executives giving presentations with its 5G capabilities – app developers will likely focus on harnessing the M1 chipset’s expanded artificial intelligence capabilities, Counterpoint Research Associate Director Brady Wang told TechRadar over email.
“In addition, developers will be more interested in building and creating apps that work with both iPadOS and MacOS,” Wang said. “This is not a lot of extra effort for developers, but it will profit from increasing sales of the New Mac.”
Ultimately, there’s a lot that the M1 chipsets promise, and given the lack of notice given to app developers about its existence – Larian was told about the chipset around two weeks before it was publicly unveiled in late April, according to Douse – it might take awhile for app developers to intuit ways in which the silicon can empower their apps. We’re most looking forward to WWDC 2021, when Apple may lift the curtain on what’s possible with the iPad Pro 2021 in its keynote on June 7 and developer sessions thereafter.
Ratchet and Clank are back, and this time they need to save reality itself from falling apart. Poised to be one of the biggest PlayStation 5 exclusive of the year, while boasting some flashy visuals, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart's main intrigue surrounds dimensional shifting, which utilizes the console's super-fast SSD to move the player seamlessly between worlds.
The upcoming third-person shooter platform adventure will feature enhanced lighting, ray tracing and a targeted 60fps performance mode, as our galactic duo planet-hop to defeat the evil Dr. Nefarious. The new Insomniac-developed title will arrive on June 11, 2021, picking up the story from 2013's Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus.
A new female Lombax called Riv will also be playable, alongside a huge arsenal of weapons, including the Burst Pistol, Topiary Sprinkler and the Shatterbomb. Most importantly, the Rift Tether can pull Ratchet and Clank through anomalies to move around the world.
Want to know more? Read on for everything we know about Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart.
[Update:Insomniac has detailed the accessibility features that will be available in Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart. Keep scrolling to see it for yourself and find out more.]
Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart: what you need to know
What is it? A new Ratchet and Clank game and sequel to Into the Nexus
When can I play it? June 11, 2021
What can I play it on? PlayStation 5
Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart release date
(Image credit: Insomniac Games)
Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart will release on June 11, 2021, as a PlayStation 5 exclusive.
The game was first revealed during the PlayStation 5 showcase on June 11, 2020 (an exact year before it's due to release). This is the twelfth game to date in the series, with the original debuting on the PS2 at the tail end of 2002. It's also the longest gap in the franchise's release history at five years.
15 minutes of gameplay During the most recent State of Play on April 29, Sony gave us our best look yet at Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart.
The gameplay footage showed off some of Ratchet's new moves, such as his dash and wall-running capabilities, as well as gameplay of the newly-introduced Rivet. The two of them share an incredible arsenal of weapons and gadgets, with both new gear and returning staples of the franchise.
All of these guns and tools are designed to feel unique due to the implementation of DualSense haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. Insomniac Games is harnessing the PS5's SSD speed to load entire levels every time a dimensional rift is opened, it's not just a simple arena swap.
You can check out the new gameplay footage in its entirety below:
Introducing Rivet A Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart trailer was released on April 26 and officially introduced Rivet, the female Lombax we previously caught a glimpse of. Rivet will be a playable character in addition to both Ratchet and Clank, you can see her in action below:
Gameplay demo trailer We saw a glimpse of gameplay footage following the announcement trailer, but this was then expanded on in a seven-minute extended gameplay demo at Gamescom's Opening Night Live on August 27, 2020, which we will focus on here.
The extended gameplay demo began with a cutscene as Ratchet and Clank return to Megalopolis, noting that they still have time to stop Dr. Nefarious. A squad of Goon-4-Less attack, leading into the actual gameplay. The fuzzy-eared Lombax and his robot sidekick make their way through the city, disposing of enemies via a selection of new weapons and the former's trusted OmniWrench.
Eventually encountering Dr. Nefarious, Ratchet damages the former's "Dimensionator" causing numerous rifts to materialize, which consequently transports creatures from other worlds into theirs. Ratchet and Clank pursue Nefarious until a rift appears and pushes them through the same dimension-hopping sequence shown in the announcement trailer. Check it out below:
Announcement trailer Premiered at the PlayStation 5 showcase in June 2020, the announcement trailer takes us to a prehistoric planet (possibly Sargasso), until Ratchet and Clank suddenly break through a dimensional rift. Clank notes that the "dimensions are collapsing on one another," before a horde of robots follows who start firing on the pair.
Ratchet pilots an Anthropod to safety, only to be thrown through various different dimensions - resembling Megalopolis and Torren IV - ending at Ardolis where the Lombax takes on a group of pirates already fighting a Kraken. There's also another planet in the rift-jumping sequence where Ratchet rides a dragon at night through traffic – however, this does not seem to resemble any recognizable planets previously seen in the series.
The trailer ends as Clank is separated from Ratchet during an explosion on the pirate ship, resulting in the little robot falling through a rift, only to be welcomed by a female Lombax on a planet ruled by Dr. Nefarious. Check it out below:
Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart news and rumors
We've gathered up the latest news and rumors surround Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, below.
Accessibility features
Insomniac Games has, as promised, revealed more details about the accessibility features that will be available in Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart. Using Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales as their foundation, the development team determined which features to bring over to Ratchet and Clank, how to adapt them and determined what new features might be needed. Some of them are detailed below.
Contrast Options
Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart’s contract options are designed to make “key information in the game world stand out for players who are blind or have low vision.” High Contrast Background, for example, desaturates the background but keeps elements like enemies and traversal objects in full color so that they stand out. Shaders will allow players to choose the colors of different elements, like Heroes, Allies and Enemies, with a choice of up to 10 colors.
There are also three new Shader categories—Interactable, Hazard, and Collectible—so that players can have key items stand out while they play.
Shortcuts and game speed
Shortcuts are making their way to Ratchet and Clank from Miles Morales. At the start of the game, players will find all four D-pad buttons are defaulted to Weapon Quick Select but these buttons can be re-mapped in a range of ways, like toggling Contrast Options on and off, or performing a different kind of attack.
They can also be re-mapped to support the new Game Speed options, “added for both Cognitive and Motor accessibility in response to reviews where players could feel overwhelmed in combat or had difficulty with quick inputs in traversal situations.”
With Game Speed options, players “can 70%, 50%, or 30% to Shortcut buttons”. Pressing the mapped button will slow the game down to the selected speed and pressing it again will restore speed to 100%. This feature should be especially useful in sections with fast-paced traversal or boss fights where missiles are bombarding you.
Toggles
Finally, there are Toggles. To prevent hand cramping and fatigue, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart will enable players to turn buttons holds into toggles and there’s a dedicated sub-menu in the Accessibility menu for this.
With weapons, for example, players can choose between Default, Hold, or Toggle for firing and there are also Hold and Toggle options for Aiming, accessing the Weapon Wheel, and Swinging.
State of Play reveals new gameplay and confirms photo mode
Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart was the primary focus for a Sony State of Play in April 2021, giving us some brand new gameplay footage (you can check it out in the trailer section above).
The gameplay footage was a feast for the eyes; Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart looks set to be a pretty gorgeous PS5 game and technically impressive too—Insomniac Games is harnessing the PS5’s SSD speed to load entire levels every time a dimensional rift is opened, it’s not just a simple arena swap.
In the footage we got to see some of Ratchet’s new moves, such as his dash and wall-running capabilities, as well as gameplay of the newly-introduced Rivet, a female Lombax who players will also get to control. The two of them share an incredible arsenal of weapons and gadgets, with both new gear and returning staples of the franchise.
You’ll be able to appreciate the range of the weapons with more than your eyes, too. All of the guns and tools in the game have been designed to feel unique using DualSense haptic feedback and adaptive triggers.
And, of course, as you'd expect in a game this beautiful there is going to be a photo mode. It looks like it gives plenty of options to get the perfect shot, including the ability to pose your character, change their facial expressions, apply filters, edit lighting and more.
Meet Rivet
Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart will feature a new playable character: female Lombax Rivet. Rivet is a resistance fighter from another dimension and has are own bone to pick with Dr Nefarious. This is only the second appearance of a female Lombax in the series - Angela Cross previously appeared in 2003's Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando on the PlayStation 2.
(Image credit: Insomniac Games)
Where in the timeline does Rift Apart take place? Interestingly, Rift Apart is not a sequel to the 2016 reboot. Instead, the game was confirmed at Gamescom Opening Night Live 2020 to follow on from Ratchet and Clank: Into the Nexus, which launched on the PlayStation 3 back in 2013.
"Canonically this is an extension of Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus - the 2013 game - but it's a standalone adventure," Insomniac’s creative director Marcus Smith explained.
"So, it's one that even if you've never played a Ratchet and Clank game, you can get into it and you'll understand it and you'll enjoy it. For hardcore fans, we have a lot of nods... you are going to see a lot of returning characters and planets, and see them all through a whole new light of 'multiple-dimensionality'".
DualSense support Rift Apart will utilize the DualSense Ps5 controller's innovative features. Speaking to GamesRadar, game director Mike Daly explained how the DualSense gives the team "powerful new tools to take each weapon’s unique personality even further."
"The adaptive triggers not only give us another channel for weapons to feel unique, in some cases they enable extra functionality," Daly told GR. "Partially pulling the trigger or feathering it gives us a way to add nuance to weapon functions that just weren’t possible before the trigger itself couldn’t give feedback. Our Burst Pistol, for example, can be fired accurately by pulling the trigger up to a middle threshold or you can pull through to go all out at the cost of accuracy.
"It's much more intuitive to have this secondary function directly on the trigger than have players learn different buttons for it, it’s that much easier for you to get into the flow of combat and execute advanced strategies without having to think of the controls."
Nvidia’s incoming R470 graphics driver will be the last to support some of the firm’s older graphics cards with performance optimizations, namely the GeForce GTX 600 and 700 range of GPUs, according to a new report.
So, if you’re running one of those cards, you’ll need to bear that in mind (although note that the GTX 750 and its Ti variant are Maxwell, not Kepler). Of course at this point, even the newer GTX 700 series is eight years old now, so it’s going to be a shaky proposition in terms of contemporary gaming at this point anyway.
AMD vs Nvidia: which should be your next graphics card?
Don’t forget that Amazon’s Prime Day 2021 sale is on the horizon
As VideoCardz, which spotted Phoronix flagging this up courtesy of Nvidia’s data center documentation, points out, the R470 driver family will be the last to support graphics cards built with the Kepler architecture. We are currently on the R465 family of drivers, specifically version 466.47 which was released earlier this week, with R470 expected to debut in 2021, likely fairly soon.
Once Nvidia moves to the next driver generation (presumably R475) – perhaps by the end of 2021, or early 2022 – the GTX 600 and 700 cards will no longer be supported in terms of optimization for games, meaning they’ll gradually deliver worse performance as time goes on.
Security fixes
Do note, though, that these GPUs will then be in LTS or long-term support with the R470 driver, so while the driver will no longer cater for optimization needs, it will still provide security fixes for any major vulnerabilities that could pop up in the future.
Nvidia will deliver LTS support through until 2024, keeping Kepler users safe from security holes for another few years yet – meaning that GTX 600 graphics cards will actually be supported for a full 12 years from a security standpoint, a commendable length of time.
Nvidia’s Maxwell GPUs, meaning the GTX 750 and GTX 900 series cards, will be next in line for the driver chopping block of course, but that shouldn’t be for a while yet (likely a couple of years down the line).
LG NanoCell TVs – what are they? While you may be fairly familiar with LG’s OLED TV range – the LG C1, LG G1, and so on – the NanoCell televisions that sit alongside them often get less headline attention, and we’re here to fix that.
These so-called ‘NanoCell’ screens make up LG’s mid-range and upper entry-level LCD TVs – the best LG TVs that don’t feature OLED panels, basically. The unspoken aim here is to offer an alternative to Samsung’s excellent QLED TVs, while designating the top tier of LG’s LCD panel televisions.
But what is LG NanoCell, actually? How does it compare to Samsung QLED? And should you consider buying an LG NanoCell TV? Read on for everything you need to know below.
NanoCell FAQ
What is NanoCell? A proprietary LG technology, a filtering layer above the TV’s LCD panel.
What does NanoCell do? It improves color depth, for more vivid tones.
How expensive are NanoCell TVs? The range is huge, starting at $600 / £600 and ending up at $4,000 / £4,000 for top models.
Which TVs have NanoCell technology? Most LG TVs with NanoCell have ‘NANO’ in their name, but upcoming QNED sets have it too.
Do other manufacturers have NanoCell? It’s an LG technology that hasn’t been licensed out to other companies (yet), so you’ll only find it in LG TVs at present.
LG NanoCell TV explained: how does it work?
LG has not published any comprehensive documentation on exactly how LG NanoCell works. It’s a bit like the secret herbs and spices recipe behind KFC’s chicken in that sense.
However, we do know roughly what it does. LG NanoCell uses a filter layer that sits in the TV, absorbing specific wavelengths of light. The aim is to purify the color output in order to improve color depth.
One easy way to get your head around this is to think of it in terms of paint. You can’t achieve a pure red paint if there are hints of other colours in the mixture. NanoCell attempts to remove these impurities.
LG NanoCell TVs (and all TVs in fact) paint their pictures using tiny pinpricks of blue, green and red light set at different intensities. So while absorbing light may sound like a removal of color, the end result is an increase in color depth, as wavelengths that would otherwise dull or taint those red, blue and green sub-pixels are eliminated.
NanoCell vs QLED
LG NanoCell 2021 TV range(Image credit: LG)
Palomaki Consulting undertook some research to find out more about NanoCell, and came to the conclusion that “claims that this technology is enabled by 1 nm nanoparticles is misleading” – pouring some cold water on LG’s hyper for NanoCell.
This consultancy is of the view that NanoCell uses a molecular dye. Its particles may measure a nanometer each, a billionth of a meter, but this is different to the Quantum Dot tech seen in Samsung QLED TVs.
Quantum Dot crystals emit light at certain wavelengths when fed UV light. Samsung QLED TVs do not rely entirely on this tech, but they do use a Quantum Dot layer to enhance color performance. NanoCell appears to be a little more conventional in comparison.
The real-world aim in both cases is the same. Today’s top-quality TVs get close enough to full coverage of the DCI P3 color gamut that most of us couldn’t tell the difference between what we get and 100% coverage.
What’s DCI P3? It’s a standardized array of color tones devised by several leading film production companies. It lets TVs and color graders nail down what a specific color in any movie or image should actually look like. Attain close to 100% DCI P3 coverage and you have a screen with very rich, vibrant colors.
Top NanoCell TVs like the NANO90 have very good color coverage, if not quite at the level of new Samsung TVs with QLED tech (like the Q90T). The NANO90 is significantly cheaper too, though, so slightly lower performance in this area is not a huge issue.
Are LG NanoCell TVs any good?
The DCI P3 color spectrum(Image credit: Andrew Williams)
Other areas of LG NanoCell TV tech are what should make you think twice before buying one of these sets.
All LG NanoCell TVs use IPS display panels. These are great in some respects, as IPS offers very wide viewing angles. You don’t need to sit dead-centre in front of your TV to see a clear picture.
However, IPS displays also have much lower native contrast than the VA panels used in Samsung QLED TVs, or the OLED type seen in top-end LG screens like the LG CX OLED.
In an image of white and black squares shown on an IPS display, the white parts will typically be around 1,000 times brighter than the dark ones. That difference is raised to around 4,000-7,000 times in a VA TV.
The result: LG NanoCell TVs have relatively narrow dynamic range. Blacks will never look that black in a darkened room, and this is exacerbated by a paucity of local dimming zones.
Local dimming is used in most higher-end LCD TVs (that includes NanoCell and QLED, which are still LCDs). It’s where different sections of the backlight can be operated independently, making parts of the panel brighter than others in order to lower the back floor and improve contrast.
The 65-inch LG NANO90 has 32 local dimming zones, fewer than the 50 zones of the 55-inch Samsung Q80T or the 792 Vincent Teoh* identified in the 65-inch Samsung QN90A. And the LG NANO90 arguably needs them more, because its native contrast is lower to start with.
Fewer local dimming zones mean you’ll see blooming around bright objects. It will be particularly noticeable if you watch a film with subtitles, to the extent you’ll probably want to turn the feature off when watching foreign language movies.
These contrast issues are why the most attractive LG TVs with NanoCell are not its ‘NANO’ TVs at all, but its new-for-2021 QNED screens. This range combines a NanoCell layer with a Quantum Dot color enhancer and miniLED panel.
Mini LED panel tech is the most interesting thing to happen to LCD TVs in some time. It sees the LEDs in the backlight shrink, so that many, many more can fit into the display.
LG says the top-end 86-inch QNED set will have around 30,000 backlight LEDs, split into a little under 2500 zones. That’s close to 80 times more zones than the LG NANO90.
However, don’t name your TV fund ‘QNED’ just yet. These sets are likely to use IPS panels still, and we don’t know quite how effective a massively increased number of dimming zones will be at improving this panel technology’s limited contrast.
Should I buy an LG NanoCell?
We’ve levelled some criticisms at LG NanoCell TVs. However, these mostly affect use in a darkened room.
If you like to turn your living room into a micro cinema, these TVs are not the best choice, and you should find one with a VA or OLED panel instead. They simply don’t offer the same level of performance as the best Samsung QLEDs, or LG’s own OLED sets.
Their contrast is significantly lower, and this affects how they perform with HDR content, and how good movies look in a dimly-lit room. However, we may see better results in LG’s QNED sets, which also have NanoCell tech.
They are strong in other areas, though. Wide viewing angles mean no more arguments about who gets the best seat on the couch. Their anti-reflective top screen layer copes with ambient light well. Low input lag is good news for gamers. Upscaling in most NanoCell TVs is very good too, while higher-end models have 120Hz refresh rates and support for features like VRR.
Most of all, LG NanoCell TVs are priced fairly competitively, letting you utilize key PS5 and Xbox Series X features like HDMI 2.1 and VRR without spending a fortune.
The main appeal of NanoCell TVs today, then, is they offer high-end features at a largely affordable prices – with a low cost for entry-level NanoCell models that will no doubt appeal to many with smaller budgets.
What LG NanoCell TVs are there?
Let’s have a closer look at the various NanoCell ranges you can buy today from LG’s 2020 and 2021 ranges, and their specific features. If you want to find out more about the whole 2021 range, check out our LG TV 2021 guide too.
(Image credit: LG)
LG NANO99 (2020)
Available in: 65-inch, 75-inch
8K resolution
4K/120Hz
Local dimming
(Image credit: LG)
LG NANO96 / NANO95 (2021)
Available in: 55-inch, 65-inch
8K resolution
Local dimming
60Hz
VRR
(Image credit: LG)
LG NANO90 / LG NANO91 (2020)
Available in: 55-inch, 65-inch, 75-inch , 86-inch (NANO91 only)
