Now that Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition has gone through, it appears as though he’s back to devoting his attention to Tesla. That’s because Tesla is reportedly looking to start mass production of its long-promised Cybertruck in the fourth quarter of 2023.
The Cybertruck was announced way back in 2019, and was supposed to enter production in late 2021. That never happened, supposedly due to battery shortages. Subsequently, in August 2021, Musk delayed the vehicle to sometime in 2022 before pushing it to January during a Q4 earnings call.
A report in July this year indicated that Cybertruck deliveries could finally start arriving in mid-2023, but even that seems to be out of question, considering that two sources with knowledge of Tesla’s plans informed Reuters that the automobile company intends to start mass production at the end of 2023.
Further, in a conference call with financial analysts last month, Musk said Tesla is readying its Austin, Texas plant to build the Cybertruck, with “early production” set to begin in the middle of 2023.
It’s likely the truck won’t be delivered to buyers until sometime in 2024.
Back in 2019, when the truck was first revealed, Tesla quoted a $39,900 USD (roughly $54,400 CAD) price tag for the vehicle. In August this year, During a Tesla shareholder’s meeting, Musk said that “a lot has changed” since then, and that the Cybertruck’s price and specifications will change before its release.
It’s almost the end of the year, but as always, PlayStation has a new promotion offering a variety of games at a discounted rate. These games include WWE 2K22 Deluxe Edition, Red Dead Redemption 2: Ultimate Edition, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands and more.
This sale is available until November 18th and offers games up to 65 percent off. Here are some of the games available, but you can check out the full list here.
Prolific mobile game developer Onoma, formerly known as Square Enix Montreal, has been shut down.
As reported by Bloomberg, parent company Embracer Group informed Onoma employees of the closure during a November 1st meeting. Around 200 employees are affected.
Founded in 2011, Onoma was best known for its work in the mobile game space, creating acclaimed titles like Lara Croft Go and Hitman Go. The studio’s most recent game, Hitman Sniper: The Shadows, launched in March.
According to Bloomberg, some Onoma employees will be relocated to sister studio Eidos Montreal, although it appears that the majority of the team has been laid off. In the same report, Bloomberg notes that Eidos Montreal is working on three projects: a new IP that’s been recently “rescoped,” a new Deus Ex (said to be in early development) and co-development partnerships with Xbox on multiple titles, including the next Fable.
Eidos Montreal shipped the critically-acclaimed Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxyover a year ago, but this is the first we’ve heard about the team’s next titles. Unfortunately, then, that word had to come as part of the news of another studio’s closure.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is here, marking the arrival of that time of year again.
It’s a new fall season with a new blockbuster campaign and multiplayer suite. Developer Infinity Ward has again reached into the well that is Modern Warfare for a sequel to the 2019 reboot of the acclaimed series.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is a brand new entry in the series and acts as a soft reboot for the ecosystem Activision has laid out since 2019. Infinity Ward and countless development partners have big plans for the future of Call of Duty, and it all starts with Modern Warfare II. This includes the upcoming free-to-play battle royale Warzone 2.0. Plus, there’s the emerging Escape From Tarkov-inspired DMZ mode on the horizon. Of course, there’s also the competitive core multiplayer built into the bones of Modern Warfare II.
Fans of the franchise have a lot of hope for what Call of Duty can deliver each year. Some clamour to see the set pieces the campaign brings to the table, while others, including myself, hope that multiplayer provides a balanced competitive space for players.
Following in the footsteps of Modern Warfare (2019), it’s to no one’s surprise that the sequel is fairly well-rounded in its current state. While the overall UI and menu system are rather messy, the campaign delivers an action-packed experience in spades. The multiplayer offering is exceptional thanks to a smart new Gunsmith progression system, top-of-its-class gunplay and pinpoint accurate audio.
The campaign of Call of Duty is often an afterthought for a large segment of players. Perhaps it’s understandable as it’s uncommon that entries offer a memorable experience. We’re very far removed from the gut-punching ending of the original Modern Warfare 2 or the memorable “The numbers, Mason. What do they mean?” from Black Ops. However, I firmly believe Modern Warfare 2‘s campaign isn’t one to be missed.
Modern Warfare 2 is a direct sequel and sees players touch base with Task Force 141. The campaign features some well-trotted territory from military shooters of the past. Following a missile strike, assassinating Iranian general Ghorbrani in Al Mazrah, Task Force 141 begins a hunt for the new leader Major Hassan Zyani and stolen U.S missiles. This leads the likes of Captain Price, Soap, Ghost, Gaz and others to Mexico as Hassan assumes a partnership with the Las Almas cartel. However, the game does not exclusively take place in Central America. We also find ourselves back in the fictional Urzikstan, the Netherlands, and the United States.
“A mission that truly stands out is a rather short visit to Amsterdam. This skip across the ocean beautifully displays the developer’s prowess in level design and lighting. The photorealistic streets were awe-inspiring to walk down.”
Throughout the bite-sized six-hour campaign, I found myself traversing through fantastic backdrops and set pieces. A mission that truly stands out is a rather short visit to Amsterdam. This skip across the ocean beautifully displays the developer’s prowess in level design and lighting. The photorealistic streets were awe-inspiring to walk down. Sights aside, Modern Warfare 2 delivers some of the most bombastic set pieces in recent memories. One mission taking place in Urzikstan tasks players with taking out a military convoy. In perfect Call of Duty splendour, players must hijack a number of occupied vehicles barrelling down a series of roads. To make matters more intense, I had to balance firing weapons out of the driver-side window and steering myself out of harm’s way. Modern Warfare 2 even successfully incorporates a very close reimagining of the original Modern Warfare‘s acclaimed ‘All Ghillied Up’ mission.
While the game does offer some really neat setpieces, some overstay their welcome. In one mission dubbed ‘Alone,’ players find themselves on the run from a rival militant faction. Without weapons, I used stealth to make my way through a small township. This is when the MWII introduces a backpack and crafting system that’s neat for the first five minutes. Unfortunately, the game goes on to use it for far too long. It even reappears in the game’s climactic moments, making for an abrupt Die Hard-esque finale.
From a thematic and narrative perspective, Modern Warfare 2 does its best to strike a deeper level of storytelling. While getting away from the archetypal “bro shooter” mould, it doesn’t quite reach its full potential. The game’s inciting incident is primarily inspired by the assassination of Iranian military officer Qasem Soleimani in 2020. The writers are on the brink of making a political statement with the game. For example, in one mission, two Mexican Special Force agents fight to cross a Trump wall dividing the U.S. and Mexican border. Following this, they are apprehended by American police who remark, “It’s hard to tell you boys apart from the cartel.” Though, there’s barely enough time for this moment to resonate with players before we’re instructed on the next mission. There are many opportunities for the game to say something, but much like its predecessor, it moves too rapidly to properly explore them.
“Gunsmith 2.0, in theory, can remove some of the grind. For those looking to be ready for Season 1 and the introduction of Warzone 2.0, this will come as a relief.”
Multiplayer is the real core Call of Duty community. Each year, the competitive landscape looks on as the franchise iterates once more. Modern Warfare 2‘s new multiplayer component comes with some of the most drastic changes in recent years.
The biggest change seen in the game is the integration of Gunsmith 2.0, the new progression system. Working through the ranks of Modern Warfare 2, the game offers an altered way of unlocking new guns, attachments, etc. Gunsmith 2.0, in theory, can remove some of the grind. This will be a relief for those looking to be ready for Season 1 and the introduction of Warzone 2.0, especially when max levels on weapons now range to around 20 or lower.
Gunsmith 2.0 is pretty grating and overwhelming at first. Breaking it down, each weapon has a new system called the ‘receiver.’ Levelling up a singular weapon unlocks new receivers for a weapon. In doing so, a new weapon which shares the same receiver and attachments is available. This means rather than having to unlock the same barrel for every assault rifle, players merely need to unlock the receiver across compatible weapons. In theory, this allows for less grind and more customization in both how weapons operate and their core stats. That said, we’re still in the early days of Modern Warfare II, so the long-term effects on the meta are yet to be determined.
The other substantial change is the UI. We’ve gone through three iterations of Call of Duty where the template for navigating stayed roughly the same. In Modern Warfare II, the menus and UI remind me more of Disney+ than a multiplayer game. The main menu screen mashes up the campaign, multiplayer and a small assortment of co-op missions. Options to filter specific modes from Quick Play also appears small on the screen. There’s also no shortage of ways to accidentally back out entirely when simply attempting to thumb over to the ‘Weapons’ or ‘Operators’ menu.
“It’s disappointing when the coat of paint impacts the quality of life of the player and ease of use.”
The game’s Social menu is also in a totally separate menu system. My biggest gripe, though one that should have an easy fix, plagues the 2XP system. Currently, the game will not display how long a 2XP token is in effect. Given that these are crucial for levelling ranks and weapons, you may want to set a timer on your phone like I’ve had to. I understand wanting a new coat of paint to accompany this new generation of the Call of Duty ecosystem. However, it’s disappointing when the coat of paint impacts the quality of life of the player and ease of use.
For console players, it’s worth noting that the ability to turn cross-play off is only available on PlayStation. Currently, Xbox players are unable to opt-out of playing with PC players. This is despite input selection, whether its controller or keyboard and mouse.
Modern Warfare 2 does have a lot working for itself, however. Unsurprisingly, Infinity Ward continues to prove that the studio is a leader in the FPS genre. The tight gun controls shine beautifully here. Whether you’re a run-and-gunner or a sniper, every gun I’ve used handles exceptionally well. Of course, this depends on the build and the balancing of attachments, but when you finely tune a weapon and its receiver, I’ve been able to have some great matches.
Infinity Ward has also scaled its movement in the game. No longer can players slide cancel around the map. With sliding now nerfed, the emerging new movement meta seems to be bunny hops around corners and a diving mechanic. Though, its aim-down-sights (ADS) recovery leaves much to be desired. The result of all of this makes for slower movement, leading Modern Warfare 2 to feel more like Rainbow Six Siege than recent entries in a way.
Audio is also something Modern Warfare 2 can proudly tout. The game can render sounds with pinpoint accuracy, whether it’s footsteps, gunfire, or AI callouts. This is especially true while wearing a pair of headphones, but clean audio also came through very well on my soundbar. It may be an overlooked component, but when footsteps are crucial to awareness, the improvements in audio clarity are a surefire winner for me.
As far as the game modes are concerned, Modern Warfare II delivers a fairly balanced offering. ‘Team Deathmatch,’ ‘Domination,’ ‘Free-for-all,’ ‘Search and Destroy’ are all available in their current state. The game doesn’t yet feature ‘Hardcore’ (now renamed Tier 1) until the launch of Season 1 on November 16th. Additionally, a third-person mode has been reintroduced after many, many years. While novel, it feels like a step back from the first-person perspective. It does enable a different scope in map awareness for a change of pace, though.
“Invasion mode reads as Infinity Ward’s attempt to capture the magic left behind by Battlefield. In many ways, it successfully does replicate the feeling of larger multiplayer battles.”
Rather than a Zombies game mode, Modern Warfare II introduces Invasion. This large-scale 20v20 game mode incorporates real players with AI bots. Each team fight to be the last team standing in a pseudo-Team Deathmatch. Invasion mode reads as Infinity Ward’s attempt to capture the magic left behind by Battlefield. In many ways, it successfully does replicate the feeling of larger multiplayer battles. Vehicles spawn in to use while choppers fly through, dropping off more AI opponents. It’s chaotic and fast-paced, though without the ability to spawn on your squad, I’ve more often found myself running into battle than engaging in meaningful firefights.
The map selection is also fairly strong. Modern Warfare 2 has 10 core maps and five battle maps. Notable standouts include Mercado Las Almas, which offers a healthy blend of close quarters with long-range opportunities. Crown Raceway, a nighttime race track blooming with colour, is also standout. Zarqwa Hydroelectric combines broken-down buildings with small pools of water for players to swim through to flank the enemy. But not all maps smell of roses. Santa Sena Border Crossing, a conjected highway map, is purely not fun due to its design and layout. Not even its Breaking Bad easter egg can put it in my good graces. Unfortunately, Valderas Museum, a great map in the beta, is no longer available. The map’s disappearance may be due to copyright issues with the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. If true, this is very disappointing.
Overall, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is in an excellent position. With Tier 1, Warzone 2.0, and DMZ around the corner, the foundation of gunplay, movement, and progression pave the road for an exciting year. However, Infinity Ward and its development partners should be wise to listen to community feedback in these first few months. There are quality-of-life issues to address. Though, there’s nothing currently baked into the DNA of the game that can’t be improved via updates and fixes down the road. Despite my gripes, Modern Warfare II brings the blockbuster action and tight FPS fun I’ve been craving this fall.
Elon Musk says Twitter Blue subscriptions will be available for $8 a month in the U.S.
“Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit,” Musk tweeted.
American subscribers currently pay $4.99 USD for Twitter Blue. In Canada, the service costs $6.49 a month.
The new version of Twitter’s subscriptions service will include tools Musk says are “essential to defeat spam/scam,” like “priority in replies, mentions & search.” The “Chief Twit” didn’t provide specifics for these tools.
Users can also “post long video & audio” and get “half as many ads.” Musk’s tweet announcing the details state he’s willing to work with publishers who will offer Twitter Blue users an option to bypass paywalls for content.
Twitter Blue will also be available outside of the U.S., and the price will be “proportionate to purchasing power parity.” However, Musk didn’t provide details as to what countries this includes.
“This will also give Twitter a revenue stream to reward content creators,” Musk concludes.
Recent internal correspondence showed the plan was initially set to have a $20 price tag, and it’s unclear how Musk decided on the $8 price point.
Either way, he believes increasing the price of Twitter’s subscription service will solve some of the platform’s problems. For example, one user wrote that paying for verifications will solve the platform’s issues with bots and impersonation. Musk responded with a one-word answer: “exactly.”
The federal government has provided EXFO $15.9 million to advance 5G telecommunications.
The investment will allow the company, which develops and monitors various solutions for the telecom industry, to create a 5G Center of Excellence in Montreal. It will also create 50 job opportunities for data scientists, and software and telecom specialists from the fields of 5G, AI, Machine Learning, and cloud computing.
The funding will “accelerate solutions delivering better insights while automatically predicting and detecting issues and outages in 5G networks,” Philippe Morin, EXFO’s CEO, said. “Ultimately, our innovations will help service providers in Canada and beyond deploy 5G networks faster and more efficiently than ever before.”
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) hosted a meeting between regulators from five countries to discuss methods to combat scams.
Regulators from Canada, Australia, Ireland, Hong Kong, and the U.S. met for the Combating Scam Communications meeting to discuss cross-border enforcement challenges and international collaboration to strike down against scam communications.
“Unlawful spam and unwanted calls continue to be major threats to consumers around the globe. Coordinating our efforts internationally is the only way we can tackle this issue,” Ian Scott, the CRTC’s Chairperson, said. “By doing so, we are increasing our chances of protecting our citizens from those engaging in illegal and damaging activities.”
The regulators will continue to collaborate, share information, and seek out other countries that may be the source of such communications or suffering from it.
Amazon is upgrading its Amazon Music with Prime streaming service big time. The music service’s catalogue, which had roughly 2 million tunes on it, will soon boast over 100 million songs and tracks completely ad-free for Prime users at no additional cost.
However, there is a catch — users can only play music in shuffle mode.
“Prime members can discover more new music based on their likes; shuffle play any artist, album, or playlist in the catalogue; stream a collection of All-Access playlists tailored to personalized listening preferences on demand and download them for offline listening,” said an Amazon spokesperson.
In addition to songs, Amazon Music with Prime will also offer several podcasts from the likes of NPR, CNN, ESPN, The New York Times, and more, also ad-free.
The only major limitation with the service is that users won’t be able to listen to specific tracks of their choice, and only shuffle music based on an artist, album or playlist, making the service a great option for someone who already has a Prime subscription, but not something on par with the likes of Apple Music and Spotify. Additionally, Amazon Music with Prime only offers songs in standard definition.
To overcome these limitations, users can subscribe to Amazon Music Unlimited for $8.99/month and play songs in high-fidelity and Spatial Audio, all while being able to choose specific tracks to play.
Being stuck with the shuffle button isn’t necessarily great, but it’s much better than what Amazon Music with Prime was offering up until yesterday, and considering that the service comes bundled for free with Prime, the average listener would be more than happy to use the service.
Officially called ‘Netflix Basic with Ads,’ the tier is the streamer’s lowest-priced offering to date and, notably, is launching first in Canada and Mexico. Naturally, there are a lot of questions about the subscription option, especially since it’s a novel one among the big players in the Canadian streaming market.
Here’s everything you need to know about the service.
Price
Netflix Basic with Ads costs $5.99/month. Since Netflix no longer offers free trials, this is the most affordable entry-poin to the service besides sharing your account.
How do ads work?
Of course, Netflix is knocking down the cost of the membership in exchange for implementing ads. These ads will be run during both movies and TV shows at an average rate of four to five minutes per hour, and they’ll last for 15 or 30 seconds.
What kinds of ads will be shown?
In partnership with Microsoft, Netflix is opening up ads to a variety of companies, with one example shown so far being for L’Oréal. That said, the streamer has outlined some restrictions on ads. For example, it won’t allow political ads, nor those that promote guns or smoking. Ads will also vary depending on country, genre and user, but none will be shown on Kid’s Profiles.
Basic with Ads features
Besides the ads, Basic with Ads does offer some other limitations.
To start, streams are capped at 720p. Additionally, you won’t have the ability to download content for offline viewing, while “a limited number of movies and TV shows won’t be available due to licensing restrictions.” In a press briefing, Netflix COO Greg Peters clarified that the exact number of excluded titles will vary by country due to licensing agreements, but it will generally be in the “five to ten percent range.”
That said, the rest of the Netflix catalogue will remain accessible, as well as the entire Netflix Games platform. No ads will be shown through Netflix Games. You also will only be able to stream on one screen at a time.
How does Basic with Ads compare to Netflix’s other tiers?
Netflix offers three other membership options. For context, here’s a breakdown of them:
Netflix Basic — $9.99/month, up to 720p (the new standard resolution for Basic, up from 480p), can only stream on one screen at the same time
Netflix Standard — $16.49/month, up to 1080p, can stream on up to two screens at the same time
Netflix Premium — $20.99/month, up to Ultra HD (4K HDR), can stream on up to four screens at the same time
What data is Netflix collecting with Basic with Ads?
Privacy is obviously a big concern for many people. According to Netflix, only the birth date and gender you provided upon sign-up, as well as “general location information based on your IP address,” will be collected. The company says this will “help tailor the advertising and improve the product offering.” The company’s privacy policy can be found here
Every month, Xbox brings new titles to its Xbox Game Pass subscription service.
Normally, these come in two waves and now, the company has revealed what’s coming to Game Pass in the second half of October. Note: ‘Cloud’ refers to a game that can be streamed via Xbox Cloud Gaming to a variety of devices, including Android and iOS.
Highlights include Obsidian’s Pentiment and Terrible Toybox’s Return to Monkey Island. Here’s the full list:
The Legend of Tianding (Cloud, Console and PC) — November 1st
The Walking Dead: A New Frontier – The Complete Season (PC) — November 1st
The Walking Dead: Michonne – The Complete Season (PC) — November 1st
Ghost Song (Cloud, Console and PC) — November 3rd
Football Manager 2023 (PC) — November 8th
Football Manager 2023 Console (Cloud, Console and PC) — November 8th
Return to Monkey Island (Cloud, Console and PC) — November 8th
Vampire Survivors (Console) — November 10th
Pentiment (Cloud, Console and PC) — November 15th
Somerville (Console and PC) — November 15th
It’s also worth noting that Microsoft Flight Simulator 40th Anniversary Edition, which adds new content like gliders and helicopters to the popular game, is launching as a free update to all players, including those on Game Pass, on November 11th.
Finally, here’s what’s leaving Game Pass on:
November 8th
Football Manager 2022 (PC)
Football Manager 2022 Xbox Edition (Cloud, Console and PC)
November 15th
Art of Rally (Cloud, Console and PC)
Fae Tactics (Cloud, Console and PC)
Next Space Rebel (Cloud, Console and PC)
One Step from Eden (Cloud, Console and PC)
Supraland (Cloud, Console and PC)
As always, Game Pass subscribers can take advantage of an exclusive 20 percent discount to purchase any game on the service and keep playing even after it leaves the catalogue.
Xbox Game Pass and Game Pass for PC each cost $11.99 CAD/month, while Game Pass Ultimate, which includes both versions of Game Pass, Xbox Cloud Gaming, EA Play and Xbox Live Gold, is priced at $16.99/month.
Find out what came to Xbox Game Pass last month here.
