Gaming in Washington. Reviews, Walkthroughs, News

Midori has confirmed we are getting some new rereleases of Persona 1 and 2, of some sort.

Grease star Susan Buckner has sadly passed away at the age of 72.

Fallout fever is at an all-time high thanks to the new Amazon show, so much so that it's bleeding into other games.

Whether exploring the irradiated monuments of Washington D.C. in Fallout 3 or gambling away your last couple of Caps on The Strip in Fallout: New Vegas, the series' North American setting is an essential piece of the puzzle. And while players have previously been given tantalising glimpses of how the rest of Bethesda's bleak world might be faring, studio head Todd Howard says the plan is to keep the series set in the US.

This one's a bummer. Mega-publisher Take-Two Interactive is shuttering Rollerdrome studio Roll7 and Kerbal Space Program 2 team Intercept Games, according to paperwork seen by Bloomberg.

The iOS App Store has a new No. 1 app, and it’s Delta — Game Emulator. Recently unbanned by Apple, the app allows players to emulate games from several different Nintendo systems, even though it isn’t officially backed by Nintendo.

The future of Kerbal Space Program 2 studio Intercept Games appears uncertain amid ongoing restructuring at owner Take-Two Interactive.

Intercept Games is reportedly shutting down as Take-Two enacts their cost-reduction plan and layoffs across the company, with the Kerbal Space Program 2 developer’s continued existence now in doubt. Despite this, Take-Two has pledged to continue providing support and updates for the game’s PC Early Access release.

In a recent interview, Fallout director Todd Howard said that Bethesda plans to «predominately keep» the franchise in the United States and explained his reasoning. Although Howard left the door open for non-US Fallout settings in the future, it seems unlikely given the franchise's established theme.

For years Fallout fans have wondered if a video game in the franchise will ever leave the United States for another country. According to Fallout lore, the nuclear war of 2077 upon which the franchise is based was not localized to the U.S., but a global event. And so, the idea of traipsing astound post-apocalyptic London or even Canada has long-been mooted by fans.

TikTok creators can’t seem to escape a maelstrom of policy and security concerns lately. On Wednesday, President Joe Biden signed a $95 billion national security package into law. Nestled inside it was the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which gives TikTok parent company ByteDance 270 days to sell the platform or cease operations in the United States. Policymakers maintain that the bill is not a “ban,” but a way to get the China-based ByteDance to divest from TikTok. The battle over TikTok could play out in the courts for far longer than the roughly nine-month window before the deadline, but the uncertain future of the app has kicked up a fervor among its many creators, who depend on it for community, connection, and their livelihoods.

Hollywood is filled with actors looking to make it big. Not all of them do. Most will never reach the heights of success reserved for the few. It’s a special privilege to make it in Hollywood. Sometimes, the road to the top is more challenging for black actors who battled discrimination and a lack of opportunity. In celebration of Hollywood’s many excellent black actors, here is a list of some of the best male actors in the business.

Lawyers and parents are taking on the video game industry. There are eight lawsuits currently active in North America that seek to address video game addiction. All have been filed within the past two years, and most argue that the targeted video game companies, including Activision Blizzard, Epic Games, Microsoft, Roblox, Nintendo, Take-Two Interactive Software, and Sony Interactive Entertainment, make their games purposefully addictive as a way to keep people playing, and, ultimately, to get them to spend lots of money.

Jesse Plemons is a brilliant actor. He’s also one of our most memeable stars. It’s not that he’s super expressive — quite the opposite, in fact. He’s usually quite placid, and almost hesitant in his line deliveries. He takes his time. But, whether he’s playing a timid everyman in The Power of the Dog or season 2 of Fargo or a stout lawman in Judas and the Black Messiah orGame Night, there’s always something going on behind his narrowed, watchful eyes. His stillness, his pauses, and his plain, unvarnished way of speaking act as a gravitational force, drawing the camera and other actors into his orbit. He’s also, in a low-key way, extremely funny.

Expanding its artificial intelligence (AI) push, Microsoft has announced that it will be investing $1.5 billion in United Arab Emirates-based artificial intelligence firm G42, giving the U.S. giant a minority stake and a board seat, allowing the two to deepen ties amid the global battle for tech dominance. AI has become the buzzword of the last few years, with companies around the world competing to leverage this technology.

A version of this review ran in March 2024 in conjunction with the movie’s original coverage embargo. It has been updated and republished for the theatrical release.

New movie Civil War may be an action-packed war film, but its star Kirsten Dunst thinks it shares a surprising similarity with a much quieter flick: Paris, Texas. 

AI roundup: Microsoft is planning to make a huge investment in Japan to accelerate the country's AI development. Additionally, the investment will also aid Japan in building strong cybersecurity defence to combat enemy countries. In other news, President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida urged Amazon and Nvidia to fund an AI research program. Know more about such AI news of today. 

How much does someone who built the foundations of Pokémon Go still play the game, eight years on? It's the first question I ask Ed Wu, senior vice president of Pokémon Go, as we set off on a walk together around a leafy London park — our phones in hand, Pokémon Go open. «I spend as much of my time beating up the game as possible,» he laughs. This is often using work-in-progress beta builds, he admits, to ensure upcoming features are bug-tested. But he still plays his «official» main account when he can — and it's clearly a source of pride that his was the first ever user account — or one of the first, he can't quite recall — registered on Pokémon Go's live server back at launch in the summer of 2016.

Nintendo has reportedly cut 120 contractor testing roles at its North American operation — with an unspecified number said to have been converted to full-time positions — as part of a major restructuring effort that comes amid claims of a testing «lull» ahead of Switch 2's arrival.

Amazon has made four classic feature films free to stream and download for free.

Nintendo of America is reportedly cutting around 120 contractor jobs as part of a restructuring of its testing department ahead of Switch 2’s launch.

On the set of Ex Machina and Annihilation director Alex Garland's latest movie, authenticity was key. Civil War, an action-packed film that follows a near-future version of the US as it's torn apart by a tyrannical president, seceded states, and violence, used real tanks, real weapons, and real jets to bring its warfare to life.

The U.S. government's antitrust lawsuit against Apple draws on the watershed 1998 case that broke Microsoft's stranglehold on desktop software, but that may prove to be an imperfect blueprint for addressing smartphone competition.

A Pokémon website which hosted links to fan-made Pokémon games has been taken offline.

Apple is facing another antitrust lawsuit — this time from the US government.

The US Department of Justice sued Apple on Thursday for illegally maintaining a monopoly for its iPhone by stifling competition and imposing exorbitant costs on consumers.

In a big win for the company and a boost for its attempts to further broaden its horizons when it comes to artificial intelligence (AI), Microsoft has announced that Google DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman has joined the company as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Microsoft AI. Suleyman will also serve as the head of consumer AI products such as Copilot, Bing and Edge, as well as research.

Avengers 5 and Avengers: Secret Wars may have settled on a plan for Kang the Conqueror after Jonathan Majors was fired from the role.

The Pokémon Company's chatty former legal boss has thanked the media for publicising projects the company may then be compelled to shut down.

In an era of divisive, high-stakes U.S. politics, it isn’t surprising to see so many people online responding to the entire concept of Alex Garland’s Civil War as if it’s inherently toxic. Set on and around the front lines of a near-future America broken into separatist factions, Garland’s latest (after the fairly baffling fable-esque Men) looks like a timely but opportunistic provocation, a movie that can’t help but feel either exploitative or far too close to home in a country whose name, the United States, sounds more ironic and laughable with every passing year.

The former chief lawyer for The Pokémon Company says fan projects are more likely to be taken down if they get press coverage and start making money.

A former chief legal officer of The Pokémon Company has shared a rare insight into its thinking behind fan project takedowns.

A former Pokemon lawyer has revealed the process behind Nintendo shutting down fan projects, offering the useful reminder that "no one likes suing fans."

Microsoft has announced that its generative artificial intelligence (AI) solution for security professionals, the Microsoft Copilot, will be available globally soon. In the last few months, the Washington-based tech giant has been making efforts to incorporate AI into its suite of products. It has brought its AI services under one umbrella - Microsoft Copilot. This even includes its AI chatbot which is taking on the likes of ChatGPT and Google Bard. In a new development, another Microsoft service, known as Copilot for Security, has been made available to the public.

Love crossword puzzles but don’t have all day to sit and solve a full-sized puzzle in your daily newspaper? That’s what The Mini is for!

Final Fantasy 7 Remake and the recently released second part of the remake trilogy, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, won't be coming to rival platforms.

With Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Square Enix working on the final installment in the Remake trilogy, there are a lot of questions. How will it end? Will it include more content and characters from the Compilation of Final Fantasy 7? Whatever the result, it’s confirmed that the world will be “rebuilt” to accommodate the Highwind.

While some reports suggested that the entire Trilogy would be exclusive to the PlayStation 5, that turns out to not be the case. The fact that Square Enix and Sony have an exclusivity deal for the franchise has frustrated many Xbox players who insist the games should also be made available on their console. While the latest release, , won't be played on a Series X|S any time soon, that doesn't mean the remakes won't ever land on Microsoft's consoles.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth producer Yoshinori Kitase says there would be crucial differences in the newly released sequel had it not been developed exclusively for PS5.

Update: The author of the original article from The Washington Post has clarified that the entire Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy is not confirmed to be completely exclusive to PlayStation. Said article was amended after we had reported on it.

The yet-untitled third installment in the Final Fantasy Remake series will remain exclusive to PlayStation consoles. After years of rumors, speculation, and hope from legions of fans, Square Enix finally released the first chapter of its modern reimagining of Final Fantasy 7 in 2020. Final Fantasy 7 Remake only told a fraction of the original’s plot, with the recently-released Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth continuing from when Cloud and the party leave Midgar until the fateful trip to the Forgotten Capital at the end of the old FF7’s second disk.

Sony has confirmed it's struck a deal with publisher Square Enix to make the Final Fantasy 7 remake trilogy a PlayStation console exclusive.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth wouldn't have been the game it is if it wasn't a PlayStation 5 console exclusive, according to Yoshinori Kitase.

Sony has secured the complete Final Fantasy 7 remake trilogy as a console exclusive.

Four years on from its launch, Final Fantasy 7 Remake remains a PlayStation console exclusive, and last week, its sequel, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth also launched as an exclusive for PS5. Unsurprisingly, it’s been reported by The Washington Post that the entire remake trilogy is going to be exclusive to PlayStation consoles.

We've barely had enough time to properly sink our teeth into Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, but one of its directors has already confirmed that a good chunk of work on the third and final part of the Remake trilogy is already complete. 

Don't expect any of the games in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake series, including the recently-released Rebirth, to come to Xbox, as Sony has secured the trilogy as a PlayStation console exclusive.

The Final Fantasy VII Remake project trilogy will be console-exclusive to PlayStation, according to Sony Interactive Entertainment vice president of second- and third-party content ventures and strategic initiatives Christian Svensson.

There’s a lot to love about Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and its open world setting is surely high on that list. On top of being massive and incredibly varied across its many different regions, the entire map is also entirely seamless, which means you’re never hit with a loading screen when traveling from one area to the next (unless, of course, you’re fast traveling). Interestingly, however, according to producer Yoshinori Kitase, the game’s open world design wouldn’t have been quite so impressive if it hadn’t been developed as a platform-exclusive title.

OpenAI's AI chatbot ChatGPT has been gaining immense popularity since its launch in 2022. After ChatGPT was launched, tech companies around the world started building AI chatbots of their own. With an increase in popularity, ChatGPT has gained several new features to improve its responses and user experience. Now, OpenAI has introduced a new Read Aloud feature to ChatGPT. This feature will allow ChatGPT to read its responses aloud to the users. Therefore, now users can listen to the responses instead of reading them. Know more about ChatGPT's Read Aloud feature.

Marty O'Donnell, the former Bungie composer best known for his Halo and Destiny soundtracks, has announced his intention to run for US Congress as a Republican candidate.

From genomic information to internet-connected cars, the United States is rethinking its data protection policies -- with further trade curbs aimed at China in the cards -- as tech like AI brings new risks.

One attentive The Last of Us 2 player was recently intrigued to learn that a phone number featured in the early hours of Naughty Dog's hit action adventure uses a Washington area code matching the game's setting. Their discovery adds to the ever-expanding list of examples underlining the immaculate attention to detail that went into the making of The Last of Us 2.

Get ready for a celestial spectacle as NASA extends a warm invitation to theHT public to witness a total solar eclipse on April 8, painting the skies over North America. This rare event will offer residents in 15 states a mesmerizing view of the Moon completely obscuring the Sun, unveiling the Sun's delicate corona.

Four new cast members have been announced for The Last of Us Season 2.

Alibaba unveils EMO AI tool that converts photos to lifelike talking, singing videos; Leonardo CEO highlights concerns over human 'Stupidity' in AI use; Kara Swisher unveils new book on AI generated scams amidst global concerns; Meta's resistance and the rising AI threat: Challenges to journalism in Australia- this and more in our daily roundup. Let us take a look.

One of the great mystery movies and neo-noirs of the late 20th century has finally come to Netflix, giving a new audience an opportunity to experience one of Denzel Washington’s finest roles. Devil in a Blue Dress, Carl Franklin’s adaptation of Walter Mosley’s excellent 1990 novel, has recently been added to the streaming service. The movie is 100 minutes of atmospheric excellence. It’s tense when it needs to be, sexy when it wants to be, and always captivating.

ChatGPT-maker OpenAI is planning to appoint several new board members in March, the Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing a person familiar with the matter.

We love movie recommendations here at Polygon. Whether it’s horror, sci-fi, action, comedy, thrillers, or just the best of the year, we’re always trying to introduce readers to new and exciting movies they’ll love. But now we want to find the perfect movie for you. (That’s you.)

Legendary music composer Koji Kondo, best known for creating the classic Super Mario Bros. theme, recently shared a fun little story about how another icon, former Beatle Paul McCartney, acknowledged him and his most popular work. His timeless Super Mario Bros. song is so famous that it earned Kondo a major industry award in what is said to be the gaming equivalent of the Oscars.

Almost four years since returning to Midgar, Cloud, Tifa, Barret and Aerith are set to journey out into the vast open world of Gaia in the highly anticipated sequel, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.

Until 12 p.m. EST on Feb. 28, you can get any Blu-ray and DVD available on Criterion’s online store for 50% off. It’s a special time of the year when, as a physical media connoisseur, Polygon grants you immunity from feeling guilt from any irresponsible spending that may take place today and tomorrow. You can — and should — go wild on these discs, each of which are the definitive editions complete with special features.

Artificial intelligence will become an important part of Reddit Inc.'s business, the company said Thursday in its long-awaited filing for an initial public offering — tapping into a revenue stream that could be both lucrative and controversial. 

The Tarisland team has a new behind the scenes video featuring award-winning composer, Russell Brower, who was announced as part of the project last fall, detailing the process of composing for Tarisland, how tailoring the music to the story matters, and creating a cohesive musical identity for the game.

The world wasn’t ready for Tenetwhen it was originally released in 2020. That’s both literally true — it was the middle of the pandemic — and spiritually true, because people were still so hung up on the idea of Christopher Nolan as a puzzle-box filmmaker who wanted his movies solved. But now that people are starting to head back to theaters, and Oppenheimerhas clued audiences in to Nolan’s earnestness, maybe it’s finally time to appreciate Tenet for the vibey friendship-movie masterpiece it is. With the movieheading back into theaters on Feb. 23 for a one-week revival, there’s no better time for the reevaluation to begin.

With Avengers 5 seemingly losing Jonathan Majors' Kang as its big bad in the wake of serious controversy, a recent update might give fans an insight into what comes next concerning the vacant spot opposite the world’s mightiest heroes.

Fun Dog Studios, a Washington-based studio comprised of 30 veteran developers with decades of AAA experience, has announced The Forever Winter, a cooperative tactical survival horror third-person shooter. It will be available for PC via Steam, with the potential for additional platforms based on the game’s success and community feedback. A release date was not announced.

Jurassic 4 has found a new director: Gareth Edwards has stepped in to take over from David Leitch after the Bullet Train helmer dropped out of the project mere days after his involvement was announced. 

Studio executives are already incredibly impressed with Ridley Scott’s, according to a recent report.

Sam Altman seeks US approval for multibillion dollar AI chip venture;  Google unveils free AI cyber tools for enhanced online security; Apple set to launch AI code completion tool for developers; AI hiring tools risk filtering out top candidates, despite hopes of bias reduction- this and more in our daily roundup. Let us take a look.

Gladiator 2 has got some glowing early praise according to new reports. Ridley Scott’s epic historical sequel recently wrapped filming, and Deadline suggests that studio executives have been "blown away" by what they’ve seen so far.

US space agency NASA has been exploring space and beyond for decades and helping it do that have been quite a few telescopes, satellites and spacecraft up in the sky including the venerable Hubble Space Telescope and the new James Webb Space Telescope, both of which have shed fascinating light on the matter going as far back as almost to the beginning of time - the Big Bang itself. The space agency has contributed to amazing discoveries with its missions over the years. However, space is vast and made up of amazingly complicated structures. That calls for the deployment of more instruments. And now, yet another NASA space telescope is set for launch.

American Psycho author Bret Easton Ellis is making his directorial debut with a horror movie starring Stranger Things actor Joseph Quinn. 

Smart rings and eyewear are growing in popularity, much like smartwatches. Imagine having all of your calls and notifications right at your fingertips, or tracking your health numbers like calories burnt and heart rate directly from your accessories. While streaming your daily life to social media may not be for everyone, the wearable era is becoming more prevalent in our lives. Enter the world of smart earrings called Thermal Earring, a significant new addition to the wearable technology arsenal.

OpenAI's Sam Altman said the United Arab Emirates could serve as the world's “regulatory sandbox” to test artificial intelligence technologies and later spearhead global rules limiting their use.

How would one describe Jynxzi? Simple, he is the popular Twitch streamer who came out of nowhere to dethrone the platform’s biggest streamers with a huge jump in active subscribers that boosted him well ahead of the competition.

AI model forecasts psychosis via brain scans; Rajasthan teen creates AgRobot to revolutionise farming; California bill proposes mandatory AI model testing; OpenAI's Altman pursues trillions for chip- this and more in our daily roundup. Let us take a look.

I've long been enamoured with the landscape of the Pacific Northwest, from the Douglas firs and waterfalls of Twin Peaks to the redwoods I once swam beneath on a road trip. Thanks to Pacific Drive's Steam Next Fest demo, I have now also barrelled through the woods and backroads of a spooky alt-history PNW in a banged-up car which is itself a S.T.A.L.K.E.R.-esque artifact. I've had my eye on Pacific Drive for a few years and after playing the demo, I am delighted by parts of it but not entirely sold on its roguelikelike survival scavenge-o-rama structure. Hmm! Give it a go and tell me what you think.

Elon Musk's X, the company formerly known as Twitter, is planning to build a new “Trust and Safety center of excellence” in Austin, Texas, to help enforce its content and safety rules.