How do you review something like Animal Crossing: New Horizons? It’s not like most games: There’s no plot, no leveling up and no bosses. You can never beat Animal Crossing — and, conversely, you can’t lose. Instead, you play a bit every day, shaping your adorable house and village into the most idyllic environment possible. That’s a template the series has honed since its Nintendo 64 debut, and with New Horizons on the Switch, which lands on March 20th, it’s evolved into a truly meditative and relaxing escape from reality. And honestly, that’s just what we need today, as our society reshapes itself around the specter of a global pandemic.
Tech
‘Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ is the island escape we all need today – Engadget
Gallery: Animal Crossing: New Horizons | 8 Photos
For the uninitiated, every Animal Crossing game starts the same way: You play as a human who moves to a small town filled with anthropomorphic animals. An entrepreneurial raccoon named Tom Nook helps you find a home, while also burdening you with a hefty mortgage. And then you’re off to do whatever you want: fish, catch bugs, chat with your neighbors. New Horizons changes things up a bit by offering a lot more customization from the beginning.
Instead of being placed right into a village, you start off at a ticket counter, where the adorable Timmy and Tommy Nook start planning your upcoming getaway to a deserted island. You can choose between a spot in the northern or southern hemispheres, which determines the weather, as well as four different island layouts. (I stuck with a northern island to sync up the weather with New York City.) And, this being an international trip, you’ll need to show your passport photo, which doubles as a character generator. You can shape your hair and face to your liking, but best of all, you can finally customize your character’s skin tone. Previously, you had to go through an annoying tanning process for a darker complexion.
That extra bit of representation goes a long way. I was immediately more connected with my brown-skinned character (sporting blazing white anime hair, because that’s how I really see myself), than I was with the simple models from Animal Crossing: New Leaf on the 3DS. As I picked the ideal spot for my tent — with a river to the north and the ocean to my west — I visualized the sort of area I’d love to escape to in real life, away from anxiety-inducing headlines and reminders of the fragility of modern society.
A quick walk around my new home island “Lostia” (I never said I was very original) made it instantly clear how much of an upgrade New Horizons is. Every new entry in the series is typically an evolutionary leap, thanks to hardware advances. But this time around, it’s even more charming than I expected: the jagged edges and simple textures from the 3DS have been replaced with smooth 3D models and luscious colors. Every area on the island — from forests rustling in the wind to wave-lapped shores — is painstakingly detailed and alive, responding to the weather and time of day. Playing New Horizons is like jumping into an interactive storybook.
Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
And given this is a game where you’re mainly exploring the world and interacting with other villagers, Nintendo has paid close attention to every character model. Tom Nook and his raccoon kin have never looked cuter and more expressive; the sea-faring seagull Gulliver’s shiny beak glistens in the sun every time he washes ashore. Every character is unique and expressive, which makes it particularly thrilling whenever you run into visitors and new community members. That level of detail carries over to your character — your hair styles and outfits are endlessly creative, and you’ll never tire of finding hip new accessories.
New Horizons is more than just a graphical upgrade too: Every sound element is crafted to be as chill as possible. The game’s main theme, a gentle tune led by a soft trumpet and ukulele melody, captures the mood perfectly. It evokes nostalgia while hinting at wonder and adventure ahead. It’s like something you’d find in a slice of life anime series, where there’s often very little plot, just characters going about their lives.
Beyond the music, the game’s sound design deftly bottles the experience of living on a remote island to ASMR levels of brain-tingling joy. I found myself reveling in the moments where I could put on a pair of great headphones and listen to the wind blowing through the trees, or the sounds of insects on a quiet chilly night. I’ll probably never live by the seashore, but I’ll always be able to fish by the calm seaside in New Horizons. It’s as if the developers tried to bottle up every sound of nature that relaxes humans — just in time for us to be locked in our homes as we self-quarantine against coronavirus.
Once your camp is set up, you’ll get a “Nook Phone” from Tom Nook that serves as your main progress hub. (Of course he’s a tech CEO now too.) It’ll help you keep track of DIY crafting recipes, which you can use at workbenches to build new items; earn Nook Miles, a currency based entirely on things you do; design custom items; and even get rescued if you manage to get stuck somewhere on the island. There’s also a camera mode for capturing the perfect in-game selfie.
Nook, the capitalist monster that he is, doesn’t waste time burdening you with a bill. But unlike other Animal Crossing games, you can pay off the cost of your trip through Nook Miles, which you earn quickly early on by doing things like collecting weeds, chatting with your neighbors, and in general being a solid member of the community. You can also use those miles later on to buy specialty equipment and more crafting skills. It didn’t take me long to pay off Nook, but then he dangled another carrot in front of my world-weary millennial face. A home of my very own! How could I say no?
And so began my frenemy relationship with Nook, someone you always end up owing in Animal Crossing. He means well, but you’ll quickly notice you end up doing most of his grunt work. Compared to the real world, though, he’s an angel. Nook may charge you an eye-popping amount of bells to upgrade your flimsy tent into a genuine home with a roof, but there’s no interest on your debt, and no forced payment schedule. You just need to explore your town, earn some cash, and pay it off whenever you can. That’s infinitely better than dealing with college loans in your thirties and fighting with banks and our insane credit system to own a home.
DIY crafting, which debuted in the Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp mobile game, also changes up the flow of the series for the better. Instead of just earning money to buy furniture, clothes and other accessories, you can build them on your own, assuming you have the proper materials. That makes chopping wood, mining for stone and metal and collecting cherries far more rewarding than previous titles.
Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to try the local or online multiplayer portions of the game, but I’m definitely looking forward to sharing my island experience with friends down the line. And if you share your Switch, you better get used to living on a single island with everyone else in your household. That seems like a particularly draconian move by Nintendo — the only way to get multiple islands is to buy more copies of the game. I also didn’t get to test the New Horizons features in the Switch Online App for smartphones. It’s your gateway to voice chatting with friends, and you’ll also be able to scan QR codes for unique items from older Animal Crossing games.
After diving into New Horizons for about 12 hours, my island utopia has finally started to take shape. There’s an impressively large museum to display the fossils and animals I’ve collected. I helped construct a thriving store run by the Nook kids. And my house is shaping up into quite the bachelor pad, with an expensive stereo, a grown-up reclaimed wood bed and a microphone for my dreams of in-game podcasting. More so than any Animal Crossing before it, New Horizons has become a calming ritual for me. I look forward to checking on my island every morning, greeting newcomers, and taking another look every night to sell items before the shop closes.
It may seem a bit frivolous, but all of the time I spent in the game was time spent avoiding political fights on Twitter, news about how we’re ill-equipped to fight the coronavirus, and fretting about the fate of our civilization. Every moment spent in New Horizons is a moment I can breathe a bit easier, which feels like a miracle today.
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Tech
Moto Edge 50 Ultra unveiled with SD 8s Gen 3, 64MP 3x periscope and real wood back – GSMArena.com news – GSMArena.com
Do you miss the days when Motorolas could be styled with real wood backs? The new Motorola Edge 50 Ultra has a real wood option along with two vegan leather colorways – Forest Grey and Peach Fuzz (Pantone’s Color of the Year 2024).
Motorola Edge 50 Ultra Nordic Wood
There was no Ultra model last year, so this isn’t a sequel but rather an upgrade over the Edge 50 Pro that was unveiled a couple of weeks ago. The Ultra brings more processing power and a better camera setup compared to the Pro.
Motorola Edge 50 Ultra Forest Gray and Peach Fuzz
It is based on the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3, a huge step up from the 7 Gen 3 chip inside the Pro. You get more RAM too, 12GB or 16GB (LPDDR5X) with more available via RAM boost. The storage is 512GB or 1TB (UFS 4.0).
The camera upgrades start with the main module, which is equipped with a 50MP 1/1.3” sensor – large enough to have 1.2µm pixels before quad pixel binning comes into play. It has omni-directional autofocus and OIS for the f/1.6 lens.
The standout camera is the 3x 72mm periscope, which is equipped with a 64MP sensors (0.7µm pixels) and a bright f/2.4 aperture. Next up is the 50MP ultra wide camera (0.64µm pixels), its f/2.0 lens has 122° field of view and autofocus for macro shots. The cameras use a laser autofocus system and a 3-in-1 sensor that helps with exposure, auto white balance and flicker detection.
The front camera has a 50MP sensor (0.64µm) with an f/1.9 lens with autofocus. All three cameras can record 4K video at 60fps. The main cam on the back and the selfie also have slow-mo modes at 1080p (120fps on the front, up to 960fps on the back).
Since 2024 is the year of AI, artificial smarts have been employed to help the camera. AI automatically adjusts the shutter speed and level of stabilization based on the scene. It also handles auto focus tracking. The new Photo Enhancement Engine optimizes the images for detail in the highlights and shadows, clarity, color and bokeh.
The Motorola Edge 50 Ultra is built around a curved 6.7” P-OLED display with 2,712 x 1,220px resolution (20:9). It runs at 144Hz and has a touch sampling rate of up to 360Hz (in gaming mode). The display peaks at 2,500 nits and uses DC dimming. The 10-bit color rendering gives it HDR10+ support and a certification for HD streaming from Netflix and Amazon.
Pantone is responsible for the Peach Fuzz colorway, but the color specialists also tested the display and certified it as Pantone Validated and Pantone Skintone Validated. The camera system is validated by Pantone as well.
The Ultra is built around an aluminum frame, the front features Gorilla Glass Victus with an anti-fingerprint coating. It is rated IP68 for dust and water resistance.
Motorola Edge 50 Ultra: Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 • 50W wireless charging • Gorilla Glass Victus
Like the Pro, it has a 4,500mAh battery with 125W TurboPower charging over USB and 50W wireless. Motorola says that plugging in for 4 minutes is enough to last you the rest of the day. Wired and wireless power sharing is available too.
The phone is available as single-SIM (SIM or eSIM) and dual-SIM (SIM and eSIM). It supports the latest Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) and Bluetooth 5.4, as well as Ultra Wide Band (UWB). The latter offers accurate distance and angle readings relative to other UWB-enabled devices like your friend’s phone or a UWB tag. Additionally, the USB-C port offers both USB 3.2 and DisplayPort 1.4 connectivity.
The phone comes with stereo speakers with tuning by Dolby Atmos, plus Dolby Head Tracking is also supported (Motorola just happened to also unveil new earbuds today).
Motorola Edge 50 Ultra
The Motorola Edge 50 Ultra will go on sale in select European countries in the coming weeks. The base model will have a price of €1,000. Additionally, the phone will be available in Asia, Latin America and Oceania. Check out our hands-on review for more on the phone.
As triathlete Robert Kirschman logs hour after hour on his stationary bike, he’s often visited by his training partner — his seven-year-old daughter Aubrey.
“She joins me for my workout. I set up her bike beside mine and she sits there for the whole hour and spins her legs a bit and we have fun,” Kirschman said.
Completing those bike rides, as well as regular runs and swim workouts, is hard enough for a person in perfect health. The 35-year-old from Meadow Lake, Sask., is battling gastrointestinal stromal tumour cancer, a rare affliction known as GIST.
The tumour was removed from his intestines, but not before the cancer spread to other organs. His cancer is categorized as Stage 4, the most advanced form. He’s on medication that has allowed him to maintain his quality of life, but he knows the drugs won’t be effective for the long term.
“Unfortunately, every line of treatment has a shelf life, so they won’t continue to work. But, you know, I’m holding out hope that some miracle comes along,” he said. “You never know, right? The longer I can last with each line of therapy, the better chance I have.”
WATCH | Sask. man training for half Ironman triathlon while battling Stage 4 cancer:
Robert Kirschman hopes to raise money and awareness for the rare ‘gastrointestinal stromal tumour’ cancer he is suffering from.
Whatever the future holds, he wants to take advantage of every day. He also wants to raise money and awareness for his little-known disease. He posts regular updates on his training to social media and is gaining a large following.
Kirschman is training to compete in a half Ironman triathlon in Florida in December. He’ll have to swim 1.9 kilometres, then cycle 90 kilometres, followed by a 21.1 kilometre run.
Working with Saskatoon coach Brad Spokes, he’s already up to more than 10 hours of training per week. He expects that to rise to 15 or more as the races day approaches.
Kirschman also wants to serve as an inspiration to his daughters, Aubrey and Ella.
“When I first got the news back in November, I was pretty down. The weight of reality, knowing that most likely, your goals and dreams for the far future are probably not going to come to fruition,” he said.
“But like anything else in life, once you have a little bit of time to deal with it, you just learn to accept it. I can’t let this situation destroy the time I have left. So I just keep moving forward.”
Tech
Google Pixel 9 series detailed with new Samsung Exynos Modem 5400 as Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL and Pixel 9 Pro Fold – Notebookcheck.net
While Wojciechowska stresses that ‘Pixel 9 Pro Fold’ may not be the final name for ‘comet’, ‘it is what Google is using at the moment’ within ‘software built for Google’s 2024 devices’. The same leaker reports that these devices will feature a new modem, albeit one still produced by Samsung’s Exynos division. Reportedly, Google has settled on the Exynos Modem 5400, a 3GPP Release 17 5G modem that will run alongside the Tensor G4 chipset.
In theory, the Exynos Modem 5400 should furnish the Pixel 9 series with satellite connectivity, although Samsung does not mention this in its press release. At any rate, Wojciechowska hints that this modem will also underpin a next-generation Pixel Tablet with 5G connectivity codenamed ‘clementine’. For now, all Pixel 9 series smartphones are expected to land in autumn 2024. In the meantime, Google will release the Pixel 8a in four colours, including a striking new green option.
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