After eight long years of hype and anticipation, Cyberpunk 2077 has finally officially launched. As fans would expect of a game from CD Projekt Red, the studio behind The Witcher 3, it’s a massive, complex game — and a damn good one, too. It has a surprisingly compelling story and a gigantic open world to explore in Night City.
I’ve spent over 40 hours with the game so far. That’s a lot of hours, but I still feel like I’ve seen only a fraction of what Cyberpunk 2077 has to offer. Still, there are a few handy things I’ve noted for those picking up the game on Thursday — tips and tricks I wish I knew before I loaded the game up for the first time.
What difference backstories make
When you start the game, you’ll be given the option of three backstories for V: Street Kid, Nomad or Corpo.
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Your choice will have two main impacts. First, it’ll effect the opening hour or so of the game, as you’ll start out in a different part of Night City, mingling with different characters, depending on which you choose. The Corpo starts in an office building, the Street Kid in a sleazy bar, the Nomad in the Badlands desert outside of Night City. About an hour in though, you’ll end up on the same path as a gun for hire alongside your pal Jackie.
The second, longer-lasting effect is that you’ll get different dialogue options based on which backstory you chose. I went for Corpo, which gave my V the ability to politic his way around certain sticky situations. In other words, your backstory doesn’t make as big as a difference as you might worry it does.
Stack attributes
More consequentially, you’ll get the option at the beginning of the game to distribute points to six different attributes: Body, Intelligence, Reflex, Technical Ability and Cool. Within each of these attributes, you’ll have perks you can unlock.
At first, I spread attribute points and perks around semi-evenly. I had an idea in my head that, like skill trees in most AAA games, I’d end up unlocking all the perks eventually anyway. In truth, you’re far better off choosing early on how you want to approach combat and tailor your attribute points and perks accordingly.
Broadly, there are two ways to handle combat: Force and stealth. But within this there are subdivisions. Within force, you can specialize in melee weapons, fisticuffs or gunplay. Within stealth, you can optimize your sleuthing (the Cool attribute and related perks that make it harder for enemies to detect you), hacking abilities (you’ll hack nearby tech to distract/harm enemies) or stealth- kill offense (like gnarly throwing daggers).
Obviously, you’ll adjust your style as you go through the game. But don’t do what I did and try to be balanced — balance is for suckers.
Breathtaking Johnny Silverhand.
Screenshot by CNET
Don’t just play the main quest
I had around five days to (try to) beat Cyberpunk 2077 and get a review out, so I was largely forced to ignore side quests and focus instead on finishing the main storyline. I highly recommend you not do this.
Cyberpunk’s story is one of its strengths. The relationship between V and Johnny Silverhand, a mercenary played by Keanu Reeves stuck inside V’s head, gives it a welcome focus. But Cyberpunk is about exploring Night City as much as it is seeing the narrative out to the end. The game itself encourages this, prompting you regularly to take a break from the main quest to go do other stuff.
And that stuff is good. Side quests are really fun, often more so than the main quests. They’re varied — from reigning in seven AI-powered cabs that have gone rogue (this was one of my favorites, since the rogue cabs had personalities that were often legitimately funny) to solving the mystery of a slain mayor — and turn Night City as a living, sprawling city.
Just as important, doing more side quests will give you access to better endings. I “finished” the game in about 25 hours (some critics, having done even less side questing than me, did so in 15-20 hours), but it’s clear from the ending I got that there are many possible endings — and that I got the worst one. Do more side quests and you’ll get more resolute, satisfying endings for V.
Don’t always use fast travel
This one is in a similar vein. There are fast travel points throughout the city that you’ll be able to use, especially tempting when your objective is on the other side of Night City. Sometimes you won’t have time to dilly dally, but you’ll often be rewarded for traveling via car or motorbike.
There is so, so much to do in Night City, and you’re bound to find something cool if you travel manually. Often you’ll find multiple cool things, as I would find myself making regular stops en route to the next quest location after seeing this or that icon beckoning me on the HUD map.
At a minimum, you’ll often find crimes in progress of being committed, with the Night City Police Department paying you if you break it up and apprehend (read: kill) the perps. Fighting crime often also yields solid loot, so you’re rarely left disappointed with the payoff.
Do gigs to get cash
Apart from side quests, in which you’ll help a character complete an overriding goal, there are “gigs.” These are more mercantile: A “fixer” will ask you to go do a job for them, like incapacitate an enemy, sneak through a hideout and place a tracker on a vehicle, or take an at-risk ally from one place to another. You are a gun for hire, after all.
These are fun and often challenging, and won’t take more than 10 or 20 minutes. You’ll need money in Cyberpunk — to buy cars, new weapons, and various upgrades — and so far I’ve found doing these gigs is the best way to make it. (There’s definitely some kind of get-rich-quick scheme in the game, but I’ve not found it yet.)
You can totally fail side quests
Just a quick thing to note: You absolutely can fail side quests and never get a chance to re-do them.
The first time I experienced this, I was midway through a quest revolving around a killer trying to seek forgiveness from the mother of the dude he killed. Toward the end of the quest, one of the dialogue options I had was, “Alright, I’ve seen enough” (or along those lines). I thought it was a cool reverse-psychology trick, so chose it. Nope, my patron just said “OK, fine” and the quest ended. No do-overs.
This is the same for challenges. One gig had me taking part in a shooting contest, with a special rifle being the top prize. I came second, and got nada. There was no option to re-do it: I just lost, and that was that.
No two playthroughs will be the same
As you can tell, choices matter in Cyberpunk 2077. This is especially true in the main story. Don’t go into the game with the impression that your choices make small, cosmetic differences only. How you react, and how you go about completing missions, can have a drastic effect.
I found this out early. In the opening section of the game, you’re tasked with getting a piece of military tech from a gang, and given the option to meet with an operative from the mega-corporation from which the tech was stolen. When I demoed the game back in June, I didn’t bother meeting the operative, and as a result had to blast my way out of the gang’s hideout. When I played through this time, I did meet the operative, and as a result her corp’s forces had a shootout with the gang, leaving me to scurry away more easily.
The result was a completely different experience, and I suspect the same is true for basically every mission, and in more drastic ways. Keep this in mind when you play — your decisions matter.
The federal government is ordering the dissolution of TikTok’s Canadian business after a national security review of the Chinese company behind the social media platform, but stopped short of ordering people to stay off the app.
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced the government’s “wind up” demand Wednesday, saying it is meant to address “risks” related to ByteDance Ltd.’s establishment of TikTok Technology Canada Inc.
“The decision was based on the information and evidence collected over the course of the review and on the advice of Canada’s security and intelligence community and other government partners,” he said in a statement.
The announcement added that the government is not blocking Canadians’ access to the TikTok application or their ability to create content.
However, it urged people to “adopt good cybersecurity practices and assess the possible risks of using social media platforms and applications, including how their information is likely to be protected, managed, used and shared by foreign actors, as well as to be aware of which country’s laws apply.”
Champagne’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment seeking details about what evidence led to the government’s dissolution demand, how long ByteDance has to comply and why the app is not being banned.
A TikTok spokesperson said in a statement that the shutdown of its Canadian offices will mean the loss of hundreds of well-paying local jobs.
“We will challenge this order in court,” the spokesperson said.
“The TikTok platform will remain available for creators to find an audience, explore new interests and for businesses to thrive.”
The federal Liberals ordered a national security review of TikTok in September 2023, but it was not public knowledge until The Canadian Press reported in March that it was investigating the company.
At the time, it said the review was based on the expansion of a business, which it said constituted the establishment of a new Canadian entity. It declined to provide any further details about what expansion it was reviewing.
A government database showed a notification of new business from TikTok in June 2023. It said Network Sense Ventures Ltd. in Toronto and Vancouver would engage in “marketing, advertising, and content/creator development activities in relation to the use of the TikTok app in Canada.”
Even before the review, ByteDance and TikTok were lightning rod for privacy and safety concerns because Chinese national security laws compel organizations in the country to assist with intelligence gathering.
Such concerns led the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a bill in March designed to ban TikTok unless its China-based owner sells its stake in the business.
Champagne’s office has maintained Canada’s review was not related to the U.S. bill, which has yet to pass.
Canada’s review was carried out through the Investment Canada Act, which allows the government to investigate any foreign investment with potential to might harm national security.
While cabinet can make investors sell parts of the business or shares, Champagne has said the act doesn’t allow him to disclose details of the review.
Wednesday’s dissolution order was made in accordance with the act.
The federal government banned TikTok from its mobile devices in February 2023 following the launch of an investigation into the company by federal and provincial privacy commissioners.
— With files from Anja Karadeglija in Ottawa
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
LONDON (AP) — Most people have accumulated a pile of data — selfies, emails, videos and more — on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die?
It’s wise to draft a will spelling out who inherits your physical assets after you’re gone, but don’t forget to take care of your digital estate too. Friends and family might treasure files and posts you’ve left behind, but they could get lost in digital purgatory after you pass away unless you take some simple steps.
Here’s how you can prepare your digital life for your survivors:
Apple
The iPhone maker lets you nominate a “ legacy contact ” who can access your Apple account’s data after you die. The company says it’s a secure way to give trusted people access to photos, files and messages. To set it up you’ll need an Apple device with a fairly recent operating system — iPhones and iPads need iOS or iPadOS 15.2 and MacBooks needs macOS Monterey 12.1.
For iPhones, go to settings, tap Sign-in & Security and then Legacy Contact. You can name one or more people, and they don’t need an Apple ID or device.
You’ll have to share an access key with your contact. It can be a digital version sent electronically, or you can print a copy or save it as a screenshot or PDF.
Take note that there are some types of files you won’t be able to pass on — including digital rights-protected music, movies and passwords stored in Apple’s password manager. Legacy contacts can only access a deceased user’s account for three years before Apple deletes the account.
Google
Google takes a different approach with its Inactive Account Manager, which allows you to share your data with someone if it notices that you’ve stopped using your account.
When setting it up, you need to decide how long Google should wait — from three to 18 months — before considering your account inactive. Once that time is up, Google can notify up to 10 people.
You can write a message informing them you’ve stopped using the account, and, optionally, include a link to download your data. You can choose what types of data they can access — including emails, photos, calendar entries and YouTube videos.
There’s also an option to automatically delete your account after three months of inactivity, so your contacts will have to download any data before that deadline.
Facebook and Instagram
Some social media platforms can preserve accounts for people who have died so that friends and family can honor their memories.
When users of Facebook or Instagram die, parent company Meta says it can memorialize the account if it gets a “valid request” from a friend or family member. Requests can be submitted through an online form.
The social media company strongly recommends Facebook users add a legacy contact to look after their memorial accounts. Legacy contacts can do things like respond to new friend requests and update pinned posts, but they can’t read private messages or remove or alter previous posts. You can only choose one person, who also has to have a Facebook account.
You can also ask Facebook or Instagram to delete a deceased user’s account if you’re a close family member or an executor. You’ll need to send in documents like a death certificate.
TikTok
The video-sharing platform says that if a user has died, people can submit a request to memorialize the account through the settings menu. Go to the Report a Problem section, then Account and profile, then Manage account, where you can report a deceased user.
Once an account has been memorialized, it will be labeled “Remembering.” No one will be able to log into the account, which prevents anyone from editing the profile or using the account to post new content or send messages.
X
It’s not possible to nominate a legacy contact on Elon Musk’s social media site. But family members or an authorized person can submit a request to deactivate a deceased user’s account.
Passwords
Besides the major online services, you’ll probably have dozens if not hundreds of other digital accounts that your survivors might need to access. You could just write all your login credentials down in a notebook and put it somewhere safe. But making a physical copy presents its own vulnerabilities. What if you lose track of it? What if someone finds it?
Instead, consider a password manager that has an emergency access feature. Password managers are digital vaults that you can use to store all your credentials. Some, like Keeper,Bitwarden and NordPass, allow users to nominate one or more trusted contacts who can access their keys in case of an emergency such as a death.
But there are a few catches: Those contacts also need to use the same password manager and you might have to pay for the service.
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Is there a tech challenge you need help figuring out? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your questions.
LONDON (AP) — Britain’s competition watchdog said Thursday it’s opening a formal investigation into Google’s partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic.
The Competition and Markets Authority said it has “sufficient information” to launch an initial probe after it sought input earlier this year on whether the deal would stifle competition.
The CMA has until Dec. 19 to decide whether to approve the deal or escalate its investigation.
“Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world,” the company said. “Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, and we don’t demand exclusive tech rights.”
San Francisco-based Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company has focused on increasing the safety and reliability of AI models. Google reportedly agreed last year to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic, which has a popular chatbot named Claude.
Anthropic said it’s cooperating with the regulator and will provide “the complete picture about Google’s investment and our commercial collaboration.”
“We are an independent company and none of our strategic partnerships or investor relationships diminish the independence of our corporate governance or our freedom to partner with others,” it said in a statement.
The U.K. regulator has been scrutinizing a raft of AI deals as investment money floods into the industry to capitalize on the artificial intelligence boom. Last month it cleared Anthropic’s $4 billion deal with Amazon and it has also signed off on Microsoft’s deals with two other AI startups, Inflection and Mistral.
