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Hands On: Dipping Into Island Life In Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Nintendo Life

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Animal Crossing games don’t come around all that often – at least not mainline games – so it’s hardly an understatement to say that hype surrounding Animal Crossing: New Horizons has been a touch feverish recently. Well, we were lucky enough to get our hands on it for a short time at Nintendo’s UK offices, and the gossip is just too juicy not to share, so strap yourselves in for a time of goodness.

We played three different save files so that we could see the game in various different stages, one when you’ve just started out on your island, one a fair ways down the line, and a final one where even the supremely exciting terraforming systems are unlocked; and yes, we terraformed, baby.

The first thing that hit us is just how pretty the game is. Yes we’ve seen screenshots and video footage in various different areas, but none of that really managed to do it justice. Seeing it in person showed just how sharp the whole game is, despite all the rounded corners on just about everything. Colours pop out at you, details as fine as Timmy and Tommy’s face fur are crisp and refined, the various lighting effects cast a wonderful array of different feels across your character and the surrounding environment, the entire thing is nothing short of drop-dead gorgeous.

This trend also carries over to how the characters behave and move; you’ll see villagers milling around as they usually do, but everyone seems to be living their own lives as well, rather than just waiting for you to interact with them and give their existence some semblance of meaning. Tom Nook can be found reading a book as you walk into Resident Services, Isabelle was diligently dusting her work area, they’re much more real, at least as real as giant anthropomorphic animals can be.

The animations have also had an upgrade, albeit less obviously. Running now carries real weight as your character snaps their arms back and forth rather than doing that strange ‘floaty’ sprint in New Leaf and pole vaulting over rivers feels substantial; it all aids in making your actions feel that much more true-to-life.

But what was most impressive was how in the earliest save file the island felt serene, calm, but properly isolated. You’re not walking in on an existing town and reigning over the occupants as the rightful dictator that you are; you’re hand-crafting this whole area from scratch, right down to the land and waters themselves (eventually). This is your island, your vision, and it’s more flexible than it has ever been before. Crafting is also an interesting addition; we didn’t fully realise just how much we’d need the resources found on the island to get by, so farming wood, stone, metal and other materials looks like it’s certainly going to bulk out your daily endeavours significantly. No more playing the game for an hour and feeling like you’ve done all you can do, yahoo!

Moving further on to the second save file, we started seeing a slightly more ‘traditional’ Animal Crossing layout to some degree. More houses, more villagers, fewer structures made of canvas, but absolutely littered with objects on the outside. This really felt like the island we were playing had a lot more personality to it, a far more personal endeavour than just having the Museum in the top left-hand corner rather than the bottom right.

Oh and the Museum, the Museum. We don’t want to gush about the visuals too much but we can’t let this slide by without a mention. Having perused through the halls we were utterly floored at just how atmospheric, original, and downright real the museum felt. Vents on the walls, small gratings where you might expect them, ants surreptitiously stealing sugar from an unattended cup of coffee; it is without a doubt one of the most wonderful visual experiences we’ve had in a game.

And now we get onto the most exciting reveal of the past Direct, terraforming – we’re not sure if that’s what it’s called in-game, but that’s what we’re calling it and we make the rules around here. We were only able to play around for a short time with all this, but suffice it to say our curiosity has been sufficiently tickled. The whole notion of your choice of town in past games being an unshakeable, unchangeable decision has come crashing down, and we were able to not only build or carve out whatever we wanted, but we could at long last place flooring down without fearing that someone’s going to kick it into dust.

It seems almost too much freedom coming at it afresh, but considering how developed the island was when we were playing, we’re fairly certain you’ll be introduced to the concept slowly and gracefully rather than being dropped into it like we were. The scope is borderline endless, and when combined with the whole fruit-eating to move entire trees about the place, we can only imagine what wondrous creations fans will be crafting.

All in all, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is shaping up to completely and utterly usurp its predecessors. There seems to be almost no reason we can think of why we’d return to the other games once we own this proper, it’s improved upon every single aspect from past titles, and thrown in a whole host of new lovely little quality of life features to boot. If when it comes out it can hold our attention even half as well as it managed to in our short time playing it, we’re all going to be in for a treat like no other.

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Ottawa orders TikTok’s Canadian arm to be dissolved

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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.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Here is how to prepare your online accounts for when you die

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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.

___

Is there a tech challenge you need help figuring out? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your questions.

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Google’s partnership with AI startup Anthropic faces a UK competition investigation

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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.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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