Category Archives: Cyberpunk

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. shares fell more than 5% Monday following a glitchy launch from the companys Grand Theft Auto franchise that lasted through the weekend.

Take-Two TTWO, -5.45% shares fell as much as 7% to an intraday low of $174.82, and closed the regular session down 5.5% at $177.60. In comparison, the S&P 500 index SPX, -0.00% finished the day virtually flat, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, -0.04% declined less than 0.1%.

Back on Thursday, Take-Twos Rockstar Games released Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy Definitive Edition on all major platforms, and since then several outlets have been reporting bugs, outraged gamers demanding refunds, and that those who bought the PC version of the game had not been able to play the game at all.

On Rockstars support page and Twitter account, the studio said it had updated the game and apologized for the inconvenience.

In a note, Jefferies analyst Andrew Uerkwitz, who has a buy rating and a $231 price target on Take-Two, said the launch will likely cause investors to lower their December quarter estimates and continue to question TTWOs ability to expand the portfolio while maintaining quality.

Admitting that his expectations for the launch had already been low, Uerkwitz said the launch troubles likely will likely remove some upside, and that while several fixes have already been implemented, including the PC version being available again; we do wonder how the game got launched in this state.

Gamers and investors have become particularly unforgiving when a game is released and it contains bugs. Thats become an even bigger issue since last years buggy release of the long-awaited and overdue Cyberpunk 2077 from CD Projekt SA CDR, -0.80% that forced distributors like Sony Group Corp. 6758, +1.31% to offer full refunds.

Since the Cyberpunk 2077 debacle, the number of delayed game releases has risen noticeably. Back in September, Take-Two said expansions of theGrand Theft Auto franchise and two immersive core titles would be delayed. In this past year, Electronic Arts Inc. EA, -2.86% delayed therelease of Battlefield 2042by a month, and Activision Blizzard Inc. ATVI, +1.06% said it was delaying the release Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV.

Of the 27 analysts who cover Take-Two, 17 have buy ratings and 10 have hold ratings, along with an average target price of $214.09, according to FactSet data.

Earlier in the month, Take-Two raised its bookings forecasts for the year during its quarterly earnings report.

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Take-Two stock falls more than 5% after Rockstar Games has 'Grand Theft Auto' trouble - MarketWatch

Blade Runner is a film franchise with a remarkable pedigree and enduring legacy. For 35 years, the on-screen iterations of the IP stood as one film and a few videogames from the mid-90s. Then, in 2017, three short films were added in the lead-up to Denis Villeneuves sequel to Ridley Scotts classic. And now Crunchyroll and Adult Swim add to that legacy with Blade Runner: Black Lotus, a new animated series that premieres on Nov. 13. Given the way the worlds been going, this particular dystopia might be more relevant than ever.

Based on Philip K. Dicks 1968 novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, the 1982 film Blade Runner received mixed reviews at first, but had outsized influence. The film helped popularize the cyberpunk subgenre of science fictionpioneered by novels like William Gibsons Neuromancer and Neal Stephensons Snow Crashfor global screen-going audiences, leading to a direct design and thematic influence on various futuristic works from seminal anime films Ghost in the Shell and Akira to the Star Wars prequels and Batman Beyond. Longstanding fans and newcomers alike can get a new view on the fictionalized megalopolis Los Angeles in Black Lotus. The new series reunites the creators behind last years Ghost in the Shell: SAC 2045, executive producer Joseph Chouwho has been trying to bring the series to animation since seeing The Animatrix and produced the 2017 anime short Blade Runner: Blackout 2022and directors Shinji Aramaki and Kenji Kamiyama.

The influential 1982 film, a high-tech, gritty neo-noir starring Harrison Ford, has been released as several different cuts. While the book was originally set in the sprawling megalopolis Los Angeles of 1992, the film changed the date to 2019a future where robots called replicants are built with expiration dates and implanted memories designed to perfectly mimic humans, and where specific police detectives are required to chase down and eliminate the runaways. These special police are colloquially called Blade Runnersthe occupation held by both Harrison Fords Decker in 1982 and Ryan Goslings K in the 2017 sequel.

A recurring theme coursing through the plot of both films is the question of what makes us human? Do robots designed to look, act, think, and feel like humans deserve autonomy and human rights? A conflict between humans and the robots made to serve them culminated in the anime short film Blade Runner: Blackout 2022, and sat foreboding in wait during the events of Blade Runner: 2049. Blade Runner: Black Lotus asks those questions and more of its audience, as Jessica Henwick stars as Elle, an amnesiac replicant whose only link to her forgotten past is the titular black lotus tattoo on her shoulder. Henwick, who starred in Netflixs Blood of Zeus animated show and has a starring role in the upcoming Matrix: Resurrections, will be the first female protagonist of a Blade Runner property.

She is joined by an all-star cast that includes Will Yun Leerecently seen in Netflixs two-season television adaptation of Richard Morgans cyberpunk novel Altered Carbonand self-professed geek and lifelong sci-fi fan Stephen Root, who plays Chief Earl Grant, a villain with a perspective Root describes as prejudicial.

During a recent press junket, the actors had nothing but praise for Chou, Aramaki, Kamiyama, and voice director Wes Gleason. They report Kamiyama-san and Aramaki-san were getting up at three and four in the morning local time to record with the actors across the world, remotely because of COVID. Root mentioned another challenge caused by the pandemic was the difficulty of finding a place to record because so many places just werent available. Overlap in Henwicks filming schedule meant that she was in Berlin preparing to film that other influential dystopian sci-fi property, The Matrix, and recording from there. Lee pointed-out that Chous skill as a polyglot and Gleasons interpretive knack for voice direction helped bridge the gap between the Japanese and U.S. sensibilities of the creative team, creating a seamless creative vision between the cast and the creators.

All three also described the breathtaking nature of the world their characters get to inhabit, and how the CG animation style left them in awe. That world is a major part of Blade Runners legacy and its staying power. Its something that Chou, Kamiyama, and Aramaki thought a lot about. The executive producer said that they knew this was a big glove to fill, that they needed to make something distinguishable and recognizable as Blade Runner, and that they wanted to find a middle-ground between the cartoonish and photorealistic ends of the CG animation spectrum.

Blade Runner was revolutionary for science fiction fans and creators. The neon signs, dark alleys, rain-soaked streets, and artfully-but-inarticulately constructed kanjiwhich Kamiyama-san described (through Chous translation) as endearing if flawedbecame mainstays of sprawling cyberpunk worlds. We saw this in The Fifth Element in 1997, and in the nonsense Korean signs in this years cyberpunk twin-stick shooter, The Ascent. All of these storiesBlade Runner and Blade Runner: 2049, Altered Carbon, Akira, Ghost in the Shell, even the 1995 and 2012 Judge Dredd moviesuse scale to impress upon the audience the alienating nature of metropolitan life. The Blade Runner stories specifically deal with individuals trying to decipher their identity and their memory as small cogs in a greater machine.

The films are set on Earth in Los Angeles even though they exist in a universe where off-world colonization and warfare are happening. The stories zoom in on people that might be insignificant, getting a chance at significance. And 2049 focused on a subversion of what that significance might mean. Theyre tools used by the powerful to oppress people like them. Theyre individuals thrust into the crosshairs of conflict while working their regular jobs. Blade Runner is the apex of cyberpunk neo-noir, and Blade Runner: Black Lotus is going to provide a whole new angle on that by focusing on a protagonist who works entirely outside of the system.

The adaptation of the series from the medium of film to television means making creative choices to adapt a cerebral story into an animated series; trying to hold onto what makes Blade Runner special while bringing it to a new form and audience. Aramaki (through Chou) stated that they needed to consider things like What is the point of the series being done through CG animation? [] What kind of action do we want to use here? What kind of entertainment can we provide? What is something new that we can contribute to the franchise? These ideas led to the fresh perspective that Blade Runner: Black Lotus will bring to the screen.

The film-to-television conversion also naturally includes the expansion of the character base to avoid running out of story to tell about one character, as Chou put it. In addition to the aforementioned actors, Wes Bentley takes over the role of Niander Wallace Jr., Jared Letos antagonist from Blade Runner: 2049. Brian Cox voices his father, Niander Wallace Sr. Josh Duhamel, Peyton List, Samira Wiley, Barkhad Abdi, Henry Czerny, Jason Spisak, Gregg Henry, and Elias Toufexis round-out the English language cast.

The directing teams purpose of the show is not just to be faithful to Blade Runners canon, but to expand the essence of Blade Runner. Coming into a new medium, the show offers a chance to serve as an entry point for people that did not get to experience the franchises advancement over the last 30 years.

With any piece of art, especially fiction, there has to be a consideration of how that art can ring true, and touch on parts of the lives real people are living. Cyberpunk is more poignant than ever, with advanced capitalism, mass corporate consolidation, and environmental degradation prevalent in our minds and in our world.

It has become surreal that Blade Runners commentary on contemporary society seems all the time less far off from reality, even if the dates are off. It is a franchise that, as executive producer Joseph Chou puts it, looks at class struggle and has in the replicants something that interprets issues of racial discrimination, as well as environmental problems. The themes of the series are more relevant than ever.

Blade Runner: Black Lotus deals with a giant corporation abusing technology to take over society. With the technology of replicants, the series will focus, as the movies before it, on the worth and meaning of a human life: what makes us human? As Henwick put it, As technology evolves over time and artificial intelligence becomes so much more evolved[] where does consciousness begin and end? What power is granted by the Wallace Corporations control of replicant technology and the means of economic production? What different sorts of problems might a female replicant with no past deal with that a male replicant cop does not? What freedom is afforded to her coming from outside of the system? These are plot-specific questions but they speak to problems and truths drawn from the real world.

Blade Runner is a franchise that delivers spectacle while delivering claustrophobia at scale. It visually and rhetorically delivers a dark aesthetic. Blade Runners mesmerizing visuals have captured the hearts and minds of fans and of creators that duplicate and imitate it through their own work. As we speed into a world encouraging us to participate in society by dissolving into technology, all its themes remain relevant. In Blade Runner: Black Lotus, we may have a singular piece of animation that speaks to its moment.

Blade Runner: Black Lotus premieres Saturday, Nov. 13 at midnight on Cartoon Networks Adult Swim and Crunchyroll.

Kevin Fox, Jr. is a freelance writer and Paste intern. He loves videogames, film, history, pop culture, sports, and human rights, and can be found on Twitter @kevinfoxjr.

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Blade Runner: Black Lotus and the Perpetual Relevance of Cyberpunk - Paste Magazine

And then there is The Matrix, which in 1999 took the metaverse to a whole new nightmarish level: there, the virtual world is a faithful replica of the real world. It was built by machines in order to harvest humans and exploit their natural heat and bioelectricity. In each of these works, therefore, the metaverse (or cyberspace, or Matrix) is a place that reminds us more of a nightmare than of a dream.

Perhaps The Matrix is the best allegory of the metaverse that is emerging in our reality, in which we are offered a virtual Eden to bury our heads in the sand and lead satisfying simulacra of life, while out there the climate crisis, the pandemic, inequality and exploitation are raging. Here it is, the metaverse promised by Zuckerberg: an environment in which we can invite friends avatars into our digital homes even if there is a lockdown, in which we can ski even when the snow no longer exists, in which we can already pretend to live in beautiful villas although in reality we are forced to live with roommates until we are 40.

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A brief history of the metaverse, from cyberpunk to Mark Zuckerberg - Domus

You may recall earlier this year when Hyundai introduced an EV restomod of its Pony hatchback the brands first mass-produced car as well as its first exported out of South Korea. With its recognizably Giugiaro wedge silhouette, the Pony was the perfect candidate for Hyundai to gut and electrify, in a cyberpunk sort of way. Now Hyundais moved onto its second act in this series, doing the same with its Grandeur premium sedan.

The Grandeur was Hyundais original flagship, though we know it better today as the Azera, which left the U.S. in 2017 around the time Genesis became a thing. The first generation of the sedan was sold from 1986 to 1992 and was essentially a badge-swapped Mitsubishi Debonair. It wouldnt be until the third-generation Grandeur emerged in 1998 sold here as the XG that Hyundai would design the car entirely in-house without involvement from Mitsubishi.

If that sounds familiar, its not terribly unlike the story of how the Pony came to be, as that hatch was a Morris Marina under the skin with Mitsubishi running gear. Theres something poetic about Hyundai taking its earliest products designed at a time when it lacked the scale or experience to build cars alone and reinventing them today with the full brunt of its global manufacturing muscle. Hyundai, look how far youve come.

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And so this Grandeur is a confluence of past and present in the coolest ways. Its still boxy as ever, but Hyundais interior design team in charge of the project led by Sang-ah Ko, Lee Dong-won and Woo-soon Choi per Korean Car Blog formed a through line to the automakers current aesthetic by employing the same pixel lighting motif that defines the new Ioniq 5. These little cube LEDs form the headlights and taillights, perfectly mimicking the graph-paper grid pattern of the grille. The brushed aluminum trim and silver turbofan-esque wheels are 80s as ever, but classy and discreet about it.

Really though, this Grandeur is most notable for its interior, which hearkens back to a very outdated sense of cushy, velvet-lined luxury. Think Cadillac of 40 years ago, with the benefit of Japans bubble-era technological dominance via the Mitsubishi connection. The seat upholstery is red velvet, though lacking the overstuffed, diamond-stitched pillowy patterns that the original Grandeurs thrones wouldve had. The door cards have been resurfaced in black leather, with amber light strips repeating down their sides. I absolutely love the warm glow they lend to the cabin.

Backseat passengers will take note of the speakers in the doors. Rather than obscuring these drivers with a plastic shroud, Hyundais interior designers decided to proudly call attention to them, lighting the hardware from the inside. Coupled with the infinity mirrors in the roof bringing the pixel motif into the car, its like sitting inside an opulent 80s nightclub on wheels, furnished with modern technology.

The original Grandeurs dashboard was overpopulated with little buttons partitioned by purpose. As youd expect, this tribute ditches all of that for an extra-long tablet that spans about two thirds of the dashs width, and hovers over an ebony shelf. Another vertical touchscreen faces the shifter, an oversized handle that looks like it could also govern half a citys worth of electricity at a power plant. I also like the mirror controls on the doors, this unbroken piece of stainless steel that belongs on a really nice beard trimmer.

Hyundai hasnt offered information on the powertrain of this one-off Grandeur, but thats not especially relevant. The key is its electric, which is of course at odds with the retro shell. Lots of carmakers are stuffing batteries inside old cars to garner some Instagram likes for a day or two Opel did it, Maserati too and so did Ford. Its getting a little tiresome, but its still a cool gesture when done well.

While writing this, I looked up the current Grandeur to remind myself what Hyundais flagships become, and what itd look like today if the Azera didnt disappear from our shores. Its a very stylish sedan actually really pretty, I think but even so, the manufacturer couldnt justify selling it in the U.S. Nostalgia sells though, and I reckon people with far thicker wallets than I would spend six figures on cars that look this faithfully old, but actually arent.

A straight restomod like this would never pass modern crash safety tests, of course. Still, given the popularity of 80s sci-fi nowadays, there must be a lane for a new car that looks legitimately ancient from the outside, not just retro-inspired like, say, the Ioniq 5. Folks still foam at the mouth over the DeLorean and will probably never stop. Theres a real opportunity here Hyundai, Im telling you.

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The Hyundai Grandeur Heritage Restomod Is '80s Luxury Gone Cyberpunk - Jalopnik

Unless you have a time machine, there's just no way you can play every great game that gets released. In fact - short of booting each game up to the title screen before moving onto the next - you probably can't even play half of them.

Though this "too many games, not enough time" problem has definitely got worse in recent years thanks to post-release content roadmaps becoming the norm, live service games feeling like jobs, and AAA titles increasing in scale to the point of bloat, it's actually a problem that's existed for decades.

After all, we can't be engaged with every different ecosystem, platform, and genre, and with each passing year, there's bound to be a load of awesome stuff that doesn't even blip your radar.

The positive spin here is that - should you ever find yourself in a dry spell where you don't know what to play - there are hundreds of incredible games out there that you originally missed, or, in some cases, didn't even hear about.

So, on that latter note, here are some recommendations: those hidden gems and forgotten gaming greats that most people missed entirely.

We may be living in the golden age of superhero video games thanks to world-class dev teams like Insomniac and Rocksteady, but that far-off land of the 1990s still had the occasional standout title in the comic-book realm.

Based on an obscure French-American animated series (which was based on an equally-obscure comic-book hero), Phantom 2040 is, for lack of a more elegant term, the absolute bee's knees. You play as the title character, a costumed crime-fighter operating in the futuristic city of Metropia, battling mechs, robot insects, and perhaps the most evil villain of all... a faceless corporation.

With Metroid-style exploration and a totally banging soundtrack, Phantom 2040 is a quintessential '90s side-scroller, though it also manages to feel ahead of its time by incorporating player choice and multiple endings - around two-dozen, in fact.

It may lack originality, but everything it does, it does perfectly. The game is also elevated by the awesome, cyberpunk-y vibe of The Phantom IP - and unlike a certain other cyberpunk, this one won't glitch out on you every five minutes.

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10 Perfect Video Games (You've Never Heard Of) - WhatCulture

If youre as bonkers aboutRPGsas we are at this orange site right here, youll know that yesterday was the tenth anniversary of Skyrims debut. To mark the occasion, Bethesda launched a new Anniversary Edition of the iconic fantasy game, fans celebrated in all kinds of ways, and the studio put on a concert of Skyrim music but it wasnt all about the birthday Dragonborn. We also got a good new idea of what Bethesdas upcoming space game Starfield will bring.

From about the 51:12 mark onwards in Bethesdas Skyrim tenth anniversary fan celebration and concert video (below), the studio makes the leap from the Dovahkiins adventures to Starfield. Composer Inon Zur introduces us to the London Symphony Orchestra playing the Starfield Suite, which is accompanied by a pretty generous batch of new concept art to ogle.

As you can see in the gallery below, the studios given us a really good sense of Starfields worlds and feel. While its concept art, so wont necessarily reflect the exact places well get to head to in-game, it gives us an idea of the games tone and style. There are scenes that seem more familiar and inspiredby the sci-fi and cyberpunk genres the piled-high cities full of neon above and vendorsbustling down below, and the retro-futurist spaceships, for example.

Then there are the places that seem utterly otherworldly, with the sweeping, stream and tree-flanked boulevard, the strange planets various biomes, and the settlements and cities lodged in the mountains or cliffs.Heres the gallery of concept art weve thrown together from the concert:

And heres the celebration in full if you want to see them in action Bethesda pans across the images and adds charming little animations to some, which can give you a better sense of them in footage:

The Starfield release date isNovember 11, 2022. You can head to that link to get an idea of whats coming up in less than a year now, in fact.

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Starfield gets a big concept art reveal, with ships, cities, and strange worlds - PCGamesN

Back on November 10, 2020, we made a major change to Shacknews. We gamified the system, allowing our faithful community to both create whatever content they desired, but also get points for interacting with Shacknews the way they do every day from using Chatty to awarding Lols to simply reading and interacting with articles on Cortex and the front page. Its been a whole year since the launch and many a Cortex Article have been made since across a myriad of topics. What were the ones that caught our readers attention most? Well, we have that list right here. Here are the most viewed Shacknews Cortex articles of all time in its first year of existence.

By Daniel_Perez

Many may recall former Shackstaff and still-lurking-Shacker Daniel Perez. In fact, we know you do because he stopped in to share a Cortex post and the community let him know they remembered. He also happened to share that hes still a total weeb, showcasing his phone background which is VTuber Gura. Whether it was fandom solidarity with his VTuber phone background or just fond memories of Perez, Daniels little pop-in-and-say-hi pulled quite a few views, giving him the honor of kicking off this list. Keep doing that PR you do buddy. Youre a champ and obviously a Cortex contender.

By mlev

Do most people wandering through Shacknews.com know what Dungeons & Dragons is? Yeah, wed say of course they do. However, knowing about Dungeons & Dragons and knowing how to get into Dunegons & Dragons are two very different things. Thats likely a big part of what makes mlevs review of the Dungeons & Dragons The Essentials Kit so cool. First off, mlev doesnt assume you know. They take you through the whole intro to D&D and what kind of state its in. Then they guide us through the actual package, what it includes, and how well it introduces you to the game in a very well-thought-out use of the Shacknews Cortex review system. It got a lot of eyes and we hope there are at least a few more tabletop RPG enthusiasts because of it. Mlev really did this set justice in their explanation and critique.

By ejectorpod

One of the most enjoyable uses of Cortex (and definitely one that gets the conversations going) is that of food, whether exploring local favorites or cooking something up yourself. Ejectorpod was an early pioneer of this type of posting Shacknews Cortexs lifestyle, offering the Shacknews community a fantastic-looking coffee cake recipe they found. The coffee cake recipe article includes plenty of pictures of the baking process, as well as the delicious-looking final product and ejectorpod even does us the courtesy of a review to give us an idea of the difficulties of making the dish, the taste, and other factors that weigh as pros and cons. There have been plenty of delicious food posts on Cortex since, but this delightful coffee cake bake and review is one of the all-time best.

By Head Rush

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we all did a lot of things to cope and try to have fun in a bad time. Tabletop Simulator was kind of a godsend during the worst of it and Head Rush knew it, so they whipped up this neat article on playing Warhammer on TTS. Not only does Head Rush lend some information to those who want to play as well, but they even disclose some tips they wish theyd known when theyd started to make it easier. COVID-19 might not be as bad as it was, but this article is still very handy for if youre ever stuck inside and want to enjoy a good tabletop game despite being cooped up.

By r_picmip 5

Lets face it: When Cyberpunk 2077 first came out, it was an unoptimized mess. Whether you were facing down the cavalcade of bugs or just trying to wrestle against some awkward default controls, it left a lot to be desired. With that in mind, r_picmip 5 tackled one of the games little frustrations and took it behind the woodshed. This guide is simple, but it teaches PC players how to get rid of the annoying double tap to dodge controls: one of the games many obnoxious defaults. It must have been something a lot of folks were looking for too because it drew quite the clicks, proof positive that Cortex guides written by you can be as useful as any of ours if you know a topic thats driving people bonkers.

By shotgun1

A good craft cocktail can be delightful within reason and responsibility, and around the craze of Cyberpunk 2077, Shacker shotgun1 took the time to whip up a special little something for the Shacknews community and shared it in Cortex. The Johnny Silverhand is a cocktail based on a real drink found in Cyberpunk 2077. Its a tequila Old Fashioned with a splash of beer and chili garnish, making for quite the wombo combo of citrusy and spicy. Cyberpunk 2077 may not have been as good as we wanted it to be, but shotgun1 gave a lot of folks the means to drink away their disappointment over the holidays with a choice cocktail creation.

By mr.sleepy

Early in 2021, mr. sleepy got into some comedy games writing in Cortex. Not every article was good enough to make it into the top 10, but occasionally, mr. sleepy hit that perfect balance of comedy and this could be real. I should click and read it. His article spoofing an interview with CD Projekt RED lead Antoni Szymon is one of those. Its humdinger of a spoof, playing at the idea that even CDPR didnt know how to fix Cyberpunk 2077 (something more than a year later, were inclined to believe). Mr. sleepys comedy Cortex posts are usually pretty good anyways, but this one was a bonified home run.

By mlev

In one of the only repeating appearances on this list, mlev did it again. They really seemed to have nailed down a niche for guiding hopeful Dungeons & Dragons players towards content that would ease them into the game, especially in a time where it was hard to get together with others to play. Only difference was, this adventure was specifically designed by mlev! They made it just for new DMs dipping their toes into the game and it caught a lot of eyes. Both inside and outside the Shacknews community, readers really dug what mlev put together because there were few other Cortex articles that garnered more attention (and were saying this got a lot of attention). Well played, mlev!

By mr. sleepy

Coming in hot at number two is our only other second appearance in the Cortex first year Hall-of-Fame. Weve already talked about how mr. sleepys comedic articles really hit it out of the park when they sound just a little too close to real while still being parody. This is another one of those. Boy howdy, did this get some hopes up before folks realized that Luigis Apartment would be a little too silly (or would it?!). We have to say, its a little on point that mr. sleepy interviews Satoru Iwata, who had been dead for five years at the time of this article. Really adds that g-g-g-g-g-g-GHOST flair. Either way, this is one of the most viewed articles on Cortex. Of all of mr. sleepys spoofs, this was the one that got tons of folks real good.

...

By at0micgarden

You know, theres something to be said about a good, simple guide. You might think its click-baity, but when they're done right and have something folks want, they draw all the eyes. Even in Cortex, this simple guide to getting the most out of an LG CX OLED television is the most clicked and most viewed Cortex article of all-time so far. Dont get us wrong, theres a lot of views on the creative stuff above (the Luigis Apartment parody was actually quite close to this in views). However, it turns out that a lot of folks out there just really need a hand getting the most pixel perfect clarity out of their LG CX TV! Were not going to judge. at0micgarden found that magical niche that folks were looking for and knocked it out of the park with this extensive guide. Congratulations. You have the most viewed Cortex article so far.

That covers our list of the most viewed Cortex articles in its first year of life. Thank you all for your part in bringing life to Cortex. The above list is only a sampling of the cool stuff that has rolled through Cortex since its launch and rest-assured, there are more cool things on the way. What was your favorite Cortex article? Let us know in the Shacknews Chatty section below! And don't forget that you, too, can be part of Cortex! Have something to post? An interesting idea, a funny one, a hobby, some pictures from a trip? Post it in Cortex! Maybe next year, you could end up on our hallowed list.

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.

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10 most-viewed Shacknews Cortex articles from its first year - Shacknews

CD Projekt Red appears to have confirmed that all future updates and DLC for Cyberpunk 2077 have slipped into next year.

The info comes following the company quietly updating a roadmap for the game. While the Our Commitment to Quality page was first established in January, the updates roadmap has since been tweaked. As of October 28, 2021 all future updates and content for the game now appear to be targeted for 2022.

It shouldnt come as too much of a surprise, of course. Just over a week ago the company announced that next-gen updates for both Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3 were being moved into next year. The games most recent major updatePatch 1.3launched back in September and will be the last substantial update this year.

On the positive side, these future updates should mainly be quality of life and additions. Back in June, company CEO Adam Kiciski called the games stability at a satisfactory level. Its not known what Cyberpunk 2077 DLC we can expect, but Gabriel Amatangelo was appointed the games director earlier this year.

Cyberpunk 2077 is available now on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 and PC. You can check out what Josh made of the game at launch in his review just over here.

on Google Stadia, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X

Players will be thrown into the dark future of the year 2077

Release Date:

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Cyberpunk 2077 sees all new updates and free DLC pushed into next year - Videogamer.com

Dystopian Diablo-em-up The Ascent has an extra gorgeous setting, a planet called Veles that is 80% burnished gunmetal by weight. (The other 20% is neon.) It's so good-looking that players have been using the Universal Unreal Engine 4 Unlocker to take sweet screenshots, but now there's a way to do that without downloading a third-party program. The latest update by developers Neon Giant adds a photo mode, which you can activate by turning it on in the gameplay settings and then pressing P.

Photo mode comes alongside a patch that should improve stability and has a few fixes for audio, collision, and slow-loading in online co-op. The update also includes 10 new weapon skins and two shirts. A separate Halloween Pack DLC is also available for free, which contains a skeleton shirt, a skull face tattoo, and Jack o'Lantern headgear for your gun-toting punk.

Neon Giant has revealed the post-launch roadmap for The Ascent, with two more updates planned for this year. The first will include a much-requested transmogrification feature, while the second will bring side-mission VO and a winter pack, presumably containing festive cosmetics. Next year: a Chongqing pack and another much-requested feature, new game+ mode.

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Cyberpunk action-RPG The Ascent gets a photo mode - PC Gamer

Cyberpunk 2077 is continuously getting patched by CD Projekt Red to maximise the potential of the game, but what are the best community-made mods for PC?

There are a number of mods available for the controversial game, with some designed to try and make the experience a far more enjoyable one than the often buggy original.

Heres our list of the best Cyberpunk 2077 mods ranked from Worst to Best.

Fairly simple this one, but great nonetheless. More Options allows players to tweak elements in the menus of the game, unlocking options that were not previously available to gamers. There is a chance that messing with this could break the game (even more than it already is) though, so proceed with caution if youre going to do so.

The CDPR game has had issues with performance ever since it was initially released, and the Cyber Engine Tweaks mod tries to help with that.

Cyber Engine Tweaks gives the game a frame rate boost, and it appears to work for the most part. This mod will also let you access the games console.

Cyberpunk 2077 mods arent really known for their imaginative names and The Alternate Crowd Behaviour and Other Tweaks mod follows in that vein.

What the mod does do however is add some dynamics to the crowds in the game, and youll find more traffic and parked cars on the map.

The AI in the game will also handle races better (somewhat) and there is improved asset streaming, which will come at an FPS cost so its worth bearing in mind it might slow the game quite a bit if youre on older hardware.

See what I mean about the names of these mods? Despite the unimaginative title, this is certainly one of the most exciting mods currently available.

Full Gameplay Rebalance changes up how aspects of the title actually run. Level scaling is no longer an issue, Crit chances are also lowered, enemies now actually have the ability to look upwards so you might actually get detected whilst sneaking!

This is by far the most expansive and best mod currently available for Cyberpunk 2077 on the PC, so it is certainly worth giving a go if you find the original version of the game getting a bit tedious.

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Cyberpunk 2077 Mods Ranked from Worst to Best - GIVEMESPORT