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Proving that truly no IP is safe from modern reboot culture, Ataris Breakout is back. The upcoming version of the simple 1976 brick-smashing hit rotates the playing field by 90 degrees and adds auto-scrolling, neon effects, power-ups and local co-op. In other words, Breakout Beyond is the Tetris Effect formula applied to the Led Zeppelin-era arcade classic. The original Breakout was a product of dramatically more limited 1970s hardware, but its simplicity was part of its magic. Rows of bricks sat up top, a player-controlled paddle lived down below and a ball (actually a square, thanks to 70s graphics) bounced in between. Move paddle, hit ball, smash bricks, wow bellbottom-wearing arcadegoers. The core formula moving a paddle to bounce projectiles against bricks remains intact in Breakout Beyond. But the games landscape perspective, while better suited for todays televisions and monitors, may be hard for old-school gamers to get used to. Ditto for auto-scrolling, as this version pans left-to-right toward a goal rather than simply requiring you to break all the bricks on a fixed screen. Atari Visually, the new versions ball is more like a comet, with a long neon tail trailing off behind its round head. Seizure-inducing effects abound. And there are multiple balls to contend with, not just one. (However, Super Breakout, the original games direct sequel, had two modes with extra balls.) Like Tetris Effect, Breakout Beyond introduces combos, rewarding you with intensified visual and sound effects for stringing together streams of broken bricks. You can also break special blocks that unlock power-ups: bombs that clear out everything from a set radius, a force field to shield the ball and a freakin laser cannon that lets you blast bricks out of your way, a la Space Invaders. The game supports two-player local co-op so you can smash bricks with a couch buddy. It has 72 levels and an optional focus mode that slows down time (at the expense of higher scores). Breakout Beyond will arrive later this year for PC, Switch, Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One, PlayStation 5/4 and Ataris rebooted VCS console. Theres no pricing info yet. You can check it out in the trailer below and learn more on Ataris product page. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/ataris-breakout-is-getting-a-side-scrolling-reboot-175410378.html?src=rss
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Marketing and Advertising
Xbox just announced the new titles that will be available for Game Pass this month, and its a good list. Theres a big day one release, an indie gem and, of course, a newish Madden title. Lets get to it. The big news? Avowed is a day one release for subscribers. We knew Obsidians upcoming fantasy epic would come out on February 18, but now we know itll be instantly available for Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass users. This is a first-person action RPG from the company that brought us Fallout: New Vegas, so its a pretty big deal. Its a spinoff of Pillars of Eternity, though set in a new land. Another Crabs Treasure is a unique soulslike that trades in the genres typical grimdark aesthetic for a bright, cartoon-like color palette. However, its still tough as nails. You play as a crab trying to get its shell back. The game was already available for Ultimate subscribers, but on February 5 it drops for Standard users. Madden NFL 25, not to be confused with the Madden 25 that actually came out in 2013, is EAs latest football sim. You know the drill here: Its a Madden game. The title will be available on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass on February 6. Far Cry New Dawn is available right now for all Game Pass tiers. This 2019 FPS fell under the radar a bit, but its a solid entry in the franchise. Its also set after a nuclear apocalypse, which is always a fun time. There are also some more games coming to Game Pass Standard that used to be locked behind an Ultimate subscription. These include Starfield and Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes on February 5.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/februarys-game-pass-additions-include-avowed-and-madden-nfl-25-164313670.html?src=rss
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Marketing and Advertising
Typically when we think of Apple and "invites," it's because the company is about to show off some new gear at a splashy product launch. But this time around, the product in question is a new invites app. The idea behind Apple Invites is that you can create and share custom invitations for any event or occasion. You can use your own photos or backgrounds in the app as an image for the invite. Image Playground is built into Invites and you can use that to generate an images for the invitation instead. Other Apple Intelligence features such as Writing Tools are baked in as well, in case you need a hand to craft the right message for your invitation. It's worth noting that only folks with a paid iCloud (aka iCloud+) plan can create an invite in the app. There are no limits on how many events you can host, but each one is limited to 100 participants. As might expect, events will appear in the Calendar app (to which Apple has made some changes in recent months, including the integration of Reminders, amid the rollout of iOS 18). Anyone can RSVP to invites in the app or on the web. You won't need an Apple Account or device to do so. However, if you do have an iPhone and the app, you can add photos and photos and videos from the event to a Shared Album (in case you need to feel like it's 2008 and we're all living on Facebook again). Even better, you can help decide what to listen to during the get-together by collaborating on Apple Music playlists. There's Weather and Maps integration to provide guests with directions and a forecast on the day of the event. Privacy is a factor here. Hosts can choose whether to share their home address in the invite, while guests have control over how their details appear to others. The app seems useful and pretty fun. The Shared Albums and Apple Music collaboration features make it seem more interesting than a boring-ass Outlook invite ever could be.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/apple-invites-is-a-new-iphone-app-to-manage-your-social-life-162125095.html?src=rss
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Marketing and Advertising
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