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With October Prime Day approaching fast, we're seeing new deals drop in the final hours of the lead up. One of the latest deals is on the M2-powered MacBook Air laptop, which you can snag right now for $749. That's $250 off and a new record low on the machine we consider to be the best budget MacBook in Apple's laptop lineup. In our initial M2 MacBook Air review, we were impressed by the laptop's thinner design, gorgeous 13.6-inch display, great quad-speaker setup and the M2 chip's excellent performance. It had been our top pick for the best MacBook, period, but the new M3 model has taken that top slot. However, the M2 Air doesn't skimp those on a budget (or anyone simply looking to save some cash) will still get a lot of laptop and a lot of power choosing this machine. One could argue, and our Daniel Cooper did, that the best thing about the M3 MacBook Air was the price drop given to the M2 Air after its launch. The M3 chip is pretty similar to the M2, and while there's no doubt that those who want the latest and greatest should get an M3 machine, an M2 laptop will be more than enough for most people using it as a daily driver. And, when you consider the M2 started at $1,200 when it first came out in 2022, it makes this discount even more compelling (it only received a price drop to $1,000 after the M3's debut). There are other discounts on the MacBook lineup at Amazon at the moment, too. The M3 MacBook Air is $200 off and down to $899, which is only $50 more than its record-low price. The 15-inch MacBook with an M3 chip is also $200 off and on sale for $1,099. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice, and stay tuned to Engadget.com for all of the best tech deals coming out of October Prime Day 2024.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/prime-day-apple-deals-include-the-m2-macbook-air-for-a-record-low-of-749-121848970.html?src=rss
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At yesterday's Halo World Championships, developer 343 Industries announced that it was officially changing its name to Halo Studios. The company also revealed that it has multiple new games in the pipeline and is switching all future Halo development from its proprietary Slipspace Engine to Unreal Engine 5. In a YouTube video (below) the new studio showed elements from the "Project Foundry" Unreal Engine research effort that has been ongoing for the past several years. While just a tech demo for now, it showed Master Chief and Covenant elite designs, along with three biomes including a Cascades-type location, Flood-impacted Blightlands and snowy Coldlands. "Respectfully, some components of Slipspace are almost 25 years old, Halo Studios art director Chris Matthews told Xbox Wire. Although 343 were developing it continuously, there are aspects of Unreal that Epic has been developing for some time, which are unavailable to us in Slipspace and would have taken huge amounts of time and resources to try and replicate." The company plans to hire new employees and have multiple teams working on several games at once using a centralized UE5 pipeline. Halo Studios didn't reveal any specific projects or timelines, with CEO Pierre Hintze simply saying that they'll be "ready when they're ready." The studio has been under the leadership of Hintze, GM Bryan Koski and COO Elizabeth Van Wyck since studio GM Bonnie Ross left in 2022. Some of this information was leaked in early 2023, with reports that 343 was "starting from scratch" on Halo development following layoffs. The studio was said to be shifting to Unreal Engine after struggling with its aging Slipspace platform. At the time, 343 Industries affirmed that it was "here to stay" following rumors that Microsoft might shift the Halo franchise to other studios.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/halo-developer-343-industries-rebrands-itself-to-halo-studios-120041943.html?src=rss
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Playing Phoenix Springs feels like being trapped in a gorgeous dream thats steadily becoming a nightmare. Its a point-and-click mystery set in a bleak futuristic world of dramatic shadows and muted primary colors, its scenes connected by streams of anxious static. The game stars Iris Dormer, a technology reporter whos searching for her estranged brother, Leo. Her hunt takes her from the abandoned buildings of a rundown city, to a rich suburb, and finally to Phoenix Springs, a desert oasis bathed in golden light and occupied by a handful of odd, disconnected people. Iris is the heart of Phoenix Springs. She narrates the on-screen action in a stoic, unaffected tone that belies the cutting poetry of her observations. Iris has just three options when interacting with people and items: talk to, look at or use. Relevant concepts and objects are collected in her mental inventory, a simple word cloud of black text on a white background. Open the inventory with a right click and select a word to bring it into the scene, where its combinable with other ideas and with Iris herself, prompting her to remember the clue or provide more details about it. Making Iris remember certain things is a key mechanic throughout the mystery, and its a good move to keep in mind if you ever feel stuck in a point-and-click hole while playing. Iris is the games only voice and she talks directly to the player, sharing unfiltered thoughts as she processes each new set piece. Iris is jaded, dogged and insightful, and her cadence is sedate but sharp. Its the kind of voice that could make a take-out menu sound both sinister and profound, and its a thrill to listen to throughout Phoenix Springs. Iris city is desolate and rife with inequity. The streets are dotted with deserted buildings and barbed wire, and only the richest citizens are allowed to use energy without restriction. Down one alleyway, an intoxicated man is passed out on top of a shipping container, while a mute boy sits nearby, making a plant dance with an electronic box. In an abandoned university, a DJ blasts a thundering playlist for days on end as part of a mass sleep-deprivation experiment, delirious dancers and unconscious bodies piling up on the auditorium floor. The city's shadows are tinged with green, oppressive and sickly. Theres a mid-century edge to the games technology globe lights, push-button intercoms, bulky computer terminals and long train rides which makes the world feel intensely familiar, at least until the stasis pods appear. Make no mistake, Phoenix Springs is hard cyberpunk. Oddly enough, this only becomes clearer once you make your way to the oasis. The lushness of Phoenix Springs is an immediate relief, its flowing waters, red wooden huts and vibrant natural textures highlighting the sterility of the citys metal, glass and wires. Its almost relaxing enough to make you ignore the high strangeness of everything and everyone there. Almost. Calligram Studio On top of combining items to generate new leads about Leos disappearance, its critical to speak with people, bring them relevant ideas from your inventory and listen closely to their answers. The game relies on making common-sense connections and following your intuition, and rarely are solutions provided at face value. At times trial-and-error is a valid way to progress, and in other cases its just a matter of taking a breath and thinking about the problem from a fresh angle. My advice is to have patience and try absolutely everything that comes to mind; if youre paying attention, chances are, youre on the right track. Phoenix Springs occasionally suffers from the most common issue in point-and-click games, where it feels like youve tried every combination and nothing is working, so you just randomly click around until something happens but I encountered only two instances like this in about six hours of playtime. Thankfully, Calligram Studio provides a link to a walkthrough guide in the pause screen, so hope is never truly lost. Calligram Studio The games simple control scheme supports a surprisingly complex narrative that unspools in Iris measured narration. Theres nothing rushed about Phoenix Springs. Iris walks leisurely across expansive wide shots, her light blue silhouette cutting through high grasses and across cold concrete at the same unhurried pace. When she speaks, she gives each thought time to permeate the scene, sentences short and powerful. Haunting choir chords and droning bass lines are eventually replaced by pristine silence and birdsong. Where the environments arent blanketed in shadow, their colors constantly shift like theres a stop-motion river flowing just beneath the screen. Each second of Phoenix Springs demands your attention. In return, the game provides a million moments of intrigue for your eyes, ears and deductive mind. And at the inevitable conclusion, every small detail slides elegantly into place. I want to print out this game, frame by frame, and plaster its hand-drawn neo-noir vistas over every square inch of my office walls. Phoenix Springs is an interactive art installation that happens to use point-and-click game mechanics, and Calligram Studios emphasis on creating something beautiful and then using this canvas to tell a twisted story about biohacking and familial love is clear. Calligram Studio Whats exciting about Phoenix Springs is that it excels as both a piece of art and a detective game. It occupies a similar territory as Kentucky Route Zero, another title that offers depressing social commentary in a visually fascinating package, also made by a small artist collective. In the case of Phoenix Springs, stunning art direction, expert writing, incredible sound design, fabulous voice acting and satisfying mechanics combine to create an unforgettable, utterly unique sci-fi experience. Sure, Phoenix Springs is a game but mostly, its gorgeous. Phoenix Springs is now available on PC, Mac and Linux, developed and published by Calligram Studio. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/phoenix-springs-review-a-dazzling-and-disquieting-sci-fi-mystery-120029156.html?src=rss
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