Pokemon Scarlet and Violet suffer from serious performance issues, but it may not matter, Steam’s annual Autumn Sale has good games for computer players.

Visual defects can’t keep a good Pokemon game down

Nintendo’s newest entries in the popular Pokemon franchise, Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet, are groundbreaking in so many ways. Not all of them great.

Let’s start with the good stuff. Scarlet and Violet, developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo and the Pokemon Company, provide a full, open-world adventure game experience, allowing players to truly explore the region of Paldea. This shift alone brings the franchise into the modern gaming world.

That innovation is matched by a change in how the game’s activities are presented to you. There are three main quests to work through and each of them has an independent storyline. You can move between these anytime you want, mixing up the gameplay and getting some real variety.

There are new Pokemon to meet, too, including the starter choices Fuecoco, Sprigatito, and Quaxly, and the legendary Koraidon and Miraidon (which you get depends on whether you’ve picked up Scarlet (Koraidon) or Violet (Miraidon)). The creature designs are more inventive than they’ve been before, too, like the Cetitan – an evolved form of Cetoddle – which looks like a massive whale with legs. It might sound weird, but it looks amazing.

The music in Scarlet and Violet is also a level above what we’ve had before, with melodic themes that vary as much as the environments in the world, and hooks that stay with you.

But.

All of this comes with what can only be thought of as a cost. Because technically and graphically, Scarlet and Violet have issues. Animations clip and cut out. Sometimes they disappear altogether. When it’s raining in the world the graphics slow to a crawl. Creatures and objects fall into each other in strange ways. The game outright crashes on occasion.

the #PokemonScarletViolet experience pic.twitter.com/LAD37hgP6r

— migeo (@heatcrash_) November 21, 2022

The resident Pokemon expert in my house laughed through every one of the glitches and performance issues we encountered. And it’s likely that the biggest Pokemon fans will be just as willing to ignore the many visual defects in these games.

Game Freak and Nintendo do not get a pass for releasing a game with so many issues, and I’d hope that they find a way to continue improving this franchise while getting a handle on the performance issues.

It would be a shame for people to start laughing at their beloved Pokemon games for the wrong reasons.

Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet are available now exclusively for the Nintendo Switch. Rated everyone.

Steam’s annual Autumn Sale has deals for everyone

For those gamers in your life who play on computers more than consoles, the annual Steam Autumn Sale is where you should look for gift ideas.

The sale runs until November 29, and there’s great curation at Steam, so you can get some advice from other gamers in making your gift-buying decisions.

Consider Cyberpunk 2077, which is half price at $40, or the just-released Spider-Man Remastered, on sale for only $52.

You can get eight games in the Far Cry franchise for only $58, or individual games for between $3 and $16. Or all the games in the Doom franchise for only $23.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is only $8, Borderlands: The Handsome Collection is $15, and Left 4 Dead 2 is only $1.30.

Steam makes it easy for you to gift a game to someone, too.

The new Apple Store in Pacific Centre is glorious, watching World Cup on Air Canada flights, and some tech deals this Black Friday.

Apple Store in Vancouver’s Pacific Centre reopens just in time for holiday buying

The new Apple Store in downtown Vancouver is truly a flagship location for the consumer tech company.

The expansive space at the corner of Georgia and Howe in the heart of the city looks out onto the Vancouver Art Gallery. Another iconic building, the Hotel Vancouver is just over to the right.

It’s easy to see these landmarks from the Pacific Centre Apple Store thanks to the two-storey glass frontage, slightly curved at the edges in the same proportion as the curves on an iPhone.

This attention to detail is what we expect of Apple, and it’s what makes Apple Stores so inviting.

On the lower floor are the usual wooden tables arranged with Apple devices: iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks, all of them are enticing and inviting. Accessories for those devices, as well as other products like Apple Watch, Apple TV, and HomePod are displayed on wall shelving.

The second floor can be reached by climbing a long, dramatic stairwell that slashes up the back of the store, an equally dramatic skylight overhead. It’s even more open up there. A screen takes up most of the back wall, and towards the front of the store is a loft that looks down on the entrance, and out onto the streetscape.

This second floor is the gathering space, the place for sharing and learning. The tables here are free of products but with power and networking ports and stools to support the programs that Apple hosts in its spaces – everything from coding to media production– and the support provided by its resident geniuses.

Where the first Apple Store location in Pacific Centre, which opened in 2010, was in the middle of the mall, sandwiched between retailers selling jeans and others hawking personal health products, this new space befits the brand. It is unabashedly a Vancouver Apple Store, glass and all, and I’ve no doubt it will be filled from now through the holiday season.

Air Canada offering live television on flights within Canada

Just in time for the World Cup, Air Canada has added live, satellite TV to its inflight entertainment options. For now, the service is only available on select Boeing 777, Boeing 787, Airbus A330 and Airbus A220 aircraft.

Networks available on the flights include TSN and RDS for sports, CTV News Channel, BNN Bloomberg, and LCN for French-language news.

Best Black Friday consumer tech deals

Black Friday officially begins in a couple of days on November 25, but some of the following deals are available now.

• Dyson vacuums on sale include the Ball Allergy+ corded vacuums at $400 ($200) off and the Cyclone V10 cordless models starting at $630 ($100 off)
• Apple’s giving away gift cards with the purchase of select products. You’ll get a $70 card buying iPhone 13 models, certain iPads and accessories, and Apple Watches, and a $350 card when purchasing select Mac computers.
• Samsung Galaxy S22 series smartphones (S22, S22+, and S22 Ultra) are up to $290 off (read more about the S22)
• Google Pixel 7 starts at $650 ($150 off) and the Google Pixel 7 Pro starts at $880 ($300 off)
• Nikon Z 5 is $1,299 for the body ($500 off) and you can add a standard 24-50 mm lens kit for $400
• Microsoft Surface Pro 8 starting at $1,100 ($500 off) (read more about the Surface Pro 8)
• Acer 27 Predator monitors, including the XB3 high-definition for $350 ($150 off) and the XB1 ultra high-def for $400 ($400 off)
• Jabra Elite 7 Active $130 $110 off) and Jabra Elite 7 Pro $160 ($100 off) (read more about the Jabra earbuds)
• Huawei Watch GT 3 Elite for $299 ($130 off)
• PS5 controllers are $65 ($30 off)
• Nintendo Switch bundle $400, includes Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and a three-month subscription to Nintendo Switch Online (a $90 value)
• Xbox Series S $300 ($80 off)

This week on The Shift, Shane Hewitt and I talked about the curious game that is Pentiment, nostalgic gaming with Atari 50, the pending new Apple Store in Vancouver, and TP-Link’s announcement of Wi-Fi 7 routers and mesh networking devices.

Vancouver’s Apple Store is back, and TP-Link’s futuristic networking devices are coming soon.

Apple’s reopening its flagship Vancouver store this week

Just in time for the holiday gift-buying season, Apple’s reopening its Pacific Centre store in downtown Vancouver on Friday (November 18).

The facade of the store has been covered with a mural commissioned by Canadian designer Mooren Bofill and includes work from xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) weaver and artist, Debra Sparrow.

When the store reopens on Friday, customers will be able to take part in a number of activities, including Today at Apple Photo Tour sessions, which explore the city and teach you how to take the best photos with your iPhone.

There’s live music from Vancouver’s Boslen who will also be interviewed by George Stromboloupoulos (maybe the best Apple Music host?).

And choreographer Chloé Arnold will also perform.

TP-Link introduces a full line of Wi-Fi 7 networking devices

TP-Link, which manufactures and sells networking devices, is first out of the gate with a complete line of Wi-Fi 7 products.

Wi-Fi 7 refers to the international standard that uses three wireless bands: 2.4, 5, and 6 GHz. In ideal circumstances, it can provide 46 Gbps transmission, which would deliver a full-length, high-definition movie to your tablet in about thirty seconds.

Wi-Fi 7 also reduces latency (good for gamers) and with support for the dozens of devices in our homes and offices that are operating on our wireless networks.

The new design of the Archer BE900 router (US$699) is slick. It resembles a computer tower, with an “x” shape that hides the 12, optimally-positioned antennas inside the casing. And it’s got an LED screen that can display date and time and even the weather. And it will also show you the bandwidth at any given moment.

There’s also a new gaming router, the Archer GE800 (no pricing announced), which is built to reduce latency as much as possible and which can automatically prioritize gaming devices on the network.

TP-Link is also bringing Wi-Fi 7 to its line of Deco mesh networking systems. At the top of the list is Deco BE95 (2-pack for US$1,199) which promises to deliver 300% faster Wi-Fi than current Wi-Fi 6 mesh routers.

One thing that particularly impressed me about the new TP-Link devices is that even though they are delivering the latest and most robust wireless networking, they also include multiple hardline ports, too. The BE900, for example, has seven different ethernet ports, which provide good options for all contexts.

TP-Link is releasing these devices in 2023.

Gaming gets medieval with Pentiment and nostalgic with Atari 50.

Curious Pentiment is the year’s cleverest game

Pentiment is a most curious game. Animated in the style of medieval illuminated manuscripts, the objective seems simple enough – solve a murder. But how this game unfurls for us is quite unlike anything I’ve seen before.

You play Andreas, an artist, in 16th century Bavaria (contemporary Germany), who gets caught up in the murder mystery, as well as the troubles of the time.

Obsidian has a great history of developing narrative games, from Star wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, Neverwinter Nights 2, Fallout New Vegas, and South Park: The Stick of Truth.

Since being acquired by Microsoft, the studio has delivered a standard action RPG called The Outer Worlds and a more playful game in Grounded. Pentiment is completely different to those.

While there are a few mini-games designed to convey a sense of what the 16th-century world was like, mechanically, Pentiment is a point-and-click adventure. Which means you’ll get as much out of the game as you’re willing to invest exploring the world and talking to its inhabitants.

There’s no voice acting here. Dialogue is presented instead as type appearing on the screen as if it was being drawn by a scribe. Every image, every animation, is an echo of the art that was being created in Europe at the time.

That’s the filagree in Pentiment, this deep commitment to historical accuracy, delivered to us in a completely modern way.

Pentiment is available on Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S and is part of Xbox Game Pass. Rated mature.

Go back in time with Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration

A must for every nostalgic gamer, Atari 50: The Anniversary Collection is an encyclopedia of fifty years of game development seen through the lens of Atari.

In this collection you get more than 80 games that were developed for six Atari platforms, including the 2600, the 5200, and the Lynx.

Digital Eclipse, who assembled the emulation, also created five games based on some of those classics, such as Haunted House and Yars Revenge Reimagined.

That’s in addition to the original games, like Asteroids, Centipede, Cload & Dgger, Lunar Lander, and Missile Command.

There’s also more than an hour of documentary footage featuring interviews with people from the industry about the Atari brand.

Available for Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Rated teen.