It’s never easy to live up to expectations, especially when you’ve created those expectations yourself. So it is with Cyberpunk 2077, the highly anticipated action role-playing game from CD Projekt Red.
The game is rooted in the pen-and-paper role playing game created by Mike Pondsmith and first published in 1988. Pondsmith continued to expand on the world and the characters, and that rich detail has found its way into this game (Pondsmith was a consultant to CD Projekt Red).
And it’s in this world building and storytelling that Cyberpunk 2077 excels.
You begin by creating your version of the protagonist, V. You choose facial features, body types, and even genitalia. One of three backstories – rural, street urchin, or corporate city type – sets you up for your relationship with Night City, the metropolis where it all goes down, and its denizens.
You get to decide where to assign points to five attributes: body, reflexes, intelligence, technical ability, and cool. As you progress through the game you’ll be able to improve these attributes and related skills.
You’ll also adapt your version of V with cyberware, the technical gear that becomes part of your body, and includes tools to improve sensory and physical abilities as well as weapons.
Which is how everyone’s V will be completely different. Mostly.
While all the characters may look different, they still have the same dialogue choices in the mix. To their credit, the writers on this project have created narrative trees that seem endless (nearly 600,000 words, according to CD Projekt Red). The non-player characters are varied and compelling, if a little stereotypical.
Keanu Reeves plays a significant supporting character, Johnny Silverhand. I won’t spoil the experience by going into detail about how he features in the story. It’s enough to know that the character came from the original Pondsmith work, and that Reeves put everything into the role.
In terms of play, there’s also lots of variety. You’ll navigate through Night City on foot and in vehicles and you can talk to most of the citizens. You’ll get into battles of all types, from street melees to full-on firearm fights with militarized security forces.
One of my favourite systems in Cyberpunk 2077 is the braindance technology that is part of the world. This is the process of recording and playing back memories (if you’ve seen either Strange Days or Total Recall you’ll get the idea). Throughout the game you’ll have opportunities to explore the memories of others in order to get necessary intelligence.
Night City and the surrounding rural area is massive, and CD Projekt Red developed distinct art styles for different sectors, all in line with the history of the city and the corporations which run it.
There’s no denying that the game often looks stunning, but this depends on what you’re playing on. My review copy is for the PS4, and I’m playing it on a PS5 connected to a 4K Samsung Q60T equipped with HDR. Cyberpunk 2077 looks great for me.
Even so, there are visual hiccups that I’m willing to overlook. But having the game crash is not something that players should be experiencing, and that happened to me more than once.
And the bugs and crashes for players on PS4 and Xbox One consoles are much more severe. The game is just not running properly for most of them. People are often willing to ignore visual weirdness like bodies floating around or passing through each other. Constant crashes and glitches that break the game are not as easy to forgive.
The situation is bad enough that CD Projekt Red issued an apology just a few days after the game was released, and is offering refunds.
It’s true that CD Projekt Red will continue to work on Cyberpunk 2077 and the game will improve with each iteration. This is a world and a game that is interesting and compelling, and if futuristic, dystopic role playing games are your thing, you should have this on your list to pick up some day. But not today.
While there’s lots to like here, ultimately the experience is too tenuous to risk spending time with. You never know if you’ll run into a game-breaking error, or a series of crashes that will have you constantly stopping and starting.
Cyberpunk 2077 is available now for PS4, PS5, Stadia, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X. Rated mature.
This week, last minute gift ideas, including subscriptions and digital copies of video games, the latest Nest thermostat, and how you can drive Santa’s sleigh this year.
Last minute gift ideas
Every year there’s always a scramble to get gifts at the last minute. You got busy and didn’t realize it was already December 16. Or you realized you forgot someone. Or you discovered that distant cousin got you something and now you have to reciprocate or look like an ungrateful ass.
The easy solution is to gift a subscription. The best options these year are from:
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate: Includes access to more than 100 games, an EA Play membership, and Xbox Live Gold
Disney+: Early next year shows from it’s Hulu service will appear in Canada
Apple One: The new bundle of services from Apple now includes Apple Fitness+
1Password: The best password manager and made in Canada
Video games are also a fine last-minute option because you can instantly purchase and gift digital versions. You just need to know what system a person is playing on.
Give the gift of regulated temperatures with the new Nest thermostat
Nest revolutionized thermostats, and with the latest version of the technology, it’s more effective and simpler to use than ever before. It’s easy to install on your own, and with the Google Home app you can set schedules in a matter of minutes and even control the device when you’re away from home. It will also automatically turn down the temperature in your home if it senses that nobody’s there, which can lower your heating costs.
How you can get behind the wheel of Santa’s sleigh
Now available is a holiday theme update from Waze that turns your avatar on the navigation system into Santa’s sleigh. You can also select Santa’s voice to get directions.
The theme will be available until the end of the year.
This week on The Shift, Shane Hewitt and I talked about the lawsuits filed against Facebook in the U.S., the Samsung Q60T, Apple Fitness+, the Sonos Move speaker, the Oral-B iO electric toothbrush, the Game Awards, Elden Ring, Halo Infinite, and Immortals Fenyx Rising.
This week, Apple Fitness+ arrives on Monday, the new Sonos Move speaker, Oral-B’s iO electric toothbrush, get ready for the Game Awards, the amusing game, Immortals Fenyx Rising, and why you need to get a 4K HDR television. But first, the U.S. court action against Facebook.
Two lawsuits in U.S. seek to break up Facebook
Two lawsuits were announced today against Facebook, one by the Federal Trade Commission and one by a group of 48 states and districts (Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and South Dakota are the holdouts).
Among the resolutions suggested by the FTC are splitting off Instagram and WhatsApp and requiring Facebook to get permission before any further acquisitions.
You need a 4K HDR television if you’re going to get a new game console
I’m lucky that Microsoft and Sony were able to provide me with the new consoles to test drive and review.
I’m also lucky that Samsung loaned me a television that makes it all worthwhile.
Because unless you’ve got a screen that can support the visual fidelity made possible by the Xbox Series X and PS5, there’s no rush to get one.
Sure, the new consoles have reduced load times, but the real selling point of the hardware is the improvement in resolution and frame rate that they deliver.
For the past couple of weeks, I’ve had a 75-inch Samsung Q60t
in my office. The screen, which you can find for around $1,800 (the 65-inch is about $1,200) is an entry model of the Q-series.
The Q60T displays images with a refresh rate of up to 60 Hz in ultra high definition (UHD), or 4K, resolution and has high dynamic range (HDR) functionality, which renders fine detail in both bright and dark areas that with other screens would either be white or black.
It’s a QLED screen, too, which gives me a bright picture that maintains clarity even in a bright room.
The Q-series also has a feature called Game Mode, which bypasses some of the video processors in the TV to reduce the amount of time it takes to display the image. This can reduce the amount of lag between when you flick the controls and when things move on the screen, which can be essential for competitive gaming like Fortnite or Destiny. You can have Game Mode automatically activate on when you turn on your console.
One thing that is chiefly lacking in the Q60T is the ability to hit 120 Hz on the refresh rate, which is something that many gamers will be looking for because it can deliver smoother animations. Better yet would be variable refresh rate (VRR), which adjusts based on the content being rendered.
And if you’re looking for a TV that is future proofed, you’ll want to look for a model that delivers HDMI 2.1, something else that is missing from the Q60T.
Apple Fitness+ launches on Monday, December 14
On Monday, Apple launches its new service, Fitness+. It’ll cost $13 a month or $100 a year, and you’ll be able to share the subscription with up to six family members. If you purchase an Apple Watch you’ll get three months for free. Current Apple Watch owners can get a free month for a limited time.
Ever since the Apple Watch was first released, Apple has been circling around health and Fitness+ is the logical continuation of that mission. The studio workouts, which run in 10-, 20-, 30-, and 45-minute durations, include ten types:
high intensity interval training (HIIT)
strength
yoga
dance
core
cycling
treadmill walking
treadmill running
rowing
mindfull cooldown
The classes all include beginner modes to ease people into activities that are new to them and ensure that proper form and technique are being used.
With the world in the grip of the pandemic, the timing couldn’t be better. You can engage with the workouts whenever it fits with your schedule using your Apple TV, iPad, or iPhone. New workouts will be released every week.
The Apple Watch is not necessary but enhances what you can get out of the workouts thanks to the biometrics tracked by the wearable device.
You can also include Fitness+ in Apple One, the subscription that collects a bunch of Apple services, is now available.
I’m loving Apple One because I was already subscribed to a few of these services and now I can get them all with one transaction and a discount.
Last month I selected the Family option for $21 a month, which gives our entire household (you can share with up to five other people) access to Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and 200 GB of storage space in iCloud.
An Individual sub is $16 a month for the same services and 50 GB of iCloud storage.
If I want to add Fitness+ I can do so by selecting the Premier option for $34, which also adds Apple News+ and bumps storage to 2 TB.
You can subscribe to Apple One or any of the services through your iPad, iPhone, Apple TV, or Mac computer running macOS Big Sur.
Tech gift guide has options for home and home office
Here are a couple of things I included for the home.
Sonos Move wireless speaker
The latest addition to the Sonos family is the Move ($499), which brings portability to the line of wireless speaker products. It was designed to be picked up and carried around so you don’t have to worry about bumping it or having it on the picnic table when the kids are having a water fight. Giving about ten hours on a charge, the Move comes with a charging base that will get it to 50 percent in just an hour.
Oral-B iO Power toothbrush
Oral-B is a leader in electric toothbrushes and the iO ($260) brings new technologies to the job of keeping your teeth clean and your mouth healthy. A pressure sensor makes sure you aren’t brushing too hard and a timer helps you keep brushing for the recommended two minute duration. The iO also comes with a travel case that you can plug in when you’re away from home.
Game Awards air tomorrow night, expect game announcements
Last week on the Shift I was asked about Elden Ring, a game in development at FromSoftware to be published by Bandai Namco.
The game, first announced at E3 in 2019, has been something of a mystery to players who are fans of other games by From like the Dark Souls games.
The reason it was in the video game conversation last week is because a Bandai Namco marketing executive referred to the Game Awards as a “big day”.
Which led to rampant speculation that there would be news about the game revealed during the broadcast of the awards program.
It’s true that announcements and updates for games are often revealed during the show, so it’s at least possible that fans will get an update.
Xbox head Phil Spencer told GameSpot that he’s “played quite a bit”.
You can watch the Game Awards on Thursday, December 10 starting with a pre-show at 3:30 p.m. PT, 6:30 p.m. ET. It’s streaming on more than 45 platforms, including the usual favourites.
Immortals Fenyx Rising a fun and amusing adventure steeped in Greek mythology
Light-hearted and often hilarious, Immortals Fenyx Rising makes the most of Greek mythology to create a rousing action adventure.
The game comes from Ubisoft’s studio in Quebec City, which led development on Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, set in the time of classical Greece. But while some of the aspects of Fenyx Rising were clearly borrowed from Assassin’s Creed – the navigation and combat mechanics among them – the tone of Fenyx Rising is breezy fun, a far cry from the serious nature of the Assassin’s games.
Fenyx, who can be either female or male, is the last hope against Typhon, who has risen against Zeus and the other Greek gods. Typhon has already unleashed creatures from Tartarus – gorgons, cyclops, harpies and the like – and he’s not far behind.
The world created here is vast, full of challenges and activities that you can discover. There are puzzle dungeons to solve, legendary creatures to defeat, and collectibles to collect. And all the while, stories of Greek gods, demigods, and heroes are being told.
The story of Fenyx is told by Prometheus who, while still chained to the rock as punishment for giving fire to humans, weaves the narrative as part of a wager with Zeus. In Immortals, Prometheus is a clever storyteller and Zeus is arrogant and superior, even though his future rests in the hands of the humans he thinks are so insignificant.
The banter between the two is the source of much of the humour, and while not all of the jokes land successfully, most of the interaction between Prometheus and Zeus is charming and funny.
Immortals Fenyx Rising is a great open world adventure for kids who are interested in Assassin’s Creed, but are too young for the more adult themes of that series. It’s just as much fun for adult fans of Assassin’s who will enjoy the storytelling and the tone.
Immortals Fenyx Rising is now available on PS4, PS5, Stadia, Switch, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X. Rated teen.
This week on The Shift, Shane Hewitt and I talked about the amazing Jabra Elite 85t wireless earbuds (which I love), making video calls using Amazon’s Fire TV Cube, numbers on gaming from ESA Canada, and a review of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.
The Mind Control Division is the intelligence arm of Blaine Kyllo's Solo Corps Creative Incorporated. This department conducts investigations and experiments into media and technology culture.
