Author: Trafficblast

Pigs can be trained to play simple video games, scientists have found, demonstrating the animals’ potential for a “remarkable” level of behavioral and mental flexibility.

A BBC report presented a trough of information about the piggy players, sourced from a research paper published in a journal entry on Frontiers in Psychology. The document details an investigation into whether pigs are capable of playing a joystick-operated video game task, with four pigs – Hamlet, Omelet, Ivory, and Ebony – trained to move a joystick with their snouts to steer an on-screen cursor.

The pigs were required to move the cursor to make contact with randomly-positioned walled targets, and a reward was provided if the cursor collided with a target. However, researchers noted that the pigs exhibited a “high level of social motivation to perform the task,” and continued playing the game even when a food reward was not dispensed because of social encouragement from the trainer.

“This sort of study is important because, as with any sentient beings, how we interact with pigs and what we do to them impacts and matters to them,” said Dr. Candace Croney, lead author of the study.

The data analysis from the gaming sessions showed that neither Hamlet nor Omelet achieved significant performance on three-walled targets but performed “above chance” on one-walled targets and two-walled targets, with “78 and 70% correct responses” on the latter. Ivory and Ebony were both more successful than expected by chance on three-walled targets but had a bigger gaming gap on the one-walled targets.

Ultimately, researchers were satisfied that the pigs had the capacity to acquire the joystick-operated video game task, though they also noted that future studies into the cognitive behaviors of domestic species may benefit from the use of touchscreens or other advanced computer-interfaced technology due to dexterity and visual constraints as all four subjects, in this case, were far-sighted.

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Similar experiments have been conducted with chimpanzees and monkeys, who have proven to be even more skilled, with their opposable thumbs and individually moving fingers giving them an advantage. It remains to be seen, however, what might happen when a monkey plays video games in its own mind. Elon Musk might have the answer for us soon, as he claimed that one of his companies has implanted a device into a monkey’s brain, and hopes to make it play “mind pong” with another cyborg monkey.

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Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

CBS has handed out a formal pilot order to the long-gestating True Lies TV reboot, three-plus years after the series was greenlit at Fox.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, it was revealed late on Wednesday that the network had commissioned a pilot adaptation of the 1994 hit action movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis as Harry and Helen Tasker, a dysfunctional married couple who must simultaneously save the world and their relationship.

James Cameron and McG are both still attached to the project despite the series being dormant for many years. Cameron, who directed and produced the 1994 action-comedy, is on board to executive produce the potential series alongside McG who has also been lined up to direct the pilot, which is coming from the Disney-owned studio 20th Television.

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Burn Notice scribe Matt Nix has also joined the team as he will be handling the scripts on the now back-in-development series. The story is said to follow the same concept as the ’90s action flick.

The official logline reads the same as the movie: “Shocked to discover that her bland and unremarkable computer consultant husband is a skilled international spy, an unfulfilled suburban housewife is propelled into a life of danger and adventure when she’s recruited to work alongside him to save the world as they try to revitalize their passionless marriage.”

McG’s Wonderland Sound and Vision president Mary Viola and frequent Cameron collaborator Rae Sanchini of his Lightstorm Entertainment banner will also executive produce the reboot.

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Cameron has been pursuing a True Lies TV series reboot on-and-off for more than a decade. He reportedly shopped the idea around various networks back in 2010, though we didn’t hear any more until seven years later when Fox handed out a pilot commitment for an hour-long episode. For unknown reasons, that also failed to move forward.

In recent years, an abundance of movies have been adapted for TV, with the likes of Terminator, Hannibal, and Psycho, all having made the transition to the small screen, with varying degrees of success. McG was also previously involved in another TV remake of an action classic as he served as an executive producer on the Lethal Weapon TV reboot and directed some of its episodes.

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Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart has been targeted for the first half of 2021, but Sony has now announced a release date for the upcoming PS5-exclusive shooter-platformer. It’s coming on June 11, and will cost $70 for the standard edition and $80 for the Digital Deluxe edition.

As noted in the announcement, preordering either version will get you the Carbonox Armor and Pixelizer weapon. Participating retailers will sell physical editions with these preorder goodies included as a voucher. Both the Carbonox Armor and Pixelizer have been updated for the PS5, with the Carbonox armor showing off high-definition textures and ray-traced reflections.

The Digital Deluxe edition will also include five more armor sets, 20 Raritanium for upgrading your weapons, a sticker pack for use in the photo mode, and a digital artbook and soundtrack.

Insomniac noted that this is a new Ratchet story revolving around alternating dimensions, which is how Clank gets separated from his usual pal Ratchet and instead meets up with a new Lombax. The blog may be slyly teasing her name, yet to be revealed, by telling fans to, “Hang in there, you’ll be feeling rosy soon.”

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is a showpiece exclusive for the PS5, and was a major part of Sony’s early console presentations. The dimension-swapping mechanic that appears to be at the heart of the game relies on the PS5’s SSD for quick loads, so it’s one of the relatively few first-party PS5 games that isn’t also slated for PS4.

February’s a romantic month, and to celebrate Borderlands 3 will be joining in on the festivities with the return of its Broken Hearts Day event. Much like last year’s event, players will be tasked by Maurice the Sentient Saurian to travel the galaxy, find love, and possibly even some sweet loot.

Maurice’s research on human courting rituals has resulted in enemies spawning floating hearts which when destroyed, add positive buffs to players such as increased health regeneration, a higher chance of obtaining rare loot or turning the floor around enemies into lava puddles. Broken Hearts Day will be live from 12:00 PM PT today and will run until February 25.

A number of gear adjustments have also been added in the latest hotfix, which buffs damage to Legendary weapons such as Kaoson, Garcia, and Impaler. Today’s hotfix also brings the Gear Rush mini-event to an end.

Gear adjustments

Hail

• Increased weapon damage

Crit

• Lowered the chance that the weapon would drop on reload

Bouncing Pair Grenade Mod

• Increased damage

Kaoson

• Increased weapon damage

Garcia

• Updated weapon to fire correctly in multiplayer. Players will notice that the weapon will now only fire two shots before reloading in both solo and co-op
• Increased weapon damage

Impaler

• Increased damage dealt

Void Rift

• Increased Spike damage
• Increased Black Hole singularity damage

Black Hole

• Increased damage dealt

It has been an interesting couple of days for Borderlands 3 developer Gearbox. Having joined the Embracer group in a $1.3 billion acquisition deal, Gearbox still plans to continue and publish the Borderlands series alongside 2K Games. Borderlands 3’s Designer’s Cut update launches in March, adding a new series of murder mystery levels and a raid boss challenge amongst other cosmetic additions.

The cult-classic Tales From The Borderlands will also return to digital stores on February 17, and if you’re looking to jump into Gearbox’s weird universe of vaults and bandits now’s a good time to do so as Borderlands 3 is heavily discounted this month.

Post Malone will be performing at a virtual concert to celebrate Pokemon Day on February 27.

The Pokemon Company announced the news with a trailer (below), which shows Post Malone transforming into a digital avatar of himself after thanking Pokemon fans for their support and brandishing a Pokeball. The animated version of Malone suggests the concert could be a hybrid between live-action and virtual performance.

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According to Billboard’s interview with Malone, the concert will take place on Feb 27 at 7 PM EST, and will be streamed live via the Pokemon YouTube channel, Twitch channel and 25th Anniversary website.

“Don’t miss your chance to be front row for the Virtual Experience on Pokemon Day,” the YouTube video description reads. This is all part of a collaboration between Pokemon and Universal Music Group called P25 Music. We reported back in January that Katy Perry will also be teaming up with The Pokemon Company to act as the “premiere collaborator” for this promotion. According to Billboard, Malone’s concert “serves as the series’ kickoff,” with more details about P25 coming at the end of the concert.

In other Pokemon news, check out this pillow that lets you put your head in Gengar’s mouth.

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Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Sony has shared some new details on MLB The Show 21, including the baseball game’s multiple different type of play styles, an upcoming technical test, and more.

Sony will divulge new info on MLB The Show 21 every Tuesday and Thursday during February through weird videos with puppet versions of a baseball coach and cover star Fernando Tatis Jr. Each episode will focus on a different part of the game, and the first one talks about the “tailored and focused” gameplay options.

MLB The Show 21 has multiple different styles you can choose from–including casual, simulation, and competitive–depending on what mood you’re in. Casual is described as an easier mode of play with an emphasis on learning the basics. Simulation is an “authentic” MLB experience with true-to-life player and team ratings. Competitive, meanwhile, is the most challenging and realistic, putting a focus on stick skills. Competitive is the default for online play.

The video also touches on some of the improvements to gameplay in MLB The Show 21, which includes fly ball catches, catches at the wall–including robbing home runs and reaching over the wall–and catches made based on the axis you’re running. Pitching mechanics are also getting updates, but Sony is holding back the details until March, unfortunately.

Sony also confirmed there will be a limited technical test for MLB The Show 21. Sony will invite a small group of players to start testing the game beginning on February 23 for the purpose of stress testing servers, matchmaking, and cross-play. You can sign up here for the technical test.

Finally, Sony announced that it is bringing back its Feature Premieres broadcast series of MLB The Show 21 where it will divulge new details and provide an extended look at the game and its new features. These will take place every Thursday at 3 PM PT beginning on March 11. Here is the schedule for what’s coming:

Feature Premiere Schedule

• Tailored Gameplay, Pinpoint Pitching, and Hitting engine updates
• Complete Fielding Overall (yes we are specifically talking about plays at the wall)
• Ball Player introduction, more variety, and ways to play and ever before
• Franchise and March to October empowers you to make decisions for the future
• MLB The Show goes Next Gen
• Diamond Dynasty streamlined with new paths to rewards

MLB The Show 21 launches on April 20 for PlayStation and Xbox consoles as part of a new arrangement between the two companies and Major League Baseball.

Amazon’s running a substantial “Buy 3 for the Price of 2” sale right now, and there are some good deals hidden among the eligible products, among them the complete set of D&D 5e core rulebooks.

Since the free item is the least expensive, per the promotion, you essentially get the Dungeon Master’s Guide for free when you buy the Player’s Guide and the Monster Manual. Total cost before taxes: $69.98. Nice.

D&D Core Rulebook Deal

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The Buy 3 for the Price of 2 promotion has been going on for a few days now, and there is quite a wide selection of items. If you’re looking to set yourself up with the complete D&D 5e core rulebook set as part of the deal, I wouldn’t wait very long. Items, particularly popular items, seem to drop in and out of eligibility pretty fast. For example, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War for Xbox Series X was eligible this morning, but at the time of this writing has already disappeared from the deal.

There’s also nothing stopping you from mixing and matching. The rules are simple: buy 3 eligible items for the price of 2 eligible items. So if you wanted to buy just the Player’s Handbook and then something like Sonic Mania + Sonic Team Racing for Nintendo Switch, you could pick up Apocalypse Now: Final Cut on 4K Blu-ray for free. That’s just one example, I’m not here to tell you how to live your life.

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Seth Macy is IGN’s Executive Editor, IGN Commerce, and just wants to be your friend.