Month: February 2023

Project 007 is a new James Bond game in the works from IO Interactive, the masterminds behind the Hitman series.

A new James Bond game by the name of Project 007 is in the works. IO Interactive, the folks behind Hitman, is currently developing the project. Though details are scarce and Project 007 is currently a working title, we’ve been able to scrape together a few nuggets of information for your reading pleasure. 

While Project 007 doesn’t feature actors from the films, we’ve also had a short teaser trailer. Although said teaser doesn’t show any gameplay, the website confirms that the story is about James Bond’s origins and it’ll be “completely original” to the game. That means IO Interactive won’t be borrowing stories or even actors from previous James Bond movies.

Project 007 is keeping its cards close to its chest when it comes to gameplay, too. Though we can almost certainly expect gunslinging in some form, the precise details have yet to be revealed. We could be in for some classic first-person action in the vein of Goldeneye 007 for the N64. Alternatively, IO Interactive might opt for some third-person stealth mechanics in the tradition of their much-celebrated Hitman series. What we do know, however, is that Bond is coming back.

Project 007: cut to the chase

What is it? A James Bond game from the developer of Hitman

When can I play it? TBC

What can I play it on? TBC (PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S are likely)

Project 007: release date and platforms

There are no official details about when we can expect the new Project 007 game. Given we know that IO Interactive is still pulling together its development team, it could be a good few years before the new James Bond title sees the light of day. 

For now, we can probably expect to see it launch on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC, but we don’t know definitively. Given the seemingly far out release date, it seems unlikely that it’ll come to Xbox One or PS4. However, since Hitman 3, IO Interactive’s last major release, had a cloud version on Nintendo Switch, there’s a chance Project 007 may get the same treatment.

Project 007: trailer

Latest trailer

So far, IO Interactive has only provided us with a teaser trailer for Project 007. It’s not much to go on, but it’s always charming to see a new take on the classic James Bond opening sequence.

Project 007: news

(Image credit: MGM)

IO Interactive hires audio director for Project 007

Making an official announcement on the developer’s website, IO Interactive has announced that its hired a new audio director, Dominic Vega. Having previously worked on big names like League of Legends, Ratchet and Clank: Nexus, and Just Cause 4, Vega stated: 

“I don’t think there are many sound palettes as iconic as the James Bond universe. It’s one of my favorite soundtracks of all time. Working on such an iconic franchise with IOI, and the audio team here is incredibly exciting.”

Don’t expect familiar actors to return

At the moment, further details on the project are few and far between, but an interview with IO Interactive’s studio director did reveal that the upcoming game won’t be based on any of the actors featured in the film series. Hakan Abrak described how his team “have been allowed to make [their] own digital Bond, which will not lean on a Bond actor.”  

How to watch the James Bond movies in order

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The LG C3 is a better deal this year, but other models have risen in price compared to their 2022 models.

LG has announced the price and release date (well, release window, really) for its 2023 OLED TV range, including the LG C3 and LG G3. You can find all the prices just below, but the important things to know are that the LG C3 and LG G3 will available to pre-order from LG directly on March 6, 2023, and will be released in late March.

The more affordable LG B3 will be available in April – and there’s no cheap LG A3 model this year for US buyers (though it will be available elsewhere in the world), and that’s a shame for reasons we’ll explain in a moment. But here’s what you really want – the big price list:

There’s good news and bad news here. The good news is for people thinking of buying the smaller sizes of the LG C3, because these are cheaper than the LG C2 was when it launched last year, which bodes well for these models being well-priced throughout the year, especially when they get price drops after summer (if previous years are anything to go by).

The 42-inch and 48-inch LG C3 models are both $100 cheaper than the equivalent launch price of the LG C2, while the 83-inch model is $200 cheaper. The other models are the same as the C2’s launch price, which is actually pretty good during this time of inflation, so we’ve no complaint about that.

The disappointment, however, comes from the other models: the 55-inch LG B3 is $200 more expensive than the LG B2 was at launch at the same size, and the 65-inch model is $400 more expensive.

That makes all models of LG B3 just $100 or $200 cheaper than the LG C3 at the equivalent size, and I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t go for the LG C3’s brighter screen, better processing, and better connectivity at that price difference.

With no super-cheap LG A3 model this year in the US, the average price of buying an LG OLED has been pulled sharply upwards in 2023, and that’s a colossal shame – we thought the LG A2 was a great-value TV for movie lovers on a budget. We had hoped that the price of the LG B2 might drop to fill the gap left by the lack of A3, but we could not have been more wrong.

We saw the LG G3 at CES 2023, and we can’t wait for more, even at a high price. (Image credit: Future)

G3 goes even more premium

The LG G3 gets the steepest price rise of all compared to the launch of last year’s LG G2. The 55-inch and 65-inch models are $300 more, while the 77-inch is $500 more. The 83-inch model actually stays the same price as last year.

The above makes sense when you know that LG has employed new tech in the 55, 65, and 77-inch G3 models this year, making them 70% brighter than what you’d get from the LG B3. We’ve seen them in person, and the difference is staggering. It really has to be because LG’s higher prices put the G3 right in line with what we know about the Samsung S95C QD-OLED TV so far, and in our initial hands-on Samsung S95C review, that turned out to be the brightest OLED we’ve ever tested. The battle is on for visual supremacy at the high-end, price be damned.

We’re glad to see the smaller TVs come down in price, and LG C3 has done well overall to avoid a price hike. We’ll see if it’s enough to help it keep its place at the top of our best TVs list. But the price rise for the LG B3 is a huge disappointment when combined with the lack of any cheap OLED TVs in the US market this year.

Some of Europe will get the A3, and the Philips OLED708 – both aimed at being the most affordable OLED option around. Those in the US will just have to rely on the mini-LED skills from the likes of the Hisense U8H and TCL 6-Series Roku TV (2022), instead.

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Xiaomi has demoed its Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus smartphones being charged from empty to full in under five minutes.

If you hate having to wait for your phone to charge up, Xiaomi might be the brand for you. In a newly released demo, the Chinese phone maker has shown one of its phones being juiced from zero to full charge in under five minutes.

At MWC 2023 – the big mobile tech expo happening in Barcelona – we’ve been introduced to a slew of new phone gadgets. OnePlus has shown off a mobile liquid cooling system, Motorola and Bullit are bringing satellite phone capabilities to (almost) every smartphone, and now Xiaomi has demonstrated the awesome capabilities of 300W charging.

In a new video, Xiamoi has reclaimed its crown of having the fastest phone charging tech by showing a modified Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus being fully charged in barely any time at all via a new 300W charger. It reached 25% in one minute and 15 seconds, 50% in two minutes and 12 seconds, and 100% in four minutes 54 seconds.

Now, as you might have picked up on, there are a few caveats to this feat. The modifications to the phone include the fact that its maximum battery capacity is smaller than it would be normally – reduced to 4,100mAh from the usual 5,000mAh capacity. So it may charge up faster, but it won’t last as long. What’s more, if the device doesn’t have proper heat control, 300W charging could cause damage to the battery, further impacting its maximum capacity.

Another thing to note is that the charger’s power source was able to output 280-290W fairly consistently throughout 90% of the charging process. Most mains sockets should have this covered, though if you’re on public transport, using a battery pack, or relying on a source that can’t achieve this rate then you might not be able to recharge your mobile quite as quickly.

Lastly, not only is the modified phone not on sale but currently, there’s no word on if Xiaomi’s 300W charger will be available to the public any time soon. So while it can theoretically offer you lightning-fast charging speeds, in reality, you may be stuck with just 120W (which isn’t too shabby in fairness).

That said, with Xiaomi having now proved that this feat of charging is possible, it likely won’t be too long before we see 300W charging become available in smartphones we can actually buy. We’ll just have to wait and see; but from the looks of things, the days of waiting for ages for our phones to recharge are almost over.

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