Month: November 2023

The upcoming cybernetic shooter Spine wants to place players right at the heart of action-packed fights.

Spine is an upcoming cyberpunk-style third-person shooter in development at Nekki. As is, this sci-fi action title looks poised to make a name for itself by using creative camera angles and intimate fight scenes. 

The intense close-quarters ‘Gun fu’ action game follows a rebel named Redline and her physically-enhanced backbone, called Spine (think Sandevistan from Cyberpunk Edgerunners), as she navigates a dystopian futuristic world ruled by an amoral government that restricts its citizens’ freedoms through violence. Fighting against this evil authority will send shockwaves through the streets as you begin to change fellow residents’ lives for the better. 

At the moment, Spine is scheduled to release on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC in 2025 and will have around 12-15 hours of content. However, such a long time frame between now and launch means many of these features could be subject to change. 

Before we saw the thrilling new trailer for Spine at the PC Gaming Show, TechRadar Gaming (TRG) got access to some of Spine’s most thrilling levels, and we also had the chance to talk with the developers and discuss what it’s been like creating an aggressive yet beautiful action game.

At the heart of the action 

(Image credit: Nekki)

Time and time again, the developers over at Nekki stressed that Spine will allow players to feel like they are at the center of a high-stakes action movie. It takes inspiration from several pop culture films and shows, such as Breaking Bad or John Wick 4. For example, the brilliant overhead fight scene from the latest John Wick film clearly inspired one of Spine’s own mission sequences.

We got to see three missions that players will encounter in Spine. While the second two were slightly rough around the edges, with lights and distant buildings still left to craft, the first mission highlighted everything this third-person shooter could be. 

Set in a towering city landscape, the surroundings are scattered with the neon flushes and cybernetic creations you’d respect from a cyberpunk setting. As you walk a tightrope platform from one gigantic glass building to the next, you come across a small bar hidden inside what seems like a crack in the wall. 

Instead of having a quiet drink, as soon as you step into the bar, you’re jumped by several mafia goons who decide it’s a great time to pick a fight. Cramped into a small space, you have to utilize your surroundings to make quick work of these aggressors. Throwing chairs, blinding your assailants with your trusty can of spray paint, and dealing up some thrilling finishing kills are just some of the ways that you can dish out pain in this action setpiece.

However, you don’t just have to worry about the mafia on your travels; there are also government police and yakuza, all of whom will prove to be worthy adversaries. Luckily, thanks to Spine, you’ll be able to upgrade your abilities, learn new skills, and finishing kills – all intended to give a sense of progress.

If you want to learn more about Redline and Spine, be sure to check out this fantastic webtoon comic that currently has four entries, which expands on the lore and setting that players will be able to explore when the game releases.

For more thrilling action-packed games, check out the best-single player games and the best PC games available to play right now.

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China’s underwater data center facility could save 122 million kWh of electricity and 105,000 tons of water each year

China has started to assemble what might turn out to be the world’s first commercial underwater data center, as it aims to take advantage of the freezing water to cool its operations and save on energy consumption.

The data center, which comprises 100 units spanning 68,000 square meters in size, will be constructed over five years at the bottom of the sea off the coast of Sanya, a coastal city on the island of Hainan in southern China, according to China Central Television (CCTV).

Each data storage weighs 1,300 tons and processes more than four million HD images in 30 seconds, with the performance equivalent to stitching together the processing power of 60,000 of the best conventional desktop PCs together.

Saving energy by going underwater

China started to assemble the facility in April, planting the first data storage unit in place, and has now undergone the procss of putting together all 100 units together, according to sister site Tom’s Hardware. Each module must travel 35 meters to the seafloor, which takes three hours. But, thankfully, it’ll set to last 25 years.

With the demand for big data processing, cloud services, as well as generative AI workloads in the industry expanding across the world, the data center industry is in something of a construction boom. 

New projects are starting up everywhere to meet the rising demand, but this has knock-on effects for other parts of the economy, particularly given the tendency for data centers to guzzle up land mass, water (for cooling) as well as energy.

This project has been years in the making, and there are several key benefits. Firstly, it’ll save land that could otherwise be used to build other commercial buildings or housing. 

Secondly, it’ll save roughly 122 million kWh of electricity as well as roughly 105,000 tons of freshwater each year. This is because the freezing seawater acts as a natural cooling element, which can reduce the csot of using water as a coolant on a land-based facility.

Once completed, the data center will be between 40 and 60% more energy efficient than land-based data centers, according to general manager of the UDC Hainan pilot development project, Pu Ding, reported Tom’s Hardware.

Many organizations and entities have previously submerged data centers under water – including Microsoft’s Project Natick. But this will be the first commercial data center facility that will serve a variety of organizations. 

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