Pokémon Go continues to be one of the biggest location-based augmented reality (AR) games around, and continued updates and new features have certainly gone a long way toward enabling its longevity. Soon, a Buddy Adventure system will be coming to the game, giving you yet another way to interact with your Pokémon and blur the line between fantasy and reality.
With the new Buddy Adventure feature, you will be able to choose a Pokémon to play with, feed, and keep by your side as you explore the world. The more you interact with it and build up your connection, the more benefits you’ll see in other areas of the game. Get them to the “good buddy” rating and they’ll show up on your map. Reach the “great buddy” level and they can even help during wild encounters and bring you extra items.
“Remember: Friendship is something you build together!” developer Niantic said in an announcement. “So be sure to complete the daily activities with your buddy each day to earn more affection and become fast friends!”
You’ll be able to play with your buddy in AR+ mode as well, making it appear as if they’re hanging out with you right in your living room or in a park. Depending on the monster you are buddies with, they may react in a different way.
The new Buddy Adventure feature was introduced in a trailer (above) that may have drawn a few of our tears. It shows a child going through his early years with a stuffed Squirtle toy before playing with his Buddy Squirtle in Pokémon Go. Once we can go surfing with our Squirtle or wear matching sunglasses as members of the Squirtle Squad, we may never stop playing the game.
In the future, Niantic will also be adding the ability to see your friends’ Buddy Pokémon via a shared AR experience. Using this method, you’ll be able to sync up with up to two other trainers and take a group photo that shows off everyone’s Pokémon. Buddy Adventure will start rolling out in 2020, so keep an eye out and don’t miss your chance to make a new friend. The new games Pokémon Sword and Shield are available now on Nintendo Switch.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.